A regular recap highlighting some of my favourite album releases each month. I don’t do “reviews” – this is simply a few words about the albums that appeal to me and about the artists releasing them. Tracks from these albums will have been featured on the Friday NI Rocks Shows over the past few months. This month we focus on new albums from Laguna, Ramonda, Joe Bonamassa and Honeymoon Suite.
LAGUNA – “The Ghost of Katrina” – Frontiers, 11th July
Mexican band Laguna released their debut album, “The Ghost of Katrina”, through Frontiers Music on 11th July. The track “Wildfire” featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 18th July.
Laguna formed in northern Mexico in 2018 and features Andrés Espada on vocals, José Mesta and Firio Verástegui on guitars, Danile Mesta on bass and Sergioa Mtz on drums.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lagunabandofficial/
*************************************************************************************
RAMONDA – “The Walls Are Crumbling Down” – Frontiers, 18th July
“The Walls Are Crumbling Down" is the debut solo album from Argentine singer Santiago Ramonda. It was released by Frontiers Music under the name Ramonda on 18th July. The title track was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on the same date and "Bad Girl" featured on 8th August.
Ramonda fronts the band Stormwarning which released its debut album through Frontiers in 2023. He was also involved in the “Steel Bars” tribute album to Michael Bolton in 2023. The other band members are Suraz Sun on guitar, Silvia Pistolesi on bass, Alessandro Del Vecchio on keyboards and guitar and Nicholas Papapicco on drums.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p/Santiago-Ramonda-100071818414966/
*******************************************************************************************
JOE BONAMASSA – “Breakthrough” – J&R Adventures, 18th July
Blues rock legend Joe Bonamassa released his seventeenth solo studio album “Breakthrough” on his own J&R Adventures label on 18th July. The track “Still Walking With Me” featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show in March and “Breakthrough” in May.
The album is produced by long-time musical accomplice Kevin Shirley.
Bonamassa formed his first band and opened for BB King at age 12. His debut album was released in 2000. Over the past 25 years he has released 17 solo albums, even more live albums and recordings with Black Country Communion, Beth Hart and other projects.
Website - https://jbonamassa.com/
****************************************************************
HONEYMOON SUITE – “Wake Me Up When The Sun Goes Down” – Frontiers, 25th July
Canadian band Honeymoon Suite released their ninth album, “Wake Me Up When The Sun Goes Down”, through Frontiers Music on 25th July. The track “Stay This Time” featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show in April, followed by “I Fly” in May and “Ever Leave You Lonely” on 4th July.
The band formed back in 1981 and released four albums between 1984 and 1991. It was another ten years before album number five and that was followed by two more in 2002 and 2008. The band continued to perform and an EP was released in 2017, but it was 2024 until their eighth album, “Alive” was released by Frontiers.
There have been several line up changes, but founding member singer Johnnie Dee has remained throughout and three members of the classic 80s lineup have returned – Derry Greham on guitar, Dave Betts on drums and Gary Lalonde on bass. They are joined by Peter Nunn on keyboards.
Website - https://www.honeymoonsuiteband.com/