New Year, New Music

[Mendalla]

I first came across American singer-songwriter Maiah Wynne as the vocalist of rock band Envy of None, which teamed her with Canadian music legends Alex Lifeson (Rush) and Andy Curran (Coney Hatch). Which is kind of amazing given she's young enough to be either musician's daughter (she turns 30 in December). However, she was already established as an indie folk rock singer-songwriter before signing on to that band and you don't have to listen to much of her work to see what the guys saw in her: A gorgeous voice and some serious musical talent. She has a new album ready to go in September and I love the first couple singles from it.

This video is a nice nod to one of her Envy bandmates, Alex. It's a lovely folk cover of "Tears" from the album 2112 by Rush.

 

[Mendalla]

Been obsessing a bit over Maiah, listening to her first album and some older work she did based on The Hunger Games novels and movies. Wonderful artist and I hope she has a long, productive career. This video came out almost exactly three years ago as her first full album was nearing release, a cover of "Drive" one of my favourite songs by 80s band The Cars.

 

[Mendalla]

The guitar has to be one of the most versatile instruments created in the Western world (there are similar instruments in some Asian cultures, too). Between the original acoustic guitar and its modern cousin the electric guitar, the guitar has basically become a core musical instrument in the West. It is most commonly seen in popular music like country, pop, rock, metal, blues, and others, but there are classical and jazz guitar works for guitar, too. In Hispanic cultures like Spain and its former colonies in Latin America, the acoustic flamenco guitar is central to their folk music.

Which brings me to Rodrigo y Gabriela (English is just Rodrigo and Gabriela, their names). This Mexican duo plays mostly Spanish flamenco guitars, which are acoustic, but their style of playing puts a lot of blues and rock electric players to shame (I have seen Rodrigo go electric, but only once). It's complex, energetic music drawing from their own Mexican roots as well as a host of other musical styles. They won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2020 for their album Mettavolution and are about to release their eighth studio LP next month. All in a career that began with them busking in Dublin, Ireland.

Their latest single, from the upcoming album OurHome:

The title track from their Grammy-winner:

And the title track from the new album:

 

[Mendalla]

And, yes, I am currently on a bit of a break from metal, or at least from listening to predominantly metal. Historically, my taste in music has actually been pretty broad and I am trying to get back to that after a period of very heavy focus on metal. My rock listening has shifted to the very diverse genre known as prog rock (best known from 70s bands like Yes and Genesis but still very much a going concern with some really exciting contemporary artists and bands). The prog sound has become such a "big tent" that the term is almost meaningless but that means it is less likely to become a musical "rut" like metal became for me. I am also looking into a variety of other music, including the ones I have posted about above.

 

[JayneWonders]

Went to see Hawksley Workman tonight, who was accompanied by Mr. Lonely.

Great show. A friend likes going to live concerts, so I tagged along. Hoping to go to a few more with her.

Here's a video of his from Q with Tom Power.

 

[Mendalla]

When Floor Jansen started her solo career with the album Paragon, she tried something different, power pop anthems and ballads instead of her usual metal. For Hytress, the followup, she is back to metal with a vengeance. Second single is "Bring Me Silence" and in spite of the title, it is NOT bringing silence. In fact, it's one of the best metal bangers from her in quite a while. Powerful stuff.