Don’t Miss New Albums Out Today From Mammoth WVH, Mikaela Davis & Joshua Ray Walker

Each week Release Day Picks profiles new LPs and EPs Team JamBase will be checking out on release day Friday. This week we highlight new albums by Mammoth, Mikaela Davis and Joshua Ray Walker. Read on for more insight into the records we have ready to spin.

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Mammoth WVH – Mammoth II

Wolfgang Van Halen released the aptly titled Mammoth WVH sophomore album, Mammoth II, via BMG. Mammoth II is the follow-up to the self-titled debut album that came out in 2021. Like its predecessor, all of the instrumentation on Mammoth II was recorded by Van Halen (who is the son of late Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen). Wolfgang recorded the new album at 5150 Studios in Los Angeles with producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette. The “Another Celebration at the End of the World” served as record’s lead single. Wolfgang Van Halen detailed the new album, single and how the latter might fit into Mammoth WVH’s live sets:

“I knew that I wanted the new album to contain elements of what people heard on the debut, but also giving me a chance to branch out a bit. ‘Another Celebration at the End of the World’ is definitely a song that showcases what people can expect from the new album. It is a high-energy rocker with some fun guitar moments on it. I also pushed myself vocally and it is a song I can’t wait to get out and play live. I can see it being a fixture in our live set moving forward.”

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Mikaela Davis – And Southern Star

Harpist Mikaela Davis released her long-awaited sophomore album, And Southern Star, today through Kill Rock Stars. And Southern Star, which is the follow-up to Davis’ 2018 debut, Delivery, takes its name from Davis’ backing band whose members co-produced the new album. Davis recorded And Southern Star with drummer Alex Coté, guitarist Cian McCarthy, bassist Shane McCarthy and steel guitarist Kurt Johnson, marking the first time the five-piece band, which has been together for more than 10 years, has appeared on a full-length release together. Initial sessions were held at Old Soul Studios in Catskill, New York with Kenny Siegal. Additional sessions were helmed by Cian McCarthy at Horehound Mansion. The album was mixed by “silent sixth member of the band” Mike Fridmann at his Tarbox Road Studio.

“I finally feel like this album is more me than anything else that’s been released,” Davis stated.

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Joshua Ray Walker – What Is It Even?

Dallas-native Joshua Ray Walker got the idea for his newly released album, What Is It Even?, while hanging out with drummer Trey Pendergrass on tour at Tulsa’s Mercury Lounge. Somewhat jokingly, “what if the Blues Brothers covered a Whitney Houston song?” was pondered, specifically a “gospel jump blues version of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’” — which would end up on What Is It Even?, an 11-track covers album featuring other pop hits. Walker recorded the album with producer with John Pedigo and his touring band of Pendergrass, bassist Billy Bones and pedal-steel guitarist Adam Kurtz. Among the other covers are songs popularized by Lizzo, The Cranberries, Cher, Sia, LeAnn Rimes, Lazarus, Dolly Parton, Beyoncé and Regina Spektor, as well as Sinead O’Connor.

“I just wanted to make something that was fun,” Walker says. “I realized how influential female pop records and artists have been on me as a person, even more than in a creative sense.”

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Compiled by Team JamBase.