Tag: Lukas Nelson

Five Cool Ones: Five New Albums Released This Week (July 14, 2023)

Back from hiatus, we are back and better than ever, doing the work so you don’t have to.

The band Sweet, yes, the group that brought you “Ballroom Blitz,” “Fox On The Run,” and “Love is Like Oxygen,” is back with a new single, “Changes.” More E.L.O. or Boston than Glam, but it is still very cool.

Sunset Strip Wonderboys, The Bites, are scorching the earth with their mulleted masterpiece, “Heather Leather.”

And, if that is not enough, Eric Clapton teams up with the late Jeff on a very Jeff Beck version of “Moon River.”

And now, without further ado, here are five new records to tickle the senses and bathe the ears.

Kool and the Gang – People Just “Wanna” Have Fun

Editors note, this is not an album that will get much airplay outside your pool or the hippest house party on the block. It is what it is, a set of highly danceable tunes that will have you getting down like you were one of the dancers on soul train.

The opening song, “Let’s Party,” will have you tapping your toes, the title track is pure ’70s disco pleasure, and “VIP” would have made Prince proud.

So touch up the afro, get those bell bottoms out of the closet, and dance like it’s 1979 all over again.

Lukas Nelson & Nelson and Promise of the Real – Sticks and Stones

Continuing to veer to the hippy side, Lukas Nelson and his band offer a solid set of blues boogies, barroom stompers, and campfire singalongs.

Since writing drinking songs is almost the family business, Lukas has composed his own “Whisky River” courtesy of “Every Time I Drink” and The anthemic Alcohallejula,” and there are not many songs written this year better than “More Than Friends, a song that features Lainey Wilson.

Unlike previous efforts, there is no real message on this one. This time delivering a set of loose good-time, bar-centric tunes is the order of the day, and to that, we say bravo.

Night Beats – Rajan

A Psych Rock lovers dream much in the mold of King Grizzard, Rajan, the latest from Night Beats, combines Turkish psych, Morricone Western Noir, and Funk into a blend worthy of a Tarantino soundtrack.

The mood is firmly set on “Hot Ghee,” where you don’t know if you are in an ashram outside of Tibet, a teepee in Sedona, or at a party at Donovan’s house with Austin Powers, Cheech and Chong, and Willie Nelson. The smokey swirl of “Blue” will remind you of that last time you were on mushrooms, and the more conventional “Moving Pictures” would have been spot-on playing over the credits in a Fellini movie.

A mood-setting record, this one is worth spending time with, if nothing else, to see what might be lurking around the next corner.

Colter Wall – Little Songs

With the best country baritone on this side of Charley Crockett, Colter Wall is back with another traditionist set of Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt-worthy storytelling. 

With vivid imagery and concise arrangements, spending time with Little Songs is like walking along a Canadian prairie walking along with the cactus and the coyote. 

“Standing Here” is a James Hand-worthy track with a simple message, you can accomplish a lot just by hanging out and standing there. “Honky Tonk Nighthawk” is as fine a honky tonk song as you will hear all year. Just give me a buckskin beer and a lap steel guitar.

Almost a decade in the making, the next in the line of great country stars may have just arrived.

Duane Betts – Wild & Precious Life

Another card-carrying member of the Allman Brothers and scion of Dickey Betts, Duane Betts partners up with Marcus King, Nicki Bluhm, and Derek Trucks on a Southern rock-centric album of Allman-worthy jams, double shot blues rockers that would make SRV blush, and Duane Allman proud.

“Waiting On A Song” is pure rambling man splendor, “Cold Dark World” sets the roof on fire with Marcus King front and center, and “Circles in the Stars” that Duane has a songwriting talent that can stand fret for fret with any Allman Brothers band member past or present.

Five Cool Ones – Five New Albums Released This Week (June 11, 2021)

As we scramble to put together the best albums of the year (so far) list there are still a ton of really good records to digest. For the Rockers out there Kiss has released a from the soundboard live album from 2001, and we are not sure why, and Black Sabbath have remastered their 1972 album sabotage. 

Billy F. Gibbons has a new video out and, yes there are girls and cars front and center as you would expect from the ZZ Top frontman.

Sir Tom Jones paid a visit to the NPR Tiny Desk for a performance of cuts from his latest record. “Another Cup of Coffee” is worth the price of admission alone.

And, Rich Ragany & The Digressions bring their Elvis Costello meets Tom Petty stylings to the front of the line with their new song that celebrates the challenge of just taking on the day.

On top of all that there is a bevy of new tune-slices to savor this week. Here are five of them we particularly like.

Sleater-Kinney – Path of Wellness

Going a bit back to their roots with Path of Wellness, Sleater-Kinney’s latest release, and the first in quite some time without drummer Janet Weiss is a rocker of a record that takes textures of the best of ’90’s girl-power Rock and Roll. 

There is more than a little Patti Smith dusting in “Down The Line,” “Complex Female Characters” is a powerful snarling anthem, and “Bring Mercy” could have been a protest anthem from the seventies.

For a band that never really breaks up but seems to disappear for years at a time, the beauty in their art is that they seem to come back around at the exact time when they are sorely needed.

Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend

One of the more anticipated records of the year, Wolf Alice after teasing us with several singles is finally out with their new record, Blue Weekend.

Much more dialed back here than the back of the arena howl of 2017’s Vision of Life, this set of songs were designed to be played in more intimate settings perhaps even on the set of …Later With Jools Holland. That’s not to say that there is not a lot to like here, there certainly is. “Delicious Things” is a swooping Florence and the Machine-worthy anthem, “Lipstick on the Glass” is exquisite Dream-Pop escapism, and “How Can I Make It Ok” is Ellie Rowsell and the band’s version of a power ballad.

Sandwiching the entire set between the opening slow burn of “The Beach” and the end of the evening whirling dervish beauty of the closer “The Beach II” tells us that trying to figure out what is around the corner for this band might be very much a fool’s errand.

Brad Marino – Looking For Trouble

With more than a little Greg Kihn in the DNA of Brad Marino and his latest record Looking For Trouble, if you are looking for a record that will make you smile and take you back to the carefree no-responsibility days of your youth this is your jam.

There is a tinge of slightly less frenetic Flamin’ Groovies on “Looking For Trouble,” a dusting of Devo by way of The Knack on “Something For Nothing,” and The Ramones as produced by Phil Spector come to mind with a listen of “What Do You Know.”

With more hooks than an episode of “dangerous catch,” there is not a bad song in this batch of Power Pop perfection. This is Rock and Roll at its accessible best. If You love Rockpile, The Romantics, The Greg Kihn Band, or even The Georgia Satellites, you will love this record.

Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real – A Few Stars Apart

Generously prolific during his year in lockdown Lukas Nelson, son of Willie, turns off the news and gets a bit more philosophical on his latest record, A Few Stars Apart.

Where Willie the elder starts and Lukas begins is an ever-present question on this album with “We’ll Be Alright” a perfect touchstone that could have easily been a hit single on Dad’s Red Headed Stranger and is a tune that will likely turn up on our top songs of the year list.

The song “Wildest Dreams” could have been a Tom Petty song, and the perfectly placed closer “Smile” has Lukas smiling and contemplating acceptance and forgiveness while he lays out in the sun. Sounds like a great thing to do.

Aquarian Blood – Bending The Golden Hour

An intoxicating new find here in the halls of Rock is the New Roll, Aquarian Blood is a Memphis husband-and-wife-duo that blends Country, Americana, and Psychedelic Folk into a blender that is uniquely mysterious as well as highly listenable.

“Waited” sounds like it could have been recorded in Joshua Tree State Park with the coyotes howling instead of their home studio in Memphis, “Alabama Daughter” has an eerie low-fi vibe that grabs your ears and drags them close to the speaker, while “Night Train” is a spooky noir sounding tune that would fit in quite nicely as the theme song for a new season of True Detective. 

Not their first album, but clearly their most ambitious. 43 songs were ultimately recorded for these sessions before the “Sophie’s Choice” selection process whittled them down to 17, clearly indicating there may be another record hitting our shores in the relatively near future. And, that is a very good thing.

Five Cool Ones: Just Five Cool Ones for This Week (January 8, 2021)

As musicians are dusting themselves off and getting ready to make their plans for the new year, the new record releases for this week have been a bit tepid, to say the least. But, fear not musical buckaroos, we will be back in full glory in the next couple of weeks as there are some really cool tunes primed and ready to hit our ear-waves very soon. In the meantime, here five cool ones that have hit our radar recently.

Grace Potter – Release

Somewhere along the line, Grace Potter has started to morph into a slightly more hip Beth Hart. But, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Here, on her fresh as a daisy new video for some inexplicable reason, we see her pulling a boat down the beach in a bikini, slow walking seductively in a field of flowers, and sitting down at the piano singing like a bird. But ours is not to question why ours is only to enjoy the ride provided by this song from her highly excellent 2019 record, Daylight.

Lukas Nelson – Set Me Down On A Cloud

Son of Willie proves once again that the apple falls right next to the tree. His series of quarantine songs, Special Soundcheck Songs, has been a beautiful respite of calmness during these trying days. Here, he performs an acoustically lovely version of “Set Me Down On A Cloud” from his debut self-titled record.

Peanuts Gang – Roundabout

This is a tough song to cover, but here the entire Peanuts gang joins in on one of the best versions of the song you will ever hear. Spoiler alert, Snoopy plays a mean upright bass.

Brothers in Exile – Last Orders

The former member of the Welsh band Sonny Jim, Lloyd Jenkins partners with Stu Calder for a new project, Brothers in Exile. With this, their latest single, the boys deliver a bouncy hook-laden gem in the Wildhearts mold.  Classic Rock magazine describes the tune as more fun than a clown car driven at speed into a bouncy castle. And, heck they may have something there.

The Quins – Wild Ones

Put a pin in this one and save it in your musical memory banks because you are going to bearing a lot more great music emanating from this band in the coming months, you can bet on it. Solid riffs, Power Pop textures with a dynamically voiced singer that can carry the day. For practice dive into their back catalog that includes their 2019 epic of an album, The Woods Look Good.

And, for extra credit check the band out live performing “The Devil’s Abode.”

 

Coronatune of the Day: Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real – Couldn’t Break Your Heart

One of the best quarantine acts going, Lucas Nelson and the Promise of the Real perform a live rendition of “Couldn’t Break Your Heart” from their release earlier this year, Sacred Garden.

Rock is the New Roll: The Top 100 Albums of 2019 (50-41)

Here it is, the long-awaited list of the best albums of 2019. It has been a really great year for music. We heard from a couple of deceased legends in Harry Nilsson and Leonard Cohen, were treated with new records from Texas Honky Tonk legends Jack Ingram, Corb Lund, and Dale Watson, and bright lights shone for the first time with a bevy of new artists to discover including the one name wonders Lizzo and Yola.

Rock is not dead with White Reaper, Drugdealer and Balck Country Communion all inviting us to a party like it’s 1979. And of course, the singer-songwriter is back. The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, is back and better than ever and Rock is the New Roll favorite Tom Russell gave us a history lesson in 11 songs with October in the Railroad Earth.

This year we will be releasing our top 100 list 10 tasty gems at a time, so sit back, grab your favorite beverage, and enjoy the ear-pleasing top 100 records of the year.

50. Renée Wahl – Cut To The Bone

With a spaghetti western Quentin Tarantino vibe courtesy of her Cracker Jack band The Sworn Secrets, this one sounds like a cross between Melissa Etheridge and Nicki Bluhm.

49. Dale Watson – Call Me Lucky

Truly an original, step back 50 years into Dale Watson’s Honky Tonk World.

48. Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse – Love & Murder

Lead singer Greta Valenti is the straw that stirs this drink, but it doesn’t stop there. This is a lot of Country Blues swagger to love about this album.

47. Molly Tuttle – When You’re Ready

This one is for this of us who think they don’t like bluegrass. With stellar playing and vocals that would make Mary Chapin Carpenter blush, Molly Tuttle should be on your own personal best new artist list.

