2023. Week 21, 10 singles

From a veteran of the punk days returning in a new guise to a debut single and a lot in between, the singles section is a varied lot once again. Enjoy!

Aviatrix. The 3 Clubman

Andy Partridge? Isn't that? Yes, it is. Now, I've never been an XTC fan but somehow always had a fascination for some of the new wave and beyond band's songs. Although that XTC still exists in a legal sense, the band has not been active since the mid-00s. Here Andy Partridge works together with Jen Olive and Stu Rowe under the name The 3 Clubman. Aviatrix totally falls into my fascination category. The song has a typical, almost a-musical central riff and from there moves into several interesting byways that lie in the category, how? There's some Latin in there, some amazingly melodic parts over that ongoing a-melodic riff. All kinds of embellishments that surprise and Jen Olive's voice coming from all angles. A flute coming straight out of a circa 1970 British folk song. And it all fits. Aviatrix is "just' a single. I'm ready for more alright.

Enemy. Elephant

Elephant can count on some quite positive reviews in NL for some time now. If I remember correctly, I did not overly warm to the band's debut album and listening to the first single of the upcoming album, I encounter the same feeling. Of course the song sounds nice and reminds me of a host of dreamy songs from long and less long ago. Exactly that is what is bothering me. What I miss is Elephant's own take on this dreamy pop music. I hear the band do a lot of things right, but when all is said and done I am not touched on the inside. The guitar solo certainly does its best, agreed. Still, I can't shake off the feeling I'm listening to an outtake from an album released somewhere in the 1970s, that finally surfaced on the 50 years edition or something similar. It must be me, as a lot of of people truly like Elephant and I can at least understand why.

Nothing Matters. Last Dinner Party

The new Wet Leg and I'm hearing an intro out of the ABBA songbook? As if Agnetha has released a new song. Not much later the band sings "And I will fuck like nothing matters" The all women five piece confuses no little on its debut single. A Wet Leg Last Dinner Party is not. I will not be running to the record store on the basis of this song, contrary to 'Chaise Long' last year. I am surprised that alternative radio station Kink selected this as a single of the week recently. This is a nice pop song with a little twist at best. Nice it is but not more than that. It's like a thousand songs by girl bands that went before. The guitar solo is a little tougher, agreed, but most of the rest plays along the The Gog-Go's or Clout lines quite neatly. Nothing to get alarmed by in my book, but nice to know for sure.

Silver Moon. Boy & Bear

Not exactly a cool name, Boy & Bear, is it? Lucky for me things are about music and with Silver Moon Boy & Bear has attracted my attention. The track is a nice mix of alternative pop,  Madchester rhythm-lite and a gravelly voice. Some falsetto singing does the rest, to give the song the little edge it deserves. Last week the band released its fifth album since 2011 and if Silver Moon is anything to go on, it may be one to check out. What the song does in a good way, is that despite using very obvious chord changes, it remains interesting for the whole of the way. The nice rhythm invites some modest dancing, while the band fills the song with some nice accents to keep it lively, the guitar riff that can be heard throughout the song draws the most attention but there's more to discover. No, Silver Moon is not brilliant but nice songs exist as well and luckily so.

Stick To Your Guns. Boskat

Boskat is a duo from Antwerp in Belgium. Drummer Tibo Polleunis and guitarist Vincent Van Santfoort play a form of rock we know from another duos like Royal Blood e.g. Although The White Stripes have set the standard around 2000, Boskat is more a hardrock band than Jack and Meg White's band. The American, so country, side is absent here totally. Boskat, like all duos, creates a wall of sound where the guitar is blown up into huge proportions and the drums fill everything else. That said, the duo does play with dynamics in a good way, so that Stick To Your Guns is not just one wall of musical violence. In the softer sequence the duo takes on an emo side while also lending a little from Green Day. All in all it makes for a nice mix.

