Further Listening:

5. Will Johnson Is Sinker, Sinking, Sunk?

A three-decade veteran of the Texan music scene, Will Johnson was a founding member of Funland and Centro-matic, has worked with Jason Molina, Jim James and David Bazan, and somehow still found time to release a string of much-loved solo albums. Following on from 2020s El Capitán, Will decided to go with the familiar and familial, working with Britton Beisenherz, the trusted producer of his last four albums, and a band of musicians Will says he, “trusts with his life”, and likens to, “managing the ’27 Yankees; the team’s ridiculously good and I wanted their fingerprints on the record just as clear as my own”. The result is his upcoming album, No Ordinary Crown, out in September via Keeled Scales, which he showcased this week via a new track, Sinker, Sinking.

A song that, “fell together in a Tulsa hotel room”, Sinker, Sinking in Will’s words, “zeroes in on its subject’s hiding out, while a storm builds outside“. As he further explains “it’s not a stretch to suggest that the storm represents a kind of anxiety, and the hope is to zoom out, let the movements of the day occur naturally, and ultimately try to do away with the waves of incessant worry“. If it touches on stormy themes, the music also leans into it, with a sort of Blue-Collar Americana, all snappy snare-led drums and dense driving guitars, nodding to labelmates Good Looks or their neighbours to the North, Oklahoma’s Horse Thief. In the musical maelstrom, Will himself cuts a contrastingly calm figure, his vocal little more than a whisper as he sings of, “a storm unnamed, sprawled out at your door”. There’s something wonderfully no-nonsense about Will Johnson’s return as if he’s just walked into the studio, plugged in his guitar and knocked it out of the park, a home run hit that was never in doubt.

No Ordinary Crown is out September 15th via Keeled Scales. For more information on Will Johnson visit http://will-johnson.com/.

4. Laura Groves Is Not Crying (It’s Just Been Raining On Her Face)

Back in the late 2000s, I was lucky enough to share a stage or two with Laura Groves when we were both part of a thriving Leeds alt-folklish scene, I thought she was destined to be a star back then, and despite not quite finding her breakthrough moment yet, I still think she might. In the subsequent years a pseudonym, Blue Roses, has come and gone, with a debut album released in 2009, and since then a slow drip of new music via EPs, singles and frequent collaborations. Next week, Laura will team up with Bella Union to share her long-awaited second album, Radio Red, the first under her own name, which she previewed this week with her new single, I’m Not Crying.

Described by Laura as, “a love song about being completely alone and completely together”, I’m Not Crying is an exploration of, “reaching for calm and understanding in the chaos of heartbreak. All is not lost!” While Laura’s early material was almost traditional folk, here the evolution is there for all to hear, we find Laura alone at the keyboard, picking out warm chords, with a touch of Peter Gabriel or Joan As Police Woman. While we’re perhaps used to songs of heartache being openly down, here Laura sounds remarkably composed, her always stunning vocal coaxing hidden meanings out of every corner as she sings, “I’m looking for a home, so can we just get on with it? I’ve got a life to live, even just a little bit”. While it is a song of subtle charms, don’t mistake I’m Not Crying for lacking impact, it might not scream and shout yet it slowly creeps its way into your soul and refuses to let go.

Radio Red is out August 11th via Bella Union. For more information on Laura Groves visit https://linktr.ee/laura_groves.

3. Colin Miller Has Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’

Hailing from the breakout musical hotbed of Asheville, North Carolina, Colin Miller is a key cog in the city’s musical wheel. He plays on music by MJ Lenderman, he’s produced records by Indigo De Souza and Wednesday, and now after a string of smaller scale releases is set to share the long-anticipated debut album, Haw Creek, next month via Ruination Record Co. Recorded by himself, in the house he grew up in with hand-me-down instruments borrowed from friends, the album’s sense of place is evident, even the title Haw Creek is named after a river you have to cross to get to his house. The first taster of this very personal album arrived this week in the shape of Colin’s new single, Don’t Love You No More.

