Category: Indie Rock

Five Cool Ones: Five New Albums Released This Week (January 17, 2025)

With the new Eric Clapton, Rose City Band, and Delines records in the hopper, 2025 is shaping up to be a boffo year.

The Waterboys have a Dennis Hopper themed record ready to be released soon.

Swedish rockers The Hellacopters have a new record out on January 31. Overdriver.

And Frontier Records own, Perfect Plan delivers the AOR goods on their latest “We Are Heroes.”

And here, in an abundancy of riches, here are five new records that saw the light of ear this week.

David Gray – Dear Life

On his 13th album and first since 2021, David Gray gets a bit more sparse and introspective than we are used to from the artist that first hit our ears with the mega-hit “Babylon.”

Recorded mostly in his home London studio, this time out Gray reflects on things getting old on “Plus & Minus,” on “I Saw Love” he is heavily influenced by Raymond Carver short stories, and “Leave Taking” with its horns and intricate production is worth a headphone listen.

The Weather Station – Humanhood

With Humanhood Tamara Lindeman and Weather station doubles down on the jazz-inflected pop sound version of the band that she brought to our ears going back to the 2021 release, Ignorance.

“Body Movement” has a certain Joni Mitchell element to it, while “Neon Signs” will float you on a Suzanne Vega cloud.

The instrumentation on this record with bass, sax, and flute delicately dispersed throughout the record is next-level quality. Listening to this one while chemically induced will take you back to the ‘70’s sitting under a tree deep in a forest.

20/20 – Back To California

Think of the spawn of the Flying Burrito Brothers and The Little River Band and you will have a bit of an idea of what this band is all about.

In business under various configurations going back as far as 1979 and their eponymous record, these guys are all Laurel Canyon all the time.

The opening title track has an R.EM. bent to it, “The End Of Summer” could have been a Bodeans B side, and “Laurel Canyon” is pure power pop.

If you are looking for a record full of melodic nirvana wrap your ears around this one.

Mick Clarke – Bad Whisky Blues

Recorded entirely in his Surrey, UK studio Bluesman Man Mick Clarke delivers up a set of whisky-drenched songs that run the gamut from stone-cold classic covers to self-penned tumblers.

“Killing Floor” and “Smokestack Lightning” are adequately covered and “Watch Your Step” is a ZZ Top worthy jam.

This one is the perfect soundtrack for that next bender, but make sure that you cleanse the palette with a nice single malt before extinguishing the flame.

Ex Void – In Love Again

A behemoth of an Indie Rock record, everything that you thought of the genre is wrapped up for you in one tight package.

My Bloody Valentine, check. The Smiths Check, The Cranberries, Dinosaur Jr., check, check, check. Cobbled together from several indie-pop U.K. bands of stirling quality including Joanna Gruesome and The Tubs, the dual frontpeople consisting of Lan McArdle and Owen Williams take center stage on this one that is sure to be top 10 contender.

And, if you don’t believe us have your ears take a gander at the Lucinda Williams cover, “Lonely Girls.”

Five Cool Ones: Five New Records Released This Week (January 10, 2025)

Amazingly, 2024 is in the books and we are ready to do the work since you don’t have to to find the best music, according to us anyway, to hit your ear-waves.

The new record comes out in March, but in the meantime check this out with vocal help from Fivers Simone Schmidt. This one is the leader in the clubhouse for video of the year.

Youth Lagoon, the project of Idaho-based singer-songwriter Trevor Powers has released a single in advance of his February 21 record, Rarely Do I Dream.

And, Horsegirl has released a new single, “2468” in advance of the Chicago-based trio’s album Phonetics On And On

But wait, don’t jump off the train just yet. Here are five new records to keep the toes moving and the heart beating.

Lambrini Girls – Who Let The Dogs Out

Labrini Girls will remind you of the night you left the party with that wild girl and ended up in the alley with a ripped shirt and no socks on top of a pile of beer cans and cigarette butts.

“Big Dick Energy” careens down the black diamond slope like a ski racer with Tourettes, and “Filthy Rich Nepo Baby” is the GoGos on steroids. And, thankfully there is nary a cover of “Who Let The Dogs Out” to be found in this rambunctious set.

Ringo Starr – Look up

Not since the iconic Buck Owens cover of “Act Naturally” have we heard Ringo Starr embrace country music with the fervor that he does here with his lasted record, Look Up.

Guest spots abound, both country and laymen, with Molly Tuttle, Alison Krause, Billy Strings, and Larkin Poe leading the way.

This one is a listenable record that we can put in our pocket waiting for the next Paul McCartney album.

Franz Ferdinand – The Human Fear

Scottish Indie rockets Franz Ferdinand shows whats under their kilt with their latest, The Human Fear. Buoyant and danceable, there is nothing not to like on this one.

“Everdaydreamer” sounds like U2 if Bono actually decided that he wanted to have fun, “The Doctor” bounces like Duran Duran on the bumper cars at the amusement park, and “Hooked” is Devo set to 78rpm at the disco with their side piece The Talking Heads.

A ray of sunshine in a gloomy world.

Early James – Medium Raw

With Medium Raw, his third effort for Dan Auerbach and his Easy Eye sound label, Early Janes takes things low and slower with this set recorded at a 100-year-old house in Nashville dubbed The Honky Chateau using an old tube console mostly recorded in one take.

A young man with an old soul, the record brings out the blues side of the singer mostly known for his Americana leanings. This stripped down affair may not be as favored as its more polished predecessors, but discovering another layer of this still-up-and-coming artist bodes well for the future.

Joan Armatrading – How Did It Happen And What Does It Now Mean Now

Having never really gone away, with her latest, How Did It Happen And What Does It Mean Now, Armatrading combines disco-light, yacht Rock, and straight-up pop on a set that is pleasant enough fare albeit lacking a bit of the heart that we are used to from an iconic artist.

Wholly produced in her home studio, sometimes adding polish to silver doesn’t make it shine any brighter.

What We’re Listening To (October 13, 2024)

Chuck Prophet – Wake the Dead

Chuck Prophet, coming out of the good end of a cancer scare, has teamed up with Cumbia group Quiensave for a rhythmic journey across the globe.

Massive Wagons – The Good Die Youg

The ascent of Massive Wagons has been steady but strong over the last couple of years. Their ascension from club band to arena act has not diminished their ability to deliver in the Status Quo by way of Wildhearts mold.

Casts In Space – Time Machine

It would be a fool’s errand to sleep on the sincerity of Cats in Space and their ability to completely own their blanket of 80’s ballad rock.

The New Roses – When You Fall In Love

There is more than a little smoke from Rainbow’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” fire wafting in the air on this single from The New Roses latest record, Attracted To Danger.

The Heavy Heavy – Feel

Riding a British invasion train on a track of Goats Head Soup era Rolling Stones, this one would have been a spot-on summer anthem. If, summer was roll a thing that is.