Aimee Mann, Queens of the Summer Hotel If a musical version of “Girl, Interrupted” sounds tasteless to you, then Queens of the Summer Hotel, the latest album by Aimee Mann, may not be your cup of tea. Mann announced three years ago that she was writing the songs for a stage…

Jim James feels lucky to be alive, and you can hear his exultation on the new self-titled album from My Morning Jacket. “Lucky to be Alive” is the seventh track on the band’s ninth album, but you can catch the vibe immediately. The album was reportedly inspired by the band…

Heartless Bastards, courtesy Aaron Conway. Erika Wennerstrom has been fronting Heartless Bastards since 2003. The Austin roots-rock band’s sixth studio album, A Beautiful Life, which came out Sept. 10, is some of her strongest material since 2012’s Arrow. On it, she ponders the value of taking chances, materialism, enlightenment,…

Chris Pierce performs at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on Sept. 5, 2021. Adam Pardee/STAFF. Chris Pierce has been busy. Between his Americana-flavored trio Leon Creek, his soulful collaboration with Sunny War (War & Pierce), and his hard-hitting blues-folk solo album American Silence, it’s surprising he…

Say what you will about Stephan Jenkins (and there’s plenty to say), but he’s a poet, and he’s always had unique phrasing and wordplay that have distinguished him and his band Third Eye Blind from the pack. It may be hard to look past his huge personality, but the…

The ’90s were a good time for Natalie Imbruglia. Her cover of “Torn” was a huge hit back then, and she racked up awards and modeling contracts. These days, Imbruglia is a mother and she’s worked through a five-year writer’s block to come out with a new album Firebird.…

José González has such a distinctive sound. Even though the first song on his fourth album, Local Valley, is in Spanish, which is new for the indie folk artist, the hushed vocals atop the nylon-stringed guitar are unmistakably his. The album, his first since 2015’s Vestiges and Claws, finds González…

After two albums from a quieter place, Sleigh Bells are trying to go back to what works for them. Texis Sleigh Bells Mom + Pop Music, Sept. 10 6/10 “Here we go, here we go / You’re legitimate rock and roll,” vocalist Alexis Krauss sings on the first line…