Category: Rock
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by Michael McCarthy The famous twin brothers Matthew and Gunnar Nelson are back with their first new rock tune in several years, a fantastic cut called “Easy Money,” which features some of their darkest lyrics yet, singing about people who sell their souls for money. “There ain’t nothing easy ’bout easy money,” they sing. The…
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by Michael McCarthy I’m totally hooked on Heavens Edge’s new album, Philadelphia, which will be released on November 13th via Frontiers Music. In fact, I’ve been streaming it every single day since the band’s publicist first sent me an advance listening link over a month ago, and I’m still not remotely tired of it. I…
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by Michael McCarthy I recently posted part one of 18 Albums That Made Me, which was inspired by the my9albums thing that has been going around on social media where you can select nine album covers of the sounds that made you and make a collage to share. As with the first part of my…
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by Michael McCarthy Following her recent signing to Frontiers Music Srl, veteran guitarist/vocalist Lita Ford has just unleashed her bloody good new single “Dracula,” just in time for Halloween. The track was produced by Gary Hoey, mixed by Max Norman, and was performed by Lita, Gary Hoey and Bobby Rock on drums. Hoey previously produced…
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by Michael McCarthy I’ve been a fan of Nicotine Dolls since their debut album, An Attempt at Romantic, which I enjoyed quite a bit. But after listening to their new self-titled album, I have to agree with something frontman Sam Cieri said during our recent interview: This feels like the first true Nicotine Dolls record.…
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by Michael McCarthy Dan Reed has never been an artist who’s content to stay in one musical lane. From the infectious blend of funk, rock, and soul that made the Dan Reed Network such a distinctive band to his more introspective solo material, he’s spent decades exploring different sounds and following his creative instincts wherever…
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by Michael McCarthy It’s been nearly a decade since Tyketto released their previous studio album, but the wait for Closer to the Sun has certainly paid off. The band’s sixth studio album reached number one on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart, and frontman Danny Vaughn says the band is enjoying one of its…
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by Michael McCarthy We recently featured Nicotine Dolls’ single “Here to California” as a song of the day on Love is Pop, and it’s a great tune. But their new single, “Gimme Sympathy,” is even better. It’s a much heavier, almost grimy hard rock song that kicks your ass from start to finish. Sam Cieri’s…
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by Michael McCarthy First of all, I don’t mind telling you that I’m not a particularly big Keith Urban fan. In fact, I’m generally not a big fan of modern country music. To my ears, much of it sounds more like country pop than actual country music, and something about that has always put me…
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Today, New York City rockers Nicotine Dolls have released the new single andmusic video “Here to California,” a joyful, breezy anthem about “choosing forward motion over regret,” from their self-titled sophomore album, which will be out October 23 via BMG. The single was co-produced by frontman Sam Cieri and renowned hitmaker Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith, Ozzy…
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by Michael McCarthy photos by Rob Loud; used with permission Last night on the 23rd of September, 2026, I finally caught a solo performance by Brandon Flowers of The Killers. The Killers are one of my favorite bands and I’ve seen them several times, but circumstances had prevented me from catching either of their two…
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by Michael McCarthy Last night I saw Matthew and Gunnar Nelson perform at City Winery in Boston, Massachusetts. I’ve seen Matthew and Gunnar Nelson perform quite a few times during recent years. They frequently play The Wolf Den, the free club venue at Mohegan Sun Casino, but the last three times I saw them there…
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by Michael McCarthy On Sunday, July 26th, 2026, I finally saw Bon Jovi live again for the first time since Richie Sambora parted ways with the band in 2013. Honestly, when Richie left the band, I just found it so frustrating and depressing that I just needed a break from Bon Jovi. For one thing,…
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by Michael McCarthy Last night on May 23rd, 2026, I finally saw the influential doom metal band Pentagram in concert for the very first time. And it will likely have been the last time because the band’s current tour, The Last Rites Tour, is being framed as a farewell tour. And given frontman Bobby Liebling’s…
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interview by Michael McCarthy I first interviewed Rorie Kelly for Love is Pop back in 2016 after their significant other invited me to a house concert they were performing. To this day, that remains the only house concert I’ve ever been to, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I can still picture the…
