Tag: Margo Price

Five Cool Ones: Five New Albums Released This Week (January 13, 2023)

Back in the saddle and ready to roll for 2023, Bernie Sparrow, Jeremy Wren, Jimmy the Finch, Cletus Crow, Nigel Owl, and the rest of the staff at Rock is the new Roll is gearing up for another great year of good music and good vibes.

Rock is the New Roll favorite Indie popster Brett Dennen is out front and center with his ode to the new year with “This Is Going To Be The Year.”

The Nude party is gearing up for a new record later in the year with the infectious new sing “Ride On” where they deftly and without a net rhyme Mexico, a vaquero named Alfredo, and Mexico.

And, if you are not hip to the Nervous Eaters, take this opportunity to check out this band that combines the Velvets with 80’s Loverboy vibes on their latest “Last Chance.”

But, enough of all that, here are five new records to savor this week.

CVC – Get Real

CVC, Church Village Collective, is a Welsh band that favors tight CSN harmonies, breeze-pop tunes, and yacht rock adjacent melodies. With this, their first proper record following up on 2022’s Real to Real.

From the opening salvo courtesy of “Hail Mary” the sonic palate of ’80s influenced AOR widescreen classic rock is front and center with its Christopher Cross by way of America vibe, while “Knock Knock” takes you on a trip into Little River Band territory.

The band was heavily influenced by their parent’s respective record collections, most notably, Wings, Neil Young, and REO Speedwagon. With the song “Anogo,” try picturing in your minds ear the Electric Light Orchestra singing doo-wop, and you will get a sense of how cool and eclectic this record is.

Margo Price – Strays

Opening this song-set by proclaiming that she has been to the mountain and back is a strong declaration that Margo Price is back and better than ever once again shape shifting her sound, this time into a cross of the Pretenders Chrissie Hynde backed by Crazy Horse, and indeed it is cool.

Not as confessional as you might think it would be, she saves that for her memoir, here she embarks on a set of story songs including “Light Me Up,” with an assist from Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, and “Radio” with Sharon Van Etten that takes the ears for a ride to the glory days of AOR radio on a song that could have been a Fleetwood Mac single back in the day.

Often times, subtle mood-shifts and turns are the sign of a confident artist that is in control of her own art, and that is certainly the case here. The flow from breezy to contemplative to downright fun will have you returning to this record for months to come.

Whitehorse – I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying

On their latest record I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying, Whitehorse, the husband-and-wife duo named after the Capital of Yukon, Canada, channel the best of the ’60s Country male-female partnerships in the George and Tammy mold to sublime perfection.

Transported quickly to your favorite honkytonk from the opening lap-steel teer in your beer beauty “If The Loneliness Don’t Kill Me” to the mournful “I Might Get Over This (But I Won’t Stop Loving You)” this set puts the classic in classic country.

Belle and Sebastian – Late Developers

Indie pop heroes Belle and Sebastian are fresh out of the box with another pristine record of power pop goodness.

Stylistically, few bands blend musical tones and textures better than this band, and here case in point, “Give A Little Time,” a bouncy up-tempo wonderment that even features a dusting of a Thin Lizzy influence. “Will I Tell You A Secret” would make Donovan blush, and “So In The Moment” is the first great driving tune of 2023.

With songs as strong as the “Juliet Naked,” and the semi-funk “When You’re Not With Me,” we are calling our shot now. This record will be in contention for record of the year. It’s that good.

The Subways – Uncertain Joys

For those not in the know, The Subways are a British rock band from Welwyn Garden city that is influenced by Oasis, AC/DC, T Rex, The Ramones, the Beatles, and The Carpenters.

With touches of the Smiths on “Waiting On You,” boy band Brit-pop on the title track, and Black Sabbath by way of Billy Idol all over “Incantation” this record is about as eclectically cool as it can get.

“Black Wax” wears a Depeche Mode mood ring, and the semi-ballad “Amelie” is pure Oasis, love it or loathe it at your own discretions.

This band is definitely a fresh find worthy of your ear-time.

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 (May 10, 2020)

Datura4

In the blink of an ear, these guys from Western Australia have transformed themselves from an on-fire Blues-Boogie band to one of the best Psychedelic Rock bands on the planet.

Their earlier albums including Blessed is the Boogie were pretty much straight-ahead Blues Rock affairs with occasional mid-song jams to display their immense musical chops. Now, with their latest release, West Coast Highway Cosmic, the band has turned the Psychedelic Rock up to 11, so much so that they would make the 13th-floor elevators blush. The album steps on the gas and stretches out the jams on the “Highway Star ” influenced title track, turns up the Steppenwolf vibes on “Wolfman Woogie,” and meanders its way through the desert-noir of “You’re The Only One”

Grace Potter Monday Night Twilight Hour

Grace Potter is using her quarantine time wisely by putting together a weekly YouTube video series to share music with her fans. Typically, it is just her and her piano, but here, she enlists help from her band on an excellent version of the Zeppelin classic “Whole Lotta Love.”

Margo Price – Twinkle Twinkle

By all rights, we should be listening to, That’s How Rumors Get Started, the new record from Margo Price that was supposed to come out this past Friday. But, it is Corona delayed, so we get the next best thing, a song, and accompanying video to wet the whistle until we are able to hear the entire thing in all its glory.

Ray Wylie Hubbard – Outlaw Blood

The mighty Texas Troubadour Ray Wylie Hubbard has a new album in the can and it is almost ready to hit the streets. The record features a dazzling array of guests including, Ringo Starr, Don Was, Chris Robinson, The Cadillac Three, Joe Walsh, Pam Tillis, Paula Nelson, Elizabeth Cook, Tyler Bryant, Ashley McBryde, Larkin Poe, Peter Rowan, and Ronnie Dunn. Just to name them all.

Paul Weller – Nick Lowe

Both of these blokes have a record coming out later in the year and to say we are looking forward to it is a bit like saying we are looking forward to happy hour.

Nick Lowe does a particularly excellent imitation of the cool uncle and elder statesman as he as grown into over the last several albums with “Lay It On Me Baby.”

Albert King – Funky London

A little blues 12-bar workout from Albert Kings’ Funky London. The title track and the instrumental cover of JB’s “Cold Sweat” are worth the price of admission alone on this one.

Elton John – Tonight (Live From Moscow ’79)

For our ears, the Elton John w/Ray Cooper 1979 live album has passed over 17-11-70, or 11-17-70 if your on this side of the pond, as the best live record in the Elton John canon. Side one is just Elton and his piano where he tickles the ivories like his life depended on it, especially so on his scorching rendition of “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.” And, things get even cooler when percussionist Ray Copper joins Elton on stage kicking things off with “Funeral For A Friend” followed by the best version you will ever hear of “Tonight.”