All That Jazz
I used to be embarrassed about my introduction to jazz and soul, for mine was a strange passageway: romantic comedies. Although I don’t remember it...
The Summery Sweetness of Eaux Claires
Rare are the times when a moment is so perfect you recognize it while it’s happening. Usually that kind of appreciation happens after the fact,...
Burnout By Any Other Name…
It’s never a good sign when the art that most enlivens you begins to feel draining, when staring at the wall feels more restful than...
Movement & Location
People move for all kinds of reasons—a job, a relationship, to be closer to family. Sometimes it’s just a matter of changing scenery or finally...
Jesca Hoop’s “Pegasi”
I’ve seen singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop twice in concert, and both times she’s brought me to tears. Some sorcerous combination of her lyricism and voice—a dusky...
The Ephemerality of Streaming
This is going to sound like a daft thing to complain about considering the endless amount of music that now exists at our fingertips, but...
On Cringeworthy Listening Histories
I often succumb to the obstructive instinct of curation. It’s one of my fatal flaws, and it’s only gotten worse with social media and the...
Tiny Ruins’ “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round”
New Zealand singer-songwriter Hollie Fullbrook, who performs under the name Tiny Ruins, writes deliciously hushed songs. If you pushed me to sketch a more synoptic...
Long Walks with Waxahatchee
At the start of the pandemic, somewhere around mid-March, I started taking long walks after work. With routines not just interrupted but in complete tatters,...
Field Report’s “Michelle”
Don’t you love it when you go to see one band and end up finding another? That’s been my luck more than a few times,...