My Room in the Trees The Innocence Mission (Badman, 2010) On the Innocence Mission’s most straightforward folk album yet, Karen Peris sings of seasons...
Music
Read U.S. Catholic articles on music and faith, exploring how song, prayer, and creativity deepen spiritual life and community.
The Gaslight Anthem (Side One Dummy, 2010) If your idea of rock and roll requires three-chord guitars, bass and drums, and a dead-earnest sense of commitment...
The Living Sisters (Vanguard, 2010) Nearly eight years ago in a cramped, dimly lit room illuminated by a few strings of white Christmas lights, I first became...
Natalie Merchant (Nonesuch Records, 2010) In those last few brick-and-mortar record stores still out there, you may find Leave Your Sleep in the...
American VI: Ain’t No Grave Johnny Cash (American Records, 2010) As the world knows from the bio-pic Walk the Line (20th Century Fox), Johnny Cash was no...
Crows (Rykodisc, 2010) Allison Moorer Last night I warned a college writing class against assuming that the "speaker" of a poem was in fact the poet...
Christmas in the Heart Bob Dylan (Columbia, 2009) Post-Modernism or Nostalgia? Commonplace or Avant Guard? Success or Failure? Even a cursory listen to Bob...
The Avett Brothers (Sony, 2009) The Avett Brothers are a sibling pair from North Carolina that for several years has been building a reputation as bluegrass...
Yo La Tengo (Matador Records, 2009) First off, Yo La Tengo is not a salsa band. They're not even Hispanic. They are white, artsy-bohemian types in their...
Levon Helm (Vanguard Records, 2009) Beginning in 1969, Levon Helm, with his mates in The Band, helped save rock and roll from psychedelia and all its pomps. In...
