Aaron Hartling

The Exploding HeartsShattered(Dirtnap)The roads of rock are lined with many a tragedy, not least with with the Portland, Oregon, band The Exploding Hearts. The band released Guitar Romantic, hit the road and generated a buzz. In 2003, driving home from a show, three members died in a car accident. Shattered is an expanded re-issue of […]

Bob MouldBody of Song (Deluxe Edition)(Yep Roc)The deluxe version of Bob Mould’s latest CD finds Mr. Mould returning to what has kept him on the alternative scene for more than 20 years; but this is not an artist mining past glories. Body of Song shows the right mix of electronic and guitar tones. “(Shine Your) […]

Stars Of Track And FieldCenturies Before Love And War(Wind-Up)The first major label long form release from the two guitar/drum trio from Portland, Oregon consists of seven new tunes plus three from the 2005 EP You Came Here For Sunset Last Year. Songs such as “Movies Of Antarctica,” “Real Time” and “Say Hello” show the influence […]

Jesse Sykes & The Sweet HereafterLike, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul (Barsuk)Sykes’ fourth LP finds her building on the previous success of 2004 critical darling Oh, My Girl. Opening track “Eisenhower Moon” could be mistaken for a Neil Young cast-off, while there are traces of Jefferson Airplane-era Grace Slick (“LLL”) and […]

VariousHeartworn Highways OST(Hacktone)In 1976, for those who didn’t fit into the Nashville country scene, it was called “outlaw country.” Now it’s alt-country or Americana. This is a sound recording of a documentary about this breed of singer-songwriter. It features artists such as Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and David Allen Coe along with (then) unknowns […]