Residue. Yea-Ming and the Rumours

To me it remains fascinating that young musicians have a fascination with music from way before their time and perhaps even their parents'. In the case of Yea-Ming Chen it must be her parents. Residue sounds like music coming from a time machine. With a voice like Nico (Crista Päffgen) without the German accent and too much life behind her, she emulates that dreaminess The Velvet Underground had within it also. Even more so with Doug Yule as co-singer than Nico. The prickly pears that John Cale infused into The Velvets' sound had gone by then.

The result coming out of Yea-Ming Chen's mouth is a mix of Nico and French sigh girls of the 1960s. The way she sings is completely safe. There's no danger whatsoever within earshot on Residue. The Rumours provide the exact right background for this voice. The music is somewhat indie. The lightest version of R.E.M. is not far away. Think a song like 'Nightswimming'. The indie gets a sixties twist, where I'm reminded of Nancy Sinatra as well as The Walker Brothers but both stripped of the bombast that the producers added to their most famous songs. So, indeed The Velvet Underground stripped of the danger. 'Candy Says', 'Pale Blue Eyes' and 'After Hours' are good examples of this.

With Residue Yea-Ming and The Rumours released its fourth album. For me its my first, so there's nothing to compare to. Although I understand that The Rumours are more of a project than a band, the current line up is Yea-Min Chen, vocals, guitar, organ; Eóin Galvin, lead guitar, lap steel, vocals; Luke Robbins, drums, percussion, vocals and Rob Good, bass, lead guitar, vocals. Together they lay down an album, that after the moderately loud, by comparison that is, opening track 'Paper Doll, ís an album filled with tranquil tracks. Not rocking the boat seems to be the concept. Yes, also in the faster songs, like 'Cold'.

This comes with a risk. When not paying close attention, the album will pass you by. Paying only moderate attention will make you think the album is boring. That makes Residue an album to pay attention to, invest in by listening with attentive ears. The investment is rewarding, as Residue is a good album worth spending your time with. The single 'Cheap Thrill' put me on the trail of Residue and the single proves to be a great key opening up the album. If you like the first two songs on Residue, the rest will follow effortlessly.

Yes, Residue will come across like a time machine, but a rewarding one. After more than just a few years in music Yea-Ming Chen (and band) has a new fan. I'm signing up.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

 

You can listen to and order Residue here:

https://yea-ming.bandcamp.com/album/residue 

 

2026, week 27. 5 singles

Pffff, it has cooled down, making life a little more bearable again. Well, with the World Cup taking a bad turn for my country, how can you miss three penalty kicks in a series of five and have the bad luck that the goalkeeper stops a kick only to get it against his heel after which it goes in anyway, things are relative. Anyway, it is time for music. Here's five more recent singles to enjoy!

Baobab. Upupayāma

One of the first bands of what for the ease of argument I call the new psychedelic wave that caught my attention in a positive way was Elephant Stone. Many followed, some good and interesting, some less so. Right on the opening measures of Baobab, I'm transported back to my 2014 experience. Upupayāma remains more spacey in Baobab. Nothing becomes concrete but sort of floats around them bongos and the acoustic guitar setting the rhythm. Without being Indian, the song does give off strong Indian vibes and certainly not African, where the Baobab tree originates from. With Baobab Upupayāma provides the ideal inner mind holiday, as it is a song to surrender to, unconditionally.

Gimme Ammunition. Gene Champagne

Gene Champagne returns to the blog with a 7" single. Once again it is a charged up affair. Let's face it, if this song hadn't been just that, I would have ordered him to change its title. Champagne moves straight into punkpop tracks by the likes of Blondie around 1977-1979. Let me even add The Ramones. It is the line up and the guitar solo that brings Gimme Ammunition into the Blondie side of punkrock/pop. This song holds the combination of energy, fun and skills at songwriting to not only make it stand out but to truly enjoy as well. Singing along to the chorus is something that becomes mandatory at shows. Gimme Ammunition is one big invitation to jump around, shout and sing along with it.

Which Side Are You On?. Dan Cummings

Very attentive readers of this blog will recognise the name Dan Cummings as the singer and songwriter of the punk band Already Dead, who first made a deep impression on me with the single 'The Spirit Of Massachusetts Avenue' from the album 'Something Like A War'. In this acoustic single he dusts off a traditional, that also has been on the repertoire of Dropkick Murphies. It was a class song of the working man against the higher class. Dan Cummings takes a very political stance on Which Side are You On?, but takes the song into the third decade of the 21st century. This is about siding as decedents of immigrants with today's immigrants. To point to the fact that billionaires reap all the benefits, to return to the class war just like in the original. One more artist from the Boston area who takes a stance and leaves no doubt which side he's on. It makes me muse what the modern variant of tea will be? That harbour must still be there. 

