De Staat. De Staat

I'll own up before I start reviewing. I thought to have heard enough of De Staat. The three coloured mini albums did not get to me and the first songs released of 'De Staat' made me think "been there, done that". I decided to give the album a chance anyway, and then things changed. 'De Staat' is a totally different beast, but starting off as something very familiar sounding.

Well, okay, a drumming intro is different. From there sounds come in, including an emergency signal like droning sound. Torre Florim is his strict, military sergeant sounding self in the repeated lyrics. The sound are swirling synth drones. This isn't a song, it's pure effect. And yet, somehow it all does add up into a frightening version of a song. Electronic hell. I can imagine this being played in a torture cell for hours and hours and hours on end at tremendous levels. And yet, it is an impressive album opener.

'The Fire' comes up next. Again rhythm with loads of electronics but a vocal melody that can be reproduced by fans easily. A song like De Staat is famous for for well over a decade now. The synths are recorded at such a level that the sound seems to fall apart in the process. Again, a child's verse comes by, like 'Old MacDonald's Farm' a long time ago. 'Row, Row Your Boat' this time. It made me wonder when and where I learned these songs. Did my Australian mother sing them to us when small? I also vaguely remember a booklet, from high school? I really don't know.

To think that De Staat was a solo project of Torre Florim in 2009 and after the release of 'Wait For Evolution' needed a band and that in 2026 that band is still together. That is rather remarkable. That band now plays some of the deepest tracks it ever recorded and is experimenting with other forms of music as well. And that is where 'De Staat' gets more interesting.

I've seen the band live several times and seeing Torre Florim live things can become so intense that it is hard to see the line between addressing demagoguery and being a demagogue. Fact is, the theme of everything surrounding us from demagogues to fake news and back, is one of the topics on 'De Staat'. Florim even calls it the reason for naming his then project De Staat.

Photo: Kees Klein

'De Staat' is an extremely varied album, it makes the industrial songs, like 'The King' and 'The Fire', where hordes can march to, only one of several types of songs. Expect a more gentle side of De Staat as well and those with a little patience (or forgetting to turn off the cd) will get the surprise of their De Staat associated life. De Staat shows what you can do to the same song by going outside of its comfort zone and jump through circa 20 others. Jazz!

'The Underdog' kicks off as if David Guetta had a spasm or two while recording a new song, but then hear the song being turned inside out, with Torre Florim finding his inner Thom Yorke. A Radiohead influence can be heard more often on 'De Staat'. 'The Underdog shows a softer and more sensitive side, while having a huge industrial house component as well.

This is just one of the ways De Staat surprises. Listen to how a pitch can change within a song or how a choir is sampled, around which a whole song is built. Despite all the effects, some songs are far more bare than De Staat has ever released them before. In contrast with these strict marching orders of songs, all sorts of musical flowers bloom as if in the bulb fields of the Bollenstreek in spring.

Here I was thinking on the basis of the singles I'd heard, to have been there and done that and was presented with the most varied album De Staat ever made. On De Staat, the band shows itself both in its guise of ultimate musical endgame and at its most varied, making De Staat an extremely interesting album. And I like it, a lot.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Take me to church or Don't Look Back In Anger? The Oasis movie

Living in The Netherlands it is hard to grasp the popularity of Oasis in its home country. Over here things have always been somewhat lukewarm. The band never made it to arena sized shows (as far as I'm aware), did not score a really, really big hit single and was more in the news because of the "chaos" as the Gallagher brothers chose to call it in this documentary movie than for the quality of the albums after '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?'. So, the band announcing two Johan Cruyff ArenA shows last week, had me thinking, that's not possible. It'll never fill it.

Before I go on. Yes, I have all the albums, except the greatest hits one and almost all the singles. Three or four are missing I think. All predate this blog by a few years at minimum. I never had the inclination to watch the band live. Who knew if the band would show up and in what condition?

Of course I noticed the collective euphoria capturing the U.K. and Ireland upon the announcement of a tour in 2025. I heard the stories of the variable pricing and ridiculous prices people paid to be present. And then I saw Don't Look Back In Anger. The movie has many interesting details and stories, but go and watch it yourself to get them or don't. There was something special that struck me and it is played out in the movie in a very noticeable way.

In the movie you see a pastor holding his sermon in a church and then the camera turns to his flock. It shows 10, 15 at most, elderly people sitting there listening to his text on forgiveness, based on the concert about to take place close by. And then you see the audience around the world at these concerts and it is clear to me that an Oasis concert is a religious or at a minimum spiritual experience to the tens of thousands present. Total exaltation, moved to tears as if Christ has returned to earth and just blessed them all.

The other thing that struck me that Noel Gallagher was not prepared for this magnitude of exultation and worship. It is his brother Liam who grabs his hand before the start of the first show and brought him to the stage, giving his brother the credits for the songs. Further on it is Noel who learns that he has to humble at times because his little brother is the frontman of Oasis. In a sense, he is Oasis with his subtle art of not giving a fuck, "which is hard work". Go and see if that's really true or not. Fact is, Liam was as ready as he ever was, and so was Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs, as the brothers learned that his rhythm guitar playing is the heart of the band.

And the music? My guess is the shows were fantastic. Most likely far better played than ever before. As far as I could hear, all the songs were from the first two albums and some famous B-sides. Oasis in the 2020s is very much a band worth seeing live.

Ends well all's? For now it seems like it with a new tour in 2026. What is missing is a great new album. Does the band still have that in it? Time will tell.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Alas! The Bomb Voyage ... Mad Tab

Mad Tab is a punk - ska band from Huntingdon Beach, California and the band has exactly these two faces. On the one hand relentless punk music and on the other the ska rhythms from Jamaica, perhaps by way of the U.K. circa 1979.

It is quite a stretch to follow the band's punk side. The album link I received presents the songs in alphabetical order and punk is what the wind blows. At the time of writing, I can't find the album's formal 17 song track list.

Not so long ago, I wrote, in single's review of another punk band, that I did not know if I was able to stomach a whole album by that band. I was getting to that point with Alas! The Bomb Voyage ..., when the mood changed and the first ska track came in.

My track selection starts with 'All Live'. My attention goes out mostly to the drummer. Google's AI tells me his name is Rob Wheeler, the bio coming with the album doesn't mention the name, so I don't know for certain. Fact is, that the dry sound is so tight, so extremely intense that it just leaves me in awe. How can anyone play this fast and so dominant and still be on the beat the whole time and have time for accents? The rest of the band follows the rhythm of course and seems more like a machine than a band.

At the same time there are interesting vocal melodies over the onslaught of music (in the most positive sense of the word). Surprising addition is the keyboard / synth that comes with and sounds through the music, which is pretty unusual for a punk band. According to Google it consists of, beside Wheeler of course of Graham “Gram Tab” Kirlin on guitar, Dave" Dave Tab" Malyjurek  on keyboards, analogue synth and Scott Beattie on bass. All four alternate on vocals, the differences can be heard quite clearly. In that the band reminds me most of Rancid and System of a Down. Production was in the hands of former Fishbone bassist Norwood Fisher.

By the time we've reached the letter G in my order, 'Gone' is still up tempo and punk and then the change sets in 'Good Boi' has a ska rhythm and would have fallen in nicely with a band like The Specials. Jumpy uptempo and very danceable. Both two tones and nutty boys would have enjoyed themselves with the track and the same goes for 'Loose Teeth'. By that time I have gotten into the pace of Alas! The Bomb Voyage ... Is it an album that I can play a lot at home? No, there would be too many objections. Is it an album that I can play when on my own? Hell, yes!

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Castle Hill. Mel Parsons

Iedereen die de Nieuw-Zeelandse muziekscene in de gaten houdt, kent waarschijnlijk de talenten van singer-songwriter Mel Parsons, die met haar nieuwe album Castle Hill weer fraai werk toevoegt aan haar bijzondere oeuvre.

Mel Parsons en haar band en producer stapten zonder songs een Nieuw-Zeelandse studio in, waar onder hoge druk toch het een en ander in elkaar werd gesmeed. Het levert in augustus een nieuw album op van de talentvolle muzikante uit Christchurch. Mel Parsons maakte indruk met haar vorige albums, waarop ze vooral imponeerde met haar stem. Die stem staat ook centraal op haar nieuwe album, waarop de muziek net wat ruwer klinkt. De tijdsdruk in de studio heeft ook een positief effect gehad, want Castle Hill is een energiek klinkend album. Het is ook een album met zeer persoonlijke songs, die met veel gevoel worden vertolkt door de wederom prachtig zingende Mel Parsons.

Natuurlijk was het de Nieuw-Zeelandse muziekwinkel Flying Out die me een paar jaar geleden wees op de muziek van Mel Parsons. Ik keek wekelijks uit naar de nieuwsbrief van de muziekwinkel uit Auckland, die me de afgelopen jaren een enorme stapel interessante tips heeft opgeleverd. Flying Out sloot drie maanden geleden helaas voorgoed haar deuren, maar de muziek van Mel Parsons weet me inmiddels gelukkig op eigen kracht te bereiken. 

Het in augustus verschenen Castle Hill is het zevende album van de muzikante uit Christchurch en de opvolger van het iets meer dan twee jaar geleden verschenen Sabotage. Ik leerde de muziek van Mel Parsons kennen in 2018 toen haar vierde album Glass Heart verscheen. Het is een album dat direct indruk maakt met de prachtige stem van de Nieuw-Zeelandse muzikante, maar Glass Heart valt ook op door de zeer fraaie productie van de gelouterde Mitchell Froom, die het album heeft voorzien van een mooi en sfeervol geluid. 

Sindsdien werkt Mel Parsons met producer Josh Rogan, die ook twee keer fraai werk leverde. Sabotage was twee jaar geleden met nog geen 29 minuten muziek aan de korte kant, maar Mel Parsons leverde wel kwaliteit. Dat doet ze ook met Castle Hill, dat gelukkig wel weer een wat langere speelduur heeft. 

Het nieuwe album van Mel Parsons werd opgenomen in Castle Hill Village, in een nationaal park op ruim een uur rijden van Christchurch. Ook op haar zevende album werkt Mel Parsons samen met producer Josh Rogan, die net als de leden van haar band zonder voorbereiding afreisde naar de studio in Castle Hill Village. 

In de kleine studio was maar net genoeg ruimte voor de Nieuw-Zeelandse muzikante en haar band en dat hoor je. De songs op Castle Hill werden noodgedwongen live in de studio opgenomen en dat pakt goed uit. Het album klinkt net wat ruwer en minder geproduceerd dan zijn voorgangers en ook wat energieker. Gitaren staan ook dit keer centraal in het geluid van Mel Parsons, die meestal het etiket rootsmuziek opgeplakt krijgt. Dat etiket vind ik niet altijd van toepassing op haar muziek, maar Castle Hill past redelijk goed in het hokje rootsmuziek. 

Er is hoorbaar minder gesleuteld aan het geluid van Mel Parsons dan op bijvoorbeeld Glass Heart, dat duidelijk het stempel bevat van Mitchell Froom, die overigens is te horen in een van de songs op het nieuwe album. Castle Hill klinkt wat minder opgepoetst en daar is niets mis mee. Het geluid op het album is warm en sfeervol en vormt een mooie basis voor de zang van Mel Parsons. 

De Nieuw-Zeelandse muzikante liet op haar vorige albums horen dat ze beschikt over een hele mooie stem en die stem schittert ook op haar nieuwe album. Het is een album met persoonlijke songs, waarin ook een zwaar thema als misbruik en emotionele mishandeling niet uit de weg wordt gegaan en Mel Parsons zichzelf zeker niet spaart.

Met het net wat ruwer en directer klinkende Castle Hill heeft Mel Parsons een album afgeleverd dat iets toevoegt aan haar mooie oeuvre en het is wederom een album dat haar klasse onderstreept. Alleen al vanwege de stem van de muzikante uit Christchurch is Castle Hill al een goed album, maar de lekker ruwe en hoorbaar met veel plezier gemaakte muziek op het album en de uitstekende songs tillen ook Castle Hill weer flink boven de middelmaat uit. Flying Out is helaas niet meer, maar de mooie muziek uit Nieuw-Zeeland is gelukkig gebleven.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Castle Hill hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://melparsons.bandcamp.com/album/castle-hill 

Stay Lonely. Blood Red Shoes

When Laura-Mary Carter released her solo record last year and Steven Ansell was producing more and more bands, I feared I had lost another band that I had come to like a lot. So I was pleasantly surprised when a new Blood Red Shoes single was announced before the summer. When the album was announced I took Stay Together to be the title. It still sounds more appropriate in my frame of mind than Stay Lonely, that it actually is.

All these thoughts aside, Stay Lonely is a fantastic album. My favourite so far is 'In Time To Voices' but the album has a clear contender for that spot. On the past two albums the duo brought in more electronics but the songs were not absolute top and here the mix is there once again but with the songs to match the best that came before.

Stay Lonely is an album that is impossible to put on stage as a duo, so I expect some sidekicks on stage just like when I saw the band some years ago. Besides the trickbox of effects on the guitar of Laura-Mary Carter there's a host of other sounds. Never a dull moment where the sounds are concerned, as usual.

What I really like on Stay Lonely is the slow singing in several of the songs. Without overemphasising, both Carter and Ansell take it slow on the album. That combination of singing and the quality of the melodies create songs that sound like real hits in my universe. It makes Stay Lonely an instant contender for record of the year in my book. It is exactly what I missed on 'Get Tragic' and 'Ghosts On Tape'. The smooth pop element underneath it all was (somewhat) lacking. Both albums are good, but do not have that little extra that Stay Lonely has in abundance.

Promo photo

I'm going to focus on two songs, 'Screams' and 'Two Weeks' to try and explain what I mean. 'Screams' after a few listening sessions makes me feel like I've know it all my life, without having me trying to find the hook in my head what it is that makes it so familiar. The song progresses so smoothly. It makes me want to sing the chorus all day long. 'Two Weeks' starts far more alternatively. Carter's guitar(s) are far more prominent, but again it is Ansell singing lead, this time with a great harmony from Carter behind him. Again the chorus is so smooth, the Moog sound behind it makes the music float as it were. The two are singing perfectly together. Just two examples of far more on offer on Stay Lonely.

Commercially Blood Red Shoes may not become bigger than it is now. With Stay Lonely the duo shows the world that it is far from spent where inspiration is concerned. Stay together would have been a good title indeed and I for one am glad they did just that.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Stay Lonely here:

https://jazzlife.bandcamp.com/album/stay-lonely