indy cd & vinyl

Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet—s/t
The Sparrow Quartet sees Abigail Washburn stretching out mightily from her bluegrass roots. While also performing with traditionalists Uncle Earl, the world’s “only all-female string band,” Washburn’s solo career has always been one of transcending traditional bluegrass boundaries. As proof, her first solo album, Songs of the Traveling Daughter, […]

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RACONTEURS—CONSOLERS OF THE LONELY
The above-mentioned Black Keys are not the only blues-rock duo of note in our musical universe, of course. Jack and Meg White have made the White Stripes almost a household word, what with Jack’s winning way with melodies and guitar licks and the duo’s eye-catching and memorable penchant for dressing only […]

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BLACK KEYS—ATTACK AND RELEASE
The guitar and drums duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have always gone for a minimalist approach to blues-rock, as befits their being only two people in the band. Crashing drums and searing or pounding electric guitar lines have been their stock-in-trade, and their excellence in pursuing this path has […]

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SOULSAVERS—It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land
The Soulsavers are an English-bred production duo who have previously specialized in downtempo electronica. Their sophomore effort, however, strays far beyond this territory thanks to the addition of former Screaming Trees/sometimes Queens Of The Stone Age/current solo artist Mark Lanegan on vocals (and lyrics). […]

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STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS—Real Emotional Trash
Stephen Malkmus headed up Pavement, one of the most seminal indie-rock bands of all time. Pavement was most often characterized by Malkmus’ off-handed lyricism and winning way with a melody. Occasionally, however, Malkmus would indulge his guitar jones. This seemed to happen most often when the band was […]

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