Low Cut Connie – Livin In the USA. This band has left me – well, not exactly cold, but not very warm in the past. And their choice of moniker has never helped. But this record is rock solid rock’n’roll. Two guitars, bass, drum, piano, lead and backing vocals – there is no wheel being invented here but the music is getting me where I need to go. That title track is lyrically all over the place but it still manages to conjure up the convoluted and scary aspects of recent American history. Nothing else is as unsettling as that – the rest of the record is all about the good times, and probably is best served with cold beer and a chance to dance.
The Strokes – Reality Awaits. Well, it’s taken 25 years, and it seems to be an album Strokes fans don’t love, but I think I’ve finally cracked the code on this band. I’ve always thought they were fine but nothing special. And that’s what this album felt like the first time I heard it. But then, an unexpected circumstance caused me to give it a second chance, and now I’m thinking this is a compelling record by a great band. Julian Casablancas takes melodic and emotional chances in lots of unexpected directions, and he does it with a liberal usage of autotune in a way that makes him even more effective. Meanwhile, those guitars, which never once take solos, are constantly coming up with riffs, chord changes, and lead parts which push and prod at the song structure. And the rhythm section obviously rules. Bonus points for rhyming “seven seas” with “rhinocerees.”
Willow Avalon – Pink Pocket Pistol. Possessed with a magical vibrato and an attitude possibly inherent to living as a young woman in a patriarchal society, Willow Avalon does not take shit from any man. The fourteenth and final song on this, her second album, is the only one in which she is in a happy state with a loving partner. The rest of the time, she’s killing, helping to bury, warning others, and generally fighting off bad hombres. She’s doing this with humor, hooks, and a mostly trad country backing. The only wrong turn she takes is letting a generic modern guitar solo into the middle of “Hex.” But that’s about fifteen seconds out of forty-five minutes as my only complaint.
Various Artists – Lucille Talks Back 50th Anniversary. The album is billed on the cover as being by B.B. King, and I think it’s possible that some of the guitar parts on some of the songs are taken from the original King album Lucille Talks Back. I’ve never heard that one, but I have heard enough 70s B.B. King to imagine from the versions here what these songs might have sounded like originally. Meshell Ndegeocello is in charge of this album, which offers fresh perspectives on that record. I’m always a fan of tributes, and this one is more consistent than most. There is nothing bad here, and three stunning cuts. Ndegeocello takes apart “Breaking Up Somebody’s Home” and rebuilds it into a sensual nightmare. Eric Gales, whose guitar playing is the opposite of King’s in that he uses lots of overtones in his sound, and plays a whole lot more notes, is transcendent on “When I’m Wrong.” And Ledisi makes “Have Faith” sound like a long lost soul classic record.
Aaron Lee Tasjan – Get Over It, Underdog. Aaron Lee Tasjan never fails to attract my attention but I don’t think I’ve reviewed him in this space before. I have to admit, half the reason I kept playing this one is the album title alone. The other half is the enjoyable melodies of his singer/songwriter approach. I wish he’d kick things up a few notches, as he does on “The Real” with its punchy guitar playing. But his forte is in the steady tempos and conventional arrangements of the bulk of the album. He’s good at it, and I’m happy to be in his musical company now and again.
Orquesta Akokán – América! A saxophone player from the legendary Cuban band Irakere is involved in this revivalist project. Originally devoted to mambo, Orquesta Akokán is now mixing a number of Cuban-born rhythms and song forms. With a rotating cast of male and female singers, and a variety of grooves to choose from, the new album gives plenty of choices to become your individual fave. Me, I’ll take “Me Tiennes Sin Cuidado,” which is a boogaloo-style number with a sax line reminiscent of “Fever” by Little Willie John – this one hits me right in the hips.
Brothers Lazaroff – Trying to Make It Home. David and Jeff Lazaroff are a St. Louis institution with a large catalog of arresting original music under their belts. The new one adds some varied rhythmic styles to their ever-inclusive mix of styles – there is some Tex-Mex influence on a couple songs, and a strong r&b feel to another. I also detect more prominent guitar playing than usual, and a heavier use of fiddle. But the songwriting is pure Lazaroff, distinctive melodies most frequently sung with their close harmonies. If you haven’t heard these guys, this is a very good place to start. If you have, you’ll probably already know how good this is.
Sophie Wellington – Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still. I haven’t encountered this young woman before but I’m mighty intrigued by her resume. This record has ten cuts, half of which are flatpicked acoustic guitar takes on traditional fiddle tunes, and half of which are vocal traditional or traditional-inspired songs. I haven’t heard too many graduates of Berklee School of Music playing this sort of thing – alright she’s the only one I know. Her guitar playing is distinctive, highly percussive and full of intriguing harmonies. She sings with a pure, unalloyed soprano that allows her to inject just enough emotional force at the right times, whether she’s talking about the gaps between rich and poor or performing a classic murder ballad. Some of the instrumentals include the sounds of her dancing feet, which I admit took me a couple listens to get me acclimated. Once I did, though, I decided this was a pitch perfect folk record.
Robyn Hitchcock – The Confuser. You can drop the needle on pretty much any record Robyn Hitchcock has made since he started with the Soft Boys back in 1979 and you’ll find yourself in familiar territory. Oh, some are better than others, and it can be argued that he’s never again hit the high points he did in the 1980s. But they’re all solid, tuneful, inventive rock’n’roll with something of a skewed world view in the lyrics. Here we find ourselves with ten more songs to add to the catalogue. I’m thinking “My Dead Astronaut” for sure, and “I Am This Thing” possibly, will end up in his stage shows for a long time. The rest of the album is good enough to enjoy until the next Robyn Hitchcock record comes along. (I just read his Soft Boys cohort Kimberley Rew is involved on this record.)
Charles Lloyd – Sangam & Friends. The new Charles Lloyd album is filled with music that’s been sitting on shelves for a long time. Most of it was recorded back in 2009, when the trio the saxophonist/flute player Lloyd formed with Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain and jazz drummer Eric Harland went into a studio in Mumbai with a bunch of other Indian musicians. There’s also a fun live cut from 2014. The cross cultural symbiosis between the three members of Sangam is ecstatic. Add in the vocals of Vijay Prakash, who is reminiscent at times to my American ears of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and the sarangi (a sort of Indian music version of the violin) of Sabir Khan, and you’ve got some amazing music. Lloyd has recorded “The Blessing” before, but I am not familiar with other versions – this nearly eleven minute take is easily the best track on a very fine album.
Shania Twain – Little Miss Twain. I probably loved Shania Twain in the back half of the 90s at least as much as I loved any music not by the Continental Drifters at that time. Once her commercial success disappeared, and she split with her husband / producer Mutt Lange, I lost track. When I checked out an album a couple years back, I was either in the wrong mood or it just wasn’t that good. This new record, however, is frequently spectacular, and never less than very good. Twain’s voice has an added maturity which makes her delivery even more effective. I guess it could be age or it could be the freedom to sing more than a little bit of the song at a time to match the way Lange produced. And the songs are delightful, most especially the title track. Twain wrote a song about her youth, and since her mother used to say she’d be the next Tanya Tucker, it makes sense to get Tucker to sing it with her. Their voices blend and contrast beautifully on one of the most insistent melodies of a ridiculously catchy bunch of songs.
Homeboy Sandman & Jack Splash – Resonance Frequency. There are reasons to ignore this record. Whether he’s dissing vaccines or pretending we don’t know what Bill Cosby did, Homeboy Sandman’s “open mind” can be pretty damning. On the other hand, for pure musical pleasure, this is one exhilarating hip hop record. Sandman is pedantic and self-righteous, but he’s also in love with words and rhythms and the ability to play with them. And there’s a verse like this one: “Some people sign up for the coast guard / Others look for rivals trying to earn the title “Most hard” / Watch me rap without being upset / People wait for me at wherever I’ll be in a sec.” Meanwhile, Jack Splash samples and mixes virtually everything in pop culture – where else can you find a snippet of 2001: A Space Odyssey and a small bit of Robert Plant emoting in Led Zeppelin? The beats and Sandman’s steadfast flow are at least worth checking out until your blood pressure can’t handle the occasional conspiracy theory injection.
Sad Daddy – Ozark Shine. This was the string band that introduced me to Melissa Carper a few years back. Since then, she’s become one of my fave musicians, operating with a wide range of influences. With her partners in Sad Daddy, the music is more or less midwestern folk styled, with some impressive song subjects. They could be singing about fishing, forgetting to turn off the stove and having to turn back at the beginning of a trip, needing to prepare for an ice storm, quitting a job, stealing a guitar, or understanding the horrors of war. It’s all performed enthusiastically, with a variety of arrangements built around the guitar/banjo/fiddle/bass line-up. Carper’s voice is the stand-out, but Brian Martin and Joe Sundell can cut through any noise you’d care to make as well.
Wax Souvenirs – Wax Souvenirs. “We’re not here to reinvent the wheel, we’re just here to keep it spinning.” That’s what it says on this St. Louis three piece group’s Bandcamp page. Within this modest ambition, Wax Souvenirs achieves something remarkable. The guitars are thick and bright, the bass and drums propulsive, and the songs are filled with delightful melodies and memorable hooks. This is rock’n’roll music straight from the heart of life-long fans. One fun game is to list the influences which have song lyrics or titles quoted – Big Star, R.E.M., the Flamin’ Groovies, and Culture Club are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. Musically, this band sounds like Hüsker Dü at times, or a much more talented version of Dinosaur, Jr. at others. Mostly, though, they sound like a band that deserves some attention from anybody who likes tuneful, energetic, and unpretentious rock. (Full disclosure: I’ve known singer/guitarist Kris Boettigheimer for more than 25 years, but all I ever knew him to be as a musician was a drummer.)
The Mountain Goats – Days. I don’t know if this is the best Mountain Goats record. There are many I haven’t heard, and quite a few I’ve heard but kind of forgotten. This is definitely the Mountain Goats record I’ve engaged with the most. The songs are more tuneful, the arrangements more varied, and the lyrics grab my attention. Part of it is that many of the subjects are the kinds of things John Darnielle and I might share in common, all based on an obsession with rock music history. Ultimately, the album’s subject is life and what to do with it. He says everyone on the planet wants their name not to be forgotten, and that includes Layne Staley, who achieved his dream of rock stardom only to be dissatisfied; Annie Haslam of Renaissance who played Carnegie Hall in 1971 (“They played their most popular song / And then another one that was 29 minutes long”); the nameless rock band who toured for eight weeks opening for Candlebox; the music fan who works hard to produce a list of the “Best Hard Rock Albums of 2013”; and Charlie Sheen, who always knew where to face the camera before he said his line. There are three songs about graves and/or funerals, and one about the last day of a life. But these songs gain the resonance from the ways those lives, large or small, were noted.
Margaret Glaspy – I Am Both. After being enchanted by her disparate takes on a variety of cover songs last year, I was ready to hear what Glaspy does with her own material. My verdict – she is vaulting way up in my pantheon of singer/songwriters. With production by Joe Henry and backing by Henry’s cast of talented musicians – including the great drummer Jay Bellerose – Glaspy tells intriguing stories in songs. Here’s the guy who broke her heart then tracked half way across the country to beg her to take him back. There’s the girl she knew in high school who was braver and bolder than she was and deserved to have a song about her. Here are a couple different couples with incompatible communication styles; one refuses to say what they want and instead seethes behind body language and silence while another ignores bad behaviors and can’t pay the bills. The remarkable title track has Glaspy standing up against a man who insists she owes him something sexual just because she acknowledged his presence. All of this is set to lovely melodies and quiet, nuanced arrangements. Probably my fave album this month.
Skúli Sverrisson & Bill Frisell – For All Your Flowers. Though Skúli Sverrisson has apparently been around for decades, I hadn’t encountered him before, so when I first heard this record, I assumed he was a second guitarist playing with Bill Frisell and an unnamed bass player. Oops – Sverrisson is the bass player, and there is only one guitar. I’ve wasted a lot of thought trying to figure out how they play the interweaving arpeggios that turn up often in these ten lovely tunes, all but one composed by Sverrisson. It’s a waste because it doesn’t matter as much as just reveling in the beauty of the music. There is a strong influence of the classical music of Bach’s time, with formal compositions which reveal delights through the elegance of the lines. But this is indeed jazz, and Frisell and Sverrisson deviate from the straight paths without wandering too far away. This is quite different from the music Frisell has been making as a leader these past couple decades. As such, it shows that he still has new facets to share.
Flo – Therapy at the Club. As far as I’m concerned, this group of three English women have come up with nothing but hits on this new album of r&b bangers. For me, the 90s were made salvageable by the musical excitement of r&b, most especially the female vocal groups. Since Destiny’s Child broke up – whatever happened to that lead singer, anyway? – I haven’t heard much of this sort of thing. Flo ticks all the boxes. Exquisite harmonies, delightful use of individual voices, and songs that stick to the ribs. They might think of this as a concept album dealing with break-ups and bad relationships, but the key is that the club offers solace in the form of danceable beats, powerhouse hooks, and the aforementioned vocal joys.
James Brandon Lewis – Omni. Lewis is everywhere these days, recording with a variety of musical partners ranging from punk influenced to orchestras. Dig deep into his oeuvre, though, and I suspect his work with his long-running quartet is the most personal for him. With Lewis on tenor sax, Aruán Ortiz on piano, Brad Jones on bass, and Chad Taylor on drums, the music offers a sense of spiritual yearning and musical invention. There might be a sort of gospel groove, or a wild free jazz expression, or just the sound of four players reacting to Lewis’s inspired compositions. I’m most impressed this time around with Ortiz – his piano solos tend to stand out among very strong company.
Laura Veirs – Temple Songs. Veirs has been recording mysteriously intoxicating records for a couple decades now. This time, she wrote, plays, and sings every note on the record. I’m used to her fascinating guitar playing, which uses tons of arpeggios and a deep knowledge of possible chord shapes. And of course, her singing, with a lithe, matter-of-fact delivery that conveys her unconventional views of the world and her skewed but inviting melodic sensibility, is a constant. I don’t think I knew she played saxophone, though. (There’s only a tiny amount of it, but it’s a nice coloration added to the mix.) It’s another lovely album from a talent who deserves more recognition.
Elizabeth Cook – Great Television. She doesn’t get enough attention but Elizabeth Cook has been a consistently excellent country music songwriter and singer these past couple decades and change. Her new album contains plenty of the full-throttle rock’n’country stuff she specializes in. Her twang-filled vocals are strong at all times. She even holds her own in a duet with Wynonna Judd, something few singers have the chops to attempt. For extra credit, she does a new version of the Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown” which removes the sexism (and the dumb line about the father perfecting ceiling wax) in favor of the object becoming her own subject. She rewrites more than half the lyrics. It may be the first thing you notice about this album, but it won’t be the last.
This may have been the largest number of records in one substack I've seen from you. Thanks for a great bunch of new-to-me stuff to listen to, Steve!
You've about got me convinced to try the Glaspy. She hasn't quite worked for me, but Henry and Bellerose might just lure me. Great job, as usual!!!