Strange Beginnings. Jennifer Tefft and the Strange

With two singles on this blog already, it does not come as a surprise album Strange Beginnings makes it to this page as well. The good news is that the album matches my expectations completely. The better news is that the album is more varied than expected. The best news is that Jennifer Tefft and band rock hard in the best of ways.

Single 'Caffeine' opens the album with a huge surge of energy going back all the way to the 80s when bands released singles like 'Love Like Blood' and drummers drummed like Mel Gaynor. Over this all Jennifer Tefft is singing like there's no tomorrow. With passion and coolness. Don't ask me how she mixes the two but she is doing it superbly. The description makes for nostalgic rock from long ago. It isn't though because 'Caffeine' has so much urgency. The chugging steam train effect at the end underscores it all. Arriving in the here and now fast, while not forgetting the past.

The surprising thing about Strange Beginnings is that the band obviously is a fan of the band Heart. Where Heart lost me in the AOR form of rock it explored in the second half of the 80s and rising to even bigger commercial success, Jennifer Tefft does attract me. If we forget the folk side of the early Heart, on Strange Beginnings those two sides of Heart are mixed in a very good way. 'Crazy On You' meets 'Alone' as it were. Just listen to 'Paper Cut' and you'll know what I mean. Jennifer Tefft sings a little like country singer Karen Jonas here as well, winning me over even more.

Listening into the album, you will find several different styles. This is an album of music lovers who like several sorts of music. And why limit yourself to one sound? So, there's a more hardrock song moving towards metal in the heavy riffing ('Shoulda Known Better'), more alternative rock from the 80s ('Going Out') and the already mentioned classic rock of Heart. It all leads to very varied listening. Something I've been doing on repeat the past days. For a short moment in time there does not seem to be any other music pressing itself on me.

Agreed, Strange Beginnings is not a beacon of light where musical renewal is concerned. It is an album that celebrates what came before. Jennifer Tefft and the Strange do it with all they've got and that comes across no little. This is an extremely strong album providing the band with that "second chance to burn", Tefft sings about in 'Second Chance'.

By the time the other single 'Going Out' comes by with its The Black Keys rhythm, combining it with punkrock/pop in a Blondie style, I'm floored. This album that took me by storm.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Strange Beginnings here:

https://jennifertefft.bandcamp.com/album/strange-beginnings

Yellow Roses. Niamh Bury

Niamh Bury is een jonge Ierse singer-songwriter die met Yellow Roses een fascinerend debuutalbum heeft afgeleverd, dat zowel in muzikaal als in vocaal opzicht van een bijna onwerkelijke schoonheid is.

Albums die het etiket ‘traditionele Ierse folk’ opgeplakt krijgen laat ik meestal links liggen, maar gelukkig heb ik het debuutalbum van de Ierse muzikante Niamh Bury wel opgepikt. De jonge Ierse muzikante beschikt immers over een stem die zomaar kan uitgroeien tot een van de mooiste stemmen in het genre. Yellow Roses is bovendien een album dat op prachtige wijze is ingekleurd met flink wat instrumenten, die elkaar nooit in de weg zitten, maar elkaar wel continu versterken. Het komt allemaal samen in songs die zich genadeloos opdringen en die alleen maar mooier worden. Het label van Niamh Bury leverde vorig jaar een jaarlijstjesalbum af met het debuut van ØXN en doet dat nu opnieuw.

Het Ierse label Claddagh Records leverde vorig jaar met CYRM van ØXN een van de meest bijzondere en indrukwekkende albums van 2023 af. Het label dat zich specialiseert in traditionele Ierse volksmuziek komt deze week met een volgend debuutalbum op de proppen en ook Yellow Roses van Niamh Bury is een bijzonder mooi en interessant album.

Het is een album dat is geworteld in de traditionele Ierse folk en dat is een genre waar ik meestal niet zo heel gek op ben. Het bijzondere van Yellow Roses van Niamh Bury is dat het een album is dat flink wat ingrediënten uit de Ierse folk van weleer bevat, maar desondanks niet klinkt als een heel traditioneel Iers folkalbum.

De jonge Ierse muzikante heeft een album gemaakt dat in meerdere opzichten indruk maakt. Laat ik eens beginnen bij de muziek op het album. Niamh Bury heeft haar debuutalbum ingekleurd met voornamelijk akoestische klanken en heeft dit op zeer smaakvolle wijze gedaan. De meeste songs op het album hebben een akoestische gitaar of piano als basis, waarna onder andere strijkers, harp en bas zorgen voor extra inkleuring van de songs van de Ierse muzikante, die de muziek thuis met de paplepel kreeg ingegoten.

Alle instrumenten op het album worden op subtiele wijze ingezet, waardoor Yellow Roses een behoorlijk ingetogen album is, maar geen moment Spartaans klinkt. Door te variëren met de inzet van verschillende instrumenten klinken de songs op Yellow Roses zeker niet eenvormig en word je steeds weer verrast door bijzonder mooie klanken. Het zijn klanken die de muziek van Niamh Bury vooral de kant van de folk op duwen, maar het debuutalbum van de Ierse muzikanten laat ook zeker invloeden uit de jazz horen, terwijl de arrangementen van de strijkers de muziek van de Ierse muzikante een klassiek tintje geven.

De folky songs van Niamh Bury herinneren aan de ene kant aan folkmuziek uit het verleden, maar ik vind Yellow Roses ook een eigentijds folkalbum. De songs van Niamh Bury vallen niet alleen op door de prachtige klanken en de trefzekere productie van Brían MacGloinn van de mij onbekende band Ye Vagabonds, maar ook door de poëtische teksten van de Ierse muzikante die, zoals het in het genre betaamd, mooie verhalen vertelt. Dat doet Niamh Bury met een bijzonder aansprekende stem.

De stem van de Ierse muzikante herinnert aan de ene kant aan de heldere stemmen van folkzangeressen uit het verleden, maar de zang van Niamh Bury heeft ook een wat ruwere kant, die de zeggingskracht van haar songs nog wat verder vergroot. Ik hoor iets van Laura Marling en heel af en toe een randje Natalie Merchant, maar de zang op Yellow Roses heeft ook een uniek karakter.

Folkalbums en zeker wat traditioneel aandoende folkalbums staan bij mij meestal niet vooraan in de playlist, maar Yellow Roses van Niamh Bury is een album van een betoverende schoonheid. Song na song slaagt Niamh Bury er in om prachtige klanken te laten samenvloeien met haar bijzonder mooie zang, die ook opvalt door het gevoel dat ze in haar stem legt en de precisie waarmee ze zingt. Zeker aan de randen van de dag heeft Yellow Roses een ontspannende werking, maar Yellow Roses is nog veel mooier wanneer je alle subtiele accenten op het album op je in laat werken.

Erwin Zijleman

2024 week 20, 10 singles

For the first time this year the houses heated up in a natural way over the past days. Still off and on but on average the temperatures are rising. Most likely we've had the warmest winter ever recorded over December and March but that is something else than it being warm. Against the oncoming summer, we present another ten singles of a very varied nature and originating in several countries. Enough to explore, so enjoy.

Desecrate The Cathedral. Pavid Vermin

A new name on the blog, Pavid Vermin. The single starts with a tremendously poppy sound. When the singer starts singing Sir Douglas Quintet comes to mind, while in the chorus its pure girl pop from the 60s and that's just the start of my associations. In Desecrate The Cathedral everything in 60s pop seems to come together. It's like listening to a discovered "nugget". The male voice is somewhere between Chuck Prophet and Geoff Palmer and is replaced by a female voice for the chorus, making the fun even bigger. The song is obviously good fun. Dumb title though. Now why would you want to do that for?

Problems. J Prozac

J Prosac returns to the blog with a great punk rock single. Taken from his upcoming album 'Obsession" (14 June) he is really going for it. Listening to a song like Problems I wonder how it is still possible to come up with such a strong song in this genre. It all sounds familiar and still it is totally unique, combining toughness with energy and a melody that is instantly unforgettable. There's no beating about the bush. Prosac arrives at the chorus before you know it. Behind the chorus is this great whoa whoa singing, one of the strongest features in any punkrock song. Throw in is an extremely short and strong guitar solo followed by fantastic tight ensemble playing. By then J Prosac has floored me, problems and all. This is a great single, period.

Left In The Sun. Local Drags

Local Drags have been on this blog for a few years now and returns with its first single of the upcoming album 'City In A Room' out since 17 May. It is a song that brings back memories from indie rock music of the 1980s. Bands like R.E.M. and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, to name two. Expect jangly guitars, melodies that are almost smooth pop, all support by a strong rhythm section. Left In The Sun brings exactly that. Lanny Durbin, who is Local Drags, has found that pop feel within himself once again, while sounding different from before. He is reinventing himself by the album, while always sounding interesting to listen to. Based on this song, it can't be the new album is not a very strong one.

Day Late Dollar Short. James Sullivan

The second album of James Sullivan of More Kicks. That band name rang a bell and indeed the band's single 'Animal' can be found on this blog in September 2022. Now Day Late Dollar Short is here. Sullivan is in alternative rocking mode. The rock disguises the pop feel the single has. Sullivan presents a fine pop song, with a strong melody that I want to hear again and again. Listening deeper into the song there are several nice melodies to discover. Sullivan knows how to write a good pop song and from their how to build it up into a rocking beast, making some noise along the way. The long outro attests to that. 'Vital Signs', the album, is already out for a month. High time to put attention to this single, as it very much worth getting to know.

Lost Highway. Diablogato

The title may bring some David Lynch associations with it. I wish I had a memory for movies like I have for music. I saw it but what it was about? I simply have no clue. Diablogato however rocks on this tune like there's no tomorrow. The intro maybe could have been in 'Twin Peaks' episode x, the rest is loud, loud rock. The Boston band sounds like a rock band from the 70s and comes extremely close to the real thing. The first band I think of is Deep Purple in the energy and the breaks in the music. The speed of 'Speed King' or 'Fireball' is what Diablogato goes for. The sound on Lost Highway is huge. The music comes out like a flood wave out of my speakers. If 'Lost Highway' was the movie with Nine Inch Nails in it, then this Lost Highway has a chance to making it into the director's cut.

The Wolf. The Peawees

Everything about The Peawees spells a nostalgic feeling for things past and pastiche. Just look how they present themselves in the video to The Wolf. The clothes were all found in a thrift shop after someone's parents decided to empty their clothing trunks with unworn clothes, while the music sounds just as dated. That would be all nice and good, had not The Wolf been such an urgent song. It rocks tightly has this nice stuttering riff. The Italian band does a lot of things right in its new song. And yes, it has this old fashioned organ sound in the background. Boston's Muck and the Mires could be good friends of The Peawees, except that the Italians rock a bit harder. Singer Hervè Peroncini has a great rough voice. The Peawees from La Spezia are around since 1995, so they are allowed to dress like its 1974? I can't help thinking of The Rubettes with the caps and all. The music has nothing to do with 'Sugar Baby Love' fortunately. This is no pastiche, but very much a real thing. Rock on!

Midas. Wunderhorse

Two years ago Wunderhorse had made it to this blog with single 'Butterflies'. With Midas Jacob Slater, who is Wunderhorse, sets a first step towards his new album. This song is an alternative rocker of some big proportions. It's chorus just sings "Midas" and some "la la la". It has to suffice. On the basis of the strong rock laid out underneath it, it does. In a minimum of time as well, just 2 minutes 17 seconds. In that few minutes Wunderhorse swirls through my room like a tornado. Who to compare the song with? Grunge?, sure. The Jam?, yes, I can go with that. The kind of song that should appeal to a wider rock loving audience. Midas has the energy, the power, the melody and the shine to do so. Let's see what happens next. Album 'Cub' did not convince me sufficiently to make it to a review. Midas may lead the next album towards one. This is a strong single.

Starbuster. Fontaines D.C.

A new Fontaines D.C. single is an event by now. The band has set steps beyond the post punk moniker as is developing in several directions it seems. The song starts with a beat rhythm, think an unsophisticated The Stone Roses. The result is a song that seems more a loop than a live band. Grian Chatten raps-sings through the verses. When the song progresses, it does get beyond rhythm-interesting. Strange noises are a part of the music, but the band comes in in several ways as well. The guitars, keyboards, they all come by. The song is far more interesting than I would have guessed from the listening to the first minute for the first time. To all appearances Fontaines D.C. has set another major step in its development towards being its own and not youngsters inspired by what happened well before their time. Something I never would have expected after listening to the first album, that is not on this blog. Starbuster is extremely intriguing, with a very weird video.

Looking At You. Garlands

Garlands has a subscription to this blog, as those following it will have noticed by now. Ever since Gordon Harrow sent me his second solo EP well before the pandemic, the relationship remained stable. For Looking At You things are no different. Expect a great rock pop song to come your way if you decide to play the song on You Tube, Bandcamp or Spotify while reading this post. Looking At You is Garlands at its most Supergrass. That is the best description. Just like the (former?) Britpoppers the trio manages to rock superbly while not forgetting the pop element that can make a rocking song so good. Over a tight rhythm of drums, bass and guitar, several overdubs of guitars come in and get off, setting off little sparks in the song. The same with the vocals. Be on the look out for all these little harmonies and background vocals. They make Looking At You an extremely rich Britpop song for the third decade of the 21st century. Actually, this song is one of Garlands' best songs to date.

Hurricane. Lionlimb

It's six years since Lionlimb debuted with its album 'Tape Recorder'. There was a later album that did not make. With Hurricane the band comes right back into my musical consciousness. Hurricane is everything but that. The drums is the only thing reminding me vaguely of strong winds and lashing, torrential rain. The rest of the song is deliciously dreamy. Stuart Bronaugh's soft voice takes precedence here but do not forget the female voice backing him up. Over the drum and underneath the voice is where things really become lovely and great to listen to. A lot of attention has gone into the details of this song. At first there's atmospherics, like a faint piano sound, all muffled and longheld notes, before that oh so nice bass comes in. And from there everything is possible and is. Lionlimb is in a great form on Hurricane, there's no other word for it.

Wout de Natris

Everyone Must Go. Blame Shifters

More punk after "Montreal punk" by Hood Rats last Wednesday. This time from Massachusetts in the U.S.A. Blame Shifters is a trio that knows where Abraham found his punk mustard alright. That is also where most of the comparisons stop.

Blame Shifters has the anger and excitement but plays a different sort of punk music. If I had to make a guess I would have placed the band in the U.K. and not U.S. The band mixes post punk elements with the real thing in ways that it almost becomes to hard to discern the line between the two.

Take 'Glory Mold' as an example. The band plays Franz Ferdinand like lead lines but louder, to all appearances but not necessarily really faster and backed by a raging storm of a rhythm section. Singer Mike Dunn really winds himself up, only to release the tension with some wild screaming. What will his kids think when they see him perform?, I can't help wondering. Despite the anger, just listen to how well the song is built up, with guitar melodies coming in from all sides. Blame Shifters really know what they are doing here. This is not about venting anger but presenting song and message in the best possible way. The soloing in the song that brought forth the title? Has that still got anything to do with punk? This is alternative rock in the best possible way.

To think that the band has gone through some deep valleys to get to where they are with Everyone Must Go. A founding member died during the pandemic, as did another friend Dunn started a band with in the past. He himself had a yearslong writer's block and with the death of Chris Simmons the band's other song writer left the building prematurely. Dunn and drummer Rob Furness had played together with Simmons since they were 15. Despite all the misery the band decided to continue anyway, together with "newby" Meagan Day, on bass since 2014, to come up with Everyone Must Go, an the energised punk album. Why they did get out of that valley and all that was left behind there, comes forward in the album's final song 'Keep It Going', a true introverted reflection song. "For both of them".

Of course Everything Must Go as a whole is loud, but allow yourself to listen through the loudness as it were and you will find how varied the album is. This is far from a "one, two, three, four, let's go hey ho" album. Some songs are cringing, cause discomfort or even have complex Frank Zappa styled interludes, where all play the same note/beat together. It's the pop element that is totally missing, making for very interesting listening sessions. The deeper I get into Everything Must Go, the more I discover and the more interesting the album becomes. At the same time the album is unpolished and rough at the edges. Beauty and poppunk is far from the minds of this trio.

