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Ethan Gold – “Songs from a Toxic Apartment”Gold Records-out Jan. 113.5 / 5 Nothing’s ever perfect, but at least with Ethan Gold’s “Songs from a Toxic Apartment,” you won’t have to put up unsanitary listening conditions. These off-kilter pop songs give you solid choruses, good beats, and strong song structure; and when the sound opens up, the album can be unabashedly satisfying, if in a strangely predictable way. Still, when you’re given a song like “Poison,” it’s hard not to appreciate funky guitars, the steady drive of the vocals, and the full sound Gold is capable of. The album presents a diverse sound within rock/pop,Read More →

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It’s a tough time out there. That’s why Brooklyn’s Soft Collapse is offering their album “Little Songs” potentially for free on Bandcamp .com. We’ll give you the link in a little bit, but considering the following: “Easy” is a somber little track with National-styled vocals; “Black on Black on Black on Black” references Johnny Cash AND Batman; and though the best things in life are free, you probably wouldn’t mind supporting whoever gave them to you. So we suggest you try out those two tracks up there, and determine what you think is a fair price for this pleasant, patient, shy-from-the-light indie release. So helpRead More →

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It’s not the trashy mustache John McCauley usually wears (not pictured). It’s not the raucousness during shows, the fact that he oversleeps for interviews, or even our shared RI connection. It’s the fact that, after all’s said and done, “The Black Dirt Sessions” is still one of the best alt-country albums we’ve ever heard. Composed of Ian O’Neil, Chris Ryan, and Dennis Ryan, their brilliant debut “War Elephant” put them on the national stage, and for all its merits, we’re arguing “Black Dirt” is even better. With a mostly acoustic setup, it’s dark, crushing, and absolutely fantastic. McCauley’s agitated voice and a piano sounds, well,Read More →

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Justin Ringle is a nice guy. As the lead singer/ songwriter for Portland, Oregon’s Horse Feathers, we are impressed not only with his general niceness, but with his delicate vocals, lush instrumentation, and sense of beauty on “Thistled Spring.” Speaking of instruments, his band, which consists of Nathan Crockett, Sam Cooper, and Catherine Odell must have a couple buses of instruments between the three of them (that’s Crockett bowing a saw in the yellow shirt). It’s their collective talent that crafts a kind of folk that’s so gorgeous, it’s an occasion in and of itself to sit down and listen to it. “Starving Robins” andRead More →