The Goal Gigolo. Canyons and Locusts

It's only in December 2023 that Canyons and Locusts debuted on this blog with single 'To Art Bell'. That's 15 months. And yet, the duo can be found several times on this blog, with a few singles and it's EP 'The Red Angel' of about a year ago. To put it mildly, Canyons and Locusts is not holding back with the proliferation of its music nor with that music on The Goal Gigolo.

Bat your eyes and a song is over already. When there's no need to extend a song the duo doesn't, as in with nearly all songs. Two minutes is long in other words. In return the listener gets extremely focused songs where everything is in its place, guitar, drums, bass, some overdubbed guitars and the rough voice of singer/guitarist Justin Keane The drums are pounded on by Amy Young. Together they practice the art of alternative/garage/punk rock to near perfection. Near, as there may be a rhythm hiccup that is simply left as is.

It is of no use to pick out an individual song. Canyons and Locusts starts a song and goes off in the tempo of choice, until the story is told and the music played. In that time between one and two minutes it gives it its all. And yes, that may even be in mid-tempo which is compensated by a punkrocker that follows next.

Photo: Canyons and Locusts

There's one great point for individuals that may not be fans of the one or the other song. When they are so short, reaching for the remote may be too slow! For someone like me it's fun up and down the record. Do mind though that the final song is 2 minutes seven seconds. It's not called 'It's A Long Goodbye' for nothing :-). (And there's one song of three minutes, I know.)

With The Goal Gigolo Canyons and Locusts deliver everything it promised on in the past fifteen months. Fast and urgent music and very enjoyable at that. I have one question. What is "Mouth" of Mouth and MacNeal doing on the cover?

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order The Goal Gigolo here:

https://canyonsandlocusts.bandcamp.com/album/the-goal-gigolo

Broke And Broken. The Legendary Swagger

Just a few weeks ago I wrote a review of 'Sinners, Harlots & Hooligans ', the re-issue album of The Legendary Swagger and here's the band's new album already. In a way I have the impression that I can copy paste my review and just replace some titles to make it fit. The Legendary Swagger has punk / punkrock down to a t. All the elements that make it a great genre are present. Tough, up tempo playing, a rough voice, great want to sing along to melodies, great oohs and aaahs background vocals and on top of it all: saxophone solos.

The Legendary Swagger is a band from L.A. consisting of  Geoff Yeaton - Vocals, Saxophone, Skot Pollok - Guitars, Dino Everett - Bass, Vocals and Jimmy Sena - Drums, Vocals. Yeaton and Skott are the original members having played together since sort of forever. Everett and Sena joined later. Together they are a band that could easily fill the shoes of a band like Social Distortion.

Broke And Broken is a shot of adrenaline and a bolt of energy hitting the listener at the same time. The band goes full out and as a listener you can only do the same. The Legendary Swagger steamrolls over you and leaves you cheering because of it. The band plays the kind of punkrock that only comes out of the U.S.A. and more specifically from the West Coast/L.A. region and does it so well. With swagger is the right word. As if the band invented the genre, that's how confident it sounds. This is an album that everyone with a love for this genre should get acquainted with, fast. Broke And Broken by The Legendary Swagger is the name, should you not have gotten the message!

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Broke And Broken here:

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/broke-and-broken

De Toegift live. Paradiso Amsterdam, zaterdag 22 Februari 2025

Foto: Wout de Natris

Een magische avond in een compleet stille bovenzaal van Paradiso. Zeeuwse band De Toegift begeesterde zijn publiek en durfde het kleinste muzikale stuk mogelijk aan: volledige stilte. Dit was geen verrassing, want in december 2023 zag ik de band voor het eerst in het Patronaat café in Haarlem. Als ik mijn verslag teruglees, dan durfde de band daar nog veel meer met stilte te spelen dan in Paradiso.

Nu was, zeker in het verleden, Paradiso een notoir lulcafé, vol met mensen waarvan ik dacht, bespaar je dat geld voor het kaartje en ga gewoon naar de kroeg. Dat is aan het veranderen, is me opgevallen en bij De Toegift helemaal.

Ik vraag me af of de leden oude zielen zijn in een jong lichaam. Die indruk wekken ze wel bij mij en dit is helemaal prima. Muziek maken is een serieuze bezigheid en dat zien en horen we. Gelukkig kunnen er regelmatig lachjes af. Ook de band geniet, na de eerste nummers, als de kop er af is.

Nu was de band misschien ook een beetje onder de indruk van hun eerste show als solo act in Paradiso. Voor bijna iedere band is dat toch een droom die uitkomt. Op basis van de eerste twee albums, 'De Toegift (2023) en 'Kleine Auto, Grote Hot Wheel' (2025) is die plek ook verdient. (Zie elders op dit blog de recensies.) Uitgebreid met een violiste en een fluitiste/zangeres is het geluid diverser en voller dan voorheen.

Foto: Wout de Natris

Verstilling was zeker het hoofdthema van de avond. Des te verrassender zijn de paar nummers die volkomen uit de band springen, waarvan 'A' het beste voorbeeld is. Het was me op de plaat al opgevallen, maar De Toegift doet hier echt De Kift. In mijn hoofd hoor ik de toeters erbij en zie Ferry Heijne met wijd open gespreide armen staan. De zaal doet net zo hard mee nu men even uit de band mag springen door "A" mee te brullen. Des te knapper dat daarna ook iedereen terug het gareel inging, maar laten we wel wezen, er zou ook niets van de nummers en band overgebleven zijn als men was gaan kletsen. Dat dat niet gebeurde, zegt net zoveel over band als publiek. Men kwam om te luisteren en deed dat met overgave. En die kregen wij weer terug van de band.

Of De Toegift een grote zaal ook stil kan krijgen, dat zal de toekomst ons hopelijk leren. De kwaliteit is er om door te groeien. De progressie van album 1 naar 2 is aanzienlijk. Ik kan nu al niet wachten op nummer 3, maar zal geduld moeten betrachten. Mooie muziek als van De Toegift verdient een breder publiek, punt.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Enough. Office Culture

Enough is het vierde album van de voor mij tot voor kort onbekende Amerikaanse band Office Culture, maar de band uit New York levert met dit 70 minuten durende album een bijzonder interessant visitekaartje af.

Ik had eerlijk gezegd nog nooit van de band Office Culture gehoord, maar nieuwsgierig geworden door een aantal zeer positieve recensies begon ik aan Enough, wat inderdaad een bijzonder album is. Office Culture maakt muziek die wordt omschreven als soft-rock, jazzy pop of artpop, maar met geen van deze labels doe je de muziek van de band uit Brooklyn recht. De muziek van Office Culture is laidback en loom, maar Enough is ook een album vol bijzondere wendingen. Ik moest er absoluut even aan wennen, maar inmiddels begrijp ik de zeer positieve recensies die ik onlangs tegen kwam wel. Enough is een interessant album dat echt nog veel meer aandacht verdient.

Het Britse muziektijdschrift Uncut is de laatste maanden wat scheutiger met het rapportcijfer 9, dat in het verleden vooral was voorbehouden aan reissues van stokoude klassiekers. Vorige maand gaf het Britse muziektijdschrift een 9 aan Enough van Office Culture. Het is een album waarvan ik de opvallende cover wel voorbij heb zien komen, maar ik had tot voor kort niet geluisterd naar het vierde album van de band uit Brooklyn, New York.

Enough is een album waar ik wel even aan moest wennen, maar inmiddels begrijp ik de hoge waardering van Uncut wel. Het gerenommeerde Britse muziektijdschrift is overigens niet de enige die erg enthousiast is over het album van Office Culture, want ook een aantal Amerikaanse muziekwebsites, waaronder Pitchfork, zijn behoorlijk positief over het album.

Het is alleen al vanwege de speelduur een ambitieus album, want Enough bevat 16 songs en is goed voor 70 minuten muziek. In die 70 minuten maakt de band uit New York bijzondere muziek. Het is muziek die aan de ene kant lekker in het gehoor ligt en vermaakt met bijna zwoele klanken, maar de muziek van Office Culture zoekt aan de andere kant continu het experiment met bijzondere en soms wat schurende passages.

Bij eerste beluistering van het album had ik associaties met de muziek van de Schotse band The Blue Nile en dat is een associatie die ook na meerdere keren horen overeind is gebleven. Net als The Blue Nile maakt Office Culture sfeervolle muziek vol bijzondere wendingen, maar de muziek van de band uit Brooklyn klinkt wel wat Amerikaanse dan die van de Schotse band, die tussen 1984 en 2004 kwam tot vier prachtige albums. Office Culture is met Enough ook aanbeland bij haar vierde album, maar had daar slechts zeven jaar voor nodig.

Het valt niet mee om de muziek van Office Culture goed te beschrijven. Pitchfork omschrijft de muziek op Enough als soft-rock en draagt Steely Dan aan als vergelijkingsmateriaal. Dat laatste is vooral zinvol wanneer de muziek van Office Culture wat jazzier is, wat met enige regelmaat geval is. Ook het predicaat soft-rock is niet helemaal uit de lucht gegrepen, want wanneer de muziek op Enough loom en zonnig klinkt hoor je inderdaad wel wat invloeden uit dit genre.

Beide vergelijkingen houden echter geen rekening met het experiment dat Office Culture zoekt op haar nieuwe album. Het is vooral dit experiment dat van Enough een bijzonder album maakt. Met 70 minuten jazzy softrock zou de verveling op een gegeven moment gaan toeslaan, maar Enough blijkt 70 minuten spannend. Die spanning komt het ene moment van wat tegendraadse klanken, maar kan ook komen van bijzondere ritmes of van bijzondere lagen vocalen.

Office Culture noemt zichzelf een artpop band, maar dat is een stempel waar ik persoonlijk niet zoveel mee kan. Enough is wat mij betreft een album met een bijzondere mix van stijlen, waarvoor geen eenduidig etiket is te bedenken. Dat biedt misschien niet veel houvast, maar ondertussen valt er veel te genieten van de sfeervolle en veelkleurige muziek op het album, van de mooie zang en van de songs die je maar heen en weer sleuren tussen wegdromen en op het puntje van de stoel zitten. Dat heeft Uncut weer goed gehoord.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Enough hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://officeculture.bandcamp.com/album/enough

Phonetics On And On. Horsegirl

Horsegirl is a New York-via-Chicago trio of best friends Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein, and Gigi Reece. The trio formed in 2019 and released its first EP 'Horsegirl: Ballroom Dance Scene et cetera' one year later, followed by debut LP 'Versions of Modern Performance' in 2022. We're three years later and Phonetic On And On is upon us.

I have missed the two previous efforts of Horsegirl. Single 'Switch Over' was my introduction to the band. It made me curious to hear more and what I'm hearing is leaving me somewhat undecided but with an inclination towards the favourable. Phonetics On And On is a wobbly record. Ramshackle indie rock that can go either way. The band Magnapop for example was totally unlistenable to me. Horsegirl is and reminds me faintly of bands like The Beths and Wet Leg, except for that wobbly demeanour in singing and musicianship.

The basis of this band is sparse use of drums, bass and guitar, even of the voice(s). Just listen to 'In Twos', there's even a cello involved, playing the same note over and over. When all is said and done very little happens here, without giving the impression that something will at some point. The musicians appear to have just learned to play their instruments (it is rather confusing that in the song '2468' Horsegirl is singing 'In Twos' a hundred times) while I hear this obviously is not true. It's the impression they give.

This may be the case, fact is that the three Horsegirls know how to write a song and have the skills to arrange them as well, even in keeping things bare. In how far producer Cate le Bon played a role here, I can't tell. That depends on her approach to producing. The band itself stated that it strove to keep things bare and not fill songs with distorted guitars. As I wrote, I can't compare, but fact is that the emptiness in several songs works quite well. In that not unlike The Velvet Underground on its eponymous album. 'Julie' is a good example of this. 'Pale Blue Eyes' or 'Jesus' are songs I'm thinking of here. The switch to single 'Switch Over' and in comes 'What Goes On'. Point proven.

Taking the album as a whole I'm still not totally convinced but far more that after the first listening session. Horsegirl can thank 'Switch Over' for me wanting to listen more often, as it is the song that drew me into Phonetics On And On. I'm glad I did, as things seem to come out alright.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Phonetics On And On here:

https://thisishorsegirl.bandcamp.com/album/phonetics-on-and-on

2025, week 8. 10 singles

Every day seems weirder than the previous one in the last few weeks. So, let's focus on the singles of this week. We have a few really, really beautiful and good ones lined up for you. In fact, many new names can be found here this week, which is rather special taking into account that the blog is in existence 13 years (!) this week. Congratulations to ourselves. There are over 4.800 posts in our archive for you to peruse. But first, let's enjoy the latest 10 posts today.

 

Prayer To The Year. Liz Overs

Liz Overs is a new name on WoNoBlog, but Chalk Horse Music and Liz Pearson are not. In March 'Nightjar' will be released, her first album under the name Liz Overs. Prayer To The Year was released late last year for the sun solstice, so I'm a bit late. Better late than never, as Prayer To The Year is a beautiful single. Dreamfolk, why not introduce this moniker on the blog. Liz Overs sings a double tracked vocal, the one more dreamy than the other. Accompanied mainly by a banjo and all sorts of atmospherics that move in and out of the mix. Sometimes it leaves the impression of being there. Is there really a sound or is it a spooky trace I'm hearing? I just can't get my ear around it really. All together it provides Prayer To The Year a superb feel, making it beautiful, anachronistic and modern at the same time. I can't wait to hear more soon.

