The July edition of “The Soundcheck” celebrates the concept of summer through different emotions and experiences—love, authenticity, remembrance, nostalgia and connection. It’s time to think about “Your New Favorite Lover” while you “Stay Behind The Wheel” and later arrive at your destination and receive a warm greeting of Welcome to Pookie’s. There’s also a need to reflect on the life and love of “Willow” and remember what’s For Debbie.

Strange Heart, “Your New Favorite Lover”

Since releasing their sophomore album Falling Back Again in October, Detroit’s Strange Heart returns with a soulful new R&B single, “Your New Favorite Lover,” as well as a companion studio video and an official lyric video.

Rhythmic drums, gleaming electric guitar, humming bass and romantic piano wrap listeners in a heated embrace alongside frontman Josh Clemens’ fervent vocals.

He sings, “Ooooh I’m not trying to hide / What you see is what you get / Now you’re the owner of this wreck / Honestly, what did you expect of me / You only get the best of me / You’re begging for the rest of me / Honey, you’re not ready, but come and get it now.”

The track’s infectious, sensual groove is guaranteed to captivate new and current Strange Heart fans. Drummer Bobby Jankowski, bassist-vocalist Mike Schneider, lead guitar-vocalist Mike Leslie and Clemens have won me over, and I know they’ll delight you as well.

Strange Heart also blazes on stage with an eight-piece band (complete with horns), so check them out July 20 at The Whitney in Detroit and July 22 at Eastern Palace Club in Hazel Park.

Erin Zindle & The Ragbirds, “Stay Behind The Wheel” and “Refresh My Memory”

Erin Zindle & Carolyn Striho, “The Bridge”

Ann Arbor’s Erin Zindle & The Ragbirds land in the driver’s seat on their trip-tastic new single, “Stay Behind The Wheel.”

Turbocharged electric guitar, driving drums, cruising bass and upbeat fiddle empower listeners to take charge of their lives while Zindle sings, “You’ve been a passenger too long / Your trusted driver steered you wrong / So when you’re ready to take back control / There’s a way to anywhere you want to go.”

“Stay Behind The Wheel” is the third single in a series of new tracks released by the band every full moon (and three special releases that fall between moons). Frontwoman Zindle (vocals, fiddle), brother TJ Zindle (guitar), Shannon Wade (bass) and Loren Kranz (drums) are eagerly prepping fans for a new album in 2024.

Erin Zindle & The Ragbirds also leave an indelible impression on their down-tempo, alt-country single, “Refresh My Memory.” Sparkling piano, steady drums, crashing cymbals, thoughtful electric guitar and soft bass elicit wistful nostalgia and heartfelt longing for a lost love.

Zindle sings, “These little triggers – a funny word, a subtle shift of wind / Sends me swirling around the spiral of your memory again / I was brave enough to let love go / But my strong heart has a mind of its own.”

In June, Zindle dropped the folky, stripped-down single, “The Bridge,” with Detroit singer-songwriter Carolyn Striho. The track shares an inspiring story of finding the courage to leave the past behind and start anew.

Contemplative fiddle and hopeful piano seamlessly connect the duo’s lush vocals as Zindle sings, “When I find myself / I’ll be the only witness / To the strength and power / Of my wild soul’s fitness.” In return, Striho sings, “All the bones and muscles / Of my heart are broken / But I made it here to the shore.”

“Erin is such a strong writer, and we used poetry together to create ‘The Bridge’ and encourage each other to encourage ourselves,” said Striho in a May 26 interview with the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

Zindle and Striho will celebrate the release of “The Bridge” with a July 7 live show at The Rumpus Room in Chelsea.

Letrick Olson, “Willow”

It’s impossible not to cry while listening to Letrick Olson’s heart-wrenching ballad, “Willow,” which pays tribute to Aaron Letrick’s late girlfriend of the same name.

After losing Willow Rose to a drunk driver on March 27, 2022, Letrick composed the cathartic alt-rock track to process his grief and remember his “perfectly imperfect Rose with the hazel green eyes.”

Surrounded by somber piano, wailing electric guitar, forlorn bass and pensive drums, Letrick sings, “You taught me patience / I brought you peace / I’m better with you in my life / Will you watch over me.”

Produced by Chuck Alkazian and recorded at Pearl Sound Studios, the track is the second single from Letrick and the Detroit-based band, which features guitarist Kenny Olson, keyboardist Jimmie Bones, bassist Kevin Chown and drummer Jason Hartless. In 2020, they dropped their first single, a timeless rendition of Led Zeppelin’s 1969 ballad, “Thank You,” from Led Zeppelin II.

