Beyond Wires. Golden Hours

Today we present a little more darkness. Golden Hours obviously was inspired by gothrockers from the 80s, including tie-ins to bands like New Order and The Cult, while adding a lighter sounding guitar that lets light into Beyond Wires regularly. The mix works extremely well. It even leads to songs that are quite danceable, at least at the time that I frequneted dance evenings a long time ago and "the bats", Robert Smith hair, dark clothes, shoegazing, mixed with us dancers with less extreme if not exclusive, dance appetites.

Golden Hours only debuted on this blog late December in the singles section and I realise to know nothing about the band. Beyond Wires is the band's second album, yet we are not focusing on new kids on the block. The members have histories in bands like "Gang of Four, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Tricky, The Fuzztones, and more", to quote the bio. That is extremely diverse. From this wide mix comes Golden Hours, a band with many different sides to its goth. Of the members, based in a few European capitals, Hákon Aõalsteinsson, Wim Janssens, Tobias Humble and Rodrigo Fuentealba Palavacino, the first two are responsible for the vocals. Of course, you will be able to hear the difference, but both sing from that starting point of this band: goth.

It is all happening around the voices that make the band far more attractive for a listener wanting to listen to more than just darkness. That may lead to the loss of "bats", but to be honest, I haven't seen many of them since the summer of 1987. Why that was, is a totally different story, but let me suffice to write that it was in that summer our then crown prince, now king, entered Leiden's university and elite student club and how that affected the membership and outlook of all the other student clubs.

Promo photo

Personally, I have always liked the mix in music. Slowly but surely I was leaving behind my 1970s heroes. No, that is wrong. I started to add bands to the roster, but mostly singles. At the time there were very little albums that impressed me as a whole. My body, dancing, was won over first before my brain, listening. I learned to dance, to let go and that was possible with 'A Forest' or 'Pale Shelter' and 'Burning Down The House (live)'.. etc.

Beyond Wires brings elements from that era but that is only part of the story. It is the singing that put me on the goth track. When listening deeper, I started to notice all the other elements. This band allows a lot of light in, through the sound of the guitars, that have a nice reverb to it. Also, there can be a different shade of darkness with New Order synths woven through or underneath the fabric of a song.

When listening to 'Heading For The Moon', I wondered whether I would like a whole album by Golden Hours. That questions has been answered with a wholehearted yes.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Beyond Wires here:

https://goldenhours1.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-wires 

2026, week 2. 10 singles

It has been snowing for days on end and the whole country sort of has come to a stand still. Musically, things are relatively quiet as well. There are not too many releases in the coming two weeks. Below you find the first single released in 2026 reviewed on WoNoBlog. The year has started and I feel fine. Enjoy!

Blow Your Mind. Strawberry Alarm Clock

When the original "Nuggets" album was released in 1972 I was too young to notice. However, when the four cd box was released in 1998, I made  sure to buy and enjoy it. One of the songs, not on the original LP, was 'Incense & Peppermint' by Strawberry Alarm Clock. It went to number 1 in the U.S. and Canada in 1967, but did not chart over here. In 2025 the band returned to the recording studio and features for the second time on WoNoBlog. Blow Your Mind does not literally have that effect on me. It is a nice single though that has a bite thanks to the wildish guitar riff and the rhythm that propels the song ever forward. The style reminds of the songs on Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention's debut album, 'Freak Out'. That is not a bad place to be in. 

Echo Park Donut. Luke Temple and The Cascading Moms

I've never been to Echo Park, but it must be a nice place seeing how many songs/albums have it in their title. The latest edition is this single. Singer/songwriter/producer Luke Temple together with Doug Stuart (bass) and Kosta Galanopoulos (drums) present a very relaxed song that moves in a way that seems lighter than a feather and just floats on the wind. That gives it a late seventies, West-Coast vibe, reminiscent of the likes of Christopher Cross. Add the background vocals and it goes for very pleasant and relaxed listening. When the song at the end gets a more percussive edge, the song almost gets a bite. The trio releases its album 'Hungry Animal' on 13 February.

My Mind's Got A Mind Of It's Own. The Lemon Drop Gang

How far back can a band put the hands of the clock? In the case of The Lemon Drop Gang it is about sixty years. On its latest single it is like a gang of youngsters is playing in the garage of one of their parents. Dad having left the car out on the drive just for them. The result is something the dad, despite holding his hands over his ears, could have been proud of: My Mind's Got A Mind Of It's Own. The Lemon Drop Gang recorded in 2025 though and has done a thorough job of it. The sound of its new single simply can't be more authentic, louder and wilder. Steph O'Halloran - Vocals, Johnny O'Halloran - Guitars, Saw, D. Walker - Bass and Matt Rendon - Drums have found the mustard source of all the teenagers in the mid-60s and turned it into a sensational sound for the 2020s.

Just A Shadow. A.A. Williams

A.A. Williams signed last year to the Reigning Phoenix Music label and is releasing a single to celebrate it. Just A Shadow is a song with at least two sides. The song starts almost like a ballad, turns into a gothic rock songs and later receives a guitar contribution bordering on metal. My mind flashed the lights The Gathering and Within Temptation, to mention two bands from my home country, immediately. The combination works though. Williams obviously is the master of her song. She rides it confidently like Anky van Grunsven rode Bonfire to an Olympic gold medal. All else present in Just A Shadow is there to serve William's darkish voice. She is no Floor Jansen but convinces with her performance. Just A Shadow is the kind of song that makes me want to hear more, despite it is just outside of my musical comfort zone.

The Backrooms. Proton Packs

With 'Visions From The Void', Proton Packs' new and fifth album, coming up, the band released a single that is quite attractive. The band from the Italian town, where horse racing in the city centre is one of its highlights, Siena, is around for over twenty years. Proton Packs has listened to American examples like The Offspring and comes up with an enthusiastic song of the kind Dexter Holland c.s. used to make quite some time ago. Punk rock is combined with a strong melody and some nice lead guitar lines. The combination makes for a song that shines, bounces up and down and makes me want to dance. Exactly like how I want my punk rock songs to be.

Baseball. Dirt Buyer

Alternative rocker Dirt Buyer, aka Joe Sutkowski, returns to the blog with the single Baseball. Working towards the release of his new album 'Dirt Buyer III', release 6 February, Dirt Buyer gives off a good taste of what his fans can expect and others can newly discover. Baseball is an alternative rock track that has a long tradition in the U.S. It may well be that my introduction was with the single 'Tail Lights' by Buffalo Tom in 1992? 1993?. Since, I never looked back. Baseball falls nicely into that tradition. Tough sounding guitars, interspersed with a sparse keyboard note. The use of dynamics accent the light and the shade in the song. Over it Sutkowski sings with a dreamy voice that is not overly joyful nor depressed. Again allowing the light and shade in. In other words, there's nothing new here, but just so well done.

I Want To Go To Space (Closing Credits). Carol Cleveland Sings

 'Effervescent Lure', Carol Cleveland Sings' 2016 album, is the album that got to me by the longest route by far of all my albums. Ordered in the U.S., shipped to San Francisco to a friend, who brought it to Guadalajara in Mexico, where he gave it to me there at a conference, from where I brought it home, saving circa $20 shipping costs. After an EP, 'Wishing Well', I lost track of the duo Thomas Hughes and Gretchen Lohse, until a recent email announced a new album, 'Darla In Space'. It is a movie soundtrack, a musical art form that I do not always appreciate, as it is so fragmented and joined to movie scenes which are not there. As I'm very sympathetic to CCS, I've listened to the composition supporting the movie's closing credits. In general this is where they show "the little letters" as we call them, with the gaffer, hairdresser, dolly grip, carpenter, etc., while everyone puts on their coats to leave. I Want To Go To Space is just the right music for it. Unobtrusive, yet it is totally CCS. It is not for nothing that every time I write about New Zealand act Pickle Darling, that I mention CCS. Although, this track is more organic, the little elements that make it a CCS track are all there, with the exception of Gretchen Lohse not singing lyrics. Here it is just oohs and aahs, but that's okay. I Want To Go To Space is a nice and relaxed exit to a record and movie. 

Lit. Jaguero

More punk from Italy this week. Jaguero formed in 2021 out of several other bands and has released two EPs so far. There will be an album later this year. First there is the first single, Lit. Starting with a huge guitar riff, enhanced by a little lick that comes by a few times. The vocals are double tracked, at least double that is, with one mixed a little into the background where the lyrics are shouted out loud with even more emotion. The result is that besides punk rock the song borders towards emo. With Lit, Jaguero takes you down a well trodden path but with a lot of enthusiasm and power. It is certainly worth checking out.

 

Three Friends Of Winter. Three Friends Of Winter

The day Stefan Breuer sent me the link to this song, he could not foresee that just over a week later he could eat his heart out as a friend of winter. The world turned white for days on end with perhaps the end not yet in sight. The band Three Friends Of Winter is a collaboration between the bands/projects Hako, I Am Oak and The World of Dust. Of course that rubs off, although I can't judge for Hako. Emiko Hachiki (Hako), Stefan Breuer (The World of Dust) en Thijs Kuijken (I am Oak) met in Osaka when the two Dutch men toured there in 2019 and after that started trading snippets of music online. This is the first result and it surely wets my appetite to hear more. Where the song seems fairly straightforward, listen more closely and you will hear an instrument that is not like anything that is heard in western music, as well as atmospherics that weave  in and out throughout the song. Like waves from space. It is a beautiful contrast to the soft song. The music gets a nice kick here and there because of the use of an electric guitar. Thijs Kuijken, being, well, Thijs Kuijken, he sings like he always does and sets a relaxed meditating mood. All these extra's make the song different from the two acts I do know well, making this a different act. The way the three blend their music, calls for more in the future.

Burn The Time Away. Wanted Noise

There's only one place in the world where I swam in the Pacific ocean. It was in the city where beach punks Wanted Noise comes from, San Diego. I remember a stark descent down a cliff (and going back up), loads of sun and illegal nudity, an older guy (listen to me today) with a far too young female companion. Yes, you're right, all this has nothing to do with Burn The Time Away. With this review, the blog leaves 2025 releases behind it. The single starts with a few guitars weaving in interesting patterns, not giving anything away about what is to come: a quite standard punk track, with huge drums. Cudos to Taylor Wagner are due, wow! He brings so much energy to Burn The Time Away, making so many sparks fly, that he only thing the band has to do, is follow. The double guitars and bass do just that. The call-response vocals are an asset setting the song apart from most punk tracks. There's an album coming up called 'Easy Listening'. Yeah, sure!

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

2025, week 19. 10 Singles

After a few days of colder weather spring returns to my country, while I'm starting preparation to travel to another country. In the meantime I've selected a new bunch of recently released singles. It is once again a mixed bunch. I hope you enjoy it.

