Album Outlook in 2024

Six Richmond-affiliated artists (and a label) with new music on the way this year.

The coming year will undoubtedly have its twists and turns. But there’s comfort in knowing that the annual calendar swap-out clears the way for a fresh crop of albums to emerge from Richmond’s vibrant music scene. Though the majority of those have yet to be announced — some are as yet a twinkle in their creators’ eyes! — Style Weekly has its eye on six albums and one label, all looking to make waves in 2024.

DJ Harrison: “Shades of Yesterday” (Friday, Feb. 9)

Last year was a busy one for jazz-fusion band Butcher Brown. A debut at the Newport Jazz Festival. A new album backed by the Concord Jazz label. A European tour. And don’t forget that the ensemble kicked 2023 off with a January performance backed by the Richmond Symphony. Keyboardist Devonne Harris, also known as DJ Harrison, is starting strong in 2024 as well with the announcement of a solo album titled “Shades of Yesterday,” due out Friday, Feb. 9 on Stones Throw Records. Harris set his sights on covers this time around, delivering 11 new versions of songs that embody childhood memories, from Donald Fagen’s “IGY” to “Lil Birdie,” a track penned by Vince Guaraldi for “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” Add in some Beatles, Stevie Wonder and a whole lot of Harris’ own interpretive instincts — he played nearly every instrument on the album — and you have a great way to start your year.  For more information, visit stonesthrow.com.

Editor’s note: Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist DJ Harrison will be joined by Style Weekly music writer Peter McElhinney for the next Legends on Grace on Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. at Mooney Hall in Dominion Energy Center. Tickets are on sale now here

 

DJ Williams: “By Way of RVA” (Friday, March 1)

DJ Williams may no longer reside in Richmond, but the frequency of the Denver-based guitarist’s homecoming gigs and his perpetual emeritus status among this city’s funk upper echelon keep him on the Richmond radar. And we’re clearly still on his, judging by the title of his next album, “By Way of RVA,” which will be released the first day of March. The first single, “Mr. Nobody,” has already landed, complete with a video created in collaboration with animator Fyhan Hossain. The album was entirely self-produced and performed, and it marks an exciting new beginning for Williams, who is launching a label called Projekt Records with “By Way of RVA” as the first item in its catalog. Regardless of how he titles his music, Williams will always be a somebody to Richmond’s music community. For more information, visit djwilliamsmusic.com.

Outer World: “Who Does the Music Love?” (Friday, March 22)

For many vinyl enthusiasts in Richmond and beyond, deep-diving into the record collection of Outer World songwriting team, Kenneth Close and Tracy Wilson, would be a dream come true. The former members of indie rock band, Positive No, have set an eclectic course with their newest project, which touches the farthest reaches of their vast constellation of musical reference points, from post punk and cosmic jazz to synth-driven space age stylings and Brazilian psych. But the music isn’t just stretching outward; it’s also the product of an inward search for a vocal approach that works within the boundaries provided to singer Tracy Wilson — known for ferocious vocals in earlier groups like Dahlia Seed — by COVID-19, which began settling into her lungs in February 2020. The full album is titled “Who Does the Music Love?” and it drops on Friday, March 22, but lead single “Forms of Knowing” has already appeared like a North Star pointing the way to this vivid sector of sonic space. For more information, visit outerworldmusic.bandcamp.com.

Timothy Bailey & the Humans: “New Love Stories” (early May)

The stunning 2022 self-titled LP from Timothy Bailey & The Humans was a lifetime in the making, given the moments from Bailey’s journey that it drew on and the many interruptions that prevented Bailey from pulling those pieces together earlier. So where does one turn after an artistic achievement like that? Love. That’s the theme of “New Love Stories,” the album Bailey’s group will be releasing in early May, though Bailey has outlined a broader vision of love than just couples’ affection. On his Substack, the singer noted that the album “uses love not just in a romantic way (though it does that too), but as a metonym for human connection in all its forms.” Keep an eye on that Substack feed; Bailey’s post mentions weekly dispatches, previews, behind-the-scenes peeks, giveaways and conversation topics, all setting the stage for the arrival of “New Love Stories.” For more information, visit timothybaileyandthehumans.com.

Analog Suspects (TBD)

Rapper Noah-O and producer DJ Mentos have repeatedly proven their individual proficiency over the course of the last decade, from the former’s epic run of “Deadstock” releases near the start of the pandemic to the latter’s series of compiled beats, “The Maxell Tapes.” But something particularly powerful clicks into place when they join forces. Their 2019 album as Analog Suspects, “Transmission 001,” provided nearly an hour of boom-bap bliss, and it appears that the wait for another transmission is nearing its end. Details started trickling out earlier this month about a Suspects-affiliated event titled “Ripple Effect” taking place at Black Iris Social Club on Saturday, Jan. 27. Its said to include an art exhibition, DJ sets and a performance by the dynamic duo of Noah and Mentos with special guests — all under the banner of Analog Suspects’ well-established balaclava branding. If you enjoy hip-hop as crisp as this winter’s polar vortex, “The Ripple Effect” is a can’t-miss event. For more information, visit noah-o.com.

Hotspit (TBD)

Good things happen when Hotspit heads to Asheville, N.C. The mountain haven has become the Richmond-based rock band’s favored destination for recording, thanks to Drop of Sun, the studio operated by producer Alex Farrar. Case in point: That partnership yielded a Richmond region radio mainstay, “Cave Dweller,” which has been a favored spin of WNRN’s since the song’s debut as a single in 2022 and subsequent inclusion on 2023’s “Memory of a Mirror Image” EP. Those eager for more of that crunchy catharsis are in luck, as Hotspit has been back in Asheville recording with the intent of releasing an album sometime in 2024. Given their prior success together, and given Farrar’s current winning streak working alongside acts like Wednesday, Snail Mail and Indigo De Souza, it’s not hard to imagine more Hotspit tunes turning into repeat listening over Richmond’s airwaves. For more information, visit hotspit.bandcamp.com.

Vocal Rest Records (TBD)

Vocal Rest Records also came out of the gate strong in 2024. On Friday, Jan. 12, the Richmond roots-based label released “Golden Country, Volume 1,” the product of the lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry between songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist Justin Golden and the label’s versatile Swampers-style house band, Devil’s Coattails. But that’s just the beginning. Be on the lookout for the second full-length album from folk outfit, The Great Beforetimes, whose late-2023 single “Slime Mold” painted a vivid picture of the accumulation of life experience. We’re also projected to hear a debut album from the Crooked Creek Misfits, the string band that brings together Vocal Rest founder Trey Burnart Hall, Devil’s Coattails bassist Chris Gatens and Ærn, the voice you hear singing lead on The Great Beforetimes’ “Slime Mold.” That’s one the joys of following Vocal Rest Records: It’s all connected. For more information, visit vocalrestrecords.com.

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