Let me photograph you in this light In case it is the last time That we might be exactly like we were Before we realized We were sad of getting old It made us restless I’m so mad I’m getting old It makes me reckless Adele calls 25 her make-up album, but there is no … Read more
Should I tear my eyes out now? Everything I see returns to you somehow Should I tear my heart out now? Everything I feel returns to you somehow Growing up, I wanted things. I wanted a basketball and a hoop in my own driveway. I wanted a stereo system with power. I wanted CDs, I … Read more
Sophomore albums are almost always dangerous territory. Because, you know, can it ever be the same? Should it? This is especially true for bands like The Lone Bellow, who exploded in 2013 with an undeniably great and emotional song, “You Never Need Nobody.” Basically, they were producing harmonies better than anyone else. Their introduction left … Read more
St. Louis’ The Bottle Rockets are back with South Broadway Athletic Club, and not a whole lot has changed — just have a look at the song titles: “Big Lotsa Love,” “Big Fat Nuthin,” “Dog.” I bring this up not as a piece of criticism — the down-to-earth formula works for a reason — take … Read more
Among the living Among the living again I didn’t think I’d make it In 2011, I stood in the back of the pit at Bonnaroo, excited to experience My Morning Jacket for the first time. It was more than I ever could have imagined. The details of the set meant everything to me — the … Read more
Yea if we’re gonna grow up we’ll do it in our own way But if we’re gonna die young we’ll try to live with our mistakes Ah, growing older and living with our mistakes. They say life is full of second chances, but sometimes you only get one shot. One shot with poor timing — … Read more
Patty Griffin is back with Servant of Love, an album that touches on many genres — jazz, folk, rock, blues — but what it does best is evoke feeling, one of hypnotic bliss. She accomplishes this mostly with her words and voice, as she always has, but there are other subtle touches that shoot through … Read more
Meg Myers says she’s sorry — she even screams it during the title track — but there really is no need to apologize. Myers is one of the most talented and passionate artists on the rise today, and her debut full-length, Sorry, doesn’t disappoint. It opens with one of its best songs, “Motel,” which incorporates … Read more
Tossing, turning, struggled through the night with someone new And I could go on and on, on and on Lantern burning, flickering in my mind for only you But you are still gone, gone I was a hater. Not of Ryan Adams, but of Taylor Swift — and I was the worst kind: I hated … Read more
I’ve heard love songs make a Georgia man cry On the shoulder of somebody’s Saturday night Read the good book, studied it, too But nothing prepared me for living with you “Did we leave our love behind?” Jason Isbell asks on “Flying Over Water,” one of Southeastern’s electric and finest moments. This is mostly a … Read more
Written by Jason Gonulsen “It’s a bad day to do nothing,” Neil Young sings on The Monsanto Years’ opening track and best song, “A New Day For Love.” The rock ‘n’ roll icon’s band could be mistaken here for Crazy Horse, but it’s Promise of the Real, which consists of Lukas and Micah Nelson (sons … Read more
Somehow I’m still out here burning my days Your voice makes the miles melt away I’ll be guarding your place in the lights, on the stage, in my heart I guess we’re all still finding our part I hate to admit it, but I once didn’t think too much of Jason Isbell. He would come … Read more
If you wanna live the good life Well you better stay away from the limelight Houndmouth is back with their sophomore effort, Little Neon Limelight. Here are Jason Gonulsen’s thoughts, track-by-track style. “Sedona” First thing I think of when I hear the word “Sedona” is a bunch of those people who make way more money … Read more
“Let them roll over me when I doubt you,” Brandi Carlile sings on “The Things I Regret,” one of the standout tracks on her latest release, The Firewatcher’s Daughter. The album follows a familiar formula that will please most fans: smart, strong songwriting (“The Eye”) and gorgeous vocals (“I Belong To You”). But if you’ve … Read more
Broken mirror and my hand starts to bleed Wish I could explain but it hurts to breathe Didn’t fit in my chest so I wore it on my sleeve We disappear, we fade away I’m divorced. And while I haven’t given up on love, I’ve taken a break, if that’s at all possible. At least … Read more
I have no business writing this album review, and I suppose I wouldn’t be if I didn’t love every song on it. Electro-synth-pop is not my forte. It’s not even near the same universe of artists I usually listen to. Which begs the question: why did I listen to it? I did because Tegan and … Read more
Photo by Curtis Wave Millard I am not early, when it comes to music. This is weird, both because I am perpetually early when it comes to arriving places, and also I write about music and photograph musicians, and aren’t music bloggers always on the cutting edge? Most of them are. I am not. I … Read more
Easy come, easy go Easy left me a long time ago “You gotta know you’ll never let her go,” Eddie Vedder sings. “She’s a lightning bolt.” Of course, that’s on the title track, a song that reaffirms Vedder’s never-ending youth as a vocalist — the man just doesn’t slow down. We’re hit soundly from the … Read more
I can’t demand shit I got nothing but mounting debt and fear It becomes apparent early on during “Further Away (Romance Police),” the second track on Back To Forever: someone broke Lissie’s heart, and it wasn’t pretty. The singer-songwriter from Rock Island, Illinois has released her sophomore album and a quick listen would indeed point to a … Read more
Grudges, I believe, are almost always based out of fear. Perhaps fear of truth, perhaps fear of there being no hope on the horizon. So, we hold on to what we can, creating our own myopic reality inside a world that terrifies us and holds us responsible to always respond. Get busy living, or get … Read more
The perfect place may never exist may never exist Hard to believe, but it’s been eight years since Frightened Rabbit released The Midnight Organ Fight, an album I religiously blasted for a good four or five months. I still know every word to songs like “The Modern Leper,” “Poke,” “Good Arms vs Bad Arms,” “Keep … Read more