BY: JOEY REAMS
On Fridays, the world is blessed with new music from a handful of artists. To help you find your next favorite album, we’ve discovered what new alternative and indie albums have been released. This week’s notable artists include Brandi Carlile and Strand of Oaks. Check out the list below:
Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days
Brandi Carlile has released her seventh studio album, In These Silent Days, via Low Country Sounds/ Elektra Records. This is her first album in three years, following her 2018 By the Way, I Forgive You, nominated for the 2019 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and Best American Album. Carlile also released an autobiography earlier this year, titled Broken Horses: A Memoir. The book ended up debuting at No. 1 in non-fiction on the New York Times Best Seller list. Carlile recorded this new album at RCA Studio A in Nashville with producers Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings.
“This album is what drama mixed with joy sounds like,” she said in a press release. “It’s resistance and gratitude, righteous anger and radical forgiveness. It’s the sound of these silent days. Never before have the [Hanseroth] twins, and I wrote an album during a time of such uncertainty and quiet solitude. I never imagined that I’d feel so exposed and weird as an artist without the armor of a costume, the thrill of applause, and the platform of the sacred stage. Despite all this, the songs flowed through—pure and unperformed, loud and proud, joyful and mournful. Written in my barn during a time of deep and personal reckoning.”
The Doobie Brothers – Liberté
The Doobie Brothers, a San Jose rock band that’s been around since 1970, has released their 15th studio album, Liberté. The band previously released The Doobie Brothers EP, which featured four songs from this album. Last year, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band also announced a 50th-anniversary tour but was postponed due to COVID-19. The band hopes to take the road sometime next year.
“We are looking forward to finally getting back on the road to see our fans and formally celebrate our 50th anniversary,” guitarist Tom Johnston said in a statement. “Following this past year, coming together to celebrate our anniversary makes it even more special.”
Illuminati Hotties – Let Me Do One More
Illuminati Hotties, otherwise known as the Los Angeles indie band behind Sarah Tudzin, has released their third studio album, Let Me Do You More. This album follows the bands 2020 album FREE IH: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For. This is the first album with Hopeless Records, hoping to create her own imprint label, Snack Snack Tracks. The band had previously released “Pool Hopping” before this release.
“The songs tell a story of my gremlin-ass running around LA, sneaking into pools at night, messing up and starting over, begging for attention for one second longer, and asking the audience to let me do one more,” Tudzin said in a press release “I love these songs, and they’re a part of me, and I’m proud of them.”
Neil Young – Carnegie Hall 1970
Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young has released Carnegie Hall 1970, the first release in his upcoming official bootleg series. The album was recorded on original analog multitrack and mixed by The Volume Dealers: Neil Young and Niko Bolas and was made from the early show on December 4, 1970. This was the first time Young has ever played at the New York venue. The majority of songs come from Young’s early career, with stripped-down versions of “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,” “Down By The River,” “Helpless,” and “Sugar Mountain.” The legendary musician has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once as himself, and another time with Buffalo Springsteen
“Change happens fast,” Neil said in a press release. “As I have gone through these early bootlegs, Carnegie Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and others, they show a change, something you can hear … an evolution. My first time playing harmonica … Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, is heard as well as what the harmonica replaced … heard on earlier shows.”
Strand of Oaks – In Heaven
Strand of Oaks, otherwise known as the rock project from Timothy Showalter, has released his eighth studio album, In Heaven. This album follows Showalter’s 2019 Eraserland, which received high praise from many critics. While Eraserland was recorded in Los Angeles, this new album will be the first Strand of Oaks album to record since moving to Texas. Before this release, Showalter shared a couple of tracks, including “Gacticana” and “Somewhere in Chicago.”
“I” Heaven was created with so much love, and my greatest hope is that it connects with people and provides a momentary space for reflection, joy, catharsis, and whatever else someone might be looking for in their life,” “Showalter said in a press release. “M” sic is magic, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world that I’m allowed to share it.”