As the end of summer approaches, musicians across Nashville’s array of scenes continue offering up outstanding releases. The Scene’s music writers have six new recommendations for you — add ’em to your streaming queue or pick them up from your favorite local record store. The next Bandcamp Friday promotion (in which the platform waives its cut of sales for a 24-hour period) is set for Sept. 2, and many of our picks are available to buy directly from the artists via that service too.
Ronin Black, “Gehenna,” “Dig Dat” and “Starface” (Life Music Entertainment)
It’s been cool in the past year or so to see at least a little more multi-scene crossover, in which indie concert bills feature artists from more than one genre. Rapper Ronin Black has been on the lineup for a couple of noteworthy rock-ish concerts in recent months, most recently the album release party that thrashy punks Waxed threw at Compound Skate Shop, and his combination of dark and nimble production and witty, swaggering bars makes him a perfect fit. He’s released a handful of excellent singles this year, starting with the brooding “Gehenna” in February. Released in July, “Dig Dat” has a kinetic beat that’s difficult not to bounce along with. Arguably the strongest of the bunch is the off-kilter “Starface,” released in August, in which Black raps, “Everybody hatin’ on me / I got a lot to hate.” STEPHEN TRAGESER
Find these singles on your favorite streaming service, and keep up with Ronin Black on Instagram for updates.
Kelsey Waldon, No Regular Dog (Oh Boy)
Kelsey Waldon follows her critically acclaimed 2019 album White Noise/White Lines with No Regular Dog, the Nashville singer-songwriter’s finest project yet. Her second LP with the late John Prine’s Oh Boy Records, No Regular Dog is a dynamic collection that showcases what Waldon does best: honest, narrative songwriting with a traditional country bent, which especially stands out on the touching Prine tribute “Season’s Ending.” Best of all, it’s a richly immersive album that rewards repeated listens, so kick back and enjoy. BRITTNEY McKENNA
Sunken Basilica, Sunken Basilica (Moonlight Cypress Archetypes)
As with many heshers, Edward Longo’s solo work explores more ambient tones and spectral synthesizers. Longo, who has been a part of noise-metal vanguard Skin Tension and the trancelike folk and black metal experiment Primeval Well, has recorded seven new tracks under the name Sunken Basilica. With its cues from a variety of composers including Debussy and Charles Ives, this new endeavor is far more ambitious than your run-of-the-mill dungeon-synth project. Part Jacques Cousteau documentary score, part Christopher Young horror soundtrack, the record is full of curious, otherworldly sounds and melodies that are simultaneously unnerving and magnetic. Sunken Basilica is a testament to the benefit of artists reaching further than what listeners expect from them. P.J. KINZER
The Medium, For Horses (YK Records)
If you ask me, The Medium could have titled their new album Space Horse, which might convey the essence of a very strange piece of rock ’n’ roll better than the perfectly serviceable For Horses. (“Space Horse” is in fact the name of one of the songs.) The music on For Horses comes straight out of late Beatles and post-Beatles work of ’70s bands like 10cc, The Wackers and Paul McCartney’s Wings. Nearly every chord change and melodic cadence on For Horses is slightly askew, and the lyrics for “Space Horse” conflate horses with space travel. For Horses is a crazed masterpiece of super-formalist rock, and if original space cowboys The Byrds got back together next week to make a new record, they could do worse than to listen hard to this one for inspiration. EDD HURT
Julia Gomez, Aren’t We All So Incomplete (self-released)
The opening track of Julia Gomez’s debut album is called “Late Summer,” which is perfectly fitting for the music she makes. Her breezy tone is perfect for a warm September evening on a patio as she contemplates the tension between fantasies — like spending forever in this pleasant time of year — and the stubborn reality that keeps creeping in. Gomez uses her voice in a fashion that recalls The Cranberries’ late, great frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan, bending her notes around the beats in ever-shifting ways. The 12-track album swings from the simple and spacious to the complex and dense. If you’re looking for a pop record to take you from here to sweater weather, Aren’t We All So Incomplete is the perfect selection. P.J. KINZER
Various Artists, Imaginational Anthem XI: Chrome Universal — A Survey of Modern Pedal Steel (Tompkins Square)
Nashville is the place where the iconic sound of the pedal steel as a country instrument was perfected. It’s also the home of Luke Schneider, who has excelled in both country contexts and in cultivating new ways to use the instrument, as heard on recordings like his New Age-inspired solo debut Altar of Harmony. He’s far from the only practitioner who’s been pushing the boundaries of what the pedal steel can do, and indie label Tompkins Square invited him to curate a new installment of its Imaginational Anthem series, which features a rainbow array of special performances. Its nine tracks begin with an expansive piece called “Ely Revisited” by B.J. Cole (who you heard on Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”). Other standouts include Susan Alcorn’s contemplative “Gilmor Blue,” which plays with the idea of pedal steel as the ultimate harmony instrument, and Maggie Björklund’s “Lysglimt,” which gets deeply dark and immensely heavy. STEPHEN TRAGESER
