Former law student turned singer/songwriter Chris Velan makes another switch on his fourth album Fables for Fighters. He infused his previous albums with reggae and world music influences acquired when producing for Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars, but showcases his guitar melodies on folk-indie pop album Fables. The hand-clapping cadence and...

According to Wikipedia, Joshua Radin’s music has been placed in over 75 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Brothers and Sisters, Scrubs and the like, so no prizes for guessing that he hardly operates at the Tom Waits-ian, chicken grease ’n’ road grit end of the singer-songwriter...

The covers album is a noble tradition: a chance for an artist to pay tribute to their roots, to avoid writing any new material, and to present their listeners with songs that everyone knows they like already, because they’ve heard them. From Bowie to George Michael, John...

Long considered one of Canada's best songwriters is the consistently underrated Ron Sexsmith. For his tenth record, he reunites with Mitchell Froom, who produced Sexsmith's first three albums. Froom and Sexsmith work splendidly together, making for one of Sexsmith's best records in years. Time Being sees Sexsmith operating at a...

WEEKEND WAYBACK MACHINE"River Man"from the album Five Leaves Left1969iTunesIt's little wonder why Nick Drake felt frustrated at the lack of commercial success his music initially gathered, considering the help he had on his debut record. Besides fine production from Joe Boyd and...

Alessi Laurent-Marke is, you suspect, a girl who has little time for the modern world. Unlike the vast majority of her southwest London collegiate pop peers â€" but a little like one of them, Anna Calvi â€" she has little interest in defining the zeitgeist by attempting to fuse...

Long Player Late Bloomer is easy listening. Don’t worry â€" it’s not “easy listening.” It’s just easy to listen to. It’s like a bowl of ice cream without any of the guilt.

Ron Sexsmith has created 13 utterly and completely lovely little ditties about broken hearts, true love, deep regret...

Long Player Late Bloomer is easy listening. Don’t worry â€" it’s not “easy listening.” It’s just easy to listen to. It’s like a bowl of ice cream without any of the guilt.

Ron Sexsmith has created 13 utterly and completely lovely little ditties about broken hearts, true love, deep regret...

The adjustment to pipe’n’slippers family life and a settled existence away from the city’s ripped backside can be a damaging one for a successful recording artist. No longer burning with the need to prove yourself or put the world to rights, no longer unhinged by a chaotic rock’n’roll lifestyle nor...

Recently Sam Beam told SPIN magazine that Kiss Each Other Clean “is more of a focused pop record. It sounds like music people heard in their parent’s car growing up…that early-to-mid ‘70s FM, radio-friendly music” and he’s right. And it’s very surprising and very very very good. Excellent even. Astounding...