Tapes & Demos. The Pretty Graves

Today I, again, present a new name on the blog. It appears I've missed the band's debut album, 'The Pretty Graves' this May. Tapes & Demos is, as the title suggests, not the sophomore album but the one in between, sharing the band's music from before the debut. Tapes & Demos is a collection of b-sides, left overs and live favourites that did not make it to 'The Pretty Graves', but are too good to leave behind in the mystery of time or for that 30th anniversary edition. Chances are I won't make it to 2056, so thank you for releasing them in 2026.

Coincidentally, I bought a new version of The Velvet Underground's 'Loaded' last weekend. It is not just because of this that I'm reminded of the legendary band. The Pretty Graves play on the brink of pop music and alternative, garage and psychedelia, just like The Velvets do on 'The Velvet Underground', 'Loaded' and 'VU'. The comparison is not fair, as I put Tapes & Demos in competition with albums I know and love for (over) forty years. But, I'm writing, am I not?

Tapes & Demos is an album that spoke to me right from the very beginning of my listening to it. Going through some new albums quite fast, this was the one where I stopped skipping songs, thinking well could be the one, followed by an affirmative yes. Putting the album on again, only made the resolve stronger.

Just listen to opening song 'Sorry I Left The Way I Did'. The melancholy pop song is inspired by every band between Big Star and Teenage Fanclub (in the 1990s). That sad feeling is translated into eternal pop beauty. Enough indie to be credible, yet so commercially inclined it should catch everyone's ear who is looking for a great pop song. The guitar solo catches it all perfectly as well.

A more alternative feel enters in the second song, 'Bluebird'. Enter a shrillish little organ playing just one note for the whole time, while the band does its own version of a song like 'What Goes On' from 'The Velvet Underground' album around that note. 'Bluebird' has an identical drive, making it a song I instantly related to.

Tapes & Demos swings between the kind of alternative pop songs and more 60s inspired songs, making the album as varied as it is interesting. Of course, there are more modern influences but it does boil down to music that was created well over 50 years ago. Because some of the tracks are demos, they even sound more primitive. 'Return To Love' is such a song. There's so much energy there, while singer Chris Lisorti is singing over it, as if he's got all the time in the world.

'She's A Killer' takes us back to the Velvets once again, but by then I'm more than convinced. It's time to check out 'The Pretty Graves' album, but it may well be that Tapes & Demos is more than enough. The honesty, rawness and energy captured on these tapes tell it all.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Tapes & Demos here:

https://theprettygraves.bandcamp.com/album/tapes-demos 

Tomorrow Is Now Today. Lesoir

A new name on the blog, Lesoir. To my surprise the band is from Maastricht in the province Limburg in The Netherlands. I would never have guessed, as I thought the band to be from the U.S. or perhaps the U.K. While names that popped listening for the first time were Within Temptation, The Gathering and Kovacs (the voice). That should have pointed me to The Netherlands. It didn't.

I am not a big fan of the symphonic-goth rock of the two Dutch bands mentioned. Lesoir does go into their territory but is not trespassing. By broadening its sound, being far more subtle, names like an alternative act like Finom (formerly Ohmme) pop up in my mind as well. Besides, the band can rock in a huge way also. 'Is It Nothing' simply explodes in the outro, after holding back for most of the time. A great guitar solo, with a layer of delay on top makes the song sparkle more and more.

This is exactly what attracts me throughout the album. No matter what influence is let in, you can a hear a little Pink Floyd from the 'Animals' album for example in the title track, it is always worked into its own sound and plans. Who are physically a part of this plan, is a hard to determine. I see a picture containing seven people, read a bio saying a five piece band band, while online information mention six persons. Whatever the outcome, the lady in front, also responsible for the lyrics is Maartje Meesen. She can also be heard on guitar, piano and flute. The latter instrument makes Lesoir stand apart from most other bands.

Promo photo

In general, I would start comparing Lesoir with a band like Marillion, as on my personal (and only) favourite 'Misplaced Childhood'. Lesoir manages to blend very direct music with an ethereal, dreamy component. In the 90s a band like The Gathering managed to do the same, once they left the metal behind. It is not a coincidence that Lesoir will be supporting Anneke van Giersbergen on her upcoming European tour.

Taking in the whole album, Lesoir maintains a high level of musicianship. The adventurous composing is mixed with a flawless execution, creating an album that is like a fantastic ride to listen to. A lot of different components are presented, making the listening experience an adventure as well. I had never heard of the band, as far as I'm aware that is, and I'm glad to have picked Tomorrow Is Now Today up.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Tomorrow is Now Today here:

https://lesoirmusic.bandcamp.com/album/tomorrow-is-now-today-2 

Bad Things Feel Good*. Rowena Wise

Iedereen die twee jaar geleden luisterde naar het debuutalbum van Rowena Wise weet waartoe ze in staat is, maar op haar in augustus verschenen tweede album Bad Things Feel Good* maakt de Australische muzikante nog meer indruk.

Rowena Wise beschikt over een stem die iets met me doet, waardoor ze me twee jaar geleden direct te pakken had met haar debuutalbum Senseless Acts of Beauty. Haar stem klinkt nog veel mooier op dit tweede album Bad Things Feel Good*, waarop Rowena Wise opnieuw folksongs met een indierock vibe maakt. Ook het nieuwe album werd in korte tijd en live opgenomen, wat de songs van Rowena Wise iets ruws geeft. Tegelijkertijd zijn het songs van een bijzondere schoonheid en intimiteit. Die schoonheid komt vooral van de stem van de Australische muzikante, maar ook in muzikaal opzicht maakt Bad Things Feel Good* makkelijk indruk en dat doen ook de zeer persoonlijke songs op dit prachtige album.

De Australische muzikante Rowena Wise bracht iets meer dan twee jaar geleden haar debuutalbum Senseless Acts of Beauty uit. Het is een album dat in Nederland helaas nauwelijks werd opgemerkt, maar ik vind het nog altijd een erg mooi album. Op haar debuutalbum maakt Rowena Wise indruk met songs die zowel invloeden uit de folk als de indierock bevatten. 

Het zijn songs die live werden ingespeeld in de studio, waardoor de muziek op het album lekker ruw klinkt. De inkleuring van de songs op het album is in de meeste songs vrij elementair, wat het bijzondere karakter van Senseless Acts of Beauty verder versterkt en dan is er ook nog eens de mooie en karakteristieke stem van de muzikante uit Melbourne. 

Ik hoorde op het debuutalbum van Rowena Wise af en toe wel wat van een jonge PJ Harvey, waardoor Senseless Acts of Beauty nog wat meer indruk maakte. Desondanks heb ik het album de afgelopen twee jaar nauwelijks meer beluisterd en dat is jammer, want het debuutalbum van Rowena Wise is echt een heel goed album. Op haar tweede album Bad Things Feel Good* (de * is geen typo) heeft Rowena Wise het bijzondere geluid van haar eerste album nog wat verder geperfectioneerd. 

Ook op Bad Things Feel Good* staat de stem van de Australische muzikante centraal en ik heb echt een enorm zwak voor deze stem. Rowena Wise zingt, net zoals zoveel van haar collega’s in de indierock, zacht, maar ze beschikt over een hele mooie en bijzondere stem en stopt veel gevoel in haar zang. Dat hoor je in de net wat stevigere songs op het album, maar je hoort het nog veel beter in de uiterst ingetogen songs, waarin de zang, in ieder geval voor mij, goed is voor kippenvel. 

Bad Things Feel Good* is een heel persoonlijk album over de demonen waarmee Rowena Wise vecht, wat het album voorziet van een wat melancholische sfeer. Op haar debuutalbum slaagde de Australische muzikante erin om een eigen geluid te creëren door de songs live op te nemen en te voorzien van een wat ruw geluid en dat recept is ook gevolgd bij het opnemen van het nieuwe album. 

Het zorgt ervoor dat Bad Things Feel Good* klinkt als een indierock album, terwijl veel songs op het album betrekkelijk ingetogen zijn en absoluut kunnen worden getypeerd als folksongs. Rowena Wise nam de songs op haar nieuwe album in drie dagen op met een ritmesectie en voegde uiteindelijk bijdragen van een beperkt aantal gastmuzikanten toe, waarna producer Rob Muinos, die ook al haar andere muziek produceerde en daarnaast werkte met Julia Jacklin, het album een klein beetje oppoetste. 

Het is de stem van Rowena Wise die in eerste instantie de aandacht trekt, maar ook het gitaarwerk op het album is bijzonder mooi en hetzelfde geldt voor alle subtiele accenten die het geluid op Bad Things Feel Good* verder hebben verrijkt. Op Senseless Acts of Beauty hoorde ik vooral de belofte van Rowena Wise, maar op haar nieuwe album is ze de belofte ver voorbij. 

De songs op Bad Things Feel Good* dringen zich stuk voor stuk genadeloos op en zijn me inmiddels allemaal dierbaar. Objectief bezien doet het tweede album van de muzikante uit Melbourne niet onder voor de beste indie-albums van 2026, maar Australië is ver weg, waardoor het album niet zo makkelijk de aandacht trekt. We zijn afgelopen zomer al enorm verwend met geweldige albums van vrouwelijke muzikanten, maar Bad Things Feel Good* doet er zeker niet voor onder.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Bad Things Feel Good* hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://rowenawise.bandcamp.com/album/bad-things-feel-good 

ZIRP! DIIV

ZIRP! is DIIV's fifth album and all four previous albums can be found on this blog, 'Oshin' (2012), 'Is The Is Are' (2016), 'Deceiver' (2019) and 'Frog In Boiling Water' (2024). As you can see, ZIRP! follows on the previous album in record time. Once again, I took an immediate shine to a new album by DIIV.

