Category: Americana

Five Cool Ones: Five New Records Released This Week (October 14, 2022)

The releases should get a bit more groovy over the next couple of weeks as the artists are in a frenzy to get their new releases ready to be wrapped under your Christmas tree.

The Ruen Brothers are out with their first new single in many a fortnight with “Don’t Know What’s Come Over You.“

Husband and wife duo Johnny Fox and Renee Couture doing business as The Standstills are scorching the earth with able assistance from Eagles of Death Metal on “Motherload”.

If you somehow missed the glory five minutes when Sebastian Bach was in the band and, like us, have been struggling to keep up with the revolving door of Skid Row frontmen since, with the mighty Erik Gronwall manning the microphone this time out may be worth a listen.

Librarians With Hickeys – Handclaps & Tambourines

From the opening blast of “I Better Get Home” from Handclaps and Tambourines, the latest album from Librarians with Hickeys, you will think you have been time-warped all the way back to the middle of the groove line at Austin Powers’ wedding reception. This record is that cool.

Fresh, propulsive, Power Pop in power drive, with a distinct undercurrent of Psychedelia, these bookworms lay down plenty of hookworms. “Lady Overdrive” is a perfect soundtrack for that early summer convertible drive down the Pacific Coast Highway, the ebullient “Over You” sounds like the best of Badfinger if they had been a little less depressed, and the ballad-ish “Stumbling Down Memory Lane” clearly demonstrates that this band is no one Cheap Trick Pony with the songwriting chops to match the Power Pop splendor.

Certainly subject to change as we are only 6 spins into the record so far, a favorite song in the set is “Last Days of Summer,” a song that likely would have been a hit song in the canon of the mid-era Beach Boys. Avoid the temptation to pigeonhole this one into any one particular sub-genre, put on the headphones, and immersive yourself in what is turning out to be one of the wholly satisfying listens of the year.

Lightning Seeds – See You In The Stars

For extra credit, take a trip back in the way back machine and check out “Pure,” the 1994 smash hit from The Lighting Seeds to get a flavor of the pure pop perfection that this band is capable of releasing.

And, with their latest, See You In The Stars, along with the lead off single “Losing You,” you don’t know if it’s 1979, 1989, or 2019, the music is that vibrant and relevant.

“Great To Be Alive” is a festival-worthy stunner, and the title track is a perfect song to calm the nerves in times of trouble.

Find a new friend, or reacquaint yourself with one of the best back in the day bands you likely have lost touch with.

Miko Marks and the Resurrectors – Feel Like Going Home

From the opening buzz of the lead-off as well as the title track, you get immediate sense that Miko Marks is on to something special. Aretha Franklin with a side of Bonnie Raitt is the vibe presented here with the overall band stepping in with an energy that would make the Tedeschi-Trucks band blush.

And, once “One More Night” kicks in paying tribute to Muddy Waters, Lightning Hopkins, Big Mama Thornton, and Muscle Shoals, her lend is fairly cemented.

A genre bender of the highest order, Marks can wrap her tonsils around a Mahalia Jackson spiritual or Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” with equal aplomb. Don’t waste your time looking, this record is all stunners no bummers. “Peace of Mind” is a slow and slow ballad, and “Trouble” is a real deal, for the times country stomper.

Chips to the middle of the table, this is a year end top 10 record for sure.

The Big Moon – Here Is Everything

Loosely themed around the experience of motherhood courtesy of vocalist and band leader Juliette Jackson, this is a fresh slice of Indie Pop Nirvana.

“Wide Eyes” is a cinematic wonder in a Florence and the Machine meets U2 sort of way, and “My Very Best” is a testament to simply giving things a go.

Listening to “Ladye Bay” there is a discerning freshness to the production value that seems a bit contrary to expectations since this was generally a covid-centric release with the band not in the same room in the era of file-swapping. The piano based “Satellites” lays bare the songwriting chops of the band, and “Trouble” is about as exuberant as you can get given the general topic is child birth.

We are officially putting The Big Moon on our Buzz Bands list.

Cory Branan – When I Go I Ghost

Cory Branan is one of those under the radar artists that gets little play in the mainstream but those who know definitely know.

His latest, When I Go I Ghost is definitely a must hear. From the opening salvo of “When In Rome, When in Memphis,” the sonic boom is palpable with his Steve Earle by way of James McMurty vibe hitting you between the ears.

“When I Leave Here” displays the songwriting chops that matches the musicianship. And, “Room 101” takes you on a back street love affair.

And, a listen or two to of “Come On If You Want to Come” will have you scrambling to check out his back catalog that goes back to 2002.

Five Cool Ones: Five New Albums Released This Week (October 7, 2022)

Albeit, if we are being honest, this week is a bit tepid on the new release front. But fear not gentle readers as we are doing the work so you don’t have to.

