At some point, we just have to exhale, take a break, and loosen up a little bit. Here are a few new songs that just might bring back your smile, if even for a second or two.
1. Nap Eyes, Mark Zuckerberg
Halifax’s Nap Eyes continues making tight alt-pop with more than a slight nod to the stylings of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, This single from their fourth album, Snapshot of a Beginner, will no doubt go down very well with the coding drones working in the cube farms of Facebook Inc.
2. Brad Paisley, No I in Beer
A standalone single from the country superstar. “People are utilizing this time to connect and to feel solidarity as human beings,” he says. “This song wasn’t written for this specific moment we are all facing, but it takes on a new meaning for me when I hear it now.” By the way, Paisley is hosting virtual happy hours and live stream concerts.
3. Pat Garrett, Toilet Paper & Booze
I have a brother-in-law living in the Ontario bush who’s been preparing for the zombie apocalypse for years. “Storin’ up bullet’n’liquor!” he’d boost. I used to make fun of him, but maybe the joke’s on us. I’m dedicating this song to him.
4. COVID-19, We All Die (Russia)
It was inevitable that someone in the world of metal would adopt the name COVID-19. The first is from Russia and is a one-man project by Alex Ezeptrone from the band Wishdoomdark. He’s managed to release a couple of EPs so far, We All Day and Collapse of the Planet. Feel good music, then.
5. COVID-19, When the Traditional Margarine Commercial Family Dies (Brazil)
The Brazilians love their extreme metal, so I’m not surprised to see the rise of this COVID-19. It’s another one-man-band featuring a dude named Erdos, whose resume also includes a group called Encephalo Swarm. And what a snappy title for an album, huh?
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Bonus Tracks
London Calling: All We Are, Bad Advice
Describing themselves as “The Bee Gees on diazepam,” this Liverpool trio specializes in songs that are a bit drowsy and woozy while sometimes ascending into falsettos that would make the Brothers Gibb proud.
Undiscovered Gem: Animal Waves, Lately, So Lonely
Originally from Illinois and now working out of L.A., Animal Waves’ fuzzed-out sort of rock is powered by a guitarist who worked as a hired gun for both Slash and Lauren Hill.
Throwback Track: The Ramones, Sheena is a Punk Rocker
Nineteen years ago this week (April 15, 2001), Joey Ramone died of lymphoma in a New York hospital. Just after Christmas 2000, he slipped on some ice, fracturing his hip. That required surgery and forced Joey to come off his chemo. As he tried to recover from the hip operation, the cancer roared back. He was the first of the original Ramones to go. Dee Dee followed in 2002 (heroin overdose), Johnny died in 2004 (prostate cancer), and Tommy left us in 2014 (bile duct cancer).
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Alan Cross is a broadcaster with Q107 and 102.1 the Edge and a commentator for Global News.
Subscribe to Alan’s Ongoing History of New Music Podcast now on Apple Podcast or Google Play
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