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https://wonomagazine.blogspot.com/2024/07/deeper-well-kacey-musgraves.html
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Tuesday, 31 December 2024
Deeper Well (2). Kacey Musgraves
De redactie
Monday, 30 December 2024
The best albums 2000 - 2024, 1 of 10
10. Våre Demoner. Kaizers Orchestra (2009)
I understand that Våre Demoner is an album filled with leftovers, but when a band has leftovers of this quality, it tells you something about how good it was at the time and how fruitful the sessions were that it could afford not to put these songs on one of the records. The album filled up some years of inactivity, before the band started its work on the final push of the three 'Violeta Violeta' albums (see on 26). The fun starts with the title song that is simply one of Kaizers Orchestra's best. Everything the band is good at, comes together in this song. The Dick Dale twang of the guitars, a great melody allowing me to sing along to in a language I do not understand, the weird tempi, the staccato rhythms that includes the way the organ is played, but above all the fun 'Våre Demoner' shares with its listeners. And then the rest of the album still has to come. A killer of an album, but not the band's best.
With 'Take Me Out' Franz Ferdinand, named after the tragically assassinated crown prince of the Austrian-Hungarian Habsburg empire, came into my life and most likely in that of a lot of people with a huge bang. I remember buying the album, in the same record store as the first Kaizers Orchestra album two years before, and decided that I had heard enough in the first seconds of 'Jacqueline'. When a band starts an album like that while I know that it will be so much different, things can't go wrong. And it didn't. Franz Ferdinand was my new band for the whole of two years. (See above.) The collection of songs on this album is simply so good and a tremendous lot of fun. FraFer manages to make the difficult sound easy. It may be that a band like Gang of Four was the main inspiration for the band's music, it is the melodic prowess of a band like The Beatles that wins out. Gang of Four and others from the first postpunk era never came close to anything I'm hearing on 'Franz Ferdinand'. This is the best album of all these bands ever and was my album of 2004.
As a historian I have to add, that while visiting the spot in 2023 where the crown prince and his wife Sophia was killed, I could only wonder how the driver could accidentally drive into this dead end street, without being part of the conspiracy. Had it not been for the fact that Gavrilo Princip was not supposed to be at that exact location. He ran there. It remains a mystifying mistake as they were still so far off from the station. A mistake with very grave consequences, even 25 and more years later.
The album that no one believed would ever come again, despite all the rumours going over 15 years. Yes, the blues album was good, but not for this list. And then 'Angry' came out and really nailed it. The sound was so strong and that riff so cool and good. And then came the biggest surprise, 'Sweet Sounds Of Heaven', a song with Lady Gaga of all people. The song floored me, although it took two listening sessions for it to do so. 'Sweet Sounds Of Heaven' is one the band's best songs ever. I had the pleasure to be able to travel to Japan in October 2023 for first work and then vacation. Hackney Diamonds was released while I was there and I bought it in Tokyo in a huge record store, Tower Records. It was sold out everywhere I tried before. Once home I was able to play the album and knew that The Rolling Stones delivered one more time, although rumour has it that there are more songs from the recording sessions to come. The biggest surprise is Paul McCartney's huge, fuzzed bass solo on 'Bite My Head Off'. A guest role for a Beatle on Stones album! Producer Andrew Watt really got the best out of the three remaining pensioners. Charlie Watts had recorded two of the songs before he died and even Bill Wyman plays bass on one of the songs. Hackney Diamonds shows that artists are never to old to deliver a masterpiece. If the album is not, it comes pretty damn close and was my album of 2023.
The swan song on this list. Bowie released a new album on his birthday and I bought it more because of his name than because I thought it would be any good. The reviews gave me the impression this would not be for me. Was I wrong. Black Star is a beautiful album, that goes so deep. All the jazzy sounds that make the album so special. Bowie knew he was dying and wanted to leave behind something the world would remember him by, and succeeded in a great way. From the long and oh so mysterious opening track to the final notes this album takes the listener on a musical trip, showing all the different elements that mark Bowie's musicianship. Assisted by a score of jazz musicians from the New York scene and long time friend and producer Tony Visconti, something truly special was created, Music that is not for me but turned out to be exactly for me. That was the biggest surprise. And two days later there was an even bigger surprise. While listening to the morning radio show with Giel Beelen who was talking to Triggerfinger's singer, we all learned that Bowie was dead. He had managed to keep his fatal illness a secret for nearly everybody. The musical 'Lazarus' was already playing and then the museums opened with all the artifacts from his career. Bowie kept surprising his fans for a while longer. Black Star was my album of 2016.
