VIA PRESS RELEASE | Ed Hamell, aka Hamell On Trial, delivers an early Christmas gift to the world with his new 13-track album Dirty Xmas. Having previously recorded for a variety of labels, including Mercury, Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records, and New West, Hamell has made a string of singles, EPs, and albums for San Antonio-based Saustex Records.

This new, succinct volume has everything his fans have come to expect: ribald humor, heartbreak, and social and political commentary that’s tempered with a unique brand of humanity.

The musical palette ranges from novelty, anti-folk, and indie pop, with dashes of poetry and beats. With producer Matt Labozza he has crafted an album that is a mixture of holiday-themed and more everyday sorts of tunes that’s punctuated with humor and heartbreak.

You have new naughty holiday standards like “Xmas Carol,” “Rudy,” and “Dirty Xmas” rubbing up against more personal tunes like “Dream,” and contains perhaps his greatest achievement yet as a songwriter, “Adele.”

It’s being released digitally and on 180 gram crimson vinyl in a strictly limited edition of 110 and packaged with an Hamell original painting that can be displayed on your wall OR affixed to the cover (along the lines of his early 2025 release Harp (For Harry) and has a special message for all ye faithful listeners etched in the runout bands.

Pre-orders have begun shipping. Purchase includes the full digital download immediately, and the album is now available on all major streaming platforms.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Todd Rundgren has never stood still for long. Across a career that is positively littered with abrupt changes of direction, unexpected shifts in outlook, and startling flashes of off-kilter brilliance, it is difficult (if not impossible) to truly pin down who he is, what he does, and why he does it. It was inevitable, then, that one day he would gather up all those different identities and attitudes, and take them all on the road on his own.

Nobody knew what to expect when Todd Rundgren announced his next tour would be strictly solo, some three dozen shows sprawling across the first four months of the year, and launching at the New Orleans House of Blues on January 20, 2003. There would be no band, no backing musicians, nothing beyond Todd and his songs—and they were certainly destined to be shuffled in and out of the set as the mood took him.

Guitars, samplers, piano, backing tapes—”Some people feel I’m playing with pre-recorded music… or some nonsense,” he quipped. But no. “I have the whole band standing by and ready to broadcast through this tiny little device.” Of course he was joking, but it’s fun to imagine the alternative.

So it is, as anyone versed in Cockney rhyming slang will already have punned, Todd on his tod… (ah, but did you know the expression actually refers to an American jockey, Todd Sloan?), and Solo In Clearwater—making its physical (double colored vinyl and 2 CD) debut today—is as representative as any recording from this magical, mercurial, outing.

Read More »

Remembering Rick Buckler in advance of his birthdate tomorrow.
—Ed.

I missed most of England’s post-punk music—was too busy doing my taxes or drugs or something—and what I did hear (New Order, er, New Order) simply confirmed me in my mad conviction that I wasn’t missing much. What can I say? As a great man once said, Youth is wasted on the young.

The Jam are one of the many bands I snubbed back in the day. Why? Because I heard “Town Called Malice” exactly once and thought it was bouncy pop tripe, that’s why. It’s a piss-poor reason to write off a great band, but that’s the way I am. I was in an ugly mood back then and I needed ugly music to put me in the proper ugly frame of mind to think ugly thoughts about all the ugly things in the world. It was an ugly time.

The sad thing is I missed a lot of excellent music. The good thing is I’m getting a second chance to catch up, and what better way to catch up than by basking in the brilliant pop glow of 1980’s tres smart and musically adventurous Sound Affects? I used to smirk when people called Paul Weller a genius. Mark E. Smith—now there’s a genius, I would say to myself. And I will always prefer Smith to Weller, if only because I prefer off-kilter rock cranks with odd ideas on how to build songs to pop savants, Elton John and Eric Carmen excepted. But Weller is a Wunderkind no matter how you cut the liverwurst, and on the Jam’s fifth studio LP he outdoes himself.

Weller—who has gone on record as saying he thinks Sound Affects is the Jam’s best LP—cited the Beatles’ Revolver and Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall as key inspirations. I certainly hear the Beatles; Jackson not so much. Okay, so I suppose I do hear Jacko in the funky bass line that harbors “Pretty Money,” and on the heavy funk bass and drums that propel the altogether strange (the band basically natters away the first minute before launching into a herky-jerky ska beat) “Music for the Last Couple.” As for the Beatles, they’re all over “Start!” And amongst the unreleased tracks from the Sound Affects sessions are covers of “Rain” and “And Your Bird Can Sing.” The unreleased “Liza Radley” and “Dead End Street” both have Paul McCartney’s fingerprints all over them as well.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | In 1985, Fine Young Cannibals made an unforgettable first impression with their debut single “Johnny Come Home” and their self-titled album, showcasing a fully-formed act with a sharp, soulful sound and potent songs.

