New Releases


Okervil River – I Am Very Far
Some albums take time, slowly revealing their meanings and aims only after repeated listening. Others seem to announce their intentions the moment you put them on, as does the sixth album by Texan quintet Okkervil River. It opens with a slightly archaic but nevertheless familiar sound: even 20 years after it fell from fashion, nothing says “we are aiming for the stadiums” quite like the booming thwack of a gated snare drum, the 80s sonic signpost of big rock music with big ambitions. Read The Full Review on The Guardian


Greg Brown – Freak Flag
After Greg Brown’s last studio album (2007’s “Yellow Dog”), the singer/songwriter harbored doubts as to whether he’d record again, but — after the longest hiatus of his luminous, three-decade career — he’s returned with a solid-sender that more than holds its own among the finest of his two-dozen full-length discs.

That trademark burnished, favorite-shirt baritone remains a wonder, deftly shading lyrical content with a barely suppressed chuckle, a swallowed sob, a soul-shaking moan or — in the rollicking, Hooker-inspired boogie of “Where Are You Going When You’re Gone” — rolling out an ace falsetto as his “regular” voice’s harpy combatant in a hilarious, no-win beat-down. Read the full review on the Press Citizen


Mountain Man – Self Titled
Mountain Man walk a fine line between Sacred Harp (think Cold Mountain OST), gospel, and Gregorian chant that makes for quite an eclectic mix of tunes. Opener “Animal Tracks” finds all three singers weaving their voices together; their slurring style recalling the rawness of Bon Iver’s debut. One feels, in some nostalgic sense, that the lyrics of the chorus could not be sung in any other way (“And the sweat will roll down our backs / And we’ll follow animal tracks”). It has the sound of some lost childhood anthem of adventure, sung in unison as the three women trudge through the forest. For such a humble recording, its quite devastating. Read the Full blog review on Bohemian Cuddle Box


Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’
From 2002’s Instant Vintage up through 2008’s Grammy-nominated The Way I See It, former Tony! Toni! Toné! standout and relentless mega-producer Raphael Saadiq has gradually resuscitated the energy that characterized his soulful R&B trio as a solo artist. On his excellent, career-finest LP, Stone Rollin,’ Saadiq truly comes into his own, playing virtually every instrument, in addition to writing and producing the album. Read the full review on the AV Club