Five Cool Ones: Five New Albums Released This Week (July 26, 2019)

A really good week for new releases despite the fact that Sugar Ray has a new record out.

Violent Femmes – Hotel Last Resort

Always consistent, on their tenth studio album not much has changed. Their Folk-Punk sound is still a bit angst ridden with Gordon Gango’s voice as strong as ever. There is no “Blister In The Sun” here, but on the strength of songs like “Not Ok” and “This Free Ride” that are so good no one will really notice. Long time fans need not worry. The Femmes are still a cult band in the best sense of the word.

Chris Gantry – Nashlantis

During the salad days of the 60’s and 70’s Outlaw Country scene Chris Gantry was the pesky younger brother to the big guys Kris, Johnny, Willie, Waylon and the rest of the better known names. A highly respected tune smith, Gantry most famously penned “Dreams of the Everyday Housewife” made famous by Glen Campbell. With this serving of fine song-craft and storytelling as a more than solid follow up to 2017’s Psych-Folk mini- masterpiece At the House of Cash, the 76 year old may just be the last outlaw standing after all is said and done.

Mikey Erg – Waxbuilt Castles

Mikey Erg self describes his latest solo release as his version of McCartney’s first record, homemade, loose, and not overthought.

Delbert McClinton – Tall, Dark, And Handsome

Delbert pretty much paints from the entire Blues palette on this one. From Jump Blues to Dirty Blues, Country Blues, and Delta Blues with a little bit of Smokey Jazz mixed in, this one has a little bit of everything. Tall Dark and Handsome Doesn’t break any new ground but should serve to remind us that much like John Hiatt, Delbert McClinton is a National treasure.

Lasers Lasers Birmingham – Warning

The clear winner for funkiest band name of the week Lasers Lasers Birmingham is the Country project for LA based singer songwriter Alex Owen. With music that can be described as modern day songwriting with Classic Country sensibilities. Much like Orville Peck this album is a bit genre defying and opens up the landscape of Country Music to a new audience.

Best Albums of 2019: Shana Cleveland – Night of the Worm Moon

Known mostly for her work with the Surf-Noir Band La Luz, Shana Cleveland doesn’t stray too far from the vintage guitar, psychedelic haze ambience on Night of the Worm Moon, her second proper full length record as a solo artist.

The cool, laconic, mostly psychedelic under current that wafts through the entire proceedings like an early era Leonard Cohen poetry reading will instantly take you back to a time when television came in both colors. Black, and white.

“The Fireball” is a shoegaze-y mellow-tron of a tune and “Solar Creep” is a night time chill-out experience. Don’t expect the jams to be kicked out anywhere on this record, just a fine, understated, spectral beauty of a listening journey.

Song of the Day: The Rubinoos – Phaedra

At one point, back in the day, The Rubinoos following in the tradition of The Raspberries, Big Star, and other popsters of the period were set to take over the world. And then it didn’t happen. A favorite band their cover version of “I Think Were Alone Now” is pure pop pleasure. This one is from a record set to be released later in the year.

New Music Friday (July 19, 2019)

Midland – Put The Hurt In Me

Gearing up for the release of a new record, these boys do 80’s Country with the best of them. I’m really trying not to like this band, but they are definitely growing on me.

Rodney Crowell and Lyle Lovett – What You Gonna Do Now

We already putting a placeholder for Rodney Crowell and his new album Texas in the top ten of albums of the year, but in the meantime here is another song to be enjoyed.

Jesse Malin – Meet Me At The End Of The World

Jesse Malin, a favorite of Rock Is The New Roll, absolutely never disappoints. Here, he is a bit more upbeat and his Lou Reed vocal delivery seems to go places we have not heard in a while.

Corb Lund and Hayes Carll – On The Cover of the Rolling Stone

A single released in advance of his new record, here he teams up with Hayes Carll to deliver a pretty darn good ‘make it their own’ version of a terrific song. Maybe they’ll get their picture on the cover.

Leon Bridges – That Was Yesterday

The latest from the San Cooke Meets Marvin Gaye Soul Singer.

DeWolff – Share the Ride

One of our favorite Rock and Roll bands du jour, DeWolff brings a template of 70’s rock with a modern flair. Listen closely for a touch of Creedence as well.

Five Cool Ones: Five Cool Albums Released This Week (July 19,2019)

Another pretty good release week. This time we get a sort of Beach Boys album with Mike Love’s 12 sides of Summer, a record by Darren Hyman celebrating the moon landing and astronauts in general called 12 Astronauts, and if your into this sort of thing, Creed frontman Scott Stapp has a record out to the sound of one hand clapping. Here are five morsels that have grabbed our ear-tention this week.

I See Hawks in LA and The Good Intentions – Hawks With Good Intentions

Riding the Laurel Canyon wave that is very hot right right now, I See Hawks in LA, a band that has recently as two years ago was called the greatest Country Band in the world, is mining 70’s Country Rock gold with this collaboration with The Good Intentions.

Tuxedo – Tuxedo III

The third installment of Mayer Hawthorne’s side-piece band. Here, he channels his inner KC and the Sunshine band with another set of more than solid 70’s inspired Funk and Disco gems. This one might be the most fun record of the year so far.

Collective Soul – Blood

On this, their 11th record Collective Soul mines some deep familiar territory and that is not a bad thing. Sure, it will have you swirling your memory banks back to their debut record Hints, Allegations & Things Unsaid leaving you remembering what a great record it really was. Playing it forward, opener “Now’s the Time” is a great re-introduction and “Right as Rain” stands up with their best work.

Glen Campbell – The Legacy (1961-2017)

Finally, the collection that is deserving of the icon that is Glen Campbell has finally arrived. Taking you down a rabbit hole past “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” and many more hits. But, it is on the deep tracks where the Mojo of Glen really shines. “Bonaparte’s Retreat is a jaunty pleasure, his honey-voiced take on “Everybody’s Talkin'” is sublime, and the last song he ever recorded, “Adios” is a perfect ending to a perfect set of songs.

Ada Lea – What We Say In Private

Distinctly Low-Fi, there is an ambient relaxing vibe to most of the songs in this set. Sure, there are a couple of snappy ear worms like the opener “Mercury,” but for the most part the hushed vocals translates to a hushed vibe. This album is both bold and delicate if that is even possible, and in this case with this exquisite singer-songwriter it is not only possible, it is locked and loaded. Listen to this one with head phones for the full effect.