Steve Earle examines the physical strength and life-risking bravery of Appalachian miners in “Devil Put the Coal in the Ground,” the first preview of the singer’s new album, “Ghosts of West Virginia”. The follow-up to the Texas-born singer-songwriter’s 2019 Guy Clark tribute album, Guy, Earle and his band the Dukes’ Ghosts of West Virginia has roots in the New York theater community.
Earle was approached by playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, with whom he’d worked on The Exonerated, to collaborate on a play about the 2010 Upper Big Branch disaster in West Virginia, which killed 29 men. The finished work, Coal Country, features Earle as a kind of Greek chorus and opens March 3rd, with shows running through March 29th, at the Public Theater in New York. During a production of Coal Country, Earle sings seven of the songs that have been recorded for Ghosts of West Virginia, which also centers on the Upper Big Branch disaster. For composing around this theme, the famously liberal Earle challenged himself to write songs that would embrace and sympathize with people who may not align with him politically.
Steve Earle’s latest release — “Union, God and Country” — from his forthcoming album, Ghosts of West Virginia,
“One of the dangers that we’re in is if people like me keep thinking that everyone who voted for Trump is a racist or an asshole, then we’re fucked, because it’s simply not true,” he says in a release. “So this is one move toward something that might take a generation to change. I wanted to do something where that dialogue could begin.”
Over the course of the album, Earle examines hardship and loss, but also sets his sights on the mining company whose safety violations doomed the miners and the union-busting politicians who eroded their bargaining power. But in “Devil Put the Coal in the Ground,” Earle employs a heave-ho work-song rhythm to conjure the pride of working men as they descend into the mines. With a bluesy, hypnotic musical backdrop of banjo, droning fiddle, and pounding percussion, Earle drawls his lyrics in a way that almost sounds like a taunt: “The good lord gimme two hands/Says is you an animal or is you a man.” It transforms into a psychedelic guitar odyssey, thrilling and anxiety-ridden all at once.
Steve Earle’s latest release his forthcoming album, Ghosts of West Virginia, available May 22nd, 2020
Lilly Hiatt’s excellent new album? Well, she is just so consistent in her approach. While the songs aren’t repetitive by any stretch, they are all built on a tasty guitar lick before Lilly’s voice hooks me like a marlin as she paints these vignettes of good times and bad. Overall, this album is a little less personal than Trinity Lane and has a sound that leans a little more to the rock side than the Americana side.
“Don’t you hate when people say, ‘It is what it is,’” Lilly Hiatt sings in “P-Town.” But there’s nothing left to fate on the songwriter’s Walking Proof, a deliberate record of tight jangle-rock songs and ethereal ballads. Like “P-Town,” “Brightest Star” mines R.E.M. Monster-era guitars, while the hypnotic “Drawl” is a meditation on self-repair. In “Little Believer,” she tells a tale of neglect with an author’s attention to detail (“A man caught a shark and he set it free/I started clapping, and he laughed at me”). Hiatt found her voice on 2017’s Trinity Lane; here, she fine-tunes her instrument into the sound of a new Nashville.
The album has a few timely tracks for our self-isolation. P-Town tackles a shitty day with humor and exasperation. Candy Lunch wants you to be able to deal with the shit we can’t control; make the best of the situation. Drawl wants us to find the beauty in the simple things; something I have been trying to do these last couple of weeks. Hiatt continues to cement her place at the table of the best songwriters around these days. She is as consistent as they come.
Lilly Hiatt’s songs are disarmingly personal and immensely endearing, even when she’s singing about fucking up—which is pretty often. There’s an almost parasocial element to Hiatt’s song writing: Her voice is like that of an old friend who’s perpetually in various stages of getting her shit together. Hiatt’s fourth album, Walking Proof, forms something of a thematic trilogy with her last two albums: 2015’s Royal Blue, a portrait of a relationship in its death throes, and 2017’s harder, darker Trinity Lane, which depicted its immediate aftermath. Hiatt spent both albums seeking solace and guidance for her troubles everywhere she could, from family to her favourite records. On Walking Proof, she’s emerged wiser and more confident, ready even to dispense advice of her own. She also finds herself in full command of her broad stylistic palette, melding influences as disparate as backwoods country and garage punk into a cohesive signature sound. There are a couple of lingering references to Hiatt’s past relationship problems. But when, in the hauntingly stark closer “Scream,” she claims, “I swear to God I’m done with him,” it’s convincing this time.
