La Femme
Album: Hypsoline – EP (Buy)
Label: Disque Pointu
La Femme – It’s Time to Wake Up (2023)

Reverend Baron
Hometown: Los Angeles
Album: Rio View (Buy)
Label: Self-Released
Reverend Baron – Sugar (Daf)
Reverend Baron – My Baby’s Tears

Stevenson Ranch Davidians
Album: Amerikana (Buy)
Label: Picture In My Ear
Stevenson Ranch Davidians – Hard Livin

The Entire Universe
Hometown: Los Angeles
Album: Can They Hear? – Single (Buy)
Label: The Entire Universe
The Entire Universe – Can They Hear?

Boys
Album: Rabbits 7″ (Buy)
Label: PNKSLM
Boys – Rabbits

Kurt Vile & The Violators
Album: Day Of the Dead (Buy)
Label: 4AD
Kurt Vile & The Violators – Box of Rain (feat. J Mascis)

Guadalupe Plata
Album: Guadalupe Plata 2 (Buy)
Label: Everlasting Records
Guadalupe Plata – Navajazo
Guadalupe Plata – Tormenta

HEART OF GOLD

Look up soul in any dictionary: it means “strong positive feeling, as of intense sensitivity and emotional fervor.” Charles Bradley is one of the best soul singers of our generation. His raspy vocals are reminiscent of the voices of Otis Redding, Al Green, and James Brown, whose music he was covering when he was discovered in Brooklyn by Daptone Records’ co-founder, Gabriel Roth. Roth took Bradley to meet Tommy Brenneck, who plays with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Budos Band, Menahan Street Band, and runs Dunham Records.

Tommy Brenneck

Bradley’s brother had just been shot and killed, and Brenneck encouraged Bradley to open up about his life and put it on tape. Bradley’s life gave him a lot to sing about: fatherless since day one, homeless since 14, cooking in kitchens, reuniting with his family only to get terminally ill, getting better only to lose his brother. “Heartaches and Pain” is the song he wrote about the murder of his brother, and its title describes the whole of Bradley’s debut album, “No Time for Dreaming”, a heartwrenching glimpse of how to get through hard feelings and hard times with only your voice between you and giving up. Again: it’s great soul, and it gives our generation a sense of the greatness of that genre as it was in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

The Kernal
Album: Light Country (Boy)
Label: Single Lock Records
The Kernal – Tennesse Sun

Salami Rose Joe Louis
Hometown: San Diego, LA, Bay Area
Album: Zlaty Sauce Nephew (Buy)
Label: Hot Record Societe
Salami Rose Joe Louis – I Miss You So
Salami Rose Joe Louis – Rain Jacket Over Puddle