California Nights. Best Coast

Best Coast can be found on these pages once before with its EP 'Fade Away' (read here: http://wonomagazine.blogspot.nl/2014/02/fade-away-ep-best-coast.html). The EP came as something of a surprise to me, as I hadn't heard anything much in the duo's previous efforts. Admitting that I never tried those again, California Nights is as much fun as 'Fade Away' was. The 60s girl pop singing of Bethany Cosentino is extremely infectious to my mood. As far as I'm in need of any lifting of moods, it is certainly gets the job done.

California Nights directly gripped me on first listen. Actually, I'm typing during the first listen so the final words are not written in this session. For that a sense of balance is missing at the moment. The album holds the louder kind of pop, guitars and drums laden, with the at times multi layered vocals laid right on top. Phil Spector girl vocal groups, right up to The Bangles and all those modern day girl bands jump from the digital environment to me to pack me in. The older 'Eight arms to hold you', that beautiful album by Veruca Salt, becomes, the bigger its influence seems to become. It's all over this California Nights. Despite that the influences of Best Coast are all over the place, the reason why I like California Nights is that pop and rock are mixed in the right doses. The voice and melodies are very much pop, the musical environment move towards a sixties and indie rock setting. The secret is in the level of blending that Cosentino and her brother in arms Bobb Bruno attained in collaboration with producer Wally Gagel. Is it a coincidence that Gagel also produced 'Fade Away', the EP I also liked a lot in 2013? Probably not.

The cover of this album is extremely well chosen (and shot). Despite the overall poppy feeling of California Nights manifesting itself in the high guitar notes, there also is a deep sense of melancholy over the album. Cosentino may sing "I'm feeling OK" in the first song on this album, it seems somewhat relative. As if something bad has just happened, but she came out o.k., but not in all ways. In other words like the end of the of warm, dry day, you're standing at the edge of the pool not wanting the day to end, but end it will.

The melancholy is in the tone of voice of Bethany Cosentino. 'Heaven Sent' certainly is an upbeat song. Powerful, tight, poppy, but the sun just doesn't shine in her voice nor her vocal melodies. The sun shines like in southern California in the music though. What a great pop rock song 'Heaven Sent' is. In all the right places a nice sound comes forward, an effect on the guitar or a harmony. Exactly what I think is the strong point of California Nights. Nearly every song holds these strong points, that make them stand out.

The only negative point that I could find, is that there is not one note of originality on California Nights. This sort of music has been played for several decades by now. It may be that it has become in vogue again in the past three years, but that is all. California Nights adds a very nice album to that long line. It's a great mix of the sorts of music that I really like, with some that I do not care particularly about. Best Coast succeeds in creating an album that does a take on the weaker points in the music of others and turn it into strong ones. So, I'm never complaining listening to California Nights.

When the tempo goes down in the title song, I got a small fright at first, but this went away as the song delivers also. Best Coast deals with a ballad in the right way, without turning it into a sticky, siropy kind of song that makes my teeth hurt bad. Another point scored.

To end this review, I'm just going to quote Ms. Cosentino: "I'm feeling OK".

Wo.

You can listen to title song 'California nights' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U5LWokfRHY

or buy at Bol.com

Carrie & Lowell. Sufjan Stevens

De in Detroit, Michigan, geboren muzikant Sufjan Stevens debuteerde aan het begin van het huidige millennium, maar trok met zijn eerste twee platen helaas nauwelijks aandacht.
 
Dat deed hij wel met het in 2003 verschenen Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State. Enerzijds omdat het een geweldige plaat was, maar anderzijds ook vanwege het bijzonder ambitieuze plan dat aan de plaat was verbonden.
 
Sufjan Stevens kondigde na zijn eerbetoon aan zijn thuisstaat Michigan immers aan om ook de resterende 49 staten van de VS te voorzien van een muzikaal eerbetoon. Het deed de rekenaars onder ons direct fronsen, maar het idee was natuurlijk mooi, zeker met platen van het kaliber van het eerste deel.

Toen Sufjan Stevens een jaar later opdook met het niet aan een staat gerelateerde en wederom bijzonder mooie Seven Swans leek het ambitieuze plan al weer van tafel, maar weer een jaar later verscheen dan toch Illinoise, een eerbetoon aan de staat Illionois. Op de resterende 48 delen wachten we nog steeds, want Sufjan Stevens kreeg een nieuwe hobby; het maken van kerstplaten. De afgelopen jaren werd buiten deze kerstplaten niet al teveel vernomen van Sufjan Stevens, maar eindelijk is de een decennium geleden zo bejubelde muzikant terug met een nieuwe plaat.
 
Ook Carrie & Lowell is overigens een eerbetoon. Dit keer niet aan een Amerikaanse staat of aan een feestdag in december, maar aan zijn moeder en stiefvader die de afgelopen jaren allebei zijn overleden. Nu had Sufjan Stevens geen geweldige band met zijn moeder, maar desondanks heeft hij een opvallend stemmige of zelfs trieste plaat gemaakt. Gelukkig is het ook een hele goede plaat geworden. 

Sufjan Stevens was in het verleden niet bang voor groots aangeklede platen, maar op Carrie & Lowell houdt hij zijn songs opvallend klein. Veel meer dan gitaar, banjo en zorgvuldige aangebrachte synthesizer partijen krijgen we niet en hierbovenop klinken de eveneens ingetogen vocalen van Sufjan Stevens.
 
Het is een op het eerste gehoor uiterst sober geluid, maar het is wel een geluid dat zorgvuldig in elkaar is geknutseld. Carrie & Lowell bestaat uit meerdere lagen instrumenten en meerdere lagen vocalen en klinkt hierdoor zeker niet zo kaal als je op het eerste gehoor zult vermoeden.
 
Stemmige klanken domineren op een plaat vol weemoed. Sufjan Stevens kijkt op Carrie & Lowell terug op zijn jeugd en de relatie die hij had met zijn moeder en zijn stiefvader (wiens huwelijk met de moeder van Sufjan Stevens overigens niet lang stand hield). Het levert een sombere en vaak zelfs zwaar melancholische plaat op, maar Carrie & Lowell is ook een plaat van een enorme schoonheid.
 
Bij Sufjan Stevens denk ik aan overdaad en aan minder geslaagde experimenten, maar beiden ontbreken volledig op zijn nieuwe plaat. Carrie & Lowell staat vol met buitengewoon smaakvol geïnstrumenteerde en opvallend intiem vertolkte songs en ze zijn allemaal raak. Het zijn songs vol opvallende verhalen; soms emotioneel, soms ook wat bitter, soms vol humor, maar altijd met vlijmscherpe observaties, wat de songs nog een extra dimensie geeft.

In muzikaal opzicht sluit Carrie & Lowell redelijk goed aan op het eerder genoemde Seven Swans, maar er zijn ook volop raakvlakken met de ingetogen muziek van Nick Drake of met de songs vol demonen van Elliott Smith.
 
Carrie & Lowell maakt onmiddellijk indruk, maar het is ook een plaat die pas echt goed tot zijn recht komt wanneer je hem veel vaker hebt gehoord. Dan immers hoor je de diepte in de instrumentatie en de emotie waarmee Sufjan Stevens vertelt over zijn niet altijd even gelukkige jeugd.
 
Sufjan Stevens heeft misschien niet heel veel goede herinneringen aan zijn moeder, maar haar dood heeft hem geïnspireerd tot het maken van een werkelijk wonderschone plaat, die absoluut behoort tot het mooiste en indrukwekkende dat 2015 ons tot dusver heeft gebracht.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier luisteren naar 'Should Have Known Better':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJJT00wqlOo
en Carrie & Lowell kopen op Bol.Com

Kairos of June 2015

Once a month .No's radio show on Concertzender is broadcast. Later that month Wo. emerges himself into the wide musical taste of .No and shares his thoughts, emotions and ideas, while not shunning to provide his opinion. Things do get different every once and again to what he listens to on a regular basis. In reading you become part of a widening of horizons: the June Kairos it is.

Kairos starts with a guitar solo piece by William Ackerman. 'Conferring With The Moon' holds a popular melody, that is that it could have been a solo interlude on any past-1969 Pink Floyd album or just as easily interwoven into a song by Blur or Oasis, admittedly with a lot more noise added in the latter band's song. Ackerman, a U.S. citizen with German roots, active in music for nearly 40 years this year, plays this solo piece, under which some synthesizer sounds can be heard, in a way that is associated with new age, but this could be rock and pop just as easily. A nice start for Kairos, it sets the mood and tickles my curiosity to hear more.

Some faint noises, the birds recorded from .No's window; yes they are back. But also back is Will Samson with a composition called 'Hunting Shadows' from his 2012 album 'Balance'. Atmospheric, tape hiss and faint or better, sparse piano notes fill my head. There are times that this music makes me very itchy, today it beings me into a quiet mood, listening to the sounds that fill my head and trying to find out what it is that I'm listening to. I haven't found that answer yet and .No does not allow me the time as I'm taken to another song through .No's fabulous mixing technique. (The man ought to be a DJ in a dance fest with these skills. Alas, his choice of music....)

This Kairos holds a small announcement in the text accompanying it. It announces Merel Moelker, who sang on a recording of Anita Frenks a few Kairosses back. .No contacted Merel and asked if she has any other work. She had, so we are taken on a late night jazzy outing. 'Detour Ahead' takes us to a late, late night bar in a large U.S. town, where the band is still playing, amusing the last listeners, the real night cats and mostly the bandmembers themselves. Who has and who doesn't have to go to work in a few hours? No one knows. Moelker's voice fits this music and reminds me of the music that was played in my parent's house, Ella Fitzgerald, when I was very young, in the days before I broke the arm of the small record player my mum owned and it took years for us to have another one.

Of course it's possible to go further westwards from the United States, except that we call it the Far East. .No takes that course and presents us with shakuhachi flautist Kohachiro Miyata in the Japanese traditional composition 'Honshirabe'. Deep tones. There is nothing I can call frivolic about this music. There really is nothing else then the flute and the man. Listen carefully to the recording and you know he is there. You can hear him breathing and exhaling to create the tones. It really is as if Miyata is playing next to my ear. Not my kind of music really, but he caught me alright.

'Black Is The Color' is the next song from an album by Susanne Abbuehl. What am I listening to? Classical music, church music, a jazzy singer, Angelo Badalamenti estrangements in the turns and twists of the music? and all the time I'm thinking: "I know this song", but all that is known to me about it is stripped away and replaced by something completely different. Except for the line "Black is the colour that my true love wears". It comes down to Donovan, I think. One of his first hits in 1965, when he was still a true folk artist, just called 'Colours'. That's my best guess.

Next up is another band out of Snowstar Records' stall. Luik is a band that fits into this mold nicely. It is possible to start calling it a movement. Bands and artist that go after a maximum effect with a minimum of sound, but a lot of melody. Luik manages just that with its song 'We are both extermined'. (I'm not certain whether this is English, but o.k.) Extremely slow and with a minimum of notes on instruments. The guitar "solo" at the end is almost a surprise. The singing is dry, but does everything it needs to do, i.e. carry this beautiful song.

From something that is recognisable as a song to the future sounds of Ken Camden, an excerpt from his composition 'New Space'. "Ken Camden, guitar", it says in the liner notes of .No. Guitar? What guitar? If this is a guitar, it's stomp boxes creating weird sounds. Let's move on.

Next up is the monthly poem. This time from Peter Clijssen. The music changes underneath to Karina Esp's 'All the Years Have fallen Away'. Chris Gowers' guitar playing sparse notes over all the sounds going on underneath it. A bass, some kind of keyboard and estrangement on strings. This mood changes the moment Fraser McGowan's piano joins. A true meditation on music starts, without all the distraction of weird noises. The bass lays a very subtle foundation. Together the music is mesmerising.

Just when I started to get into the mood and surroundings started to fall away, the music changes once again. 'Burn Me Again' by Alpha is really different. Another "real" song. Corin Dingley sings with a thin voice, with a hint of the Adele kind of singing. The music is a sort of 'Skyfall' also. Without the James Bond bombastics, but 'Burn Me Again' holds that same mystic, that not knowing what is going to happen next. That standing outside alone in the rain without knowing where to go feeling. At the same time the way the music is filled in, makes it totally different, but the similarity in feeling is striking. If I'm reading correctly 'Burn Me Again' was released in 2010. Interesting, as who influenced who here?

And now for the total mood change. 'Take Me To Church', no not the song, the music. Herbert Howells' 'Requiem Aeternam' is up next. The Gabrieli Consort conducted by Paul McCreesh sings this composition in the way these compositions are sung. I can't help it, but to me they all sound the same. I'm in awe of the intricate and delicate way the different voices weave into and separate themselves from each other. When I visit a church and a choir happens to be practising, I never fail to listen in for a while, but that is as far this music and I go. There is a deep inner, eternal beauty in this music, I'll admit to that.

'Adagio (con grand’espressiono) from Sonata for solo Cello, Op. 8' by Zoltan Kodaly, played by Maria Kliegel is another sort of music that I do not really have the patience for. Kliegel will no doubt be (extremely) good, but it is just not for me. The cello in general isn't and neither is this sort of music. Too moody for me. There is really no joy to be found anywhere here. Nothing that lightens my mood. If I were a cellist though, this is a real solo piece. So to master it must be quite something.

Next up is Harald Genzmer's 'Notturno' taken from his 'Trio für Flöte, Viola und Harfe' as played by Trio Leandro (Robert Buchwald, flute; Andrea Soldan, viola da gamba; Lena Fitoussi, harp). Does it really only start when the harp sets in? There's no way of telling really, with .No's mixing skills. It must, as the mood changes so radically from what I still perceive as Ms. Kliegel's cello. Not that 'Notturno' is a light piece. The sound of the flute and harp add something that is just lighter in sound. I feel sort of set free. The three instruments mix in this more modern sounding composition, while alternating one is allowed to do a step forward, before it gets back in line. The flute sequence could have been from a Disney production of old.

With 'La Veille du Départ' from L'ancienne Maison de Campagne op. 124' by Charles Koechlin we get close to the final song for this month. Deborah Richards plays the piano. Another composition that seems to hold back on emotions, while the old is departing. There is sadness, but very restrained. I do not really know what to do with it. It doesn't invite to step in. In fact, I feel kept out actually.

William Ackerman is allowed to close this Kairos also with a larger excerpt of his 'Conferring with the moon'. His acoustic guitar has a wavy sort of effect on it. Like it is taken along by the wind and swirls around in the air with it, together with the dried leaves and dust. The guitar is only a part of the composition, the backbone. The lyricon played by Chuck Greenberg plays the solo part. This lyricon sounds like an electronic pan flute if I'm honest. A few bass notes, from a fretless bass is my guess, in the background complete the sound. A beautiful ending to another entertaining and enlightening Kairos.

Rumour has it the next Kairos holds some Sophie Hunger.

Wo.

You can listen to June's Kairos here:

http://www.concertzender.nl/wp-content/themes/cz-theme/swfplayer/newplayer.php?mode=rod&provider=cz&program=rod&date=20150604&hour=23&pid=78547

This Kairos is dedicated to Jos Grazell who passed away in May.

Drones. Muse

What to say about the new Muse album? It's like a steamroller riding over me, like a sledgehammer to the head or a powerdrill next to my bed early morning while still asleep. Drones is as exciting as 'Showbiz' and 'Origins of Symmetry' were, only better, more consistent, musically so much more developed. In short, Drones is Muse's best album to date.

That about told it all, didn't it? What's left to write? Let's start by taking one step back. The first Muse album reviewed on these pages was previous album 'The 2nd Law', read here: http://wonomagazine.blogspot.nl/2012/09/the-2nd-law-muse.html. Looking back, it was a difficult album that I did not look back at very often. The album contained some good songs, but as a whole the band tried to be more or do more than was good for it. In interviews the band already announced that it went back to days of old. And I can hear it too. This is not just a band saying something obligatory fans like to hear, it's totally true to its words.

For one, Muse threw overboard all restraints and lets the killer riffs fly around my ears as if they have to win the Riff de France today. The interaction between Matthew Bellamy's voice and guitar is as strong as ever. Muse's strongpoint of course is that the band manages to combine metal with pop and Queen. On Drones that comes forward in the strongest way possible. There is a total balance between the three elements. The sound may be metal, melody is what Muse is all about. The band delivers as all songs are singable, moshpit prone and rhythmically extremely strong. The way the three musicians interact is fabulous. Howard and Wolstenholme lay this foundation that is a mix of pure power and suppleness. Bellamy often joins them in the riffs. From that moment on all is possible in the music of Muse. Fire alarms, speeches, John F. Kennedy? It's all there on Drones.

In that way Muse comes close to the loud side of Pink Floyd on 'The Wall'. A great, loud riff, voices in the background and a main story, in this case about the use of Drones and what this does to the main character of the album. The similarity stops there, but that Muse has heard 'In the Flesh' is obvious. The singing and especially the harmonies are a copy of Queen. The voices shoot up an octave or two it seems. Just as some guitar lines, e.g. in 'Defector', are classic Brian May. Matthew Bellamy infuses this influences into his and Muse's sound, making them an integral part of what Muse is. Almost 16 years after 'Showbiz' it is easy to say that Muse has a sound of its own.

The start of this album is so self confident. Which band hoping/expecting a new major hits album, starts it with shout singing "Dead inside"? A death metal band perhaps, not a band like Muse, you'd expect. Still Muse does and sets the stage for an album that tackles some great issues like war as a video game. The detachment of the drone pilot and the effect of his work on himself. The relation of man to machine, something that will become more important in the next ten year.

Under all that verbal violence, like the '[Drill Sergeant]' and the inner fight of the main character Muse does what it does best, rocking out. Riffing. Singing great melodies, creating these perfect changes, even if they resemble what we've heard before, 'Psycho' has a familiar sounding change e.g., they are at the top of what Muse can do. The good thing about Drones is that Muse lets all the reigns go, so that its killer riffs fly. Something that at times they did not do enough on the previous albums. It just all adds up on Drones.

Muse is the only band I truly like that I've never seen live. It's time to change that in the near future somewhere. It will be 2016 looking at the tour schedule. Until then Drones is the next best thing. Great album by a great and very inventive band.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Dead inside' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5sJhSNUkwQ

or buy at Bol.com

Complicated Game. James McMurtry

De uit Fort Worth, Texas, afkomstige Amerikaanse singer-songwriter James McMurtry debuteerde al in 1989, maar viel mij voor het eerst op in 2005, toen zijn achtste plaat Childish Things verscheen. Deze plaat werd in 2008 gevolgd door het geweldige Just Us Kids, maar sindsdien was het helaas vrijwel stil rond de al lange tijd vanuit het Texaanse Austin opererende singer-songwriter.
 
James McMurtry is inmiddels de 50 gepasseerd en levert met Complicated Game een in allen opzichten ingetogen plaat af. Waar James McMurtry op zijn voorlopige meesterwerk Just Us Kids fel uithaalde naar president George W. Bush en zijn politiek, zijn de observaties op Complicated Game milder en persoonlijker. Ook in muzikaal opzicht is Complicated Game ingetogener dan zijn voorganger(s).
 
James McMurtry laat op zijn nieuwe plaat een grotendeels akoestisch geluid horen, maar het is wel een geluid dat bijzonder fraai is ingekleurd. James McMurtry opent Complicated Game met een akoestische gitaar en zijn stem in een track die in eerste instantie vooral doet denken aan de protestzangers uit de jaren 60. Naarmate de track voller wordt ingekleurd met banjo en strijkers schuift James McMurtry op richting Springsteen’s Nebraska. Dat is voor veel rootspuristen helaas nog altijd geen aanbeveling, maar voor mij persoonlijk is het een maatstaf voor muziek in de buitencategorie.
 
Op Complicated Game houdt James McMurtry zijn geluid vrijwel over de hele linie sober. De al eerder genoemde instrumenten worden incidenteel bijgestaan door piano, orgel, een pedal steel en een ritmesectie, maar Complicated Game wordt nooit een hele uitbundige plaat, buiten hooguit één track waarin een rol is weggelegd voor een elektrische gitaar en bluesy licks.
 
Het past allemaal uitstekend bij de wijze waarop James McMurtry zijn songs voordraagt. Op Complicated Game vertelt de Amerikaan verhalen en het zijn verhalen die zowel opvallen door hun inhoud als door de bijzonder fraaie wijze waarop ze muzikaal worden ingekleurd. McMurtry is nooit gezien als een heel groot zanger, maar op de vocalen op Complicated Game valt weinig tot niets aan te merken.
 
Complicated Game is een plaat die vrij makkelijk overtuigt met mooie klanken en lekker in het gehoor liggende songs met gevoel voor traditie, maar wanneer je de plaat wat vaker hoort merk je dat dit veel meer is dan zomaar een aangename of goede plaat.
 
Dat James McMurtry een laatbloeier is wordt wel duidelijk wanneer je naar zijn discografie kijkt, maar dat de Texaan 7 jaar na het geweldige Just Us Kids de lat nog eens hoger zou kunnen leggen hadden waarschijnlijk maar weinig muziekliefhebbers van hem verwacht.
 
Complicated Game is een plaat die in het begin heerlijk voortkabbelt, maar de songs van James McMurtry worden steeds indringender en ook steeds urgenter. James McMurtry opereert al een aantal decennia in de schaduw van de grootheden in het genre, maar met Complicated Game levert hij een plaat af die deze grootheden graag gemaakt zouden hebben. Dat Complicated Game in rootskringen de afgelopen weken is onthaald als een waar meesterwerk wekt dan ook geen verbazing. Er valt bovendien niets, maar dan ook helemaal niets op af te dingen. Grootse plaat.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier luisteren naar 'Complicated Game':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBxCKUN22H8

of kopen bij Bol.com

 

Last Night in Bolo Ties. Flint Eastwood

Time for another Noisetrade album. The grand niece and nephews of Clint are making music out of Detroit and like the old master do not mind to mix a genre or two or three on its record. Flint Eastwood is on Noisetrade with this EP, but for the rest it is very hard to find information on this act, beyond some pictures on its website. The music speaks sort of for itself though.

The music is a mix of dance, rock, some EDM elements, melodies in the vocals I really like. So let's say Garbage, EMF, that sort of music. It rocks, it's danceable and Flint Eastwood doesn't mind mixing in some 80s synths and Giorgio Moroder pulses. as well. A mix that simply is appealing as it holds all the right elements to make it a winning combination.

The only real message the band gives off is something about loving spaghetti westerns. In the most dancy song, 'Billy the Kid', this comes forward most as the lead guitar has this western twang. While the music pulses as if a 40.000 something crowd at some dance festival needs conquering, the guitar plays out as if in the finale of 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'. An almost impossible combination, but Flint Eastwood easily gets away with it.

'Can You Feel Me Now' does the same. Dance, rock, twang and a fun melody. The loudest song is the one that closes it all, 'Shotgun'. The more metal side of the band won out here. The guitars rock out in loud riffs. The louder side of Courtney Barnett, Sia and Torres (review will follow soon), is coming out here also. It is opening song 'Secretary', that lyrically is the most militant and accusing. "Boy I am not your secretary" or "I am not your dog, so quit bitching" sings the, for now, nameless lady singer. Some nice riffs are played and a 60s, early 70s sounding Moog, that has nothing to do with the more modern music. It's the mix that works.

Only four songs there are on Last Night in Bolo Ties. Four in ways different songs, but there's is a communality that binds. Rhythms, voices and the kind of melodies that work, so stick.

I haven't got a clue whether Flint Eastwood is still among us, Clint is going to shoot a new movie soon, so I read today. Unfortunately that is what we have to make do with where Flint is concerned for now. In the meantime enjoy Last Night in Bolo Ties.

Wo.

You can listen to and download Flint Eastwood on Noisetrade:

http://noisetrade.com/flinteastwood/late-nights-in-bolo-ties

The March. Stephanie Fagan

Stephanie Fagan featured on this blog before with her beautiful album, Heart Thief (read the review here: http://wonomagazine.blogspot.nl/2012/11/heart-thief-stephanie-fagan_23.html) and in an interview in which she tells the listener about herself, her life and the creative process behind her songs. (Read here: http://wonomagazine.blogspot.nl/2013/01/interview-with-stephanie-fagan.html) Now she is back with an EP on a re-named label, as Yonder Music became Big Mavis Music, still run by Missy Davis Jones.

From the very first notes of The March it is clear that something is very different. An electric piano is played, Stephanie starts singing with not another instrument in hearing. The March is very different from Heart Thief. In that way. The important communality is the warm and kind voice of Stephanie Fagan. And here I am, the strong guitar-minded guy, not liking most of the likes of Elton John, Billy Joel, etc.: piano driven music, melting away again in front of the voice of Ms. Fagan.

Stephanie Fagan seems to have hit a string with people of the marrying kind. I can't tell, not having been to one for quite some time. With that idea in mind she decided to write a few songs with "The Big Day" in mind or with her personal Heart Thief in mind of course. That are the first four songs on the EP. There are two bonus tracks and four instrumentals of the wedding songs, that make The March something of a real album, but I'd say it is at heart an EP. An EP with a theme: Wedding day.

For the rest I find that I'm at a loss for words. The March holds beauty. It is that simple. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder or in this specific case my ears, but everything on The March comes together under this word. I could write about the daring way that this album is kept small (and resisted the violins temptation!), something about the lyrics, but it would only take away from the effect the songs have. They make me quiet, totally in listening mode. So let me be silent for once dear reader, while I refer to the website where you can have a taste of Stephanie Fagan's music yourself and then buy the album.

Wo.

You can buy The March on Stephanie Fagan's website:

http://www.stephaniefagansings.com/store

All Is Waiting. Jodymoon

Ik ben tot dusver zeer gecharmeerd van de platen van de Nederlandse band Jodymoon. Zowel 'Who Are You Now' uit 2010 als 'The Life You Never Planned On' uit 2012 maakten diepe indruk en konden rekenen op zeer lovende recensies.
 
Who Are You Now was overigens niet mijn eerste kennismaking met de muziek van Jodymoon, want ook de tweede plaat van het duo, Never Gonna Find It In Another Story uit 2008 wist ik in een leven voor mijn blog 'De krenten uit de pop' al zeer te waarderen. (Erwin publiceert eerst op zijn eigen blog, red.)

Voor alle platen van Jodymoon geldt dat ze verrassen met prachtige songs, maar voor alle platen van de band geldt ook dat ik ze voor de bespreking relatief lang had laten liggen.
 
Dat is ook weer het geval met het vorige maand al verschenen All Is Waiting, maar het heeft absoluut niets te maken met de kwaliteit van de muziek van Jodymoon. Gedurende de jaren is de muziek van zangeres Digna Jansen en multi-instrumentalist Johan Smeets alleen maar mooier geworden, waardoor de band haar vorige platen iedere keer weer weet te overtreffen.
 
Ook All Is Waiting valt weer op door werkelijk prachtige songs. Het zijn stemmig geïnstrumenteerde en vooral intieme songs en het zijn songs die vaak een tijdloos karakter hebben.
 
De songs van Jodymoon zijn uiterst ingetogen, maar desondanks valt All Is Waiting op door de prachtige instrumentatie. Deze is vaak uiterst subtiel, maar valt ook op door prachtige accenten van met name strijkers.
 
Ook als Jodymoon alleen een piano inzet voor de instrumentatie van haar songs klinkt de muziek van het tweetal vol, wat alles heeft te maken met de prachtige stem van zangeres Digna Jansen. In een van mijn eerdere recensies riep ik haar al uit tot één van de beste zangeressen van Nederland en op All Is Waiting is Digna Jansen alleen maar mooier gaan zingen.
 
De prachtige instrumentatie en de uitstekende vocalen zijn twee hele sterke wapens van Jodymoon, maar het Nederlandse duo heeft nog veel meer te bieden. Zoals eerder aangegeven hebben de songs van Jodymoon een tijdloos karakter, waardoor ze relatief makkelijk overtuigen.
 
Op hetzelfde moment komen de songs van Jodymoon pas echt tot hun recht wanneer je ze wat vaker hebt gehoord. Mede daarom heb ik All Is Waiting misschien net wat langer laten liggen dan echt nodig was. Het is mijn waardering voor de nieuwe plaat van Jodymoon alleen maar ten goede gekomen. All Is Waiting overtuigde me weliswaar direct bij eerste beluistering, maar inmiddels is het een plaat die ik koester, net als ik de voorgangers van de plaat koester.
 
De songs van Jodymoon op All Is Waiting zijn niet alleen wonderschoon, maar zitten ook knap in elkaar en zijn in staat om de luisteraar te betoveren en te raken. Bij de eerste keer horen heb je het idee dat je de plaat van Jodymoon al jaren kent; na een paar keer horen heb je het idee dat je al jaren van de plaat houdt en doet de plaat ook echt wat met je.
 
14 tracks lang houdt All Is Waiting van Jodymoon je op het puntje van de stoel; 14 tracks lang verleidt Jodymoon meedogenloos met popmuziek van het allerhoogste niveau. Hoogste tijd dus om deze band te omarmen als het beste dat Nederland op muziekgebied momenteel te bieden heeft. In DWDD dus en snel.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier luisteren naar 'The Long Way Around':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_H50FBMAGk

of kopen op Bol.com

 

Love Songs For Robots. Patrick Watson

Not so long ago I visited Geneva for a conference, walking the streets from my hotel, over the outer bridge at the end of the lake, defying the strong winds blowing into town over Lac Léman, so hard that the famous Jet d'Eau was either switched off or had broken down. During these daily walks I had a new album on, that I hadn't heard before, by an artist that I had never particularly liked before: Patrick Watson. Everytime the album was finished I clicked it on again, at least four times in a row and ... on coming back home I sort of forgot about the experience. As if what happened in Geneva had to stay in Geneva. It's time to make amends.

How incredibly aptly Love Songs For Robots is titled from a the sign of times point of view. Robotification is a word that pops up more and more recently. Doomsday scenarios as well as dreams of all the work one can do if only the car drove itself, the vacuum cleaner attends to the chores, etc. If the latter scenario plays out we may all be singing love songs for robots soon. If it's the former we'll be forced to sing them to them as if they are Kim Yong-un or any other dictator yearning for love. Or simply sing 'This Is Not a Love Song' or 'I'm Writing You a Hate Song'.

Patrick Watson has made love songs that may be loved by robots. His songs seem to distance themselves from true emotions. They are of a fleeting kind as if robots wrote them and emulate love as they are programmed to understand this emotion/state of mind. Somewhere true warmth was replaced by a synthetic version. It's warm, but I am certainly missing something, but are fascinated, utterly fascinated by Love Songs For Robots. Watson comes close to the atmosphere that Sophie Hunger created on her last album 'Supermoon'. With the difference in the warmth. Alt-J is moving around also, in his high voiced singing and the synthetic elements in his songs. Again, I'm fascinated. The emotions hide in the layers somewhere in between and in some moments it all just spurts out. Like in 'Bollywood'!

Listening to Love Songs For Robots again, I'm getting more and more convinced that this is an album to have on vinyl. The sort of total musical experience. Somehow when I have a record on vinyl I take my time to listen and truly immerse myself in music. Playing it louder and let myself be wrapped up in it. Just like a long time ago.

Patrick Watson caught a 10s virus of some kind as I'm hearing music that I simply can't remember him making before. When I'm fair I add that I can't remember myself listening to this sort of music before 2014, before I bought the last Alt-J album this winter on a whim and got totally caught up in it, playing it every night for weeks. Enters Geneva in May.

Let's take 'Good Morning Mr. Wolf' as an example. There is this very mystical layer underneath everything. A beautiful main melody on a guitar with some effect or other on it. Patrick Watson singing high. There are (synthetic?) strings, a piano and it just doesn't get more beautiful than that. 'Good Morning Mr. Wolf' is all atmosphere, while on top of that or up, over or through it, these beautiful melodies are woven, while in essence nothing spectacular seems to be going on. So what is it that makes me so attracted to this song? It has to do with the mystery, but that just doesn't tell the story. Who cares about mystery in a song, if it isn't good? No one, right? I just can't provide an answer here.

To try and start an explanation I start with the mix of the synthetic mystery mixed with the acoustic instruments. This happens in a total organic way. You can find this in 'Heart', where the acoustic guitar plays over the synthetic, atmospheric stuff. At the same time the rhythm is played with by the band, changing the mood of 'Heart' the whole time. Creating something that could be called prog rock if it were not that the music has nothing to do with it. Arcade Fire comes closer here, especially when the high female voice sets in near the end. Oh, yes, I'm intrigued.

Comes in 'Grace'. Blur anyone? The sound comes close to what Blur does on its new album, 'The Magic Whip'. The albums were released close together, so that is a coincidence, but there's Blur spelled all over 'Grace'. It has this relaxed mood, but also holds some weird, almost psychedelic outings on guitars with effects. Another nice song, with estranging elements.

Love Songs For Robots continues in this way and never gives my ears the chance to escape for one minute. I'm intrigued, fascinated and totally happy with this album from an artist that I never heard much in to date, no matter how much Hans, formally from the Q-Bus raved on about Patrick Watson seven or so years ago. For all I know, he even had him on stage in Q-Bus, Leiden at the time. Without me that was.

Song on Love Songs For Robots may become even a little jazzy or Beatlely, that mystic something in the background is never far away, pulling me in, all the way, until there's no return.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Places You Will Go' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCw3Hbbg5hA

or buy at Bol.com

Ways and Needs of a Night Horse. Point Quiet

In de categorie minder bekend talent in het rootssegment zoek ik het deze week heel dicht bij huis. Point Quiet is een Nederlandse band, maar klinkt op haar nieuwe plaat eigenlijk geen noot Nederlands.
 
Op Ways And Needs Of A Night Horse sleept de band je de woestijnen van het Zuiden van de Verenigde Staten in, zoals tot voor kort alleen bands uit de muziek scene van Tucson, Arizona, dat konden.
 
In de openingstrack en titeltrack van Ways And Needs Of A Night Horse verrast Point Quiet met donkere en intieme klanken die via uiteenlopende instrumenten associaties oproepen met donkere Americana, Tex Mex en Mexicaanse muziek en dan zijn er ook nog eens de strijkers die Ways And Needs Of A Night Horse een weer net wat andere kant op sleuren.
 
Het is een buitengewoon indrukwekkende openingstrack van een plaat die vervolgens maar blijft imponeren. Point Quiet maakt donkere en bijna verstilde muziek die vooral leunt op mooie, donkere vocalen, maar kleurt deze muziek vervolgens op bijzonder fraaie wijze in. Point Quiet gebruikt hiervoor strijkers en blazers, maar zet ook veelvuldig de pedal steel, mandoline en accordeon in. Het doet allemaal wel wat denken aan het veelkleurige geluid van Calexico, maar Point Quiet klinkt toch net wat anders en wanneer hebben we Calexico voor het laatst zo goed gehoord als Point Quiet op Ways And Needs Of A Night Horse? Dat is behoorlijk lang geleden als je het mij vraagt.
 
