by Zach Fraley When A/J Jackson and Aaron Sharp formed Saint Motel in 2009 through their mutual love of both independent film and various music genres, any expectation beyond playing fairs, circuses, and derbies was almost nonexistent. Adding bassist Jak Lerdamornpong and drummer Read More

by Geno Thackara “Music’s gonna save me / gonna save me tonight Gonna make me feel better / make everything all right.”I don’t really care if that rhyme is simple and obvious. We all understand the idea because, well, good music is one of the things that Read More

Willis Earl Beal Noctunes Reviewed by: Max Miller Say what you will about Willis Earl Beal, but two things are undeniable: 1) The Chicago-based musician is excellent at cultivating a mystique and 2) he’s got a damn good voice. Beal has garnered a reputation as a Jandek-like Read More

Stolen Jars Kept Reviewed by: Ziggy Merritt     Folk music has become another overcrowded classification begging to be remade into something less exclusive. There’s a preconceived notion of folk as exclusively pastoral and acoustic but in the case of Stolen Jars in Read More

Ben Rector Brand New  Reviewed by: Fareeha Naim     Nashville-based singer-songwriter Ben Rector has always had a way with piano-driven pop melodies, and his 6th studio album is no exception. Caution: warm, enlightening feelings inside are an inevitable partner to Brand Read More

   Monk Parker How The Spark Loves The Tinder Reviewed By: Lauren Rosier Monk Parker’s How The Spark Loves The Tinder is perfect music for fall — it’s heart wrenching, mellow, and low-key. It could be good music to curl up by a roaring fire while reading a book or Read More