Tramhaus live with Neighbours Burning Neighbours and Texoprint. Paradiso Amsterdam, Wednesday 2 October 2024

Photo: Wout de Natris

"Rotterdam, make it happen", Tramhaus singer Lukas Jansen sang triumphantly and the whole of Amsterdam's pop temple Paradiso sang along with him. "Love's, not a competition but I'm winning", Ricky Wilson of Kaiser Chiefs sang on the band's debut album. Neither music is, but it was veni, vidi, vici, the whole of the way for Tramhaus, and for the two Rotterdam bands supporting also by the way.

It is one and a half year ago I saw Tramhaus live for the first time. From what I remember, what I saw, was a band aspiring to become bigger but with a lot to learn where stage presence, self-confidence and swagger were concerned. Drawing out an intro, for effect and building up the tension, is only done by bands that know they will pull it off. Take one guess. Presently all that and more is there, complemented by even stronger songs, recently released on debut album 'The First Exit'. In other words, Tramhaus is ready to take on Europe and it will in the coming months.

This Paradiso show, the launch of the album and the kick off of the tour, was one I really wanted to be present at. For one, I wanted to see for myself how good the band has become through playing in the past year and because the band is not on view in NL until the spring of 2025. If this does not show the ambition of the band, what does? For fans and professionals, this was the show to be. Tramhaus delivered. The band gave a perfect show to match expectations and in my humble opinion more so. 

Lukas Jansen for an ex-drummer has transformed himself not only into a singer but also in a charismatic frontman. He really fronts the band, doses the use of his voice and gets the crowd going at the right moments. The two guitarists weave and weave and weave their parts. No matter how against the grain some notes may be, they always complement each other or even taking over parts and musically end at the opposite of where they started. They truly compliment each other. There is no lead or rhythm guitarist in Tramhaus, they are both and sometimes both at the same time. Nadya van Osnabrugge and Micha Zaat are well on their way to become one of the great guitar duos of The Netherlands ever.

Photo: Wout de Natris

The rhythm section stands ready to play complex rhythms in support of the weirder guitar notes. A look is enough to start Julia Vroegh and Jim Luijten off. When I read recently that Vroegh had never played a bass before joining the band, I was truly in awe. She must be a natural alright.

Based on 'The First Exit', an album that is a truly great debut album, showing that all the songs released before were exercises towards the big push, my expectations were high. Tramhaus showed so much progress in all ways, that my expectations were not only met but totally surpassed. If music were a competition, the only Dutch band in their league in 2024 is Personal Trainer. Tramhaus, where post punk is concerned, whatever that really means, is near the top if not on it.

Photo: Wout de Natris

Texoprint was a new name to me. It was exactly the right band to open the evening. Climb on stage, rummage around a little, kick in the fuzz pedal or something resembling it of the bass guitar and go. All enthusiasm, no holding back, perhaps a little in awe of an already well-filled Paradiso but bluffing their way out of it by playing a good show. With a singing drummer, a huge bass and a guitar that was shredding the venue to pieces regularly, the band did well and caught the ear of the listeners in the right sense. (Literally, there was no escaping the noise, which says nothing about audience participation.) Texoprint is a junior version of A Place To Bury Strangers. The kind that doesn't nail me to the wall to cover me with the wall paper and stomp on my ears without stopping. Not every song was good in my ears, but most were and certainly the softer song near the end worked well, making the storm that came before and ended it all the more impressive. Yes, a good show.

Photo: Wout de Natris

I'm sorry to say that I was disappointed by Neighbours Burning Neighbours and impressed at the same time. Unfortunately, I found that the music did not touch me. The music did not make me want to move. Next to that I found the band extremely confrontational and non-compromising musically. It was more in my face than I could handle live. On the other hand, as I wrote I was impressed. The way the band played the most outlandish rhythms and executed them fully in sync, while all sorts of notes were played on top, below, in between and where not in response to each other, all patted by accents on drums and bass, left me almost panic stricken remembering how much trouble I had playing the 'Radar Love' intro riff in sync with bass and drum the night before. And that's just counting from 1 to 8 each time. How do you practice something Neighbours Burning Neighbours seems to pull off with ease? I saw the concentration it takes. It doesn't come by itself. So, in the end, I came out of the show in a positive way. What surprised me, is the fact that the music did not get to me. The album did and I looked forward to hear it live.

Just one comment on the side. This is a music blog and not about politics. We are totally in agreement on Gaza, but mentioning 7 October and not reference the 1200 people slaughtered that day at a festival and in their homes, which when all is said and done started the extreme catastrophe in Gaza, is wrong.

That said, Rotterdam came and won this Wednesday and when Feyenoord won in the Champions League as well, all was well. To sum up, if Tramhaus manages to set the next step in the next months, the world will be their oyster. The band is that good.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can order the music at Subroutine Records' website:

https://subroutine.nl/

Burning Neighbours. Neighbours Burning Neighbours

The band with one of the unpleasantest names in rock history, Neighbours Burning Neighbours, returns to this blog with its debut album. The Rotterdam based band is by now known for its post punk, noise rock, and close to city and label mates Tramhaus. They both belong to the same scene, sure, but Neighbours Burning Neighbours takes its music even further left of dial. And yet, I found that the band surprised me several times on Burning Neighbours. (Concerning the band name, it doesn't have to do with the horrible associations my mind conjures up, but comes from the novel 'From Here To Eternity' by Caitlin Doughty on death rituals. So, take the title literally in that way.)

The surprise starts in the very first song. 'Trans Youth' is a song that goes through a host of moods. After a guitar only intro, an almost dissonant bass joins, after which the whole band kicks in. When the singing starts the band plays at its most ugly, fiery but ugly it is. And then the rollercoaster ride of emotions starts. If Neighbours Burning Neighbours ever played delicately it is the lead guitar in the interludes. Be ready to receive some more surprises as the band totally winds down next. Sure, it is a postpunk riff that is played, but it can be called beautiful nonetheless. Just like the solo guitar that comes in next. With a bass that joins in in full support. 'Trans Youth' is a complex song in a few ways but a great opener to Burning Neighbours.

The band consists of guitarists and singers Alicia Breton Ferrer and Daanie van den IJssel, bassist Kat Kalkman and Drummer Aram Scheeve. The band debuted on this blog with a self-titled 7" single in 2020. Breton Ferrer can be found in several other guises, going back to 2019 with The Sweet Release of Death. All involve noise and more noise over more noise. There's enough on Burning Neighbours to underscore this, but it's only half the story. Neighbours Burning Neighbours also seeks other musical forms to express itself. I do not expect anyone not able to stand noise to be won over by the songs. For all others it makes listening to the record a far more interesting experience. It allows for being surprised and to enjoy the full eruptions better.

Most of the songs therefore are totally left on the pop dial. The chords and notes in nothing resemble pop hits, of any point in time. They're noisy, sometimes pure ugly and weird. And yet. The band manages to get some pop elements into these post punk, alternative rock/noise songs. This makes for interesting listening. Something for everyday? No, but regularly? Certainly. Burning Neighbours contains the kind of music that is ideal for the variation a persons needs. Just like a punk record of some sort every once in a while.

'Neil Young' has an interesting lyric. "Neil Young is killing me". Now I literally do not know one woman personally who is a Neil Young fan. "I can't listen to him". (Usually Bob Dylan follows in the same sentence: "I love several of his songs, as long as he doesn't sing them"!) I wonder if this lyric comes from this distaste of  Young's voice? Musically the song has nothing to do with Dinosaur Sr. music. The song is another example of how Neighbours Burning Neighbours plays with dynamics on the album.

To be sure a dystopic wall of noise is unleashed on the listener in the next song. Not for nothing it is called 'Catharsis'. The scream that is the only vocal contribution, is like exorcism. The music is only there to accompany that scream. "Shout, shout let it all out" translated into a scream. Who needs words, when the message is understood? Part of its music is Arthur Janov's (primal scream) therapy set to music. To give a little context on the left side of that scream dial, there is Porridge Radio and SPRINTS, both bands of which the singer emotionally unloads herself. Next, there's nothing for quite some time and then comes this album. Musically the others are, no matter how good, child's play.

You understand by now that I can't call Burning Neighbours an easy album, as it is not. Neighbours Burning Neighbours is a talented band and it presents itself exactly that way on Burning Neighbours. Relentless, without an inch of empathy for the listeners' ears, it gives us its all. Like in the great rock song 'Cotton Brain'. And that is a lot. No matter how alternative and far out there, the band is among the best and not afraid to show different sides to itself. In the meantime raising the game for itself as well. It also means the band can diversify in the future. People will come to expect surprises. That is the future. In the meantime let's enjoy Burning Neighbours.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order Burning Neighbours here:

https://neighboursburningneighbours.bandcamp.com/album/burning-neighbours

2024. Week 30, 10 singles (2)

"Summertime and the living is easy", is a very famous line from the very famous song 'Summertime'. I am being fooled twice here. Foremost by the summer here in NL this year so far (not much to speak of) and by a cover covered in this post (total surprise). Once again, there is a varied lot for you to digest, so let me no longer keep you. Enjoy!

Spider Legs. Wild Powwers

Wild Powwers is singer/guitarist Lara Hilgemann, bassist Jordan Gomes, and drummer/singer Lupe Flores. The band released its fifth album 'Pop Hits & Total Bummers Vol. 5' on the 5th of July. This is an alternative pop song that is powerful but also hard to put my finger on. Nothing is straightforward, with exception of the singing. The three instruments play parts that fit in the harmonic sense but each comes across as if on its own planet. This makes Spider Legs harder to listen to. Wild Powwers makes me work for my listen. The beginning is easy to follow. Slowly but surely parts seem to change, become more difficult. The chorus is not one to sing along to easily. I immediately knew I wanted to write on the song but got seriously confused along the way. See what you think.

Songs From Home EP. Wild Remedy

Today we have some country and folk on the blog as well. Recently Wild Remedy debuted with the single of this EP on this blog. Here is the five song EP. Amy Russett, Colleen Roberston and Shay Mahoney, from Ottawa and Montreal, breath life into the "hey-ho" genre, though they opt for only 'ho', that petered out about ten years ago. The three women sing together adding strength to their individual voices. Think boygenious, Mouth of Babes or Worry Dolls and then add a lot of enthusiasm. They sing as if they have nothing to lose, yet a world to win. The basis of the song is an acoustic guitar and a (kick) drum. From there, the song can be expanded, it is the singing that always is in the middle, the focus point. You will find most songs in an uptempo rhythm for folk songs. When the tempo does go down a little in 'Wild Remedy', the voices steal the show even more. Together with producer Nate Hardy the trio found the right additions to its trio and probably live sound, without being pressured into something that it is not. Wild Remedy is a vibrant singing trio of (indie) folk songs with a country tone here and there for good measure. Songs From Home is a very welcome surprise, where boygenius will have to watch, as far as music is, the competition.

Try. Elephant Tree

This song is a lot heavier than what is usually found on the blog. Elephant Tree plays a sludgy, psychedelic kind of rock. A deep and dark riff lies at the heart of Try. At the same time the song has a clear melody. The vocals are recorded with an effect on them, making them sound trippy and psychedelic. The "go" deep in the mix from the chorus to the second verse, shows how enthusiastic the band is. Even the best band may need a pointer every once in a while as well. The guitar solo plays some notes I did not see coming and so does the chord change in the instrumental part after the solo. It all makes the song stand out. The deep dark growl from the rhythm guitar at the end is a befitting ending. Yes, Try is on the blog because I tried as well. The album, 'A Handful Of Ten', is the band's first in 10 years. Its two previous album are to be re-released on the same day.

A Great Escape. POM

Last year, POM made it to the list of my favourite albums for 2023. A Great Escape is the first release since 'We Were Girls Together' on route to a to be released EP later in 2024. Fans will recognise the sound immediately. That tremendously energetic punky rock sound. The band opts for the moniker fuzz rock. I certainly add the word pop, as it oozes out of A Great Escape like fresh water from a well. POM managed to find another optimistic sounding guitar riff at the beginning of the song, before holding back for the first verse. Liza van As can sing the verse with ease over bass and drums accompaniment, with a few keyboard notes coming in in the second half. In the second verse more keyboards are added, making the single sound a bit spacey. The chorus is one of the better POM has released so far. Think 'Exoskeleton', that good. With A Great Escape POM proves that its best songs were not a coincidence. The world is going to enjoy this band a lot more in the future.

Summertime. The Dogmatics

Summertime is announced as a cover. So I sat down expecting another cover of the famous American songbook standard by Gershwin. Not The Dogmatics. They play Summertime written by Richie Parsons and played by his band Unnatural Axe. The Dogmatics play the song with reverence. Drummer Tom Long kicks the song into life with a great drum intro. The band falls in repeating the chord sequence accented by the lead guitar, with just a note, perhaps two. That's enough in the verse. Jerry Lehane's voice is rough and serious. He "can't wait for the summertime", when all the college kids have gone home once again and the city is for him to love his baby. And of course for The Dogmatics and all these other great bands in Boston to start playing to their own crowd. "Summer's here and the time is right for dancing in the streets", to The Dogmatics' Summertime. I'm sure Bowie and Jagger and all the others who sang the song, didn't see that one coming.

Massachusetts. Jensen McRea

Boston is in Massachusetts, so it's a small step from the previous single in this post. Despite singer and songwriter Jensen McRae is from LA. A new name to me, but not to Erwin Zijleman. He reviewed her debut album 'Are You Happy Now?' in June of 2022. Listening to this single I can understand why he would fall for a singer with little edge to her voice and the rich music behind her. Massachusetts reminds me a little of 'Fast Car', Tracy Chapman's number 1 single of over three decades ago. This song is far more than a girl with guitar though. Behind Jensen McRae more happens than my ears can keep up with during the introduction to the song. From a modest beginning, explaining the title in the first words, the song is slowly but surely built out as more and more instruments join the song, harder and harder to keep them apart. The lyric lines are not necessarily connected to one another but do tell a story of some kind that is interesting to follow. A nice introduction to this new singer, for me that is.

American Ocelot EP. American Ocelot

Five song EPs are almost a mini album. Do they deserve their own post or is it more befitting to be ranked among the singles? The short answer is here, as that leaves more room for albums. American Ocelot deserves a spot as its self-titled debut EP sounds as if it could have been made around 1968 by an alternative early rock band, had they had the recording technique bands now have that is. American Ocelot, named after a wild cat, sounds simply so good, with a special spot for singer and band leader Joanie Lynch, who is dreaming her dream in music and has formed her own band with Sara Billingsley on vocals and percussion; Kevin James on lead guitar; and Charlie Sullivan on bass. The music varies from alternative rock to garage rock. 'Non Participant' is a very good example of this. Lynch's vocal may not be the best here, the context and band make up more than enough. Non Participant is a fantastic dirty rock song. 'Secret' also is but a little more punky. American Ocelot is an EP containing a nice variation of songs that shows the different sides to the band. Where some bands overdo diversity, American Ocelot presents a nice fit. Its EP is a great introduction on route or so I hope, to more in the future.

Paint Me Like A Woman. Gia Ford

This is totally mysterious and so intriguing. Gia Ford lays down a mood that I'm immediately sucked into. On route to her debut album, 'Transparent Things ', out on 13 September, she's out to make a deep impression with this single. Oh, of course, something in the mood sounds immediately familiar, but who cares. Something Radiohead but also a name I can't get my head around, I think triphop from England but ?? A song that has the exact same mysterious atmosphere and then exactly that piano sound. Expertly the drum and bass come in for the second verse, making the sound bigger. The pre-chorus brings the song down and then comes the chorus itself. Gia Ford plays her listeners with her seductive, yet solid voice. For her debut album she was able to work with producer Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers). The collaboration pays off. I am no little wanting to her 'Transparent Things'. If she's able to maintain this level of music making, it may well be a winner.

Familiar Place. Neighbours Burning Neighbours

It's over four years ago that I reviewed 'Neighbours Burning Neighbours', a three song single. After that there was a solo album and duo album by Alicia Breton Ferrer but then things went quiet. In the meantime another band from Rotterdam took over the alternative post punk torch: Tramhaus. Come summer 2024 and this other Rotterdam band is back and on on track. As always completely without even searching for a form of compromise to whatever convention except for making noise in abundance. I can control my volume here in my home, live this will be devastating to the quality of ageing ears. Familiar Place fully works though. All through the near dissonant notes and chords the song comes through. There is a superb use of dynamics, putting air into the song, while allowing for the moment that when the band really lets it rip, it comes across double. Familiar Place is a single that will not make it to a lot of radio stations but is a great promise for album 'Burning Neighbours' slated for 13 September.

Wrong Ones. The Vices

Above, POM presented its new single, here are Mattan Records label mates The Vices with a new single as well. With Wrong Ones the Groningen band goes for their alternative rock side. And rock Wrong Ones does. With a stark rhythm, great dynamics and wild abandon that is unleashed in the chorus, the band shows its capable of rocking. Just listen to the intro. The guitar plays the lead and drops away for the start of the verse. The Vices keep playing with the dynamics all through the song and where another band would put in oohs and aahs in the background, The Vices opt for an electric guitar playing harmonies replacing the vocals. To think that The Vices come out of the band Ten Years Later and that I received an LP to review from the boot of a car years ago (and did). The Vices by now has a tour in the U.S. under its belt. With a song like Wrong Ones only more doors will open.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

Versions Of Modern Performance. Horsegirl

De Amerikaanse band Horsegirl levert met Versions Of Modern Performance een werkelijk fantastisch debuutalbum af, dat je constant op het verkeerde been zet, maar dat ook meedogenloos verleidt.

De muziek van de piepjonge Amerikaanse muzikanten Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein en Gigi Reece krijgt allerlei etiketten opgeplakt, maar ik hoor persoonlijk toch vooral 90s indierock en noiserock. De muziek van Horsegirl is ruw en avontuurlijk, met een hoofdrol voor geweldig gitaarwerk, maar Versions Of Modern Performance heeft ook zijn toegankelijkere momenten en is dan opeens verrassend aanstekelijk. Horsegirl is momenteel een behoorlijke hype, maar Versions Of Modern Performance is in kwalitatief opzicht de hype ver voorbij. De drie jonge meiden uit Chicago hebben een weergaloos album afgeleverd, dat dit jaar zeker hoge ogen gaat gooien, al is het maar in de jaarlijstjes.

Met name in de Verenigde Staten wordt al een tijdje heel erg druk gedaan over Horsegirl uit Chicago. Nora Cheng (gitaar, zang), Penelope Lowenstein (gitaar, zang) en Gigi Reece (drums) zaten nog op de middelbare school toen ze de eerste songs voor hun debuutalbum schreven, maar het weerhield het legendarische label Matador er niet van om Horsegirl direct een platencontract aan te bieden. 

Dat er momenteel heel druk wordt gedaan over het drietal uit Chicago is overigens volkomen terecht en ook op de beslissing van Matador om het drietal onmiddellijk te tekenen valt echt helemaal niets af te dingen. Versions Of Modern Performance van Horsegirl is namelijk een geweldig album, dat met een beetje geluk kan uitgroeien tot een van beste debuutalbums van het jaar. 

Dat er op voorhand veel vertrouwen was in de muziek van Horsegirl blijkt overigens ook uit het feit dat niemand minder dan de legendarische John Agnello het album produceerde. Met het CV van deze John Agnello kan ik de rest van deze recensie vullen en dat ga ik niet doen, maar hij werkte onder andere met Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth en The Breeders en dat zijn drie namen die nog terug gaan komen in deze recensie. 

Horsegirl wordt hier en daar een punk, een post-punk of een shoegaze sensatie genoemd, maar buiten wat flarden postpunk (bijvoorbeeld in de openingstrack) zou ik de muziek van het drietal uit Chicago zelf in de hokjes indierock en noiserock stoppen. Bij Horsegirl draait alles om de gitaren en deze worden gebruikt om hier en daar flink hoge muren op te bouwen. 

Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein en Gigi Reece houden niet alleen van gitaarmuren, maar ook van lekker vervormd gitaarwerk, dat hier en daar flink het experiment opzoekt. Zeker wanneer de songs met een kop en een staart tijdelijk worden verlaten voor net wat experimenteler werk schuift Horsegirl op richting Sonic Youth, terwijl de wat toegankelijkere songs op het album herinneren aan Dinosaur Jr. (daar zijn de eerste twee namen al). Horsegirl doet verder denken aan alle indierock bands die in de jaren 90 werden aangevoerd door een vrouw, met The Breeders (en daar is de derde naam) en Sleater-Kinney als aansprekende voorbeelden. 

Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein en Gigi Reece hebben de middelbare school nog maar net verlaten, maar het debuutalbum van de band zit razend knap in elkaar. Ook de meest rechttoe rechtaan songs op het album zitten vol bijzondere wendingen en zowel het gitaarwerk als de drums op het album klinken geweldig en kiezen bovendien nooit voor de makkelijkste weg. De zang op het album is aangenaam ruw, maar vliegt echt nergens uit de bocht wat Versions Of Modern Performance nog wat beter maakt. 

Het doet af en toe wel wat denken aan de muziek van het zwaar onderschatte Goat Girl, maar Horsegirl wordt voor de afwisseling eens wel overladen met aandacht. Ruim een half uur lang houdt Horsegirl je op het puntje van de stoel met songs die het je nergens makkelijk maken, maar die desondanks met speels gemak overtuigen. De Britse kwaliteitskrant The Guardian noemt Versions Of Modern Performance een indierock masterclass en dat is precies wat het is. Wat een debuut.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Versions Of Modern Performance hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://thisishorsegirl.bandcamp.com/album/versions-of-modern-performance

Twin Plagues. Wednesday

Het rauwe en gruizige debuut van de Amerikaanse band Wednesday trok vorig jaar ondanks alle belofte niet veel aandacht, maar het veel betere tweede album van de band verdient deze aandacht absoluut.

Startende bands zijn momenteel niet te benijden. De Amerikaanse band Wednesday bracht haar debuut vorig jaar vlak voor de start van de pandemie uit en komt nu in hopelijk de staart van deze pandemie met een tweede album op de proppen. Het is een uitstekend album vol dynamiek dat moeiteloos schakelt tussen gruizig gitaargeweld en mooie ingetogen passages. Het leverde vorig jaar een veelbelovend debuut op, maar met Twin Plagues is Wednesday de belofte wat mij betreft voorbij. De songs zijn beter, de instrumentatie is, net als de zang, mooier, maar Wednesday heeft haar ruwe charme gelukkig behouden. Heerlijke gitaarplaat.

Vorig jaar verscheen I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone van de Amerikaanse band Wednesday. Het debuutalbum van de band uit Asheville, North Carolina, bevatte acht songs en net een half uur muziek. De over het algemeen gruizige maar soms ook uiterst ingetogen muziek van Wednesday stond wat mij betreft bol van de belofte, maar het kwam er op het eerste album wat mij betreft nog net niet voldoende uit, al heb ik het debuut van Wednesday achteraf bezien verrassend vaak beluisterd. 

Deze week verscheen Twin Plagues, het tweede album van de band rond boegbeeld Karly Hartzman. Het afgelopen anderhalf jaar is een lastig jaar geweest voor muzikanten en een hopeloos jaar voor startende bands als Wednesday. De band uit North Carolina heeft zich er echter goed doorheen geslagen en levert wat mij betreft een tweede album af dat de belofte van het debuut meer dan waar maakt. 

Twin Plagues bevat vier minuten meer muziek dan het debuut, maar jaagt er in 34 minuten wel maar liefst twaalf songs doorheen. In de openingstrack hoor je direct de twee sterke kanten van het debuutalbum van de band terug. Wednesday bouwt hoge en gruizige gitaarmuren op, maar kiest ook de rust en dan met name wanneer Karly Hartzman zingt. Waar de band op haar debuut afwisselend voor stevige en meer ingetogen songs koos, vloeien alle invloeden in de muziek van Wednesday op Twin Plagues op mooie wijze samen. 

Wednesday lijkt haar inspiratie vooral te vinden in de jaren 90. In vrijwel alle songs op Twin Plagues duiken flarden shoegaze, noiserock, indierock en indiefolk uit het betreffende decennium op. Zeker wanneer de gitaren de hoofdrol opeisen hoor je duidelijk de invloeden van shoegaze pioniers My Bloody Valentine, indierock helden Dinosaur Jr. en noiserock giganten Sonic Youth, maar door de zang van Karly Hartzman zijn ook associaties met rockbands uit de jaren 90 met een vrouwelijk boegbeeld niet te onderdrukken. Denk hierbij aan Belly en Throwing Muses, maar zeker ook aan The Breeders en Liz Phair in haar wilde jaren. 

Hiermee zijn we er nog lang niet, want wanneer de gitaren vooral melodieus klinken, de mooie zang van Karly Hartzman centraal staat en zelfs een randje roots opduikt, hoor je ook nog wat van vrouwelijke singer-songwriters uit de jaren 90 als Cat Power en Aimee Mann, aan wiens stem de zang op Twin Plagues met enige regelmaat herinnert. Wednesday blijft echter zeker niet in de jaren 90 hangen en vindt ook aansluiting bij de wat meer rockende jonge vrouwelijke singer-songwriters die momenteel met zoveel succes aan de weg timmeren in het indiesegment, terwijl ik af en toe ook nog wel wat hoor van Big Thief. 

 Het zijn een heleboel namen, maar door de enorme dynamiek in het geluid van Wednesday is de Amerikaanse band absoluut een aanwinst voor de hedendaagse rockmuziek. Hoewel Twin Plagues qua geluid niet eens zoveel afwijkt van het debuutalbum van de band, is het qua niveau een wereld van verschil. De opbouw van de songs is keer op keer prachtig en ook in muzikaal en vocaal opzicht is het tweede album van Wednesday een paar klassen beter dan het vooral aardige debuut. Op hetzelfde moment heeft de band uit Asheville, North Carolina, het ongepolijste of zelfs ruwe randje van het debuut behouden, waardoor liefhebbers van ontsporend gitaarwerk ruimschoots aan hun trekken komen. Prima album.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Headache Sorbet. Alicia Breton Ferrer

Only two years ago, Alicia Breton Ferrer, was someone I had never heard of. Since, she has found her way into these pages with the band The Sweet Release of Death, then with the band Neighbours Burning Neighbours and now as a solo artist. That is three different guises for one singer/bassplayer/guitarist. It may well be that without corona the world would never had heard the songs on Headache Sorbet, but is the richer for it.

Headache Sorbet is the result of home recordings, poor neighbours I can't help thinking every once in a while. An amalgam of sounds, noises, instruments and experiments come by, in some ways turned into something resembling songs. Not songs that through the decades found their way into the Top 40s of the world, with the exception of 'Oh, Superman', but music that people delving quite a little deeper in released music will find attractive to explore.

Because exploring is the right word for the quest Alicia Breton Ferrer sends her listeners on. I'm just not quite sure what the holy grail in this quest is made up of. The answer is, that there's no need for a price. Appreciating or learning to appreciate Headache Sorbet is price enough. It allows you to backtrack the adventure she put herself on, being in isolation from both her bands, from performing. Music is was she does and it came out of her, of course it did.

On the basis of a single released a few weeks ago, I had never expected to like Headache Sorbet. That as such is not new, I had to find my way into her two bands as well, and did. Where I gave up on the single within a minute, I decided at the same time to give the album a serious chance. It paid out.

Headache Sorbet is far from an easy album. For a few reasons. Rhythms are experimental. I even believe an old-fashioned typewriter was used in one of the songs to create the rhythm. From there it's possible to experiment further. There are no straightforward songs in earshot. The melodies are halting, incapacitated even. Were I asked to compare 'Red Alert' to anything, it would be an abstract COBRA painting. On it something faintly resembling a bird or tree hidden in between the thick swaths of paint. In the same vein instruments and sounds were thrown into the mix, faintly resembling a song, hidden somewhere in there. Because of the ending De Kift springs to mind. A weird rhythm over a bizarre guitar riff, but where De Kift ends its experimental music, Alicia Breton Ferrer begins..

Iggy Promo photo

So why do I like Headache Sorbet? I have been racking my brain over that question but do not have an answer for you that truly explains it. I would start with that I'm fascinated by the sounds and how they interact with each other. How within this abstract environment interesting pieces of music come together. That the mood on the album as a whole challenges me to pay more attention than the album at first listen merits. Above all, because I have the impression that when making this album, if that idea was there at all at the start, there were no rules. All was open, possible and accepted only when it fitted a slowly emerging bigger picture. That bigger picture now is out in the open and challenges, attracts, pushes away, attracts again..

I hope this helps you a little, dear reader, but you will have to undergo your own adventure and challenge, as Headache Sorbet is both. All sounds except cat Iggy and the flute were played or created by Alicia Breton Ferrer, so this is truly her album.

Although it's easy to predict you will stop listen quite soon within 'Nosebleed', that would be the easy way out. I found that the adventure does lead to musical satisfaction, making Headache Sorbet a very interesting album to follow, undoubtedly containing dozens of surprises that will unfold long after these first listening sessions.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Headache Sorbet here:

https://aliciabretonferrer.bandcamp.com/releases

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Wammo. Bailter Space

In the fall of 2020 Excelsior Records celebrated the 25th anniversary of 'Benjamin B', a great alternative rock album by the band of the same name, at the time only released on cassette. In the winter of 2021 Flying Nun Records does the same for Wammo, Bailter Space's album from 1995.

I can own up directly. in 1995 had not heard of either band nor album, although I do have two later albums by Benjamin B. Recently I was introduced to Wammo and decided to write a little on the album. Reading about Bailter Space, I find out that the band is from Christchurch in New Zealand and started in 1987, before settling into the line up: Alister Parker, John Halvorson and Brent McLachlan. At some point the band earned the moniker Sonic Youth of the Southern Hemisphere and was recognised as playing the loudest.

But what am I hearing as a novice listener in 2021? At the time I never got into Sonic Youth nor The Pixies and since have never caught up. Listening with ears that have moved actively through the Britpop era, I can't help but noticing some Oasis influences in the melodic songs on Wammo. They certainly have a wilder, perhaps even a more dangerous streak than Oasis had in its songs. I can't judge about lifestyle. All comparisons go when Bailter Space unleashes the inner beast and go for loud, mildly structured songs, with noise and feedback drowning out the singing. I can hear that the band is going for it 120% but this simply isn't my music. Funny to hear is how abruptly 'At Five We Drive' is faded out. Was there no room left on side A? I get that impression somehow.

With 'Zapped' Wammo gets a third influence thrown in. In the singing The Stone Roses become present, while the music slowly but surely becomes as wild as in 'At Five We Drive'. At the same time there are 60s influences of bands that thanks to psychedelic drugs let it all go and without inhibitions let their deep innerself loose in the studio without thinking of song structures any longer. Bailter Space does keep an eye on the song and its structure, that neatly clocks in a decent time.

Photo: Jono Rotman

The sheer volume of Wammo almost makes me forget I'm listening to a trio, guitar, bass, drums. There may be a guitar overdub here and there, the effect of the trio is huge. I find I'm fascinated by the mix of music Bailter Space presents. From music without compromise to melodic pop, hidden under a wall of noise. B side opener 'Retro' is another such an alternative pop song where Oasis finds Buffalo Tom and loud even wild playing. A clear sign that Bailter Space masters both styles of playing music.

Now people loving nice pop records better brace themselves before listening to Wammo but a fact is the records holds pop elements within it. The noise wins out though, easily, two fingers in the nose. The combination makes the album interesting and in parts even good. As I already wrote, not all of this album was made with my taste in mind and luckily so. Exploring the outer avenues of alternative rock to me is a lot of fun as well.

Of course at some point, in 'D-Thing', The Velvet Underground rears its ugly head. The drumming style is in the image of Mo Tucker, the way the drums are pounded, the sheer force of it and that extremely dry snare sound is something Mrs. Tucker could only dream of. Somehow it immediately makes it the highlight of Wammo for me. And even then that pop element shows in the vocal melody changes here and there.

Winding up, I conclude that the re-releasing Wammo was the right decision to make. It's an album that deserves a re-appreciation in 2021. 25 years and a little later.

Wo.

