We’re back and we’re bringing you a ton of music. Unusually, August was kinda eventful, with plenty of great single and album releases. So we had to exaggerate a bit and make a 33 song playlist (and we had to leave quite a few tracks out to make it reasonable). Our focus this week is The Hold Steady’s new album “Thrashing Thru the Passion”, probably their best since 2008’s “Stay Positive”. There’s no way we’re tagging every single artist this time around, so just scroll down for the track list.
‘what we say in private’ is the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter/painter/visual artist Alexandra Levy, or Ada Lea. It’s been out for less than a handful of days but it’s already one of our indie rock albums of the year. Is it because its opening song sounds like a lost track off Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’s recording sessions that eventually morphs into a more layered Big Thief song, while never sounding like a tribute to either bands? Or maybe it’s because of the stellar songwriting in it. We don’t know. Let’s just listen.
Plus: new tracks by Wilco (the new kind of Wilco, not the old YHF one), Andrew Combs, Strange Ranger, Long Beard, Aviva le Fey, Shannon Lay, Joan Shelley, Holy Golden (now known as Dolly Valentine), Summer Salt, Grace Lightman, Bleached, Roselit Bone, Trash Kit, Fly Pan Am, Adam Green, Tony Molina, Leon Bridges, Whitney, RF Shannon, Hiss Golden Messenger, Joe Pug, Jim Lauderdale, and Twain + The Deslondes.
Time for our return after the usual early June festival break. Bill Callahan is back with his first long play in six years, an unusually twenty songs long record called Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest. It sounds like, well, exactly what you would expect from Callahan.
Go have a listen after you’re done with our ridiculously long playlist – 31 songs by 30 different artists over almost two hours: House and Land, Jambinai, Shellac, Kate Tempest, RF Shannon, Whitney, Bruce Springsteen, Richard Hawley, Lower Dens, Julia Shapiro, Stef Chura, The Divine Comedy, Adam Green, Tim Heidecker, David Berman’s Purple Mountains, Will Johnson, Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real, Hiss Golden Messenger, Chris Stapleton, Willie Nelson, Sturgill Simpson, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Michael Fracasso, Fruit Bats, Eilen Jewell, Bedouine, Joan Shelley, Julien Baker, and Shannon Lay.
Bolachas Now Playing, 13/2018 (#140):
Andrew W.K. – I Don’t Know Anything
Let’s Eat Grandma – Falling Into Me
Hop Along – Prior Things
King Tuff – Thru the Cracks
Kacy & Clayton – Bend in the Water
Matt Costa – Sharon
Wilder Maker – Closer to God
Ray LaMontagne – Such a Simple Thing
RF Shannon – Black Madonna, So Divine
Stella Donnelly – Mean to Me
Alasdair Roberts, Amber Skuse and David McGuinness – The Fair Flower of Northumberland
Bernice – Glue
Wye Oak – Lifer
Kacey Musgraves – Oh, What a World
Kacey Musgraves – Love is a Wild Thing
Joan Shelley, Bonnie “Prince” Billy – The Bridge
John Prine – God Only Knows
Renata Zeiger – Follow Me Down
Caitlin Canty – Cinder Blocks
Lindi Ortega – Forever Blue
We chose Joan Shelley’s new self-titled record to shine on our 101th playlist. It’s not even on Spotify on its entirety, but it’s simply too good for you not to buy it. It has the likes of James Elkington (who also has a brand new track out), Nathan Salsburg and the Tweedy father and son combo playing on the record, could it not be perfect?
Bolachas Now Playing, 17/2017 (#101):
LCD Soundsystem – Call the Police
Joe Goddard – Lose Your Love
Perfume Genius – Just Like Love
Slowdive – No Longer Making Time
Big Thief – Shark Smile
Grizzly Bear – Three Rings
Feist – Any Party
Tica Douglas – Down + Out
Lydia Loveless – Desire
Gianna Lauren – Will You Come
Joan Shelley – We’d Be Home
Joan Shelley – If the Storms Never Came
James Elkington – Wading the Vapors
Charlie Cunningham – Lights Off
Christopher Paul Stelling – A Day Or a Lifetime
John Moreland – Latchkey Kid
Chris Stapleton – Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning