2023, week 6, 10 singles

At what point does a band become a veteran of this blog? The question popped up into my mind, as two of the acts below have been on it a few times by now but all in this decade. I'd say a minimum of two or three albums for starters as an answer to the question. Most of the others are totally first timers and that also says something about a blog close to eleven years in existence. We are not afraid of what's upcoming and new or perhaps never to be heard from again after today. Who can tell? There's also a trio of veterans of which it is certain it releases its last work soon. Fact is, you have a lot to discover, so sit back, relax and enjoy.

 

The Goat / Beep Beep. Tramhaus

Yesterday I was in Rotterdam and the slogan "Rotterdam make it happen" was everywhere I looked on posters. A band coming out of my city of birth that is making it happen is Tramhaus. Alternative rock, punk rock, call it whatever you want. Tramhaus is on a roll once again and shows it is not touring through Europe without as much as an album to its name already for nothing. Subroutine Records announced recently the band will release three 7" singles in a row. The first is The Goat with Beep Beep on the b-side. The Goat is even a kind of a joke set to music. As strong as most of the band's songs are, six all in all until this new release, The Goat is not so much a serious song and one bringing a smile to my face. "It's my goat", okay, I do not have to take it seriously. The music underscores this feeling and all together it works fantastically. Another winner for Tramhaus. Beep Beep is a punkrocking song, inviting the moshpit to fill up and do some heavy jumping and causing some bruising. Up tempo, relentless and loud Beep Beep is. I'm far too old for this kind of music but the legacy of years makes me recognise a winner when I hear one. Beep Beep is one alright. Tramhaus is on route to become the biggest band out of Rotterdam, perhaps ever. Beep beep, move over whoever. All this needs is a 'Roadrunner' cover it seems.

Matter Of Fact. The Luka State

Something I never would have guessed but people coming from a forgotten village can actually produce a song that is worth remembering. The Luka State is a band that formed in 2013 in Winsford. Four friends who formed a band, as these things often go and ten years later the four are about to release its second album, 'More Than This' (10 March). Single Matter Of Fact is not the kind that grows any grass over it. The Luka State go for it with the strong guitar opening, followed by a slow riff and a rhythm section that truly drives the song. Not that the song is extremely fast. It's more powerful with a nice overdub here and there in the chorus. All together it is a song somewhere between punk, alternative rock and emo. The singer obviously is in distress as he "can't sleep when you're not here with me". A very personal distress which the lead guitar stresses in a shredding fashion and a funky part following it. Matter Of Fact does not just share the distress. The Luka State goes way beyond that, as it has a keen ear for the extras in a song. Well done Matter Of Fact is.

Falling Apart. Screeching Weasel

A new single?? Well, sort of. Screeching Weasel re-releases its album 'Anthem For A New Tomorrow' in a 30th anniversary edition and Falling Apart is the single taken from the re-release. This is punk and incomparable what a band like Tramhaus produces in 2022-23. This is the real 90s thing alright and more specifically the U.S. 1990s. Crank up the guitars, play them loud and fast, lay a good melody on top of all the noise and kazam a punkrocking hit single pops into your ears. Falling Apart has that all and that little extra making me want to sing along as loud as I can. The single is of a quality that if Rum Bar Records had told me it was the new single of Watts, I would not have doubted it. What it goes to show is that good punkrock singles are timeless. Falling Apart has that punk groove and that melody. Oh, yes, I already wrote that, but now you know for certain. This is a hit in my book.

1989. dEUS

There's not a hint left of the Belpop of the 1990s. In 2023 Stef Kamiel Carlens sings Bob Dylan and dEUS produces a pop song that is as slick as slippery eel in a bucket of snot. Yes, 1989 is extremely slick but also extremely good. 1989 is 34 years ago this year. Tom Barman probably started playing in his first serious band, leading up to dEUS' debut a few years later. I was studying and partying on route to my graduation. The thoughts of the year brought Tom Barman in a nostalgic mood. dEUS' single is of a dreamy quality, all like a steady wave or a ripple going over the whole pond without upsetting anything or anyone. The beauty of the pond, the reflection of the light and sky in the pond, the smallest possible ripple, everything is caught in this single. Admittedly, I have not paid a lot of attention to the previous few dEUS albums. So, for all I know 1989 is totally consistent with "recent" work? Recent?, the previous album is over ten years old. Whatever the answer is, this single has made me curious for 'How To Replace It'. Only one week to go.

Ashes. Baker-Miller Noir

The pace even goes down more with Ashes. Baker-Miller Noir is a trio that is playing together for many years but surfaces under this name. In the near future an EP will see the light of day. Ashes is the band's first single. Expect something very, very slow, full of atmosphere and touching upon loads of the shady kind of beauty. Like fog over a field with the sun coming up, slowly chasing the fog away. Or like in the accompanying video. See what image you prefer. Agnes Loonstra (voice and bass), Bart van Gemert (drums) en Freek Rijna (guitar) make up the band. Together they play atmospheric music. The drums are present, the bass plays in a functional manner and has some nice melodies on the side. The guitar, drenched in reverb, meanders widely all over the song. Loonstra's voice serves Ashes purely functionally, singing all the right notes.

And, then, something triggers me. Wooden Soldiers and yes, Loonstra and Van Gemert play(ed?) in the band that would have played in my living room almost three years ago. Something that never happened for obvious reasons. The reason my girlfriend and I played in our front garden that day for neighbours and kept that up for 14 times in 15 weeks. Baker-Miller Noir, if you like you're welcome to come instead in the fall. Let me know.

Head On A Stick. Glen Matlock

Glen Matlock's name is forever glued to The Sexpistols, the original foursome with an album full of punk classics. He left the band and undoubtedly has a whole career behind him of 45 years. With Head On A Stick he returns into my life. The single shows that he probably was the one with the most songwriting skills in the band. If Matlock lived in Boston he would have released his record on Rum Bar Records. His voice fits in a tradition of older Boston rockers like Nat Freedberg. With the difference that Matlock still receives nice checks and Freedberg is working on the side. Head On A Stick is not the best song ever made. It is made extremely competently, with the right melody, great drumming (sound) and fine harmonies. The music is all familiar in the pleasant way and easily listenable. Yes, I like.

Luie Liefde. Vreemde Kostgangers

En hier is het, de single die de derde LP aankondigt van Vreemde Kostgangers. Boudewijn de Groot, George Kooymans en Henny Vrienten hadden een heel interessante zij-avenue toegevoegd aan hun zeer lange carrières. En toen kondigde De Groot aan dat hij niet meer wilde optreden na de aangekondigde tour. Die werd wreed onderbroken. Ik zag een van de laatste shows in Haarlem, waar Vrienten nog een leuke grap maakte over iets wat heel erg reëel werd, één week later. Niet lang daarna werd gemeld dat Kooymans ernstig ziek was en in 2022 overleed Henny Vrienten. Kooymans werkte door aan de derde LP en die komt er nu aan. Luie Liefde is een heerlijk popnummer met prima samenzang. Vrienten doet de leadzang op zijn karakteristieke wijze. Een heel lekker nummer. Helaas is er van die toekomst "voor jou en mij" minder terecht gekomen dan hij gehoopt zal hebben. Als het nummer verder iets aantoont, dan is het dat inspiratie niet verdwijnt met leeftijd. Dit zit gewoon zo goed in elkaar. Prima single.

Papa Took My Tokens. Cat Clyde

In the video Cat Clyde appears as a country singer playing in a theatre, all but empty. Her music has little in common with the traditional music of the U.S. Papa Took My Totems is an indie rocker where her vocal delivery is as it were the rhythm section. It is her voice that determines the rhythm of the track. All the other instruments can but follow, with the exception of the, I think heavily flanged, lead guitar. It results in a song that brings a song like 'Mandinka', Sinead O'Connor's second hit single to mind (and no, not because of the similar hair style). Cat Clyde presents a strong song, with obvious emotional layers that she freely shares with her listeners. The album, 'Down Rounder' is released next Friday.

Same Stars. Girl With A Hawk

Some bands, while presenting new, original music, seem to exist to bring alive bands(ounds) from the past. Listening to Same Stars, I can't help hearing a song like 'I Go To Sleep' or '2.000 Miles'. In other words you may hear some The Pretenders in the way of playing and singing. The good news is that Same Stars is as good as The Pretenders' songs. Girl With A Hawk recently signed with Boston's Red on Red Records and released its first single. In singer and songwriter Linda Viens the band has an obviously and extremely attractive sounding front person. She sings with an almost tear in her voice without starting to cry. Behind her there's a competent band that plays to serve the song and in the case of the lead guitar plays modest but clear notes around the chord progression. Slow but determined Same Stars is. For those really paying attention, the name Lee Harrington, one of the members, also pops up as a duo artist and as a member of The Shang Hi Los. The same? Most likely, this being Boston. Girl With A Hawk realesed its first single and its beautiful. What more can we expect in the near future?

Disembody. Soft Plastics

We end this week, slow, as in late night music just before going to bed but still indie rock, sort of. Soft Plastics returns to the blog with a new single from its upcoming album 'Saturn Return' (31 March). Sophie Scott-Maunder, Jonathan Shirley, and Laura Robinson play a big trick on that late night element, as the song rather explodes later on. No rest for the wicked it seems. From whispering soft to hellishly loud in just a few minutes. The effect is obvious and Disembody gets the attention it deserves within that same timespan. The start of the song is slow and soft. The first chorus already gives away a minimum level of what comes later. It's the drums and bass that continue in much the same vein, giving the song a steady pace, with two ticks on a woodblock kind of percussive thingy in each bar as a small extra. Just like singer Sophie Scott-Maunder keeps singing in her fairly unemotional way. Almost as if the song is of no concern to her. This is made up for by the explosion of the lead guitar in the end of Disembody and the crashes on the cymbal. Emotions all over the place all of a sudden. Only a little under 7 weeks for the debut album to come. It may be well worth the wait.

Wout de Natris