Water For Gasoline. Reb Fountain

With Water For Gasoline Reb Fountain turns over a new page in her career as singer-songwriter. In more than one way. The album is not only released through a new record label and the first recorded in her garage studio, but the music is also more down to earth. The movement towards change I noticed on her previous album, 'How Love Bends', has now reached completion. The result is an enigmatic album none the same.

Reb Fountain entered my life late in the fall of 2020 with a single and then her album 'Reb Fountain'. Just before or in the middle of another lockdown, who knows exactly today, the album was a great way to listen to together in our isolation. It was the almost magical, mystical atmosphere that caught me and my now wife. The album 'Iris' followed this up in an even better way. Being able to see Reb Fountain perform in Paradiso in Amsterdam was so special.

The subtle changes on 'How Live Bends' were "a shock" but things were alright quite soon and prepared me for Water For Gasoline. The change is mostly because of stripping away that mystical layer within her songs. Reb Fountain sings as she sings, that has not changed. The music around and behind her is somehow more direct, her voice this little more prominent in the whole. The approach makes the songs just this little more individual and the album as a result less "a whole".

Yes, this makes Water For Gasoline less unique, like 'Reb Fountain' and 'Iris' were in my ears. The new album can be compared to other singer-songwriters working on brink of folk, country and indie. I will let you pick your own favourite, mine remains Reg Fountain. She takes me by the hand and leads me through the album. The mid tempo brings the listener in a form of trance and in the right mood to become one with music and Reb Fountain's voice.

After getting more familiar with Water For Gasoline, a totally different comparison presented itself, Bob Dylan. Take the title song. Reb Fountain presents a long story, over the same chord progression with a hint of blues in it. In her own style she presents her story, in a way Dylan did in e.g. 'Hurricane' or 'Sara', to stick to 'Desire'. Repetition in such a way that the listener almost or even truly forgets it is that in the end.

With 'Good People', the only song she wrote with co-producer Dave Kahn, she makes a stand. "Good people, stare the fascists down" she sings. It looks like we will all be tested on this over the coming years, as fascism and nazism are making a comeback from the underground fast. It will take more than just staring down, I'm afraid, but I totally relate. On vocals she is assisted by Dianne Swann and Tami Neilsen.

'Good People' is a great example of how Reb Fountain's sound has changed, without losing her strengths. It makes Water For Gasoline an interesting, intriguing but above all good album, that I will want to listen to again and again.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Water For Gasoline here: 

https://rebfountain.bandcamp.com/album/water-for-gasoline 

2026, week 34. 10 singles (2)

Downpours? Who remembers them? Torrents of rain driven through windswept streets? I had all but forgotten about them. This week they are back for the first time in months, quenching a dried out land. In between there's still some sun though, but no longer heatwave like temperatures. And there's always new singles to listen to, so, enjoy!

The Rush. Editors 

How many crossroads are there in the world that draws hoards of tourists? I can think of two. The one on Abbey Road in London I still have to visit. The other is a part of the video to The Rush. Yesterday I happened to read about bands that never topped their debut album and 'The Back Room' was used as an example. I beg to differ, as I never truly got into that album. The Rush is another example of why that is. Editors has left teenangst and the resulting doom and gloom behind it and has let in some light into its music. The Rush feels totally alive and sparkling. It may not be Editors' best song ever, but its great to listen to and makes the listener feel as alive as the song is. Album 'Surface, Echo & Sound' will be released on 30 October.

American Midnight. The Jayhawks

When was it that I last heard a new The Jayhawks song? 2003 or around 2010? I don't know. Neither when I played an album for the last time? It may be a long time ago. All this did not stop me from listening to a new single from the upcoming album 'Sanctuary Park' (28 August). It all sounds so pleasantly familiar immediately. Yes, pleasant is the right word. American Midnight is an up tempo song, a mild rocker is the description that fits best. The singing between Gary Louris and Karen Grotberg still works. Things become uncanny when I realise that the band entered my life in 1993 with a single that still plays inside my head regularly, 'Take Me With You (When You Go)'. That is 33 years ago. The band itself formed 40 years ago and is still capable of creating a strong song like American Midnight. Perhaps it's time to listen to a new The Jayhawks album once again after all.

I'm On Standby. Eels

Did I write 1993 in the above post, here's 1996 when 'Novocane For The Soul' came into my life and the album 'Beautiful Freak'. Just like with The Jayhawks, I missed several albums of Eels through the past 30 years. That doesn't stop me from listening to a new single and I'm On Standby is proof that a song can be seemingly simple, yet perfect and beautiful(ly arranged). E's voice is what it is and suits this single just right. I can hear him performing I'm On Standby with just an acoustic guitar within my head. And then listen to all the subtle details that come by in this single. The organ is totally defining. Subtle strings add to the beauty of it all. On the face of things there seems not to be happening a lot. Open your ears and you'll be amazed. Don't forget to really open your ears at the end. A beautiful single I'm On Standby is.

Lie Down With Dogs, Stand Up With Fleas. British Birds

British Birds is a DYI, brother-sister band consisting of Bobby and Emma Townson with Dominic Lawson on drums and James Robinson on bass. On route to their third album, 'Murmurate, Oscillate', to be released on 16 October, the band releases this sort of time machine of a single that hops from year to year scoping up elements of music. The result is mix of XTC, The B-52s, and much, much more, caught in a flash of energy that is led by an oh so cool 'ooh-ooh' sang by Emma Townson. Come the chorus there's only one band left I can think of, Dogs Die In Hot Cars and then add the Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson quality of Emma's voice. Lie Down With Dogs, Stand Up With Fleas is a song that bounces in all sorts of directions but keeps the eye on the ball the whole time. British Birds manages to be as alternative as it is poppy in a very convincing way. "ooho ooh-ohoo, oohoo ooho-ooho" alright.

Drop/See. The Machine

With Drop/See we go off to the darker and deeper side of music. The Machine is a Dutch stoner rock trio consisting of David Eering (guitar/vocals), Chris Both (bass) and Klaas Dijkstra (drums). For 20 years the band has been honing its craft and it shows on Drop/See, which is also the opening track of the upcoming 'Another Sun' album (2 October). The deep, dark riffs that drive the album, played on both guitar and bass, define the sound of Drop/See. The vocals are mixed in such a way that they are clearly only supporting the song. The big riffs take the main stage, accompanied by all sorts effects on the guitar. From there the melodies are explored by the guitar. Behind it all are the huge drums of Klaas Dijkstra. From past experience, I'd say that Masters of Reality are the best comparison. Yes, it's loud but if it's good as well, who cares.

Goodbye To It All. Jess Williamson 

There are artists that have come into my life, I even have a few of their records and yet, somehow they disappear as they have come once those albums move into the "collection". Jess Williamson is one of those artists, I realised when I was pointed to her new single, Goodbye To It All. Listening to it, I wondered, did she sound as country as this? My memory tells me, no, she didn't. Goodbye To It All has a country twang, caused mainly by the pedal steel guitar that weaves itself around the other instruments throughout the song. Ms. Williamson's voice sings a bit in a country way as well. Listening for the first time, I wondered whether I should write about the song, but decided in favour before the song played itself out. A little bit of country every once in a while doesn't do anyone any harm, and as far as I'm concerned there's no need to say goodbye to this song.

Take It Back. Garret Vandermolen

Sound Cove is a label that releases digital singles only. They include songs that founder Garret Vandermolen wants to release as a solo offering. Over the past few years I have written on the single releases of the label and Take It Back is no exception. It is one of those tracks that combine a good rock sound and riff with a great vocal melody. It has that driving rhythm that gives the impression that the song will go on forever, something the listener wants it to do. Although the guitars are the driving force, a warm B3 Hammond underscores the warmth the rock song contains as well. Musically, Take It Back combines the melodic side of 70s rock, e.g. Uriah Heep's 'Easy Living' with 90s alternative rock like Buffalo Tom. It is a combination that really works out well for Garret Vandermolen.

1972. Librarians With Hickeys

1972, man that is long ago by now. Do I want to go back to it? No, thank you. Singer Ray Carmen of Librarians With Hickeys does though. The band presents a single that is just as nostalgic sounding as The Connells' '74/'75'. 1972 is just a little faster and janglier. The Ohio band returns to these pages with a single that shows how good it is in music that seems to come from the past but is sounding new and fresh. There are so many bands and artists that have returned to music and are able to come up with great sounding songs, that will remain more or less in the shadow of the past, but can compete easily with what came before. Librarians With Hickeys is such a band. We have to wait to somewhere next year though before being able to hear the upcoming album.

Comin' To Get Him EP. The Lemon Drop Gang

"How far back can a band put the hands of the clock? In the case of The Lemon Drop Gang it is about sixty years", I wrote in January of this year introducing the band's single 'My Mind's Got A Mind Of It's Own'. There's no need to change the opening lines for the three songs (one is an instrumental pedal steel version of opening track 'Wreckless Eyeballs') on this EP. Two songs that can't be much further apart though. 'Wreckless Eyeball' is a garagerock country song. Dirty, sleazy but country nonetheless. Steph O'Halloran sings as if she drags her voice down the mud up and down the street. The guitar is just as dirty. The pedal steel does the trick as do the backing vocals. The solo they play together is the icing on the cake. I can only write that I really like what I'm hearing. The same goes for the third and title song of the EP. 'Comin' To Get Him' is a garage rocker like they used to make them. The fuzz pedal on the guitar is cranked up to the max it seems. No matter how 60s the track sounds, The Lemon Drop Gang puts itself on the same level as modern day, Australian punkers Amyl & the Sniffers. That amount of energy comes from the digits playing in my ears right now. The two songs may be uncannily different, on this EP they work like a miracle from hell. 

Ellen C. Let Me Downs

I'll admit, it is not easy to write an original review on another punkrock single, that sort of sounds like they all do and yet is good. Tacoma's Let Me Downs do everything right on Ellen C. It has the energy, the tightness, the melody, the power, the breaks and above all a chorus to shout along to. So, does Ellen C. need an original review? No, because writing that a song is good at times is enough. So, let me repeat, Ellen C. is a great punkrock single, in the style that is around for over 30 years and never seems to tire when played right. Ellen C. by Let Me Downs offers just that.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling. Mia Kelly

De Canadese muzikante Mia Kelly is buiten haar moederland helaas nog niet heel bekend, maar heeft met het uitstekende Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling een rootsalbum gemaakt dat een groot publiek moet kunnen aanspreken.

Dat Canada beschikt over een hele interessante muziekscene waarin ook geweldige rootsmuziek wordt gemaakt is bekend, maar toch trekken Canadese muzikanten in Nederland helaas minder aandacht dan hun Amerikaanse collega’s. Ook Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling van Mia Kelly krijgt nog niet heel veel aandacht, maar het is in alle opzichten een geweldig album. De songs zijn aansprekend, de muziek op het album klinkt bijzonder mooi, de productie is fraai en dan is er ook nog eens de prachtige stem van de Canadese muzikante, die je elf songs lang ontroert en betovert. Mia Kelly leverde twee jaar geleden een prachtig debuutalbum af en ook haar nieuwe album is ijzersterk.

In de week voorafgaand aan “Release Friday” maak ik een eerste selectie op basis van een flink aantal releaselijsten uit binnen- en buitenlands, die ik wekelijks bestudeer. In een van deze lijsten kwam ik de naam van Mia Kelly tegen, die ik voor de zekerheid toch maar even heb opgezocht.

Op Spotify vond ik een aantal interessante recente singles van de mij tot voor kort onbekende Canadese singer-songwriter, maar ik was eigenlijk vooral onder de indruk van het mini-album Garden Through the War dat ze in 2022 uitbracht en nog wat meer van haar debuutalbum To Be Clear dat in 2024 verscheen. 

Het door Jim Bryson (Kathleen Edwards) geproduceerde To Be Clear is een album dat twee jaar geleden zomaar uit had kunnen groeien tot een van mijn favoriete albums van het jaar, wat voor mij nog maar eens duidelijk maakt dat ik de Canadese muziekscene veel beter in de gaten moet houden. 

Ook met Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling heeft Mia Kelly een uitstekend album gemaakt. De Canadese muzikante heeft in eigen land inmiddels een aantal muziekprijzen binnengesleept en dat begrijp ik, want Mia Kelly beschikt over meerdere talenten, die op haar nieuwe album optimaal uit de verf komen. 

Haar nieuwe album krijgt nog niet heel veel aandacht, maar de Britse muziekwebsite Americana UK heeft het album inmiddels wel gerecenseerd. Het is een website die ik hoog heb zitten, maar in de recensie van Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling kan ik me niet vinden. Americana UK heeft veel minder met pop dan ik heb, maar de flirts met pop die de Britse muziekwebsite hoort en waar het zich kennelijk aan stoort, hoor ik eerlijk gezegd echt niet op het nieuwe album van Mia Kelly. 

