Stereo Embers: The Podcast Alex Green Online

"Anniversary"

Abigail Lapell is one of the most arresting voices in modern music. The Canadian-born singer-songwriter has been on an undeniable winning streak since her 2011 debut album Survivor. She followed that up with stunners like 2017's Hide Nor Hair, 2022's Stolen Time and her brand new one Anniversary. We'll get to Anniversary in a second but before we do, here are a few things
to know about Abigail. Aside from snaring honors like the Canadian Folk Music Award, the Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award, the Toronto-based musician has scored a Canadian folk radio #1, logged close to 50 million streams and been quietly forging a reputation as a heart-stopping live performer, knocking people out at SXSW, the Edmonton Folk Fest and POP Montreal. Her new album was recorded with Tony Dekker of the Great Lake Swimmers in a 200 year old church in Niagara on the Lake and it's a riveting listen. Filled with haunting percussion, musical precision, and folky finesse, Anniversary is one of the most achingly beautiful albums of the year.

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"The Clocks Are Out Of Time"

The East London outfit The Jack Rubies may have gotten their start in 1987 and quickly fired off two brilliant albums--1988's Fascinatin' Vacation and 1990's See The Money In My Smile--but that was it; they literally dropped off the musical map. And it was a weird disappearance because they were poised for big things--they had critical acclaim, they'd toured with The Triffids, They Might Be Giants, Modern English and the Blow Monkeys and were fan favorites on MTV's 120 Minutes. So what happened? Where did they go? Well, the short answer to the first question is, they went on hiatus. And the short answer to the second question is New York, North Carolina and England. That clears nothing up, right? Let me help a bit: The musical landscape was changing, things got weird with their record company, they were young men acutely aware of getting older and it just didn't seem to make sense to go on. I'm oversimplifying, but that's kind of the gist of it. The band's singer Ian Wright will fill in the gaps. Bummed as fans like me were that they were gone, the good news is they're back. Firing with the same melodic accuracy and pop smarts that endeared them to fans in the first place, the Jack Rubies' third album Clocks Are Out Of TIme is a startling and welcome return to form. Filled with unforgettable hooks and lyrical smarts the Jack Rubies are not only back, they're back with their original lineup. And this isn't just unfinished business--there's more music on the way.

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"Good Thing"

Her new album might be called The #1 Zookeeper (Of The San Diego Zoo) but
Abby Hamilton does not hail from San Diego. The singer/songwriter was born and raised a little over two thousand miles away in Wilmore, Kentucky. Hamilton's family was a musical one--so much so, in fact, that she has aunts who sang in a Southern Gospel group called The Hamilton Family. But lineage aside, what Abby started to realize when she was in college is that artists
like Bruce Springsteen, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt and Jason Isbell have been having musical conversations with each other through their art and she wanted in on that dialogue of collective consciousness. Well, she's in. Her album is a startling and thoughtful blend of rootsy swagger, blissful Americana and lyrical smarts. It's one of the most riveting and fully-formed debuts
in recent memory.

www.abbyhamiltonmusic.com (http://www.abbyhamiltonmusic.com)
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"Revolución to Roxy"

Yes, the London-born guitarist and producer Phil Manzanera is part of one of the greatest bands of all time, but that really isn't the story. It's just part of it. Like, 10% of it. Which is crazy when you think of the cultural impact of Roxy Music, but the fact is, Manzanera has lived an interesting life that goes far beyond his tenure in an influential rock and roll band. His book Revolucion to Roxy explains everything and after you hit the first chapter you'll see his origin story isn't a simple one. He covers being multi-racial, traveling around the world as a kid and witnessing actual revolutions in Cuba and Venezuala, being sent to a posh boarding school,
and the sudden death of his father. And all that happened before he was fifteen. An old story is a guy picks up a guitar and his life
changes and that's for sure a big part of the story here, but the long-time history buff only started to understand why he was drawn to music in the first place years later. It turns out that Manzanera is a direct descendent of an Italian opera singer. And a Jewish pirate. I'm not joking. But the more he digs, the more answers start to show up that form an historical polaroid that's still coming into focus. Revolucion To Roxy is a brilliant read, filled with narrative velocity and authorial poise, but it's also the story of a guy who's figuring out who he is in real time. And the reverse engineering is as surprising to him as it is to us. For example, his dad worked for the British Overseas Airway Corporation. Or did he? Being drawn to music was free will. Or was it? You get the idea. Revolucion To Roxy is a marvelous blast of biography and self-examination and it really explores the idea that history is shooting through our DNA and even if you ignore it, it's going to tap you on the shoulder and point you wherever it wants.

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"I Just Want To Go Home"

I've been obsessed with the Trashcan Sinatras since 1990 and for good reason--the Scottish outfit's winning discography featuring albums like Cake, I've Seen Everything, Weightlifting

and In The Music is a perfect body of work. From the punchy pop of "Obscurity Knocks" to the

sweeping rush of "All The Dark Horses," the Trashcan Sinatras' sound is shimmering and pastoral.

They've toured rather extensively over the years and have an international fanbase that cherishes

every note. The recent reissue of Cake found their debut album hitting #2 on the charts and a new album is around the corner. In the meantime, guitarist John Douglas has just put out his debut solo album and it's a stunner. A riveting 11-song collection featuring original material, a few Trashcan numbers and a Prefab Sprout cover of We Let The Stars Go, it's a stirring song-cycle that's nostalgic, achingly beautiful and emotionally precise. Douglas' delivery is gentle and thoughtful and his phrasing is redolent with subtle flourishes that end up being unforgettable and deeply moving.

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"Primrose Was In Season"




The Florida-born Mackenzie Shivers is a singer/songwriter of tremendous sensitivity and strength. Her new album Primrose Was In Season--and her fourth overall--

is a layered blend of moving compositions that summon joy and loss with dexterity and finesse. Produced by Kevin Salem, the album, which is the follow-up to

2021's Rejection Letter, brings to mind the stirring textures of Emmylou Harris' Wrecking Ball and Joe Henry's Trampoline. Now living in the Hudson Valley, the

song-cycle on Primrose Was In Season braids together themes of healing, struggle, resilience and resolve and in the end, provides one of the most stirring listens of 2024. Shivers' career

has found her acting off Broadway and touring Japan as a musician--and as an artist she's brave and bold and unreasonably wonderful.




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