Country, Americana, Folk, Power Pop, Indie Pop
Some sweet pop music this time around. The Welsh psych pop maestros El Goodo are also back in this ball game with a new gorgeous album By Order of the Moose. I’ve followed them since the beginning and therefore I was thrilled to find out that there’s finally a new album out on Strangetown Records. My early favourite is this one called It Makes Me Wonder where girl groups and 60’s pop meet early TFC in the chorus or something like that. How could I not love such a song.
The new Twain album Rare Feeling came out yesterday on Keeled Scales and I’m madly in love with it. I wouldn’t be too surprised if this turned out to be my favourite album of the year. It’s a shoulder to lean on when the self-doubt tries to kick me down. It’s an antidote against all the everyday stress, I’m way too good at creating. It’s a beautiful album full of human warmth. Mt Davidson is an incredible songwriter and you need to listen to Rare Feeling. This one is Dear Mexico (Thank You for Joyce) from the new Twain album.
My heart found a new home in the comfort of these songs. I pretty much fell in love with this the second I hit play. Perhaps that’s a little weird, because bare, intimate lo-fi folk usually isn’t the most instantly catchy form of music. However, I found this instantly charming, warm and timeless. I don’t know a whole lot about John Thumb. He is a Canadian songwriter who used to play in The Good Hunters and now released this solo record on Other Songs Music Co. Other Songs is pretty much the reason why I found him, because I trust their taste and I love or at least like everything they put out. It looks like this one will fall into that love category. This Nowhere Bound for example is incredible. A small song can be a mountain.
A year ago the world lost two gifted musicians way ahead of their time. Chris Porter and his bandmate Mitchell Vandenburg passed away in a tragic car accident that shook the music community. I didn’t know Chris personally, but he was someone I admired from a far. Both as a songwriter and maybe even more importantly as a really kindhearted human being. To me he always stood out as a man who had his heart in the right place.
Before his untimely and horribly unfair passing, Chris had recorded a new album called Don’t Go Baby It’s Gonna Get Weird Without You. Will Johnson produced it and Shonna Tucker, John Calvin Abney and The Mastersons helped Chris to record this awesome set of songs. It’s a wonderful album and I’m grateful that his fiancée Andrea Juarez, friends and Cornelius Chapel Records teamed up together and released Don’t Go Baby It’s Gonna Get Weird Without You on the 20th of October. Listening to his music is the best way to remember this beautiful man and especially here in the beginning these songs will make a tear or an ocean fall from the corner of my eye. Thankfully these song also have the power to kick my ass, if I’m in danger of falling too deep and in the end I will smile when I think of you Chris.