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 

2026, week 33. 5 singles

Holidays are over, at least for me and here is the first set of singles, still from a few months back. The ones that in my opinion really deserve attention, so enjoy.

Get Heard EP. Linnea's Garden 

This summer My Love and I travelled through northern Germany. Compilation CDs made by me, in some cases well over a decade ago, come by one after the other and the Nina Hagen Band of course. There's no driving in Germany without playing 'Nina Hagen Band' and citing her lyrics like in Hamburg, while we excited the train at the Hauptbahnhof to walk to the Elbe river like Nina does in 'Der Spinner'. Why this long introduction? Because several songs of Linnea's Garden came by.

In 2026 there is a new four song EP out and once again Linnea Herzog, Hand and Super Tough Ray Clough, make the right kind of impression on me. We have to go back well over five years to encounter Linnea's Garden for the first time on this blog but also more than 2,5 years to find the previous release. In fact, not that long ago I wondered if I would hear from the Boston trio around Linnea Herzog ever again. Often that thought proves a bellwether, as it did with Get Heard. More likely though, I forget about all those thoughts when nothing happens.

If anything, the songs seem somewhat more stylised than before. Just this little more arranged in a way that they may appeal to more ears the before. This is no hindrance from enjoying Get Heard. Especially when in the third song, 'Stop Codon', the reigns are released and the band shows its punk roots full out.  It makes the EP varied in a way that makes it attractive to listen to.

Take the opening song, 'Sell Yr Love'. It starts with an intro akin to The Cure from long ago, with a more modern guitar or better, less doomy sound. The intro, that returns throughout the song, is of the kind makes me pay attention straight away. The song remains very undercooled, also because of the synth that is underneath it all, and then that violin enters turning the song upside down. That The Cure vibe is something I can't shake, but I like what I'm hearing here. It is so much more music than just a song. The same goes for 'Grrl On Guitar'. Linnea Herzog plays all the right notes here over the super tight rhythm section in which Hand plays this playful bass part, walking over the bass whenever she can.

The EP ends with an alternative rock ballad, 'Her', making it all even more varied, as "Her' explores every angle of the composition, making it ever bigger and more impressive. Linnea's Garden has dived deeper than before and I like what I'm hearing. The band itself calls its music "queer punk rock". Allow me to call it great alternative rock music. 

Missing Bernadette. The Bernadette Maries

Missing Bernadette when you're called The Bernadette Maries sounds like a very serious occasion, but judging the latest song by the Brussels based band, it can easily do without Bernadette. Being on the blog for the third time since week 1 of this year, the band is starting to become more familiar. Missing Bernadette is a mid tempo song with one foot in the doom music of the 1980s and one in the more upbeat psychedelia of the 2020s. The mix works rather well, with the synths spreading out all over the song providing some light over the dark rhythm guitars under which the drums pound away and lead guitar brings the spotlight. Yes, it sounds familiar as in the way of what musically came before Missing Bernadette and yet Missing Bernadette is more than welcome as an addition to what came before. Album 'Soft' is slated for 18 September. Judging the singles, the wait will be worth it.

The Wednesday of my discontent. Charming Arson

In 2024 I wrote a review on Charming Arson's single 'Saving Chelsea', comparing what I heard to The Who, Buffalo Tom and a guitar solo like Jefferson Starship's Craig Chaquico played in the 1970s. The Wednesday of my discontent does not hold any of this. It is an alternative rock song with some 90s influences and mostly dark. Musically it reminds me more of that 90s band from Newark, The Caulfields, best know for being on MTV rotation with 'Devil's Diary'. The Wednesday of my discontent holds the same sort of melody in the chord changes like The Caulfields were good at. What strikes me best, is the way The Wednesday of my discontent develops. From the stern instrumental opening to a more melodic verse and slowly but surely letting it rip in the verses. More and more by the chorus. David Cameron and band score here.

CTRL+ALT+DEL. Tape Toy

Tape Toy is on route to release its debut album on 28 August. It's called 'Dumb Sites'. With CTRL+ALT+DEL, the command to shut down the computer immediately, the band makes another statement, signalling that 'Dumb Sites' may be an album to be on the watch out for. Like The Bernadette Maries in the above here, the band has a foot in the past and the present and that present aligns with a band like POM. The enthusiasm and energy POM shares with its fans, is found in abundance on CTRL+ALT+DEL. Tape Toy is willing and able to explode and can hold back within the same song, making for very attractive listening. Lead singer and guitarist Roos van Tuil, guitarist Wesley Fransen, bass player Maurice van de Graaf and drummer Marc van Dongen manage to get their fun of making music together across with ease it seems. I do not have the impression the band is still with Mattan Records. It would have fitted in between POM and Fit spot on.