Stone Fist EP. Stone Fist

We start with a new name on the blog. The Italian band Stone Fist released its debut mini album 'Stone Fist' on 9 May. On the album the band rocks, and no little at that. The band formed in 2022 and consists of  Christian Spolaore, guitars, vocals, Emanuele Perego, bass and Matteo Vignocchi, drums. The music is described as stoner rock and I can live with that. Stone Fist plays rock songs with distorted and/or fuzzed up guitars. Together with the bass and drums fast chord changes are made using all the usable chords in between to create a nice run or fat accents. The result is energy charged songs which may not be the very best I've ever heard in the genre, but certainly well above average. Stone Fist presents exactly what you expect from a band with the name, without just playing heavy metal and ramming in the nails with that fist regardless. This is music that also contains the subtlety of a carpenter's experienced eye.When the pace goes down, at least for a part of 'Space Trip', it is the sound Stone Fist presents that makes the song a winner. The variation is what makes 'Stone Fist' work.

It Will Get Worse. Lifeguard

Lifeguard is a Chicago based trio, Asher Case (bass, baritone guitar, vocals), Isaac Lowenstein (drums, synth), and Kai Slater (guitar, vocals), that is on route to release its album 'Ripped And Torn' on 6 June. The energy and youthful exuberance brings the earliest U2 to mind immediately. 'Stories For Boys', 'I Will Follow', 'Gloria', that sort of songs the Irish rock dinosaurs broke through with at a modest level. The jumpy nervousness in the songs, the thin sounding but longer held guitar chords, it's all there. It makes It Will Get Worse land on solid and familiar ground. With the provided addition of a little punky attitude, you have the enthusiastic mix Lifeguard offers its listeners.

Fire Sign. S.G. Goodman

With an artist signing with initials, my mind tells me: male. I'm wrong here, as S.G. Goodman is a woman with a voice that can be categorised in the Stevie Nicks part of female rock. S.G. Goodman is a new name to me but not to Erwin Zijleman. He reviewed two albums of her on this blog, 'Old Time Feeling' (2020) and 'Teeth Marks' (2022). The new album 'Planted by the Signs' will be released on 20 June. Shania Goodman is a roots artist from Murray, Kentucky and her new single 'Fire Sign' can be put in this category. Fire Sign is a song with a drive provided by the drums. The song starts with just drums and bass over which S.G. Goodman sings her lyrics. Come the chorus the band kicks in, in which the lead guitarist grabs the front seat. It is that drive though that keeps propelling the song forward in all the right ways. Fire Sign is a nice introduction to that album to come.

This Movie Sucks. Durry

Durry is brother and sister Austin and Taryn Durry from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They have put songs on Bandcamp since 2020, but for me are totally new. For folks who liked the grunge, punky songs with a pop feel from the 90s and 00s, Durry is a band to check out. This Movie Sucks may start with a wobbly organ that sounds like it is about to give up the ghost, from there the song very, very slowly but surely is fleshed out into an anthem like those songs of old did. Loud, almost bombastic but with a golden chorus that begs singing. Durry knows exactly what sentiment to play here. Where the arrangement is concerned the duo does a lot of things right, as for starters the song starts in a way that does not give away what's to follow. From there the band managed to find at least the second and third possible melody in the song's structure, making it interesting to listen to for a few reasons. This Movie Sucks is a nice single and the title of Durry's upcoming album. Expect it on 27 June.

Chambermaid. Suzanne Vega

Chambermaid? or 'I Want You'. I can't look it up right now but I'm sure Bob Dylan will have gotten a writer's credit in this song. There is a reference to the lyrics, the main riff is there and the chord sequence sounds familiar. Isn't "dancing with the chambermaid" a part of Dylan's lyrics? So, this is the chambermaid's tale it seems. It is a song that I've liked for longer than I can remember and I immediately like Chambermaid as well. The song is a part of Suzanne Vega's new album 'Flying With Angles' that was released on 2 May. What sets the song apart, is the force that Vega puts into parts of the song, making it more powerful than the original. It makes the song have an impact on me, forcing me to listen to it, notice it and incorporating it. Chambermaid is not a one ear in, the other out kind of song. For that it far too alive. That makes it another winner on 'Flying With Angles'. Be sure I will give the album a listen soon.

Get Fucked. Bongloard

Not long ago Bongloard released an album that was review worthy. Unfortunately, time prevents me from writing about everything. So, here is amends made. Bongloard released a single for Record Store Day 2025 and this is the b-side. A demo, that they left as it and I totally understand why. Why change the winning song? Get Fucked is fired up alternative rock from which sparks fly. The dynamics are taken care of superbly. Drums - guitar and the drums - finally (fuzzed) bass - drums under the vocals. Then all together for the chorus. There's even a synth solo along the way. The Utrecht based band is really going for it in Get Fucked. To think I've never even listened to the a-side, 'The Mirror', again. (I did last year, I found.) There's absolutely no need, as Get Fucked does it all.

The Actor. Folk Bitch Trio

Folk Bitch Trio, from Melbourne/Naarm, Australia, recently signed to the Jagjaguwar label and releases its first single there, The Actor. With a band name that sounds sort of passive-aggressive, I did not expect to hear a folk song with just about perfect harmonies on it. The world has a host of female folk duos and trios, starting with boygenius, HAIM and many more. Yet, there's room for Folk Bitch Trio. The Actor is simply a beautiful song, with a subtle arrangement that allows details to escape from the whole, catching my attention time and again. With the huge bonus of Heide Peverelle, Gracie Sinclair and Jeanie Pilkington singing together. No doubt more will follow. For now, I'm game.

Through The Veil EP. The Awakening

And now it's time for some darkness. Leave that to Ashton Nyte, the South-African born but Los Angeles living singer and songwriter. Nyte moves through the goth sector of music like a fish in water. On his three song EP he shows the dark side of music and singing. His voice may be compared with David Bowie's, his range is far deeper. Befitting the genre, I'd say. Musically, he does come closer. Single 'The Mirror' emulates a song like 'Scary Monsters And Super Creeps' for example. Deep sounding guitars and whole swathes of synths that are spread out of the structure of 'The Mirror'. The single can stand as a model for the other two songs, 'Thorough The Veil' and 'Haunting'. The Awakening is Ashton Nyte, who is responsible for all voices and instruments. As a band The Awakening will tour Europe, the U.S. and Mexico later this year. Time for "the bats" of old to get out that green soap, work their remaining hairs into the right The Cure style, explosion fashion, worm themselves into that grey and black clothes and gaze at their feet until the right songs by The Awakening come by to start dancing. If Through The Veil does not do the trick, nothing will get the old time bats out of their caves.

Whiskey. Goodwin

Goodwin, is Rob Goodwin of The Slow Show, who is about to release a solo record, 'PEEKABOO', slated for 19 September. To be honest, in the first  minute of Whiskey I thought to have heard enough. But two things happened. 1) The addition of singer Samia Chancrin. 2) My brain played the Matt Berninger solo card. The music is very basic. A slow, almost classical piano is played by Goodwin's musical partner Lambert. With an acoustic guitar, some atmospheric noises and voices it is all there is. It is the interaction between the two singers that does the rest. The combination between singers and musicians is pure magic. Living in Berlin, Goodwin could have worked with Sophie Hunger, as Samia Chancrin's voice reminds me of the Swiss singer. I'm happy none the same. Whiskey is a beautiful song.

Closing Credits. Rindert Lammers

And now for something completely different. We end the weekly singles' overview with an instrumental, jazzy track by Dutch musician Rindert Lammers. A name I have never heard of before. In Closing Credits he ends the overview with a piece of music that could totally unobtrusively be played at the moment the movie audience is getting up, putting on their coats and shuffling towards the exit, softly discussing what they have just seen. Music played underneath "the little letters" that some people tend to look at, hoping to find out something or to find a reference to that song they heard in the movie. Lammers has that softly played drums some jazz bands have like they are playing in a late, late night club for the final stragglers. Over that drums a lot happens though and not just softly. This usually is not my kind of music but Closing Credits is a song I can listen to with ease. It even makes me a little curious to listen to the album, 'Thank You Kirin Kuki', that was released on 18 April.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

2025, week 18. 10 singles

After a gloriously sunny week the temperature is going back to normal for the time of the year with perhaps a little rain to. Having been walking for four days in the hills of our country, I saw first hand how dry the farmland is. Some rain is badly called for. We had lovely weather to walk in, perhaps even a few degrees too warm in the afternoons. The first tan of the year is there. Back home, new singles awaited me and as you will find, many a new name as well. Explore, dear reader.

Tricky Situation.  20th Century Boys

"I'm your toy, your 20th century boy", sang Mark Bolan on one of the first singles I bought circa 1972. The name of the single revisits me in 2025 with the release of Tricky Situation, a single from a bunch of former boys from the 20th century, like myself. The song can not be placed in the glamrock basket, but for the rest can be placed anywhere in the first half of the 70s with offshoots right up to the likes of Green Day in the 1990s. In other words a rock song that makes the likes of me feel right at home in the musical sense. Tricky Situation rocks and has a great guitar lead part, muted power chords and a good old singalong chorus. 20th Century Boys has listened to and soaked up all good things from their youth and decided to start playing it themselves, now older heroes are quitting or worse. Label mate Brad Marino has some stiff competition as of today and that is a big compliment.

Through My Teeth. Spacey Jane

And a second new name already this week. Spacey Jane is an Australian band hailing from Perth where it formed in 2016. On route to its third album, 'If That Makes Sense' (9 May), the band released Through My Teeth, a term usually associated with lying. This song is no exception. In the accompanying bio the band is introduced as "an indierock sensation". I'm not yet willing to go that far, after having heard one song. For that it sounds too familiar, compared to what has come before. It is a song  though that deserves attention, as it has power and pace in it. For starters it surprises, as I could have sworn to be listening to a female vocalist but that is not the case. Frontman Caleb Harper is the singer, showing how ears can be fooled. After a slightly psychedelic beginning, more atmosphere than music, Through My Teeth starts after a big sigh after all went quiet. From there the song slowly but surely is fleshed out with a prominent drums and a few guitar and keyboard layers, that all fit pretty well. Through My Teeth is a nice introduction to Spacey Jane's music.

In Another Way. Activity

New name three, of three. Brooklyn based band Activity is also about to release its third album, 'A Thousand Years In Another Way' (6 June). Single In Another Way is darker affair. Sounding like it hails from the early 80s when the sky was about to fall on top of us all in a radioactive, fallout kind of way. The intro starts as vague as can be, like a sound showing there's still life somewhere, think Nevil Shute's 'On The Beach'. From there the band starts to create the mood of the single with the lead guitar played in a droning way, played on the bass string. Only after nearly two minutes the singing starts. The combination creates a mood like Clinic is so good in, except In Another Way is far darker, but the same new wave vibe is there for sure. Activity is Travis Johnson, Jess Rees, Bri DiGioia, and Steven Levine (since replaced by Brian Alvarez, ex-The Pains of Being Pure at Heart). The first three share singing and writing the songs. I can't tell yet if I want to hear a whole album like In Another Way but the start is certainly there.

Love Is Here. Robbie Dunbar

A new name as a solo artist, but I found Robbie Dunbar on this blog not even a year ago as part of the revived band Earth Quake with the single 'Everywhere I Go'. On this solo single Dunbar takes the listeners back to the late 1970s with a very poppy version of the like of Barry Manilow and Rupert Holmes. Where with the latter two singers I was always an o.k-I-can-listen-to-it-but-that's-it-kind-of-mood, Dunbar seems to do things better. Whether because he taps into a nostalgia that comes with the association with famous music from long ago or is truly better, I honestly can't tell you. What I can write, is that the upbeat music of Love Is Here is getting across in the way that it undoubtedly is meant to do. Dunbar is not singing himself, that is taken care of by Larry Lynch, once from the Greg Kihn Band and the backing vocals of Kathy Kennedy. The piano solo is played by Michael Wolf. The arrangement of the horns and the upbeat atmosphere do the rest. Love Is Here is simply a warm, successful song. That is what counts.

Night Surfer. New Candys

All sweetness and indierock aside, it's time for some psychedelic rock. New Candies from Venice, Italy, return to the blog with a great psychedelic rocker, Night Surfer, from its upcoming album ‘The Uncanny Extravaganza’ (30 May). Night Surfer is the kind of song that starts at full force and ends in that modus operandi. The current members are Fernando Nuti (lead vocals, guitar, sitar, synthesizer, programming), Dario Lucchesi (bass, synthesizer, programming), Emanuele Zanardo (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Francesco Giacomin (drums, percussion, sampler). The first two are in the band since the start in 2008, although Lucchesi was the drummer then. The latter two only joined in 2023 after the release of the previous record, 'Vyvyd'. After 'Regicide' New Candys release another strong song that starts pointing to an interesting new album. I'm sure to give it a listen later this month.

Syd Sweeney. Smut

After singles 'Fan Page' (2020) and 'After Silver Leaves' (2022) Smut returns to the blog in 2025 with the single Syd Sweeney. The Chicago band, vocalist/lyricist Tay Roebuck, guitarist Andie Min, bassist John Steiner, guitarist Sam Ruschman, and drummer Aidan O’Connor, rages in Syd Sweeney like Veruca Salt on its pinnacle album 'Eight Arms To Hold You'. And at that a little louder as well, as Smut rocks out and leaves any pop element way behind itself. There's enough in Syd Sweeney though to stick with my comparison. That has to do with Tay Roebuck's voice and her way of singing and with the way Smut finds the extra melodies in the song. Added is the louder way of executing these additional melodies and riffs. The result is a wall of sound that is coming at me, engulfs me  next and draws me along to where Smut wants me to be: rocking out with the band and then some extra for good measure. Syd Sweeney is a monument of a song.

Falling All Over Myself. Crossword Smiles

One ear is filled with a guitar chord progression, the other remains empty for a short while and then a second guitar chimes in. Not much later the band and the singer kick in as well. From that moment onwards a richness of guitar sounds cascade into my ears. Crossword Smiles is the fourth new name this week and a welcome one. Again it is the 1980s that are triggered in my brain. Like songs called 'Castles In Spain' and 'Uncertain Smile' both from 1984 or 85. That kind of alternative pop rock. Tom Curless (of Tom Curless & the 46%) and Chip Saam (of The Hangabouts) combined efforts and came up with this positive sounding song, announcing the second album of their band, Crossword Smiles. Both know how embellish a song with a nice guitar melody, with a nice effect on it, making it stand out. If anything, Falling All Over Myself has made me very curious to hear the upcoming album, 'Consequences & Detours'.

Good Enough. Stop Calling Me Frank

With Good Enough Stop Calling Me Frank returns to the blog. The single start with a famous line from rock's history. I'll let you listen for yourself to find out which one, but it's rather surprising, as I immediately expected to hear a cover, which did not match with the title nor with the intro of the song. It confused my brain for a few seconds, after which I got into the Stop Calling Me Frank vibe, with its driving rock and roll modern style and its fiery saxophone honking all through Good Enough. The Boston band had called it quits for several decades. The decision to start again, probably after the kids left home or were old enough  to fend for themselves for most of the time, was a good one. Just listen to that solo of the sax, with the Farfisa organ tight on it heels, it is pure musical gold. Stop Calling Me Frank is on fire on this single. This is far from good enough. It is better, no, best enough.

Total Reset. Frankie and the Witch Fingers

The final new name of this week is Frankie and the Witch Fingers. The previous songs I've heard never made my cut. Total Reset immediately did. The song is a blast of energy and one seemingly from the past. Everything from the The Undertones to The Jam and from punkfunk bands from the early 80s and those in the wake of Franz Ferdinand in the 00s comes by in this single. The band has nothing to do with the U.K. though, neither from circa 1980 nor 2004, as it is from Los Angeles. Total Reset does have that exquisite combination of two guitars playing off each other and a synth weaving itself between the two. The drums and bass take care of underscoring the pace, energy and tight breaks. All together present a blast of giant proportions. The ending of Total Reset is total chaos, underscoring the termination the bands sings about. There's an album coming up on 6 June called 'Trash Classic'.

Hollow (Crimson Cupid Mix) feat. Cynthia Isabella. Beauty in Chaos

With a video suggesting a singer coming across from the other side to deliver her vocals, beyond regular space and time, Beauty in Chaos puts attention to its latest single, Hollow. For lack of a better description, I opt to call it dreamgoth. Singer Cynthia Isabella sings with a dreamy, yet forceful voice, totally supported by the band that produces a lot of noise, yet manages to support the dreamy atmosphere of Hollow. Beauty in Chaos is guitarist Michael Ciravolo's project. Working with different singers, male and female, he manages to give his songs different perspectives. Sometimes they work for me, sometimes they don't. Hollow is one that works very well. There's this part where the song goes down unexpectedly and it sounds like magic to me. One moment is not enough to make a song good but a good song becomes a better song because of moments like it. Album 'Signs In The Heavens Reality Upside Down' is out since 9 April.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

2025, week 9. 10 singles

The meteorological spring started yesterday and the days are slowly getting warmer as the sun is getting stronger by the day and the light is there already for hours longer. Some songs this week reflect that optimistic feeling coming with warmth and light, so enjoy our selection.

