Album of the Week – 17/09/21

If you haven’t checked out Elephant’s new release Ice Cream, you’d need to sort that out right away! It’s featured below, along with The Album Leaf (One Day XX), James Vincent McMorrow (Grapefruit Season) and the wonderful José González (Local Valley – which we reviewed here).

This week, we went for the new release from The Felice Brothers, which is their 17th album release (that’s according to Wiki anyway and a few of those are self-release, so I’m not sure they count?) The sound won’t shock you but their lyrics are fun and smart in equal measure.

“Ooh oh oh, buy head cheese and hock of ham
Ooh oh oh, become a family man” – To-Do List

Album of the Week — The Felice Brothers – From Dreams to Dust

Ruminating on the risks of taking things for granted in our daily lives, Ian Felice, the lead singer/songwriter of The Felice Brothers, expresses how meaningful the experience of playing music with his band has been after long months of social distancing. In From Dreams to Dust, their eighth and most recent studio album, out September 17th on Yep Roc Records, the band’s exuberance to be together doing what they do so well is palpable. Characteristic of The Felice Brothers, the new tracks are a mixture of somber tunes with ones that are musically upbeat, all the while carrying messages that beg listeners to think deeply about the environment, humanity, legacy, and death. Many of the songs depict the passage of time, nostalgia, transience and getting older. For songwriter Ian Felice, there must also always be a current of hope in the music.

“I want for my music to do what the best music in my life has done for me,” explains Ian. “I want to do that for other people—to help them think through hard times or think through how to communicate something they didn’t know how to; to just make them happy. This may sound ironic, because my music is kind of dark sometimes, but the music I love best is just the most hopeful music like Pete Seeger singing about humanity getting along or Michael Hurley music that connects to some childlike simplicity that makes you feel light and happy. Music is a medicine. It can make our time on the planet a little more enjoyable.”

Albums of Note –

— Elephant – Ice Cream

— The Album Leaf – One Day XX

— James Vincent McMorrow – Grapefruit Season

— José González – Local Valley

— Little Thief – Under The Patio

Albums released on September 17th:

— 2Cellos – Dedicated

— Aaron Taos – Closure & Campari

— A Dying Planet – Where the Skies Are Grey

— Abe Rounds – The Confidence To Make Mistakes EP

— Adia Victoria – A Southern Gothic

— Adna – Black Water

— The Album Leaf – One Day XX

— Alexa Rose – Headwaters

— Alexis Taylor (of Hot Chip) – Silence

— Alicia Walter – I Am Alicia

— Alisa Amador – Narratives

— Alkaline Trio – From Here to Infirmary (Vinyl Reissue)

— Ana Egge – Between Us

— Andrew Gold – Halloween Howls: Fun and Scary Music (Vinyl Release)

— Andy Mineo – Never Land II

— Apostolica – Haeretica Ecclesia

— Arcturus – Stars and Oblivion – The Complete Works 1991 – 2002

— Bad Bad Hats – Walkman

— Baligh Hamdi – Modal Instrumental Pop of 1970s Egypt

— Barney Bentall & Geoffrey Kelly – RanchWriters

— Bea Troxel – Gettin’ Where

— The Beths – Auckland, New Zealand, 2020

— Billy Idol – The Roadside EP

— Blue Lick – Hold On, Hold Fast

— The Blue Prison – The Blue Prison

— Blunt Bangs (feat. members of Black Kids and Woods) – Proper Smoker

— Blvck Hippie – If You Feel Alone at Parties

— Bob Dylan – Springtime In New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 (1980-1985)

— Bogwife – A Passage Divine

— Boy Willows – Bangs EP

— Brainstorm – Wall Of Skulls

— Bren Holmes – Everything You Never Wanted

— Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club: 25th Anniversary Edition

— Buffalo Daughter – We Are the Times

— Caitlin Jemma – True Meaning

— Caleb Lee Hutchinson – Slot Machine Syndrome EP

— Candlebox – Wolves

— Carcass – Torn Arteries

— Carly Pearce – 29: Written In Stone

— carwash – soap water EP

— Charlie Crockett – Music City USA

— Charlotte Wessels – Tales From Six Feet Under

— The Cocktail Slippers – Shout It Out Loud

— COGAS – Unconscious Suns of the Reptile God

— Cold Beat – War Garden

— Colin Linden – bLOW

— Concrete Castles – Wish I Missed You

— Cory Henry – Best Of Me

— Cynthia Erivo – Ch. 1 Vs. 1

— D.D. Verni & The Cadillac Band – Let’s Rattle

— Dan Berkson – Dialogues

— Daughtry – Dearly Beloved

— Dead Sara – Ain’t It Tragic

— Dehd – Flower of Devotion Remixed

— The Delevantes – A Thousand Turns

— Deviates – Holding Out

— DijahSB – Tasty Raps Vol. 1 EP

— Don Broco – Amazing Things

— Drowning Pool – Sinner (Vinyl Reissue)

— Edge of Paradise – The Unknown

— Employed to Serve – Conquering

— Eric Krasno – Always

— Existentia – Calculating Failure EP

— The Felice Brothers – From Dreams to Dust

— Field Guides – Make Peace With That

— Ghostheart Nebula – Ascension

— Ginger Minj – Double Wide Diva

— Gleaming Spires – Songs of the Spires (Reissue)

— Gleaming Spires – Walk on Well Lighted Streets (Reissue)

— Gleaming Spires – Welcoming a New Ice Age (Reissue)

— Goatfather – Monster Truck

— Gordie MacKeeman – Folk for Little Folk Vol. 1

— Gregory Ackerman – Still Waiting Still

— H3000 (feat. Luke Steele) – H3000

— Hailey Whitters & ERNEST – COUNTRYPOLITAN

— Half String – A Fascination with Heights (Vinyl Reissue)

— Hannah Georgas – All That Emotion (Acoustic) EP

— Henrik Lindstrand – Reimagined

— Herb Alpert – Catch The Wind

— Hexen – State of Insurgency (Reissue)

— Holly Childs & Gediminas Žygus – Gnarled Roots

— Holy Death Trio – Introducing…

— Insomnium – Argent Moon EP

— Iron Lizards – Hungry for Action

— James Hersey – Fiction

— James Vincent McMorrow – Grapefruit Season

— January Jane – Your Drug EP

— Jared James Nichols – Shadow Dancer EP

— Jeff Tuohy – Hudson Delta

— Jimmie Vaughan – The Jimmie Vaughan Story

— Jonah Rosenberg’s Fabulous Trio – The Bulbous and The Budding

— Jordan Rakei – What We Call Life

— José González – Local Valley

— K, Le Maestro – Whip Music

— KADABRA – Ultra

— Kara Marni – State of Mine EP

— Killer Workout – Direct To Video

— Kirby Brown – Break Into Blossom

— Kyle Dion – SASSY

— Larkin Poe & Nu Deco Ensemble – Paint the Roses: Live in Concert

— Lehnen – Negative Space

— LILHUDDY – Teenage Heartbreak

— Lil Nas X – Montero

— Lindsey Buckingham – Lindsey Buckingham

— Little Thief – Under The Patio

— Liz Lawrence – The Avalanche

— Lizzie Loveless (Lizzie Lieberson of TEEN) – You Don’t Know

— Low Hummer – Modern Tricks For Living

— Lucy Deakin – in your head i’m probably crying EP

— LURK – Around the Sun

— Luton – Eden

— Lydia Hol – Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream

— Makoto Kubota & The Sunset Gang – Sunset Gang (Reissue)

— Manfrea – Noire

— Marcus Atom – Love vs. War

— Marianne Faithfull – Marianne Faithfull: The Montreux Years

— Melissa Etheridge – One Way Out

— The Miami Dolphins – New and Improv’d

— Mild High Club – Going Going Gone

— Mini Trees – Always In Motion

— Modern Woman – Dogs Fighting In My Dream EP

— Mono – Pilgrimage of the Soul

— Muddy Waters – Muddy Waters: The Montreux Years

— Nancy Sinatra – Boots (Reissue)

— NarreN – Aura

— Nate Smith – Kinfolk 2: See The Birds

— NCT 127 – Sticker

— Nick Lowe – The Convincer (20th Anniversary Edition)

— Nick Lowe – The Old Magic (Vinyl Reissue)

— Nihilocereos – Self Destroy EP

— Nik Freitas – Searching For Device EP

— Noah Kahan – I Was / I Am

— No Thee No Ess – Dimmer Switch

— Onipa – Tapes Of Utopia

— Only The Strong – Fractured EP

— Oversense – Egomania

— Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears (Deluxe Edition)

— Patrick Droney – State Of The Heart

— Phil Stiles – The Anchorhold

— Pieces – 1A

— The Plot In You – Swan Song

— Plum Green – Somnambulistic

— Porij – Baby Face EP

— Rage – Resurrection Day

— The Raven Age – Exile

— RAY BLK – Access Denied

— Real Friends – Torn In Two EP

— Right On, Kid – Life is A Movie

— Rod Gator – For Louisiana

— Ronnie Wood and the Ronnie Wood Band – Mr. Luck – A Tribute To Jimmy Reed Live At The Royal Albert Hall

— RP Boo – Established!

— Saturnian Mist – Shamatanic

— Scenic – Incident at Cima (Vinyl Reissue)

— Scotty McCreery – Same Truck

— Sevyn Streeter – Drunken Wordz Sober Thoughtz

— Sideline – Ups, Downs and Name Towns

— Smoke Bellow – Open For Business

— Somebody’s Child – Staying Sane EP

— Sonny Vincent – Snake Pit Therapy

— Spearmint – Holland Park

— Spiritbox – Eternal Blue

— Starlight Run – Live at the Patchogue Theatre

— Stokely – Sankofa

— sUb_modU – Descent to the Centre

— Sweet Nobody – We’re Trying Our Best

— Tales of the Old – The Book of Chaos

— Thrice – Horizons/East

— Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber – Jesus Christ Superstar (50th Anniversary Edition)

— UMAN – Chaleur Humaine (Reissue)

— VanJess – Homegrown EP (Deluxe Edition)

— Vincent Guaraldi – It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Vinyl Reissue)

— Without God – Siberian Tunes: Purple Clouds

— Written By Wolves – The Collab Project EP

— You, Me, And Everyone We Know – Something Heavy

— Yvette – How the Garden Grows