Although Sharon Jones may have passed away four years ago, her collaboration with the Dap-Kings lives on in another posthumous release. The latest collection of songs, Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Rendition Was In), is a collection of songs the…
Album Review: Laura Veirs Balances Anxiety and Comfort on “My Echo”
Like the best folk singers, Laura Veirs is appealing in her consistency and reliability. Her latest album, My Echo, is a concise album with plenty of lyrics illustrating feelings of anxiety and bittersweet nostalgia. Fortunately, because of her clear vocals, earthy…
Album Review: ‘Tis the Season for Love and Family with Dolly Parton’s “Holly Dolly Christmas”
Thirty years after her last Christmas album, Dolly Parton is back again with the charming and homegrown A Holly Dolly Christmas. Her previous Christmas releases—Once Upon a Christmas with Kenny Rogers in 1984, and Home for Christmas in 1990—were fairly even mixes of traditional…
Album Review: Sylvan Esso craft subtle treasures on “Free Love”
On Amelia Meath and Nick Sandborn’s third album as Sylvan Esso, Free Love, the group pares down their sound even further while expanding their emotional reach. The precise electronic-pop beats of Sylvan Esso’s most prominent prior tracks, like “Coffee” and “Radio,”…
From the Record Crate: Rilo Kiley – “Rilo Kiley” (2000)
Rilo Kiley, the Southern California indie-rock band that flourished through most of the 2000s, began with a humble EP released in 1999. That EP, self-titled, and then renamed The Initial Friend during a third pressing, has long been a rarity among Rilo…
Album Review: Imelda May trades rockabilly for spoken word on “Slip of the Tongue”
Irish singer-songwriter Imelda May’s latest outing, Slip of the Tongue, is a far cry from her early rockabilly output. However, this isn’t such a huge leap from her last album way back in 2017, Life Love Flesh Blood, which was decidedly moodier. Slip of…
Album Review: H. Jon Benjamin delivers quirky interpretations of movie favorites on “The Soundtrack Collection”
Comedian H. Jon Benjamin’s latest experimental album—this time under the official name “Jon Benjamin – Jazz Daredevil” —is only marginally more legitimate than his first. 2015’s Well I Should Have*(*Learned How to Play Piano) saw Benjamin playing inexperienced piano alongside established jazz…
