2023. Week 27, 4 singles

Running a blog is unpaid, voluntary work. Agreed, it does come with some perks sometimes. At other times life gets in the way. Thus this week only four singles. It can't be helped. Sitting somewhere with a view on a big mountain, it means that the environment needs some attention, as does the work that has to be prepared for tomorrow. For you it means a little less to read and that isn't all bad, I guess. Enjoy any way.

Adore Adore Adore. Sprints

Following single 'Literary Minds' Sprints returns to WoNoBlog. The Dublin based alternative rockers moving towards punk deserve the spot. Adore 3x is another strong single filled with energy. The drummer in part plays a sped up marching beat that catapults the rest of the band forward. The song starts more traditional though. It is singer Karla Chubb who takes the lead role here. She is obviously enjoying herself, despite she is not called beautiful and only insane and the water is freezing and she don't want to go. The message is rammed home with loads of energy. The band can only follow and does so with the right accents and sound explosions. Adore 3x underscores my impression of a few months back. Sprints is another band from Dublin to watch,

Runny Hunny. The Family Battenberg

Or Mountbatten? Welshmen The Family Battenberg decided to stick with the old, German family name, changed for geopolitical reasons a long time ago. History befits the song as well. Runny Hunny leans on a lot of music history and especially of the garage and psychedelic tock kind. Of course, psychedelic rock is back in vogue for over a decade again and new bands keep popping up, tapping into this rich history. The Family Battenberg is more into the rock variation, in the direction of The Black Angels with the psychedelic effects kept just a bit smaller. And yes, it is the variation which, when all is said and done, I seem to like best. Runny Hunny is a welcome variation to that theme.

Sweeter. Beth Wimmer

Beth Wimmer has a new love and it shows in her new single. Happiness is all over the song: "We got a thing and it's just getting sweeter". For time reasons I'm not going to backtrack her whole oeuvre but I'm pretty sure Sweeter is her most upbeat song ever. The tempo is up, the mood is up, the sky is the limit. It is easy to like Sweeter. Together with lead guitarist Mike Bischof, who she has played with in the past, she has arranged the song into this fun song that begs singing along to. Musically Sweeter is somewhere between singer-songwriter, countryrock and pop, the overall feel is certainly pop and that is a new element in Beth Wimmer's music. There's an EP announced for 18 August called 'Nature' with plans for a Dutch tour in May 2024. Something to look out for indeed.

Disappear. Wallice

Wallice debuted on this blog with her single 'Best Friend' this spring. Today she returns with another alternative pop song with a similar build up. A soft verse and an overenthusiastic chorus. In the verses Wallice seems to come out of New Zealand. She would be best friends with the likes of Vera Ellen there. In the chorus she rocks loudly but also plays the pop card, as this a festival anthem to be. Here in the Netherlands L.A. based Wallice would be great friends with EUT and in the U.K. with Wet Leg of course. It shows how international music has become. This is nothing new. What is new that in every corner of the world girls and young women are making music that all is of great quality but also somewhat interchangeable. Is that a bad thing? No, not at all. The importance is quality and that is okay with Disappear.

Wout de Natris