Monthly Archives: November 2009

This is the second solo album by the former Screaming Trees drummer turned singer/songwriter/front man, who went on to record with Neko Case, Jim Carroll, and Nirvana. There’s a cinematic vibe to the collection of originals, with Pickerel’s seductive singing sitting amid mostly stark production (courtesy Steve Fisk, who previously helmed Nirvana, Screaming Trees, and [...]

Finnish guitarist/vocalist Jussi “Jo’ Buddy” Raulamo has garnered praise from such kindred blues spirits as Junior Watson, Kim Wilson, Doug McLeod, and Rick Holmstrom, and it’s easy to see why. His blues is so raw, heartfelt, and lowdown, the effect is hypnotic. Though he is also known for his group outings with Groovy Eyes, Tiny [...]

Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi Klein have been playing together for more than 10 years. They first met when T. Michael Coleman, Mike Auldridge, and Klein asked Gaudreau to join them in Chesapeake. When the group disbanded in the late ’90s, Gaudreau and Klein got together occasionally to play concerts in D.C., where they both live. [...]

Few folksingers, even those from the original folk revival, have been able to combine social consciousness with musicality as well as Eliza Gilkyson. She merges strong songwriting talent with commanding vocals to create music that has immediate appeal as well as lasting intellectual impact. Beautiful World is Gilkyson’s first studio release since 2005′s Paradise Hotel. [...]

Like Blue Ribbon and Texas Red, some music is best enjoyed in the neon blue of a honky-tonk. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always travel well beyond the barroom. That’s not the case for Wink Keziah & Delux Motel on Working Songs for the Drinking Class. A self-described “urban hillbilly” from what he calls Charlotte, North Carolina’s [...]

For years, friends and fans have begged Gonzalo Bergara to record. Finally, he has a debut CD – and it’s been worth the wait. Bergara hails from Argentina but is based in California. Both locales infuse his music; a nostalgic melancholy weaves through, a lasting impression of Buenos Aires and a rainy-day tango in the [...]

Being a top-echelon professional bluegrass musician is similar to being a member in an exclusive underground club. The members all know each other from their not-so-secret handshake, which is the ability to play bluegrass right. All the personnel on this disc are clearly in this select company. As the world continues to shrink, the concept [...]

Backer is New Orleans native who lives in London and has sung and played guitar with the likes of Elton John, Sinead O’Connor, and Alice Cooper. His new solo record assembles an amazing array of influences and proves him to be an agile guitarist and a songwriter of note. His cleverness is obvious from the [...]

Bertoncini hits the jackpot; the nylon-string guitar whiz is joined by a string quartet for a set of music that is both challenging and exquisite to hear. Familiar tunes like “East of the Sun” and “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” feature fine technical elements where Bertoncini and the strings trade off through [...]

The Brakes are a Philadelphia rock/pop band that recorded live dates in both New York and Philly. From those shows, they got the 12 cuts here. The positive side of all this is that it works; the music shifts between Beatlesque pop and rock to spacey excursions that mix country, soul, rock, and pop in [...]