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Golden Rules / Guilty Pleasures. Fuzzy Teeth
The name Fuzzy Teeth suggests a band name. It is the musical project of Anthony Koenn, a man who played in his first band, The Hague Punks, at the age of 11. Whatever that may have sounded like or what the quality was, I can't tell you. Single Golden Rules / Guilty Pleasures is a mature alternative pop track that shows that pop is not necessarily something produced by x with y featuring z, a and b, co-written by c, d and e. Koenn's may sound dreamy, he also sings a little off kilter. It gives his take on pop an even more alternative sound. In sync with a lot of bands and artists coming out of Brooklyn, N.Y., the Dutch singer is right on top of the musical waves right now. A golden lining this guilty pleasure of a song has.
Rayon is a postpunk band from Portland, Oregon made up out of people who have played in several other bands and is led by Eric Sabatino. The single blends a few guitars that play between the light and the shade but a little askew where the melodies are concerned. Over it Sabatino sings with a dreamy voice, adding some dreampop into the postpunk. In the first verse the guitars drop away, making shopping sound very open, putting the emphases on the fine drums and bass part. The two main guitars come in and later a host of overdubs. All in all, it remains on the safe side of postpunk. Don't expect Tramhaus antics here. The dreamy vocals even take on a light psychedelic vibe later in the song. It is the combination of it all that makes Shopping an attractive song. The single is released on 7", so you better hurry.
A young woman, one acoustic guitar. If anything, I've Got Issues reminds me of the songs of Tom Lehrer a friend played for me close to forty years ago. That cheekiness of wordplay that comes unexpected and can be funny as well. The topic of I've Got Issues is not exactly funny but the way Sandy presents it, suggests her sense of humor. This is added to by the video, that shows Sandy (Skye Netburn) having fun in multiple ways. Her voice is something different. No sweet girl in hearing distance here. She has a tough edge to her voice. Maybe not a Janis Joplin one, but who knows what happens after a few years in music? Musically, she comes close to Karen Jonas on this song, like in 'Oklahoma Lottery'. I've Got Issues has a country element to it. It is not country, but what it is? Good question. Let's say singer-songwriter. Her album 'Issues' was released in October on her 18th birthday.
The L.A. band returns to the blog with a song that is sort of a signature of its sound. Loud rock, a wall of sound and a psychedelic, dreamy sauce laid out over it all by way of the singing. The title Alive And Well is not entirely appropriate. The song is dedicated to the band's guitarist who died in October. Paul Lovecraft plays on this track and the band decided to release it in his honour anyway. The world is a little better because of it, as it is an optimistic track. The intro may be fuzzed up guitars as if the gates of hell just opened themselves, after that the track starts properly and a huge sound opens itself to my ears. It makes me wonder exactly how many guitars I'm hearing. It could be dozens, all stacked on top of the other. "I'm coming back" the band sings. Well, if that happens, Paul Lovecraft is the second who manages that feat. Now that would be something.
A mood change, Go On, Move Your Body brings to this post. Depressing, that is the right word to use here. On this single for her upcoming album 'Jana Horn' (16 January), the NYC resident presents a song so slow that Low might have deemed it too slow. The bare intro, think electric guitar, bass and drums, with an derailing sound somewhere in the corner of the mix, provides the right mood for Jana Horn to sing-talk her lyrics. Slowcore is the term, I believe. There's nothing in there that will bring you joy or beauty. What it does, is show you how glad you should be not to feel like this. Jana Horn excels in this song, that is quite easy to listen to, as it is full of subtle details, that pop up for a second or two. An accent on a bass string, a few bass notes, the slow hitting on a cymbal. It all stands out all of a sudden and makes Go On, Move Your Body, shine, perhaps despite itself. A whole album? That may be a bit too much for me.
Some countryrock is welcome after the darkness presented right above here. Tad Overbaugh presents nothing new. With his band The Late Arrivals, he shows how to excel in this well-known genre. With a voice that presents enough wear and tear to sound convincing, he leads the song. The guitars have that sound that comes with the territory. The lyrics are about being left behind, for someone else. Overbaugh was left in the rearview. The only criticism possible is that the music sounds a little too optimistic to match the lyrics. That apart, Tad Overbaugh delivered a nice song. Watch out for his new album as well, 'Farther From Near' pours now on tap at Boston's Rum Bar Records.
A kind request by email to listen to Bob's Bolero and why not? In The Netherlands in the mid-60s there was a band called ZZ & The Maskers (yes, masks) and if Bob's Bolero reminds me of anything it is of this band's famous songs, like 'Dracula' for example. That band's singer, another Bob, Bouber, wrote one of the best Dutch pop songs ever, 'Ik Heb Geen Zin Om Op Te Staan' for the band HET. Check it out, Americans! Back to Bob's Bolero. Reluctant Bob is Robert Baker and together with producer Phil Christie he made the song. It is built from a bolero rhythm Baker found on You Tube, with no less than 12 views! With The Lonely Lovers, Mark Liepmann, Álvaro Martínez, Baker makes a sound like they used to a long time ago. The name vintage pop seen from the vantage point of 2025 is not a strange connotation. ZZ & The Maskers were old for their time. at least I think, as I only got to know the band much later. Let alone Bob's Bolero. It's fun though. (See also posts on The Crayon Set on this blog.)
1988, that is 37 years ago. In that year The Would-Be-Goods released its album 'The Camera Loves Me'. The band around Jessica Griffin returns next year with a new album, 'Tears Before Bedtime' (13 February). First there is the single, The Gallopers. The song has a pre-The Beatles pop vibe, just listen to the organ emulating Del Shannon's 'Runaway' there in the background or the intro tangy guitar. In the rhythm there is a hint to the "Elvis chipshop" song by Kirsty McColl and Tracey Ullmann's 'Breakaway'. All influences from a long and even longer time ago. Jessica Griffin is no longer young, as her voice shows. The topic of The Gallopers is either a memory from long ago or stated through a top-down relationship. The melancholy mood of the song points to the former. It makes for somewhat distant but nice listening.
DEADLETTER found its way to this blog for the first time in 2024, with positive words on how a saxophone was oven into the postpunk music, so many other bands were already good at. It created something different and new. In late 2025 the band returns, announcing its upcoming album 'Existence Is Bliss' (27 February) and a tour. To The Brim is the first single and once again combines three forms of expression. 1) The singer that is somewhere between singing and talking, 2) the postpunk that comes in after a very quiet and relaxed intro, and 3) the sax that moves in between the rest. To The Brim is a relatively relaxed track. The acoustic guitar is not what I expect in a postpunk track. Neither are the electronics you can hear. Singer Zac Lawrence slowly applies some pressure on the song, by putting in more and more words into a line. And then it all goes back down again. Intriguing track To The Brim is.
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Belgian singer-songwriter Raman returns with a second single from his upcoming debut album, 'When Loneliness Succeeds' (9 January). Someone who dares to use Jeff Buckley as a reference to his music, has a lot of courage. Who dares to compare himself to the angelic Jeff? Well, listening to Talking (Pt.II) it is justified. This is a mighty track. Raman has a voice that shimmers between high and lowish, hovers between soft and mighty. In his music Raman is able to do exactly the same. At the same time there is a triphop reference in the way he sings, as it reminds me of Massive Attack's 'Teardrop'. In the vocal melody there are even direct links to Buckley. And then the end awaits us. A huge slide guitar part escorts us to Talking (Pt.II)'s exit. It blows the song right up into our faces. What an ending it is. This song deserves a lot of attention. One tip for Raman. don't go swimming in a river and certainly not with your clothes and boots on when a barge comes by.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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