The Raytons, What's Rock And Roll?

Less than two months after the release of their debut album, Kids Of The Estate, The Raytons are back with a second, hard hitting one. What's Rock And Roll? more or less picks up where Kids left off. As I wrote back in December, The Reytons sound an awful lot like the Arctic Monkeys. And lead singer Johnny Yerrell sounds so much like Alex Turner...it's hard not to shake comparisons. But I love The Arctic Monkeys and like with Kids Of The Estate, I just kept finding myself coming back to the band and their new album. To once again use the British expression, it's a real banger.

 

Butch Walker, As... Glenn

Billy Joel, Boz Scaggs, Elton John, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, a little John Melloncamp...'Glen' channels them all as he plays to what appears to be a full house at a local piano bar. That's the concept of Butch Walker's latest album, As... Glenn. Technically, this album came out last year, but it's wide release comes this month so here I am. At first glance, I expected this album to be a fairly cheezy one, but that is not the case. Walker's songwriting is simply fantastic and this collection of singalong songs had me feeling nostalgic for my favorite '70's piano playing singers and albums. Since I'm not sitting at that bar able to applaud with some clapping, I will just say 'Well done, Mr. Walker...um, Glenn, Well done.' 

 

Gaz Coombes, Turn The Car Around

It's been thirteen years since Supergrass split and Gaz Coombes, it's lead singer and guitarist, stepped out as solo artist. He has said that he did not leave the band to go solo. He left because he was not enjoying it and it no longer made him happy. He needed to get himself happy. As a solo artist, Coombes could simply do whatever made him feel good.

But feeling good and being completely open and honest about the ups and downs of life don't necessarily go together. On Turn The Car Around, his forth solo album and first in four years, Coombes' songs finally tackle a lot of subject matter that he says that he's played with and maybe not managed to see through in the past. It's what he's hoped for all along as a solo artist. The idea of evolving through a creative world. 

"I feel like there’s too much to explore to stay still. And all of those experiences I’ve had through my personal life, whether it’s having kids, personal tragedies or incredible moments, this feels like the place to process all that and put it into something.” 

Turn The Car Around plays out like snapshots of Coombes life and headspace over the past few years with musical tones and expressions that are sonically on a different plain than on his past recordings. There is something grand to these songs and this album. It all made me feel good. And I guess that's Coombes whole point.