Not seldom an act makes its debut on this blog in the weekly singles post, but an artist who has scored many, many hits, even number 1 hits, over multiple years? No, I can't remember that happening before. The honour goes to Pink. For the rest you will find some huge contrasts as well. Long songs moving towards 10 minutes and short songs clocking in around and under two minutes. Rock, punk, singer-songwriter, folk, what not. All within the ten songs we present this week.
Burst Through The Borders. Caulbearers
I have
no clue what Caulbeares means, except that I imagine in my mind's eye
black-faced men, sweat streaming down their faces, revealing a little of
their true skin colour, while hauling coal deep in the pit, dust
everywhere, including their longs. Burst Through The Borders musically
has not one single connection to coalminers. The eight and a half minute
long song is as long as it is beautiful. Notes meander around the
central theme of the song, the soft rhythm played as tough as possible
for a ballad. Then I hear the first sentence: "Deep in the earth". I
hadn't noticed that before, being enraptured by the soft piano notes,
the guitar theme, the cello playing over bass and drums. It isn't easy
to keep such a long song interesting, especially when there are no epic
movements going on. Everything is subtle and graceful. Until the very
last second I'm listening enraptured to Burst Through The Borders. What a
song. The opening sentence laying a link to my original thoughts quite nicely.
Cover Me In Sunshine. Pink + Willow Sage Hart And
so Pink makes her debut on this blog together with her daughter. I've
been hearing this song for a couple of weeks on the radio and found that
it is already a couple of months old, being played more and more it
seems. It got under my skin and I'm singing along with mother and
daughter. The song has a hip hop feel because of the stop/start of the
music and the slow rhythm. At the same time it's a delicate guitar ballad that is campfire
material, if youths still do such a thing and not stare
together-separate at screens. The delicate fingerpicking on the guitar
accompanies the extremely pleasant vocal melody. Once in, it will never
go out again. The voice of Willow Sage Hart gives the song an extra
layer of innocence, adding to the attraction. All together the song is a
bridge between the 60s and the 20s. Also a moment that I am faced with
the passing of time. The to be 60s are closer than the old one that
moulded me musically. Perhaps Willow Sage then is an older singer still
releasing records. Who can tell? Most likely I will not be around to tell you about
it. But what a beautiful little song Cover Me In Sunshine is.
Does
perfect pop come in a rock guise? Of course it can and Nightspell released its
first single to underscore the point made. Starting off with a Buddy
Holly muted guitar sound, the singer gives her soft-voiced best before
the band fully kicks in. The members of Nightspell have all made their
miles in totally unknown, local bands. To me that is. Thanks to Lou
Mansdorf of Rum Bar Records I got on Justine Couvault's Red on Red
Records' mailing list. And now one after the other fantastic pop single
is dropped in my digital mailbox. Sea Of Thieves is only 2 minutes and
21 seconds long and every second holds the essence of pop-rock heaven.
There simply aren't other words for it. The drums-bass-guitar does all
that has to be done, the solo is as elementary as exactly right. The
vocal harmonies of Seana Carmody and Joyce Raskin are the icing on the
great cake Nightspell serves. I can't think of a more perfect
introduction for a new band than Sea Of Thieves. It's a killer of a
first single.
Just when
I was thinking whether Red On Red Records releases female singers
exclusively, enter Devil Love with Better Better. A song Weezer is
looking for since 'Hashpipe', I'd say. Not that good but awfully close.
Better Better has that bittersweet taste that makes me fall for the song
with ease. There aren't many hindrances to liking it. The band rocks
but in such a way that it's almost like I'm not listening to a rock song
but to a pop song instead. But don't be fooled. The drums are pounding,
the bass lays down the foundation so the guitars can rock out. It is
the the softer-voiced singing that applies for pop admittance; and is
turned down. Too much noise behind you mate! What are you thinking? The
combination works a miracle to me.
Visions. José GonzalezHow
long ago is 'Veneer', that rather unexpected hit by José Gonzales? It
must be in the 00s, as my then neighbour was a fan of the album it was
on. I can't remember ever to have heard other music by the Swedish bard.
His last album is six years old I just read. Visions is a subdued song,
with a high The Beatles level in it. An acoustic guitar drives the song
together (Gonzales sings the word while I'm typing it) with the multi-tracked vocals, showcasing the different layers in his voice. There's a
bass and some handclapping as well and a soft droning instrument behind
it all. The accompanying birdsong comes from the outside through my opened
windows. It is all served up as ultimate relaxation. Musically in line
with a thousand other singer-songwriters, Vision sets itself apart
in the beautifully layered singing. Visions is a treat to listen to.
Counter Attack. DriftwoodWasn't
this a .NoWordsNeeded recently? Yes, it was, but I'm a man of words.
Counter Attack is a kind of song that was popular in the 70s. I remember
a song like 'Friend Of Mine' by Fields or the Hammond organ of Steve
Winwood. The way of singing is different. This is not a real singer.
This man talks himself through his lyrics. The drumming (Joey Waronker)
is a late 80s invention, think The Stone Roses. The soft interlude is
almost 1950s Frank Sinatra, before all hell breaks loose. Had this been
the continuation of a Sinatra song, the fright of his fans would have
been a sight to see! Counter Attack is a song that brings together 70
years of popular music in a way that is not easy to imagine for the
average music fan. The trio De Bock, Janssens and Vanneste has and
created the kind of song that is great to listen to but of the kind where
hearing is believing.
Long Black Electric Cadillac. John Hiatt and the Jerry Douglas BandAll
pretensions are laid by the wayside. John Hiatt accompanied by the
Jerry Douglas Band play an mid-tempo country blues with a modern text on
electric Cadillacs. So what I hear is what I get. Hiatt's ever gruffier
voice accompanied by nice little solo lines played on an electric
guitar, a lap played guitar and a violin, each taking turns. With a
faint memory of JJ Cale in there, not more is needed to create a song
that is simply extremely nice to listen to. Sometimes more words do not
add to the picture. You should have it by now.
The Reflection Pool. delvingSome
people know Nick DiSalvio from the band Elder, others from the duo Gold
& Silver. I know him through emails of the Stickman Records label.
Now I also know him through the release of a solo single under the
moniker delving. The pandemic gave him the time to work on ideas that
had been lying around for years, leading to this 9 and a half minute
song, The Reflection Pool. It announces an album, 'Hirschbrunnen', to be
released later this month. The Reflection Song is a long instrumental,
divided into a few sections. On the whole there's a mysterious mood in
the song, reflected by the long held, swooshing sounds on keyboards and,
I think, long-delayed, looped guitar sounds, slowly building towards a
climax. The combination of electronics and electrically amplified
instruments, not to mention the huge drumming in some parts, lead to an
overwhelming experience where subtlety and force combat for the
spotlight; both win in the end. This solo record is not a half-baked
work in times of Covid but a fully mature product keeping me tied to my
chair for the full 9.30 minutes.
From
9.30 to 1.58. Rock and roll Jake Bugg style, when Jake still rocked and
decades of earlier rockers before him of course. Liverpool duo Ernest
Moon rocks on with a punky cool while in the background the female
background choir exudes total innocence. The combination works rather
well. Big Wow is all about direct impressions and nothing to do with
making complex introductions. Sigh twice and the song is over already.
Tough guitar playing, a tight bass and nice drumming by Jake Woodward.
All in this single is necessarily present, except
for the girls singing in the background. Steven Doran and Brian Murphy do not
need any extras in their music besides a little intelligently applied
dynamics. The three second guitar solo, Brian Setzer style is the only
extravagance allowed here. 1.58 minutes is enough to tell it all.
Rock and Roll in 2021? Very much alive, sir.
Heavy Metal Kids. WattsWith
the kind of Keith-Ronnie riff The Stones are incapable of producing
themselves for over 16 years this year, Heavy Metal Kids sets the
standard for listening in the first seconds. Watts' introduction to its
upcoming new album later this week does not beat around the bush. Solid
rock all the way. From the solid riffing at the start, to the pop
element in the refrain, tradition is dealt out in a nice, respectful and
sure-fire way. Watts is not afraid to show where its coming from nor to
show where it wants to go. In this case its to honour that late 70s
riffing rock The Stones led the world into with its 'Some Girls' album
working towards the ultimate riffing in this style in 1981's 'Start Me
Up'. Heavy Metal Kids were a punk band around 1977 but listening to
'Delirious' as well, there's no real link between band and song. Nor is
there with metal. All that trivia aside, Heavy Metal Kids is a great
song, making me want to hear more, soon!
Wout de Natris
Listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:
https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g
Posts
