This generation's Lucinda? The next Geese? We're making bold predictions on Fresh Picks this week.
Check out new albums from Minnesota-born Brennan Wedl and Manchester indie-rockers Westside Cowboy, plus new singles from Jon Muq, Sierra Ferrell, Making Movies, Uncle Lucius and Ambré.
Then we continue to look back in Picks From '76 as our resident reggae expert DJ Dang (Dan Gannon) talks Peter Tosh and the 1976 debut, Legalize It.
Check out this week's suggestions from Music Director Kari Hedlund, Asst. Music Director Malachy Koons, Volunteer Coordinator Dan Gannon and Morning Show Host and Producer Andrew Dziengel.
Albums
Album of the Week: Brennan Wedl - Brennan Wedl
Originally from Minnesota and now based in Nashville, Brennan Wedl, former lead of the queercore band Dazey and the Scouts, carries her punk past into her Americana present self with a sound she’s called “grungetry.” Countrified grunge, alternative Americana, alt-country, alt-folk, however you want to call it, Wedl is all of the above and could be this generation's Lucinda Williams.
The basis for this album is storytelling meets gritty, and each song has its own flavor. “Tasmanian Devil” is snarly and snarky, while “High Priestess” is a beautiful love song that felt familiar the first time I heard it. With lyrics like “Who I am with you, is who I wanna be / I’ll be your high priestess,” paired with beautiful harmonies, it's bound to be a favorite track for me.
On “Let’s Be Models,” she sings, “Let’s get on the jumbotron at MSG, and shake it like an Etch A Sketch." It's the kind of clever line that immediately gets my attention. The “grungetry” sound is very clear on “Pretty Little Fantasy,” which brings together the worlds of Nirvana and Lucinda Williams, where “Just Another Daddy Who Did Me Wrong” shows a vulnerable and hurt side of Wedl.
The beauty of Brennan Wedl is that it doesn’t settle into one vibe. It goes in all directions, keeping you on your toes as a listener and giving you a whole lot of the artist in one album. It’s the kind of record that leaves you wanting more and genuinely excited to see what Brennan Wedl can do next. -KH
Westside Cowboy - It Goes On
Late August can bring a sort of melancholy feeling. Summer is wrapping up and it’s almost time to go back to school. Thankfully, we have albums like It Goes On by Westside Cowboy to act as a shot of adrenaline to really get the most out of these last days of summer.
I haven’t been this excited about a debut album in a while. Westside Cowboy isn’t necessarily reinventing the wheel, but there’s an energy to this album that you don’t hear much in indie rock anymore. It makes sense they opened for Geese on their last tour because they occupy the same chaotic rock space. Our very own DJ Dang described them as Geese meets the Feelies and yes, it really is as awesome as that sounds. -AD
Singles
Jon Muq - "Shake Shake Dance For Me"
Born in Uganda and now based in Austin, TX, Jon Muq is primarily a singer-songwriter who explores the quieter side of the musical spectrum. Here on "Shake Shake," Muq crafts a beautifully bouncy batch of musical goodness. Smooth, rhythmic and playing a bit more on his Ugandan roots, this song makes you want to hold your sweetie close and shuffle onto the dance floor as if no one is watching. -DG
Sierra Ferrell - "Trying to Love You"
Just in time for her State Fair headlining show on Sunday, Aug. 30, Sierra Ferrell returns with her first new music since the critically acclaimed Trail of Flowers in early 2024. "Trying to Love You" is a slow-burning and psychedelic-tinged country ballad with sweeping strings, haunted fiddle and fervent lines like "Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? / Gotta fix the hole in the side of the dam." It seems there's no limit to what Ferrell can do with country music. -MK
Making Movies - "This Is A Photograph (bajo el sol de Panamá)"
The Kansas City Latin alt-rock band is back with its first new release since 2022's XOPA with a cover/reimagining of Kevin Morby's "This Is A Photograph." The original brought solace to lead singer Enrique Chi while in Santiago, Panamá for his grandfather's funeral. That intense personal connection paired with lyrics translated into Spanish make this much more than your average cover. You can even hear Morby himself joining in on guitar and vocals. -MK
Uncle Lucius - "Election Day"
The man himself, Texas singer-songwriter and Townes Van Zandt comrade Blaze Foley, is finally getting the recognition he has long deserved. Uncle Lucius does a wicked job on Foley's "Election Day," part of a bigger tribute record featuring notables such as Lucinda Williams, Lucy Dacus and John R. Miller. With an insistent floor floor and sinister guitar lines, we are put in the perspective of a down-and-out no-hoper who realizes little — maybe nothing — will change for them on Election Day. -DG
Ambré - "The Art of Letting Go"
This new song from Ambré is dreamy R&B with organic instrumentation alongside her incredibly warm vocals. From New Orleans, she got an early start in music, releasing her first EP at 19. Now signed with Roc Nation, she's just released her debut full-length album, Peyote. At 29 years old, Ambré is grappling with "The Art of Letting Go" of a relationship that doesn't serve you. As someone who has more than 29 years under my belt, I hate to break it to her but that art is a lifelong journey/struggle. -KH
Pick From '76
Peter Tosh - Legalize It
As the first of The Wailers to record and release a solo record, Peter Tosh let the music world know he was not going to be messing around. Before you even hear a note of reggae music, you see iconic photo of Tosh sitting in a field of marijuana, setting the artistic tone for the record.
Tosh assumed production responsibilities for Legalize It, and he utilizes the Wailers band for much of the recording. He includes the outstanding rhythm section of brothers Aston "Family Man" and Carlton Barrett, and two of the I-Threes on backing vocals, Judy Mowatt and Rita Marley. This familiarity eased the transition from harmonizing sideman to imposing revolutionary frontman. That said, it's Tosh's ground-shaking bass vocals that are the highlight here. His commanding vocals on his solo debut made it clear that Peter Tosh was never going to be a backup or sideman ever again.
This record also sees Tosh's lyrical stance as a social critic and someone who called out the positions of power in Jamaica with lines like "That the rich man heaven is the poor man's hell," in "Burial." While the title track lists the alleged, endless medicinal benefits of cannabis, the track "Whatcha Gonna Do" talks directly about incarceration and punishment by the forces of the state. The state of Jamaica responded by banning the song "Legalize It" which, of course, backfired massively and ensured that Tosh would become a superstar within the reggae music sound. In an interview in NME magazine in 1978, Tosh said, "Herb will become like cigarettes." As we are currently living in the era of cannabis legalization, it is prophetically obvious that he was right.
To be clear, Legalize It, contains non-marijuana related tracks about lost love in "Why Must I Cry," getting down with a loved one in "Ketchy Shuby," a sweet soul ballad in "Till Your Well Runs Dry," and Rastafarian beliefs in "Igziabeher (Let Jah Be Praised)."
Peter Tosh was the man who taught Bob Marley to play guitar and as the co-writer of Wailers classics like "Get Up Stand Up" and "400 Years," it was only a matter of time before he emerged from the shadows and rightly claimed his massive place in the reggae music world. -DG
