Best of What’s New

Welcome to Best of What’s New, and I hope your Saturday is groovy. In this installment of my weekly new music revue, I decided to feature six tunes. The first five tracks are from releases that came out yesterday (April 14), while the final song appeared on April 7.

Kara Jackson/Pawnshop

Kara Jackson is a poet, published book author and singer-songwriter hailing from Oak Park, Ill. She was named the 2019 U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate. The title is awarded annually to a young person who, according to Wikipedia, demonstrates skill in the arts, particularly poetry and/or spoken word, is a strong leader, is committed to social justice, and is active in civic discourse and advocacy. In 2019, Jackson released her debut EP A Song for Every Chamber of the Heart. Now she’s out with her first full-length album Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? Here’s Pawnshop, a great tune co-written by Jackson, Kaina Castillo and Sen Morimoto.

Fruit Bats/Waking Up in Los Angeles

Fruit Bats are an indie folk rock band around singer-songwriter Eric D. Johnson. The group I first featured in a March 2021 Best of What’s New installment, was initially founded in 1997 in Chicago as a side project for Johnson who also led space rock group I Rowboat and played guitar in several other bands. Fruit Bats evolved into a band in 2001 when I Rowboat members  Dan Strack (guitar) and Brian Belval (drums) joined Johnson’s project. They released their debut album Echolocation in September that year. Since then, the group has had many lineup changes, with Johnson remaining as the only constant member. Waking Up in Los Angeles, penned by Johnson, is from Fruit Bats’ latest and 10th studio album A River Running to Your Heart – pretty catchy!

Brian Dunne/Bad Luck

Brian Dunne is a singer-songwriter based in New York City. From his website: Born and raised in Monroe, NY, Dunne learned to roll with the hits when he moved to NYC roughly a decade ago, barely scraping by at first as he forged his early career one hard-fought show at a time…In the years that followed, he would go on to release a trio of widely respected albums, share bills with everyone from Cat Power to Caroline Rose, and earn praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, who hailed “Chasing Down A Ghost” from his most recent album, 2020’s Selling Things, as “a stunner.” In 2021, Dunne landed an unexpected hit in the Netherlands with “New Tattoo,” a standalone single that reached #2 on the Spotify Viral 50 and landed him on a slew of Dutch national TV and radio programs. This brings me to Dunne’s new album Loser On the Ropes, which as his website puts it explores defeat and denial, fortune and faith, shame and redemption, all set against the backdrop of a world run by blowhards and bullshitters who manage to perpetually skate by without cost or consequence. Unlike its title may suggest, Bad Luck, written by Dunne, sounds pretty upbeat.

Hippo Campus/Moonshine

Hippo Campus are an indie rock band from Saint Paul, Minn. They were formed in 2013 by five students who met at Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists: Jake Luppen (lead vocals, guitar), Nathan Stocker (lead guitar, vocals), Zach Sutton (bass, keyboards) and Whistler Isaiah Allen (drums, vocals). After three EPs in 2013, 2014 and 2015, they released their first full-length studio album Landmark in February 2017. In addition to the co-founders, it featured DeCarlo Jackson (trumpet), who also had studied at SPCPA. Moonshine, credited to the group’s co-founders, Caleb Wright and Raffaella Meloni, is a pleasant pop rock tune from the band’s new EP Wasteland.

Danko Jones/Guess Who’s Back

Danko Jones are a hard rock trio formed in Toronto in 1996 by frontman Danko Jones (vocals, guitar), John ‘JC’ Calabrese (bass) and Michael Caricari (drums). Following a succession of various drummers that started in 1999, the band’s line-up has been stable since 2013 when Rich Knox joined. From a press release: Powered by a DIY punk rock spirit, and inspired by the good, great and grotesque of electrified rock ‘n’ roll, they have steadily built a colossal international fan base and become one of the most acclaimed live bands around, embraced by everyone from mainstream radio-rock fans to diehard metalheads. Along the way, they have released ten widely praised studio albums, generating a peerless repertoire of fists-in-the-air crowd-pleasers into the bargain. Now they announced their forthcoming 11th studio album Electric Sounds, scheduled to drop September 15 on German rock/metal label AFM Records, and released the first track, Guess Who’s Back. Co-written by Calabrese and Knox, it’s a pretty kickass tune from what the above-mentioned press release called “the undisputed kings of balls-out rock’n’roll.”

