10 Singles, week 19

Not seldom an act makes its debut on this blog in the weekly singles post, but an artist who has scored many, many hits, even number 1 hits, over multiple years? No, I can't remember that happening before. The honour goes to Pink. For the rest you will find some huge contrasts as well. Long songs moving towards 10 minutes and short songs clocking in around and under two minutes. Rock, punk, singer-songwriter, folk, what not. All within the ten songs we present this week.

Burst Through The Borders. Caulbearers

I have no clue what Caulbeares means, except that I imagine in my mind's eye black-faced men, sweat streaming down their faces, revealing a little of their true skin colour, while hauling coal deep in the pit, dust everywhere, including their longs. Burst Through The Borders musically has not one single connection to coalminers. The eight and a half minute long song is as long as it is beautiful. Notes meander around the central theme of the song, the soft rhythm played as tough as possible for a ballad. Then I hear the first sentence: "Deep in the earth". I hadn't noticed that before, being enraptured by the soft piano notes, the guitar theme, the cello playing over bass and drums. It isn't easy to keep such a long song interesting, especially when there are no epic movements going on. Everything is subtle and graceful. Until the very last second I'm listening enraptured to Burst Through The Borders. What a song. The opening sentence laying a link to my original thoughts quite nicely.

Cover Me In Sunshine. Pink + Willow Sage Hart

And so Pink makes her debut on this blog together with her daughter. I've been hearing this song for a couple of weeks on the radio and found that it is already a couple of months old, being played more and more it seems. It got under my skin and I'm singing along with mother and daughter. The song has a hip hop feel because of the stop/start of  the music and the slow rhythm. At the same time it's a delicate guitar ballad that is campfire material, if youths still do such a thing and not stare together-separate at screens. The delicate fingerpicking on the guitar accompanies the extremely pleasant vocal melody. Once in, it will never go out again. The voice of Willow Sage Hart gives the song an extra layer of innocence, adding to the attraction. All together the song is a bridge between the 60s and the 20s. Also a moment that I am faced with the passing of time. The to be 60s are closer than the old one that moulded me musically. Perhaps Willow Sage then is an older singer still releasing records. Who can tell? Most likely I will not be around to tell you about it. But what a beautiful little song Cover Me In Sunshine is.

Sea Of Thieves. Nightspell

Does perfect pop come in a rock guise? Of course it can and Nightspell released its first single to underscore the point made. Starting off with a Buddy Holly muted guitar sound, the singer gives her soft-voiced best before the band fully kicks in. The members of Nightspell have all made their miles in totally unknown, local bands. To me that is. Thanks to Lou Mansdorf of Rum Bar Records I got on Justine Couvault's Red on Red Records' mailing list. And now one after the other fantastic pop single is dropped in my digital mailbox. Sea Of Thieves is only 2 minutes and 21 seconds long and every second holds the essence of pop-rock heaven. There simply aren't other words for it. The drums-bass-guitar does all that has to be done, the solo is as elementary as exactly right. The vocal harmonies of Seana Carmody and Joyce Raskin are the icing on the great cake Nightspell serves. I can't think of a more perfect introduction for a new band than Sea Of Thieves. It's a killer of a first single.

Better Better. Devil Love

Just when I was thinking whether Red On Red Records releases female singers exclusively, enter Devil Love with Better Better. A song Weezer is looking for since 'Hashpipe', I'd say. Not that good but awfully close. Better Better has that bittersweet taste that makes me fall for the song with ease. There aren't many hindrances to liking it. The band rocks but in such a way that it's almost like I'm not listening to a rock song but to a pop song instead. But don't be fooled. The drums are pounding, the bass lays down the foundation so the guitars can rock out. It is the the softer-voiced singing that applies for pop admittance; and is turned down. Too much noise behind you mate! What are you thinking? The combination works a miracle to me.

Visions. José Gonzalez

How long ago is 'Veneer', that rather unexpected hit by José Gonzales? It must be in the 00s, as my then neighbour was a fan of the album it was on. I can't remember ever to have heard other music by the Swedish bard. His last album is six years old I just read. Visions is a subdued song, with a high The Beatles level in it. An acoustic guitar drives the song together (Gonzales sings the word while I'm typing it) with the multi-tracked vocals, showcasing the different layers in his voice. There's a bass and some handclapping as well and a soft droning instrument behind it all. The accompanying birdsong comes from the outside through my opened windows. It is all served up as ultimate relaxation. Musically in line with a thousand other singer-songwriters, Vision sets itself apart in the beautifully layered singing. Visions is a treat to listen to.

