Charles Thompson’s records of late aren’t exactly flying off the shelves, but the fact that only the faithful are keeping track of his work seems almost liberating for the occasional Pixies leader, who’s back to recording under the name Black Francis. Not that he ever worried much about other people’s expectations, but his past few [...]

It’s rare enough that a great band reunites to release a great comeback album; carrying the momentum into the record after that is even trickier. It’s like facing the sophomore slump all over again, only this time there’s a beloved body of work for fans to measure against the newest songs. American Music Club measures [...]

He’s one of the most reliable songwriters in Nashville, having penned hits for Martina McBride, Patty Loveless and Crystal Gayle. But Tim Krekel is more than a hired gun whose best songs end up on other people’s records. The Louisville, Kentucky, native also has released eight albums full of twangy, soulful songs as smart as [...]

His engaging live shows have tended to eclipse his albums, but Matt Nathanson puts the two on equal footing with his latest. The San Francisco singer-songwriter traces the arc of a relationship on Some Mad Hope, and accordingly, the record takes some dark turns. But Nathanson is a skillful lyricist with a keen ear for [...]

There are songwriters, and then there are storytellers who happen to write songs, weaving words into gritty tales of intrigue complete with rhyme schemes and melodies. David Olney is a storyteller. The Nashville stalwart has had songs covered by Emmylou Harris and Johnny Cash, and they’re good songs. But they’re the musical equivalent of movie [...]

Every album Shannon Wright releases is a chance for her to push a little further beyond the boundaries that contained her on the album before. This time, she turns her attention more fully to piano on a set of songs bristling with intensity. There’s still plenty of guitar, and Wright is a first-rate player. But [...]

Although playing haphazard cover songs gave Golden Smog its start in the late ’80s — and comprised the entirety of the group’s 1992 debut EP On Golden Smog — the alt-rock collective (including ex-Jayhawks Gary Louris and Marc Perlman, and Soul Asylum’s Dan Murphy) took a more serious tack on sporadic subsequent projects, including last [...]

Maybe this is why it took five years for Apples In Stereo to record a new album: Frontman Robert Schneider was busy inventing a new musical scale, which he calls “non-Pythagorean.” Also, there were personnel changes, including the departure of drummer and singer Hilarie Sidney (who stayed long enough to sing on a couple tunes). [...]

There’s a point past fatigue where non-essential functions shut down and you exist in an elemental, almost trancelike state. It’s the starting point for Kings Of Leon’s third album, and no wonder: The Followill family band spent much of the past two years on the road, headlining clubs and opening for the likes of U2 [...]

After pitting punk rock against Catholicism on last year’s gritty concept album Separation Sunday, the Hold Steady explores a proposition straight out of Kerouac on its latest, the notion that “Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together.” The quote comes from Sal Paradise, the narrator of On The Road, and it’s [...]