Ken Tucker

The heart of the blues-rock group Heartless Bastards is Erika Wennerstrom, who wears hers on her sleeve. Her band's new album, The Mountain, features a bold, hard-hitting sound.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the second album from the indie-pop duo The Bird And The Bee.

M. Ward's seventh album Hold Time was released Feb. 17. The singer-songwriter is known for his largely acoustic and usually spare arrangements. Ken Tucker has a review.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the debut release by the L.A. band Fol Chen. The album is called Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made.

Jeb Loy Nichols has recorded a half-dozen albums since the late 1990s and before that, fronted the band The Fellow Travelers. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Nichols' new album, called Parish Bar, coheres as one of his more adventurous musical experiments.

Rock Critic Ken Tucker thinks Erin McCarley is an example of a new business model in the industry.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews a trio of new pop singles: Pink's "So What," Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," and "Crush," from onetime American Idol sensation David Archuleta.

Chrissie Hynde has gathered up a new batch of Pretenders — including the great drummer Jim Keltner — and wants you to know she's still up for some adventure, anger and lust.

In Volume 6 of its Complete Motown Singles series, the Hip-O Select label surveys the Motown magicians making noise in 1966: the Isley Brothers, the Supremes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and others. Fresh Air's rock historian has a review.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Tell-Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series, Vol 8. It is the latest in Columbia Records' officially-released collection of previously unreleased or alternate tracks by Bob Dylan.