ALBUM REVIEW: Posthumous Collection 'The King is Back' Paints a Full, Deep Picture of The Late Luke Bell
“The air is hot, the crowd is stout / when the young man learns that luck’s his only friend.”
“Tiger’s Mouth,” the spaghetti westernized closing track from the newly-released posthumous Luke Bell collection The King is Back, presents a motorcycle daredevil on the lip of a dangerous stunt. Recorded
THE READING ROOM: The Dead’s Epic Wall of Sound in Minute, Exquisite Detail on Brian Anderson’s ‘Loud and Clear’
Once upon a time, the Grateful Dead hung out in trees, dropping acid, and leading bands of Merry Pranksters dreamily along that golden road to eternal devotion. The darlings of psychedelic rock—or the pioneers of space bluegrass—the Dead opened their shows to the faithful: dancers with faraway eyes
ALBUM REVIEW: Tommy Talton Rides Again in ‘Seven Levels’
Guitarist and songwriter Tommy Talton died on December 28, 2023. Fortunately for us, he and his band had gathered at Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia, in April 2022 to lay down seven tracks that became his final recordings, now collected on Seven Levels. These songs feature Talton’s never-miss-a-note intimate
ALBUM REVIEW: ZDAN Offers Plenty of Reasons to Care on 'So What'
If there’s one theme that’s characterized Americana in 2025, it’s a sense of taking stock. But if you’re Zdan, the new stage name of Nashville singer-songwriter Brandy Zdan, that process comes with less quiet introspection and more a jubilant tossing of her last few fucks out
ALBUM REVIEW: Mavis Staples’ ‘Sad and Beautiful World’ Shines a Light in the Darkness
Mavis Staples has kept the faith since the 1950s, delivering a message of uplift and determination in hopeful and dark days alike. First as the young powerhouse of The Staple Singers and later as a solo artist, she has brought an inspiring gospel-fired fervor to both secular and spiritual settings.
ALBUM REVIEW: Tristen Finds Harmony between Domesticity and Desire on ‘Unpopular Music’
Despite its cheeky self-deprecating title, Tristen’s fifth studio album Unpopular Music is a testament to the career she’s built out of making criminally underrated, perfect pop music. If the goal of great pop music is to bring people together in collective earworm joy under a big top, Tristen