Portland’s highly prolific multi-instrumentalist Emil Amos (also in Om, Lilacs & Champagne and Grail) has released multiple albums as Holy Sons ranging as far back as the early 90’s. And while I previously only dropped in on him on occasion, I’ve come to understand that it’s almost impossible to pigeonhole his songwriting. Previously, his albums as Holy Sons sounded homespun and lo-fi; as a grainy version of bluesy folk that kept him well under the radar. However, ... read more

For those of you unfamiliar with Hiss Golden Messenger (a.k.a the largely solo project of MC Taylor, together with longtime collaborator Scott Hirsch), Lateness of Dancers is, as far as I know, his fifth full-length; all almost equally brilliant, although very different inside of a broader definition of tradition American singer-songwriting and folk-rock in general. Bob Dylan is an obvious reference, mostly due to Taylor’s often nasal, dragging vocals. Allman Brothers are another. But ... read more

I’ve always had a soft-spot for Ryan Adams, but to be honest, he hasn’t really released anything of dignity since Jacksonville City Nights. His later-day albums Ashes & Fire, Easy Tiger even Cardinology served their purpose by being my guilty pleasures; background music I’ve put on when cooking a stew on Sunday afternoons, or when trying to introduce “country” to people with no extensive knowledge of music beyond commercial FM waves. What I’m trying to ... read more

To give you a quick background; She Keeps Bees is a Brooklyn duo often referred to as a “reversed White Stripes”, mostly because they’re a boy/girl duo where Jess Larrabee sings/plays guitar and her boyfriend Andy LaPlant plays the drum. To some extent, their obvious blues-rock references – with raw and animated guitar riffs melted with lurching drums – validates the White Stripes-analogy. But that is merely one of many sides to their story; Larrabee’s voice ... read more