X singles

It is time for another round of singles, recently released, on WoNoBlog. From folk, to gospel, from relentless rock to 90s inspired rock music and from well-established names from the 60s and 80s to debut singles. It all comes by. So here you go and don't forget to listen via the link below.

Soap. The Oh Hellos

With the release 'Zephyrus' The Oh Hellos have rounded the four winds. The album will be reviewed later on this blog. First it's time to highlight the first single 'Soap'. It is an amalgamated song. At first it sounds like a traditional neo folk song from the 10s, banjo and all. Soap also has a darker side where an electric guitar totally lets it rip, but not without some neo folk community singing before it really goes all out. Soap is not an easy song to digest, more one to undergo. Do just that and you will see that you're listening to one of the better neo folk songs you've ever heard. Of Monsters And Men or Mumford & Sons but then with a truckload of pepper in a proverbial place. I've heard The Oh Hellos pull of this feat before but seldom so forceful.

Trouble Of The World. Sinéad O'Connor

There are moments that it's best to just shut up and listen in wonder. Trouble Of The World, Sinéad O'Connor's new single, is such a song. Not that much happens, no, it is the fact that so little happens that makes the song so impressive. A modernised gospel song was my guess listening to it for the first time. It turns out to be a traditional made famous by Mahalia Jackson. O'Connor's version is an undercooled affair, more atmosphere than music, a low humming choir instead of the exuberant church choirs of the U.S. baptists churches. Although it starts with a piano in the intro, the instrument is traded in for atmospherics soon. Sinéad O'Connor no longer is a young woman but manages to impress me almost as much as with her introduction in my life with 'Troy'. In the video clip she makes a clear statement concerning the trouble of the world she sees right now. Black Lives Matter.

Buy Another Gun. Thelonius Monster

Thelonius Monster, wasn't that the guy who, totally drunk, climbed the stage of Pinkpop and subsequently did not fall, but managed to kill his career instead? Yes, Bob Forrest is the name and come 2020 he is back with a single that holds a nice pop melody but also some prickly guitar playing that is quite infectuous. I remember listening to the album with the minor 90s hit single on it, but can't remember much, except that it didn't impress me. With Buy Another Gun, Thelonius Monster taps into a few wells, including the end of 'I'm The Walrus', 90s alternative rock, 80s punk funk guitar playing and pop music in general. The combination may sound rather weird but this song works. The verses remind me of another song that I can't get my finger around but also leaves me soon enough. Overall a good score for a come back.

In and Out. The Vices

The second band the new Rotterdam based label Mattan Records signed is the band The Vices, a Groningen based band. In And Out is a song that is infectuous, the kind I will play a few times in a row, to enjoy it, to get to know it better and better, to start singing along, to dance to. In And Out starts in a nice bare way. Just drums and bass. Slowly the song is fleshed out, building towards the climax that dutifully ends the song. The tightness of the playing is just right, while allowing for the melodic vocal melody. The result is a nice alternative pop song of which there are many but a song like In And Out is always welcome. It certainly makes me curious what a whole album will sound like. We have to be patient until March.

Can't Talk, Won't. Coach Party

A band from the Isle of Wight? Level 42, an early 00s band with an extremely long name I can't remember and now Coach Party. According to the bio this is one of the upcoming bands in the U.K. and I can imagine why. This song holds the sort of energy that will jump over to everyone enjoying a good pop rock song. Yes, don't be surprised when a name like Wolf Alice comes by but have I ever heard that band rock this hard? U.S. label Rum Bar Records could have released this song, were it not that the average age of the band members of Coach Party is 30 years off for that label. The element of garage rock, 60s pop and powerpop is all contained in Can't Talk, Won't. The lyric "wanna die, wanna die, wanna die" is a bit disconcerting usually, but not when there's s much joy flying around as this single is sharing with the world. I just love it, can't help it, won't.

Falling. Lucas Hamming

It has been quiet around Lucas Hamming for a while. Being no stranger to this blog, I am happy to have the Dutch artist back on these pages. With Falling he returns with an extremely poppy melody that holds elements of neo-folk in the way of singing and parts of the chorus. The verses are more alternative with hints to the 80s. More funky also. The result is a song that is hard to forget. Hear it once and I assure you to be singing "stopping us from running / falling" all day. Falling is a nice ear worm that can't but help to settle in your brain. An ideal single, clocking just under three minutes, with enough pop elements, without sounding forced for one second. Something the song he is know best for, until recently, 'Never Let You Down', was. Falling ought to take that place fast. It simply is too good not to. Progression that's called.

Coup de Grâce. PXPRS

There are some similarities with 'Can't Talk, Won't', reviewed above. PXPRS also has a female singer and a truckload of guitars and energy. More punky and electronic because of the voice's treatment. The Bristol band around singer Nikki Thomas is without mercy alright. Despite the fact the song has an intermezzo, a lull, the impression I end up with is 3 minutes and some of onslaught on my eardrums, unrelenting energy and noise entering my brain. Even up to a point that I wonder if there's a song below all the energy poured out over me. There is, an elementary one that is repeated over and over. "Can you take it"?, is the question being asked over and over. Yes, easily but not every day of week please, let alone once an hour. This is the kind of song that allows for blowing off steam. Use it with care as there's so much energy involved.

Everything Everyone / The Next Day. Field Day

Can you believe it? There's a band from Boston that is not on Rum Bar Records. Listening to Field Day it is easy to hear why the band is not on that label. The music relates to 90s bands like Buffalo Tom and The Lemonheads and not 60s garage rock. The singing between Joan Anderman and Dan Zedek, also the guitarists of the band, is one of the charms on Everything Everyone, showing light and dark between them when they observe, slightly regretting it, that everyone changes. At least that is what the mood of the song seems to suggest.

The Next Day is a darker song, tighter and having a mild The Velvet Underground undertone in the chugging rhythm. Anderman is the principal singer here. She sings with a darker tone to her voice, making The Next Day more urgent than the other side of the single. If I had to make a choice I know where my bet would lay. The Next Day is an excellent song, that I can listen to for a long time should I have to. It comes with a nice elementary guitar solo, reminding me of 'What Goes On'. I had never heard of Field Day before. The introduction is certainly agreeable and making me look forward to hear more in the future.

Lazy Day. John Cale

Interesting that, totally coincidental, John Cale was next on my list to listen to. Of course Cale once was a The Velvet Underground member, thrown out by Lou Reed, to cooperate again for a short while after the death of Andy Warhol, in the early and mid-90s. The only thing missing was enough time to produce a new album together as The Velvet Underground. Now at 77 Cale comes up with a new single. Lazy Day is a sort of forced affair. An attempt to sound modern, to honour David Bowie perhaps, the song drags itself forward, like an old man. I have a hard time finding something positive to write on Lazy Day, I'm afraid. Except for one thing. I think it's great that Cale is still active and shares his work with the world and that I hope he will be for as long as he can. So I do not really care for Lazy Day. That can change with the next song easily. Lazy Day however has been taken to literally in my ears.

I Don't Read Your Papers Anymore. People In Houses

I Don't Read Your Papers Anymore starts with a light sound of acoustic instruments, introducing a singer-songwriter / folk song. The dark voice that sets in surprised me, as it was far darker than I expected based on the intro. It is the only factor taking away from the neo-folk that People In Houses presents in this song (and a little CSN&Y in the harmonies). The trumpet solo almost makes the song exuberant, but that it is not. The song is subdued and modest. This does not prevent the musicians to show what they can do and that is a lot. People In Houses is a band from Belgium, Ghent to be precise. The members play many different instruments but all acoustic and that shows on I Don't Read Your Papers Anymore. The kind of song that allows the listener to truly listen and hear all the great details People In Houses have added to the song. A nice introduction to the band, this single was.

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