"The Radar Bros' sixth album finds Jim Putnam breaking in another lineup of the band... But a new set of collaborators hasn't had much audible impact on the Radar Bros; The Illustrated Garden is still dominated by the same sort of graceful but languid melodies and artfully incongruous lyrics that have been Putnam's stock in trade since the group's first album in 1996." - All Music Guide
"After several solid albums - many of them released by Merge - and almost 15 years of effort... The "Americana" tag sticks thanks to the general country-rock tropes and all the natural imagery, but as usual the group excels at blurring the edges of an already blurry genre with spacey (but never indulgent) psych leanings... The Illustrated Garden sure sounds great... (and) each track glows like a golden hour snapshot." 7.0/10 - Pitchfork
"The Illustrated Garden is full of simple, muted pleasures. And while there may not be a lot of spectacle here, there are layers that peel away as you listen, revealing songs with surprising staying power." 7.5/10 - Prefix
"The Illustrated Garden... spins the mood that Radar Bros. fans have come to expect: that feeling of being happily sunbaked and mildly delirious, subsisting on pure sensory intake." - The Onion AV Club
"The Illustrated Garden is a sumptuous honey-hued helping of soft-souled pop, unhurried Americana and the occasional spry rush of pop." - Mojo
"The Illustrated Garden is... a solid addition to a healthy catalogue." 4/5 - The Skinny
"Young Mothers... is the simple intersection where a moody Elliott Smith guitar crashes into the chipper sounds of a Weezer melody." - I Guess I'm Floating
TreeHouseFire is a great local Americana/indie-folk act. Good stuff!
Featuring two of the most experienced Tucson musicians - Naim Amor and Jeff Grubic along with a rotating cast of other amazing Tucson talent - The Jazzholes play jazz standards as well as improvisation... very cool!
Tempering hard-hitting rock and complex rhythms with moving melodies and tasteful harmonies, American Android delivers a socially conscious message with a captivating live show that will keep you glued to the stage.
"Local rock quintet American Android have struck a perfect balance between sounding undeniably like a rock band from Tucson and a rock band you could easily imagine fitting in nicely on a world tour with your choice of platinum-selling bands." - Tucson Weekly
"American Android... (have) a polished yet unmistakable, indie rock sound that’s been described (by us) as 'Red Hot Chili Peppers meets Soundgarden singing lyrics penned by Rage Against the Machine'.” - Tucson.Metromix.com
Drawing inspiration from shoegaze, classic indie rock, and atmospheric and dark sounds of all stripes, The Early Black has a dark, slightly heavy, yet experimental approach that should appeal to fans of most post-rock and post-punk acts.
HAIRSPRAYFIREANDGIRLS is a new Tucson super group of sorts, featuring members and post-members of various other cool local bands including: Red Switch, Chango Malo and Bombs for the Bored among others!... In a word - SWEET!
