Today, three soft rock, blues and foot-stomping folk albums. Let’s start with Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors’ latest, Dragons. It’s what you’d expect from this Americana folk, and it’s also got some great guest features by the likes of Lone Bellow, Ellie Holcomb, and one of my latest favorite artists, among others.
Nothing flashy here–just good music.
Next up: One Eleven Heavy’s “Desire Path.” It’s the most pure country of the lot, and the most eclectic as well. At times, it veers close to a “jam band” sound–although it’s never ponderous. It’s more the mood, easy going and loose. I found it a very interesting listen. Check it out.
And last is my favorite of today’s three features: “Changes” by Neal Francis.
Sadly, he’s not offering the entire album for stream–just preorder on Bandcamp. What does it sound like? Well, it sounds very strange: Piano-driven funk. How is that possible? Check this out:
Yeah, I guess Dr. Hook did some of this a long time ago, but who’s doing it now? And Francis modernizes the Nawlins sound with distinctive modern-indie sounding vocals.
And then on songs like “She’s a Winner,” on which a keyboard chugs along with strong horn accents, I can hear a little bit of Hot Chocolate and maybe even The Doobies. There’s a lot that’s familiar in this song: It’s a like a collage and homage to early 1970s rock, where the lighter, early 1960s folk rock and the heavier, late ’60s blues rock started to fold together.
I know there’s a lot of 1970s revivals going on right now, and I love them all. But I especially love this one!
Also: Dude KICKS ASS live:
