Happy Saturday and welcome to my weekly new music review. All picks are from albums that dropped yesterday (January 19).
Feral Family/Sold
Let’s kick things off with British post-punk band Feral Family and music from their debut album Without Motion. The trio features Jamie Lowe (vocals, bass), Oscar Woods (guitar) and Aidan Riby (drums). A statement notes the album is about growing-up and getting-by in a seaside town long-forgotten by the tourists but one overrun with complex characters and even more complex relationships. Here’s Sold co-written by Lowe (lyrics) and Woods (music). “Sold is based on life being taken over by work, it quickly gets to a point in your day to day where working to live becomes living to work, and I think it’s one that many people can relate to,” Lowe explained. It’s got a pretty cool haunting vibe.
Lizzie No/The Heartbreak Store
Lizzie No is a New York-based singer-songwriter, harpist and guitarist. From her bio: You could say that Lizze No makes “Americana” music, in that her work pulls from the rhythms and traditions of Blues, Folk, and Country — not unlike the artists to whom she’s most often compared: Allison Russell, Rhiannon Giddens and Adia Victoria — but her collaborations with Brian Dunne, Pom Pom Squad and Domino Kirke display an undeniable Indie influence that allows No to move frequently and seamlessly between overlapping musical circles. No’sdebut album Hard Won appeared in March 2017. From her third and latest album Halfsies, here’s The Heartbreak Store. I love No’s beautiful vocals and the song’s warm sound!
CobraKill/Razor Blade
CobraKill are a hard rock and heavy metal band from Augustdorf, a small town in the West German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Formed by lead guitarist Randy White in 2020, the group recorded their first album Cobratör in the summer of 2021 in Dortmund, Germany. They name Judas Priest, W.A.S.P., Ratt and Mötley Crüe as influences. Apart from White, the current line-up includes Nick Adams (vocals), Tommy Gun (rhythm guitar), Crippler Ramirez (bass) and Toby Ventura (drums). Off their new sophomore album Serpent’s Kiss, let’s listen to Razor Blade. This is melodic and rocks nicely – the kind of heavy metal I find very accessible.
Eddie Berman/Heartbroken
Eddie Berman is a folk singer-songwriter whose rugged tonality is tempered by warm introspection, according to his Apple Music profile. He built a solid D.I.Y. career in the front half of the 2010s, self-releasing a pair of albums and touring throughout the U.S. and Europe. In addition to his own material, the Portland-based musician gained recognition for his stripped down acoustic covers of songs by Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, and others. Here’s Heartbroken, a song from Berman’s new album Signal Fire. Vocally, it reminds me a bit of present day Steve Forbert – really like this!
Packs/Missy
Packs is the moniker of Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist Madeline Link. After her 2018 debut album Ouch + B-Sides, Link turned Packs into a band who since May 2021 have released four albums. The indie rock group currently features Link (vocals, guitar), Dexter Nash (lead guitar), Noah O’Neil (bass) and Shane Hopper (drums, percussion). Missy, credited to all four members, is a track from Packs’ fifth and latest album Melt the Honey, which was recorded in Mexico. The Spanish vocals were provided by Lupita Rico. The song’s upbeat vibe drew me in.
Green Day/Strange Days Are Here to Stay
After the fifth upfront single Bobby Sox, which appeared on January 18, Green Day’s long-awaited new album Saviors is finally out. Their 14th studio project, which follows the cheerfully titled Father of All Motherfuckers from February 2020, seems to stick to the group’s style of combining grungy, primarily up-tempo rock with pop-oriented melodies, based on my initial impression. All lyrics were written by Billie Joe Armstrong (lead vocals, guitars), while the music is credited to all three members who in addition to Armstrong include Mike Dirnt (bass, backing vocals) and Tré Cool (drums, percussion). My pick Strange Days Are Here to Stay is a song that could have appeared on Green Day’s 1994 breakthrough album Dookie.
Sources: Wikipedia; Feral Family Bandcamp page; Lizzie No website; CobraKill website; Apple Music; Packs Bandcamp page; YouTube; Spotify
Christian's Music Musings 