Danny En Danny. Fixkes

Het is vier en een half jaar geleden dat Fixkes op deze blog stond, met 'IV'. Raar hoe het brein werkt. Dat zei mij, net als in 2020, da's 'n rapper, dus hoef ik niet te luisteren. Gelukkig heb ik het toch gedaan en opnieuw komt er een prima album tevoorschijn.

Nu probeer ik altijd te luisteren naar een plaat voordat ik de bio in ga en soms doe ik het helemaal niet, omdat mijn eigen fantasie genoeg is. Al luisterend naar Danny En Danny kreeg ik het idee dat het wel grappig was dat Fixkes zich had laten inspireren door iemand als Will Tura of Louis Neefs. Pas toen ik de bio las, bleek dat het album vol staat met covers. En pas toen ik het wist en beter ging luisteren, hoorde ik dat ik 'Doosje' wel eens gehoord moet hebben, maar niet meer dan dat. De echte bel ging dan ook niet af. En dat geldt voor alle nummers. Ik ken ze gewoon niet. Van wie ze zijn, laat ik aan u, lezer. Prettige zoektocht.

Het maakt Danny En Danny een zeer gevarieerd album. De muziek vliegt van een jazzy popsong als 'Doosje' naar alternatieve rock, indie en nog meer. Fixkes presenteert hier een zeer gevarieerd repertoire. Dat komt al naar voren binnen een liedje. Neem 'Jennifer Jennings'. Er wordt gespeeld alsof het 1979 is, maar dan zit er ook een totaal poppy instrumentaal stukje in dat zo zoet is. Noem het postpunk met een pop twist.

Een nummer als 'Banaan' is keihard binnen de context van deze plaat en kan gezien worden als een woest feestnummer dat menig podium en festivalweide op zijn kop zal zetten. Origineel zal het een rapnummer zijn, is mijn inschatting, totaal verbouwt tot alternatieve rock. "Gaan met die banaan", indeed. Terwijl 'Danny' een banger in de stijl van De Staat is, maar dan ingevuld door Fixkes. Zet dat af tegen 'Doosje' en je weet hoe ver de muziek uit elkaar ligt op Danny En Danny.

Promo foto

Om bij die banaan te komen, wil Fixkes maar wat graag aan lianen slingeren, als een 'Klungel van de Jungle'. Weer zo'n liedje dat mij onbekend is, maar qua sound toch heel vertrouwd voorkomt. Opnieuw weet de band te verrassen met het geluid van de solo. Een diepe keyboardklank geeft het nummer de donkerte van een dik bladerdek, terwijl de zon niet heel ver weg is. Precies zoals in het nummer zelf.

U weet genoeg. Vrijwel ieder nummer zet een geheel andere sfeer neer. Soms zal dat bevallen, soms minder, misschien zelfs niet. Als geheel echter werkt Danny En Danny volkomen. Ieder nummer wordt met overtuiging, maar ook respect uitgevoerd. Of het nu uitgekleed is of in een totale bandbezetting in volledige overgave, Fixkes zet het neer zoals het wil. Prima album dus.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Je kunt Danny En Danny hier bestellen:

https://excelsior-recordings.com/products/fixkes-danny-danny

After All The Party Years. The Yearlings

The Yearlings released two albums and played numerous shows before its breakup in 2006. In 2025 the band is ready to release its second album since reforming in the second half of the 10s. With the addition of Martijn Vink the band has released its new album, After All The Party Years. Listening to the album, I'd say the party only just begun.

The Yearlings play music that must be linked to the U.S. It sounds like Ryan Adams, a countrified version of R.E.M, The Jayhawks. Alternative country rock, something like that. My inclination is to put rock first though. The Yearlings do not mind to put guitars first, propped up by a solid rhythm section. A warm Hammond escapes every once in a while adding a special sauce over the music. Over it all singer Olaf Koeneman wraps his melancholy voice. A minor key definitely is his favourite environment.

That is often where beauty is found in music. It is not hard to discover beauty on After All The Party Years. Take 'Live With Laughter'. A Beatlesque moment or two is graced with a slide guitar played by Bertram Mourits and the Rickenbacker guitar sound of Martijn Vink, who brings in that typical The Byrds sound into the song. With Niels Goudswaard also playing guitar, that makes four guitarists in the band. That is even more than the Southern rock bands of old. Yet, not for a second I get the impression they are in each others way.

If I have to use one word to describe the album, it's warmth. In that there is a kinship to formerly from Utrecht band The Maureens, where Vink used to play in until 2023. The Yearlings musically is a far more direct band. The band rocks more. Both dip their writing pen into the same well in the U.S. though, one where the water is warm and pleasant. Both play music that can be identified as anywhere between now and decades ago. Music for the ages as it were. Not what is popular in the mainstream, yet has fans all over the world. There will be people everywhere who will enjoy this album.

I had not heard any of the previous albums by The Yearlings as far as I can recall. I'm almost certain I saw The Gasoline Brothers, an in between The Yearlings band, play a support show in Utrecht, years ago. I'm near certain that if I had heard one of these albums, I would have written about them. In any case, After All The Party Years is a perfect introduction.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order After All The Party Years here:

https://theyearlings.bandcamp.com/album/after-all-the-party-years

This Time Will Be Different. Nore

Nore is a five piece band from Tilburg on which I cannot find a lot of information easily, so gave up. Let the music do the talking and that seems to work out quite well. Should you listen like I do, then I have to start with a warning: keep listening past the first songs to truly start appreciating how good Nore is. 

Let's start with where I place Nore, as the band makes its debut on this blog, despite having released an EP previously. My inclination is to place the band into the alternative rock segment, where it tries to carve out its own section. Comparisons can be made to Dakota/Loupe at the beginning of the album, after which a band like POM comes to mind and from there even a band like Wolf Alice. And not just because the sound is familiar. Nore is able to soar to great heights itself with ease. By then the alternative rock has taken on symphonic rock elements as well. Even a poprock song in the vein of Rondé can be heard. In short, Nore touches a lot a ground on its second EP. I prefer to call it a mini album, as This Time Will Be Different contains no less than seven songs.

I have to correct myself, as first song 'Alive And Well' lasts only 3,40 minutes but comes across as a three song suite. So, please do listen to the song. 'Alive And Well' manages to turn itself and its listeners upside down and sideways a few times. From a delicate beginning, things rise and rise. Slowly the tension is built until it explodes no little. Guitars, keyboards, weird synth sounds take over and only step aside for a last line by singer Tessa while the rest is fading away into the background and out of earshot.

Promo photo

'Alive And Well' is an example that can stand as a model for the whole of This Time Will Be Different. Nore is not afraid of exploring what a song can contain or change into, without becoming a freak show. This is not doing difficult things because the band can, this is all about making the most interesting song possible and walking unknown trails perhaps leading there or left behind when it doesn't work.

