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Get Heard EP. Linnea's Garden
This summer My Love and I travelled through northern Germany. Compilation CDs made by me, in some cases well over a decade ago, come by one after the other and the Nina Hagen Band of course. There's no driving in Germany without playing 'Nina Hagen Band' and citing her lyrics like in Hamburg, while we excited the train at the Hauptbahnhof to walk to the Elbe river like Nina does in 'Der Spinner'. Why this long introduction? Because several songs of Linnea's Garden came by.
In 2026 there is a new four song EP out and once again Linnea Herzog, Hand and Super Tough Ray Clough, make the right kind of impression on me. We have to go back well over five years to encounter Linnea's Garden for the first time on this blog but also more than 2,5 years to find the previous release. In fact, not that long ago I wondered if I would hear from the Boston trio around Linnea Herzog ever again. Often that thought proves a bellwether, as it did with Get Heard. More likely though, I forget about all those thoughts when nothing happens.
If anything, the songs seem somewhat more stylised than before. Just this little more arranged in a way that they may appeal to more ears the before. This is no hindrance from enjoying Get Heard. Especially when in the third song, 'Stop Codon', the reigns are released and the band shows its punk roots full out. It makes the EP varied in a way that makes it attractive to listen to.
Take the opening song, 'Sell Yr Love'. It starts with an intro akin to The Cure from long ago, with a more modern guitar or better, less doomy sound. The intro, that returns throughout the song, is of the kind makes me pay attention straight away. The song remains very undercooled, also because of the synth that is underneath it all, and then that violin enters turning the song upside down. That The Cure vibe is something I can't shake, but I like what I'm hearing here. It is so much more music than just a song. The same goes for 'Grrl On Guitar'. Linnea Herzog plays all the right notes here over the super tight rhythm section in which Hand plays this playful bass part, walking over the bass whenever she can.
The EP ends with an alternative rock ballad, 'Her', making it all even more varied, as "Her' explores every angle of the composition, making it ever bigger and more impressive. Linnea's Garden has dived deeper than before and I like what I'm hearing. The band itself calls its music "queer punk rock". Allow me to call it great alternative rock music.
Missing Bernadette when you're called The Bernadette Maries sounds like a very serious occasion, but judging the latest song by the Brussels based band, it can easily do without Bernadette. Being on the blog for the third time since week 1 of this year, the band is starting to become more familiar. Missing Bernadette is a mid tempo song with one foot in the doom music of the 1980s and one in the more upbeat psychedelia of the 2020s. The mix works rather well, with the synths spreading out all over the song providing some light over the dark rhythm guitars under which the drums pound away and lead guitar brings the spotlight. Yes, it sounds familiar as in the way of what musically came before Missing Bernadette and yet Missing Bernadette is more than welcome as an addition to what came before. Album 'Soft' is slated for 18 September. Judging the singles, the wait will be worth it.
In 2024 I wrote a review on Charming Arson's single 'Saving Chelsea', comparing what I heard to The Who, Buffalo Tom and a guitar solo like Jefferson Starship's Craig Chaquico played in the 1970s. The Wednesday of my discontent does not hold any of this. It is an alternative rock song with some 90s influences and mostly dark. Musically it reminds me more of that 90s band from Newark, The Caulfields, best know for being on MTV rotation with 'Devil's Diary'. The Wednesday of my discontent holds the same sort of melody in the chord changes like The Caulfields were good at. What strikes me best, is the way The Wednesday of my discontent develops. From the stern instrumental opening to a more melodic verse and slowly but surely letting it rip in the verses. More and more by the chorus. David Cameron and band score here.
Tape Toy is on route to release its debut album on 28 August. It's called 'Dumb Sites'. With CTRL+ALT+DEL, the command to shut down the computer immediately, the band makes another statement, signalling that 'Dumb Sites' may be an album to be on the watch out for. Like The Bernadette Maries in the above here, the band has a foot in the past and the present and that present aligns with a band like POM. The enthusiasm and energy POM shares with its fans, is found in abundance on CTRL+ALT+DEL. Tape Toy is willing and able to explode and can hold back within the same song, making for very attractive listening. Lead singer and guitarist Roos van Tuil, guitarist Wesley Fransen, bass player Maurice van de Graaf and drummer Marc van Dongen manage to get their fun of making music together across with ease it seems. I do not have the impression the band is still with Mattan Records. It would have fitted in between POM and Fit spot on.
Paddies from Boston that is what the members of Dropkick Murphys are. From the day I ran into them, thanks to my then seven year old son, who ran into a punk compilation record with a funny cover (no, not Toy Dolls, at least that time) and we both became fans have gone to several shows through the years together. With The Body Of An American Dropkick Murphys pays its tribute to Shane McGowan, part of a compilation album full of renditions of McGowan's music. Of course, it is a huge success. Like no other band the Bostonians are able to integrate traditional Irish (folk) instruments into punk music. Many a traditional got the Dropkick Murphys treatment, making it Irish folkpunk to the T. Expect a death, whiskey, drinking and some brawling, but above singing a song together.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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