dinsdag 31 mei 2022

Donna Blue Live. Patronaat Café, Sunday 29 May 2022

Photo: Wout de Natris
Bathing in light so red Donna Blue played on a stage where I expected Twin Peaks' the Red Room Lilliputian to walk in and do his mysterious dance. The association is not outlandish, as the music Donna Blue plays must have been inspired by Angelo Badalamenti as well.

Donna Blue played in Haarlem as part of its first headlining tour of The Netherlands showing it is more than ready to play as headliner. The growth the band showed since the previous time I saw them play is tremendous. Besides having a whole album, 'Dark Roses', filled with new songs, the band has, despite the Covid period, more mileage on its meter, something so important for a band to gain.

This manifested itself in a few ways. It start with standing on a stage itself. The band members appeared to be more relaxed and comfortable there. This resulted in moments of total abandon. Just letting go and go with the flow of the song and the beat. Donna Blue was able to escape the tight confine of a song when it felt like it and just let it rip. So interesting to listen to and to watch.

Descriptions of Donna Blue's music all sort of wind down to the same thing: 1960s south of France, Serge Gainsbourg, imageries of Brigitte Bardot movies, etc. Add a surf guitar style of playing, a huge echo and Twin Peaks. It's all true. Listening to Donna Blue is like entering a time machine to another place, where, seen from a nostalgic point of view, life was simpler, easier. I would prefer not to add better, as it wasn't. It was good, true. What is added to the nostalgia in the music, is modern technique, making the music sound better than ever possible in 1965.

Photo: Wout de Natris
To see the band play up close, showed a few nice details. How the drummer plays from a flick of this thumb and not from his wrist or arm. His drum stick halfway in his hand and not at or close to the end. So delicate and still forceful. How singer Danique sings, plays a keyboard and percussion, sometimes all at the same time. Her role has grown considerably as well in the past years, as there's more to play for her. Seeing all the riffs and lead lines Bart plays on the guitar with about a truckload of reverb on the sound. All comes with the veneer of a great, plopping bass sound. As an aside, John Paul Jones' hairstyle has come back in fashion as well, I noticed.

The music of Donna Blue is a beautiful mix of desire, longing and dreaming. It is also developing itself. On the one hand the sound is deepening, becoming ever more sophisticated. On the other hand more radical 60s music is finding its way into the sound as well, as The Velvet Underground's influence can be heard. It gives the music more depth and variation. This really showed in Patronaat. Donna Blue is setting giant steps and it's about time the national radio starts playing the band's singles. It would be well-deserved.

Wout de Natris


You can listen to and order 'Dark Roses' and the three EPs here:

https://snowstar.bandcamp.com/album/dark-roses-2


maandag 30 mei 2022

Mountaineer live. De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam Saturday 28 May 2022

Photo: Wout de Natris
An album released in mid winter, during the, hopefully, last Covid lockdown, the postponed record presentation. Finally, the option to celebrate the release of Mountaineer's second album, 'Lewis & Clark', materialised in De Nieuwe Anita.

'Lewis & Clark' has come with many positive reviews, and I am glad to add, including in national papers. The album contains singer-songwriter songs with a pop feel and a country twist. Marcel Hulst has used the opportunity to work out arrangements, both musically and vocally, meticulously. The songs are so warm and rich. With so much to discover but also of the kind that soothes the listeners. Like an arm across the shoulder in a moment of need.

To call 'Lewis & Clark' a concept album would be taking things too far. There is an overarching theme: Marcel Hulst's love for the U.S. of A. In the songs many towns and states come by, attesting to travelling, as does the title, pointing to the discovery of the U.S. over land by Lewis and Clark's expedition in the early 19th century.

Descending the stairs into the cellar of De Nieuwe Anita, I saw seven people on stage and even a few extra microphones. All band members minus 1 of Marcel Hulst's band Maggie Brown were on stage, as was Eveline Ypma (Elenne May, Tom Tukker) and a trumpet player, Wouter Hakhoff. Marcel Hulst sat up front, totally relaxed  and that was different from the previous Mountaineer launching party in 2015. Sitting on a stool, acoustic guitar in hand he led his band and us through the new Mountaineer album.

The sound was perfect. Imagine a singer, singing at almost a whisper, coming over the band with ease, a lot of "bathroom" on top of his voice, with every single instrument in a perfect mix behind and around him. Keyboard, horn/trumpet, background vocals, a little synthesizer, percussion, pedal steel/electric guitar, bass and drums, all in a perfect balance.

