Once again, it’s that time of the year. I can see many of you rushing to CVS for a Valentine’s Day card, praying A Village of Flowers has an arrangement of flowers that won’t break the bank or begging The Catbird Seat for a last second reservation. Forget all of that nonsense – just give that special someone or someones the gift of new music. Dust off that unused iTunes gift card from Aunt Karen or jot on down to Grimey’s and pick up some of this week’s new albums. You never know – you might just get lucky.
Carly Pearce Carly Pearce
Newlywed Carly Pearce returns to the country scene with her upbeat, bubbly self-titled sophomore album. Pearce co-wrote four of the album’s 13 tracks while inviting a who’s-who of Nashville’s best songwriters for the other nine. Grammy winners Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook of Little Big Town, Natalie Hemby, Shane McAnnaly and Josh Kear all contributed to the songwriting on the album.
The album has a more mature sound than her debut and her recent relationship status change surely plays a part in the album’s sound. Pearce married fellow country musician Michael Ray in October of last year and the couple even has a duet on her new release. The newlyweds team up for “Finish Your Sentences” while Lee Brice joins Carly on “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
“Closer To You” finds Pearce looking back to a time before her and Ray were together. The song finds the singer looking back at an old relationship in which she hurt her partner. The album is extremely pop-friendly and that can greatly be attributed to the album’s producer. The new album as well as her debut, Every Little Thing, were produced by busbee. Unfortunately, busbee will not be able to relish in the records success as he passed away back in September. Busbee had produced for some of the biggest names in music such as Christina Aguilera, Shakira, Backstreet Boys and Keith Urban.
Pearce is on the road now in support of the album and you can spend Valentine’s Day with her in St. Louis. On May 20 you can her opening for Old Dominion in Tuscaloosa, AL. @carlypearce
Huey Lewis and The News Weather
I can’t begin to describe the joy I had when I first discovered that Huey Lewis and The News had a new album coming out. It wasn’t until I began to do my research that I became sad after my discoveries.
It’s been nearly 20 years since the San Francisco based hitmakers released an album of original material and by all accounts it may very well be their last. Lewis suffers from Meniere’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear that can lead to vertigo and hearing loss, that he’s dealt with for decades. The disease left Lewis disabled in early 2018 to the point where he pondered suicide. Currently, Huey has the disorder under control and ready to support Weather and the many other projects the band has in the works,
The album features seven songs timing in at 26 minutes. Songs “Her Love Is Killing Me” and current single “While We’re Young” are long time in concert favorites the band has been playing for over 20 years. The upbeat sound is a fun trip back to the Eighties when you couldn’t get songs like “Hip To Be Square” or “If This Is It” out of your head. @HueyLewisNews
Beach Bunny Honeymoon
One of the biggest bands most have never heard of is Beach Bunny. The Chicago based band has been making a name for itself over the last few years while preparing for their debut full length album to be released. The band has graced the stages of festivals Riot Fest and Lollapalooza on the back of lead singers Lili Trifilio’s emotional songwriting.
Honeymoon has the band on the brink of stardom and will surely be on everyones “Best of” lists at the end of the year. Trifilio is the voice a generation of young women that don’t relate to Taylor Swift has been looking for. Her personal sonrgwrtitng has the listener thinking that she is directly talking to them and that’s because she is. She writes about how difficult and at times impossible it is to be a young woman. Honeymoon is their debut album but really feels like the continuation of EP’s Prom, Animalism and Pool Party.
Beach Bunny has become well known for their vibrant, fun live shows and will be at the High Watt on April 30. @BeachBunnyMusic
Tame Impala The Slow Rush
One of my favorite things about Prince is that the credits of most of his albums read “Produced, Arranged, Composed and Performed by Prince” and just imagine how intrigued I was when I saw that the credits on Tame Impala’s new album read “All music written, performed and mixed by Kevin Parker.”
Tame Impala is the brain-child of Kevin Parker which simply started out as a studio project that has grown over the last decade to headline some of the biggest festivals in the world. The Slow Rush marks the groups first album in five years and still features his signature Seventies sound.
The album features some house music and techno sounds while having a radio friendly vibe overall unlike previous outings. “One More Year,” the opening track on the album is the most personal song on The Slow Rush where Parker contemplates his ability to connect with the outside of music. It is very clear that super-producer Max Martin (Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande) is a massive influence on Parker. The wait of five years for a new album has proven to be well worth it and the album is sure to keep the dance floors full throughout the summer. @tameimpala
Check out these other great albums to help you get a little something something
- EDEN no future
- Hollywood Undead New Empire, Vol.1
- Justin Bieber Changes
- Kabba Kabba
- Le Butcherettes Don’t Bleed
- Mackenzie Nicole Mystic
- Monsta X All About Luv
- Nathaniel Rateliff And It’s Still Alright
- New Hope Club New Hope Club
- Suicide Silence Become the Hunter
- Tennis Swimmer
- Yung Gravy Baby Gravy 2
Steven McCash is the Music Columnist for SoBros Network. He is the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music, in addition to the occasional live show review. Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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