Also, once again the music on the latest album is different from what came before. The Cure references are largely gone, the grunge of 'Deceiver', as is the shoegaze of 'Frog In Boiling Water'. It is harder to pin  ZIRP! down easily, as the music is far more diverse. Zachary Cole Smith's voice remains the same of course. Devoid of bass, it reminds me most of Billy Corgan, without that snarling sneer Corgan uses to emphasise his lyrics. The change in DIIV's music is in what happens around Cole Smith's voice. There is quite some electronics involved.

Listen to the intro of 'The Fountain' opening ZIRP!. It's as if the electrical currents connecting the instrument to the recording gear is broken or somehow hindered, making it impossible to be recorded in one piece. This sort of effects return all over the album, creating a darker vibe over the whole. The contrast between Cole Smith's voice and the music is almost shocking in 'Underground', making the album more than the 80s influenced indie rock that may have been the basis when starting work on ZIRP!, before the studio options and effects took over.

The result is that DIIV gets something of Smashing Pumpkins. However, on the one side it is far softer or more precisely, a sound not blown up to the max, allowing for far more details to be heard, while on the other hand the details are far more radical in sound. That DIIV found the right balance between the two, shows the craft of the band and its producer A.G. Cook. Cook pushed the band to revisit the demos and recordings of ZIRP! already done and started to rework them together, using effects and not computers. The result is astonishing in most of the songs.

ZIRP!'s sound palet will allow the listener to hear new sounds and parts after many listening sessions. Time will tell if that will make the album grow over time with each new listening sessions as well. My guess tight now is that it will. Exactly because it is so rich in sounds, that go way beyond the guitar (Andrew Bailey), bass (Colin Coulfield) and drums (Ben Newman).

DIIV has more or less surprised me with each new album, but this time it is different. I am genuinely looking forward to hearing this album more often.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order ZIRP! here:

https://diiv.bandcamp.com/album/zirp 

2026, week 44. 10 singles

Today I do not feel like writing a lot more. Enjoy this new selection of recent singles.

The Witch. Soraia 

The Sonics' 'The Witch' is a part of the famous 'Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'. I only know the four cd expanded version from the 1990s. That invigorating compilation containing (somewhat) famous songs from the era and a lot of obscure 7" from even more obscure bands. Bands that played and practised in the garages of their parents. Hence the name garagerock. Soraia is a garage rock band from Philadelphia in the 2020s and decided to make its own rendition of The Witch. The band has familiarised itself with the original but gave it its own twist. The options 2020s recording technique offer makes the sound twice as big, at least. The result is an exciting rendition, that is even wilder than the original. Singer ZouZou Mansour squeals as if she's on the pile with flames licking at her feet, making The Witch extremely convincing. 

Brothers At The Wheel. Caulbearers

Manchester, England, England's Caulbearers return to the blog after four years with a single of its new album 'Come Back Home', released on 30 October. I know that not all music Caulbearers makes, is made for my ears. Brothers At The Wheel is though. This six minutes plus song combines a laidback The Stone Roses rhythm with a slow funky guitar, some jazzy sounds and an indie style of singing. Add to that a The Beatles pop feel via Field Music rhythms and here you are with Brothers At The Wheel. There is an awful lot happening in this single and it's all good. Damien Mahoney sings, again, with Ruth Blake and together they make the song sparkle and let the instruments do the rest. Brothers At The Wheel is an as intriguing as it is an interesting song.

I Am Bird. Lady Overdrive

Lady Overdrive is artist Una Jongenelis, who also writes music. Her debut single is a dark and elementary track in which she battles not only her own demons but also those of her deceased grandmother. Lady Overdrive's song is punky in a post punk and garage way. The sound is dry and bare, until I Am Bird is expanded with additional instruments like e.g. an electric lead guitar. The start is an acoustic guitar, before a weird sound, bass and drums announce the singing part. There is some likeness to Indian Askin. And not only because of the "down, down, down" part. The drive and the feel of the song lead to the comparison. As Indian Askin is one of my favourite Dutch bands of the past ten years, I'm fine with it. Lady Overdrive finds the right voice to distinguish herself from other new acts, making I Am Bird a great introduction to her work.

Spirit In My House. Palmyra Delran & The Doppel Gang

This is a Joey Ramone solo track covered by Palmyra Delran & The Doppel Gang. They were invited to play at a Joey Ramone tribute evening and decided to cover a song. Now recently, I wrote on Cream and especially its song 'N.S.U.' The beginning of the verse has quite some likeness. Where Cream bursts  into "ah-ah-ah" Spirit In My House takes another route with a great chorus. Just listen how this band sings together. It may even trump the ah-ha part of Cream. Only in June Palmyra Delran debuted on this blog along side Dan Miraldi in 'Magic In The Air'. Today with a nice punk cover. It's time I get to learn what Palmyra Delran & The Doppel Gang themselves are about. This  track is absolute top.

Miss You Girl. Ape Hangers

At the end of next month Ape Hangers' new album will be released. And listening to the enormous jolt of energy the band shares through its single Miss You Girl, a whole album may be more than I can handle. In other words, this is a great rock track. The band opens with a huge intro before the verse opens up. The sound is big and loud. The guitars and drums drive everything but do mind that Hammond that comes in at all the right moments. It's easily overlooked in the all compassing rock but you can hear it seep through the cracks of Miss You Girl, to share its warmth with you. If one thing is made clear though, the singer is missing his girl alright. Miss You Girl sure makes me very curious to hear 'Ape Hangers II' next month.

Getting Sober. Spike Fuck

I never bought a T.Rex album but do have a few of the band's later singles like '20th Century Boy' and 'Solid Gold Easy Action', when it's heyday was already over. Enter Spike Fuck in 2026. I won't say it is a T.Rex rip off but I am reminded immediately of a song like 'Get It On'. And why not? That kind of rhythm works. Spike Fuck is a new name to this blog and recently released his debut album, 'Evidence'. The Melbourne, Australia musician has a whole story behind him. It took ten years to follow up on a debut EP. This song's title may say it all. The song is bluesy rock with modern instruments involved. The mood is sweaty and warm. The singer is driven forward with a hellhound or two on his trail. The good news is Spike Fuck makes it to the other side in one piece.

Queens. Grumpy

"Everyone thinks we are in love, but we are only practising kissing". Just a surprising sentence from Grumpy's new single Queens. The song is a slow, albeit alternative ballad. Clocking in at almost six and a half minutes, the song is an example of restraint with a modest release towards the end. Grumpy can be found with two previous singles on this blog. In my previous review, of 'Lonely Ride', I wrote that I had the impression Grumpy could not make up its mind. Lyrically that certainly is the case once again. The song starts with just a piano playing oh so slow notes. Almost like one of these modern classical piano albums, an acoustic guitar joins in, strumming just as slowly. When an electric guitar and percussion join the song as such does not change as much, as the mood of the song becomes more intense, with Grumpy working towards a beautiful finale. Mind made up, is my best guess.

On My Knees. RubinCarter

Following up on his EP 'Still In The Race', spring 2026, RubinCarter follows up with a new single that hangs somewhere in between indie and pop. The verses are somewhat harder to follow, the choruses free flowing and full of pop followed by a golden guitar part leading up to the next verse. The guitar solo's fire later on comes as a surprise. With this RubinCarter steps into the footsteps of Dutch bands like Darryl Ann and Sunday Sun and a host of bands from the U.K. and U.S. With Queen's Pleasure playing its final shows this fall, the spotlight can be put in full on RubinCarter in whose members you can recognise members from the aforementioned band. Sal Rubinstein is, soon was, its drummer. In On My Knees an own sound may be missing, the song works quite well. If anything, On My Knees sounds promising for the future.

Hurricane Bruise. Fionn Regan

Another new name this week. The blame must be all mine, as Fionn Regan will release his eighth album in January, called 'Berlin, Berlin'. Stemming from Ireland, the artist wanted to release songs that should be "something minimal". Mission succeeded, at least based on Hurricane Bruise. What you can hear are intricately played guitars and a double tracked vocal with enough reverb on it to simulate a large bathroom. It results in a singer-songwriter ballad that sounds as smooth as it is beautiful. I don't want to use more words, as you should go and listen to the song itself. Hearing is believing.

 

Vacuum. Tommy LeFroy

The final song this week is an alternative folk song. Tommy LeFroy is not a singer/artist but the duo Wynter Bethel and Tessa Mouzourakis. They worked six years on honing their skills and perfect the songs on the duo's debut album 'The Precariat' that was released on 23 October. Vacuum is an alternative track with folk in the background. Vacuum opens with a similar note as 'Sex On Fire' but immediately goes its own way. The electric guitar is played softly and has a treatment that makes it almost sound like atmospherics. A second guitar (or the strings caught with a separate microphone) is strumming tightly and muted. Wynter and Mouzourakis are harmonising in the vocals. When the band comes in for the chorus, Vacuum changes into an alternative rock track. It all ends with near a capella singing. Is Vacuum special? No, for that it's too familiar in sound and approach. The song is certainly good enough to attract attention.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght