Things To Do When It’s Dark. Tell
TELL's album 'Life In Reverse' is one the best read reviews on this blog. Here's the band with a new single. Of course, it's an alternative rock track. The beginning though is a very tense affair. After an already very bare intro as in one dark piano note, the first verse is just the drums and singer David Wildman. This makes the track stand out immediately. When the band comes in, it is still not your average rock track. This has everything to do with the rhythm that is not a straightforward affair. Things To Do When It's Dark is a track to pay attention to because of these musical surprises. In my album review last year, I pointed to post-'Hunky Dory' David Bowie and again I hear a faint hint in that direction but this description would sell the song short. TELL is fully it's own here. Lyrically, the song does not leave you with a lot to guess. "Resistance rock" is a new term, but what else can it be when "We take back our country" is one of the lead lyric lines?
Next up this week is a punkrock track from New Jersey's Bobby Mahoney. In a genre where a lot has been said and done already, Mahoney manages to present us with an exhilarating track There's nothing new in there, but he manages to excite. Smoke And Drive's rhythm is tight. Over that the lead guitar plays these great melodies. In the lyrics there are enough whoawhoawhoas to allow for a lot of singing along. Living in Ashbury Park he is close to where Bruce Springsteen found his voice. Musically they may be far apart, the energy and intensity are the same. Smoke And Drive boils over with it.
Take It Back is a punk track as punk comes. Dirty, fast, yet with a chorus that is as simple and straightforward as they come. No one has to hear this a second time before it can be sang along to. Regal Beagle is another new name on this blog. Formed in 1993 in Monterey Park, California, the band is about to release its first album in over a decade, also called 'Take It Back.' It seems highly likely to me that with the title track released as a first single, Regal Beagle makes a clear statement. We're back and you better be well prepared as we are going to give you an energy boost you will not easily forget. Take It Back simply works from the first to the last second. Two and a half minute is enough for this statement.
Speedtwinn is a band from Los Angeles. That makes two California bands in a row. Musically there is a difference though. I'm inclined to call this music bluesrock, but it also has a 1960s pop element hidden in there. Things start with the hard riffing lead guitar played by Derwood Andrews. The mildly dirty sound matches the mildly rough voice of singer Gary Twinn. The riffs are augmented by a slide, making the guitar part stand out even a bit more. I find the song slowly packed me in. At the start I thought been-there-done-that, heard it too many times before, but half way through the song I had gotten into its rhythm. Finally, I wanted to hear it again and again. The hint at Stevie Ray Vaughan is unmistakable, but there are not a lot of Vaughan tracks I like as well as this one. That says enough, right?
Amsterdam's Queen's Pleasure returns to the blog with its final single release before its third album is unleashed on the world on 9 January, called 'Stunt Double'. After its first EP and album, I sort lost track of Queen's Pleasure. This had to do with the fact that the music did not convince me. It made me start listening to The Drop with a negative expectation. And then came the end of the song. It is an explosion of music. It's as if the band understood this was it last chance with me. At the start, of The Drop my impression was that the music was neither meat nor fish. That sealed it sort of. And then the end came in and I advise you to listen to it. The band lets it all go, as in taking no prisoners. What an orgiastic musical delight to listen to.
Laptop debuted on this blog in September with its single 'Additional Animals'. Again, the band of father and son Hartman return to the blog. Listening to Indie Hero, I would say that they present a tribute to that other Hartman, Dan and to Patrick Hernandez, both two mid-70s disco icons, with songs like 'Relight My Fire' and 'Born To Be Alive'. Songs that still light up parties to this day. Indie Hero is far more modern in sound but has this groove that calls for moving your body to the rhythm. The topic of Indie Hero, "I wanna go to Japan again", is one I can subscribe to. Having been there once, I'm sold. I'm also sold on Indie Hero. The track is simply fun. Jesse Hartman's return to music is paying off as far as I'm concerned.
Hater is on this blog since 2017. The last time was in 2023 with its album 'Sincere'. On route to its new album 'Mosquito', the Swedish band released a new single, This Guy? I can be quite short. This Guy? convinces from the very first seconds. It has an indie rock vibe allowing singer Caroline Landahl to present a perfect mix between a Scandinavian ice diva and a warm- blooded singer. Equal parts between distancing and longingly dreaming are created by her voice. The lead guitar manages to underscore this in a great way, making the song grow and grow. I'll own up and admit that I had all but forgotten about Hater in the past years. I'm glad to have renewed our musical relationship today.
What can I say but that The Mono Kids from Eindhoven have done it again. Of course, this is another punkrock record by two men of a certain age, who love to play the genre they like best. The enthusiasm is more than matched by the quality of the song itself. L.O.V.E. is one of the songs on E.P. 'Lucky Guys', but deserves individual attention. Add the humorous video and the picture is complete. L.O.V.E has so much energy that it ought to be able to assist in unstressing the energy grid in the south west of The Netherlands. From the very first second the song goes full blast and there's no stopping the duo in any way. With the accents all in the right spots, it makes for interesting listening as well. With We Are Joiners in the vicinity, The Mono Kids may have received some local competition. For me the world gets just this little better having them both in it.
At the start I had no idea what to make of Flowers (and no, this is not a cover version of Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers'). Music like walking in trickling rain, yet making you very wet and in the dark of course. That darkness remains, the rain swells and subsides. Nick Cave is the name that pops up when listening to Flowers. Just like the Australian artist, Shadowman, and its singer John J Presley, is able to impress with the directness and its impressive wall of sound and with the quiet parts in equal ways. Once that beginning is over, it becomes clear that a musical onslaught awaits us listeners. The musicians go full out and a saxophone works its way into the mix, screaming bloody murder. To think this is the debut single of a collective consisting of Presley, Ben Hillier and Danielle Perry. All three have completely different backgrounds/careers in music, yet collaboratively come up with this impressive work of musical art. Flowers is one heck of an introduction to Shadowman. Besides the message "debut album in 2026", we have to await further news.
Okay, let's end this post with a band trying to go for the perfect pop song; and comes a long way. The Michigan band may be called The Legal Matters, it has very little to do with the 1965 hitsingle by The Who of that title. This song finds itself in a more guitar laden spot where a sweet song like '74/75' finds itself. Core trio Chris Richards, Andy Reed and Keith Klingensmith have put a silver lining of pure pop over their nostalgic poprock song. The guitar parts are all over the song, backed by organ, bass and drums and they all are very much worthwhile exploring. But then: enter the real forté of The Legal Matters, the vocals. This band knows how to sing together and get the most out of the vocal melodies. The combination of music and vocals creates an extremely rich song that is a pleasure to listen to. Welcome to this blog, The Legal Matters.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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