The Body Of An American. Dropkick Murphys

Paddies from Boston that is what the members of Dropkick Murphys are. From the day I ran into them, thanks to my then seven year old son, who ran into a punk compilation record with a funny cover (no, not Toy Dolls, at least that time) and we both became fans have gone to several shows through the years together. With The Body Of An American Dropkick Murphys pays its tribute to Shane McGowan, part of a compilation album full of renditions of McGowan's music. Of course, it is a huge success. Like no other band the Bostonians are able to integrate traditional Irish (folk) instruments into punk music. Many a traditional got the Dropkick Murphys treatment, making it Irish folkpunk to the T. Expect a death, whiskey, drinking and some brawling, but above singing a song together.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght 

All Smiles Tonight. Poor Creature

Poor Creature lijkt een gelegenheidsband, maar met het door John ‘Spud’ Murphy geproduceerde All Smiles Tonight leveren leden van Landless en Lankum een bijzonder mooi en zeer interessant album af.

De naam Poor Creature zingt al even rond en ik begrijp inmiddels waarom. Ruth Clinton, Cormac MacDiarmada en John Dermody hebben hun eigen band even achter zich gelaten en hebben de krachten verenigd op All Smiles Tonight. Het is een album waarop de gelegenheidsband invloeden uit de Ierse folk verwerkt, maar ook invloeden uit de psychedelica spelen een voorname rol op het album waarop bijzonder mooie zang, bezwerende synths en indringende ritmes op bijzondere wijze worden gecombineerd. Het is allemaal prachtig geproduceerd door John ‘Spud’ Murphy, die inmiddels een prachtig stapeltje albums op zijn naam heeft staan.

De naam Poor Creature heb ik al een tijdje op een lijstje staan, want Britse muziektijdschriften als Mojo en Uncut waren erg vroeg met hun recensies van het debuutalbum van de Britse band. Misschien is gelegenheidsband overigens meer op zijn plaats, want zangeres Ruth Clinton maakt ook deel uit van de band Landless, terwijl Cormac MacDiarmada een van de vaste leden van Lankum is en John Dermody deze Britse band op het podium bijstaat als drummer. 

Gelegenheidsband of niet, op basis van de zeer positieve recensies in de gerenommeerde Britse muziektijdschriften was me wel duidelijk dat het debuutalbum van Poor Creature een album is om naar uit te kijken. All Smiles Tonight is deze week verschenen en is inderdaad een bijzonder mooi en fascinerend album geworden. 

Het is een album dat is geproduceerd door John ‘Spud’ Murphy, die de afgelopen jaren ook fantastische albums van onder andere Anna B Savage, Goat Girl, ØXN en Lankum produceerde. Met name door de albums van Lankum en ØXN wordt de Britse producer vooral geassocieerd met spookachtige folk. Die spookachtige folk had ik gezien de samenstelling van de band ook verwacht van Poor Creature, maar met alleen dit label doe je de muziek van de Britse band ook wel wat tekort. 

Ruth Clinton maakt zoals gezegd deel uit van de band Landless, die eerder dit jaar haar tweede album uitbracht. Op dat album werd absoluut prachtig gezongen, maar de vooral vocale en erg traditionele folk bleek al snel niet mijn ding. Het debuutalbum van Poor Creature is zeker wel mijn ding en dat wordt eigenlijk al direct duidelijk in de openingstrack. 

Het is een donkere track, waarin de engelachtige zang van Ruth Clinton wordt gecombineerd met duistere en wat psychedelisch aandoende synths en bezwerende ritmes. Het is een track die absoluut elementen uit de Ierse folk bevat, maar het is ook een track die klinkt of de Britse band Cocteau Twins zich heeft laten inspireren door duistere Britse folk en hier, bijgestaan door John ‘Spud’ Murphy, een eigen draai aan geeft. 

De combinatie van ijle, zweverige maar ook bezwerende klanken past perfect bij de wat serene zang van Ruth Clinton, die echt prachtig zingt. Het wordt fraai gecombineerd in het volgende productionele hoogstandje van John ‘Spud’ Murphy, die er in slaagt om een aan de ene kant wonderschone en aan de andere kant bijna beangstigende sfeer te creëren. Poor Creature zoekt de inspiratie zeker niet uitsluitend in de traditionele Ierse folk, maar verkent ook de traditionele Amerikaanse rootsmuziek, wat ook bijzonder mooie en indringende songs oplevert. 

Centraal in het geluid van Poor Creature staat meestal de heldere en bijzonder mooie stem van Ruth Clinton, die af en toe wordt bijgestaan door Cormac MacDiarmada, die ook een enkele keer de lead neemt, wat de muziek van Poor Creature wat mij betreft direct minder onderscheidend maakt. Met name Ruth Clinton tekent voor zang die je meevoert langs bijzondere en al dan niet surrealistische landschappen. 

De muziek is soms subtiel, maar wordt ook af en toe zwaarder aangezet, wat het donkere en bezwerende karakter van de muziek van Poor Creature verder versterkt. Het is vooralsnog de vraag of het debuutalbum van Poor Creature een eenmalig tussendoortje is of dat we meer gaan horen van de band. Ik hoop het laatste, want met All Smiles Tonight voegt de gelegenheidsband weer een nieuwe dimensie toe aan de fascinerende Ierse folk van het moment.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt All Smiles Tonight hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://riverlea.bandcamp.com/album/all-smiles-tonight

Lemoncello. Lemoncello

Lemoncello is de nieuwste aanwinst van het bijzondere Ierse label Claddagh Records en ook het debuutalbum van Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella is weer een album dat hoge ogen kan gaan gooien in de jaarlijstjes.

Het debuutalbum van Lemoncello is een album dat door het platenlabel van het duo uit Dublin snel in het hokje traditionele Ierse folk zal worden geduwd. Daar is ook wel iets voor te zeggen, maar Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella beperken zich zeker niet tot het keurslijf van dit genre. De instrumentatie die vooral bestaat uit cello en gitaar is niet alleen eigenzinnig, maar schuwt ook het verwerken van invloeden uit de jazz en de klassieke muziek niet. De muziek van Lemoncello kan traditioneel maar ook eigentijds klinken en het is muziek die voor een belangrijk deel wordt bepaald door de bijzondere en prachtig bij elkaar passende stemmen van Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella. Prachtalbum.

Het label Claddagh Records dook aan het eind van de jaren 50 op en richtte zich op de promotie van traditionele Ierse folkmuziek. Aan het eind van zijn leven besloot de oprichter van het label om Claddagh Records nieuw leven in te blazen, wat heeft geresulteerd in een aantal interessante reissues. Een boek over de geschiedenis van het roemruchte label verschijnt binnenkort. 

Het label is tot dusver helaas niet erg scheutig met het uitbrengen van nieuwe muziek, maar iedere nieuwe release van het fameuze label is raak. Vorig jaar leverde Claddagh Records met CYRM van ØXN een van de allerbeste albums van 2023 af en eerder dit jaar maakte het label indruk met het bijzonder fraaie Yellow Roses van Niamh Bury, dat over een maand of 7 zeker een kandidaat is voor mijn jaarlijstje. Deze week is het de beurt aan de derde nieuwe aanwinst van het Ierse label en ook het titelloze debuutalbum van Lemoncello is een voltreffer. 

Lemoncello is een duo dat bestaat Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella en dat in eigen land en in het Verenigd Koninkrijk al flink de aandacht trok met twee uitstekende EP’s. Beide Ierse muzikantes beschikken over een bijzonder mooie en ook karakteristieke stem, maar Laura Quirke speelt bovendien op bijzondere wijze gitaar, terwijl Claire Kinsella uitstekend overweg kan op de cello. 

Net als ØXN en Niamh Bury maakt Lemoncello muziek die deels is geworteld in de traditionele Ierse folkmuziek, maar ook Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella geven een eigenzinnige draai aan deze invloeden uit het verleden en slepen er bovendien invloeden uit andere genres bij, waardoor het album van Lemoncello in bredere kring in de smaak zal vallen.

De muziek van Lemoncello is vooral ingetogen, want veel meer dan gitaar en cello heeft het duo uit Dublin niet nodig. Het levert bijzondere klanken op, die in een aantal gevallen sober en ondersteunend zijn, maar die hier en daar ook wat spookachtig kunnen klinken, al is het niet zo donker en dreigend als bij ØXN. 

Invloeden uit de folk in het algemeen en de Ierse folk in het bijzonder spelen een belangrijke rol op het debuutalbum van Lemoncello, maar het tweetal beperkt zich zeker niet tot de traditionele Ierse folk. Naast invloeden uit de folk van het heden zijn ook invloeden uit de jazz en de klassieke muziek hoorbaar in het geluid van Lemoncello, maar bedoeld of onbedoeld heeft het album hier en daar ook een indie vibe. 

Het tempo op het album ligt laag en de instrumentatie is sfeervol en stemmig maar ook behoorlijk sober. Het zorgt er voor dat er behoorlijk veel ruimte open blijft in het geluid van Lemoncello en die ruimte wordt deels gevuld door de stemmen van Laura Quirke en Claire Kinsella. De Ierse zangeressen zingen met veel gevoel en de nodige melancholie en houden de rijke tradities van de Ierse folk in ere. Ik ben niet altijd gek op de zang in dit genre, maar de stemmen van Laura Quirke and Claire Kinsella zijn prachtig, zeker wanneer ze samen door de speakers komen. 

