Victoria Ginty & Ladyhawke - Unfinished Business
The funky groove of "Do Me Right" opens this album and the Los Angeles Music Critics have certainly done Ginty right; they nominated her for "Best Blues Artist 2018," partially based on the song having hit #1 on the RMR National Contemporary Blues Chart. Fans will likely be doling out plenty of accolades of their own after giving Unfinished Business a spin and being mesmerized by the slow simmering sensuality of "Every Night, Every Day," floating with the southern soul of "Hard to Move On" and sitting solemnly (at first) during "Take Me Down," a cut that begins as a sparse and chilling spiritual but that eventually bursts into a joyful slice of R&B that nicely represents a post-baptismal rush.

Dana Fuchs - Love Lives On
On first listen to Fuchs' cover of the Otis Redding chestnut "Nobody's Fault but Mine" you're going to swear that you're hearing a long-lost Janis Joplin cut. Fuchs has an earthy and occasionally gravelly quality to her vocals that often recall the late Joplin, and the swaggering R&B format that Fuchs works in here is also in line with Janis's style. Most of the cuts here were co-written by Fuchs and her guitarist Jon Diamond (the pair also produce the effort) and recorded in Memphis and the set has that city's distinct flavor, whether a weepy cut like the title track or a sax-enhanced dance groove like "Sedative." Fuchs closes the effort with her take on the oft-covered "Ring of Fire," slowing down the Johnny Cash classic and showing that she's equally at home working in the Americana genre.