The times have come when music artists keep leaving us sooner rather than later, recently two in one day.
While Sexto Rodriguez was a cult legend himself who will be missed, it was Robbie Robertson, that was a true legend. He was the man who with his late The Band bandmates made the sound of Ronnie Hawkins, signified the times when Bob Dylan went electric, again, with his The Band bandmates composed, played, and sang some extraordinary music and then did it all as a solo artist.
Actually, Robertson was one of those artists who made Americana music what it is today, and left such a deep mark on modern music. Essentially, he came up with a true king harvest in music, and while he is physically gone now, his mark will remain, probably for all times.
Nature Loves Courage - Dismantle
This trio loves their electronic instruments, but also some complex melodies that do not simply rely on a beat or two. Here, they cover a vast ground between the best in electro-pop and trip-hop.
Jody and the Jerms - Liberation
This Oxford band relies here on the vocal strengths of singer Salma Craig and some incessant guitar riffs that drive this summer ditty under the auspices of Ride’s Mark Gardener to an excellent effect.
Louisa Stancioff - Red Neck Yaught Club
Yes, yacht rock and its leisurely sounds are a fave of this Maine newcomer, who obviously has some quality roots music in her background. Great vocals along the way too.
Ubiquitous Meh! - Songs Wrought Wrong
Some tongue-in-cheek stuff here, probably referring to their use of a good old rhythm machine, but this trio actually put it to good use here, along with some, also good old organ riffs.
Madeline Kenney - Plain Boring Disaster
The tile might be a bit deceiving, as there is definitely nothing boring, nor a disaster here, as Kenney comes up with Kate Bush-inspired stuff that really works.
Gabbys’s World - Just For You To Hear
Gabby Smith likes the realms of avant-pop, and it seems it is for all the right reasons, as she puts electronics to good use here, without letting them dominate her vocals.
Zilched - Loveless
Chlöe Drallos, aka Zilched, is dubbed as grunge pop, who puts the accent here more on the latter and the melody itself than on the former part of the tag, and it suits her quite well, thank you.
Blanco White - Tarifa
White picks up on some Latin music staples and gives them quite a nice pop ballad touches here. An intriguing introduction to his forthcoming new album.
E.G. Phillips - It Ain’t Good To Be In Love
Picking up on early phase Tom Waits here, Phillips comes up with an excellent jazzy ballad that works particularly well with his swaggering vocals. Torch song lives, as it should.
Maddie Zahm - Where Do All The Good Kids Go?
If you may be wondering why Zahm, who is yet to release her debut album has so many streaming listens, then all you need to do is listen to this one, with her wavering vocals and big piano touches that complement her.
Lyle Lovett - 12th of June
Lovett hasn’t been heard of in a while, and when you listen to his new offering, you realize why he has been sorely missed, as his songwriting, arranging, and vocal skills have lost nothing in the meantime.
William Patrick Owen - Your Name
Recalling Nick Drake both with his songwriting and vocals, Owen also exhibits some excellent guitar-picking skills that make this offering of his truly shine. For all singer-songwriter lovers, for sure.
When Rivers Meet - Seen It All Before
This blues-oriented duo doesn’t shy away from some loud guitars in their sound, but they put them to really good use here, fitting in quite nicely with some recent purveyors of such a sound.
The Dollyrots - Night Owl
That Sex Pistols lettering on the cover of this one might be a bit deceiving since The Dollyrots prefer that pop element of the pop-punk tag here. Some might even call this power pop. No shame in that whatsoever.
Thanks for coming - Loop
Rachel Brown, one half of the duo Water From Your Eyes goes solo here and does quite well at that with a song that has an excellent guitar line and not-so-easily defined sound that really works.
Pale Blue Eyes - Spaces
So many have taken cues from Echo & The Bunnymen, Cure, and other eighties alternative bands and have missed the mark or have sounded too close to the originals. This trio mixes things up quite a bit and comes out unscathed in the process.
Jessie Wagner - Cry To Me
You really have to know your sixties soul well to be able to replicate that sound through a cover of a classic and come clean. Wagner, has not only the original sound of the horns to a pat, but some truly great vocals to make it work. She surely does here.
Laura Misch - Hide To Seek
London-based multidisciplinary artist and producer Misch takes all the right elements from smooth jazz, adds some subdued electronics, and takes all the dread out of the much-maligned genre, coming up with something quite new and fresh.
D.A. Stern - Don’t Take Your Heartache Out on The World
If you’ve misplaced your Billy Joel or Ben Folds records, Stern will definitely remind you to seek them out. You might just as well seek his upcoming album too, it will fit right in and will fill in some multi-genre gaps along the way too.
Irreversible Entanglements - Free Love
This quintet shows here why they landed on the legendary Impulse! imprint with this composition from their upcoming album that only proves that there is a rightful resurgence of spiritual jazz.