Let me put 'Daisy' up as another example. Nore picks elements from jazz and prog rock to tells its story. But like a great band from long ago, U.K., Nore manages to put a pop element into the music at the right time creating a song and not a composition. 'Daisy' fully works in this respect. as do all other songs. Each one will surprise you along the way.

Nore is a totally new name to me, but it's place here is fully deserved. This Time Will Be Different is varied, but above all good. The album deserves to be heard by all people who love good pop and rock songs. This is why I wanted you to listen past the first few songs, to discover how rich they are.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Cinema 3000. Common Saints

De Britse muzikant Charlie J. Perry levert als Common Saints en met Cinema 3000 een album af waarbij het echt bijzonder lekker wegdromen is en dat na een paar keer horen echt nauwelijks meer is te weerstaan.

Ik krijg vaak muziektips toegestuurd, maar het leukst zijn de tips die je echt helemaal niets zeggen. Ik heb begin november echt niets gelezen over het debuutalbum van de Britse band Common Saints. Het is een album dat je direct na de eerste keer horen wilt koesteren en dat vervolgens zo lekker klinkt dat je er naar blijft luisteren. De muziek van Common Saints klinkt soulvol en wat psychedelisch, maar met alleen het predicaat psychedelische soul doe je het album wel wat tekort. Cinema 3000 klinkt echt onweerstaanbaar lekker, maar het is ook een album vol hele mooie en interessante passages. Wat mij betreft echt een grote ontdekking deze band uit Londen.

In november kreeg ik van een liefhebber van de muziek van Kacey Musgraves de tip om eens te luisteren naar Cinema 3000 van de band Common Saints. Deeper Well van Kacey Musgraves voert al maanden mijn virtuele jaarlijstje aan, waardoor ik deze tip zeer serieus nam. Ik verwachte eerlijk gezegd een album dat dicht tegen de muziek van Kacey Musgraves aan zou liggen, maar dat is maar zeer ten dele het geval.

Common Saints is een band uit Londen en het begin vorige maand verschenen Cinema 3000 is het debuutalbum van de band. De band beschrijft haar muziek zelf als psychedelische soul en dat is op het eerste gehoor een prima omschrijving. Het is een omschrijving die ik niet snel zou gebruiken voor de muziek van Kacey Musgraves, maar de muziek van Common Saints heeft wel de aangenaam lome en warme sfeer die ook de muziek van de Amerikaanse muzikante kenmerkt.

De overeenkomsten met de muziek van Kacey Musgraves zijn overigens het grootst wanneer in de derde track gastzangeres Taloua opduikt, die bijna net zo’n engelachtige stem heeft. Verder zal ik de naam van mijn favoriete zangeres niet meer noemen, want Common Saints maakt toch vooral andere muziek. Ik noem Common Saints een band, maar het album is grotendeels gemaakt door de Britse muzikant Charlie J. Perry, die tekende voor de songs, de zang, het grootste deel van de muziek en de productie.

Ik heb de spreekwoordelijke warme deken de afgelopen weken al vaker van stal gehaald, maar Cinema 3000 is nou echt een album dat zich als een warme deken om je heen slaat. De muziek van de band uit Londen klinkt soulvol en citeert af en toe uit de archieven van de kosmische soul, maar laat zich ook inspireren door folkrock en softpop, om maar eens twee andere genres te noemen. Het is muziek die soms wat psychedelisch aan doet, maar Cinema 3000 klinkt ook aards.

Charlie J. Perry heeft het debuutalbum van Common Saints voorzien van een geluid dat kan worden beschreven als loom, warm, zwoel, broeierig en dromerig. De songs van de Britse band doen het zonder enige twijfel goed op warme zomeravonden, maar de warmte die het album uitstraalt kunnen we ook goed gebruiken in het huidige seizoen. De soulvolle songs op Cinema 3000 hebben vaak een jaren 70 vibe, maar het album klinkt anders dan alle andere albums die ik de laatste tijd heb gehoord.

Charlie J. Perry heeft het eerste album van Common Saints niet alleen voorzien van een aangenaam geluid, maar ook van een knap geluid, waarin steeds weer opvallende details opduiken. De Britse muzikant heeft flink wat elektronica ingezet, maar ook de subtiele gitaarlijnen en zwoele ritmes hebben een belangrijke rol in het echt bijzonder mooie geluid op Cinema 3000. De zang op het album, met vaak wat falsetklanken, klinkt vooral aangenaam, maar wordt bij herhaalde beluistering van het album steeds mooier, zeker wanneer koortjes worden ingezet.

Ik begrijp inmiddels wel waarom mijn tipgever dit zo’n goed album vindt, want wanneer je eenmaal wordt gegrepen door het warme geluid van Common Saints wordt Cinema 3000 razendsnel een hopeloos verslavend album. Ook als producer maakt Charlie J. Perry makkelijk indruk en zoveel indruk, dat ik best benieuwd ben hoe een door hem geproduceerd album van een goede zangeres zou klinken. Ik heb een naam in gedachten, maar eerst proefdraaien met Taloua uit track drie is een goede optie.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Cinema 3000 hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://commonsaints.bandcamp.com/album/cinema-3000

Bloom. Larkin Poe

Today, I'm doing something unusual, partly due to a lack of time, but also because more words are not really necessary. In November 2022 I reviewed Larkin Poe's album 'Blood Harmony'. Things are very simple, if you really liked this album you'll love this one as well.

Not that the albums are identical. Bloom has the great single 'Mockingbird' on it for example. A great bluesy rock song. The sound certainly is. For that the slide guitar of one of the sisters is to present and is what defines the sound of Larkin Poe.

Bloom rocks too loud for a true comparison, but still I can't stop thinking of Swiss-American(a) singer Beth Wimmer when hearing some of the songs on Bloom.

As I wrote, Bloom rocks in a very bluesy way with Larking Poe in great shape, so go and check it out.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can order the album on Larkin Poe's website:

https://www.larkinpoe.com/products/bloom-cd

2025, week 4. 10 Singles

Grey skies, fog and no fog, "no" rain, lots of rain, wind and no wind, we are seeing it all this winter. Even very mild frost. In general its just dull outside with hardly a clear sky in sight. That spells the winter of 2025. Luckily we have the music, so let's go!

Drown! Soft Plastics

Soft Plastics debuted on this blog in May 2021 with its single 'Loozer'. A whole bunch followed and the album 'Saturn Return', nearly two years ago. Come 2025 and the New Zealanders present a new single, Drown!. It is a surprising one, for the following reason. Drown! is a perfect mix of the two sides of Soft Plastics. At times the band presents songs that are sometimes too soft for me, with too little happening to keep my attention. Drown! tends into that direction, before it becomes clear that the band builds up a whole truckload of tension. When it's released in the chorus and the following solo, the song gets a glorious sheen, bordering on magic. The ethereal backing vocals behind Sophie Scott-Maunder's lead vocal and over the spooky lead guitar does everything such an addition should. Soft Plastics wind the song down again before it ends, restoring the order of its universe. Drown! is a great single and to think I nearly scrapped it, as with so many singles going around decision are made fast.

Enemy. The Yets

The Yets debuted with the EP 'The Yets' in 2022. The South Carolina duo, guitarist-producer Craig Anderson Snook and vocalist Robin Wilson is on route to release its debut LP 'Pinup Girl' on 7 February. Enemy is the final single preceding the album. None of the previous made it to this blog but Enemy has. It is a gothic song with matching dark overtones. Singer Robin Wilson is a woman of a certain age and her voice matches this in an intriguing way. She has double tracked her vocals. The dark one matches her age, while the higher one lends her voice a dreamy quality providing Enemy with two distinct sides, where everything drops away. Underneath her voice Snook built layer after layer of dark sounds accompanied by a complex drum rhythm. My guess is from a machine. Musically the song matches some of goth rocks romanticism and brings a band like Para Lia to mind. Enemy is a song to study as well as listen to.

The Music Man. David Ramirez

In 2018 I saw David Ramirez play in Q-Bus in Leiden, a venue with nearly always perfect sound. It's so easy for an artist to make a great impression there. Before the show his album We're Not Going Anywhere was on the blog and in 2021 a single. Come 2025 and Ramirez returns with a piano ballad that brings to mind ballads from the 1970s, like Peter Skellern's 'You're A Lady', a song with power and melancholy in one. The Music Man is song of a grown man who looks back on his youth and how he grew into the music man who draws the crowds to hear his music. But not everything's alright judging by the mood of the song. The build up is beautiful though, but nothing like I had expected to hear from David Ramirez. That apart, The Music Man works and deserves to be heard.

On The Brink / Not Fooling Me. Brad Marino

Brad Marino is on this blog like forever my brain tells me. The first time was only 2019 though. Of course that is already close to six years. Since than he became a staple artist with singles and albums almost once a year. In 2025 Marino is cleaning out his closets and came across a bunch recordings he had recorded but not released. The album is called 'Rarities, Remixed & Unreleased' and On the Brink and Not Fooling Me are released as teasers. The former is a rocker in the finest Brad Marino tradition. Somewhere between The Ramones and The Romantics he manages to find another great melody that invites, well almost demands to be shouted along to. The song has a great riff and all the solo notes a good rock songs needs. The latter song is softer and slower, the kind of song I do not associate with Brad Marino. Without coercion I will always opt for On The Brink, let's rock, baby. The darker song and more 60s influences is alright. Marino gets away with this other side with ease, as the song has a great melody and sound. The kind that could get a The Kik treatment here in NL, as in a translated lyrics and make everything a tat poppier. Even Brad Marino leftovers sound great, but don't leftovers often taste better the next day?

A Moment. Kensington

For those from abroad. Kensington is most likely the biggest rock band from NL of the last decade, even ever, as I know no other that played so often for such huge audiences including the biggest stadium here. And then there singer left. The remaining three indicated to continue and found a new singer in American Jason Dowd. If anything, Kensington has become even more Kings of Leon than before. And more powerful than the American band even in its greatest success 'Sex On Fire'. No. I've never been a Kensington (nor Kings of Leon) fan and did not expect much from A Moment, but as these sort of rock songs come, A Moment is certainly powerful. Kensington returns with a bang and in such a way that catches the ear immediately. It must be stressful returning, as it is the question whether fans accept the change of singer. On the basis of this single, the answer for now should be yes and the benefit of the doubt, etc.

Stay For The Night. Pink Turns Blue

Pink Turns Blue is around since 1985 and managed to stay off my radar for 40 years! That could have been a record, were it not that this year I also discovered Mekons, from 1979. The band consists of Mic Jogwer (vocals, guitar), Paul Richter (drums) and Luca Sammuri (bass) and named itself after a Hüsker Dü song. Stay For The Night is a hypnotic song that repeats the same electric piano notes almost all through the song, with the exception of an instrumental interlude that brings together U2 and Pink Floyd, believe it or not. The single is a dark song, with Mic Jogwer singing with a dark voice. Because of this, I place the song in the 1980s immediately. The lead guitar part is more modern though and more optimistic in sound then most post punk, goth songs in the 80s ever were. The new album will be called 'Black Swan' and the band goes on an extended tour of Germany and the U.S. this spring and summer.

Extraordinary Wings. Heartworms

Heartworms is another new name on this blog. It is the project of singer-songwriter Jo Jo Orme from London. A lot of what you hear might come out of a box, yet Heartworms manages to build the song step by step and makes the tension higher with each step. Not that I'm hearing things that I haven't heard before. It's more that Orme sucks me into her song by the 10 seconds. Just like Stay For The Night right above here, Extraordinary Wings does not know a lot of variation. It is in what is added to the song that makes it so interesting and finally even exciting to listen to. Jo Jo Orme subtly changes the intonation of her voice and the music follows her. More than enough reason to write about the song here. There's an album coming up, 'Glutton For Punishment' and it's out on 7 February. (And then I run into another Heartworms, from Washington D.C. on the Internet, but I'm almost certain I'm writing about the right one here.)

T & A. Blondshell

Although it was only at the very start of 2023 that Blondshell debuted on this blog, Sabrina Teitelbaum's nom de plume can be found a lot here. Today, she returns with another song towards her second album, 'If You Asked For A Picture', slated for 2 May. T&A was a titled claimed by Keith Richards on The Rolling Stones' 'Tattoo You' album. In 2025 we get to hear it from a woman's perspective. I invite you to listen to the text and wonder like I do what kind of person Teitelbaum is singing about. I'd opt for dump now and not for wait and see, but that's me. Blondshell presents an alternative rock song with some pop overtones in the melody and vocals. The song rocks but is obviously more than just a rock song. It is darkish but strives to le in some light. T & A shows the rocking side of Blondshell in a pleasant way.

Downstream (feat. John Anderson). Bonnie Prince Billy

Will Oldman for decades now works under the name Bonnie Prince Billy. He's about to release a new album 'The Purple Bird' on 31 January. Based of what I'm hearing here it is an amalgam of his own version of Americana and Irish folk. To start with the first verse. Oldham sings like he always does with a soft-toned accompaniment, as sparingly orchestrated as possible without having no accompaniment. In the second verse a tin whistle comes in and slowly but surely the music is expanded with the Irish side, in the way it is played. In the third verse the contrast with John Anderson's voice (not to confuse with ex-Yes singer Jon Anderson) is created. His rough voice is so different from Oldham's it simply turns the song upside down.. Downstream is Bonnie Prince Billy's version of beauty, as that the song is.

Walk A Million Miles. Garret Vandermolen

With Walk A Million Miles American artist Garret Vandermolen puts his listeners into a musical time machine.set for the mid-1960s. The sound of the Rickenbacker guitar was made a staple sound by (then) Jim McGuinn of The Byrds, influencing many artists right up to George Harrison of The Beatles. The distinct sound can be heard through the decades, like R.E.M. and current Dutch perfect pop band The Maureens. VanderMolen does his own take on the sound, as he doesn't use the Rickenbacker to make his song shine brighter. Walk A Million Miles is a melancholy song and the Rickenbacker underscores the melancholy mood of the song. Everything in the song underscores the feeling of wanting or even having to move away as far as possible from where things currently stand. The muting quality of snow is used as a metaphor for sneaking off and not looking back. The 1960s remain a huge reservoir of inspiration. Even 60 years down the line..

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Emotional Rodeo. Janet Devlin

Janet Devlin kreeg als tiener een platencontract, ging vervolgens langs diepe dalen en angstaanjagende afgronden, maar staat nu weer met beide benen op de grond met een album waarop ze de country de liefde verklaart.

Emotional Rodeo van Janet Devlin is een album dat niet veel tijd nodig heeft om te laten horen dat het een countryalbum uit Nashville is, maar de Noord-Ierse muzikante Janet Devlin kwam niet zomaar in de Amerikaanse muziekhoofdstad terecht. Ze hoort er wel thuis, want de stem van Janet Devlin is gemaakt voor de countrymuziek en haar songs ademen het genre. Emotional Rodeo is niet te vergelijken met de vorige albums van de Noord-Ierse muzikante en is wat mij betreft een album dat laat horen dat we te maken hebben met een groot talent, dat ook nog eens in meerdere uithoeken van de countrymuziek uit de voeten kan. Een countryster uit Noord-Ierland? Het kan absoluut.

Direct bij de eerste noten van Cigarette Sweets, de openingstrack van het album van Emotional Rodeo van Janet Devlin was mijn interesse gewekt. De combinatie van rootsy snaren en een wat weemoedige viool sprak direct aan, maar toen Janet Devlin niet veel later begon te zingen was ik verkocht. De stem van Janet Devlin is van een soort waar je van moet houden, denk aan de stem van bijvoorbeeld Kasey Chambers, maar het is ook een stem die is gemaakt voor countrymuziek.

Emotional Rodeo blijkt al het derde album van Janet Devlin, wiens muziek ik volgens mij wel eens ben tegen gekomen, maar die tot dusver geen indruk maakte. Het verhaal van deze Janet Devlin blijkt een behoorlijk heftig verhaal. Ze werd geboren in Noord-Ierland en wist al op jonge leeftijd dat ze iets wilde in de muziek. De kans om dit te realiseren kwam op haar zeventiende, toen ze meedeed aan de Britse versie van de talentenjacht The X-Factor. Ze strandde uiteindelijk in de kwartfinales, maar had genoeg indruk gemaakt om een platencontract in de wacht te slepen.

Er volgde een heftige periode waarin de Noord-Ierse muzikante twee albums maakte, maar ook te maken kreeg met anorexia, een bipolaire stoornis en een alcoholverslaving. Ik heb naar de albums van Janet Devlin geluisterd en weet zeker dat ik Confessional uit 2020 destijds heb beluisterd. De twee albums die Janet Devlin in het verleden maakte lijken echter in niets op het album dat ze deze week heeft uitgebracht.

Op Emotional Rodeo omarmt de Noord-Ierse muzikante, die tegenwoordig Londen als thuisbasis heeft, de countrymuziek en blijkt ze zowel uit de voeten te kunnen met moderne countrypop als met wat traditioneler klinkende country. Emotional Rodeo is in alle opzichten een Nashville album en dat blijkt ook te kloppen. Janet Devlin kreeg de kans om in de hoofdstad van de countrymuziek een album te maken en greep deze kans met beide handen aan.

In Music City werd de Noord-Ierse muzikante gekoppeld aan een stel ervaren muzikanten en aan producer Roo Walker. In muzikaal en productioneel opzicht ademt Emotional Rodeo countrymuziek uit Nashville, maar dat doet Janet Devlin ook met haar stem en met haar songs. Op haar eerste twee albums klonk ze nog als een popzangeres, maar op haar nieuwe album hoor je een countryzangeres die het nog wel eens ver kan gaan schoppen.

Gezien haar verleden in de pop lag het misschien voor de hand om Emotional Rodeo te voorzien van een nogal gepolijst countrypop geluid, maar hoewel invloeden uit de pop zeker hun weg hebben gevonden naar het album, domineert de country op het derde album van Janet Devlin. Binnen de countrymuziek kan het vervolgens nog vele kanten op en die bestrijkt de Noord-Ierse muzikante allemaal.

Emotional Rodeo bevat traditioneel klinkende countrysongs, flirt hier en daar met countryrock, kan uit de voeten met meeslepende countryballads en kan ook nog eens overweg met blinkende countrypop. Het klinkt allemaal even puur en oprecht, wat het album nog wat knapper maakt. Janet Devlin kreeg het aardig voor haar kiezen nadat ze op jonge leeftijd aan het succes had geroken, maar ze staat weer met beide benen op de grond en laat op haar derde album horen dat ze niet alleen houdt van countrymuziek, maar er ook uitstekend in uit de voeten kan.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Emotional Rodeo hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://okgoodrecords.bandcamp.com/album/emotional-rodeo-2

The Land We Knew Best. Chris Eckman

Chris Eckman was the songwriter and male singer of Seattle band The Walkabouts and is active in music since the late 80s. I discovered the band in 1993 with the album 'New West Motel' and followed most of Eckman's career since. With The Walkabouts at some time he reached the point where the next album would contain near to total silence, as each album became quieter and quieter. Since 2005 volume came back but the band broke up after 2012 and a final tour. By then his solo career had already started.

With The Land We Knew Best Eckman releases a new solo album that has songs in a quite mode and in a moderate rock mode. Gone are the tough folk rockers of old, what remained is his songwriting skills and story telling. Love brought Chris Eckman to Ljubljana in Slovenia, where he lives with his family and recorded this album.

The Land We Knew Best tells stories of his adopted country. Where of old he was inspired by stories he heard on the road and the dusty towns along the American high and byways, now it is the Slovenian country side where he walks in the mountains and the countryside. Except for former Londoner Alastair McNeil who produced this album and the previous one 'Where The Spirit Rest' (2021) and who plays a host of instruments, all musicians are from the Ljubljana scene. Not that you notice that. This is a Chris Eckman album alright.

This has to do in part with his voice. That gravelly voice determines a large part of this being his album. Yet it is also in the atmosphere he creates with his songs. There's always a dreamy quality involved where his ballads are concerned. Just listen to 'Haunted Nights' to hear what I mean. It's on the one hand as if he's reaching for a place he just can't reach (yet) but on the other pointing me to that spot beyond the horizon where I can't go to. It creates a dream state where it is pleasant to be despite not being able to get to the destination. Longing to be there is enough listening to 'Haunted Nights'. It is one of the best songs on The Land We Knew Best. And that from the man who loves listening to 'Old Crow Lied' and 'Jack Candy'. To be fully truthful, 'Finlay's Motel' is another of my all time The Walkabouts favourite. That one is more in line with 'Haunted Nights'.

We are both getting on in life. 32 years is a long time since I discovered Chris Eckman's music and I'm still gladly following his career. With The Land We Knew Best he adds another fine album to his oeuvre. Yes, it's introspective for the most part but that makes it the more intriguing. With 'Last Train Home' he ends the album with an ultimate ballad. The song is so slow but sucks you in completely. You;re waiting for that last train home with him. Slow piano notes and slow strums is all this beautiful song need to excel. And that gravelly voice of course. That is Chris Eckman's signature.

I'm glad that it has not taken close to a decade for Chris Eckman to be able to release a new solo album. Yes, there were collaborations in between, but they are different from this. This is just him and after a slight hesitation during the first listening session, I dare to state: great album!

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order The Land We Knew Best here:

https://chriseckman.bandcamp.com/album/the-land-we-knew-the-best

Sinners, Harlots and Hooligans (reissue). The Legendary Swagger

Only on second inspection did the word reissue get noticed by me. By then I had long decided to do a write up on the album. In fact, a few songs were more than enough for that. The fact that this is re-release is irrelevant. Sinners, Harlots & Hooligans is such an urgent album.

I had never heard of The Legendary Swagger before a single or two on this blog. That is not totally surprising. Sinners, Harlots & Hooligans was released in 2008 and only in 2022 the band's second was released. Later this month there will be a new album, but first Sinners, Harlots & Hooligans.

The Legendary Swagger is a band from Long Beach, California and its choice of music is punkrock. With a singer whose voice is nicely greased and a guitarist who knows how to finetune his guitarsound to rock. My reference here is the L.A. band Social Distortion. In other words punk with great melodies, huge voice and a fine solo here and there.

This band is not afraid to show its pop side by creating great melodies, no matter how tough a song may be/sound. In 'My Evil Ways' there's even a female soul singer, Robin Nivens, who sings like the song is supposed to be sang at a Sunday morning service. That would be a nice shock come to think about it. To me it shows how thin the barriers between popular music are, that a blend like this can be made in such a successful way.

I'm not certain, but this could be the people playing on the record, Richie Mendez, (Drums and Vocals), Jim Perrault (Bass and Vocals), Skot Pollok (Guitars) and Geoff Yeaton (Vocals and Saxophone). Yes, that saxophone sets The Legendary Swagger rather apart from most punkrock bands. It's used sparingly but certainly effectively.

If anything defines Sinners, Harlots and Hooligans, it is the surge of energy coming from my speakers. It's circa 17 years since the release and I certainly did not know the album at the time, but the re-release is totally justified. This is a punkrock, garagerock album that any fan of the music should get to know and Rum Bar is presenting that option to us all. "She is Perfect" Yeaton and background vocalists sing in "Perfect". It sounds like the right description for Sinners, Harlots and Hooligans to me.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order Sinners, Harlots and Hooligans  here:

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sinners-harlots-hooligans-reissue

Looking Back At The World. The Gentle Spring

It almost seems as if there are more bands who try again or pivotal members of former bands returning under a new name, than truly new bands. The Gentle Spring is one of the middle category. Michael Hiscock once played in a band called The Field Mice, one that passed me by at the time. That is my bad, as the band has a Wikipedia page and at the time, circa 1990, scored hits in the U.K.

Today Hiscock lives in France and plays music again together with Emilie Guillaumot and Jérémie Orsel. Together they form The Gentle Spring. The band name is well chosen. The songs on Looking Back At The World are gentle, soft spoken and sensitive. If I have to compare the record to any other band it is Belle and Sebastian in my universe. Hiscock sings not unlike Stuart Murdoch. The background vocals of Guillaumot only add to my impression and then she takes the lead as well, as in 'Severed Hearts'.

And this is not a bad thing, don't get me wrong there. The Gentle Spring's debut album is a very pleasant listening experience. The kind that allows for easy listening, without a load of challenges to conquer while listening. Looking Back At The World is the kind of album to submerge in and surrender yourself to. Simply let it come over you, like a slow wave on the beach. Soon there's nothing but you and the music.

Promo photo: Philippe Dufour

You will discover the subtle details in the different songs. A gentle guitar, the softly sang harmonies, little additions in the form of keyboards, all come to you slowly but surely. If Looking Back At The World does anything it is caress and relax you, song after song.

No, this album will not rock the world, as it is not intended to do so. It will please you no little though. Sometimes things are simply beautiful and that is more than enough.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order Looking Back At The World here:

https://thegentlespring.bandcamp.com/album/looking-back-at-the-world

Oh, Smokey. Clem Snide

Het oeuvre van de Amerikaanse band Clem Snide is redelijk onbekend, maar de band heeft een respectabel aantal prachtalbums op haar naam staan, waar deze week het echt wonderschone Oh Smokey aan wordt toegevoegd.

Ruim 25 jaar geleden maakte ik voor het eerst kennis met de muziek van de Amerikaanse band Clem Snide en het was liefde op het eerste gehoor. De band uit Boston leverde in een paar jaar tijd een handvol fantastische albums af, waarna het licht helaas langzaam maar zeker uit ging. De band rond Eef Barzelay begon een paar jaar geleden aan haar tweede jeugd en die krijgt deze week een vervolg. Eef Barzelay maakte Oh Smokey samen met de gerenommeerde muzikant en producer Josh Kaufman, die het nieuwe album van Clem Snide heeft voorzien van een redelijk sober geluid. Het is een setting waarin de melancholische songs van Eef Barzelay uitstekend tot zijn recht komen.

De Amerikaanse band Clem Snide dook aan het eind van de jaren 90 op en maakte met name in de eerste jaren van haar bestaan een aantal geweldige albums. You Were A Diamond uit 1998, Your Favorite Music uit 2000, The Ghost Of Fashion uit 2001, Soft Spot uit 2003 en End Of Love uit 2005 zijn stuk voor stuk geweldige albums, die dan ook volkomen terecht de hemel in werden geprezen. Dat gebeurde helaas slechts in zeer kleine kring, waardoor Clem Snide toch vooral een cultband bleef.

Op haar albums verwerkt de band uit Boston, Massachusetts, vooral invloeden uit de alt-country en een beetje indierock en zeker Your Favourite Music en The Ghost Of Fashion zijn albums die ik schaar onder de allerbeste albums van de jaren 00. Na 2005 werden de albums van Clem Snide langzaam maar zeker wat minder en in 2010 leek het doek definitief te vallen voor de zo onderschatte Amerikaanse band. Voorman Eef Barzelay bracht nog wel wat soloalbums uit, al dan niet onder de naam Clem Snide, maar na 2015 werd een aantal jaren niets meer van de band vernomen.

In 2020 keerde Clem Snide echter terug in de spotlights en leverde het met het samen met Scott Avett gemaakte Forever Just Beyond een album af dat niet onder deed voor de beste albums van de band. Een recente opmerking die bij dit album werd geplaatst op het muziekforum Musicmeter.nl zette me op het spoor van het nieuwe album van de band, dat vorige week is verschenen en dat ik in geen enkele releaselijst ben tegen gekomen.

