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 Loretta Lynn, Lana Del Rey, Daniel Lanois, Ghost Of Vroom and John Dwyer. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.
Loretta Lynn – Still Woman Enough
The Scoop: Country music icon Loretta Lynn released her 50th studio album, Still Woman Enough, today via Legacy Recordings. Produced by Loretta’s daughter Patsy Lynn Russell and John Carter Cash (the only child of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash), the 13-song set sees Lynn paying tribute to pioneering women in country music — including the Mother Maybelle Carter and the Carter Family-popularized “Keep On The Sunny Side” — as well as revisiting some of her classic songs with help from Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Margo Price and Tanya Tucker. The LP kicks off with the title track, a co-write with Patsy Lynn Russell which also features McEntire and Underwood. Lynn and Price also reimagine Lynn’s 1971 song “One’s On The Way” penned by famed poet and songwriter Shel Silverstein. The country legend also offers a recitation of the song she’s most proud of, “Coal Miners Daughter.” The record closes out with a new rendition of “You Ain’t Woman Enough” featuring Tucker.
Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over The Country Club
The Scoop: Lana Del Rey is back with the follow-up to her 2019 album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!. Chemtrails over the Country Club arrives today — after being delayed from a September 2020 release due to COVID-19 — via Interscope/Polydor Records. Del Rey co-produced the record with renowned producer and musician Jack Antonoff, with whom she co-wrote many of the songs on Chemtrails. Lana also worked with songwriter Rick Nowels on “Yosmeitie” and country artist Nikki Lane on “Breaking Up Slowly.” Del Rey heralded the LP with “Let Me Love You Like A Woman” and the title track. The latter begins with a sparse piano arrangement and showcases why Lana’s immense skill in using cinematic imagery. A slow burn, “Chemtrails” blossoms into a warm and lush crescendo that fades out with just a brushy drum beat. The 11-song set concludes with a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “For Free” which features Zella Day and Weyes Blood.
Daniel Lanois – Heavy Sun
The Scoop: Acclaimed producer and musician Daniel Lanois today drops his latest studio album, Heavy Sun, to launch his “Maker Series” imprint. Lanois recruited guitarist/vocalist Rocco DeLuca, organist/vocalist Johnny Shepherd and bassist/vocalist Jim Wilson as his band for the gospel-tinged LP. Heavy Sun was recorded in Los Angeles and Toronto after Daniel took the musicians to church, literally, at Zion Baptist in Shreveport, Louisiana for inspiration.
“We want to lift people’s spirits with this music. It’s so easy to feel isolated right now, but we want everyone to feel included in what we’re doing,” explained Lanois. “Our goal was to be a force for good with these songs,” added Daniel. “We wanted to remind people not to let the world steal their joy, to remind them that even during a global pandemic, it’s our responsibility to protect our spirits and find ways to keep on dancing, keep on singing, keep on teaching, keep on loving.”
Ghost Of Vroom – Ghost Of Vroom 1
The Scoop: Ghost of Vroom — the new project from singer-songwriter Mike Doughty and longtime collaborator bassist Andrew “Scrap” Livingston — released their debut full-length album, Ghost Of Vroom 1, today via Mod y Vi Records. The follow up to the group’s debut EP, Ghost Of Vroom 2, Doughty teamed up with longtime Beastie Boys collaborator Mario Caldato Jr. to record the album in Doughty’s adopted hometown of Memphis as well as at Mario C’s Eagle Rock studio space in Los Angeles. Ghost of Vroom 1 sees the collaborators using a diverse mix of sounds including breakbeats and eclectic instrumentation. Ghost Of Vroom previewed the album with the track “I Hear the Ax Swinging.”
John Dwyer – Endless Garbage
The Scoop: Constantly creating guitarist John Dwyer (Osees cranks out another new solo album, Endless Garbage, which lands today on Castle Face. The follow-up to January’s Witch Egg finds Dwyer working with drummer Ted Byrnes. Dwyer heard Byrnes playing drums in his garage and left a note for the percussionist, who followed up and gave Dwyer recordings that served as the foundations to the eight tracks on Endless Garbage. The new album also includes contributions from upright bassist Greg Coates, keyboardist Tom Dolas and saxophonist Brad Caulkins, all of whom also worked on Witch Egg.
“I decided to have every musician come in one at a time and just take a wild pass at their track over the drums,” Dwyer stated. “None of these people had ever met or played together. I was the connecting thread. I scratched the surface initially with electric bass, saxophone, guitars, cuica, synthesizers, flute and effects, but soon realized I would need heavy hitters to make this place habitable.”
Compiled by Scott Bernstein, Nate Todd and Andy Kahn.
