Summertime, and the listening is easy — assuming you have no trouble dealing with new albums from Jakob Dylan and his Wallflowers, Texas supergroup The Flatlanders, rapper Vince Staples and the rest of this week’s biggest releases:
The Flatlanders
Treasure Of Love
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Flatlanders are the iconic Texas trio of Butch Hancock, Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Treasure Of Love is their first album of newly recorded music in more than 12 years. Completed during COVID-19 lockdowns with the help of longtime friend and collaborator Lloyd Maines, Treasure of Love finds The Flatlanders in classic form, serving up a rollicking collection of twang-fueled, harmony-laden performances full of wry humor and raw heartbreak. While a few of the songs here are never-before-heard originals, the vast majority of the tracklist consists of vintage tunes the band picked up during their 50-year career, some stretching as far back as the group’s earliest performances in the honky tonks around Lubbock. “I like to say that this album evolved more than it was recorded,” explains Ely, who hosted the initial recording sessions and worked extensively on the tracks at his Spur Studios in Austin. “We’d been chipping away at these songs for a while without ever really finishing anything, so when lockdown started, it seemed like the perfect time to really focus on it.”
The Lords Of Altamont
Tune In, Turn On, Electrify!
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This seventh chapter of The Lords of Altamont’s body of work strikes with an unapologetic conviction built up from 22 years of soul seasoning and nonstop rock action, fine tuning their iconic fuel injected sound. Tune In, Turn On, Electrify! takes a ride through the mental landscape of these four musicians: thrusting raw, aggressive garage punk in your face, then flips the script inviting you on elaborate psychedelic trips. Get kicked in the teeth with We’ll Never Leave (This World Alive), fight the demons in your head with Mud, then come down easy with Soul In Flames. Formed in 1999, The Lords of Altamont, having gone through multiple line ups over the years, retain loyalty to their garage punk roots while evolving into heavier grooves. Never compromising that unmistakable Lords attitude, Dani, Rob and Barry having earned their colors tenfold, bring a gritty collective of experience and talent to join Jake on this journey of no-nonsense auditory exploits.”
Vince Staples
Vince Staples
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Esteemed hip-hop artist Vince Staples’ self-titled LP is his first full-length release since 2018’s critically acclaimed FM. The 10-track LP delves not only into Staples’ upbringing in Long Beach, but his psyche as he learns to cope with his yesterdays and strides toward new tomorrows, picking others up along the way. Of the new Kenny Beats-produced LP, Staples says, “it really gives much more information about me that wasn’t out there before. That’s why I went with that title. I feel like I’ve been trying to tell the same story. As you go on in life, your point of view changes. This is another take on myself that I might not have had before.”
The Wallflowers
Exit Wounds
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Exit Wounds, the brand-new Wallflowers studio offering, is their first album since 2012’s Glad All Over. And while the wait has been long, the much-anticipated record finds the band’s signature sound — lean, potent and eminently entrancing — intact, even as Dylan surrounds himself with a fresh cast of musicians. “I usually just let the songs tell me what kind of arrangements they need,” he says. “And if they’re asking for full-band electric arrangements, then that’s what The Wallflowers provide. And I knew I wanted to make a full-band electric record this time out.” When it came to realizing these new songs on record, Dylan assembled a backing band of musical associates — “people that I’ve wanted to play with or that I have played with through the years” — and headed into the studio under the watchful eye of producer Butch Walker. He also has one special guest on board — Shelby Lynne, who lends her voice to three of the album’s tracks. “I hadn’t met Shelby before, but like most people, I’ve been a fan of hers for quite some time,” Dylan says. “She has one of those voices that’s very uncommon, very unique, very rare.”