Greta Van Fleet/Meeting the Master

This brings me to my last pick for this week, the first track from Greta Van Fleet’s upcoming third full-length studio album Starcatcher, scheduled for July 21. Greta Van Fleet, who I covered on various previous occasions, were formed in Frankenmuth, Mich. in 2012 by brothers Josh Kiszka (lead vocals), Jake Kiszka (guitars, backing vocals) and Sam Kiszka (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), along with Kyle Hauck (drums). Other than Hauck who was replaced by Danny Wagner in 2013, the band’s line-up hasn’t changed. Starcatcher, which follows April 2021’s The Battle at Garden’s Gate, was produced in Nashville by the band and Dave Cobb, who has worked with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen and Rival Sons. “We had this idea that we wanted to tell these stories to build a universe,” Wagner said about what appears to be a concept album in a statement, as reported by NME. “We wanted to introduce characters and motifs and these ideas that would come about here and there throughout our careers through this world.” Here’s Meeting the Master, which appeared on April 7 – sounds pretty epic!

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist of the above and a few additional tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; Brian Dunne website; NME; YouTube; Spotify

The Follow-Up: The Nude Party & The War And Treaty

My most recent Best of What’s New installment featured songs from the latest albums by The Nude Party and The War And Treaty. Typically, the picks for my weekly new music revues are informed by sampling just a few tunes from each album. Oftentimes, it’s only after these posts have been published that I find an opportunity to listen to the albums more closely.

Lately, I’ve realized more than once that some of these new releases clearly would deserve dedicated reviews. Since I rarely have the time to do that, I’ve decided to introduce The Follow-Up. The idea is to pair two albums I first highlighted in Best of What’s New and do abbreviated reviews of each in one post. Since much of the blog’s content already revolves around weekly features, I currently envisage publishing The Follow-Up on an irregular basis.

The Nude Party – Rides On

Rides On is the fourth studio album by The Nude Party, a band from North Carolina with a cool retro ’60s style sound. They were formed in 2012 by Patton Magee (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica), Shaun Couture (guitar, vocals), Don Merrill (piano, vocals), Alexander Castillo (bass, vocals), Austin Brose  (percussion, vocals) and Connor Mikita (drums), who at the time were freshmen at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. At the end of their freshman year, they all moved together to a house outside of town and learned how to play their instruments. 

The group quickly gained a following in Boone where they oftentimes performed in the nude at a local party venue. They became known as “the naked party band,” which in turn inspired their name The Nude Party. In 2014, they met Oakley Munson, the drummer of garage rock band Black Lips, who recorded their debut EP Hot Tub EP, released in early 2016. By early 2018, The Nude Party had secured a deal with New West Records, which was followed by their eponymous debut album in July 2018. Fast forward to March 10, 2023 and Rides On.

Since I just covered the excellent opener Word Gets Around in Best of What’s New, I’m skipping it here and go right to the next track, Hard Times (All Around). Like other tunes on the album, it’s credited to the band. I can hear some Rolling Stones in here. Apple Music characterizes The Nude Party’s music as “frat rock of the ’60s as well as the Velvet Underground.” I guess in some of the tunes I can detect traces of the latter as well.

Here’s another sample: Cherry Red Boots. I love the great guitar sound on this one. Check it out!

Other tunes on the album I dig in particular include Hey Monet, Polly Anne, Ride On and Somebody Tryin’ to Hoodoo Me. Frankly, I also could have called out any of the other tracks. I will say there isn’t a lot of musical variety but since the band’s style is right up my alley, I don’t mind! If you’re into ’60s rock music, you should give The Nude Party a spin. Here’s a Spotify link to the album:

The War And Treaty – Lover’s Game

The War And Treaty is the amazing husband and wife duo of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter (born Tanya Blount). From their website: Their name alone conjures images of struggle. Of epic conflict, sacrifice and the eventual birth of a lasting peace. For UMG Nashville’s The War And Treaty, that struggle is found within love itself…Founded in Michigan in 2014, hints of that truth have always been present…Wielding a sound which cuts through the whole of Southern music tradition – from blues, soul and R&B, to gospel, country, folk and rock – the duo has dominated stages across the globe, headlining their own shows and opening for a diverse group of living legends; Al Green, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, John Legend, Lauren Daigle, and Van Morrison among them.

Lover’s Game, which came out on March 10, is their third studio album. Apple Music notes Michael and Tanya co-wrote the songs rather than writing separately, which they apparently had done in the past. Lover’s Game was produced by Dave Cobb who has also worked with Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen and Rival Sons, among others.

Again, I’m skipping the tune I included in my most recent Best of What’s New, the smoking hot Ike & Tina Turner-reminiscent opener and title track, and highlight Blank Page, a powerful ballad. Check out this warm sound and the sweet soulful harmony singing – so good it gives me chills!

Most tunes on Lover’s Game are on the slow side except for the opener and the following mid-tempo song Ain’t No Harmin’ Me.

