All articles by Tom Lanham
Sometimes a pop-charting single becomes part of the cultural zeitgeist. It's the case with Rachel Platten's anthemic "Fight Song," which she penned with Dave Bassett. Although the New York-b…
Former Supergrass bandleader Gaz Coombes is delighted that his tour " promoting his second solo album "Matador" (nominated for a Mercury Prize in his native England) is wending through the &…
Steve Hackett's tour, "From Acolyte to Wolflight, plus Genesis classics (1970-1977)," which comes to the Warfield this week, is a marquee mouthful. But that's no surprise. The guitarist has …
For nine years, Welsh power trio The Joy Formidable — led by commanding guitarist-vocalist Ritzy Bryan — seemed like an irresistible force, sweeping aside obstacles in its path a…
Michael Joseph Nelson, who brings his current project Banners to The City next week, first took the stage as a child, wearing a furry brown costume with horns. "I was »
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Caroline Polachek of the alterna-pop duo Chairlift has been busy for the past few years. She released a solo album (under the name Ramona Lisa), composed runway scores for fashion »
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When Canadian harpist, accordionist and keyboardist Loreena McKennitt released three albums on her own Quinlan Road imprint and was signing to Warner Bros. for her fourth, "The Visit," in th…
Philadelphia-bred Aaron Livingston says it's occasionally confusing when fans greet him as Son Little, the neo-soul alter ego he created three years ago after signing to ANTI-Records. But wi…
Peter Frampton has fans like Matt Groening and Seth MacFarlane, who have included animated versions of the British rock star on "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy." But he has a »
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It might seem like things are happening at lightning speed for 24-year-old British folk-rocker Jack Garratt. He released his debut album "Phase," won a Critics Choice BRIT Award and BBC …
Natalie Merchant wants to clarify that she's not repeating herself. The former 10,000 Maniacs frontwoman had great artistic reasons to release last year's "Paradise Is There: The New Tigerli…
New Jersey-born composer Charlie Puth has been through a headspinning two months. He had the hit "Marvin Gaye" with Meghan Trainor and sat next to Robert De Niro at the »
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It's no accident that songs on St. Lucia's new sophomore synth-rock recording "Matter" — including "Home," "Dancing on Glass" and the six-minute epic "Winds of Change" — are simu…
A popular video online shows Lake Street Dive belter Rachael Price at age 12, warbling a prescient version of "Dedicated to You" with a traveling choir in Spain, complete with »
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Many ingredients make up "In the Magic Hour," the whimsical new sophomore album from "Prairie Home Companion" regular Aoife O'Donovan. There's the guitar and vocal maturity (also heard in th…
Canadian pop phenomenon Carly Rae Jepsen — who comes to San Francisco this week — thought she had earned a relaxing holiday season. After setting the world on fire with »
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Quirk-popper Melanie Martinez, 20, should have savored her high school graduation ceremony two years ago, with her proud parents in attendance. But the day was ruined by her classmates' booi…
Ellen Kempner didn't stumble upon the angular originals from "Dry Food," her 2015 debut disc under the sobriquet Palehound. She paid for frank songs like "Molly," "Cinnamon" and "Cushioned C…
Steve Wynn has some good news and some bad news. The Dream Syndicate/Gutterball/Baseball Project alum has a great new solo record, "Benedikt's Blues." But it's only available in Norway. (It'…
Emmy-winning "24" star Kiefer Sutherland is excited about the diverse new projects he's juggling. There's his upcoming film with Michelle Pfeiffer, "Neat-up Little Seagull," and an old-schoo…
Anya Marina understands she had a good run at her former major label, Chop Shop/Atlantic. "I was able to put out two full-lengths, an EP and a super-successful single, 'Satellite »
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At 15, British neo-soul stylist Jess Glynne was looking forward to appearing on her homeland's reality series "The X-Factor." Then she changed her mind and walked away from the opportunity. …
Eight years ago, South-African-born, Australian-raised neo-soul singer Troye Sivan was attending school in Perth and contemplating becoming a serious singer-songwriter when his creative stre…
Long before he released his Billy Joel-evocative debut EP "Headlights" last year, fans, friends and family were dubbing New York City keyboardist Tor Miller an old soul, a musician who »…
Grammy-winning British soul stylist Seal can't help that he's sensitive, and that sadness others might shrug off often hits him hard. His latest effort, "7," is among his most serious »…
Benji Hughes took eight years to release "Songs in the Key of Animals," the followup to his whimsical 25-track debut in 2008, "A Love Extreme." But don't worry about the »
