Author: Brian Palmer

Darlingside

Birds Say/Thirty Tigers

Birds Say is one of the rare instances where a band completely avoids the sophomore slump, taking its prodigious talent and somehow magnifying it by 10. The string rock quintet-turned folk is at its best here, whether it’s the dizzying bluegrass—taken up a notch by the clever mandolin licks from Auyon Mukharji—with wry, whimsical lyrics (“Harrison Ford”), laying down some beautiful Americana (“White Horses”) or making the hair on your neck stand up with the exquisite melodies and four-part harmonies (“Do You Ever Live”). With little more than subtle hand claps and languid strings, the group gives the title track subdued beauty, especially when paired with lyrics such as, “Don’t know what the birds say / Don’t know what the birds / Listen to them all day / Nothing sounds like words.” Vivid imagery and forthright examinations of love are among the album’s key themes, all of which make Birds Say an unquestionable knockout of a record.

JR JR

JR JR/Warner Bros.

If you like the cut of the jib on JR JR’s (formerly Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.) last album, The Speed of Things, you’ll be inclined to like JR JR as well. It’s an extension of the musical and lyrical territories that Speed explored—meaning that much of this album feels sedated and introspective. “Break My Fall” is a contemplative number about the people who make or break our lives, while “Caroline” is a confident ode to not giving a damn what others think. Much of the album follows theses types of thought-provoking themes, and the music that accompanies the journey is pretty eclectic. “Philip the Engineer” has a lumbering pop sound, while “Gone” features shades of Paul Simon in its funky bass and overall melody. “James Dean” plays like an R&B slow jam that got tossed into a blender with an ’80s-era synth ballad, and it represents a new era for this band. It’s a nice restart.

Barrence Whitfield & The Savages

Under the Savage Sky/Bloodshot Records

So this is what punk sounds like if you mash it with rockabilly, R&B and the musical energy that made Chubby Checker a legend. From Whitfield’s unhinged vocals on the raucous “Rock and Roll Baby” to the lively, dance-inducing “The Claw,” which harkens back to the days of bands coining dance crazes like the twist, this record is an almost non-stop rock party. Rumblers like “Bad News Perfume” and “Katy Didn’t” highlight the roller coaster ride of love with lines such as “She makes me want to claw my eyes out” and “Katy tried to kill me with a clip-on tie/Katy didn’t care so why should I?” Under the Savage Sky is a high-octane, gritty album that will leave you sore in places you didn’t know you could be sore by the time you’re through dancing. Party on.

P.O.D.

The Awakening/T-Boy/UMe

P.O.D. ended its previous record, Murdered Love, with singer Sonny Sandoval dropping f-bombs and checking off a list of the many forms of baggage that Christians bring to the table. The Awakening takes up the cause by way of a concept record featuring a drug-addicted, alcoholic, home-wrecking, neglected man going through a series of mishaps before righting his life in the end. The record is simultaneously entertaining and thought-provoking, from the pummelling opener “Am I Awake?” to the punk single “Speed Demon,” it’s a trip into the dark void of a soul that has lost all hope. “Criminal Conversations” employs a slightly dreamier aspect to the rock, aided by the haunting vocals of In This Moment’s Maria Brink and “Want it All” surprises us with the appearance of keys and trumpets hinting at acid jazz. For a band that’s been around for a couple of decades, this is a fresh entry to their discography.

Joe Satriani

Shockwave Supernova/Sony

Almost 30 years in and Satch still knows how to bring the rock, the whole rock, and nothing but the rock. The title track is a spacey rocker of the air guitar variety, while “If There is No Heaven” is the sort of driving rocker that has become his trademark, complete with sky-scraping solos and an indelible melody that burrows into your brain and never leaves. “Crazy Joey” highlights Satriani’s ability to switch from a simple mid-tempo rock number to lightning-quick scale work the next, topping it off with an injection of funky, bluesy riffs, while “In My Pocket,” reminds us he hasn’t forgotten how to make a dirtier, less-produced rock song. Shockwave Supernova is his 15th studio album and it hits all the marks we’ve come to expect: soaring solos, radio-ready, hook-heavy tracks and ambient tunes that feel so otherworldly they have names like “Stars Race Across the Sky.”

