Thomas Brenneck, guitarist for Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and Amy Winehouse, busts out some sweet lo-fi soul on his debut as the all-instrumental Menahan Street Band. Intricately arranged, with...
Earlier last year I had the pleasure of mixing a CD for the Portland Cello Project. The album featured many guest artists, and one of my favorites was Musée Mécanique's version of their...
During the course of the late '70s and early '80s, Eno and Byrne worked together on some groundbreaking Talking Heads albums. Under their own names the two also created one of my favorite records...
At under 35 minutes, Wire's usual economy shines as they deliver tight little packages of streamlined post punk on what appears to be their 11th album (depends how you count them). Now stripped down...
I meant to review this CD last issue along with some of the other reader submitted CDs I reviewed. It's probably a good thing that I missed it however as Shotgun Singer is in a class of it's own....
LAKE is the grand doorway to a whole kaleidoscope of minimalist downtempo music. Start with Oh, The Places We'll Go and fan outwards for more member-related projects than you can shake a mossy stick...
My friend Marsha Vdovin from Universal Audio turned me on to this album and I really liked it on first listen. Then I read the credits and learned that most of it was produced by Mike Mogis [Tape Op #...
Released in 1970, this is one of those "lost classics" type albums that vinyl collectors freak over and I wait for reissues of. Rodriguez was/is a tough-ass, who comes off like an angry,...
Recorded live off the floor in two days (with minimal overdubs) at Fantasy Studios [Berkeley], this is Victor's "musical wake" for the passing of his father and stepfather. Imagine gathering your...
How does a band continue to grow, yet not change so much that their audience becomes disgruntled? Calexico's previous album, 2006's Garden Ruin, took a slightly different path from their...
Mr. Weaver is a solid songwriter who gives me a mental image of Leonard Cohen backed by Wilco. Cool stuff, produced and mixed by Brian Deck (Tape Op #36) at Engine in Chicago. Mastered by Alan...
I can't review this album objectively because I've been friends with Michael Jarmer and René Ormae-Jarmer - Here Comes Everybody - for about 10 years. I participate in the same songwriting...
