Finest New Music from the Blue Ridge and Past
Each month our editors curate a playlist of latest music, primarily specializing in unbiased artists from the South. To begin the yr, we’re highlighting new tunes from Guided by Voices and Patterson Hood.
Guided by Voices
“Fly Faith”
Robert Pollard can’t be stopped. The chief of Guided by Voices retains cranking out tunes for the long-running indie rock pioneers, and this one comes from the band’s forty first album, “Universe Room,” which comes out subsequent month. As anticipated, “Fly Faith” is a guitar-heavy banger, with Uncle Bob sharing one in every of his blurry, beer-soaked visions, earlier than the track—a succinct two minutes—trails off in distorted bliss. – J.F.
Kathleen Edwards (that includes Lauren Morrow)
“Howdy in There”
The attract of a John Prine tune is the perfection inherent in his imperfect vocals. Exhausting scrabble, just like the tales of the characters he instructed, Prine’s raspy voice made his characters extra actual and relatable. Completely matching Prine’s spirit, whereas eschewing his gravelly supply, is Kathleen Edwards’ rendition of one in every of Prine’s most well-known songs. Edwards, joined by Nashville singer-songwriter Lauren Morrow on the choruses, achingly sings of the loneliness and isolation that comes with the onset of life’s later seasons. Over refined acoustic guitar and pedal metal, Edwards captures the haunting nature of this iconic track, and the late Prine would most actually approve. – D.S.
Patterson Hood
“A Werewolf and a Woman”
Drive-By Truckers chief Patterson Hood is again together with his first solo album in 12 years. The lead single from “Exploding Bushes & Airplane Screams,” which comes out February 21, is a darkish duet with Lydia Loveless that options two damaged individuals reflecting on the pull of a dysfunctional relationship from the previous. The musical association, with shadowy saxophone and piano, matches the temper of the narrative. – J.F.
Drew & Ellie Holcomb
“Brick by Brick”
In case you didn’t know the singers on “Brick by Brick” had been married, it shouldn’t take lengthy to determine it out. There may be an intimate depth to this track, an nearly palpable sincerity shared by companions Drew and Ellie Holcomb, who’ve been performing collectively since 2005 and married since 2006, that’s not present in performances by mere studio companions. The familiarity and luxury they’ve with one another permits the Holcombs to simply share with their listeners the great thing about love and the safety and luxury constructing a life with another person can carry. – D.S.
The Nationwide
“Pretend Empire”
The Nationwide proceed to be one of the vital reliably nice dwell bands working at this time, and this reduce from the band’s new live performance album, “Rome,” proves it. “Pretend Empire”—initially discovered on the band’s 2007 album “The Boxer”—is a permanent fan favourite, and it’s straightforward to listen to why when the horn crescendo of this model works the European crowd right into a frenzy.
– J.F.
George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners
“Tito’s Dumpling Machine”
At 76, bassist George Porter Jr.—finest often known as a founding member of the Meters—remains to be laying down deep grooves, and this monitor from his new instrumental album, “Porter’s Pocket,” proves it. “Tito’s Dumpling Machine” is an prompt rump shaker, reinvigorating the basic New Orleans funk sound that Porter pioneered within the late 60s. – J.F.
Larkin Poe
“Mockingbird”
Rebecca and Megan Lovell, the sister duo behind Larkin Poe, had been baptized into the world of acoustic music and reborn via basic rock. Since founding Larkin Poe in 2010, the sisters have produced a sequence of blistering bluesy rock albums. “Mockingbird,” from their latest launch, “Bloom,” continues in that custom. A robust ode to introspection, Rebecca’s powerhouse vocals recall to mind Bonnie Raitt or Ann Wilson of Coronary heart, and her guitar work would make Duane Betts smile, whereas Megan’s electrical metal guitar merely howls, offering the underpinning for a choral name for locating one’s true self. – D.S.
West of Rome
“Motion in Your Image”
A stolen kiss or a superb love misplaced. A telephone name by no means made. An apology left unsaid, or a query by no means requested. These reminiscences and extra can lie dormant for years, many years even, solely to return as robust because the second they had been made via the pictures captured in {a photograph}. Texas indie rockers West of Rome seize this sentiment on “Motion in Your Image,” a Stones-y reflection on bygone days, outdated loves, and resisting the temptation to let nostalgia mood how nice the right here and now actually is. – D.S.
Cowl picture: Patterson Hood’s new album, “Exploding Bushes & Airplane Screams,” comes out February 21. Photograph by Jason Thrasher
