A.A. Williams Solstice

 

A student of mine recently asked me, "How do you know about so many bands?!" Besides the fact that I have 3 decades of listening to music on him, I explained that one of the best ways to discover new bands is to pay attention to any smaller, locally and independently run, music venue near you. These locations are where the best new musicians and bands often make their tour debuts. For me, that local venue is The Radio Room. I've discovered many bands that I've taken a serious liking to by either checking them out live there or looking up their music on various streaming platforms. A.A. Williams is one of those artists that I discovered this way. Although I couldn't make the show The Radio Room sponsored due to scheduling conflicts, I looked up her music and listened to her debut album, Forever Blue (2020). Her follow up album, As the Moon Rests (2022) solidified me as a fan of her music, and made me deeply regretful I missed seeing her live. With her 2026 release, Solstice, Williams continues to deepen and expand her sound. A sound that amalgamates alt-rock, goth rock, doom metal, and post-classical and transcends many of her fellow musicians' compositions working with similar post-modern modes and genres. 

A Perfect Circle Return With New Song "Starless"

 

A Perfect Circle returns with their first new music in 8 years, and while it's only a single song, it's like hearing an old comrade pick up the good fight again. 

Maynard James Keenan has never shied away from grand statements as the front man for TOOL, and especially as the leader of Puscifer and the voice of A Perfect Circle. TOOL is often inward looking with its music and philosophy, focusing on the sacred geometry of the body and soul. Puscifer started as a comedy routine basically, but has grown into an outward looking satirical and mind bending trip into what ails society at large. A Perfect Circle started out as a descent into occult imagery and psychological themes. About the time of eMOTVEe though, A Perfect Circle became starkly political in much of their music. While maintaining much of the occult imagery and intricate orchestration, covers of songs like "What's Going On," "Peace Love and Understanding," and "Imagine" bespoke of a certain concern for the politics of the time. Eat The Elephant (2018) continued the socio-political commentary with its lyrics. "Starless," their first new song in 8 years further continues this trend, but a little less directly than many of the songs on Eat The Elephant did.  

Chevelle Continue their Sci-Fi Inspired Crimes On New Album Bright as Blasphemy

 

The Brothers Loeffler continue the evolution of their band, Chevelle's, 1990s alt-rock cum nu-metal sound to one merged just slightly enough with the type of elements that make MUSE the number one sci-fi rock band of the 21st Century, and deliver their best album since they dove head first into sci-fi themes and album artwork with 2009's Sci-Fi Crimes with their new release Bright as Blasphemy (2025). 

Still Fumbling Towards Ecstasy With Sarah McLachlan 30 Years On

Sarah McLachlan's Fumbling Toward Ecstasy continues to speak, 30 years on, to those possessed with and still Fumbling after ecstasy. 

Pearl Jam Dark Matter Album Reflections

 

Pearl Jam Dark Matter 

Dark Matter has been out long enough now that official bootlegs of Pearl Jam's 2024 tour are available at pearljam.com/tenclub. Live versions of songs off the album can be heard, dissected, and scrutinized by Pearl Jam's legions of fans, myself being one of them. Some of the songs take on new life live, like "Setting Sun," a song which I didn't really get into upon hearing it on the album. Now it's one of my favorite new PJ songs. Other songs like "Won't Tell" are just as compelling live as they are on the album. Anyway, what is there left to say about the band's most recent album that hasn't already been said? Not much. Still, a 33 year Pearl Jam fan's opinion might be interesting, especially since upon a first listen to the band's 12th studio album, I despised how it sounded. It turns out I wasn't evolved enough yet to understand it. 

Pearl Jam "Dark Matter" (Single)

 

It's a bit cliched to reminisce, out loud at least, about when and where you first heard a certain song and the effect said song had on you. I'm going to do it anyway. I have three songs that I heard, coincidentally all while driving to or from work or school in the early 1990s, that I can distinctly remember the place, time, and circumstances surrounding the first time I heard them. One was "Smells Like Teen Spirit." One was "Cherub Rock," and one was "Even Flow." Each one of these songs stimulated my auditory nerves like I can only imagine that first hit of your drug of choice did. I wouldn't know the ins and outs of how a first hit of heroin or coke might feel. I'm straight edge as far as that stuff is concerned. Nevertheless, I know what it feels like to feel high. My highs are linked explicitly to good music, good books, and good art. All of which have swirled around the bands who produced the music mentioned above. Only one of those bands has continued to give me repeat experiences of the type of "you remember where you were when you heard it first" moments. It's quite an accomplishment for a band, 32 years on from that "Even Flow" moment to recreate, for this listener at least, a similar experience. That's what happened with Pearl Jam's latest single, "Dark Matter." This time though, the urgency and the call to action in the music is tempered with the power of authority that only longevity, and a track record for evoking a change in the consciousness of their listeners, can provide. 

 The Foo Fighters share just where they are, physically, mentally, and spiritually on But Here We Are, and take us along with them on a journey of healing. 

I never say to anyone who is facing a tragedy or significant loss “I know how you feel.” I don’t. Even though I’ve faced tragedy and experienced significant loss. Like Dave Grohl I lost a brother. Taylor Hawkins was Grohl’s brother. I empathize with Grohl. I feel for him, and all of those who were close to Taylor, but I don’t “know” how he feels. Grief and loss are experienced by everyone just a little bit differently. When Grohl sings, “Are you feeling what I’m feeling?” and “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” in “Rescued,” the lead single from The Foo Fighters’ lean new album But Here We Are, I can honestly answer “yes.” But I would never assume to “know” what he’s thinking or feeling. After a listen through the album, it’s pretty easy to understand what Grohl is thinking and feeling in the wake of Taylor Hawkins’ death though. The least of which is that Taylor, like any lost loved one, is irreplaceable.