Three Shots EP. The Dirty Truckers
The Dirty Truckers makes music that I heard in what I call my transition period in music.A period that I sort of lost interest in new music and hardly have any favourite albums rom, opposed to some singles. Let's say from 1982 to 1991. I may have liked a single from a band like The Hooters, 'Satellite', but never an album. Listening to Three Shots EP The Dirty Truckers combine the best of the era in its songs, including a hit like 'I Love You Period'. What I'm hearing is good old, honest rock music from the U.S. with a lot of melody, a truckload of it, deliciously raucous guitar playing and a rhythm section that goes straight for the goal line without any sidetracking. Tom Baker's voice has the exact right rasp in his voice to make the songs on the EP totally convincing. Three Shots has all the right ingredients to rock out to.
Popular was Nada Surf's breakthrough and as far as I know, only hit single. Which is a shame as the band has made great songs over the past quarter century. Pom Pom Squad (Mia Berrin) has made it to the blog once with its album 'Death Of A Cheerleader'. The two bands toured together recently, which led to a Pom Pom Squad in between single. She recorded her own version of Popular, with Matthew Caws, which is, was and always will be be a great song, also in the new version. Pom Pom Girl rocks out fully, totally within the limits the spoken word verses and the chorus alternated song allows for. Deep guitars strummed fiercely, yet melodically, support the chorus melody, that invites singing along to, loudly. The video not only refers to the title of her album but is also a full remake of the original one. It's filled with cheerleaders and American football players, all girls this time. The whole video is about bending the rules around, the girls taking over and still I love it. This version is totally deserving of attention for it. Popular is a great song.
It's not even a year ago that The Vices' debut album 'Looking For Faces' saw the light of day and already the first single towards album number 2 'At Least I Heard 'em Saying' is released. This will take a lot of patience though, as the album is scheduled for the fall of 2022. If Strange Again is a bellwether it is going to be a long wait. The single rocks out and the arrangements within the alternative rocksong are simply fun. Nothing elaborate and totally functional, it works the whole of the way. The dynamics within the song are just as good. A fundamental beat is present during the whole song, tight and elementary. All the little fun melodies are played out one by one, where the band did not stop at one, or two or three findings. There are multiple melodies sprinkled all over the song, to drop away to reveal the bare rhythm once again. Strange Again is one of those good alternative rock songs that are great fun as well.
If Karaoke is a protest song, it is the softest one I've ever heard. Without Covid-19, this song would have never been made, as this is all about Covid-19 or better the consequences coming with the disease. In a time where for many people living is no longer an option as they did not survive the disease, most people are longing to resume their lives. "Wouldn't it be nice to do some living before I die", Judy Blank sings. She voices this as a question, while many youths I know are totally despairing of losing their party years, that will never return. Judy Blank voices this concern in a soft voiced song with a bare accompaniment on an acoustic guitar, with a sparse piano note here and there. The soft singer-songwriter song in a style that reminds me of the softest ballads of Big Star, strikes the right dreamy tone of someone dreaming of days that seem to never come again in the time of a pandemic. Waiting for the sun to come, for now, is the only remedy in the dark winter months.
"Everything is simple till it's not". Do you really think so?, I can't help but muse. With its new single, the first one on route to the band's new album, 'The Jacket', Widowspeak does make it seem simple to write a dreamy song with a dark undertone. Singer Molly Hamilton dreams away with her soft-toned voice, while the lead guitar plays dark notes on the bass strings. A second guitar plays parts of a chord but also in an ominous way. I only saw the movie 'Don't Look Up' very recently, so the memory is fresh. This song sort of reminds me of the ignoring of disaster while dreaming of other things taking place in the movie. The way people are unable to grasp impending doom as long as it is out of sight, around the corner. I'm not excluding myself here. Widowspeak seems to capture both this state of mind and the "thing" around the corner with Everything Is Simple. The only enlightenment comes from the sparse piano notes, despite the fact that even they have a darker tone.
Wout de Natris
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