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Superspreader. Ber
Superspreader is the kind
of word that I do not want to hear at any time in the coming decades. It
would mean that we have left the pandemic behind us. Although I fear
there will be another Covid fall and winter coming up, I deeply hope to
be surprised. And here comes singer Ber with her new single titled
Superspreader. No, thank you, Ber, despite friends calling you that. The
music sounds extremely familiar. Superspreader is a song that has been
made many times before in the past few years. E.g. by Dutch singer Judy
Blank. At the same time it is nice to listen to. Especially when the
vocal harmonies and counter melodies come in and the music is being pushed
to another level. All in all Superspeader is a song that I've heard too
many times recently, one too many it seems. Nice, certainly, but not
more than that.
My guess is just about the whole world knows one song by The Proclaimers. Twins Craig and Charley Reid sing their upbeat song, 'Letter from America', with a thick Scottish accent. Is there a day that goes by without the song on the radio somewhere? Probably not. Now I have never heard another song by the duo and here it is 2022 and Dentures Out is delivered on my digital doorstep. And to my big surprise, The Proclaimers' new single is also a very upbeat affair. Could they imagine in 1987 to ever sing a song about dentures, let alone having them out? A topic that was as far away from most youth as disease and death. Dentures Out is also the title of the upcoming 12th album. Its title song is such pleasant song to listen to. A country flavour to the guitar playing, a warm organ and uptempo and beat for the whole of the trip. A nice re-introduction 35 years later.
Listening to the intro of Thank You and anyone my age is back instantly into the 1980s. That mix of doom and disco, Giorgio Moroder beats and pulses, are instant ticklers of memories from long ago. The funny thing is of course that this mix at the time hardly existed. You would wind up with Blondie's 'Call Me' to find something similar and strangely enough Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' which is even from the 1970s. It is the deadness of Joy Division, the early Simple Minds, The Cure, Comsat Angels and the like the comes through in the singing and the darker synth sounds with the disco(side) of The Human League, Depeche Mode and when all is said and done Giorgio Moroder. The Vacant Lots, a duo, is from Brooklyn and totally from 2022 where the lyrics are concerned. No trace of a life being fucked up because of (fill in your doom laden worldwide issue here) but something which happened to the singer "this evening". "Thank you for wasting my time", he sings with a rather deadly sounding voice, In other words, totally self-centred. As a single the song totally works though. In 1981 it would have been totally exciting and probably "totally out of time", to quote singer Jared Artaud a final time. No matter from what date you look at Thank You, this is danceable stuff alright.
It must have been a shock to punk purists when over the decades something like punkpop became a reality and extremely popular as well. Sort of blending with what used to be called powerpop. The first great result, to my ears, was 'What I Like About You', The Romantics' big hit, but perfected by the likes of Green Day and The Offspring. Bands that still tour today. Enter The Young Hasselhoffs from Omaha, Nebraska in the U.S.A. With the title song of its upcoming LP the band makes no qualms about loving music from long ago, while at the same time perfecting the genre with a 100% pop gem. If the perfect powerpop-punkpop single exists, The Young Hasselhoffs are in close reach of that holy grail. For that final step the bridge should have been better, for the rest, boy, what a nice song. Life Got In The Way rocks alright, while the band obviously sidesteps that old truth the title holds. It's never too late for second chances. The hard thing is to recognise them and even harder, to act on them. With this song the choice made by The (not so) Young (anymore) Hasselhoffs is very obvious and Rum Bar is just the label to assist a little here. Go for it!
More punkrock but this time of a more bittersweet nature. Carissa Johnson is turning around in circles and wants to get out of that situation. She sees the future but still has to say goodbye to a situation that must have been good once. She catches the past, present and future in her song in a way that resonates immediately. Every person has been in a situation like that at least once, so can relate. The music Carissa Johnson shares with the world in this single, is of a true richness. In that sense Merry Go Round is far from a punkrock song. It is richly layered with a keen ear for detail and melody. The effect is as much in the pace and attack of the song as in the melodies that are keenly worked out. It results in a song that can be partied on and seriously listened to. Her voice fits her song like a glove, sharing with us all the emotions that come with the described situation. If the person sung to, still does not get the message, nothing will. "Een plaat voor de kop" we call that in Dutch. Translate at will. A fine song Merry Go Round is and a great teaser for album Blue Hour, also out.
There's no starry something in a title which does not trigger 'Vincent' starting to play inside of my head. I read recently someone quoting Don McLean on what the song 'American Pie' meant to him. He was said to have answered: "It means I never have to work again". He most likely could have answered that for 'Vincent' as well. Whether Smile Through The Dark will have this result for Starry Skies, I strongly doubt. People who like 'Vincent', should take notice though of this single. It is one of these silent little pearls where the voice totally carries the song and accompanying instruments are exactly that. Warren McIntyre is the owner of that voice. His band Starry Skies is around since 2014 and has already released four albums. Little did I know. Smile Through The Dark certainly invites me to get to know more music by the band. The single was written in honour of a woman who repaired Spitfires in the Second World War and taught children after. It does so in a modest way, melancholy but with a strong, determined voice. The song instantly convinces.
A young Rotterdam punk band releases a single and video, co-starring the Rotterdam skyline. Had I not visited the city regularly, I can assure you I would not have recognised the city I grew up in as a child. These four youngsters live in the new Rotterdam and play their music with the self-assuredness that comes with being Manhattan on the Maas. Skyline celebrates being young and alive. Although life is life it is important to have fun and that comes across, even when "waking up sober". Skyline may sound familiar in the sense that it follows well-worn paths of punkrock's past, the enthusiasm After Elmer shares comes across and won me over, as it will any punkrock fan. Skyline holds clever little elements that make it possible for the song to set its hooks into your brain and making you not only easily remember it, but will want you to play it once again.
How to play tough on the acoustic guitar? Well, listen to The Pilgrim by new German artist ATEM (breath). This instrumental rock track shows how a six string, steel snared acoustic guitar can be integrated successfully in a hardrocking environment. Not by playing loud but by playing confident, strong notes, by making each one stand out for itself. ATEM is the solo project of Jan Korbach and The Pilgtim his first release towards an album in November, 'Concrete America'. The Americana is not faraway in the song. The start is of the kind that could take the song in any direction. When the band kicks in, more becomes clear, slowly but surely. The drums make the song tougher straight away, the rest comes in slower but surely, building the song out further. The organ is slowly replaced by "aahhs" and an accompanying electric guitar, reminding me a little of Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' rocking sequence. Korbach has found an interesting melody to start from and successfully builds up to what is The Pilgrim. Exquisitely done.
With a riff in a kind way reminding me of the central riff of 'My Sharona', a band can attract my attention easily. That does come with a truckload of expectations though. No, they're not all being fulfilled in Animal, More Kicks' first single from its upcoming album 'Punch Drunk'. Enough are, otherwise you would not be reading this. More Kicks does so by taking the song in another direction, with its own dynamics and being far closer to British (punk)rock. Coming out of London, that's not so strange an outcome. From The Undertones right up to Oasis, you can find it all in Animal. The song derails nicely in the guitar solo and fuzzed up bass guitar. The drummer keeps it all together for us. The bass player manages to escape the confines of the first part of the album where he plays the same two note riff over and over. Later on he can play one nice bass rum after another, totally livelying the song up to great heights. This is fun alright and, as I said, a truly different direction from the fantastic, but rigid 'My Sharona'.
Charles Bronson, how long ago is it that people wanted to see a movie with the hard-fisted hero in a starring role? Indeed, he was born in 1921 and is dead for 19 years in 2022. So, were does the title of this U.K. band come from? The song is as tough as Bronson was in his movies though. "I'll take you down with me", only if need be, Bronson wanted to win. Black Honey may be on the same track with the song, as it is without compromise. The fuzzed guitars are hard and loud, aggressive as a boxer. Black Honey on the other hand is a master in restraint, as you will notice the use of dynamics in Charley Branson. Although I'm reminded of Blood Red Shoes and a little on the loud side of Wolf Alice, Black Honey has enough to stand out on its own. But let me warn you, this is not a band to approach without gloves on. It dances like a butterfly and stings like a bee.
Wout de Natris
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