2024, week 37. 10 singles

With a regular 10 singles feature, things are slowly going back to normal. It all starts with a reference to the last single of the previous Wednesday post, which was a debut on this blog and that mostly continues to be the case. No truly old hands in this post. Go out and discover but above all enjoy.

The Shot. The Giraffes

"When he heard the shot, he caressed, you did your best", singer Aaron Lazar of The Giraffes sings in The Shot. Where the conclusion of this line is concerned, I'm convinced the band did just that. Everyone listening to the song will conclude like me that The Giraffes took over where Mark Lanegan left off with The Screaming Trees' last album. They add a little 60s The Kinks vibes in the la, la and aah, aah sequence and some dominant alternative rock in the second half of The Shot. The result is a song loaded with tension, but unlike Lovina Falls' 'Ellery Way', which usually would have been right on top of this review (see previous Wednesday), The Giraffes allows the tension a full release. The Shot is far from an easy song. For that the structure, tempo and notes used are to irregular. All together it is quite an impressive song though. Brooklyn's The Giraffes is around since 1996 and working towards the release of its upcoming album 'Cigarette'. 27 September is the date.

Anesthetic Analgesic. Platonick Dive

Anesthetic Analgesic? Now what can that possibly mean? It is not explained in the song, as it is an instrumental. Yes, it's a rock song, but at the same time it is absolutely relaxed. It comes across to me as a mix of Asaf Avidan with Marillion and little bits and pieces of other famous bands of the past five decades. Platonick Dive is band from Livorno in Italy. It started in 2010 and still consists of Gabriele Centelli, Marco Figliè and Jonathan Nelli. Together they play guitar, bass and drums, with lots of overdubs. It does seem like someone plays some keyboards as well, as all the holes left by the other instruments are filled up here and there with some nice synth sounds. Platonick Dive manages to find the extra melodies in its composition regularly, before taking the song to its grand finale, making it towards the post rock monicker instead of symphonic rock. Take a Deep Breath is the album and will be released on 13 September.

Spinning. Pom Pom Squad

From POM to Pom Pom Squad is a smaller step than one might think. Both bands play alternative rock with a modern pop flavour. One from Amsterdam the latter from Brooklyn, which allows for more attention usually. Pom Pom Squad made its debut on this blog a little over three years ago with its debut album 'Death Of A Cheerleader'. I'll admit to having forgotten all about the band in the meantime. Spinning is a great reminder though. The alternative rock laced with modern synth sounds gives singer Mia Berrin the opportunity to be both sweet, sensitive and tough. And here she matches POM singer Liza van As. Fans of both bands should be listening to each other, the similarity in names may be coincidental, there's always a deeper meaning in the cosmos, isn't there? Spinning's stop start rhythms give the song a different kind of energy than most songs have. The tough drums hold it all together for Pom Pom Squad in the choruses. Mirror Starts Moving Without Me is released on 25 October.

Sick Of The Blues. Porridge Radio

Sick Of The Blues has Dana Margolin shouting to the world that she's "in love with my life again". No matter how small the song starts, just Margolin's voice and electric guitar, the song does follow the structure of the songs created by The Police and Nirvana, to name two bands. Porridge Radio certainly knows its way in the small - huge or light - shade kind of songs. The single announces the release of an album with an impossibly long name, 'Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me' (18 October). Having the privilege of being able to listen to it already, I can only share that Sick Of The Blues is the bellwether to a great new album. That Dana Margolin is in love again, does not mean that the all's well in the world. From the outside, I remain deeply concerned for her well-being. On the other hand, if it brings songs this intense and good, something beautiful comes from it all. The trumpet at the end comes as a huge surprise, a very nice and smooth ending to a very intense song.

Passage Way. Nap Eyes

Nap Eyes is a name you have not come across yet on this blog, until today. With Passage Way the band has released a single that has an endless lyric and plays the same chords over and over, but slowly but surely the band raises its commitment to Passage Way, before things are allowed to wind down near the end, when singer-guitarist Nigel Chapman is left to fend for his own in the final line. Nap Eyes is a Canadian band on route to the release of its fifth album, 'The Neon Gate' on 18 October. Together with Brad Loughead (guitars, bass, synths, drum programming), Josh Salter (bass, guitars, synths) and Seamus Dalton (drums, guitars, synth) Chapman manages to make a song that in its essence is very elementary, yet sounds extremely interesting. One name comes to mind, Wilco, without the musical madness as in a Nels Cline solo. Just like that band Nap Eyes is able to tell a long story and make people listen.

Pay Phone. Artificial Go

Enter the debut single of Artificial Go, a band from Cincinnati, Ohio. Fans from anything from The B-52s to Gruppo Sportivo will heave a collective sigh for things that once were and things that are now. Artificial Go manages to grasp both bands' vibe but not their vibrancy. It comes close though. Just like the arty-new wave-punkers Pay Phone contains a few musical curve balls, musical enthusiasm barely matches competence, yet, in the meantime the song is filled with enthusiasm and musicality. Pay Phone is no 'Private Idaho' nor 'Hey Girl', it is Pay Phone and brings this kind of music into the third decade of the 21st century. It needs more bands like Artificial Go as we have enough of the louder post-punk bands already. Album 'Hopscotch Fever' was released last Friday.

Van Goes. Being Dead

Goes is a city in the Dutch province Zeeland. Whether Being Dead names its single after the town, I strongly doubt but then who knows? Referring to the above single 'Pay Phone', I notice that Van Goes also has a neurotic The B-52's rhythm and a man-female vocal. On top of that, it has a feeling of weirdness that brings me back to the first Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention albums. In other words, Van Goes may be from 2024, its influences go back close to sixty years. Just as confusing is the bio mentioning a duo and the photo showing a trio. All that aside, Van Goes is an energetic single full of weirdness and surprises, the kind that is unpredictable. There's no way of telling what comes next. Being Dead is not afraid to do anything. What this means for an album? We will have to be patient until 'EELS' is released on 27 September.

Tombstone Junction. JC Miller

JC Miller made his debut on this blog in the early summer. Now it's fall and he returns with another oh so fine country rock or American roots song. There's no need to do something new or revolutionary when you are able to write and record a song like Tombstone Junction. This single is a decent song with the kind of rough edge that makes it shine. Everything about this song is neat and aimed at pleasing fans of songs like it. At the same time it contains it all. A strong drum part, a supporting bass, some modestly dirty sounding guitars, a slide in the background and in the solo, a warm Hammond coming through it all, a piano note here and there, and finally some soft sounding strings (or synths), all in support of that voice that comes with a nice edge to it. JC Miller knows exactly what he's doing and presents it proudly. Tombstone Junction, not a "farewell" as Miller sings, but a see you again soon, is my guess.

Waiting For The Catch. Shed Seven

Shed Seven is around for 30 years according to the bio send with the upcoming album, 'Liquid Gold' (27-09). 30 Years and I can't remember ever having heard of Shed Seven. Based on Waiting For The Catch, that might have been a shame. This single is a great mix between pop and rock. It has a smoothness Tears for Fears once had (perhaps still, I don't know) and brings in a far directer rock sound, while smoothing things over at every chance with large swaths of synths. The singing is another plus. Shed Seven's singer Rick Witter shares duties with Issy Ferris of the UK folk/rock/Americana duo Ferris & Sylvester. They sing a full duet of an undercooled quality where the flames lick at when they sing the title of the single, "waiting for the catch". The sound of the New York band is chockfull. There are instruments to be heard everywhere. The whole span of the mix is filled with one. Until the guitar is allowed to jump in front with a pointed solo. This is the kind of song that deserves to become a hit.

I Don't Care. The Mono Kids

In my mind The Mono Kids can be found on this blog for years already and yet the first time it featured is only 2023. The Eindhoven duo returns with a punkrocker that has little, better, no consideration for the more sensitive ears. The only thing the people attached to these ears can be happy about is that it is all over at 1 minute and 19 seconds. With I Don't Care The Mono Kids honour classic punk bands but also the garage rock bands of the 60s. When they repeat the "I don't care" lyric a host of bands spring up in my mind from a very long time ago, when Dutch "pop groups" scored hits and obscure U.S. bands recorded singles that can be found on 'Nuggets' or the 'Psychedelic States' series. The song is over before you know but by then The Mono Kids have more than made its point. What an energy and what fun!

Wout de Natris - van der Borght