2023 Week 48, 10 singles

Week 48, the end of 2023 is coming near fast and surely. Another year over and what have we achieved? As a blog not more than a truckload of reviews on new music. Hopefully a few people decided to listen and buy an album or song. The final musical words will come a month from now with the traditional end of year lists. This week we focus on another single from the oldest and greatest band still active, but mostly new names that have not been on this blog (often) before. More than enough to discover, I'd say.

Can't Believe We're Here. J Mascis

J. Mascis, that is Dinosaur Jr fame of course. Decades of music and you will not find anything of it in my home. I never caught on to the band and here is a single on the blog, sort of out of nowhere. Can't Believe We're Here is an alternative pop-rock song, with a hint of a lot that came out of Boston three decades and more ago and one of R.E.M. in the way the acoustic guitar is played. The mix makes for an attractive single that is in a darkish way very optimistic. That acoustic guitar and the sus notes it plays take care of that. The guitar solo fits very well, as it lets in a little extra darkness. The whole makes for a solid sound, built up from a very solid drum sound. Last words, I learned something thanks to the video. You pronounce the man's family name as Mascis, with the c as a k.

Mess It Up (Purple Disco Mix). The Rolling Stones

Why would a band like The Rolling Stones mix a new song as if it is 1978? Pretending as if 'Miss You' has never happened. Good question, no answer really. Mess It Up certainly has a 'Miss You' vibe the whole of the time. The song already was the disco song of 'Hackney Diamonds' and a very good one at that. Like most of the songs on the new Stones album it has an unexpected twist that makes it a very attractive song to listen to. Even in this old-fashioned disco version. In the mix there even is a sequence Donna Summer would have been very happy with at the 'Hot Stuff' and 'Bad Girls' time. In other words, Mess It Up can go for it with the best disco hits of the late 70 and early 80. Just listen to that bass going for it. The additions of all the keyboards work really, really well. And the star of show? Of course, that's Mick Jagger who still thinks he's on the dance floor of Studio 54 in NYC, late 70s. And you know what? He gets away with it gloriously. I don't know how he does it, but at an age many a man walks with a stick or far, far worse. He is sounding like a 20 or 30 something. No, not looking it, granted. This disco version of an already very danceable song is a true winner and after knowing it now for over a month, it's better than 'Miss You'.

Wakare No Kotoba. Mei Semones

A new signing to Bayonet Records from New York releases her first single on the label. Be prepared for several surprises from the American singer of Japanese descent. Surprises because the music holds surprising little cascades played by Mei Semones on her guitar and surprises because despite all the little weirdnesses in the song, the melody remains intact, always. Surprises, because of the music swelling to bigger proportions and fading away once again. Surprises because of the violin joining the guitar cascades. Together they make Wakare No Kotoba, "parting words", a very nice introduction to Mei Semones' music. No doubt we will hear more from a very soon.

First Of June. Tim McCoy

How to call the music Tim McCoy makes? It contains sped up country, without becoming rock and roll. It has a clear punk attitude without actually being punk. It's Americana but with punk built in. All sorts of genres rubbing sides and spitting out Tim McCoy. The singer and bass player played in several bands over the years (and his voice shows it), like Watts, a band familiar to this blog. McCoy has worked over several years to produce his first solo outing. First Of June is one of the singles released from the upcoming album 'Best Of Us, Worst Of Us, All Of Us' (8 December on Rum Bar). Tim McCoy most likely never made it into the Wiener Sängerknaben, his voice fits this kind of music perfectly. Both have an edge that in the end lead to a great party to be had by all. The rhythm is so enthusiastic that my mind's eye shows partying people at the shows Tim McCoy and band are going to play soon. All shouting "na na nana nana na" together.

Extended Play. The Mistons

This five song EP goes off like the firecracker The Mistons sing about on 'Brika Braka'. The EP is presented to me in alphabetical order I notice and this song is the right one to put a punkrocker fan like me on alert. Whatever happens next, no one is going to take the ride 'Brika Braka' is from me. The Mistons is a trio from Portland, Oregon with a long history in music. Started as a duo in 2017, Sean Croghan and Micah Kassell, they are for this record joined by bassist Scott Fox. The result is a storm that is being cooked to a higher pressure and caught on tape by Adam Lee. Most songs have this load of energy that is shared with the listener. It is not just about making noise. The Mistons know how to write a song and what makes a song attractive. Not only to listen to but to sing along to as well. There are more than enough references to find in the music, from recently all the way into the 1980s and even 1960s garage rock. It's all in there and above all the enthusiasm of The Mistons itself. 'Wait A Minute','Contagious', there all more than just good songs. Fans of this kind of music know enough, so go and check it out.

Lianne Ging Op Reis. Winston

Afgelopen zomer daalde ik spectaculair of naar de plaats Kotor. De volgende dag legde er een cruiseschip aan dat het hele Middeleeuwse stadje aan het oog onttrok. Waarom is dit relevant, omdat op de cover van Lianne Ging Op Reis zo'n schip staat afgebeeld. De nieuwe single van Winston is een uitermate prettig popnummer. Heel anders dan waar ik me op had ingesteld. Het is een braaf nummer, dat in een iets ouderwetser arrangement een nummer van Louis Neefs of Rudi Carrell kunnen zijn. En toch werkt het, zoals ik 'Ein Kleines Kompliment' of 'Een Muis In Een Molen In Mooi Amsterdam' nooit van mijn leven meer uit mijn hoofd krijg. Winston bespeelt hetzelfde sentiment merk ik. Het nummer gaat over een vrouw die aan haar laatste reis begint, tot aan "het bezoekje van Magere Hein" en alles wat daar vanaf het vertrek tijdens gebeurt. Simon Alice René werkt samen met een aantal bevriende muzikanten en dat levert een mix op van Spinvis en popmuziek van alle jaren die het nummer een mix van verwachting en nostalgie geeft. Lianne Ging Op Reis is op vele manier volledig geslaagd.

Het Was Maar Een Jaar. De Held

Na 'Meisjezoet' eerder dit jaar staat De Held, in het meer dagelijkse leven bekend als Jo Jacobs, opnieuw op dit blog. Het Was Maar Een Jaar is een persoonlijk nummer, "een jaar dat wij niet eens samen waren". De titel geeft wel reden tot nadenken. Zeker nu het jaar er alweer bijna op zit. Die bespiegelingen zal ik u besparen. Niet die over de nieuwe single van De Held. Dat is namelijk een heerlijke popsingle, die zeker past in een lange lijst van popmuziek, maar tegelijkertijd door de stem van Jacobs een heel eigen karakter krijgt. Denk een klein beetje aan Henny Vrienten, dat helpt om u nieuwsgierig te maken, hoop ik. De akoestische gitaar is het instrument van De Held. Dat is de basis, slag en solo, begeleid door bas en drums. Het is genoeg om de stem van Jo Jacobs tot volle wasdom te laten komen. Kortom, na 'Meisjezoet' is er een tweede single om te genieten van nieuw werk van De Held.

Easier Done Then Said. The Tearaways

When a band can tell it has a legend in its ranks, that always makes it easier to get some attention sooner. Blondie drummer Clem Burke is a member of The Tearaways and the video shows it. 45 years ago Burke ruled the musical world as drummer for one of the sexiest women in (punk)rock. The all male The Tearaways contend for the purest popsong imaginable with Easier Done Than Said. The subtle notes suspending and diminishing chords for the whole of the song, makes for little melodies that are extremely pleasant to listen to. The Byrds and The Beatles of the mid-1960s are all over the song. In the Rickenbacker guitar sound, the perfect harmonies and the mix of the mood going up and down in the vocals. Think 'Ticket To Ride' or 'Eight Days A Week'. These are the kind of songs Easier Done Than Said reminds me of. In this decade the pop rock songs of Brad Marino come very close. John “Fin” Finseth, bass, vocals, Greg Brallier, rhythm guitar, vocals, David Hekhouse, lead guitar with a little help from Benmont Tench on organ know exactly what a perfect pop song takes. And this is one alright. It's no doubt much easier to write a review on the song than to write and arrange it.

Secret Second Moon. Leon Frear

Sometimes it takes a lot of changes to get a life back on the rails and it seems that Leon Frears managed to just do that. The process resulted in this single, announcing his upcoming album 'Wild Rice' (2 February). Second Secret Moon is a rock song that sounds both modern and traditional. Frear sings like he has put the reverb of a surf guitarist on his voice, yet rocks like it is 2023, which it is. The combination of the tough drum sound that starts and props up the song for the whole of the way and the voice are the two anchors of Secret Second Moon. Everything else plays around the two and that makes the song not only stand out, it is what is making it so good. The guitars and bass play second fiddle. It is a bit of a mystery to me who Leon Frear was before he moved to Chicago and changed his name but there are links to the 1980s in his music. It is a hint at most. Secret Second Moon is as timeless as it is modern. After my initial hesitation, which lasted for about one minute into the song, I found I could not stop listening it. In about two months we will know more what Leon Frear has in store for us.

Lunar Eclipse. The Vaccines

The Vaccines and WoNoBlog go right back to the beginning and here's the latest single of the band. Lunar Eclipse sounds both familiar and fresh. The band blends pop and rock, blandness and energy, the ordinary with brilliance. Just listen how clever this song is arranged. The seemingly superficial verses versus the so extremely good choruses and that pre-chorus bridging the two. Lunar Eclipse is such a clever song. The Vaccines simply can't and don't go wrong here. In fact it may be its best song since 'Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)'. On 24 January the new album, 'Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations' sees its release. On the basis of the three singles so far, it is almost impossible for it to disappoint.

Wout de Natris