You can listen to and order Wammo here:

https://bailterspace.bandcamp.com/album/wammo

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Kidbug. Kidbug

’Supergroep’ Kidbug citeert uit een handvol muziekstromingen uit de jaren 90, maar voegt ook flink wat avontuur en verleiding toe aan dit buitengewoon aangename debuutalbum.

De leden van Kidbug hebben hun sporen in de muziek stuk voor stuk verdiend, maar tellen op tot iets dat aan de ene kant bekend in de oren klinkt, maar dat je aan de andere kant ook steeds weer fascineert. Met invloeden uit de noiserock, de indierock, de shoegaze en de dreampop is het gitaarwerk op het debuut van Kidbug vaak behoorlijk stevig, maar er zijn altijd verrassende wendingen en hiernaast is er de soepele stem van Marina Tadic die zorgt voor verrassing, avontuur en verleiding en die de songs van de band ook nog eens een melodieuze draai geeft. Supergroep is misschien wat overdreven, maar leuk en interessant is het absoluut.

Kidbug werd de afgelopen week hier en daar binnengehaald als een ‘supergroep’; een term die vooral in de jaren 70 werd gebruikt wanneer leden van hele grote bands de krachten bundelden in een nieuwe band en die voor het eerst werd gebruikt toen in 1969 Cream werd geformeerd.
 
Het predicaat supergroep is misschien wat veel eer voor de band Kidbug, want zo bekend zijn de leden van de band niet. Adam Harding geniet mogelijk enige bekendheid als voorman van de band Dumb Numbers, terwijl Marina Tadic vooral in Nederland bekend is met haar alter ego Eerie Wanda (haar debuut Pet Town behoort wat mij betreft overigens tot de verrassingen van 2019). Bassist Bobb Bruno en drummer Thor Harris staan ook nog eens op de loonlijst van respectievelijk Best Coast en Swans.
 
Het is misschien geen supergroep volgens de jaren 70 definitie, maar in muzikaal opzicht mag het debuut van Kidbug er zeker zijn. Kidbug ontstond toen de liefde Marina Tadic en Adam Harding bij elkaar bracht, maar ook in muzikaal opzicht blijkt het te klikken tussen de twee muzikanten en de later aangeschoven ritmesectie. De band beschrijft haar muzikale kindje zelf als "cuddlebug sludge”, maar omdat er al genres genoeg zijn beperk ik me maar tot al bestaande hokjes.
 
Van deze hokjes zijn dreampop, shoegaze, noiserock en indierock het meest van toepassing op de muziek van Kidbug. Adam Harding is niet vies van gruizig gitaargeweld, Marina Tadic zingt prachtig speels en dromerig en de strak spelende ritmesectie slaat alles vakkundig aan elkaar. Hoewel het debuut van Kidbug vooral een gitaaralbum is, was er ook zeker plaats voor andere instrumenten in de studio, waardoor het geluid van de band is verrijkt met keyboards, vibrafoon, percussie en mij onbekende instrumenten als buddha machines en de hurdy gurdy.
 
Flink wat songs op het album zijn deels verstopt onder gruizig gitaargeweld, maar de mooie en trefzekere zang van Marina Tadic zorgt er steeds weer voor dat de kop en de staart van de song nooit uit het oog worden verloren. Het zijn songs die soms behoorlijk stevig zijn en die bovendien niet vies zijn van bijna psychedelische passages, maar het zijn ook prachtig melodieuze songs die makkelijk verleiden.
 
De songs van Kidbug zijn door het gitaargeweld en de hier en daar stevig aanzwellende synths behoorlijk overweldigend, maar de band vertrouwt zeker niet alleen op grootse en meeslepende klanken. In de songs van de band zijn keer op keer bijzondere wendingen te horen, waardoor je niet alleen nieuwsgierig blijft, maar de spanning in de songs van Kidbug ook prachtig wordt opgebouwd en weer afgebouwd.
 
In muzikaal opzicht wordt flink uitgepakt en keer op keer indruk gemaakt met stevig gitaarwerk, maar de speelse zang van Marina Tadic is minstens even belangrijk. De afwisselend dromerige en avontuurlijke zang voorziet het geluid van Kidbug van veel dynamiek en zorgt er bovendien voor dat de band meer doet dan fantasieloos voortborduren op de muziek van de inspiratiebronnen uit de jaren 90.
 
Zeker als de ritmesectie loodzwaar is en de gitaarmuren meedogenloos zijn, vraagt het debuut van Kidbug om een flink volume, waarbij ook de zang het best tot zijn recht komt. Het roept associaties op met een enorme stapel met mijn favoriete rockalbums uit de jaren 90, maar het debuut van Kidbug voegt er ook wat aan toe en had ik daarom zeker niet willen missen.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Kidbug hier luisteren en kopen:

https://kidbug.bandcamp.com/releases


of luister naar onze Spotify Playlist om uit te vinden waar we over schrijven:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Neighbours Burning Neighbours

What is in a name? It makes me think of a post modern dystopian, apocalyptic society. Not unlike 'Mad Max' or the future time in David Mitchell's book 'Bone Clocks'. No, the band name is not one to cherish. It is a trait of singer Alicia Breton Ferrer as her other band is called The Sweet Release of Death.

Neighbours Burning Neighbours has released a 7" single after releasing its first song 'Grace' late last year. So there are three songs out and they could not be more different. Yes, all three can be pushed into the louder segment of alternative rock. Live the music will reach eardrums splitting levels. Nowadays I bring plugs so can usually cope when necessary.

So let's start with 'Grace', the oldest song. In a way this is the easiest song to describe. The playing is early 80s post punk. Andy Gill has recently died I found out but he would have appreciated the song. Again, and I have written this a few times in the past months and years, the bands in the 10s and now early 20s who look back at that point in time musically are better songwriters. Just listen how the two guitars interplay with each other. The hedgehog may have his pins out in full, there's always melody in there and enough pleasure to amuse the listener. Something I always missed around 1980. The sky is blue and Neighbours Burning Neighbours doesn't mistake it for the fall out that never came (from a bomb. We did live through Chernobyl.)

The single opens with a surprising instrumental, '-1'. So?, does it last 1"12 in reality? I can't really say what the deeper meaning of the two guitar notes is that are played over and over and the soundscapes built around them. First in the drumming and crashed cymbals and slowly but surely more drawn out sounds from either a very treated guitar but most likely a synth. A utter and total surprise '-1' is in the context of all else.

