Preview: Keren Ann/Lincoln Hall
RECOMMENDED This Israeli-French singer-songwriter seems not to care much about being pigeonholed in any particular genre. She veers comfortably between avant-garde rock, folk, Europop and electronica...
View ArticleRecord Review: “When You Grow Up” by Priscilla Ahn
RECOMMENDED On her second release, singer-songwriter Priscilla Ahn comes up with a selection of acoustic-based songs that are easily reproduced in a live format. Backed by her own guitar and little...
View ArticleRecord Review: “Pro Whoa!” by Nikka Costa
RECOMMENDED The former child performer (and daughter of late producer and arranger Don Costa) shows on her new EP that she is in constant evolution as a performer. After dabbling in electronic and soul...
View ArticlePreview: Mark Kozelek/Lincoln Hall
RECOMMENDED Mark Kozelek doesn’t write folk songs, he weaves them. From his earlier fronting of the slowcore founders the Red House Painters twenty years ago, to his more recent critically acclaimed...
View ArticlePreview: Luisa Maita/Chicago World Music Festival
RECOMMENDED When Luisa Maita’s debut CD “Lero-Lero” first dropped in the U.S. in 2010, she joined the roster of many talented young Brazilian artists (Bebel Gilberto, Ceu, Seu Jorge—to name a few) to...
View ArticlePreview: Willis Earl Beal/Hideout
RECOMMENDED If Daniel Johnston could actually sing and had a penchant for rapping, he’d sound kinda like Willis Earl Beal. As it is, what Johnston lacks in traditional talent, he makes up for with...
View ArticlePreview: Dar Williams/Evanston Space
RECOMMENDED If singer and guitarist Dar Williams didn’t have an idyllic voice, she could have sidled her way into the anti-folk scene about the time her earliest self-released tapes began circulating....
View ArticlePreview: Céu + Curumin/Double Door
RECOMMENDED Throughout her career, São Paulo-born Céu (pronounced SEH-uh) has been inspired by electronica and American soul music, but on her recent release “Caravana Sereia Bloom” (loosely translates...
View ArticlePreview: Alex Cuba/City Winery
RECOMMENDED Canada-based Cuban Alex Cuba has been building a strong following in the Latin alternative and indie crowd with his mix of funk, soul and Cuban beats. The fact that he is a gifted performer...
View ArticlePreview: The dBs/The Hideout
RECOMMENDED The history of the dBs sounds almost like a rock ‘n’ roll movie: the band forms in the late seventies, makes some great recordings that are well received by critics but that fail to reach a...
View ArticleRecord Review: “The Girl Who Got Away” by Dido
RECOMMENDED A decade after her smash hit “Thank You” put this English singer on the pop map and five years after 2008’s “Safe Trip Home,” Dido reemerges with this concise album that brings together all...
View ArticlePreview: Alice Russell/Township
RECOMMENDED In 2008, British soul singer Alice Russell caught the attention of critics and fans alike with her catchy “Got The Hunger” the lead single from her US debut, “Pot of Gold” (Six Degrees,...
View ArticleRecord Review: “Putumayo Presents: Women of Brazil”
RECOMMENDED Those who expected this compilation to feature the likes of Marisa Monte, Gal Costa or even newer names like Bebel Gilberto or Cibelle will be disappointed at first—this release contains...
View ArticleRecord Review: “Repave” by Volcano Choir
I’ve never readily accepted the music of Justin Vernon. Undeniably well-crafted as it is, irresistible and viscerally affective as his voice is, something’s missing. Or maybe there’s too much of...
View ArticlePreview: Willis Earl Beal/Schubas
RECOMMENDED When contemporary critics call art “outsider,” it is meant to refer to an artist who has learned outside of the reach of institutionalized instruction. Outsider artists tend to be...
View ArticlePreview: Piers Faccini/Park West
RECOMMENDED “La Voce Toa” is among the best songs of Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino’s, and it happens to be the sole English-language tune on their 2012 album “Pizzica Indiavolata.” The vocal belongs...
View ArticlePreview: Eiren Caffall/The Whistler
RECOMMENDED When the slightest degrees separate the coffeehouse hack from the gifted songstress, it’s no easy task being a woman armed with an acoustic guitar. Often too subtle for fame, and therefore...
View ArticlePreview: Julieta Venegas/Concord Music Hall
RECOMMENDED Tijuana-born Julieta Venegas is a multi-faceted singer-songwriter who is equally comfortable belting out acoustic-based, folksy tunes alongside more pop-oriented songs, as evidenced by her...
View ArticleRecord Review: “New” by Paul McCartney
RECOMMENDED Per Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, some are too old to rock ‘n’ roll, but too young to die. At seventy-one, Paul McCartney seems to defy the odds by relentlessly touring and consistently...
View ArticleRecord Review: “Queenshead” by Julie Meckler
RECOMMENDED Julie Meckler’s voice is soft and pleasant, and it floats over her acoustic guitar with the familiar, idyllic buoyancy of a rowboat. Left in the wake of her playing are strains of precious...
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