The Fat Angel Sings

“Alone Together” was the debut solo album from Dave Mason, released in June 1970. “Only You Know and I Know” reached #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The LP record itself was not the traditional black vinyl as about 30% of the albums produced were a swirled mix of pink, brown and beige.

Performing with Mason was a roster of guest musicians, including Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell, Jim Capaldi, Rita Coolidge, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon.

As with so many artists, Dave Mason’s first solo album is probably his best. Perhaps it’s because he had a backlog of songs that Traffic had never recorded, but 1970’s “Alone Together” is chock full of great songs. On the other hand, it’s easy to see why Mason left Traffic even before that group’s (temporary) breakup in 1969; the soft rock sound of “Alone Together” is hard to place in the context of the jazz-pop experiments Traffic would explore when they reunited in 1971.

The eight lengthy songs take time to unfold, and the peerless musicianship, with Mason’s lyrical guitar and Leon Russell’s inimitable boogie-soul piano in the centre, treads the line between chops and soul with nary a misstep. The classic single “Only You Know and I Know” is the clear highlight, but every song is a winner.

The Original ROLLING STONE Review:

Like Traffic’s new album John Barleycorn Must Die, former Traffic member Dave Mason’s Alone Together is a good album — careful, well played, occasionally brilliant and well-conceived — but like John Barleycorn, Alone Together never breaks its vinyl bonds and soars. The song writing talent of Mason remains undiminished on Alone Together, and his easy fluid voice, long in Traffic vocalist Stevie Winwood’s giant shadow, is used to maximum effect.

This is, of course, the marbled LP, a brilliant burst of color spinning on the turntable, the grooves barely discernible so the needle seems to be floating across the record. Maybe the next step could be a little cartoon around the edge of the record, like those flip-the-pages funnies, or a slow inward spiral so you could be literally hypnotized by the record.

The music is vintage Mason, veering here and there towards commercialism but never quite getting there, slick but not offensive. Falling in line with the rest of Great Britain, Mason chose old Delaney and Bonnie sidemen for the session, including Leon Russell, Jim Keltner, Carl Radle and Rita Coolidge, plus old Mother Don Preston. Russell, as always, is much in evidence, and his piano (if it is him — the album doesn’t say and we have only internal evidence), particularly on “Sad and Deep As You,” is masterful.

The high point of the album is clearly “Look at You Look at Me,” a song Mason wrote with Trafficker Jim Capaldi, whose tight, urgent drumming on the cut moves the song along with descretion and skill. Mason’s singing is simply superb. The other exceptional cuts are “Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave” (Mason is not, between you and me, a great song titlist), which features the best wah-wah guitar since Clapton’s initial exposition on “Tales of Brave Ulysses”; and “World in Changes,” with Mason’s deceptively simple lyrics pulled along by some brilliant organ work.

High commercial potential on the album is represented by “Only You Know and I Know,” which has a rick-ticky rhythm reminiscent of “You Can All Join In.” It’s really a trivial song (like others on the album, particularly “Waitin’ On You” and “Just A Song”), but it will sound great on a tinny AM radio at 60 miles an hour.

But the album is more potential than realization. It is, in a very real sense, flawless, but, as Paul McCartney is beginning to learn, great music is much better than flawless music. Jon Carroll (September 3rd, 1970)

TRACKS:

All songs written and composed by Dave Mason, except where indicated.

Side one

1. “Only You Know and I Know” – 4:05

2. “Can’t Stop Worrying, Can’t Stop Loving” – 3:02

3. “Waitin’ On You” – 3:05

4. “Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave” – 6:00

Side two

1. “World in Changes” – 4:30

2. “Sad and Deep as You” – 3:35

3. “Just a Song” – 2:59

4. “Look at You Look at Me” (Dave Mason, Jim Capaldi) – 7:22

NYC band Wilder Maker will release their second album, “Male Models”, on July 29 via Western Vinyl. Frontman and songwriter Gabriel Birnbaum and bandmates Nick Jost and Sean Mullins got some vocal help on this one from Adam Duritz (Counting Crows), Katie Von Schleicher, Felicia Douglass (Dirty Projectors, Ava Luna), Alex Schaaf (Yellow Ostrich), V.V. Lightbody, and Jordan Lee (Mutual Benefit), who all sing lead on tracks.

The album’s first single, “Letter of Apology,” needs no extra vocal help, though, as Gabriel works through an existential crisis with self-deprecating humour and Velvet Underground-style chugging melody. It does feature Von Schleicher on guitar.

releases July 29th, 2022

Tim Heidecker has shared the track “Sirens of Titan,” his collaboration with Kurt Vile that’s on his forthcoming album, “High School“. Against a synth-rock slow-burn that brings to mind Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer,” Tim and Kurt share lead vocals as the reflect on their teenage days, with a ragged, ripping guitar solo from Kurt.

Since 2016, Tim Heidecker has chronicled the annals of adulthood on a series of supreme singer-songwriter albums. The crushing devastation of divorce and the existential malaise of middle-age, the minutiae of home ownership and the ritual of family vacation, child rearing and global warming: Heidecker has handled it all with humour and heart. But, there’s one pivotal lodestar of human development he has yet to mine — that’s right, High School. “High School” is Tim’s new album with first single “Buddy.” Produced by Heidecker, Drew Erickson, Eric D. Johnson and Mac DeMarco, “High School” sees Heidecker emerging as an increasingly playful and poignant story teller, infusing childhood tales with new gravity.

From the album “High School“, out June 24th, 2022 on Spacebomb Records

San Fermin are back with this new single from Brooklyn’s San Fermin. “Tired of Loving You” is elegant, ethereal sophistipop. “‘Tired of Loving You’ started as a love song called ‘Won’t Get Tired of Loving You,'” says founder Ellis Ludwig-Leone. “But I showed it to [vocalist Allen Tate] and he made me write an opposite version where I dropped the ‘won’t,’ which, as soon as he suggested it, we both were like ‘oof, this is heart breaking.’ It ended up being about falling out of love with someone who is really special, and not knowing why.”

Listen to “Tired of Loving You” by San Fermin out June 2nd

Since first arriving on the scene in 2009 with blistering inversions of shoegaze, Montreal’s NO JOY has always found formidable ways to reinvent itself. Now solely composed of musician Jasamine White-Gluz, No Joy has evolved over the course of four studio albums and five EPs, defying expectation and genre, and cementing itself as something rare: a band without a category.

Aside from these re-imaginings, there’s another delightful surprise: a dusky cover of Deftones’ immortal classic “Teenager” rounds out the five song EP. It’s no wonder that a song by Deftones, another band willing to bulldoze through sonic boundaries, would find a home here. There’s a kinship between these artists that makes this cover even more necessary.

No Joy continues to conjure an effortless mix of sound, achieving new heights, while playing with the more traditional confines of the shoegaze genre.

“Teenager – From Heaven” (Deftones cover) by No Joy off ‘Can My Daughter See Me From Heaven’ out on Joyful Noise Recordings worldwide and Hand Drawn Dracula in Canada.

The juxtaposition of light and dark is a strong theme in the music of Tallies and certainly apparent once more with this new single, “Special” – another fine example of their gliding, shoegaze-adjacent jangle-pop reminiscent of The Sundays, Galaxie 500, Ride, etc. While many of their songs are upbeat, with Frankland’s breezy guitar lines drenched in reverb, soaring over Cian O’Neill’s propulsive drumbeats, Sarah’s lyrics can add a hint of shadow to even their most jangly tunes.

“Special’ is about longing to be seen and heard by those who matter to you most. Sometimes feeling invisible is particularly painful when the indifference comes from someone whose opinion means a lot to you.” – Saraha Cogan (Tallies)

Tallies share “Special“, the latest single from their forthcoming album “Patina“. Out July 29th, 2022 via Kanine, Bella Union and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. “Special” arrives following a string of recent singles which have found support at Clash, Under the Radar, Exclaim, CBC Radio, Stereogum, BBC 6 Music and more.

Toronto’s Fake Palms will release new album “Lemons” on September 16th via Hand Drawn Dracula. “Satellite” is powered by an infectious, spiky riff. great stereo mix and such a cool song.

“Lemons” is slippery, spiky, not a little psych-y and more than a little lyrically sour, not to mention frequently, subtly tricked-out from a minimalist, nerdo-instrumental perspective that doesn’t demand that you dork out over the arrangements but will always leave the option open if and when you decide to do so.

More than anything, though, Lemons is the record where Le Riche – who also plays in the steamy synth-pop outfit Sauna and formerly of art-rock troupe the Darcys – fully exposes his talents as a bona fide popsmith. This thing’s got sticky tunes to burn. The arch jangle of “Visions” evokes Lee Ranaldo linking up with the bubblegum-savvy early Wire, for instance, while “Satellite” surfs spectacularly along sometime Dilly Dally drummer Benjamin Reinhartz’s pummelling rhythm track to a tingly, soaring chorus that’s impossible to shake after first exposure and the similarly haunting “Civil Liberties” manages the trick of sounding wistful and dystopian at the same time.

You’ll be hooked soon enough, in any case. “Lemons” – conjured with help throughout from Reinhartz and producer/mixer/engineer Josh Korody throughout and also featuring Ducks Ltd.’s Evan Lewis on guitars and such guests as Twist’s Laura Hermiston, Burning Love’s Patrick Marshall – is destined to take over discerning turntables and playlists for months to come. Fake Palms have arrived.

“This record is the most direct thing I’ve ever done,” says Le Riche. “All the distorted guitars playing 16th-note riffs in different time signatures, washes of noise and buried vocals are basically gone. In their place we made a record that’s lean and a punch to the gut. There are still some moments where the guitars get a little tricky but, in general, we tried to be as immediate as possible. The songs are all fairly short and there are almost no extra production tricks. I was inspired by records like the Dead Boys’ Young, Loud and Snotty and the Buzzcocks’ Another Music in a Different Kitchen. Maybe because of what was going on in the world at the time, or maybe just as a reaction to the last Fake Palms record – which was flush with production flourishes – it just felt necessary to kick the door down instead of knocking.”

Fake Palms “Lemons” is out September 16th, 2022 worldwide via Hand Drawn Dracula Records.

This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters.

Gently Tender, the band that features ex-Palma Violets members Samuel Thomas Fryer, Pete Mayhew and Will Doyle and The Big Moon’s Celia Archer, will release new album “Take Hold Of Your Promise!” on August 26th. An otherwise folk-rock track, “Love All the Population” takes a gothy turn with Fryer’s melodramatic vocals.

Gently Tender will release their debut album “Take Hold Of Your Promise!” via So Young Records. The album was produced by Matthew E. White, who flew over from Richmond, Virginia to work with the band during lockdown in Wales’ Rockfield Studios.

Rising from the ashes of Palma Violets, Gently Tender first begun as a reminder for Sam Fryer – once, the vocalist in one of South London’s most-hyped bands – to treat himself more softly. Joined by his former Palmas bandmates Will Doyle and Pete Mayhew, along with The Big Moon’s Celia Archer and guitarist Adam Brown, the band’s long-awaited debut album “Take Hold Of Your Promise!” has been five years in the making, and marks a return to something slow and careful, rooted, and soulful. Produced by Matthew E. White, it glimmers with gospel choirs and warm bursts of horn, unearthing a spiritual kind of acceptance in the process. The world may be a burning trash-pit, and the work of striving to be a better person will never end. But in Gently Tender’s universe, at least, there’s a precious sliver of hope to be found; even in the dark shadows, you’re never watching the flames rage alone.

First single is ‘Love All The Population’ which shows off the band’s Spiritualized-inspired widescreen ambition, the track holds happiness and sadness with one hand. Featuring the arresting, irresistible tones of vocalist Sam Fryers, squalling brass and whirling percussion, ‘Love All The Population’ is an emotionally bruising, life-affirming unifier.

releases August 26th, 2022

The San Francisco indiepop band stays strong with this terrifically fuzzy new single, The Umbrellas follow up last years’ great debut album with what might be their most immediate jangle pop earworm yet. Drenched in layers of fuzz, “Write it in the Sky” is like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart covering The Pastels, or maybe the other way around.

Bursting out of the SF Bay Area’s fertile indie scene, The Umbrellas come correct with a sound that fits snugly into a long line of classic pop, from Orange Juice and The Pastels to Comet Gain, Veronica Falls and Belle & Sebastian. Following up their *super* well-received 2021 debut album The Umbrellas are back with “Write It In The Sky,” an instant-classic that simply demanded to be pressed onto a 7″ single. Clocking in at just under 3 minutes, “Write It In The Sky” is a thrilling pop rush full of fuzz, melody and excitement that will sit easily next to singles by the likes of Talulah Gosh, Shop Assistants and the Field Mice It’s really that good – a sure thing to enter the cannon of perennial indie pop floor-fillers.

This one sports a giant chorus, and the verses are no less catchy. This is the A-side to a new 7″ that’s out June 24th on Slumberland Records and the video is a classic bit of 8mm sunshine.

Brooklyn-based quartet Florist are releasing a new self-titled album on July 29th via Double Double Whammy. The band shared its delicate third single, “Sci-Fi Silence,” via a video. Vanessa Haddad directed the video.

“Sci-fi Silence” is a love song about the mystical forces that attract us to one another and the spaces in-between words that can hold profound communications,” says singer Emily Sprague in a press release. “It is also a reflection on our impermanence and the acceptance that it is worth it to invite love and connection into our lives even for just a moment.”

Florist is Sprague, Jonnie Baker, Rick Spataro, and Felix Walworth. “Florist” is the follow-up to 2019’s “Emily Alone“, which was essentially a solo album from Sprague.

“The trauma response to losing my best friend, my mom, was to feel really afraid to get close to anybody ever again,” she said in a previous press release. “It’s sort of cheesy, but I realized that life is better when you share it. The answer isn’t to isolate yourself and be alone.”

So Sprague reconvened with the rest of the band to record the new album in Hudson, NY in 2019.

Of the album title, Sprague explains: “We called it “Florist” because this is not just my songs with a backing band. It’s a practice. It’s a collaboration. It’s our one life. These are my best friends and the music is the way that it is because of that.”

Florist previously shared the album’s first single, “Red Bird Pt. 2 (Morning),” via a video for the song Then they shared its second single, “Spring in Hours,” via a fan-sourced video made up of footage from over 125 collaborators from around the world.

Florist’s upcoming full length album, “Florist”