Blues & Roots

New album: The Hypos || The Hypos

By / / Blues & Roots, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

When Scott McMicken (Dr. Dog, Raccoon, Scott McMicken And The Ever-Expanding) moved to Asheville, North Carolina a few years ago, it was a matter of time that he and Greg Cartwright (Oblivians, Reigning Sound, Compulsive Gamblers, The Deadly Snakes, The Detroit Cobras) would jam together. The legendary songwriters/singers/guitarists asked local musicians Kevin Williams (bass, organ, vocals), Krista Wroten (violin, vocals) and Evan Martin (drums, percussion, vocals) to join, and The Hypos were born (read more about that at Asheville Stages). On their self-titled debut album they synergize their experience and skills in ten Bob Dylan-esque songs in which folky rock, bluesy soul and a few Jamaican rhythms merge. The wealth and variety of unique singing voices and vintage instruments are continuously fascinating and atmospheric, the song textures are detailed and subtle (but functional), the lyrics are empathetic and melancholic, the sound exudes warm autumn colors. Is that the sun breaking through after days of rain?



The Hypos’ self-titled album, produced by Greg Cartwright and Scott McMicken, is out now digitally – vinyl LPs and cassettes will reportedly follow later.

Add to want list: Bandcamp

Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of December 2023

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Power Pop, Punk / 1 Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, eg as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are – in random order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

One final look back at 2023 before we start 2024. In December we not only came across countless Christmas adaptations, but we also listened to cover releases by Jim Bob (This Is My Mix Tape), friends & family of Dan Sartain (Dan Sartain Vs. The World (is gonna break your little heart)), various artists from the Dualtone roster (Discovered & Covered), Trevor Horn (Echoes – Ancient & Modern), The Anchoress (Versions), Dave Finney & The Procrastinators (Covers) and Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection (Aquarium Drunkard Lagniappe Session 2), and to tributes by various artists to Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Smiths, Metallica (all on Cleopatra Records) and Guided By Voices (Rusted Gear Records), but below you can hear ten other melancholic cover songs to evoke nostalgic feelings.

My Shadow Tags on Behind || Cover: The Cribs || Original: Adam Green
On Capitane Records’ 2-LP Moping in Style: A Tribute to Adam Green, 26 largely well-known names – Jeffrey Lewis, Regina Spektor, Father John Misty, Devendra Banhart, The Libertines, Sean Lennon, The Lemonheads, and so on – show how many good songs the American singer/songwriter delivered after his life in the Moldy Peaches. Lots of successful material, but I particularly enjoyed hearing British indie rock band The Cribs again.

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Music Year-End List || Dennis’ Favorite Singles and EPs of 2023

By / / Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Power Pop, Psych, Punk, Surf Music / 5 Comments

By now you’ve probably seen our lists of favorite albums – here‘s Niek’s and there‘s mine – but 2023 also gave us lots of short format releases that were wantlist worthy. Below you can listen to the Top 50 singles and EPs that I enjoyed the most last year (note: individual songs are excluded). I would have liked to purchase some more physically, but that’s quite an expensive challenge with retail prices where 15 euros (16 USD) for a 7″ single and 40 euros (43 USD) or more for a six-track 12″ EP are no exceptions. Anyway, luckily there are other ways to hear them. Looking over the playlist, I guess that this music is a bit faster and wilder than that of my AOTY list – what is too exhausting for a full-length, works well for just a few songs. In my world you could have a fun dance party with this, including a few moments of rest in between to recover.

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New album: Checkerboard Lounge || Roller Coaster

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Melbourne’s blues institution Checkerboard Lounge follow up last year’s award-winning Sun Sessions LP with new album Roller Coaster, and it’s exactly the warm sound we need in these dark days. The current line-up, featuring Carl Pannuzzo (vocals, drums), Shannon Bourne (guitar), Zoë Frater (bass) and Tim Neal (Hammond organ, alto sax), delivers ten atmospheric, shiny songs (in total more than an hour of fascinating music, with the psychedelic closing track Prodigal Man lasting over 18 minutes and the popcorn-esque Double Standard as the biggest hit), arranged live in the studio, with wonderful melodies and powerful vocals. If you were wondering what contemporary quality blues sounds like, here’s the answer.




Roller Coaster, produced by Jeff Lang & Checkerboard Lounge, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Cheersquad Records & Tapes. Dedicated to singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Broderick Smith, who passed away last spring.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Music Year-End List || Dennis’ Favorite Albums of 2023

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk / 3 Comments

While Taylor Swift emerged as the top artist of 2023 (26+ billion global streams on Spotify alone), I mainly sought refuge in the long tail of the continuous stream of releases (not a favorable position: from 2024 tracks must have reached at least 1,000 streams to get royalties from Spotify’s money grubbers – all the more important that we’ll support these artists in other ways). Of the 2,600+ new albums I listened to, I added 130 to my longlist of wantlist-worthy releases – the ones I liked and played the most are in the Top 50 below. What struck me? Besides the usual themes – life and death (and the search for meaning), love and loss (and longing), fun and sadness (and anger), sex and drugs (and rock ‘n’ roll) – songwriters seem to struggle with time and place more than before. There is a kind of conflict going on in society between people who want to move forward or want to hold on to the past, but many songs reflect the realization that we live in the here and now. Tristan Peach from The Small Intestines dreamed that George Harrison and Tom Petty were on motorcycles circling one of the huge roundabouts in Canberra (Australia), their long hair blowing as they sang “You can’t hide in time” – it became the title from their debut album. It’s just one of the many references to this intriguing theme in my favorite albums from last year. Floodlights’ On The Television, one of the standout tracks from their Painting Of My Time LP, probably puts it most powerfully: “The time is now!” Let’s listen.

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New single: Faz Waltz || Rave A​-​Comin’ / Jackal Hop

By / / Blues & Roots, Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

New work from Italian power trio Faz Waltz always is good news. On last year’s On The Ball LP, songwriter Faz La Rocca (vocals, guitar, piano) and his pals Diego Angelini (bass) and Marco Galimberti (drums) changed direction to good old rock ‘n’ roll, now they push the accelerator even further. Rave A​-​Comin’, the A-side of their new 45, is a raucous floorfiller with a piano shooting great balls of fire, flipside Jackal Hop is a delicious sax-driven rhythm & blues stomper, in both cases with those characteristic gravelly vocals in the leading role. Sing along: “Everybody’s having fun, dance, dance!”


Rave A​-​Comin’ b/w Jackal Hop, produced by Brown Barcella & Faz La Rocca, is out now digitally and on 7″ vinyl (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Faz Waltz

New album: Zeno Jones || Disillusion Blues

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For blues fans who regularly scroll through our blog, Zeno Jones probably is a household name by now. We wrote about his band Cold Beverage and his solo EP Stonewater Music , and he shared his inspirations in our Gimme 5! feature. His new full-length album Disillusion Blues is also worth checking out – its cover suggests a score of five out of six stars, no reason to dispute that. We get twelve original garage blues rock songs (largely fresh work, with the exception of Upton Blues and Cold Beverage Blues, in an earlier version also on the 2021 self-titled debut LP), songs that are raw and primitive, heavy and straightforward, honest and authentic. Even more than before, the Louisville, Kentucky-based musician proves himself as both an amazing guitarist and a gifted singer, performing as a one-man band that has found the perfect balance between his tough vocals, a mean guitar, an old suitcase drum and a rusty tambourine. Pretty intense and impressive, again.

Disillusion Blues is out now digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Wanton Bishops || Under The Sun

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Garage Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

About ten years ago, The Wanton Bishops made a very convincing debut with their Sleep With The Lights On LP, twelve tracks of irresistibly groovy blues rock laced with Middle Eastern influences. The genius behind the band, Beirut native Nader Mansour, then traveled through America’s deep south for a while, to experience the roots of Mississippi blues. That led to a freshly inspired musical vision and the long-awaited sophomore full-length album Under The Sun, both an exploration of identity and a love letter to his hometown. In the ten new songs here, the Delta swamps have made way for the Lebanese mountains, with a sound that is more eclectic and more electronic (and to be honest: less easy to grasp, which is not a bad thing). Nader explains: “It’s Lebanese rock, a new genre, a blueprint for future music. It’s not fusion, it’s confusion, it’s not world music, it’s rock music from the world, for the world.” Heavy, danceable, colorful and special at the same time. Ten years later, The Wanton Bishops manage to surprise and impress again.





Under The Sun, produced by Jules Apollinaire, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP via gnu roam / Bucks Music Group. Featuring Nader Mansour (vocals, keyboards, synths), Jules Apollinaire (guitar, bass, keyboards) and Rene Van Diessen (drums).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Kartel Music Group

New album: Red Red || The Alabama Kid

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots / Leave a Comment

Although I prefer rumbling guitars, I have a soft spot for turntablism. The Belgian/American band Red Red unites these two loves in an amazing way on the eight potent songs of their full-length debut album The Alabama Kid. Skilled musicians Tom Beardslee (vocals, guitars, lap steel, dhantal), Steve Ceulemans (guitars, banjo, backing vocals), Chris Forget (bass) and Pieter Vandergooten (drums, percussion) lay a solid foundation of blues rock, to which DJ Courtasock aka Xavier Scheffers (turntables, samples) adds layers of sampled sounds and scratches. The combination of virtuoso guitar playing, powerful vocals and nimble soundscapes make this tribute to American boxer Clarence Olin “Alabama Kid” Reeves truly unique.


The Alabama Kid, recorded & mixed by Joes Brands, is out now streaming and on vinyl LP through Naked, a Donor Productions label.

Add to wantlist: Red Red

New album: Swampmeat Family Band || Polish Your Old Halo

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk / Leave a Comment

LP number 4 from Swampmeat Family Band bears the evocative title Polish Your Old Halo, borrowed from the lyrics of country legend Jerry Jeff Walker’s 1975 single Jaded Lover. No cover of that song here, but one that is much more remarkable: we hear The Chemical Brothers’ Setting Sun (with lyrics and vocals by Noel Gallagher) in an almost unrecognizable version (without the beats and the Oasis singer). The five-piece from Birmingham (UK) has a knack for choosing and performing covers (a highlight of their previous album Muck was their take on The Velvet Underground’s Foggy Notion), but their original songs, centered around themes of resilience, are just as captivating. The skilled band members play bluesy roots rock with a 70s feel, and with every new record they sound tighter and more polished, without losing appealing ideas, authenticity and energy. The standout tracks below are the best proof of this.


Polish Your Old Halo, produced by Mark Gittins, is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through PNKSLM Recordings.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || PNKSLM

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