Dat is best bijzonder, want zo groot is het aanbod op het moment niet. Oh Smokey is ook nog eens een geweldig album, dat zich net als voorganger Forever Just Beyond kan meten met de beste albums van Clem Snide en dat zegt wat. Alles draait nog altijd om singer-songwriter Eef Barzelay, maar op Oh Smokey koos hij voor de samenwerking met muzikant en producer Josh Kaufman, die we kennen van Bonny Light Horseman en van zijn werk voor onder andere Cassandra Jenkins, Taylor Swift, The Hold Steady en This Is The Kit.

Josh Kaufman was verantwoordelijk voor het grootste deel van de muziek op het album en tekende voor de productie. Hij heeft Oh Smokey voorzien van een mooi en vaak wat stemmig klinkend geluid, waarin invloeden uit de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek centraal staan. Het is een sfeervol maar ook wat weemoedig klinkend geluid, dat uitstekend past bij de stem en de songs van Eef Barzelay.

De muzikant uit Boston is nooit vies geweest van flink wat melancholie in zijn songs en heeft een stem die goed past bij wat donkerdere songs. Vergeleken met het vroege werk van Clem Snide klinkt Oh Smokey wat soberder en wat meer ingetogen en dat vergroot wat mij betreft de impact van de songs en de stem van Eef Barzelay. Oh Smokey klinkt misschien vrij sober, maar Josh Kaufman heeft veel mooie details verstopt in de muziek, die vooral aan de oppervlakte komen wanneer je het album met de koptelefoon beluistert.

De naam Clem Snide zal heel veel mensen echt niets zeggen, maar de Amerikaanse band heeft inmiddels een respectabele stapel vijfsterrenalbums op haar naam staan en hoeveel bands kunnen dat zeggen? Ruim 25 jaar na het debuutalbum van de band laat Clem Snide met Oh Smokey horen dat het nog altijd albums kan maken die niet onder doen voor het allerbeste werk van de band en dat is knap. Ik had Oh Smokey zomaar kunnen missen door de beperkte aandacht voor het album, maar dit is er een voor de jaarlijstjes.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Oh, Smokey hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://clem-snide.bandcamp.com/album/oh-smokey

You Are The Morning. jasmine.4.t

With You Are The Morning jasmine.4.t releases an album that is strong, varied and makes a statement on who she is. Let me start there for once and make a statement. Where have tolerance, acceptance, compassion and understanding gone in the last few years? Since Covid it seems like it has left the world. It most likely has not, but it certainly seems that way with right wing politicians creating the enemies they need to thrive on and an easy victim are the LHTBIQA+ people. jasmine.4.t is a transperson, so she must be a monster, if I am to believe too many current administrations and those striving to become one. If this is the silent majority coming back in power, then we better start bracing ourselves. The time to not look away is now. Live and let live, people. We all are the better for it when we do so.

Back to You Are The Morning. Things started with single 'Elephant', reviewed on this blog late in 2024. It made me curious to hear more and that more is here today. For jasmine.4.t things started when she started touring with a band of likeminded people. The songs are a sort of diary of her period before and of transitioning from the, for the outside world, man who grew up in Manchester to the woman she's today. All band members were able to support each other and You Are The Morning is the proof of that period of darkness and light.

Musically, the album reminds me of Canadian musician Patrick Watson, mostly because of the way of singing and in some songs because of the ethereal music as well. jasmine.4.t moves well beyond Watson, when she ventures into folk music and even indie rocks out.

The folk part brings to mind the folk music that was popular for a while about ten plus years ago, the hey-ho or ho-hey without that shout outs, but there are even short Irish references, like in the intro to 'Guy Fawkes Tesco Disociation', before the rock part of the album kicks in. The song certainly is my personal favourite of the album.

jasmine.4.t is the first U.K. signing to Phoebe Bridgers' Saddest Factory Records. The album was produced by the three boygenius members. The good thing is that Baker, Bridgers and Dacus have not tried to copy their music but left the U.K. band in its own, allowing for an album that scales a light form of Antony and Patrick Watson to an indie rock band.

The delicate songs win out though, the ones telling the whole story of transitioning and all that affects the person undergoing it. It makes You Are The Morning a deeply personal album that is shared with the whole world. It may not be easy to keep singing these songs after life moved on and things hopefully keep getting better. That is why my live and let live comment above is so important. That's why I repeat it, live and let live and we'll all be the better for it. You Are The Morning is tangible proof of just that.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to You Are The Morning here:

https://jasmine4t.bandcamp.com/album/you-are-the-morning

2025. Week 3, 10 singles

And already the third week of the year is nearly over. Grey, foggy, wet-coldish and very little sun. The Christmas tree is out of the house and all days seem like 'Blue Monday'. We can always put on the New Order 12" and celebrate that the days are a little longer already. Or listen to a bunch of new singles and EPs, like I have. Enjoy.

Christmas Came Early (But Not in a Good Way)!. After Elmer

Christmas comes rather late to WoNoBlog, I'm afraid, but not too late to point to Rotterdam's After Elmer's Christmas single of 2024. The band debuted on the blog with single '246 Toothpicks' just under two years ago and returns with this so enthusiastic single. Fans of Green Day can start listening without any qualms. After Elmer wrote the band's Christmas single for 2025 for them in 2024. That conclusion is enough, as the melody is there, the power, the fun and cheekiness. For a good punkrock song Christmas never comes too early, let alone too late.

Launch The Rocket EP. Tape Toy

Rotterdam label Mattan Records signed another band from Amsterdam, showing relationships between the two cities can be perfectly normal. Tape Toy is a band that combines alternative pop, with eighties doom and synths, creating its own version of postpunk pop. Single 'Anyone, Anything' was welcomed on this blog in September but is only partly a harbinger of what is to come. 'Shotgun' for example is a far more direct song. This band knows how to rock when it wants to and releases a rock version of Kim Wilde to name one famous artist from the 80s. Where opening song 'Anyone, Anything' knows layers of synths, they disappear in 'Shotgun', like in the final and title song 'Launch The Rocket'. This song is a ballad, yet explodes at the right moments. Label mate Pom is not far away in this song. This EP is consistent in quality, yet varied in the way songs are approached. Tape Toy is able to move from the somewhat mysterious to very direct 80s style rock. The band may not have a very distinctive sound, but then who has these days unless you're a band like Franz Ferdinand?, Launch The Rocket convinces me. The two remaining songs 'Swim and 'Shirt' attest to that statement. Mattan Records has signed yet another very worthwhile band.

I Cried. The Hellflowers

More punkrock fun pouring from the local tap in Boston, Rum Bar Records. The Hellflowers make their debut on WoNoBlog. The band is from Los Angeles, so I can only hope everyone is alright!, and formed in 2015. Christina Hellflower, vocal, guitar, Matt Eskew, bass, Alex Mack, lead guitar, Stevyn Grey, drums (on the record) and Richie Mendez, drums bring back good memories with an urgent yet fun punkrock song that contains a truckload of pop melodies on the side. The opening is already different with a keyboard producing a gamalan sounding riff, that keeps returning all throughout the song. Whoever is playing it, it's a nice addition making the song a little different from the pack. Yes, I certainly would like to hear more from where this is coming in 2025.

The Blues Is Still #1. The Mono Kids

Since 2023 The Mono Kids regularly feature in the singles section of this blog. It's new maxi single The Blues Is Still #1 is no exception. Drummer Roelof and guitarist and singer Michel are raging for a while before silence descends in the home once again. Not for long though, as the inclination to push play once again is certainly present. The single is a homage to a band that grew to notoriety in the 1990s, the Jon Spencer Blues Band. The individual songs are dedicated to the band's three members. The band existed longer than I thought, 2016. The Mono Kids recreates the dirty punk sound perfectly. The sound is like wading through a bog sucking at your feet the whole of the time. Yet, there's so much energy that moving forward is guaranteed. The Mono Kids do not allow any rest for the wicked. Nor anyone else for that matter. If you still have not gotten the message, it's repeated throughout the single: the blues is still #1, even for the punk/garage rock band The Mono Kids is.

Bleu. Scarlet Rae

"This is my most vulnerable song", Scarlet Rae tells the world. The song takes its title from a part of her sister's name. She's from California, where she fronted a folk band called Rose Dorn. After moving to Brooklyn she started working on her own songs and here is the first one released on Bayonet Records, where she signed to. The song is obviously vulnerable and downcast, underscoring the title. It is however not so much the sound as a whole, as there are electric guitars, a bass and softer drums. The sound is far from clean. Scarlet Rae's voice is soft and vulnerable, mixed a little into the music, as she doesn't really want to be heard. Around her voice are all sorts of little digitised vocal effects, giving Bleu some playfulness anyway. Bleu is not a song for all moments of the day, but definitely one that makes me curious what is coming next. Welcome to the blog, miss Rae.

The Way I See It. I Am Oak

Not so long ago, I thought that I Am Oak could be a good band for a living room show,  immediately followed by the thought, when did I hear a new song by the band? That turns out to be four years ago, according to my blog's search engine. Today a new song is here, to be followed by a new album, 'Time Drifts', in April. Expect a dreamy song, as that is Thijs Kuijken's line of business. But that is not all. It may be because it's been a while since I played an I Am Oak album, yet I have the strong impression that the music is richer, more layered. Multitracked vocals and a layer of synths meander through The Way I See It, making it a warm and rich song. The Way I See It may be dreamy, I assure you, you will not fall asleep. Too much is happening here. The music slowly but surely wraps itself around you like a warm blanket.

I Love How You Love Me EP. Lynda Mandolyn

I have no idea who Lynda Mandolyn is, but her EP reminds me of one of the oldest singles I own, Nancy Sinatra's 'Like I Do'/ 'To Know Him Is To Love Him'. Wikipedia tells me its from 1962, that may be. It's there for most of my life, as it was a part of my aunt's collection, and today mine's. The title track of I Love How You Love Me, is the reversed version of Nancy's B-side. It has the mood and sweet stickiness of the track that of course has been recorded by many artists. The atmosphere may be caught perfectly, the sound is totally different. It's more like Laura Palmer is singing the song, just before the 'Twin Peaks' mystery starts. There is a certain darkness in the sound and in the way I Love How You Love Me seems to drag its feet. And then hear that dark guitar in the background in the whispered part. A mighty thunderstorm is gathering over Lynda's head. The two songs that follow, 'Little Dreamer' and 'Billet Doux', remain in this segment of early 60s pop girl song, with a dark sheen over them, giving them a mystique that is David Lynch worthy. We have to live on without the cinematic master and Lynda Mandolyn is leading the way.

Something Good. Shane Alexander

If it is possible to call a foreign musician a friend, Shane Alexander fits the bill. I am glad to hear a new song from him and am surprised to read that he wrote this single with Dutch singer-songwriter Judy Blank. In our weekly Covid front lawn shows in 2020 my, now, wife and I played her song 'Mary Jane' with a lot of fun. Something Good is a softer and more serious song. The two wrote the song during Zoom sessions, after having been put together by Shane Alexander's publishing company. "Someday soon something good is going to come", he sings. That day is here, folks. Something Good is a pop track, incorporating a country vibe, underscored by a pedal steel playing in the background, yet very audible. Everything is delicate about the track. As a whole it is very present though, the kind that I can play multiple times in a row with ease. If this is the result of a Zoom session, I would opt for a few more in the future. Album 'Forever Songs' will come out this spring.

Shut Up And Drink Your Beer. Miss Georgia Peach

'There's A Guy Down At The Chips Shop Swears He's Elvis'. If you like that Kirsty McColl classic hit, you're at the right address with Miss Georgia Peach and band. This is rock and roll with a country twist if I ever heard one. Shut Up And Drink Your Beer is the kind of amalgam that created the genre rock and roll long before all involved in this review were born. Once again the people from Nashville Pussy join Peach and her partner Travis Ramin to really rock out together. Ruyter Suys plays a few guitar solos that are simply on fire, just like they should be. This single is simply too much fun to pass over.

Mudcrawlers. Mekons

For a band that's active since forming at the University of Leeds in the mid 70s and releasing records since 1979, it managed to stay off my radar until early 2025. Quite a feat, I'd say. It only took a few seconds into Mudcrawlers for me to know that I wanted to hear the whole song and most likely write on the single as well. Mudcrawlers somehow manages to mix folk with punk and rock and the type of folk singing that became popular in the late 1960s. Most of the band's members appear to be singing here in a way that reminds me of Moody Blues, with female voices added. There's a violin really spiking the song. Expect a dense sound, yet extremely playful. What I also like, is how the song slowly shifts from the rocking guitar to a seemingly softer version of itself when the violin joins in. That is all in the mind, as this song really rocks. Mudcrawlers brings decades together, from when Mekons' members were teenagers and everything since. That is a lot of musical power that comes together in 2025.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Diamond Jubilee. Cindy Lee

Diamond Jubilee van Cindy Lee werd eerder dit jaar vooral binnengehaald als een rariteit, maar gezien een aantal aansprekende jaarlijstjes is het album inmiddels uitgegroeid tot een meesterwerk en dat is het ook.

De Canadese muzikant Patrick Flegel haalt op het zevende album van zijn project Cindy Lee alles uit de kast. Diamond Jubilee houdt je iets meer dan twee uur lang aan de speakers gekluisterd met een stortvloed aan goede ideeën. Cindy Lee laat zich beïnvloeden door een rijke collectie muziek uit met name de jaren 60 en smeedt al deze invloeden aan elkaar in unieke songs. Het zijn songs die van de hak op tak springen en behoorlijk rammelen, maar ondertussen is Diamond Jubilee een aaneenschakeling van briljante momenten. Het gitaarwerk op het album is fascinerend en dat geldt ook voor de zang, die perfect contrasteert met de ruwe gitaarklanken. Diamond Jubilee van Cindy Lee is een krankzinnig album, maar wat is het goed.

