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As Good As It Gets (feat. Mitski). Katie Gavin
We open this week with a dream track by an artist who finds herself on WoNoBlog for the first time. Katie Gavin is accompanied by Mitski. As Good As It Gets is a love song says Gavin. It is a song about being totally relaxed and comfortable in a settled relationship, about looking forward to getting old and taking on the highs and lows together. Gavin sets this topic against soft music, present, sure but soft. As relaxed as the topic of the lyrics is. The mood it creates though is one of urgency and focus. The mysterious rhythm in the background, whatever it is, gives the song something extra, otherworldly, that befits the dreamy way of singing by especially Katie Gavin. Some instruments are allowed to step forward for a few notes, after which they recede or disappear. As Good As It Gets is an extremely nice song from the album 'What A Relief'.
Well
over two years ago Wiri Donna (Bianca Bailey) debuted on this blog
first with a single and then her debut EP 'Being Alone'. On In My
Chambers Wiri Donna pushes in the pedal some more. The first songs on
the EP are very much alternative rock, where she is not afraid to move
towards the edges of a song. Not that songs are off key, but the
musicians are stretching what is considered conventional. For people
like me this means that things get exciting and worthwhile checking out
seriously. Further on in the EP you will find that the light and the
shade approach to music, I mentioned Shocking Blue, The Police and
Nirvana as examples in 2022, return on In My Chambers. Things could
undoubtedly get wilder, in her choice of music Wiri Donna goes at pretty
wild alright. Ms. Bailey loves to rock out, that much is sure. Much
more so than in 2022. Alternative rock fans should find their way to In
My Chambers, as things do not get much better than this. Wiri Donna
convinces fully. Two EPs down, I'm a fan.
Again
a debut, as a solo artist. True connaisseurs will have encountered
Barlow as a member of the Boston and NYC music scene since the 1990s.
Which I was not. Thanks to Malibou Lou I am these last several years.
Today Eric Barlow enters my life with his second solo single for the
upcoming album 'Still Moving Parts'. Fans of music from many decades
ago, let's say from the 1960s to 1990s will hear what I'm hearing on
Raving At The Wall. A mix of pop and rock that sings of the joys of life
and great fun music is. Watch out for a great riff here, an oh so nice
lead melody there and a song overall that contains small snippets of The
Beatles, Bowie, The Lemonheads and what not. Raving at the wall is not
what I call having fun. However, when it's caught in music like Eric
Barlow presents, count me in for a short while.
Debut
number three already this week. Montreal, Canada based band La Sécurité
signed to Bella Union and celebrates this with the release of its
single Détour. Montreal is in Quebec, so primarily a French language
town. The title suggests a French song. It is primarily English though,
for those who got worried reading this. La Sécurité plays music as if it
is 1977-79, with the first albums of bands like Talking Heads and The B52s being released. In other words, the music is square and not round.
The hooky rhythm propels the song forward. We used to call that kind of music new wave. Détour in that sense is a
very outdated sounding song. From there the fun starts though. Ian Dury is another
example. Just like his 'Sex And Drug And Rock And Roll', or 'Psycho
Killer' and 'Private Idaho' of the other two examples are hooky, they
are all great fun. A great introduction with more, undoubtedly, to
come.
"She's
got a problem and she's gonna get something done", that is what the
title starts off in my head immediately. HotWax' song has very little to
do with the Fountains of Wayne song. This is modern punk rock, with
some latter day twist no punker would ever have come up with close to
fifty years ago. HotWax does and puts itself in line with recent bands
like Blood Red Shoes, Wet Leg, Sprints and many others. The Hastings
trio is not holding back, except for the short psychedelic interlude.
She's Got A Problem is exciting. There's no other word for it. There's a
ton of energy poured into the song and it just shares and shares it
with the world. From the drums intro to the dying seconds, this song
rocks huge. I don't know what it is with U.K. bands but nearly always I
prefer them way above American ones. HotWax is no exception, based on
this single that is. Yes, again a debut band. Album 'Hot Shock' is
underway.
Robin
Guthrie was on this blog with two singles in 2021. Of course the
artist's career goes back all the way to the 1980s. Today, he
releases soft flowing instrumental tracks that are at times very much
worthwhile to listen to. Take his latest EP Astoria. The compositions
just swirl into my ears. Pleasant melodies just circle around, while I'm
feeling more and more relaxed. Not that nothing happens in the songs.
Take 'Starting Fires'. More and more instruments are woven into the
primary melody, making it more complex to listen to and interesting to
listen to. 'Starting Fires' at heart is a sort of ambient music, like
all tracks on Astoria start out, after which the song develops into
something else. A track like 'Jura' is pure Kairos material. Layer upon
layer of synths play out, creating ever more complex melodies weaving in and
out of each other. No, Astoria has nothing to do with rock and loud
guitars, it's still beautiful to listen to.
And
another firster on the blog. No, Momma is not from Ohio, but Brooklyn
in New York. Momma is a band that plays into the likes of Warpaint with a
little more laying into the guitars than synths. Ohio All The Time
rocks. I do not know anything about Ohio, except a recent news item on plastic pollution in
the Ohio river but that is about it. Reading the short bio, I
find that the band is not new but has scored a hit in 2003 called 'Bang
Bang'. Whether they did anything in the meantime, I don't know and am
too lazy to look it up. Based on this single, the band can count me in.
Ohio All The Time brings back good memories and adds a new one. Over a
layer of guitars Mommy's singer is able to sing softly with a innocent
voice. The excitement is left to the lead guitarist who is allowed to kick
up a storm here and there. Just like it should every once in a while.
With
Mockingbird Larkin Poe may have released my favourite song by the duo
to date. The song rocks with a tough blues sound, but also is a kind of
ballad and easily could be translated into a country song, modern and
traditional. Rebecca en Megan Lovell step out of their comfort zone it
seems. The crying slide sound is there but in a totally different
background. The singer who comes to my mind foremost is Swiss-American
Beth Wimmer. She would never record a song in this fashion, but
Mockingbird could be one of her songs kicked into life in a totally
different and near unrecognisable way. I love the way Mockingbird is
built up. With the intro where slide plays the lead, to the first verse
where the tough voice of Rebecca leads, before the song blows up with
the whole band kicking in, the harmony vocals between the sisters join
in. The chorus is simply absolutely great. Mockingbird is a song
extraordinaire.
The
Yearlings up to now was just a name to me. Surprising, as a long hiatus
apart, the band has been active since the late 90s. Following two
albums in the 00s and one in 2018, the band is on route to its fourth
release in 2025. Still with the original members, Olaf Koeneman, Niels
Goudswaard, Herman Gaaff, Léon Geuyen and Bertram Mourits, with Martijn
Vink as additional guitarist since early this year. The music presented
with Music Ball brings back memories from long ago. Not just because it
is alternative/indie rock with a strong focus on melodies but also
because of the melancholy mood coming out of the song. Koeneman has that
kind of voice. The drums are quite tough and in contrast with most of
the other things going on. Until the two lead guitars, including the
slide go for it. While everything during the parts that are sung is the restraint
itself. Someone's really taken off the leash here. The contrast is
what makes Medicine Ball come doubly alive. The song itself already is
and then some. Yes, I'm curious for this new album.
It's two and a half years ago that Jane Willow was on the blog last, with her (second) living room show in Haarlem, where she gained a new fan in everyone present. Here's her new single, Letting You Go' off her upcoming EP 'Watch Me Fall'. The Dublin by way of Breda based singer-songwriter shows that she still honing her songwriting skills. Letting You Go is a delicate ballad of the kind that settles in my brain with ease. The impression the song makes on me, is that Jane Willow is playing in a different league. This is a mature song by a mature singer-songwriter. Together with Kevin Corcoran, piano, synths, bass and Anthony Gibney, electric guitar she presents a song that radiates beauty. All I hear is so frail in sound, yet unbeatable and unbreakable. The kind of song that touches me and carries me at the same time. Jane Willow undeniably has released good music in the past, but this is truly something else. Ireland, classical and great ballads can be heard here all in one, in the singing, in the piano, in the atmosphere
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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