by Dave Bertram, Philip Moss, Joseph Purcell and Phil Scarisbrick
Bonnie Prince Billy – Blueberry Jam
Not since 2013’s self titled, Bonnie Prince Billy, album has Will Oldham released a record of entirely new, self penned material, so the release of Blueberry Jam certainly is big news for fans of the Drag City artist.
Produced by David Ferguson (Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, Dan Auerbach), the song also sees Oldham working once again with guitarist Matt Sweeney, with whom he wrote and released 2005’s excellent Superwolf record.
At present, there is no word as to whether this is a precursor for an upcoming record, or simply a one off single, but with Will in such seemingly playful mood, we’ve certainly got our fingers crossed for more.
Cat Power – Wanderer
Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, will release her new album, Wanderer, on October 5th 2018, via her new label, Domino Records.
The album (her first in six years) was written and recorded in Miami and Los Angeles over the course of the last few years, and produced in its entirety by Marshall. It also includes appearances from longtime friends and compatriots, as well as guest vocals from recent tour-mate, Lana Del Rey.
Wanderer’s eleven tracks encompass “my journey so far,” says Marshall. “The course my life has taken in this journey – going from town to town, with my guitar, telling my tale; with reverence to the people who did this generations before me. Folk singers, blues singers, and everything in between. They were all wanderers, and I am lucky to be among them.”
And if Wanderer catches your ear, check out our essential album review of her record, Moon Pix.
LT Wade – We’ll Never Be Those Kids Again
Following the brilliant single, Lost Angeles, LT Wade returns with his latest release- We’ll Never Be Those Kids Again. A tune that’s an absolute must for fans of Tobias Jesso Jnr!
After beginning his career as lead guitarist for Courtney Love in LA in 2007, London born Wade – following tours with Johnny Marr, Gaz Coombes and Allah Las – is now based in New York where he has completed work on his upcoming debut solo album, Transient.
Transient will be released on 27th July through Dopeness Records NYC.
Hilang Child – Crow
London singer-songwriter, Ed Riman, has his Hilang Child debut album, Years, prepped for release through Bella Union, following his appearance on label founder Simon Raymonde’s recent project, Lost Horizons.
Preceding the record, new single Crow is driven by the boundless, meditative crashes synonymous with the likes of Foals and The Killers, and interspersed with piano-led verses led by melodic vocal lines which sit far closer to the folk of a Robin Pecknold than a Brandon Flowers.
Debut album, Years, is out on Bella Union on 17th August.
Patrick Watson – Melody Noir
Canadian singer/songwriter Patrick Watson has returned this week with new single, Melody Noir. Following on from 2017’s Broken, Watson said of the new release, “This song was inspired by an incredible singer from Venezuela, Simon Diaz. I was so inspired by his music I had to write a tune. It’s a love song dedicated to the hole inside of you.”
As well as the single, Watson has also announced a string of new tour dates in the UK, Europe and Canada for the autumn and early 2019 with his regular band of almost a decade- with a London date at Hackney Arts Centre on 10th December 2018.
Lonnie Holly – I Woke Up In A Fucked Up America
After recently signing to cult indie label, Jagjaguwar, American musician, Lonnie Holley, announces his new album, MITH, and lead single, I Woke Up In A Fucked Up America.
After moving into the musical domain in 2012 with the release of Just Before Music, followed by 2013’s Keeping a Record of It, Holley has honed his signature wall of sound with his Gill Scott Heron-esque stream of consciousness lyrical style, to become one of alternative music’s most inspirational and relevant artists.
In late 2016, Holley was sampled on the acclaimed third album from Bon Iver, 22 A, Million and has been sighted as an inspiration by a growing list of contemporary artists from Bill Callahan to Deerhunter, War on Drugs to David Byrne, and was even selected to perform at the former Talking Heads frontman’s curated Meltdown Festival.
With all this considered, MITH, promises to be one of the most anticipated and essential albums of the year, as we await Holley’s poetic observations on the disintegrating social fabric of contemporary America.
MITH will be released through Jagjaguwar on September 21st.
Gia Margaret – Smoke
Following on from the release of the excellent single, Birthday, Chicago based musician, Gia Margaret, is back with the second single, Smoke, from her upcoming debut album, There’s Always Glimmer.
Describing her work as “sleep rock”, Margaret fuses folk, shoe gaze, ambient electronica and trip hop in a uniquely wonderful manner that explores relationships between friends, family members and significant others, both in the present and past tense.
The first two singles are a perfect demonstration of her talent for well-crafted, gorgeously melodic lullabies – that encapsulate perfectly both the darker and lighter emotional turbulences of life.
There’s Always Glimmer is out on 27th July.
The Prodigy – Need Some 1
Seminal UK dance band, The Prodigy, have announced a new album this week called No Tourists. The album is their first since 2015’s The Day Is My Enemy and was first mooted as early as December 2016. The first single from the record – Need Some1, was also released alongside the announcement.
First played live at the back end of 2017 under the name New Beats, the track is sure to whet the appetites of the band’s army of fans as they anticipate their seventh studio album
Lemon Twigs – Small Victories
The much-anticipated follow-up to 2016 debut, Do Hollywood, is almost upon us, and leading the charge for sophomore, Go To School, is the busy, jangly, Small Victories.
Brothers, Michael and Brian D’Addario (no relation to instrument behemoth), continue to draw palpable parallels with Lennon, McCartney, Nilsson, Rundgren and of course, Brian Wilson. The pair aren’t shy of disclosing their love of quirky Beach Boys b-sides, and Small Victories is another effuses the sunshine-psych of the early 70s.
Waxahatchee – Chapel of Pines
Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee, is back with a follow-up to 2017’s Out in the Storm – a six-track EP entitled Great Thunder, which is out in early September.
Lead track, Chapel of Pines, finds Crutchfield in a sombre, yearning mood, backed by just an acoustic guitar and bleak piano chimes as she mourns repetitively, “Will you go, will you go” to a distant lover lost in the trees.
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