46. Kingfish – Kingfish

20-year old Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is nothing short of the next great blues prodigy. Growing up in the Mississippi delta just a few miles from the actual “crossroads” just listen to the tone coming from this guy.

45. The Teskey Brothers – Run Home Slow

The Teskey Brothers, and yes, they are real brothers, channel Motown, Blues, Funk, and Blue-Eyed Australian Soul.  With a shuffling rhythm that hooks you on every note, their sound bears similarities to Michael Kiwanuka. Listener beware though, the hipsters are starting to catch on to this band.

44. GospelbeacH – Let It Burn

Much like he did with his former band Beachwood Sparks, with GospelbeacH, lead singer Brent Rademcker, channels Tom Petty and the Laurel Canyon sound with a Country Rock vibe that is timeless. Adding even more to the Pop credentials laid down on the highly excellent 2017 release Another Summer of Love, “Dark Angel” could have been a long lost Heartbreakers song, and even when the band goes low and slow like they do on “Get It Back” there is a cool nostalgia that can be traced back to The Long Run era Eagles. The late Neil Casal, who was a member of Beachwood Sparks, contributes searing solos throughout the record and is a bittersweet presence on an uplifting record.

43. Jade Jackson – Wilderness

No real new ground is broken here, just a solid set of highly listenable Pop tinged Americana tunes. And, that is very special.

42. The Pearlfishers – Love & Other Hopeless Things

This fine Scottish Pop group delivers an often time glorious Brian Wilson inspired set of songs.

41. Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real – Turn Off The News (Build a Garden)

As the son of Willie Nelson and the bandleader for Bradley Cooper in A Star is Born, Lukas Nelson is as hot as a firecracker right now. Lukas and his boys have even found the time to release a new record in between concerts as the backing band for Neil Young. With a Traveling Wilburys vibe in places and a widescreen pop dusting in others along with a scent of herbal hippie sensation wafting across the entire proceedings, the experience of listening to this album will be mind-altering.

Five Cool Ones: Five Cool Albums Released This Week (June 14, 2019)

No need to adjust your sets. Just because you woke up to a new release from Bruce Springsteen, an album from Madonna, a retrospective set from Cheryl “Got To Be Real” Lynn, and a live recording from Stan Getz, doesn’t mean you have entered into some sort of Frank Zappa zodiac 80’s mind-warp. No, It just another week in what is shaping up to be a great year in music.

Bruce Springsteen – Western Stars

Addressing the elephant in the room first, the new Bruce Springsteen record is out today. And it is good, very good, maybe his best in a decade. The Laurel Canyon vibe is all over this one and some say that the album is sort of an homage to the old Glen Campbell Jimmy Webb pairings from the days of yore. After a couple of listens I can see it. Oh yeah, and did I say this album was good, actually I meant great.

‘Keb ‘Mo – Oklahoma

Kevin Morris, ‘Keb ‘Mo, goes down smooth like a glass of fine scotch or a cigarette after sex. Any record of his should be savored, and Oklahoma, his latest offering, is just that sort of listen.

Jamestown Revival – San Isabel

Every 18 months or so Jamestown Revival will release an album and remind me that I really love this band. Their latest, San Isabel, takes them back to their roots and their Simon and Garfunkel by way of CSN vibe. Their loving tribute to California Dreamin’ is worth the price of admission alone.

Los Coast – Samsura

This Austin based combo is a bit genre defying, and in ‘this case that is a very good thing. Part Soul, part Surf-Rock, a lot Psychedelic, and all Cool. If Jellyfish merged with The Dap Kings the resulting hybrid might sound like these guys.

Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real – Turn Off The News (Build a Garden)

As the son of Willie Nelson and the bandleader for Bradley Cooper in A Star is Born, Lukas Nelson is as hot as a firecracker right now. Lukas and his boys have even found the time to release a new record in between concerts as the backing band for Neil Young. With a Traveling Wilburys vibe in places and a widescreen pop dusting in others along with a scent of herbal hippie sensation wafting across the entire proceedings, the experience of listening to this album will be mind altering.