With the “Fireside Sessions,” Tedeschi and Trucks have found the perfect online format for showcasing their attention to detail, nuance, and craft.
Scott McLennan
Arts Feature: Music That Sustained Us Through the Year of the Pandemic
With concerts all but wiped off the calendar by the pandemic, our critics naturally spent their time with recordings (and virtual live shows).
Rock and Book Review: New Visions of Metal, Heavy, Black, and Thrash
“I think these shots bring out the fierceness of black metal, and the models are saying, ‘We can be this.’”
Rock Feature: Despite the Pandemic, Goose Is Flying High
“It was a little frustrating at first, but we’re figuring out how to give music to the people that need it right now.”
Rock Album Review: Puscifer’s “Existential Reckoning” — Amusing Ourselves to Death
Existential Reckoning confronts today’s lethal inanity in blistering fashion, via songs that posit dire consequences for a country that wants to be entertained more than wants to be informed.
Rock Album Review: Blue Öyster Cult — Still Defying Norms
The record celebrates everything that has made Blue Öyster Cult such an enduring presence — yet it sounds totally in the moment.
Jazz Album Review: Butcher Brown’s “#KingButch” — Beautifully Blurring Retro and Progressive
“Best band in the world”? Butcher Brown spends the next 40 minutes or so living up to its boast, as song after song heads off into a different direction without a stumble or misfire.
Album Review: Molly Tuttle’s “…But I’d Rather Be With You” — Beyond Expectations
This cover album is a pretty wild ride, yes, but Molly Tuttle navigates the course with supreme cool.
Music Feature: Gimme Radio — Making Streaming Human
Gimme Radio brings the human element to streaming by relying on DJs to curate playlists and provide context to what listeners are experiencing.
Concert Review: Billy Strings’s Streaming Strings Tour — Virtual but Unbridled
If the first set was all about reminding us the breadth and depth of the talent in Billy Strings’ combo, the second set was all about dynamics and power.