Rainbow Rodeo

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Album Reviews

Joy Oladokun -- Observations From a Crowded Room

Joy Oladokun -- Observations From a Crowded Room

Joy Oladokun feels as if she’s fully embraced herself on Observations From a Crowded Room. It’s not that her previous work hasn’t been vulnerable, or that she hasn’t been thoughtful and frank in her interviews, but Observations embraces a refreshing honesty — one that is blunt and

Denitia -- Sunset Drive

Denitia -- Sunset Drive

On Sunset Drive, Denitia invites listeners to celebrate change with songs delivering stories of love and growth without shying away from hard times. An album that frankly considers the losses that can come with major life changes, including the desire to run from a routine that doesn’t satisfy and

Molly Brandt -- American Saga

Molly Brandt -- American Saga

Molly Brandt spins a shining debut with her new album American Saga. It’s is a collection of vignettes and stories set in the American landscape, and the various issues and experiences living in it. The lines between reality and fantasy experience blur in each song’s narrative, and across

Wild Ponies -- Dreamers

Wild Ponies -- Dreamers

This August’s album from the Wild Ponies lives up to its title: Dreamers. The sound is fresh, full, and innovative, and I’d be remiss to say that the duo (and their friends) don’t draw on traditional folk sounds and motifs. We’ve got tambourines and fiddles, for

Jordan Maye -- The Creation of Jordan Maye

Don’t let the gingham fool you — Jordan Maye’s music will get you out of your rocking chair. The debut album The Creation of Jordan Maye from the Georgia-raised, Berklee College-trained musician delves into themes of grief, growth, joy and self-actualization with the energy and confidence of stadium rock.

Jake Blount and Mali Obamsawin -- symbiont

Jake Blount and Mali Obamsawin -- symbiont

Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin’s revelatory album, symbiont, is so expansive it feels reductive to simply classify it as a concept album, or assign it to any specific genre. Though the world they create is set in the future, it wrestles with the rapid destruction of the natural world

Granddogs -- Peaches

Granddogs -- Peaches

Philadelphia is fertile ground for creative indie rock bands, and Granddogs embodies all the musical experimentation, creativity, and skill the city has to offer. The self-described “parlorcore” trio unfurls epic songs of love, loss, shame, anger, and acceptance on Peaches. The grandiose storytelling is only matched by the tightly-constructed arrangements