Yep, 32. Things are officially getting out of hand around here. And fall hasn’t even peaked yet. But hey, enough about my meaningless problems. Let’s talk about you: What are you going to listen to next week? You’ve got some excellent options. Read for yourself:
Hard-Ons
I Like You A Lot Getting Older
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The current incarnation of The Hard-Ons — Blackie, Ray, Murray and perpetual newbie Tim — have covered a lot of bases on their two albums to date (2021’s I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken and last year’s 23), but the suggestion this time is that the album is heavy on the pop. The sort of pop that can cause hearing problems that is — The Hard-Ons wouldn’t have it any other way. I Like You A Lot Getting Older clips you around the ears and showcases a band in their 40th year with no intention of slowing down. Over the years, The Hard-Ons have won the vocal support of artists like Dave Grohl, AC/DC’s Malcolm Young and Jello Biafra, amongst countless others. They’ve influenced not only subsequent generations of punk bands but a wide-ranging groundswell of Australian alternative artists — from You Am I to Spiderbait to Silverchair to Regurgitator to Magic Dirt to Powderfinger to The Dirty Three to The Chats — each inspired by The Hard-Ons’ energy, free spirit and uncompromising dedication.”
The Hard Quartet
The Hard Quartet
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Hard Quartet includes: Emmett Kelly, a songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist best known for his work in The Cairo Gang and The Double, as well as in the company of artists such as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Ty Segall, Rob Mazurek, and more; Stephen Malkmus, a songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist best known for his work with Pavement, The Jicks, Silver Jews, Straw Dogs and eponymously; Matt Sweeney, a songwriter, guitarist, producer and vocalist best known for his work with Chavez, Superwolf, his music for Red Dead Redemption 2 and his guitar work in the company of a panoply of artists from Guided by Voices and Cat Power to Johnny Cash and Adele; Jim White, a drummer and songwriter best known for his work with Dirty Three, Xylouris White, and such stalwarts as Guy Picciotto, Cat Power, Bill Callahan and Venom P Stinger. Says Malkmus: “We’re all jazzed.”
Jimi Hendrix
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision was produced by Experience Hendrix President Janie Hendrix, veteran filmmaker George Scott and John McDermott. The audio portion includes some of Jimi Hendrix’s last recording sessions and features takes and edits — 38 of the 39 tracks are previously unreleased and has been compiled and overseen by Eddie Kramer (his long-time engineer) and archivist McDermott. The film incorporates new interviews —including Steve Winwood, Kramer and Experience members Mitch Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox — alog with vintage footage and dozens of never-before-seen photos that tell the full story of Electric Lady Studios from conception to completion in 1970. Despite the many obstacles Hendrix and his compatriots faced, the studio has thrived for more than a half century and served as the recording site for classic albums by AC/DC, The Clash, Chic, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, and hundreds more.”
Hermano
When The Moon Was High…
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “When The Moon Was High… brings the moons of Hermano back into alignment. As we embarked on the remix / remaster / reissue series of our catalog, a new song emerged,” says frontman and stoner-rock icon John Garcia (Kyuss). “During this process, we uncovered some valuable discoveries while revisiting tapes, drives, and cherished memories accumulated over our 26 years of friendship. We collectively thank our good friend Todd Severin for opening the door that brought When The Moon Was High… to life.”
Jett Holden
The Phoenix
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “It wasn’t that long ago that singer-songwriter Jett Holden had given up on a career in not only country music, but music entirely. Luckily, the desire to give up on his dream came right around the time Holly G, founder of Black Opry — an organization, tour and now record label celebrating and supporting Black artists in roots and country — stumbled upon his music online. “I found the first verse and chorus for Taxidermy and asked if he planned on finishing the song,” G says. “He told me he wasn’t sure, so I got him a grant to finish and record that song.” She reached out to Rissi Palmer, founder of the Color Me Country Artist Fund, and sent her the first verses of Taxidermy. Moved by Holden’s painfully earnest songwriting, Palmer awarded him the funds to complete the visceral song, setting him off on the journey he’s on today. “The title The Phoenix represents the resurrection of my career,” he adds. “When Holly found me, when the Black Opry found me, I had quit music. I was done. This whole process pulled me back into music. Everything feels possible now.”
