2025, week 21. 10 singles.

Believe it or not, I've heard and seen it rain last night and this afternoon. I can't remember having seen rain for weeks if not well over a month. Sure, when we were hiking in the south-east of the country over three weeks ago, we saw evidence of recent rain on the trails but it had not rained in the west. Despite the rain, the fields were still so dry. It's only May and we are on route to having the driest year in recorded history. The weather in the previous one, 1976, was a lot better and warmer I remember. A summer that did not end. And, of course, there's nine recent singles and one EP. Enjoy!

Supernature. The Gold Needles

We kick off this week with a nice ballad that could have been made in the late 70s. Someone like Rupert Hines who discovered a lead guitar. Yes, Supernature is a slick affair but not just that. Like the better AOR bands of old, The Golden Needles add some lively guitar solos and lead lines and not to forget a big drums sound. That brings me to my favourite later The Moody Blues album 'Long Distance Voyager'. Supernature almost could be a track on that album, just like on a Little River Band album of the time. The result is a song very much worthwhile listening to but not just for nostalgic reasons. The song is too nice for that. Looking at the picture of the band, the members were around at the time I'm referencing, perhaps even as musicians already. For an album it's too early. Perhaps in the fall.

Stuck In Reverse. The Swell Season

And here's ballad number two of the week. A totally different one, tougher in a folky, Van Morrison kind of way. The Swell Season is Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová and is releasing its first song in sixteen years. The beauty and the beast where there voices are concerned. Hansard's well road worn, rough and tough, Irglová's soft and angelic. A nice contrast. The music is of a rich, vibrant nature. The instruments swirl around the singers. Hansard is the lead singer on Stuck In Reverse, clearly setting the mood. Where he is the rock, the earth, everything else is like the sunlight and the wind. Touching it, warming it, cradling it. Stuck In Reverse in a strikingly beautiful single.

Stone. Cruel Miracle

The contrast can not be much bigger. Cruel Miracle cranks up the amps and effects, to rock out in a very lively way. Let me start with mentioning that the voice of Charlie Black is on the edge of what I can listen to. A slightly rougher version of several post grunge bands singers. But that music! Stone is a riff laden rock song that aims at shaking the earth and succeeds. If the band is allowed to play Stone at a big festival the machines tracking earthquakes will register the jumping crowd. The sound is so huge and the riffs so strong, standing still is not an option. The background vocals totally compensate for the rough voice of Black. Cruel Miracle is a new name for me. It's latest album 'Steadfast' was already released in the summer of 2024. I don't care, this is a great song that rock fans will love.

Sunlight Gazing. Celeste Corsano

Speaking about a single that surprises. Sunlight Gazing, besides being an activity all experts strongly advise against, is a single that comes with a lot of questions but not whether it is good or not. In a way it makes me feel the same way as when I heard 'Wuthering Heights' for the first time. I know it's incomparable as I had never ever heard anything like Kate Bush before and that moment was defining. Celeste Corsano presents a single that is rich in several ways. The way the single develops, the use of the instruments played and her voice that is able to go off in a few directions. 'Wuthering Heights' was other wordly. That Sunlight Gazing is not. It is an extremely intriguing single and a good one at that. I'm game for more and that more will come in 2025.

Moon Dogs EP. Dreamwave

After four singles, of which one can be found on this six song mini album, Dreamwave returns to the blog. Those who have listened to the singles will not be surprised by the level of psychedelic rock on Moon Dogs. Like dogs howling at the moon, a thin organ spews its notes to the listener, sparking a song like 'Seeking To Remain'. Things do not stop there, as Dreamwave clearly also is a The b52s fan as the bouncing 'Wide Shooter' attests to. Dreamwave is from Bristol in the U.K. and consist of Ben Symons (guitar, vocals), Hester Battin (keys, vocals), Grant Organ (bass, vocals) and Alex Andrews (drums). With Moon Dogs the band releases its first EP digitally, yet it is the a-side of an album that is to arrive in November this year. An interesting way of releasing music. Musically the band may be looking for its own voice, the enthusiasm makes up more than enough for the evident lack of originality. The band plays with what came before and turns that sound and approach into its own songs. The at times almost ghostlike vocals of Hester Battin in the background work really well as do her keyboard contributions that weave between the other instruments used. Yes, guitars explode here and there, including some weird electronic noises like in 'Clad Kings', before things settle back to normal. Again that singing between Ben Symons and Hester Battin work really well. 'Clad King' grows ever bigger, turning the song into a psychedelic epic track. It all ends with a bit of experimentation in 'Dragging The Rain Down', luckily I can return to the opening song 'Polystyrene Irene' immediately after it. Remain patient though with 'Dragging The Rain Down' and you will hear an interesting mix of jazzy psychedelia. And when I'm hearing Hester Battin sing again, I'm remembered of the only time I fell in love with a girl because of her voice coming though speakers far away at the Parkpop festival in The Hague in 1985 of 86 festival, Lorraine McIntosh of Deacon Blue. (She still married to the band's singer Ricky Ross.)

