New Album Showcase: July 2021

Bleachers- Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night (RCA)

The third Bleachers record has immediately earned its place as a summer highlight, and finds bandleader Jack Antonoff leading his troops through a colorful, multi-dimensional joyride that stays loyal to the unique spirit that has defined the band thus far, while also expanding its overall palate toward new soundscapes, narratives and vantage points. They balance their signature indie-pop joy and buoyancy on tracks like “Big Life” with the brooding, cinematic drama on moments like the Lana Del Rey feature, “Secret Life” and album closer “What Do I Do With All This Faith”. Meanwhile, “45” strips things back to a raw, bare-boned setting that unearths a heretofore unknown gritty folk side to the group. The heartbeat of the album however is its spirited celebration of the New Jersey rock sound, and of course The E-Street Band, which is paid infectious homage on singles “Stop Making This Hurt” and “How Dare You Want More”, and only further legitimized by Bruce Springsteen’s own guest spot on the swirling “Chinatown”.

Jackson Browne- Downhill from Everywhere (Inside)

Jackson Browne’s fifteenth album, and first since 2014, further secures his identity as one of today’s true living legends of rock & roll. His voice sounds just as strong and vital as ever, and his pen as sharp and insightful. Furthermore, each song is enveloped in warm, firm arrangements and stellar musicianship that’s as resonant as anything he released during the heights of his stardom. Cuts like the title track, “Until Justice Is Real”, and recent single “My Cleaveland Heart” sound like lost hits from the glory days of 70s radio, while “A Song for Barcelona” offers a tasty, skillful pivot to a jaunty and reverent Spanish sound. Elsewhere, soulful standouts like the Leslie Mendelson duet, “Human Touch” confirms that Browne’s magical ability to tackle life’s challenges with such tender humanity and aplomb has not waned an ounce over his fifty year career.

John Mayer- Sob Rock (Columbia)

John Mayer has always been an artistic chameleon, having explored everything from rock, pop and the blues to folk, country, and Americana, and all with consistently strong results. For his eighth album, the aptly titled Sob Rock, he makes an unabashed, committed deep dive into the smooth, synthesized sounds of 80s soft-rock. And it’s delivered his most engaging record in ages. His unique voice and lush, virtuosic guitar skills blend seamlessly with the glossy wall of sound surrounding it, creating a body of work that is undeniably vintage, but impressively modern. Singles like “Last Train Home”, “New Light”, and “Wild Blue” are infectious and alluring, with plenty of bite and contemplation to uncover. At its core, the album very much presents Mayer at a crossroads with his own romantic turmoil and what it means for the second half of his life if he never learns how to commit. Those troubling but fascinating conflicts are especially raw on guttural tracks like “Why You No Love Me”, and “Shouldn’t Matter But It Does”.

The Wallflowers- Exit Wounds (New West)

Jakob Dylan has always maintained a quality over quantity approach with all of his musical endeavors, and thus The Wallflowers’ seventh album arrives nearly nine years after its sixth. This strategy continues to yield positive results for Dylan and his band, as Exit Wounds proves to be more than worth the extended wait. After all, it’s those long periods of inactivity that make the initial sounds of Dylan’s soulful rasp and the band’s killer guitar riffs on a track like lead single “Roots & Wings” all the more of a celebratory revelation. It easily harkens back to the first time you heard “One Headlight” twenty five years ago. And the rest of the album upholds that excellence throughout, weaving a collection of songs that paint a timely tussle between emotions of doubt, hope, and perseverance. Country-soul chanteuse Shelby Lynne’s addition as a pseudo-band member with her appearance on four tracks, proves to add a subtly eloquent layer of newness and pathos to the proceedings, with the sweeping “Darlin’ Hold On”, and the urgent “Move the River” being the ultimate highlights. All in all, the Wallflowers continue to represent roots-rock at its absolute best.

Yola- Stand For Myself (Easy Eye Sound)

Stand For Myself is precisely what you hope and dream a promising new artist like Yola will achieve on their sophomore album, in the face of the insurmountable well of pressure that comes in the wake of a debut breakthrough on the level of 2019’s Walking Through Fire. Reuniting with The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach in the producer’s helm, Yola further builds upon the vision set forth with that first record and adds even additional brushstrokes from various genres, eras, and topical inspirations. From the pure country phrasing of “Be My Friend” or honky twang of “Whatever Your Want”, to the biting folk commentary of “Diamond Studded Shoes”, to the luscious Brit-soul of “Great Divide” and the absolutely earthquaking rock abandon of “Starlight”, Yola’s second outing is as equally a rich bastion of American roots influences as her first, and her ability to sensationally master such a wide array of styles is a testament to her generation-defining voice. This record is a startling achievement, and an immediate favorite for the best album of 2021.