Westside Cowboy : It Goes On Review
by Shannon Smith
Megan Moroney’s Cloud 9, released February 20, 2026, via Columbia Records and Sony Music Nashville, arrives as a clear statement by an artist confident in her voice. Across fifteen tracks, Moroney writes from a place of emotional clarity. The result is an album that pairs candid storytelling with polished country-pop production, capturing the feeling of someone who has learned how to breathe again and be comfortable with who they are.
Moroney’s greatest strength has always been her ability to make country storytelling feel conversational, and Cloud 9 amplifies that skill. Her lyrics are easy to relate [...]
by Steven Miller
Days of Ash is a six-track EP built around longtime bandmates Bono (vocals), The Edge (guitar), Adam Clayton (bass), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums), with additional vocal layering on select tracks. Across its runtime, the project presents a consistent arrangement model in which traditional rock roles such as drums as primary time driver, guitar as riff generator, and bass as rhythmic anchor are structurally reassigned at the system level. Rather than organizing movement through articulated rhythmic interaction, the EP establishes a structure centered on sustained, layered signal fields, where continuity is maintained through [...]
By Shannon Smith
On Dreamer+, Sassy 009 confirms what attentive listeners have been sensing for a while now: this is an artist who no longer treats production as a backdrop, but as the primary narrative force. Across twelve tracks, she builds a unified sonic language where beats, synths, vocal processing, and transitions work together as a story of evolving forms. This album develops moments with intent.
What stands out immediately is cohesion. Dreamer+ flows with a confidence that comes from knowing exactly what sonic world it inhabits. Even as guest artists enter the frame, the album never splinters [...]
by Shannon Smith
“Gut Punch” is Nick Jonas’ single that feels like a wake-up call. Right from the start, his 2026 lead single is motivational, not because it comforts you, but because it makes you stop and think. The song asks a bold question for a New Year’s release: Are you really seeing things as they are, or are you hurting yourself with mistaken feelings and assumptions? That moment of useful doubt is where the song really connects.
Lyrically, “Gut Punch” names a familiar but rarely dramatized antagonist: the inner voice that reframes neutral moments into personal failures. Jonas doesn’t dramatize heartbreak or [...]
By Steven Miller
With Triangulation, the Steve Morse Band delivers an album that prioritizes structural compositional intent and agile playing. While Steve Morse’s virtuosity is never in question, what stands out across these nine tracks is how carefully the material is built. Each selection has a groove-first foundation, interesting flow of articulated sections, and solo spaces that feel like an extension of the composition. This is an album that rewards attentive listening, particularly for musicians interested in how form, texture, and interaction shape high-level instrumental rock music.
From [...]
Pat Metheny continues to build a catalog that is diverse and focused on making music from a space of creativity and love of sounds that elicit emotions. Metheny’s latest album, From This Place, is no exception and features ten compositions by Metheny that have the Hollywood Studio Symphony supporting a traditional jazz quartet. Metheny is joined by his long-time drummer, Antonio Sanchez, Malaysian / Australian bassist Linda May Han Oh, and British pianist Gwilym Simcock. The Hollywood Studio Symphony is conducted by Joel McNeely. Also, special guest Meshell Ndegeocello (vocals), Gregoire Maret (harmonica), and [...]
Tom Keifer, former front man of the rock band Cinderella, has an instantly recognizable voice. The singer and his #Keiferband are releasing their second album titled, Rise, on Cleopatra Records. The album presents eleven tracks that feature Keifer’s gritty vocals with blues-infused hard rock. The album has a theme of overcoming challenges with the music being written by Tom Keifer, Savannah Keifer and Kendra Chantelle. The band line up is, Keifer vocals, his wife — percussionist, pianist and singer Savannah Keifer — and backing singer/percussionist Kendra Chantelle and the #keiferband, which is lead and rhythm guitarist Tony Higbee, bassist Billy Mercer, [...]
Martin Hayes and Brooklyn Rider are releasing a new album via In a Circle Records titled, The Butterfly. The album contains twelve tracks, ten are traditional melodies and two tracks are original compositions. Recorded in 2016, the album celebrates a decade-long musical friendship between renowned Irish fiddler and New York’s omnivorous string quartet. In addition to featuring the premiere recording of “Maghera Mountain,” (written by Hayes as a teenager), The Butterfly sought to define a common ground through the inclusion of several of the most widely known tunes within the repertoire, such as “O’Neill’s March” and [...]
Hilary Hahn is a three-time Grammy Award-winning violinist with international recognition for her probing interpretations, compelling stage presence, and commitment to new music and the commission process. Hahn fills her days with extensive tours and is very active on social media. Hahn’s dynamic recordings have made her one of the most sought-after artists of this era. She appears regularly with the world’s elite orchestras and on prestigious recital series in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Hailed as one of the greatest violinists in the world today, Hahn’s latest project is a recording of 6 Partitas for Solo Violin by Spanish [...]
