Undark Photography's Profile

With the release of Love & Revelation, the 18th studio album from inveterate Cincinnati group Over The Rhine, the band show once again why they continue to enjoy the adoration of their fans.

It’s been said that “Americana” is just “country music that’s actually good.” Without wading into that never-ending argument, I would argue most bands fitting that description would seem underserved by it -- in short, it never tells the full story. Greater Cincinnati’s own Wilder, with the release of their new full-length album Pick Your Poison, seem intent on telling the story completely, and completely on their own terms.

Though Raitt is 69 and Taylor is soon to be 71, neither artist, nor their backing bands, showed any intention of slowing down or resting on their laurels anytime soon. I may have been dragging down the median age (to borrow a phrase from a friend who also attended), but I can scarcely remember a concert (or any event, for that matter) where everything just felt quite so warm and comfortable.

It is not often, through the course of listening to submissions to review, that I am genuinely struck by the sheer audacity of a recording, when a band or artist decides not only to throw out the formula, but to rewrite the mathematics altogether. That was what I was faced when listening to Alternate Dimension, the new album of remixes from Chris From Space.

Blessed continues a tradition of great records from a great band. It oozes with the power, swagger, and punch that 500 MTM has been known for since the early days.

If you’re a fan of The Black Keys, The Greenhornes, or any good “plug in the guitar, turn it up, and play a song” kind of rock & roll,Swallow Your Concernsis the kind of record that will satisfy.