Album Reviews
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One of the early 1990s more interesting groups was Bristol-based trio Earwig. Consisting of vocalist Kirsty Yates and guitarists Julian Tardo and Dmitri Voulis, their music was a nascent trip-hop/ambient mix, and predates Portishead and Massive Attack by a few years. Their first releases were 12″ EPs. Debut EP Hardly was released in 1990 and… Read more
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Venom P. Stinger was an Australian punk rock band that existed from 1986 to 1991. Drag City’s seen fit to reissue the band’s entire back catalog. It’s a labor of love, especially considering the relative obscurity of the group. As Australian punk rock goes, Venom P. Stinger fit in quite nicely with contemporary bands such… Read more
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In 1996, veteran guitarist Steve Hackett fulfilled a long-standing desire to perform in Japan, so he put together a five-piece band of friends from his past, with a two-fold purpose. Not only would he be performing with mates, but the band would take excursions into their individual pasts, including visits to his work with Genesis… Read more
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One of the best bands you’ve probably never heard is Spaceheads, which is the duo of Andy Diagram and Richard Harrison. Since the 1980s, they’ve released compelling, fascinating music that defies classification or definition. Though they’ve been inactive over the past few years, with the advent of Bandcamp, the duo has a platform to release… Read more
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Yesterday I spent time listening to Double Trouble, a collaborative album between Johnny Paycheck and George Jones. If one is being generous, they might say the album is merely okay, when the truth is a little bit harder to swallow: the album just isn’t very good. It doesn’t help the album’s case that the version… Read more
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This classic jazz album was recorded in Montreux Jazz Festival in 1969, and is a fine record documenting a collaboration between pianist and vocalist Les McCann and trumpet player Eddie Harris. It is a fine sample of late 60s jazz–a little edgy, but not so edgy that the masses couldn’t find its grooves enjoyable.That it… Read more
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Today sees the release of one of country music’s Holy Grails–the only known solo album by Don Rich. Who was he, you might ask? Rich was the creative partner of Buck Owens‘ backing band, The Buckaroos, from 1960 to the time of his fatal motorcycle accident in 1974. Dead at the young age of 32,… Read more
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Ned’s Atomic Dustbin came of age in a time of musical transition. The baggy scene was winding down, the alternative-rock boom was getting ready to take place, but this British five-piece–with two bass players as their gimmick–would make a brief splash. Bright artwork and funky rhythms beget some of the best t-shirt designs of the… Read more
The Recoup 