Metallica, Fruit Bats, Feist & The Wood Brothers Among Stacked Lineup Of New Releases
Don’t miss this new music out today, Friday, April 14.
By Team JamBase Apr 14, 2023 • 7:00 am PDT
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 Metallica, Fruit Bats, Feist, The Wood Brothers, The Tallest Man on Earth, Neil Young, Temples, Black Thought & El Michels Affair, Dirty Heads, Dinner Party, Angel Olsen, BT ALC Big Band, and Waiting On Mongo. Read on for more insight into the records we have ready to spin.
Metallica – 72 Seasons
The seven-year wait for a new Metallica studio album is finally over. Out today from the iconic metal band is 72 Seasons, the quartet’s first full length collection of new material since 2016’s Hardwired… To Self-Destruct. Guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich produced the 77-minute, 12-track album with Greg Fidelman. Ulrich, Hetfield, bassist Robert Trujillo and guitarist Kirk Hammett recorded the 11th Metallica album at the band’s headquarters in San Rafael, California. Hetfield detailed the concept behind the LP, stating:
“72 seasons. The first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves. The concept that we were told ‘who we are’ by our parents. A possible pigeonholing around what kind of personality we are. I think the most interesting part of this is the continued study of those core beliefs and how it affects our perception of the world today. Much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”
Fruit Bats – A River Running to Your Heart
A River Running to Your Heart is the 10th full-length album released by Fruit Bats, the project led by Eric D. Johnson. Released today by Merge Records, the album is the first self-produced by Johnson, though he co-credits Jeremy Harris who also handled engineering and mixing. The new record, which follows 2021’s The Pet Parade, was recorded at Panoramic House in Stinson Beach, California, with Harris providing additional guitar and keyboards. Other contributions came from bassist David Dawda, keyboardist Frank LoCrasto, drummer/keyboardist Josh Adams and multi-instrumentalist Josh Mease. Featured guests include Vetiver’s Andy Cabic on acoustic guitar, Jeff Manson on pedal steel guitar and Johanna Samuels on vocals and piano. In a statement regarding the album, Johnson explained:
“Over the years there’s been a lot of geography in my music, a lot of landscapes. Sometimes the places are real, sometimes they’re emotional. I’ve always liked the idea of songs and albums that exist in a continuum with one another. I’m not talking about some kind of deep series of concept albums, mind you. More like the idea that my songs are all pretty much tributaries of the same river. Which makes a lot of metaphorical sense because my path has been long and winding and often slow and muddy. But always moving towards the sea.”
Feist – Multitudes
Acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Feist (Leslie Feist) returns with her first album since 2017’s Pleasure. Multitudes came to fruition following the birth of Feist’s daughter and the sudden death of her father. The new record sees the singer-songwriter meditating on “mortality, connection and the frenetic state of the human condition,” as per a press release.
“The last few years were such a period of confrontation for me, and it feels like it was at least to some degree for everyone. We confronted ourselves as much as our relationships confronted us. It felt like our relational ecosystems were clearer than ever and so whatever was normally obscured- like a certain way of avoiding conflict or a certain way of talking around the subject- were all of a sudden thrust into the light. And in all that reassessment, the chance to find footing on healthier, more honest ground became possible, and the effort to maintain avoidance actually felt like it took more effort than just handing ourselves over to the truth.”
The Wood Brothers – Heart Is The Hero
Americana trio The Wood Brothers released their eighth studio album, Heart Is The Hero, today via Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers. Brothers Oliver and Chris Wood, along with honorary sibling Jano Rix went the analog route for the 10-song, acoustic-driven follow-up to 2020’s Kingdom In My Mind by recording directly to 16-track tape “with nary a computer in sight.” Engineer Brook Sutton worked with the three-piece on the album captured during sessions held at The Studio Nashville in Nashville. Oliver Wood shared the following in regards to the process that yielded Heart Is The Hero:
“The chorus of the album’s title track says, ‘the heart is the hero of every song.’ By no means was it intentional, but much of the material we were writing for this record seemed to come full circle to the idea of trusting in your heart in matters that you can’t control. Those words seemed to illustrate so much of what we were feeling—that heart and spirit guides us through this world. Even by recording completely analog, we had to commit to feeling the performances and have faith in what the three of us were creating together instead of trying to make things perfect by letting technology or overthinking things get in the way.”
