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Saturday, October 6, 2018

New Bohemians are back, plus James Maddock, West Coast Feed, Grip Weeds, Blue Stones

Welcome back Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, who are about to release Rocket, their first album in a dozen years. Billboard magazine says it's "the unintended product of a 2017 New Bohemians reunion for a benefit concert" for a Dallas arts school. During rehearsals, new songs began to take shape, and the quintet decided to make a record. "Both Brickell and  (Bohemians guitarist Kenny) Withrow view the album as the start of a new period of activity for their band." Our pick for the New Music bin is "Tell Me."

James Maddock has just released his sixth solo album, with the oddball title If It Ain't Fixed, Don't Break It. UK-born Maddock fronted the band Wood before moving to New York and reestablishing himself as an indie singer-songwriter. The self-described "rock and roll lifer" evokes that old time R&R of the 60s on this collection, notably on our featured track, "Discover Me."
Another single has spun out from the upcoming debut album by Seattle's The West Coast Feed. We previously featured "You Belong To Me," and now we're adding "Set Me On Fire" to our big playlist. The eight-piece band draws on "the collective legacies of Memphis, Muscle Shoals and New Orleans" and, says guitarist Matt Woll, "we’re having a blast making music we love."

The love of making music has kept The Grip Weeds going for more than two decades. The New Jersey quartet makes jangly rock and power pop influenced by The Beatles, Buffalo Springfield and fellow Jerseyans The Smithereens. While we're just catching up with them, they've been frequently featured on Little Steven Van Zandt's Underground Garage radio show. From their forthcoming album, Trip Around the Sun, we're spinning the single "After the Sunrise."

For a dose of heavier rock, we turn to Ontario's Blue Stones, whose debut full-length album Black Holes is coming out later this month. Guitarist Tarek Jafar and percussionist Justin Tessier have known each other since growing up in Windsor, and started their music project while at university together. We're picking up the title track. As they described it to Canadian Beats: "It’s got a little bit of everything we’re about — melodic soft spots, heavyweight distortion, a little bit of trippiness and a lot of groove."

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