Almost, almost, for the first time ever in all the ten singles posts over the past years, the 10 songs at the top my weekly overview and presented to me in a random order, made it to this post. Until I reached number 10 and the sort of metal there proved too much for my ears and the next song was too weird to listen to when trying to relax during a very stressed application deadline. But then, 12 songs out of ten may be a record as well. I'm not keeping score. Again you will find a mix of familiar names on this blog, several debuts and one very old time favourite with a fantastic renditions of a song that turns 58 this year. The original is from another decade long favourite of mine. Enjoy!
Passing Judgement. Been Stellar
What
goes around, comes around. This certainly goes for the music of Been
Stellar from New York City. In fact multiple times. From punk, to
shoegaze, grunge and indie rock, it is all contained in Passing
Judgement, the first single from the band's upcoming album 'Scream From
New York, NY' (14 June). The light and the shade, Tommy Iommi's
favourite musical phrase is in here in the tight. more empty verse. The verses are
noisy, loose, perhaps even a bit controlled messy. The end result is a
highly charged song that goes down really well here. Singer Sam Slocum
has that kind of voice that hovers between emotions and boredom coming
with the music. Until he becomes as it were too involved and emotional, certainly towards the end, to pass for a
shoegazer, and he's too aloof to be called a grunger. Slocum ends up somewhere in the
middle, yet has a voice that I like listening to. My introduction to
Been Stellar goes down well, I'd say.
For
Julia Holter you will have to go back eight years on this blog, for a
review by Erwin Zijleman of her album from 2015 'Have You In My
Wilderness'. What I've read on her, she is in the avant-garde niche of
music. Listening to Evening Mood however, I hear a kind of ballad, that
does leave well trodden paths, yet is of a tremendous beauty. Expect a
relaxed mood, interspersed with numerous, small eruptions of musical
flurries, multiple vocals and unsuspected corners where one would not
expect the song to go, without leaving the chord progression. Sounds can
come up from everywhere and from all sorts of instruments. It results in
a musical adventure Julia Holter takes listeners on, where most likely
even after multiple sessions new aspects to Evening Mood will be
discovered. The fretless bass gives the song a jazzy undertone,
woodwinds a more classical feel, while her singing even brings a pop
feel to the whole. With a length of over six minutes Evening Mood is a
bit long. That's all on the complaint side though from me. Intriguing song.
Lou
Reed's The Velvet Underground song about his forays into the dark spots
of NYC to score a hit takes an important place on the band's debut
album. He is honoured with a tribute album 'The Power of the Heart: A
Tribute to Lou Reed'. The album features this song by Keith Richards. At
80 he shows he still has a rock and roll heart. Oddly enough, this may
be the ultimate song by Keith where singing is concerned. I have never
heard him sing so strong and straightforward. The vocal melody totally
fits his voice as if Lou had written it with Keith Richard's in mind.
The song has numerous guitar overdubs, that make it come alive in a
different way than the original. That slices through a listener like a
knife in a dark alley. Keith's version is a ball in the park, while
still leaving enough of the original alive. The song has that drive it
needs, while at the same time Keith does not have to wait for anybody
any more. Together with the other musicians he delivers. A worthy
tribute.
And
again a beautiful single by Warpaint. Common Blue commemorates the fact
that the band started 20 years ago. Time flies when you have fun while working
hard. Theresa Wayman (vocals, guitar), Emily Kokal (vocals, guitar),
Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass, vocals) and Stella Mozgawa (drums) have been
around the world a few times by now and have built an oeuvre to be proud
of. Common Blue does not add so much new to Warpaints' output, as that
it deepens the sound with a more direct way of playing. The dreamy
element is there, but all the instruments somehow are more prominently
present. They do not disappear underneath the sugarcoating synths the
band is so good at adding to its sound. The guitar chord progression that started the
song, is there for the whole of the way. Just like a clear bass and
drums. The dreaming is fully in the vocals and the keyboards that come
in every once in a while. The mix is just right. I can listen to Common
Blue all day.
The
coincidental selection of this post has brought Warpaint's single
together with Dog Park's. They fit very well together. If the rest of
the band's music sounds like this, I'd suggest a support slot for the
European tour! This song is my introduction to the band and to its
label, Géographie from Paris. Dog Park is a new band from Paris, about
to release its first album, 'Festina Lente' on 19 April. Erica Ashleson,
Isabella Cantani, Sarah Pitet and Jean Duffour met at a show in between
lockdowns and decided to start making music together. After two singles
in 2022 and 2023 it's time for the real thing. Time is a song that is
somewhere in between dreampop and indie rock. The song is in a mid tempo
but with little edges from all instruments that keep the listener on
his/her toes the whole of the time. The verses have the right accents,
while the chorus presents a nice turn without being obvious. No, Time and Dog park are
not the future of rock and roll, but certainly a very good step in the
right direction. I certainly want to hear more soon.
