Song, by Toad —  Lungs, Dirt and Dreams is pretty well described by its title actually, and has a kind of thunderously epic quality which constantly kicks back against the kind of defeatism this kind of music tends to evoke. You could easily compare a lot of this t... more info

Totally Fuzzy — Hark! A City Slang Christmas EP, free downloads from Lambchop, Laura Gibson, Dear Reader, Dan Mangan, Nada Surf and Calexico. Read more » more info

Totally Fuzzy — If you've just recently become a Calexico fan and missed out on any of the band's eight self-released tour CDs, you're in luck. The band is releasing Road Atlas 1998-2011 Nov. 22 on Quarterstick Records. Read more » more info

LargeHeartedBoy — The last big music release week of the year brings several albums I can wholeheartedly recommend, including Kate Bush's 50 Words for Snow, Calexico's Road Atlas 1998-2011, Rhett Miller's The Interpreter, Live at Largo, and Wooden Wand's Briarwood. Al... more info

Here Comes The Flood — The Luz de Vida compilation album, out now on Fort Lowell Records, is touching remembrance for the victims of the January 8th shootings in Tucson, AZ. When the calls were made to artists to contribute a song, response was huge. Since it was origina... more info

Altsounds — Realised through tragic circumstances, the passing of Rainer Ptacek and the birth of Calexico, it all came together at the end for Giant Sand. Arguably Giant Sand's finest album, the fruits of an astounding story and the mesmerising high point of ... more info

Guardian Music — From Dub Side of the Moon to Dave Depper's Ram Project, the heroically pointless act of covering an entire album is one of pop's odder habits. Peter Paphides tries to rationalise itThe footnotes of pop are littered with all sorts of heroic but arguab... more info

Guardian Music — Other Lives, On tourYou don't necessarily need a cabin in the woods in order to connect with the American landscape. From a remote Oklahoman town, Other Lives are a band whose music is, spiritually, many miles from the back-to-basics communion of mus... more info

Altsounds — The Mesabi iron range juts into Minnesota, a desolate deposit of minerals and the birthplace of Bob Dylan. American composer and storyteller Tom Russell says that Bob Dylan inspired him to become an artist, and his new 'Mesabi' pays moving tribute wi... more info

Guardian Music — Indie bands and session musicians were once seen as incompatible, but with the likes of Calexico and Broken Social Scene blurring the boundaries, the freelancer is back in fashionYou would think the indie band and the session musician could not be mo... more info