Laura Jane Grace Brings Great Songs to ‘Hole in My Head’
Hole in My Head is full of good songs, and Laura Jane Grace is an excellent songwriter with intriguing lyrical turns of phrase and an ear for catchy melodies.
folk punk
Violent Femmes’ 40-Year-Old Debut Is a Work of Singular Vision
Violent Femmes’ heart, sound, and aesthetics belong to an earlier, acoustic, analog, atomized rather than the Internet-connected world. It’s like a musical Catcher in the Rye.
The 10 Best Early Billy Bragg Songs
In his first records, Billy Bragg slashes and burns his way through the political and personal struggles of early adulthood with youth’s passion and idealism.
Sunny War Preaches Raw Realism in ‘Anarchist Gospel’
Sunny War is one of the most promising, exciting voices in American roots music. Anarchist Gospel is a testament to clear-eyed persistence and gritty hope.
Terre and Suzzy Roche Remember the Roches’ 1982 LP ‘Keep on Doing’
Forty years old, Keep on Doing is a high-water mark in the Roches’ career and a testament to their animating principle of being wholly themselves.
Junior Brother Speaks His Own Language on ‘The Great Irish Famine’
Junior Brother’s The Great Irish Famine captures the range of feelings we face when learning our place in an increasingly shaky world built on a foundation of tragedy.
Violent Femmes Celebrate 40 Years of Punk Folk
Marking four decades of folk-punk excellence with overdue vinyl reissues and extensive tour, Violent Femmes tell us how they haven’t missed a beat.
Dream Teamer Brett Newski Hoops It Up to Make “Varsity” for Winning Project
When life’s struggles get you down, singer-songwriter Brett Newski provides the perfect pick-me-up with his new book and accompanying soundtrack album.
The 10 Best Early Billy Bragg Songs
For most inveterate Billy Bragg fans, it’s his early work that burns the brightest. Here then are the ten finest moments of that period.
The Pogues’ ‘The BBC Sessions 1984-1986’ Honors Working-Class Heroes
The Pogues' BBC Sessions 1984-1986 is a welcome chapter in the musical story of these working-class heroes, who reminded listeners of the beauty and dignity of the strong, sooty backs upon which our industrialized world was built.
Brett Newski Plays Slacker Prankster on “What Are You Smoking?” (premiere)
Is social distancing something we've been doing, unwittingly, all along? Brett Newski pulls some pranks, raises some questions in "What Are You Smoking?".
Austin Lucas Shares Politically-Charged “Already Dead” (premiere)
Marrying heartland rock with a punk ethos, Austin Lucas charts a new course on his upcoming LP, Alive in the Hot Zone! "They may seek to terrorize us into submission, but they can't stop joy, they can't stop love," he says.