Missing Someone, Jaimee Harris (from the Folk N Roll Records/Thirty Tigers release Boomerang Town)
Harris’ eagerly awaited sophomore release has arrived – and it’s a beauty. What makes it even compelling is that its beauty isn’t easy. Harris fills her songs with difficult topics and troubled characters, digging into them with a thoughtful perspective.
The somber “How Could You Be Gone”, a powerful reflection of a lost friend while in attendance at the funeral, is a fine example.
I’m sitting in a plastic chair, the preacher’s words hang in the air
A cross of roses pink and white, slideshow pictures of your life
Children run across the lawn, they don’t understand you’re gone
I’m looking for you in the clouds, I’m looking for you in the crowd
The theme of loss continues on “Fall (Devin’s Song)”, which finds Harris recalling a childhood classmate who was accidentally shot and killed in the sixth grade. As she contemplates his memory, she confides:
A million tears we have cried
If love alone could save you never would’ve died
If tears could build a ladder tall
Surely we’ve built thousands, but all they do is fall
“The Fair and Dark Haired Lad” is not, as one might expect, about a boy. Rather it personifies the temptation and dangers of alcoholism. “I look in the mirror, I see him there,” she sings as a fiddle adds an ominous air, “bloodshot eyes and a vacant stare”.
“Sam’s” and “Good Morning, My Love” are both quiet yet striking. She confronts her past in “Sam’s”, a reference to Austin bar Sam’s Town Point, while “Good Morning, My Love” finds her questioning a lover, asking “Does your silence mean you’re leaving this love of ours behind?”
Harris closes the album with the upbeat “Missing Someone”, a sashaying acoustic and slide guitar-fueled ode to long-distance love. “Work’s piled up, dishes ain’t done, I’ve been stuck on the telephone,” she sings, “Ain’t been sleeping in my bed, I’d rather be in yours instead.”
Boomerang Town is another tour de force from Harris – an album filled with profound songwriting and moving musical performances.
One Last F.U., Lucero (from the Liberty & Lament/Thirty Tigers release Should’ve Learned By Now)
Ah Ben Nichols, you certainly have a way with words. I mean, how many artists would kick off an album with a track titled “One Last F.U.” All the better, the song sets the tone for a collection of rock songs that gloriously hearken back to Lucero’s bar band days.
The aforementioned track describes being trapped at a bar with unwelcome company. As electric guitars wail, Nichols declares:
Yes I’ve got the time to spend
But I don’t want to spend it here
I always did enjoy drinking alone
So let me finish this drink
Without telling me what you think
We go our separate ways I say so long
The rousing “Macon If We Make It” equates a relationship to being trapped in a hurricane. “I don’t know if we were in love, I just know it wasn’t enough,” he sings, “Got caught in the storm and the water is rising…”
“Nothing’s Alright”, the band’s glorious ode to lost love, begins with a classic Nichols line, to wit: “Empty hearts and blackout nights”. He continues, “Empty hearts we drink alone, wonder what went wrong and where she could’ve gone” as the band propels the song forward with a guitar and rhythmic fury.
Things get particularly dark on the ominous “Buy a Little Time” and “Should’ve Learned By Now”. As the electric guitars continue their sinister attack (with pianist Rick Steff adding his own impassioned flourishes), Nichols digs into bad decisions and situations. He lays it out at the open of “Should’ve Learned By Now”:
Half of what runs through my head
Is bullshit I sell to myself
And the other half ain’t well thought out
I really should’ve learned by now
The band slows things down, at least a bit, for “Drunken Moon” and “Time to Go Home”. Both songs capture the end of an evening spent trying to drown one’s sorrows at the bar, with Nichols’ proclaiming in the latter, “Too broke to mend can’t seem to win; from the pan to the fucking fire”.
Should’ve Learned By Now may be a collection of songs that were written for but not included on the band’s recent albums. But I wouldn’t call these outtakes or left-overs; rather it’s a collection of songs further establish Lucero as one of today’s best rock bands.
No Reason, Sunny War (from the New West Records release Anarchist Gospel)
There’s something special about Sunny War’s Anarchist Gospel. It’s not an easy album by any means, but one that is compelling in its artistry. War sings of heartbreak and dark times with a potent authenticity, her stark lyrics set against musical arrangements that give the songs exceptional depth and power.
The gospel of the title makes its appearance on the opening “Love’s Death Bed”. As the title suggests, War announces the end of a relationship with a sinewy harmonica and gospel choir emphasizing the point:
Babe I’m done
Gotta run
I heard you loud and clear this time
But I hope It was fun
Being the last heartbreak of mine
The take-down continues on the insistent pop of “No Reason” as War sings, “Good intentions that you keep don’t change the fact that you’re a beast.” If that weren’t enough, she serves up a commanding cover of Ween’s bitter tell-off song “Baby Bitch”.
Lest anyone think the album is only about bitter heartbreak, War offers a glimmer of hope. “New Day”, with its musical echoes of Stevie Nicks’ “Landslide”, finds War exploring the idea of loving again. “Believing in magic can be tragic,” she sings, “I’m love’s junkie, I’m love’s addict”. On the quietly orchestral “Sweet Nothing” she plainly states, “Let’s make a dream of this tragedy”.
Anarchist Gospel demonstrates that there is power in restraint. War’s uncompromising lyrics and the absorbing musical arrangements are captivating.
Tchompitoulas, Galactic (from the Tchoup-Zilla Records release Tchompitoulas)
Galactic are in a class to themselves. While their music is rooted in their native New Orleans, their commitment to craft and collaboration takes continues to take them on a glorious musical journey.
Instrumental opener “Big Whiskers” hits heavy with its funk riff mixed with a touch of retro 1970’s R&B. They dip into jazz territory with the instrumental title track, with trumpeter Eric Gordon and the band’s sax player Ben Ellman jamming against a heavy percussive beat.
Vocal guests make their mark on “Making Sense” (rapper Eric Biddines) and “Ready For Me” (Afro-Cuban rocker Cimafunk), both funky R&B gems that enticingly blend in their collaborator’s styles. Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph”, the band’s featured vocalist, makes her mark on “Ready For Me” and steps out on the poptastic funk of “Float Up”. Singer-trombonist Glen David Andrews shows up for the closing “NY to Nola”, a dark and gritty tale of city living.
Tchompitoulas may only be six tracks but is a tremendous showcase for Galactic’s talent, not to mention that it’s one heck of musical ride.
Heartaches After Heartbreak, JD Clayton (from the self-released Long Way From Home)
Nashville via Arkansas singer-songwriter JD Clayton has taken to his new home, serving up the kind of freewheelin’ and rockin’ country that one expects to hear coming out of East Nashville these days. He does so with a lyrical eye that focuses on emotion and detail as well as a plaintive voice that rings with authenticity.
The title track serves as the album centerpiece. The song reflects on his commitment to his musical journey, acknowledging the miles travelled and the speed bumps that he’s encountered along the way. “This old dirt road keeps on goin’, and these dreams of mine just don’t end,” he sings.
“Heartaches After Heartbreak” may be about lost love but it ain’t no “tear in my beer” song. An electric guitar and simmering organ propel a catchy melody as Clayton sings, “Some say life begins and ends with two; Oh, but not for me and you; Yeah, ain’t that the truth.”
“Cotton Candy Clouds” has an enticing Beatles-esque vibe before Clayton serves up a cover of the traditional spiritual “Midnight Special”, more akin to the rockin’ Creedence Clearwater Revival version than Leadbelly’s early blues take.
Clayton’s earnestness and talent permeate Long Way From Home, establishing him as a welcome new voice in country.
What I Had In Mind, Ron Sexsmith (from the Cooking Vinyl release The Vivian Line)
Popster Ron Sexsmith adds to his legacy as a craftsman of immensely intelligent and melodic songs. The Vivian Line is filled with gems that veer between infectious and quirky, generally written with a cheerful and thoughtful outlook. The arrangements are restrained and graceful, filled with lightly orchestral arrangements, gentle harmonies, and Sexsmith’s intoxicating voice.
The relaxed and ambling “What I Had In Mind” is the tale of a life spent pursuing a career in music. He recalls his, well, distracted early school days. “My Ma could find no A’s in my report card news,” he admits, “Hoped it was just a phase”.
“Flower Boxes” is a loving tribute to someone lost, recalling the beauty of their life and the memories that persist while “Outdated and Antiquated” celebrates a vintage lifestyle with a touch of humor. “They’re all on their phones while I write poems instead,” he sings, “Each day my disc player and I might take a stroll while time takes its toll.”
Sexsmith celebrates rural living with the orchestral “Country Mile”, remarking “This city living getting worse with time.” The theme continues on “A Barn Conversion”, the somewhat comic tale of a less than handy man converting a barn into a living space.
The Vivian Line is classic Sexsmith – an album that is warm and considered.
Peace Be With You, L.A. Edwards (from the Bitchin’ Music Group release Out of the Heart of Darkness)
California’s L.A. Edwards got 2023 off to a rousing start with the early January release of Out of the Heart of Darkness. The record is filled with rock songs that alternate between spirited anthems and simmering angst.
Many of the album’s finer moments explore the good and bad of relationships. They open with the earnest “Little Boy Blue”, which finds Edwards pining for a distant love and feeling ready for commitment. The restrained “Stick To You” mines similar territory, the singer confessing, “I don’t know what became of all those promises I made,” to which his lover responds, “And it’s true, that you might have come unglued, but baby I’ll always stick to you.”
At the other end of the spectrum is “Now You Know”, the singer telling a lover “It ain’t me babe you’re looking for; it was once but not no more…”. The upbeat “Hi Right Now” chronicles a relationship headed in a similar direction, the singer admitting “And all the good times, well they’re getting hard to find in your arms.”
The group reaches for catharsis on the glorious and fervent “Peace Be With You”. Falsetto harmonies give way to slashing guitars and pounding rhythms as the band proclaims “peace be with you”. Seems like a solid sentiment to begin the year, doesn’t it?
Better Things to Do, The Shootouts (from the Soundly Music release Stampede)
Akron, Ohio isn’t a place normally associated with country music but The Shootouts make a pretty strong case that it should be. Their latest is an enjoyable journey through the genre, from bluegrass to honky-tonk to Americana, with other stops along the way. The songs are melodic and the musicianship sublime.
The group takes this musical journey with a host of incredible guests. Ray Benson co-produced the whole shindig and brought in Asleep at the Wheel for the country dance floor gem “One Step Forward”. Marty Stuart shows up for two versions of “Better Things to Do” – one an electric guitar driven honky-tonk jam and one acoustic bluegrass party. Raul Malo, Jim Lauderdale, and Buddy Miller are among the other artists who lend their talents to Stampede.
Left to their own devices, however, the band is just as powerful. They demonstrate this prowess on the freewheeling guitar instrumental “Stampede”, the slight rockabilly flair of “Run For Cover”, and the restrained charm of “Coming Home By Going Away”.
Put it all together and Stampede is a fun listen from start to finish.
Hold Me Like You Wanna, Somebody’s Child (from the Frenchkiss Records release Somebody’s Child)
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again – I’m a sucker for a great pop song. Doesn’t matter the genre.
And that’s exactly what Cian Godfrey – aka Somebody’s Child – delivers on his debut release. These are pop anthems filled with resounding guitars and pulsing rhythms, not to mention immediately catchy melodies. In some cases they are furious, fist in the air blasts like “I Need Ya” and “Sell Out”; in other cases they are restrained (in the relative sense) but no less insistent gems like “Hold Me Like You Wanna” and “Give It Up to Love”.
Godfrey describes the album as “the idea of the ‘80s rolling into the ‘00s in 2022.” One can certainly hear those touchstones across the tracks, from the melancholy undercurrent of “Give It Up to Love” , which calls to mind the Cure, to the ringing guitars of “You Know What”, which recalls indie rockers like the Strokes. Somebody’s Child, with its energy and enthusiasm, is an early entry for your summer soundtrack.
Halfway, BER (from the self-released Halfway)
Indie wunderkind BER, one of my highlights from last year’s SXSW, is back with a new EP. Halfway sparkles with the singer-songwriter’s charm and infectious melodies.
Given my affinity for kiss-off songs, it shouldn’t be a surprise that I gravitate towards “Boys Who Kiss You In Their Car” and “Your Internet Sucks”. “The worst is when they start talkin’ about their band (it’s just a shitty little boy band)” she sings in the former before really letting loose in the latter as she declares “There’s a girl in me that misses us, but I hope that she gets hit by a bus and wakes up in bed with amnesia”.
She balances it out with some touching ballads that offer a different perspective on heartbreak. The title track digs into the struggle to get over a heartbreak (“Halfway good, halfway bad, halfway really fucking mad”) while the poignant closing piano ballad “Over You” is more reflective with BER singing:
I don’t want rip my heart out anymore,
I don’t want to relive the pain from before,
and I don’t want to sing all the sad songs I used to,
I just want to be over you.
Stones, The Vansaders (from the self-released Caught in the Light)
Not surprisingly, there are always a few albums that slip by me over the course of the year. Caught in the Light, the 2022 release from New Jersey’s The Vansaders, is a prime example. Their mix of pop and punk – powered by furious guitars, glorious harmonies, and catchy melodies – is infectious.
Singer Doug Zambon spits out his vocals in the frenzied opener “Red & Blue” before the tempo slows, relatively so, on the subsequent brooding rocker “You”. “Taking My Time” recalls early Green Day with a heavy bass line propelling the song to a head bobbing chorus. “Siren’s Song” displays a somewhat Irish punk flair while “Stones” is a glorious piece of scuffed up power pop.
“When You’re Gone”, which closes the album, initially seems to find the singer longing for a distant love but the attitude changes by the end of the song. “I don’t miss you when you’re gone; thank god I was wrong but I ran out of time to waste,” sings Zambon as horns join in to bring the song – and album – to a euphoric conclusion.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.