Gather ’round kids. Time once again to hear some new music. Today I’ve got a nice collection of stuff for your dining and dancing pleasure. Let’s get to it. 

I found the tune “Fall Back” by a band called Mint up on Spotify. They proclaim themselves to the the “Best Band in the World.” I very much doubt that but their song is a blast of punk energy that will bring you all the way back to 1977. Where are they from? I have no fucking idea. There are about a hundred bands named Mint and none of the ones I dug up matched their picture or sound. Looks like the Best Band in the World wants to remain a mystery.

From his PR: Paul Vinson, a Nashville-based indie rock artist, was born and raised in a small farm town in Florida. Singing at church was the start, but Vinson set his sights on Nashville in May of 2018. He found himself leaning back on the roots of the classic rock he grew up on while also drawing inspiration from current artists like Dawes and The Killers.

His forthcoming debut album Tunnel Vision is a nine-track record set for a fall release and is a reckoning and coming to terms with mental illness. Lead single “Drama Queen,” tells of the joys and sorrows our idiosyncrasies bring and forces us to recognize that some of our greatest strengths can be the very same that tear us down. “It’s a very up-down battle dealing with OCD and intrusive thoughts and weird obsessions and compulsions.”

“Drama Queen” definitely has a strong classic rock feel and I can easily hear it blasting out of the radio with the top down.

Of Emma Wilson, RNR magazine says, “Emma can growl like Koko Taylor, testify like Aretha Franklin, rock like Janis Joplin, be as soulful as Stax – but she’s always her own woman.” From her press: Amongst the current wave of feted female blues singers, North East-based (from Teesside, Middlesbrough, UK) Emma Wilson truly stands out for her versatility and assured vocal command of so many styles and approaches to the genre.

Her debut album Wish Her Well includes ten original songs. Emma describes them as love songs but not in the traditional sense. The lyrics deal with love, death, lust, rejection, empowerment, and painful heartbreak. The music on the record arcs through blues, northern soul, rock, and gospel and offers echoes of Emma’s influences: Ann Peebles, Aretha, Mavis Staples, Little Feat, Robert Cray, and The Faces.”

Here’s Emma growling on “Wish Her Well.” For my money, you cannot beat a hot-sounding female blues singer:

Now I thought I had a pretty good handle on Elvis Costello’s career. But as it turns out, not so much. According to AllMusic, “In 1972, Costello — then still known as Declan MacManus — was in a duo called Rusty with fellow singer, guitarist, and songwriter Allan Mayes, and they made the rounds of folk clubs and pubs for roughly a year and a half before Costello left their native Liverpool to try his luck in London.

In 2021, on a lark, Mayes contacted Costello to ask about doing a one-off Rusty reunion show. Costello countered with a proposal that they make a record, and The Resurrection of Rust is a six-song EP in which the duo run through some songs that were in their repertoire back in the day — four covers and two originals.” Who knew?

It is time for you to “Surrender to the Rhythm.” Really good stuff.

Wikipedia: “The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. They were the first unsigned band to make the cover of Rolling Stone and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Juno Awards.

Frontman Ewan Currie, the band’s primary songwriter, has described the band’s guitar-driven blues-rock style as ‘pure, simple, good-time music.’ He’s said that the band aims to land in the sweet spot between Led Zeppelin and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Currie has further credited Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, and The Allman Brothers Band as influences on the band’s style.”

And away we go. Here’s “Scarborough Street Fight.” Hard to believe these guys are Canadian. Sound like they’re from the Deep South: