The RGM Inbox August 2020
The Red Guitar Music inbox feature returns after a brief hiatus with more excellent and varied sounds. In this edition, we’ve music from both sides of the Atlantic. Ace singer/guitarist JD Simo has a new album in the can while another RGM regular Ferris & Sylvester returns with a new EP ready to go and touring plans for 2021. The newcomers this time out are Dan Friese, a singer/songwriter from the USA, and from nearer home (Brighton to be exact) Melanie Howard aka Such Small Hands with an album of melancholy dark pop a decade in the making.
© KT Ainsworth
First up from Oregon, USA we’ve singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dan Friese who will release a new single ‘Streetlight’ on August 21st. The track is from his upcoming debut album ‘Jane Songs’ due later this year. Dan has a nice line in languid, folky Americana and ‘Streetlight’ bodes well for the album. We don’t have a link to ‘Streetlight’ at this time but you can visit https://www.danfriese.com/ and snag a free download of his ‘Happiness’ EP from earlier this year to give you a good idea of what Dan is all about.
No stranger to RGM, Ferris & Sylvester will release a new EP ‘I Should Be On A Train’ on October 2nd. The five tracker will be available digitally and on vinyl via LAB records. The title track from the EP is out now and highlights the ease with which the duo incorporates folk and blues influences into their sound as a gentle beginning exploding into a bluesy howl of a chorus. The duo have plans to be back out on the road early in 2021 with headline shows in the UK, USA and Canada. Please visit their website for all the latest tour news: https://www.ferrisandsylvester.com/tour
It only seems like five minutes since singer/guitarist JD Simo released the rather wonderful ‘Off at 11’ (RGM review) but he’s back with his self-titled second album. JD mixed up his genres in fine style on his debut offering and he’s at it again, seamlessly blending the blues, psych-rock and funk. Latest single ‘Love’ gives off a much needed positive message in these troubled times and adds plenty of funky wah-wah guitar lines. ‘Love’ follows on from the delicious sweet soul of first single ‘One Of Those Days’ making for a fine one-two introduction to the new record which is released 21st August via the Crows Feet Records label.
Photo credit: Jessica McMillan
Melanie Howard aka Such Small Hands will release her debut album ‘Carousel’ on September 18th via Such Small Records. Melanie has been the bassist in The Wedding Present since 2018 but her solo material treads a path far removed from her day job. ‘Do I Belong Here?’ is a terrific slice of dark pop with gently picked acoustic guitars joined by ethereal vocals and light touch electronica. The result is gorgeously melancholy as Melanie deals with that old adage “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family’ which brings to the fore feelings of detachment and isolation. A highly impressive single from an artist to watch.
Fans of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys have been well served in recent years with a host of releases, including a string of box sets. This run continues with ‘On Tour 1999-2007’, an Exclusive release for Record Store Day 2026 that would make an ideal companion piece to the recently released ‘Live At The Roxy Theatre’ set. This vinyl-only release will be available worldwide for RSD and includes performances from Carnegie Hall (New York), Royal Festival Hall (London), UCLA Royce Hall (Los Angeles), CenterStaging (Burbank, CA), the Wiltern Theatre (Los Angeles), and Chicago. Musically, the LP takes a deep dive into both Brian’s solo catalogue and The Beach Boys, with the likes of ‘Desert Drive’ rubbing shoulders with mini-suite ‘Our Prayer / Gee / Heroes & Villains’ which could only have come from the mind of Brian Wilson. The press release, complete with full track details and Brian Wilson, Oglio Entertainment and Record Store Day 2026 links, follows: