By Hilary Saunders, eMusic ContributorThe 29-year-old singer/songwriter, slide guitarist and eMusic Selects alum Luke Winslow-King is from Michigan, but he has called The Big Easy home since 2001. On his third full-length, you can hear that the city has… more »
By Amre Klimchak, eMusic ContributorThough modeling might sound like a dream job to some, Carmen Hillestad looked the part in front of the camera, but was all the while dreaming of another fantasy occupation. Music was always on her… more »
By Jim Farber, eMusic ContributorA strip-mall's worth of stores occupies the lyrics of Matthew Milia. The frontman of Frontier Ruckus loads his verse with references to CVS, J.C. Penny, Little Caesar's, Subways, IHOP, Home Depot and Kohls — stores… more »
By Hua Hsu, eMusic ContributorThey make for laughably easy targets — the make-up, the rudimentary shock-raps, the overcommitted fans, "Miracles" — but the outskirts-of-Detroit duo of Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope are undisputed DIY pioneers. They came of… more »
By Yancey Strickler, eMusic ContributorOn first listen, Frontier Ruckus 'debut, The Orion Songbook, felt a lot like Palace to me. Matthew Milia's voice has the same creaky tone as Will Oldham's, and the opening "Animals Need Animals" feels like… more »
By Yancey Strickler, eMusic ContributorBreathe Owl Breathe sing of folklore and homespun miracles, oral histories left to thaw in the earth's crust until pre-history's giant ice cubes rolled their wet bulk down the North Pole and into Canada, finally… more »
By Amanda Petrusich, eMusic ContributorAlthough their scrappy country-folk — embellished with banjo, musical saw, melodica and the occasional lonesome horn — skews distinctly southern, Frontier Ruckus is very much a Michigan band. Frontman Matthew Milia is an expert reporter… more »
By Laura Leebove, Deputy EditorMichigan trio — and eMusic Selects alums — Breathe Owl Breathe's charismatic brand of folk stems as much from make-believe fantasylands as it does earnest human emotions. The group's fourth LP, Magic Central, isn't a… more »
By Amanda Petrusich, eMusic ContributorAlthough their scrappy country-folk — embellished with banjo, musical saw, melodica and the occasional lonesome horn — skews distinctly southern, Frontier Ruckus is very much a Michigan band. Frontman Matthew Milia is an expert reporter… more »