'Til The Sun Comes Up. Natalie Prauser

‘Til The Sun Comes Up van de Amerikaanse muzikante Natalie Prauser is een verbluffend goed rootsalbum, wat het extra schrijnend maakt dat het debuutalbum van de muzikante uit Kansas City vooralsnog niet veel aandacht krijgt.

Ik kwam bij toeval op het spoor van Natalie Prauser, die de afgelopen zomer ook al een duoalbum uitbracht, maar pas echt indruk maakt met haar soloalbum ‘Til The Sun Comes Up. Het is een album waarop Natalie Prauser voornamelijk invloeden uit de country en de folk verwerkt en vooral traditioneel klinkende muziek maakt. Het is muziek die prachtig is ingekleurd met gitaren en de onmisbare pedal steel en het is bovendien muziek die prachtig kleurt bij de mooie stem van Natalie Prauser. Het is het soort stem dat je verwacht in de genres die op ‘Til The Sun Comes Up domineren, maar de Amerikaanse muzikante heeft ook een duidelijk eigen geluid. Een bijzonder mooi geluid wat mij betreft. Aanrader dit album.

Op de streaming media diensten was ‘Til The Sun Comes Up van Natalie Prauser tot vandaag (!) helaas niet te vinden en ook in de Nederlandse platenzaken zul je tevergeefs zoeken naar het album, maar gelukkig is bandcamp er ook nog. Op de bandcamp pagina van de Amerikaanse muzikante (en filmmaker) is het album inmiddels een kleine twee weken te beluisteren en ook te koop. Het is een album dat ik min of meer bij toeval tegen kwam, maar het is een album dat ik inmiddels schaar onder de betere rootsalbums van het moment. 

Het is overigens al het tweede album waarop in 2022 de naam van Natalie Prauser prijkt, want afgelopen zomer verscheen het samen met de eveneens Amerikaanse muzikant Marty Bush opgenomen Cabin Sessions Volume One. Het in het voorjaar opgenomen album stond in een vloek en een zucht op de band en laat vooral behoorlijk traditionele folk en country horen. Cabin Sessions Volume One is me afgelopen zomer niet opgevallen, maar het album heeft wel wat. Het eerste soloalbum van Natalie Prauser vind ik echter nog een stuk beter. 

De muzikante uit Kansas City maakte het album samen met de al eerder genoemde Marty Bush, die op op ‘Til The Sun Comes Up in vocaal opzicht echter aanzienlijk minder dominant aanwezig is. Natalie Prauser tekent op haar solodebuut voor akoestische gitaren en de leadzang, terwijl Marty Bush de elektrische gitaren, bas en drums en de over het algemeen subtiele achtergrondvocalen voor zijn rekening neemt. Natalie Prauser schreef alle songs voor het album, maar liet de productie van het album aan Marty Bush, waardoor deze ook dit keer een flinke vinger in de pap heeft. Voor wat extra inkleuring werd verder alleen de pedal steel van Devon Teran toegevoegd. 

De combinatie van akoestische gitaren, elektrische gitaren en de pedal steel levert een aangenaam en warm klinkend geluid op. Het is een geluid dat wat traditioneel aan doet, al klinkt ‘Til The Sun Comes Up minder traditioneel dan Cabin Sessions Volume One. Natalie Prauser verwerkt ook dit keer vooral invloeden uit de folk en de country. De wat meer folky songs bevatten hier en daar een vleugje Laurel Canyon folk, maar de muzikante uit Kansas City kan ook uit de voeten met de outlaw country uit de jaren 70. 

De mooie klanken van de gitaren en de pedal steel zorgen voor een warm en gloedvol klankentapijt waarop de stem van Natalie Prauser uitstekend gedijt. De Amerikaanse muzikante beschikt over een stem die het perfect doet in het country getinte repertoire, maar het is ook een stem met een eigen geluid. Het is wat mij betreft een zeer aangenaam geluid, want met name door de zang van Natalie Prauser dringt ‘Til The Sun Comes Up zich makkelijk op. Zeker in de songs die zich in een wat lager tempo voortslepen is de stem van Natalie Prauser, die vaak wordt omgeven door wolken pedal steel, bijzonder mooi. 

Ik vind echt maar heel weinig informatie over het album, maar tussen alle andere rootsalbums van deze week sprong ‘Til The Sun Comes Up er voor mij bijzonder makkelijk uit. Zeker in de sterkste songs laat Natalie Prauser horen dat ze met de allerbesten mee kan en heb ik bovendien het idee dat ze nog veel meer kan. Hoogste tijd dus dat dit album meer aandacht krijgt en de harten van veel meer liefhebbers van Amerikaanse rootsmuziek verovert.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt 'Til The Sun Comes Up hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://natalieprauser.bandcamp.com/album/til-the-sun-comes-up

It's All Downhill From Here. Solomon

There are albums that go like comets into my ear and albums that creep up on me. It's All Downhill From Here falls into the latter category. Listening to the MP3s did not tell its story properly. This changed when the cd was delivered to me. The full sound on the stereo started to tell a different story. It's All Downhill From Here presented itself as a wide sounding album with a huge sound spanning decades of music somewhere between rock, symphonic, ballads and things Belgian in rock.

Solomon is a Dutch band, from the almost as far south as possible and bordering on the Belgian part of Limburg and certainly our biggest city in the south: Maastricht. This is its first album. Active since 2019 the band was able to play shows before the venues closed. This did not deter it to continue to hone its songs and chops.

The result is an album filled with long-lingering guitar sounds. Every note takes sort of forever before its fades away with a lot of delay and echo in the sound. The result is an album that sounds extremely melancholy and longing for whatever to happen. (I do not know Solomon's dreams but a successful album and shows will be two of them.)

Promo photo: Mitchell Giebels

Koen de Witte sings as if he's Eddie Vedder's younger brother. He has that same dark edge to his voice, making it very characteristic but also less flexible. What you hear is what you get, the whole album. It works quite well in the context of Solomon's music. He floats on top of the music, whether the band is holding back of going full out.

What is also quite clear, Solomon did not nibble on its budget. It hired the well-known experts to make sure the sound and production are as huge as possible. Chris Elms as co-producer and mixer and Tim Debney as engineer. As the band has already played in Belgium and Germany, both very close to Maastricht, the album will have an international release from the start. The ambition shows. It's All Downhill From Here ought to prove itself totally wrong from 20 January, the release date, onwards and fast. Solomon is delivering on the expectations it set for itself. The only way is up, is more likely.

Wout de Natris

2023 Week 4, 10 singles

Moving into the end of January we present another ten singles this week. One of them is of a veterans + band who return with a truly excellent single, younger veterans can be found and veterans of this blog. Not all is nostalgia based though, as you will find more than enough new names to get acquainted with. Enjoy!

Velvet Beings. Elenne May

One year ago Amsterdam band Elenne May started a five singles song cycle, announcing its theatre show Velvet Beings. The title song is the final song in the cycle that showed the growth of the band over the past years and the successful collaboration with Tessa Rose Jackson as co-producer enhancing a little pop and (electronic) mystery in what already was present in Elenne May's music. Velvet Beings is so soft and delicate, looking back on a journey that has reached its conclusion. Experience and knowledge have been gained, allowing for the fairytale elements to return full force to Elenne May's music. Through the purification process of Velvet Beings, as in the show, the singer seems able to return to a state of innocence, dreaming of the future, fully reflected in the soft music and beautiful harmonies between Elenne and bassist Evelien Ypma. They are singing at their best here. From this point onwards the future lays open for the stage Elenne and for the band as such.

There's a final chance to see the show Velvet Beings. 12 March in Theater De Roode Bioscoop in Amsterdam. And, to hear the songs that are not to be recorded. For more info:

https://www.roodebioscoop.nl/velvet-beings 

Dropped, Reeling & Stupid. The Zombies

Only a few weeks ago I added a song of The Zombies from 1968 in this weekly overview to compare it to a cover version. Totally unaware that a new single of the band was to be released in January. It is surprisingly strong. The song is far tougher than the old hits and bordering on a mix of classic rock and Steely Dan. Colin Blunstone has to strain his voice a bit to keep up with the power of the band. There's not much left of the high voice of old here. It has obviously lived for close to 80 years. The song starts totally jazzy with a nice Fender piano sound. It doesn't take long for the band to gather steam. Grandads can rock that much is certain these days. They can also write, produce and play a strong new song and Rod Argent, as songwriter, leads the pack here, together with Iggy Pop in 2023. Dropped, Reeling & Stupid is a great single. Age in pop does not matter, that much is certain nowadays.

Child Of Sin. Kovacs feat. Till Lindemann

Becoming better known is a game of chance in many ways. For Dutch singer Kovacs being able to get Rammstein singer Till Lindemann on board for one of her songs of the same titled album is a major scoop. There's no other word for it, as it will get her global attention. Which is great of course for her but does the song match the hype? Yes, it does. The song is an interesting mix of a Shirley Bassey style ballad and what could be a Rammstein rocker with ease if the Teutonic, loud style of playing of Rammstein was laid out over Child Of Sin. The result meets in the middle. Lindemann is forced to sing, which does not seem easy for him. Kovacs' voice is not your average either. The music is what makes the song. It has an inner tension, while also having a relaxed element in the piano, that is played in a soft and delicate way, telling the world is alright after all. Child Of Sin holds a great scoop but capitalises on value it adds.

True Love. Amber Arcades

With True Love Amber Arcades releases another song ahead of the upcoming album. True Love is another dreamy song. "Dreaming along" is a part of the lyrics. Behind is a kind of dance beat but almost hidden out of earshot, muffled. The music is built up out of atmospheric sounds, with the melody almost fully in the vocal melody. To my surprise I have an associations with Bettie Serveert, besides the obvious references to dreampop and a band like Warpaint. It is what makes True Love a totally hybrid song. Dreamy with a dance element and an alternative rock reference. And all from under that blanket that is muffling the music. The chorus though is among the strongest Annelotte de Graaf has written until today. Three singles into 'Barefoot On Diamond Road', it is proving to become an album to be on the look out for.

Stop The Clock. Blanko

Blanko is a Dutch singer-songwriter who operated in the background as session and live guitarist. Since 2019 he works solo under the name Blanko and entered my musical universe recently. Most likely because I heard him on the radio. Jan de Witte, as his real name is, played in the 3Js and now sings in English with a good pop feel, hinting marginally at the later Britpop of Oasis and with that to many a band from the U.K. in the decades before and after the biggest U.K. band of the 90s. Stop The Clock (an Oasis title as well, right?!) is well produced. The sound is allowed to expand beyond the guitar-bass-drums idiom and a whole string section comes in to support the singer. Blanko has not made an earth shattering appearance but certainly a very nice single. The b-side is a surprise, a version of 'Psycho Killer' in the 'Stop Making Sense' version. And then I found a picture with 'Stop Making Sense' all over it with Blanko in the middle of it.

The Mono Kids EP. The Mono Kids

A new punkrock duo from the city of light in The Netherlands. Although Philips has left the light bulbs behind for years now, the city Eindhoven still has that name. The Mono Kids is a new duo consisting of two men of a certain age still having the fire burning deep within them. The result is three songs that could have started with one, two, three, four, counted off very fast and go. Don't expect a lot of subtlety, just playing and singing 'Die, Motherfucker, Die' and it being all over within 1.45 minutes. That kind of energy discharge. Roelof and Michel don't let the grass over it, as we say over here. Distorted guitars and drums mixed in a way that every hole in the mix is plugged, creating a huge sound. The only piece of rest for the wicked is in the intro to opening song 'Shooting Star' when some feedback is slowly built up. The rest is Personal Trainer on steroids. Excitement is for all ages, folks!

Seed. M. Byrd

Less excitement, more thoughtful contemplation with some enthusiasm to go. Seed is the lead song on a three song single. The song combines pop with alternative rock with a little folk hidden underneath the light rock elements. Just come in yourself with all the possible references here. Fact is that Seed is a delightful, albeit very short, single. Where M. Byrd, a solo singer-songwriter from Germany, excels in in Seed is sounding very dreamy in combination with making his points in the music. From an acoustic beginning a whole band joins and builds up the song. And all in 1.45 minutes. M. Byrd released his first EP, 'Orion', in 2021. This is a new single on route to more to come. If it's this good, lay it on me, please.

Can't Unfriend Yourself. Filibuster

Fons Records releases Filibuster's new single and celebrates it with a video as well. The first seconds go by in a musical anarchy of guitars players and drummer just do what they feel like, no structure, no focus, no nothing. The contrast with the actual song can't be much larger. Filibuster plays a tight song in Can't Unfriend Yourself but on the edge of being out of tune with the actual chord progression. In short, just like all modern post punk bands do. Filibuster adds rock to the mix. it sounds louder than most Dutch post punk bands of the 20s. The lyrics are totally 20s as well. Unfriend, cancelling, it has all become normal words on a large scale and a disaster for those who are unfriended and care deeply about such things. The angst comes across in the music that shouts out in anguish. "I don't really know what to do" singer Karl Stroobant. Well, I do, wait in quite anticipation for album 'Quiet Part Out Loud'.

Spill. Selk

Only recently I wrote about a single from last year, I forgot all about at the time and here's Selk already again with a newer single called Spill. Spill is what I call a small song. Basically a guitar and a voice, soft and modest. Later on strings enter the song. The atmosphere is not changed. So Spill may be small, the effect it creates is no less because of it. Anna Jordan's voice comes in in a very direct way, her guitar playing fully in support of the vocal performance. "You shout out to anyone with an open ear" she sings. There's no need, she's entering mine without having to do any shouting at all. Spill is the kind of song that is simply there. Call it folk, for sure, but without any traditional folk instruments, thus elements. Because of the addition of a violin and cello it becomes almost chamber music. Selk/Anna Jordan presents beauty without going for the obvious effects in music. This song is pure.

Easy Now. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Right, don't expect anything new here but if you like Noel Gallagher's music my guess you will not be disappointed by his new single. The urgency of the early Oasis hits is all gone. It is all about songsmithing now (and for some time already of course) and that is something well put into the safe hands of Noel. He knows how to write a nice and sympathetic song. Easy Now obviously is such a song. Why does this song, that is not overly exciting, new nor exceptionally good, work? A good question, that is hard to answer. It just does. The melody is nice to start with and Noel adds the right sort of licks and instruments in the right places. Add his voice, which is certainly good enough as lead singer and a melodic guitar solo. Finally, The Beatles elements woven through the song do the rest. Easy Now is simply a really nice song. The video does have a surprising ending though.

Wout de Natris

Gentlewoman. M. Lucky

Liefhebbers van tijdloze singer-songwriter pop hadden het afgelopen jaar al niets te klagen, maar met Gentlewoman van M. Lucky krijgen ze er nog een sensationeel goed album van eigen bodem bij.

De naam Marcia Savelkoul heb ik de afgelopen jaren wel eens voorbij horen komen, maar haar alter ego M. Lucky kende ik nog niet. Als M. Lucky heeft de Amsterdamse muzikante in de laatste weken van 2022 met Gentlewoman nog een jaarlijstjesalbum afgeleverd. Het is een album dat vol staat met tijdloze songs met vaak een jaren 70 vibe. Het zijn weelderig ingekleurde songs waarin organische en elektronische klanken fraai in balans zijn. Het past allemaal prachtig bij de mooie en krachtige stem van de Amsterdamse muzikante, die met haar debuutalbum minstens net zoveel indruk maakt als een aantal Amerikaanse muzikanten van naam en faam in dit genre. Prachtdebuut.

Ik legde de laatste hand aan mijn jaarlijstje over 2022 en had in de tweede week van december eerlijk gezegd geen album meer verwacht dat dit lijstje nog serieus kon opschudden. Dat gebeurde wel, want Gentlewoman van M. Lucky is een sensationeel goed album, dat zich op de valreep tussen een aantal van mijn persoonlijke favorieten van het afgelopen jaar in wrong.

Het is een album dat in de OOR het mooiste album van eigen bodem in 2022 wordt genoemd. Dat is nogal een uitspraak, maar er valt wat mij betreft weinig of eigenlijk helemaal niets op af te dingen. Het debuutalbum van M. Lucky komt voor mij compleet uit de lucht vallen en dat geldt waarschijnlijk niet alleen voor mij. In de stukjes die ik op het Internet over het album kan vinden, wordt vooral het wat mij betreft niet al te veel zeggende persbericht vrijwel letterlijk geciteerd, waardoor ik maar heel weinig weet over het eerste album van M. Lucky.

Ik weet inmiddels wel dat M. Lucky het alter ego is van de Amsterdamse muzikante Marcia Savelkoul, die een paar jaar geleden nog deel uit maakte van de band Bells Of Youth. Als M. Lucky zet Marcia Savelkoul een aantal reuzenstappen. Gentlewoman van M. Lucky doet me meer dan eens denken aan And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow van Weyes Blood, en dat is een album dat ik schaar onder de allerbeste albums van het afgelopen jaar.

Net als Weyes Blood maakt ook M. Lucky hele goede en volstrekt tijdloze popliedjes en het zijn popliedjes die uitblinken door prachtige volle klanken en zeer aansprekende zang. Marcia Savelkoul laat op het debuutalbum van M. Lucky horen dat ze een geweldige zangeres is. De Amsterdamse muzikante beschikt over een krachtig en expressief stemgeluid en slaagt er bovendien in om te variëren met haar zang.

De krachtige zang en de persoonlijke teksten van Marcia Savelkoul voorzien de songs op het debuutalbum van M. Lucky van urgentie en zorgen er bovendien voor dat Gentlewoman zich makkelijk weet te onderscheiden van al die andere albums van vrouwelijke singer-songwriters. Ook de songs van de Amsterdamse muzikante vallen op door een verrassend hoog niveau. Het zijn songs die vaak een aangename jaren 70 vibe hebben, maar die ook absoluut eigentijds klinken.

Gentlewoman valt niet alleen op door sterke zang en songs die zowel aangenaam vermaken als de fantasie prikkelen. Het album is ook nog eens bijzonder mooi ingekleurd en maakt indruk met rijke arrangementen die echt niet onder doen voor de arrangementen op het laatste album van de al eerder genoemde Weyes Blood. Gentlewoman heeft deels een aards geluid, zeker wanneer de piano centraal staat, maar het album kan ook aangenaam zweverig klinken wanneer flink wat elektronica wordt ingezet.

M. Lucky heeft een debuutalbum uitgebracht vol met songs die je makkelijk verleiden en betoveren, maar het zijn ook songs die nog heel lang mooier en interessanter worden. Gentlewoman is me daarom inmiddels nog een flink stuk dierbaarder dan bij de wat mij betreft sensationele eerste kennismaking. Er zijn in 2022 meer van dit soort rijk ingekleurde maar vooral tijdloze singer-songwriter albums verschenen, maar zo goed als op Gentlewoman van M. Lucky heb ik het echt niet zo vaak gehoord.

Erwin Zijleman

 

De Toegift. De Toegift

Ja, wat kan ik nu nog schrijven? De Toegift heeft afgelopen week al zoveel lof toegezwaaid gekregen. Beste band van Eurosonic/Noorderslag 2023 en nog veel meer. Ik was er niet bij, dus kan het alleen maar aannemen.

In de afgelopen maanden is De Toegift op deze pagina's al vaak voorbij gekomen in de wekelijkse singlesoverzichten. Veel nieuwe nummers zullen de mensen die de band hebben gevolgd in het afgelopen jaar niet horen op 'De Toegift'. Wel zullen zij eindelijk de onderlinge samenhang horen en daar zeker niet in teleurgesteld raken. 'De Toegift' is een prachtig album, waarop de band zijn melancholie en hang naar het verleden in een breed geluid uitmeten. Als luisteraar ben je onmiddelijk deel van dit gevoel. Warm en inclusief.

Tot mijn verbazing is 'De Toegift' niet het echte debuut van de band. Niet lang geleden speelden de leden samen onder een andere naam, Little Symphonies, en zongen in het Engels op 'We used To Be Immortal'. Ik las ook dat label- en provinciegenoot Broeder Dieleman zanger Maxim Ventulé inspireerde om in het Nederlands te gaan schrijven. Ze tekenden (ook) bij Snowstar Records en de rest is, voor nu, geschiedenis, want met 'De Toegift' ligt de toekomst open, waarin nog heel veel geschiedenis geschreven kan worden.

Helemaal "nieuw" is de muziek op het album niet. In Nederland moet ik zeker aan Spinvis denken, maar af en toe ook aan Mark van der Holsts wijze van voordracht in zijn band The Avonden. Internationaal bestaan dit soort dromerige acts ook, maar niet veel daarvan spraken mij zo aan als deze band.

Neem 'Nollestrand'. Een prachtige saxofoon wandelt als het ware door de song heen. De band speelt en Ventulé zingt alsof zij optreden voor de nighthawks at the diner, het beroemde schilderij van Edward Hopper. Dat intieme is wel een hoofdkwaliteit van De Toegift. Veel atmosfeer, een piano die daar duidelijk aanwezig maar toch bescheiden doorheen speelt. De zang is altijd een voordracht, gezongen tussen fluister en zang, de luisteraar dwingend te luisteren.

Voordat diegenen die op basis van het bovenstaande wellicht denken dat zij op dit moment in het album al in slaap zullen zijn gevallen, wacht nog even. 'De Toegift' is voldoende gevarieerd om steeds weer te verbazen en hechten. Bijvoorbeeld door de toevoeging van een dwarsfluit in 'Alles Is Gemaakt', waar bovendien daarachter best even gefreakt mag worden in de muziek. Zelfs de geest van Boudewijn de Groot als twintiger waart door de muziek. "Het leven is ook voor u de moeite waard", krijgen we nog mee als boodschap. Gelukkig ben ik daar al geruime tijd van doordrongen. Albums als dit zijn daar bovendien een prettige herinnering aan, voor zover nodig.

De recensent van afgelopen weekend heeft het goed gehoord. Ik hoop De Toekomst over niet al te lange tijd ook een keer live te gaan zien. Dat komt vast goed. In de tussentijd is daar het album. 'De Toegift' is een zeer goed debuut van een band die heel goed weet wat het wil en dat kan overbrengen. Ik betwijfel of er een beter Nederlandstalig album uit zal komen in 2023. Luistert!, is dan ook het advies dat ik u mee geef.

Wout de Natris

Je kunt De Toegift hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://snowstar.bandcamp.com/album/de-toegift

Singing Inside Your Head. The Laissez Fairs

Singing in your head? Fat chance with an album like Singing In Your Head. Las Vegas' The Laissez Fairs lets it all hang down on its new album and outdid itself. This album is outstanding.

Don't expect something new, except for the songs themselves. Instead, expect something old. The Laissez Fairs recreate the music of decades ago and come up with a great album in 2023. Psychedelic rock is all around as if 1967, early 1968 never went away. Now many bands dab in this kind of music. Some sound more modern in their approach others stick closer to the source. You will find The Laissez Fairs more on the latter side of the equation. With short ventures to the other side.

Singing Inside Your Head is filled with songs that could have been released, in mono, circa 56 years ago. Shows would have been filled with hippies, smoking illegal substances or worse with fluid projections on the wall behind the band and pre-disco mirrorballs twirling.

The album is filled with a spacy Rickenbacker, a farfisa organ, distorted vocals, wildly played tambourines and dreamy, trippy songs. You will find references to many famous bands of the era. Just take my word for it. This would all be nice as a trip down memory lane but nothing more, if The Laissez Fairs had not added its own signature to the sound and this starts with the songs.

It's here the better if not best news starts. The band delivers a wide range of styles. From up tempo space rocking pop singles to sonic adventures taking the listener on a musical trip. You will find everything in between. Had this been 1966 - 1968 many a band looking for a new single could have turned to Singing In Your Head and have its pick.

The jump the band makes with its new album is phenomenal. What I had heard previously was nice, not outstanding. On Singing In Your Head several songs tip that top easily. It's a kind of album that is a must have. Agreed, the singing is not the best in the world, but that is really the only thing that I can mention here. Set that against the way John Fallon uses his voices in the stellar psychedelic pop rocker 'Pretty Penny' and there's no argument left to make.

In 2023 I can only muse about what the effect of this album would have been in 1967, the year it should have been released. An academic question and useless of course. Its impact should be just as great in 2023. A fine album is a fine album. Singing in your head? More like SHOUTING OUT LOUD.

Wout de Natris

You can listen and order Singing Inside Your Head here:

https://thelaissezfairs.bandcamp.com/

Gigi's Recovery. The Murder Capital

It's pre-Covid that I bought the debut cd of The Murder Capital. Where colleagues bands like Fontaines DC, Shame, etc., released albums in a faster tempo, The Murder Capital rode out the pandemic and waited. It's sophomore album is finally there in 2023.

Just like 'When I Have Fears', Gigi's Recovery is not the easiest of albums to digest. After a while I laid the former album aside. When all was said and done I had heard the album enough but not in the sense that I do not want to hear the new one. After several listening sessions I have the same sense of attraction and repulsion and back again. I have the same with all the albums of the new post punk bands from the U.K. and Ireland, with the exception of Shame's debut. (The first post punk wave of circa 1980, I still can't listen to. The new bands do really well in other words.)

Gigi's Recovery starts so strong. 'Crying' and 'Return My Head' are fantastic rock songs. There's no other word for it. They rock, are full of energy and singer James McGovern is in great form, singing to the best of his abilities. From there on the mood changes and the tempo disappears. To enjoy the album becomes "work". In general that "work" is more than worth it. The Murder Capital has grown and the time between the two albums has resulted in better music and a widened vision on its music, with the band having acquired the ability to show all this in its songs.

Promo photo

The way 'Ethel' is built up shows this strength and musical knowledge and prowess. A true musical orgy is sprinkled over the listener. Starting from nearly scratch energy is slowly but surely poured into the song, in totally convincing way. Yes, this trick is repeated a few times over the album. Adding it all up it spell growth. Gigi's Recovery all but counts it out for the listener.

Admittedly, I am not 100% convinced yet. The album is new and 'When I Have Fears' disappeared from my view after some time. Gigi's Recovery will have to prove its metal to me but the odds so far are stacked in its favour. The songs simply are better. This band knows what it's doing. In 2019 it knew what it was trying to achieve.

It is 2023 and The Murder Capital has claimed its spot in the post-post punk subset of music and succeeds gloriously, it seems.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Gigi's Recovery here:

https://themurdercapital.bandcamp.com/album/gigis-recovery

Theatre. Anna Mieke

De Ierse singer-songwriter Anna Mieke heeft een prachtig folky album afgeleverd, dat een fraai evenwicht heeft gevonden tussen invloeden uit het verleden en songs die in alle opzichten buiten de lijntjes kleuren.

Theatre van Anna Mieke is een album dat bol staat van de invloeden uit de traditionele Britse en Ierse folk, maar toch is het geen moment een echt traditioneel folkalbum. Daarvoor zijn de songs, maar ook de instrumentatie en de zang op het tweede album van de Ierse muzikante te spannend. De instrumentatie bestaat in de basis uit fraai akoestisch gitaarspel, maar Anne Mieke omringt dit gitaarspel met bijzondere accenten van een arsenaal aan instrumenten en kleurt ook met haar stem deels buiten de lijntjes van de traditionele folk. Het levert een album op dat onmiddellijk indruk maakt, maar de bijzondere geheimen van Theatre moet je dan nog leren kennen.

Bij de naam Anna Mieke dacht ik in eerste instantie aan een Nederlandse muzikante, maar dat blijkt niet het geval. Anna Mieke (Bishop) is afkomstig uit het Ierse Wicklow en het deze week verschenen Theatre is haar tweede album en de opvolger van het in 2020 verschenen Idle Mind. Dat de wieg van Anna Mieke in Ierland stond is overigens goed te horen op haar nieuwe album, dat absoluut invloeden uit de Ierse folk bevat. 

Dat levert al snel nogal traditioneel klinkende albums op en daar ben ik meestal niet zo gek op. Anna Mieke heeft op Theatre echter de balans gevonden tussen invloeden uit het verleden en meer eigentijdse klanken. De Ierse muzikante heeft ook nog eens een opvallend spannend album gemaakt, dat zich makkelijk opdringt, maar dat ook beschikt over de nodige groeipotentie. 

Dat spannende zit allereerst in de muzikale inkleuring van de songs van de Ierse muzikante. Theatre trekt direct de aandacht door een warm geluid vol muzikaal vuurwerk. Anna Mieke maakte haar nieuwe album met een aantal prima muzikanten en de songs op het album werden in de basis opgenomen in een live setting. Het muzikale vuurwerk komt vooral van het knappe en soms onnavolgbare akoestische gitaarwerk, maar ook de bijdragen van onder andere orgel, saxofoon, klarinet, synths, viool en harp dragen bij aan een veelkleurig geluid, waarin, mede ook door de bijzondere percussie, van alles gebeurt. 

Het is een geluid dat absoluut folky genoemd mag worden, maar ik vind het een stuk avontuurlijker dan het geluid op de wat traditioneler aandoende Britse of Ierse folkalbums. Theatre heeft af en toe wel wat weg van de vroege albums van Kathryn Williams, van het geweldige What A Boost van Rozi Plain en van de albums van This Is The Kit, maar Anna Mieke weet zich ook te onderscheiden van haar soortgenoten. 

In muzikaal opzicht is Theatre een spannend maar ook bijzonder mooi album en ook de songs op het album bieden zowel avontuur als schoonheid. De meeste songs op Theatre kiezen voor een betrekkelijk laag tempo en kabbelen aan de ene kant aangenaam voort, maar de muziek van Anna Mieke laat aan de andere kant ook vrijwel continu bijzondere dingen horen, waardoor je geen moment wilt missen van het album. 

Anna Mieke geeft de bijzondere instrumentatie op haar nieuwe album alle ruimte, maar ze maakt ook songs met een kop en een staart en is bovendien een uitstekend zangeres. Ook de zang op Theatre is zeker niet alledaags. Anna Mieke beschikt over een stem die gemaakt lijkt voor wat traditioneel aandoende Britse folk, maar ook in vocaal opzicht kleurt het nieuwe album van de Ierse muzikante met enige regelmaat buiten de lijntjes met bijzondere zanglijnen. 

Ik was eigenlijk direct gecharmeerd van het bijzondere geluid van Anna Mieke, maar Theatre is ook een album dat de tijd moet krijgen om te groeien. Bij herhaalde beluistering ontdek je steeds weer nieuwe lagen in de razend knappe instrumentatie en strelen de bijzondere accenten in deze instrumentatie steeds nadrukkelijker het oor. Hetzelfde geldt voor bijzondere zang op het album en de vaak spannende songstructuren. Het valt met het aanbod van het moment niet mee om op te vallen, maar dit bijzondere album verdient echt alle aandacht.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Theatre hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://annamieke.bandcamp.com/album/theatre

Aces Eights And Heartbreaks. The Shang Hi Los

D'Angora, Kopko, Harrington, Feirrera, Boston. That's all you need to know, really. With Aces Eights And Heartbreaks The Shang Hi Los has broken any promise they perhaps made with its debut album 'Kick It Like A Wicked Habit'. Aces Eights And Heartbreaks is the next level. This is pop, punk, garage rock (and roll) and Blondie all in one.

The single 'Takes One To Know One' is the absolute top where this sort of music is concerned. Everything I have heard over the past years coming from the principal songwriters Jen D'Angora and Dan Kopka is surpassed by this song. These local heros on the Boston scene have a whole career, perhaps two, behind them before I was introduced to this Boston scene by Rum Bar Records (and since Red On Red Records). A whole world of rock and roll opened itself to me since.

The single is one of the contenders for best single on the Boston scene, Aces Eights And Heartbreaks for the best album. The Shang Hi Los are extremely direct on its new record. In my opinion think Blondie with a far better singer, Jen D'Angora and songs that compete with the best Blondie songs. 'Plymouth Rock, 'Billy' and that single all would have stood out on 'Plastic Letters' and 'Parallel Lines'. Tthe other albums don't really count in my opinion. The surprise is that beyond these singles of past year, the band really goes full out in the final tracks of the album. Who needs Blondie?, from that moment onwards.

In The Shang Hi Los Dan Kopko takes the navigator's seat, serving the power of Jen D'Angora as a singer. Delivering the harmonies, the fiery guitar solos and all out support to make D'Angora truly shine. The solid background delivered by the bass of Lee Harrington and the drums played by Chuck Feirrara is rock solid. This is a hard rocking rhythm section alright. Take 'These Four Walls'. How tight can a song be? Well, listen to this song to find out. There's no escaping these four walls. No way!

All four musicians have their other projects. Look 'm up, I'm feeling lazy this Friday evening after a day full of meetings. The question is whether this is the band that could get them world fame? It doesn't get much better than this imho. The power of The Shang Hi Los is enormous and they have the songs to go with the power. The songwriting duo working together here soars to great heights. Icarus is nothing compared to them and their glue is sticking with ease. People of the world, take notice. With Aces Eights And Heartbreaks a great new punk pop album was presented to the world to enjoy.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to Aces Eights And Heartbreaks here:

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/aces-eights-heartbreaks

2023, Week 3, 10 singles

This week ends with a discovery of huge proportions. What a song that is but don't forget to takein the rest. A singer who has a place on this blog from the very, very beginning and returns with a song that surely rocks her oeuvre's boat. And many things in between. New names and old names. They are all here. Enjoy!

Infinity Song. Robin Kester

With thanks to Amber Arcades, who will tour The Netherlands with Robin Kester as support act, I got to know this artist. It's totally understandable that this duo going on tour together; based on one song that is. Infinity Song has the energy 'Fading Lines' has. Robin Kester, from Groningen, has two EPs to her name, from 2018 and 2020 and is about to release her debut album. Most likely delayed by the pandemic with one or two years. That's the story of all our lives. Infinity Song is an up tempo, alternative rock song, with a strong rhythm, drums and bass are extremely tight, the drums perhaps a machine it's so tight. Over it some atmospherics and electronics hover over and behind the song, while guitars are allowed to go all out here and there. Robin Kester sings over it in a dreamy, almost absent way. Enter, Amber Arcades. Fun fact. Before Infinity Song I listened to the new Peter Gabriel single. The songs are somewhat similar, where the atmosphere is concerned. And look who has made it to this week's singles and who hasn't (hint: boring).

Shakin' Ain't Fakin'. The Hip Priests

Some independent (punk) rock from the U.K. This band has raged over the stages of Europe and the U.S. following a string of no less than 30 singles and four albums. Here's number 31 presaging number 5, 'Roden House Blues' set for May. Shakin' Ain't Fakin' lets it all hang out. The Hip Priests mix everything from AC/DC, Guns 'N' Roses and a lot of punk rock into a storm of a song. Filled with strong hooks and a chorus to raise fists and shout along to. The energy caught on record must match a live show as more is humanly impossible to receive and maybe produce and share as well. Shakin' Ain't Fakin' is the real thing alright.

Anyway I Found You. The Men

Oh, yeah. Some delicious slacker punk rock from NYC's The Men. Or, call it a punk ballad, whatever you prefer. The sound is all what it needs to be, it's the tempo that has gone somewhere into the mid section. The Men hit the nail on the head anyway. All through the song a slide guitar wails away, as if Billy Ray Cyrus has found his way into a rougher scene. The rest of the band pretends as if the tempo has not been brought down. In the background the drummer is pounding away and driving the song forward as loud as he can. The singer's voice is as rough as can be (here). Just like the guitars are. All in all, Anyway I Found You is a ballad making me even more curious of the album. 'New York City' is out on 3 February.

Skipping Stone. néomí

The first 3FM talent of 2023. It is honourous of course but who listen to 3FM these days? I'm not, for several years, and most likely Skipping Stone was not made for people my age. That apart, I've decided to give the song a fair chance. And, yes, it has something, a certain star quality, but does not convince me fully. Let me explain. Ever since a new generation of female singers broke big in this country, for some reason they all sing the same way and that makes it almost impossible to keep them apart. Next to that, néomí musically sounds like Duncan Lawrence with a guitar added. The song does have an atmosphere that makes me listen to it and prick up my ears. For now I am somewhere in between. There's a new EP underway and I'll certainly give it a chance.

Utopia. Grande Royale

Utopia is the kind of song that truly sets the listener on the wrong foot. It starts with a singer and an acoustic guitar. Enter the band and a big fat Hammond organ (sound?). The start could be the beginning of a fast country song. The ending is more like Dropkick Murphies without the uilleann pipes and other Irish stuff. The vocal duties are shared as well giving making Utopia an even more varied song. It's only two weeks ago that 'Tell Me' features on these pages and here is a new single already. A totally different one at that, as Utopia is far more hard rock combined with Celtic punk rock. The energy level Grande Royale shares is about the same. The Swedish band is on track to a great record. Expect 'Welcome To Grime Town' somewhere in March.

Rock The Boat. Karen Jonas

There's no limit to Karen Jonas' music it seems. With Rock The Boat she takes on another boundary and takes it as if their was no boundary at all. Rock The Boat moves from a pseudo blues song from the 1920s to a modern alternative country song bordering on an alternative rock ballad. The tension build up in this single grows towards huge proportions without a final release. Instead the song is wound down once again. All through the past decades I've heard songs like this from folksy singer-songwriters. What Karen Jonas adds is an atmosphere as if she's escaped from the netherworld. Ghostlike sounds are all over Rock The Boat. Somewhere she sings "don't be afraid to die". With a song like this in my ears it may just be the case. My boat filled with Karen Jonas songs was rocked severely as a song wanted to come on board, claiming just about all the space of over a decade of songs. Welcome!

Cadillac, Cadillac. Dropkick Murphys feat. Sammy Amara

Months after the release of the band's latest album it is released again already with extra tracks. I never got around to listen in the first place, sorry, but here's a single to celebrate the re-release. Also, here's Dropkick Murphys without uilleann pipes and other Irish stuff itself. Cadillac Cadillac is of course about the car and just as of course a classic 50s, 60s or 70s convertible of about a street or two long. Dropkick Murphys leave at home any reference to their Irish roots, except for some pub shouting along the way. This is a true rock and roll style song as could be heard ever since the 1950s. Add some country twang guitar soloing, strong bass runs and a tight rhythm and you have all you need in a song like Cadillac Cadillac. The two singers want themselves one, no matter how. I'm sure they will succeed.

Gamma Rays. Temples

Looking it up I found that Temples was on the blog for the first and last time with 'Sun Structures' in the spring of 2014. Has the band done anything in between? Probably but never reached me. With Gamma Rays the band returns on WoNoBlog with a danceable, slightly psychedelic song. The kind that manoeuvres itself brilliantly between upbeat and melancholy. The beat is decidedly upbeat, the singing has that impression of slowly dragging its feet, while the keys and guitars are perfectly balanced in the neutral area. It all results in a song that offers a lot to discover. Yes, it could have been a Django Django song for the way the electronics sound but is enough of its own. 'Exotico', 14 April, is the band's fourth, I just read. On the basis of Gamma Rays it could be well worth the wait.

Mosquitoes & Flies. Marathon

It may be that Marathon set a record for me. In the past I've seen many bands without a record and many with one or more albums to their names. But a band with one official single, 'Age'? That was a first. Here's the second one, Mosquitoes & Flies. No country in the world like Australia to experience the flies, were it not Marathon is from Amsterdam. The band's second song is a huge alternative rocker fulfilling all the ticks one has to place. Alternative sound? Check. Notes somewhere between in tune and false? Check. Huge sound? Check? Singing between singing and shouting? Check? Pumped up bass? Check. Distorted guitars? Checks. It all would be useless ticks if the song wasn't good. The young band presents a brazen song and throws it into the face of its listeners. Effect? Maximum. Task? Passed. Song? Wildly good.

The Hunter. Caspar Auwerkerken

Let's end with a soft, introverted song by Hasselt, Belgium singer Caspar Auwerkerken. He sings like he has just lost his last dime but finds a whole orchestra to underscore his loss in a grand way. The Hunter is a song that slowly grows and grows to huge proportions, without ever not being a ballad. This is Auwerkerken's third single and he sounds as if he's The Beatles able to get anything they want into Abbey Road's studio 2 at any time they want. Let's face it, The Hunter deserves this treatment. It starts small and introverted. A piano, electric guitar, bass and drums all play soft, accompanying the sad Caspar. Already the song won me over totally and in come the strings. Not full force and all the time, no, slowly but surely the song grows and grows. This huge a sound already and only working towards a debut EP? And not before somewhere in summer? Man, what a wait. Caspar Auwerkerken is a huge discovery and talent.

Wout de Natris

Mouth Full Of Glass. Macie Stewart

Macie Stewart probeerde het vorig jaar al eens met het breakup album Mouth Full Of Glass, maar er was een re-release voor nodig om dit werkelijk prachtige album alsnog onder de aandacht te brengen.

De naam Macie Stewart deed bij mij geen belletje rinkelen, terwijl ze twee jaar geleden als lid van het Amerikaanse duo OHMME nog hoog in mijn jaarlijstje stond. Haar eerste soloalbum Mouth Full Of Glass is door bijna iedereen over het hoofd gezien, maar het is echt een prachtig album. Macie Stewart schrijft mooie en intieme songs die het experiment niet schuwen en beschikt over een hele mooie stem. Die stem kleurt prachtig bij de zeer smaakvolle instrumentatie, die Mouth Full Off Glass steeds hoger optilt. Ik had het album zelf ook bijna gemist, maar het eerste soloalbum van Macie Stewart is echt een pareltje. En het is er absoluut een met jaarlijstjes potentie.

Mouth Full Of Glass van de Amerikaanse singer-songwriter Macie Stewart verscheen oorspronkelijk in de herfst van 2021, maar kreeg vorige maand een nieuwe kans met een wereldwijde re-release. Vorig jaar heb ik het album niet opgemerkt en ook dit jaar was het album van de muzikante uit Chicago, Illinois, me bijna ontgaan, maar gelukkig zette de Amerikaanse muziekwebsite Pitchfork me net op tijd op het juiste spoor. 

Ik noem Mouth Full Of Glass het debuutalbum van Macie Stewart, maar ze maakte in 2020 samen met Lia Kohl ook al een album met haar naam op de cover. Het behoorlijk experimentele Recipe For A Boiled Egg is overigens niet te vergelijken met Mouth Full Of Glass, dat in ieder geval een solodebuut is. Ik blijk Macie Stewart overigens ook nog te kennen van het eveneens uit Chicago afkomstige duo OHMME, dat ze samen met Sima Cunningham vormt en dat met het zeer fraaie en behoorlijk experimentele Fantasize Your Ghost in 2020 zelfs de top 15 van mijn jaarlijstje haalde (desondanks was ik het album trouwens compleet vergeten). 

Alle reden dus om heel nieuwsgierig te zijn naar het solodebuut van Macie Stewart en Mouth Full Of Glass heeft me zeker niet teleurgesteld. Vergeleken met de muziek van OHMME is het soloalbum van Macie Stewart een verrassend toegankelijk album. Mouth Full Of Glass staat vol met behoorlijk ingetogen folksongs, waarin de mooie stem van Macie Stewart goed uit de verf komt. 

De Amerikaanse muzikante is het experiment zeker niet helemaal vergeten, want de instrumentatie en de arrangementen op Mouth Full Of Glass zitten vol mooie verrassingen. De folksongs van Macie Stewart zijn sfeervol en op het eerste gehoor subtiel ingekleurd, maar er is veel moois verstopt in de klanken op het album, dat hier en daar sprookjesachtig aan doet en ook behoorlijk vol kan klinken. 

De bijdragen van strijkers en blazers verdienen een eervolle vermelding, al is het maar omdat ze de songs van Macie Stewart ver buiten de grenzen van de folk slepen, maar ook alle andere instrumenten op het album klinken prachtig, wat ook de verdienste is van de trefzekere productie van Macie Stewart en Dave Vettraino. 

De mooie folksongs op Mouth Full Of Glass liggen zoals gezegd lekker in het gehoor en overtuigen mede hierdoor makkelijk. Het zijn op hetzelfde moment songs waarin ontzettend veel te ontdekken valt. Zelfs de meest ingetogen songs op het album prikkelen de fantasie, waardoor het solodebuut van Macie Stewart een steeds interessanter album wordt. Wat voor de instrumentatie en de songs geldt, geldt overigens ook voor de zang van Macie Stewart, die vooralsnog alleen maar mooier wordt. 

Ik kan me best voorstellen dat een album als Mouth Full Of Glass bij snelle en oppervlakkige beluistering niet direct opvalt, maar als je wat tijd steekt in het album blijkt al snel dat Macie Stewart een prachtalbum heeft gemaakt. Het is een album waarin je jezelf compleet kunt verliezen, maar Mouth Full Of Glass doet het ook prima als een wat benevelend album waarbij je echt heerlijk tot rust kunt komen. Ik had het album bijna voor de tweede keer gemist, maar schrijf het nu toch op als een van de bijzondere hoogtepunten van het muziekjaar 2022.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Mouth Full Of Glass hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://maciestewart.bandcamp.com/album/mouth-full-of-glass

David Crosby (1941 - 2023)

Just A Song Before I Go, one of CSN's hits, despite having been written by Graham Nash, gets a whole new meaning now the first member of the most superband of superbands has left this earth. Active until the very end, Crosby has, almost, released more solo records in his final years than in the years before. Always full of class and taste; not necessarily new or urgent. Simply beautiful additions to what already existed.

David Crosby had a 60 year career in music, with a breakthrough in 1965 as a member of The Byrds. The band scored an international hit with Bob Dylan's 'Mr. Tambourine Man'. Especially the jingle-jangle got a totally new dimension in The Byrds' version, because of the Rickenbacker sound of, then, Jim McGuinn. The fabulous harmony vocals did the rest. And that was David Crosby's forté.

The Byrds truly were a nest from which members flew away and others in with, then, Roger McGuinn as constant factor. After Gene Clark, David Crosby was the second to leave the nest. Allegedly because of the lyrics to a song called 'Triad'. Jefferson Airplane, especially the tandem Grace Slick - Paul Kantner were friends who regularly sailed with Crosby and his wife Jan on the big schooner, the 'Mayan', Crosby owned, recorded the song on 'Crown Of Creation' (1968), one of the band's most beautiful ballads.

Musical history was altered when Crosby entered a musical relationship with Stephen Stills (ex-Buffalo Springfield) and Graham Nash (soon to be ex-The Hollies). Together they sailed the highest skies of the Woodstock era. Starting with a single called 'Marrakesh Express', the smallest of hits here in NL, that brought inventive sounds, eastern influences and glorious singing to the world.

That was my start and almost end of CSN(&Y). A friend from long ago had the 'Woodstock' album. An illegal copy brought by his father from Taiwan. (Yes, I got mine soon after when my dad sailed there.) It had the incomprehensible 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes' on it. That Stills song took me many more years, as in two decades, to like. It had 'Sea Of Madness' on it and 'Wooden Ships'. The first was the kind of rock song that really went down well in my young adolescent mind.

Listening now, I hear the fabulous harmonies. Many people have written that David Crosby was the voice you did not hear but if it had not been there, everything would fall apart. This sounds so mysterious but even Stephen Stills is writing it in his tweets commemorating David Crosby.

'Deja Vu' is most likely the album that is liked best in the world. Somehow it is not one of my favourites. I like 'CSN' better and also 'Daylight Again' has its moments.

For many years Crosby was associated more with addiction, negativity, illness and finally the parenthood of Melissa Etheridge's children. Until new music started flowing that slowly but surely restored his reputation as singer and songwriter. Showing what a good singer and songwriter he was in his own right. I'm not his biggest fan but any record goes down well, usually.

More than 50 years have passed since 'Woodstock' and many records made in whatever combination. One fine, personal memory is TV show I ran into by chance around 2000 or something. Crosby was singing with two younger musicians. One turned out to be his later in life recognised son. The performance was magical and I became totally submerged in the music, encountered by chance. Just zapping in a bored moment late in the evening, not wanting to go to bed yet. Zapping is something I never do anymore. There's too much and usually all uninteresting.

With David Crosby an incredibly talented musician has passed away. Bigger than any in his first band The Byrds and high in the pop pantheon with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, although I think them the better songwriters. (Neil Young has a total place of his own by now, of course.) David Crosby was an even more influential singer, as he must have had an uncanny ear for harmonies that supported, weaved and "disappeared" into the whole. A deep bow from me to you, Mr. Crosby.

Wout de Natris

Save Yourself. traumahelikopter

Somewhere in the recent past years I started to assume that traumahelikopter was no more (and maybe it wasn't for a while). In the fall of 2022 the world was made a little better with the release of a new single that met with a favourable reception on this blog. It led to some high expectations as well. The trio, drums and two guitars delivers the goods.

If Save Yourself is about the band itself, the new album must be a step in the right direction. About myself personally I'm not that worried at this point. My life is enriched with a fantastic alternative rock record with the band truly jumping out of my speakers. There's no stopping them it seems, except turning the record off. Once it's on, a warning to your personal circumstances here, there's no option but to jump up and down with the beat of traumahelikopter.

The Groningen based band is around for 13 years. Ten years ago, almost to the day, it released its first album, 'traumahelicoper'. 'Competition Stripe' its previous album is over six years old now. All contain upbeat alternative rock. Admittedly, it's been a while since I last played one of them. The band sort of slipped away from my consciousness, resulting in having to rely on memory here. Not always a smart thing to do. Nevertheless, I have the strong impression this album is far more direct and urgent. As if the energy saved up in the past years comes out as one big blast, without forgetting that music is, also, about songs.

Save Yourself is full of them. Take 'Please Don't', the single. This is a song of huge proportion, with a great, memorable vocal melody and huge, huge guitar work and a rhythm that is simply infectious. Anyone liking alternative rock and not being affected by it in a hugely positive way must be advised to take a trip to the local hearing aid shop. 'Please Don't' is a great song.

'Push The Button' is an energy surge lasting just over two minutes. The song gets a slight psychedelic 60s vocal harmonies sheen over it, while rocking away, with the same pointy, energetic guitar solos, somewhere between solo and huge rhythm. Just two examples out of many I could give.

There's only one conclusion: traumahelikopter is back and not just for the fun of it. Save Yourself is huge and perhaps the best they've done so far. It takes some comparing to conclude that for sure. One thing is for sure, Iggy's 'Every Loser' already has a strong contender for best alternative rock / punk rock record of January (and who knows beyond).

Wout de Natris

You can order Save Yourself here:

https://excelsior-recordings.com/products/traumahelikopter-save-yourself

Late Developers. Belle and Sebastian

With How To Our Measure Human Problems Belle and Sebastian delivered three EPs in a short period of time. Varied, special and above all musically convincing and strong, good songs that stand out. The band released a few records after this but somehow I've missed them or did not feel the urgency to listen based on the reviews.

With Late Developers I heard of a new album before reading any reviews, so gave the album a go. With 'Julia Naked' the album starts in a clean and bare way. It suggests a sense of urgency that is totally missing in all the songs that follow it.

A positive quality of Belle and Sebastian is positivity. The sound of the band always has a touch of lightness in it. The clean sound, the high tones in the voice of Stuart Murdoch always sets me in a nice mood. This is something that not many bands have.

With Sarah Martin the band has a second lead singer who gives the band a second face. Musically, on this album, the songs with a little more pepper in them hold her voice as lead. It does not save the album though.

In 2023 it is more than a quarter of a century since the release of 'Tiger Milk'. Twelve albums down the line, I can't escape the impression that I have heard enough Belle and Sebastian songs. A new album does not add to what I already have in the home. (I have not listened yet to the latest Muse and Rammstein either e.g.) This is not necessarily a bad thing, music progresses and so does a listener.

There's nothing wrong with Late Developers. Don't get me wrong there. If this had been the band's third album, I would probably have been quite content with it. The light and some somewhat less light pop songs sound nice, attention was paid to details that pay off. However, as album number 12, of which I have six or seven, it's very different. Belle and Sebastian has to try harder I'm afraid. Like with the album I started this review with. That contains extra efforts. Here I'm only hearing the middle way where no risks are taken. Late Developers is not special enough for me in 2023 to put more effort into it.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Late Developers here:

https://belleandsebastian.bandcamp.com/album/late-developers

Imagine I Was This Tall. Garlands

It is sad to say but the following actually happened to me. I listened to Imagine I Was This Tall for the first time and thought: 'okay, nice'. With the band Garlands and the solo work of Gordon Harrow of the past half decade in mind, it turns out that consistent quality leads to this initial reaction suggesting averageness. Beware folks, Imagine I Was This Tall is all but average!

After the string of lockdown singles things went silent as far as Garlands was concerned. Until the late fall of 2022 when the first new single announcing a new album was released. Into my umpteenth listening session it is easy to conclude that Garlands delivers the goods with Imagine I Was This Tall. Its songs in the alternative pop-rock segment sparkle and catch the ear with ease. The fun of making and playing these songs translates into an infectuous desire to listen more and more.

Garlands is a trio from Glasgow with Gordon Harrow on guitar and voice, Darren Mackay on bass and Stef Blair on drums. Together they create a powerful sound that lets the pop elements ooze out in abundance. If I have to compare it is only Supergrass on its first four albums. Leave out the element of mischief that always surrounded the U.K. band. Garlands is more serious but its music has the same effect on me. Joy, pleasure and smiles all around.

In my opinion it does not make sense to lift out one or two songs as an example. They all have the same effect on me. One may have a small streak of 60s, think The Beatles, The Kinks, harmony vocals, while other may reference Britpop more or U.S. 1980s rock bands. When all is said and done this is Garlands with ten new, sparkling songs. Each and every one stands out on its own.

More words are not needed, really. Imagine I Was This Tall is an album that deserves to be picked up by everybody who loves alternative pop-rock. Garlands deserves to become a household name.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and buy Imagine I Was This Tall here:

https://garlands-glasgow.bandcamp.com/album/imagine-i-was-this-tall