Bob Mould – Sunshine Rock

“What do you want me to do?” asks Bob Mould on his latest album Sunshine Rock. My answer: “whatever the hell you want”. Bob Mould owes rock fans absolutely nothing at this point. He helped give the world the blueprint for alternative rock with his first band Hüsker Dü, perfected straight-up alternative rock with his band Sugar’s Copper Blue album, and then has gone through a bit of a resurgence with some of the best, most pure music of his career in the 2010’s. And yet, the man still delivers. Continue reading →

William Tyler – Goes West

William Tyler’s last album of contemplative instrumental country/folk, Modern Country, has surely ended up being one of my most listened to albums of the past few years. This is because Tyler’s brand of spacey, unobtrusive guitar work is very easy to put on in the background when you’re working/writing, which I often find myself doing. Now, I’m not sure that that makes for the best music to actually write about, but I guess we’ll see what I can come up with… Continue reading →

Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow

I am almost always skeptical when an indie rock artist decides to make their “dance-pop record”. I am also almost always wrong about this skepticism. With Remind Me Tomorrow, the latest release from this typically guitar-based singer-songwriter, I had an inkling that once again I’d be eating my words in regards to this slight sonic reinvention. Because late last year, Sharon Van Etten released the fantastic single “Comeback Kid”, a song that is weirdly catchy and anthemic, yet still has that undercurrent of regret and melancholy that seems to run through all of Van Etten’s music. Continue reading →