The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
MEMPHIS MUSIC 5 ALBUMS TO WATCH FOR IN 2021
Memphis Music Beat
Bob Mehr
Memphis Commercial Appeal USA TODAY NETWORK – TENN.
Live music in the Bluff City largely came to a standstill in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But Memphis musicians, producers and record labels put the past nine months to good use, completing work on a number of albums that are set to come out in 2021.
From roots-rock to blue-eyed soul, modern hip-hop to old-school gospel, here’s a look at five anticipated albums set for release over the next few months.
“When You Found Me”
(Liberty and Lament/thirty Tigers, out Jan. 29)
As Lucero enters its third decade as a band, the Memphis roots-rockers are set to kick off 2021 with a new album, “When You Found Me.”
The LP reunites the group with Grammy Award-winning engineer and producer Matt Ross-spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Drive-by Truckers) who helmed Lucero’s 2018 effort, “Among The Ghosts.” And like that album, “When Found Me” was cut at Memphis’ iconic Sam Phillips Recording Studio.
The forthcoming LP finds singer-songwriter Ben Nichols mixing his inspirations, drawing on his daily domestic life for the heavy rocking lullaby “Have You Lost Your Way,” while considering his family roots on “Coffin Nails,” the story of his grandfather dealing with the death of his own father, a veteran of World War I. The album also boasts a selection of epic story songs like runway lament “Outrun the Moon” and the stomping “Back in Ohio,” about American adventurer William Morgan who fought in the Cuban Revolution.
Sonically speaking, the record is colored by keyboardist Rick Steff ’s expansive keys and vintage synths, while the rest of the band — Brian Venable on guitar, Roy Berry on drums and John C. Stubblefield on bass — provides foundation and brings a musical fire to Nichols’ finely etched narratives.
Virghost
“Searching for Shiloh”
(Capitol Minds Entertainment, out Jan. 1)
Rapper Durand “Virghost” Somerville has been quietly building a deep catalog over the last few years. The Memphis-born MC — now primarily Nashville-based — has released more than a dozen studio projects including five albums, four EPS and multiple mixtapes. But it’s his new EP, “Searching for Shiloh,” that marks a career-best effort for the 30-year-old, and the start of a potentially bigger national breakout.
The four-track project features production from Steaksawse, Yza, Sosayg and Ice100, among others. But the beats are secondary to Virghost’s sharp rhymes and deliberate flow — his delivery recalling hip-hop greats from Nas to Kendrick Lamar.
“Searching for Shiloh” — which was inspired by the mysterious online musical figure Shiloh Dynasty — is expected to be the first of multiple EPS Virghost releases in 2021, with a collected full-length to follow later in the year.
John Paul Keith
“The Rhythm of the City”
(Wild Honey Records, out Feb. 19) Singer/songwriter John Paul Keith’s fifth solo album — and his first self-produced effort — “The Rhythm of the City” finds him expanding his roots approach on a horn-heavy 10-song collection that’s in thrall to the classic sounds of Bluff City soul and rock ‘n’ roll.
Conjuring up his own unique musical mélange — a sweet spot where the sound of Sun blues, Stax soul and Hi R&B all meet — it’s a record steeped in the geography and culture of Memphis, which Keith has called home for the last 15 years.
“The vibe came about organically from playing Beale Street and Graceland and working with horn sections more frequently the last few years,” says Keith.
After having guitar great Will Sexton produce his 2018 album “Heart Shaped Shadow” — on which began to explore more ornate soul-styled arrangements — Keith recorded “The Rhythm of the City” mostly live to tape at Electraphonic Studios, with his frequent collaborator, Scott Bomar (bandleader of the BoKeys, Don Bryant producer and film composer for “Dolemite is My Name”).
The quicksilver recording approach was aided by a talented crew of Keith’s Memphis compatriots. The album features Tierinii and Tikyra Jackson of Grammy-nominated combo Southern Avenue on background vocals, Al Gamble of St. Paul & The Broken Bones on keyboards, Danny Banks of the Nicole Atkins Band on drums, and Matthew Wilson of John Nemeth & The Blue Dreamers on bass. Trumpeter Marc Franklin, along with tenor and baritone saxmen Art Edmaiston and Kirk Smothers, comprise a hard-hitting horn sec