Stinks 4 Lyfe. Nymphlord
Stinks 4 Life
is a debut single, the first song singer-songwriter and producer
Nymphlord has released. Tia Rabinowitz from northern California knows
very well what she is doing to get a maximum effect and is not afraid of
wearing her influences on the neck of her guitar. She wrote the song
close after she heard Roe vs Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court
after fifty years and to my surprise there's more wonder than anger in
Stinks 4 Lyfe. What is surprising is the way the song plays out. It
starts with an electric guitar strumming a chord progression, softly but with deliberation, and at the
end of the intro I thought: Here we go!, but no we didn't. Not much
later, again: Here we go!, again no. The song is slowly but surely
expanded in sound, making it stand out. It never becomes the punkrock
anthem that it could have been. Stinks 4 Life is an alternative rock song
that near the end gets the Veruca Salt treatment. The innocent young
woman voice detonating against and complimenting the loud rock of the
final 30 or so seconds of the song. All the time doubting whether she is
worth it. It's too early to tell but on the basis of Stinks 4 Life, I
would say yes, dear girl.
Kristóf
Hajós is a Dutch - Hungarian singer living in Amsterdam. With Renegades
he has released a 7" single of which only thirty were pressed, so an
absolute collector's item. The good news is that it's also one that
lovers of a dreamy kind of pop song would love to play regularly as
well. Stefan Breuer, among many other things, is The World of Dust and label
owner of Tiny Room Records. He wrote, recorded and produced the song for
Kristóf Hajós. The first time he wrote a song for someone else. It is
not surprising the song could have been part of a The World of Dust
record. At the same time there are some slight differences, like e.g. the
intro and the electronic rhythm of the dreampop ballad. Renegades is a
song to dream away with. What a song for a daydream,
to paraphrase Loving Spoonful's hitsingle, Renegades is.
The
album 'In Times New Roman' is out this weekend but I haven't had the
time to listen yet. In fact, I'm listening to one of the recent singles
for the first time as I write. Emotion Sickness sounds familiar yet
there is also an urgency I have been missing for over a decade in
QOTSA's music. Next to the urgency there's something modern in the sound
that I have a hard time putting my finger on, as it is not electronics.
It is in the way the guitars are treated and in the dreamy way of
singing of Josh Homme that reminds me of, perhaps even girl pop, bands that have little to do with
QOTSA but also of Jack Bruce from around 1980. The longer the single last,
the more I'm getting into it. After the short intro I had something like
been there done that, sorry. That changed fast. Title Emotion Sickness
is complimented by the music which is almost estranging. Simultaneously
it shows the desperation causing the sickness. QOTSA's strange rhythms are
all over the place, as it should, leading up to the most melodic chorus
the band ever produced (as far as I'm aware). I think it's time to
listen to the album soon.
One more
single by EUT, the Dutch indie rockband, not afraid of bringing in some
pop and electronic elements to its music. With Stoned the band does,
once again, what it is so good at. Producing a pop song that is
credible enough to be alternative, has a rhythm that makes it danceable
in an awkward way and pop enough to get into your head without too much
of an effort. The keyboards and electronic rhythms are leading. The
guitars play either a lick or sparse rhythm accent in the verses. The
keys come on board from all sides in the chorus. Memories of Kim Wilde's
heyday certainly enter my brain, without Stoned exploding like a 'Kids
In America' does. Being stoned never led to massive partying and Stoned
keeps things in check like the title suggest. And yet this is a pop single
nonetheless that shows once again how nice a band EUT is.
I
dare anyone not to sing 'Sunny' to Thank You, I can't in any way. The similarity stops each time when the singing in Thank
You does. After a few lines the song moves into a psychedelic rock
instrumental that makes my head kind of twirl, just like the music twirls.
It somehow sounds like a revolving door with the music's intensity
turning with it. It makes Night Beats' new single an intriguing one.
Danny Lee Blackwell again manages to surprise me with a single in a
genre that in 2023 is all over the place. Despite doing nothing new, he
somehow combines the disco of Boney M's cover of 'Sunny' with
psychedelia without letting the song slip away from under him, something
that easily could have happened in the instrumental parts. It doesn't.
The solo guitar explores ever corner of the chord progression, the
rhythm section keeps it nicely in check. 'Rajan' is the name of Night
Beats upcoming album, out on 14 July.
Rock
from Sweden? Check. Hot Breath releases this nice rocker. I am not a
horse rider but this is how I imagine how galloping on a horse feels like. It's in that chucha-chucka-chuck rhythm Hot Breath plays in parts of the song.
