Humanhood. The Weather Station

Tamara Lindeman maakte de afgelopen jaren al een aantal bijzondere en echt wonderschone albums, maar laat op het echt prachtige Humanhood horen dat The Weather Station nog altijd beter kan.

Ook het nieuwe album van The Weather Station kwam weer deels improviserend tot stand, maar Humanhood klinkt als een album waarop alles klopt. De songs van Tamara Lindeman zijn complex, maar ook toegankelijk en de muziek op het album schuwt het experiment niet, maar klinkt overal even warm en sfeervol. De Canadese muzikante heeft ook dit keer een aantal zeer persoonlijke songs geschreven en ze vertolkt ze met heel veel gevoel en expressie. De zang op Humanhood is nog wat mooier dan die op de vorige albums van The Weather Station, dat op het nieuwe album een ongelooflijk hoog niveau aantikt. Ik bewonder de muziek van Tamara Lindeman al vele jaren, maar toch weet ze me steeds weer te verrassen.

De Canadese muzikante Tamara Lindeman bracht in 2009 in eigen beheer het eerste album van haar project The Weather Station uit. Met het in 2011 verschenen All Of It Was Mine trok ze voor het eerst in kleine kring de aandacht, maar ik ontdekte The Weather Station pas in 2015 toen het prachtige Loyalty verscheen.

Op het terecht stevig bewierookte doorbraakalbum verruilde Tamara Lindeman de wat aan Joni Mitchell herinnerende en bijna verstilde folk van All Of It Was Mine voor een wat voller klinkend en eigenzinniger geluid, dat de fantasie stevig prikkelde maar ook betoverde met bijzondere mooie klanken en arrangementen en de al even mooie stem van de Canadese muzikante.

Sindsdien staat The Weather Station garant voor wat mij betreft onbetwiste jaarlijstjesalbums. Na Loyalty waren immers ook The Weather Station (2017), Ignorance (2021) en How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars (2022) van een bijzondere schoonheid. Alle reden dus om met hoge verwachtingen uit te kijken naar het deze week verschenen Humanhood en ook dit keer maakt Tamara Lindeman de toch hooggespannen verwachtingen makkelijk waar.

Humanhood kwam deels improviserend tot stand en werd in de basis live opgenomen, inmiddels een beproefd concept voor The Weather Station. Ook dit keer is dat niet ten koste gegaan van de kwaliteit van de songs van Tamara Lindeman, die ook op Humanhood zeer persoonlijk van aard en nogal donker getint zijn.

De muziek van The Weather Station klinkt ook op Humanhood zeer sfeervol. Warme pianoklanken worden gecombineerd met prachtige bijdragen van blazers (fluit, klarinet en saxofoon), een geweldig spelende ritmesectie en subtiel maar zeer fraai klinkende synths. In de studio werden later nog onder andere banjo, viool en gitaarpartijen van Jim Elkington toegevoegd.

Ik vergeleek de muziek van The Weather Station de afgelopen jaren al meerdere keren met het latere werk van Talk Talk en dat is wat mij betreft nog altijd relevant vergelijkingsmateriaal, al zit Humanhood ook vol dynamiek, die me in bepaalde opzichten aan de muziek van Kate Bush doet denken.

Nog meer dan op de vorige albums van The Weather Station wordt er in muzikaal opzicht flink geëxperimenteerd. Invloeden uit de jazz spelen een voorname rol in de vaak behoorlijk complexe songs, maar net als op de vorige albums van haar project verliest Tamara Lindeman de toegankelijke popsong nooit helemaal uit het oog. Het zorgt er voor dat er ook dit keer heel veel moois is te ontdekken in de muziek op het album, dat nog wat rijker en avontuurlijker klinkt dan zijn voorgangers.

De muziek is prachtig, maar de stem van Tamara Lindeman is minstens even mooi. Het is een warme stem, die uitstekend gedijt in de spannende en betoverend mooie klankentapijten op het album. Het is ook een stem die de songs van The Weather Station voorziet van een bijzondere lading en van veel gevoel.

Ik weet uit het verleden dat de albums van Tamara Lindeman mooier worden naarmate je ze vaker hoort, maar ook bij eerste beluistering vond ik Humanhood al niet onder doen voor zijn voorgangers. Dat belooft wat voor de volgende beluisteringen van het album. Ik ga niet zeggen dat ik halverwege de eerste maand van 2025 het album van het jaar al heb gehoord, maar Tamara Lindeman heeft absoluut een bijzonder en echt wonderschoon album afgeleverd dat het unieke oeuvre van The Weather Station voorziet van nog wat meer glans.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Humanhood hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://theweatherstation.bandcamp.com/album/humanhood

Forever Songs. Shane Alexander

After two beautiful singles, both collaborations, it is time for Shane Alexander's new album on the blog. Forever Songs is a very well chosen title, beacause the songs sound as if they have been there sort of forever. Start the album and you will hear 'You Make Your Own Luck'. The song sounds so familiar and warm. Like coming home to the place where you feel loved best. It can be explained in at least two ways.

First is hearing Shane Alexander's warm voice once again. It makes me realise how long ago it is he released his previous album, 'A Life Like Ours', it's from 2019 and how long it is since I've seen him play live. Yes, there was the pandemic of course. Anyway, the waiting days are over! He has that kind of voice that gets to me so easily. I can listen to it for a long time.

The second reason is that the song sounds as if I've known it all my life. It taps into thousands of songs that came before and touched me in one way or another. I write this with the best of intentions, as it fully stands its own against all that came before.

And allow me to add a third reason. The warmth coming from all the instruments. 'You Make Your Own Luck' is a mid  tempo song, starting with a harmonica, a lament like in 'Once Upon A Time In The West'. From there the song is sparsely filled in, but all in great taste. A picked acoustic guitar, slow piano notes and a background vocal in all the right moments. Finally, the "explosion" sets in for an electric guitar solo. This is the kind of song that I want to open a singer-songwriter album.

In a way you already have all the information on Forever Songs that you need. Shane Alexander reached for a high standard and has the experience to reach it. It all sounds as if it took no effort at all, most likely showing the listener in an indirect way the hard work that went into crafting the songs to perfection.

Shane Alexander and I may be going back for close to 20 years now. Long before this blog, underway for 13 years, he made it to the preceding magazine. With his albums and live shows in the Q-Bus in Leiden. But where most artists I saw there, were never heard of again, Shane (plus The Hackensaw Boys and The Maureens) have become constants in my life.

With Forever Songs Shane Alexander in his way tips his hat to several artists. Like George Harrison's slide guitar sound in 'Ballad Of The Troubadour' in a song that has the spaciousness of a Billy Joel song. You'll find more references that I won't give away. What it all tells me, is that this album is a mature one by a successfully seasoned singer-songwriter. The sound of a singer-songwriter who is very comfortable with his voice and his music. The kind of songs that are simply so pleasant to listen to.

The only thing you must not be looking out for is danger in music. You won't find it here. However, anyone with a love for beautiful singer-songwriter, folk with a little pop and acoustic rock in songs, is at the right address with Forever Songs. Go check the album out and be on the look out for live shows as well.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You will find Shane Alexander's albums here:

https://shanealexander.bandcamp.com/

Welcome To My Blue Sky. Momma

Momma is a band from Brooklyn, NY and excels in alternative rock somewhere between jangly pop, The Go-Go's 1980s poprock and indierock from the mid-90s. With Welcome To My Blue Sky the band settles nicely in the space where a band like La Luz is already sitting comfortably.

Founding members Etta Friedman (guitar, vocals) and Allegra Weingarten (guitar, vocals) already met in highschool and have been playing together ever since. They were joined by Aron Kobayashi Ritch (bass and producer) and Preston Fulks (drums, percussion). The first release was the mini album 'thanks come again' in 2016. So, newbys Momma are not.

The more I go into Welcome To My Blue Sky the more I'm reminded of that fantastic album from 1995, 'Eight Arms To Hold You' by Veruca Salt, only to be confronted with the fact that it's thirty years ago this year that I bought it. There's nothing like music to make me realise time is passing by. Welcome To My Blue Sky has that same optimistic view on its music while the songs themselves have that slightly downcast feel to it because of that dreamy, melancholic way of singing.

I remember a review with the two Veruca Salt ladies from that time where they lauded the producer, Bob Rock, who kept pushing them with the words: "there is another melody hidden in there" and they found it and the next one and the next one. I have no clue if  Aron Kobayashi Ritch approached his fellow band members the same way. I can imagine that he has, as Welcome To My Blue Sky is filled with golden melodies on top of one another. If he did, he deserves double compliments because as a band member it is harder to push colleagues than it is for a passer by as a producer can be.

Summing up my conclusions, Welcome To My Blue Sky is a very consistent album that brings the listener energy and the will to listen to it again. After a rather subdued beginning Mommy digs in and doesn't let go until the album is over. The album is fun, is good and memorable. End of year list material? It may very well be. Only one hurdle is left to take, longevity.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Welcome To My Blue Sky here:

https://mommaband.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-to-my-blue-sky

Timo de Jong and The Leadbeaters live. Rode Bioscoop, Amsterdam, Sunday 6 April 2025

Photo: Wout de Natris

Let's get this party started. This could well be the motto of The Leadbeaters and party we did. I would never have heard of this dhow, were it not that Timo de Jong, who played in our living room in February had not announced it there. He said he was going to practice with a band in Amsterdam the next day and going to record later this year. We jotted the date down in our agenda and took the train to our capitol city.

We walked into this obviously old venue, with an atmosphere where I can imagine my grandparents walking around in when they were courting in the 1910s. Should they have been in to socialist or communist propaganda films, which I cannot imagine in any way they'd be into. Good Catholics as they were.

In the middle of the venue microphones and instruments were standing in a circle, classic bluegrass style. There were a few chairs and I made sure we got some of them. A beer for me and a glass of white wine for the ladies. We were ready for the show.

Timo de Jong opened the afternoon with three solo songs, including the great 'Ring Them Bells' and  the saddest love song about two ants ever written. His deep voice resonated nicely in the Rode Bioscoop. After these songs, he was joined by six musicians (although one came in late), on fiddle, guitar/banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar, upright bass and charismo/triangle/spoons. Not to forget lots and lots of voices. To my surprise there were even two  familiar faces, as the bass player Thomas Olivier is a member of The Hackensaw Boys when they play in Europe and his son has been detected on stage there also.

A range of songs came by in the blue grass, cajun and folk style. Little mistakes were allowed for as it is all still new. But what an energy and what a joy to listen to, clap your hand and stomp your feet to. Not to forget sing-along to where possible or invited. There was even a The Hackensaw Boys cover, 'Listen To The Radio'. Note to self. The next time don't forget to take my snakeskin leather boots.

Photo: Wout de Natris

What became apparent during the afternoon was that my reference for this kind of music is The Hackensaw Boys, but especially the songs of former band member Ferd Moyse IV. He played the fiddle and his songs were not so much blue grass as cajun (or zydeco). I only realised this at this show.