Vintage Trouble

1 Hopeful Rd./Blue Note Records

With its sophomore release, this quartet proves two things: the mere idea of a sophomore slump can kiss their grits, and anyone who thinks rock is dead is dead wrong. Led by the dynamic vocals of Ty Taylor and a sound that embraces the ’50s and ’60s, this album is a treat. Whether it’s the gospel-meets-pedal-steel on “Run Like the River” or the blow-the-house-down mover “Strike Your Light,” the album burns with high-energy. Then you have bluesy numbers (“If You Loved Me”), mid-tempo love ballads (“Shows What You Know”) and straight up soul (“Before the Tear Drops”) to give the album some emotional equilibrium. Charisma and swagger flow through every inch of the record’s 42-plus minutes and it leaves us hoping that 1 Hopeful Rd. leads to another.

Noah Gundersen

Carry the Ghost/Dualtone Records

Carry the Ghost is an apt title for Noah Gundersen’s latest collection of songs: Some would give up the ghost, but he’d rather figure out why it’s there in the first place. And while this does not make for an overly pleasant record, there is beauty in the darkness. “Jealous Love” makes its point through soft rock harmonies, while “The Difference” takes an upbeat, ambient folk approach. Gundersen aims for his catharsis directly when God comes into question. He rails passionately against religion and Christians in “Show Me the Light,” and perhaps more than any other lines on the album, these words from “Empty from the Start” summarize his feelings: “Blood and bones / No Holy Ghost / Empty from the start.” Gundersen looks for solace in the here and now, wanting to love (“I Need a Woman”) and find purpose in self-expression (“Selfish Art”). Ghost may be a tough listen at times, but it’s direct from the artist’s soul.

Halie Loren

Butterfly Blue/Justin Time Records

She may be little known in the U.S., but in Japan Halie Loren is a star who consistently tops the jazz charts. Seductive and flirty in a straight-ahead jazz track one minute (“Our Love is here to Stay”), and quietly beautiful and fragile the next (“After the Fall”), Loren performs with effortless grace. Whether tossing in melodic scatting (“Yellow Bird”) or French lyrics (“I Wish You Love”), Loren also keeps you on your toes throughout. Loren’s strengths lie in her subtlety and her control—never resorting to powerhouse vocals just because she can. This is most evident on “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” where her voice hovers in a soulful moan that conveys the song’s painful, crushing feelings. Butterfly Blue is a beautiful entry point to Loren’s enormous talent.

Turnpike Troubadours

Turnpike Troubadours/Thirty Tigers

Equal parts country, bluegrass, folk and Americana, the Turnpike Troubadours’ latest is an upbeat good time. Evan Felker leads the way with swagger, whether crooning for a lover to be honest with him (“Doreen”) or waltzing through a hip-shaking roadhouse rocker about a woman whose presence is “going to wreck this town” (“The Mercury”). This record will grab you with its country melodies on tracks like “Down Here,” and the downtrodden electric guitar ballad “Fall Out of Love.” The Troubadours shed new light on the consequences be damned approach with tunes about living in the moment, drinking hard, driving fast and engaging in relationships with reckless passion—a complete recipe for rock ‘n’ roll.

Briana Marela

All Around Us/ Jagjaguwar

This is a beauty of a record. Abstract, ambient and guided by a first-rate vocalist and songwriter who makes All Around Us a stunner. Deliciously paradoxical, the album manages to sound explosive and subtle all at once, its exploration of relationships in their myriad forms is universal, while lyrically it remains starkly personal. Pop tracks like “I Don’t Belong to You” and “Surrender” are irresistibly euphoric, and “Dani” stands as the album’s greatest achievement as much for its emotional depth as for the impressive sonic palette it employs. Marela enchants with her rich, breathy vocals (get a load of her melodious intro in the first minute of “Everything is New”), and holds you in her sway from start to finish. All Around Us loses a tick of steam at the end as the album starts to sound like one neverending song, but it’s a damn beautiful song, and so this hardly qualifies as a complaint.

