Banded Stilts — Little Village
I’ll just start with this one: Little Village is a thing of beauty. The opening track, “The End of February” is a stunner and it only gets better from there. The intimacy of the first few lines says it all:…
Bishops — Silver Lining
If you’re looking for a blistering wall of apathy to climb over in this early spring weather, here it is. Bishops, based in West Virginia, is the brainchild of Tucker Riggleman. Part shoegaze, part strident punk, Silver Lining presents few…
Hurray For the Riffraff — Small Town Heroes
Considering I do this as a hobby, it sounds crazy to say, but I cannot stand music journalism. I recently read a piece where the writer breathlessly describes what the artist he interviewed had for lunch and what kind of…
The Jinxes — We Create
The Jinxes have crafted folk pop to pure sugary perfection. They were one of the very first bands I wrote about way back when and it’s great to see that they’re still in the business of making music. The Jinxes…
Honey Don’t — Heart Like a Wheel
Sometimes all of the emails I get from hopeful musicians is tiring. But then there are gems like Honey Don’t, a husband-wife duo from Colorado that just gets it. It makes sense; Bill Powers has his own folk music radio…
The Lucky Jukebox Brigade — Glamour
Here’s a Blondie-esque rocker from Albany-based Lucky Jukebox Brigade. This is a great (and charming) video. Let’s just say it’s worth several viewings. The Lucky Jukebox Brigade —Official, Facebook, Download on iTunes, Amazon
Roxie Watson — Songs From Hell’s Hollow
Last night I made the decision to listen to FM radio. I haven’t surfed the radio in a good year or so and these were my findings: The Spanish-language stations ALMOST outnumber the English stations in New York City. It…
Martin Van Ruin — Every Man a King
I really hope Martin Van Ruin isn’t a one-offside project. Comprised of members from Chicago heavyweights like Jenny Dragon, Planetsploder, and Derek Nelson & the Musicians, there’s a lot to keep the band busy. But Every Man a King is…