Another week, another new music weekly.
Oh my. This was one heavy release week. Too much to handle for one man in one day, so I’m sure I messed up somewhere along the way and forgot something crucial. I’ll fill up the holes in the coming weeks. Not complaining though. Lovely problem to have, because there aren’t many things I love more than listening to new music.
There’s not a clear album of the week, because I was eagerly waiting for so many of these. The one that probably hit me the most was that MJ Lenderman EP, because it had certain caught me off guard factor. I had not even heard of him before this weekend, but instantly fell in love with that EP when I started listening to it. Anyway, here’s the full list of new albums/EPs that you’ll find from the playlist below. It takes a while to even write it down, let alone listen. We got new releases from Chris Acker, Sierra Ferrell, Garrett T. Capps, James McMurtry, Matt Paxton, MJ Lenderman (EP), William Harries Graham (EP), Darrin Bradbury, Kirty, Maya Elise & The Good Dream, Ryan Necci & The Buffalo Gospel (EP of old songs, somehow I managed to miss this last week. Shame on me, because I love Buffalo Gospel and all these songs matter a great deal to me), Nathan Salsburg, Joe Troop, Sturgill Simpson, Malcolm Holcombe, Billy Law, Connie Smith, Lorkin O’Reilly, Timid, the Brave, Alien Boy, Pleasure Horse, Angel Olsen (EP of covers), Brent Windler, Bnny, GA-20, Nick Jaina (previously only Bandcamp), John Statz (only on Bandcamp, just the single on Spotify), Shannon & The Clams, Karen Jonas (EP), Grace Morrison, Chris J Norwood and Lindsay Jarman. I hope that was all.
This week the playlist also has a small pop blast from the past aka Ben Reiser appreciation section. I don’t know how things are in the rest of the underground pop world, but here in Finland All About Chad’s 1995 album Down in Front is heralded as a true classic. Well at least among the folks who grew up listening to Räkärodeo radio show back in the nineties. I’m one of them and Down in Front is one of my all-time favorite albums. The big news for All About Chad fans like yours truly is that lately Ben Reiser has been uploading his musical adventures to the streaming platforms and there’s plenty of previously unheard gems available (unheard at least in my corner of the world). For example there’s an album called The Hippopotamus Polka from Tenderizer that contains songs that were first meant to be on the second All About Chad album. It was only a small local cassette release at the time, so this is kind of like the first real release of it. I also included a song from that classic All About Chad album and one from Swim Team (another lost pop gem). So there’s a trio of perfect US pop songs for you. This blog might have drifted towards folk and americana throughout the years, but this kind of stuff will always be the foundation of my music taste.
The Finnish part of this has a run of singles from J.Matkala, Sami Yaffa, Antti Autio, Lyyti and Ty Roxy. Plus an album from a new band called Robinia Spines that sounded really good on quick listen. I need to give that a proper listen when I’ve done this weekly.
And finally the international singles. Plenty of them too. Although I left some out, because this is already far longer than anyone is willing to listen. I want to especially highlight Keven Louis Lareau’s single Not All Songs Have Been Sung. Kind of perfect 70s folk rock type of song. I bought it from Bandcamp some months ago, but now it’s also available for streaming. Another big one is the new Margo Cilker song. Can’t wait to hear her record later this fall. We also got a new J.E. Sunde song which is always a big deal. This time he is collaborating with MOMO. Lloyd Taylor-Clark released another gentle beauty, Erin Enderlin always rules my world, Mariel Buckley’s Sloan cover is perfection, long time favorite Danny George Wilson has a new one as do Bedouine, LadyCouch and Matthew McNeal. A lot of that singles gold is on the latter half of the playlist, because the first half was crowded with all the album tracks.
That’s all for now. Love from a distance.
1. Chris Acker – Title Track (Odd, Ordinary & Otherwise, Gar Hole Records, 2021)
2. Sierra Ferrell – Give It Time (Long Time Coming, Rounder Records, 2021)
3. Garrett T. Capps feat Kathryn Legendre – The Neon Luv Waltz (I Love San Antone, Vinyl Ranch, 2021)
4. James McMurtry – Decent Man (The Horses and the Hounds, New West Records, 2021)
5. Matt Paxton – Railroad Song (Train Tracks, Down By the Point Records, 2021)
6. MJ Lenderman – TLC Cage Match (Knockin’ EP, Dear Life Records, 2021)
7. William Harries Graham – Walker (Plainfield Tapes EP, Redstart Records, 2021)
8. Darrin Bradbury – Field Notes from a College Town (Artvertisement, ANTI-, 2021)
9. Kirty – Something About You (We Are All On Fire, Postwar Records, 2021)
10. Maya Elise & The Good Dream – Side of the Road (Songs For the Breakdown, 2021)
11. Ryan Necci & The Buffalo Gospel – Waiting for the Lights to Go Out (Ghost Songs EP, 2021)
12. Nathan Salsburg – O You Who Sleep + Psalm 96 (Psalms, No Quarter Records, 2021)
13. Keven Louis Lareau – Not All Songs Have Been Sung (single, 2021)
14. Lloyd Taylor-Clark – London Water (single, Demo Records, 2021)
15. Sturgill Simpson – Ol’ Dood Part 1 (The Ballad of Dood & Juanita, High Top Mountain Records, 2021)
16. Joe Troop – Love Along the Way (Borrowed Time, Free Dirt Records, 2021)
17. Malcolm Holcombe – Shaky Ground (Tricks of the Trade, Gypsy Eyes, 2021)
18. Billy Law – 52 (Alone Somewhere, State Fair Records, 2021)
19. Margo Cilker – Barber Wire (Belly Crawl) (single, Fluff & Gravy Records / Loose Music, 2021)
20. Connie Smith – Spare Me No Truth (The Cry of the Heart, Fat Possum Records, 2021)
21. Erin Enderlin – If I’m Not in Hell (single, Black Crow Productions, 2021)
22. Pleasure Horse – Aways Away (Aways Away, 2021)
23. Lorkin O’Reilly – Still You (Marriage Material, Team Love Records, 2021)
24. Timid, the Brave – St. Maria (Vuja De, 2021)
25. J.E. Sunde & MOMO – Blue Sky (single, Vietnam, 2021)
26. Angel Olsen – Eyes Without a Face (Aisles, Jagjaguwar, 2021)
27. Daniel Romano – The Motions (single, You’ve Changed Records, 2021)
28. Alien Boy – Dear Nora (Don’t Know What I Am, Get Better Records, 2021)
29. Mac McCaughan – Circling Around (single, Merge Records, 2021)
30. All About Chad – Embarrassing Moments (Down in Front, 1995/2021)
31. Swim Team – Best Friend’s Car (Slow and Steady Loses the Race, 2004/2021)
32. Tenderizer – Sick of It (The Hippopotamus Polka, 1997? / 2021)
33. Ducks LTD. – How Lonely Are You? (single, Carpark, 2021)
34. Brent Windler – The Glitter and the Roar (New Morning Howl, Goldstar Recordings, 2021)
35. Mariel Buckley – The Other Man (97 Riverdale EP, Birthday Cake Media, 2021)
36. Joseph M – Paralyzed (single, Matte Black Sound Company, 2021)
37. Sami Yaffa – Down at St. Joes (single, Vallila Music House, 2021)
38. Robinia Spines – Mirage (Garden Street Routine, Garden Street Records, 2021)
39. J. Matkala – Venetsialaiset (single, Iso Pinkki, 2021)
40. Antti Autio – Pihkassa (single, Soit Se Silti, 2021)
41. Lyyti – Karkauspäivä (single, Luova Records, 2021)
42. Ty Roxy – True Colours (single, Fonal Records, 2021)
43. Bnny – August (Everything, Fire Talk, 2021)
44. Bedouine – The Wave (single, 2021)
45. Nico Hedley – Something to Make (single, Whatever’s Clever, 2021)
46. Danny George Wilson – Can You Feel Me? (single, Loose Music, 2021)
47. LadyCouch – Purple Rose and the Black Balloon (single, Blackbird Record Label, 2021)
48. Shannon & The Clams – Year of the Spider (Year of the Spider, Easy Eye Sound, 2021)
49. Neal Francis – Can’t Stop the Rain (single, ATO Records, 2021)
50. GA-20 – It’s Alright (Try It… GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor), Karma Chief Records, 2021)
51. Wahaxatchee – Talking Dust Bowl Blues (single, Elektra Records, 2021)
52. Anders Parker – Sunyata (single, 2021)
53. Cedric Noel – Comuu (single, Joyful Noise, 2021)
54. Matthew McNeal – The Spark (single, Matte Black Sound Company, 2021)
55. Belaver – The Storm (single, Feel Bad Records, 2021)
56. The Green Pajamas – Art School Blues 1979 (single, Green Monkey Records, 2021)
57. Nick Jaina – Expedition Day (Credo, Fluff & Gravy Records, 2021)
58. John Statz – Red Rose Motel (acoustic) (Grounded, 2021)
59. John Blek – Cormorant (single, WARR, 2021)
60. Chris J Norwood – I Am Not Cool (I Am Not Cool, State Fair Records, 2021)
61. Grace Morrison – Small Town Lament (Daughter, 2021)
62. Side Pony – Bad Ideas (single, Mule Kick Records, 2021)
63. Karen Jonas – Thunder on the Battery (Summer Songs EP, 2021)
64. The Northern Belle – Kaleidoscope Dream (single, Die With Your Boots on Records, 2021)
65. Jaime Wyatt – Need Shelter (single, Neal Casal Music Foundation, 2021)
66. Lindsay Jarman – Rue Collective (The Gallery, 2021)
67. Pokey LaFarge – Fine to Me (single, New West Records, 2021)
68. Hannah White & The Nordic Connection – Down By the Station (single, Paper Blue Records, 2021)
69. Ashley Shadow – Grey (single, felte, 2021)
70. Josienne Clarke – A Letter on a Page (A Small Unknowable Thing, Corduroy Punk, 2021)
Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you
If you are looking this after a week has gone, the embedded Spotify will show the latest playlist. I’ll just update the same playlist because a) if someone wants to follow it, they can just follow that one list and will get a new set of songs each Sunday b) so that I don’t have a trillion of different playlists on my Spotify account. If you want to find the older ones I’ve moved them to the weekly playlist archive. So hit that link above and I’m sure you’ll find this playlist too.