Confession: I can’t listen to They Might Be Giants without smiling a little bit, and occasionally laughing out loud. Their wry sense of humor is the one continuous thread through their songs, to the point that I wish there was a sub-genre of indie-rock called “tongue-in-cheek.” They would definitely be the poster children for it. Predictably, their sixteenth studio release Nanobots continues this tradition, sporting a tracklist so diverse that […]

I know I already wrote an “Up-And-Comers” feature this week, but after hearing “White Foxes,” the single by indie Norwegian singer/songwriter Susanne Sundfør, I just had to put up another one. While not well known here in the U.S. (yet), Sundfør has amassed a significant following in her home country of Norway. Over the past five years, she’s released multiple studio albums, most have which have wound up charting in […]

As a point of disclosure, let me start by saying I’m a huuuge fan of Brandi Carlile. Her songwriting style is nothing short of inspiring, and her gritty folk-rocky voice goes easily from warbling to wailing—and both give me goosebumps. So when her fifth record Bear Creek dropped this week, I was all primed to give it a “5.” I soooo wish I could. But I can’t. Don’t get me […]