Okay, enough with the 2020 reflections already. Time for the first 2021 release I am genuinely excited about: the Skin People EP by The Morgus Creeps. This UK band, who I guess are named after a 1964 horror single by Daringers, play a creepy kind of garage rock. The songs on this killer EP would fit perfectly on the garage compilations of Crypt! Records. For now, this appears to be a digital only release, available as a name-your-price download.
One of my favorite “radio” shows is Little Steven’s Underground Garage, with which hero Steven Van Zandt makes an important contribution to keeping Rock ‘n’ Roll alive (I made a Spotify playlist with tracks I heard over there; if I don’t know what to listen anymore, this always offers good fun). Every week he plays the best rock and soul music of the past 60 years (Beatles, Stones, Byrds, Yardbirds, Crystals, Ramones, Springsteen, Who, Fleshtones, Kinks, Otis, …), but also new tunes from his own Wicked Cool Records and other labels . The Underground Garage listeners have once again been able to vote which of those new songs they consider the “Coolest Song in the World” of last year. At the top of the 2020 list is 3 from The Weeklings, an American supergroup performing Beatles covers and Beatles-inspired power-pop originals. Below you can see one of the three videos they made for the single (there is also a lyric video and a dance party version). Hey!
I’ve been checking out several 2020 AOTY lists in the past couple of weeks and have to admit: I missed a few. It happens, right? Perfection is overrated anyway. Here are 20+ releases from all kinds of musical directions that I either overlooked or was too quick to dismiss in 2020. They are on my wantlist now, that is all that matters. Click below to check them out. As always, I’ve included links to the purchasing locations for these releases. ICYMI also check out my favorite 2020 albums, singles and EPs, 2020 playlists and Dennis’ 2020 AOTY list. Happy new year!
New Year’s Day is a special day every year (in 2021 perhaps even more than usual), in that respect it’s remarkable that relatively few songs are devoted to it (compare it with the enormous amount of Christmas songs). Fortunately, Chris Lujan and Andre Cruz are now making a nice new contribution. From the idea that any day can be the beginning of a new year they wrote the tune New Years Day, an optimistic and atmospheric soul song that promises a new start. Available digitally through Lugnut Brand Records. Happy New Year!
Rum Bar Records just released EST 81 by The Dogmatics in digital format, a collection of the songs of the Boston garage / pub rock band from the 80’s. Not really a new compilation, because available on CD in 1998 as Dogmatics 1981-86, but very welcome. Now, over 30 years later, the band is back, with the excellent single She’s the One (2019), singer-guitarist Jerry Lehane released an equally excellent self-titled EP (2020) and more new music is expected to follow in the new year, but it’s cool to hear the old work again. They are still great songs! What would be even more welcome than these downloadable tracks, is a vinyl version of EST 81. Please!?
The Young Sinclairs have been releasing excellent indiepop records since 2007. Throughout the years, they’ve recorded several cover songs, which they’ve recently wrapped up and made available as a name your price download as their Christmas present to the world. It’s worth checking out, and not just because you’ve always wanted to know what a jangle pop version of Sweet Child O’ Mine sounds like.
If you, like me, have fond memories of Boston punkrockband The Explosion, then you are familiar with Matt Hock’s powerful and distinct voice. Imagine my excitement when I found out that Matt has started a new project with his former bandmate David Walsh, and that Wiretap Records will release their debut a couple of months from now. Here is the first song, which is a pleasant surprise. It’s a departure from the high-octane and tight punkrock of The Explosion. It’s guitar-driven and loose, and influenced by postpunk, britrock and new wave. It’s the kind of song that intrigues and gets under your skin upon first listen.
It’s tempting to label Savoy Motel as a retro glam revival group, but with the Sorry People video of their self-titled debut album (2015), the American rock band made it clear they don’t want to be seen as such: ‘We aren’t trying to revive anything. We play southern rock in a modern tradition. We try to create music that is all-inclusive escapism.’ Anyway, there is now a second full-length (click here for the commercial promoting Love Your Face) – ten new songs arranged and produced by Ryan Donoho (drums), Tina Norwood (piano), Jeffrey Novak (bass) and Dillon Watson (guitar). They are songs that go in all directions (they remind me of Foxygen at times, but I’m probably not allowed to say that either), songs that indeed allow you to escape the news of last year for 33 minutes.
This is another album that wouldn’t have been out of place in my year-end list. In this case the fact that it’s missing is not because I overlooked it, but because it was only released last Friday. I think it ties in well with the mood of the last days of 2020. At The Moonbase, the new LP from Slaughter Beach, Dog (in this interview the band name is explained), is the follow-up to the excellent Safe And Also No Fear (2019). The music was written, performed and produced by Jake Ewald during the corona pandemic. He received help from several guest musicians, of which Wil Schade’s contribution is particularly striking: saxophone solos as heard on records in the 80’s. Apart from that, it is especially the lyrics that are intriguing. Lyric videos were made for all 11 songs, give it a try (you can see one of my favorite tracks, Do You Understand (What Has Happened To You), below).
Every year it happens again: you have published your album of the year list and then you discover that you missed LPs that you really didn’t want to miss. Today I listened for the first time to the music American singer-songwriter Kyle Lacy released in 2020: his first full-length solo album The Road To Tomorrow (released February 14, CD on Dala Records; listen to stand-out tracks Low and Slow and Hangin’ On below), his EP Bad Bad Days (May 1, independently available from Bandcamp), his EP in collaboration with Warren Malone Lunchbox Special (August 7, Bandcamp) and his EP No Better Me (October 1, Bandcamp). All worth checking out. A fine mix of soul, blues, gospel and rock ‘n’ roll that deserves a larger audience (why isn’t this dude as famous as Eli “Paperboy” Reed and Nick Waterhouse?). Kyle Lacy may be missing from my year-end list, but it’s never too late to discover such good music.