Released March 27th, 2020 Musicians:
Lilly Hiatt: vocals, guitar
John Condit: guitar
Robert Hudson: bass, mandolin
Kate Haldrup: drums
Lincoln Parish: guitar, keys
Travis Goodwin: keys
Guests:
Aaron Lee Tasjan: guitar on “Little Believer,” vocals on “Never Play Guitar”
John Hiatt: vocals on “Some Kind of Drug”
Amanda Shires: vocals and fiddle on “Walking Proof,” vocals on “Drawl”
Luke Schneider: pedal steel on “Move”
Caroline Rose’s “Loner” is a masterstroke of an album, and the three singles that proceeded it give you insights to the vast array of soundscapes and moods that encompass this career defining album. I found these songs on constant repeat all last year long. If you’re not familiar, now’s your chance to change that! Don’t let it pass you by without warming up to this stellar collection of songs.
With her all-red wardrobe and wild dance moves, you may feel an urge to assign Caroline Rose the description “quirky.” Resist it. The Austin, Texas-based indie pop artist isn’t an oddity—she’s a hungry artist on a quest for constant evolution. Beginning in the Americana scene back in 2014 with her debut album I Will Not Be Afraid, Rose later abandoned her country pursuits for a chance at making something much more unique: satirical, endlessly catchy synth-pop. That was the crux of her 2018 record Loner. Now, she’s back with something new: an underdog’s odyssey set to music. Lead single “Feel The Way I Want” is a lose-yourself dance track, but “Freak Like Me” is a classy piano ballad. There’s no telling what the entirety of Superstar will sound like. What can’t this girl do?
Band Members:
Caroline Rose, Abbie Morin, Josh Speers, Willoughby Morse<
“It’s amazing. Twenty years. We packed a lot in, musically speaking.” John Hiatt reflects on his career over the last two decades as he prepares to celebrate the release of Only the Song Survives, a massive vinyl box set that honors his career from 2000’s Crossing Muddy Waters through 2018’s The Eclipse Sessions — 11 albums in total. “That means I started out with the records in this box set when I was about 47 years old,” Hiatt says with a chuckle in his voice, somewhat shocked at what he just said.
“I was still in my 40s, for goodness sake,” he adds. “I was a child, just a kid trying to make a buck.”
Only the Song Survives highlights Hiatt’s tenacious work ethic. “I was busy,” he admits. “I was busy, and I really got going in 2000.” Each of the box set’s records (listed below) is pressed on high-quality, 180-gram wax, and they’re all housed in a gorgeous leatherette briefcase, complete with gold stamping, buckle and handle.
“I was completely kept in the dark. My manager, Ken Levitan, and the folks at New West Records put it together,” Hiatt says of the curation and creation of Only the Song Survives. “It’s really flattering. I’m excited to see it. Hell, I might buy one!”
New West is not only involved with the release of the box set, but they, too, are being celebrated, as all but two of the set’s LPs were originally released on the label; in fact, the relationship Hiatt has with New West Records is the longest he’s had with any record label. On top of that, four of the albums in the set have never been pressed on vinyl, making this release much more than a greatest hits collection: Only the Song Survives is the definitive collection of Hiatt’s career over the last 20 years, 11 LPs spread out over 15 vinyl discs.
“Isn’t that great?” Hiatt says when he thinks about listening to Crossing Muddy Waters, The Tiki Bar Is Open, Beneath This Gruff ExteriorandMaster of Disaster on vinyl, all for the first time. “I’ve got a turntable and a pair of powered speakers. It’s nothing fancy, but it feels great to plunk that needle down and hear that crackle and pop when the song kicks in. It’s going to be great to hear some of these records on that turntable.”
As Hiatt considers his love for the musical medium, he’s excited that others will be joining him in experiencing albums as they are intended to be heard: in whole, with no skipping around from one track to the next.
“We’re such a song-oriented world now,” he reflects. “It’s all about one tune, you know? But people are listening to vinyl and getting back into that experience. It’s kind of like a lost thing, but people are dialing back into it.”
When he thinks about those early ’00s records, Hiatt impresses with his signature optimism and cheer. “I remember how much fun we had making Crossing Muddy Waters,” he says with the utmost pride and gratitude. “Like most of my records, it was serendipitous. It was all about getting Davey Faragher and David Immerglück together, and then deciding that it’d be fun to make an acoustic record. It just kind of came together like that, and next thing you know we’re over at Justin Niebank’s little home studio in his basement, out in the country, and we’re recording it. I think it took us four or five days.”
He turns to 2001’s The Tiki Bar Is Open, noting that he actually started working on the LP prior to Crossing Muddy Waters. “I had started recording it for Capitol Records,” Hiatt recalls, “and we played them some stuff, and they were less than enthusiastic. So we basically got them to give us that record, and we put it out after Crossing Muddy Waters.”
“Working with Jay Joyce on that was a thrill,” he adds. “And you know, that band was the Goners. We had played together, at that point, for about 15 years. That was a fun record to make.”
Hiatt’s New West Records debut, 2003’s Beneath This Gruff Exterior, carries with it similar memories: “That album was all about saying, ‘Hey, fellas, let’s make a real band record,'” he says. “And that kind of just came about. I worked with the great Don Smith, a great engineer and producer, and that was a thrill, too. I got to work at Blackbird Studio for the first time, and that’s just a great studio.”
Hiatt then released Master of Disaster in 2005. For him, the album brings up recollections of heading to Memphis to work with his old friend Jim Dickinson and Jim’s boys Luther and Cody, of the North Mississippi Allstars.
“Oh, and Patterson Hood’s [dad], David, was on bass,” Hiatt remembers with a laugh.
Among so many other musicians and friends, Drive-By Truckers member Hood plays a significant role in Only the Song Survives, sharing his own memories of Hiatt and his influence in a beautiful 48-page book that is also housed in the record suitcase. Alongside Hood — who calls Master of Disaster an “often overlooked gem in Hiatt’s vast catalog” — other contributions to the book come from James McMurtry, Steve Earle, Bob Seger, RodneyCrowell, Suzy Bogguss and even Hiatt’s daughter and fellow New West labelmate, Lilly Hiatt. When he hears the ongoing list of friends and family who pay tribute to him, Hiatt appears speechless for a moment.
“It’s surprising,” he confesses. “I’m honored. When you line all of these people up like this, and you see it in this book … it’s overwhelming.”
As Hiatt examines his past body of work — reflection is not something he’s particularly fond of, although he admits that “there’s a lot more behind me than there is ahead of me” — he is quick to assure fans that Only the Song Survives is far from a farewell box set. “I’ve been doing a little bit of writing and been talking to some people, kicking around some ideas for a project,” he shares.
“We’ll see. I think I’ve got some more in me,” Hiatt continues. “It’s sort of been my habit since, well, since 1974. I like writing songs, I like singing them, and I like recording them and putting them out.”
As Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times shares in the set’s book, Only the Song Survives is a celebration and commemoration of the “third act” of Hiatt’s storied career. Hiatt considers the idea that the dawn of the 21st century marks the start of his third act, pausing for a brief moment as he does so.
“I might have a fourth act in me,” he says. “It might be brief … but who knows.”
Only the Song Survives is available via New West Records. The limited-edition box set will be released on December. 6th. The vast box set includes eleven albums, spread across fifteen long play records, all pressed on high quality 180g vinyl. Four releases – Crossing Muddy Waters (2000), The Tiki Bar Is Open (2001), Beneath This Gruff Exterior (2003) and Master Of Disaster (2005) – have been remastered for vinyl and pressed on wax for the very first time. The box set’s 48-page book is autographed by John Hiatt and features rare photos, testimonials, essays and insights from many of Hiatt’s co-conspirators throughout his career.
John Hiatt, Only the Song Survives Box Set Album Listing:
Crossing Muddy Waters (2000) *
The Tiki Bar Is Open (2001) *
Beneath This Gruff Exterior (2003) *
Master of Disaster (2005) *
Live from Austin, TX (2005)
Same Old Man (2008)
The Open Road (2010)
Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns (2011)
Mystic Pinball (2012)
Terms of My Surrender (2014)
The Eclipse Sessions (2018)
Despite coming up in a Georgia scene that also spawned R.E.M. and the Black Crowes, and spending time on the road touring with Neil Young and Soul Asylum following the release of their successful 1991 album Fly Me Courageous, Drivin N Cryin are generally overlooked in the discussions of Southern rock. As this new vinyl reissue makes clear, they certainly deserve to be part of the conversation. The LP is a sparklingly remastered and renamed version of the group’s 1997 self-titled album, originally released on the little-known Ichiban International label. And what it reveals is a band that is comfortable working in the vein of cowpunk (“Paid In Full,” a stomping cover of John Denver’s “Leaving On A Jet Plane”), jangling power-pop and dreamy psychedelia as they are in muscular barroom rock. Beneath it all, front man Kevn Kinney’s bruised lyrical sensibilities prove to be the true heart of the group, capturing the desperation, thrills and weathered spirit of a born romantic.
Drivin N Cryin proved much more resilient than many of their peers as well, as the band is still going strong today and still releasing quality music. It’s well past time catch up with these rock lifers.
“Power,” the title track from Shreveport based rock group Seratones‘ upcoming record, is probably this week’s most aptly-named cut. After two-and-a-half minutes of driving, all-out performances from the entire group, almost everything drops out, leaving vocalist AJ Haynes alone with a tremolo string section, before suddenly diving back into the opening groove, fuller and more powerful than before. Power is out August 23rd on New West Records.
A super-compact jam at just over two minutes, “Gotta Get to Know Ya” is based around a fuzzed-out, punk-funk bassline and Haynes’ versatile vocals, which range from sultry purrs to siren wails. Building on the soul and garage-rock elements of their debut album, Haynes and the Seratones keep the pace by laying down a ridiculously tight groove, sprinkling in some spacey synth effects and live-wire guitar skronk along the way. But it’s clear this is Haynes’ show: “Feel the heat of my fire/I gotta gotta gotta gotta get to get to get to know ya,” she sings, switching from smooth, Lenny Kravitz-style layered harmonies
Lily and Madeleine Jurkiewicz create candid music with deep emotional and personal resonance. The sisters, who record under the moniker Lily and Madeleine, boldly explore what it means to be women in the 21st century, and aren’t afraid to use their music to call out injustice or double standards. This fearless approach has permeated their three albums, which are full of insightful lyrics and thoughtful indie-pop. But with their fourth studio album, Canterbury Girls – named after Canterbury Park, located in their hometown of Indianapolis – the sisters are coming into their own as women and musicians.
Using an eclectic playlist of songs as sonic inspirations – soul tunes and waltzes, as well as cuts from Midlake, ABBA and Nancy Wilson – Lily and Madeleine worked quickly, recording Canterbury Girls in just 10 days. Although the record contains plenty of Lily and Madeleine’s usual ornate music—including the languid Analog Love, on which twangy guitars curl around like a kite twisting in the wind – the album also finds the siblings exploring new sonic vistas. Supernatural Sadness is an irresistible slice of bubbly, easy-going disco-pop; the urgent Pachinko Song hews toward interstellar synth-pop with driving rhythms, and Can’t Help The Way I Feel is an effervescent, Motown-inflected number. Vocally, the sisters also take giant leaps forward. The dreamy waltz Self Care is a rich, piano-heavy track on which their voices intertwine for soulful harmonies, while the meticulous Just Do It has a throwback, ‘70s R&B vibe.
From the new album ‘Canterbury Girls,’ available February 22nd, 2019:
Aaron Lee Tasjan is set to release his new album Karma For Cheap on August 31st via New West Records. This will be Tasjan’s second solo venture and signals a different sound for the artist, a change he described as “… a little more rough and ready, more raw than anything I’ve done before.”