After the break, Timo de Jong played one more song with the band, the latest single '(And In The End) We're All Gonna Die'. They had the whole audience jodeling in this ode to life with its expected outcome. Timo said farewell and that was when the party really got started. The Leadbeaters were smoking and there was no stopping them. In age ranging from anywhere between 60 and 18 the band members were really going at it. The force and stamina of the rhythm section was matched by subtlety and skill on the lead instruments. The voices sounded as if they came from deep in the bayou, with that strange sounding, highish drawl cajun singers are famous for. All in Amsterdam.

Photo: Wout de Natris

A speciality of the house are songs that start quite fast, go faster and then even more, until a moment where you expect limbs to start falling off. These are songs that become musical workouts and for some of the members it shows in the colour of their faces. It does lead to an ever more enthusiastic audience, that much is certain, but it also hurts and it shows.

What struck me most, is how much fun this music is and that it spreads joy. To players and audience alike. Some songs allow for singing along with, others strike you like a tidal wave with its brute force, while finally there is a point for rest every once in a while, though exceptions to the rule. The Leadbeaters have it all and then some.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

R.I.P. Clem Burke (1954 - 2025)

Yesterday I heard that Clem Burke, Blondie's one and only drummer, died of cancer. One day before my own band will play Blondie's 'Call Me' for the first time in rehearsal. I will speak a short word in commemoration before we do so.

Clement Anthony Burke joined Blondie in 1975 at the age of 20. He was there during all the ever bigger ups, the downs and the new up and the period after that when the band could enjoy the fame that comes with longevity.

Blondie sailed into the world on the wave of punk music coming out of New York City and its punk haunt CBGBs. Together with The Ramones, Patti Smith Group, Television, Talking Heads and others they were the vanguard of degraded hipness. Some of these artists had decades of success, others faded.

Burke was part of the success that started over here in 1978 with the band's first and only number 1 hit   'Denis'. Many hits followed, until the charts were void of Blondie songs after 'Maria' in 1999.  Burke played on them all. Where Blondie was a till of musicians that came and went, Burke was there supporting Debbie Harry and, later in the studio only, Chris Stein always. For 50 years. He also drummed in The Ramones for a very short spell and in The Romantics for 14 years, way long after that band scored its two hit singles and many others bands and artists.

Ms. Harry turns 80 this year. So, it may well be that Burke's demise spells the end of Blondie. But then, even Charlie Watts was replaceable. In the meantime, whenever I play my old Blondie albums or singles, it will be Clem Burke I hear playing his skins and cymbals. Thank you for the music, Mr. Burke.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Breath And Air. Heather Nova

Heather Nova maakte haar beste albums in de jaren 90, maar 31 jaar na haar meesterwerk Oyster komt ze op de proppen met het prachtige Breath And Air dat echt niet onder doet voor het album uit 1994.

Een nieuw album van Heather Nova vind ik altijd interessant, maar ik had eerlijk gezegd geen hele hoge verwachtingen bij het verschijnen van Breath & Air. De Amerikaanse muzikante maakte de afgelopen jaren prima albums, maar het was lang niet zo goed als in de beste dagen van Heather Nova. Verwachtingen komen gelukkig niet altijd uit, want met Breath And Air heeft de Amerikaanse muzikante een wonderschoon album gemaakt. Breath And Air valt op door een fraaie productie en hele mooie klanken, door persoonlijke en aansprekende songs en zeker ook door de stem van Heather Nova, die echt prachtig zingt. Oyster blijft een meesterwerk, maar het nieuwe album van Heather Nova is minstens even goed.

Bij Heather Nova denk ik nog altijd direct aan haar album Oyster uit 1994. Het tweede album van de op Bermuda geboren singer-songwriter is voor mij een van de betere albums uit de jaren 90. Het is een album dat is verbonden met allerlei herinneringen, zo denk ik bij Walk This World en Throwing Fire At The Sun onmiddellijk aan een woeste taxirit door Vietnam, maar het is ook een album waarop Heather Nova ver boven zichzelf uit steeg.

Oyster is een album met geweldige songs en prachtige muziek, maar het is vooral een album waarop de stem van Heather Nova zorgde voor de ultieme verleiding en betovering. Oyster is het enige album van Heather Nova waar ik nog met enige regelmaat naar luister, want de Amerikaanse muzikante heeft ook flink wat mindere albums gemaakt.

De afgelopen jaren is Heather Nova echter weer in betere doen, al kwamen prima albums als Pearl en Other Shores wat mij betreft nog niet echt in de buurt van Oyster. Dat mag je misschien ook niet meer verwachten van een muzikante die inmiddels meer dan 30 jaar muziek maakt, maar het deze week verschenen Breath And Air vind ik echt een enorme verrassing. Het is een album dat ik direct bij eerste beluistering al schaarde onder de beste Heather Nova albums en nadat ik het album meerdere keren heb beluisterd ben ik nog veel positiever over Breath And Air.

Heather Nova nam haar nieuwe album op in het Zuid-Engelse Devon, waarbij ze samen werkte met producer Chris Bond, die vooral bekend is van zijn werk voor Ben Howard. De twee namen de tijd voor Breath And Air en dat hoor je, want wat klinkt het album prachtig. Heather Nova heeft met Breath And Air een redelijk ingetogen album gemaakt, maar de instrumentatie is lang niet altijd ingetogen.

Een deel van de songs klinkt akoestisch, terwijl een ander deel vertrouwt op synths. Het klinkt af en toe behoorlijk vol, maar de instrumentatie op het album is zeer smaakvol, zeker als ook nog eens prachtige cello klanken opduiken. Hoe mooi het allemaal in elkaar zit hoor je wanneer je het album met de koptelefoon beluistert en je kunt verbazen over de vele prachtige details.

Ik vond met name de songs van Heather Nova tegenvallen op haar wat mindere albums, maar de songs op Breath And Air zijn niet alleen mooi ingekleurd maar ook zeer aansprekend. Het zijn persoonlijke songs die niet onder doen voor de beste songs die Heather Nova in het verleden schreef en dat zegt wat.

Het mooiste heb ik nog niet eens genoemd, want dat is de stem van de Amerikaanse muzikante. Het is nog altijd de engelachtige stem die in 1994 zoveel indruk maakte, maar de zang van Heather Nova klinkt ook rijper en doorleefder, waardoor ik de zang op Breath And Air misschien nog wel mooier vind dan op Oyster en de andere vroege albums. Alle onderdelen op het album zijn mooi, maar ze weten elkaar ook nog eens op indrukwekkende wijze te versterken. De muziek op het album zorgt voor een warme en intieme sfeer en het is een sfeer waarin de zang van Heather Nova uitstekend gedijt.

Als je mij een paar weken geleden had gevraagd of Heather Nova ooit nog eens het niveau van Oyster zou halen zou ik onmiddellijk nee hebben gezegd, maar hoe vaker ik naar Breath And Air luister hoe meer ik er van overtuigd raak dat Oyster wel eens overtroffen kan zijn door dit prachtige nieuwe album. Wat een aangename en wat mij betreft sensationele verrassing.

Erwin Zijleman

Chris Eckman / The Delines live. Lantaren Venster, Rotterdam, Saturday 5 April 2025

Photo: Wout de Natris

In January Chris Eckman (ex-The Walkabouts) released his latest solo album 'The Land We Knew Best'. The album is beautiful. There's simply no other word for it. Eckman's songs are now in my life for 32 years. Ever since the release of 'New West Motel' I have followed almost every step he set in his career. Almost, as I found out that two of this solo albums were missed by me, as at first were collaborations with others.

When I read that he would be playing a solo show as support act of The Delines, I knew I had to be there. To think that I almost would have gone to Rotterdam for nothing, as flight delays almost made it impossible for him to leave Ljubljana in time to make it to the show. Sometimes luck smiles on people, on both Eckman and his fans, as the airport personnel were so kind to reschedule his flight is such a way that he could make it in time.

I had never been to  Lantaren Venster before. What a nice venue and what a great sound. In the past I was always so enthusiastic about the sound in the Q-Bus in Leiden. (Where I saw Willy Vlautin's former band Richmond Fontaine twice.) Lantaren Venster's sound is one level up. It was simply perfect. Almost as listening to an album at home. So clear, so spacious. Cudos for the sound engineer!

Photo: Wout de Natris

Chris Eckman played a 35 minute show. It took about two songs for his voice to warm up and for the guitar to be totally zoned in. From that moment onwards there was no looking back. I can listen to his darkish voice all night long. The elementary but clear guitar playing supported his songs and voice. Eckman is no virtuoso. He's an accomplished guitarist and a great songwriter. With several songs of his latest album, stripped down to the bone, he commanded silence in the venue. Everybody was listening and rightly so. The quality of his compositions stood the test of his solo performance with ease. With 'The Stopping Of Place' we got one The Walkabouts song, where I'd hoped for one or two more. Which is okay of course. This show was all about the new album. I hope that his new album is picked up more and more and that this will allow him to tour at some point in a band setting again. Being Uncut's album of the month may just be that little push he needs. In the meantime, I'm glad that he was in the country once again. This was a beautiful show. For all of you who have become curious, in May Chris Eckman tours with The Delines again.

Here you find our review of The Land We Knew Best:

https://wonomagazine.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-land-we-knew-best-chris-eckman.html

Photo: Wout de Natris

The surprise of the evening was The Delines' show. You will not find an album review by my hand on this blog. By necessity, to be released new albums are scanned fast before I put in time to write about one. The Delines never made it past that first cut. You can imagine I was sceptical going into the show. It took about 30 seconds and I knew the evening was going to be fine. Jazzy, soul, pop, ballads, whatever you want to call it, there are elements of all these genres in The Delines' songs. According to the bio the band was started by Willy Vlautin in 2013, then of Richmond Fontaine and a budding author, to give singer Amy Boone a spot to show her voice to the world. What a great decision that was!

The band is filled with musical veterans who play this slow kind of music with so much ease and finesse. All the solos were trumpet solos by keyboard player Cory Gray. The rest of the band served Ms Boone and played delicate solo lines within chords. They also delivered three harmony parts. The biggest feat vocally were songs where there was almost nothing to hang on to as vocalist, as everything to do with the melody came from the voice and not one single instrument. There was nothing to help Amy Boone keeping melody and time. It sounded just perfect.

Photo: Wout de Natris

As a final comment, Vlautin wrote a few songs for her that started like a familiar one from the past and then took its own turn. I thought I heard Nancy & Lee's 'Summer Wine' and Gladys Knight & The Pips' 'Midnight Train To Georgia' start, only to leave again. All to make Amy Boone shine. And shine she did.

The world is full of surprises and this day I was allowed to witness one. A beautiful evening thanks to two great artists.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

2025, week 14. 10 singles

Abundant sunshine is showered over us and I can walk the streets without sweater and jacket. Global warming has its upsides of course. Around 1990 I remember waking up to at least 10 centimeters of snow on the 7th of April, after which followed a gloriously sunny and relatively warm day. By the time this is released the temperature will have gone down considerably, giving you the opportunity to read and listen at will. Enjoy!

Bonnet Of Pins. Matt Berninger

With three The National albums in two years, two studio and a double live album, it was extremely busy times for the band. Despite all this singer Matt Berninger managed to record a solo album on the side. After 'Serpentine Prison', which I still play regularly, it will be his second. In fact, because of 'Serpentine Prison' I found my way into The National, finally. Although I still have to  backtrack to the albums fans of old always mention. One of these days I will. Bonnet Of Pins comes as a surprise though. A very pleasant one at that. The song is up tempo. I didn't even realise he was able to. The song has a huge arrangement and sound. A little David Bowie of the 70s. It is built from a tight but relatively empty first verse, although the intro gives a little away of what might be coming. And up and up it goes. A second influence I notice is The Walkabouts. Bonnet Of Pins has that same sort of folk and rock approach and Chris Eckman's voice easily reaches the same timbre as Berninger's. I'm totally surprised but what a great folk rock song this is. Album 'Get Sunk' will be released on 30 May.

El Pantalon Blue Jean. The Mexican Standoff

Tex-Mex came to my ears for the first time with 'Mendocino', Sir Douglas Quintet's second and last hit in NL. I had no clue as a young boy, I only noticed that typical and upbeat organ sound. Next, I heard a few songs of Ry Cooder's 'Chicken Skin Music', with the top 40 hit 'He'll Have To Go'. On the album the accordionist was Flaco Jimenez. He may be 86 now but you can hear him on this song by the all female band The Mexican Standoff. Pantalon Blue Jean has everything the typical tex-mex song takes to be one. The traditional instruments, Flaco's accordeon, polka and the Spanish language. It's the kind of song that puts a smile on my face immediately. The lyrics may be sad, I have no clue, the music certainly is not. This is another kind of dancing music that is impossible to stand still to. A nice detail, the song was written in the 1950s by Flaco's father! It still works in the 2020s alright.

Previous Life. Messiness

Psychedelic pop-rock comes from all around the world these days. Messiness, the band around Max Raffa, is from Sicily. Messiness manages to find a near perfect mix between pop and rock, as well as between music from a long time ago and more more modern psych bands like Elephant Stone. Previous Life has a nice hook that comes back all through the song. It makes up an important part of the single. Raffa's way of singing brings together the voices of Liam Gallagher and Gaz Coombes. He's listened quite well to the Britpop singers and then put it on top of this psychedelic pop song. It all sounds very familiar but also tasty. Messiness may be from Milan, it's Sicilian singer leads the way quite convincingly. By the way, this single is the band's debut one. I'm already longing for more.

Love's About Taking The Fall. Emily Zuzik

Alright, okay, I surrender. This is one tough single. Emily Zuzik decided to rock out on 'Love's About Taking The Fall. Written during the first family outing after Covid's first bout, the song shows in music how the singer finally feeling released again. Together with Ted Russell Kamp she created a song that strains the leash no little. The song starts with a tough rhythm and a nice, effective riff. From there more and more instruments are added. An organ, horns, more guitars. Over it all is a voice that has seen some mileage. Emily Zuzik has a rough edge to her voice that makes her sound like she means it. This is a woman that is on the prowl and she's about to get what she wants. Who cares whether his mother likes her or not. This is about the here and now. This is one heck of a rock song.

Destroy. Kikker

Welsh punks that play grunge/alt-rock? What to make of that? But first, Kikker, that's the Dutch word for frog. I wonder if the band knows? Let's revert to the music. Destroy is a pretty cool song actually. The band manages to keep up a great pace, while at the same time injecting some great melody into it all. At the same time Kikker throws in some anarchy for good measure: "I wanna kill everyone that I know". I was writing about the weird guitar noises in the intro, when nihilistic anarchy came in from a different angle as well. But Kikker is far more. This band knows how to write and arrange a song. Listen to what the bass guitarist is doing all through the song. He's playing some great melodies, while the guitarists know how to write a riff or two as well. Kikker is a new name for me, but I'm a fan already.

Krater (acoustic). Neánder

Neánder can be found on this blog since  the fall of 2024. Lastly a review of the band's live show in Haarlem. To celebrate the next leg of its tour, the band released an acoustic version of Krater. That Jan Korbach can play some great acoustic guitar we know since the release of his acoustic album under the name of Atem. Together with Patrick Zahn he recorded this version. While playing the main riff on the acoustic guitar Zahn added strings recorded in his own studio making Krater a different kind of song. The metal has been taken out of it. What Krater (acoustic) shows is that a good melody is a good melody no matter how it is played. In a next level arrangement it can become a piece for a classical orchestra, with a lead acoustic guitar. Beautiful is the right word here.

catch these fists. Wet Leg

And there it is, the first sign of life from Wet Leg, as far as I'm concerned the band of 2022. It's debut album is one of the best of this decade so far. Album number 2 is slated for 11 July and will be called 'Moisturizer'. The difficult second album? Judging catch these fists, the answer could be yes. Wet Leg has become a five piece band and that is noticeable in the sound. It's so much bigger. catch these fists revolves around this one riff that is repeated over and over and I can't say I'm very warm to it. Rhian Teasdale's voice is the same as ever, but the fun and joy appears to have gone out of it. "I don't want your love, I just wanna fight", is the main message of the single. Is this the result of touring the world and Wet Leg's bout with success? It's too early to tell which way we are going but if you'd asked me whether I'm a bit disappointed, I'd have to answer you yes. catch these fists sounds a bit like what I was afraid of and at that even a little bit darker.

