Tonight’s round up of songs and albums that I love starts from St. Louis, Missouri. If the Stanley Cup parties are starting to slow down, the locals over there can start celebrating the release of the new Beth Bombara album Evergreen. The album was just released yesterday on the 9th of August and it’s a damn enjoyable collection of roots-rock and americana. Sean Kirkland made a gorgeous double music video for the starting duo I Only Cry When I’m Alone and Upside Down. Watch that below and then hit those bandcamp links on the player to hear/buy the whole beautiful thing.

Beth Bombara Website

A smooth transition to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sure there are some miles between the cities, but the hearts of the songwriters aren’t far apart. In fact, John Calvin Abney co-produced Beth Bombara’s record and also plays keys on it. He also has a new album of his own songs on the horizon. The album Safe Passage will be released by Black Mesa Records on the 27th of September. Two excellent singles have already been released. This latest one Honest Liar just surfaced earlier in the week. It’s a very timely reflection on the toxic habits of certain people. You’ll find the other single and pre-order options by hitting the links on the bandcamp player.

John Calvin Abney Website

Moving on to Austin, Texas to gently sway a while in the arms of the fragile new Will Johnson single A Solitary Slip. It’s an outtake from his sixth solo album Wire Mountain that will come out on the 27th of September, just like John Calvin Abney’s record. This one will be on the wonderful Austin-based label Keeled Scales. This beautiful man probably doesn’t need an introduction, because he has been releasing great records for a couple of decades (Centro-Matic, South San Gabriel, Marie/Lepanto, Molina and Johnson and so forth) and in-between collaborated with other artists in multiple ways. Again hit that Bandcamp player links in order to find pre-order options and the powerful first single Cornelius.

Will Johnson Website

We shall wrap up this little blog in Houston, Texas with a song or two from the new Matt Harlan album Best Beasts that came out on the 12th of July on Eigth 30 Records. This is a strong and powerful album full of first class songwriting that is trying to make some sense out of this mess of a world where anger is continuously trying to overshadow empathy. We sure need our poets and folk songwriters during these dark times and hopefully their words can cast away the clouds from our hearts and breathe some sense into our minds. Maybe Best Beasts is just a record, but it’s a record that has a good heart. Sometimes that is everything.

Matt Harlan Website

Four Arms to Hold You is an ongoing feature with a weird name. It might not contain a whole lot of words, but it does contain a whole lot of love towards the featured songs. Basicly this is just four albums / songs / artists that have done their part in holding me together and therefore I want to tell the world or the seven readers of this blog how much I love them. Not entirely sure do these kind of posts serve any kind of purpose and I do hope I manage to write longer posts too. Right now it just feels like the playlists and these kind of short posts are the only way to keep this dear hobby alive. Plus it’s really the music that matters, not my random ramblings and these posts will always contain magical music.

Continuing with these vacation crafts with another small round up posts of songs and albums that I love. Tonight the journey begins from Canada with the new Shotgun Jimmie album Transistor Sister 2 that was released by You’ve Changed Records on the 2nd of August. This follows up the original Transistor Sister eight years later and it is another super catchy and immensely charming collection of short pop treasures. Here’s a making of video and one (should-be) hit from the new record. Buy/listen to whole album by hitting the bandcamp links on that player below.

Shotgun Jimmie Website

Next we travel south to Philadelphia, USA. Strength is the new album from Bad Heaven Ltd and it came out on the 2nd of August. I’m not very familiar with John Galm’s earlier work (I know I probably should know the band Snowing), but better late than never and all the other cliches. Therefore I arrived into the arms of Strength without any expectations, but I’ve found it to be a good place to stay. Darkness and hope travel hand in hand as does beauty and distortion. It all cuts me through me in a good way. Here are my early favorites Cross and 100 from the album. Again hit those links in the bandcamp player to hear/buy the whole great album.

Bad Heaven Ltd at Facebook

Moving across the ocean to Glasgow, Scotland albeit the band name Wojtek the Bear might suggest that this is a Polish indie pop band. I had not heard anything about them before I saw this new video/single A Long Wait for Bad News on my twitter feed while searching new songs for the weekly playlist. I started listening and was in love in a split second. Partly because it reminded of the legendary Finnish indie band Sister Flo, but mostly because it’s such a fantastic pop song. The digital single in question is now out on Scottish Fiction and will appear on physical 10″ vinyl later in the year.

Wojtek the Bear Website

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Final destination tonight is Manchester, UK and the new Butcher the Bar album III that came out 14th of June on the most excellent Spanish pop label Bobo Integral. This is a real pop bliss right here. Beautiful melodies and sweet pop jangle. A must for Teenage Fanclub fans, because that’s where the mind drifts several times and that’s obviously never a bad thing. Joel Nicholson and Co have done really well. Here’s a couple of personal favorites. Rosa and the music video for Haunts. And same as above, follow the links on the player for the whole experience.

Butcher the Bar at Facebook

Four Arms to Hold You is an ongoing feature with a weird name. It might not contain a whole lot of words, but it does contain a whole lot of love towards the featured songs. Basicly this is just four albums / songs / artists that have done their part in holding me together and therefore I want to tell the world or the seven readers of this blog how much I love them. Not entirely sure do these kind of posts serve any kind of purpose and I do hope I manage to write longer posts too. Right now it just feels like the playlists and these kind of short posts are the only way to keep this dear hobby alive. Plus it’s really the music that matters, not my random ramblings and these posts will always contain magical music.