Mindcave. Dreamwave
Here
we go, with a fierce uptempo psychedelic outing called Mindcave.
Inspired by a scene with a cave and a spider in 'The Lord of the Rings',
I can imagine Mindcave being the imaginary soundtrack to Frodo Baggins'
escape from the cave. Dreamwave really gets things cracking,
referencing 1960s psych rock as well as a more modern band like The
Black Angels in its rocking mode. The U.K. band knows what it likes and
loves to share it with its audience. Not without a whole lot of
enthusiasm thrown into the mix and the ability play. The sound of
Mindcave is totally muddy, thanks to the psychedelics in there and the
effects that come with it. What I wind up with thinking is that this
single with right could have been called Mindrave as well. This song is
serious and fun time in one.
Nervousness and tight pop is what describes A Cure
For My Feels while listening to the song for the first time. In fact, I
am almost convinced half way that I'm listening to a great alternative
rock song. By the time the solo starts I'm sold. Simpleton is the
moniker under which Chris Berendsen works. If ever a band name was
chosen wrongly! This song has the energy an alternative rocksong needs,
the arrangement is clever, the melody simply golden. A quick search told
me that this is Simpleton's second single on this blog. At the start of
the last summer his single 'Light The Fuse' made it to these pages and
received a warm welcome. That makes two out of two. It seems like it's
justified to call Simpleton a talent. In June 2023 an EP was announced
already. We had to be patient. We are still tested, as 'The Simpleton
Show: Pt 1' is only released on 19 April.
Dutch
- German duo The Day is described as playing dreampop. I beg to differ
for at least 50%. Although the duo surely has that dreamy quality in
it, the music is far too tough in two ways. The first is that 80s
synthpop vibe meandering around Sidelines. Secondly, Sidelines rocks.
Just listen how that The Cure bass sound opens the single and the tough
drums playing behind it. When the electric guitars come in the dream is
exchanged for wide-awake-pop in my opinion. In fact, if the duo is able to
play live with a band, this song will get people dancing alright. In my
opinion there's no way people will stand still the moment the guitar
comes in. The most dreamy quality of The Day is
in the voice of singer Laura Loeters. The duo is about to release its second album, 'The Kids Are
Alright' on 10 May. Sidelines in the meantime is a very pleasant
introduction to The Day as far as I'm concerned.
Four
weeks before Simpleton, see above, Boskat made its debut on this blog with single
'Stick To Your Guns'. On the 15th the Belgian duo releases its first
album 'Welcome to Planet Urmit'. Drummer Tibo Polleunis and guitarist
Vincent Van Santfoort play a lot more than they can ever reproduce on
stage as a duo. Glass Bowl Dance is a song in the style of Nirvana, as
in the light and the shade are present in abundance in this song. It really rocks and has a great melody. I think singer Vincent would
have loved to have that little extra edge to his voice, which he hasn't.
I doesn't matter, as his voice convinces in the harder sequences of
Glass Bowl Dance, that musically is somewhere between Nirvana and Pearl
Jam. That is actually a great spot to be in and certainly when your song
has the quality this single has. Add that Van Santfoort can play a great
guitar solo as well and you know enough. Grunge fans old and new, check
out Boskat soon.
More
punkrock from Portland, Oregon. By now I know that there's a whole
scene of punk bands of which I would never have heard were it not that
someone started sending me links to new singles and albums. Jade Dust is
another band in that basket. Formed in the year before the lockdown,
Jade Dust released a first EP in 2021 and now is ready for its first full
length album called 'Grey Skies', out for a week. By A Threat is a song
that does not contain more than strictly necessary. 1 minute 57 seconds
and Jade Dust has said it all and this includes a spacey, not strictly
necessary ending. Don't expect any subtlety. This band goes for it
in a direct way. The chorus opens the song and invites everyone to yell along
immediately. What follows is a storm cooked up by drums, bass and two
guitars. Singer Rudi Jung spits out his lyrics. Yes, I call it
singing, as there is clearly a melody, but it's more attitude than
singing I think. As a whole By A Threat stands like a house as we say
over here. Time to singalong, folks: "By a, by a threat".
More
punkrock and this time from Rockford, Illinois. Unfortunately it is
impossible to keep up with everything released. 'Black Sheep', WiMP!'s
album, is already out for a month and passed me by, I have to admit.
Enter single Suitcase that was still hidden in this list of recently
released singles. I was playing it only for a few seconds and it jumped
at me as if the black sheep stood in for the killer rabbit in 'The Holy
Grail'. Just listen how the band kicks this song off. All the energy and
the fun of playing together is unleashed on this unsuspecting listener.
Singer and bassist Cheyenne Dean sings like the best of them 40some
years ago. Suitcase is the kind of song that combines loud punkrock with
a great and urgent melody. A person is sent off here without any doubts
left. The "narcissistic fuck" is told to pack his suitcase. At the same
time WiMP! packed this message in a golden song, while managing to
present the sound totally clear. 'Black Sheep', was it? Time to listen
anyway.
Very
good observers will recall The Magic City was on the blog in the fall
of last year with a single reminding me of Bowie and U.K. music from the
70s and 90s. Not so the band's latest, A Series Of Chemicals. This song is
U.S. the whole of the way. While listening, a song that was only a minor hit here in the
1980s but still comes by regularly on the radio, was the first song I
thought of, 'Your Love' by The Outfield. One of these one hit wonders.
The Magic City presents a mix of pure pop and power pop, the music that
goes for the heart and the mind. But when all is said and done, I
certainly hear a little The Kinks from around 1980, when they released
albums aimed at the U.S. market, having been all but forgotten in
Europe. Summing up A Series Of Chemicals is a completely honest song, the kind more should be made of in 2024.
A
long lost album resurfaces and where else then on Rum Bar Records from
Boston. 'Extra Stout' originally saw the light of day in 1993, when I
certainly did not hear it. On the basis of the single Bull Of A Man it
certainly will be worthwhile to listen to Shaggahs, and yes, it means
what you are thinking right now. What I did not know that the word shagg is Celtic (if
true of course). In 1993 the band was already looking into the rearview
mirror where the music it played was concerned. Singer Lennie Donohoe
has a bit of Lou Reed in his phrasing, not Reed's depth. This makes his
voice in an more uptempo song like Bull Of A Man more pleasant to listen
to. The music was influenced by the alternative rock of the 1960s and
70s as well. The postpunk music in the U.S. is the last element and you
will understand what Bull Of A Man sounds like. Pretty cool that this
song was saved from obscurity. It deserves to be.
Wild
finds himself on the blog for the third time. On this single's A-side
he takes a deep dive into rock and roll's history. The tempo is that
stuttering going on in Screaming Jay Hawkins' 'I Put A Spell On You'. It
includes a saxophone as well. The sound is totally modern though. There's no
comparison in that sense. The atmosphere is the same. It sounds as if
the devil is sharing that rock and roll is his business, and it was of
course according to a host of parents and clergymen in the 1950s. In
2024 people may not like rock and roll, the devil is out of sight for
decades already. Whole generations can enjoy Dmitry Wild's single, that
totally goes out of control at the end. The rock and the roll are fully
unleashed and the party starts. B-side Son Of A Gun is just as strong.
It reminds me of that great single 'Dracula' by ZZ and the Maskers from
the mid-60s. Until, again, a modern sounds defies all comparison with
old recordings. Wild on this duo single is wallowing in nostalgia, while
not forgetting that he's an artist in the 2020s. The combination truly
works. Rock and roll for this decade this single is.
Thanks to the last band, from Belgium, the mood finally goes down again. Combo Soft Boy takes its time to present a single from its upcoming album 'Almost Hungry' (15 March). Gen Z is the most lonely generation, so I learned from today's newspaper, thanks to being continuously online on the not-so-social media. Soft Boy obviously wraps a warm arm around the shoulders of all these lonely, emotionally depraved youngsters. The tempo is slow. Automatically a listener is invited to listen, as in truly listen and relax. To the slow soft but present drums, the slow played notes on guitar and bass and the warm keys, oops violin seeing the video, coming in here and there. Singer Xander Hamelton takes the listeners all through the modern age, assisted by some magical backing vocals. Gen Z is a great pop single that puts Soft Boy firmly on the map. I am left with only one question: What can possibly come after Gen Z? (The generation not the song.)
Wout de Natris
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