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Burning Questions. Tony Marsico and the Ugly Thingz
Burning
Questions is one of those songs that one can't help but wonder, wasn't
this released somewhere in the 1960s? and undug from whatever attic
cupboard drawer it was kept in? Tony Marsico and the Ugly Thingz (Tony
Marsico: Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Loren Molinare: Guitar, Rob
Klonel: Drums, Percussion, plus on this song, Melanie Vammen: Organ and
Janelle Frese: Percussion, who also co-wrote the song). This single
rocks no little but also has this dirty garage and psychedelic edge.
Thanks to the fuzz guitar and the farfisa organ. It's 'Mony Mony' with
all the dust and dirt of decades heaped upon it. Of course this is
rehashing something the youth played in their parents' garages all over
the U.S.A. from 1963 onwards. It is done with so much love and rocks so
hard, that Burning Questions is a top song in both eras.
With
Sweet As Pie we delve more into the psychedelic side of rock music. The
kind where dark singing is mixed with dark playing but in that special
way that makes psychedelic rock so good to listen to. Everything seems
to be stretched out beyond what is technically possible. The music appears like its a
thick, yet soft high-pile carpet that just goes on and on with only minor changes in the
pattern. A little research shows that the band featured twice before in
the singles section of this blog. On the face of that the band remained
true to form. With seven members Tombstone In Their Eyes is a big band.
The sound shows it. With three guitarists and keyboards, besides the
rhythm section, the sound is huge and well filled. Main singer is John
Treanor often supported by harmony singer Courtney Davies and two
members who do background duties as well. Sweet As Pie rocks enough and
is wobbly enough to fit on both the psych as rock side of music. Album 'Asylum Harbour'
is out on November 19.
Soft
Skies Inc.'s second single on this blog again is something of a hybrid
affair. The brothers Ryan and Martin Rex from Philadelphia play a
dreamy kind of pop that is interspersed with huge waves of a dirty
electric guitar that arrives like cold water from an unexpected source
on the skin on a hot day. It gives Your Small Army something creepy as
well, as all seems so tranquil while it isn't. Just like some situations
in movies can be, where the unexpected just happens to people. The Rex
brothers came back out of a musical hibernation of decades. If the songs
following Your Small Army and 'Sooner Or Later' are as nice as the
first two singles, the world has good things awaiting it.
Here
I was thinking that the world already had a Brad Marino. Enter Gene
Champagne, a Canadian drummer (ex-Killjoys). The band rocks out like it
is late 197x something. The band combines rock and roll 70s style with a
great pop vibe that results in a few predictable outcomes: singing
along, rocking your head, swaying to the music and have a beer or two
while listening. Rock 'n Roll Boy is just one heck of a fun song. It
doesn't need any other word then this one: perfect! The album is called
'Let's Jet'.
Earlier this year The Jack Rubies celebrated its return to the music front with its well-received album 'Clocks Are Out Of Time'. Today they return with the spooky Phantom. The single is slated as a Halloween release, an event that is getting more and more popular here in NL. There're never enough carnivalesque parties for adults and candy gathering moments for kids it seems. Musically, The Jack Rubies lay down a great track. Over a tight rhythm the band plays around with bongos as if Santana is still in vogue, while the harmonica gives the song a spooky vibe, coming in and going out of the song, just like a lot of instruments are treated in such a way that they have a Lesley speaker effect. Phantom is a tremendously smooth if not suave song. The overall effect of this song is worth a million.
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Garlands
(Glasgow 2018) return to the blog with a song that spans decades.
Somewhere it starts with a melody that could have been made by The
Beatles in the 1960s (and several other bands from the era). The next
layer is an indie sound from the 1990s. Gordon Harrow (vocals/guitars),
Darren Mackay (bass) and Stef Blair (drums) manage to make nostalgia
sound somewhat modern. The Coast is a mid tempo song around Harrow's
softly sung vocals. It is the lead guitar that brings sparkles to the
single. Underneath it all someone is playing a synth sounding like a
mellotron. The result is a melancholy, nostalgic song that shows another
side to Garlands but one where it pleasant to wallow in the mood for a
while.
The
Veils are preparing to release its 7th album in 20 years. 'Asphodels', a
flower in the Greek underworld of old, is slated for release on 24
January. The first single, The Ladder, is as solemn as it is serious.
Singer and songwriter Finn Andrews leads the song supported principally
by a piano. Embellishments are provided by the string arrangement of
Victoria Kelly. Underneath bass and drums spruce up the song in a modest
but present way. Together they present a moody song but one that is
quite good to listen to. This comes from someone who is not a The Veils
fan. Finn Andrews does something right here. He is tapping into City +
Colour territory, where beauty and solemness meet. The rhythm accents in
the second half of the song do the rest.
Okay,
this music brings me back to the bedchambers of friends where they had
their little record players and played spacey or jazz rock records,
burning incense to mask the dope they smoked. I did not like the music
mostly and was happy just smoking my rolled cigarette. They did not
remain friends for much longer. The way things can go when you are no
longer young kids. What Weite does in Roter Traum, a 10 plus minutes long
single, musically has a lot of similarities to 1970s music. In the
guitar parts of this composition a little Marillion comes in resulting in a track
that is dreamy all over but rocks in a symphonic kind of way as well.
Like such a long track should, it has several different musical motives
the band plays around. Mood changes, sound changes, lead instrument
changes, rhythm changes. What is not present is a voice. Weite is an
instrumental band, is my guess based on Roter Traum. Anyone willing to
take the musical adventure in a long track like this, will be quite
alright is my guess.
Anyone
with a keen musical ear will think The National listening to Arliston's third single on this blog. That is where the differences start as
well. What Did I Think Would Happen is a very slow song, without me
being able to call it a ballad. For that it is not straightforward
enough. There is something in the musical effects that seems to drag the
song backwards instead of forward. It wants to but simply does not
succeed. Behind the voice and piano all sorts of sounds are lurking in
the background, sometimes moving up front to scurry away again or simply
disappear. The effect on me is one of being surprised, getting
mesmerised and being dragged into What Did I Think Would Happen more and
more. This single is a really special song while at the same time I
nearly struck it from the list, as I did not get it in the first two
minutes. I'm glad I stuck around. That makes three out of three singles.
The album, 'Disappointment Machine', will see the light of day in
January. Things should not go wrong here.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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