Everything Must Go is a far more complex and good album than I'd gathered from the introduction. Giving it the time to ripen, it seems like it opened itself to me to show the inner beauty in all that rough and toughness.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Everyone Must Go here:

https://blameshifters.bandcamp.com/album/everyone-must-go

By Now. Heather Little

De Texaanse singer-songwriter Heather Little schreef tot dusver vooral songs voor anderen, maar laat op haar album By Now horen dat ze deze songs zelf nog veel mooier en indringender kan vertolken.

By Now van de Amerikaanse singer-songwriter Heather Little is een wat bescheiden release binnen het recente aanbod, maar het is een album dat je genadeloos bij de strot grijpt. Heather Little maakt Amerikaanse rootsmuziek zonder opsmuk, maar heeft zich wel omringd met een aantal fantastische muzikanten die tekenen voor een puur en gloedvol geluid. Het past prachtig bij de mooie stem van de Amerikaanse muzikante, die met heel veel gevoel zingt. Dat kan ook haast niet anders, want de songs op By Now zijn getekend door zeer persoonlijke verhalen over pieken en dalen in het leven van Heather Little. Het levert een album op dat goed is voor flink wat kippenvel.

Op Facebook staat het volgende bericht van de Amerikaanse singer-songwriter Heather Little. “In less than 24 hours, the whole wide world will have unlimited access to my account of some of my deepest, most personally traumatic, and life shaping events, family dynamics, and personal tragedies. Much of the hard facts are just sad and embarrassing on paper, but the overwhelming love in the current chapter of my life is testament to the incredible friends and family, and chosen family in particular, who have afforded me the support it has taken to find the courage to share such things with the world outside the small rooms I’ve played for 20 years. I hope you’ll find something in it that assures you you’re not alone in your story, even if you aren’t ready to tell it”.

Het ontroerende bericht werd vergezeld door een foto van Heather Little als dreumes op schoot bij haar vader, getekend door een forse wijnvlek in haar gezicht. Een dag later maakte ik kennis met de muziek van Heather Little, die met By Now een bijzonder indrukwekkend album heeft afgeleverd. De singer-songwriter uit Texas schrijft al heel wat jaren songs voor anderen, onder wie bijvoorbeeld Miranda Lambert, maar op By Now laat ze horen dat ze haar songs zelf nog veel mooier en indrukwekkender kan vertolken.

By Now werd gemaakt met een aantal geweldige muzikanten, die in een Californische studio tekenden voor heel veel prachtig gitaarwerk en fraaie bijdragen van onder andere banjo, cello, viool, accordeon, piano en pedal steel. De songs van Heather Little bevinden zich op het snijvlak van folk en country en het zijn songs die wat traditioneel aan doen, overigens zonder gedateerd of oubollig te klinken.

Door de variatie in de gebruikte instrumenten zijn het songs die verrassend veelzijdig klinken, maar de fraaie en sfeervolle instrumentatie staat in alle tracks volledig in dienst van de vocalen. Heather Little beschikt over een stem die gemaakt is voor de vaak behoorlijk melancholische folk- en countrysongs die ze maakt en ze vertolkt haar songs met hart en ziel. Er komt de nodige persoonlijke ellende voorbij op By Now en deze wordt bijna tastbaar gemaakt door de emotievolle zang van Heather Little.

De prachtige stem van Heather Little voorziet de songs op haar album van een enorme impact, die bij mij song na song goed is voor kippenvel. Het is kippenvel dat alleen maar wordt versterkt door de zeer fraaie klanken op het album en als dan ook de karakteristieke stem van Patty Griffin opduikt op de achtergrond grijpt By Now van Heather Little je nog wat genadelozer bij de strot.

De impact van de persoonlijke songs van de Texaanse singer-songwriter en haar hartverscheurend mooie zang zijn alleen maar toegenomen sinds mijn eerste kennismaking met de muziek van Heather Little, die in deze drukke releaseweken helaas moet concurreren met stapels andere nieuwe albums binnen de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek.

Het zijn albums die stuk voor stuk worden verpletterd door de geweldige songs van Heather Little, die met By Now zomaar een van de meest indrukwekkende rootsalbums van het jaar heeft afgeleverd. Het is een album dat vooralsnog bescheiden aandacht krijgt, maar liefhebbers van Amerikaanse rootsmuziek die dit album laten liggen, missen een onbetwist en echt wonderschoon jaarlijstjesalbum.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt By Now hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://continentalrecordservices.bandcamp.com/album/by-now

Crime, Hysteria and Useless Information. Hood Rats

"Montreal punks", that is how the bio to Crime, Hysteria and Useless Information starts. Montreal may be a nice city, the second word tells it all. Hood Rats plays punk at high speed and intensity. That is all you need to know really. I've seldom heard an album where the word punk is exactly the right description. Of course, there is an option for some nuances and an extra word or two, but if they really contribute anything to that one word, punk, I strongly doubt.

Hood Rats is a trio from Montreal, bass, drums and guitar (overdubs) vocals. The only name I can find is Tony Salador. Perhaps he is the only member. Photo's show three, so tell me. What makes Hood Rats stand out, are the huge guitar parts. This is not just ramming away on a guitar. The lead parts are will thought out and delicate for a punk band. Not in the subtle form, it's loud and intense. Salador knows exactly what he wants and has written some great lead lines for his solos.

The songs themselves are one, two, three, four and go. The Ramones in that sense are the blueprint at the heart of Hood Rats' music. From there the band has far more imagination and a little more anger. This not a bubblegum song on steroids and The beach Boys or 'Wipe Out' played two to three times faster. Hood Rats are way beyond that and beyond the U.K. punkers of the 70s. The anger in Tony Salador's voice makes it far more intense. Without overdoing it, as that is the point where I usually stop listening to emo, hardcore, etc. He strikes the exact right balance in all the songs. Through a sentence like "I wanna be sick" he brings both Iggy and the Stooges and The Sexpistols to mind immediately, laying a successful and welcome link to the past.

What catches me in the end, is the energy Hood Rats shares. That is what this album is all about. 14 Songs all playing out between 1 minute and 18 seconds and 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Just go and not take any longer than strictly necessary. Intro, verse, chorus, solo, finished. 'Repo Man' has an intro of one minute, well two intros actually. That is the biggest variation on Crime, Hysteria and Useless Information.

"(Montreal) punk", I told you it would have been enough.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Crime, Hysteria and Useless Information here:

https://dirtcultrecords.bandcamp.com/album/crime-hysteria-useless-information

Painted Faces. Coaster

Calling the opening song of your album 'I Want It All' is as ambitious as it is audacious. The former is a great expression of ambition. It tells the world, we are going to make it big time. The latter is harder, as since 1989 this song title has been given away, as far as I'm concerned. It is the fantastic return to form single of Queen. The one that should have been another number 1 but got stuck to number 2. Coaster's version is so different that I'll allow it any way.

Painted Faces is the kind of album that allows the listener to dream away on. Soft songs, soft, mellow vocals and softly played instruments, all in mid-tempo at best. On average a first reaction could be: boring! Beware though. Painted Faces is everything but boring. You will find that all the songs come with intricate arrangements. They keep you on your toes and invite you to follow all the melodies, counter melodies and little extras all the way to the end of a song and album. Only to start all over again.

People with a love for this kind of music will spot comparisons, so allow me to be lazy today and let you fend for yourself here. I just want to point to the beauty this band shares with the world.

Coaster is a duo from Utrecht, Bart Appel and Paul Dijkman, who met during their study and started to create music together. The result of two years of working hard in Dijkman's bedroom is this debut album. In nothing is this a lo-fi album that was associated with bedroom-recorded music some time ago. Painted Faces is an album that is so rich and varied in sound. Although the drums were recorded in a studio and a female voice comes to assistance on background vocals, the main parts all were recorded at home.

