Category: Indie Rock

Video of the Day: Von Hertzen Brothers – All Of A Sudden You’re Gone

This stunner of a song is from Red Alert In The Blue Forest, the terrific new record courtesy of the Von Hertzen Brothers. Pastoral harmonies, anthemic interludes, and lush strings and orchestration are all the order of the day with this one. Gorgeous,

Five Cool Ones: Five New Albums Released This Week (April 8, 2022)

Boom goes the dynamite this week with a ton of really cool music to delight the ears and tickle your sonar system.

Rock is the New Role super faves, retro ‘70s rockers The Sheepdogs, are out with a really hip new single and video with “Find The Truth.

The latest Beach Bunny single, “Fire Escape” straddles the Pop Punk, Indie Rock line.

And, Dawes delivers a mighty fine live video from their upcoming release, Live from the Rooftop, With a sparkling long-form rendition of “Somewhere Along the Way.”

But, wait. Don’t give the party the Irish exit just yet. Here are five ear-worthy records carefully curated this week for your listening pleasure.

Albert Cummings – Ten

One of those underrated consummate musicians you will find, Albert Cummings very much needs to be on your radar if he is not already. With a vibe that walks the back alleys of B.B. King and Delbert McClinton, every song on his latest record, Ten, is a Blues Rock banger.

While the single “Need Somebody” strays into rock territory on the Blues-Rock spectrum, Albert’s ability to pen a honky tonk rabble-rouser of a tune is on full display thanks to the songs “Too Old To Grow Up,” along with the “you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here anthem” “Last Call,” featuring a Vince Gill vocal turn.

“Beautiful Bride” should become the next great wedding song, and “Sounds Like The Road” is a paean to the pull of life on the road for a working musician. If you haven’t been in a proper roadhouse since Patrick Swayze was the bouncer, spend some time with this record and it will be as if you never left.

Jack Broadbent – Ride

Growing up in Lincolnshire, England tagging along with his father on open mic nights, Jack Broadbent absorbed the scene ultimately playing drums in his father’s band while learning to be a Nashville-class slide guitar player.

With his latest record, Ride, Broadbent channels his Tony Joe White by way of Lou Reed vocal style into a set of songs that will take you way down the alleyways of New Orleans and off into the horizons.

The opener, “Ride” eulogizes the path of ghosts left behind, and the delicate balance in knowing when to leave before it is past time to go, while “New Orleans” may be the destination and a love letter to his favorite city as well.

Spend some time with the jaunty “I Love Your Rock ‘n’ Roll” as it earworms itself way into your brain, while “Midnight Radio” will have you drinking French 75’s with Tony Joe White on Bourbon Street.

Romero – Turn It On

It is no secret that some of the best vibrant, electrified, pure Rock and Roll currently is generated down under, in this case, Melbourne Australia. Turn It On, the debut record from the Band Romero is, simply put, a party on a platter.

With Blondie fronting The Undertones in the DNA of this band, the punk-laced Power Pop presented here is confident, brazen, and timeless. “Honey” is the Go Go’s on steroids, the opener “Talk About” an air blast of energy, is a tightly constructed stunner, and yes, there is cowbell. “Crossing Lines could have been a Siouxsie Sue hit song, if she ever had one that is, and “Turn It On” is another cowbell-infused classic.

For a debut record, this one represents a band that is fully formed and ready to scorch the earth on the festival circuits this summer.

Paul Cauthen – Country Coming Down

A member in good standing of the younger gun Outlaw Country movement along with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Cody Jinks, and Sturgill Simpson, Paul Cauthen has released a record that to many ears might be his best effort to date.

With a vocal timber that goes deep into the Waylon Jennings well, the songs presented here range from honky tonk worthy staples to glint in the eye semi bro-country tunes.

“High Heels” is a perfect song for that hour of preparation time while you wait for your lady to get ready for a night on the town. “Champagne & A Limo” ironically states the case for becoming rich, and “Country as F**k” is a subversive middle finger raised to the establishment.

One gets the sense that Pail Cauthen had a lot of fun making this record. The fact that he doesn’t take himself too seriously makes this one a good listen for a poolside margarita party.

Calexico – El Mirador

From the opening horn-centric Babalu worthy refrains of “El Mirador,” the lead-off track from the eclectically groovy latest record of the same name from Calexico, the stage is set for a fantastical listening journey.

From the Tarantino-noir vibes of “Harness The Wind,” a tune that would like fit in quite nicely in the middle of any of the once upon a time in … [insert location here] movies, to the corner of Hollywood & Vine Tom Waits vibing “El Paso,” there is a surprise around every musical corner. Mixing Spanish language mariachi-lite with English, as the band is known to do, seamlessly accents the listening experience with varied song textures cut after cut.

Fully realizing we are just barely past the quarter pole in this race, it is not simply hyperbole to declare this one a candidate for album of the year.

Wet Leg – Wet Leg

It has been quite a while since a record hit the halls of Rock is the New Roll H.Q. that carried the hype that the band Wet Leg brings to their self-titled release.

Once the most non-sensical first single “Chaise Lounge” ear-wormed itself into our skulls, you either hated the song, or you reveled in the post-punk Ty Seagall evoking, French disco-inspired, Joie de vie of the whole experience. For some, they landed squarely in the camp of the former, and after several carefully curated, semi-sober listening sessions, color us, chips to the center of the table, all in with this record as well as this band.

Picture Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, and Suzi Quattro as members of the Go Go’s, and you get a real minds-ear view of what this band sounds like. Tight, harmonic, aggressive CBGB mini anthems from the perspective of a 20-something duo, Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers.

Mixing the buoyant risqué-ness of “Wet Dream,” a song that name-checks the Christina Ricci cult classic film Buffalo 66, with the swooning Florence and the Machine inspired “Convincing,” with a side order of “Loving You,” a song that could be a long lost Abba single, what you are left with is a roller coaster ride that is well worth taking.

Five Cool Ones: Five New Records Released This Week (February 18, 2022)

A sneaky-cool week is brewing, with a couple of our favorites showing their musical wares. There is a groundswell of Rock and Roll in the air, and the Americana music brigade is out in force. And, if all of that is not enough.

We have our ears peeled for the upcoming release of their new record, and if “Devil’s Lullaby,” courtesy of the band Bad Day is any indication, it’s going to be a doozy.

The guns ‘N’ Roses riffing song driven by South of Eden, “Lone Rider’s,” will take you right back to the Sunset Strip.

And, straight out of Nashville, The Nobility, gallop, almost literally, their way into your airwaves with the highly infectious Western-Pop swagger of “No Doubts.”

And, of course, if all of that is not enough to satisfy your earbuds, here are five new records that are getting some serious play in the halls of Rock is the New Roll H.Q.

Goodbye June – See Where The Night Goes

The pride of Nashville, Goodbye June, has been flying under the rock and roll radar for almost a decade. But now, with their latest record, See Where The Night Goes, their current opening act gigs should be turning into headlining tours in short order. Goodbye group van, hello tour bus.

From the early guitar chords and instant Brian Johnson era AC/DC vocals on the opener “Step Aside,” it’s game on, lighters lit. Next in line is “See Where The Night Goes,” still a scorcher but a bit more melodic with killer hooks and even sweeter melodies that will whip the audiences into a frenzy during the upcoming festival season. And, things get more head-banging in all the best of ways from there.

Sure the band and the songs are a bit formulaic with an “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” approach to their rock and roll. But, when a band goes about their business with such exuberance and delivers the quality riffs song to song as they do on this one, imitation turns into emulation in the blink of a power ballad.

Sarah Shook & The Disarmers – Nightroamer

Sarah Shook and her Disarmers step over and cross back again, that line between Americana and Rock and Roll with the ease of A Wallenda sibling tightrope walking across the Grand Canyon. With their latest record, Nightroamer, Sarah seems to be shedding her image as the younger sister who waters down her parent’s vodka, climbs out of her bedroom window, and sneaks out to sing a few tunes for a Hank III tribute band. Now, with her late-era Tanya Tucker vibe, her music is more contemporary posh than cow-punk with a classic country flair in just the right places. 

The stellar “Talking To Myself” is Sheryl Crow Meets Joan Jett, “If It’s Poison” has a ’50s country lilt to it complete with a lap-steel guitar, and “I Got This” is a biographical piece that carries some Melissa Etheridge DNA in its core. “No Mistakes” could have been a Billy Joe Shaver penned outlaw country tune.

Still worn weary with a well-earned lifetime expressed with every syllable she sings, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers have been there, done that, so you don’t have to.

Foxy Shazam – The Heart Behead You

If like us, you know exactly where you were the first time you heard the glam-glorious band Foxy Shazam, you are in luck, and your musical ship has arrived at the dock. Going back to their epic breakthrough record, The Church of Rock and Roll, a classic that is ten years old now, the band has never has failed to deliver on their psychedelic, glam, power pop template that brings to the minds-ear the classic S.F. based band Jellyfish. Until perhaps now, that is.

Certainly not their best, the production seems a bit fuzzy in the mix and does not sparkle as bright as a Foxy Shazam diamond should. And, the band is trying a bit too hard to be clever in their wordplay, case in point is the attempt to rhyme china (the tableware) and a part of a woman’s anatomy with a straight face. 

The opener, “I’m In Love,” is pure soaring, bombastic Foxy Shazam, “Fall Into The Night” is a dance-hall worthy call and response feet-mover, and “Love Rush Ecstacy” would be a wonderment if, as mentioned above, the production was crisper and cleaner.

Not their best effort, this one might be among the worst in their oeuvre, but much like when a skunk comes home for Thanksgiving with his family, gets drunk, and accidentally lets out a little spray, he will still be invited over for Christmas dinner.

Hurray For The Riff Raff – Life On Earth

Alynda Segarra, doing business as Hurray For The Riff Raff, is out with her typically a per-usual stellar record, Life On Earth. As part of a collective of New Orleans musicians, the new album, self-described as “nature-punk,” is centered around the theme of survival in a turned-around world.

“All stunners, no bummers” is the order of the day on this one. “Pierced Arrows” floats in the ether like Florence and the Machine’s younger sister performing on a side stage at Bonnaroo, “Jupiters Dance,” has a wafting of a Kate Bush Spirit Dance, and the exquisitely horned “Rosemary Tears” is the essence of New Orleans pathos in a song. The “deep in the soul” rendering of “My Sweet Lord” is life-affirming.

While this new record doesn’t quite live up to the majesty of its predecessor, The Navigator, it is a sterling example of an artist in progress that is one of the shining lights working today.

Dana Cooper – I Can Face The Truth

Dana Cooper is an Americana treasure that you likely have never heard. Roaming the country from Kansas City, Los Angeles, Nashville, to Texas and beyond, teaming up with Shake Russell on several records, Cooper is a dues-paying road-weary musician of the highest order. And, on his latest, I Can Face The Truth, the truth is out there.

With a version of “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” that is as honest as you will ever hear along with the Thelma and Louise road-tripping with your BFF vibe of “Old Friends,” the stage is set for the circle to be unbroken. “Laughing and Crying” might be a fitting metaphor for the present times, and “Summer in America” is a “lovers in wartime” protest anthem with a satisfying ending.

If you are not previously hip to the Dana Cooper scene, use this opportunity to right a grievous wrong.