Another week’s worth of music into the New Year and it’s still tough to find good, new material. It’s out there…but it just taken more time and effort. The payoff is worth it; so let me tell about what I found for this week’s show.

I kicked off the show with Kayln Rock. She’s an intentionally lo-fi acoustic singer/songwriter that has just released her debut, full-length album entitled PASSENGER. Most of the tracks on the album are just she and a guitar. They sound like very personal songs and have a lovely quality to them but I’m more of an upbeat kind of music consumer and I found an interesting deeper cut on the album to share with you. It’s “Messages.”

I closed off the opening set with a bluesy track from Miss Joan Osborne covering the great Slim Harpo. That track is “Shake Your Hips” and it’s a pre-release single in anticipation of her new album BRING IT ON HOME, which is due out March 27th. Joan is already out on tour promoting the new CD with a stop on February 25th in Natick at the Center for the Arts. Check her website for more tour information to see if she’ll be stopping by your town.(Here is Harpo’s version of "Shake Your Hips")

Changing musical direction with a lovely and talented singer/songwriter. Her name is Rosie Thomas and she actually got her start in Detroit with a pop band called Velour 100 in the late 1990’s. She started her solo career path in the early 2000’s following in the tradition of Joni Mitchell by blending her folk slash singer/songwriter leanings with her acquired Pop sensibilities. So over the past ten years, or so, of her solo career; Rosie has released six albums with the latest being WITH LOVE, which is due to be released on February 14th, Valentine’s Day of course. The lead off single is “Where Was I.” (It’s available for free here too)

That was followed by the latest from Good Old War. Good Old War is indie Pop band out of the Philadelphia area. The band’s name comes from the last names of the three members; Goodwin for Good, Arnold for Old, and Schwartz for War. They are putting the finishing touches on a new album, which is due out in March; but they’ve released this single, “Calling Me Names,” to create some interest. (The YouTube post has a link to download the song for free)

Let’s keep things moving here with Asteroids Galaxy Tour. This band seems totally intentional to me. And what I mean by that is…the look and the sound of the band seems deliberate; as to fit into a record company’s idea of what people want to hear. When they first hit the scene in 2008, they caught the attention of Amy Winehouse and that set them afire. Their debut album FRUIT and the single, “The Sun Ain’t Shining No More” had a more authentic feel to it. I’m sure the album, OUT OF FREQUENCY, will do well; it has the backing of Sony/BMG records to make that happen. The album is due to drop on the 31st of this month and this is the selected single…it’s “Heart Attack.”

Completing that two-song set was La Sera, which is a vehicle inspired by Katy Goodman. Katy’s other job is the bassist for the do-it-yourselfer punk oriented band…The Vivian Girls. If you are familiar with the Vivian Girls, Katy’s new project has quite a different feel to it. She allows her Pop sensibilities to emerge in her solo songwriting. That track you just tasted was “Please Be My Third Eye,” which can be found on her yet-to-be released sophomore effort; SEES THE LIGHT. BTW, that song can be had for free via her record label’s band page. Just go to HardlyArt.com/LaSera and click on the MP3 link to download the track.

My lineage subject was Heartless Bastards. The band was originally a trio comprised of Erika Wennerstrom, as the frontwoman; the group was rounded out by Dave Colvin and Jess Ebaugh. I found them in 2009 with the release of their third album, THE MOUNTAIN. They seemed to be the modern version of a classic Power Trio. They started out in Dayton, Ohio; moved to Cincinnati; and have now settled in Austin, Texas. That third album, THE MOUNTAIN, started to make things happen for the band; they started to play larger venues and garner more attention from the music press. Their latest foray into the music scene, ARROW, is due out mid-February. Also, just an FYI, the Heartless Bastards will be playing the Middle East, in Cambridge, on February 23rd. I am going to try my hardest to get on the guest list; so Erika if you were listening or reading my Blog, please put me on the list. The song I had for the feature was “Parted Ways” and it’s a dandy.

The follow up tune to complete the feature was “Out At Sea,” which is from the album THE MOUNTAIN. BTW, the title track was originally the selected single but when you go to their shows; the song that gets everyone moving is the one I selected for airplay.

My re-issue song of the week was from Billy Joel. The guy is a commercial success; no doubt, but he was never appreciated by the critics. I was a big fan early. I had PIANO MAN and TURSTILES; as well as THE STRANGER & 52nd STREET. Well, Billy can still draw CD sales and that is the intent with the re-release of a Best Of collection. It’s called PIANO MAN: THE VERY BEST OF BILLY JOEL, which has been released at least four times already. I went with the Pop oriented “Uptown Girl,” because I was always sweet on Christie Brinkley.

Then came the latest material from Callaghan. I wanted to follow the Pop of Billy Joel with some Modern Pop from a single named artist; Callaghan. She’s originally from London but relocated to Atlanta, Georgia to work with singer/songwriter turned producer; Shawn Mullins. Callaghan has released a number of singles and EP but her debut, full-length album, LIFE IN FULL COLOR, is due out this Spring. The song I sampled, “Best Year,” is the lead off single.

“Love Lust” is the latest single from King Charles. They are from the UK and have a bit of a Vampire Weekend sound to them. The trio is fronted by King Charles and is supported by James Barnett and David Powell; they have released only six songs so far but they are getting a huge amount of attention. Their latest effort, a four-song EP entitled MISSISSIPPI ISABEL, has been signed to Universal Records; that’s a big deal.

That was followed by the latest from The Shins. That was the lead off single, “Simple Song,” and it’s from the album PORT OF MORROW, which is due out March 20th. I was under whelmed by this track and I’m looking forward to listening to the rest of the album.

Next up is Kingsley Flood, a local Boston based band making good. This mixed-gendered, quintet has already been featured on NPR and locally on WBUR. They have just released an EP entitled COLDER STILL, and the track I had for my listeners was “I Don’t Wanna Go Home.”

Let me slip in one more from The Vegabonds. They are a modern Southern Rock band, which to me sound similar to Kings Of Leon. Their new album is SOUTHERN SONS, which was just released last week. This is “Georgia Fire,” which can be had for free via Reverb Nation band site. I like these guys.

Songs in BOLD are links to videos of that song. Songs that are ITALICIZED are links to Soundcloud Audio Files of said song.

Come listen LIVE on wmfo.org from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. (I could use the support) ;^)

If you are interested in having me produce a designed playlist for you; email me your contact details and we discuss how to make that happen.

If you missed the live version…check out the archived one. Here’s the LINK.

I suggest you follow me on Twitter and get an early taste on new music that comes out each week. (FYI, The Drums, Katie Costello and Smoove & Turrell are now all following me…how cool it that?) (On the Twitter feed this week is Stereo Soul Future…yeah!)