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At first, fans might not recognize her from her solo-project sobirquet, the lower-case jennylee, as seen on last year's similarly lower-case "right on!" It's Warpaint bassist Jenny Lee Lindb…
London-bred Haelos vocalist Lotti Benardout can claim several gifted relatives, like an aunt who sings professionally and a grandmother in Arkansas renowned for penning advertising jingles a…
Even though the struggling artist's caveat warns against giving up your day job, Charles Michael Parks Jr. , who anchors neo-psychedelic Nashville quartet All Them Witches, had no choice two…
As the mastermind behind eclectic U.K. ensemble The Go! Team, Ian Parton is nearing the level occupied by visionaries the likes of Phil Spector and the late Joe Meek — »
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Two years ago, things were not going too well for folk-rock duo HoneyHoney. After two initially promising record deals fell apart, Benjamin Jaffe and Suzanne Santo were struggling to complet…
Josephine Vander Gucht is not a hypnologist. But with Anthony West, her partner in the British dream-pop duo Oh Wonder, she has compiled enough research on sleep and its rejuvenating »
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Erudite ex-Nerves/Plimsouls anchor Peter Case, whose great new solo recording is called "Hwy 62," also is the author of a scrappy autobiography, 2007's "As Far As You Can Get Without »
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Musically, 2016 seems like it will kick off with a bang, beginning with the long-awaited release of "Leave Me Alone," the jagged, jangling debut from Spanish all-girl quartet Hinds (formerly…
Remove Adele from the equation, and 2015 was a rather uneventful year in music. Taylor Swift still reigned supreme over everything, on a sweeping tour that included a cavalcade of »
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In 1998, Dean Wareham's alt-rock outfit Luna started a tradition of playing New Year's Eve concerts, which ended with the band's splintering in 2005. He and his wife Britta Phillips »
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Concrete Blonde mainstay Johnette Napolitano tracked her latest self-released solo effort "The Naked Album" in her secluded cabin in the Mojave desert. For skeletal, bluesy new numbers like …
Portland-raised artist Grace Mitchell quietly celebrated her 18th birthday in August by having dinner with a good friend at a restaurant in Hollywood, a city she has been visiting since …
In England, alt-rock combo Swim Deep has issued two critically lauded albums " 2013's "Where the Heaven Are We" and this year's more adventurous "Mothers" " and has been hailed »
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His bandmates in X are calling it their own "X-mas miracle." It's hard to downplay the triumphant stage return of founding guitarist Billy Zoom, who was sidelined this summer by »
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As a child, X Ambassadors bandleader Sam Harris was an extra in Ridley Scott's "Gladiator," and he even got to meet Scott and star Russell Crowe, thanks to his father »
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Bay Area rockabilly revivalist Chris Isaak is proud of his latest release, "First Comes the Night," which he recorded mostly in Nashville with country producers Dave Cobb and Paul Worley. &#…
Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann can't remember who first suggested the concept of an annual Christmas tour eight years ago. But it started as a little joke that quickly grew into a »
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The members of Icelandic outfit alt-rock outfit Kaleo experienced culture shock when they recently moved (on four-year visas) to Austin, Texas to track their forthcoming debut album with pro…
John Lydon of Public Image Limited painted the cover of his 10th album "What the World Needs Now…" with a picture of a harlequin-attired fool inspired by a traditional Hopi »
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When it comes to official tour merchandise, few artists can match the swag of Nashville renegade Nikki Lane. She parlayed a World War II-era fighter-pilot's patch " featuring a Posada-stark …
Formerly missing-in-action pop-R&B stylist JoJo has essentially finished, but not yet released, her long-awaited third album. In the meantime, the singer (born Joanna Levesque) has issu…
Boy & Bear bandleader Dave Hosking believes artists should write what they know, so he followed his gut instinct when composing the Aussie outfit's new third album, "Limit of Love," …
It's been three decades since British outfit The Cult released its landmark Goth-chiming "Love." But the band isn't living in the past. Its upcoming "Hidden City" is one of its »
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Sometimes hitting rock bottom can be a blessing in disguise, as was the case with Charlatans UK bandleader Tim Burgess, who wa penniless when he returned to his native England »
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