Friday Playlist

This week’s list might be a teensy bit leaner than normal. We have a couple house visitors and it’s been a busy week, so less time to stock this up over the past few days.

“September” – Earth, Wind, & Fire
It’s that time of year.

“Change My Mind” – Phantastic Ferniture
Before she struck out on her own, Julia Jacklin had a band with some friends. Their last album came out in 2018. This week they released two new songs. No word on if a proper album will come out, but this track smokes (the other isn’t too bad, either) and went straight into my working list of favorite songs of the year, so hopefully we’ll hear more from JJ and her crew.

“F*****g ’n’ Rollin” – Phantastic Ferniture
Might as well throw one of their OG tracks at you, too.

“Joseph” – Bab Bad Hats & Ratboys
I’ve never heard of Bad Bad Hats, but apparently they are kind of the Ratboys of Minneapolis? Their debut album came out a decade ago and made enough of an impact on other artists that they’ve put together a cover version. This is Ratboys’ contribution, which sounds like it could easily be one of their songs. Ratboys are in the studio working on their next album, too.

“Sweet Nothing” – Saintseneca
This track seemed like a nice transition from the last.

“Wind Chime” – The Berries
I shared the first single off The Berries’ debut album a month or so ago. The album has been released, and it a wonderful set of songs that all sit in similar sonic territory, perfect for fall.

“Weeping Sky” – Pictureplane
A properly dark song for our nights to get longer than our days starting this weekend.

“Heaven’s On Fire” – The Radio Dept.
Everything is on fire, why should heaven be any different?

“Drown” – Son Volt
We just hit the 30th anniversary of the release of Son Volt’s debut album, Trace. One of the most unexpectedly delightful albums of my life. I was not aware of Uncle Tupelo’s music when they were a working band. From what I knew of their sound, I wasn’t going to be into either of these new bands – Son Volt and Wilco – that were set to emerge from its ashes in 1995. Wilco’s “Box Full Of Letters” was a wonderful song, full of wistful reflections on a relationship (or band) that had dissolved. But “Drown” blew me away, with its big guitars and Jar Farrar’s unforgettable voice.

Still, I did not expect to like their album. For some reason I picked it up and despite much of it drifting into the Tupelo No Depression sound, I loved it. It is one of a handful of albums I try to listen to, front-to-back, once a year.

Steven Hyden wrote a great remembrance of the album to honor its anniversary.