On his latest album as The Drums, New York-based indie pop artist Jonny Pierce plunges into the work of healing from childhood trauma and the long shadow it casts over adulthood

The sparkling, eponymous Jonny unfurls a love letter to a galaxy of younger selves, all hungry to be nourished, all rejoicing now that they finally get to belong. Playful, heartbreaking, raucous, and serene all in turn, Jonny embraces the mess of life in all its facets. It renders the magic that happens when you fall in love with yourself down to the marrow.

Soaring to alt- pop prestige on arrival, The Drums have released studio albums that deftly walk the line of aching melancholy and irresistible pop sensibilities, presented through a kaleidoscope of pastel guitars, reverb, modular synthesizers and drum machines. It's a sound that's wholly unique, and unmistakably The Drums.

With Too Late For Edelweiss, Matsson weaves together a sparse collection of home recordings made in Sweden and North Carolina, captured fresh off a 39- date run with the adrenaline of tour rattling through his veins. The songs on Too Late For Edelweiss have been with Matsson since he started playing music as The Tallest Man on Earth in 2006. In those early years, Matsson used to perform "Lost Highway" by Hank Williams before he had enough songs to flesh out a full set.

In July 2022, Matsson released a cover of Swedish super star Hakan Hellstrom's "For sent for Edelweiss," a precious song that has been The Tallest Man's walk-on music before every performance for over a decade and what inspired the title of this covers album. Since then, in the lead-up to this announcement, he has quietly released other selections, including Lucinda Williams' "Metal Firecracker," Yo La Tengo's "Tears Are In Your Eyes" and now "Lost Highway." Mattson explains, "When I was a teenager I borrowed a Hank Williams album at the local library, and 'Lost Highway' has been haunting me ever since. Many vocal sound checks throughout my career have heard Hank's advice."

As much as Too Late For Edelweiss feels like a scrapbook, an intimate memento with the ghosts of The Tallest Man's earlier, sparser sound hovering at the edges, it's also just the artifact of a moment - a flash of joy, of feeling recharged, of feeling good. These are the songs that happened to be in Matsson's head at the time he sat down to record. It came together so simply and easily - and in that way, it's the purest distillation of making music - and being a fan of it, charting the connective tissue of a songwriter's life.

TRACK LISTING

For Sent For Edelweiss
Metal Firecracker
Little Birdie
Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
Blood Bank
Tears Are In Your Eyes
Fairest Of The Seasons
Pink Rabbits
Lost Highway
In My Life

"Several times, as I listened to M Ward's Supernatural Thing, I asked myself what year it was, was it 1952, and was I listening to a track from the Harry Smith Anthology? Was it 1972, and was I eavesdropping on the recording session for After the Gold Rush? No, it's 2023, and M Ward is one of the special contemporary artists who invite such questions. Ward has clearly mastered the whole vocabulary of American popular music and made serious decisions about how to employ it for his own ends. What Ward shares with Harry Smith's artists and Neil Young is a context of musical and human values: authenticity and intimacy. Supernatural Thing's original songs sound freshly pulled from the ground, with a little earth sticking to them. Ward's lyric delivery has that slight rawness the ear loves, and his voice has quiet dignity and great tenderness. Supernatural Thing is an open-hearted, inviting album.

The album's guest stars -- First Aid Kit, Shovels & Rope, Scott McMicken, Neko Case, Jim James, others -- enliven the album with surprises. On "Too Young to Die," the women's voices in First Aid Kit spread a light frosting over the melody, and their Beach Boyslike chorus on "Engine 5" makes the song sound like an instant hit. Eight of the album's ten songs are Ward originals. There's an unusual Bowie choice, "I Can't Give Everything Away" from Blackstar, and a live rendition of Daniel Johnston's 'Story of an Artist.'" -By James Cushing.

