And on In And Out Of Control Wagner and Foo return with a record that’s less overtly gloomy than the band’s 2007 breakout Lust Lust Lust, yet more morose and macabre than ever.

Ask The Night specializes in conjuring up classic Southern imagery that it both gothic and pastoral without coming across as needlessly sentimental.

Born Again Revisited is an outstanding pop record that’s full of the sort of heart, grit, and emotional vulnerability to which most 20-somethings can all relate. Sophomore slump begone!

If Damien Rice grew a pair of balls, absorbed some of David Bazan’s somber sorrows, and actually knew how to affect some of Nick Cave’s melancholy delivery, you might have an idea of the power of Bondy’s style.

White Ink Black Ink invites you onto the stage, into the studio, and into music itself to simply enjoy what’s happening…

While Spencer Krug’s work with the über-hyped Wolf Parade might have garnered him some of his initial notoriety, I would contend that Dragonslayer, the new record released by his Sunset Rubdown project, might just vault him into the musical stratosphere.

Yes, the indie rock world has come to expect a familiar level of majesty from the pen and lips of Will Oldham, but this project might serve to be his magnum opus…

As a kid, the vast majority of the music I listened to was comprised of umpteen cassettes of kid-focused folk music (Raffi ruled!) and whatever country music station my father selected during long car rides. …

It’s become altogether too effortless (approaching the point of cliché) to rail against the music industry and what passes for contemporary pop music. Yes, we are all aware that the major labels support safe, easily …

My reviews are often filled with snarky references regarding the milquetoast music of modern folk and pop artists, especially those lamewads who are actually able to get their boring, repetitive three-chord ditties onto mainstream radio …

If there’s one thing to be said about Kevin Barnes, it’s that he has never been afraid to do exactly what he wants with his music and his art. Whether it’s the perpetual shifting …