Ten Singles 2021/18

Each week I try to listen with a fresh ear to the singles that were presented to me in the past few weeks. A few times I decide not to pursue listening to a song but as little as possible, because of that fresh ears. When I stop, it is because the music is really not for me or because I think the quality on offer is not as good as I expect it to be. That recently happened, no, no names mentioned, to an artist who found his way to this blog very regularly.

A special mention goes out to the new Boston record label Red on Red. The singles coming out of there since the fall of 2020 are truly outstanding. For the rest you find an extremely diverse set of music by artists releasing their first single ever and ones recording for decades already.

Leave The Light On. Andrea Gillis

I did not even know yet what Andrea Gillis' voice sounded like but during the intro I already was in some kind of musical heaven. I'm hearing a kind of perfect pop/new wave intro in a mix that Blondie used to excel in from 'Heart Of Glass' onwards. Leave The Light On is that kind of perfect blend of pop and rock with a hint of a dance rhythm. I haven't a clue whether Blondie will ever release another record, nor whether I'll take the time to listen to it, but I'm sure the band would die to have a song like this on it. Andrea Gillis has that same depth in her voice as Debbie Harry has but misses that sharp, shrill edge Harry could have when she had to overreach her vocal range and power. Until this afternoon I had never heard of Andrea Gillis but what an introduction to the singer this song is. I truly love this song.

Girl Cavedog. The Chelsea Curve

Boston trio The Chelsea Curve signed with Red on Red Records and announced to release a single a month until a full release in the fall of this year. I can't promise that all the songs will be covered but this start certainly deserves a spot. The single has a 60s hitsong lenght, a late 70s powerpop edge and the combination of U.K. and U.S. post punk rock bands like The Romantics and The Pretenders. The best of several worlds in my book. The female singer is straight in your face, as is the lead guitar that escapes the tight rhythm every once and again for a few loose notes or a fiery solo. If this is a debutsingle The Chelsea Curve can be quite content with its effort. Let the monthly game begin!

Boy In A Bubble. Kid Gulliver

And that is three for Red on Red. I can't help liking the songs the label is cranking out. Kid Gulliver by now is familiar name on the blog, as several previous songs have come by in the past year. Boy In A Bubble is a powerpop song that is extremely close and tight, until it finally lets a guitar escape the song's tight structure. The rhythm is very present and determines what I'm hearing more than in an average song. Of course, I'm not counting the guitar intro that is repeated throughout the song. The second feature is the undercooled, if not disillusioned longing in Simone Berk's voice. The result is that I'm tending to find the song more decent that good, until I tapping in on a different level and notice that the balance of Boy In A Bubble is simply perfect, giving away the true quality of the song. It's a pop-rock gem.

Arrows. Red Fang

Red Fang will not release its new album 'Arrows' before June, after singing the covid period out for too long to wait any longer. The title song is already available. Arrows is a heavy rock track moving towards metal even, with deep dark riffs overriden by a lead guitar in a lighter tone. The Portland band really lays it on thick, like the paint of certain COBRA painters. The result is a mix of Black Sabbath with The Offspring. The singing has the whoa-oas of punkrock, the music is much deeper and darker. This makes Arrows a song that is harder to love, but easier to rock to. I can imagine the music to shake a body in a literal sense, with the bass and bass drum strumming the gut making them vibrate. Red Fang's new song may be dark but it's the kind of heavy rock I like.

Everyone's The Same. Island

In 2018 Island released 'Feels Like Air' an album which I described lukewarm by a band that was making music mostly on the safe side without doing anything wrong. Nice, is another word. Everyone's The Same, the second single for an upcoming album, certainly does not fit this description. Island is diving off the deep end with a loud, alternative rock song. The accents in the music prevents it from being instantly liked and perhaps even from ever being truly loved. It just is not an easy song to digest. For that it's too prickly, too distant, too difficult. Yet, I'm more than inclined to give the single the benefit of the doubt. Island is sticking out its neck in a daring way and getting away with it, with ease. Looking at Everyone's The Same as a part of a whole, it will make up an intriguing part of an album. I'm looking forward to learn how it will fit the bigger picture.

Mr. Haze. Texas

Texas? When did I last hear a song by the Scottish duo? I can't tell and I also notice that I can't reproduce the title of one of the hits the band had once upon a long time ago. With Mr. Haze Texas celebrates being in the business for such a long time that we who stuck around, all aren't young anymore. Sharleen Spiteri's voice sounds darker than it used to. The pop feel has not left the band though. I can't say I had a lot of expectations here, but let myself be pleasantly surprised. Mr. Haze is a song with a nice, sweet flowing chorus and a more than adequate verse. The uptempo song is adorned with quietly blowing horns and a lead guitar playing nice notes around the chords. Mr. Haze is the kind of pop song that really works well on me.

Early Snow. Chris Eckman

Another artist that releases records since the late 80s. Once the co-singer and songwriter of The Walkabouts, now a solo artist and contributor to many projects and bands. With a new solo record on route for early June, Early Snow sees the light of day. It is a song presenting Chris Eckman on his most intimate. A man and his acoustic guitar. But just like when I got to know his voice with the 'New West Motel' cd in 1993, his voice and song bring me under their spell. It's easy to imagine this song being turned into a folkrock anthem The Walkabouts were so good in. In this intimate setting, Early Snow is glistering like first snow in the street lanterns' glow. The song is delicate, soft but with a beautiful melody. The deceptive simplicity gives me the impression that I could have written the music to this song, except never could no matter how hard I tried. "Three chords and the truth", that is what is going on here..... Chris Eckman found all the right notes within those three chords, including the beautiful acoustic solo's.

Sanity. La Belle Époque

Danny van Tiggele is one of the two members of Mister & Mississippi that do not draw that much attention to them. Over the past years he had collected several songs and wanted to release them. He chose the name La Belle Époque reflecting on that period in the late 19th century announcing great progress in everything. Not unlike our world today, he adds. Let's hope that it ends better than La Belle Époque did. For the album he collaborated with a host of Dutch artists who either just sang or co-wrote the songs with him. On the first single Moss and Opera Alaska singer Marien Dorleijn is his singer. Sanity is a short, 2 minute something, pop gem, with a nice beatlesque chord progression and run of notes, seemingly pushing the song forward, while staying nicely within the rhythm. Sanity sparkles on the edge of gloominess. There's no big joy but subtle fun without overdoing it. In other words, an extremely nice pop song.

An Allen Tagen. Peter Muffin Trio

"Alle dagen het eendere beeld", sang André Manuel of Krang in 2001. In 2021 the Peter Muffin Trio releases a single called An Allen Tagen. No wonder I'm instantly reminded of 'Alle Dagen'. The song is a homemade as the video is. It is on the brink of impossible to take seriously. At the same time both music and video are simply charming. An acoustic guitar, a bass, some drums that is all the instruments you hear on An Allen Tagen. They are played in a way as if the musicians have just mastered them enough to get away with the recording. This contrasts sharply with the melody. I have no doubts there this trio knows what it's doing. The harmonies have been worked out into details and the melody has an alternative niceness to it. For now the Peter Muffin Trio gets the benefit of the doubt with this introduction.

Dead Letter Box. Curt Florczak

Dead Letter Box is Kurt Florczak's debut single as a solo artist. The imagery is today's reality. Let's face it, who receives letters today? I truly can't remember last receiving (or writing) one. In the song it is more a metaphor for a relationship's end and for words that are never said. The lyrics are accompanied by a rock setting with the guitar producing some really nice accents and lead lines that colour in the song at the right moments. Accompanied by Jared Seabrook on drums, Florczak takes on all other duties in the song and knows his way around on a guitar alright. His harmonies work quite well as well. Lovers of 80s and early 90s U.S. rock with a tiny country injection, think Dan Baird, The Jayhawks, e.g., should find their way to this single.

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