Red Mile. Crack Cloud

Crack Cloud? The name did not ring a single bell. Boy, has the Canadian band changed that for me. With it's third album called Red Mile Crack Cloud has put itself on my radar and I am pretty convinced it will do so on many other people's.

On Wikipedia the band is described as more than just a band. Crack Cloud is "a Canadian musical and multimedia collective". This suggest more than just music. As this ia a music blog, I'm going to focus on that category. The band formed in 2015 around drummer and frontman Zack Choy. It released two EPs and albums before. After signing to Jagjaguwar, Red Mile is Crack Cloud's first released since.

I understand that the album is a big departure from what went before, described as far more experimental. Having listened to Red Mile for several times now, what I derive at is The Clash in 2024. With more electronics/synths but just as experimental in the sense that the next song can go into any direction, just like on 'London Calling' and even more on 'Sandinista'.

The second feature I truly like is the male-female fronted vocals. So, who else is singing besides Zach Choy? It could be Emma Acs, Mackenzie Cruse or Eve Adams. I do not have the information to enlighten you here. The band consists of no less than ten members. In 2024 there are already more former members than current ones and there is a host of associates, whatever it is that they do. It is clear, Crack Cloud is not your regular band.

Musically just as much happens. Songs are the starting points. Intricate arrangements play themselves out. With strings, synths, guitars, percussion, horns and what not. Each song is more than just a song. Several musical surprises can be heaped upon the listener, without ever sounding like the band is overdoing things or posing. The result is a listening trip Crack Cloud takes its listeners on, like a true musical adventure.

It is not even that all songs are spectacular. They do not have to be. It is the musicality that scores here. Take 'Lack Of Lack'. It starts with just the bass playing the chord sequence. In come sone strings playing an eastern melody. Next is a mysterious sound that could (both) be a dark guitar and deep piano notes. To all appearances this seems like an instrumental song developing itself, slowly but surely. With all instruments joining. After two minutes Choy starts singing with just the bass behind him. A little psychedelia comes into the song and then out of the blue a saxophone joins, following the eastern melody but setting the whole song on its head. Towards the end, the song explodes and starts to rock. So many unexpected turns and all contained well within five minutes.

'Lack Of Lack' is the kind of song that tells me why it remains so interesting to keep on the lookout for new bands. In this case it goes for the whole of Red Mile. At the first listening session it took me about four songs to know that I better start paying serious attention. It paid off.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and buy Red Mile here:

https://crackcloud.bandcamp.com/album/red-mile

Whitelined. A Shoreline Dream

Colorado band A Shoreline Dream finds itself on this blog for the first time since 2020. It released its eighth album last week, the second you find here. On 'Melting' I wrote the album came in two flavours, tranquil and pummelling. My first impression of Whitelined is that the album is more uniform. From there the story only starts. Whitelined is full of atmosphere and there are hidden, dark recesses everywhere in which anything can lurk to surprise or scare you.

A Shoreline Dream is a duo, Ryan Policky & Erik Jeffries. They write all the songs together, with the exception of the three (see below). Policky and Jeffries are in the band since its inception in 2005. Both are guitarists who have seen drummers and bassists come and go through the years.

The name Mark Gardener pops up here, almost as in where doesn't it. It seems like there's not a band in the world, wanting to recreate the music somewhere between alternative rock, shoegaze and 80s doom and gloom, not wanting to work with him. And the man is riding high waves with his own revived band Ride once again as well. His work ethic must be prolific. You can hear the result in the single 'Hollow Crown' and two other songs, that are credited to Policky and Gardener.

Listening to Whitelined it is obvious that a lot more than guitar playing is going on. From keyboards to synths and electric pianos come by, creating broad soundscapes over which Policky can sing his lyrics. Take 'Written In Dust'. The song has what could well be programmed drums, over which broadly spread out synths sound. The drums are inventive and solid, propping up the wavy gravy synths that spread out like early morning mist over a field. The vocals are somewhat psychedelic as well. Is there even a guitar? Even when listening closely, I doubt it, but there could be a magical effect on one hiding it for me in plain sight.

Promo photo: Ryan Policky

The music A Shoreline Dream presents here starts in the 1980s. It is the band's interpretation of a song like 'Love Like Blood' with a lot of synths added. Add the downcast side of a band like Tears for Fears, e.g. 'Mad World'. The electronic effects mix with the analogue guitars, where the electronics often win out, also because of the treatment many songs receive. The result is wafts of guitars coming by like is shown in abundance in 'The Dream'.

The result is on the one hand far from happy music. A Shoreline Dream is not in the world to put a large smile on your face. On the other hand, it does allow you to dig into what it presents. What is it I'm hearing? What is it exactly what I'm hearing? The band is not afraid of throwing in an instrumental, where the guitars play a huge soundscape with a huge bass playing the lead part. 'Lost Of The Words' is a befitting title. Again, what is happening exactly in the background?

With Whitelined A Shoreline Dream presents an album that musically is fully in the past. The 1980s mix of music is transposed into the twenties. By mixing the sound of a few different bands from the era A Shoreline Dream manages to give its own interpretation of things that were and are still here because of an album like Whitelined. and, successfully so.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order Whitelined here:

https://ashorelinedream.bandcamp.com/album/whitelined

= 1. Deep Purple

Equals one is the title but what it equals is unclear to me. It's not as if the very elementary artwork is giving a hint. Joined with a younger, new guitarist, Simon McBride, who replaced youngest member Steve Morse, Deep Purple releases its latest album. The hard rock veterans do what they are good at, rock hard.

= 1 follows up on their 2020 album 'Whoosh!', that, to my surprise, brought me back on board for the first time since 1976's 'Come Taste The Band', which was also my first Deep Purple album. I had skipped everything in between.

From the most famous line up John Lord and Ritchie Blackmore are missing. With replacements Don Airey and McBride the band is still able to come up with good songs. Of course, not a single one has the impact 'In Rock' had. That is impossible. The four older members are well into their seventies and not experimenting with a new sort of music as the band was as 20-somethings in 1970. In a song like 'Now You're Talking' some of that original shine still comes across totally convincing. Old men can rock with ease.

The one having the hardest time to keep up is singer Ian Gillan. At 78 his voice is a far cry from what it once was. That is okay. He fronts Deep Purple, even if it costs him energy. The whole is Deep Purple and what people expect the band to sound like. In part that is a formula. Either a guitar solo id followed by a keyboard solo or the other way around. We have heard it many times before. 76 year old Don Airey hammers his Hammond organ. The style of Jon Lord's improvisations on Johann Sebastian Bach is still leading but I would say Airey has brought in his own touch, also in experimenting with different sounds for the solos.

McBride is on fire in some of the songs and breaths some extra life into the songs. His brings in some more modern sounding metal riffs and mixes them with classic rock riffs and solos. That mix is exciting at times, even where he obviously plays something that is more in line with Deep Purple's legacy. (Please, don't scare off the 60 and 70 year old fans.) I like this mix for one.

