3rd July 2023

Paul Simon – Seven Psalms

I believe there is are fascinating appreciations waiting to be written about artists who are loved and acclaimed for work famous in the twentieth century that have continued to create and release top-drawer music over the most recent twenty years. Top of that list would be Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney but without a doubt Paul Simon has been quietly building his catalogue with some essential, if less heralded, work in this period too. In fact, if you look at his solo releases, there were just nine albums in the twentieth century whilst this new album ‘Seven Psalms’ will be the seventh in our current century, that represents quite a significant proportion of his output. And if recent interviews are to be believed, he has no desire to stop creating either, regardless of the fact that the world touring years are now over. The most significant factor however remains the music and with this album, Simon has produced a beautiful, hymn-like meditative and continuous piece of music, like nothing he has previously played, with acoustic guitar textures as the centre point and Simon’s ethereal, subliminal thoughts and words caressing this remarkable work into existence…

Peter Gabriel – Road To Joy (Bright-Side Mix)

At the other end of the scale output wise (he admits he works at a snails pace) is Peter Gabriel although the important point again here is, the music stands up creditably alongside his older material. I reflect on my experience of seeing Gabriel live for the first time in twenty years alongside this months Fruit Tree Records playlist and here is one of the latest ‘i/o’ tracks that landed, as all others have thus far, on the occasion of a full moon…

Rick Astley & Blossoms – There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

This weeks half dozen recommendations are centred around a theme of either older artists or older material. I cannot tell you what my opinion is of Rick Astley in general other than, seeing him doing this at Glastonbury 2023 as part of a set consisting entirely of Smiths songs, it is obvious he has a good deal more credibility as a performer and lead vocalist than former SAW dissing snobs (like myself regrettably) have ever acknowledged. Furthermore, I would far rather watch Rick sing these songs in 2023 than Morrissey…

Royal Blood – Figure It Out

I cannot defend Royal Blood’s petulant outburst the other week when they were sandwiched between pop acts whose fans lacked the kind of effusive rock reaction that Royal Blood seem to believe is their entitlement. As they walked on stage during the live feed of Glastonbury my expectation was that I would switch over imminently. Actually, I stayed glued to the whole set because, rather annoyingly given their slightly tarnished reputation, they are pretty damn good at what they do. ‘Figure It Out’ has always been my favourite song of theirs and as they were tearing it up the festival crowd seemed suitably ‘rocked’, so no one got a telling off this time around…. phew…

Elton John – Rocket Man

Included simply because I love Elton John and his music has been a part of my life from my earliest memory. If this is indeed his last ever performance on UK soil (and you cannot ignore the way his onstage announcement left room for a row back) he left us with the kind of set that becomes a legend most; zero filler, all killer, largest crowd I’ve ever seen at the festival, voice sounding fantastic and piano playing still consummate. Never forget, Elton may have fame that puts him on other planets, as unreachable as a royal or a world leader, but in his heart he is one of us, a music obsessive and record collector (albeit with a far more enviable budget!)…

Kieran Hebden & William Tyler – Darkness Darkness

And finally something new in the shape of a reworking by the Four Tet main man of a song written by Jesse Colin Young of the band The Youngbloods in 1969. It is available now on Psychic Hotline…

Monthly Playlists

July 2023 Playlist

In 1987 I went with three friends to my first gig at Earls Court in London to see Peter Gabriel. I was certainly not dragged along but of the four of us school buddies, I think I was the only one who had not bought Gabriel’s then massive hit album ‘So’ and definitely did not know much about him. His performance that night was a game changer for me though; so impressed was I with the theatrical energy of the performance, the daring trust he showed in his audience falling backwards from the stage into their waiting hands, not to mention the futuristic and yet somehow soulful timbre of his sound and the tantalizing mix of the weird and familiar that waited for me to explore in his back catalogue, that within a year I was very much a Gabriel fan. By then I had his whole solo output in my collection and moved quickly on to all the early seventies albums when he was the lead singer in Genesis. Eventually that exploration opened doors to other Prog Rock bands from the period and pushed me onto a progression into other eras and styles resulting in a lifetime of record collecting and musical discovery.

