Weapons Of beauty. Jay Buchanan

Jay Buchanan blaast je direct in de openingstrack van Weapons Of Beauty van je sokken en blijft dat vervolgens vijftig minuten lang doen met zijn fantastische stem en de prachtige klanken op dit indrukwekkende album.

Weapons Of Beauty van Jay Buchanan was pas een paar seconden onderweg, maar ik was al verkocht. Dat de Amerikaanse muzikant een groot zanger is laat hij al heel wat jaren horen in zijn band Rival Sons, maar zijn stem snijdt op zijn eerste soloalbum dwars door de ziel. De Amerikaanse muzikant imponeert op Weapons Of Beauty niet alleen met zijn geweldige stem, maar ook met een fraaie mix van invloeden uit de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek. Die Amerikaanse rootsmuziek is ook nog eens bijzonder mooi ingekleurd en prachtig geproduceerd door de gelouterde Dave Cobb. Ik had meteen kippenvel toen ik begon aan het eerste soloalbum van Jay Buchanan en dat heb ik na meerdere keren horen nog steeds. Wat een album!

Meestal bespreek ik alleen albums van vrouwelijke muzikanten en ook nu luisterde ik in eerste instantie vooral naar de nieuwe albums van vrouwelijke singer-songwriters. Bij mijn eerste rondje langs de nieuwe albums werd ik uiteindelijk echter met afstand het meest geraakt door het debuutalbum van Jay Buchanan. 

Weapons Of Beauty opent echt bijzonder mooi met de krachtige maar ook ruwe en doorleefde stem van de Amerikaanse muzikant, die zich laat omringen door een ruimtelijk geluid met prachtig gitaarwerk. Caroline is zo’n track die onmiddellijk onder de huid kruipt, maar die ook alleen maar indrukwekkender wordt wanneer je hem vaker hoort. 

Ik (her)kende de naam Jay Buchanan niet, maar Weapons Of Beauty is misschien zijn eerste soloalbum, maar zeker niet zijn eerste wapenfeit. De Amerikaanse muzikant maakt immers al een kleine twintig jaar deel uit van de Californische band Rival Sons, die inmiddels een flinke stapel albums op haar naam heeft staan. Het zijn albums waarop de band geen geheim maakt van de bewondering voor Led Zeppelin. Die bewondering deel ik, maar ik luister uiteindelijk toch liever naar Led Zeppelin dan naar Rival Sons. 

Op zijn eerste soloalbum neemt Jay Buchanan de afslag richting de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek en levert hij een album af dat zomaar kan uitgroeien tot een klassieker in het genre. Op de albums van zijn band liet Jay Buchanan al horen dat hij een geweldige zanger is, maar in het rootsgeluid op Weapons Of Beauty komt zijn stem wat mij betreft nog veel beter tot zijn recht. 

Ik werd echt compleet van mijn sokken geblazen door het in alle opzichten fantastische Caroline, dat er aan het einde van de track nog een schepje bovenop doet en een van de meest indrukwekkende breakup songs is die ik de laatste tijd heb gehoord. Het legt de lat hoog voor de rest van het album, maar Jay Buchanan slaagt er in om een hoog niveau vast te houden. 

De Amerikaanse muzikant koos voor het schrijven van de songs voor zijn soloalbum voor het isolement van de Mojave woestijn, maar het album werd uiteindelijk opgenomen met een compacte band. In deze band vallen vooral de twee gitaristen op, maar ook het pianowerk op het album is bijzonder fraai, terwijl de basis van de ritmesectie niet moet worden onderschat. 

De muziek op het album is sfeervol en vooral verrassend ruimtelijk en dat laatste biedt alle ruimte aan de stem van Jay Buchanan. De Amerikaanse muzikant imponeert direct in de openingstrack van het album en blijft dit vervolgens doen. Het is behoorlijk expressieve of zelfs heftige zang, maar wat mij betreft is iedere noot die Jay Buchanan zingt raak. 

Dat is bijzonder, want ik hou normaal gesproken van wat meer ingetogen zang, maar de ruwe strot van Jay Buchanan blijft maar voor kippenvel zorgen. Dat ligt deels aan het feit dat Weapons Of Beauty echt fantastisch klinkt, wat ook niet anders kan met een topproducer als Dave Cobb achter de knoppen. 

Weapons Of Beauty bevat ook nog eens een dampende mix van blues, country, soul en Southern rock, die nog wat extra passie en energie toevoegt aan het soloalbum van Jay Buchanan, dat af en toe ook wel wat gas terug neemt en dan minstens net zo imponeert met de geweldige stem van de Amerikaanse muzikant. Wat een verrassing.

Erwin Zijleman

GOLDSTAR. The Sophs

With a few singles already on this blog in the past months, it will not come as a surprise that the band's debut album can be found here as well. The band was signed on the basis of a few demo's, without even having played a live show. Let's call it talent and expectations. 

The Sophs is Ethan Ramon (voice), Sam Yuh (keyboards), Austin Parker Jones (electric guitar), Seth Smades (acoustic guitar), Devin Russ (drums), and Cole Bobbitt (bass) and is from Los Angeles. Based on the previous singles, it was already clear that GOLDSTAR ought to be a very varied album. No song sounded the same and that more or less goes for the songs on the album. Expectations fulfilled.

One song The Sophs sounds like its unique self, in others like a band I'm still trying to find the name of in my head. Ethan Ramon's voice comes so incredibly close to that singer. In those same songs The Sophs sound like The Violent Femmes on a pop streak. At the same time The Sophs manage to surprise by taking a song in a totally different direction. A little pretentious? Perhaps, but definitely with a panache that makes them come away with it with so much ease.

The Sophs is a six piece band. The songs are so eclectic that it seems like all six members must have an equal hand in the creation process. Songs are so different that it is hard to imagine one person being responsible for all these ideas.

I am very much tempted to start sharing examples but I decided to refrain from giving them. GOLDSTAR is the kind of album that you need to explore for yourself. With one exception, as this band is totally obscure: The Plan! 'I'm Your Fiend' was definitely inspired by one of the songs on the Swedes eponymous album from 2001.

The Sophs truly takes its listeners on a musical journey with a surprise around each corner. There are a few quotes, like Janis Joplin's introduction to 'Mercedes Benz' and John Lee Hooker's "how how how". Expect spoken word poetry besides just singing. Singer Ethan Ramon shows himself as much as the band does. Soft songs are invaded by dirty guitars. Almost everything goes in the musical universe of The Sophs.

GOLDSTAR is the kind of album that may announce a new band that is going to make a huge difference in the coming years. One of these albums that may be remembered for some time. But then, sometimes that does not happen. Time will tell. In the meantime, I have a new favourite album right now.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order GOLDSTAR here:

https://thesophs.bandcamp.com/album/goldstar 

SPRINTS live, with Marathon. Melkweg, Amsterdam Thursday 12 March 2026

Photo:WdN-vdB

I am not an avid track sports watcher but I do remember finishes of marathons where a few runners have stayed together despite the distance and have to sprint to win, after 42, no doubt gruelling, kilometers! That is why today you read first about Amsterdam's Marathon (the band not the marathon) and then about SPRINTS.

There is one thing both bands have in common and that is the gigantic growth since I saw them last. Marathon in 2022 and SPRINTS in 2024. Especially the former band was near unrecognisable. From an enthusiastic but a bit shy band that could play its songs in a very neat way, to a rocking machine capable of blowing an audience of its collective feet.

On the basis of the band's debut album, 'Fading Image', I wished the band to do a Tramhaus, tour the world and conquer it. The two postpunk band certainly have some corresponding points. Some musical references are identical before the differences start to set them apart and the two female, three men line up. Marathon was not just here in the Melkweg but supports SPRINTS for the whole of the European tour. So, it was not just boasting saying that we were about to see a great show. Marathon knew already.

Photo: wdN-vdB

Maybe I'm mistaken but in my recollection Marathon was a four piece band and here there were five on stage. Three guitar players of which one doubled on a synth. Together they piled layers of guitars with hosts of effects on them creating a wall of sound that without earplugs would have been devastating to my already fading hearing. Louder than the main act, without losing any quality in the mix, as support slots at times have.

In bass player Nina Lijzinga the band has a power woman who commands the stage, parading with her instrument. This allows singer/guitarist Kay Koopmans to totally submerge himself in creating even bigger walls of sounds seemingly becoming one with his guitar (snares), pedals and amp.

In two of the instrumental parts of songs something weird happened. I could hear a vocal melody and almost was able to understand the words, almost. It sounded like a deep dark, multitracked voice of the dark metal persuasion. Nobody was singing, unless it was the drummer, who I could not really see. So, was it my brain suggesting an addition to the two songs or an effect or sample? I'm inclined to the former suggestion, but perhaps the band can provide an answer.

What ever it is, Marathon played a great show and showed it is ready to conquer the world. In April it will do its own tour of Holland, so go and see them!

