The first of this week’s bangers is Whirlwind, a daringly honest look into multi-platinum Grammy award-winning artist Lainey Wilson’s life and journey through Nashville. The 14-track album, which was produced by Jay Joyce, follows on the heels of seven Country Music Association awards, including Entertainer of The Year, six Academy of Country Music awards and…
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit follow up 2018’s Live from the Ryman with a second volume of live recordings from their annual residency at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Live from the Ryman Vol. 2 features 15 live versions of songs from ‘Weathervanes’ and ‘Reunions’, including as stunning rendition of ‘The Last Song…
Our first pick of the best releases for the next two weeks comes from Morgan Wade, who was feeling the urge to simplify after a period of relentless touring and intense media scrutiny during the last couple of years. Every time she sat down with her guitar, new songs just started pouring out. “They were…
The Night the Zombies Came is the tenth album from Pixies – if you count their classic 1987 4AD mini LP Come on Pilgrim – and their first new music since 2022’s acclaimed Doggerel. 13 new songs that find Pixies looking ahead to the most cinematic record of their career. Songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Black…
First out of the box this week is the self-titled debut from 86TVs – a supergroup comprising Maccabees alumni Hugo and Felix White, their brother Will White and drummer Jamie Morrison of Stereophonics. This is the sound of a band with nothing to prove, yet conversely with everything to prove, if only to themselves. For…
Alan Sparhawk has always been a prolific, protean musician: a restless soul eager to explore unfamiliar sonic and psychic terrain. Though he’s obviously (and justifiably) best-known for his thirty years as frontman of the legendary band Low, a look at Sparhawk’s many side projects across that same span of time shows him experimenting with everything…
The first of this week’s smashers comes from Sprints, whose music – driven by experience, tough political climates and social and economic uncertainty – is honest, often politically charged and authentic. Back Catalogue collects the band’s early work together for the first time. Their 2020 debut single The Cheek won them early support from BBC…
The Last Flight is Public Service Broadcasting’s version of the story of pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart’s final, ill-fated journey in 1937. Rather than focus exclusively on the flight itself, the record examinates Earhart’s remarkable character: a rare blend of grace, composure, technical aptitude and a fortitude that the rest of us mere mortals can barely…
First out of the blocks this week is Sturgill Simpson, who makes his long-awaited return to music this year with an extensive tour along with a new album. The album is being released under the name Johnny Blue Skies, after Simpson promised to release only five studio albums under his own name. Passage du Desir…
Five Dice, All Threes is a record of uncommon intensity and tenderness, communal exorcism and personal excavation. These are, of course, qualities that fans have come to expect from Bright Eyes, nearly three decades into their career. The tight-knit band of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott tends to operate in distinct sweeping movements:…