My friend Andreas posted a notem of numerous artists' work that he knew I'd love based on our discussions and music I'd shared with him. This notem is a continuation of that conversation.

 

To me, music can always best be appreciated when I’m driving alone and can crank it up. I’m not taking time away from some other activity, because I’m already engaged in one with my eyes, hands, and feet, possibly for a long time.

 

I love tasteful guitar-based hard rock and Andreas has observed that most of what I like traces to blues by one route or another: we bonded over our love for Robin Trower’s playing years ago. One could make the case that the blues came to him through Jimi Hendrix. Perhaps more than Andreas, I like a lot of his new work as much as the old: Songs such as

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdRBFEZqDKY

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYfxID98sHc

 

and

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6smx3_uofE&list=RDS6smx3_uofE&start_radio=1

 

demonstrate that creativity has no age limit. They’re all fresh and unique. Nobody else sounds like this. It’s all beautiful work from someone who could probably have retired on royalties from “Bridge of Sighs” fifty years ago. He’s very knowledgeably playing the effects as much as the guitar, of course, getting so many different sounds. All my favorite rock guitarists do.

 

For the road, and especially in Texas, where it feels so appropriate, I love listening Johnny Winter and ZZ Top. I’ll save Johnny Winter for another notem, but as in the case of Mr. Trower, I really enjoy ZZ Top’s newer work, such as

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pTbG_ctUlU

 

and

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Luh7yIl-3I8

 

off 2012’s  La Futura. Guitarist Billy Gibbons has produced some great solo work in recent years as well. I’m particularly fond of

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ4IYVSEH3U

 

off 2018’s Big Bad Blues.

 

It was upon learning that Mr. Gibbons had a newer solo album out called “Hardware” and listening to it that I saw he had someone called Larkin Poe—or at least part of the band—as guests on one of the cuts. Who’s this Larkin Poe?, I wondered. I ran them first on YouTube and later on AmazonMusic and was extremely impressed!

 

Two women—sisters, in fact—playing guitars front the band, one with an interesting, standing slide guitar that she plays like a pedal steel. A male bassist and drummer complete the sound. Many of the tunes have a distinctly Southern flavor, but not all.

 

The first tune I encountered on YouTube was

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBNEMtFgk08

 

Yeah, I’m in! Continuing to explore, I struck more rock gold. Can’t not love these:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piVl2FI4gHA

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyzNll4qhPc

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDUvGEltjbs

 

I’d think this one was PJ Harvey if I just heard it and didn’t know:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbINTroYmFk&list=RDwbINTroYmFk&start_radio=1

 

Larkin Poe is definitely my favorite “new” band and I’m only scratching the surface of their work. Many older rock fans say there’s no new good work out there, but that’s clearly nonsense. In upcoming notems I'll share more great new work. Thanks for viewing.