The Whigs’ PR machine promises that this Athens, Georgia, rock trio has recorded their most “sonically superior” album to date with Mission Control. The problem with that is their 2006 disc Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip was such a charmer because it wasn’t a polished, sonic affair. It was a Replacements-esque home-recorded gem, [...]

From start to finish, Cheri Knight’s second solo album (and first for E-Squared) brilliantly bounces back and forth from Emmylou Harris-like ballads to Liz Phair-esque rock, touching on everything in between. This album arguably defines the moniker “alternative country” and at the same time stomps on it, defying any genre tag anyone might throw out [...]

Get yourself a cup of tea and a cozy blanket for this one. Light a fire in the fireplace (or for those of you in those ’80s Reagan-boom condos, go flick that switch on the wall). Drop the needle down on this 7-inch, and just relax. Chris & Carla of the Walkabouts and Boston’s Willard [...]

I know what you’re thinking. You see that band name. Then you look at the title. Maybe shake your head, raise your eyebrows a bit? You think maybe it’s a rip-off, some band trying to sound like Gram Parsons. Well, let me be the first one to smack you upside the head with the jewel [...]

I usually complain when bands try too hard to sound like other bands. This Cleveland trio, however, is a exception. Though they draw from a well of several acts including the Velvet Underground, the Vulgar Boatmen, and perhaps a slight touch of Joe Henry, this album somehow made me forget all the reference points. The [...]