Needles//Pins. Needles//Pins

Following the review of Watts' 'Shady Rock & Rollers' on this blog yesterday, it is time for some more rock and roll today. With its fourth album Needles//Pins sets another sort of standard in rock. More uniquely U.S. oriented than the Boston outfit, the quality is not unlike though.

Needles//Pins is an album that really, really goes for the throat. Like the best songs of Gin Blossoms and Dan Baird they are tremendously melodic. From there a heavier sound is introduced making the song true rock and roll. The singing adds a little punkrock to the whole. The result is a hybrid of rock music that leads just to two results: wanting to sing along and to dance to the music. This is what The Wallflowers would have sounded like, had they started as a punkrock band two years later into the 90s.

In the very first song, 'Woe Is Us', the tempo goes up and only drops down temporarily in the interlude of the fifth song, 'Winnipeg 03', where a warm Hammond joins the band creating a different mood within the second, shining a little extra light on an already abundantly sunny day. It even gets the final chord.

There's one thing that the listener should not be in wait of, beauty. That there can be beauty in ugliness is something Needles//Pins proves to me. The road-worn voice of the singer Adam Ess, is the aged version of Social Distortion's Mike Ness. With the band kicking like a mule, the tempo is up the whole time to avoid the kicks and songs can be over before I settled in to them. Nothing ever gets more than needed on this album and when it's longer you get a great song like 'Winnipeg 03'. Needles//Pins is over before you know it, but not a second is lost to make an impression.

In the final song the tie with the modern U.K./Irish rock bands is made any way. 'The Tyranny Of Comfort' would not have looked out of place on either of the two Shame albums. The song underscores the urgency Needles//Pins shares with the world. The ten songs get nothing more than they need to make an immediate impression. In the bio accompanying the album Will Fitzpatrick shares: "a future classic? Hell, why not?". It is impossible to predict, but it's been a while since I heard a U.S. (punk)rocking album with this urgency, melody and quality all in one. So, hell, why not?, I conclude

Wout de Natris

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

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

Shady Rock & Rollers. Watts

If rock and roll were a church, Watts would be its high priests. In Shady Rock & Rollers all that rock is, comes together in ten songs or ten commandments of the rock scripture. "It's how I want my rock and roll", to quote the opening song's main message.

Watts, a band from Boston and part of the Rum Bar family, simply does everything right on its new album. There's not a riff on Shady Rock & Rollers that will not ring one bell or another. Whether The Rolling Stones, ZZ Top or both in one song, you will hear traces come by. That could turn one off, but when songs are as good as e.g. 'Breaking Glass', where everything in rock from the early 70s right up to the 90s comes together, one can only (rock and) roll over and surrender.

What also comes together on the album is U.S. rock and U.K. (glam)rock. Traces of Slade and T. Rex can be found while Watts cranks out a typical U.S. rock riff. Melodically the album is incredibly strong. Most of the songs are of the kind that invite to sing along to. Whether in the pub, at home or at a live show, this is going to work all the way.

There's only, and an incredibly small, downside to Shady Rock & Rollers. So many songs have already been released as singles over quite some time. It may well be that the album's release was held up by the pandemic of course. I reviewed 'Seventeen' e.g. over a year ago. It also seems years, I'll admit. Even in times of Corona time flies ever faster it seems.

My view on 'Seventeen' hasn't changed. The men of Watts, just like me, are hardly permitted to look at a 17 year olds any longer. That doesn't mean 'Seventeen' is a bad song. The mix of glam- and punkrock is so excellent. Does it get any better than this? I sincerely doubt it. Excitement caught in music is what this song is. The Rolling Stones at the time of 'Some Girls', the fast rock songs on the album, and then add horns. This is the real, real rock thing alright! (And just to remember and pay tribute to Ian Stewart, I add some rock and roll piano in my mind and it fits so well.)

Shady Rock & Roller is an album that deserves global recognition. This kind of rock and roll proves, to quote the singer of that rock band that won the Eurovision Songcontest: "rock and roll is not dead". In the case of the winner I'm still not convinced, in the case of Watts 100%. The singles promised so much, the actual album shows even more than I'd ever expected. Just listen to 'Shocking Pink' and you'll know what I mean. Anyone who loves rock and roll should get this album asap.

Finally, I am the only one who recognises Jacob Dylan's voice on this record? It isn't, but the resemblance at times is uncanny, e.g. in the beautiful 'When The Party Ends'.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Shady Rock & Rollers here:

https://watts.bandcamp.com/album/shady-rock-rollers

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

Glow. Alice Phoebe Lou

De Zuid-Afrikaanse muzikante Alice Phoebe Lou heeft al twee prachtige albums op haar naam staan, maar voegt er met Glow een nog mooier, intenser, intiemer en broeieriger album aan toe.

De vanuit Berlijn opererende Alice Phoebe Lou maakte in 2016 diepe indruk met haar debuutalbum Orbit en herhaalde dit kunstje in 2019 met Paper Castles. Wereldberoemd werd ze er vooralsnog niet mee, maar ik schaar de Zuid-Afrikaanse muzikante inmiddels vijf jaar onder mijn persoonlijke favorieten. Met Glow doet Alice Phoebe Lou er nog een schepje bovenop. De instrumentatie is nog wat mooier en veelzijdiger, maar het grootste verschil zit in de songs en de zang. Alice Phoebe Lou heeft een persoonlijk album gemaakt, dat intiem en broeierig klinkt en laat horen dat ze meerdere kanten op kan. Glow wordt al snel de perfecte metgezel voor de donkere tijden van het moment en wordt echt alleen maar mooier.

De van oorsprong uit Kommetjie in Zuid-Afrika afkomstige, maar al geruime tijd vanuit Berlijn opererende muzikante Alice Phoebe Lou, dook in 2016 op met het wonderschone Orbit, dat ik aan het eind van 2016 onder de allerbeste albums van het jaar schaarde. Orbit werd in 2019 gevolgd door Paper Castles, dat minstens net zo mooi was al het debuut van Alice Phoebe Lou. 

Ondanks twee geweldige albums is de Zuid-Afrikaanse muzikante helaas nog altijd onbekend bij een groot publiek, waardoor ze nog regelmatig als straatmuzikant is te bewonderen bij metrostations in haar thuisbasis Berlijn, wanneer de coronaregels dit toelaten natuurlijk. 

Deze week verscheen Glow, het derde album van Alice Phoebe Lou. Direct vanaf de eerste noten is duidelijk dat het album deels voortborduurt op de vorige twee albums, maar dat er ook absoluut nieuwe wegen worden verkend. 

Ook op Glow is het weer genieten van de bijzonder mooie stem van de muzikante uit Berlijn en van haar bijzondere geluid. Het is een geluid dat op Orbit afwisselend folky en sprookjesachtig klonk en fascineerde door de fraaie en bijzondere accenten in de instrumentatie. Op Paper Castles was dit geluid nog wat veelzijdiger en werden meer jazzy accenten toegevoegd aan de muziek van Alice Phoebe Lou. 

Het volledig analoog opgenomen Glow klinkt weer net wat anders. Alle eerder genoemde invloeden zijn gebleven, maar het album klinkt warmer en intiemer. In plaats van warmer en intiemer had ik ook termen als lomer en broeieriger kunnen gebruiken, want deze zijn even trefzeker voor het beschrijven van de sfeer op Glow. 

Alice Phoebe Lou houdt het tempo dit keer behoorlijk laag en kiest voor warme en aardse klanken. Het zijn klanken die de ruimte prachtig vullen, maar het zijn ook klanken die uitstekend passen bij de prachtige stem van de Zuid-Afrikaanse muzikante. 

Vergeleken met de vorige twee albums is Glow ook een zeer persoonlijk album. Mede door de coronapandemie was de wereld van Alice Phoebe Lou het afgelopen jaar behoorlijk klein en dat hoor je in haar songs, die intiemer en introspectiever zijn dan we van haar gewend waren en die de hoge pieken en diepe dalen van de liefde verkennen. 

In muzikaal opzicht kan het net als op Paper Castles alle kanten op. In de meest broeierige songs hoor je invloeden uit de soul en R&B, maar Glow bevat ook een aantal sober ingekleurde songs, die met name invloeden uit de jazz, folk en country verwerken. 

Zeker wanneer Alice Phoebe Lou zich alleen laat begeleiden door een handvol gitaarakkoorden, als in het indrukwekkende How To Get Out Of Love, hoor je hoe mooi en krachtig haar stem is, maar ook in de veel voller ingekleurde tracks trekt deze stem makkelijk de aandacht. 

De vorige twee albums van Alice Phoebe Lou zijn zoals gezegd persoonlijke favorieten en ook Glow wil ik na een paar keer horen alleen maar koesteren. Het is een album dat de schoonheid van de twee voorgangers makkelijk evenaart, maar ook weer iets toevoegt aan het oeuvre van deze bijzondere muzikante. 

Bij mij zit het dus wel goed met Alice Phoebe Lou, maar als ik naar haar muziek luister ben ik er ook van overtuigd dat Glow in veel bredere kring de aandacht moet kunnen trekken. Alice Phoebe Lou betovert op haar derde album immers drie kwartier lang met wonderschone klanken, geweldige zang en persoonlijke songs die je zomaar diep kunnen raken. Wat een prachtig album.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Glow hier luisteren en bestellen:

 

https://alicephoebelou.bandcamp.com/album/glow

 

of luister naar onze Spotify Playlist om uit te vinden waar we over schrijven:

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

 

 

.NoWordsNeedeD, 28-05-2021

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25tNR0pECYg

 

.No

Kick It Like A Wicked Bad Habit. The Shang Hi Los

Two singles of this five song mini album already featured on this blog, 'Sway Little Prayer' and 'Skipping Records'. If anything, the two songs set the standard of what the listener can expect on Kick It Like A Wicked Bad Record, the title coming from the lead single, 'Sway Little Prayer'. The Shang Hi Los is a band of which all members play in other bands in the Boston area, with a love for music from circa 40 years and longer ago. The kind of music in which pop and rock mix like it was always meant to be this way. The knowledge of hindsight allows these musicians to combine the best elements of the past while adding their incredible talent to write great pop songs to the whole. The, I mean THE, example on this album is 'Funeral Home Mint'. The song rocks with the best of them, while pop oozes out of every bit of my digital copy. The tight playing and forceful drumming (Chuck Ferreira) and bass playing (Lou Harrington) give the song a superb solid rock feel. The harmonies between the singers Jan D'Angora and Dan Kopko bring in the pop side. Of course I can name several examples of influences, but I will not, as it will only take away from this incredibly great song.

The four songs show what a match made in heaven The Shang Hi Los is. The fifth and final song, is a cover version of Chicago's 'Saturday In The Park', that gets a, successful, The Shang Hi Los treatment. I do not know in how far this is a one off effort by people enjoying making music together, but the quality on the offer could make other bandmembers nervous. This is so good.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Kick It Like A Wicked Bad Habit here:

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/kick-it-like-a-wicked-bad-habit

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

Pale Horse Rider. Cory Hanson

Cory Hanson heeft een album gemaakt vol lome en vaak licht psychedelische Americana, die herinnert aan de hoogtijdagen van de 70s countryrock, maar die ook zeker eigentijds klinkt.

Ik was niet bekend met het solowerk van Cory Hanson en nauwelijks bekend met het werk van zijn band Wand, maar het tweede soloalbum van de Amerikaanse muzikant is een album dat ik vanaf de eerste keer horen koester. De muzikant uit Los Angeles citeert uit de countryrock uit de jaren 70, maar sluit ook aan bij de singer-songwriter muziek uit dezelfde periode en is bovendien niet vies van psychedelica of andere accenten. Het levert een album op dat afwisselend nostalgisch en eigentijds klinkt en dat wat mij betreft mooier en mooier wordt. De instrumentatie is bijzonder fraai, de songs aansprekend, de zang op een of andere manier bijzonder. Prachtig album.

Pale Horse Rider van Cory Hanson werd een tijd geleden door het Britse muziektijdschrift Uncut al eens uitgroepen tot album van de maand, maar uiteindelijk hebben we nog wat langer moeten wachten op het album van de Amerikaanse muzikant. 

Dat deed ik met enige nieuwsgierigheid, maar zonder al teveel smart, want de naam Cory Hanson zei me eerlijk gezegd niet zo heel veel. Zijn vijf jaar geleden verschenen solodebuut The Unborn Capitalist From Limbo heb ik, ondanks de opvallende titel, niet opgemerkt en ook de band van Cory Hanson, Wand, ken ik niet heel goed. 

Pale Horse Rider is echter terecht bejubeld door mijn favoriete muziektijdschrift, want wat is het een mooi album. Het is een album waarop Cory Hanson de wat gruizige psychedelica van zijn band grotendeels achter zich laat en kiest voor folk(rock) en vooral country(rock) zoals die in de jaren 70 werd gemaakt, waarna hij hier een eigen draai aan geeft. 

Pale Horse Rider is direct vanaf de eerste noten een loom en zwoel album dat herinnert aan grootheden uit een ver verleden. Cory Hanson kleurt zijn muziek bijzonder fraai in met gitaren, piano en uiteraard de pedal steel, die in de countryrock nooit mag ontbreken. Ondanks de gebruikte instrumenten is Pale Horse Rider echter zeker geen doorsnee countryrock album. 

De muziek van Cory Hanson klinkt vaak psychedelisch en folky en een enkele keer zelfs jazzy. Wanneer elektronica wordt ingezet wordt de countryrock uit het verleden in één keer het heden in gesleurd, maar Pale Horse Rider bevat ook een aantal songs die zo lijken weggelopen uit de jaren 70. 

Neil Young is een ijkpunt, maar ik hoor hier en daar ook wel wat van Paul McCartney, zeker wanneer de songs wat opschrijven richting de singer-songwriter muziek uit het betreffende decennium. In muzikaal opzicht klinkt Pale Horse Rider met enige regelmaat behoorlijk traditioneel, maar een bijzondere twist is nooit ver weg. 

Zeker op het eerste gehoor vond ik Cory Hanson geen groot zanger, maar de muzikant uit Los Angeles legt wel veel gevoel in zijn songs, waardoor de songs op Pale Horse Rider alleen maar mooier worden en ook de zang me steeds meer aanspreekt. 

Het meest bijzondere van het tweede soloalbum van Cory Hanson vind ik het feit dat het het ene moment voor de volle 100% een Americana album is, maar het volgende moment flarden Paul McCartney maar ook Pink Floyd laat horen. Pale Horse Rider is bovendien het album dat Radiohead zou kunnen maken wanneer het haar volgende album ergens in de Californische woestijn (waar Pale Horse Rider is opgenomen) of aan de oevers van de Mississippi zou opnemen.]

Vanwege de warme en laid-back klanken is het tweede soloalbum van Cory Hanson een album dat makkelijk overtuigt, maar de ware pracht van de songs van de Amerikaanse muzikant moet je dan nog ontdekken. 

De recensent van het Britse muziektijdschrift Uncut heeft het in ieder geval goed gehoord, want Pale Horse Rider ontwikkelt zich razendsnel tot een album dat je wilt koesteren en dat met name wanneer de zon onder is wonderen verricht. 

Zeer warm aanbevolen voor liefhebbers van Amerikaanse rootsmuziek, maar ook liefhebbers van 70s singer-songwriters kunnen waarschijnlijk goed uit de voeten met dit fraaie album van de muzikant uit Los Angeles, terwijl ook liefhebbers met een blik op het heden die album niet mogen vergeten.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Pale Horse Rider hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://coryhanson.bandcamp.com/album/pale-horse-rider

 

of luister naar onze Spotify Playlist om uit te vinden waar we over schrijven:

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

 

Mondays. ViVii

Mondays for people who have a regular 9 to 5 job usually is the least favourite day. Everything starts again after a weekend filled with all the other stuff that either needs to get done or leisure. When getting older there's also the recognition that Monday is a return to routine which is often less hectic. And those who truly like their job return there with pleasure.

All these contemplations on the basis of ViVii's album title. After four of five singles released over the last months made it to the blog, it's only natural the album receives some attention. How does it fare?

Has a band ever managed to incorporate Abba with Joy Division in the intro of a song? That question crossed my mind when I listened to the opening song of Monday and former single 'One Day'. The guitar line is classic 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', the synths bring ABBA to mind. So ViVii qualifies establishing this feat. 'One Day' is an opener that sets the mood for Mondays, a mood that is not wavered from too far. ViVii presents oh so pleasant pop with a little dark streak here and there. Like many Scandinavian crime series are set in the dark, rain and snow, the music of ViVii is not overly jubilant. The trio sets a mood it is comfortable with and good at.

ViVii is a Swedish trio consisting of three multi instrumentals. Producer Anders Eckeborn and co-singers Emil en Caroline Jonsson. Together they started making this album on Mondays in their studio, making the Monday a special day, underscoring my intro to this review. The music is a mix of electronics and organic instruments that together present the light and dark so present during Scandinavian summers and winters. Take the tremendously melancholic 'Rendezvous'. The song is as tragic as it is beautiful. Several synths, electronic drums and keyboards are matched by a sad voice of Caroline Jonsson. The effect the song creates is ear-catchingly good. The kind it's hard to lay away.

On the whole Mondays remains a darkish album. 'Fool Alone' may start in a way implying ABBA, BZN or George Baker Selection, in short the great pop bands of the 70s, it doesn't come near as the mood goes down immediately, just leaving that keyboard riff, betraying influences from the 70s. It becomes something else totally. What remains is sheer beauty, touching me on a few levels.

I will concede that on a superficial level Mondays does not satisfy. It may appear that the mood is too one dimensional, too identical. But my conceding stops there. When I emerge myself into the music, a rich musical world opens where many things happen on several levels. Perfect, alternative pop is presented by ViVii. Most songs have such a nice dreamy quality that I can get carried away quite easily. Simply so pleasant to emerge in.

Wout de Natris

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

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

Week 21, 10 singles

Starting ever so soft and going out with a bang or two. Yes, this week's singles are quite diverse once more. Starting with the second co-single of Bonnie 'Prince' Billie and Broeder Dieleman, that undermines mathematical laws, but then love is the first law. Music from three continents, many different countries and a true debut too. Go on and discover the great music out there.

Love Is The First Law/There Are Worms In Your Circle. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy/Broeder Dieleman

A new duo single by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and Broeder Dieleman after the single 'Gloria' in 2015. With a beautiful sleeve made by Broeder Dieleman in the style of Jan de Prentenknipper, a 19th century Zeeland artisan artist travelling along all the byways selling his cut outs to the people in villages, hamlets and cities. Despite the first song being called Love Is The First Law, there's not much reminding me of the title song of Broeder Dieleman's 2020 album. It has become a full Bonnie 'Prince' Billy song with the, translated, same title. An extremely surprising song, as the middle piece suggest the second song has already started. The song totally changes after the mystifying interlude. The drumming is almost detached from the rest and so appears the keyboard when it joins. It is a miracle that the singing remains so fluent and beautiful due to what happens underneath.

For the second song Will Oldham gave Tonnie Dieleman one line, There Are Worms In Your Circle, to start working with. The result is a song that does right to both artists. The music is somewhat less esoteric than Broeder Dieleman's regular albums. All hold back it seems, leaving the stage to the vocals and vocal harmonies that come out really well.

It's not easy to top that first split single but my first impression is the two artists succeeded with flying colours. 1 + 1 can equal three sometimes.

Money Making Machine. Current Joys

Let the good times roll. Current Joys relives the best The Cure songs on Money Making machine. That typical Robert Smith style of guitar playing and his way of singing can all be found on this singe. Does that make it good by definition? No, of course not. I can't help liking the guitar part though. It just bounces inside of my head. Up and down, up and down. The lyrics are rather disturbing. I leave you to figure out the deeper psychic tribulations of the singer Nick Rattigan. I can't really relate to them. And the video is just horrendous as he takes his violent streak to his record collection. Aarrghhh!!! I can't look at it, :-). Despite the fact that Money Making Machine sounds overly familiar here and there, I can't help liking it. The song simply touches a few of the right buttons and sometimes that is simply enough.

Nylon Six EP. Nylon Six

Nylon Four, well, the number of songs on Nylon Six for certain. This new duo is a product of two people meeting online en deciding to make music together on two continents, Europe and America. Somewhere last year I saw my copy of The Mo's debut in the middle of my record collection and played for the first time since the 1980s, I guess. It was quite alright and the reason I mention this, is that the first song, 'We Are Smart', brought The Mo to mind. 40 Years later, the sound is more modern but only slightly. Lasashka from The Netherlands and David K. from the U.S. have a thing for slick, early 80s electropop and more modern beats. It results in songs that are pleasant to listen to, without becoming outstanding. The kind of pop music that can be listened to under almost all circumstances. Noteworthy is the fact that two songs are sung in English and two in Dutch, fairly distributed between the two languages. 'Moving To Mars', the third song has a Steve Winwood 80s funky bass, think 'Higher Love', while 'Meer' (more) has a deeper vibe in the drums and distorted lead guitar. Nylon Six has more sides to it than one might expect from the first two songs.

Homeless. The Dents

Jen D'Angora has just come by on this blog as co-singer of The Shang Hi Los and she's again with her regular band, The dents, sharing singing duties with bass player Michelle Paulhuss. Homeless is a totally different beast than released usually on Rum Bar. The Dents play a far darker streak of rock music. Influences come from the darker new wave of the British isles. The sound is deep and dark, the singing matching the music. The two ladies sing in a lower register giving Homeless a despondent feel, matching the title of the song. Homeless is by no means a new song. I found a live video almost 3 and a half years old. The fact it got a studio version is no less than justice for The Dents. This beast rocks! Although The Dents hold back the whole time, no way this song is letting itself be caged. D'Angora and Paulhuss sing together in a great way, while the lead guitar work Craig Adams shares, is effective as it is good. Six minutes of haunted music, a story about how everything went wrong and the music does not give a single strand of hope that things will come out alright. Like the quote I read today by Dutch writer Annie M.G. Schmidt: "every story has a good ending if you stop it early enough". As I said, a six minute single. There's no hope for us left.

Loozer. Soft Plastics

For a change another new song from New Zealand. Should you wonder where I find all this music? I receive the newsletter of record store and record label from Auckland in New Zealand and in it is all this music from that country. From this distance it is as if everybody there is in a band or a singer. And I'm not even writing about the quality yet. Loozer is a dark song as well, different from Homeless, above, but just as dark. Musically it is more modern with faint traces of shoegazing mixed with dreampop. Soft Plastics is a trio from Wellington consisting of Sophie Scott-Maunder, Jonathan Shirley, and Laura Robinson. Loozer is the kind of song to dream away on. Lasting over five minutes as well, it manages to keep my attention the whole of the time with ease. Making me curious to hear more, instantly. I find there are, only, four songs all in all on Bandcamp. If they are as good as Loozer, Soft Plastics is on a roll towards its first album. Lay it on me when the time comes.

Runnin' Free. Jeff Crosby

It's time for a lighter touch. Jeff Crosby hales from Boise, Idaho and plays some good old country music. The kind holding a laugh and tear, the way it should. His voice fits the music like a glove. It has a little edge to it making the music slightly rougher that you'd expect from the fiddle and the lap steel guitar doing their traditional thing. Runnin' Free is the kind of song thousands exist of already, rhyming here to flat beer. At the same time, everything is just right. The song holds what it should with this kind of music. The kind of artist I went to see on a monthly basis in the Q-Bus in Leiden. Jeff Crosby would be right at home there, were it not that the shows there are a thing of the past, I've been told. If you like these kind of songs, this it is for this month. Don't look any further and run free with Jeff Crosby.

Anders. Bazart

A trio from Belgium that makes its debut on this blog with the single Anders (different). No drums, no bass. Three singers, guitar and keyboards, with loads of synths producing everything else. Bazart plays electropop with a soft beat, mildly danceable. On the one hand the song is neither fish nor flesh, on the other it is hard to hold anything against it. Anders is not far removed from the songs of Swedish electro and dreampop trio ViVii. It is melodically that I do keep having doubts about Anders, the song never really comes alive. Even in the chorus it never gets loose. These days being the EuroVision Songcontest in Rotterdam, I can imagine how the song could explode, pyro's and all, like they do there. That would not have done right to the seriousness of the song, the melancholy. These elements save the song in my ears.

Clarified Budder. Possum

What a hesitant beginning before Possum finds its stride in Clarified Budder. Thinking about how short attention spans of youths are nowadays, I wonder how many are around to listen to what really is presented by the Canadian rockers. Clarified Budder is an alternative rocksong that does not take the easy way. The melody follows the rhythm in which every beat counts. The psychedelic element is taken care of by the lead guitar that uses a wah wah pedal every once in a while. The solo is much cleaner and almost jazzy. As a whole Clarified Budder is experimental without truly breaking boundaries, for that it is "to normal". What it does, is making me curious for what Possum will present on its album 'Lunar Gardens' (2 July). For one song, a lot is going on. Possum certainly did not stop thinking about the song when it had one idea for it, let alone at two. No matter how different the voices, the vocal style does remind me of Yes' Jon Anderson. And the music? With a little imagination I hear symphonic rock, shelving the symphonic part mostly. Intriguing, isn't it?

Beating Hearts. Neonfly

When is it enough to write: I just like this song? Every single instant of the day, is the answer. Except when reviewing a song. Neonfly is a melodic heavy metal band from the U.K., about to release its third album since it started in 2008. The band certainly plays metal but with the melody in the central spot the whole of the time. In Beating Hearts elements from The Scorpions and Guns 'N' Roses come together with a great sense of when whoa's can be put into a song successfully, allowing everyone from whatever language background to sing along. And they can with Beating Hearts. Add some great guitar works and dynamics and you have a single that attracts enough attention. Beating Hearts simply is a pop single, that makes a lot of noise. As long as it is not turned up too loud, it never hurt anyone to enjoy a loud song. BTW, Don't forget to look at the video, some great artwork is created there by the artist Noma (Noh Gyeong Hwan).

Fever. Velvet Two Stripes

Oops, I had already decided not to pursue the song, when I really started listening and kept it on. Swiss alternative rock trio Velvet Two Stripes (plus drummer Ramon Wehrle) presents Fever, a relentless song, not showing any mercy. The three ladies sing harmonies providing a mystical element, like indigenous chanting, to a song that is close to punk. Bass, drums and a distorted electric guitar that joins regularly but is also shut out of the song when not necessary. Like the empty bass intro. Where is this going to?, I could not help wondering. Well into a rocking second intro, reminding me of something like 'Ram Jam's 'Black Betty'. Before it all drops away once again for the first verse. In short, almost more happens in Fever than I can keep up with writing. Hearing is believing in this case. 'Sugar Honey Iced Tea' isn't due until mid October. What an awfully long time before I can hear more. Oh, sweet anticipation.

Wout de Natris 

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

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Soo Line Loons. Soo Line Loons

With two singles already having found their way to this blog, it is not a real surprise the album found its way in as well. On its eponymous, third, album Soo Line Loons presents itself at a both relaxed and ambitious level. Relaxed, because it is obviously at ease with its music and ambitious because the not so easy road is present and presented successfully in its songs.

Soo Line Loons is a six piece band from Minneapolis. As if this isn't a lot already, the listener finds a host of guest musicians, all to make the songs as strong as possible. Soo Line Loons isn't self-titled for nothing. Where singer/guitarist Grant Glad used to bring the songs sort of ready to the band on the first two albums, all went different this time. The songs were created together while playing and jamming together. The result is as diverse as it is strong. Most likely this way it was established fast what perhaps was missing among the six members and outside assistance brought in.

The strongest example of this approach may well be the single 'Die Young'. Funky, a great saxophone solo, strong, prominent background vocals support the rough, gravelly voice of Grant Glad. Songs stray from the basis of Americana that is at the heart of this album and what opens it in a great way with 'Old Mill'. Here's that ambition I already wrote about.

Promo photo: Martin Olav Sabo

The big link between the two type of songs is that gravelly voice. Glad has the kind of voice that suggests the worse for wear. Listening more closely it doesn't sound forced at all. This is the natural thing without having to exert (too) much. The difference between the funky tracks with the saxophone as lead instrument and the Americana songs, that often have a violin as defining instrument, is rather great. Both fit the band, with ease. It is the straying from the basis that set Soo Line Loons apart as an album. There's more to it than can be expected at first. The listener certainly gets the best of both worlds here.

Within the Americana there are differences as well. There's a song found written around a riff, mildly bluesrocking away, a country ballad, slide guitar and all, being build up from acoustic guitar strumming and an up tempo country rocker of the kind I can hear Karen Jonas singing ('Hope').

Soo Line Loons holds something something for everyone, without becoming a hodgepodge of musical styles. It is 'Die Young' that truly stands out though. Here the band outstretched itself in the best of ways.

Wout de Natris

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Could Have Loved You. Fretland

Fretland overweldigde vorig jaar met een werkelijk fantastisch debuut, maar kiest nu voor een meer ingetogen geluid, dat misschien niet direct imponeert, maar als snel van een bijzondere schoonheid blijkt.

Het titelloze debuut van de Amerikaanse band Fretland hoort wat mij betreft bij de beste albums van 2020. Nog geen jaar later is de band terug met een nieuw album. Vergeleken met het uitbundige geluid op het debuut klinkt Could Have Loved You introspectief en meer ingetogen, maar de uithalen die het debuut zoveel glans gaven zijn zeker niet verdwenen uit de muziek van Fretland. Bovendien is ook het meer ingetogen geluid van een bijzondere schoonheid en klinkt de zang van Hillary Grace Fretland nog net wat mooier dan op het debuut. Fretland schaarde zich een jaar geleden in één klap onder mijn favoriete bands en bevestigt deze status met het prachtige Could Have Loved You.

De Amerikaanse band Fretland debuteerde nog geen jaar geleden met een titelloos album dat aan het eind van het jaar hoog opdook in mijn jaarlijstje. De band uit Snohomish, Washington, maakte op haar debuut indruk met een fraai Americana geluid met een hoofdrol voor gitaren, met songs die zich genadeloos opdrongen en met de even mooie als gloedvolle vocalen van zangeres Hillary Grace Fretland. 

De band kon sinds de release van haar debuut in de lente van 2020 niet veel meer dan het opnemen van nieuwe muziek, waardoor we deze week al kunnen genieten van het tweede album van Fretland. Could Have Loved You ligt voor een deel in het verlengde van het terecht zo goed ontvangen debuut, maar klinkt toch ook duidelijk anders dan dit debuut. 

Vorig jaar mocht het gitaarwerk zo af en toe nog flink ontsporen in de muziek van Fretland en kwam de zang vaak uit de tenen, maar op haar tweede album kiest de Amerikaanse band voor een meer ingetogen geluid. Het is een geluid dat op het eerste gehoor wat minder onderscheidend is dan het geluid op het debuut, maar nu ik het album flink wat keren heb gehoord kan ik ook alleen maar concluderen dat de muziek van Fretland aan schoonheid heeft gewonnen en niet aan kracht heeft ingeboet. 

Zowel de instrumentatie als de zang op Could Have Loved You zijn minder uitbundig dan op het debuut van de band. Je hoort het direct in de openingstrack waarin akoestische gitaren domineren en Hillary Grace Fretland zacht en ingetogen zingt. 

Could Have Loved You klinkt niet alleen meer ingetogen maar ook minder geproduceerd dan het titelloze debuut van Fretland. Het is de muziek zoals die noodgedwongen wordt gemaakt tijdens de coronapandemie, maar ook met een meer ingetogen geluid overtuigt Fretland makkelijk. 

De verschillen met het debuut van de band moeten ook niet overdreven worden. Ook op Could Have Loved You duiken de elektrische gitaren met enige regelmaat op en ook de gloedvolle vocalen die het debuut zo imponerend maakte zijn zeker niet helemaal verdwenen, waardoor de muziek van Fretland aan dynamiek heeft gewonnen. 

De Amerikaanse band valt ook op haar nieuwe album op met een mooi klinkende instrumentatie. Het is er een zonder al teveel opsmuk en het is er een waarin de gitaren domineren, maar hier en daar zijn fraaie accenten te horen, onder andere van de in het genre onmisbare pedal steel. 

Persoonlijk bevalt het meer ingetogen geluid me wel. Het is een geluid dat doet verlangen naar lome zomerdagen en naar tijden waarin de pandemie van het afgelopen jaar slechts een boze droom is. 

Nu de gitaren nog maar heel af en toe fel uithalen kan Hillary Grace Fretland wat zachter zingen en dat klinkt echt prachtig, al is het maar omdat de enkele wat stevigere uithaal nu veel meer opvalt. Could Have Loved You laat ook nog eens groei horen in de songs, die van een wat consistenter niveau zijn, wat meer de variatie zoeken en ook wat persoonlijker zijn, met verloren liefdes als centraal thema. 

