The long-awaited return of Semisonic

Grammy-nominated Twin Cities-based trio Semisonic have released "You’re Not Alone," the group’s first new song in nearly 20 years. The single is the opening track from their forthcoming five-song EP You’re Not Alone out on Sept. 18 via Pleasuresonic Recordings/Megaforce Records. Find a full tracklist for the EP below.

Listen to "You’re Not Alone" via YouTube:

https://youtu.be/A9i8ph36P1U

"I wrote 'You’re Not Alone' a couple of years ago at a time when a lot of people, including me, were feeling isolated and despairing about the state of the world and the direction our country was going. We recorded the song last year and I’m really happy that it’s now coming out," explains Dan Wilson. "Coincidentally, the song is coming out when both a global pandemic and racial justice protests are compelling us to reimagine our relationships to each other and the communities we live in. Just as I had hoped when I first wrote it, I hope the song will communicate a sense of connection and comfort, an awareness that we’re not alone." 

The EP was recorded on and off over the last few years at Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer Dan Wilson’s Los Angeles studio with his co-founding bandmates John Munson and Jacob Slichter. 

"I think these songs have a really important and relevant story to tell," says Munson.
"They embody this spirit of optimism about the possibility we can offer each other in times of hardship and struggle. I’ve always believed that a Semisonic song is one that gives you hope, one that sends you out into the night happy, one that leaves you feeling more connected to whatever it is that makes you human, and that’s something we need now more than ever."

While Semisonic didn’t officially break up following the release of 2001’s All That Chemistry, the trio went their separate ways to focus on other projects. "By the time we finished touring the album, we’d been playing together for almost ten years," explains Wilson. "We’d shared highs and lows, joy and despair, hard slogs and victory laps, and in the end, we were just worn out."

Slichter became a writer and commentator for outlets like New York Times and NPR, released a book So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star, and currently teaches creative nonfiction at Sarah Lawrence. Munson has continued to make his career in music, performing and recording regularly with a variety of bands including The Twilight Hours, The Fragrants, and The New Standards. A lifelong lover of radio, he became the Music Director for American Public Media's WITS and could often be found guest hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's The Current.

Frontman Dan Wilson moved to Los Angeles and became a first-call writer and producer. He took home an Album of the Year GRAMMY for Adele’s 21, which featured three of his co-writes (including "Someone Like You"); landed a Song of the Year Grammy for the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready To Make Nice," and has written with artists from Chris Stapleton to Phantogram. After releasing his most recent record, a reimagining of songs he’d written for and with others entitled Re-Covered, Wilson launched a singles series in the fall of 2018, opting to put out a new song every month in lieu of recording another traditional album.

For the last four years, Wilson has been publishing a video series titled "Words & Music in Six Seconds." First via the now defunct Vine and now on Instagram, Wilson gives tidbits about songwriting, life, the creative process, working relationships, and lots more all in compact videos and illustrations. Follow @danwilsonmusic to watch.

Semisonic officially reunited in the summer of 2017 to celebrate the anniversaries of their albums Great Divide and Feeling Strangely Fine, which was reissued in 2018 for its 20th anniversary. Earlier this year, Dan Wilson was featured on the hit podcast Song Exploder, where he broke down their Grammy-nominated (Best Rock Song, 1999) #1 hit single "Closing Time."

Track list:

1) You're Not Alone
2) All It Would Take
3) Basement Tapes
4) Don't Make Up Your Mind
5) Lightning

Prince’s 'Sign O’ The Times' to get deluxe reissue

Upon release, Prince’s double album Sign O’ The Times included just some of the countless songs he recorded in the prolific period of 1985-1987, which saw the dissolution of his band The Revolution, the construction of his innovative recording complex, Paisley Park, and the creation (and ultimate abandonment) of the albums Dream Factory, Camille, and Crystal Ball.

On Sept. 25, The Prince Estate and Warner Records, will reissue Sign O’ The Times via all physical, digital and streaming partners, with the classic album remastered for the very first time, and featuring 63 previously unreleased tracks, as well as a previously unreleased 2+ hour video concert performance from Prince’s legendary vault. Pre-order here.

The reissue suite will be comprised of the following formats:

• Super Deluxe Edition (8CD+DVD / 13LP+DVD / audio-only download and streaming)

• Deluxe Edition (3CD / 4LP 180g vinyl / download and streaming)

• Remastered album (2CD / 2LP 180g peach vinyl / download and streaming)

Following the successful release of the 1999 album's Super Deluxe Edition in the fall of 2019, the Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition represents the deepest dive to date into Prince’s vault, and includes a total of 92 audio tracks across eight CDs and 13 180g vinyl records.

The Super Deluxe Edition brings fans all the audio material that Prince officially released in 1987, as well as 45 previously unissued studio songs recorded between May 1979 and July 1987, and a complete live audio performance from the June 20, 1987 stop on the Sign O’ The Times Tour at Stadium Galgenwaard in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

In addition, both CD and vinyl sets have a new DVD containing the complete, previously unreleased New Year’s Eve benefit concert at Paisley Park on December 31, 1987, which was Prince’s final performance of the Sign O’ The Times Tour stage show and his only on-stage collaboration with jazz legend Miles Davis.

The Super Deluxe Edition set also features a 120-page hardcover book containing Prince’s previously unseen handwritten lyrics for many of the songs from the era, including the hits “U Got The Look,” “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man,” and “Hot Thing,” unseen images from the era taken by Prince’s primary photographer in the mid-1980s to early 90s, Jeff Katz, plus images of archive assets including original analog tape reels and studio tracking sheets.

The Super Deluxe Edition book is completed with new liner notes by Dave Chappelle (in conversation with photographer Mathieu Bitton) and Lenny Kravitz; Prince’s longtime engineer Susan Rogers; Daphne A. Brooks, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of African American Studies, American Studies and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Yale University; Minneapolis radio host and author Andrea Swensson, host of the Official Prince Podcast; and Prince scholar Duane Tudahl.

As a companion collector piece, fans have the opportunity to order a numbered 7” singles boxed set, strictly limited to 1,987 units, and manufactured by Third Man Pressing in Detroit. Containing remastered audio for all four official 7” singles released in 1987, as well as the two official Warner Records promo singles, the set contains a brand new 7” single comprising two versions of the previously unreleased track “Witness 4 The Prosecution”. The set is available to order now, exclusively via the official Prince Store and Third Man Records Store, and is expected to ship on or before August 14.

“Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 1)” is now available on all digital download and streaming platforms. Featured on the Super Deluxe set, the track was recorded on March 14, 1986 at Prince’s Galpin Blvd. home studio and was originally intended for inclusion on the halted Dream Factory album. Listen here.

Remastered Album (Disc 1)

1 Sign O’ The Times
2 Play In The Sunshine
3 Housequake
4 The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
5 It
6 Starfish And Coffee
7 Slow Love
8 Hot Thing
9 Forever In My Life

Remastered Album (Disc 2)

1 U Got The Look
2 If I Was Your Girlfriend
3 Strange Relationship
4 I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
5 The Cross
6 It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night
7 Adore

Single Mixes & Edits (Disc 3)

1 Sign O’ The Times (7” single edit)

2 La, La, La, He, He, Hee (7” single edit)
3 La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive) (7” single edit)
4 If I Was Your Girlfriend (7” single edit)
5 Shockadelica (“If I Was Your Girlfriend” B-side)
6 Shockadelica (12” long version)
7 U Got The Look (Long Look) (12” edit)
8 Housequake (7” edit)
9 Housequake (7 Minutes MoQuake) (12” edit)
10 I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Fade 7” edit)
11 Hot Thing (7” single edit)
12 Hot Thing (Extended Remix)
13 Hot Thing (Dub Version)

Redlands Bowl in Southern California transitions to a virtual summer concert season

Skerryvore, courtesy RBPA

Redlands Bowl Performing Arts (RBPA) is presenting a 2020 season schedule tailored to COVID-19 restrictions. Most programs will be viewable online via YouTube, Facebook, and Channel 3 in Redlands on their selected dates at 8 p.m.

“Our hope is that, as guidelines allow, we may be able to present some late season programming on the Redlands Bowl stage. Until then, we invite you to gather with your family around a picnic and with a computer or projected screen and enjoy the Bowl in your Backyard,” said Beverly Noerr, Redlands Bowl Performing Arts Executive Director, in a prepared statement. 

Redlands Bowl Performing Arts is the presenter of the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival which holds the distinction of being the longest continuously running music festival in the United States at which no admission is charged. The Redlands Bowl is attended by over 100,000 members of the public each summer.

“We will all miss being together the stars at the Redlands Bowl this year but are excited for opportunities the online season brings to share the Redlands Bowl with friends and family all over the world. This year’s online format also makes it possible to bring back Bowl favorites like Rhythmic Circus, who are creating a filmed show for us from their home base in the Midwest. We’re also thrilled to bring performances by artists new to the Redlands Bowl, like Catapult, who ordinarily don’t tour on the West Coast during the summer,” said Valerie Peister, RBPA Program Director.

2020 summer season schedule:

Friday, July 10, Giada Valenti "From Venice with Love" 

Tuesday, July 14, Jazzy Ash & The Leaping Lizards 

Friday, July 17, Skerryvore 

Tuesday, July 21, Catapult 

Friday, July 24, Balsam Range 

Tuesday, July 28, “I Have a Song to Sing, O!” New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players 

Friday, July 31, Cool Classics for Cello and Piano Featuring Ruslan Biryukov and Frank Fetta 

Tuesday, August 4, Sail On: The Beach Boys Tribute 

Friday, August 7, Navy Band Southwest 

Tuesday, August 11, An Evening of Orchestral Chamber Works Conducted by Roger Kalia Friday, August 14, Romeo and Juliet State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara 

Tuesday, August 18, "A Classical Evening with Ransom Wilson" Featuring musicians of the Redlands Symphony Orchestra 

Friday, August 21, One Night in Memphis 

Tuesday, August 25, Rhythmic Circus 

Friday, August 28, The Texas Tenors 

Tuesday, September 1, Mariachi Divas 

Friday, September 4, Take3 Trio 

TBA Grand Finals of the Young Artists Concerto Competition

For more information, please go to redlandsbowl.org or call (909) 793-7316.

Old 97's news

It's always welcome news to find out another Old 97's album is on the way. I've interviewed leader Rhett Miller a few times in the past, including 2018. Read that chat here: https://newwavegeo.blogspot.com/2018/12/an-interview-with-rhett-miller-of-old.html

And here's the lowdown from the press release... 

Old 97’s, the Texas alt-country outfit fronted by Rhett Miller, is returning with their 12th album, the aptly titled Twelfth, to be released on Aug. 21 on ATO Records. Twenty-seven years in, Old 97’s still features its original lineup - Miller, guitarist Ken Bethea, bassist Murry Hammond, and drummer Philip Peeples. The album’s cover image of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach is both an homage to Miller’s childhood hero and a recognition that, in making their livings as musicians, the 97’s themselves have achieved their lifelong dreams.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Miller talks about how his five-year sobriety influenced the new album, saying, “Going back in, I thought, ‘What if I don’t bring anything to the table? What if I’m like Samson and the whiskey was my long hair and I cut it off and can’t write songs anymore?’... But [Twelfth] was the first record where, top to bottom, I felt I was back in the driver’s seat, found my voice, and came out the other side. It feels good.”

The first single “Turn Off The TV” arrived this week alongside a video directed by Liam Lynch that features Puddles the Clown as well as footage of the band throughout their career. Watch the video below and pre-order Twelfth HERE.

“Somehow what we’ve got never breaks down,” Rhett Miller sings on Old 97’s exhilarating new album, Twelfth. At first, the line comes off as a boast, as a declaration of invincibility from a band that’s managed to survive three decades of rock and roll debauchery, but as the phrase repeats over and over again, it slowly transforms into something more incredulous, something more vulnerable, something deeply human.

“We experienced some close calls over the last few years,” says Miller, “and I think that led us to this dawning realization of the fragility of it all. At the same time, it also led us to this increased gratitude for the music and the brotherhood we’ve been so lucky to share. I think all of that combined to make recording this album one of the most intensely joyful experiences we’ve ever had as a band.”

Working out of Sputnik Sound in Nashville, Miller and his longtime bandmates—bassist Murry Hammond, guitarist Ken Bethea, and drummer Philip Peeples—teamed up once again with GRAMMY-winning producer Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White). 

Perhaps the band is growing up; maybe they’re just getting started. Either way, Old 97’s have never been happier to be alive.

“You have to take pride in the unlikeliness of it all,” says Miller. “It’s mind boggling to think that we’ve been able to last this long, that we’ve been able to support ourselves and our families on our own terms for almost thirty years. Twelve is a lot of records.”

Formed in Dallas, Texas, Old 97’s first emerged in the early ’90s and built a reputation for high-energy albums and even higher energy shows, earning themselves performances everywhere from Conan and Letterman to Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza alongside countless rave reviews.

On top of his work with Old 97’s, Miller simultaneously established himself as a prolific solo artist, as well, releasing eight studio albums under his own name that garnered similarly wide-ranging acclaim and landed in a slew of prominent film and television soundtracks. Miller also contributed essays and short stories to The Atlantic, Salon, McSweeney’s, and Sports Illustrated among others, and in 2019, he released his debut book, a collection of poetry for children, via Little, Brown and Company.

While part of Old 97’s charm has always been the air of playful invulnerability they exude onstage every night, reality began catching up with the band in 2017. The night before a television appearance in support of the group’s most recent album, Graveyard Whistling, Peeples collapsed in a hotel parking lot, falling backwards and cracking his skull on a concrete abutment.

He spent weeks in the ICU and was forced to miss the first leg of tour. Bethea, meanwhile, began to notice a loss of feeling in the fingers of his right hand. As his condition continued to deteriorate on the road, the numbness spread to his leg, and he was eventually forced to undergo spinal surgery in order to regain full motor control.

Miller, for his part, found himself at more of an existential crossroads, questioning attitudes and behaviors he’d long taken for granted. Yes, he was a rock and roll star (whatever that means nowadays), but he was also a father and a husband, and he decided it was long since time to get sober. 

“Back when we were in our 20’s, we put ourselves through these terrible trials because we thought we could survive anything,” says Miller. “But over the last few years, it started becoming clear that we’re human.”

Rather than slow things down, the band decided to embrace their mortality as all the more reason to seize the day. Life is short—a lesson that was hammered home on the group’s first day of recording in Nashville, when a series of deadly tornadoes ripped through town—and Twelfth is the sound of Old 97’s recommitting themselves to making the most of every moment they’ve got left.

Opener “The Dropouts” sets the stage, taking stock of the band’s journey from its very first days, when they cut their teeth playing the bars of Deep Ellum in exchange for pitchers of beer and pizza.

“There’s a line about sleeping on hardwood floors in that song,” says Miller, “and that’s what we did in the early days. But that image of hardwood floors keeps coming back and building on itself in different songs throughout the album, and over time it begins to mean different things as we grow up and start families and own homes.”

The track "Belmont Hotel” finds emotional symbolism in the restoration of a Dallas landmark.

“‘Belmont Hotel’ is a microcosm of the album, and of our band,” says Miller. “When we first started out, the Belmont was in absolute ruins, and we even did a photoshoot in the empty parking lot. Now, though, it’s more beautiful than it was in its glory days, and that got me thinking about the way we approach our relationships. Whether it’s a friendship or a marriage or a band, it’s inevitable that you’re going to go through ups and downs, but if you’re willing to put in the work and stick out the hard times, you can wind up with something that’s better than it ever was before.”

While Miller collaborated with writers like Butch Walker and Nicole Atkins on Graveyard Whistling, he penned everything on Twelfth himself (outside “Happy Hour” and album closer “Why Don’t We Ever Say We’re Sorry,” which were both written and sung by Hammond). 

Track listing:

1. The Dropouts

2. This House Got Ghosts
3. Turn Off The TV
4. I Like You Better
5. Happy Hour
6. Belmont Hotel
7. Confessional Boxing
8. Diamonds on Neptune
9. Our Year
10. Bottle Rocket Baby
11. Absence (What We’ve Got)
12. Why Don’t We Ever Say We’re Sorry

Out now: '‘Welcome To Bobby’s Motel’ by Pottery

Here's another new discovery of mine; this time, through the Download 15 on the SiriusXMU channel...

Pottery's debut album ‘Welcome To Bobby’s Motel’ was recently released via Partisan Records. The music video for single “Texas Drums Pt. I” is a surrealist look into the lives of a pair of unibrowed brothers. The clip was directed by Paul Jacobs and Jacob Shepansky from the band in collaboration with Meagan Callen and Montreal based filmmaker Charlie Coote.

LISTEN: POTTERY – “TEXAS DRUMS PT I & II”

WATCH: POTTERY – “TEXAS DRUMS PT I”

The Montreal quintet - Paul Jacobs, Jacob Shepansky, Austin Boylan, Tom Gould and Peter Baylis - utlized producer Jonathan Schenke (Parquet Courts, Snail Mail) and recorded at Montreal’s Break Glass studio. Although occupying a central role within the album’s tracks, it should be noted that Bobby is not technically a real person, and Bobby’s Motel is not a real place, but a psychedelic dreamworld.

Following an acclaimed debut EP last year, the band toured with Parquet Courts, Thee Oh Sees and Fontaines DC. 

Track list:

1. Welcome to Bobby's Motel

2. Hot Heater
3. Under The Wires
4. Bobby's Forecast
5. Down In The Dumps
6. Reflection
7. Texas Drums Pt I & II
8. NY Inn
9. What’s In Fashion?
10. Take Your Time
11. Hot Like Jungle

Out now: 'Human Traffic' by Richard Davies & The Dissidents

Bucketfull of Brains Records

About a month ago, I came across this rocking band while listening to Rodney Bingenheimer's weekly radio show on SiriusXM's Underground Channel. I was impressed by the single and had to find out more. Read on below...

After years as a collaborator, gun for hire and band member – most notably with London bands The Snakes and Tiny Monroe – guitarist Richard Davies emerges front and center on Human Traffic.

The first album to feature Richard as lead vocalist and principal songwriter, Human Traffic was recorded during 2019 in Wiltshire, UK, and features appearances from old friends including Tim Emery (Case Hardin, Last Great Dreamers) on bass guitar and Chris Cannon (Mega City Four, The Snakes) on drums.

Initial video, ‘Lay Me Low,’ finds the band working around a new arrangement of an old Shaker hymn, first written down in 1838. ‘Heartbeat Smile’ is a cover of a song by Alejandro Escovedo, while ‘Under The Skin’ is recalled from the Tiny Monroe days.

“Recording this album was something that I’d always wanted to do but never really got round to doing until now,” Richard explains. “Some of the songs are about me, some of them are about other people, but they all capture reality as I see it. I wanted to record an album that was about real life and with all the highs and lows that go with it”.

Richard began his career playing guitar for indie band Tiny Monroe in the 90s, recording several singles, an EP and an album for London Records, touring with The Pretenders, Radiohead and Suede and appearing at the Glastonbury, Reading and T in the Park festivals along the way.

Following this, Richard recorded three albums with The Snakes – Songs From The Satellites, Sometime Soon and The Last Days of Rock‘n’Roll - as the band became major players on the UK Americana scene, picking up mainstream national airplay.

The guitarist has also been called upon to work with Peter Perrett of The Only Ones, former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and blues guitarist Bob Bowles.

Track listing:

1. Human Traffic

2. Lay Me Low

3. Way Of The Wild

4. 21st Century Man

5. Heartbeat Smile

6. Long Road (To Your Heart)

7. Echo Road

8. No Master, No Guide

9. Under The Skin

10. No Man’s Land

Greyson Chance on Hulu’s ' Love, Victor' soundtrack EP

Pop singer Greyson Chance has released a new single “Athlete” as part of the soundtrack of Hulu’s new series, “Love, Victor,” airing now. The track was written by Chance and Leland produced by Leland and Jordan Palmer.

Set in the world of the original 2018 film “Love, Simon,” the series follows Victor, a new student at Creekwood High School on his own journey of self-discovery, facing challenges at home, adjusting to a new city, and struggling with his sexual orientation. When it all seems too much, he reaches out to Simon to help him navigate the ups and downs.

LISTEN TO "ATHLETE" HERE.

Greyson has also unveiled the “Honeysuckle” Live From Home video, which was self-directed and shot from Oklahoma. Watch HERE. “Honeysuckle”, produced by Kwassa, is off of Greyson’s forthcoming album, which was executive produced by Teddy Geiger and is due for release later this year. The track follows the debut single off the record, “Dancing Next To Me.

LISTEN TO “HONEYSUCKLE” HERE
WATCH “HONEYSUCKLE” OFFICIAL VIDEO HERE

Last January, Greyson completed his headlining portraits World Tour where he performed over 115 shows across North America, Europe and Asia. During the U.S. leg, he partnered with The Ally Coalition, and at each show, the organization introduced attendees to a charity in their respective communities in need of support. Greyson plans to embark on his next world tour alongside his new album.

Watch the Love, Victor series trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh-IaEaEdE0

Series soundtrack EP track listing:

1. "Somebody to Tell Me (Theme Song from "Love, Victor") (From "Love, Victor"/Theme)" - Performed by Tyler Glenn [of Neon Trees]. Music and Lyrics by Brett McLaughlin and Jordan Palmer. Produced by Leland

2. "Athlete (From "Love, Victor")" - Performed by Greyson Chance. Music and Lyrics by Brett McLaughlin, Greyson Chance and Jordan Palmer. Produced by Jordan Palmer. Greyson Chance appears courtesy of GCM

3. "God, This Feels Good (From "Love, Victor")" - Performed by Isaac Dunbar. Music and Lyrics by Brett McLaughlin, Isaac Dunbar and Jordan Palmer. Produced by Jordan Palmer

Isaac Dunbar appears courtesy of RCA

Delta Spirit is back after a long absence

What Is There, Delta Spirit's first album in six years, is due on Sept. 11. The 10-song set was produced by the band and mixed by Tchad Blake (U2, Black Keys). Their New West Records debut follows their acclaimed 2014 studio album Into The Wide. 

Recorded at Sonic Ranch outside of El Paso, TX, What Is There is dedicated to the memory of their friend and musical inspiration, Richard Swift.

First single “How Bout It” arrives with a video directed by Michael Parks Randa and shot during the Covid-19 pandemic at over 30 locations throughout North America. After speaking with roughly 70 cinematographers to learn about their particular circumstances, Randa directed 30 individuals across the country to safely document an intimate portrait of Americans in isolation. Randa said “The result is a celebration of the collaborative spirit of filmmaking, a successful experiment in safely navigating production during the pandemic, and a mosaic of America during this time.” See the “How Bout It” video HERE.

Formed in Southern California in 2005, Delta Spirit took an extended break after supporting their acclaimed effort Into The Wide. “In 2015, we were getting along like family gets along,” admits frontman Matthew Logan Vasquez. “That means sometimes we didn’t like each other too much. We were just growing apart. When we took a break and the band stopped, the friendships got an opportunity to come back.” He offers, “Personality-wise, our band is five contrarians trying to agree on an idea. When your similarity is that you’re contrarian, it’s tough. But when things work out, it’s incredible.”

Over the past six years, Matthew Logan Vasquez has released and toured behind three celebrated solo albums, multi-instrumentalist Kelly Winrich launched a career as a producer (Nathaniel Ratefliff), while bassist Jonathan Jameson, guitarist Will McLaren, and drummer Brandon Young collaborated and toured with Sam Outlaw, Mikky Ekko, the Los Angeles band Muna, among others. The band members now call Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Austin, and Montreal home, and reconvened in Brooklyn, NY for a jam session in 2018. Vasquez says, “When we played together, we found the same joy and took it deeper.”

Delta Spirit wrote and recorded from a new place informed by maturity gained by their journey, break, and reunion. 

Vasquez says, “I’m really proud of our body of work, but especially proud of where everybody has gotten to now. I have a lot of hope for us. I’m grateful for everyone in this band. There’s a lot of raw honesty in the music. It’s a record for right now, instead of pandering to the past. It’s the next step.” As much as What Is There reflects their journey thus far, it also ushers them into new territory as both musicians and, most importantly, friends.

The band have also announced rescheduled dates from their 2020 Reunion tour, which features multi-night runs at their favorite venues across the country. While many dates are sold out, Delta Spirit plan to announce additional performances in conjunction with the record release in September. Fans are encouraged to visit local venue sites in case additional tickets become available for the dates announced below.

What Is There will be available across digital platforms, on compact disc, and standard black vinyl. A limited to 500 Clear with Black Marble Vinyl Edition will be available at Independent Retailers, a limited to 350 Coke Bottle Clear & White, Hand-Poured Color Vinyl Edition will be available exclusively through the Magnolia Record Club, while an exclusive Opaque Yellow & Black Marble Vinyl edition is available for Pre-Order NOW via NEW WEST RECORDS. 

Track Listing:

1. The Pressure

2. It Ain’t Easy
3. How Bout It
4. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
5. Better Now
6. Home Again
7. Making Sense
8. Lover’s Heart
9. Just the Same
10. What Is There

Delta Spirit On Tour in 2021:

March 24 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
March 25 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
March 26 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up
March 27 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up
April 18 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
April 19 – Washington DC – U Street Music Hall
April 21 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair
April 24 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
April 25 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
April 28 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern
April 30 – Indianapolis, IN – Hi-Fi Indianapolis
May 2 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall

Jónsi of Sigur Rós to return with solo album

Jónsi Birgisson, front man of Sigur Rós, will unveil Shiver, his first solo album in a decade, on Oct. 2 via Krunk. It features vocalists Liz Fraser of the Cocteau Twins and Robyn. Pre-order/pre-save Shiver HERE

The new song “Swill” has a video by Barnaby Roper and animated by Pandagunda. Watch / listen to “Swill” HERE

Last year, Jónsi had his first solo art installation at the Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in Los Angeles where his installation work explored the depths of sound. Jónsi has expanded his artistic practice over the past few years in a series of collaborations with visual artists such as Doug Aitken, Olafur Eliasson, Merce Cunningham and most recently the artist and composer Carl Michael von Hausswolf with whom he formed the musical duo Dark Morph.

Jónsi’s interests and talents extend far beyond the reach of a traditional musician, he has always been multidisciplinary. Among his serious pursuits is a years-long study of scent and perfume, an alchemy he has combined with his installation art (each of his artworks at his exhibition had its own scent).

Track listing:

1. Exhale

2. Shiver

3. Cannibal (with Liz Fraser)

4. Wildeye

5. Sumarið Sem Aldrei Kom

6. Kórall

7. Salt Licorice (with Robyn)

8. Hold

9. Swill

10. Grenade

11. Beautiful Boy

The Head and The Heart expand 'Living Mirage'

The Head and The Heart have revealed Living Mirage: The Complete Recordings, its deluxe album, is set for digital release on June 26. Featuring four new tracks including "Glory of Music II," “Sun Is Rising,” “Backwards Breathing,” and “One Big Mystery,” it will also be available on vinyl later this year.

On release day, the band will offer an exclusive t-shirt designed by artist Lorin Brown, available for sale from their site for 24 hours. A portion of all t-shirt proceeds will benefit the Black Trans Femmes in the Arts Collective. The mission of the BTFA Collective is to connect the community of black trans women and non-binary femmes in the arts.

The Head and The Heart’s current single “Honeybee” is now the band’s highest streaming song on Living Mirage with over 64 million streams globally. On TikTok, the track has over 123 million impressions to date. Additionally, the band recently participated in a Twitch Stream Aid performance to over 300K viewers, raising $2.7 million for COVID-19 relief.

“Honeybee” currently sits at #1 at AAA radio, and is Top 10 on the Alternative radio chart. Last month, The Head and The Heart returned to NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform “Honeybee” from their homes.

Living Mirage is the band’s fourth full-length album, released on Warner Records/Reprise Records last year.

Track listing:

1) Living Mirage

2) See You Through My Eyes
3) Missed Connection
4) Sun Is Rising
5) Glory of Music II
6) People Need A Melody
7) Honeybee
8) Brenda
9) Backwards Breathing
10) Running Through Hell
11) Up Against The Wall
12) Saving Grace
13) I Found Out
14) One Big Mystery
15) Glory of Music

Suzanne Vega live album coming in September

Suzanne Vega is set to release An Evening of New York Songs and Stories on Sept. 11 via Amanuensis/Cooking Vinyl. The album, which was recorded live at the Café Carlyle in New York City, features Vega’s most New York-centric repertoire in a celebration of her long personal and musical relationship with the city.

The first two singles, “Walk on the Wild Side” and “New York Is My Destination,” are available now—pre-save the album and access the advance singles HERE.

Earlier today, Vega performed a rare livestream set in honor of New York City’s essential healthcare workers. The performance was part of the “Music for the Soul” series created by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, NYC Health + Hospitals and AFM Local 802 to inspire the heroic medical community, connect isolated patients to the outside world and provide paid work for musicians.

Of the album Vega says, “It is always a pleasure to play at the Café Carlyle in New York City, where this album was recorded. It is a small exclusive club that has hosted legends from Eartha Kitt to Judy Collins, and is also known to be the place where Jackie Kennedy met Audrey Hepburn. I love it for its bohemian old-world glamour! I decided it would be fun to perform a New York-themed show there with songs inspired by New York City or for which New York provided the backdrop, including “Walk on the Wild Side” by my late, great friend, Lou Reed—a song I rarely heard him sing himself.”

On An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, Vega is backed by longtime guitarist and musical director Gerry Leonard, bassist Jeff Allen and keyboardist Jamie Edwards.

Recorded in early 2019, the album includes familiar songs like “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” and deep cuts from her catalog like “Frank and Ava” and “Ludlow Street.” The mix of repertoire also features “New York Is My Destination” from Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers, Vega’s one-woman play about the Southern gothic novelist Carson McCullers. An Evening of New York Songs and Stories is produced by Leonard, mixed by Grammy Award-winning engineer Kevin Killen and mastered by Grammy Award winner Bob Ludwig.

Track listing:

1. Marlene on the Wall
2. Luka
3. New York is a Woman
4. Frank and Ava
5. Gypsy
6. Freeze Tag
7. Pornographer’s Dream
8. New York Is My Destination
9. Walk on the Wild Side
10. Ludlow Street
11. Cracking
12. Some Journey
13. Tom’s Diner
14. Anniversary
15. Tombstone
16. Thin Man

Depeche Mode's one-time-only live stream of concert film 'Live Spirits' this week

Columbia Records

Depeche Mode will present a one time only live stream of the concert film LiVE SPiRiTS from the band's feature-length documentary and concert film, Depeche Mode: SPiRiTS in the Forest this week.

Fans will be able to watch the full version of LiVE SPiRiTS via Live Nation’s YouTube channel as well as their Live From Home platform on Thursday, June 25th at 12pm PT/3pm EST. Although portions of LiVE SPiRiTS, which was filmed at the Waldbühne (“Forest Stage”) in Berlin, has appeared in the documentary, never before has the film been seen uninterrupted in its entirety.

A video of “Cover Me” from LiVE SPiRiTS can be viewed here. The song is 0from Depeche Mode’s acclaimed 14th studio album Spirit.

This special concert experience is in anticipation of the release of Depeche Mode: SPiRiTS in the Forest to DVD and Blu-Ray on June 26, which features not only the documentary but also LiVE SPiRiTS and other special content. Pre-order here.

The four-disc (two video discs plus two audio discs) package configuration will be available in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats. The package’s two video discs contain the SPiRiTS in the Forest documentary, alongside LiVE SPiRiTS. In addition to the two video discs, the package includes two CDs containing the LiVE SPiRiTS soundtrack, the live audio recording from the performance.

Film director and longtime Depeche Mode collaborator Anton Corbijn focused the documentary narrative on six super fans from different regions of the globe. The film zeroes in on their lives – all extremely different save for their love of Depeche Mode’s music and the way that music has shaped their experiences – intercut with the final Berlin show, held at the iconic Waldbühne (“Forest Stage”) on the record-breaking two-year Global Spirit Tour in 2018, which saw them play to over 3 million fans at 115 shows around the world.

Depeche Mode: SPiRiTS in the Forest initially opened on 3,000 screens across nearly 80 countries last November. The film grossed $4.5 million and was seen by over 220,000 people. Recently, it began streaming on Prime Video in over 130 territories worldwide and can also be found on iTunes. Watch here.

LiVE SPiRiTS audio CD Track list:

DISC 1 

1. Intro
2. Going Backwards
3. It’s No Good
4. A Pain That I’m Used To
5. Useless
6. Precious
7. World in My Eyes
8. Cover Me
9. The Things You Said
10. Insight
11. Poison Heart

DISC 2

1. Where’s the Revolution
2. Everything Counts
3. Stripped
4. Enjoy the Silence
5. Never Let Me Down Again
6. I Want You Now
7. Heroes
8. Walking In My Shoes
9. Personal Jesus
10. Just Can’t Get Enough

For more information, please visit spiritsintheforest.com.

The return of Bright Eyes

Nearly 10 years since Bright Eyes last performed a show together (in Honolulu on 11/21/2011), they are now back together tonight - with some additional friends - to play the new single “Mariana Trench” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

Today’s single release comes with details of the band’s long awaited tenth album, and first since 2011, Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was, to be released on Dead Oceans on August 21st.

Fans were first alerted to new material in January when the band's long dormant social media accounts were revived with new images. First song to be unveiled was “Persona Non Grata”, then "Forced Convalescence” and most recently, “One And Done”.

A mesmerizing video for “Mariana Trench” was created by Art Camp. Speaking on the creation of the video, Art Camp states: “The production of the video started at the beginning of quarantine and finished as people came back out of their homes and took to the streets together. In 18 different bedrooms across the world, listening to Bright Eyes, keeping each other company, we got the chance to collaborate on a story about embracing and celebrating change. The animation is composed of 2,200 hand-illustrated ink paintings based on original 3D animation and archival footage. We hope it makes you excited to imagine that everything could be new.”

Pre-order Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was HERE

In 2011, the release of The People’s Key, Bright Eyes’ ninth and most recent album, ushered in an unofficial hiatus. In the time since, the band’s core members – Oberst, multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis, and multi-instrumentalist Nathaniel Walcott have worked on projects that overlapped from time to time, with Oberst and Mogis living next door to one another in Omaha and Walcott’s Los Angeles home just fifteen minutes away from Oberst’s house on the East Side, where he’s spent the bulk of his time over the last few couple of years whilst working on his most recent solo records and Better Oblivion Community Center.  

The end of Bright Eyes’ unofficial hiatus came when Oberst pitched the idea of getting the band back together during a 2017 Christmas party at Walcott’s house. The two huddled in the bathroom and called Mogis, who was Christmas shopping at an Omaha mall. Mogis immediately said yes. The resulting Bright Eyes album came together unlike any other of its predecessors.

Down In The Weeds... stems from only one demo, was written in stints in Omaha and in bits and pieces in Walcott’s home. Radically altering a writing process 25 years into a project seems daunting, but Oberst said there was no trepidation: “Our history and our friendship, and my trust level with them, is so complete and deep. And I wanted it to feel as much like a three-headed monster as possible.”

Across recording sessions between Omaha’s ARC Studios, Los Angeles’s Electro-Vox, and LA’s Capitol Studios, the trio used a rhythm section made up of Jon Theodore (Mars Volta, Queens of the Stone Age, One Day as a Lion) and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea.

Dead Oceans is offering exclusive standard and deluxe bundles to preorder on Secretly Store which include Down in the Weeds Where the World Once Was 2xLP on limited transparent red & transparent orange vinyls, Persona Non Grata b/w Flirted With You All My Life 7” on limited transparent orange w/ opaque red splatter and various other exclusive items.

All 2xLP variants feature a 2-inch die cut hole through the entire package revealing the LPs from both sides. Side D contains an animated phenakistoscope etching by Drew Tetz and a 4-panel lyric booklet.

Track listing:

1.) Pageturner’s Rag

2.) Dance And Sing
3.) Just Once In The World
4.) Mariana Trench
5.) One and Done
6.) Pan and Broom
7.) Stairwell Song

8.) Persona Non Grata
9.) Tilt-A-Whirl
10.) Hot Car in the Sun
11.) Forced Convalescence
12.) To Death’s Heart (In Three Parts)
13.) Calais To Dover
14.) Comet Song

Paul Kelly news

Paul Grabowsky and Paul Kelly share a love of the classic collaborations between Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle (particularly In the Wee Small Hours), and Tony Bennett & Bill Evans (with whose playing Grabowsky’s has been favorably compared).

“All of the songs were already part of Paul’s extensive catalogue,” says Grabowsky of their new project Please Leave Your Light On, due July 31 from Gawd Aggie/Cooking Vinyl North America (digitally), August 14 on CD and vinyl.

“I transcribed them, and adapted them for the piano/voice combination," continues Grabowsky. In addition, I threw in a ballad by Cole Porter called ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye,’ which Paul delivers in an understated, sensitive way. The performances are intimate, and shine a light on lyrical moments from the Kelly oeuvre. Paul is a generous collaborator, always listening closely to what I am doing, and giving me the freedom to bring my own interpretation to the songs. I think people will hear, and hopefully enjoy, the deep communication that we are bringing to the performances.”

“As Paul mentioned, all the songs except one were written by me over many years,” adds Kelly. “The most recent one, ‘True to You,’ opens the album with a little nod to the Gershwin brothers and it’s the only song that hasn’t appeared in another form on a previous record. We chose the other songs with a mind to their suitability for direct address, close, concentrated performance and room for silence to draw the listener in.” 

Please Leave Your Light On came about after Paul Grabowsky was asked to curate a series of concerts in which he worked in duo settings with various singers. Having known Paul Kelly since 1995, Grabowsky asked him to collaborate, and from the outset the music clicked. Deciding to record what they had performed at their concert, they did so over three days in late 2019.

Transcribed and adapted by Grabowsky for the piano/voice combination, the songs were chosen with a mind to their suitability for direct address, close, concentrated performance and room for silence to draw the listener in.

“Paul is driven by a similar impulse to my own, namely an ongoing fascination with music in its many forms. This deep curiosity has in recent years seen him explore different genres, introduce his love of poetry to his wide and receptive fan base, and record with me,” adds Grabowski. “The reason I love working with Paul is that he always surprises me. He’s endlessly fertile, turning my songs inside out and upside down (to quote Diana Ross) and finding things in them I didn’t know were there. And that makes me sing them differently. Singing with Paul is like walking a tightrope. It’s as if we are acrobats together. We have to pay serious attention to one another to pull the songs off. I like that.”

In February, Kelly released the single “Sleep, Australia, Sleep,” an indictment of Australian politicians and their supporters who turn a blind eye to climate change as Australia quite literally burned. It’s a timely message to all the world’s leaders that “ostrich management” (i.e. burying your head in the sand) doesn’t make problems go away, and in fact makes them worse.

Also, a double-sided single debuted worldwide in May, “Hummin’ With Myself”/“Every Day My Mother's Voice” (live w/Jess Hitchcock).

Songs from the South: Greatest Hits 1985-2019, released in November, featured a new song, a fun duet with Kasey Chambers, “When We’re Both Old & Mad.” The collection quickly topped the Pop Charts in Australia (his third album in a row to debut at #1). It’s basically a 43-song case for having Kelly’s music a part of the soundtrack to your life.

A collection of Kelly’s favorite poems, Love Is Stronger Than Death, is available via Penguin Books Australia. Kelly is also featured on Courtney Barnett’s latest album, MTV Unplugged,which includes the two performing singer-songwriter/activist Archie Roach’s “Charcoal Road.” (Paul co-produced Roach’s first album, back in 1990). It should also be noted Archie has a great autobiography out now.

Track listing:

1. True To You

2. Petrichor
3. When A Woman Loves A Man
4. Sonnet 138
5 Time and Tide
6. Young Lovers
7. Every Time We Say Goodbye
8. Please Leave Your Light On
9. You Can Put Your Shoes Under My Bed
10. Winter Coat
11. God’s Grandeur
12. If I Could Start Today Again

Bonus Q&A for Dramarama's new album 'Color TV'

photo by Amy Martin, courtesy of Pasadena Records

Here are more excerpts from my interviews with founding Dramarama members John Easdale and Mark Englert that didn't make it into my main feature (see elsewhere on this blog)...

Question: How have you been managing everything during this pandemic?
John Easdale: I’ve actually had to learn how to use my computer in ways [I hadn’t before]. I was pretty much forced to learn some stuff that I’ve avoided learning [like] video conferencing and doing stuff with the camera. I’ve just never been one to do those sorts of things.

Q: Are you anxious for concerts to eventually start up again after COVID-19 is more under control?
JE: Yeah. Over the last few years, we’ve gone wherever we could go. Wherever people invited us. We’ll see what happens. We had stuff scheduled over the summer and it’s all cancelled. We’ll go anywhere they invite us. We’ve done the '80s shows in a lot of cities where Dramarama was really unknown. It’s a way for us to introduce the band to new audiences. We’ll go anywhere. Have guitars, will travel.

Q: I enjoyed the band's recent quarantine performance and thought it turned out well. Maybe you can do more of those in the future to tide the fans over.

JE: We’re working on a few more of those. We’ll see what happens. It’s weird what’s going on. It’s a very strange time to put a record out. In a way, we’ve been very fortunate in that people are listening, writing about it and putting stuff up online and saying nice things.

Q: I was pleased to see the classic Dramarama logo back on the new album "Color TV." What prompted that decision?

JE: It’s just something that has become 'a thing.' It was on our first couple albums. It’s something that’s uniquely ours.

Q: After appearing on VH1’s "Bands Reunited" in January 2004 (which was recorded in August 2003) with the original lineup of you, Mark "Mr. E. Boy" Englert, Peter Wood, Chris Carter and Jesse Farbman, you went back to using the Dramarama name. Then Pete became a regular presence in the band again. Would you say that program was instrumental in giving the band a second life?

JE: Oh, big time! Absolutely. Dramarama, for all intents and purposes was over and done with before that. We went onto play KROQ's Inland Invasion 3 [alongside The Cure, Duran Duran, Echo & the Bunnymen and others at Hyundai Pavilion in Devore, California]. We thought that was going to be a one-off thing. We weren’t planning on making a comeback or whatever. We were doing that one show, one and done, and get back to our lives.

But that [concert], more than the TV experience I think, made us realize that there was still an audience out there for Dramarama, that wanted to see and hear us. That name and legacy lived on. Obviously it always meant something to us and we were delighted and thrilled to be asked to be part of that television show.

Quite frankly, in the big picture, we never had any top 40 hits, we were never on the Billboard [Hot 100 or mainstream] charts. Because of the nature of modern rock commercial radio in the '80s, there were only a handful of stations around the country that played that kind of music before Pearl Jam and Nirvana came along and alternative radio took off.

We were very limited and regional. In L.A., we could play concerts and fill nightclubs and theaters, but it wasn’t necessarily the case all over the country. In parts of the country, we were virtually unknown. After 'Bands Reunited,' there was a thread on the internet that said, ‘Who is this band? I’ve never heard of them. I think they’re a fake band. I know everything about the ‘80s and I’ve never heard of these guys.’

Q: You’re a regular presence at charity shows for the Light of Day Foundation (Parkinson's Disease) in New Jersey and the Wild Honey Foundation (Autism) in Los Angeles. What has it been like to play alongside superstars like Bruce Springsteen or more recently, the Lovin Spoonful?

JE: I’m a music fan first and foremost. I grew up loving the Lovin' Spoonful. You name it, there have been guys at those Wild Honey shows like Micky Dolenz I met and shared the stage with him. That’s rock royalty as far as I'm concerned.

Q: Do you ever pinch yourself about performing at those concerts?

JE: A little bit. You try to be cool and everything, but inside, I’m like, ‘It’s Micky!’ To have John Sebastian playing harmonica with me the last time was mind blowing. The child that listened to records in his bedroom still geeks out about that.

Q: You've done some tracks with the Reckless Drifters, which is in the Americana realm. I read recently in another interview that you did where you talked about listening to a lot of old country music. What kind of stuff?

JE: 1950s, '40s and some '60s. But by then, it started getting a little slick. I still like Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Buck Owens, but even some of the slick Nashville sound - Tammy Wynette and stuff, I like that. George Jones. I've been going back and enjoying finding out where this all came from.

Q: Did you see Ken Burns' excellent "Country Music" documentary last year on PBS

JE: I thought it was great. There’s no way you can give everybody that deserves it full attention and you have to touch base here and there. Johnny Cash was a theme that went through it all with the Carter Family, so there was a lot more Johnny Cash, than say Merle or Buck. He really did a good job at trying to touch on everything. There were a couple artists that I had no idea who they were.

Q: Mark, how does it feel it have a new band album out now after 15 years?

Mark Englert: Many times, I thought nothing was going to happen. Ultimately, when the record came out during the pandemic, I felt like it needed to be out at [this] time...I think it’s amazing just to have a record out, period. Especially one that you did at Village Recorders. Another miracle in itself there.

Q: While making the album, did you use any vintage equipment?

ME: Nah, I used my stuff. I wanted that crappy element to my guitar. I like the junkiness of my equipment. Actually, I knew it was such an amazing place to record that whenever the band said, ‘We’re ready to record,’ I was [right] down there.

Q: Did the studio versions of songs like "It’s Only Money" and "Swamp Song" change dramatically from the live versions you’d been playing so long?

ME: To me, 'It's Only Money' was a little more radically changed. That’s because Peter and I work as a team. He had some ideas he wanted to throw out there. I might have borrowed an idea or two from other guitar players over the years in terms of playing. Sometimes you’re not even aware you borrowed something...'It's Only Money' was more of a cut and paste deal. 'Swamp Song' was lot more live to me. The solo was the same as the demo but it wasn’t double and triple octaves.