Greatest New Music from the Blue Ridge and Past
Each month our editors curate a playlist of recent music, primarily specializing in impartial artists from the South. In October we’re highlighting new tunes from Shovels & Rope and American Aquarium.
American Aquarium
“Crier”
“It’s OK to be a crier,” howls American Aquarium chief BJ Barham on this twangy, punk-fueled banger from his North Carolina-based band’s new album, “The Worry of Standing Nonetheless,” which was produced by Shooter Jennings. The hard-hitting observe makes a case for letting feelings move, even in occasions when insecurity takes maintain. – J.F.
Bootsy Collins
“Perfection”
Longtime funk icon Bootsy Collins could be a septuagenarian, however his musical libido nonetheless pumps onerous. On “Pure Perfection,” the primary single from his new file, “Album of the Yr #1 Funkateer,” Collins channels a personality he has nicknamed Bed room Bootsy, and the sonic outcomes are precisely what you’ll count on—sultry, erotic, and innuendo laden, with a bass riff that splatters by way of your audio system. Slap a disclaimer on this one: Collins shouldn’t be held accountable for something that may occur after you and your accomplice drop the needle on this one. – D.S.
Will Overman
“Names”
Virginia tunesmith Will Overman presents a uncooked tackle nameless hook-up tradition on this rootsy earworm launched as a standalone single again in the summertime. Written following a tricky divorce, “Names” finds Overman sharing that random encounters will be discomfiting, whereas additionally admitting that a little bit human contact is tough to withstand. – J.F.
Amythyst Kiah
“I Will Not Go Down (that includes Billy Strings)”
Tennessee’s Amythyst Kiah delivers anthemic lyrics of perseverance on this stomping acoustic tune that contains a fleet-fingered guitar help from Billy Strings. Kiah repeats the tune’s title like a decided mantra whereas Strings lifts her fierce willpower with nimble shredding. The observe comes from Kiah’s new album, “Nonetheless + Shiny,” which comes out October 25 and options further visitor spots from Butch Walker and S.G. Goodman. – J.F.
Grayson Capps
“Moody River”
The 16 songs on his new album, “Heartbreak, Distress, & Dying,” are a set of previous people tunes Grayson Capps heard being performed by his father and his musical pals that, in the end, charted the course of his musical life. This rendition of Doc Watson’s “Moody River,” carried out by Capps and his longtime enjoying accomplice Corky Hughes, showcases the duo’s intricate guitar work and Capps’ resonant tenor vocals in what’s a robust homage to considered one of his biggest musical influences. – D.S.
Shovels & Rope
“Two Wolves”
The early work of Shovels & Rope, the husband-and-wife duo of Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent, adopted a lean nation path, however on the brand new album “One thing is Working Up Above My Head,” the group provides some rock edge to its minimalist strategy. A standout from the file, “Two Wolves,” is a scuzzy, hypnotic blues jam with lyrics that discover tensions between good and evil. – J.F.
Wyatt Flores
“Don’t Wanna Say Goodnight”
The opening bars of “Don’t Wanna Say Goodnight” recall to mind a galloping posse crossing a dusty desert horizon. The following crescendo of notes, punctuated by frenzied fiddle and crunchy electrical guitar, swing the listener away from spaghetti western reverie and again to Wyatt Flores, the 23-year-old Oklahoma singer-songwriter who has rapidly turn out to be a rising star in nation music. So completely capturing the electrical energy of recent love, Wyatt delivers, in each efficiency and songcraft, a mastery that belies his relative youth. – D.S.
The Previous Ceremony
“North American Grain”
Singer-songwriter Django Haskins, longtime guitarist and frontman for Chapel Hill’s the Previous Ceremony, didn’t contact the brakes through the compelled slowdown brought on by the pandemic. Haskins set to writing, cranking out some 115 new songs, from which he and his mates selected 11 to turn out to be the band’s new launch, “Earthbound.” On “North American Grain,” Haskins weaves a metaphorical masterpiece; relying on what the listener hears, it could possibly be an ode to like’s rise and fall or the demise of the agricultural South. No matter interpretation, Haskins superbly captures the deep ache of one thing misplaced. – D.S.