Rock’N’Roll. Kickstarter Ritual

And here I was thinking that glamrock had died in 1975, but no. Kickstarter Ritual looks like The Sweet did after its makeover on the cusp of 1973 with hits like 'Wig Wam Bam' and 'Block Buster!'. Musically though Kickstarter Ritual has nothing but then really nothing to do with 'Ballroom Blitz'. In fact the band goes further back in time into the 60s with its mix of surf rock and psychedelia, including a thin Farfisa organ sound. The combination works pretty well, as Rock'N'Roll is an exciting song. The singer's voice is something to get used to. Luckily he moves out of his falsetto voice and the guitars start playing a few nice riffs. The Italian band is around since 2014, but is a new name to me. The introduction is entirely my pleasure. There is to be an album over the summer, so again, something to look forward to.

Killing Time. Judy Blank

Judy Blank and I do not always meet eye to eye musically. My favourite song remains for now 'Mary Jane' but Killing Time is a song I do not mind grooving to for a while. The song has a sense of urgency that makes it very pleasant to listen to. Like 'Mary Jane' Killing Time is adventurous. The pace is fast and still I notice a lot of details in the music that changes the vibe of the song while it progresses. A piano here, an organ there, while the tempo remains strong. The other attractive factor of the song is the pop element that oozes out of it. This gives the song a Motown/The Supremes vibe, which is not something that comes by a lot these days. A little surprise Killing Time is.

Vultures. Sunday Junkie

Sunday Junkie is from Worcester in the U.S. and formed only a little over a year ago. The band shares "our sound ..(i)s just a pretty faithful expression of our influences". And it shows. Sunday Junkie's members must have loved what came out of the Boston area around 1990 with Buffalo Tom and The Lemonheads. Vultures is a song that balances itself neatly somewhere between (alternative) rock, indie and pop. Like an animal able to play or chase on the highest slope or thinnest branch without any fear of falling, it presents Vultures. The kind of song that is too loud for the faint of heart and too soft for hardrockers let alone metal fans, but pleases people like me who love to be somewhere in between. A nice riff here and there, a tough bass and a chorus that invites singing along to, while my body waves and swirls with the rhythm.

Meaning To Disaster. Billy Dodge Moody

Recently Arne Leurentop of And They Spoke In Anthems played a living room show in Haarlem. One of the highlights was a song he wrote about (the loss of) his best friend. Today Billy Dodge Moody makes it to this blog for the first time with a song on the same topic. Both are serious and sad songs with a silver lining in the form of beauty both artists were able to put into their songs, despite the ultimate sad topic. Both raised a musical statue for their late friends. Moody presents a song that is in line with a singer-songwriter like Shane Alexander. A song he can play alone with just a guitar live, but in the studio was flashed out with a load of instruments adding to the vast impression Meaning To Disaster makes on the listener. It's a serious and beautiful ballad.

Never Had A Heart. Dotsun Moon

We end the week the a deep dive into 80s doom and gloom for 2025. Dotsun Moon, aka as Richard Flierl, makes his debut on this blog with a song that has a strong connotation to an 80s song that my brain simply will not reveal to me. The way Dotsun Moon sounds is immediately familiar. The deadlike way of singing, the synths that swirl all through the song. The lead guitar is the big difference. Frierl is not afraid of shredding the strings to pieces near the end. Dotsun Moon is Richard Frierl from Buffalo. He has either played or programmed all the instruments on the song and sings. His voice is not the best feature of the song, it's only honest to state, but it fits Never Had A Heart perfectly. The darkness in the music is reflected in his timbre and way of singing. Album 'Tigre' is on 27 June.

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