Idol Chatter & Voice Views

New post-Voice music out includes an album from Lex Land and singles from Dylan Hartigan and The Shades, featuring former contestant Andrew DeMuro as lead singer.

Here’s a bit about each of those releases.

Where available, the link takes you to the songs on Apple Music.

* Lex Land, from Season 2, released a 12-song album called “Alone for a While” on Friday. The Austin-based singer-songwriter says it’s a mix of originals and songs published before 1957. The absolute highlight is he playful “Nobody Sleeps.” Lex also released the album on vinyl, a first for her. That’s available through her website, along with a free download of the album complete with the story behind it. Says Lex: “We’ve all been isolated for a while and probably feeling a little lonely, and so I wanted to, in commiseration, share about a period of my life where I was really in the depths.”

* Dylan Hartigan, from The Voice Season 14, released the raucous “Sing That Song” on Friday. He calls it the “dirtiest, muddiest, nastiest tune.” After all, it’s dirt blues, folks. It’s also Dylan’s fourth single of 2021. And Dylan’s on tour as an opener for Maggie Rose. You can check out the dates here.

* The Shades, featuring Andrew DeMuro from Season 11, promised three singles this summer, and the second just dropped. It’s called “Letters.” It follows “Running,” released last month. The Shades is a three-guy band from Chicago with Andrew providing lead vocals. The releases are their first in about two years. “It was a challenging time for all of us to navigate,” they say of the pandemic, “but crafting music in the studio helped us remain connected and artistically fulfilled while we were away from the stage.”