EELS, “Extreme Witchcraft.” There’s something for every EELS fan on new album Extreme Witchcraft, but this one is especially for those who liked the Souljacker era best. Mark Oliver Everett, known as E, is a versatile indie legend. When he re-teamed with co-producer John Parish (who worked on 2001’s…

Elujay, courtesy. Prolific 25-year-old Oakland native Elujay is a rising star. Last year, the singer and musician (now based in L.A.) coproduced and scored all the music for the TOMBOGO fashion show with founder Tommy Bogo, in addition to walking in the show as a model. His song “Swing Thru,” from…

Strangelove: The Depeche Mode Experience, courtesy. Brent Meyer plays keyboard, guitar and sings in Strangelove: the Depeche Mode Experience. Strangelove recently appeared on the E! Network’s “Clash of the Cover Bands,” where they defeated the competition and now have a chance to be selected to perform on “Tonight Show…

Matt Nathanson Bay area musician Matt Nathanson was nice enough to take a break from a family vacation to speak with RIFF about his newest release, a song-for-song cover of U2’s Achtung Baby (timed with the 30th anniversary of that album). For Achtung Matty, Nathanson reunited virtually with long-time collaborator Aaron Tap.…

Right after New York City shut down in the winter of 2020, Robin Pecknold played a livestream concert at the historic St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn that he called A Very Lonely Solstice. Now he’s releasing it as a Fleet Foxes live album, just in…

Samm Henshaw, courtesy. You may know U.K. musician Samm Henshaw for his catchy 2018 song “Broke,” or his recent joyous gospel-flavored collaboration with EarthGang, “Church.” Speaking with Henshaw, you can’t help but root for the guy. Humble and engaging, the neo-soul singer is the kind of person who just…

If you followed Elbow during the early days of the pandemic, you saw the British band create “elbow rooms” online but in real-time. It was new, quieter versions of their older songs, recorded separated by lockdowns but connected via Zoom. They remained busy through 2020 releasing acoustic album “Live…

Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode is a master interpreter. Having sung lyrics handed to him by bandmate Martin Gore for most of his career, it makes sense that he’d seize the opportunity to pick out the songs he’s going to sing himself. He did exactly that for Imposter, his third…

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…