So, Peter Gabriel holds an important personal place in my musical mind, even though from that moment in 1987 onwards he has hardly been a Neil Young-like artist of prolific output. In fact for the next fifteen years there would be (setting aside the odd soundtrack and collaboration projects) a grand total of two new albums of solo new material followed by another twenty years of nothing much beyond the occasional new track appearing online, an album of old material arranged for a string orchestra and a covers album which, even though it had a unique collaborative subtext, cannot help but suggest that an artist is low on ideas and inspiration. To be honest, I had all but retired Peter Gabriel off as a creative artist in my head after so long in the wilderness so when he began releasing new music this year from a long talked about new album, ‘i/o’, not in the traditional manner, but with a song appearing with every full moon, it seemed like a gimmick too far for me. Drip feeding the songs over the past six months had not really held my interest and part of me suspected that it may be a tactic to fend off mediocre reviews the album might be in danger of receiving.

But then there is the other side of me that has always trusted the artistic judgements of Peter Gabriel and has certainly never felt let down by them. Then there was the news that an arena tour was heading our way this summer coupled with the thought that this may be the last time he undertakes such a large-scale excursion. My curiosity spiked even further when early reports from the tour showed images of grand stage designs and the man himself in a flat cap dressed like a janitor. “Maybe he is returning to costumes as he did in the early Genesis years?” I wondered to myself. Having been put off by the ticket prices I privately began to feel a tinge of regret that I might not see this new show. However, I was unexpectedly the happy recipient of a ticket to the Birmingham show this past month as a generous fathers-day present from my daughter Gabrielle (who I think believes that she is named after Peter Gabriel although that may not be entirely accurate, I guess the name is always in my head somewhere?)

I travelled to Birmingham in expectation of an emotional night. I had deliberately avoided reading online spoilers from earlier attendees of the tour and was prepared for a show revisiting deep corners of the back catalogue, maybe reaching back even further into the cuckoo-cocooned pre-solo years to material every bit as important to me as the post 1977 output that I have never heard the man himself sing live. It turns out this was not a wholly ridiculous notion, since the gig night I have seen a reliable online source claim that band members were asked to learn the Genesis classic ‘Carpet Crawlers’ at the start of rehearsals but it failed to make the cut.

The reason I expected this nostalgia fest, which I could not have been more wrong about incidentally, was down to the fact that ‘i/o’ is still unreleased as a full album, all we have so far are those new moon songs, so surely he would not be playing an arena show and overloading it with material no one knows? Well, that was exactly what we got, in fact in a show lasting approximately two and a half hours just over fifty percent of the time was given to new songs. And I am so glad it was because it magically re-connected me with everything that first plugged me into the ideas and music of Peter Gabriel thirty-six years ago. Admittedly the band were probably the strongest combination of musicians I have ever seen him work with, not only did they crack open the emotional core in the new numbers but tracks like ‘Digging In The Dirt’ rocked harder than ever before. Still, for me it comes back to simply respecting a genuine music originator who forever does things his own way and executes with style and class. He releases finely crafted albums only when ready and he puts on a show with ideas, thought and exacting attention to audio and visual experience. Peter Gabriel is not a heritage artist; he remains a doggedly individualist creative in a league of his own. The new music and shows he is presenting in 2023 will surely sit justifiably alongside the best of the work in his canon. One of those new songs kicks off this month’s playlist too so get digging…

Fresh Juice

26th June 2023

Eilen Jewell – Lethal Love

Eilen has for a couple of decades now been one of the essential artists on the country scene who remains frustratingly outside of the mainstream. That might have something to do with the uncompromising purity in her rockabilly sound, she never sounds anything other than wholly true to who she is musically and that is expressed to the full on newly released album ‘Get Behind the Wheel’ on Signature Sounds Recordings…

The Coral – Wild Bird

This band of scouse psychedelic warriors show no sign of letting up even as they enter a third decade of music making. This is taken from the band’s forthcoming album ‘Sea Of Mirrors’ released on 8th September 2023 which is a speedy follow up to the former Fruit Tree Records album of 2021 ‘Coral Island’ covered by us here: https://fruit-tree-records.com/2022/01/03/the-coral-coral-island/

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway – Next Rodeo

Here is another artist responsible for a previous Fruit Tree Records album of the year, this time as recently as 2022 with the ‘Crooked Tree’ record which was written about here: https://fruit-tree-records.com/2022/12/22/molly-tuttle-the-golden-highway-crooked-tree/ This new tune is from their upcoming album, ‘City of Gold,’ due July 21 on Nonesuch Records…

Picture Parlour – Norwegian Wood

First of all this is related in no way to the Beatles classic, but if a title is designed to catch your attention this certainly works. When casting your net, as I do every week, for new music to excite and stimulate you will inevitably encounter some names repeatedly getting mentioned and you suspect, because more often than not it turns out to be true, that this is hype generated by an act well connected within the industry. I had read the name Picture Parlour a few times lately and gave this clip a try out for that reason primarily (although the title had me curious too). Whilst I wouldn’t want to go overboard in my praise, the buzz around Picture Parlour is clearly based on musical merit and va-va-voom far more than it is knowing the right PR people, which is always something to celebrate, watch this four piece…

Blur – The Narcissist

This is the by now probably quite familiar lead single from the reformed Blur’s forthcoming new album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’. As great as it is to have them back and playing both large and small gigs again this summer, that they remain inspired to turn a reformation into a creative process highlights the musical seed within their DNA that always elevated Blur above their closest Britpop peers in my opinion. That Damon and Graham have maintained a relevant presence in the mainstream music scene over thirty years since their bands debut album is further evidence of their justifiable stature. I am reserving critical appraisal of the new album until I get to experience it as a whole, but this song does promise a firm hold in the bands catalogue with absolutely no suggestion of covering terrains already well walked…

Melissa Aldana – Los Ojos de Chile

This is a captivating live recording from earlier this year courtesy of The Soraya at Cal State Northridge. Sometimes the visual spectacle of seeing an artist connect with their music both physically and instinctively can open up doors and I believe that to be the case here with Melissa. The moment she locks into this piece at the outset she is no longer on stage before an audience, she is sailing in another dimension. The album ’12 Stars’ was released in 2022 on the Blue Note label…

Fresh Juice

19th June 2023

Oracle Sisters – Hail Mary

This is another Fresh Juice 2023 offering from the Oracle Sisters album ‘Hydranism’, a record that is fast becoming one of my favourites of the year thanks to its effortless deployment of pop classicism. ‘Hail Mary’ is a great example of this, essentially a piano ballad of the type that Lennon was putting out in the early seventies. The focus on the core musical elements is fine because the Oracle Sisters hooks are easy on the ear and infectious, add to that a soaring Harrison-esque guitar solo and that cool nonchalance they exude, it all flags up a winning summer pop potion here that should enrapture all that encounter it…

Buck Meek – Haunted Mountain

It seems to me that anything produced by anyone associated with the band Big Thief at this moment in time is delivered with a vitality and conviction that ensures essential music on every occasion. This is the new solo material from the bands guitarist Buck Meek; ‘Haunted Mountain’ is the title track from his forthcoming album, out 25th August on 4AD and it already sounds anything but a side project, all honkin’ no tonkin’ indeed…

Luluc – Diamonds

Luluc are a band who first caught my attention with the sublime track ‘Heist’ from their 2019 album ‘Sculptor’. They are a dream-folk songwriting duo made up of Zoe Randell and multi-instrumentalist Steve Hassett. In last weeks Fresh Juice I made a passing reference to critics making lazy comparisons to Nick Drake, I mention this because in reading up on Luluc I learned that the significant authority Lucinda Williams has called Zoe a “female Nick Drake” and whilst this is not a name that immediately jumps to mind, I would not question the opinion of Lucinda and do agree that there is a weightless, timeless, floating quality to the sound of Luluc. This is the official music video for the title track of new album ‘Diamonds’ out September 15, 2023…

PACKS – 4th Of July

This bittersweet grungy delight of a tune was from PACKS new album ‘Crispy Crunchy Nothing’ released in March 2023 on Fire Talk/Royal Mountain. I have been enthused at how many young US bands are building on the templates set out in the psychedelic rock era in tandem with the lo-fi nineties scenes, continuing to drop wonderfully rusty sounds in the modern era. If a band sounds to me like they’ve listened to Pavement just as much as they have The Beatles or Nirvana then that can only be a good thing in my book…

Mapache – People Please

Mapache are the Americana offspring of Glendale, California who have forged a deserved reputation as superior purveyors of open-eared cosmic country music with echoes of the greats a-la Simon & Garfunkel and The Byrds. New music from them is always eagerly anticipated and never disappoints so it is welcome news indeed that their new album ‘Swinging Stars’ is out 18th August on Innovative Leisure…

The Jordan – Temptation

Not exactly a new artist but a new identity, image and sound for a singer who over ten years ago I was very excited about as she reigned supreme with a stunning repertoire of soulful, swingingly vintage jazz vocal stardust as Caro Emerald. So this is a proper gear change and as new album ‘Nowhere Near The Sky’ released on Cooking Vinyl pleasingly demonstrates, none of the power and command in that voice has been sacrificed in pursuit of this new, widescreen, cinematic and pleasingly modern audio adventure…

Fresh Juice

12th June 2023

Melenas – Bang

Scintillating new psych-pop to kick things off this week, these are Melenas who are a Spanish quartet who I first playlisted in 2020 when the track ‘Primer Tiempo’ caught my ear. They are set to release their third album in September entitled ‘Ahora’ on the Trouble In Mind label and it would seem they are definitively finding their groove. This taster announces their arrival with a thunderous clang as their individualistic merging of the fuzzy garage rock aesthetic with synthesisers locks into an irresistible groove. Oh and as a side note, this brilliant video was apparently shot in a single take…

Joy Oladokun – Taking Things For Granted

This is probably the outstanding track from Joy’s album ‘Proof of Life’ released this year on Amigo Records. It’s her fourth album release and shows an artist evolving out of the folk / acoustic roots that she initially rode in on. But that development is certainly not to be taken for granted for a song like this is the kind of joyous folk-pop that would have been a hit in the eighties in the hands of a Tracy Chapman or a Tanita Tikaram (under-rated pop masters both). Of course, none of that hit stuff really means much anymore but songs as good as this tend to endure all the same, this is quite stunning…

Edgar Jones – Torture

This guy is a musical treasure that seems to sail perpetually below the radar, a fact that in itself is a crime against musical aptitude not to mention good taste. Featured in this film the former front man from equally low key garage legends The Stairs is turning his talents towards some devastatingly authentic Northern soul sounds ahead of new album, ‘Reflections of a Soul Dimension,’ released on Steropar Records; get out on the floor right now record hunters…

Sam Burton – I Don’t Blame You

Put any reflective songwriter playing melancholic music on an acoustic guitar and marry it to an autumnal string arrangement and it is odds on the reviews will make a Nick Drake comparison. The problem with this is Nick is a legend because he was actually rather brilliant at what he did, writing songs of a higher grain than most so there was a good deal more to his legend than orchestrated folksy introspection. Too many artists are landed with that comparison and many, especially those who are wilfully seeking it, live up to the transparent influence. Write good songs first, that would seem to me to be the obvious starting point. I mention all this in the context of Sam Burton not because he is the next Nick Drake but because this song, from his new album ‘Dear Departed’ set to be released next month on Partisan Records, is indeed in that vein and on this rare occasion, it is a gorgeous piece of gently floating, wavy-gravy music worthy of the comparison. Earlier this year he supported Weyes Blood on tour and I can only assume, on this evidence, that he picked up many new followers playing to that kind of crowd; the album should be boiling over with potential…

Sultan Stevenson – Summer Was Our Holy Place

This ridiculously talented Jazz pianist is captured here with band performing a track from his ‘Faithful One’ debut album, released on Whirlwind Recordings. Easily one of the most immediately loveable Jazz records I have played this year, there appears to be little blocking Sultan from a notable future in music if this initial spiritual, almost gospel infused offering is anything to go by. Not only that but he has a self-made hat based signature look to top it all off, catch this young jazz warrior when and where you get the chance…

Bob Dylan – Forever Young

This Fruit Tree Records site loves to wave a flag for the best new music but has no issue if that happens to be from the hand of a music master rather than a relative unknown. No one knows which artists from my own lifetime will still be remembered and listened to in 200 years, but there is a general consensus that The Beatles and Bob Dylan are among the few that indisputably will. This new Dylan ‘Shadow Kingdom’ album is born out of the Covid lockdown period, when artists had to stop touring and many offered paying online gigs as a substitute. This project was Dylan’s own version of an internet concert and he played a typically individualistic hand by working on the arrangements, the setting, the cinematography and the song selection in a way very unrelated to the regular Dylan live experience. Billed as an offering of his ‘early works’ although including a song from as late as 1989, the versions presented were very much informed by the Sinatra era of covers records Bob had released whilst clearly making a connection between the thoughts and words of a young man and an octogenarian performer still finding fresh meaning in his own work. It also thoroughly trashes the largely inaccurate notion that Bob Dylan destroys his own back catalogue with his treatment of it in concert. Of course, as ever with Dylan, nothing is really revealed but ‘Shadow Kingdom’ will surely settle in the mans catalogue as an important late period example of the artist locked in his never-ending quest to find meaning, relevance and solace in his life as a performing musician, this is essential stuff…

Fresh Juice

5th June 2023

The Nude Party – Somebody Tryin’ To Hoodoo Me

This weeks half dozen new music selections is taking a slight detour to reflect on some of the best live performances I have seen over the previous two months. In fact this weekend just gone was a highlight of the year thus far having attended the Red Rooster Festival and catching The Nude Party live for the first time and finding the supremacy I have previously raved about on vinyl also translates to the live arena, they surely are one of the best things happening in music today aren’t they? Three albums in and an absolute treasure trove of a catalogue is already building up. None of the clips I highlight today are from the actual gigs I attended (I never stand a gig with my phone held up filming I’m afraid, I get too into the music for that) but they are all good examples of the acts playing live in 2023 so here for starters are the Nude Party playing one of the many stand-outs from new New West Records album ‘Rides On’…

Fantastic Negrito – Oh Betty

This one represents another fresh-in-my-memory joyous experience from Red Rooster Festival, the Friday night main stage headliner Fantastic Negrito. Seen here with a blistering live version of an astounding song on last years Storefront Records released ‘White Jesus Black Problems’ album, he is surely ripe for a favourable comparison to Prince? It is all there in the lane swapping energy he exudes drinking from the deep well of blues, soul and spiritual music whilst firing out a sound and attitude that is wholly his own creation, what a star…

BC Camplight – The Last Rotation Of Earth

I wrote a little about my delight in catching BC Camplight live in a very intimate pub venue only a couple of weeks ago in June’s Monthly Playlist article. When I posted that there was very little I could find in the way of filmed performances of this current solo-piano tour he is playing but happily now this recent clip has emerged offering a nice taste of how favourably Brian’s songwriting gift is responding to such close, uncluttered scrutiny; truly one of the best songsmith’s on the current circuit…

Pokey LaFarge – Rotterdam

The Pokey show I caught at the start of his UK visit a few weeks back was a real throwback of the most satisfying kind. Reflecting on what was so wonderful about the show it is hard not to pull similarly vintage compliments like ‘professionalism’ and ‘musicianship’ out of the bag and there is something in that; the style he possesses, the charming panache of his presentation and the natural flair in his bands playing is not down to luck, they have worked at being this good and it shows. This is where I sometimes feel a little out of step with the conventional rock/alt music critics of the UK; yes I like punk and see how it was a welcome grenade on a seventies scene that was in danger of becoming too indulgent and bland, but I have never treated punk as the ‘Year 0’ that some do and neither do I think that being musically eloquent, proficient, knowledgeable or progressive are bad things, especially when used to make fresh sounds in the way an act like Pokey LaFarge does. Hold on too tightly to that (Lamacq endorsed) attitude and you end up believing dross like Fontaines DC and The Murder Capital are where its at and believe me, as much as I acknowledge everything has a place, I would not want to end up there! This is a far better music zone where the sounds are alive with pleasure…

Chuck Prophet – You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp)

