More quickies! Some records from the last few months that I neglected to put under the microscope: VHS Or Beta- Bring On The Comets (Astralwerks) Retro/dance-happy Tennesseans return with their third album and bring their A-game right out of the gate. Bring On The Comets has the throwback track listing on the back- six songs, space, six more songs (like record sides, dude!)- and it works as a dividing line between premium...

In years of listening to Marah records, I’ve never picked up on a religious theme, so it seems odd to note several holy allusions on their sixth and latest album- starting with the album title itself. Angels Of Destruction! comes with a rockin’ title track that does a stellar job of channeling sticky-fingered Stones of the early 70′s… and while there’s nothing holy about that, brown sugar,...

2007 seemed a subpar year for rock music and America in general, but in the words of Kiss, “everybody’s got a reason to live” and the following 9 CD’s (one reporter’s opinion, as always) were as good a reason as any this year… save for the fact that death still blows. So, without further ado, entertaining us on the road from here to the great reality show in the sky: 9. Maritime- Heresy...

When it comes to ultra-prolific singer/songwriters (Ryan Adams, Robert Pollard, etc.), a frequent charge leveled by critics is that they need an editor- someone to help them determine which of their myriad songs should go on the album of the moment and what should be left behind. One man who seems to be exempt from this seldom-used-yet-somewhat-stinging criticism is Neil Young. For close to forty years, Weird Uncle Neil’s...

Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper to find the interesting stuff… and sometimes it ends up not being interesting at all. Some smaller releases from the last few months in a nutshell: Maritime- Heresy & The Hotel Choir (Flameshovel) Top- notch American power pop out of the Cheap Trick/Guided By Voices school and somewhat reminiscent of Philly’s late, great Bigger Lovers. Davey von Bohlen’s...

The most exciting thing to come out of Olyphant, PA since the road to Throop may be local blues/rock duo Dealer In Wares. The group is made up of Tim Beckage on guitar and Sarah Yzkanin on harmonica and vocals. They look like they would get carded buying smokes but they play the blues with more grit and feeling than 90% of the supposed blues cats out there today. Yzkanin’s voice sounds like it may have been lifted...