2024. Week 39, 10 singles

"There are so many singles and so many songs", I can hear Sting sing in my head in a variation of his lyrics in 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free'. Recently I took out the album once again, enjoyed it tremendously and sincw heard the single a few times since on different occasions. And it's true, it's fun to listen to albums and fun to listen to a host of new singles. For now, I try to keep up with the latter a bit, so here are two sets of singles in two days. Enjoy!

Mirror Midnight. The Awakening

"Johannesburg's Bowie", that was the nickname Ashton Nyte had when he started his act The Awakening there in the 90s. Working towards the release of the band's 12th album, 'The Awakening', on 18 October, here's the single. The music is described as gothic and dark wave. I can live with that. The inspiration for Mirror Midnight is found in the 1980s with bands like Killing Joke and The Sisters of Mercy. With his dark voice Nyte sets the tone for the song. It does not allow for a lot of variation and emotions, giving the song ghostlike qualities. Around him the sound is huge. Starting with the drums, that bring to mind Cottbus' Para Lia immediately. Dark bass, guitar and synths do the rest. The Awakening sets the tone of the song in a great way. A wobbly effect on the guitar makes the song sound surreal, where nothing is like it seems. Rock Mirror Midnight does though, making me instantly like the song. And Bowie? Mwah, not much in 2024.

Patch EP. Robin Kester

Last year Robin Kester's debut album 'Honeycomb Shade' caused quite a stir in NL and fairly rightly so. A year later she returns to this blog with a new EP called Patch. The five song EP contains two super short songs. The first is more atmosphere than song. 'Birds In D Minor' contains some bird song and synth sounds, perhaps a treated voice, piano noodling and some sounds that make up a rhythm of some sort. An intro but not more than that. Single 'Shape Memory' has already been reviewed, positively, and may even be better during the re-acquaintance today than I thought last May. The dreampop continues even more hazy in the next song. 'Long Dark Sleep' is caught in music beautifully. The electronic drums and the bass keep the song on track. Otherwise it would simply drift away into a dream, that Kester has no memory of, as she's in bed for a long dark sleep. I love how the little extras come in from the keyboards/synths. 'Long Dark Sleep' is a well produced and arranged song, beautifully layered and structured. It's even better than the single. 'Reversed Shimmers' is exactly that. A synth and an electric guitar playing together in a short instrumental, atmospheric song. More an idea for a song that did not go anywhere but was too nice to leave behind. The final song has a mysterious title, 'Something In My Room'. That situation is caught in a dreamy song. Nothing seems certain, somewhere between suspense and normal. The song reminds me of Norwegian singer Susanna, who can be just as mysterious. The two have quality in common. Patch may be an in between EP, it may also be better than the songs on 'Honeycomb Shades'. Time will tell.

I do have a serious question. Why does a serious artist like Robin Kester release this EP with herself half undressed on the front? If anything, an EP with the quality Patch contains doesn't need it.

Unt. Pinhead Gunpowder

Who needs Green Day when you have Pinhead Gunpowder? Well, I do. Green Day is ten times if not more bigger than this band, but Billie Joe Armstrong is a member, since 1990. On and off the members Aaron Cometbus, Jason White and Bill Schneider have been playing together and are about to release their fifth album together. This single is the album title as well. It is an extremely pleasant punk rock song with strongly muted guitars laying down the right accents, like a good up tempo punk rock song has. Unt is the kind of song that allows for singing, dancing and joy. It's up to you to enjoy this first recording since 2010. It's my first, and I am.

Dyra. SHHE

Yes, I have a digital download but no idea who sent it to me. So, I do not know who is behind the name SHHE. What I do know, it is 100% pure Kairos music. I haven't written about Wino Penris' programme for quite some time. It can still be heard once a month on Concertzender. So go and check it out. Dyrá is an, I thought EP, but is an album I now find, filled with swaths of music. Long, long held notes that swell and subside, over a drone that continues. It is also minimal music, as slowly but surely changes take place. One has to have patience to notice them though, given the length of the compositions. Dyrá's lucky that I put it away as an EP as it never would have made the long play section. For that it is too esoteric. Of course having no information is not good enough. On Bandcamp I found that SHHE is Scottish-Portuguese artist and producer Su Shaw. Dyrá is her debut album. Wino, here's a tip for you.

Better Than God. Rhea

Better Than God? or does zero equal zero here? A true existential question pops to mind based on the title of this single (and album) of the Belgian band Rhea. Luckily for the band we still have the music. Better Than God is a great rock track and like the better Belgian bands Rhea plays a little with different genres. Yes, it's rock but you will also find some nice pop elements in the melody of the main riff and the vocal harmonies. At the same time there are some metal elements when that lead guitar toughens up. Next, listen to the one note on the keyboard that keeps returning a little in the background. The singer likes to liken himself to the likes of Joey Tempest (Europe). Rhea in other words plays with the mind of its listeners a little and that is quite alright. It makes Better Than God fun to listen to, with a superb end.

Gold. The Vices

After two albums The Vices have left Rotterdam label Mattan Records and seems ready for a big next step in its career. On these album 'Looking For Faces' (2021) and 'Unknown Affairs' both were more than average for certain, but I kept wondering who The Vices really were musically, because the band did not seem to make that choice for itself. Perhaps that the new and bigger label will assist here. Gold is an up tempo alternative pop track. The tempo is vast, driven by drums and bass. The music reminding me of Go Back To The Zoo in its better songs, like 'Electric'. The Vices play with a difference in dynamics in Gold. And does so superbly. The dreamy 'ah ah' is another very nice feature. Gold is the kind of song that allows festival fields to explode. Effect and quality go hand in hand here. 'Before It Might Be Gone' is going to be the band's third album. The question is who is going to send it to me now?

The Mirror. Bongloard

Yes, Bongloard can be found on this blog with an album and a single. Sorry for not having much of a recollection. That is no reason for not letting the band come back two years later with its new single The Mirror. The Utrecht based trio rocks no little. By far the hardest of the previous two bands. The singer has a rough voice making it impossible for him to impersonate as a pop singer. It gives Bongloard a true rock edge. The music above all is tough and yet the song has a golden melody. The kind that shines in between all that toughness. The same goes for the fine background vocals and the keyboard/organ that creeps from behind all that loudness every once in a while. I do remember liking Bongloard's album 'People Overreacting To My Behaviour'. It just sort of disappeared in that load of albums that come by each year. On 4 October 'DYTYR?' is released. We will have to see how the album fares. The single is simply great.

E Corp. Cosmic Room 99

Cosmic Room 99 returns to the blog after its debut with 'Plastic Venus'. Listening to E Corp, I can't help associating it with 'Venus In Furs', as Cosmic Room 99 works hard at recreating The Velvet Underground. Even the video could have been made by Andy Warhol! I have to admit that I had to get into the groove of E Corp first but once I did I was pulled into it s rabbit's hole totally. The song is in its way ugly, as it is relentless and disturbing. Cosmic Room 99 has made not a single effort to make the song prettier. There's no compromise. Most importantly, it works. The bass drum rhythm kicks in the pace of the song, while over it slowly but surely more and more instruments and melodies are added. And then listen to how the vocal melody changes, lifting the song up no little. The Italian psychedelic rockers seem to know exactly what they are doing here. The band's self-titled album is released on 11 October.

I Can See. Waltzburg

In 2018 Nijmegen band Waltzburg debuted on this blog with an EP. After that the band's music did not really agree with me but see, here's the nicely upbeat and up tempo new single I Can See. The song is carried by a nice synth and keyboard under which the rhythm section can keep the tempo up in a great and fun way. The band, Joost Klapmuts (bass/keyboards), Jesse Smits (guitar/keyboards), Luuk Gerards (drums), Nicole Jansen (vocals/keyboards) and Menno Krivokutya (vocals/guitar), release this single working towards the release of its new album 'Black Cat On Your Doormat', on 11 October. I Can See is one of the first songs Krivokutya wrote and has gone through a host of versions before it gelled into this elementary synth rocker. Somewhat undercooled with frivolities in the synth sounds that pop up all through the song. It makes for fun listening.

For A Friend. Elephant

Rotterdam band Elephant is in a hurry. With For A Friend it sets its first step towards its third album. The song is like the husky male voice in a bourbon add from long ago saying while savouring the drink: "Nothing's changed really", while the whole world around him changed beyond recognition. Currently I feel the same about my country, things have changed beyond recognition, but not Elephant's songs. For A Friend has that same dreamy quality, reaching beyond space and time to something eternal. The dreaming is mostly in the singing. Who of the three described as singer is singing here, I don't know. It doesn't matter. Fans of a voice like this will recognise their favourites caught in this voice. Musically, the music matches this dreaminess only in part. The drums and guitars especially make their points here and are not afraid to toughen up, providing the spice the song deserves. Elephant is rocking here at times and that is something I previously did not associate with the band. Although my mind may be wrong of course, it is my overall impression of the band, so I'm quite pleasantly surprised.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght