Tailspin. Eleni Mandell

De muziek van Eleni Mandell is helaas voor velen nog altijd een goed bewaard geheim, maar haar albums zijn stuk voor stuk serieuze aanraders en dat geldt ook weer voor het in mei verschenen album Tailspin.

De Amerikaanse muzikante Eleni Mandell heeft inmiddels een dozijn albums op haar naam staan en ze zijn allemaal goed. Met het in 2019 verschenen Wake Up Again leverde ze wat mij betreft haar meesterwerk af, maar nu keert ze na een stilte van zeven jaar gelukkig weer terug met een nieuw album. Tailspin klinkt weer anders dan de vorige albums van de Amerikaanse muzikante, maar gebleven zijn de uitstekende songs en de bijzonder mooie stem. Tailspin is een behoorlijk veelzijdig album geworden, dat makkelijk schakelt tussen genres, maar het is wat mij betreft ook een typisch Eleni Mandell album. Het is veel te lang stil geweest, maar gelukkig is ze terug met wederom een uitstekend album.

De muziek van de Amerikaanse muzikante Eleni Mandell ken ik inmiddels al meer dan 25 jaar en het is muziek die ik bijzonder hoog heb zitten. Eleni Mandell maakte in 1998 direct een verpletterende indruk met haar door Jon Brion geproduceerde debuutalbum Wishbone en sindsdien levert ze het ene na het andere prachtalbum af. De muzikante uit Los Angeles maakte tussen 2000 en 2019 maar liefst tien albums en ze zijn allemaal van torenhoge kwaliteit. 

Ik noemde de albums in mijn recensie van het in 2019 verschenen Wake Up Again een serie klassiekers en daar sta ik nog steeds achter. Als ik in het oeuvre van Eleni Mandell de onbetwiste klassieker moet kiezen kom ik zonder enige twijfel uit bij Wake Up Again uit 2019, want dat is inmiddels een van mijn favoriete albums aller tijden. Ik luisterde deze week weer eens naar het album en was direct weer in katzwijm door de geweldige songs, door de uitstekende stem van Eleni Mandell en vooral door het prachtige gitaarspel op het album van gitarist Milo Jones, die de sterren van de hemel speelt. 

Wake Up Again haalde in 2019 de top 10 van mijn jaarlijstje, maar achteraf bezien had het album mijn jaarlijstje moeten aanvoeren. Ik luisterde weer eens naar Wake Up Again vanwege het verschijnen van een nieuw album van Eleni Mandell. De Amerikaanse muzikante was in de eerste jaren van haar carrière uitermate productief, maar tussen Wake Up Again en het deze week verschenen Tailspin zit een gat van maar liefst zeven jaar. 

Iedereen die het oeuvre van Eleni Mandell kent weet dat ze op ieder album weer net wat anders klinkt, waardoor het op zich geen verrassing is dat Tailspin anders klinkt dan zijn voorganger. Dat is in dit geval wel jammer, want het geluid van Wake Up Again zal me waarschijnlijk nooit vervelen en had nog best een extra album meegekund. Heel lang hoef ik er niet over te treuren, want Wake Up Again neemt niemand me meer af en ook op Tailspin maakt Eleni Mandell weer indruk met haar songs. 

Het vorige album van Eleni Mandell werd gedomineerd door bijzonder mooi gitaarspel, maar op Tailspin kiest ze voor een voller en vooral ook gevarieerder geluid. Een aantal songs op het album is opvallend rijk georkestreerd, maar Tailspin bevat ook een aantal behoorlijk soberder ingekleurde songs. De muziek van Eleni Mandell is bijna nooit in een hokje te duwen en ook Tailspin laat zich weer beïnvloeden door uiteenlopende genres, al past het grootste deel van het album wel onder de noemer van Amerikaanse rootsmuziek. 

Ook Tailspin is weer een album dat af en toe herinnert aan muziek uit een ver verleden, maar de songs van Eleni Mandell klinken ook altijd fris. Het doet me soms denken aan de songs van Aimee Mann, maar dat kan een song later weer een totaal onzinnige vergelijking zijn. Tailspin heeft ook wat meer jazzy momenten en ook dat kan Eleni Mandell goed aan met haar stem. 

Met haar stem maakte de muzikante uit Los Angeles ruim 25 jaar geleden al heel veel indruk en haar stem is gedurende de jaren zeker niet minder geworden en maakt misschien zelfs nog wel meer indruk dan op de vroege albums van Eleni Mandell. 

Na zeven jaar stilte was de muziek van Eleni Mandell bij mij weer wat naar de achtergrond gedrongen, maar dankzij het uitstekende Tailspin staat ze weer in het middelpunt van mijn belangstelling en ga ik ook al die andere prachtalbums er weer eens bij pakken.

Erwin Zijleman

Human Assholes. Personal Trainer

Willem Smit can be found on this blog as member of Palio Superspeed Donkey, Canshaker Pi and with his latest band Personal Trainer. That band released its third album and it comes across as the album of a band/songwriter in transition. The youthful exuberance that came with the territory of being young, was left behind a little already on 'Still Willing' and is even harder to find on Human Assholes.