Promo photo

The album's bio mentions slow folk and slowcore as genre references. I can live with these descriptions. A band like Low certainly has been heard by Coaster. Except that I like this band's music far better. Coaster is richer in melodies underneath the slowcore singing. The duo obviously likes to explore what a song takes to make it more interesting to listen to. The results are all these little melodies that weave around the central chords of a song that many people will have used successfully or less so over decades. It is all about what happens next and that next is very much alright on Painted Faces. From small to slow rocking, it all comes by, making me curious for each next song. As this is so dreamy music, it falls under my definition of dreampop as well. In a great way.

Since the bedroom recordings Coaster has evolved into a band, so I'm certainly looking forward to see it live some day. In the meantime let me put the album on once again.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and buy Painted Faces here:

https://coaster.bandcamp.com/album/painted-faces

Between The Moon And The Milkman. Amelia Coburn

Amelia Coburn is binnen de Britse folk al een tijdje een hele grote belofte en maakt dat helemaal waar op het uitstekende, door Bill Ryder-Jones geproduceerde, Between The Moon And The Milkman.

Direct vanaf de eerste noten van haar debuutalbum Between The Moon And The Milkman doet Amelia Coburn iets met je. Ze beschikt over een zeer karakteristieke stem, waar ik persoonlijk even aan moest wennen, maar die ik inmiddels prachtig vind. Het is een stem die het goed doet in de Britse folk, die een zeer prominente rol speelt op het debuutalbum van de Britse muzikante, maar Amelia Coburn teert zeker niet alleen op de rijke tradities van de Britse folk. Het door Bill Ryder-Jones geproduceerde Between The Moon And The Milkman slaat meerdere wegen in en trekt continu de aandacht met een mooie stem, fraaie klanken en songs die bol staan van de creativiteit.

Between The Moon And The Milkman van Amelia Coburn opent als een behoorlijk traditioneel klinkend Brits folkalbum. Zowel de muziek als de zang herinneren aan de Britse folk uit de jaren 70 of eerder en dat is een genre waar ik meestal niet zo heel goed mee uit de voeten kan, al zijn er absoluut uitzonderingen. Op een of andere manier werd ik echter geraakt door de bijzondere stem van de jonge Britse muzikante, die met Between The Moon And The Milkman haar debuutalbum aflevert.

Amelia Coburn beschikt over een heldere en behoorlijk hoge stem, die gemaakt is voor traditionele Britse folk. Het is een stem die naarmate het album vordert steeds mooier wordt en dat geldt eigenlijk voor alles op Between The Moon And The Milkman. Ook in muzikaal opzicht is het debuutalbum van Amelia Coburn een album dat je niet te makkelijk in een hokje moet duwen. Britse folk uit het verleden is absoluut een inspiratiebron geweest voor de muzikante uit Middlesbrough, maar het album blijft hier zeker niet in steken.

Between The Moon And The Milkman doet me meer dan eens denken aan Call Of The Search, het debuutalbum van Katie Melua. In vocaal opzicht hoor ik met enige regelmaat overeenkomsten tussen Amelia Coburn en Katie Melua en ook in muzikaal opzicht zijn de debuutalbums van de twee singer-songwriters aan elkaar verwant. Katie Melua profiteerde op haar eerste album van de fantastische productie van Mike Batt en ook Amelia Coburn heeft een uitstekende producer weten te strikken. The Moon And The Milkman werd immers geproduceerd door Bill Ryder-Jones, die vorig jaar zijn beste soloalbum tot dusver afleverde, maar ook al naam maakte als producer, onder andere voor Michael Head en Saint Saviour.

Bill Ryder-Jones, die ook tekent voor een flink deel van de instrumentatie, blijft in een aantal tracks redelijk dicht bij de Britse folk, maar begeeft zich met over het algemeen subtiele accenten ook buiten de kaders van het genre. Between The Moon And The Milkman is voorzien van een zeer smaakvol en voornamelijk akoestisch geluid, dat uitstekend past bij de mooie stem van Amelia Coburn, die zelf tekent voor de trefzekere bijdragen van de ukelele.

De jonge Britse muzikante beschikt over een stem waar ik, met name door de hoogte, wel even aan moest wennen, maar als de stem van de Britse muzikante je eenmaal raakt is de liefde voor de zang op het debuutalbum van Amelia Coburn ook direct onvoorwaardelijk. De Britse muzikante overtuigt niet alleen als zangeres, maar ook als songwriter, want de songs op Between The Moon And The Milkman zijn niet alleen veelzijdig, maar zitten ook knap in elkaar.

De Britse singer-songwriter vertelt op haar debuutalbum mooie en vaak poëtische verhalen en verpakt ze in songs die zich vrij makkelijk opdringen, maar die ook interessant en fantasierijk blijven wanneer je ze wat vaker hoort. In een aantal Britse recensies kwam ik de naam van Kate Bush tegen en daar valt wel wat voor te zeggen. Ook voor de vergelijking met Katherine Priddy overigens.

Niet zo gek dus dat Amelia Coburn met name in Britse folk kringen al een tijd wordt gezien als een heel groot talent. Dat talent komt er wat mij betreft helemaal uit op het bijzonder fraaie The Moon And The Milkman, dat wat mij betreft steeds mooier wordt en dat ook zeker de aandacht verdient van een ieder die normaal gesproken geen groot zwak heeft voor Britse folk.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Between The Moon And The Milkman hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://ameliacoburn.bandcamp.com/album/between-the-moon-and-the-milkman

Beth Wimmer and Mike Bischof live. Saturday 11 May, living room Haarlem

Photo: Rob Postema

For the second time Beth Wimmer played live in our living room. This time together with her partner and guitarist extraordinair Mike Bischof. Touring behind her new EP 'Nature' Wimmer has three shows in The Netherlands. With her back catalogue of five beautiful albums the audience was treated to a two hour long stream of originals alternated with a few nice covers of hits from the past and an Alison Kraus - Robert Plant cover. In between stories of life, love and loss were told, introducing the songs.

Her songs vary between singer-songwriter, country, folk, pop and softer country rock. What ties them together is the beautiful voice of Beth Wimmer. The kind of voice that captures people. It is exactly what happened on Saturday. Most people present had never heard of her before and went away impressed and a fan. There also were a few fans who were present in 2017 and really wanted to be there again, bringing friends as well. That is exactly how an artist grows.

Photo: Rob Postema

I honestly wish I could fill a venue for her, as this is the number of fans a singer-songwriter with the vocal, melodic and song strength like Beth Wimmer deserves. If only I knew how. I'll give you a few reasons. I've already mentioned that beautiful voice, where she can put all sorts of emotions into. Like someone said last evening: "I can see that she lives her songs". The lyrics all tell stories we all can relate to in one way or another. Paying more attention you will find that they truly are well crafted. Everything is in its perfect spot. This makes for very pleasant listening.

The music on the records is different from a duo setting. Yet it truly works out beautifully. In Mike Bischof Beth Wimmer has the ideal sidesman. Playing bass on his regular guitar and rhythm through his fingerpick style, alternating with lead lines and solos. (Thanks to Mike I now know where that fine country guitar sound comes from.) Add his harmony vocals and things become pretty perfect. So more than "Pretty Good", one of Beth's songs. Let's not forget his more than just good lead vocal on the Kraus-Plant-Page song 'Please Read The Letter'.

Photo: Rob Postema

There was a surprise for the audience in the encore. The band Karen and I play in, Sweetwood, does one of Beth's songs for about three years now. In the encore we played 'Better Than You Think' all together, with four part harmonies. With a final cover song, 'Heart Of Gold', the show came to an end. after about two hours and a little, including the break, with a well-deserved applause. It is truly an honour to have such talented musicians play in our home.

Again, being so close to an artist shows how people get totally wrapped up in the music and the presence of the artist. All obviously went home feeling 'Pretty Good'.

After the show, we struck a deal. The next time they come to Holland, they will play here again, regardless if Paradiso becomes a reality. Which it should, bookers of NL!

Wout de Natris

You can order Beth Wimmer's music directly through her website under music and on her Bandcamp page.

