The New World. Shearwater

The New World is out for some time already. The release came during my holiday. That often makes it hard to catch up on and pay attention to the album after my return. There's simply too much music. Attention it should have deserved at the time. I picked up the album anyway during the past weeks and found myself playing it regularly and liking it more and more. The most surprising thing? How come that somehow the final song's story was familiar to me without having heard it ever before; as far as I'm aware. But, let's start at the beginning.

Shearwater can be found on this blog from the very beginning. All the albums I have listened to through the years I liked at the time, but they are never among my absolute favourites nor played through the years, like other albums get played or are praised in my end of year lists. I think that has to do with the fact that Shearwater albums all sound modest. They are not huge attention grabbers, but exercises in moods and atmospherics.

The New World is no exception, but is, so far, also the exception. Shearwater's latest album has crept up on me over the past two months. Slowly but surely, it made a bigger and bigger impression, but please do not ask me why. I honestly do not know what makes the difference with the albums that came before. Jonathan Meiburg's voice is the same highish, modest voice as always. The music is unobtrusive as always. Almost more late night jazz at the diner kind of music than anything else.

What caught my ear, is the lush arrangements of some of the songs. The way both atmospherics and instruments meander through a song is so masterful. It really creates this lush kind of mood where my ear is caught on a host of melodies that support both the essence of the song and Meiburg's voice. The band has made use of a host of musicians and instruments. The result is an astonishingly wide kind of music that makes The New World a joy to listen to. It is Shearwater and then some more. This most likely is the explanation of my extra shine to The New World.

This is an album to submerge into. Just lay yourself down and let the music wash over you. Allow it to carry you away to wherever it wants you to go to or you want it to take you. All these details to enjoy and my bet is you will hear another detail each time you allow the album in.

It all ends with a spoken word song, 'You And Your Dog'. It tells a story of a walk down the beach, with the sea missing due to an extreme low tide, somewhere in the past of the protagonist. A story not unlike on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' last album 'Wild God', where a phone message is played over music. The music is like the sea crashing into the beach, softly but ongoing forever. The female voice is Laurie Anderson's. A beautiful ending to The New World.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order The New World here:

https://shearwater.bandcamp.com/album/the-new-world-2026 

If I Let It Quiet. Josaleigh Pollett

Josaleigh Pollett maakt vanuit Salt Lake City inmiddels al flink wat jaren bijzondere muziek, maar ze legt de lat nog wat hoger op haar nieuwe album If I Let It Quiet, dat de balans vindt tussen experiment en aangename popsongs.

Ik ken de muziekscene van Salt Lake City eerlijk gezegd niet. De stad bracht ons ooit The Osmonds, maar verder ken ik geen muzikanten uit de hoofdstad van Utah. Tot deze week dan, want dankzij een tip maakte ik kennis met de muziek van Josaleigh Pollett, die laat horen dat er in Salt Lake City wel degelijk interessante muziek wordt gemaakt. If I Let It Quiet kan worden getypeerd als een singer-songwriter album, maar het is wel een singer-songwriter album vol verrassingen en vol uitstapjes buiten de gebaande paden. Josaleigh Pollett zet je soms op het verkeerde been, maar ze schrijft ook popsongs die je alleen maar wilt koesteren. Interessant album.

De Amerikaanse muziekwebsite Paste zette me vorige week op het spoor van de Amerikaanse muzikant Josaleigh Pollett. De non-binaire muzikant uit Salt Lake City, Utah, heeft de afgelopen tien jaar al heel wat muziek uitgebracht, maar ook voor Paste kwam het in juli verschenen album If I Let It Quiet kennelijk als een verrassing. Paste noemt Josaleigh Pollett immers in de introductie van het album “a hidden treasure”. 

Daar kan ik me wel in vinden, want If I Let It Quiet is een fascinerend album en ook de vorige albums van de Amerikaanse muzikant zijn op zijn minst bijzonder en absoluut de moeite waard. Van deze albums vind ik If I Let It Quiet het meest toegankelijk en het album is wat mij betreft toegankelijk genoeg om in de smaak te vallen bij een grote groep liefhebbers van singer-songwriter muziek. 

Het nieuwe album van Josaleigh Pollett is absoluut te beschrijven als een singer-songwriter album, maar het is zeker geen doorsnee album in het genre. Het is een album dat flarden bevat van mooie en tijdloze folksongs, die makkelijk verleiden met mooie klanken en de zeer aangename stem van Josaleigh Pollett, maar de muzikant uit Salt Lake City maakt ook muziek die heel makkelijk van kleur verschiet en je minstens net zo makkelijk op het verkeerde been zet. 

De songs op het album klinken deels organisch, maar er wordt ook regelmatig elektronica ingezet, waardoor de muziek van Josaleigh Pollett ook kan opschuiven richting indiepop. Niet alleen de muziek op het album verschiet makkelijk van kleur, want ook de stem van Josaleigh Pollett kan meerdere kanten op, wat nog wat extra contrast toevoegt aan het album. 

Het zorgt voor een serie aansprekende maar ook lekker eigenzinnige songs, die anders klinken dan die op de meeste andere albums die worden gemaakt in de genres die Josaleigh Pollett bestrijkt. Nu opereert de Amerikaanse muzikant ook vanuit een andere scene, want Salt Lake City is in meerdere opzichten ver verwijderd van Nashville of Los Angeles. 

Het album klinkt nog wat eigenzinniger door de productie van Jordan Watko, die in het Japanse Osaka woont, waardoor het album op bijzondere wijze werd opgenomen. De afstand tussen Salt Lake City en Osaka zorgt voor een bijzondere sfeer, waarin de tijd af en toe lijkt te verspringen. Jordan Watko maakte overigens een bijzonder album onder de naam Crowd Shy, maar dit album ben ik nooit tegengekomen. 

Ook de andere muzikanten die zijn te horen op het album, ken ik niet, maar If I Let It Quiet is in muzikaal opzicht een spannend album, waarop van alles te ontdekken valt. Toen ik het album voor het eerst beluisterde, boden de songs van Josaleigh Pollett betrekkelijk weinig houvast, maar uiteindelijk valt alles op zijn plek en worden de bijzondere songs op het album stuk voor stuk memorabel. 

Ook de vorige albums van de Amerikaanse muzikant staan vol bijzondere songs, waardoor ik er opeens een interessant stapeltje albums bij heb. If I Let It Quiet is wat mij betreft het meest geschikte album om in te stappen, maar het album maakt je zeer waarschijnlijk nieuwsgierig naar het andere werk van Josaleigh Pollett, die af en toe stevig experimenteert, maar de toegankelijke popsong ook nooit helemaal uit het oog verliest. Wederom een hele interessante tip van Paste dus.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt If I Let It Quiet hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://josaleighpollett.bandcamp.com/album/if-i-let-it-quiet 

Perfume. Elisa Smith

How long can I maintain the position that I do not like country music? There's country music I heard when growing up as a teenager. There the position is quite clear and little has changed. Let's say from the second half of the 1990s things blurred with bands like The Walkabouts, that brilliant Hazeldine album 'Digging You Up', my favourite The Jayhawks albums and later The Hackensaw Boys' take on bluegrass and a country singer like Karen Jonas. They all tilted my look on what country (and folk) music could also be.

Enter Elisa Smith. The Boston based singer accepted a prize for female song of the year at the Grand Ole Opry in 2025 for the song 'Nashville Don't Forget Me'. On her new album Perfume she skates past several forms of country music in a way Karen Jonas does and, yes, a few songs make shudder, a few really rock and a few are just so beautiful. More than enough to make me write a few words and put my modest spotlight on Perfume.

The album opens with a stark country rocker 'Angels (Who Take No Shit)'. The short intro even promises more than is delivered. The lyrics take a stance for women. Musically this could be a Karen Jonas rocker, while in the song's music and lyrics Elisa Smith also tips her hat to Dolly Parton in a few ways and adds her own defiant stance. As an album opener it is extremely strong but also a little misleading, because after the next song 'The Hard Way', the mood of the album changes slowly but surely. 'The Hard Way' rocks in a more dirty way then 'Angels (Who Don't Take Shit)'. A violin is added as a lead instrument, like Papa John Creach added violin pepper to Jefferson Starship in the mid-70s. Elisa Smith has an edge to her voice that suits this rocking side of her music just fine.

