indy cd & vinyl

WHITE STRIPES—Icky Thump
 
Jack and Meg White, who comprise the White Stripes, are the finest purveyors of blues-based rock working today. They understand that such music does not need to be dressed up with grunge, emo, hip-hop, punk, or any other sub-genre. They believe that blues is the foundation of rock, and they pursue their devotion […]

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JAMES BLACKSHAW—The Cloud Of Unknowing
 
The Cloud Of Unknowing is London-based James Blackshaw’s sixth album, but first to be widely available stateside. It has immediately started me on the hunt for his other five. An absolutely gorgeous all instrumental work for 12-string guitar, with the occasional sprinklings of violin and percussion, The Cloud Of Unknowing consists […]

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RICHARD THOMPSON—SWEET WARRIOR
 
Richard Thompson has put out, either solo or with others, over thirty records in the last forty years. But somehow, when people try to recall artists from the sixties who are still putting out new material today, his name is usually forgotten. This is so even as he is extolled as one of […]

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WILCO—SKY BLUE SKY

Wilco has released two of the most critically acclaimed albums of this decade, Yankee Foxtrot Hotel and A Ghost Is Born. Both were characterized by the interplay of leader Jeff Tweedy’s melodic, usually laid-back songs with the avant-garde tendencies of guitarist and helpmate Jim O’Rourke, resulting in an unusual fusion of mainstream […]

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