Music Reviews

Music & Culture

Country Hit Writer Chris Stapleton Breaks Out On His Own In 'Traveller'

3:16pm May 14, 2015

by Ken Tucker

The Nashville songwriter has written countless hits for other artists. Critic Ken Tucker says that Stapleton's debut solo album showcases a wide range of musical styles with a distinctive sound.

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Music & Culture

'The In Crowd': An Audience-Fueled Jazz-Pop Crossover Hit

3:00pm May 13, 2015

by Kevin Whitehead

Fifty years ago in a Washington, DC nightclub, the Ramsey Lewis Trio recorded "The In Crowd," a rare jazz single that landed on the pop charts. Critic Kevin Whitehead says the fans were half the show.

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On The Word's new album, Soul Food, the group tackles traditional gospel grooves and seriously funky backbeats.

Music & Culture

For The Word, Gospel Is More About A Feeling

7:23pm May 07, 2015

by Tom Moon

The mostly instrumental supergroup's second album, Soul Food, is a rousing, thoroughly modern take on gospel.

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Music & Culture

Cuban Drummer Dafnis Prieto's Crisp Rhythms Are 'Good For Jazz'

9:31am May 07, 2015

Triangles and Circles, the new album from Dafnis Prieto, blends Afro-Cuban beats, blues feeling and spontaneous rhythmic variations. Critic Kevin Whitehead says that drums are at the album's heart.

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Music & Culture

Nellie McKay Celebrates The '60s With 'My Weekly Reader'

3:41pm May 01, 2015

by Ken Tucker

McKay's new album My Weekly Reader is a collection of covers of songs made famous in the 1960s. The range of material is wide — from the Beatles' "If I Fell" to Frank Zappa's "Hungry Freaks, Daddy."

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Alabama Shakes' new album, Sound & Color, is powered by more than just the vocals of Brittany Howard.

Music & Culture

'Sound & Color' A Bold Leap Forward For Alabama Shakes

6:27pm April 20, 2015

by Tom Moon

On their new album, the band's backing musicians match the intensity of lead singer Brittany Howard.

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Music & Culture

Review: Courtney Barnett, 'Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit'

7:51pm March 30, 2015

by Will Hermes

NPR music critic Will Hermes reviews an album that contains the best storytelling he's heard in a long time. It's the debut album from Courtney Barnett.

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Music & Culture

Saxophonist Tony Malaby's New Quartet Brings Out His Rowdy Side

2:16pm March 18, 2015

by Kevin Whitehead

Malaby has merged his two trios — with a cello and a tuba — into a quartet called Tubacello. Their new album is Scorpion Eater. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says he hopes to hear from them again.

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Ooze, Fog And Climate Change Threaten Mummies

1:36pm March 17, 2015

by Jasmine Garsd

The oldest mummies in the world are in northern Chile. Preserved for seven thousand years, the mummies are now deteriorating, and scientists say climate changes are to blame.

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Music & Culture

Mavericks' Singer Raul Malo Restlessly Explores Genres

11:01am March 09, 2015

by Ken Tucker

In the band's latest album Mono, Malo demonstrates how he likes to make music that confounds the usual expectations of what a country hit-maker can do.

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