Our new-music-picking team is going on vacation for the next two weeks. So we've decided to double up on our selections - adding 10 new tracks to the New Music bin instead of our usual five per week. And once again, it's a mix of many different styles, mostly from indie and emerging artists, who keep making today's most-interesting music.
One of our favorite discoveries of last year was
Edgar Road, a band from northeastern Scotland. We picked up several tracks from their first two EPs, and now they've released a new single, "Say It Another Way," a breezy tune with duet vocals by Mark Conti and Magdalena Wellenger.
We've more recently picked up music from
Lewisburg, a "dark country" band from the little country town of... North London. After featuring "Clear The Air," we're now reaching back a few months to spin an earlier single, a brooding rumination on a "Slow Morning."
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| Brooks Williams |
Based in Cambridge, England, but originally from Statesboro, Georgia in the U.S.A. is "Euro/Americana" guitarist-singer
Brooks Williams. He's been playing for years on both sides of the Atlantic, and his latest album,
Lucky Star, is his 28th solo recording. We've added "Going To New Orleans" to our New Music bin.
If
John Hiatt fits in any musical category, "Americana" might be it. His long musical career has encompassed folk, rock and country genres, always stamped with his own idiosyncratic style. His latest album,
Eclipse Sessions, is due in October. The first single to spin out, "Cry To Me," has a relaxed, rootsy, sittin'-and-pickin' sound and a gently sardonic lyric: "I'm probably gonna let you down but / I swear I won't keep you down."
Now we jump across the Pacific to Australia - and turn sharply from laid-back acoustic music to electric power- pop.
Castlecomer is a band from Sydney that's preparing to release its debut album. We've got the title track, "All Of The Noise," and while it's certainly a loud, energetic number, it's more melodic than noisy. (Photo credit: Anna Webber)
Next we bop over to New Zealand to check out
The Beths, an alternative rock/pop outfit whose debut album carries the self-deprecating title
Future Me Hates Me. AllMusic.com tells us the band, founded by jazz majors at the University of Auckland, "built their reputation in the clubs of Australia and their native New Zealand for an impulsive, infectious indie rock." Our featured track is "Great No One."
Spinning the globe again, we land in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and of a new indie band called
Vanishing Shores. Lead singer and songwriter Kevin Bianchi cites Neil Finn, Elvis Costello and The Tragically Hip among his influences. He says his songs speak to "the need to reach out and connect with those around us." From the band's self-titled debut EP, we're featuring "Always" and we'll likely add more tracks to our big mix.
It's been about a year since we've had new music from
Tyler Boone, but the singer/songwriter/guitarist from Charleston, South Carolina - now based in Nashville - has a new EP coming out this fall, called
Jealousy. He's spun out two singles so far, and we're adding "Let It Go," a mid-tempo rocker about a relationship that's run its course.
The latest from Brooklyn-based
Rubblebucket is also about the end of a relationship - in particular, the romantic partnership of the band's founding members, Alex Toth and Kalmia Traver. Despite their "uncoupling," they remain committed to making music together. Toth says "Annihilation Song" is an anthem for their "perseverance in following through with our creative and friendship partnership." Kalmia sings: "This is annihilation / it could be a liberation / I’m down for the count but I’ll be gettin' up soon enough.” The new LP,
Sun Machine, comes out Aug. 24.
We're rounding out this Pick-10 of new music on a boisterous note with "Wide Awake," the title track from the latest release by another Brooklyn outfit,
Parquet Courts. The album is full of punk anger and lyrics touching on serious current topics - but this track is just a fun, loud piece of party music, with a chanted refrain, whistles and shouts over a funky bass line and even some steel drums.
By the way, several of these tracks were previously played on
The Detour, our weekly show where we try out new recordings and mix in tracks that don't quite fit our usual big mix. The Detour is also taking a late-summer break, but will return on Sunday, Sept. 9.
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