Photo: Wout de Natris
Most importantly, the audience nearly held its breath. It was so quiet that had a pin dropped, we would have heard it. Of course, everyone was here for the band, friends, family, true fans, yet the atmosphere was close to sacred. Truth be told, a less enraptured audience would kill the fun for everyone else, band and audience. This music is so delicate, that to hold it comes with the risk of breaking.

The highlights of the album were the highlights of the show, favourite songs are favourite songs, but that said, there was not one weak brother or sister among the songs played. They all held up so easily. Each song has at least one special moment and most several. "Oldie" 'Submarine' from Mountaineers first album '1974', fitted in perfectly. 'Baltimore', sung solo, stepped out of the limelight at the end of the album to claim its own piece of fame and rightly so. The song shone and showed that most likely all songs would get away with just a solo performance, if ever needed.

I had almost forgotten what it was like to enjoy music live in a smaller venue with perfect sound. Thanks to Mountaineer I am totally back into it. Thank you for a perfect evening.

Wout de Natris

 

You can listen to and order Lewis & Clark here:

https://mountaineer-music.bandcamp.com/album/lewis-clark

zondag 29 mei 2022

Quitters. Christian Lee Hutson

Na het uitstekende Beginners uit 2020, keert de Amerikaanse muzikant Christian Lee Hutson terug met het nog betere Quitters, waarop hij zich wederom verzekerd weet van de diensten van Phoebe Bridgers.

Christian Lee Hutson deed op zijn debuutalbum afwisselend denken aan Elliott Smith en Paul Simon, maar de Amerikaanse muzikant liet ook veel van zichzelf horen op het door Phoebe Bridgers geproduceerde album. Deze week keert Christian Lee Hutson terug met Quitters, dat in alle opzichten groei laat horen. Naast Phoebe Bridgers schoof ook Conor Oberst aan voor de productie van een album dat nog interessanter is dan zijn voorganger. Het is nog altijd een album dat herinnert aan de muziek van Elliott Smith, maar het stempel van Christian Lee Hutson zelf is dit keer ook duidelijker. Het levert een mooi en melancholisch album op dat de Amerikaanse muzikant definitief op de kaart zet als talent.

Bijna twee jaar geleden verscheen Beginners, het debuutalbum van de Amerikaanse muzikant Christian Lee Hutson. Het is een naam die niet direct een belletje deed rinkelen, maar Beginners trok flink wat aandacht dankzij de productie van het album door niemand minder dan Phoebe Bridgers en de gastbijdragen van onder andere Lucy Dacus, Meg Duffy, Conor Oberst en wederom Phoebe Bridgers. Met Beginners manoeuvreerde Christian Lee Hutson zich ergens tussen Paul Simon en Elliott Smith in en maakte hij indruk met mooie en vaak flink melancholische popliedjes. 

Deze week verscheen het tweede album van de muzikant uit Los Angeles en ook voor Quitters kon Christian Lee Hutson een beroep doen op Phoebe Bridgers. Quitters werd geproduceerd door Phoebe Bridgers en Conor Oberst, die het tweede album van Christian Lee Hutson hebben voorzien van een wat verzorgder geluid. 

Het is een geluid dat ook dit keer vrijwel onmiddellijk associaties oproept met de muziek van Elliott Smith. Dat ligt voor een belangrijk deel aan de stem van Christian Lee Hutson en zijn manier van zingen, maar ook de klanken op het album en de enorme bak melancholie die over je uit wordt gestort dragen bij aan de gelijkenis met de muziek van Elliott Smith, die overigens vooral sterk is in de meest ingetogen songs op het album. 

Op Beginners keek Christian Lee Hutson terug op zijn jeugd, maar Quitters speelt zich af in het heden en staat stil bij de worstelingen van jonge dertigers in de Verenigde Staten. Op zijn bandcamp pagina bedankt de Amerikaanse muzikant de Amerikaanse schrijver Scott McClanahan en zijn boek The Sarah Book voor alle inspiratie, maar Christian Lee Hutson is zelf ook goed met woorden en schrijft mooie teksten. Net als op Beginners laat de muzikant uit Los Angeles zich bijstaan door een aantal gastmuzikanten en duikt hier en daar de stem van Phoebe Bridgers op, wat de songs op Quitters voorziet van extra kleur. 

Hier en daar schuurt Christian Lee Hutson heel dicht tegen de muzikale erfenis van Elliott Smith aan en wordt nog maar eens onderstreept hoe deze veel te vroeg overleden singer-songwriter wordt gemist. Ook de vergelijking met Paul Simon is op Quitters niet helemaal onzinnig, zeker niet wanneer Christian Lee Hutson net wat expressiever zingt en de instrumentatie wat rijker is en bijvoorbeeld wordt aangevuld met blazers, zoals in het zeer fraaie Age Difference. Vergeleken met Beginners doet Christian Lee Hutson wat meer uitstapjes buiten de gebaande paden, als in het veel elektronischer en experimenteler klinkende Creature Feature, en eigenlijk gaat alles hem goed af op zijn tweede album. 

