Top8 - 01/20/25 - WTSQ 88.1 FM

January 19, 2025 - 06:31 PM

Welcome back to Top8. Winter proceeds. Some of us need to remember how bad summer is and feel a little better about the cold. I would rather wear a hoodie in the house than feel like I am going to peel my skin off and sit in front of the fan. On the other hand, 1°F is just not enough degrees. Cold is one thing, 1°F is kind of insane.

As I am writing this though, the snow is the real thing. This is the heaviest blizzard I can remember seeing in a while. I hope everyone is as safe as you can be. Please send all soup recipes to wtsq.org/contact.

Let's get into some new music.

Lucy Dacus - Ankles

Lucy Dacus sings about sexual intimacy in "Ankles" like some people sing about holding hands. There's passion there, yes, but there's more of a sense of closeness and emotional vulnerability. Dacus is no stranger to songs of heartbreak, but she seems like she's on more solid ground here. This is a relationship that features a bit of lust but also working crosswords together in the morning. This is just so damn sweet, I can't deal with it. I don't know how rock and roll it is to have a healthy relationship, but I seriously doubt that Lucy cares.

Sharon Van Etten - Trouble

Sharon Van Etten has seemed like she's been on the verge of a goth left turn for a while now. It seems to be finally happening on the forthcoming "The Attachment Theory" album. "Trouble" is a dark, moody, swoon of a song. This is a red wine kind of song. Van Etten hasn't lost her core sound; she's not aping something else. It's still closer to Angel Olsen than Chelsa Wolfe. But this one sounds better at night.

Jason Isbell - Bury Me

No one can really name the best living singer-songwriter in the world. So I'll make a list of five, in any order – Jason Isbell, John Moreland, Julien Baker, Lucinda Williams, and Andrew Adkins. Regardless of who you have on your list, one of them is probably going to be Isbell. The man himself has invested considerable time in the past several years into his band, The 400 Unit. The forthcoming "Foxes in the Snow" will be his first album since 2015's "Something More Than Free" without that band behind him. And in fact, this will be his first ever album without a band at all.

There is a tendency of folky, americana types to be a little too reverential about people like Isbell. To be honest, that is a valid criticism. It's really not that different from people who are obsessed with guitar virtuosos or punk heroes. That said, it's not for nothing. Isbell is one of the most effective, emotive, and accomplished writers working in any field today. He writes melodically interesting and beautifully executed songs. And, in case you're into that sort of thing, he's a steller guitar player.

All of which brings us to "Bury Me." This is a song that could have been written in the 1930's. It's written in a way that feels inevitable; feels like it couldn't have ever had other words, and really didn't even need to be written, it must have just always existed in the ether of American folk-ish music. There are lots of great singer-songwriters. And maybe Jason Isbell isn't on your list. But, there is no one better. Bet.

Bob Vylan - Dream Bigger (ft. Amy Taylor)

If you thought you needed to check the pulse of punk rock, don't worry. It's doing fine. Bands like Bob Vylan are making the kind of music you'd key up a Tesla to right now in 2025. (And you can be certain, if they had Teslas when I was 16, I would have been keying the hell out of them.) "Dream Bigger" is an updated version of Vylan's earlier "Dream Big", this time with Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers coming in for a verse. This is the punk collab of the last five years. What you do to Teslas in your neighborhood is between you and Jesus. Or possibly Elon Musk.

GRMLN - Fall Through The Heart

If I wanted to be an old lady about it, I'd tell you that I am annoyed by bands who spell their names entirely in caps. And bands who spell their names without vowels? Annie bar the door. Lucky for everyone, I am not an old lady.

Also lucky for me because GRMLN (I am assuming this is Gremlin? Seriously, what is this, ancient Hebrew, for crying out loud??) is fantastic. "Fall Through The Heart" is the kind of reverby shoegaze that gets me every time. Shades of Slowdive here.

Congratulations - Ice Tea

Slightly chaotic punkish sound on "Ice Tea". Reminds me of Gossip or bands like Ekko Astral. I bet this is a great band to see live.

Caley Conway - Hours in a Day

"Hours in a Day" is one of my favorite songs of the week. This is a slight but pleasantly indolent stroll. I think this is the point. The song is a meditation on feeling like the hours in a day don't quite do. This has sorta Nellie McKay vibes.

Angela Autumn - Roving Jewel

Andrew always says you can't fake Appalachian style. (I am not certain this is always so; Iris DeMent sounds like she came straight out of the holler to me, and she's from Arkansas.) Angela Autumn is from over in rural PA and she sounds like it to me. "Roving Jewel" starts with her distinctive vocal and an acoustic bass before growing into a stompy modern country type thing. If this were just a bit poppier, it would be too much for me. As it is, I like it.