Californian singer-songwriter Cass McCombs shifts once again on his ninth studio album, Tip of the Sphere. This time he’s less folksy and his sound is a little more built out; there’s touches of psychedelic Southern rock throughout the albums 11 tracks, which are bookended by lengthy tracks, the 7-minute opener “I Followed The River South To What” and the 10-minute closer “Rounder.”
McCombs will be at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia in March.
While the Arctic Monkeys took 2018 as their opportunity to branch out into sci-fi lounge music, Yak has stepped in in 2019 with some pretty great British garage rock on their second album, Pursuit of Momentary Happiness. The trio of Oliver Henry Burslem, Vincent Davies, and Elliot Rawson came together following the exit of other members around bandleader Burslem after their 2016 debut, Atlas Salvation.
Jessica Pratt’s Quiet Signs combines the Californian singer’s otherworldly voice with ’60s folk trappings, creating an uncanny feeling that is both comforting and a little unsettling all at once. The album, which clocks in under half an hour, creates an immediate intimacy and is gone before you even realize it.
Former Husker Du singer Bob Mould has been releasing solo music since the late ’80s, but never has it been as aptly titled as his latest, Sunshine Rock. The album, his 13th, pushes him as close to the edge of pop rock as you can get without tipping over.
I always felt like Bobbie Gentry was a little unfairly lost to time. She was a star in her day, but I’m glad that Mercury Rev and the artists that joined them on this recording are bringing Gentry’s second album, The Delta Sweete, back into the cultural conversation. A few decades into their career, the New York state band is joined by some incredible female vocalists, including Norah Jones, Lucinda Williams, Phoebe Bridgers, and Margo Price, to record Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweet Revisited more than 50 years after the release of the original.
Other new albums we’re listening to:
LCD Soundsystem‘s third live album, Electric Lady Sessions, was recored at Electric Lady Studios in New York during the tour for the band’s “comeback” album, american dream.
Barely six months after her fourth album, Ariana Grande has recorded and released Thank U, Next, written and recorded in the wake of her very public relationship and break-up with SNL cast member Pete Davidson.
The first release in 10 years for Boston rock band The Lemonheads is another cover album. Varshons 2 follows up 2009’s Varshons with versions of songs written by John Prine, Paul Westerberg, Lucinda Williams, Nick Cave, Jackson Browne, and more.