Tag: Foxy Shazam

Five Cool Ones: Five New Albums Released This Week (March 21, 2025)

The dynamite is definitely going boom this week.

Hannah Cohen is bringing back ‘70s folk-pop.

Bryan Ferry teams up with Amilia Barratt on a new single, “Loose Talk”.

And, The Counting Crows have some new music in the pipeline.

But, that’s not all fellow muso’s. Here are five fresh off the presses playyers to enjoy this week.

The Damn Truth – The Damn Truth

This Canadian quartet operates on a planet of revved-up modern rock with a classic rock twist, and with this, their fourth proper long-player, their reputation that has been building as festival forces to be reckoned with should be permanently solidified.

Produced by Bob Rock, the same Bob Rock who twirled the knobs for Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, and The Offspring among many others, the sound is crisp, vocally energetic, with all of the top 40 panache you would expect with the hand-in-glove partnership of artist and producer.

“The Willow,”’a song that highlights the back of the arena pipes that belong to lead singer Lee-La Baum, is Zeppelin “stairway” worthy, “Addicted” bangs the head phones like a Beth Hart banger, and the anthemic “All Night Long” features AC/DC riffage alongside classic Bob Rock artistry.

This is a next-level record for a next-level rock and roll band.

Foxy Shazam – Animality Opera

This one tickles that G-spot between the flower-power psychedelic vibes of Jellyfish and the operatic bombast of the early Queen records.

A bit chaotic at times, less than cohesive for most of the album, this 11-track journey quite nicely puts the ethos of Foxy Shazam into a capsule that while being less accessible than its forebearers, is all the more of an interesting listen for it.

Tito & Tarantulas – !Brincamos!

Widely known as the house band in Quentin Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn, Tito Larriva and his tarantulas have been mainstays of the Los Angeles punk and roll scene for decades with their genre-bending mix of rock, punk, Tejano, and surf music.

And now, with !Brincamos! the band has delivered a masterpiece of Latinx punk rock with raw ballads and energetic anthems leading the way. The opener “X the Soul” would have been perfect in the hands of Tom Waits, if Waits ever let things fly that is, 99.9 sounds like an Alejandro Escovedo garage rant from the nugget days, and “Sneer At The Drummer” could have been a Willy De Ville classic.

This is a real rock record from a real rock and roll band.

My Morning Jacket – Is

With this, their 10th record in 30-plus years of existence, the jam band-adjacent My Morning Jacket has entered into a new phase of their career for the first time in a decade, for them, an outside producer is in charge, Brendan O’Brien who has worked with Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and Phish.

Every song on this record is melodic, transcendental, and perfectly executed. The spirit is uplifting and “Everyday Magic” as well as “Time Waited” remind us of the underrated genius that is Jim James when it comes to crafting a love song.

This might not be the album of the year, but it will certainly be on heavy rotation on our turn tables for the rest of the year.

Brian D’addario – Till The Morning

When is a record really/not really a solo album? The answer is nuanced but in this case with the latest from Brian D’Addario, one-half of the Lemon Twigs twins, both answers may be correct.

The first release on the brothers new label Headstack Records, most of the songs were recorded with brother Michael who is also credited as co-producer.

Self described as country- baroque the entire record is full of Donovan-worthy gems. “Nothing On My Mind” would have been a perfect early Kinks single, “Only To Ease My Mind” is Brian Wilson-worthy, and if “This Summer” is not your summer anthem of the year you should have your ears examined.

It is too early in his career to say that Brian D’Addario has created his own Pet Sounds, but when all is said and done you might not be wrong.

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.

Album of the Day: Foxy Shazam – Burn

When Foxy Shazam came out with The Church of Rock and Roll in 2012 it was almost as if our Rock and Roll Dreams had been answered. Bringing over-the-topness back to Rock and Roll and pushing the envelope to the extreme with the bombast of “Holy Touch” and the otherworldly wail of the title track, throwing down Glam, Pomp, and a whole lot of audacity, it looked for one flicker of a moment that the devil spawn of Freddie Mercury had finally been born, and the race with the devil was headed to the Sunset Strip circa 1987. Until that is, Eric Nally and the band crashed and burned in ways that would have made The New York Dolls blush.

