Brandon Taylor — Radio Ghost (Madjack Records)
Release Date: Available Now
Mississippi transplant Brandon Taylor camped out at Jack Oblivian’s place while recording the album Radio Ghost, but don’t expect to hear any garage-rock guitar licks on Taylor’s folky debut. Radio Ghost was released last December, a truly dismal month to release new music, so we’re going to pretend that Radio Ghost is a 2017 release for Taylor’s sake. Recorded at Royal Studios, Taylor has an A-list of guest appearances, including Luther and Cody Dickinson, Shannon McNally, and Boo Mitchell in the producer’s chair. The album is available at all local record stores.
Terry Prince and the Principles — You Are Here (self-released)
Release Date: Available Now
Terry Prince and the Principles dropped this four-song EP on the second-to-last day of 2016, and the songs on You Are Here are just as indebted to later-era Lou Reed as they are to “Blue Album”–era Weezer, especially the song “Time Warp at the Drive-in, Part II.” The other three songs on You Are Here are just as likely to get stuck in your head. Fun fact: Flyer copy editor Jesse Davis plays guitar and sings in this band.
Valerie June — The Order of Time (Concord Music Group)
Release Date: January 27th, 2017
The first new album from Valerie June in three years drops at the end of this month. After debuting the song “Astral Plane,” NPR ran a lengthy interview with June in which she revealed that she originally wrote the song for Massive Attack, and Ann Powers compared June’s writing to Alice Walker or Bell Hooks. June will be on tour with Sturgill Simpson and Norah Jones to kick off the year, but hopefully a Memphis date is in the works.
Aquarian Blood — Last Nite in Paradise (Goner Records)
Release Date: February 10th, 2017
The Midtown family-freak band, Aquarian Blood, will release their debut album on Goner Records next month, and if you enjoyed either tape the band has released, or their singles on Goner and Pelican Pow Wow (New Orleans), then this LP is probably already on your radar. If you’ve missed the band’s live show but you’re a fan of JB Horrell’s previous offerings (Noise Choir, Moving Finger, Reginald), “weird punk” earth-shattering guitar riffs, or megaphones, this is the group for you. The perfect band for inducing an acid flashback. Look for a track premiere via Noisey sometime this week.
Southern Avenue — Southern Avenue (Stax Records, Concord Music Group)
Release Date: February 24th, 2017
Named after the city street that runs from the easternmost city limits all the way to Soulsville, Southern Avenue have been making waves since their formation, and singer Tierinii Jackson graced the cover of our Summer Music Issue last July. Since then, the band landed a deal with Stax, did some extensive touring, and somehow found time to record their debut album. Produced by Kevin Houston (North Mississippi Allstars, Lucero), the 10-track debut from Southern Avenue features guest appearances by Luther Dickinson (do we see a trend developing here?) and Marc Franklin of the Bo-Keys, among others.
Southern Avenue is a band that needs little introduction at this point, but you can expect this album to show Stax fans far and wide that Memphis soul is still very much intact. While the band will do some pretty extensive touring following the release of their new album, they do have two dates at Lafayette’s Music Room and the Rum Boogie Café booked early in the year.