Another long-ish collection this week. I doubt any of you mind that much.

“Summer Nights” – Hazel English
Nothing better.

“Chicago” – Japandroids
Tuesday I listened to Japandroids’ classic Celebration Rock all-the-way-through for the first time this summer. So, so good. For the first time, I realized at least one of my kids is right at the age that album’s songs are all about, which was a little strange for me.

Then, WHAM!, two days later they drop their first new song since 2017! In doing so, they announced their new album, to be released in October, will be their last. Their sound has never changed much, if at all, and this lead single confirms we’re in for more of the same in their swan song.

“Monday” – Slow Fiction
Terrific, post-punk frenzy.

“She’s Leaving You” – MJ Lenderman
Lenderman is one of the critical darlings of the moment. Writers are all-atremble waiting for his new album. I can’t quite decide if I like him that much or not. His status on the country-or-not continuum seems safely on the indie side, at least based on this song. But something about his voice doesn’t fully resonate with me. I guess I’ll have to give the entire album a spin when it arrives to decide.

“Expectations” – Katie Pruitt
Speaking of country-or-not, Pruitt is listed by some as an alt-country artist. I think that’s probably fair. Some friends of mine saw her open for another artist last week and sent me this song, saying I would likely dig its very The War on Drugs-vibe. They were right. It is so Drugsy that I wondered if someone from the band had a production credit, but I can’t find any evidence of that.

“Breathe” – RINSE
We heard Joe Agius earlier this year, getting some help from his wife, the lead singer of Hatchie. Now we hear him on his own. He still sounds pretty good.

“Power” – illuminati hotties
A much more mellow, contemplative vibe than we normally hear from ih. It works just fine.

“Summer Nights” – Van Halen
Summer nights and my radio…

“The Glamorous Life” – Sheila E.
Another week rich with choices. Of the three very good songs that debuted this week, this is the best. Sneaking into the Top 40 at 39, it had taken six weeks to get this far. It would take another 11 weeks to reach its peak of #7, then five more weeks to drop out of the Top 40. Great run for a great song, the world’s introduction to the most talented of Prince’s many protégés.