The calendar turned the page the other day and once it turned to June, the oven that is the outdoors had reached a temperature that is as hot as what I imagine Prince’s Hot Chicken XXX Hot sauce to be. Fall is only 110 days away and it can not come soon enough. Fuck Hot Girl Summer and give me Fat Boy Fall all day long.
Sorry, I slipped off my soap box because I can’t stop sweating. Anyway, this week has some amazing releases including some great albums inspired by the pandemic and ones put on hold because of it. If you are all set up to join some friends and venture out on to a party bus this weekend, be sure to check out this week’s new albums.
Annie Keating Bristol County Tides
Being able to tap into your inner self and let go of all your inhibitions are two important ingredients in becoming an extraordinary songwriter. Brooklyn-based songwriter Annie Keating has an overabundance of those two pieces plus the other key recipe pieces and the result is a delicious, spirit-filling masterpiece. Keating is releasing her 8th studio album, Bristol County Tides, after retreating to her mother’s New England cottage where the album was born there, amidst the rising and falling tides in an idyllic farm to coast town, where deep connections were forged amidst times of isolation.
Keating has had the highest of praise awarded to her as her songwriting has been compared to the likes of John Prine, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, and Bob Dylan. Bristol County Tides proves to be her most personable and ambitious album to date. A pandemic album of transformation that feels both universal and deeply personal, Bristol County Tides, tells an evocative story about finding inspiration and human connection in uncertain times.
Current single “Kindred Spirit” may be her strongest song to date. The soulful and arresting sound of the song along with the frank lyrics makes it a highlight of an already solid album. The song tells of two people meeting that are basically from the same cloth that try to hide the truth from one another through their words while their eyes reveal what is real. @AnnieKeatingNYC
Red Fang Arrows
I have lost count of how many albums were set to be released just as the world went into lockdown. Some artists pushed their release back a few months while some released theirs as anticipated, but many more than those held on tight until the pandemic was believed to be over. Portland, OR based metal band Red Fang was one of those that waited things out and the wait is paying off for fans of the band.
Arrows, the band’s 5th album finds them reunited with producer Chris Funk, who worked with the Portland five-piece on their critically-lauded albums, Murder the Mountains and Whale and Leeches. “This record feels more like Murder the Mountains to me than any record we’ve done before or since,” singer Aaron Beam describes the album’s sound, “It doesn’t sound like that record, but Murder the Mountains was us doing whatever the fuck we wanted, and that’s what this is too.”
The album kicks of with the eerie opening track “Take It Back” that drummer John Sherman compares to many metal records opening songs during a time before the digital age when listeners listened to full albums. “There were often cool, spooky intros—like fuckin’ Dio albums and shit. There are some weird sounds at the beginning to get you in the mood before it blasts off.”
And blast off it does. After the woozy opening salvo of “Take It Back,” Arrows launches into a super-rock trifecta of what Red Fang does best—from Melvins-esque power dirge “Unreal Estate” into the anthemic title track into up-tempo banger “My Disaster.”
Yeah, it’s been five years since 2016’s Only Ghosts, but your favorite beer-crushing, zombie-killing, air-guitar-contest-judging metal heroes are back in action, doing what they do best—AND MORE. @RedFang
Make sure to check out these other great releases……
- Liz Phair– Soberish
- Japanese Breakfast– Jubilee (Japanese Breakfast is playing the Outloud Festival at Nissan Stadium on Friday)
- Overcoats– Used to be Scared of the Dark EP
- Rise Against– Nowhere Generation
- Talk Show Host– Mid Century Modern
Steven McCash is the Music Columnist for SoBros Network, and host of the ‘Drinking With…’ podcast. 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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