REVIEWS
Bill Mallonee’s GLIMMER Vol. 1
Some may miss the compression and punch of the “old days.” I, for one, find this collection to be sturdy, inviting, and compelling. It would be incorrect to call this “outsider art” as it is not naïve at all, and Mallonee’s skill as a crafter of lyric and lick are obvious. But there is something outsider-ish about it, that’s for sure. It draws me in – like a weathered singer playing on a warm afternoon with a small band in a roadhouse bar somewhere between Georgia and California…
Anne Lamott in Conversation (A Review by Dan Macintosh)
IRVINE, CA – Barry Siegel, a former national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and current director of the journalism program at UC Irvine moderated this conversation at Irvine Barclay […]
Moss Meredith – Late For The Moon (reviewed by john r. williamson)
Moss Meredith – Late for the Moon © 2021 Wild Turkey Records www.MossMeredith.com www.WildTurkeyTunes.com Marc Moss has worked with Dave (aka Skatman) Meredith for over 30 years. Their gorgeous blending […]
Chagall Guevara (with Over The Rhine) at The Ryman (reviewed by BQN)
Chagall Guevara w/ Over the Rhine Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN July 2, 2022 (Reviewed by Brian Quincy Newcomb) Fans who gathered from around the nation and beyond to witness the […]
Fourth Wave: The Reality Rock Collection (reviewed by Dan MacIntosh)
Fourth Wave: The Reality Rock Collection Various Artists No record, not even a two-LP set, can ever replicate the sonic thrills of experiencing Southern California’s redemptive alternative rock movement […]
Tears for Fears’ Tipping Point (a reflection by Dan Haseltine)
Tears for Fears’ The Tipping Point A Fan’s Reflection by Dan Haseltine According to a theory first developed by psychologist Erik Erikson in the 1950s, there are eight […]
Andy Zipf’s “How To Make A Paper Airplane” (reviewed by Dan MacIntosh)
How to Make A Paper Airplane Andy Zipf (Reviewed by Dan MacIntosh) If Andy Zipf is an unfamiliar name to you, don’t feel bad. He’s still a relatively new name […]
Terry Scott Taylor’s Beautiful Mystery (Reviewed By BQN)
This Beautiful Mystery Terry Scott Taylor (Reviewed by Brian Quincy Newcomb) If asked to contribute to a hypothetical “Best faith-laced Rock & Alternative Music Albums of All Time” list, […]
Hymnshow, by 7&7is – (A Review by BQN)
Hymnshow 7&7is Mezzo Music, LTD (Click HERE to order) By Brian Quincy Newcomb Given the devolution of the music “business” in these dark days – as streaming has […]
Stonehill & Keaggy Go Back To Ohio
A Contextualized Refection on a 50 Year Musical Friendship and a Live Concert by Brian Quincy Newcomb When we heard that Phil Keaggy and Randy Stonehill would be closing out […]
Dawes At Church (The Ryman) 10-2-21
Dawes – The Ryman – Oct 2, 2021 After a Covid-forced quarantine caused them to cancel several shows on their already long-delayed tour, Dawes careened into The Ryman […]
Nowhere Else (A Festival Reflection by BQN)
Nowhere Else Festival 2021 Featuring: Over the Rhine and the Band of Sweethearts, Patty Griffin, Mary Gauthier, Joe Henry, Allison Russell, Peter Mulvey, Anna Tivel, Scott Mulvahill, and more Martinsville, […]
Vector: Still VITAL 26 Years Later
Vital Vector Mezzo Music (Reviewed By Brian Quincy Newcomb) It’s been 26 years since we last heard from Vector, a band that arrived on the scene via Exit Records, the […]
The Threefinger Opera (Jeff Elbel & Ping)
The Threefinger Opera Jeff Elbel and Ping Jeff Elbel aptly describes the sound captured on his latest – and by far most accomplished – full-length Ping LP as “progressive […]
Randy Stonehill’s Lost Art of Listening
Lost Art Of Listening is the kind of singer-songwriter album that artists like Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor, and Jim Croce used to make for millions of fans. That Stonehill, after fifty years, is still crafting new songs at such a high level and finding a way to get them out to the world is a miracle in and of itself. That they are this good is a challenge to young artists everywhere. It’s clear that he has been listening, not only to the creative voice in his own head, but the still small voice that has been whispering in his ear for decades. It’s an absolute travesty that an artist of his skill and provenance works in such obscurity this far into his career. Lost Art of Listening indeed.
The Choir’s Joyful Meditation on Brokenness
The Choir – Deep Cuts Galaxy 21 Music, 2021 Reviewed By Andre Salles What a good, great gift it is to have The Choir still with us. They’ve sung […]
Transatlantic’s Ultimate Universe Defies Trends and Gravity
The Absolute Universe, (Ultimate Edition) Transatlantic, Sony/InsideOut Music By Mark Hollingsworth (A Note From JJT: We talk a lot about listening to better music, and listening to music better […]
Toby Mac’s “Help Is On The Way”
Toby Mac’s New Single, “Help Is On The Way” Sets an Important Standard for Christian Music By sticking to the basics and locking in on raw Gospel sound and […]
The Foo Fighters’ Good Medicine
‘It can be risky business trying to dig too deep for meaning in a Foo Fighter’s record. Dave Grohl and the boys have perfected a form of populist rock that […]
Spirit In The Streams; Springsteen, Dawes, Blitzen Trapper, Kaiser
Spirit In The Streams; Springsteen, Dawes, Blitzen Trapper, Kaiser – For those with ears to hear. By John J. Thompson When “revival” gripped America and parts of Europe in […]
Mali Music’s Powerful Lament
The Book of Mali Mali Music RCA Inspiration Reviewed By JJT The Book of Mali is the kind of album most adults should be listening to, whether they know […]
Neal Morse’s Sola Gratia; A Prog-Rock Perusal of Paul
Sola Gratia Neal Morse Inside Out Music Reviewed By Brian Quincy Newcomb Neal Morse may not be a household name, but the progressive rocker has produced such a sizable catalog […]
The Psychedelic Furs’ Rock and Roll Eschaton
Psychedelic Furs – Made of Rain It’s been 29 years since The Psychedelic Furs released a completely new album. It’s probably been longer than that since an alternative band […]
The Killers Implode The Mirage
Imploding The Mirage The Killers We can become awfully attached to the mirages in our life – even the ones we know full well are calling us to drink […]
Michael McDermott’s What In The World; Chicago-Style Americana
Michael McDermott’s songs burn like embers in a campfire that some wanderers were sure they had snuffed out, but have the potential to take the whole damn forest down. All […]
The Indigo Girls’ Look Long and Find Grace
In 1989, a music fan looking for signs of spiritual light and life in the real world likely found plenty of reasons to be encouraged. Bonnie Raitt had a hit […]
Over The Rhine – Love & Revelation Concert Review (by BQN)
Parish Auditorium – Miami University (Hamilton Campus) Hamilton, OH – February 22, 2020 “We’re a lousy party band,” admitted singer Karin Bergquist, about half-way through Over the Rhine’s concert at the Parish […]
Mallonee’s Lead On, Kindly Light (Review by BQN)
“Lead On, Kindly Light” / “This World & One More” (Double Album) Bill Mallonee billmalloneemusic.com Reviewed By Brian Quincy Newcomb At this point, it’s nearly impossible to speak of any […]
Bill Mallonee’s Rags of Absence (Review By BQN)
The Rags of Absence Bill Mallonee & The Big Sky Ramblers (Bill Mallonee Music) Reviewed by Brian Quincy Newcomb The first time I heard songs by singer/songwriter Bill Mallonee was […]
An Evening with Bruce Cockburn (Concert Review by Brian Quincy Newcomb)
An Evening with Bruce Cockburn Stuart’s Opera House Nelsonville, OH September 23, 2019 At 74, Canadian-born singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn hadn’t played in the Midwest of the U.S. consistently for quite […]
Will The Circle Be Unbroken? Burns’ New “Country” Doc Is A Revelation
By Mark Hollingsworth America’s favorite documentarian, Ken Burns, has once again created a PBS masterpiece with his new 8 part, 16 1/2 hour series, “Country Music.” In his trademark style […]
See The Biggest Little Farm In The Nicest Theater Possible!
With a quality of cinematography usually reserved for nature films set in exotic places like Africa or Borneo, and a richness of story more often found in scripted drama than […]
You Can’t Stop The Rebel Rock
The Triumphant Resurrection of a Long Lost Altar Boys Album Last summer I got to do something that fifteen year old me would have never imagined possible. While visiting […]
T Bone Burnett’s Invisible Light: Acoustic Space
Two strong early contenders for “best album” of 2019 dropped in the last couple of weeks. In many ways they could not be more different from each other. Sara Barreilles’ […]
Sharing Comfort Around Kasey Chambers’ Campfire
By JJT (written for ThinkChristian.net) On the Campfire album and tour, Kasey Chambers provides a gathering place for the weary and burdened. With her latest release, Campfire, Kasey Chambers draws a […]
OK, This Sounds Like Mumford & Sons
By JJT (written for ThinkChristian.net) With Delta, the banjos (and biblical resonance) make a comeback. There may be no modern band with more baggage than Mumford & Sons. With roots in […]
Dawes’ Pastoral Passwords
By JJT (written for ThinkChristian.net) The band’s latest album encourages the most fundamental of connections. It is not good for man to be alone. So opens the story between God and […]
Hearing a Deeper Groove in Leon Bridges’ Good Thing
By JJT (written for ThinkChristian.net) Bridges’ latest may sound like sex, but it’s equally concerned with the soul. The first single to drop from Leon Bridges’ hotly anticipated second album, Good […]
John Prine, Willie Nelson, and Greeting the Grim Reaper
By JJT (written for ThinkChristian.net) Mortality means different things to these weathered American masters. There’s a strange symmetry between the impressive recent releases from two veteran masters. Willie Nelson’s Last Man […]
Wrong Creatures, Right Sound: BRMC’s Musical Impressionism
By JJT (written for ThinkChristian.net) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s latest leaves plenty of room for interpretation, religious and otherwise. Thin lines, lightly painted. Open spaces. Room for light and shade. These […]
U2’s Unfashionably Hopeful Songs of Experience
By JJT (written for ThinkChristian.com) Songs of Experience may be full of big, grinning, sometimes dumb rock, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Somehow, when my grandpa laid a cliche […]
All Things Work Together for Lecrae
By JJT (written for ThinkChristian.net) Borrowing from Romans 8, Lecrae offers a meditation on the way grace confounds and delivers us. Biblically literate hip hop fans will immediately recognize that the […]
With Dear Hate, Maren Morris Gets Biblical
By JJT (written for ThinkChristian.net) Morris’ ballad locates the true root of violence, both in the world at large and in our hearts. In response to the Sept. 30 mass shooting […]