Best of What’s New

It’s Saturday, so here we go again taking a fresh look at new music. All picks appear on releases that came out yesterday (June 10). Here we go!

Calder Allen/Shine

My first pick this week is music from the debut album by Americana singer-songwriter Calder Allen. From his website: At only 19 years of age, Calder Allen is one of the newest rising acts to emerge out of Austin, Texas. Both audibly and lyrically beyond his years, Allen is a prolific singer-songwriter and self-taught guitarist who completed the recording of his first album in August 2021 at none other than the historic Arlyn Studios, shortly followed by his inaugural performance at Austin City Limits Music Festival…A fifth generation Austinite, Calder Allen’s natural ability and love for music is embedded into his DNA; among his music inspirations includes his grandfather Terry Allen, the legendary visual artist, and Buddy Holly Walk of Fame songwriter. His album producer Charlie Sexton, and other prolific artists like Gary Clark Jr., Caamp, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt are also impactful influences on Allen’s music. His debut album is titled The Game. Here’s the opener Shine. I really like what I’m hearing here!

Vance Joy/Solid Ground

Next, I’m turning to Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy, born James Gabriel Keogh. From his AllMusic bio: Australian singer/songwriter Vance Joy was vaulted into the mainstream when his 2013 single “Riptide” became a massive international hit. His blend of thoughtful indie folk and breezy melodic pop helped both his EP and subsequent debut album, Dream Your Life Away, go multi-platinum. Joy maintained his success throughout the rest of the decade, topping the charts again with his 2018 follow-up Nation of Two. His third album, In Our Own Sweet Time, was released in 2022. Among the 12 tracks is Solid Ground, which Joy co-wrote with Dave Bassett. Pretty enjoyable tune!

Nick Mulvey/Another Way To Be

Nick Mulvey is an English singer-songwriter who has been active since 2007. From his Apple Music profile: After a successful stint with Portico Quartet — which included a Mercury Prize nomination in 2008, 150 shows worldwide, and signing to Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records — Nick Mulvey set about creating a sound that was both striking and individual, intertwining influences of great musicians such as Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, and Tom Waits with a variation of African styles, including guitarist Kawele. His solo debut, 2014’s First Mind, landed in the U.K. Top Ten and was also nominated for the Mercury Prize. This brings me to New Mythology, Mulvey’s third and latest album, and Another Way To Be, a song written by him. While it’s not in my core wheelhouse, I like it!

Rise Against/The Answer

Let’s wrap up this revue with new music by Chicago punk rock band Rise Against. Formed in 1999, the group’s current line-up includes original members Tim McIlrath (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Joe Principe (bass, backing vocals), along with Zach Blair (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Brandon Barnes (drums, percussion), who have been with Rise Against since 2007 and 2000, respectively. In April 2001, the group released their debut album The Unraveling. Their fourth album The Sufferer & the Witness brought them first significant chart success in the U.S., reaching no. 10 on the Billboard 200, as well as their first charting album abroad, most notably in Canada where it peaked at no. 5. To date, the group’s catalog includes nine studio albums, two compilations and 10 EPs, among others. Their latest release is an EP titled Nowhere Generation II. Here’s the opener The Answer, credited to the entire band. This nicely rocks!

Before wrapping up, following is a Spotify playlist with all of the above and a few additional tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; Calder Allen website; AllMusic; Apple Music; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

Hard to believe it’s Saturday again. With a four-day get-away from home, somehow, this week felt even shorter than usual. All picks in this latest Best of What’s New installment appear on albums that came out yesterday (April 29).