That’s why their latest record Burn is such a treat to the ears. The high camp is still front and center, albeit turned down to levels normal humans can endure, and from the lead-off title track it is clear that this rebooted version of the band that channels Mick Jagger, James Brown, and Justin Hawkins from The Darkness is pressing forward with fairly straightforward Pop anthems with a swashbuckling style that is more Three Musketeers than Pirates of the Caribbean. And that is a very good thing.

The Song “Dreamer” is early Queen by way of Supertramp, “In My Mind” has a bit of Bruno Mars Mojo to it, “Doomed” somehow rhymes china and vagina without and it actually works, and the auto-tuned close “Into The Wild” does take a wide left turn but ends up to be trippy instead of entirely offense to the years.

In short, from what these band of renegades delivered with this album, they might be one record away from creating their opus.

Five Cool Ones: Five New Records Released This Week – Or So (December 18, 2020)

Sure, it has been a slow couple of weeks for new music releases, and here at Rock is the New Roll we took this opportunity to take a week off for a little bit of a Staycation. But, fear not and ears up, we are back and ready to Rock and or Roll.

Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real continue to cement themselves as one of Rock is the New Roll’s favorite bands, here delivering a mesmerizing version of J.J. Cale’s “Magnolia” for their soundcheck series of videos.

La. funkster Marc Broussard brings it hard performing live from the Lafayette science museum with “Hard Knocks.”

And, our new to us discovery Fontaines D.C. perform “A Lucid Dream” from their latest record A Hero’s Death on an episode of 6 Music Live Sessions.

On top of all of that, here are five records that have tickled our ears this week.

Paul McCartney – McCartney iii

Much like taking your favorite jacket out of the closet when the weather gets cold, it is supremely comforting to have new Paul McCartney music in our lives. With McCartney iii, a direct sequel to McCartney released in 1970 and McCartney II in 1970, the high notes are not quite reached, but the slight nod of the head to whimsey and the wink of an eye to the oddities of life are clearly expressed along with the overall joy he gets from writing and presenting new music.

The songs are delicately sparse and there is never a sense that Sir Paul is trying to pander to the present-day Pop sensibilities. This is just one of the best artists that ever lived expressing himself through his music, staying in his lane, and delivering his best work in over a decade. The instrumental opener “Long Tailed Winter Bird” will take you back to a generation ago mind-space, the opus of a song “Deep Deep Feeling” is as solid a bit of songwriting you will have heard all year, and “Lavatory Lil” rocks things up a bit and shows that McCartney can still get saucy when he wants to after all these years. Word on the music streets is that McCartney has been hanging around with Rick Ruben. If this collaboration results in a new record in 21 or 22, that would be one hell of a swan song.

Margo Price – Perfectly Imperfect at The Ryman

Fresh off of her sparkling 2020 release, That’s How Rumors Get Started,” one of the Best Americana records of the year, Margo Price virtually owns the hallowed grounds of the Ryman with this solid set of songs going back to her debut with Third Man Records and her breakthrough All American Made albums. Her infectious blend of Country, Memphis Soul, and Texas twang are all on full display accompanied by some stellar guests including Emmylou on “Wild Women,” Jack White on the White Stripes Deep cut “Honey, We Can’t Afford to Look This Cheap,” and Sturgill Simpson tearing it up on “I Ain’t Livin’ Long like this. If you are already a Margo Price fan you will love this record. The medley of “Hurtin’ on the Bottle,” “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and drink” and “Whiskey River is just plain cool. If you are not hip to the Margo scene, get ready to fall in love. Her version of “Proud Mary” is worth the price of admission alone.

Kacy & Clayton feat. Marlon Williams – Plastic Bouquet

Psych-Folk duo Kacy & Clayton this time out stretching all sorts of musical boundaries with their new record Plastic Bouquet delivers Classic Country  duet style musings on “Old Fashioned Man,” Roy Orbison crooner on “I Wonder Why,” and ’60s Sandy Denny British-Folk inspired grooviness on “Light of Love.” In short, courtesy of cousins Kacy and Clayton, along with co-conspirator Marlon Williams, this one is a record with an eclectic delight around every corner that takes you down a road that we all really should travel.

Foxy Shazam – Burn

Do not adjust your ears. You read this correctly. Foxy Shazam, the band that brought you Gonzo in 2014, and The Church of Rock and Roll is back, and, yes indeed they are better than ever. All of the key elements of the band that we love so much are present and accounted for. Solid hooks, operatic vocals, elements of Queen, Jellyfish and Low Cut Connie all blending together to create a Power Pop Masterpiece.

The opener and title track is pure bombastic Foxy Shazam, “In My Mind” is Jellyfish on steroids and S.Y.A.A.F could have been a Styx ballad.

Call Me Spinster – Call Me Spinster

This slightly left of center sister trio from Chattanooga combines old-timey ’50s vocal sensibilities, Think Andrews Sisters,  with pristine harmonies and clever arrangements for a blend that is not only genre-defying but wholly intoxicating as well. “Two Hearts” could have very easily come from a Palmolive commercial back in the day, and “Long Hard Day”  would fit quite nicely on a Norah Jones record. Enjoy this teaser of a 5 song E.P. in anticipation of a proper release sometime in 2021.

What We’re Listening To – The Jellyfish Edition (May 17, 2020)

Jellyfish/The Lickerish Quartet/Imperial Drag/Foxygen/Foxy Shazam

Jellyfish

Jellyfish was a SanFranciso based band that was unapologetically retro in all the best ways of ways. With a Pop sensibility that brings to the minds-ear XTC, Badfinger and The Zombies, the band, formed around singer-songwriter Andy Sturmer, keyboard player Roger Manning along with Jason Falkner, crashed and burned mostly due to musical differences after two spectacularly immaculate records, Bellybutton and Spilt Milk.

Imperial Drag

Born from the ashes of Jellyfish was the band Imperial Drag that featured Jellyfish alum Roger Manning, singer Eric Dover, and drummer Andy Sturmer. The band was one and done. The Grunge obsessed fans of the mid-’90s were never a nuanced bunch and killed the group before it ever really got started.  Never the less, their Glam-forward self-titled record was an exercise in perfect Power Pop with that little bit of extra edge that made them really cool.

The Lickerish Quartet

And now, The Lickerish Quartet is playing it forward with their new record, Threesome, Vol. 1, a four-song E.P. that features Eric Dover, Roger Manning, and Tim Smith former members of the legendary band Jellyfish getting together for the first time since 1994. If you miss Slade, Queen and Marc Bolan you will love this band.

Foxygen

Foxygen and their 2013 album We are the 21st Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, along being with clear disciples of Jellyfish and Glam rock are another one of the bands that are not ashamed to wear the retro-rock tag with great honor. If Lou Reed and David Bowie had a love child the resulting spawn would be Foxygen. Unfortunately, having crashed and burned mostly due to the over the top LSS (Lead Singer Syndrome) affliction Sam France was dealing with, or maybe they ran out of money hiring a full symphony orchestra for their 2016 release Hang, in any case, the band is now on an indefinite hiatus.

Foxy Shazam

Another one of those backward-looking retro rocking bands that seem to have crashed and burned far too quickly, for our tastes anyway. With their intoxicating blend of rock and roll theatrics, a maniacal mix of double-kickdrum percussion, and howling vocals, maybe after lighting the sky on fire with 2012’s The Church of Rock and Roll maybe it is best for a band like this to die young and leave a good looking corpse.

— Jeremy Wren —

 

 

 

Video of the Day: Foxy Shazam – Tragic Thrill

If you are wondering what happened to Foxy Shazam, after their break though album, The Church of Rock & Roll, they broke with their major label and were on a forced hiatus and eventually disbanded in 2014. RIP Foxy Shazam, come back soon.

See the message from the band on their web site October, 2014:

After more than ten years of our lives completely revolving around Foxy Shazam, it is time to disband for an unknown amount of time. Performing more than two thousand shows together around the world has been life changing, but also has kept us from spending time with our families and pursuing our own passions and ways to grow individually as artists.
It has been an honor sharing ourselves and our music with all of you. Thank you to all of our fans, family, and friends that have supported us through everything to make this previous decade the best times of our lives.
We truly believe there is a future for Foxy Shazam, that our best art is yet to come. We don’t know how long this will take but we plan on someday returning more powerful than ever.

Foxy Shazam

 

Video of the Day: Foxy Shazam – Holy Touch

The band Foxy Shazam is actually from Cincinnati, Ohio but you would never know it. Based on the amount of coolness in this band they should be from Los Angeles, or even San Francisco. Sort of a wicked hybrid of Queen and The Darkness meets Slade. “Holy Touch” is from The Church of Rock and Roll, a few albums back, but no less groovy.