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Good For You. Plantoid
In November, I compared single 'Dozer' to the work of Ohmme/Finom. Not so Good For You, the second single working towards album 'Flair' (30 January). The mood brought me back to 'The Bleak Midwinter', see last week, only less sacral. Plantoid's new single is a song with two faces. The start is ever so constrained, reined in and modest. Chloe Spence's voice is absolutely carrying the song here. In the second part the band joins in, full force. Although Spence's voice remains totally on top in the mix, the music brings me back to the 1970s. Plantoid here becomes a 2025 version of Yes. Symphonic rock in a modern jacket It makes for very interesting listening.
What will be next? Armin van Buren teaming up with The Black Angels? Something like that is happening on Backbreaker. Glaswegian psychrockers Helicon team up with Los Angeles based producer DJ AI Lover. This results in a few quite obvious results you'll hear. Although the song from itself has a dance vibe to it, everything underneath it pointing in that direction is double and triple underscored. Think Junkie XL and Elvis's 'A Little Less Conversation'. That would already have been nice, but it's far from all. AI Lover has added all sort of electronic sounds to the whole, making the track even more psychedelic than it was in the original version the band must have recorded as a starting point. More can be heard on the upcoming album, 'Arise', out on 13 February.
More Christmas songs. After mostly punk/rock singles last Sunday, today Marta Arpini returns to the blog with a jazzy Christmas song. A song that is mostly very relaxed and easy going. In the music though, accents are put in that never make me totally relaxed. These little jolts keep me on my toes. Everything around it is certainly Christmassy. Marta Arpini sings as if she's auditioning for the return of The Carpenters. I'm not a The Carpenters fan, but I recognise a good song when I hear one (over the years). Because of what came before, a song like This Christmas falls into a long line of music. Arpini has managed to create a rich song, with all the different instruments that come by. No matter what happens with the music, she manages to remain in a Christmas mood. The music may vary a little and sending mixed signals. As a whole This Christmas is extremely pleasant.
Christmas songs come in ominous versions as well. The bio states that this is a song popularised by Johnny Cash. If it had said it to be a cover of 16 Horsepower, I would have believed it 100%. Beauty in Chaos front man Michael Ciravolo worked with producer Michael Rozon on this track, who provides the extras where the deserving the 16 Horsepower comparison is concerned, by playing the lapsteel guitar. Things get rather dark here, as it should when living with the fear of God and/or a devil on your trail. The God here must be an Old Testament vindictive God, a God that is jealous and more made to men's likeness than vice versa. The song is impressive, the lyrics do not impress me much. In fact, I have a strong dislike of people who try to rule through fear.
The final Christmas song this year is the exact opposite of the previous one. Jessie Wagner presents a pure pop track that implies that Christmas is nothing but fun, happiness and sharing love and presents. We all know that for a lot of people Christmas comes with a lot of stress and 'how do we make sure things remain pleasant' feelings? Let's drop that and just enjoy the optimism Christmas With Me shares. Remove the word Christmas and replace it with night of weekend, take out the Christmas bells and what is left is a purely gold pop tune. And that is just fine every once in a while. Jessie Wagner shines all through the song and the music does the rest. If we all not only believe in what she is singing but start acting on it as well, the world would be a far better place than it currently is.
a.gris is the solo project of Alex Delamard (Hoorsees). It is introduced as a "digital glitchy folk project". Well, I do not know what Delamard (or his publicity agent) was thinking but what I'm hearing on this debut single has nothing to do with folk. Glitchy, yes, perhaps. oblivion 2025 may start with an acoustic guitar but from there it is all (distorted) guitar work, synths and, most likely, programmed drums. Delamard's voice is nice and light compared to the music, creating a contrast and keeping the track away from rock bordering on metal. There's a nice solo woven into the whole, followed by what seems an interlude, but in fact is the stepping stone for the end of oblivion 2025. a.gris will release a five song EP in 2026, so we may learn more then about the folk element then.
Dreamwave returns to the blog with a strong but dark psychedelic rock song. Murmers On The Dunes is a song that is completely closed where the mix in concerned. Every little hole is closed with music in the section where the band goes full out. I don't even want to know how loud the amps were cranked up in the studio. Most likely on Spinal Tap loudness. What the band does well, is create moments in which the storm it creates subsides for even more psychedelic interludes. This song is not for the faint of heart. More for bands like Frankie and The Witch Fingers. If the band plays this loud live as well, then it is advised not to tour together, ever (and then I read they already have!). Musically, it totally makes sense though and nothing that good earplugs can't weather. Dreamwave will release a new EP next year called 'Drifter'. Something to look forward to indeed.
With Barbed Wire, Cardinals finds itself for the first time on this blog. The Irish band is on route to the release of its debut album in February. Barbed Wire shows two sides to the band. The single starts as a song that is closer to folk than anything else. When the drummer comes in, the rest of the band follows in a very present way. The music shows links to alternative rock and even Madness rocking harder. The volume keeps going up and Barbed Wire not only gets more present, it becomes better by the minute. The lead guitar comes in more and more, while the staccato rhythm of the band makes sure not paying attention in not an option. Welcome to the blog, Cardinals. I'm certainly curious to hear more next year.
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With this stand alone single Big Special shows a totally different side of itself. The right description is a ballad. Where Joseph Hicklin usually is always somewhere in between declamation of his lyrics and singing them, here he is singing, I'd almost say in a Shane McGowan way. Where there can be a lot of noise in the music, here there's just an organ with here and there some drums, accompanied by electronic processing of some sort. What DRAGGED UP A HILL (and thrown down the other side) shows is that it is possible to make a big impression with limited means. Hicklin is singing his heart out and it comes across for what it is. Authentic and heartfelt. I did not know Big Special had it in it. Surprises can be so pleasant.
Time teaches that bands come and go and that some return. This is the case for The Modern Era from Minneapolis. Formed in 2013, it released some songs and drifted of. Recently, after an hiatus of nine years the band returns with a strong alternative rock track. The band found no less then Jack Endino to produce its new album, slated for 2026. It will not come as a surprise that a band like Nirvana is an influence of The Modern Era, yet I would not call The Modern Era a grunge band. For that the bright side shines through far too much. This band rocks but knows where the curtains and the light switch are located. By using dynamics Dear Anyone is a song that shows the light and the shade for most of the single and has all the elements to make large fields go apeshit in a moshpit. To all appearances, a welcome back is called for.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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