New Music Friday: 13th Floor New Album Picks: April 19, 2024

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New Music Friday is more than Taylor Swift and Pearl Jam! We bring you five new albums that demand your attention this Record Store Day eve.

Taylor’s The Tortured Poets Department is going live even as I type this and we reviewed Peal Jam’s Dark Matter earlier this month. But there is much more new music to be heard today.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda picks these five new releases for your consideration:

  1. T Bone BurnettT Bone Burnett – The Other Side (Verve/Forcast) It’s T Bone’s first in 20 years and its was worth waiting for!. Just the collaboration with Rosanne Cash is worth the price of admission. Burnett seems to be in a good place personally which is why we have this record. “I trust life,” he says. “I trust happiness. In fact, it’s the only thing I do trust now so it’s a major shift in my whole life. I’m 76 now, so I want to use what time I have let, I want to spend it happily. Creating and creating love. Creating good vibes, if I may still use that word.” You may!

 

2.Ian Hunter Ian Hunter – Defiance Pt2: Fiction (Sun) Two months shy of his 85th birthday and the former Mott-man is still rockin’. He’s got an all-star cast on hand including members of Def Leppard, Pearl Jam, Cheap Trick, Queen, Stone Temple Pilots along with a duet with Lucinda Williams and final contributions from Jeff Beck and Taylor Hawkins. Best of all are Ian’s songs. Click here to read the 13th Floor album review for the full story. 

3.claire rousay Claire Rousay – sentiment (Thrill Jockey) Alright, enough old white guys…check out this little jem from Claire Rousay, their first for the ground-breaking Thrill Jockey label.  Rousay invents her own brand of pop music here, “I have been on a quest to communicate my feelings and ideas as clearly as possible lately, says the experimental, ambient artist. Pop seemed like the way to do that this time.”  Look for an in-depth interview with rousay very soon at The 13th Floor. In the mean time, play the album.

4.Aro Aro – He Rākau, He Ngārara (Aro Music). Kiwi couple Charles and Emily Looker’s fourth album is a beauty. They previewed the album to friends and family at The 13th Floor this past weekend and one listen with reveal why a celebration was needed. He Rākau, He Ngārara has been produced and recorded with award winning producer, Vivek Gabriel in his Mt Roskill studio ‘Gabriel Audio’.  Aro have also had support and musical mentorship  on this project from Laughton Kora, with multiple kiwi artists adding their magic to the album’s waiata – Warren Maxwell, Chip Matthews, Gin Papali’i, Aaron Clarke, Bill Sim, Guy Harrison, Lucy Summerfield, Mike Gibson, Sam Kelsen, Eli Moore & Adam Tobeck. An all-star lineup!

5. The Bacon BrothersThe Bacon Brothers – Ballad Of The Brothers (Forosoco/Forty Below) Its movie star Kevin Bacon with his very talented older brother Michael. This is the 12th Bacon Brothers record and the two Philly boys know how to mix folk, rock, soul and country into something uniquely their own. Their cover of Pat Benatar’s We Belong is a highlight as is their own Ballad Of The Brothers (The Willie Door). “We’re still exploring the sound we began making all those years ago; we’ve just gotten a lot better at it,” Michael says. “Music is a life’s work. It’s a universe of things yet to know. We’re still making new discoveries. Click here to read the 13th Floor album review. 

 

Marty Duda
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