i will be dead. sura sol

De Belgische muzikante Rachel Solomon bracht begin dit jaar onder de naam sura sol het helaas nauwelijks opgemerkte album i will be dead uit, maar gelukkig krijgt het prachtige album nog een tweede kans.

Luister naar i will be dead van sura sol en de wereld draait opeens een stuk minder snel. Het alter ego van de Brusselse wereldburger Rachel Solomon maakt sobere en zich langzaam voortslepende muziek, maar de klanken op i will be dead zijn ook loom en dromerig. Het past prachtig bij de bijzondere stem van de Belgische muzikante en de eigenzinnige manier van zingen. Ik moest zelf even wennen aan i will be dead van sura sol, maar toen ik het album wat vaker hoorde drongen de bijzondere songs van Rachel Solomon zich steeds nadrukkelijker op. Het album krijgt vooralsnog niet heel veel aandacht, maar dit is een album dat je al snel gaat koesteren.

Onlangs wees iemand me op het album i will be dead van sura sol (geen hoofdletters). Het begin dit jaar verschenen album zou volgens de tipgever perfect aansluiten op mijn muzieksmaak, wat me uiteraard nieuwsgierig maakte. Ik had de naam sura sol nog niet eerder gehoord, maar het blijkt het alter ego van de Belgische muzikante Rachel Solomon, die eerder deel uitmaakte van de band Las Lloronas, die ik overigens ook niet ken. 

Het debuutalbum van sura sol, het eind 2022 verschenen roar, werd in België goed ontvangen, maar ik kan me niet herinneren dat ik het album heb beluisterd. Helaas sneeuwde het tweede album van sura sol, mede door de geboorte van het zoontje van Rachel Solomon, eerder dit jaar compleet onder, maar gelukkig krijgt het album nu een tweede kans en dat is volkomen terecht. 

Het tweede album van de muzikante uit Brussel kreeg in eigen land al een aantal uitstekende recensies en ik hoop dat het album ook in Nederland nu snel wordt opgepikt. In een aantal van deze recensies wordt benoemd dat de muziek van sura sol lastig te beschrijven is en tijd vraagt van de luisteraar en dat zijn twee observaties die ik volledig onderschrijf. 

Het zorgt vooralsnog ook voor wat cryptische en ook wat wollige recensies en dat is jammer, want de muziek van sura sol kan ook worden omschreven als fantasierijk en wonderschoon. De songs van de Belgische muzikante zijn over het algemeen sober ingekleurd, waardoor de stem van Rachel Solomon centraal staat. Het is een mooie stem die makkelijk verleidt, maar de zang op i will be dead is ook veelkleurig en het is zang die af en toe kiest voor bijzondere wendingen. 

Dat doet sura sol ook met de muziek op het album, wat ervoor zorgt dat i will be dead, in ieder geval voor mij, geen album is dat zich onmiddellijk genadeloos opdringt. Toen ik het album voor het eerst beluisterde, zocht ik vooral naar houvast en die had ik niet direct gevonden. 

De muziek van sura sol klinkt soms als de psychedelische folkalbums van vele decennia geleden, maar op andere momenten ook weer helemaal niet. Invloeden uit de folk spelen een belangrijke rol op het tweede album van sura sol, maar ook invloeden uit de jazz en wereldmuziek zijn hoorbaar. De laatste invloeden zijn deels het gevolg van de wortels van Rachel Solomon, die op meerdere continenten liggen. 

De meeste songs op i will be dead zijn zoals gezegd behoorlijk sober, hebben een intiem karakter en gebruiken stilte als instrument, maar desondanks gebeurt er van alles in de songs en zijn er steeds weer opvallende wendingen die je op het puntje van de stoel houden en die ervoor zorgen dat het album steeds mooier en interessanter wordt. Die opvallende wendingen in de zang en in de muziek zijn meestal uiterst subtiel, maar dit komt het bijzondere karakter van de muziek van sura sol alleen maar ten goede. 

Zeker de songs met vooral akoestische gitaar, een vleugje bossa nova en de stem van Rachel Solomon, die haar teksten soms (bijna) uitspreekt, hebben een loom en dromerig karakter en zijn gemaakt voor het huidige seizoen en dan vooral voor de vroege en late uurtjes, maar i will be dead is ook een album dat het verdient om met volledige aandacht beluisterd en uitgeplozen te worden. Het duurde bij mij even voor ik om was, maar sindsdien komt i will be dead van sura sol met grote regelmaat voorbij en wordt het album wat mij betreft steeds mooier en interessanter.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt i will be dead hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://surasolmusic.bandcamp.com/album/i-will-be-dead 

Blister. Tramhaus

It is getting close to five years when Tramhaus made its entry on this blog with its first single 'I Don't Sweat'. Many singles followed, an EP, album number one 'The First Exit', live shows, two singles announcing a new album and today is the release of album number 2, Blister.

