Quick Hits, Vol. 192 (The Moondoggies, Brent Cobb, Leon Bridges, Middle Kids)

The Moondoggies - A Love Runs Deep.  Seattle band, and their bio says that they have one foot in grunge and one in a Pink Floyd/Crazy Horse Americana thang, but what I kept hearing during my listens was Heartbreakers.  The vocals aren't as strong as Petty, but the tunes kind of sound like a mellow Tom Petty jam.  I guess I do hear Floyd in some of these tunes as well, but I wouldn't give them the grunge label based on this album.  I think my favorite tune might be the 8-plus minute album closer "Underground ( A Love Sleeps Deep)," which is more jammy and meandering, but the top track (at only 44k streams) is "Cinders."

Live version, but you'll get the gist.  Also includes the next song on the album, "Match,"  which is also a good one.  I have no recollection of where I found this album or heard of these guys, but I really like this disc.  Its short, at only 8 songs and 44 minutes, but the jammy taste of classic Tom Petty b-sides is too much for me to ignore.  Moondoggies.

Brent Cobb - Providence Canyon.  I thought this guy was the same dude that does production for Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson, but it ends up that is this guy's cousin, Dave.  This guy came out of Georgia, but ended up in Nashville writing hits for other people (Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert), and now has created a damn good country sound of his own.  I say country, and this definitely has all of the trappings of country music, but it also leans pretty heavy on Americana and southern rock.  Got some tender tunes that evoke good memories ("Providence Canyon" or "Lorene" or "Come Home Soon," a lovely, soft-picked lament of being on the road) but then he goes rockin' on stuff like "Mornin's Gonna Come" and "If I Don't See Ya."  "King of Alabama" is the most streamed tune, by just 10k or so streams (over the album closer, "Ain't a Road Too Long," with 772k streams).  This one was the first single and I've been jamming it for a while.  782k streams.

Kinda funky, soul-flavored, southern rock stuff.  "High in the Country" is a nice tune as well, that evokes a memory of "Sweet Home Alabama" in the chorus each time.  And then the guitar at the start of "If I Don't See Ya" likewise sounds like a riff from an old Skynyrd song.  I enjoy it all.

Leon Bridges - Good Thing.  I love me some Leon Bridges.  The stone cold smoove groove of "Bad Bad News" is the soundtrack of the chillest me I can be.  Just try this on for size.

That snaking little bass line, those whispered hi hats, that sly little guitar lick: the intro to this song is super dope.  His vocals are silky, and then that guitar solo about a minute or so in - I know this is well trod stuff, a classic throwback to an old style of soul and R&B, but damn it sounds good.  Although that video was stressing me out...
His fly ass grooves like this one are what I want more of.  "If It Feels Good," the Anderson Paak-esque "You Don't Know," or even the slower groove of "Beyond" are where I want to be.  The slower ones are still beautiful, but I want that higher energy stuff.  That said, "Forgive You" is beautiful and longing.  His voice is so damn good.  Keep this one.

Middle Kids - Lost Friends.  I saw this band at SXSW a few years ago, and they're great.  Kind of an 80's vibe to the guitar-work, but then kind of a Florence & the Machine vibe to the vocals.  "Edge of Town" is a great song, and for sure their most popular at 18.4 million streams.

Kind of a Wolf Alice sound (and I freaking love Wolf Alice), got a deep groove and strong vocals to go along with some new wave guitar tones.  And the last bit, with the driving rave up, is also cool.  "Never Start" is also a great song.  Always kind of amazing to me, how one band toils away in anonymity while another breaks it big - without any good reason as to why one or the other appears to end up where it does.