Bloc Party/Day Drinker

Kicking things off today are English alternative rock band Bloc Party. According to their Apple Music profile, the group began in 1999, when Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack decided to form a band inspired by their love of Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Pixies, and DJ Shadow. They landed their big break when Okereke got the demo of “She’s Hearing Voices” to BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq, who played it on his show. During the band’s formative years, Okereke studied English Literature at King’s College London but dropped out after Bloc Party signed with Wichita Recordings. Silent Alarm [their 2005 debut album – CMM] was nominated for Britain’s prestigious Mercury Prize and was named Album of the Year by NME. Their sophomore album, A Weekend in the City, hit No. 12 on the US charts and made the Top 10 in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand. In addition to co-founders Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Bloc Party’s current lineup includes Justin Harris (bass, backing vocals, synthesizer, glockenspiel, saxophone) and Louise Bartle (drums, percussion, backing vocals), who each joined the band in 2015. Here’s Day Drinker, the opener of Bloc Party’s sixth and new studio album Alpha Games. Even though it’s not in my core wheelhouse, I find this tune pretty catchy.

Willie Nelson/Live Every Day

I trust Willie Nelson, who has been active for 65-plus years, doesn’t need an introduction. Yesterday, the American country legend turned 88 years and released his 72nd solo record A Beautiful Time, featuring original songs, as well as covers by The Beatles and Leonard Cohen, among others. The record comes only five months after The Willie Nelson Family, a collaborative album by Nelson, his sons Lucas and Micah, his daughters Paula and Amy and his sister Bobbie Nelson. Live Every Day, co-written by Nelson and Buddy Cannon who produced the album with Nelson, offers some smart advice and shows Nelson in admirable shape: Live every day like it was your last one/And one day you’re gonna be right/Treat everyone like you wanna be treated/See how that changes your life…

The Head and the Heart/Every Shade of Blue

The Head and the Heart combine pop with indie-folk and Americana. Founding members Josiah Johnson (vocals, guitar, percussion), Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion), Charity Rose Thielen (violin, guitar, vocals), Kenny Hensley (piano), Chris Zasche (bass) and Tyler Williams (drums) met through a series of open mic nights at a local club in Seattle in the summer of 2009. After their well-received self-released and self-distributed eponymous debut album, the band signed with Sub Pop in November 2010. The label remastered and expanded the album and re-released it in January 2011. Johnson left shortly after the group’s third album Signs of Light had come out in September 2016 and was replaced by Matt Gervais (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards). Every Shade of Blue, credited to Casey Smith, Jesse Shatkin, Nate Cyphert, Samuel Dent and the entire band, is the title track of the group’s fifth and latest album.

Trombone Shorty/Good Company

My last new music pick for this week is by New Orleans-based Trombone Shorty who is best known as a trombone and trumpet player. Born Troy Andrews, he has worked with some of the biggest names in rock, pop, jazz, funk and hip hop. To give you a flavor of the 36-year-old’s career, already at the age of four, Andrews appeared on stage with Bo Diddley at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. By the age of six, he became the leader of a brass parade band. In 2005 when he was 19 years old, he toured around the world with Lenny Kravitz as a member of his horn section. Since 2002 Andrews has also released numerous albums, both as a bandleader and as a sideman. This brings me to Lifted, which according to his website, is Trombone Shorty’s second release for Blue Note Records [and his 12th recording as a bandleader, based on Wikipedia – CMM]. Apple Music categorizes the album as jazz, but it’s also pop, funk and soul. Here’s the groovy closer Good Company, co-written by Andrews, Chris Seefried and Cobi Mike.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify list with the above and some additional tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; Trombone Shorty website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

Sometimes it’s funny how things go. Even though my employer observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and, as such, I was officially off on Monday, this week still felt very long. Finally, Saturday and another installment of my weekly new music feature are here. This time, my picks include three artists/bands who are entirely new to me and two I’m familiar with, especially one I’ve known since the ’80s. Except for the last tune, all tracks appeared on albums that were released yesterday (January 21).

