One man project by Portland's Phil Spirito, who evidently has a lot of musician friends that helped out with this recording. Sparse, subtle arrangements are the norm for this outing. If I had a dream about this record, I would think it is either Tom Waits or Neil Young crashing an Alan Lomax recording session. Apparently there is such a thing as a tenor banjo. Who knew?
I feel very fortunate to have seen Roky Erickson perform live at SXSW backed by Okkervil River in 2010 or 2011. Erickson passed away in 2019 at the age of 71. For those of you who aren’t already disciples, Roky Erickson was the lead vocalist of legendary Texas psych rockers 13th Floor Elevators. Recorded after the breakup of the Elevators … Read more
Beastie Boys were a huge part of my transition from teenager into adulthood. An album for every stage of their growth musically matched the many chapters of my own personal development. Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D were like cherished friends for my earholes. The world mourned together when we lost Adam Yauch to cancer in 2012 and were heartbroken knowing … Read more
I already wrote about these dudes in my mid-year top 5 since Oakland’s Dandy Boy Records released a compilation of their early digital singles back in April, and here they are following it up with a 12-song album of all new material! This second release proves Long Beach’s Softjaw have a masters in powerpop from the school of rock. I’m … Read more
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