The third song 'Smut' brings Perfume into Hazeldine territory. The tempo goes down and country and rock blend into a ballad where slow notes take over, space is created in the rhythm that an organ is allowed to fill here and there, making the contrast between the full band participation and the holding back parts extra strong. Anyone who is not familiar with Hazeldine's 'Drive' pay heed and check it out.

In the fifth song the mood changes for real for the first time. The country flavour takes over, with the violin, acoustic guitar and peddle steel taking over big time. 'Spilled Whiskey' is a song that is on the edge of my country tolerance. Like Rory Block did decades ago with her song 'Lovin' Whiskey'.

The rocking side returns with 'Gimme A Mustang', that sits in nicely with the opening song. 'Motherin'' may be up tempo, it does fall more to my bad side. It may have more to do with Elisa Smith singing with a country timbre than the song itself. The country/blue grass song 'Made To Break' is in the same corner. This is the side I just don't take a shine to.

And then something happens that is the real surprise of the album. Perfume moves into its third shape, country ballads. Although, the music may be too much seen from a rock side of music, Elisa Smith creates pure beauty in 'My Daughter's Hand' and 'Spin Me Around Again'. Especially the latter song really resonates within me. What is extra telling about the quality of her singing, is that she carries this song so well also. She rocks and can sing with a soft voice. The final and title song 'Perfume' adds another ballad to the whole and again a beautiful one.

Summing up, with Perfume Elisa Smith has shown exactly where I stand with country music. Overall Perfume wins out on points easily.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Perfume here:

https://elisasmith.bandcamp.com/album/perfume 

2026, week 39. 10 singles

I just read that France has it 112th day this year with temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius or more. The south of my more northern country may hit a tropical day once again as well, on 28 September! But let's drill, baby drill! Today I was introduced to the term "endtime fascism". I can't get my head around endtime, eschatological fanatics. It never came about, so far. Besides, even if all humans were wiped off the planet, Earth will go on, in whatever form and with whatever lifeform(s), to start all over again, until the sun heats us up a bit too much, billions of years from now. And today, we have the music as always. So, enjoy!

Avalanche. Kant

Psychedelic rock comes in many guises. Kant from Aschaffenburg in Germany can be found in the louder segment. The band is more rock and then adds the psychedelic side in the sound it puts on its guitars and the effects here and there on singer Marius Seidl's voice. Expect a loud riff played in (harmonic) stereo that charges through most of the song. It's a while before Seidl's voice can be heard for the first time. The light and shade in the song is taken care of in a way that makes the song surprising to listen to, while the drums and bass charge on an on as if the last bus is in sight but the bus stop still a long way off. The band's third album, 'Echoes Of Unfortunate Times' will be released on 23 October.

Mean To Be Mean. Swansea Sound

Please allow me to get confused, but how many bands are Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey active in? I can't keep up, help! The "problem" is I seem to like them all. Swansea Sound is the new iteration that I'm getting myself acquainted with. Single Mean To Be Mean is just so much fun. It is jumpy, bouncy, upbeat and apologetic as both Amelia and co-singer Hue Williams "did not mean to be mean". Both are retelling a story about a review by Williams of Amelia's band a long time a go and here they are in a band together in the 2020s. In fact, the band will release its third album come 13 November. If the songs on 'Pre-Post-Truth' are as much fun as this single, count me in.

I Got An Idea feat. Mark Mothersbaugh. Gary Calamar

I Got An Idea brings me back a decade or five. The song is totally post-punk with a 60s undertone in there. The music does not excuse itself for being raw. The lead guitar is distorted, the effects in the back and foreground are all a bit weird. Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh helps out on vocals. I remember the band from circa 1980 but for the life of me can't remember a song. At the time I did not like it at all. I do like I Got An Idea though, because it is so sprightly and in its own weird way extremely upbeat. Gary Calamar is a new name to me. His label Big Stir introduces him as follows: "LA singer-songwriter and all-around music scene Renaissance man (influential DJ, in-demand TV music supervisor and rock author)". I'm letting the weird sounds and noises go through my ears once again, deciding that I certainly want to hear more by Calamar. That opportunity arises on 23 October when 'Odd Numb3rs And Slanted Rhymes' is released.

Birds Die Out Of Sight. D.B. Caulfield

It is not so long from now and Amsterdam band Queen's Pleasure will be no more. The band is doing a farewell tour this fall. After drummer Sal Rubinstein, who debuted as RubinCarter last spring, it is now Teun Putker who releases a solo single under the name D.B. Caulfield. There's a pattern as well, Ruben Carter - Holden Caulfield or is it just coincidence? Whatever it is, D.B. Caulfield's Birds Die Out Of Sight, is a singer-songwriter track, soft and delicate in the right places, slightly more solid in the other. A surprisingly rough sounding lead guitar tears through the song that in general is the modesty itself. Pay attention and you will find some more interesting details. From the little bells to synths, there's far more going on in Birds Die Out Of Sight than I suspected at the start. And, yes, where do birds go to die? There are so many of them and yet ...

Xono. Quiz Show

Two and a half years down the line New Jersey trio Quiz Show, Chris Matthews (guitars and vocals), Jesse Krakow (bass, organ, and backing vocals), Joe Billy III (drums, backing vocals, acoustic guitar), returns to this blog with its latest single Xono, from an EP with the same name. Xono is an alternative rock song with besides power a prickly side that puts it apart from smooth rock many prefer to hear. Quiz Show puts in elements that are able to please, but like a band as The B52s, it adds quirky parts that make it necessary to listen to Xono again and again to realise and appreciate the extend of pleasing within the song fully. Take in the bass part for example when it is not in a unisono riff with the guitar. And especially listen to the bridge. Here Quiz Show really shows its skills. The EP is released on 28 September.

to stop the world turning EP. Freyja Elsy

Another debutant on this blog is Freyja Elsy. The singer from the United Kingdom released a new EP after her debut EP from 2023, ‘Modern Artifice’. On to stop the world turning she presents a dreamy kind of music with one foot in the past of both Enya style folk music and Massive Attack style hiphop, while a modern production that includes both atmospheric sounds as classic elements of (synth?) strings and piano puts the other foot in 2026. Freyja Elsy sings with a relaxed voice. Like in 'Control' where the influence of Massive Attack is most obvious. The link to a track like 'Teardrop' is quite evident. The listener is enveloped by the music like the fetus in the video is in its mother's womb. For me Control is the price track on to stop the world turning. The dreamy atmosphere is kept up by Freyja Elsy on the whole four track EP. Although I do not want to hear music like this at every moment of the day, there definitely are moments when she strikes just the right mood. to stop the world turning is beautifully made and in great taste.

Alone The Walrus. St. Yuma

Quite often there's a lot of noisy music to be found in the weekly singles post. St. Yuma decided to put a stop to that and presents Alone The Walrus. St. Yuma makes its debut on this blog, so an introduction is welcome. St. Yuma is Stevan Alva from Seattle in the state of Washington. Alone The Walrus is his debut single on the Fully Time Hobby label. The title is to be taken literally, as the song is about a walrus called Alone, "inspired by Worried Walrus, written and illustrated by Richard Hefter and published in 1977". Alone is swimming in an ocean that is so tranquil, it must be a desired place for everyone wanting to reach this level of relaxation. Stevan Alva sings with a dreamy voice and the music follows his soft voice for the whole of the way. During the song a female voice and more instruments are added, all adding to the listening experience Alone The Walrus offers. This is a debut single that promises a lot more.

Teenage Kicks. Christina Jean & her Allstars

In 1979, I had no idea, I think. I can't remember hearing the song then. Come 2026 and Teenage Kicks is one of my favourite punk singles ever. I think it only kicked in really when I bought The Undertones' singles collection cd at a mid price. Most of the album is more than good. Take the b-side 'Mars Bar' as a proof of point. Although I bought three of the four The Undertones albums around 1982, except for the first one, it took me a few more years to become a fan of the band. Come 2026 and I receive a cover version of Christina Jean & her Allstars. The problem with anyone singing a The Undertones song, no one has a strange voice like Feargal Sharkey. Not even the guy who replaced him in the revived The Undertones. That aside, what can you do wrong with a song like Teenage Kicks as long as you get that groove going. That is exactly what Christine Jean and band got, presenting us with a nice cover version of a fantastic song.

teeth filed down. Nathalie Miller

Nathalie Miller has made it twice to this blog with her EP 'like you used to' and with a single from that EP in 2025. Today she's back with the single teeth filed down. Again, it is song that can be qualified as a pop song, but also again, she does things in the song that makes it not a part of the beaten pop track. Again, I like the way she multitracks her voice. It gives the song and Nathalie Miller as an artist an authentic sound. The lead guitar is the instrument attracting attention. Played in a higher register, playing the same two chords over and over in a tightly strummed way. Although the song seems to continue in one pace, watch a little more closely and you will notice the mood changes ms. Miller throws into the whole. Once again a song I really like by Nathalie Miller. No doubt more will follow.

In The Path Of Hurricanes. Heather Nova

In 2015 and 2025 Heather Nova can be found on this blog, both in reviews by Erwin Zijleman. This is my first words on an artist who is around for 30 years. I like the pace of In The Path Of Hurricanes. The song has this way in which it keeps going, with the exception of an interlude. Without loudness or violence, the (electronic) rhythm just goes on and on. Around it are swaths of synths, guitar atmospherics and later on something I can't put a name to. Over it Heather Nova sings with a quiet voice that she may be in her head or lost in a slipstream. Are things what they are?, this seems to be the theme of In The Path Of Hurricanes. The combination of the voice and the dreamy, yet firm music simply works. It proves for me that no matter your expectations of an artist, you should always give a new song a chance. More follows on 30 October when 'The Orchard' is released.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Hiding Places. Genevieve Stokes

De naam Genevieve Stokes zal niet bij iedereen een belletje doen rinkelen, maar ze maakte bijna twee jaar geleden een buitengewoon knap debuutalbum, dat in juli werd gevolgd door het mooie en bijzondere Hiding Places.

Ik heb geen idee hoe het Genevieve Stokes is vergaan sinds haar geweldige debuutalbum en weet ook niet waarom ze haar nieuwe album in eigen beheer en met bescheiden middelen heeft gemaakt. Het deze week verschenen (mini?) album Hiding Places klinkt anders dan het debuutalbum van Genevieve Stokes, maar ook dit keer laat ze horen dat ze beschikt over veel talent. Hiding Places is een behoorlijk sober en ook wat donker album, dat het waarschijnlijk goed gaat doen in de herfst en de winter, maar ook midden in de zomer verdienen de nieuwe songs van de Amerikaanse muzikante alle aandacht. Ik ben nu al benieuwd naar haar volgende muzikale verrichtingen, maar ook Hiding Places is prachtig.

Een kleine twee jaar geleden schreef ik een recensie van het debuutalbum van Genevieve Stokes. De jonge muzikante uit Portland, Maine, moest met haar debuutalbum With a Lightning Strike concurreren met stapels andere albums in het hokje indiepop, maar ik was echt enorm gecharmeerd en onder de indruk van het album. 

Het is een album dat me af en toe deed denken aan de muziek van Fiona Apple en dat is zo ongeveer het mooiste en meest bijzondere vergelijkingsmateriaal dat ik kan bedenken. Ik noemde in mijn recensie van With a Lightning Strike niet alleen de naam van Fiona Apple, maar ook die van Billie Eilish, Regina Spektor en Phoebe Bridgers en ook dat zijn muzikanten die ik heel hoog heb zitten. 

Genevieve Stokes leverde met haar debuutalbum een zeer aansprekend indiepopalbum af, maar het is ook een album met een interessant eigen geluid en een album vol diepgang en avontuur. Ik noemde het album in de herfst van 2024 dan ook terecht jaarlijstjesmateriaal, wat het extra jammer maakt dat het album een paar maanden later ontbrak in mijn jaarlijstje over het betreffende jaar. 

With a Lightning Strike deed volgens mij sowieso niet heel veel en dat is doodzonde. Toen ik With a Lightning Strike deze week weer eens beluisterde, was ik behoorlijk onder de indruk van het album, dat de competitie met de beste indiepopalbums van het moment makkelijk aan kan. 

Of het deze week verschenen nieuwe album Hiding Places voor revanche gaat zorgen, waag ik vooralsnog te betwijfelen. Het album werd midden in de zomer uitgebracht en dat is niet het moment waarop de critici en muziekliefhebbers het meest alert zijn. Bovendien is Hiding Places met acht tracks en ruim 21 minuten muziek meer een mini-album dan een volwaardige opvolger van With a Lightning Strike. Het is ook nog eens een album dat het waarschijnlijk beter gaat doen wanneer de dagen korter en kouder worden en dat was op het moment van verschijnen nog ver weg. 

Genevieve Stokes besloot om Hiding Places zelf te maken, zonder druk van platenmaatschappijen die ongetwijfeld de potentie van haar muziek hebben gehoord twee jaar geleden. Hiding Places werd gemaakt met een aantal bevriende muzikanten en werd opgenomen in de garage van haar ouderlijk huis, waar een oude piano zorgde voor de basis van de acht songs op het album. 

Hiding Places is hierdoor niet het album dat Genevieve Stokes zal scharen onder de grote indiepopsterren van het moment, maar het is net als haar debuutalbum een album dat laat horen dat Genevieve Stokes een zeer getalenteerde maar ook eigenzinnige muzikante is. 

Hiding Places doet me in muzikaal en vocaal opzicht minder aan Fiona Apple denken dan het debuutalbum van Genevieve Stokes, maar de nieuwe songs hebben wel de donkere en wat desolate sfeer van de songs van Fiona Apple. Ondanks de inzet van strijkers klinken de songs op Hiding Places uiterst sober, maar dat voorziet de songs ook van een bijzondere schoonheid en intimiteit. Die schoonheid en intimiteit worden versterkt door de mooie stem van Genevieve Stokes, die nog wat extra eigenzinnigheid toevoegt aan de songs op het album. 

Hiding Places zal vanwege de duur en het karakter van het album waarschijnlijk vooral worden gezien als een tussendoortje, maar het is wel een bijzonder mooi en smaakvol tussendoortje, dat laat horen dat Genevieve Stokes er een is om de in de gaten te houden. 

Erwin Zijleman

De Staat. De Staat

I'll own up before I start reviewing. I thought to have heard enough of De Staat. The three coloured mini albums did not get to me and the first songs released of 'De Staat' made me think "been there, done that". I decided to give the album a chance anyway, and then things changed. 'De Staat' is a totally different beast, but starting off as something very familiar sounding.

Well, okay, a drumming intro is different. From there sounds come in, including an emergency signal like droning sound. Torre Florim is his strict, military sergeant sounding self in the repeated lyrics. The sound are swirling synth drones. This isn't a song, it's pure effect. And yet, somehow it all does add up into a frightening version of a song. Electronic hell. I can imagine this being played in a torture cell for hours and hours and hours on end at tremendous levels. And yet, it is an impressive album opener.

'The Fire' comes up next. Again rhythm with loads of electronics but a vocal melody that can be reproduced by fans easily. A song like De Staat is famous for for well over a decade now. The synths are recorded at such a level that the sound seems to fall apart in the process. Again, a child's verse comes by, like 'Old MacDonald's Farm' a long time ago. 'Row, Row Your Boat' this time. It made me wonder when and where I learned these songs. Did my Australian mother sing them to us when small? I also vaguely remember a booklet, from high school? I really don't know.

