Welcome back to 5 for Friday.
I kicked off this new column for Global News last week. In it, we discuss the new music being released today, as well as other tunes you should check out in the week ahead.
Here are this week’s picks.
1. The Breeders, All Nerve (single)
Now that she’s freed herself from The Pixies again, Kim Deal is free to spend more time working with identical twin sister Kelley on music for The Breeders. A limited edition (1,500-copy) 7-inch single released back in October gave fans hope that more new music was coming. All Nerve, the first Breeders’ record since 2008, will arrive March 2 on Britain’s 4AD label. Our first taste is the title track. Here’s a sample of what’s to come.
2. Bahamas, No Wrong (single)
Bahamas (known to his mom as Alfie Jurvanen) will return with his first album in about four years next week, but he’s already salted things with a couple of releases, including this one. A cross-Canada tour starts this weekend in Halifax and Moncton.
3. Joe Satriani, What Happens Next
Those who like instrumental guitar rock worship at the altar of Satriani. This is his 16th solo record, a release he describes as “more simplistic” than some of the stuff he’s done in the past. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith and Deep Purple/Black Country Communion singer Glenn Hughes also appear on the record.
4. Black Veil Brides, Vale
Still clad in studded black leather, Hollywood’s Black Veil Brides return after a four-year break from releasing full albums. Tracks from this record began dribbling out more than a year ago, but now everything has been collected together.
5. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Wrong Creatures
BMRC’s biggest scare over their 20-year history came in 2014 when drummer Leah Shapiro required brain surgery to remove some malformations that were causing coordination and balance issues. The good news is that she’s made a full recovery and is again keeping time and singing backup for the band’s eighth album.
More cool songs you must hear this week
1. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, You Worry Me
Tearing the Seams Out (Stax/Universal)
Recommended If You Like: That S.O.B song
After slaving away in obscurity, Nathaniel and his crew got their big breakthrough with S.O.B. back in 2015, but failed to similarly capitalize with any of the three other singles from that self-titled album. Because the band is a huge live draw, their label used two stopgap albums (an odds’n’sods release plus a live album) to buy them more time to make this third album. We’ll get to listen to the whole thing on March 9.
2. Fake Shark, Heart2Heart
Faux Real (604 Records)
Recommended If You Like: Electronic Indie Freak Pop (their words, not mine)
This Vancouver act (formerly known as Fake Shark-Real Zombie!) got a nice break last year when one of their songs appeared in a commercial for the Apple Watch. Their fourth album, Faux Real, was released this past May.
3. Language Arts, Neighbour
Able Island (Canvasback Music)
Recommended If You Like: Slightly psych-y electronic indie pop. Beck would like them.
Those who regularly nose around Bandcamp may have stumbled on a 2015 post of the band’s Able Island album, which featured this song. Much of the record was inspired by the strange and wonderful Sable Island (it’s a place, look it up). Toronto-based guitarist Kristen Cudmore is at the centre of the band and serves as the group’s chief composer.
4. Jade Bird, Lottery
Something American (Glassnote)
Recommended If You Like: Somewhere between alt-folk and alt-country, depending on who you ask.
When Bird played a Toronto showcase toward the end of last year, some people came away saying, “We’ve just seen the next big female singer-songwriter superstar.” Just 20 years old, this Brit writes and performs with a maturity beyond her years. No wonder Glassnote Records (home of Mumford & Sons and The Strumbellas) snapped her up.
5. Jack White, Connected by Love
Boarding House Reach (Third Man Records)
Recommended If You Like: It’s Jack, dude!
White’s been AWOL for a bit, spending time on PBS specials and opening his own record-pressing plant in Detroit. Now he seems poised for a return to making records. This single provides some speculation about where he’s going with his third solo album.
Undiscovered Gem of the Week: Stuck on Planet Earth
Found at the end of the new TTC subway extension to Vaughan, Ont., the three guys in SOPE have been working together since 2008, opening for bands like Gob, Danko Jones and Finger Eleven. In fact, their new single, Permanent, was produced by Steve Molella of Finger Eleven.
Throwback Track of the Week: Stan Ridgeway, Camouflage
During a trip through north and central Vietnam last month, this song kept going through my head. Ridgeway, the former singer of the quirky Wall of Voodoo (remember the single Mexican Radio?), included this song on his debut solo album, The Big Heat, in 1986.
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