This is an absolute corker of a tune from the Camden singer-songwriter probably best known as part of the vintage family trio Kitty Daisy & Lewis. When they first got deserved attention on the music scene there was perhaps too much focus on how young they were, just as later the talk would often focus on their clothes and fifties style when really we should all have just been delighting in what incredible songs they were coming up with. We can assume from her solo work that Kitty was central to this creativity, because her own tunes are similarly fuelled by a classic R&B sensibility and an ear for a irresistible melodic hook…
Lavinia Blackwall – Morning To Remember
There’s an altogether different kind of retro vibe on this bouncy new gem but it’s equally as charming and delightful. Lavinia makes a unique brand of folk-pop that appears at first to be structured in a conventional manner and yet her senses are spinning with colours and smells and her surrounding environment which has a splendidly dizzying effect on the music. Perhaps that is best illustrated in this video by some of the dancing, which looks simultaneously all over the place but also exactly in tune with the overall spirited approach…
The Zutons – Creeping On The Dancefloor
Twenty years after these groovy cosmic scousers first shook our trees, what a thrill to have them shimmying back into the spotlight like this, reminding us all what a winning way they had with a killer pop tune. There always was a sense of unfinished business with The Zutons, especially after they vanished from view after their third album release in 2009, which is why it is so great not merely to have them back again but proving right from the off that they really are one of the all time Liverpool greats la…
The Black Keys – Beautiful People (Stay High)
Now this from another great band who began causing a stir over two decades ago and are clearly, if this recent live clip is anything to go by, still cooking today. They have a new album called ‘Ohio Players’ out in April and as always with this dynamic duo, that is cause for eager anticipation…
Katherine Priddy – First House On The Left
Katherine’s new album, ‘The Pendulum Swing’, is a lush and cohesive meditation on the loves, memories, losses and overwhelming melange of feelings that are evoked when returning to an old family or childhood home. This song specifically addresses that very thing but the album as a whole is wonderfully connected in its explorations on these themes, playing with a neatly rounded start and finish point which enriches the whole experience similar to a great book or movie…
Mitski – I’m Your Man
Last years Mitski album ‘This Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We’ was undoubtedly one of the records of the year and this haunting live video performance of one of the stand out tracks really manages to stretch every last fibre of tension out of the song. This film, complete with a wonderful element of hammer horror drama at the end, also proves that you do not always need to crank up the volume to punch hard, sometimes the silence can be just as loud…
This is the third single release from the new Sarah Jarosz album ‘Polaroid Lovers’ on Rounder Records and it is yet another delight from the Jarosz strings headed straight for the Country radio stations in the US. Even though she is no longer a new face, it has to be said that ever since Sarah worked on the I’m With Her project alongside Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan a few years ago her own solo work has really took off. She writes with the melodic ear of a vintage Country classicist and at this point her music is of a consistently high standard as can be heard definitively right here…
Muireann Bradley – Candyman
On her debut album release ‘I Kept These Old Blues’ Muireann sounds like she has been plucked straight out of time from the previous century, somewhere between 1929 and 1959. Her sound and style favourably echo the acoustic blues greats like Mississippi John Hurt and Elizabeth Cotton and most remarkable of all she is only on the first rung of the ladder, in fact she is still in school. Nevertheless, as this prime TV exposure from the new years eve Jools Holland show proves, there is nothing forced about her sound, it flows as natural as the Mississippi river and is as pure as water…
Sleater-Kinney – Say It Like You Mean It
On what sounds to these ears like their strongest set of songs since the departure of drummer Janet Weiss, Sleater-Kinney are falling back on the sweet spot angular guitar riffage they built their reputation on not to mention some of Corin Tucker’s most upfront and impassioned vocals in years. There is a horrible tragedy lurking in the background to new album ‘Little Rope’, Carrie Brownstein’s mother died after a car crash, which perhaps explains how they sound like a band working through something in this music. Unfortunately, the best art generally does rise up out of suffering and hardship…
Sukie Smith – Into The Light
Just a straight ahead Indie-Pop tune with a great hook, a lot of energy and a steam train groove that just keeps building the momentum. The track is from Sukies’ debut solo album out on 8th March 2024 ‘The Glass Dress And A Ringing Bell’ on ShillingBoy Records via Bandcamp. It turns out she is probably better known as an actress, most visibly in the long-running UK soap opera ‘Eastenders’, but this gear change re-focusing on her music should put paid to that if this song is anything to go by…
Project Gemini – Colours & Light
This is the performing name of Paul Osborne and one listen to this entrancing track is enough to explain why he has already moved on to a sophomore album release whilst catching the ears of the more eclectically inclined DJ’s on stations like 6Music. He plants his seeds in that UK psych sweet spot located somewhere between 1968-1972 but has coppiced away any unnecessary retro excess, instead basking in the self-propelled light of a classic breakbeat groove and a hazy sense that his gaze is to the future, not the past. Get on board…
Billy Joel – Turn The Lights Back On
Yes I know, I can hardly claim to be foraging in the cutting edges of new music if I am going to put a Billy Joel song up as a new music recommendation. But I would argue down anyone who tries to suggest he is not one of the great songwriters of our time and furthermore I have always had respect for the way he spotted his own endpoint as a creative pop songwriter, simply knocking that part of his work on the head as far back as 1993. So a brand new song is indeed a rarity and even with this there is a sense that Billy’s resisting a full scale return to the ring. It would appear that his collaborators on this have got his agreement to complete unfinished music from his back catalogue and I do have to say, the touchstones of his greatest music are all present here; that voice, the easy grasp of memorable melody and the classically infused piano playing. The pop world has always been a better place with Billy Joel in it…
Quantic is the creative and performance identity of musician and producer Will Holland who has an incredible back catalogue with his unique melting pot of Latin, Disco, Soul, Jazz and Electro hybrid sounds which are invariably a delight to the audio senses. He first caught my attention over ten years ago on an album with Alice Russell called ‘Look Around The Corner’ which sounded for all the world like a lost Motown classic with disorientating echoes of the future. Incredible stuff and that is merely the tip of the iceberg yet still today it is more than apparent that his ear for an authentic soul voice and indelible groove remains intact thanks to this stunning tune made with Andreya Triana. Andreya herself is an artist I have kept an ear out for since her equally impressive debut from 2010 ‘Lost Where I Belong’ and today she remains one of the outstanding, authentic vocal talents in the soul world; all in all, a musical marriage that works for everyone…
Joanna Sternberg – People Are Toys To You
As we hit October I am starting to think about the albums that will make up the list of my top twenty records of the year and it is already beyond doubt that Joanna’s ‘I’ve Got Me’ LP will have a high place in the run down. They are a US singer-songwriter and visual artist who seem to have such a natural flair with the craft of melodic music composition. There is a quirkiness to Joanna’s sound which may regrettably push them to the ‘outsider’ fringes of the music scene which is wholly unjust because there is a classicists eloquence to the work way beyond the reach of most pop balladeers and two-chord strumming acoustic coffee shop poseurs. I flipping love Joanna’s album and sincerely hope it is heard and picked up by the large volumes of people it deserves, if Taylor Swift could make a record this good the critical establishment would be queueing up to call it a masterpiece…
Teleman – String Theory
In recent years Teleman have always been a dependable band for superior sounds in the indie-rock world. They released new music on the ‘Good Time / Hard Time’ album earlier this year but found there was still a lot of top-drawer material left in the tank and so a new deluxe-edition of the album is on its way. Tom from the band explains “we were aware of these extra songs that were knocking around; songs that should have/ could have made the cut but for one reason or another got left off. As well as that there was the usual big pile of demos and alternative versions that we always have when we come round to making an album. So we thought that a Deluxe version of the album was in order- all the bells and whistles- and to top it all off, we went back into the studio and recorded a brand new track called ‘String Theory’ which came out really well”. It certainly did, here it is…
Romy – Loveher
Romy Madley Croft is perhaps better known for her music as part of The XX who have won widespread acclaim and success over the past 13-14 years with their bass heavy, quite dubby variant of indie/electro pop. Here Romy is branching out on her own, albeit with XX bandmate Jamie XX listed as part of the production team, revealing a side to her work heavy influenced by the dancefloor. Far from being a blatant shot at mainstream solo riches however, this classy track has the soulful injection you would expect from a classic house 12″ and consequently is rather wonderful indeed, dig in to this one immediately…
The Coral – That’s Where She Belongs
