FLARE. Plantoid

FLARE kicks off with a bunch of noise. At the same time I'm under the impression to have put on an old U.K. record where rock meets jazz. What was it? 1978? When Allan Holdsworth and Bill Bruford were still in the band. Plantoid has obviously listened to this record in someone's dad's record collection.'Parasite' is the name of the song. It is quite the opener for FLARE. Many people will have started running to protect their ears, those with ears screwed on right for a song like 'Parasite' are alert and ready for more.

Just listen to those drum fills in between all that noise. Louis Bradshaw is making quite an impression here. After this energetic intro the song brakes down totally and reveals the soft, almost whispering voice of singer Chloe Spence. Her voice is regularly multitracked, stacked Chloes reaching me in all sorts of highs and lows and different levels of intensity. And all at the same time.

Musically, Dutch prog band The Gathering from circa 30 years comes to mind, like on 'Mandylion'. Plantoid is able to bring the same level of mysteriousness to 'Parasite', until the U.K. version of the band returns, with a just as intense outro as the song started with. Guitarist Tom Coyne really takes his spot here, going full out.

From here on things do not get that intense any more. Plantoid is off to show all sorts of different sides to itself and its musicianship. The band is not afraid to experiment and explore where a song can take itself. That leads to some surprising changes in songs. I leave you to explore here for yourself. What stands out is the soft voice, even girl like voice of Spence. She may enter jazz territory every once in while, but always soft and gentle.

Promo photo

The two gentlemen behind her, assisted by producer and sometimes live member Nathan Ridley, take care of the wall of sound. The play subtlety when needed, but in a song like 'The Weaver' guitar overdubs enter my ears by brute force. In the lead single 'Dozer' it is more of a wall of sound, followed by a very jazzy outing. There are several sides to Plantoid. In most songs however brevity is not one of them. Songs are there to explore, turn inside out and see what comes out. In the Welsh studio, where the band was preparing for its second album, there was improvisation and jamming for hours on end, which led to FLARE. Debut album 'Terrapath' was released nearly two years ago.

Flair is an album that is not all for me. It moves towards my fringe regularly and even beyond my taste, but no matter what, the songs on FLARE impress without exception. It comes highly recommended to take your own chances.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order FLAIR here:

https://plantoidworld.bandcamp.com/album/flare 

 

Kim Janssen live. Livingroom concert Haarlem, Saturday 31 January 2026

Photo: WdN-vdB

It was a grey Saturday afternoon, a cold, damp winter day. Inside it is warm. Kim Janssen walked into the house with a guitar case and two tote bags with albums in them. The soundcheck consisted of tuning his guitar. The room had slowly filled up with new and familiar faces all in anticipation of what they would get to hear. Most people had come over for the experience and not so much because of the artist. Nearly almost everyone went home an experience richer and as new fans of the artist.

It was not so different for Kim Janssen. Before the show he had indicated to look forward to play some songs that he does not play in a band setting, an indication that the variation of playing songs in such a small setting is a pleasant change for an artist as well. A few years ago Janssen played two support slots for Kensington's residency in the Ziggo Dome, to illustrate two extremes in his career.

With albums like 'Video Days', 'Cousins; and 'The Lonely Mountain' to his name, he has a lot of interesting songs to choose from. It translated into a very intimate show with an either intimately strummed or delicately picked guitar, to accompanied his voice. That could range from moderately dark to high, "I have to sing multiple voices from the record all by myself", as he said.

In the introduction to one song, we were told to imagine all the strings that the song consists of on record. I remember thinking 'what would I make of it' ? and now writing I realise that I forgot all about the thought because of the beauty of this acoustic version. By then Kim Janssen had caught me completely with the strength of his songs. The intimacy of having an artist play in a living room is can't be replicated in any other setting. I wish all artists to play Paradiso level and better, but seeing them so up close is a treasure. It gives insight into the nucleus of the songs, just like they were conceived.

In the stories in between Kim Janssen explained the inspirations for songs, making the show even more intimate. Living in Thailand and Nepal as a child. Going to school there, living with the fear of a major earthquake there. It makes listening to the song and its lyrics even more special.

We were treated to one or two new songs as well that are in the process of being recorded. To hear them on record will take at least one year. Patience is the word, but this live experience is not going to be taken away from audience and artist.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Kim Janssen's albums here:

https://snowstar.bandcamp.com/album/cousins 

 

All Good Things. Bertolf & Nomden

Bertolf Lentink and Diederik Nomden have made a name for themselves in the past decades in The Netherlands. As musicians in bands like Ilse de Lange (Bertolf) respectively Johan and The Analogues (Nomden). To a lesser extent as solo artists. As both have a love for perfect pop songs and The Beatles, their teaming up as a duo is something that could not be labelled as totally unexpected, which is different from predictable.

The result is the album All Good Things. It is filled with songs that strive for perfection, to receive the qualification earworm. Songs that bring to mind the 1960s most of the time. It is clear that a lot of attention went into the details of the songs, as the arrangement can easily be called lush. They make the album sound like a warm bath. Like some of the earlier albums of Moody Blues do, before the band went on hiatus for five years. With one major difference, the pop feel of All Good Things is far higher. In that the influences from the decades following the 60s are evident, including pop-rock and Britpop and even Johan.

The centrepiece of the album are the voices of Bertolf and Nomden. The joy they get from singing together shines through on the album for the whole of the time. Every possible harmony has been explored, I'm convinced it has. The result is an album that sounds instantly recognisable because of it. The songs on All Good Things sound like they have been here for most of my life, yet clearly are not. This makes the album a warm bath that covers you instantly.

I am not going to pick out a few songs like I usually do, as this does not make sense for this album. The qualifications of the album have just been summed up. Examples do not make it a better review. If you love pop perfection, this is the album to go for this month. They are none better in January 2026.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can order All Good Things here:

https://excelsior-recordings.com/products/bertolf-nomden-all-good-things 

2025, week 5. 10 singles

Cold, snow, rain, eastern wind, grey, fog, sunshine. No day is the same these days. One thing stands out though. For the first time in years the weather comes from the (north)east in winter for a longer period of time, but the extreme temperatures coming with that when I was young, fail to arrive. Climate change? Who can say, fact is not that long ago it would have been really cold. Tell Canada and the U.S. that!

In the meantime, I forgot to mention that my previous band, Flopsband, is around for 50 years this week, with one original and one near original member in the line up. They celebrated with a great party, where several ex-members, including yours truly, played a set. From 'Sultans of Swing, to Bird Dog and 'Tell Me', it was great fun for, I assume, I final time. Let's return to the catch of this week. Enjoy!

Breakfast. Special Friend

Special Friend is a band from Paris, but the erratic song called Breakfast could have fooled me into thinking this is the effort of a post punk band from the U.K. that loves the nervous sound of the likes of Lene Lovich circa 1979. Breakfast is the kind of track where the notes and instruments seem to bounce over each other all in the desire to make an impression on the listener. The verses are drums and especially the hi-hat that comes forward, a soft and rather modest bass and a hectic rhythm guitar. In the chorus, an instrumental one, everything is let go of. Without any restraints a distorted, heavy sounding guitar comes in and a Farfisa (like) organ with its high sound. Over it all singer (and drummer) Erica keeps her cool. Guitarist, Special Friend is a French/American duo, Guillaume answers her vocals with his own vocals. The result is a top single, that is over before you know it and quite unexpected at that. An album is underway. 'Clicking' is released on 20 March.

Honey. Ora Cogan

Last Friday I reviewed the album 'To Be Continued' by ER Jurken. Listening to Honey, the single to Ora Corgan's upcoming album 'Hard Hearted Woman' (13 March), the song could have fitted right in. It has that same combination of pop, ballad, light rock and those floating, multitracked vocals. It gives Honey something mysterious, as if the music comes to you through the fog. Just listen to the strings in the intro. It is as if they come from an unknown and unseen place. All of a sudden Ora Corgan is in the middle of your ears and head. The drums are softly played but very solid, giving the song the foundation it needs. Finally, the same Midlake connotation comes to me as with ER Jurken. Honey, providing the title to the album in its lyrics, is a song that makes me curious to hear more and that more will be there in just two months.

Hurts Like Hell. Charlotte Cornfield

A new name on the blog? No, not exactly, as Erwin Zijleman reported on Charlotte Cornfield's previous album 'Could Have Done Anything' in 2023. Since then, she became a mother and this is her first outing in music since then. Buck Meek sings the harmony vocal on Hurts Like Hell and that points in the direction where I would place Charlotte Cornfield. The song is an alternative, modern country style song that bands like Big Thief/Adrianne Lenker and Wednesday also play. The relaxed vibe  of the music contradicts the lyrics, where it "hurts like hell when you're in it". The music more represents a lazy Sunday afternoon in the shade on the porch with cool, long, iced drink beside you and a book in your hand. The long helded notes of the pedal steel guitar underscoring that feeling. Give me one of these days anytime, especially now it is winter. The same titled album is there on 27 March.

