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 

2026, week 37. 10 singles

Officially, it not yet autumn. The weather tells me differently. One day it rains like crazy, the next day it is nice and sunny, the next back to rain. Weathermen and climatologists warn for mighty rainfall this fall, due to the seas and oceans being far warmer. After a far too dry spring and summer, a far too wet autumn? That does give an opportunity to catch the water and store it for dryer times. Bob Dylan sang it in 1964, 'The Times They Are-a-Changing'. Luckily we will still have the music. Enjoy!

There Was You. Teenage Fanclub

I have Teenage Fanclub to thank that I discovered Big Star in 1993. Following the release of 'Thirteen', the references to the legendary Memphis band were all over the place (and with The Posies records), so I caught up and never looked back. Teenage Fanclub went out of sight for a while though, despite the fact you can find two albums on this blog and a single from six years ago. There Was You is a pure pop single with some West Coast overtones from long ago. If the song reminds me of anything, it is America and its songs like 'A Horse With No Name' and 'Sister Golden Hair'. There Was You has that some tone of sweetness written all over it and the acoustic sound. To make it even better it has that bitter edge to it, making the sweet even taste better. The Scottish band's new album, 'Do Not Dare To Dream', is out on 9 October.

Jetpack. Jefferson Starship

I'll be honest, I had expected to switch this song off within a few seconds. Jefferson Starship, with founding member David Freiberg and the drummer from the fourth generation? How can this iteration even carry the name? And then Jetpack hit me. It is a very American powerpop/rock song, with some hints at the style Paul Kantner got stuck in from the 1980s onwards, i.e. everyone singing together. Yet, this song is huge and is good. Everything and everybody is throwing punch after punch, until the listener is floored in the most positive sense of the word. Nothing and one held back and singer Cathy Richardson has a powerhouse of a voice. She doesn't have to overdo anything to lay down this performance. I expected nothing and got the best new Jefferson Starship song since 'Out Of Control'. Now who could have expected that?

Sink Or Swim. Hyper Minds

O.K. How fast can a human being play music? Can a drummer drum this intensely and keep up/time? Maybe faster that Hyper Minds' members do on Sink Or Swim, but much faster? I doubt it. From the get go the band goes at it at full speed. It's like my chief at my first ever job said at 08.30 AM: "We start as fast as we can and from there only go faster". It often felt like it; I have never been fitter since. Back to Sink Or Swim. Hyper Minds is an L.A. punk band that formed in 2024 and recently signed with the DC-Jam label. This is its second single. And it comes with a surprise, because the tempo and intensity is brought down, allowing everyone to wind down a little, including myself. In a moshpit things can get more intense though, as the accents allow a lot of slamming, or so I imagine sitting here writing in my chair at home. When the tempo goes back to the original speed, it is luctor et emergo indeed.

Wild Ones. The Hellflowers

More punk? Yes! The Hellflowers play a more punkrock style in the vein of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Expect some garagerock influences and a great pop flow in the vocal melody. All together, I'd opt to mention Social Distortion as a main influence. The Hellflowers can be found on this blog with two singles in 2025, released on Rum Bar. The band appears to have moved on on route to its album 'Haunted', planned for February next year. Wild Ones is a song that rocks from beginning to end. It has a great opening riff, after which singer Christina Eskew, with her great voice for rock songs, makes it very clear that this band is not going to bend, break or change for anyone. "We are the wild ones". Message understood and as far as I'm concerned, as long as The Hellflowers delivers like it does with Wild Ones, I'm going to make the band stick to its promise. What a single!

Infinite. STEAK

Next up, some symphonic rock in a modernised Marillion style. STEAK formed in London in 2012 and released three albums so far. Infinite is the first sign from album number 4, 'STEAK' ( 9 October). The song starts out in a mesmerising, dreamy way. It is clear the band works towards a climax, but it gives you a run for your money before a heavy chord is played on an electric guitar. Even that is more atmosphere than rock. Slowly but surely the listener is led to the moment that everyone is finally allowed to go full out. Only singer Kippa remains his tranquil self. No one else is holding back on Infinite from that moment onwards. It leads to a song of the epic kind that clocks in just under six minutes. It's worth your while to undergo the musical adventure STEAK takes you on.

