Out of the Box Album of the Week with Paul Shugrue Podcast
1) The Lone Bellow
“What a Time to be Alive” is a powerful statement by a band just now realizing their potential for moving roots rock.
2) Ratboys
“Singin to an Empty Chair” perfectly mixes their fuzzed out indie rock with their Americana songs.
3) Tinsley Ellis
On his new album “Labor of Love,” he turns off the amp to play a powerful set of original acoustic blues
4) Lucinda Williams
On her new protest album “Worlds Gone Wrong” she doesn’t offer answers to the troubles she’s singing about but let’s us know that we are not alone in our outrage
5) Langhorne Slim
“The Dreamin’ Kind” is a slight detour for the folk-rock troubadour who channels his love of rock and roll with a more garage rock sound.
6) The Avett Brothers and Mike Patton
"AVTT/PTTN" finds both acts stepping out of their comfort zones to merge two seemingly disparate musical worlds into a unique and compelling third entity.
7) The Mountain Goats
"Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan" is a rock opera about a shipwreck and the men who survive on an deserted island.
8) Florence + The Machine
“Everybody Scream” is a raw, visceral and cathartic masterpiece.
9) Brandi Carlile
"Returning to Myself” is a way of getting back to the relatively intimate nature of her music.
10) Skullcrusher
Helen Ballentine has released her second album under the name that evokes something altogether different than the ghostly, ambient soundscapes she creates on “And Your Song is Like a Circle.”