You only have to listen to the intro to know what I mean. Hot Breath is a
new band with one album to its name, that I've missed so far, called
'Rubbery Lips'. Jennifer Israelsson sings and plays guitar, Anton Frick
Kallmin on bass
, Jimmy Karlsson on drums
and Karl Edfeldt on guitar. At
first I though Israelsson's voice too thin for the tough rock the band
plays, but I stepped beyond that initial thought. She is exactly right
here. She not only adds the melody to the music, she leads the way. Keep
On Calling is a melodic rock song that immediately satisfies. The band
has put in the time to make the song stand out. Kallmin's bass is all
over the plays and almost a lead instrument, while the guitars have the
nicest of melodies as well. Hot Breath knows very well what it is doing
and deserves to be heard. From fans of Kiss and Jefferson Starship to ZZ
Top, pay attention here.
My
review of Girl With A Hawk's debut single 'Same Stars' was extremely
positive. That does put some expectations on single number 2. People who
have the same expectations thanks to listening to 'Same Stars' based on
my review, rest assured. Girl With A Hawk provides the world
with another nice rock song in The Pretenders and girl rock bands from
around 1980 style. The Romantic has that tough sound while at the same
time the title is reflected in the way of singing. Singer Linda Viens
touches on the exactly right tone of voice. Chrissie Hynde, again, is
not far away. Viens has a different tone but does sing in the same
style. The strange thing for me is, that I never was a true The
Pretenders fan. I never pull the albums, yes, I have three, out of the
wall of records, ever. I do start to get the impression that this will
be different with Girl With A Hawk's debut album, to arrive some day. This
has all to do with Linda Viens' voice, I simply like it so much more. The
band does the rest as they lend a little from here and there from over the
past 40 something years. Another, very, nice single.
Amsterdam
based Pom is a regular on this blog for three years now, and still I am
waiting for the band's debut album. In the meantime I amuse myself with
another nice single. Exoskeleton is somewhere in between
pop and alternative rock. Just like EUT's, see some singles above here, Pom is a
band with a female single and plays rock music without losing the fun
of writing a great chorus. Exoskeleton has a killer one, like some of
the much much more famous singers are able to come up with. Pink when truly
rocking, while Phoebe Bridgers may not even dream one up in her wildest
nightmare. Pom has and it works. Loud, tight, fun and an invitation to
sing along with. From the very beginning the band drives the song
forward through the tight rhythm, no matter that the song starts small,
with instruments being added slowly but surely during the first verse,
to explode in that glorious chorus. Dynamics at work in a successful
way. It may well be that Exoskeleton is Pom's best song to date.
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Holy
Wave is about to release its sixth record in August, I have missed
everything until the release of Happier. We move back to psychedelia.
The Texas based band certainly knows its classics in this field. Happier
sounds like it escaped from a deep hole it was put in somewhere during
the 1970s to escape in 2023. I am reminded of the only single I know and
owe by a band called Fields, 'A Friend Of Mine'. A singer called star
of the sun in Spanish, hovers ghostlike over the end sequence of
Happier. A strange guitar riff, think David Gilmour's famous four note riff in
'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', is played over and over with a minor one
variation every other time. The whole song is on repeat from there onwards until the
end. The statement was made in the first half though. A little Midlake, like
'Roscoe', and a synth sound from the 70s does the rest. Mixed a little
deeper in the sound is a hugely distorted guitar, upsetting the apple
cart, while the rhythm goes on and on and on. Happier seems like a great
announcement for album 'Five Of Cups', also the name of a tarot card.
Pale
Blue Eyes is a dangerous name for a band, as it comes with a huge
legacy, being one of my favourite The Velvet Underground songs from my
nearly favourite album by that band, in strong competition with the
"lost album" 'V.U.' from 1985. That year is a good one to reference, as
the music of Pale Blue Eyes has one foot in the 1980s postpunk era.
Listen to the synths and melody of Take Me Over and you'll understand why.
But where is the other foot? 100% in Django Django. Pale Blue Eyes
manages to make a post punk and post new wave song extremely danceable
in a modern way. 'Blue Monday' on steroids as it were. This band has
that sound down in an extremely good way. Take Me Over ought to make every
venue and festival field explode with the energy it shares and the fun to
dance thanks to that energy being released. Take Me Over indeed, I
conclude. The use of that band name is, for now, excused.
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