album review

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The Smiling Faces: ‘Don’t Ever Talk to Me Again’ [album review]

by Logan Lowrey-Rasmussen

Although I had the pleasure of meeting Matt Oliviero and Michael Oden from The Smiling Faces and, more recently, of Vintage Clothes, I didn’t get the chance to listen to their August-released LP, Don’t Ever Talk to Me Again, until recently when frontman and guitarist Eric Gallagher brought it to my physical Facebook-attention. The album, which makes me feel like Dave Grohl in “Walk” both musically and lyrically, contains vocal chaos among smart, instrumental qualities Frasier Crane could enjoy…

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Danielle Durack

Danielle Durack: ‘Bashful’ [interview]

by Jacob Unterreiner

No matter what type of music you play, standing out as a musician is a difficult task. However, for singer-songwriters, standing out is nearly impossible. The sound of soft, folky strums of acoustic singer-songwriters can be heard at every coffee shop, bookstore, and art gallery in the Valley…

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Warshy: ‘The Noble Cause EP’ [album review]

Darren Johns, the vocalist/guitarist/banjoist of Crazy Arm has recently released his first solo venture, The Nobel Cause EP. Although Johns is based out of Plymouth, UK, he actually started Warshy in 2017 on a West Coast tour of the States. Although Crazy Arm has plenty of roots and Americana thrown in to it’s mix of rock and punk, with Warshy, Darren is able strip these influences “to the bone” while also offering his audience more…

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Harsh Mistress: All Roads Lead To This [album review]

by Jakob Casement

As somebody who primarily enjoys listening to albums with a prominent political theme, All Roads Lead to This by Harsh Mistress offered me the ability to go in a naïve yet satisfying direction with this review. It has enough episodic energy and mood differentiation compacted into each track that it makes you want to skank one second and listen from a couch cushion the next. I was entirely engaged in the listening process from the immediate start…

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Josué Kinter Fuses Bandit Country, Gothic Americana, and Western Jazz on ‘Summertime Demos’

by Logan Lowrey-Rasmussen

When I last caught up with Josué Kinter, it was under more awkward pretenses as I covered the slightly bombastic Endless Bummer 3, hosted by Bloody Basin. In the review, I not only mischaracterized certain roles within the band, but there were moments when my mind was overwhelmed with condensing absolutely everything I saw. Since his band Hex Wave happened to be second-to-last on the lineup, I’m sure there was some degree of disconnect in my mind after spending a considerable amount of time in the late summer heat…

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For the Record: ‘Adversary’ by The Blood Feud Family Singers

by Carly Schorman

I’m rather partial to the Noir Americana of The Blood Feud Family Singers. Maybe it’s because I lean toward pensive and melancholy by my very nature. Or maybe it’s because life’s handed me a shit run of luck once or twice so I’ve definitely had a good look at the underside over other people’s shoes. Or maybe it’s just because The Blood Feud Family Singers features some of the finest songwriting I’ve heard this side of the Rio Grande. Adversary, the new album from the BFFS, is so good you don’t really need to justify the fandom. You just have to hit play…

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