To think that De Staat was a solo project of Torre Florim in 2009 and after the release of 'Wait For Evolution' needed a band and that in 2026 that band is still together. That is rather remarkable. That band now plays some of the deepest tracks it ever recorded and is experimenting with other forms of music as well. And that is where 'De Staat' gets more interesting.

I've seen the band live several times and seeing Torre Florim live things can become so intense that it is hard to see the line between addressing demagoguery and being a demagogue. Fact is, the theme of everything surrounding us from demagogues to fake news and back, is one of the topics on 'De Staat'. Florim even calls it the reason for naming his then project De Staat.

Photo: Kees Klein

'De Staat' is an extremely varied album, it makes the industrial songs, like 'The King' and 'The Fire', where hordes can march to, only one of several types of songs. Expect a more gentle side of De Staat as well and those with a little patience (or forgetting to turn off the cd) will get the surprise of their De Staat associated life. De Staat shows what you can do to the same song by going outside of its comfort zone and jump through circa 20 others. Jazz!

'The Underdog' kicks off as if David Guetta had a spasm or two while recording a new song, but then hear the song being turned inside out, with Torre Florim finding his inner Thom Yorke. A Radiohead influence can be heard more often on 'De Staat'. 'The Underdog shows a softer and more sensitive side, while having a huge industrial house component as well.

This is just one of the ways De Staat surprises. Listen to how a pitch can change within a song or how a choir is sampled, around which a whole song is built. Despite all the effects, some songs are far more bare than De Staat has ever released them before. In contrast with these strict marching orders of songs, all sorts of musical flowers bloom as if in the bulb fields of the Bollenstreek in spring.

Here I was thinking on the basis of the singles I'd heard, to have been there and done that and was presented with the most varied album De Staat ever made. On De Staat, the band shows itself both in its guise of ultimate musical endgame and at its most varied, making De Staat an extremely interesting album. And I like it, a lot.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Take me to church or Don't Look Back In Anger? The Oasis movie

Living in The Netherlands it is hard to grasp the popularity of Oasis in its home country. Over here things have always been somewhat lukewarm. The band never made it to arena sized shows (as far as I'm aware), did not score a really, really big hit single and was more in the news because of the "chaos" as the Gallagher brothers chose to call it in this documentary movie than for the quality of the albums after '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?'. So, the band announcing two Johan Cruyff ArenA shows last week, had me thinking, that's not possible. It'll never fill it.

Before I go on. Yes, I have all the albums, except the greatest hits one and almost all the singles. Three or four are missing I think. All predate this blog by a few years at minimum. I never had the inclination to watch the band live. Who knew if the band would show up and in what condition?

Of course I noticed the collective euphoria capturing the U.K. and Ireland upon the announcement of a tour in 2025. I heard the stories of the variable pricing and ridiculous prices people paid to be present. And then I saw Don't Look Back In Anger. The movie has many interesting details and stories, but go and watch it yourself to get them or don't. There was something special that struck me and it is played out in the movie in a very noticeable way.

In the movie you see a pastor holding his sermon in a church and then the camera turns to his flock. It shows 10, 15 at most, elderly people sitting there listening to his text on forgiveness, based on the concert about to take place close by. And then you see the audience around the world at these concerts and it is clear to me that an Oasis concert is a religious or at a minimum spiritual experience to the tens of thousands present. Total exaltation, moved to tears as if Christ has returned to earth and just blessed them all.

The other thing that struck me that Noel Gallagher was not prepared for this magnitude of exultation and worship. It is his brother Liam who grabs his hand before the start of the first show and brought him to the stage, giving his brother the credits for the songs. Further on it is Noel who learns that he has to humble at times because his little brother is the frontman of Oasis. In a sense, he is Oasis with his subtle art of not giving a fuck, "which is hard work". Go and see if that's really true or not. Fact is, Liam was as ready as he ever was, and so was Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs, as the brothers learned that his rhythm guitar playing is the heart of the band.

And the music? My guess is the shows were fantastic. Most likely far better played than ever before. As far as I could hear, all the songs were from the first two albums and some famous B-sides. Oasis in the 2020s is very much a band worth seeing live.

Ends well all's? For now it seems like it with a new tour in 2026. What is missing is a great new album. Does the band still have that in it? Time will tell.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Alas! The Bomb Voyage ... Mad Tab

Mad Tab is a punk - ska band from Huntingdon Beach, California and the band has exactly these two faces. On the one hand relentless punk music and on the other the ska rhythms from Jamaica, perhaps by way of the U.K. circa 1979.

It is quite a stretch to follow the band's punk side. The album link I received presents the songs in alphabetical order and punk is what the wind blows. At the time of writing, I can't find the album's formal 17 song track list.

Not so long ago, I wrote, in single's review of another punk band, that I did not know if I was able to stomach a whole album by that band. I was getting to that point with Alas! The Bomb Voyage ..., when the mood changed and the first ska track came in.

My track selection starts with 'All Live'. My attention goes out mostly to the drummer. Google's AI tells me his name is Rob Wheeler, the bio coming with the album doesn't mention the name, so I don't know for certain. Fact is, that the dry sound is so tight, so extremely intense that it just leaves me in awe. How can anyone play this fast and so dominant and still be on the beat the whole time and have time for accents? The rest of the band follows the rhythm of course and seems more like a machine than a band.

At the same time there are interesting vocal melodies over the onslaught of music (in the most positive sense of the word). Surprising addition is the keyboard / synth that comes with and sounds through the music, which is pretty unusual for a punk band. According to Google it consists of, beside Wheeler of course of Graham “Gram Tab” Kirlin on guitar, Dave" Dave Tab" Malyjurek  on keyboards, analogue synth and Scott Beattie on bass. All four alternate on vocals, the differences can be heard quite clearly. In that the band reminds me most of Rancid and System of a Down. Production was in the hands of former Fishbone bassist Norwood Fisher.

By the time we've reached the letter G in my order, 'Gone' is still up tempo and punk and then the change sets in 'Good Boi' has a ska rhythm and would have fallen in nicely with a band like The Specials. Jumpy uptempo and very danceable. Both two tones and nutty boys would have enjoyed themselves with the track and the same goes for 'Loose Teeth'. By that time I have gotten into the pace of Alas! The Bomb Voyage ... Is it an album that I can play a lot at home? No, there would be too many objections. Is it an album that I can play when on my own? Hell, yes!

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Castle Hill. Mel Parsons

Iedereen die de Nieuw-Zeelandse muziekscene in de gaten houdt, kent waarschijnlijk de talenten van singer-songwriter Mel Parsons, die met haar nieuwe album Castle Hill weer fraai werk toevoegt aan haar bijzondere oeuvre.

Mel Parsons en haar band en producer stapten zonder songs een Nieuw-Zeelandse studio in, waar onder hoge druk toch het een en ander in elkaar werd gesmeed. Het levert in augustus een nieuw album op van de talentvolle muzikante uit Christchurch. Mel Parsons maakte indruk met haar vorige albums, waarop ze vooral imponeerde met haar stem. Die stem staat ook centraal op haar nieuwe album, waarop de muziek net wat ruwer klinkt. De tijdsdruk in de studio heeft ook een positief effect gehad, want Castle Hill is een energiek klinkend album. Het is ook een album met zeer persoonlijke songs, die met veel gevoel worden vertolkt door de wederom prachtig zingende Mel Parsons.

Natuurlijk was het de Nieuw-Zeelandse muziekwinkel Flying Out die me een paar jaar geleden wees op de muziek van Mel Parsons. Ik keek wekelijks uit naar de nieuwsbrief van de muziekwinkel uit Auckland, die me de afgelopen jaren een enorme stapel interessante tips heeft opgeleverd. Flying Out sloot drie maanden geleden helaas voorgoed haar deuren, maar de muziek van Mel Parsons weet me inmiddels gelukkig op eigen kracht te bereiken. 

