Late afternoon, just starting to rain, and you have to make a conscious decision whether to turn on the light and continue working, or turn on the stereo and let darkness settle over the room. You Were A Diamond, the debut album of New York band Clem Snide, is a perfect accompaniment to procrastination. Songwriter [...]

At first listen, this album seems to be trying hard to be radio-friendly, which isn’t inherently a bad thing. The first four songs sound too formulaic, though, like the Hootie/Matchbox 20/Wallflowers sound that’s all the rage these days. Get past them, however, and things are looking up. “Cold” is a gorgeous, languorous song that sounds [...]

Brian Berg looks like any other lanky, loose-limbed amiable guy walking past you at the bar in the club downtown, but when he appears onstage, guitar in hand, he is transformed into a tightly coiled beanpole of manic energy. Although Berg’s been writing songs and playing in bands with friends around Portland, Oregon, for years, [...]

Marlee MacLeod’s third album, Vertigo, careens through an array of guitar-driven songs jammed with wry, sardonic lyrics, with deadpan delivery so engaging that you might overlook how good the music sounds. Vertigo opens at full tilt with “Mata Hari Dress”, an anticipated clandestine meeting of two spies that would make a great movie plot. The [...]

Listening to blues guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps’ Roll Away The Stone is almost like eavesdropping; you’re a fly on the wall of his Vancouver, Washington, home where he recorded the album on a four-track, accompanied only by his guitar. Phelps began his musical career playing jazz, and those roots are evident in his introspective, sandpapery [...]