Catching Up: Short Takes On New Music I Missed

With April now in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take another look at new music that escaped my attention when putting together my weekly posts last month. At the rate new music keeps coming out, I’m under no illusion these additional picks only represent the tip of the iceberg of good stuff I missed but, hey, better some encore and none!

No Man’s Valley/Orange Juice

I’d like to kick things off with No Man’s Valley who based on their Bandcamp page are a psychedelic post punk group from The Netherlands. The five-piece of Jasper Hesselink (vocals), Christian Keijsers (guitar), Ruud van de Munckhof (keyboards), Rob Perree (bass) and Dinand Claessens (drums) calls out The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Gun Club and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds as influences. The group’s latest studio album Chrononaut Cocktailbar/Flight of the Sloths, apparently their third, dropped on April 19 and definitely is a psych rock affair. Here’s Orange Juice, a cool song that grabbed me right away, especially the vocals that sound like a psychedelic Eric Burdon.

Owen Stewart/Nobody Needs to Know

Owen Stewart is a Philadelphia-based artist whose music his Spotify profile characterizes as “groovy, gravelly, soulful and enormous.” It also notes Stewart “was born into rock at a young age,” adding his father Tommy Stewart was the drummer and lead vocalist of a late ’70s band called Cats who apparently opened for Van Halen, Blue Öyster Cult and others. On April 19, Owen Stewart released a great single, which the below YouTube clip imdicates is the first from his debut album Done and Dusted. Unfortunately, this seems to be all publicly available information on Stewart. Perhaps he prefers it that way. His new song is titled Nobody Needs to Know. You can’t make this stuff up!

Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge/Tell Me Why U Do That

Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge are fronted by Nashville, Tenn.-based 17-year-old guitarist Grace Bowers. A recent feature in Guitar World reveals Bowers started playing guitar as a 9-year-old after she had seen Guns N’ Roses’ Slash on YouTube, playing Welcome to the Jungle. She since discovered the blues and now also listens to lots of soul and funk, calling out Mountain, Buddy Miles, Shuggie Otis and Sly & The Family Stone. Apparently, her talent hasn’t gone unnoticed, and Bowers has been name-checked by the likes of Devon Allman, Margo Price, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Susan Tedeschi. Here’s the smoking hot Tell Me Why U Do That, the first single from her yet-to-be-named debut EP, scheduled for sometime this summer. Check this out – damn!

Grumpster/Waste

Grumpster are a pop punk band from Oakland, Calif. According to their profile on the website of their label Noise Records, the group’s origins date back a few years when Donnie Walsh (bass, vocals) met Lalo Gonzalez Deetz (guitar). They subsequently added Noel Agtane (drums). Following the release of their second album Fever Dreams in June 2022, Alex Hernandez (guitar) joined, completing their current line-up. Waste is the neat closer of Grumpster’s third and new self-titled album, which has been out since April 26. It’s evident Walsh had Green Day’s Dookie on heavy rotation while growing up.

GospelbeacH/Nothin’ But a Fool

GospelbeacH are a band from Los Angeles, who were formed in 2014 around vocalist and guitarist Brent Rademakar. He first had gained prominence in the ’90s and 2000s as a member of the groups Beachwood Sparks, Further and The Tyde. GospelbeacH’s record label Curation Records notes their sound harks back to several eras of California music, from folk-rock and sunshine pop to country-rock and the Paisley Underground. Off their fifth and latest album Wiggle Your Your Fingers, which dropped on April 26, here’s the opener Nothin’ But a Fool. I dig the song’s relaxed vibe, which to me has summer and California written all over it.

Deep Purple/Portable Door

I trust Deep Purple need no introduction. To say I’m excited to write about new music by my all-time favorite hard rock band would be an understatement. On April 30, they dropped Portable Door, the lead single of their upcoming album =1, slated for Jul 19. Based on Wikipedia, it should be their 23rd. Having had their March 1972 Machine Head on heavy rotation during my early teenage years, I immediately noticed the song’s guitar riff has a tiny similarity to Pictures of Home. While expecting another Machine Head would be unrealistic, Deep Purple still unmistakably sound like the group I came love, with their dual attack of electric guitar and that mighty Hammond. Co-founder Ian Paice (drums) and longtime members Ian Gillan (lead vocals), Roger Glover (bass) and Don Airey (keyboards) remain part of their current lineup. Simon McBride (guitar) replaced Steve Morse who departed in July 2022 to care for his ill wife. Earlier in April, Deep Purple announced a North American summer tour with Yes.

Sources: Wikipedia; No Man’s Valley Bandcamp page; Grace Bowers website; Guitar World; Noise Records website; Curation Records website; Deep Purple website