Yummy Yummy Yummy. Gene Champagne

Yummy Yummy Yummy, that spells a cover to me. When I was a very young boy a band called Ohio Express scored two hits over here of which this one was the first, the second 'Chewy Chewy'. (On checking, I found a third top 40 hitsingle, 'Pinch Me'). It turns out Ohio Express was a producers' vehicle (Kasenetz - Katz) and a live band, that still tours, believe it or not, with the original drummer still behind his kit. Gene Champagne returns to this blog with a cover version of 'Yummu x3'. It gives some oomph to the original with a tougher guitar sound and drums. While still allowing for the bubblegum poprock original to shine through. As that is what the song was at the time. Gene Champagne captures this nicely, tipping his hat to the 1968 original with respect.

Dumb Feeling. Mei Semones

You have found Mei Semones on this blog before and just like you are about to read, she surprises with her song by the second almost. Last week I reviewed a song by Black Road New Country that drove me crazy as I couldn't find my hold on the song. It kept changing. So does Dumb Feeling but if BRNC wants to learn how to convince me, it better starts listening to Dumb Feeling. You have to pay attention for the whole time, because this single is in another place if you kept your mind somewhere else for even a few seconds. The bossa nova morphs into a rock piece for about three seconds, to change into a 1950s Doris Day style string part and so on. For now I think Dumb Feeling is more surprising than utterly good. The comment after that has to be that Mei Semones' imagination and arrangement skills border on the unbelievable and is well deserved. Dumb Feeling is almost beyond comprehension and yet fully registers.

Sit Down. Chris Church

What an upbeat, clear sounding song Sit Down is. North Carolina indie-rocker Chris Church returns to the blog with his latest single announcing his upcoming album 'Obsolete Path' (28 March). It is a song that I can place in the rock side of R.E.M. with some hints at (Brit)pop for good measure. The clear guitar notes are what set Sit Down apart. They are sprinkled all over the song. In fact there are layers of guitars that Church recorded for us to enjoy. Supported by drummer Brian Beaver he plays everything else himself. As an extra is the voice of Lindsay Murray, who is sitting down constantly in the video. As an aside, my wife would so much enjoy the number of records shown in the video. Unfortunately for her I have a few (ahem) more than that. Sit Down is an extremely pleasant rock song. It doesn't alter my world but I can easily listen to it quite often. Sit Down is well made, in other words.

Te Echt. Nieuwe Gezichten

In september vorig jaar, 22 om precies te zijn, debuteerde Nieuwe Gezichten op dit blog. Zie daar voor de uitleg over dit muzikale project. De zanger van dienst is ditmaal Bo Menning. Het gejaagde van 'Ter Aarde' is heel ver naar de achtergrond geduwd. Je kunt het er bij denken als het ware. Te Echt is dromerig, met veel uitwaaierende geluiden, maar ook een banjo. Dit is een uitzonderlijk gelaagde single. Van overal en nergens komen geluiden, die het nummer een onderhuidse spanning geven, die uiteindelijk op de luisteraar wordt los gelaten. Het een solo noemen voert te ver. Een instrumentaal intermezzo is beter, ware het niet dat het uiteindelijk ook naar het einde van het nummer voert. Onderweg verliest Nieuwe Gezichten wat instrumenten hier en daar, instrumenten die er overigens ook aan het begin van het nummer niet zijn. Kortom, er valt muzikaal veel te ontdekken in dit nummer.

Haunting. The Awakening

There are more South Africans who moved to the U.S.A. then the one who is constantly in the news in the past months. Luckily we also have Ashton Nyte, once dubbed "the Johannesburg Bowie". The singer can be found a while back on this blog both as a contributor to the Beauty in Chaos project as with The Awakening. Here he lends his deep voice to his own band, The Awakening, operating from the U.S. these days. Dark wave melts with heavy guitars and goth rock, this describes Haunting quite well. The single actually combines several subgenres within it, making it almost a musical pubquiz. Upfront it is the dark rock sound that paves the way, with Nyte singing not like Bowie but more like 80s singers from bands like Killing Joke and The Sister of Mercy. Darkness envelopes the listener, as undoubtedly other songs on the album, 'The Awakening', will. It is out there already for you to check out.

Whole Lotta Stars. Shane Alexander

On route to the release of his new album, 'Forever Songs' on 4 April, Los Angeles singer-songwriter-producer Shane Alexander releases a new single. Expect to hear his beautiful voice, but less so his familiar sounding singer-songwriter/folk/americana. Whole Lotta Stars may have a country tinge with the pedal steel guitar in the background, the flavour of the song is more pop oriented than ever before. The rhythm is very prominent and that makes this single different, for Shane Alexander. It is in the accents of the production. It may well be the result of writing with Clayton Joseph Scott, who he recently produced. Writing with someone else gives a different perspective. In the previous song he worked with Dutch singer-songwriter Judy Blank. What will the album bring? If more collaborations, we may actually be very surprised. 4 April is getting closer luckily.

Drunk In Ojai.  Ashleigh Flynn & The Riveters

Ojai is pronounced as o-high. I would never have guessed as Dutchman. To be certain, Ashleigh Flynn is not singing about me :-). Drunk In Ojai is a country rocker that kicks off with a great guitar lick, played by Nancy Luca, who also produced the song. Ms Flynn says that the song wrote itself and is based on an experience she's had. Well, she's not telling all, but in the meantime, the song is quite nice. Yes, it all sounds very familiar but isn't that the charme of a good country rocker? The Riverters play nice and tight, to allow for the lead guitar to escape with a great lick or accent here and there and then a great solo, just like it should be. Ashleigh Flynn has a nice edge to her voice, finishing off Drunk In Ojai just nicely.

Eddy Derecho.  Evidence of a Struggle

With 'Alan's Song' Evidence of a Struggle debuted on this blog about two years ago, an instrumental track. Eddy Derecho isn't. The Rev. Billy Simmons is taking us for a sermon with this rough, a little dirty sounding voice. The single rocks, not unlike a Smashing Pumpkins alternative rock song from the 1990s. Matt Walker who joins Simmons on drums, bass and synths has played with the Pumpkins somewhere after the band's heyday. Eddy Derecho moves around a riff that is repeated over and offer. Distorted, dirty, loud and in your face. It's the mainstay of the song and the sound from which all else grows. Don't expect much subtlety here. Evidence of a Struggle rocks and keeps doing it until the almost unpleasant alarm sound at the end. Before that end, anyone who took and takes a liking to 90s rock, check it out.

Daria Featuring Kenny Beats. Toro Y Moi

Toro Y Moi is Chaz Bear and has eight albums to his name but you won't find the name here. Whether from not knowing or not liking, I can't tell. There are too many artists and bands to recollect all. Daria reminds me of a genre that was popular for just one or two years in the early 90s before Britpop broke big and wiped out bands like EMF and Jesus Jones. I certainly liked a single like 'Unbelievable' but never bought an album. Daria has that kind of upbeat rhythm, yet so undercooled in the way Toro Y Moi presents it that it is not unlike The Stone Roses' debut singles and album as well. Sure, I can dance to it but I'm not sure whether I'm allowed, it all sounds so cool and strict. But who is Chaz Bear to tell what to do to his song? In the background there are some rap elements, see EMF shouting "unbelievable" the whole time. If that is Kenny Beats' contribution, I don't know, then it is all far more restrained. In fact, the singing is an undercooled version of Fontaines DC's Grian Chatten. Daria ties together about 35 five years of music this way.

Nirvana. Glazyhaze

We end the week with a dreamy indierock track from Venice, Italy.  Irene (vocals and guitar), Lorenzo (lead guitar), Francesco (drums) and Vsevolod (bass) form the band Glazyhaze that is working towards the release of its second album, Sonic (21 March). Part of the attraction is the differences between the double tracked male voice and the female voice, creating a beauty and the beast vibe. The music is more bare when you hear the male voice. The pop side of Glazyhaze comes forth when Irene starts singing. It immediately drops away for the more indie rock side of the band when Seva takes over again. There are worse ways to make your debut on this blog than with Nirvana.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

2025, week 4. 10 Singles

Grey skies, fog and no fog, "no" rain, lots of rain, wind and no wind, we are seeing it all this winter. Even very mild frost. In general its just dull outside with hardly a clear sky in sight. That spells the winter of 2025. Luckily we have the music, so let's go!

Drown! Soft Plastics

Soft Plastics debuted on this blog in May 2021 with its single 'Loozer'. A whole bunch followed and the album 'Saturn Return', nearly two years ago. Come 2025 and the New Zealanders present a new single, Drown!. It is a surprising one, for the following reason. Drown! is a perfect mix of the two sides of Soft Plastics. At times the band presents songs that are sometimes too soft for me, with too little happening to keep my attention. Drown! tends into that direction, before it becomes clear that the band builds up a whole truckload of tension. When it's released in the chorus and the following solo, the song gets a glorious sheen, bordering on magic. The ethereal backing vocals behind Sophie Scott-Maunder's lead vocal and over the spooky lead guitar does everything such an addition should. Soft Plastics wind the song down again before it ends, restoring the order of its universe. Drown! is a great single and to think I nearly scrapped it, as with so many singles going around decision are made fast.

Enemy. The Yets

The Yets debuted with the EP 'The Yets' in 2022. The South Carolina duo, guitarist-producer Craig Anderson Snook and vocalist Robin Wilson is on route to release its debut LP 'Pinup Girl' on 7 February. Enemy is the final single preceding the album. None of the previous made it to this blog but Enemy has. It is a gothic song with matching dark overtones. Singer Robin Wilson is a woman of a certain age and her voice matches this in an intriguing way. She has double tracked her vocals. The dark one matches her age, while the higher one lends her voice a dreamy quality providing Enemy with two distinct sides, where everything drops away. Underneath her voice Snook built layer after layer of dark sounds accompanied by a complex drum rhythm. My guess is from a machine. Musically the song matches some of goth rocks romanticism and brings a band like Para Lia to mind. Enemy is a song to study as well as listen to.

The Music Man. David Ramirez

In 2018 I saw David Ramirez play in Q-Bus in Leiden, a venue with nearly always perfect sound. It's so easy for an artist to make a great impression there. Before the show his album We're Not Going Anywhere was on the blog and in 2021 a single. Come 2025 and Ramirez returns with a piano ballad that brings to mind ballads from the 1970s, like Peter Skellern's 'You're A Lady', a song with power and melancholy in one. The Music Man is song of a grown man who looks back on his youth and how he grew into the music man who draws the crowds to hear his music. But not everything's alright judging by the mood of the song. The build up is beautiful though, but nothing like I had expected to hear from David Ramirez. That apart, The Music Man works and deserves to be heard.

On The Brink / Not Fooling Me. Brad Marino

Brad Marino is on this blog like forever my brain tells me. The first time was only 2019 though. Of course that is already close to six years. Since than he became a staple artist with singles and albums almost once a year. In 2025 Marino is cleaning out his closets and came across a bunch recordings he had recorded but not released. The album is called 'Rarities, Remixed & Unreleased' and On the Brink and Not Fooling Me are released as teasers. The former is a rocker in the finest Brad Marino tradition. Somewhere between The Ramones and The Romantics he manages to find another great melody that invites, well almost demands to be shouted along to. The song has a great riff and all the solo notes a good rock songs needs. The latter song is softer and slower, the kind of song I do not associate with Brad Marino. Without coercion I will always opt for On The Brink, let's rock, baby. The darker song and more 60s influences is alright. Marino gets away with this other side with ease, as the song has a great melody and sound. The kind that could get a The Kik treatment here in NL, as in a translated lyrics and make everything a tat poppier. Even Brad Marino leftovers sound great, but don't leftovers often taste better the next day?

A Moment. Kensington

For those from abroad. Kensington is most likely the biggest rock band from NL of the last decade, even ever, as I know no other that played so often for such huge audiences including the biggest stadium here. And then there singer left. The remaining three indicated to continue and found a new singer in American Jason Dowd. If anything, Kensington has become even more Kings of Leon than before. And more powerful than the American band even in its greatest success 'Sex On Fire'. No. I've never been a Kensington (nor Kings of Leon) fan and did not expect much from A Moment, but as these sort of rock songs come, A Moment is certainly powerful. Kensington returns with a bang and in such a way that catches the ear immediately. It must be stressful returning, as it is the question whether fans accept the change of singer. On the basis of this single, the answer for now should be yes and the benefit of the doubt, etc.

Stay For The Night. Pink Turns Blue

Pink Turns Blue is around since 1985 and managed to stay off my radar for 40 years! That could have been a record, were it not that this year I also discovered Mekons, from 1979. The band consists of Mic Jogwer (vocals, guitar), Paul Richter (drums) and Luca Sammuri (bass) and named itself after a Hüsker Dü song. Stay For The Night is a hypnotic song that repeats the same electric piano notes almost all through the song, with the exception of an instrumental interlude that brings together U2 and Pink Floyd, believe it or not. The single is a dark song, with Mic Jogwer singing with a dark voice. Because of this, I place the song in the 1980s immediately. The lead guitar part is more modern though and more optimistic in sound then most post punk, goth songs in the 80s ever were. The new album will be called 'Black Swan' and the band goes on an extended tour of Germany and the U.S. this spring and summer.

Extraordinary Wings. Heartworms

Heartworms is another new name on this blog. It is the project of singer-songwriter Jo Jo Orme from London. A lot of what you hear might come out of a box, yet Heartworms manages to build the song step by step and makes the tension higher with each step. Not that I'm hearing things that I haven't heard before. It's more that Orme sucks me into her song by the 10 seconds. Just like Stay For The Night right above here, Extraordinary Wings does not know a lot of variation. It is in what is added to the song that makes it so interesting and finally even exciting to listen to. Jo Jo Orme subtly changes the intonation of her voice and the music follows her. More than enough reason to write about the song here. There's an album coming up, 'Glutton For Punishment' and it's out on 7 February. (And then I run into another Heartworms, from Washington D.C. on the Internet, but I'm almost certain I'm writing about the right one here.)

T & A. Blondshell

Although it was only at the very start of 2023 that Blondshell debuted on this blog, Sabrina Teitelbaum's nom de plume can be found a lot here. Today, she returns with another song towards her second album, 'If You Asked For A Picture', slated for 2 May. T&A was a titled claimed by Keith Richards on The Rolling Stones' 'Tattoo You' album. In 2025 we get to hear it from a woman's perspective. I invite you to listen to the text and wonder like I do what kind of person Teitelbaum is singing about. I'd opt for dump now and not for wait and see, but that's me. Blondshell presents an alternative rock song with some pop overtones in the melody and vocals. The song rocks but is obviously more than just a rock song. It is darkish but strives to le in some light. T & A shows the rocking side of Blondshell in a pleasant way.

Downstream (feat. John Anderson). Bonnie Prince Billy

Will Oldman for decades now works under the name Bonnie Prince Billy. He's about to release a new album 'The Purple Bird' on 31 January. Based of what I'm hearing here it is an amalgam of his own version of Americana and Irish folk. To start with the first verse. Oldham sings like he always does with a soft-toned accompaniment, as sparingly orchestrated as possible without having no accompaniment. In the second verse a tin whistle comes in and slowly but surely the music is expanded with the Irish side, in the way it is played. In the third verse the contrast with John Anderson's voice (not to confuse with ex-Yes singer Jon Anderson) is created. His rough voice is so different from Oldham's it simply turns the song upside down.. Downstream is Bonnie Prince Billy's version of beauty, as that the song is.

Walk A Million Miles. Garret Vandermolen

With Walk A Million Miles American artist Garret Vandermolen puts his listeners into a musical time machine.set for the mid-1960s. The sound of the Rickenbacker guitar was made a staple sound by (then) Jim McGuinn of The Byrds, influencing many artists right up to George Harrison of The Beatles. The distinct sound can be heard through the decades, like R.E.M. and current Dutch perfect pop band The Maureens. VanderMolen does his own take on the sound, as he doesn't use the Rickenbacker to make his song shine brighter. Walk A Million Miles is a melancholy song and the Rickenbacker underscores the melancholy mood of the song. Everything in the song underscores the feeling of wanting or even having to move away as far as possible from where things currently stand. The muting quality of snow is used as a metaphor for sneaking off and not looking back. The 1960s remain a huge reservoir of inspiration. Even 60 years down the line..

Wout de Natris - van der Borght