The weather turned warmer last week, and we are here with some tunes to soundtrack your summer!
Thankfully, the musicians came through for us with alt-country for those highway miles from Ryan Bingham & The Texas Gentlemen, all of the love from Jalen Ngonda, the dreamy from Bedouine and the spacy from Baby Cool, our Album of the Week.
For singles, Ibibio Sound Machine is back for a boost of dance music, Mollie Elizabeth is ready to bring a circus through town, Ruthie Foster is filled with gratitude and Seun Kuti with Egypt 80 takes on his family legacy.
Then, in this week's Pick of '76, learn about John Hartford's importance to the bluegrass world through his 1976 riverboat themed album Mark Twang.
Check out this week's suggestions from Music Director Kari Hedlund, Asst. Music Director Malachy Koons and Volunteer Coordinator Dan Gannon.
Albums
Album of the Week: Baby Cool - Infinity Baby
Imagine you're wandering around a desert with the sun beating down as you meander through the dunes. It's hot. Are you high or are you just dehydrated? Are you lost or are you right where you need to be? Is that an oasis or a mirage? Somehow, being lost in the wide open space is just what you need to find yourself in your mind. There's music floating by you, carried by the wind from a far off place. It's Baby Cool's Infinity Baby. -MK
Jalen Ngonda - Doctrine of Love
A statement on the Maryland-born, England-based soul singer's Bandcamp page says, "The doctrine of love holds that every thought and action should be guided first by compassion for others, because love is the highest measure of human worth." Amen brother. With added horn flourishes, sweet backing vocals, and a healthy dose of Motown, Doctrine of Love is a worthy sophomore album from the latest star of Daptone Records. -MK
Bedouine - Neon Summer Skin
The smooth and calming vibes of Azniv Korkejian, aka Bedouine, are back for a summer dive into a dreamy atmosphere! Written after spending time with her family in Saudi Arabia, the songs are steeped in family roots and grief over the ending of childhood. Possibly tying into the nostalgic theme, the album channels the softness of '70s soft rock (in a great way) on songs like "One Thing Right" and "Na Na Na," with layered vocals throughout. The deeply rooted "Canopies" falls in the middle of the album and is a central piece to understanding its familial roots.
In a press release, Korkejian said, "I felt so frustrated about the places that I'm from becoming war torn or difficult to return to. My family has been split apart time and time again, migrating between Armenia, Syria and Saudi Arabia. I wanted to document and honor my family's stories." -KH
Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen - They Call Us The Lucky Ones
Alternating between a road weary yet hopeful hushed growl on the opener "The Lucky Ones" and a rock 'n' roll holler on "Let the Big Dog Eat," Bingham delivers his first record in seven years with tons of heart. The record was made with roots rockers The Texas Gentlemen — who have played with Kris Kristofferson and Leon Bridges — and they fit like a hand in a glove.
"Relevance" is an acoustic rocker with a brushed snare drum keeping the tempo high and tight, while Bingham sings about being on the road and all the pitfalls common for touring acts. Whether it's lost love, drug deals gone bad or the endless highway miles causing delusion, Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen have delivered a wonderful country roots record. Worth the wait! -DG
Singles
Ibibio Sound Machine - "Concept of Love"
Eno Williams is bringing it back for us just in time to have a flavor of Ibibio Sound Machine this summer! Starting off with layered robotic voices, the song instantly transitions into an Afro-disco driving beat with chants in her native language of Ibibio bringing it to the dance floor. The band's new album, Chopping Mountain, will be out in September. -KH
Mollie Elizabeth - "Run Rabbit"
If a small town circus paraded into your hometown, it's possible that Mollie Elizabeth could be leading the way. Or at least that's how I envision her song "Run Rabbit" being played to the people of Anywhere, USA. With a jaunty piano and squawking sax bringing that cabaret energy, Mollie Elizabeth uses her soaring vocals to great effect. You'll be singing "Run Rabbit Run" as you introduce the lion tamer before you know it. -DG
Ruthie Foster - "Thank You"
Following her first Grammy win for Best Contemporary Blues Album 2024's Mileage, Foster's latest single is an in-your-face kiss off to all her doubters. Over a slinky blues guitar riff, the longtime blues, folk and soul singer literally says "thank you" to all the naysayers along the way, and lets them know they're the reason she keeps getting better and better at her craft. It's the first taste of Just Say Yes, due out in August. -MK
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - "Na Dem (ft. Tom Morello)"
A thematic successor to his father's legendary "Beast of No Nation" — which saw Fela Kuti referring to a corrupt political class as "animals in human skin" — "No Dem" sees Seun and his band in a call and response. They name "strange men" (presidents, bishops, police, soldiers, customs agents, oil men, bankers — the list goes on, but you get the picture) and the backing vocalists respond with the song's title. Throw in guitar licks from another musician dedicated to speaking truth to power, and production from Femi Koleoso of Ezra Collective, and you get a powerful continuation of Afrobeat and its leading family's legacy. The song has been a live favorite for years. Watch the video above for a performance from last year. -MK
Pick of '76
John Hartford - Mark Twang
If you’ve recently attended a bluegrass festival, you’ll know that right up there with the other big names — perhaps even more than any other bluegrass figure — it’s John Hartford’s influence that reigns supreme. Everything that made the riverboat-obsessed musician a unique voice is on full display on 1976’s Mark Twang, our latest Pick from ‘76.
With only Hartford’s voice, fiddle, banjo, guitar and tapping foot on the tape, it’s a fully solo record. The songs range from humorous to heartfelt and from instrumental to spoken word, largely influenced by Hartford’s experience working on riverboats.
Before Hartford, the bluegrass world had a rather limited set of song topics. The genre's gospel and Southern roots were near constants, with murder ballads, spirituals, traditional tunes and folklore making up the bulk of songs.
Enter the long-haired, hippie riverboat worker, who was just as interested in smoking a J and laying by the river all day as he was putting that experience into a song. It was the huge success of "Gentle on My Mind," and the royalties Hartford received as the song's author, that gave him the freedom to fully pursue his preferred lifestyle and easygoing artistic vision.
Mark Twang opens with the jaunty reel of "Skippin' in the Mississippi Dew," Hartford painting an idyllic picture of life aboard a Mississippi riverboat. "The Julia Belle Swain" digs into a specific steamboat, one that you can still visit to this day in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
"Long Hot Summer Days" has the same slow pace and languid vibe of long hot summer day spent working the river, followed up by the incredible character study of "Let Him Go On, Mama."
Hartford tells us of an "engineer over on the Ohio River," lifelong riverboat worker caught between eras and worldviews. It includes lines like, "Well he comes from a real old-time way of life/ He had to fight to just learn how/ And he might even have voted for Nixon once/ But I'm sure he sees that now" and the chorus, "Well it's too thick to navigate/ And it's too thin to plow/ So let him go on, mama/ And don't put him down for it now." It's Hartford at his finest.
The album won a Grammy in 1977 for Best Traditional Folk Recording, and you can clearly hear its sound today in the music of Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and others throughout the jam-grass world.