The Tallest Man On Earth – Henry St.
Swedish musician Kristian Matsson records under The Tallest Man On Earth moniker and typically by himself. But for Henry St., his first new album, in four years, Matsson enlisted musical friends to back him in various configurations on 11 tracks he wrote while locked down during the pandemic. Out today via ANTI-, the long-awaited follow-up to 2019’s self-released I Love You, It’s A Fever Dream includes contributions from Ryan Gustafson (guitar, lap steel, ukulele), TJ Maiani (drums), CJ Camerieri (trumpet, French horn), Phil Cook (piano, organ), Rob Moose, yMusic (strings) and Adam Schatz (saxophone). Matsson discussed the new LP produced by Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sanborn, recalling:
“My entire career I’ve been a DIY person, mostly fueled by the feeling that I didn’t know what I was doing, so I’d just do everything myself. They opened everything up, and understood what the songs that I’d written needed: sounds that I couldn’t ever have thought of or created myself. We recorded so many of the songs live in the studio, playing, having fun and being really open with each other.”
Neil Young – Somewhere Under The Rainbow & High Flyin’
Legendary musician Neil Young today issued two new installments of his Original Bootleg Series (OBS) of live recordings. Somewhere Under The Rainbow documents Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers’ November 5, 1973 concert at the Rainbow Theatre in London during the historic Tonight’s The Night tour. The Santa Monica Flyers consists of pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith along with Crazy Horse members drummer Ralph Molina, bassist Billy Talbot and guitarist/pianist Nils Lofgren. The quintet focused on material from Tonight’s The Night, which wouldn’t be released until 1975, before playing a handful of Neil Young classics.
High Flyin’ compiles recordings of the short-lived but memorable band The Ducks. The project played a mere 20 shows at clubs in California over their two-month existence in 1977. Neil Young was joined in The Ducks by bassist Bob Mosley, guitarist Jeff Blackburn and drummer Johnny Craviotto. Each was an accomplished singer with all four taking turns on lead vocals. The 25-track High Flyin’ collects highlights from The Ducks’ brief time together.
Temples – Exotico
Temples tapped Sean Ono Lennon to produce their new album, Exotico, which came out today via ATO Records. The British psychedelic rock quartet’s fourth album overall features 16 tracks mixed by Dave Fridmann. Exotico is the first Temples full-length release since 2019’s Hot Motion. Temples – guitarist James Bagshaw, bassist Tom Walmsley, keyboardist/guitarist Adam Smith and drummer Rens Ottink – recorded Exotico with Ono Lennon in England at studios in London, Brighton and Worcestershire. Bagshaw detailed the album, stating:
“On previous albums the way we recorded was all very DIY, so it was a fantastic creative experience to work with someone like Sean. If we had an idea but weren’t necessarily sure how to get that exact sound, we could communicate what we were looking for and he’d have everything all set up before we even finished the sentence. The idea of the record is that we’re transporting people to a place they’ve never experienced, a beautiful destination that’s meant for everybody.
“One of the vital parts of this record is this character we call The Templettes. The engineers would set up some wonderful, old, almost lo-fidelity microphones, and we’d sing these very Ronettes-esque backing vocals together. It made sense to do those vocals as a group, even if one of us would be out of tune on a take and the whole thing would take a bit longer. It was all worth it for the texture, and for making the songs bigger whenever they needed to be.
“This record is essentially something we made for ourselves to find joy in at the time we were making it. We learned to see the magic in the mistakes, and in the unpredictability of an instrument or your own voice. It taught us to be less concerned about what genre something might sit in, or even stop worrying about genre altogether. The genre should always just be Temples.”
Black Thought & El Michels Affair – Glorious Game
The Roots co-founder Black Thought (Tariq Trotter) and soul-centric producer El Michels Affair (Leon Michels) released their collaborative album Glorious Game today. A collab two decades in the making, Trotter and Michels first crossed paths in the 2000s as the former was a fan of the latter’s soul group Menahan Street Band.
“Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio and would jam with us from time to time,” Michels recalled. “Then, fast forward to 2020 and COVID lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me to send him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy.”
“What I write about is determined by the equation of the producer’s energy and my energy,” Trotter added. “It’s about where we meet. To me, these songs are like scenes from a film that is my life. That’s the way it evolved.”
