A pair of new albums from both sides of the Atlantic have found their way into my rotation this week.  From the good ol' U.S. of A comes Backyard Tire Fire's The Places We Lived (Hyena Records), the followup to last year's excellent Vagabonds and Hooligans.  Stylistically, this album shares many traits with its predecessor but is definitely not a rehash. Checking in at just over the half-hour mark, frontman and guitarist Ed Anderson and company (brother Matt on bass, Tim Kramp on ... Read on, Daddy-O

From two completely different ends of the musical spectrum comes a pair of albums - one new and one upcoming - that both get the coveted GFS stamp of approval. First up is the self-titled debut EP from Build (New Amsterdam Records, 2008), a Brooklyn-based indie classical quintet formed in 2006.  Now I know what you're thinking: "Classical music?  Boring!"  Stop thinking that, you're wrong.  This are modern, tuneful compositions that bears precious little resemblance to your father's classical music. For those familiar with ... Read on, Daddy-O

I recently had the chance to conduct an interview with a real live band - well, over email that is. As a result of an earlier post on this very blog, the manager for Backyard Tire Fire wrote to me, and one of the end results is that I was able to get the band featured on Blogcritics as this week's Band of the Week. It was definitely a neat experience, and my first foray into interviewing since my days ... Read on, Daddy-O

Once in a while I fall into a bit of a rut with my music and get the urge to strike out and discover some new bands or some new styles. And by "new" I mean "new to me." The last time I did this was about 6 years ago when I started seriously developing an affinity for jazz. That period bore a lot of fruit and allowed me to get into groups/acts that have really had an impact ... Read on, Daddy-O