Both as a solo artist and as one-half of She & Him, M. Ward became one of the defining voices of the American indie landscape in the 2000s, earning fans and critical acclaim for his distinctive brand of breezy West Coast Americana which pulled from folk, country, blues, pop, and experimental indie rock elements. Ward established himself with warm, analog- minded releases like 2003's Transfiguration of Vincent and 2006's Post-War before joining forces with singer/ actress Zooey Deschanel to form the highly successful indie pop duo She & Him in 2008. Over the following decade, Ward split his time between projects, releasing a 2009 album with indie supergroup Monsters of Folk, several highprofile albums with Deschanel including She & Him's Columbia- issued 2014 set Classics, and critically acclaimed solo releases like 2009's Hold Time, 2012's A Wasteland Companion, and 2018's What a Wonderful Industry. Ward kicked off the next decade with a deeply atmospheric set called Migration Stories and a Billie Holiday covers album Think of Spring most recently.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another suite of brittle balladry and swimming harmonies from the brilliant M. Ward, riding effortlessly through folky melodies, country atmospherics and Ward's distinctive melodic sensibilities, joined by some stellar guest stars to boot! Lovely.

TRACK LISTING

Lifeline
Too Young To Die Feat. First Aid Kit
Supernatural Thing
New Kerrang Feat. Scott Mcmicken
Dedication Hour Feat.
Neko Case And Gabriel Kahane
I Can't Give Everything Away (Feat. Jim James And Kelly Pratt)
Engine 5 (Feat. First Aid Kit)
Mr. Dixon (Feat. Shovels & Rope)
For Good
Story Of An Artist

On Variables, his second release for ANTI-, Alfa achieves his most fully realised, expressive musical work to date, coupling his keen ear for looping, memorably emotive piano melodies with intuitive grooves and a free-flowing jazz improvisation. Since the release of his first full-length project Nocturne in 2015, Alfa has established himself as one of the UK’s most focused, in demand and distinct musical voices. He has worked with the likes of Jordan Rakei and Tom Misch. Artists look to him for his unique blend of intimate bedroom production and expansive jazz group orchestration, since Alfa is yet to be boxed into a specific genre. His music spans everything from hip-hop beat-making to producing for artists such as rapper Loyle Carner, composing neo-classical works for the London Contemporary Orchestra, and reworking tracks from composer Ólafur Arnald’s and pioneering jazz label Blue Note.

The return to live shows has been a welcome one for Alfa and his fans, resulting in an extensive tour throughout UK and Europe. Including a sold-out headline show at the Barbican in London. Alfa Mist will be touring Europe, UK and North America in 2023 again. It is a balance between feeling and perfectionism that ultimately gives Alfa’s music its depth and capacity for repeated listening. It is also an ethos that has enabled his remarkable work-ethic to date. ‘I’ve never been a ‘one album every four years’ artist ‘ I want to put out new projects every year,’ he says. ‘Music is an extension of my life; it is the practice of creating.’

TRACK LISTING

1. Foreword
2. Borderline
3. Aged Eyes Feat. Kaya Thomas-Dyke
4. Cycles
5. The Gist
6. Genda
7. Apho Feat. Bongeziwe Mabandla
8. Variables
9. 4th Feb (Stay Awake)
10. BC

Kristian Matsson has never remained in one place for very long. Having spent much of the last decade touring around the world as The Tallest Man on Earth, Matsson has captivated audiences using, as The New York Times describes, every inch of his long guitar cord to roam the stage: darting around, crouching, stretching, hip-twitching, perching briefly and jittering away. Mr. Matsson is a guitar-slinger rooted in folk, and his songs are troubadour ballads at heart.

Now, Matsson returns as The Tallest Man on Earth with Henry St., his sixth studio album following 2012's There's No Leaving Now, full of vivid imagery, clever turns-of-phrase, and devastating, world-weary observations (Under The Radar) and 2015's Dark Bird Is A Home, his most personal record surreal and dreamlike (Pitchfork). Henry St. notably marks the first time he recorded an album in a band setting. My entire career Ive been a DIY person mostly fuelled by the feeling that I didn't know what I was doing, so Id just do everything myself. But now, longing for the energy that's only released when creating together with others, Matsson invited his friends to come and play.

