S. G. Goodman – Monty Smith

Bella White Among Other Things

We discovered Bella White soon after Rounder (re-)released her very bluegrass-inflected first record, Just Like Leaving, in 2021. Her voice – equal parts Sarah Shook and S.G. Goodman – immediately caught my attention and the album instantly went into heavy rotation. I especially remember listening to it a number of times in the car as we drove to NC and back for a long July 4th weekend, the first time we dared to take a post-pandemic road trip.

So it was with some excitement that I dropped the needle (so to speak) on Among Other Things, her latest album. To say the very least, I am not disappointed. Rooted solidly in the alt-country universe, this release offers only the faintest nod to the bluegrass tinges of the previous record, but all the elements of White’s wise-beyond-her-22-years songwriting are still intact: Deftly-observed ruminations about broken people navigating broken relationships and dreams in a casually indifferent world. The themes aren’t exactly groundbreaking, but that’s the whole point.

Get some music in your ears, everybody!

Another tie this month:

S. G. Goodman Teeth Marks and Caamp Lavender Days

I’ve flip-flopped so many times about which of these records to pick as my favorite of June’s releases that I finally just have no choice but to call another tie.

First up is Teeth Marks, the second record from Kentucky singer/songwriter S. G. Goodman. Goodman immediately went into permanent heavy rotation in our house with the release of her first album, Old Time Feeling, during shut-down-era 2020. This new release will definitely follow suit. Interesting lyrics and melodies, and an older-than-her-years vocal quality reminiscent of NPR storyteller Bailey White; this woman has it all.

We discovered Caamp several years ago at the Newport Folk Festival. For me their latest record, Lavender Days, is feel-good music at its finest. (I could say the same about the rest of their catalog, as well.) It sounds like we’re all in this together, doing what we can to have a little fun while we make our way through the day. There’s nothing pretentious or fancy going on anywhere near a Caamp record. Just a handful of chords that flow well, and good solid hooks to hold them together. Maybe with a nice, cool drink by your side. Put this on and enjoy a little piece of your summer.

Get some music in your ears, everybody!

Tag: S. G. Goodman

Music Of The Month: April 2023

Music Of The Month: June 2022