Boomerang Town. Jaimee Harris

Are there more and more women releasing records of nice to great quality or is my taste in music more and more attuned to female voices? I don't know but I notice that I'm playing ever more records made by women or bands with a female singer. Enter, Jaimee Harris, singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. Yes, expect some country and then some.

I know nothing of Jaimee Harris. Her Bandcamp page doesn't give any information, there's no bio with the album. There's only the music to convince me and it does.

The music is fairly slow. The mood always a bit melancholy. She seems to be pining for something that is just beyond reach. The sweetest and most beautiful notes come from this pining and Jaimee Harris brings them across without having to bring a tear into her voice. Singing somewhere between youthful longing and a mature resigning to fate, she moves me both ways. The more upbeat and with a fuller sound of the opening and title song contrasts with the second song, 'Sam's'. Totally subdued, slow moody strings playing accents to the voice and acoustic guitar. Both touch me, as Jaimee Harris is totally with me for the whole of the way. She sounds as if she's singing for me only. Of course, in a way she is, but this is different. She seems to be in my living room, intimate and playing and singing for me.

Boomerang Town is an album that has country as a starting point. From there Jaimee Harris moves towards ballads, folk and singer-songwriter. She also is able to build up a song to huge proportions. Throwing as it were her emotions into the face of the listener. "How could you be gone?", she not only asks, it stands in capitals in front of me, unmoveable and all-consuming. This singer is not only present, she's soaring to great heights.

With each consecutive song she shows another side to herself. Her rocking side comes out, violin and all, in 'The Fair and Dark Haired Lad'. The variation makes Boomerang Town, starting out as a country album, ever more interesting. I'm reminded of the singer-songwriter songs of The Walkabouts a lot (not their Neil Young style rock songs).

One great feature of Boomerang Town is Jaimee Harris' voice. She has a strong voice that does not need a lot of effort to impress. The voice leads the way, strong and determined, taking the listener by the hand. Walk with me and you'll be alright. At the other end of the journey, after the song in Jack Johnson style 'Missing Someone', the listener is set free, yet facing an urgent decision: Do I want to take this ride again? Chances are the answer is yes.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Boomerang Town here:

https://jaimeeharrismusic.bandcamp.com/album/boomerang-town

Year Of The Dark Horse. The White Buffalo

Ik had tot dusver niet zo veel met de muziek van The White Buffalo, maar Year Of The Dark Horse is een verpletterend mooi album, waarop het alter ego van Jake Smith bijzondere, nieuwe wegen in slaat.

White Buffalo, het alter ego van de Amerikaanse muzikant Jake Smith, gaat inmiddels al heel wat jaren mee en wist vooral liefhebbers van wat traditioneel aandoende countrymuziek aan zich te binden. Op Year Of The Dark Horse voegt Jake Smith elektronica en vooral flink wat rock aan zijn songs toe. Het levert een bijzonder en vaak fascinerend album op, dat twaalf songs lang intens en urgent klinkt en steeds weer net wat andere kanten op gaat. Op zijn nieuwe album overtreft Jake Smith zichzelf als songwriter en laat hij horen dat The White Buffalo met de besten mee kan. Year Of The Dark Horse is een mooie en soms woeste luistertrip, die alleen maar aan kracht blijft winnen.

Het blijft gek als een muzikant jarenlang weinig tot niets met je doet en je dan opeens verplettert met een nieuw album. Het is me deze week overkomen met Year Of The Dark Horse van The White Buffalo. Het alter ego van de Amerikaanse muzikant Jake Smith debuteerde zo’n twintig jaar geleden en heeft inmiddels een zeer respectabel stapeltje albums op zijn naam staan. Het zijn albums waarvan ik er een aantal heb beluisterd, waaronder het in 2020 verschenen On The Widow’s Walk, waarvan een paar weken geleden nog een luxe reissue verscheen.

The White Buffalo maakte tot Year Of The Dark Horse vooral wat traditioneel aandoende en voornamelijk akoestische country, die mij in ieder geval niet bijzonder raakte. Jake Smith wilde op zijn nieuwe album eens wat anders doen en dat is hem uitstekend gelukt. Op Year Of The Dark Horse zijn de invloeden uit de country zeker niet verdwenen, maar The White Buffalo slaat vooral andere wegen in. Het zijn meerdere wegen, want de muzikant uit California heeft een behoorlijk veelzijdig album gemaakt.

Het is een album dat een groot deel van de speeltijd donker tot aardedonker klinkt en dat is voorzien van een wat voller en elektronischer geluid. Ook op Year Of The Dark Horse maakt The White Buffalo ingetogen songs met invloeden uit de country, waarin de donkere stem van Jake Smith sfeerbepalend is. Ook de meer ingetogen songs van de Amerikaanse muzikant kunnen dit keer echter flink ontsporen in ruwe en woeste klanken, waarbij de duivel Jake Smith soms op de hielen zit en de zang misschien nog wel meer uit de bocht vliegt dan de gitaren.

Jake Smith kan het ene moment nog tekenen voor rustgevende vocalen waarbij het aangenaam wegdromen is, maar kan je het volgende moment ruw wakker schudden met uithalen om bang van te worden. Year Of The Dark Horse is sowieso een album van contrasten. Hard en zacht wisselen elkaar af, net als donker en licht, maar The White Buffalo is dit keer ook niet zo stijlvast als op zijn vorige albums.

Het levert een album op dat zich met geen enkel album laat vergelijken. Steeds weer duiken andere namen op, wat het vergelijken van de muziek van The White Buffalo met de muziek van anderen vrij zinloos maakt. Als ik dan toch namen moet noemen kom ik uit bij Tom Waits en Bruce Springsteen en kan ik alleen maar concluderen dat Year Of The Dark Horse alles heeft dat het nieuwe Springsteen album niet heeft en dat het een album is dat Tom Waits nog moet maken.

Bijgestaan door een aantal geweldige muzikanten en een topproducer, laat Jake Smith horen dat hij een bijzondere muzikant en zanger is, maar toont hij zich vooral een geweldige songwriter. Year Of The Dark Horse bevat twaalf songs en ik vind ze stuk voor stuk bijzonder. Het zijn songs die met zevenmijlslaarzen door de muziekgeschiedenis springen en het zijn songs die lak hebben aan de grenzen van genres, maar het nieuwe album van The White Buffalo is ondanks alle dynamiek en verscheidenheid een consistent klinkend album, dat ik het liefst van kop tot staart beluister, wat goed is voor een fascinerende luistertrip van drie kwartier.

Ik heb het voor de zekerheid ook nog even geprobeerd met de vorige albums van het alter ego van Jake Smith, maar geen van deze albums doet net zoveel met mij als het briljante Year Of The Dark Horse, ook al staat het album zeker niet volledig los van de rest van het oeuvre van The White Buffalo. Of de fans van het eerste uur uit de voeten kunnen met dit bijzondere album weet ik niet, maar een ieder die, net als ik, tot dusver niet viel voor de muzikale verrichtingen van The White Buffalo, moet Year Of The Dark Horse zeker eens proberen.

Erwin Zijleman

2023 week 8, 10 singles

February's nearly over. Only a few weeks left till the start of spring. I have felt the first warm sun on my coat already about a week ago! and not because one of these songs makes the sun come out, as you will read. Time to present a few more of this winter's released singles. All relatively unknown names, which gives you all the opportunity to discover new music, although one single is 20 years old. Enjoy.

