Jon Young

A cross between a hysterical lunatic and a road-weary sage, Jim White really lets loose on the electrifying Misfit’s Jubilee, the latest installment in his ongoing quest to make sense of reality in all its dazzling weirdness. “This circle of life / Well, it’s a fucking joke! / Exacted on

An album of cover songs can serve all sorts of purposes. For a veteran, it might be a chance to take stock of your roots and salute those who provided inspiration way back when (or merely a way to tread water until there’s enough original material for another long

Difficult realities and long-cherished values collide with a bang on Canadian Corb Lund’s first album of original material in five years. Eloquent and plainspoken, the excellent Agricultural Tragic finds the affable country rocker exploring his roots as a rancher and rodeo rider while striving to adapt this traditional identity

Love is a Pandora’s box of trouble on the unsettling fifth album from Canada’s Basia Bulat. Not just a source of heartbreak, it can be an illusion that keeps you from seeing clearly, and perhaps a cruel trick played by chemistry. “Are you in love when you’re

Sibling harmonies: Is there anything finer? From The Everly Brothers back then to Lily & Madeleine or Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer today, this graceful blending of voices can feel like magical rapture. And few cast a more powerful spell than Alabama’s Laura and Lydia Rogers, who excel at

Roy Orbison would have loved the music of Jack Klatt. The same passionate yearning that gave “Only the Lonely” and “Crying” such deep resonance infuses the excellent third album by this big-hearted Twin Cities native. It’s not hard to imagine Orbison turning in his usual dramatic tour de force