Het tweede album van Fretland laat zich, net als zijn voorganger, beluisteren als een tijdloos Americana album en waar het debuut van de band uit Washington State bol stond van de belofte, maakt Fretland deze belofte op Could Have Loved You meer dan waar. Het was in het begin even wennen aan het meer in getogen geluid, maar nu ik Could Have Loved You vaker heb gehoord vind ik het album misschien nog wel mooier dan de zo imponerende voorganger. Wat een geweldige band.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Could Have Loved You hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://fretlandtheband.bandcamp.com/album/could-have-loved-you

 

of luister naar onze Spotify Playlist om uit te vinden waar we over schrijven:

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

 

Delta Kream. The Black Keys

Did I expect much from a The Black Keys blues cover album? No, of course not. More like a cover up for a lack of inspiration to come up with relevant new material and, most likely a pleasant but non-essential listen to some nice blues playing. Although I can't discount the lack of inspiration or writer's block, all the other up front inhibitions fly out the window after listening to Delta Kream. The Black Keys are on a roll and rock awhile too.

The most surprising thing is that, although I like the electric blues and especially Muddy Waters, a lot, I am not a fan of the North Mississippi variant of electric blues. Too repetitive to my liking. What The Black Keys present on Delta Kream grooves so superbly if not to write shatteringly, all that qualifies as competition is lain by the wayside. Totally irrelevant from of today. Just like The Rollin Stones did in 2016 with 'Blue & Lonesome'. Point made.

The sound and production of Delta Kream is one the original artist of most songs, Junior Kimbraugh, could not even dream of. This sound is so clear and yet so full. All can be heard in a superb way, while still thinking the music comes straight from a dirty swamp, humid, hot, fly and mosquito infested. The Hammond organ sneaking between the cracks of the songs like a snake through the cracks of a dilapidated home of a swampdweller. Dirtpoor, dirty, barefoot, torn dungarees. I can see it all in my mind, swigging beer at the jukejoint before driving home, drunk, along the swamproad in a beaten up, decades old pick up truck. One thing is for certain, if The Black Keys played that evening, a great time was had. If the average swampbilly does not prefer hiphop in 2021 that is. Something I can't discount unfortunately.

It's fantastic music The Black Keys presents on Delta Kream. The way some songs stop and start, suggests that the recordings were cut by friends making music together, finding the groove with ease, without bothering about professional starts and stops. In part this will be an illusion. A new The Black Keys record is big business. There's no denying there. The fact that the band is able to give the impression of a great jamsession, attests to the joy of playing all must have felt in the studio while recording the music they love and/or have played in the past with the original artist, like Kenny Brown (R.L. Burnside) and Eric Deaton (Junior Kimbraugh).

It has been a while since a new blues record got to me. 'Blue and Lonesome' was the last one in fact. With Delta Kream another blues favourite is added to my list. But not just that. I'd be surprised if it can not be found on my list of favourite albums of 2021. Let's groove awhile!

Wout de Natris

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Ten singles, week 20

Another week gone, so some more singles. Blues? Check. Alternative rock? Check. Metal? Check. A remix? Check. And more. So let me not keep you up to find out what else is there this week.

Crawling King Snake. The Black Keys

Ahead of the new album, filled with blues covers, The Black Keys released Crawling King Snake, a song I got to know first through The Doors on 'L.A. Woman'. With that version, this one has nothing to do. It sounds like it is made by extremely competent musician friends spending a great afternoon together. The level of musicianship is deliciously high, the groove kept up effortlessly, allowing the song to flow like it perhaps has never flowed before. The high tension of The Doors is all gone and traded in for this relaxed groove going on for minutes on end. The guitars trading licks. The slide guitar plays a leading role, giving Crawling King Snake a dirty edge after all. What a way to spend time with friends making music, except that this is serious business, as it is on an album by The Black Keys released last week, 'Delta Kream'. And an album by The Black Keys, that's big business these days. No denying there.

Smile. Wolf Alice

Another single by Wolf Alice. Where I wrote recently that the band had become more mature in sound, in Smile Wolf Alice becomes totally unhinged in a great chorus that is up there with the best of alternative, modern rock. The difference between the angry and hard verses, bare rhythm driven and the dreamy chorus looking for something to shine, having already found it. The chorus that goes all out in a great pop way with long-held notes on the synths, accented by strong chord strokes, while the drums pound away in the background. Smile is the kind of single that makes me feel totally alive. Seldom was a dream more pleasant than Smile.

Severed Hand - Iron Hook. The Puzzle Is Cast

All good things come to an end, so also the string of 7 four weekly singles of the The Puzzle Is Cast releases ends. The work continues over the summer so an album can be released in the fall containing all the singles and newer work. Severed Hand - Iron Hook, I suppose a nod to 'Peter Pan's' Captain Hook, is played by Antonis Livieratos on piano and Sotiris Debonos, classical guitar, "Din Is Noise" soft synth & mix. The neo classical piano playing is not unlike the truckload of solo piano records, but somewhat more solid as well as spooky. This is no pleasant, romantic tinkering on the keys. The synth sounds, interspersed over and through the piano playing, add to the mood and even leads to some estrangement. Nothing seems clear anymore, all is uncertain. Severed Hand - Iron Hook takes intense listening to discover all that is going on. Near the end the music gets a more experimental treatment, where the piano goes off into its own direction, leaving us behind, slightly bewildered. Fascinating listening and definitely Kairos material, the radio show on Concertzender.

Infinite Blue. KnightressM1

KnightressM1 released a live video, recorded in a studio. Emily Palen does something I haven't seen many times before. Playing the violin while singing, like most guitarist do. Most violinists I know stop playing when they sing. The violin's sound is as distorted as the singing is almost too painful to listen to. Both are being pushed to the limit of what they are meant to do it seems. Distortion brings the violin to another level. Basically it has taken over the role of an electric guitar. The singing at times turns to something close to screaming. It's a good thing the drums and bass in the background keep their cool totally. They support the singing fully, without overstepping for a single second, keeping the song's balance. The whole is as intriguing as it is painful to listen to at times. Bleeding eardrums match the bleeding vocal chords. "Infinite blue, waving goodbye to you", followed by a shout Courtney Love would have been proud of. Impressive Infinite Blue is.

