DC August 16 New Release Recap

An eclectic mix of new music this week as we get the latest from "the dude" himself, Jeff Bridges, Azure Ray's Maria Taylor, the amazing John Martyn tribute album, New York's Americana stalwarts Ollabelle, Brit folkie Charlie Simpson, soulful psych/folk ensemble The Duke and the King, Portland-meet-Laurel-Canyon band The Parson Red Heads and Alabama's ultra-fine The Great Book of John. We've also got a DC-slanted listing of lots more music, too. Just click below:

Jeff Bridges - Jeff Bridges (Blue Note) - Yes, the dude certainly abides but he also sings, something that we learned unequivocally when Bridges took the role of aging country star Bad Blake in the acclaimed 2009 movie Crazy Heart...new project, produced by collaborator and Crazy Heart mainstay T-Bone Burnett (Raising Sand, O Brother), corrals most of the players and writers behind the soundtrack including "The Weary Kind" writer and performer Ryan Bingham and songwriters John Goodwin and the late, great Steven Bruton...more DC

Maria Taylor - Overlook (Saddle Creek) - A decade after the debut of indie dream/pop duo Azure Ray (with Orenda Fink), Alabama-bred singer/songwriter returns after a bout of writer's block (and last year's Azure Ray reunion album) with her fourth solo project..."terrific albums...that bleed with wistful beauty" says NPR...more DC

John Martyn - Johnny Boy Would Love This: A Tribute to John Martyn (Hole in the Rain) - Expansive 30-song tribute album to the mind-bending British folkie who passed away in 2009...four decades of pioneering acoustic music that incorporated "Echoplexed" psychedelica and jazz touches (see videos below) made Martyn an iconic, cult figure among critics, fans and his peers ...In the works for a few years, the project includes a number of notable participants including Beck, David Gray, Snow Patrol, Lisa Hannigan, Beth Orton, Robert Smith of the Cure, Phil Collins, Paolo Nutini and The Swell Season as well as a DVD and 40-page booklet...more DC

Ollabelle - Neon Blue Bird - It's been five eventful years for this rarified, acoustic roots/Americana band since 2006's Riverside Battle Song, a period of personal change, side projects and beginning a fresh DIY, label-less existence...new self-produced indie project includes five original tracks, two traditional songs arranged by the band, plus covers of Paul Kelly, Taj Mahal, Chris Whitley and an Ollabelle take on Stephen Foster's "Swanee River"...more DC

Charlie Simpson - Young Pilgrim (U.K.) - Brit singer/songwriter, on hiatus from the band Fightstar, turns to a more acoustic troubadour style on his debut solo album...produced by Danton Supple (Coldplay, Doves) and influenced by Simpson heroes like Elliot Smith and Jeff Buckley, the music deftly straddles introspective coffee-house musings (with a double shot of stunning harmonies) and brisk, buskery tunecraft reimagined for a larger stage...more DC

The Duke & The King - The Duke and the King (SilvaOak) - 2009 debut U.K. album Nothing Gold Can Stay from Simon Felice (ex Felice Brothers) and Robert Bird Burke had critics swooning, a folksy Americana jewel that drifted into more retro-soul domains on last year's follow up Long Live with the addition of Simi Stone and Nowell “The Deacon” Haskins...New collection -- the band's American debut, incredibly -- pulls tracks from the two albums ...more DC

The Parson Red Heads - Yearling - Infinitely more irenic than ironic, this eight-year-old Portland, OR band led by Evan Parsons (and wife Brette) is sort of a graceful, laid-back 70's Laurel Canyon version of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros...trimmed to a quartet and no longer dressed all in white (cool!) when on stage, the band's second project was produced by occasional band member Raymond Richards and mixed by the legendary Chris Stamey of The dB’s...more DC

The Great Book of John - The Great Book of John (Communicating Vessels) - Taylor Shaw, founding guitarist of the dearly departed Alabama band Wild Sweet Orange, is the creative captain behind the expanded sound of his band's ambitious sophomore release...the first line of a Hank Williams song gave this darkly spiritual band their moniker...more DC

Ana Popovic - Unconditional
Appetite - Scattered, Smothered
Botany - Feeling Today
Canon Blue (Daniel James/Efterklang) - Rumspringa
Case Studies - The World Is Just a Shape to Fill the Night
Cut Off Your Hands - Hollow
Eli Young Band - Life At Best
Fionn Regan - 100 Acres of Sycamore (U.K.)
Gold Leaves - The Ornament
Guy Clark - Songs and Stories
Hotel Lights - Girl Graffiti
Jason Reeves - The Lovesick
Jeff Bridges - Jeff Bridges DC
Jill Scott - From the Vault Vol. 1
Kelli Schaefer - Ghost of the Beast (CD)
Kris Delmhorst - Cars (Cars Covers Album)
Luke Temple - Don't Act Like You Don't Care
Luther Russell - The Invisible Audience
Marc Carroll - In Silence
Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon) - On Tour (DVD)
Mister Heavenly - Out of Love
O Brother Where Art Thou - Soundtrack (Deluxe)
Psychic Babble - My Brother's Ears...
Sam Brookes - S/T (U.K.)
Scotland Barr & The Slow Drags - We Will Be Forgotten
Sena Ehrhardt - Leave the Lights On
Sundress - S/T
The Bottle Rockets - Not So Loud/Acoustic
The Great Book of John - S/T
The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
Tori Sparks - Until Morning/Come Out of the Dark
Various - John Martyn Tribute Album DC