Singles Going Steady: New Single reviews Week Of June 15th, 2015

Something More Free – Jason Isbell – Here is where Isbell begins to wear thin, this is exactly the sort of polemic he has been known to bypass and the sort of tropes you expect from Springsteen.  The most average thing he has put his name to in three years feels like second guessing to these ears and for once he earns his Americana moniker by being steadfastly disinteresting and stodgy in his mainstream countryisms.  Let’s hope there is better further in, though there is a saving grace:  Amanda’s lovely violin playing, all underlying emphasis – B

Come And get It – John Newman – Excellent mainstream dance soul by one of the very best arounds, you can almost bet he will be the next disco star to break the States. One serious complaint: will everybody please stop whistling  – B+

Love What We’ve become – Grace Potter – This blues chick wears on me – C-

Hollywood Dreams – Miguel – This is a dog, a neo-soul man who doesn’t come close to doing it for me – C

Great Summer – Vance Joy – Sure I can’t stand him, nobody except for teen girls can, I mean the haircut alone… and he was awful live, for sure. HOWEVER, of the six or so songs with the word “summer’ in the title, this is the best. The grade? Just proves how bad the others were – C-

Get Better – Frank Turner – The second law of thermodynamics is action Strummer to Bragg to turner – C

Something Like Happiness – The Maccabees – Are these guys a thing? Like Arctic Monkeys or something – C

Special Affair – The Internet – We haven’t heard from these guys in a coupla years and apparently there is a reason for it: they became a neo soul band.. I preferred em as alt EDM but this is ok – B

Year Of the Hare – Fucked Up – 21 minutes but the first six minutes are so quiet you turn up the volume so when it gets loud it gives you an unearned thrill – B