Songs You Need To Hear Now Playlist #23
Songs You Need To Hear Now Playlist #23
Digging into great new albums and songs from Palehound, Duane Betts, Simple Syrup, Sundarta, and more!
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Here are all the highlights from the great new music I’ve been listening to this week. Thanks to everyone who is saving the playlist! Please be sure to follow and “like” the playlist for all of the latest updates 🙏
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On the surface, this past Friday’s release slate looked like one to forget. That isn’t the case, though, as I have three completely different records that stand amongst my favorite listens in an already fruitful July, and each deserves your listen next time you’re reaching for the same ol’ stuff. Palehound returned with Eye on the Bat, their first since 2019’s excellent Black Friday. Setting out to make a record closer to their live shows, Eye on the Bat is 29 minutes of self-deprecating indie rock that is over way too soon. I’m placing it a notch below bandleader El Kempner’s 2021 collaboration with Jay Som for Bachelor’s Doomin’ Sun. One that made the year-end list and still gets regular listens, it’s worth going back to if you missed it.
On to the others:
If the name Duane Betts rings a bell, you’re a Southern jam rock fan, and you cannot miss out on his debut record, Wild & Precious Life. The son of Allman Brothers legend Dickie Betts and named after the late Duane Allman, Betts has been involved in a bunch of projects over the years, whether Allman-related (Allman Betts Band) or not (Whitestarr, Jamtown, Duane Allman and the Pistoleers). Wild & Precious Life is a true celebration of a record, a belated debut that steps out of the shadows of Betts’ roots to carve his own path. There’s no denying that blazing guitar work is in his DNA. Still, the album also functions seriously as a singer-songwriter album that just so happens to have someone that can absolutely shred between the choruses. Betts’ supporting band is equally great, with fellow Allman Betts bros Johnny Stachela and Berry Duane Oakley, John Ginty (Robert Randolph, Neal Casal, Santana), and Tedeschi Trucks Band’s drummer Tyler Greenwell - Derek Trucks guests on the song “Stare at the Sun” as well.
I’ve shared this record with a ton of people over the past week, as I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn’t enjoy the jamboree that Betts creates on Wild & Precious Life.
To completely change genres again, did you know the best vaporware album of the year so far is out of Columbus, Ohio? Simple Syrup’s aptly titled second record Bloom does just that and more (grab your thesaurus and look up “ethereal”: the list of synonyms will set you on your path to describing this album). Regular readers may recognize Simple Syrup’s involvement with Coast to Coast Collective, the electronic posse formed by luxury noise and patchnotes, and it’s great to have another LP that finds new ways of exploring a well-mined genre. Another album from this week that I can’t help but share with so many people - you’ll find that your summer isn’t complete without Bloom.
This summer has seen a lot of great music come out of New Mexico, so I want to take the playlist local again, as Santa Fe’s Sundarta released her new single “Mountains of the Mind” this past week, and it’s been on repeat around here ever since. The song builds with each gorgeous layer, starting with grooving bass and electronic beats before exploding with acoustic drums and woozy slide guitar. “Mountains of the Mind” is another excellent single from the high desert songwriter and one to keep on your radar.
What are you listening to this week? Let me know in the comments!
These songs are also included in the ever-popular Good Ass Songs 2023 playlist. At almost three hundred songs and counting, it’s the best way to catch up on another excellent year of music!
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Can’t pick something to listen to? Throw on Earwormz!
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