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Jon Young

ALBUM REVIEW: Margaret Glaspy Puts Fraught Relationships Under a Microscope on 'I Am Both'

ALBUM REVIEW: Margaret Glaspy Puts Fraught Relationships Under a Microscope on 'I Am Both'

Interpersonal friction reaches alarming levels on I Am Both, the riveting fourth album from Margaret Glaspy. Hurt feelings, poor communication, and selfish urges inspire a memorable collection of vignettes that capture common relationship ills with unfiltered honesty. If Glaspy’s unflinching portrayals can feel uncomfortably blunt, her gift for beautiful

ALBUM REVIEW: Cinder Well’s Austere ‘A Blooming Body’ Finds Fascination in the Everyday

ALBUM REVIEW: Cinder Well’s Austere ‘A Blooming Body’ Finds Fascination in the Everyday

Amelia Baker delivers her austere songs with the sober bearing of someone imparting fateful news. For a decade the California native, who records as Cinder Well, has excelled at an unadorned brand of folk that rewards full attention, performing spare tunes in a gently commanding voice. Teasing deeper meanings from

ALBUM REVIEW: ‘One Track Mind’ Explores the Early Songs of Honky-Tonk Genius Gary Stewart

ALBUM REVIEW: ‘One Track Mind’ Explores the Early Songs of Honky-Tonk Genius Gary Stewart

Gary Stewart upended the Nashville scene in the mid-‘70s with a string of fierce honky-tonk singles powered by his wild abandon. Hits like “Drinkin’ Thing,” “Your Place or Mine,” and “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles)” carry the same electric charge on the first hearing or

ALBUM REVIEW: From Sweden with Love: Jesper Lindell’s Take on Classic Southern Soul On ‘Royal’

ALBUM REVIEW: From Sweden with Love: Jesper Lindell’s Take on Classic Southern Soul On ‘Royal’

In 2024 Jesper Lindell and his band, The Brunnsvik Sounds, trekked from Sweden to the U.S. to record covers of classic American soul music. Over four action-packed days, they visited Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama and Royal Studios in Memphis. The result was a pair of exhilarating

ALBUM REVIEW: Bella White Exposes Dark Places in the Heart on ‘A Sign in the Weather’

ALBUM REVIEW: Bella White Exposes Dark Places in the Heart on ‘A Sign in the Weather’

Broken hearts and uncomfortable truths tell the story in Bella White’s unsettling A Sign in the Weather. The powerful third album from the Calgary-bred, New Orleans-based singer examines fatally-flawed relationships with brutal honesty, taking no prisoners. Rejecting sunny outcomes, her unsparing insights ensure memorable listening. Co-

ALBUM REVIEW: The Songs of Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan Get a Revealing Spin in ‘Where the Willow and the Dogwood Grow’

ALBUM REVIEW: The Songs of Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan Get a Revealing Spin in ‘Where the Willow and the Dogwood Grow’

Tom Waits, the singer, is not necessarily the best interpreter of Tom Waits, the songwriter. Over the past half-century, the gravelly warbler has created a singular body of work, much of it composed in collaboration with spouse Kathleen Brennan. But his harsh voice, a blend of Howlin’ Wolf, Captain

ALBUM REVIEW: Nashville Rebel Tenille Townes Reboots Her Music on ‘The Acrobat’

ALBUM REVIEW: Nashville Rebel Tenille Townes Reboots Her Music on ‘The Acrobat’

What is real love? What’s the difference between “good” love and “bad” love? Pondering these and other knotty questions, the Canada-bred, Nashville-based Tenille Townes makes her escape from the major-label scene on The Acrobat, a terrific act of creative transformation. This remarkable album strips her music