Underground Sounds with Chad Miller: November 2023
By Chad Miller - Summit FM Music Director
What's everyone been listening to out there? So much new music coming at us, so little time! However, these songs that might fly under the radar to most are what I've been diggin' these past few weeks!
Like what you hear? Please email me at chad@thesummit.fm and let me know what you think!
IDLES "Dancer"
One of the most viscerally intense live rock bands out there today, IDLES have more than earned their reputation as one of the leaders in the world of modern-day post-punk. The band will return in 2024 with their fifth album "TANGK" out on February 24th on Partisan Records. While the expectation is a similar growl-y and gnarly follow-up to their last album (that included an homage to the iconic Cleveland venue The Beachland Ballroom) the band takes a bit of a turn here by enlisting James Murphy of indie-dance collective LCD Soundsystem to help on this song. His touch adds a throbbing and scuzzy feel to their sound on this particular track. Lead singer Joe Talbot even says about this new album, "I needed love. So I made it. I gave love out to the world and it feels like magic. This is our album of gratitude and power. All love songs. All is love."
Kurt Vile "Another Good Year For The Roses"
The evolution of garage rock singer-songwriter Kurt Vile has really been quite something over the last decade. This new song of his represents another turn in that direction, which appears on his new "Back to Moon Beach" EP out November 17th on Verve Records. It's a long EP in terms of its run time, which could qualify it as a proper LP album, but these slow moving country rock jams that lope along have sort of become his thing nowadays. From his breakthrough album in 2015 with the song "Pretty Pimpin'" (a Summit favorite here) to follow-up albums in recent years that have included more drawn out guitar rock compositions -- and of course a collaborative EP with his songwriting idol John Prine -- the path of Kurt Vile has been one that has been both wonderful and strange. As for me, I'm always eager to see what new direction he takes next.
Sierra Ferrell "Fox Hunt"
I've become a huge fan of this terrific and fascinating rootsy Americana artist ever since the release of her debut album two years ago -- and especially in a live setting. Her performance at this past summer's Nelsonville Music Festival was one of the absolute "best of the fest" in my opinion. She's got big things planned for 2024 with the release of her follow up album, out early next year on Rounder Records. This song jumps out of the gate instantly with huge up-front vocals, outstanding fiddle playing, and the sort of epic sounding woo-woos that bring it all together. Sierra has said that this song is an ode to the hunters of the world from her upbringings in rural West Virginia and beyond. I was also lucky enough to see her performance of this during her opening set for Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats back in September at Jacobs Pavilion in Cleveland.
Slow Pulp "Doubt"
It's been a steady build over the course of the summer with this young indie rock band getting a handful of singles out there in our world of music and non-commercial public radio, and with this song off the Chicago band's second album "Yard" out now via Anti- Records, it may just be a breakthrough moment for them. Joining a crop of similar sounding bands as of late like Momma and Bully and Blondshell with heavy influences as well from the likes of Liz Phair and The Breeders, the combination of grungy sounding rock with subtle and laid-back lyrics makes for a nice blend of gritty alternative sounds from the '90s along with introspective folky storytelling all at the same time. Give this one a listen and it'll slowly get stuck in your brain for sure.
Cat Power "Ballad of a Thin Man"
Oh my goodness! She's always had a knack for covers, having released three full albums of cover songs over the course of her lengthy discography -- and with her possessing arguably the most gorgeously rich and captivating vocals on planet Earth today, what Cat Power (the stage name of singer-songwriter Chan Marshall) has done here is nothing short of magical. Recorded on November 5th, 2022 at London's legendary Royal Albert Hall, this live album "Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert" sees Marshall paying tribute to Bob Dylan with a complete live reimagining of his legendary performance at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in May 1966. This particular live cover of "Ballad of a Thin Man" was one of the initial tracks put out before the album release and is a microcosm of the greatness she commands while performing with not only her sheer magnetism onstage but also her phenomenal singing voice. The album is out November 10th on Domino Records and is truly a must listen. Prepare to be blown away!