“Excelsior!” is the first LP by NYC-based singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels. Produced by Sam Evian, the album features contributions by the likes of Courtney Marie Andrews, Hannah Cohen, A.O. Gerber or Lomelda’s Hannah Read. If you’ve followed us long enough, you know this means we’ve already sticked our seal of approval five times. Come for the copious namedropping, stay for some of the best lyrics of the first half of 2021.
Bolachas Now Playing, a new music Spotify playlist updated every Tuesday.
He has left us alone but shafts of light sometimes grace the corner of our rooms. Richard Swift’s posthumously released final album, The Hex, was released last week and is our record of the week. Plus: new songs by Alejandro Escovedo, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Goshen Electric Co. (Strand of Oaks + Magnolia Electric Co. – JMo), The Hold Steady, Hiss Golden Messenger, The Black Lillies, Dawn Landes, Nathan Bowles, Scott H. Biram, J Mascis, Okkervil River, Buxton (the New West Records signed artist, not the British brewery), St. Paul and The Broken Bones, Arve Henriksen + Eivind Aarset + Jan Bang, Niagara (Príncipe Discos), HEALTH +Soccer Mommy, Sylvan Esso + Collections of Colonies of Bees, Mutual Benefit, Sandro Perri + Destroyer’s Dan Bejar, Lonnie Holley, and Marissa Nadler.
Bolachas Now Playing, 32/2018 (#159):
Richard Swift – The Hex
Richard Swift – Broken Finger Blues
Alejandro Escovedo – Teenage Luggage
Jeff Tweedy – Some Birds
Goshen Electric Co. – The Gray Tower
The Hold Steady – Confusion In The Marketplace
Hiss Golden Messenger – Rock Holy
The Black Lillies – Snakes and Telephones
Dawn Landes – Traveling
Nathan Bowles – Now If You Remember
Scott H. Biram – Chickens
J Mascis – Everything She Said
Okkervil River – New Blood
Buxton – Jan
St. Paul & The Broken Bones – Concave
Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset, Jan Bang – Nymphs and Eurasian Horses
Niagara – França
HEALTH, Soccer Mommy – MASS GRAVE
Sylvan Esso, Collections Of Colonies Of Bees – Funeral Singers
Mutual Benefit – Waves, Breaking
Sandro Perri, Dan Bejar – Everybody’s Paris, Pt. III
Lonnie Holley – How Far Is Spaced-Out?
Marissa Nadler – I Can’t Listen to Gene Clark Anymore
Bolachas Now Playing, 12/2018 (#139):
Courtney Marie Andrews – Long Road Back to You
Courtney Marie Andrews – Two Cold Nights in Buffalo
Sarah Shook & the Disarmers – New Ways to Fail
Kacey Musgraves – High Horse
Speedy Ortiz – Lean In When I Suffer
Ulrika Spacek – Lord Luck
Okkervil River – Pulled Up the Ribbon
Ari Roar – Calm Down
Snail Mail – Pristine
Nilüfer Yanya – Baby Luv
Bonny Doon – Saw a Light
Hiss Golden Messenger – Passing Clouds
Craig Finn – Galveston
Yo La Tengo – Polynesia #1
Meshell Ndegeocello – Private Dancer
Caroline Says – Sweet Home Alabama
Alice Phoebe Lou – Devil’s Sweetheart
Jens Lekman – Correspondence: Forever Young, Forever Beautiful
Stella Donnelly – Boys Will Be Boys
Mount Eerie – Now Only
Buck Meek – Ruby
Bolachas Now Playing, 07/2018 (#134):
Johanna Warren – Hopelessness Has Done Nothing for Me
Caroline Cotter – Peace of Mind
Alela Diane – Never Easy
Alice Boman – End of Time
Beach House – Lemon Glow
Okkervil River – Don’t Move Back to LA
Eleanor Friedberger – In Between Stars
Anna McClennan – Flailing Orbits
Grace Vonderkuhn – Worry
Courtney Barnett – Nameless, Faceless
David Byrne – This is That
Iceage – Catch It
Ought – Disaffection
Superchunk – Bad Choices
Superchunk – Black Thread
The Men – Rose on Top of the World
Nap Eyes – Dull Me Line
Julian Lage – General Thunder
Kira Skov, Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Lilac Sky
Valerie June – Love Told a Lie
Michaela Anne – Your Cheatin’ Heart
Susto, BJ Barham – I’ll Fly Away
Yes, it’s another playlist dominated by singer-songwriters. We promise to mix things around next week – there’s still quite a backlog of songs we want to feature! – but with both Wilco and Okkervil River putting out new records you know we had to do this.