Watch The World Just Fall Apart. Rocketsuit Rogue

And back to punkrock. I'm sure that regular viewers of this weekly singles post will have gotten the idea that punk is what the clock strikes on a daily basis here. Besides never getting that past the love of my life, it is far from the truth. I seldom enjoy punk by the album, a few exceptions aside, but by the song or in this case singles. Rocketsuit Rogue is the new band of former Zebrahead frontman Matty Lewis. With Watch The World Just Fall Apart he presents the full picture. The energy, the noise, the pace, the Green Day light and shade, it's all there. What I like the most is the great melody and that whoa-oa style singing/shouting in between. I remember hearing that consciously for the first time when an Australian punk band was doing a soundcheck in the Friday dive where I regularly went for an after Friday's work beer. (And bought a ticket fot the show. Don't ask me what the band was called. Great show though.) I'm sure a whole Rocketsuit Rogue album will be a bit too much for me, but Watch The World Just Fall Apart is simply great.

Hello. Heather and the Jerk

In punk/garage rock there are many different styles and approaches. With Heather and The Jerk it is a female voice, sounding rather innocent compared to the noise behind the singer. With 1.39 minutes all is already over and we have heard the world hello more than enough, to understand the singer is calling out for the attention of someone with the line "I'm so dumb and your so bright". Admittedly, one of the more original pick up lines I've ever heard. Singer Heather Sawyer sounds like a fourteen year old in the middle of a teenage drama, not unlike 'Leader Of The Pack'. Reading in how many bands she's already played in either as singer or as a drummer, my guess is she'll be several years older. The music is a mix of rock and roll, garage and punk rock, that will get you excited. Don't expect any high rolling recording technique. Hello is all about bringing across the energy and the fun of this music. Heather and the Jerk has succeeded with flying colours.

The Thousand Yard Stare EP. Sam Powers

This week saw a post about an album that was shelved for 26 years, 'Free Electricity' by The Go and here is The Thousand Yard Stare, a six song mini album by Sam Powers, 22 years old. The recording may sound like a metallic home recording, dusted off a little, it takes nothing away from the power Sam Powers and friends entrusted to the recording device of choice. Sam Powers has before and since toured with Guided by Voices, Superdrag and Who Hit John? After leaving Superdrag in 2004 he recorded The Thousand Yard Stare with Dean Bratcher. Musically, it fits in the time it was recorded. You can pick out your own favourite from the day. The album really adds something to what came before and makes me wonder why Powers never got the chance to record these songs better and lift them up from demo quality. Anyway, we finally have the chance to listen to the six songs. Listen through the mist of time and find the gems in there Sam Powers left for us all to find.

5 Believers EP. The Laissez Fairs

The Laissez Fairs can be found on this blog since 2022. The best title so far is 'Singing Inside Your Head' and with the songs on the 5 Believers EP, they may well stand accused of causing me doing just that with these new songs. The EP kicks of with 'Pacific Coast'. The 1960s psychedelia is there, of course. The band adds a layer of dreaminess that makes it whole different sort of beast. It provides a touch of innocence the members of The Laissez Fairs on the basis of their age can never have any more. Too much has happened in their lives for that. And yet, 'Pacific Coast' sounds convincing enough. 'Treating Me Cold' is like The Troggs on a good day, like 'With A Girl Like You' or 'Marbles And Some Gum'. The song rocks but holds back, as not everything can be as wild as 'Wild Thing'. Enter 'Smashing Windows' and there that wildness is. If you hadn't woken up yet, 'Smashing Windows will do the trick. The guitars are stacked just right, while there is that little organ in the background adding just the right flavour to the song. There are two more songs that make sure that this EP keeps to quality level the first three have set. Joe Lawless: vocals, guitar, piano, organ, sleigh bells, tambourine, Moog, John Fallon: vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitars, bass, Cromm Fallon: bass guitar, Glockenspiel, Tone DeCorte: drums and Dale Gilbert: backing vocal, tambourine are on a roll on 5 Believers, believe you me.

Fur Elise. Blondshell

Blondshell, a.k.a. Sabrina Teitelbaum, returns to this blog with her new single Fur Elise. It is a song in the style of what made a band like Live big in the 1990s. Showing vulnerability through strength, something like that. Fur Elise is a post-grunge song that kicked out the darkness bands like Creed and Staind always carried with them. Blondshell adds not only her femininity to the song but also plays with the light and shade. Where the song is soft, she sings in a darker register, letting her voice and volume go up when the band is let loose. Making her voice far more prominent by way of this vocal use. Behind her the lead guitar plays a nice melody, while the rest of the band lays a firm foundation to play and sing over. There's an album on the way. 'Violins' will be released on 25 September. As a funny aside, I hear an American singer sing Fur Elise, which is of course Ludwig von Beethoven's famous composition, but it is actually called 'Für Elise', i.e. for Elise. All of a sudden I have a very furry Elise in my mind's eye.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

Chuck Timely & The Hourglass. ROLE MODEL

Ik had tot dusver niets met de muziek van ROLE MODEL, maar het in augustus verschenen Chuck Timely & The Hourglass is een album vol aangenaam zonnige en volstrekt zorgeloze songs en een onweerstaanbaar lekkere jaren 70 vibe.

