Initially relying on his foundation in bluegrass, the group’s new EP, “Little Wheel/Hope Looming,” is an atmospheric, mostly instrumental expression of a band leader and his charges extending their grasp beyond the expectations of listeners to the group’s earlier work as well as fans who might know him via the legendary Bruce Hornsby, for whom Mailander has been playing violin and mandolin since 2018.

Mailander released his first album, “Forecast,” in 2019. When he assembled a group of fellow Nashville players to recreate the material live, he quickly realized, “Oh man, this is actually a band.”

The concept, he says during a video chat from Maryland during a day off during a Bruce Hornsby and The Noisemakers Tour, was to gather musicians he loves and respects “and try not to have any real rules about what the instrumentation should be, or what the sound should be, and to just push it to a place that I hadn’t been before.”

In addition to Mailander on fiddle, piano and electronics, Forecast features Ethan Jodziewicz on upright and electric bass, Chris Lippincott on pedal steel guitar and Wurlitzer, Dean Miller on tenor saxophone, Mark Raudabaugh on drums and percussion, and Jake Stargel on acoustic guitar.

The group recorded an album called “Look Closer” during the pandemic and early last year released another LP, “Let The World In.”

The three songs on the new digital-only EP are “Little Wheel Spin and Spin,” which as the title track of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s 1966 album, “Hope, Looming” and “(turnstile).”

Mailander says he was introduced to the Sainte-Marie tune by his friend Jack Silverman, the Nashville guitarist.

“We were hanging out and I was just really struck by this video of Buffy Sainte-Marie singing it,” he recalls. “It was on Pete Seeger’s show on YouTube, and I immediately thought it would make sense for our band to do, primarily lyrically first. With the cover songs we pick, I try to put a lot of thought into it. Since we’re mostly an instrumental band, when we do put out something with lyrics, it’s really important to stand behind what we’re saying. And I also love this idea of taking songs deep from the past that could maybe have new life now.

“I was also drawn to her guitar pattern; it’s one chord but it’s very open. I’ve only found solo acoustic versions of that song, but it felt like it would also be a really fun musical environment for the band to improvise on. I thought we could maybe get into a darker kind of trance territory with the music that we haven’t really explored yet as a band either.”

The vocalist on the Forecast version of the track is Kristina Train.

“She’s an incredible artist,” says Mailander. “The second gig we ever did as a band was a co-bill with her in Nashville, so that’s where we met.” She went on to sing the Joni Mitchell song “Borderline” on the “Look Closer” EP. “She’s really more of a band member at this point,” he says, adding she will be performing at Forecast’s upcoming gigs.

Mailander raves about the musicians in Forecast, appreciating their “really singular voices on their instruments and really distinct personalities on their instruments.”

Much of his inspiration as their leader comes from the way Hornsby manages The Noisemakers.

“I learned so much from Bruce. Being in The Noisemakers was one of the primary inspirations to do my own project, and I’ve learned so much from just being around Bruce and playing with him and seeing how he leads the band. And I think having the perspective as a member of the band helps me have more perspective as the leader of my own band as well. I think both those things feed into one another.

“Bruce is one of my biggest heroes, and every member of the Noisemakers are my heroes, and so it really sets the bar for what I would hope to do with my own band: creating a musical environment where they all feel inspired and lifted up and like their voices are encouraged and everybody’s creative together, because that’s what Bruce does for us.”

Mailander, a graduate of Berklee College of Music, has Noisemakers dates through mid-October, and he also plays in the Sam Grisman Project. He’s recorded with Noah Kahan, Lucy Dacus and Billy Strings, including on Strings’ Grammy-winning album “Home.”

Additionally, he says, “I’ve been producing a lot recently and that’s a direction I’m really excited to keep leaning into in the coming years.”

Photo by Michael Weintrob

The post JOHN MAILANDER’S FORECAST PUSHES THEIR LIMITS ON NEW EP appeared first on Highway 81 Revisited.

With the backing of the esteemed record label Bella Union, Watt is now in position to gain a wider following as he releases an LP of moody, folky yet cinematic tunes.

Watt chatted with us about how a relationship inspired “The Thread’s” lyrical imagery, working with his famous parents and Simon Raymonde of Bella Union and Cocteau Twins acclaim and why in addition to Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Adrianne Lenker, he is also inspired by electronic music.

“The Thread” is released July 31.

Congratulations on making a truly beautiful album. Was your writing inspired by anything that was happening in your life or the world at large?

Thank you! Yes, a lot of the songs were inspired by a long-distance relationship I was in at the time. All the images of distance and space, like badlands, tunnels and wild country were all related to the feeling of longing I was experiencing.

You’ve said you wanted to simplify your writing. How did you do it? What did you need to strip away?

I think it’s just about getting to the crux of the song in as few words as possible. Like figuring out what feelings are at play, and the images that accompany those, and then just distilling those down. I think I’m also more concerned with images and feelings than literal storytelling in songs, which gives me freedom to jump between different perspectives in a free-associative kind of way.

You have listed people like Elliott Smith, Bob Dylan and Neil Young as influences. In addition to those aspects of your sound, there is an ambient, synth-y, cinematic aspect at work as well, at least on some songs. What or who inspired you to pursue those sorts of sounds?

Well, other than listening to singer-songwriters I do like electronic music. Artists like Burial and Aphex Twin have been big influences on my musical sensibilities, as atmosphere inspires me just as much as words do. There is something so visceral about the way electronic music makes one feel because there are fewer words, if any at all. I think it’s the scarcity of words that leaves so much resting on each one. There might be a fragment of vocal on a Burial track, and it can contain more anguish and soul than an entire narrative, and that to me is incredible.

Do you still play drums? Did you play them on this album?

I don’t really play the drums anymore. Sam played all the drums on the album, and he plays drums in the band, so I’m kinda covered on all bases there. I don’t need to!

Tell me about the process of signing to Bella Union. Did you meet with Simon Raymonde? Who are some of your favorite Bella Union artists?

I first met up with Simon Raymonde a couple of summers back. We had been emailing back and forth for a year and he was at a point where he could take me on as an artist. It’s incredible being on the same label as artists like Midlake, Father John Misty and Beach House. They have given me some of my most formative musical experiences, and I look up to them all in a big way.

What was being played on your family stereo when you were a child?

A lot of house music because my dad was DJ’ing a lot at the time, and a lot of disco like CHIC and Kool & The Gang. Basically stuff with groovy beats is most of what I remember liking as a child.

Tell me about the experience of performing with Everything But The Girl.

Well, obviously they’re my parents and we’re very close so it’s been a really fun experience. I think we all have similar musical sensibilities too and we work well together. It’s been quite crazy seeing how much people love them. I always knew they were famous but it doesn’t seem quite real until you’re in a room with them and they’re all losing their bananas. It’s been a crazy and very special experience, and I’m still really enjoying it!

How was the decision made for the band to play your song “Removed?”

My dad played guitar on the recording of “Removed” so it seemed like a nice choice. I always play them songs I’m working on, so it felt natural to perform them with them as well. The whole legacy thing doesn’t usually bother me but sometimes it can. It can feel daunting stepping onto the road they’ve already paved, but I’m doing my own thing and I feel pretty confident in my abilities.

Do you have any touring or festival dates planned?

We’re playing Moseley Folk in September and then going on a tour round the UK in support of the album, also in September.

Will you be playing in the US, and specifically New York?

I really really hope so. It’s pretty expensive though so we will see!

What will you do to promote the album?

I think the best thing to do is just to constantly remind people that it’s out, otherwise they forget, or listen to any of the other countless artists also releasing music at the moment.

Photo credit: Brennan Bucannan

The post FAMILY STEREO: ‘ATMOSPHERE INSPIRES ME JUST AS MUCH AS WORDS DO’ appeared first on Highway 81 Revisited.

“Initially it was from one particular political side of the spectrum, but then I realized that it’s kind of a timeless story because just about half the people always feel that way,” Bazilian says on a video call from Sweden, where he lives part time. “I [initially] heard another kind of voice and I recorded a couple of different people on it, and then I just realized it had to be me. I had to pull up my pants, put on my big boy headphones and go for it. And it actually came pretty quickly as I spent a couple hours getting the vocal.”

The song is part of WXPN’s “Philly Anthems” series, in which the city’s public FM station invited some area songwriters to contribute original songs in celebration of enduring themes of freedom and independence in conjunction with the nation’s 250^th anniversary.

The Hooters, which had Top 40 hits like “And We Danced” and “Day By Day,” are still active and will play a two-night run at the Keswick Theater in November, but the Philly band is just one big bullet point on Bazlian’s resume. He’s worked on hugely successful albums by other artists, including Cyndi Lauper on “She’s So Unusual” and Joan Osborne, for whom he wrote the ubiquitous “One Of Us.”

Bazilian chatted with us about “Better Times,” a new solo album that will complete a trilogy, his favorite Philly songs and how The Hooters operate in a fragmented musical landscape.

For “Better Times,” did you have to switch your perspective and embody a character who was telling his story and not yours?

This song went through a few different mutations. It started out when I was in the shower and I just started singing, kind of like early Dylan, “better times better come soon, better times better come soon,” or Jesse Welles, kind of a modern version of that. And I wrote a couple of verses and it just wasn’t clicking. And then I just had an idea of this guy who’s just disillusioned. He got sold a bill of goods and he voted that way, and this is what happened. Initially it was from one particular political side of the spectrum, but then I realized that it’s kind of a timeless story because just about half the people always feel that way.

Like the second verse, “I swung the axe.” It’s a guy who’s got talked into going to war, and he’s like “what the fuck am I doing here?” You know, “for the sake of the flag, the blood and the soil, the price of an egg or a barrel of oil.”

I [initially] heard another kind of voice and I recorded a couple of different people on it, and then I just realized it had to be me. I had to pull up my pants, put on my big boy headphones and go for it. And it actually came pretty quickly as I spent a couple hours getting the vocal.

Something I like about the song is you’re not judging this guy, you’re telling his story. And I think there’s other ways that could have been done, you know?

Well, yeah, there are always other ways it could be done. I don’t think it’s been done this way before. I guess my goal was really to create something that nobody could argue with. I mean, artists, I hate naming names, but like Bruce Springsteen, the Minnesota song. Perfectly fine song, tells the story, but it’s an echo chamber. I want to reach everybody.

What are your five favorite songs either by Philadelphia artists or about Philadelphia?

I really like “Freedom of ‘76” by Ween. I gotta say, “Punk Rock Girl” [by The Dead Milkmen] “Frankford El,” which is funny because I always thought that that was like a folk song, like an old Philly song that everybody knew. And when we quoted it in “Beat Up Guitar,” the Hooters song, I didn’t realize that The American Dream had actually written it, and they never came after us.

“Fall in Philadelphia” is great, you know, Hall and Oates. I think we did pretty well with “Beat Up Guitar” too.

Is “Better Times” part of a larger project? I hear there’s a solo album in the works.

Yeah, I think so. My son heard the song for the first time. He locked in on the line “trying to be a reasonable man.” He said, “You should do an album called ‘A Reasonable Man.’”

Where am I going to get 11 more songs that are like this? The bar is pretty high, but I’ve got literally hard drives full of songs that no one’s ever heard for whatever reason, and I’ve found three or four that I think really fit well with the theme. The summer here is so beautiful, it’s impossible to get anything done, but hopefully the weather will turn shitty soon so I can get some work done.

But I’m going to try to get “A Reasonable Man” out by the end of the year. It’s funny, because my first solo album was “The Optimist” in 2000. My second solo album was “A Very Dull Boy.” And then this would be the third of the trilogy, “A Reasonable Man.” There have been a couple of albums in between, but I think these are the three that sort of tell the story

How many shows a year do The Hooters play these days?

Last summer we did 29 shows in Europe and Germany and Scandinavia. And then we do the two at the Keswick, and we did The Met, we just did the MMR Barbecue. We do three or four shows in Philadelphia and then we’ll do the summer. We’re taking this summer off for a variety of reasons, but next summer we already booked. I think it’s 30-some shows over here.

Is this the pace you guys have agreed on or would you like to do more shows than this?

It’s sort of what the market will bear. We did a tour of the US in 2023, we did a package tour with Rick Springfield and Paul Young and Tommy Tutone, and we thought we’d try it and it was kind of like, OK, we did that. We were all in one bus, band and crew. It wasn’t something we want to keep doing. I mean, it was great playing in Oklahoma City for the first time in 40 years and in Dallas. But the truth is, all those shows we could have just played “And We Danced” and “All You Zombies” over and over again, right? Because half the people there didn’t even know who we were until we got to “And We Danced” and you can see them looking at each other and going, “Oh, it’s them.” In Germany, Scandinavia, they know all of the songs. But this is what the market will bear. I mean, if we could tour profitably and comfortably 100 shows a year, I would love that. I think we all would love that.

The post THE HOOTERS’ ERIC BAZILIAN BREAKS THROUGH THE ECHO CHAMBER WITH ‘BETTER TIMES’ appeared first on Highway 81 Revisited.

Burial Ground is among the living again and will perform on Saturday at Hardcore for Husvar 2. Guitarist Brian Quinn, who formed the band with Jamie White in Pittston, has rejoined the group after not being able to make it to last year’s benefit, which is named for Neil Husvar, the Side Over bassist who died by suicide last year. White died in 2003.

“It seems like the only time we’re getting together is kind of for a sad reason, because Neil’s such a good dude and just the circumstances were extremely unfortunate and said,” says Quinn, who has been living and working in the Philadelphia area since attending college there.

Quinn joins the version of the band that worked together in 2004: vocalist Steve Option and members from the 1997 lineup, guitarist Dave Gruber, bassist Erik Anderson and drummer/percussionist/vocalist Tommy “Tyrant” Lin.

Quinn says his friend James Callahan let him know that Burial Ground was showing signs of life, and later that day he heard from Gruber, who invited him to get involved with the reborn group’s new material. Quinn ended up recording his parts remotely for what became the EP “Ashes from the Human Flame,” released last month. It was the first time he had recorded with Burial Ground since 1996.

He was especially drawn to the new material because of how heavy it was, as it is a departure from the music he has played in his other projects, including the Seattle alt rock/grunge band Candlebox, which he was a member of for a decade until it recently reunited its original lineup.

“I’m a huge Slayer guy,” Quinn says, “and the reason Jamie and I started the band was because at the time we were listening to a lot of Obituary, Death, Morbid Angel, their album ‘Covenant’ had just been out. And obviously we’re big Slayer guys and the entire nucleus of why Jamie and I wanted to do something heavy was because of Black Sabbath.”

Playing the style of music that Burial Ground pioneered, which became known as “bloodcore,” brought Quinn back to those early days, even though he was not in the same room as the other musicians. “Yeah, I’m right back in it,” he says. “I’m right back in that garage in Pittston in 1992.”

The EP consists of two new songs and two from the past, including “Forever Friends,” which White and Quinn wrote together in the ‘90s. It was only performed live once, and White’s vocals were pulled from a recording of that appearance for the version on the EP.

Looking back on White’s life and untimely death, Quinn notes that the singer “had been struggling with addiction for many years.”

“Burial Ground was kind of his outlet to get away from all that and write about it, which he did quite a bit. A lot of our songs were about that, like recovery and rebirth and the whole Phoenix Rising type thing. I guess I kind of lost touch with him after I left the band in ’97. We talked maybe around 2000, like we would stay in touch here and there, but I pretty much lost touch with him.”

Another fallen friend from the hardcore scene who will be on Quinn’s mind at the benefit show is Tommy Wynder, the drummer from Pittston who played in Option. Wynder died in 2018.

“He was one of my best friends. Me, him and [fellow guitarist] Tony Scaltz were inseparable. Me and Tommy spent so many of those summer days up in his attic at his house, because he had his drum set up there. We played together in Flux for a little while, kind of prior to Burial Ground getting there. But I mean, we were teenagers. He is probably the most singular, pure savant-type talent I’ve ever heard in my life, as a drummer.”

While bands like Burial Ground were part of a tight-knit, regional scene, they did tour and swap shows with bands from outside the area coming to the region. Quinn remembers a particular show where Hatebreed, which would go on to massive success, opened for Burial Ground in northeastern PA.  

“And any of the shows we did with VOD [Vision Of Disorder] were just always kind of crazy. And I always think back about the Edwardsville hose company shows. They were awesome. And just like, there were adults that were willing to let us have places to hold these shows, which was kind of cool. But yeah, I just remember it was a lot of camaraderie. Everybody, for the most part, was cool. Every once in a while you get some knuckleheads that would come to the shows and try to cause trouble just to cause trouble. But for the most part, it was a really tight-knit scene and everybody really supported one another.”

Hardcore 4 Husvar 2, featuring Judge, Burial Ground, Side Over, Human Animal, Controller, Rabid Shaft Badgers, Joystick Fury and Still Won’t Break. Saturday, July 25, 2026, 4 p.m. St. Mary’s Center, 320 Mifflin Ave, Scranton, PA 18503. $25 in advance, $30 at the door. More info here.

The post BURIAL GROUND LIVES AGAIN: BRIAN QUINN RETURNS AS PA HARDCORE VETS HONOR THEIR FALLEN appeared first on Highway 81 Revisited.

“No, no, no,” says Side Over guitarist Lou Rogai, asked if drummer Brian Craig, who died in 2019 after a battle with cancer, and bass player Neil Husvar, who died by suicide last year, would’ve been on board. “It had been talked about.”

“Brian didn’t want to do it again for some reason,” says founding singer Aaron Ferranti. “I don’t know why. And Neil was out in California, so I’d have had to convince Brian and then bring Neil in from California. And Lou was touring and doing his thing, and I was playing with other bands.”

The group, which Ferranti and Craig started in 1989, released demo cassettes in 1991 and 1993 and grew into a mainstay on the regional hardcore circuit before fizzling out around 1994 before their debut LP was completed.

The passing of Craig and Husvar precipitated the reconstituting of Side Over, which is now comprised of Ferranti, Rogai, who joined in 1993 and is on the second demo, James Simon on bass and Phil Layland on drums. They performed at last year’s Hardcover 4 Husvar benefit in Scranton, where they honored Husvar, Craig and another former member, Chris Pawloski, and will do it again on Saturday.  

Last month, Side Over released “Loves You,” which features re-recorded versions of the early-‘90s demos plus a new song called “Scars.”

Ferranti and Rogai chatted with us about the bittersweet nature of their reunion and the legacy of the region’s hardcore scene.

Ferranti: The circumstances brought us together. To heal. And then it felt so good and right. For me, this was my baby. These are my people. This was my first band and my first love. I grew up with ‘70s rock, Grateful Dead. I got that whole background of ‘70s, ‘80, like everything, because my dad was huge into music. And then I started listening to like, Billy Idol was my first concert, you know? And then I started listening to Maiden and stuff like that and totally went the opposite and then got into hardcore through crossover, through like Metallica and stuff like that. And then you get MOD, SOD, and then you get right into hardcore. Then it was straight up like Circle Jerks, Agnostic Front, Black Flag, Sick of it All. We were just into the New York stuff and it was great. And that’s when we were like, “We’re doing this.” We’d be in the basement or the attic playing “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” We’re still in high school, you know.

How did it feel for you two to get back together with the new guys last year?

Rogai: Emotions. In some ways we picked up where we left off, right Aaron? Like we didn’t skip a beat. And in other ways, it was like I didn’t play music that heavy in a long time. Aaron has. So for me, it was kind of like “awaken the beast within.”

Ferranti: And something happened there, I think, and it’s awoken, and I love it, I love it.

Rogai: It’s good. And it’s a blend of some sadness because of the circumstances. A lot of joy because of the music and our camaraderie and with the guys we’re doing it with. James Simon, we recorded with Kevin Darcy, we have Phil Leyland playing drums now, it’s been really fun to connect with them. And Phil has a long history. He was a little kid at Side Over practices. He was inspired to play drums by Brian.

Ferranti: How about that? I never knew that, so it was kind of cool for me to be like, oh God, this was meant to happen here because Brian’s touch got into that kid’s head, you know what I mean? And it put him on a path and the path led to us, which is crazy.

So it was kind of neat for me to see that Brian touched this kid in a way where musically he evolved into what he’s doing now. It’s just great, you know? And when I hear him play, he plays like Brian plays. He plays with passion and he plays with feeling. And I could feel it, which is a good thing for me because it’s like my boy is back there still and he’s getting better and better as it goes, because Phil hasn’t been playing in a bit. So the more we play, the better it sounds. And it’s just charging me in my head to move forward.

Rogai: He’s charging us up to do better. And James on bass was really close with Brian towards the end of Brian’s life, the past decade of Brian’s life. And he knew Neil. He did not know Chris Pawloski, but we had a lot of different members in Side Over.

So there’s the sadness. There’s a lot of joy. There’s some anger circumstances, like suicide. It’s angering. It just drums up every possible emotion. So we’re processing all that and, we’re post- middle-age dudes. We have real-life things, but somehow Aaron’s lyrics from when he was 19, they apply in these situations in a totally different way than originally intended. And so as we’re writing new stuff and Aaron’s writing new lyrics, it’s like you take that experience, put it into what we’re doing now, try to pay a tribute to our guys and write about the present. So it’s really cool. It’s injected us with a lot of energy to do new things.

What is your sense of the legacy of Side Over and your peer bands from the ‘90s? Do you see it in the current artists?

Ferranti: I feel as though they’re doing everything now the same way we did it back when we were younger, and I think a lot of us laid the groundwork for what shows were. We were always friends with the guys from Wilkes-Barre. We always shared. And I feel like it’s the same thing going on now. The only thing I see in the scene that impacted me a little weird a little bit — and I haven’t left the scene, I’ve been in the scene — but playing in a band, and I don’t know how to say it, well, when you’re playing in a band, you’re on stage and you see some violence going on out there that shouldn’t be going on. That bummed me out about the scene. Like I see some weird violence against people in the scene. We’re supposed to take care of each other. We’re not supposed to single someone out and whack them with a fist or something.

But as far as the scene itself goes, it’s like when we were coming up in that, we didn’t know. We were just kids doing what we were supposed to do, getting together with friends. It was loose. There were no angles. There was no networking. It was just kind of really organic. Writing letters, meeting other bands, throwing shows in practice places, throwing shows at weird places. And I don’t know, there were really no older guys or older people doing it besides the guys and girls in Psycho Nurse and Weirdo Magnet, and they were more like punk and shock punk.

Rogai: That was number one, right Aaron?. Like it was about the friend groups first, not about advancing your band.

Ferranti: Yeah. Not that. That wasn’t even a thought. It was just having fun. I never even thought about advancing the band. Like we were just playing what we felt, you know what I mean? And it was different back then because now everything is so direct, like you go right online, boom, boom, look at me. Back then you had to write a letter or call somebody. You had to buy fanzines at a show so you could see where to buy records or where to talk to someone in another state that wants to have your band or wants to do an interview for their fanzine. So it was all networking and it was all human. It was face to face. Now everything gets construed through the internet, you know what I mean? So you’ll have Wilkes-Barre shows now. Yeah, they do a Wilkes-Barre show and then they’ll do a Scranton show or a punk rock, Scranton punk rock hardcore. But back in the day, it was both of us. It was all of us.

