good new music?

[mellowgerman]

The "Grammy Talk" thread got me thinking about quality new/current/contemporary music that doesn't get the attention it deserves. I know it's out there! Anyway, would love to see/hear some LTG recommendations of great non-mainstream (or not-quite-mainstream) music from the last couple of years. I don't necessarily mean groundbreaking new genres, just substantial original music.

Below is a Bright Eyes song that I think is truly top notch, from a 2020 album that I thought was pretty fantastic and well worth checking out! Not sure whether or not any Guilds were involved, but I absolutely love the arrangements on the recordings and I've always appreciated Bright Eyes ever since I first heard them in 2005.

 

[dreadnut]

Tyler Childers

 

[gjmalcyon]

Really enjoying this September, 2020 release:

ARTEMIS - ARTEMIS

If the digital album is purchased, you will receive the full album via email upon purchase. Standard digital downloads are delivered as MP3 44.1khz/24-bit audio files. Please note, digital downloads are only available in the U.S. ARTEMIS is a supergroup comprising seven of the most acclaimed...

store.bluenote.com

"Frida" from their album:

 

[gjmalcyon]

Nick Waterhouse's self-titled Nick Waterhouse was released last spring just as everything shut down. He's been around for a few years.

Self Titled — Nick Waterhouse

www.nickwaterhouse.com

Has an interesting older vibe to it.

 

[Canard]

Well ... new is relative to personal experience ... so not new, but relatively new to me and also much deserving of wider recognition and appreciation:

Willy Watson, great on his own, great as the sometime sidekick to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Pick a video clip, any video clip.

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Colter Wall, way too young-looking for the lived-in baritone voice despite the whiskers - vowel sounds give it away that he is not American, but still a flatland prairie boy. city boy, yes, but only a city of about 16K people.

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[gjmalcyon]

Philly's own Ali Awan. Very chill.

Ali Awan

Ali Awan was born to an immigrant father and first-generation mother just outside of Philadelphia spending most of his early life in transit. That upbringing, coupled with an innate love for sound and expression made a life in music second nature to him, thanks for listening.

aliawan.bandcamp.com

 

[mellowgerman]

Awesome, keep em coming! I am already a fan of Tyler Childers and Colter Wall, so I can second those recommendations! Looking forward to checking out the others

 

[walrus]

Anything by Rival Sons! Bonus in this video for you, mellow - Guild bass!



walrus

 

[Canard]

Vivian and Riley - saw them live a few years back - just kids - shy and awkward - didn't have it all figured out as in if you move away from the mic, no one can hear you - heartfelt promise by the bushel though - more polished here:

 

[Canard]

Another plug for Willy - here with some nice Icelandic girls who obviously like Gillian Welch

 

[GGJaguar]

I like the retro vibe of Michael Kiwanuka's latest album.

 

[gjmalcyon]

Cuba: Music and Revolution Vol. 1 was released early this year and features Latin music from Cuba from 1975 to 1985. Interesting US soul, R&B, and rock influences. They were clearly listening to Miami radio stations.

– Cuba: Music and Revolution - Compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker | Soul Jazz Records

Cuba: Music and Revolution: Culture Clash in Havana: Experiments in Latin Music 1975-85 Vol. 1 is the new album compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart…

soundsoftheuniverse.com

 

[geoguy]

Duke Levine is one of my favorite guitar players. Local to the Boston area, his solo albums consist of all-instrumental tunes (both originals & covers). He has an abundance of interesting guitar tones on tap.

The Fade Out was his most-recent album, from a few years ago. Here's one mostly-acoustic tune from that album:



And a live performance of another tune from that album, from an album-release party at a fabulous music venue in Maine where he is a big part of the house band:



And just to show that he can also rock, when appropriate (not from the Fade Out album):

 

[JohnW63]

All this begs the question....where do you find new stuff if your not into what plays on the radio?

 

[Canard]

All this begs the question....where do you find new stuff if your not into what plays on the radio?

By supporting live music and taking chances that your ticket money might have been better spent on a case or two of beer or not. (And yes, live music will come again.)

Find and listen to music shows on University, Co-op, Public radio stations. On mainstream radio, you will only hear what the recording industry wants you to hear.

Talk to and be friendly with people younger than yourself, music lovers and musicians. It is amazing what my daughter and her friends find - stuff that is completely underground.

Hang out in small shops that sell vinyl. Talk to people who work there and shop there.

Check to see if there are any societies that promote Folk, roots Country, Blues, and Jazz (etc) in your area. Get on their mailing lists.

 

[Canard]

Jontavious Willis - young and doing a damn fine job of keeping the music alive

 

[Canard]

All this begs the question....where do you find new stuff if your not into what plays on the radio?

One more thing. Take an interest in and be kind to younger players in guitar shops. Look for the potential in their playing. Ask if they mind if you listen or play along. Be complimentary. Ask them if they could show you something that they had been playing. Ask them about their interests and influences. They will be tuned into things you will never have heard of.

 

[SFIV1967]

Great thread! Need to listen to some of it tonight!

Ralf

 

[Canard]

Intervals

A young friend insisted that I go with him to one of their shows at a small venue. He warned that I would probably want to take ear protection. Hah! I should have taken a flak vest to protect myself from the rib and lung crushing and heart collapsing volume.

I was probably the oldest person in the audience. A fossil. People kept looking at me. Teens and twenties. Teens and twenties. And lots of young women - many on their own - and ones who looked like musicians. In my youth a fusion show was a seething testosterone soup. No women anywhere.

I had fun picking out all the Fusion and Prog Rock guitar wizards whose records were in the band leader's dad's collection. The guy obviously spent a lot of time listening to this stuff as a kid when he should have been doing his homework.

I tried to talk about this with my friend but he had no idea who any of the old guard guitar wizards were. It was all fresh new and exciting for him.

The band played for about 4 hours including the encores. My memory says that they played a bit more spiritedly than in any of the clips I can find but memory can play tricks.




What goes around comes around and old is new again. Getting jaded is one of the hazards of growing old.

 

[JohnW63]

Nice ideas, Canard. I just live a ways from any large city so those options only come into play if I drive for at least an hour toward Los Angeles. I work with younger people, but of the ones I've chatted about music are into stuff that doesn't float my boat. Ramstine, dark metal, and "outlaw country".