New Sounds for Summer '25

Catching up on new releases from Neko Case, Amanda Shires, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant, James McMurtry, Wet Leg, Van Morrison, Tami Neilson, Tyler Childers, Charley Crockett, and Babs & Bob.

A lot of magnificent music has passed through these ears this year, but I haven’t had much time to stop and listen as closely as I’d like. (I bowed out of contributing one of those “best of the year so far” posts for that very reason.) Still, here are eleven tracks that inspired me enough to jot down some thoughts about them.

Wet Leg - “CPR”

Hester Chambers and Rhian Teasdale bring their touring band into the studio for a full five-piece band experience while telling the sophomore slump to “catch these fists.” Wet Leg’s moisturizer is so far one of the summer’s—nay, the year’s—best. “mangetout,” “pokemon,” “don’t speak” and the rest shimmer, shake, and excite—including the irresistible lead-off track…

Robert Plant - “Everybody’s Song”

Percy returns with his latest backing group, Saving Grace, and a cover of Low’s “Everybody’s Song,” the first single from Plant’s upcoming album, also called Saving Grace, due September 26th. Plant strips the rock away from Low’s version, replacing it with hypnotic Middle Eastern instrumentation that harkens back to the Unledded era, underscoring trance-like co-lead vocals with Suzi Dian. A quarter century into the new millennium, the Golden God continues to innovate and surprise.

Neko Case - “Wreck”

What can you do but celebrate upon the news of new Neko Case music? “Wreck” is the advance single from Neon Grey Midnight Green, the upcoming album set for release on September 26th. Saying the new single is classic Neko is obvious. Hearing it is like feeling the clouds part while a gigantic bolt of sunshine hits you square in the feels. Sweeping production—including horns, strings, and an angelic chorus of backing vocals—glides us through sonic sweetness as the lyrics talk of the power of love burning bright and strong, enjoying and embracing it before it fades.

Bruce Springsteen - “Idiot’s Delight”

I’m still processing Tracks II, and it’ll most likely take many months to ingest it all. Still, bits and pieces jump out, including this one, from the final disc, Perfect World, which, unlike the others in the set, was not conceived as a cohesive album but acts as more of a grab bag of leftovers, mostly from the mid-to-late ‘90s/early ‘00s. “Idiot’s Delight,” co-written with Joe Grushecky, originally appeared in 1997 on Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers’ album, Coming Home. The version on Tracks II is pure Bruce in his roadhouse rock’n’roll mode, complete with cowbell, rasp-stained holler, and a nod to Joe Ely’s hard swagger. Hit the road and turn it up.

James McMurtry - “Sailing Away”

I admit that in my world, James McMurtry can do no wrong, but with his new album, The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy, he’s delivered one of his all-time best. “Pinocchio in Vegas” is the one that stopped me in my tracks, but, to be fair, they all did in one way or another, including the nods to John Dee Graham and Kris Kristofferson, whose songs he chooses to open and close the set, respectively. Still, I keep coming back to this one. A musician-on-the-road song that easily takes its place alongside “Turn the Page” and “The Load Out” as a classic of its kind. It may even, dare I say, best them, as it trades romanticized melodrama for wisdom, reality, experience, and doubt.

Tyler Childers - “Oneida”

Oneida might be Maggie May’s daughter—hell, granddaughter—but Tyler’s up for the challenge. He’s even laughing at her jokes like Rod once did. He brought his guitar, and he wants to help her with that song she wants to sing. It’s a fine moment from Snipe Hunter (due July 25th) that proves, as if it needed proving, that Childers is the real deal, and he’s gonna be around for a good long spell.

Charley Crockett - “Crucified Son”

Crockett is issuing albums at a breakneck pace over the last couple of years, but the quality is not suffering one bit. In fact, somehow they’re getting better. The first single from his August 8th release, Dollar a Day, finds one of country music’s most genuine artists lamenting the fact that he’s a crucified son and he doesn’t even know why.

Amanda Shires - “A Way It Goes”

The dissolution of Americana’s power couple made headlines and got tongues wagging all over. Jason Isbell’s Foxes in the Snow told his side of the story, and now it’s Amanda Shire’s turn. “A Way It Goes,” the first single from Nobody’s Girl (out, like everything else apparently, on September 26th), doesn’t dance around the elephant in the room: “I can show you how he left me,” she begins over atmospheric synths, “But I’d rather you see me thriving.” Living well is the best revenge, it seems.

Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan - “The Very Thought of You”

Streisand’s and Dylan’s careers have both danced around each other for close to 65 years. They are lifelong labelmates (Columbia), with their debut albums released just months apart (Dylan’s in May of ‘62, Streisand’s in February of the following year), and they both performed in and around Greenwich Village early on before being signed. After years of flirting with the idea, they finally settled on a duet, choosing Ray Noble’s “The Very Thought of You.” With Dylan recently crooning through three albums of the Great American Songbook (peaking with 2017’s Triplicate), the idea doesn’t seem so far-fetched. The outcome? It’s as comfortable as a pair of worn slippers by a warm fire. OK, maybe that hamonicist can pipe down a tad.

Tami Neilson - “You’re Gonna Fall” (featuring JD McPherson)

Tami Neilson’s new album, Neon Cowgirl, is chock-full of throwback vibes and retro grooves, but it somehow sounds as fresh as tomorrow’s headlines. Highlights abound, but this duet with JD McPherson is the perfect blend of haunting noir and swaggering nocturnal sass.

Van Morrison - “Stretching Out”

Remembering Now is Van the Man’s best album in almost twenty years (in fact, since 2008’s Keep It Simple). While it’s not perfect (“Back to Writing Love Songs” would’ve sufficed as a liner note or a press release heading instead of an entire song), its best moments recapture the magic of his Down the Road and Back On Top era, while others reach back to 1991’s Hymns to the Silence and even further to his ‘80s extended spiritual excursions. The strongest moment on Remembering Now arrives at the end with the appropriately titled “Stretching Out.” As you become immersed in its aural splendor, another song title from earlier in the set becomes apparent; Van, thankfully, hasn’t lost his sense of wonder.

Apple users can access this Mixtape here.

Further Reading:

Speaking of new music, here’s the best tribute album to come out in a long while…

…and here’s what was on my mind and in my ears last summer…