Albums of the Year (Page 2)

Next it’s these LA’ers that we tip our hat off to. New to the scene, with just one full-length under their belts, we’re still gaga we mean crazy over their classic-rock inspired, no-holds-barred debut. Without further ado, Palm trees in a cemetery. How very LA of you. we present Beware of Darkness. The best way we can describe Orthodox is perhaps this: remember when you read Kafka and channeled Poe’s depression while blasting an emo Robert Plant while Christian Bale (who’s just intense, always intense) tells you about the time between Batman movies that he went for a drink and fought off half a dozenRead More →

Sexy sexy. Yes. Twice. It’s a stunning retro-throwback to disco / funky R&B sexytimes that Sean Tilman, aka Har Mar Superstar, brings on his fifth full-length, Bye Bye 17. If you couldn’t tell, Mr. Tilman doesn’t take himself too seriously, but we certainly have to: he’s got great rhythm, good pipes and a great ear for songwriting. Check out choruses like “Restless Leg” and “Rhythm Bruises”; “Leg” is too fun to keep you from smiling, and “Bruises” hits the opposite end of the spectrum, the kind of melody that you have to sing along to and realize you’re just no good at it. Oh well,Read More →

Hi y’all!So we know we kept y’all in the dark on what we though were our top favorites of 2012. To be honest, we took a bit of a respite that year, so what we’ve compiled is a very, very brief list. In fact, it’s only technically a list, one with two entries. What were they?After a year of listening, we have to give our primary kudos to this guy: Pocket watch, anyone? The folksy, Dylanesque singer-songwriter who took it all to Chicago to record his first EP, Nation of Heat, and hasn’t looked back since. His 2012 full-length, The Great Despiser, is one ofRead More →

Hello all! We figured we’d throw out a much-belated ‘best of 2011’ kind of list. It is nice to figure out what music from 2011 really rocked out, with enough time for it to settle in and really prove itself, as much as an extra 6 months will allow. So, here are our picks, in no particular order: Brown Bird – “Salt for Salt”:  The now-RI duo really know how to crank into a full-on, heavy gypsy groove with their new(ish) lineup. MorganEve and David (plus the occasional friend/relative) form as tight a unit as any duo we’ve seen, and even though they’re waaaay offRead More →