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Coisas Naturais – Marina Sena

I have a weakness for Latin music. Brazilian artist Marina Sena’s latest album satisfies my thirst in more ways than one. She plays with the genre, steals from pop, rock, reggae, and still makes it all sounds – yes, Latin.

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Forward – The Swell Season

In 2008, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová played a musical duo in an Irish film you may have watched, Once. They won an an Oscar for one of the songs from the movie, and made a career of playing concerts, capitalizing on the success of the movie for many years. Now the duo has released a new album, their first in sixteen years. It is as gentle and tender as the albums and film music that brought them to fame.

It’s like I never left – Nectar Woode

Nectar Woode has a background from both the UK and Ghana. She went back to her father’s homeland and came back inspired and produced It’s Like I Never Left. Her EP is a lovely mix of soft jazz and soul, drawing comparisons to favourites like Lauren Hill, Corinne Bailey Rae, Amy Winehous and last month’s classic, Minnie Riperton.

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Liefde Voor Muziek 2025 – Hooverphonic

Hooverphonic needs tons of more attention and focus outside of their native Belgium. A truly classic pop and rock band, with an impressive 30 year history behind it. This album is from a recent live concert, and a new album is supposedly in its way. I have also added their exceptional song from the Eurovision Song Contest that never happened in 2020, Release Me, that should and could have won if we had escaped the pandemic…

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Moisturizer – Wet Leg

The girl band achieved tremendous success with their debut album with their feisty, punk rock album, ironic and irreverant. The same confidence is there on their second attempt. A creative and fun album that is bound to wake you up.

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Paris Amour – Keren Ann

Keren Ann is a Dutch-Israeli singer-songwriter. Her new EP includes a lovely homage to Paris, and all the tracks are in French this time. If Wet Leg woke you up, Keren Ann will calm you down.

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Pepper Tree Hill – The Boxmasters

«Pepper Tree Hill,» is a collection of songs that takes me back to the 60s and 70s. Billy Bob Thornton is the lead singer of The Boxmasters, the very same that you probably know from the movie screens. The album features guest appearances, including trumpetist Herb Albert. Get up and dance. It’s that kind of album.

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SCORPIO – Madison McFerrin

Bobby McFerrin’s (Don’t Worry Be Happy) daughter Madison is out with her second album, a true show of strength, a bold and confident album showing off her fantastic vocal capacity. This is one of the most unique releases so far this year, a mix of so many genres and still distinct and unimitable.

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The Secret of Life: Partners, Vol. 2 – Barbra Streisand

I don’t think Barbra Streisand would like to be called grand old lady, but in a way we have to accept that she has been with us for a very long time. And she hasn’t lost it. It. Her voice is still as vibrant as before. Still, she doesn’t show off, even when performing with Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande. She doesn’t have to. I love the fact that many of the tracks are unknown songs. I wish all of them would have been, though, but I still enjoy Fragile with Sting and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face with Hozier…

Think They’re Looking, Let’s Perform – Girl Group

Five girls who have attended LIPA in Liverpool, four Norwegians and one from Yorkshire, have managed to excite even Elton John with their irreverant first album. They have excited me, too, with their hilarious and stinging humour, while still giving us a great pop album. We are definitely not witnessing a new Spice Girls, but who knows what kind of success they might achieve. This is a great start.

What Ties Us Together, Will Keep Us Apart – Kira Skov

I’m normally a bit bored by soundtrack albums, but Danish singer-songwriter Kira Skov has created a truly different one, accompanying the brilliant TV series, Generationer from DR. This album stands on its own two feet (if you can say that about an album). The songs are personal and clearly related to the themes of Generationer, about families and their secrets, about hidden emotions and difficult relations, while at the same time offering well-crafted songs.

My single list this month is extensive, like a tasting menu. Hopefully many of them will evolve into albums that I can share with you later this Autumn. But for now, enjoy new tracks from old and new favourites, covering a full landscape of genres. You’ll find all the singels in the August list – or you can listen to the songs individually below.

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Doctor Hook – Dr.Hook

I grew to love this crazy album when it came out in 1971. So unpolished, sounded like it was recorded at a wild party. Which was not far from the truth: Dr. Hook was at first a bar band, and it was only after pairing up with writer and humourist Shel Silverstein that they became a worldwide success. I was lucky enough to meet them as a reporter many years later, and they hadn’t lost the touch, it was one of the most entertaining interviews I have ever done. Sylvia’s Mother became their first superhit, deservedly so.

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A World of Our Own – The Seekers

The folk band The Seekers made it (almost) to the top in 1965. They had enjoyed success before with true and honest folk music, but when they fanned out and included contemporary songs, like many of Bob Dylan’s songs, their popularity soared. I find it a bit strange to listen to the polished versions of hard-hitting protest songs and truly American songs like This Land Is Your Land, but I have grown to like it. Still, The Seekers are at their best when they do Four Strong Winds and the title track, A World of Our Own.