Clarion. Tasha

Who else but Erwin Zijleman wrote about Tasha's previous album, 'All This And So Much More', on this blog? But to my credit the single 'Michigan' and Love's Changing' were reviewed by yours truly. Clarion comes to my name as well. Tasha shows two different sides to her songwriting on this single announcing her new album 'You are Spring!' that was released last week. Clarion is an ultra relaxed song. In fact, it is almost a slacker tune, were it not that the arrangement belies this completely. The other side of Tasha comes forward in the intricate arrangement where instruments and notes weave in and out of each other. Notes pop up to disappear again, while other instruments join, not to leave the song. Over it Tasha sings her lyrics in that completely relaxed way. The combination simply works, as that is how the song sounds, simple. Don't be fooled by that relaxed tempo though. There is a lot going on there.

S33.u.in/HAL. Holy Wave

A new name on the blog, or so I thought. It isn't, as the single 'Happier' was reviewed by me in 2023. As our former prime minister used to say when I a political bind, "I have no active recollection of this", and got away with it. Mine is in a digital print, that makes it a bit harder to deny. What to make of the title of this song? I really have no clue. HAL is both the Dutch Holland America Line, now an investment vehicle and the super computer in Space Odyssey. It's even the name of a band from the 00s, I think. Looked at in a more broader way, I derive at "see you in hell". A lot of options. The music is almost as weird as the title. The largest part consists of a mix of indie, psychedelia and dreampop. Enter a bit of shoegazing in the chorus and instrumental interlude. The noise is pushed to the background and turns into quite some weirdness, to be faded out when the verse starts again in all its tranquillity. The result is a song with two very distinct faces, like a musical version of dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Texan band presents a fascinating song. Album 'I'm Dada' can be expected on 10 July.

Wout de Natris -van der Borght 

Doomsday...Don't Leave Me Here. Rosie Carney

De Britse singer-songwriter Rosie Carney bouwt inmiddels een jaar of zeven aan een indrukwekkend oeuvre, dat begon met uiterst sobere folksongs en is geëvolueerd in een groots klinkend popgeluid.

Rosie Carney beschikt over een werkelijk prachtige stem, die van haar debuutalbum Bare een album van een bijna onwerkelijke schoonheid en intimiteit maakte. Op haar vorige album koos de Britse muzikante voor een wat voller geluid en die lijn wordt doorgetrokken op het in maart verschenen Doomsday...Don't Leave Me Here. De uiterst sobere klanken van Bare hebben plaatsgemaakt voor een even groots als atmosferisch klinkend popgeluid. Dat is even wennen, maar de songs op het album zijn interessant en de stem van Rosie Carney is ook op haar vierde album weer prachtig. De muziek van Rosie Carney blijft vooralsnog wat onderbelicht, maar verdient absoluut een plekje in de spotlights.

Ik ben tot dusver zeer gecharmeerd van de albums van Rosie Carney, ook van haar in maart uitgebrachte vierde album heeft uitgebracht. De Britse singer-songwriter kreeg al op haar zestiende een platencontract, maar dat werd ontbonden voor ze haar eerste album had uitgebracht. Dat album kwam er uiteindelijk toch, want helemaal aan het begin van 2019 debuteerde Rosie Carney, inmiddels 21 jaar oud, met het werkelijk wonderschone Bare. 

Het is een album dat aan het eind van dat jaar, tot mijn verrassing of zelfs verbijstering, niet opdook in mijn jaarlijstje, maar met de kennis van nu vind ik het debuutalbum van Rosie Carney een van de allermooiste albums van het betreffende jaar. Bare is een zeer persoonlijk album met vooral intieme en sober ingekleurde folksongs en het zijn songs waarin de indrukwekkende stem van Rosie Carney centraal staat. 

De Britse muzikante was zoals gezegd pas 21 jaar oud toen haar debuutalbum verscheen, maar het is een album dat dwars door de ziel snijdt en op hetzelfde moment betovert met wonderschone songs. Bare werd eind 2020 gevolgd door Rosie Carney’s integrale vertolking van Radiohead’s The Bends. Op voorhand een kansloze missie, maar het pakte prachtig uit. 

