If you haven’t checked our Spotify playlist “The Best of 2015 so far and a few I missed from 2014” here is the link again:
https://open.spotify.com/user/daa.com/playlist/2wOXJwY47EPKNspyA1VzBc
We are also starting a rundown of the posted songs and their information. It may take us a few weeks to get everything current, so stay tuned:
1. Blur: “Lonesome Street”. From the “The Magic Whip”. My daughter turned me on to Blur years ago (1994 to be exact) and I’ve been a fan ever since. “The Magic Whip” isn’t a great album but there are a few good tunes and a few great ones.
2. The Sonics: “Bad Betty”. From “This Is The Sonics”. This is authentic “garage rock” (see the 1998 version of “The Nuggets” album) from a band that originally formed in 1960 in Tacoma, Washington. Nirvana and Bruce Springsteen have listed them as inspirations. This 2015 release is their first new album in over 40 years. It was worth the wait.
3. Joshua Hyslop: “Living & Dying”. This is from the Canadian singer-songwriter’s latest EP of the same name.
4. Stiff Little Fingers: “When We Were Young”. From the album “No Going Back”. One of my favorite Irish bands and their first album in 13 years.
5. Prima Donna: “Deathless”. From “Nine Lives and Forty-Fives”. The latest from the LA quartet.
6. D’Angelo: “Sugah Daddy”. From “Black Messiah”. It’s hard to believe that this is only his third album and the first since 2000’s “Voodoo”. I just hope we don’t have to wait 14 years for another album.
7. The Church: “Pride Before A Fall”. From “Further Deeper”. This Australian band has been around since the early 80s. The album may disappoint a few die-hard fans with its lush almost psychedelic dynamics. Then again that is why I don’t look at the artist’s name until AFTER I’ve listened to the music.
8. The Kentucky Headhunters with Johnnie Johnson: “Mr. Blues”. From “Meet Me In Bluesland”. Southern blues-rock meets “the greatest sideman in rock and roll”. The album sessions were recorded in 2003 (Johnson died in 2005) but only released this year.
9. Lake Street Dive: “What Am I Doing Here”. This is from a Signature Sounds 2015 sampler album that you can download for free at NoiseTrade. click here.
10. Chris Smither: “Another Way To Find You”. Also on the Signature Sounds sampler and from Chris’ 2014 album “Still On The Levee”. This blues/folk singer-guitarist is one of my all-time favorites. You’ll find his classic “Can’t Shake These Blues” on my “Missed Hits” playlist.
11. Blue Water Highway Band: “John Henry”. From “Things We Carry”. Another wonderful Texas band, musically diverse and hard to pigeonhole.
12. Tree Machines: “Fucking Off Today”. From “Tree Machines”. The indie pop-rock duo’s debut EP came out in March. They have talent. I just wish the lyrics were a little more “tongue-in-cheek”; it would have made a great addition to “The Big Lebowski” soundtrack.
13. Leon Bridges: “Lisa Sawyer”. From “Coming Home”. You won’t find an artist or album that has gotten more press in 2015 and deservedly so. If you yearn for some classic soul music……
14/15. Faith No More: “Superheroes” and “Rise Of The Fall”. From “Sol Invictus”. Even after 18 years, FNM are still the best alternative/metal band in the universe. I love the description “bizarrely humorous”.
16. PALO!: “Fumando”. From “PALO! Live”. I heard this on NPR and went out and bought it immediately. I’m glad I did. They were nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2014 and a Grammy in 2015. A mix of Afro/Cuban/Funk/Jazz/Salsa that will get you dancing.
17. Passafire: “Out of Sight”. From “Internal”. A reggae/rock band from Savannah, Georgia. They’re not well known, but should be.
18. Mariachi El Bronx: “Everything Twice”. From the band’s self-titled 2014 album; also included on an ATO sampler you need to grab. Click here. They aren’t from New York and they aren’t a mariachi band. They started out as a LA punk band that took an unexpected musical detour….happily.
19. Alabama Shakes: “Gimme All Your Love”. From their sophomore album “Sounds & Color”. A great song.
20. Astronauts, Etc.: “No Justice”. From “Mind Out Wandering”. Every once in awhile I get the urge to hear something melodic and mellow. Like now. The album comes out in September.