Jason Isbell
Live From The Ryman Vol. 2
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Live From The Ryman Vol. 2 draws from multi-track recordings by the band’s longtime front-of-house engineer, Cain Hogsed, from four of the last six years of sold-out shows at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium. Hogsed co-produced the album alongside Isbell, and mixed the tracks with Nashville’s Todd Tidwell. The album features 15 live versions of songs from the band’s last two critically acclaimed, award-winning studio albums — Reunions (2020) and Weathervanes, (2023), as well as stunning rendition of The Last Song I Will Write, from Isbell’s 2009 self-titled release, and a poignant cover of Tom Petty’s Room At The Top.”
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Afrobeat virtuoso Seun Kuti is gearing up to unleash his latest musical masterpiece upon the world. Coming six years after the Grammy-nominated album Black Times, this album marks a pivotal moment in Kuti’s illustrious career, showcasing his evolution as an artist and activist. Executive produced by legendary musician Lenny Kravitz and Fela Kuti’s original engineer Sodi Marciszewer (artistic producer), Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head) promises to deliver a sonic experience like no other. With both Kravitz’s and Sodi’s expertise together with Kuti’s unmatched talent, the album is poised to redefine the boundaries of contemporary music while staying true to the roots of afrobeat. Featuring a tracklist of six electrifying songs, each track on Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head) embodies the spirit of resistance, resilience, and revolution.”
Joni Mitchell
Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Throughout the latter half of the seventies, Joni Mitchell continued to creatively break ground with her fearless and fluid exploration of jazz. Rather than tread the same path, she challenged and reinvented her style with a folk fusion like no other. Ascending to an unrivaled sonic peak, this innovative sound took shape across the gold-certified Hejira (1976), the gold-certified double-LP Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (1977), her collaboration with Charles Mingus entitled Mingus (1979), and live album Shadows And Light (1980). Channeling the thrill and excitement of these records, she delves even further into this season on Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980). This comprehensive and essential set spans one of the most prolific periods of her storied career. It boasts powerful live tracks from her time in Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue during 1975 and 1976 tours. It pulls back the curtain on the music by showcasing early recordings and alternate takes from sessions. It covers the Bread & Roses Festival as well as the Anti-Nuclear Rally. Finally, it chronicles her 1979 tour, even showcasing two tracks from rehearsals. Not to mention, it showcases her versatility and adaptability, housing collaborations with everyone from Herbie Hancock and Jaco Pastorious to Wayne Shorter and Pat Metheny. Vol. 4 culls previously unissued material from original stereo reels, cassette tapes, CD-Rs, and even a radio broadcast. Newly mixed tracks came from multi-track tapes, while a handful of hi-res digital tracks have been sourced from Dylan’s archives.”
Alison Moyet
Key
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Marking Alison Moyet’s 40-year anniversary as a solo artist, Key is an 18-track collection, showcasing the breadth and depth of her artistic creativity and song writing over these four decades to the present and beyond. With producer Sean McGhee, she has reworked 16 tracks from across her solo career — including singles, fan favourites and some deep cuts. “I wanted to take the opportunity to look at the trajectory of the past four decades” Alison explains, “and explore songs that, in their original form, were never fully realised or have had their relevance to me altered by time.”
Naked Giants
Shine Away
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “When Naked Giants formed in 2014, the Seattle trio — singer-guitarist Grant Mullen, bassist Gianni Aiello and drummer Henry LaVallee — were all 18 years old, and full of the reckless, restless energy of youth. A decade on, both they and the world have changed immensely. Shine Away — the band’s third full-length, after 2018’s Sluff and 2020’s The Shadow — is very much an acknowledgement of that. It’s an album that doesn’t just reflect on the personal life and times of the three of them and the world at large, but casts a discerning, self-reflective eye on what it’s like to be in, and be, Naked Giants. It’s the sound of a band coming into, and becoming, themselves. Of course, that’s a never-ending process, but for the first time in their career, Naked Giants are taking stock of their journey — who and what they were, are, and want to be.”
