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Roller Derby Girl. Danny the K
How many guises does a
singer-guitarist need? Another one, so much is obvious. Dan Kopko, who
as part of The Shang-Hi Los is contending for the album of the year
spot, releases a single of his upcoming solo album under the name Danny
The K. 'Cigarettes & Silhouettes is out for a week. Roller Derby Girl
is a nice pop song, with enough of a rock bite to please. Kopko knows
what a good song needs and knows what a nice song takes and combines the
two in this single. At the same times he is familiar with the classics
in the genre and works them into his own song. This results in a song
that is tight, except in the instrumental interlude where he lets the song
float and flow into the chorus. This is exactly the element making the song so strong.
Roller Derby Girl has this little, unique self that makes it stand out.
Tamar
Berk is working towards the release of her new album. It will be my
third and judging the bittersweet new single, it may be another treat
she has in store for us. If you've followed this blog a little, then
you'll have encountered Tamar Berk regularly. She plays the kind of
music that is somewhere between pop and rock. If U Know, U Know is
exactly in the middle, is my conclusion. The drums are definitely rock,
as the playing props up the song no little. It contrast with her dreamy
singing, where a longing for something is shared with the listener. The
keyboard plays the same riff over and over, giving the song its pop
feel. When the guitar enters for the bridge and solo the song veers more
to the rock side. As I wrote, everything meets nicely in the middle.
A
single of ten minutes was an impossibility in the old days. At best you
had a part 1 and 2 spread out over the a and b side of the 45 RPM
single. Today a single can be as long as you like and Weite, a new group
with members from three others, made use of this digital format. Expect
an instrumental song with elements from symphonic rock, some postrock
(whatever that truly means) and a few elements from 1970s jazzrock.
Weite presents a few themes and works its way around them. When all is
said and done it is about the guitarist(s?) showing off their chops but
that is also selling the other members short. The drumming is great and
very interesting to pick out, as is the bass playing. Without it Neuland
would not be half as interesting.
"I'm
feeling electric, I'm coming alive inside" Nelson 'Chino' Ayala sings
on his new single and it shows. Vocally he's bouncing around as if
there's no end to the energy he has. Musically there is a contrast, as
he is holding back nicely in the verses, to truly go at it in the chorus. From
the very beginning Indian Askin was a band that was so interesting to
follow. It's two albums were good and based on the two songs I've heard
so far, number three will be as well. Love & Light has that touch of
brutality, of daring. It gives the song something attractive with a hint
of danger, as in not being able to expect what is coming next. In other
words Love & Light is able to surprise a few times. There's one
downside. Indian Askin is no longer a band and in the sound of the
programmed drums it shows. For the rest, a very nice song.
There
are too many singles being released, so I'm rather behind in this long, long list. I made 'If U
Know, U Know' skip the line and only then encountered Drop In The Bucket,
the first single of Tamar Berk's upcoming album 'Tiny Injuries'
scheduled for 18 August. It's featured anyway, as Drop In The Bucket is a nice and tight rock
song. The guitars play a tough chord progression, with drums and
bass following. You will find it's the keyboards that provide the
playful elements in the song. As do a host of Tamar Berks when singing the vocals.
She has found many harmonies, including counter melodies that were
hiding within her original idea for the song. The result is a rich
powerpop song that deserves to be heard by a wide audience and
especially people with a love for circa 1980 powerpop. You will find a
lot to like.
Slowdive is a band
that formed in 1989, was on a hiatus for a few decades and in 2023
returns with its second album after reforming in the 10s, the fifth in
total. The name sounded faintly familiar to me, when I came across the
announcement of 'Everything Is Alive' (1 September). Not more than that
and I do not own any of the previous albums in any form. So, Kisses is
my introduction and what I hear is a band with one foot firmly in the
past and one somewhere in between, not certain where it is exactly. The
music and singing express that feeling I have. The dreamy way of singing
of Neil Holstead and Rachel Gowess are in the style of Curt Smith
(Tears For Fears), so deep in the past. The music accompanies this
dreamy atmosphere, yet sounds clear and modern, beautifully mixed and
spacious. A song that is good to listen to, while presenting memories of kisses of past
and present to me. A whole album in this style though? I'm not certain I could
cope. One song? Bingo.
Is
there any fun in listening to a new song that is combining early, as in
really early, Stones with a surf rock guitar style and a honkin'
saxophone as if Keith's brother by another mother Bobby Keys, was already with the
band then? Yes, it is. What's Up With That? is a fun song that shows the
fun the band members have in playing this music. It is all nostalgia
but there's nothing wrong with a little longing for the past as it comes
this good. The guitar sound, all the different ones, is simply great.
There are quite some guitars involved in the single, as are the styles in which they were played and the effects used on them. The vocal melody allows anyone to
sing along with ease and already during the first listening session. In
other words, in another place and time, What's Up With That? would have
spelled hit. The Master Plan really scored one
in my book.
CIEL has
released its debut EP and it rocks. The band from Brighton, U.K., with
members from different countries certainly has heard fellow Brighton
band Blood Red Shoes play in the past and departed from there, finding a
little Garbage along the way and some modern rhythms. The four song EP
starts with the song 'Somebody', that featured a few months ago in this
space. Hearing it again, I totally stand by my words that it is a great
rock song full of so much energy. That makes the next song, 'So
Scared', the more surprising, as it's electronic and flatter. Michelle
Hindriks moves towards a modern French sigh girl in her way of singing.
The band does find its rocking mode though and certainly moving into
song three, 'Make It Better'. Here the Garbage connection comes across a
lot stronger, with Blood Red Shoes' level of energy. The light dark
element is, again, divided in a strong way. CIEL understands how it can
play this card in a good and strong way. Final song 'Jealousy' is
exactly somewhere in between. With a slightly higher pop element and an
80s keyboard vibe CIEL again shows another side of itself. A nice
introduction Make It Better is for sure.
An
unexpected duet. Two punk icons who both in a way never quite were that. Nick
Cave is more and more a modern day crooner and Debbie Harry was more
pop than punk. One still has a career that evolves, the other is best known for
her hits that are getting closer to being 50 years old every day. Together they sing
as part of a project that commemorates the music of Jeffrey Lee Pierce,
a long time ago of The Gun Club fame. On The Other Side in their version
is a slow and laden song. I can't call this song beautiful, while in
its way it is. The music certainly is. This is meant to make the song
shine and it works. It is the voices of Cave and Harry that give On The
Other Side its frayed quality. Cave is Cave, with his baritone that
always had a rough edge. Debbie Harry always had a shrill element in her
voice. With age her voice has become a little rough at the edges,
hiding the shrillness because she sings so softly. Together they
contrast with music in an interesting way, making the song, most likely, stand out
more. Pierce's voice wasn't an epitome of smoothness either,
was it? What the original version sounded like? I have no clue.
Okay, a little punk today from Wellington, New Zealand's Dartz. After an intro that could allow the band to shoot off in a few directions, Dartz leaves no doubt. When the band starts going, it goes in one direction and as fast as it can keep with playing together with some coherence. It all spells four letters p u n k. DMC is rollocking song where notes and words are bouncing over one another. As if they are in strong competition with an imaginary audience that is doing exactly the same. There's no holding back this band. Enthusiasm counts as much if not for more over technique, to reach a maximum effect. DMC does, period.
Wout de Natris
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