Weekend Music Roundup

It's the weekend and that means more ramblings about the on-goings of my musical world. This week I'm looking at a mix of new releases and old discoveries. There's a bunch of genres, from rock to rap to jazz, and lots to love. I've been really go through a bunch of new releases of late and hopefully will have reviews for those in the coming weeks, until then, enjoy these picks.

The Raconteurs - Help Us Stranger: The third album from the group featuring Jack White and Brendan Benson is their first in eleven years. I've loved their previous efforts and was super excited when this finally put into the works. There's something about the partnership of Jack and Brendan that just mixes wonderfully. There's a softness to Benson's songwriting that files off the rougher edges of White's impulses. "Only Child," "Shine the Light on Me," "Help Me Stranger," "Now That You're Gone," and the unexpected and brilliant Donovan cover of "Hey Gyp" are my personal favorites. 

Jethro Tull - The Broadsword and the Beast: The legendary band's 14th album, released 14 years after their debut. When I was younger, the idea of an album released 14 years into a career seemed silly to me. Now that bands that I listened to when I was in my 20's have been around for decades, 14 years seems pretty much in the heart of the career of a good band. I've been a Tull fan since my early 20's, but haven't ventured past Heavy Horses before listening to this recently. This has more of an 80's sound to it, with the inclusion of keyboards, but still retains the basic elements that make Tull what they are. "Fallen on Hard Times," "Flying Colours," "Broadsword," and "Seal Driver" are my personal favorites. 

Nacho Picasso - Nachferatu: The new album from the Seattle rapper isn't exactly a darker album, but slower tempo which adds an eeriness to it that suits his drawl and humor, while making it a bit more menacing. Nacho has always been a bit of Pacific Northwest version of Tricky. He has the same sort of swagger and attention to the style of the beats working with rhymes to create something more atmospheric. You can stream this on his Bandcamp and I recommend it. 

The Deviants - The Deviants: The third album from the London psychedelic garage band was released in 1969. This was their final album before disbanding. Members would go on to play with bands like Hawkwind and Pink Faires. But this band is more garage, proto-punk based than space rock. I only got clued into this band about two years ago when their debut was playing at my local shop. I recently came across a copy of this one (in a different local shop) and snatched it up. This is certainly one of those lost bands that more people should dig around for. Great and groovy stuff. "Billy the Monster," "Broken Biscuits," "First Line (Seven the Row)," "Rambling B(l)ack Transit Blues," "Playtime," and "Metamorphosis Exploration" are all fantastic tracks. 

Art Pepper - The Omega Man: Released in 1974, this is a collection of material recorded in 1958. This the period right before the jazz icon's life grew increasingly chaotic. This falls in that pinnacle era of cool jazz that swirled around the Beats and brought everything into total wildness. But the players on this are true professionals and keep it tight even as they explore that side of the scene. A wonderful piece of music and well worth the $1 I paid for it. 

Cats in Space - Day Trip to Narnia: This is the third album from the London power pop act, and it should come as no surprise why I took a chance on giving this a listen...I mean, look at the cover, the band title, and the album title. 'Nuff said. I had no expectations except to hear a fun album, and that's what this is, and essentially what all power pop is meant to be.