Thee Sacred Souls
Got A Story To Tell
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The followup to Thee Sacred Souls‘ breakout 2022 self-titled debut, Got A Story To Tell features 12 new songs, a soaring statement of exquisite craftsmanship from this young band from San Diego whose story grows bigger by the day. Recorded and produced by Gabriel Roth at Penrose Recorders in Daptone’s Riverside, CA studio, Got A Story To Tell is an appreciation of decades of soul music, and beyond — a sound and feel that is timeless, lived in, and very much in the now. The album is punctuated with strings and squelching guitar, trundling piano, pops of conga, horns — it makes for a thrilling, layered listen that rewards with multiple spins.”
Sex Swing
Golden Triangle
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The locals call it Sop Ruak — 80,00 square miles of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine. “It really is an endless seam of activity,” Sex Swing frontman Dan Chandler explains of Golden Triangle — both the title of their new album and the region between Myanmar, Thailand and Laos that inspired it. To know this contradictory corner of the world is to understand fully why the cult-beloved noise-rock artisans turned to it when writing their hotly-anticipated third full-length. The real-life Golden Triangle is a groundswell of both natural wonder and drug production, and who combines beauty and narcotic brutality better than Sex Swing? For a decade now, this collective of revered UK underground musicians, comprising members of Earth, Mugstar, The Keep and Jaaw, have been pulling audiences into drug- like slipstreams with their alchemy of pummelling rhythms, towering guitars, and unrelenting saxophone through which glimmers of light occasionally pierce through. No wonder their Golden Triangle is an album telling distortion-shrouded tales from one of the most storied, enigmatic places on the planet, with enough invention within to fill 80,000 miles and more.”
The Smile
Cutouts
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The trio — Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner — debuted several songs from Cutouts during The Smile’s U.K. tour in March. Cutouts features 10 new tracks and is produced by Sam Petts-Davies. It’s the band’s third studio album following Wall of Eyes, released in January, and the trio’s 2022 debut album A Light For Attracting Attention. Cutouts was recorded in Oxford and at Abbey Road Studios during the same period of time as Wall Of Eyes. The album features string arrangements by the London Contemporary Orchestra and the album art was painted during the recording process by Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke.”
Trash Boat
Heaven Can Wait
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Emotive and raw, British (St. Albans) punk band return with fourth album Heaven Can Wait. With this album, the band effortlessly blend punk rock and post-hardcore; shining melody and searing lyricism. The album includes features from Eric Vanlerberghe of I Prevail on single Be Someone and Kenta Koie of Crossfaith on filthy//righteous.”
The Wild Feathers
Sirens
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “How would you define The Wild Feathers? Some may immediately check a box for Americana — and they wouldn’t be wrong. Others may lean on a version of rock: Country-rock, folk-rock, heartland rock. They’d all be right, too. Blues? A Southern flare? Occasional punk attitude? It’s all in there. Now, it’s time to hop on the bus and sing along. The longtime Nashville band returns this year with Sirens, a new LP of road-worn, sharply woven tales chronicling a life worth living, love worth holding and the hard-earned lessons found along the ride. To cut the followup to 2021 album Alvarado, The Wild Feathers decamped from Music City to Los Angeles for sessions with producer Shooter Jennings (known for his work with Brandi Carlile, Turnpike Troubadours and Tanya Tucker, among others) at Dave’s Room in North Hollywood. Listen intently and without genre in mind. Because when the so-called Sirens make their sound on this new album, don’t worry about how to define it. Just enjoy the ride.”
Wild Pink
Dulling The Horns
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Do you still believe it?” John Ross asks that question after journeying through the wreckage, after singing of thunder rolling down the track and lighting in a bottle. These are tropes, and he knows it. It’s a moment where he’s returning to the ancient wisdom of his classic rock forebears, trying to find the answers all over again. This is the ground Ross travels in The Fences Of Stonehenge, the lead single, opening track, and mission statement of the new Wild Pink album Dulling The Horns. The question reverberates across the album: “Do you still believe it?” And what happens when you don’t anymore? Ross’s response is to start anew. From the late ’10s through the early ’20s, Wild Pink was on the classic ascension arc. The otherworldly synth-Americana of 2018’s Yolk In The Fur garnered them buzz and accolades, while the widescreen gloss and scope of its followup, 2021’s A Billion Little Lights, swung for the fences a. Then everything changed: Ross received a shocking cancer diagnosis. Wild Pink’s subsequent release, 2022’s ILYSM, was inevitably saddled with the weight of being an album about mortality and love. On the other side of it all, Ross began to reimagine what Wild Pink was.”
