New albums featuring singer-songwriter great Ted Russell Kamp, genre-defying Breezers and Ten Years After bassist Leo Lyons are available now.
Title: California Son (KZZ Records/Blue Elan)
You might like if you enjoy: Shooter Jennings, Merle Haggard, Nils Lofgren, John Mellencamp, I See Hawks in L.A.
Tell me more: Grammy-winning musician Ted Russell Kamp is back with this latest masterwork (California Son), a wonderful full length tribute to Los Angeles and Southern California. Kamp recruited a parade of musical friends to help complete the ambitious project and those top-tier contributions enhance California Son across the disc. The breezy autobiographical title track, infectious "Hard to Hold" (a co-write with Eli Wulfmeier), the countrified "Shine On" (the latter a shining collaboration with I See Hawks in L.A.), rootsy "High Desert Fever," rollicking country rocker "Miracle Mile" and captivating closer "Every Little Thing" are among the standouts on this stellar 12-track set. Information: tedrussellkamp.com.
Title: Hideaway (Blackbird/Indie AM Gold)
You might like if you enjoy: Bright Eyes, Mazzy Star, M Ward, Beck's "Morning Phase" and "Sea Change"
Tell me more: Blending folk, Americana and Mazzy Star-tinged dreamscapes, Breezers — the moniker for Los Angeles singer-songwriter Evan apRoberts — has returned with the bewitching album Hideaway. This is an album that is as much about the luxurious moodscape as the individual songs and nuanced musicianship; the 12-track album is a truly sumptuous listen. According to the artist, the album's far-flung influences are pulled from his successful visual arts practice; apRoberts notes "I find much inspiration in the philosophies, writing and sensibilities of the Beats, The Dirty Realists, the Romantic poets from the early nineteenth century, and Ken Kesey." Highlights include the magical opener "The Last Rung," Baroque pop sortie "No Problem," Laurel Canyon-mining "Cemetery," the country-tinged "Caldera Nights," lovely "Dirt Road Dirtbag," and genre-blending foray "Mountain Lion." The album closes with "Caverns Reveal," a song apRoberts wrote back in 2007; the swirling original features apRoberts' talents on lead vocals, guitars, mandolin and banjitar. Co produced by apRoberts and Graeme Gibson, Hideaway is a sonic treasure worthy of discovery. Information: breezersmusic.com.
Title: Movin' On (Flatiron Recordings)
You might like if you enjoy: Ten Years After, Black Country Communion, Bad Company
Tell me more: The legendary founding bassist of British blues heroes Ten Years After, bassist Leo Lyons, has released his first-ever solo effort (Movin' On) via his new project Leo Lyons' Hundred Seventy Split. The path to the completion of the album was not easy; Lyons along with singer-guitar great Joe Gooch and drummer Damon Sawyer originally booked studio time for March 2020 but the arrival of the pandemic delayed the recording of the Lyons-produced album for more than two years. The album's apt title Movin' On was result of Lyon's outlook that the world moving beyond the dark isolation of COVID to a better period. Indeed, the 10-track disc exudes a positive musical spirit in line with the best of British blues rock. The grooving "Walking in the Devil's Shoes," swinging blues gem "It's So Easy to Slide" (the latter bolstered by Gooch's speedy fret work), classic rock-styled "Heart of a Hurricane" and "Black River," and fiery closer "Time To Kill" are among the marvelous cuts on Movin' On. Information: hundredseventysplit.com.
Robert Kinsler
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