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Chris Price – HomesickPTB Music-out now2 / 5 It takes an L.A. weirdo like Chris Price to record his debut entirely on an iPhone, and quite frankly, he made a pro call on it: Price has a kind of a very slight basement glaze over the audio, the kind that small acts pay a ton to get up to, or that big acts pay even more to take their sound down to. We appreciate his ear for the subtle color, and moreso his reasoning behind it – taking the recording process back to old school, via The Beatles and (yes!) The Kinks. Despite the tripRead More →

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The Belushis – ShakerChained Lightning Records– out now3 / 5 Our hearts have been already been stolen by other Canadian rockers, which puts this Vancouver quartet in some tough competition. Taking cues from AC/DC and other classic rockers, The Belushis (love the name, by the way) pound their way through each of their dirty dozen, the way classic rock should be done. These songs don’t stray too far from the time-tested formula of “sex + drugs + rock/roll,” and while that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, these Belushis don’t have a whole lot more to add to that. When you consider what makes classic rockRead More →

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Kitty Clementine – Self-TitledClumpty Records-out now4 / 5 Who’d’ve thunk an Aussie from Sydney would bring gypsy charm and Big Easy stomp to, we don’t know, rock? Big band? We’re not too sure, but in either case, she’s got big brass – horns – on her debut here, and how we appreciate horns. The dozen tracks here get dirty, in a foot-stomping, down-but-not-out blast-you-off-your-[butt] kinda way. It is pure pleasure being inundated with the personality, frustration and joy of this self-described “magician’s daughter.” Whether it’s a straight-rocker like “We Should Know Better” or “It’s Been Real,” born from some muddy back alley in New Orleans,Read More →

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Ryan Monroe – A Painting of a Painting on FireRCM Records-out now2.5 / 5 We’ve got a few criteria for how we rate albums here – gut reaction, technical prowess, memory. Ultimately, when you buy an album, you want one that you’ll play again and again, possibly find yourself humming a few tracks to yourself (hopefully not to your embarrassment). We were stoked to get Ryan Monroe’s debut solo album (of Band of Horses fame), but honestly, we haven’t spun this one up more than a few times over the same number of weeks. What gives? There’s one absolute blow-out track: “Any Way, Shape, OrRead More →