How have people reacted to Side Over playing some shows, like last year’s Hardcore For Husvar and the Gallery of Sound record store performance this summer? What has it been like to reconnect with some of the old heads and maybe meet some new folks?

Ferranti: It’s amazing. We have love everywhere. It’s great. Every show we’ve played so far, we’ve had love every time.

Rogai: Coming out of the woodwork. Like “I saw you guys at the Unisound in Reading, and I came to see you today, and I brought my kid.”

Ferranti: Or young bands we’re playing shows with and becoming friends with, and we have similar mutual friends, and it’s really cool. There’s a good camaraderie.

Hardcore 4 Husvar 2, featuring Judge, Burial Ground, Side Over, Human Animal, Controller, Rabid Shaft Badgers, Joystick Fury and Still Won’t Break. Saturday, July 25, 2026, 4 p.m. St. Mary’s Center, 320 Mifflin Ave, Scranton, PA 18503. $25 in advance, $30 at the door. More info here.

The post REUNITED SIDE OVER FEELS SADNESS AND JOY IN HONORING LOST COMRADES appeared first on Highway 81 Revisited.

Much has been made about the guests on the record (such as Paul McCartney, playing with the Stones for the first time, and Robert Smith of The Cure), but their inclusion seems more about marketing. This record is all about Mick, Keith and Ronnie and that Stones swagger that only they can conjure; some of that magic died when Charlie Watts passed five years ago, but Steve Jordan, a longtime associate now on his second Stones studio record, is the right man for the job.

Jagger, as a lyricist and vocalist, is the star of “Foreign Tongues,” riffing about lovers and drugs and current events and just being Mick: drawling, cajoling and sneering. Is his Jagger impression now even better than Jimmy Fallon’s?

“In The Stars” starts off as a close cousin to “You Got Me Rockin'” from the “Voodoo Lounge” album before melting into a triumphant chorus. Jagger seems to take a jab at the US Supreme Court, singing, “All the judges in their robes got their rubber stamps.”

“Jealous Lover” is a soul ballad, with Jagger singing in borderline comic falsetto, but he can still hit the high notes. “Hands off, jealous lover, please let me be, you pray like a mantis, you’re emerald green,” he sings on the chorus, back in his usual high baritone.

“Mr. Charm” is sung from the perspective of a bon vivant celebrity, at least in his own mind: “I know we’ve never met, but you seem to know my name/ Did you hear bad things about me? That would be a crying shame.” The chorus is a revelation musically and lyrically, with our hero throwing off the shackles of commercialism — easy for him to do as a rich man: “Life’s too short for just making money/ Show me how to spend it, honey.”

The woozy and boozy “Ringing Hollow” could hold its own on “Exile on Main Street.” Jagger’s elongated vowels — a Brit’s take on an American southern drawl — paired with slide guitar and barroom piano illuminate the story of a United States down its luck. The Liberty Bell has another crack, the Statue of Liberty is “wearing a scowl.” What to do? “Pass around the fenty/ Pass around the coke.” Dark times indeed.

“Never Wanna Lose You” is a greasy rocker with a funk bassline reminiscent of “Miss You” with a disco beat to match.

Keith Richards sings lead on just one song, the tender ballad “Some Of Us,” where he sounds a lot like Mark Knopfler. It’s fun to hear Jagger in a rare backup vocalist role, before he and Richards trade lead lines.

“Covered In You” is unusual in that the tight funk rock of the verses loosens in the choruses but the minor key doesn’t resolve. Uncertainty reigns: “Feeling a bit unglued,” sings Jagger. It’s a wonderfully composed and arranged song that is easy to listen to but was probably a bitch to write.

The Stones end “Foreign Tongues” with an acoustic blues version of Chuck Berry’s “Beautiful Delilah.” It’s an homage not only to an artist who helped pave the way for their style of rock ‘n’ roll but also a nod to their own early days, as the group tested the song in rehearsals, as heard on a bootleg recording from Woodstock in 1978.

That the Stones have released an album of new material so soon after 2023’s well-received “Hackney Diamonds” should not lead one to think “Foreign Tongues” was a rush job. It’s a beautiful album; the only flaw might be that it’s too on the nose, too Rolling Stones. But what else should the band be doing 64 years after it started? The album doesn’t break new ground, but when is the last time their peers — Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney — have? Enjoy it for what it is: an hour of cocksure rock from a crew of elderly men who are still the best at what they do.

Rating: 79/81

The post ROLLING STONES ARE GLORIOUSLY PREDICTABLE WITH ‘FOREIGN TONGUES’ appeared first on Highway 81 Revisited.

That the material is broken into songs or short stories rather than compiled into one printed volume is of no import: Finn and Hood are writing the story of America in real time. On Sunday night, when they put on their “Devil in the Details” show at Music Hall of Williamsburg, the scenes in the songs were illuminated by cinematic accompaniment by multi-instrumentalist Ben Hackett and their between-song stories of their mutual admiration and their very different but complementary experiences as humans living in this country.

Finn talked about moving to Brooklyn and wanting to no longer be in a band. This changed after he saw a Drive-by Truckers show: “That show changed by fuckkng life. And I walked out and said I have to start a band.” He would form The Hold Steady, who played their first show at Northsix, which is now Music Hall of Williamsburg (which, sadly, will close at the end of the year).

Finn told the story of his courting of the DBTs, with an early funny misstep at 30 Rock, after he and Hood sang the DBTs song “The Righteous Path.” It includes the line “Just trying to hold steady on the righteous path.” Finn said that when he first heard the song, he felt the band he loved was sending a message to his band; Hood confirmed this was indeed the DBTs’ intent.

Finn played several tracks from his 2025 album “Always Been,” and Hood emphasized material from “Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams.” Hood prefaced “Miss Coldiron’s Oldsmobile” with the heartbreaking Southern Gothic tale of the title character, his godmother.