Het in augustus verschenen Castle Hill is het zevende album van de muzikante uit Christchurch en de opvolger van het iets meer dan twee jaar geleden verschenen Sabotage. Ik leerde de muziek van Mel Parsons kennen in 2018 toen haar vierde album Glass Heart verscheen. Het is een album dat direct indruk maakt met de prachtige stem van de Nieuw-Zeelandse muzikante, maar Glass Heart valt ook op door de zeer fraaie productie van de gelouterde Mitchell Froom, die het album heeft voorzien van een mooi en sfeervol geluid. 

Sindsdien werkt Mel Parsons met producer Josh Rogan, die ook twee keer fraai werk leverde. Sabotage was twee jaar geleden met nog geen 29 minuten muziek aan de korte kant, maar Mel Parsons leverde wel kwaliteit. Dat doet ze ook met Castle Hill, dat gelukkig wel weer een wat langere speelduur heeft. 

Het nieuwe album van Mel Parsons werd opgenomen in Castle Hill Village, in een nationaal park op ruim een uur rijden van Christchurch. Ook op haar zevende album werkt Mel Parsons samen met producer Josh Rogan, die net als de leden van haar band zonder voorbereiding afreisde naar de studio in Castle Hill Village. 

In de kleine studio was maar net genoeg ruimte voor de Nieuw-Zeelandse muzikante en haar band en dat hoor je. De songs op Castle Hill werden noodgedwongen live in de studio opgenomen en dat pakt goed uit. Het album klinkt net wat ruwer en minder geproduceerd dan zijn voorgangers en ook wat energieker. Gitaren staan ook dit keer centraal in het geluid van Mel Parsons, die meestal het etiket rootsmuziek opgeplakt krijgt. Dat etiket vind ik niet altijd van toepassing op haar muziek, maar Castle Hill past redelijk goed in het hokje rootsmuziek. 

Er is hoorbaar minder gesleuteld aan het geluid van Mel Parsons dan op bijvoorbeeld Glass Heart, dat duidelijk het stempel bevat van Mitchell Froom, die overigens is te horen in een van de songs op het nieuwe album. Castle Hill klinkt wat minder opgepoetst en daar is niets mis mee. Het geluid op het album is warm en sfeervol en vormt een mooie basis voor de zang van Mel Parsons. 

De Nieuw-Zeelandse muzikante liet op haar vorige albums horen dat ze beschikt over een hele mooie stem en die stem schittert ook op haar nieuwe album. Het is een album met persoonlijke songs, waarin ook een zwaar thema als misbruik en emotionele mishandeling niet uit de weg wordt gegaan en Mel Parsons zichzelf zeker niet spaart.

Met het net wat ruwer en directer klinkende Castle Hill heeft Mel Parsons een album afgeleverd dat iets toevoegt aan haar mooie oeuvre en het is wederom een album dat haar klasse onderstreept. Alleen al vanwege de stem van de muzikante uit Christchurch is Castle Hill al een goed album, maar de lekker ruwe en hoorbaar met veel plezier gemaakte muziek op het album en de uitstekende songs tillen ook Castle Hill weer flink boven de middelmaat uit. Flying Out is helaas niet meer, maar de mooie muziek uit Nieuw-Zeeland is gelukkig gebleven.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Castle Hill hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://melparsons.bandcamp.com/album/castle-hill 

Stay Lonely. Blood Red Shoes

When Laura-Mary Carter released her solo record last year and Steven Ansell was producing more and more bands, I feared I had lost another band that I had come to like a lot. So I was pleasantly surprised when a new Blood Red Shoes single was announced before the summer. When the album was announced I took Stay Together to be the title. It still sounds more appropriate in my frame of mind than Stay Lonely, that it actually is.

All these thoughts aside, Stay Lonely is a fantastic album. My favourite so far is 'In Time To Voices' but the album has a clear contender for that spot. On the past two albums the duo brought in more electronics but the songs were not absolute top and here the mix is there once again but with the songs to match the best that came before.

Stay Lonely is an album that is impossible to put on stage as a duo, so I expect some sidekicks on stage just like when I saw the band some years ago. Besides the trickbox of effects on the guitar of Laura-Mary Carter there's a host of other sounds. Never a dull moment where the sounds are concerned, as usual.

What I really like on Stay Lonely is the slow singing in several of the songs. Without overemphasising, both Carter and Ansell take it slow on the album. That combination of singing and the quality of the melodies create songs that sound like real hits in my universe. It makes Stay Lonely an instant contender for record of the year in my book. It is exactly what I missed on 'Get Tragic' and 'Ghosts On Tape'. The smooth pop element underneath it all was (somewhat) lacking. Both albums are good, but do not have that little extra that Stay Lonely has in abundance.

Promo photo

I'm going to focus on two songs, 'Screams' and 'Two Weeks' to try and explain what I mean. 'Screams' after a few listening sessions makes me feel like I've know it all my life, without having me trying to find the hook in my head what it is that makes it so familiar. The song progresses so smoothly. It makes me want to sing the chorus all day long. 'Two Weeks' starts far more alternatively. Carter's guitar(s) are far more prominent, but again it is Ansell singing lead, this time with a great harmony from Carter behind him. Again the chorus is so smooth, the Moog sound behind it makes the music float as it were. The two are singing perfectly together. Just two examples of far more on offer on Stay Lonely.

Commercially Blood Red Shoes may not become bigger than it is now. With Stay Lonely the duo shows the world that it is far from spent where inspiration is concerned. Stay together would have been a good title indeed and I for one am glad they did just that.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Stay Lonely here:

https://jazzlife.bandcamp.com/album/stay-lonely 

2026, week 38. 10 singles

'Summer's Almost Gone', Jim Morrison sang on The Doors' 'Waiting For The Sun' album (that does not contain the single of that name). I notice it when I go outside. Spiderwebs span the back alley, everything is more humid. Fierce rain alternates with bright light from a lower hanging, thus more blinding, sun. Summer may be on the way out, music is on the way in, as the autumn releases pour in abundantly. Again, here's a wide variety of music. So. enjoy!

Magic 8Ball. Integra Pink

We start this week with Integra Park, a Southern Californian band with a very dreamy rock sound. Singer Leo Mendez has that soft voice that makes you listen to him. Behind him the bass and drums lay down a strict pace, while around him melodic guitar parts are swirling around. A swath of synth sounds come in and out of the song like mist on an early morning. It reminds me of bands like Marjorie Fair, Constant Smiles and Marlin's Dreaming. All bands that lay/laid down a very specific and relaxing atmosphere while hitting the nail on the head in the meantime. Integra Pink is a totally new name to me, so I have nothing to compare Magic 8Ball to as far as this band is concerned. What I'm hearing is certainly to my liking. Knuckles (Right) will be released on 14 November. By that date we'll all know more.

Lungs. Lydia Saint George

Integra Park's single Magic8Ball is dreamy and so is Lydia Saint George's Lungs. Which song came first to me 'Harry's Theme' of 'Orinoco Flow'? It is irrelevant, as Lungs fits into that category. Mystic sounds that I associate with the mist rolling over the Irish landscape. The smell of peat in my nose and the possibility of running into a leprechaun. I do not know whether peat can be smelled in North Carolina where Lydia Saint George now lives, she has caught the Celtic folk atmosphere spot on and gives it a hint of the modern in the right places, as the recording technique allows easily for that. The double tracked vocals add a little extra to the mystique, as it suggest a ghost track running behind the original vocal recording. An intriguing track Lungs is.

Green Light. Part Time Signals

With a third dreamy single, it is already the theme of week 38's singles post. The dreamy part sits mostly in the vocals. The music is of a delicious laziness that suggests a long drawn out Sunday morning somewhere between sleeping and waking. Green Light just sort of rolls over me like a slow wave of lukewarm water. Three songs in today, three first timers on this blog. Part Time Signals is a band from Wales working towards its second album 'Ducks Back, Baby', to be released on 6 November. The four members all have a history in other bands, all names totally unknown to me. Green Light is a soft track, filled with subtle sounds and soft accents. The accents are there though all over the intro and verses and it makes a difference. It prevents you from drifting away. I'm not sure whether a whole album filled with Green Lights would be palatable to me, one Green Light certainly is. For references on this song/music, look at 'Magic 8Ball' above.

Are You… After Elmer 

Beware, before listening (and not just because the dreamy part of this post is over). Before I was able to type anything the song was already over. 34 seconds! It must the shortest song reviewed here. The good news first. Rotterdam punk band After Elmer released a new song, with more to come in the fall. The bad news is that this will be the last we hear from After Elmer, as the band is calling it quits, like so many other contemporary bands do. You wouldn't think so from just listening to Are You... After Elmer puts the pedal to the metal from the very start. Little melodies come from the lead guitar, there's a beautiful harmony in what could have been a chorus in a one minute 8 seconds long song. Alas, it ends with a nice discord chord at the end, with a deep metal guitar sound. Yes, a band can impress in just 34 seconds.

Swarm. Tramhaus

'Plovdiv' was the first single released from the upcoming album 'Blister' (9 October). With Swarm Tramhaus has caught a trendy word for its new single. A swarm of drones, a swarm of AI agents, all coming with a negative connotation. Not Swarm. Tramhaus shows more or less a new side to itself. Gone is the postpunk, enter alternative rock and a very extreme light and shade plays out in the music. Swarm is a song I instantly like. The two guitars play an interesting game together. Lucas Jansen and Nadya van Osnabrugge alternate the lead vocals. Jansen is his self, but the angelicly sung question "can you believe it?" with music and intensity out of the studio, makes the song very interesting to listen to. Julia Vroegh's bass gets the outro. Deep and slowed down. Swarm is a great new single for Tramhaus. Only three weeks left to go for 'Blister'.

Quiz On The Radio. Plastic Family

More music from The Netherlands, though Rotterdam 2, Amsterdam 1. Plastic Family returns to this blog with a great pop single that brings together pop from the 60s with indie vigour. 'Love & Heartbreak In High School' was the debut single and reading my review it fits nicely with Quiz On The Radio. If anything it brings to mind Gruppo Sportivo from the 'Ten Mistakes' album. An upbeat sound around a sad/teenage drama themed lyric. The only thing missing is the organ. Plastic Family is able to present an upbeat mood leading to the quiz show on the radio. The Beatles are referenced in a small sequence, 'On My Radio' is quoted for a few seconds. Of course, the quiz goes wrong, again, and the girl friend decides she has to go. Tragedy all over, except in the music. In November the single is released on 7". For now it is available digitally.

Compulsion. Black Doldrums

Black Doldrums' previous single was called 'Repetition'. The word comes by regularly on its new single Compulsion, but then doesn't compulsion lead to repetition of something. The goth side of the London based band comes forward in the strongest of ways. All is black, like in the heyday of darkness in the early 1980s. Joy Division and follow up New Order to name two bands. The darkest The Cure of 'Faith' and 'Pornography' another. Black Doldroms obviously is a fan. Singer Kevin Gibbard shows the darkest side of his voice and the music matches perfectly. Compulsion has the drive to underscore the title. The beat goes on and on. The lead guitar melodies bring the faintest of lights. In the intro a synth sound flies around like bats in utter darkness. They do not touch you but you can feel the flutter of their wings on your cheeks. The mood of Compulsion is superb. The album 'Repulsion Compulsion' will be released on 13 November.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. U2

Through the years covers by U2 made it to b-sides of cd singles and to the 'Rattle And Hum' album, the surprise album from 1988 and one of my first cds. And that for a band that in an early review as I recall said that they were bad at playing covers, so decided early on to write their own material. Come 2026 and U2 is part of a project honouring Shane McGowan and thus The Pogues. The album '20th Century Paddy - The Songs of Shane MacGowan' is set for release on 13 November. U2's contribution is not spectacular, but it is nice to hear how the band turns the song into a pop song and not a U2 song. It is the lightest kind of song I ever heard the band play. And that is something to hear. The lead instrument is a marimba? I'm just guessing here. Besides a guitar solo of course. With two EPs and this song the U2 fan is serviced quite well in 2026, yeah! (Just as long as you don't let yourself be fooled by the title of this single. This song has nothing of the yeah, yeah, etc,, at the end of 'Vertigo'. My favourite U2 single ever.)

Ancient Steel. Skyjoggers

It's almost one and a half year go Skyjoggers made their debut on this blog with single 'Tessæil'. Today the band from Tampere in Finland returns with another relentless single. Can it be louder? I do not think it makes any sense to do so. There are some tempo changes and quieter parts. For the most part it's distorted guitars and a drummer who must be the grandson of The Muppets' Animal. Ancient Steel is an instrumental track divided into "akts", where the musical theme or the tempo changes. The heart of the song is strong riffing of guitar and bass over a loud background. If you are into spacerock metal, Skyjoggers is the band to check out.

The Mirror. Burntmill Ghosts

To think we started out so dreamy this week. Boy, did that change. Therefore we end with a punkband from New Jersey. Do not expect smooth punkrock on The Mirror. Burntmill Ghosts pulls several tricks into this song, that make it a far less straightforward song. The trio doesn't just play with a little light and shade. No, it plays with the format of the song by changing the tempo, several times. The pace of the song is altered by playing differently. Fluent chord changes are altered with stop start moments and fast played chords interchanged with long held chords. Just a few examples of what happens throughout. It all ends with a totally different form of song altogether. In other words, an interesting song Burntmill Ghosts' The Mirror is. An album is not due till somewhere next year.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Perfect Place. Lemoncello

Het Ierse duo Lemoncello trok ruim twee jaar geleden flink wat aandacht met een prachtig debuutalbum, maar het is helaas vrij stil gebleven rond de eerder dit jaar verschenen opvolger Perfect Place, die zeker niet minder mooi is.

De Ierse band Lankum gaf de Ierse folk een paar jaar geleden een flinke impuls met albums waarop een bijzondere draai werd gegeven aan traditionele folk. Het leverde albums op met duistere en bezwerende folk die je genadeloos bij de strot greep. Zo meedogenloos was de muziek van Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella niet, maar ook het debuutalbum van Lemoncello was er een die in de smaak viel bij liefhebbers van de door Lankum en ØXN gemaakte folk met een twist. Het is het afgelopen jaar wat stil in het genre, waardoor het tweede album van Lemoncello minder is opgevallen, maar het is wederom een bijzonder fraai album, met een hoofdrol voor de mooie stemmen van de twee Ierse muzikanten.

Het Ierse platenlabel Claddagh Records bestaat al sinds de jaren 50 en was lange tijd vooral gericht op het uitbrengen van nogal traditionele Ierse folk. In 2023 bracht het label echter het briljante CYRM van ØXN uit en dat vond en vind ik nog steeds een van de allerbeste albums van 2023. Ik besloot om het label vanaf dat moment wat beter in de gaten te houden en dat leverde me in 2024 het bijzonder fraaie Yellow Roses van Niamh Bury op en niet veel later het titelloze debuutalbum van Lemoncello, dat ik misschien nog wel mooier vond. 

Lemoncello is een Iers duo dat bestaat uit Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella, die allebei beschikken over een hele mooie stem en hun songs verder inkleuren met gitaar en cello. De stemmen van de twee lijken op het debuutalbum van Lemoncello niet alleen gemaakt voor Ierse folk, maar bovendien voor het soort donkere en bezwerende folk waarmee ØXN in 2023 een verpletterende indruk maakte. 

De muziek van Lemoncello was niet zo duister en beklemmend als de muziek van ØXN en een band als Lankum, maar het debuutalbum van het Ierse tweetal was ook niet op zijn plek in het hokje traditionele Ierse folk. Het debuutalbum van Lemoncello bleek ook nog eens een eersteklas groeialbum, waardoor ik het album nu veel hoger aansla dan twee jaar geleden. 

Mijn aandacht voor Claddagh Records verslapte wat toen er lange tijd geen albums verschenen die mij net zo wisten te raken als de albums van ØXN, Niamh Bury en Lemoncello. Dat is jammer, want in mei verscheen het tweede album van Lemoncello. Perfect Place heeft volgens mij wat minder aandacht gekregen dan het debuutalbum van Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella, want ook muziektijdschriften als Mojo en Uncut wezen me niet of onvoldoende duidelijk op het tweede album van het duo. 

Het heeft echt niets te maken met de kwaliteit van het album, want ik vind Perfect Place nog beter dan het eerste album van Lemoncello. Ik heb weinig informatie over het nieuwe album van het Ierse tweetal, want zelfs op de bandcamp pagina van Lemoncello is niets te vinden. 

Volgens de informatie van Spotify produceerden Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella samen met Ruth O’Mahony Brady het nieuwe album en tekenen ze ook voor het grootste deel van de muziek op Perfect Place, met hier en daar uiterst subtiele toevoegingen van keyboards, bas en drums. Ook dit keer zijn de bijdragen van de cello sfeerbepalend, maar de meeste indruk maken de stemmen van Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella, zeker als ze gecombineerd worden. 

Ook op Perfect Place maken de twee indruk met ingetogen vocalen die makkelijk onder de huid kruipen. Dat doen ook de songs van Lemoncello, die net als op het debuutalbum flink wat invloeden uit de (Ierse) folk bevatten, maar ook een duidelijk eigen geluid hebben. 

Het is net als op het eerste album een bij vlagen behoorlijk donker geluid, maar nog meer dan op het debutalbum staan Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella op Perfect Place garant voor fraaie spanningsbogen, die de songs van Lemoncello voorzien van een hele bijzondere sfeer. Er is tot dusver weinig geschreven over Perfect Place van Lemoncello, maar Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella hebben na hun zo mooie debuutalbum wederom een betoverend mooi folkalbum gemaakt.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Perfect Place hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://lemoncello.bandcamp.com/album/perfect-place 

Soft. The Bernadette Maries

Over this year Brussels based The Bernadette Maries featured several times in the singles section of this blog. So, it should not come as a surprise that the band's debut album Soft follows its singles. Although the band tends to rubricate itself in the shoegaze section, I find myself only partly inclined to go along with this description. Find out why below.

The Bernadette Maries are Guy Tournay (vocals, guitar), Daria (vocals, bass), Romain Rouserez (drums/percussion). Also mentioned is David, as collaborator and live member. The band formed in 2024 and in the same year released its first single, 'Dream Place', followed by more singles and an EP, 'LvvV' in 2025. Come 2026 and debut album Soft sees the light of day.

The band mixes shoegaze, with dreamy sequences with a pop undertone. Smashing Pumpkins is a band the members must have heard. 'Happy Song' tells you that with ease. One of the singles, 'ESO' does even more so, but let us return to the opening song and name giver of the album, 'Soft'. Here the two contrasts already come together. The dark guitar sounds of shoegaze are prominent the in intro and move to the (far) background in the opening verse. The other guitars are like those that can be heard on U.S. bands like DIIV and Beach Fossils. Light melodic sequences, somewhat in a Johnny Marr style, and long held darker lead notes. 'Soft' is quite the opening statement from The Bernadette Maries. Here we are it says. A take it or leave it statement is playing straight into my ears. The singing is a far more dreamy. Guy Tournay has a voice without much depth, while Daria sings the background vocals with an angelic voice.

This description more or less sums up the music on Soft. Before you get the wrong impression from this summing up so soon, Soft is a varied and more importantly a good debut album. The Bernadette Maries are not scared of showing who influenced them, but used these influences to create new songs that I will be listening to for a while. Soft is a nice edition to what came before and could be a stepping stone for others in the future. And how about soft? Not exactly.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Soft here:

https://geographie.bandcamp.com/album/soft 

Music For Horses. The Rupert Selection

Less is more is a saying that totally passed the members of The Rupert Selection by. Once the very quiet intro to Music For Horses of 1 minute, 'Hello Horses' is over, the band kicks in and it only seems to go from big to bigger to biggest and at times even beyond that. Hugest is a word that may come close. The Rupert Selection fabricates a wall of sound that becomes impenetrable. It's so huge that my ears pop like when going to a higher altitude.

It is all interspersed with soundscapes and spoken word parts, like Pink Floyd used to lift texts from movies or tv shows, and interludes. Sometimes it goes through the whole of song, this mechanic muttering in the background. 

To think that The Rupert Selection is a trio. There's no way of telling because there is so much happening on Music For Horses. Guitar layers, a huge Hammond organ, horns. The band combines the sound of some of the bigger bands that emerged in 1969 like Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago Transit Authority, mix it with garage rock, psychedelic blues  and some symphonic rock from the 70s and later. It all blends into a huge melting pot but really, really reveals itself in 'Devil's Dance', in part a quieter song at that.

The Rupert Selection is Reilly Somach, Peter Crofton, Zak Brown, respectively singer/guitarist, bassist, drummer, but only as their principle instruments. It only starts there for them. They were assisted by producer Steve Lord and a host of other musicians.

In a way I do get the impression that The Rupert Selection wanted to show off everything it is capable of. And at times it does become too much. But never without taste and conviction. When I then read that singer-guitarist Reilly Somach is diagnosed with that awful disease I hear far too many people having this year, it seems that it had to be this way. Everything The Rupert Selection stands for balled into one album. I hope Reilly Somach makes a full recovery, but should this be a goodbye, he could not have wished for a more impressive one. Music For Horses is for horses and all of us. Strength and courage, Reilly!

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Music For Horses here:

https://therupertselection.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-horses 

It Goes On. Westside Cowboy

In the past months the name Westside Cowboy came by a few times, but the music did not reach me before the release date. That always puts an album at a disadvantage, as so much new music comes into my mailbox before the release date. I decided to take a listen anyway and fell quite easily for It Goes on.

Westside Cowboy is a band from Manchester. Formed in 2023, Jimmy Bradbury (vocals, guitar), Reuben Haycocks (vocals, guitar), Aoife Anson O'Connell (vocals, bass) and Paddy Murphy (vocals, drums) were able to set some concrete steps in these three years, culminating in It Goes On.

Somewhere in the early 80s I bought the album 'The Velvet Underground'. Together with the ("long lost album") release of 'VU' in 1985, it is my absolute favourite album of the band. When I listened to opening song 'Kick Stones (The Boys)', Westside Cowboy brought me back to a song like 'What Goes On'. Just listen to that guitar sound and the way the six strings are attacked. That dry sound of the rhythm guitar. In other words, I was sucked into It Goes On within a minute or so. From 1969 we are taken from the introspective, questioning of 'What Goes On' to the affirmative confirmation of 'It Goes On' in 2026. The way that Aoife Anson O'Connell's voice mixes into the whole makes the even better. It returns often later on on the album.

Of course, just sounding like The VU is not enough. 'Kick Stones (The Boys)' is such an exciting song. Not so long ago I wrote on an album, Tape Toy's 'Dumb Sites', it has everything except a 'Literary Mind' like on SPRINTS' album 'Letter To Self'. Well, with 'Kick Stones (The Boys)' It Goes On has its 'Literary Mind'! The album continues with the super tight yet playful 'Paperchains' and Westside Cowboy has won me over by then.

In the years that I'm writing this blog, I have repeatedly asked myself, how can a band of youngsters still be influenced by a band that stopped existing in 1970 and never had any form of commercial success? Were their grandparents fans and so hip that the grandchildren listened to them playing their records? Fact is, this band listened closely, but not exclusively to The VU. Dutch indie darlings Personal Trainer can be heard in some of the songs, like e.g. 'Worried Age', while the band also has a more alternative pop oriented side, like you can hear in 'Well Done Kid, You Did It'.

Westside Cowboy calls its music brittanamerica. Nicely found, but americana is not exactly what I'm hearing on It Goes On. Okay, there is the solo performed, folky song 'Take My Leaving As I Love You' but that is not enough for the americana moniker. This album is one I would place more in the U.S. than the U.K., like latter day Buffalo Toms to name an example.

No singer of Westside Cowboy has the voice of Doug Yule, made famous because of singing 'Candy Says', the band does attempt to bring the tempo down and succeeds. Pumping up a song to the point where it almost explodes stands the other end of It Goes On. When O'Connell gets the lead vocal in 'Coyote', the link with The VU is complete. That song explosively goes off anyway later on, is beside the point.

It Goes On is the starting point for Westside Cowboy. The band still has a lot to prove, but having a debut album like It Goes On under its belt, is a starting point many bands never reach.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

Je kunt It Goes On hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://westsidecowboy.bandcamp.com/ 

The Truth Is. Lucca Mae

Het is dringen binnen de Britse popmuziek van het moment, zeker als het gaat om zangeressen met soul, maar Lucca Mae verdient met haar debuutalbum The Truth Is absoluut een plekje tussen de grote sterren van het moment.

The Truth Is van Lucca Mae is al even uit, maar langzaam maar zeker rijst de ster van de Britse muzikante. Dat is volkomen terecht, want ze beschikt over een geweldige stem. Het is een stem die is gemaakt voor de mix van soul, jazz, blues en pop op het album, maar het is ook een opvallende stem met een onweerstaanbaar lekker rauw randje. The Truth Is staat vol met aansprekende songs en het zijn songs die heel mooi en subtiel zijn ingekleurd. De muziek op het debuutalbum van Lucca Mae is heel smaakvol en biedt alle ruimte aan haar stem. Het Verenigd Koninkrijk beschikt momenteel over flink wat geweldige soulzangeressen en Lucca Mae hoort hier zeker bij.

Met name in het Verenigd Koninkrijk timmert Lucca Mae steeds nadrukkelijker aan de weg, maar ze heeft nog zeker niet dezelfde status als bijvoorbeeld Olivia Dean, Raye of Sienna Spiro. Dat kan volgens mij alleen maar een kwestie van tijd zijn, want op haar debuutalbum The Truth Is laat Lucca Mae horen dat ze heel veel te bieden heeft. 

Dat debuutalbum verscheen inmiddels vijf maanden geleden en het verbaast me dat het, zeker in Nederland, behoorlijk stil is gebleven rond het album. Met The Truth Is heeft Lucca Mae immers een album gemaakt dat in de smaak moet kunnen vallen bij de fans van bijvoorbeeld Olivia Dean, Raye en Sienna Spiro, waarvan zeker de eerste twee inmiddels met gemak grote zalen vullen. 

Op haar debuutalbum maakt Lucca Mae muziek met vooral invloeden uit de soul en jazz, maar ook invloeden uit de blues en pop hebben hun weg gevonden naar het geluid van de Britse muzikante. Ik hoor in muzikaal opzicht wel wat overeenkomsten met de muziek van de eerder genoemde supersterren, maar het debuutalbum van Lucca Mae heeft zich wel wat meer laten beïnvloeden door soulmuziek uit de jaren 60 en 70 en laat niet veel raakvlakken met de R&B muziek van het moment horen. 

Ook invloeden uit de jazz zijn wat prominenter aanwezig, wat de wat nostalgische sfeer op het album versterkt en wat zorgt voor raakvlakken met het vorige maand verschenen debuutalbum van Sienna Spiro. Het doet me af en toe ook wel wat denken aan de muziek van Amy Winehouse, al is de muziek van Lucca Mae een stuk minder uitbundig. 

Wat direct opvalt is dat er in de meeste songs op het album redelijk subtiel en laidback wordt gespeeld, waardoor The Truth Is ook in de smaak zal vallen bij liefhebbers van jazz, blues en soul die niet veel hebben met pop. The Truth Is laat een warm geluid horen dat wat voller klinkt wanneer blazers worden ingezet, maar in alle songs laten de muzikanten die zijn te horen op het album veel ruimte open. 

Die open ruimte wordt gevuld met de stem van Lucca Mae en het is een stem om eindeloos van te houden. Lucca Mae moet het gelukkig niet hebben van 1001 stembuigingen en laat zich ook nergens verleiden tot vocale krachtpatserij, wat in dit genre zeker niet ongebruikelijk is. 

Ik vind de zang op The Truth Is echt heel erg goed, want Lucca Mae doet in vocaal opzicht niet onder voor de groten binnen de Britse popmuziek van het moment. De Britse muzikante beschikt over een hele goede stem, maar het is door het rauwe randje op haar stembanden ook een hele aangename en karakteristieke stem. 

Met name door de stem van Lucca Mae was ik direct overtuigd van de kwaliteit van haar debuutalbum, maar ook in muzikaal opzicht tikt het album een hoog niveau aan. Ik heb ook wat met de songs op het album, die stuk voor stuk bijzonder lekker in het gehoor liggen, maar die ook in artistiek opzicht interessant zijn en een mooie mix van invloeden laten horen. 

Het zou me dan ook niet verbazen als ook Lucca Mae over niet al te lange tijd grote zalen gaat vullen, al komt ze in een wat intiemere setting waarschijnlijk nog beter tot haar recht. The Truth Is van Lucca Mae begint in het Verenigd Koninkrijk langzaam maar zeker wat meer aandacht te krijgen en dat is echt volkomen terecht, want wat is dit een sterk album.

Erwin Zijleman

Draw The Outline. Sorcha Richardson

"Draw the outline" are the first three words on Sorcha Richardson's new album, lifted from the opening song 'Sea Pink Moon'. The words that were my introduction to Sorcha Richardson or so I thought, as I found to have reviewed her single 'Grenadine' in June.

Sorcha Richardson is from West Kerry in Ireland these days, after having moved to New York and back to Dublin. Draw The Outline is her third album, after 'Smiling Like An Idiot' brought her success in Ireland in 2022. Her music on Draw The Outline has the slacker rock ingredients that I usually find in music from Australia (Courtney Barnett) and even more from New Zealand (Vera Ellen, e.g. in the song 'Carpenter'). Sorcha Richardson has an identical approach to music. A laidback rhythm and a relaxed, on parts of the album an almost slacker way of singing. There's just no hurry in most songs. Like in 'Grenadine', that progresses slowly but surely.

So my advice is to enjoy Draw The Outline to the fullest, as it allows you to go with its flow. Follow these mysterious sounds that can weave themselves in and out of a song. These wafts of electronic music that are there and then aren't. Not unlike Reb Fountain presented on her eponymous album from 2020. Here it is more direct though as they are allowed into the forefront as well. It gives the album a layer of mystique coming with the west of Ireland where it can be foggy for days, then be sunny, to end the day with a hurricane. Where leprechauns roam and peat smoke can still fill your nose. If this was Sorcha Richardson's intention, she caught it superbly. Further on in the album you will hear folk/singer-songwriter songs as well, sparsely arranged around an acoustic guitar.

That acoustic guitar is the basis of this album. When the weather of West-Kerry allows, she can sit at the beach with friends and sing and play the songs this way. From there the songs are built up. Together with producer Chris W. Ryan she chose for a mostly rustic sound with some mystery added.

With 'Illinois Again' the tempo goes up, slightly, while a more indie rock oriented vibe is shared with the listener. A variation of music that makes Draw The Outline a stronger album because of this change of approach. At heart 'Illinois Again' may be a soft song, in part because of Sorcha Richardson's voice, the more prominent drums and that dark sounding lead guitar, give a different impression.

Draw The Outline is a deceptive album. Anyone playing this album in the background, will no doubt wonder, is it over already? What have I heard? Anyone playing the album somewhat louder or with a headset on, will hear the depth Richardson and Ryan have put in the album and will reach the other side in awe of what they have just heard. Listening has become a rewarding experience. I'm listening through a headset right now, I am on the latter side of the equation. So should you. Draw The Outline is a beautiful album very much worthwhile getting acquainted with.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Draw The Outline here:

https://sorcharichardson.bandcamp.com/album/draw-the-outline