New Music Friday: 13th Floor New Album Picks: June 23, 2023

New Music Friday strikes again! Yes, Friday is always on our mind and with good reason as there are plenty of excellent new releases today. Here’s our top 5 picks.

Its tough to choose, but here are Marty’s picks for you to explore:

1. Bobbie Nelson and Amanda Shires – Loving You (Silver Knife/ATO) Amanda Shires teams with Willie’s sister Bobbie, who has since passed away. The record is billed as Shires’ “mission to pay respect to the only woman she saw working in a band and pursuing a career as a sideman.” “I first saw Bobbie playing when I was 16 or so at some festival somewhere in Texas where I grew up,” Shires explains of the iconic pianist in a press release. “I saw her perform many times over the years and always admired the way she played so effortlessly and with so much strength and confidence. She radiated music. Much of my path seemed possible because I saw a woman working and making a career of music at a young age, and that woman was Bobbie Nelson.”

2. Lloyd Cole – On Pain (earMusic) Lloyd’s 12th solo album features two Commotions. Says Lloyd: “I’m excited to still be finding new methods, new perspectives, new sounds. The album may be nearing commercial death, but my career has been in that state for almost 30 years and here we are, still, and I still want to make albums. I still want to be heard. I’m very much looking forward to being on stage with Neil, and Blair in October. We have no intention of producing a retro show.”

3. Tommy Prine – This Far South (Nameless Knight/Thirty Tigers) A chip off the old block, Tommy Prine is the son of John Prine. Say’s Tommy about his debut album, “There were several years where I felt without purpose…spent all my time partying and just existing. I found myself at a fork in the road and chose the better path, and in that moment, I swore I would never be ‘this far south’ again”.

4. M. Ward – supernatural thing (ANTI-/Epitaph) With guests like Neko Case and Jim James and a cool Bowie cover, what more could you ask for? M. Ward says that “the title comes from an early thought as a kid that radio traveled the same airwaves as messages from supernatural things — and music, especially remembered music, is somehow tied up in this exchange. The sending and receiving of messages from memory and dreams seem to move along this same often broken-up wavelength. I see this new record as an extension, 18 years later, of my ‘Transistor Radio’ record, but this new record is better because its more concise and has more voices and more moods — the way my favorite radio was and still is.”

5. Jason Mraz – Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride (Interrabang/BMG) Mr A-Z’s 8th studio album, Jason says, “MMRRR is an album about personal expression, acceptance, and time travel. Written and recorded in collaboration with Raining Jane (my partners in song for 2014’s YES!) and produced by Martin Terefe (who helmed 2008’s We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.), with musical contributions by David Davidson, Grooveline Horns, and Molly Miller, this album feels like both a reunion of sounds and players, as well as a fresh start in a new sonic territory.”

SPECIAL MENTION:

Swans – The Beggar (Young God) The Beggar sees Michael Gira reunite with former Swans mainstays and members of Angels of Light project, including Kristof Hahn, Larry Mullins, Christopher Pravdica and Phil Puleo – all of whom appeared on 2019’s leaving meaning – as well as employing new faces Dana Schechter and Australian-born, Iceland-based musician and composer Ben Frost.

The Watson Twins – Holler (Bloodshot) Chandra and Leigh Watson team up with Grammy-nominated producer Butch Walker to deliver a collection of country-infused, telecaster-twanged tunes that highlight the twin’s songwriting prowess and vocal synergy.