Finn said he’s working on a new album and played a song from it called “Palominos” about a townie who has flings with visiting carnies. Before singing “The Living Bubba,” the Drive-by Truckers’ tribute to Gregory Dean Smalley, the Atlanta musician who died of AIDS in 1995, Hood spoke about becoming tight with Smalley when he did sound for some of his shows at The High Hat in Athens, where he’d look out for the sick man. A gut-punch of a line in the song: “I can’t die now ’cause I got another show to do.”

Other highlights of the combined set included Finn’s “People of Substance” and “Shamrock,” and Hood’s “The Van Pelt Parties” and “(I Never Heard of) Emmett Till.” Finn only played one Hold Steady song, “Certain Songs,” which ended the encore, while Hood played a handful of DBTs songs along with his solo material.

Hood said the DBTs are about to go into the studio to make their first album since 2022.

The post ‘PEOPLE OF SUBSTANCE’ CRAIG FINN AND PATTERSON HOOD — STORIES AND SONGS IN BROOKLYN appeared first on Highway 81 Revisited.

Born and raised in Paris, Lancón is a visual artist — she’s art director for McCann, working across L’Oréal’s brands — as well as the frontwoman of the group, who will celebrate the release of the song tonight at Relax Ridgewood. They’ll also open for San Diego alt rock/shoegaze group Blossom on Aug. 15 at The Broadway in Brooklyn.

Here’s what Lancón had to tell me about Marie, her Parsian sensibility blending with the New Yorkers in Le Bang and what to expect on their upcoming EP.

Are you a fan of Marie Antoinette?

Not specifically. I think I’m more of a fan of her aesthetically than historically. She had a great hat collection.

What political or social relevance do you think she has today?

I think she’s become one of the most overused visual tropes. If you want to say someone’s rich, out of touch, or living in excess, you just throw them in a powdered wig with a slice of cake. We were more interested in asking what Marie Antoinette would look like today. She’d probably wear whatever is trendy like an Adidas track jacket and some Los Angeles Apparel socks.

Who is the modern-day Marie Antoinette?

I think she’s become more of a symbol than a person. The modern Marie Antoinette is anyone who mistakes exclusivity for culture. New York can be full of RSVP-only parties, guest lists and scenes that seem more interested in who’s there than why everyone’s there in the first place.

I understand you are working on an EP. Will “God Save The Party” be on it?

Yep!

How do you think the material on the forthcoming EP is similar to or different than the previous material Le Bang has released?

When we first started Le Bang, I think we had more of a Scott Pilgrim energy with some punk undertones. Over time we’ve become more comfortable experimenting and figuring out what we’re actually capable of. The upcoming EP will probably be the most varied collection of songs we’ve made so far. There’s pop, electro and rock, but it all still feels like Le Bang.

How did you meet the other members of the band? Why did you want to work together?

I met both of them through my first band with my ex. My bassist, Stavros Lari, had his own music project and came to our first show at Pianos on the Lower East Side. We barely knew each other, but we realized we’d gone to the same high school and immediately bonded over all the terrible teachers we had.

Not long after, I met my drummer, Billy Hay, who made me laugh so hard I was crying within about five minutes.

When I broke up with my ex, I dragged the two of them out for drinks so I could complain about him and tell them I wanted to start a newer, cooler, better band. I’d already mood-boarded the whole thing and come up with the name Le Bang. I asked if they wanted to join, they said yes, and we’ve been together ever since.

I think the reason it works is because we genuinely make each other laugh. They’re very talented musicians, but they’re also just two of my favorite people.

What type of music did you listen to growing up?

Growing up, I listened to a bit of everything because of my parents. Thanks to their divorce, I ended up with four different musical points of view.

My mom loved ’80s pop like Madonna, Elton John and George Michael. My dad played a lot of French rap like IAM and NTM. My stepdad was into ’90s and 2000s rock like the White Stripes and Nirvana, while my stepmom listened to a lot of bossa nova.

I think all of those genres stuck with me. They’re still some of my favorites, and I like to think you can hear little bits of all of them in Le Bang.

When did you start writing songs? What inspired you to do so?

I’d written bits and pieces before, but I really started when I randomly went a bit feral in my bedroom. I was making mood boards, playing my bass way too loud and annoying my roommates, covering my walls with sketches of Le Bang logos, song titles and drawings of robots and giant cats.

Around that time I’d just watched “Super” by James Gunn and became obsessed with its energy. I was also listening to a lot of Sexy Sushi, which made me want to write the simplest, catchiest electronic song I could.

So I did. “Metrocool” was the first song I ever wrote completely on my own in my room, and it was really the beginning of Le Bang.

Le Bang is often referred to as an “indie sleaze” band. Do you like being called that? What does that label mean to you?

I don’t really care what genre we’re associated with. Le Bang could fit into a bunch of different categories. Some songs lean more rock, some are more electronic, and others are basically pop songs. I think it’s up to the people listening to decide where we fit. I’m really just doing my thing.

Are there aspects of Le Bang that you think are particularly New York? Are there aspects of Le Bang that you think are particularly Parisian?

I think the way we play and perform is very New York. It’s fast, last-minute and a little chaotic. One loud bass pedal, someone’s always missing a pick, so we’re digging through our pockets or using a random piece of plastic we found on stage. There’s a real DIY attitude where you just make it work instead of overthinking it.

What’s Parisian about Le Bang is probably me. Since the boys are from New York, I think I bring that side of it. I like hiding little sexual innuendos between words, and I like lyrics that are blunt and repetitive. I’m also pretty unbothered, sarcastic and a little egocentric, but I’d like to think that’s part of my charm.

With your background in fashion and visual arts, I was wondering if you think of ideas for videos or other visual pieces early on in the process of songwriting?

I always think about the visuals while I’m writing. They happen at the same time. If a song doesn’t evoke anything visually for me, it’s probably a shitty song.

