Feature: New Indie CDs
Jon Sobel's reviews of music releases from independent artists and labels, collected and published about twice a month.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - D'Haene, June Moris, Back Door Slam— In a world of hyper-talented young musicians, Back Door Slam plays truly impressive stuff, because it feels real.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Matt Morris, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Asylum Street Spankers— Matt Morris's high, fluty tenor wafts his words into your consciousness like a message carried on the wind.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Laura Vecchione, Red Wanting Blue, and More— Laura Vecchione's second disc is a consummately crafted and craftily written set of tunes that touch on commercial country, country-rock, and alt/Americana.
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Indie Round-Up: Cadillac Sky, Lewis, Dupree, Dunn, Minissale, Vigil, The Break and Repair Method— Cadillac Sky is every bit a bluegrass band, but the Texas quintet quietly expands the frontiers.
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Music Review: The Keith Reid Project - The Common Thread— Procol Harum's legendary lyricist collaborates with John Waite, Southside Johnny, Terry Reid and more on his first solo CD.
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Indie Round-Up: Boggia, Coppola, Saunders, Jezzro— Jim Boggia makes melodic, smart pop that's warmhearted but never overheated.
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Indie Round-Up: Mojomatics, Duane Andrews, Brandie Frampton, Alex Statan— Canadian guitarist Duane Andrews grafts strains of the traditional music of Newfoundland onto Django Reinhardt-inspired "gypsy jazz."
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Music Review: Putumayo Presents: Acoustic Arabia— It's sad when artists (and others) have to leave their native lands to pursue their dreams.
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Really Bad Promo Copy— The names have been deleted to protect the stupid.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Bonet, Jeanrenaud, Citizens, True Heart, Sakata— Former Kronos Quartet cellist Joan Jeanrenaud releases her first solo CD of all original compositions.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Anya Singleton, Emory Joseph, Parlour Steps, Kalliopi— Anya Singleton rocks with soul, while Emory Joseph applies a youthful bounce to the Garcia-Hunter canon.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Grascals, V-Project, Roots of Creation, Amelia White, Smiling Strangers— From bluegrass and reggae jams to alt-country and "three-minute" pop, this week's round-up has something for nearly everyone.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - J.J. Appleton, Gandalf Murphy, Gary Morgan and PanAmericana!— Womblike melodies and lush yet elemental arrangements trick out Gandalf Murphy's excellent new disc.
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Music Review: Chuck Leavell, Live in Germany: Green Leaves & Blue Notes Tour 2007— The Rolling Stones' keyboardist may be a "musicians' musician," but there's something for almost everyone on his new two-CD live set.
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Music Review: Swamp Cabbage - Squeal— Rootsy, southern-fried blues doesn't come much more boggy than this.
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Music Review: John Mayall - Live at the Marquee and The Masters— Two re-releases document the influential British bluesman's creative reinvention in 1969.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Stone Coyotes, Bloom, Preston, Sugar Blue— The Stone Coyotes' stark naturalness is what makes them so good.
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Music Review: Rachel Taylor Brown - Half Hours with the Lower Creatures— The poetry of 21st century disillusionment, packed neatly into a plastic disc.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Michael Veitch, Josh Fix, Keith Killgo— Josh Fix's densely produced, rocking, accessible pop will remind some listeners of Ben Folds.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Gordone, Rush, Blatt, Segal, VonderHaar— Leah-Carla Gordone's best songs are whizzing worlds of twelve-string soulfulness.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Spitzer's Folly, Sky Cries Mary, and Down the Line— Who but Sky Cries Mary could make a compelling chorus with just the words "Here comes the 5 Train"?
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Nackman, English, Means, Handcuffs, Soul Summit— Alex Nackman crafts shimmery, hooky songs; The Handcuffs combine 80's new wave with 00's crunch on their catchy, highly appealing tracks.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - No Girls Allowed Edition— Steve Northeast crafts energetic and emotional hard rock songs loaded with raspy guitars and cataclysmic rhythms.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - American World Edition— Four American artists who break boundaries.
