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Jim Shahen

ALBUM REVIEW: Drayton Farley Wrestles with Big Feelings, Offers Even Bigger Sound on ‘A Heavy Duty Heart’

ALBUM REVIEW: Drayton Farley Wrestles with Big Feelings, Offers Even Bigger Sound on ‘A Heavy Duty Heart’

Drayton Farley is an artist on the rise. The Alabaman singer-songwriter has found recent success with his music, with multiple songs featured in the hit Paramount+ series Landman, and another on the CBS show Sheriff Country. These high profile spots served to introduce Farley to a larger audience and position

ALBUM REVIEW: Chemistry, Storytelling Propel Sons of Town Hall’s ‘Of Ghosts and Gods’

ALBUM REVIEW: Chemistry, Storytelling Propel Sons of Town Hall’s ‘Of Ghosts and Gods’

Conceptual pieces and performance can easily go awry. It takes quality songwriting and a real performative commitment to not only tell a story, but to imbue it with intellectual and emotional resonance. On its new album Of Ghosts and Gods, transatlantic folk duo David Berkeley and Ben Parker, aka Sons

ALBUM REVIEW: Tim Easton Prioritizes Art, Songcraft on Sturdy Indie Release fIREHORSE

ALBUM REVIEW: Tim Easton Prioritizes Art, Songcraft on Sturdy Indie Release fIREHORSE

Prolific singer-songwriter Tim Easton is back at it with his 14th LP, fIREHORSE. Consisting of 10 tracks and featuring accompaniment from country star Lainey Wilson’s rhythm section, the album is a paean to songcraft and a testament to Easton’s prodigious gifts as a composer and performer. Tales of

ALBUM REVIEW: Bobby Rush and Kenny Wayne Shepherd Cross Generational Gap on the Lively ‘Young Fashioned Ways’

ALBUM REVIEW: Bobby Rush and Kenny Wayne Shepherd Cross Generational Gap on the Lively ‘Young Fashioned Ways’

Bobby Rush has been singing the blues and reigning as King of the Chitlin’ Circuit longer than most of us have been alive. The nonagenarian remains a potent artist, maintaining a touring schedule and recording output more befitting someone half his age. That industriousness and vitality makes his latest album

ALBUM REVIEW: Kronos Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian collaborate on heartbreaking, haunting portrait of surviving conflict

ALBUM REVIEW: Kronos Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian collaborate on heartbreaking, haunting portrait of surviving conflict

It's easy to become desensitized to the consequences of conflict, or even outright ignore them. But in doing so, we —“we” being society-at-large —lose focus of something important: our shared humanity. That reminder is at the core of Witness, the brilliant new LP from the legendary Kronos Quartet

ALBUM REVIEW: The Mexican Standoff Pay Tribute to Mexamerica Sound on 'Hola Texas!'

ALBUM REVIEW: The Mexican Standoff Pay Tribute to Mexamerica Sound on 'Hola Texas!'

It should go without saying that America, at its finest, is an example of the wonders and importance of multiculturalism. Of course, there are many who seek to deny or downplay the beauty in people of various social and ethnic backgrounds coming together. Fortunately, the debut LP by the all-female

ALBUM REVIEW: The Devil Makes Three Perseveres Through Hard Times on 'Spirits'

ALBUM REVIEW: The Devil Makes Three Perseveres Through Hard Times on 'Spirits'

Whether it’s the state of the world or personal travails, a lot of people are going through it right now. Finding your way through these challenges isn’t easy; it takes resilience, clarity and a sense of purpose. These are the themes at the core of Spirits, the new