Miles Kane/Change the Show

My first pick is Miles Kane, who is known as a solo artist and as a member of English supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets. He also used to be the lead vocalist of English rock band The Rascals, who were active from 2007 until 2009 when Kane decided to launch a solo career. His Apple Music profile describes him as an artist with a “resonant croon and charismatic stage swagger” who is “known for his vintage ’60s- and ’70s-inspired rock sound.” Here’s more from Apple Music: Born in 1986 in Merseyside, Kane was an 18-year-old guitarist when he formed his first band Little Flames with childhood friends vocalist Eva Petersen, guitarist Mat Gregory, bassist Joe Edwards, and drummer Greg Mighall. However, after Petersen and Gregory left the band due to creative differences, Kane and the remaining members formed the Rascals with Kane taking on vocal duties...In 2011, he delivered his full-length solo debut, Colour of the Trap. This brings me to Change the Show, the title track of Kane’s new and fourth solo album. The tune was co-written by him and Jamie Biles – catchy pop/rock with a retro flavor.

Texas Hill/Heaven Down Here

Texas Hill are an alternative country trio founded in 2020. According to their website, Craig Wayne Boyd offers a voice full of gospel-tinged country smoke, Adam Wakefield blends a rootsy bluegrass-and-Americana rasp, and Casey James wraps it with a blue-eyed soul quality and deft blues guitar chops. [Casey James did ring a bell, and it turned out in June 2017, I covered his sophomore solo album Strip It Down.]…The Voice and American Idol worked in creating a fan base for all three...That connection helped forge Texas Hill. James and Boyd, who grew up 60 miles apart on the outskirts of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, ran into one another at a 2019 event in Nashville and dove into conversation…Roughly a month later, Boyd brought Wakefield into the musical conversation, and when the three of them met up, Boyd introduced a song he’d just written. In September 2020, Texas Hill released their eponymous debut EP. Heaven Down There, credited to all three members, is the title track of their first full-length album. Great country rock with beautiful harmony singing – the kind of music that makes me happy!

Keb’ Mo’/Good Strong Woman

Keb’ Mo’ (born Kevin Roosevelt Moore) probably doesn’t need much of an introduction. While typically characterized as a blues artist, the Nashville-based guitarist and singer-songwriter also integrates elements of pop and Americana into his music. I grew fond of Moore when he teamed up with Taj Mahal for their great 2017 “uplifting blues” collaboration album TajMo, which I reviewed here. I also saw the two later that same year during the tour that supported TajMo. Good Strong Woman, which features former Hootie & the Blowfish lead vocalist Darius Rucker, is a track from Keb’ Mo’s new album Good To Be…The soulful, country-flavored tune was co-written by Moore and Jason Gantt. This sounds really sweet! Here’s the official video.

Penny & Sparrow/Voodoo

Penny & Sparrow are an indie folk duo of Texas singer-songwriters Andy Baxter and Kyle Jahnke. According to their Apple Music profile, they rose out of Austin, Texas, in the early part of the 2010s, combining rich harmonies and a modern sensibility inspired by acts like Bon Iver, the Swell Season, and Mumford & Sons. After honing their sound with a few indie releases, they signed with Southern indie Single Lock Records and issued a trio of well-received albums including 2016’s Let a Lover Drown You and 2019’s Finch. Voodoo is a tune off Penny & Sparrow’s new album Olly Olly. Like all except one of the other 11 tracks on the record, it was co-written by Baxter and Jahnke. Sounds pretty!

Scorpions/Rock Believer

This brings me to my final pick, which comes from Scorpions. When I last featured the German rock/pop metal stalwarts in a Best of What’s New installment in May 2020, I referenced a statement by the group that noted they “are working on lot’s of Hard‘n Heavy Rockers for our new album these days.” That album, Rock Believer, is now in the can and scheduled for February 25. Here’s the title track, which was released on January 14 as the second upfront single of what will be the band’s 19th studio album. Scorpions were formed in 1965 in Hannover, Germany by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who remains with the group to this day. The present line-up also features Klaus Meine (lead vocals, guitar; since 1969), Matthias Jabs (lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals; since 1978), Paweł Mąciwoda (bass, backing vocals; since 2003) and Mikkey Dee (drums; since 2016). Scorpions first entered my radar screen with their immensely successful 1984 album Love at First Sting. In general, I dig their melodic pop metal, though whether I want to listen to it also depends on my mood, which I think applies to most other music as well.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify list featuring the above tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; Texas Hill website; Scorpions website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

By now, more frequent visitors of the blog know what’s about to come. If you’re here for the first time or haven’t seen a previous installment, Best of What’s New is a weekly recurring feature looking at new/recently released music. Since I mostly listen to ’60s and ’70s music, oftentimes, artists I include in these posts are new to me. Occasionally, I also push a little bit beyond my comfort zone. All tunes in this installment appear on albums and an EP that were released yesterday (July 16).

Jodi/Get Back

Jodi is an alter ego for Chicago-based singer-songwriter Nick Levine. According to this review in Stereogum, until last year, Levine was affiliated with New Jersey indie rock band Pinegrove. He occasionally had been part of their line-up since 2010. Levine debuted as Jodi in 2017 with an EP titled Karaoke. Get Back is a track from Jodi’s new and first full length album Blue Heron. I like the sound of this tune. It’s got a bit of an alt. country vibe. Check it out!

Aodhan/Flies In My Room

Aodhan is the moniker of 21-year-old Australian artist Aidan Whitehall. According to a profile on Australian music outlet Unearthed, Aodhan started releasing self-produced singles in 2019. In an accompanying interview, he said his sound is still developing, adding he likes dream pop/bedroom pop music and coastal/indie folk. Flies In My Room is the title track of his debut EP. Apple Music characterizes it as “deeply wistful, often existential musings, sung over soft guitars and gentle melodies.” Not the kind of music I typically listen to, but I find this quite soothing.

Wavves/Thru Hell

Wavves is an alternative rock music project of singer-songwriter Nathan Williams. Started by Williams (guitar, lead vocals) in 2008, Wavves’ current members also include Alex Gates (guitar, backing vocals) and Stephen Pope (bass guitar, backing vocals). Their eponymous debut album appeared in September 2008. King of the Beach, the band’s third album from August 2010, was the first to enter the U.S. charts, climbing to no. 28 and no. 168 on the Billboard Independent Albums and 200 charts, respectively. Thru Hell is the opener of Wavves’ new album Hideaway, their seventh. I also featured the title track, which had been released upfront, in a recent Best of What’s New installment. This music nicely rocks!

John Mayer/Last Train Home

Here’s a name I haven’t heard for some time. While I mostly like John Mayer as a guitarist when he “gets dirty” and rocks out with the likes of Eric Clapton, e.g., here, I also respect him as a pop-oriented songwriter and vocalist. Mayer started his recording career as a 21-year-old with the EP Inside Out, which appeared in September 1999. His first full-length studio album Room for Squares was released in June 2001. In 2005, he formed blues rock band John Mayer Trio, together with bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan. They have played on and off since. The trio also formed the core of the studio band for Mayer’s seventh solo album The Search for Everything from April 2017. Last Train Home is the opener to his eighth and new album Sob Rock. Commenting to Apple Music, Mayer said, “It’s demonstratively sweet and luscious, and melodic and colorful, but it’s never to the point where it gets cloying and syrupy. I like to teeter on that line.”

Sources: Wikipedia; Stereogum; Apple Music; YouTube

Best of What’s New

Time for some newly released music. This is perhaps the most eclectic Best of What’s New installment to date, including afrobeat, indie pop folk, rock and jazz. Yes, more jazz, though it does have some singing. All of the featured albums came out yesterday (February 5). Let’s get to it!

