Author: G. Tellez

Richmond duo Lean Year makes patient magic on its forthcoming sophomore album, “Sides.” One thing is missing from the forthcoming album by Richmond-based indie folk duo Lean Year: You. Inside the roomy arrangements and stately pacing of “Sides,” which is due out on the Western Vinyl label on Sept. 2, there’s a place for each listener. “It’s really nice if the audience feels like something’s missing,” says Rick Alverson, who provides backing vocals and various instrumentation. “They fill that space with their anticipation and their frustration, or their patience. There’s a space for them in the song. I’m hell-bent on…

Jeff Laine didn’t start experimenting with sourdough in the first wave of the pandemic when homemade bread became all the rage. However, after he lost his job in food science due to COVID cuts at a spice company, baking loaves became his main source of dough. With years of experience in recipe development, he figured the style of bread most closely associated with San Francisco couldn’t be too hard to perfect. “I started doing the bread thing to make ends meet at home, and I was so blown away by how good sourdough bread is,” Laine explains. “The majority of…

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Elizabeth Wise is an authentic 21st century blues troubadour. For over a decade, she’s traveled the world, from Memphis to New Zealand as a solo act, playing covers and classics in festivals, bars, and living rooms. Her new CD, “Reckless Sophistication,” expands on the one-person charisma in the best way possible, backing her with an all-star RVA band, including pianists Daniel Clarke and Carlos Chafin, bassists Rusty Farmer and Brian Cruise, drummer Scott Milstead, and the killer horn section of trumpeter Bob Miller, trombonist and arranger Toby Whittaker, and saxman J.C. Kuhl. The production is both restrained and satisfying,…