Greetings from Portland, Maine, by way of upstate New York. Like so many things, I started this in one place and finished it in another.

John Francis O’Mara has a new album of spiritual Forbidden Hymns that tackle hard realities head on.

"Brave New World" is a song by the English new wave band Toyah, fronted by Toyah Willcox, released as a single in 1982 by Safari Records.

A phenomenal live performer, Mitski brought the platinum The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We to the world’s stages in theatrical and daring fashion. Presenting as much a spectacle as an expansive live show, she showcased music from the album alongside reworkings and reimaginings of songs that color her expansive career. The Land: The Live Album converts the magic and majesty of witnessing Mitski live to an album. Recorded over three nights at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre in 2024 and mixed by Mitski’s long-standing producer Patrick Hyland, this is a thrilling listen portraying what kept hundreds of thousands of fans rapt at venues across the globe. The digital edition of The Land comprises 21 beloved tracks culled from Mitski’s catalog, including “Washing Machine Heart,” “I Bet On Losing Dogs,” “First Love / Late Spring,” “My Love Mine All Mine,” and “Nobody,” while the vinyl edition comprises 12.

Tight jazz trio with imaginative interplay and a lot of Groove!

Following the remarkable international acclaim of Take a Deep Breath—the record that marked Platonick Dive’s comeback with their distinctive blend of post-rock, ambient electronica, and cinematic shoegaze—the band is now set to release the Deluxe Edition.

FOUR GENERATIONS from Navona Records traces a powerful lineage of musical mentorship through works by Darius Milhaud, William Bolcom, Arthur Gottschalk, and Karl Blench.

The melodies, rhythms, and colours of speech surround us with music all the time. Dialects are particular shades of spoken music, regionally distinct speech patterns that are deeply woven into community identity.

First-Prize winner of the Philadelphia Orchestra Young Artists Competition and third-prize winner of Concours International d’ Execution Musicale in Geneva, flutist Hyeri Yoon’s extensive solo concert engagement have taken her all over the world.

So it was 1995 at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. Herbert Grönemeyer also made music history with the very first non-English-language MTV Unplugged. And now, exactly thirty years later, the devices are being unplugged again.

Hege received lots of good feedback as a young jazz vocalist, but it is now, many years later that she is finally making her own jazz album. It contains standard songs and a tribute to the journalist Randi Hultin, composed by Phil Woods.

Jillian Rae is a Minneapolis-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer whose authentic and powerful, genre-transcending music is pioneering a new wave of music in the Midwest.

The distance traveled on William Prince’s new album, Further From the Country, is generational, aspirational, and metaphysical. Expansive and declarative, Further From the Country is the work of an artist who meets the challenge of putting incisive and enduring words to this age of uncertainty. William Prince’s perspective - a songwriter who carries great legacies of family and songcraft forward - is singular and significant. Further From the Country, his fifth LP, is an extraordinary work of observation, reflection and ambition, a work that will leave its mark on listeners for its humanity and its potency.

With Classical Dance – Simply the Best, Alex Christensen and The Berlin Orchestra continue their celebrated success series, in which iconic dance and pop hits are reinterpreted in a lavish, classical guise. Since the very first installment, Christensen has shaped a unique style with his blend of orchestral grandeur, club beats, and cinematic dynamics – and with Volume 6, he once again delivers a collection of tracks that combine nostalgia with goosebump moments.

Biohazard are one of those bands that held my interest and affection, but only for a small window of my life (1992 through 1996).