Vergeleken met To Be Clear klinkt Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling soms wat voller en verder zijn de songs misschien net wat lichter dan op het vorige album, maar ik vind het echt een 100% rootsalbum. De songs van de muzikante uit Gatineau, Québec, klinken in een aantal gevallen voor mij zelfs als redelijk traditionele aandoende rootssongs, zeker als ze wat minder uitbundig zijn ingekleurd en wanneer de instrumenten die domineren in de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek het voortouw nemen, wat in de meeste songs het geval is. 

Ik vind het nieuwe album van Mia Kelly persoonlijk juist prachtig klinken. Het album is voorzien van een warm geluid en ook wanneer de muziek net wat voller klinkt, blijven de songs van Mia Kelly intiem klinken. De mij onbekende producer Connor Seidel heeft niet de status van Jim Bryson, die het vorige album produceerde, maar ik heb wel wat met de productie van Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling. 

Ik heb nog meer met de stem van Mia Kelly, die mij met de eerste noten te pakken had en sindsdien alleen maar meer indruk maakt met haar prachtige stem. De Canadese muzikante zingt redelijk ingehouden, maar met veel gevoel, waardoor haar songs mij direct wisten te raken. Het zijn stuk voor stuk aansprekende songs en het zijn songs die gevarieerder klinken dan op de meeste andere rootsalbums. 

Ik vond Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling nog wat mooier toen ik het album met de koptelefoon beluisterde, want toen raakte ik nog wat meer onder de indruk van de zeer smaakvolle muziek op het album, van de prachtige productie en vooral van de imponerende stem van Mia Kelly. De flirts met pop hoor ik nog steeds niet op dit album, dat ik zelf schaar onder de beste rootsalbums van het moment.

Erwin Zijleman

2026, week 34. 5 singles

It remains so fascinating how different the music is that I am sent from different sources from around the world. Add to that, the songs I still discover myself every once in a while. The most weird being the band mentioned first in the first review below. Anyone who cares to follow the line up of today, will notice the extreme differences between the songs, that without a doubt are very worth while to listen to or explore, as that is the better word in the case of 'Nicolas' Cave'. No artist is even closely the same today. It's time to go exploring, enjoy!

Nicolas' Cave. Fence

Yesterday, I wrote about Angine de Poitrine and, no, it does not get that weird, but Belgian band Fence does give the listener quite some changes in exchange for sharing his/her time with Nicolas' Cave. Things may kick off with a recorder in a quite relaxed way, that is also about where normalcy stops. Fence uses every opportunity to push the song in another direction, to come back to the recorder accompanied by an acoustic guitar at the end, as if nothing happened in the four plus minutes in between. In 2023 I wrote on the single 'King To The Blind'. Based on my words there, there's not a lot to compare to. Fence jumps as it were the fences in between back gardens to find a completely other one with each jump and reports back on each one. If anything, it makes for very interesting listening and at times even good listening. Album 'Nobody Gives A Fuck' will be released this fall.

Unstable Neighbour. Railcard

The second single from the upcoming Railcard debut album 'Two Steps At A Time' (18 September), presents me with a dreamy alternative pop track, with a trumpet that hovers between parts of the tune. With the organ and the way of singing, it is part of the dreamy part of the song. The other part is about as direct as songs come. There's nothing dreamy about the drums, bass and guitar work. Railcard may be a new band, it's members have all been around for quite some time as members of Heavenly, Death in Vegas and Dolly Mixture. The members met at a live show and decided to start working together. The recorded EPs were glued together to 'Two Steps At A Time', which the world can hear next month.

Carry On Without Me. Reluctant Bob & the Lonely Lovers

Due to my summer break I missed a single, but Reluctant Bob & the Lonely Lovers is becoming a fixture in the singles posts on WoNoBlog. Although not entirely identical, the set up of the music is comparable to DYI Dutch artist The Slow Clock and the deadpan delivery (and female vocals singing in the exact opposite way) of Gruppo Sportivo. Two references that ought to make any lover of alternative pop music prick up their ears and speed to their favourite digital outlet to start listening. Carry On Without Me has a kind of class that is also found with an artist like eels, but that is all offset by the female vocalists. This song may seem like a hodgepodge of influences, but that should come with quality that makes it interesting on its own accord. Believe me Carry On Without Me has just that, abundantly.

Nous Deux EP. Foglights

Nous Deux is Foglights' debut EP. The duo exists of Eva Cords of The Cords and Archie Ingram of Stone Anthem. Both have released their debut albums within the past 10 months and already venture out as a(nother) duo. The songs on Nous Deux are all slow and of a dreamy psychedelic nature. I think that fans of the band Mazzy Star would refer to its music as a comparison. As it mostly passed me by, I'm not certain if I can. For me I'd keep it to the dreamy pop songs of The Velvet Underground, like 'Sunday Morning', 'Candy Says' and 'Jesus'. You'll hear guitars and an organ, but no bass and no drums or any other percussion. It sets the music of Foglights apart from almost all other bands. Still, put on Nous Deux a few times and you'll discover the addictive qualities of the duo's music. A string section might be added for special effects. It remains uncanny how a song created from fairly minimal effects can get to you in a serious way. The music and voices are mixed in such a way that a very full sound is created, with voices coming from all sides, like Eva Cord's pa pa pa's do in 'The Day The Light Stayed'. I had not heard of Archie Ingram, but based on Nous Deux, it might be worth my while to check out his debut as Stone Anthem, 'Solux Rex'. It took me more than one listen session to warm to Nous Deux but after that there was no holding back.

Anhedonia (Start Again). The Morning Line

The Morning Line, yes, the band's been on the blog before with two singles in 2023. At the time I thought the band to be from Boston, but it isn't (any more?). It's from northern California. At the time it released its record on the Red on Red label of the late Justine Covault, in 2026 the upcoming album will be on Big Stir. The sound has not changed. This is American rock with a countryrock flavour. Familiar in sound, yet can go down so well. The band around Stephen Smith does things very right here. A golden melody twists itself around the gently rocking sound, in a way many bands aspire to. So, don't expect music that is original in sound, instead enjoy something new with a familiar sound.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Angine de Poitrine live on KEXP

Somewhere this year photo's of a duo in polka dot costumes, make up and attire/masks began popping up in places. Later the name Angine de Poitrine started registering with me. I never got around to listening to music. And then my music magazine of choice, 'Oor', had an article, no interview, as the duo doesn't really give them, on the band.

Everything boiled down to a referral to a show recorded by KEXP during a festival in Rennes in December 2025. Based on what the author, Jacob Haagsma, was writing, I did not have high expectations, but decided to give it a try anyway, just to see how weird it would be. The show has already been viewed well over 18 million times, which is a lot for music as weird and freaky as Angine de Poitrine's is.

The duo consists of a drummer and guitarist/bassist/pedallist. The guitar is a double-necked one of guitar and bass, with both having far more and smaller spread frets than regular guitars have. It implies microtonal notes can be played, without bending the strings. The music is not standard western music, as the tonalities are eastern in nature, played in a western alternative rock way, creating stranger sounding melodies, both nervous and erratic in nature. Like African music often is. The way the drums and guitars blend is totally fascinating.

Both musicians are in total control of their instruments, and that includes the looping and effects that come with the guitars. There's so much to switch on and off that besides playing, it also becomes a balancing act. On the side, there's some heavy distorted unintelligible singing involved, at times with what for lack of a better world involves a chorography of simultaneous arms waving.

The costumes do distract from the music at first, but fairly soon being in awe of what is happening starts to take over. Yes, this is so far removed from what, I think, most of the 18 million plus viewers will listen to on a daily basis. Certainly me. It is so far out there and at the same time very good to listen to. It gets to me like some of the rhythmically complex pieces of Frank Zappa that got to me decades ago. Listen to 'Inca Roads' e.g. Angine de Poitrine does it with two and a looping station. I doubt whether I can play this for long on record, for that it is too esoteric for me, but enjoying myself at a live show or playing this show on TV, sure.

Finally, can you make a mask look female with just black polka dots on a white surface? Yes, this band can. I have no idea who is hiding in there. The call themselves KHN and Klek de Poitrine and come from Québec in Canada. Intriguing it all is.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can see the show here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ssi-9wS1so

 

You can listen to and order Angine de Poitrine's albums here:

https://anginedepoitrine.bandcamp.com/album/vol-ii