New music: The Lucky Losers, Radio California

Check out my latest album reviews...

Artist: The Lucky Losers
Title: Arrival (MoMojo Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Mavis Staples, John Nemeth
Tell me more: The Lucky Losers' sixth studio album Arrival is a stellar effort that brings the retro sounds of blues, funk, country blues, 1960's soul, '70s rock and R&B into the here and now. With Cathy Lemons' terrific vocals at the fore, the ensemble of terrific players includes Phil Berkowitz (vocals, harmonica), Chris Burns (keyboards), Simon Govan Smith (guitar), Edgar San Gabriel (bass), drummer Jon Otis and several top-tier guests. Early standouts on the disc include the timely funkified opener "S-C-A-M," delightful harmonica-adorned blues rocker "Sunday Stroller" and powerful "I Believe Her (Because I Am Here)" — the latter a track about the sexual abuse of young girls penned by Lemons. Later highlights include "Sorry Brother" (featuring Berkowitz's masterful harmonica playing), the soulful "My Father's Song" featuring Berkowitz on lead vocals), grooving "Pig Iron Tough" and emotive horns-filled ballad "Don't Let It Slip Away." Information: theluckylosers.com.

Artist: Radio California
Title: Youth (Radio California)

You might like if you enjoy: The Pixies, Husker Dü, Bob Mould
Tell me more: Blending post punk and alt rock stylings with an undeniable amount of melodic songcraft, Radio California's latest album Truth boasts a slew of great tracks. The rousing opener "Antoinette Squad" with its surf rock guitar overtones, the hypnotic noise pop sortie "Keep Jumping," driving "Girls in L.A.," indie rocker "Porcelain Nights," shimmering "Empty Champagne Glass," explosive title cut and dreamy "Rich Girl" are among the outstanding originals on the title. In addition to lead-singer/guitarist Jesse Ojeda, the Southern California-based band includes drummer Jeff Williams, bassist/backing vocalist Daniel Marker and lead guitarist Steve Shoemaker. Information: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100045496762199. 

Robert Kinsler 

Bob Mould box set 'Distortion:1989-2019,' pushed to release Oct. 23; Upcoming album 'Blue Hearts' out this Friday Sept. 25

A quick update on the release date of the much-anticipated Bob Mould box set...

Bob Mould box set DISTORTION: 1989-2019 is rescheduled to come out Oct. 23, 2020

 

Upcoming album BLUE HEARTS arrives on Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 via Merge Records

Bob Mould / Photo credit: Blake Little Photography

The massive Bob Mould box set Distortion: 1989-2019, originally slated for early October has been pushed back to October 2, 2020. Mould’s upcoming studio album, Blue Hearts will come out this Friday, September 25. 

Sights and Sounds: Bob Mould, Arcade Fire, Dave Grohl, JOHNNYSWIM, 'Best albums of early 2014' and more

Bob Mould's new music video "I Don't Know You Anymore" is up at Funny or Die.

Check out Arcade Fire's recent performance on Jools Holland courtesy of Spin here.

Preview Dave Grohl's new HBO series "Sonic Highways", which coincides with a new Foo Fighters album. AltPress has all the news.

The video for “Home,” the lead single off Diamonds, the debut LP from husband and wife team JOHNNYSWIM,premiered on VH1’s “Top 20 Countdown” as well as CMT and CMT “Pure Country.” Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/APoRFLtD8z4. The music, which debuted at #1 on iTunes Singer-Songwriter Chart, #10 overall, and top 30 on the Billboard 200 Chart, continues to receive widespread critical acclaim. 

Courtney Barnett's "The Double EP - A Sea of Split Peas"

Spin names the best albums of the year so far. I like many of the titles, including the Courtney Barnett collection and Damon Albarn's Everyday Robots.

Merge Records to re-issue Sugar catalog this summer

Fans of Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould can get amped due to exciting news about forthcoming Sugar releases set to land soon. Here is the latest news pulled from my inbox...


Merge Records to re-issue Sugar catalog on July 24, 2012

Through both his solo work and as a frontman for the legendary Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould pioneered a signature wall of guitar sound and unmistakable vocal style that has imprinted a defining influence on more than one generation—impacting artists including Dave Grohl, Ryan Adams and Britt Daniel of Spoon, all of whom paid homage to Mould by performing songs from all stages of his career at a tribute show last year at L.A.’s Disney Hall. In the three decades encompassing his career thus far, however, Bob Mould saw his greatest success during his stint as lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for iconic early ‘90s trio Sugar.



Mould broke onto the rock scene in the early 1980s as front man of the hardcore band Hüsker Dü. Hüsker Dü packed decades of creative evolution into the barely five years between the release of its first and final records, blowing eardrums and minds in equal measure while progressing from the primal breakneck caterwaul of Everything Falls Apart to the double-vinyl conceptual opus Zen Arcade to bona fide initial pop rock inroads with Candy Apple Grey before disintegrating in 1987. Mould re-emerged in 1989 as a sober and formidable singer/songwriter with his landmark solo debut Workbook, and continued working as a solo artist through the following year’s Black Sheets Of Rain.


Mould returned to a three-man band format with the 1992 debut of Sugar. With Mould on guitar and vocals, David Barbe on bass and vocals, and Malcolm Travis on drums, Sugar harnessed the sonic chaos of Hüsker Dü into a more focused pop/rock framework with increased emphasis the songs’ exciting melodies and irresistible hooks as well as the increasingly accomplished musicianship behind them. Critics and audiences alike warmed to Sugar’s fresh and innovative balance of punishing volume and pop sparkle, with many regarding this phase as their favorite of Mould’s entire career.

Sugar’s 1992 debut album Copper Blue sold over 250,000 units upon its original release and received overwhelming praise. Rolling Stone christened it “thunderous”; Vogue dubbed it “smashing”. NME would ultimately name it their 1992 Album of the Year. Currently, Mould has been commemorating Copper Blue’s 20th anniversary by playing the record in its entirety with his current band of Jason Narducy (bass) and Jon Wurster (drums).



Recorded and mixed during the same intense sessions that produced Copper Blue, the Beaster EP was originally released in April 1993. Notably darker in tone than the widescreen power-pop of Copper Blue, Beaster nevertheless boasts some of Mould’s most powerful songwriting.


File Under: Easy Listening -- the third and final album by this short-lived but brilliant trio -- was originally released in September 1994, featuring songs such as “Your Favorite Thing” that endure as mainstays of Mould’s solo performances to this day.

You can pre-order the releases via Merge Records' site here.

Watch the video below for an exciting overview of the upcoming Sugar re-issues!