Justin Cober-Lake

Virginia

Assistant Editor at Spectrum Culture

Staff Writer at PopMatters

Pastor, writer, critic, coach. Sometimes fishing. Sometimes birding.

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Articles

Alison Krauss & Union Station: Arcadia

2 weeks ago | spectrumculture.com | Justin Cober-Lake

Alison Krauss releasing high-quality bluegrass can have a ho-hum effect. It’s not that the music’s flat, it’s just that when you’re an all-time top Grammy-winning artist, there’s little surprise when you put out an album likely to pick up another trophy or two. Arcadia hits a little different, though. While Krauss has slowed down a little, she’s put out notable albums in recent years, especially when paired with Robert Plant.
The Last Manager: by John W. Miller

2 weeks ago | spectrumculture.com | Justin Cober-Lake

Imagine a baseball manager. If you’re a younger fan, you might think about a brainy guy with a spreadsheet, tracking his starter’s pitch count and paying attention to the win probability of each decision. Older fans might have a different vision: a gruff guy shouting at his players, drinking too much and kicking dirt onto umpires. He’s a guy that likes tobacco and a four-man rotation. In The Last Manager, John W.
Lucy Dacus: Forever Is a Feeling

3 weeks ago | spectrumculture.com | Justin Cober-Lake

On record, indie-rocker Lucy Dacus hasn’t always been forthcoming, but she’s rarely been timid. With Forever Is a Feeling she goes bigger, in her way. There’s broader instrumentation and a room full of guests, but she knows what she does best. The storytelling and sharp lyricism remains, as does, in general, the penchant for hushed and hazy vocals.
My Morning Jacket Carefully Capture Immediacy With 'Is' " PopMatters

4 weeks ago | popmatters.com | Justin Cober-Lake

Is ATO Records In My Morning Jacket’s new album, Is, Jim James sings, “Watching the ending / Remembering how it started.” He’s talking about existential issues, but he could be talking about his band, given that 25 years and ten records is a good time to take stock (fortunately, there’s no ending here). It’s a sentiment that suits the LP well, given that My Morning Jacket find plenty of happiness but take time to focus, not only in their thinking, but also in their tight songs.
David Ramirez Does More Than Hint at New Styles » PopMatters

1 month ago | popmatters.com | Justin Cober-Lake

All the Not So Gentle Reminders Blue Corn Music David Ramirez’s early releases, steeped in folk and Americana, couldn’t have foreshadowed the route his music would take after 2015’s outstanding Fables. Flying under the radar, Ramirez has been a songwriter’s songwriter, winning acclaim for his open, often direct lyricism. In 2017, he took a surprising turn, bringing in synths for an unexpected and retro sound in We’re Not Going Anywhere.
Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith: Defiant Life

1 month ago | spectrumculture.com | Justin Cober-Lake

A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke. That history pays off, as they can now work together quickly, finding ideas and expressions on the fly or working off of their idiosyncratic notation. Using the past to make sense of the present fits the mode for new collaboration Defiant Life, in which the pair look back in anger, yes, but as an act of hope in response to our current time.
Soul Man Mike Farris Is Brilliant Diging Up His Roots » PopMatters

1 month ago | popmatters.com | Justin Cober-Lake

The Sound of Muscle Shoals Fame Records Few artists have made as dramatic a mid-career switch as Mike Farris, and even fewer have done so as effectively. Farris began as the vocalist for Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies, a 1990s alt-rock act that never quite found its way to commercial success despite getting a handful of singles on the charts. The band split at the end of the decade, and Farris spent some time as a guitarist for Double Trouble.
Jason Isbell: Foxes in the Snow

1 month ago | spectrumculture.com | Justin Cober-Lake

Early in his career, when he was with the Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell received attention for his songwriting with “Outfit.” That song shared his father’s advice, honed by time and regret. Twenty-two years and double the life experience later, Isbell finds himself around the age his father was then, now able to dispense his own wisdom.
Patterson Hood: Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams

1 month ago | spectrumculture.com | Justin Cober-Lake

Drive-By Truckers co-founder Patterson Hood has never been a retiring figure. His solo work has allowed him some separation from his primary band, taking different, usually less raucous, musical approaches while providing plenty of autobiographical material and intimate reflections. Even so, Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams offers something uniquely personal, aided by the arrival of several vital collaborators for a complex and multivocal creation of a singular vision.
Wilco: A Ghost Is Born (Deluxe Edition)

2 months ago | spectrumculture.com | Justin Cober-Lake

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot had the lore. Its creation story had interpersonal struggles, lineup changes, label issues and more, leading up to Wilco releasing their best album at a time and in a manner that felt both redemptive and almost essential. A Ghost Is Born arrived a few years later, a mid-sized band following up its commercial breakthrough with a quick-selling, Grammy-winning record.