Short Attention Span Record Reviews - Holiday Shopping Guide Edition

AMY BLASHKE – Opaline
Not really country but an unusual combination of country rock, folk and soul, Blashke somehow ends up in Lee Halzewood territory. This is a thing of beauty. (8)

ARCS – The Arcs Vs. The Inventors, Vol.1
The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach’s got a new band and he invites his musical heros to jam on limited edition 10-inch LPs. The first one features Dr. John and David Hidalgo (Los Lobos). (8)

BARONESS – Purple
Sort of like Mastodon with pop hooks after hiring Brian May as their guitar tech. (8)

KAMASI WASHINGTON – The Epic
It’s not that I was late in discovering the best jazz album of 2015, I actually started listening to it when it was released but the album duration is about 7 months. (9)

RIHANNON GIDDENS – Factory Girl EP
Songs that didn’t make it onto 2015’s excellent Americana album “Tomorrow Is My Turn”, just as good as those that did. (8)

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & THE ASBURY JUKES – Soultime!
The inventor of the New Jersey sound, Nikola Tesla to Springsteen’s Thomas Edison, Southside Johnny pays tribute to the golden age of soul with an album’s worth of original material that sounds just like a Junior Walker / Sam & Dave / Isaac Hayes / Curtis Mayfield party mixtape. (8)

TENEMENT – Predatory Headlights
Really good old school alt-rock/pop-punk album. At 78 minutes long some filler is inevitable but come on, let’s party like it’s 1995. (7)

TINARIWEN – Live In Paris
Trance-inducing desert rock jams from our favorite Tuaregs, recorded live in front of a raucous Parisian audience gone wild. Must hear. (8)

THORBJORN RISAGER & THE BLACK TORNADO – Songs from the Road
Hard rockin’ blues growler from Copenhagen backed by a band featuring a kick-ass guitarist, a funky rhythm section and a couple of awesome brass players, recorded live and having a blast. (7)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Bobby Gillespie Presents Sunday Morning Comin' Down
Excellent moody mixtape put together by Primal Scream frontman: The Byrds, John Barry, Tim Buckley, Gram Parsons, even three in a row from the Beach Boys, all blend seamlessly. (8)