Dirty Heads – Midnight Control Sessions: Night 2
Dirty Heads released the EP Midnight Control Sessions: Night 2 today through Better Noise Music. The new record is the first in a series of three EPs the Southern California alt-rock outfit has in store for 2023. Midnight Control Sessions: Night 2 and its companions contain songs from the sessions for Dirty Heads’ 2022 album, Midnight Control.
The first look at the series features unreleased songs, remixes and special guests. Dirty Heads previewed the four-track Midnight Control Sessions: Night 2 with the single “Rescue Me.” “‘Rescue Me’ is our ode to California and we thought it would be rad to flip a Red Hot Chili Peppers hook,” vocalist Jared Watson revealed. “Not only did they influence us but they are one of the most influential and defining bands ever to come out of Cali. So it was a no brainer. It just felt right.”
Dinner Party – Enigmatic Society
Supergroup Dinner Party, featuring tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington, keyboardist Robert Glasper, alto saxophonist Terrace Martin and producer 9th Wonder, issued their debut full-length album, Enigmatic Society, through Sounds Of Crenshaw/Empire. The new LP follows the collective’s self-titled EP that was released in 2020. Guests include Phoelix, who appeared on Dinner Party, Tank, Ant Clemons and Arin Ray.
Angel Olsen – Forever Means
Angel Olsen’s Forever Means EP arrived today via Jagjaguwar. The collection contains four tracks from the sessions for the singer-songwriter’s critically acclaimed 2022 album, Big Time, co-produced by Olsen and Jonathan Wilson. Wilson also helped with production and mixing duties on Forever Means. Olsen previewed the new EP with “Nothing’s Free,” which she noted was “really difficult to exclude…from Big Time.” She also stated that the Forever Means songs are “in search of something else.”
“I was somewhere traveling, stopped for a few days and wandering the city, and I was thinking ‘what does forever really mean? What are the things I’m seeking in friendship or love, and how can forever be attainable if we’re always changing?’ Maybe the secret to ongoing love is to embrace change as part of love itself.”
BT ALC Big Band – Hearing The Truth
Boston-based BT ALC Big Band recruited an all-star cast of guest players for their new album, Hearing The Truth, available today on the Vintage League Music label. Band leaders Brian Thomas (trombone) and Alex Lee-Clark (trumpet) produced and arranged the nine original songs making up the group’s fifth album. Appearing across the album are such illustrious guests as G. Love, John Medeski, Karl Denson, Eric Krasno, Soulive’s Alan Evans and Lettuce members Nigel Hall, Adam Deitch and Eric “Benny” Bloom. Parts of the album were recorded remotely due to the pandemic, while others were later worked out during in-person sessions. Lee-Clark shared a statement regarding the making of the album, explaining:
“This whole record was really written in the teeth of COVID, the 2020 presidential election, and the dizzying experience all of us Americans are feeling as we reckon with our past and decide as a country what we want to be in the future. Through all those growing pains, there is a lot of noise. Everywhere you turn, you’re being inundated with new information, and it only seems to be getting faster. The music on this album is all about slowing down just enough to hear the truth in the noise. Plus, more plainly, Hearing The Truth was written about Fox News, and all the charlatans on that network telling us not to believe the thing we’re seeing with our own eyes.”
Waiting On Mongo – Funk Portal Live
Waiting On Mongo today released the live album, Funk Portal Live. As its title implies, the live release is a companion to the Asbury Park, New Jersey-based funk outfit’s 2022 studio album, Funk Portal, Pt. One. The band consists of guitarist Mike Susino, keyboardist Mike “Mongo” Iatesta, bassist Johnny Carlson, drummer Matt Iatesta, trumpeter Bruce Krywinski, saxophonist Anders “Ders” Carlson and percussionist Harris “Harry” Carlson. Recorded in their hometown at The Stone Pony, the live set captures the septet’s takes on five funk-filled songs.
“This show was a big one for the band. The record came after the pandemic and a lineup change, so we really wanted people to hear this new sound,” said Susino. “After sitting on the live tracks for months, we decided that this would be the perfect time to give people a glimpse into our live show experience.”
Compiled by Scott Bernstein, Nate Todd and Andy Kahn.
