Jason Isbell's solo debut, 2007's "Sirens of the Ditch," showed plenty of promise but seemed tentative, as if Isbell were still getting his bearings after leaving Drive-By Truckers that same year. ...more

March 13, 2009

British performer Tricky's new album pays tribute to an area most people try to avoid. ...more

March 5, 2009

Brad Paisley leads all finalists for the Academy of Country Music Awards with six nominations, but the biggest surprise might be former Trick Pony singer Heidi Newfield's five nods. ...more

February 12, 2009

Brad Paisley leads all finalists for the Academy of Country Music Awards with six nominations. ...more

February 11, 2009

You think you know a guy, and then he goes and puts out an album like "Amplified." Q-Tip's 1999 solo debut, released on the heels of A Tribe Called Quest's breakup, had the MC ready to dumb things down to marketplace levels. It wasn't as bad as that, not all of it, anyway, but "Amplified" lacked the wit, the versatility and the good vibes of the Tribe. ...more

November 13, 2008

SERJ TANKIAN: ELECT THE DEAD (SERJICAL STRIKE /REPRISE) *** The voice is unmistakable, and the socio-political slant of the lyrics is present and accounted for. But System of a Down singer Serj Tankian's solo debut is no rehash of his band's signature sound. ...more

January 3, 2008