After a two-week hiatus due to a vacation in Germany, I’m happy to be back. The first two songs highlighted in this post are from albums that were released yesterday (August 12). The two remaining picks reflect music that appeared while I was out. Let’s get to it!
Tony Molina/The Last Time
Kicking things off today is Tony Molina. From his Apple Music profile: California native Tony Molina spent years working in the punk and hardcore scenes before venturing out into his much poppier solo work. Living in the Bay Area, Molina played in various D.I.Y. hardcore acts starting in his teenage years. In 2013, while still fronting the much more aggressive Caged Animal, Molina released his solo debut, Dissed and Dismissed, a collection of 12 short and fuzzy tunes that took notes from ’90s indie and power pop acts like Weezer, Dinosaur Jr., and Teenage Fanclub. The incredibly brief album (the 12 tunes rush by in as many minutes) caught the ears of various labels and booking agents, and within the year, Molina was scheduled to release singles with indie luminaries like Matador and Slumberland. Fast forward nine years to Molina’s third solo album In the Fade. Here’s The Last Time, a nice fuzzy rocker!
Collective Soul/Reason
The first time I heard of Collective Soul was in March 1993 when they seemingly emerged out of nowhere with their debut single Shine. I immediately dug what became their biggest hit to date. Then the alternative rock band completely fell off my radar screen. Frankly, I had no idea they are still around and have since released 10 additional studio albums, including their latest titled Vibrating. Three of the group’s founding members are still part of the current line-up: Ed Roland (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), his brother Dean Roland (rhythm guitar) and Will Turpin (bass, percussion backing vocals). Jesse Triplett (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Johnny Rabb (drums, percussion) have been with the band since 2014 and 2012, respectively. Reason, penned by Ed Roland, is a nice melodic rock tune.
Sheryl Crow/Circles
I trust Sheryl Crow, one of my favorite pop rock artists, needs no further introduction. When Crow released Threads in August 2019, she said her 11th studio album would be her last full-length effort, citing changed listening habits in the era of music streaming. I reviewed it here at the time. But the singer-songwriter also noted this didn’t mean retirement or no more new music. While Crow hasn’t been exactly prolific since Threads, she has followed through on her announcement. The latest example is her rendition of Circles, a tune written by Post Malone who first released the song as a single in August 2019, off his third studio album Hollywood’s Bleeding that appeared in September of the same year. Crow put out her cover of the tune as a single on August 2.
Tedeschi Trucks Band/Emmaline
My last pick for this Best of What’s New installment is Emmaline, a song off Tedeschi Trucks Band’s I Am the Moon: III. The Fall, the third of their ambitious four-album I Am the Moon studio project, released July 29. I covered the first two installments here. The fourth and final album I Am The Moon: IV. Farewell is scheduled for August 23. I Am The Moon is the fifth studio effort by Tedeschi Trucks Band, a group founded in 2010 by married couple Susan Tedeschi (guitar, vocals) and slide guitar virtuoso Derek Trucks, who among others was a member of The Allman Brothers Band from 1999 until they disbanded in 2014. Emmaline was written by Mike Mattison, one of the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s harmony vocalists – great tune!
This post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist of the above and a few additional tunes.
Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; YouTube; Spotify
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