The drumming of Ian Paice is fantastic, I am really enjoying listening to him, as I already did decades ago. Roger Glover's bass playing is just as great. He has the deep end of Deep Purple with ease it seems. Their Deep Purple bedrock is an important part of the band and it shows/hears.

The biggest surprise comes in the final song, 'Bleeding Obvious', with its David Bowie style interlude. If this is a promise for the future, then instead of = 1 most likely being Deep Purple's last album, we still have at least one exciting album to go.

= 1 is an album that on the one hand is a little too obviously going on routine, while on the other it has more than just its moments. It shows that the band has life in it. Knowing the age of its members everything can be the last. Listening to this album, it seems like the hard rock veterans have decided to defy time. Good for them and us.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

2024. Week 30, 10 singles (2)

"Summertime and the living is easy", is a very famous line from the very famous song 'Summertime'. I am being fooled twice here. Foremost by the summer here in NL this year so far (not much to speak of) and by a cover covered in this post (total surprise). Once again, there is a varied lot for you to digest, so let me no longer keep you. Enjoy!

Spider Legs. Wild Powwers

Wild Powwers is singer/guitarist Lara Hilgemann, bassist Jordan Gomes, and drummer/singer Lupe Flores. The band released its fifth album 'Pop Hits & Total Bummers Vol. 5' on the 5th of July. This is an alternative pop song that is powerful but also hard to put my finger on. Nothing is straightforward, with exception of the singing. The three instruments play parts that fit in the harmonic sense but each comes across as if on its own planet. This makes Spider Legs harder to listen to. Wild Powwers makes me work for my listen. The beginning is easy to follow. Slowly but surely parts seem to change, become more difficult. The chorus is not one to sing along to easily. I immediately knew I wanted to write on the song but got seriously confused along the way. See what you think.

Songs From Home EP. Wild Remedy

Today we have some country and folk on the blog as well. Recently Wild Remedy debuted with the single of this EP on this blog. Here is the five song EP. Amy Russett, Colleen Roberston and Shay Mahoney, from Ottawa and Montreal, breath life into the "hey-ho" genre, though they opt for only 'ho', that petered out about ten years ago. The three women sing together adding strength to their individual voices. Think boygenious, Mouth of Babes or Worry Dolls and then add a lot of enthusiasm. They sing as if they have nothing to lose, yet a world to win. The basis of the song is an acoustic guitar and a (kick) drum. From there, the song can be expanded, it is the singing that always is in the middle, the focus point. You will find most songs in an uptempo rhythm for folk songs. When the tempo does go down a little in 'Wild Remedy', the voices steal the show even more. Together with producer Nate Hardy the trio found the right additions to its trio and probably live sound, without being pressured into something that it is not. Wild Remedy is a vibrant singing trio of (indie) folk songs with a country tone here and there for good measure. Songs From Home is a very welcome surprise, where boygenius will have to watch, as far as music is, the competition.

Try. Elephant Tree

This song is a lot heavier than what is usually found on the blog. Elephant Tree plays a sludgy, psychedelic kind of rock. A deep and dark riff lies at the heart of Try. At the same time the song has a clear melody. The vocals are recorded with an effect on them, making them sound trippy and psychedelic. The "go" deep in the mix from the chorus to the second verse, shows how enthusiastic the band is. Even the best band may need a pointer every once in a while as well. The guitar solo plays some notes I did not see coming and so does the chord change in the instrumental part after the solo. It all makes the song stand out. The deep dark growl from the rhythm guitar at the end is a befitting ending. Yes, Try is on the blog because I tried as well. The album, 'A Handful Of Ten', is the band's first in 10 years. Its two previous album are to be re-released on the same day.

A Great Escape. POM

Last year, POM made it to the list of my favourite albums for 2023. A Great Escape is the first release since 'We Were Girls Together' on route to a to be released EP later in 2024. Fans will recognise the sound immediately. That tremendously energetic punky rock sound. The band opts for the moniker fuzz rock. I certainly add the word pop, as it oozes out of A Great Escape like fresh water from a well. POM managed to find another optimistic sounding guitar riff at the beginning of the song, before holding back for the first verse. Liza van As can sing the verse with ease over bass and drums accompaniment, with a few keyboard notes coming in in the second half. In the second verse more keyboards are added, making the single sound a bit spacey. The chorus is one of the better POM has released so far. Think 'Exoskeleton', that good. With A Great Escape POM proves that its best songs were not a coincidence. The world is going to enjoy this band a lot more in the future.

Summertime. The Dogmatics

Summertime is announced as a cover. So I sat down expecting another cover of the famous American songbook standard by Gershwin. Not The Dogmatics. They play Summertime written by Richie Parsons and played by his band Unnatural Axe. The Dogmatics play the song with reverence. Drummer Tom Long kicks the song into life with a great drum intro. The band falls in repeating the chord sequence accented by the lead guitar, with just a note, perhaps two. That's enough in the verse. Jerry Lehane's voice is rough and serious. He "can't wait for the summertime", when all the college kids have gone home once again and the city is for him to love his baby. And of course for The Dogmatics and all these other great bands in Boston to start playing to their own crowd. "Summer's here and the time is right for dancing in the streets", to The Dogmatics' Summertime. I'm sure Bowie and Jagger and all the others who sang the song, didn't see that one coming.

Massachusetts. Jensen McRea

Boston is in Massachusetts, so it's a small step from the previous single in this post. Despite singer and songwriter Jensen McRae is from LA. A new name to me, but not to Erwin Zijleman. He reviewed her debut album 'Are You Happy Now?' in June of 2022. Listening to this single I can understand why he would fall for a singer with little edge to her voice and the rich music behind her. Massachusetts reminds me a little of 'Fast Car', Tracy Chapman's number 1 single of over three decades ago. This song is far more than a girl with guitar though. Behind Jensen McRae more happens than my ears can keep up with during the introduction to the song. From a modest beginning, explaining the title in the first words, the song is slowly but surely built out as more and more instruments join the song, harder and harder to keep them apart. The lyric lines are not necessarily connected to one another but do tell a story of some kind that is interesting to follow. A nice introduction to this new singer, for me that is.

American Ocelot EP. American Ocelot

Five song EPs are almost a mini album. Do they deserve their own post or is it more befitting to be ranked among the singles? The short answer is here, as that leaves more room for albums. American Ocelot deserves a spot as its self-titled debut EP sounds as if it could have been made around 1968 by an alternative early rock band, had they had the recording technique bands now have that is. American Ocelot, named after a wild cat, sounds simply so good, with a special spot for singer and band leader Joanie Lynch, who is dreaming her dream in music and has formed her own band with Sara Billingsley on vocals and percussion; Kevin James on lead guitar; and Charlie Sullivan on bass. The music varies from alternative rock to garage rock. 'Non Participant' is a very good example of this. Lynch's vocal may not be the best here, the context and band make up more than enough. Non Participant is a fantastic dirty rock song. 'Secret' also is but a little more punky. American Ocelot is an EP containing a nice variation of songs that shows the different sides to the band. Where some bands overdo diversity, American Ocelot presents a nice fit. Its EP is a great introduction on route or so I hope, to more in the future.