Now that I have lost the chicken-in-a-bucket yelping landfill indie readers with my previous paragraph, here is another taste of a Red Rooster Festival highlight that I was grooving to as recently as Saturday evening. I thought there was a purity to Chuck Prophet’s set, something nourishingly satisfying about an early evening performer coming to the stage offering “no bullshit, no gimmicks, no backing tapes, just simple entertainment” and making good on his promise. There was a natural confidence in his Nick Cave meets Tom Petty vibe, a seasoned patina that referenced both the electric 21st century Bob Dylan sound and the classic Springsteen rock of the past half century which simultaneously made us happy and feel something real. This is a recent live clip that only gives a glimpse to the Chuck experience but his audience slaying manner does shine bright, especially as he plays straight down the lens of what I assume to be a camera phone capturing this…

The Mock Tudors – Bin Day

Yes I have featured this exact same song once before earlier in the year but again, I am limited to the selection of recent live performance clips I can find online and this band do not have anywhere near enough (thus far). Nevertheless, I cannot miss The Mock Tudrors out of a run down on my stand-out live experiences of 2023 up to today. Yes I had enjoyed what I heard well enough back in the winter months but this band mean so much more when you see them live. Everything about their goofy and droll live show will put a smile on your face and like the other two bands I grinned inanely from ear-to-ear whilst watching this year (Half Man Half Biscuit and Shonen Knife), they have some pretty damn shit hot tunes to go with the irreverence. Catch all of these if you can…

Monthly Playlists

June 2023 Playlist

I went to see BC Camplight a couple of nights ago, the artist who kicks off this months playlist is touring his wonderful and rather well received new album ‘The Last Rotation Of Earth’ as a solo performer, the BC Camplight live experience reduced to a charismatic if rather troubled singer, a piano and a box of breakfast cereal on a table. I do not know if this is motivated by stringent financing limitations or a more artistic concern? The latter is surely a significant factor as earlier this year the man known to his fans as Brian attributed the lack of conventional videos accompanying this new material to a desire for listeners to focus solely on the music. That seems a wise move to me for these songs are built with real depth, they are many layered beasts pumping with the raw emotion of a recent relationship break up, the existential anxiety thrown up by the modern world and parceled up into a kneading mass of prowling melodies and cascading chord progressions. These are fantastic songs rising from a dark place that the singer still appears to be on first name terms with and they positively sparkle in this stripped back setting.

If that all sounds a bit bleak and heavy going, then think again for Brian is so comfortable on stage slicing open the veins of his music that he can happily make self-lacerating jokes and even cut in mid song to reprimand himself for slipping into a Jools Holland boogie-woogie-like lick on the keys. He shows expert comic timing too when introducing a song by questioning how some people have suggested it is based on an older song before launching into the opening of Elton John’s ‘Your Song.’ He does play the piano really well actually, using it correctly as a proper lead instrument rather than merely holding down basic chords. It turns out that he has not even brought an instrument out on the road, the pianos are either belonging to the particular venue or leant out from a friend. I even spotted him when I arrived at the pub venue, crossing the road in the same direction as me casually looking like a man heading for a night out downing ales and throwing a few darts. It turns out he has booked himself into a room at another pub over the road and the thought occurs, surely a few more musicians could follow this low-cost touring model? Just busk it a bit, take the pressure off and even put the sense of adventure back into the touring experience? There was talk in the crowd tonight of this latest BC Camplight album being his swansong, I sincerely hope that does not come to pass. This is an artist capable of summoning all of music’s honest, brutal magic with his archly detailed, fleetingly funny, sometimes dreamy and always magnetic songs of rage and hurt.

Fresh Juice

29th May 2023

Anna Tivel – Royal Blue

This is a recent live performance of a track from Anna’s 2022 album ‘Outsiders’. This outstanding Oregan based songwriter first came to my attention about six years ago with a song that already, to my ears, sounds like a seasoned classic called ‘Illinois’. As can be seen and heard in this clip, she has maintained a high standard of music making and continues to illuminate with her tight three piece live set up, who somehow make a big noise out of very hushed dynamics. Music that doesn’t instantly beat you over the head and demand a listen can sometimes fly by unnoticed, but the magic of Anna Tivel is that she tightens her grip on your attention whilst retaining a lightness of touch, a wonderful writer indeed…

Lee Fields – Waiting On The Sidelines

Another beautiful vintage style soul ballad from Lee Fields. Now aged 72, he has been as much of a late blooming star as the sadly departed Tina Turner, whose news coverage following the announcement of her death focused extensively on how her commercially successful years only occurred when she was in her forties and free of that controlling relationship with Ike. Lee has been in the engine room of the music world for decades, working with the likes of Kool and the Gang, Hip Huggers, O.V. Wright, Darrell Banks and Little Royal but it is the 21st century releases on the Daptone label as the headline act that have really seen him establish himself in the pantheon of soul greats and justifiably so. This new track is available as a 45 on the Daptone label…

April March & Staplin – Les Fleurs Invisibles

April March has been something of a free spirit in her career. Perhaps best known for her re-working of the Serge Gainsbourg ‘Laisse Tomber Les Filles’ into the rollicking ‘Chick Habit’ on the 1995 album ‘Gainsbourgsion!’, she has also worked as an illustrator and animator whilst eclectically applying chanson, sixties girl-pop, chamber-pop and glorious French/English retro vibes to her musical output. This song is from her latest album which sees her collaborating with the French duo Staplin who push April into an area of alternative, modern French pop that she has not explored before and the results are predictably sublime…

Nick Waterhouse – Late In The Garden

Nick’s latest album ‘The Fooler’ is available now on Pres Records and it’s a high end piece of gritty, modern Americana dragging us through the dark ends of a US city street to feel all the ghosts in the air and the spirits who have walked those byways before. This is easily one of the essential LP releases of the year so far, I especially love on this particular track how Nick wears his Velvet Underground influence loud and proud. This one absolutely struts a waiting for the man style with conviction, so much so that Nick even offers a “walk it home” aside towards the tracks end…

The Murlocs – Queen Pinky

The Murlocs are from Melbourne, Australia and their core members are Ambrose Kenny-Smith (who formed the band in 2011) on vocals and harmonica, Cal Shortal on guitar, Cook Craig on bass guitar, Tim Karmouche on keyboards and Matt Blach on drums. Their members are also involved with other bands, most notably King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, so it will not surprise you to read that they catch the ear of the garage rock, fuzztone crowd with their sound. This latest track is from their new album ‘Calm Ya Farm’ released on ATO and on this one in particular, their soulful R&B inclinations are watered to stunning effect, especially on that lead vocal which packs a real punch…

Walter Smith III – Shine

I close this weeks half dozen picks with a turn to the dependable Blue Note Records label and a new album release called ‘Return To Casual’ by Walter Smith III. Walter is a tenor saxophonist who has been releasing his own albums as band leader for nearly twenty years but also has a mouth watering discography in collaboration and backing with an arsenal of names in the modern US jazz scene (far too many to list here). His is a fluent playing style but the intensity, as witnessed here in this brand new filmed segment which also features some red-hot piano textures from Taylor Eigsti, is gripping and sometimes that is all you need, players playing it like they mean it, get on this right now people…

Fresh Juice

22nd May 2023

The Lost Days – For Today

The Lost Days are Sarah Rose Janko and Tony Molina and this little stunner is from the album ‘In The Store’ out now on Speakeasy Studios SF. The two friends were working aside from their own music projects and bonding over a shared love of Bill Fox, The Byrds, Dear Nora and Guided by Voices. The album that has emerged out of these late night private jam sessions owes much to the chiming sound of sixties pop and also shimmers with a delightful no frills DIY aesthetic, with the whole ten songs done and dusted in under fifteen minutes. But this hardly seems to matter, they breeze in, cast their spell and are done in a flash and yet they leave a mark that encourages repeat visits, a wonderful little surprise indeed…

M Ward – Supernatural Thing

New music from M Ward is always something to get excited about and here we have the incredible title track from an album due to be released on June 23rd on Anti Records. The cast list on the record alone looks impressive, including names like First Aid Kit, Shovels & Rope, Scott McMicken, Neko Case and Jim James (great artists all) but as always it is the sound of M Ward himself that truly wets the appetite. He somehow manages to sound so authentically vintage, so naturally analogue whilst not sounding for a single moment like a copyist or mere revivalist. His music is so beautifully crafted it always stands proud as a relevant work in a modern context so yes, 2023 just got a little better…

Naima Bock – Lines

This is a superb live version recorded at Rough Trade East of new 2023 material following on from last years well received ‘Giant Palm’ album. Many likened Bock’s sound to that English acid-folk grain sewn by the likes of Fairport Convention and Fotheringay over fifty years ago but I’d argue there’s a closer connection to the famous Canterbury scene of the same era. Certainly there are jazz and prog echoes in Naima’s sound but crucially there is a lightness of touch and fluidity that orbits whatever style the music demands, it feels like the writing is free to land wherever it needs which can only be a good news for the ongoing development of this fine artist…

Thee Marloes – Midnight Hotline

These sweet soul sounds are to be found on a new 7″ 45 released on the Big Crown record label. The band are from Surabaya, Indonesia and consist of Natassya Sianturi on vocals, Sinatrya Dharaka on guitar, and Tommy Satwick on drums. The music is the creative work of guitarist Sinatrya, who would take his inspiration from the classic sounds of Motown, Funk and Reggae to cook up these retro grooves with no grand plan after a long working day. It was when the two other members of Thee Marloes came on board that the music started moulding itself into songs, especially when the voice and style of singer Natassya added a focal point and classy presentation to take this music to the world. With a New York based label part of the picture now too, let’s hope that is exactly the way it unfolds, great music deserves to be heard and we need it today more than ever…

Grace Potter – Mother Earth

This chugging country-rocker is the first single off of Grace Potter’s new album ‘Mother Road’ which will be out on August 18th. In addition to a music career that is now entering its third decade, Grace has also made a notable impression as an actress which presumably helps when making an epic, slightly deranged, bumper fun jamboree of a music video like that presented here. It is a roadside diner stand-off that absolutely revels in its Dukes of Hazard clichés whilst simultaneously taking the piss (literally in one shot, I mean I never saw no good ol’ boys taking a dump by the roadside). On this evidence, 2023’s new Grace Potter music will sure be a thrilling, rootin’-tootin’ ride so look out…

Gitkin – East Middle Dub

This spacey collage of instrumental psych pulls in elements of Peruvian chicha, Saharan tuareg and Cuban son montuno. Gitkin is a multi-instrumentalist artist from Brooklyn, NY and this is the opening track from his latest album ‘Nowhere To Go But Everywhere’. I have to say this gives me a warm glow, I can almost feel the heat of the summer arriving with these dubby laid back vibes, the time feels right to bathe in the joy of the brilliant music that never ceases to rise up around us, enjoy…

Fresh Juice

15th May 2023

Lael Neale – Must Be Tears

From the album ‘Star Eaters Delight’ which is out now on Sub Pop Records. A few of this weeks half dozen recommendations have had tracks featured on earlier Monday editions of ‘Fresh Juice’ this year and Lael Neale is one such repeat name; but I am picking tunes on merit here, so if an artist is constantly dropping great songs that catch the Fruit Tree Records ear, then in they go and this is another winner in my opinion…

CMAT – Whatever’s Inconvenient

Been exposed to Eurovision and fearing for the state of new music? Fear not, there are plenty out there who can present with flair, style, humour and zest whilst remembering the importance of wrapping it around a well written song, as the wonderful CMAT proves once more with this new offering…

Juan Wauters (Ft. Frankie Cosmos) – Modus Operandi

Pushing up the anticipation for a new album from Juan Wauters is this achingly lovely piece of weightlessly elegant acoustic melancholia accompanied here by appropriately disorientating city scenes in the video. This is short but sweet and definitely leaves us wanting more…

Wednesday – Quarry

Already featured once this year with the incredible ‘Chosen To Deserve’, here another stand out track from the album ‘Rat Saw God’, released on Dead Oceans, proves that the abrasive Wednesday sound is absolutely on an upward trajectory with some essential songs punching their way through the fuzz…

Nighttime – Curtain Is Closing

The album ‘Keeper Is The Heart’ was released on Ba Da Bing in January of this year; here this fantastically tranquil tune with an undercurrent of impending doom is accompanied by a suitably gothic film which has been shot with a very effective hazy, vintage shimmer, lovely stuff…

Norah Jones & Anoushka Shankar – Traces Of You

The original studio version of this can be heard on Anoushka’s 2013 album of the same name and it is actually quite a rare treat to see and hear the sisters playing it together. Their individual careers are radically different in style but equally essential in their own right; somehow this collaboration captures the essence of both, this is really lovely indeed…