The bulk of the songs on the three albums Martin Zellar has released after the demise of his beloved garagey-tonk outfit the Gear Daddies suggests that his characters’ two main hobbies remain despairing and regretting. But although the mood is the same, Zellar takes more risks these days and, consequently, is a more interesting songwriter. [...]

One of 1999’s most disappointing developments was the disappearance of L.A. drama-rock purveyors Grant Lee Buffalo, the missing link between Roxy Music’s romantic flights of fancy and The Band’s understated tone portraits. Singer/guitarist Grant Lee Phillips’ first solo outing possesses a miniaturized, stripped-down sound that could pass for a latter-day collection of GLB home demos.
It’s [...]

On Blue Nite Lounge, his first studio album since 1994’s Do Right Man, Dan Penn serves up a musical smorgasbord that showcases his strengths as a singer and songwriter.
“Funky Folks” and “Down Around Birmingham” are Southern slices of R&B and soul, while Penn highlights his down-home philosophical side on “You Don’t Miss What You Never [...]

The second full-length CD from San Francisco band the Westerleys is a wonderfully eclectic and surprisingly cohesive mish-mash of folk, country, bluegrass, and rootsy pop.
Anchored since 1993 by the singer-songwriter duo of Doug Blumer and Nancy Terzian, plus bassist Rob McCloskey, the Westerleys are a legitimate triple threat. Blumer and Terzian are an excellent vocal [...]

Quickdrawl singers Joe Rideout and John Troutman can’t help it that they sound a lot like Neil Young, so you might as well sit back and enjoy it. The likeness is strong regardless of which one sings Troutman’s road songs. These arise from the same vein tapped by Son Volt — pretty and brooding, with [...]

Tuscola is an Americana gem drifting somewhere between Ray Wylie Hubbard’s Crusades Of The Restless Knights and Charlie Robison’s Life Of The Party. Like much good Americana, it’s a populist album with a strong rural sense of place, pace, and the past.
Nathan Hamilton, a native of Abilene, Texas, was the frontman of Austin band the [...]

With Alibis, East Coast roots-rockers the Barn Burners prove their highly enjoyable ‘97 debut, Tobacco Sunburst, was no fluke. Alibis is a sturdy follow-up that features more memorable songs from leader Bob Kannenberg and some killer guitar courtesy of new guy Paul Thomas.
The album showcases Kannenberg’s dedication to and belief in the power of classic [...]

An album that opens with a song called “Neil’s On The Radio” and finishes with a cover of “Cinnamon Girl” sort of telegraphs the gritty, post-grunge wavelength this Cincinnati band uses to beam us aboard their rattling pick-up truck. Hence, there are not many surprises, but the trip is worth the effort.
Bob Burns, who plays [...]

Bellwether singer Eric Luoma has a voice so warm and soothing it easily makes for a pleasant listen; think Jackson Browne meets James Taylor. The rest of the band — guitarist/singer Jimmy Peterson, bassist Phil Tippin, and drummer and former Dashboard Savior John Crist, who has since been replaced — provides a comfortable background for [...]

Naked Time, the debut from Texas-bred songstress Diana Darby, is the payment that comes due for buying the lie. Having cut her writing teeth on napkin poems, sitcom scripting and Nashville co-writes, Darby offers up nine original documentary-style narratives scantily dressed in breathy wonder and floaty sonic wash.
There is a quiet strength and peculiar beauty [...]