Vrijheid, Gelijkheid, Zusterschap. Sophie Straat
Sophie Straat
heeft recentelijk een nieuwe plaat uitgebracht, 'Wie De Fak Is Sophie
Straat', maar sinds heel kort is het dit nummer van haar plaat uit 2023, 'Smartlap Is Niet Dood', dat de aandacht trekt. Behalve het feit dat het
een nummer is dat zo lekker klinkt dat het deze aandacht zeker verdient,
is er een andere reden. Er schijnt een door AI gegenereerd nummer met een
xenofobische tekst tegen AZCs en ongetwijfeld de bewoners ervan, de hitlijsten te bestormen. De aandacht voor dit nummer is de tegenbeweging, die ik van harte ondersteun. De
tekst van Sophie Straat is het totale tegen alles wat wat-dan-ook-foob is ergens op
de wereld. Dat begint met de titel uit de Franse revolutie, met een eigentijdse en tegendraadse twist erin. De tekst van het nummer is een droom over hoe de wereld er ook uit zou
kunnen zien. Hoe zich dat verhoudt tot Franse koningin Marie Antoinette
is niet helemaal duidelijk, behalve dat zij zich vrijwel alles kon
permitteren. (Hoe actueel dat is, is dat Trump sinds Halloween met haar wordt vergeleken.) De Dolle Mina's roepen heel Nederland op om Vrijheid, Gelijkheid, Zusterschap zoveel mogelijk te streamen en zo te voorkomen dat het anti-AZC nummer op 1 komt in de Streaming Top 40. Mooi bijkomend feit is dat er dan zo
maar een keer een rock song op 1 komt te staan. Opnieuw merk ik dat het
met de geschiedeniskennis van Sophie Straat wel goed zit. Ik neem dan ook aan dat ze weet hoe het met Marie Antoinette is afgelopen. (Ik schreef eerder over dit nummer op 22 maart 2022.)
Another album announced for 30 January is 'I Used To Go To This Bar', Joyce Manor's new album. With Well, Whatever It Was the band releases a great pop song that fits with a lot bands like Blur or Supergrass released in the 90s and mixing it with music from the same era from the U.S. like Weezer and Nada Surf. In other words, Well, Whatever It Was is a pop-rock song that is totally infectious and kind of superior to a lot of other music being released. The only thing it is not, is original. When a song is as good as, it doesn't matter, does it?
A duo single that with its 18 minutes plus length is more of a mini album. The two songs make Elder have its debut on WoNoBlog. Guitarist and singer Nick DiSalvo can be found here in one of his other band incarnations. With these two songs, Elder has worked on parts and pieces that had been left behind on the studio floor over the years. The greatest example of that is most of side B of 'Abbey Road' of course. Liminality / Dream State Return will not become that famous but certainly can be ranked as a very successful blend of leftovers. The band, Nick DiSalvo, guitar and lead vocals, Jack Donovan, bass, Mike Risberg, guitar, keyboards and Georg Edert, drums, blends several styles into one. From prog/symphonic rock to stoner and metal. All these elements come by in the two compositions, while at the same time the band finds the melodies even in the loudest parts. Then on keyboard, then on guitar or both. 18 minutes can be quite long, but not with these two songs. So much is going on, that it's over before you know it and probably with so many elements still left to discover. A very nice introduction to Elder this "single" is.
The name Marta del Grandi can be found on this blog, but only as a part of two 'Kairos' radio shows reviews. Today, she makes her "solo" debut on the blog. Marta del Grandi is an Italian singer-songwriter who will release her new album 'Dream Life' on 30 January next year. Antarctica immediately drew my interest, as it in a way reminds me immediately of the Ohmme/Finom duo, because of the way she recorded her harmony vocals and the rhythm of Antarctica. That is also where comparisons stop. Del Grandi uses totally different instruments and more sparingly. The rhythm is like an irregular game of hopscotch, where instruments fall into and out again. Just like a vocal line can jump in out of nowhere, to leave the jumping game just as easily again. As if just passing through the street and participate on route to somewhere else. That makes Antarctica a very intriguing song, that besides that is good as well.
Anyone who listens to Hunter's Mark for the first time and then is told that Howling Giant is from Nashville, Tennessee will think it to be a mistake. Howling Giant is a stoner rock band that has a thick sound with a wall of guitars and huge drums kicking things even more to life. That drummer, Zach Wheeler, is also (one of) the singer(s). That may explain a little about the prominent position of his drums in the middle of the mix. Fact is, Hunter's Mark is a very much alive song. The duo guitarists play these huge riffs and only allow for a short burst of a solo near the end, after which both riff the song home. Howling Giant, Tom Polzine, guitar and vocals, Zach Wheeler, drums and vocals, Sebastian Baltes, bass and vocals and Adrian Lee Zambrano, guitars and synthesizers, released its third album, 'Crucible & Ruin' on 31 October.
In May of this year Corin Ashley found himself for the first time on this blog with his single 'Empathy Centre'. What I wrote there still counts: his collection of 60s records fell over and assembled themselves into this new song. On his EP #1 Ashley releases three new songs. In 'The Sun Is In Your Eyes' he sounds like Roger Daltrey after a rough night. He has that same rasp in his voice but forty years after Daltrey's heyday of the 1960s and 70s. Fact is that it is not that hard to hear Daltrey sing this song and that it has a quality that the The Who veteran singer would not have minded to add to his oeuvre. Delving deeper into the EP, it's clear that the single is an odd one out. Corin Ashley left the pop vibes behind and went more into rock territory, where The Who comes forward in my mind most. In the final song, 'Monkey', the voice of Kay Hanley adds a nice layer to the song. Where 'Empathy Centre' is a nice tip of the hat to a host of 1960s bands, the rest of the EP is a showcase on how its still possible to rock convincingly in 2025. Corin Ashley hits all the right notes alright.
The name Weird Nightmare rang a bell, and rightly so. Single 'Searching For You' can be found on this blog in March 2022. Weird Nightmare is still the solo project of Metz' Alex Adkins. Together with co-producer Jim Eno (Spoon) he created a single that ends up somewhere between punkrock and powerpop. Both genres can be heard nearly equal in Forever Elsewhere. The song is full of energy, with loads of guitars and a drummer, Loel Campbell of Wintersleep, who is playing in the "Animal" variety. Everything that can be hit, is hit for most of the time and hard at that. This track is an infectuous one. The sound is huge, the intent is huge and the impact is huge. Forever Elsewhere is the kind of song I want sing and dance to. More news may follow soon.
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What a surprise. In the songs I know so far by Ramkot, o.k., I missed the band's 2024 album, the band tried to ram the kot to pieces, only to start all over again in the next song. With Hollow the trio, assisted by pianist Jef Neve produces a fantastic ballad. A rock ballad, of course, but it shows a totally other side of the band and what a fantastic singer Tim Leyman is. Hollow is an atmospheric track that allows the piano to meander all throughout the track, while Leyman's guitar plays a riff in the verses responding to his vocal. Later on the song gets more body, but without losing the mood of the song, mostly because of the echo on Leyman's voice that is mixed over all the instruments. At the end all drops away for a beautiful ending to the song, where pianist Jef Neve shines again. What a beautiful song Hollow is.
Since The Vices left Mattan Records to sign for V2 Records, the band's new music does not reach me any more. Only the announcement of said. That results in less attention. With I Know The Vices announces a deluxe re-release of its 2025 album 'Before It Might Be Gone'. This version of the song, that was written with Charlie Andrew of Alt-J and David Gilmour fame, rocks pretty hard. Now with The Vices I always asked myself the question 'what does this band want to be'?, as its albums often were so diverse in musical styles. I'm not sure that question will ever be answered. All I know, is that I like this version of The Vices a lot. Rocking, raw and exuberant. In December the Ziggo Dome awaits the band, as support act for the revived Kensington. Another highlight, but selling out its own headlining tour this fall will be far more fulfilling. With songs like I Know that should come into reach.
Listening to Rally 'Round, the Chelsea Curve's latest single, memories of decades of powerpop songs swirl around my head. I notice the song ticking all the right boxes in there and trying to settle for its own spot in between all these great song of the (recent) past. In my mind, living thousands of kilometers of sea away, Boston is a city where everyone loves these musical styles and every second inhabitant plays in at least three bands playing this kind of music. (The rest is fan of Dropkick Murphies.) It is even more surprising that the consistent quality coming from the city's bands is so high. Of course, you won't find me having written that Rally 'Round is an original piece of rock music. No, it contains every trick in the book that makes this music so attractive. However, when it's played at this level, a new song is more than welcome. So, let's rally 'round The Chelsea Curve and "Let's have a toast to, Cheers to all of us". Well deserved at that.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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