Recommended (Page 12)

Joe Pug – The Great DespiserLightning Rod Records-out now4.5 / 5 We at the blog make no secret of the fact that we really enjoy Joe Pug. Well, mostly. On his sophomore album, the folker strums back into a sound more reminiscent of his debut EPs; acoustic, bare, laid back. And while we generally don’t up-thumb an artist who doesn’t develop their sound, strangely enough, there’s something a bit deeper on this one. Pug masters an incredible confidence in his singing and writing, pulling off relatively simple sons such as “Silver Harps and Violins,” “One of Many,” and most everything else here, never droning outRead More →

Field Music – “Plumb”Memphis Industries– out today!4 / 5 We liked their previous double-album Measure, and really, we like Plumb even more. Field Music has drawn comparisons to Electric Light Orchestra, and on this latest release, they certainly show ELO’s ambitious sense of suite. As fifteen tracks (roughly 2-3 min each), you get a sense of incredible journey, of a brilliant, coherent travel through so many different shades of their innermost creativity. As a thorough (and rather gorgeous) suite, it’s difficult to pick out a single or two that describes this album, and that’s our main reason for loving this album. Yet, if you absolutelyRead More →

Shearwater – “Animal Joy”Sub Pop-out tomorrow 4 / 5 We’re glad we caught wind of Shearwater’s latest installment of powerful, emotive songwriting. As a follow-up to The Golden Archipelago, Animal Joy is a bit rockier, a bit more straightforward (check out the drums on 2-and-4 on several tracks), and makes us a bit more wistful for the sheer gorgeousness of that last one. This feel is culminated in “Immaculate,” a song that drives too directly, is raised too much to be a ‘radio-friendly’ track. That is not the Shearwater we know. “Dread Sovereign,” “Believing Makes it Easy,” and “Insolence,” those are what Shearwater is allRead More →

Brian Lynch – “Unsung Heroes” (3 Vols)Hollistic Musicworks-out now4 / 5 Brian Lynch is a master of over-achieving: on his Grammy-winning latin jazz album Simpatico (with Eddie Palmieri), we were blown away by the astounding quality – and quantity – of music provided. Jumping far beyond a measly 1.5 hrs here, the brilliant concept behind this three-volume set is worthy of recognition in and of itself; on Unsung Heroes, the Urbana, IL native compiles several relatively unknown jazz trumpeters and their compositions to cover. The amount of aural scholarship and knowledge is valuable enough, in our estimation, but Lynch also provides a tight ensemble here,Read More →