Our first of five tunes is by a dude named Victor Wainwright and he is a 37-year-old piano-pumpin’, blues-lovin’ SOB from Memphis Tennessee. In 2013 and 2014, Wainwright won the ‘Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year’ at the Blues Music Award ceremonies. Pinetop – for many years Muddy Waters’ piano player – was a family friend.

Are you ready for some boogie-woogie? Do you like Jerry Lee Lewis? This is Jerry Lee on steroids. Punch your ticket ladies and gentlemen. This is Victor Wainwright and the Train.

“Ha now boys. Get on board this train, let’s get this thing movin’!”

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Yeah, I know. We need to chill out a little bit after that. From their press kit: Spirits of Leo are a post-punk band founded by singer Ryan Santos Phillips in Santa Rosa, CA and currently based in Brooklyn, NY. Inspired by artists like The Cure, The Chameleons, and Red House Painters, Spirits of Leo deliver ethereal soundscapes united with driving intensity and immersive performances.

“”Eden” was written and recorded in one, overnight sitting. It was a response to a major breach of trust and dealing with that pain, which felt immovable at the time. The lyrics deal with attachment, infidelity, trust, and a world capsized.”

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How can you go wrong with a band named Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis? (Pictured on top of post.) Wikipedia: Kitty, Daisy & Lewis are a British five-piece band fronted by the siblings of the Durham family. Their music is influenced heavily by R&B, Blues, Soul, Punk, Rock and Roll and West-Indian music. They are all multi-instrumentalists playing guitar, piano, bass, drums, harmonica, banjo, lapsteel guitar, ukulele, xylophone, accordion and more between them.

This is a bluesy, kinda naughty piece called “Suspicion.”

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Originally born in Liverpool, Andro moved to London to train at renowned acting school Drama Centre London. After more than 3 years on the road with Mercury Prize-nominated Jungle, he launched his solo project with two self-directed videos for ‘When the Alarm Calls’ and ‘Afterlife’.

Of this track, Andro says: “I wrote Liar, totally premeditating a bond I knew would fail. And I was also grieving. It echoes the period when you’re yearning for nothing but intimacy and you feel you’ve been ladened with a lie after the breakdown of a ‘companionship’.”

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As near as I can tell, this band – The Shuffles – are a French band. (There was a Dutch group with the same name years ago but this is not them.) Hard to find information about them but I dug this up: After a 3rd album recorded between Detroit and Nashville, Lafayette, the duo Nathalie Loriot and Franck Hedin, decided to dedicate to their 60’s style “side project”, The Shuffles.

An unceasing dream had been exciting them for a long time: compose, produce and record an album of pure, classic 60’s soul, with a sharp backing band, backing vocals and guest singers. The vocal performances are full of sincerity and energy, respectful to the illustrious legends of the genre. The shadow of the legendary Motown, Fame, Stax, Hi Records or Atlantic albums hangs over the 12 tracks of this album, a vibrant tribute to the golden age of soul.

This is called “Show Me Your Skills.” It’s definitely got that Otis, Wilson Pickett groove and oh yea, the world needs more of that.

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