Stones. Free Dust

Welcome Free Dust. With Stones the band from Mariahout enters the musical world and this blog. It is a bit confusing as singer and guitarist Niek Leenders very recently was on the blog with his band Nouveau Vélo's new album, 'Fruit'. Today it is Stones on which he plays with his brother Tim on bass and wife Inge on drums. Stones is a delightful jingle jangle song that combines a few decades. From Roger McGuinn's guitar playing in The Byrds to Johnny Marr's in The Smiths and dozens of others following them. In as far music needs justification, I imagine it is justified that Stones is released under a different name. Free Dust sounds different, is more direct and has a touch of 60s dark psychedelia around it. It's the kind of song that makes me curious of what is to come.

Shadows. Goddess

Goddess is a project of Savages drummer Fay Milton. She will release an album filled with collaborations. The first single is Shadows with singer Elena Tonra (Ex:Re / Daughter). Besides the prominent drumming, expect a song that explores its limits far and wide. It starts like a triphop track mixed with a dollop of dreampop in the way Elena Tonra is singing. At the same time there is this dark undertone in the intro. You can expect that to come back, moving Shadows into industrial territory. A dream that turns into a nightmare it seems. Quite a turn for a song that at first made me think of Goldfrapp's debut album. In other words, Shadows is not your average song and has a firm shadow hanging over it. 'Goddess' will be released on 30 May. 

Speaker's Corner. Suzanne Vega 

What is Suzanne Vega's (née Peck) age, I just wondered listening to Speaker's Corner? 65, Wikipedia tells me. That sort of figures of course as the singer-songwriter entered my life, just like she will have done for many people of my generation, in the 1980s with her song about child abuse, 'Luka'. In October last year she made an entrance on this blog with the single 'Rats', a "postpunk rock song" as I labelled it . Speaker's Corner, a single from her upcoming album 'Flying With Angles', is a far more traditional singer-songwriter song. That aside, Speaker's Corner is a song with a tough body. Drums and bass with assistance of the acoustic rhythm guitar drive the song onwards. At least four electric guitars fill in nice licks, riffs and tough strums. It makes the ode to the spot in London's Hyde Park spot where anybody can have his or her say, a most attractive song. (As traditions are something that is never let go of in the U.K., I take it it will still be there after I visited it in the 1970s, long before 'Luka' was even thought of.)

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Forever Howlong. Black Country, New Road

Ha, Forever, Howlong starts with the song that thoroughly confused me when I listened to it a few weeks back for the weekly singles section of this blog. The song shoots off in many directions and seldom stays on course to take the listener from point a to b in a comfortable way.

We are weeks later and I have had the pleasure of being able to listen to the album and 'Besties' for a while now. Lo and behold!, I am getting used to the way Black Country, New Road approaches its songs and have started to take a shine to it. It's different but certainly surprising.

BCNR is a band that formed in Cambridge, U.K., in 2018 and knew a principle songwriter and frontman, Isaac Wood. He left the band in 2022 and usually that is the end of a band. This band took a principled decision: it refused to play all its old songs and started to write new songs fast and filled its touring obligations with these new songs. That commercial suicide trip ends with an album that I like a lot better than the old work, which did not reach me in any way.

On Forever Howlong the whole band started to compose, the lyrics are from individual members. The outcome is an album somewhere between British folk, alternative pop and jazz. The mix is a sort of anything goes. The structure and forms are almost free and at any point an instrument can join in from an unexpected corner.

All this makes Forever Howlong one big surprise. A more difficult break can transition into a perfect pop melody before it disappears again in a more jazz oriented coda. What I've found is that if I allow to go with Black Country, New Road's flow, and set all preconceptions aside, I am surprised. I can travel down this new musical road with pleasure.

Listening to an album is a different experience than listening to a single. A single needs to be instantly satisfying. 'Besties' did everything but do that, while the second single 'Happy Birthday' did and that enticed me to give Forever Howlong a chance. I'm glad I did, because I'm very much the richer for it.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Forever Howlong here:

https://blackcountrynewroad.bandcamp.com/album/forever-howlong

Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom. The Delines

Morgenavond ga ik naar Chris Eckman. De oud-The Walkabouts voorman speelt in het voorprogramma van The Delines. Vandaar dat Erwin Zijlemans recensie vandaag op het blog staat.

Met de stem van Amy Boon, de songwriting skills van Willy Vlautin en de muzikaliteit van de overige leden van The Delines kun je eigenlijk geen slecht album maken en dat heeft de band dan ook niet gedaan.

Willy Vlautin zag The Delines in eerste instantie als een band naast Richmond Fontaine, maar inmiddels richt hij al zijn muzikale aandacht op de band met boegbeeld Amy Boone. Schrijver Willy Vlautin heeft ook voor Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom weer een serie uitstekende songs en fraaie teksten geschreven en deze worden als altijd prachtig vertolkt door Amy Boon, die alleen maar beter gaat zingen. De rest van de band zorgt voor prachtige klanken met vooral invloeden uit de country, soul en jazz. Het geluid van The Delines klinkt inmiddels vertrouwd, maar de band uit Portland, Oregon, klinkt ook op haar vijfde album warm en geïnspireerd. Een heerlijk album voor als de zon onder is.

De Amerikaanse muzikant Willy Vlautin stopte een jaar of negen geleden met zijn band Richmond Fontaine om meer tijd te hebben voor het schrijven van boeken. De afgelopen jaren timmert Willy Vlautin dan ook vooral en met heel veel succes aan de weg als schrijver, maar hij is de muziek gelukkig niet helemaal vergeten. Deze week verscheen immers het vijfde album van de band The Delines, de band die Willy Vlautin in 2013 formeerde.

De Amerikaanse muzikant had destijds maar één reden om een tweede band te formeren en dat was de stem van zangeres Amy Boone, die hem mateloos fascineerde en betoverde. Iedereen die de albums van The Delines kent weet dat dit een hele goede reden was om een extra band te starten en ook op het deze week verschenen Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom zingt Amy Boon weer de sterren van de hemel.

De Amerikaanse zangeres beschikt over een warm en soulvol geluid, maar ze kan ook uitstekend doseren en vertolkt de songs van The Delines bovendien met veel gevoel en precisie. Alleen door de zang van Amy Boone is Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom al een geweldig album, maar The Delines zijn meer dan hun boegbeeld. Willy Vlautin is niet alleen een geweldige schrijver, maar ook een uitstekende songwriter. De fraaie verhalen die hij vertelt zijn bovendien verpakt in lekker in het gehoor liggende maar ook interessante songs. Ik ben lang niet altijd van de teksten, maar de teksten van Willy Vlautin verdienen het om volledig uitgeplozen te worden.

Ook in muzikaal opzicht heeft de band uit Portland, Oregon, weer veel te bieden. De muziek van The Delines staat ook dit keer weer bol van de invloeden uit de country en de soul, maar Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom klinkt ook zeker jazzy. Dat de band bestaat uit geweldige muzikanten hoor je een album lang. De ritmesectie speelt prachtig subtiel, de gitaarlijnen zijn weergaloos, de synths en orgels zijn fraai ondersteunend en dan zijn er ook nog eens de blazers en strijkers die nog wat warmte toevoegen aan het sfeervolle geluid van The Delines.

Het is een geluid dat sowieso al niet over warmte heeft te klagen, want de weldadige stem van Amy Boone slaat zich song na song als een warme deken om je heen. Zeker in de meest ingetogen songs zingt de Amerikaanse muzikante echt weergaloos mooi, maar in deze tracks is ook in de muziek iedere noot raak. De criticus zal beweren dat The Delines vertrouwen op een inmiddels bekend recept en hier weinig aan toevoegen, maar ik vind het geluid op Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom weer net wat mooier en ook van de songs van Willy Vlautin krijg ik geen genoeg.

De stelling ‘meer van hetzelfde’ gaat wat mij betreft dan ook niet op en Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom kan wat mij betreft ook nog eens mee met het beste werk van de band. Het nieuwe album van The Delines is ook nog eens prachtig opgenomen, waardoor je ieder instrument afzonderlijk hoort en het af en toe bijna lijkt of Amy Boone bij je in de woonkamer staat te zingen.

Het meest recente boek van Willy Vlautin heb ik weer met veel plezier gelezen, maar ook de muzikale verrichtingen van de Amerikaanse schrijver en muzikant zijn nog altijd van een hoog niveau. Zeker zo lang de avonden donker zijn zorgt Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom van The Delines voor een nagenoeg perfecte soundtrack.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Mr. Luck & Mrs. Doom hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://thedelines.bandcamp.com/album/mr-luck-and-ms-doom-uk-and-eu-orders

III. Elephant

Time flies when you're having fun, as a famous saying says. Elephant debuted in 2022 and already released its third album. You can find both previous albums, 'Big Thing' (2022) and 'Shooting The Moon' (2023), on this blog, so it makes sense that III is here as well.

Yet, it's less logical than you might think. Both albums have not made a lasting impression on me.They were nice to have and not must haves. It's impossible to state where III will end up but getting acquainted with the album is nice. There's no doubt there.

Elephant, Frank Schalkwijk (vocals, guitar), Michael Broekhuizen (vocals, guitar), Bas Vosselman (vocals, bass/guitar) and Kaj van Driel (drums), have been touring parts of Europe by now and spend weeks on end together in a van. They were exposed to all the up and downsides of band life. If this has led to several different vantage points in the band's music, I can't tell. Fact is that there's a more electronic song, '20k', on the album and songs with guests Sophie Winterson and producer of the album, DeWolff's Pablo van der Poel.

The basis of III is of course Elephant's soft toned indie rock. The Rotterdam band is a modest band. With singers that sing with a soft voice. Not quite the showman who jumps up and down in front of "his" band. The music is mostly modest as well but does the talking. The effect the band wants to achieve is the listener lending his/her ears to the album. Within that concept there may be a somewhat louder song with a distinct guitar solo, like on 'Real Love'. The aim remains an alternative popsong that caresses the ears of the listener.

Photo: Satellite June

Elephant succeeds with flying colours in its goal. It presents songs I want to listen to and my feeling is more so than with its previous two records. III is more diverse and perhaps more mature and stable as well. Elephant has grown as a band and its members as songwriters and musicians. In other words, it has become far more interesting to listen to. Just listen to the jazzy guitar solo in 'Tried To Sleep' to get my drift.

Based on what I hear on III, Elephant deserves to set a next step in its career on route to bigger venues around Europe. Recommended listening the album is.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Je kunt Elephant hier bestellen:

https://excelsior-recordings.com/en/products/elephant-iii

Portrait Of My Heart. SPELLLING

SPELLLING is Chrystia Cabral from the Bay Area and with Portrait Of My Heart releases her fourth album. She assembled a live band for her previous album's tour and they continued into the studio for the latest album. Wyatt Overson (guitar), Patrick Shelley (drums), and Giulio Xavier Cetto (bass) rock alright.

The album opens with the title song and single 'Portrait Of My Heart'. Listening to what comes after the single, it is almost not representative for what follows. 'Portrait Of My Heart' is partly electronic and placed in a musical straightjacket. Listening again, I'm not surprised that I passed on the opportunity to write about it. In the context of the album it does work though. I notice how the song grows after I gave the album the chance to grow.

The second song on the album, 'Keep It Alive', starts with strings (or synths) and an empty verse. In the chorus SPELLLING starts to show her true colours. The song rocks and then some more. The distortion pedals are kicked in while the strings return in support. Chrystia Cabral brought her rocking voice to the studio as well and the album has come alive. Because of the use of dynamics the song shows different sides to a rock song, making it the more interesting.

'Alibi' rocks even more, but not without an 80s element that could have come straight out of the 1980s play book of a band like Nena or singer like Kim Wilde. European influences in the Bay Area? Why not? What comes from a far, can be just as good or better sometimes.

Portrait Of My Heart last eight more songs, but with each song SPELLLING brings you into alternative rock spheres with different influences touched upon. This approach to the music may make the album at times sound familiar but also surprising as no song is the same. Okay, one final example. The fourth song will bring you a little 80s rock like Swedish rockers Europe, while adding a touch of more modern U.S. girlpower singers.'Waterfall' the song is called. There's more for you to discover, so do not hesitate to do so.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Portrait Of My Heart here:

https://spellling.bandcamp.com/album/portrait-of-my-heart

A Little Blood. Grace Bergere

Er was de afgelopen maanden niet heel veel aandacht voor het uitstekende debuutalbum van de Amerikaanse muzikante Grace Bergere en dat is niet alleen volkomen onterecht, maar ook echt doodzonde.

Ik hou de ontwikkelingen in de popmuziek volgens mij redelijk goed bij, maar ik heb de afgelopen maanden nergens iets gelezen over A Little Blood van de New Yorkse muzikante Grace Bergere. Dat is gek, want het debuutalbum van de Amerikaanse muzikante heeft alles wat nodig is om te worden overladen met superlatieven. Grace Bergere beschikt om te beginnen over een geweldige stem, die haar songs voorziet van een eigen karakter. Het is een eigen karakter dat wordt versterkt door zeer persoonlijke songs en een veelzijdig geluid dat zowel met invloeden uit de pop en rock als met invloeden uit de folk overweg kan. Het levert wat mij betreft een van de miskende muziekparels van 2024 op.

Slechts in één jaarlijstje kwam ik het album A Little Blood van Grace Bergere tegen, maar gezien de andere albums in dit lijstje, grotendeels persoonlijke favorieten, was het mij direct duidelijk dat ik op zijn minst naar het album moest luisteren. Het debuutalbum van de muzikante uit New York bleek vervolgens een enorme verrassing en bovendien zo’n albums dat het had gerechtvaardigd om nog even te wachten met mijn eigen jaarlijstje.

Ik kan nauwelijks iets vinden over de muziek van Grace Bergere en dat is niet alleen onbegrijpelijk, maar ook heel jammer, want A Little Blood weet zich wat mij betreft makkelijk te onderscheiden van de meeste albums die in 2024 zijn verschenen. Zeker bij eerste beluistering van de eerste tracks op A Little Blood deed de muziek van Grace Bergere me wel wat denken aan de albums die PJ Harvey in haar jonge jaren maakte, maar het album laat meerdere andere kanten van de muzikante uit New York horen.

In een aantal songs neemt de Amerikaanse muzikante je mee terug naar het New York van de tweede helft van de jaren 70, maar A Little Blood bevat ook een aantal folky songs die zowel uit het verleden als het heden kunnen stammen. Het album laat flarden van muziek van anderen horen, maar bij eerste beluistering van het album valt vooral de bijzondere of zelfs unieke stem van Grace Bergere op.

Het is een stem waar ik de eerste paar minuten wat aan moest wennen, maar sinds die eerste paar minuten vind ik de stem van de New Yorkse muzikante alleen maar heel erg mooi. Grace Bergere zingt op haar debuutalbum met veel gevoel, wat een serie intense en intieme songs oplevert. Het zijn songs waarin de Amerikaanse muzikante de persoonlijke thema’s niet schuwt, wat de zeggingskracht en de urgentie van haar songs verder vergroot.

Grave Bergere maakte haar debuutalbum met een beperkt aantal muzikanten en werkte bovendien samen met producer Richard Dev Greene, die een enkeling zal kennen van de New Yorkse band Pale Moon Gang. Gitaren staan centraal op A Little Blood en het zijn met enige regelmaat gitaren met lekker veel galm, wat het rock ’n roll karakter van het album versterkt, maar Grace Bergere heeft ook een folky kant, die ze verrijkt met akoestische gitaren en stemmige strijkers.

Veel songs van Grace Bergere zijn wat donkerder getint, wat perfect werkt in combinatie met de wat ruwere of juist sfeervolle klanken en de bijzondere stem van de New Yorkse muzikante, die zich moeiteloos aanpast aan de verschillende stijlen op het album. A Little Blood is een persoonlijk album met veel ruwe randjes, maar Grace Bergere laat op haar debuutalbum ook horen dat ze zeer bedreven is in het schrijven van aansprekende songs.

A Little Blood stijgt hierdoor ver boven het gemiddelde debuutalbum uit, wat het extra bijzonder maakt dat het debuutalbum van Grace Bergere het de afgelopen maanden moest doen met slechts zeer bescheiden aandacht. Grace Bergere heeft in New York de grootste moeite om de eindjes aan elkaar te knopen, wat het nog wat vervelender maakt dat haar zo goede debuutalbum niet wat meer aandacht heeft gekregen de afgelopen maanden. Ik kwam haar debuutalbum zoals gezegd maar in één jaarlijstje tegen, maar wat heeft dit lijstje het bij het juiste eind. Wat een prachtalbum!

Erwin Zijleman