7 singles

Once again Wo. takes a look, well listen actually, at recently released singles and comes up with a special mix of folk, dreamy songs, rock and roll and what not. Enjoy this interesting musical journey.

Nieuw Raam. broeder Dieleman
De tweede single van het nieuwe album van broeder Dieleman is een serieuze affaire, natuurlijk gezongen in zijn eigen Zeeuwse dialect. De viool speelt stemmige solo noten. De band beperkt zich tot het meest elementaire. Een droge bas van Peter Slager en functionele, sobere drums van Leo Fabriek en een eindeloos geplukte gitaar. Een enkele, ferme tik op de snare drum is al heel wat in dit geval.

broeder Dieleman mag dan een nieuw raam hebben, het is niet dat hij er een serieus feest omheen wenst te bouwen. Hij kijkt het allemaal eens rustig aan en "geeft het alle tiet". Melancholiek kijkt hij uit de verse, nieuwe ruit en aanschouwt de wereld alsof hij het niet direct vertrouwt wat hij er allemaal door heen ziet. Eerst maar eens gewoon doen en dan zien we verder. De nuchterheid van de vlakke polder en de wind die daar altijd overheen jaagt.

Nieuw Raam is een prachtig, klein, melancholisch lied en exemplarisch voor de muzikale weg die broeder Dieleman is ingeslagen. Iets wat zich al aankondigde op plaat 1 van 'Komma', maar hier wordt doorgetrokken. Nog één week, dan komt 'Liefde Is De Eerste Wet' uit. Dan wordt 'de sex terug gezet in de knipkunst' om broeder Dieleman te citeren.

Angela. The Kik
Luisteraars van Radio 2 weten inmiddels alles over Angela, de nieuwe single van The Kik. De plaat is wat in mijn jeugd de Alarmschijf heette. Tegenwoordig heeft iedere zender zijn eigen tip van de week, het tipschap nogal devaluerend.

'Jin' is al enige tijd uit, maar Angela is zo leuk dat wat extra aandacht zeker verdiend is. Angela is misschien wel de meest ondeugende The Kik song tot op heden. De 'Stacy's Mum' van The Kik. Niet dat het een groot onderwerp van gesprek was, voor zover ik me kon herinneren, maar alle jongens hadden het toch wel een keer over die knappe lerares in mijn jeugd, dus misschien droomden ze ook wel van die knappe buurvrouw of vriendin van je moeder. Wie zal het zeggen?

Dave von Raven bezingt de moeder van een vriendje in haar volle voormalige glorie. Deze Angela lijkt de perfecte vrouw voor de puber Dave. Tegelijkertijd is het nummer ook een voorbeeld van de nieuwe sound van The Kik. De jaren 60 liggen duidelijk achter de band. Niet waar het de melodie van de zang betreft, perfecte pop blijft het doel. De oude synthersizer die klinkt door het nummer is weliswaar dezelfde als in bijvoorbeeld 'Runaway', in de beat tijd was die niet of nauwelijks te vinden. De gitaren zijn ook zwaarder aangezet om samen uit te komen op een bijzonder fraai popliedje.

Hoeveel de Radio 2 topsong nog voorstelt, weet ik niet. Hiet is in ieder geval fijn om te zijn, lijkt me gezien de week lange, gegarandeerde aandacht, maar bovendien behoorlijk terecht.

Truth Or Dare. Fridolijn
The second new release in five years time by Fridolijn is an extremely dreamy song. Her voice hovers softly over the song that is part acoustic guitar, part atmospherics and part an extremely unique sort of percussion. Musically Truth Or Dare has reference to the U.K. folk of the late sixties. This has to do with the dreamy way of singing. The electronics underneath the dreamy part of the song were unimaginable 50 years ago. The mellotron was far from that subtle.

In a way the electronics derail the song in subtle ways. It gives pause to the song, and force the listener to pay more attention to what is really going on beneath the surface. Not all is dreamy pink here. Just going with the flow of the front part is not enough. Fridolijn has put more effort into Truth Or Dare than just a beautiful melody. It is these finer details that give the song its extra's. Whether in the mysterious rhythm, the way the synths come to the fore to drop away quite suddenly or the angelic harmonies, it all adds up to an extremely beautiful song.

False Prophet. Bob Dylan
Can we call the pre-album released songs nowadays singles or are they just a promotional release? Bob Dylan releases a third song and announces a new album 'Rough And Rowdy Ways'. False Prophet again is a different song. Dylan croaks his way through the lyrics. Let's face it, there's not much left of his voice, but that is what it is. Again he sings titles from other songs. I recognise 'Hello Mary Lou' straightaway at the beginning.

Dirty sounding guitars play in a accidented rhythm. The song holds back the whole time, allowing Dylan to sing-song his lyrics. "I ain't a false prophet. I just said what I said", is the central message of False Prophet. Lyrically he acquits himself once and for all from whatever people wanted him to be and is not. He just "said what he said". It is up to others to discern the value and meaning. A truth that is not, necessarily, his.

The music reminds me a little of New Orleans Mardi Grass music. The marching band is totally missing. The step for step rhythm certainly is not. I see a James Bond movie scene, from whatever older, probably Sean Connery, in my mind's eye. The passing marching/funeral band and the abduction, all in one swift go.

Musically the sound comes close to 1972 the Rolling Stones songs, except they certainly made the songs on 'Exile On Main Street' a lot more exciting. Dylan has a message to convey and the music, again, is complementary, but certainly worked out in detail. The guitars play elementary notes and chords, yet intricately together. That takes work and not improvisation. So another Dylan song, I can't say one of his best, but it does sound inspired. Let's see what the near future brings.

Little Mine. The Dirty Truckers
If I remember correctly, The Dirty Truckers were my introduction to Rum Bar Records. A compilation album I received in a packet of several albums sent to me about two years ago. The beginning of a great relationship with the Boston label specialising in powerpop-rock'n'roll-garagerock of old, made by bands in the here and now. But all with a great longing for times long gone.

The Dirty Truckers is no exception. The band rocks out in a dirty sweet way reminiscent of the band with that name from San Diego active in the mid 00s, but of course much more with the music made in the mid 70s. Much more melodic than The Faces ever were and just this little rougher than The Outlaws on its first album. That part is probably the influence of bands people talked about that I missed out on in the 80s like The Replacements or some such. U.S. underground rock music op the 80s remains something of a mystery to me.

Not The Dirty Truckers. Washed or not, this band just rocks away. This is fun, a little dirty without drawing outside of the board. The guitars are rough in a nice kind of way. Little melodies and short burst of solo's fly around in the 3 minutes and 2 seconds the song last. Add up the nice harmony singing and another near perfect rock songs is released by Rum Bar. The standard in rock on this label is so steadily high that it is in fear of being taken for granted instead of being seen as exceptional. Not the exception it is. What a luxury to be basking in.

Little Daggers. Jay Allen & the Archcriminals

The proof of this statement is delivered straight away. Little Daggers is a totally different song. More punky and garagey. A The Stranglers organ fills in part of the song. (Dave Greenfield of The Stranglers passed away this month and is commemorated on this blog.) It gives the song a little extra.

It would be very easy to put Jay Allen and his band away as just copycats of the late 70s punk. Elvis Costello, The Stranglers, Joe Jackson, the pre-'So Lonely' The Police, let's say the more clever side of U.K. punkrock, all leave their traces in Little Daggers. There's no denying here. But let's face up to the facts, and I'm not nervous but relaxed, Little Daggers is done so well. Just over 40 years ago this would have been a huge hit, because the song holds up easily with 'Watching The Detectives', 'Fall Out', or 'On My Radio'. It is on par with those songs.

A dose of energy is always welcome and Jay Allen c.s. deliver the jolt with obvious glee. Little Daggers is the kind of song I want to hear when I am in need of a little extra energy. "I'm alive", alright. For the band members that could be a different thing though. Death by bass guitar. What about a title for a new song, gentlemen?

I'm A Dreamer. Josephine Foster
A rush release this single seems to be as the song gained popularity by airplay in a television series. The song from the same titled album from 2013 featured in the series 'End Of The F**cking World'. I haven't watched it (yet?). Josephine Foster is not the obvious choice for background music. Her voice is, to make a nice comment, wobbly, at best. Not something I like to listen to every day.

I'm A Dreamer' is a softly brushed song. The piano has the biggest voice with large, Abba like chord playing, in an almost bare song. A harmonica comes in for some finishing touches. It also ends this totally unpretentious song. Soft, modest, barely noticeable even. Except for the distinctive voice of Josephine Foster. That may take some getting used to for some people. It is worth it though. The harmonica conjures up Neil Young in his most country mode. The contrast between the emptiness and the large piano is a well found way to make this song special. The melody that has pre-1960s qualities is interesting in its own right. So all in all, I start to understand the choice of the series people a lot better having invested in I'm A Dreamer beyond the first listen.

Wo.


or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g