"Ah Boris, that Japanese juggernaut that has released no less than 18 albums since their inception in 1992; for many years, the Japanese trio was an under-appreciated - indeed largely ignored - group that explored virtually all dimensions and terrains of feedback-drenched stoner, drone, psychedelic, noise, and thrash metal on its own terms... They cracked something of a culture barrier when Southern Lord issued Pink in 2007, an album directly geared toward American audiences.... Smile picks up where Pink left off, but is both more accessible and more extreme. The trio goes back to the noise aesthetic here, but also embraces something approaching noise pop in the process. They are still heavier than God fronting Blue Cheer, but they don't forget that songs usually contain recognizable melodies." 4 stars - All Music Guide
"If Boris's 2006 American breakthrough, Pink, was one long earthquake of speed metal, shoegaze, and stoner grunts and shouts, consider the Japanese sludge trio's follow-up album the aftershock... Smile (is) the band's most accessible album, but Boris haven't softened: Even when things get quiet, the rumble isn't far off." 4 stars - Spin
"Boris brings the noise. The big-time noise. Like fellow Japanese-rock monoliths Boredoms and Ghost, Boris trafficks in cathartically ear-splitting psych-rock... Boris is a steam engine of a power trio whose sound careers violently all over the psych-rock map." 7/10 - Prefix
"Smile finds them advancing that set melodic agenda and playful rearrangement of classic rock DNA." 4 stars - Mojo
"Smile... as titanic as you'd hope." 4 stars - Uncut
"Smile...actually transforms the atmosphere of the space in which it's played." 4.5/5 - Alternative Press
"Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck has undergone a gradual yet consistent artistic metamorphosis since releasing his 2003 debut... His journey has taken him through Neutral Milk Hotel-style indie folk, eerily spare and ethereal Americana, and even a Willie Nelson covers album. Yet, for a musician who has displayed such a penchant for playful transformation and an implicit aim never to release the same record twice, however, Houck has maintained a quiet intensity that makes Phosphorescent's output wholly unique... Here's To Taking It Easy, Phosphorescent's fifth album, leans squarely toward bigger arrangements and grander statements. It's less folk, and more rock, though that Willie Nelson influence has most certainly crept in and inflected these nine tracks with a country twang." - Treble
"Here's to Taking It Easy is a fine debut of sorts for Phosphorescent as a band... And good as Houck was as a singer-songwriter, 'band leader' is a role that suits him just as well." 7.5/10 - Prefix
"Phosphorescent feels like a bona fide band developing Houck’s vision. Where previous Phosphorescent albums burned like embers, this new album cracks wide open with rolling piano, blasts of horns, twangy electric guitar, and washes of pedal steel... Phosphorescent isn’t taking it easy at all — it’s too busy wading into new and welcome territory." - The Boston Globe
"Here’s to Taking It Easy evoke lost days and lonely nights with keen observations and road-weary melodies... All of Houck’s southern eccentricities remain gloriously intact, from his eloquently hangdog vocals to his minimalist songwriting." - Paste
"Here's to Taking It Easy is a great record." 8.2/10 - Pitchfork
"Houck’s truthfulness and reverent skill make Here’s To Taking It Easy something to be proud of." 4/5 - Tiny Mix Tapes
"Bisbee Arizona's Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl (not to be confused w/ Tucson's Nowhere Man) .... similar to the Spinanes--and not just because it's a two piece indie folk-pop band, either. Siblings Amy & Derek Ross make simple indie-pop with a jazzy edge not seen since Manos...." - Mundane Sounds
"Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl are perfect examples of the originality and inventiveness that can come out of ignoring scene trends. What elevates (them) above the masses is Amy Ross' voice. Solid, and unpredictable without feeling scattered." - Lost At Sea
"Nathaniel Rateliff’s newest LP In Memory of Loss rings with the ease, tenderness and lightness of heart that often mark a new romance." - Paste
"Rateliff conjures the ghosts of Nick Drake and Gram Parsons.” - Time Out New York
"In Memory of Loss is a remarkable debut album - it has the weary heart of something made by a man 20 or 30 years older than Nathaniel Rateliff, and is worthy of its place against albums that were." - Penny Black Music
"Nathaniel Rateliff, whose debut In Memory Of Loss... (is) a really solid record that makes 2 p.m. feel like a bloodshot and whiskey-drunk 2 a.m... This is an evocative, haunting collection of mournfully gritty songs that cut a little deeper each time you hear them." - AV Club
"In Memory Of Loss is a stunning, heartbreaking sonic document chronicling the life of Denver-by-way-of-Missouri songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff. Both fresh and classic, it is imbued with a melancholy and rough candor... he delivers words with a chilling raw emotion with a low rasp that’s part Neil Diamond, part Nick Cave." - Delusions of Adequacy
"Nathaniel Rateliff has indeed created something that will hold listeners for far longer than most records of its type. Those listeners that find it and play it through will be curious to know what the singer might have in store next; In Memory Of Loss is a relentlessly personal record, and listeners will be left wondering and hoping if this is the sort of album that he can make twice." - Ground Control
"Folksy singer-songwriters could learn a lesson from Nathaniel Rateliff. They could learn a few... This is really, really good stuff." 5/5 - Music-Critic
"Dry River Yacht Club has made a name for themselves as a bold, unconventional band... instrumentation, which includes French horn, bassoon, and accordion... They are, in fact, somewhat chameleon-like. They walk the line between old-fashioned and modern. Their acoustic sound is sharpened and accentuated with unmistakable vocals, a distinguishing feature for them. Garnet's round, clear vibrato is intriguing and gives the music depth and rich, dark overtones.The overall product is both sweet and eerie." Grade A- - Phoenix New Times
Singer, songwriter, guitarist and Southern legend T-Model Ford plays a raw-edged, visceral style of blues from the Mississippi Delta. He began playing guitar late in life and did not tour much outside the Deep South until the 1990s. In recent years he's been well-received at South by Southwest, the Chicago Blues Festival, numerous other festivals, and on tour with Buddy Guy. T-Model, should resonate with fans of blues artists such as Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, John Lee Hooker, and Lightnin' Hopkins as well as with fans of later blues and blues-inspired acts like the Black Keys, Jon Spencer and Bob Log III.
"What goes around comes around in the blues world. Although T-Model Ford is from Mississippi, not all of his influences are Mississippi Delta influences - his dusky, moody electric blues also owe something to Chicago (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf), Detroit (John Lee Hooker), and Texas (Lightnin' Hopkins)... (T-Model) is easily recommended to anyone who likes his/her electric blues rugged, unpolished, and totally sincere." 4 stars - All Music Guide
Tom Walbank is a Tucson gem.... one of the best musicians in town. If you haven't seen him yet, particularly if you are a fan of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker - you are definately missing out.
"Walbank... (has a) gritty, sweat-inducing approach to the blues - incorporating elements from Muddy Waters' guitar to Phil Wiggins' harmonica - is a far cry from the norm in a Downtown music scene full of desert rockers. Yet Walbank has grown quite popular with the scenesters since moving to town in 2000. His versatility and willingness to share the stage with a wide variety of musicians have earned him respect from performing newcomers and elder statesmen alike." - AZ Night Buzz
The Missing Parts weave wild, infectious melodies and complex rhythms across a tight, unpredictable but vast musical territory. This local quartet, consisting of violin, steel guitar, cello, and guitar, plays all original music ranging from lightning fast dances to sleepy laments. Their influences range from Sufi and Roma folk, to classical, metal, blues, jazz, tango, flamenco, and spaghetti western.
"The Missing Parts are a cello-infused acoustic attack, like a twangy, three-headed version of the Kronos Quartet." - TucsonScene.com
Featuring members of The Year of Acceleration, The Static Session performs songs crafted with a pop sensibility that has been compared to a mix of The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen and Oasis.
"If you miss the heady days of Brit-pop a la Echo and The Bunnymen and latter-day Jesus and Mary Chain and The Cure, The Static Session provides just what you've been looking for."- Tucson Weekly
"Black Carl is the best live band in Phoenix... hands down. If you have not seen them yet you better do it before they get signed and blow up and move to New York or something." - Electric Mustache
"Black Carl... (create) down-and-dirty, sexy tracks a hypnotic beat that makes you really groove." - Phoenix Metromix
"Black Carl - sounds like it might be dirty, sounds like it might be racist. It's neither. It's soul, funk, blues and everything that was once cool." - Indie Rock Reviews
Former member of the Jons, Ricky Shimo creates expiramental, yet upbeat, sonic soundscapes with guitar loops and a bunch of talent.
"As a vocalist, Chandler has an amazing combination of innate talent, joy and heart and soul that comes across easily and spontaneously." - Eugene Weekly