Release Day Picks: July 21st New Album Highlights
By Team JamBase Jul 21, 2017 • 6:05 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 Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Stanton Moore, Nicole Atkins, Nine Inch Nails and Haakon’s Fault. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.
Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Barefoot In The Head
The Scoop: The Chris Robinson Brotherhood continue their prolific ways with today’s release of Barefoot In The Head, the group’s third studio release in the past two years. Robinson and his crew assembled at what has become their home studio, Northern California’s Brotherhood Arts Laboratory, and came out with a 10-track effort that mixes the group’s diverse influences with CRB’s trademark sound. Among the standouts are “Blonde Light Of Day,” which features Barry Sless on pedal steel, and the slinky groove of “Behold The Seer.” The CRB also brought in Alam Khan to add sarod to the psych-folk number “Glow.” Listen to the LP’s first single, “Behold The Seer”:
Label: Silver Arrow Records
Producer: Chris Robinson Brotherhood
Number Of Tracks: 10
Running Time: 45:16
Guest Musicians: Alam Khan, Barry Sless
Tracklist:
- Behold The Seer
- She Shares My Blanket
- Hark, The Herald Hermit Speaks
- Blonde Light Of Morning
- Dog Eat Sun
- Blue Star Woman
- High Is Not The Top
- If You Had A Heart To Break
- Glow
- Good To Know
Stanton Moore – With You In Mind: The Songs Of Allen Toussaint
The Scoop: Galactic drummer Stanton Moore and his trio came together in the Fall of 2015 to record an album, when a few days into the sessions legendary New Orleans musician Allen Toussaint died. Moore decided to put his plans for a trio album of new material on hold and instead assembled a ridiculous cast to record a tribute to Toussaint. With You In Mind: The Songs Of Allen Toussaint features 10 interpretations of Toussaint’s compositions ranging from beloved classics to deep cuts. Stanton and trio members David Torkanowsky and James Singleton are joined over the course of the album by such luminaries as Maceo Parker, Trombone Shorty, Nicolas Payton, Cyril Neville and Skerik in giving Toussaint’s songs the treatment. Stream “Night People” featuring Maceo Parker:
Label: Mascot
Number Of Tracks: 10
Running Time: 52:51
Guest Musicians: David Torkanowsky, James Singleton, Cyril Neville, Trombone Shorty, Skerik, Nicholas Payton, Donald Harrison Jr., Jolynda Kiki Chapman, Wendell Pierce
Tracklist:
- Here Come The Girls (feat. Cyril Neville & Trombone Shorty)
- Life (feat. Cyril Neville, Nicholas Payton & Skerik)
- Java (feat. Nicholas Payton, Donald Harrison Jr. & Trombone Shorty)
- All These Things (feat. Jolynda Kiki Chapman)
- Night People (feat. Maceo Parker)
- The Beat (feat. Cyril Neville)
- Riverboat (feat. Nicholas Payton & Donald Harrison Jr.)
- Everything I Do Gone Be Funky (feat. Maceo Parker)
- With You In Mind
- Southern Nights (feat. Nicholas Payton & Wendell Pierce)
Nicole Atkins – Goodnight Rhonda Lee
The Scoop: Current Nashville resident Nicole Atkins spent five days in Fort Worth, Texas recording her new album direct to tape with producers Niles City Sound (by Austin Jenkins, Josh Block and Chris Vivion). The 11 new originals were inspired by Atkins’ father’s cancer, a move from her home in Asbury Park, New Jersey to Music City and attempts at sobriety. “This record came to me at a time of deep transition,” Atkins said. “Some days were good, some not so good. What I did gain, though, from starting to make some changes and going inward, and putting it out on the table, was a joy in what I do again. Joy in the process and a newfound confidence that I don’t think I’ve ever had until now. The album title, Goodnight Rhonda Lee, also came from those feelings. Rhonda Lee was kind of my alias for bad behavior, and it was time to put that persona to bed.” The vocalist’s old friend Chris Isaak helped write the single “A Little Crazy,” listen here:
Label: Single Lock Records
Producer: Niles City Sound
Number Of Tracks: 11
Running Time: 39:43
Guest Musicians: Niles City Sound
Tracklist:
- A Little Crazy
- Darkness Falls So Quiet
- Listen Up
- Goodnight Rhonda Lee
- If I Could
- Colors
- Brokedown Luck
- I Love Living Here (Even When I Don’t)
- Sleepwalking
- A Night of Serious Drinking
- A Dream Without Pain
Nine Inch Nails – Add Violence
The Scoop: Last December Nine Inch Nails released Not The Actual Events, the first in a trilogy of EPs. The second installment in the trio of releases Add Violence comes out today and adds an additional five self-described “more accessible and impenetrable at the same time” songs to the band’s catalog. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross prepared a physical component to pair with the digital and vinyl releases, revealing “the narrative arc linking the three records begins to emerge through the disassociated lyrics and the provocative and clue-filled cover artwork and accompanying physical component.” Check out the video for “Less Than” below:
Label: The Null Corporation
Producer: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Number Of Tracks: 5
Guest Musicians: N/A
Tracklist:
- Less Than
- The Lovers
- This Isn’t The Place
- Not Anymore
- The Background World
Haakon’s Fault – Waning Gibbous
The Scoop: New York City-based quintet Haakon’s Fault return after a six-year hiatus with a new EP titled Waning Gibbous. The band shows off impressive chops and introspective lyrics on the four-song effort, which was produced by Dan Stringer. While the EP contains elements of funk and rock, Waning Gibbous is heavy on prog-rock twists and turns in the style of Rush and Dream Theater. Listen to “Wicked World” off the EP:
Label: Self-Released
Producer: Dan Stringer
Number Of Tracks: 4
Running Time: 19:17
Guest Musicians: N/A
Tracklist:
- Waning Gibbous
- Wicked World
- Save Us
- Higher
Note: This EP came out on July 14.
Compiled by Andy Kahn and Scott Bernstein.
