Top 5 New Releases :: New Music Friday :: March 3, 2017
It’s Friday. You know what that means? It’s New Music Friday again. Are you ready for the best of the new album releases for March 3? Are you ready for the first new music for March 2017?
I’ve sifted through the newly released albums, EP’s and singles, and come up with the five best of the week for your sonic enjoyment. So, sit back, secure your headphones, and have a listen to a few albums and a single, or two, that are the standout best Top New Releases for March 3, 2017.
Top 5 New Releases:
1. Bruises :: Dia Frampton
Three-Sentence Review: This album is a collection of gorgeous, cinematic, emotionally rich songs that I can’t get enough of today. Dia has come a long way from the early aughts emo duo with her older sister, as well as from her stint on The Voice. Produced by Dan Heath (known for work with Lana Del Rey and Skylar Grey), Bruises feels like a little Lana, a little Birdy and Banks, and some Damien Rice thrown in, too. Dia has been one to watch for some time now, but this album really solidifies it.
Initial Favorite Track(s): “Hope”, “Dead Man” and “Crave”
Rating (1-5 Stars): 5
“Crave”
2. Full Closure and No Details :: Gabriella Cohen
Three-Sentence Review: An interesting combination of indie dram pop and 1950’s rock sensibilities, Australian singer/songwriter, Gabriella Cohen’s debut album has me pressing play over and over again. This is a slow burn of an album, but not in the case of taking time to warm up to it, no, more like it sits there, simmering, sending out hunger inducing scents (and senses), swirling around you until it has all your attention. This is definitely infused with a bit of Nico, of Hope Sandoval, of The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Best Coast, as well as an assortment of 50’s-60’s girl groups – turn it up, and I bet you hear it, too.
Initial Favorite Track(s): “I Don’t Feel so Alive”, “Feelin’ Fine” and “Downtown”
Rating (1-5 Stars): 5
“Downtown”
3. Last Place :: Grandaddy
Three-Sentence Review: Grandaddy has been on my musical peripheral for almost a decade, but they never got any closer to me until now. Last Place has me paying attention, and pulling the band, and their music, in closer – listening closer, feeling the connection finally. The album has straight forward, alternative rock tracks, emotionally dense ballads, and vulnerable, hypnotic ballads peppered with a dream-pop’s lighter touch – I think I get this Grandaddy thing now.
Initial Favorite Track(s): “Way We Won’t”, “The Boat is in the Barn” and “This is the Part”
Rating (1-5 Stars): 5
“Way We Won’t”
4. Blood Jungle :: Johnossi
Three-Sentence Review: Swedish-duo Johnossi brings with their new album “Blood Jungle” a ready-for-alternative-radio collection of 10 tracks that are strong, catchy adn palpable. Some tracks stand farther out then the rest, shedding some of the predictability in exchange for a bit of angst and melodic complexity. Singer John Englebert has been compared vocally to Dave Grohl, and I can hear it on this album more than other past releases, especially with the song “Tall Dark Man”.
Initial Favorite Track(s): “Air is Free”, “On a Roll” and “Tall Dark Man”
Rating (1-5 Stars): 4
“Air is Free”
5. Sensorimotor ::: Lusine
Three-Sentence Review: The songs on Sensorimotor teeter on the edge of Techno and Ambient, creating a very pleasing mix of the two styles. At times the songs are soundtrack score cinematic (see “Chatter”), at other times they are dance infused (“The Level”), but my favorite moments are the tracks that feature vocals, adding a melodic layer to the already stunning electro-sounds. Texas-raised/Seattle-based Jeff McIlwain has another stellar release here, my favorite, so far, of his musical creations.
Initial Favorite Track(s): “Ticking Hands”, “Just a Cloud” and “The Lift”
Rating (1-5 Stars): 4
“Just Like a Cloud”
