Alice Cooper, Peter Buck, & Richard Thompson
Catch up on the week in new music & Dig Me Out podcast
Latest Podcast
Richard Thompson - Mock Tudor | 90s Rock Podcast
In late ’99, when Napster was reshaping music discovery and everyone was Y2K paranoid, Mock Tudor arrived as Richard Thompson’s tenth solo studio LP and his final release on Capitol Records. After years of Mitchell Froom’s glossy production, Thompson enlisted Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf—the duo behind Beck’s Mellow Gold and Foo Fighters’ The Colour and…
New Releases
Alice Cooper - The Revenge of Alice Cooper
Remember when Alice Cooper was actually a band and not just the theatrical madman we know today? Well, that original crew—Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith, plus the ghost of Glen Buxton—just delivered their first full album together in over 50 years, and it’s got everything that made those early ‘70s classics so damn captivating. What’s fascinating is they managed to include posthumous guitar work from the late Glen Buxton on “What Happened to You,” making this both a reunion and a séance. Critics are split down the middle—some hear echoes of Killer and Billion Dollar Babies magic, while others find it “flat” and overst skeptics admit Alice’s voice hasn’t lost its venomous bite.
Ben Nichols - In the Heart of the Mountain
You know Ben Nichols as the gravelly voice behind Lucero’s barroom anthems, but strip away the Memphis swagger and you get something far more intimate. This is his first solo album in 16 years, inspired by Arkansas poet Frank Stanford and written as love letters to his wife, his demons, and the South itself. The album’s song titles read like a poem when placed in sequence, creating a narrative arc about mental health, marriage, and mortality. Critics are calling it “haunting and poetic,” with many praising how Nichols trades Lucero’s volume for vulnerability, creating something that feels like “a front porch conversation at golden hour”.
Paul Weller - Find El Dorado
The Modfather returns with his second covers album—but forget everything you think you know about celebrity cover albums. This isn’t some lazy cash grab; it’s Weller digging deep into the record crates of his memory, pulling out obscure gems like The Guerrillas’ “Lawdy Rolla” (not even available on streaming) and Brian Protheroe’s “Pinball”. The jaw-dropper? He somehow convinced both Robert Plant and Noel Gallagher to guest on different tracks, turning this into a proper rock supergroup experience. Critics are unanimous in their praise, with many calling it “a fully formed artistic statement” that showcases Weller’s “restlessly creative” approach to interpretation, earning consistent 8/10 ratings across the board.
Honeymoon Suite - Wake Me Up When the Sun Goes Down
These Canadian arena rock veterans have been flying under the radar since their ‘80s heyday, but they’re still cranking out melodic hard rock with the same infectious hooks that made “New Girl Now” a classic. Four decades in, they’ve reunited with producer Michael Krompass (who worked on Steven Tyler projects) to create what many are calling their strongest material in years. At just 33 minutes, this is refreshingly concise in an era of bloated double albums. Critics are more reserved here—some praise the “feel-good factor” and Derry Grehan’s still-blazing guitar work, while others find it “too standardized” and lacking the vibrant spirit of their glory days.
Gwar - The Return of Gor Gor EP
Leave it to Gwar to celebrate 40 years of intergalactic carnage with both an EP and a 32-page comic book about a three-ton T-Rex prostitute. This multimedia madness includes three new tracks of “punk/metal hybrid” fury, plus four live cuts from their recent tour, all wrapped around the story of Gor-Gor, the beloved dinosaur pet of deceased frontman Oderus Urungus. The most Gwar detail ever? Guitarist Grodius Maximus claims the title track came to them while “injecting ketamine and crushed-up insects into our dick holes”. Critics who can handle the chaos are calling it “belters” and praising how these “Scumdogs can play” with genuine punk-thrash chops beneath all the blood and theater.
Coffin Break - Revival
Here’s a piece of grunge history you might have missed: this Seattle band shared rehearsal space with Alice in Chains and recorded their debut with Jack Endino at the exact same time Nirvana was cutting Bleach. After 33 years of silence, they’re back with a massive 24-track opus that includes a song called “Kill the President” because punk rock never dies. Kurt Cobain was reportedly a fan and was occasionally spotted wearing Coffin Break t-shirts back in the day. Critics are welcoming them back warmly, noting how their “thrashy and political” sound was always “too melodic for the punk purists” but perfectly captures the pre-major label Seattle underground spirit.
Enuff Z’nuff - Xtra Cherries
These Chicago power-pop misfits never quite fit the hair metal mold, and 35+ years later, they’re still proudly flying their freak flag with their trademark harmonies and hooks. The album features guest spots from Steve Stevens and Neal Schon, proving these guys still have serious connections in the guitar hero world. One critic’s bold confession? He loves the record despite admitting their Rolling Stones cover of “Star Star” is a complete disaster that “should have never been recorded”. The consensus seems to be that if you love “70s sounding pop music with a modern feel,” this delivers exactly what longtime fans want, even if it won’t win over new converts.
Luke Haines & Peter Buck - Going Down To The River… To Blow My Mind
When the former Auteurs frontman teams up with R.E.M.‘s guitarist, you get something wonderfully off-kilter—this is actually the third collaboration between these two indie rock eccentrics. Recorded in Portland with contributions from Scott McCaughey and Linda Pitmon, it’s being described as “two rock esotericists in a bunker alchemising to compelling effect”. The fascinating detail? This concludes their trilogy of collaborations, mixing “languid 12-string jangles” with “jittery feedback” and Haines’ brilliantly twisted lyricism. Critics are universally positive, with multiple publications praising how “even with a megastar like Buck present, Haines never dilutes his vision,” making this “as satisfyingly off-kilter as its predecessors”.
