King Nun | Mass
WHO ARE THEY? A quartet of British post-punk upstarts who landed on my radar (and everyone else's) nearly a year ago with their outstanding EP I Have Love —...
Joseph Arthur | Come Back World
WHO IS HE? The veteran folk-rocker and visual artist who regularly releases magnificent solo albums, moonlights in supergroups with the likes of Dhani Harrison, Ben Harper, Peter Buck and...
QOTSA Vinyl Reissues Top Today’s Album Announcements
The best new stuff announced today? Old stuff — specifically, vinyl reissues of four classic Queens of the Stone Age albums. So if you've got a working turntable and...
Babymetal | Metal Galaxy
WHO ARE THEY? The colourfully kitschy Japanese kawaii metal duo of Su-Metal and Moametal, who remain one of the most wonderfully weird bands ever to emerge from Asia —...
Art Alexakis | Sun Songs
WHO IS HE? The singer-songwriter and — for the past 28 years — sole permanent member of post-grunge populists Everclear. The man who wrote the chart-toppers Santa Monica, Everything...
Elbow | Giants of All Sizes
WHO ARE THEY? Singer-guitarist Guy Garvey and his long-serving band of stylishly progressive alt-rock Mancunians — all of whom have been playing together nearly 30 years, but sadly remain...
Kim Gordon | No Home Record
WHO IS SHE? The former bassist and sometime vocalist of New York noise-rock pioneers Sonic Youth. The ex-wife of guitar terrorist Thurston Moore. The erstwhile member of Free Kitten,...
Freddie Mercury | Never Boring: The Solo Box
WHO IS HE? The late, great Queen frontman who's currently enjoying his latest posthumous romp in the spotlight, thanks to the acclaimed 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
WHAT IS THIS? A...
Steve Miller Band | Welcome to the Vault
WHO IS HE? Some people call him the space cowboy. Yeah. Some call him the gangster of love. Some people call him Maurice. He's also a joker, a smoker...
Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats Sessions Box Tops Today’s Album Announcements
A couple of weeks ago, I watched Dweezil Zappa and his crack band play his dad Frank’s 1969 jazz-rock classic Hot Rats in its entirety. So it only makes...
Northern Songs | Four Canadian Indie Releases Worth Your Time (And Money)
With so many international superstars dropping major-label releases at this time of year, it's easy to forget that there are also plenty of independent Canadian artists who deserve some...
Back Stories: My Unabridged 2010 Interview With Steve Miller
Since Steve Miller’s latest retrospective Welcome to the Vault arrives Friday — and since the man hisself showed up The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday to promote...
Indie Roundup | 11 New Songs to Make the Most of Your Midweek
Your Highness get born, War Twins get it right (or wrong), Aaron Smith does better and more in today's Roundup. I've been listening to Juliana Hatfield’s upcoming covers album...
A Trillion Record Store Day Titles Top Today’s Album Announcements
This year's Record Store Day Black Friday event will be held Nov. 29, and as always, there will be about a trillion cool vinyl titles coming out, including one-of-a-kind...
Back Stories | My Album Reviews From Oct. 8, 1999
Two decades ago, new albums from David Bowie, Paul McCartney, John Paul Jones and others were spinning away in my portable CD player. Here’s what I had to say...
