NEW MUSIC FROM NEW PLACES Music to lift the spirits and bring joy to your ears

By Terry Paquet

Terry Paquet is an award-winning copywriter with more than 20 years of experience. He wears pants (most of the time). He has never been to jail (except in Monopoly).

Goodbye 2020. We won’t miss you and the thick black cloud you held over our collective heads for most of the past year. Now we look forward. With our heads held high. Our shoulders a little less slumped. And our hearts filled with hope that finally, somehow, someway, all will be right in the world.

that can change your mood in a minute. From bad to good. Sad to happy. Down to up. A sweet elixir that can erase the dark. And soften the harshness around us. This collection of artists will help you move into a better frame of mind. Because it’s finally 2021 and our mouths may still be masked, but our ears are wide open. Music can help us do that. It is a source of energy

IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN WHILE YOU READ, CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tuWFviIDriODBlkM46Rpw?si=N0tDkv80Ri-JF9dNrdoFQw

LIANNE LA HAVAS

I first saw Lianne La Havas on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts, and knew from the get-go that I would need to hear more from this British singer-songwriter. Her breezy, smooth-as-butter performance backed by beautiful harmonies were the welcome respite I needed from the fluffy, weightless pop drivel of mainstream radio.

With influences that run the gamut from Joni Mitchell and Roberta Flack to Red Hot Chili Peppers and Milton Nascimento, La Havas has created an impressive catalogue of neo soul/ R&B tunes. And the results have not gone unnoticed. Prince recorded her ballad “Lost and Found” which hit the top 10 in the U.K. and led to a subsequent performance with him on Saturday Night Live in 2014. Considering her airy, effortless vocals, adept guitar playing and proficiency at blending genres, it’s not hard to see why The Purple One was so enamoured with her. You can even feel his influence on “Woman,” a collab with Nao in which La Havas lays her soulful pipes on a vibey groove that would be totally at home in Paisley Park. Her live, stripped-down, acoustic cover of “Say a Little Prayer” (the Burt Bacharach/Hal David/Dionne Warwick hit from 1967) underscores the depth of her musical knowledge and packs a big wallop. In an era of soulless, forgettable machinemade melodies, La Havas is an artist to remember.

TRACKS TO CHECK OUT

• Woman Single by Nao - featuring Lianne La Havas (2020) • Say a Little Prayer (Live 2016) • Green and Gold from Blood (Solo) (2016) • Tokyo - Single (2015) • Can’t Fight from Lianne La Havas (2020)

BLACK PUMAS

Long before he became lead singer for the Black Pumas, Eric Burton was pulling in hundreds of dollars a day busking on the pier in Santa Monica. That’s no chump change and for a lot of artists would have been a sufficient way to make a living. Lucky for us, this California native wanted more. So Burton headed to Austin, Texas where, by happenstance, he met Adrian Quesada, an award-winning guitarist and producer. That serendipitous encounter in 2018 became the happy spark that led to the Black Pumas.

After a trial run performing on stage together, they shifted their focus to creating original music and went into the studio. One year later, their self-titled debut album was released with ATO records. Not surprisingly, the album earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and recognition from Rolling Stone magazine for Burton’s “tireless, charismatic energy.”

The sound of what many have called an “American psychedelic soul band” is undeniably retro. Yet, their repertoire feels somehow modern, oozing a funky vibe that cherry-picks from the baskets of new soul, old blues and classic R&B much like contemporaries including Alabama Shakes, Nathanial Rateliff and Vintage Trouble. Check out what feels like a livein-your-living-room cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”, the restrained vocal performance on OCT 33, or the crunchy, trippy cover of “Eleanor Rigby”. You won’t be disappointed.

TRACKS TO CHECK OUT

• Colors from Black Pumas (2020) • Black Moon Rising from Black Pumas (2020) • OCT 33 from Black Pumas (2020) • Touch the Sky from Black Pumas (2020) • Sweet Conversation from Black Pumas (2020)

THE AVETT BROTHERS

The Avett Brothers are a folk-rock, alt-country band from Concord, North Carolina fronted by siblings Scott and Seth. They first rose to national prominence with the single “I and Love and You” the title track from their major label debut album produced by none other than Rick Rubin. The collaboration wasn’t exactly welcomed by early fans who thought the results strayed too far from the rougher, raw sound of previous albums like Emotionalism. But this kind of backlash happens to almost every band that attempts to take their music to a larger audience. Nonetheless, the record earned them a whole new legion of fans and praise from the likes of Paste magazine who deemed it the best album of 2009.

Eleven years later, they have 10 studio albums, four live albums and four EPs forming an impressive catalogue that has seen the band experiment with a wide range of sounds and production values.

On their latest album, The Third Gleam, the boys return to their roots with the stripped-down arrangements and effortless harmonies that the original die hards have yearned for. The songs are simple, honest and touch on universal themes like love, family and spirituality that will connect with anyone looking for a little solace in these dark times.

TRACKS TO CHECK OUT

• I and Love and You (2009) • Ain’t No Man from True Sadness (2018) • Untitled #4 from Third Gleam (2020) • It’s Raining Today from Closer than Together (2019) • Happy Trails from Live Vol. 4 (2015)

MARK KOZELEK

Mark Kozelek is one of the most prolific artists you’ve probably never heard of. But once you dive into his intriguing catalogue of eclectic works you’ll be glad you did. His musical journey began in 1992 as lead singer for the San Francisco-based band Red House Painters. The quartet released a couple of records before calling it quits, prompting Kozelek to form his next venture, Sun Kill Moon, and then eventually work on his solo career.

His collection of works are intimate, often sparse, and underproduced (in a good way). His voice is equal parts Nick Cave, Eddie Vedder and Tom Waits (in his Night Hawks at the Diner phase). In addition to a trove of original material, the man has also produced an eclectic range of cover songs in which his choices beautifully veer off into B-Side territory from a wide range of artists including John Denver and Frank Sinatra. Perusing his works, you get the sense that he wants to push the status quo as far as it can go. Witness Dreams of Childhood - 24 tracks of spoken word poetry with Argentinian actor Nicolás Pauls. It’s indicative of Kozelek’s fearlessness as a musician willing to go places most artists won’t.

TRACKS TO CHECK OUT

• Another Day from Mark Kozelek Sings Favorites (2016) • Something Stupid from Mark Kozelek Sings Favorites (2016) • Up To My Neck In You from What’s next to the Moon (2001) • Famous Blue Raincoat from Night Talks (2017) • You Missed My Heart from Live at Phoenix Public House Melbourne (2013)