Aiming For The Sun. Pentral

Time for some more metal on WoNoBlog. Pentral returns with its mix of classic rock and metal riffing. The band knows its classics for sure and is able to give a modern twist to music originating in the 1970s. The way the riffs fly around my ears, shows how at ease the band is with playing them and how good at creating new riffs it is, next to the hundreds upon hundreds already in existence. The Brazilian band rings a bell with me, where many of the original bands did not. Perhaps because several different styles come together in one song? Who knows, fact is that I do not mind listening to Aiming For The Sun at all. One reason is that the singing is real and not some grunt. That makes it much more fun for me. Riff away!

Warm Shadow. Fink

After a string of new albums in past few years, Fink decided to reimagine several of his songs to be released as 'IIUII' later in the year. Warm Shadow new, is as good as Fink normally is. The interplay between the guitar and the keyboards gives the song a warm vibe. The little percussive noises work slightly estranging, something the warm keyboard sound cannot compensate fully. When replaced by handclapping the song truly changes in feel. The basis of the song is the acoustic guitar that keeps the song going in a fast and strong pace. Small variations change the chords, not the vibe. That remains as mysterious as this song is. Atmospherics, treatments of the sounds making up the song, all take place in order to keep us on our toes and alert to expect the unexpected. Warm Shadow can be taken for a rigid song but only in structure. Within it all is allowed, the, confined, flexibility used to great success.

She's A Beam / Milk Bird Flyer. Ty Segall and Cory Hanson

A double A-side single of two artists collaborating. She's A Beam is a light psychedelic track of the kind that seems to be floating away while I listen to it. As if the music somehow isn't solid. In the first two minutes all is wobbly, insecure almost. And then it all changes, as if the second song started already. Fierce drumming, a tight song on all sides. The high voice disappeared totally. She's A Beam changes into an instrumental rock song. What a change! Almost as if from a nightmare so sudden and abrupt. The kind that wakes one up in the middle of the night. Heartbeat racing. It all ends a bit more experimental, when the song structure slowly falls apart.

Milk Bird Flyer is only half as long and starts out as an alternative pop song from the 60s. Herman's Hermits on LSD, something like that. The singing is on helium to boot. The mix of the electric and acoustic guitar works well in the song. The chorus is totally psychedelic, as in not just a little. It is pretty far out there, to remain in Summer of Love speak. The guitar solo is spacy but tight as well. And then all of a sudden the song erupts and is over. Certainly nice but the singing does take some getting used to.

Revolution. Night Beats

A little extra psychedelic music never hurt any one. Night Beats provides it. The melody is dangerously close to something I already know. To be exact, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's 'Spread Your Love'. Revolution is from the band's upcoming album 'Outlaw R&B' (June 4). Like the song above Night Beats combines an acoustic guitar with a distorted electric guitar, creating the light and the shade in Revolution. The psychedelic garage rock sound of the band from Texas mixes the two exactly right. The acoustic guitar provides the song with a clear mind. The electric guitar that at times goes off into the stratosphere in some nice solo or two, turns it inside out. The result is that the as such not spectacular melody two chord melody is dragged around, shaken up and hammered into interesting shapes along the way that shine in the right moments.

Cheers. Faye Webster

Atlanta based Faye Webster is introduced to me by way of this alternative rock single with a modest pop edge. Cheers is a hybrid of pop, indie and rock. Together she created a song that is less tough than I expected  from hearing the tough, dry and elementary beginning. Drums, a muted bass and some electronic percussion make it a tough song. When the chorus laden guitar enters, the toughness gives room to a lightness that changes Cheers. Something it does not recover from in the second verse. Better, the keyboard later on adds to the lighter mood. Faye Webster played a serious game with(in) this single to make sure it has different moments that can grab the attention of the listeners. It certainly grabbed me.

Without U (Barbagallo Remix). Luka

Despite having written about a few of her singles, I could not find the words to write a review of her album, 'First Steps Of Letting Go'. Although I have regularly played it, words failed, most likely because Luka's music is just outside of my comfort zone. So is Without You in Barbagello's remix (yes, the Tame Impala drummer). Only, words do not fail me here. The song is so beautifully crafted, so well built up. From the almost bare intro over which Luka starts singing. A myriad of names enter my mind that I ignore, because of the way the song develops, the beat and keyboards kick in, kicking out all other thoughts. Slowly Barbagallo works towards a climax but takes his time, in fact even holds back before the rhythm and band truly are released. Barbagallo being a drummer most likely explains the fierce drumming in the second half of the song. It is not often that I listen to remixes, but for the second time this year, after Reb Fountains's 'Hawks & Doves (Tali Remix)', I'm totally surprised in the most positive of ways.

Wout de Natris

 

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Superwolves. Matt Sweeney & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

Will Oldham, aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and Palace (Music), does not need a lot of introduction on this blog. Matt Sweeney is best know from his stint as guitarist in Billy Corgan's post Smashing Pumpkins band Zwan and the duo album 'Superwolf' with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy from 2005. In 2021 the duo returns. Sweeney taking care of the music and Oldham of the lyrics and singing.

'Superwolf' was a great album but, for me, harder to listen to for some reason. That is not the case with Superwolves. The songs are instantly likeable, in their own warped way that is of course. This album is no easy listening session for unpractised ears. Dark and gloomy and paths less trodden on? You can find all that and more on Superwolves.

What strikes me most, is how Sweeney presents himself as a guitarist. He's the master of playing on the square centimetre. Many of his notes seem so small and confined. Of course this only takes place in my mind, but this is how some of the songs come across to me. Intricately woven note patterns that all together leave only the tiniest of spaces for them to mingle to a whole. Other instruments can be present but not as a necessity. The layers of guitars make a song as well. Where other artists would have thrown in the rest of the band, because there is one or because it's the standard. Not the two superwolves.

Will Oldham sings his lyrics over the intricate melodies. To be honest, it's been a few years since his work attracted me, some Bonnie 'Prince' Billy fatigue did set in. That has all gone with Superwolves. His lyrics and vocal melodies get to me immediately. Whether more personal in the sense of relationships or as angst visions that need to be exorcised, both shout for attention. At times multiple Oldhams sing to me, at other instances it is delicate, frail and bare.

What I also like is the way the single 'Hall Of Death' jumps out to me in all its weirdness. It is as jumpy and nervous as it is jubilant. An electric bluegrass as if The Hackensaw Boys decided to plug in and dive off the deep end. The energy in 'Hall Of Death' is so similar, and fun. The contrast with some of the small songs could not be much larger. Both grace the album in their own way.

I can imagine that for the fans of the original Bonnie 'Prince' Billy music, the addition of Matt Sweeney's music may be a hard thing to swallow. What I hear is the way this music challenged Will Oldham to bring out the best in himself. And it did. Superwolves truly is best of multiple worlds.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Superwolves here:

https://mattsweeneybonnieprincebilly.bandcamp.com/album/superwolves

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

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New Woman. Luisa

Slowly but surely it is dawning on me that pop artists can come from anywhere. Where the first decades of my musical forming years the U.K. was certainly dominant, followed by the U.S. and my own country, all other countries were at best footnotes in my private discotheque. Over the past 10 years this has changed. Take Luisa, I have to listen closer to discern an accent in her singing. Musically this music could have been made anywhere, in this case Germany.

With New Music Luisa releases her third album. The music balances between modern pop, Sade soul, R&B and indie pop. It results in an album that is always pleasant to listen to, never offensive, where one song is closer to my liking than the other, an effect more modern albums have on me.

Reading her own words, I take this album has to be seen as a kind of liberation. Liberation from her past, liberation from being seen as a woman alone working in a male dominated music world, reverberating in the album title. Together with producer Tobias Siebert she crafted a wonderful musical world on New Woman. The album is rich in sound, round and full, where pop is an equal part of the more indie side of her songwriting.

At her best she gets close to Swiss but Berlin based singer Sophie Hunger, like in the majestic 'I Forgive You'. A ballad where pop meets a classical regality. This is only one side of New Woman. Just as easily Luisa moves over to modern sort of soul that Sade might have made, had she been 30 years younger. Luisa sings with the same longing over songs that are somewhat harder, so less dreamy.

Press photo

Like all good singers, Luisa has a few voices. She can sing in a deeper register, creating a different, more serious vibe, while through singing higher she gives a song a more dreamy quality. It results in a diverse album. On the downside, for me, are 80s synths and a Spandau Ballet rhythm guitar style playing, adorning some songs, e.g 'Walking Home With A Lover', where I am somewhat less pleased. As part of a whole album, I can live with the song though. There's enough to like here.

On stage Luisa may be a one band singer-songwriter on record she is not and the quality of New Woman suggests that her days as a one-woman band ought to be, at least partly, over. With a band her music will bloom further and get her name out further as well. Fact is, that Luisa with New Woman has given off a visiting card that ought to get her name out around the globe. Time will tell just how far the album will reach.

Wout de Natris

 

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50th birthday of Ram. Paul & Linda McCartney

It was fifty years ago today that Paul McCartney had no band to play with. So instead, he took off for the countryside of Scotland with his wife Linda. Although much criticized back then, the Ram album he produced there is possibly the best album by any of the ex-Beatles. The incredible variety of musical styles on the album means there is always a song to fit your mood. From Wilsonian vocal harmonies to blues, and from light hearted folk to screaming rockers, Ram has it all. Moreover, listening to the album in one go does not at any moment get boring: the album is too full of surprises for that, both in terms of the quality of the melodies, the accents set by individual instruments and vocal lines as well as the variety of styles. Linda McCartney’s voice in most of the songs also adds a lot to the album, giving it further variety and unexpected twists. This album presents Paul McCartney at his best.

The theme of one of the album’s songs Heart of the Country, about wanting to leave the stress of the city and move to the countryside, resonates strongly with me at the moment. Being locked up inside with others 24/7, with the stress of plenty of work to do, but without an escape to get away from it all, and a pandemic seemingly without end keeping me away from my family and friends while putting my health in danger, I strongly feel the urge to get the heck out of the city, and find a calm place without internet where my family and friends could live safely and happily.

The pandemic situation also helps me to imagine the stress McCartney must have felt as the Beatles split up in 1969/1970. As much as the Beatles loved each other, having spent so much time together since they were young lads in Liverpool, they wanted to break free. They had achieved everything any band could ever hope to achieve, but the total lack of privacy and the constant pressure to produce the next best album in recorded history took their toll. They wanted to find out who they themselves were, they wanted to spend time with their wives and children, and they wanted to find out what they could achieve on their own, without the other Beatles to back them up.

But being the Beatles, their break up was put under a Hubble telescope sized magnifying glass. The break up turned nasty, with fights amongst each other over contracts and money, and fights in the press about who caused the break up. Was it Yoko’s meddling or was it Paul’s bossiness? Being the one who announced the break up of the Beatles, McCartney drew a lot of fire. After his first solo album (McCartney) received bad reviews, McCartney was under a lot of pressure to make an album that would be received better. Especially because Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and Lennon’s John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band received excellent reviews. The strong, heartfelt lyrics on these albums played no small role in this.

To get away from the public eye, and to overcome his sadness about the break up of the Beatles, McCartney took off to Scotland. There, he bonded strongly with his wife and kids, and he refound his love for making music. His joy of making music again, away from the public’s pressure and away from his former band mates, can be heard throughout the album. Moreover, after losing his former Beatle bandmates, he found that he could write songs and play music with his wife Linda. She is the co-writer of half the songs on the album, and sings on most too. All of these feelings are wrapped up in the lovely Heart of the Country, about his escape to the countryside.

Photo: Joes de Natris

‘Want a horse, want a sheep, want to get myself a good night’s sleep, living in my home in the heart of the country.’ Yes, please!

The critics back in 1971 would not have any of it, however. As Rolling Stone’s reviewer Jon Landau wrote: “Ram represents the nadir in the decomposition of Sixties rock thus far. […] Ram is so incredibly inconsequential and so monumentally irrelevant you can’t even [hate] it: it is difficult to concentrate on, let alone dislike or even hate.” That’s harsh, even by the standards of the British boulevard press, leave alone a respected music magazine.

Perhaps some critics expected more of the hi-fi productions like on Let it Be instead of the lo-fi production of Ram. Perhaps the sometimes non-sensical or light hearted lyrics were seen as an insult to the Beatles legacy (despite their notoriety for deliberate nonsense) or did not compare well at the time with Lennon’s and Harrison’s deeper lyrics on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and All Things Must Pass. Yet, where Heart of the Country is described by Jon Landau as ‘the lowest point on the album’ with the ‘lyrics about the joys of the country ring[ing] false’, I can’t but relate to the feelings McCartney is singing about. Perhaps replacing Lennon, Harrison and Ringo with his previously entirely unmusical wife Linda was seen as an insult to the fans, although I think her voice is perfect for the roles it plays on this album.

I do not think the original criticism of the album aged well at all. The album is now even being described by some as the first Indie Pop album (much of the information presented in this piece comes from this great YouTube video about Ram, it is worth a watch!). Regardless of whether that is true, the album perhaps was ahead of its time, or simple not the right album at the right time. However, I am grateful for having discovered this album (my dad never played it when I was young; he agreed with the critics when he first listened to it in the early 90s). The album gave me many hours of diversion in a period seriously lacking that, and kept up my good spirits while sorting out the details of municipal politics in the Netherlands for my PhD. This album is definitely not well known enough given its quality. 1/1,

Joes de Natris

absolutely recommends listening to this album!

 

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