Sunset Years

The contemplation and acceptance of aging is a tricky business. Particularly if you make your living in an industry that is all about youth.Incredible as it may seem to me, Paul Weller, the angry man of The Jam and stylish angry young man of The Style Council, is now sixty-two.I can still remember standing in …

Shortly After Takeoff

My favorite album of the first half of this weird year is the very strange and wonderful ‘Shortly After Takeoff’ by BC Camplight, the stage name of multi-instrumentalist Brian Christinzio from Philadelphia.Christinizio relocated to Manchester, England, a few years ago, and has created an album full of references to things like Oldham chip shops and …

Anyone for a guitar solo?

When you approach an album called ‘A Deeper Understanding’, it’s probably with a heavy heart. Rather in the same way you don’t announce the funniness of a comment by saying ‘That is soooo funny’ rather than actually laughing, so you don’t announce your new depth by saying ‘I have a deeper understanding’. But awful title …

Lost in the Dream

It’s rare to hear a rock album that feels classic without feeling derivative and irrelevant. The woozy, comedown grooves of ‘Lost in the Dream’ by The War on Drugs is just such a beast. It’s an album of long drawn out tracks that swing along without dragging. Like the last album from fellow Philadelphia native …