Yearend Musings Part 1

Happy Saturday and I hope everybody has been enjoying the holiday season. As 2022 is beginning to wind down, it’s time to revisit new music released this year. I decided to do this in two parts. Part 1, which draws on my weekly Best of What’s New feature, looks back at some of the new songs I like. Part 2 focuses on new albums that speak to me. To avoid overlap between the two parts, I won’t feature any tunes in part 1 that are on albums highlighted in part 2.

Following are 12 tunes released this year, one from each month. I’m doing this in chronological order. There’s also a Spotify playlist at the end, which includes all highlighted and some additional 2022 tunes.

John Mayall/Can’t Take No More (feat. Marcus King)

I’d like to kick off this post with the amazing John Mayall, who on November 29 turned 89. On January 28, the Godfather of the British Blues released The Sun is Shining Down, a true late-stage career gem I reviewed here. The soulful blues rocker Can’t Take No More, penned by Mayall, features Marcus King on guitar.

Gregor Barnett/Driving Through the Night

On February 19, Gregor Barnett released his debut solo album Don’t Throw Roses in My Grave during COVID downtime for The Menzingers, the Philadelphia-based punk band he co-founded in 2006. Driving Through the Night was written by Barnett like all other tracks on the Americana rock-focused album, a departure from his more punk-leaning music with The Menzingers.

Young Guv/Couldn’t Leave U If I Tried

Young Guv is a solo project of Toronto-based guitarist and vocalist Ben Cook. After playing in two Canadian hardcore punk bands, Cook launched a solo career in 2015 and has since released five power pop-oriented albums under the Young Guv moniker. I immediately loved the beautiful Byrdsy-sounding Couldn’t Leave U If I Tried, included on Guv III, his fourth album that came out on March 11.

The Linda Lindas/Talking to Myself

When I first came across The Linda Lindas in early March, I was struck by the energy of this Los Angeles-based all-female punk pop and garage band. The four-piece was founded in 2018 when their members were still young teenagers. Talking to Myself is a tune from the group’s first full-length album Growing Up, which appeared on April 8.

49 Winchester/All I Need

Va.-based 49 Winchester describe their music as “tear-in-your-beer alt-country, sticky barroom floor rock-n-roll, and high-octane Appalachian folk.” Formed in the mid-2010’s, the group has put out four albums to date. Lynyrd Skynyrd-flavored country rocker All I Need appears on their most recent Fortune Favors the Bold, released on May 13.

Lettuce/RV Dance

American jazz and funk band Lettuce were formed in Boston in the summer of 1992 when all of their founding members attended Berklee College of Music as teenagers. Initially a short-lived venture for just one summer, the group reunited in 1994 and released their debut in 2002. RV Dance is a groovy track from their latest album Unify, which came out on June 3. As I said at the time, you could picture James Brown singing to this great tune!

Dawes/Ghost in the Machine

Los Angeles-based folk rock band Dawes emerged from Simon Dawes in 2009 after that rock group’s co-songwriter Blake Mills had left. His departure did not only result in a new name but also in a change of music style from post-punk to folk rock. Here’s Ghost in the Machine, a cool tune from the group’s eighth and most recent studio album Misadventure of Doomscroller, out since July 22.

Marcus King/Blood On the Tracks

Guitarist and songwriter Marcus King is one of the most exciting young contemporary artists in my book. The 26-year-old has been on stage since he was 8 when he started performing alongside his family. Here’s the soulful rocker Blood On the Tracks from King’s second solo album Young Blood released on August 26.

Ringo Starr/Free Your Soul (feat. Dave Koz and José Antonio Rodriguez)

“Every band deserves a Ringo.” Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I read that great quote, which perfectly describes Ringo Starr. The ex-Beatles drummer always has been all about the music, never about himself. A perfect illustration is the All-Starr Band, his touring rock supergroup Ringo formed in 1989. Now 82 years young, he’s still rocking – and recording! Free Your Soul is the smooth closer of Starr’s most recent release, an EP titled EP 3 that appeared on September 16.

