Blogcritics Author: Eric Whelchel

Music Review: Charlie Louvin - Charlie Louvin Sings Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs

Eric Whelchel — Mon, 8 Dec 2008 09:28:43 EST

Charlie Louvin explores the darker side of traditional American music
Charlie Louvin Sings Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs is the second release in 2008 from the grizzled music veteran. Earlier this year Louvin got godly on Steps to Heaven, a strong collection of gospel songs that also included a sometimes-overzealous set of background singers. Showing a definite Christian religious conviction without being...

Interview: Michael Grace Jr. from The Secret History

Eric Whelchel — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:22:26 EST

Michael Grace from The Secret History discusses his band's recent EP, Desolation Town.
The Secret History was formed by songwriter Michael Grace Jr., perhaps most widely known in indie circles for the album The Happiest Days of Our Lives, from his previous band My Favorite. The Secret History’s debut EP, Desolation Town, is an evocative and atmospheric release that incorporates a variety of genres and thematically unfolds...

Music Review: Future Clouds and Radar - Peoria

Eric Whelchel — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 20:16:42 EST

Future Clouds & Radar's second release is a step in the right direction
Future Clouds & Radar’s self-titled debut album was an ambitious and ballsy 27-song behemoth. At its best it was bold, experimental, and melodic indie-pop, with cryptic, sometimes mysterious lyrics and a mind-numbing number of musical styles synthesized into a creative and adventurous mixture. Though its musical influences were...

Music Review - Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, and the Amorphous Strums - Dark Developments

Eric Whelchel — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:37:46 EDT

Vic Chesnutt's latest release is his strongest in years.
For anyone who’s still clinging to the image of Vic Chesnutt as a mostly-acoustic Southern gothic folkie, it’s time to give that idea up. Though his earliest albums were often rooted in such sensibilities – debut album Little in particular – there’s always been a strong current of experimentalism and electricity...

Music Review - Sleepy John Estes - On 80 Highway

Eric Whelchel — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:12:44 EDT

Delmark issues a previously-unavailable studio session from bluesman Sleepy John Estes.
Recorded just three years before his death in 1977 (Elvis Presley wasn’t the only musician of note to die that year), On 80 Highway is a collection of 17 studio tracks by blues vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Sleepy John Estes. Accompanied by longtime cohort Hammie Nixon on vocals, harmonica, and that most underrated of instruments, the...

Interview with Paul Trynka, Author of Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed

Eric Whelchel — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:35:36 EDT

"...these days, it seems like it�s simply a career that�s at stake; in Iggy�s prime, it seemed like it was his life..."
In his revealing and detailed biography Open Up and Bleed, Paul Trynka examines the life of Jim Osterberg, better known to music fans as Iggy Pop. Trynka, formerly the reviews editor of Mojo magazine from 1999 to 2003, uses both previously available information and new interviews he conducted to create an exhaustive, informative, and sometimes...

Music Review - Various - 100 Greatest

Eric Whelchel — Thu, 9 Oct 2008 10:44:52 EDT

Shout Factory's exhaustive audio box set explores the triumphs and tragedies of modern history.
An ambitious release from the Shout Factory label, 100 Greatest is a collection of, um, 500 audio clips of some of the most memorable and culturally-impacting speeches, events, pop culture figures, sports moments, and sleazy scandals of the last 100-plus years. With a primary focus on Western (i.e., American) history, and featuring an impressive...

Music Review - Lambchop - OH (ohio)

Eric Whelchel — Wed, 1 Oct 2008 21:14:01 EDT

Put on you favorite trucker hat and settle in with Lambchop's latest.
Lambchop’s mix of musical genres still likely creates headaches for retailers when the shelves are being stocked. Even though the band’s lineup changes frequently (singer and lyricist Kurt Wagner being the obvious exception), the band has nevertheless developed a signature sound: a challenging and unique blend of country, alternative...

Music Review: Rick Danko Band - Live On Breeze Hill

Eric Whelchel — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:11:33 EDT

Rick Danko's live album does the man's legacy proud.
Recorded live on May 23, 1998 and originally released just a couple months before Rick Danko’s death at the age of 56, the reissue of Live On Breeze Hill is a solid and occasionally surprising album that finds the Band bassist performing songs from his time with that fabled, er, band.Supported by a backing group that includes fellow Bander...

Satire: Music Fan Ponders Fate of Collection after His Demise

Eric Whelchel — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:24:42 EDT

One music fan worries about his collection once he's gone
An alleged near-brush with death has left rabid indie fan Franklin Dyer pondering what will happen to his massive music collection once he springs off this mortal coil. Dyer reports that his near-demise was the ironic result of his good intentions to share his musical tastes with his two teenage neighbors, whom he now describes as two...