I want to love this album. Gately is a talented artist and producer. The songs honor her mother’s death. The album was released on one of my favorite labels. I have a soft spot for anyone named Katie. I want to love this album, but I don’t. This is Gately’s mourning album. We all mourn differently. Some of us fall… Read more »
The thing about sadness is that it is not all the same, but too often artistic representations of sadness treat it is as a one-size-fits-all emotion. Sometimes, sadness can even be coupled with optimism. Not to beat the Covid theme to death, but with some hope on the horizon, mixing optimism into our sadness seems apropos right now and, at… Read more »
Released: February 26, 2021 One issue with a lot of religious music is that the message is more important than the music rather than the music being part and parcel of the message itself. There is a saying that when you sing, you pray twice. If that’s true, when instrumental music is part of that offering, maybe you pray four… Read more »
I was 12 years old and I was enamored with “Juke Box Hero.” Not just the song, but the story. That one guitar that blew him away and felt good in his hands and was a one-way ticket to the top. My mom drove me through the Southwestern snow to the local Sears. We stood among the tents and the… Read more »
Every so often, I revisit a band or album that I hate that most everyone else seems to love. I’m not looking for something that simply sold well, but something that people who seem to care about music consider great. I’m looking for something I’ve missed. Steely Dan is perhaps the most common band to get this treatment and, in… Read more »
Valerie June’s voice drew me into this album. I’ve never heard a voice like hers. It’s a little Dolly and a little Erykah and nothing like either. Her voice is wracked with vulnerability yet has the chops to run with any classic girl group. Her songs and lyrics made me stay. The songs are beautifully crafted and move us through… Read more »
This record reminds me why I love music. It reminds me that music can transform our minds and our souls and the way we see the world. Each of its eight songs is an improvised duet between Carter’s violin and Sorey on either piano or drums. Each song is like a conversation between two people who are connecting for the… Read more »
The first 180 seconds of A Call to Arms is an intense journey. You are wrapped in a blanket of noise. Perhaps it’s an echo of long-abandoned factories, perhaps traffic roars amongst construction beneath your window, perhaps a raging river is tearing away your bedroom walls. Westminster Quarters begins to chime and the sound devolves into a fever dream of… Read more »
I am a deeply religious person. I also love music. I find things in both that are moving, often in ways that I cannot explain and I love that about both. However, it is often difficult to find intersections of the two. Most modern “church” music is dull and plodding and can feel more like penance than the full spectrum… Read more »
Zambian rock music of the 1970’s, or Zamrock, has generated some interest among music nerds of the West in recent years. Re-issues of Amanaz, WITCH and Chrissy “Zebby” Tembo among others along with two excellent Welcome to Zamrock! compilations makes it pretty easy to hear what we missed over four decades ago. During Zambia’s post-independence copper boom, the rock scene… Read more »