It was perhaps unsurprising that we had, on a sleepy Sunday in Cambridge, a quiet Ryan Adams & The Cardinals. Without a support act, the band took to the stage early and played for two hours, but with barely a word from Mr. Adams and co. throughout who stood hidden to the back left of the stage, a heavy fringe covering his face. A muffled intro before they kicked into an aggressive and charged version of ‘Cobwebs’, the sound not actually at its best as Adams’ lyrics appear muted through a wall of guitars. However, a couple of numbers in and they seem to have sorted it all out. Continue Reading

Ryan Adams has an impressive resume. Four solo albums since 2000, and with his band The Cardinals, another four added on to that total. Many shows played worldwide, multiple Grammy nominations, and respect and reverence from hundreds of thousands of fans. So, prior to listening to ‘Cardinology’, his latest album with The Cardinals, it can be assumed either of two things. A) This album will be the best example of alt-country that you can find, an exhibition of major talent from a majorly talented artist or B) It’ll be very easy to listen to, slightly bland but sure as sugar guaranteed to sell records. And sadly Cardinology should have a big ol’ B stamped on its cover.

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Well, we’re still a bit undecided here at TLOBF Towers… Rich’s Hughes and Thane can’t quite make their mind up over the new album by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals. It’s no Cold Roses, that’s for sure.

Initially I liked it more than Easy Tiger, it’s certainly a lot more focused, but it seems to lack the charm that makes Adams’ albums always worth listening too… we’ll see.

Anyway, you have 48 hours left to stream Cardinology over at iLike before it gets released next week…

Let us know what YOU think.