Tucker Pillsbury wil heel graag een grote popster worden, maar met de eerste twee albums die hij maakte als ROLE MODEL kwam hij wat mij betreft kwaliteit tekort. Op zijn derde album kiest de Amerikaanse muzikant weer voor een ander geluid en dit keer heeft hij een geluid te pakken waarmee hij zich wel weet te onderscheiden. Chuck Timely & The Hourglass lijkt zo weggelopen uit de jaren 70 en lijkt vol te kiezen voor het vermaak, maar de songs van Tucker Pillsbury zitten dit keer ook knap in elkaar. De songs op Chuck Timely & The Hourglass zijn zwaar aangezet en neigen soms naar kitsch, maar zo ver laat de Amerikaanse muzikant het niet komen. Het levert een mooie zomerse soundtrack op en waarschijnlijk nog veel meer dan dat.

ROLE MODEL is het alter ego van de Amerikaanse singer-songwriter Tucker Pillsbury, die deze week zijn derde album heeft uitgebracht. Ik heb zijn eerste twee albums wel eens beluisterd en vond er eerlijk gezegd niet zo veel aan. Op zijn debuutalbum maakt de Amerikaanse muzikant nogal doorsnee pop met invloeden uit de R&B, terwijl hij het op zijn tweede album over een andere boeg gooit en kiest voor singer-songwriter muziek met veel invloeden uit de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek, maar ook een flinke dosis weinig inspirerende pop. 

Op beide albums hoorde ik wel de grenzeloze ambitie van Tucker Pillsbury om uit te groeien tot een grote popster, maar de daden bleven wat mij betreft flink achter bij de ambities, want echt onderscheiden kon hij zich wat mij betreft niet. Ik had dan ook hele lage verwachtingen van zijn derde album, maar Chuck Timely & The Hourglass heeft wel wat, al wist ik niet direct wat. 

Bij eerste beluistering van het album ging ik ervan uit dat Chuck Timely & The Hourglass wel eens uit zou kunnen groeien tot een hele fijne ‘guilty pleasure’, maar inmiddels schat ik het nieuwe album van ROLE MODEL hoger in. Na de eerste twee pogingen om een grote popster te worden, kiest Tucker Pillsbury op zijn derde album weer voor een ander geluid en wat mij betreft heeft hij dit keer beet. 

Op zijn nieuwe album kruipt Tucker Pillsbury in de huid van het personage Chuck Timely. Deze Chuck Timely beschikt over het vermogen om door de tijd te reizen en gebruikt deze vaardigheid om door de geschiedenis van de popmuziek te reizen. Bij beluistering van het album is direct duidelijk dat Chuck Timely in eerste instantie in de jaren 70 is neergestreken. 

De songs waarmee het album opent herinneren aan zorgeloze popsongs uit de jaren 70, zoals bijvoorbeeld die van Elton John, maar ook zeker Michael Franks. Ik was zoals gezegd niet zo onder de indruk van de muzikale keuzes die ROLE MODEL op de eerste twee albums maakte, maar op Chuck Timely & The Hourglass heeft de Amerikaanse muzikant zijn geluid gevonden. 

Het album is voorzien van een lekker broeierig en vol geluid en is knap geproduceerd. Zeker met de koortjes ligt overdaad op de loer, maar de koortjes hebben ook een aangename David Bowie ten tijde van Young Americans vibe. Er is een enorme bak instrumenten gebruikt voor het rijk ingekleurde geluid op Chuck Timely & The Hourglass. Het neigt af en toe naar kitsch, maar Tucker Pillsbury blijft wat mij betreft altijd aan de juiste kant van de streep. 

Ik vond hem op zijn vorige albums geen geweldige zanger, maar het geluid op het nieuwe album is hem op het lijf geschreven. Zeker als je het album wat vaker beluistert, wordt het een zoekplaatje met tal van bedoelde of onbedoelde verwijzingen naar hits uit de jaren 70, wat van Chuck Timely & The Hourglass ook een ongelooflijk feelgood album maakt. 

