Musing

Even now, I'm not sure if this is an entirely fair assessment. I'm quite behind on all of the things that came out in 2021.  Since my reading schedule was mainly long and challenging works, I couldn't do a lot of simultaneous critical listens to new albums.  Anything that isn't mentioned below is probably missing because I haven't yet given it enough time.  As for the rest: These 13 by Andrew Bird & Jimbo Mathus This one's a lot of fun. I'm more partial to Andrew's voice than Jimbo's, so there's what I would consider an unfortunate number of Jimbo-lead songs here. The recording itself is very loud and can be harsh on the ears at times. I understand the artistic decision there, but it's still regrettable. How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? by Big Red Machine BRM's second LP is a solidly progressive step forward from the first album. Sprawling across 64 minutes, it feels like maybe they pulled in some of the Volca...

Toad the Wet Sprocket's New Constellation Editor's Note: This is the 3rd in a quasi-weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2013. The 10th edition is wrapped into the larger year-end post I call "The Ho Media Awards", which will be published just after the new year. Stay tuned! Toad the wet what ? I remember thinking this when "Something's Always Wrong" became popular on the radio in the mid-90's. Today, that's probably the same reaction the band is getting from a new generation of fans, 16 years after their last album Coil . Maybe their name doesn't make sense, but the songs that these guys craft have never failed to grab me, mostly owing to the lyrical genius that fronts most of the vocals - Glen Phillips. Sometimes you hear a song at just the right moment in your life that it actually seems like someone's choreographing a TV-style soundtrack for you. "Throw It All Away" was one such time, where T...