Austin, Texas-based ambient-industrial music project, 1st Base Runner, is musician Tim Husmann’s baby. He plays all the instruments here and sings on his debut album called Seven Years of Silence.

Portland’s Dead Coyote delivers a spooky concept EP with Apparitionata, a release they call “a cyclical tale of a foolish ghost with a broken heart.” As is apparent from plodding pronouncing on opener “Prelude,” Zach Retzl, Adrian Retzl, Jonathan Ventrella, and Izabella Weiss are marching forward with their collective tongues in their cheeks wallowing deeply in campy horror, as well as tickling through Beethoven and contemporary composers like Danny Elfman and Phillip Glass.

‘Sir’ Tom Jones, has earned over a 100 million record sales, 36 Top 40 hits spanning five decades, and is in his 8th decade…and he’s not slowing down one bit on his latest, Surrounded By Time. 

Brandon Isleib plays and produces here (he is Restless Mosaic), in the mold of a Gary Newman meets William Orbit, meets Brian Eno in the sensibilities I feel I’m feeling from listening to this full 10.

Beatnik Neon is the duo of percussion, synth, guitarist/bassist Nolan Farmer and cellist, piano player Yann McBreton. Across the eight tunes of this new full length from them, Yoreself, they employ a handful of other musicians to help them out, as Christine Nicole does, sailing her outstanding vocals above the first truly commercial stab here, “Rag and Bone.” Again, Farmer manages perfectly placed guitar fills and well-placed percussion while McBreton plinks forward with piano. 

You might not exactly know who Crack The Sky is…especially if you are under forty and not a prog-rock head. But I’d advise you to go seek out this American band’s new release, Tribes, as well as all the other stuff they released since their debut in 1976. As with this new collection of thirteen, the band delivers a wide range of genres, great playing, and tight songwriting from their leader John Palumbo.

The baker’s dozen of Blue Water Highway’s new album Paper Airplanes, is simply perfect.
The anthemic ballad title track opens. Simple piano, atmospheric guitar sounds, and oh-so-rich three-part harmonies sailing across the poignant chorus melody get you right where you live. Plinky keys from keyboardist (and vocalist) Catherine Clarke and an off-center beat brings us into another heart-breaking melody, on “Sign Language.”

Heavy Sun will not be to everyone’s liking to be sure. It is heavy on the gospel and thick in places where the sound probably didn’t need to always be. But this is great stuff, rendered by a modern master.

Daniel Lanois is certainly the real deal.

The Real Story is some real great rock and roll, mining tough subjects, played well.

What sounds like a dobro (?)  leads us into another spoken word, metallic picked rumination with “I’m A Demon,” but we’re back to an actual song on the next tune, with its roiling guitar riff, slow flumpy bass; “Split Second.”. Faress layers the guitars sweetly and again offers harmony vocals in the chorus just about when we are aching for them. Halfway through, we get a bridge where there’s a strummed upbeat to the proceedings.

This is my favorite tune on Border Patrol.