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Do The Rum Bar Rumble. Split 7"
The Pale Lips split a single with The Sorel, where I can only assume that the latter band did not name itself after Dutch top criminal Dino S.
The Pale Lips contribute 'Don't Take Your Switchblade To New York'. It's an uptempo rocker like the world has heard a million times over the past decades. Tight and neat. The title suggests a plea in the style of 'Give Up Your Guns'. No, it's more a warning about the minor league wanting to play unprepared in the major league: "We've got guns, mind". It explains the voice singing with disdain and not pleading.
'She's
In The Gang' is The Sorels' contribution. Rocking even a bit harder,
moving towards punkrock, while singing along remains an option for
enjoying the music. The melody moves as easily into the pop of The
Go-Go's and The Bangles as musically it is kin to The Romantics or even
Iggy Pop. The tough lyrics, "she's in the gang and she's so cool", match
the tight guitar playing and matching rhythm section. So, the band's
name may be after all be inspired by Dino S. A tough pair Do The Rum Bar
Rumble is.
From
the title I take this to be an ode to fanzines. Listening to it, I
somehow doubt it. It's more like a singer with a speech impediment and a girl called Francine. Joking aside, this song starts of
with a riff inspired by the original five The Byrds before setting off
into pop-rock territory. The Peppermint Kicks play songs in the style of music
Geoff Palmer loves to be active in. He's not in the band, but Dan Kopko
is. The Watts frontman enters the blog in his third incarnation this few
months only. Here he's exploring his pop side a little more, resulting
in a glorious song that every fan of pop-rock will find elements in to
his or her liking. An angler for his own fanzine?
After
her tremendously good album 'Designer' the world went into lockdown and
like all musicians Aldous Harding will have turned to songwriting
instead of touring after her latest record. 'Designer' in mind, Old Peel comes as a bit of a surprise. For fans of the album, like me, the
staccato opening of Old Peel, may take some getting used to. This single
is far more experimental than her previous work. Each instrument
appears to be on its own planet. Harmonically it fits, yet they are
seemingly separated. In sound, as they seem isolated from each other and
in the way of playing in the space between notes. Not even the vocals
tie them all together. The result is the instruments are easy to follow
in what they are doing. There's no hiding, except for the little organ
popping up in the background every once in a while. I'm surprised by Old
Peel but for now Aldous Harding's new single certainly gets the benefit
of the doubt.
Having
formed in 2000, Liars has entered its third decade as a band. It
celebrates that event with the release of 'The Apple Drop' in August.
Big Appetite is not the kind of song that shares that feeling of ferocious
hunger. More like a fashion model pecking at her raw salad. The
undercooled music certainly is cool, influenced by the postpunk music of
the early 80s when the world was about to fall on our heads, fallout
included or not. It's a good thing to wallow every once in a while in
the darkness of this kind of music. From The Cure to The Simple Minds to
Tubeway Army for those who grew up with these bands. Big Appetite has
that darker outlook on music as well. At the same time the band knows
full well how to dress up a song. In that darkness a bright sounding
piano is being banged on, one note on repeat, throwing light into Big
Appetite. There's more to this song, as the lighter sounding guitar
proves a well. Intriguing song Big Appetite is.
From
The Black Keys paying a loving, and extremely good tribute, to the
Mississippi hills bluesmen of the past to 2021. Cedric Burnside,
grandson of R.L., has that fire burning within him. The blues in a 21st
century incarnation comes out of my speakers. Forget 12 bars blues,
Cedric seems to take it as it comes. The sound certainly is modern. If
only Robert Cray, by now a veteran. had ever played half this dirty. And
Burnside has a clear sound at that! Pretty Flowers has a great groove.
The drums owe something to the hip hop grooves rock bands like The Stone
Roses experimented with and jumping the ocean, Americans like G.Love and
Special Sauce. Burnside from there lays a Robert Cray style song over
the more rocking sound. The combination of the clean/dirty guitar
with the (well, almost) modern rocking groove works really well. Blues of the 21st
century Pretty Flowers is.
The
way this single started I expected it to last about 20 seconds more
before I would move on, but no. I Know turns out to be an interesting
hybrid of pop, folk and synthpop, all propped up by some great bass
playing behind it all but prominently mixed. The featuring Jah Wobble is
a correct attribution as the bass man has a great contribution to this
single. Erica Nockalls presents an interesting song as introduction to
her upcoming, third, solo record. I would not call Ms. Nockalls a
singer. For that she has a to shrill and girl like voice. What I
strongly suspect, is that she is aware of her limitation as a singer,
uses this to her advantage and presents her voice in the right and optimal way. It all
results in a song that has character and enough elements to want to keep
listening. Her violin playing, the bass, the harmonies, all together I
Know is a song that moves forward slowly but ever so sure of its
direction: our brains.
Big
Baby returns to this blog with its new single. Again a pop song with a
melody that invites to sing along to. The single has a bubblegum
element within but to be truly that it fails to have the lightness of
heart coming with the genre. Let's Do It Again is as much fun as it has a
sheen of expected sadness over it, belied fully by the title claiming
fun for all concerned. It turns out, Let's Do It Again can be shared from desperation
as well. "I'm not sure if I'm winning and I'm not sure if I ever want to
get out of bed". From heartsickness or a bad hangover from partying too
hard? Let's do it again is the mantra though and it's all about an
ended relationship, about someone who has walked out of the door. The
mixed atmosphere of the music is entirely correctly chosen. Even the
trumpet solo holds the mix. Anticipation and relational depredation.
Well done, Big Baby.
Low I associate with dark song that move forward slower than a slug on its way to the neighbours' vegetable patch behind our houses. It always sounds impressive but I can't listen to it for to long. The beginning of Days Like These is surprising as it starts with some harmony vocals hinting at tempo that may just explode. It is something else that explodes. The song continues with the same vocal melody except that underneath it a so distorted sound is played that the recording equipment and my speakers cannot cope. The sound of a blown up speaker is what remains, except that the vocal, almost drowned out, remains clear. The musical "joke", like Pink Floyd's barking dogs, confusing dogs or imploding sound, confusing audiophiles, is not 100% because of the clear vocals. Next up is an extremely dreamy sequence that actually is extremely good. All in all Days Like These is confusing, as confusing as the days are nowadays. I'm intrigued, not convinced, yet?
Nightspell
returns as well. The fuzzladen single rocks loud with a muddy sound
making me think of a person dragging himself on wellies through molten
asphalt. The second single of the band makes a bold statement in the
psychedelic rock arena already filled to the rim with bands like The
Black Angels. Nightspell is carving out a modest niche for itself on the
basis of just two songs. They present a promise to the world. There's
more where this came from, pay attention!, is what the band is shouting
out. From the big drums, perhaps the cleanest sound on Pegasus, to the
deep bass and layer of guitars and the singer half-hidden among it all,
it is an add for Nightspell's future.
Vera
Ellen was on this blog with a solo single very recently but her band,
the duo Girl Friday together with Libby Hsieh, is really a double A-side
single as well. Due to the pandemic there was a Pacific Ocean between
the two. Ellen being in New Zealand and Hsieh in Los Angeles. Modern
techniques and the Internet don't prevent anyone from collaborating
wherever they are, as most of us have noticed over the past year and a
half. The musical ideas were sent to and fro with a simple click of the
mouse. And with a click of the mouse the world can listen to the songs
since a few days. I'm Impossible is a dreamy track with a lot of music
coming out of a box. The same goes for You're Getting A Dog. More
uptempo, with a prominent rhythm guitar, the song appeals more to my
tastes. The dreamy singing does leave Girl Friday's music. The synths
give the whole a very 80s vibe in the style of Orchestral Manoeuvrers in
the Dark. The choice for a more primitive synth sound seems a conscious
one. It makes the latter song sound almost archaic and that is what
gives it its charm.
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
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