High Country News October 2024

Co-produced by John Alagia and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and recorded at Shangri-La in Malibu and The Village Studios in West L.A., Turn Off The News features the band’s most mature and absorbing work of their career. Guest turns include background vocal and instrumental support from: Kesha, Margo Price, Sheryl Crow, Shooter Jennings, Lucius, Willie Nelson and Neil Young. On songs like the Wilburys inspired album opener, “Bad Case,” the poignant and relevant title track, “Turn Off The News,” the 60’s infused R&B of “Save A Little Heartache,” and the vulnerable balladry of “Mystery,” Lukas brings his prodigious gifts to bear, as a songwriter, a singer, a guitarist and band leader – an artist at the peak of his powers, ready to seize the tremendous opportunity at hand.

Jessica Pratt, Michael Head, Khruangbin and more appear on our latest free CD. All copies of the May 2024 issue of Uncut come with a free, 15-track CD – Total Blam-Blam – that showcases the wealth of great new music on offer this month, from Jessica Pratt, Michael Head and Khruangbin to Mint Mile, Gospelbrach and Arthur Melo. Now dive in…

Édith Piaf is almost universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Still revered as an icon decades after her death, "The Sparrow" served as a touchstone for virtually every chansonnier, male or female, who followed her. Her greatest strength wasn't so much her technique, or the purity of her voice, but the raw, passionate power of her singing. (Given her extraordinarily petite size, audiences marveled all the more at the force of her vocals.) Her style epitomized that of the classic French chanson: highly emotional, even melodramatic, with a wide, rapid vibrato that wrung every last drop of sentiment from a lyric. She preferred melancholy, mournful material, singing about heartache, tragedy, poverty, and the harsh reality of life on the streets; much of it was based to some degree on her real-life experiences, written specifically for her by an ever-shifting cast of songwriters.