2026, week 40. 5 singles

This week I had a new dream. A variation on an old theme. My former band, The Beerhunters (1993-1996), was ready to start playing a gig at a company event. Everything was in place since the evening before, soundchecked and all. Except when I arrived, there was a huge open spot where my amp, guitar and effects should be. With no clue where it could be. In my mind I was going through every option where it could be, looking around the premises, etc., ever more stressed. Who to call? And then I remembered I had taken everything with me to play another gig with my other band, but still no clue where the gear could be. And then I woke up. Not stressed at all, I'm glad to say. The Beerhunters, I don't even have the t-shirt anymore. Here is some new music for you though. Enjoy!

Never Can Tell. Jake Bugg

Jake Bugg entered my life in the fall of 2012 with his debut album 'Jake Bugg'. My personal favourite remains his second album 'Shangri La' (2013), where he is just this little more adventurous, at age 19. Since, I surely but slowly lost sight of his work. Bugg today is still only 32 and on route to release his seventh album. Listening to Never Can Tell, the first single from 'Alamo' (13 November), is a return to form. Of course, his characteristic voice will sound familiar always, but the music once again has that folky rock to it. Just a little Chris Isaak is enough. The lead guitar plays a modest riff during the whole of the song. What I like best about Never Can Tell though, is that slightly psychedelic turn in the song's chorus?, where things appear to slow down because of a time change. I put a question mark after chorus, because what is it? Many parts return while different. It makes Never Can Tell a little intriguing as well. Welcome back to this blog, Jake Bugg.

Tiny Feet. Little Grandad

Energetic live shows? A four piece band? Indie band? Just a few words that come with the bio. Listening to the song, two voices and acoustic guitars, made me wonder whether I'm listening to the wrong song and then it comes. The voices announce the change and in comes the band full force. It doesn't change the beauty of the melody, it just gives the song and the listener a kick under the butt. The change is surprising but also welcome because of the way it is executed. Little Grandad doesn't overdo anything, just does what it is good at. The band is a new name on the blog. Formed in 2025 around the brothers Jack en Harry Lower with Ned Ashcroft and James "Jimmy" Brennan. The two brothers sing the lead vocals together and are clearly used to do so for a long time. There's an album on the way. 'Speak Softly, Son' will be there on 22 January 2027.

Hit&Run. Linka Moja

Gritty guitars form the background to Linka Moja multi-layered vocals. One Linka Moja is not enough, there are several delivering the vocal melody. While over the chorus she speak-sings in a The Shangri-Lahs kind of way. Hit&Run has an alternative sound, while a very innocent sounding vocal melody that has a definite pop vibe. Listen to the lyrics though and that innocence disappears immediately. It is all about uncertainty in love and life, ideal forms, self-mutilation, cheating now or years, even decades from now. What about living and enjoying life when you're young? Uncertainty is part of growing up and the saying love can only start when you're able to love yourself is true. Try and tell that to your younger self though. Linka Moja has caught teenangst in a good song with several interesting moments within it. The only thing missing is the real scream-singing in the "it is so fucking over" right at the end of the speak singing chorus.

Long Live The Resistance EP. Cindy Lawson 

Cindy Lawson debuted on this blog as singer of The Clams, when the band's work was re-released in 2022 and remained a fixture through the years since after she picked up her music career. In 2026 she releases a four song EP, that rocks loudly from beginning to end. She has an urgent message to share and has no time to spare for subtleties. Single 'The Reckoning' has already received a spot on this page but rocks so hard that it deserves mentioning once again. In the lyrics Lawson goes full out and makes it a reckoning to all who have done her wrong over the years. That punkrock/garagerock attitude is taken along into the second song 'Burn'. "Minnesota fights against fascism", "don't believe the lies". Just a two lines from the song and you know that the resistance is in full force here. Cindy Lawson and band nail the blatant fascism in the U.S. to the musical wall. Again, the story that in modern music there is no political outrage any more is laid by the wayside. Punk music (and folk music) have always been politically outspoken and Cindy Lawson has enough anger in her to want to vent it, from a personal and public point of view. Long Live The Resistance vents it all. To top it all, she shares 'Howard Zinn Died For Your Sins' with us. It doesn't get more angrier than this song. "How do you sleep at night?". "We were there, we saw it happen ... in our town, you shot them down". This is all about Renee Good and Alex Pretti, denying everything writer Howard Zinn (1922-2010) stood for. At the same time this is not just punk rage and anger, but also musically the song is so good. I sincerely hope it doesn't have to come to real resistance but things do not look good. And not just in the U.S.

Desire Is Movement. Trixie Whitley

Desire Is Movement is a very mature song. The kind of song that shows an artist on the top of her artistry. Trixie Whitley has the skills to create a song that is both complex and yet sounds so free flowing. It combines elements of Michael Kiwanuka and Whitney Houston without having to create any kind of eclectic vocal outings to impress from beginning to end. On her previous single, 'Building Fences', I compared the song to the mood of Bowie's 'Blackstar' and Mariah Carey. There is some consistency between the two songs I find. Desire Is Movement is built from Trixie Whitley playing the piano and from there paying the drums herself, totally on intuition and not by way of technical assistance. Desire Is Movement is not a song you put on if you like to hear instant pleasure. This song takes an effort from the listener but one coming with full gratification. Album 'Folded Time' will be released on 23 October.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Howling Bells 20th Anniversary. Howling Bells

This spring Howling Bells celebrated its return with the excellent album 'Strange Life'. Today the re-release of its debut album on vinyl is on the roster, 20 years after its initial release. At the time I have missed all releases by the band. Only the first singles from 'Strange Life' put my attention on the band's output.

The most surprising thing about 'Howling Bells', is that I heard one song on which Courtney Barnett appears to have built a whole career. Just listen to how 'Low Happening' sounds, how Juanita Stein sings here and then listen to an average Courtney Barnett song from all her albums, bar 'Creature Of Habit', her latest. In all honesty, it is only in this song, but still. The similarity is so striking.

'Howling Bells' is an album with several musical faces. It is far from a uniform alternative/indie rock album. 'Howling Bells' will please more than the one-sided musical fan (or it disappoints all because of the variety of course). Well, not this reviewer. I let myself be taken along the routes Howling Bells takes me and go through the highs and lows with the band.

In general it is easy to state that Howling Bells is not a very loud band. Up front is Juanita Stein's voice. The music is mixed behind her voice, supporting her vocal melodies. The band supports her voice. Just listen to how the album opens. 'The Bell Hits' has a very poppy vocal melody, with some interesting backing vocals adorning the lead melody. The lead guitar at times draws the song a little bit left of center, while the acoustic guitar and piano do the opposite. The rhythm is modest and serving. At the same time there are several parts of interest to follow all through the song. 'The Bell Hit' seems like an easygoing song, while at the same time being so rich in sounds. There are many details without overdoing it at any point. What an album opener!

Promo photo

With 'Velvet Girl' Howling Bells shows its more alternative side, while ms. Stein keeps her velvet voice working for her. She is not pretending to be anything she is not. The combination works. Dirty guitars behind a soft, beautiful voice. Live that may be a challenge but in the studio/on record? A perfect combination it seems. In the already mentioned 'Low Happening' Juanita Stein's voice has more volume than shown before. This song has an edge that lifts 'Howling Bells' to another level.

Howling Bells formed in Sydney, Australia in 2005, with Juanita and Joel Stein and drummer Glenn Moule. Only one year later the band released its debut album, after having moved to London. There are demos from before 2005 that are released as a stand alone 7" single and in the luxury edition of the 20th Anniversary release. The release comes in a few formats. This review focuses on the original album only.

The final face of Howling Bells that shows through, is a folky-country rocking side. Not unlike what The Decemberists are so good at. 'Broken Bones' is the first example of that. Be patient and you will hear a bit more later on.

This is about all you need to know about 'Howling Bells', the album. After a great comeback, there is also today a great 20th Anniversary album. Now I only have to paddle back to the three albums in between (and some solo work).

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Sorry, Kid. Johanna Samuels

Johanna Samuels is nog niet heel bekend, maar de muzikante uit Los Angeles leverde de afgelopen jaren al twee uitstekende albums af, die in augustus jongstleden werden overtroffen door het in alle opzichten prachtige nieuwe album Sorry, Kid.

De Amerikaanse muzikante Johanna Samuels is niet vies van flink wat melancholie in haar songs, maar laat haar nieuwe album Sorry, Kid uit de speakers komen en de donkere wolken van het moment maken onmiddellijk plaats voor uitbundige zonnestralen. Die zonnestralen komen van de fraaie klanken op het album, die vakkundig zijn vastgelegd door producer Jonathan Rado. Het zijn klanken vol referenties naar muziek uit een ver verleden, maar het nieuwe album van Johanna Samuels klinkt ook fris en eigentijds. De muzikante uit Los Angeles is een uitstekende songwriter, maar ze overtuigt ook op haar nieuwe album weer als zangeres. Johanna Samuels is nog niet heel bekend, maar is op Sorry, Kid echt heel erg goed.

De Amerikaanse muzikante Johanna Samuels debuteerde in 2021 met het album Excelsior!, dat volgde op twee hele aardige EP’s. De EP’s hadden me zeker nieuwsgierig gemaakt naar het debuutalbum van de muzikante uit Los Angeles, maar Excelsior! overtrof mijn verwachtingen ruimschoots. 

Johanna Samuels combineert op haar eerste album invloeden uit de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek met zonnige en wat psychedelische Californische pop en dat klinkt bijzonder aangenaam. Excelsior! bevat bovendien sterke en fraai melancholische songs, is zeer smaakvol ingekleurd en prachtig geproduceerd door Sam Evian en Johanna Samuels beschikt ook nog eens over een mooie en karakteristieke stem. 

Na haar memorabele debuutalbum werd Johanna Samuels opnieuw geplaagd door de lockdowns van de coronapandemie, die een vliegende start van haar carrière wederom in de weg zaten. Desondanks was ook het in 2023 verschenen en door niemand minder dan Josh Kaufman geproduceerde Bystander een sterk album. Ook op haar tweede album combineert de Amerikaanse muzikante op bijzondere wijze behoorlijk melancholische songs met verrassend zonnige klanken, waarin wederom echo’s uit de psychedelische Californische pop van weleer te horen zijn. 

Drie jaar na Bystander is deze week het derde album van Johanna Samuels verschenen en na twee albums die overliepen van de belofte, laat de muzikante uit Los Angeles op haar nieuwe album horen dat ze de belofte inmiddels ver voorbij is. Na Sam Evian en Josh Kaufman wist Johanna Samuels wederom een vooraanstaande producer te strikken, want Sorry, Kid is geproduceerd door de onder andere van Weyes Blood, Father John Misty, The Lemon Twigs en zijn eigen band Foxygen bekende Jonathan Rado. 

Ook op Sorry, Kid laat de muzikante uit Los Angeles de inmiddels van haar bekende mix van invloeden horen, maar ze heeft haar geluid wel verder geperfectioneerd. Dat deed ze deels in de studio waar Elliott Smith, een van haar muzikale helden, zijn muziek opnam. Ook Sorry, Kid laat direct vanaf de eerste noten echo’s uit een ver verleden horen en het zijn wederom fraaie echo's. 

In de openingstrack hoor ik Beatlesque arrangementen en ook gitaarwerk dat herinnert aan de fameuze Britse band, maar in de meeste tracks die volgen is het vizier weer gericht op de thuisbasis van Johanna Samuels en klinken met enige regelmaat invloeden van The Beach Boys door. Ook op Sorry, Kid worden zonnige en psychedelische Californische klanken uit het verleden gecombineerd met invloeden uit de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek van het moment, met hier en daar uitstapjes richting indierock. 

In muzikaal en productioneel opzicht klinkt het allemaal nog net wat mooier en interessanter dan op de eerste twee albums en ook de stem van Johanna Samuels spreekt me nog net wat meer aan. Het is een stem die de persoonlijke songs op het album met veel gevoel en zeggingskracht vertolkt en bijdraagt aan het karakteristieke geluid van de Amerikaanse muzikante. 

Johanna Samuels is bij het grote publiek nog behoorlijk onbekend, maar uit de producers die ze weet te strikken blijkt dat ze in de muziekscene van Los Angeles zeer wordt gewaardeerd, hetgeen verder wordt onderstreept door de gastbijdragen van onder andere Erin Rae, Madison Cunningham en Tyler Ballgame, die Sorry, Kid nog wat mooier maken. 

Ik heb wel wat met de eerste twee albums van Johanna Samuels, die ik nog met enige regelmaat beluister, maar met het in alle opzichten even indrukwekkende als prachtige Sorry, Kid zet ze wat mij betreft een reuzenstap.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Sorry, Kid hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://johannasamuels.bandcamp.com/album/sorry-kid

Holandaluz live. Saturday 26 September 2026, De Pletterij Haarlem

Photo WdN - vdB

In November 2025 Marnix DuCroock played a solo show in our living room, impressing everyone with his version of flamenco guitar. To celebrate the digital release of his band Holandaluz' new album 'Classico 2' he played a release show with the full band in a small venue called De Pletterij in Haarlem. This used to be a factory for iron tubes and is now venue for mostly jazz music, besides being a cultural and debating centre.

Accompanied by a second guitarist, percussionist, stand up bass and alternated by a saxophone or violin, we heard new songs and some older ones. All are instrumental, with the lead instrument doing the singing for the band. The lead is not necessarily played by DuCroock. Where he always does take the lead, is in breaks in the songs, where he plays solo or is accompanied by accents only.

The music is played by virtuosos on the guitars, bass and percussion. The parts are at times jawdroppingly good. The interplay between the two guitars truly stand out, while solos are played by both, although Marnix DuCroock is the front player when all is said and done. It is his band, playing his music. For the lady playing the violin "an excuse" can be found in the fact that she stood in at the last moment and learned all the parts in only a few days. When someone can do that, it says enough about playing skills and it is more than understandable that some parts are played somewhat on the safer side compared to the other band members. The saxophone player is simply very competent and adds a different tone to the band's sound.

Photo WdN-vdB

Hearing DuCroock play with his band, made the stories I heard in the living room fall into place. Yes, there were elements of blues in some of the songs. I heard a sequence played that could have been on Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'. There was a song that rocked in a special way from the time of his band The Last Wave. And there was flamenco of course but less so as in that solo show, where "covers" were played as well.

A venue like De Pletterij is not as intimate as a living room but it comes very close. Sitting in the front row does make it an intimate experience and makes it possible to see everything from very up close. Whether solo or with a band, Holandaluz is a sight to hear.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can find more information on Holandaluz here:

https://holandaluzmusic.com/music 

 

The New World. Shearwater

The New World is out for some time already. The release came during my holiday. That often makes it hard to catch up on and pay attention to the album after my return. There's simply too much music. Attention it should have deserved at the time. I picked up the album anyway during the past weeks and found myself playing it regularly and liking it more and more. The most surprising thing? How come that somehow the final song's story was familiar to me without having heard it ever before; as far as I'm aware. But, let's start at the beginning.

Shearwater can be found on this blog from the very beginning. All the albums I have listened to through the years I liked at the time, but they are never among my absolute favourites nor played through the years, like other albums get played or are praised in my end of year lists. I think that has to do with the fact that Shearwater albums all sound modest. They are not huge attention grabbers, but exercises in moods and atmospherics.

The New World is no exception, but is, so far, also the exception. Shearwater's latest album has crept up on me over the past two months. Slowly but surely, it made a bigger and bigger impression, but please do not ask me why. I honestly do not know what makes the difference with the albums that came before. Jonathan Meiburg's voice is the same highish, modest voice as always. The music is unobtrusive as always. Almost more late night jazz at the diner kind of music than anything else.

What caught my ear, is the lush arrangements of some of the songs. The way both atmospherics and instruments meander through a song is so masterful. It really creates this lush kind of mood where my ear is caught on a host of melodies that support both the essence of the song and Meiburg's voice. The band has made use of a host of musicians and instruments. The result is an astonishingly wide kind of music that makes The New World a joy to listen to. It is Shearwater and then some more. This most likely is the explanation of my extra shine to The New World.

This is an album to submerge into. Just lay yourself down and let the music wash over you. Allow it to carry you away to wherever it wants you to go to or you want it to take you. All these details to enjoy and my bet is you will hear another detail each time you allow the album in.

It all ends with a spoken word song, 'You And Your Dog'. It tells a story of a walk down the beach, with the sea missing due to an extreme low tide, somewhere in the past of the protagonist. A story not unlike on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' last album 'Wild God', where a phone message is played over music. The music is like the sea crashing into the beach, softly but ongoing forever. The female voice is Laurie Anderson's. A beautiful ending to The New World.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order The New World here:

https://shearwater.bandcamp.com/album/the-new-world-2026