I need to be able to picture what I’m wearing, where I am and what I’m doing. I need to know who that character is. Every song has to build its own little world, otherwise I don’t really have any fun making it.

Who are some musicians (current or classic) who you think have done a great job of blending fashion or visual aspects of art into the presentation of their music?

I love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They’re one of my all time favorite bands. Karen O’s collaboration with fashion designer Christian Joy is probably one of my favorite examples of music and fashion coming together. They’ve been working together for years, and the outfits never feel separate from the music.

I also love Gorillaz, but for completely different reasons. I don’t think anyone has built a richer universe around a band. The characters, the artwork, the videos and the way the music constantly shifts genres all feel like they’re part of one world that’s always evolving.

You’ll be opening for Blossom in Brooklyn next month. Have you played with them before? If not, are you familiar with them?

No, we’ve never played with them before, so I’m really looking forward to it.

How would you describe your live show?

Loud, quick, mean and funny.

How have people reacted to your live show?

I’ve had a lot of people come up to me after shows and say, “Oh my god, I love your stage presence,” which is always funny because I’m mostly just yelling at people to dance and making fun of the boys in the band.

When did you start performing in public? Were you naturally confident on stage or were you nervous at first?

I started performing in public about five years ago with my first band, where I sang and played bass. I was so incredibly nervous. I would not move an inch, completely glued to the floor.

When I started Le Bang, I didn’t even have a bass to hide behind anymore. All I had was a mic. It really sucked for a while, but little by little I forced myself to move more, walk to different parts of the stage, and actually raise my arms.

It sounds dumb, but that shit’s hard.

What plans do you have for Le Bang for the rest of the year? Will you go on tour?

For the rest of the year, my main focus is honestly just putting out more music and more music videos. I really want to build a strong body of work and establish a clear identity for Le Bang.

If there’s anything else you’d like readers to know about the single or the band in general, please tell me!

Yes! We’re celebrating the release of “God Save the Party” with a release show on Friday, July 10, at Relax Ridgewood. During the day it’s a restaurant, and at night it turns into a DIY venue full of drunk twenty-year-olds.

We’ll be playing alongside Gavin Oswald, who mixed and mastered the single, and we’ll have DJs playing all night. If you’re around, come celebrate with us.

The post LE BANG IS PART PARIS, PART NYC AND 100% CHAOS appeared first on Highway 81 Revisited.

Lule Tyler Shelton is sitting on a bench in Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, answering my questions about his rising profile as a singer-songwriter and guitarist in the loosely defined country folk genre. Two nights before, he played his first headline show in NYC at Union Pool in Williamsburg. Then he performed at the Green River Festival in Massachusetts alongside Charley Crockett, Geese, Spoon, The Beths and Kurt Vile.

This run of activity came after the Californian signed with Concord Records (whose roster includes Sarah McLachlan, John Fogerty and Matt Berninger of The National) and recorded with Shooter Jennings and Jonathan Wilson, who produced his debut EP “Blue Sky,” released last year. Today, he shares a new single called “Reasons” and an accompanying video.

While there is no surefire path to success in a music business, Shelton’s achievements seem to have put him on a road to greater things.

“When I signed with Concord, it was kind of an artist development deal, and so I feel that’s what’s been happening: just trying to develop me and find shows or festivals and things that line up and can feel like good opportunities to put me in front of the right crowds and people,” he says.

“Working with producers is like trying to find people that understand the music and that I feel comfortable working with as I’m trying to create and figure out my sound. So my team that I’ve been able to build since I first signed with them, I feel like I’ve been able to get this stuff done and using their guidance I now feel even more comfortable knowing where I’m looking to go and how I want to do things. Because some things go really well, some things, you look back and you’re like, OK, maybe I would do this differently because now I know how that goes.”

Here are some highlights from our conversation with Luke in Brooklyn.

How do you feel that “Reasons” represents where you are right now as an artist?

I’m trying to use some pedal steel less and things like that in my songs and kind of enter a genre of myself that feels even less tied to just a country folk sound. So I’ve been writing on piano and this new song kind of feels a little bit different than the rest of them, which I’m really excited about.

How was the Union Pool show?

It was fantastic. It was great. This was my first show in New York playing my own music. And I was choosing between Union Pool and Nightclub 101, I never played it either one, but a lot of my friends that live out here suggested Union Pool. I think I made a good decision going there because one, the show was on a Saturday, and two, the room is the perfect kind of size to where if you’re not selling it out it still feels full, and a bunch of friends come out. It went great. And my friend Haylie Davis opened and she sounded incredible. It was really fun.

How did you initially connect with Jonathan Wilson and Shooter?

When I met my A&R Mark Williams at Concord I’d put some songs out before when I was younger, but it wasn’t anything serious really. So he was trying to help curate the vibe and the experience of these first recordings that I would put out. And my A&R was close with Shooter and with Jonathan, they both worked with other artists from the label and stuff. Mark had introduced me to Shooter months before we ever recorded anything and Shooter and I kind of formed a friendship just from hanging out. And he brought my band into a studio just to record demos for free so I could hear what my songs sound like that we’d been playing live.

Jonathan I had also met prior to working with him because he lives and works out of Topanga Canyon, and I have a bunch of friends there, and Jonathan will do like jams at his house and little parties and stuff, so I’d been to a couple of those. So by the time we got to recording, which we also did most of at Jonathan’s studio, I had a good relationship with the two of them. They had always wanted to work together but never got to. Everyone was just stoked to be hanging out and working on some music together, and it was very easy flowing. Everyone had ideas and was able to share them, and I felt like I had a voice in the studio even though I was still being guided by the two of them. It was a great experience.

What impact did growing up in a musical household have on you?

My dad is a musician. He writes songs and he sings since he was my age and still does. And both my parents are just huge music lovers, just music always being played in the car, in the house. And so I was always surrounded by it. I think I just found music, it felt like I found it on my own and pursued learning an instrument through my own kind of inspiration. My parents put me in piano lessons when I was a little kid and I think they viewed learning an instrument as just being a good thing for a child to try and do. But it was never because my dad also had played music or because they thought I should be a musician. I did a bunch of things. I played sports and music and I liked to draw a lot when I was younger. But when I got into middle school, that’s when I joined music classes that I chose to do, and l was in orchestra playing percussion and I got super into drums, which was my first instrument. I kind of just took it from there and kept doing that in high school, doing choir, being in the band and then forming my own bands and then picking up guitar halfway through high school so that I could start writing more and singing more.

In addition to your own career, you’ve been playing guitar in Malcolm Todd’s band. How do you balance the two roles?

It’s honestly great because they’re such different jobs. And he’s doing really well. So obviously the pay doing that with him is great and that just helps me do my own thing. The main thing for me with balancing the two is just making sure that I utilize all my time when I’m not doing that as much as I can doing my own thing. Being in his band helps with it too, like gaining fans through being in his group. And I would ideally like to do the two of them as long as I can.

You played “The Tonight Show” with Malcolm last month. How was that experience?

Yeah, that was amazing. It was incredible. We did Jimmy Kimmel last year and so this was our second TV performance with Fallon, and it was different because with Kimmel there’s not a live audience watching the band when you perform. With Fallon, it kind of felt a little bit more like a performance in that way. And we never actually got to meet Jimmy Kimmel, unfortunately, but Fallon came into our dressing room before and we had a bunch of instruments in there, so we were singing “Hey Jude” with him, and he sang the whole song perfectly because he’s actually a really good musician and singer. He was just super sweet and welcoming and the performance went great and it was a great experience.

The post LUKE TYLER SHELTON’S STAR IS ON THE RISE WITH NEW SINGLE ‘REASONS’ appeared first on Highway 81 Revisited.

It is a staggering body of work. But it’s her role as a solo artist that is in the spotlight now, as the Montreal-born singer, multi-instrumentalist, actress, author and activist today releases her new solo album, “In The Hour of Chaos.”

Laden with guests, the record celebrates the spirit of collaboration — in the studio, on the stage and in life.

“I really think about it like the mixtape for a musical that’s yet to be written,” Russell says during a video chat. “I have populated it with people and voices and artists who inspire me, who I love, who I learn from every time I’m in a room with them.”

A pivotal song called “Really Real”, featuring Norah Jones, sits in the fifth slot.

“To me, that song is like the heart of it,” she says. “Like who are your stand-up people that show up? It’s recognizing and celebrating those people. It might be one person in your life. It’s deeper than economic currency. That currency of showing up for each other and being there for each other is so much about what we’re digging in on, of what is the antidote to the kind of endless doom spiral that we can find ourselves trapped in, especially if we spend too much time in the online negativity bias algorithms.”

The deep connection Russell experienced with Jones, Joy Oladoku, Brittney Spencer, Sara Watkins and other prominent guests on “In The Hour of Chaos” infuses the material with communion and camaraderie. And some lesser-known contributors hold an equally special place: The Explore! Pop Choir, which features Russell’s daughter, sing on the tune “Cold April.”

“That might have been my most joyful day in the studio ever,” Russell recalls, “with that yellow school bus pulling up to the legendary Sound Emporium in Nashville and 30-plus middle schoolers spilling out to come sing ‘Cold April with us. It was just so utterly joyful. And they give me hope. My daughter’s 12 now, and the kids really, truly give me hope and also give me courage to keep trying to do what I’m called to do, to break cycles of harm, and for me, I don’t have a lot. I have songs and words and stories, and that’s kind of it, and that’s what I can use.”

Russell, who opened for McLachlan on her “Fumbling Towards Ecstacy” 30th anniversary tour in 2024, has reprised the role in a tour that kicked off on July 1. Russell also covered two of her fellow Canadian’s songs — “Angel” and “Mary” — on an EP, “Rainbows,” released this March.

Russell met McLachlan a few years ago through Joni Mitchell’s circle of collaborators and friends. Russell performed with them at Newport Folk.

“I play clarinet and sing backups in the Joni Jam band. Joni had such a blast when we did Newport in ’22 that she wanted to do another concert, and Brandi asked her, where would you like to do it? And she wanted to go back to The Gorge,” says Russell. “She had been there on a tour with Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, and she wanted to go back and headline, and she went back and she sold that out in 10 minutes flat. Brandi ended up adding two more days to the concert because it was sold out so quickly.

“So it turned into like a Joni festival weekend, you know? And we got there a couple of days early to set up the stage, because with Joni Jam, we make the stage kind of feel like her living room. And there’s Joni in her one golden sort of throne armchair and Brandi in the other. Brandi had put this green velvet loveseat just behind. She and Joni and I got there for rehearsal, and she said, ‘OK, you’re going to sit back there with Annie and Sarah.’ I thought, OK, great. I figured nurses, aides of Joni’s, care workers or friends, because it’s not just musicians on stage, And I’m putting together my clarinet and I look over and it’s Sarah McLachlan and Annie Lennox walking over and then sitting with me on this little green loveseat.”

Russell became fast friends and collaborators with bothe of them. Lennox went on to sing on her song “Superlover” in 2025.

The multi-hyphenate artist, who has been nominated for eight Grammys, holds another woman close to her heart: Persephone, the queen of the mythological underground in “Hadestown.”

“She rides along with me now forever,” she says. “I got to do my my debut and that was about five months, all told, between rehearsals and performances. And then I had the honor of being invited back to reprise the role, which I just completed my second run in March of this year. And I have been so deeply changed and informed by that experience, and I think that’s going to come to bear in many different ways. But certainly I feel so much freer in my movement and in my body on stage and to be able to integrate movement into storytelling. It just feels more natural now since I’ve played that role. And she’s also just with me as just kind of my unhinged inner goddess that I can bring out when I need it, you know?”

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