Best of What’s New

I can’t believe it’s already been another week since the last Best of What’s New and that we’re at the end of July. This installment of my recurring new music feature includes an English goth punk-influenced rock group, a South African-turned-U.S. post grunge band, as well as an Americana singer-songwriter and a British retro soul artist who are both based in Nashville. All songs appeared on releases that came out yesterday (July 30).

Creeper/Midnight

Creeper are an English rock band from Southampton. Apple Music describes them as a versatile English goth-punk unit that draws inspiration from a deep well of post-punk, emo, and glam rock…Creeper was founded in 2014 by vocalist Will Gould, guitarists Ian Miles and Oliver Burdett, bassist Sean Scott, drummer Dan Bratton, and keyboardist Hannah Greenwood. They issued their eponymous debut EP shortly after formation, and in 2015 they inked a deal with Roadrunner Records and put out a second EP, The Callous Heart…A third EP, The Stranger, dropped the following year, and in 2017, Creeper unleashed their full-length debut, the well-received Eternity, In Your Arms. After seemingly announcing their breakup in 2018, the band unexpectedly returned a year later. In 2020 they unleashed their second album, the grandiosely titled Sex, Death & The Infinite Void. Yesterday, Creeper’s fourth EP American Noir appeared. Here’s Midnight, a melodic rocker co-written by Greenwood, Miles and Gould.

Parker McCollum/Wait Outside

Next up is Parker McCollum, a Nashville-based Americana singer-songwriter. While growing up in the Houston area, McCollum listened to artists like Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle. At age 13, he started playing the guitar and began writing his own songs. When he was 16, McCollum was performing at local venues. After his high school graduation, he moved to Austin. While starting to attend college there, he continued to perform. In June 2013, McCollum released his debut single Highway. His debut album Limestone Kid followed in February 2015. In June 2019, he signed with MCA Nashville. That label just issued his third and new album Gold Chain Cowboy. Here’s the opener Wait Outside co-written by him, Randy Rogers and producer Jon Randall – great sound and check out that slide guitar!

Yola/Barely Alive

British singer-songwriter Yola, born Yolanda Quartey, first entered my radar screen last October when I included her then-latest single Hold On in a previous Best of What’s New installment. Her powerful voice immediately grabbed my attention and subsequently led to the review of her compelling first full-length solo album Walk Through Fire from February 2019. Following a tough childhood characterized by poverty, and a period during which she was homeless, Yola managed to establish herself as a session singer in England. In 2005, she co-founded country-soul band Phantom Limb and recorded two studio albums and a live record with them. After the group dissolved and a hiatus, Yola launched her solo career and released a well received debut solo EP, Orphan Offering. Eventually, she came to the U.S. and met Dan Auerbach who produced her above noted first full length album. Barely Alive is the opener of Yola’s new sophomore release Stand For Myself that was produced by Auerbach as well. Together with Joy Oladokun, he also co-wrote the tune with her. If you’re new to Yola and like retro ’70s style soul, check her out. I can hear a bit of Roberta Flack in her voice.

Seether/Wasteland

Seether are a post-grunge rock band founded as Saron Gas in Pretoria, South Africa in 1999. Their debut album Fragile came out in October 2000 on Johannesburg-based independent label Musketeer Records. After it came to the attention of American label Wind-up Records, they signed them, and the band relocated to the U.S. Due to the similarity to sarin gas, they were told to change their name, so they decided to call themselves Seether, after the song by American alternative rock band Veruca Salt, one of their influences. Another one is Nirvana. Their first U.S. album Disclaimer was released in August 2002. Seven additional albums and six EPs have since appeared, including their new EP Wasteland-The Purgatory. Seether’s current line-up includes original member Shaun Morgan (lead vocals, guitar, piano), together with Corey Lowery (lead guitar, backing vocals), Dale Stewart (bass, guitar, backing vocals) and John Humphrey (drums, percussion). Here’s Wasteland written by Morgan.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; YouTube

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Best of What’s New

Another week came and flew by. I can’t believe we are already in June, and the official beginning of summer (June 20) is just two weeks away. As usual, Saturday means taking a look at newly released music. All featured songs are on albums that came out yesterday (June 4).

This collection leads with a pop rock band from down under that initially was formed in 1985, reemerged in December 2019, and is now out with their first new studio album in 11 years. There is also new music by a rock band from New Jersey and, no, it’s not Bon Jovi, as well as a singer-songwriter of Nigerian heritage and a psychedelic folk rock band, both based in Nashville.

Crowded House/Start of Something

New music by Crowded House came as a surprise to me, especially since I had associated Neil Finn with Fleetwood Mac. Of course, he officially joined the band together with former Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell in April 2018 after the firing of Lindsey Buckingham. Finn and Campbell subsequently went on tour with the Mac for their extensive 2018-2019 tour of North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Since the tour ended in November 2019, Fleetwood Mac have been in limbo. Mike Campbell went on to focus on his own band The Dirty Knobs and released their debut album in November 2020. And Finn decided to revive Crowded House, the Australian pop rock band he co-founded in Melbourne in 1985. After four studio albums the group broke up in June 1996. Following two reunions and two additional albums, Crowded House were on hiatus as of late 2016. In December 2019, Finn announced a new line-up that apart from him includes the band’s former producer Mitchell Froom (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), original co-founder Nick Seymour (bass), as well as Finn’s sons Liam Finn (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and Elroy Finn (drums, guitar). Start of Something, co-written by Liam Finn and Neil Finn, is a track off Dreamers Are Waiting, Crowded House’s new album, their first since Intriguer from June 2010.

Latewaves/Enough Is Enough

Latewaves are a rock band from Asbury Park, N.J. According to their website, they were formed in 2016 and include Mike Pellegrino (guitars, vocals), Howie Cohen (bass, vocals) and Shawna Grabowski (drums). In August 2017, they released Face Down, the lead single of their debut EP Partied Out that appeared the following month. Latewaves describe their sound as “full of rage and attitude” and “full of explosive, guitar driven riffs.” Based on what I’ve heard thus far, I think that’s a fair characterization. I would also add their songs are relatively melodic. In that sense, they remind me a bit of Green Day. Here’s Enough Is Enough, a tune from their new and first full-length album Hell to Pay. The song is credited to all three members of the band.

Joy Oladokun/Someone That I Used to Be

Joy Oladokun is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter who grew up in Casa Grande, Ariz. Both of her parents came to the U.S. as immigrants from Nigeria. According to her profile on Apple Music, Oladokun’s music fuses the deep emotions and confessional nature of classic singer/songwriters with music that encompasses contemporary folk, R&B, and pop…While she has been playing guitar since childhood, it wasn’t until 2015 that Oladokun quit her job and took a shot at realizing her dream of making music full-time. She released a solo acoustic EP, Cathedrals, that year and followed it up with 2016’s Carry, a full-band effort that included the single “Shelter,” which introduced her to a wider online audience...Full of personal, emotionally powerful songs, Carry helped Oladokun expand her audience, and she followed it up with touring in the United States and the United Kingdom. Someone That I Used to Be is the opener of Oladokun’s new and third studio album In Defense of My Own Happiness. I like it!

Sun Seeker/Gettin’ Tired

Sun Seeker are a psychedelic folk rock band from Nashville. Initially formed as a quartet of friends who had known each other from middle school, the band’s current line features Alex Benick (guitar, vocals), Asher Horton (bass guitar), and Ben Parks (drums), according to their website. Their Apple Music profile notes the band’s debut single appeared in 2016 after they had been signed by Third Man. The first EP Biddeford was released in the summer of the following year. Gettin’ Tired, co-written by Benick, Horton and Park, is a tune from Sun Seeker’s first full-length album A Sunrise in a Basement. I find this quite catchy.

Sources: Wikipedia; Latewaves website; Apple Music; Sun Seeker website; YouTube