Featured New Releases – 5/12/2016

It’s been a while since our last batch of new music featured here on the site. To make up for lost time, we’ve assembled a diverse list of incredible new album and single releases that we’ve incorporated into the broadcast on WWCF 88.7 FM. Be sure to tune in to hear the new additions and keep an eye on wwcfradio.org for info on even more brand new music releases.

Album Releases

	Jeff Lynne’s ELO Alone In The Universe Alone In The Universe is the first album in nearly 15 years from Electric Light Orchestra, led by Jeff Lynne. “Music is such a powerful force in our lives,” says Lynne. “A good song can make people feel much less alone in this universe. And trying to create one of those songs somehow makes me feel less alone too. My whole life — from being that kid with a dream in Birmingham right until today — proves how much music can do.” Buy Album • Artist Website
	Peter Frampton Acoustic Classics For the first time ever, Peter Frampton’s newest album boasts stripped down versions of his classic hits. “The approach I took on this was that each song came across as if you are the first person to hear this song after I wrote it,” Frampton says of the project. “I had to reverse engineer each song in order to get this result, which I feel I achieved.” Buy Album • Artist Website
	Cyndi Lauper Detour Cyndi Lauper’s celebrated musical journey takes an unexpected southern turn on Detour, her 11th studio album, which finds the award winning singer-songwriter putting her signature spin on a dozen classic country songs from the 40s, 50s and 60s and features guest appearances from county music stars Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Willie Nelson. Buy Album • Artist Website
	Jason Wilber Echoes You might not recognize Jason Wilber by name, but he’s been John Prine’s guitarist for the past 20 years, and Echoes is his latest solo project, comprised largely of covers. “I’m grateful to all of the amazing songwriters whose work is featured on Echoes,” says Wilber. “When you hear these fantastic songs, I hope you will feel the joy, sadness, and wonder of life, as I do when I sing them.” Buy Album • Artist Website
	The Lumineers Cleopatra After the extraordinary success of their self-titled debut album in 2012, The Lumineers ensconced themselves in rural New York and set about trying to make musical sense of their three-year-plus roller coaster ride. The resulting album is Cleopatra, a collection of such depth and texture it affirms The Lumineers as a band in for the long haul, with a growing canon of songs that stand comparison with the best America has to offer. Buy Album • Artist Website
	Ben Watt Fever Dream Fever Dream is the newest solo album from English singer, author, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Watt. “I was simply deeply inspired by the Hendra experience, the reception, the months of touring, the rediscovery of my voice. I felt compelled to write more. They came in a burst at the beginning of last year. I feel I have somehow tapped into a nucleus of myself again lately. It feels urgent. From the source.” Buy Album • Artist Website
	Mark Erelli For A Song For A Song is a bouquet of new songs that reflect where artist Mark Erelli has arrived, personally and professionally. From introspective ballads to celebrations of love’s allure, these 12 songs stand-alone as eloquent statements and together as a meditation on life in all its dimensions. “I look at all of these songs as love songs,” Erelli says. “But each one also hints at some sort of question, some nearly existential cry of the soul.” Buy Album • Artist Website
	Darryl Purpose Still The Birds The eleven new songs co-written by Darryl Purpose and Paul Zollo on Still The Birds paint compelling vignettes exploring the human condition the tension between dark and light, despair and hope, vulnerability and triumphs. From a Vietnam draft-dodger coming unhinged, to the gangs of LA, twists on literary icons Dylan Thomas and Poe, to Buddha, the Civil War, and the redemption of love, these tales explore the tension amidst triumph and vulnerability. Buy Album • Artist Website
	The Sachal Ensemble “Song of Lahore” Inspired by the film of the same name, Song of Lahore is a companion album to the film. Recorded in New York City over the summer of 2015, the Sachal Ensemble provided the traditional sounds of their home in Pakistan, presenting several traditional Folk and even some Pop melodies of the Southeastern subcontinent. Those songs were then transformed and woven into a larger, wider tapestry, connected to a number of well-known and recognizable classic Pop, Folk, Jazz and Blues songs from the American music canon and sung by many esteemed and successful artists from the Western hemisphere. Buy Album • Song of Lahore Movie Website
	The Small Glories Wondrous Traveler Wondrous Traveler is the debut release from folk power pair The Small Glories, a dynamic Canadian duo formed by The Wailin’ Jennys’ co-founder Cara Luft and fellow veteran singer songwriter JD Edwards. The album explores the theme of home, a concept that Luft and Edwards often think about while travelling. “Home is pretty heavy issue for me because not being able to go anywhere between tours that’s permanent and stable is really hard on the spirit and it’s hard on the body,” says Luft who, until recently, was without a home for over three years and had been relying on the kindness and generosity of friends to offer their spare bedroom. Buy Album • Artist Website
	Tony Joe White Rain Crow Recorded at his own studio and produced by his son, Jody White, Tony Joe White’s latest album,Rain Crow, summons recollections of long ago, when animals foretold the weather, tongue-talking worshippers proved their faith by handling snakes and a “bad wind” could drive a man to edge of insanity. The nine-song set features new compositions White wrote over the past three years, including co-writes with his wife, Leann, and Billy Bob Thornton. Buy Album • Artist Website
	C.W. Stoneking Gon’ Boogaloo Gone are the sepia-toned tales of marooned adventures in the tropics of his last release, the ARIA Award winning Jungle Blues, this time replaced with the latest invention in the world of C.W. Stoneking, electricity! C.W. has stashed his afore-favored vintage National guitar and banjo combo for a shiny gold Fender and an extra large helping of rock ‘n’ gospel dancehall blues to deliver twelve tracks recorded directly to tape with his full band, his very own hokum wall of sound. Buy Album • Artist Website