New Music Musings

Happy Saturday and welcome to my new music review! In the middle of December, it’s not surprising that new releases are largely limited to “old music” being offered as reissues and special editions. Since this weekly feature is focused on new music, I decided to use the three remaining posts for this year to take a look back at new music I reviewed in 2023.

Between my Saturday posts and album reviews, there was a lot new music I featured. While I oftentimes note the charts on this blog (typically when it comes to ’60s and ’70s music), in general, you won’t find Taylor Swift, Drake, Rihanna or other music artists who are frequently on the Billboard Hot 100 nowadays – not because there’s anything wrong with their music, but because it’s simply not what I like to listen to.

If you’ve visited my new music reviews before, you probably know I tend to look at contemporary music through the lens of my preferences, which are largely shaped by the ’60s and ’70s. While that frame of reference weeds out a good deal of new music, it leaves a remarkable amount to discover, if you’re willing to look beyond the mainstream charts!

Here’s how I intend to tackle this look-back on 2023. The first two posts revisit specific songs I enjoyed. Each post highlights six of them, which are also included in a Spotify playlist, along with other picks. Between the two posts, the playlists include 46 tracks, and I could have added more songs – not too shabby! The third and final installment will focus on my favorite new albums of 2023, which I’m still figuring out as I’m writing this.

Here’s part 1 covering new songs that came out in the first half of the year.

The Bad Ends/Mile Marker 29

My first pick are The Bad Ends, an alternative rock band from Athens, Ga. Their website notes the group catalyzed when Mike Mantione (vocals, guitar), who gained initial prominence as frontman of popular Athens band Five Eight in the ’90s, had a chance encounter with Bill Berry (drums, guitar, electric sitar), former drummer of R.E.M. The band also features Christian Lopez (guitars, mandolin, banjo), Geoff Melkonian (keyboards, piano, guitars, vocals) and Dave Domizi (bass, vocals). Mantione and Domizi had been friends since 1991, while Melkonian produced one of Five Eight’s  previous albums. The Bad Ends “quietly recorded, produced, and mastered what would become The Power and The Glory“, their great debut album. Here’s the opener Mile Marker 29 – not a bad end at all! And, yep, they definitely can’t deny their hometown!

Joe Louis Walker/Is It a Matter of Time?

Guitarist and singer-songwriter Joe Louis Walker has earned most recognition with blues but isn’t a one-trick pony. According to his bio, the Blues Hall of Fame inductee and six-time Blues Music Award winner has recorded with Ike Turner, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, and Steve Cropper, opened for Muddy Waters and Thelonious Monk, hung out with Jimi Hendrix, Freddie King, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and was a close friend and roommate of Mike Bloomfield. Walker’s 1986 debut album Cold Is the Night on HighTone announced his arrival in stunning fashion...A brilliantly lyrical guitarist, soulful singer, and prolific songwriter, Walker has toured extensively throughout his career, performing at some of the world’s most renowned music festivals, such as Glastonbury and Montreux, as well as on national television. From his latest album Weight of the World here’s Is It a Matter of Time? penned by Walker – the soulful vibe is totally up my alley!

The Nude Party/Word Gets Around

The Nude Party are a band from North Carolina I first featured in January 2022 with their eponymous debut from July 2018. They were formed in 2012 when freshman students at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. decided to start a band. Their members are Patton Magee (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica), Shaun Couture (guitar, vocals),  Don Merrill (piano, vocals), Alexander Castillo (bass, vocals), Austin Brose  (percussion, vocals) and Connor Mikita (drums). At the end of their freshman year, they all moved together to a house outside of town and learned how to play their instruments. It still almost sounds a bit like a fairytale! What’s very real is Word Gets Around, a cool-sounding rocker with a ’60s vibe, off their third and latest studio album Rides On, credited to the entire band!

Billy Tibbals/Hollywood Baby

This brings me to Billy Tibbals, a Los Angeles-based alternative rock artist. From his Bandcamp bio: Moving from London to Hollywood back in 2014, Billy Tibbals quickly found a love for the city and its esoteric, debauched history. Combining this with his childhood obsession with British rock and roll, surrealist literature, and musicals from the 1940’s, Billy’s music presents a unique and fantastical view of the world around us. As a part of the exciting new wave of rock and roll music emerging from Los Angeles, Billy hopes to inspire the youth to get off their phones and come join in with the fun. Tibbals’ latest inspiration is his debut EP Stay Teenage. Here’s the excellent opener Hollywood Baby, which like all other tracks on the EP was solely written by him.

Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives/Sitting Alone

American country and bluegrass singer Marty Stuart has been active since the late 1960s. Initially working as a touring musician with Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash, Stuart launched his recording career in 1978 with Marty (With A Little Help From My Friends). He has since released 18 additional albums, including his latest, Altitude, appearing as Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives. Let’s check out Sitting Alone, penned by Stuart, which reminds me a bit of a Tom Petty – love that jangly guitar sound!

Foo Fighters/The Teacher

Wrapping up this post are Foo Fighters with a haunting song from But Here We Are. It’s their first new album since the untimely death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in Bogotá, Columbia in March 2022 at the age of 50 during the band’s tour in South America. A brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year, But Here We Are is a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family, the band said when announcing the album. The statement added the 10 tracks run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between. Here’s The Teacher, a dark-sounding 10-minute track credited to the entire band – quite an epic song!

Here’s the aforementioned Spotify playlist featuring the above and 18 additional songs from the first half of 2023. Look for Part 2, which is scheduled for next Saturday, December 23.

Sources: Wikipedia; The Bad Ends website; Joe Louis Walker website; Billy Tibbals Bandcamp page; Foo Fighters website; YouTube; Spotify