Other songs I’d like to call out include That’s How Love Is Made, The Best That I Have, Angel and Have You a Heart. Lover’s Game is a rich-sounding and pretty personal album. Going back one last time to The War And Treaty’s website: Spurred on by the anxiety of a pandemic, a surging career and all the couple stood to lose after years of hard work, their story plays out amid a transcendent sonic landscape, with both members crediting Cobb for their most elemental, stripped-down album to date. Here’s a Spotify link to it:

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; The War And Treaty website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

It’s Saturday, and I’d like to welcome everybody to another installment of my weekly new music revue. According to my count, this is the 150th Best of What’s New post. All four highlighted tunes are on albums that were released yesterday (March 10).

The Nude Party/Word Gets Around

Kicking things off is a great tune from the third and latest studio album Rides On by The Nude Party. I first featured this North Carolina group in January 2022 when covering their eponymous debut from July 2018. As I wrote at the time: The Nude Party were formed in 2012 when freshman students at  Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. decided to start a band. Their members are Patton Magee (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica), Shaun Couture (guitar, vocals), Don Merrill (piano, vocals), Alexander Castillo (bass, vocals), Austin Brose  (percussion, vocals) and Connor Mikita (drums). At the end of their freshman year, they all moved together to a house outside of town and learned how to play their instruments. It still almost sounds a bit like a fairytale! What’s very real is Word Gets Around, a cool-sounding rocker with a ’60s vibe, credited to the entire band!

The War and Treaty/Lover’s Game

And we’re on to The War and Treaty, a hot-sounding husband and wife duo of Michael Trotter, Jr. and Tanya Blount – and I’m happy to say another act I featured before, in October 2020. Borrowing from that post: Apple Music describes their style as impassioned soul music that draws on traditional folk, country, R&B, and spirituals, often combining them all. Initially known as Trotter & Blount, they released their debut album Love Affair under that name in 2016. This was followed by the EP Down to the River in July 2017, their first music appearing as The War and Treaty. Healing Tide, the first full-fledged studio album under the current moniker, came out in August 2018. The record, which featured a guest appearance of Emmylou Harris, was well received and reached no. 11 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums and no. 26 on the Independent Albums charts. Blount first became prominent in 1993, when she performed a duet with Lauryn Hill in the comedy picture Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. The following year, she released her solo debut album Natural Thing. This brings me to Lover’s Game, the smoking title track and opener of The War and Treaty’s third and new album. It’s credited to the duo and producer Dave Cobb who has also worked with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen and Rival Sons.

Meet Me @ The Altar/Same Language

Meet Me @ The Altar is a pop punk trio who has been around since 2015. Initially, Téa Campbell (guitar, bass) and Ada Juarez (drums) met on YouTube and developed a bond that led to their decision to form a band. Following an online audition, Edith Victoria (vocals) joined them in 2017. Three years later after they had publically been endorsed by pop punk veterans Alex Gaskarth and Dan Campbell, of the bands All Time Low and The Wonder Years, respectively, Meet Me @ The Altar went viral and were signed by label Fueled by Ramen in October of the same year. Their debut EP Model Citizen appeared in August 2021. Now Meet Me @ The Altar are out with their first full-length album Past // Present // Future. Here’s Same Language, a catchy tune.

The Luka State/Bring Us Down

Wrapping up this week’s Best of What’s New are English indie rock group The Luka State. From their AllMusic bio: A British indie rock band with a solid guitar attack and urgent melodies that are both catchy and powerful, the Luka State burst out of the mining town of Winsford, Cheshire in 2013, scoring an early success with the song “30 Minute Break.” A change in drummers coincided with a shift in the Luka State’s creative approach, as synthesizer lines began winding their way into their guitar-based arrangements on their 2015 EP The Price of Education. A steady stream of tracks followed before the band scored another success with 2018 single “Feel It.” Fast forward to March 10, 2023, and the band’s sophomore album More Than This. Here’s the opener Bring Us Down, credited to all four members of the band: Conrad Ellis (lead vocals), Lewis Pusey (guitar), Sam Bell (bass, vocals) and Jake Barnabas (drums).

This post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist of the above tracks, as well as a few additional tunes by each of the featured artists.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; AllMusic; The Luka State website; YouTube; Spotify

Up-And-Comer Myron Elkins Shines On Debut Album

Welcome to my second full-album review of 2023. Not only is it music by another contemporary artist, but it’s also brand new – a promising start of the year, which makes me very happy!

When I first came across Myron Elkins last Friday while doing research for my most recent Best of What’s New installment, I simply couldn’t believe I was listening to a 21-year-old artist. Based on his sound and especially his gritty vocals, you could picture this young singer-songwriter from Otsego, Mich. jam with the likes of The Allman Brothers Band, ZZ Top and Tom Petty back in the ’70s!