Letrick Olson also released a stirring video for “Willow,” which features Letrick playing the piano and singing on a tranquil shoreline alongside Olson. The video premiered at the Detroit Music Awards in the spring and has received nearly 15,000 views on YouTube.

Steven Foster, Welcome to Pookie’s

St. Clair Shores’ Steven Foster creates a whimsical trip to the past on his new psych-rock concept EP Welcome to Pookie’s.

The multi-genre producer pays homage to his childhood and shows appreciation for children’s TV shows from the late 1960s to the 1980s, including H.R. Pufunstuf, The Great Space Coaster and The Muppet Show, on his solo debut. The EP’s title comes from a “Pookie’s Playhouse” sign that hangs outside another house in Foster’s neighborhood.

Welcome to Pookie’s revisits the joys, simplicities and struggles of our youth through the lens of an adult. The title track resembles a children’s TV show theme in a polka style akin to “Weird Al” Yankovic and invites listeners into a nostalgic clubhouse, “we’ve got candy and cookies, you can play in the backyard all day long!”

“Spy Balloon” is a carefree synth-filled track that feels like a companion piece to The Fifth Dimension’s “Up, Up and Away.” It takes off like an adventurous hot-air balloon ride but includes dark thematic elements related to the recent Chinese balloon incident in the U.S.

“Don’t Know Why I Love You” recalls an awkward adolescent crush and the pain that comes with unrequited love in middle and high school. Foster sings, “It knotted up my stomach and I thought I just wanted to puke / And I still called your name … but you just looked away.” It feels like something a young Kermit the Frog would sing to Miss Piggy in a Muppet Show flashback.

The concise “Snax” instrumental is a tasty, after-school treat filled with samples of Bugs Bunny talking about magic potions and children laughing on a playground. The dreamy synth takes you back to watching Looney Tunes episodes and playing with the neighbor kids at a nearby park.

The closer “Blink of an Eye” laments about the ending of Foster’s trip to the past, acknowledges the swift passage of time and accepts returning to the present. He sings, “It’s time again, go back to sleep, but does it really end?”

In a sense, it doesn’t end because we can always return to our version of “Pookie’s Playhouse” and reflect on the warm memories of the past. The older I get, the more I understand the need for it.

Blank Tape Tax, For Debbie

I’ve been a big fan of Detroit’s Blank Tape Tax since first interviewing punk-rock vocalist-drummer-guitarist Ben Yost about his jazzy rendition of Minor Threat’s “Filler” in 2020.

His refreshing live version of that hardcore punk track is included as part of a new Blank Tape Tax double album called For Debbie, which features 10 new tracks and 13 remasters of past studio and live recordings released via Kickpop Records.

The “new” portion of For Debbie provides a vulnerable, honest look into Yost’s thoughts and feelings about navigating everyday life, including mental health, relationships and nostalgia.

The storied punk-rock opener “Gold Sorbet” is a flavorful reflection on a couple’s youthful adventures and their eventual demise. Yost sings, “Deep in dreams / She’d write him / But knowing he’s no type of writer / He’d never be inside her.”

Next, the somber, folky “Amphetamine” addresses the long-term impacts of addiction—heroin, alcohol and amphetamines—on a person’s mental health and well-being.  

Yost also resonates on the cathartic jazz-punk jam “Call Out,” which releases buried frustrations, anxieties and freakouts. It’s the ideal track for someone to blast and scream alongside Yost as he “calls out” for relief.

Other gems include the sentimental ode to passionate summer love on “Where April Lives,” the emotive, acoustic instrumental “Animal Circus” and the struggle of “pretending to be a faker or a failure” on the confessional anthem “Paraphernalia.”

To bring the “new” For Debbie tracks to life, Yost features several notable collaborators—FFC’s Colin Robertson (bass, guitar), Greet Death’s Logan Gaval (guitar) and Max Popkin (trumpet).

Yost celebrates additional collaborators on the “older” tracks featured on For Debbie, including “Hey Donnie” and “My Book.” Bassist Jonathon Muir-Cotton, vocalist Emily Parrish, pianist William Marshall Bennett and others represent the jazzy / hip-hop era of Blank Tape Tax’s musical evolution.

Finally, For Debbie retraces Yost’s early days on 2015’s Peachy, which features several remastered tracks showcasing his original acoustic punk roots. “Some Dumb Something,” “Yarn Filled Paper People” “That’s My Purse. I Don’t Know You,” “Peachy” and “Some Dumb Something Pt. 3” highlight the authenticity and innovation of one of Detroit’s most creative minds.