Welcome to Seven in Seven, where each week we typically take a look at shows coming to the region over the next week. And while venue doors are slowly opening again, due to the current pandemic they aren’t quite there yet. That doesn’t mean the music stops, and new releases are coming out weekly from artists you know and love and some waiting to be discovered. Each week we’ll be looking at some of the best hitting shelves and streaming services and a can’t miss show in the region.
Whether your musical tastes are rock and roll, jazz, heavy metal, R&B, singer-songwriter or indie, there’ll always be something to check out. Here’s what’s on the docket for the week of December 3:
Show of the week
Julian Lage — Johnny Brenda’s — Dec. 7
Guitar virtuoso Julian Lage brings his trio to Johnny Brenda’s on Tuesday in support of his latest LP, “Squint,” a striking full-length that weds incisive, expressive songwriting with profound musical interplay. The record is his first for the legendary label Blue Note, one known for its embracing of instrumental instrumentation, and a place where Lage fits in perfectly. For this current run, he’ll be joined by bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Kenny Wollesen on this run, and attendees can expect a night of jazz alongside inflections of Americana, indie rock, folk, swing and blues.
New releases
Moonspell — “Darkness and Hope (20th Anniversary)”
Originally released on Aug. 27, 2001, and celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Moonspell’s fifth album, “Darkness and Hope,” caught the band in a strange crossroad upon its debut. Their first four records saw them skyrocketing from Portugal into Gothic metal stardom, yet their almost violent musical swings left a lot of their fans confused and unaware of what to expect next. Nonetheless, “Darkness and Hope” was the ticket for many followers of the band to join on a monumental journey with the Portuguese outfit.
Eva Cassidy — “Live at Blues Alley”
The only solo album released during the late singer Eva Cassidy’s short lifetime, Live at Blues Alley is now available as a specially remastered 25th anniversary edition on CD and digital formats as well as a 180gram 45rpm double LP set created to fully showcase the recordings’ phenomenal sound. This will mark the recording’s first appearance on vinyl. Cassidy’s now legendary concert at Washington, D.C.’s, Blues Alley nightclub on Jan. 3, 1996, was in some ways a happy accident. Although she had spent years in the studio with producer Chris Biondo creating an eclectic body of work, the pair decided that a live album was the quickest way to achieve their immediate goal of creating a CD to sell at live shows. It was released that summer, has since become known the world over, and is the cornerstone of a posthumous career.
Manimal — “Armageddon”
Swedish power metallers Manimal return with their fourth official album, “Armageddon.” As expected of a band that claims Judas Priest, King Diamond and Queensrÿche as major influences on their sound since day one, the new record is a high-energy, in-your-face salute to the music that inspired the formation of the unit some 20 years ago. From the aptly titled lead-off single “Forged in Metal” to the scorching album opener “Burn in Hell” and the crushing anthem “Chains of Fury,” “Armageddon” showcases Manimal as a band unafraid to unleash their own brand of power metal on the world.
Feral Vices — “With Offerings” EP
Created by accident after the crumbling of two different bands, friends Alexander Hoagland on guitar and vocals and drummer Justin Cottner had a newfound vigor and drive with Feral Vices. The pair had a simple goal of making music that the two of them would want to listen to, allowing them the freedom to let it be whatever they wanted it to be, resulting in a comfortable place in the conversation of other two-piece bands like Royal Blood and Death From Above 1979 while bringing in influences not found in those bands like the Jesus Lizard and Refused. The new EP “With Offerings” is the latest, ahem, “offering” from the Louisville, Ken., alternative rock duo and provides plenty headbanging riffs and singalong melodies.
Acid Tongue — “Arboretum”
The new LP from Seattle-based Acid Tongue, “Arboretum,” is part glam-rock opus, part mixtape and marks a significant step forward for a band well-versed in straddling the line between psychedelia and power-pop. The laundry list of talent on the LP includes Los Angeles psych-garage staples Death Valley Girls on the hard rocking “Take Me to Your Leader,” Canadian singer-songwriter Calvin Love on the disco anthem “All Out of Time,” Seattle freak-rockers Naked Giants on the introspective “Won’t Walk Back” and many, many more.
Aquilus — “Bellum I”
Enigmatic, atmospheric Australian metal band Aquilus became one of the most whispered-about secrets in the metal world, following the quiet release of their debut album “Griseus” in 2011 and a popular vinyl release of the LP two years later. The past 10 years have seen the band intent on developing an epic, sophomore masterwork. The opus grew so furiously, the decision was made to split the work into two parts, culminating with this year’s release of the first album, “Bellum I,” a rare amalgam of authentic classical, European folk and black metal influences, alongside Aquilus’s unique multi-instrumentation and compositional complexity.
Soundcheck
Julian Lage: “Familiar Flower”Moonspell: “Nocturna”Eva Cassidy: “Honeysuckle Rose”Manimal: “Forged in Metal”Feral Vices: “Lay Down”Acid Tongue: “Take Me to Your Leader”Aquilus: “Eternal Unrest”
