Thursday morning highlights:
KEPC (Colorado Springs, CO)
- Starlight-Cannons (This January release is familiar yet fresh dream pop. Its endearing lyrics are about finding "the one" despite putting up barriers.)
- Planting Tomatoes-Lucy Dacus (This track, released in April, is a sobering reminder to appreciate the people in our lives and what's around us, with a dash of "Pleasant Valley Sunday"-style observations.)
KRCL (Salt Lake City, UT)
- If I Called You-Kendra Morris (This is from 2025, but the vocals and guitar underpinning could pass for '70s throwbacks. It's one of the catchier earworms I've heard recently.)
KKYX (San Antonio, TX)
- Smoky Mountain Rain-Ronnie Milsap (Glen Campbell could have recorded a solid cover of this.)
- Angel Of The Morning-Juice Newton (Newton's cover version captures the spirit of the 1968 hit by Merrillee Rush & The Turnabouts. Both versions deserve more airplay these days.)
WSLR (Sarasota, FL)
- Last Train To Skaville-Jackie Mittoo And The Soul Brothers (Impressive saxophone playing in conjunction with train sound effects.)
- Bacoa-Martin Denny (A sinister-sounding yet intriguing instrumental. This is jazzy easy listening with an edge. Conceivably, it could underscore footage of a lunatic steering a gondola into a cave.)
WVSS (Menomonie, WI)
- Libby Larsen: Deep Summer Music (Colorado Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop, conductor) (Learning that this piece was harvest-inspired primed me to like it, as that means pastoral-sounding strings, winds, and brass.)
WWOZ (New Orleans, LA)
- Paradox-Sonny Rollins (I'm glad that WWOZ's tribute to jazz saxophone giant Rollins included this skillful blend of straight ahead jazz and Latin influences. I was also pleased that the station honored his memory with my favorite melody of his, "St. Thomas.")
