rock oracle music journalism Archives

May 19, 2026 Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar

Popville’s 2nd Anniversary Pool Party

Welcome My Ghouls, Demons and Fellow Wyrd Ones! I had the absolute pleasure of attending Popville’s 2nd Anniversary Party at the Covered Bridge Recording Studio, hosted by the Fabulous Nikki Forbes. Popville truly is everything Pop inside the pits of Nashville. Nashville definitely wants pop, and that was most certainly demonstrated by the killer crowd that abandoned the Broadway Chaos to join us all in celebration of this Anniversary. It is quite refreshing to have a solid event choice outside of the never- ending country music tickets being shoved down our throats in Music City.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

May 11, 2026 Jason Shrum

Toadies on tour with a New Album after Nearly a Decade

The current tour is built around a new album called The Charmer. It was released on May 1, 2026, via Spaceflight Records, and it is their first full-length studio release in nearly a decade. Produced by the late Steve Albini in 2024, the 13-track album features a raw, fast-paced sound born from “pandemic-era introspection”. Frontman Vaden Lewis had said in a statement, “This album has been a long time in the works, and it’s such a joy to see it come together, we went back to basics for this session: all analogue, live takes, high energy.” Drummer Mark Reznicek added, “I’ve been a fan of Steve Albini’s since I first heard the albums he recorded with the Pixies and PJ Harvey, so being able to record with him is really a dream come true. In fact, when we first signed with a major label, they asked us who we would like to work with and we all said “Albini!” Well, for whatever reason, the label didn’t go for it. And now 30 years later, it finally happened!”

B Sides LIVE REVIEWS MUSIC NEWS

May 6, 2026 Jason Shrum

Music City Madness, Dee’s Lounge & Everything Local | Vendors, musicians & community came together to create a space filled with harmony

This month’s event was hosted by Dee’s Lounge in Madison, Tennessee. Owner, Amy Dee says of her place, “I couldn’t find a classic country venue around Nashville when I moved here, so I opened one”. Since 2016 it has grown to so much more than just a hub for country music, as the venue host all types of genres with just three simple rules: Pay Your Tab, Don’t Be an Asshole and You Must be 21 to Enter. It remains a classic “dive-bar” with lovely locals and a fantastic staff that want to make your experience a great one. The decor is straight out of the 1970’s (think Urban Cowboy) and you feel like you’vefound a second home when you walk through the doors. Not only is there a space to play music inside with nice sound quality, but there is a space out back with a large stage and plenty of seating and room for dancing on those sunny days. This was one of those days.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

May 2, 2026 Jason Shrum

Rock and Roll in East Nashville

If you are looking for some good old rock and roll music in Nashville, then The Cobra on the east side of town is definitely a spot that you’re going to want to check out. The Cobra is a great venue to hear anything from punk to country and everything in between. They have a kick ass staff, and the smaller space creates great sound and a stellar vibe. The show we are talking about now fell right into that classic sound with three artists lending something, each a little different. The bill on Thursday, April 30th, 2026, was Leilani Kilgore, Catchfire and Cordell Winter.

FEATURED INTERVIEWS

April 29, 2026 Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar

Artist Spotlight on Dolly Cash

I grew up in Abingdon, VA. It was a small historic town in South-Western Virginia, in the Appalachians. But after graduating High School, I bounced around the US in the army. Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Afghanistan. It was in North Carolina, more specifically Fayetteville, that I began to hone my music skills. The community within the city was very rooted in the arts. I’d crash on my friend’s couch and cut songs with like 5 or 6 different people. They would put on cool local shows and really push each other to create. I got out of the Army in 2016 and moved back to Abingdon. After a year of couch surfing and job hopping, I applied to go to The University of Tennessee. That’s how I ended up in Knoxville. While here, I met my wife, and realized Tennessee was now home. While here, I got back to my mountain roots, fell in love with mountain music, as well as the Goth culture. I believe traveling to the US and war-torn countries has given me an appreciation of where I live.

ALBUM REVIEWS FEATURED

April 8, 2026 Jason Shrum

What Is The Meaning of Life?

“’meaning of life” is about giving depression company,” meg shares. “It’s being fucking tired, stuck in self-sabotage and procrastination, feeling nothing and living vicariously through other people instead. It’s a pretty goddamn selfish song.”

She further explains, “It’s also about ruining normal, sweet moments with nihilistic thoughts, like what happens when I die while I’m trying to find that a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon.There’s no reason to it. And if there’s no reason to it, then maybe there’s no reason to me. It’s about the freedom and relief in realizing that maybe it’s not about everything being meaningless, but about how hard it is to find meaning when there’s no reason to it.”

ALBUM REVIEWS FEATURED

April 7, 2026 Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar

Maria Magdalena’s New Single ‘Smell Me I’m Running’ Is A Mystical Journey

In this modern era, in some small realms of the world, a woman is mostly able to ponder these questions. She is able to act out what it may mean to be a free woman of this world. A woman free from the biased lens of our inherited patriarchal mold. What if we were written without the venom that is the Male Gaze? Not the Masculine gaze that Worships the Goddess, but the Male Gaze that imprisons us all, even themselves. As the song concluded, I had to replay immediately. I wasn’t too sure how I could label the song. There were components of a more Gothic and/or Vampiric Undertone. A scene that could express various moments in time, however particularly, the 40’s-60’s came to mind. We have the melody cloaked in an essence of Femme Fatale, with a subtle bop that reminds one of Marina. Giving the song a connection to the Pop Femme Frequency. There is a darkness and lightness to the song. A duality that only an integrated soul could express. There is a sound in alignment with those who enjoy workings from artists such as, Alexa Dark, Luvcat and Portishead. An eclectic tuning that embodies the complexity of what it means to be a woman and feel as a woman feels.