Abby Johnson "Abby Johnson"
With fresh energy and bright intuition, Abby Johnson’s confident self-titled debut (due in late 2021) offers timeless folk songwriting teeming with a classic Nashville golden-era sheen. Johnson draws upon genre-spanning influences and wrangles them effortlessly into her own expression: “I want my songs to sound familiar, but tell you something new,” she says. The duality of Laurel Canyon nostalgia and indie rock blend effortlessly in her songs, polished further by the airtight backing band of fellow Nashvillians, Ornament (and produced by the band’s drummer, Ryan Donoho).
Raised in North Carolina on the earnest mythos of Taylor Swift, she describes her first songs as “diary entries — playing guitar alone in my bedroom until I was twenty three.” Moving to Nashville for college introduced her to an immersive musical community, where she steeped in the influence of folk-and-country stalwarts like Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt in equal proportion to more contemporary indie songwriters like Phoebe Bridgers.
Worriers "Trust Your Gut"
From Stereogum:
Lauren Denitzio’s long-running indie-punk project Worriers just released their album Warm Blanket in April, and they’ve already announced plans to follow it with a whole new LP called Trust Your Gut. Where Warm Blanket was recorded at home, Trust Your Gut is a full-on studio affair. Denitzio produced the album, and they’re backed up by longtime collaborators Atom Willard and Frank Piegaro, as well as the Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay and Cayetana bassist Allegra Anka.
Danko Jones "Electric Sounds"
From Napalm Records:
In the last ten years, DANKO JONES have visibly shifted up a few gears. Since frontman Danko and bassist JC joined forces with drummer Rich Knox, the band’s creative fire has blazed brighter than ever. A string of albums has led to even more intense touring and tireless dedication to the cause of rock. “Electric Sounds” is the best proof that even a global pandemic couldn’t stop DANKO JONES.
Hollie Cook "Happy Hour In Dub"
A heavenly set of dub versions to pair with Hollie Cook’s critically acclaimed 2022 album Happy Hour. Hollie’s first full dub record since 2012, Happy Hour in Dub was coaxed into being by close listening of the original album’s modern lover’s rock.
Hollie and Happy Hour producer Ben Mckone explain:
The reason and inspiration for wanting to make the dub record is because Happy Hour, in its original form, has so many intricate musical details running throughout the songs—from the backing vocal and string arrangements to some far more subtle details. And during the mixing process, hearing some of these parts on their own over the drum and bass foundation, we felt there was so much left to explore and expose in the songs and take them to outer space.
At the controls rejoining Hollie in exploring the space, Mckone takes her soulful creations and stretches them to their sonic limits, with new vocal features by Josh Skints and Kiko Bun.