Donna Blue live. Thursday 9 May 2024, Rotown Rotterdam

Photo: Wout

Donna Blue has made it to this blog ever since the very first single and if I'm not mistaken, this is the third live show on the blog. It is good to see that the band still progresses tremendously. The shyness of the presentation has not changed so much. It is the musical competence and self-assuredness of playing that has evolved. Donna Blue has become a mature band that does not just play its songs but dares to go beyond the recorded versions. Playing together for years is paying off big time.

With 'Into The Realm Of Dreams' Donna Blue released its second album a few months ago. It shows the progression the band has made since 'Dark Roses'. The songs are more varied, reach for deeper ends, while remaining nostalgically dreaming of music created decades ago.

All this came together on stage in Rotown. Live the reverb and other spacey effects can come out even more prominent and full bodied and the Serge Gainsbourg / Air bass can plop even more authentic. The drummer led the band into the songs with daring pick ups, the kind that would lead to panic sweat for me. Not the Donna Blue musicians, who had an addition to the line up compared to the past, someone who played everything that was needed from maracas to keyboard or guitar and singing harmonies as well. They all fell in at the right moment during the complexer drum patterns played as an intro.

Listening to a Donna Blue song is like stepping into a time machine. The music is everything from the 1950s sugar-coated music of Doris Day and Debbie Reynolds to the 'James Bond Theme' and Nancy & Lee, honoured with a rendition of 'Summer Wine' in the encore, to 1960s and 70s (soft porno) movie scores and French yèh-yèh girls. A more modern link to Air and the Gainsbourg-Doillon clan is clear as well. The music of Donna Blue is nostalgic in all ways, except for the ways the sounds are made in 2024. Stomp poxes and synthesizers make sure the sounds are authentic. Even the drumsticks ticking a song into motion were reverb drenched. The outcome of it all is that most songs allow for soft swaying and only a few for moving a little more.

Photo: Wout de Natris

The more surprising were the long instrumental solos in two songs. Sorry, I'm a mess with song titles since I'm getting older, so not even trying. Long spun out but exciting and a refreshing interlude in the music, keeping listeners on their toes. For the first time Donna Blue came close to that other reverb-drenched duo Cari Cari.

There is a minus though. Danique van Kesteren's voice could have been better mixed, as it was near impossible to hear what she was singing. Standing later on at the back of the venue for the encore, I noticed that the bass was far too prominent. That aside, Donna Blue was in great form and hopefully ready for a next step in its career. The music deserves it.

A few days ago Duane Eddy, the master of twang, died at 86. With Bart van Dalen Donna Blue has a great modern replacement for him.

Wout de Natris

You can buy Donna Blue's records here:

https://snowstar.bandcamp.com/album/donna-blue-i

Underdressed At The Symphony. Faye Webster

Faye Webster wordt echt alleen maar beter en perfectioneert haar al zo eigenzinnige geluid nog wat verder met extra invloeden, fraaie klanken en mooie zang, verpakt in songs van een bijzonder hoog niveau.

De uit Atlanta, Georgia, afkomstige Faye Webster wist op haar vorige twee albums een bijzonder eigen geluid te creëren, dat country combineerde met onder andere R&B. Op het recentelijk verschenen Underdressed At The Symphony voegt de Amerikaanse muzikante nog wat extra invloeden toe aan haar songs en heeft ze deze bovendien nog smaakvoller ingekleurd. In muzikaal opzicht is het nieuwe album van Faye Webster nog wat interessanter en veelzijdiger dan de twee terecht geprezen voorgangers en ook de zang en de songs van de Amerikaanse muzikante spreken nog net wat meer aan. Faye Webster is inmiddels een ster op TikTok, nu nog in de wereld buiten dit platform.

Toen de Amerikaanse muzikante Faye Webster in 2014, op haar zestiende (!), debuteerde met Run And Tell hoorde ik wel iets van belofte in haar muziek en zeker ook in haar stem, maar een onuitwisbare indruk maakte ze zeker niet met haar destijds nog redelijk doorsnee Amerikaanse rootsmuziek. Op haar in 2017 verschenen titelloze tweede album maakte de muzikante uit Atlanta, Georgia, wat mij betreft veel meer indruk en voegde ze wat invloeden uit de soul toe aan haar countrysongs, die in muzikaal en vocaal opzicht een stuk rijper klonken.

Alles viel op zijn plek op het in 2019 verschenen Atlanta Millionaires Club, waarop invloeden uit de country, indierock, soul en R&B op even mooie als eigenzinnige wijze samenvloeiden. Het album dook op in de nodige jaarlijstjes, waaronder dat van mij, maar helaas bleef de muziek van Faye Webster op dat moment bij het grote publiek nog onbekend. De muzikante uit Atlanta perfectioneerde haar geluid vervolgens op het in 2021 verschenen I Know I’m Funny haha, dat ook dienst deed als de perfecte soundtrack voor een hele warme zomer.

Faye Webster is nog altijd pas 26 jaar oud, maar levert deze week met Underdressed At The Symphony alweer haar vijfde album af. Het is een album dat deels in het verlengde ligt van zijn twee voorgangers en dat net als deze voorgangers invloeden uit de country, indierock, soul en R&B vermengt. Net als voorganger I Know I’m Funny haha is Underdressed At The Symphony, ondanks het feit dat het moet worden gezien als een breakup album, bovendien wederom een behoorlijk zomers klinkend album, waardoor het album de ruimte direct vanaf de eerste noten aangenaam verwarmt.

Faye Webster liet op al haar vorige albums groei horen en doet dat ook weer op haar nieuwe album, waarop ik de songs nog net wat sterker vind en waarop de Amerikaanse muzikante ook met haar stem en met de inkleuring van haar songs stappen zet. De vaak wat lome en dromerige maar ook bijzonder mooie zang wordt op Underdressed At The Symphony omgeven door een lekker vol en wat broeierig klinkend geluid, dat ook een aantal decennia oud had kunnen zijn, totdat Faye Webster iets meer in de richting van de R&B leunt.

Het is vergeleken met de vorige albums een nog net wat organischer klinkend geluid, waaraan Wilco gitarist Nels Cline prachtige gitaarlijnen heeft toegevoegd, maar ook de pedal steel, die zo dominant aanwezig was op de vorige albums van Faye Webster, is nog steeds van de partij en zorgt voor een dromerige country tintje. Faye Webster flirtte op een eerdere EP nadrukkelijk met rijke orkestraties, maar doet dat op het nieuwe album maar een enkele keer.

Faye Webster kiest dit keer afwisselend voor een meer ingetogen en wat uitbundiger of zelfs zwaar aangezet geluid, dat, zeker wanneer de piano domineert, zelfs wat theatraal kan klinken, maar dat Underdressed At The Symphony ook voorziet van een duidelijk eigen geluid. De muzikante uit Atlanta is inmiddels, en naar verluidt tegen wil en dank, een ster op TikTok, maar verdient ook de aandacht van een ieder die niet actief is op dit platform.

Underdressed At The Symphony is een album waarop heel veel te ontdekken valt en dat nog heel lang aan kracht wint. Het is bovendien een album waarop Faye Webster zich wederom weet te vernieuwen, bijvoorbeeld door te experimenteren met het op smaakvolle wijze vervormen van haar stem met de autotune of de vocoder of door te flirten met invloeden uit de hiphop en zeker ook de jazz, al houdt haar muziek, al is het maar door de pedal steel, ook altijd een country vibe. Het levert ook dit keer een prachtig en zeker ook eigenzinnig album op.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Underdressed At The Symphony hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://fayewebster.bandcamp.com/album/underdressed-at-the-symphony

Lonely Mission. Jake Nicoll

There is a gap in my prolific record collection and that are the singer-songwriters in the wake of Bob Dylan. In the period Dylan was riding his Triumph on speed and cranking out one electric album after the other and then silence, the void into which the likes of say Tim Hardin, Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot could step. I may have an odd single, but no albums, bar Cohen.

Why am I writing this? Because on listening to Lonely Mission that thought entered my mind immediately. Jake Nicholl successfully conjures up this atmosphere of 1965 - 1975 singer-songwriters from the other side of the pond. Whether it truly matches or not. In my brain it does.

Although his voice at times reminds me of Jake Bugg, musically he does not, although I can imagine Bugg singing songs like this. In one song I'm with Art Garfunkel, another including Paul Simon, in the next I'm thinking of 'Sundown' or "Reason To Believe'. And it takes nothing away from Lonely Mission in any way. Jake Nicholl strives for little less than perfection and it seems like he has found the direction towards it.

I have never heard of Jake Nicholl and am a bit surprised to read Lonely Mission is his 11th album. The Canadian singer-songwriter and engineer owning a studio found himself in lockdown and started to build a studio in his home with a lot of vintage gear. From there he started work on a new album. Although the songs touch on a few musical genres, I'm not afraid to state this is 60s songs, mixed with folk and a little pop. The ballads on Lonely Mission all go straight for the heart, to settle there, for good. It is that kind of album. Although I have to admit not knowing for certain that the songs will truly lodge, the first signs look very good. My girlfriend heard the album last night. Had no clue what she was listening to, but did comment "how beautiful this is".

She is totally right. Jake Nicholl touches all the right buttons. Each song has an element that will make you listen. You'll hear a flute, a nice interlude or a change in Nicholl's voice that immediately makes you prick up your ears. The arrangements of the songs are simply extremely well and delicately done. It makes listening to Lonely Mission a true joy.

In the bio it says, Jake Nicholl approaches each album differently. So I have no clue what to expect there. Perhaps it's safest to stick to this album and enjoy it exclusively. As far as I'm concerned, at least for now, Lonely Mission is a bull's eye of an album.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order the album here:

https://tinyroomrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lonely-mission

Older. Lizzy McAlpine

Lizzy McAlpine is pas 24 en maakte al twee uitstekende albums, maar met haar derde album Older kan ze zich zomaar scharen onder de meest getalenteerde singer-songwriters van het moment.

Lizzy McAlpine is vooral bekend op TikTok, maar met haar nieuwe album Older verdient de singer-songwriter uit Philadelphia een veel groter publiek. Older werd gemaakt met een aantal topmuzikanten en ervaren producers en klinkt echt fantastisch. De ene keer ingetogen en folky, de volgende keer rijk georkestreerd, maar altijd zeer smaakvol. Ook de stem van Lizzy McAlpine valt direct in positieve zin op en dat doet de Amerikaanse muzikante ook met haar songs. Older klinkt als een tijdloos singer-songwriter album, maar de songs van Lizzy McAlpine hebben ook een eigentijdse touch. Haar vorige albums waren uitstekend, maar met Older zet Lizzy McAlpine nog een aantal flinke stappen.

Ik heb het idee dat ik de verrichtingen van (jonge) vrouwelijke singer-songwriters op de voet volg, maar toch mis ik wel eens wat. Tussen de nieuwe albums van deze week vond ik een album van Lizzy McAlpine en dat is een naam die ik volgens mij nog niet eerder ben tegen gekomen. Older is echter al het derde album van de singer-songwriter uit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania en de vorige twee konden in de Verenigde Staten rekenen op zeer positieve recensies.

Lizzy (formeel Elizabeth Catherine) McAlpine schreef al songs op de middelbare school, maar leerde het vak vervolgens aan het prestigieuze Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 2020 verscheen haar debuutalbum Give Me A Minute, waarop de jonge Amerikaanse muzikante indruk maakte met zeer smaakvolle folkpop. Het leverde haar beroemde fans op als Phoebe Bridgers en FINNEAS (ook bekend als de broer van Billie Eilish), maar op een of andere manier ontsnapte ze aan mijn aandacht.

Dat deed ze ook met het in 2022 verschenen five seconds flat, waarop ze koos voor een veel breder muzikaal palet. Het indrukwekkende break up album five seconds flat had, wanneer ik het album had ontdekt, zonder enige twijfel mijn jaarlijst gehaald, maar mijn eerste kennismaking met de muziek van Lizzy McAlpine kwam helaas pas. Lizzy McAlpine is nog altijd pas 24 jaar oud, maar met Older schaart ze zich wat mij betreft onder de besten in het genre.

Welk genre dat precies is, is niet zo makkelijk te zeggen, want Older is een verrassend veelzijdig album. Op haar vorige album koos de Amerikaanse muzikante voor wat meer invloeden uit de pop, maar Older is weer wat meer een singer-songwriter album, al zoekt Lizzy McAlpine ook de grenzen op van dit genre. Het derde album van de muzikante uit Philadelphia klinkt een groot deel van de tijd als een tijdloos singer-songwriter album, maar Older verwerkt ook invloeden uit de indiepop en indiefolk van het moment.

De jonge Amerikaanse muzikante maakte haar nieuwe album met meerdere producers en flink wat gastmuzikanten, onder wie muzikanten van naam en faam als Jon Brion, Pino Palladino, Matt Chamberlain en Rob Moose. Ondanks het grote aantal muzikanten dat betrokken was bij het album, is Older een verrassend intiem album. Dat hoor je het best in de wat meer ingetogen songs op het album, maar ook als het album wat voller klinkt of zelfs stevig uitpakt met rijk gekleurde orkestraties, trekt Lizzy McAlpine alle aandacht naar zich toe.

Dat doet ze met bijzonder mooie zang, die overloopt van gevoel en die doorleefder klinkt dan je van iemand van de leeftijd van Lizzy McAlpine mag verwachten. Ik werd echt onmiddellijk geraakt door de bijzonder mooie stem van de muzikante uit Philadelphia en haar emotievolle voordracht, maar ook de songs op Older zijn van een bijzonder hoog niveau.

Het zijn songs die worden gedragen door de geweldige muzikanten die hebben bijgedragen aan het album en door de uitstekende zang, maar het zijn ook songs die je vanaf de eerste noten nieuwsgierig maken naar alles dat nog komen gaat. Dat doen ook de persoonlijke teksten op dit ‘coming of age’ album, want Lizzy McAlpine heeft absoluut wat te melden. Ik had een week geleden nog nooit van Lizzy McAlpine gehoord, maar ik ben inmiddels diep onder de indruk van haar fraaie oeuvre, waarin het prachtige Older vooralsnog het onbetwiste hoogtepunt is.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Older hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://lizzymcalpineband.bandcamp.com/album/older

Rare Earth. Vacation

It's almost weekend, time to take a short break from work and delve into the rock and roll Vacation says it really needs and wants in opening song 'World In Motion'. The world is a powder keg with a flame fast approaching, so let's enjoy rock and roll while we can.

A purer opening statement has seldom been made on a new album by a band. Cincinnati's Vacation makes it, filled with energy, melody and all it's got. If you want modern day rock and roll with its roots in the 1980s mixed with the in your face directness of punk, you will find it on Rare Earth.

Rare Earth is Vacation's ninth album and according to the accompanying bio its best. Now I cannot compare the previous eight to this one but on the basis of what I'm hearing I gladly accept the conclusion. How can an album by, a to me at least, obscure band, ever be better than Rare Earth? This album is filled to the brim with great songs, strong melodies, signifying riffs and boundless enthusiasm and energy. Only in the last song the break is put on and the genre changed allowing all involved soft landing.

Before that Vacation, Jerome Westerkamp III, Evan Wolff (also see the artwork), John Hoffman and John Clooney, simply doesn't let you go. The band shows its love for music from several decades back. One moment the band colours a song more towards punkrock, in others 80s and early 90s rockbands come through loud and clear. Despite the music sounding familiar Vacation manages to capture my attention. The dip in my ears is 'Cheap Death Rattle'. Every album is allowed one or two and still be good. A song like 'Mobility' turns everything in the right direction once again.

Yes, I have dozens of albums like Rare Earth. This is simply the very welcome new addition. Just like Vacation I need my daily dose of rock and roll and Rare Earth is exactly the dose I need right now after a day of extremely necessary yet dull work that needs to be done in order to subject a strong proposal for a project. Thank you, Vacation.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Rare Earth here:

https://vacation.bandcamp.com/album/rare-earth

The Past Is Still Alive. Hurray For The Riff Raff

Hurray For The Riff Raff keert op The Past Is Still Alive terug naar de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek, maar boegbeeld Alynda Segarra is de uitstapjes buiten de gebaande paden van de vorige albums niet helemaal vergeten.

