Jenny Lewis – Joy’All (Blue Note Records)
Jenny Lewis is a woman of many talents. Her career started when she was a child, appearing in a variety of high profile TV commercials and then transitioning to sitcoms and film work. She started her music career in earnest in 1998, forming the indie music darlings Rilo Kiley with her then boyfriend Blake Sennett. After five well received albums and the parting of ways from Sennett, Lewis branched out on her own and is now releasing her fifth solo effort Joy”All on Blue Note Records. The overall vibe on this latest offering can be described as easy-going classic style rock akin to the singer songwriter heyday of the early and mid 1970s. Recorded in Nashville, with producer Dave Cobb, who is famous for his work with a host of other Country and Americana standouts such as Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell and Brandi Carlile. Lewis said, “A lot of the songs on the record are kind of on the surface about relationships with other people, but really, they’re about relationship — the relationship with yourself, the relationship with your higher power.” Lewis will be touring this summer in support of Joy’All starting on June 16 in Nashville, with a stop at The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester TN on June 18, a stop in New York City at the Rooftop @ Pier 17 on June 18 and winding things up at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA on August 7.
Lauren Alaina – Unlocked (EP) (Big Loud Records)
Lauren Alaina first rose to the public consciousness as the runner up in the 2011 season of Fox’s American Idol. Since that time, she ran her debut record, Wildflower (2011) all the way up to number 5 on Billboards Top 200 and followed that up with a number 1 hit on the Billboard Country Airplay Chart with the title track to her 2017 sophomore album The Road Less Traveled. This week the Rossville, Georgia native returns with a six song EP entitled Unlocked. This is her first release for her new label and it shows a reinvigorated artist delivering a set of songs that are according to her press release, anchored in truth, digging deeper and stretching her further, both musically and personally, than ever before. Alaina is also joined for a duet by frequent collaborator Lainey Wilson on the track “Thicc As Theives.” This EP is just a small taste of what the future holds for this still budding country star.
Milky Chance – Living In A Haze (Lichtdicht Records)
Milky Chance is a German rock band comprised of Clemens Rehbein on lead Vocals and musician Philipp Dausch as DJ. The two combine elements of Reggae, Folk and EDM and mixes it all into their own pop music stew that is reminiscent of artists like Alt-J, Sir Sly and Foster The People. Having already been successful on the German charts the band is now ready to conquer Europe and the United States with their latest album, Living In A Haze. They will be on tour this summer across the US, wrapping in early September.
Niall Horan – The Show (Neon Haze/Capitol Records)
Irish singer songwriter and member of the internationally adored boy band One Direction, Niall Horan has released his third solo effort titled The Show. The lead single, “Heaven” arrived back in late February and was followed up in April with, “Meltdown.” Critical reception to the album has been positive, with it being described as having a lush 60’s and 70’s Laurel Canyon feel. For the diehards, there is a Japanese import edition that includes an acoustic version of the single Heaven.
Phillip Phillips – Drift Back (19 Recordings / Interscope Records)
Another American Idol alum, Phillip Phillips won the 2012 season, clinching the competition with the song “Home”, which is still the best selling song in the tv shows history. Phillips’ is now back with his fourth studio album, Drift Back. The album will include the tracks “Love Like That”, “Dancing with Your Shadows” and “Love Comeback to Me”. This is his first full length release since 2018’s Collateral. In the five years since that album, Phillips and his wife Hannah Blackwell had their first son and he has incorporated that experience along with the ups and downs of married life into this powerful new record.