Tag Archives: Adult Alternative

Phillips has made his finest solo record to date. GRADE: A-

Susie Suh‘s smoky vocals and spare, gutsy writing, combined with gorgeous Glen Ballard production, make this debut a cathartic listen. With a snaky, soft-pop sound that brings to mind a less precious Sarah McLachlan or a sadder Norah Jones, Suh just might be perfectly positioned to take advantage of the …

The original dB’s (singer/guitarists Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, drummer Will Rigby, bassist Gene Holder), native North Carolinians transplanted to NYC who were at the vanguard of the jangle-pop movement of the late-’70s and ’80s, reunited and recorded new tracks at Water Music Recorders (Hoboken, NJ) in the first week …

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of her monster Jagged Little Pill, which has sold 30 million copies worldwide, almost 15 million in the U.S., and generated four Grammys including album of the year, Alanis Morissette, now 30, is recording an acoustic version of the album with her original co-writer and …

Cheryl Wheeler has a knack for infusing her songs with intense emotion using her voice alone. I was first attracted to her music through humorous songs like “Potato,” but I’ve come to love the heart-breakers as well. Defying Gravity kicks off with one of those heart-breakers (“Since You’ve Been Gone”), …

The spacious, airy song “Amsterdam,” which opens Griffin House’s CD Lost & Found, announces that we’re in serious, sensitive-guy territory.  But though the tune recalls Sting’s “Why Should I Cry For You”, House has an earthy, pop-Americana style that ought to stand him in good stead in a mileu where …

The almost impossibly elegant and ethereal Scottish trio Cocteau Twins are reuniting for the Coachella Valley Music Festival on Saturday, April 30 (joining the similarly reforming Bauhaus, and in the wake of last year’s incredibly successful Pixies re-amalgamation). Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde will take the stage as …

U2 SNL video of “I Will Follow” here. As Randy Reichardt and Lono have already ably and passionately described, U2 brought down the house last night on SNL, first blowing through the greatest rock single of the year, the effervescent and elevating “Vertigo,” then easing things down for “Sometimes You …

John Mayer — the Grammy-winning, triply talented, hugely popular jazzy pop-rock singer, songwriter and guitarist — has a new TV show coming to VH1 called John Mayer Has A TV Show. A peculiar hybrid, it’s one part documentary, one part travelogue and one part sketch comedy, shot guerrilla-stylee on the …

I hear an awful lot of cookie-cutter singer-songwriters, so I have to be careful not to overpraise those who merely don't suck.