The music continues to flow. It’s been a really good stretch of both single and full length releases. So I’m going to pump the list up a little this week to make sure I’m sharing the new stuff in a timely matter. Hopefully the extra tunes will warm your day a little.
“Jeremy” – Muncie Girls. Two curveballs on this song: first, the band isn’t a bunch of Ball State alums and it is not a Pearl Jam cover. But the English group does sound straight out of the 90s.
“GIRL” – Maren Morris. My new music routine is to cruise the various music sites I follow, pull all the new tracks they highlight into a Spotify playlist, and then work through that between other listening. Often by the time I listen to a song, I’ve forgotten whatever I read about the song if it is from an artist that is new to me. So when I listened to this song for the first time last week, something about it struck me as different. But I couldn’t place what it was until I went back and read about it. Turns out Morris is a country artist, one of the emerging group of women who are stretching the bounds of traditional, popular country. (Kacey Musgraves is another example, and someone whose music I just can’t get into.) This track, for example, begins with that big, very-90s bass line. The rest of the song has an indie vibe to it. And its lyrics of female empowerment and unity are certainly not traditional country fare. But Morris’ voice still has that little tinge of classic, popular country that you can trace back to Dolly Parton.
“The Cuckoo Is A-Callin’” – FONTAINES D.C. Three guesses where this band is from. No, not Muncie, IN, fools! These lads reek of all that is Dublin. I love their blend of classic punk, post-punk, and early ‘00s modern rock.
“Red Bull & Hennessy” – Jenny Lewis. God damn, there is nothing coy about Lewis’ return after five years. The lyrics are pretty straight-forward about wanting to get down and do the do. And the album cover is mesmerizing. This track features Ringo Starr, Don Was, Benmont Trench, and a kick ass solo from Ryan Adams at the end.
“Fuck the Rain” – Ryan Adams. Speaking of Adams, after a couple leaks, finally the first official single from Adams’ first album of the year. It sits right in that space he’s been in for awhile. Which means it is quite good.
“My Backwards Walk” – Death Cab for Cutie covering Frightened Rabbit. Frightened Rabbit opened for DCFC on their 2011 tour. Ben Gibbard has said he asked FR to tour with them because The Midnight Organ Fight helped him get through a difficult time in his life. Gibbard has spoke often over the past nine months about how Scott Hutchison’s death floored him. This is a lovely cover done in Hutchison’s honor.
“The Great Pixley Train Robbery” – Cass McCombs. McCombs usually makes much more mellow, contemplative tracks. This one, based on a real train robbery in 1889, is much more forceful than his normal sound. I love its rumble and kick.