Paint Me Like A Woman. Gia Ford

This is totally mysterious and so intriguing. Gia Ford lays down a mood that I'm immediately sucked into. On route to her debut album, 'Transparent Things ', out on 13 September, she's out to make a deep impression with this single. Oh, of course, something in the mood sounds immediately familiar, but who cares. Something Radiohead but also a name I can't get my head around, I think triphop from England but ?? A song that has the exact same mysterious atmosphere and then exactly that piano sound. Expertly the drum and bass come in for the second verse, making the sound bigger. The pre-chorus brings the song down and then comes the chorus itself. Gia Ford plays her listeners with her seductive, yet solid voice. For her debut album she was able to work with producer Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers). The collaboration pays off. I am no little wanting to her 'Transparent Things'. If she's able to maintain this level of music making, it may well be a winner.

Familiar Place. Neighbours Burning Neighbours

It's over four years ago that I reviewed 'Neighbours Burning Neighbours', a three song single. After that there was a solo album and duo album by Alicia Breton Ferrer but then things went quiet. In the meantime another band from Rotterdam took over the alternative post punk torch: Tramhaus. Come summer 2024 and this other Rotterdam band is back and on on track. As always completely without even searching for a form of compromise to whatever convention except for making noise in abundance. I can control my volume here in my home, live this will be devastating to the quality of ageing ears. Familiar Place fully works though. All through the near dissonant notes and chords the song comes through. There is a superb use of dynamics, putting air into the song, while allowing for the moment that when the band really lets it rip, it comes across double. Familiar Place is a single that will not make it to a lot of radio stations but is a great promise for album 'Burning Neighbours' slated for 13 September.

Wrong Ones. The Vices

Above, POM presented its new single, here are Mattan Records label mates The Vices with a new single as well. With Wrong Ones the Groningen band goes for their alternative rock side. And rock Wrong Ones does. With a stark rhythm, great dynamics and wild abandon that is unleashed in the chorus, the band shows its capable of rocking. Just listen to the intro. The guitar plays the lead and drops away for the start of the verse. The Vices keep playing with the dynamics all through the song and where another band would put in oohs and aahs in the background, The Vices opt for an electric guitar playing harmonies replacing the vocals. To think that The Vices come out of the band Ten Years Later and that I received an LP to review from the boot of a car years ago (and did). The Vices by now has a tour in the U.S. under its belt. With a song like Wrong Ones only more doors will open.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

A Token Of His Extreme. Frank Zappa: Tom Fowler (1951 - 2024) RIP

Yesterday evening I was watching an old DVD I had bought cheap in the 00s of a TV show Frank Zappa recorded in 1975 with what may be my favourite backing band: Napoleon Murphy Brock, George Duke, Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler, Chester Thompson. They mostly played songs from 1973 - 1975, including the mighty 'Inca Roads', my absolute favourite FZ song.

Compared to later bands, they may not be the best band music-technically, as a younger generation became better musicians. Not where the music itself is concerned though. If you just look at what Ruth Underwood was capable of. Standing in her leopard bra, she is pounding all her percussive instruments into any direction Zappa ordered her. From complex and ultra fast melodies on vibraphones, to deep and dark percussion, supporting Thompson and everything in between. Chester Thompson himself plays all these endlessly long and fast drum rolls over his differently sized toms and floor toms, besides the (complex) rhythms he had to play. Compared to Zappa's later drummers, the wildly crazy Terry Bozzio and the clockwork-tight rhythm of Chad Wackerman, he is best described as a functional drummer, even if he gets a gorilla on his back. And then mind that Ruth Underwood are playing in total unison during these drum rolls. Most like George Duke as well.

Duke plays a host of keyboards, including one of the first synthesizers and may even have some programming machine beside him as well. Besides that he is one of best singers FZ ever had at his disposal. His supportive playing and solos are inventive and lent an authenticity to his work that others later missed. They were good singers foremost, not fantastic musicians as well.

In front is Brock. He is the lead singer, flautist and saxophone player and clown with his moves. He is a good singer Something that can be heard in a song like 'Florentine Pogen'. Besides he can get the party started as well.

FZ himself is FZ. He is riding the waves his band created under his direction. Singing a little, playing a solo here and there and not doing more than a song calls for. His ciggies are constantly lit, so he has time in abundance to do so, enjoying his band, playing his music.

Where everyone in the band is moving, laughing, doing crazy things when called upon there's one guy standing a little in front of the drums, as still as possible, just doing his thing, playing the bass. By far the youngest in the band, only in his early mid-twenties. The only moment in the movie he comes alive, is in a mock hardrock sequence where FZ and he are pretending to be Kiss or something. His name is Tom Fowler. His trumpet and horn playing brothers has played with Zappa already for a while in earlier incarnations of the Mothers of Invention.

I know nothing of Tom Fowler, let alone what he did after leaving Zappa's band soon after this show. When I looked at the movie, in a mildly bad video tape transferred to dvd quality and irritating clay figure sequences, no matter how well made, I wondered what happened to the players. I knew George Duke died some years ago and Zappa already over thirty of course. In 2024 Brock is 81, Underwood, 76, just like Thompson, The latter has been active in music for decades, as drummer for Santana, Genesis and Phil Collins, for instance.

Then I looked up Tom Fowler and found that he had died on 2 July at the age of 73. 50 Years ago a young man with mildly long hair, forever caught on tape with fantastic songs, where he is just playing his bass and underscores all the great but sometimes totally zany music going on around him. Enough to merit some words on this blog in commemoration, as he was part of one of my favourite bands, the last incarnation of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Constellation. Caoilfhionn Rose

Caoilfhionn Rose maakte met Awaken en Truly al twee uitstekende en terecht geprezen albums, maar legt de lat met het betoverend mooie en bij vlagen sprookjesachtig klinkende derde album Constellation nog wat hoger.

Het is knap hoe de uit Manchester afkomstige muzikante Caoilfhionn Rose op haar tweede album Truly uit 2021 het folky geluid van haar debuutalbum transformeerde en verrijkte. Op haar derde album Constellation zet Caoilfhionn Rose nog wat grotere stappen. Invloeden uit de folk zijn slechts een van de vele invloeden die zijn te horen op een album dat naast invloeden uit de jazz flink wat invloeden uit de neoklassieke muziek en de ambient bevat. Constellation is in muzikaal opzicht een fascinerend album, dat vol staat met beeldende en avontuurlijke klanken, maar het is ook een album waarop Caoilfhionn Rose laat horen dat ze een geweldige zangeres en muzikante en een groot songwriter is.

Ondanks twee werkelijk uitstekende albums kan ik de voornaam van de van oorsprong Ierse muzikante Caoilfhionn Rose nog altijd niet intypen zonder een paar keer te moeten spieken. De voornaam van de overigens in het Britse Manchester geboren en getogen muzikante, die je uitspreekt als “Keelin”, werpt misschien hoge barrières op, maar haar muziek doet dat tot dusver zeker niet.

Caoilfhionn Rose debuteerde in 2018 met het prachtige Awaken, waarop ze invloeden uit de Britse folk van weleer verlengde met uiteenlopende andere invloeden. Awaken was in muzikaal opzicht een fascinerend album, maar maakte uiteindelijk toch de meeste indruk met de prachtige stem van Caoilfhionn Rose, die herinneringen opriep aan een aantal roemruchte Britse folkzangeressen uit het verleden.

Awaken werd in 2021 gevolgd door het nog veel betere Truly, waarop Caoilfhionn Rose wederom imponeerde als zangeres en bovendien verraste met een bijzonder mooi geluid, waarin invloeden uit de folk werden gecombineerd met invloeden uit onder andere de jazz, ambient, elektronica en psychedelica. Het album viel ook in positieve zin op door de bijzondere productie van Kier Stewart van The Durutti Column, die tekende voor zeer sfeervolle klanken.

Ook het deze week verschenen Constellation is voorzien van een fascinerende en wonderschone productie. Jazzmuzikant Aaron Wood heeft het album, samen met Caoilfhionn Rose, voorzien van een opvallend rijk, wat zweverig en bovenal bijzonder mooi geluid. Caoilfhionn Rose kon via haar platenbaas Matthew Halsall van het aansprekende Gondwana Records beschikken over meerdere uitstekende jazzmuzikanten, onder wie saxofonist Jordan Smith van Mammal Hands, maar ook John Ellis van The Cinematic Orchestra is van de partij.

De nieuwe songs van de muzikante uit Manchester bevatten zeker invloeden uit de jazz, maar het album wordt gedomineerd door piano en keyboards en door invloeden uit de neoklassieke muziek en de ambient. De songs op Constellation zijn voorzien van wonderschone klanken die deels bestaan uit soundscapes en samples, maar de songs van Caoilfhionn Rose zijn ook spannend en slaan steeds weer nieuwe wegen in.

Op haar derde album is Caoilfhionn Rose nog wat verder verwijderd geraakt van de folk die ze op haar debuutalbum nog redelijk stevig omarmde en maakt ze sprookjesachtige en beeldende muziek, die direct bij eerste beluistering van het album diepe indruk maakt. Dat doet Caoilfhionn Rose ook met haar stem, want de zang op Constellation is nog wat mooier dan op Awaken en Truly. De zang is over het algemeen aangenaam dromerig en past perfect bij de weelderige klanken op het album.

Het is bijzonder knap hoe Caoilfhionn Rose haar muziek weer een andere draai geeft en nu drie flink verschillende albums op haar naam heeft staan. Hoewel Awaken en Truly me zeer dierbaar zijn, vind ik Constellation het mooist. In muzikaal opzicht is het tien songs lang smullen en ook de zang op het album is van een bijzondere schoonheid. Constellation is ook een album waarbij het bijzonder aangenaam wegdromen is, al is het ook een album waarop zoveel te horen en ontdekken valt dat het je zeker bij eerste beluisteringen duizelt.

Het Britse Gondwana Records brengt tot dusver vooral jazzalbums uit voor een redelijk selectief publiek, maar met Constellation van Caoilfhionn Rose kan het sympathieke Britse label wel eens goud in handen hebben. Het is nog veel te vroeg voor jaarlijstjes, maar dit is echt een heel bijzonder album.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Constellation hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://caoilfhionnrose.bandcamp.com/album/constellation

Something Like A War. Already Dead

Something Like A War is a punk album as they should sound. The opening song that already came by in one of the weekly singles' post tells it all. Already Dead combines anger with two elements that determine a great punk song, melody and a chorus that begs singing. 'The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue' is a fantastic song that any punk(rock) band would kill for. It easily equals the opening song of Rancid's latest, 'Tomorrow Never Comes', if it does not surpass it like Tadej Pocagar did with all his opponents in this year's Tour de France, like a game of 'Pacman'. Three men sing the leads, with rough voices that have seen the road and life in various ways. The guitar plays a great riff and little sharp solos. My ears are opened and ready to receive more of Something Like A War.

Already Dead is doing everything to prove it is the opposite of. There's nothing but then really, really nothing dead about this band. If ever there was a punk band alive than it is Already Dead. The band has become a four man band again with its new bass player Brian Ferrazzani. He joined singer/guitarist Dan Cummings, guitarist/singer Brandon Barlett and drummer Nick Cali. The Boston punkers released their second album with Something Like A War. Only in 2022 it released its first single 'Stability' followed by the album 'My Collar Is Blue' a few months later.

It does not make sense to single out any other songs. Already Dead gives each song its all. Sure, there may be some variation, even a "relaxing", everything is relative, is it not, interlude and non-electric guitar, even a mandoline. Pressed to name another band, I would opt for The Offspring and add a sense of seriousness that the L.A. band not always has, like the already mentioned Rancid. The band may play punk, it knows where to find the melody in a song structure to make the songs more attractive. You will find that, no matter how loud a song, it is exactly that, a song. That makes the album a winner.

With 'The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue' Already Dead gave a promise it seemed impossible to deliver upon. It did though with a great punk album that stands out there with the best in history.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Something Like A War here:

https://alreadydeadmusic.bandcamp.com/track/something-like-a-war

2024. Week 30 10 singles

Singles, singles, singles. Not that I buy them any more, well, old ones on 45, yes, for collection purposes. Singles are still great though to get an idea of what a band or artist is about and whether it might be worth your while to listen to an album. So here's ten more to potentially whet your appetite. Enjoy!

Perfume. Pale Waves

I could find emails on Pale Waves going back for years, nothing on the blog though. That changes as of today with the band's single Perfume. The alternative pop song has an attraction that makes me want to play it again and again. This can be explained by the soft but driving rhythm, the wobbly guitar sound and the voice of singer Heather Baron-Gracie. If Roxette would ever be revived by Per Gessle, I would tip him to invite Baron-Gracie. Her apparel though, influenced by gothic, 19th century fashion, does not match the sound of Pale Waves (or Roxette's) though. That apart, the U.K. band, gitarist Hugo Silvani, bassist Charlie Wood en drummer Ciara Doran, mixes 1980s pop with a more modern sound that simply rings a bell. The album, 'Smitten', is out on 20 September.

On The Waterfront. Gary Kaluza

Gary Kaluza is active in music since the early 80s and looks it. His age belies the single he's released recently. On The Waterfront is a fresh sounding rock song with a great hook. He injects a right amount of pop and credibility into it as well. The pop is in that hook and in all the little musical and vocal extras. Not that I noticed them in the first go. Not a lot seemed to happen, yet something told me to come back to On The Waterfront later. My intention paid off big time. Kaluza has released a great song. He plays with dynamics that makes the organ mixed underneath it all come out much better. The guitar riff is obvious, the accents with the tubular bells behind them are special. This is just the start, because the real richness is in all the vocal interjections throughout the song. "Yea-eah"!

