The New Students - Little Blue Dot (Self-Released)

Long Island’s The New Students are back with another infectious slice of Americana on their new album Little Blue Dot, a follow up to the COVID-inspired Quarantunes from 2020. With influences like The Band and CSNY there’s a laidback sensibility in these songs as if the band isn’t in a great hurry to rush anything, and their recording process echoes this. Some of the songs on Little Blue Dot are relatively recent, while others date back to a decade ago, but throughout it all is a consistency, a distinct sense of charm and wit, and a deep, authentic compassion for everything they do.

The band stays pretty close to the folk and Americana of the 60s and 70s, but the music still sounds remarkably fresh and relevant. It’s an album with a message, but tracks like “Greta’s Song” or the CSNY-inspired “The Refugee” never feel like they’re hitting the listener over the head. Others like “Black Earth Country” are injected with enough good old fashioned jamboree fun that they can stand on the merits of the instrumentals alone, although the lyrics should never be ignored. Little Blue Dot makes an important and necessary statement about the threats facing our planet, and it also represents a high watermark of creativity for The New Students, as they sound tighter and more inspired than ever.