I have been writing new music recommendations on this site for a few years now and it is possible that The Coral are my most frequently suggested band. They have just released a wonderful new album ‘Sea Of Mirrors’ from which this is taken, one of two new LPs they are spoiling us with in 2023. It is not that I have a bias towards them, I really don’t, I haven’t even seen them live since 2002 but the reason they deserve such regular shout outs is simply the quality of their work. They seem to exist in a sweet spot where they have had a deserved amount of success, but nowhere near enough for it to spoil their creativity. The Coral clearly still live and breathe through their music and as much as I’d imagine that’s a rewarding place for the band members to exist, the real winners are us, the listeners. They simply keep on giving us the most wonderfully written and recorded albums to enjoy and obsess over, please never stop…
Hania Rani ft. Duncan Bellamy – Don’t Break My Heart
I have only recently written about Hania Rani and her glacial splendour as a creator of deep, expansive and immersive instrumental mediations on the piano. Her work comes from other planets and as such you need to receive it and give it the attention it demands in order for the vibrations to work their magic. However, it seems she is increasingly moving towards songwriting with lyrics too, as heard on this new release, which given the superior quality of the work can only be a good and welcome development; do not miss out on this one…
It matters little whether you regard Aja’s lyrical vocalising as a rap or poetry recital set to music, her words are what count and you cannot help but be entranced by the conviction in this delivery. Her music has a close association with Jazz and this track in particular carries a hefty dose of jazzin’ credibility when you hear the trumpet part by Christian Scott, but Monet’s ear for cultural mix and matching when added to her focus makes this a journey entirely in a field of its own. Her new album ‘When The Poems Do What They Do’ is as powerful a statement in dynamic, driven and inspirational protest music as you will find in 2023, presenting an artist who cares about the society and landscape around her and one who is ready to give all she can to solicit positive change, awareness and improvement
Semisonic – The Rope
As with any band worth making a fuss over, the music should be the thing that matters above all other attention grabbing criteria. That is absolutely the case with Semisonic, a US band who I could be sat opposite on a train and still fail to recognise. Their music on the other hand did leave an indelible impression, especially a brace of songs from around 25 years ago, ‘Secret Smile’ and ‘Closing Time’, which sounded then and remain today like a couple of late period Britpop classics being far more sonically connected to that fading UK scene than anything coming out of the US at the time. For the last few years Semisonic have dipped their toes in reunion lakes around album anniversaries and it is now a delight to report new music arriving too, especially when it is as good as this, losing none of their early deftness around a guitar pop tune…
Das Koolies – Pain Down The Drain
Back in 1973 the sound of Glam Rock probably felt like the future even though within three years it would perpetually be linked to the music of a very precise period in the past. So how is it that Das Koolies have lifted that glitter stomping effect from fifty years ago, filled up its tank with four-star fuel and continued to recycle it in a way that seems ostensibly of the future? This is the kind of rollicking, timeless mayhem the Super Furry Animals used to dazzle us with at the back end of the nineties, which is funny because it turns out Das Koolies comprise four former members of that classic band recalibrating for fresh adventures in sound. Their debut album ‘DK.01’ has just arrived…
Olivia Dean – Carmen
Wanted to give this one an entry in the Fresh Juice section mainly because it only just came to my attention via this performance on the night of the Mercury Music Prize. For me the prize on the night landed, for once, in the most deserving hands and what a delight it was to feel the joy of Ezra Collective as they celebrated their success. But the other thing that shot through the pointless flannel of the occasion is how vital the Jazz and Jazz-Soul scenes are proving to be this decade. It really is the area bringing the most consistent thrills, ideas-heavy compositions and innovations in recent times as is demonstrated by the emergence of Olivia Dean, a voice with a vintage earthly vibe singing songs she is clearly feeling with her heart, this is the way it should be done…
Spencer Cullum – Betwixt And Between
A lovely serene song from the latest Spencer Cullum album ‘Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection 2’ and this one features a delightful vocal contribution from Erin Rae. The video is simple and the natural analogue effect it offers suits the song rather well. I looked down the YouTube comments and noticed someone had posted “see kids this is real music” which is the kind of attitude that could put me off this track (it doesn’t, but it could). As great an era as it was, a piece of music does not have to sound like it is from 1972 to be classed as ‘real’ and neither does it have to be made on conventional instruments. None of that is Spencer Cullum’s fault however, I bet he wears his vintage clothing and collects his twentieth century ephemera like a man high on the simple pleasures of life which is a fine thing indeed. Why don’t you go and put the kettle on before enjoying our penultimate two tunes for the week…
Chip Wickham – Slow Down Look Around
No visual accompaniment to speak of on this one but when the music gently elevates you like this I see no need for anything other than glorious audio. Taken from the new ‘Love & Life’ EP, considering Chip’s background in the early 21st century Jazz scene and Trip-Hop influences this might sound a very conventional piece of music, leaning back into soft spiritual tones and playing with an expressiveness that requires a real lightness of touch. But oh boy what an impression this music leaves on you, enhancing the message of the title ten-fold. We should all ease up the pace from time to time, put down the digital distractions, the screens with their endless scrolling (you’re at the end of this weeks new music recommendations now so you’re good to go) and just breathe in the natural world around. Music this fine needs to be experienced with 100% involvement, it really is worth your time…
Much of Damon Albarn’s writing of late has tended towards the melancholic, maybe with good reason if there is turbulence in his personal life. Certainly it has been evident in his solo music and even the most recent Gorillaz album had more mournfulness than earlier work. On top of that this years new Blur material had its fair share of 21st century angst and sorrow. That said, in the same way that you would not wish for the Rolling Stones to abandon their signature electric blues riffing neither do I want for Blur to abandon that stomping, Brit-grunge sound they perfected around the time of their late nineties peak. It is that very sound you hear here, alive and well on the fantastic ‘St Charles Square’. A deranged, pounding, punchy late period slab of crunchy, tasty Blur goodness that may not define the whole of ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ but for these ears, at least the Bugman still has a place and that’s good enough for now…
Ezra Furman – Gloria
The End Of The Road festival is becoming my unmissable highlight of the festival season and this year offered a phenomenal roster with far more must-see live treats than I could possibly hope to fit into the four days I was there. This is an audience filmed clip of the closing act on the second stage from the final night, Ezra Furman. The fantastically wired version of Patti Smith’s re-working of ‘Gloria’ was the penultimate number from an emotional set in which Ezra offered her own Ziggy style farewell to her audience, stating that this was the last live performance from her band and pointing to an uncertain future with no firm live plans in place. I am certain she will continue to make music but anyone witnessing her dramatic personal and musical journey for the past decade will be aware that this has been tumultuous period in which she has channelled turmoil into some essential, fully-loaded writing and performance; a real artist in the purest sense. One full-throttle run through of ‘Tell Em All To Go To Hell’ later and she was gone, come back soon please Ezra…
Adwaith – Cwympo
I will continue my End Of The Road reminiscences a little longer with my next few selections. Adwaith were unknown to me before the festival, not a name that I had pencilled in to see and indeed when they started their set I was not watching, I was queueing up for a cider or something when I heard their music coming out of the Big Top stage and instantly thought “wow they sound good” making a detour to catch them before they finished. I am still in the process of discovering them post-festival but here is a nice taster of their wonderful Welsh sound when they were playing the Focus Wales annual international showcase festival earlier this year…
Say She She – C’est Si Bon
Say She She were a band that I did schedule to see at the End Of The Road festival but wow, they certainly exceeded my already high expectations. Their sound is indeed rooted in the seventies US disco scene but it was their natural stage presence and personalities that won this crowd over wholesale. They made me think of the Sugababes or All Saints, those bands that whilst adhering to the choreographed dance moves typical of the music’s roots never lose the sense of being friends brought together by their love of the music and desire to have a laugh along the way. Nothing was too slick or polished which only served to enhance the charm tenfold; do not underestimate this trio though, they are producing music with soul, groove and a vintage / modern crossover flare that marks them down for serious good times to come…
Angeline Morrison – Cruel Mother Country
My final End Of The Road reflection for the time being is Angeline Morrison, who I went to watch at a small stage tucked away at the bottom of a steep slope in the woods. It is a stage where the comedy and spoken word elements of the festival bill often perform but as Angeline plays a purely acoustic set on very gentle, quite quiet, instruments maybe it was the right location for her. She was wonderful, intense, hushed, poised, focused as she played and sang with indelible conviction, especially on often quite hard hitting material from her rightfully acclaimed 2022 album ‘The Sorrow Songs (Folk Songs Of Black British Experience)’. My only reservation was the feeling that I might have got even more from this set in an enclosed location such as that featured in the clip below. It is no fault of Angeline’s, but to start with she was up against the closing crescendo of Daniel Norgren’s electric blues bleeding into her arena then towards the end the main stage sound of Bodega’s alt-rock threatened to drown out the modest acoustic performer. How an artist holds their concentration against sonic intrusion like that I never know, but she did not appear in the least bit disturbed because perhaps sometimes power comes from within, it does not need to beat a drum…
Rolling Stones – Angry
I will end where I began (just as the Rolling Stones maybe plan to with their latest record) by celebrating the presence in 2023 of one of the greatest bands of all time. When I was listening to a lot of classic sixties bands in the nineties, it could feel at times like I was perversely indulging in the music of the past. That no longer feels the case, as much as it may not fit in with the music industry narrative, I fully believe that I have lived through the era of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Being born in the seventies, my lifetime is coinciding with the majority of the living years of these bands and their members, as time moves on that increasingly feels true. I mean only a few months ago I was at the Fleet motorway services and I recognised the band The Zombies had stopped off on their travels for a coffee. I once stood in a newsagents in Diss and looked over to see that Peter Green was stood next to me. I have interviewed Dave Davies of The Kinks and many others who are readily tied to the sixties. A little while ago my parents saw Rod Stewart having breakfast in the farm shop of their Essex village. I know people who have built their social calendars around seeing artists like Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan whenever they’re on tour, in fact one of my daughters saw Bob Dylan in Bournemouth only last year. My point is the Rolling Stones is not the music of the past, theirs and so many of their peers remains the music of our time now and to have them putting out new material in 2023 and it still sounding as good as this makes me feel alright…
Hania Rani is a Polish pianist who, in the 20twenties, has carved a natural patina on her instrument and presented a sound that is wholly her own. It is a glacial sound, a floating cloud of ambience, tension and release which seems to make most sense to me in the early sunrising hours of the day when the world seems so still. Equally, her beautiful music could bring calm to the most stressful of days even though there is a sharpness to its edges that evocatively expresses the eastern European industrial machinery of her homeland. This is a graceful song (a departure from the Rani instrumental pieces I have become accustomed to these past three years) taken from her forthcoming ‘Ghosts’ album released on Gondwana Records…
Esther Rose – Chet Baker
From the album ‘Safe To Run’ on NewWest Records which is a record well worth spending some time with. I admit the hint of Velvet Underground wearing cowboy hats might have been a strong factor in this tunes ability to reel me in but still, what a combination and she certainly pulls it off with some swagger. Also, this proves you don’t need a big budget to make a great video…
Susanne Sundfor – Alyosha
Susanne is a singer-songwriter artist from Norway who is perhaps best known for her ongoing appearances in electronica with Royksopp. Her own music however, reaches far and beyond the confines of one style, hers is a creative odyssey that encompasses lush orchestral pieces, minimal chamber folk, musique concrete and widescreen string laden ballads. It is the latter that features in this romantic piece with an accompanying film that cuts in personal scenes from her own wedding ceremony to powerful effect. It is taken from Sundfor’s stunning sixth album ‘Blomi’ which is a work that showcases her impressive range indubitably…
Blake Mills – There Is No Now
Blake’s own solo music is a deceptive beast, it can appear to be light as a feather and slight but do not be fooled, there is always a lot going on in those grooves. By now he has more than established himself as a go to man for his production skills; even a passing listen to the most recent albums by Fiona Apple or Bob Dylan prove that he can efficiently realise the sound that a song needs. But his own work remains a place of progression and sonic flexing, the space in which he develops those phonic ideas that mark him out as a thrilling talent. This one is from Blake’s latest album ‘Jelly Road’…
Gena Rose Bruce – Lighting Up
Adding to this weeks collective is Australian Gena Rose Bruce who has been favourably compared to the likes of Angel Olsen thanks to her brooding country sound and an outer shell that seems to have risen from the dark, dangerous underground. It is no surprise to learn that she has collaborated with Bill Callahan and you cannot argue with Bill’s taste either for Gena, seen here preforming the title song of a 2023 EP, does come across like an artist with potential ready to be tapped. She first came to my attention with 2019’s ‘The Way You Make Love’ which I would strongly recommend checking out on our monthly playlist too: https://fruit-tree-records.com/2023/08/30/september-2023-playlist/
Zoe Rahman – Roots