Heart Of Stone. GEN11

Some more alternative rock, with a punky element to it. Gen11 is from San Francisco and has taken a song from SVT, a band from its home town, to give it a 2024 makeover. The result is a song that is very pleasant to listen to. Not so long ago, I finally managed to buy the EP with The Rolling Stones' 1965 hit 'Heart Of Stone' on it and now I have a second song with that title to enjoy. Title aside, the two songs are unrelated. GEN11 plays a punkrock song with a powerrock-pop zest, making the melody come out right stressing all its strengths. It has a lot, starting with a great melody that I would like to sing along to for most of the day. The singer has a nice edge to his voice making the lyrics come across just a little bit better. When he defrosts his edge, he even sounds tender. I'm not familiar with the original, but it seems to me SVT can be quite pleased with the attention put on their original Heart of Stone.

Odysseus. De Toegift

Met Odysseus slaat De Toegift een andere weg in. De Zeeuwse band neemt een elektronische afslag en lijkt meer op Spinvis dan ooit tevoren. Met associatieve teksten, die niet direct met elkaar verbonden zijn en toch een moderne versie van het Odysseus epos vertellen met auto en al. Het begin en einde van het lied gaan naadloos in elkaar over. Het nummer als eindeloze loop is mogelijk. Keyboards, elektronisch bewerkte geluiden, bas en percussie klinken allemaal op een bezwerende wijze. Maxim Ventulé zingt en praat er over heen op een zeer rustige manier, enter Spinvis. Ook al moest ik even wennen aan Odysseus, er was beslist een tweede kans nodig, overstag ging ik wel. Odysseus is anders en toch niet, omdat de sfeer, mede door Ventulés stem, aansluit bij het oeuvre van De Toegift tot op heden. En toch heel anders is.

Favourite. Fontaines D.C.

I am in doubt here. Is Favourite good enough to be in this post? In the past I've been wrong about Fontaines D.C. a few times already. Benefit of the doubt?, well, why not. The song has a very positive guitar riff, that much is true. It stands out for most of the song. Even getting close to too much of a good thing. On the other side the song just goes on and on without much happening. The post punk anger has gone, so there's no compensation here. On the other hand I hear the song mellow out about half way in a way that is positive. So, adding it all up, it will be either of two things. Either the sang grows on me and we will continue together or in the end it will not touch me enough. I just don't know yet. Time will have to tell.

Say It Will Be Alright. The Anaesthetics

After nearly two years The Anaesthetics from Limburg return to the blog with a new single from the band's upcoming four song EP, 'Everything's Gone Green' that will be released late September. For the EP the band went to Ireland to record with producer Michael Cronin (Cronin, The Academic, Shane MacGowan). The result is an 80s synth pop song in the style of Depeche Mode. The band lays down a darker kind of pop song that is certainly danceable. The drums are very present, with synths everywhere, in the form of pulse, swaths and melody. The bass supports it all from underneath, a lead guitar mimics the vocal melody. What makes the song fit our present age, is the width of the sound. The mix makes it feel both compact and wide, stemming from the depth it has as well. This is a very promising single.

In A Shell. Mystery Waitress

With the single 'Nightbug' Mystery Waitress made its debut on this blog. With the second single it finds itself back once more. Where I placed the previous single somewhere between the alternative pop rock of Melanie Brooks and the definitely alternative/grunge rock of Hole, In A Shell is completely different. Tess Dillon and band show themselves here as the incarnation of rest itself. The slide guitar, played ever so slow, even puts me in a 'Wish You Were Here' kind of mood. In A Shell is all mood and atmosphere and it works. The soft acoustic guitar plays a pattern over and over with only a small accent, sparse and isolated. At some point the band kicks a little more life into the song, when the drummer really joins and Dillon starts to sing less with a whisper by putting more emphasis on the words "over and over it, again", literally as well. It results in a song that stands out, in all its vulnerability. On 2 August 'Bright Black Night' sees the light of day!

Supersad. Suki Waterhouse

Is it possible to mix pop rock with alternative rock, look like a girl pop icon and sound totally convincing? Take a listen at Suki Waterhouse's Supersad and tell me. I have no doubts whatsoever here. Suki Waterhouse rocks, makes me smile and want to dance with her song Supersad. A song to cure most feeling this way. In the video she only needs to touch the supersad guy. The song starts with an upbeat rhythm and the chord progression played in single strokes. With Suki singing over it in her deeper  vocal register, and above all slower. All changes when we get to the chorus. From that moment onwards it's all sunrays and joy. Suki Waterhouse is about to release her second album 'Memoir Of A Sparklemuffin', announced as "jam packed with songs that are going to have everyone scrambling for their Shazam app!". If Supersad is anything to go on the 18 song double album will be something to look out for indeed.

Kaley. Naima Bock

Former Goat Girl gone solo Naima Bock returns to the blog about a month after her former band with a single that shows the reason for leaving the band in a musical way. Kaley is totally different. It is more American than British in tone, moving towards jazz, with its jazzy rhythm and horns. It gives Kaley a laidback feel that works. In the way she sings there is a deep longing coming through for Kaley. If she does not get the message now, she never will, Naima. From what I remember from her previous record, Naima Bock in 2024 delves a lot deeper than on her solo debut 'Giant Palm' (2022). Musically and in the way she expresses herself.. Growth is what that is called. To learn more we will have to wait until 27 September when her new album 'Below a Massive Dark Land' is released.

Masks. Pol

'Are Friends Electric', anyone? Sparks fifty years ago? Duran Duran's first incarnation? Gender fluidity? Questions and more questions come to me watching and listening to 'Masks', the video of Dutch band Pol. The song is totally anachronistic, as bands scored hits with a song like this well over 40 years ago. What Pol adds to Gary Newman's lead synth sound is a staccato beat from the early 80s and a little pop from those days, like 'Girls On Film'. Pol is the brothers Ruben ans Matthijs Pop with Max van Dijk, Noa Kariem. Masks is Pol's first releases after the eponymous EP in 2023. Even though the music might be anachronistic, it is played and brought totally convincing. With a little good will, we can bring Masks under the post punk moniker were it not that the way the band presents itself I would opt for post new romantics. Who would have thought that that genre was about to make a comeback?

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

John Mayall (1933 - 2024) and Abdul "Duke" Fakir (1935 - 2024) RIP

Two senior citizens died on the same day. Both both were still musically active but also mainly belong to a musical era that is now close to 60 years behind us. Mayall brought together loads of musicians through the decades some of which, especially the lead guitarists, rose to extreme prominence, while also having had three fifth of the original Fleetwood Mac in his band. He never made it big himself. Fakir was one of the founding members of the Four Tops (in 1953!), the singing group that scored a host of hits in the 1960s and incidently into the 1980s.

What are they to me?

John Mayall

For me the man is more a name than an artist I've listened to. In 1970 he scored his only hit in NL, 'Room To Move', a song I now learn is from his 1969 album 'The Turning Point'. I remember being attracted to the song, but also that I did not really understand it. The long solo sequence on the harmonica kept me from the song. Delving into my brain that is what comes out. Listening to it again now for the first time in maybe decades, I notice how weird it really is but also how powerful. A very daring choice for a single, that paid off here. The only other song I knew was on an Australian Polydor compilation album called 'Immortal Hits'. It contained the John Mayall song 'Moving On'. A jazzy blues song, a live recording, just like 'Room To Move' is. The vocal wasn't very strong but I did like the song. It never led to me exploring more though. Only much later I learned about the famous Bluesbreakers album with Eric Clapton. It is the already famous and adored guitarist Clapton, who made Mayall's name beyond the blues scene. I bought the album most likely later in the 90s and remember being disappointed, also after playing it again later in time. Legendary it may be, it does not seem to be for me. In fact, it kept me from exploring further.

I remember that not that long ago John Mayall was to play here again on a tour. 88! I remember being impressed. He will have had his fans who kept coming and maybe even had younger fans joining later, as he was the link to the original blues singers, who he will have met and maybe even played with. He died aged 90 in L.A., where he lived for decades. A blues man has gone.

Duke Fakir

In 1953 lead singer Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton formed The Four Aims in Detroit, soon changed to Four Tops. They signed to Tamla/Motown in the 1960s and started to score one hit after the other for a few years, in "competition" with The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Looking on Spotify, you will see that the quartet's biggest hits have been listened to in the hundreds of millions times. That's how popular the band still is. In essence the sound of the various artists are the same, as the songs come from a few Motown songwriters or collectives. It is the voices that make it different. Fakir was the tenor voice in the quartet, supporting bariton Stubbs. When I heard the Four Tops for the first time, I was even younger than when I heard 'Room To Move'. Today these years seem so close together, then it was a lifetime. The difference between hearing songs because of someone else and discovering them myself. Songs like 'Reach Out (I'll Be There)', 'It's The Same Old Song' and 'Bernadette' will have come by on the radio regularly, because I just know the songs for just as long as I can remember. Yet, I do not own a Four Tops record. I should have had a greatest hits compilation. Listening to the music now, that is what it tells me.

Admittedly, I could not have named one of the four original singers. This includes Fakir. A short piece to commemorate him and the already deceased Stubbs, Benson and Payton is in place though. Four Tops have given the world songs that put smiles on the face of many.

Strangely enough Spotify also tells me that Four Tops are touring extensively late in the summer of this year. Fakir only retired this year!, in fact two days before his death. A son of Payton is in the band, giving it some authenticity. No doubt singing the old hits the (newer) Four Tops will put smiles on the faces of the old fans.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Words & Music. Margo Guryan

Margo Guryan was an American singer and songwriter who died a few years ago. To be exact in 2021 at the age of 84. She was a singer I had never heard of until this spring, when I received a link to a three cd box set containing all her recordings. I reviewed the single, her very first recording from 1958, 'Moon Ride', which was, well, different. That is the right word for a jazzy pop song like this from 1958. I listened to a few more songs but had heard enough quite soon. And that seemed to be it.

That was almost missing her great work from the second half of the 1960s. Oh, yes, she will have heard Nancy Sinatra and some French sigh girls. The question is what she did with these influences? I can only agree with the review (in Oor, NRC?) pointing to her fantastic album from the era.

Reading Wikipedia, Guryan had a sort of epiphany when listening to 'God Only Knows', one of The Beach Boys' finest if not the band's best song. She left jazz behind and started to write another kind of songs that were soon recorded by a host of artists from the U.S. and France. This brings me to her album 'Take A Picture'. An album that caught the ear of critics but did not go anywhere because Guryan refused to tour, which ended the label support and thus her singing career. We still have the record though, thanks to this reissue.

For this review, I follow the second cd/album of the box. It starts with the song 'Sunday Morning'. Listen to that guitar and then think of "Little Beaver", the guitarist on Joss Stone's debut album. This sound is a match I would say. The pop feel of 'Sunday Morning' is fantastic. It has a Nancy Sinatra pop voice, a soulful vibe and mixes psychedelia with The Beatles arrangements, French sigh girls and pure pop. Yes, the song sounds dated but that is fully overcome by the fact the song is totally new to me and, more importantly, there are a host of female singers who would who knows do what to have a song like this today.

To think that Margo Guryan was working as a professional songwriter, with a few hits to her name for artists like Billie Jo Gentry and Glenn Campbell, Mama Cass and Spanky & Our Gang, that scored with 'Sunday Morning' first. Before her fall for The Beach Boys, she already wrote songs for Anita Kerr, Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte.

The decision to record her own songs, although it did not come to much at the time, was a just one. As a genre record, this album should have been an icon and perhaps can still become one because of this posthumous release. Simply because the music and arrangements are so mature. A lot is happening here. There's even an instrumental that was influenced by Frank Zappa, I'd say.

Of course, some of the songs are so sweet they are sticky. They make my fillings jump out even before contact. And yet. That sweetness of 'Take A Picture' is just that, it's sweet and kind. And with that, what is it, an oboe? solo it sets the song apart as well. And, no, I do not need to hear this every day, but when I want to, I know I'm going to enjoy myself tremendously, wallowing in 1960s girl pop music at its best.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order Words & Music here:

https://numeromargoguryan.bandcamp.com/album/words-and-music

The Heartbroken Record. Lauren Watkins

Liefhebbers van de betere Nashville countrypop worden de afgelopen jaren enorm verwend en krijgen ook met The Heartbroken Record van Lauren Watkins weer een topalbum in het genre in handen.

Bij beluistering van het debuutalbum van Lauren Watkins hoef je niet lang te twijfelen om welk genre het gaat, want alles op The Heartbroken Record ademt countrypop. De jonge muzikante uit Nashville beschikt om te beginnen over de perfecte stem voor een countrypop album en het is een stem met een onweerstaanbaar ruw randje. Het is een stem die wordt begeleid door een authentiek klinkend countrygeluid met lekker veel pedal steel en alles komt samen in zeer aansprekende songs die flink wat invloeden uit de countrymuziek combineert met een vleugje pop. Het niveau ligt de laatste tijd erg hoog binnen de countrypop, maar The Heartbroken Record van Lauren Watkins kan met de allerbesten mee.

Er was een tijd dat ik er helemaal niets van moest hebben, maar sinds een jaar of wat heb ik een enorm zwak voor Nashville countrypop. Het is een genre waarin de laatste jaren flink wat interessante albums zijn verschenen, met 2023 als onbetwist topjaar met onder andere Lucky van Megan Moroney, voor mij een van de allerbeste albums in het genre.

Zo indrukwekkend als de oogst vorig jaar was, is de oogst in de eerste helft van 2024 nog niet, maar ook de eerste zes maanden van het huidige jaar hebben me al een aantal uitstekende albums opgeleverd. Na de albums van Hannah Ellis, Brittney Spence, MacKenzie Porter, Tenille Arts en vooral Carley Pearce en Laci Kaye Booth (de nieuwe albums van Kacey Musgraves en Sarah Jarosz zou ik zelf niet als countrypop typeren) komt deze week Lauren Watkins op de proppen met een uitstekend countrypop album.

Helemaal uit de lucht vallen komt deze Lauren Watkins niet, want ze trok vorig jaar al de aandacht met de uitstekende EP Introducing: Lauren Watkins. Dat deze EP de voorbode was van nog veel meer moois laat de Amerikaanse muzikante horen op haar debuutalbum The Heartbroken Record, dat de nodige groei laat horen.

In tegenstelling tot de meeste van haar collega’s werd Lauren Watkins geboren in Nashville en stond ze al op jonge leeftijd op de vele podia van de Amerikaanse muziekhoofdstad. Ze werd uiteindelijk ontdekt door Nicolle Galyon, die er voor zorgde dat Lauren Watkins nu in bredere kring aan de weg kan timmeren.

Het levert met The Heartbroken Record een album op dat in alle opzichten countrypop ademt. Het is countrypop die voor het grootste deel bestaat uit traditionele countrymuziek, die vervolgens is voorzien van een popinjectie. Dat is precies het soort Nashville countrypop waar ik een zwak voor heb, waardoor The Heartbroken Record direct bij eerste beluistering zeer in de smaak viel. In muzikaal opzicht klinkt het debuutalbum van Lauren Watkins oerdegelijk, maar ook warm en mooi verzorgd. Het is een geluid met lekker veel gitaren en een grote rol voor de pedal steel en dat is aan mij wel besteed.

Ook in vocaal opzicht is The Heartbroken Record een echt countrypop album. Lauren Watkins heeft een stem die is gemaakt voor het genre, maar vergeleken met de meeste andere countrypop zangeressen heeft ze net wat meer gruis op haar stembanden, wat haar debuutalbum voorziet van een aangenaam ruw randje.

In tekstueel opzicht kleurt Lauren Watkins vooral binnen de lijntjes, wat betekent dat er de nodige foute mannen, trailer parken en flessen whiskey voorbij komen. Deze teksten zijn echter wel verstopt in uitstekende songs. Het zijn van die typische countrypop songs waarvoor je genadeloos voor de bijl gaat of die je verafschuwt. Ik hoor bij beluistering van het debuutalbum van Lauren Watkins absoluut in de eerste groep.

Als ik The Heartbroken Record van Lauren Watkins moet vergelijken met een ander recent countrypop album kom ik direct uit bij Lucky van Megan Moroney en laat dit nu net mijn favoriete countrypop van 2023 en misschien wel van de afgelopen twintig jaar zijn. Of The Heartbroken Record van Lauren Watkins uiteindelijk net zo memorabel is als het debuutalbum van Megan Moroney zal de tijd moeten leren, maar de voortekenen zijn zeker goed. Zeer warm aanbevolen dit uitstekende album.

Erwin Zijleman

Loitering & Sauntering. Zatopeks

Interesting title, Loitering & Sauntering, as Zatopeks' music is everything but engaging in these activities. The band plays punk like they used to a long, long time ago. It starts as hard as it can and from there it only seem to go faster and faster, like my boss of over 40 years ago often announced at the start of the working day in C&A's distribution centre.

Zatopeks. I faintly hear stories of a famous Czech-Slovakia runner from well before my time in my head. The name of the band most likely is not derived from Emil Zátopek. Reading up on the band I find that the guitarist's name is Zatopek. That sounds more like it. The U.K. band, with two members who moved to Germany before Brexit came about, plays punk music, but do not blot out the melodic prowess that is part of the songs on Loitering & Sauntering.

If anything, I would start with The Undertones of old as an example. Had the Northern-Ireland band had the recording tools bands now have in their bedrooms, it may well have sounded as big as Zatopeks. You will find a little The Specials in there when a ska angle comes in. Punk however is the first and last step of Zatopeks.

The album kicks off with 'The Kings Of The Hotel Mile'. The song simply sets the standard of the album. It has power, pace and a great melody. A chorus that will work in every pub liking punk music to be shouted along to at the highest volume. It's the kind of song that makes this genre so much fun. The singing of Nick Deniro is the voice of an older man, who can still easily keep up the tempo. His diction and that sneer when singing about after 1989 "we had nothing to believe in" or "the fascists and the church", sung twice to let the point sink in, is so just right, that you can hear that a) he means it and b) he believes it as well. The band is absolute top behind him. Sebby Zatopek. Spider, Sammie the Giant, Pete Sematary and Jo Mangled make up the band. It's clear that all members do not mind to obscure their names from us. (And Sebby Zatopek?, is the name derived from the runner after all?)

To think that I was not a punk fan in the second half of the 70s at all. (Okay, I had 'Never Mind The Bollocks' and 'Lust For Life'.) Let alone the extremely angry bands of the 80s. For me, as I'll have written before on this blog, it started with 'Basket Case' and 'Self Esteem'. Come 2024 and I simply love an album like Loitering & Sauntering.

For the best of reasons. As I already wrote, Zatopeks combine the pop punk of The Undertones with the 1990s punk band's energy. The result is an album that simply steams. The band members must spend hours running and / or in the gym to be able to keep up this tempo. Man, it is fast. I have already heard several good punk rock records in 2024 but it may well be that Zatopeks' is the pinnacle of the year so far. I am going to present 'Central European Time' as example. The pace is relentless, melodically the song is superb, the pointy guitar solo everything it should be. The whole song is simply 100% right. Do punk songs come any better this year? I doubt it.

Those not loving punk, there are a few slower songs on the album, but not less powerful. And that melody? That is just everywhere.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order Loitering & Sauntering here:

https://zatopeks.bandcamp.com/album/loitering-and-sauntering

2024. Week 29, 10 singles

How varied can music become in one post? A good question. The answer is that variation for 97% is determined by the order that emails or tweets or whatever other source reach me. Only when I truly want something to skip the line, which happens sometimes, is the random order broken with one song at a time. All else what you hear is determined by the moment a band or PR person sends me a message. The true answer is that the level of variation varies as well. From very quiet to a lot of punk(-related) songs this week. So, enjoy your exploration!

Baby Blue Movie. Cigarettes After Sex

Cigarettes After Sex is around since 2007 and formed in El Paso, Texas. The band debuted with an EP in 2012 and since grew and grew. However, it passed this blog by until a few months ago with the single, 'Tejano Blues'. Baby Blue Movie is a single that is slow, dreamy and sung by a woman, right? No, it isn't. Singer Greg Gonzales has an "androgynous" voice or so Wikipedia tells me. Well, he could have fooled me. The mood of Baby Blue Movie is superb though. Everything is slow about the song. No one is in a hurry here. Soft drums, bass and over it a layer of synths and an electric guitar playing lead notes. Perhaps extremely loud in the studio, but here mixed into the (semi) background. Up front is that androgynous voice that sings ever so slow and mildly sad. Musical beauty in other words. 'Blue Movie' is a movie that shocked The Netherlands around 1971 with at least one sex scene, in an elevator. Is Baby Blue Movie the chastened U.S. sequel?

