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Easter Lily EP. U2
Only a few weeks after U2's previous surprise EP there already is another one, Easter Lily. And I have to say, I like it. I don't think I've ever heard the Dublin band, now active for well over 40 years play so relaxed and down to earth. There's is no effect that makes the sound bigger than needs be. Of course, at heart there's Bono's voice and The Edge's guitar that are recognisable out of thousands. What the band avoids, is the stadium grandstanding, where it often hid behind. Easter Lily contains songs that, for U2, are simply naked. Opening song 'Song For Hal', may contain several guitar overdubs, it is a song, that somehow gives me the idea that it could have been sung by Frank Sinatra. It has that kind of quality. What Easter Lily shows, is that U2 is able to avoid being U2 too much. In a way it is like The Rollin Stones' blues album from 2016, 'Blue & Lonesome', but filled with original U2 songs. This EP shows that U2 can write interesting songs without the endless effects. It is a U2 I like far better I notice. Of course, the band has scored huge hits and they are fantastic, but still I got bored with them, even at a live show in 2005. With Easter Lily U2 keeps me attentive and appreciative for six songs. It may well be be a record.
Office Dog from New Zealand is on route to the release of its first album after releasing its EP 'Doggerland' in 2024. 'Prime Corner' will be released at the start of New Zealand's winter and our summer. With Gold Things the band makes a statement with a song that has some ragged edges. Gold Things is not a song that will please the masses but may make fans of alternative rock with a dirty edge quite content. Here's a first one for starters. Kane Strang sings in part with a deeper register, which restrains his range. As soon as he lets his voice go, the song is kicked in the proverbial butt and starts to bloom because of that kick. Just listen to that instrumental part as well. The trio really makes the most of Gold Things.
The last three Widowspeak albums have all found their way to this blog and listening to If You Change, the band's recent single, it will not come as a surprise when around 5 June new album 'Roses' will receive a warm welcome here. For me, Widowspeak entered my life actively with its 2020 album 'Plum'. 2018's 'Expect The Best' was reviewed by Erwin Zijleman. If You Change is a relaxed kind of song, with a The Byrds/Roger McGuinn/Gene Clark vibe around it that makes it almost anachronistic in 2026. Next to this Rickenbacker sound comes the dreamy quality of singer Molly Hamilton's voice. I'm certain Erwin will come up with the Mazzy Star comparison, as he often does, but that is a band I've missed at the time. If You Change is beauty caught in music but beware, like in the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, in Dutch 'Doornroosje', there are a few thorns involved in the music.
For some weeks it was clear that something was up. No Hackney Diamond adds this time but something with The Cockroaches. All speculation can be tossed by the wayside, the band has announced its 25th studio album in 64 years (!). It's called 'Foreign Tongues' and will be released on 10 July. Although it looks like its touring days are over, in the studio The Stones can sound as dirty as ever. With this bluesy track the ball is opened and it is dirty, greasy and rocks like there is no end of the line even at 80+. Riffs fly and Ronnie Wood plays a very mean slide guitar. Jagger seems not to age where his voice is concerned. Compared to all his contemporaries he's simply amazing. There's no ware and tear there in any way. Producer Andrew Watt again makes the band sound so urgent, so direct, so in your face. Just like 'Angry' in 2023, Rough And Twisted is a great introduction to what is to come in 2026.
Anna Calvi returns to the blog with a new four song EP. The single 'God's Lonely Man' was already reviewed a while back. Iggy Pop sings with Calvi and more or less takes the lead, with Calvi vocally circling around him like a dervish. The song has a deep and dark organic beat, that fits Iggy really well. Like I wrote then, the song could have been on 'The Idiot' and 'Lust For Life'. It makes for an ideal opening song for Is This All There Is? 'I See A Darkness', a cover of the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy' song, is an extremely dark song in a duet with Perfume Genius. In that darkness Calvi manages to create some great musical moments that sound like a volcano erupting over which Perfume Genius hovers while Calvi at times sounds like a ship's horn in the fog. 'Computer Love' is a collaboration with Laurie Anderson, that in part sounds just like I would expect a Lauri Anderson track to sound, just somewhat less electronic. The way the song moves towards its end, sounds almost like opera, bringing the digital and human together. I may actually start to like the track. The final song is a collaboration with The National's Matt Berninger. Berninger grumbles himself through the title song in a very natural way. The contrast with Anna Calvi is just nice, not unlike Phoebe Bridger's contributions to The National's last two albums. The two make 'Is This All There Is?' come totally alive. I understand this is the first of three EPs, so lay it on me, please.
