zondag 15 januari 2023

2023, Week 2, 10 singles

And so 2023's first month already is in the double digits and the days are noticeable getting a little longer. Storms with lots of rain rage over the land, while the temperature remains far too high for the time of year, with the record breaking day on 31 December - 1 January (at midnight no less) with the highest ever measured that day. At midnight I could stand outside for a while without a coat in mid winter! Where it's also raging is on some of the songs this week. We also provide some nice resting points for you to catch your breath. Another nice selection you are presented. Have fun checking it all out!

Golden Eye. Upploppet

Oh, yes! This song starts so nice. The clock strikes rock and Upploppet delivers for the full two minutes and forty five seconds. The guitars are just as dirty in sound as the singing is. Upplopet is from Sweden and fans from Nordic rock bands from the past like The Hellacopters will recognise where Upplopet found its mustard. Upplopet is translated into English in The Riot. In Dutch, as our Germanic languages are somewhat related, I would say 'oploop', and this is the moment before it could turn violent. And this describes Golden Eye beautifully. There's a lot of energy, some kerfuffle and pushing and shoving, without malicious intent. Golden Eye contains all that. It's a great rock song.

No Saviours. Selk

A review starting with apologies? Yes, one is deserved here. In spring 2022 I promised to listen to this song and forgot all about it. There's too many emails sometimes. Coincidentally I ran into it this week and gave No Saviours a listen.

Selk is a folk band from Dublin, Ireland, releasing songs for 10 years. For me No Saviours is my introduction to Selk. On No Saviours it plays a traditional variation of folk with a lot of attention to the voice of singer Anna Jordan. Not an everyday kind of voice, think Josephine Foster or Anna Tivel, so it may take an effort to get used to for some. Musically, the song is immediately pleasing, with the glockenspiel and plucked violin. The song is warm and distant at the same time. In comes the violin and cello changing the sound but not the mood of No Saviours. In the second half of the song, the band comes in in full, making the song darker and more folkrock in a very Selk kind of way, exposing another, deeper timbre of Anna Jordan's voice as well. More happens than meets the ear at first encounter.

Moving On. Litzberg

With the release of Moving On getting close, Litzberg releases the third, same-titled single. The band shows a more alternative pop side of itself. The huge sound is not absent, it is the alternative, loud rock that is largely missing here. Moving On has a distinct pop element, not that far removed from a 'Run To You', to name but an example. The female backing vocals, oohs and aahs, applied here and there do the rest. My guess is that this song will be a nice point of rest on the album, where Mathijs Peeters' band will rock the day and night away. This is the kind of song that could be played, and deserves to be played on national radio. Just about two weeks to go, I can't wait.

Heavy Heart. Redlight King

Heavy Heart is aptly titled. This is all about heartbreak and the pain coming with it. Howling with the wolves on the mountain, is what singer Kaz does at the end of this slow moving ballad. It's not a soft ballad in the sense of hardly any guitars and loads of violins/synths. No the guitar, bass, keyboard and drums are here alright. They are just played softer and slower than Redlight King does normally. At least, that's my guess from seeing a few pictures on the internet. This song is all about keeping things as basic as necessary to score the point; it comes across. Redlight King has made a huge ballad with a minimum of effects, Simply well done. Album 'In Our Blood' comes out on 3 March.

Pretty Penny. The Laissez Fairs

The Laissez Fairs from Las Vegas return to WoNoBlog with a 60s infused psychedelic rocker with a great pop melody. This could have been an obscure song by The Move that The Laissez Fairs have unearthed from a forgotten b-side or outtake. The song kicks off with the chorus. An intro as a statement and kick in the you know where at the same time. Pretty Penny is in your face, ears and mind before you are aware of it. The singing may not be the best ever, it fits the song and everything that happens in there is purely magic. Add all the psychedelic 1960s tricks in the book and you have a song that mesmerises and pleases all at the same time. This is a great pop song that should be teleported back in time and would have scored a huge hit in 1967. Alas, it is 2023 but I'm rooting here. Go and listen because "Pretty Penny has it all".

Wintergrace. Kate MacLeod

This is a recent recording and a song covered from an American singer-songwriter, Jean Ritchie, but it is as if I'm listening to a recording by Fairport Convention from, say 1970. (Sounding extremely good, granted.) It isn't. It is the first release by Kate MacLeod, a folk singer-songwriter from the U.S., who is working on a tribute project of songs by Jean Ritchie, who lived from 1922 to 2015. If a word underscores the music on this song it is grace. Wintergrace is so graceful. MacLeod sings and plays guitar and dulcimer. She is accompanied by John Bryant on acoustic bass and Morgan Morrison's harmony vocals. Together they cast a spell with Wintergrace lasting a full five minutes. Despite all involved are American (Appalachian) musicians, this song is pure U.K. folk of the kind that I hear every once in a while but never at this level of musicianship. MacLeod has only just started. Expect more under the moniker The Jean Richie Experience soon.

Santa Claus. One Horse Band

A Christmas song as a single from an album to be released somewhere this spring? Why not? Jumping boundaries is what gets people forward. As I read somewhere, keeping two feet to the ground never got someone anywhere. One Horse Band is professed as the loudest one man band on earth. Part of that shows on Santa Claus, that starts fairly quiet. Atmospherics fill my ears, followed by a rough voice and a softly played electric guitar. Later on in the song more noise comes in and it becomes impossible to play as a one man or horse band. Several guitars, drums, a shaker of some kind, a bit much isn't it? I'm not complaining though. Santa Claus is a nice rock song. It even has a Beatlesque little solo melody. See if you can find it. One Horse Band is working towards the release of a new album. With Santa Claus the Milan based musician provides a very nice introduction. And a dark laugh at the end.

Kiss Your Friends. No Ninja Am I

With 'Plenty Of Blankets' out for under a year, here's Kiss Your Friends with Sander van Munster boldly announcing a new record for later in 2023. The song starts extremely playful. A child's voice counting in the rhythm, "ghost" vocals announcing and repeating the lyrics. It almost disguises what is truly going on in Kiss Your Friends. Where I implied in my review of 'Plenty Of Blankets' that No Ninja Am I had found its inner CSN and other artists from around 1970, here Van Munster dove off the deep end. This is CSN, The Beatles and what not all in one. Not just a nice copy but an inventive arrangement, with great vocal harmonies and not one note too much. This is mostly the bare essence, as if an exercise in restraint, of what Kiss Your Friends could have been in the hands of someone else. Still, sheer beauty is everywhere. Although 'Plenty Of Blankets' made my list of favourite albums of 2022, it does not hold a song of this quality. Life is good when songs like Kiss Your Friends can still blow me away.

Never Had To Know. The Vices

The Vices return to the blog with a new song. The Groningen band has many faces, in my opinion maybe two too many. On the other hand it may please a lot more people. With its new single Never Had To Know the band combines alternative pop with the sound of a band like Moss. The combination really works. The Vices touches on the light side of life in the musical mood it has given to this song and the darker side because of the singing and the theme of the lyrics that touch on life and the passage of time that changes it irreparablt. The warm arrangement provides the light. With 80s synths setting the mood, flashing in and out of Never Had To Know. The guitar layers, acoustic and electric do the rest, making the song melancholy for things past. Judging from memory, I'd say I've just listened to the best song of The Vices to date.

Do Me A Favor. The Bites

The Bites combines everything within itself that make U.S. rock so good. And with everything I mean everything between Aerosmith and San Diego's Dirty Sweet. Do Me A Favor rocks with loads of enthusiasm, a great, instantly memorable melody and a huge sound. The Bites is out to impress and does. Just listen to the intro to the song. Unashamedly long but everything and everybody can count their one-two-three-fours before the gang breaks loose. The chords are just E-A-B and more than enough to create a huge rock song, with long, fiery guitar solos. A three guitar line up guarantees the huge impact, drums and bass do the rest. The singer sounds a little like Steven Tyler, the guitarist has Steve Perry's chinline, what's more to wish for? Not much, so do me a favour and play it again, please!

Wout de Natris

 

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