J.S. Ondara | Tales of America
The American Dream doesn't get much better than this. Six years ago, 20-year-old Nairobi native J.S. Ondara won a Green Card lottery and moved to Minnesota — where he...
Tedeschi Trucks Band | Signs
"I don’t always love music that tries to be this brand-new discovery every time," Derek Trucks told me in 2016. "A lot of my favourite music is from bands...
Broken Social Scene | Let’s Try the After Vol. 1
Don't get too excited, Broken Social Scene fans. Let's Try the After Vol. 1 is not the Toronto collective's followup album to 2017's Hug of Thunder. It's just a...
Back Stories | My Review of XTC’s 1999 Masterpiece Apple Venus Vol. 1
Two decades ago this week, XTC’s eagerly awaited comeback album Apple Venus Vol. 1 was released. Here's a slightly edited what I had to say about it back then....
Charlie Faye & The Fayettes | The Whole Shebang
Even nostalgia needs an update every now and then. And who better to bring classic girl-group pop into the modern world than Charlie Faye and The Fayettes? They've already...
Colin Linden & Luther Dickinson With the Tennessee Valentines | Amour
Amour isn't a bad title. But Mutual Admiration Society might be a better one. Or at least a more accurate depiction of this genteel joint effort spearheaded by Blackie...
The Lemonheads | Varshons 2
It's a shame about Evan Dando. Back in the ’90s, the Lemonheads frontman was one of the more interesting and individual singer-songwriters on the scene (as anyone who's heard...
Linda Ronstadt | Live in Hollywood
It's so easy to overlook Linda Ronstadt. And sadly, it always has been. Back in the ’70s and ’80s, the supremely talented vocalist topped charts, sold out arenas and...
Mavis Staples | Live in London
Mavis Staples looks like a boxer on the cover of Live in London: Head down, chin tucked, fists balled in front of her face like she's about to pop...
Various Artists | Music Inspired By The Film Roma
Full disclosure: I have not seen Roma, director Alfonso Cuarón’s semi-autobiographical, Oscar-nominated Netflix drama about a Mexican family in the early 1970s (though I did interview him 20 years...
LCD Soundsystem | Electric Lady Sessions
LCD Soundsystem have always been full of surprises. In 2011, the Brooklyn dance-punk kings suddenly pulled the plug at the height of their powers and popularity. Then, four years...
Mercury Rev | Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited
Strange but true: After becoming an overnight sensation with the enigmatic southern-gothic single Ode to Billie Joe, singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry’s sophomore album The Delta Sweete was a bizarre concept...
Bob Mould | Sunshine Rock
Another new day is rising for Bob Mould. And it's a brighter one than he's seen in some time. After going dark (again) with 2016's Patch The Sky —...
Back Stories | My Album Reviews From Feb. 5, 1999
Twenty years ago today, new albums from Coldcut, Cassius and others were spinning away in my portable CD player. Here’s what I had to say about them back then...
Van Duren | Waiting: The Van Duren Story Original Documentary Soundtrack
He was in a band with two former members of Big Star. He was produced and managed by Andrew Loog Oldham. He made an album that had people calling...
