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Son Of The Rambling Dawn. Mondaze
Italian
band Mondaze makes its debut on this blog with a single of its recently
released album 'Linger'. Expect to hear some shoegazing with the band
laying down a wall of (guitar) sound over which a singer whisper-sings
his lyrics and the lead guitar takes the lead for 100%. I expect all
members to have very long hair that hangs in front of their eyes, while
staring at the floor when playing. The band formed in 2018 and with
'Linger' released its second album. Although the band members'
influences range from a lot to metal, the latter is not very
recognisable on Son Of The Rambling Dawn. The band calls Swervedriver
and Ride, both from the 1990s, as inspiration but there's enough 2020s
psychedelic influenced bands that come to mind as well. Like DIIV or
Beach Fossils for example. The single is convincing, so it's time to put
on 'Linger'.
The
second artist to make his debut today is Belgian-Egyptian
singer-songwriter Tamino. Although he is working towards the release of
his third album in March, he was not considered before. Babylon in a mid
tempo song, based on an acoustic guitar and can be called a ballad in
the style of, ultimately, Jeff Buckley. Tamino is not scared to sore to
those heights with his voice and getting there with ease. The single
explores the composition in a few ways. By starting extremely small,
just an acoustic guitar, with some atmospheric sounds in the background,
Tamino gives himself the opportunity to slowly flash out the song in
the five minutes that follow. More instruments are let in one by one,
bringing out the inner force of the composition. The arrangement slowly
gets more width and breadth. Go over and listen for yourself, as this
song is truly worth it. What have I missed in the past? I don't know.
It's impossible to listen to everything, but if I'm not mistaken this
song can be as impressive as I expect the songs of Michael Kiwanuka's
new album to be.
And
here's debut number three and, believe it or not, it's all purely
coincidental. The Coo is a London - Amsterdam duo that came together at a
chance meeting during an open mike evening somewhere in Amsterdam,
pre-Covid. Matt Arthur (UK) and Jara Holdert (NL) started to make music
together and now have presented their debut album 'a different life' to
the world. About Time is one of the singles and it is an alternative
folk ballad, not unlike Adrianne Lenker could write and sing with or
without Big Thief. Above all the mood of the song is ultra relaxed. The
music moves ever so slowly towards dissonance without ever becoming so. It scales its edges though.
Arthur and Holdert sing together, with her voice taking on the Lenker
role. At the same time The Coo attempts to reach for beauty and finds it
with ease. About Time slowly but surely becomes more present by playing
and singing louder and adding an organ. When it all fades away, the two
oohs take the song to musical heaven. A very nice introduction About
Time is.
"Holden
Miller is a professional singer/songwriter, dancer, friend and human.
He’s like soo smart and funny and not like other guys. Holden makes
music that ranges from folk to pop and everything in between...". O.k.,
what else can a reviewer add?, you might ask. Nothing on Holden Miller,
as I do not know the guy. On his music a little bit more. When someone
sings "and the stones keep on rolling, tumbling dice are thrown ..." my
brain responds immediately. 'Cool' is a song that could have been by The
Black Keys but is, at least for the first part, far lighter. Holden Miller
doesn't mind to play songs that sounds familiar but have a quality
that deserve listening to them. Yes, it's pop and folk with some rock,
Jack Johnson and Mika all thrown into the mix. It makes this EP the more
fun. At the same time because of the beats the songs have a more modern
sound. In other words, more than enough to discover.
And
now for a dose of some good old rock and roll. Not the 1950s one but a
mix of punk rock and classic rock singing from the 80s. Just listen to
the whoa, whoas in 'Fire And Powder' and tell me that you are not waiving a
fist in the air and shouting along at the top of your voice. Boston's
Diablogato is on fire here alright and doesn't need any other powder to
ignite itself. Drew Indingaro, vocals & guitar, Charlie MacSteven,
guitar & backing vocals, Jesse Von Kenmore, drums and Johnny Custom,
upright bass have released a six song mini album containing their songs
of the past few years. 'Jet Black Heart' for example can be found here
already in 2022. It does not make the collection less welcome. The way
the band weaves different influences, like the surf guitar in 'Wandering
Hearts' or the heavy organ in 'Jet Black Night, into its music makes
each song a surprise' and the EP very diverse. The latter song's groove
is simply great. "This song sounds like Deep Purple and Uriah Heep were
put in a blender with Lynyrd Skynyrd", I wrote in 2022 and I'm still
convinced it is. The diversity makes Diablogato a modern jukebox filled
with originals, leaving listeners wondering who they are listening to.
Let me make that clear for you: DIABLOGATO!
Yes,
it's over six years ago I went to the Concertgebouw (or Concertgebow,
as Paul McCartney pronounces it in 1975's 'Rock Show'. What comes close is (to)
bow and wow) to see Stargaze. The orchestra played David Bowie's 'Black Star'
album integrally with a host of guest singers of which Anja Plaschg, as
Soap & Skin is known to her family and friends, was one. She has
now released a new single and it is her cover of Black Star's 'Girl Loves
Me'. The arrangement of strings gives 'Girl Loves Me' an even darker
vibe, as the cello is allowed to go really deep. As such the song is
strange, the rhythm, the mood, the question asked in it. It is the
mystery, that hangs over most of 'Black Star' that makes 'Girl Loves Me'
so intriguing and then good. Anja Plaschg voice in the verses makes the
song come across somewhat lighter and that element makes this release
worthwhile and stand on its own, despite following the original quite
closely. Soap & Skin's new album, 'Torso', has been released
recently.
Guided
by who? Indeed, Guided by Choices is a tribute band, releasing an album
with sixteen tracks by Guided by Voices. Now that band has never
attracted me for reasons not entirely clear to me. Oddly enough Ghosts Of A Different
Dream is a song that immediately appealed to me. So explain that. It's a
nice pop-rock track somewhere between The Knack and The Romantics I'd
opt to point out. The kind of song that is alternative enough to be
credible, with a nice surprising instrumental interlude and a chord
strummed solo/outro. With a vocal melody that is not run of the mill but
still easy enough to grasp. Guided by Voices was once known for its
ultra short songs. With 2.41 this one is quite long. Guided by Choices
was formed by Garret Vandermolen, to be found as Speedfossils on this
blog. He was joined by some friends and other Speedfossils members.
Together they recorded 'WATCH OUT FOR JOKER BOB: A Birthday Tribute to
Robert Pollard', that was released on the man's 67th birthday, 31
October.
"The
Elephant is in the room", Jasmine.4.t sings in her single. Elephant is a
strong single, more from the power and presence it shares with the
listener than strong melodic prowess. It's not bad, don't get me wrong,
it's repetitive. She just starts with her voice and an acoustic guitar.
It's not long before a second joins, some percussion joins and thus
slowly but surely the song becomes bigger and bigger. There's a whole
story on who the singer-songwriter was, now is and the struggle how she
got here, but in my humble opinion that takes away from the single and
how strong it is. Let it tell its own story. Jasmine.4.t. was the first
signing on Phoebe Bridgers' label and could record with her and the
other boygeniuses. The result is Elephant the lead single of 'You Are
The Morning' that will be released on January 17. If the songs on the
album are this strong, it is something to be on the look out for.
Search
the blog and you find that Girl with a Hawk has become a regular on
WoNoBlog. Share It All is no exception. The band around Linda Viers
takes a country holiday on its new single. Not the traditional Tammy
Wynette sort but somewhere between pop, mild rock and country. You can
hear the clear lead guitar playing warm country notes, while a Hammond
B3 (sound) provides Share It All with a
warmth a person needs on a stormy, rainy day in late fall. There's
almost nothing that makes Share It All stand out from thousands of songs
like this that came before it and yet it does everything right. In
other words, it soothes the ears and mind. Just what one needs every
once in a while.
Sam Fender? He seems to be quite big, but totally past me by. HareD reported on an AFAS live show in 2022. And then I heard a song on the radio, as "new music on the DJ's radar". It sounded like either Bruce Springsteen or The War on Drugs to me and then Shazam told me it was Sam Fender. So I decided to write about it, as the song as such has a very nice drive. But, heaving listened to Sam Fender's latest single a few times, and I know I will be offending some fans, who needs this? We already have a Springsteen and The War on Drugs. Heck, we even have (far too many) songs by The Killers. People Watching does not add anything to what came before. Even Sam Fender's voice is interchangeable. What remains, is a powerful single and for someone who is not familiar with what came before probably a good act to follow. Writes someone who is not a big fan of all the other artists mentioned.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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