(Self-Produced, CD)... Read more

(UFO Records, CD)

In the wake of the recent success of Jason Mraz and the “American Idol” triumph of Kris Allen, Zach Deputy has recorded Sunshine in the same safe, white, pseudo-soul, acoustic-pop-troubadour vein. Problem is, Deputy comes off too much like Mraz and Allen to really make any impact — call him the poor man’s Brett Dennen.... Read more

(Aether Everywhere, CD, Digital download)... Read more

(Vibe Theory Music, CD)

If the name “Hollis Brown” sounds familiar, it should. Bob Dylan’s grim ballad about a destitute South Dakota farmer is one of the poet’s more haunting and oft-covered works. It’s also the unlikely namesake of a promising young outfit poised to sell records. There’s nothing bleak — or particularly iconic — about Hollis Brown (the band). Instead, the kids from Queens line their eponymous debut with melodies that linger like a summer rain.... Read more

(El & L Records, CD)... Read more

(Rurally Urban Records, 2-CD)... Read more

(Big Heavy World, 2-CD)... Read more

(Self-released, CD)... Read more

(Self-released, CD)... Read more

(Bunkbed Records, CD)

Where we last left off (OK, where I last left off, more than two years ago), Lowell Thompson was a budding country-rocker — the workingman’s answer to Whiskeytown-era Ryan Adams, a young journeyman with a Heart of Gold and paint-spackled pants (Thompson’s pre-musical trade was as a housepainter). Back then, our troubadour was among those lucky performers seemingly destined for fame beyond Burlington’s drinking holes. But we all know how that story goes…... Read more