EP Spotlight: Delta Rae - A Long And Happy Life

As the weather warms up in late March, it is the perfect time for light, fun music. With their latest EP A Long And Happy Life, Delta Rae delivers.

A Long And Happy Life is just four songs, but four very good songs. Including the slower, more introspective "No Peace In Quiet". The other three are fun, upbeat and perfect for the changing of the season.

Is there anything groundbreaking here? Nope. Just four excellent songs that I've had on repeat for the past two days. There is just something infectious about the songs and the twin lead vocals and interplay of Britanny Holljes (pronounced "Hole-Jess) and Liz Hopkins.

Do I prefer nine to eleven song albums? Yes. But if you're going to make a four song EP, do it like this or like Lindi Ortega's. Make sure every song is killer and you have my attention.

Find A Long And Happy Life here:

itunes
Google Play
Amazon
Spotify

My Top Ten Albums of 2015

At this point, I'm sure everyone has been inundated with top whatever lists for any and everything. Mine is about...music. Imagine that. My list is different than any other list you've read. That doesn't make it better (or worse), right or wrong, just different.

Music is subjective and personal. To me there are only two types of music: music I like and music I don't. And just because I don't like it, doesn't mean it's not good, just not to my taste. Conversely, just because I like it doesn't necessarily mean it's good. I'll be the first to admit that I like a lot of crap.

If you've read this blog before, thank you, and you know that I'm not genre-specific. That would make things so much easier. You also know that I am mainstream-phobic, so there are not going to be any mega hits on my list.

This is by no means a "Best of" list. It is not a comprehensive list. I'm sure there are several albums that were released in 2015 that would make my list had I heard them. These are the albums that I have listened to numerous times. Albums I would and have listened to again and again. Music that has resonated with me. Music that I will be listening to in 2016 and beyond.

I listen to albums, not songs. I'm not immune to making playlists of songs, but I'm happier when I can put on an album and listen from start to finish without having to skip songs. That's what my list is about.

Here is my top ten with my favorite song from the album (where available, where not, just a song from the album). Links in artist's names are to my posts explaining my picks. Other links are obvious.

10) Brandy Zdan - Brandy Zdan

Website    Twitter      Amazon

9) Delta Rae - After It All

Website     Twitter     Amazon

8) Chaser Eight - Chaser Eight

Website     Twitter     Amazon

7) William Clark Green - Ringling Road

Website   Twitter   Amazon

6) Houndmouth - Little Neon Limelight

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5) Halestorm - Into The Wildlife

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4) Elle King - Love Stuff

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3) Chris Stapleton - Traveller

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2) Blackberry Smoke - Holding All The Roses

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1) Black Star Riders - The Killer Instinct

Website   Twitter   Amazon

Hope something there resonates with you. If not, oh well, it's my list. Here's to a fantastic 2016.

Number Nine Album of the Year

I will post a full top 10 list at the end. In the meantime, I am going to explore each record in my top 10 and why I selected them. Again, this is not a "Best of". It is the albums that I've heard and resonated with me personally. There is some really good stuff out there that doesn't make my list because, well, it's my list. There's a lot of stuff I haven't even heard. Maybe you'll like some of it.

One way I can describe Delta Rae is Fleetwood Mac, 2015 version.

The very distinctive and different vocals of Brittany Hollges and Elizabeth Hopkins evokes the difference you could hear in Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks. Then you have the male vocals of either Ian or Eric Hollges to fill the Lindsey Buckingham role.

But that does not do justice to what Delta Rae is all about. They are not Fleetwood Mac wannabes. In fact my best description is to throw Fleetwood Mac and Little Big Town in a blender and throw in a bit of Jim Steinman and see what comes. That would be Delta Rae.

We all want to categorize things into neat little boxes. That's human nature. This goes here. That goes there. It makes things easy. Delta Rae does not allow you to do that.

Are they rock? Yes, sometimes.
Are they pop? Maybe, in some songs.
Are they Americana? I can make that argument.
Are they country? Who knows what country is anymore with Sam Hunt being touted as country, so, yeah, sure.

What is Delta Rae? A great American band making kickass music. And really, the last part is all that matters.

My qualifications for a good album is one that I can push play and not want to skip any songs. After It All stands up to that test.

Album Spotlight: honeyhoney: 3

Although the album title lacks originality, honeyhoney's third album, 3, does not.

I'm so lost on what genres are right now, I won't even try. Or maybe honeyhoney could be labeled as post/neo/traditional/alt/country/indie/rock/punk/Americana/pop. That about covers it. If Houndmouth, Delta Rae or Ryan Adams appeal to you, this is right up your alley.

Produced by Dave Cobb*, this is just a good record. It traverses through land staked by country and Americana, indie rock and punk, traditional and current. 3 is a record for people who love music for the sake of good music, not anyone chasing trends.

*For some reason Dave Cobb seems to have his hand in all the best music being put out right now. The dude apparently knows what he's doing.

Here is "You and I" from the record. Enjoy.

April 2015: A Good Month For Music

Since I've been digging for new music a couple of years now, I don't remember a month where more good music has come out than April 2015.

Here are six albums you don't want to miss, if you like good music.

Halestorm: Into The Wild Life

Delta Rae: After It All

William Clark Green: Ringling Road

Ray Wylie Hubbard: The Ruffians Misfortune

Will Hoge: Small Town Dreams

Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen: Hold My Beer, Vol. 1

Album Spotlight: Delta Rae: After It All

I just stumbled onto Delta Rae about two weeks ago. And wow, am I glad I did. I was prepared to do a spotlight on After It All based on the merits of the record. Then they went and live-streamed a concert on Yahoo! Now I'm even more impressed.

It's like if you threw Fleetwood Mac and Little Big Town in a blender and added a pinch of Jim Steinman. Go figure that one out.

If you get nothing else from this, go see Delta Rae if they are anywhere in your area. And buy the record. You can thank me later.

I've said it before, and this may continue to be my mantra, I don't know what genre Delta Rae falls into other my go to: good music.

Ethereal at times, highly percussive at others with outstanding vocals throughout, this is a band that should be huge.

One of the perks of discovering a band that has more than one record out is that you get to hear the back catalog like it's new. And their 2012 album Carry The Fire is every bit as good as the new record.

Here's a taste I haven't yet shared.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving baseball.

I could just leave it at that. Baseball season has started. You either get it or you don't. Here's something I wrote several years ago and tweaked over the years. Take me out to the ballpark.

I'm loving music.

There is so much good music out right now. I'm not loving that most people never hear it because it isn't played on mainstream radio. Ray Wylie Hubbard and Delta Rae came out with new albums yesterday. Let me know when you hear either of them on mainstream radio. Here are my favorite records for the first quarter of 2015. April has already been good. And there is some stuff coming up that I'm excited about.

Being a huge tennis fan, I'm starting to love Simona Halep. She's good. And those legs.

And that's all I've got this week. Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving Delta Rae. This band has a new record, After It All, coming out April 7. Available everywhere according to their website. In advance of the release, they have already released six songs to Spotify (and I'm supposing other outlets, but Spotify is my go to platform).  So far all the tracks are good.

I just can't believe I haven't heard of them until a couple of weeks ago. Here a live version of "Bottom of the River" from their 2012 album Carry The Fire. So good, so interesting.




And here's and audio version of "Bethlehem Steel" from their upcoming release.




I'm loving that Whskey Myers is tweeting about the opening bands on their tour. Gives me an opportunity to discover new stuff like this Icelandic band Kaleo. Here they are with "I Walk On Water".



And The Bama Gamblers with "Sweet Revival".



And we must have some Whiskey Myers. Here is "Home" from their most recent record Early Morning Shakes.