Bij Hurray For The Riff Raff weet je nooit precies waar je aan toe bent en juist dat maakt de albums van de band uit New Orleans zo fascinerend. Op deze albums speelde de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek altijd een grote rol, maar het genre deed een stap terug op de vorige twee albums. Op The Past Is Still Alive staan invloeden uit de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek weer centraal, maar de muziek van Hurray For The Riff Raff kan ook nog altijd ruw klinken. Het is een combinatie van invloeden die maar moeilijk is te weerstaan, wat nog eens wordt versterkt door de bijzondere stem van Alynda Segarra. The Past Is Still Alive bevalt me een stuk beter dan zijn voorganger en is wat mij betreft het sterkste album van de band tot dusver.

Met het titelloze derde album uit 2011 (dat feitelijk een compilatie was van de twee eerder in eigen beheer uitgebrachte albums) trok de Amerikaanse band Hurray For The Riff Raff voor het eerst de aandacht en sindsdien heeft de band rond boegbeeld Alynda Segarra zich ontwikkeld tot een van de smaakmakers binnen de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek.

Alynda Segarra, die zichzelf ziet als non-binair persoon, groeide als kind van Puerto Ricaanse migranten in armoede op in The Bronx in New York, maar trok uiteindelijk naar New Orleans, waar de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek werd ontdekt. Deze Amerikaanse rootsmuziek stond centraal op de eerste albums van de band en zoals het een band uit New Orleans betaamt werd binnen het genre een zo breed mogelijk palet bestreken.

Op het in 2017 verschenen The Navigator keerde Hurray For The Riff Raff in muzikaal opzicht terug naar het New York waarin Alynda Segarra opgroeide en werden invloeden uit de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek vermengd met de rockmuziek die in de jaren 70 in de stad werd gemaakt. Het leverde een geweldig album op, dat in 2022 werd gevolgd door het op het eerste gehoor wat of zelfs flink tegenvallende Life On Earth, waarop Hurray For The Riff Raff zich omringde met een batterij elektronica en de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek bijna volledig uit beeld was verdwenen.

Dat Hurray For The Riff Raff het verleden van de band niet helemaal vergeten is blijkt dat deze week op het toepasselijk getitelde The Past Is Still Alive. Op het nieuwe album werkt de band wederom samen met producer Brad Cook, maar The Past Is Still Alive is nauwelijks te vergelijken met Life On Earth. Op het nieuwe album heeft Alynda Segarra de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek weer volledig omarmd.

Dat hoor je het beste in de ingetogen countrysongs op het album, die herinneringen oproepen aan de muziek die Hurray For The Riff Raff maakte ten tijde van Small Town Heroes uit 2014, voor mij tot voor kort het beste album van de band uit New Orleans. De elektronica die zo nadrukkelijk aanwezig was op het vorige album is verdwenen en heeft plaats gemaakt voor een warm door gitaren gedomineerd geluid. Het is een geluid dat wat mij betreft beter past bij de karakteristieke stem van Alynda Segarra, die wederom indruk maakt.

The Past Is Still Alive bevat naast een aantal ingetogen songs ook een aantal wat gruiziger klinkende songs. Het zijn songs die wel wat doen denken aan de muziek van Big Thief, al is Alynda Segarra een andere (en wat mij betreft betere) vocalist dan Adrianne Lenker. The Past Is Still Alive is overigens gemaakt met een aantal gastmuzikanten, onder wie Libby Rodenbough, Meg Duffy (Hand Habits), Brad en Phil Cook, Mike Mogis en Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), die opdraaft voor een fraai duet.

Het is wat mij betreft goed nieuws dat Hurray For The Riff Raff op haar nieuwe album de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek weer heeft omarmd, maar het is ook goed nieuws dat de band rond Alynda Segarra de ruwe randjes en scherpe kantjes van de vorige twee albums heeft behouden. Ik vind The Past Is Still Alive persoonlijk een stuk beter dan Life On Earth, waar ik nauwelijks meer naar heb geluisterd de afgelopen jaren, en sluit niet uit dat het nieuwe album van de Amerikaanse band snel zal uitgroeien tot het beste album van Hurray For The Riff Raff tot dusver. Voor mij is dat het al.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt The Past Is Still Alive hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://hftrr.bandcamp.com/album/the-past-is-still-alive

Two earwurms: Miley and Joost

Last summer took me on a long drive. Through Italy on to a boat to northern Greece, Albania and from there slowly north through the Balkans. A region I had never travelled through before. The beauty of the countries and culture surprised me and the friendliness of the people really warmed me. There was one constant though, wherever we were, except for Bosnia, we heard 'Flowers' by Miley Cyrus, multiple times a day. To all likelihood 'Flowers' was the biggest hit of 2023 globally.

Yes, I had heard the song before I left home, but it had not made an impression on me of any kind. It was just one of those modern songs that do not really register with me and I do not have a particular liking for. On holiday it was more the surprise of hearing it again than it brought me musical joy. This was a big hit alright, I was thinking. This was different with the one I love though.

And then something strange happened after the summer holiday. The band I'm in, I'm not allowed to say my band, Sweetwood, had to select some new songs once again. My girlfriend brought in 'Flowers', with me thinking sure, that will never make it to our blues and rock band. By lo and behold, it did make it through the selection. About a month ago we started practising it. And then something even stranger happened, the song won't leave my head for a single day.

I learned of the strange timing of the song. Everything of consequence for a musician starts on the two. I don't think I ever encountered that and it takes counting, believe me, to start on the two, as it goes against all my, and my fellow musicians' instincts. While Miley stops singing on three, leaving an extra count, again against all conventions.

Above all, 'Flowers' won't escape me. My head is filled with the song and I hear the exact same from all the other four members. It just keep going round and round. Sometimes I fall asleep with it and my head is literally playing it still or again when I wake up. I have honestly never had that this intense and for so long ever before. And that spells only one thing: 'Flowers' is a big hit.

In a few weeks we will be going on a spring tour" with four shows in six weeks. An absolute records. Be sure we will be playing 'Flowers' for very diverse audiences, while counting one, two, three, four, one, "I can buy myself flowers"...

The second earworm is even weirder. Where Miley Cyrus' song has some resemblance to what I might listen to, Joost's Eurovision Contest 2024 contribution does not. 'Europapa' has nothing to do with what I like and yet I find my head singing the song every once in a while. In fact, he will score very high with the song is my guess.

'Europapa' is dance, gabber, and whatever it is called. There's rap and some singing and playing with vocoders and voice pitching. All the things happening on dance records and yet it's in my head. The song was at the number 1 spot for weeks here, so that probably explains it. I'm just glad I do not hear most number 1s these days any more. Let me listen to the new Brume album instead, to mention an example, like I'm doing right now. Nice, dark and heavy rock. In the meantime, go for it Joost. May the best one win.

Wout de Natris

2024. Week 18, 10 singles (3)

Only a small dent is what writing two singles posts in a week achieves in this enormous number of singles that reach me, but it does allow for more artists' work to make it to the blog and for me to explore more than just one album. This week you will only find names that to most of you will be totally obscure. Heck, even to me several are just that and are found on this blog for the first time. This means that there is a lot to discover today, so enjoy.

White Spade Symphony. Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures

Why write a symphony about a white spade? If only I had the answer. What I can point you to is the fact that Boston's Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures has released a great song. Two chords and the truth describes it quite well. Add a minimally rewritten line by Bob Dylan starting with "something is happening here" and you have a starting point on the song. White Spade Symphony is a mildly rocking song, with two lead guitarists who really go for it in the solo, with just a mild  form of psychedelia ingrained within it. In essence this is an extremely simple song, made special by the variations in the vocal melody and the musicality of the musicians. From beginning to end they have me as an attentive listener. (And, do not forget to take a close look at the fabulous Dali like artwork!)

Big Dog / White Horse. Big Special

There were already a few singles by Big Special that did not make it to the blog. Big Dog / White Horse has. Despite that the bio describes the band as an update of the in 2024 almost past postpunkers of 2018, what I hear here comes closer to the restrained rock of The National than anything else. Singer and songwriter Joe Hicklin starts with this dark voice over a sombre song. One that progresses slowly, yet manages do draw the listener in. Big Dog / White Horse has that magnetism that slowly brings a listener in a trance. There's this ongoing bass riff over which drummer Callum Moloney plays in the counter beat of the bass, setting a great background to the sonorous singing. Slowly but surely Hicklin's voice moves towards a beautiful vocal climax. It doesn't matter that is understated and modest, a climax it is. Now I'm curious for the band's album 'Postindustrial Hometown Blues' any way, to be released on 10 May.

Sink Ya Teeth. The Mysterines

Here's the third single by The Mysterines on this blog. Once again the band manages to rock out in an alternative way with just a hint of psychedelia, while the Britpop element is the main element. Suede and Supergrass certainly are bands coming to mind listening to Sink Ya Teeth. The U.K. band knows what came before. In that sense a listener who has been around will not hear anything new. What he/she does hear is a powerful song, with a strong beat that may get crowds jumping, as it has just the right rhythm for that, without being obvious. What I like extra is the super simple yet effective riff, lifted from a Garbage song from a few decades back. Together it is all more than enthusiastic enough to be good enough as well. The album, 'Afraid Of Tomorrows', is there on 7 June.

R.L.M. MRCY

And now for something completely different. John Cleese could not have phrased it better. With MRCY we move into soul music, a genre not often encountered on this blog. So, let's have a soul outing for a change. MRCY is producer Barney Lister and vocalist Kojo Degraft-Johnson. R.L.M. is a single from their debut album 'Volume 1', that is to be released on 10 May. R.L.M. sets me back circa 50 years when I was first exposed to songs like 'Back Stabbers', 'Me And Mrs. Jones' and 'Walking In The Rain With The One I Love'. Songs I did not really know how to place, as I had just discovered (glam)rock in the form of Slade and Gary Glitter. The recognition of the quality of these songs came with age. MRCY's music is still an outlier in my collection, yet the warmth of the song immediately strikes a chord. DeGraft-Johnson has that true soul voice while Lister knows his classics. A nice and very suave song, with a bit confrontational video..

Motorway. Goat Girl

With Motorway Goat Girl has released an enchanting new single. It might become hard to make it have its own life apart from the super strange and good video. What is it I am looking at?, I found myself asking a few times. Lottie Pendlebury (she/her), Rosy Jones (they/them) and Holly Mullineaux (she/her) are working towards the release of the new album, 'Below The Waste', on 7 June. "Drive" is the call for action Goat Girl makes constantly. Now I opt for listening without getting into the car, as this is more than good enough. The song is filled with keyboards and, most likely, an electronic drums. In between a smooth sounding bass weaves itself through the electronic sounds. It all results in a very dreamy song, that I'd say prohibits driving, but ok. Motorway is very relaxing and interesting. A song to float on as it were into dreamland.

Shit Split Part Duh. Night Court - The Dumpies

Vancouver, Washington's Night Court and Portland, Oregon's The Dumpies released a split mini album containing four respectively five songs by each band. Shit Split Part Duh harbours what split singles usually do: punk(rock). Both bands show what they are made of, where Night Court and The Dumpies do not outdo each other. Both bands alternate between "true" punk songs and slightly more melodic punkrock songs, including songs that last just a few seconds. In fact, there's only one song, 'Cell Phone', lasting more than 2 minutes, by one second exactly. What wins out is the fun both bands obviously have in playing these songs. The fun wins out on wanting to excel in playing. The fun is combined with a serious level of skills though. Both Night Court and The Dumpies know what it is doing and why. That is pleasing the listeners.  Just listen to '1000000 millionth' song. 0.53 seconds and all was said and done. As you can see, the album may contain nine songs, whether it reaches 12 minutes in total may be an interesting question. When all is said and done The Dumpies win out on being the punkiest or better being angrier. Its 'Big' and 'Egg Timer' are great additions to my punk collection. Like Night Courts The Dumpies vary in the approaches to its punk. There are quite some differences I assure you. Still, Split Shit Part Duh was a good idea to make.

On special request, order the album here: https://store.greennoiserecords.com/products/dumpies-night-court-7

Shape Memory. Robin Kester

A good year after the release of her beautiful debut album 'Honeycomb Shades', Robin Kester returns with a new single. Expect an even more electronic track than her previous work. With Shape Memory she moves deeper into dreampop. As always, Warpaint becomes my personal benchmark. This single makes the grade. The dream is not just that. Do not expect Kester presentsing just a daydream of a tropical island with warm sand and water and Bountys falling out of coconut trees. Do expect places somewhat darker underneath the daydream. Not so much a nightmare but the suggestion of one just around the corner. It is in the darker sounds, in the pulsing synths that could turn into a nasty surprise, while the background oohs and aahs could turn out to be sirens and not angels. In short, Shape Memory is an intriguing song where nothing is what it seems. The electronic drums and bass guitar even seem to turn into real ones in the second half of the song.

Grave Pressure. Earth Tongue

Yes, New Zealand was missing so far in this post. Time to go over there and review the supercharged new single of Earth Tongue. Following the great 'Bodies Dissolve Tonight' the duo takes its alternative rock to the next level. Singer/guitarist Gussie Larkin (Mermaidens) and drummer/singer Ezra Simons go for Brighton U.K.'s Blood Red Shoes' crown alright. With a combinations of frantic drumming and a fuzzed guitar Earth Tongue has the energy the U.K. band used to have, while not having lost it completely, on its first albums. Grave Pressure is the kind of song that starts at full speed and from that moment onwards only starts to go faster and faster, to paraphrase my superior in a distribution centre I worked in a long, long time ago. Not so much literally. Earth Tongue doesn't let any energy escape. Grave Pressure is great fun for those who love energised duo rock bands. Album 'Great Hunting' is out on 14 June.

Moon Ride. Margo Guryan

A new single, released for the first time in 1958? Yes, so what's the story? Singer Margo Guryan (1937-2021) is remembered through a three set record containing her music recorded through the years. 'Margo Guryan’s Words And Music' will release on 7 June. Moon Ride is a jazzy kind of pop song and although I have never heard the song and of the singer before, to the best of my knowledge, Moon Ride is a song that may have inspired most of Nancy Sinatra's most famous songs, so in effect Lee Hazelwood. But also, several artists from the same era like Sonny & Cher and what came later as well. It is also a strange song. It starts out as a two chords jazzy song and with its adventurous flute the song is quite normal. It is the lyrics that become a bit weird and Guryan who starts talking in a parlando style, that returns in one of Masters of Reality' songs on 'Sunrise On The Suffer Bus'. (Sorry, I'm too time strapped to find out which one.) Moon Ride has surprised me no little, as it is so psychedelic in its lyric, Musically this could have been Doris Day without a big orchestra behind her, lyrically it's totally out there.  For 1958 it seems truly adventurous. I'm sure curious to hear more on the album.

Fight. The Gluts

Only a few weeks ago The Gluts debuted on this blog with 'Cade Gìu'. Here's the next single, 'Fight'. Expect the band to truly rock out with a shredding guitar solo that is taking the volume in the studio to the max, right before the moment amps tend to blow up. With 'Bang!' the Milan based band is about to release its fifth album on 31 May. Fight does a few things right. Besides being turbocharged as a good rock song should be, it uses dynamics in all the right ways. It doesn't give everything away all at once. The intro really goes for it but once the first verse starts the band holds back, leaving only bass and drums, Claudia Cesana / Dario Bruno Bassi, with an electric guitar coming in like a flash of lightning. Slowly but surely the guitar doesn't go away any more. An instrumental interlude changes the tempo and time signature. When things go back to normal, the guitar escapes its leash and goes off into the stratosphere. The singer tries to take back control but fat chance. Marco Campana is in the lead and not planning to give it back to singer Nicolò J. Campana, after which Marko plays the song home. Ears ringing and mouth slowly dropping.

Wout de Natris