TOL-PUDDLE MARTYRS A Celebrated Man myspace.com/tolpuddlemartyrs QUICK TAKE + The Tol-Puddle Martyrs once had potential to be prime Aussie imports—and this revitalized edition of the band’s psychedelic instincts remain intact. The band’s driving delivery is still pop-perfect four decades on.  Read More →

HARLEM PARLOUR MUSIC CLUB Salt of the Earth harlemparlourmusicclub.com QUICK TAKE + A loose co-op including Darden Smith and Mary Lee Kortes, HPMC carries a distinctive back-porch sensibility. The banjo-plucking cover of Sly Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” is an endearingly quirky touch.  Read More →

HAFDIS HULD Synchronised Swimmers hafdishuld.com QUICK TAKE + Huld sings shimmering (if sometimes sleepy) ballads with fragility and finesse, overseen by producer Calum MacColl, son of folk forebear Ewan MacColl. A cameo by singer-songwriter Boo Hewerdine on their co-composition “Vampires” adds flavor.  Read More →

PATRICK BLOOM Ghosts of Radio patrickbloom.com QUICK TAKE + With due respect, Iowa has never been known as a hotbed of original music—but the charming pop sounds spun by Patrick Bloom and his band the Mayflies could put his home state on the musical map.  Read More →

BIRDSONG AT MORNING Vigil birdsongatmorning.com QUICK TAKE + Birdsong At Morning’s penchant for hushed and sensitive chamber folk continues on Vigil, the third installment in a trilogy of albums. All six songs here maintain an elegiac atmosphere of repose and solitude.  Read More →