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Saturday, August 24, 2019

New releases by Wilderado, Field Mouse, Fastball, The Head and the Heart - and introducing Eilís

Just before our music-picking ears went on vacation, they chose these five tracks to add to our New Music Bin. The next batch of new tunes will be introduced Sept 7.

Wilderado: "Surefire"
This Americana quartet was based in Latigo Canyon, Calif., until a 2018 wildfire destroyed their home base there. They moved back to their original home town of Tulsa, Okla., while spending much of their time touring. According to Consequence of Sound: "In the wake of that loss and change of scene, a poem by Tabitha King called 'A Gradual Canticle for Augustine' struck frontman-songwriter Max Rainer. It reminded him that only by taking one day at a time can you truly appreciate where you’re going." That's the inspiration for "Surefire."

Field Mouse: "Heart of Gold"
"A lot has happened in the three years since our last record came out," writes Rachel Browne, this Brooklyn band's singer-songwriter. That last record, Episodic, was released in 2016, just before the U.S. presidential election. The new album, Meaning, is "more or less about the end of the world and all of the ways that it seems to be happening, but also about making peace with former selves and growing as a person despite the feeling of global entropy."

The Head and the Heart: "See You Through My Eyes"
A decade out from its origins in Seattle, this band has gone through changes in personnel and musical direction. The result is a fresh sound on their latest album. WFUV music critic Darren DeVivo writes that after struggle and rebirth, "it's no surprise that much of Living Mirage is introspective. But the arrangements are also richer and more pop-savvy than anything the band has done in the past. ... the sound of a band juggling tradition with fresh techniques and finding an exciting angle."

Fastball: "The Help Machine"
It's been more than two decades since this band from Austin broke through with the 1998 platinum LP All The Pain Money Can Buy, but Fastball seems to have found new energy. “In the past, we’d make a record and then everybody would go their separate ways for awhile,” says Miles Zuniga. "But now, we're feeling so excited about the music that it’s ‘How soon can we make another record?’" So, following up 2017's Step Into The Light, Zuniga and longtime bandmates Tony Scalzo and Joey Shuffield are about to release their seventh album, The Help Machine. We're picking up the title track.

Eilís: "Breathe"
We have featured a number of artists from the prolific music scene in Northern Ireland, and the latest to come to our attention is this young singer-songwriter from County Derry. She's been playing at festivals and winning songwriting awards in her home area and has just released her first single, "Breathe." To our ears, this piano ballad and Eilís' dramatic vocal blends well with the likes of Sara Bareilles and Adele. We featured the track recently on The Birch Street Bistro, and now we're adding it to the New Music bin.

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