It was 1989’s The Raw & The Cooked that propelled them onto the global stage, becoming their defining masterpiece. Powered by hits like “She Drives Me Crazy,” “Good Thing” (both US Billboard #1s), and their inspired take on the Buzzcocks’ “Ever Fallen In Love,” the album encapsulated 30 years of music in 35 minutes and sold over five million copies worldwide, topping charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and earned the band two BRIT Awards, an Ivor Novello, four MTV Music Video nominations and three Grammy nominations. After their tidal wave of success, they closed in 1996 with the elegiac final single “The Flame.”

Fine Young Cannibals’ rise was almost as unlikely as it was spectacular. When UK outfit The Beat split unceremoniously at their peak, bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox forged a creative alliance and pushed past waning industry enthusiasm for the fading 2 Tone scene. Teaming up with former Ska band Akrylykz frontman Roland Gift, a singer with matinee-idol looks and a voice steeped in Otis Redding-esque soul, they forged a sound that would make them one the most internationally successful acts of their generation.

Forty years on and the enduring influence of the band and their sound continues to resonate, with their songs making prominent appearances in film (“Johnny Come Home” in the Andrew Haigh’s award winning film All of Us Strangers and TV (“She Drives Me Crazy” in Season 4 of the acclaimed series The Bear), as well as “She Drives Me Crazy” becoming the musical centerpiece for the Chanel 2025 Handbag campaign starring Dua Lipa and Jennie from BLACKPINK.

Read More »

Talk about your gross miscarriages of justice—here, Feral House put out an entire book, encyclopedic (if idiosyncratic) in scope, about bubblegum music, and other than one small mention, it has nothing to say about Mansfield, Ohio bubble-garage greats The Music Explosion. Who bequeathed us the great “Little Bit O’ Soul!”

I swear, I scoured 2001’s Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth: The Dark History of Prepubescent Pop, from the Banana Splits to Britney Spears, and nada!

Which I find inexplicable, because like many of your great bubblegum acts, the Music Explosion were signed, produced, and shamelessly manipulated by evil bubblegum Uber-producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffrey Katz, whose legendary machinations under the auspices of Super K Productions swept the whole concept of artistic integrity into the dustbin of music history, where it belongs! Both of these shysters, and I’ve seen the medical records, underwent scruples-removal surgery before they got into the record biz.

Their most famous antics involved The Ohio Express. The songs were written Brill Building style and recorded by studio musicians. There was no Ohio Express. But, and this is the great part, a band of ringers toured as The Ohio Express, and communications between Kasenetz-Katz back at Shyster Central and the touring band were so poor that the latter didn’t even know they had a hit single (the great “Chewy Chewy”) on the charts because they’d never heard it and nobody had bothered to tell them.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | With its inspired marriage of bossa nova and cool electronics, Bebel Gilberto’s acclaimed debut album, Tanto Tempo has perfectly captured the mood of the times.

Released by Crammed Discs in 2000 on its Ziriguiboom imprint, Tanto Tempo has become an international best seller, making it one of the most globally successful albums of Brazilian music ever. Produced by Suba (the São Paulo-based Serbian producer who tragically passed away just before the release of the album), and featuring collaborations with Amon Tobin, Mario Caldato, Chris Franck & Nina Miranda, and Thievery Corporation.

From the original press release: The album features guest appearances by prestigious musicians such as veteran pianist/arranger João Donato, guitarists Celso Fonseca and Luis do Monte, percussionists João Parahyba and Carlinhos Brown, drummer Robertinho Silva, and a couple of horn sections who play in a genuine ’70s samba-soul-funk style.

Tanto Tempo’s modernist angle is supplied by Suba’s typical arrangements and production, as well as by contributions from young electro-Brazilophiles such as Smoke City, Thievery Corporation, Beastie Boys producer Mario Caldato Jr., and Ninja Tune artist Amon Tobin.

Read More »

Remembering Gary Rossington, born on this day in 1951. —Ed.

