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

Imitation Of War. Itasca

Kayla Cohen maakte als Itasca een paar jaar geleden indruk met het mooie Spring, maar overtreft dit album met het door bijzonder fraai en veelkleurig elektrisch gitaarspel gedomineerde Imitation Of War.

Luister naar het nieuwe album van Itasca en je waant je in de jaren 60 en 70 en dan met name in de Laurel Canyon bij Los Angeles. Wanneer Kayla Cohen haar elektrische gitaar inzet en psychedelische akkoorden speelt verhuis je al snel naar het door psychedelica gedomineerde San Francisco van de late jaren 60. Itasca creëert met name door de inzet van de elektrische gitaar een bijzonder eigen geluid, waardoor Imitation Of War onmiddellijk opvalt in het aanbod van het moment. Het dromerige en wat zweverige karakter van het album wordt versterkt door de stem van Kayla Cohen, die al even mooi en aansprekend is, waarna de fantasierijke songs het album nog wat verder optillen. Prachtig.

De naam Itasca deed bij mij niet direct een belletje rinkelen, maar ik bleek aan het eind van 2019 behoorlijk enthousiast over Spring, het vijfde of zelfs zesde album van de Amerikaanse muzikante. Voor Spring verruilde Kayla Cohen, de vrouw achter Itasca, het mondaine Los Angeles voor de wilde natuur van New Mexico, wat een ontspannend en bij vlagen sereen klinkend album opleverde.

Sinds Spring zijn ruim vier jaren verstreken en dat is een eeuwigheid in een genre waarin het aanbod groot en de concurrentie moordend is. Niet zo gek dus dat ik Itasca eigenlijk al weer was vergeten, maar met haar nieuwe album Imitation Of War maakt de muzikante uit Los Angeles zoveel indruk dat ik haar naam vanaf nu echt niet meer ga vergeten.

Ook Imitation Of War heeft iets rustgevends, maar het is toch een flink ander album dan Spring. Waar de muziek van Itasca op het vorige album voornamelijk een akoestisch karakter had, speelt Kayla Cohen dit keer vooral elektrische gitaar. Haar Gibson SG-100 uit 1971 speelt een zeer prominente rol in vrijwel alle songs op het album, waarop haar akoestische gitaar genoegen moet nemen met een bijrol. Kayla Cohen tekent voor de gitaren en de zang, deed hiernaast een beroep op een bassist en twee drummers en vroeg de van de bands Wand en Behavior bekende Robbie Cody als co-producer van het album.

Spring riep ruim vier jaar geleden herinneringen op aan de muziek die in de late jaren 60 en vroege jaren 70 in de heuvels rond Los Angeles werd gemaakt en ook Imitation Of War heeft zich zeker laten beïnvloeden door de Laurel Canyon folk uit het verleden. Dat is het duidelijkst in de vooral akoestisch ingekleurde songs op het album, want wanneer Kayla Cohen haar elektrische gitaar er bij pakt krijgt de muziek van Itasca iets psychedelisch.

De Amerikaanse muzikante maakte op haar vorige albums indruk met haar spel op de akoestische gitaar, maar laat op Imitation Of War horen dat ze ook op de elektrische gitaar excelleert. De muzikante uit Los Angeles speelt prachtige akkoorden en neemt ook de tijd om te soleren. Imitation Of War is een album met een vrij laag tempo en het is een album waarop het fraaie gitaarspel van Kayla Cohen alle ruimte krijgt. Het draagt bij aan het ontspannen of zelfs rustgevende karakter van het album, maar het zorgt er ook voor dat de muziek van Itasca iets benevelends heeft. Op hetzelfde moment prikkelen de tijdloze songs van Itasca eindeloos de fantasie.

In muzikaal opzicht is Imitation Of War, vooral door het geweldige elektrische gitaarspel, een fascinerend album, maar ook met haar stem maakt Kayla Cohen makkelijk indruk. Ze zingt vooral zacht en ontspannen, maar ook met veel gevoel en precisie. Het is de zang die het album weer wat de kant van de Laurel Canyon folk op duwt, maar Itasca heeft op Imitation Of War ook een heel bijzonder eigen geluid.

Imitation Of War van Itasca is een album waarbij het echt heerlijk luieren of wegdromen is, maar vergeet ook niet om goed te luisteren naar het werkelijk wonderschone gitaarspel en de al even mooie zang van Kayla Cohen en naar de knappe wijze waarop haar songs in elkaar zitten. Met een beetje pech had ik dit album zomaar over het hoofd gezien, maar Imitation Of War is een betoverend mooi album, dat bij iedere volgende keer horen nog wat mooier en indrukwekkender is.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Imitation Of War hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://itasca.bandcamp.com/album/imitation-of-war

Nature Calls. The Stream

With the album finally available on LP, it's time to publish my long-overdue review of The Stream's new album Nature Calls. 

With bigger and smaller bangs The Stream celebrated the release of its latest album, Nature Calls, late in March. The music was accompanied by all sorts of chemical and mechanical tests executed live onstage, while showing all kinds of natural phenomena and formulas on screen. All to underscore the theme of the new album, nature. I would not have minded to have had a few extra eyes and ears, so I could really grasp and process it all at the same time. You can find the review elsewhere on this blog (http://wonomagazine.blogspot.com/2024/03/nature-calls-steam-live-theater-ins.html.).

Today I'm only listening to the album, not distracted by all the theatre spectacle. What my ears are telling me today, is what my brain had already registered: The songs on Nature Calls are of the quality that comes with expectations when receiving new music by The Stream. And then some, I opt for.

Nature Calls is the next level. In music and thematically. The scientific theory The Stream sings about is way beyond my comprehension. Jan Stroomer has a science degree and worked in the science department of a university, before he decided to move to music. Something the world should be far more cognisant of. Had someone like Billy Joel released an album like Nature Calls, the world have stood applauding, with DJs playing the songs on the radio, of course. Not so for The Stream unfortunately.

What strikes me most on Nature Calls is the variety in songs, that all have a special component. Stroomer has found several voices to share his insights to the world. Vocally, for starters. You will hear him using his voice in several registers and several suit his voice extremely well. He'll forgive me when I write that he's not the best singer in the world, but on Nature Calls he truly convinces as a singer. The ladies in the background augment the vocal experience and compliment Stroomer with beautiful harmonies. Live even more so than on record.

Musically things start with the rather unusual line up of The Stream, keyboards, drums and bass, and three vocalists. As a result it is the piano of Stroomer that receives the most attention musically. It is the heart of The Stream, with a synth and rhythm section as the skeleton. Pay attention though, as both the drums and bass take their moments in the music and not just accompany it but rise up to occasions.The result is sheer beauty.

The music on Nature Calls changes from funny to very serious. The title song belongs in the former. A bit naughty in sound. The latter are all over the album. Especially in the near instrumental intro and outro that border on classical music. My only complaint is that 'Drunkard's Walk' worked really well on stage but does not on the album. It's the kind of song with spoken word where one or two listens suffices. For the rest the arrangements of the songs work out really well, making the album a joy to listen to.

With "Sweet Sally, Sad Departure" The Stream had already made a major step in its development. With Nature Calls it takes itself even one step further. This is the kind of album that someone like Billy Joel might have dreamt of for the past thirty years to be able to write it. The Stream has released an album that launches it into the runner up category of serious music that begs listening and enjoying, while still having the capacity to grown further. It's time to start playing The Stream on the radio and have it in online stream lists. This music deserves to be heard far and wide.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Nature Calls here:

https://thestream.bandcamp.com/album/nature-calls

The Stones and Brian Jones

Two days before The Rolling Stones started its umpteenth tour of the U.S.A. in Houston, my friends and I went to see the movie documentary on Brian Jones, the first Stone to leave the band in 1969. The movie started with the comment, "almost nobody remembers him". Looking at the movie, that will not be true for the first generation of fans and certainly not the girls of that generation, although they may remember their fandom with a bit of embarrassment, as they tend to do later in life. Until the moment it has become something to look back fondly on.

Brian Jones had left the band just about the moment when I discovered the band. In the summer of 1969 'Honky Tonk Women' was the first hit for me. I do not have any recollection of the songs before that and several I truly did not get to know until several years later.

What struck me, how popular Brian Jones was, how pretty the girls were he dated (and got pregnant) and that it was not enough for him. The latter is probably the tragedy of it all. Had he been happy with his position as a popular Stone, who was not able to write songs, then he might still have been one. Of course, it may simply be the case he truly did not like what Jagger-Richards were writing but then he could just have left. In the meantime, like Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, he was burning the candle from all angles at the same time, resulting in becoming a member of a club no one should aspire to joining.

I think that this popularity was what I was not prepared for. It is totally glazed over by the decades that followed and by the current bandmembers that have no use for a faint memory or better a ghost that doesn't age. There was nothing much on Brian Jones in the 'Unzipped' exhibition for example. Had Jones remained alive, who knows he might have been on stage in 2013-15, together with Mick Taylor and so helped towards a higher pension.

By 1968 though the man had turned from a nuisance into a liability and that is what determined the outcome and the memory of the other four band members. That is what makes a person's memory. Ex-bassist Bill Wyman tries hard to do Jones right and shows his contributions to individual songs by pointing to his musicality. The others remain fairly aloof. It is a thin legacy in the end.

Let's face it. What was the band's most popular period? 1968-1972 and by 1968 Brian Jones had already drifted away. The "greatest rock and roll band in the world" is not what he was a part of. Couldn't be, because he had become a liability. There was no way that he could go back on tour with the band in 1969. So, he went and, coincidentally died within weeks after leaving.

What remains after seeing the movie is the memory of someone who was very insecure, desperately seeking his parents' approval. The most memorable and touching moment is a letter his father sent him, found in a box on the attic of one of the girl friends/mothers. A band that continued regardless, just like many others in the movie who were left by the wayside, after having served their purpose as whatever. (And the girls going from one Stone to the other and in the other direction found there.)

What remains is the music. The first six years are not my favourite where the albums are concerned. Most of the singles though are fantastic. And Brian Jones is forever a part of that. The music tells all and that is a legacy that will not be forgotten, transcending the fact that some people do not recognise him in the pictures.

Wout de Natris

The Making Of The Making Of. Gramercy Arms

Those who take the trouble of immersing in new singles once a week on this blog, will have encountered Gramercy Arms a few times already. Today it's time for a full album. In nine songs Gramercy Arms sort of travels through my (musical) life with a set of original songs that rings the bell of long time favourites.

NYC based singer and songwriter Dave Derby collaborates with producer Ray Ketchum and gather colleagues and friends to work on respective songs with them. The list of collaborators is as long as the previous sentence suggests. Despite so many different people being involved The Making Of The Making Of sounds as a consistent album of a band that has a firm direction and goal.

It does make the album varied, as songs are approached from different angles. You will find an Eagles inspired ballad side to side with alternative rock song. Or a The Beatles like song combined with folk from CSN&Y and the West Coast and Sparklehorse all in one. Like I already said, Gramercy Arms took me on a ride of musical nostalgia in a very pleasant way. Simply because the songs on the album are convincingly good.

What strikes me is the love for these songs that comes through on the album and the warmth with which they are played. That may be the biggest feat, as all these different musicians were asked to contribute. Perhaps some never even met in the (same) studio.

Promo photo: Debora Frances

The Making Of The Making Of starts with a very 90s song. I'm remembered immediately of that fine album by The Caulfields, 'Whirligig'. 'After The After Party', was one of the singles already on this blog. It throws in these superb harmony vocals, lifting the song to another level than just 90s alternative rock. The 70s are there as well. To me this song shows that this is an album to immediate pay attention to. And Gramercy Arms fully delivers.

Without dissecting each song, The Making Of The Making Of takes the listener through different times and genres, tickling a lot of fancies with me. It is an immensely pleasant listening trip.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order The Making Of The Making Of here:

https://gramercyarms1.bandcamp.com/album/the-making-of-the-making-of

Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here. Friko

Het Amerikaanse duo Friko levert met Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here een album af dat alle kanten op gaat, maar iedere kant die het tweetal uit Chicago op gaat levert iets moois en bijzonders op.

Friko uit Chicago kan in de Verenigde Staten rekenen op zeer lovende recensies voor haar debuutalbum Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here. Die recensies zijn geen moment overdreven, want Niko Kapetan en Bailey Minzenberger laten een fris en veelzijdig geluid horen, dat direct vanaf de eerste noten opzien baart. Het duo uit Chicago kan uit de voeten met ingetogen en folky songs, maar kan de gitaren ook compleet laten ontsporen. Het zijn de twee uitersten van een geluid dat je steeds weer weet te verrassen. Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here rammelt, maar zit ook knap in elkaar en verbaast steeds weer met geweldige songs. Een grote belofte voor de toekomst al met al.

Vrijwel alle Amerikaanse muziekwebsites, onder wie ook mijn vaste tipgevers Paste en Pitchfork, noemen Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here van Friko een van de beste nieuwe albums van deze week. Daar kon ik me heel snel in vinden, want het duo uit Chicago heeft een bijzonder album afgeleverd.

Friko (ik blijf associaties met het Nederlandse kaasmerk Frico houden helaas) bestaat uit zanger en gitarist Niko Kapetan en drummer Bailey Minzenberger en bracht in 2019 het album Burnout Beautiful uit. Omdat dit feitelijk een verzameling demo’s was, moet Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here worden gezien als het debuutalbum van Friko. Uit nieuwsgierigheid heb ik de demo’s van Friko inmiddels toch even beluisterd. Ze zijn zeker interessant en een enkele keer veelbelovend, maar in kwalitatief opzicht is het niet te vergelijken met het deze week verschenen album, dat echt klassen beter is.

Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here opent direct fantastisch met een uiterst ingetogen song, waarin akoestisch gitaarspel wordt gecombineerd met de wat onvaste maar aansprekende stem van Niko Kapetan. Het deed me onmiddellijk aan Big Thief denken en die vergelijking blijft opgaan wanneer de track halverwege explodeert. Friko bouwt de spanning eerst langzaam op met steeds net wat gruiziger gitaarwerk, subtiel drumwerk en mooie achtergrondzang, maar uiteindelijk ontsporen zowel het gitaarwerk als de zang op indrukwekkende wijze. Where We’ve Been is de beste track die Big Thief nooit gemaakt heeft en is een fascinerende openingstrack, waarin Friko laat horen dat het uitersten kan verenigen.

De songs van de band uit Chicago kunnen ook op de rest van Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here alle kanten op. Niko Kapetan en Bailey Minzenberger kunnen uit de voeten met ingetogen en folky songs en zeer gruizige gitaarmuziek, maar ze draaien ook hun hand niet om voor behoorlijk toegankelijke indierock, voor gevoelige popsongs met piano en strijkers of voor aanstekelijke popsongs met echo’s uit het verleden, maar ook invloeden uit de postpunk of juist de chamber pop hebben een plekje gevonden in de fascinerende songs van Friko.

De songs van het Amerikaanse tweetal zijn behoorlijk verschillend, maar ook binnen de songs kan alles in één keer omslaan. Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here werd vrijwel live opgenomen in de studio en zo klinkt het album ook. De songs van Friko hebben vaak een lo-fi karakter, maar aan de andere kant hebben Niko Kapetan en Bailey Minzenberger, die ook Chopin noemen als inspiratiebron, hun songs veel te goed uitgewerkt om in het hokje lo-fi te passen.

Het debuutalbum van Friko is ongepolijst of zelfs ruw, maar op hetzelfde moment klinkt het allemaal bijzonder melodieus en flirten de twee muzikanten uit Chicago meer dan eens met de perfecte popsong. Het levert bijzondere contrasten en een aangename dynamiek op, maar zeker als je het album wat vaker hebt gehoord blijkt dat alle songs op het debuutalbum van Friko bol staan van de potentie. Ik was direct zeer gecharmeerd van de ruwe diamanten op Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here, maar het blijken al snel stuk voor stuk blinkende edelstenen. Of Friko heel groot gaat worden is de vraag, maar de belofte is er absoluut.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://friko.bandcamp.com/album/where-weve-been-where-we-go-from-here

2024. Week 18, 10 singles (2)

It's almost May and is spring finally really upon us? There's no way to predict yet, but let's hope so. Today a catch up on singles. There are so many of them, that it is impossible to keep up. It starts with one of the most exciting bands out there and from my city of birth at that. Not that I can make any claim to fame, besides having recognised how special the band is from its very first single. (And, yes, I cheated, I put it on top of my list on purpose.) What comes after, is once again truly diverse, so enjoy the exploration into new music.

Beech. Tramhaus

Very recently I wrote in a review "where is Tramhaus"? It must have been a gut feeling, as yesterday, on writing, an album was announced, 'The Final Exit', for 20 September and a single released. I am one of the people who can say to have heard 'The Final Exit' and that it is as good as the band promised all along, if not better. The touring and playing together clearly have a very positive effect on the band. Just as long as I don't have to take the title literally where the band is concerned please. How big a band like Tramhaus can become is always a question, as it makes confrontational and loud music. Beech is no exception to that rule. All the familiar elements are there. It starts with a driving rhythm played by the bass and the drums. The two guitars come in playing notes that are not straightforward for pop ears. Then the chorus comes and everything explodes. The link with a band like Personal Trainer is there, but then just a bit more alternative and wild. If anything Tramhaus is wild and exciting. The band is not afraid to let all the brakes loose, cut them off even to leave them by the wayside and see what happens next. The result is a song like Beech. It rocks, it's electrified, it's here and there a 2024 version of U2, it's loud, it's wild, it's the best what this country has to offer in postpunk and ready to conquer the world.

Shimmer. Two Headed Horse

Only two weeks ago Two Headed Horse found its way to this blog for the first time with debut single 'I'm Not Hidden' and already the band is here again. Shimmer is a song that keeps reminding me of things I liked (a lot) in the past, without crossing the line of being too over familiar. The foursome, James Gable (vocals, guitar), Tristan Gable (keys, guitar, backing vocals), Gary Hanratty (bass, backing vocals) and Leigh Baines (drums), obviously has a well-stacked record collection. They manage to blend these influences into a great song of their own. I hear Radiohead guitar work, Marjorie Fair singing, folk from the ages and modern pop from Half Moon Run to City and Colour and some complexer forms of rhythm than most bands would opt for. Shimmer is not an easy song to digest in one go. For most listeners it will be too complex. Take your time to follow all that is happening here and you will find so much interesting elements to listen to and enjoy. Fans of The Smile's last album will find a lot to their liking in Shimmer.

The Greasy Pole. The Carnivals

In The Netherlands we had the legendary TV programme 'Te Land, Ter Zee en in de Lucht'. Glouchester, Massachussetts has "The Greasy Pole". Watch The Carnivals' video and all will be explained. Usually events like these has ordinary people place themselves in 'Jackass' situations with a severe chance of hurting themselves. For the rest to laugh about of course. The song, as that is what this blog is about, presents a Pat Boone or Bill Haley kind of rock and roll, that is nice and neat, but not less fun to listen. The lyric celebrates Gloucester's highlight of the year of slipping and sliding on the greasy pole. The music sounds very familiar, like a grown men's version of The Stray Cats or The Paladins. No one can take offence, but it's okay. The Greasy Pole is great fun, just like the greasy pole fest is.

Replace It. Tiny Wine

From traditional rock and roll we move to some more alternative rock with a darker, querky sound. The Dover, New Hampshire duo Tiny Wine do not make music that is easy to define. Lo-fi, sure, Sparklehorse, okay, but there's more to it than that. This music is not made to be perfect, it just is. The basis is electronic drums and over it a very prominent bass plays, a synth plays the lead melody, until later electric guitars come in; enter Lou Reed/The Velvet Underground in the guitar hook. The singing is muffled and through an effect. It all gives Replace It a detached feel, but it does not push you away. Label mate Astral Swans comes to mind here. Listening to Replace It more often makes me discover more and more details. The song may be lo-fi, it is not as if the duo has left it at one recording session. There are numerous overdubs and parts in this song and that is what makes it so interesting and good.

Poppies. La Luz

It is still a month before 'News Of The Universe' is released. In the meantime we are allowed to hear another single from the album and it is simply beautiful. With Poppies La Luz presents a dreampop single that allows anyone to ravel into dreamland unobstructed and without a worry in the world. If The Bangles had ever recorded a song like this I may have been a fan at the time. I was a lukewarm listener, with the exception of 'Hazy Shade Of Winter'. Poppies is oh so sweet in sound but somehow it has this edge. I can't put my finger around what that edge is, except that I feel it. My best guess is the melancholy longing in Shana Cleveland's voice. This makes me listen to the song in a different way than to say 'Eternal Flame'. Musically this song is simply beautiful. A mix of things past and today. Part psychedelia from the past, part 2020s ballad, Poppies delivers the goods on both sides. Poppies is a very beautiful song.

Cellphone. Night Court

On route to an eight song split album with The Dumpies, Night Court releases its new single. For the first time since 2022 the band finds itself on this blog with another preppy, upbeat punkrock song. The Vancouver, Washington band plays loud music but manages to give Cellphone the mood and pace that simply makes me happy when listening to it. It invites to listen, to sing along and to dance. You may not hear a new approach to alternative/punk/garage rock. Whatever the label you would like to opt for, what you hear is the pleasure of making, arranging and playing this music. Night Court is able to write a good punkrock song and then take it further. Just listen to the backing vocals. They take Cellphone to the next level and it already was at a very good one. Early May the 'The Shit Split Part Duh' is available. Something to look out for alright.

Reckless Heart. Arrows of Athena

Welcome to WoNoBlog Arrows of Athena. The Boston duo, Scott Lerner: guitar, bass, synths, drum programming and Jac-Lyn Gibson: vocals, attracts in a way that bands playing this kind of music can. It rocks hard enough, it manages to blend in a pop element and has a seductive sounding singer. In a very self-assured way Arrows of Athena manages to combine the likes of ABC with Garbage. It always rains on the look of love, something like that. Lerner lays down a very heavy groove for Gibson to sing over. Just listen to that bass. As a band from Cottbus, Germany does not easily reach the U.S., listen to Para Lia, another duo that excels in this kind of music. And the lyrics? Let me just point to the video. That starts with a glass of wine. The lyrics end with one. Quite abruptly. Stop talking baby, the message appears to be.

Barrow Boys. Marcel Wave

Marcel Wave? More like a make over of Gruppo Sportivo with either Meike or Josée singing the lead. Coincidence has it the singer of Marcel Wave is called Maike but not Touw at the end. Barrow Boys is a post punk single which could just as easily stem from 1979-80 as from 2024. The Stranglers e.g. could have recorded it as soon as they left their original sound behind. The singing of Maike Hale Jones has that mix of declaiming and enthusiasm the ladies of Gruppo Sportivo were famous for around 1980. Listen to 'Hey Girl', 'Superman' or 'Beep Beep Love' e.g. and you will know what I mean. Barrow Boys is the only song I can find by Marcel Wave, so it's hard to tell whether the London band will sound like this all the time. It seems a fair prediction though that the Farfisa organ and stocky rhythms will play an important part in this band's music.

She Hulk. Beebe Gallini

Beebe Gallini returns to this blog with a cover of The Traits'' 'Nobody Loves The Hulk'. Miss Georgia Peach, Amy Pearson and Travis Ramin recreate garage rock as if it never went out of fashion in the decades since 1969. She Hulk has the energy to convince as a rock song, it has the spunk to convince as a garage rock song and the attack to be called Iggy and The Stooges inspired. Miss Georgia Peach not only attacks the song vocally but would have splintered a 45 RPM to smithereens with her guitar solo. This is some rock and roll for the 2024 masses alright. The cover art tells it all. A guitar can better not be handed to a she Hulk, to Miss Georgia Peech is totally other matter. We should not forget the rest of the trio. Amy Pearson's driving bass is a great support and a strength on its own. Travis Ramin's drumming is powerful and filled with great breaks and fills. Together they bring the song totally alive and to great heights. She Hulk is an extremely strong song.

Going Out. Jennifer Tefft & The Strange

Not long ago Jennifer Tefft & The Strange debuted on this blog with a great rock song called 'Caffeine'. Today the band returns with another great rocker. As Tefft explains this all about (young) mothers finally going out for the night, once again, and "might" fly off the rails as well. The riffs and rhythm may sound familiar, the lyrics certainly provide a fresh perspective on modern day life. The music is a mix of T.Rex, Blondie, Joan Jett and 90s Britpop bands like Supergrass. The combination not only works but sounds extremely fresh besides. This band knows how to rock without having to do anything exceptional. Just play like a song has to be played. "I want to hear my favourite song" Jennifer Tefft sings. Going Out has all the qualities to be one for the coming weeks. Going Out not only rocks, it begs singing along to.

Wout de Natris

2024. Week 18, 10 singles + one mistake

What? 11 Songs this week?! Yes, all will be explained later on, in due course. As usual, we present you with a nice mix of music from different genres and niches. With music from artists that are around for a long time but totally new to me, to an artist who is around for even longer and a few truly new names. More than enough to discover, so enjoy!