The Star Crumbles/Desperately Wanting

The Star Crumbles is a cool music project by fellow blogger Marc Schuster from Abnominations and his friend Brian Lambert. After meeting on Twitter and working together on one of Lambert’s songs earlier this year, they hit it off and decided to form The Star Crumbles. Both are into ’80s music and bands like The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, New Order and Ultravox, which is noticeable on their first album The Ghost of Dancing Slow released on October 7. Here’s one of my favorites, Desperately Wanting.

Larkin Poe/Southern Comfort

Sister act Larkin Poe have been among my favorite contemporary artists since they entered my radar screen a few years ago. Not only are Rebecca Lovell and her slightly older sister Megan Lovell great songwriters, but they are also really talented musicians and sing together in perfect harmony. Southern Comfort is a sizzling southern blues rocker from their sixth full-length album Blood Harmony, which came out on November 11 and which I reviewed here.

Mthunzi Mvubu/Mom vs the Bad Man

The final pick I’d like to highlight is by South African-based saxophonist, flute player and composer Mthunzi Mvubu. Playing professionally since he was 14, Mvubu has traveled globally with jazz luminaries since he was 18. Mom vs the Bad Man is a track from The 1st Gospel, Mvubu’s debut album as a leader, released on December 2.

Last but not least, here’s the above-mentioned Spotify playlist. While finding new music I sufficiently like can be quite time-consuming, I feel it’s been another rewarding year. Hope there’s something here that speaks to you as well!

Sources: Wikipedia; 49 Winchester website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

It’s Saturday again, and welcome to another installment of my weekly new music revue. All featured tunes came out yesterday (December 2). Without further ado, let’s get to it.

NOFX/Darby Crashing Your Party

Kicking off this post are punk rock band NOFX who were founded in Los Angeles in 1983. Following numerous personnel changes in the group’s early days, their current line-up has been in place since 1991 and includes founding members Fat Mike (vocals, bass), Eric Melvin (guitar) and Erik Sandin (drums), along with El Hefe (lead guitar, trumpet). After a demo, Thalidomide Child, in 1984, NOFX released a self-titled EP in 1985. Their first full-length studio album Liberal Animation came out in 1988. This brings me to Double Album, the band’s 15th and latest album and the opener Darby Crashing Your Party. Unlike other punk I’ve heard, NOFX’s music is pretty easy on the ears. Lyrically, these guys don’t seem to take themselves too seriously.

Brendan Benson/I Missed the Plane

Next up is new music by American singer-songwriter Brendan Benson. From his AllMusic bio: A Michigan-bred singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who occupies the more rock-driven end of the power pop spectrum, Brendan Benson earned critical acclaim during the front half of the 2000s with albums like Lapalco and The Alternative to Love. Benson’s profile was significantly raised when he and fellow Michigander Jack White formed the rock & roll supergroup the Raconteurs, cracking the Top Ten in the U.K. and America with a pair of highly regarded albums in 2006’s Broken Boy Soldiers and 2008’s Consolers of the Lonely. Benson remains a member of The Raconteurs and has also continued to release solo albums, including Low Key, his eighth and latest one. Let’s check out I Missed the Plane, written by Benson. I really like this!

White Lung/Mountain

I believe this is the first Best of What’s New installment featuring two punk bands. I also don’t recall having had a punk group from Canada. White Lung were formed in Vancouver in 2006. From their Apple Music profile: White Lung coalesce influence of riot grrrl, post-punk, and hardcore punk into their own dynamic, take-no-prisoners sound. They first grabbed audiences’ attention as part of the Vancouver Emergency Room art space scene of the 2000s with albums like 2010’s It’s the Evil and 2012’s Sorry. While the raw intensity of punk remains a core aesthetic, they’ve honed their approach, tackling issues of feminism, body dysmorphioa, and sexual assault – issues that drove 2014’s Deep Fantasy and 2016’s Paradise. White Lung – Mish Barber-Way (vocals), Kenneth William (guitar) and Anne-Marie Vassiliou (drums) – are now out with Premonition, their first album in more than five years. The band’s website describes it as chaotic, bold, and hook-driven,…a whirlwind of driving drums, intricate guitar work, and no-holds-barred lyrics about motherhood, pregnancy, and growth – couldn’t have said it any better! Here’s Mountain credited to all three members of the group, as well as producer Jesse Gandner. Similar to NOFX, my pop ear is receptive to this melodic type of punk.

Adeem the Artist/Redneck, Unread Hicks

Adeem the Artist (born Adem Bingham), aka Adeem Maria, is a country singer-songwriter. The non-binary and pansexual artist began performing on cruise ships in their 20s. After moving to Knoxville, Tenn., they began to record music. In 2021, following several independent albums put out via Bandcamp, they released Cast-Iron Pansexual, an album largely funded through Patreon. Now they’re back with White Trash Revelry. Here’s Redneck, Unread Hicks, which Adeem told Apple Music they wrote to draw a more refined picture of the South. “It becomes really easy to, I don’t know, kind of view the South through a very myopic lens,” he said. Pointing to Martin Luther, Jr., a local founder of Black Lives Matters and “a lot of queer folks who have fought hard”, he added, “There’s a lot more diversity here and a lot more nuance than people want to give it credit for.” I feel stereotypes about folks from the South are quite common, even in music (think of Neil Young’s Southern Man). Adeem is to be commended for addressing this topic.

The Rolling Stones/Happy (Live)

My last pick for this week are The Rolling Stones with Happy. ‘Wait a moment,’ you may think, ‘that song is 50 years old, how can it be new?’ Well, yeah, but it’s my friggin’ blog, isn’t it? On a more serious note, yes, the Stones first included the tune on their May 1972 gem Exile on Main St. It also appeared separately as a single in July of the same year. But they also just newly released a live version as the first track of their upcoming album and concert film GRRR Live!, and that’s good enough for me. Slated for February 10, 2023, it comes less than one year after El Mocambo 1977, which appeared in May this year and was just covered by fellow blogger Jim, aka. the Music Enthusiast. GRRR Live! includes 24 tracks captured in December 2012 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. during the Stones’ 50th-anniversary tour. It features guest appearances by The Black Keys (Who Do You Love?), Gary Clark Jr. & John Mayer (Going Down), Lady Gaga (Gimme Shelter), Mick Taylor (Midnight Rambler) and Bruce Springsteen (Tumbling Dice). While I don’t know yet whether it will be as great as El Mocambo 1977, it certainly looks like fun and the version of Happy makes this Stones fan, well, pretty happy. Here’s a teaser clip about the album and film the Stones tweeted out. BTW, we’re now 10 years down the road from that gig, which means the Stones have now been together for 60 years – mind-boggling!

Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist of the above and a few additional tunes!

Sources: Wikipedia; AllMusic; Apple Music; White Lung website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

Happy Saturday and welcome to another installment of Best of What’s New. While the first two tracks are included in releases that came out yesterday (July 15), the two remaining tunes are picks from upcoming albums. Let’s get to it.

Interpol/Renegade Hearts

Interpol are an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1997. Apple Music calls them a key player in the 2000s post-punk revival with a dark, atmospheric sound that’s influenced such successors as The Killers. Here’s a bit more from their profile: BBC Radio 1 host John Peel liked their demo and asked them to record a session for his show, leading to a deal with Matador Records. Interpol’s debut LP, 2002’s Turn On the Bright Lights, was named one of the top albums of the decade by Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. In 2004, the band had their first Top 20 US hit, “Slow Hands”…Their major-label debut, 2007’s Our Love to Admire, was their biggest chart success, debuting in the Top 5 in both the US and the UK. The band’s current lineup includes co-founders Paul Banks (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, bass) and Daniel Kessler (lead guitar, piano, keyboards, backing vocals), as well as Sam Fogarino (drums, percussion). Renegade Hearts, credited to all three members, is a track from Interpol’s seventh and new studio album The Other Side of Make-Believe.