Hulp van gerenommeerde muzikanten als Phoebe Bridgers en Conor Oberst is natuurlijk mooi meegenomen, maar ik heb het idee dat Christian Lee Hutson het op eigen kracht ook makkelijk zou redden. Op Quitters overtuigt de Amerikaanse als zanger, gitarist, tekstschrijver en songwriter en zet hij nog wat extra stappen vergeleken met zijn terecht goed ontvangen debuutalbum. Beginners blijft een prachtig album, maar Quitters is op alle fronten net wat beter en bovendien constanter van kwaliteit. Na Quitters trek ik Either/Or of XO van Elliott Smith maar weer eens uit de kast, maar het tweede album van Christian Lee Hutson keert absoluut snel terug.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Quitters hier beluisteren en bestellen:

https://christianleehutson.bandcamp.com/album/quitters

vrijdag 27 mei 2022

Three albums, 27 May 2022

Again three albums that were in fear of slipping away in that deluge of albums coming my way. To think I'm not even coming around to huge bands like The Smile, The Black Keys, Rammstein. There simply are not enough hours in a day. Three female singers today, who made a beautiful or extremely intriguing album.

We've Going About This All Wrong. Sharon van Etten

Eight years ago, in my previous review of a Sharon van Etten album, I wrote that I liked 'Are We There' but had a hard time connecting to it emotionally. This led to a reader's angry response. So be it. I have no trouble attaching myself to We've Going About This All Wrong. If anything, it is a serious album. Sharon van Etten has a few messages to share. About herself, her well-being, being a mother, in short: her life. We've Going About This All Wrong may have been made during the pandemic, this has not kept the singer-songwriter from creating a few huge songs, with emotions flying. She is definitely singing to me this time and to herself as well. I realise that this was the missing element, for me, on 'Are We There'. This album can be put on a line with Martha Wainwright's latest album, 'Love Will Be Reborn'. Exactly for that reason, the sharing, the making the listener part of the bigger picture. With her deeper vocal range, Sharon van Etten gives her music a mysterious element, while at the same time keeping her music very down to earth. With spacious synths and huge drums she expands the songs no little, adding respectively to both descriptions. Not that everything is roses and sunshine. 'Anything' shows the dark sides of her life: "I didn't feel anything", accompanied by music creating a dark, musical cloud over her voice. At the same time it is so easy to identify with the beauty in the song. It seems like she has put everything she has into it. Obviously she has a lot to share with her listeners. This is just one example of the songs on We've Going About This All Wrong. Sharon van Etten has set a new standard for herself to live up to. She has done something right, contradicting the album's title entirely.

Radiate Like This. Warpaint

Warpaint has made one of the most beautiful singles of the previous decade. 'Love Is To Die' is in close competition with The LVE's (Lightning Vishwa Experience at the time) 'Love When You Don't Want It'. After six years the four piece releases a new album. In sound it is a modern album. Of course, there's no denying there. In atmosphere, I can hear the great female singers of the 1950s sing the songs on Radiate Like This. Think Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds, the kind of music my mother brought with her when she moved from Vancouver to Rotterdam. The songs that make up my very earliest musical impressions. From before I can actually remember. Drop the semi-classical orchestra and arrangements behind the singers and enter Warpaint.

On Radiate Like This Warpaint is dreaming even harder than ever before. The Covid lockdown has made the band withdraw even deeper into itself. On the side it shows how good Dutch band Dakota was on its only album 'Here's The 101 On How To Disappear'. Both bands create a mix of being very present, while almost drifting away on the basis of the fleetingness of their music. Stella Mozgawa's drums may be very present at times, everything around her is almost morphing into thin air or slowly dripping away. If music is able to hover, Warpaint is showing how its done, while creating the ballads of the 2020s.

Emily Kokal's voice floats as it were over the music. Her vocal melodies are, with that one notable exception, better than ever before, in my opinion. Radiate Like This because of it is a strong and beautiful album. An album to fully submerge in. Surrender, let it take you over for a while and the music is everywhere, becoming one with your being. The drums, the bass, guitars, synths and voices take on a life of their own. Radiate like this indeed.

And Those Who Were Seen Dancing. Tess Parks

Is it possible to record and sing an album from beyond the grave? No, I'm certain it's impossible. Listening to And Those Who Were Seen Dancing made me doubt myself though. Tess Parks may be a young woman, her voice and the presentation of her new songs sound as if they have been a part of the ashes to ashes and dust to dust process for quite some time, only to decide to record that record afterwards.

On the one hand this album has the effect on me Joy Division had, a band I still can't listen to for more that a few songs at a time. On the other hand, I'm totally intrigued by And Those Who Were Seen Dancing. There's no denying Tess Parks has done everything in her power to make this album as good as possible. Underneath that deathlike exterior lies a host of beauty. The arrangements of the songs are full of nice details, warm keyboards, surprising beats, inventive solo lines and vocal harmonies. Not everything is what it seems on And Those Who Were Seen Dancing.

Tess Parks releases her first solo album since her debut from 2013, 'Blood Hot'. She worked on these song since well before the pandemic and kept working on them with friends and family for two years. The result we hear today may not be the same had there not been a pandemic. There's no way of finding out the differences, at least in the short run. There's always the 10-40th anniversary edition option, although I doubt to make it until the latter.

And Those Who Were Seen Dancing connects with me on a few levels. This has to do with the voices of Tess Parks, with obvious The Velvet Underground influences and with the arranging skills brought to the album. Tess Parks connects over a half century of musical influences effortlessly to come up with a fully modern record. Quite a feat.

Wout de Natris


You can listen to and order the albums here:

https://sharonvanetten.bandcamp.com/

https://warpaint.bandcamp.com/album/radiate-like-this

https://tessparks.bandcamp.com/album/and-those-who-were-seen-dancing

donderdag 26 mei 2022

Singles, week 21

Overlooking this week's selection, I'm afraid that there are not a lot of points where the average listener can take a breath and relax. There's a simply a lot of rock and roll here. In the form of rockabilly, classic rock, alternative rock, garage rock, punk rock and what not. It's exciting though and even a few beautiful rock songs among them. Good luck!

Relievio. The Gypsy Moths

The Gypsy Moths from Boston with Relievio relives the 1960s, musically. The music is certainly The Beatles inspired, from 1964-66 era and incorporates that typical piano sound from the hits of The Kinks. For the outro psychedelia is unleashed on the non-suspecting listener, taking the rather innocent song straight into a spiked, musical adventure. The close listener may have heard a few hints already. The warped voice, the keyboard playing warbly, wavy parts. The backwards guitar solo and the Chris Wood like flute part do the rest. Not to mention that typical rhythm! But what about the song itself?, I hear you wonder. Relievio is a very nice pop song, with a few distinctive features, I've just highlighted for you.

Europa. Die Nerven

It has been silent around Die Nerven. One of its members surfaced in another band last year. How old the song Europa is, I do not know. Two months? Two years? To state that the lyrics are a sign of the times, is like kicking in an open door. "I thought somehow that one never died in Europa? A whole of people, including many politicians built their career around that presumption. And then came February 24. "Eine Zeitenwende", as the German chancellor called it. Of course, this song can be about the general realisation of a younger man, that death is more a part of life than he ever thought possible. Just like the death of Charlie Watts last summer was my final realisation. When a Rolling Stone dies, what hope is left for the rest of us? On a more philosophical level, this song could be about the wake up call "Europe" and we all got. History is never over, Mr. Fukuyama.

Musically Europa has two faces. A soft, small beginning, slowly working its way to the central line of the song. In the second, larger part Die Nerven do what they are good at: creating lots of noise over a punkrocking song. The guitar sheds its noise out in waves over the solid bass and drums. Impressive single Europa is.

Cinnamon Sea EP. The Garbage & The Flowers

The Garbage & The Flowers is a band from Wellington that is around in some form or another since the 1990s. On its recently released EP, my introduction, it presents five new songs which the band works itself through. Works, yes. It is as if the musicians are wading hip high through the mud, progressing slowly but surely. Along the way it took a long pause at the The Velvet Underground well and drank abundantly from it. From there the musicians transported the music a few decades, while focusing more on the melodic side than the experimental one. Enter a keyboard and a fairly clean sounding piano.

Yuri Frusin and Helen Johnstone met in the 1980s as teenagers and agreed they wanted to be in a band. The ambition became reality, no matter how obscure the band remained. Cinnamon Sea is not going to alter much about its state, I'm afraid. All people liking alternative, ramshackle rock better pay attention, because beauty has not been thrown before swine on Cinnamon Sea, despite all that mud I started out this review with. The Garbage & The Flowers knows exactly what it is doing and this EP attests to that ambition.

She Just Wants To Rock And Roll. Diablogato

It is over 40 years ago The Stray Cats learned a whole new generation what rockabilly was. The fun did not last too long, as it had something of gimmick as well. The fun stuck with true fans, who moved on to a band like The Paladins around 1990 or The Living End later into the decade. Enter this devil's cat, Diablogata. A band stemming from Boston as well but catering a totally different audience than The Gypsy Moths in the above. She Just Wants To Rock And Roll keeps the tempo at a moderate level. It plays it cards out in a smart way. A singer with a great voice for souped-up rockabilly, a great twangy lead guitar, a rhythm section that keeps the beat going and a baritone sax taking care of the deeper end. The vocal melody is the kind anyone can sing along to immediately. It sounds extremely familiar, but that is this single's strong point. She just wants to rock and roll? What about all of us?

The Gram. Bongloard

Bongloard, from Utrecht in The Netherlands, is a band that wants to cook up a storm. In The Gram the band does not hold back for a second. Listen to that bass go. Whole melodies fly around in a murderous tempo. The drummer is pounding away. Last week, I wrote on the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets from Perth. They played Kula Shaker songs without the India influence, except for the vocal melodies. This is a great starting point for this single. At first glance this is rock. Loud, huge, a wall of sound. Until the psychedelia comes in in the singing, in the interlude, in the tempo changes. Anyway who can stand the loudness of the music, will discover the elements of the trip Bongloard takes the listener on. It all results in a great song, full of energy, fun, seriousness. The Gram was released to announce the band's debut album, 'People Overreacting To My Behaviour' (20 May). Something to catch up on soon.

Feeling 'Bout This. Hot Breath

Hot Breath from Götenburg in Sweden can finally tour again, and will travel Europe's high and by ways for a few months this spring and early summer. To celebrate this the band released a stand alone single this spring, following its album 'Rubbery Lips' (2021). Feeling 'bout This is a fairly straight rock song. Led by a true rock chick, Jennifer Israelsson, the band sets itself somewhat apart in this way. Israelsson totally stands her ground in the rock the four piece makes. Including a blistering guitar solo, Starting with a bass run, tight, up tempo, the bass leads the band into a song that does not relent until the last second.

Don't Dare. Simon McBride

More rock comes from Simon McBride, a guitarist who has made a name for himself in the classic rock world by playing with a host of big names from the past. In fact, he is replacing Steve Morse in Deep Purple, who is on a break due to personal circumstances. It gives McBride the option to shine his light on his first solo album a little more. Don't Dare is the most recent single from 'The Fighter' (27 May). Listening to the song, it is no surprise that Simon McBride is associated with rock icons of the past. Don't Dare is the kind of song that incorporates many elements of classic rock with the sound of today. The effects are better, the recording technique and studios better utilised. That would all be worthless observations had Don't Dare been a uninteresting song. It is not. The huge riffs, the vocal melody, the dynamics, the guitar playing, the big drums, they all fall into place. It all leads to one conclusion: Simon McBride dares to be himself alright.

Modern Times. Orange Skyline

Some years ago, I went to a graduation party of the Amsterdam conservatory. I saw Elenne May, Dakota and Orange Skyline perform. Elenne May is my favourite of the three, but alas, also the most obscure. Dakota released a great record but had to stop and is now called Loupe. Orange Skyline returns with a new single in 2022. The band with a singer who likes to look like Liam Gallagher, still gets its inspiration from the Britpop years and what came just before it, the Mad-chester era. Modern Times is not so modern, in other words. The fun is not less because of it. Orange Skyline manages to incorporate the drums of the likes of The Happy Mondays with the pop of The Charlatans and Primal Scream. The song is great and the level of harmonies just so right, This is high-level pop music by a band that knows exactly what it is doing. It is the best one I've heard from the band so far and of a kind I do not mind to trade in my Hurricane #1 album for (should I be forced to do so).

Delta Bat. Delta Bats

Late in July the German rock duo Delta Bats will release its debut album, 'Here Come The Bats'. Guitar, heavily distorted and drums are the only instruments you hear underneath the heavy duty singing. (Although I'm pretty sure there's a tough bass involved as well.) Delta Bat is a song that plays homage to ZZ Top. The whole way of playing the guitar is in Billy Gibbons' style. The difference being the enormous layer of distortion on the guitar and bass. Everything is tighter, louder and rougher. I'm sure that Billy, Dusty (God rest his soul, if necessary) and Frank will certainly give a friendly nod when hearing Delta Bat. This is rock and roll as it was meant by a part of the rock and roll gods. The video starts off in a way that certainly sets a viewer on the wrong foot. The change to this single is more than welcome though.

