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 Greensky Bluegrass, Sharon Van Etten, Steve Gunn, Maggie Rogers and Guster. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.
Greensky Bluegrass – All For Money
The Scoop: It’s hard to believe that well over two years have passed since the release of the last Greensky Bluegrass album, but the jamgrass quintet finally is back with a new LP. All For Money is out today on the band’s own Big Blue Zoo Records imprint. The album contains 12 new originals, many of which were debuted live in 2018. Greensky recruited Dominic Davis and Glenn Brown to co-produce All For Money, which was recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, North Carolina. “By the time the vocals come in, you’re pretty sure it’s not ‘bluegrass’ … by the time the band is rocking full throttle behind those vocals, I expect the listeners to be thinking: ‘W ….. T ….. F …..,” said dobroist Anders Beck about the album. “That’s the idea! Welcome back to Greensky albums! Layers, twists, surprises, truly original music.”
Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow
The Scoop: After a four-year break to pursue things mostly outside of the music business, Sharon Van Etten returns with Remind Me Tomorrow. During her hiatus, Van Etten went back to school, had a child, guest-starred in the Netflix series The OA and scored music for the movie Strange Weather as well as the closing title song for comedian Tig Notaro’s show Tig. The nine-track effort was recorded at studios throughout Los Angeles and produced by John Congleton.
Steve Gunn – The Unseen In Between
The Scoop: Exactly two weeks after the release of guitarist Steve Gunn’s last album, 2016’s Eyes On The Lines, his father with whom he shared a name passed away after a two-year battle with cancer. The father and son grew close in the final years of the former’s life and that experience informed part of what makes up the nine-track LP The Unseen In Between. Released by Matador and produced by guitarist James Elkington (who plays a variety of instruments), the record features contributions on bass from Bob Dylan’s musical director Tony Garnier throughout. Additional contributors include drummer TJ Mainani and vocalist Meg Bird, as well as Jacob Daneman on clarinet and strings provided by Macie Stewart and Lia Kohl. Engineer Daniel Schlett also added keys and percussion during sessions held at his Strange Weather Recording Studio in Brooklyn.
Maggie Rogers – Heard It In A Past Life
The Scoop: Having already previewed five of the 12 tracks making up Maggie Rogers’ major-label debut album Heard It In A Past Life, the 24-year-old singer-songwriter has already established a signature style and sound. Deeply personal lyrics sung over smooth, rythmic and synthy instrumentation are what helped propel Rogers to a coveted spot performing the album tracks “Light On” and “Fallingwater” on Saturday Night Live. Rogers co-produced the album out on Capitol Records with the asistance of Greg Kurstin, Rostam and others.
Guster – Look Alive
The Scoop: In 2015, Guster released Evermotion and then the band focused on live performances. Today, Guster issued the long-awaited follow-up Look Alive via Nettwerk/Ocho Mule. The album was produced by Leo Abrahams at a vintage keyboard museum in Calgary, Alberta. With weather dipping below 30 degrees, Guster embraced the “cold sounds” as they created the nine-track affair. Additional sessions were held with John Congleton and Collin DuPuis behind the boards. The resulting effort is said to be “the most layered, moody and brilliantly unpredictable music of their storied career.”
Compiled by Jeffrey Greenblatt, Andy Kahn and Scott Bernstein.
