Best of What’s New

As we head into the long Labor Day weekend here in the U.S., it’s time for another look at recently released new music. Before I get to it, let me use this opportunity to address the common misconception that’s driving me crazy, which is this holiday marks the end of summer. It does not. Summer 2020 officially ends on September 22.

Of course, with the ongoing COVID-19 national crisis, this season hasn’t felt much like summer except for heat and, depending on where you live, humidity. In fact, this entire year is pretty much lost in my book and I can’t wait for it to be over, hoping 2021 will bring back better times – this country desperately needs change!

Back to the much more pleasant subject of music. This is actually the 25th installment of Best of What’s New. This week features a nice mix of music styles, including high-energy rock, pop, indie surf rock (does that genre even exist? Who cares!) and country. With artists coming from the Houston, TX area; Los Angeles; West Palm Beach, Fla.; and the Canadian province of Alberta, there is also decent geographic diversity. Let’s get to it.

JunkBunny/Another Summer Song

JunkBunny are a rock trio from Montgomery County, Texas, which is north of Houston. According to their website, the band consists of 3 young musicians – Mac Johnson (lead vocals & guitar, 18), Cayden Diebold (vocals & bass, 17), and Jake Douglas (drums, 17). Like their heroes in Green Day or Blink-182, these childhood best friends save the “serious” for their songs, offering up anthems with the scale of Foo Fighters without sacrificing youthful exuberance and good-natured mischief...Over the past few years, the trio’s live reputation has continued to grow, as they performed with ZZ Top, The Struts, Sammy Hagar and more, as well as at festivals like Louder Than Life…The trio celebrated 17th and 18th birthdays the year they entered the studio with Howard Benson, Grammy-winning producer of landmark rock records by My Chemical Romance and P.O.D., to make their debut album for Lava Records, home to Greta Van Fleet and Lorde. Another Summer Song is the opener to JunkBunny’s new EP Down the Rabbit Hole, their sophomore release from September 2. Credited to all members of the band, the catchy rocker first appeared as a single on July 24. There’s definitely some of Greta’s energy and Green Day’s sound in that tune.

FINNEAS/What They’ll Say About Us

There’s something very soothing about What They’s Say About Us, the new single by 23-year-old American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor Finneas Baird O’Connell, aka FINNEAS. He’s the older brother of pop artist Billie Eilish who last year broke through internationally with her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and earlier this year scored a hit with No Time to Die, the theme song of the upcoming James Bond picture of the same name. FINNEAS produced the album and co-wrote the Bond tune. When he’s not working with his sister, he’s making his own music. To date, he has released his debut EP Blood Harmony from October 2019 and some 15 singles, including his latest What They’ll Say About Us, which appeared on September 2. Reminds me a bit of Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

Surfer Blood/Summer Trope

Surfer Blood are an American indie rock band from West Palm Beach, Fla., which were founded in 2009. Their members include John Paul Pitts (lead vocals, guitars) and Tyler Schwarz (drums), who had played together in an early incarnation of the band called TV Club. Mike McCleary (guitars, backing vocals), and Lindsey Mills (bass, backing vocals) complete the current lineup. Their debut single Swim from 2009 was well received and ended up at no. 37 on Pitchfork’s 100 Best Songs of 2009. Surfer Blood followed it up with the release of their debut album Astro Coast in January 2010. Four additional studio albums, two EPs and more than 15 singles have since come out. Written by Pitts, Summer Trope is from the band’s upcoming sixth studio album Carefree Theatre scheduled to appear on September 25. While the clip isn’t the most exciting, I do like sound of that tune.

Tenille Townes/The Way You Look Tonight

Let’s wrap up this installment of Best of What’s New with Canadian country singer-songwriter Tenille Townes, who hails from Grande Prairie, Alberta, and has been active since 2009. The now 26-year-old artist released her debut single Home Now at age 15. Her first studio album Real came out in June 2011. That same year, Townes was also nominated for a Canadian Country Music Award for Female Artist of the Year. Her published catalog to date includes two additional studio albums, 2 EPs and more than 10 singles. The Way You Look Tonight is a track from Townes’ most recent album The Lemonade Stand released on June 26. It was co-written by her, Daniel Tashian and Nashville-based singer-songwriter Keelan Donovan who also contributed vocals. Nice pop-oriented country that’s a bit reminiscent of Lady Antebellum.

Sources: Wikipedia; JunkBunny website; YouTube

My Ten Desert Island Albums

Inspired by Hans Postcard’s fun 2020 album draft, where 10 participants pick albums in 10 rounds for a total of 100, I decided to put together my list of 10 albums I would take on a desert island. Essentially, I already came up with such a collection in May 2018, but some things have changed in the meantime and this list features five new picks, including three different artists.

While each of the albums are longtime favorites, I still can’t exclude the possibility that my picks might be different in a month or two. Since I couldn’t figure out how to rank my selections, I ingeniously decided to put them in chronological order. Conveniently, this means kicking things off with my favorite band of all time.

The Beatles/Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (May 1967)

While I dig all albums by the Fab Four, on most days, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is my favorite. The innovative use of recording technology, the cover art and the combination of different music styles like vaudeville, circus, music hall, avant-garde and traditional Indian music with pop and rock make Sgt. Pepper a true masterpiece. The first album after The Beatles had stopped touring was influenced by The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, which Brian Wilson had created in response to Revolver, as well as Freak Out! by the Mothers of Invention. Had it not been because of silly pressure from EMI to issue Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane as a single, Sgt. Pepper hands-down would have been the strongest Beatles album. Still, with tunes like the title track, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, Within You Without You and the magnificent A Day in the Life, there’s lots of great music.

Carole King/Tapestry (February 1971)

Carole King’s Tapestry perhaps is the ultimate singer-songwriter album. Her sophomore release from 1971 featured 10 new tunes and two reinterpretations of songs King had written together with her former husband and lyricist Jerry Goffin in the ’60s. Like many of their other songs, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman became hits, in these cases by The Shirelles and Aretha Franklin, respectively. There’s really no weak tune on Tapestry and I could have selected any. It’s Too Late has always been one of my favorites.

The Rolling Stones/Sticky Fingers (April 1971)

I know many fans of The Rolling Stones consider Exile on Main St. or Some Girls as their best albums. While I can’t claim to know all of their records in detail, my favorite is Sticky Fingers. This was the second full-length record with Mick Taylor who had replaced Brian Jones in June 1969. Between Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, Can’t You Hear Me Knocking, Bitch, Sister Morphine and Dead Flowers, there are so many classics on this album. I just think the Stones never sounded better. And interestingly, it’s the country-influenced Dead Flowers that has become one of my favorite Stones tunes. I just love the guitar work!

Marvin Gaye/What’s Going On (May 1971)

I think Marvin Gaye had one of the most beautiful soulful voices I know. This artist was a smooth operator, even when he sang about serious issues like on this album. …(Oh, crime is increasin’) Oh, woo/Trigger happy policin’/panic is spreadin’/God knows where we’re headin’/Oh baby/Make me wanna holler/They don’t understand/Make me wanna holler/They don’t understand…It’s remarkable these lyrics were written almost 50 years, yet they sound frighteningly relevant in America in the year 2020.

Neil Young/Harvest (February 1972)

I dig a good number of Neil Young songs and feel his first compilation Decade is one of the best greatest hits collections I can think of. When it comes to his albums, my favorites are Harvest from 1972 and Harvest Moon from 1992. While I think the title track of the latter is among Young’s best tunes, I have a slight preference for Harvest from an overall album perspective. Featuring David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt as guests, it became Young’s most successful record and the best-selling album in the U.S. in 1972 – in part thanks to Heart of Gold, which remains Young’s only no. 1 song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 to this day. There are many other gems on the record, including The Needle and the Damage Done.

Deep Purple/Machine Head (March 1972)

I don’t listen to hard rock a lot these days, but when I do, Deep Purple remain my favorite choice, especially their sixth studio album Machine Head from March 1972. I’ve always thought one of the cool things about this band are the equal roles the guitar and the keyboards play as solo instruments. Jon Lord was a true master of the Hammond organ who skillfully blended blues, hard rock and jazz with elements of classical music. Lazy is one of the tracks on which Lord shines in particular.

Pink Floyd/The Dark Side of the Moon (March 1973)

First, I was going to pick Meddle, Pink Floyd’s sixth studio album from October 1971. With the great Echoes, it foreshadowed the band’s classic mid-’70s sound on The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. All three albums are among my favorite Floyd records. Eventually, I settled on The Dark Side of the Moon. It’s a perfect album for headphones, and I’ve listened to it countless times at night in bed. The sound is just phenomenal. One of the standout tracks is The Great Gig In the Sky and the amazing vocal performance by British singer Clare Torry.

Bruce Springsteen/Born to Run (August 1975)

Bruce Springsteen entered my radar screen in 1984 with the Born in the U.S.A. album. While I’m still fond of that record, I subsequently explored and came to appreciate his earlier work. To me, Born to Run turned out to be Springsteen’s Mount Rushmore. After two albums that were critically acclaimed but not successful from a commercial perspective, he really needed a hit. Born to Run would turn out to be exactly that and catapult Springsteen to fame beyond the U.S. Apart from the title song, my favorite tracks on the album include Thunder Road, Backstreets, Jungleland and the beautiful soul-oriented Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.

Stevie Wonder/Songs in the Key of Life (September 1976)

Stevie Wonder has been one of my favorite artists for 40 years. I dig many of his songs starting from when he was known as Little Stevie Wonder. But it’s his classic period in the ’70s I like the most, especially the albums Talking Book (October 1972), Innervisions (August 1973) and Songs in the Key of Life (September 1976). The latter became the best-selling and most critically acclaimed album of Wonder’s long career. Here’s his beautiful tribute to jazz legend Duke Ellington who had passed away in May 1974.

Steely Dan/Aja (September 1977)

I’m wrapping up this list with Steely Dan. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen made many great records, but it’s this gem from September 1977 that’s my favorite: Aja. As usual, Becker and Fagen assembled top-notch session musicians to record the album. There were also prominent guests, including Michael McDonald and Timothy B. Schmit. All of the tracks on this album are great. Deacon Blues is my favorite Steely Dan song, but since I previously featured it more than once, I’m going with the closer Josie.

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube