June 2021 is proving to be especially rich in terms of new music releases. Here are four highly-recommended titles worth a listen...
Title: No Gods No Masters (Infectious Music)
You might like if you enjoy: Garbage, The Pretenders
Tell me more: Garbage has returned with a deluxe two-disc album Go Gods No Masters, the band's seventh studio album and first full-length effort since 2016's Strange Little Birds. This is an album that finds singer Shirley Manson, co-producer/drummer/guitarist Butch Vig, guitarist Duke Erikson and guitarist Steve Marker tackling hot topics with a no-holds-barred assault. Indeed, the opening sortie "The Men Who Rule The World," electro-goth graced "Waiting For God," dance floor-ready "Godhead" and the title track are especially powerful songs that resonate in the here and now. From the release of the band's groundbreaking self-titled debut in August 1995, Garbage was celebrated as a unique artist able to artfully blend synth and alt rock sounds with grace and force (a style sometimes referred to by the band as "sci-fi pop"); the new track "Wolves" continues in the tradition as Manson sings "Which one of my two wolves will I give my attention to tonight? Which one will I decide to feed? Which one will I decide to fight?" – "The Creeps," "Uncomfortably Me" and New Order-mining "Flipping the Bird" are also immersed in that intoxicating fusion of disparate genres. The second disc of the special edition is loaded with bonus tracks that are terrific. My favorites include their 2017 standalone original "No Horses," a brilliant reworking of David Bowie's “Starman”, an inspired take on the Bruce Springsteen/Patti Smith nugget “Because the Night” (featuring Screaming Females) and “Destroying Angels,” the latter a 2018 single with Exene Cervenka and John Doe of the legendary Los Angeles punk band X. Information: garbage.com.
Title: Our Back Pages (Omnivore Recordings)
You might like if you enjoy: The dB's, The Finn Brothers, Alex Chilton, The Continental Drifters
Tell me more: Released as a special vinyl edition on Record Store Day on June 12, the wonderful full-length album Our Back Pages featuring Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey will be released on audio CD and on digital on June 18. Our Back Pages is a 13-track collection where Holsapple & Stamey revisit songs they helped craft while in the dB's as acoustic-styled versions that are simply spectacular. Along with their stellar lead and harmony vocals, the two artists used acoustic guitars, toy piano, a ukulele, a banjo, a harmonium and other instruments in the creation of the revisited songs recorded for the self-produced set. The two artists – who began playing music together while in grade school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in the 1960s – found fame when they formed the dB's in 1978. It's almost criminal to celebrate one track on the collection without failing to acknowledge another. The rootsy "Today Could Be The Day," lovely "From a Window to a Screen," shimmering "Black and White," melodic "Picture Sleeve," opulent "Nothing Is Wrong" and wistful "Darby Hall" are among the great songs on "Our Back Pages." Information: OmnivoreRecordings.com.
Title: Psychadilly Circus (Big Stir Records)
You might like if you enjoy: The Beatles, Badfinger, Crowded House
Tell me more: The Beatles have influenced countless artists over the past 60 years and continue to cast a huge stamp on popular music. Look (and listen) no further than Finland-based quartet The Bablers whose new album Psychadilly Circus is a bona fide celebration of the glorious sonic universe created by John, Paul, George and Ringo. The songs display their magic quickly, from the stirring "Love Is Everything," harmonies-rich "Psychadilly Circus" and expansive "Queen Of Yesterday" to the Lennon-esque "All Because Of You," celebratory "Walking On Sunny Beach" and acoustic "Child Of War." Singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Arto Tamminen, guitarist Hannu Pikkarainen, bassist-keyboardist Pekka Gröhn and drummer Janne Haavisto are recognized as "the Finnish Supergroup of Pop," with all four members each holding at least one Finnish Grammy for their work outside of the band. Information: BigStirRecords.com.
Title: Big Stir Singles: The Tenth Wave (Big Stir Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Pop rock, melodic rock, indie rock
Tell me more: Nothing like going out with a melodic bang. Burbank, CA-based Big Stir Records has just issued Big Stir Singles: The Tenth Wave, the final installment in the label's current series of audio CDs collecting their tuneful weekly singles campaign. Loaded with 22 (!) tracks, a diverse field of 11 artists are heard via their A- and B-sides issued in October and November 2020. The set kicks off with the mylittlebrother nugget "Howl" and the hard charging Nick Frater original "California Waits." The momentum and range of material remains strong to be sure; my favorite A sides on the long set also include the splendid take on John Cale's 1973 classic "October Surprise" from October Surprise, D.F.E.'s "I Sy We Take Off And Nuke The Site From Orbit" (which recalls the brilliant style and sound of Bright Blue Gorilla), a lovely version of the 1970 soul classic "O-o-h Child" courtesy of the Popdudes and sing-along "No Weapon But Love" from Icecream Hands. Great B sides featured on The Tenth Wave include Frater's melancholy foray "The Afterparty," Whelligan's sharp "Anyone Who Never Had A Heart," D.F.E.'s joyful "Yellow River," The Speed Of Sound's rousing "No Kicks" and shining Anton Barbeau & Allyson Records track "Octagon." The disc closes out with Icecream Hands' beautiful original "Can You Feel My Love." The Tenth Wave is a great introduction to the Big Stir label and its talented field of talent. Information: BigStirRecords.com.
Robert Kinsler
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