The final song is 'Softly'. It starts not unlike '-1', but soon turns into a a vocal inferno. Am I glad that I don't double as Ms. Breton Ferrer's vocal chords. I would be bleeding the whole of the time. Courtney Love has a rival to fear. It is not just her crying out in deepest pain, anger and some fear that makes 'Softly' impressive. It is the contrast between the soft start and singing, the fairly subdued guitar parts. The drumming is firm, yet can't be seen as a precursor for what is to follow. The singing may be soft, it's not as if the singer sounds at ease. There's a tension that is built into the guitar playing as well. That's before the guitar sounding like an electric saw underscored the shouting flies into the song. 'Softly' is far from pretty. It is like an impressive, impregnable castle that nevertheless one day will fall, like most have in the past. The screamed out "What are you waiting for"? is like a cry of uncertainty. Will the walls hold? It is the sound of living in fear of what we dread most.

Wo.

You can buy Neighbours Burning Neighbours' songs here:

https://neighboursburningneighbours.bandcamp.com/


or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Memory. Vivian Girls

Vivian Girls leek lang een mooie herinnering uit een ver verleden, maar keert terug met een album dat veel beter is dan alle albums van de volgelingen van de band.

Vivian Girls maakte tussen 2008 en 2011 drie albums die talloze bands inspireerden tot het maken van muziek, overigens zonder het niveau van Vivian Girls te halen. Het naar Los Angeles verhuisde drietal keert na een afwezigheid van acht jaar terug met een fantastisch album. Het is een album dat aan de ene kant rauw en gruizig klinkt, maar de songs van Vivian Girls zijn ook honingzoet. De mix van flink wat invloeden blijkt al snel bijzonder verslavend, zeker wanneer de band de gitaarmuren contrasteert met zonnige koortjes. Het maken van een goed comeback album is maar weinig bands gegeven, maar Vivian Girls doet het. En hoe!

Vivian Girls werd twaalf jaar gelden geformeerd in Brooklyn, New York, en schaarde zich met haar in 2008 verschenen titelloze debuut direct onder de smaakmakers van de zoveelste revival van dreampop, shoegaze en noisepop.
 
De band leunde in tegenstelling tot de meeste van haar soortgenoten wat zwaarder op de noisepop en overrompelde met een geluid waarin naast invloeden uit de shoegaze en dreampop vooral flarden Sonic Youth en Bikini Kill opdoken.
 
Cassie Ramone, Kickball Katy (Goodman) en Ali Koehler (later vervangen door Fiona Campbell) maakten al snel een tweede album (Everything Goes Wrong) dat minstens net zo goed was, namen hierna een break en keerden in 2011 nog één keer terug met het wederom uitstekende Share The Joy. Hierna werd het helaas stil rond Vivian Girls en werd de band ingehaald door volgelingen als Dum Dum Girls, Best Coast en Joanna Gruesome, om er maar eens drie te noemen.
 
Vivian Girls leek lange tijd een mooie herinnering uit een inmiddels alweer redelijk ver verleden, maar opeens is de band terug met een nieuw album. Cassie Ramone, Kickball Katy (Goodman) en de op het oude nest teruggekeerde Ali Koehler werkten de afgelopen acht jaar aan andere projecten en kregen kinderen, maar kiezen nu weer vol voor Vivian Girls.
 
Bands die na lange afwezigheid terugkeren hebben het meestal moeilijk en zijn in veel gevallen geen schim meer van de band uit het verleden, maar dit gaat gelukkig niet op voor Vivian Girls. De tegenwoordig vanuit Los Angeles opererende band levert met Memory haar beste album tot dusver af en is al haar volgelingen uit het afgelopen decennium direct weer een paar stappen voor.
 
De songs op Memory volgen allemaal ongeveer hetzelfde recept. Het tempo ligt hoog, de gitaren zijn stevig en gruizig, de zang van Cassie Ramone is bijzonder trefzeker, de koortjes zijn suikerzoet en de melodieën zijn stuk voor stuk onweerstaanbaar. Vivian Girls had altijd al een eigen geluid en is nog steeds niet in één hokje te duwen. Shoegaze, dreampop, post-punk, noisepop, punk, garagerock, indie-rock, indie-pop en 60s girl pop vloeien allemaal samen in een geluid dat vanaf de eerste noten de aandacht trekt en deze aandacht moeiteloos twaalf songs en 33 minuten vasthoudt.
 
Producer Rob Barbato (Kevin Morby, The Fall) heeft Memory voorzien van een lekker rauw geluid, maar het is ook een open geluid waarin alle facetten van de muziek van Vivian Girls goed worden belicht. Vivian Girls bouwt hier en daar hoge gitaarmuren op, maar tekent ook voor mooie heldere gitaarlijnen, wat het album voorziet van veel dynamiek.
 
De band heeft New York zoals gezegd inmiddels verruild voor Los Angeles en ook dat hoor je in de muziek van de band. Memory klinkt wat zonniger dan de vorige albums van het drietal, terwijl de geweldige koortjes op het album herinneren aan de hoogtijdagen van zowel de Phil Spector girlpop als de Californische Westcoast pop.
 
Ik had altijd al een zwak voor de muziek van Vivian Girls, maar Memory kan ik geen seconde weerstaan. De band imponeert op haar niet meer verwachte comeback album met een dozijn songs vol verleiding, energie en kracht. Het zijn songs die zijn te omschrijven als rauw, stekelig, maar ook honingzoet en verleidelijk en dat is een combinatie die maar weinig bands beheersen. Memory komt aan als een mokerslag, maar ach wat is het lekker.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Memory hier beluisteren en kopen:

https://viviangirlsnyc.bandcamp.com/album/memory


of luister naar onze Spotify Playlist en ontdek waar we over schrijven:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

The Bullfight and The Sweet Release of Death live. Patronaat Café Haarlem, Friday 6 December 2019

Photo: Wo.

Can a contrast between two bands be bigger than between the two performing in the café of the Patronaat on this evening? Of course it can, but there is no bridge wide enough to cover this distance. There should have been one, The Fire Harvest. Unfortunately the band had to cancel. In March when I had a ticket to a show of the band, I had to cancel due to being indisposed. Perhaps it is just not meant to be and I will have to enjoy the band solely on record. Let's go back to what I did see/hear.


The Bullfight
When I entered the café the band was working to get the sound on stage right. In the venue itself it already sounded crystal clear. This is an element totally unknown to people not playing in a band. If the balance on stage is wrong it has negative effects on the performance. No matter how often you practice, it is impossible to play an outstanding show if you can't hear yourself in perfect balance to the others. Not to speak of singing harmonies.

The Bullfight is touring on the back of its excellent new album or better the Gesamtkunst called 'Eggs & Marrowbone' is. This night the music stood central but the art book was present at the stand. Musically the band is able to create an extremely intense mood that accompanies the intense lyrics about murder in various ways, the theme of the new album and some older songs as well. Playing against a red, ceiling high draping, I was expecting to see a dancing midget coming out of the draping and agent Cooper sitting dazed and confused in a chair. The music at times would have been totally fitting that famous 'the red room' scene.

Photo: Wo.

With the music perfectly balanced it was possible to hear every note and every word. The interacting between the two singers, the lead notes on violin or piano, the mostly soft played, brushed drums, the upright bass and the guitar. Together they changed the mood from mysterious to lyrical or soft and delicate to a harsh explosion, all underscoring the things going on in the lyrics. During the song about the killing village priest singing doo-da-da after his abuse and then killing, the band members couldn't hold their laughter during the doo-da-da section which is so estranging to what went before. How the priest met his fate is quite surprising, although I could have imagined a final verse with the devil singing doo-da-da and an into hell descending priest.

The music is influenced by all sorts of music long presaging the era of modern pop music. Played this way it becomes the perfect kind of pop able to sway people and move them in unpredictable and uncertain ways. To sum up, this was a perfect show. The Bullfight is a must see band.

Photo: Wo.

The Sweet Release of Death
Haarlem personality Mr. Weird Beard opened the show with a poem and the second performance with a fantastic collaboration as if band and MC were doing this for years. Mr. Weird Beard told a story about a friend who called him to say that his father was seriously ill, to slowly weave the personal story into the name and announcement of the band. The band behind him in the meantime from the outset started to produce sounds. The bass player repeating a single note in a time that lay ages apart, while in between producing more and more sounds that sang around more and more, slowly gaining more attention and loudness. The guitarist looped sounds he made on and through his guitar. Towards the climax of the story sounds started to escape, as if out of control. No longer containable within the loops that were going round and round with new sounds added. When the MC reached the name of the band all sounds stopped and bass player Alicia started strumming her bass in a one chord position in a tempo that was relentless for player and audience. The drummer kicked in and there was no returning from that moment onwards.

It was not difficult to imagine a torture chamber in Iraq with this music on louder than loud for hours on end with people in their prison cells slowly but surely going completely crazy. I imagined a tiger in a cage, slowly but surely trying to find the way out, contemplating revenge on each and every one in front of its way to the exit. This is how some sounds The Sweet Release of Death produced seemed to behave. They were constrained within a song structure they did not want to belong to. While the drummer pounded away keeping it all together, the bass being supertight or producing feedbacking sounds, it is the guitar that plays through God knows what effects all set to the extreme to produce sounds that can only be derived at after countless hours of testing, playing with knobs, joining in another stomp box and see what happens. All subtlety disappears even when a few single notes seem to be played in a tempest of sounds flying and flowing through the room. Sounds created now or somewhere before, repeated over and over in the loop.

Photo: Wo.

I haven't got a clue which songs the band played. I was part of a sonic onslaught that was simply impressive.

The beautifully contrasting title of the album, 'The Blissful Joy Of Living', is underscored by the artwork of the album. The LP is totally white, reminding me of the photo's of the funeral of either prince Hendrik or queen Emma in 1934. The cover of the album isn't smooth but a little rough, the writing in grey pencil. Having bought the LP before the show, I noticed the stark contrasts while unpacking. The only written communication on the LP itself is on the label on the side containing no music, 'Joy' it reads, in grey pencil. A lot of thought went into the artwork that at first looks almost primitive. It is in the fine details The Sweet Release of Death shows the joy being alive can bring to humans. The band scored another point with me.

I can totally understand that a live show can be too much for many people, the record is another one of the fine albums produced in this country in 2019, no matter how hard in your face it is.

Wo.

You can listen to and buy music of The Bullfight here:

http://brandyalexander.nl/index.php/bar-shop

and of The Sweet Release of Death here:

https://thesweetreleaseofdeath.bandcamp.com/album/the-blissful-joy-of-living


or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

The Blissful Joy Of Living. The Sweet Release of Death

To call The Blissful Joy Of Living beautiful would be overdoing things by a long margin. The Sweet Release of Death unleashes a kind of primordial force killing off all sensitivities that I may have left in my slowly ageing ears. What the energy the band calls forward certainly does is making me realise the joy a bit more and that I’m not going to be in search of that sweet release for a while yet, given half the chance.

The Blissful Joy Of Living is an album where there’s no room for any subtleties. Guitars are shredded, shredded louder and then some more for good measure. Whole walls of guitars, like a house totally overgrown by vines, leaving only true space for the singer's voice, like the windows that are cut open in between the vine in order to look out. Somewhere in the background there is a drummer going about his business. In fact it could be a drum machine for all I care. Listening closer, I have a hard time identifying between the two options. In the last song it is even 100%, I'd say. What is a fact, is that drummer Sven Engelsman up to a certain point can do whatever he likes. The guitars played by Martijn Tevel shred away anyway. The bass is another issue as the instrument hovers somewhere in between. Sometimes part of the rhythm, sometimes just laying down some accents which the guitars and drums do not make or finally contributing to the noise some more.

Promo photo

In ‘Sway’ I have no doubts though. This song presents the listener with an extremely effortful piece of drumming. The song is an onslaught to all senses, even those senses having nothing to do with listening. Live this will be music at ear-splitting level. An experience like I had in Amsterdam two years ago with A Place To Bury Strangers. The difference is the singing of singer Alicia Breton Ferrer and the mix of her voice in the whole. Her lyrics can, well almost, always be followed. Melody is beside the point though. This is more performance than singing. Perhaps it is near impossible to find a true melody over the noise. I have a hard time calling the music on The Blissful Joy Of Living songs. Buildings would come closer had the term been appropriate for compositions.

So in short, anyone who “lives” through the first two songs will get to the end. In a minute or 20 all six songs have played themselves out in a blistering storm of music. But pay attention now. You’ll find a surprise in the form of ‘Sick Girl’, a song that almost plays out like a “regular” indierock song.

What keeps hanging in my mind, revolving there over and over, is the impression The Blissful Joy Of Living as an angry album. Yet I truly doubt if it is. There certainly is aggression in the playing in the way the songs/buildings are attacked. This is not the same as anger though. The Sweet Release of Death does not play music from a blind rage. In fact I have the impression the six songs on the album are well thought out. The little light that is allowed into the album in ‘Sick Girl’ and a part of ‘Hey’ show just that. What remains is the sweltering heat of an intense band. The Blissful Joy of Living proves to exactly be the right frame of mind to keep the release found in the band's name at bay for a while longer. Life's too much fun with surprising albums like this.

Wo.

You can listen to and buy The Blissful Joy Of Living here:

https://thesweetreleaseofdeath.bandcamp.com/album/the-blissful-joy-of-living


or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g