a corker<\/a>. They\u2019re back now with this R-rated-titled collection of 13 songs, and the quality hasn\u2019t flagged. The band\u2019s deft mix of quirkiness and sterling melodic pop values serves them well. Clever lyrics that won\u2019t insult the listener\u2019s intelligence are part of Too Much Joy\u2019s winning mix, and they deliver here; a wide range of emotions are explored. The band can jangle one minute, roar like Bob Mould the next, and back again.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/well_wishers_bss.jpg\")
The Well Wishers \u2013 Blue Sky Sun<\/i><\/b>
\nThe prolific Jeff Shelton is back for album #12 as The Well Wishers. His brand of hypermelodic rock is guaranteed to please those who appreciate sharp hooks and energetic, riffy powerpop. Shelton\u2019s uncluttered and straightforward approach to arrangement places the songs in their best possible light. The guitars roar but never overwhelm the vocals. In recent years Shelton has expanded his catalog to encompass shoegaze and airy dream-pop (with excellent results, it should be noted), but powerpop is where he\u2019s most at home. And that point is underscored by the consistently enjoyable Blue Sky Sun<\/i>. Pick it up and dig.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mud_morganfield.jpg\")
Mud Morganfield \u2013 Portrait<\/i><\/b>
\nIf the name seems familiar, you\u2019re on the right track Mud is the son of one McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters. Morganifield carries on the legacy of the revered blues giant with his own work; his debut Fall Waters Fall<\/i> was released in 2008. Portrait<\/i> is a pleasingly varied set, with gospel-blues (\u201cPraise Him\u201d), vintage Chicago-style rollicking blues (\u201cShort Dressed Woman\u201d) and more. \u201cPraise Him\u201d is a brand new recording (with Mud on bass); all but one of the remaining tracks appeared previously as 2012\u2019s Son of the Seventh Son<\/i>, but remixing has improved them quite a bit.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/robeone.jpg\")
Robeone \u2013 Dream Suite<\/i><\/b>
\nRobeone is Robert Evan Schindler. All you\u2019ll hear on Dream Suite<\/i> is keyboards; lots and lots and lots<\/i> of keyboards. Schindler is a gifted composer with a great sense of tone color; his use of myriad and countless synthesizer textures gives the six instrumental pieces variety, interest and heft. The centerpiece of the album is its title track, a twenty-plus minute work that (perhaps predictably) develops across multiple movements, each with its own distinct character. Some of the sounds are dated in a quirky, Moogtastic kind of way, but that\u2019s surely by design. Dream Suite<\/i> is a splendid aural experience.<\/p>\n
More to come!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s been ages since I did one of these, and since my backlog has got out of hand, it\u2019s time. As ever, each of these merits deeper discussion, investigation, discussion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,9,19,40,49,55,56,62,65],"tags":[3770,5075,5076,4498,2356],"class_list":["post-24799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alt-country","category-blues","category-compilation","category-instrumental","category-new-release","category-powerpop","category-prog","category-rawk","category-review","tag-empire-of-light","tag-mud-morganfield","tag-robeone","tag-too-much-joy","tag-well-wishers","cat-4-id","cat-9-id","cat-19-id","cat-40-id","cat-49-id","cat-55-id","cat-56-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24799"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24993,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24799\/revisions\/24993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/empire_of_light_care.jpg\")
Empire of Light \u2013 I Don\u2019t Care Anymore<\/i><\/b>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/too_much_joy_feleings.jpg\")
Too Much Joy \u2013 All These Fucking Feelings<\/i><\/b>