The best music in 2019

Steve Gunn- The Unseen in Between
Dream Syndicate- These Times

I have been enjoying Steven Wilson's Home Invasion and Chris Forsyth's All Times Present this week. Slaw hit the nail on the head with his description of Steven Wilson in a live environment. The recording quality is excellent as usual for a Wilson production. The Chris Forsyth album is terrific. Forsyth is a Philadelphia based guitar player who reminds me of Tom Verlaine from Television. I have several of his albums and they are all terrific. His songs tend to be instrumentals, although he will add vocals from time to time. If you like Jeff Beck type jams, you will enjoy Chris Forsyth. That being said, he is truly original and a great recent discovery for me.

Three recent purchases worth noting:
From Good Homes- Time and the River. This is their first new release in 30 years. From Good Homes is a great band from New Jersey that has been around the "jam" scene for a long time. The lead songwriter, Todd Shaeffer, left the band in the 90’s to form Railroad Earth which has a more bluegrass sound. FGH’s sounds like early Dave Matthews and this new album is pretty darn good. You can download via amazon or I purchased the cd from their website.
Kurt Vile- Bottle It In- More countrified psychedelic music from Mr. Vile. Clever lyrics, a cool vibe, and unique instrumentation combining the banjo, electric guitar, harp, and laid back vocals. Really original.
Strand of Oaks- Eraserland. The main guy in Strand of Oaks (Tim Showalter) backed by My Morning Jacket. If you like My Morning Jacket, you will love this.

Big Big Train's "Grand Tour' is really fine- especially if you like Genesis and Peter Gabriel. Interesting arrangements using horns, strings, synths, and electric guitar. Big Big Train is one of the most original bands out there right now.

I have gone old school this week. Peter Frampton's "All Blues", and the Who self titled. Both great.