Trevor MacLaren

The Early NovemberThe Mother, The Mechanic and The Path(Drive-Thru)A band releasing a three-CD set is a bit ostentatious. Emo-indie rockers The Early November almost pull it off. The band’s weaknesses show, but the writing is fairly solid throughout. The set is a concept of sorts, about a son and his overbearing father. The son grows […]

The SadiesNew SeasonsOutside distribution/yep rocSince their last trip into the studio on 2005’s superb Favourite Colours, The Sadies have released a surf-driven instrumental soundtrack to a documentary on hot rod designer Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Tales of the Rat Fink, and a blistering two-disc live album, In Concert, Vol.1. New Seasons marks a slight change, […]

MinibarFly Below the Radar(Distro III)LA-based UK roots popsters Minibar play interesting mix of So-Cal folk rock that recalls latter-day Byrds with a light sprinkling of Britpop. The record has some solid moments of roots-rock that could pass for a mediocre Tom Petty record, but their reinventing the wheel can’t compete with bands like Counting Crows. […]

Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3Tick…tick…tick (Redeye) Steve Wynn returns to LA’s Paisley Underground, where in the ’80s his band Dream Syndicate had created what was probably the scene’s finest moment, The Days of Wine and Roses and its single “Tell Me When it’s Over.” Though he goes back in time some 20 years ago […]

Eux AutresHell is Eux Autres(Grenadine)Another brother and sister guitar/drum duo, but they manage a brilliant mix of lo-fi icons Billy Childish and Pavement with ’60s pop-rocker Françoise Hardy. Every track is killer pop and deserves to make your White Stripes records obsolete. Even when they sing in French these Portland, Oregon brats make listeners cheer […]

The BeesFree the Bees(Virgin/EMI)The Bees are the new hype from across the pond, just coming in to save the day before Franz Ferdinand once again becomes a slain prince. Free the Bees, released to typical acclaim last year in England, takes sounds — that are all too familiar, really — from 1968, but manages to […]

Darling ArmsAll the Ghosts(Blue Skies Turn Black)The female singer-songwriter has worn out her welcome on the national stage over the past few years, but that doesn’t stop the indies from putting out slabs of genius female folk. Darling Arms, or Christina Francis (formerly of Montreal’s One Candle Power), puts forth a disc of eloquent, sparse […]

Tom WaitsOrphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (Anti)Since his rebirth on the Anti label, Tom Waits has been pretty damn amazing. Orphans is without an ounce of doubt his finest release since Mule Variations, a varied dish that is a beautiful way to start off 2007. Three discs packed in a Cibachrome-tinted box contain 56 tracks, […]

Kim RicheyThe Collection (Lost Highway)Kim Richey falls under the ignored midwestern singer-songwriter genre. A best-of compilation shows that Richey is a fine songwriter who deserves more press than she gets, but it is also easy to see why she hasn’t been smashing down any doors. A rich texture of folk and country flows throughout, but […]