A title like A Looney Tunes Sing-Along Christmas is about as far from deceptive packaging as you can get. It’s out front: you should not be expecting a hidden track featuring a selection from the so-far unreleased CHINESE DEMOCRACY by Guns n’ Roses. Nope, what it says is what you get, which...

Abigail Hopkins follows up her acclaimed debut album Smile Road, with her sophomore album Blue Satin Alley. Smile Road was a much more cheerful-sounding album, but Blue Satin Alley still contains Hopkins’s mesmerizing gritty sound, reminiscent of PJ Harvey, an artist who she lists as an influence and one who...

Technically considered “noise rock,” Aids Wolf is much more “noise,“ and much less “rock.” This foursome from Montreal seems to strive for something different, but is ultimately way too bizarre for their own good. The Lovvers LP is strange, uncoordinated, and honestly sounds like nothing but noise. The vocalist, Chloe...

Immediately upon popping in the sophomore album of this Wisconsin native, one thing is obvious: she was incredibly influenced by Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks. While I think Taylor's voice is more powerful, I can hear a bit of Stevie in there... I was especially impressed with the tracks Nobody Else...

Alex Clements’ Waiting for you… is an excellent example of today’s smooth jazz. His music speaks through the quick tones of the saxophone, a soft and light drum beat, and pleasant chords of the piano. The album debuts with a more upbeat melody, Blues for GB, which is a rather...

Listening to Angie Stone’s The Art of Love and War is like spending a pleasant afternoon with someone you haven’t seen in a while. There’s nostalgia and comfortable familiarity, but also the excitement of rekindling an old friendship. Stone’s brand of smooth neo-soul with smatterings of funk is the kind...

Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale are a miracle of fusions.  Through their music emanates beats and sounds that wouldn’t sound out of place be-bopping from headphones in Mumbai.  But, yet, they are more than merely a songwriting duo influenced by the subcontinent.  Their grandiose orchestrations with sweeping cellos and drum...

I think it is safe to say that the metal scene is living in the age of the mediocre. For every great album that is released, there are ten albums that are completely boring and uninspired. Look at The Final Dawn, for example. This album sounds like...

Oh, how I wanted to love this CD. I’ve always had a secret hankering for the deep-throated bass that is Barry White. My obsession was similar to Peter MacNicol’s character on Ally McBeal: each time he’s played on the radio, I start swaying my shoulders and tapping my foot. But,...

Former Grammy winner and long-time country music artist Bobby Bare has done it again... sort of. I say sort of because the latest release bearing his name is the album Drunk and Crazy... Plus, which is actually a re-issue of his classic 1980 released, with some extra tracks thrown...