Photo: WdN-vdB

SPRINTS delivered on all but one front. From the very beginning the band left no doubt it was here to turn the Melkweg on its head. And it did, without having to work too hard for it. Although close to me people shouted "harder" ("louder") in Dutch after the first two songs. That was a first for me. Throughout the show it did become louder, but not as loud as Marathon. SPRINTS was ready and showed the progression it made in the past two years since the show in Tolhuistuin. SPRINTS has become a machine, but one with two different members. I'll come back to that.

Front woman Karla Chubb is even more the front woman than she already was. This is her band and she carries that burden with ease. She was everywhere (see top picture) and very present. In fact, Dublin and Ireland may have a new Bono. She is not afraid to speak her mind and to stand up to all things wrong in her view. Everyone will have to wait until she has shared her message(s). In the meantime, the band played one great song after another, with great energy. Normally, the next stop in NL is the Afas and I'm sure that where for Wolf Alice this step was not completely working, Karla Chubb will be all over Afas as well.

Photo: WdN-vdB

As I wrote, one thing was not as good. In guitarist Colm O'Reilly the band had a second front person, who attracted part of the attention and was vocally important. That is the part the band is missing in 2026. A song like 'Literary Mind' does not have half the power it used to have, which is a shame, as to my ears it is one of the punk grage rock anthems of the 2020s. Nothing negative towards guitarist Zac Stephenson by the way, as he played his parts excellently. He remains more in the shadows of the stage. And who was the bass player? Not Sam McCann.

Having that out of the way, what remains is a great show. SPRINTS in 2024 was ready for a next step and with album 'All That Is Over' and this show that step has been taken. In 2026 the band is ready for yet another step. Great things may lie ahead for SPRINTS and I got to see them in smaller venues. It may be the last time that all the women can be asked to come on stage, with a few men not being able to restrain themselves and joined uninvited. No encore, SPRINTS went out with a bang.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Death In The Business Of Whaling. Searows

Alec Duckart, de man achter Searows, beschikt over een hele bijzondere stem, die mij herinnert aan Phoebe Bridgers, maar de muzikant uit Portland, Oregon, maakt ook wonderschone muziek die uitnodigt tot wegdromen.

Ik had nog nooit van Searows gehoord, maar inmiddels ben ik fan. Dat werd ik direct na beluistering van Death In The Business Of Whaling, dat vol staat met stemmige en beeldende klanken, die de ruimte veranderen in weidse winterlandschappen. Misschien nog wel mooier is de bijzondere stem van Alec Duckart, die ik in eerste instantie als vrouwenstem had ingeschat. Het is een stem die perfect past bij de sfeervolle klanken op Death In The Business Of Whaling en van de songs van Searows songs maakt die je eindeloos wilt koesteren. En dat geldt ook voor de twee albums die Searows de afgelopen jaren al afleverde. 

Guard Dog, het debuutalbum van Searows verscheen in de herfst van 2022. Het is een album dat ik inmiddels al ruim drie jaar zou hebben gekoesterd als het me destijds was opgevallen, maar dat is helaas niet het geval. Iets vergelijkbaars geldt voor het in 2023 verschenen (mini-)album End Of The World, dat minstens net zo mooi is als het debuutalbum van Searows. 

Ook het nieuwe album van Searows, Death In The Business Of Whaling, had ik zomaar kunnen missen, maar gelukkig kreeg het album enige aandacht en waren een paar positieve woorden genoeg om me heel nieuwsgierig te maken naar de muziek van Searows. Het betekent wel dat ik er opeens drie prachtalbums bij heb, want Searows doet zo ongeveer alles waar ik van hou wanneer het gaat om muziek, al is er wel een bijzondere twist. 

Searows is het alter ego van de Amerikaanse singer-songwriter Alec Duckart, die werd geboren in Kentucky, maar al vanaf jonge leeftijd in Portland, Oregon, woont. Ik was er na beluistering van Death In The Business Of Whaling echt voor 100% zeker van dat achter Searows een vrouwelijke muzikante schuil zou gaan, maar dat blijkt niet het geval, want Alex Duckart is een (trans) man. Het heeft Alec Duckart wel geholpen, want zangeressen hebben bij mij een streepje voor en met een zware mannenstem had ik Death In The Business Of Whaling vast een stuk minder mooi gevonden. 

Bij beluistering van de drie albums van Searows heb ik vooral associaties met de muziek van Phoebe Bridgers. De stem van Alec Duckart lijkt soms behoorlijk veel op de stem van een van de grootheden binnen de indiepop en indierock van het moment, maar is nog wat hoger, zachter en ijler. Het is een stem die ik echt heel erg mooi vind, want op een of andere manier verandert alles om je heen wanneer de vocalen van Searows door de speakers of beter nog door de koptelefoon komen. 

De stem van Alec Duckart is betoverend mooi, maar krijgt nog wat extra glans door de prachtige muziek op Death In The Business Of Whaling. Het is een stem die baat heeft bij sfeervolle, wat donkere en atmosferisch klinkende muziek en dat is precies wat je krijgt op het derde album van Searows. Het geluid op Death In The Business Of Whaling is ingetogen en soms behoorlijk sober, zeker wanneer je vooral akoestische gitaren hoort, maar de Amerikaanse muzikant kiest ook voor een gelaagd geluid dat op subtiele wijze opbouwt tot sprookjesachtige klanken. 

Ik was direct bij eerste beluistering verkocht, maar alle drie de albums van Searows zijn ook albums die mooier worden wanneer je ze wat vaker hoort. Van deze albums bevalt Death In The Business Of Whaling me uiteindelijk het best. De muziek op het derde album van de muzikant uit Portland is net wat mooier dan op de vorige albums en ook de zang bevalt me net iets beter. Het grootste verschil zit hem echter in de songs die net wat complexer en aansprekender zijn. 

Het is een album dat niet voor niets in de winter is verschenen, want als ik luister naar Death In The Business Of Whaling zie ik al snel donkere winterlandschappen voor me en incidenteel een knisperend haardvuur wanneer de akoestische gitaar het voortouw neemt. Het is al even stil rond Phoebe Bridgers, maar als ze een album als Death In The Business Of Whaling zou afleveren zou ik dik tevreden zijn. Het zegt alles over de kwaliteit van de muziek van Searows.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Death In The Business Of Whaling hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://searows.bandcamp.com/album/death-in-the-business-of-whaling

2026, week 11. 10 singles

There are days when there are no words left. This is one of them.

Pretty. Honey I'm Home

Honey I'm Home is a Dutch shoegaze band consisting of Thom Schotanus, Sofie Ooteman, Jasper Meurs, Hugo de Groot en Evelien Keesmaat that makes its debut on this blog. Pretty is a song that holds optimistic singing and a darker sound. It mixes a pop vibe, in the vocal delivery as much as in the lead lines, with the darker and somewhat sluggish rhythm. The combination certainly works. Pretty has the rhythm of songs that were popular in the 1990s of which I have long ago forgotten the name of. That bouncy kind of rhythm and singer(s) who was (were) always somewhere between singing and rapping. Honey I'm Home's singers sing, so let there be no mistake there. Pretty is fun track with a nice dark edge. 

Ground Kiss. youbet

youbet is the second band making its debut on this blog this week. With Ground Kiss the band delivers an alternative rock track. If you could hold it in your hands, you would have to wash your hands immediately afterwards. Ground Kiss has that dark and dirty sound that actually makes it very attractive to listen to. Songwriter Nick Llobet started youbet and was later joined by Micah Prussack, while producer Katie Von Schleicher works once again with the duo. The single moves between an indie track with two voices to distorted guitar eruptions that upset everything and everybody. Fire spouts from the record in those moments. Album 'youbet' will be released on 1 May.

You’re Only Good To Calm Me Down. Caitlin 

And here's a third new name on the blog this week. Caitlin is a singer-songwriter from New Zealand who is on route to release her fourth EP, 'Guardrails', on 10 April. With You’re Only Good To Calm Me Down, not a very stimulating title, is it?, Caitlin sets a mood that is somewhere between positive and moody. Despite being mid tempo, the drummer gives the song a tempo that could go on forever. The addition of the banjo, playing just a few notes, gives the song an alternative country flavour. In the meantime Caitlin just keeps singing, seemingly unperturbed by what is going on around her. Her voice is soft and pleasant, contrasting nicely with the electric guitar. This is a really nice indiepop song.

I Go Up, You Go Down. My Precious Bunny

I Go Up, You Go Down is one of the outcomes of Lily Wolter's relation breakup, moving in with her parents again and the world closing down due to the Covid crisis. Adding all that I Go Up, You Go Down is up, it is a miracle that the single sounds as light as it does. Not that it is a festive and multi-coloured affair but not pitch black either. My Precious Bunny presents itself as an indie singer-songwriter before estranging elements are let into the song. All the weird sounds and treated voices remind me of Carol Cleveland Sings and Pickle Darling. They are let go off, just as easily as they return. It makes I Go Up, You Go Down extremely fun and intriguing to listen to. My Precious Bunny is not caught on one loop but more than you can count. And, yes, this is the fourth new name this week.

Overflow. dEUS

No, dEUS is not a new name of course. The band is celebrating the (circa) thirty year anniversary of its first two albums, 'Worst Case Scenario' (1994) and 'In A Bar, Under The Sea' (1996). Overflow is a long forgotten b side. It is a beautiful, alternative ballad. Slow, with a country flow in the instrumentation. The reverb on the single electric guitar notes gives the song a sound that Madrugada built a career on. Very U.S. of course. It gives the single such a great vibe. Overflow is sad and restrained jubilation in one. It is also nothing like what I remember of dEUS at the time. Perhaps the reason it was just a b side at the time and in 2026 the lead single for the re-releases. I did not know dEUS had this in it.

Look Forward In Anger. Ultrabomb

Only a few weeks ago I played David Bowie's 'Lodger' album one again and just like always I was struck by the powerful rocker 'Look Back In Anger'. One of Bowie's best album tracks ever. In 2026 Ultrabomb, Greg Norton (Hüsker Dü), Derek O’Brien (Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Adolescents) and Ryan Smith (Soul Asylum), releases a new single called Look Forward In Anger. The band can only wish the song is as good as its opposite titled one. That said, "forward" is stark rocker, punky, powerful, with a couple of nice riffs and a fiery guitar solo flying around. The rock veterans know exactly what they are doing and deliver abundantly. 

God's A Lonely Man (feat. Iggy Pop). Anna Calvi

This year Iggy turns 79. Who could ever have imagined that in the early 1970s? Anna Calvi and Pop have an artist that joins them, David Bowie. Calvi played a part in the live rendition of 'Black Star'. Iggy Pop was produced by Bowie in the 70s and co-wrote several songs together, some of his biggest hits and a couple for Bowie as well. Anna Calvi and Iggy Pop produced a single that could have been on either 'The Idiot' or 'Lust For Life' with ease. Except that Anna Calvi was not yet born at the time. God's A Lonely Man is a dirty rock song with a typical rhythm. Calvi let's Iggy take the centre stage in the vocals. At first he sounds his age but slowly but surely Iggy gets into his stride and becomes just Iggy Pop. Still going strong.

Jardin. Yori

Dutch singer-songwriter Yori Swart returns to this blog with a modern sounding single. The singing, partly in French. mostly in English, sounds like a traditional French sigh girl did a long time ago. That mix of innocence while hinting at things catholic girls knew despite mister pastor's efforts, is compelling and convincing in Jardin. Musically, the song is part sigh girl, part modern rhythms and part Mano Chao style samples. The mix of it all resulted in a song that is extremely pleasant to listen to. Yori is no girl any more in 2026 and that shows in the way she presents the song. Jardin is bittersweet sharing the positive and negative sides of life in equal parts, making Jardin a very mature song.

Hey Little. Bonny Prince Billy

Bonny Prince Billy is of course Bonny Prince Billy. No matter who he works with, his voice is always the same. On Hey Little he sings with Catherine Irwin (again), a voice that really contrasts with his own voice. She has a country style voice, while Will Oldham is Bonny Prince Billy. Hey Little is a slow song and adorned by a string quartet. Very surprising is the clarinet solo from Thomas Deakin that pops up from the strings for a few seconds. As a whole, Hey Little is as modest as it is present. Oldham has created another little pearl, celebrating but also containing the sorrowful realisation how fast his daughter is growing up. Hey Little Girl is Bonny Prince Billy and yet somehow very different. It shows how an artist can still surprise while still operating in the same musical environment. Just as surprising is the ending that seems to come out of nowhere.

Comets. Arrows of Athena

In April 2024 Arrows of Athena debuted on this blog with the single 'Reckless Heart'. I did not encounter anything in between. In that post I pointed to German duo Para Lia and that was the same name that popped to mind listening to Comets for the first time. Boston duo Jac-Lyn Gibson and Scott Lerner again presents an alternative rock track with firm grounding in the 1990s. The lyrics are based on the life of French wine and champagne pioneer Madame Clicquot, I suppose of the still well-known 'Veuve Clicquot'. Comets is a song that is filed to the brim with guitar parts. Scott Lerner is not afraid of stacking guitar parts towards epic proportions. The same goes for Jac-Lyn Gibson who shows of her different voices as well. If I have to compare voices, I would opt for Shirley Manson (Garbage). Comets is a song that rocks and no little at that.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght