Joshua Sinclair “Love Hate” Independent The tagline on Joshua Sinclair’s promotional material reads, “Writing breakup songs since 1998.” It is a statement to be believed, because if you close your eyes and listen to “Love Hate” in a void, that is probably the year you would guess it was from.
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Posted April 13, 2016in Sound Check
Reverend Horton Heat is been best known — and rightfully so — for the guitar work of frontman Jim, “Reverend Horton” Heath. From the time the band was first unleashed upon the world with 1990s “Smoke ‘Em if You Got ‘Em” and its iconic single, “Psychobilly Freakout,” there was
Read More →“Gore” Reprise The following statement might seem like a strong one to those who have, at some point, considered themselves to be a Deftones fan: “Gore” is the best album the band has ever made. Chino Moreno might very well be the best voice in metal music today,
Read More →Weezer “Weezer” (The White Album) Crush Music There was a point when Weezer set the bar too high for itself with the back-to-back thunderbolts of “Pinkerton” and the self-titled release that has colloquially become known as The Blue Album. Since then, the band has released an unbroken string of albums
Read More →“10-8” Independent In an effort to help promote a sense of community understanding, the Des Moines Police Department (DMPD) has put together a CD of local music. The title, “10-8” is a reference to controversial Des Moines Municipal Ordinance 10-8, which states that people younger than 21 may not
Read More →Iggy Pop “Post Pop Depression” Loma Vista/Concorde Iggy Pop says this is his last album. Historically a man of his word — more or less — there is little reason to doubt him. As a swan song, “Post Pop Depression” does not hit all the buttons that some fans may
Read More →Jeff Buckley “You and I” Sony Posthumous albums are usually a crapshoot. And the more albums come out after an artist’s death, the more likely it is that the quality will be low. If someone passes away far too early — like Jeff Buckley did — then there is probably
Read More →Loretta Lynn “Full Circle” Legacy For her first new album in almost a decade, Loretta Lynn attacked the project with a level of expertise and confidence that few in the music game can match. By her own reckoning, the 83-year-old Lynn says she recorded 100 songs for the album, with
Read More →Bonnie Raitt “Dig in Deep” Redwing Records Bonnie Raitt stands as one of the greatest counter-arguments to those who say that great musicians have to write their own music. For much of her career, Raitt’s strength has not been in penning her own songs, but in taking someone else’s work
Read More →Last in Line “Heavy Crown” Frontiers Records There are, ultimately, two criteria that factor into what makes an album “good” from a commercial standpoint. The first is “is the music any good?” In that regard, “Heavy Crown,” the first album of new material from 3/5 of Dio’s original lineup, passes.
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