December has finally arrived. While most of you are likely listening to your Spotify Wrapped playlists or holiday tunes, there are still new albums from fantastic artists coming out, and we want to make sure you hear them! First, the alternative legend Peter Gabriel has his first collection of new music out in decades, and with two fully different mixes of the album. While he’s been releasing songs from both versions throughout the year, you can listen to the full Bright-Side Mix in our playlist today. You should also check out the new album from throwback garage rockers The Helltones (read o ..read more

We are inching closer and closer to the holiday season, with an eventual slowdown of releases. Frankly I don’t mind – I have enough great music from 2023 to last me a whole other year. But some more albums are trickling in that can’t be ignored. The first of those is the return of Beirut, the indie act that would incorporate a number of styles from Eastern European music into his sound. Always eclectic, it’s great to have them back. Next, country megastar Chris Stapleton‘s latest release is here to make a ruckus. Then we have two great EPs, one from Good Strangers (read our review here) and t ..read more

After meeting at an open-mic night, Malarie McConaha and Tim Hunter bonded over their mutual love of Leonard Cohen and what began as an acoustic project soon became a blues, roots southern rock-inspired band named to honor the Cohen song “Famous Blue Raincoat”, The FBR. With their debut album Ghost coming out on January 19th, the group recently released their first single “Before I Drown”, and were kind enough to discuss the single with us. ** Indy Review: Let’s first discuss how The FBR formed. You first met at an open mic night; what started your discussion, and led you to know you had foun ..read more

Spooky season has officially begun, though there’s nothing frightening about the new music out this week. The music does have some fine Fall vibes though; take the latest album by folk artist Sufjan Stevens – the wistful songwriting here will pair lovely with falling orange leaves. Recent Comeback Alert band Dogstar have dropped their first album in two decades, and rock group Citizen has dropped a solid new release. Emo group Bewilder‘s new one is definitely worth hearing (read our review here), and World’s First Cinema‘s new EP will definitely perk up your ears. Indie rockers Yam Haus have ..read more

It was a cool but sunny fall day for the first day of Beachlife Ranch, the Beachlife Festival’s rustic, country-leaning sister festival. Taking place at the Redondo Beach pier, the festival shared the basic same set-up as Beachlife, with some small changes. One side-stage became a line-dancing dance hall, different sponsors took up different areas (King’s Hawaiian bread offered free sliders, and there was a whole booth dedicated to selling cowboy hats). And while I enjoyed Skecher’s latest original foamies shoe being given away, and the free Grillos Pickles booth, I was at the festival for th ..read more

Grief and healing permeate singer-songwriter Jason Hawk Harris‘ latest album Thin Places, and none more than on the meditative single “Jordan and the Nile”. The song incorporates Harris’ training in classical music, bringing in strings, keys and other instrumental elements to the stark song addressing the loss of a family member (“you got so skinny as the dark came near, turned to the side one day and disappeared, somewhere you’re singing and you can’t stop smiling, but one day the Jordan gonna swallow the Nile”). Harris’ voice carries the song with its plaintive soulfulness. What makes the v ..read more

Late last night, it was announced that Jimmy Buffett, the singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and king of the Parrot Heads, had passed away. Jimmy Buffett was one of those rare artists, like The Grateful Dead, who’s music birthed a community. Die-hard fans who would attend as many of his shows as possible. Buffet’s music was the world of Hawaiian shirts, cold drinks on a beach, lounging in boats and hammocks, and endless vacation. It’s a genre unto itself; a form of calypso country and saltwater Americana. In college, a close friend was a big Buffett fan, having grown to love the artist from his ..read more

Until earlier this year, Gregory Alan Isakov was a name I had seen in various music publications and on social media, but one I had never fully investigated. When I listened to some of the first singles from his latest album Appaloosa Bones, I certainly began to get a sense of why Isakov had been burgeoning on the outskirts of my musical listening. His atmospheric Americana sound called to mine a number of artists I love, from Jason Isbell to American Aquarium. So when I received an invite to see him perform at Los Angeles’ beautiful Theatre in the Ace Hotel, I knew this would be an opportuni ..read more

Artist: Roselit Bone Song: “Ofrenda” Album: Ofrenda (Aug 25, 2023) Label: Get Loud Recordings Genre: Gothic Country Rock, Rockabilly, Punk, Mexican Ranchera Music Portland’s Roselit Bone hold nothing back on their latest album Ofrenda. The songs on the album tackle the cycles of loss, survival and rebirth (including a divorce, several family deaths, front woman Charlotte McCaslin’s gender transition, and the beginning of a new relationship) – all set against the cataclysmic backdrop of the pandemic, a summer of police violence against the band’s home city, and massive wildfires that blacked o ..read more

So I had to look it up. Rhododendron Highway is an actual place in Harlan County, Kentucky. A small stretch of highway gleaming on both sides with the purplish, pinkish flowers. The kind of place a storytelling, traveling guitar slinger would want to immortalize. Brooks Dixon titling his latest album Rhododendron Highway is entirely apt considering the lyrical content and personal impression each song leaves on the listener. Dixon is no stranger to the singer/songwriter scene having been a recording artist since 2012. His distinctive style weaves a tapestry of storytelling and melody, effortl ..read more