The calendar aside, spring hasn’t quite sprung in my neck of the woods. We had a morning of mad snow last Monday followed by a string of mostly dreary days and cold nights. But if the historical trends recorded by the Weather Underground are an accurate predictor of what’s to come, soon enough daytime temps will spiral consistently into the 60s and the chilly nighttime temps won’t cause heaters to kick into overdrive.
Anyway, although I’ve spent much of the past week immersed in Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John and Courtney Marie Andrews’ May Your Kindness Remain, a few new and recent sounds and artists have percolated through my psyche.
1) Savannah Jeffreys – “What It Feels Like.” My introduction to Savannah came last year, when she lent her wondrous voice to her dad Garland’s stirring “Time Goes Away” on his 14 Steps to Harlem album. The three-song Voice Memos EP, which is available on all the usual outlets, conjures a young Alicia Keys. (Diane dubs the sound “New Jack Old School,” for what that’s worth.)
2) Faustina Masigat – “Intervention.” The video dates from last summer, but the song is one of 11 gems on Faustina’s self-titled debut, which was released on April 5th. It’s a hypnotic set that I plan to revisit in the coming week.
3) Sarah Shook & the Disarmers – “New Ways to Fail.” I discovered this outlaw-country delight via the Highway Queens blog.
4) H.C. McEntire – “Red Silo.” H.C.’s Lionheart album is an absolutely addictive album. Here she is singing one of its key tracks, “Red Silo,” at the album’s release party in February. (I plan to review the album in full at some point.)
5) The Yearning – “Do You Remember?” The Wales-based Yearning, who conjure the sweet pop confections of the 1960s, always capture my ear. They’re currently on tour in Japan. This song is one of the highlights on their recent EP, Take Me All Over the World.
The Old Grey Cat 