Title: Fantasizing About Being Black (Trance Blues Festival)
You might like if you enjoy: Robert Johnson, The Doors, John Lee Hooker
Tell me more: Groundbreaking singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Otis Taylor has long been able to musically articulate the African American experience in artful ways that tap into early blues as well as African world music and Americana styles. On his forceful and compelling 2017 album Fantasizing About Being Black, the Colorado-based musician goes even further in his search to bridge past and present in an 11-track exploration of the African American experience stretching from the slave era to specific periods in the 20th century and through the present day. This rich and real world journey includes the hypnotic "Walk On Water" (a tale of interracial love) adorned with Ron Miles' otherworldly play on the cornet, the fierce rocker "Hands On Your Stomach" (about a spirit who instructs an enslaved woman that her mind cannot be controlled) that includes some impressive fretwork from teenage guitar sensation Brandon "Taz" Niederauer, and the powerful blues gem "Tripping On This" (which chronicles a man's visit to see the son he gave up 48 years earlier). Taylor's Fantasizing About Being Black is an essential and brilliant album. Information: otistaylor.com.
Title: Chills & Fever (Ruf Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Janiva Magness, James Hunter Six
Tell me more: The fourth album release from singer-songwriter-guitarist Samantha Fish finds the Kansas City, Missouri native stretching her sonic wings to inject an authentic blend of Motown soul and R&B into her established blues-meets-roots rock brew. Armed with a far-reaching soprano and dexterity on the fretboard to match, Fish has somehow found a musical place that recalls the classic sounds of Motown mixed with electric blues. Recorded at The 45 Factory in Detroit, Chills & Fever teams Fish with a supporting cast that includes a horn section that adds particular magic to the tracks. Standouts on the excellent 14-song disc include the dynamic "He Did It," the playful title cut and lead guitar-anchored "You Can't Go." Information: rufrecords.de.
Title: Make It Be (Lost Colony Music & Bar/None Records)
You might like if you enjoy: XTC, Beck, Jellyfish
Tell me more: It is hard to think of a recent collaboration as interesting, eclectic and ambitious as the Make It Be from indie hero R. Stevie Moore and singer-songwriter/guitarist Jason Falkner. The perfect mix of brilliant original songwriting, experimental spoken word pieces and several beautiful instrumental guitar interludes captivate across the fast-paced 18-track collection that is as accessible as it is groundbreaking. Those who love traditional power pop-styled songs featuring shimmering harmonies will find themselves immersed in the sonics of "Another Day Slips Away," "I Love Us, We Love Me" and "Sincero Amore," as well as the lush "Horror Show." Driving garage rock is given its glory on the art damage rocker "Stamps" while the psychedelic folk song "Play Myself Some Music" and experimental piano-meets-electronica foray "Passed Away Today" are late album highlights. There is also a just-for-fun take on Huey Smith & the Clowns' rollicking 1958 single "Don't You Just Know It." Across the disc, the wide-ranging talents of Moore and Falkner as vocalists and musicians dazzle bright. Information: bar-none.com.
Title: Bone on Bone (True North)
You might like if you enjoy: Neil Young, Nils Lofgren
Tell me more: Master singer-songwriter-guitarist Bruce Cockburn has returned with the epic "Bone on Bone," his first new full-length album since 2011's "Small Source Of Comfort." Always an artist difficult to pigeonhole, Cockburn's new album finds the 72-year-old Canadian great once exploring roots, folk, blues and more with a master's touch. The gorgeous folk song "Forty Years in the Wilderness" is one of the beautiful songs in his extensive discography. His songs are rich in alluring textures and melodies, and the probing and confessional lyrics challenge in ways that vastly outdistance the cliches and trite observations too common in the digital age. "Cafe Society" somehow brings in the timely topics of refugees, drug use, police violence and dozens of other topics without sounding calculated; the jazz-tinged spoken word heavy "3 Al Purdys," introspective "Looking and Waiting" and instrumental finger style guitar work "Bone on Bone" collectively serve to remind long-time and new fans of Cockburn's brilliant and wide-ranging talents. Information: BruceCockburn.com.
Title: Heartworms (Columbia)
You might like if you enjoy: The Shins, Broken Bells
Tell me more: The Shins are back with their fifth studio album (and first since 2012's outstanding Port of Morrow). Heartworms finds singer-songwriter James Mercer and company building on an established sound that is a hybrid of indie rock, dream pop and '80s-styled synth pop. Romantic dreams are celebrated via the electronica Erasure-flavored "Cherry Hearts," while the Shins somehow fuse authentic Americana into their sonic brew via the magical "Mildenhall." The magnificent "Rubber Ballaz" and propulsive "Half A Million" are bolstered by dance floor-worthy rhythms without sacrificing lyrical and melodic elegance. "So Now What" finds Mercer's high-reaching tenor perfectly positioned against a symphonic expanse where he sings of painful new beginnings as a long-term relationship ends. Information: theshins.com.
Title: Step Into Light (33 1/3)
You might like if you enjoy: Weezer, Fastball, the Jayhawks
Tell me more: Fastball is back. The Austin, Texas-based trio's new studio album Step Into Light is a wonderful collection of melodic and smart pop-rock tunes sure to please lovers of top-tier songcraft. Fastball's first album since 2009's Little White Lies, the new 12-song set Step Into Lightfeatures a wide range of infectious songs including the rocking lead-off track "We're On Our Way," the shimmering power pop gem "Just Another Dream," surf rock-styled instrumental "Tanzania" and the sweeping Americana-flavored title track. "Step Into Light" also finds Fastball's all-original lineup (Tony Scalzo, Miles Zuniga and Joey Shuffield) stretching their sound as evidenced by the album-ending art rocker "Lillian Gish" and genre-defying "Frenchy and the Punk." Information: fastballtheband.com.
Title: Incognito (Turn-Up Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Matthew Sweet, Todd Rundgren, the Jayhawks
Tell me more: Master singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Richard X. Heyman is back with his 12th album, this one featuring an outstanding batch of 14 must-hear original songs. Incognito is an album that grabs the listener on first listen, with literate tales that are melodic, adorned with shimmering harmonies and infectious guitar-anchored hooks that outdistance the majority of his power pop contemporaries. In a better world, the title track "Incognito," "A Fool's Errand" and "Her Garden Path" would be all over the radio. Heyman can conjure up firepower to spare, as evidenced by the driving "Chalk It Up" and soulful "Terry Two Timer." And Heyman's skills to create and craft wistful songs bolstered by melodic rock are as strong as any artist in memory (just listen to the yearning Americana-tinged "And Then" and "Gleam"). A masterwork from start to finish. Information: richardxheyman.com.
Title: The Mission (UMe)
You might like if you enjoy: Styx, Rush, Queen
Tell me more: Just half way through 2017, the year has already been marked by a number of long-awaited returns including Fastball, Little Steven, Chuck Berry and Ride. Count Styx as the latest rock artist to return with a powerful new album that equals some of the band's best work. Recorded over the last three years, The Mission is the first new Styx studio album since 2003; the new LP is a compelling concept album centered around the technological challenges and human costs of an ambitious interplanetary journey. Several of the songs equal standouts on the band's best albums (Crystal Ball, The Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight). The gorgeous "Locomotive" explores the complex relationship between father and son; the progressive rock-styled "The Greater Good" is an eloquently-detailed exchange between two astronauts as they hope their actions will advance their mission even if their lives are lost. The songs may be built around a trip into the cosmos, but the emotions and marvelous music making will connect firmly with listeners here on Terra Firma. Information: StyxWorld.com.
Robert Kinsler
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