Music In, 2022, Batch 1

Not too too many albums to get caught up on. I'll do maybe the 1st 1/2 for now.

• The New Pornographers, "In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights", 2019, 11 tracks. This is the 7th NP album I have. It is yet another collection of catchy pop songs. NP is very reliable, 4 stars. Here's the 1st track, "You'll Need A Backseat Driver". Note the album title in the 4th line of the lyrics.

• Neil Young & Crazy Horse, "Barn", 2021, 10 tracks. A nice effort, these guys are definitely keeping on keeping on. 4 stars. Here's "Canerican", which definitely seemed to get stuck in my head - totally vintage Young?

• My Morning Jacket, eponymous, 2021, 11 tracks. Louisville's finest delivers again. What a great guitar band! 4 stars. Here's a great guitar song, "In Color".

• Cleo Sol, "Mother", 2021, 12 tracks, bandcamp. Very nice, chill piano & vocals. I guess R&B rather than Alternative Rock. Out of London, her 2nd album. Born Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic, mother Serbian-Spanish, father Jamaican, both musicians.
  The melting pot that is London is producing some great musician mixes. Makes me think of Lianne La Havas, Greek dad, Jamaican mom - or visa versa?
  4 stars. Here's the 1st track, "Don't Let Me Fall".

• Bright Moments, "Fracture", 2022, 9 tracks. Bright Moments is 1 of the bands of Lexington and Dunbar HS fav son Kelly Pratt. This is a good effort. 4 stars. Here's the 1st track, "Lonely Child".

• katie dey, "forever music", 2022, 10 tracks, bandcamp. dey certainly is prolific lately. I have 1 album/year of hers since 2019 for a total of 4 albums. Her vocals are definitely ... quirky?!?!? A good listen nonetheless. 4 stars. Here's the title track:

• Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, "Georgia Blue", 2021, 13 tracks, bandcamp. A Georgia-themed album, with guest artists??? Ahh, explained on the album notes on bandcamp: a labor of love, conceived after the 2020 elections, dedicated to turning Georgia blue (democratic). Proceeds to:
  • Black Voters Matter - blackvotersmatterfund.org
  • Georgia Stand-Up - www.georgiastandup.org
  • Fair Fight - fairfight.com
  So, totally a worthy cause. But, I didn't need a cover of "Midnight Train to Georgia" in my collection at this point. 3 stars.

• Various artists, "French Disco Boogie Sounds Vol.3 (1977-1987 - selected by Charles Maurice)", 2018, 13 tracks, bandcamp. I really enjoyed Vol.4 - every time a song from it came on and I was up, I would start dancing. More dancing please! 4 stars. LOL, here's something different: a 41 second prerelease teaser for the album.
  Note, if you are offended by the suggestive album cover, I apologize.

• Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong", "Ella and Louis Again", 1957, 19 tracks. 4 stars. Apparently a double album. I didn't like it as much as their 1st duo album, which makes sense. The 1st album had the best songs, these are their 2nd-best songs. I am all about the songs. Already in the Jaz Dumoz songbook are:
  • let's do it (let's fall in love) [red flagged]
  • i won't dance
  • love is here to stay
  Added to the list to be worked up:
  • autumn in new york
  • gee, baby, ain't i good to you?
  • i've got my love to keep me warm
  • i get a kick out of you
  Here's the 2nd of those:

• Willie "The Lion" Smith & His Cubs, 1958, 24 tracks. Nice, per Wikipedia his full name was William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholf Smith.
  Hmmm, this album does not show up in the Wikipedia discography. The earliest album they have listed is 1957, somehow I thought this album was 1958. The tracks are all from 1935-1937. I've written about how my college friend Delbert Lionel Hilgartner III turned me on to Fats Waller > 50 yrs ago. He also was a fan of Willie "The Lion", so it seems odd that I'm just now getting around to checking him out.
  4 stars. Here's the album cover:
  

  Here's "Echos of Spring". Not a lot of choices on YouTube.

• Delta Sleep, "Spring Island", 2021, 12 tracks, bandcamp. Brits, out of Canterbury, Kent. Great guitar rock. 4 stars. Listen to this song. 2 guitar parts playing seperately, together, in harmony, not in harmony. Really well done. "The Detail".

11 down, n to go ...