NEW SOUNDS

JAMES BLAKE

The British musician, James Blake is probably best known for his innovative work behind the scenes, handling production for a wide number of artists which includes Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean and Beyoncé. But Blake had been making music as a solo performer long before his success as a go-to-producer. After living in Los Angeles for the last ten years, Blake decided to return to his native England. This move helped inspire his latest studio album, "Trying Times" and it is his first recording since departing from Republic Records and joining indie label, Good Boy Records. On the album, Blake reflects on some of the turmoil he had experienced with LA living and settling into a more tranquil state of being back in his home country. Unlike what he has usually done with other artists he had worked with, Blake is able to push even further his disjointed collection of fragmented sounds and beats to transform them into beautifully flowing, hypnotic songs rippling with his expressive, angelic vocals. A brilliantly deconstructed soul record, "Trying Times" takes you on a emotional musical adventure, one that is calmly offbeat and soothingly chaotic.





ELLA LANGLEY

I had become aware of country artist, Ella Langley from her charming single, "You Look Like You Love Me", a duet with Riley Green two years ago. This breakthrough along with a second single, "Weren't for the Wind" from her debut, "Hungover" made this twenty-six year old performer from Alabama one of the biggest new acts in country music of 2025. Now Langley is back with the catchy single, "Choosin' Texas" (co-written and co-produced with Miranda Lambert) that not only went to number one on the country chart but also reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and even became a major hit globally. Her upcoming second studio album, "Dandelion" will be co-executive produced by Langley, Lambert and Ben West and due out on April 10th. Another recently released single, "Be Her" is also moving up the country and pop charts.





DIONNE WARWICK

One of the true living legends of popular music, Dionne Warwick has been making music professionally for an incredible sixty-five years. Now the iconic eighty-five year old artist has announced a new album, "Dwets" (pronounced "duets") and it will officially become her final recording. Warwick's son, Damon Elliott, is producing the album and Diane Warren has written all of the songs for this collection which will most certainly be a heartfelt and celebratory finale to Warwick's amazing recording career. While the complete list of duet partners and the exact release date of "Dwets" will be announced soon, the first single has been released and features actress and singer Cynthia Erivo on the song, "Ocean in the Desert". This lovely ballad is about friendship and support during difficult times. And Warwick, who does plan to slow down after this album, has stated that she will still be around for the occasional live performance.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

When Miley Cyrus approached the recording of her latest album, "Something Beautiful", she was inspired by the win of her first Grammy Award last year for Best Pop Solo performance for "Flowers". It's not that she placed that much importance in awards but it did give Cyrus even more confidence that she was moving creatively in the right direction. A performer since she was thirteen when cast in the Disney Channel television series "Hannah Montana", the now thirty-two year old Cyrus has conceived her ninth studio album as a visual concept record centered around the theme of "healing". She continues to take control of her sound, co-writing and co-producing the album, with this collection utilizing alt-r&b, jazz and disco-pop to express her thoughts on discovering beauty and light following trauma and heartbreak. "Something Beautiful" also features guest appearances by Brittany Howard, Danielle Haim, Flea of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Super Model, Naomi Campbell. A musical film that is a companion to the album called "Something Beautiful", directed by Cyrus along with Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter, made its premiere on June 6th at the Beacon Theatre during the Tribeca Festival and will be released theatrically on June 12th.







June is Pride month and to help kick off the celebration here are some recent songs by artists who are either queer or strong allies: The latest song from David Archuleta is a sensual ballad, "Can I Call You"; the French musical stylist, Christine and the Queens has an upcoming EP collaborating with legendary disco producer, Cerrone and their lead single is the throbbing dance track, "Catching Feelings"; Sam Williams, the grandson of the influential country music pioneer, Hank Williams and son of Hank Williams Jr., is continuing in the family tradition yet in his own way with a country-pop love song that is unabashedly queer; German producer, Toby Gad has released "Run", a track from Donna Summer that was unreleased from the recording sessions for her final studio album, "Crayons" back in 2008; and the performer who first found fame in musical theater before soaring on to the big screen (in the adaptation of hit musical, "Wicked") and this year's Tony Awards host, Cynthia Erivo has managed to find time to record her second studio album, "I Forgive You", a collection of contemporary r&b.











And to close, here is a classic one-hit wonder from 1969 that I love from Spiral Starecase, a Northern California based band, and their big hit, "More Today Than Yesterday". Beginning as an instrumental group called the Fydallions, they managed to get signed to Columbia Records but the label insisted they change their name. Taking it from a 1946 psychological horror film but slightly altering the spelling, Spiral Starecase charted with "More Today Than Yesterday" with the soulful pop song reaching number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. None of their follow-up music managed to find much success and the band actually disbanded a little over a year after their charting hit due to in-fighting amongst the members and poor management.

RANDOM SIGHT + SOUNDS

First I will start off with some new music from alt-pop performers with some intriguing music videos:

I have never actually seen "Later with Jools Holland" but I have heard of the BBC Two music program. I grew up watching "American Bandstand", "Soul Train", "Solid Gold", "The Midnight Special" and a proud member of the MTV generation so I actually miss a show dedicated to spotlighting music. Holland, a musician and an original member of the band, Squeeze, has been hosting his late-night show since 1992 and it features a mixture of established and new performers of world and pop music. I have seen clips of several live performances over time on YouTube and I'm looking back to spotlight two distinctive British acts who came to fame in the 1990's; the trip-hop band, Portishead with "Glory Box" and the alt-rock musician, PJ Harvey doing "Down by the Water":





June is Pride month which celebrates the LGBTQI+ communities. Here is some new music from Hayley Kiyoko, Jake Shears, Cynthia Erivo (with the first single from her upcoming debut studio album) and Boys Noize (that features Shears) with music videos that embraces queer themes.









And there is the latest from Todrick Hall with "Rainin' Fellas", his 21st Century spin on the 1982 dance classic, "It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls. The song is campy fun and proudly queer with a music video that pushes the boundaries (and show us how far we have come) that features wet, naked, dancing men in high heels, drag queens as back-up singers and we even have Lance Bass making a brief appearance. It couldn't possibly get any gayer than this.

2020 OSCAR NOMINEES FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG

This year's Oscar nominations were announced on January 13th and the awards will be presented on February 9th which makes it the earliest the awards have ever been given out. And without any nonsense about eliminating the Best Original Song nominees from the show, that means that all of the singers of these songs have been invited to perform at the 92nd annual ceremony. This year is particularly strong in this category with any of them being a worthy winner. But I have to say I'm leaning towards Elton John's song from "Rocketman". This Motown-inspired, foot-stomper, "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" has John collaborating with his long-time co-writer, Bernie Taupin and this would only be the second award this legendary team has ever won together following their recent Golden Globe win for this song. Here are all five Best Original Song nominees for your listening pleasure:

"I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" from "Toy Story 4"; music and lyrics by Randy Newman



"(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from "Rocketman"; music by Elton John; lyrics by Bernie Taupin



"I'm Standing With You" from "Breakthrough"; music and lyrics by Diane Warren



"Into the Unknown" from "Frozen II"; music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez



"Stand Up" from "Harriet"; music and lyrics by Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo