In the digital age, music fans have an unprecedented ease and range of access to the vast vaults of popular music. 95% of the time I think this is a blessing, and I love whirling over my (too-large) music library on iTunes, but there is something to be said for sitting down and spending some time with a single album. The listening experience on my headphones in front of the computer screen is a…

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Phosphorescent until recently was pretty much just Matt Houck, but over the last few years, particularly since the release of the 2009 Willie Nelson covers record To Willie, the moniker has really been just as much about the ample company Matt Houck keeps as much as the man himself. The solid full-band grounding has really molded Houck's song into beautifully sculpted country-rock nuggets, replete with the hazy harmonies and vaguely psychedelic bent… Continue

There is always one totally under-the-radar record that captures my imagination each year (aside from the many woefully underrated artists of my hometown (Columbia, SC) that put out excellent records each year). And what I mean by “under-the-radar” is that I didn’t find it from any conventional music press or internet source, but rather seem to have come across it purely by chance from a friend or as an unknown opener at a show. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get one this year, but then my… Continue

One of the most noted up-and-comers in South Carolina’s music scene over the past few years, singer/songwriter Cary Ann Hearst boasts one of the most powerful country/soul/punk voices you are ever likely to hear, with top-notch songwriting chops to boot. Her debut record Dust & Bones sounds like an alt. country classic and bares favorable comparisons to artists like Lucinda Williams, Neko Case and Dolly Parton (minus the kitsch).



While that record holds some remarkably good songs… Continue