Where 'The First Exit' was already a statement of quite some proportions, Blister is a veni, vidi, vici affair, without having to cross the Rubicon. With Blister Tramhaus shows to not only be at the top if its own game but also en passant throws some Fontaines DC and early Simple Minds into its mix, while not losing itself for a single second. Listen how Lukas Jansen sings in 'Cluster' and how a synth pops up here and there on the album and you'll know what I mean. In other words, Tramhaus has made itself even more interesting in the most positive kind of ways.

That line is supposed to be a conclusion to a review and in a way it is. What more can I add to it? Well, not that much if I'm honest. From the first single and opener 'Plovdiv' I am grooving and rocking and rolling with Tramhaus. As an aside, both the band and myself visited Plovdiv in the south east of Bulgaria in 2025. Hopefully the members got to see a little of the Roman archeia in the town and that it wasn't 43 degrees like it was when we were there.

Photo: Marc Elisabeth

With 'Plovdiv' the band opens in a smart way. The link to 'The First Exit' is obvious in the raucous and wild playing. From there the games begin. Tramhaus broadens and widens itself from that moment onwards. Not just the two guitars interplay but also a synth like in 'Sly (Like Ever)'. Someone will have to switch instruments during the show. It works however as the use of keys make the sound more varied. The sudden switch to dark, distorted chords on a guitar does the rest.

With the change in singing, Tramhaus also makes its fans ready for changes in the future. Listen to 'Solace' and you'll find that the postpunk idiom is left by the wayside completely. Lukas Jansen does not need to shout and is finding his singing voice. Perhaps still slightly wobbly but more than good enough. He will lead Tramhaus wherever it choses to go next. With Blister the curtain showing that future is lifted somewhat. There's more than enough postpunk to keep early fans like me happy but also a level of development I had not expected for album number 2. The band may be ahead of expectations, while able to take its fans along on the basis of the quality of songs.

There's often talk of that difficult second album. You will not find anything resembling this challenge on Blister. Tramhaus is The Netherland's top band of the 2020s, okay with Personal Trainer. With Blister it confirms its position with ease. Just listen to that riff of 'I Was Never Alone'. There's no more to write, read nor to understand. As long as you understand that things just don't get much better than Blister.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can order Blister here:

https://subroutine.nl/product/tramhaus-blister-sr136-cd-lp/ 

Another Sun. The Machine

Ok, fasten your seat belts. We are about to take off and do not open the belt until we have safely arrived. I imagine a steward speaking these words during the intro of 'Drop/See', the opening song on The Machine's eighth album Another Sun. After this intro the band tucks in with a loud riff, huge drums, a solid bass and an underwater effect on an overdubbed guitar part (a flanger?). The Machine takes off in a huge fashion.

No matter how loud 'Drop/See' is, the band does not forget a song is important as well. Besides, the band starts exploring the innards and outers of the composition in a long instrumental interlude. Guitarist David Eering plays all the styles he has mastered and took a dive into his pedal collection to find ever more sounds. The interlude explodes and comes back to the main riff, in a grand Motorpsycho way. Yes, The Machine feels comfortable in the identical stoner, psychedelic (hard)rock place where the Norwegians like to dwell as well.

The Machine is from Dordrecht the most southern and oldest (1220) of the cities in Holland, which is the western part of The Netherlands. The band is around for twenty years, but Drop/See earlier this year was my introduction and one that called for more. The band consists in 2026 of David Eering (guitars, vocals, sitar, synthesizers, theremin, percussion), Chris Both (bass guitar) and Klaas Dijkstra (drums, percussion). Together they are able to create a huge wall of sound that Phil Spector would have been proud of.

That more is now here in the form of the four additional songs that together make Another Sun. In 'Evolver' the band really lets it rip. Who could have thought on listening for the first time to 'Evolver' what lies in wait? The song starts relaxed and slow. It slowly builds up tension and after a long intro the band kicks in, but in a way that this could still be a part of a suite, so a part of 'Drop/See'. What happens next, is beyond imagination. The tempo goes up, the intensity is off the grid. 'Evolver' becomes an orgy of music, while the band remains in full control of the song. Live this most likely is even more impressive.

