It’s Saturday and once again I’d like to welcome you to my latest weekly look at developments on the new music front. All picks are on albums that dropped yesterday (May 3).
The Lemon Twigs/How Can I Love Her More?
I’m pleased to kick off this review with The Lemon Twigs, a power pop band with a retro sound from Long Island, N.Y. I’ve previously featured, most recently here. They were formed in 2014 by brothers and multi-instrumentalists Brian D’Addario and Michael D’Addario when they were still in high school. The brothers who rely on additional musicians for touring also incorporate elements of rock, glam and baroque in their music. How Can I Love Her More? is a track and one of four upfront singles from their fifth studio album A Dream Is All We Know – catchy stuff with a Beach Boys vibe!
Matt Page/Waiting For a Return
Matt Page is the vocalist, guitarist and co-songwriter of Dream the Electric Sleep, a progressive rock trio formed in 2009 in Lexington, Ky. After an April 2022 live solo album with songs by the trio and covers to raise money for humanitarian relief in Ukraine, Page has now released Apocalypse Garden, the first studio album under his name. “It’s a very eclectic album and I would say it’s in the progressive pop category with some alternative rock and Americana/folk mixed in,” Page said, according to a preview by Louder. Here’s Waiting For a Return.
Adeem the Artist/Socialite Blues
Adeem the Artist, who I also previously featured here, is a roots-oriented singer-songwriter from Tennessee. In 2021, following several independent albums put out via Bandcamp, Adeem, aka Adeem Maria, released Cast-Iron Pansexual, an album largely funded through Patreon. Off the new album Anniversary, which coincides with Maria’s 10th wedding anniversary, here’s Socialite Blues. I love the New Orleans jazz vibe!
Snarls/Baby Bangs
Snarls are an indie rock band from Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 2018, the female trio includes Chlo White (vocals, guitar), Riley Hall (bass, vocals) and Mick Martinez (guitar). A self-titled debut EP released in May 2018 was followed by their first full-length album Burst, which came out in March 2020. Baby Bangs, credited to Snarls, is a song from their new and second full-length album With Love,. The neat guitar sound and the vocals drew me in.
Beams/It’s All Around You
Beams are a six-piece from Canada, who their Bandcamp page notes blend “psych-tinged indie-pop with Appalachia-sourced folk music”. They were formed in Toronto in 2012 and have released four studio albums to date, including their latest, Requiem for a Planet. The album is “about grieving the loss of the ‘planet’ we were promised as kids,” notes lead vocalist and songwriter Anna Mērnieks-Duffield on their website. Here’s It’s All Around You.
Return to Dust/Strangers
My final pick this week are Return to Dust, an alternative/grunge rock band from Los Angeles. Their Spotify profiles notes Deftones, Alice In Chains, Nirvana, The Cure, Metallica and Cage The Elephant as influences. The group’s debut EP The Black Road appeared in July 2023. Off their new self-titled first full-length album, here’s Strangers – cool song with nice changes in dynamic.
Sources: Wikipedia; Louder; Snarls website; Beams Bandcamp page; Beams website; YouTube; Spotify
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