Of Tucker Pillsbury met dit album gaat uitgroeien tot een grote popster durf ik niet te voorspellen, maar ik hoor voor het eerst de potentie van de Amerikaanse muzikant. Over één ding maak ik me wel zorgen en dat is over de tijdmachine van Chuck Timely. Deze brengt hem aan het begin van het album weliswaar feilloos naar de jaren 70, maar blijft hier vervolgens ook steken, wat ik persoonlijk trouwens helemaal niet erg vind.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt ROLE MODEL hier luisteren en bestellen;

https://rolemodelsongs.bandcamp.com/album/chuck-timely-the-hourglass 

Doom Pop! The Room

Doom Pop!, more like Boom Pop! looking at the sleeve. At least that's the conclusion that I arrived at after listening to The Room's Doom Pop! album for the first time. The Room lays down an atmosphere from long ago. The days in the 1980s that should the sky have come down, we would not all be wearing a blue hat, but would have been covered in the fallout from armageddon day. That day never came in the 1980s. I never expected it to happen then. After all "the Russians love their children too", as Sting taught us. Come 2026 and for the first time in my life I have a feeling I may have to live through a war any way. I doubt if Vladimir Putin loves his children, let alone his countrymen's.

Viewed from this vantage point it is only befitting that The Room returns from the mist of time with its new album. In no way can happy notes be found on Doom Pop!. All is doom and gloom. It is in the singing of David Jackson. Always in his darker register, with a faint hint of what he would have sounded like when the band released its first records in the 1980s. It is in the pace of the music. Near all songs are in a dragging mid-tempo, allowing for darkness to seep in more easily. All instruments are played to support that mood at their best abilities. Above all the topics addressed make Doom Pop! a protest album for the 2020s. The Room is not beating about the bush where they stand. It can't be accused of being hedonistic, as many artists seem to be in the 2020s.

At the same time, there is also a tongue in cheek level. "Drill Baby Drill" is poking fun at you know who. "I don't even like my grandkids ... maybe they can live on Mars". Go through the album and you will find a few more of these puns with a very serious undertone. The grandads and grandma playing in The Room know where their loyalty lies. "Drill baby drill, Maybe you should live on Mars" is their message. The lead guitar part and the keyboards give the song something light as well. Some more poking fun?

Musically, Doom Pop! is an anachronism, as it belongs to an era long gone. What The Room has done well, is to bring it into the 20s because of the topics. That makes it a very contemporary album, worth to get to know and not just for somebody who lived through the 80s like me.

The Room formed in 1979 and released three albums before breaking up in 1985. The output including the single from this record, 'Things Have Learnt to Walk That Ought to Crawl', that the band re-recorded for this album. It stands out still, as it is a strong song. Since reforming the band released another three albums, including Doom Pop! The line up includes three original members.

Until recently, I had never heard of The Room and I have to say that I simply like what I'm hearing on Doom Pop! It is time to sort of revise my views on 1980s music. I was totally turned of from a lot of music at the time. Even my favourite bands and singers were producing worse and worse album at the time, until 1989. In hindsight, it wasn't all bad. Certainly different, and that clinical sound is still an issue though. I can't tell what The Room sounded like then. I may take a listen soon. This album works though. There's just enough light in the doom and often it is that keyboard played by Ethan Kyme that does the trick. The following listening sessions learned that not all is darkness. Doom Pop! or Boom Pop!, I'm happy either way.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

Free Electricity. The Go

Free Electricity is a new album, well, from 2000. Long lost that is called, but reading up on it, it's more like the people who were responsible for releasing it back then, decided to bury it as deep as possible, never to be heard again. In hindsight, it was the right album at the wrong time.

When I listened to the mp3s I was sent for the first time, I had no idea. What I heard was an inspired band that is belting out psychedelic rock as if there is no tomorrow. There are so many bands trying to emulate what came before, that The Go fitted into that long, long list with ease. The sound is like second half 1960s psych rock, especially the singing, but the recording sound definitely isn't. 2020s Anyone?, sure!

And then I read the bio before I started writing, something I do not always do. That would have brought a nice surprise after writing, wouldn't it? A band that comes to mind while listening to Free Electricity, is MC5. The approach of it's most famous song, 'Kick Out The Jams', can be found on Free Electricity regularly. The energy coming from songs like the title song and 'All Dimensions Are Loose' is tremendous, like, well, free electricity. The Go doesn't hold back for a single second.

The Go formed in 1996 in Detroit and one of its first guitarists was Jack White, who of course went off on his own to global fame. He hadn't forgotten his band mates as he took them on tour with The White Stripes in 2003 on the 'Elephant' tour. The band folded after a final album in 2013.

Back to Free Electricity. It is stressed that the album was a total departure from the garage rock of 'Whatcha Doin' released in 1998, after which Jack White left the band. More experimental, with psychedelia, some eastern influences and free jazz, as the bio says. I hear a lot on Free Electricity but not the peep-oink (translation of the Dutch 'piep-knor') music I associate with free jazz. In general the songs are trippy but mostly straight forward. Okay, in 'Blood Red Sun' things do get a bit wild, but this is still rock and loud rock at that; and experimental, alright.