Hannah
Everingham is from New Zealand or Aotearoa as they call it. How else
then but through the Flying Nun newsletter did I learn about this single
from Everingham's latest album 'Siempre Tiene Flores'? The song is
something different. In what way?, you might ask. Well, Everingham dares
to make this song all about the story she wants to tell. The music is just some basic percussion, an
acoustic bass and a plucked guitar lay down the rhythm. Just the same
few notes go round and round for the whole of Don't Be Crass. Add a little atmospherics and
keys at the emotional highlight of the song -I won't give it away, that
would be spoiling it- and that is all there is to make Don't Be Crass a
successful song. It's even a little jazzy. Hannah Everingham shares the fun she
had in making and singing this song with us for the whole of the way. This
includes making the video. In her way of singing I can put her in a line
with several New Zealand singers. It is in the music she sets herself
apart.
Boston's
Stop Calling Me Frank takes on the famous song Whiskey In The Jar. My
first version was Thin Lizzy's single a long, long time ago. Here the
classic rock is taken out of the mix, not in the least by the lead
instrument, Terry O'Malley's saxophone. Not the instrument I associate
with an Irish traditional. This version works extremely well though. For
two additional reasons. Singer's Lennie Donohue's voice seems to have
been tailored through wear and tear of the years to sing Whiskey In The
Jar successfully. It has that rough edge it needs to be convincing and is able to lay
the right amount of emotion and surprise in the song the lyrics need.
The second is that the band plays the song on the basis of an acoustic
guitar that gives it a rock angle while sounding light at the same time.
Whiskey In The Jar is a strong song, there's no denying there. Stop
Calling Me Frank has made it an even stronger one and that is a
compliment. Rum Bar Records has released the song on a compilation of
whiskey and bar songs. Check it out on Bandcamp and name your price,
The
musical pace in this post on recent singles goes down and not a little. DIIV
takes its time on Soul-Net. This slow indie-psych-ballad-rock song is
like a giant in slow motion, just before he topples over in a cartoon
movie. DIIV doesn't trip. It does everything right. The song captures me
and surrounds me with warm, soft lapping water. Soothing me, caressing
me, so there's no need to go anywhere else. Zachary Cole Smith's
voice is the cherry on this soft cake. Multi-tracked, he is everywhere.
I love that slow bass propping the song up. And, then there are the
estranging sounds in and around the solo. Some shoegazing is no stranger
to DIIV, as this part of Soul-Net shows. The long instrumental part at
the end of the video is boring, I'm not going to lie here. All that came
before is excellent.
Another
release on Fons Records from Belgium. Seeroy is Joris Vergaert from
Ghent, who debutes as Seeroy with the single I've Seen The Future.
Again, a slow song but far more empty than DIIV's 'Soul-Net', just above
here. Seeroy reminds me a little of The LVE and then add a little soul
music to mix. No horns, huge drums nor bass. No, I've Seen The Future is a
bare song but with an undeniable soul feel. Just listen to that
enormously tasteful guitar solo. The future Seeroy has seen is clearly
very private. He has "been looking up, waiting for a sign, or something
to come down". In his way of singing I'm reminded of EELS, but musically
Seeroy speaks more to me than EELS usually does. Perhaps the European
vibe is easier to digest for me? Again I hear the solo and simply drift
away.
After the likes of Warpaint and Dog Park La Luz returns to the blog with another rather dreamy song that however opens as a heavy metal song from 1968. The loud and strong guitar riff opening Strange World totally puts the listener on the wrong foot. All of a sudden the guitar drops away. Just when I had started to get in its stride. Just before the song "really starts". Enter the dreamy way of singing matching the other bands mentioned just now. In the mid section things change again, as La Luz goes for a totally estranging sequence, like The Beatles started doing on 'Sgt. Peppers', setting the standard. The result is a song that is everywhere and yet has this strong, if strange focus. La Luz currently is only founding member and songwriter Shauna Cleveland. All other members are gone already or have gone after recording the upcoming new album 'News Of The Universe', out on 24 May. Cleveland before recording the new album has gone through a period of very mixed and undoubtedly extreme emotions in her personal life. Perhaps this explains the way Strange World meanders through different sequences. Concluding, Strange World remains more stronger than stranger.
Wout de Natris
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