Lav's Music Corner

These are just three functionally unaffiliated bands who all are technically under the exceedingly large umbrella of "rock" that I wanted to cover.  In Times New Roman...  - Queens Of The Stone Age With a full decade between the release of Queens Of The Stone Age's excellent album Like Clockwork  and now, I'm comfortable saying that I don't like this band as much as everyone else does. I appreciate the one-two punch of Rated R  and Songs For The Deaf , and Like Clockwork  sees the band sounding better than they had any right to in their career. But now 8 albums into their career I still consider myself a picky fan and I wasn't crazy about the singles from this album. One thing I can say in favor of this record is that it sees the band taking risks they weren't willing to on their previous album. By that metric alone this project is an improvement on the safe sounds of Villains  or Era Vulgaris . But despite that experimentation, much of the corny blues roc...

Yes this list is late, it was a busy weekend, let me live. Enjoy <3 5.  Sixers - The Hold Steady Am I gonna like this new Hold Steady album? For the second single in a row I feel like I should be docking points because it sounds so much like so many of their other songs but when push comes to shove for some reason the songwritery details Craig Finn weaves into everything just works on me. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the bar rocky piano finale to the song which feels even a bit too corny for The Hold Steady. Listen 4.  The Court  - Peter Gabriel I like parts of this song a LOT, the stark hook with its distant punches of echoing percussion is tailor-made for me to appreciate. While some of the song's intimate whispers can come off goofier than I think is intended I'm surprised just how much of this song stuck in my head after only a few times hearing it. It's not perfect but it definitely does enough.  Listen 3.  Swing   (In A Dream)  - Squi...

For the first time in 2023 and covering the first two weeks of the year, let's recap the best tracks of the week.  5.  Sideways Skull  - The Hold Steady Part of me is a little bit scared of dishing out praise to yet another witty, reference-heavy bar-rock anthem from The Hold Steady since they've been doing this for a LONG time now, but sometimes they just do it well. Aside from the messy guitar lick that sticks around for almost the entire song, this is another Craig Finn lyrical expose that will require some googling for even the music nerds. Once the keys rush in on the equally wordy hook it strikes a level of catchy that the band is capable of when at or around their peak.  Listen 4.  Flowers  - Miley Cyrus Color me surprised. One of the early treats of 2023 from Miley Cyrus who I'm not normally the biggest fan of musically. While this disco-flavored self-empowerment anthem could be argued as Jessie Ware-lite, it's still a style that's new for Miley and...

Cassandra Jenkins is a Brooklyn singer-songwriter who first attracted the attention of the indie music scene with her debut album Pay Till You Win  in 2017. Since then she has released singles and live albums sparsely over the year before ultimately returning with her Josh Kaufman produced sophomore album on Overview .  Review By Lav: Until a few weeks ago I had no idea who Cassandra Jenkins was and I hadn't hear her debut album. But after seeing a couple of very positive reviews for this record and noticing the most Brooklyn thing possible, that Josh Kaufmann produced the record, I decided to give it a shot. While Kaufmann is perhaps most known for his production work with Craig Finn's The Hold Steady, I was really interested to see the sonic approach he would contribute to a singer-songwriter record. As soon as I turned this record on what makes it special was instantly apparent to me and with how much enjoyment I've derived from it I only wish I had been aware of Cassand...

The Hold Steady are a long running New York indie rock outfit fronted by charismatic frontman and narrative heavy lyricist Craig Finn. After a prolific run of records in the 2000's the band slowed down in the 2010's before releasing a long list of singles leading up to their 7th album, Thrashing Thru The Passion  in 2019. This follow-up came relatively soon after and featured only a trio of singles in its lead up.  Review By Lav: I've always considered myself a Hold Steady fan, even if most of what's considered there best work came before I was really old enough to be an active listener of the band. That's why I felt so justified when the band released Thrashing Thru The Passion  a few years ago and it was the best thing they'd done in a long time. Overflowing with memorable storytelling and instantaneous hooks it was exactly what I could have hoped for from a late stage Hold Steady project. That's why I was so excited for this project even though the single...

The Hold Steady is a Brooklyn based Craig Finn fronted rock band known for detailed narrative songwriting and a blend of classic rock sounds with indie rock song structures. The bands third record 2006's Boys And Girls In America  was released to universal critical acclaim and made the band an instantly recognizable name in indie music, but since then the band has released three albums of varying quality, none of which managed to quite match the greatness of Girls And Boys . Review By Lavender: I have always loved The Hold Steady, I first heard their landmark record Boys And Girls In America  years ago and I was hooked from the very first moments. While I enjoyed 2008's Stay Positive  quite a bit retrospectively the bands most recent album, 2014's Teen Dreams  the only one I was conscious of at launch, was a touch underwhelming for me. I liked it more than most people as I expect will be the case with just about any of the groups records but I was still hoping...