Unicorn. Rio Kosta
Let's start this week's singles post with an ultimate poptrack. The description coming with the song mentioned Tame Impala and I fully understand why. At the same time Unicorn is more poppy, with a hint of the ploppy bass of Air (and Serge Gainsbourg before it) and the dreamy wave of a band like Warpaint. Singer Kosta Galanopoulos has an as high voice like singer Alex Maas of The Black Angels. Putting it all together results in a dreamy pop song with which Rio Kosta presents itself for the second time to the world (and the first time on this blog). In fact Unicorn was the first track Galanopoulis and Mike Del Rio worked on together. In nothing it shows that this is what could have been a unique event. The two kept working together, resulting in album 'Unicorn' that will be released on 19 July.
'All or nothing' Steve Marriot sang on one Small Faces' greatest hits, released in 1966. That title sort of describes my relationship with English trio White Lies. With the needle pointing more often to the nothing section if I'm honest. When I recently heard Nothing On Me on the radio, the needle shot fast to the all good part of the dial. A lot of boxes were ticked within a few seconds. Yes, I can hear you saying of course, as White Lies is ticking a thousands boxes in the 2.44 minutes the single last. I can keep on pointing to references until tomorrow morning. I will not do that and let you pick out your own favourites from the last say 10, 15 years. Nothing On Me is a delightfully charged song where the energy oozes out of. White Lies is on fire and running for its life, making this great music along the way. I did not know the band had it in it and I'm the happier finding out it does.
DIIV can be found on this blog in its first year, 2012, with the album 'Oshin' and later once again. It has been quiet though and now there's Return Of Youth. It is a slow and dreamy track, with a lot of clarity in the sound spread out all around the rhythm section. Listening to the song is like coming home and drawing a nice warm bath or stepping into the shower attuned to your favourite temperature. The song may be slow, the drums are so solid in sound, a cymbal is crashed regularly for dramatic extras. It's the guitars though that draw me into the song. There are quite a few you'll notice. Around them in the long intro all sort of wobbly sounds are interjected. Singer Zachary Cole Smith is softness itself and his voice hovers over the music like an apparition. In other words, I'm totally happy with this new DIIV song, except for the long outro. The band could have left that for the ten year anniversary version as far as I'm concerned. For the rest, there's not a complaint possible.
Besides the video accompanying the song that contains animation clips from the 1930 and 40s, including Betty Boop, The Spackles bring alive music that went sort of out of style decades ago as well, albeit not from the 30s and 40s. More like the 60s and 70s. Riffs fly around my ears and the band rocks no little. The song takes a little from different genres and songs. There's a little in there for everyone loving good time rock music from long ago. Marie Slurrie - Guitars,vocals and keys, Spackle McKraken, bass, vocals, keys, Phil McKraken, drums have found themselves on this blog three times before and with Pistols At Dawn they deserve a new spot. The single is simply too much fun to pass up on. From the start with an 'I Feel Fine' intro note, things go from weird, to tight (double) riffing and that's not the last surprise in the song's structure. The Spackles make for exciting and surprising listening on Pistols at Dawn.
In May Billy Dodge Moody made his debut on this blog with his single 'Meaning To Disaster', in which he raised a musical statue for a friend who passed away. Now he returns with Nobody, a song that in part brings alive the music of The Beatles. There are this parts and chord changes that come straight from the The Beatles playbook. He adds a form of Americana to it that makes the song have its place in the American songbook. Nobody reminds me of Shane Alexander's songs. Moody's voice even gets close. In the tune he mixes an upbeat rhythm with a dreamy, slightly melancholy mood. It is the drums that give the song an upbeat tempo and feel that the other instruments just have to follow. It's the melody and Billy Dodge Moody's voice that give Nobody its other half. And that is a quality Shane Alexander has tuned to perfection. There's more to come. EP 'Ephemera' is slated for 11 July and is the first of a few EPs that will make up Moody's new album.
