Ryan Adams | Prisoner (Pax Am/Blue Note)
There’s a beautiful, responsible honesty in these songs that cuts to the heart of mature loss.
Articles by Mike Rengel
Snowball II | Flashes of Quincy (Independent/Doughnut)
Flashes of Quincy is a white-hot grease fire of pure entertainment.
Mike Evin | Life as a Lover (s/r)
Evin shares Paul McCartney’s knack for effortless melody, and also his tendency toward rah-rah optimism.
Great Tracks from Albums that Just Missed the Top 10 Cut | Mike Rengel
There are albums in my Top 10 and there are those in my Honorable Mentions; these are songs from neither of those lists.
Best Concerts of 2016 | Mike Rengel
It’s rare to get a night when college-aged you is happy and pushing-40 you is happy. This was so it.
Best Albums of 2016 | Mike Rengel
Wes Miles and Ra Ra Riot strike an impeccable equilibrium between Beta Love and The Orchard.
Top Albums of 2015 | Mike Rengel
Anyone who still harbors memories of the vitality and romance of finding weirdos like you will not only relate to but celebrate the naked vitality coursing through Beach Slang’s The Things We Do.
Ben Folds + yMusic | 11.17.15
Always a consummate performer, sometimes serious, but often cloaked in various grades of aloofness and smart-assery, this time Folds looked, sang, and acted as if he’d had a revelation.
Magic Omnibus | August 2015
It’s the sonic equivalent of thinking about uncertain futures while you put one foot in front of the other at the start of each new day.
Magic Omnibus | July 2015
It’s an unjaded sense of freedom coupled with the right amount of naturalism and drama injected into her music that gives Flo Morrissey balance.