CIMS Now Hear This
The Highwomen are a cleverly named new supergroup comprising country and roots rock stars Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby. After a few months of teasers and a soft debut at April’s Loretta Lynn tribute, they’re making their official introduction to the world.
The group has announced its self-titled debut album, out in September and produced by Dave Cobb, the Nashville mainstay who always seems to be behind the boards for these types of projects. (He’s also produced recent albums by Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, Lori McKenna, Ashley Monroe… you get the idea.) The album features 12 songs written by various combinations of the core members plus some notable collaborators like Isbell, McKenna, Miranda Lambert, and Ray LaMontagne. It features guest appearances from Isbell, Cobb, Sheryl Crow, Yola, the Hanseroth twins, Chris Powell, and Peter Levin.
Ma is a dedication to motherhood.The title of the album comes from the realization that the word 'Ma' is a very good candidate for our first utterance and our very last whisper, the word itself means 'Mother' in countless languages. The record contains 3 parallel narratives all pointing back to motherhood. The first is one of loss and helplessness, the narrative of a mother who reluctantly had to put up her child for adoption, still loving them, but unable to be with them. This became a metaphor for my own personal experience of observing my family in Venezuela, not being able to help in any meaningful way, and the constant feeling of complete helplessness. The second narrative is everything I would ever say to the children I may or may not have. The third narrative is one of celebration, of recognizing the Mother in each being, and of gratitude for music and its mothering qualities.
Ma was recorded in Big Sur and Los Angeles, CA and was produced, arranged, and recorded with my longtime collaborator Noah Georgeson. It features appearances by many, including Cate Le Bon and Vashti Bunyan, the archetype of a mother. It will be out September 13, 2019.-Devendra Banhart
The last album was called The Rise of Hobo Johnson, and it really lived up to its name. Self-produced, self-recorded, and originally self-released in late 2017, it powered a breakout year that most musicians can only dream of, beginning with the backyard performance of “Peach Scone” that brought Hobo Johnson (née Frank Lopes Jr.) YouTube viewers by the millions, and ending with a huge, intensely devoted fan base early, anticipating his next move.
That next move is called The Fall of Hobo Johnson, which is (Frank hopes) more of a metaphorical title. It’s about all of the things that Frank (the person) has gone through while Hobo Johnson (the persona) has been blowing up. Namely, a lot of falling: falling in love, falling out of it, and falling apart when it was over.
With over 30 years together as a band, over 12 million albums sold, and 14 number one and Top 10 hits at Hot AC -- Miracle Pill finds the band at the top of their game with a collection of songs that are complete with emotion, incredible melodies and sweeping guitars. The album observes and reflects on our current landscape of instant gratification and relief that everyone seems to be seeking.
Multi-platinum artists Fitz and the Tantrums have quickly grown from independent upstarts to bonafide hitmakers. The LA-based band are set to release their much-anticipated, fourth full length “ALL THE FEELS,” featuring lead single “123456,” this fall. “ALL THE FEELS” follows the band’s 2016 release “FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS,” which spawned the group’s biggest hit to date, “HandClap.” The RIAA-certified 2x Platinum single went top 5 on both the Hot AC and Alternative Radio charts, and also enjoyed major airplay across the country at Top 40. The band has brought the infectious energy of their live shows to the small screen, with nationally televised performances of “HandClap” on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars,” “Good Morning America,” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” NBC’s “TODAY,” “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “America’s Got Talent,” and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the syndicated “Ellen DeGeneres Show” among others.
The Shelters fan a fresh flame with classic fuel on their upcoming second full-length, Jupiter Sidecar to be released on September 20 via Warner Records. Ebbing and flowing between rock ‘n’ roll roots, surf swagger, synth swells, and unassuming pop ambition, the Los Angeles-based group—Chase Simpson [vocals, guitar], Josh Jove [guitar, vocals], and Sebastian Harris [drums]— thread it all together with catchy melodic hooks and handcrafted instrumentation. This approach quietly cemented them as a fan and critical favorite following the release of their self-titled full-length, The Shelters, in 2016. Produced by none other than the late Tom Petty, the debut garnered widespread praise from the likes of W Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Paste who noted, “The band’s sound successfully marries elements of ‘70s and ‘80s rock and roll with a modern flair.” Meanwhile, the boys racked up close to 14 million total streams with the single “Rebel Heart” and toured alongside The Head and the Heart, Royal Blood, The Killers, Gary Clark Jr., Band Of Horses, BRONCHO, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Mudcrutch and more, logging over hundreds of shows in two years.
Twenty years into their career, Tegan and Sara have recorded a new album that is based on the first songs they ever wrote. Hey, I’m Just Like You – their ninth studio album overall and first since 2016’s Love You to Death – will be released on September 27 on Sire.
Hey, I’m Just Like You is a return to Tegan and Sara’s rock and punk roots, with a punch of pop production. Recorded in Vancouver, Canada in April and May 2019, the album recasts the remarkable innate songwriting talents both possessed as teenagers, and allows these previously unreleased songs to benefit from the studio expertise they have gained in the past two decades – a period that has seen them release eight studio albums, earning seven Gold certifications and one Double Platinum certification in the process. Defiant and melodramatic, the songs capture the exultation and grief of first loves, first losses, ecstatic kiss-offs, and psychedelic tributes to friendship.
Following 2017's critically acclaimed Love Versus album that was featured in No Depression & Magnet, and received radio spins on SiriusXM and 20+ commercial Triple A stations in the US, Leeroy Stagger has emerged with Strange Path, his most ambitious and philosophical creation yet. In making Strange Path, Stagger surrounded himself with some of the best players in the business, including drummer Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Elliot Smith, Los Lobos), longtime collaborator Tyson Maiko, Paul Rigby (Neko Case, Garth Hudson, Jakob Dylan), Ryland Moranz and Michael Ayotte. The album was mixed by five time Grammy winner Ryan Freeland (Ray Lamontagne, Bonnie Raitt, Rodney Crowell) Brad Barr of The Barr Brothers shared producer's chair with Leeroy on on four of the eleven tracks. The first single and video "Stange Attractor' is going to AAA and Alternative Radio on July 15
If you were to take Bruce Cockburn's lyricism, gentle spirit and truth telling lyrics - cross them with a voice akin to Sufjan Stevens, sprinkle in a little Chris Martin falsetto and then add the songwriting diversity of folk, pop, gospel and worship, you might find something similar to the sound of True North Records recording artist Jeremy Benjamin. In 2018 Jeremy Benjamin and family (wife Lara and kids Isaiah and Kiara) set out on a year long tour of Canada raising money to reduce local and global poverty through music. For the next year Jeremy performed over 150 solo concerts in churches and schools across Canada, and at each stop gathered the audience together to sing the chorus of his song I Am Not My Own. The tour raised over $500,000 for charities and Jeremy ended up recording over 20,000 voices on the powerful worship song that closes his forthcoming album, Wonderlove, being released on October 4th 2019 in Canada on True North Records. During the year Jeremy released another compelling song from Wonderlove about recovery entitled Something Broke which reached #5 on the Canadian Christian Contemporary radio charts. A passionate communicator, a young man of deep faith with a gift for songwriting and a formidable drive to make a difference, the world can expect to be hearing more from Jeremy Benjamin.
Acclaimed guitarist Bill Frisell has signed with Blue Note and will release his debut album for the label under his own name with HARMONY, a gorgeous and evocative journey across the landscape of American music of the last century. The album features vocalist Petra Haden, cellist & vocalist Hank Roberts, and guitarist, bassist & vocalist Luke Bergman.
THE GLORIOUS SONS announce their incisive new album ‘A War On Everything’ - out September 13th on BMG/Black Box - a daring 14-track collection of stadium-ready, “dirty, sweaty rock” (Alternative Press)rife with devastating moments of vulnerability and searing insight into universal truths about anxiety, sadness and isolation in the 21st century.
Produced by Frederik Thaae (Kate Nash, Atlas Genius) and recorded at North of Princess studios in the group’s hometown of Kingston, ON,‘A War On Everything’ marks the start of a new chapter for a band who in 2019 alone landed their first Billboard #1, played massive shows withThe Rolling Stones and Twenty-One Pilots, and toured with The Struts- and that’s just the beginning.
Loudwire named THE GLORIOUS SONS an up-and-coming rock band“you need to hear,” and Billboard has praised the band’s “infectious energy.” Their most recent single “Panic Attack” is currently #1 on theCanadian Active Rock and in the Top 15 at US Active Rock.
Spyro Gyra returns with first new album in 6 years. Inventive jazz covers of vinyl-era pop favorites.
Spyro Gyra's new release ''Vinyl Tap'', their first album of new material in six years, is sure to excite their worldwide fan base as well as to bring new listeners into the fold.
Never content to rest on their prodigious work of the past, they have once again challenged themselves to apply their iconic sound to an idea that makes this release stand out from all of its predecessors. With ''Vinyl Tap'', they have decided to craft an entire album of inventive jazz covers from pop favorites from the vinyl era. But these versions of familiar tunes will surprise the listener as well as entertain them. Whether it's turning Cream's ''Sunshine of Your Love'' into a Latin big band sound or making a tender ballad out of the Beatles' ''You've Got to Hide Your Love Away'', this release will impress at every turn. They weren't satisfied with just turning Johnny Rivers' 1960's hit ''Secret Agent Man'' into a rollicking party jam. They added an uptempo melody from ''Alfie's Theme'' to make something brand new, ''Secret Agent Mash''. There are also more conventional approaches with faithful versions of songs like War's ''The Cisco Kid'' and the Doobie Brothers' ''What a Fool Believes''. Spyro Gyra's haunting version of Blind Faith's ''Can't Find My Way Home'' is sure to become a fan favorite.