The 31-year-old from New Albany, Ohio has already enjoyed a varied music career, having played with Semi Precious Weapons and the New York Dolls, in addition to his work as a solo artist.
Of the new record, Tasjan says: “I needed this album to have a sense of adventure and mystery, to feel a little shaky and dangerous at times — something that wasn’t the obvious choice in terms of what people already like about what I do. I’ve come to realize that I’m a searcher, which means I’m going to be searching forever.”
Tasjan says the new project is influenced by his childhood favorites the Beatles, David Bowie, and Badfinger, to name a few.
New West Records is set to release Jason Isbell’s debut solo album, Sirens Of The Ditch, in a deluxe edition with four never-heard-before tracks from the original studio recordings.
Originally released in 2007, SirensOf The Ditch was met with critical acclaim upon its release calling it “…a gorgeously whiskey-soaked country-soul masterpiece,” American Songwriter declaring it, “…a decadent debut,” and Pitchfork stating that it was “…a strong debut full of the kind of confident, charismatic songwriting that just can’t be taught.” When Jason Isbell left Drive-By Truckers in 2007, his future was by no means secure: His time in the band had been marred by substance-abuse issues, and he wasn’t a known quantity as a solo artist after years spent sharing the spotlight with other songwriters. But when Isbell released Sirens of the Ditch that same year, it was clear that he’d been working from an almost bottomless well of talent and star potential.
Sirens’ forthcoming reissue features four previously unreleased studio tracks: “Racetrack Romeo,” “Crystal Clear” and two songs you can hear for the first time here. “The Assassin” is a Patterson Hood composition Isbell still plays in concert, while the churning original roots-rock ballad “Whisper” burns slowly and wearily. Notably, both fit seamlessly alongside the singer’s later songs about stumbling hard and finding saviors on the road to peace and redemption.
This new deluxe edition features four previously unreleased songs from the original sessions at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, bringing the new, expanded track listing to 15 total songs. NPR Music premiered two of the unreleased tracks today, including the Patterson Hood-penned “The Assassin,” which Isbell performs in concert to this day, and the track “Whisper.” The former Drive-By Truckers lead guitarist, album was released on July 10, 2007
After leaving Drive-By Truckers amicably in 2007, Isbell released Sirens of the Ditch on New West Records. Sirensof the Ditch was recorded at Fame Studios, where among the musicians helping to record the album was Patterson Hood of Isbell’s previous band Drive by Truckers and Spooner Oldham, famous for his work with Aretha Franklin and Neil Young among others . The first single from the album was, “Brand New Kind of Actress,” deals with the death of Lana Clarkson in Phil Spector’s mansion. Another single, “Dress Blues,” concerns the death of Corporal Matthew Conley, a US Marine from Isbell’s hometown who was killed in the Iraq War.
The Nude Party – one of 2018’s most groovy and dynamic rock records is produced by Oakley Munson of The Black Lips and recorded in Woodstock, NY at Dreamland Recording Studios, the circa-1896 former St. John’s Church. The self-titled album finds that formidable music machine cranked all the way to cosmic. Maybe it’s the electric waters of Lake Norman, NC where the band spent a primordial summer, or the upstate New York vibes that have beckoned American spiritualists and storytellers for a dozen generations, but something gives these cats a glow. At very least the numerology scans. Even when heartbreak crashes the party, like on the hilarious “Records,” the buoyancy of the band’s demeanor negates the inevitable bummer. From the self-aware irreverence of “Chevrolet Van” to the apocalyptic resignation of “War Is Coming,” The Nude Party surfs heavy wavelengths with elegance and grace.
He turns to 2001’s The Tiki Bar Is Open, noting that he actually started working on the LP prior to Crossing Muddy Waters. “I had started recording it for Capitol Records,” Hiatt recalls, “and we played them some stuff, and they were less than enthusiastic. So we basically got them to give us that record, and we put it out after Crossing Muddy Waters.”
The Fat Angel Sings 