Released 5 years ago today, this is the first album by singer-songwriter Natalie Bergman. She performs a very unique combination of folk pop with soul and Gospel elements. Her falsetto vocals with very Gospel-centric lyrics and pop sensibilities is very unexpected but definitely worth a listen. It's not exactly what I would expect from Jack White's Third Man Records, though then again I would not expect the norm from that label either. Lyrically, you'd expect the music to be sung by a Gospel quartet or maybe some older white lady, but instead this is an attractive woman in her 30s. And musically, you expect it to be music about making love to a partner and the frivolities of life, but instead it's songs about a relationship with Jesus. It's just not what I would expect all around, but I think I like it. Check this out and you might like it too.

Release Year: 2021
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify

Released 27 years ago today, this is the first album by Chevelle, a hard rock/metal band by two brothers for almost 30 years now, though actually at this moment a third brother was playing bass too. This album really hits hard, and by that I mean that this three-piece creates a lot of noise and lets out a lot of anger on this album. Guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter Pete Loeffler passionately sings and sometimes screams poetic lyrics trying to understand the complexities of life and questioning the things he's been taught. The highlight for me is still the title track which opens the album with six minutes of excellent metal, including a two-minute intro. But it doesn't stop from there; throughout it's 42 minutes of grunge-y guitars with thundering bass and drums as well as Pete's dynamic vocals. Producer Steve Albini and Chevelle kept the instrumentation and the production sparse and it keeps the energy up and probably sounds more like their live show, which I think was a very good choice for this band's debut. The band has continued to make music, but I haven't listened to much of their music except for this album in the last 20 years, honestly, as I found their few albums after this less and less compelling to me personally.

Release Year: 1999
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify

"Everybody's story is more / Interesting than mine / It took me twenty-some-odd-years / To see I'd been born blind" Released 25 years ago last month, this is the sixth studio album by Over The Rhine. This folk duo is at their most rock 'n' roll on this album with a full backing band and top-notch production. Most of these songs are songs of love, from "The World Can Wait" to "The Body Is A Stairway Of Skin". There's also talk of the divine as well on songs like "I Radio Heaven", "Give Me Strength", and the epic 8-minute mid-album track "Little Blue River/In The Garden". Films For Radio is beautiful poetry set to excellent folk/rock music by seasoned musicians, one of the band's best releases, and it's well worth a listen.

Release Year: 2001
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify

Released 30 years ago yesterday, this is the debut album from Christian rock band Seven Day Jesus. Less than two years later they would release a much more poppy album on a bigger record label, but on this album, the band was squarely in the world of mid-'90s grunge rock. The guitars are loud and distorted and it's a well-made record from a band that shows lots of promise. Lead singer Brian McSweeney's lyrics are those of a young Christian struggling to follow God and find his role in the world. I was first introduced to the band during their second album which I still like better, but there are many who liked this one more and saw that second album as too much of departure in style. Both albums do have the same grunge rock sound throughout, but their second, self-titled album definitely had catchy hooks and more of a pop-rock sensibility. No matter which you like better, if you like '90s Christian rock, check out this short-lived band.

Release Year: 1996
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify