2024. Week 22, 10 singles

Some weeks are busier than others. Some are so busy that writing a post is simply not possible. Has anyone noticed we skipped a week? We received no complaints. This week we may do two singles posts once again, trying to catch up on the truck loads of singles being showered on the email in box. Once again it is a mixed lot you are presented with. So, let me leave you with them.

Riptide. 9-Volt Velvet

Oh, yeah. "On a riptide" whisper sings Mark Cross, 9-Volt Velvet's singer. The trio from Dallas in Texas, by way of a Brighton U.K. based label, simply bounces into my room. Yes, I've heard it all before but when that familiar sound comes with so much energy and fuzzed-out guitars, why should I complain? The trio Mark Cross (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion), Donnie Robertson (drums, percussion, keyboards) and Kevin Robinson (guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals), really goes for it on their first single of the album 'Nude Beaches' (10 May). Who plays what is hard to discern when all members play nearly all instruments. Fans of The Black Angels' loud side can start saving to buy 'Nude Beaches' or the 7" single of Riptide. Just listening to that big, huge bass is enough. It takes the rest of the band in tow and over the highest mountain. Riptide is quite the single.

Ludwig. Winston

Winston, het vehikel van Simon Alice René, haalt dit blog opnieuw. Zelf schrijft hij dat hij zijn innerlijke Freddy Mercury weer heeft aangesproken. Daar zit hij goed naast, want zijn innerlijke Brian May knalt nog harder uit mijn speakers. Laten we het op zijn innerlijke Queen houden, daar kan ik goed mee leven. Ludwig begint heel klein. Winston heeft geen haast, zoveel is duidelijk. Een piano en een stem dat is het. Zo rustig, dat ik het nummer bij eerste beluistering bijna weglegde. Dat gaat heel snel bij zo'n single rubriek. Al snel komt de meerstemmigheid om de hoek kijken en ook een basgitaar. Mijn oren beginnen zich te openen. Langzaam maar zeker gebeurt er steeds meer, tot dat "Brian" mee gaat doen en Ludwig de overdrive in gaat. Ik onderga een veni, vidi, vici ervaring. Zo voelde de oude Julius zich dus? Dat moet Winston toch gedacht hebben, nadat je een single van deze epische proporties opgenomen hebt en daarna in de mix terugluistert. Kortom, u krijgt het advies dit ook te gaan doen nu en daarna pas verder te lezen.

Car Accident. Bermuda Squares

Sinks, Neo Neos, Citric Dummies, Color Tv, green/blue, Retainers, Dummy, the Soviettes, IV, and Awesome Snakes? Anyone? All names mean nothing to me, I'm afraid, but on the basis of these bands Bermuda Squares is described as a super group. Since the past few minutes I do know Bermuda Squares. The band rocks, the band punks, if that had been a word, so punkrocks. And garagerocks on the side as well. The inspiration comes straight out of the 'Nuggets' box set but then with a far more modern sound. With a screaming way of singing the mood is set, the tempo is relentless and the sound as dirty as can be controlled while playing. I'm remembered of an album from the 00s that I can't get my head around I'm afraid but had this great song 'Heart Attack' on it. That's how Car Accident sounds. One big blast of energy. There's an album called 'Outsider' on the way, but a whole album may be a bit much. For now I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

Artiminime. I Hate My Village

I Hate My Village is "Italy's most beloved indie supergroup" it says in the message I received introducing Artiminime. Now that is promising and raises the bar quite some for a band that I had never heard of. What to expect? And, especially when the song is introduced thus: "a hallucinated track that refuses to move within a refined orbit"? What I'm hearing is a nervous track, filled with electronic sounds that pop up to disappear again. The rhythm does not provide the listener with a single pause. "You drive me insane", the singer shares with us. I can totally imagine that there will be scores of people driven up the walls by the freaky sound of I Hate My Village. Listen through what is going on though and a fine song shows itself to the listener. Album 'Never Mind The Tempo' was released on 17 May. Finally, Mini Me has been turned into a song.

Honestly. Seb Zukuni

We have to go back for circa two years to find Seb Zukini on the blog. The Dutch band returns with a fine alternative rock single, matching expectations the band has set for itself with its two singles and EP. Honestly is an uptempo, somewhat darkish single. Singer Sebastiaan Kusters uses a whispering version of his voice giving the song its darker sheen. The band on the one hand matches this but in the choruses lets it go, enveloping Kusters in a huge sound. The guitars and drums simply don't hold back any more giving Honestly two faces that fit the song really well. Add the pre-chorus and the solo with a nice delay sound on it and Honestly is nothing but a success. This is the smooth kind of alternative rock that goes down really well here.

Sweet. Been Stellar

With Sweet NYC band Been Stellar makes it to the single section for the third time this year. With its debut album 'Scream from New York, NY' only weeks away, life is becoming more real by the day for the young band. Undoubtedly a tour will be slated and making music is about to become work. But let's focus on Sweet. Again, I hear an alternative rock song by a band that is not afraid to rock out and making big gestures in the music. A premonition of things to come? That is far too early to tell. Been Stellar has already created the songs to play far bigger places than they will be starting out in. This single can be played in huge, stadium style. Sweet contains the light and shade, with a drummer who is going at it as if his life depends on it. After a short interlude, the band goes at it once more and plays Sweet home.

Mumble EP. Texoprint

Texoprint was the second EP of Kalaallit Nunaat. The band decided to change its name and changed it to the name of the last EP. With Mumble the band has, at least in my mind, changed its approach to its music a little as well. Tramhaus is the band that comes to mind immediately. Can we speak of a Rotterdam sound? It seems like it. Texoprint fits the mould all right. The trio plays the Dutch version of alternative rock where energy meets an anything goes as long as it is not what everybody else in the world is playing kind of attitude. Texoprint meets that qualification with ease. The five songs on Mumble jump around, receive energised jolts, allowing for anything from pogoing to just jumping up and down. "The songs highlight a deliberate step towards capturing a more aggressive and energetic sound", the bio reads. How does that match my memory? I associate Kalaallit Nunaat more with noise, I guess. Maybe it's my memory that mixes things up, but an alternative rock ballad like '3' is certainly not what I would have expected. Noisy outbursts or not. Mumble is not an EP for the masses, but all alternative rockers here in NL and the rest of the world should be able to find their way into the EP. When it all ends with a nice bit of punk, 'Mumble', the album's title track, the audience widens once again. Mumble is more than worthwhile checking out.

Sit Down. FEET

FEET is from Coventry in the U.K. and about to release its album 'Make It Up'. The description of the music is alternative rock, but it could not be a lot more different than its U.S. brethren in this post. The music is jumpy, yet there is such a clear reference to a band like The Kinks in the music (the 1960s hit machine, not the later U.S. stadium rockers version), that it cannot be but an English band. The Kinks?, that's our grandparents' generation FEET's members may rightfully say in response.  Yeah, I know, I reply in answer. A much better reference can not be given. Sit Down is the kind of song that invites dancing to, listening to in two ways, seriously and to have fun, not forgetting to sing-along with. FEET does it all right it seems on Sit Down. In the video they do a nice Madness impersonation, scoring another point. Sit Down has a great flow, mixing pop with alternative rock, letting the former prevail. It's a song that a lot of people can relate to, jumping across generations with ease. Seldom was a title chosen so wrongly, as the only result of listening to Sit Down will be to jump up and to dance.

Virtual Hug. Bloomsday

The new single shows again the artistic growth Bloomsday has undergone in the past few years. 'Place To Land', the debut album was nice but did not stick when all was said and done. 'Dollar Slice', the previous single and Virtual Hug show all the signs that these song will. There's no doubt that Iris James Garrison has listened to Adrianne Lenker's band Big Thief. It is about what comes out as Bloomsday what counts and that is a beautiful song. There's nothing in Virtual Hug that is not supposed to be there. The song is totally essential with a few extra notes or lines here and there that have an immediate effect on the quality of Virtual Hug. Garrison sings in an ultra relaxed way, showing the world the quality of their voice. It is far too early into Bloomsday's career to talk about best songs, but I would be gravely mistaken if Virtual Hug would not be on that list in the future. This is beauty caught in music.

Low Hanging Stars. David Serby

It's time for some country rock. David Serby is about to release his first album in ten years. This is the title track. Again I marvel at how someone is able to come up with an original song that sounds so good, while using the same chords thousands of others used before him. Low Hanging Stars has that clear sound country rocking songs often have. Anyone with a love for this music will find that this song will go straight to your mind and heart. With a tough drummer, a serving bass, a warm Hammond and a high and a low sounding guitar with a clean and less clean sound, the music of Low Hanging Stars is defined. Serby has a nice voice somewhere between high and low and rough and smooth. It fits this song like the proverbial glove. The album is there on 14 June.

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