De grootste verrassing in de tot dusver verschenen jaarlijstjes is voor mij zonder enige twijfel het album Diamond Jubilee van Cindy Lee. Het album staat hoog genoteerd in meerdere aansprekende jaarlijstjes en de gerenommeerde Amerikaanse muziekwebsite Pitchfork heeft het album zelfs op de eerste plaats gezet.

Pitchfork was het afgelopen voorjaar ook al heel enthousiast over het album, dat destijds alleen op YouTube en op een vrij obscure website was te vinden. Het album ontbreekt nog altijd op de streaming media diensten, maar is inmiddels wel op bandcamp te vinden, waar ook de fysieke versie van het album besteld kan worden. Pas begin volgend jaar wordt het album verwacht in de Nederlandse platenzaken. Het is een bijzondere situatie, want hoe vaak haalde een album dat zo lastig verkrijgbaar was een hoge positie in zoveel jaarlijstjes?

Diamond Jubilee is niet alleen lastig verkrijgbaar, maar is ook in andere opzichten een lastig album. Het is een album dat ruim twee uur duurt en dat maar liefst 32 songs bevat. Twee uur muziek is al een hele uitdaging, maar Diamond Jubilee van Cindy Lee is ook nog eens een album dat overloopt van de goede ideeën en die goede ideeën er ook nog eens in hoog tempo doorheen jaagt.

Cindy Lee is een project van de Canadese muzikant Patrick Flegel, die jaren werkte aan het album dat in meerdere Canadese studio’s werd opgenomen. Deze Patrick Flegel maakte eerder deel uit van de band Women, die kwam tot twee cultalbums, maar is met Diamond Jubilee ook al toe aan het zevende album van Cindy Lee. Het is me allemaal ontgaan en ook voor Diamond Jubilee deed ik in het afgelopen voorjaar niet veel moeite.

De afgelopen week heb ik me echter ondergedompeld in het bijzondere muzikale universum van Cindy Lee en inmiddels intrigeert Diamond Jubilee me hopeloos. Het terecht zo bejubelde album van Cindy Lee heeft een aantal karakteristieken van een lo-fi album. De songs zijn in een aantal gevallen kort, maar ook lange tracks worden niet geschuwd. De muziek van Patrick Flegel rammelt aan alle kanten, maar ondertussen strooit de Canadese muzikant wel met briljante songs of op zijn minst flarden van briljante songs.

Het zijn songs met vaak wat ruw gitaarwerk, dat op het eerste gehoor niet heel bijzonder lijkt, maar dat steeds dingen doet die je niet verwacht. Dat geldt ook voor de zang, die soms net zo rammelt als de muziek, maar ook in alle opzichten raak kan zijn en ook kan verbazen met verrassend trefzekere koortjes.

Diamond Jubilee heeft het rammelende en van de hak op de tak springende van de lo-fi albums uit de jaren 90, maar in muzikaal en vocaal opzicht laat Patrick Flegel zich toch vooral beïnvloeden door popmuziek uit de jaren 60, al pakt Cindy Lee de jaren 50, 70, 80 en 90 ook gewoon bij.

De Canadese muzikant is qua invloeden niet kieskeurig, want er komt van alles voorbij, waardoor het album klinkt als een omgevallen platenkast en het is er een met een zeer smaakvolle collectie. Diamond League klinkt vaak flink psychedelisch, maar schuwt ook de aardse rockmuziek niet en sluit qua zang net zo makkelijk aan bij The Beach Boys als bij Phil Spector girlpop als bij een aantal grote crooners.

Luister een kwartiertje naar het album en je hoort meer goede ideeën dan op de meeste hele albums en dan heb je nog ruim zeven kwartier tegoed bij Cindy Lee. Ondanks al die goede ideeën is het geen probleem om er in één keer een flink deel van het album doorheen te jagen en dat hoef je maar één keer te doen om in de ban te raken van in ieder geval een van de meest bijzondere albums van 2024. Het beste album van 2024 is het voor mij waarschijnlijk niet, maar iedereen die het album wel op de eerste plaats zet begrijp ik wel.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Diamond Jubilee hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://cindylee.bandcamp.com/album/diamond-jubilee

Back To California. 20/20

Slowly but surely new albums are being released in the new year and one that I was on the look out for on the basis of the lead single and title song, 'Back To California', is 20/20's first album in twenty seven years. We have all moved on in live, but I would not say so on the basis of Back To California. It is an album filled with great songs somewhere between pop, (country) rock and the late 1970s.

Let that be the time, 1979, when high school friends Steve Allen and Ron Flynt (with Chris Silagyi and Mike Gallo) released their debut album as 20/20. The band never reached me at the time, but based on Back To California it is an album to check out.

Somewhere around 2019 the two played a new song to each other as there was talk of doing a show in LA in 2020. Ron's son Ray would be on drums and that signed it. The two went to work to write new songs. As we all know, things happened along the way in 2020 and beyond, but finally the result is here. 20/20 has released an album that is filled with pop gems both warm and with enough urgency to keep any listener on its toes.

Today the two protagonists are at least in their mid-sixties, but it's not something you will hear. The music is alive and regularly sparkles. This is a band that has something to prove to the world all over again. This starts with the already mentioned single. The rhythm is driving. The music is a spiced up version of The Byrds and Roger McGuinn's great solo album 'Back From Rio'. The band spruces it up with some rock elements, as was popular in the late 70s and early 80s in the U.S. 'Back To California' is the kind of song I instantly relate to and can sing along with. Yes, I think it's the best song on the album when all is said and done, but it's also a great opener that leads the way into Back To California. 'Why Do I Hurt Myself' follows right on its heals and even adds some modern sounding 'aahhs' as background vocals to convince those who are harder to convince. Just very well done.

Promo photo

20/20 leads the listener through its album. I am reminded a few times of how good Dutch band The Maureens is, as its music fishes in the same striving-for-perfect-pop-songs-pond as 20/20 is here. Both bands succeed or come very close. Songs flow like they are supposed to flow, while all sorts of interesting embellishments are added to the core of the song. 20/20 obviously took its time to find them and record them. The effort paid off, as Back To California has that kind of songs in abundance.

When the band starts rocking as well in 'Springtime Love Song', I'm more than sold. A slide enters the mix, making the song just this little dirtier. It gives the album a little and welcome spice.

In the past, say from the late 80s onwards, comebacks were usually for bands that formed again after years of inactivity and often presented lacklustre affairs. In recent years dozens of comebacks, mainly from the U.S., have reached me and a lot of them are all ambitious in the musical sense but often made for the love of music and not with the idea of making it big anyway. 20/20's Back To California comes across as such an album. The love for the new music and playing it is all over the album. It is what makes me appreciate it just this little more, as this album is not just good. It's a little better than that.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order Back To California here:

https://bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com/album/back-to-california-single