De zang op het album versterkt het bezwerende karakter van de muziek van Lemoncello, die ik persoonlijk het mooist vind wanneer de instrumentatie bijna minimalistisch is en de zang uit de tenen komt, maar ook als de teksten van Lemoncello bijna worden voorgedragen overtuigen de songs van het duo uit Dublin me bijzonder makkelijk. 

Zoals gezegd is het bijzondere Claddagh Records vooralsnog niet erg scheutig met het uitbrengen van nieuwe muziek, maar zo lang het label albums uitbrengt van het niveau van de albums van ØXN, Niamh Bury en deze week Lemoncello, hoor je mij echt niet klagen.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt het album hier bestellen:

https://claddaghrecords.com/collections/lemoncello-1 

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

The best albums 2000 - 2024, 7 of 10

Onwards we go. Today we count down from 70 to 61.

70. Lay Low. Lou Doillon (2015)

Two of three Lou Doillon's albums made it to this list, as I found I've slowly fell out of love with 'Soliloquy' lately. Two out of three ain't bad of course. It all started with Lay Low for me. Not long after finding out about the album I bought it on vinyl. She recorded this album with Canadian Taylor Kirk of Timbre Timber. It is very clear that the two got the best out of each other. The album has that distinctive Lou Doillon mood and not just because of her voice. Despite working with different producers, all her albums have her mark, just like e.g. Lana del Rey's, someone Doillon can certainly be compared to and on a very positive level. Lay Low is the proof of the pudding.

69. Superior. Tim Christensen (2008)

What happened to Tim Christensen after 2012? I have not heard of him since. All his four solo albums are great to listen to. It is the last two that can be found here. always released long before I could pick them up here in The Netherlands. On Superior his sound has evolved, the songs better and the use of a mellotron gives it all a touch of mystery. Moving between loud rock and soft, even tender ballads, Christensen moves his listeners on different levels. Where have you you gone, Tim Christensen?

68. Elephant. The White Stripes (2003)

All The White Stripes albums have their moments, but there's not a single one I rate as a truly great album. Let's say that Elephant is in this list as a sort of amalgam of all the albums of this century. The Jack White histrionics are present, in voice and guitar. And don't let anyone tell me that Meg White is a bad drummer. If you can follow everything White comes up with to a t, then you're good. Meg used to be a powerful, inventive and flexible drummer, a big part of what The White Stripes were. Why Elephant and not another album? For one reason: 'Seven Nation Army' of course, a song that got a life way beyond the alternative, blues based rock of The White Stripes.

67. Cartoon Darkness. Amyl and the Sniffers (2024)

Amy Taylor and her Sniffers' third album really hit the jackpot. The Melbourne based punkers have truly found their own. With a female singer who impersonates Johnny Rotten better than he can himself these days. There's a slight, a snarl, a cry and plain anger in her voice when she needs it, and something bordering on tenderness in the few ballads the album contains. The band plays tight but allows some great guitar solos in the mean time. With Cartoon Darkness this band has a career in front of it.

66. Rammstein. Rammstein (2019)

Rammstein is Rammstein, also after a decade of silence where new music was concerned. And then came that very controversial video of the song 'Deutschland' and the world knew: Rammstein's back. 'Rammstein' easily fits in with the best albums of the band, 'Reise Reise' and 'Mutter'. Yes, it is metal maybe even industrial, but there's also melody in abundance. This combination makes Rammstein a band that, even in countries that do not speak nor teach the German language at schools, is huge. This is an album every band making a comeback dreams of making.

65. Suck It And See. Arctic Monkeys (2011)

The first of four Arctic Monkeys albums on this list. Three did not make it, including the two latest. Suck It And See is the album that is very good but sort of falls through the cracks because of them other three. I will always play them and not this one. Yet, it has a strong collection of songs and it was the right move to make after the weaker 'Humbug'. Today, I have no idea any more what to expect of the band. Suck It And See promised greatness that in the end was not delivered in my humble opinion.

64. Resist. Midnight Oil (2022)

Speaking of comeback albums. Midnight Oil called it quits in 2022, once again, but went into retirement with a bang. Resist is a fabulous album and in direct competition with 'Diesel And Dust' or 'Earth And Sun And Moon'. The album opens with songs that haunt my head regularly. 'Rising Seas', 'The Barka-Darling River', 'Tarkine', most bands would kill to open an album like that. Not everything after this is that good, but most of the music is very consistent, with singer Peter Garrett as the ever energetic frontman. Midnight Oil is no more, but we have Resist.

