Best of What’s New

This week, Best of What’s New hits another mini-milestone with the 75th installment of the recurring feature. As somebody, who according to my dear wife grew up in the wrong decade (the ’80s as opposed to the ’60s), I find it encouraging that each week I continue to discover new music that sufficiently speaks to me. In most cases, it’s the first time I encounter the artists who are oftentimes relatively young – all great!

Until not so long ago, I used to pretty much reject any contemporary music, unless it was something new from an “old artist.” Once I was willing to do the necessary digging, I quickly noticed how narrow-minded my initial stance was. Let’s turn to this week’s installment. All picks are on albums that were released yesterday (August 27), except the final track, which is from an upcoming album.

Indigo De Souza/Bad Dream

Kicking it off this time is Indigo De Souza, a young singer-songwriter from North Carolina, whose music includes elements of pop grunge and indie rock. Even though De Souza has her own website, there is only limited official background information on her that’s publicly available, which is unfortunate. Bad Dream is a track from De Souza’s new sophomore album Any Shape You Take. Here’s more from her label Saddle Creek’s website: Faithful to its name, Any Shape You Take changes form to match the tenor of each story it tells. “The album title is a nod to the many shapes I take musically. I don’t feel that I fully embody any particular genre—all of the music just comes from the universe that is my ever-shifting brain/heart/world,” says Indigo. This sonic range is unified by Indigo’s strikingly confessional and effortless approach to songwriting, a signature first introduced in her debut, self-released LP,  I Love My Mom.

The Bronx/Watering the Well

While their name may suggest a New York band, The Bronx are a punk rock group from Los Angeles formed in 2002. Their self-titled debut album appeared in August 2003. According to Apple Music, in 2006, they also created Mariachi El Bronx, an alter ego “born out of a desire to challenge themselves musically.” Apparently, the idea to explore Latin sounds emerged after the band had been asked to perform an acoustic set. To date, the group has released seven albums as The Bronx and five albums under their Latin moniker. The band’s current line-up includes original members Matt Caughthran (vocals) and Joby Ford (guitar, backing vocals), along with Ken Mochikoshi-Horne (guitar, backing vocals), Brad Magers (bass, backing vocals) and Joey Castillo (drums). Watering the Well is a track from their new studio album The Bronx VI. It’s pretty much mainstream rock, unlike their origin of hardcore punk – a genre that generally isn’t my cup of tea.

Madi Diaz/Resentment

Madi Diaz is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter. Her Apple Music profile characterizes her music as passionate, searching songs [drawing] on indie rock, country and folk, synth pop, and more while always keeping emotion front and center. Here’s more from Apple Music: Madi Diaz spent her formative years in rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where she was home-schooled by her Peruvian mother and studied piano with her Danish father, a musician who introduced her to the likes of the Beatles and Fleetwood Mac as she grew up in the 1990s. She switched to guitar in her early teens and began composing at the age of 16 after the family relocated to nearby Philadelphia. It was there that Diaz achieved minor celebrity status as one of the more precocious and engaging students in director Don Argott’s hit 2005 documentary about the Paul Green School of Rock Music. While attending Berklee, Diaz spent time in the indie rock outfit Talk Radio before embarking on a solo career in 2006. Her debut album Skin and Bone came out in 2007. Diaz has since released three EPs and five full-length albums including her latest, History of a Feeling. Here’s a track from it titled Resentment, co-written by Diaz, Stephen Wrabel and Jamie Floyd. Nice tune!

Colin Linden/Until the Heat Leaves Town

Wrapping up this week’s Best of What’s New is contemporary blues music by Canadian guitarist, producer and songwriter Colin Linden. According to his Apple Music profile, he has been delivering his own blues-oriented rock since the early ’70s. He plays into heavy gospel and folk as well, making Linden’s work most recognizable across Canada. He has released a slew of records throughout the ’80s and ’90s, most notably winning a Juno Award for South at Eight-North at Nine (1993) in 1994. He made quite an impression on the American homefront with his 1997 release Through the Storm, Through the Night, but Linden continued making music into the new millennium and issued Raised By the Wolves in February 2000. His collaborations also include work with Kim Wilson, Bruce Cockburn, the Band, and Mavis Staples. To date, Linden has released 13 solo albums. Until the Heat Leaves Town is a track from his upcoming album bLOW scheduled for September 17. Co-written by him, Gary Craig and Johnny Dymond, the tune was released upfront on August 11 – right up my alley!

Sources: Wikipedia; Indigo De Souza website; Saddle Creek website; Apple Music; YouTube