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Interview: Kenny Vance of Jay and the Americans and American Hot Wax— A founder of Jay and the Americans and the musical force behind American Hot Wax talks doo-wop and his new CD.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - End of Year Grab Bag— Jon McKiel's dark alt-rock is just the thing for driving around the city streets in an angry mood.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Aidanblaise, Strazza, Hate Camels, and More— There's so much emotion in Laura Aidanblaise's voice you worry she's about to implode.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Jake Stigers, Kenny Vance— Kenny Vance brings the teen-inspired wails of doo-wop comfortably into the 21st century.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Lynn, Sasscer, Abdel-Gawad, LittleHorse— Egyptian-born violinist Riad Abdel-Gawad mixes the taqasim (improvisational) tradition with tarab, the "performance practice of musical ecstasy."
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Music Review: Rachel Barton Pine, American Virtuosa: Tribute to Maud Powell— A celebration of "the first American violinist to achieve international rank."
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Music Review - Indie Round-Up: Kelli Hanson, The Beautiful Girls, Darius Lux— "Evil Clown Song" sounds exactly like you'd think it would.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up— Pete Wernick's Flexigrass is a truly unique fusion of bluegrass and old-time jazz.
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Music Review: Various Artists - Song of America— Less postmodern, shoegazing gloom and more rock and roll spirit would have given the whole collection more color.
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Music Review: Various Artists, People Take Warning!: Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938— An extensive sampling of what Tom Waits calls in the liner notes the "oral tabloids of the day."
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Too Much Music— Diego Sandrin's new CD is quietly bracing, like a splash of bay rum on the hot old face.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Sam Baker, Peter Himmelman— Peter Himmelman's musical impression of a pompous "rock god" makes Spinal Tap seem tame.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Harris, Foster, Sea Dragons, The States— Corey Harris always reveals something fundamental about the music of the African diaspora, whether it's blues, soul, Afropop or reggae.
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Indie Round-Up, Live Edition: Second Dan, Gandalf Murphy, Irion Redux— Tours of the magical mystical musical cosmos, courtsey of Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Irion, Robustelli, Americana Compilation, Wells
— Irion speaks the pop language without using pop formulas, while Robustelli bops and shivers like the best classic jazz-funk.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - The Pretty Things, Larry Bagby, Jenn Franklin— They were about the beast that scratches your face and gives you an infection, then stomps on your foot.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - John Phillips, Stratospheerius— Phillips's writing combined soulful sophistication with the anything-is-possible musical ethos of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Mahoney, Lez Zeppelin, Speechless, NYEP— Honeyed pop rooted in McCartney and Squeeze.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Tinsley Ellis, Alternate Routes, King Wilkie and More— King Wilkie's "Captivator" is sure to bring a smile to your face. Unless a motorcycle just ran over your foot.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Oldies, Goodies, and Bands from Down Under— The Stone Coyotes might be making the purest rock of any band working today.
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Music Review: Jonathan Coulton, Live at Union Hall— You come for the funny, you stay for the music.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Women and Children First— Good children's music doesn't "sing down" to kids, and this CD meets that requirement.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - James, Jacobsen, Pagan, Cook, Scotty Don't— Cook's sensitivity to the importance of empty space is something young performers don't usually develop so early in their careers.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Barnes & Barnes, Wild Man Fischer, And Some "Normal" Music— "Party in My Pants," "Three Drunk Newts," "Sewey Hole" - they're all here. Eat them up. Yum.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Snider, Tillis, Hammond Jr.— This CD has transformed me from a lukewarm Todd Snider fan into a big Todd Snider fan.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Larsen, Heyman, Everybody Else, Assembly, Brooklyn Rep— Heyman does more things on the drums in two and a half minutes than most drummers do in their band's whole set.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Lights, Heavies, Seymour, Spanic Boys, Cunniff— You could look at the whole ten-song, 28-minute opus as one long American Gothic murder ballad.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Pete Levin, Bloody Hollies, Stepanian— No car? Rent one and listen to the Bloody Hollies loud in it. The power of Rock commands you.
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Music Review: JJ Grey and Mofro - Country Ghetto— It's all there in a plain image and a single insistent riff.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Charlie Louvin, The Soul of John Black, Ted Russell Kamp— Time travel is our middle name here at the Indie Round-Up!
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Music Review: A Date With John Waters— Who could possibly want to die for art with all this great music to listen to?
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for February 1, 2007 - Kirchen, Jantz, Halter— Sometimes I'm mad at a CD that disappointed me and I want to yell at it in public.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for Jan. 11, 2007— Listening to Tahiti 80 one might think that we don't live in such a troubled world after all.
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Music Review: Lee "Scratch" Perry - Panic in Babylon— It wasn't the weed that endowed the now clean-living Lee "Scratch" Perry with his genius.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for December 28, 2006 - The Best of 2006— Hinder: what is that, a butt?
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up Focus on Fionn Ò Lochlainn - Spawn of the Beast, and live at Joe's Pub— Celtic soul, singer-songwriter acoustica, and Frampton-esque rock star magnetism fuse in this artist.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for Nov. 30 2006 - Burden Brothers, Caddle, D'Haene— With stellar songwriting, crisp but heavy production, and roadkill vocals, the Burden Brothers prove that rock can still rock.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for Nov. 16 2006 - Copeland, Wolfkin, Jason Vigil— On first listen it seems self-conscious, as if the band had deliberately set out to make an Important Record.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for November 2, 2006— It's suburban chill music for the post-American Beauty generation.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for Oct. 19 2006 - Special Happy Music Edition— No shoegazers need apply - only happy music reviewed this week.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for Oct. 5 2006 - Singleton, Knight, Kobo Town— Knight blasts the unfairness of life through stories of small-town and rural hopes and dashed dreams.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for Sept. 14 2006 - Special All-Blues Edition— Abbie Gardner's new roots-blues release is as rich and sweet as the honey in the title.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for Sept. 7 2006 - Broonzy, Shimabukuro, DiJoseph— Big Bill had his callused fingers on the pulse of what life was all about.
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Music Review: Indie Round-Up for August 24 2006 - Bennett, Swann, Angelo— A sonic and spiritual journey.
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CD Reviews: Indie Round-Up for Aug 10 2006 - Reischel, Weary Boys, Vladeck— Sure, he's talented and good-lookng - but how many Myspace friends does he have?
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CD Review: Karling Abbeygate - Karling Abbeygate— Abbeygate may have just enough sly punkitude to popularize this anachronistic sound.
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Interview/Concert Review: Controlling the Famous— The amps and drums rock crazily like a skyline swaying in an earthquake so that everything seems to be threatening to collapse in a heap.
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CD Reviews: Indie Round-Up for July 13 2006 - Umbrellas, Alec Gross, The Mains— Terms like rock and pop, like lines of longitude, are just artificial constructs, while music itself is all-natural.
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Concert Review: Mofro
— A Mofro show is something like a second coming of the Doors.
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CD Reviews: Indie Round-Up for June 29 2006 - Adamson, Vecchione, Next Wave Compilation— Laura Vecchione's playful side, combined with the high quality of her songs, makes this soul-splashed country-rock CD a winner.
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CD Reviews: Indie Round-Up for June 15 2006 - Chapin, Splitsense, Graffin, Apollo 13— Jen Chapin's slithery delivery, pop-inspired melodies and cutting lyrics turn even the homiest sentiment into art.
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CD/DVD Review: The Clarks, Still Live— Personally, I've had it with edgy. Give me a good song over an intriguing attitude any day.
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CD Reviews: Indie Round-Up for June 1 2006 - Cass, McKean, Stigers— This CD is a whole lot of fun, and isn't that the main point of rock anyway?
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CD Reviews: Indie Round-Up for May 18 2006 - Zach Hexum, The Animators, Josh Sason— "Buy Buy" suggests something Pete Townshend might have written after accidentally wandering into a Wal-Mart.
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CD Review and Interview: Hillstomp, The Woman That Ended the World— "For us, blues is all about grit and dirt. It's not about notes, or technicality or any of that crap."
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Indie Round-Up for 4-20-06: Brandston, Wendt, Mulligan, Martin— More hooks per square foot than a velcro dance floor.
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CD Reviews: Indie Round-Up For April 6 2006: Ann Klein, Controlling the Famous, Joe Rohan, Kevin So— Four good Kevin So songs are worth more than an hour of music from most artists.
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CD Review: Various Artists, Alligator Records: 35X35— It's remarkable when any independent label survives this long, no matter what its mission.
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CD Reviews: Indie Round-Up for Mar 23 2006 - Retrospectro, Waldron, Chevrette— Get there early - the more you've drunk, the better we sound!
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Indie Round-Up for March 9, 2006 - Golay, Rivkin, Rentler— Quirky, contemplative, authentic entries are highlighted.
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Indie Round-Up for Feb 23 2006: Beautiful Girls, Gordone, Kurdian— End result: subtle, 21st-century eclectic-pop gold.
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Indie Round-Up for Feb 9 2006: Indiegrrl-apalooza— "Yea" is a headbanger's delight that Beavis and Butthead would surely have labeled cool.
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Indie Round-Up for Jan 26 2006: Lee Rocker, Sarah Woolf— A plain old rockin' good time is had by all.
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Indie Round-Up for Jan 12 2006: Fern Jones, Bradley Leighton— Wherever Sister Fern is now, she's got absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
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Indie Round-Up for Dec 29 2005: Brianna Lane, Mark Tolstrup, Best of 2005— Another grown-up woman singing in a little-girl voice about her dreams and disappointments: sounds pretty bleak, I know.
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Indie Round-Up for Dec. 15 2005: Panic Division, Mankita, McMullen— Behold a true Irish poet of the back alleys.
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Indie Round-Up for December 1 2005: Danielia Cotton, Tina Dico, Jay Mankita, Steve Northeast— It speaks for the romantic, the idealist, the lover, the hopeless (or hopeful) devotee, the Icarus, the Abelard in us all.
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Indie Round-Up for November 17 2005— Stardate 1984: I'm just out of college. Still wearing my Ronald Reagan protest beard.
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Indie Round-Up for November 03 2005: fielding, Hayley Taylor, Gentle Giant— It's fair to ask if we really need another song about a man who can't commit.
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Indie Round-Up for October 20 2005: Man Alive, Danny Draher— === Man Alive, Open Surgery One of the better punk-driven rock bands I've heard on disc lately, Man Alive hails from the unlikely location of Israel but is...
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Indie Round-Up for October 6 2005: Copeland, Mould— === Copeland, live at Irving Plaza, NYC, Oct. 5 2005 Copeland (it's a band, not a person) played an energetic opening set at the eagerly anticipated Bob Mould concert at...
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In the Garage— Most of the music is terrible, which is encouraging.
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INDIE ROUND-UP for September 8 2005— This week I focus on the most recent releases from two artists I will go out of my way to see. Not that I really have to go out...
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INDIE ROUND-UP for August 25 2005— This week's all-female edition of the Indie Round-Up is brought to you by the Sisterhood of the Happy Pants. INDIE ROUND-UP for August 25 2005 === Cruiserweight, Sweet Weaponry Like a...
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INDIE ROUND-UP for August 11 2005— After a brief hiatus during which we completely exhausted ourselves running the Soul of the Blues Festival, we're back with a special Long Island Blues edition of the...
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INDIE ROUND-UP for July 14 2005— This special Bastille Day edition of the Indie Round-Up comes to you from my own prison cell of the mind. Fortunately there is music. But will there be...
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INDIE ROUND-UP for June 30 2005— This time around, from my mailbox to your computer screen, we've got Heartlanders, Hornicators, and the (so far, anyway!) Acoustic Album of the Year. Read on, dear...
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INDIE ROUND-UP for June 16 2005— I'm, like, busy or something. So, no witty comments or literary segues this week - let's just get straight to the... INDIE ROUND-UP for June 16 2005 ===
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INDIE ROUND-UP for June 2 2005— Although rap and electronica are not my usual beat, I think I manage to explain why I like the selections below. In between, you'll find a self-described...
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INDIE ROUND-UP for May 19 2005— === Damon Aaron: Ballast Throwing hip-hop lovebeats into acoustic, folky music is a hip (pun intended) thing to do these days. Damon Aaron is good at it. Fans of Elliot...
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INDIE ROUND-UP for May 5 2005— It's only natural that a male-dominated music industry should use its promotional juggernaut to turn attractive female singers into icons. What's more interesting is when it tries to reverse...
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INDIE ROUND-UP for April 21 2005— This week we discover an upper-case sound from some lower-case letters, a keyboard player with a terrible secret, and a country-rock gem. INDIE ROUND-UP for April 21 2005 === CD: sundayrunners,...
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INDIE ROUND-UP for April 7 2005— This week's crop of indie releases proves that the slightly amateurish can be more satisfying than the slickly professional(ish) - it's all about inspiration and having something original to say....
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INDIE ROUND-UP for March 24 2005— This is the first regular installment of a bi-weekly review of CDs, performances, news and events that cross my path or strike my fancy. Enjoy! INDIE ROUND-UP for March 24...
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CD REVIEWS: Indie Round-Up— MYSHKIN'S RUBY WARBLERS: Corvidae This is an unusual fusion of cabaret, singer-songwriter, lounge-jazz and gypsy music, yet it's not quite any of those things. Myshkin's promo material says...
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