Dashboard Confessional, Nina Massara among those releasing new music

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

It’s springtime, and with the snows melting and promising warmer days ahead, here are some new and recent albums to add to your iPod this Opening Day.

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Dashboard Confessional

“Covered and Taped”

I love getting caught by surprise by a great new disc, and this EP from Dashboard Confessional fit the bill nicely. “Sex” and “Sprained Ankle” are both dulcet tunes that are lulling and invigorating simultaneously. Incredibly, the Confessional turns Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” into a lovely acoustic confection with their cover, stripping away all the studio tricks and just playing the catchy melody underneath. “Using,” the closer, is a bit of screamer about drug addiction that is the only cut that drags the EP down.

 

Plaid Brixx

“Plaid Brixx EP”

Plaid Robot Recordings, LLC

Energetic new rock with a New Wave edge abounds on this one from up-and-coming Plaid Brixx. “Don’t Look Down” comes across like a trippy acid groove, followed by the ’80s-retro sound of “Since You Came.” “Away We Go” is another danceable track to close out this short album. Let’s hope the foundation has been laid for more Brixx in the future.

 

Nina Massara

“Watch Me”

CSP Records

The jazzy vocals of Nina Massara are on display on her new album, with “Big Easy” a smoothly groovin’ paean to New Orleans, while “Something New” is a jazz-influenced country song. “Drive Drive Drive” is another standout.

 

The Soul of John Black

“Early in the Moanin’”

Cadabra Records

The title track of this intriguing album is groovy and fun, with “Chicago Blues” a laid-back under-tempo salute to that city’s famous lakefront style. “Thursday Morning” is another mellow blues groover, followed by the excellent “Daggers,” which even boasts a hint of reggae for good measure. “I Wish I Was Making Love” will make you want to find a blues club and light up a cigar STAT.

 

Agnes Obel

“Citizen of Glass”

Pias America

Silky-voiced Agnes Obel channels Amy Winehouse and Norah Jones on this sexy disc for Pias America. “Stretch Your Eyes” is like an essay written in jazz, with “Stone” an ethereal tone poem. The album can be a bit monochromatic at times, but keep your ears peeled for “Golden Green.”

 

Thorbjorn Risager & The Black Tornado

“Change My Game”

Ruf Records GmbH

Bluesy and rocking, the new one from Danish thrasher Thorbjorn Risager and his crew arrives like a hot rocket on a cold Scandinavian night. Album opener “I Used to Love You” will make you sit up straighter, and “Dreamland” is reminiscent of some of the best work of Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. “Holler N Moan” can be put up against anything coming out of the Delta, which only goes to show that the blues knows no cultural or national boundaries. Keep an ear tuned for the funky “Hold Your Lover Tight.” “Lay Your Burden Down” switches gears to an ethereal, eulogistic dirge, and album closer “City of Love” is both spooky and experimental.

 

James McCartney

“The Blackberry Train”

Somewhere between mellow and riveting lies the intersection that is James McCartney’s “The Blackberry Train.” Pay special attention to the kickin’ “Too Hard” and the ethereal “Waterfall” early on, and “Alice in Wonderland” bears the imprint of Radiohead, if I do say so myself. “Prayer” is a nice-and-easy groove on love late in the album, followed by the calming “Peace and Stillness.”

 

Greg Graffin

Millport 

Anti/Epitaph

Who would have though Greg Graffin, frontman of punk band Bad Religion, had a softer side? But here is the proof in Mr. Graffin’s country — yes, country, you read that correctly — solo album. “Backroads of My Mind” has far more introspection than you might dare expect from the punkster, followed by the upbeat “Too Many Virtues.” The album’s title track virtually cries out for a hoedown to commence immediately, and “Making Time” is a gentle reminder that the calendar has its way with us all. Mr. Graffin then switches gears to bluegrass for the clapping “Echo on the Hill,” proving that he is rather musically literate. (Actually, considering the guy has a PhD from Columbia, he’s literate in many, many subjects, clearly!) “Sawmill” and “Wax Wings” close out this rather fine album from a truly talented minstrel.

 

Matt Anderson

“Honest Man”

New Jersey’s own Matt Anderson rocks out on this disc, with “Breakaway” a fine opening followed by the bluesy “Honest Man.” “I’m Giving In” is a powerful piano ballad, with ensuing track “Quiet Company” keeping things emotionally honest next. Also pay attention to “Let’s Get Back” as a potential add to your next driving mix. Album-closer “One Good Song” is a fine sendoff.

 

Glen Phillips

“Swallowed by the New”

Umami Music

A little bit country, a little bit mellow and a lot of talent go into “Swallowed by the New” from Glen Phillips. “Go” and “Baptistina V2” are two rolling country sounds right off the bat, followed by the gentle dirge of the angsty “Criminal Career.” Keep your mind tuned in for “The Easy Ones” and “Amnesty V2.”

 

Tim O’Brien

“Where the River Meets the Road”

Howdy Skies Records

From the heart of American music comes the sounds of Tim O’Brien, who pays homage to the roots music of his native West Virginia on “Where the River Meets the Road.” “High Flying Bird” makes ample and spirited use of the string instruments endemic to the region, and “Guardian Angel” is simultaneously both elegiac and celebratory of its subject. The title track pays homage to the banks of the Ohio, the home of bluegrass music, and “When the Mist Clears Away” sounds as great as anything coming out of the bluegrass hotbeds of Kentucky and Bristol, Virginia. “Queen of the Earth and Child of the Stars” features an elongated fiddle solo that shows clearly the stamp of Celtic influence on what would become “American” country music during its gestation in Appalachia. “Drunkard’s Grave” applies the gallows humor approach to a serious subject — amplified by an upbeat tempo and positivity in the voice of Mr. O’Brien — and this provides fine counterpoint to the more lamenting “Few Old Memories.” “Little Annie” is a great sendoff of the album, as Mr. O’Brien sings of the changing seasons of life.