Posts by Shawn Donohue

The long-running, Seattle, Washington-based drone metal act Sunn O)))))) returns with their first new music in seven years, as their tenth album is a self-titled offering and their first for new label Sub Pop.  The duo of Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson has been performing for over thirty years, pushing avant-garde metal and noise rock […]

Third Man Records is re-issuing Connie Converse’s only known collection of songs on vinyl, cassette and CD so that a new generation can learn her story and sounds. How Sad, How Lovely is an atmospheric collection of folk songs that contain a lingering sense of what could have been.   Her backstory is fascinating as she […]

The newest release on Alligator Records from the Tampa-based artist Selwyn Birchwood is a confident blast of modern blues. Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues is rich with ripping riffs, emotionally honest lyricism and strong vocals as Birchwood has delivered a studio record on par with his top-notch live shows, GRAMMY voters take note.  One key to […]

In 2024, The Black Crowes returned with their first album of new material in fifteen years, Happiness Bastards. The brothers Robinson ended their feud, and critics loved it. GRAMMY nods followed. Glide was the dissenting opinion, but however you feel about that release, A Pound Of Feathers finds Chris and Rich incredibly energized, successfully capitalizing on their recent […]

Kim Gordon’s solo career (which didn’t start until she was 66) has been extremely fruitful as 2019’s No Home Record began her collaboration with producer/multi-instrumentalist Justin Raisen, and 2024’s The Collective is one of the best albums of this fractured decade. The pair’s third effort is PLAY ME. While not as exciting as those offerings, it still […]

The newest offering from the Fremantle, Australia-based GUM is a swirling collection of psych-pop as Jay Watson (Pond, Tame Impala) lets layers of synths and effect-laden guitars wash over the listener throughout Blue Gum Way.   Watson’s last offering as GUM found him partnering with Amborse-Smith Kenny (King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Murlocs) for the more swaggering, […]

The Ann Arbor, MI-based Laughing Hyenas were heavy rockers who toured with/inspired acts like Fugazi, Mudhoney, and Nirvana, yet never received the attention those bands did. A few years ago, Third Man Records re-released their discography on vinyl, and now they add to that collection with the group’s first-ever live album, That Girl – Live Recordings 1986-1994. Presented chronologically, the collection […]

The newest release from Buffalo, NY instrumental jamband, Organ Fairchild, continues their tripped-out grooves mixed with smooth flowing vibes that lovers of their live shows have come to cherish.BOOM! is a sweet collection that takes the listener on a journey with the band, knowing that the tracks will shift and morph when the group enters […]

Before a blizzard shut down NYC, Jason Isbell pulled into town to play two sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall. Friday night was a solo acoustic affair, while Saturday, February 21st, found him delivering a louder set of tunes with his full backing band, the 400 Unit.  The Saturday night show was opened by […]

Just in time for Mardi Gras, the newest release from the Tipitina’s Record Club is The Wild Magnolias Featuring The New Orleans Project Outtakes + Live 1973-1974. The Orange vinyl and (purple 45 single for club members) conveys the bright music contained within.  The Wild Magnolias monumental first two albums, their self-titled release in 1974 […]

On their previous album, 2022’s Solidaritine, Gogol Bordello shifted more towards a hardcore punk sound, driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 2026 doesn’t offer much in the way of hope on that front, but the band has moved back to their wide-open, global music influences, delivering tunes that mash up multiple genres and layers […]

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Lou Reed became interested in Americana and recorded with Gram Parsons? Well, if that unlikely combination seems intriguing, then The Nude Party’s Look Who’s Back is for you.  Of course, that oversimplifies the group’s sound, but those two touchpoints are the chocolate-and-peanut combo that makes this […]

The seventh album from the Torrance, California-based outfit Joyce Manor continues their run of super short, catchy, chant-along anthems, with some added twists and turns in the brief proceedings. I Used To Go To This Bar clocks in under twenty minutes with nine tunes that sound primed and ready to explode at each junction.  Released on Epitaph, […]

The Nottingham, UK-based Sleaford Mods’ newest offering, Demise of Planet X on Rough Trade, is a screed against modern society delivered with a thick East Midlands accent, slang, and a fed-up point of view, set to electro post-punk bump-and-grind.   The duo of Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn have been at this for a long time, and the group’s thirteenth […]

King’s Day on January 6th marks the start of Carnival season, a special time in New Orleans featuring parades, revelry, and more. On January 8th, the Take Me To The River All-Stars traveled north to spread some Mardi Gras infused love in New York City at the gorgeous City Winery.   The sold-out show featured a […]

The south London-based post-punk outfit Dry Cleaning starts 2026 with a confident offering as their third studio full-length, Secret Love, successfully expands and polishes their sound.  The quartet of Florence Shaw, Lewis Maynard, Tom Dowse, and Nick Buxton stopped and started the project a few times, recording demos and jams everywhere from Chicago with Wilco […]

The newest archival release from the estate of Dr. John is a double disc of live New Orleans R&B. Directly titled Live at the Village Gate, it is a previously unissued performance of the good doctor fronting an eight-piece band that played the historic NYC venue on March 5, 1988.   The 80s were not a […]

Their first release in over 14 years, Forever, I’ve Been Being Born, finds Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter dealing with life, death, change, and renewal as the Seattle-based outfit’s fragile cosmic folk music drifts into the ether.  The band’s core, vocalist Sykes and guitarist Phil Wandscher, needed time to regroup and find inspiration after losing […]

Throughout his idiosyncratic career, it has been impossible to figure out where Mike Patton will turn next, but even his most diehard fans would have been hard-pressed to believe the announcement of a new group with folk chart-toppers The Avett Brothers was true, yet that is exactly what happened. The newly christened AVTT/PTTN worked together on a self-titled album […]

To celebrate his 2024 sold-out Luck and Strange tour, David Gilmour is releasing his third solo live album, titled The Luck and Strange Concerts. Gilmour was feeling reinvigorated this tour as he played the new album in its entirety, along with a host of his Pink Floyd classics.  The live album offers up 23 songs captured from various […]