RIGHT ARM RESOURCE UPDATE JESSE BARNETT [email protected] (508) 238-5654 www.rightarmresource.com www.facebook.com/rightarmresource 6/10/2020 NEEDTOBREATHE “Hang On” The first single from Out Of Body, available for download from Elektra and in my Dropbox now First week: WPYA, KCSN, KVYN, KCLC, KPND, WCLX, KMTN, WMWV, KROK, WYCE, WJCU, KRVM Early: WRLT, Music Choice, KVNA, WFIV, KTAO “‘Hang On’ could easily be the next summertime sing-along” - American Songwriter “The sort of anthem we need right now” - E! News Spotify nearly 2 million streams already David Ramirez “My Love Is A Hurricane” The title track single from his upcoming album, out 7/17 First week: WCBE, WYCE, WOCM, KRVM, WFIT Early: KUTX, KJAC, WCLX, WEXT, KTSN, WFIV “Misty psychedelic undertones and potent gospel arrangements” - NPR Music “A resolutely hesitant singer, never pushing his hurt, letting it instead decay him from within” - New York Times Taking part in a 6/10 livestream to support Austin venues Teddy Thompson “It’s Not Easy” The new single from his self-produced new album Heartbreaker Please, out now New: WJCU, XM Loft, WMWV, KNBA, WYCE ON: KJAC, WCBE, KSMF, KOZT, WCLX, WNCW, WFIV, WHRV, WDVX... “It’s rare to find an artist who carves out a territory so distinctly, unmistakably, their own, and this particular of the human condition belongs to Teddy Thompson.” - PopMatters OK Go “All Together Now” Their first new music in six years ON: Music Choice, WEHM, WCLX, KLRR, KNBA, WBJB, WLKR, KSMF, WYCE, WFIV, KRCL, WDIY, KUWR, WHRV Recorded in quarantine after singer Damian Kulash and his family recovered from the coronavirus Profits of the song will go to Partners in Health, an organization that brings heathcare to people who can’t afford or access it Michael Franti & Spearhead “I Got You” From Work Hard And Be Nice, out 6/19 Mediabase 27*, BDS Monitored 27*, Indicator 13*! New: WXPK, WWCT, KCLC, WMNF, KAXE ON: KBCO, WXRT, WXRV, WRNR, WRLT, WFUV, Music Choice, WTMD, WYEP, KTHX, WQKL, WNCS, WZEW, KTBG, WFPK, WYMS, KJAC, WEHM, KVOQ, KVNA, WPYA, WCOO, WDST, KPND... Great playlist placements on all platforms! Matt Costa “Avenal” The first single from Yellow Coat, out 9/11 ON: Music Choice, KJAC, WEHM, KNBA, WJCU, KROK, WYCE, WUKY, WFIV, WCLX, WLKR, KRML, KLRR, WFIT, WHRV and KUWR Watch the stop-motion video on my site now, created at home during quarantine with multimedia artist Minh Pham Produced by Alex Newport (Death Cab For Cutie, At The Drive-In) Mondo Cozmo “Upside Down” From New Medicine, out this Friday Mediabase 40*, BDS Monitored #2 New & Active, Indicator Debut 39*! New: WQKL, WAPS, KSLU ON: WXRV, WXPN, SiriusXM Alt Nation, KXT, KCSN, WZEW, WNCS, WFPK, KTBG, WCNR, Music Choice, WPYA, KVOQ, WEHM, WBDB, KVNA, WDST... Josh Ostrander on the album: “This album sums up a lot for me, coming to terms with the weird guilt of success, navigating a new American experience.” Devon Gilfillian “The Good Life” The new single from Black Hole Rainbow Mediabase 29*, BDS Monitored 24*, Indicator 25*! New: WWCT, WCOO, KYMK, WZLO ON: WXRV, WRLT, WXPN, WXPK, KXT, KCSN, WCLZ, WZEW, KPND, KJAC, KTBG, WYEP, WYMS, Music Choice, WPYA, WTMD, KVOQ... “[A] soul-soothing ode to finding peace and beauty in life.” - American Songwriter Created the non-profit initiative The Good Life Fund Wild Rivers “I Do” The first single from Songs To Break Up To, out now New: WOCM ON: KRVB, KCSN, Music Choice, WAPS, WBDB, WEHM, KJAC, KPND, KVNA, KVYN, KRSH, WCBE, WVMP, WCLX, WZEW, KROK, KTAO, KCLC, WYCE, KRML, WFIV, KSMF, KLRR... Produced by Skylar Wilson The theme of the Toronto four-piece’s EP was inspired by co-lead vocalist/guitarist Khalid Yassein facing the dissolution of a long-term relationship in 2018 Fiona Apple “Shameika” The first single from Fetch The Bolt Cutters Mediabase 25*, BDS Monitored #21, Indicator #21, JBE Public #1 (4th week at #1!) ON: WXRT, KGSR, WRNR, KCMP, WXPN, WFUV, WXRV, WRLT, WMMM, WQKL, KCSN, WFPK, KXT, WKLQ, WCLZ, KJAC, KTBG, WERS, WYEP, KUTX, KVOQ, WAPS, WTMD, WYMS, Music Choice, WPYA... The best-reviewed album in the history of Metacritic Pearl Jam “Retrograde” The second single from Gigaton, out now Mediabase 8*, BDS Monitored 11*, Indicator 4*! New: WCLY, WXRY ON: SiriusXM Spectrum, KBCO, WXRT, KGSR, WTTS, KCMP, WMMM, WRLT, WXRV, WFUV, WXPN, Music Choice, WRNR, KRVB, WQKL, WKLQ, WTMD, WPYA, KPND, WXPK, WCLZ, KCSN, KTBG, KVOQ... “Strong and loose, political and personal, Pearl Jam get the balance absolutely right.” - MOJO White Reaper “Real Long Time” The second single from You Deserve Love Mediabase 24*, BDS Monitored #23, Indicator 18*! New: KKAL ON: WXRV, WTTS, KINK, KCMP, KRVB, WRLT, KCSN, WNCS, WPYA, Music Choice, KTHX, WTMD, WCLZ, WKLQ, WAPS, WCNR, KTBG... “We went for an Electric Light Orchestra vocal sound in the chorus... Most of it was recorded live.” - White Reaper on the recording of the single Citizen Cope “Scared Of Heights” The first single from his forthcoming eighth album ON: WRNR, WFUV, Music Choice, KXT, KPND, WCLX, WCNR, KJAC, KVOQ, WAPS, KLRR, KMMS, WEHM, WCLY, WFIV, WOCM, KSUT, WBJB, WJCU, KROK, WVMP, WCBE, WYCE, WEXT... A beautifully written, poignant song with lyrics that are perfect for the times: “Learning to fly when you’re scared of heights” Perfume Genius “On The Floor” From Set My Heart On Fire Immediately, out now Amazing album reviews! Mediabase 48*, BDS Indicator Debut 40*, JBE Public #16! New: WZLO ON: KCMP, WXRV, WRLT, WFUV, WXPN, Music Choice, KXT, WYEP, WFPK, WPYA, WNCS, KTBG, KUTX, KVOQ, WEHM, KCSN, WYMS, WTMD, KJAC, WNRN, WAPS, WCNR... 90+ million US artist streams! Appearing on a ton of Best of 2020 So Far lists American Aquarium “The Luckier You Get” The first single from Lamentations, produced by Shooter Jennings, out now ON: WAPS, WYCE, WBJB, KROK, WCLY, WOCM, KMMS, WNCW, KNBA, WEXT, WUIN, KPIG, WCBE, KTSN, WCLX, WFIV, KRML... Great reviews and first week sales numbers! “‘The Luckier You Get’ is a feel good song about appreciating hard work and the rewards that come along with it.” - The Boot The Grahams “Kids Like Us” The title track single from their new album, out now BDS Indicator #38! New: WAPS, WEHM, WEXT ON: KRSH, WCNR, KRML, KVYN, WUIN, WTYD, KROK, WCLY, WCBE, WFIV, KHUM, KBAC, WCLX, KSMF, KLRR... The final album produced by Richard Swift “A complete 180 from their previous releases, which were steeped in more Americana, bluegrass-y acoustics, Kids is orchestrated, more bombastic, and electric” - American Songwriter PopMatters looks closely at American Aquarium’s Lamentations “The Book of Lamentations concerns the destruction of the Jewish holy city of Jerusalem by the Babylonians back in 586 B.C. The writings describe the demolition of the temple as well as the pain and suffering of the people. The tone suggests the devastation was deserved because of the wickedness of the citizens. God does not appear in the work, although it’s suggested the deity will be merciful and eventually reappear. BJ Barham, American Aquarium’s founder, and sole original member named the band’s latest album Lamentations in reference to the death of the American Dream. He doesn’t take sides or name names. He invokes the Bible and blames politicians from both sides of the aisle, although there are specific jibes at those who make false promises. Barham does this most eloquently on “Me and Mine” where he wails: ‘What are you supposed to do // When the God you’re prayin’ to // Up and goes missin’? // Leaves a trail of unpaid bills // Broken homes and opioid addiction // And then a politician shows up // Promisin’ that // He’ll return the jobs // That God himself could not bring back.’ The allusion to President Trump and coal mining is clear in the context of the song, but on the rest of the album, he points his finger everywhere, including at the man in the mirror. Barham does this most explicitly on the gospel-rooted intonations of “The Day I Learned to Lie to You”. The song bristles with the pain of the self-inflicted kind. The narrator knows he’s respon- sible for the breakup of his home. Regret doesn’t bring redemption. The song ends on a sorrowful note. Barham sings in the first person, but that doesn’t mean the songs are explicitly autobiographical. They often seem to be a composite of personal confession and a composite of historical personages. He offers a documen- tary narrative about the place he’s from—the American South. Barham’s not shy about placing blame. Just as the denizens of Jerusalem were impiously responsible for their fate, his fellow Southerners are liable for their sins. In a voice that echoes Bruce Springsteen’s tales of New Jersey, Barham proclaims his vision of “A Better South”. He acknowledges that “on the backs of the poor, these towns were built / for every ounce of pride comes a pound of guilt.” He humbly notes the history of slavery and the harsh lives of the impoverished in the past, but he doesn’t stop there. Barham notes the more recent times were not much better. “I’m sick and tired of listening to Daddy’s generation / The byproduct of war and segregation / Still