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It has been silent for quite some time around No Ninja Am I. Sander van Munster was recording songs with his new trio De Breek. So I was pleasantly surprised when I received a note announcing a new single. White Lies is a song No Ninja Am I has been playing live for years but never managed to record satisfactorily. That problem was obviously solved. White Lies is the kind of song that builds and builds. It starts with just a voice and banjo or small guitar. Soft and delicate the song presents itself to the world. Because of the sound of the plucked snares, it is extremely present despite the delicate nature of the melody. Slowly but surely an instrument is added. Van Munster double tracks his vocal, harmonies join, before more instruments join. Without overdoing it White Lies moves into a grand finale, without losing its delicate nature. The singing, the texture of Sander van Munster's voice, it all remains vulnerable. B side 'Playwrights' befits the A side perfectly. The kind of soft ballad that I have dozens of in my record collection. The electric guitar part makes is stand out in a beautiful way. It brings to mind 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. A song that is able to do this, is worth its while, and 'Playwrights' is exactly that.
Only a couple of weeks to go and the new Courtney Barnett album will be released. For at least six years Barnett is the indie darling of the world. A new album is something to truly look out for. My personal relationship is of a wavering nature. I really love her last album, the ones before that certainly had their moments but did not convince me as a whole. 'Jen Cloher', the last album of her partner Jen, remains my favourite.
Write a List ... is a song that starts tremendously lightly. The indie guitar intro reminds listeners of everything from The Byrds to REM and back. It heralds a fun song, just like the solo does later on in the song, in fact the end of it. The upbeat music is not matched by Courtney Barnett's singing. She always sounds a bit bored, because of the sound of her voice. To me the combination is a bit too confusing. This makes Write A List ... a nice song and not a fantastic song, songs Ms. Barnett certainly has in her oeuvre.
With 'Freedom' Cat Dowling already impressed me once in her run up to a to be released album. Animals is a somewhat different beast. A song that has power within it and a huge change. It moves from a somewhat jazzy first half towards a stadium rocker of the kind U2 would not have minded playing in its best years. Singer Cat Dowling's voice sort of surfs over both versions of the song. The surprise of the change is simply huge and totally unexpected. The power is there from the very beginning, in the way the acoustic guitar and violins are played and in the drum accents that come by and build up. More and more accents join, Animals ever goes upwards. But listening the first time there was no way of telling this would happen. especially as it winds down first to. Only after the middle part it becomes clear that a storm is brewing and when it comes a song is released that will release all the listeners in a venue as well. An eruption of dance, abandon and joy I imagine. Animals is a great song.
When I was young a three song single was called a maxi single, but who cares in 2021? Long and O'Neill are active in the music business since the 80s. Each have fronted bands, then. They know each other however from early youth onwards and now return together to release two EPs and an album, 'Moll & Zeis'. Far From Home is an EP that has a darkness over the sound and the singing. At the same time it is no longer 1980. The title song has a lighter touch thanks to the high sounding lead guitar and the synth allowed to come forward here and there. The sound does not make the song joyful but certainly a pleasure to listen to. With the title song Long and O'Neill successfully transport their 1980s based music into the 2020s. With a great extra feature in the dark lead guitar that reminds me of the best of The Cure. With 'Hand Of Love' the EP has a third song, a cover of The Sound.
Soft Plastics is another of the New Zealand bands I was introduced to thanks to the Flying Nun record store's newsletter. Soft Plastics gave some of its songs away for free on Bandcamp and I can only say that the introduction is extremely welcome. When and where a next album is up, chances are that I will purchase it. Good advertising that's called. My Girl/Your World is a song that reminds me of songs from the mid 1960s. In The Netherlands we have Donna Blue, an even more extreme version of what Soft Plastics does on its latest single. My Girl/Your World is pure nostalgia. Music from a time that is so long gone that even I can't remember it from when it was released first. Nancy Sinatra before ('Like I Do') and partly with Lee Hazelwood ('Phaedra' or 'Sweet Summer Wine') for example comes to mind. Some 60s girl trio's from before The Supremes. Soft, delicate, reverb, empty. But the word that sticks most is beautiful.
Wout de Natris
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