This is the last Single Of The Week of the year. The “Epilogue,” if you will, of a year of singles of the weeks. (Singles of the week? Single of the weeks? HELP ME GRAMMARLY!!!!) ANYWAYS! This song is so bloody good. Remember that whole banjo rock movement of the 2010s and how awful it was? This is what it should have been like. Ferocious punk rock with a banjo played fierce and fast, with some Billy Zoom punkabilly riffage mixed in. This is my introduction to Cat Ridgeway, and I can’t wait for more.
“Epilogue” is out now on all the DSPs. New material, including an album, is coming in 2025! Keep an eye out on the socials!
The return of Riki Lindhome as a comedy musician is making me ever so happy… Her latest single, “So Long, Farewell,” is the perfect Christmas drop because, well, it’s not a Christmas song but references the most non-Christmas musical Sound Of Music, and “My Favorite Things,” one of the most depressing songs in history to be recast as a song about getting presents. Was that verbal nonsense? Yes, it was. But, also, I never knew I’d fall in love with a song from the perspective of Baroness Elsa Schraeder, who could do better than Georg von Trapp and his 800 singing children.
Anyways, Riki Lindhome’s debut solo full-length, No Worries if Not, is coming to your friendly neighborhood DSP on March 14th. (Pi Day!) She’s also bringing her one-woman musical, Dead Inside, to SF Sketchfest! Catch her at Club Fugazi on January 18th. I’ll be there!
Is this cheating? 23 minutes of the most ecstatic MC work I’ve ever heard as a “single” of the week? Yeah. It is cheating. But I’m the Music Editor, and I make the rules, so I’m stretching it because this is SO FREAKING GOOD. She burns through 7 songs in a tight 15 minutes and then lets the final number, “Black Girl Memoir,” breathe, allowing the whole band to show off their chops.
Doechii’s debut album, Alligator Bites Never Heal, is available in stores both virtual and physical now. I hope to see more of her in the coming year because this is AMAZING.
There’s a chance you’ve already uncovered this. There is also a good chance that you are coming out of a heated Thanksgiving dinner where somebody ranted about how there are “only two genders” and something cruel and dehumanizing. You need something warm and comforting from someone of the baby boom generation. God bless you, Sade. This is only her third single in the last 14 years, and it’s a potent ballad dedicated to her trans son. The video is lovely, warm, and affectionate, and it is a lovely, caring antidote to all the vile we expect to deal with over the next four years.
“Young Lion” is a track off TRAN?A, a compilation from the Red Hot organization to raise money for various trans organizations worldwide. The compilation also features unreleased tracks from Andre` 3000, Wendy + Lisa, Hand Habits, SOAK, claire rosay, Jeff Tweedy, and too many others to list.
Odie Leigh might be the artist I found this year that I’ve spent the most time with. Her debut record, Carrier Pigeon, has been on perpetual rotation on my turntable for the last two months or so, and her Outside Lands set continues to eat up important brain space. “All Star Breakfast” is a tender ode to Bob’s Big Boy, a restaurant that I loved in my youth but haven’t seen in real life in quite some time. It’s also a tender ode to love, in general, and is a classic country duet with Field Medic. It’s a nice little ditty, full of warm harmonies and just a wift of fresh coffee eminates through the speakers.
“All Star Breakfast” is a stand alone single, and can be enjoyed in all the usual places. Her last leg of 2024 hits the west coast soon, and it’s a show that you shouldn’t miss. Those tour dates can be found here!
I’ll be frank with you. My original choice for Single of the Week was John Waters’ cover of the Jingle Dogs’ version of “Jingle Bells.” Instead of putting you through that, I give you “Knocked Up.” A song by Melody Federer about, you guessed it- accidental pregnancy. It’s a beautiful and honest song about the stress and anxiety of pending parenthood, and it’s pure and excellent.
You can enjoy this single in all the usual places. And you should… It’s great. The imagery… “Peeing on a stick in Walgreens.” MAGIC.
I wrote this before the election results came down, which were pretty devastating all across the board, and, honestly, I don’t know what we’ve got to do to ensure that the entirety of Trump’s agenda gets prevented, but I do know that we have no choice. I predict extreme hardship for everyone except for a handful of people over the next four years. We failed at the resistance to the point of more people dying during Trump’s first administration than at any point this country’s history, including the civil war, and unless we get this 100% right this time, it will be worse. And Tunde’s voice and lyrics helped keep me from going under during the Bush years, and I’m grateful he’s back. I need this song today. Also, it might be worth going back to this one a bit, too.
TV On The Radio remains one of the most innovative and groundbreaking acts of the last 20 years. Sadly, they’ve been silent for the last decade. They did announce a handful of Winter reunion shows (and are playing the stacked Primavera Sound next year), but I think we are hungry for new material. Well, this isn’t TV On The Radio, but hearing lead vocalist Tunde Adebimpe’s voice reminds me of how amazing his voice is. “Magnetic” is a beautifully intense work that makes me feel “OK” about his band’s recorded hiatus.
“Magnetic” is out now on SubPop Records and can be enjoyed here.
“Too Much Too” is the kind of retro country that would’ve been all over country radio in the 1970s, but now it is somehow indie rock instead. I’m pretty okay with this because Rose’s honey-soaked vocals and reverb-drenched pedal steel would sound out of place alongside Morgan Wallen and Post Malone. So give us more of this spooky and forlorn sound, and we will happily give it a home alongside Nick Cave.
Emily Rose is currently on the road in Orville Peck’s band, but expect more music and shows once she gets a break from Peck’s tour! More info can be found here.
Fun Fact: Bob Motherbaugh has a daughter in a punk band that doesn’t sound anything like Devo. Vaquita’s chops are closer to the classic pop-punk sound but aren’t afraid to toy with the listener’s emotions a bit and give a few surprise tempo changes. This leads to an awkward mosh but an enjoyable listen.
“On Her Side” is the first single off Vaquita’s latest record, Secrets, on Real Gone Music today.
QWERTY II by Saya Gray is one of my favorite releases of 2024. It’s a sonic adventure that takes more twists and turns than expected in a single EP. But her psych prog soul jazz pop mega opus didn’t prepare me for “SHELL (OF A MAN).” All those elements are in play in this song, but if Gray landed in Nashville in 1976 and recorded the song with session players on Music Row. In a decade, Gray will be making music that strengthens your eardrums.
“SHELL (OF A MAN)” is the first single of Gray’s first full-length, SAYA, coming your way on February 21st. Pre-order / pre-save here!