Net als stadgenoten Smutfish slaagt Point Quiet er in om Amerikaanse rootsmuziek te maken die compleet is ontdaan van Nederlandse spruitjesgeur, maar toch maakt het wel degelijk Amerikaanse rootsmuziek met een eigen gezicht. Het is muziek die haar kracht voor een belangrijk deel ontleend aan de prachtige instrumentatie, maar ook de zang op de plaat is van een bijzonder hoog niveau.
 
Zanger Pascal Hallibert, die naast Haagse overigens ook Franse roots heeft, klinkt meer dan eens als Chris Rea en dat is een groot compliment. Door de mooie en warme vocalen kan Point Quiet met enige regelmaat ontsnappen aan de Americana Noir die het maakt en begeeft het zich zo nu en dan op het terrein van een band als Tindersticks. Hiernaast vindt de band zoals gezegd aansluiting bij bands als Calexico en Giant Sand en doet het wat mij betreft niet onder voor deze bands.
 
De zich over het algemeen langzaam voortslepende songs op Ways And Needs Of A Night Horse klinken steeds net weer iets anders en zijn zonder uitzondering wonderschoon. Het zijn songs die zich in de meeste gevallen langzaam opdringen, maar als de muziek van Point Quiet onder je huid kruipt is de impact ook maximaal.
 
Een beetje bijzonder is het natuurlijk wel. Twee van de beste zwaar Amerikaans klinkende rootsplaten van het moment komen gewoon uit Den Haag. Het zal er voor zorgen dat beide platen in rootskringen niet zo breed omarmd worden als ze verdienen, maar ze zijn er niet minder mooi om. Trouble van Smutfish beschouw ik inmiddels al meerdere weken als één van de beste rootsplaten van het moment, maar Ways And Needs Of A Night Horse van Point Quiet mag er absoluut naast staan. Prachtplaat.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier luisteren naar 'Ways and Needs of a Night Horse':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdLo0yUXH4k

of kopen bij Bol.com

At Home. Shocking Blue

Another Dutch band in the series on albums from 1968-69. Bands that I knew the singles of at the time, but albums were an unknown phenomenon to me. And if I ever ran into one at the time, they were mostly boring, because I didn't know the songs. For over a year I'm changing that, so after The Cats, Tee Set, it's time for Shocking Blue. Internationally you can find acts like Barry Ryan, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Donovan.

Shocking Blue was an extremely famous band, to me, early in 1969. What did I know that 'Send Me a Postcard' was the band's second (charting) single and the first with the incredibly sexy Mariska Veres? That was followed by the equally exciting single 'Long and Lonesome Road' that was followed by the at the time to my ears a bit disappointing 'Venus'. That single did not hold the excitement of the other two singles. Of course 'Venus' is the song that made Robbie van Leeuwen a multi-millionaire. One of the classic rock/pop songs of the era.

Robbie van Leeuwen already had a lot of hit singles to his name with The Motions. He left the band in 1967 to start Shocking Blue. The band scored a hit in the fall of 1968 with 'Lucy Brown is Back in Town'. It wasn't until Mariska Veres joined Van Leeuwen, Klaasje van der Wal (bass) and Cor van Beek (drums) that the band really went somewhere. At Home is the first album of the band with Veres and contains the second two singles. The Nirvana cover 'Love Buzz' stems from At Home as well. I found out that the singles were added later to the cd version of the album.

The first thing I notice with my 2015 ears is the "hippie" influence. A sitar is droning away here and there, but it goes beyond just that. It is a part of Shocking Blue's music and no longer an experiment, like with The Beatles and The Stones in 1967. Something glued on top or plain experimental. Jefferson Airplane is all around. A band that hadn't charted in NL yet in 1969. That would have to wait for another year. The guitar lines of Jorma Kaukonen can be found by those who know on At Home. The Marty Balin/Grace Slick vocals are there, but definitely less prominent.

Strangely enough several of the songs sound somewhat familiar to me, while I'm fairly certain that I have never heard At Home as such before. Putting that aside, what I also think to hear is the excitement that this album must have caused in 1969. Shocking Blue is good and it is no surprise that many people recognised this in several countries. In fact it would never be this good again. With the exception of 'Never Marry a Railroad Man' the band would never reach this level of quality and popularity again.

The album starts with the modestly rocking 'Boll Weevil', one of the songs I seem to know. I faintly start to remember that I must once have owned a cassette tape. A long, long time ago. 'Boll Weevil' starts out as an instrumental. A kind of pop song with fast chord changes, creating a riff. The U.S. influence is totally obvious. Shocking Blue rocks out in a Chuck Berry kind of way. The song holds an organ and a piano, but I can't find anywhere who plays the instruments. So, if anybody knows, let us know. For a band without a keyboard player, there are loads of keys on this album. Even with more than distinctive parts.

The most surprising thing I noticed when reading up on the album, is that I had never heard the similarity between 'Oh, Susannah' and 'Venus'. Now I had never heard The Big 3's version called 'The Banjo Song' before, but the way the central riff is there and even the "aah aah aah aah" part, it becomes near embarrassing. Tim Rose was a very unlucky man. (That Mama Cass sang in the same The Big 3 was also a surprise.) When all is said and done, like Rose made an existing song into something new, Van Leeuwen in the end did also. It must have been "The Godness on a mountaintop". And who was first 'Pinball Wizard' or 'Venus' with the intro? Robbie van Leeuwen seems to be an attentive listener, who can then create something uniquely his.

At Home holds more great songs though. 'Love Machine' is a rocking song. 'California Here I Come' is good. The Kaukonen connection is strongest here. The solo is totally Jorma. 'Love Buzz' is almost troubling in the mood it sets. 'I'm a woman' determined the first part of the career of that other Dutch band with a stunning front lady at the time, that broke late in 1969 with 'Seasons': Earth & Fire. 'I'm a woman' is a curious mix of an Indian sound and a brooding rock song. Veres' performance is strong here. She really is fronting Shocking Blue here. I can't tell what she was capable of live at the time. On album it seems as if she'd done nothing else before At Home than front a band and record songs.

In the end it really doesn't matter that her/the English is not exactly perfect. There's a hint of an accent and some parts of the lyrics are not really English. The melody and the performance take care of that. Shocking Blue was a stunning band at the time and had the looks of Mariska Veres. Where to start telling that I thought her so pretty when I was a kid, discovering looks and girls as something really different from boys. It may be in hindsight that Shocking Blue was not so original, but compensated that fact with all else.

And then 'Long and Lonesome Road' comes by again. Boy, do I love this song. I still think it so much better than 'Venus'. It rocks, it has this distorted guitar, Mariska Veres's singing like there's no tomorrow and this warm organ. 46 years down the road it is still probably the song I like best by Shocking Blue.

Summing up, 'At Home' is so much better than I ever expected. It seems like I had a copy once, that certainly had another name, without the two singles on it. Shocking Blue captured its sound in an aggressive, but great way. At Home is a monument of Dutch 60s pop/rock music.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Long and Lonesome Road' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d88iwmIpVUg

or buy at Bol.com

Run, Lucifer. Adna

Adna (Kadic) is een piepjonge Zweedse singer-songwriter en van piepjonge Zweedse singer-songwriters verwacht je in dit jaargetijde aardedonkere platen vol weemoed.
 
Dat is ook precies wat je krijgt bij beluistering van Run, Lucifer. Met de Zweedse winter heeft dat overigens weinig of zelfs helemaal niets te maken, want Adna nam haar tweede plaat (haar debuut heb ik vorig jaar ten onrechte over het hoofd gezien) op in het hippe Berlijn, dat ze vorig jaar koos als haar nieuwe thuisbasis.
 
Run, Lucifer staat vol met mooie en eigenzinnige popliedjes. Het zijn popliedjes die over het algemeen worden gedragen door vol klinkend pianospel of mooie gitaarloopjes en hiernaast de bijzonder klinkende stem van Adna, die vaak in meerdere lagen lijkt opgenomen.
 
In de meest intieme songs op Run, Lucifer roept Adna associaties op met de Oostenrijkse singer-songwriter Anja Plaschg, die als Soap & Skin twee gitzwarte maar ook wonderschone platen uitbracht (de derde komt er aan).
 
Over het algemeen genomen pakt Adna echter wat meer uit in haar muziek. Het fraaie pianospel wordt vaak omgeven door subtiel tot zwaar aangezette elektronica. Die elektronica kan meerdere kanten op schieten. In een aantal wat meer atmosferische tracks raakt Adna aan de muziek van de Cocteau Twins, terwijl een aantal wat dromerige songs klinken als een avontuurlijke versie van Enya. Hiernaast flirt de Zweedse singer-songwriter een paar keer voorzichtig met grootse elektropop en stevige ritmes, maar haar meeste songs zijn toch behoorlijk ingetogen en intiem.
 
Adna beschikt over een bijzonder stemgeluid, dat heel af en toe aan dat van Sinead O’Connor doet denken en qua intensiteit iets heeft van Laura Marling, maar meestal toch als uniek kan worden omschreven. Het is een stem die uitstekend gedijt in de stemmige, donkere maar ook volle instrumentatie van Run, Lucifer en het is bovendien een stem die iets met je doet.
 
Wat voor de stem van Adna geldt, geldt in nog veel sterkere mate voor haar songs. Ik vond Run, Lucifer direct bij eerste beluistering een mooie en bij vlagen indrukwekkende plaat, maar wanneer je de tweede plaat van Adna wat vaker hoort, krijgen de songs op haar plaat meer kleur, meer diepgang en wat bezwerends en blijken het bovendien songs die nog lange tijd beter worden of knapper in elkaar steken dan je bij eerste beluistering zult vermoeden.
 
Een paar weken geleden had ik Run, Lucifer van Adna waarschijnlijk nog aangeprezen als een mooie plaat van een Scandinavische ijsprinses, maar inmiddels vind ik de nieuwe plaat van Adna toch veel meer dan dat.
 
Run, Lucifer is een intieme en indringende plaat. De intimiteit komt waarschijnlijk deels voort uit het feit dat Adna de plaat opnam in haar eigen slaapkamer, terwijl de impact van haar songs vooral kan worden verklaard door de intensiteit van de instrumentatie en de vocalen van Adna.
 
Run, Lucifer is uiteindelijk een plaat die steeds meer geheimen prijs geeft en gedurende dit proces maar blijft groeien. Run, Lucifer bevat in bijna een half uur negen popliedjes en het zijn 9 popliedjes om te koesteren. Oordeel vooral niet te snel, want Adna zet je makkelijk op het verkeerde been. De ware betovering komt pas later, maar wil je niet missen.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier luisteren naar 'Lonesome':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thwD98Vz5sU

of kopen op Bol.com

Miles At Monterey. I Drove A Tank

Today we publish on the two new single releases from Antwerp based label I Havve A Tiger Records. The second review is on I Drove A Tank's new single.

2014 came with a nice surprise from Belgium in the form of that nice cd by I Drove A Tank. If you like to refresh your memory click here: http://wonomagazine.blogspot.nl/2014/04/i-drove-tank-i-drove-tank.html. So many viewers liked the cd (or my review of course) that it easily made the top 10 of best read posts of that year.

Now the band is back with a first single announcing a new EP that is to be released in the fall of 2015. The somewhat loosely played pop with influences from The Kinks onwards in time has disappeared. Instead I Drove A Tank presents us some loosely played, much more noisy and muddy rock song that has 60s and 90s spelled out all over it. The fun thing is that this 60s storm called Miles At Monterey easily gives away the quality of song and band, no matter the amount of mud one has to wade through.

I Drove A Tank celebrates listening to a Miles Davis record (or cd or something even more modern of course). It was a dark, grey and wet day, a day to immerse oneself into music. With rain currently falling down and the temperature dropping fast, I can reciprocate the action easily and immerse myself into the intricacies of this song with the title of another record.

The music certainly is rock. The intro could have been by any band of the likes of Jet or The Vines, just to name some Australian examples. It's solid, rocks out and heavier than I remember I Drove A Tank to be. The rest of the song is more experimental, with a muddied, psychedelic sound. Instruments fly in from all corners, so there's something to discover the whole of the way.

The outro does right to the spirit of Miles. After the tight instrumental middle section, which easily could have been the end, the band lets it rip. Guitars all over the place, playing off and against each other, they hurtle out of control towards an imaginary finishline. Down a steep mountain path with endless depths on both sides, unable to stop. Loose boulders and potholes in need of avoiding at neck-breaking speed. Yes, I like this new song by I Drove A Tank. It's a little experimental without forgetting the basis: the song and is exciting. I can't wait for the new EP to be released.

Wo.

You can listen to Miles At Monterey here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_mcrecIcEg&feature=youtu.be

Bags. The LVE

Today two new single releases on the I have A Tiger label from Antwerp. First The LVE.

The LVE? Wasn't this band called Lightning Vishwa Experience? Yes, but with the debut album in sight it decided to shorten up. The LVE is what we have to make do with at this point in time. Last year I raved about that beautiful single 'Love When You Don't Want It' (read here: http://wonomagazine.blogspot.nl/2014/08/love-when-you-dont-want-it-lighting.html). A song so beautiful that it is most likely impossible The LVE will ever up it. .No heard it for the first time and decided to broadcast it in his 'Kairos' radio show on Concertzender. A band could stop work just because it made one flawless song. The LVE continued its work, as bands must and do, so here we go.

Bags is the first single from an album that will be released soon. As I expected Bags is no new 'Love When You Don't Want It'. In part that is simply luckily so. It gives me something new to set my teeth in. Bags holds an atmosphere of its own and is able to conquer me by the spin. The song reminds me a little of 'Dignity' by Deacon Blue. Another song that caught me unaware at a festival in The Hague in 1987(?). Bags captures that sad moment when a relationship breaks for ever: the moment everything is packed, just before the door closes for the final time. The LVE catches that moment in a beautiful but sad way. I'm only two songs into the band's repertoire but these two songs capture a defining moment, that point in time when a life changes for good, in a way that speaks in volumes to those who listen. A moment where at some point in our lives we have all been in our own way. In other words The LVE is special.

Gerrit, Sara, Rienk, Bert, Joes and Thomas are on to something here that make me look forward to the album. Still a few months to go. I'd be surprised if this album does not turn up on these pages.

Wo.

You can listen to Bags here:

https://youtu.be/ENOkr-l3m5s

The Subways. The Subways

Somewhere in the previous decade there was this band from England that caught my attention and especially the opening song, 'I Want to Hear What You Have Got to Say', from the band's first album. After that The Subways and I parted ways. The follow up albums didn't agree with me in some way and I forgot all but about the band, except for that one song that every once in a while comes by on this old mix tape (yes, tape!) in the car. Strangely enough a few months ago I wondered whether The Subways had ever made a new album in the past five years or so. Coincidences don't exist, as I found out that there was a new album called The Subways. And yes, I like it.

At first and second listening that's not so strange. The Subways do a Blood Red Shoes on their new album. The Subways has pace, it rocks and presents all the right melodies within songs. Boy-girl vocals all over the place. The singing is much more a mixed affair than I remember from 2005. It gives the songs on The Subways the right kind of variety. On top of all this the band manages to play with the rhythm within the different songs. No matter how hard the band rocks out, like in 'Dirty Mighty Paws', loud riffing all over the place, a tempo shift clears the sky and opens up the song in a beautiful way. These sort of changes The Subways manages to weave through their music, making The Subways an impressive level of proficiency.

The Subways is Billy Lunn, guitar and vocals, Charlotte Cooper, bass and vocals and Josh Morgan, drums. The trio started out as a grunge cover band, but wound up as a Britpop, punkrock band. Loud with a lot of pleasant melodies, with a modest amount of anger infused into the songs. 'Young For eternity' was released in 2005. The Subways is the band's fourth album. It appears I haven't missed an album anyway.

The Subways is certainly the band's best album since its debut. Being a trio there's a lot of sound to fill. Josh Morgan is the kind of drummer to do just that. He is all over the place. His drumpatterns are not only busy, but inventive as well as varied. A lot is going on. There are not many records on which my attention is on drums as much as this one. Josh Morgan lays a foundation that is utterly fascinating. He not only sets the pace but also makes the mood tense or loose. A rare feat for a drummer.

Charlotte Cooper plays the Laura-Mary Carter role full of confidence and conviction. She even has the same intonation and all. The large difference is the number of snares on her guitar. Her background vocals and oohs and aahs makes The Subways grow close to the level that is reached on the album 'Blood Red Shoes'.

Billy Lunn, who is Josh's brother William Morgan, lets his guitars fill all that is left over. Large riffs, heavy sounding rhythms and lead playing in the placed where it's needed. Often more than one guitar is played, creating a layer of guitars that fill the sound.

Over this all the singing takes place. Lunn's voice seems too light for the music The Subways plays, but it really fits. Even in the darkest passages, where Lunn is more screaming than singing, like in 'Black Letter', he easily gets away with it. The harmonies top it all off, making The Subways and extremely pleasant album,  despite its heavy sound. Strangely enough the only song the band puts the brakes on, 'Because of You (Negative Love)', is the song that I have some difficulty with. Acoustic guitars and a piano, the song doesn't fit in it seems.

For me it's clear. Give me the volume, the guitars, the drumming, the singing. The whole way. The name Blood Red Shoes falls an awful lot in this review. That may be seen as something negative, but in this cases it most certainly is not. The Subways have made an album that is just good. There's nothing left to say.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Taking All the Blame' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD0YZsvFin0

or buy at Bol.com

The Embers of Time. Josh Rouse

Het is een opvallend oeuvre dat de Amerikaanse muzikant Josh Rouse inmiddels op zijn naam heeft staan en het is helaas ook een oeuvre dat door veel te weinig muziekliefhebbers op de juiste waarde wordt geschat.
 
Dat heeft deels te maken met de grilligheid van de carrière van Josh Rouse. Josh Rouse debuteerde aan het eind van de jaren 90 en maakte, mede door de zeer positieve recensies in Britse muziektijdschriften als Mojo en Uncut, direct in kleine kring naam als rootsmuzikant.
 
Nadat Josh Rouse zichzelf op de kaart had gezet met het bijzonder fraaie Under Cold Blue Stars, koos hij op het 2003 verschenen 1972 echter voor een andere weg en eerde de Amerikaan op bijzonder aangename en fraaie wijze de radiovriendelijke popmuziek en singer-songwriter muziek uit de vroege jaren 70. Het is een lijn die Josh Rouse sindsdien heeft doorgetrokken.
 
Dit kwam het best uit de verf op het in 2005 verschenen Nashville (laat je niet misleiden door de titel), dat wat mij betreft de beste plaat van Josh Rouse tot dusver is. Na de release van Nashville volgde Josh Rouse zijn hart en bracht de liefde hem naar Spanje. Josh Rouse bleef goede platen vol memorabele popliedjes maken, maar op een of andere manier trokken zijn platen sinds zijn verhuizing naar Spanje minder aandacht. Het zal niet aan de subtiele toevoegingen uit de Spaanse muziek hebben gelegen.
 
De afgelopen jaren stak Josh Rouse in een net wat minder goede vorm, wat platen opleverde die net wat minder memorabel waren dan de genoemde platen en de eerste platen die Josh Rouse vanuit Spanje maakte. Op The Embers Of Time heeft Josh Rouse zijn oude vorm gelukkig weer gevonden.
 
Het is een wat sombere plaat geworden vol songs over verlies, relatieproblemen en psychische problemen, wat kennelijk een betere voedingsbodem is voor goede muziek dan de Spaanse zon of een roze bril.
 
Josh Rouse woont nog altijd in Valencia, maar nam The Embers Of Time ook gedeeltelijk in Nashville op. Josh Rouse werkte dit keer met producer Brad Jones, die al eerder aanschoof voor zijn platen en hiernaast mooie dingen deed voor onder andere Tim Easton, Chuck Prophet en Over The Rhine. Het is een combinatie die heeft gewerkt, want The Embers Of Time is een plaat die goed is voor een brede glimlach.
 
Ook op zijn nieuwe plaat maakt Josh Rouse muziek die is geworteld in de jaren 70. Denk aan Paul McCartney, denk aan Harry Nilsson en denk ook zeker aan Paul Simon, met wie ik in vocaal opzicht de meeste overeenkomsten hoor. Hiernaast hoor ik ook raakvlakken met Bob Dylan, Nick Drake en zelfs Lou Reed. Het zegt iets over de inspiratiebronnen van Josh Rouse, maar het zegt ook iets over zijn veelzijdigheid.
 
Net als bijvoorbeeld Ron Sexsmith beschikt Josh Rouse over het vermogen om songs te schrijven die direct bij de eerste keer horen memorabel zijn. Het zijn popliedjes die buitengewoon lekker in het gehoor liggen, maar het zijn ook popliedjes met diepgang. Deze diepgang komt deels uit de teksten waarin de heftige thema’s niet uit de weg worden gegaan, maar ook de continue maar ook subtiele flirts van Josh Rouse met Amerikaanse rootsmuziek dragen nadrukkelijk bij aan een geluid dat net wat anders is dan dat van de meeste andere singer-songwriters in dit segment.
 
Het was even geleden dat ik direct bij eerste beluistering verliefd was op een plaat van Josh Rouse, maar met The Embers Of Time heeft hij het weer geflikt. Prachtplaat. Punt.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier luisteren naar 'Some Days I'm Golden All Night ':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XseJZc1cZ4

of kopen op Bol.com