Photo: Jimmy Fontaine via Sacks & Co

Before getting to some music from Elkins’ debut album Factories, Farms & Amphetamines, released on January 13, I’d like to touch on his background story. According to his website, while being exposed to music as a kid, taught by his grandfather how to play guitar and starting to write his own songs at 14 or 15, Elkins did not set out to become a professional singer-songwriter. Instead, after high school graduation, the then-17-year-old became a welder in a local factory. Then his trajectory changed.

Three years ago, a relative signed Elkins up for a local battle of the bands competition, even though his music performance experience had been limited to the church and a few gigs at local bars. Elkins also had no band at the time, so he quickly gathered three cousins and a friend to join him. They had three weeks to rehearse. While Elkins’ band “only” came in second, the experience started to change his path.

Photo: Anna Sink

For the next three years, Elkins and his band members continued to practice nearly every day while working regular jobs. Recording in a studio was a big step forward for the nascent group, according to his website. Luckily, Elkins and his band were already fans of [producer] Dave Cobb’s live-band production style before signing with Elektra/Low Country Sound, and so they relished the chance to record with him at his studio, Nashville RCA Studio A. Cobb has worked with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine,  Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen and Rival Sons.

Time for some music. Here’s the album’s opener Sugartooth. To me, it sounds a bit like Tom Petty channeling Chuck Berry’s Memphis Tennessee. Check this out!

Since I highlighted the album’s title track in my aforementioned Best of What’s New installment, I’m skipping it here to go right to Hands To Myself. The groovy and soulful tune addresses the touchy subject of domestic use…You can hope you can pray that maybe someday/Someone will love someone will help and put you on some kind of shelf/Oh I swear ill never learn to keep my hands to myself…“I’m writing about where I come from,” Elkins explains on his website. “Things I’ve seen and things I’ve heard. I had only been out of Michigan one time—to Graceland—before I started the band, so that little part of Michigan is all I really knew when writing this album.”

Wrong Side Of The River has a country rock flavor. Elkins’ website notes the tune encourages embracing where you’re from, because a supportive home life can make all the difference even if you’re not living on the so-called right side of town.

On Nashville Money, a nice bluesy rocker, Elkins muses about life as a professional music artist…With that Nashville money/gonna take care of my hopes and dreams/With that Nashville money/Gonna make a big star out of me…

Let’s take a look at one more tune: Machine, a funky rock tune with a cool bass line.

As briefly noted above, Factories, Farms & Amphetamines was recorded live in studio at the storied RCA Studio A in Nashville. In early 2016, Dave Cobb took over the historic landmark for his Low Country Sound record label imprint. Apart from Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell, some of the other artists who worked there include The Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, Waylon Jennings, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn, The Monkees, Dolly Parton, Leon Russell and George Strait.

In addition to Elkins (guitar, vocals), the album also features the members of his touring band: Caleb Stamphler (guitar), Avery Whitaker (guitar), Nathan Johnson (bass) and Jake Bartlett (drums). Here’s a Spotify link to the entire album:

Reflecting on working with producer Dave Cobb, Elkins states on his website: “I came in with probably 30 songs that we had widdled down from 50-60. Dave would just sit down with us and say ‘ok, let’s hear what you got.’ He knew pretty quickly which ones he wanted to dive into, and from there, it was just kind of a Dave Cobb crash course. We’d only been in the studio one time before that, so there might have been a thing or two that we needed to learn.”

Encouraged by the experience, apparently, Elkins is already looking forward to recording more music. “Now when I’m writing songs, I have all these Dave-isms in my head—like, ‘Oh, yeah, there we go. All right, throw this here.’”, he notes. “Before we recorded Factories, Farms & Amphetamines, I thought maybe you had to be a superhero to make a record. Next time, it’s going be a little easier.”

Elkins is off to a great start as a recording artist, and he’s only 21 years old. I think we can look forward to more great music from this talented young artist.

Sources: Wikipedia; Myron Elkins website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

Hard to believe it’s Saturday and another week just flew by. This also means it’s time again to take a fresh look at new music releases. All featured tunes appear on albums that were released yesterday (January 13).

Margo Price/Been to the Mountain

Kicking off this new music revue is Nashville-based country singer-songwriter Margo Price. While growing up in the small town of Aledo, Ill., Price picked up the piano and sang in the church choir. She later started studying dance and theater at Northern Illinois University but decided to drop out at the age of 20 and moved to Nashville. While doing various odd jobs there, Price began developing a music career. After meeting her future husband, bassist Jeremy Ivy, they formed the group Buffalo Clover and subsequently Margo and the Pricetags. In March 2016, Price released her debut studio album Midwest Farmer’s Daughter. It was very well-received by music critics, topped the UK country charts and climbed to no. 10 on the U.S. country charts. Been to the Mountain is the opener of Price’s fourth and latest studio album Strays. Written by Price, the tune first appeared as the lead single in August 2022. I dig her rock-oriented sound, not what you may typically associate with country music!

Blessing Offor/Won’t Be Long Now

Blessing Offor is a Nigerian-born singer-songwriter who blends pop, R&B, gospel and soul. From his AllMusic bio: The youngest of six siblings, Offor was born with congenital glaucoma, which caused blindness in one eye. Sent by his parents to the United States with his uncle to receive medical care, he later lost sight in his other eye after injuring his retina in an accident involving a powerful water gun. He spent his formative years in Connecticut listening to Motown, jazz, and pop and began playing piano at the age of nine. As a teenager, Offor started writing his own songs, and he honed those skills further at Belmont University in Nashville. While Music City afforded him plenty of opportunities, his soulful pop style was an outlier, so he relocated to New York City. In 2014 he appeared on season seven of The Voice…He moved back to Nashville the following year with plenty of wind in his sails…In February 2022, Offor released his debut EP Brighter Days. Now he’s out with his first full-length album My Tribe. Here’s the soulful Won’t Be Long Now, co-written by Offor, Hank Bentley and Jessie Parker-Early. This beautiful tune first appeared on December 9.

Belle and Sebastian/So in the Moment

Scottish indie pop group Belle and Sebastian started out as a project in Glasgow in 1994 by Stuart Murdoch (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Stuart David (bass). They had both enrolled in a program for unemployed musicians at Stow College where together with their music professor they recorded some demos. This resulted in the release of their first full-length album Tigermilk on the college’s label Electric Honey. The album’s positive reception led Murdoch and David to recruit additional musicians and turn Belle and Sebastian into a full-time band. In August 1996, they signed with Jeepster Records and released their sophomore album If You’re Feeling Sinister in November of the same year. Today, the group consists of Murdoch, Stevie Jackson (guitar, vocals, piano), Sarah Martin (vocals, violin, guitar, flute, keyboards, recorder, percussion), Chris Geddes (keyboards, piano, percussion), Bobby Kildea (guitar, bass), Dave McGowan (bass, keyboards, guitar) and Richard Colburn (drums, percussion). So in the Moment, credited to all members of the group, is a track from their twelfth and new album Late Developers – a pleasant pop song!

Myron Elkins/Factories, Farms & Amphetamines

My final pick for this week is Myron Elkins, a compelling 21-year-old singer-songwriter from Otsego, Mich., whose music combines elements of classic rock, country and blues. According to his web bio, Elkins started working as a welder at the age of 17 after high school graduation and never intended to become a professional musician. His trajectory changed when a relative signed him up for a local battle of the bands competition. Even though Elkins had very limited live experience and put together a group only three weeks prior to the event, they came in second. More importantly, it made him realize music is what he wanted to do. Fast-forward four years to Elkins’ debut album Factories, Farms & Amphetamines. It was produced by Dave Cobb who has worked with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen and Rival Sons. Let’s check out the impressive title track. Unless you knew, you’d never guess you’re listening to a 21-year-old artist. He sounds like an “old soul” you could picture in the ’70s!

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify list of the above and a few additional tunes by each featured artist.

Sources: Wikipedia; AllMusic; Myron Elkins website; YouTube

The Sunday Six

After a busy week with two back-to-back “big ticket” concerts, I’m ready to take a short break from live shows and celebrate the beauty of music from home with another Sunday Six. Hope you’ll join me on my trip to visit six tunes of the past and the present.

Weather Report/Forlorn

Let’s get underway gently with some jazz fusion by Weather Report. Forlorn is a smooth track from their ninth studio album Night Passage, which came out in November 1980. The piece was composed by Austrian jazz keyboarder Joe Zawinul, who is regarded as one of the creators of jazz fusion. Zawinul co-founded Weather Report in 1970 with saxophone maestro Wayne Shorter. By the time Night Passage was released, the group also featured the amazing Jaco Pastorius (fretless bass), Robert Thomas Jr. (percussion) and Peter Erskine (drums). Weather Report would record six more albums before they disbanded in early 1986 after Shorter had left to focus on solo projects.

The Guess Who/Hand Me Down World

While I’ve only heard a handful of songs by The Guess Who, I know one thing for sure: I love this next tune! The Canadian rock band’s origins go back to 1958 when Winnipeg singer and guitarist Chad Allan formed a local group called Allan and the Silvertones. In January 1965, the band, then called Chad Allan & The Expressions, released their debut album Shakin’ All Over. The group’s cover of the Johnny Kidd & the Pirates song also became their fourth single. The band’s American label Quality Records thought it would be clever to disguise the group’s name by crediting the tune to Guess Who? Not only did the publicity stunt work but it also gave birth to the band’s new name. Hand Me Down World, written by lead guitarist Kurt Winter, is from The Guess Who’s seventh studio album Share the Land, released in October 1970. It also became one of their hit singles, reaching no. 10 in Canada and no. 17 in the U.S. A version of The Guess Who is still around and currently touring the U.S.

