Monday, September 26
American Band is the latest release from venerable American rock band Drive-By Truckers. Whereas the band has taken time to celebrate and contemplate its Southern heritage on past releases, this time the group takes a decidedly political turn with songs such as “Once They Banned Imagine” and “Sun Don’t Shine” and “Ever South.” We’ll hear selections from that recording on this episode of the show as well as music from the latest album by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.
Tuesday, September 27
Brutal Lives is the latest recording from Portland, Oregon-based musician Nick Jaina. The 14-track album primarily features work that he originally composed for a contemporary dance piece in the summer of 2014. These pieces were all rejected by the choreographer, often with no other explanation other than that they were “too sad.” Jaina thought the recordings had some value in them, so he refashioned them into songs, adding vocals and choruses to give them a different life. We’ll hear from Brutal Lives as well as selections from the new release by Thor and Friends.
Wednesday, September 28
In March 2016 Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, guitars in hand, boarded a Los Angeles-bound train at Chicago’s Union Station looking to reconnect with the culture of American railroad travel and the music it inspired. Winding along 2,728 miles of track over four days, the pair recorded classic railroad songs in waiting rooms and at trackside while the train paused to pick up passengers. Listen for selections from the resulting LP, Shine a Light as well as music from Joe Henry’s album Scar.
Thursday, September 29
We’re All Gonna Die is the latest release from Los Angeles-based band Dawes. We’ll hear selections from it on this episode of the show as well as from the upcoming release by French darksynth artist Tommy ’86.
Friday, September 30
1969 is the latest release by sometime Prince collaborator Andre Cymone. Informed by racial tensions in both that landmark year and 2016 the record covers a broad range of musical and lyrical ground. We’ll hear selections from it as well as from Prince’s Sign O’ The Times LP.
