As we rush through the Chinese Year of the Horse, this is as good as time as any to trap a few tunes that may have heretofore escaped your ears. As always, YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, and Rock NYC are your listening option friends.
1. “Bad Self Portraits,” Lake Street Dive. Rachael Price, the great granddaughter of Seventh Day Adventist leader George McCready Price, is a superb vocalist and this song has a ‘70s classic pop structure. This is a band that displays retro influences without smelling like a pet rock.
2. “Call Me,” St. Paul & the Broken Bones. These lads might be based out of Birmingham, Alabama. but their sound is pure Memphis. This number is a perfect hybrid of Stax and Hi Records. Think Otis Redding meets Al Green with the Memphis Horns in an after hours Bluff City nightclub and you’ve got the idea.
3. “Destination,” Nickel Creek. Releasing their first album in nine years, Sara Watkins returns in fine voice as she proclaims her independence from a failed relationship. If you’ve been waiting for a contemporary bluegrass themed version of REO Speedwagon’s “Time for Me to Fly,” hop on board.
4. “Dizzy Heights,” Neil Finn. Hey now, hey now, don’t dream that Finn’s career is over. While some critics have been put off by the more ornate production techniques, this track has a pleasurable (dare I say it?), DREAMY quality.
5. “A Feather’s Not a Bird,” Rosanne Cash. I was all set to love Rosanne’s delta Arkansas inspired album The River & The Thread, but reach isn’t grasp. The album doesn’t work as a whole, but the poetic lead track is an instant classic.
6. “I Ain’t Looking for No Trouble,” Ray Benson. Taking a break from his Asleep at the Wheel duties, Ray Benson released his solo album A Little Piece in January. He stretches his baritone as far as he can, as he grapples with a lost love. He’ll never get a tour guide job with this attitude – “Don’t ask me for directions or I just might tell you where to go.”
7. “It’s Not Easy,” The Henry Girls. The Henry Girls are three Irish sisters who harmonize so beautifully that you forget the narrator is desperately trying to escape her own loneliness. Listen to this while you down a bottle of Paddy Whiskey. Authenticity is important.
8. “Rather Be,” Clean Bandit. In the ‘70s, this would have been a disco hit, but now we have to use that “EDM with deep-house elements” terminology. Either way, shake your bootie.
9. “Shit Shot Counts,” Drive-By Truckers. The best rocker of the year. In my dreams, I’m an unreconstructed badass like Mike Cooley. And I spend about one third of my life sleeping. So, that’s a good start.
10. “She Used to Love Me A Lot,” Johnny Cash. I’m kind of worried that Cash will be the Hendrix of country music and he’ll be releasing new music for the next thirty years. This was recorded in the early ‘80s and sounds nothing like the chart toppers of that era. However, it sounds pretty good right now.
11. “Sour Times,” The Civil Wars. Have to admit I’ve never been a huge Civil Wars fan (though I’m always up for a good General Hooker joke), but this song is a creepy tapeworm that burrows underneath your skin and crawls throughout your body leaving you in a state of utter panic and helplessness. The free clinic is getting tired of seeing me right now.
12. “The Swan,” Cheatahs. Being over 40, I have no understanding of the difference between post punk, emo, and shoegazing, but I do know that a My Bloody Valentine reference is obligatory with this intercontinental quartet. To me, they sound like what Jesus and Mary Chain would have been like as a rock band instead of a somewhat precious art band.
13. “Truck Stop Gospel,” Parker Millsap. Twenty-year-old Okie Parker Millsap is so pure in his convictions that he kicks a lot lizard out of his semi without even discussing pricing options. She must have looked rough.
14. “Your Children’s Children,” Carolina Story. Appalachian pluck rock from a young married hippie couple. The dude looks like he wandered out of the Allman Brothers circa 1971 and the wife plays a tambourine. Where have you gone Tracy Partridge, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
