Home Jambase The Monthly RecommNeds: August 2021

The Monthly RecommNeds: August 2021

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Apologies we’re about a week late with this week’s picks – the RecommNeds takes a summer vacation, too, you know! – so apologies to any die-hards who have been waiting patiently for some new music to listen to. Of course, you can always dive back into some of this year’s earlier picks, you might have missed a gem or two.

Just in case you’ve missed any of this year’s columns, you can check ‘em out here:

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As a reminder, the RecommNeds is a monthly rundown of maybe-not-on-your-radar new music, hopefully with something-for-everyone variety. I’m also putting together a special 25-track playlist each month: songs I’ve been digging, some from the monthly picks, some from albums that weren’t featured, some singles from upcoming releases and maybe a random blast-from-the-past favorite or two. This month’s playlist is here. Dig it!

Without further ado, here are my latest finds, enjoy!

The Monthly 10

Ten under-the-radar albums released last month that I think you might dig.

Chet Sounds: Chet Sounds

Chet Sounds is Chet Taylor out of Sydney, Australia, a DIY’er who did most of the writing and playing of the music on his self-titled solo debut. Whatever your tastes, if you’re reading this, chances are you’ll find many or all of Chet’s influence overlap strongly with yours. These songs have the familiar feel of old friends, covers of songs never written by your favorite bands – classic rock, folk, country, psych and even jazz, which is to say that Chet’s sounds are all of ours. Enjoy ‘em!


Estrada Orchestra: Playground

Regular readers know we love our Eurojams around here, and our last-year discovery of Estonian Misha Paniflov has only strengthened that love – everything he puts out (and he puts out quite a bit of music with different groups and configurations) is a mindbender. That’s definitely true of Playground by the Estrada Orchestra, a deliciously slow-paced ambient headturner, a single piece in three movements stretching over 40+ minutes of pure psychedelic build. This one will take you there, rest assured!


Guess What: Children In Space

While we’re kicking the great jams from Europe, get a load of Guess What, a duo out of France that is just pure fun. There’s been a whole host of great, delightfully weird grooves coming from France lately, and this one is an exemplar must-listen. Somewhere between a children’s animated TV series soundtrack and a George Clinton Mothership excursion, all tailor-made for the dance floor, this is an f-u-n, funky record. Highly recommended.


Cameron Knowler: Places Of Consequence

I love the cover to this one, a guitar player with his hand over his eyes. Is he waking up from a daydream nap? starting at the horizon? a sunset or sunrise? This music is right for all of those experiences and then some, Cameron Knowler playing daydreamy solo guitar (and more) of the kind for looking out to the west or maybe from the west back to the east. Whatever your perspective, this is another stellar must-hear guitar record of the kind we dig so much around here. This is Knowler’s second appearance here of the year, which feels like no accident. Dig it.


Matthew Milia: Keego Harbor

For those looking for some songs, perfectly crafted songs, you could do a lot worse than Matthew Milia, the frontman for the band Frontier Ruckus. He’s out with a solo release that is dense with his characteristic imagery, cultural touchstones and uniquely observational point of view. Milia’s hometown suburban Detroit plays a central role throughout, but there’s an undeniable universality – and plenty of tasty pedal steel – that takes this to another level. Each track is a carefully crafted short story with earworm melodies and singalong choruses. If you’re looking for great songs, look no further.


Monta At Odds: Peak Of Eternal Light

Monta at Odds is a brothers duo out of Kansas City I’ve been following for several years as they’ve developed their dreamy space rock sound. I think this latest release may be their strongest, brimming with confident grooves, technicolor explosions of psychedelia, smoke-hazy vocals and catchy grooves. Each track picks up where the last left off, bringing you further into its web, while casting you further off into space. Give it a spin, I think you’ll dig it.


Possum: Lunar Gardens

Possum, out of Toronto, is a band I’ve featured in the RecommNeds before, but I get the feeling not enough people are listening to them. That’s a darn shame, because they kick some serious ass and are in fine serious-ass-kickin’ form on their latest release. These are deep, heavy-duty psych rock jams worthy of the liquid light show imagery on the cover and their jammy band name. Their debut impressed me and had me calling them a Canadian King Gizzard, but the follow-up takes things up a notch and to a trip all their own. Whatever you do, don’t skip this one.


Ric Robertson: Carolina Child

Singer/songwriter Ric Robertson is from North Carolina (hence the album name), but currently lives in New Orleans, and that largely sums up the hard-to-capture sound on his latest. Like many a NOLA-based musician before him, he takes a big bite of American music, chews it up thoroughly, and, in this case, largely succeeds in swallowing it, extracting elements of country, jazz and rock along the way. I’ve just recently returned from Newport Folk Fest and Robertson’s sound and energy feels like a perfect fit for that crowd. To that point, NFF regulars Lucius show up to back on a few tracks and Wood Brother Oliver lends his talents as well.


Tobacco City: Tobacco City, USA

We’ve dabbled a bit this month so far, but it’s time to go full Americana with the debut full length from Chicago’s Tobacco City. This is cosmic country at its finest, featuring both male and female lead vocals – even better when they’re together in sweet harmony, woe-is-me love songs and the constant sweet, otherworldly whine of the pedal steel. This is music from when honky tonks and bars were filled with smoke from their namesake tobacco, captured and reimagined for today’s listener. Sweet, sweet stuff.


Typical Sisters: Love Beam

The final pick is from a trio that’s also originally from Chicago and also lets me squeeze in another genre in this month’s picks, this time jazz. Or really, as I like to call it “notjazz,” that free-spirited improvisational music that clearly has jazz language and motifs hidden deep in its origins, but is something all its own now. That definitely is the case for this guitar-bass-drums trio, whose latest is a hair-raising set of jamming and compositions and weirdo interludes, experimental and funky and thoroughly thought-provoking. Like New York City, Chicago is a breeding ground for its own brand of improvised music, and Typical Sisters fits right in with the best that city has to offer. A final must listen for this month, I hope you’ll check this and all the August picks out.


Bonus Round

In addition to the Monthly 10, I’ll try to throw in a few other picks each month.

A lot of good live releases in the past month, but most are not what I’d consider off-radar, so for my monthly live pick, some more jazz for you, drummer Keshav Batish and his band recorded playing a stellar set for a COVID-era livestream show.

A couple EP’s for when you don’t have time for a whole shebang. Weekly Rec’s faves William Tyler and Luke Schneider hooked up for four tracks of alien-mind-probe ambient music that’s perfect for when the mood strikes you, and how about Molly Lewis, who is an expert whistler (!) and makes lovely, downright groovy music leading a full band on her latest EP.

And finally five more recommendations that may not be on your radar but are well worth a listen, presented without comment: Rodrigo Amarante, Arushi Jain, Mega Bog, Abram Shook, Tangents … what other good ones did I miss this month?

I think that’ll do, more next month.

Please note: all of the music mentioned in this column can be found in this August compilation playlist on Spotify. I’ll also keep up this running playlist with all the recommendations from 2021 so they’re all in one place for easy new music discovery at any time.

Enjoy!

Source: JamBase.com