Ghost

They hail from Sweden, they look like apocalyptic black metal warriors, they sound like a cross between Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, and In Flames, and they have a brand new album. They are Ghost, and if you like old school heavy metal then they are about as good as it gets in the 2020s.

Theme selection: “Kaisarion”

Female Artists

Most of my favorite songs on this week’s show are by women. From the funk of Shirley Davis (see 3 Chunks of Funk) to the international variety of Ibibio Sound Machine, Yaya Kim, Alina Bzhezhinska, Janet Monyowa, Go_A, and Loboda (see Trip Around the World), 2022 is all about female artists so far this year.

I was especially happy to discover some new music by female singer/songwriters to rival my favorite album of the year up to now – Laurel Hell by Mitski.

Cassyette “Mayhem”: This is the latest single from a new artist who has released a handful of singles over the last few years.

HAIM “Lost Track”: This new single by the sisters Haim is their first since they appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson film Licorice Pizza (which starred sister Alana). Anderson directed the video, and the song is in support of a 2022 tour by the band.

Sharon Van Etten “Used To It”: This is a great new single by Van Etten. The songwriting of both Mitski and Van Etten is cut from the same cloth, which is a good thing.

The Weather Station “Ignorance”: The latest album by this group, How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars, is my favorite discovery of the week. Actually, my favorite discovery is their 2021 album Ignorance (this song is a delayed title track I guess), which should have been on my Best of 2021 list. It is a great late-period Talk Talk influenced album. This new one is more subdued, but shares that same late-period Talk Talk post-rock feel. Both of them are getting a lot of listens right now at the Faux household.

Nilüfer Yanya “stabilise”: Yanya’s third album in four years is a nice collection of guitar-based indie-rock.

Retro Soul

I’m not sure all of these artists are 100% retro soul acts, but these songs certainly fit into the category.

Boulevards “How Do Ya Feel” and Freedust “Heat”: See 3 Chunks of Funk

Cory Henry has dabbled in a variety of genres during his prolific career as a Hammond B3 Organ master, but his latest releases have moved more and more into the retro soul field. This latest single is coincidentally apropos in our current world situation. “Fighting For Peace”

I don’t know much about Shirley Davis and had never heard her before hearing this song, but she is deeply rooted in the ’70s soul of artists like Gladys Knight. This track is a great piece of positivity whose message would have been right on target fifty years ago as much as it is now. “Stay Firm”

The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble are an afro-funk, soul, and jazz instrumental group from San Diego. They’ve been around for about ten years, but I know little about them. They are labelmates with the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, and if this song is any indication they deserve more of my attention, as this is a stone cold, old school groove. “Step Down”

New Music by Old Artists

Elvis Costello has been recording since 1977 and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This new album with his band The Imposters sounds like old school Elvis Costello. “Penelope Halfpenny”

Joan Jett has been recording since she was a member of The Runaways in 1976. She is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This new album is a collection of acoustic versions of songs originally recorded with her band The Blackhearts. “Bad Reputation (Acoustic)”

Tears for Fears have been recording since their debut single in 1981. They are icons of the early ’80s MTV era. Their new album, The Tipping Point, is just their seventh in over forty years, and their first in eighteen years. Fans know to herald this release as a gift from the heavens. “The Tipping Point”

The Pixies have been recording since 1987, except for a ten-year hiatus from 1993-2003. They are icons of the alternative rock movement of the late ’80s/early 90s and should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This new single is their first release in almost two years. Is there a new album coming? Fans can only hope. “Human Crime”

Belle & Sebastian have been recording since 1996. They spearheaded a new movement of sophisticated indie rock in the late ’90s and have a devoted cult following. Their new album A Bit of Previous, their first in three years, is due out in May 2022. Very exciting.

Animal Collective have been recording since 2000. They rose to indie-rock superstardom in 2009 with their album Merriweather Post Pavilion. Their new album Time Skiffs is their first in six years.

Shout Out Louds have been recording since 2003. They have focused their career on a 21st century melding of The Cure with a modern rock sensibility. Their new album House is their first in five years.

Stromae became an international star in 2009 with the song “Alors on danse” and followed that success with a multi-million selling album called Racine carrée in 2013. Over the next few years he wrote a song that became the anthem for the Belgian football team, recorded with artists such as Kanye West and Lorde, and became the first French-speaking artist to sell out Madison Square Garden. In 2018, he started a fashion line and released his first single in three years, followed by a collaboration with Coldplay in 2019. In 2021, after another three-year break, he released his next single in honor of the dedication of the working class during the Covid pandemic. All of this is to say that he is an international superstar but has released very little music over his almost fifteen-year career, so the new release of his third album, Multitude, should be met with glee by all of his millions of fans. It is already on my list for best of 2022. The dance production of the songs that made him famous is still present on this new album, but his vocals are emphasized more than the groove on most of the songs. The last ten years have created a world-wide merging of music that is evident more and more in the music of many artists from around the world, in part due to the work of Stromae fifteen years ago. This new album is a perfect example and a beautiful piece of 21st century songwriting.

Alina Bzhezhinska “Soul Vibrations”: See Around The World

Boulevards “How Do Ya Feel”: Jamil Rashad, aka Boulevards, has been producing some great retro-funk/soul/hip-hop for a few years but his new album, Electric Cowboy: Born In Carolina Mud, emphasizes his old school funk talents to full effect.

Freedust “Heat”: Freedust are from Spain and produced by Italian producer Daniele Carmosino. They have been around for a few years, and the title track to their new EP makes me smile.