Two, three weeks ago my son was visiting and I asked him what album would you like to hear. First 'The Wall' and then 'The Plan'. I had not played the album for some time and was surprised how good it is. I knew it's good but it was even better than I remembered. The Plan was a band from Sweden and may have recorded an additional album. If so, it never found me. This is the one. The only chance I had to see The Plan live proved impossible for me on that date. 'The Plan' kicks off with 'Mon Amour', a totally deranged shot of energy. I just love that song so much. Upbeat, up tempo, with a slightly odd rhythm and singing that verges on off key and beyond. And yet, it all works a miracle. The horns add to the party 'Mon Amour' already is. It never gets that good again on 'The Plan', yet as a whole the record is tremendously good. The weirdness is translated into good songs. The singing that is just as weird, the exuberance the musicians put into their playing, all together makes for a great record. If 'The Plan' wasn't my record of the year 2002, it's obvious in 2024 that it should have been.
One more and final Kaizers Orchestra record in the list. Maestro, the band's third, is the best one of all. The records on which everything really came together. The songs are better, the extraordinary rhythms involving a car wheel, a crow bar, work gloves, oil drums and traditional percussion, all meshed into a rhythm that is impossible to play for any lay man. Wiping the sweat off their brows the band members are when these songs are played live. The songs about the war, decadence, Dieter Meier's Institution, and whatever else the album is about, as my Norwegian is non-existent, let alone the Bergen dialect, are totally impressive. I was already a fan of Kaizers Orchestra. From here on the relationship was rock solid as the band's presence in this list shows. Maestro was not my album of the year 2005. It hindsight it should have been.
My record of the year 2013 was not by by Arctic Monkeys, but by TMGS. Time corrected this. AM is the album where the transition was set even more into motion. Where the punk feathers were ruffled and totally shed. I had not thought that the band from here onwards would develop the way it did. All songs on AM were strong but still easy to follow. Alex Turner did not yet have the ambition to become a latter day Frank Sinatra. With a bunch of strong singles leading the way, AM found its way to the masses easily with the songs who clearly have a lasting impact. 'Do I Wanna Know?', 'R U Mine', 'One For The Road', "Why Do You Only Call Me When You're High', are all songs that drive the point home. Where at the time I thought this album to be to Arctic Monkeys what 'Revolver' was to The Beatles, it sort of became the end of road instead of the last step towards utter brilliance. Who knows what's still to come though?
My album from 2006 is up next. The album that came out with a bang. My introduction came through single '(I Bet You Look Good On The) Dancefloor'. One of the very, very best songs of this century so far. The energy it has, the wild intro and that super, super strong chorus. It's an explosion, just like Alex Turner sings. And most of that energy comes through from the whole album. This band was not afraid to musically do things totally different, while showing everything it has to their fans and fans to be. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is one of the best debut albums ever made and unlike many of those albums, not the band's best. (Patience, patience, dear listener.) Look how the album opens (and that video accompanying it). I have seldom heard a more powerful opening song to a career. One of the other singles, 'Fake Tales Of San Francisco' has this change to it that is beyond imagination for most artists. The world only is turned upside down from one minute 40 seconds. The drumming is incredibly powerful, the bass runs utterly fantastic, the power of the band everything that comes with youthful self-confidence. When Arctic Monkeys came on the scene there was no saving Franz Ferdinand. As I wrote earlier, Franz Ferdinand is to Arctic Monkeys what John the Baptist was to Jesus of Nazareth. Musically I can best compare it like this: the tongue in cheek, well thought through witticism versus unleashed primordial power. Arctic Monkeys win with ease.
My album of 2022 is still holding out with ease. I just keep returning to the album and think it's still just as good as when it was finally released after all the strong singles. Wet Leg mixes the light and the shade, the fun with the seriousness and quality with more quality. Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers started playing together in 2019 and three years later were ready to conquer the world, which they did together with recruited band members. I can only hope that in 2024 they still enjoy being musicians and are able to produce another even better album in 2025. Somehow I have my doubts if they still have fun. Time will tell. In the meantime I keep enjoying 'Wet Leg'. I came on board with 'Chaise Longue' and from single to single, the one even better than the other, with 'Wet Dream' as my absolute favourite, kept following the band. Another highlight is Rhian Teasdale announcing she's going to scream, counts down and starts screaming. Wet Leg weaves some nice musical jokes into its music, music that totally resonated with me.
