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The Ballad Of Harry Head. Outsiders
Outsiders is a band from New Zealand's south island. One of the relentless kind. The same riff is played over and over, creating a kind of rock and roll mantra, think 'Sister Ray', but leaving a human touch to be cherished. The Ballad Of Harry Head isn't about beauty, not even effect. It is about two things: repetition and within that repetition endless variation. How many notes can the guitarist and keyboardist find within that small confine Outsiders restricts itself to? Quite a lot I can tell you. The core of Outsiders is the twins Joanne (guitar) and Sharon (bass) Billesdon, joined by, on saxophone and vocals Alan Wright, on keys Nicole Moffat and drums Peter Vangioni. Everything you hear on the single of the upcoming EP 'Manumit' spells the most uncompromising music produced by The Velvet Underground, mixed with the experimental side of The Doors. Anyone liking this mix can't fail with The Ballad Of Harry Head.
Within a year after 'Back In Love City' The Vaccines are back with a whole, six song mini album. The feel of the single of the same-titled EP comes close to the previous album. Perhaps a touch of disco is added, the voice gets an autotune treatment, something I will just have to live with. Overall Planet Of The Youth has a positive vibe which is quite catchy. The "yeah yeah yeah" part reminds me too much of an extremely annoying betting commercial. The little explosion of sound is a great find, with its surf guitar descending line oh so nice. The soft bridge great. In other words, The Vaccines play a game of catch me if you can with me. Constant surprises are popping up, only to disappear shortly after. A nice single and one that makes me curious for the whole EP.
With Anna Calvi it has been all ups and downs with me over the past circa 10 years. With Ain't No Grave the two of us are certainly up once again. This single has a drive and pulse that are irresistible. The bass line certainly sounds familiar. It keeps the song going ever forward in an 80s post punk kind of way. Anna Calvi sings over the song with a clear, strong voice, with harmony vocals all over the right places. Before the pandemic I saw Anna Calvi live as one of the vocalist in a classical rendition of David Bowie's 'Blackstar'. Her clear voice fitted the music quite well and I'm glad to hear her sing this song. The mix of mystery and force makes Ain't No Grave stand out, vocally and musically. The atmospherics, the organ/synths, the wild, yet restrained guitar solo, all underscore this special mood. If the EP 'Tommy', is able to hold up this quality, it is bound to be something special.
Down Under is well represented this week, once again, I might add. Jaguar Jonze returns to the blog with her new single Trigger Happy, from her upcoming album 'Bunny Mode', due out in June. Again she manages to present a mix between rock and dance. The rhythm is dance, the guitar plays a repetitive rock riff, her singing is somewhere in between. The effects on her voice and way of singing, fully dance. The rhythm is not an easy one to follow as a dancer. The stop start effect calls for some involvement of the prospective dancer. Just move around a little, will get him/her quite confused. Trigger Happy's rhythm invites the dancer to be inventive and totally follow the stop starts in the rhythm. In short more fun. Is this truly my kind of music? No, it isn't, but the song is enthusiastic and invites listening (and dancing). The mix seems to be just right.
Darlyn's first album made it to this blog and the band returns with a single. In one way the Anouk factor in Because Of You is huge, in the other Anouk would never make a single sound like this one. The riff in the verses gives Because Of You a very special feel. The song seems to be perpetually starting, because of the endless stops and halting way the guitarist and bass player play their riff. Diwa Meijman soon after pulls the song totally towards her and does not let go. She's able to muster all the force her voice holds into the choruses. She could double for a ship's horn and in this case this is meant as a compliment. There's so much force coming out of her, flowing straight into Because Of You, that there's no other word left to use but impressive. Live this song will move whole festival fields. It comes close to having it all.
Kelz, or Kelly Truong, is a new signee to the Bayonet label from NYC. She is a singer-songwriter who I would compare to someone like José Gonzalez. Soft songs over an acoustic guitar and some atmospherics and loops. That would be the shortest story. To expand, Kelz' voice is soft, even hesitant. Her soft-spoken singing brings me closer to her, wanting to hear what is happening, what is sung. Before I know it My Friend and I are a part of each other's existence. Slowly but surely the song expands. A bass joins, her looped voice, synths and atmospherics join and drums. The elementary song, that started out so modest, slowly but surely is turned into a modest powerhouse. So many things are happening at the same time that my ears have a hard time keeping up. If anything Kelz slowly but surely mesmerises me. She's everywhere around me and we have become great friends in the process. What a way to present yourself to the world as a young, new artist.
With ‘Potential Child’ Elenne May releases its second single working towards the theater show that is due for this fall. In a way it can be seen as a kind of parting in the band's oeuvre. The essence of the song is more dance oriented than ever before. Ever so modest, the rhythm is electronic and more dominant. The bass is extremely smooth in sound. Perhaps this is the reason that it's not surprising to learn Potential Child was written by bass player Evelien Ypma, with lyrics by Elenne Klok. For the new song cycle Elenne May worked with singer-singwiter Tessa Rose Jackson as producer. Her influence is all over this single. ‘Potential Child’ sounds like a modern song. At the same time it is a complaint against the ever faster world we all are sucked into more and more. Social media determines our well-being and especially of our youth. It's not the world Elenne May wants to live in. "Be yourself", is her message here. With Potential Child Elenne May adds a modern pop song to her oeuvre and it works well. And then to think that I would have been in the video had the choice of day been for the other day in that weekend early November 2021, before the, then, next Covid lockdown. It was not to be.
Launder released two singles at once from his upcoming album 'Happening'. I picked Unwound to share with you. It is a nice, grungy rock song that has everything dear to alternative rock fans of the past several decades. From a rock kind of singer-songwriter all the way to a Nirvana like solo, Unwound contains it all. So, nothing new under the sun? No, I have to admit there's not but who cares if the old wine is presented in a new sack like this? Launder simply does a lot right here. John Cudlip, who is Launder, worked with Zachery Cole and Colin Caulfield of DIIV while working on the songs for his album and selected a collection from the circa 60 demos he has made over the years. Then he got a band together to start the recording. If Unwound is anything to go by, Cudlip made a lot of right choices. Two and a half month to go before Happening is released. What a long time left to wait!
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And now for something completely different. This single is a modern kind of Appalachian country song. Modern because it has a kind of 'We Will Rock You' rhythm, nearly all other music is traditional. Feel free to spot the differences yourself. They are there, I promise you. The one I will focus on Ruby Friedman's voice. With ease she could have lead a hard rock band, doing a duet with Ian Gillan in his heydays. The way she combines two worlds in her music is quite impressive. Gillain Welch may be lauded a lot for her work, Ruby Friedman drags this kind of music into 21st century, instead of dragging it back into the 20th or even 19th. A compliment or two go to Ben Landsverk who plays the banjo, guitar and violin on Bookwoman's Daughter. His playing gives the song its distinctive feel, over which this huge voice can do whatever it needs to do. I already gave a foghorn comparison as a compliment in this week's overview, but had music been a competition, I'm afraid I know who'd have won. Sorry, Diwi.
And here I was thinking the 1950s were over a long, long time ago. All of a sudden there's The Raging Teens. Gene Vincent seems to have come back to life, backed by a rejuvenated The Stray Cats. Somewhere in the late 90s perhaps early 00s I bought a four cd compilation album called 'Loud n Proud' filled with songs like this. Some well known, others totally obscure. That's How I Like It would have totally fitted there and be one of the best obscure songs on it. Slowly but surely less and less people are left alive who enjoyed this raging rockabilly music first hand or made it themselves. The 1950s simply are a long time ago by now. That's why it's so great to have bands like The Raging Teens who can totally revive the music, whether self-penned or cover versions. Both are welcome. This song is steaming hot and everything what makes this genre, still, so exciting to listen to. When things are this good, who cares that the music is not even a little anachronistic? This is rockabilly, baby, of the purest kind. The perfect mix of country and rock and roll you can find.
Wout de Natris
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