Kim Deal: Crystal Breath
The veteran of the Breeders, Pixies and Amps just released her first solo album, Nobody Loves You More. AllMusic notes the "outsized influence she's had on indie and pop music since the late '80s," adding that the new LP "reveals she can still surprise ... getting more overtly personal than ever before." The site says this track fuses "crunchy beats, a harmonica breakdown, and wagging guitar hook into 'Cannonball' levels of catchiness.
The Weather Station: Window
The musical project of Toronto's Tamara Lindeman will release its seventh album in January. Lindeman says its title Humanhood, "is a word that opens up so many thoughts for me in this time when the very state of being human feels so shifted, so uncertain, amid the attempt to invent AI, amid climate collapse. Amid my own personal journey that led to this record ... a journey from dissociation back out to connection." On this track she sings: "My heart is racing as a window opens somewhere to let me out - to let me in."
21 Dark Years: We Drift Through Time
New music from a new band: This "indie rock/alternative rock/pop rock" group was formed in Chicago just this year. So far they haven't revealed much about themselves, saying they believe "it's all about the music, not who they are." They have released two EPs in recent months; this track is on Stand Tall, which came out in July.
Dangermuffin: We Push Mountains
We dip again into this South Carolina-based jam band's self-titled album, released a few months back. It marked a return from a hiatus the quartet took after their 2017 release, Heritage. Hometown publication Charleston Magazine says this track, the new LP's opener, "is classic Dangermuffin, with punchy, orchestrated stops complementing the feel-good shuffle."
The Vancouver-based blues-rock guitarist opens his 21st album, Chasing the Sun, with a track that is both a cover of a Lucinda Williams song and a duet with the singer-songwriter. “Lucinda is such a revered songwriter, such a legend,” James says. “But she’s so nice. And hearing our voices together on tape was such a pleasure.” Gospel singers Ann and Regina McCrary chime in as well. Photo by James O'Mara