I was so disappointed when I heard Fruit Bats was coming out with a covers album, but that’s just because I love the prior FB albums of original material. Excellent songwriting. But then I heard it was a full cover of Smashing Pumpkins’ seminal Siamese Dream record. And the only person with a stranger and more distinct voice than Billy Corgan may be Eric Johnson, the man who ties together the various incarnations of this indie folk band. I love how he replaces the crunchy grunge of the original with his signature trippy strumming–and even sun-washed synths.
The covers album is available here. No stream. Highly recommended.
And speaking of albums without available streams…Brent Cobb makes true Americana. It’s not primitive enough to be old country and it’s not the arena pop of modern country. It’s socially woke, so it’s modern, but it’s about simple things like love, family, and knowing when to shut up and sing. And when to speak out
Think Jason Isbell, but smooth where Isbell still has rough edges and subtle where Isbell goes for the gut.
Cobb’s latest album is perfect for 2020 country fans who are wary of the connotations of that genre (and, frankly, the views of a lot of its artists).
In fact, the album itself seems to be a response to the way country has been twisted away from the working man’s interests–Cobb went indie with it. He’s got a major label contract with Elektra, but for this album he stuck with his original producer, put it out himself, and got distribution with Thirty Tigers.
A very nice album. Check it out