Rare Earth. Vacation

Rare Earth used to be a band, sorry is a band. It had two well-known songs, both covers, 'Get Ready' and '(I Know) I'm Losing You'. Here it is the title of Vacation's first single of the upcoming album, 'Rare Earth'. Vacation may spend its time in the musical past, but far removed from the circa 1970 sound of Rare Earth. Expect to be taken back to the 1990s. Grunge, Britpop is what Vacation presents here. The song begins and ends with a nice guitar melody that sends a listener straight back to the days when the guitar became popular once again very fast. To me Vacation is a new name. I learn that the band has released eight(!) previous albums. There's no time for catching up I'm afraid. Based on Rare Earth it seems I have missed something through the years. Vacation knows how to blend in familiar features into its music that rocks no little. Rare Earth is a nice song.

Never Say Anything. Gramercy Arms

Not unknown to these pages, Gramercy Arms returns to this blog with a nice country-tinged single called Never Say Anything. An acoustic guitar drives the song, with around it a soft electric guitar playing these nice little licks and a pedal steel guitar providing the country feel as if someone is about to start crying. Dave Derby and producer Ray Ketchum have laid down a perfect mood for this song. Sometimes a song provides a certain feel and it can be enough. Of course, everyone on this single can play well, just listen to the nice guitar solos weaving into each other. That is not what Never Say Anything is about. It is about getting this song across. "Close your eyes and not say anything", that is the message the song shares with the listener. A wise advise, as this is exactly the way to enjoy the nice mood Gramercy Arms provides. Let me change that just a little. 'Close your eyes and just listen'.

On Top Of The World. Eric Din

Who is Eric Din? I have no idea. What I do know, is that he knows The Velvet Underground and David Bowie. They both shimmer straight through On Top Of The World. This song could have been written in the mid to late 60s. Din wrote the song mostly inside of his head where it turned over and over for a long time. When he started to record it things fell into place fast. And then it took some percussion, as you can hear in the song. On Top Of The World appears as a song that is somewhere between professional and amateur. Don't be fooled by that one moment where the song appears to be falling apart. That moment aside, On Top Of The World is nice and rich in sound. It has that The Velvet Underground style guitar playing and the early Bowie just creeps in here and there. And Eric Din? He plays in a band called The Uptones and records music for himself as well. His Bandcamp page (https://ericdin.bandcamp.com/) is filled with songs and albums.

The Woman You Will Never Know. Kate MacLeod

Kate MacLeod returns to the blog with a special single released for this reason: "In recognition of National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Day which falls annually on May 5". The message is harrowing. "I am the woman you will never know", including the ghostlike repeating. MacLeod manages to catch the mood to show how serious this topic is. She's not alone in this. Carla Halverson Eskelsen, joins her on vocals with far deeper voice than the more traditional country voice of MacLeod. Bob Smith plays percussion and Robert Dow the acoustic bass. So, I guess Kate MacLeod plays the violin herself, as this is a quite prominent instrument in The Woman You Will Never Know. The single falls nicely in the folk tradition of telling stories that often do not end well. Above all, it is proof that activism can go together with beauty. Kate MacLeod manages to share an important message within a beautiful song.

Sailing Song. Tylor & The Train Robbers

It is starting to seem like country music is the theme of this week. And believe me, it is purely coincidental. Besides, what are the chances of having the name Ketchum twice in the same post? See above under Gramercy Arms. Tylor & The Train Robbers features Tylor Ketchum. The band presents a country song that has enough pop and rock elements within it to please more than just one musical genre. Someone like me can crossover easily. Sailing Song has a nice slide guitar part and a very warm organ sound sailing into the song regularly. This band is of the kind who seem to do things simply right without having to play any tricks or add special effects. Tylor & The Train Robbers let the song do the talking and succeeds with ease.

The Dotted Line. The Spackles

The Dotted Line is a strange song. A verse that is extremely strained is followed by a chorus out of a past 1965 play book and yet it does not follow the dotted line left behind by bands from that past like The Kinks or The Small Faces. In a way I'm left with the feeling that the three that make up The Spackles, Marie Slurrie - guitar, vocals / Phil McKraken - drums / Brian "Spackle" McKraken - bass vocals, have heard small snippets of famous songs, without ever having heard the context and started to learn themselves play from there. This results in some very great moments alternated with sheer chaos. This makes The Dotted Line as fascinating as it is strange to listen to. I'm still not certain which is winning though.

All In One. Been Stellar

All In One is bunch of nerves. The whole band seem to be on edge, with the drummer in the worst state of all. Been Stellar expresses itself from a position where there seems to be no rest and no way to relax. Just listen what happens around one minute and ten seconds. Should I have to listen to this sequence for much longer, I truly would be jumping out of the window. I can imagine a liveshow where the stroboscopes would be blasting full on for half a minute, driving everyone mad. Been Stellar is from NYC and about to release its new album in June, 'Scream From New York, NY'. The band makes a statement with All In One. The song lasts for a little over five minutes and knows a few different sides. Towards the end straightforward alternative rock slips in, like I heard on the previous single, 'Passing Judgement', see week 13. Having listened to the song a few times, it seems to draw me in anyway, but it was close to being discarded.

What Would You Call Yourself. Fink

An album was here five years ago and there was one single almost three years ago. Fink returns to the blog with a strong single. What Would You Call Yourself reminds me of early Coldplay, a song like 'Clocks'. When a song comes close to a banger like 'Clocks', Fink must be doing something right. His single has this driving force. It is already in the relatively empty beginning. It's not truly empty. The instruments are sort of mixed in a stacked way, so they all seems to come from the same source. And then the song opens like a flower in bloom. (Wasn't that a Fink album title?) That driving rhythm does not change, the song just widens and widens making it ever stronger. I'm almost sorry for that 'Clocks' reference, as What Would You Call Yourself has an inner strength all from itself but perhaps the comparison helps to bring people over to What Would You Call Yourself. It deserves it totally.

Docket. Blondshell ft. Bully

Alternative rocker Blondshell or Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum returns to this blog with a nice rocking single. She receives support from a singer called Bully, a name totally unknown to me. Teitelbaum explains that after writing Docket she kept hearing Bully's voice inside her head. No longer, as we can now all hear her contribution. It appears to me that it was not only Bully she heard, as parts of the verse start another song inside my head, from some post-punk band or other from around 2000. The song goes off in other directions so there's nothing to worry about. Docket rocks with the right amounts of light and shade in it to make the song more interesting. The same goes for the voices. Blondshell and Bully's duet make Docket more interesting than if it had only been either of the two. The ending is abrupt and the final line "my worst nightmare is he", does give cause for reflection to whoever that he is. And Bully? This is now the solo project, former trio, of singer Alicia Bognanno. Now you know all.

How We See The Light. John Cale

Only a few weeks back we had Keith Richards covering Lou Reed's 'I'm Waiting For My Man', that originally holds John Cale's bass or piano of course. Last month John Cale turned 82 but is not calling it quits yet. On 14 June his new album is released called 'POPtical Illusion'. How We See The Light is a fairly modern sounding song, sung by an old man with an old voice. Cale recorded his voice a few times to give it more power as a whole. The sound of the song is dense. An instrument is allowed to escaped for a moment to be drawn back into the whole. Over and under it are more mysterious sounds, almost ghostlike, like the wind blowing through something providing background noise. How We See The Light holds a faint trace to the most driving songs of The Velvet Underground in the way the piano is played, but does not hold any of that band's energy. Although this track is fine to listen to, it is also the last spark of a once fierce fire. John Cale is still at it and rightly so. Just as long as you do not expect fireworks.

Wout de Natris

P.S.

Shadow Changes. Kate MacLeod

Without looking I clicked on the video You Tube presented me and was baffled by the beauty presented to me. Unwittingly I was listening to Shadow Changes by Kate MacLeod. A song from 2001 put on You Tube in 2015. Here's what I had written before I found out that the single I wanted to review was not released yet on the time of writing. Shadow Changes is too beautiful to ignore.

Time for a little singer-songwriter and folk music. Kate MacLeod was on this blog in the past two years with the Jean Richie experience songs she recorded. Today she returns with a special song "In Recognition of National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Day", which falls on 5 May this year. The song starts with a beautifully clear recorded country guitar. Kate MacLeod's voice follows and that is the sort of moment the world stops for a few minutes. I'm listening to sheer beauty for three and a half minute.

(And then I found out, reading about contributions that I did not hear on this song. And yes, I've heard many songs like this before, but this is the bonus one that always comes along at some point. Sheer beauty it is.) WdN