SUNSHINE COLLECTIVE “WANNA PLAY?” A tale of two halves. Graceful radio-friendly pop rock for the whole family with charm from the moment the needle drops to the closing hiss and crackle even though the stickiness of the songs fades a bit midway through. The Bear and Mouse are glued to […]
Remember the TV show Moonlighting? The program’s male lead was, of course, Mr. John McLane, er, Bruce Willis. The female star was the uber-chic Cybil Shepherd. Throughout the dramedy’s four year run, Shepherd never appeared on screen without the soft glow of um, moonlight, on her face. The illumination cast […]
BILLY KELLY “THE FAMILY GARDEN” Billy Kelly’s children’s music has been called many things but ‘rough-around-the-edges’ has never been an adjective that had a place in the list. Until now. “The Family Garden” is a relaxed-fit effort in which Kelly allows his alt.country alter ego to seep into his pristine […]
Brady Rymer “Love Me For Who I Am” This is the album Brady Rymer was destined to make. “Love Me For Who I Am” gives Rymer’s patented ear to ear grin, youthful exuberance and happy-go-lucky acoustic guitar rock charm a purpose higher than simply a nifty batch of songs on […]
GUSTAFER YELLOWGOLD’S “INFINITY SOCK” Who’d of thunk that the most human character in kid’s music would be, um, not a human being at all. In the story-arced “Infinity Sock”, Morgan Taylor’s 4th installment in the ongoing Gustafer Yellowgold saga, the yellow fella from the sun once again proves a […]
CAT AND A BIRD self-titled In the Cafeteria, They Sit With: Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell, Lucky Diaz, John and Mark Anytime you can visualize grooving to a kid’s song in a smokey, dim-lit, back alley (& possibly underground) jazz club you’ve probably got yourself a winner. Cat and A Bird […]
NICK COPE “WHAT COLOUR IS YOUR T-SHIRT?” The Sound: Sleepy acoustic Brit-pop In the Cafeteria, He Sits With: David Tobocman, Heidi Swedberg, John & Mark Best Moments: The deceptively catchy, pause-then-go rhythm of “As I Lie Here in my Bed” is a feast of nifty minor percussion. It’s also a […]
“Your ideal / your image / your definition of a friend” – The Afghan Whigs “What Jail Is Like” That lyric first rattled around inside these ears some 17 years ago. It prompted me to examine who I considered a friend and what, exactly, the idea of a friendship meant […]
