Best of What’s New

It’s that time of the week again where I’d like to take a peek at newly released music. All of the selections in this Best of What’s New installment are truly new. They were all released yesterday. I’m also pleased the collection features a good deal of variety, including indie pop grunge, alternative pop, country rock, heavy rock and even some African music. Most importantly, no matter what you call it, it’s all great music, so let’s get to it!

Viji/Are You in My Head

Are You in My Head is the title track of what appears to be the debut EP by Viji. Unfortunately, there is very little publicly available information on this young artist. According to her Spotify profile, Viji is the moniker of Austrian-Brazilian, London-based singer-songwriter Vanilla Jenner. She creates imaginative and original music that crosses the worlds of alternative pop and lo-fi indie weirdness. A review by Dork Magazine includes some commentary from the artist on the song and the EP. “The song ‘Are You In My Head’ is about the internal struggle of relationships. Especially how little things can blow up in your head if you’re in a bad mood…The EP is the first body of work that I’ve ever brought out. I finished writing all the songs for it around this time last year, and then took a few months to record it…The sound is very raw, and we kept a lot of my tracks from the demos. It’s pop melodies over lofi indie chords.” While the music falls outside my core wheelhouse, I can’t deny there’s something charming about it.

Shenandoah/High Class Hillbillies (featuring Cody Johnson)

How about a nice country rocker with the lovely title High Class Hillbillies? This is from the new album Every Road by Shenandoah, a country music band founded in Muscle Shoals, Ala. in 1984. Their eponymous debut album appeared in September 1987. According to Billboard, Every Road is a collaboration album “featuring some of today’s top hitmakers” and the band’s first album in 26 years with all new music. One of the collaborators is country singer-songwriter Cody Johnson, who contributes vocals on High Class Hillbillies. The tune was co-written by Marty Raybon (lead vocals, guitar) and Mike McGuire (drums, backing vocals), the band’s two remaining original members, together with songwriters Jim Collins and Wade Kirby.

Benee/Happen to Me

Benee (born Stella Rose Bennett) is a 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Auckland, New Zealand. According to Apple Music’s artist profile, With her introspective lyrics and smoky, stylized vocals, BENEE combines the sophisticated R&B of artists like Sade and Corinne Bailey Rae with the atmospheric, head-voice electronics of Billie Eilish. In 2017, during her final year in high school, Benee began posting music covers to Soundcloud. Her debut single Tough Guy appeared later that year. This was followed by her debut EP Fire on Marzz from June 2019, which included the lead single Soaked that climbed to no. 14 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart. Supalonely featuring American singer Gus Dapperton, a single from Benee’s second EP Stella & Steve, gained her international popularity. Happen to Me is the opener of Hey u, x, Benee’s first full-length album. Again, it’s not the kind of music I typically listen to, but there’s just something to it.

Chris Stapleton/Arkansas

Arkansas is another great country rocker. It appears on the fourth studio album Starting Over by Chris Stapleton. The singer-songwriter, who has been active since the early 2000s, released his debut studio in May 2015. It was well received, earned Stapleton several awards and remains his most successful record to date. Billboard is pretty upbeat about his latest release: You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better country album this year than Starting Over…From Stapleton’s ragged, soulful vocals to Dave Cobb’s feral production, Starting Over is all untamed emotion. What triggered my attention in part is the involvement of two former members of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers I dig: Guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboarder Benmont Tench. Arkansas is one of two tunes on the album Stapleton co-wrote with Campbell who has an album with his own band The Dirty Knobs set for release on November 20.

Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons/We’re the Bastards

Let’s crank it up a notch with a crunchy rocker by Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons: We’re the Bastards. This Welsh band was formed in 2016 by Campbell, longtime guitarist of Motörhead, following the death of frontman Ian Fraser Kilmister, better known as Lemmy. We’re the Bastards is the title track of the band’s new album, the second full-length record after 2018’s The Age of Absurdity. The band’s remaining members include Phil’s three sons Todd Campbell (guitar, harmonica), Tyla Campbell (bass) and Dane Campbell (drums), along with lead vocalist Neil Starr. Take it away, boys!

Star Feminine Band/Femme Africaine

I almost would have skipped over this last group, but how many all-girl female bands from Africa you know? According to The Vinyl Factory, the members of Star Feminine Band from the West African country Benin range from 10 to 17 years. The line-up inclides Angélique Balaguemon (drums, vocals), Julienne Sayi (bass guitar), Marguerite Kpetekout (drums), Grâce Marina Balaguemon (keyboard, vocals), Anne Sayi (electric guitar), Urrice Borikapei (percussion, vocals) and Sandrine Ouei (keyboard). The group came together after they responded to a local radio station’s advert inviting girls to participate in a series of free music training sessions. Femme Africaine is from their eponymous debut album, which The Vinyl Factory notes incorporates elements of highlife, garage rock, Congolese rumba, Beninese sato, and psychedelia as they address themes of equality, empowerment and female genital mutilation. Check out this video, which is such a joy to watch!

Sources: Wikipedia; Spotify; Dork Magazine; Billboard; Apple Music; The Vinyl Factory; YouTube