Counter Attack. Driftwood

Wasn't this a .NoWordsNeeded recently? Yes, it was, but I'm a man of words. Counter Attack is a kind of song that was popular in the 70s. I remember a song like 'Friend Of Mine' by Fields or the Hammond organ of Steve Winwood. The way of singing is different. This is not a real singer. This man talks himself through his lyrics. The drumming (Joey Waronker) is a late 80s invention, think The Stone Roses. The soft interlude is almost 1950s Frank Sinatra, before all hell breaks loose. Had this been the continuation of a Sinatra song, the fright of his fans would have been a sight to see! Counter Attack is a song that brings together 70 years of popular music in a way that is not easy to imagine for the average music fan. The trio De Bock, Janssens and Vanneste has and created the kind of song that is great to listen to but of the kind where hearing is believing.

Long Black Electric Cadillac. John Hiatt and the Jerry Douglas Band

All pretensions are laid by the wayside. John Hiatt accompanied by the Jerry Douglas Band play an mid-tempo country blues with a modern text on electric Cadillacs. So what I hear is what I get. Hiatt's ever gruffier voice accompanied by nice little solo lines played on an electric guitar, a lap played guitar and a violin, each taking turns. With a faint memory of JJ Cale in there, not more is needed to create a song that is simply extremely nice to listen to. Sometimes more words do not add to the picture. You should have it by now.

The Reflection Pool. delving

Some people know Nick DiSalvio from the band Elder, others from the duo Gold & Silver. I know him through emails of the Stickman Records label. Now I also know him through the release of a solo single under the moniker delving. The pandemic gave him the time to work on ideas that had been lying around for years, leading to this 9 and a half minute song, The Reflection Pool. It announces an album, 'Hirschbrunnen', to be released later this month. The Reflection Song is a long instrumental, divided into a few sections. On the whole there's a mysterious mood in the song, reflected by the long held, swooshing sounds on keyboards and, I think, long-delayed, looped guitar sounds, slowly building towards a climax. The combination of electronics and electrically amplified instruments, not to mention the huge drumming in some parts, lead to an overwhelming experience where subtlety and force combat for the spotlight; both win in the end. This solo record is not a half-baked work in times of Covid but a fully mature product keeping me tied to my chair for the full 9.30 minutes.

Big Wow. Ernest Moon

From 9.30 to 1.58. Rock and roll Jake Bugg style, when Jake still rocked and decades of earlier rockers before him of course. Liverpool duo Ernest Moon rocks on with a punky cool while in the background the female background choir exudes total innocence. The combination works rather well. Big Wow is all about direct impressions and nothing to do with making complex introductions. Sigh twice and the song is over already. Tough guitar playing, a tight bass and nice drumming by Jake Woodward. All in this single is necessarily present, except for the girls singing in the background. Steven Doran and Brian Murphy do not need any extras in their music besides a little intelligently applied dynamics. The three second guitar solo, Brian Setzer style is the only extravagance allowed here. 1.58 minutes is enough to tell it all. Rock and Roll in 2021? Very much alive, sir.

Heavy Metal Kids. Watts

With the kind of Keith-Ronnie riff The Stones are incapable of producing themselves for over 16 years this year, Heavy Metal Kids sets the standard for listening in the first seconds. Watts' introduction to its upcoming new album later this week does not beat around the bush. Solid rock all the way. From the solid riffing at the start, to the pop element in the refrain, tradition is dealt out in a nice, respectful and sure-fire way. Watts is not afraid to show where its coming from nor to show where it wants to go. In this case its to honour that late 70s riffing rock The Stones led the world into with its 'Some Girls' album working towards the ultimate riffing in this style in 1981's 'Start Me Up'. Heavy Metal Kids were a punk band around 1977 but listening to 'Delirious' as well, there's no real link between band and song. Nor is there with metal. All that trivia aside, Heavy Metal Kids is a great song, making me want to hear more, soon!

Wout de Natris

 

Listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g