Hundred-word Reviews, August 2026 #2: More New Releases

Like it says above: more. All great.

Jim Basnight – Under the Rock
Aficionados of power pop may have first come into contact with the music of Jim Basnight when they listened to the first volume in Jordan Oakes’ now-legendary Yellow Pills compilations. But hey: that was a third of a century ago. What’s Basnight up to these days? The same kind of hooky, tuneful music that yielded “Rest Up” all those years ago. Like all of us, he’s gotten older and a bit mellower, but even if the song tempos aren’t all as frenetic as in the old days, his way with words and music is sharp as ever. An ace set.

The Junior League – The Moon Neither Noticed Nor Ignored
The album title might suggest something light and sophisticated. And while it’s certainly an intelligent set of tunes, this album rocks with the best of ‘em. The Junior League is really Joe Adragna with occasional side players, but the music has that hoped-for “band sound” that this style of music requires. Catchy alternarock with rock-solid melodic values is the order of the day. Adragna even works in some tasty ‘70’s textures: crunchy glamtastic riffs, breezy vocal harmonies, note-perfect Wurlitzer EP200 adornments. Shimmering guitars coexist with power chording tunes, and Adragna’s lyrics hold up to close inspection. A fine, fine set.

Anne Richmond Boston – I Should be Happy
Boston was (and is) the lead singer of criminally-overlooked Atlanta band the Swimming Pool Q’s. (I saw the great Q’s many times back in the ‘80s.) But she’s long since made a name for herself beyond the framework of that band. I Should Be Happy qualifies as a “long lost” album; it was recorded three decades ago, shelved for unknown reasons, only now getting a release. Her haunting, supple voice is out front in these supremely tuneful songs. And the songs are the thing. Composed variously by Boston, Clay Harper, idiosyncratic poet-musician David Greenberger and others, they’re a uniformly fine lot.

Dewa Budjana – PragueNayama
Budjana’s latest is classified as an EP rather than an album; its runtime of 29 minutes puts it right on the edge. But quality always wins out over quantity. This five-track instrumental record has plenty of quality. Budjana’s always enthralling guitar work is at the center of things, but here he’s backed up not by a band but by the Czech Symphony Orchestra. Budjana composed and orchestrated the set himself, and it’s filled with beauty and subtlety. Never overblown, the arrangements serve to highlight the guitar work while shining in their own right. A sublime meeting of electric and orchestral.

Steve Baskin and the Fourteens – I Sometimes Think (Better)
Baskin cut his debut album in 2006. I Sometimes Think (Better) is a modern-day re-realization of that record. Where the original was a one-man-band project, this record leverages the talents of his top-notch band, The Fourteens. It shows: the songs are presented with sympathetic arrangements that adorn without overpowering. Subtle vocal harmonies, instrumental fills and such make fine songs even better. Hints of everything from Americana to power pop inform the character of the emotionally-connecting songs, but at their core, they’re heartland rock of the tuneful variety. “Trip Begin” might be the best track, but it has plenty of competition.