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Red Sky Night. Chuck Prophet and ¿Qiensave?
Chuck
Prophet and this blog go back to the magazine of old even, including
legendary shows in Leiden's finest Q-Bus venue with the band performing at top
level while rocking on their feet from jetlag. With 'Wake The Dead'
about to be released it is time to pay attention to the album's single
Red Sky Night. This is Chuck Prophet at his most suave. Strings and "sha
la la's" are all over the place. Ever since 'No Other Love' I know the
man can do no wrong with a ballad. Just listen to the wah electric
guitar and the softly played acoustic guitars and the pedal steel adding
some accents here and there. On the album Prophet and band play together
with Cumbia Group ¿Qiensave?. This single sounds traditional Chuck
Prophet, so I am curious what the band offers on the album .
The
National is about to release a live album recorded in Rome. I have
never seen the band live and am only a recent fan. At some point I did
see a live show on YouTube for a while, until there was no time left to
watch for me. On that basis I am convinced that a live show by the band
can be a very intense experience. True fans will sing along for the
whole of the way. To really enjoy it, one has to know most of the back
catalogue. Based on what I am hearing on this EP, there's no doubt left
that The National is a great band. Whether a live album adds anything to
the studio albums, I can't truly judge, but the music here sounds truly inspired
and forceful. NTL RM EP1 is a real taster of what is to come. The band
is in a great form based on these four songs.
Tess
Parks never ceases to amaze me. How deathlike can a singer sound? Even
when in the Califormia sunshine, things do not change. Well almost, as
musically she delves deep into 1960s psychedelia. And where besides
London in the U.K. did that genre really thrive? Right, San Francisco
and California. California's Dreaming is miles away from The Mamas and
The Papas' debut single, because of that darkness in ms. Parks' voice.
The music with the sound of a mellotron right up front and a great 60s
inspired guitar solo to match, flourishes no little. The mix of the two
is intriguing and works. California's Dreaming may well become my
favourite Tess Parks song to date. Album 'Pomegranate' was released this
week.
On 'Stateline', the single of this EP Nathan Ball answered to the question when best to play it: "I
would say the ultimate would be with the windows down driving around
the winding lanes down to the sea in summer. It’s a hazy day song,
written for that moment when the sun is going down and the sky has that
beautiful orange tint to it." O.k., I can live with this description. It
is the toughest song on the EP. There's a bass and drums kicking in. I
was wondering whether it would happen, as that tension was building up, and it does. The first three songs
are for after arrival, hanging in your hammock under a coconut tree. It
is that kind of music, to literally lose the track of time to. Nathan
Ball sings like Patrick Watson, high, slow, dreamy, as if coming from
the dreamtime. That matches with the fact that 'Stateline' was written in
Australia while he was on tour there. If you like this kind of music,
which I do every once in a while, Lost Track Of Time contains your kind
of music. It is amazing how different the single is though. A true pop
gem that is.
I'll
admit that a whole album is bit much for me, but the energy flowing
from single Creepy Crawl is all I need right now. The band simply goes
for it in a mix of Alice Cooper circa 'School's Out' and 'Elected'
guitar riffs and solos mixed with punkrock rhythm from the 1990s. The outcome
is a song that rocks and rocks and then some more. Singer Danny Babirusa
has the exact right, rough voice for a song like Creepy Crawl. It is as
if the song needs some sanding with the roughest paper available or
better a steel brush to prepare first. The twin guitar line up spray
their rhythm and solos all over the place supported by an ace rhythm
section. Chicago has one hell of a punkrock band within its city limits.
Album 'Man-Eaters' is out. So, if you like this I'm sure you'll find
your way. Just don't look at the band photo first.
Gerrit Van Dyck, from The LVE, is, once again, in another band, like most Flemish musicians are. Together with Robin Aerts of Het Zesde Metaal he started writing songs during the lockdown. Later friends and neighbours joined. The late Tom Pintens contributed and others. Album 'Fat Brando' is already out, so let's focus on La Voce Nella Tempesta first. The song is a ballad in the Air tradition, with its plopping bass, soft wah-wah effects and soft, slow synths. In other words, the perfect music to dream away with. The drums that open the track (and album) do not give away anything by the way. It is solid playing. Only when a solo guitar enters later on the first hint is given. The dreamy vocals do the rest. La Voce Nella Tempesta ('the voice in the storm') is quite a nice introduction to this new band I have to say.
A
new band on Rum Bar is Junior Varsity, the new band of drummer Joe
Vincent. Where The Groove Is is a near perfect pop-rock song. I'm going
to step over the small parts where I get the impression the song is a
little forced, because otherwise I would never get to the glorious
parts. That starts with the great guitar driven intro, where the piano
plays a great role that uplifts the song no little. The rock and roll
type playing puts a smile on my face immediately. The second instance
where that happens is in the harmony vocals during the chorus. The Varsity
Vocal Squad: Lisa Zaire, Mary Colbert, Mike Fornatale, & Tom Lucas,
makes the sun come out at midnight. The pop feel here reaches beyond
100%. Next time I'm going to join them and sing along. And the outro? Let's not dwell on it and put the song back on again.
I
did not even have the time to gather my thoughts before 00.00 was over.
0.54 seconds the single last. This is punk music alright. The song
comes close to a punked up version of Green Day. The melody, the pace, the
intent, it all matches and then imagine the tempo going up and the just
this little more. The Dumpies are a band from Austin, Texas that was
formed in 2017. Today they live in Oregon though. This spring they were
on the blog for the first time with a split single with Vancouver BC
band Night Court. With 00.00 they take WoNoBlog by storm. This is the
real thing alright: zero zero double zero. Album 'Gay Boredom' has been
released already.
What a coincidence. Did I write recently about the similarities in the music and lives of Dutch singer VanWyck and New Zealand singer Reb Fountain, today I can write that both have surprised me musically as well. Reb Fountain comes with a totally different kind of song. Come Down is rhythm driven and not atmosphere. There is a drum part that is the centre of Come Down around which the rest circles. Of course, Reb Fountain's voice is her voice and that has that mysteriousness in it setting the mood of the song. The result is a different beast though. Because of the rhythm it becomes a car song, one to play while on the highway with only distance in front of you. Just like VanWyck's 'Dust Chaser' album Come Down surprises in an extremely pleasant way.
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With Wake Up With You (WUWU) Mood Bored returns to the blog. First with (singles from) EP 'Bored', then as support act for label mates POM and now with the first single of the second EP 'Too Much?', which will be released in February. WUWU is a friendly alternative poprock track. Mood Bored plays successfully with dynamics and dares to just let drums and bass do the work of supporting singer Myrthe Driesenaar in the first verse. Later guitar(s) join but you will also find some synths supporting the music. Mood Bored did not let itself get off easy. Just listen how many different guitar parts and styles of playing you find here. It makes for layered listening and promises a lot more for the future.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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