The Delta Saints

Bones/Loud & Proud

The Delta Saints are back with one hell of a rock ‘n’ roll album. Bones is filled to the brim with bluesy stompers, soulful howls and scratchy whispers, on this dynamic album that takes on soul, Americana, gospel and R&B.

It’s hard not to detect The White Stripes’ influence in the fuzzy rocker “Sometimes I Worry,” and “Heavy Hammer” is a raucous, dancetastic tune. Toss in the funky, hip- shaking “Zydeco,” and the moody, off-kilter guitar licks on the absolutely filthy Americana rock track “Dirt,” and there’s no resisting the magnetic pull of this record. Singer Ben Ringel is a spellbinding force of nature who makes the good times roll.

Poema

Pretty Speeches EP/Self-released

Pretty Speeches, the latest EP from Nashville-based sister duo, Poema, is breezy pop music at its best. These tracks are a perfect accompaniment for a trip down the coast on a sunny day, and at the end of this 20- minute experience, you will likely be sad that it’s over. Dreamy guitars and funky percussion augment lead singer Elle Puckett’s lush, slightly hip-hop flavored delivery on the chorus of “Go Away,” and the easygoing number “Enough Messing Around” is ready for radio. “Get to Me” pulls off a tricky marriage of Hawaiian rhythms and lounge jazz, while “Forget You in L.A.” is ’70s-era AM pop radio through and through. “Madeline,” a tale about loving someone whose heart and mind belong to someone else, ends the EP on a gorgeous, somber note—and when that last note has played, don’t be surprised to find yourself starting the EP over again.

Jason Isbell

Something More than Free/Thirty Tigers

“Are you living the life you chose? / Or are you living the life that chose you?” These two lines aptly sum up the tone of Jason Isbell’s latest release. This electrifying collection of 11 songs is loaded with palpable tension between being held captive by something (or someone) and being free, and realizing that freedom isn’t always enough if you don’t know how to handle it. “Speed Trap Town” plays like a lament after realizing you’ve broken free from a small town only to become trapped in a larger one, and while “To a Band That I Loved” starts with all the promise and excitement that initial attraction brings, heartbreak sometimes still awaits in the long run. “Children of Children” furthers the notion that life can live you, recognizing that the effect of your existence on someone else’s life can be shackling. Isbell’s scratchy, slightly twangy drawl is engaging, and the raw combination of Americana, folk, country, blues and rock is an undeniable feast for the ears, mind and heart.

Sharon Van Etten

I Don’t Want to Let You Down EP/Jagjaguwar

Over the course of four new tracks and a live version of the rarity “Tell Me,” Sharon Van Etten ambles through a series of stark emotional landscapes and paints exquisite portraits of relationships in states of bliss and disarray on her new EP. The title track is poignant with its universal refrain, and she bares her soul on “I Always Fall Apart,” admitting how she responds to crises. “Just Like Blood” is filled with telling lines like, “Shot me up like a gun/Then you run like blood,” matched with a lazy rock beat that’s slowly dying out, and when she opens “Pay My Debts” with the line, “It took me years to find true peace,” it’s hard not to pay rapt attention to the rest of the story. Van Etten is often subtle in her delivery, but whether crooning to an ambient folk melody or letting an Americana rock groove take over, she certainly doesn’t let the listener down.

Our Friend and the Spiders

It Will End Quietly/self-released

Between the heavy doses of rock which populate this album, the insanely catchy—if at times slightly off-kilter—melodies, and singer-guitarist Mathieu Morin’s soaring vocals (mash Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds together with Muse’s Matthew Bellamy and you’re not far off), make this pure fun. “Keeping on Marching” has the sort of anthemic, fist-pumping, arena rock bombast that fans of Muse can appreciate, while “The 55” is a slow boiler which explodes towards the end. “The Sight of Sin” and “Deranged” play like kissing cousins with cascading guitars and psychedelic rock perfectly mirroring the unsettling content within each track and “Bleeding the Sky” is filled with so many ominous chords you’ll think the Apocalypse has arrived. Rock music, at its core, is supposed to be a damn good time, and this is indeed that.

Jon Foreman

The Wonderlands: Sunlight EP/Word Entertainment

Foreman’s songs, whether for Switchfoot, Fiction Family or solo, are always insightful, engaging looks at the complicated nature of humanity in all its awesome beauty and staggering disarray. Sunlight, the first in a four-EP series that features one song for each hour of the day, is no different. The epic pop opener “Terminal” stares unflinchingly at the short-term nature of our existence, while the closer, “All of God’s Children,” paints a familiar Foreman-esque picture of human nature. Sonically, this album falls in between Switchfoot’s pop-oriented moments and the acoustic core of Foreman’s solo EPs, with the upbeat, anthemic “You Don’t Know How Beautiful You Are” sounding like an outtake from the Fading West sessions, while “Patron Saint of Rock and Roll” plays like a kissing cousin to “Hey Jude.” Foreman’s ability to offer hope without sugarcoating the messiness of life is as strong as ever.

Allen Stone

Radius/Capitol

Building off the strength of his self-titled debut, Stone’s unapologetic point of view and charismatic performances are back again on this delightful R&B-meets-funk-meets-soul record. Stone can croon his way through a romantic song easily (“Love”), and then bounce back with some of the social commentary he is becoming known for. Whether it’s lines like these in “The Wire”: “Who made up these rules?/Who’s a star, and who’s a tool?” or when he calls out Americans as a whole—taking a surprising shot at himself and his own heritage in “American Privilege,” Stone’s going to call a spade a spade every time. That said, he successfully balances the head with the heart on this record, never seeking to destroy, but rather to educate in a way that heals and inspires, all while trying to entertain.

Best Coast

California Nights/Harvest Records

Records about the crises, neuroses and yo-yoing within modern relationships are not supposed to be this fun, but damn it, Best Coast’s new record is just that. Chock full of crunchy guitars and alt-pop melodies that are a throwback to the ’90s (think Letters to Cleo), California Nights will make you want to dive into your next relationship with gusto, obstacles be damned. Bethany Cosentino’s dreamy vocals hold you throughout as she sings about unrequited love (“Jealousy”) or the danger of letting a location define you, as on the title track. And regardless of whether the songs are sedated guitar ballads (“Wasted Time”), punk pop anthems (“Heaven Sent”) or vaguely Cars-esque pop rock (“In My Eyes”), every moment of this record is electrifying.

Kopecky

Drug for the Modern Age/ATO Records

A “family band” no more, Kopecky is back with a slightly new name and a slightly new sound, but its penchant for making fun music hasn’t changed a bit. Drug for the Modern Age will be a sonic surprise to some longtime fans, but it’s worth checking out. The love of rock and acoustic folk-pop has morphed into electro-pop this time (check out the supreme “Die Young,” or the hook-laden ’80s-era throwback “My Love” for proof), and with synths blazing on “Better Luck Next Time” it’s easy to think this entire album is going to be a change of pace for the band. But the sexy rock single “Quarterback,” and straight-ahead danceable pop of “Vancouver” remind us that these guys are still enjoying themselves. Singers Kelsey Kopecky and Gabe Simon harmonize and play off each other throughout, and when they join forces on the seductive, synth and beat machine-led “Thrill,” their chemistry is downright electric.

SOAK

Before We Forgot How to Dream/Rough Trade Records

One of the darlings of this year’s SXSW, 19-year-old Bridie Monds-Watson—aka SOAK—is about to dazzle you. The singer-songwriter guitarist strikes deep throughout, detailing the angst, beauty, wonder and isolation of growing up as a teenager in Northern Ireland. Balancing everything from atmospheric folk rock (“Blud”) to swelling orchestral ballads (“Oh Brother”), this album flows across the subgenres of folk. Lyrically, the content runs the gamut from the restless energy of youth (“Reckless Behaviour”) to musical interludes with ponderous titles (“If Everyone is Someone—No One is Everyone”). Monds-Watson gives largely understated performances that make Before We Forgot How to Dream a magnificent examination of the fear and wonder that embodies the transition from youth to adulthood.

love+war

Ghosts, Volume One/self-released

If an EP’s sole purpose is to whet your appetite for a full-length project that’s just around the corner, then you’ll be starving for what’s next after listening to love + war’s debut EP, Ghosts, Volume One. The brainchild of singer-songwriter Coury Palermo and producer-guitarist Ron Robinson, the project entrances you for 10 solid minutes. The down-tempo electronica cover of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” is bewitching, especially with the steady throb that functions as a heartbeat throughout, and the ambient cover of the Royksopp/Robyn track “Monument” is chillingly beautiful with its echoing guitars and heavenly vocals. Pricilla Summer Coffey provides soulful vocals throughout, and marries her talents exceptionally with Palermo’s vocal presence on the gospel-meets-R&B mash-up of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” and Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”

Hanna Rae

Rookie in the Ring EP/self-released

There is an easiness to Hanna Rae’s music that makes it easy to like. Her molasses-thick vocals are a treat, particularly on the dreamy, stripped-down opener “Man in the Moon,” and fans of Brooke Annibale will likely smile at “Jar of Wine,” which plays like an Americana version of “Under Streetlights.” Rae’s ability to turn a phrase naturally and conversationally is put on display in the bluegrass-tinged “Alabama,” where a bevy of creative similes—including Rubik’s Cubes and non-rotating planets—are used in reference to emotional lockdown. Most of the material here falls into the relationship category and the results are likable. Whether it’s cute “they’re stealing glances at each other from across the coffee shop” (“Silver Screens”), or serious “your left hook of love came out of nowhere and knocked me out” on the title track, Rae explores the ins and outs of relationships with confidence, curiosity and a wisdom that is irresistible.

Delta Rae

After it All/Sire Records

There aren’t many quiet moments on the latest from Delta Rae. In fact, outside of the first 45 seconds of the ethereal opener “Anthem” and a vocal interlude at the quarter mark during “The Dream,” the album is downright operatic. “Outlaws” and “Run” verge on cliché due to their over-the-top rock energy that comes from belting out tales about being wild and free, and flipping the bird at convention. “Scared” is explosive soul that marries hand-clapping, foot- stomping, plinky piano and a choir of voices, while the updated “Chasing Twisters” is an epic, heavy-on-production country tune that sounds like a conversation between Manheim Steamroller and Lindsey Sterling. After it All cruises like a fully accelerated sports car, and while longtime fans might be thrown by this curveball, it’s a nasty one they’ll want to take a swing at.

Jesse Baylin

Dark Places/Blonde Rat

If your tastes lean a little retro, then the new release from Jesse Baylin should be right up your alley. Dark Places is a throwback to the era of the warm AM rock heard during the ’70s, with just enough flair to keep it modern. Think Stevie Nicks by way of Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers. The fuzzy guitars and lumbering beat on “Creepers (Young Love)” are a delight, and Baylin’s echoing vocals on the electric guitar ballad “To Hell and Back” make for a brooding experience as she surveys the ashes of the destruction that fill her past. Baylin builds this album with subtly charged performances that range from sensual (“Kiss Your Face”) to soul-crushed (“The Ringer”), from bombastic (“London Time”) to subdued (“Lungs”), giving listeners a host of moods to consider that are darkly inviting, but never dull.

Ivan & Alyosha

It’s All Just Pretend/Dualtone Records

“If freedom is where we are standing/Something is desperately wrong.” This line from the opener “Something Is Wrong” sets the tone for the dynamic sophomore release from the Seattle quintet in more ways than one. Much of the album explores the tension between what makes us free and whether or not we’re using freedom wisely, and often times the songs are juxtaposed against upbeat music. “All This Wandering Around” pairs thumping piano and catchy guitars with musings on not belonging, while the title track has a groovy, hand-clap rock beat that offsets a narrative about trust and mistrust. But that’s not to say that this is a downer of an album. “Come Rain, Come Shine” proves to be an uplifting ode to battle-tested love, and the danceable “Modern Man” is filled to the brim with rock swagger. The guys lean heavier on rock this time around, making it a nice departure from their acoustic folk pop debut, while keeping the insights as sharp as ever.

Josh Garrels

Home/self-released

Avant-garde Portland singer-songwriter Josh Garrels has won legions of fans by fusing folk and hip-hop while candidly rhapsodizing about his struggles with faith in ways that most Christian artists are too afraid to tackle. His latest release, Home, acts as a mild curve ball by comparison. Lyrically, Garrels is as self-
dissecting as ever on tracks like “A Long Way” and “Born Again,” and his delivery ranges from some brief rap to his familiar, molasses-thick falsetto, but the music is what gets you this time around. “Born Again” features a harp, for starters, there’s a jazzy trumpet outro on “Always Be,” and “Home at Last” incorporates a ukulele intro and strings, then finishes with a sequence that sounds like a New Orleans brass band. Add in his customary bone-rattling folk-hop (“Leviathan”) and some stirring Americana (“Morning Light”), for a beautifully diverse record that cuts deep in its exploration of the self and the world.

Danny Schmidt

Owls/Live Once Records

Earlier this month, former Charlottesville resident and singer-songwriter Danny Schmidt treated fans to a sneak peek of his new solo record, Owls, at the Southern. The new tracks demonstrate that Schmidt has grown more evocative with his lyrics (particularly on the stirring ballad “Cry On The Flowers”), and the ragged, melodic timbre of his vocals impress throughout, whether on Americana rock numbers (“Soon The Earth Shall Swallow”) or laid-back folk tracks (“All The More To Wonder”). Schmidt draws you into this record with his dramatic-yet-subtle storytelling prowess on the closer “Wings of No Restraint” and the standout track—“Looks Like God”—flows with poetic imagery. Whether observing the plight of the small town farmer or getting introspective about the past, Schmidt does it with a keen focus that results in an articulate, beautiful record.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

Chasing Yesterday/Sour Mash

Noel Gallagher’s stellar second solo effort, Chasing Yesterday, furthers the notion that Noel was the creative thrust behind Oasis (compared with the failure of Liam ’s band Beady Eye). Riff-heavy hook fests like “Lock all The Doors” demonstrate that Gallagher’s flair for rock ‘n’ roll dramatics hasn’t dwindled since the band’s 2009 split. Yet, similar to his 2011 solo debut, the majority of the album is more about subtlety and variety than Oasis 2.0. “Riverman” and “The Right Stuff” feature saxophone solos, and there’s a healthy dose of cowbell on “The Mexican.” Gallagher’s vocals are arguably the strongest and most melodic they’ve been since the early days in the band of brothers, and whether he’s waving away nostalgia for his musical past (“You Know We Can’t Go Back”) or belting it out on the first single (“In the Heat of the Moment”), the guitarist singer-songwriter wanders from jazzy to raucous to bluesy with a familiar pop sensibility.

Joe Pug

Windfall/Lightning Rod Records

Known for his laid-back acoustic folk, Joe Pug delivers the goods once again with a largely accessible, Americana folk record that is easy on the ears while tugging at your heart. “Stay and Dance” is a classic romantic acoustic number that’s perfect for setting the mood, while the light, upbeat folk opener “Bright Beginnings” is augmented by bouncy keys to get the album off on a happy note. Ironically, the brightest moments on the record tend to be when Pug is most introspective, as on the brooding, electric guitar-led “Great Hosannas,” or on the engaging finale “If Still It Can’t Be Found,” where he waxes philosophical about seeking answers. Pug’s dusty, lower register vocals lend a steady presence, occasionally stretching into a Dylan-esque ramble to give the songs extra weight, and making Windfall a solid release.

Ships Have Sailed

Moodswings/self-released

The jangly full-length debut from Ships Have Sailed delivers on the promise of last year’s Someday EP. Will Carpenter provides an electric presence as the singer and songwriter for the group, proving that he’s just as comfortable belting a Killers-esque hook (the dance-happy “Boomerang”) as when he’s delivering stirring lyrics like, “If only I could find a way/To make you take back your goodbye” (“If Only”). The album has energetic rockers such as the anthemic “Summertime” and echoing, reverb-heavy tumblers like “Out of Time,” as well as moody, borderline apocalyptic-sounding epics like “The Tide.” Equal parts ebullient and introspective, the aptly titled Moodswings takes you on a wild, and ultimately fulfilling ride.