Picks so fresh, you'd think you're at the farmers market.
For new albums, Friko's sophomore effort was Something Worth Waiting For, Joyann Parker is seeking out Life Lines and They Might Be Giants say The World is to Dig (that one didn't work as well but who knows what their title means, it's TMBG after all).
For singles, Ana Tijoux transcends language barriers with "APAGON," Swamp Dogg is "Searching for Heaven" on his 27th album at age 83, and Rosali hopes the "Other Side" is better than this one.
Then, Laura Nyro's return after an early career break will bring a Smile to your face on our latest Picks of '76.
Check out this week's suggestions from Asst. Music Director Malachy Koons, Volunteer Coordinator Dan Gannon, Member Services Coordinator Heather Johnson and KAXE Morning Show Producer Andrew Dziengel.
Albums
Album of the Week: Friko - Something Worth Waiting For
As the title of its second full-length release suggests, Chicago indie-rock quartet Friko is searching for something.
Whether it's hope, connection or meaning in an increasingly discordant and lonely world, it always seems to be tantalizingly close but still out of reach of lead singer Niko Kapetan's trembling voice. But most importantly, something is out there, and it's enough to keep going.
Something Worth Waiting For builds on the band's wide-ranging debut, from the power-pop and hook-filled ("Still Around," "Hot Air Balloon," "Seven Degrees"), jagged and angular ("Guess," "Choo Choo" and "Something Worth Waiting For") and blossoming chamber-folk ("Certainty" and "Dear Bicycle").
"Certainty," the halfway mark of the album, is remarkable on its a own. A piano ballad with strings winding throughout, Kapetan paints an icy picture of winter in the city with lines like, "Now you're out through the door with the sun in your eyes/ Jump to the sidewalk up over the lines/ And the salt is like lava, there's no solid ground/ God, wasn't it winter three months ago now?"
Unrelated to the music, isn't the album art amazing? Who wants to form a bike gang? -MK
Joyann Parker - Life Lines
A roots rocker from Minneapolis via small town Wisconsin, Joyann Parker is equally influenced by country twang as she is by gospel and blues. On her fifth album, Parker displays her powerfully soulful voice alongside a stripped-down roots rock sound on songs like "The Devil You Know," "Laundromat Girl" and "Let You Go To Love You." On the tune "(When You Get To) Milwaukee," Parker gets comically vicious telling the story of a cheating ex getting caught purple handed ... give it a listen and you'll know what I'm talking about! -DG
They Might Be Giants - The World is to Dig
The Johns are back with their 24th studio album, The World is to Dig. It’s packed with everything a TMBG fan would hope for: variety, delicious weirdness, humor and lyrics like, “I’m gonna swap out my brain for a chrome raccoon.” It also asks a couple of the big questions we all face: “Are you overthinking it?” and “What would Terminator 2 feel if he could feel?”
With a generous 18 tracks, I found myself digging the second half slightly more than the first, but it’s a solid album all the way through. Some standouts are the dance-y, singalong-worthy “Get Down,” “In the Dead Mall,” and “New Wave Will Never Die.” Listen for a Minnesota shoutout in “They Might Be Feral.” -HJ
Singles
Ana Tijoux | DJ Dacel - "APAGON"
Chilean-French rapper Tijoux is back with a four-song EP celebrating how music is shared and enjoyed among friends, especially with her longtime collaborator DJ Dacel. Standout "APAGON" features a mellow but swinging beat, handclaps and scratching by DJ Dacel. Her sound is jazzy and chill, and even though your Spanish might not be as fluent as you'd like, Ana Tijoux communicates in that special way that transcends language. Fuera! -DG
Swamp Dogg - "Searching for Heaven"
Jerry Williams Jr., better known as Swamp Dogg, is turning 84 this summer. To celebrate, he’s releasing his 27th album in June, and judging by this lead single, the soul music legend will be grappling with mortality and the afterlife while also looking back at his incredible legacy. Over a simple acoustic guitar riff and gospel organ, Swamp Dogg counts his blessings. From love to his children to just making it through COVID-19, he seems a little surprised with where he ended up. Sometimes simple and direct is better, like when he tells anyone else who is “Searching for Heaven” to just “keep going.” -MK
Rosali - "Other Side"
Rosali is back with her first single since her well-acclaimed 2024 album Bite Down. She's backed again by David Nance and the Mowed Sound band, and it sounds like a countrified jam session. Rosali lets herself get angry on this track. She sings about her struggles from Day One and that there's people in the world who will still try to take more from you when you've got nothing. However, she still lets some hope in at the end that maybe the next life won't be so bad. -AD
Pick from '76
Laura Nyro - Smile
Laura Nyro was a prolific songwriter, known for songs like “Wedding Bell Blues,” and “Stoned Soul Picnic.” Smile was her sixth album and released after a four-year hiatus from the industry, during which Nyro got both married and divorced while living away from New York City in a small Massachusetts town.
For Smile, Nyro reunited with producer Charlie Calello who first worked with her on 1968’s Eli and the Thirteenth Confession. It’s a laid-back jazz album filled with folk undertones that explores traditional Asian instruments.
Nyro’s sound has been compared to Joni Mitchell, Phoebe Snow and Janis Ian, and while she was uncomfortable with television performances, her sound would have been right at home on the brand new Saturday Night Live, especially the songs “Money” and “Stormy Love.”
My favorite track from the album is “Cat Song,” told from the perspective of a cat named Eddie.
Nyro dedicated the album to her mother, who died the year before of ovarian cancer. It’s the same disease that Nyro would succumb to at the age of 49 in 1997. -JB