The excitement is building in Rock is the New Roll HQ with the new single and video “Turning Onto You” from First Aid Kit. Look for a new album in early 2023.

New Skynyrd loving Southern Rock favorites Black Stone Cherry are releasing songs from their Live From The Royal Albert Hall album, this time featuring “Peace Is Free.”

And, Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts are out with one of the best songs they have ever put out. Part Cheap Trick, some Jellyfish with a bit of Queen thrown in, and all cool.

But wait, that’s not all. Here are five voice albums to tickle the earbuds this week.

The Mahones – Paint The Town Red

This Celtic-centric band from Kingston, Ontario Canada is the real deal. And, with this record, Paint The Town Red, the band having been around since 1993 is at the top of their game.

It is rare when an album comes out that is the perfect salve for a point in time that desperately calls out for a set of anthems the likes of which are presented here. All of the familiar Emerald Isle touch points are front and center from The Waterboys to This Lizzy, The Chieftains and beyond.

Devil in the bottle is the requisite drinking song that would make the Dropkick Murphys blush, “Rise Up (Be Strong) comes rolling down the rails like some devil hybrid of The Dexy’s and U2 with even a bit of a ramshackle Replacements vibe, and the propulsive base line on the lead track, “Paint the Town Red,” is the most purely Irish sounding song in the set and prepares the palate just perfectly for what is to come.

A nuanced listen for sure, this one is a lot of gold at the end of a listening rainbow for sure.

Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners – Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners

Mostly known for his rock and roll side with his band The Wildhearts, with this incarnation as Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners there is an Americana bent to the music much in the mold of his work Jason and the Scorchers.

The Country rock and ‘70’s rock interplay on this record is refreshingly eclectic on this record and the cover songs curated here in The Georgia Satellite’s “Six Years Gone,” as well as the Status Quo classic “Dirty Water” represents a band that is at the top of their game.

The opener “Wasted Times” is best consumed with the top down rolling down the Pacific Coast Highway, and “Code of the Road,” a song that provides a glimpse behind the scenes at what life on the road with a touring band is like would have made for a perfect Dr. Hook song back in the day.

The Cult – Under The Midnight Sun

It seems that a band that has been around for over 40 years should have more than 11 albums under their belt, but here, Ian Astbury, Billy Duffy and the rest of the band clearly know the formula that works for them as their latest record, Under The Midnight Sun, represents the band at the top of their game.

The vocals are soaring throughout particularly on “Vendetta X” where Astbury rings to the cheap seats of the stadium with a vocal that would make Bono proud, and “Outer Heaven” is as swirling a powerhouse of a rock song that the band as ever laid own. And, “Knife Through Butterfly Heart” could have been on any of the early Doors records.

The most fulfilling aspect of this record is that the band really seems to enjoy playing together with a spark an energy that is palpable on every song. Don’t look now, but the rock album of the year may have just mad it’s presence known.

The Bobby Lee’s – Bellevue

This high energy, furnace blast of a record puts the post in Post-Punk. As frenetic as the Ramones before Phil Spector got a hold of them, the Bobby Lee’s are all about blasting through the status quo in short, sometimes off-kilter blasts of sub 2:00 CBGB worthy glory.

“Ma Likes To Drink” has a B-52’s “Rock Lobster” in its DNA, and “Death Train” roars down the tracks as if Ty Segall was a member of Van Halen, and the band even stretches things out a bit on the lower and slower slow burn of “Strange Days” with the song weighing in at 2:43.

Nuanced where it needs to be and perfectly apoplectic in spots, this is a record that will bring out the secret punk rocker that resides in all of us.

Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott – N.K-Pop

Having been part of the Housemartins in the ‘80’s and The Beautiful South in the ‘90’s, Paul Heaton definitely knows his way around a pop song. And, here with N.K-Pop, his with Jacqui Abbott, we have exhibit A.

As close to a perfect pop record that your ears will savor this year, the chemistry and lyric sparring skills that booth artists have on display here are complementary sides of the same coin. “Good Times” is a bouncy and ebullient opener, “I drove her away with my tears” is a perfectly constructed Brit-Pop single, and “Baby It’s Cold Inside” is a poignant juxtaposition of the original classic.

And, as if you needed another reason to admire Paul Heaton, to celebrate his 60th birthday he left 1,000 pounds behind the bar in 60 random pubs throughout the U..K.

Five Cool Ones: Five New Records Released This Week (September 23, 2022)

Of, course, everything is just a placeholder until the release of a rumored new Springsteen record, albeit a Soul covers album, sometime in November.

Courtney Marie Andrews has a delicately sublime tune out in the ether with the single “These are the good old days.“

Kentucky’s favorite Southern rock mavens Black Stone Cherry are scorching the earth with their Lynyrd Skynyrd on steroids bombast with “White Trash Millionaire” from their live record Live From The Royal Albert Hall released in June.

And, Power Pop maestro Kai Danzberg name checks The Beatles and Jellyfish with his stunningly cool new surprise single Welcome to the Show.

But wait, there’s more. Here are 5 new full length albums released this week.

Billy Idol – The Cage E.P.

Billy Idol’s current release pattern seems to be in the form of a series of four song sprints with each tune a single in its own right, and an overall arching spirit that leaves you wanting more, it is refreshingly cool that an artist that has been around so long is still mostly at the top of his game.

The opener “Cage” opens up with a Jessie’s Girl vibe and mid chorus blasts into “Rebel Yell Territory, “Running from the Ghost” announce long time Idol collaborator and guitarist Steve Stevens in fine fashion, and “Rebel Like You” rings true with the whiskey with a side order of a pack of Camels voice that Billy sports these days going down smooth.

Finally, “Miss Nobody” blasts out of the speakers in vintage ‘8os Rock style. Lay this one down next to the equally cool 4 song set from 2021’s Roadhouse and you have a proper full-length album of rebel coolness.

Dr. John – Things Happen That Way

Things Happen That Way, the posthumous release from New Orleans icon Dr. John is a goodby letter to his home city and a special gift for the rest of us. Recorded in the months prior to his death from a heart condition in 2019, bringing this one across the finish line as the good doctor’s health was deteriorating was a challenge that producer Shane Theriot seems to have met with aplomb.

The opener, “Funny How Time Slips Away” is delivered with the hush tones of a dying man, and is likely one of the songs recorded at his home as he was too ill to go to the studio, and the classic “I Walk on Gilded Splinters” takes on a spooky and funk-filled groove with Lucas Nelson and the Promise of the Real sitting in.

The version of “End of the Line,” the Traveling Wilbury’s single, is presented here with Aaron Neville and Katie Pruitt ably providing vocal assistance.

Given that contractual issues with Dr. John’s estate prevented the release of Rickie Lee Jones’ contributions to this set on three songs, its hard to imagine there could have been anything that could have made this almost perfect eulogy any better.

Kendell Marvel – Come On Sunshine

Based just outside of Nashville, Kendell Marvel migrated to Texas to make his latest record, Come On Sunshine.

Outlaw Country, Swamp Blues, and Country Rock are all represented Waylon Jennings-style on a palate of hopeful post-pandemic songs where the freedom to be left alone seems to be an underrated gift.

“Don’t’ Tell Me How To Drink” with Chris Stapleton is deep Waylon Jennings, Jamey Johnson, while “Hell Bent on Hard Times” would have fit in quietly among the Merle Haggard canon, and the title track is an eerie bottom of the bottle stunner.

Upping his game with every release, Kendell Marvell is carrying the Outlaw Country torch quite nicely.

Nikki Lane – Denim and Diamonds

Road warrior Nikki Lane is back after a brief hiatus and period of self-reflection that brought her all the way back to the highways and hillbillies that she left on 2017’s “Highway Queen.”

Not reinventing the Nikki Lane wheel, the opener “First High” tells you all you need to know about Lane as she name-checks Springsteen and leaves the beauty queens behind to join the boys at the bar. “Born Tough” is a good place holder take on her autobiography until she releases her own proper memoir, and “Live/Love” pretty sums up her way of life in a song.

A country record with a rock and roll ethos courtesy of Queens of the Stone Age majordomo Josh Homme in the production booth, Nicki Kane is indeed back and better than ever.

The Smithereens – The Lost Album

Sometime in the fall of 1993 and between record contracts, The Smithereens ensconced themselves in a N.Y. studio and recorded two albums worth of material. The first set released under the title A Date With The Smithereens was released in 1994 and now the remainder of the session has seen the light of ear under the title The Lost Album.

And, spoiler alert, they sound just like the Smithereens. The Opener “Out of This World” is Cheap Trick by way of Badfinger, on “I’m Sexy” the reason that Kurt Cobain cited The Smithereens as a major influence is clearly evident, and the band channels their inner Elvis Costello on “Pretty Little Lies.”

When one of your favorite bands comes out with “new” music and drops a long lost album, it is a glorious day indeed.

Best Albums of 2022: Color Green – Color Green

Color Green consists of the Los Angeles-based duo Noah Kohll and Corey Madden. Brought together on a shared love of Laurel Canyon-tinged Americana, there is a wafting of Grateful Dead, free form Allman Brothers, and The Byrds throughout their eponymous debut record.

“Bell of Silence” has a psychedelic aura about it that would make Pink Floyd proud, “Ill Fitting Suit” is The Grateful Dead by way of Gram Parsons era Burrito Brothers, and “Ruby” slinks along like a classic Doors Song.

And, whatever you do, don’t miss the astral head trip journey that “Verdolaga Dreams” will take you on. Stopping just short of genre-hopping the eclectic mix of Americana, Cosmic Cowboy, and Funk-lite makes this one a platter worthy of multiple spins on your turntable for the rest of the year.