Album Release Cycle for 1-31-25

Includes Apple Music Playlist, Spotify Playlist, Album List and My Thoughts On A Handful of Albums

Happy Sunday. Let’s get into this week's new releases. Some of the inclusions on the playlists (yes, I signed up for Apple Music and will include that playlist also now along with Spotify) that I don’t write about in length are the new album from The Weeknd. It’s the third in his trilogy, super long, very average at best, and I love what he has done both early in his career and in the last two albums. This one falls flat to me. The opening cut with the Michael Jackson “Thriller” work-around is fun, though. Light EDM duo Maribou State is back after seven years with a new album, and The Hellacopters (that is how they spell it) is back with a super fun full-on rock & roll throwback.

Dark indie Spanish band Eterna is on here, and I need to spend some more time with that as it’s a pretty dense listen. Johnny Lloyd, who does a lot of soundtrack work and a lot of solo albums, has another one out with some very good songs on it. I don’t know why Josh Rouse comes to mind when listening to this, but it does. There is a new spoken word/jazz album from Ambrose Akinmusire that we have been playing non-stop in the store, but I am not sure how to write it up. It’s really fantastic, though. The 70s funk band that every hip-hop group sampled, Cymande, is back with a new album.

Check out the jangly Laughing Chimes from Ohio; it is raw and local-sounding, but there is something there. This could creep up and really become a favorite. New album from Lilly Hiatt that I am enjoying, and off-the-beaten-path hip-hop artist MIKE is also back with a new record. Below you will find four albums I wrote about a little more, the full album list and both playlists. Have a great week!

HERE IS THE APPLE MUSIC PLAYLIST

Bonnie Prince Billy—The Purple Bird—I guess Will Oldham went into these sessions in Nashville with a producer for only the second time ever and said he didn’t want to make a country record. Well, that producer is Dave Ferguson, who has worked with Johnny Cash, Eddy Arnold, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, and John Prine. So, Will Oldham made a country record. It’s more in the John Prine vein, but pretty hard to deny this is country in nature. I like Will Oldham and have followed sporadically over the years on his projects, but I am no expert on him. This one has a different sound to it, even in his delivery, I think. It works for me, and I have to assume it will work for his fans also. If Will ever came off odd, morose, or off-kilter to you, I would say still jump on board here, as the songs here are fun, playful, accessible, and sometimes just damn pretty. A very enjoyable album and one that has held up to repeated listens and grown.

Brook Combe-Dancing At The Edge Of The World-Second album from the UK soul singer. There are some really solid tracks on here, such as “This Town,” “The Last Time,” “Lanewood Pines,” and “If I Could Only Be Yours,” that remind me a bit of early Fitz and The Tantrums, a little Sharon Jones, and Yola. They are upbeat old-school dance songs, and while not super original, they are fun. She also pulls out a kick your lover out the door ballad that could have been sung by Dionne Warwick with “L.M.T.F.A.” (though I don’t know that Dionne would cuss this much in a song). The rest of the album is nice, but not super inspiring.

Eddie Chacon-Lay Low-In the early 90s, Charles and Eddie had a couple of soul albums kind of in the Simply Red vein that I loved. They didn’t really go anywhere, but the song “Would I Lie To You?” got some traction, and if you put it on (and you should), you might recognize it. Well, this is Eddie now—he is now in his sixties and has been putting out solo albums for the last five years. I remember being surprised by this when I stumbled across Sundown from 2023. This time Nick Hakim is producing, and they have put together quite the soul album. Eddie sounds young, like Bruno Mars young, and the eight songs don’t get super weird, but this is some deep soul music with some effort put in to not just make it sound like your average album with a guy who can sing to sell a few copies and move on. I think you will agree they looked to Marvin Gaye for some inspiration here. Check this out.

Cut the Kids in Half-What We Became-I don’t think these kids are over 20, but the singer sounds like Tim Booth from James to me, and an aged Tim Booth at that. Their press will tell you he sounds like Mark Lanegan and Julian Casablancas, but it’s Tim Booth of James. They are from New Jersey and sound like they are from Manchester, and the band name is a nod to a Radiohead lyric, I am guessing. It’s a good guitar rock album, and sure, there are some Strokes-like swagger songs on here, but also tracks like the 11-minute epic “Riverbend.”. This band not only has a lot of potential for the future, but they are realizing it just fine on this debut album also. Worth a listen.

Here is the list

Ambrose Akinmusire-honey from a winter stone

All The Remains-Anti Fragile

Black Flower-Kinetic

Bonnie “Prince” Billy – The Purple Bird

Brooke Combe – Dancing at the Edge of the World

Canty – Dim Binge

Circa Waves – Death & Love Pt. 1

Cut the Kids in Half – What We Became

Cymande – Renascence

Damon Locks – List of Demands

Ebo Taylor, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Ebo Taylor JID022

Eddie Chacon – Lay Low

EST Gee – I Ain’t Feeling You

Eterna – Debunker

FearDorian – Leaving Home

Frànçois & the Atlas Mountains – Âge Fleuve

Gary Kemp-This Destination

Geologist & D.S. – A Shaw Deal

Grayscale-The Hart

Great American Ghost-Tragedy of the Commons

The Hellacopters – Overdriver

Jaye Jayle – After Alter

Joel McPhee – I’m Just Say’n

Johnny Lloyd – Punchline

Journey Montana – Lucky Girl Syndrome

Kim Wilde-Closrer

Lawrence English-Even The Horizon Knows Its Bounds

Ludovico Einaudi-The Summer Portraits

Last Train – III

The Laughing Chimes – Whispers in the Speech Machine

Lilly Hiatt – Forever

L.S. Dunes – Violet

Maribou State – Hallucinating Love

MIKE – Showbiz!

moe. – Circle of Giants

N NAO – Nouveau Langage

Penny & Sparrow – Lefty

Pentagram – Lightning in a Bottle

Pink Chameleons – Harmony

Pink Siffu-Black’!Antique

Prison – Downstate

Qing Madi – I Am the Blueprint

Robert Ascroft – Echo Still Remains

Rory-Restoration

Rumer – In Session

Sun Kill Moon-All The Artists

Terence Etc. – V O R T E X +

Tyga – NSFW

The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow