Our latest adds: The Restless Age, Drive-By Truckers, Coldplay, Eliza & The Delusionals, 311

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The Restless Age: Time Can't Go Back Now

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From the music scene around Woodstock, N.Y., comes the trio of Will Bryant (keyboards), Lee Falco (drums) and Brandon Morrison (bass). Their music features vocal harmonies that recall classic bands like CS&N and Poco and could mix well with modern outfits like Real Estate, Lost Leaders and Grizzly Bear. Over the past several years they've performed as backing musicians for Amy Helm, Donald Fagen, John Sebastian and Graham Nash, and have toured in support of  The Waterboys and others. Our featured track is on The Building Sessions, an LP they recorded in a couple of days earlier this year at The Building recording studio in Marlboro, N.Y.

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Drive-By Truckers: Amageddon's Back In Town

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One of the most common themes in rock music these days is a feeling of disorientation amid a world in crisis. Some songs confront politics and climate change directly, others convey a sense of general confusion. This track takes the latter course, with Patterson Hood singing cryptic lyrics like "You can't tell the darkness from the flame" and "You can't tell the rabbit from the hat. The band describes the song as a “whirlwind joyride through the whiplash of events we collectively deal with each day.” This is the first single from an album titled The Unraveling, expected in January.

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Coldplay: Arabesque

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We previously featured "Orphans," one of the early singles from Everyday Life. The full album was just released, and Spin calls it "their best album since 2011’s Mylo Xyloto, and their most provocative work to date." Coldplay experiments here with touches of classical, gospel, country and world music. "Arabesque" is a particularly international number, with a verse contributed by Belgian musician Stromae and a horn section led by Femi Kuti, son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. To our ears, it's the strongest cut on the album.

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Eliza & The Delusionals: Just Exist

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This indie-rock band hails from Southport, on the Gold Coast of Australia. Frontwoman Eliza Klatt says "Just Exist is about the balance of feeling depressed and feeling creative and inspired by those feelings. ... I hate feeling down but if I didn’t feel that way I think I would plainly just exist.” This single was released several months ago but has taken a while to find its way to our New Music bin. So far the band has released an EP and several singles; we don't know if there's an album on the way.

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311: Dodging Raindrops

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We round out this week's New Music bin with a cheery tune from this band's 14th (!) album, Voyager. This track puts a sunny, pop gloss on 311's trademarked reggae-rock. Consider it our guilty pleasure of the week.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our listeners in the USA

Covers by Aimee Mann, Evanescence + new tunes from Judah & The Lion, Runabay, Deep Blue Sea

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Aimee Mann: "Hold On"

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Nashville-based Dualtone Records just released Come Up To The House: Women Sing Waits, a collection of 12 covers of Tom Waits songs interpreted by female vocalists. Produced by Warren Zanes, it features performances by Rosanne Cash, Patty Griffin, Corinne Bailey Rae, Phoebe Bridgers and many more - including Aimee Mann. In a glowing review of the album, Variety says Mann makes this classic her own: "something about Mann’s voice naturally conjures the tossed-off intimacy of a coffee shop confession between besties." Of the entire collection, the magazine says: "Freed from Waits’ gravelly, way-down-in-the-hole brogue, his female interpreters discover dramatic new shapes and colors within" his songs.

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Evanescence: "The Chain"

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In a very different musical vein, Evanescence gives its gothic orchestral pop treatment to this Fleetwood Mac classic. It's the band's first rock recording in eight years, and debuted in the trailer for a new video game. Whatever its origins, it works: The dramatic song lends itself well to this band's overwrought stylings and Amy Lee's soaring voice. "This cover was so fun to make," Lee said in a press release. "We love Fleetwood Mac and wanted to paint a dark and epic picture with our take on 'The Chain.'"

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Judah & The Lion: "Alright"

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This Nashville band, with its brand of folk-tinged electronic pop, hasn't been a regular part of our mix before. But this track caught our attention with its simple, hopeful response to a deeply troubled world. "It's clear to me we're scared to hope," Judah Akers sings - and yet: "I don't know why / I cannot stop this feeling inside / ...We're gonna be alright." The bouncy tune invites you to believe it, at least for a few minutes.

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Runabay: "How Long"

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This indie-folk band from Northern Ireland was featured in our New Music bin a couple of years ago, and we're happy to have them back with this new single. It's a quiet, contemplative song evocative of someone gazing at the sky and pondering deep questions about love and life: "In the movements of your body / In the stillness of the skies / Lies the root of my existence / Where infinity resides." The band's recent album, Between the Lines, was a nominee for this year's Northern Ireland Music Prize.

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Deep Blue Sea: "Rock Star Status"

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This London-based quartet joined our mix about a month ago with "Don't Say I Didn't Warn You," and now we're taking another dip into Strange Ways, the group's debut studio album. It's a snappy Warholian commentary on our everyone-wants-to-be-a-star culture. "Everybody here gets rock star status /  there's no pointing out 'cause everybody's famous," Dregas Smith sings over driving guitar, bass and drums. "Fifteen seconds of adoration / a lethal dose of adulation."

Orwells '84, Best Coast, Sarah Harmer, Jackie and Demob Happy - the latest additions to our mix

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Orwells '84 - "On The Road"

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We introduced our listeners to this indie-folk band from Dundalk, Ireland, with their single "Cailin" back in May. Now we're happy to present a track from their just-released debut EP, Truth Is The First Victim. With intricate arrangements featuring a wide range of acoustic instruments, this six-piece group creates a very original and quite joyous sound that could easily be the highlight of a summer music festival. We'll be adding more tracks to our mix in the weeks to come.

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Best Coast: "For The First Time"

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Photo by Kevin Hayes

"I'm 2 years sober today," Bethany Cosentino tweeted this week, just days after she and Bobb Bruno released this new Best Coast single. It's an upbeat, infectious song - and a personal statement of survival. "On Friday nights I don't spend too much time / Lying on the bathroom floor (like I used to) / The demons deep inside of me / They might have finally been set free," Cosentino sings. "I feel like myself again / But for the first time." That's great news. The single is a preview of what will be the first Best Coast album in five years. Titled Always Tomorrow, it's due in the new year, probably around the same time the band starts a tour in February.

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Sarah Harmer: "New Lows"

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Ontario singer-songwriter and activist Sarah Harmer is preparing to bring out her first new LP in a decade, Are You Gone. The first single to spin out is a call for action to protest politicians' inaction on rescuing the climate. The song references "new threats, new lows," and then suggests a mass movement could make a difference: "If this gets us to our feet / And grows / Who Knows?" Says Harmer: "I hope this song gets people to their feet, and not only to dance." But it does, in fact, have a good beat.

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Jackie - "Lifetime In A Touch"

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Lingering in Ontario, we turn to this Toronto-based trio's new single, which they say is "essentially a heartbreak song, wrapped in a happy vibe... a ‘there’s a light at the end of the tunnel’ story." Substream Magazine describes the track as grimy rock with a pop groove: "(Marc) Girardin’s guitars are extra fuzzy, but the riffs are still as catchy as they come. (Max) Trefler’s drums are key to giving the song momentum, and it’s clear (lead singer and songwriter Jackie) Mohr had a strong vision in the writing."

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Demob Happy: "Autoportrait"

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This high-energy rocker was actually released in mid-summer, and we gave it a spin on The Detour. We gave it another listen the other day and decided to add it to our New Music bin. The track grabs your ears and shakes them for just less than three minutes, then stops as suddenly as it began. The Brighton, U.K., band's frontman, Matt Marcantonio, described the song as “coercing a confession out of myself over insecurities," but the lyric alternates between anxiety ("I am afraid to be who I am") and security ("I know nothing wrong could happen / While I'm still in love with you.")

Our latest picks: Jacobs Run, Awolnation, Phantogram, Margot White, Lucy Bell

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Jacob's Run: Follow You Anywhere

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A couple of years in the making, the debut LP from this Melbourne-area trio has just been released. For our regular listeners, several of the tracks are familiar - we've had this band in our mix for more than two years as they issued a string of singles. But while the rest of the world catches up on songs like "Better Days," "Hold On A Minute" and "So Beautiful," we're breaking out another album highlight. On this upbeat expression of infatuation, the group's guitar-and-drums rock is augmented with orchestral strings.

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AWOLNation: The Best

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From Aaron Bruno, the artist that brought us "Sail" (the sleeper hit of 2011 that stayed on the charts for a year and a half) comes another alt-rock anthem of anxious self-doubt: "I want to walk a little bit taller / I want to feel a little bit stronger / I want to think a little bit smarter." Bruno says of the song: “I’m always on the journey to improving myself, but all along, knowing it’s close to impossible to really be the best at anything. ... [M]aybe it is more about the journey and acceptance of comfort within one’s own existence.” The single is the prelude to his fourth album, due next year.

