Saturn Return 87 The Secret Sisters

As we age, we face obstacles that are beyond our control. Some forces are internal: insecurity, anxiety, fear. Some are external: the loss of loved ones, an unjust system and the fragility of time. Yet the mark of maturity is how you respond when you realize you're not in control. Where do you find your resilience? This album is a reflection of us coming to terms with how to find our power in the face of an unfair world. These songs lead listeners past "where happy man searches, to a place only mad women know." We question our purpose, our relationships, our faith. Trading the fears of our youth for the dread that rages within us as mature women. With SATURN RETURN , our hope is that women can feel less alone in their journey through the modern world. We need each other more than we ever have; the less competition and the more inclusiveness and understanding, the better. We are southern women in the 21st century, convicted by our beliefs.

Our fifth chapter is the one where we seek, savor, and settle. The muse found us in the depths of raising children, nurturing relationships, surviving a world-changing virus, bidding farewell, shifting our mindsets, and discovering a sense of peace heretofore unseen. Our third decade of life has proven to be one of routine, rest, and realization, and these songs are about the lessons we’ve learned. We’ve learned to be space-holders and defenders of the people we hold close. We’ve learned from deep, steady love in various forms. We’ve learned to let go of people and perceptions and priorities that just didn’t make the cut as we weighed what is right and important and worth keeping. We’ve learned how all the things we’ve always treasured continue to withstand the pressure of time. If you notice an upward trend to the mood and emotions, you’re on target-we have found calm waters, for now. - The Secret Sisters (2023)

2014 sophomore release by the Alabama sister duo. PUT YOUR NEEDLE DOWN includes songs like ''Rattle My Bones,'' ''Iuka,'' & ''Black and Blue''.The album also features "Dirty Lie," an old Bob Dylan song they brought to life. Dylan started writing "Dirty Lie" back in the '80s but left it unfinished. Dylan's office sent several demos to Laura and Lydia for their consideration on this album. They chose "Dirty Lie," & Dylan gave the Sisters the nod to finish the song and record it.

These songs came to be a record accidentally and unintentionally. They were written sporadically over a tumultuous two years riddled with more valleys than mountaintops. We considered it a victory when we could actually make ourselves get together to write, even if we struggled to produce anything of any quality. Creativity was tough amidst half-hearted business relationships, being dropped from our label, inconsistent touring, and filing personal bankruptcy.

Saturn Return is the brain child of Michael Zucker (This Place is Haunted) and Timothy Bielec (Rare). They are one of the original artists signed to Differential Productions and have been making albums since 2014. Equinox is the third studio album for the band and features performances by Dave Sandoval (Kenaima, After Nations), Pavlo Krokidis (Giardia, Chaff) as well as Emily Shreve. The album was recorded in March of 2015 in Boulder Colorado and signals a return to form for the band off of the heels of their second album Electronica Mystica. It spent nearly five years in post production before finally becoming available to the public.

The band Restroy featuring Chris Dammann/b, James Davis/tp, Nick Anaya/ts, Catherine Monnes/vi-cel, Tim Stine/g, Gina Sobel/fl, Daniel Richardson-Dylan Andrews, Loren Oppen heimer/perc and Matt Wyatt/elec-perc advertises itself as performing “contemporary music in the tradition of Great American Outsider Art.” I think what that means after listening to this album is that they like Blue Note styled hard bop, but with a few modern tweaks. It works well!

What is more magical than a Christmas album by a trio of female singers who execute close harmony to perfection? Briefly, close harmony is a singing technique in which the voices are very close to one another and remain confined to a single octave. In this regard, The Puppini Sisters are heiresses in a long and prestigious line of vocal music groups, the most famous undoubtedly being The Andrews Sisters, a trio who entertained Americans in the dark years of the 1940s. The Puppini Sisters took the same comforting approach when they conceived this album, recorded in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, or more precisely, during the 2020 holiday season.

The Ennis Sisters have weathered a lifetime of phases, and a series of musical explorations together. Their latest album, Stages, is a return to their roots – singing contemporary folk songs with a traditional Irish Newfoundland twist. “That’s all we knew growing up,” says Maureen Ennis. “Newfoundland is a very unique province and because of this, we have a different perspective of our surroundings. “We identify very strongly with coming from an island in the middle of the North Atlantic. There is definitely a ruggedness and a tenacity that comes with being from a place like Newfoundland.”

A one-night-only concert was held at New York City’s Town Hall last fall, to celebrate the music of the Coen brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis. The evening was filmed for a documentary that was broadcast by Showtime last winter, and now Nonesuch Records releases a live recording of the concert, Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of “Inside Llewyn Davis,”on January 13, 2015. The concert, documentary, and live album were produced by Inside Llewyn Davis writer/director/producers Joel and Ethan Coen and soundtrack producer T Bone Burnett. (Nonesuch also released the film’ssoundtrack.)