63. Sing Loud, Sing Proud. Dropkick Murphies (2001)

It all started with a free compilation cd with punk songs if I remember correctly and my seven or eight year old picked out one of the songs. The Irish folk punk or punk folk, whatever you prefer, of Bostonians Dropkick Murphies. I went out to listen to the album and was taken by it immediately. The mix of punk with folk traditionals, ulleian pipes and tin whistles next to the ironclad voices of the two singers does it all. From the local pubs to the larger venues, it happens all the time. Sing Loud, Sing Proud indeed.

62. Fast Forward. Joe Jackson (2015)

And there, out of the blue, Joe Jackson appeared into my musical life once again. I had stopped listening to his new work for decades, with the exception of 'IV' when the old band reconvened. Fast Forward returned the Joe Jackson I had come to love listening to in the middle of the 1980s with his superb albums 'Night And Day' and even more so 'Body And Soul'. Fast Forward has it all as well. So does the follow up album 'The Fool' but Fast Forward is better (and was more surprising). Sixteen great songs were added to my list of favourite Joe Jackson songs; yes, that's the whole album. Each side of the double LP pointed to a specific city, recording studio and mood. And then there's bassist Graham Maby of course.

61. Baby Darling, Doll Face Honey. Band of Skulls (2009)

My album of 2010 and then I found it's from 2009. Mistakes happen. Just like I recently found that the band had split when I noticed bass player and co-singer Emma Richardson surfacing in Pixies. No, the whole album is not that good but the songs that are justify this position. The light and the shade in a song is taken to new extremes here. Band of Skulls can be sweet as a purring kitten sitting in your lap, only to turn within seconds into the bearded devil itself. The Hulk or Mr. Hyde are play toys compared to the fury unleashed in the best songs on Baby Darling, Doll Face Honey. It's a fair point to make that this album is The White Stripes with superb bass parts. That takes nothing away from the fact that this band has 'Death By Diamonds And Pearls'. Afterwards the band certainly had its moments but it would never be this good again.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

2024, week 49. 10 singles

No extra words today. Just, enjoy!

As Good As It Gets (feat. Mitski). Katie Gavin

We open this week with a dream track by an artist who finds herself on WoNoBlog for the first time. Katie Gavin is accompanied by Mitski. As Good As It Gets is a love song says Gavin. It is a song about being totally relaxed and comfortable in a settled relationship, about looking forward to getting old and taking on the highs and lows together. Gavin sets this topic against soft music, present, sure but soft. As relaxed as the topic of the lyrics is. The mood it creates though is one of urgency and focus. The mysterious rhythm in the background, whatever it is, gives the song something extra, otherworldly, that befits the dreamy way of singing by especially Katie Gavin. Some instruments are allowed to step forward for a few notes, after which they recede or disappear. As Good As It Gets is an extremely nice song from the album 'What A Relief'.

In My Chambers EP. Wiri Donna

Well over two years ago Wiri Donna (Bianca Bailey) debuted on this blog first with a single and then her debut EP 'Being Alone'. On In My Chambers Wiri Donna pushes in the pedal some more. The first songs on the EP are very much alternative rock, where she is not afraid to move towards the edges of a song. Not that songs are off key, but the musicians are stretching what is considered conventional. For people like me this means that things get exciting and worthwhile checking out seriously. Further on in the EP you will find that the light and the shade approach to music, I mentioned Shocking Blue, The Police and Nirvana as examples in 2022, return on In My Chambers. Things could undoubtedly get wilder, in her choice of music Wiri Donna goes at pretty wild alright. Ms. Bailey loves to rock out, that much is sure. Much more so than in 2022. Alternative rock fans should find their way to In My Chambers, as things do not get much better than this. Wiri Donna convinces fully. Two EPs down, I'm a fan.

Raving At The Wall. Eric Barlow

Again a debut, as a solo artist. True connaisseurs will have encountered Barlow as a member of the Boston and NYC music scene since the 1990s. Which I was not. Thanks to Malibou Lou I am these last several years. Today Eric Barlow enters my life with his second solo single for the upcoming album 'Still Moving Parts'. Fans of music from many decades ago, let's say from the 1960s to 1990s will hear what I'm hearing on Raving At The Wall. A mix of pop and rock that sings of the joys of life and great fun music is. Watch out for a great riff here, an oh so nice lead melody there and a song overall that contains small snippets of The Beatles, Bowie, The Lemonheads and what not. Raving at the wall is not what I call having fun. However, when it's caught in music like Eric Barlow presents, count me in for a short while.

Détour. La Sécurité

Debut number three already this week. Montreal, Canada based band La Sécurité signed to Bella Union and celebrates this with the release of its single Détour. Montreal is in Quebec, so primarily a French language town. The title suggests a French song. It is primarily English though, for those who got worried reading this. La Sécurité plays music as if it is 1977-79, with the first albums of bands like Talking Heads and The B52s being released. In other words, the music is square and not round. The hooky rhythm propels the song forward. We used to call that kind of music new wave. Détour in that sense is a very outdated sounding song. From there the fun starts though. Ian Dury is another example. Just like his 'Sex And Drug And Rock And Roll', or 'Psycho Killer' and 'Private Idaho' of the other two examples are hooky, they are all great fun. A great introduction with more, undoubtedly, to come.

She's Got A Problem. HotWax

"She's got a problem and she's gonna get something done", that is what the title starts off in my head immediately. HotWax' song has very little to do with the Fountains of Wayne song. This is modern punk rock, with some latter day twist no punker would ever have come up with close to fifty years ago. HotWax does and puts itself in line with recent bands like Blood Red Shoes, Wet Leg, Sprints and many others. The Hastings trio is not holding back, except for the short psychedelic interlude. She's Got A Problem is exciting. There's no other word for it. There's a ton of energy poured into the song and it just shares and shares it with the world. From the drums intro to the dying seconds, this song rocks huge. I don't know what it is with U.K. bands but nearly always I prefer them way above American ones. HotWax is no exception, based on this single that is. Yes, again a debut band. Album 'Hot Shock' is underway.

Astoria EP. Robin Guthrie

Robin Guthrie was on this blog with two singles in 2021. Of course the artist's career goes back all the way to the 1980s. Today, he releases soft flowing instrumental tracks that are at times very much worthwhile to listen to. Take his latest EP Astoria. The compositions just swirl into my ears. Pleasant melodies just circle around, while I'm feeling more and more relaxed. Not that nothing happens in the songs. Take 'Starting Fires'. More and more instruments are woven into the primary melody, making it more complex to listen to and interesting to listen to. 'Starting Fires' at heart is a sort of ambient music, like all tracks on Astoria start out, after which the song develops into something else. A track like 'Jura' is pure Kairos material. Layer upon layer of synths play out, creating ever more complex melodies weaving in and out of each other. No, Astoria has nothing to do with rock and loud guitars, it's still beautiful to listen to.

Ohio All The Time. Momma

And another firster on the blog. No, Momma is not from Ohio, but Brooklyn in New York. Momma is a band that plays into the likes of Warpaint with a little more laying into the guitars than synths. Ohio All The Time rocks. I do not know anything about Ohio, except a recent news item on plastic pollution in the Ohio river but that is about it. Reading the short bio, I find that the band is not new but has scored a hit in 2003 called 'Bang Bang'. Whether they did anything in the meantime, I don't know and am too lazy to look it up. Based on this single, the band can count me in. Ohio All The Time brings back good memories and adds a new one. Over a layer of guitars Mommy's singer is able to sing softly with a innocent voice. The excitement is left to the lead guitarist who is allowed to kick up a storm here and there. Just like it should every once in a while.

Mockingbird. Larkin Poe

With Mockingbird Larkin Poe may have released my favourite song by the duo to date. The song rocks with a tough blues sound, but also is a kind of ballad and easily could be translated into a country song, modern and traditional. Rebecca en Megan Lovell step out of their comfort zone it seems. The crying slide sound is there but in a totally different background. The singer who comes to my mind foremost is Swiss-American Beth Wimmer. She would never record a song in this fashion, but Mockingbird could be one of her songs kicked into life in a totally different and near unrecognisable way. I love the way Mockingbird is built up. With the intro where slide plays the lead, to the first verse where the tough voice of Rebecca leads, before the song blows up with the whole band kicking in, the harmony vocals between the sisters join in. The chorus is simply absolutely great. Mockingbird is a song extraordinaire.

Medicine Ball. The Yearlings

The Yearlings up to now was just a name to me. Surprising, as a long hiatus apart, the band has been active since the late 90s. Following two albums in the 00s and one in 2018, the band is on route to its fourth release in 2025. Still with the original members, Olaf Koeneman, Niels Goudswaard, Herman Gaaff, Léon Geuyen and Bertram Mourits, with Martijn Vink as additional guitarist since early this year. The music presented with Music Ball brings back memories from long ago. Not just because it is alternative/indie rock with a strong focus on melodies but also because of the melancholy mood coming out of the song. Koeneman has that kind of voice. The drums are quite tough and in contrast with most of the other things going on. Until the two lead guitars, including the slide go for it. While everything during the parts that are sung is the restraint itself. Someone's really taken off the leash here. The contrast is what makes Medicine Ball come doubly alive. The song itself already is and then some. Yes, I'm curious for this new album.

Letting You Go. Jane Willow

It's two and a half years ago that Jane Willow was on the blog last, with her (second) living room show in Haarlem, where she gained a new fan in everyone present. Here's her new single, Letting You Go' off her upcoming EP 'Watch Me Fall'. The Dublin by way of Breda based singer-songwriter shows that she still honing her songwriting skills. Letting You Go is a delicate ballad of the kind that settles in my brain with ease. The impression the song makes on me, is that Jane Willow is playing in a different league. This is a mature song by a mature singer-songwriter. Together with Kevin Corcoran, piano, synths, bass and Anthony Gibney, electric guitar she presents a song that radiates beauty. All I hear is so frail in sound, yet unbeatable and unbreakable. The kind of song that touches me and carries me at the same time. Jane Willow undeniably has released good music in the past, but this is truly something else. Ireland, classical and great ballads can be heard here all in one, in the singing, in the piano, in the atmosphere

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Week 37 2023, 10 singles

This week another surprise. After ten years Kaizers Orchestra is back. Man, what welcome news. The new song is beautiful as well. What more can a fan want? There's more of course. You will find several bands that are favourites of this blog but expect a few first timers as well. All in all, once again a very mixed set. So, enjoy!

Kaleidoskophimmel. Kaizers Orchestra

What?! Yes!!!!! A new song by one of my favourite bands of the 21st century ever. In 2013 I was ill and gave away my ticket to a friend of my son. He came back home saying "this was a farewell show". The band had gone out with a bang. Three 'Violeta' albums in about a year, the one even better than the other. And now Kaleidoskophimmel. A short, just two minutes long song, that tells about all Kaizers Orchestra is capable of. A great melody, loads of melancholy, great singing and a great arrangement. No, like always I have no idea what Jan Ove Ottensen is singing about. It doesn't matter what he means by a kaleidoscopic heaven. The music and melody tells all. Like always. The band has not changed its line up. Ottensen is grey, like me, his voice has its power. My only fear is that this is a one off, as the band fades out of view totally during the last part of the video. Don't worry, there's an album on the way and a show in March. Count me in, please, this time. Kaleidoskophimmel is utter musical beauty.

Together We Go. Pom

Pom has a subscription to this blog it seems and Together We Go is no exception. The Amsterdam band on a Rotterdam label, yes, in music everything's possible, will release its debut album in November. This is the first single and Pom manoeuvres itself  nicely in the alternative pop niche, with a very obvious nod to the, until recently, ubiquitous Wet Leg. Together We Go has that brightness and great pop feel without making any concessions to the alternative rock roots. The Beths come to mind as well, just like Personal Trainer from Amsterdam. Pom takes it own enthusiasm to the record and the result is a song that makes you jump up and down, in the living room, the venues and the festivals this summer. Infectuous Together We Go is.

Amber. Maria BC

I would almost call this a church song. Amber has nothing to do with the church or a church theme. Maria BC sings about a very personal experience in relation to another person, called Amber. No, it is the almost sacred atmosphere of the music and the deeply sensitive way of singing that excludes, somehow, all profane thoughts. Maria BC is from the Bay Area and about to release her second album, 'Spike Field' (20 October). Over an acoustic guitar, recorded with quite some echo options around it, they sing with their serious voice. Underneath there are some piano notes and chords and what I would call atmospheric sounds, sometimes recognisable, sometimes more misty. It's a made-up bed where Maria BC feels at home, totally. Whether I'm able to sit through a whole album of them, I cannot tell yet. Amber is impressive though and very much worth while listening to.

Birds In The Spring. Liz Pearson

Liz Pearson may well have the premiere on this blog of a fully a capella song. Birds In The Spring is a traditional folksong from the U.K. The song is released in the late summer because of the release of a documentary film called 'The Nettle Dress', in which it features as the only song. We have met Liz Pearson before as the singer of Chalk Horse Music, a project that revives old folk songs in a modern setting. Here you will only hear Liz Pearson. Twice actually, as she harmonises with herself throughout Birds In The Spring. The result is a beautiful song that does not need any instruments to convince. Her pleasant voice is more than enough to please. Clear, pleasant and soothing. In Birds In The Spring it is all you need for a full experience.

Wants/Social Skills. Schau Schau

More music from Groningen, released on the Subroutine Records label. The double a-side single, limited as 7", is the band's third release. Schau Schau is, I presume, a reference to the Hamburg life of The Beatles where the owner of the obscure, no doubt seedy, club they played ordered the five young men to "macht schau, macht schau". Musically the two are not related in any way, except that they make and perform music and release it. Schau Schau plays alternative rock. Wants is slightly more alternative than Social Skills. Its rhythm is more complex with the suggestion of stop-starting the whole time, over which a light psychedelic sauce is spread. Social Skills is more of an alternative The Byrds track. Not that the folky-hippies were able to contemplate a rhythm like Schau Schau's, the psychedelics are straight out of the 'Eight Miles High' songbook. I have never heard the band's the previous releases. This introduction is quite alright. This band has potential.

Dreamers. Blaudzun

Dutch band's do influence each other. Dreamers could be a Direct song in my ears. With one difference. I'm usually indifferent to Direct and am a Blaudzun fan for over a decade now. Dreamers delivers exactly what the title promises. The song is exquisitely dreamy. Directly recognisable as a Blaudzun song and yet, with a much lighter touch. The central riff sounds like a sampled whistle, supported by lightly touched piano notes, until the solo that is played on a piano. Years ago I wrote something like "world beware, here's Blaudzun". The world does not seem to have heeded my message at all. Their bad, without doubt. The same goes for Dreamers. The song is just so nice and listening to it once is enough to never lose it again. The question is: who convinces the rest of the world?

Bread & Roses. Already Dead feat. Felipe Collazo & AnnMarie Collazo

Had the band's name been Dropkick Murphys, I might just have believed it. Bread & Roses is a traditional song turned punkrocker like Boston finest Irish punk band are famous for. Already Dead is quite alive considering its name. The band revives a song written in support of a 1912 strike in the town of Lawrence in Massachusetts. What makes these punked up traditional so much fun to listen to? I have asked myself that question a few times over the years. The original (folk) songs I don't like, while I certainly do not appreciate all forms of punk either. The combination though is often like shining gold. The answer may lie in the recognisability of the folk tunes and the energy the punk brings. Together there is only one thing left to do: sing along and dance/jump around. No matter how sad and serious the 1912 origin and inspiration of Bread & Roses was, in 2023 singing and dancing is what is left of the bad conditions the factory workers had to endure over a century ago. Some of their children may still be alive, but even they are fading away. The song is what remains of the hardships, so sing it loud and proud, in commemoration of all striking today for better wages and climate.

Alright Alright. Ghost Woman

With Alright Alright Ghost Woman works towards the release of its third album in about 18 months. The previous two were on my longlist but never made it to this blog, i.e. a review by yours truly. Two singles did and here's the third. In the meantime Ghost Woman evolved from a one man project to a duo. With co-writer and drummer Ille van Dessel on board, the band is now Canadian, Evan Uschenko and Belgian. This song is darkness incarnated but also a mix of 60s surf, a little Link Wray and 1980s postpunk. Musically this is 100% Cari Cari. The Austrian duo excels in this kind of music for a few years already. Ghost Woman adds darkness to that mix and gets away with it fully. The final component is a hint of psychedelia in the style of The Black Angels. Alright Alright is the correct title for the single.

Loneliness. Bear's Den

What to do, write or discard? It was a close one for Loneliness. So what convinced me to write? The better argument is the warmth of the song. The less good, that I thought it would be good to add a ballad to the whole. Back to the warmth. This is what a better Snow Patrol song could sound like, if that band didn't adhere to its urge to fill every single song with empty pathos. Bear's Den just plays everything a bit louder without resorting  to empty loudness. The voice remains warm and searching. The drums give the song body and the trumpets a little playfulness. "I thought I was over this shit, but I'm not", is the conclusion of Loneliness. The world can be glad Bear's Den never got over it, as we would not have heard the song, would we? From a piano the song is built up until it has a huge sound, without screaming guitars, without whole string sections, large choirs singing nor huge cymbal crashing. Loneliness does it all by itself. So, now you know why I decided to write.

Living With The Moon. Karamelien

With Living With The Moon, Léanie Kaleido, Karamelien's singer and songwriter, in a way rewrote Dave Edmund's famous lyric "From small things, one day big things come". She turned it into from bad things one day good things come. Kaleido wrote the lyrics after a bout with depression. Near the end of her sessions, her therapist said to her: "it's like living with the moon". And that provided the title and basis what Léanie Kaleido used to write her new single. Living With The Moon is an upbeat song, with a beautiful chorus, that has a bittersweet edge giving the song a little extra. A little light and a little shade. Kaleido plays most instruments. Bandmember Mark Foster plays nearly all guitars. Lee Pomeroy adds the bass. Once again Karamelien convinces me totally with a new song. The duo deserves to be heard more widely than it is.

Today I learned that the Japanese see a hare with a hammer crunching rice on the moon's surface. Something to look forward to to discover with the next fool moon.

Wout de Natris