The release of the latest Foo Fighters album took up most of the attention last week, This time, we dig into some 90s artists who are back in the news along with the daughter of a member of The Replacements.
1. Liz Phair, Hey Lou
Soberish (Matador)
Recommended If You Like: Alt-rock stars of the 90s
Liz Phair was one of the great solo female stars of alt-rock of the 90s with albums like Exile in Guyville (1993) and Whip-Smart in 1994. Records continued to come through the aughts before albums stopped coming in 2010. A few standalone singles started appearing a couple of years ago, which gave fans hope. Now we hear about the release of a full album called Soberish at some point this year. This track produced by Brad Wood (the same guy behind those first two albums) is a return to form. She also plays to tour this summer with several Canadian stops. But we’ll see, won’t we?
2. Eve 6, black nova
grim value EP (Velocity Records)
RIYL: Alt-rock stars of the 90s, part 2
The press release refers to the group as “non-legendary rock band Eve 6,” which is a nice bit of self-deprecation. It continues: “Hi, our band’s called Eve 6. We’re back which is confirmation we’re living in the end times.” If you remember songs like Inside out, this is a bit different—or, as the band says “Eve 6’s new EP grim value is the release they would have made had they never been plucked by the mid 90’s major label machine.” A refreshing attitude—and also a really good song.
3. The Weather Station, Robber
Ignorance (Next Door Records)
RIYL: Records with rave reviews
The new album from Toronto’s Weather Station has received some amazingly positive reviews with some critics calling it the first great album of 2021. Fronted by Tamara Lindeman, the band has been around since 2006 and has got better with every release. Is this folk or something more? How many folk bands have two drummers and a sax player? And driven by the fear of climate change? Intriguing stuff.
4. Death from Above 1979, One + One
4 Lovers (Universal)
RIYL: Album sequels
Sebastian and Jesse haven’t released anything since Outrage! Is Now in 2017, so this song is overdue. They consider this a love song and “a karmic sequel to Romantic Rights which came out back in 2004. The song was made dancier at the suggestion of Seb’s pregnant wife. They tested mixes on the fetus and the one that got the most kicks was the winner. The album will be out on March 26.
5. Ruby, Come Clean
Single (Independent)
RIYL: Offspring (actual offspring, not the band)
This is Ruby Stinson, daughter of Tommy Stinson, the Replacements’ bass player who also served time in Guns N’ Roses. She’s now back in her hometown of Minneapolis after living in NYC working in the fashion industry. But after a decade of doing that, she thought the Twin Cities would be a better base of operations for a singing career. This song is projected to be part of a five-song EP that should be out this summer.
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