Femi Kuti & Made Kuti/Stop the Hate

Femi Kuti is a Nigerian afrobeat and jazz musician born in London and raised in Lagos. According to his website, Before Femi was his own bandleader, he started playing saxophone in his father — Fela Kuti’s — band, Egypt 80, in 1979, where he learned the ins and outs of performing with a legend. [Fela Kuti, a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, composer and political activist, is considered to be a pioneer of afrobeat.] In 1984, Femi had no choice but to fulfill his destiny after Fela was arrested at the Lagos airport just before the start of a U.S. tour and Femi was asked to be the frontman of his father’s band instead of cancelling the shows. In 1986, Femi created his own band, called Positive Force, which quickly gained notoriety as a formidable group in Afrobeat music. Over the next 30 years, Femi would amass worldwide acclaim as an ambassador of this righteous music and many humanitarian organizations. Positive Force is still at the forefront of the Afrobeat movement, expanding the music’s vocabulary by adding hints of punk and hip-hop to the sound, while maintaining its traditional roots and political message. This track, Stop the Hate, is from Legacy +, which combines two new albums: Stop the Hate by Femi Kuti and For(e)ward by his son Made Kuti. The groove of this music is infectious.

Hayley Williams/First Thing to Go

Hayley Williams, who was born and raised in Mississippi, is a singer-songwriter and musician. She’s best known as lead vocalist and keyboarder of Paramore, a rock band from Franklin, Tenn. she co-founded in 2004. According to her profile on Apple Music, Williams was already signed to Atlantic Records as a solo pop artist at age 15 before she insisted on going in an edgier alt-rock direction with her high-school pals in tow. As Paramore became fixtures on the mid-2000s Warped Tour circuit, Williams represented an orange-haired beacon for girls looking to elbow their way into the predominantly male mosh pit that was the pop-punk scene…Outside the band, Williams has crowd-surfed far away from her punk roots. After releasing two EPs, Petals for Armor I and Petals for Armor II, in February and April 2020, respectively, her first full-length solo album Petals for Armor appeared in May 2020. It combines songs from the EPs with some new tracks. First Thing to Go is the opener of Williams’ new sophomore release FLOWERS for VASES/decansos. She wrote and recorded the entire album by herself at her home in Nashville. I like the stripped back approach.

Foo Fighters/Making a Fire

While it’s safe to assume Foo Fighters need no introduction to most readers, admittedly, I know next to nothing about this rock band from Seattle, other than it’s fronted by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl who is the band’s lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter. I also previously heard a song or two. I didn’t realize Foo Fighters have been around for more than 25 years. In addition to Grohl, the current line-up includes Pat Smear (guitar), Chris Shiflett (guitar), Rami Jaffee (keyboards), Nate Mendel (bass) and Taylor Hawkins (drums). Except for Jaffee who joined in 2017, all other members of the band have played together for more than 15 years. Making a Fire, credited to Foo Fighters, is the opener of the band’s new and 10th studio album Medicine at Midnight.

Archie Shepp & Jason Moran/Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child

I’d to wrap things up with new jazz by saxophone player Archie Shepp who teamed up with Jason Moran, a jazz pianist, for a new album titled Let My People Go. Both of these artists are entirely new to me. Shepp, who is 83 years old, has been active since 1960. Over his 60-year-plus career, he has been on close to 100 records and played with Cecil Taylor, John Coltrane, Dave Burrell, Chet Baker and Frank Zappa, among others. Forty-six-year-old Jason Moran recorded his debut album Soundtrack to Human Motion in 1999 and has since released 14 additional albums as a bandleader. He has also been a sideman for Steve Coleman, Bunky Green, Charles Lloyd and Greg Osby, among others. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child is the opener of the above noted Let My People Go. It starts with very relaxing piano and saxophone music before Sheep starts singing at about 5:17 into the tune, which based on the description of the YouTube clip is a “negro spiritual” by an unknown writer. Just beautiful to listen to and also fascinating to watch these two artists from different generations.

Sources: Wikipedia; Femi Kuti website; Apple Music; YouTube