New Music Musings

Happy Saturday, and I hope everybody’s weekend is off to a good start. As frequent visitors of this blog know, it’s the time of the week where I take a fresh look at the latest new music releases. All picks are on albums that dropped yesterday (March 29).

Chastity Belt/Chemtrails

My first pick today are Seattle, Wash.-based indie rock band Chastity Belt. They were formed in 2010 by Julia Shapiro (guitar, vocals), Lydia Lund (guitar), Annie Truscott (bass) and Gretchen Grimm (drums). Their AllMusic bio describes them as taking cues from both the politics of the riot grrrl scene and the intricate, moody guitar-based sound of early-’90s Pacific Northwestern indie bands like Sleater-Kinney and Autoclave. Off their fifth and latest album Live Laugh Love, here’s the great-sounding Chemtrails, credited to all members of the group.

VIAL/Apathy

VIAL are an indie punk trio from Minneapolis, Minn. They have been around since mid-2019 and include guitarist KT Branscom, bassist Taylor Kraemer and drummer Katie Fischer. VIAL’s late 2019 debut EP Grow Up was followed by their first full-length album Loudmouth in July 2021. They are now out with their sophomore album Burnout. Let’s listen to the closer Apathy. Nice banger with some dissonant touches!

Holiday Ghosts/Big Congratulations

Holiday Ghosts are an indie rock band from southern England, who I first featured in a new music review last April. From their AllMusic bio: Taking inspiration from vintage garage rock, surf, and bands like Violent Femmes, Holiday Ghosts’ clattering, playful indie tunes emerged in 2017 with the band’s self-titled debut, which also drew on early punk influences. Their line-up includes founder and multi-instrumentalist Sam Stacpoole, Charlie Murphy (guitar, vocals), Ben Woods (bass, vocals) and Katja Rackin (vocals, drums). Big Congratulations is a neat upbeat track from their fifth and new album Coat of Arms.

The Secret Sisters/Paperweight

The Secret Sisters are a Muscle Shoals, Ala.-based Americana duo of siblings Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle (née Rogers). Since their 2010 self-titled debut they have released four additional albums, including their latest Mind, Man, Medicine. Primarily recorded at the storied FAME Studios, the album includes contributions from Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell and prominent multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell who has worked with the likes of Paul Simon, Willie Nelson and Levon Helm. Here’s Paperweight, which showcases the ladies’ tight harmony singing and features fiddle work from Campbell – neat!

The Rocky Valentines/Stick It Out

The Rocky Valentines is a new indie rock project of Charles Martin. Here’s more from Bandcamp: On their debut LP, “Erase,” Rocky Valentines frontman Charles Martin sings that he feels like “a one-man band.” He’s not specifically singing about the lack of bandmates on “Scream and Shout,” the album credits aren’t exactly littered with other names either. With an assist on bass throughout from Steve Dail (Project 86, Crash Rickshaw), and a recording credit for his father, Jason Martin (Starflyer 59), the younger Martin does the bulk of the work himself across the LP’s eight tracks. Here’s the pleasant pop rocker Stick It Out.

Sheryl Crow/Broken Record

Rounding out this review is new music by Sheryl Crow. When she released predecessor Threads in August 2019, which I reviewed here at the time, Crow said she wasn’t planning any additional full-length albums. Her explanation was sad but understandable: most folks, especially younger people, cherry-pick songs and create their own playlists instead of listening to entire albums. As such, Crow’s announcement of Evolution in early November 2023, together with the first upfront single Alarm Clock, came as a pleasant surprise. Subsequently, three more songs came out prior to the album. Here’s one that didn’t: Broken Record, solely penned by Crow.

Sources: Wikipedia; AllMusic; VIAL website; The Secret Sisters website; The Rocky Valentines Bandcamp page; YouTube; Spotify