I've been spending July listening to new releases and digging through the crates about equally. These four have been in the spotlight in my house. And by spotlight, I mean the little goose-neck lamp sitting on top of the stereo cabinet.
• The Marshall Tucker Band (1973) - Signed to the same record label as the Allman Brothers, MTB went a little more country than blues with their southern rock sound (there's no irony in "Hillbilly Band") but what really separated their debut album from their labelmates was their love of jazz. Like the Allmans, they were a brother act - Tommy Caldwell played bass and sang, Toy was one of southern rock’s most lyrical and inventive guitarists. The addition of Jerry Eubanks on sax, and especially flute, made their sound jazzier and more improvisational than typical rock from south of the Mason-Dixon. Their stellar first single “Can’t You See” is one of the landmark songs of the genre, and the whole album has a lush, swinging vibe that sets them apart from their more boogie-minded contemporaries. They would tighten up their sound for radio play going forward, “Heard It In a Love Song” got MTB to the top of the charts a few years later, but, sadly, both Caldwell brothers died young and the band dissolved by the early 80s. Their first album is one of the shining gems of the southern rock catalog. A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, a little bit jazz.
EARWORM: "Can't You See" - They came right out of the gate knowing how to craft a flawless earworm.
• Silly Wizard, Wild & Beautiful (1981) – Sometimes you have to go where the best music is, and not expect it to show up on your local radio station. I was oblivious to this immensely talented Scottish band until their fourth album, after a friend lent me a dubbed cassette copy of Wild & Beautiful to check out. He never got it back. Silly Wizard, another band started by brothers, had a decent following in the U.K. but made zero impression in the U.S. The Cunningham brothers were young men steeped in traditional Scottish music, both the tragic and the celebratory. For every achingly sad lament about a fisherman being lost at sea (a common lyrical theme among the ocean-going Scots) there’s a vibrant jig or reel for the times when drinking and dancing is called for. Silly Wizard stuck primarily to traditional folk instruments, a lot of flute, penny-whistles, accordion, acoustic guitar, and fiddle, but fleshed out their sound with some subtle electric keyboards. Brother Phil Cunningham’s “The Pearl,” written for his parent's 30th anniversary, is one of the loveliest of folk instrumentals. Wild & Beautiful is a breathtakingly beautiful listen, not made for an American pop or rock audience, granted, but well worth seeking out.
EARWORM: “The Pearl” – An ever-so-slight hint of melancholy makes the song hit that much harder.
• Metric, Formentera (2022) - Toronto-based Metric is unquestionably a 21st century rock band. Their ninth album sounds like the multi-layered studio assembly it is, in all the ways that can be a marvelous, compelling thing. If I had to give them a quick description, and apparently I do, I would call what they do electro-rock, for some of the reasons I might use that term for The Cars. It’s rockin’ stuff, but there’s no mistaking the presence of synths and studio effects.
I kept going back to Formentera for the mind-blowing opener, “Doomscroller,” maybe my song of the year so far. Ten and half minutes of propulsive, progressive, catchy modern rock, with a middle section that’s all lovely piano ballad. Then the BPM speeds up and the guitars kick in again. Once the lead-off song had roped me in for the umpteenth time, I found myself staying for the rest. Emily Haines is one of the most amazing female lead singers I’ve heard in while, she kills it at whatever volume or emotional level the songs require. She’s not a screecher or screamer, her strong voice is a little breathy, occasionally processed, and artfully added to the song mixes wherever it fits the best. The arrangements are consistently smart and surprising and, despite their complexity, result in real flesh and blood songs. Hooks are all over the place, sometimes when you least expect them. An impossible-to-resist-chorus, a wicked guitar hook, occasional strings, Metric can pull you in effortlessly, seemingly at will. If I had one slight criticism, I’d say the final quarter of the album isn’t quite as mind-blowing as the first side and a half. But it’s still fun, and Formentera as a whole is damned impressive. I’m thoroughly enjoying this particular obsession.
EARWORM: “What Feels Like Eternity” – A half dozen of the songs have taken turns implanting themselves in my brain. This was one of the longest lasting.
• Delicate Steve, After Hours (2022) - Discovered in 2011 by David Byrne and signed to his Luaka Bop label, Steve Marion faces the same challenge every musician looking to make electric guitar instrumental albums does: the bar for that genre was set ridiculously high way back in 1975 by Jeff Beck’s seminal Blow by Blow. Everything that came after had to live with the comparison. Up until his sixth album, After Hours, Steve’s approach was to mash-up his significant gift for melodic songwriting with his edgier, more experimental side. To my ears, the further his songwriting strayed from melody and forward momentum, the less interesting I found his albums.
On After Hours, Mr. Delicate goes all-in on his more accessible side, and I’m totally down with it. As he tells it, Steve was inspired by the vintage tone of a newly-acquired ’56 Stratocaster and felt like it was the perfect voice for a batch of more relaxed, swinging instrumentals - with a grooving rhythm section and some tasty keyboards. There are some comparisons to Blow by Blow that can be made here, in a favorable way this time. Just like that record, Steve’s gorgeous guitar tone and playing on After Hours are engaging enough to make a singer unnecessary. The songs have hooks and a sustained, enjoyable flow that pull you right in until the last note. I keep hoping there's a commercial market for a record like this, but in this era of short attention span music consumption, I suspect the folks who would love it will likely never hear it.
EARWORM: “Looking Glass” – There’s a satisfying consistency to After Hours, I could have pulled up any track as a fine indicator of the rest.
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