The RGM Inbox November 2020

It’s time for another dive into the RGM Inbox where a host of gems are ready for discovery. We like to feature a wide range of music at RGM and November has seen a host of interesting releases in a wide range of genres. The advice is always to give things a go, step outside of your comfort zone and discover something a little different. This month we’ve new music from Phil Gould a founding member of Level 42, pop-rock from Andy Keels that harks back to the ‘80s an era that Liverpool band Candy Opera originated from before they took a thirty-year career break. Last but not least we catch up with Zac Brown Band founding member John Driskell Hopkins and a taster from his ‘Lonesome High’ album due in February 2021.

Phil Gould is probably best known as a founding member of Level 42 but the drummer is also a songwriter and has a new album set for imminent release via Abbey Records. The title track and first single from the album ‘Beautiful Wounds’ is available now and features a beautifully seductive vocal from Italian singer Diana Winter. Gould has called on a few friends from Europe and North America to collaborate on the record so it’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with on his first solo release in a decade. Check out the Sarah Scherer directed video for ‘Beautiful Wounds’ which oozes class and bodes well for the upcoming album.

“Given the parlous state of the world it feels important to remind ourselves of the beauty that comes with our humanity, with all our foibles, our failures, our struggles, our demons and despite (or even because of) the scars we carry from the lives we’ve lived until now. We are all made more beautiful, more human by the wounds we pick up along the way. Often the damage that’s done to us, or we do to ourselves, is the basis of our compassion for others”

— Phil Gould

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Andy Keels is a new name to me but the Surrey born singer has been plying his trade in the business for a good few years. He originally made his name as a drummer, singer and songwriter in boy band Twen2y4se7en but we won’t hold that against him. I’m pleased to report he’s back with a single ‘Dead To Me’ from an upcoming debut solo EP ‘15 Years’. The track was recorded in New York with producer and engineer Dave Rowland (The Killers, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, John Legend) and proves to be a cool pop-rock tune with a marked 80s feel that ticks plenty of boxes for this listener.

“The song holds personal meaning, so it’s nice that a cool song has come from a shitty real-life situation of being let down by friends”

— Andy Keels

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Originally a fixture of the Liverpool, UK music scene in the 1980s Candy Opera called it quits in 1992. Now some thirty years later the band are back with a fantastic new album ‘The Patron Saint Of Heartache’ that should be essential for fans of Prefab Sprout, The Dream Academy, Aztec Camera, Deacon Blue etc. The album is available to stream via Bandcamp with various CD and LP configurations including a very limited dark green vinyl pressing with poster etc. Candy Opera are guaranteed to brighten your day.

https://candyopera.bandcamp.com/album/the-patron-saint-of-heartache

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John Driskell Hopkins is probably best known as a founding member of the Zac Brown Band but his work outside of ZBB continues to go from strength to strength. With a new album ‘Lonesome High’ set for release in early 2021, John has released a single ‘Missing You All, All The Time’ that perfectly captures life on the road via poignant lyrics and glorious harmonies. This new single coupled with the previously released title track tells me that ‘Lonesome High’ will be an early highlight of 2021.

And so concludes the latest edition of the RGM Inbox but we’ll be back with more great music unhindered by musical genre.