It's The Long Goodbye. The Twilight Sad

Yesterday and today I have paid and am paying attention to two bands that in my mind are connected because of the kind of music they make, The Boxer Rebellion and The Twilight Sad. Although there are noticeable differences, both play music containing pathos and both have one foot firmly in the 1980s rock of bands like U2, Simple Minds and Big Country. Besides, both were on my long list but did not make it to the blog after their albums' release but do after the CDs were sent to me and I started playing them a lot. So let's take a closer look today at The Twilight Sad.

I can imagine people asking me 'how can you compare these two bands?' Well, just because of what I've written. It is all in the pathos in the music and the dreamy quality that is part of both band's music. That said, The Twilight Sad goes for the big picture, for having a sound that can fill stadiums and arenas. Everything is at least two notches larger. Songs on It's The Long Goodbye simply explode.

This is not the full picture though. As a listener you have to keep your focus, as behind and around the bombastic guitars lie the details that make It's The Long Goodbye a rich listening experience. The Twilight Sad knows how to make a song more interesting and a lot of these facets come from added keyboards.

The Twilight Sad started as a band in 2003 and with It's The Long Goodbye releases its sixth record. In 2026 it is only a duo, James Alexander Graham, vocals and Andy MacFarlane, guitars. In the studio they were joined by David Jeans on drums and Alex Mackay on bass. Add some help from long time friend Robert Smith of The Cure in a few songs and we're there. Together they are able to puff up the songs in a grand way.

Photo: Abbey Raymonde

In the above I've made some comparisons to some great bands from the past and The Cure can be added to that list. The Twilight Sad is able to come across larger than life on record. (I don't know about live, as I never saw the band play.) In the 1980s I was often annoyed with an album after a few songs by the mentioned bands; and still am when playing the records of old. The Twilight Sad avoids this trap. And now you will ask me what is the difference? Unfortunately, I have to come up short for an answer. All I can say is that these songs do not bore me in any way.

With 'Dead Flowers' the album is half way. The song already starts out with a lot of noise and gets bigger and bigger for the whole of the seven minutes it lasts and I'm on board for the whole of the way. Hear the Simple Minds styled keyboards and all they do is make the song better and better. Next up is the single 'Waiting For The Phone Call' that alerted me to what was coming. Robert Smith adds some guitar playing. At the time I wrote "this song will eat you alive" and I notice it still does. Okay, Graham sings a little like Morrissey here but that's easily forgiven, given the force 'Waiting For The Phone Call' is.

In other words, where circa forty years ago I had switched off an album by then to play the other side at a later date, I'm rolling full steam ahead with It's The Long Goodbye ('Designed To Lose'!, Attempt A Crash Landing - Theme'!)). Maybe bands are just better today albeit far less original, as yes, I have heard this kind of music before. With the difference that I simply like it so much more in 2026.

(And then I notice that my download has the order of songs wrong. It doesn't take away anything from the power I've experienced listening to It's The Long Goodbye.)

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order It's The Long Goodbye here:

https://thetwilightsad.bandcamp.com/album/its-the-long-goodbye 

Amy Macdonald live. Ancienne Belgique, Brussel, zondag 22 february 2026

Foto: HareD

De vaderliefde voerde ons dit keer naar Brussel. Mijn zoon is al jaren dol op de muziek van de Schotse zangeres Amy Macdonald. Haar concert in Tivoli was al uitverkocht, er was ook nog een optreden in Groningen, maar dat was ook midden in de week. Dus op zondag op en neer naar Brussel was het meest geschikte alternatief. Nooit een straf natuurlijk, en ook voor de muziek hoefde ik mij niet op te offeren.

Amy Macdonald is singer-songwriter, met vooral uptempo werk. Haar debuut in 2007 This is The Life was direct ook haar grote doorbraak. De titelsong stond in zes landen op nummer 1, en haalde de top 10 in nog eens 11 andere landen, zo meldt Wikipedia. In Nederland, Verenigd Koninkrijk, Denemarken en Zwitserland bereikte ook het album zelf de nummer 1 positie.  Inmiddels zijn we 5 albums verder, maar geen van de opvolgers behaalde het enorme succes van nummer 1. Maar dat zegt niet zoveel over de kwaliteit van de songs, want Mcdonald maakt simpelweg mooie nummers, die goed zijn gezongen. Hoogstens is de variatie wat beperkt.

In Ancienne Belgique was ze ook in goede doen, samen met haar vijf man sterke band. Fijne zaal ook, perfect geluid, bar gewoon buiten de zaal dus niet de hele tijd mensen die tig keer heen en weer lopen. Het kan natuurlijk toeval zijn, maar de Belgische toeschouwers om mij heen praatten veel minder tijdens het concert dan in Nederland. Ook prettig.

Foto: HareD

We kregen een fijne selectie van de zes albums voorgeschoteld, met nadruk op de jongste boreling Is This What You’ve Been Waiting For? (zomer 2025). Met het titelnummer trapte ze af en ze ging uptempo door met Dream On. Een vroeg hoogtepunt was haar tweede grote hit Mr. Rock and Roll. Andere mooie nummers waren Don’t Tell Me That It is Over, Slow it Down en Can You Hear Me. Amy is nogal een prater, dus we werden ook nog vermaakt met talloze anekdotes en observaties. Zo leerde we dat de band en rest van de entourage bijzonder blij waren met de wasmachine in Ancienne Belgique, omdat ze al een tijdje op pad waren in de twee grote tourbussen die prominent naast de zaal stonden geparkeerd. De set sloot af met This Is the Life, waarna we op een toegift van drie nummers werden getrakteerd, met als mooie afsluiter Let’s Start a Band.

Het was geen levensveranderend concert, maar wel een bijzondere goede besteding van de zondag. Aanrader!

HareD

The Cords. The Cords

It's only about five weeks ago when The Cords made its debut on this blog, with the nice single 'I'm Not Sad'. Now the album is here and it is exactly that bouncy, fun and uptempo experience I had hoped for.

The Cords are the sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi from Glasgow. Eva plays guitar and sings, Grace is the drummer. You may hear a bass guitar here and there, played by either of the sisters and few keyboard notes, but that is it. Producers Jonny Scott and Simon Liddel have not tried to make a lot more of The Cords than can be heard on stage.

The result is an album that is as honest as it sparkles. That is the word that comes to mind foremost for me. The sisters' obviously love for 80s and 90s alternative pop shines through the whole record. From a guitar driven Bananarama to The Bangles and louder bands like The Stone Roses, you can hear it all come by somewhere on The Cords.

What the duo adds is an immeasurable level of energy and enjoying what it is the do: playing songs they like and have written themselves. I can imagine a different cover played each night to augment the show. There is more than just the songs on The Cords. A cassette and a flexi single have been released in the past, but they have passed me by, like they will have done most people.

The album though is a must listen for all people with a love for uptempo, alternative pop songs. They have an enormous level if innocence, if not naiveté. The Cords join this with a tremendous power and self-assurance. Just listen to how 'Yes, It's True' thunders into your ears. And still maintains that level of innocence, thanks to the voice of Eva Tedeschi.

In my first listening session, I was a bit overwhelmed. Isn't it a bit too much of a good thing? The answer is no. The Cords have crashed into my life and will most likely not leave it easily. This duo deserves all the attention you can give it. More words are not needed.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order The Cords here:

https://thecordsband.bandcamp.com/album/the-cords-2 

WE WERE MADE PREY. Kathryn Joseph

De Schotse muzikante Kathryn Joseph maakte de afgelopen jaren drie aardedonkere maar ook wonderschone albums en ook het van elektronische impulsen voorziene WE WERE MADE PREY. is weer van een bijzondere schoonheid.

Ik ontdekte de muziek van Kathryn Joseph een paar jaar geleden bij toeval, maar sindsdien ben ik fan van de muzikante uit Glasgow. Ik moest wel even wennen aan de donkere sfeer op haar albums en aan haar niet alledaagse stem, maar eenmaal gewend domineerde de schoonheid en intensiteit van haar songs. Na drie redelijk vergelijkbare albums hoor ik op WE WERE MADE PREY. een net wat ander geluid. Het klinkt allemaal wat toegankelijker, al is dat een relatief begrip, en elektronica heeft wat aan terrein gewonnen. Ik was zeer gecharmeerd van het geluid op de vorige drie albums, maar WE WERE MADE PREY. klinkt nog net wat indringender en overtuigender. Hoogste tijd dat Kathryn Joseph bij meer mensen op de radar komt.

Bones You Have Thrown Me And Blood I've Spilled, het eerste album van de Schotse muzikante Kathryn Joseph haalde ik in de eerste dagen van 2016 uit een wat obscuur lijstje met de beste albums van 2015. Dat de muziek van Kathryn Joseph niet veel meer aandacht had gekregen begreep ik in eerste instantie wel, want na mijn eerste beluistering omschreef ik Bones You Have Thrown Me And Blood I've Spilled in mijn hoofd uitsluitend met termen als aardedonker, gitzwart en deprimerend. 

De muziek van Kathryn Joseph verdiende op hetzelfde moment wat meer tijd en kreeg die in de rustige eerste dagen van 2016 ook. Het hielp, want ik hoorde al snel de schoonheid in de muziek en de songs van de Schotse muzikante. Ik moest nog wel lang wennen aan haar stem, die zeker niet makkelijk is maar wel heel karakteristiek. Ik noemde in mijn recensie Karen Dalton, Joanna Newsom en Joni Mitchell als ijkpunten en dan weet je het wel. 

Kathryn Joseph vervolgde haar weg in 2018 met From When I Wake The Want Is, dat zeker niet onder deed voor haar debuutalbum. Het was wederom een album met mooie klanken van vooral de piano, met een hele bijzondere stem en met songs die het daglicht maar moeilijk konden verdragen maar ook bijzonder mooi waren en afwisselend associaties opriepen met Kate Bush, Tori Amos en Grouper. 

Dat zijn namen die ook op kwamen bij beluistering van het in 2022 verschenen for you who are the wronged, al was dat album wel net wat toegankelijker dan zijn twee voorgangers. Het was wederom een album dat niet veel aandacht kreeg maar bijzonder mooi was. 

Kathryn Joseph keert deze week terug met WE WERE MADE PREY. (de kleine letters zijn deze keer vervangen door hoofdletters) en het is wederom een fascinerend mooi album. Het is net als zijn voorgangers een album dat behoorlijk donker en hier en daar bijna duister klinkt, maar er is ook wel wat veranderd. 

Als ik de zang op WE WERE MADE PREY. vergelijk met de zang op de vorige albums vind ik de stem van de muzikante uit Glasgow nog altijd niet makkelijk, maar het strijkt bij mij geen moment meer tegen de haren in. Ook in muzikaal opzicht slaat Kathryn Joseph net wat andere wegen in. Op WE WERE MADE PREY. is wat meer ruimte ingeruimd voor elektronica, wat het donkere karakter van haar muziek versterkt. 

Het is nog altijd redelijk sobere muziek, maar in combinatie met de indringende zang van Kathryn Joseph is de impact maximaal. Ik had wel wat met de stemmige pianoklanken op haar vorige albums, die overigens zeker niet verdwenen zijn, maar de elektronische impulsen geven de songs van Kathryn Joseph een bijzondere sfeer en kracht. Het doet me af en toe wel wat aan Portishead denken, maar op hetzelfde moment is WE WERE MADE PREY. niet heel ver verwijderd van zijn voorgangers. 

Ik denk wel dat Kathryn Joseph met haar nieuwe geluid wat makkelijker de aandacht kan trekken van een net wat groter publiek en dat verdient de Schotse muzikante absoluut. Iedereen die het leven uitsluitend door een roze bril wil bekijken zal ook WE WERE MADE PREY. weer wat zwaarmoedig vinden, maar als je hier tegen kunt is ook het vierde album van Kathryn Joseph weer een bijzonder en echt opvallend mooi en intens album.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt WE WERE MADE PREY. hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://kathrynjoseph.bandcamp.com/album/we-were-made-prey 

The Pattern Speaks. Skloss

Skloss is a totally new name for me. The duo from Glasgow and Austin has come into my life with a musical bang. This is psychrock territory with full on drumming, distorted guitars but also female/male vocals, that alternate throughout the songs.

A Glasgow - Austin duo? It must be a record. Not that long ago it would have been impossible. Modern communication is a treasure in many ways, let's not focus on the downsides while listening to The Pattern That Speaks. Neither speculate what the breaking down of inter-Atlantic relations could mean to modern communications.

My ears tell me that Skloss is not a duo where its music is concerned, as its songs are impossible to reproduce as is with just the two of them. There is a layer of guitars stacked on top of each other. Opening song 'The Pattern Speaks' may begin with one instrument, it sounds like a Hammond through a Lesley speaker, when the guitar comes in the duo setting is already let go off and that is only the start of the stacking, while not counting Karen Skloss' bass drum and singing. Soon after one after the other guitar, distorted, wobbly or both enter the mix.

Reading the bio, the distance becomes less spectacular as Skloss formed in Austin when husband and wife American drummer/vocalist Karen Skloss (Moving Panoramas) and Scottish guitarist/vocalist Sandy Carson (Iglomat) decided to work together leading to debut EP 'Voices Travel Through This' (2022). The next step is a debut album recorded with producer Charles Godfrey (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Swans). The result is an album that is some heavy shit. Think The Black Angels, also from Austin, and then take a left turn. Skloss starts where The Black Angels have reached its outer limits. 

'Imagine 100 Dads' is the example song for me. It starts with a psychedelicly sung intro, twice, first male than female. Without real lyrics it seems. Slowly more enters and the tension is built up, waiting for the explosion. It arrives like a slow burn. There is anger and then some more and some. Dark clouds hang over the song. The lead guitar sound reminds me of Smashing Pumpkins. Speaking moves to shouting and then yelling, if not fisticuffs, all translated into the music and the loudness of the guitars, ending in digital last breaths.

If you like this song, I'm sure that you'll find your way into the rest of the album. Expect to be pounded on your eardrums but also to be musically pleased.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order The Pattern Speaks here:

https://skloss.bandcamp.com/album/the-pattern-speaks

The Human Fear. Franz Ferdinand

In 2007 I stood before a traffic light, heading south towards Dubrovnik. The turn left was to Mostar and Sarajevo. It must have been in Neum, the only Bosnia - Herzagovian town on the Adriatic Sea. This would not be memorable, let alone applicable to this review, were it not that the cassette tape I was playing in my old Peugeot 405 started playing 'Take Me Out' at that exact moment, when I saw a sign pointing towards Sarajevo for the first time in my life. In the summer of 2023 I was in Sarajevo and visited the site where the Austria-Hungarian crown prince and his wife Sophia were assassinated in 1914 by Gavrilo Princip, with all the huge consequences coming from that act 111 years ago, this summer. (Between us, how could you drive into that dead end street and not be complicit?)

Early 2025 and Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand releases its sixth studio album in 21 years. For those who bothered looking before New Year's eve, most of these records can be found in the overview I've made of the first 25 years of this century. See the last two weeks of 2024.

"Here we go with riff one", Alex Kapranos says in a voice that does not seem over-excited at the start of The Human Fear, before the band kicks in with first single 'Audacious'. Having listened to the album several times after purchasing it on the day of its release, the demurred atmosphere of the announcement is what describes the album best. The sprightly step is out of Franz Ferdinand's music. This is not the same as the album not being good.

As I wrote in my review of single 'Night Or Day' a few days ago, we have all progressed 21 years since the release of Franz Ferdinand's signature song 'Take Me Out'. (I have a personal experience what the song does with an audience, singing the song with a Swiss cover band in Vilnius' town hall during a conference party. It goes wild.) Although there are a few exceptions where the tempo does go up, the difference remains audible. This can be attributed to the changes in line up. A keyboard player is now a full time member and this is taken away from a second guitar part. More than it did on the previous album, 'Always Ascending'.

Over all the songs are Franz Ferdinand worthy. More and more of the songs are growing on me. At first acquaintance 'Build It Up' sounded a little tacky and after a few sessions I heard the typical Franz Ferdinand changes in the song, that make me like the band's music so much. It is followed by 'Night Or day' which is the prize song of The Human Fear. The piano is the main instrument of the song and yet it has that Franz Ferdinand step completely. 'Night Or Day' is a song that brings a smile to my face that does not leave me for the rest of the day.

The song in which Alex Kapranos fatherland comes forward, 'Black Eyelashes', is a bit too much despite that it has its moments. I had never expected to hear traditional Greek music, Franz Ferdinand style. There is clearly a Franz Ferdinand sauce over the song but still.

In an early review I read that 'Tell I Should Stay' is like a The Doors track. I had not heard it in my first listening sessions. On reflection I can hear where this comes from. I have a cassette with a bootleg on it, taped from a friend in the 80s. It contains a semi-classical piece by Ray Manzarek, a few notes on the keyboard does bring this piece to mind and Kapranos sings a few lines in a lower register, like Jim Morrison could do so well. The rest of the song does not, so it's a bit far-fetched as far as I'm concerned.

The Human Fear is only a few days out, so it's too early to say where we will really go together. The fact that the album is growing on me, is certainly positive. I liked most of what Franz Ferdinand released so far, so it comes as no surprise that I would have liked the new album. I'm certain I will be playing the album for some time to come and we will take it from there.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order The Human Fear here:

https://franzferdinand.bandcamp.com/album/the-human-fear

Late Developers. Belle and Sebastian

With How To Our Measure Human Problems Belle and Sebastian delivered three EPs in a short period of time. Varied, special and above all musically convincing and strong, good songs that stand out. The band released a few records after this but somehow I've missed them or did not feel the urgency to listen based on the reviews.

With Late Developers I heard of a new album before reading any reviews, so gave the album a go. With 'Julia Naked' the album starts in a clean and bare way. It suggests a sense of urgency that is totally missing in all the songs that follow it.

A positive quality of Belle and Sebastian is positivity. The sound of the band always has a touch of lightness in it. The clean sound, the high tones in the voice of Stuart Murdoch always sets me in a nice mood. This is something that not many bands have.

With Sarah Martin the band has a second lead singer who gives the band a second face. Musically, on this album, the songs with a little more pepper in them hold her voice as lead. It does not save the album though.

In 2023 it is more than a quarter of a century since the release of 'Tiger Milk'. Twelve albums down the line, I can't escape the impression that I have heard enough Belle and Sebastian songs. A new album does not add to what I already have in the home. (I have not listened yet to the latest Muse and Rammstein either e.g.) This is not necessarily a bad thing, music progresses and so does a listener.

There's nothing wrong with Late Developers. Don't get me wrong there. If this had been the band's third album, I would probably have been quite content with it. The light and some somewhat less light pop songs sound nice, attention was paid to details that pay off. However, as album number 12, of which I have six or seven, it's very different. Belle and Sebastian has to try harder I'm afraid. Like with the album I started this review with. That contains extra efforts. Here I'm only hearing the middle way where no risks are taken. Late Developers is not special enough for me in 2023 to put more effort into it.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Late Developers here:

https://belleandsebastian.bandcamp.com/album/late-developers

Imagine I Was This Tall. Garlands

It is sad to say but the following actually happened to me. I listened to Imagine I Was This Tall for the first time and thought: 'okay, nice'. With the band Garlands and the solo work of Gordon Harrow of the past half decade in mind, it turns out that consistent quality leads to this initial reaction suggesting averageness. Beware folks, Imagine I Was This Tall is all but average!

After the string of lockdown singles things went silent as far as Garlands was concerned. Until the late fall of 2022 when the first new single announcing a new album was released. Into my umpteenth listening session it is easy to conclude that Garlands delivers the goods with Imagine I Was This Tall. Its songs in the alternative pop-rock segment sparkle and catch the ear with ease. The fun of making and playing these songs translates into an infectuous desire to listen more and more.

Garlands is a trio from Glasgow with Gordon Harrow on guitar and voice, Darren Mackay on bass and Stef Blair on drums. Together they create a powerful sound that lets the pop elements ooze out in abundance. If I have to compare it is only Supergrass on its first four albums. Leave out the element of mischief that always surrounded the U.K. band. Garlands is more serious but its music has the same effect on me. Joy, pleasure and smiles all around.

In my opinion it does not make sense to lift out one or two songs as an example. They all have the same effect on me. One may have a small streak of 60s, think The Beatles, The Kinks, harmony vocals, while other may reference Britpop more or U.S. 1980s rock bands. When all is said and done this is Garlands with ten new, sparkling songs. Each and every one stands out on its own.

More words are not needed, really. Imagine I Was This Tall is an album that deserves to be picked up by everybody who loves alternative pop-rock. Garlands deserves to become a household name.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and buy Imagine I Was This Tall here:

https://garlands-glasgow.bandcamp.com/album/imagine-i-was-this-tall

Island Family. Pictish Trail

Pictish Trail has featured on this blog with its previous albums. All of them were pre-Covid, so a reflection of work under normal circumstances. Island Family is the result of work during the biggest health crisis in active memory. Perhaps being more secluded accounts for the more esoteric parts in the music. As there is more weirdness on Island Family than ever before. And that is actually a good thing.

Funny thing is that the comparisons made to define Island Family and Pictish Trail all fall on very infertile soil. I don't know a single song from all acts mentioned, barring some Beck songs. Luckily this does not hamper me to listen Island Family with fresh ears. The only thing, potentially, keeping me back is an inner Pictish Trail output comparison. Like I wrote, there may not be much cause for comparison. Johnny Lynch, from the Scottish Isle of Eigg, has, as it were, jumped board and expanded his mind in that act.

On Island Family there seems to be no convention left that he has not gotten rid off. All through the psychedelia, that is a huge chunk of the album, there is a playfulness that allowed Lynch to explore every single option, musically. To go after every sound his synths could well produce and perhaps beyond that capability through combining other effects and instruments.

Promo photo

This results in a sonic adventure, where at all times there is song involved. This not about creating soundscapes and loops for the sake of creating those. No, this is about what a song can contain. Tough rhythms go together with blips and sounds, while a melody is produced by a rhythmically played synth. Only for everything to drop away and create another song within a song, like in the title track.

On the other end of the spectrum a song like 'It Came Back' ties in to what a Belgium band like Balthazar is good at. Combining pop music with electronics and dance. Pictish Trail manages to shatter that image within 'It Came Back' with some devastating noise, interrupting the relative tranquillity. Relative as the song already contains this dangerous undercurrent. It goes to show how diverse the faces of Island Family are. To name a few other names, New Zealand's Pickle Darling, Canada's Astral Swanns, Dutch The Slow Clock and Moon Moon Moon, with Pictish Trail winding up at the extreme side of these one man projects.

The listener is advised to bring an open mind to Island Family. You are bound to be surprised several times and often quite pleasantly. Pictish Trail always has an alternative pop element underneath it all and from there starts its explorations. Electronics play an important role always. In one song this element is worked out more in-depth, in others a rocking side is presented, but always with electronics on the side of things. The best is to just let go and go with Pictish Trail's flow and see how you come out on the other side.

Wout de Natris