CROWDFUNDING RADAR: Campaigns from Kevin Max, Richard X. Heyman, and More
Most weeks, this column has a theme. It isn't always meant to. It just happens that I look at the dozen or so albums I've got bookmarked for consideration and similarities come out. Not this week. So I'm taking a cue from Monty Python,
ALBUM REVIEW: Dan Navarro Drives Forward on ‘Horizon Line’
Some albums are beautiful little gems, every facet glimmering with dazzling light; the lyrics shine, and the music shimmers. Horizon Line, Dan Navarro’s first album since 2019’s Shed My Skin (ND review), is one of those albums. Navarro writes, sings, and plays with such emotional intensity that every
ALBUM REVIEW: Paisley Fields Explores Place on Campy, Confident ‘Limp Wrist’
There’s a moment we all must face when we realize that going away can help us find ourselves. For LGBTQ+ young people in rural areas, however, that choice is as painful as it is liberating: Why must you reject part of yourself to embrace the rest? That’s the
THE READING ROOM: Andrew Duhon on Reading and the Affliction of Writing
New Orleans-based songwriter Andrew Duhon wears his literary heart on his sleeve. His lyrics on his new album, Emerald Blue (ND review), cast a little Faulknerian shade, a bit of Thoreauvian shadow, and a touch of spiritual insight with glances from both Buddha and Jesus. Duhon is never far from
ALBUM REVIEW: Will Hoge Right at Home on Muscular ‘Wings on My Shoes’
What you hear is thankfully what you get with Will Hoge. There were seasons with a full band and others on his own, some Southern flavors and country influences, but Hoge’s long obedience to barroom rock and roll has long been his calling card, and that wasn’t bound
ALBUM REVIEW: Jim Lauderdale at the Top of His Country Music Game
Jim Lauderdale is at it again, writing songs that belong in the pantheon of country music alongside those of George Jones, Ray Price, and Conway Twitty. With his signature twangy vocals and his often wry wit, Lauderdale sings on Game Changer about broken hearts, wistful dreams, mending fences, and honky-tonkin’