Zach Bryan/Oklahoma Smoke Show

Zach Bryan is a talented red dirt country singer-songwriter I featured in previous Best of What’s New installments here and here. Red dirt is a music genre named after the color of soil found in Oklahoma, which includes elements of Americana, folk, alt-country and a few other genres. Soon after receiving his first guitar as a 14-year-old, Bryan learned how to play and started writing songs. Later he followed in the footsteps of his family and enlisted in the Navy. But he didn’t give up music, and during a break in Jacksonville, Fla., Bryan and his friends spontaneously decided to record some tunes that would become his 2019 debut album DeAnn. Two additional full-length studio albums have appeared since, including an ambitious 34-track triple album that just came out in May. Oklahoma Smoke Show is a song from Bryan’s latest release, Summertime Blues, an EP.

Marcus King/Blood On The Tracks

Marcus King is another great artist who I’m happy to say I covered on previous occasions here and here. From the 26-year-old’s website: GRAMMY® Award-nominated artist, performer, and songwriter Marcus King was downright destined to play music. By eight-years-old, the fourth generation Greenville, SC native performed alongside pops, grandpa, and his uncles for the first time. Logging thousands of miles on the road as “The Marcus King Band,” he established himself with unparalleled performance prowess and a dynamic live show. During 2020, he linked up with Dan Auerbach [The Black Keys] and cut his solo debut El Dorado, garnering a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Americana Album.” In between packing venues on his own, he performed alongside Chris Stapleton, Greta Van Fleet, and Nathanial Rateliff in addition to gracing the bills of Stagecoach and more with one seismic show after the next. Along the way, he caught the attention of Rick Rubin and signed to American Recordings. Here’s Blood On The Tracks from King’s second solo album Young Blood, scheduled for August 26. His debut on American Recordings will be produced by Auerbach, who also co-wrote the tune with King and Desmond Child. Love this song and really looking forward to the album!

Julian Lennon/Breathe

I’d like to wrap up this week’s new music revue with an artist I thought essentially had retired from music. After all, Julian Lennon has become involved in many other endeavors over the past 20-plus years, including photography, publishing children’s books and producing film documentaries. His 1984 debut album Valotte was great. While I selfishly loved that the title track could have been a John Lennon ballad, I think it was smart for Julian to subsequently record songs that sounded different from his father. After his 1991 single Saltwater, his last more significant chart success, he kind of fell off my radar screen. On September 9, Julian Lennon will be back with Jude, his first new album in 11 years. The title is a nod to the legendary song ‘Hey Jude,’ by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney to comfort 5-year-old Julian following his parents’ separation, according to an announcement on Lennon’s website. “Many of these songs have been in the works for several years, so it almost feels like a coming-of-age album,” said Lennon. With great respect for the overwhelming significance of the song written for me, the title JUDE conveys the very real journey of my life that these tracks represent.” Here’s Breathe co-written by Lennon and Peter-John Vettese.

Last but not least, following is a Spotify playlist featuring the above and some additional tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; Julian Lennon website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

It’s hard to believe another week has flown by. I’m happy to present my latest picks of newly released music. This time, the collection features red dirt country (yes, apparently that’s a music genre), a beautiful melodic acoustic tune by a New York rock band, an indie rock artist from New Zealand, a longtime singer-songwriter taking on an iconic Steely Dan tune, as well as an artist who has been associated with various genres like new wave, post-punk, R&B, rap and indie rock – or is it perhaps music folks trying to slap a label on him? Let’s get to it!

Zach Bryan/Quiet, Heavy Dreams

Zach Bryan is a young singer-songwriter hailing from Oklahoma. An artist profile on Apple Music calls him a plaintive, quivering country troubadour indebted to the literary side of Red Dirt Country. According to Wikipedia, red dirt is a music genre named after the color of soil found in Oklahoma, which includes elements of Americana, folk, alt-country and a few other genres. Soon after receiving his first guitar as a 14-year-old, Bryan learned how to play and started writing songs. Later he followed in the footsteps of his family and enlisted in the Navy. But he didn’t give up music, and during a break in Jacksonville, Fla., Bryan and his friends spontaneously decided to record some tunes that would become his 2019 debut album DeAnn. Encouraged by a favorable reception among red dirt fans, he recorded his follow-on Elisabeth that appeared in May this year. Quiet, Heavy Dreams is the title track of Bryan’s new EP released today (November 27). His voice and the bare bones approach drew me in.

Bayside/Light Me Up

Bayside are a rock band named after the neighborhood in Queens, New York, where they were founded in October 2000 by lead vocalist Anthony Raneri and his childhood friend Mike Kozak (drums). Kozak left the following year to form his own group. Bayside released their debut album Sirens and Condolences in January 2004. The eponymous sophomore album from August 2005 was the band’s first to chart in the U.S., peaking at no. 153 on the Billboard 200. They have since released six additional full-length albums. Their catalog also features a live album and 10 EPs. The band’s line-up has changed various times over the years and currently includes Jack O’Shea (lead guitar, backing vocals), Nick Ghanbarian (bass, backing vocals) and Chris Guglielmo (drums, percussion), along with Raneri, the only remaining original member. Light Me Up is a single credited to all members of the band, released on November 20. It’s from Bayside’s upcoming 11th EP Acoustic Volume Three, which is scheduled for December 11. Check out the melodic sound of this tune and the harmony singing – love it!

KennyHoopla/Estella (feat. Travis Barker)

KennyHoopla is a 23-year-old Milwaukee-based singer-songwriter who was born as Kenneth La’ron in Cleveland. According to his Apple Music artist profile, he emerged out of the midwestern underground in the latter years of the 2010s with a series of buzz-worthy singles that merged aspects of new wave, post-punk, and R&B...Hoopla began making music at a young age, influenced by acts like Funeral Suits, Passion Pit, and the Drums…His early tracks were loosely labeled rap, though his dark-toned, guitar-based songs and aching contemplative vocals had more in common with indie rock and alt-R&B. He gained traction both regionally and online with 2017’s “Waves//” single and its 2018 follow-up, “Sickness.” Admittedly, I had never of heard of these tunes or KennyHoopla before. With so many genres flying around in the above profile, it also appears to be tricky to characterize his music. I’ve said it before and say it again: It all comes down to whether music speaks to you, not the genre. And there’s something about Hoopla’s new single Estella, which came out on November 20, featuring Travis Barker, drummer of American pop rock band Blink-182. At just under two minutes, it could almost be a contemporary version of a Ramones tune.

Emily Edrosa/Drinking During the Day

Emily Edrosa is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Auckland, New Zealand. According to a bio on the website of her record label Park The Van, Edrosa had fronted New Zealand indie rock band Street Chant for 10 years before she decided to relocate to Los Angeles in 2016 and start over. While living there, she continued to work on songs that ended up on her new solo record Another Wave Is Coming released November 20. Edrosa wrote the parts for all instruments. Except for the drums, which were provided by Bosh Rothman (U.S.) and New Zealand peers Alex Freer and Liz Stokes, she also played all instruments by herself. A review of the album in No Depression notes Edrosa recently returned to New Zealand. Here’s Drinking During the Day. Check out the neat transition from mid tempo to a slower pace starting at around 2:24 minutes with a somewhat Beatle-esque guitar part – pretty cool!

Bill Callahan/Deacon Blues (feat. Bill Mackay)

Let me preface this last clip by saying that Steely Dan are one of my all-time favorite bands and their album Aja from September 1977 is music perfection to my ears. As such, I think covering Deacon Blues, one of the album’s tracks that also happens to be my favorite Dan tune, does take a good deal of self-confidence. American singer-songwriter and guitarist Bill Callahan, who has been around for three decades, not only decided to take on the challenge but turn the jazz pop-oriented original co-written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker into a stripped back acoustic version. In addition to Callahan, this cover only features composer and guitarist Bill MacKay and Bonnie “Prince” Billy, the adopted artist name of American singer-songwriter Joseph Will Oldham. With no horns and most other instruments that are on Steely Dan’s original and Callahan’s voice sounding much closer to Yusuf/Cat Stevens than Donald Fagen, this is quite different. I imagine not all Dan fans may be with me here, but I think Callahan did an amazing job, making an iconic tune truly his own.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; Park The Van website; No Depression; YouTube