Best of What’s New

As another eventful week is drawing to a close, the time has come again to venture into the world of newly released music. This latest Best of What’s New installment features great power pop, indie pop rock and art pop from the U.S. and rock from the U.K.

While two of these acts are well established and have been around for many years, all are new to me. Broadening my music universe by “discovering” artists and bands is a key reason why I enjoy writing the series. All of the featured songs were just released yesterday. Let’s get going!

Matthew Sweet/Stars Explode

Matthew Sweet is a singer-songwriter who played in various bands during the ’80s and was part of the vibrant local music scene in Athens, Ga., before gaining traction as a solo artist in the ’90s. According to his profile on Apple Music, he skillfully navigates the line between the power pop underground and the mainstream end of alternative rock. Matthew Sweet was a master of potent pop tunes and catchy melodic hooks, but he also knew how to make his songs rock, and his inspired use of incisive guitar work gave his songs an edge that was fresh and satisfying. Sweet spent most of the ’80s in the background, performing with the groups Oh-OK and Buzz of Delight, playing in Lloyd Cole’s backing band, and releasing a pair of overlooked solo albums (1986’s Inside and 1989’s Earth) as he honed his skills. His this solo album Girlfriend from October 1991 brought him commercial breakthrough. Between 2006 and 2013, Sweet collaborated on a series of cover albums (Under the Covers Vol. 1 – Vol. 3) with Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles. Stars Explode, written by Sweet, is from his 15th studio album Catspaw. It illustrates he hasn’t lost his ability to write catchy power pop tunes that nicely rock. Sounds like Sweet is right up my alley, so I’m planning to further explore his music.

Beach Bunny/Good Girls (Don’t Get Used)

Beach Bunny are an indie pop rock band formed in Chicago in 2015. The group started as a solo project by vocalist and guitarist Lili Trifilio who released her debut EP Animalism in 2015. Following the third EP Crybaby in 2017, Beach Bunny became a full-fledged four-piece group. In addition to Trifilio (vocals, guitar), their current lineup features Matt Henkels (guitar), Anthony Vaccaro (bass) and Jon Alvarado (drums). Beach Bunny’s first full-length studio album Honeymoon appeared in February 2020. Good Girls (Don’t Get Used) is the opener of the group’s latest EP Blame Game. Like the three other tracks on the EP, the song is credited to Lili Trifilio and Beach Bunny. The catchy track reminds me a bit of some early Taylor Swift tunes I’ve heard.

You Me At Six/Beautiful Way

You Me At Six are an English rock band formed in 2004 in the greater London area. Apple Music notes post-hardcore and alt-rock influences in their music. I don’t know the band and take this at face value. After two self-released EPs in 2006 and 2007, their debut album Take Off Your Colours came out in October 2008. It peaked at no. 25 on the British albums chart and yielded two UK award nominations. Their fourth album Cavalier Youth from January 2014 topped the UK and Scottish albums charts and also made the Billboard 200, reaching no. 124. The band’s current core lineup consists of co-founding members Josh Franceschi (lead vocals), Chris Miller (lead guitar), Max Helyer (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Matthew Barnes (bass, backing vocals), as well as Daniel Flint (drums) who has been with the group since 2007. Beautiful Way, credited to all members of the band, is from You Me At Six’s seventh studio album Suckapunch. The track’s guitar part drew me in – it definitely has something!

Midnight Sister/Foxes

Rounding out today’s new music collection is the duo of Juliana Giraffe and Ari Balouzian, professionally known as Midnight Sister. A profile on Apple Music describes their style as art pop with a cinematic flair…Both natives of the San Fernando Valley [Calif.] and graduates of the same high school a few years apart, they met when Balouzian, a classically trained musician, wrote the score for a short film scripted by Giraffe and her sister, a friend of Balouzian’s. When he followed up by sending some instrumental music to Giraffe, and she returned it with vocals, they liked the results and decided to keep working together. Midnight Sister was Balouzian’s first pop project aside from doing arrangements for Tobias Jesso, Jr. and Alex Izenberg, and Giraffe’s first musical endeavor. Their full-length debut album Saturn Over Sunset appeared in 2017. Foxes is a track from their sophomore release Painting the Roses. It’s an intriguing tune with portions that sound Beatle-esque.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; YouTube

Bringing The Great Gig In The Sky To Earth And Back To The Dark Side Of The Moon

My Pink Floyd journey started in circa 1976 when I first listened to Wish You Were Here, yet another gem in my older sister’s vinyl record collection at the time. Whether she did so consciously or not, once again I realize I owe her a debt of gratitude for introducing me to various great artists I continue to dig to this day, more than 40 years later.

When it comes to Pink Floyd, I suppose the closest original live experience you can get these days is Roger Waters whose Us + Them tour is set to hit South America and Mexico in October. We may also be able to look forward to more gigs from David Gilmour but the outlook is still unclear. When discussing his Live At Pompeii album in September 2017, he said he’d be very uncomfortable to do another tour without new material, adding he has several new songs close to completion.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t just hop on a plane to catch Waters in South America; and frankly even if I could, I’m not even sure I would want to. The prospect of being able to see Gilmour look uncertain at this time. So what’s a Floyd fan like me to do? Enter  Echoes, “The American Pink Floyd.” It’s obvious this tribute band from Delaware doesn’t aim to look like Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason but instead is all about capturing the great music. And that they do incredibly well!

I saw Echoes first a year ago at Rock The Farm, where they closed out the great annual tribute band spectacle in Seaside Heights, N.J., with an amazing performance under the stars. When I learned a few weeks ago they would come to Asbury Park, N.J. to play The Stone Pony, I didn’t think twice whether or not I should get a ticket. The show happened last night, and it truly was experiencing the great gig in the sky coming down to earth and back to the dark side of the moon. But, to also creatively borrow from Aerosmith and Joe Perry and Steven Tyler, why don’t I let some of the music do the talking?

Here is the opener of the first set, Sheep. Written by Waters, the tune appeared on Floyd’s tenth studio album Animals, released in January 1977.

In 1975, Pink Floyd recorded the above mentioned Wish You Here, their ninth studio album. Initially, this was my favorite Floyd record. Here is Echoes’ rendition of Have A Cigar, Waters’ cynical take on the recording industry. And, yes, the band was just fantastic, and that’s really what think, even though they didn’t have Pink. Clever, huh?

Another track I’d like to highlight from the first set is Hey You. Gilmour and Waters co-wrote the tune for The Wall, Floyd’s 11th studio album from November 1979 – by the way, the only album I bought on vinyl at the time it came out. This was during my high school rebel days when the message Hey teacher, leave them kids alone resonated, at least when it came to some of my teachers who shall remain unnamed!

Next up is the closer of the first set and undoubtedly the highlight of the show: Time and The Great Gig In The Sky. Both gems are included on Floyd’s studio release that preceded Wish You Were Here: The Dark Side Of The Moon, from March 1973. Time was co-written by all four members of Pink Floyd, while The Great Gig In The Sky was credited to Wright and the amazing vocalist Clare Torry. If you don’t want to watch the entire clip, at least do yourself a favor and check out Echoes’ (backing) vocalist Michelle Sumler Hover, who is just absolutely killing it on Gig.

Set 2 brought more amazing music and in addition to the above albums also included material from Meddle, Floyd’s sixth studio album released in October 1971. But first here’s the epic Money and Us And Them from Dark Side, tunes that were respectively written by Waters and co-written by him and Gilmour. Check out the great work from the band’s sax player Andrew Bedell.

Another track I’d like to highlight from the second set is Run Like Hell, a co-write by Waters and Gilmour from The Wall album.

I guess no Pink Floyd tribute show would be complete without Wish You Were Here. And since Echoes apparently wanted to end their gig with a big bang, they combined it with One Of These Days. The title track of Floyd’s ninth studio album from September 1975 was penned by Waters and Gilmour, while One Of These Days, off the Meddle album, was credited to all band members.

This post wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging Echoes’ impressive musicianship. Echoes feature William (Bill) Swezey (guitar, vocals), John Ratcliffe (vocals, guitar), David Fox (guitar, lap steel), Dan Long (keyboards, sound effects),  Andrew Bedell (saxophone), Chris Miller (bass) and Matt Urban (drums). Penny Carmack, Chris Duncan and the above mentioned Michelle Sumler Hover form Echoes’ amazing backing vocalist section cleverly called “The Crazy Diamond Girls.” Last night, Kim Walton was filling in for Duncan.

After the show, I briefly had a chance to say ‘hello’ to Bill Swezey, who looked like a happy camper. I think he certainly had plenty of good reason after a great gig! He said they want to keep Floyd’s music alive. When I asked him how long they had been doing this, he noted the band has been together since 2015. He also confirmed what was obvious to me that all of the band’s members have been professional musicians for many years.

According to their Facebook page, Echoes are scheduled to play next on October 19th at Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, Pa. The band’s website also lists another show for December 22nd at Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del. If you dig Pink Floyd and can get to any of these places, I would highly recommend Echoes.

Sources: Wikipedia, Roger Waters official website, Echoes Facebook page and official website, YouTube