Album Review- Baba Ali Memory Device

Baba Ali is one of my favorite “new” artists. Championed by Danger Mouse and Jamie Hince of the Kills, the UK-via-New Jersey artist is hard to describe. Skimming through his Last FM “Similar Artists” profile, I see a ton of legendary artists, none who do a good job of describing Ali. I suppose there is something in mentioning Amy Winehouse- a pop artist with indie sensibilities seeped with funk and R&B history. Nick Cave, Fela and Stevie Nicks pop up in Ali’s byline but that is because he mentioned them as influences. Elsewhere, it’s Prince, Alan Vega, and New Order. You might get closer to pinning a label when you realize producer Al Doyle was a member of Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem. If indietronica is a thing, then Ali is a great purveyor of it. If Dance Punk is a thing, then Ali is in the lineage.

Album Review: Jason Ringenberg- Rhinestoned

It wasn’t that long ago that I was talking about Jason Ringenberg (best known as lead singer of Jason and the Scorchers) but he does have a new album out. I enjoyed 2019’s Stand Tall and Rhinestoned feels like an appropriate follow-up, even if Jason attributes it to Covid downtime. I realized with Stand Tall, that he’s a bit of an acquired taste. He has a voice that you don’t really hear except on the fringes of the radio (think Jimmie Dale Gilmore). Many of his songs are stories and told in a way that generally only exists in Bluegrass or pre-WW2 country music. But if those things don’t bother you, you will be richly rewarded. Rhinestones are the prevailing theme here on two songs. As in Stand Tall (and not that far removed from his Farmer Jason kids singer persona), he digs into history- most specifically on The Freedom Rides Weren’t Free” and “I Rode With Crazy Horse”. That last song is one you might steer away most artists from attempting, but Jason takes the take of the famed Lakota’s cousin and gives it a furious build up. Elsewhere, you might have some songs that are to be expected. “Keep that Promise” sounds like a Scorchers classic. Jason records his version of the oft covered “You Win Again”. Then there’s “Christ, the Lord is Risen Again” which is kind of both. It’s a traditional hymn and it also veers a bit into Scorchers territory. Even in an environment where terms like Americana and Outlaw Country are well established, Ringenberg is still a bit of a hard to define outsider. He is still making interesting music and long May he play.