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Phantogram: In A Spiral

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We turn up the volume with the latest single by this duo from the lovely town of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Stereogum calls the track an "energetic synth-rock stomper. It’s got huge drums sounds and effects all over its guitars, and Sarah Barthel belts it out with an impressive level of swagger." The distorted synths and pounding drums swirl around a lyric that seems to speak of losing identity amid our self-referential culture: "I'm a meme on a feed in a spiral / Imitate, elevate, making heads roll ... Help me now, I'm going down / Every day, every day in a spiral."

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Margot White: Face to Face

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We're always happy to discover a new, distinctive sound, and that's what we find in this track from I Saw It On The Radio, the debut of this London-based artist. Born in Texas, she recorded the EP between her music studies at Goldsmiths/University of London. The combination of a minimalist arrangement and dreamily seductive vocal is a bit reminiscent of Marian Hill, with a sense of mystery. "Time and space / two can play at that kind of game," White intones. "Are you wondering what I see? / Take my hand and walk with me."

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Lucy Bell: Fools

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Early this year we featured "Lost On The Line," the sophomore single by this emerging singer-songwriter from Downpatrick in Northern Ireland. Since then, she won the Dalraida Festival's 2019 Rising Stars award, played numerous gigs around the region and recorded this brand-new track. The 19-year-old's lyric suggests a young couple's effort to work out how to build a relationship: "Give me something I can hold on to / 'Cause I'm sick of all these childish rules."

Our latest picks: Jacobs Run, Awolnation, Phantogram, Margot White, Lucy Bell

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Jacob's Run: Follow You Anywhere

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A couple of years in the making, the debut LP from this Melbourne-area trio has just been released. For our regular listeners, several of the tracks are familiar - we've had this band in our mix for more than two years as they issued a string of singles. But while the rest of the world catches up on songs like "Better Days," "Hold On A Minute" and "So Beautiful," we're breaking out another album highlight. On this upbeat expression of infatuation, the group's guitar-and-drums rock is augmented with orchestral strings.

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AWOLNation: The Best

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From Aaron Bruno, the artist that brought us "Sail" (the sleeper hit of 2011 that stayed on the charts for a year and a half) comes another alt-rock anthem of anxious self-doubt: "I want to walk a little bit taller / I want to feel a little bit stronger / I want to think a little bit smarter." Bruno says of the song: “I’m always on the journey to improving myself, but all along, knowing it’s close to impossible to really be the best at anything. ... [M]aybe it is more about the journey and acceptance of comfort within one’s own existence.” The single is the prelude to his fourth album, due next year.

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Phantogram: In A Spiral

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We turn up the volume with the latest single by this duo from the lovely town of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Stereogum calls the track an "energetic synth-rock stomper. It’s got huge drums sounds and effects all over its guitars, and Sarah Barthel belts it out with an impressive level of swagger." The distorted synths and pounding drums swirl around a lyric that seems to speak of losing identity amid our self-referential culture: "I'm a meme on a feed in a spiral / Imitate, elevate, making heads roll ... Help me now, I'm going down / Every day, every day in a spiral."

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Margot White: Face to Face

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We're always happy to discover a new, distinctive sound, and that's what we find in this track from I Saw It On The Radio, the debut of this London-based artist. Born in Texas, she recorded the EP between her music studies at Goldsmiths/University of London. The combination of a minimalist arrangement and dreamily seductive vocal is a bit reminiscent of Marian Hill, with a sense of mystery. "Time and space / two can play at that kind of game," White intones. "Are you wondering what I see? / Take my hand and walk with me."

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Lucy Bell: Fools

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Early this year we featured "Lost On The Line," the sophomore single by this emerging singer-songwriter from Downpatrick in Northern Ireland. Since then, she won the Dalraida Festival's 2019 Rising Stars award, played numerous gigs around the region and recorded this brand-new track. The 19-year-old's lyric suggests a young couple's effort to work out how to build a relationship: "Give me something I can hold on to / 'Cause I'm sick of all these childish rules."

New from Van Morrison, A. Billi Free, Marcus King, The Blue Stones and The Rallies

Van Morrison - March Wind in February

The amazingly prolific songwriter, singer and rock pioneer has just released his 41st album, Three Chords and the Truth. Perhaps more surprisingly, it's the sixth LP in four years from the 74-year-old Morrison. And it's filled with original songs. And that voice - a bit mellowed with age but unmistakably Van. We're featuring the lead-off track, which like much of the album would segue perfectly with classics from Tupelo Honey or Astral Weeks.

A. Billi Free: "Feel It Coming"

Vocalist A. Billi Free teams up with Chicago production crew Tensei to create a one-of-a-kind mixture of R&B, hip-hop, electronica and jazz. Exclaim! calls Free's debut album, I Luma, "a vibe ... that washes over listeners" in 11 tracks that "orbit around an overarching theme of self-discovery." KEXP praises Free's "expressive, elastic, enveloping vocal style." We've sampled the album on our Sunday free-form show The Detour, and now we're featuring "Feel It Coming" in our New Music bin.

Marcus King: The Well

Stepping apart from his band, this 23-year-old electric guitar wizard has recorded a solo album, El Dorado, produced by the ubiquitous Dan Auerbach. Recorded in three days of sessions with backing musicians assembled by Auerbach at his Nashville studio, the album is billed as a “contemporary genre-bending sonic exploration of classic rock, blues, southern R&B and country-soul.” King says of this lead single that it "symbolizes the source of all my influences. It is everything that has happened to me to make me the man I am today.”

The Blue Stones: Shakin' Off The Rust

Just about a year after the reissue of its debut album (Black Holes), this Ontario guitar-and-drums duo is out with a new single and is on tour across Europe. The track a straightforward dose of classic-style indie rock. "This song is about battling the thoughts in your head that make you doubt yourself, and coming through with the confidence to make something great,” says vocalist/guitarist Tarek Jafar.

The Rallies: If You Do

The Seattle area isn't exactly known for sunny beaches, but from that area comes this band with a sound that evokes California dreamin'. The quartet's new, second album, Upside Down, features jangly guitars, tight vocal harmonies and cheerful 80s-pop-style tunes. Powerpop News says our featured track has "an uplifting message, a monster hook, glorious harmonies and some beautiful Beatlesque guitar touches." Mixes well with: early-90s Matthew Sweet.

New from Van Morrison, A. Billi Free, Marcus King, The Blue Stones and The Rallies

Van Morrison - March Wind in February

The amazingly prolific songwriter, singer and rock pioneer has just released his 41st album, Three Chords and the Truth. Perhaps more surprisingly, it's the sixth LP in four years from the 74-year-old Morrison. And it's filled with original songs. And that voice - a bit mellowed with age but unmistakably Van. We're featuring the lead-off track, which like much of the album would segue perfectly with classics from Tupelo Honey or Astral Weeks.

A. Billi Free: "Feel It Coming"

Vocalist A. Billi Free teams up with Chicago production crew Tensei to create a one-of-a-kind mixture of R&B, hip-hop, electronica and jazz. Exclaim! calls Free's debut album, I Luma, "a vibe ... that washes over listeners" in 11 tracks that "orbit around an overarching theme of self-discovery." KEXP praises Free's "expressive, elastic, enveloping vocal style." We've sampled the album on our Sunday free-form show The Detour, and now we're featuring "Feel It Coming" in our New Music bin.

Marcus King: The Well

Stepping apart from his band, this 23-year-old electric guitar wizard has recorded a solo album, El Dorado, produced by the ubiquitous Dan Auerbach. Recorded in three days of sessions with backing musicians assembled by Auerbach at his Nashville studio, the album is billed as a “contemporary genre-bending sonic exploration of classic rock, blues, southern R&B and country-soul.” King says of this lead single that it "symbolizes the source of all my influences. It is everything that has happened to me to make me the man I am today.”

The Blue Stones: Shakin' Off The Rust

Just about a year after the reissue of its debut album (Black Holes), this Ontario guitar-and-drums duo is out with a new single and is on tour across Europe. The track a straightforward dose of classic-style indie rock. "This song is about battling the thoughts in your head that make you doubt yourself, and coming through with the confidence to make something great,” says vocalist/guitarist Tarek Jafar.

The Rallies: If You Do

The Seattle area isn't exactly known for sunny beaches, but from that area comes this band with a sound that evokes California dreamin'. The quartet's new, second album, Upside Down, features jangly guitars, tight vocal harmonies and cheerful 80s-pop-style tunes. Powerpop News says our featured track has "an uplifting message, a monster hook, glorious harmonies and some beautiful Beatlesque guitar touches." Mixes well with: early-90s Matthew Sweet.