Described as, “the happiest Haw Creek gets”, Don’t Love You No More, as what his label describe as, “Sheryl Crow-like”, guitar chords propel the track forward atop a scattering drum beat. While the production is delightfully lo-fi, make no mistake there’s a pop song lurking underneath, with a ‘yell it at the top of your lungs’ chorus of, “go on, I don’t love you no more”, even if Colin delivers it in a hushed whisper. While there are definite reference points from the Beta Band through to Field Medic, what Colin Miller does here places his own stamp front and centre, the gentle delivery belying the bristling angst within, “you lit the creek on fire, took years to put it out, don’t you go playin’ dumb, I don’t want your ass around”. A remarkable home-crafted slice of modern American-heartache, Don’t Love You No More is contradictorily a song that might just see a lot more love headed Colin’s way.

Haw Creek is out September 29th via Ruination Record Co. For more information on Colin Miller visit https://colinmiller.bandcamp.com/.

2. That’s It Wilco Sling Your Hook

Not many bands make it thirteen albums. It takes a lot of talent, a lot of luck and a willingness to evolve which few bands possess, and the ones that do, well they tend to be rather special. That’s definitely the case with Wilco, who released their debut album the best part of thirty years ago, and yet still seem open to the world of musical possibilities. For their latest offering, Cousin, which is out next month via their own dBpm Records, they embrace the new once more, handing over the production reins for the first time since 2007’s Sky Blue Sky, with the intriguing recruitment of Cate Le Bon. The first snapshot of this new collaboration is shared this week with their new track, Evicted.

There’s an old saying, a change is as good as a rest, and while Wilco never seem that keen on a break, the change of producer here seems to act like a gust of wind blowing out the cobwebs. Cate’s musical curiosity is writ large throughout, from shimmering waterfalls of synths to the wonderfully unusual twitchy and distant guitar solo that arrives in the middle of songs and then drifts gently away. Fans of Wilco shouldn’t worry though, the songwriting remains pure Jeff Tweedy, as he sings “I’m never going to see you again, I’m evicted, from your heart, I deserve it”, plotting out the minutiae of a relationship in turmoil as only he can. It might not be a collaboration I’d ever thought of, yet Cate Le Bon and Wilco feel like a match made in heaven, reaching thrilling new horizons, and providing proof were it needed that even on album number thirteen, Wilco remain as fresh and intriguing as ever.

Cousin is out September 29th via dBpm Records. For more information on Wilco visit https://wilcoworld.net/.

1. SUDS Sure Paint A Pretty Picture

A band who’ve played our monthly showcase on a couple of occasions, Norwich’s SUDS have been making gentle waves over the last few years, in particular with the release of their debut EP, In The Undergrowth. Now signed to Big Scary Monsters, who describe the band’s arrival as, “the fastest signing BSM has ever done“, the band recently returned to the scene of their debut EP, working with producer Ian Sadler, on the tracks that would become their debut album. That record, The Great Overgrowth, will see the light of day this November, and this week SUDS shared the first single from it, Paint My Body.

SUDS have suggested Paint My Body is an introduction to the wider themes explored on The Great Overgrowth, “it’s about being reluctant to go out with friends – but finding solace in being with yourself in nature“, introducing us to album’s main character, The Great Overgrowth. The album is a logical progression from their debut, breaking through the weeds and into the wide expanse above, a feeling matched in their musical growth, as they lean into influences from The Greenwich Village folk-scene to Midwestern emo. The track starts with a fuzzy squall, walking the line between harmonic indie and the more interesting edges of melodic punk as the luxurious harmonies crash into pounded drums and racing, rambunctious guitars. Listening to this track, it’s clear that there’s something wonderfully uncomplicated about the way SUDS do things. Find your friends, start a band and let your melting pot of influences form into something entirely your own, it’s not rocket science, but it sure is magical.

The Great Overgrowth is out November 3rd via Big Scary Monsters. For more information on SUDS visit https://linktr.ee/sudsband.

Header photo is SUDS by Andrew Gooding