Mother. DEADLETTER

That DEADLETTER has a saxophone as the lead instrument in its songs, should not come as a surprise for people who follow this blog. That in Mother the saxophone has an identical vibe as the one in David Bowie's swan song album 'Black Star' is. Singer Zac Lawrence stays well within the post punk mix of singing and talking. The band plays with dynamics in a superb way. The bass takes the lead here and keeps that up in the band sections as well. It is the real lead instrument in Mother, as it plays a combination of lead and rhythm. The band comes in to play the louder accents, with the saxophone floating over it like the wind coming and going, adding that 'Black Star' vibe no little. It may no longer come as a surprise to me, it certainly sets DEADLETTER apart from all the other bands thrown into the postpunk class of the last six years.

Don't Care. Dumb Bats

Postpunk? Why, if you can play just good old punk? Dumb Bats, a female fronted punk band from Germany does just that. I'm going to start with the drummer. The dry sound of the skins brings Therapy to mind, at the time of 'Troublegum'. Tight skins, hit hard. It lays a foundations that a band should be really bad, should a punkrock song go wrong. It far from doesn't. Dumb Rats takes off like a rocket, with an energetic song. The first half of the intro only gives half away from what is coming in the second half. Here the band goes and doesn't stop until the every end. A great guitar solo fills the song up quite nicely. As far as I'm concerned this is how things are done.

 

Back To Reno. Junior Varsity

How many examples do you know of drummers who come from behind their kit to present a successful solo single? Yeah, Phil Collins. I'd opt for Topper Headon's single 'Leave It To Luck'. Junior Varsity is the brain child of Mighty Joe Vincent, who played drums in a host of bands I've never heard of. That does not put me into the league of cool kids, the bio tells me. With Back To Reno I can only hope to and catch up a little. Vincent present the world with a great rock song that has a host of oohs and aahs in all the right places, a couple of great guitar licks, while the drumming itself is powerful and perhaps just a little bit more prominent in the mix than it would have been in a song by a non-drummer. The single certainly is a great introduction to Vincent's solo work, that will be expanded with an EP in the fall. "It's never enough", Vincent sings and if the EP is this nice, it will have a predictive quality.

You're So Impatient. Pixies

Pixies? Yes, I remember the band having fans around 1990 when I was about to leave the university behind me and the younger arrivals were fans. I did not catch on. Still haven't. This single however is great. Perhaps it's only so so for fans of old. I love the pace and drive of the You're So Impatient. It has a great punk attitude, despite the members being well into their fifties. If not older. You're So Impatient is a song that doesn't test us at all, as it is all over in about two minutes. To assist you there, the rhythm has this little hops as if skipping a beat. It helps setting that pace, including that strange little "aahh" every few beats. Black Francis and band are in great form on this, for now, stand alone single supporting the tour the band is on.

Approachable. Gurriers

"Warning: This video contains flashing images", reads the start of video. "Warning: the music in the video contains ripping post punk", would have been another justified warning for non-suspecting EDM or jazz lovers to name just two. Gurriers is from Ireland and joins the ever larger line of postpunk bands coming from the country. I keep being amazed by how many of these bands exist. Against all the grains of modern music played on radios and other public broadcasts. Approachable is a song I would not encounter in a hundred years when listening to the radio (which my wife puts on). I like to play my own selection and judging by the likes of Approachable, the upcoming album 'Come and See' (13 September) may be just one for me. Dubliners Dan, Emmet, Ben, Mark and Pierce really go for it, with an enthusiastic singer who speaks-sings with emphasis, while behind him a relentless pace is kept up with a two note riff that just keeps on going and going. Think Shame, that's where I would start, with a little more musical imagination here and there. Gurriers, remember that name.

Before Nightfall. JC Miller

"Time for a cool change", Little River Band's Glenn Shorrock sang over forty years ago. JC Miller brings that change on the blog today. From all the (post)punk he brings us to country rock. Before Nightfall has that tough kind of laidback feeling that comes from riding all day in the sun and finally sitting down for dinner and coffee under a setting sun, while bracing for the colder night in the open air. Miller has the tough voice to match the music. I've heard at least a thousand songs like Before Nightfall and yet I fall for it easily. How many guitars are in this song? I stopped counting at some point. Just listen how many there are, supportive, lead, and anything in between the two. With its stuttering rhythm the song becomes a mesmeriser. Slowly but surely song and I become one. Country rock exactly as it should sound Before Nightfall is.

Michigan. Tasha

Michigan is a single from Tasha's upcoming second album, 'All This and So Much More'. Listening to Michigan, I will expect to hear indie rock kind of songs, in the mid tempo range. Louder than label mate Bloomsday, but a lot softer than Squirrel Flower in her rocking mode. Tasha sings with a breezy voice, rather high and kind of modest. The drums and bass particularly are not modest and drive her dreamy vocals onwards. Just in case she decides to stop halfway. The rest of the music in the song is certainly present but is of another order than the rhythm section. The mix is also dense, making it harder to pull some instruments apart. That aside, Michigan has a positive vibe. It certainly rocks in its own way. Tasha, as you will have noticed, has not totally convinced me but certainly gets the benefit of the doubt.

Make It All Right. The Offspring

The female voice at the start of Make It All Right made me prick up my ears for the wrong reasons. I forgot to listen, while finding the right locker in my brain to find the name. So did others on the internet I found. I came up with Wet Legs's singer. It is a perfect match with a Wet Leg song, I'd say. Listening to Make It All Right is a pleasant surprise. The Offspring may not have made a better 'Self Esteem' but does come up with a great pop-punk-rocker. Dexter Holland and Noodles (Kevin Wasserman) can still write great songs. The oohs aahs and pa-pas fly around my ears, while around them strong melodies and supercharged (the name of the upcoming album) playing are going on. On the basis of this new single, I'd say The Offspring has some more life in it.

The Longest Night. Exedo

The final one for this day, is a great alternative rock song by a band called Exedo. Exedo is Latin and means to eat up, devour, consume. Anything from just eating to wild abandon or simply eating in the wild it seems. Exedo is a band from Chicago. The song reminds me of a Dutch band, I can't lay my finger on. The band rocks loud. The main riff though is of a delicateness that is a surprise compared to especially the chorus. Drums and bass are tight alright. They really keep the song together. Together with the guitar they play a passage during the song, that makes The Longest Night so extremely powerful. Over it all sings Christine with a near gothic inclination. It is what makes the single stand out twice. The band does so and the singer makes it more special. Album 'The Body Remembers' is out for a few weeks already. I may have to take a listen anyway.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght