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Nancy & Lee still record and release new songs, folks. Granted, under a different name. Yet such a beautiful song it is. The first song here is not the only one deserving the moniker beautiful you'll find. There's quite a few of them. In fact, the noisy stuff is the exception this week. Week 7's singles overview is one to relax and just listen to what is on offer, so, enjoy!
Aphrodite. Donna Blue
Yes,
Donna Blue has done it once again. Aphrodite is a strong song of
romance and beauty. I do not have to beat around the bush. Aphrodite is
2024's 'Some Velvet Morning' with Phaedra replaced by the goddess
Aphrodite. Danique and Bart are Nancy and Lee more then ever before.
Musically the song is totally psychedelic and 1960s. The twang guitar is
propelling the song forward and the farfisa organ is totally out there.
What is noticeable as well is the lush arrangement of the song. The
usually rather straightforward production is certainly left behind here.
This brings Donna Blue extremely close to the original if not on par.
As far as I'm concerned the duo has a classic on its hands.
Met
Blijf Voor Goed Bij Mij geeft Winston, oftewel Simon Alice René,
zichzelf helemaal bloot en komt, jaren na het schoolplein van zijn
jeugd, uit de kast als Queen-fan. Raar om te bedenken dat het in de
jaren 70 heel cool was om Queen fan te zijn. Toch is Blijf Voor Goed Bij
Mij een raar geval. Het begint als een nummer dat ik eerder aan Will
Tura of Clouseau zou toeschrijven dan aan Winston, of Queen wat dat
betreft, maar dat verandert zeker. Van Vlaams naar Engels en later
terug. De Bryan May stijl gitaar komt er bij en een enorme gelaagdheid
aan samenzang. Het intro heeft dat al weggegeven natuurlijk. Dieper
luisteren dan de eerste indruk, maakt meer duidelijk. Langzaam maar
zeker komt het beeld naar voren van een grootse song, van een zanger die
ver boven zijn league speelt en slaagt, zoals soms een sporter of
muzikant op latere leeftijd toch doorbreekt. Welbeschouwd blijft dit een
raar nummer, maar zo ontzettend goed om naar te luisteren. De samenzang
is zonder meer prachtig. Queen, 'God Only Knows' en 'Because' all in
one. Goed gedaan,
Winston!
"It
was a big love she said. That's why it took her ten years to get her
out off your head", singer Tracyanne Campbell sings at the start of the
first song her band Camera Obscura released in over ten years. The song
has a country flavour, some pop and some indie overtones. It's a kind of
song that makes a person feel good, nearly instantly. It is in the
positive way of singing, the great keyboard part, the pedal steel guitar
and that little ah ha sequence near the end. Sometimes life itself is caught
in a single of three minutes and Big Love is one of those songs. Although
the song is about having to say goodbye, for good, it has caught the
positive side of a new start and not the sad ending. There is some
melancholy in the singing, surely, but what remains for the listener is a
feeling of joy. I had never heard of this band before, as far as I'm
aware, but this introduction certainly tastes like more. That more is
released on 3 May, and is called 'Look to the East, Look to the West'.
James
Clarke Five is a solo project and surely a pun on 60s hitmakers Dave
Clark Five. Musically the two have nothing in common. Gadfly Groove is
an outing in the Madchester sound from around 1990. The rhythm is Rani
all over. The music is less exciting but surely groovy. James Hughes,
who makes up James Clarke Five, is from a generation of U.K. musicians
before Madchester. He was in a Liverpool band called The Cherry Boys in
the early 80s as keyboardist and singer at the time of bands like Echo
and the Bunnymen. This dark doomladen music is not exactly missing on
Gadfly Groove but not dominant. The groove reminds me of the Rolling
Stones' 'Shattered' and as said the 1990 bands. In his aloof way of
singing and that rhythm a little psychedelia slips in. This puts Gadfly
Groove in a musical format that is from the past and that is exactly what
James Hughes intends. At least, that is my best guest.
"Hideous
Hideous Hideous" singer Guillaume Lamont signs underscoring the fact
that his band put itself in a list of acts the managed to name a song,
album and band name identically. The title song is the kind that is like
a peat fire. It may seem to be extinguished but underground it can
continue unnoticed, to surface somewhere else. That guitar is there as a
bellwether playing its simple riff and rhythm. It lays down a mysterious
groove that does not give anything away of what could happen further
on. Except for the tempo that is. That under the surface tension
explodes right in the face of the curious onlooker. All sorts of
mysterious sounds move in and out during the song. This makes Hideous
an extremely exciting song, no matter how hideous the person sung about
may be. The changes give the alternative rocker a sympho/prog vibe,
until we return to that ominous guitar. Hideous, the band, is a four piece
of members who, of course, this is Belgium, play in at least two other
bands. On this blog you may have encountered Tim Leyman of Ramkot. There
are four more songs on this EP. Based on the opening song it must be
worthwhile to continue listening.
Formed
in Kalamazoo in 1995, disbanded somewhere and regrouped in 2018 as an
online band, Broken Hearts Are Blue will release its third record since
then soon, making up for lost time fast. The French Major is a dark and
sluggish song. Every next beat seems to be made only after a major
effort. The result is a song that is interesting to follow. Rocking loud
it gives time for pause anyway. Ryan Gage sings just as slow, making
up words, even individual syllables, no longer than strictly needed. The result is a massive song. The
drums, bass and guitar all are spot on, but above all loud, with a lead
guitar that can be placed in the Dinosaur Jr heritage. I do not need an
album like this but as single, thank you!
I
have no clue who The Hanging Stars are, nor how they made it to this
list but here they are and sound like a million acts somewhere in
between country, Americana, light rock and singer-songwriter. In the video
we see a pub scene with the band playing to an uninterested but not
unpleasant audience. A band that is invited to play on a Sunday
afternoon while the visitors do their thing in the pub. In the meantime,
almost sneaky, The Hanging Girls (all men) play the stars out of
heaven. Sweet Light is a beautiful song, where the softly played
instruments all go for pop perfection without being obtrusive and the
singing certainly matches the best harmonies The Jayhawks went for on
'Hollywood Town Hall'. In short, this band knows exactly what it is
doing, defying the easy-going circumstances of the video. The Hanging
Girls will be able to fill venues with people who will listen with ease.
People
from all around the world move to San Francisco and the Bay Area to
work. (Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing alright.) Some meet there and start making music. This is the story of Brume
that started in 2014 when guitarist Jamie McCathie met bass player and
vocalist Susie McMullan. Soon drummer Jordan Perkins-Lewis joined and
the trio went on to record two records. For album number three, 'Marten'
out on 3 May, Jackie Perez Gratz on cello and vocals was added to the
trio and this changed the sound of the doom goths no little. Jimmy is a
fairly slow song that changes between soft, almost power ballad vibes to
a huge sound where all are pounding away on their instruments. Beware,
in a melodic way, from a melody. McMullan lays down a big vocal over it
all, sharing her anguish with the world. In the outro it is Perez Gratz
who gets the spotlight on her playing, ending the song in sheer
melancholy and perhaps even shock of what came before.
You
have just heard (or read about) The Hanging Girls. Other Brother Darryl
from Boston is in that league. The band may have a warm Hammond organ
instead of a pedal steel guitar in its line up, the idea and mood is
certainly akin. In the fall of last year the band debuted on this blog
with the beautiful single 'Drive'. And now there's an album in the
making as well, called 'Roll Shine Roll'. Anyone loving songs like 'One
Of These Nights' or 'Our House' will find their way to this song and
band. There's no hurry of any kind. The band takes its time to make its
point musically and vocally. The duo vocals are laid on even thicker in
the places where extra points for vocality are found in the song. The
same goes for an extra note on the instruments. Just listen to that acoustic
slide part! Other Brother Darryl's music has nothing to do with 2024 but
everything with the 1970s. We need new bands that continue and create
new music at that level. Other Brother Darryl does, so cherish it.
I had all but forgotten The Secret Sisters. Somewhere before the pandemic I saw them play a nice and intimate show at the top floor venue of Paradiso in Amsterdam and certainly enjoyed their album 'Saturn Returns'. And then they disappeared in that huge vault of music from the past. On 29 March the sisters, Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle, will release their new album 'Mind, Man, Medicine'. And judging Same Water it will be worthwhile to check it out. Same Water is the kind of singer-songwriter ballad that envelopes the listener like a bath filled with just right warmed water. Their voices weave themselves around each other, where Laura is in the lead and Lydia supporting. Around them a great band is playing that knows exactly how to create this mood, creating a song that is in essence a song that we have heard thousands of times and yet, this extra one is the one the world needs right now. Like I wrote, a warm bath this Same Water is.
Wout de Natris
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