It is my unreconstituted thunk that Lynyrd Skynyrd is America’s second greatest rock’n’roll band, right behind the Velvet Underground. Hyperbole? Mebbe. But during the four short years before fate shot their airship down, the Southern rockers produced a veritable shitload of immortal (and yes smart) tunes that I, for one, have been listening to with pleasure for decades.

1975’s appropriately titled Nuthin’ Fancy isn’t the best Skynyrd LP out there. It may even be the worst of the five albums the original Lynyrd Skynyrd—which is the only Lynyrd Skynyrd that matters—recorded between 1973 and 1977. It lacks the sublime touches that make Skynyrd’s first and second albums rock landmarks, and the assortment of to-die-for songs (“That Smell,” “One More Time,” “All I Can Do Is Write About It”) scattered throughout the two LPs that came after it. The way I see it, Nuthin’ Fancy only boasts two songs—I’m talking about “Saturday Night Special” and “Am I Losin’”—that are truly indispensible.

The biggest problem lies in the songs, natch, and the problem with the songs is that they were written in a rush, in the studio between tours. I’ll stand Ronnie Van Zant up against any American songwriter (exceptin’ B. Dylan) ever, but when it came to Nuthin’ Fancy he simply didn’t have the same amount of time he’d had to write such immortal tunes as “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Tuesday’s Gone,” or “Simple Man” from 1973’s (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) and 1974’s Second Helping. (Indeed, he’d never again have the time to sit down and do some leisurely songwriting during his lifetime, which is why Lynyrd Skynyrd was never able to top the transcendental brilliance of its first two LPs.)

Read More »

On Hold Fast, Mac Lloyd cuts deep. The multi-talented singer, songwriter, and producer delivers his most introspective and musically ambitious work to date, an album that fuses Blues grit, Neo-Soul warmth, and Americana storytelling into one emotionally charged package.

Lloyd’s baritone is a commanding presence throughout. Weathered yet expressive, equally at home soaring over smooth R&B soundscapes as it is growling through slide-guitar blues. His voice doesn’t just carry melodies; it carries the weight of lived experience.

Addiction, depression, fatherhood, grief, homelessness, Hold Fast is shaped by the difficult roads he’s walked, and his writing refuses to sanitize any of it. Yet this is not a record steeped in defeat. Instead, it’s about resilience, about McLeod family mottos, and the refusal to let hardship halt creativity or love.

While the subject matter often sits in the shadows, the production shines; lush, soulful layering contrasted with stripped-back vulnerability when the moment calls for it. Each track seems engineered to mirror the emotional arc of its lyrics: redemption comes with a groove, doubt hides behind warm harmonies, and every guitar bend feels like a breath drawn before pushing on.

Read More »

Any fan of solo guitar that’s not clued in to the Tompkins Square label’s long-running Imaginational Anthem series is in for an exquisite awakening. The most recent collection, Vol. XIV: Ireland is out now on vinyl (with a few test pressings still available) and compact disc. It’s an illuminating geographical dive assembled by the terrific Dublin-based guitarist Cian Nugent, who provides notes. Also, for those not yet hip to the Imaginational Anthem experience, the bundle of 12 volumes on CD (including this new one) is on sale through Bandcamp for a very affordable price.

To get right down to business, David Murphy has extensive session credits playing pedal steel, but only one album so far, Cuímhne Ghlinn: Explorations in Irish Music for Pedal Steel Guitar, released last year on vinyl by Rollercoaster Records. Murphy’s meditative and very pretty version of the traditional “The March of the King of Laois,” which serves as Vol. XIV’s opener appears to be an exclusive track.

Brendan Jenkinson has also played on a bunch of other people’s records, including a few as a keyboardist in the band of this album’s curator, Cian Nugent. Jenkinson’s original composition “Paris Blues” is a delightful serving of fingerpicking that should please fans of the American Primitive impulse that set the Imaginational Anthem series into motion.

The nimbleness of finger continues across “The Lark in the Morning,” a wonderfully warm interpretation of a traditional piece by Junior Brother, aka Ronan Kealy. As Junior Brother, Kealy has recorded three full-length albums and a bunch of EPs, with everything on vinyl.

Read More »

WORDS AND IMAGES: DANA WALSH IN AUSTIN, TX | Joe Bonamassa’s set at ACL Live flowed effortlessly, moving between loud, gritty, electrifying numbers and slower, more introspective, deeply emotional moments. But one thing remained constant: the music moved you. Surrounded by fellow blues-rock enthusiasts and musicians, all soaking up every note, it was easy to feel part of something bigger. Whether sitting or standing, everyone seemed fully immersed in the moment. It felt good—really good—to be there.

The night had it all: warmth, soul, and a musical pulse you could feel in your chest. If you were looking for a show that lifts the spirit and gets you grooving, this one delivered in full force. As someone who isn’t originally from Austin, nights like this remind me how lucky I am to live in a city where live music isn’t just entertainment—it’s a way of life. Every show feels like opening an extraordinary gift, and tonight’s performance was every bit as captivating. Music is alive in Austin in a way that feels constant and rare; it is the heartbeat of the city.

Being given the chance not only to attend the show but also to photograph it and write about it genuinely blew me away. Everything about the night felt as though it was meant to be. Despite forecasts of rain, the weather was perfect—cool air, a gentle breeze, and a clear sky. From leaving home to settling into my hotel afterward, the night flowed seamlessly.

Joe opened with “Breakthrough,” the title track from his latest album. The song bursts to life with bold, driving guitar, keys, and a tight rhythm section, combining to create a vibrant, catchy groove. His clear, confident vocals carry an uplifting message that immediately draws the listener in. A highlight was when Sue Foley joined him for “See See Baby.” She’s a powerhouse, and watching them trade energy on stage was electrifying, creating one of the night’s standout moments.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | To celebrate 45 years of one of post-punk’s most iconic albums, we’re proud to present a special anniversary edition of Tuxedomoon’s landmark release: Desire.

Out now on vinyl, CD, and digital, this new edition has been remastered from the original tapes and features three previously-unreleased tracks, two rare cuts and live versions, recollections and liner notes by Steven Brown, Gareth Jones (engineer and co-producer), John Foxx, plus writings from Blaine Reininger and Peter Principle (2015) and of course some archival photos and memorabilia.

Desire captures Tuxedomoon at their most cinematic and atmospheric. Its mood of haunted romanticism and its category-defying blend of music have kept it influential among generations of musicians exploring the intersections of rock, electronic music, cabaret, minimal, jazz, and classical music.

Desire was written just before the band’s relocation from San Francisco to Europe. It was recorded in the UK and released in 1981 on Ralph Records, The Residents’ own label, before being reissued in 1987 on CramBoy, the imprint created by Crammed Discs to host the band’s output.

Tuxedomoon’s considerable body of work (16 albums to date, with a new one currently in the works) remains unique, as relevant today as it’s ever been, thanks to the band’s visionary ability to transcend genres, and to the romantic, rebellious, and imaginative spirit which illuminates their music.

Read More »

A look back at what was in stores, and perhaps some of your scores.

Maybe the best Record Store Day Black Friday 2025 release was The Complete Elektra Albums from Love. The box set comprises five vinyl records, including the first four albums from the pioneering 1960s LA group, and a bonus disc of rarities. Love was one of the most important bands of the West Coast ’60s music scene, which had a devoted cult following that is nearly unequaled for that time and place.

The group was led by Arthur Lee, who, like Jimi Hendrix, was a black man whose sound was rooted almost entirely in rock. Signed by Jac Holzman of Elektra Records, the band was one of the first rock signings of the mostly folk and roots Elektra label, but it became overshadowed by the other rock signing of that period, The Doors.

Love’s self-titled debut, its first album in 1966, came out the year before the self-titled debut of The Doors. While it showed real rock muscle and had a garage sound with tinges of psychedelia to come, and included such superb covers as “Little Red Book” and “Hey Joe,” it was the group’s next album, Da Capo, also released in 1966, that was a revelation. Fully embracing subtle psychedelic touches, its baroque instrumentation and production, along with Lee’s emotive singing, made it an instant cult classic that has lost none of its luster nearly 60 years later.

However, this was truly a band, and key member Bryan MacLean’s contributions are significant, particularly on “Orange Skies.” Additionally, the production team, comprising engineers Bruce Botnick (who also co-produces) and Dave Hassinger, along with the production supervision of label boss Holzman, makes this a textbook on ’60s record-making. The group’s next album, Forever Changes (1967), was an even better release. While a long-extended jam took up all of side two of Da Capo, Forever Changes was an 11-track masterpiece.

Read More »