Michael Piper, thanks for the stories and the laughs, we'll miss you.


Bands or Labels: Interested in getting on the Studio M Live DVD filming/concert photography schedule? - We're currently booking our 2007-08 schedule, so drop us a line if you're interested in having a show filmed for DVD.

Planet P Project's 4th CD in 25 years is something that should not be missed. Perhaps their most accessible work, Levittown: Go Out Dancing Part II finds them as lyrically relevant and musically dynamic as ever. What are you waiting for?

Nosound's sophomore effort (and Burning Shed debut) Lightdark is indeed and excercise in contrasts. Read the review.

Cambodian Surf Rock. Well, it is and it isn't. It's a lot of things, but it's never boring. Check out our review of Venus On Earth, the third CD from Dengue Fever.

Marillion's 14th album Somewhere Else is a challenging listen. Not as immediately engaging as their previous work, we gave it numerous listens to see what stuck. So what stuck?

New Orleans artist Abigail's Ghost have released their debut full-length Selling Insincerity. Is it greater than the sum of its influences, or just another case of mimcry run amok? Read the Studio M review here.

Prog fans rejoice. Supper is finally ready. Rising To The Surface, the first in a series of compilation DVDs from NEARfest, is finally available. Get more information and order directly from the Nearfest site.

Israeli pop star Aviv Geffen and Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson try to recreate the glory of Blackfield's debut on the appropriately named Blackfield II. Here's what we think of it.

Damien Rice seems to have nothing to prove. But that hasn't seemed to stop him from producing his second masterpiece in a row. Find out more in our in-depth review.

It's been the year of the dinosaur. 2006 has brought new releases from Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, the Kinks Ray Davies and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham as well as Bob Seger and Tom Petty. With the year drawing to a close, one of the oldest dinosaurs has resurfaced after a 24-year recording break. Read more.

After their successful debut show in the US, will Little Man mark the breakthrough of The Pineapple Thief? Read our advance review.

In sports, they call it a sophomore slump. That is, a player has a great rookie season but then plays horribly during their second season. Sometimes they recover, sometimes they don’t. And Sam's Town is no Hot Fuss.

Tom Petty, for me, is a rarity among musicians. In close to 30 years of releasing music, the man has yet to put something out that totally sucks. Sure, some of his discs are better than others, but as a whole, the man has released some consistently good albums. Read complete review.

Who is Emm Gryner and why does she keep ending up on our top 10 lists? Her exceptional Summer of High Hopes will hopefully answer that question, and for once get her the exposure she has earned. Read the complete review.

In case you've accidently stumbled onto this review, Jeremy Enigk was the vocalist for a fantastic 90's indie rock band called Sunny Day Real Estate. If you are not familiar with them, I suggest you quickly review before moving forward. Read complete review.

Following the release of their successful 2004 debut, Up All Night, Anglo-Swedish quartet Razorlight return with their self-titled sophomore effort, a strong collection of concise, alt-rock tunes that finds vocalist/guitarist Johnny Borrell, guitarist Björn Åquen, bassist Carl Dalemo and drummer Andy Burrows storming through a quick set of 10 memorably tuneful songs. Read complete review.

Earlier this year, Geoff Downes booted his longtime Asia cohort, John Payne, and reformed the original lineup of Asia. At the time, Downes and Payne, joined by guitarist Guthrie Govan and drummer Jan Schellen, were in the middle of recording the follow-up to 2004's Silent Nation, tentatively titled Architect of Time. Read complete review.

Iron Maiden are back and they're pissed. Pissed about the war, pissed about getting egged at Ozzfest. And perhaps it's for the best, as A Matter Of Life And Death is their best album in 15 years.

If you’re familiar with the stranger electronic songs on Radiohead’s brilliant 2000 release, Kid A, you should have a pretty good idea of what the songs on Thom Yorke’s solo debut, The Eraser, sound like. Read full review here.

Richard Butler. Who? Richard Butler. The dude from the Psychedelic Furs and Love Spit Love? Yeah. Surprise, his debut solo release is sublime. Not the band Sublime, the adjective.

Can the Flaming Lips possibly get any weirder? Of course, they can. At War With the Mystics. Indeed.