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Allo Darlin grow up a little and lose some of their charm on Europe

Well, I was afraid this might happen. Everyone has to grow up sometime. It’s true, I just didn’t want it to be so soon. But Allo Darlin’, a band whose name is embarrassingly indicative of its sweet…

J.T. Daly's solo debut strikes with the same emotional resonance as his band Paper Route

Once you hear it, you know it. There’s no mistaking a Paper Route song once it comes on — each track inhabiting the same ethos as the one that came before it. From the Nashville band’s early…

Michael Kiwanuka's latest EP is warm, smooth and slightly mysterious

Michael Kiwanuka‘s ethos is easy to identify: soul singers of yesteryear along with minimalistic, acoustic instrumentation and gospel-like lyrics. A former session guitarist for British hip-hop acts, Kiwanuka’s buzz of late — both stateside and in his native England…

Trampled By Turtles delivers another solid bluegrass release

In Stars and Satellites, Trampled by Turtles’ sixth studio release, we find a heavily relaxed album. It’s not without a couple of quicker tunes (“Walt Whitman,” “Risk”), but the album is dominated by heavy-handed and heavier-hearted ballads.…

Put the Needle On the Record is the ultimate coffee table book for collectors

Take note record collectors: this is the standard for all other record books to meet. Matthew Chojnacki’s beautiful and brilliant excavation of the 45s from the 1980s is both sickeningly thorough and visually stunning.  Not only has…

Age Sex Occupation funks up their first album in glorious ways

I love some good funk. Not the smell; the music. The British soul singer revival has been something I’ve enjoyed quite a bit, though the majority of it seems too often a bit overproduced. It was too…

Orbital looks back and moves forward

“Wonky” is a description of something askew or slightly off — precisely what the brothers Hartnoll give us in their first album since 2004′s The Blue Album and a (apparently) prematurely reported break up (they are family…

Amy Ray's Lung of Love is a vintage slice of contemporary existence

Amy Ray, of Indigo Girls notoriety, has a voice and an album that’s not easily categorized: It’s rough, gritty, and, for lack of a better word, Appalachian. It’s also soothing, surprising and honest. Lung of Love does…

Wave Pictures take the listeners on a jolly ride in Long Black Cars

Charming is not a word I use in album reviews. It’s best reserved for cotillions and books about castles. But in listening to Long Black Cars, the latest effort from English trio The Wave Pictures, charming kept…

Ceremony dish out a redundant garage punk revival

Last year I gave big time praise to the hardcore renaissance that was OFF’s First Four EPs collection. Everything old was new again. Keith Morris and his cohorts managed to revive a sound that had lain dormant…