New Music Musings

Happy Saturday! I can’t believe it’s already been a week since my last new music review. Without further ado, let’s get to it. All songs are included on albums that came out yesterday (February 16).

Blackberry Smoke/Hammer And the Nail

Kicking things off today are Atlanta-based southern and country rock band Blackberry Smoke, who were formed in 2000. Starting with their 2003 debut Bad Luck Ain’t No Crime, they have released eight albums to date including their latest Be Right Here. The group’s line-up features co-founders Charlie Starr (vocals, guitar), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals), Richard Turner (bass, vocals) and Brit Turner (drums), as well as Brandon Still (keyboards), who joined in 2009. Off their new album, here’s Hammer And the Nail, co-written by Starr and Keith Nelson, former guitarist of L.A. hard rock band Buckcherry. Tasty rocker!

Shadow Show/On a Cloud

Detroit female power trio Shadow Show blend ’60s garage psychedelia with contemporary pop rock. Founded in 2018 by Ava East (guitar), Kate Derringer (bass) and Kerrigan Pearce (drums), Shadow Show released their debut album Silhouettes in February 2020. They now return with the follow-on Fantasy Now!, which their website describes as “a huge step forward from their debut LP, reaching a more Sgt. Peppery psychedelic vision that includes swirling pop melodies, fuzz guitar hooks, flutes, tympani, backwards surprise twists, and a magical medieval acapella interlude.” With their neat harmony singing, they remind me a bit of the The Bangles but with a more edgy sound. Here’s On a Cloud – great song with a jangly guitar sound.

Cast/Faraway

Brit-pop band Cast were formed in Liverpool in 1992. Opening for Elvis Costello and Oasis in 1994 put them on the map and resulted in a record deal with Polydor toward the end of the year. Their October 1995 debut album All Change was an instant success, surging to no. 7 in the UK and reaching Platinum certification in May 1996. After their fourth album in 2001, the band split and reunited in 2010. They have since released three additional albums including their latest Love Is the Call. Their current line-up includes original co-founder John Power (guitar, bass, vocals), as well as Liam Tyson (guitar, backing vocals) and Keith O’Neill (drums, backing vocals) who both first joined in 1993. Here’s the catchy Faraway.

San Fermin/Weird Environment

San Fermin is an indie rock collective around Brooklyn-based composer and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone. San Fermin combine indie rock, pop and classical elements into lush compositions, drawing on Ludwig-Leone’s educational background in classical music and composition. While still attending college, he worked on several film scores and operas with contemporary classic music composer and arranger Nico Muhly. To date, San Fermin have released five full-length albums. Off their latest, Arms, here’s Weird Environment. The song was co-written by Ludwig-Leone and longtime collaborator and vocalist Allen Tate.

Crawlers/Golden Bridge

Crawlers are a British rock band from Liverpool who have been around since 2018. They were founded by Amy Woodall (guitar), Holly Minto (vocals, lyrics, guitar, trumpet) and Liv May (bass). After Harry Breen joined on drums, they began performing at small venues in Liverpool. After gaining an Internet following and entering the UK charts with their single Come Over (Again) from their self-released October 2021 eponymous debut EP, they got a deal with Polydor records in January 2022. Crawlers are now out with their first full-length album The Mess We Seem to Make. Let’s listen to the pleasant Golden Bridge.

The Immediate Family/Skin In the Game

Wrapping up this weekly review is new music by ace session musician super-group The Immediate Family, formed in 2018 by Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel and Steve Postell (guitar, vocals each), Leland Sklar (bass) and Russ Kunkel (drums). In the ’70s, Kortchmar, Sklar and Kunkel were members of The Section, an instrumental rock and jazz fusion band who individually and collectively worked on albums by the likes of Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Crosby & Nash, Jackson Browne and Warren Zevon. Wachtel was associated with The Section as well. Off The Immediate Family’s second and latest album Skin In the Game, here’s the great title track.

Sources: Wikipedia; Shadow Show website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

When I started Best of What’s New in March 2020, I really didn’t know whether there would be enough newly released music I sufficiently like to make this a frequently recurring feature. After all, while one occasionally encounters new artists who embrace aspects of the ’60s and ’70s, I’m under no illusion that the kind of music from my two favorite decades won’t come back. And yet, except for one occasion due to a family matter, I’ve been posting new installments weekly.

After more than a year it’s very clear to me some decent new music continues to come out. Since it’s not as easy as simply checking the charts, this can take some time. And, yes, it also requires me to be open-minded and occasionally push beyond my comfort zone. I think my selections for this week, which all appeared yesterday (May 28), illustrate the point, especially when it comes to a young artist from Canada who is of Sudanese heritage.

Jane Lee Hooker/Drive

If you’re a more frequent visitor of the blog, you may recall some of my previous posts about this blues rock-oriented band from New York. Jane Lee Hooker have been around since 2015. Their current line-up features founding members Dana “Danger” Athens (vocals), Tracy Hightop  (guitar), Tina “T-Bone” Gorin (guitar) and Hail Mary Z (bass), along with ‘Lightnin’ Ron Salvo who joined as the band’s new drummer last year. To date, Jane Lee Hooker have released two full-length albums, No B! (April 2016) and Spiritus (November 2017), which I covered here and here. Drive is their latest single, following Jericho from February. Both tunes will be on the band’s next album that’s slated for later this year. The new track is a departure from their hard-charging blues rock sound. A statement explained due to COVID-19 restrictions Jane Lee Hooker “found themselves locked out of their Brooklyn rehearsal room – the creative space where they write and rehearse with amps cranked up at maximum volume. Out of necessity, band catch-ups were moved to the grapevine-filled backyard of singer Dana Athens’ family home in Brooklyn – with tiny practice amps, acoustic guitars and drummer Ron Salvo keeping the beat on upturned plastic garbage cans and recycling bins.” Well, whatever impact the new setting may have had, I dig the outcome, which is more like a rock ballad with a nice soul vibe.

Lou Barlow/In My Arms

Lou Barlow is an alternative rock singer-songwriter who has been active since the early 1980s. Viewed as a pioneer of low-fi rock, Barlow has been a founding member of various bands, including Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion. Just five weeks ago, Dinosaur Jr. released their latest album Sweep It Into Space, from which I featured a track in a previous Best of What’s New installment. After 25 years, Barlow remains involved with indie rock band Sebadoh as well. In addition to his group engagements, he has also released various solo albums including his latest, Reason to Live. Here’s the opener In My Arms. I like the laid back vibe and also find this tune quite catchy.

Mustafa/Stay Alive

Mustafa Ahmed, aka Mustafa the Poet and Mustafa, is a Canadian poet, singer-songwriter and filmmaker from Toronto, who is of Sudanese heritage. According to his Apple Music profile, Mustava became known for socially conscious poetry during his youth. When he was 18, in 2014, he made his first recorded appearance as Mustafa the Poet on Lorraine Segato’s “Rize Time.” Shortly thereafter, he gained more notice when a poem he wrote was shared by Drake on social media. In 2016, Mustafa was named to the Prime Minister’s Youth Council by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and, in addition to contributing to “Feel” by Halal Gang partner SAFE, he also gained his first major songwriting credit on the Weeknd’s “Attention,” contained on the chart-topping Starboy. Over the next few years, he continued to write poetry and collaborate with other artists, and, following the murder of friend and Halal member Smoke Dawg, he made Remember Me, Toronto, a short documentary addressing gun violence and its root causes (with Drake among those whom he filmed for it). Fast-forward to the present and When Smoke Rises, Mustava’s solo debut. Here’s the album’s opener Stay Alive, co-written by him, Frank Dukes, Mohammed Omar and Simon Hessmann. Don’t let the tune’s soft acoustic sound and lovely melody distract you from the serious lyrics. Here’s an excerpt: A bottle of lean, a gun in your jeans/And a little faith in me/A plane in the sky, the only starlight/On this never-ending street/The cameras and cops, we could’ve been stars/On our mothers news screens…It’s almost a Marvin Gaye/What’s Going On approach.

Blackberry Smoke/Ain’t the Same

The last track I’d like to highlight in this Best of What’s New is a great song by Blackberry Smoke, a southern rock band formed in Atlanta, Ga. in 2000. Their line-up includes Charlie Starr (vocals, guitar), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals), Brandon Still (keyboards), Richard Turner (bass, vocals) and Brit Turner (drums). Blackberry Smoke released their debut album Bad Luck Ain’t No Crime in 2003. The third album The Whippoorwill from August 2012 brought the band their first chart success in the U.S. and the UK. They have performed throughout the U.S. as headliner and supporting acts for the likes of Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ain’t the Same, co-written by Starr and Keith Nelson, is a track from Blackberry Smoke’s new album You Hear Georgia, their seventh studio release. I’ll be sure to check it out more closely!

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; YouTube