Photo: David Eering

What I'd noticed, having made myself familiar with Another Sun, is what goes for what I wrote in my single review goes for the whole album. Singer David Eering is more a part of the whole and not the frontman singing over the band. It is as if singing is purely functional and not defining for a track. Listening to 'Evolver' it is totally clear why. The vocals are only a part of a song and the members of this band are so good on their instruments. They steal the show anyway. Personally, I'm glad there is singing because in general it adds to a song. For The Machine singing works as far as I'm concerned.

The music on Another Sun is far louder than the symphonic rock bands of old like Yes and Marillion. Still, there are similarities in the way the band approaches compositions. They are changed along the way, to return to a central theme and longer instrumental parts are fitted in.

There is also a link to grunge, listen to how Eering sings in 'Swallow The Sun' and to the early Smashing Pumpkins (grunge or not?) form of deep sounding guitars. The final name that needs to be dropped is Queens of the Stone Age. The Machine has listened to the desert rock/stoner band for certain, as there are also references to the way Josh Homme sings. That is where things stop, as The Machine is more adventurous in exploring its songs. The band combines over fifty years of rock music within its music and comes out with a storming and raging album called Another Sun.

In the final song, 'Echo Through' it seems we will make a long smooth landing before we can unfasten our seat belts. That is counting without The Machine that does its trick once again, full force, before it sets us on the ground in one smooth, soft go. Another Sun is an impressive album. The doors are are openend.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Another Sun here for Europe:

https://the-machine.bandcamp.com/album/another-sun-european-version

and here for U.K. and U.S.:

https://the-machine.bandcamp.com/album/another-sun-uk-north-american-version 

2026, week 41. 10 singles.

Even when listening with a stricter ear, more singles are presented to me than I can keep up with. Since the summer break I'm running behind already about a month. The ones you find here made the cut my critical ear makes. Again with a few new names in there too, so go out and explore. Enjoy!

Innocence Lost. Purple Pilgrims

Purple Pilgrims? No, I can't say I've heard the name before. Checking to be sure, I did get a hit but under the name Clementine Valentine, the name under which sisters Valentine and Clementine Nixon released the record 'The Coin That Broke The Fountain Floor', reviewed by Erwin Zijleman in 2023. The two albums the sisters released under the name Purple Pilgrims before that, did not make it to these pages. Erwin described the album to have a fairytale vibe. I would prefer to describe Innocence Lost this way. Dreamy it is and because of this atmosphere it holds something the opposite of the title, innocence. The long held atmospheric notes, a lot of delay in the notes played and slow, slow singing and again long held notes in the multi-layered background vocals also create an undercurrent of tension. Nonetheless, Innocence Lost is a song to dream away with and escape reality for a while. Album 'Given to the Night' will be released on 27 November.

Decipher. Travo

We have vague plans to do Northern Spain and Portugal in the summer holiday of 2027. You have to go to Braga then, my sold me. They have the best bacalao there I've ever eaten. OK, that sounds like some sound piece of advice. Perhaps the members of Travo can tell me more, as this psychedelic hardrock band is from Braga. With single Decipher the new album is announced once again. 'Wasteland' was released this week. Based on my experience with Decipher it will be a loud and intense affair, but not without a clear song structure. I happened to have played Marillion's 'Misplaced Childhood' recently and Decipher is a louder version of the loudest songs on that album. In other words, there is a lot to enjoy in Decipher. Extra melodies, another guitar part flying in from somewhere, to leave again a bit later. Melodic, shredding, relatively subtle, super wild. You'll find it all in here. And even somewhat quieter breaks, before the band breaks loose in full again. Great single.

Home. Beauty in Chaos and Ashton Nyte

Beauty in Chaos, The Awakening, Ashton Nyte's band, and the two together can all be found on this blog. With Home the two team up once again. Nyte lends his voice to this rocking ballad by Beauty in Chaos. Home is a song that is heavy enough not to become cheesy and ballad enough to convince as a rock ballad. There is Ashton Nyte's voice. His nickname "Johannesburg's David Bowie" is well-deserved but also has its own qualities. Michael Ciravolo, who is Beauty in Chaos, has created a beautiful and melodic song for Nyte to sing over. The bass supporting the song is a little dirty, contrasting nicely with the nicely played opening riff/central melody of the song. The lead guitar underneath the chorus is just as great and played in great taste. Again in contrast with that bass guitar. There already is a new Beauty in Chaos album, 'Quiet Place'. It's produced by Michael Rozon, who also plays bass and programmed the drums.

Holy Line. Mynolia

Another debut on this blog and like the Nixon sisters above here, Mynolia takes us into a very dreamy world, but one where more scary things can enter all of a sudden. Just like a real dream can turn into something less pleasant or even unpleasant within, I don't know how fast. How long do dreams last? Holy Line has a folky undertone, while having dreampop elements combined with some solid elements. The acoustic guitar plays an accent in the right places, while swaths of sounds swirl around it. Singer-songwriter Maja Presnell lived some years in Berlin before relocating to the south of the U.S. (a rather broad definition, isn't it). This resulted in Holy Line and the upcoming album, 'Salt Around My Bed', out on 15 January. The title comes from a line in the single. Holy Line has a little of the Celtic folk of Enya at the time of 'Orinoco Flow'. The mysticism in her delivery and the atmospherics take care of that. The intricate accompaniment does the rest. Holy Line is the kind of single that makes me wanting to hear more.

Wij Zinken EP. Grote Geelstaart 

Met zes liedjes/composities is Wij Zinken meer een mini album dan een EP, maar wie ben ik? Grote Geelstaart is een naam die ineens op verschillende plekken opdook in door mij gelezen publicaties. Op basis van wat ik las, dacht ik, ik zal het een kans geven, maar dit is zeker niets voor mij. Moeilijkdoenerij zoals een band als Black Midi dat in het verleden deed. Uiteindelijk vond ik het vooral heel erg vermoeiend en niet echt genietbaar. De Zeeuwse band vindt zeker de moeilijke weg in ieder nummer, terwijl de zanger ook nog eens niet zingt, maar voordraagt, zelfs declameert. Toch merk ik dat de wendingen in de nummers over het algemeen goed te volgen zijn. Gele Geelstaart is geen gekte of totale chaos. Over iedere wending lijkt goed nagedacht en een explosie van geluid komt altijd wel weer op zijn poten terecht. Dat maakt dat Wij Zinken goed te beluisteren is en dat de individuele nummers groeien voor mij. Luuk Bosma (zang/gitaar), Jesper Rottier (gitaar/drums/zang), Jeppe Rottier (bas), Danny Rottier (synths/saxofoon) en Finley Nijsse (drums/zang) zijn familieleden en schoolvrienden die samen muziek zijn gaan maken  Vanuit Zuid-Beveland wordt de omgeving veroverd en dat zou zo maar eens kunnen gaan lukken. Wie naar Wij Zinken gaat luisteren, moet zeker een open oor willen hebben voor de postpunk, mathrock, disco elementen en wie weet wat nog meer. Doe dat en er gaat een avontuurlijke muziekreis voor je open. En wij zinken? Zeeuwen? Die komen toch altijd weer boven?!

God Of You. Danielle Ponder

Danielle Ponder decided later on in life to go for music, leaving behind another career. Here is the result. God Of You is a song that has me on the one hand wondering where I've heard certain elements within it before and listening in awe to the power of Danielle Ponder's voice. It is a gospel-soul voice but also has the rasp in it that over here a singer like Kovacs has. A contrast is created between the soul music and the roughness of the voice. Ponder decided to want to be a part of a long tradition, from the 1960s and Aretha Franklin right up to Michael Kiwanuka and Teddy Swims. She holds it all and with conviction. Her album 'Everything Has Changed' is out on 9 October.

Klein Kunstje. Stroman

Jan Stroomer kennen we als The Stream op dit blog. Al jaren zijn de albums van de band hier te vinden. Sinds enige tijd is Jan Stroomer onder de naam Stroman ook actief in het theater. Nu is er ook een eerste lied uitgebracht, onder de titel Klein Kunstje, een referentie aan de term en het genre kleinkunst natuurlijk. Tegelijkertijd speelt daardoor 'Klein Aapje' van The Avonden door mijn hoofd. Stroman speelt direct heel overtuigend in dit genre. Het nummer staat, in zijn eigen soort, direct als een huis. Muzikaal valt er vanuit de basis melodie veel te genieten, waar die basis akkoordenprogressie al heel prettig klinkt. Opvallend is dat Stroomers stem anders klinkt in het Nederlands, maar ook heel prettig. Dat is niet veranderd. Zoals het hoort, wordt er gespeeld met de Nederlandse taal. Klein Kunstje overtuigt op meerdere fronten. The Stream is volop actief en nu is er ook muziek van Stroman. Best of beide werelden.