The songs were all recorded in one of at most two takes, after which the band went in search of extras that the available recording time allowed for. The result is an album that has captured the energy of those almost live takes and the extras that make a song more interesting (at times).

Come 2026, someone at Sub Pop found the tapes, recognised the quality and decided to release the record any way. Something like  that it seems. Today, I can imagine that a label having to come off of the unexpected and huge success of Nirvana and grunge, could not handle Free Electricity at the time and certainly not after an album that, it is said, as I'm not familiar with it, was so different in style. It also shows that someone needs to hold out an open ear, as this album, let's face it, is released 26 years too late. It would have led the pack of psych bands and now is obliged to come late to the party and too late for The Go, as there is no band of that name in existence since 2013.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Free Electricity here:

https://listentothego.bandcamp.com/album/free-electricity 

Dumb Sites. Tape Toy

Don't let yourself get fooled by the opening sounds of Dumb Sites, nor by the last song, should you hear that first for some reason. Dumb Sites is a great alternative rock, post punk album. It brings everything and more what the reviewed singles earlier this year promised.

My introduction to the band was through the EP 'Launch The Rocket' which received a positive review on this blog in January 2025. My direct reference was to 80s synth pop/rock and even referred to Kim Wilde in my review. There's nothing left of that association. The one that remains is with fellow Amsterdam band POM and in a song like 'Fake It' with Wolf Alice and both are not a bad place to be.

Things go much further though. Tape Toy goes down the punk path with a lot of loud songs. What makes it different, as in not American punk(rock), is the totally different approach to the arrangement of a song. The music is allowed to be far richer. Sounds, effects, layered and heavily distorted guitars create a wall of sound and an arrangement that goes far beyond the one, two, three, four and go punk from the U.S.

Tape Toy is lead singer and guitarist Roos van Tuil, vocalist and guitarist Wesley Fransen, bassist Maurice van de Graaf and drummer Marc van Dongen. Let's focus on the last two. In 'Crosswords', a dreamy but loud track, Van de Graaf plays the deep end with a distorted sound on his bass, giving the song an oomph that Van Dongen matches with a drum part that propels 'Crosswords' ever forward. The light and the shade Tape Toy creates together makes 'Crosswords' not just a good song, but a great one.

I've read a review on Dumb Sites in 'Oor' and the gist was the band did not get everything out of itself. Having listened to the album multiple times by now, I can only muse what could have been better then? Besides that an album like this in general has been made before, Dumb Sites is so rich in sound and the compositions so strong, for the most part. Even after several listening sessions the turn a song takes can still surprise me and leave me in awe of what Tape Toy came up with.

I still truly like 'Kids In America' (Kim Wilde above), but Tape Toy goes so far beyond that song and has all the power that Wolf Alice has left behind itself on its last two albums. (Don't get me wrong, I like them a lot!) Dumb Sites goes further and deeper and above all louder. The album is all over the place in my ears and brain. At this point in time, I'd put it on a level of 'Letter To Self', the album that broke SPRINTS to me in 2024. The only thing missing is an instant banger like 'Literary Mind'. For the rest, Dumb Sites scores big. Just as long as you skip that last song, but hey, it may well be your favourite, who knows?

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can order Dumb Sites here:

https://excelsior-recordings.com/products/tape-toy-dumb-sites 

Daughter From Hell. Gracie Abrams

Gracie Abrams werd in een paar jaar tijd een wereldster en bevestigt die status met haar derde album Daughter from Hell, waarop ze deels terugkeert naar de singer-songwriter pop van haar debuutalbum Good Riddance.

De Amerikaanse muzikante Gracie Abrams lijkt alles goed voor elkaar te hebben in haar leven, maar dat is niet te merken in de teksten van de songs op haar nieuwe album Daughter from Hell. Het is een album met zeer persoonlijke songs waarin de donkere wolken het overtuigend winnen van de zonnestralen. Gracie Abrams heeft wederom gekozen voor de samenwerking met Aaron Dessner en dat levert een prachtig klinkend album op. Het is een album waarop de Amerikaanse muzikante doet waar ze goed in is, maar af en toe ook net wat buiten de lijntjes kleurt. Daughter from Hell valt vooralsnog niet erg in de smaak bij de critici, maar voor mij is dit een van de beste albums van 2026 en Daughter from Hell groeit nog wel even door.

In juli verscheen Daughter from Hell, het derde album van de Amerikaanse muzikante Gracie Abrams. Het is een album dat tot dusver gemengde, maar toch overwegend negatieve reacties oproept. De Britse kwaliteitskrant The Guardian noemt het album zelfs bloedeloos en geeft het een dikke onvoldoende, maar ook een aantal Amerikaanse muziekwebsites die ik hoog heb zitten komen niet verder dan een magere voldoende voor Daughter from Hell. 

Ik heb het album zelf inmiddels meerdere keren beluisterd en ervaar het nieuwe album van Gracie Abrams echt totaal anders. Nu ben ik ook wel een fan van de muzikante uit Los Angeles, die met haar eerste twee albums mijn jaarlijstje haalde. Ik was twee jaar geleden erg enthousiast over The Secret of Us, maar het debuutalbum van Gracie Abrams, het in 2023 uitgebrachte Good Riddance, vind ik nog veel beter en is wat mij betreft een van de beste popalbums van dit decennium. 

Het is voor mij dan ook goed nieuws dat Gracie Abrams na het wat richting pop opgeschoven The Secret of Us op Daughter from Hell weer kiest voor het geluid van haar debuutalbum. Ook het derde album van de Amerikaanse muzikante is een popalbum, maar op Daughter from Hell horen we toch weer vooral de singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams. 

Het is een behoorlijk donker album geworden, want vrijwel alle teksten op het album gaan over thema’s als kwetsbaarheid, onzekerheid, liefdesverdriet en het lastige pad naar volwassenheid. Het voegt wat mij betreft flink wat emotionele lading toe aan het album, waardoor ik het album persoonlijk verre van bloedeloos vind. 

Gracie Abrams maakte ook haar derde album weer met producer Aaron Dessner, in een aantal tracks bijgestaan door Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). Aaron Dessner schreef ook mee aan de songs en ook dit keer is er een beperkte bijdrage van Audrey Hobert, die zo’n belangrijke rol speelde op The Secret of Us, maar inmiddels zelf als muzikante aan de weg timmert (check haar geweldige album Who’s The Clown? uit 2025). 

Daughter from Hell is een vooral ingetogen album, maar bevat ook een aantal uptempo songs. In deze songs, zoals bijvoorbeeld Look At My Life, zit de muziek van Gracie Abrams heel dicht tegen die van Taylor Swift op albums als Midnights en The Tortured Poets Department aan. Ik heb zelf dan ook een duidelijke voorkeur voor de meer ingetogen singer-songwriter songs op Daughter from Hell, waarop Gracie Abrams een meer eigen geluid laat horen. 

Het is een geluid waarin de vrij zachte, maar bijzonder mooie en ook karakteristieke stem van Gracie Abrams centraal staat. Mij raakt ze keer op keer met de zestien songs op haar nieuwe album, waarop ze wat mij betreft nog beter en met meer gevoel zingt dan op haar eerste twee albums. 

In muzikaal opzicht is Daughter from Hell misschien een vrij veilig album, maar de chemie tussen Gracie Abrams en Aaron Dessner werkt wat mij betreft nog steeds. Het spannendst zijn wat mij betreft de songs waarop Gracie Abrams zich net iets buiten de gebaande paden beweegt, zoals in de met gruizige gitaren gevulde titeltrack of het juist minimalistisch ingekleurde Cold Goodbyes, maar ook de vintage Gracie Abrams songs zijn van een hoog niveau. 

Ik ben voorlopig nog lang niet uitgekeken op het bijna een uur durende en bezielde Daughter from Hell, dat ik hoger inschat dan het zo succesvolle The Secret of Us en dat niet onderdoet voor het geweldige Good Riddance.

Erwin Zijleman

Hey Pony. Hey Pony

Sometimes a new album just falls on my door mat, uninvited but on principle welcome. Very rare exceptions aside, a rapper or something, I will always give such an album a chance. A few weeks ago I found Hey Pony on the doormat, accompanied by the question to give the album a chance. I have, multiple times, as I truly like what I'm hearing.

Hey Pony is a duo from the "Bollenstreek", or there where the tourists go in droves in spring to watch the tulips and more in bloom. Now, in the 90s I recall a funk band called Red Hot Tulpen Bollen, I practised with a band in Voorhout for a few weeks circA 1997 and practised with another band for a year in a bulb shed in Voorhout in 2012, from which my current band rose from the ashes. Except for Howrah, a resurrected band now three albums into its new career, that is where my knowledge of things rock stops from the Bollenstreek.

