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Last Tuesday, we headed over to the Paradise Rock Club in Boston to catch introspective Brit Laura Marling, with Valley Queen as her opener. Valley Queen, based in L.A., was something of a shocker: vocals that remind us of Lady Lamb and arrangements that feel vaguely like art-rock, a good complement to Marling. Here are two of the quartet:   We aren’t going to say they are a perfect band – Wogensen hit some “juicy notes” on bass (that is to say, we prefer our notes a bit more dry, *ahem*) and Carol doesn’t have the power female voice that always seems to take usRead More →

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Relaxing in the garden. Laura Marling takes a break from her tour to smell the… ivy. (C) Hollie Fernando. The Academy of Music Theatre, Northampton, MA. Sun. 5-14-17, Doors 7p, Show 7:30p. $25.Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA. Tues. 5-16-17, Doors 7p, Show 8p. $25. As soon as we listened to Semper Femina, we knew we had to see this British folk songstress. Recording music as a nineteen-year-old, Laura Marling’s career includes impressing Ryan Adams enough that he threw away an album and re-recorded Ashes & Fire, all at an age most girls stumble around drunk because it’s legal. At the age of 27 today, Marling has releasedRead More →

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In: _CD Reviews 2017, _Four or More 2017, Album Reviews
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Goodbye June – Magic Valley  Interscope Records – out now 4 / 5 Time for a bit of rock and roll. That must be the impetus behind this Nashville trio’s debut LP. Goodbye June, we must say, sounds like they’re already on their third or fourth album – Magic Valley is a polished piece of record right here. They’ve got cookers (“Good Side,” “Bamboozler”), quiet ones (“Darling”), and just generally a good chex-mix of rock singles. Musically, think of aggravated vocals taking a hint from Angus-Young, simplified, clear guitar hooks (perhaps also a la AC/DC), and singable choruses. All in all, a good time with GoodbyeRead More →

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Matthew Logan Vasquez – Does What He Wants  Dine Alone Music – out April 21 3 / 5 Delta Spirit frontman Matthew Logan Vasquez comes upon his second solo LP, the perhaps aptly named Does What He Wants. Up front, we’ll tell you: it’s not bad, and it’s more of the same a la 2016’s Solicitor Returns. That is to say, this is a Vasquez comfortable in his own skin, not the wild yells of a Vasquez of early Delta Spirit fame. But we miss those wild yells, those impassioned pleas stretching, reaching for an imagined musical perfection. But such is life: we grow old, weRead More →