KXT’s New Music Monday selections feature Seattle’s best, soulful strut and the latest from a beloved UK singer-songwriter:
We love it when our favorite artists break out of their mold to venture into new sonic territory, and with “How Soon The Dawn,” Jake Bugg proves once again that he’s not an easy one to pigeonhole. October marks five years since the release of his debut album – the one that spawned “Lightning Bolt” and “Two Fingers” – followed up with 2013’s Rick Rubin-produced Shangri-La and last summer’s On My One. Hearts That Strain was recorded in Nashville, and arrives September 1. So when your ears first pick up on the lead single “How Soon The Dawn,” it’d be easy to think for a moment that Bugg teamed up with Burt Bacharach and Caetano Veloso, but no — it’s only the gentler, softer side of Jake. There’s also the added joy of Dan Auerbach on guitar. Score!
Seattle’s Noah Gundersen first made a name for himself with his introspective and rootsy Americana stylings, an aesthetic he’s trading for a crunchier, more frenzied sound with his September 22 release, White Noise. It was all about change for the singer-songwriter, whose onstage anxiety attack last year left him to question his direction and set a new musical course. The result of that soul searching paid off grandly in the form of 13 new tracks, and a new string of tour dates. Dallas is indeed on the itinerary – November 3 at The Kessler.
No shortage of awesome on this one. With his solo debut God First, former Bombay Bicycle Club frontman Jack Steadman steps out as Mr Jukes, poised to win hearts and ears with his debut solo release, God First. With a firm nod to the late jazz guitarist Grant Green, a sampling of Green’s 1970 hit and cover of James Brown’s “Ain’t It Funky Now,” and the ever-amazing Screaming Eagle of Soul himself, Charles Bradley, there’s way too much to love here. Not that we’re grousing. Other things to love about God First are the cameos from Lianne La Havas, Lalah Hathaway and De La Soul.
Happy listening!
XOXO
Gini.
