Did I happen to mention that I like irony and coincidence and the amazing tendency of life to throw unexpected curve-balls and how that can be a great joy if your mind and heart are open to receive what ever life has to offer? No? Well, I do.
So, I write a music blog, and I live in Nashville, Tennessee. If you've been paying attention, you will have realized I am pretty open-minded when it comes to music. I generally hate genre labels, and even though I tend to think that most mainstream music sucks (I'm an old punk what can I say), I will acknowledge when something mainstream strikes my fancy.
All that being said, I'm constantly amazed and pleased by all of the incredible Country and Countryish music being made all over the world. Honestly, as far as I'm concerned you can call it Americana, Alt-Country, Roots Music or whatever you want. From Michigan to New Mexico to California to Europe, there is great music being made that owes a direct or indirect nod to The Carter Family, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Hank Williams Sr and so many more legends. It may carry with it a Punk rock spirit or a pinch of something else....
Ah, I've done on long enough. Let's get to the business at hand.
Nikki Sue and the Bad News are about to release their first full-length album, Nothing Gold. The album will be released May 23 (digital only for now) with a release party scheduled for the 24th at the Clash Bar in Clifton, NJ. I have been given the great honor of getting an early listen. My thoughts (random and otherwise) commence after the JUMP
Nothing Gold consists of rerecorded versions of songs from the Anchored EP along with three new songs.
Track Listing
- "Anchored"
- "Best of Men"
- "Bridge by the River"
- "Knockin' at My Door"
- "Leave it All Behind"
- "Location"
- "Nothing Gold"
- "Spittin' Lies"
- "Who Needs Enemies"
Nikki Sue – Guitar, & Vocals
Ben Hutcheon – guitars
Anthony O’Connor – Drums
Steve Salerno - Bass
In this new setting, the old songs sound amazing and compliment the new material nicely.
Nikki Sue (Nikki Ilchert) has an amazing voice and The Bad News are top-notch. The songs move effortlessly from foot-stomping rave-up to heart-breaking ballads. Stand out tracks for me are the title track, Spittin' Lies and Knockin' at My Door, but there isn't a dud in the bunch. So is it irony for Nashville-based music blog written by a former avowed Country music hater to be writing positive words about what is essentially a Country album by a New Jersey girl and her band?
Some may argue with my contention that Nothing Gold is essentially a Country album, and some may be right. A Country influence is definitely present along with rock, jazz and some more contemporary influences. Thing is, Rock wouldn't be Rock without Country, Jazz and Country have a long, complicated relationship and all of those other contemporary influences have both been influenced by and had influence over the development of "Country" music. See why I think genre labels are dumb?
Here's the bottom line, Nikki Sue and the Bad News make some awesome, fun and danceable music. Nothing Gold is an excellent jumping on point to get aboard with this talented and fast rising star.
So get ready. The 23rd is only a week and a day away. If you can't wait that long, you can check out some older music and get you some Nikki Sue and the Bad News swag over at their BAND STORE
Meanwhile, I offer up an expanded Nikki Sue video playlist at the bottom of this post.
I listened to Nothing Gold in it's entirety this morning, and when the last notes of "Who Needs Enemies" faded out, I was still a few minutes away from my office so I did a quick shuffle and lo and behold, the shuffle god worked it's magic and pulled up two songs in a row from Bark, the new record by Dog Without Warning (which we presented last Friday), and "Flood" and "Nostalgia" provided a great encore to Nothing Gold.
PLAYLIST
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