Your Brother’s On The News Again. Sally Jaye

Time for some country music. Sally Jaye is from Nashville, Tennessee, but do not expect any slick country music. Your Brother’s On The News Again is a neat version of what The Band could have made of the song. Her voice has a little edge to it, making it a female equivalent to Levon Helm. Listening to the song, you can hear a host of guitar parts that make the song interesting to listen to in a few ways. They all do something different, play a different melody, chords, solo notes, motives, and it all fits wonderfully well. The bass part is played by a sousaphone or a horn instrument resembling it. All together the band creates an extremely loosely feeling piece of music that at the same time is so well arranged. "All is forgiven", Sally Jaye sings at the end of this single. With a song like this, there's nothing to forgive, Ms. Jaye.

They Don't Dance Anymore (Back To Mono Mix). The Amplifier Heads

Old men looking back on the past and not only getting nostalgic but also a bit forlorn about how things have changed since they were young. We all got older and don't dance anymore. Well, I personally beg to differ, given the opportunity, but I'll admit, I'm going out to dance anymore. If I run into it though, things do get different. Catch my breath after the second song and go. Dance and sing! The Amplifier Heads only sees the people sitting at home or remaining on their bar stool. The band caught that feeling in a melancholy rock song, somewhere between rock and a ballad. The guitar solo cries out in pain for things lost. Does listening to 'Quadrophenia' today and remembering listening to it in 1973 help? It doesn't seem like it. Things change, people change, things get lost. The Amplifier Heads have caught that all in an under three minutes song.

J'adore. Plasticsoul

Plasticsoul has not released a new record in nine years. That record, 'Therapy', was the first release of the Big Stir label. Many artists signed to the label have found their way to this blog since. J'adore, the new single of Plasticsoul is no exception. The band obviously still likes the music from long ago. Bands that broke in the first half of the 90s for example. J'adore has that pleasantly familiar vibe that combines indierock with a nice pop sensitivity. A combination that seldom fails to attract my attention. The first album of a band like Gin Blossoms is the one I often use as a benchmark. Plasticsoul offers more though, because there is also a connection to the Britpop of the mid-90s. A band like Supergrass comes to mind as well. And that line "here she comes", see if you can find that link to the U.K. yourself. For me Plasticsoul is a new name. The introduction is all my pleasure.

Wout de Natris - van den Borght 

Violins. Blondshell

Blondshell or Sabrina Teitelbaum as she is known to inner friends and family, can be found on this blog for a few years now and returns with her third album, Violins. In a review I've read this week, the writer felt the need to mention everything that Blondhell is not on this album. The need was caused by the accompanying bio. He could not agree with nor relate to the content. This is the reason I tend to avoid a bio as a rule, a rule which I sometimes break, for example to find practical information like who is the extra singer or the bass player?

In other words, I am usually able to listen to the music with a fresh and open mind. Listening to Violins taught me that on Violins Blondshell operates somewhere in between rock and pop and that in some songs the volume knobs were allowed to be switched to (much) louder. In (parts of) others they were not and you can even find the odd pop ballad on the album.

The result is a varied album containing songs worthwhile to get to know better. Violins offers songs that alternatively rock and in several cases sparkle. Sabrina Teitelbaum is like a fish in water in these songs. She is on top of her songs and this makes her voice shine in all the songs. In the louder ones and in the few softer ones. Her voice surfs comfortably over the high waves the guitars and rest produce. At times she sounds a little bored or resigned. The music makes clear she is not as it is often urgent and full of interesting outbursts and accents. It's just the way her voice sounds and not disinterest in her own music.

Then listen to 'Reinstall' toward the end of Violins. There you can hear what she is able to do with her voice. Double tracking it in different tones. The song is not the best on the album but vocally is does stand out fully, making it better and better. The album ends with the single 'Fur Elise'. The albums final song shows how Blondshell can go from small to huge within a few minutes and convince in both. That is the reason why I do not agree with said writer on dissing the bio. Who cares what it says in there as long as the album itself convinces. In my opinion it does and that is what counts here and in music generally speaking.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Violins here:

https://blondshell.bandcamp.com/album/violins