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Listen NowWe’ve gotten our hands on loads of great new releases over the past few months, and we’re presenting to you now a mere sampling of what’s in store for you when you tune in to WWCF 88.7 FM, either on your FM dial, on the TuneIn app or website, and right here on wwcfradio.org. Check out the new music below, and keep listening to WWCF Radio for all of this and more!
Album Releases
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Jimi Hendrix Both Sides of the Sky Both Sides Of The Sky presents thirteen studio recordings including ten which have never before been released. All but two of these studio recordings were made during a fertile period between January 1968 and 1970. Jimi’s mastery and use of the studio as a proving ground for new songs resulted in a growing collection of extraordinary material, and this release completes the trilogy of albums (with Valleys Of Neptune and People, Hell & Angels) presenting the best and most significant unissued studio recordings remaining in the Hendrix archive. |
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Calexico The Thread That Keeps Us Their ninth studio album is the followup to 2015’s critically acclaimed Edge of Sun, Calexico gathered musicians from across the globe to dream up an earthy yet expansive sound spiked with jagged guitar tones and flashes of distortion. “There’s a little more chaos and noise in the mix than what we’ve done in the past,” says co-founder Joey Burns. Although that chaos has much to do with “where we’re at right now as a planet.” |
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John Mayall Three For The Road Blues Hall of Famer and “Godfather of British Blues” John Mayall presents a new album recorded live in Dresden and Stuttgart, Germany. Recorded last year, the nine tracks on Three for the Road include fan and personal song favorites played by his trio: John Mayall (vocals, keyboard, and harmonica), Greg Rzab (bass) and Jay Davenport (drums). |
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Victor Wainwright Victor Wainwright and the Train The name of Victor Wainwright’s new band – and the sleeve image of their debut album – is a fitting metaphor for the restless boogie-woogie innovator’s surge forward, crashing through boundaries of genre. All twelve of the album’s tracks are originals written by Wainwright. “I ended up with a hit-squad of downright amazing musicians,” he reflects, “that shared my curiosity for all corners of the roots genre. We wanted to capture how we feel performing, right smack-dab on this record, and I believe we’ve done that.” |
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Peter Karp The Blue Flame The title of Peter Karp’s latest album reportedly comes from a conversation with the great bluesman and songwriter Willie Dixon. Dixon told Karp, “When it’s honest and real it burns hot, like a blue flame.” Karp took those words to heart, and these songs deal with real personal issues and feelings to which listeners can relate, handled with a wry humor and songwriting skill. |
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Steep Canyon Rangers Out in the Open The sessions that produced Out In The Open were brisk and instinctive, expansive yet intimate, visceral and immediate – and they would have had to be, for herein are songs that tell the big story by drawing the small ones. While in the studio, the Rangers stood in a circle – facing each other and the music with a well-worn brotherhood that was as well open to all they could not imagine transpiring between them. The songs were written as a map, and their shared history a compass blade, but the road itself – the journey – was a moving target and, as with all relevant music, remains one. |
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Mark Erelli Mixtape Mixtape, Mark Erelli’s new covers record, features his take on a wide variety of material drawn from his annual Under The Covers show. “I drew upon some of my favorite songs that I’ve performed at these shows over the years,” says Erelli. “It’s kind of like mixtape with just one artist singing all the songs. Or think of it as a greatest hits… of songs that aren’t my hits.” |
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The Mammals Sunshiner This April, folk rock band The Mammals release Sunshiner, their 14-song album of original songs. After the group’s initial 7-year run and subsequent 9-year hiatus, in the process of writing and recording their new album, a renewed “mammalian” energy began to take hold and the rebirth of the band became official. “November 2016 was a turning point that made us all draw a slow breath,” says Ruth Ungar. “Overnight our earlier political-edged songs became relevant again. We felt compelled to reclaim the old mission of The Mammals and mix a bit more politics and hoedown into our live shows.” |
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The Reverend Shawn Amos Breaks It Down The Reverend Shawn Amos American roots artist and LA-based bluesman The Reverend Shawn Amos presents his latest full-length blues album, featuring covers of David Bowie’s “The Jean Genie” and Nick Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding.” Amos says that the album is meant to “remind of us our commonality and our brotherhood. I’ve been listening to a lot of music from the Staples Singers, Freedom Singers, and other ’60s blues, folk and gospel acts. Music meant to stir our conscience. We’re living in similar times; we need songs to help us stand up.” |
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Tommy Emmanuel Accomplice One The songs on Tommy Emmanuel’s newest album are a mix of new takes on indelible classics and brand new originals from Tommy and his collaborators. The artists who stepped forward to join Tommy in the studio are an impressive list of some of today’s most respected performers, from across the musical spectrum – a lineup including Jason Isbell, Mark Knopfler, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Douglas, Amanda Shires, Ricky Skaggs, J.D. Simo, David Grisman, Bryan Sutton, Suzy Bogguss and many more. |
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Curtis Salgado & Alan Hager Rough Cut Guitarist Alan Hager started jamming with award-winning soul, blues and R&B vocalist Curtist Salgado in 2003, and joined his band full-time in 2015. Together, the two blues fans and friends took time out of their busy touring schedule to record Rough Cut, a stripped-down album featuring a potent mix of newly written, timeless originals and carefully chosen blues covers. “We did it for the love of the music,” says Salgado. “This is where our hearts are. These are deep songs that we love to play.” |
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Wild Child Expectations Austin-based indie ensemble Wild Child’s fourth album expands upon the personal experiences and awakenings that shaped the group’s previous album, Fools in 2015. Now a seven-piece pop mini-orchestra, working on the album took them around the world, and the resulting arrangements reflect the range of tastes of the contributing producers, from scruffy lo-fi tape hiss, to smoothed out precision-cut electronic pop sounds. |
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True North Open Road, Broken Heart True North’s newest album features eight new originals penned by Kristen Grainger and four deftly interpreted songs from Justin Evan Thompson, Brandi Carlile, Fred Eaglesmith, and Eddie Vedder. Guest artists Eric Alterman on cello and Todd Sickafoose on bass add their talents to this collection of songs. |
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The Lost Brothers Halfway Towards A Healing Over the twelve tracks of Irish duo The Lost Brothers’ fifth album, Halfway Towards A Healing, location and emotion are softly suggested. Within the songs of bruised heartache and brushed sentiments, there is a fraught sense of people at the end of their tether. The lyrics are, agree Oisin and Mark, much more direct than on previous albums. Three of the album’s songs were co-written with fellow Irish songwriter Glen Hansard. “We have had a tendency in the past to be quite abstract with lyrics,” states Oisin. “But Glen suggested we go straight for the jugular.” |
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Jing Chi Supremo After a thirteen year break, Jing Chi, the groovin’ blues fusion powerhouse featuring guitarist Robben Ford, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta deliver their incredible fourth record. When the opportunity arose to get together once again and make some great music, each player brought his A-Game to the table and the result is nothing short of a collaborative masterpiece that breaks new musical ground for this stunning trio. |
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Kamasi Washington Harmony Of Difference In 2017, avant-garde jazz titan Kamasi Washington premiered Harmony Of Difference, an original six-movement suite, as part of this year’s Whitney Biennial. The EP explores the philosophical possibilities of the musical technique known as “counterpoint,” which Washington defines as “the art of balancing similarity and difference to create harmony between separate melodies.”Beyond the artistic impulse to expand the possibilities within counterpoint, Washington wanted to create something that opened people’s minds to the gift of diversity. In his own words, “my hope is that witnessing the beautiful harmony created by merging different musical melodies will help people realize the beauty in our own differences.” |
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Sons of Pitches Sons of Pitches Sons of Pitches hail from the Mason Dixon line on the Pennsylvania/Maryland border where guitarist Spencer Pheil owns a recording studio. Their self-titled debut album from 2016 captures the band’s own brand of country jazz instrumentals, and unique arrangements of standards affectionately called “Cowboy Jazz.” They describe their goal as “to create music for ordinary folks” and the band has received high praise for its live shows, varied set lists, and inspiring musicianship. |
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Tom Principato & Steve Wolf The Long Way Home Since their first musical collaborations in 1978 Tom Principato and Steve Wolf have shared countless tours and recording projects. From the first notes of this new studio set they demonstrate an intuitive camaraderie expressed through warm tones, heartfelt melodies and soulful solo lines. This time they’ve traded in their customary solid-body Fender instruments for hollow-body Gibsons, nylon string guitars and the upright bass. With these tools they playfully shift roles with dexterity and affection weaving a lush chemistry of supple interplay. |
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The War On Drugs A Deeper Understanding For much of the three and a half year period since the release of Lost In The Dream, The War On Drugs’ frontman, Adam Granduciel, led the charge for his Philadelphia-based sextet as he holed up in studios in New York and Los Angeles to write, record, edit, and tinker–but, above all, to busy himself in work. Teaming up with engineer Shawn Everett, Granduciel challenged the notion of what it means to create a fully realized piece of music in today’s modern landscape. Calling on his bandmates continuously throughout the process, the result is a “band record” in the noblest sense, featuring collaboration, coordination, and confidence at every turn. |
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Various Artists Music From The American Epic Sessions Produced by Jack White and T-Bone Burnett, this soundtrack album from the PBS feature-film “The American Epic Sessions” showcases an all-star roster of contemporary artists paying tribute to the great artists of the past. The American Epic team reassembled the very first electrical sound recording system from original 1920s parts–now the only one left in the world. The soundtrack features several artists that were given the chance to pass through the portal that brought the world into the modern era, including Rhiannon Giddens, Elton John, Alabama Shakes, Willie Nelson, Tah Mahal, Stephen Stills, Los Lobos, and many more. |
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Wilco A.M. & Being There (Deluxe Editions) Twenty years ago, Wilco invented the musical terrain that they continue to explore. This past December, Rhino Records revisited Wilco’s first two albums – A.M. (1995) and Being There (1996) – with remastered versions expanded with rare and unreleased music that would be new to even the most dedicated fans, including a 20-song performance from 1996 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood and a few tracks by singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy’s former band Uncle Tupelo. Buy A.M. (Deluxe) • Buy Being There (Deluxe) • Artist Website |
Single Releases
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Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats |
Drive-By Truckers |
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Bettye LaVette |
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real |
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Rodney Crowell |
Grant-Lee Phillips |
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The James Hunter Six |
Deer Tick |
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Chris Smither |
Good Old War |
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Jack White |
The Decemberists |
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Yo La Tengo |
Squirrel Nut Zippers |
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Sunflower Bean |
David Byrne |
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They Might Be Giants |
Django Django |
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The Wood Brothers |
Femi Kuti |
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The Dream Syndicate |
Squeeze |
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First Aid Kit |
Glen Hansard |
