For the Record
Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God
Manchester Orchestra "The Million Masks Of God" The Million Masks Of God showcases the strength and boundary-pushing invention of Manchester Orchestra's catalog and is a testament to the kinship of it's songwriting duo-the bond that enables them to take something so tragically personal and turn it into limitless, compassionate, communal, revelatory art.
Bastards of Soul - Spinnin'
Eastwood Music Group proudly presents the debut full-length LP release Spinnin' from the east Dallas classic R&B disciples Bastards of Soul. Recorded at Niles City Sound in Fort Worth, the ten cuts on Spinnin' represent the perfect way to get indoctrinated into the sound that BoS is putting down. Engineered and co-produced by the esteemed Josh Block (who was part of same team that shaped the sound of Leon Bridges' debut), the album resonates with the pulse of the southern R&B of the past and creates a joyous vibe with original soul joints rooted in a vintage sound.
David Coverdale - Northwinds
David Coverdale - "North Winds" - On his second solo album with his vocals soaring and his confidence, too, David created a hard-rockin' gem with this 1978 LP, which came out in Europe (and not America) just as his new band Whitesnake were playing their first shows. Produced by Deep Purple's Roger Glover. Now available in the US for the first time on limited edition white
Sunny War - Simple Syrup
As Sunny War's newest masterpiece, Simple Syrup has a vibrant, loose feel, more focused on the interplay with the musicians than ever before. Sunny's new songs touch on everything from romance to politics, jumping easily between larger concepts like the expectations for famous Black women in American art ("Like Nina") and smaller ideas like "Kiss A Loser", her ode to her own drunken self in relationships. Surrounded by relentless pressures from societal change, Sunny worked more closely with her community and embarked on a nearly year-long recording spree that brought two EPs (one of which, Can I Sit With You?, made a number of Best of 2020 lists) and now Simple Syrup. The pandemic has been a crucible for Sunny, burning away the parts of the old world that didn't truly matter and leaving her with a new purpose.
Fruit Bats - The Pet Parade
"The Pet Parade," the title track to Fruit Bats' ninth album, might be a surprising opening track for longtime fans of Eric D. Johnson's beloved indie folk-rock project. The six-and-a-half-minute tone poem smolders and drones over just two chords, inspired by the strange and silly community events that he saw growing up outside of Chicago, in La Grange, Illinois, in which people dressed up and showed off their pets. Decades later, The Pet Parade emerges in troubled times, living within what Johnson refers to as the beauty and absurdity of existence. At times upbeat and reassuring ("Eagles Below Us") and at times quietly contemplative ("On the Avalon Stairs"), The Pet Parade marks a milestone for Johnson, who celebrates 20 years of Fruit Bats in 2021. In some ways still a cult band, in other ways a time-tested act, Fruit Bats has consistently earned enough small victories to carve out a career in a notoriously fickle scene.
Aaron Lee Tasjan - Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!
Every now and then an artist comes along who makes you remember why you started listening to albums in the first place: Aaron Lee Tasjan is that artist. With his wrecked cool, off-center charm, and restless creative dazzle, he makes music with conviction that has it's roots in rock's murky past, armed with an arsenal of songs that spill over with humor, intelligence, irony, personal vision and at times prophecy. An obsessive creative, Tasjan writes pop songs with a twist, a little overdriven, far too honest at times. He updates the idea of androgyny but dispels the emotional and social ambiguity with lyrics that reflect his own geographic and artistic wanderings. You get the sense over Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!'s 11 songs that the man who began the album is not the same man who completed it, transformed both by the experiences that inspired the songs and crafting them. This is not anxious music for anxious times, but rather music as an antidote for anxious times. It is the sound of the future arriving.