29 Years is a long time. We are talking 1996, that's in the previous century, what, millennium! It was the year in which Heavenly released its last album 'Operation Heavenly'. It will be re-released in July. Portland Town is a new single though, announcing a new album expected in 2026. The 7" vinyl is not available until mid July though. The return of Heavenly, although I have to admit that I have not heard of the band before, is welcome though. Portland Time is nostalgic in sound but with a sense of urgency. The band is obviously enjoying its return to writing and making music. With most likely the kids having left the home, there's time to do so. The singing between Amelia Fletcher, the principal singer and keyboardist Cathy Rogers is so pleasant, that I can listen to Portland Town quite a few times in a row. Yes, it sounds familiar but I don't care. This song has quality and that does the trick for me.
OPROER is from Belgium and working towards the release of its second album, 'The Catch' in October. In the 00s and early 10s there was the Antwerp band A Brand. Sweet Fame reminds me of the enthusiasm A Brand shared with its listeners. Oproer is slightly more subtle than the double accents A Brand put in all the places where they could be put. Oproer's music is described as funky,alterative rock, but, at least on Sweet Fame, I will add pop to the mix. It is all over the harmony vocals, the oohs and aahs of the backing vocals and the 80s synth sound that can be called the lead instrument on Sweet Fame. There's another band from Belgium that keeps escaping me but I'm almost certain it's Soulwax that has influenced OPROER. Sweet Fame is exciting and full of its own special kind of energy. If this is the standard of 'The Catch', I can't wait until it's fall, but allow me to enjoy the summer first anyway.
In the same week Billy Dodge Moody debuted on this blog, Celeste Corsano did too. I compared her single 'Sunlight Gazing' to 'Wuthering Heights' no less. Nightbird is different, which is good. Ms Corsano shows us all the edges of her voice once again. The childish and high pitch of the early Kate Bush is mixed with the darker voice of a mature woman. Together with the somewhat mysterious music it makes for very interesting listening. Just like I wrote in May, the impact of Celeste Corsano is not the same as Kate Bush had on me all those years ago. It can't, as I had the experience at the time already. Yet, Nightbird is very much welcome and not just because of memories for times long gone. This song has its own power and strength. In fact, like 'Fisherman's Friend', this is strong stuff. Oddly metered, the percussive music stands out. Over it Celeste Corsano does her thing. I have no clue what she has done musically before these singles. Based on the two singles I've heard, it's inconsequential. 'Sunlight Gazing' and Nightbird are the real thing. There's no album announced yet, but that can only be a matter of time.
Ghostwoman's album 'Anne, If', was reviewed by Erwin Zijleman in 2023. I will take this single. With the way the jangly 12 string guitar leads the way on Alive, not much can go wrong and it does not. In fact, all's well. An electric 12 string guitar sound brings only one band to mind and that is the most successful incarnation of The Byrds when then Jim McGuinn played it and was singing with David Crosby, Gene Clark and Chris Hillman, a sound that Roger McGuinn recreated very successfully on his album 'Back From Rio' in the early 1990s. Ghostwoman, Evan Uschenko and Ille van Dessel, plays around with this sound in a more modern way, while letting the single simply explode in the solos before returning for an instrumental outro. Yes, Alive is a song that makes me feel nostalgic but pulls me right out of it because of the double, triple solos at the end. Ghostwoman plays two cards on Alive that are hard to trump. The album, 'Welcome to the Civilized World', will be released on Sept 5th.
Sorry, Rise Against, but when I hear "I want it all", I immediately sing "and I want it now". Queen's powerful return to rock music in 1989 remains one of the band's best singles and one of the best rock songs ever. Rise Against, in business since 1999, returns to this blog with a powerful rock song taking the famous title. Based on what I'm hearing I will allow it. This I Want It All has the power a title like that calls for. The song has this tight rhythm, where paradoxically the drums is the instrument that is allowed the most frivolity, powerful but full of little extras that are fun to follow all throughout the song. it's the guitar that is in a straightjacket with the tight (punk)rock riffing throughout the song. Singer Tim McIlrath brings in some emo in the way of his singing, adding some emotion to the tight rock song. Album 'Ricochet' will be released on 15 August.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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