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Tricky Situation. 20th Century Boys
"I'm your toy, your 20th century boy", sang Mark Bolan on one of the first singles I bought circa 1972. The name of the single revisits me in 2025 with the release of Tricky Situation, a single from a bunch of former boys from the 20th century, like myself. The song can not be placed in the glamrock basket, but for the rest can be placed anywhere in the first half of the 70s with offshoots right up to the likes of Green Day in the 1990s. In other words a rock song that makes the likes of me feel right at home in the musical sense. Tricky Situation rocks and has a great guitar lead part, muted power chords and a good old singalong chorus. 20th Century Boys has listened to and soaked up all good things from their youth and decided to start playing it themselves, now older heroes are quitting or worse. Label mate Brad Marino has some stiff competition as of today and that is a big compliment.
And a second new name already this week. Spacey Jane is an Australian band hailing from Perth where it formed in 2016. On route to its third album, 'If That Makes Sense' (9 May), the band released Through My Teeth, a term usually associated with lying. This song is no exception. In the accompanying bio the band is introduced as "an indierock sensation". I'm not yet willing to go that far, after having heard one song. For that it sounds too familiar, compared to what has come before. It is a song though that deserves attention, as it has power and pace in it. For starters it surprises, as I could have sworn to be listening to a female vocalist but that is not the case. Frontman Caleb Harper is the singer, showing how ears can be fooled. After a slightly psychedelic beginning, more atmosphere than music, Through My Teeth starts after a big sigh after all went quiet. From there the song slowly but surely is fleshed out with a prominent drums and a few guitar and keyboard layers, that all fit pretty well. Through My Teeth is a nice introduction to Spacey Jane's music.
New name three, of three. Brooklyn based band Activity is also about to release its third album, 'A Thousand Years In Another Way' (6 June). Single In Another Way is darker affair. Sounding like it hails from the early 80s when the sky was about to fall on top of us all in a radioactive, fallout kind of way. The intro starts as vague as can be, like a sound showing there's still life somewhere, think Nevil Shute's 'On The Beach'. From there the band starts to create the mood of the single with the lead guitar played in a droning way, played on the bass string. Only after nearly two minutes the singing starts. The combination creates a mood like Clinic is so good in, except In Another Way is far darker, but the same new wave vibe is there for sure. Activity is Travis Johnson, Jess Rees, Bri DiGioia, and Steven Levine (since replaced by Brian Alvarez, ex-The Pains of Being Pure at Heart). The first three share singing and writing the songs. I can't tell yet if I want to hear a whole album like In Another Way but the start is certainly there.
A new name as a solo artist, but I found Robbie Dunbar on this blog not even a year ago as part of the revived band Earth Quake with the single 'Everywhere I Go'. On this solo single Dunbar takes the listeners back to the late 1970s with a very poppy version of the like of Barry Manilow and Rupert Holmes. Where with the latter two singers I was always an o.k-I-can-listen-to-it-but-that's-it-kind-of-mood, Dunbar seems to do things better. Whether because he taps into a nostalgia that comes with the association with famous music from long ago or is truly better, I honestly can't tell you. What I can write, is that the upbeat music of Love Is Here is getting across in the way that it undoubtedly is meant to do. Dunbar is not singing himself, that is taken care of by Larry Lynch, once from the Greg Kihn Band and the backing vocals of Kathy Kennedy. The piano solo is played by Michael Wolf. The arrangement of the horns and the upbeat atmosphere do the rest. Love Is Here is simply a warm, successful song. That is what counts.
All sweetness and indierock aside, it's time for some psychedelic rock. New Candies from Venice, Italy, return to the blog with a great psychedelic rocker, Night Surfer, from its upcoming album ‘The Uncanny Extravaganza’ (30 May). Night Surfer is the kind of song that starts at full force and ends in that modus operandi. The current members are Fernando Nuti (lead vocals, guitar, sitar, synthesizer, programming), Dario Lucchesi (bass, synthesizer, programming), Emanuele Zanardo (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Francesco Giacomin (drums, percussion, sampler). The first two are in the band since the start in 2008, although Lucchesi was the drummer then. The latter two only joined in 2023 after the release of the previous record, 'Vyvyd'. After 'Regicide' New Candys release another strong song that starts pointing to an interesting new album. I'm sure to give it a listen later this month.
After singles 'Fan Page' (2020) and 'After Silver Leaves' (2022) Smut returns to the blog in 2025 with the single Syd Sweeney. The Chicago band, vocalist/lyricist Tay Roebuck, guitarist Andie Min, bassist John Steiner, guitarist Sam Ruschman, and drummer Aidan O’Connor, rages in Syd Sweeney like Veruca Salt on its pinnacle album 'Eight Arms To Hold You'. And at that a little louder as well, as Smut rocks out and leaves any pop element way behind itself. There's enough in Syd Sweeney though to stick with my comparison. That has to do with Tay Roebuck's voice and her way of singing and with the way Smut finds the extra melodies in the song. Added is the louder way of executing these additional melodies and riffs. The result is a wall of sound that is coming at me, engulfs me next and draws me along to where Smut wants me to be: rocking out with the band and then some extra for good measure. Syd Sweeney is a monument of a song.
One ear is filled with a guitar chord progression, the other remains empty for a short while and then a second guitar chimes in. Not much later the band and the singer kick in as well. From that moment onwards a richness of guitar sounds cascade into my ears. Crossword Smiles is the fourth new name this week and a welcome one. Again it is the 1980s that are triggered in my brain. Like songs called 'Castles In Spain' and 'Uncertain Smile' both from 1984 or 85. That kind of alternative pop rock. Tom Curless (of Tom Curless & the 46%) and Chip Saam (of The Hangabouts) combined efforts and came up with this positive sounding song, announcing the second album of their band, Crossword Smiles. Both know how embellish a song with a nice guitar melody, with a nice effect on it, making it stand out. If anything, Falling All Over Myself has made me very curious to hear the upcoming album, 'Consequences & Detours'.
With Good Enough Stop Calling Me Frank returns to the blog. The single start with a famous line from rock's history. I'll let you listen for yourself to find out which one, but it's rather surprising, as I immediately expected to hear a cover, which did not match with the title nor with the intro of the song. It confused my brain for a few seconds, after which I got into the Stop Calling Me Frank vibe, with its driving rock and roll modern style and its fiery saxophone honking all through Good Enough. The Boston band had called it quits for several decades. The decision to start again, probably after the kids left home or were old enough to fend for themselves for most of the time, was a good one. Just listen to that solo of the sax, with the Farfisa organ tight on it heels, it is pure musical gold. Stop Calling Me Frank is on fire on this single. This is far from good enough. It is better, no, best enough.
The final new name of this week is Frankie and the Witch Fingers. The previous songs I've heard never made my cut. Total Reset immediately did. The song is a blast of energy and one seemingly from the past. Everything from the The Undertones to The Jam and from punkfunk bands from the early 80s and those in the wake of Franz Ferdinand in the 00s comes by in this single. The band has nothing to do with the U.K. though, neither from circa 1980 nor 2004, as it is from Los Angeles. Total Reset does have that exquisite combination of two guitars playing off each other and a synth weaving itself between the two. The drums and bass take care of underscoring the pace, energy and tight breaks. All together present a blast of giant proportions. The ending of Total Reset is total chaos, underscoring the termination the bands sings about. There's an album coming up on 6 June called 'Trash Classic'.
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With a video suggesting a singer coming across from the other side to deliver her vocals, beyond regular space and time, Beauty in Chaos puts attention to its latest single, Hollow. For lack of a better description, I opt to call it dreamgoth. Singer Cynthia Isabella sings with a dreamy, yet forceful voice, totally supported by the band that produces a lot of noise, yet manages to support the dreamy atmosphere of Hollow. Beauty in Chaos is guitarist Michael Ciravolo's project. Working with different singers, male and female, he manages to give his songs different perspectives. Sometimes they work for me, sometimes they don't. Hollow is one that works very well. There's this part where the song goes down unexpectedly and it sounds like magic to me. One moment is not enough to make a song good but a good song becomes a better song because of moments like it. Album 'Signs In The Heavens Reality Upside Down' is out since 9 April.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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