You’d never know it from Great Big Wild Oak itself, a rustic, intimate 10-song set that encompasses electric bedroom rock (“Always”), baroque Americana (pedal steel, horns and strings all rub elbows on “Easy”) and intimate folk (the sweetly fingerpicked “Sapling”). Montenegro recorded her debut with her live band-members and friends Vincent Bui and Joshua Luttrull, working in various home studios around Dallas to piece together what she calls a “Frankenstein album” in its press materials, part revenant demos and part negative space from which fresher songs were cut. Out now on Double Double Whammy (Frankie Cosmos, Hovvdy), Great Big Wild Oak is the full-length debut of Dallas, Texas, singer/songwriter Alex Montenegro, aka Skirts. But beyond all that righteous anger is a joyous resilience that makes the argument that now is the perfect time for Welcome 2 America’s release: “Ain’t got no breaks but got a whole lot of bend / Every broken heart can mend / You better believe it,” Prince, Shelby J., Liv Warfield and Elisa Fiorillo sing on “Hot Summer,” telling us just what we need to hear, when we need to hear it. His lyrics are upsettingly relevant over a decade after the fact, unflinchingly addressing everything from the surveillance state and legislative gridlock to gender inequality and modern-day slavery-and that’s just on the opening title track. But what we can know is that Welcome 2 America is a legitimate late-career standout from a musical giant, with Prince using the States’ Obama-era failings as fuel for just under an hour of caustic, collaborative funk, rock and soul. Perhaps Welcome 2 America-recorded, then shelved by the Purple One in 2010-would have seen the light of day eventually, and perhaps it would have remained under indefinite lock and key at Paisley Park. The ethics of Prince’s vault and the continuous release of its contents by the late legend’s estate are thorny, indeed.
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Jones, Aaron Frazer and their bandmates acknowledge both the pandemic and ongoing struggles against police violence in album opener “Love Will Work It Out,” presenting their record’s thesis statement in response: “Joy will set us free / If you do believe / So don’t you ever doubt / That love will work it out.” That clear-eyed conviction makes the band’s slickly soulful jams shine all the brighter, positioning Private Space as an oasis in troubled times. The May release of lead single “ Witchoo” made it immediately clear that, with their third album Private Space, Durand Jones & The Indications were making music with one foot planted in the past (via their throwback soul sound) and the other in the present: We praised that track as “an irresistible ode to getting together and having a good time,” adding that “with a cathartic summer right around the corner in the States, the band’s timing couldn’t be better.” This summer hasn’t proven quite so simple, unfortunately-but fortunately, neither has Private Space. Jason Friedmanĭurand Jones & The Indications: Private Space Happier Than Ever ranges between club ragers, personally empowering pop and all-out confessionals, marking a distinct shift from the singer’s knowingly playful debut that pays off wonderfully. Bold risks, like the multiple sections of “GOLDWING” or the 2000s neo-soul revival of “Billie Bossa Nova,” pay off in part because of the artist’s incredible capacity for building emotional tension within her lyrics. In some of the most dynamic, emotionally complex and brilliantly produced music of her career thus far, the singer copes openly with the strain her recent superstardom has had on her relationships, her sexuality and her path in life. Don’t just take our word for it-hear all of today’s top-priority releases for yourself below.įollowing the chart-topping, reputation-establishing charm of 2019’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? sounds like a monumental task, but on Billie Eillish’s new album Happier Than Ever, she makes it seem effortless. At the tippy-top of Paste Music’s minds are the latest albums from TORRES, Yola, Son Volt and Durand Jones & The Indications, but new records from Billie Eilish and Isaiah Rashad aren’t to be missed, either, and nor is Prince’s posthumous Welcome 2 America, a previously unreleased record that resonates all the more over a decade after it was shelved. July’s final New Music Friday just might be its biggest and brightest, with an array of appointment-listening-level releases vying for our collective eardrums.
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