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.
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"!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
'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
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