BY: DIGITAL WAX MEDIA STAFF

 

With February finally upon us, so too is an assortment of exciting new tunes in which we can sink our collective teeth. From guitar-driven rock & roll to somber ballads and instrumental jazz, we’re provided an exceptional variety for this week’s FRESH WAX RECAP.

 

 

 

BENMONT TENCH – “THE MELANCHOLY SEASON”

 

 

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench dropped an immense announcement on fans Wednesday. Revealing a brand new original song and accompanying music video for his latest single “The Melancholy Season,” the legendary musician also announced a full-length solo LP set to be released in March – the second solo offering of the veteran musician’s career following 2014’s You Should Be So Lucky, released on Blue Note Records.

 

The upcoming album, also titled The Melancholy Season, was produced by Jonathan Wilson and will be released through George Harrison’s Dark Horse Records imprint. As if these developments weren’t reason enough for excitement from fans, Tench also revealed that he will be embarking upon a tour in support of the album which, as of the time of writing, will extend into April.

 

 

 

OKONSKI – “DAHLIA” 

 

 

Instrumental jazz outfit Okonski this week rolled out their second single in support of their upcoming sophomore record. The latest track from the group, “Dahlia” explores the rhythmic dynamics of the group, and comes on the heels of the recently released “October.”

 

The single serves as a continuation of the ongoing rollout for the band’s highly anticipated second LP Entrance Music, due out on the 28th of this month. The album will follow 2023’s critically lauded Magnolias.

 

 

 

THE SCARLET GOODBYE – “RAYLENE”

 

 

 

The Scarlet Goodbye released their third single from the upcoming full-length album, El Camino Adios on Friday. “Raylene” is a poignant number that deals in heavy subject matter and the types of existential questions that keep us all up at night at one point or another, despite the lack of answers to be found with regard to said questions.

 

With an ethereal lift provided by way of an assist from members of the See Change Treble Choir, “Raylene” transcends the realm of simple pop music, speaking to a universal uncertainty within all of us. The Scarlet Goodby continue to set the stage in meticulously impressive fashion for the release of their long-awaited sophomore effort.

 

 

 

GA-20 – “I LOVE YOU, I NEED YOU”

 

 

Three-piece blues unit G-20 came through this week with a brand new spin on Lazy Lester’s classic tune, “I Love You, I Need You.” Through the production and recording is crisp and pristine, these guys clearly have done their homework with regard to the source material, and this new take acts as an exceptional homage to the original.

 

The guys also recently released a similarly commendable version of Billy Boy Arnold’s “Cryin & Pleadin.” The pair of singles have given listeners a feel for what to expect from the band’s upcoming EP project, GA-20 EP Volume 2.

 

 

 

DYAN – MIDWEST

 

 

Singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, Dyan released her second album Midwest on Friday. The record brings a fascinating synthesis of genre elements, comprising the respective worlds of synth-pop, indie, and electronic music with a compositional sensibility that makes it an indubitably unique musical journey.

The album serves as the follow-up to 2016’s Looking for Knives and is currently available for streaming on all major platforms.

 

 

 

OVERHAUL – “WHOOP IT UP”

 

 

Scottish rock outfit OVERHAUL served up a healthy helping of screaming guitars and pounding drums in the form of the three-piece’s new single, “Whoop It Up.” Written by Andy Gallagher and Close Enemies’ Trace Foster, the track features JACKYL axe-slinger Jeff Worley for what proves to be a searing guitar solo contribution.

 

”Whoop It Up” is spearheading a full album rollout for the band, which will include the release of a second single, “Happy Little Rocker” featuring Dan Murphy of The Scarlet Goodbye next month. The single will hit the airwaves on March 7, 2025, and is likely to become the subject of  an early March FRESH WAX RECAP in its own right.

 

 

 

THE SURE FIRE SOUL ENSEMBLE – “LAS OLAS” MUSIC VIDEO

 

 

California’s The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble followed up on their most recent studio offering – 2022’s Step Down – with a breezy new single in “Las Olas” to provide a taste for the group’s recently announced LP, Gemini. The single has now found a companion in an accompanying music video released by the band on Wednesday, which features an in-studio document of the ensemble performing the fantastic new track.

 

Gemini is scheduled to be released on March 14, 2025.

 

 

THE WEEKND – HURRY UP TOMORROW

 

 

R&B/pop sensation Abel Tesfaye – known professionally as The Weeknd – has quietly become one of the most reliable and successful hitmakers in the larger world of popular music. The crooners latest LP, Hurry Up Tomorrow offers up the most recent stylistic slant on a subgenre specific to The Weeknd referred by some as “haunted strip club music” – their words, not mine.

 

Hurry Up Tomorrow acts as the latest entry into what has been marketed as a conceptually developing series of releases leading up to a potential “death” of The Weeknd himself. Whether such morbid implications are made in reference to the artistic persona of The Weeknd or to the musical career of the man behind the moniker remains to be seen, but as listeners we all have the good fortune of hearing the process of arrival at whatever specifically is being referenced here.