Full Time Job. Squirrel Flower
"Taking
it easy is a full time job" Squirrel Flower singer (and almost all
else) Ella Williams sings in the opening line. It's hard to relate, being
a part time reviewer of music besides everything else going on in my
life. In the two minute songs Squirrel Flower underscores taking it easy
measured in length, not in strength. The gravelly indie rock song
really goes for it. It has all it takes to be noticed and to make a dent
in the huge flow of music that comes by. With the two albums already in
my possession it is off and on between Squirrel Flower and me. It's
songs like this single of the upcoming album 'Tomorrow's Fire' (13
October), that score with me, that light my fire. Even in the slacker
and lo-fi beginning of Full Time Job it's potential is already clear.
The explosion comes and in combination with an exactly right guitar
solo, the song wins me over completely. Great introduction to hopefully
another nice album.
Sometimes silence is better than words. Karen Jonas' version of Gordon Lightfoot's If You Could Read My Mind simply leaves me speechless.....
Time
for some dreampop. Lost Girls is a duo from Norway, Jenny Hval &
Håvard Volden, presenting it's second album. The first, released under
the name Nude on Sand, saw the light of day in 2012. The second eleven
years later. Songs start with Volden who creates beats and guitar chord
progression after which Hval starts sprinkling her magic over it all,
including complete deconstruction and rebuilding. In the case of With
The Other Hand this leads to a beautiful dreamy song that could have
been a part of Loupe's 'Do You Ever Wonder What Comes Next?' album. In the
background there is a soft beat that repeats itself. Over it a guitar is
strummed, fast. Over it the dreamy voice of Hval sings. Think more
Charlotte Gainsbourg than Warpaint. Like Gainsbourg, a longing belying her age comes
through in the singing. The fact that the soft beat is replaced by a big
one, accompanied by handclaps and Hval harmonising with herself in a beautiful way,
adds strength to the initial beauty. If this is the standard of
'Selvutsletter', out on 20 October, this is an album to be on the look
out for.
When
a song reaches the news section of national newspapers and evening
talkshows, it is time to pay attention. Not the music was the news but
a) the fact that Rich Men North Of Richmond entered at #1 on the U.S.
singles charts and 2) the song was embraced by the whole of conservative
U.S. I'm going to leave that there. How good is the song? The first
thing I notice is that this is just Oliver Anthony singing with a rough
voice and it's just Oliver Anthony playing on an acoustic guitar. There
is nothing else added to this recording. The song is somewhere between
folk and country. The lyrics and the delivery are as direct as you can
imagine. Anthony sings this direct into your face and makes an
impression. The singing is so strong and convincing. As such Rich Men North Of Richmond falls into a long
tradition of U.S. music, but that does not explain the phenomenon the
song has become. This starts with the delivery and attitude Oliver
Anthony shows. The song attracts your attention. Even if you should not
like the music. That is where it started and is what makes the song
special and stand out. What people make of the lyrics is always in the
ear of the beholder. My verdict? Rich Men North Of Richmond is a very
good song deserving attention in its own right.
Daiistar
is from Austin, Texas. The foursome, Alex Capistran, Nick Cornetti
(drums), Misti Hamrick (bass) and Derek Strahan (keys), formed at the
beginning of the pandemic in 2020. After a few singles the band will
release its first album next week. First we focus on Tracemaker, the
third Daiistar single. There's more than enough fuzz to go around for
some heavy music induced tripping. Underneath The Stone Rosed are
revived in the rhythm drummer Cornetti lays down for the band. It makes
Tracemaker danceable as well. Think of the best tracks of Canadians
Elephant Stone. Hippy music keeps attracting youngsters in droves. With
Daiistar another band is added to the roster and very much welcome
there. Tracemaker is extremely trippy but adds a punch in all the right
ways. A great hook and them drums. Shake your tailfeather, baby,
right underneath them fluid projections on the wall!
New Zealand's Dartz can be found in the single section several times now. Earn The Thirst is no exception. The up tempo punk rocker once again combines punk urgency with a great pop melody. Every pub still playing a punk song every once in a while can join in the community singing of Earn The Thirst. Sing loud enough and deserve the next pint. Something like this, is how I imagine it. Of course, dozens of bands have done this before, there's no denying here. Dartz adds its own enthusiasm to what came before and easily fights its way in. Earn The Thirst is as infectious as Dropkick Murphys' best songs and competes well with Rancid's last album greatest songs. Do I need to write more? Don't think so. Besides, I'm getting thirsty from listening, processing and writing.
In
the spring of 2018 I wrote a very favourable review of Eb &
Sparrow's album 'Seeing Things'. Five years later its singer Ebony Lamb
returns with a single of her upcoming solo album 'Ebony Lamb', slated
for 20 October. Salt, Sand Sea is a dreamy kind of rock song. The
arrangement is kept elementary without cheating out on the nicer
elements that can be captured in a track. The listener can find more
than enough little elements that make the song oh so nice to listen to.
Ebony Lamb's voice hovers over Salt, Sand Sea, like a fairy over the branches in a fairytale forest. High, without straining, lovely without the
sugar. In the music the musical equivalent of the hovering is present
in those extra few notes played that make the song sparkle. Her
self-titled album is something to look out for.
I
couldn't make head not tails of the title of Pseudo Cool's single. It
turns to be about a 1970s Welsh surfer girl called Linda Sharp. The song
lauds her and her very successful career, in Europe and the U.K. Pseudo
Cool is a punkish pop band, admittedly based by me on the basis of this single, from Maesteg in Wales. The song is razor sharp as well. It is
instantly singable and great fun. Whether ms. Sharp is into punkrock,
the story does not tell but there are worse ways to get celebrated over
40 years down the last wave surfed. Pseudo Cool makes her catch all the waves once
again. "She was the only girl in the world", they sing while trying to create
the biggest waves possible with their instruments. The result is a song
like a wave that keeps rolling forward until it hits that final piece of
beach that makes it fizzle out. Pseudo Cool captures that feeling with
certainty. Excitement mixed with skills Sharp's Catching Waves is.
"De
heks van dovenetel, die roerde in haar ketel". How many times I've heard
that song in the mid 90s is impossible to recall. We had to sing Dirk
Scheele's song all day long. Not even the witch could have imagined what
came out of her kettle about 27 years later. Zegel plays a song that is
like a roadroller. Unless you are Michael Palin in 'A Fish called Wanda'
there's no surviving this onslaught. The start is softer, with soundscapes,
and atmospheric sampling. A guitar comes in and here we go. Zegel
delivers not just an extremely loud song, It is also exiting. That makes
the song a winner. The riffs are flying all around, while drums keeps
up its tremendous pace and power. Animal 2.0 is behind the kit alright.
These Flemish musicians come into my musical universe with a big, loud bang.
It's close to nine years when Elephant Stone made it to this blog for the first time. The band even made it to the top 10 albums of 2014. Although I appear to have missed some albums along the way, the band found its way regularly. Today a new single is present, announcing a European tour for September. Lost In A Dream is a poppy psychedelic song, where the Canadians (Montreal) sound like a lot of other bands from the present and past. I will let you identify your own favourites in there. For me it is the poppy sound that makes Lost In A Dream sound so tremendously attractive. The 60s guitars and the long, long held synth notes make this single such a joy to listen to. The latter even adding a magical element. Add the beautiful chorus and I am sold. Okay, yes, it has a high Half Moon Run connotation, but that only makes it the more beautiful. I'm impressed and am looking forward to hear more. Patience is called for, as the new album is not planned for this year.
Wout de Natris
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