GRETA VAN FLEET, STARCATCHER

When Greta Van Fleet arrived on the scene in 2017 with their debut album From the Fires, they were hailed and celebrated as a hard-rocking, Led Zeppelin-esk sounding band that was here to save rock music. I thought that the album and the band were fine. But to me, lead singer Josh Kiszka had not yet figured out what to do with his voice. And twin brother Jake (guitar), younger brother Sam (bass), and Danny Wagner (drums), as good as they were as musicians, had not landed on a signature sound. They sounded too much like a Zeppelin knock-off and lacked originality.

2021's The Battle At Garden's Gate, their follow up album, found the band stretching in new directions while toning down the Zeppelin influences. The results were mixed. There were moments of brilliance, exemplified best on the album's closing, The Weight Of Dreams, a monster of a song with one of the greatest guitar solos of the past decade. But there were others that fell short.

All of this brings us to Starcatcher, the Band's third album. In a press release, brother Sam, said that with this album they wanted something 'raw around the edges'. Something that represents them going 'back to their roots' while also moving them forward at the same time. I think that the band realized that they will never out run their Led Zeppelin influences and that 'going back' was a decision to embrace it. It was the right move. Taking this and a decade's worth of playing together and growing as a band, as song-writers, and as musicians, Greta Van Fleet has finally landed on something that successfully fuses it all together. For me, Starcatcher is their most successful and best album to date. 

Mr. Bennett, You'll Be Missed

You were one of a kind. 

BONNY DOON, LET THERE BE MUSIC

There is nothing flashy or fast moving when it comes to Bonny Doon. They are a band that lives in a perpetual laid-back and relaxed state where their music, as self described, is understated, simple, humane, and thoughtful. The band has said that they have always tried to get at the 'essence of things.'On their latest album, Let There Be Music, they take this idea to a different level. With a new focus on their songwriting and trying to have it be as strong as it can be 'without too much accoutrements,' the band has landed on a cleaner and simpler sound that is light, breezy, and sunny. All things that I want right about now.  Let There Be Music indeed.  

JENNY LEWIS, JOY'ALL

A showbiz kid and life-long musician and performer, Jenny Lewis has led the kind of life that at first glance seems a little fantastical and definitely not the norm. But like the rest of us, Lewis has had her share of ups and downs, wins and losses, happy moments and sad ones. And through it all, she has kept her wits about her. Now, as she hits middle age, Lewis is on a quest to find the kind of joy and happiness that has escaped her. And it is her wit...and witty lyrics on her fifth and latest album, Joy'All, that shine as she waxes poetically about it all. Shining too are the catchy sing-along melodies and choruses and the warm glow of 1970's FM yacht rock, folk rock, and country that cloak the whole album. Lewis has never sounded better and everything here combines to make Joy'All irresistible and one of the stand out albums of the year so far.  

CLOTH, SECRET MEASURE

Twin siblings, Rachael and Paul Swinton, have been making restrained and minimalistic synth dream pop music for a number of years now. On their latest album, Secret Measure, the Glasgow duo take a major step forward, refining every aspect of what it is that they do best. With Rachael's breathy vocals, delicately floating over elegantly constructed, symmetrical, and restrained music, Cloth envelops its listener and carries them off to a celestial-like space where themes explore the idea of reassurance. That 'things will be OK when things are tough in life.' And one can work towards being a bit more self-sufficient. It's a wonderful way to spend almost 45 minutes and I suspect that many will not want to come back down to earth so soon.

ROSE CITY BAND, GARDEN PARTY

Ripley Johnson is a guitarist and musician that I has been making his own blend of psychedelic and experimental rock with his band Wooden Shjips and musical project Moon Duo for many years. While I have been a big fan of Johnson's, I will confess that some of his music has been a bit too experimental for my taste. So I was very excited in 2020 when he stepped out with his third and most approachable band/project Rose City Band. In the studio, Rose City has been more or less a solo project for Johnson. It's one that has him leaning heavily into a fantastic blend of country and psychedelic rock. On his latest album, Garden Party, Johnson pays a bit of homage to the Grateful Dead and prepares us for summer with a set of songs that will keep you movin' and groovin' and put a big smile on your face.