Op het in het voorjaar van 2022 verschenen i wanna feel happy omringde de Britse muzikante, die overigens in Ierland opgroeide, zich in een aantal tracks met elektronica of met wat stevigere gitaren. Rosie Carney had het wat vollere geluid op haar derde album met haar geweldige stem absoluut niet nodig, maar ook i wanna feel happy wist me makkelijk te overtuigen en onderstreepte wat mij betreft haar grote talent. 

In maart verscheen album vier en ook Doomsday...Don't Leave Me Here is weer een sterk album. Als ik heel eerlijk ben zou ik het liefst een sober en intiem folkalbum hebben gekregen, maar net als i wanna feel happy is ook het vierde album van de muzikante uit Londen behoorlijk vol ingekleurd. 

Doomsday...Don't Leave Me Here klinkt nog wat voller dan het vorige album van de Britse muzikante en schuift ook wat meer op richting pop. Dat is voor iemand die het debuutalbum van Rosie Carney of haar vertolking van The Bends koestert niet direct goed nieuws, maar Doomsday...Don't Leave Me Here is een album dat veel te bieden heeft. 

Het behoorlijk volle geluid op het album is zeer smaakvol en is ook spannender dan je bij vluchtige eerste beluistering ervaart. Het is een geluid vol dynamiek en flinke spanningsbogen en het is een geluid dat Rosie Carney de kant van de groots aangezette en wat theatrale pop op duwt. Dat is af en toe jammer, maar ook op Doomsday...Don't Leave Me Here maakt de Britse muzikante makkelijk indruk met haar stem, die optimaal gebruik maakt van de spanningsbogen in de songs. 

Het derde en vierde album van Rosie Carney laten zich nauwelijks vergelijken met de eerste twee albums, maar de eerste drie albums vond ik geweldig en ook album nummer vier overtuigde me onmiddellijk. Het is een album met een bijzonder fraaie en wat atmosferische productie en ondanks het grootse geluid is er alle ruimte voor de fascinerende stem van Rosie Carney. Ik zet binnenkort ook het betoverend mooie Bare weer eens op, maar ook op Doomsday...Don't Leave Me Here heeft Rosie Carney veel te bieden.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Doomsday...Don't Leave Me Here hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://rosiecarneyband.bandcamp.com/album/doomsday-dont-leave-me-here 

Regenesis. Girl With A Hawk

Girl With A Hawk is a band from Boston that I may well be following from the very first single onwards. Come 2026, here is its debut album and yes, it is as nice as I had hoped it would be. It does come with a surprise though. Based on e.g. recent single 'Wasn't It Just Yesterday', I had betted on a harder rocking album. It turns out it is more of a roots album than I had expected. An album that here and there brings Hazeldine to mind, and in a positive way, I'm more than o.k. with.

Let me start for that reason with the song 'The Fighter', the fourth on the album. When the guitar intro starts, my first thought was hey, a cover of 'Zombie' with an Oasis twist? Then the lead guitar joins and I'm back with guitarist Jeffrey Richards' lead melodies in my favourite Hazeldine song, 'Drive'. Girl With A Hawk manages to create this mix of rock and americana in a very successful way too. A twangy lead guitar, a fiddle and great harmonies. The band expands the song more and more, turning 'The Fighter' into an epic anthem by way of the long outro.

Overall, I notice how pleasant Regenesis sounds and can be listened to. Most likely the band sounds far smoother than in a live setting but as I'm not geolocated in the right place, chances are I will never know. The album allows for great listening and that is a very much worthwhile position to be in.

Girl With A Hawk formed during the pandemic and started to release singles quite soon after. Singer and songwriter Linda S. Viens (vocals, electric and acoustic guitar) was joined by Richard Lamphear (keyboards, backing vocals); Daniel Coughlin (guitars, backing vocals); Daniel George Bernfeld (bass, backing vocals); and Nancy Delaney (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Together they have created a sound that alternates between pop, rock and americana in a quite convincing way. All have a life in music and life itself behind them and decided to form a band anyway. The result is like it.

Regenesis is not the album of older musicians that have returned to music as just a hobby. For that the songs on this album are far too serious and well-crafted. These songs are the proof of their collective ability and dedication to create and arrange beautiful songs. Take the ballad 'Beautiful Today' with its bittersweet atmosphere. The music "simply" captured the mood singer Viens was in and turns it into beautiful music.

As I wrote before, I was surprised by the americana flavoured touch of the songs, but from the second spin of the record Girl With A Hawk onwards, the band totally convinced me to be listening to a good album worth exploring wider and deeper. I hope to have convinced the readers to dive in as well.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

2026, week 26. 5 singles (3)

A change of the weather is coming up. It's darkish, thunder and lightning loom in the distance and the first drops of rain fall off and on, without gaining momentum yet. The storm can't make up it mins yet, it seems. It probably will when we have to go to the trainstation later this afternoon. In the meantime its clammy and sticky, while the very sporadic wind feels fresher already. In the meantime I'm setting five more recent single aside for your pleasure, so enjoy!

Jealous Lover. The Rolling Stones

And here is the third the Rolling Stones songs released before 'Foreign Tongues'. The song fits into a long line of Stones songs, that show the more pop side of the band. At 82 Mick Jagger can still put in his falsetto voice, as if time has no grip on him. Let us go back to 'Emotional Rescue' from 1980 as a starting point. It is not exactly my favourite The Rolling Stones single, but like almost all singles of the past, I found my way into it at the time. Jealous Lover in the end will go that way, as I do like the chorus and that slick guitar work shared between Keith and Ronnie sounds really smooth and nice. Newspaper 'The Times' already spoke of "a career high" when it wrote about  'Foreign Tongues'. Based on the three songs so far, the rest must be really, really exceptional, to nestle with albums like 'Beggar's Banquet', 'Exile On Main Street' and 'Tattoo You', to name but a few. Jealous Lover is nice, it's smooth, but can't tip 'Sweet Sounds Of Heaven' from 'Hackney Diamonds', to name a recent smash song.

Great Start. In Loom 

Gijs Kerkhoven and Sander van Munster have made music under many names. As In Loom they have made these pages twice this year and here is number three. As said, in In Loom it is Kerkhoven who is the lead singer, making the sound of the duo stand apart from their other collaborations. With Great Start the subtlety that characterises Sander van Munster's work is thrown overboard completely. Can a guitar sound much dirtier than in the intro and beyond of Great Start? Certainly, it can, but that would leave little room for a song. Great Start draws on some of the psychedelic songs The Rolling Stones presented on its 1967 album 'Their Satanic Majesty's Request'. In Loom adds some totally underwater bubbly experiences to it as well. Over this that dirty guitar is put, making Great Start stand out and makes it a very intriguing song. There's far more happening than I could ever have guessed when the song started. Great Start is a listening experience.

The Sweet Goodbey. Opus Kink

Recently I wrote of Opus Kink that there is a strong connection to Dutch fanfarepunkers De Kift and with The Sweet Goodbye the likeness is not taken away. The way the band uses the horns tells me all. At the same time all sorts of influences are let into the mix. Although this song is far less of a genrebender than 'The Head Tree' that featured The New Eves, you will find more than enough surprising elements. At the same time The Sweet Goodbye is more traditional post punk, with horns. Opus Kink does go one step further, at least, than the saxophone DEADLETTER uses to spice its songs for example. Again Opus Kink intrigues with its mix of music, that no matter what is straight in your face the whole time.

Moping. Personal Trainer 

A few weeks ago the first song of Personal Trainer's upcoming third album was reviewed on this blog. It surprised me with its sound and approach. With Moping Personal Trainer is back to its more traditional sound. A little lighter perhaps, maybe even with a disco rhythm guitar sound, added to by a The Stone Roses style drumming, but without doubt Personal Trainer. A female voice answers Willem Smit's vocal in parts of the song. I myself took a shine to Moping immediately, just like I did with so many songs of Personal Trainer and of Willem Smit's previous bands. "This is simply, just good", a voice says in Dutch in the middle of the song. And that comment, made by the band itself, sums it all up for me.

Pay To Play. Tornado Lobster Killer

Punk from Italy? Yes, why not. Tornado Lobster Killer is from Milan in northern Italy and plays punk(rock) as it is supposed to. Don't expect anything different then tremendously fast played instruments, releasing energy and the venting of anger of having to pay to play a show. Bandmembers need to earn some money, except when its a hobby and even then its nice to get something to pay for rehearsal rooms and gasoline. So, writing about this style of music may sound like a summing up of clichés. The music isn't, as Tornado Lobster Killer has the right energy but also the skills to make a song like Pay To Play sound interesting, because of the little melodic additions woven into the whole. So, punk from Italy? Yes, please.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght