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Cool New Music Playlist: Almost Summer 2023
ALBUMS
BEST NEW ALBUM: Dropkick Murphys. Okemah Rising. Follow-up to last year's This Machine Still Kills Fascists, this also uses archival Woody Guthrie lyrics matched with contemporary tunes by Dropkicks Murphys. Besides the killer single "Gotta Get To Peekskill" (feat. The Violent Femmes), there's a re-working (the "Tulsa Version") of Dropkick Murphys' original "collaboration" with Woody Guthrie's archives, "I'm Shipping Up To Boston", as first seen in Martin Scorsese's 2002 film "Gangs Of New York".
Ian Hunter. Defiance Part 1. Mott The Hoople frontman Ian Hunter has still got it!
The Mars Volta. Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon. Acoustic versions of songs from last year's The Mars Volta album.
Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives. Altitude. He played on the recent tour of The Byrds' Sweetheart Of The Rodeo and this album seems to be a reflection on The Byrds' legacy.
Y La Bamba. Lucha. Gorgeous soundscapes, mostly en Espanol.
Garbage. Witness To Your Love (EP). A Record Store Day release feat the single "Witness To Your Love", "Cities in Dust" (a Siouxsie cover), and two out-takes from No Gods No Masters (2021).
Kanaan. Downpour. Norwegian psychedelia at its best.
Robyn Hitchcock. Life After Infinity. Another instant classic.
Son Volt. Day Of The Doug (The Songs Of Doug Sahm). Record Store Day release of Jay Farrar's (Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt) tribute to Doug Sahm of The Sir Douglas Quintet and The Texas Tornadoes.
Various Artists. I Am a Pilgrim: Doc Watson at 100. Guests paying tribute to the late great master include Valerie June, Steve Earle, Jerry Douglas, Dolly Parton, and Rosanne Cash.
SINGLES
PJ Harvey. "A Child's Question, August" New album out in July, Here's the first single.
Tinariwen. "Kek Alghalm" New album at the end of May. This is the 2nd single.
Grian Chatten. "Fairlies". Fontaine D.C. frontman has a solo album coming out. This cool new song is the second single from the forthcoming album. The first single was "The Score".
Bush Tetras. "Things I Put Together". Punk vets reunite for cool new album. Here's the first single.
Queens Of The Stone Age. "Emotion Sickness". New album out soon.
Rob Moose feat Phoebe Bridgers. "Wasted". Phoebe's been performing this song in concert, but this is the first recorded version of it.
Sparks. "Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is" follows the first two singles, "The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte" (feat Cate Blanchett) and "Veronica Lake" taken from the forthcoming album by everyone's favorite demented genius brothers.
Peter Gabriel. "Four Kinds of Horses (Bright-Side Mix)" feat Brian Eno.
ARCHIVAL
Soft Machine. The Dutch Lesson.
Faces. Sit Down, Get Up, Get Out (Live 1971) feat Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, Ronnie Laine, Kenney Jones, and Ian McLagan.
Highly Anticipated Summer Releases
Tinariwen. Amatssou. [Wedge] May 19
Various Artists. A Small Light: Songs From the Limited Series. [ABC Signature] May 23. Soundtrack feat. interpretations of standards by Angel Olsen, who does "My Reverie", Weyes Blood singing "When You're Smiling", and Sharon Van Etten performing "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire", with actor Michael Imperioli contributing a spoken word segment.
Kevin Morby. More Photographs: A Continuum. [Dead Oceans] May 26
Sparks. The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte. [Island] May 26. Pure Pop Classic!
Bully. Lucky For You. [Sub Pop] June 2
Ben Harper. Wide Open Light [Chrysalis] June 2
Bob Dylan. Shadow Kingdom [Columbia] June 2. The soundtrack of last year's concert film of the same name. Dylan reworks some of his all-time classics.
Queens Of The Stone Age. In Times New Roman... [Matador] June 16
Grian Chatten. Chaos For The Fly. [Partisan] June 30. Fontaines D.C. frontman's debut solo album.
PJ Harvey. I Inside The Old Year Dying. [Partisan] July 7
Bush Tetras. They Live In My Head. [Wharf Cat] July 28
Various Artists. Playing For The Man At The Door: Field Recordings From Mack McCormick, 1958-1971. Feat. Lightnin' Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb, and other classic recordings. [Smithsonian Folkways] August 4
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