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• MONTH IN REVIEW ARCHIVE
Rockin' Rich Lynch's Month In Review - February 2026
MCN'S Rockin' Rich Lynch is a Nashville-based journalist, concert reporter and rock photographer with decades of experience in the music business. He receives dozens of new releases every week that all vie for his unique review style and personalized perspective. If you would like to see this column prosper - or if you would like to help bolster RRL's ongoing muscial efforts - the best thing that you can do is show some support by purchasing some of his tracks at the link provided > Rockin' Rich Lynch on BandCamp.
• Carrie Brockwell: I'd Love Not To - Nashville-based American Idol alum Carrie Brockwell returns with the Seagull Merlin-led country ballad that validates her 2025 Josie Awards Country Vocalist of the Year recognition by delivering a powerful statement that leans into emotional restraint and the ache of unspoken truth. The short song clocks in at 2 minutes and 11 seconds but that's enough time to reveal this release to be both vulnerable and quietly self‑assured while marking a significant and confident step forward in her evolving sound. We'd love to hear more soon! (More at > https://www.carriebrockwellmusic.com)
• Edgehill: Ode to the Greyhouse - Edgehill reminds us exactly what we miss about the alternative rock and indie scene as they perfectly blend fuzzed‑out guitar work, gritty textures, distortion‑heavy riffs and melodic hooks all while building their foundational statement that is itself an homage to the space where it was created. While their neighbors at Belmont usually get all the attention for creating radio-ready artists, this trio was formed on the campus of Vanderbilt University. On Ode to the Greyhouse they have competently and confidently planted their flag as they begin their pursuit to become "titans of industry" of their own right in the music biz. With influences that include Radiohead, The Beatles and other modern indie acts - their songs pulsate with a blend of introspective lyricism and anthemic energy - especially on the buzz-generating opener "Drone Song" and the explosive "Love To Go". (More at > instagram.com/edgehillband/)
• FrodoCPU: HORIZONS - HORIZONS finds FrodoCPU stretching past his own circuitry, delivering a panoramic blast of synth‑born emotion and digital swagger that is coded in mostly rock and pop languages. Press play on track one and we get a rendition of the classic "Wayfaring Stranger" that should help Frode become more familiar to the masses. The rest of the disc feels like watching a new world boot up in real time via software that could have been programmed in part by the likes of Asia and Alan Parsons. This fourth full-length from the Norway native living in California for the past 35 years really connects indicating good things really are on the horizon for him. (More at > https://frodocpu.com)
• Joe Normal: Maybe This Is All Made Up - On his latest single Joe Normal teams up Grammy-Award winning songwriter Scot Sax to join the chorus of voices who are expressing disbelief in all that's going on in the world today. Rather than express palpable and visceral anger with the situation, Normal goes a different route by trying to perhaps wish it all away via a lo-fi, alt-rock template that focuses his energy and dissent with the help of big Zep-style drumming and psychedelic monster guitars. The catchy and jangly anthem sure made us feel better here at the office - at least for the three minutes and 38 seconds it was streaming through our speakers! (More at > http://www.joenormalusa.com)
• Morgan Myles: Laced - Laced hits like a confessional wildfire, weaving raw truth, powerhouse vocals and fearless vulnerability into one of Morgan's most arresting statements yet. With modern country production that contains hints of The Heartbreakers, Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones that has "crossover" hit written all over it. Morgan turns recent heartbreak into something fierce and clear‑eyed on the therapeutic opener "Fault Lines" that opens the door to reveal a few of the cracks that exist just below the surface of the forlorn artist's love life. Still, maybe it's all for the best even as she's waiting for it to happen on the follow-up track, "Waiting To Happen". On Laced, Morgan Myles works in a blend of soul-infused country, Americana, and pop‑leaning singer‑songwriter styles and visits the blues on the autobiographical "Rock Bottom". Morgan's voice - which gained national attention with a Top Three showing on "The Voice" - is the anchor characterized by a powerful and gospel‑tinted belt that runs deep on this major label debut. (More at > https://www.morganmyleslive.com)
• Neal Morse Band: L.I.F.T. - On L.I.F.T., wonders never cease as Mike Portnoy returns with the same triumphant force he brought back to Dream Theater to join NMB bandmates Neal Morse, Randy George, Bill Hubauer and Eric Gillette in the only lineup that fully resonates will the majority of Neal's global fanbase. Despite his numerous well-received side projects this is the one that continuously and consistently provides "the lift". On the album's 14 epic length tracks and shorter radio friendly fare the NMB presents a return to form and the productive formula that has earned them honors as one of the modern era's greatest prog rock acts. In fact, if this was the '70s, they'd be standing shoulder‑to‑shoulder with giants in the genre like Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd and Genesis. Morse calls his latest concept album a project that "follows the journey of a person reconnecting with the world around them, after having lost themselves" and the reformed outfit connect early and often on the opener "Beginning", the uplifting "Fully Alive" and its later reprise, and "Shame About My Shame" that finds Gillette channeling the mighty David Gilmour's best work. (More at > https://nealmorse.com)
• Robin Ross and The Melodynes: Mind Space - With a cast of characters as big as The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra it becomes apparent how one band can sound like The B-52's, Paul's Kanter's Jefferson Starship, Neil Young and the Doors all at once and simultaneously. On Mind Space they blend all these influences and then some into one wonderful product that is both entertaining and enlightening as it takes you on a groovy trip to the inner realms and into outer space as well. Maybe it's because we like all those bands. Or, perhaps it's because we have relatives in Milford, Pennsylvania where the talented Ross calls home. It could be just that "Sweet Jane" reminded us of Bobby Weir and made us smile for a moment. Whatever the case, we'll be dropping the needle on this one a few more times to see where it takes us next. (More at > https://robinrossmusic.com/)
• Tom Griesgraber: The Split - Subtitled as Music From the Motion Picture PRAIRIE PROPHECY, The Split unfolds like a cinematic dreamscape, with Tom Griesgraber’s abundant skills carving out a soundtrack that feels both otherworldly and deeply human. This release is part spooky, part spacey and part spiritual and altogether special as presented by the Chapman Stick specialist. (More at > https://tomgriesgraber.com)
• Vinyl Floor: Balancing Act - Balancing Act shimmers with melodic confidence, weaving bright harmonies and restless undercurrents into a record that feels both tightly crafted and beautifully unpredictable while pulling from a wide variety of prog and pop influences to lay down something that is completely their own. (More at > https://www.facebook.com/vinylfloorband)
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