Enter Hey Pony. It is a collaboration, as they call it, between Naomi van der Ven en Mark van Rijnberk. Both have a thirty year career in music and recorded two records in 2005 and 2010 together. I may have seen Van Rijnbeek play in The Avonden and certainly heard him on record, as I have a few albums by that band.

Put Hey Pony in your cd player and this pleasant sounding indie (rock) starts to come out of your speakers. This duo knows how to make songs that please. Alternative enough to be credible, but they also have a pop feel that makes it so easy to connect with the music.

Take 'Connect The Dots' as an example. The way a piano meanders through the song makes it so attractive. And here's a guitar guy lauding a piano part! It is what makes the song stand out. In the following song, 'I Am Not Alone' it is the surprise of the harmony vocals and again the rich arrangement that follows in the outro. This duo did not go over one night of ice and kept working on its songs to make them richer and better. In that influences from the 70s shine through and not just indie rock from the 90s. As such Hey Pony presents the best of several worlds. I won't call some parts symphonic rock but certain elements from bands like Led Zeppelin and Yes can be found in the swirling sound of a keyboard.

It is these surprises that make Hey Pony such an attractive album to listen to, To think the two just started out writing a few songs together, recorded them as demos before the songs started to take on a life of their own, demanding more effort and time. In 2026 we know why this time and effort was all worth it.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Hey Pony here:

https://heypony.bandcamp.com/album/hey-pony 

2026, week 36. 10 singles (2)

The days are getting frighteningly shorter, as they do once we've reached September. Only 17 days before the sun crosses the equator, going south. There's always music, no matter what. So here are ten singles, varied as always. Enjoy!

Hope Our Paths Cross EP. Tommy WÁ

An uncertain, hesitant voice, the kind that is not exactly easily accepted in the local choir. The music is of a folky nature, with a piano and an organ as well. The first name that shot into my head was City and Colour where the intensity of the opening song, 'Into Your Arms', is concerned. I'm not entirely honest here, as my first thought was a band that I truly do not like, Chefs' Special, and let 'Into Your Arms' be that band's greatest hit. (This was before I'd read the title of Tommy Wá's song!) Tommy Wá is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and Hope Our Paths Cross is his third EP. In his bio he is compared to Michael Kiwanuka and there is some truth in this. Wá is able to reach a maximum effect with relatively little instruments while relying on his voice that is not your average. Typical, yet strong and varied. I had not heard of Tommy Wá until listening to this EP and I have to say that his songs go down really well. At this point 'Alleluya (Another World)' is my favourite. Slow, but with a lush, lingering melody, that is so easy to connect with. It may well be that Tommy Wá is a name to watch.

The Hockey Song EP. Miss Georgia Peach 

Miss Georgia Peach goes country in honour of a Minnasota hockey team, the Frost and the U.S. woman hockey team that won a gold medal at the Olympics. All that means nothing in a country where speed skating is the number one winter sport. That aside. The bio referred to the movie 'Slapshot' and I had all but forgotten about it. Now I'm pointed to it, I'm immediately associating it with the outlaw Argentina squad at the World Cup last summer in the U.S.A, Canada and Mexico. They played exactly like the team around Paul Newman's character did in 'Slapshot'. The song 'A Little Bit South Of Sasketoon' is a cover of someone called Stompin' Tom Connors and apparently was played in 'Slapshot'. In the version of Miss Georgia Peach it is a fun song, uptempo country, where the joy of playing it shines through every second of the song. I'll refrain from commenting on The Hockey Song. That is best for all concerned.

Closer To The Water. Caution Bomb

Believe you me, there is a record label called Mom's Basement and it has released this single by Caution Bomb. Hailing from Ohio, the trio presents a song somewhere between punkrock and powerpop. It has the credentials to be called punkrock and flows so easy that the pop description is fully deserved as well. Caution Bomb really deserves both monikers. Caution Bomb is guitarist/vocalist and primary songwriter Johnny Stanec, drummer Beau Basement and bassist B.J. Lisko. They have teamed up to continue down rock's path together. On 6 November album 'My Kind Of Team' will be released and if the songs on it are as good as Closer To The Water, it is something to truly look out for.

Don't Say A Word. Blood Red Shoes

About a year ago I was in fear to have lost another band that I truly like for the past circa 20 years. Unnecessarily so, as before the summer a new single was released and here is another, with album 'Stay Lonely' just down the road (18 September). Don't Say A Word is a song that again has an electronic foundation, like more recent songs by Blood Red Shoes have. Most likely the duo will partly play live as a four piece again, like a few years ago. Don't Say A Word combines the alternative rock side with the more poppy side of the band and which came through on singer/guitarist Laura-Mary Carter's solo album 'Bye Bye Jackie'. The combination makes Blood Red Shoes' new single less predictable and good. The musical effects and sounds make it a treat to listen to, the verses are alternatively totally credible, while the chorus is as poppy as this band has ever been. Two more weeks only!

The Fountain. DIIV

DIIV can be found with three albums on this blog, from 2012, 2016 and 2024. Looking in my collection, I only find  the 2016 one, 'Is The Is Are' on record. On 30 October the band's fifth album 'ZIRP!' will be released, so it appears I missed one along the way. Single The Fountain is an alternative rock song that is not afraid of blowing itself up to huge proportions, while singer Zachery Cole Smith sings with his typical soft and timid voice. Guitars are all over the place, distorted, fuzzed, and what not, layer upon layer is placed with a quiet interlude that goes into the second verse. A little Nirvana, yes, but more playful with the sounds and far more layered in the textures of the song. It makes for interesting listening as The Fountain is musically multi-dimensional. I like it alright.

Wonder Woman. Kurt Baker

Only a few weeks ago I reviewed a long lost Kurt Baker album from 2010 and here is a new single already. With Wonder Woman Baker does what he's so good at. Finding an interesting riff and translating that riff into a hard rocking song. Together with Brad Marino and Geoff Palmer, Kurt Baker has become my favourite American artist who keeps alive the sort of music that was great in the late 70s and beyond and still sounds good today, if in some cases not better than then. The skills of writing, playing and arranging has risen since 1978. Wonder Woman is a great example of that. No, I can't and won't call it original, but as long as it rocks like Wonder Woman, you won't hear me complaining.

Fade. Soft Science

Well into the 15th year of the blog and still new names pop up in the singles section so regularly, that it shows that more band are releasing records, perhaps even more than ever before. Soft Science is such a new name. It is a big band, Katie Haley (lead vocals, percussion), Matt Levine (lead guitar), Ross Levine (guitar, backing vocals), Tony Cale (drums), Becky Cale (bass, backing vocals), and Hans Munz (electronics), are all a part of it. All people of a certain age that still or once again are making music together. Fade is a dreamy but lush song. The bio speaks of "ethereal vocals, luminous guitars and a propulsive pulse, the track captures the bittersweet tension" and I could not have described it better, so decided to just quote here. Right in the intro the band starts rocking out, keeping the pace but dropping the noisy lead guitar, giving way to Katie Haley's voice before the noise and huge sound returns for the chorus and the repeating of the intro. Great single Fade is. Album 'Sand' was released on 4 September.

Marianne. Fontaines D.C.

With 'Romance' still fairly fresh in my ears, here's Marianne, the first single of upcoming album 'Dopamine Chamber', out on 16 October. What to expect, as Fountain D.C. is developing by the album, with 'Romance' containing quiet some musical surprises. The band moved to London in the past years and slowly but surely shook its postpunk feathers. Marianne is another step from there. Alternative pop comes close. Synth swaths can be found all through the song. The drums are still tough, the bass with a delay on the sound very driving, the overall sound is tough as well. Not the style though. Grian Chatten is Grian Chatten, so his voice is the anker but this music is not Fontaines D.C. of 2018 - 2022 for sure. Do I like it? I notice that I can get use to Marianne.

High Priestess. Brennan Wedl

Reading the name Nashville usually puts me on alert. Yes, Brennan Wedl plays like a singer-songwriter with some country elements in there on High Priestess. But nothing that puts me off. High Priestess is an alternative country song that reminds me of 1990s female singers from the U.S. like e.g. Sheryl Crow and The Walkabouts' Carla Torgerson, who were able to give the genre a new and interesting leash. Brennan Wedl does just that with High Priestess. All through the song a pedal steel guitar is doing its thing. Had it been an organ, I would probably not have thought of using the moniker country. Still, an acoustic and an electric guitar, bass and a soft drums is all that the song needs to come alive, with Wedl's voice double tracked. And then enter the pedal steel. Album 'High Priestess' was released on 19 August.

Sensational. Wishy

With Sensational, Wishy released an alternative rock song that did not take much time to catch my attention. Just listen to that percussive intro. It's not just drums you hear. Listen to how that bass guitar drops in and then the guitar playing the chords riff that returns all throughout the song. It makes melodic options small for Wishy. But then listen to how that is turned around as well. And then I have not even started about all the breaks in Sensational. In other words, more is happening than my ears can keep up with in the first spins. There will be a lot more to discover in the coming days and weeks. Sensational is a great song to end this week's singles post with. Album 'Nature's Pill' is out on 2 October and don't forget to watch the video. What a tremendous load of work making it must have been.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght