With summer just a few fortnights away, the music scene is already warming up.
Sadly, the far less superior Taking It To The Streets era lineup was chosen for the Doobie Brothers reboot.
The airport 77’s have a new platter scheduled for April 30 with an advance single in “If It’s On, I’m In.”
And, Rock is the New Roll new faves Strawberry Moon are banging us in the eardrums with “Polly Pocket World.”
But, you know the drill by now, here are five new savory nuggets for your ear massage this week.
Elton John and Brandi Carlile – Who Believes In Angels
No stranger to collaborations going back to the Kiki Dee days, Elton John, this time, has teamed up with Brandi Carlile to produce a likable album of pop gems that remind us how great and for-the-times that these respective artists are.
The lead-off single takes the title from Elton’s 2024 documentary Never Too Late, and with standout tracks like “The Rose Of Laura Nyro” and “Little Richards Bible” as well as the Saturday Night swagger of “Swing For The Fences,” it is clear that Sir Elton, even semi-retired, still has an awful lot in his musical tank.
Pug Johnson – El Cabron
El Cabron, the latest from Pug Johnson, one of the lesser known members of the outlaw country movement, draws inspiration from Townes Van Zandt and Terry Allen in creating a deviant landscape that includes gringos, saloon girls, and malcontents all doing business on a bed of Cajun, Texas Swimg, and honky-tonk.
We meet our hero, or villian depending on your point of view, with a thing for Singapore Slings courtesy of the title track as he heads to Mexico to cantinas full of women and song, all the way to last call with “Last Call (With Apologies To Terry Allen) with a side trip to the cathouse with the Doug Sahm worthy “Thanks To The Cathluse (I’m In The Doghouse With You.”)
This one is quite possibly the best outlaw story record since Terry Allen’s Juarez.
Lily Seabird – Trash Mountain
Named after a decommissioned landfill site where she lives with a collective of artists, Vermont’s own Lily Seabird applies her wares on Trash Mountain with an early-era Lucinda Williams esthetic.
The songs on the new record reflect her emergence coming out the other end of dark times following the suicide of her best friend and the travails of an extensive touring schedule.
“Albany” is a remuneration on a broken society, “How Far Away” is the song that directly addresses her grief, and “The Fight” is a piano-based wonderment that puts her Joni Mitchell influences on full display.
Lily Seabird, through her music as well as her ecology-forward agenda, is clearly an artist who is here to make a difference in this world.
The Waterboys – Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper
Having written a song called “Aftermath” in the 80’s that was loosely based on the life of Dennis Hopper, The Waterboys are out with a proper long-player tribute with Life, Death, And Dennis Hopper.
Inspired by the life and ethos of the iconic actor, Mike Scott, drawing from Hopper’s acting as well as his photography, has created a series of conceptual vignettes with a bevy of collaborators including Steve Earle, Fiona Apple, and Bruce Springsteen.
Released on the venerable Sun Records label featuring a song for each of Hopper’s ex-wives, the record is a sprawling 60’s psychedelic era wonderment that should stand the test of time when the end-of-the-year awards season rolls around.
West 22nd – Nowhere To Be
Coming to you from the musical hotbed of Austin, TX, and the West campus at the University of Texas, West 22nd is an Indie Folk group in the Mumford and Sons mold with the occasional bombast of the Lumineers.
From the opener, “Can’t Help It” a song with a certain Fountains of Wayne appeal, to the Wilco-esque “Laugh It All” the band clearly demonstrates that they have the songwriting chops to quickly go from playing frat parties to the stages of SXSW in the very near future.
Rock Is The New Roll 