Goldstar. The Sophs

Los Angeles band The Sophs returns to the blog with a fourth single from its upcoming debut album 'Goldstar' (13 March). The song's rhythm is not your every day's. The contrast between the more acoustic verse and the more electric chorus, if they are that, are clear and gives the song two distinct faces. That rhythm is Spanish, flamenco influenced. The intro is fully acoustic, almost classical. It sets Goldstar apart from many other songs in the alternative rock section. The hard guitar parts do sound familiar in the way they are played but that Spanish rhythm beneath it remains in place, making the song different. I'll be honest, after 'I'm Your Fiend' and now Goldstar, I still do not know really what to make of The Sophs, but the beginning is there. I'm writing, again, ain't I?

Ally Or Alibi. Melonball

With drums sounding as a dry and high strung as Therapy? at the time of 'Screamager', Melonball immediately attracted my ears. The German punk band sounds as tough as a punk band should, knows how to channel anger and/or over excitement and create a melody that makes Ally Or Alibi so good to listen to. In the first 30 seconds I thought, okay been their done that. It was the drum sound that pulled me in and then I started to notice the melodies Melonball throws into the single, the enthusiastic vocal of singer Oli and the harmony vocals of Basti and Vik. Their guitars do a lot of things that lift the songs as well and then there are that drums of Tommy again. Second album 'Take Care' will be released on 27 February.

Opening Night. Arctic Monkeys 

Is Opening Night a left over from a recording session from the 'AM' or older era or an indication that in the near future we can expect a more guitar oriented album from Arctic Monkeys? I do not have the answer but when I heard the song on the radio recently, my ears pricked themselves up immediately. "Ten years later, it's been a decade" Alex Turner sings and that will be about correct. The band took a totally different turn from its origins. Not that Opening Night is a 'Dance Floor' but it has a more rock vibe worked into the latter Arctic Monkeys. The 70s West Coast influences are still there, don't worry fans of the more modern version of the band. I find I like this combination. Opening Night is on an album called 'Help' with many other contemporary artists for the benefit of War Child.

Space. Celeste Corsano

Celeste Corsano returns to the blog with her sixth consecutive single, the fifth on the blog. Again, she shows that she not here for the quick win. Do not expect a hip pop song. Ms Corsano presents serious pop that demands serious listening. Again, I can't help to refer to Kate Bush's earlier albums, where pop met a unique entity, turning all I once knew  about music upside down. That effect is unobtainable for Celeste Corsano. Kate Bush already did that before her. A song like Space falls unto fertile ground though. Again, I am forced to truly listen. A lot is going on. In the song and in the chord changes. Celeste Corsano plays with the structure of the song with her vocal melody. The music is rich and lavish. It may well be that she is able to fill the void, now that Kate Bush seems have gone into full retirement.

bar. a.gris

With bar, a.gris returns to the blog. bar is not an easy song to digest. The rhythm is not your every day's. It is almost stop-start and its vocal melody not one to sing-along to straight away. The way it starts, just Alex Delamard, who is a.gris, with his acoustic guitar, does not really give away what is to follow. When the whole band kicks in, there is a lot of sound to digest and the first time that rhythm becomes really apparent. The two things that stand out are the beautiful riff on the acoustic guitar and the synth melody later on. Both have that stop-start effect through a short silence moment before it is repeated. Together with the previous single, 'Oblivion 2025' it does make me curious to hear the whole EP slated for March.

Calm & Delivered. Cape Crush

Cape Crush's singer Ali Lipman may not be able "to stop bleeding" as she sings in Calm & Delivered, the song bounces as if the members are at home just before they are allowed to go to the local country fair with all its attractions waiting for them. The song has an emo feel to it, but also one of the sheer joy of playing this song. Cape Crush is from Massachusetts and on route to release its album 'Place Memory' (1 May). With Calm & Delivered it released a song that ought to prick up some ears. I am faintly remembered of The Beths and its singer Elizabeth Stokes. The music is far tougher though. The rhythm guitar is far louder and the lead guitar far more present. All together it makes this single a very nice introduction to Cape Crush.

Not Enough. Daughter

If I'm correct it is ten years ago that I reviewed Daughter for the first and last time on WoNoBlog. Album 'Not to Disappear' fell on approving ears. I have no idea if the trio, Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella, made music since that album. Having listened to Not Enough, I knew that this is a song I wanted to write on. To my surprise I find it is released to underscore the 10 year celebration on 'Not To Disappear'. Not Enough was originally recorded in that session, but remained a demo. In November of 2025 it was finally turned into a full-fledged song and the world is a little better because of it. Reading my 2016 review, Not Enough would have fitted in nicely. The song has this sheen of a melancholy darkness over a pop feel that is quite apparent. The light and the shade, it seldom fails to work.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Finer Things. Clover County

De Amerikaanse band Clover County had de pech dat haar debuutalbum verscheen in een week met heel veel grote releases, waardoor het werkelijk uitstekende Finer Things helaas wat is ondergesneeuwd.

Er is niet heel veel geschreven over Finer Things van Clover County. Dat is niet alleen jammer, maar het is ook best bijzonder. De band rond zangeres A.G. Schiano heeft immers een album gemaakt dat een breed publiek moet kunnen aanspreken. De mix van vooral folk en pop met hier en daar een beetje country klinkt bijzonder aangenaam en dringt zich makkelijk op. Het is de verdienste van de warme klanken en de prima productie, waarna de mooie stem van de frontvrouw van de band het debuutalbum van Clover County nog wat verder optilt. Het heeft hier en daar wel wat van Kacey Musgraves en dat zou genoeg moeten zeggen over de kwaliteit van dit album.

Finer Things van Clover County verscheen eind september in een week met krankzinnig veel interessante nieuwe albums, waaronder albums van een aantal persoonlijke favorieten. Ik heb destijds daarom maar half geluisterd naar het debuutalbum van Clover County, maar recentelijk kwam ik het album bij toeval weer tegen. Bij de hernieuwde kennismaking was ik eigenlijk best onder de indruk van het album van de band uit Athens, Georgia, en dat ben ik nog steeds. 

Clover County is de band rond zangeres en muzikante A.G. (Amanda Grace) Schiano, die voor de productie van het debuutalbum van haar band een beroep deed op Carrie K, die ik eigenlijk alleen ken van het uitstekende debuutalbum van Maggie Antone. Het album van Maggie Antone is een album dat zo lijkt weggelopen uit de jaren 70, maar het debuutalbum van Clover County is een album dat met beide benen in het heden staat. 

Bij beluistering van Finer Things had ik vrijwel onmiddellijk associaties met de muziek van Kacey Musgraves en ik ben zeker niet de enige. Dat ligt niet direct aan de zang op het album, want de stem van A.G. Schiano lijkt niet echt op die van Kacey Musgraves. De stem van de frontvrouw van Clover County betovert misschien net wat minder dan de engelenstem van Kacey Musgraves, maar ook A.G. Schiano beschikt over een hele mooie en licht bedwelmende stem, die op zijn mooist is wanneer ze fluisterzacht zingt. Het is een stem die Finer Things voorziet van een aangenaam laidback en behoorlijk verslavend karakter, dat steeds lastiger te weerstaan is. 

In muzikaal opzicht zit het debuutalbum van Clover County wat dichter tegen de albums van Kacey Musgraves aan. Finer Things bevat flink wat invloeden uit de country en met name de folk, maar deze invloeden zijn overgoten met een subtiel laagje pop. Daar moet je gevoelig voor zijn, maar ik omarmde de warme en sfeervolle klanken op het album echt onmiddellijk. 

Zeker als het laagje pop wat subtieler is maakt Clover County redelijk pure Amerikaanse rootsmuziek, maar ook in dat geval vind ik het meer popsongs dan rootssongs. Ik beschouw dat overigens als een compliment. Het luistert allemaal bijzonder lekker weg, maar A.G. Schiano staat ook voor kwaliteit. De Amerikaanse muzikante heeft het debuutalbum van haar band niet alleen voorzien van sfeervolle klanken en mooie zang, maar ook van zeer aansprekende songs. 

Het zijn songs die me inmiddels bijna allemaal dierbaar zijn en steeds dierbaarder worden. Zeker als A.G. Schiano wat extra gevoel toevoegt aan haar zang en op de achtergrond ook nog een pedal steel opduikt, zoals in het fraaie Blue Suede Eyes, dat meerdere verwijzingen naar Elvis bevat, pakt Clover County me echt volledig in en heb ik in dit jaar zonder nieuwe muziek van Kacey Musgraves een perfect alternatief gevonden. 

Het is jammer dat het debuutalbum van Clover County is verschenen in een week waarin de concurrentie moordend was, want Finer Things lijkt wat ondergesneeuwd door al het muzikale geweld eind september. Het is doodzonde, want A.G. Schiano laat op het debuutalbum van haar band horen dat ze een groot talent is. Liefhebbers van Amerikaanse rootsmuziek die niet vies zijn van een randje pop of hier zelfs een zwak voor hebben, moeten absoluut eens luisteren naar dit uitstekende album.

Erwin Zijleman