I made the mistake of listening to Circles by A Chinese Firedrill, immediately after I finished reviewing another disc that I found occasionally interesting, but more often ordinary. Oddly, though I physically got up and changed the CD in the player, I more or less forgot that fact that first...

At the turn of the century, Adema was a hot property, with family connections (original lead singer Mark Chavez is related to “Korn” mastermind Jonathan Davis), and local hype resulting in multiple labels bidding for their services. The band parlayed that, and their then hot nu-metal sound into a successful...

If you’re in the market for a newer R&B chanteuse less plagued than Amy Winehouse but with more creative range than Alicia Keys, then give consideration to Alice Smith. On her first album For Lovers, Dreamers & Me, Smith beautifully blurs genres - jazz, soul, folk, funk - all...

When I listen to an album the first time around, I don’t pay much attention to lyrics. I try to take in the sound alone. So when I first listened to Liberation by AM Syndicate, I wasn’t very pleased. The first thing that came to mind was King Missile’s “Sensitive...

Anyu has also been gigging with different bands for quite a few years but he's gone solo this time. His debut album is entitled Reasons. I can think of several reasons why we should be his audience: Anyu's music has a distinct style. It's moody and...

Avalon is a highly recognized Christian group that has been around for years, although they’ve gone through many changes, original member Michael “Father Avalon” Passons leaving the group and new members Melissa Greene and Greg Long, Janna Long’s husband, joining. But somehow, this quartet has come out stronger than ever...

From the get-go, I was surprised at how retro the album Hats Off to Hank by Buzz Cason can sound. I imagine I would find this album in the dusty section of my father's CD collection. It's very old country/rock -- something to listen to on the road...

For the first three songs of Cadia, I continually waited for Zach Efron to come in and accompany one of the...sisters on their self-titled debut CD, thinking this was the new Christian version "High School Musical: Vacation Bible School". But, happily for me, sadly for some, Efron never showed. ...

I have not heard a truly great – or even good – jazz album in a long time. Diana Krall’s release from 2006 – that was the last great jazz album I have heard. Chris Humphrey was an unlikely great jazz candidate. Although he hails from Portsmouth, NH – my...

Let me attempt to break down this almost incoherent album into a few bite-sized pieces. I begin with just the CD – no album artwork and no background story. All I have is a round piece of plastic that makes noise when I but it into my computer. This first...