Album Review: Giant Flying Turtles’ Waltz to the World

A name like Giant Flying Turtles grabs attention, and this band has the musical flair to live up to their unique moniker.  The Brooklyn quartet blends jazz, prog rock, and various Americana subgenres for an eclectic and one-of-a-kind sound.  In fact, the fourth track on their upcoming album Waltz to the World is fittingly titled… Continue reading Album Review: Giant Flying Turtles’ Waltz to the World

Album Review: Before Our Time by Sperry Alan

When I read the title of Before Our Time’s first track, “Hold On Tight,” I sighed — was I about to review an album full of clichéd alt-pop drivel?  But “Hold On Tight” went beyond the expectations of its name, a jaunty guitar-driven number with an abrupt ending.  I decided to see what Sperry Alan… Continue reading Album Review: Before Our Time by Sperry Alan

Album Review: Nic Nassuet’s Eleutherios

Eleutherios, the latest release from gothic folk artist Nic Nassuet, reminds us not to judge an album by its cover… But then, to judge an album by its cover.  The foreboding picture of a goat-skulled figure surrounded by vultures and human carrion would be at home alongside the album art of a band like Skeletonwitch.… Continue reading Album Review: Nic Nassuet’s Eleutherios

Joker Isn’t That Wild: A Review of Father John Misty’s I Love You, Honeybear

Fleet Foxes is one of the best American bands around right now. I really believe that to be true. With the gentleness of Nick Drake, rustic anthems of Crosby, Stills and Nash and the quiet reverence of Simon & Garfunkel combined, Fleet Foxes is a folk rock utopia. I’m talking about music that paints pictures… Continue reading Joker Isn’t That Wild: A Review of Father John Misty’s I Love You, Honeybear

Dirt Daubers Interview

The Dirt Daubers -- from left, Rod Hamdallah, J.D. Wilkes, Jessica Wilkes, and Preston Corn. (Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins, courtesy of Plowboy Records.)

A few years back, I interviewed Dirt Daubers frontman JD Wilkes, when his other band The Legendary Shack Shakers was playing a show at the late, lamented Daniel Street in Milford. When I called and we first started talking, he thought I was doing interview about the Dirt Daubers and not the Shack Shakers. So… Continue reading Dirt Daubers Interview

Payday Downloads: Dream of Scipio, Barn Burner, and David Kaye

This is the first in a new bi-weekly series about music we’re finding on the web.  Many of the reviews on Alternative Control are intended to be at least somewhat in-depth, but this is quite the opposite: download on Friday and post a short, conversational review by Sunday.  It’s all about finding new music we… Continue reading Payday Downloads: Dream of Scipio, Barn Burner, and David Kaye

Baldwin’s Top Choices of 2013 Part 2 – The Everything Else Releases

  Steven Wilson – The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) This is a modern progressive rock masterwork. I’m hard-pressed to find a single flaw in anything that Steven Wilson has done here. These six songs arch, ache, and soar with such melancholic, cinematic power that it almost brought me to tears a… Continue reading Baldwin’s Top Choices of 2013 Part 2 – The Everything Else Releases