I only have two goals for this series: 1) Introducing the masses to great new music and 2) Giving myself an excuse to listen to every single new release on the Tidal streaming service so I can stay up with new music. Doing this on a weekly basis means that I have a one week window to get this up before the Tidal feed flips to the next set of records, so by posting song reviews rather than full album reviews, it allows me to get more out there and then if you choose to dig deeper, you can.
So… songs of the week for the release date of 2/21/2020.
- Artist: Yacht Rock Review
- Song: “Bad Tequila”
- Album: “Hot Dads in Tight Pants”
- Genre: Pop/Yacht Rock
- Notes: Well, these guys were a yacht rock cover band and then decided to put out an album of originals. “Bad Tequila” is a pretty catchy tune and there are others on the album that definitely sound like a modern version of 80s yacht rock but overall, the album is average at best. But I can imagine these guys are pretty fucking solid at Doobie Brothers covers.
- Artist: Ozzy Osbourne w/ Post Malone
- Song: “It’s a Raid”
- Album: Ordinary Man
- Genre: Rock N’ Fucking Roll, man
- Notes: Well, as much as I want to love what very well could be Ozzy’s final record, it’s just dull in the end. The singles are easily the best songs and this is the 4th from the album – a punk track, which is something a little unique for the Prince of Darkness. But overall, even with Chad Smith and Duff McKagan on the album, it’s pretty boring in the end.
- Artist: Allie X
- Song: “June Gloom”
- Album: Cape God
- Genre: Indie/Synth-pop
- Notes: Allie X makes solid dance/electro-pop with super catchy hooks. There’s a consistent sound across this album, so if you like the track here, you’ll likely like most of the full album as well.
- Artist: Moses Sumney
- Song: “Virile”
- Album: græ: part 1
- Genre: ???
- Notes: Such an intriguing artist and album here. I’ve never heard of this guy before and he’s labeled on Wikipedia as Art Rock / Indie Rock / Elecro-Soul / Baroque Pop. So you know, he could be pretty much anything – which this album is. It’s soulful, while rockin’, it’s artsy while being accessible and it’s unique as hell. I like unique as hell.
- Artist: Coin
- Song: “Cemetery”
- Album: Dreamland
- Genre: Indie Pop
- Notes: “Cemetery” reminds me a lot of “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People – which is probably a good comparison for the entire record. So I’ll leave it at that.
- Artist: Adam Chaffins
- Song: “Making It Known”
- Album: Some Things Won’t Last
- Genre: Country
- Notes: Chaffins is an interesting mix of country, bluegrass and fuzzed out rock. This is one of those rock songs but the album itself is much mellower and fantastic.
- Artist: Too Free
- Song: “Gold”
- Album: Love in High Demand
- Genre: Experimental Pop
- Notes: Another one of these albums that’s hard to pin down into a genre. Experimental pop seems to be the only real thing that fits. The album starts with some electro-pop including this track, “Gold” which opens the record with a drum beat that sounds more early 80s rap than anything else. There’s an electro feel throughout the record even if most are not as dance-able at this track.
The Trusty Steed 