Tumbleweed, Jeremie Albino (from the Good People Record Co. release Tears You Hide)
While Jeremie Albino may tease with 30 seconds of old-time pickin’ on album opener “Dance With Me”, he very quickly brings out the good time – and rowdy – fun that defines Tears You Hide.
“Angeline”, the first full track, finds the singer reaching his breaking point with a cheating lover. The song offers a happy-go-lucky arrivederci:
I said, Angeline
Got a hold of me
Thoughts of you they won’t let me be
So don’t waste my time cause it’s time for me
To let you go, let you go
The singer takes the opposite view on the song that follows, the chugging “You I’m Waiting On”. Against a backdrop of wailing guitars, Albino declares:
I hope you’re coming for me
Don’t come knockin’ at the door
I’ll leave it hanging open
Well It’s you I’m waiting on
So come on
A theme of helping, supporting, and appreciating others – coupled with some big ol’ sing-along choruses – is notable on “Tears You Hide”, “Hold Me Down”, and “Tumbleweed”. “Tumbleweed”, in particular, is uplifting both musically and lyrically. An insanely catchy melody drives the chorus as Albino proclaims,
We’ll be alright
Wander like the tumbleweed
To open space we’ve never seen
Like we’re young again
Albino closes the album with a couple of wonderful stripped-down ballads, the most striking of which is the stark “Early Morn”. The song chronicles someone leaving behind a painful past, Albino confessing “I hate your guts but I wish you the best”.
Tears You Hide is a triumphant release from an exciting young artist – here’s looking forward to more great things to come.
Everything Makes You Sick, Jesse Daniel Edwards (from the Cavity Search Records release Violensia)
Jesse Daniel Edwards, the artist behind last year’s impressive Juni Ata ep, is back with a proper full length under his own name. The ten song collection owes as much to 1970’s classic rock as it does to 1990’s brit pop, definitely not a bad thing.
Much of the album has a dramatic flair that recalls Queen’s finer moments, notably with the massive crescendos and soaring guitar solos of songs like “Nobody’s Got Me” and “Missed Call From Evangeline”. Album opener “I’m So Happy (I Think I Might Cry)” is of a similar sound, the interplay of piano and electric guitar giving life to the irony of the song’s title and lyrics. “Drop Dead and Die” and “Everything Makes You Sick” bring an arena rock flair into the mix, the former with the fury that the title suggests and the latter with more restraint but no less impact.
The theatrics extend to the lyrics. “Nobody’s Got Me” finds the singer pining for love while “Backyard Party MDA” is a song of regret, the singer wishing he could recall a message sent to a former lover:
Instant regret,
Never mind,
Just forget it,
I said what I meant but,
Can we pretend,
I meant something charming instead?
No let’s pretend,
I said nothing at all instead…
“Missed Call from Evangeline” is an expansive tale that chronicles a drunken night and its aftermath, a saga that includes an unplanned pregnancy and phone calls never made. Closing piano ballad “What Ever Happened To” reflects on old friends before the singer ultimately declares:
What I want to know,
Is who wants to know?
and does anybody care,
Not that I really care…
Violensia is an album for discerning listeners – one with wonderfully dense storytelling set to music that alternates between intense and majestic.
The Palace, The Watson Twins (from the Bloodshot Records release Holler)
Chances are you’ve heard Nashville’s The Watson Twins at some point in recent years. The duo have lent their voices to countless artists, from Jenny Lewis to CeeLo Green to My Morning Jacket. They truly shine, however, when they wrap their harmonies around their own songs.
Their latest album is a joyous collection that straddles the line between pop and country. Hoedowns like “Sissy Said” and “Two Timin’” and, of course, “Honky Tonk Heart” are as equally inviting as more pop-oriented offerings like “The Palace”, “Never Be Another You”, and “Love You the Best”.
As one would expect, the album is filled with brilliant harmonies. Producer Butch Walker surrounds them with plenty of slide guitar and honky-tonk piano to give extra punch to the Twins’ melodic hooks. It makes for an album warm and inviting… and fun.
If She Could Only See Me Now, Deer Tick (from the ATO Records release Emotional Contracts)
Singer-songwriter John McCauley has apparently been battling writer’s block over the past several years. With the help of his neighbor Steve Poltz, he broke through in fine fashion. Emotional Contracts ranks high on the list of Deer Tick albums with supremely crafted songs and taut arrangements (with horns!). And lest anyone think otherwise, the group’s raucous energy is as strong as ever.
Some of the album’s finer moments find the band grappling with trauma and hardship. “Sometimes you think you know who people are, then you meet ‘em and they leave you hanging in the dark,” sings McCauley on the freewheeling “Grey Matter”, later concluding “you won’t find me living in the past, no, I’m still looking for a greener kind of grass”.
The band’s Ian O’Neil sings about overcoming adversity in the rollicking “Forgiving Ties”. “I’m not looking for forgiving ties,” he declares, “I’m just looking for a way to survive.”
“If She Could Only See Me Now” continues with the theme, albeit with a more assured point of view. Horns and piano give the song a carefree attitude, recalling the Kinks with its perfect blend of melody and grit. McCauley, with the benefit of hindsight, focuses on the importance of being forward and communicative in a relationship:
Now some they can survive
With a love they’ve gotta hide
They’re lying to themselves, I know
Oh but me, I realize
When the chances pass me by
I see it happening all over the world
The group slow things down, well sort of, to close out the album. The final three songs all look at failed romances. McCauley’s “My Ship” describes an encounter with a long-ago ex, contrasting how their respective lives have evolved since while O’Neil’s melancholy “A Light Can Go Out in the Heart” chronicles the demise of a long relationship. And then there’s McCauley’s bristling nine minute opus about a messy break-up that concludes the album. “This couldn’t be real but the heartache, it feels like the real thing” he howls against a wash of electric guitar.
Emotional Contracts is the sound of a band at the top of their game.
I’m Sorry, Lauren Morrow (from the Big Kitty Records release People Talk)
Morrow first crossed our radar as the singer of Atlanta’s Whiskey Gentry. Now living in Nashville, Morrow is launching a solo career with an infectious blend of pop and country, not to mention some pointed lyrics.
Proof to the point is the title track. The song opens with a synth-laden indie rock vibe before opening up with a 1980’s style beat. Morrow, meanwhile, offers up some pointed social commentary:
people talk a big game
when they need someone else to blame
for what they lack inside
what they wish they had
what they want to hide
some people love the sound of their own voice
but won’t give you a choice
Her lyrical bite continues on “Looking For Trouble” and “Nobody But Me”. The former builds to a psychedelic close as the singer declares, “you probably shouldn’t push me, you don’t want to get me angry; because you always can’t be messing with me.” The latter is decisive both musically and lyrically, wailing guitars ringing out as Morrow proclaims, “If you ain’t helpin’ then you’re hurtin’, it ain’t hard to see, don’t need nobody but me”.
Yet Morrow also includes some light-hearted fare in the form of “Hustle” and “I’m Only Nice When I’m High”. “Hustle” calls to mind Dolly Parton (“9 to 5”) in its country celebration of busting ass to make ends meet. “I’m Only Nice When I’m High” falls somewhere between an apology and an explanation for being difficult to handle as Morrow explains, “maybe it’s not a thriller hanging out with a buzz killer, I never meant to ruin your night, you know I’m only nice when I’m high”.
Sometimes You’ve Got to Stop Chasing Rainbows, Son Volt (from the Transmit Sound/Thirty Tigers release Day of the Doug)
Son Volt’s Jay Farrar pays tribute to his friend and mentor the late Doug Sahm on the band’s latest release. Farrar digs deep into the Sahm catalog, skipping past the hits and focusing on some underappreciated gems. And damn if the band doesn’t do them right – rocking out with swagger and bite.
The album is a welcome reminder of the depth and charm of Sahm’s songwriting. Songs like freewheeling opener “Sometimes You’ve Got to Stop Chasing Rainbows” and closing acoustic ballad “It’s Gonna Be Easy” are laid back in feeling but not necessarily in meaning. While the group mostly highlights Sahm’s rocking tendencies – particularly the feisty “Float Away” and “Juan Mendoza” – they prove equally adept at Sahm Tex-Mex gems like “Poison Love” and “Dynamite Woman”.
Taken in the context of Farrar’s Son Volt output, one can clearly hear the influence that Sahm had on him. But more than that, it’s just great to hear Sahm’s songs in all their glory.
Top Ten, Leroy from the North (from the self-released Toughen Up)
Eli Wulfmeier is well-studied in the craft of rock and roll. The LA by way of Michigan guitarist has built a reputation as an in-demand session and touring musician, working with the likes of Shelby Lynne, Sam Morrow, and Nikki Lane. Yet he is also a talented singer-songwriter in his own right, as he demonstrates with power trio Leroy From The North.
The band’s debut full-length is an amalgam of rock and roll styles. There’s the southern flavor of “White Nights”, the Texas boogie of “Toughen Up”, country-leaning “Hard to Last” and the Detroit garage rock of “Youngblood” and “Homemade Crosses”. He even channels Joe Walsh and the James Gang on the feisty “Top Ten”. There’s nothing like some good ol’ rock and roll to get you through the summer, amirite?
Come At Me, Robert Jon and the Wreck (from the Journeyman Records release Ride Into the Light)
1970’s style southern blues rock is alive and well in the form of Robert Jon & the Wreck. The group roars out of the gate with the electric guitar fury of “Pain No More” before shifting into the more relaxed and acoustic guitar led “Who Can You Love”. A slide guitar joins the party to propel the furious “One of a Kind” and the swampy “Bring Me Back Home Again”. But lest anyone think it’s all about the blues-based rock, the group showcases their pop sensibility with the anthemic chorus of “Come at Me” and the organ-laced melodic charm of “West Coast Eyes”. They even get a bit soulful on album closer “Ride Into the Light”. As good as these songs sound on record, one gets the sense that they are even better live.
Somewhere to Be, Aloud (from the Lemon Merchant Records release Apollo 6)
LA by way of Boston rock band Aloud live up to the band name on their latest release. With a hearty “1, 2, 3, 4”, they kick off the album with a wash of guitar and an emphatic rhythm that drives the unrelenting “Somewhere To Be”. From there, the band rarely takes their foot off the gas as they power through songs like the fiery “The Comeback Kid” and the spacey, Covid-era anthem “Meditation for the Housebound”. Perhaps not surprisingly, Covid is a recurring theme. In addition to the aforementioned song, “The Origin of the Hourglass is Unclear” finds singer Jen de la Osa reminding, “time can slip away at a moment’s notice”.
The thread that pulls it all together – and is a constant in the band’s history – is their knack for incredible pop hooks. Catchy, fist pumping, and glorious. Aloud continue to deliver the power pop goodness.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.