Here are some new albums/artists worth checking out this month:
Blink-182
Having delighted fans with its 2023 reunion tour — which included a sold-out show back in June at the SAP Center in San Jose — Blink-182 now returns with the appropriately named “One More Time…” It’s the band’s ninth studio album overall and the first to feature the signature lineup of Tom DeLonge, Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus since “Neighborhoods” in 2011. The pop-punk trio returns to the Bay Area in 2024 for a July 9 date at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Cartoon Jazz Orchestra
The San Francisco outfit, led by clarinetist-saxophonist-flutist Jeff Sanford, has just released the new album “Playland at the Beach” on the Little Village Foundation label. The outing is filled with swinging tunes inspired by the music that is connected to the cartoons of the ’40s and ’50s. It’s highly recommended for old-school Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck fans as well as well just anybody who wants to hear some fun music that they aren’t likely to find anywhere else. Visit littlevillagefoundation.com for more information about the album. Also, Cartoon Jazz Orchestra will support the album with a gig at 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley on Nov. 8 Showtime is 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $20-$35, throckmortontheatre.org.
Craig Dixon
Looking to get in on the ground floor with a local musician? Check out Craig Dixon, a talented young popsmith who deserves a much wider following. His music is delightfully bold, refreshing and should appeal to fans of the Beach Boys, Ben Folds and the Orange Peels. It’s all DIY, with Dixon reportedly recording all his tunes in his parents’ garage in Campbell. Find him on Spotify and X (@craigdixonmusic).
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