thinking they can tell us of what to do / Who can live where and who can love who,” he sings in a strong voice. Those that want him just to shut up and sing are the real problem, he notes, alluding to the situation of the Dixie Chicks for speaking out. Surprisingly, the record was recorded in Los Angeles instead of a Southern studio. Shooter Jennings produced the album and put Barham’s vocals at the forefront. The rest of the band (guitarist Shane Boeker, bassist Alden Hedges, keyboardist Rhett Huffman, pedal steel player Neil Jones, and drum- mer Ryan Van Fleet) provide a steady groove. Sometimes, on songs such as “The Luckier You Get”, the production borders the cheesy as sing-alongs and loud harmonies (instrumental and vocal) overwhelm the material. The tracks that work best are the simplest ones. Lamentations ends on a promising note as Barham suggests hard work may resolve his and our collective problems. That seems to contradict previ- ous notions on the rest of the record where we learn about his hard-working ancestors getting screwed by the government and those with money and power. However, as Barham suggests, what other choice do we have. We can only mourn for so long before we need to pick up the gauntlet to create a better future.” - PopMatters, 5/14/2020 Fiona Apple and Perfume Genius are all over the Best Of 2020 So Far lists “After an eight-year hiatus, Fiona Apple returned this April with a new album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, a percussive record that finds the incisive singer-songwriter evaluating life’s moments with both gravity and humor. She is, as she says on the spidery piano romp of “Shameika,” “pissed off, funny and warm,” singing through gritted teeth one minute and melting into thick piano plunks the next. A range of percussion sounds, from drums to wood blocks and bells and even barking dogs, often trumps the melodies, making for a challenging (though obviously rewarding) listen. But her words rule over everything, and on her sixth album, she is sharp as ever, refusing as always to look away or go quietly: “Kick me under the table all you want/ I won’t shut up, I won’t shut up.”” -- Billboard

“Fetch the Bolt Cutters is what happened when Fiona Apple, now decades into a career during which she’s been both a critical darling and subject of controversy, let go of any last shred of her need for approval. Apple recorded this album entirely in her home in Venice Beach with trusted friends and collaborators; you can hear her and her friends’ dogs barking in “Fetch the Bolt Cutters,” and the percussion is often crafted from found items around the house. But in its 13 wry, witheringly honest tracks, Apple’s newfound musical freedom has also drawn up some of her most powerful in- dictments of both other people and the shackles that accompany celebrity and womanhood. The album feels potent, like something Apple had to get off her chest. There’s the unmodulated yodeling at the end of “I Want You to Love Me,” the rush of “Shameika,” the comic delivery of “Ladies, ladies, ladies.” “Kick me under the table all that you want, I won’t shut up,” she intones on “Under the Table,” and it’s both both a statement of resilience and a reminder that music can offer us much more than love stories. Fetch the Bolt Cutters is about friends, acquaintances, bosses, lovers, exes, societal forces: every kind of relationship, put under Apple’s microscope and unleashed as an anthem of individuality.” -- TIME

“Fetch the Bolt Cutters is the album that most resembles 2020 so far. Like all the TikTok videos, Zoom meetings, and Facebook, YouTube, and Insta- gram livestreams filling up our afternoons and evenings of late, Bolt Cutters is a work-from-home endeavor where the home is an unwitting character. Fiona Apple’s emotive vocals, intensive self-reflection, and lilting piano melodies are still center stage, but room noise and found percussion instru- ments give it a whiff of DIY. It’s a good fit for this collection of stories about breaking free from peer pressure and the prescribed roles for women in America (and in the American entertainment industry). Apple comes out of it looking like a survivor, a voice no amount of negativity from elementa- ry-school bullies, industry onlookers, and controlling men could quell, every bit the fighter she told us she was since “Shadowboxer.”” -- Vulture

“Fiona Apple engages our minds like no one else. Like every record before it, her latest album Fetch the Bolt Cutters taps into both the repulsive and the revolutionary. Apple has never been one to deliver approachable melodies or catchy choruses—she repeatedly serves us the abnormal, in all its twisted glory, with minor chords and off-kilter rhythms, often constructed with everyday objects rather than musical instruments. As a woman who lives mostly secluded from society and releases music so rarely, she’s frequently the object of speculation and even sexualization (see: the late ’90s). She doesn’t like to do what is expected of her. She’s said as much. So it’s funny that Fetch the Bolt Cutters is exactly what so many expected it to be: brilliant. In a surprise to probably no one, Fiona Apple is now five for five. Over the last 25 years, she has made five albums that have all—in due time—ascended to holy text status, even if it took some longer than others to come around to her genius. Her most recent, the staggeringly good The Idler Wheel… arrived in 2012. Before that: Extraordinary Machine, in 2005. But Apple isn’t just sitting on these songs during the long gaps between albums; she’s buffing them to perfection. Fetch the Bolt Cutters is finally here, and it’s another miraculous case of bottled lightning. Listening to Fiona Apple is often like bearing witness to a prophet speaking in tongues. It can be difficult, at times, to make out what exactly she’s getting at in any given verse, but there’s an overwhelming sensation that what she’s singing is vastly important. In Fetch the Bolt Cutters’ case, these psalms beam clearer than ever before.” - Paste

“Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, the fifth studio album by Perfume Genius, boasts the best album title of 2020. There’s a visceral quality to it that not only paints a picture, but beautifully marries the urgent earnestness and theatrical camp that has defined his decade-long career. The album contains some typically transcendent musings on love and self and acceptance, this time painted with colors of rock and country – two traditionally hyper-masculine genres, confidently embodied and beau- tifully muddied by one of the most enigmatic artists working right now. -- Billboard

“Set My Heart on Fire Immediately starts with a ragged intake of breath. It’s a good idea to inhale along with Mike Hadreas, who performs as the alt-pop creator Perfume Genius, because the uncompromising album about to begin holds a lengthy, emotionally vibrant journey in store. Now on his fourth album, Perfume Genius proves he’s equally comfortable with off-kilter indie rock, shimmering synth-pop and any shade of genre in between. His songs work a bit like paintings, in which he transforms sweetly-textured melodies into sheets of echoing, punk-inflected sound (“Whole Life”), or spackles flecks of glitter over a grimy base (“Leave”). Or, as on “Without You,” he can make a rock tune that twinkles, full of color. Perfume Genius has regularly plumbed his experiences of identity, relationships and pain for lyrical content. Here, he’s more opaque than ever. But pay close attention, and he’s also found new points of relating. “Take this wildness away,” he pleads over the bright swing of “On the Floor.” Listeners might beg to disagree.” -- TIME

“Perfume Genius is best known for centering his queerness in his experimental pop, but Mike Hadreas has also long explored how our bodies betray us. On 2014’s name-making Too Bright, his body was a “rotted peach,” and even the iconic, out-and-Capital-P-Proud protagonist of breakout single “Queen” was “cracked, peeling, riddled with disease.” (Hadreas has been vocal about his struggle with Crohn’s disease.) On 2017’s career-best Too Bright follow-up No Shape, he sang about death not as a feared end, but as liberation from our fragile, unreliable biological shells. When Hadreas took up modern dance last year, it seemed like a deliberate step to reclaim his body: To turn your movements into art is the polar opposite of feeling “rank, ragged, skin sewn on sheets.” His effort to overcome the body-brain gulf is more apparent than ever throughout No Shape follow-up Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, on which Hadreas loses control of not just his body, but his heart. As ever, his voice and music contort and warp in tan- dem with his anatomy.” -- Paste Coming up... 6/22: Pretenders “Didn’t Want To Be This Lonely,” Travis “A Ghost,” Pokey LaFarge “Bluebird”... 6/29: Margo Price, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, Joshua Speers RIGHT ARM RESOURCE WEEKLY UPDATE - 6/10/2020