A half dozen weekly fresh picks of tasty new music…

Scott McMicken & THE EVER EXPANDING – What About Now

An irresistible slice of cosmic singer-songwriter fare from McMicken, best known as a founding member of Dr Dog. His solo side projects are generally low key self-releases on cassette or vinyl but for this latest project he has started a band and this mouth watering first taste from the forthcoming ‘Shabang’ album on ANTI suggests an inspired project that may well light up the springtime…

Andrew Bird – Never Fall Apart

Touring this spring, this is a new video offering to accompany another track off of Bird’s ‘Inside Problems’ album, one of our Albums of 2022 and written about here: https://fruit-tree-records.com/2022/12/20/andrew-bird-inside-problems/

Gaidaa – Figures

Soulful songwriter Gaidaa releases her first new music of the year with this infectious tune. Of it she says it is “about the way we as a society can get lost in the sauce of the cyclical and mundane nature of our day-to-day lives. It is a reminder that though we are individuals trying to forge our own path, we will always exist as part of something greater and more meaningful (though we may not realize it)”.

The Arcs – Sunshine

The seeds of The Arcs were first sewn at sessions for what was intended to be a Dan Auerbach solo album sometime in the early 2010’s. By the time Richard Swift was involved they had become an eclectic electric outfit worthy of their own identity to accompany the release of 2015’s acclaimed debut album ‘Yours Dreamily’. Studio work continued whenever schedules from the day-job bands allowed and yet the tragic death of Swift in 2018 threatened to leave this unheard material on the shelf. In 2023 that music has been finished off ready for release on a second album ‘Electrophonic Chronic’ and it certainly shines a light on what a towering talent the music world lost in Richard Swift who, along with the ever inspiring Auerbach, made a full band LP of dizzying variety, a real audio treat far too good to have been left unheard…

Rachel Angel – Baby Can I Come Home To You

Real deal country in action with great song writing at its core, if you like your Americana sounds shot with a dose of Wilco, Neil Young and Bob Dylan by a writer who can also turn her hand to poetry then you would do a lot worse than giving Rachel Angel a listen. The deeper I dive into the musical styles that are typically thought of as traditionally American the more I sense that the US is going through quite a golden period, especially in its roots scenes and yet, you would not always know that if you focus solely on the floaters at the top of the pile, even today it’s underground where the action is…

London Brew – Miles Chases New Voodoo In The Church

Miles Davis’s ‘Bitches Brew’ album has stood the test of time for sure, it still sounds futuristic and ground breaking today which is probably why the cutting edge of the modern London jazz scene see it as ripe for interpretation. Calling themselves London Brew, they are Benji B, Raven Bush, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Tom Herbert, Shabaka Hutchings, Nikolaj Torp Larsen, Dave Okumu, Nick Ramm, Dan See, Tom Skinner and Martin Terefe. This promises to be one of the essential jazz releases of 2023…