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Scarlet. The Rolling Stones
'Goat's Head Soup' is getting the royal treatment in 2020. Universally seen as the first Stones album after the big four. I beg to differ and change that to the big five, as 'Get-Yer-Ya-Ya's Out' remains the band's best live album to date. The re-release comes with three outtakes that get their first official release in 2020. 'Criss Cross' was discussed on these pages before the summer holidays. And now Scarlet.
Scarlet features Jimmy Page, which already makes it a unique single. The Stones often had support troupes, e.g. on organ, piano, horns and such, but never on a level like this. The guitarist from another one of the great 70s bands. Perhaps that is a reason for not releasing the song or was it simply not good enough?
Listening to Scarlet it is more than welcome. It is a bit ramshackle and a bit dirty, like it was never really finished and still needed a brush or two here and there. That touch gives it a winning streak already as it works here. It also has a perfect Stones vibe, a laidback rock that makes it a fine song. If I compare it to 'Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)' but especially 'Dancing With Mister D.', I know which song is the winner and should have been on the album instead. Scarlet is the better song by far. I'm deliberately not comparing it to the slower songs as they are they play in another league. Scarlet is a fine addition to the Stones catalogue. So my guess is the presence of Jimmy Page was the reason for ditching Scarlet.
The one, two and four CD/LP release is in early September. I intend to take a listen with fairly fresh ears to the album and share my thoughts with you then.
If I have to believe my social media, Soft Fruit, the debut single of Amsterdam alternative rockers Global Charming must be number 1 around the globe by now. In reality the band at this point is probably just a little less obscure than a few weeks ago before Soft Fruit was released. With an album around the corner in October the band does give a nice introduction.
The song starts off ever so elementary. Almost as if it is 1980 and not 2020. The differences show immediately as the guitar melodies that interact are far too melodious to be 1980. Later a synth enters the whole as well. The mood though is as bleak as the main message of the song: "there's nothing inside". One source where Global Charming found its mustard is Gruppo Sportivo. Strip the pop layer of songs like 'Hey Girl' and 'Superman' and you can find something like Soft Fruit underneath. Vice versa it is not impossible to imagine a slightly more frivolous nature to Soft Fruit.
Another charm of the single is the way the band tries to hide how well it plays. It is all elementary and not many notes too much played. Yet it all intricately fits together. Neither are the notes played the most obvious to chose from. The result is a song I really want to listen to and get to know better. "I eat the fruit that has gone soft", sings the band. It is a nice metaphor for what happened when I started to listen to the song more often. I ate it alright. That album, 'Mediocre' is something to really look out for. The title can only produce a great smile.
Oliver Oat debuted on this blog last year with its album 'Juniper Resin'. This year brings a new single. It is not as easily digestible as the songs on the album. It starts out as a mix between The Bullfight and a contender for the new theme song of 'Peaky Blinders'. "There must be something burning in Birmingham", remember Little Heath's fires in the first seasons, instead of "... the hearts of man".
The accompanying video shows assorted footage from many decades ago. Early 60s and older is my guess. The music could never have been made then but still there are all sorts of hints implying influences from the pre-Beatles and even rock and roll eras. Especially when the change in the song comes I find myself listening to a Frank Sinatra like orchestra pulled through a digital hell (for Sinatra fans of old), just like the third part of the song is a 50s, early 60s musical sequence taken through the same process. The fourth sequence is more authentic, apart from the digital sounds underneath. The singing is straight from the 60s. Finally the 'Peaky Blinders' part returns.
In short, Hearts Of Man is not your everyday song but there's something in the song for everyone to discover. Even if you listen to it only once, you will be amazed.
Celeste. Saoirse Casey
Celeste is the first single from the first album of Saoirse Casey, 'Lunaria'. What can I write, except that this is a very pretty song in the delicate and soft style of Anna Tivel, e.g. 'The Lines and the Tide'. An acoustic guitar and a young woman's voice make up the largest part of the song. A story slowly unwinds over the repeated guitar patterns. There's some dynamics in the song making me think I've reached the end, twice, before it actually does. Celeste comes with a soft coloured video showing tranquillity and some estrangement. "I don't know how you sleep", asks Saoirse Casey in the song. When someone can write songs like this I would not worry too much about that. Whatever happened in her life, something beautiful came out of it.
Holiday. The Pull of AutumnHoliday was one of the few songs that were easy to sing along with as a 7, 8 year old that had not mastered more than a few English words at the time. "Pi pi pipi pi pi" was very manageable for me. The result was that the song is edged on my mind forever. More Bee Gees songs of the time were, as they were all over the charts, radio and tv for about two years.
This is not about Bee Gees but The Pull of Autumn, a band from the U.S'. north east coast. Together with Orange Cake Mix (James Rao) the band covered Holiday in an instantly recognisable way, yet changing the background firmly and deeply. Electronic sounds and notes fill in the second melody behind the vocals, where an acoustic guitar takes care of the rhythm. What remains is the sad mood belying the title of the song. This has nothing to do with a traditional holiday, but all about loss and grief. "You're a holiday", but the other person seems to disagree.
This Holiday is even more estranging than the original. Well done, in other words.
TOS2020. Re-MissionTOS is Tower of Strength, a famous song of The Mission in 1980s. Now re-recorded by everyone who meant something in the 80s in electronic and indie rock music in the 1980, just under the top bands. So go and discover if one of your faves is here. For a good cause and a push in the back for all health care workers working for and with Covid-19 patients.
The song still has the power of old, made more electronic because of the artists participating. Collaborations can be good and a bit messy, as everyone has to have a singing spot. Here it is not only the vocals but also the instruments as several artists get the chance to change elements of the song a little towards there instrument and that leads to towers of strength in the music as well. I never was a fan of The Mission, but this song in 2020 is indeed a tower gf strength. Perfect song, perfect execution and a mix of great elements.
Teenager's Heartbreak. Freddie DileviRum Bar Records releases another gem. Another band that is totally new to me, Freddie Dilevi. The band is from Seville in Spain. (Where were they during my visits to the town?!) The title song of the band's album is a combination of a super tight punkrock song with the vocal from an era so long gone that I never was a part of it in a conscious way. Artists that were popular in the early 60s and lasted until just after The Beatles broke. Singers with full, deep voices that sang a different kind of rock and roll. The kind after the parents took over the record companies again, trying to kick the rock and roll can back into the garage. They succeeded in getting kids and can there but with results they never imagined in their wildest. 'Louie Louie' as a foremost result. But I'm transgressing. I could just as easily point to Elvis Presley himself where the voice is concerned. Pablo Velásquez' voice works so well in this song. The result is almost like a dream come true. A kind of perfection that is seldom found in music. "In my room tonight ..." he sings and there goes the song once again and not for the last time.
Efficiency. Wax ChattelsEfficiency starts in a way that does not directly invite a relaxed listening session. It's more like the fire alarm going off in a hotel room deep in the night, seriously hampered with by a hacker switching it on and off, while distorting and pitching it on the side.
The second single from upcoming album 'Clot', shows Wax Chattels means business. Think The Sweet Release of Death in the Netherlands but making its point in 2 minutes and a little. Explosions of sound, explosions of band members and their instruments all going on at the same time. 2.53 minutes and its all over, shattering everything including my eardrums. Point made, full score, leaving all behind. One scared, one cheering, one in full flight, one running to embrace. There's simply no middle way with Efficiency, just like the previous single 'No Ties' reviewed here circa a month ago. I have no doubt in my mind that all Wax Chattels songs are uncompromising. Take it or leave it. For now I'm taking for sure but I also know for certain that this song can never be played in the home with the rest of the family around. Efficiency is impressive though and something to check out for lovers of alternative, loud rock. Wax Chattels is like Rivella.
Lauren Mann featured on this blog in 2013 and ever since. In the past four years however, after her last album 'Dearestly', things became quiet until very recently when she announced a new single. We were allowed an early listen and I'm glad for it.
The theme of the song obviously is clear with such a title. What is surprising ("you keep surprising me", she sings at the moment I'm typing the world surprising) is the inner structure of the song. After a rather confusing intro -'Where are we going'?, I asked myself- a brisk tempo is started, suggesting an upbeat mood, that is belied ever so slightly in the way she sings. Part melancholy, part longing, part self-observation; I find myself instantly attracted to the mood and melody. There's something extremely positive in this song, so attractive, so kind. At this point I still have to start about the harmony singing. The intricate layers in the singing is a new level for the Canadian singer, the arrangement well thought out and delicate. The intro is taken to a different level here. What is also new, is that the song is guitar driven and not by the piano, Lauren Mann's own instrument (of old?).
Slowly but surely I find myself falling for Missing You. It has everything within it to become my favourite Lauren Mann song to date. It is like she has decided to start playing in a whole new ball game, one that seems to suit her very well.
Wo.
Listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:
https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g
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