Category: Features
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I recently had the pleasure of talking with one of the world’s biggest hit songwriters, a gentlemen named Even Stevens. (Awesome name, right?) When I was growing up, back when I was a kid listening to my parent’s radio station of choice, I heard some of his hits hundreds of times. There was Eddie Rabbit’s…
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by Michael McCarthy all photos by: Bryan Downey except where noted When many people think of indie music, the artists they often think of are artists who are actually on record labels, just small ones outside of the major label scene. Which is entirely cool, of course. Most of my favorite artists are on indie labels…
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review by Michael McCarthy all photos by Joshua Bernard and may not be reproduced without his permission Last night our resident Love is Pop photographer, Joshua Bernard, and I headed into Beantown (that’s Boston) to catch Emmy The Great’s show at Cafe 939 at Berklee (the famous music college). It proved to be an interesting…
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This past Sunday, the 21st of February, I was treated to an invitation-only Kacey Musgraves concert at Mohegan Sun Casino in CT. I’m not sure how I got invited, as I’m far from being a high roller, but needless to say that I’m quite happy that I was. Especially since the concert was fantastic. Opening…
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by Michael McCarthy I was recently introduced to the music of indie singer/songwriter bitter’s kiss (real name: Chloe Baker) and soon fell madly in love with it. Her always emotive voice immediately grabs you, sounding like a genetic cross between Lorde, Banks and Cœur de Pirate, three of my favorite artists. At times she sounds…
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by Michael McCarthy all photos courtesy of Frontiers Records Today, February 19th, sees the release of the self-titled debut album by the UK’s hottest new hard rock band, Inglorious. But don’t let their name fool you; their sound is indeed very glorious. These guys kick some major ass. Frontman Nathan James is like a young…
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On March 11th the much beloved singer/songwriter Emmy The Great will release her gorgeous third album, Second Love (her debut was called First Love, Virtue her second). It’s her first album in five years and it was well worth the wait, each song like a poetic love letter that goes straight to your heart. A…
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Soul Asylum will release their brand new, 2016 studio album Change of Fortune on March 18th and it’s one of their best in years, right up there with Grave Dancer’s Union (1992) and Let Your Dim Light Shine (1995). It is not an attempt to rehash those albums, though. On the contrary, today’s Soul Asylum…
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Last night was part of Mohegan Sun’s ’80’s weekend at their Connecticut casino. Def Leppard was supposed to perform in the 10,000 seater arena but were unable to due to health issues with one of the band members. So, as we learned last night, Joe Elliot called Skid Row guitarist Snake Sabo and asked if…
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by Michael McCarthy One of the joys of doing Love is Pop is encountering new music that I otherwise would likely never hear. Recently, Jeremy Loop’s publicist contacted me with a link to his album. Listening to it, I was constantly thrown off guard, as he employs everything but the kitchen sink, not only in…
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by Michael McCarthy I still recall the first time I heard Cœur de Pirate, otherwise known as Béatrice Martin. I’d just watched a video by French pop diva Mylène Farmer on Youtube and it suggested a Cœur de Pirate song from her debut album next. It was “Comme des enfants” and it put a spell…
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by Michael McCarthy If you like pop music that’s as addictive as chocolate but also has an air of sophistication about it, you’re in for a real treat with the music of 19 year old Kita Alexander, a rising pop star who’s been getting airplay from the likes of such influential stations as Beats 1, Radio 1 and…
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by Michael McCarthy As some of you may recall, I published a heavy metal zine back in the ’90s before I started writing for actual magazines like LiveWire and Lollipop (rest in peace x2). It was called ANT, The Only Cool Magazine That Bites. (Weird title, but, hey, people remembered it.) I’m bringing this up…
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When David Bowie suddenly rushed back onto the scene with his surprise album The Next Day in 2013, I was elated. He’s long been one of my favorite artists — ever since his 1997 album Earthling — and I could not have been more pleased with the album. It was dark, edgy and experimental, an…
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by Michael McCarthy Each year, I feel overwhelmed before writing a “best albums of” list. There are always so many releases that I’ve loved during any given year, it makes it very difficult to narrow them down to a reasonable number. (When I first listed my best from this year, it was 144 albums long.)…
