PICK OF THE WEEK

Approaching us with an alluring groove that only gets stronger as we press on, Mariea E. Watkins’ “The Great I Am,” featuring Seanie Ranz, features a lustiness that I rarely hear in gospel music, but truth be told, this is true of the majority of songs in Watkins’ debut album …

Vancouver, Canada-based quartet Szabotage is a newcomer to the rock landscape, founded in April 2020, but they’ve established a signature style and sound within a little more than two years. Szabotage emerged out of two distinct creative “parts” colliding to form a greater whole. Guitarist Victor Szabo and vocalist James …

Percussion isn’t always presented from behind a drum kit in the new record On the Day That You Come To from Del Vertigo, but often from the force of the melodic elements on their own. Take for example “In Dreams” or “Theres a Glimmer in the Thicket,” both of which move a …

Tyler Mast’s In the Company of a Friend blends the right amount of pop flavor into a concoction long on performed poetry for a winning mix. It’s the latest album from the Chicago born singer/songwriter and continues in the same vein as his previous work. It isn’t retreading familiar territory, however, but …

The creative union of a singer/songwriter with a flute playing retired high school music teacher doesn’t bode bright for an exceptionally well-rounded release. Blonde & Grey confounds such superficial impressions from the outset. Neil Friend and Kathy Olsen begin their debut on a confident note with its title song “Face …

Crash Taylor’s 2022 album Retired Outlaw is another release we can thank COVID-19 for. Taylor’s written songs since he was ten and has since recorded many times but didn’t decide to release his first album until the pandemic caused him to consider it. Taylor is a writer as well and his lyrics …

From passive melodies ala “It’s Only a Paper Moon” to a quaint harmony around every bend in “Summertime,” Bettman & Halpin manage to cover all the bases with their new album Timeless, all while promoting a rather minimalistic attitude when it comes to songcraft. The majority of the songs in Timeless are standards, …

Working away at a brittle harmony in “You’re the One,” Kate Lynne Logan at once embodies the indulgent folk-pop of the past and the efficiency of the modern singer/songwriter. In “Better Life,” her affection for western melodicism protrudes into her poetry, carrying forth a message of solidarity with the rural …

Singer/songwriter Holt Vaughn’s latest release These Songs, Vol. 1 features a dozen songs. Half of these tracks are highlighted by contributions with some of the best vocal and instrumental talents working today. It’s as impossible to categorize their specific contributions to each song as it is to slap a label on These Songs as …

Noir Dream have no interest in being a copycat band. They’ve been cultivating their sound in the deep Portland underground, and despite COVID creating a chokehold on the independent music scene, they’ve managed to get even better at their craft in the past two years. Their new EP Within is scoring …