State O' Maine. Continental

Rock and roll!!! With State O' Maine Continental combines the best of the Stones around 'Exile On Main Street' or more modern Primal Scream's rendition of said album, 'Give Out But Don't Give Up', with some good old punkrock attitude. Front man Rick Barton rocked with Dropkick Murphies in his day as its founding guitarist. (To my surprise that band played the largest indoor venue of NL recently.) This single is dirty rock and roll to the max. Everything is kept so simple, i.e. deceptively simple, as it all fits so well together. "I'm so glad that you have gone" is the conclusion in the lyrics. Well, I'm glad Continental has kept on rocking and is releasing its album 'Hello' on Rum Bar Records soon. If it's as exciting as State O' Maine it's best to fasten our seatbelts and ride, ride, ride as fast as we can. Great single!

Tell That Girl To Shut Up. Tina and the Total Babes

20 Year anniversaries or less or more years. There's always a reason to formally re-release a record. She's So Tuff by Tina and the Total Babes get a 20 year one. A band I have never heard of before. In 2003 it never reached me. Surprising is, that the band's line up on this song has two names that have been on these pages quite recently, Miss Georgia Peach and Travis Ramin, while Holly Beth Vincent wrote this song and also released work on Rum Bar recently. Tell That Girl To Shut Up is 'She's So Tuff's single and is of the powerpop variety. The better Blondie singles and other female (fronted) bands from around 1980 come to mind but also the big powerpop bands of the late 70s. I just love the enthusiasm jumping out of my speakers. I don't know the girl in question but one can only agree on the basis of the song and in the meantime hope she never does. Who is going to sing this song for us then? I'm afraid that the lyrics are going to be censored by the Roald Dahl sensitivity society. They will turn it into something less offensive. (Would this work for music?) Let us in the meantime enjoy it for what it is: a great single.

Phil Ochs Is Dead. The No Ones

The No Ones had me there. With a title and band name like this I had braced myself for the loudest punk imaginable. Instead this extremely pleasant 60s tinged psychedelic pop song pops out of my speakers. An R.E.M. like lead guitar, double vocals and this lovely music spanning a few decades in the best The Byrds / McGuinn, Clark, Hillman tradition. Add a 60s organ and you're there. The No Ones is a new name to me. Guitarist and co-composer Peter Buck and co-band member Scott McCaughey are not. The combination with Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen and Frode Stromstad, unknown names to me, works really well. Phil Ochs Is Dead (and for quite some time, 1976) is an extremely pleasant song, pleasing my ears and mind. Nostalgia kicks in but not just that. It is a good song in its own right.

Angels' Share - Devil May Care. ATEM

After the utterly brilliant album 'Concrete Americana', see my list for 2022 to see how brilliant, ATEM returns with a double a-side single. Disrespectfully, expect more of the same. Respectfully listen to how Jan Korbach uses his acoustic guitar to recreate a genre from the past that has gone totally out of style and yet feels so fresh thanks to his approach. Korbach took the country out of (spaghetti) western movies soundtracks and breaths life into the genre. I will repeat again, everyone needing a replacement for Ennio Morricone should start looking here. Angel's Share and Devil May Care, two short, filmic, compositions are filled with atmosphere, conjuring up images of a huge desert with a small dust cloud, somewhere at the edge of the screen. The stagecoach with the protagonists or the first victims on route to their doom, one way or another. slowly comes into view. This single holds it all. Quentin Tarantino are you paying attention: ATEM!?

Broken Arrow. Pyramaze

Time for some rock. Danish band Pyramaze brings alive the 80s classic rock bands and adds a power layer to its music, creating a modern version of Europe and Whitesnake at the same time. The drums are all over this song. The double bass is in full use giving Broken Arrow a huge bottom end to fall back on. The rhythm guitar is in full metal mood, deep and dark, assisting the drum to create a thick carpet, the sound bounces off on. The keyboards, synths and piano, are the lead instruments. The solo notes can come from either. In the video there's no bass player. I think there is one in the song, but that could be a synth as well. It would be unique, a power rock-metal band without a bass player. The singer has all this genre needs. Is it enough for a song to rock in a great way? Sometimes it is, screaming singer and all.

Sands Of Gold. Craneium

Sands Of Gold, who wouldn't what to find some, is a dark rock single that explores the edges of rock music by adding some desert and space rock elements. Things that are hard to find in the band's home country Finland. Imagination guides people a long way beyond their daily lives and environments. Craneium has a lot of it. With Sands Of Gold it manages to entertain with ease. The song has a dark sound overall, a thick sound as well, like a supernova in the making, making it harder and harder to escape from. The guitar solo's have a tough job to truly stand out in this sound, besides being great and lifting the song one step up with each guitar. Fans of this dark style rock music better pay attention as Sands Of Gold is a stand alone single.

Lay Down. Bird's View

The song title Lay Down has been taken since 1970 by Melanie (Safka). Her number 1 single with the Edwin Hawkins Singers is one of the great singles of the decade. Young Germans Bird's View can be excused. Perhaps their parents were not even born at the time. With the new single, the band appears for the second time on these pages. Working towards the release of 'Red Light Habits', slated for 19 May, Bird's View delivers a nice visiting card with Lay Down. Easy to sing along to and to move our heads rhythmically back and forth. In the singing it matches Melanie's hit. The number one position will probably remain an illusion, unless the band manages to a Maniskin of some sort. Niko Huber has that edge to his voice making him a very convincing for a rock singer and the band profits from it. Behind him is a solid band that manages to combine power with melody. Lay Down works.

246 Tooothpicks. After Elmer

From the skyline to the harbour, After Elmer shows in its video's what it is all about in Rotterdam. The new clip was recorded right between hundreds of containers in one of the terminals. The new single 246 Toothpicks is a loud and tight affair. The young band shows to have learned from the best. This is not just punk music. The deep bottom end shows a love for metal as well. The mix delivers a song with the seriousness and toughness of metal or emo if you like and the pop element the best punkrock songs hold in them. The Ramones started out with speeding up the hits of the early to mid 60s and then started to write their own, is my guess. After Elmer has this part totally down and successfully brings with it a legacy of decades to its own new single that is chock-full of the right kind of energy to get noticed. 246 Toothpicks is a lot to pick up when spilled onto the floor. Within this song it's all clear, let's play it again.

Raven's Nest. Luka

Time for some modern pop music. Luka is releasing a new single on route to her next record. 'Director In The Dark' is an EP to be released on 7 April. Her debut album 'First Steps Of Letting Go', made these pages in 2020, showing that her kind of pop made enough of an impression on me. This is not a given, as most pop of the 20s goes into the one ear and straight out the other. With Raven's Nest Lisa Lukaszczyk and her producer and co-composer Wannes Salome go for atmosphere and almost a minimal layer of music. Electronic beats drive the song. The synth bass is the backbone of the melody. Singer Luka is the principal driver of melody in the song. The combination makes Raven's Nest a mysterious and intriguing song. What is going on here? The ghost like background vocals moving in and out of the mix. Raven's Nest is a song that achieves a maximum effect with a minimum of effects.

Started Something. Jody and the Jerms

Oh, sweet pop music. Jody and The Jerms know where Abraham got his mustard alright. There's nothing new in this song. It has all been done before, except for the way the chord progression is played and the melody filled in in Started Something. The result is a song anyone with a love for the better female fronted pop bands of the past should want to hear. Bands that, no doubt, Jody Jeger was a fan of herself at the time. Starting with an effective piano riff, the band takes us into soft rock songs territory. Started Something has a strong drive and rhythm, setting it apart from regular pop rock songs. Jody Jeger's voice has that girl like innocence coming with the territory, belying her age. Without sunshine in the song itself, Started Something magically makes the sun come out. It's that kind of song.

Wout de Natris

if not now, then when will it, be all i ever wanted. Lena Hessels

De Nederlandse muzikante Lena Hessels levert met if not now, then when will it, be all i ever wanted een razend spannend popalbum af, dat de albums van de grote popprinsessen in artistiek opzicht de baas is.

De Amsterdamse muzikante Lena Hessels bracht dit jaar een drietal EP’s uit, die vorige maand werden gecombineerd tot een album. Het is een album dat twaalf songs laat horen dat Lena Hessels een enorm groot talent is. Het is bovendien een album dat laat horen dat een album met lekker in het gehoor liggende popsongs wel degelijk kan overlopen van avontuur. Lena Hessels speelt met bijzondere ritmes en veel elektronica, maar haar popliedjes verleiden ook makkelijk met sterke melodieën en bijzonder aangename zang. Lena Hessels staat met if not now, then when will it, be all i ever wanted nog maar aan de start van haar carrière, maar het niveau ligt direct angstig hoog.

Door mijn volledige focus op albums is de muziek die de Nederlandse muzikante Lena Hessels in 2022 heeft uitgebracht me tot voor kort helaas helemaal ontgaan, maar vanaf het moment dat de drie eerder dit jaar verschenen EP’s werden gecombineerd tot een debuutalbum was ik direct bij de les. De alleen digitaal verkrijgbare EP’s if not now, then when will it en be all i ever wanted zijn vanaf eind november als het album if not now, then when will it, be all i ever wanted te vinden op de bandcamp pagina van de Amsterdamse muzikante en het album is bovendien op vinyl geperst.

Lena Hessels is de dochter van de kunstenares Emma Fischer en muzikant Terrie Hessels, die we kennen van de Nederlandse punk en avant-garde band The Ex, en groeide op in een gezin waarin conformeren aan de mainstream geen logische keuze was. Lena Hessels koos daarom op jonge leeftijd bijna vanzelfsprekend voor de meer alternatieve muziek, maar zag op een gegeven moment het licht van de pop. Met if not now, then when will it, be all i ever wanted heeft de Nederlandse muzikante een debuutalbum afgeleverd dat het etiket pop voor de volle 100% verdient, maar dat betekent nog niet dat Lena Hessels nu opeens dertien in een dozijn pop maakt.

Het debuutalbum van de Amsterdamse muzikante staat vol met vooral elektronisch ingekleurde popsongs, maar Lena Hessels voegt ook organische klanken toe aan het bijzondere muzikale landschap op haar debuutalbum. Het is een album dat af en toe associaties oproept met de muziek van Billie Eilish, zeker wanneer de ritmes stevig worden aangezet, de elektronica ruw en donker is en de zang vooral fluisterzacht. Waar Billie Eilish de mainstream pop nooit helemaal uit het oog verliest, zoekt Lena Hessels op if not now, then when will it, be all i ever wanted nadrukkelijk de grenzen op.Een aantal songs op het album klinkt verrassend toegankelijk of zelfs aanstekelijk, met hier en daar een vleugje Taylor Swift, maar Lena Hessels graaft een stuk dieper dan de Amerikaanse popprinsessen, inclusief die van het net wat alternatievere soort.

Het debuutalbum van Lena Hessels is direct vanaf de eerste noten een razend spannend album. Bijzondere ritmes en indringende elektronica draaien op bijzondere wijze om elkaar heen en worden met grote regelmaat verstoord door strijkers, waarna de fluisterzachte zang van de Amsterdamse muzikante zorgt voor nog wat meer contrast. In de songs op if not now, then when will it, be all i ever wanted kan het alle kanten op, waardoor industriële klanken zomaar kunnen worden afgewisseld met een intieme gitaar- of pianosong.

Lena Hessels doet op haar debuutalbum op geen enkele wijze concessies, maar toch is ze er in geslaagd om een popalbum te maken dat niet eens zo gek ver verwijderd is van een aantal grote popalbums van de afgelopen jaren. Het debuutalbum van Lena Hessels is wat mij betreft ook een groot popalbum, maar dan net wat anders dan je gewend bent.

De Nederlandse muzikante heeft samen met producer Tender Blom (gitarist van Pip Blom) een album gemaakt dat een torenhoge score zou moeten krijgen van Pitchfork. Zover is het nog niet, maar dat kan alleen maar een kwestie van tijd zijn. Met if not now, then when will it, be all i ever wanted heeft Lena Hessels immers een album gemaakt dat bijna 35 minuten lang opzien baart. En dan heb ik ook nog eens het idee dat er nog veel en veel meer in zit. Ga dat horen!

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt if not now, then when will it, be all i ever wanted hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://lenahessels.bandcamp.com/album/if-not-now-then-when-will-it-be-all-i-ever-wanted

How To Replace It. dEUS

dEUS is a band that shows how my taste in music changes. The first two albums were cheered by the world and I was thinking what is the fuzz about? I just heard musicians doing (too) difficult things, forgetting about decent melodies. And then came 'The Ideal Crash' and had a crush on the album, fast. Everything after never made the cut and became ever less interesting.

And then came How To Replace It. Yes, another slick album but with an intensity I was missing in the albums of the 00s and 10s. From the very first beginning of the new album my ears pricked up. What is going on here? A marching tempo, and more and more sounds and atmosphere stacked upon each other. Until a noise like a symphony orchestra going at it at full force comes from my speakers. dEUS got me and created the path into How To Replace It.

In 2023 the question who is dEUS?, is one that has to be asked. Without Tom Barman no dEUS but who else is in the band? The second member left from the original line is multi instrumentalist Klaas Janszoons. The other members, Alan Gevaert and Stéphane Misseghers are around since the mid 00s. Mauro Pawlowski returned full time.

Single '1989' is in part a token of how slick dEUS can sound today. The song is truly produced and well thought out. And, of star quality. The song may be polished until it shines, the result is a song of beauty giving Tom Barman not only the option to shine but also share his emotions from the days when he started the band as a teenager. Listen closer and you will notice how finely layered the track is. There's always another melody and sound that can be added, and fit perfectly. This is a band of talented musicians at work, with no fear to show what they can achieve.

So, what makes How To Replace it so different from 'Vantage Point' or 'Following Sea'? I can't tell, as I haven't listened to the band's most recent albums (all over 10 years old) for at least a decade. My memory tells me, I listened and wasn't pulled into the albums for one second and never got to the end and gave up after a few tries. Today the opposite happened. Just listen how exciting 'Simple Pleasures', song 8, is. How To Replace It is an album worth owning, to play quite often. It proves one must never give up on a band. Always try it out first and then form an opinion.

(P.S. Zita Swoon went the exact same route, except that I never lost attention with the albums that followed as I did with dEUS. I saw at least four shows through the years. dEUS zero.)

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order How To Replace It here:

https://deus.bandcamp.com/releases

Gardening. Siv Jakobsen

This is Siv Jakobson's third album on this blog. In 2017 you will find 'The Nordic Mellow' and in 2020 'A Temporary Soothing'. Being honest, I do not have a lot of recollections here. More mood than songs. Reading backwards, I notice that my introduction to Gardening is exactly the same as with Jakobsen's previous albums. They have a tendency to just pass by, nearly unnoticed, yet leaving something behind that demands another listening session.

There is a remedy: turn up the record. At this moment the depth of Gardening reveals itself more and more. The mood and atmosphere laid into the production comes forward. The result is me being sucked into the record more and more. The slow rhythm, the strings, the dreamy singing, they become a reality and hard to ignore. Like a loud bang. Not, of the mean ear-splitting kind. No, simply that the music becomes present, opens itself as it were for the listener, revealing the beauty of this album called Gardening.

