Van Morrison keeps singing, and other new music

Van Morrison will release his first album of new music in four years about a month from now.

Called "Keep Me Singing," it's his 36th studio album. It has 12 original songs plus a cover of "Share Your Love With Me," an early-60s song by Alfred Braggs and Deadric Malone that's been recorded by numerous artists over the years.

The first track to be released from "Keep Me Singing" is "Too Late," and we've added it to our New Music bin.

Michael Kiwanuka's second album, Love and Hate, is an elaborate and varied work by an artist pushing well beyond the acoustic blues/folk of his debut.

We're captivated by the title track, a seven-minute epic that evokes a sense of struggle with both "Love and Hate."

Various aspects of this album have drawn comparisons to Pink Floyd, Isaac Hayes, Dr. John, Bill Withers and others. We'd add Marvin Gaye to that list. The influences are broad; the result is unique.

Also added to our New Music bin this week:

• "We Don't Know," the latest tune to spin out from The Strumbellas' most recent release, Hope.
• "Running Out Of Time" by Amos Lee, from his newly-issued Spirit album.

We're trying out a lot of other new music, which you might hear pop up now and then in our mix, and we plan to add a big batch of fresh material to our New Music rotation next week, so stay tuned!