Too Much? EP. Mood Bored

Mood Bored returns to the blog with its second EP. Of the four songs two have already been released as digital singles. That only leaves two new songs, which is a shame as Mood Bored shows the progression that a band hopes for after its debut EP (2023) and playing shows, as with label mates POM. The Tilburg trio finds the right mix between alternative rock and a more punkrock oriented form of music. 'Wet Faced & Ugly' is the odd one out. The song is an alternative rock ballad, where Mood Bored moves towards a band like Porridge Radio. The opening song, 'All The Time', lies somewhere in between the two. It has a hint of Wet Leg, but most of all a huge explosion that makes me forget the song started off quite relaxed. Singer Myrte Driesenaar shows off her different voices successfully as well. The two opening songs present Tramhaus with freshly washed faces and nicely combed hair. The band is playing more conventional alternative rock and not post punk, is what I'm saying. It does have the energy and quality to write, play and present good songs, like Tramhaus. The comparison is a compliment and a well-deserved one. As I already said, it's a shame there are only four songs on this EP, as all four songs are better than the ones on 'Bored'. The band is ready for more.

Besties. Black Country, New Road

I was about to click this away, as the song is driving me crazy. Every time I think the song develops in a certain direction, it sways somewhere else and again and again and again and again. It's impossible to make heads or tails of this song. Undoubtedly it's extremely clever, but it's driving me nuts. That feat deserves a few words, I decided, as not many songs have accomplished this state of mind with me. I may not like a song, think it's horrible or totally not my taste. Black Country, New Road with Besties has a totally different outcome. I hear things I like and then it changes and again I hear something I might get to like and then it changes, etc., etc. No one has ever done anything like that before, but I'm not listening to it again. I've given up.

Lonely For You Baby. The Devils

Nearly one year ago The Devils' album 'Let The World Burn Down' received a very favourable reception on this blog. Already here is a new single of the garage rocking duo from Napels, Gianni Blacula and Erika Switchblade. It's drummer Switchblade who sings, with guitarist Blacula doing background duties. Expect once again a dirty sounding guitar over a sound rhythm. The references to other garage rocking duos can be made with ease and is just fine. The Devils rock so dirty that my late mother would have made me wash my hands after listening to the record. I'll conclude writing that this single is recommended listening for fans of rock and roll in the 2020s.

I Want You (Fever). Momma

How many alternative/indie rock bands are there in Brooklyn? It looks like as many as its namesake Breukelen over here in NL has inhabitants. Momma is another band that plays music that sounds very familiar, musically and vocally. You can figure that out for yourself. I would like to focus on the the way the song combines a lot of energy with relaxed singing, if not slacking at some points in the song. Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten share vocal duties (and play guitar) and both have a dreamy quality to their voice. Around them a storm can start cooking and regularly does. Aron Kobayashi Ritch and Preston Fulks make up the other half of the band and storm cookers. I Want You (Fever) is a song that sounds familiar but that wall of sound it creates, attracts me just the same. Album 'Welcome To My Blue Sky' is out on 4 april.

Bronze Age Collapse. The Mistons

Did the Bronze Age collapse or did it adapt to iron after the invention of smelting iron ore? A good question that I do not have an answer to. A bit of both most likely. The song is one from 'Single', yes a 7", The Mistons plan to release soon. The band is from Portland, Oregon and delivers dirty, almost primitive alternative rock with infusions from punk and garage. The band has known many line ups through the years but has one constant, Sean Croghan, who played in many other bands through the years as well. With one common denominator for me: I haven't ever heard of any of them, including The Mistons, until today that is. Or so I thought, as the band was in the single section of this blog twice before in the past four years. Bronze Age Collapse is a dirty rocker, recorded as if it was recorded straight to a cassette tape with only one mike in the room. It's enough, this song rocks!

Our Hearts Need Electricity. Cold Expectations

Cold Expectations is a name that can be found on this blog since 2021 with a range of singles. Our Hearts Need Electricity is no exception. I'm surprised how much the singing sounds like Cottbus, Germany's Para Lia. That is coincidence, no doubt. The title of the song has to be taken literally, as singer-guitarist Steve Prygoda had to undergo surgery for a pacemaker inplant to stay alive. It's clear that he survived to sing about it and gave him the new energy to do so. What I notice is that the song, perhaps unintentional, has stop starts moments, that make it all but a fluid song. It starts with a sort of wave sound, applying music to the wave of a heart monitor machine? Or so it seems to me. The singing with bassist JoEllen Saunders is exquisite, a great strength to the single.

Hearsay. Anika

Annika Henderson was born in the U.K. but now lives in Berlin. She makes music under the name Anika. She will release her new album, 'Abyss', on 4 April. In the meantime I'm listening to the single Hearsay. It is a stark, alternative rock song, with dirty guitars going full out, albeit mixed into the semi background. In the beginning of the song, when it is far more bare, I'm remembered of Sophie Hunger, the Swiss artist who moved from Switzerland to Berlin. In the music and in the special way  both Anika and Sophie put an accent on words. Coincidence? I can only guess so. Hearsay is a song that is built up in a great way. Bass and drums and Anika's voice with an effect on it before the "ordinary" rhythm guitar comes in. From there more and more joins the song, until the song is cooking up a storm of music. Anika promises that 'Abyss' contains a lot more of this energetic music. Patience is the word for now.

I Just Do! girlpuppy

girlpuppy is the project of Atlanta, Georgia's Becca Harvey. With her single I Just Do! she combines pop, girl like singing and alternative rock. The song begins with a drumcomputer rhythm before the song really starts. Still, she is not giving away her true colours. The explosion in the chorus are, when the effect pedals are kicked in. Surprised, I am thinking of New Zealand's The Beths, who can explode so successfully as well. The difference is that pop part in the verses and the very girlish vocals of Becca Harvey. She created the basic ideas of I Just Do!, before turning to producer Alex Farrar. Together they turned the song into the powerhouse it is. On 28 March the album will be there. It's called 'Sweetness'.

All Together On 3. Push Puppets

"Vaguely familiar and brilliantly original", stated the bio accompanying introducing All Together On 3. Vaguely? I can't help to suppress a laugh. It is as if I'm listening to a song by an aged voice of Neil Finn of Crowded House (and Split Enz) fame. The song starts as a Beatles inspired intro, so that aligns with Mr Finn's music as well. Push Puppets is a band around songwriter Erich Specht from Palatine, near Chicago. Together with Steve Frisbie (backup vocals and guitar), Kyle Magnusson (keyboards), John William Lauler (bass) and Greg Essig (drums) Specht goes for the perfect pop song. All Together on 3 is a good effort in doing so. The song is rich in sound and melody. At the right moments instruments are added and let go of again, making the song very much alive. Where Crowded House is concerned, Push Puppets may be overdoing it a little, but that does not mean All Together On 3 is a bad song. Far from I'd say. Album 'Tethered Together' is out on 16 May.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain. Sarah Blasko

Het was een tijdje stil rond de Australische singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko, maar met I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain levert ze een prachtig album af dat in muzikaal opzicht indruk maakt en in vocaal opzicht imponeert.

Sarah Blasko zette alweer flink wat jaren geleden haar versies van een aantal songs van anderen op YouTube en maakte indruk met haar prachtige stem. Die stem staat ook weer centraal op het deze week verschenen I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain, het zevende studioalbum van de Australische muzikante. Het is een album waarop de zang echt wonderschoon is, maar ook de kwaliteit van de songs, de muziek en de productie valt in positieve zin op. Ik had lang niet geluisterd naar de muziek van Sarah Blasko, maar I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain had nauwelijks tijd nodig om me te overtuigen van de talenten van een van de betere zangeressen van het moment.

De Australische singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko brengt inmiddels al twintig jaar albums uit en komt deze week met haar zevende studioalbum op de proppen. Ze is misschien nog wel het bekendst van haar versies van songs van anderen, maar ook de albums met haar eigen songs zijn stuk voor stuk de moeite waard.

Het laatste wapenfeit van de muzikante uit Sydney kwam tot voor kort uit 2018, maar zelf moet ik terug naar 2012 voor het laatste album van Sarah Blasko dat ik besprak op de krenten uit de pop. Desondanks schreef ik haar nieuwe album I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain vrijwel direct op voor een recensie deze week. Daar heb ik geen spijt van gekregen, wat Sarah Blasko laat op haar nieuwe album wederom dat ze een getalenteerde songwriter en een uitstekende zangeres is.

De Australische editie van Rolling Stone omschrijft het prachtig: “Sarah Blasko’s vinyl-icon voice is like a flame: unique, mesmerising to observe, and, when caught up close, has the ability to cause tears”. Een ander Australisch tijdschrift noemt haar stem “heaven-sent”. Je hoort het direct in de openingstrack, waarin Sarah Blasko in eerste instantie genoeg heeft aan subtiele pianoklanken en vervolgens de sterren van de hemel zingt.

I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain opent met flink wat melancholie en die melancholie domineert ook op de rest van het album. Sarah Blasko heeft een album gemaakt over verdriet en verlies en dat voorziet haar indringende zang van nog wat extra lading. Die extra lading komt in de openingstrack van haar nieuwe album ook van een aantal achtergrondvocalisten, die de track voorzien van een subtiel laagje gospel. Later op het album duikt ook nog een mannenstem op die de stem van Sarah Blasko versterkt.

Het was zoals gezegd best lang geleden dat ik voor het laatst naar de muziek van Sarah Blasko had geluisterd, maar I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain voelde eigenlijk direct als het spreekwoordelijke warme bad. Dat ligt vooral aan de prachtige en vaak soulvolle stem van Sarah Blasko, die op haar nieuwe album nog wat doorleefder klinkt, wat haar stem alleen maar mooier maakt, maar ook in muzikaal opzicht is I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain een mooi album.

Sarah Blasko varieert op haar album tussen sober klinkende en wat voller klinkende songs, maar de muziek is zeer sfeervol en staat altijd in dienst van haar stem. Met een stem als die van Sarah Blasko kun je bijna geen slecht album maken, maar de Australische muzikante laat op haar nieuwe album ook nog eens horen dat ze een geweldig songwriter is. De songs op I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain klinken tijdloos, maar het nieuwe album van Sarah Blasko klinkt zeker niet hetzelfde als al die andere tijdloze singer-songwriter albums van het moment. De muzikante uit Sydney heeft bovendien een veelzijdig album afgeleverd, dat binnen de singer-songwriter muziek een breed spectrum bestrijkt.

Sarah Blasko is zoals gezegd zeker geen nieuwkomer, maar ik vind haar zevende album een stuk indrukwekkender dan de albums uit het verleden, waarvan ik vooral de eerste vier hoog heb zitten. Sarah Blasko trekt op YouTube veel kijkers met een aantal fraaie vertolkingen van songs van anderen, maar de prachtige songs op I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain zijn wat mij betreft minstens net zo interessant en nog net wat mooier gezongen. Prachtalbum.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://sarahblasko.bandcamp.com/album/i-just-need-to-conquer-this-mountain

Fancy Cars. The Grey Pants

For the second time this week, we present three albums. This is the third. All are too good to ignore while all three would have missed out if I had stuck to three new albums this week. So all three get a shorter review today.

Listening to Fancy Cars for the first time, I thought to listen to a new album of Carol Cleveland Sings, a totally obscure album, 'Effervescent Lure', that I bought online from a tiny record company in the U.S. by having it delivered in San Francisco at a professional friend's house, who brought it to an international conference in Mexico we attended from where I brought it home to NL. One of 500 copies!

The Grey Pants is not from the U.S. though. It is Dutch duo Henk Koorn (Hallo Venray) and Elza van Zevenbergen. Fancy Cars is its third album. For me its the first, as far as I'm aware. The album is filled with small songs that tell about every day topics like seeing donkeys in a video, a dog, baking omelets, sports cars and much more.

The music is also small, in the sense that beats come from a box and from there anything is possible. An electric guitar is always there. It is not mood setting though. That is the dreamy singing of especially Van Zevenbergen. Next come some keyboards. The combination of singing and instruments used, is what brought me to Carol Cleveland Sings. The likeness is somewhat uncanny even.

Having said that, it is my impression at this point in time that Fancy Cars is better. The only reason I can give at this moment is that the songs are better. They flow in a better way, despite the minimal, lo-fi approach. In the past weeks the album came by regularly in the huge offer of new albums. That ought to say enough.

One thing though, since Wet Leg's first single we Dutchies know that chaise longue in English is pronounced as sjees long and not sjèze. That aside, it's all good.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can order Fancy Cars here:

https://excelsior-recordings.com/en/products/the-grey-pants-fancy-cars

Class Out The Ass. Miss Georgia Peach

For the second time this week, we present three albums. This is the second. All are too good to ignore while all three would have missed out if I had stuck to three new albums this week. So all three get a shorter review today.

This review starts with the 1981 hit single by Kirsty MacColl 'There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis'. It sounds like a blueprint to me in the way Class Out The Ass kicks off and moves somewhere between country and country rock, It may well be that MacColl's novelty hit never made it to the States like it did here and Ms. Peach only listened really well to '(You Never Can Tell) C'est La Vie' by Emmylou Harris when writing.

Anyway, it sets the scene, as Miss Georgia Peach and band leave the studio with screeching, smoking tires when they kick the album off with 'Shut Up And Drink Your Beer'. Ms Peach and her partner Travis Ramin worked again with Ruyter Suys, Blaine Cartwright, Mark Hendricks, Earl Crimm and Scott Luallen of Nashville Pussy and Nine Pound Hammer fame. The fun they had making Class Out The Ass simply jumps from the record. They clearly love playing these songs.

The songs move from country to pop but all come with a bite. Even the true country songs have more body than some rock songs. This shows in the lead notes that can sound out all of a sudden. One of my favourites there is 'Dusty'.  It has a nice 1960s feel, while the singing and the overall sound make it far more modern.

Not all songs have to be taken seriously, like how the relationship song 'You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly' ends with Blaine Cartwright and Miss Georgia Peach laughing before the fade out. All in good fun or not, the band is making the music in a serious way, as Class Out The Ass is very well made. Anyone can hear this. The music resulting from this process is good time fun. There are no other words for it.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Class Out The Ass here:

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/class-out-the-ass

No Honey. Joshua Finsel

For the second time this week, we present three albums. This is the first, released two weeks ago. All are too good to ignore while all three would have missed out if I had stuck to three new albums this week. So all three get a shorter review today.

Joshua Finsel has led several musical lives in the past three decades. This month he released his first solo album, with the assistance of producer D. Patrick and former David Bowie associate musician Mark Pratt.

The result is an album that meanders between singer-songwriter, country and folk. There's even a hint of Bob Dylan's approach to his music on 'Desire', because of the way the violin is used. With a voice that has a nice little rough edge to it, Finsel is active in the right kind of music. No Honey is the kind of album that ought to attract several lovers of Americana and roots music. From an extremely slow ballad like 'The Drought', sang with his daughter Ada, there are more up tempo songs as well.

To me though, he makes the biggest impression with 'The Drought', as everything here seems so well thought out and every instrument that comes in and there are more than you'd expect in the beginning, is so well placed and has a direct impact on me as a listener.

The same goes for the opening song, 'Before The Snow'. It is the slow songs that really, really get to me and where Finsel's voice has the biggest impact. The way these songs are produced make them stand out of the pack. D. Patrick can take some of that credit by bringing in these musicians but things start with Joshua Finsel's songs.

True, a few of the songs are moving towards too country for me, as a whole though Joshua Finsel's No Honey works for me. The water may be rising to his lips, based on this album that ought to end soon. It deserves listening to.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order No Honey here:

https://joshuafinsel.bandcamp.com/album/no-honey

Dancing Headlights. Sivert Høyem

And so it has come to pass that Sivert Høyem's voice and music are a quarter of a century in my life. Ever since 'Industrial Silence' by his band Madrugada was released in The Netherlands in 2000 (1999 in Norway), I have followed him and here is another solo album, within a year of 'On An Island'.

With his warm, deep voice Høyem is special in the pop world. He has one of the best voices in the business. It has the right level of deepness and resonates in the most pleasant of ways. A voice that excels in dark ballads but, in contrast with many deep-voiced singers, keeps his own in rockers as well. And it shows on Dancing Headlights.

The album opens with a typical Sivert Høyem ballad. Slow, warm and impressive. 'Love Vs. The World', an uptempo more rocking song, rocks the tranquil boat, allows for some pop on the album as well. 'The Great Upsetter' is once again a ballad but also rocks. The album delves deeper and starts to open up and blossom because of it. "Play that record one more time" Høyem sings and it seems like his request will be met. With a song like 'The Great Upsetter' on board it becomes easy to do put Dancing Headlights on repeat. As far as I'm concerned Sivert Høyem has added another pearl to his oeuvre.

At this point in time I do not have any information on the album, so I have to point you to the album itself for that. It will not be long before I have it, so maybe I'll add a P.S. later. What is clear to me, is that Dancing Headlights is a more solid album and more varied, in the way the Madrugada albums were. Something I've often missed on his solo albums. Dancing Headlights is a varied album that touches on different moods that are rather wide apart. From 'Hurdle' to 'Hollow' is quite the musical stretch. From a rock guitar and speed, to strings and meandering. But then listen to that voice in both songs.

In 'Summer Rain' the two approaches are combined. The song goes from small to ever larger. The speed is there from the beginning but it's some time before the band really starts going for it. The song builds up the tensions by adding a little by the verse, until the beast is unleashed and starts running unrestrained. I simply love how this song plays out.

When all is said and done Dancing Headlights rocks more than it is at rest. It may be that Sivert Høyem saved several rock songs that did not fit on his previous album 'On An Island' and kept them for an in between album. In the end, it is only an eight song album, including one live track. If so, I'm not complaining. Dancing Headlights is a more than fine album, that as far as I'm concerned can grow into one of my favourite Sivert Høyem solo albums. I totally like the mix of ballads and rockers, just like I did in the 00s, when I heard him sing first. Dancing Headlights is a fine album and I will have it here very soon.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Welcome To The GUNMOLL Family. GUNMOLL

This is the third of three albums released last week, that all are too good to ignore but of which two would have missed out if I had stuck to three new albums a week. So all three get a shorter review today.

GUNMOLL debuted on this blog in 2024 with the single 'Tata's Lie' and hearing it back as the first real song on the band's EP, it's quite clear why. Tata's Lie is a supercharged song that is beyond just infectious. The voice of singer/guitarist Jolien Grunberg may be a bit on helium, not unlike Mette Lindberg of The Asteroids Galaxy Tour and Amy Taylor's of Amyl and the Sniffers, it's totally effective in GUNMOLL. I wrote the first real song above, as the album opens with a spoken word track, that I'll let you explore for yourself.

GUNMOLL started as a duo consisting of Grunberg and guitar player/producer Barend Bol. The two found Pim de Roij (drums) and Koen van Bemmelen (bass) to complete the band. The rhythm section certainly manages to give the band a rock and a dancing vibe. Together they explore anything between the previously mentioned Danish band, Cari Cari and Donna Blue. So anything from exotic chords and rhythms to a rock sound can come forward. It makes Welcome To The GUNMOLL Family a varied album but in several parts also exciting album. At the same time it is not your average alternative rock album and that is not an easy feat to achieve these days.

The five songs on Welcome To The GUNMOLL Family are over before you know it and you want to play them again and again.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

6:00PM. Kristóf Hajós

This is the second of three albums released last week, that all are too good to ignore but of which two would have missed out if I had stuck to three new albums a week. So all three get a shorter review today.

Every once in a while a cd is dropped into my letter box from the Tiny Room Records family. Kristóf Hajós is one of its members. On his latest album he presents mid-tempo and atmospheric songs that are part organic and part electronics. This can be produced as much by electronic rhythm boxes as swaths of sounds from synths or background electronics. His 2023 album 'Geography' was somewhat less direct compared to 6:00PM, that presents several songs that have a straight rhythm and move directly from a to b. The album's opening song, 'Goodbye Boedapest' is the showcase for this conclusion.

What is also clear, is the stamp Stefan Breuer put on the album. While just listening without having read any of the information, I could pick out his way of composing and singing. This brings a few of the songs close to Breuer's own project The World of Dust. Another reference here in NL is I Am Oak.

As you may have gathered from these comments, 6:00PM contains several delicate songs, where everything is clearly audible but as if coming through the fog from up close or further away. It's impossible to see. At the same time I want to keep listening. The title song is one of the more direct ones. It has clear 1980s influences from bands like China Crisis and other soft but synth driven acts from the day. The mix makes 6:00PM a very interesting album to listen to. Kristóf Hajós' voice is leading the way. Sometimes a little uncertain, sometimes as if in dreams, but always going forward, if delicate.

He is all but a household name and will most likely not become one but that should not deter you from listening to 6:00PM. It is an album to cherish.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order 6:00PM here:

https://kristofhajos.bandcamp.com/album/6-00pm

Burn The Ration Book Of Love. Peter Alexander Jobson

This is the first of three albums released last week, that all are too good to ignore but of which two would have missed out if I had stuck to three new albums a week. So all three get a shorter review today.

Burn The Ration Book Of Love is Peter Alexander Jobson's debut solo album. Under the name Peter Jobson he was I Am Kloot's bass player for close to two decades until the band folded in 2016. I Am Kloot was one of several bands that rose to fame around 2000 with an acoustic sound, of which some are still around today.

Burn The Ration Book Of Love opens with an acoustic live track in the vein of someone like Tom Lehrer from a long time ago. Funny, unexpected and making the audience laugh. From there Jobson goes into the studio and makes use of all the options a studio, musicians and their instruments offer. With a voice that brings someone like Lee Hazelwood to memory, Jobson sings almost as deep and raspy. The way he talk-sings is certainly convincing.

Expect songs that move forward slowly but with ease, accompanied by that dark-brown voice. Together with co-producer Ben Christophers Peter Alexander Jobson has created a pleasant album that simply sounds very comfortable to him and to the listener. Don't expect any grandstanding, just pleasant music that will put you in a good mood. From purely acoustic to more electronic accompanied songs, you will find it all here.

The surprise of the album is the repeated singing of Guy Garvey in a background capacity. The Elbow frontman is also listed as executive producer. In as far as you need an extra nudge to listen, here it is. I had no clue and was convinced long before I found out.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

When I Get Through. Breymer

When I Get Through van de Amerikaanse muzikant Breymer kreeg de afgelopen maanden niet heel veel aandacht, maar deze aandacht had dit persoonlijke en in kwalitatief opzicht hoogstaande album absoluut verdiend.

Breymer is het alter ego van Sarah Walk, die de afgelopen jaren een complex proces rond gender en identiteit doorliep. Dit is ook het belangrijkste onderwerp op When I Get Through, het eerste album dat onder de naam Breymer is verschenen. Het is een album dat heel even associaties oproept met het werk van anderen, maar dat vervolgens een eigen geluid laat horen dat echt in alle opzichten kwaliteit ademt. When I Get Through van Breymer is een album dat maanden geleden had moeten worden overladen met zeer positieve recensies, maar op een of andere manier is dit album tussen wal en schip gevallen. Het is echt doodzonde. Tijd voor eerherstel.

Afgelopen herfst verscheen het album When I Get Through van Breymer. Het is een album dat me destijds is ontgaan en dat is jammer, want het is een erg mooi en zeer persoonlijk album. Breymer is het alter ego van de Amerikaanse muzikant Sarah Walk, die eerder twee albums uitbracht onder deze naam. De muzikant uit Los Angeles worstelde de afgelopen jaren stevig met gender en identiteit en gaat inmiddels als non-binair persoon door het leven.

De albums van Sarah Walk ken ik niet en ook het album van Breymer had ik dus bijna gemist. Dat is bijzonder, want het is een album dat me direct bij eerste en vluchtige beluistering aansprak en dat bovendien heel goed in mijn straatje past. Ik heb natuurlijk ook nog even naar de albums van Sarah Walk geluisterd en ook die vallen me zeker niet tegen, al klinkt de muziek van Breymer wat mij betreft een stuk onderscheidender dan de sfeervolle pianopop op de eerdere albums.

Dat betekent overigens niet dat de muziek op When I Get Through zich niet makkelijk laat vergelijken met de muziek van anderen. Direct bij beluistering van de eerste tracks van het debuutalbum van Breymer had ik associaties met de muziek van Phoebe Bridgers, een van de onbetwiste smaakmakers binnen de indiepop en indierock van het moment.

Zeker in deze openingstrack van het album ligt de vergelijking met Phoebe Bridgers er dik bovenop. Akoestische gitaren, atmosferische synths en een zachte stem zorgen voor een geluid dat Phoebe Bridgers op de kaart heeft gezet. Breymer maakt echter ook direct indruk met hele mooie en gevoelige zang, zeer persoonlijke teksten en een song die direct impact heeft en dat ook blijft hebben.

When I Get Through bevat nog een of twee songs die wel wat doen denken aan de muziek van Phoebe Bridgers, maar Breymer laat vooral een eigen geluid horen. De muzikant uit Los Angeles heeft een goed gevoel voor aansprekende maar ook avontuurlijke popsongs en het zijn songs die met veel emotie worden vertolkt. Wanneer Breymer de piano er weer bij pakt hoor ik meer van Tori Amos en Fiona Apple dan van Phoebe Bridgers en groeit het respect voor Breymer nog wat meer. En zo duiken er nog wel meer namen op.

When I Get Through weet zich wat mij betreft te onderscheiden van de meeste andere albums in het genre door in alle opzichten een hoge kwaliteit na te streven. De stem van de Amerikaanse muzikant is echt prachtig en ook verrassend veelzijdig, waardoor When I Get Through een gevarieerd album is.

Ook in muzikaal opzicht kiest Breymer voor kwaliteit met een mooi en rijk maar ook spannend geluid, dat fraai is geproduceerd door muzikant en producer Tyler Chester. Het is een naam die me niet direct wat zei, maar met werk voor onder andere Madison Cunningham, Sara Bareilles, Sara Watkins, Margaret Glaspy en Laura Jean Anderson is het zeker geen nieuwkomer.

Breymer maakt echter de meeste indruk met de songs, die vooral gaan over alle worstelingen met gender en identiteit en het complexe en pijnlijke proces dat ze inmiddels heeft doorlopen. Het maakt van When I Get Through een intiem album, met persoonlijke songs die flink dieper binnen komen dan songs over koetjes en kalfjes.

Breymer heeft de pech dat er in dit genre heel veel albums zijn verschenen het afgelopen jaar, waardoor verzadiging is opgetreden, maar When I Get Through verdient absoluut meer aandacht dan dit bijzonder mooie album tot dusver heeft gekregen.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt When I Get Through hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://breymer.bandcamp.com/album/when-i-get-through

Neànder with Afgrond live. Patronaat Haarlem, Friday 14 February 2025

Photo: Wout de Natris

This was a first for me at the Patronaat, a show of two, very different bands that I will both put under the moniker metal for the sake of ease. The experience was just as different.

I came because of the personal invitation of Jan Korbach, formerly of Glitterhouse Records, to come over and listen to his band Neànder. The music is not in my general musical range, as people following this blog will have noticed. His solo record. 'Atem',  and 'III', Neànder's latest record', both were albums I can well listen to.

Berlin band Neànder plays instrumental music, created by a drummer and three guitarists. This makes it of interest to see how a song develops and what element is brought in and leaves to be replaced by another or by a wall of sound the four create together. Often a composition had an interesting coda, just played by one guitar.

In general it is good to see that the three guitarist obviously have fun in playing their songs. As soon as a song starts, the three start moving as if palmtrees in a tropical wind at the beach. Nothing wild, just swaying to the music, that gives it a relaxed feel, no matter what happens musically.

What is also great is the tight rhythm that is there the whole time, allowing to sway along with the guitarists. True, I had to get in the mood for a few songs, but after that I was totally okay with what was going on and enjoying the music and the experience.

Photo: Wout de Natris

Finally, the true treasure of Neànder's music, is the melodies that come out of the den of noise the four make. It puts life and even some sunshine into the compositions. That melody can be a huge riff supported by all the power coming out of fingers, strings, guitar, effects and amps or lead notes and even loud shredding. The changes change the song, the atmosphere and the experience.

The Patronaat show was Neànder's first headlining show in The Netherlands and was well attended. It should not be the last time it plays a lead show over here.

My final comments is on the artwork on the t-shirts on sale. This is true art and will at some point in time become part of musea collections. I will wear mine proudly in the coming years. Thank you, Jan, for the invite and hope to meet again not too long from now.

And Afgrond (Abyss)? If I ever heard music that was not for me, it was Afgrond's. I just can't listen to grunting, but also the music for me had no head nor tails. Just noise and louder, loudest noise. The guitarist and bassist both have chest long hair, but the way they stood on stage, was as if as soon as the show was over, they stowed their wigs and went back to the accountant's office as fast as they could. Just some well-meant advice. To convince as a band, you have to show some enthusiasm guys. With music this extreme, you have to live it on stage. The grunting singer, impossible to get a single word even, got that right.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

2025, week 7. 10 singles

Another week gone and 2025 well underway. Weeks I would not have minded not to live in. While the world falls into one surprise after the other at what is being hurled at it, music remains a consolation and a place to find strength and courage. We'll need it in abundance. If anything it's clear that the western world in the past few days has reached a watershed moment in which nothing is what it was and no one knows what lies ahead. Besides chaos and uncertainty that is. For the first time in my life I have the idea I may live under a dictatorship or its euphemism, illiberal democracy and even experiencing living during wartime. And yet, we all go about our daily business. For the first time I understand people living in the early 1910s and 1930s.....

 

Earthstar. Hannah Cohen

Singer-songwriter Hannah Cohen may release her fourth album in March, she makes her debut on this blog with the relaxed single Earthstar. The song has this modest yet compelling rhythm around which the different instruments meander. There are ever more to discover, while they seem to come to me like waves on the beach. Ever coming and going.with the difference that waves can be extremely dangerous (the undertoad, Garp fans!), Earthstar is everything but. It presents a softly plopping Air bass way of playing. Hannah Cohen sings over it with multiple voices. The many instruments cascade over me, one after the other with the synth as the waves. And then she sings about waves as well,  I notice when I start listening to the lyrics. Can you really know another person?, is the question Hannah Cohen asks herself. I doubt it, as it is impossible to look into another mind. That said, Earthstar is a beautiful and surprising single. Album ' Earthstar Mountain' is available on 28 March.

Alles Wat Ik Zoek. Hiigo

Met Hiigo is er een nieuwe Nederlandstalige band op de radio te horen. Opgericht in 2021 en na een aantal singles in eigen beheer te hebben uitgebracht, zorgde single 'Tankstation' vorig jaar voor de radio doorbraak. Op weg naar LP ‘Leven In De Leegte’ die verschijnt op 14 maart, is er nu Alles Wat Ik Zoek. In de bio wordt een vergelijkend lijstje gemaakt met Nederlandstalige bands die in vorige decennia doorbraken met namen als Doe Maar, Blöf en Typhoon daar in. Dat getuigt van een hoop lef en branie, maar hoe goed is Alles Wat Ik Zoek? Wat ik hoor, is een modern pop geluid met een zanger die inderdaad in een lange traditie valt. Het refrein is zeker catchy, maar ook wel overbekend qua geluid. Blöf is zeker een referentie hier. Dat is hier zeker prima te noemen. Of Hiigo een plaats in een rijtje zoals hier boven genoemd gaat passen, kan alleen de tijd ons leren. In de tussentijd is Alles Wat Ik zoek zeker een zeer onderhoudend nummer.

Unbroken EP. Falsely Accused

Unbroken's opening track 'A Drink Before The War' may start extremely modest. Not too long after the band kicks in and we are off. The track is a stark rocker with just the right focus on melody to make it very pleasant to listen to as well. The song was reviewed, as was 'Witches', as a single in 2024. Unbroken is a five song EP, so a significant part was already discussed. To focus solely on the three new tracks, dismisses the whole overview, so let's take it all into account. Falsely Accused is a band from New England, Mike Azzolino: drums, percussion, and backup vocals, Matt Tavano: bass and lead vocals and Mark Young: Guitar and backup vocals, and rocks in a way that was popular in the post-grunge period, so around 2000 with bands like Staind and Creed, but add to that a lighter touch that for a better word in this context I opt to call pop. The band also presents melodies many people will be able to digest more easily than anger. Riffs fly round, the rhythm sections lays down a great foundation, while Matt Tavano's voice has that anger and despair deepness of post-grunge but also a side that makes it more pleasant to listen to. Looking at the band picture, the members may have played in a post-grunge band at the time. Twenty plus years down the line they decided to start all over again and add everything they've picked up along the way. Take 'Drifting'. This song definitely has a Jefferson Airplane touch to it. With final song 'Soul Crush' Falsely Accused spreads the song out and moves a little into psychedelic spheres. It's not the strongest song of the five but definitely an impressive ending. With the two singles the band gave off a promise and delivers on it with Unbroken.

Suzy. 20th Century Boys

A debut single from California band 20th Century Boys. The name sounds like a declaration and the music only underscores this. Suzy, who has a boyfriend, as we learn from the single, is a song that owes everything from the final decades of the previous century. Punk meets glam and rock. The band's introduces itself with four hits of the drumsticks and off we go into nostalgic territories. From The Kinks in the latest 70s, to U.S. powerpop bands and punksingles from the likes of The Knack and The Romantics, you can find it all in Suzy. Trio Jeff Moses, lead vocals & guitar, Rocko Occhiato, bass and Jasson Hubbard, drums know where Abraham found his rocking mustard. We have wait for the snow and ice to thaw before we are going to hear more. In the meantime let's rock some more with Suzy.

Kayo. Blaudzun

Blaudzun left his record company (or the other way around, I don't know) and then it happens that he released a new record without me being aware of it. People following this blog, know that Blaudzun had a spot reserved for him in the past thirteen years. And then this. Luckily, Kayo came by on the radio, I thought as a first single. The song brings everything together what makes Blaudzun so good. I notice a few things though. Kayo has a far lighter touch then his previous work and seems to want to please too much. This makes the song a Blaudzun light song. This is compensated by the fact that Kayo pleases instantly, which is its intent to do. In this sense the song doesn't take time to get used to. More in general it does a little. Time will tell how the song will stick with me. In the meantime I have a whole album, 'Latter Days',  to catch up on. The first introduction works well enough.

.Here EP. And They Spoke In Anthems

With EP .Here And They Spoke In Anthems' singer-songwriter Arne Leurentop closes a period in his life that reflects on moving to and living in New Zealand and back to Belgium, as reflected on in 'Afterglow'. In that period two very good friends of Arne Leurentop died. The fourteen songs on 'Still.' and .Here reflect on that special but also dark period. I have not reviewed 'Still' I notice but did review two of its singles and album 'Money Time' in 2019. .Here is a close fit to what I already know. And They Spoke In Anthems plays the kind of songs that command listening. Without doing so, it does not make a lot of sense to put .Here on. And They Spoke In Anthems is a band, but a modest and quite one. Leurentop's voice leads the pack. Under it an acoustic guitar can be enough and sometime other instruments are added. Always softly. And yet in 'Dry' the song is slowly build up and fleshed out. There's an inner tension that is never fully released, making 'Dry' ever more interesting to listen to. To think that the album opens with 'Still', for not even a minute, after which .Here really starts. A period is closed. I'm looking forward to the next step.

Angels. Womb

Time to do some dreaming. Like the band sang before "I was dreaming about the future, I forgot about the present." With a song like Angels, the band hits the nail on head ever so delicately, so not to wake anyone. New Zealand trio Cello Forrester (vocals, guitar, strings), Haz Forrester (synth, guitar) and Georgette Brown (drums) will release its new album 'One Is Always Heading Somewhere' on 14 March through the Flying Nun label. Angels is so soft that it seems like Womb is doing everything not to be noticed. If so, its plan failed, as I picked the single up and want to point you to it. This song is filled with atmosphere. It makes you want to cuddle up to it and relax together under the soft, warm blanket Angles is. The swaths of sounds within the song gives it a psychedelic sheen accompanying the dreampop. I can't tell you about the album. If it is filled with "Angels", it may become a bit much. As a single Angels totally convinces.

Mind Song. Para Lia

It was 2019 already that Para Lia debuted on this blog. Three albums and an EP further Para Lia releases a stand alone single, Mind Song. In a way it is a debut any way, because this is the first recording of Para Lia, the band, opposed to the "bedroom project" of René and Cindy Methner. The band has been playing live for some time. This doest come with a change in sound. What stayed is the sound rock music, what came in is a more direct sound and an equal division between guitars and synths. In that sense Mind Song is a more average song than Para Lia's best songs, in another sense it is far more organic in sound. One song in, it is impossible to tell what I prefer. Fact is that I am surprised and after the first listen session, always a dangerous one for familiar artists, pleasantly as well. So, let's see what the future brings and in the meantime I'm enjoying Mind Song.

Nothing Like. Reb Fountain

Reb Fountain's music always contains a touch of mystery. The suggestion that there's more between the recording and my ears. Her new single is called Nothing Like and that title is appropriate, as the song is nothing like what came before. Nothing Like is more electronic (irregular percussion), so empty in a totally different way than before. The strings are slow and sparse, just like the piano. Behind it there are all sorts of atmospherics that come in and go out of the song. The common denominator is Reb Fountain herself of course. Her voice and her use of it, is very familiar. I'll admit that it took me more than one listening session to get the drift of Nothing Like. If this had been someone I'd never heard of, I would probably have given op, as there are so many singles to consider. Luckily, I did not. Another great song by Reb Fountain is the conclusion.

Dreamt Of You. I Am Oak

One and a half month to go before 'Time Drifts' is released but we are warmed up by Thijs Kuijken with the slow pace of single Dreamt Of You. Nearly all I Am Oak's songs are slow paced and yet Dreamt Of You stands out because of the use of a banjo. Dreaming is something that certainly is a good description of the band's work. Dreampop mostly has female singers, not with I Am Oak. On the face of it, nothing happens in Dreamt Of You and yet it totally works. Just listen to the harmony singing and how the female voice of Clasine Haringsma moves in and out of the whole. Play the song a few times and it becomes hypnotic. For a song that will be totally ignored when played in the background, it is a sort of force that grabs you when you pay serious attention. Addictive is the right word here.

 

As principal writer and editor of this blog I am allowed to break my own rules. One of them is never write a single review after the release of an album, as to provide room to new stuff. Another is 10 singles per week. Ha, I get to break both today.

Monsieur Valentine. The Shang Hi Los

'Aces Eights & Heartbreaks' was released early in 2023 and remained my favourite album of the year until 'Hackney Diamonds' was released. Recently a new single of the album was released by Rum Bar Records. I suppose for the over here fairly irrelevant Valentine's Day. It allows me to put some attention on The Shang Hi Los fantastic album. Monsieur Valentine is a rock song in the early sixties girl group tradition. The guitars and drums are tougher than in 1963 but the rest is certainly on cue. For a European the pronunciation of U.S. Monsieur is a mystery, the song is not. It's like the ringing of a bell, so clear and nice. Jen d'Angora is at her sweetest here. It remains a mystery to me how little people seem to know this album exists, as I wrote, they didn't come much better in 2023. So, folks, give the album a chance if you haven't yet!

Wout de Natris - van der Borght