Wherein I spin a couple of new tunes for your dining and dancing pleasure…..

Early last year I did a post on Graham Parker. In that post, I mentioned that Parker had secured a major record deal with Phonogram records after Brinsley Schwarz manager Dave Robinson got a tape of a Parker demo to a radio show host.

For the uninitiated, Brinsley Schwarz is a guitarist and singer whose recording career goes back to 1967. According to his press kit, he made his “first records as a member of the British pop band Kippington Lodge.

In between the Kippington Lodge recordings and his new record Tangled, Schwarz was a member of the influential ‘pub rock’ band, the eponymously named Brinsley Schwarz with his school mate Nick Lowe, and The Rumour, which backed Graham Parker on tour and on five studio albums, in addition to releasing three albums of their own.

Schwarz continued to collaborate with Parker through four decades, co-producing the landmark albums The Mona Lisa’s Sister and Human Soul and, more recently, touring with Parker as a duo. Beyond this, Brinsley has worked with a wide array of artists, including Carlene Carter (whose debut album he co-produced), Dr. Feelgood, Kirsty MacColl, Garland Jeffreys, Ducks Deluxe, and Desmond Dekker.”

I have known the name Brinsley Schwarz for quite some time and am well aware of not only the band named for him but also of his contributions to the Rumour. I’m excited to say that not only does he have a new album out but that – in a first for Music Enthusiast –  I will be interviewing him (by email) in an upcoming post. In the meantime, check out his Facebook presence.

“Storm in the Hills” has got that old-time rock and roll flavor that we don’t hear enough of on the radio anymore. Gotta love that tinkly piano:

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A song recently came my way, a new single by the “Utah-based ‘folk meets Americana’ singer-songwriter, Alicia Stockman. The song is – like so many of the really good ones you hear – about “lost love, painful memories that express feelings of suffering and melancholia.”

“Halfway to Houston” is the second single from Stockman’s debut album These Four Walls, which is set for release in November 2021. Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will recognize that I don’t do a lot of songs like this. You will also recognize that I know a good song when I hear one.

“Halfway to Houston” is a “token break-up song where Alicia recalls a painful memory of lost love. The song is poetic and emotive, laced with soaring vocals and intimate lyrics that express feelings of suffering and melancholia. “I wrote the chorus of this song while hiking a trail network near my house. It was a healthy way to process the end of this relationship while my ex-partner moved out of the house.”

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From their bio: Belle Roscoe debuted a decade ago with a self-titled album that turned heads all over the place, spreading their name from their Melbourne home around the world. They bedded in with a fine 2013 follow-up and a series of teasingly inviting singles and EPs since. But now, in the 2020-21 season, they’ve created the thrilling sound that defines them.

So it’s with pride and excitement that siblings Julia and Matty Gurry and their band unveil the distinctly raunchy single “Soho Shoes'” as the first taste of the career-redefining EP Talking To The Walrus. The five-tracker sets Belle Roscoe firmly in the top division of modern melodic rock, with nods to glam, psychedelia, gothic blues, folk and country, 1970s Americana, and those instinctive harmonies that are the special preserve of sibling groups, from the Everlys to the Haims.

The EP takes its title from the “spirit animal” that inspired the sessions, who in turn connects them to one of their abiding musical heroes. “The walrus has been a big influence on the record,” says Matty. “One night, we were at the studio writing and I swear to god, John Lennon appeared to me as the walrus. We just started dialing in on the Imagine album and I realised it’s such a punk record.”

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From his website: “Tyler Ray is an American singer-songwriter with a rich understanding of the highs and lows that this life has to offer. This blue-collar, CA native grew up with a shovel in his hand and a song in his heart. There’s no shortage of raw, unadulterated, relatable emotion on full display in his new single, “All Aboard.”

A completely Independent release, “All Aboard” was produced by Josie Award-nominated producer, Daniel Dennis. Featuring guitarist Jon Conley (Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs) and Lee Turner (Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton) it’s Ray’s most polished outing to date.

“I wrote this song in a camping trailer parked out in the backwoods of Michigan after playing a gig at a small biker bar in Midland…having just driven 2500 miles over the course of a day and a half before the gig.

I was popping a sleeping pill and washing it down with an energy drink while my opiate buzz was wearing off and I looked at myself in the mirror and asked myself…”what are you doing?” That night, I wrote “All Aboard”…then proceeded to struggle with addiction for another 5-6 years. I still struggle…but I’m in a better place now.”

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AllMusic: “Los Angeles indie quintet Inner Wave plays a bright, experimental mix of pysch-pop and synthwave that earned them a significant streaming presence and die-hard regional following in the mid-2010s, thanks in part to songs like “American Spirits” and “Eclipse.”

The group’s quirky but catchy songs and combined Filipino, Colombian, and Mexican heritage have helped make them underground stars in the area’s Latinx indie rock community alongside acts like Chicano Batman and Cuco.”

I heard this tune, “Mystery” on the radio and really dug it:

Spotify link