PRESS PLAY: New albums out March 14th

You don’t need a degree in advanced mathematics to enjoy this week’s new albums (but if you do have a degree in advanced mathematics, good for you!). Soulful Chicago rocker Neal Francis delivers on Return to Zero; the follow-up to his 2021 breakthrough features contributions from Say She She. As he approaches the 10^th anniversary of his full-length debut, prolific Americana journeyman Charley Crockett shows no signs of slowing down on the Shooter Jennings-produced Lonesome Drifter. New England college rock heroes Throwing Muses offer observational anthems on their 11^th LP, Moonlight Concessions.

Longtime Wilco guitarist Nels Cline’s Consentrik Quartet recruits saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, bassist Chris Lightcap, and drummer Tom Rainey for a set of adventurous, genre-defying compositions. On Georgie, his most stripped-down album to date, Twin Shadow’s George Lewis Jr. floats through sparse and ruminative arrangements; the record is dedicated to the memory of his father.  Following the announcement of his retirement from touring, Edwyn Collins makes good on his promise to continue recording and releasing music with his wizened 10^th solo LP, Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation. Brooklyn-based trio Bambara conjure dead-end locales and desperate characters on their fifth album, Birthmarks.

Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every week on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

Neal Francis – Return to Zero
CHECK OUT: “Back it Up” “What’s Left of Me”

Charley Crockett – Lonesome Drifter
CHECK OUT: “Lonesome Drifter” “Jamestown Ferry”

Throwing Muses – Moonlight Concessions
CHECK OUT: “South Coast” “Summer of Love”

Nels Cline – Consentrik Quartet
CHECK OUT: “The 23” “Slipping into Something”

Twin Shadow – Georgie
CHECK OUT: “Good Times” “As Soon as You Can”

Edwyn Collins – Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation
CHECK OUT: “Knowledge” “The Heart is a Foolish Little Thing”

Bambara – Birthmarks
CHECK OUT: “Letters from Sing Sing” “Face of Love”

The PRESS PLAY-list

FURTHER LISTENING

Anoushka Shankar – Chapter III: We Return to Light, Anupam Shobhakar – Liquid Reality, Cameron Keiber – NURSER, Charlie Cunningham – In Light, Circuit des Yeux – Halo on the Inside, cleopatrick – FAKE MOON, clipping. – Dead Channel Sky, Courting – Lust for Life, or: ‘How to Thread the Needle and Come Out the Other Side to Tell the Story’, Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – Yarin Yoksa, Dream Brigade – Dream Brigade, Envy of None – Stygian Wavz, The Faint – Blank-Wave Arcade (Reissue) / Wet from Birth (Reissue), Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson, & Sam Wilkes – Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes, Goo Goo Dolls – A Boy Named Goo (30^th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes – Live at the Greek (25^th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), Kronos Quartet & Mary Kouyoumdjian – Witness, Museum of Light – Diviner, of Montreal – The Sunlandic Twins (20^th Anniversary Edition), Ozzy Osbourne – See You on the Other Side V2.0, Riki Lindhome – No Worries If Not, Rose Cousins – Conditions of Love Vol. 1, Ruston Kelly – Dirt Emo, Vol. 2, The Seldom Scene – Remains to Be Scene, Springhouse – From Now to O.K. (Reissue), Steve Reich – Collected Works, Steven Wilson – The Overview, Terraplana – Natural, Throbbing Gristle – Live at the Volksbühne, Berlin, New Year’s Eve 2005, Weaving – Webs, ZZ Ward – Liberation