Tag Archives: song-to-know

The rascally charm of nomadic country-blues singer Boo Ray is on full display in the rollicking “20 Questions,” the standout track off his latest album Tennessee Alabama Fireworks. A strutting blast of Muscle Shoals R&B, the song teems with bright horns and slinky organ, as Boo Ray tries in vain …

Singer-songwriter Lizzie No first introduced herself as a sharp self-examiner on her folksy 2017 debut, Hard Won. The swooning lullaby that served as that album’s title track was about the inglorious labor of working on yourself, a bittersweet celebration of finally feeling at peace with oneself after years of trying. On …

Back in 1986, a Connecticut band called Fates Warning released Awaken the Guardian, their third LP and a cornerstone of what would come to be known as progressive metal. With its labyrinthine song structures and John Arch’s wildly expressive vocals — which combined swooping, acrobatic range with bizarre melodic invention …

The cool thing about covering a 60-year-old song is that you probably couldn’t copy the original even if you wanted to, so you might as well take it somewhere weird. That’s the approach Philadelphia jazz guitarist Nick Millevoi opts for on the title track of his new album, Twilight Time, …

Even with pop acts straddling ever so many styles, sometimes within the course of one song, it’s easy to imagine the iTunes “genre” column drawing a blank over 24-7 Spyz’s “Home.” The track opens with gently played guitar notes, which abruptly stop before being overtaken by pummeling, metal-dungeon drums and …

North Carolina-based acoustic duo Mandolin Orange have spent the past decade quietly releasing sturdy collections of originals that blend bluegrass, soft-rock, folk and country. The group’s latest single, “The Wolves” — a preview of their upcoming album Tides of a Teardrop — Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz offer a compelling tale of finding …

It’s easy to be cynical about the city you’ve grown up in changing all around you, or to look with pure disdain at the rapid changes to a place you love. On the fuzzy, emotionally wrought “Seventeen,” Sharon Van Etten looks at the New York City of her past and …