Rahman’s trio are captured here in a brilliant live film playing a track from her latest album ‘Colour Of Sound’, already one of my favourite Jazz releases of the year (should be in with a shout at next years Mercury’s I reckon seeing as they’ve finally remembered to actually listen to the Jazz nominations and realised they’re worthy of a gong). Zoe is an outstanding pianist whose playing never fails to delight me. There is something in her touch and the flow of her compositions that has always caught my ear in that magical, inexplicable way some music can. A while back I was on holiday watching a play at the Minack Theatre about Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel and became weirdly distracted by the piano score only to find later of course, it was written by Zoe. That sort of confirmed that there is something to her work, an extra quality that I cannot quite put my finger on but despite this, what I can do is strongly urge you to listen to her music, that is what all this waffle comes down to in the end after all…
This leaves such a heavy impression on you when you first hear it, there is something in the contrast between the solemn verses and the way the heavenly choir just seems to crash into them that is simultaneously unsettling and soothing. Add to that this video depicting the older woman raging with her own demons and coping strategies and the way Mitski herself shoots her a glance and you have a spine tingling combination of tension, sound and vision. This is from the upcoming album ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’, out September 15th…
Ash Walker – Time Gets Wasted
Ash Walker is a bass player first but pretty much everything else a close second, including DJ, multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger of an alluring hybrid Jazz form that pulls in influences and collaborators from Soul, Dance, Funk, Reggae and Trip-Hop. His new album ‘Astronaut’, his fourth in the eight years since his debut, shows a real progression into a grain of sound that is uniquely his and a very satisfying and glacial vibe it has too, as heard on this tune featuring Denitia and Sly5thAve…
Buck Meek – Cyclades
Here is a track from the new album ‘Haunted Mountain’ by the Big Thief guitarist, this time a live version captured in superb quality from the front row of a recent gig in Copenhagen. Among the highlights of this typically wired performance is the crunching electric guitar solo, the camera rightfully closing in on Buck’s bandmate as he conducts showers of feedback and fuzz with the speaker positioned to his rear. This is the kind of instrumental break that would make Neil Young lunge about the stage with delight which is apt because this grungy country sound owes a lot to those old Crazy Horse records, although you cannot deny that Buck Meek puts his own individual delicate spin on every bit of music he turns his hands to…
Big Thief – Vampire Empire
And while I am thinking about Buck Meek’s other band, here they are with a clip that I already featured once this year in the Fresh Juice section of this site. However, this song was unreleased at the time and now it is available, so where a band like Big Thief are concerned that is justification enough for a little reprise of some new 2023 music which reinforces the already widely held opinion that they are one of the finest things we have in music today…
What are a combination of four words that are guaranteed to always bring a smile, to be excitedly welcomed and gladly received? How about “you reached your target?” Or perhaps “I’ll get this round?” Maybe, depending on the speaker, “get your kit off” works for you or on a similar sporting theme “another win for Arsenal?” Well they all have a place don’t they? Still, I have just realised there are four words that should definitely bring joyous responses from anyone with fully functioning ears and good taste and they are of course “new music from Wilco”…
Emma Rawicz – Phlox
Here is a superb loose and explorative live version of the opening track from Emma Rawicz’s new album ‘Chroma’ released on ACT Music. The saxophonist may have classical training in her background but it is her ears and appreciation of Jazz fusion artists like Chick Corea in tandem with an open minded approach, which has even seen her sitting in with a Frank Zappa tribute band, indicating her massive potential. She is fearless in her live approach, not afraid to dive into improvisational dark corners and yet her focus and natural feel for what the music requires ensures you stay locked in for the whole journey. This five-piece band situation provides her with the wide pallet her music warrants so do not miss out on this one…
I am heading off to the End Of The Road festival later this week for four days of cultural stimulation and so, this weeks Fresh Juice new music recommendations are plucked from the wide pool of musical acts I am looking forward to seeing over the next few days commencing with this band who feel like they’re really starting to happen right now. This is the opening track off of their irresistible ‘Calm Ya Farm’ album, already a strong contender for one of our albums of the year…
Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul – Mantra
This electro duo are so musically captivating and they also share an onstage vitality that totally overwhelms the very basic set up to their performance. Still, it is the dexterity and dynamism of the songs that ultimately makes them stand out and this recent Glastonbury performance is a fine example of the dramatic changes in mood and tempo that make their groove based electronic symphonies a must see…
Allah-Las – Right On Time
Anyone who has heard this bands online DJ shows will be aware that they are crate diggers in the classic sense with a deep well of knowledge in all realms of Garage Rock, Psychedelia, Freak Folk, Rare Groove and Exotica; all the things that keep collectors like myself endlessly fascinated with this whole world basically. Unlike many bands with great taste however, Allah-Las can feed their obsessions into their own original music and authentically capture some of that vintage sound and look in the process without coming across as mere copyists (not as easy as you might think). It is great to have new music from this band and I am thrilled by this impending opportunity to catch them live…
Say She She – Astral Plane
This is the new single from Say She She and it is a tasty preview from their forthcoming album ‘Silver’. With music like this, a song that not only packs a punch with a chorus that will genuinely take up residence inside your head but also taps into a sultry late 70s Disco vibe (thanks to those teasing, beckoning vocal blends and a sweeping arrangement of a type which back in that glitterball era would conjure aliens with silver dreadlocks, ice-cream cone stun guns, robotic body motions and moon boots) it is easy to understand why many are calling them the best all female group breaking through today…
Charley Crockett – The Man From Waco
Should my festival entertainment need some balancing out by the sound of real-deal Country and the sight of an artist truly following his own independent trail I could do a lot worse than check out Charley Crockett, seen here playing the title song of his most recent album released later in 2022. His is a back story that explodes with feature film potential although the stories of his living on the road, dabbling in criminal activity and generally snubbing the conventions of the music industry might be rejected as a little far fetched in the modern climate. He is indeed a throwback in every sense which would matter little to me if not for the fact that his music is clearly the work of a natural talent…
Greentea Peng – Three Eyes Open
And finally for this week, here is another artist who has been on the radar a little while now but remains one I have yet to see live. Readers of this site who have been with us for a while might recall that the album ‘Man Made’ was rated as one of my albums of 2021 and the review I wrote for that one can be seen here: https://fruit-tree-records.com/2022/01/21/greentea-peng-man-made/ Obviously, these six recommendations are only the tip of a very mouth watering line up I have in store for End Of The Road this year and as always with festivals, I am hopeful that some new discoveries will be heading my way too. Naturally, I shall be sharing any essential gems that are uncovered on these pages at some future point…
Pulling stylish influences from sixties soul, beat and freakbeat, Iraina is a woman out of time whose love of cool retro sounds goes deep but happily her influences are not so overwhelming that they prevent her from making stonking new sounds of her own. This is no mere pastiche, Mancini is a sought after DJ too and the noise she makes be it as a performer or as a spinner of vinyl nuggets comes from a place that is real. Her debut album ‘Undo the Blue’ is out now on the Needle Mythology label, also purveyors of superior quality vintage finery for discerning 21st century ears; a fine marriage indeed especially for all lovers of brilliant new things that sound and look like old things…
M Ward – Too Young To Die
And further still in the realms of fresh offerings with a pleasing echoes of the past, this is another fine cut from the latest M Ward album ‘Supernatural Thing’, this time a gorgeous floating bubble of a song enhanced by the heavenly vocals of First Aid Kit. Don’t those sisterly harmonies sound like they have been waiting all the while to be layered on the silky, twangy London American sound that Matt has pretty much perfected this past two decades? Absolutely lush…
Queens Of The Stone Age – Negative Space
From the new album ‘In Times New Roman’, there is something reassuringly punchy in this latest piledriver by Josh Homme and his crew. Everything the band has built their reputation on over twenty years is here; crunching electric riffage, pounding rhythm, sky splitting solos and a melodic top line that never takes a dip, this is why Queens Of The Stone Age are arguably one of the only bands who keep Rock alive and relevant in the modern era. This is out and out beautiful carnage, the musical equivalent of Bazball (cricket reference for the non-sporty types) in that is entertains with the kind of aggressive intent that knocks out windows and forces middle lane drivers into the ditch; get out the way because they mean it…
Brigid Mae Power – I Must Have Been Blind
Another sublime tune from the new album ‘Dream From The Deep Well’ which is out now on Fire Records. Brigid, who is often filed under folk although she barely carries a hint of traditional sound, reminds me a little of the great Sandy Denny. Something in the way her music hangs suspended, wholly untroubled by time as her often heavy ballads are bursting with space and air but nevertheless, when she sings you are hypnotised by her words and her voice, it is both unrushed and simultaneously commanding; just let her music lay you down and lift you up…
Rain Parade – Angel Sister
These are the cultish legends of the eighties jingle-jangle Paisley Underground scene out of Los Angeles, a movement that had a big hand in revitalising the music scene’s acceptance of Byrds-like guitars, fuzz tones and sunny harmonious vocals as legitimate sounds in the pop arena. Without them would we have seen The La’s, Beachwood Sparks or The Coral? Well, yes actually we probably would have but the outsider element of a band like The Rain Parade flying proudly against mainstream trends in the early eighties cannot be ignored, they did it better than most back then and continue to today as a reformed act of over ten years by now. Their new album ‘Last Rays Of A Dying Sun’ is out now on online platforms whilst physical formats are available on September 8th…
Shana Cleveland – A Ghost
In her down time from La Luz Shana has made one of the most consistent sounding and reliably satisfying albums of the year. ‘Manzanita’ was issued a few months ago now with this haunting little spook-fest as the opening track, setting the scene for a collection of songs that gel together fantastically well sounding, as they do, like a broadcast direct from the hazy limbo we occupy in those half aware moments between a deep sleep and properly waking up. I sincerely hope that more and more people wake up to this album, it is a sensual piece of work perfect for the wee small hours…
OK so this is technically not a brand new record but Selma’s 2022 debut LP ‘Changes Like The Weather In The Mountain’ released on Grappa has flown far enough under my radar as to only come to my attention now. This live clip is a recent 2023 one however and when you watch it you will see exactly why this new artist just had to head up the fresh recommendations today. Selma is from Norway but her music has such a rural UK chime to it you would not question me if I told you she emerged from a farm on the outskirts of Canterbury. This song especially, which demands that the opinions of those who will still be living on this planet in fifty years time be heard, gives an often ploughed field of folk music a most welcome shake down and the end produce is very rich indeed, one to watch for sure….
Dan Auerbach – Every Chance I Get (I Want You In The Flesh)
Earlier this year I already featured new material from the Dan Auerbach (among others) side project The Arcs which itself arrived hot on the heals of new Black Keys material in 2022. So it really is quite incredible to already be featuring such classic sounding new solo material from the man, this one newly released on his own Easy Eye Sound label and as you are about to find out, it marries a classic soul hook to the fat seventies thud of Norman Greenbaum’s ‘Spirit In The Sky’… or something quite like it! Enjoy…
Allison Russell – Stay Right Here
Speaking of classic sounding soul hooks, look no further than this funky-as-you-like new single from Allison Russell from the forthcoming album ‘The Returner’ which will be released on September 8th. No newcomer to Fruit Tree Records, her 2021 album ‘Outside Child’ had some fine moments on it too, portraying her as an artist with a range far beyond any spiritual Americana or roots music box people might look to place her in. This one however sounds like a bold forward step, if that first long player sought to catch the attention of any discerning listeners that crossed its path, this one is grabbing us by the ear lobes and refusing to countenance indifference, Allison Russell is kicking down the doors now…
The Breeders – Go Man Go
Not exactly brand new music although certainly never heard before, this is taken from The Breeders forthcoming ‘Last Splash (30th Anniversary Original Analog Edition)’, out 22nd September on 4AD. The song itself has been unexpectedly uncovered during the compiling of this re-release and is notable because it is a rare co-write between Kim Deal and her former Pixies bandmate Black Francis. The video is newly filmed, showing all the original ‘Last Splash’ era band members today as it cooks up some anticipation for live dates later this year…
Lady Apple Tree – Lady Apple Tree
The amount of instantly classic sounding Country music coming out of the US right now is quite staggering, it almost makes me think that we are witnessing a golden age for the genre just as Jazz is currently enjoying one of its most fertile ages thanks largely to the UK London scene. Lady Apple Tree is the performing identity of songwriter Haylie Hostetter from Northern California and she is releasing her self-titled debut EP on 15th September. If this is anything to go by, another serious contender is about to enter the stage…
Matthew Halsall – Water Street
Always seeming to be such a chilled Jazz player, this new Halsall music is typically tranquil as it slowly smokes you out of your slumber and wraps its charms around your senses. There is a new album entitled ‘An Ever Changing View’ on the horizon as well as live dates to look out for but in this present moment, simply stretch out and drift away as we enter the final few weeks of an intense summer, give yourself a minute and breathe this one in…
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