Earth Sick. Pom

Amsterdam band Pom returns to this blog with a tough song. Not all of it, though. Pom surely uses dynamics in a strong way, including going all out, which is not avoided in any way. The song starts around a nice intro, built around one guitar effect or another. Underneath it, the rhythm is tight, in the verses. Just bass and drums with an embellishment creating extra accents. In the chorus the band lets it all hang loose. A nice contrast is created, that makes Earth Sick noticeable and exciting. In the lyrics you can listen to singer Liza van As scooting off to Mars where she builds a house and starts a farm. Just as long "as they can't follow us" and "far away from my shitty life". Escapism in rock is not an unfamiliar theme of course, so why not to Mars? To turn escapism into something exciting gives rock an extra layer. Earth Sick is a song that Pom can take on the road alright. I already see exploding venues in my mind's eye.

Wout de Natris

woensdag 25 mei 2022

The Köln Concert. Ralph van Raat

De Vereening, Nijmegen. 30 april 2022

Foto: Astrid van der Meijs
1975. Ik zat nog op de middelbare school. Mijn muzieksmaak was zich nog aan het ontwikkelen. Ik luisterde alles: pop, klassiek, oude muziek, minimal, folk, soul (liefst van die heel bombastische), blues, jazz… en nog veel meer. Het kon nog alle kanten op. En dat is het ook gegaan. En gaat het nog steeds.

En toen stond daar opeens die dubbel-LP in de bakken met die foto van Jarrett, in slaap gevallen met zijn hoofd op de piano. “Dat moet wel heel rustige muziek zijn”, dacht ik. “Toch maar eens luisteren.”

Daarmee opende zich een stuk van het muzikale universum dat ik nog niet kende: geïmproviseerde muziek die het midden houdt tussen wat we nu neoklassiek noemen en jazz. En daar wordt dan doorheen geneuried en gekreund. En met voeten gestampt. Hm, dat klinkt misschien niet heel aantrekkelijk, maar ik ga niet verder proberen te beschrijven hoe die muziek klinkt. Ga het zelf maar eens beluisteren als het je interesseert. Ik vond en vind het in ieder geval fantastisch! Grijsgedraaid heb ik hem.

… Destijds. Ik heb de LP nu al zeker twintig jaar niet meer gedraaid, maar toch word ik regelmatig wakker met deze muziek in mijn hoofd. Het is de invasieve exoot van de muziek: als je het eenmaal in je hoofd hebt, gaat het nooit meer weg. Maar, geen probleem. Ook in mijn hoofd blijft het schitterend.

En nu heeft Ralph van Raat, docent aan het Conservatorium van Amsterdam, het dus in zijn hoofd gehaald dat het een goed idee is om dit absolute unicum, het hoogtepunt van Jarrett’s carrière, 47 jaar na dato nog een keer dunnetjes over te gaan doen. Hoe kom je d’r op?

Zoals gezegd, het Köln Concert was destijds volledig geïmproviseerd, maar er zijn liefhebbers die vanaf de LP de muziek noot voor noot hebben genoteerd. Deze partituren vormden het uitgangspunt voor Ralph van Raat. Hij heeft ze hier en daar wat aangepast: sommige wat zoekerige stukken weggelaten en andere wat verder uitgewerkt.

En dat moest ik natuurlijk zien en horen! In de zaal bevond zich een groot aantal mannen van mijn leeftijd en wat ouder. Sommigen vergezeld door hun levenspartner. Ja, Keith was destijds echt een mannendingetje. Voor mannen die niet van voetbal hielden, dat dan weer wel. Er zaten hier en daar wat mensen met de ‘originele’ partituren op schoot mee te lezen. Dat ken ik eigenlijk alleen van de Mattheus Passie. Een redelijk hoog freak-gehalte. Gemiddeld wat afwijkend van het gemiddelde. Ik voelde me volkomen thuis.

En, tja, nou, ik moet zeggen: het was een geweldig idee, Ralph!

Ralph van Raat is een virtuoos op de piano. Dat moet ook wel want het werk is nogal …. veeleisend. De vleugel (als ik het goed gezien heb een Steinway) trok het af en toe niet helemaal. Tijdens de meest dynamische stukken werd het geluid één blikkerige brij. Dat was jammer.

Maar, een kniesoor die daarop let. Het was een magische avond. Ralph wist wonder boven wonder de spanning van de improvisatie op te roepen.

De sfeer in de zaal was uniek. Liefdevol. We raakten na afloop in diepe gesprekken met ons totaal onbekenden. En als dan de naam Keith Jarrett viel (“Jarrett Zelf…”), was dat in een gewijde sfeer.

Maar ik heb toch ook iets gemist: Ralph van Raat kreunde niet. Hij stampte wel met zijn voeten, dat wel. Maar hij kreunde niet. Ik had het niet verwacht, maar ik heb het gemist.

En dan te weten dat er opnamen zijn van het Köln Concert waaruit het geneurie en gekreun is weggehaald.

Zonde! Doodzonde!

Wino Penris

dinsdag 24 mei 2022

Holy Demon. Drens

"I don't wanna go to the record store", is the main message of Drens' single 'Record Store', with which the band found its place on this blog for the first time. It is a strange message for a band wanting to sell records. No matter how much happens online these days.

'Record Store' is a song that brings together alternative and punk rock together successfully. Expect more of that quality on the album, Holy Demon. Ten songs long the power and energy fly around working hard towards either exorcising these demons or making them work for you. My guess is that whatever option the band chose to follow, it worked. Holy Demon is a nice album showing a few sides of Drens.

Drens is a four piece from Dortmund. It released its first EP in December 2019 called 'Pet Peeves'. The band must have had totally different expectations at the time, just like we all had in that month, just before the first messages of a new disease started to reach us. This setback did not deter it from working on new songs, recording them and release them.

With Holy Demon Drens brings together a host of influences from the past and present and incorporates them into its own music. Pop elements can be found in handclaps and the strong use of dynamics. Punk music from the past 30 years comes by. The strong bass sound of Mike Dirnt e.g. is present. Britpop vocal melodies mix with West Coast punk bands or The Cure with The Vaccines, in 'Bloody Knees', to name a specific example. The four young Germans have soaked it all up and created a bunch of songs with their own inner power and melodic prowess.

Promo photo: Leonie Scheufler
Drens shows constantly that it chooses the option that suits a song best and not what could be most popular. In 'No Need To Hide' the band goes full out. Most is made of the tempo and the dirtier sound. It's not for nothing the song is one of my favourites on the album. Instant appeal it has. Over the whole album Drens has made the right choices constantly. The result is an energetic album, interspersed with different accents and sounds, giving the album as a whole the diversity it needs to make a difference.

With Holy Demons as a full-length debut album, Drens has made its point, perfectly caught by producer Sebastian 'Zebo' Adam. The band will be welcomed far beyond its German borders on this basis. Fun and dancing guaranteed.

Wout de Natris


You can listen to and order Holy Demons here:

https://glitterhouserecords.bandcamp.com/album/holy-demon

maandag 23 mei 2022

Nervous Birds Too. Night Court

Night Court already came by once in the weekly singles section, so it should not be a surprise to turn up here. The Vancouver, Canada band continues the level of their punk and garage rocking single 'Titanic' at the same nice level. More than enough to deserve a spot on this blog.

A few friends, an old Tascam recording device, some stolen recording software, a love for music from the past and a clear desire to reproduce it in 2022. This sums up Nervous Bird Too up in one sentence. The only thing I need to add, is that the mission of Night Court has fully succeeded. Don't expect perfection in sound, expect it in the enthusiasm, in the playing and above and most important of all the quality of the punky, garagy rock songs.

Night Court's Jiffey and Dave started working together during the lockdown of 2020 by bouncing song ideas to each other. With the addition of Emilor on drums things truly fell into place. Guitar, bass, drums is the basis of the whole album. Some guitar overdubs were added and some harmonies to the vocals. Less is more obviously worked here. There were no conditions set to the level of energy going into the music though. This is present all of the time.

What was a condition, obviously, was that a song did not need to take longer than strictly necessary. It stops when everything has been said and done and this can be well under two minutes. In fact, a song over 1.30 is an exception on Nervous Birds Too. Let alone more than two minutes, you'll find one only, in fact.

It may sound strange but somehow most songs do not come over that short. Something I can only explain because everything is present. Verse-chorus-solo, check. And then it can be fully over. "No need to panic", as Night Court sings in its great single 'Titanic', my introduction to the band, you will be fulfilled, if you like this kind of music. What is surprising is that a female voice joins the whole moving further into the album, widening the sound no little. One more point scored in an already good score.

Wout de Natris


You can listen to and order Nervous Birds Too here:

https://nightcourtpunk.bandcamp.com/album/nervous-birds-too

zondag 22 mei 2022

Brand New Day. Jessica Willis Fisher

Na een heleboel ellende kiest de Amerikaanse muzikante Jessica Willis Fisher voor zichzelf op het zeer overtuigende Brand New Day, dat in meerdere opzichten opvalt binnen het enorme aanbod in het rootssegment.

De familie Willis leek in de real-life soap The Willis Family zo’n blije en getalenteerde familie, maar de werkelijkheid bleek helaas totaal anders. Jessica Willis Fisher, de oudste dochter van het gezin, maakt met haar eerste soloalbum een nieuwe start en doet een poging om haar door seksueel misbruik geteisterde jeugd te verwerken. Dat doet ze met veel wilskracht en het nodige muzikale talent. Jessica Willis Fisher is een prima violiste, maar ze maakt nog veel meer indruk als zangeres. Brand New Day maakt ook in muzikaal indruk met een mooi geluid met invloeden uit de countrypop, de bluegrass en de Americana. De zeer persoonlijke songs doen de rest.

In 2014 dook in de Amerikaanse talentenjacht America’s Got Talent The Willis Clan op. Het gezin Willis, dat bestond uit vader, moeder en maar liefst twaalf kinderen, maakte indruk met flink wat vocaal en muzikaal talent en kreeg terecht veel aandacht in de media. Het leverde uiteindelijk niet de winst op in de populaire talentenjacht, maar The Willis Clan kreeg vervolgens wel een eigen real-life soap, The Willis Family. 

Het streng christelijke gezin maakte in deze real-life soap continu een hele blije indruk, maar de realiteit bleek totaal anders toen vader Toby werd beschuldigd van seksueel misbruik van meerdere van zijn kinderen. Hij werd uiteindelijk veroordeeld tot veertig jaar celstraf. De oudste dochter van het gezin, Jessica Willis, duikt deze week op met haar eerste soloalbum, waarop de diepe wonden die werden veroorzaakt door haar zo traumatische jeugd uiteraard een plek hebben gekregen. 

Jessica Willis Fisher (ze trouwde een paar jaar geleden) was in het gezin Willis het grootste muzikale talent, zowel in vocaal als in muzikaal opzicht. Dat hoor je op haar eerste soloalbum, dat zich deels binnen de kaders van de Nashville countrypop beweegt, maar ook aansluiting vindt bij de bluegrass en de Americana. Het zijn genres waarin de concurrentie momenteel moordend is, maar Jessica Willis Fisher beschikt zoals gezegd over vele talenten en heeft bovendien wat te melden. 

De Amerikaanse muzikante kijkt in haar teksten natuurlijk terug op alle ellende die haar overkwam, maar Brand New Day is vooral een nieuwe start, wat gezien al het gebeurde respect afdwingt. Het is een in muzikaal opzicht veelbelovende nieuwe start, want Brand New Day is een erg sterk album. 

Jessica Willis Fisher maakt op haar solodebuut allereerst indruk als zangeres. Ze beschikt over een mooie en heldere, maar ook krachtige stem, die het goed doet in de genres waarin de muzikante uit Nashville opereert. Het is een stem die af en toe wel wat doet denken aan die van Alison Krauss, maar persoonlijk vind ik de stem van Jessica Willis Fisher wat expressiever en emotievoller. 

Ook in muzikaal opzicht, Jessica Willis Fisher tekent zelf voor de bijdragen van de viool, klinkt Brand New Day prachtig. Hier en daar is het wat aan de gladde of gepolijste kant, maar wanneer Jessica Willis Fisher iets opschuift van de Nashville countrypop, moet haar geluid ook bij liefhebbers van wat minder gepolijste Americana in de smaak kunnen vallen. 

De muzikante uit Nashville verdient uiteraard ook respect voor de wijze waarop ze haar leven weer heeft opgepakt na alle ellende die het gezin Willis is overkomen, maar ook zonder deze achtergrond is Brand New Day een debuutalbum van een zeer talentvolle muzikante, die het in zich heeft om uit te groeien tot een van de smaakmakers in het genre. 

Alle doorgemaakte ellende voorziet haar songs overigens wel van de doorleving die bij muzikanten van haar leeftijd meestal ontbreekt en het is deze doorleving die Brand New Day een flink stuk optilt. Het album klinkt hier en daar wat gepolijst, maar de emotie in de stem van Jessica Willis Fisher is oprecht. 

Het verhaal van The Willis Family heeft Nederland volgens mij nooit bereikt, maar dit razend knappe solodebuut van Jessica Willis Fisher verdient ook hier alle aandacht. Er verscheen ook de afgelopen weken weer veel in de genres waarin de Amerikaanse muzikante opereert, maar geen album wist me zo te raken als dit uiterst persoonlijke debuutalbum van Jessica Willis Fisher.

Erwin Zijleman