Nick Sanborn (of Sylvan Esso) produced Henry St., which includes contributions from Ryan Gustafson (of The Dead Tongues) on guitar, lap steel and ukulele, TJ Maiani on drums, CJ Camerieri (of Bon Iver) on trumpet and French horn, Phil Cook on piano and organ, Rob Moose (of Bon Iver, yMusic) on strings and Adam Schatz on saxophone.

TRACK LISTING

Bless You
Looking For Love
Every Little Heart
Slowly Rivers Turn
Major League
Henry St.
In Your Garden Still
Goodbye
Italy
New Religion
Foothills

Hitting play on the debut album from Plains, the duo composed of Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson, we're immediately teleported into a world of Southern sunsets, wide open spaces, and the unapologetic nature of Country music.Plains began out of Crutchfield's and Williamson's mutual love for each other's music and after trading albums (Saint Cloud and Sorceress, respectively) in early 2020

Feeling that it was time to have a separate project that could reflect a different side of her creative inspirations, Katie felt that Jess was the perfect fit for a collaboration, and they set off to create I Walked With You A Ways.Written between Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Marfa, the album was recorded in Durham, NC with collaborator and producer Brad Cook. The creative magic of only a few vocal takes, tracking with a band comprised of Spencer Tweedy and Phil Cook, gives the album a feel of fresh, on-the-spot conception. The trust and history of Crutchfield and Cook's collaborations (Saint Cloud, Great Thunder EP) set the tone for this new container of spontaneity and experimentation.

And that's the thing about Country music, and what so much of this album nods to - from Waylon and Willie, to The Judds, The Chicks, Trio, and beyond - these are groups that are formed out of family and friendship, that lyrically take their listeners on a voyage of sorrow and hope. Crutchfield's sharp, honest edge of truth telling paired with Williamson's ability to paint the scene with candles, plains, sunsets, and small Texas towns is one of the strongest parts of this album.

While Williamson sings "Texas in my rearview / Plains in my heart" and Crutchfield echoes "Got a heartbreak burn, take the quickest route / On this 4 lane highway I'll trace it in the clouds," the true gift of this album emerges. We're in the backseat with these two, truck windows open, wide open spaces in front of us. The feeling of being both a mess and unstoppable at our fingertips. May this album bring us all closer to ourselves and to each other.

TRACK LISTING

Summer Sun
Problem With It
Line Of Sight
Abilene
Hurricane
Bellafatima
Last 2 On Earth
Easy
No Record Of Wrongs
I Walked With You A Ways

On Heartmind, Cass McCombs enters the double-digit-album phase of his career, a quantitatively rarified place for any songwriter; rarer still, though, is the fact that he does not yet seem to have settled into a qualitative sound or pattern, of singing the same thought twice (or perhaps even once).

Songs like "Karaoke" are a god-level burst of powerpop perfection, as fetching as anything Cass has ever cut. The springy staccato guitar, the vaporized electric keys, the melody seemingly born for singing or clapping or dancing along: Cass triangulates a perch of his very own out among The Go-Betweens, The dB's, and The Cure,and vibrates there, a beacon. And then, of course, there is the song's playful if painful lyrical conceit—the lover who is making all the sacred motions of commitment but whose feelings may be no more deep or real than someone simply reading the lyrics for "Vision of Love" or "Stand by Your Man" from some crowded bar's TV screen.

There are, at least, some basic facts to share about Heartmind, logistical evidence that may in turn shape your own questions: Cass recorded these songs in multiple sessions on both coasts, in Brooklyn and Burbank. The great Shahzad Ismaily not only cut the staggering "Unproud Warrior" and four others here but also played lots of bass. Buddy Ross tracked "New Earth," a paean of post-humanity renewal with several sharp wisecracks. Ariel Rechtshaid—now a dozen years into his collaboration with Cass, which began with 2009's Catacombs—captured Cass' scintillating guitars on "Belong to Heaven," a thoughtful consideration of what we all lose when we lose an old friend to the inevitable end. The steadfast Rob Schnapf (who previously produced McCombs' ANTI- debut, Mangy Love) mixed and merged it all. Wynonna Judd (yes, that one) offers harmonies, while her beau Cactus Moser provides some lap steel. Joe Russo, Kassa Overall, Danielle Haim, Nestor Gomez are featured on the album, too.

TRACK LISTING

Music Is Blue
Karaoke
New Earth
Unproud Warrior
Krakatau
A Blue, Blue Band
Belong To Heaven
Heartmind

Pops saw Dr. Martin Luther King speak in 1963 and from there we started to broaden our musical vision beyond just gospel songs. Pops told us, "I like this man. I like his message. and if he can preach it, we can sing it" So we started to write "Freedom Songs," like "Why Am I Treated So Bad," "When Will We Be Paid For The Work We've Done," "Long Walk To DC," and many others. Like many in the civil rights movement, we drew on the spirituality and the strength from the church to help gain social justice and try to achieve equal rights.We became a major voice for the civil rights movement and hopefully helped to make a difference in this country. It was a difficult and dangerous time (in 1965 we spent a night in jail in West Memphis, Arkansas and I wondered if we'd ever make it out alive) but we felt we needed to stand up and be heard.

So for us, and for many in the civil rights movement, we looked to the church for inner strength and to help make positive changes. And that seems to be missing today. Here it is, 2007, and there are still so many problems and social injustices in the world. Well, I tell you we need a change now more than ever, and I'm turning to the church again for strength.

With this record, I hope to get across the same feeling, the same spirit and the same message as we did with the Staple Singers and to hopefully continue to make positive changes. We've got to keep pushing to make the world a better place. Things are better but we're not where we need to be and we'll never turn back. 99 and 1/2 just won't do! - Mavis.

TRACK LISTING

Down In Mississippi
Eyes On The Prize
We Shall Not Be Moved
In The Mississippi River
On My Way
This Little Light Of Mine
99 And 1/2
My Own Eyes
Turn Me Around
We'll Never Turn Back
I'll Be Rested
Jesus Is On The Main Line

Forgiveness is the brand new full-length Girlpool album, which finds the duo embracing weirdo-pop decadence without sacrificing the poetic curiosity that has always made their music so absorbing

Just like they did for What Chaos Is Imaginary, Harmony and Avery each wrote their Forgiveness songs separately, then came together to decide how to present them in a style that felt representative of what excites and inspires them now. This time, the process resulted in their slickest and most ambitious music to date, filled with idiosyncratic and provocative gestures that simultaneously support and complicate the emotionally intricate material. With its unique blend of introspective earworms and surreal party music, Forgiveness reaches beyond the loosely sketched parameters of "indie rock," challenging any preconceived notions of what a Girlpool album can or should be. "Faultline" the albums first single, is an effective introduction to the world of Forgiveness; the notion of straddling a fault line feels somewhat indicative of Forgiveness on the whole. These songs investigate the always- shifting boundaries between a number of elementally human concepts: pain and pleasure, sex and love, reality and delusion, insecurity and confidence, grief and growth.To support their vision of a sound at the intersection of Hollywood futurism and post- grunge sincerity, Girlpool enlisted help from producer Yves Rothman (Yves Tumor, Miya Folick).

TRACK LISTING

Nothing Gives Me Pleasure
Lie Love Lullaby
Violet
Junkie
Dragging My Life Into A Dream
Faultline
Light Up Later (feat. Zsela)
Country Star
Butterfly Bulletholes
Afterlife
See Me Now
Love333

Robin Pecknold brings light to the bleakest of winters with Fleet Foxes' 'A Very Lonely Solstice' a 13-track career spanning collection recorded in December 2020, at Brooklyn, NY's St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church.

'A Very Lonely Solstice' captures a poignant moment in time. The recording was originally broadcasted as a live-stream event on the winter solstice of 2020, just days after New York declared a state of emergency tightening restrictions again in response to increasing COVID-19 cases. Pecknold describes the set as "me by myself on the longest night of the year... honoring the loneliness of 2020 with a nylon string and some songs new and old." Fans worldwide tuned in while quarantined at home, finding solace and a sense of community in a period of extreme isolation.

Much of the performance showcases a solo focus on Pecknold who offers up acoustic arrangements of fan-favorite songs spanning Fleet Foxes' catalog. Selections cover all four of the band's studio albums, including their 2008 self-titled debut album ("Tiger Mountain Peasant Song") to 2011's Helplessness Blues ("Blue Spotted Tail") and 2017's Crack-Up ("If You Need To, Keep Time On Me"), all the way to their latest release, Shore. Resistance Revival Chorus joins Pecknold on Shore tracks "Wading In Waist-High Water" and "Can I Believe You." Also featured: a cover of Nina Simone's "In The Morning" and a rearrangement of the traditional "Silver Dagger."

TRACK LISTING

1. Wading In Waist-high Water
2. Sunblind
3. In The Morning
4. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
5. Maestranza
6. Helplessness Blues
7. Silver Dagger
8. Featherweight
9. A Long Way Past The Past
10. Blue Spotted Tail
11. If You Need To, Keep Time On Me
12. I'm Not My Season
13. Can I Believe You

Their third full-length release,originally released back in 2005.

Blackalicious produced a record of such sonic depth and lyrical ambition it proudly stands alongside the work of Bay Area funk fathers Sly Stone and Shuggie Otis, or hip-hop classics like Outkast's Aquemini and The Roots' Things Fall Apart.Lyricist Gab († June 18, 2021) moved beyond the introspection of earlier albums, going deep on "Black Diamonds and Pearls" as a pregnant teen conquers her fears, while on the epic "The Fall and Rise of Elliott Brown", a lost, incarcerated boy transforms into a leader of his community. What Gab achieved lyrically, Xcel accomplishes musically, with beats that touch on classic funk sidling cosily alongside the orchestral sweep of Stereolab. "The Craft," Xcel says, "is our passion to bring discipline to this music, the passion to keep growing, keep stretching, keep doing things we haven't before. The Craft is what we live for.

The Craft features guest appearances by George Clinton, Floerty, Lateef The Truthspeeker, and Pigean John.

Blackalicious is loved by fans of The Roots, Jill Scott, Eryka Badu, Mos Def, Talib Kweli.

TRACK LISTING

World Of Vibrations
Supreme People
Rhythm Sticks
Powers
Your Move W/ Lifesavas
Lotus Flower W/ George Clinton
My Pen And Pad
Side To Side W/ Lateef & Pigeon John
Automatique W/ Floetry
The Fall & Rise Of Elliot Brown (Pts. 1 & 2)
Black Diamonds & Pearls W/ Larry Saunders And Ledisi
Give It To You W/ Kween And Lyrics Born
Ego Sonic War Drums W/ Peace
The Craft

Cameron Avery has arrived as a new breed of nocturnal crooner, a train-wreck romantic creating timeless, ambitious music for the modern age. Utilizing his soulful wit, shrewd arrangements, and a deep, husky baritone, Avery harnesses the dark power and humor of artists like Nick Cave, Scott Walker, and Tindersticks to expertly walk the fine line between vulnerable and venerable.

Hailing from the late 2000’s-era Perth, Australia, a healthy scene of hard-hitting garage rock bands, including a long stint as the drummer of Pond, Avery found his musical footing while playing with friends but sought the reward of his own outfit. Encouraged by his friend Kevin Parker of Tame Impala to record on his own, Avery started The Growl as his solo project in 2007, making an EP and an album of aggressive, distorted psychedelic rock and roll.

When Parker asked him to join Tame Impala as its touring bassist in 2013, Avery jumped at the chance and rose with that band to the top of the psych-rock heap, but all the while remained focused on carving out his singular identity as an artist and following his own muse. On a break from touring, Avery decided to head to the US to work on his album. He would settle in Los Angeles at the behest of Jonathan Wilson, the Echo Park musician and producer who also encouraged Avery to shine a spotlight on his baritone singing voice, unlike the snarling, obscured vocals of The Growl. It was a lofty idea, but one to which Avery aspired, encouraged by the challenge. Melancholic machismo is written into the very DNA of Ripe Dreams, Pipe Dreams.

From the classical, finger-picked guitar on the opener “A Time and Place” and the orchestral vamping of “Do You Know Me By Heart?” to the bombastic, self-assured swagger of “Dance with Me.” He takes an emotive page from the Leonard Cohen songbook-of-longing on “Big Town Girl” just as naturally as he thumbs an aggressive note of Bad Seed strut and Cramps rut on “Watch Me Take It Away.” And by the time he purrs that earnest refrain of “Baby, it’s you” on the album’s closer “C’est Toi,” Avery has surely mastered that drunken tightrope dance. Now a resident of New York City, Avery looks to continue his search for the ultimate sensations from a fresh vantage point.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: The fact that Jonathan Wilson has produced this album is more of an indicator of it's sound than the bands Cameron Avery has previously been involved with: Pond, Tame Impala, The Growl. His rich baritone is perfectly suited to the romantic, string laden, swoon-some songs that make up the majority of this album, but it's equally suited to the more robust numbers and the bluesy stomp of "Watch Me Take It Away" which is one of the album stand outs. Comparisons have been make to Leonard Cohen and Scott Walker amongst others, but on gems like "Wasted On Fidelity" and "An Ever Jarring Moment" and "C'est Toi" I'd say Richard Hawley fans should take note. Lovely stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. A Time And Place
2. Do You Know Me By Heart
3. Dance With Me
4. Wasted On Fidelity
5. Big Town Girl
6. Disposable
7. The Cry Of Captain Hollywood
8. Watch Me Take It Away
9. An Ever Jarring Moment
10. C'est Toi (Extended) 

With the release of their second album, Celebration Rock in 2012 the band embarked on what seemed like an endless world tour, performing over 200 shows in over 40 countries, and played their final show in support of Celebration Rock in Buenos Aires, Argentina in November 2013. They would not perform live again for three years. Their third album, Near To The Wild Heart Of Life, was written clandestinely in Vancouver, Toronto, New Orleans, and Mexico City. It was (mostly) recorded at Rain City Recorders in Vancouver, BC (Fall of 2015), with one song, “True Love And A Free Life Of Free Will”, recorded at Golden Ratio in Montreal, QC.

The title, Near To The Wild Heart Of Life, comes from a passage in the novel A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man by James Joyce: “He was alone. He was unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart of life.” Like their prior albums Post-Nothing and Celebration Rock, the album is 8 songs. This is because 8 songs is the standard template for a great rock n roll album. Like Post-Nothing and Celebration Rock, the album was sequenced specifically for the LP. On Near To The Wild Heart Of Life, side A (songs 1-4) and side B (songs 5-7) each follow their own loose narrative. Taken together as one, they form an even looser narrative, with the final song on side B (song 8) acting as an epilogue. If Celebration Rock was the culmination of something, then Near To The Wild Heart Of Life can be considered the beginning of something else.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Forever a force to be reckoned with, Japandroids have really pulled out all the stops for their latest album, 'Near To The Wild Heart Of Life'. Equal parts 90's grunge, anthemic skate-punk and full-force rock and roll. Stunningly produced, triumphantly anthemic in places, and a stormer in every way.

TRACK LISTING

1. Near To The Wild Heart Of Life
2. North East South West
3. True Love And A Free Life Of Free Will
4. I'm Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner)
5. Arc Of Bar
6. Midnight To Morning
7. No Known Drink Or Drug
8. In A Body Like A Grave 

After comeback album "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise", soul / R&B legend Bettye LaVette was coaxed back into the studio (and Fame Studios, Muscle Shoals at that!) again to put down a whole new album backed by the Drive-By Truckers. It's a record filled with mini dramas about life, love and survival: A blistering mix of anguished soul and greasy rock'n'roll laced with swampy guitars, Spooner Oldham's slippery Wurlitzer piano and Bettye's razor sharp voice up front.