Album Spotlight: Kate Vargas - For The Wolfish and Wandering

Kate Vargas doesn't follow any of your silly rules or conventions.

Song structure? Screw that, let the song go where the song goes. Don't clean up the string noise. Leave in the imperfections. Let the songs speak for themselves.

For The Wolfish & Wandering is a masterpiece of imperfections and genius. And we haven't even gotten to the voice. That voice.

Kate Vargas has one of the most unique voices in music today. Combine the voice with the weird, trippy songs and just enjoy.

I could write 500 words on each song, but that would be going too deep in the weeds.

Kate Vargas cannot be placed in any genre, except maybe the genre of good music. She is weird, trippy, spooky, elegant, beautiful, raw, real and current.

Here is the vid for "Affliction". Enjoy

Album Spotlight: Chelle Rose: Blue Ridge Blood

Here's the thing about Chelle Rose, you're either going to love her music or hate it. There's not going to be a lot of middle ground. I happen to fall into the former category.

There already have been, and will be more, aesthetically pleasing albums released this year. Rose's Blue Ridge Blood has no soaring vocals or slick production or flashes of instrumental virtuosity. What it does have is grit and groove and Appalachian swamp.

Ray Wylie Hubbard produced Rose's previous album, 2012's Ghost of Browder Holler. Even before I had that nugget of information, I would have said Chelle Rose is what Ray Wylie would sound like as a female.

Blue Ridge Blood is too real to be comfortable, too good to be ignored.

Here is a great interview with Chelle Rose over at Farce The Music.

And here is "Gypsy Rubye" from Blue Ridge Blood:

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.

Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown

Sometimes you find good music, sometimes good music finds you. As much as one tries to stay current, sometimes something sneaks past, only to be found later. Such is the case with Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown.

The Texas-bred, Nashville-based blues rocker is back in the studio working on new music. If past music is any indication, I'll be spotlighting the new record when it comes out.

I the meantime, enjoy these tracks.

Lipstick Wonder Woman:



Don't Come Cheap:

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: William Clark Green: Ringling Road

The new offering from Texas/Red Dirt artist William Clark Green is everything would expect from a good Texas/Red Dirt record. Country, raucous country, Southern rock. But what you also get from Ringling Road is a collection 11 very well-written songs, regardless of how you'd like to classify it.

The opening song on the record, "Next Big Thing", chronicles how hard the music industry is right now without sounding bitter.

"Creek Don't Rise" may be the most "country" sounding song on the record. And it's good. But that is followed by my favorite song on the album, the title track "Ringling Road" with its thinly veiled homage to the Grateful Dead song "Casey Jones". Or at least that's how I hear it, I have no insight, but with the lyrics:

The trapeze guys are all high on cocaine that they bought from the guy who used to drive the train

That reminds of this from "Casey Jones":

Drivin' that train, high on cocaine, Casey Jones you better watch your speed.

"Ringling Road", the song, also is the kind of loose, greasy stuff you might hear from Texas legend Ray Wylie Hubbard.

I really can't find a bad song in the bunch. It's the kind of record you can just put on and listen all the way through.

Here is the first lyric video from the album, "Sympathy":

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.