1. Favourite Worst Nightmare. Arctic Monkeys (2007)
The best album of this quarter century and as a result the best album of Arctic Monkeys. The energy is still fully there, just like that youthful exuberance. The wildness was traded in for a more controlled way of playing. The band put constraints on the music and became better and more in control, making the songs sound better and more stylised. Overall the songs are of a higher level than on 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'. What mystified me at the time was the final song '505'. It proved to be the bellwether of things to come and not the odd one out. Arctic Monkeys would never be this good again as they were on Favourite Worst Nightmare. The band really got it all together and all influences from the best postpunk bands to The Police can be found on Favourite Worst Nightmare; the album of the period 2000 - 2024.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
Sunday, 29 December 2024
One and one and one is three. The Analogues live. Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Saturday 28 December 2024
In The Analogues' final show we got to hear the final two albums. First, 'Let It Be', the album that was recorded in January 1969 but discarded by the band and given to Phil Spector to finish, leading to some final overdubs lasting into early January 1970. It contained the band's final number 1 hit 'Let It Be'.
Second, 'Abbey Road', the album the Fab Four recorded later that year with George Martin, named after the street where the EMI studio is located in London. The album was released in November 1969, so about six months before 'Let It Be'. As far as I'm concerned, 'Abbey Road' is the absolute masterpiece by The Beatles and one of the best albums ever made. With side B topping that once again.
The Analogues played the albums integrally in the order of released album and in the Phil Spector version, not the 'Let It Be ... Naked', The Beatles released decades later. The contrast between the two albums of the evening is stark. 'Let It Be' is far more direct and raw. (And has these funny little ditties in between, showing musical banter from the studio.)
For me it took decades to appreciate the album. Aside from having a very low quality pressing of the album on LP, I never took to it. Partly because of the rawness of several songs. Another part was that this was the break up album and I held it against it. That I learned years and years later that in fact this wasn't the break up album at all, just released later, did not help.
What changed my opinion, is that I had to learn and appreciate first where my favourite sixties bands were coming from. I did not like the originals until way into the 00s, when I had to start listening seriously because of the band I was playing in at the time. Only then the quarter dropped, so to say. With that the musicianship in many of the songs came out and the songs themselves started to bloom. Today I can even listen to the two big Paul ballads, 'Let It Be' and 'The Long And Winding Road'. The two songs by George Harrison I've always liked. 'I Me Mine' and 'For You Blue' are just very nice songs. What I've come to appreciate truly were 'Dig A Pony' and 'I've Got A Feeling' and especially the latter, with the great electrical piano playing by Billy Preston. He was truly a fifth Beatle for a short while, playing on the roof as well. 'Get Back' was already a number 1 hit single at the time, so doesn't count.
The Analogues made all the strong elements of 'Let It Be' come out. How many people it takes to play some of The Beatles' songs! For one track only ("Winding Raod") a harpist is rolled unto the stage! Violins, cello, horns, flutes, two or three keyboards or guitars, percussion. The vintage instruments are all there and played by the band and the orchestra.
As an encore to 'Let It Be' we received the song that was played on the roof that was not on the record, but had already been released as the B-side of 'Get Back', 'Don't Let Me Down'. Another showcase of how good the band was in 1969. Again that Fender Rhodes piano played by Preston.
The Analogues was a great band. What they managed to do, is point out to me how ingenious the songs on 'Abbey Road' are. How intricate the harmonies are. All through the album, they just go on and on and on, highlighting how good the three could sing (together) and how inventive they were to find all the extra melodies in their respective songs. The counter melodies that are in there, making it truly modern style classical music, if there is such a thing. Music for eternity, as is being proven slowly but surely. New generations are catching on, coming to listen to The Analogues, as that is as close one can get to hearing what happened in the studio. Not even Paul, let alone Ringo, comes close here.
We are getting fast to that point in time when all four original Beatles will no longer be alive and even many original fans are not among us any more, as they are all in their sixties and seventies by now. And now The Analogues call it quits as well. After ten years the band has completed its mission. Everything was recreated on a superb level, played several times. It's time to move on. "We will find something else to do", as musical director Bart van Poppel said. New The Beatles fans will have to find new cover bands.
In the encore we got the stand alone single 'The Ballad Of John And Yoko' that only John and Paul recorded on an April 1969 evening. Of course the single went to number 1. To my surprise, we did not get 'Old Brown Shoe', the superb B-side penned by George. With The Analogues it is hard to complain, but instead of 'Yesterday', as an encore, I had hoped to hear 'Now And Then' as the super encore to everything. 'All You Need Is Love' is a worthy ending, in these "times of trouble". The six Analogues took their final bows and left the stage. They are no more.
The more surprising was the fact that the show opened with The Young Analogues, four young guys who played early Beatles hits, to great enthusiasm of the audience. With all the studio albums in mind, I almost forgot about all those great hits that made the band in the first place. That success allowed the band to do whatever it wanted to do in its final years. No one questioned their musical wisdom for a second. Besides that, the suit and tie guys in the industry had no clue, with one exception, George Martin. He deserves this credit for posterity as well.
I want to thank The Analogues in my parting message on their years. Ever since 2017, I have reported on the shows I visited with great enthusiasm. On the one hand, I thank them for the experience but on the other and more importantly, your shows have brought me back to my first musical experience and being a fan before I knew what being a fan was. I had started to take The Beatles for granted, as something from the past, eclipsed by The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd and all that came after. No longer. The Beatles are the best band ever, period. Thank you, The Analogues, for reminding me! A big chapeau from,
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
The best albums 2000 - 2024, 2 of 10
We're getting there, slowly but surely. In fact, the top 10 may be a lot more boring, where variety is concerned, than the 10 albums presented here. These albums are not my absolute favourites though.
20. El Camino. The Black Keys (2011)
An album containing songs like 'Lonely Boy', 'Gold On The Ceiling' and 'Little Black Submarines' simply has to end way up high on this list and with the consistent quality of the rest of the album it does. All albums that followed, and I have them all, cannot match the quality of El Camino. The Black Keys found its greatest form here and found themselves in the bigger venues. The duo, that on record and live has not been a duo for a while, found its true qualities here in a set of superb songs that together make a great album. Especially those first two mentioned songs are of an exceptional quality. The best two the band ever made.
My favourite album of this year finds itself back at number 19. Released in the first week of 2024, it remained my favourite all through the year. Live the band performed on the same height. Starting with the single 'Literary Mind' the Irish band found itself in my good graces immediately. Enter a song like 'Up And Comer' and the band can't do no wrong any more. Both song are in the second half of the album, even near the end and they are bangers. The rest of the album certainly is of very consistent quality. I have played it so much this year. The band has been touring relentlessly ever since the release, so I can only hope they still like to be musicians and find the inspiration to come up with an even better album soon. They have a quality that deserves to be heard more and more. Discoveries can be made later on in life with ease. It only takes an open ear.
The album starts with an eleven minutes long song named after Tim Christensen's support band band, 'The Damn Crystals'. Whatever comes after it, doesn't matter. This is the song of songs where Tim Christensen is concerned. Of course the album is good, all his albums are, but 'The Damn Crystals' is simply top. Call it alternative rock or progrock, I don't care, the song rocks and takes the listener through several moods, speeds and musical genres. Next up is the first single of the album called 'Surprise Me' a clear and strong rock song. Live the band convinced totally. This was a machine and then it all stopped. With 'Tim Christensen and the Damn Crystals' we at least still have the memories.
And once again here is the band that I thought would be my band of the 00s. It turned out to be John the Baptist which is almost as good, isn't it? You Could Have It So Much Better was my album of 2005 and not even the best album by FraFer, as I call them. Fact is, the band never disappointed and with the first single of You Could Have It So Much Better, 'Do You Want To', delivered one of my absolute favourites by the band. In 2004 the band came into my life with a bang and consolidated this position with its second album only a year later. Since then things went slow. In January 2025 the new album is due. I'm looking forward anxiously, just like you can look upward in this list for more to come.
Had you asked me circa five years back how many Johan albums would be in this list I would have said three, but I've turned a bit off the band. Not from Pergola though. This remains my favourite and the title song remains its best song to date. The alternative pop and rock found on the album is the best it ever played. Add a single like 'Tumble And Fall' or a sensitive ballad like 'Day Is Done' and a short but oh so fine song like 'I Feel Fine' and you'll understand why this is the best album coming out of Hoorn and Amsterdam in this first quarter of the century. And, not to forget, the best album coming out of The Netherlands in this period.
Here is record 1.a of 2015. You have already read about Broeder Dieleman, here is Sophie Hunger's finest to date, by far. On Supermoon everything Hunger had been working on for a decade came together. Assisted by her fantastic band and super guitarist and Belgian Geoffrey Burton she brought together different genres of music and different languages. The Swiss singer showcases several languages but mostly English. Supermoon is the more surprising as what came before did not really give something away on what to expect. The albums that followed were good as well, but not good enough for this list. I just love the musicality of Sophie Hunger (Émilie Jeanne-Sophie Welti) and live she's nothing but a sensation.
Fun fact, I work regularly with a former colleague of her father, both former Swiss diplomats.
Although 'Ruby' became Kaiser Chiefs' signature song for posterity, the band never bettered its debut album Employment. The songs with which the band entered the stage were so incredibly strong. Just look at the songs opening the album. 'Everyday I Love You Less And Less' 'I Predict A Riot', 'Modern Way' and 'Na Na Na Na Naa' and you have four winners in a row. Take later on a song like 'Caroline No' and you have a winning album. True, it's been a while since I played the album last, but whenever one of these songs come by I know again how good the album is. The one after is nice also, with 'Ruby' on it but after that only 'Education' etc. was worthwhile. Since then the band has totally lost it way imho. With Employment it has a claim to eternity.
The band I wasn't interested in, until I read early in 2015 that it was the best selling album on vinyl. Don't ask me why, but I decided to buy it. The first new album on vinyl I bought in something like 26 years and the start of a new collection. I simply loved it and played it over and over and over. This Is All Yours is strange collection of songs. From a folk tune on a recorder to complex electronic tracks, Alt-J is not a band that digests easily. And yet the album got to me like a knife through butter. The weird voice of singer Joe Newman, the electronics of Gus Unger-Hamilton and all the sounds and tricks together make for very interesting listening. There's not a vinyl album I've played more in the past ten years.
The Moe Green Specials the band used to be called before it became TMGS and released the best album coming out of Belgium in this century. On Rivers and Coastlines: The Ride a host of musical styles come together, starting with Americana and then mix it Tex-Mex, West Coast balladry and the soft, modest voice of Peet Lodiers. The way the trumpets blow is pure mariachi coming out the Belgian heaths around Kalmthout. When I first heard 'Tell Everyone' it was as if struck by lighting. Everything stopped around me. All that followed confirmed what I was hearing: extremely sensitive and good music. TMGS is a big band with a wide sound bringing the listener to the U.S.' border regions with Mexico, coming straight out of the border region of Belgium and The Netherlands, for which my country cannot take any credit. The even made it to the top of my list in 2013. That is no longer is the case, as you will find out tomorrow. I have no clue whether the band is still around. If it is, it's time for a new record!
My album of 2021 is Blue Weekend. Wolf Alice, quiet now for four years, really brought everything together that it promised on its previous two records. The punk, the rock, the mystery, the atmosphere and the voice of singer Ellie Rowsell. Blue Weekend is the kind of album that puts a spell on its listeners. An album you follow without questioning it. It washes over you like a big wave, leaving you uncertain for a short while whether you will surface again but unlike the real thing, Blue Weekend does. Right up to today I love listening to the album and every time I am surprised how good it is. I saw the band live in 2017 and that was just as mesmerising. One of those shows of which you know it is special. The promise the band gave off then was delivered on by way of Blue Weekend. It's time for the next step!
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
Saturday, 28 December 2024
The best albums 2000 - 2024, 3 of 10
30. Another Place. Maggie Brown (2017)
Did we stop yesterday with Elenne May, here's another band from Amsterdam that is far more obscure than it deserves to be. Maggie Brown released a perfect album in the form of Another Place. Although I like all its songs, songs that seem to have touched me on another level, there's one that really makes the great. 'Hail To The Rain' is the kind of song that a band comes up with, if it's lucky. Only the truly great artists have more than one. Maggie Brown has one at this point from its second album and latest to date. There are more very good songs on Another Place. Check the album out.
Will the album really stay as good as I think it is right now? I was listening to it for the first time with two dark Kasteel beers in me on a Friday early evening, with my love cooking in the kitchen. Playing it loud with closed eyes, positioned ideally between the two speakers, I was proverbially swept off of my feet. But not just me, from the kitchen came "who is this"? and we played Wild God again over dinner. As I wrote before, I had nothing by Nick Cave before 'Push The Sky Away', see elsewhere in this list, and liked every album since then. Wild God tops it all. It may be over the top, or whatever people say/write about it. This is simply fantastic. Time will tell where we truly wind up. For now this is really, really good and touches me on a host of levels.
'La Flaca' may be my discovery of the Barcelona band, De Vuelta Y Vuelta is my favourite album. Here it all comes together. All the potential presented perfectly. The albums that followed all delivered but never again like this. All the different influences come together and gel like the band must have intended it before but perhaps was not yet able to achieve. Here it could and it shows. Guests bring in influences from rap music and even from Italy. In Rome in 2001 the album lay there in the Italian version, where the band had broken already. With an album like De Vuelta Y Vuelta I found it really does not matter that I do not understand more than a few words. The music tells it all. Always forward is the message I got from it. I took it to heart.
I came on board with her eponymous album not long before the release of Iris. It did not make this list, but would have been somewhere between 125 and 100. Iris is more varied, better and more mysterious. Reb Fountain shows more sides of her musical self, goes deeper musically and within herself it seems. I can listen to all the songs on Iris for a long time. The American born singer-songwriter from New Zealand is a late bloomer. She found her voice later in life but it comes across all the stronger. Iris is a real top album.
I'm cheating a bit here, but Violeta Violeta is a pop opera released in three parts over the period of one year. Should I have to choose an individual spot for each album they would be around here anyway. So why not allow for room for two other albums? On Violeta Violeta Kaizers Orchestra really goes all out. Despite the fact that you'll find some smaller songs like 'Hjerteknuser' on I, there are also several huge songs with an orchestra and choir. Songs do not come more pompous than 'Begravelsespolka' on III, nor often as good as this song As I understand the final shows were in Oslo with all these extras on stage. I never saw nor heard it. And then the band broke up, with me missing the show due to illness when this was announced. I always had the albums for consolation. There is more Kaizers Orchestra to come.
Accelerate is one of R.E.M.'s later albums, though not its final as I thought. On Accelerate the band rocks once again and is in great form. Every song is what it should be. Yes, the band released several other nice records between 2000 and 2011 but not as good and consistent as this one. Accelerate is the only one deserving a spot on this list. By now retired for well over a decade, we still have the records. I played this one for the first time in a long time because of this list and was so pleased to hear it once again. I must have played it often at the time, as all song rang bells and brought back the lyrics immediately.
Big Love Blanket is an album that grew on me. With every spin it became better. It was far too low on my 2022 list, in hindsight. Personal Trainer is the third band Willem Smit is frontman of and he's still some time away from becoming 30. Paleo Superspeed Donkey, Canshaker Pi both bands had their moments. It really came together for Smit in Personal Trainer, with bassist Ruben van Weegberg always at his side. Smit is able to play more with his alternative rock music, making it more playful and serious at the same time. This all came together on Big Love Blanket and especially in the few truly fantastic songs it has on it. They are party songs that can get any crowd moving. One of the best albums to come out of this country for sure. The bands second album, 'Still Willing', is still growing on me. Too slowly to receive a spot on this list.
Here's the Covid album of De Kift. It was presented online from an empty Paradiso. It is the only album show I've missed since 1997 or 98. Hoogriet is the album on which De Kift reached its pinnacle musically. Although over time 'Niemandsland' may prove even more impactful because of the theme, musically it will not. Delicacy meets roughness here and this includes songs to dream away to. De Kift is one of the most alternative bands I know, because nothing is "normal" with De Kift. Not the music, not the atmosphere, not the instruments used, nor the presentation. With De Kift it is impossible to predict what comes next. The surprise is always total and overwhelming. We are ageing, slowly but surely, the experience does not alter. De Kift is a great band and am glad to see it has moved back into the bigger halls of the venues once again. It deserves it. De Kift is not easy, but certainly unique.
And to think that the album containing the band's best song, 'Bal', has not made it to this list. If there ever was a song containing the essence of the band it is that song called 'Bal'. "Feeste, feeste, feeste", in all seriousness.
22. Mutter. Rammstein (2001)
I discovered Mutter several years after its release through the son of the singer of the band I was in at the time, Flopsband. My circa eight year old son discovered one of the songs somehow, perhaps 'Ich Will' through a tv commercial. I took to Mutter immediately. The melodies on the album are so strong. They mostly come from the keyboard of Christian Lorenz. The rest of the band goes for the rhythm and the deep end. In front is the imposing hulk of singer Till Lindemann, who on stage is larger than life and then some more. This album is full of great songs and is simply the band's best. Without competition in sight.
Another album from the first year of this century. Coldplay is a band I've totally lost sight of since 50% of 'X&Y'. What I wrote of a song like 'Fix You', now the band's most popular song it seems, totally came true and exemplary for nearly all songs I've heard since: boring. To think that things started with this incredibly strong and beautiful album followed by that powerful second one. On Parachutes the band sounded fresh, all but a formula. It was full of ideas that worked out so well. Whenever I hear, 'Yellow', 'Trouble' or name one of the others, I'm back immediately, enjoying the memories of the songs on Parachutes. How can things go so wrong for a band and yet become the biggest band on the planet in the 2020s? At least I have Parachutes, 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' and an half of 'X & Y'.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
Friday, 27 December 2024
The best albums 2000 - 2024, 4 of 10
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40. Hoofdkaas. De Kift (2008)
And then you find that one of your favourite albums by De Kift is already sixteen years old. What stage decoration was Hoofdkaas presented in? The water organ, the percussion vehicle that drove up to the stage with the band as a marching band behind it? Fact is that musically Hoofdkaas was another step forward for the band originally from Oost-Knollendam. An ever evolving collective that continues right up to today. The band is never afraid to experiment and collaborate. With the title song and the way it is presented live by drummer Wim ter Weele, De Kift added one of its most beautiful songs to its oeuvre. It is certainly one of the most beautiful songs of the century so far.
Another band that never lived up to the promise it made with its debut album. Everything after simply wasn't as good as this. Maxïmo Park followed into the shoes of bands like Franz Ferdinand and Dogs Die In Hot Cars and played up tempo post punk. This album contains some classic songs the band produced. On top of these is 'Apply Some Pressure', without a doubt the song it will end shows with until the day it calls it quits. The energy, weirdness and spunk of just this song is sufficient to deserve a spot on this list. The rest of the songs assures this position.
So many bands and artists from New Zealand crossed my path since I discovered the newsletter of Auckland's Flying Nun record store. Though not on the store's record label, Flying Nun Records, the band came to me that way. Alternative rock with a twist like they only seem capable of in New Zealand. As I wrote a few times, there's something in the water there that everyone else in the world misses out on. The band around singer and songwriter Elizabeth Stokes blows up her songs to giant proportions without losing sight of what is important, the song and the singer. Guitarist and producer Jonathan Pearce can play solos as if he flies totally of the rails only to land on his feet within the song once again. And then the album contains 'I'm Not Getting Excited', one of the best songs of the past years, as a bonus.
Chris Eckman had released some solo albums through the years, but they never made a real impression on me. And then came Where The Spirit Rests. I was once again swept off my feet by the power of his songs and voice. It had been close to ten years, collaborations aside, that he released new solo work. It was well worth the wait, because Where The Spirit Rests is great and beautiful album. Eckman's voice resonates deeply into my brain. The accompaniment is sober. There's nothing more than strictly necessary and it is enough. This album was a great return to form.
And once more De Kift. The album Koper has a song called 'Nauwe Mijter' on it, a song that is so extremely good that it deserves a spot even if the rest was not up to par. The rest is, rest assured. Again with art work that is different from everything regular bands make. It is not even complete. You could order extra cards to complete it. (I never did.) Koper was the first De Kift album, I liked as a whole. Its predecessor 'Vlaskoorts' contains a few of the band's most beautiful songs, but is not a great album as a whole. Koper is. Several things seemed to get together for the band at the time. although it would be a few years before ti became this good again..
Nice to know. Coincidentally Franz Ferdinand and De Kift are underneath each other in this list. Do you know they released a single together? Both bands play a song of each other on this single. You may still be able to order it on De Kift's website.
I was shocked when I saw Pau Dones in a new video just before Jarabe de Palo released what turned out to be its final album. A few weeks later he had succumbed to cancer. That was 2020. Let's go back to happier times when the Barcelona band released its 2007 album Adelantando with its happy and energetic songs bringing together Spanish, Latin, rap and rock music in its own perfect blend. Jarabe de Palo was on the top of its game and playing live in my country every once in a while. I love all of the band's albums but some are far better than others and Adelantando is one of them.
Another artist who is dead. Elliot Smith died under circumstances that will never be totally cleared. Although many people will point to his late 90s album as his best, for me it is From A Basement On The Hill. Admitted, the album last two, three songs too long, but before that moment, there is so much ear candy. On top of it all the album contains his best song: 'Pretty (Ugly Before)'. At a certain period in my life it spoke volumes to me. It all came out well though, but my heartstrings are still touched every single time I hear this song.
Ms. del Rey's latest album and as far as I'm concerned her best to date. The spoken word interludes aside, she has never sounded so good over a whole album. She seems to bare it all in a few of the songs. They are not just mysterious but full of emotions and that combination is one she hadn't presented before. The cool, calm and collected Lana del Rey was left behind in that tunnel. Cracks appeared in the facade she always kept between herself and us. We are all better because of it. This is sheer beauty from a superstar, one of the biggest of the past fourteen years.
Elenne May came into my life with an email asking me if I wanted to listen to the band's new EP, one of three that would make up this album over time. It turned out to be its the final album, as what should have been its last album was never recorded and left behind as a live performance an five digitally released songs. Veggie Patch In The Desert is an album that takes the listener through a host of emotions with songs that are all very much worthwhile listening to. I have seen the band live several times, including twice in my living room and this album came alive every single time. And then it was all over two years ago. A real shame as there was so much talent combined here. Unfortunately, too little people took notice.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
Thursday, 26 December 2024
The best albums 2000 - 2024, 5 of 10
50. Remedies. Soup (2017)
Symphonic rock, alternative rock, progressive rock? What to call Remedies? A little of all is my best guess. It's easier to conclude that Remedies is the album with the best cover art of the century so far. Claiming it can't be far from the truth. Norwegian band Soup explores its compositions and follows the chord progressions into every hidden nook and cranny, resulting in an album that keeps surprising, even after many listening sessions. The light, the dark, life and death, love and sadness it all comes by, showing all the different phases of each. I have no idea what came after but with Remedies Soup made a great impression on me.
As I wrote recently, you had not seen the last of the band. With Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action the band set another great step in its career. With songs like 'Love Illumination' and 'Bullet' you can't go wrong. FraFer swings no little here and was still together in its original line up. This would not last much longer. For some time now there's only two left, Alex Kapranos and bassist Bob Hardy. Like many bands from the second punkfunk era, the band is great at making songs that are not easy sound like they are. FraFer finds the melody that can be sung along to with ease while the notes and chords played do not sound like the most obvious ones. That starts with the opening song 'Right Words' and ends with the last note on the album. Although the band never got as big as it promised at the start, it is still popular to this day.
Another album that time will tell how good it really is, but I'm impressed alright. Niemandsland is an album where De Kift goes off the deep end. All the anxiousness and fears of 2024 have gone into it. The environment, war, pollution, extinction, sorrows and woe, singer and text assembler Ferry Heijne has found pieces of text from all around the world to share his message. The band obliges fully but has never sounded more subdued than here. Niemandsland tells of the world crumbling apart with nothing we can do, as it is the hot shots of this world determining what it is that happens to us. Niemandsland is, even for those unable to understand Dutch, an album to take to heart. And the artwork you see here? It is 100% unique. There's not one the same. Only the concept and shape is.
It was at least a year later before I learned of Kaizers Orchestra, but I can still see myself sitting in the record store on a Friday or Saturday afternoon, when I saw one of the fathers from school walk in. Whether he did anything with my advice I don't know, fact is, I was jumping up and down on my stool listening to the album. Kaizers Orchestra is one of my favourite bands of this century for certain. The Norwegians blend everything from rock and punk, to Balkans, gypsy music and Tom Waits and not to forget De Kift. Kaizers Orchestra is the punk version of De Kift. Everything is sung in the band's local dialect from Bergen. This album was followed by 'Evig Pint', that only just did not make to this list. Many other albums did as you will find out. The promise made in the album's title, unfortunately was not lived up to when the band broke up in 2013.
By far the most experimental album on this list, my co number 1 of 2015. Co, because it should not be there in a musical sense. This was all about experiencing pure senses as Tonnie Dieleman, who is Broeder Dieleman, mixed so much into his music. Sound scapes, atmospherics and spoken word, in which he tried and succeeded to capture his heritage of the Zeeland towns, marshes, religion and people. This is not music perse but so much more and so impressive. His other albums are not here but they are all very much worthwhile.
With 'Dookie' American Dream is the album of west coast punkers Green Day. The band's reaction to George Bush JR's presidency. One hit after the other came off the album making it without doubt the band's most successful. The album that makes Green day fill the biggest venues and being the main act on festivals to this day. It is also the band's most ambitious album and that paid off. It proves that punk can be more than either just anger or having a good time and pogo the night away.
44. I Am The River, The River Is Me. Jen Cloher (2023)
I was surprised I did not let 'Jen Cloher', her eponymous album, make this list. Choices are tough, I can tell you. Her latest album is played regularly to this day. After her breakup with indie darling Courtney Barnett, conspicuously absent here, she went back to her New Zealand roots and returned with this even better album that shows so many sides to her musicality. In that she's so much better than Ms Barnett. The Maori chants really enrich some songs but overall I Am The River, The River Is Me is a very strong album.
Cracker still exists yet seems to have faded away completely. The band's list of great albums stopped with Forever in 2002. The mix of country(rock), pop and music somewhere in between the two, that is part serious and part in jest, is of the kind that makes me want to sing along. For the whole of the time. I hadn't played the album for some time, as I always put on Cracker's first three albums. When I did, I found there was not one song I could not sing along to and enjoyed them so much. I was lucky to be able to have seen them twice live in small venues, incredibly loud, okay. Live the band is totally professional. The albums show the band's other side, the fun stuff.
Rock and roll from 2023 that could have been made anywhere in the past 50 years. Boston bands and singers move in and out of bands and collaborations and The Shang Hi Los is one such constellation. The best I've heard to date. With an opening song like 'Takes One To Know One' a slot on this list is already guaranteed. With the songs that follow the rest is a piece of cake. The voices of Jen D'Angora and Dan Kopko seem to have been made for each other, while together they make great records. Kopko's band Watts came close with its latest album, in this constellation things are simply better.
A live album and the only one in this list. Zita Swoon is (was?) a Belgian band around singer-songwriter-guitarist Stef Kamil Carlens. Zita Swoon has a drummer who seems more like a mathematician than percussionist. A band that makes square songs round. That makes difficult things sound easy and even more importantly beautiful. Supported by a host of great musicians, among whom the late Tom Pintens, and three female singers, the songs on A Band In A Box surpass the original versions. Although a live album, recorded without audience, it is the distilled version of all the albums that came before and the highlight of the band's oeuvre.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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