Meisjezoet. De Held

De wijze waarop Jo Jacobs, hij is De Held, te werk gaat, klinkt erg als het motto dat boven dit blog staat. Al klopt dat inmiddels niet meer. Op Oudejaarsdag 2016 kwam er een einde aan WoNo Magazine na bijna 15 jaar. Bij Jacobs heeft dat overigens heel andere oorzaken, maar dat gaat niet over muziek. De Held heeft in België al menig goede recensie ontvangen voor de vorige twee album uit 2012 en 2015. Nu is er een eerste single op het Fons label. En het is een prachtig nummer. Bescheiden zoals JJ Cale bescheiden was. Met andere woorden een kneiter van een goede song, die uitermate lieflijk gespeeld wordt. Jo Jacobs droomt van zijn meisje en dat doordrenkt het hele nummer. Meisjezoet is een echt prijsnummer, dat iedereen zo kan meezingen en toch iets compleet eigens heeft. Het is zeer elementair opgebouwd en toch overal als ik er naar luister. Ik kende De Held helemaal niet, maar vanaf vandaag wel. Echt iets om uit te checken en in de gaten te houden van nu af aan.

Back Where I Belong / Take it Slow. Belle Époque

Volume 1 did not make it to these pages, choices, choices, but two single did in 2021 and here is the first single of the upcoming album 'Volume II'. Danny van Tiggele, once a member of Mister & Mississippi, an ex-band that had a subscription to this blog, again works together with, mostly, a host of Dutch artists to create his second album. On the a-side it is former GEM singer Maurits Westrik who takes the lead to sing on this nice pop single that brings Van Tiggele's former band to mind. Back Where I Belong is a rich pop song with elements of country in it, not unlike what Tim Knol is capable of. Take It Slow is an instrumental in the style of a mix of Dick Dale and The Shadows. A twangy guitar is the lead instrument and fully fills in its role. Two totally different songs that show the diverse styles Van Tiggele likes to play and probably loves to listen to. There's no promises on 'Volume II' here, but I will certainly give it a spin.

Ready To Break. Lone Wolf

Where is the punkrock?, you may be asking by now. Relax, here it is. Lone Wolf is not a U.S. punkrock band but a Rotterdam, NL one. I was truly surprised when I just found out. This is U.S. stuff. This song is so nice. Lone Wolf does it everything right in Ready To Break. A superb melody is mixed with the right doses of energy and some real nice solo notes over the rhythm. It is so easy to love a song like this, simply because despite the punk energy Ready To Break is a superb pop song in disguise. It contains everything to score a hit, somewhere in the universe at least, not here I'm afraid. Try not to sing along after a minute into the song. Try not to have a smile on your face while listening. Try to sit still on your chair for that matter. Ready To Break is more than just fun or nice, it's a top single. Check it out!

Bogus Operandi. The Hives

Anyone who can tell me when was the last time I heard, let alone played a The Hives song will have a hard time convincing me. I truly have no clue. It was not in 2013, as I definitely have not a heard a song from the previous album. The Swedish punkrockers had basically left my consciousness. Bogus Operandi starts as if 'Fight For Your Right ' is covered. Well, it's almost that good. A huge riff follows that loud opening chord. A dog barks in the background (in the video only?) as if Pink Floyd's 'Dogs' is covered. When the song explodes The Hives go for it and do not plan to stop for a second. After ten years the band wants to show the world it still has it. If the upcoming album is this good, the world has very little to complain about.

One Of These Days. Queen's Pleasure

With a video showing a lot of Amsterdam in black and white Queen's Pleasure kicks off its round 2. One Of These Days is the first song towards its second album. The alternative rock has moved a little into the background, with a more poppy sound coming forward. Alternative pop, certainly, but there's no denying that Britpop feel this single has. A little Blur for example, a band perhaps in search of a Dutch support act soon? At the same time there's a sprinkling The Beatles and The Kinks in there and when all is said a done a little punkrock in the approach to this song. Decades of influences have gone into One Of These Days and come out as a song showing a lot of confidence. Queen's Pleasure knows what it wants to share with the world and does so in spunky way. Nice song it is.

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