Album Reviews

Laura Marling “Songs for our Daughter”
For her seventh studio album, Songs for Our Daughter, English songwriter Laura Marling envisioned an album based around a fictional mother writing to her daughter, passing down a maternal lineage of reflection and advice on life, which was partly inspired by Maya Angelou’s collection of essays entitled, Letter to My…

Koreatown Oddity “Little Dominique’s Nosebleed”
“Everything is prevalent right now in this existence…It’s about chasing the spirit.” Little Dominque, aka Dominique Purdy, comes to this revelation, opening his third eye when he suffers injuries from two serious car accidents as a child. He suffers a broken leg and chronic nosebleeds that affected his ability to…

St. Vincent “Daddy’s Home”
On the surface, St. Vincent’s new album, Daddy’s Home, is wrapped in early 70s nostalgia, evoking the sounds of Sly Stone, Pink Floyd, and Bowie, among others. St. Vincent, aka Annie Clark, saw to it that the everything from the sound, songwriting, marketing, and videos were steeped in the…

Silvana Estrada “Marchita”
Silvana Estrada’s voice softly rings like the sweetness of spring while echoing the solitude of a long, hard winter. On her debut solo album, Marchita (withered), she uses her voice to beautifully recite an intimate and bittersweet narrative on the warm, idealistic world of love and the somber reality…

Kelsey Lu “Blood”
A defining characteristic of an artist who captivates listeners is the ability to illuminate the sacredness in the mundane; elevating stories beyond measured comprehension. Kelsey Lu’s first full-length, Blood, begins with the acute track, “Rebel,” where layered, oscillating cello melodies provide the backdrop to a simple, yet perceptive narrative…

Aaron Frazer “Introducing…”
With all the uncertainty of the outside world at the moment, the sweet, honey-dipped, and tender, yet resolute, falsetto of singer and drummer, Aaron Frazer, is a straight injection of your favorite drug. It’s a voice that conjures the innocence and hopefulness of post-war R&B, while planting itself firmly in…

Lianna La Havas “Self-Titled”
It is always thrilling witnessing the moment an artist comes into their own as a musician and songwriter. That moment has arrived for singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas on her self-titled, third album. After a five-year hiatus experiencing the visscitudes of love and loss, Lianne La Havas presents a more stripped…

Cory Hanson “Western Cum”
Cory Hanson, the enigmatic songwriter, mostly known for fronting the surrealist neo-psych band, Wand, comes out swinging with straight-ahead folk-tinged rockers on his latest solo album, Western Cum. With Wand, especially on their 2019 release, Laughing Matters, Hanson refined his ability to weave unexpected vocal melodies into the…

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