By Chris Rotolo
Music is ubiquitous in the summer, underscoring our days by the pool, at the beach and driving with the top down. Here is an eclectic mix of artists, albums and singles to consider adding to your summer music playlist.
THE BOSS IS BACK – After a lauded Broadway run, New Jersey’s favorite son Bruce Springsteen returns June 14 with his first solo effort since 2005’s “Devils & Dust.” In December Springsteen said the collection “Western Stars” takes its cues from the southern California pop offerings of Burt Bacharach and the late Glen Campbell, with big theatrical ballads, like “There Goes My Miracle,” backed by even bigger orchestral arrangements. It’s not the type of album that would mesh well with the street-tough persona of the E Street Band. But not to worry, earlier this month Springsteen hinted he already has a new record written for the group to tour on.
KNOCK OUT – A band with ties to the Two River-area and beyond, The Ribeye Brothers are a meaner, modernized mix of the ’60s garage-rock antics popularized by The Sonics – which influenced everyone from Springsteen and Little Steven to Nirvana – and the experimental Punk scene that formed in Middletown and Keansburg in the ’80s and ’90s. Check them out all summer at area shows, including two May 26 sets at the Dublin House in Red Bank, and add “Roberto Duran” to your summer playlist.
THEY DON’T SUCK – It’s been a decade since the Jonas Brothers released a full-length collection and six years since the power-pop heartthrobs lit up a stage, but the trio finally returned in March with a massive debut single in “Sucker” ahead of an anticipated LP “Happiness Begins,” due out June 7. You can see Nick, Joe and Kevin at several area shows this summer and when you do, be sure to pay your respects to the band’s longtime touring drummer Jack Lawless, a Middletown native.
WHERE IS THE LOVE? – When the temperatures rise and our local thoroughfares are jammed for miles with beach traffic, keep in mind that this long line of cars isn’t forever. As front woman Natalie Newbold croons on the single “Sweet” from Well Wisher’s debut full-length “This Is Fine,” “Things that seem so wrong won’t be for long.”
NUMBER ONE NATIVE – In 1979 Blondie’s third full-length release “Parallel Lines” reached No. 1 on the UK charts and went as far as No. 6 in the United States. Boasting singles like “One Way or Another,” “Hangin’ on the Telephone” and “Heart of Glass,” “Parallel Lines” is the most commercially successful release by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band and its Two River-area resident front woman Debbie Harry. The Count Basie Center for the Arts will play host to the local legend June 22.
FROM THE HEART OF HIGHLANDS – When Cranston Dean isn’t leading a weekly open mic at an area venue, you’ll find him headlining shows down the shore or at intimate venues in NYC. For Dean, music is more than a way to process the joy and pain of the Bayshore environment in which he resides, it’s a means to strengthen his community. Be sure to catch him at his Asbury Park Yacht Club residency every Wednesday through the first week in June. 2015’s “All My Skin” would make a nice addition to any summer playlist.
BASIE BOUND – Rob Thomas, the Matchbox 20 front man, is back with a new solo effort titled “Chip Tooth Smile,” and the lead single “One Less Day” is a sprawling pop-rock march that inspires you to live each day to the fullest. Don’t miss Thomas when he makes his way to Red Bank for a May 28 set at the Count Basie Theatre.
BREAKING OUT OF THE BANK – The Mercury Brothers have a way of churning up the dance floor with a roller coaster catalogue that disperses smooth and simmering melodies among boot-stomping anthems; a perfect combination that has this Red Bank outfit on the brink of breaking out. Check out “Wanna Dance?” from last year’s “The Mercury Brothers, Vol. 2.” And see them at area shows all summer, including a headlining set at Asbury Lanes Sept. 20.
BEST SOUNDS – In 1966 Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys delivered “Pet Sounds,” a record Paul McCartney said is required listening. “No one is educated musically ’til they’ve heard that album,” Sir Paul offered in a 1990 interview with award-winning writer and radio personality David Leaf. Wilson is billing his current tour as the final performances of “Pet Sounds” so don’t miss it when comes to the Count Basie Theater June 11.
TWO HEARTS – The husband-wife duo Bone & Marrow (Daimon Alexandrus and Jenny Mustaches) may orchestrate their experimental rock concoctions in Asbury Park, but they’ve recently taken a liking to the Bayshore region with performances at the Chubby Pickle and Strauss Mansion. Enjoy the orchestral tinge of their 2018 single “Fake Funeral” and be on the lookout for more live dates throughout the summer.
THIS SUMMER, HEAR THE DRUMMING – Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee David Crosby will bring his soulful howl to the Basie for a June 10 set expected to span his celebrated career. Recently Crosby has been closing his live shows with the Crosby, Still, Nash and Young favorite “Ohio,” a rollicking rock ’n’ roll protest tune sure to make the Basie quake.
FEEL THE HEAT – Burgeoning independent record label Good Eye Records was founded by Middletown native Michael Mehalick. The music industry veteran has pressed gold on the new single from Oakland, California artist Makeunder (aka Hamilton Ulmer), an experimental, electronic auteur whose challenging soundscapes and disjointed melodies are on full display in his latest single “Promethean Heat.”
This article was first published in the May 23 – 29, 2019 printed edition of The Two River Times.
