Best of What’s New

New music never stops, even on Christmas. I almost would have forgotten today is Friday, meaning it’s time again for Best of What’s New. BTW, this is the 40th installment of the recurring feature. Let’s get to it!

Eddie Vedder/Matter of Time

Matter of Time is the title track of a new solo EP released by Eddie Vedder today. Initially, the Pearl Jam frontman had put out the tune as a single on November 18. The EP features four additional tracks, including a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Growin’ Up. As reported by Blabbermouth.net, Vedder premiered Matter of Time and Say Hi, another tune from the EP, during Venture Into Cures, a digital event presented by EB Research Partnership. Co-founded by Vedder and his wife Jill, the non-profit organization funds research for epidermolysis bullosa, a group of devastating and life-threatening skin disorders that affect children from birth. I salute music artists taking on such noble causes. It’s also quite a powerful tune and video clip!

Slaughter Beach, Dog/Are You There

The first thing that struck me about Slaughter Beach, Dog is “Slaughter Beach, Dog.” Who comes up with such a weird name? It turns out singer-songwriter Jake Ewald, who initially started this indie rock outfit in 2014 as a side project to Modern Baseball, his then primary indie rock band from Philadelphia. In October 2017, Ewald confirmed Modern Baseball is on indefinite hiatus. Slaughter Beach, Dog has since become his main focus. In addition to Ewald (vocals, guitar), the group’s regular line-up also features Nick Harris (guitar), Ian Farmer (bass) and Zack Robbins (drums). Slaughter Beach, Dog put out their debut album Welcome in 2016. Since Modern Baseball’s hiatus, three other albums have appeared, including At the Moonbase released December 24. According to this review in Consequence of Sound, Ewald wrote and recorded the album alone at his house and recording studio. Here’s the opener Are You There.

CMON/Blue-ray Saturday

CMON is a project by Josh Da Costa and Jamen Whitelock who initially started Regal Degal in 2009, a band Apple Music noted dabbled in everything from distorted synth punk to repetitive Krautrock-styled jamming over the next several years. After Regal Degal disbanded, Da Costa and Whitelock formed CMON and released their eponymous EP in 2018. According to Apple Music, The duo kept some of the textural atmospheres of their previous band but leaned heavily into programmed rhythm and disco-pop grooves on their 2020 debut Confusing Mix of Nations. Blue-ray Saturday is CMON’s new single that appeared December 10. The melodic mid-tempo tune doesn’t sound at all like disco-pop. If anything, the melody of the laid-back tune reminds me a bit of Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone. In any case, I like the feel of it. Plus, it’s quite catchy!

Sea Girls/This Is The End

Sea Girls are an indie rock band from England I first featured in an August Best of What’s New installment. They were founded in London in 2015 and include Henry Camamile (vocals, guitar), Rory Young (lead guitar), Andrew Noswad (bass) and Oli Khan (drums). Following their June 2017 debut single Call Me Out and a series of additional self-released singles and three EPs, the band secured a deal with Polydor Records in 2019 and released their full-length debut album Open Up Your Head on August 14 this year. This Is The End is their new single that came out on December 4. Back in August, I called the band’s guitar-driven sound catchy. I still stand behind that statement. The title also makes the song an appropriate choice to wrap up this installment.

Sources: Wikipedia; Blabbermouth.net; Consequence of Sound; Apple Music; YouTube