The Unlikely Pairing of Louis Armstrong With Ella Fitzgerald Is (Still) Pure Bliss
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis ArmstrongCheek to Cheek: The Complete Duet RecordingsVerve/UMe On paper, they couldn’t be a less-promising combination: She’s a beatifically sweet chanteuse and he’s a gravelly voiced rascal. But the vocal collaborations of the sublime Ella Fitzgerald and pioneering trumpeter Louis Armstrong in…
Sonny Smith’s Garage Pop Is Ready for the Mainstream
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Sonny SmithRod for Your LoveEasy Eye Sound On his own, or as leader of Sonny and the Sunsets, the engaging Sonny Smith specializes in finely observed vignettes about everyday people that showcase his wry, slackerish voice. For all its rough edges, though, there’s nothing casual…
Lucy Dacus’ New Album Is Pleasantly Melodic, but It Ain’t Easy Listening
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Lucy Dacus Historian Matador Lucy Dacus has a pretty, reassuring voice and crafts pleasant folk-pop melodies, which suggests Historian should be easy listening. Not so. The Virginia native’s compelling second album is a startling set of unsparing vignettes exploring damaged or dying relationships, laced with…
You Like Your Music Angsty and Exuberant? Listen to These Dudes.
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Album Reviews Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night SweatsTearing at the SeamsStax Barrence Whitfield and the SavagesSoul Flowers of TitanBloodshot Robust rock and soul singers are often referred to as “shouters,” a term that doesn’t do justice to the personality and skill some artists bring to…
“All at Once” May Be Screaming Females’ Best Album Yet
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Screaming FemalesAll at OnceDon Giovanni Marissa Paternoster knows how to make a racket. The leader of the window-rattling New Jersey trio Screaming Females plays vicious guitar, splitting the difference between punk fury and metal majesty, and sings with a controlled urgency guaranteed to command your…
Grant-Lee Phillips’ New Album Is Witty and Indignant
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Grant-Lee PhillipsWiddershinsYep Roc Though he can pass for a rootsy troubadour, there’s also a poppier, more playful side to Grant-Lee Phillips—meaning he’s as likely to echo David Bowie or T. Rex as Bruce Springsteen. Widdershins beautifully encapsulates his eclectic range, offering snappy tunes that filter…