When did Blood Red Shoes enter my life?, I mused while listening to Screams for the first time. It may well be 18 to 20 years ago. Time flies when you're having fun and the fun continues. Just like U2 at the top of this singles post, Blood Red Shoes goes back to the bare essence of being a duo band. Gone are the electronics and extra hands found on the previous two records. Screams is a good old honest song but with a load of quality. Steven Ansell may be drumming in the video like a clown would in the circus making it seem like we all cold do his part. In the meantime the drum part is extremely effective, while Screams has a great melody making it a joy to listen to. The harmonies Laura Mary Carter sings are spot on, just like her elementary sounding guitar part and solo is. So, no excitement, all quality. And en passant, my question whether Ms Carter's solo album brought the end to Blood Red Shoes was answered in the way I hoped. Screams!
Jack White and I go back even further than the previous entry. That came with the 'Fell In Love With A Girl' song by The White Stripes. Of course 2002 does not match U2, let alone The Rolling Stones. I have to admit that I sort of skipped all White has released after the rather disappointing 'Blunderbuss' album. I never play the older stuff any more, so perhaps it's best to leave things be. Then I read about two new songs being released simultaneously and decided to try one anyway. G.O.D. And The Broken Ribs was the song of choice. It sounds instantly recognisable. Jack White is back in a The White Stripes mode and it fits him very well. The excitement is there, just like his panache. I notice the fun I have listening to this song. So, who knows, I may want to hear more anyway.
Time for a new name on this blog. Samantha Harlow is a name I've never encountered before. With Ready To Run she presents a song that is total disagreement with the cover art, where she presents herself as a female Frankenstein from a 1920s silent movie. A role that could have been played by her namesake Jean Harlow, a movie star from the late 20s and 30s, who tragically died from kidney failure at the age of 26. The music is all but scary. Samantha Harlow is not in a hurry. On a slow Latin rhythm she sings her song like Emmylou Harris once did in a song called 'Mr. Sandman'. There is another link with a world long gone, The Andrew Sisters. The music itself sounds very modern because of the way it was recorded, full and majestic. The combination may not be my daily cup of tea, but every once in a while a cup of Assem or Darjeeling tea goes down well, just like Ready To Run does.
Due to personal circumstances I'm running rather behind on music and the relentless releases do not allow for a lot of options to catch up. Caitlin's EP 'Guardrail' is already out for a month and here I am reviewing one of its singles. Like Samantha Harlow above, Tied is a very quiet affair. Caitlin's driving force is her dreamy sounding voice that seems to hover over the music, that absolutely is in 100% support of her singing. The result is an indie track that does have an exotic flavour. At heart Tied is an acoustic track with a drummer who is not afraid to give an unexpected accent here and there, making me prick up my ears some more. The electric guitar solo is mixed somewhat into the background, for a second one mixed in nearer towards the end and ending the song. After 'You’re Only Good To Calm Me Down', Tied is the second song coming of 'Guardrail' that goes down pretty well with me.
Listening to Cigarette, I can't shake the idea that the singer is overdoing his voice to give it an Eddie Vedder kind of sound. Listening to Cigarette, the song is so serious that this simply cannot be. What to call it the genre? Alt-folk? Something like that I guess. Berm, Dutch for the soft shoulder of a road, makes its debut on the blog. The band is from Worcester, Massachussetts and has released its debut album 'highway through the trees' on 24 April. The band's approach to its music is extremely down to earth. Don't expect anything frivolous on Cigarette. If anything is, it's in the few keyboard notes played throughout the song. The song works its way slowly towards the end, without any significant changes and yet. It keeps me listening to it almost mesmerised by the repeated note progression.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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