Tal Bachman/She’s So High

Let’s stay in Canada for this next pick from April 1999. There’s also another connection to the previous tune. Tal Bachman is the son of guess who? Yep, Randy Bachman, who in turn was a co-founder of The Guess Who and, of course, Bachman–Turner Overdrive. When I heard She’s So High in 1999, I loved it right away and got Tal Bachman’s eponymous debut album on CD. It’s pretty good power pop, and I’m a bit surprised Bachman junior only issued one additional studio album, Staring Down the Sun, in July 2004. Man, with this jangly guitar sound and the catchy melody, I still love this song as much as I did back in 1999. Beware, it might get stuck in your brain!

The Kinks/Till the End of the Day

After some catchy power pop music, I think it’s time for some ’60s rock, don’t you agree? I’ve said it before. The Kinks are among my favorite British rock bands, together with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who. Till the End of the Day, written by the great Ray Davies, first came out as a single in November 1965. Subsequently, it was also included on the band’s third studio album The Kink Kontroversy, which appeared a week after the single – clever and quite appropriate title. If you’d like to know why I’d encourage you to read this post by fellow blogger Dave from A Sound Day, who just discussed The Kinks’ volatile behavior the other day. Till the End of the Day became their sixth top ten single in the UK (no. 8). It was most successful in The Netherlands where it peaked at no. 6. Elsewhere, it charted in Germany (no. 19), Canada (no. 34), Australia (no. 63) and the U.S. (no. 50). Baby, I feel good!

Band of Horses/The Funeral

If I recall it correctly, it was on Eclectic Music Lover’s blog where I first learned about Band of Horses. In fact, his most recent Weekly Top 30s installment features Warning Signs, a tune by the indie rock band from Seattle, off their current album Things Are Great. Band of Horses have been around since 2004 and released six studio albums to date. The Funeral, despite its grim title, is a great tune from their March 2006 studio debut Everything All the Time. The music is credited to the entire group, with lyrics written by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell who has been the band’s sole constant member throughout numerous lineup changes. The Funeral also became Band of Horses’ debut single – check out that great sound!

Rival Sons/Pressure & Time

And once again it’s time to wrap up another Sunday Six. Let’s make it count with a kickass rocker by Rival Sons: Pressure & Time. The band from Long Beach, Calif. was founded in 2009 and still includes three original members: Jay Buchanan (lead vocals, harmonica, rhythm guitar), Scott Holiday (guitar, backing vocals) and Mike Miley (drums, backing vocals). Dave Beste (bass, backing vocals) who has been with the group since 2013 completes the current lineup. Pressure & Time, credited to the entire band, is the title track of the group’s sophomore album. Released in June 2011, it was their first to make the charts, climbing to no. 19 in the U.S. on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers. Wikipedia notes that while Rival Sons oftentimes are compared to ’70s rock, they have cited Prince, D’Angelo, The Roots, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf as influences. Whatever the case may be, when listening to Pressure & Time, I can hear some Zep in here, and that makes me really happy!

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

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

Goodbye June’s New Album Rocks, Classic Style

Goodbye June first entered my radar screen last December when I featured the title track of their then-forthcoming album See Where the Night Goes in a Best of What’s New installment. After listening to Breathe and Attack, which I included in my latest new music revue edition, it was an easy decision to dedicate an entire post to the group’s now-released fourth studio record, which came out on February 18.

See Where the Night Goes is the latest proof that while classic-style rock no longer is mainstream, it isn’t dead as is oftentimes claimed. Goodbye June, formed in Memphis, Tenn. in 2005, are part of what a July 2021 story in Guitar World called the New Wave of Classic Rock. Some of the other groups they noted in this context include Dirty Honey, Greta Van Fleet and Rival Sons. One band the story didn’t mention is Fortune Child, who were only founded in 2021 and may be the most recent in the pack. I featured one of their songs in yesterday’s Sunday Six installment.

Goodbye June are comprised of Landon Milbourn (lead vocals), Brandon Qualkenbush (rhythm guitar, bass, backing vocals) and Tyler Baker (lead guitar), who are all cousins. According to their AllMusic bio, they had first started making music together in their local church. The group was formed in honor of Baker’s brother who died in a car accident in June 2005. In 2009, they relocated to Nashville where they gained a reputation for their fiery live shows. Three years later, the band’s debut album Nor the Wild Music Flow came out.

Following extensive regional and some international touring, Goodbye June won first prize in 2014 in the Unsigned Music Competition. The band’s growing visibility led to a deal with Interscope Records. Their sophomore album Magic Valley appeared on that major label in May 2017. Let’s take a look at some music from See Where the Night Goes.

The album kicks off with Step Inside, credited to the three members of the band, as well as producer Paul Moak. The multi-instrumentalist from Nashville also contributed electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Clavinet, Mellotron, bass and percussion. Here’s the official video of the AC/DC-style rocker that pretty much sets the tone of the record.

Since I previously covered the title track and Breathe and Attack, I’m skipping these tunes here and go directly to Take a Ride. Like the opener, it was co-written by the band and Moak and is reminiscent of AC/DC as well. I could also see this tune on a Greta Van Fleet album.

Even high-energy rockers sometimes need to slow down. Here’s the rock ballad What I Need, credited to the band and Scott Stevens, another local Nashville artist. Call me crazy, I’m hearing some Lenny Kravitz here!

Let’s do two more: Here’s Baby, I’m Back, another Milbourn/Qualkenbush/ Baker/Moak co-write.

A tune titled Three Chords by a band like Goodbye June sounds promising, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint: Give ’em three chords/And the Holy Ghost/They’ll start a-moving/And shaking on the floor…Come on, boys, take us to rock & roll church!

Yes, Goodbye June aren’t exactly reinventing the classic rock wheel on See Where the Night Goes. And that’s precisely why I love it!

Sources: Wikipedia; Guitar World; AllMusic; Discogs; YouTube; Spotify

What I’ve Been Listening to: The Marcus King Band/Carolina Confessions

I first came across Marcus King in March 2020 when working on a post about the multinational music project Playing for Change and was immediately impressed. Taking a subsequent look at his solo debut album El Dorado in April that year confirmed my initial positive impression of the then-24-year-old guitarist and singer-songwriter from Greenville, S.C. And just last Friday, I was reminded of King who plays on a tune from John Mayall’s upcoming new album, which I included in my Best of What’s New installment that day. So I decided to explore more of his music.

According to King’s website, Marcus started learning guitar at age three or four. He has played professionally since he was 11 and always knew he wanted to make music his life. A fourth-generation musician, Marcus has followed in his family’s footsteps. His grandfather was a country guitarist, and his father continues to perform live. [His father is Marvin King, a well-known blues guitarist in South Carolina – CMM]

The Marcus King Band founded in Greenville, South Carolina in 2013, is his tight knit group. Drummer Jack Ryan, bass player Stephen Campbell, trumpeter/trombonist Justin Johnson, sax/steel guitarist Dean Mitchell along with Marcus—bring an irreplaceable combination of commitment, craft and soul to their work and are one of the hardest working bands today.

In 2015, The Marcus King Band released their debut album Soul Insight, which reached an impressive no. 8 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart. King was only 19 years at the time! Their eponymous sophomore release from 2016 did even better, climbing all the way to no. 2 on the blues chart. Carolina Confessions is the band’s third full-length LP that came in August 2018. Let’s take a closer look! Unless noted otherwise, all tunes were written by King.

Here’s the opener Where I’m Headed. All it takes is to listen to the first few bars to make two observations: The music is warm and rich, and King’s vocals sound very soulful – not what you’d expect from a then-22-year-old! The horns further boost the music’s soul vibe. This is so good!

Homesick is a great bluesy and funky tune. Again, the horns give this track a soulful vibe. Here’s a neat lyric video, in which you can see King and the band in action. He looks so young, and yet he sounds so mature!

Here’s How Long, another funky tune. It’s the only track that included other writers: Dan Auerbach, who produced King’s solo debut album, and Pat McLaughlin, a Nashville, Tenn.-based singer-songwriter whose tunes have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal and Al Kooper, among others.

Let’s do one more: Confessions, a slow-burning, blues-oriented rocker. I don’t mean to sound stereotypical here, but I just find it mind-boggling how a white artist in his early 20s can channel so much soulfulness in his singing. I mean, holy cow, check this out!

Carolina Confessions was recorded at the renowned RCA Studio A in Nashville, originally known as RCA Victor Nashville Sound Studios. The Beach Boys, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn and Leon Russell are among the many artists who have recorded at the storied studio.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6RVN0MPUbYBiYm2Otf6Li2?si=pyYqtK61TRSHFJyFpZcz3w

The album was produced and mixed by Dave Cobb who has worked with the likes of Rival Sons, The Highway Women, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell and John Prine. Like its predecessor, Carolina Confessions climbed to no. 2 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart. It also reached no. 2 on the Heatseekers Albums. I feel Marcus King has a bright future and look forward to hearing more music from this talented young artist.

Sources: Wikipedia; Marcus King Band website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

After the unprecedented events we witnessed in this country earlier this week, it feels somewhat surreal to blog about something completely unrelated. At the same time, the fact new music keeps coming out is reassuring to me. In fact, music has always had a degree of healing power during challenging times and provided a welcome distraction. While ignoring reality can be dangerous, I believe occasionally escaping from it is a good thing to clear your mind and gather strength.

I’m very excited about this week’s Best of What’s New installment, which features indie and country singer-songwriters, a young incredibly talented vintage soul vocalist who knocked my socks off and…well, you’ll need to continue reading to find out yourself. All of this great music was just released yesterday (January 8).

Denison Witmer/River of Music

Dension Witmer is a singer-songwriter from Lancaster, Pa. According to his artist profile on Apple Music, Tagged by many music journalists as one of the most likely songwriters to fill the void left by Elliott Smith in the acoustic indie singer/songwriter movement, [he] catalogs the experiences of young adulthood in almost painfully honest detail. With a soft and sensitive voice that perfectly matches his laid-back 1970s California pop production and subtly expressive guitar work, he has gone from writing in his journal to becoming an intimate of like-minded artists like Damien Jurado and Pedro the Lion over the span of a few albums. Growing up in Lancaster, PA, Witmer picked up the guitar at the age of 16 and was soon showing enough promise to draw the interest of the Innocence Mission’s Don Peris. As Peris became Witmer’s musical mentor, he would oversee and play guitar and keyboard on his apprentice’s first recordings, 2000’s River Bends EP and the much-heralded Safe Away. Here’s the great River of Music, a track from Witmer’s new EP American Foursquare (Simplified). It surely feels good listening to his soothing voice and beautiful guitar-playing. And the lyrics about the power of music perfectly illustrate what I wrote in the intro of this post.

Morgan Wallen/Livin’ the Dream

Country music singer-songwriter Morgan Wallen, who hails from the tiny Tennessee town of Sneedville (about 250 miles east of Nashville), first gained some prominence as a contestant on season 6 of The Voice in 2014. While Wallen didn’t make it to the final, his stint eventually led to a deal with Panacea Records and his debut EP Stand Alone from August 2015. Wallen switched to Big Loud Records thereafter and released his first full-length studio album If I Know Me in April 2018. Livin’ the Dream is a track from his sophomore release Dangerous: The Double Album. This double album features a hefty 30 tunes, many prominent country songwriters and a guest appearance by Chris Stapleton. Livin’ the Dream, a tale about life as a “rock star,” was co-written by Wallen, Ben Burgess, Jacob Durrett and Michael Wilson Hardy, aka Hardy.

Barry Gibb/To Love Somebody

Yep, that’s Barry Gibb, formerly of the Bee Gees. I recently covered them in a four-part series here (part 1), here (part 2), here (part 3) and here (part 4). All I’d like to say in this post is if you think the Bee Gees were just a disco band, I’d encourage to take a closer look at their music or read my series. Was it necessary for Gibb, the group’s only surviving member, to come out with Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers’ Songbook, Vol 1., an album of newly recorded versions of mostly famous Bee Gees songs? Probably not – on the other hand, why not! The Bee Gees’ catalog is full with well crafted songs. Co-written by Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb, To Love Somebody is among my favorite early Bee Gees tunes. It initially appeared on Bee Gees’ 1st, the group’s first internationally released full-length studio album that was released in July 1967 in the UK and appeared the following month in the U.S. The newly recorded version features Jay Buchanan, lead vocalist of American rock band Rival Sons. The album also includes many other guests, mostly from country music, a favorite genre of Barry’s, such as Little Big Town, Dolly Parton and Sheryl Crow. Be cynical about it, if you like. I dig and stand behind these songs and the Bee Gees!

Aaron Frazer/ If I Got It (Your Love Brought It)

According to his website, Aaron Frazer is a Brooklyn-based, Baltimore-raised songwriter [who] first came into the international spotlight as multi-instrumentalist and co-lead singer for Durand Jones & The Indications. He penned some of the group’s most notable tracks, including ‘Morning In America,’ and sang lead on ‘Is It Any Wonder?’ – the latter an instant sweet soul classic anchored by Aaron’s falsetto, which caught the ear of producer and Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach…Soft-spoken with the look of a slightly disaffected 1950s matinee idol, Aaron Frazer possesses a unique voice that’s both contemporary and timeless. His higher register conveys a wide emotional palate and a progressive worldview in the tradition of musical masterminds like Curtis Mayfield. While Aaron’s stirring falsetto and thoughtful songwriting have made him established in the world of revival soul music, he refuses to be pigeonholed. That falsetto is in beautiful action on If I Got It (Your Love Brought It), a tune from Aaron’s debut album Introducing…, which was produced by Auerbach. The song was co-written by Frazer, Auerbach and David Ferguson. So good! check it out!

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; Aaron Frazer website; YouTube