Sheyenne Rivers oozes pure rock goddess appeal. It’s her singular presence — blond, beautiful, and undeniably erotic — that commands the crowd’s attention during a recent gig at Tuscany Trattoria in Coconut Grove with her band, I Digress. As the other musicians dutifully run through the repertoire onstage, she glides…
Bittertown, Lori McKenna’s exceptional fourth album, finds the skilled singer/songwriter looking at life through the eyes of one whose hopes and dreams have been tempered by fate and circumstance. Bruised but determined, she has created a harsh yet telling snapshot of rural existence, using riveting melodies to etch an indelible…
After four major-label albums and a growing reputation among Nashville’s inner cartel, Allison Moorer was ready to arrive. She possessed the aptitude and the attitude that usually means stardom is merely a hit record away. She apparently wasn’t happy, however, with the star-making machinery, especially after witnessing their impact on…
Until now Ron Sexsmith has appeared to be a reluctant rock star, one whose willingness to lay his heart on his proverbial sleeve underscores a sensitivity and naiveté that’s readily apparent in his boyish demeanor and confessional songs. His new album, Retriever, suggests Sexsmith may be ready to steer his…
After performing into the wee hours, any gig before noon can be challenging, especially for a guy who readily admits he’s not a morning person. Rod MacDonald’s not complaining, though. When you’re a folk musician who writes and records original material and you’re trying to scratch out a living in…
The cover photo adorning Gingersol’s third full-length opus is a visual pun of sorts. By showing L.A.’s architectural landmark, the Eastern Columbia Building, it hearkens back to the album’s title, which literally refers to the fact that band founder and songwriter Steve Tagliere and his musical partner Seth Rothschild left…
So what guarantees the perfect pop hit? A riveting refrain? An irresistible beat? Perhaps a dazzling arrangement, insightful lyrics, or a captivating chorus? In fact there’s no definitive formula. If there were, they couldn’t build enough banks to stash the cash spawned by those reaping its benefits. That said, Owsley’s…
In the fickle world of pop music, evolution is essential. That’s been the operative rule for Elvis Costello, an artist whose stylistic flip-flops have veered from rebellion to respectability. While punk was engulfing England in the late Seventies, Costello (a.k.a. Declan McManus) made his debut as a bitter, barb-tongued nebbish…
Willard Grant Conspiracy isn’t so much a band as a concept, a swirling torrent of sounds and observations from the mind of its sole mainstay, singer and songwriter Robert Fisher. Having relocated from Boston to the fringes of the Mojave Desert, Fisher drew on the mysticism that surrounds this retreat…
Over the course of a nearly twenty-year career, Australia’s Paul Kelly has demonstrated an innate ability to write songs that are as moving as they are memorable. He does so by tapping into feelings and experiences that resonate in everyday lives, recounting the joys and heartbreaks, aspirations and disappointments that…
For a guy who plays the blues, Albert Castiglia www.albertcastiglia.com seems to be having way too much fun. Holding court onstage during a recent Friday night at Hooligan’s Pub and Oyster Bar in Pinecrest, he and his back-up band run through a set that includes cuts from his debut disc,…
Despite four critically acclaimed albums, a heap of media exposure, and membership in what may be folk’s first true supergroup (the excellent Cry Cry Cry), singer/songwriter Lucy Kaplansky has yet to achieve the same degree of popular appeal accorded Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, Nanci Griffith, and other artists with…
The saga of the Flatlanders is peppered with irony. A genuine supergroup if ever there was one, this West Texas trio released a debut album in 1972 and then waited a full 30 years for a followup. Blame it on lack of motivation; their debut disc was virtually ignored the…
The title of Firewater’s fifth album, Songs We Should Have Written, would suggest that this New York-based bunch is falling back on a pop music primer. In fact it’s more an affirmation of their own musical stance, a heady art-punk mix that blends such disparate elements as klezmer, Indian wedding…
Relying on a cheap pun isn’t the best way to start a review. But given Sigmatropic’s origins, as well as its strange mix of sounds, the oft-quoted expression “it’s all Greek to me” somehow seems appropriate. Taken literally, Sigmatropic refers to Greek producer/multi-instrumentalist Akis Boyatzis, who recruited several musicians to…
It’s a Saturday night in Homestead and most of the action in town is centered at the Main Street Cafe. The sounds of Bob Dylan capture the attention of a rapt audience here, similar to the way all-star tributes to folksingers like Carole King and the late Phil Ochs used…
What to make of an album that kicks off with a cello solo? Given the fact that Dolorean nicks its name from legendary maverick automaker John Delorean, the band’s unusual intro might seem understandable. With a hushed shoegazer approach that mirrors such melancholy forebears as British troubadour Nick Drake and…
Anyone who admits to an obsession for music knows by now that there are too few stores in South Florida to effectively feed a collector’s habit. With the limited selection found at major retail outlets like Spec’s, Circuit City, Best Buy, and the prohibitively expensive Virgin Megastore, only a smattering…
Who would have thought that an ensemble featuring some of today’s leading pop practitioners would come up with an album that’s so … well … old school? On Circles, the second effort by the Autumn Defense — a loosely configured combo led by singer/guitarist John Stirratt (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo), singer/guitarist/keyboardist…
Over the course of three superb solo albums, a stint with the Waterboys, and celebrity associations with members of U2, Mike Scott, Kirsty MacColl, and others, Irish fiddler and accordionist Sharon Shannon has earned her share of critical kudos. Dubbed Ireland’s Number One Traditional Artist and Folk Artist of the…
Former Florida homeboy Walter Salas-Humara may not have invented Latin alternative, but, to retool an old expression, he certainly was Latino before Latino was cool. Over the course of six critically acclaimed albums with his band the Silos; two solo stabs; a pair with his sometime side band, the Setters;…
Call it roots rock, altcountry, or simply Americana; applied to a particular breed of today’s singer-songwriters and cutting-edge combos, those labels describe a freewheeling form of American music. In its purest sense, it’s a synthesis of styles, one that retains the exhilaration of rock and roll, combined with the soulful…
