ALBUM REVIEW: Joe Pug Returns to Songs of ‘Nation of Heat’ with New Perspective
Everything changes.
Nothing changes.
As an itinerant songwriter settled into Chicago in 2007, Joe Pug recorded Nation of Heat in the space of others’ canceled sessions, carrying only a guitar, a harmonica, and his voice. It was necessarily a sparse affair, limited by time and money.
When Pug finally had
ALBUM REVIEW: Ben Harper Puts Soul (and Funk) into ‘Bloodline Maintenance’
Ben Harper is a master of trickeration. That's the term gospel icons The Dixie Hummingbirds used to describe what their lead singer Ira Tucker did: in-your-face showmanship that soul men lifted right out of church, the gospel aspects of the music trying to bust out and leap across
ALBUM REVIEW: Dawes Jams to a Contemporary Concept on ‘Misadventures of Doomscroller’
“Let’s enjoy each other’s company,” Dawes harmonizes on “Someone Else’s Cafe/Doomscroller Tries to Relax,” the monolithic lead track on the group’s latest LP, Misadventures of Doomscroller.
In the context of the song, it serves as a call to pull yourself away from your phone, social
ALBUM REVIEW: ‘Colder Streams,’ Last Album with Dallas Good, Finds The Sadies at Their Best
“Colder Streams is a record made with love by loved ones. The Sadies have released a lot of records. This is one of them,” wrote Dallas Good in the bio for the 11th studio album from The Sadies. Reading it with the knowledge of his tragic and untimely passing earlier
THROUGH THE LENS: Palomino Festival Revives the Golden Era of Country Music in Los Angeles
Los Angeles’ Palomino Club, opened in 1949 by western swing musician Hank Penny, was a showcase for a wide variety of roots music, from country to jazz to cow punk to alt-country. The Flying Burrito Brothers, Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, and Emmylou Harris were just a few of the regulars
JOURNAL EXCERPT: Dan Auerbach Brings It Back to the Blues
EDITOR'S NOTE: Below is an excerpt from a story in our Summer 2022 journal, “Movers and Shakers.” You can read the whole story — and much more — in that issue, here. And please consider supporting No Depression with a subscription for more roots music journalism, in print and online,