The guitar in some songs is left behind as a principle instrument and became more a part of the whole. Gone also are the bangers that are able to move venues from back to front and from upstairs to the floor. Enter songs to primarily listen to. That comes with a challenge in itself, as a more quiet song needs to be good, have something special, etc.

If I had to put a label to Human Assholes it would be a Belgian one. It wouldn't surprise me if bands like dEUS and Zita Swoon were an influence while writing the album. Which is just fine. Personal Trainer has enough quality to turn influences like that into its own universe. After the bit daft opening tune 'Marvin's Curtain Up', the album truly takes off with 'Scrambled Egg', the moment the album becomes interesting immediately. The post punk intro with a soft bite is left behind for a softer verse over a weird rhythm, that will probably take some concentration on the drummer's part.

The new approach is clear, as this song is not aimed at your feet but head. The guitar riffs are a bit out there as well, while the interlude, which turns out to be the end, has a Beatlesque feel despite being in a totally different musical idiom. 'Punch Drunk Love' has an identical pull and push form in it. The 1960s are extremely close, while at the same time no one would have released a song like this at the time. The start of the "Jesus" part could have been on a The Kinks song like 'Dead End Street' e.g.

Photo: Sophie Koterus Korting

What is a shame, is that the title song is really the worst song on the album. Musically it is not going anywhere and it is boring. That is compensated by a song like 'Bone'. I have the sense that this is the direction in which Willem Smit is wanting to develop himself musically. I hear the quality, but I fear an Arctic Monkeys development for future albums, where all exuberance is traded in for contemplation. What Personal Trainer does with Human Assholes is make me work a little harder to like the music. For now that is just fine.

Those remembering my review and later comments on Personal Trainer's first album, 'Big Love Blanket', might be surprised. In hindsight, that was clearly a case of having my ears screwed on wrong, as I soon after writing the review started to love the album and do so to this day. This did not happen with 'Still Willing'. Human Assholes may fare far better, as many of the songs intrigue me, with minor exceptions here and there. Just listen to a rich song like 'The Burrows' and you know this album has a chance to grow further. Time will tell. In the mean time this album will go into the cd tray for a while longer.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Human Assholes here:

https://personaltrainer.bandcamp.com/album/human-assholes 

Sanctuary Park. The Jayhawks

It must have been in 1993 that The Jayhawks entered my life with its most famous album, 'Hollywood Town Hall'. The year I started to discover new artists and bands once again. And here we are, 33 years later with the release of Sanctuary Park. I have to admit to having missed a lot of the band's output since somewhere in the 00s.

The line up hasn't even changed that much since the 90s. Founding members (1986) Gary Louris and Mark Perlman are still on board and Karen Grotberg and Tim O'Reagan since the mid-90s. Louris' voice is ageing, that much is clear from listening to Sanctuary Park. It still has that pleasant ring that made me like it from the beginning and the support from the band, especially Karen Grotberg, makes The Jayhawks sound vocally superb.

I have to say, that I like Sanctuary Park right from the get go. Somehow it has the exact same effect on me that 'Hollywood Town Hall' and later 'Smile' had. I can image you asking me what is the difference?, but I don't have a ready answer. It will be the songs, obviously. Yet, this album is an "alternative country" and country rock album just like The Jayhawks always excel in. This time around the album puts a smile on my face, where many others did not or only partly so.

The album opens with 'Keeping Our Heads Above Water'. It reminded me immediately of a typical The New Pornographers song. That "oh oh" start is a dead giveaway. My attention was gripped because of it and the song led me into Sanctuary Park only to kick me out in the end. The rest of the song is typical The Jayhawks, so the "oh oh" part works a miracle.

The next song may be a little softer, another a little more country, the next a bit harder. There's even a little slow tex-mex there. It makes Sanctuary Park nicely varied and extremely pleasant to listen to. The boat is only mildly rocked, like in 'Kingston Girl', at best, but listen to that guitar solo and the piano part but above all the harmony vocals. I'm sure you'll fall for it just like I did.

Is there no critique? Yes, there is. For a 71 year old singing "We'll steel your daddy's car ... we'll live on what we've got" is not convincing. It would be all nice in songs like "Little Man' and 'Fast Car' but not in this context. The upside is, although more country tinged, once it again has a great piano part, so no problem where the music is concerned.

All told, I'm nicely surprised by Sanctuary Park and expect to play it a lot more often.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Sanctuary Park here:

https://thejayhawks.bandcamp.com/album/sanctuary-park 

2026, week 36. 5 singles

On a day the rain came down like pellets, I'm finishing this singles post. In the afternoon it dried up and I managed to get a fresh nose, as we call it. I enjoyed it and I hope you will enjoy this fresh bunch.

The Work. Baxter Hall

A new name on the blog opens this singles post. Baxter Hall's song The Work is of a kind that I associate with the U.S. It is a kind of folk rock that comes from there and the way it blows up in the ears of the listener towards the end is of the kind the Mr. Bigs of this world used to do when I was a lot younger. The two different approaches do work on The Work. The tough kind of folk song allows Hall to tell a personal story about estranging from a parent. The frustration and anger is vented in the music. His voice contains it. The music does not and then the song explodes in your ears. In a very impressive way, and then it's kicked back into its cage for a soft and resigned ending. There will be an EP at the end of summer.

The Ravine. Doom Scrolls

When I read punk band, I usually think of something entirely different from what I'm hearing here. Doom Scrolls is from Colorado and formed in 2020. The song starts with, if I'm hearing it correct, a banjo. It might be a mandoline. Anyway everything I'm not expecting. After a subdued intro, the band comes in and its closer to the punk side of bluegrass band The Hackensaw Boys then to Rancid. The tempo is up but with traditional instruments like a washboard. The bass sounds like an electric one though. I'm a The Hackensaw Boys fan for well over 20 years now, so I can definitely get to like Doom Scrolls. Album 'Exhausted Dialogue' is out on 6 October and will provide the chance to find out if there is more to like. And those lucky enough to live in the U.S.A., the band is on an extensive tour there at the moment.

Things Have Learnt To Walk That Ought To Crawl. The Room

Formed originally in 1979, The Room reunited after a 30 year plus hiatus and is ready to release its third album since doing so, 'Doom! Pop', on 4 September. Things Have Learnt To Walk That Ought To Crawl is the single and if I had been told that the single was released around 1980, I would have believed it immediately. And I would have liked it. Singer Dave Jackson may have that typical postpunk voice (yes, still has it in 2026) the song definitely is not about the sky falling on our heads imminently. There's even a "lalalalala" part in the song. At the time I had never heard of The Room, as far as I can recall. Today I have and my life has become just a little bit better because of it. And that title, so intriguing. Plus, is it longer the Kirsty MacCall's chip shop song? Let me know.

In Another Life. Deardarkhead

Another instrumental track from the reformed Deardarkhead. While the bass and drums provide the guitar layers with the basis to start their work from, the song develops in interesting ways. From parts that are just rhythm, the composition develops into a part where guitars hurtle over each other in a very playful way. It's hard to write on an instrumental track, I already wrote that on Deardarkhead's single 'Letting Go' before the summer break, and that hasn't changed. It is worth your while to listen to In Another Life, as it has a pleasant lead melody. A lot better than the Bill Wyman credited song with the same title on 'Their Majesty's Satanic Request'. The album 'The Pendulum Swings' is out since July.

Do What You Want. Still Insane

And here is a punkrock single as punkrock is meant to be. See Doom Scroll above to understand where this opening line is coming from. Looking at the picture that accompanies the announcement of Do What You Want and album 'When Friendship’s Not Enough', I see four veterans of punkrock. They are on a role on Do What You Want. The song is textbook Green Day, for me that band is the textbook American punkrock band. Just listen to that bass. I has Mike Dirnt spelled all over it, and the singer has that Billie Joe Armstrong sneer in his voice. All is played super, super tight. The Canadians from Québec City in Canada are on a roll towards that new album.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

I've Missed You All These Years. Sera Calhoone

Yes, I'll admit it straight away, I've Missed You All These Years is at times far too country for me. This is really Erwin Zijleman territory. But, some of the songs on Sera Calhoone's sixth album are so beautiful that it compensates for the country part.

Don't ask me to explain why this album and not hundreds of others. I simply do not know. Just that some of the songs really get to me. Just like that Hazeldine album from the late 90s did, that I keep forgetting the name of. The one with 'Drive' on it. (Yes, I'm being lazy here.)

The fun starts for me with 'Say Something', the second song on I've Missed You All These Years. The tempo is up a little. There's an electric guitar with a nice country twang and a piano that weaves in and out of the song. Later on there's a lead guitar picking its way through the other instruments. Sera Calhoone's voice suits this song so well. So, yes, country music but with a hint at melancholy pop and a sprinkling of country rock.

Just like me this year, Sera Calhoone has gone through a rough personal period while working on I've Missed You All These Years. Lyrically, she focuses on the period after climbing out of the darkness. That is translated into the music that has a bittersweet feeling over most of the album. Introspective is another word that I will use for several of the songs.

In the meantime I am swinging between opposites with this album. One side is swinging between the individual songs, including the next level: the moment of listening in which a song falls to my good side or not. The Johnny Cash of the 1950s country rhythm on 'Horse Runnin' is easy to like but a song like opener 'High and Low' really comes with my brain being open to it. While 'Pulling Up Roots' brings me in Hazeldine territory, so point scored. That is the other opposite, my personal mood whether I'm receptive to more country-tinged songs or not.

As you can read, I'm sort of torn where I've Missed You All These Years is concerned, but not in a way that I did not want to write on the album. For that it is too nice to ignore and to not inform you about it. You will have to make up your own mind, but then, you should always do that.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order I've Missed You All These Years here:

https://seracahoone.bandcamp.com/album/ive-missed-you-all-these-years