When the lockdowns hit late winter 2020, Siv Jakobson found herself back in what she calls home, Oslo. After years of touring and working mostly abroad, her memories visited her as well. The start of Gardening they turned out to be. A reckoning that still needed to take place. By 2021 she had the songs ready but travelling was not allowed. (My own son lived in Tromsø and Oslo for almost a year in the same period, talking of walks in the woods nearby for hours on end, just like Jakobsen does in the bio.) She recorded in Norway for he first time with local artists and producer.

Can I hear a difference? No, there's no telling whether the album would have sounded totally different. It is full of atmosphere and so subdued. Everything is kept small, is my overall impression with Siv Jakobsen's voice as a part of the whole. Singer and music are often one. The music is somewhere between a modern kind of singer-songwriter, folk music and dreampop. In the end being neither as everything keeps changing and  other elements are added, making Gardening its unique self. Not unlike fellow Norwegian singers Ane Brun or Susanna do on their recent albums.

Some songs come with a nice surprise. I will let you discover them yourself. Siv Jakobsen manages to give most songs an extra texture, making the album far more varied that a superficial, i.e. too softly played, listening session lets on. You can even expect a jazzy outing. Beauty caught on record gardening is.

I will not promise to be listening to Gardening two years from now. In the meantime the album certainly is worthwhile to give several spins.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Gardening here:

https://sivjakobsen.bandcamp.com/album/gardening

Pollen. Tennis

Tennis walks a small rope in my musical book but manages to come across the divide with ease. It could be so easy for me to dismiss the dance and electronic elements in the duo's music. Had I done so, I would have missed all the rock elements on Pollen and the fun in general on the album.

Tennis, it must be one of the hardest to google bands on earth with The Men, was on this blog once before I noticed, in the very early days in 2012. "With the sometimes The Doors like organ and the very clean sound of Riley's guitar I think they've created a spot for themselves in the universe", I wrote then. That organ is all gone, the guitar popping up only incidentally, the voice of Alaina Moore still knows how to draw the attention to it.

Pop is the word that comes up first. The mood goes back easily about 55 years in a song like 'Pollen Song'. The music only in part, as there's too much modern stuff going on at the same time. 'Pollen Song' has that Air like bass sound, from 1998, so, let's face it, including that 1960s soft porn music sound. The modern sounds surrounding the bass draw the song into the present.

Promo photo

The duo from Colorado releases its seventh album with Pollen. In other words I've missed four in the past eleven years. Such is the way of the music world. It's impossible to keep track of everything. My second Tennis album lands well and that is what counts.

Pollen is an electronic album. This is where it all starts. Electronic beats and pulses. Synths creating the layered melody(ies) with Moore singing over it all. As such Tennis is a real studio project that will have to make an effort to translate its music to the stage. (Unless it all comes out of a computer of course.) It must have found its way, as Tennis is embarking on its most extensive tour ever this year.

Should you be contemplating to listen to the album, expect pop, with a few different moods, caused by the fact that Alaina Moore either sings high or low. Sometimes reminding me a little of Stevie Nicks in the deeper segment. I prefer the somewhat faster songs in general.

In 'Never Been Wrong' the electric guitar comes out its case, with Patrick Riley showing his chops. The acoustic comes out for the final song, 'Pillow For A Cloud'. The songs take care of the album being more varied, so better. In general Pollen is an album to relax with.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Pollen here:

https://tennispollen.bandcamp.com/releases

Lavender. Gemma Laurence

De Amerikaanse folkie Gemma Laurence maakt op Lavender diepe indruk met intieme en emotievolle folksongs en prachtige zang, maar durft ook buiten de lijntjes te kleuren met bijzondere klanken.

Lavender van Gemma Laurence begint als een standaard folkalbum met akoestische gitaar, banjo en een mooie stem, maar naarmate het album vordert laat de Amerikaanse muzikante horen dat ze geen standaard folkie is. De stem van Gemma Laurence is niet alleen uitzonderlijk mooi, maar ze vertolkt haar persoonlijke songs ook met veel gevoel. Verder zoekt ze in de vaak zeer sfeervolle instrumentatie zo nu en dan flink het avontuur, waardoor Lavender veel meer is dan het zoveelste folkalbum van het moment. Hoe vaker ik er naar luister, hoe indrukwekkender dit album wordt. Lavender zou zomaar een grote verrassing kunnen worden.

De (alt-)countryspecialisten van het Amerikaanse muziektijdschrift No Depression wezen me eerder deze week op Lavender van Gemma Laurence. Het is een (mini-)album dat slechts acht songs en een kleine dertig minuten muziek bevat, maar dat is ook echt het enige dat ik heb aan te merken op het tweede album van de singer-songwriter uit Brunswick, Maine, die sinds kort vanuit Brooklyn, New York, opereert.

Haar debuutalbum Crooked Heart verscheen overigens in de zomer van 2020 en sneeuwde helaas wat onder door de coronapandemie. Lavender verdient een veel beter lot, want het is een prachtig en veelzijdig album. Gemma Laurence kan op haar tweede album uit de voeten met uiterst ingetogen en traditioneel aandoende folk, maar ze kan haar songs ook een stuk avontuurlijker inkleuren.

Lavender bevat een aantal relatief sober klinkende folksongs, waarin fraai akoestisch gitaarspel of banjospel en de mooie en warme stem van de Amerikaanse muzikante domineren. Wanneer je deze songs met wat meer aandacht beluistert hoor je dat Gemma Laurence haar muziek op subtiele wijze verder heeft ingekleurd met vooral organische klanken, waaronder die van de pedal steel, slide gitaar, cello en trompet.

Een enkele keer kiest de muzikante uit Brooklyn voor een wat steviger geluid, zoals in de prachtige titelcrack waarin ze de sobere folk langzaam maar zeker verruilt voor een tegen rock aanleunend geluid met hier en daar zelfs wat gruizige gitaarmuren. Het is een song vol dynamiek in de instrumentatie, maar ook in de zang.

Gemma Laurence kleurt vaak subtiel buiten de lijntjes van de akoestische folk, maar omdat ze dit ook een enkele keer nadrukkelijk doet, klinkt Lavender duidelijk anders dan de albums van al die andere folkies. De muziek van Gemma Laurence zou van mij veel vaker mogen ontsporen als in de titeltrack, maar ook wanneer de Amerikaanse muzikante kiest voor wat traditioneler ingekleurde folksongs overtuigt ze mij vrij makkelijk van haar kwaliteiten.

Dat heeft alles te maken met haar bijzondere stem. Het is een stem die uitstekend past bij het folky repertoire, maar de stem van Gemma Laurence klinkt wat minder steriel en wat warmer dan gebruikelijk in het genre. Zeker in de wat intiemer klinkende songs op het album zingt de muzikante uit Brooklyn bovendien met veel gevoel en expressie en laat haar stem ook nog eens fraai ondersteunen door de stemmen van flink wat achtergrondzangers en -zangeressen.

Het zijn helaas slechts acht songs die Gemma Laurence heeft uitgebracht, maar het zijn stuk voor stuk wonderschone songs. Het zijn songs die zich zeer makkelijk opdringen, maar onder andere door de fraaie accenten in de instrumentatie en de zeer overtuigende zang, zijn het ook songs die nog lang beter worden.

Lavender van Gemma Laurence begon als één van de vele albums die aanspraak kon maken op een plekje hier, maar uiteindelijk schreef ik het als een van de eerste albums op en sindsdien is het tweede album van Gemma Laurence nog een flink stuk gegroeid, mede door de persoonlijke teksten die inzoomen op de diepere emoties en de seksuele identiteit van de Amerikaanse muzikante. Lavender van Gemma Laurence is helaas niet breed opgepikt, maar het is wat mij betreft een sensationeel goed album.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Lavender hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://gemmalaurence.bandcamp.com/album/lavender

Once Do It With Feeling. Candy Coffins

The band name Candy Coffins has popped up in the singles section of this blog in the recent past. Today it's time for the album. Once Do It With Feeling fully deserves the spotlight, as it successfully spans a bridge between the past and today. The 80s wave atmosphere meets an urgency that is important to feel in 2023. The time for hedonistic abandon is over, it's time for action in a number of fields, whether world peace, climate change, energy transition, fighting fascism or inequality. 2023 should be that kind of year.

In that sense it's a disappointment that Candy Coffins sings "Help me, 'cause I'm feeling lonely", to a background of 80s synthsounds coming right out of the best 80s songs, like 'Wishing', '(Feels Like) Heaven', etc. Let me imagine the wailing lead guitar, showing great urgency, is all about what really ought to occupy our minds in these troubling times.

Besides a complaint about the kind of individualism that will have us all killed, Candy Coffins surprises me with an album that is jumping out of my speakers. Sure, the sound is overly familiar. The references of The Cure, The Afghan Wigs and other greats of the 80s and 90s are all well understood and taken in stride. Ask me and there's not one album between them tipping on what I'm hearing here.

Admittedly, there's not a hit single like 'A Forest' or 'Just Like Heaven' on Once Do It With Feeling' but then The Cure in my opinion never produced an album of this quality overall. Jame Lathram's voice is good and dark, belonging to this music. The "bats" would have dug this, but also more rock and more pop and punk inclined music fans would have. Candy Coffins strikes a lot of right notes here.

Promo Photo: Lauren Ellis

What attracts me, is the mix of 80s bleakness with superb melodies and rocking guitar in most songs. Candy Coffins are five men, all of a certain age, who, most likely, started to play their instruments somewhere in the 1980s but have picked up influences in their earlier youth and are young enough to have appreciated the new rock bands coming out of the U.S. around 1990 and the Britpop of the U.K. a few years later. This all can be heard on Once Do It With Feeling. A Rich Robinson, John Squire and Noel Gallagher style solo?, master guitarist Tom Alewine (what's in a name?) has it all down, not to forget a lot of his own as well. This combination with the dark bass and exciting synths, is exactly what I missed with most bands in the 1980s (and almost never came to the other side of an album).

Putting little pieces of the puzzle together is all nice, it draws away from Candy Coffins' own achievement. This is an album that rocks on the darker side of new wave. In part because of Lathram's timbre and backing sound, often compensated by the clear sound of Alewine's guitar. Single 'Seaside Girls' already came by in October. (In fact the album was released then as well, I just noticed.) It shows how this band can rock in a tight way with a keen ear for small details like the few piano notes gracing the song. The contrast with the next song, the far slower 'Abject' is huge, but notice the power and the nice 80s feel of the organ. It is exactly this combination with makes the whole album a winner in my book.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Once Do It With Feeling here:

https://candycoffins.bandcamp.com/album/once-do-it-with-feeling

2023 Week 7, ten singles

The days fly by, so it's time for ten more singles to be presented to you. Only two first timers on this blog this week but also only one true veteran to the blog. In fact she was part of the duo represented in the first post, The Parlor Soldiers. She's at the end with a beautiful new single. It's time she becomes a worldwide star. Check her music out! All the others have come by with a previous single or more or with one album. And yes, it's varied alright. From rocking hard with loud, huge riffs. to beautiful pop. What are you waiting for?, enjoy!

Every Colour Suits Me. Lizzy

It has been quiet for a while as far as Lizzy is concerned. This changed recently with her new pop single Every Colour Suits Me. The heavy laden ballad is full with an anticipatory atmosphere. The singer is in a sort of limbo and not knowing what to expect, yet surrenders as she invites the other to paint any colour on her. Musically, the song is fully organic with slow but firm drums and a string section colouring it in. It makes the song stand out among the previous singles Lizzy released in the past two years. As if with each single she explores a different side of her musical self.

There are so many differently spelled Lizzys these days, that it is good to be reminded that Lizzy is Belgian singer Lise Reyners, active under this name since 2021. She works with producer (and The LVE drummer) Joes Brands, who has a role in the creation of Lizzy's sound. She writes the songs though. Every Colour Suits Me is the first single of a five song EP. The question is, what kind of musical colours will she share in the coming months?

Caged. Motive Black

Big, thick riffs, that is the best description of Caged, Motive Black's latest single. With huge drums and a deep end bass guitar behind the riffs, providing context and power. Over it there's a singer, Elana Justin, who comes closest to Ann Wilson as I've heard for years. That mix between power and frailty. Despite Heart's balladry and folk outings, when the band rocked, it rocked and Motive Black has this rock part totally down. Louder, harder, tougher it may be, I'm thinking of Heart the whole of the time here. And that's a good thing, as Caged is a song that has the same sort of quality like 'Crazy On You' or 'Barracuda'. This song rocks by the millions and is totally balanced in all the right ways. There's nothing here solely to impress. All power is used for the love of this song, Caged. Album Auburn is out for a few days, time to check it out.

Bad Vacation. Streetwalkin' Cheetahs

After a vacation from the band of 20 years, three original members and two new ones are back on the trail and how. Streetwalkin' Cheetahs rock and simply know what a good rock song takes to rock. The obvious fun of playing this music, like they used to make them over thirty years ago, is simply added to the quality This band does not need a potential sympathy factor because of its comeback, it deserves it on the basis of the way Bad Vacation rocks. Despite or because of the inspiration of being on holiday with the "saddest girl in town", Bad Vacation totally jumps out of my speakers. The elementary chord progression has been played like this since 'Wild Thing' in The Troggs's version, add some variation, melody, a dirty lead guitar and harmony oohs and aahs and a great rock song is born. Streetwalkin' Cheetahs deliver and end it all with a great sax solo. How many (garage) rock bands do you know doing that?

Feelin In Stereo. Local Drags

Not even two minutes and Local Drags have said it all. The listener is transported, once again, to the 1990s, say as if The Lemonheads are looking back even further in time. The result is an alternative pop song that simply is infectious. Try and count the guitar parts in there, from acoustic to electric, all playing their parts. There are several layers, under which the rhythm section, unfazed by it all, is doing what it is supposed to do. The singer found a golden pop melody and some nice harmonies to boot. Feeling In Stereo, like the title I'm reminded off 'Pumping On Your Stereo', is a pop gem that deserves being heard. It makes me feel good immediately, despite having a slightly sad undertone. Don't be fooled by the name, making you expect the local punk band, in this song Local Drags shows a great pop side to itself.

Carpenter. Vera Ellen

Yes, I'm almost apologetic, as once more I'm writing about a Flying Nun Records release from New Zealand. (If it still exists, as there a some apocalyptic storms going on there at the moment. Stay safe!) What else can I do though, when the label releases a song like Carpenter? Whatever you say, this is getting close to epic proportions. Not in the blown-up 'November Rain' style but in its own modest, small town kind of way. Vera Ellen starts in the smallest of ways, with waves crashing on the shore, a soft electric guitar,  her voice and the atmospheric silence coming with the effects (of being in a room) on both. Ever so slow and subdued. "I called the carpenter. I broke the furniture", is the way the song starts and that's just the start of her worries. But help is asked all through the song and is it's theme. Slowly but surely the song grows bigger and more impressive. Without ever exploding, this is a different yet successful approach. With small parts bordering on dissonance, if not beyond, she catches my ears for the whole ride. She is really giving it her all here and all for us listeners to enjoy. Carpenter is something different alright.

Looking Right At You. The Morning Line

Looking Right At You is a kind of time machine or song from beyond the grave, as this is so Tom Petty like. The Morning Line from San Francisco comes with a beautiful new single, celebrating all a mild rock and good pop combination can achieve in a song. As far as I'm concerned this song combines the best of West Coast pop of decades hence. The Byrds/Roger McGuinn are in here. It could be a The Travelling Wilburys' song as well. And the good news is, it has that same level of quality. A songsmith is at work here and has the band members to make his songwriting come alive. Looking Right At You has that bittersweet taste that makes up the best songs that are not intended to be happy. The Morning Line's singer Stephen Smith may be looking at his object of desire, it is not as if he/she/they or it makes him happier because of it. This feeling is caught in music and voice and together create a beautiful song.

Stay. Matweeds

Another re-release on Rum Bar. This time from 1987. Jerry Lehane and Jim Keough at the time bundled their musical efforts into a new band called Matweeds. That's 36 years ago, folks and even then the song may have sounded "old", as it combined 1960s pop with a mild form of punk singing with pub brawling. The result, the undoubtedly totally obscure song, 'Stay' is a delight though. In 2023 I finally get to know it and here I'm singing along "You oughta stay, stay, stay!". The famous song title, made even more famous by that sugar coated movie called 'Dirty Dancing', seems to have been the inspiration to this Stay. "Why don't you stay", is a line not hard to ignore here. The pop element is so present in the Stay from 1987, with some The Stones style guitar playing going on in the background. I have no clue what else Matweeds produced at the time but on the basis of this song I'm sure curious. Something tells me Rum Bar will let us know more soon. Stay should have been a hit in its day and deserves far over the 30 views on You Tube it had the moment I checked in today. Heck, it should be a hit in 2023 as well.

Never Had To Know. The Vices

One month from now The Vices releases its second album, 'Unknown Affairs'. In the mean time the Groningen based band warms us up with a new, rather darkish 80s sounding new single. Those paying attention will find the lyrics hold the album title. The single starts soft but in a decisive way. It allows for dynamics, when the band lets go a bit for the chorus. More atmospheric sounds give room to lay the full band sound over it. Singer Floris van Luijtenaar shows his ability to sing and quite a few different qualities to his voice. The raplike sequence is the only lesser side to Never Had To Know. I truly like the slow keyboard notes coming right after the chorus and at the end. They give the single a luxurious feel of never having to hurry again, and that right after Van Luijtelaar has shared his anguish with us. Another fine introduction to 'Unknown Affair'. If I remember correctly, it's three up one down so far.

Making History. The Utopiates

For a band having started in the pandemic, I have to say the sound is rather upbeat. But than songwriter Dan Popplewell's convinced he is making history here with his songs and band. Every reason to be upbeat. The band releases 'The Sun Also Rises' in May and embarks on a U.K. tour, so the sun is not only rising, it's shining on the new band. The music does sound familiar to people with a track record in music like me. Jesus Jones, The Stone Roses and that kind of bands from the end of the 90s, that mixed rock with some dance is what The Utopiates are recreating in a very successful way. Making History has that rocking dance vibe all over it and a lead guitarist, Josh Redding, that really tears things apart in the outro. This is simply great fun. Despite my initial scepticism over the overly familiar sound, The Utopiates got on my good side, as Making History rocks. There's no other word for it.

Lay Me Down. Karen Jonas

With her second single of upcoming album 'The Restless' Karen Jonas returns to a slightly more familiar territory compared to its first single 'Rock The Boat'. That said, Lay Me Down is of a stunning beauty. This song should make her world famous, because it holds all one need to be convinced. Her voice is beautiful, the relaxed albeit a bit sad, perhaps resigned atmosphere holds my attention captured, while the music is so rich. Drums and bass are present without becoming too dominant. They serve, just like the acoustic guitar does, song and singer alike. Over that a piano plays chords alternated with slow solo notes. A pedal steel guitar delivers the right sort of accents. Lead guitarist Tim Bray takes all the room he's allowed and plays a couple of brilliant solo's and lead lines. He's howling with the wolves alright. His beautiful sound adorns Lay Me Down like a flower bead the May queen at the local fest. I do not know how she does it but Karen Jonas is still able to surprise me over ten years into her solo career. Lay Me Down is simply utterly beautiful.

Wout de Natris

Alpenglow. Trampled by Turtles

De Amerikaanse band Trampled By Turtles draait al een kleine twintig jaar mee, maar levert voor mij uit het niets een waar meesterwerk af, dat flink scoorde in mijn jaarlijstje van 2022.

Alpenglow van Trampled By Turtles lag al een paar weken vrij anoniem op de stapel, maar toen het album hier af kwam, was ik onmiddellijk verkocht. Verkocht door het geweldige snarenwerk waaruit het geluid van de band bestaat, verkocht door de uitstekende zang, verkocht door de songs die je na één keer horen eindeloos wilt koesteren en verkocht door de fraaie productie van Jeff Tweedy, die deze relatief onbekende Amerikaanse band een flinke duw in de rug heeft gegeven. Het zou niet meer dan terecht zijn, want Alpenglow van Trampled By Turtles is een fantastisch album en het wordt alleen maar beter. Duluth, Minnesota, is onlosmakelijk verbonden met Bob Dylan en Low, maar nu ook met Trampled By Turtles. 

Een paar dagen geleden ontdekte ik Alpenglow van Trampled By Turtles. Ik dacht even een fantastisch of zelfs sensationeel debuutalbum in handen te hebben, maar Trampled By Turtles bestaat al een kleine twintig jaar en levert met Alpenglow niet haar eerste maar haar tiende studioalbum af. Ondanks de opvallende naam van de band en de flinke staat van dienst had ik echt nog nooit van de band uit Duluth, Minnesota, gehoord, wat bijzonder is. Alpenglow is dan ook mijn eerste kennismaking met de muziek van Trampled By Turtles en het is er een die uitstekend is bevallen. Als alle albums van de band zo goed zijn als het nieuwe album, heb ik nog flink wat in te halen, maar voorlopig ben ik compleet verslingerd aan Alpenglow.

Trampled By Turtles maakt op Alpenglow muziek die past in de hokjes Americana en bluegrass. Dat laatste genre klinkt me vaak net wat te traditioneel, maar de bluegrass van Trampled By Turtles is buitengewoon opwindend. Het zit hem deels in de geweldige instrumentatie, waarvoor uitsluitend snareninstrumenten zijn gebruikt. Het levert een warm en gloedvol klankentapijt op dat naast banjo, gitaar, mandoline, duimpiano en bas bestaat uit cello en viool. Dat klinkt niet alleen fantastisch, maar ook verrassend spannend.

Alleen de muziek op Alpenglow levert al een geweldig album op, maar de band beschikt ook nog eens over een aantal prima zangers, wat geweldige leadzang en fraaie koortjes oplevert. In muzikaal en vocaal opzicht is het elf songs lang intens genieten van wonderschone klanken en intense en doorleefde zang, maar de Amerikaanse band heeft ook nog eens eens een serie ijzersterke songs geschreven. Het zijn songs die liefhebbers van wat traditioneel aandoende Amerikaanse rootsmuziek zeer zullen kunnen waarderen, maar ook muziekliefhebbers die hun rootsmuziek liever iets alternatiever hebben vinden op Alpenglow veel moois.

Tussen de songs staat trouwens een opvallende cover van Wilco’s A Lifetime To Find en dat is niet het enige van Wilco dat opduikt op het album. Niemand minder dan Wilco voorman Jeff Tweedy tekende immers voor de productie van Alpenglow en de Amerikaanse muzikant heeft vakwerk afgeleverd.

Je hebt soms van die albums waar je na een keer horen smoorverliefd op bent en het nieuwe album van Trampled By Turtles is er wat mij betreft een. Dit soort liefdes op het eerste gezicht kunnen snel vervliegen, maar mijn liefde voor Alpenglow wordt alleen maar groter en groter. Al het snarengeweld klinkt bij iedere keer horen nog wat indrukwekkender, de songs op het album worden alleen maar sterker, terwijl de zang steeds makkelijker onder de huid kruipt.

Als ik kijk naar het oeuvre van de band, valt op dat het de afgelopen vier jaar stil was rond de band uit Duluth, maar wat is Alpenglow een sensationele comeback. Ik dacht zoals gezegd even dat ik een obscuur debuutalbum had ontdekt, maar inmiddels is Alpenglow voor mij een meesterwerk van een gelouterde band. Alpenglow van Trampled By Turtles lag wat anoniem op de stapel de afgelopen maand, maar is met enorme kracht hoog mijn jaarlijstje in geknald. Waar het gaat eindigen durf ik nog niet te voorspellen, maar inmiddels is alles mogelijk voor dit fantastische album.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Alpenglow hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://trampledbyturtles.bandcamp.com/album/alpenglow

In Between Borderlines. Ramkot

The clock hits rock, folks. That Ramkot appears on these pages with its debut album should not come as a surprise. It's singles and EPs have featured since the first releases and all met with a favourable reception. For In Between Borderlines this is no different.

Ramkot plays a loud kind of rock, sometimes moving towards metal. Opening track 'Don't Drop Down' is full of dark, heavy riffs that metal fans will recognise immediately. I'm not a metal fan, even far from. What Ramkot manages superbly is to mix its metal with influences lifted from classic rock and even pop. It makes its songs impossible to ignore. No, let's phrase that more positive: extremely attractive to listen to.

Ramkot is a trio from Gent in Belgium, with a classic rock trio line up of guitar, bass and drums. Ramkot is totally worthy of its name. Ramming rock through the kot's door as it were. What is added to the classic line up, are glorious vocal harmonies. Falsetto's are not eschewed, as if Ramkot would not mind singing in a band like Earth, Wind & Fire on the side. It's here that the pop element is strongest. The vocal melodies are as strong as they were in A Brand, a band from Belgium with four guitarists and heavenly vocals. Although a lot louder than A Brand was, there are definite links between the two bands. Both have an uncanny ear for the extra melodies in singing over already quite complex songs.

As far as I'm concerned this combination makes Ramkot a winner. It's not for nothing I notice that the band is already playing the larger venues of my country. Perhaps in the smaller hall or as a support act, fact is it is ahead of the game because of it. The undoubtedly energetic live act will do the rest.

With In Between Borderlines Ramkot proves that its EPs were no coincidents. This album rocks no little and allows to sing along and dance a little on the side as well. Huge riffs are replaced by glorious melodies. What more can a rock fan demand? Not a lot in the case of Ramkot.

Wout de Natris

Furling. Meg Baird

Meg Baird may have a whole musical history of at least 15 years behind her and is an active member of the Philadelphia music scene, to me she is a new name. With her fourth solo album Furling she has entered my life and made an immediate impression at my first listening session. Somewhat deeper into the album this impression remained just as favourable.

In the opening track of Furling she shows that she's not afraid of presenting a kind of song that most people will not expect, let alone as the opener to the album. The track is without a lyric, not without a vocal. The slow jazzy music meanders around a musically simple theme. Yet it is of the kind that can mesmerise. Everything is played in a soft way. Together though it is more than enough sound to impress. Over it Meg Baird lets her voice explore vocal lines without words. Oohs and aahs come to my ears from all sides, especially with a headset on. The guitar, keyboards and other sounds, explore what the options are within the chord progression and turn left and right at will it seems. An unexpected, yet pleasant and surprising opening to Furling. For those less inclined to more experimental music, persevere!

The second song, including sleigh bells and a 'Wild Horses' like sound in the intro, is far more traditional but not less nice. 'Star Hill Song' is just as mysterious in sound as 'Ashes Ashes' is. There are instruments that colour in the lines and others that do not, creating that mystery and spookiness. Meg Baird sings a regular vocal melody and sings lyrics here. Where before she was part of the mystery. 'Star Hill Song' is somewhere between a ballad, folk and country. For me it spells beauty. Perhaps a bit too long but without hindering me to get through it and on to the next song.

Promo photo

'Ship Captains' again comes with a The Rolling Stones reference. This time in the way the acoustic guitar is played. Circa 1971 Stones ballads. The rest of the song has not got a lot to do with Jagger c.s. Meg Baird's voice is too different and the atmosphere too fairytale like. At face value, there's not a lot going on in 'Ship Captains'. It is the atmosphere and the spaciousness created in the mix that allows for the intriguing song. Meg Baird's way of singing could have been part of the British folk scene of 50+ years ago, 'Ship Captains' a track on Jefferson Airplane's 'Surrealistic Pillow'.

Folk remains the driving factor on Furling. Meg Baird does a lot of things right here. She captures me also with just a voice and an acoustic guitar, like in 'Cross Bay'. The longer I listen to Furling the more I get the feeling to have been fooled by the bio and Furling is a re-release from 1970 and Meg Baird a long-forgotten singer and today a grandmother many times over. Even if this was the case, the album would have been just as good and a just rediscovery. It isn't. This is a 2023 album and one deserving attention on its own merits. Music is timeless even if it's just over one week old when I'm writing this. Furling contains beautiful music.

Wout de Natris

You can order and listen to Furling here:

https://megbaird.bandcamp.com/album/furling

Gun. The Gun

Years ago I started a series about albums containing a hit single from the Veronica Top 40 1968 - 69, the year I discovered what hits were. Many of these songs I only knew as a single from the radio. In this series I take on the albums. Today one by a band called, what I had always thought, Gun but is The Gun.

Just before my birthday a song entered the Dutch Top 40 that sort of shook up my little boy's universe. I already knew Blue Cheers' number 1 hit 'Summertime Blues', see this series some years ago for my view of its album. So I knew what hard rock was. Just like I liked Cream's 'White Room' a lot.

'Race With The Devil' though was next level. Gimmick, or so I understand these days and a fantastic song all in one. Let's face it the song still works like a miracle. My neighbour friend Hans, some years older, had the single and did not mind playing it for me as often as I liked.

After we moved, it was years and years before I ever heard it again. It was not before I found the single second hand, probably in the 90s maybe even 00s, before I could really play it once again. The song having turned into a faint memory by then. The album is something different though. Until right this moment I had never heard a song. It turns out it is on Spotify these days. It wasn't in the days when I started this series.

First, who was The Gun. It was a short-lived U.K. band around the brothers Gurvitz, Adrian and Paul and Louie Farrell. Adrian and Paul called themselves Curtis at the time. The band started in 1968, after a previous band, The Knack (not of 'My Sharona' fame) broke up. Two albums were released 'Gun' in 1968 and 'Gunsight' in 1969.

Being a primary school kid soaking up music there is simply not a lot of reference material. All music was good, well almost all, and a hit was a hit at face value, except for some. Two of the biggest hits in 1968 were by a boy called Heintje. I certainly did not like Heintje's hits. There were limits. In the case of Gun (or The Gun) I did not hear the obvious references to music that came, only shortly, before.

My personal favourite of now 54 years is an obvious Cream rip off. The harmony entry, the guitar sound, the song structure, it is all classic Cream. Does it matter? No! The Gun came up with a classic hardrock riff, a golden melody and a great gimmick in the form of a screaming berserker. The fast pace of the song was certainly innovative and still fantastic almost stunning to hear. That is enough to have produced a classic. (I played the single to my girlfriend and she was very impressed by the power and drive of the song.)

How is the rest of the album? In one sentence? If I ever run into it for an affordable price, I'll buy it immediately. Yes, it is very late sixties in sound and covers a lot of ground. Everything from Cream to early hardrock and some references to what a band like Chicago Transit Authority would come up with later in the year, is here already. Of course there are still hints of psychedelia in the music. Finally the pop element in there needs a mention, as The Gun also could write and play some great pop before going off into a furious guitar solo. Adrian Gurvitz was one of the guitar heroes of his day. The Gun experiments with several styles and gets away with most of them with ease.

What I like is the way songs change along their way. The different sorts of music and musical approaches makes Gun varied and interesting the whole for the whole of the album. Even an instrumental with some classical guitar playing, faintly reminding me of 'L'Amour Est Blue', is well done and played. A song like 'Yellow Cab Man' may have stood as a model for Lenny Kravitz' 'Mr. Cabdriver'.

Listening to a song like 'Rat Race' is a true revelation. Perhaps even a shock. Where does a song as 'Comfortably Numb' from I wonder after hearing 'Rat Race'? Where do the great background vocals Pink Floyd uses on its 1970s albums come from? Hearing is believing. 'Rat Race' is an absolutely fabulous song. It works on several levels and shows that The Gun should have been more than a one day fly.

Further down the road of Gun it's clear the band had heard a song like 'Ride My See-Saw'. It flies of the road a bit further on, where The Moody Blues' song decidedly does not, allowing for some experimentation. The connection is obvious. Again, 'Take Off'  has the power to stand on its own feet.

Gun comes like a bit of a shock really. I had expected the album to be as bad as Blue Cheer's 'Vincebus Eruptum'. It is all but. Gun is an album that should be a classic album and perhaps is for some people. Gun, based on my introduction to it today, is one of the better albums of the era.

In the first Top 40 of 1969 to my recollection three songs entered the chart. A song by Tom Jones, 'Race With The Devil' and 'In My Life' by a band called Tower (also The in front of it I learned today). Another of the psychedelic greats and obscure hitsingles. One I was able to buy fairly soon after 1969. Should you not know it, check it out. I have my own task to do: be on the lookout for an album from 1968!

Wout de Natris

P.S. How does my memory work today? The Gun entered at #40, Tower at #35, Albatross at #33 (so not Tom Jones). The latter was the only one becoming a top 10 hit of the three. Number one was one of the best singles ever made in this country, 'Hair' by Zen. #2 is 'Eloise' by Barry Ryan. Going down the chart there's a lot more phenomenal singles in there (and some horrible ones). There's one song that doesn't ring any bells. Tom & Mick anyone? Let me end with Shocking Blue's 'Send Me A Postcard'. If only because my own band Sweetwood plays this great classic rock song. And The Tower? That is Boudewijn de Groot's band after he decided to sing in English, without too much success.

Marble Sounds. Marble Sounds

De Belgische band Marble Sounds levert een zeer sfeervolle en veelzijdige soundtrack voor de donkerste dagen van het jaar af, die terecht hoog scoort in flink wat Nederlandse en Belgische jaarlijstjes.

De naam Marble Sounds had ik wel eens gehoord, maar naar de muziek van de Belgische band had ik tot voor kort nog nooit geluisterd. Daar heb ik inmiddels flinke spijt van, want het laatste album van de band rond de Brusselse muzikant Pieter van Dessel is echt prachtig. Marble Sounds staat op haar een paar maanden geleden verschenen album garant voor zeer sfeervolle klanken, maar de band schuwt ook het avontuur niet. Een aantal songs op het album doet dankzij de hoofdrol voor de piano en strijkers neoklassiek aan, maar een aantal andere songs schuift op richting pop, mede dankzij elektronische impulsen. Zelfs de autotune klinkt prachtig op dit bijzondere album. Dat moet genoeg zeggen.

In een aantal Nederlandse en Belgische jaarlijstjes kwam ik het titelloze album van Marble Sounds tegen. Marble Sounds ken ik wel van naam, maar ik heb eerder dit jaar niet naar het nieuwe album van de Belgische band geluisterd. Ook de vorige vier albums van de band uit Brussel ken ik overigens niet. Of ik daar veel aan mis weet ik nog niet, maar het een aantal maanden geleden verschenen titelloze album is een album van een bijzondere schoonheid. 

In Marble Sounds draait alles om de Belgische muzikant Pieter van Dessel, die een bijzonder sfeervol album heeft afgeleverd. De openingstrack verwarmt direct de ruimte met fraaie pianoklanken en flink wat strijkers. Het combineert prachtig met de mooie en bijzondere stem van Pieter van Dessel, die nog beter tot zijn recht komt wanneer subtiele vrouwenstemmen worden toegevoegd. 

Het titelloze album van Marble Sounds bevat een aantal tracks waarin piano en strijkers domineren, maar Pieter van Dessel kleurt zijn songs net zo makkelijk met elektronica in. Hier en daar grijpt hij zelfs naar de autotune, maar waar dit bij mij normaal gesproken een allergische reactie oproept, kan ik de experimenten met de autotune in de muziek van Marble Sounds wel waarderen. 

De warme klanken op het album doen het uitstekend op de dagen waarin het daglicht zich maar een beperkt aantal uren per dag laat zien en de zon meestal afwezig is, maar de songs van Pieter van Dessel zijn veel meer dan sfeervol muzikaal behang voor donkere dagen. De muziek van Marble Sounds bestrijkt bijna stiekem een breed palet dat begint bij pop en eindigt bij atmosferische of zelfs neoklassieke klanken. 

In muzikaal opzicht heeft het nieuwe album van Marble Sounds niet veel tijd nodig om te overtuigen en ook de zang op het album vond ik direct sterk. Het zijn met name de songs op het album die iets meer tijd nodig hebben om te kunnen groeien van mooie en stemmige songs tot wonderschone songs die over het vermogen beschikken om diep onder de huid te kruipen. Het zijn bovendien songs die vol zitten met bijzondere accenten en verrassende wendingen. Songs die op het eerste gehoor vooral mooi en sfeervol lijken, blijken ook verrassend avontuurlijk. 

Het nieuwe album van de Belgische band is een album dat zich genadeloos opdringt op een donkere en gure avond, maar iedere keer dat je naar het album luistert hoor je weer nieuwe dingen. Het verbaast me inmiddels al lang niet meer dat Humo het album de maximale score gaf en dat een meerdere gerenommeerde Nederlandse en Belgische jaarlijstjes een plek hebben gereserveerd voor het titelloze album van Marble Sounds. 

Het is een album dat me op een of andere manier aan van alles en nog wat doet denken, maar ik kan er de vinger niet goed opleggen. Met alle strijkers en hier en daar ook nog een uit de kluiten gewassen koor klinkt de muziek van Marble Sounds groots en meeslepend, maar pompeus wordt het nooit. En als de Belgische band haar muziek even net wat zwaarder aanzet volgt er altijd wel een ingetogen en intieme song of grijpt de band naar verrassende middelen als meer elektronica of zelfs de autotune. Voor mijn jaarlijstje is het inmiddels te laat, maar muziekliefhebbers met wat meer geduld moeten dit album misschien nog even checken.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Marble Sounds hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://marblesounds.bandcamp.com/album/marble-sounds