Thursday, 5 November 2015

Fish Live. De Boerderij, Zoetermeer 3 November 2015



De beer heeft gedanst. Er zijn drie fasen in het leven van een muzikant, zo vertelde Fish aan het begin van het concert. De eerste fase is het welbekende feesten, seks, drugs, drank en nachtclubs. In de tweede gaat het in de tourbus alleen maar over de uitzet, het huis en de school voor de kinderen. Fish zit inmiddels in de derde fase, waarin het gesprek onder muzikanten zich concentreert op pijn in je rug, sleetse knieën, het vergelijken van de medicijnen tegen die kwalen en de imposante buik je verplicht tot het dragen van zwarte kleding. In het kader van de rug verklaarde hij voorafgaand aan het concert geen coffeeshop te hebben bezocht, maar languit op de masseurstafel te hebben gelegen, om een pijnstiller in zijn rug te krijgen. Het resultaat mocht er zijn, volgens eigen zeggen ‘kon de beer weer dansen’.

Foto: HareD
In eerste instantie was er maar één avond geboekt, maar toen deze snel uitverkocht was werd deze avond ervoor gepland, die ook weer snel vol was (net als de show in Melkweg op 30 november). Twee keer uitverkocht in De Boerderij is slechts tweemaal 750 kaarten, dat heeft Fish wel anders meegemaakt, zeker in zijn glorietijd als frontman van Marillion. Maar hij was duidelijk verguld, hoewel hij het publiek in het begin wel een beetje stil vond en zich afvroeg of de organisatie soms kartonnen poppetjes had neergezet. Maar eerlijkheidshalve had hij dat wel een beetje aan zichzelf te danken. Hij begon namelijk met een aantal liedjes uit zijn veel grotere oeuvre nadat hij Marillion had verlaten, terwijl tijdens het concert de meest populaire Marillion-plaat Misplaced Childhood integraal werd gespeeld, ter ere van het dertig-jarig jubileum ervan.  Het was duidelijk dat de meeste mensen, waaronder schrijver dezes, daarop af waren gekomen en het latere werk minder goed tot zich hadden genomen. Onbekende nummers zorgen nu eenmaal voor een rustig begin.

Foto: HareD
Maar dat nam niet weg dat Fish en zijn heel goede band er veel zin in hadden. Het begin afwisselend rustig, maar ook fel politiek geëngageerd, met monologen tussen de nummers, bijvoorbeeld over de politieke onrusten in het Midden-Oosten en Noord-Afrika. Maar ook gewoon over voetbal en rugby. Toen uiteindelijk Misplaced Childhood werd ingezet zat de sfeer er best goed in. De inderdaad integrale uitvoering was subliem. Wereldnummers als Kayleigh, Lavender en Heart of Lothian werden gespeeld alsof ze gisteren waren opgenomen. Zuiver, met passie, en nog geen noot aan kracht ingeboet. Heerlijk! Twee korte, vrolijke toegiften later was het gedaan, maar toen hadden de heren zo’n twee uur gespeeld. En gedanst natuurlijk.

HareD

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Hope Is Just A State Of Mind. Little Comets

'My Boy William' is the first song on Hope Is Just A State Of Mind. The song takes a strong curve or two. From a seconds long silence with some water falling, to a vocal intro before a single acoustic guitar comes in. After 1 minute the song really starts and we're in hey-ho territory. Followers of Mumford & Sons was my quick assessment. The way the guitar is played, very rhythmically on the lower/deeper strings is a great start, but the former was a reason to stop listening. Well, almost, as I never know for sure. See the latest of Of Monsters & Man, for example. An electric guitar solo changes the mood a little and weird things start happening. Almost in Talking Heads style. The mood goes down again and someone's toddler joins the song. "William, was it really nothing"?, no, this boy William inspired.

My inbox regularly receives an email asking whether I'm planning to publish a review on a specific album. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it is no. No review if I do not like the album. Why waste valuable time on something I do not like?, is one of the ways to continue a blog like this. Only once I received an answer saying "You are really missing something", after I answered no. O.k., I thought, let's give it another chance and form an opinion.

After listening for a few times it becomes clear that Little Comets is not your average hey-ho band. It certainly has outward signs of it, but then the madness creeps in upsetting the apple cart in no little way. The link to Talking Heads isn't such a strange one. A more modern influence is probably Vampire Weekend, although I'm not very knowledgeable here, as I never got used to its music. That African sort of guitar playing and rhythms can be found in a somewhat watered down version on Hope Is Just A State Of Mind. Paul Simon's 'Graceland' even comes to mind in a song like 'Formula'. An indie version of 'Graceland' but undeniably present. When in 'Salt' the band does an Alt-J, a nice Alt-J, certainly, my judgement becomes a bit firmer again.

Reading up on the band I find that this is the band's third album after 'In Search Of Elusive Little Comets' (2011) and 'Life Is Elsewhere' (2012). After this it became somewhat quiet around the band. Two EPs followed in 2014 before this year Hope Is Just A State Of Mind was released. Singer guitarist Robert Coles, his brother Michael, lead guitar, backing vocals and bass player Matt Hall are a trio since their drummer left. Stemming from the Newcastle, U.K. region, singer Coles has a familiar accent, that shines through every once in a while, for the fans of Paul Smith.

Quality wise I'm still being shaken around a bit when listening to the album. What is very clear is that Little Comets doesn't have that much with hey-ho as I thought at first. It's more in the upbeat singing than in the music itself. Perhaps they have in the past, I do not know, that being the reason for the first song as a bridge to its new identity? Indie rock is what this band is about. The longer the album is on its way, the better I'm enjoying myself. 'Fundamental Little Things' and 'Don't Fool Yourself' are fun indie rock songs. Not unique, but the songs have a swing and make a point.

The final song is a different beast. The title is ton of pretensions, 'The Blur, The Line and The Thickest Of Onions'? Please, what kind of title is that? The song itself is just as difficult, hidden away at the end of the album.

Hope Is Just A State Of Mind is far from a bad album. I know that much by now. That I keep having my doubts is because I wonder what the album adds to what went before. Too much sounds are overly familiar, in the singing, the playing and songwriting itself. Little Comets at this point in time are followers, of several different musical streams even. At the same time this band knows how to write a decent song. At times even surprises. Let's hope that it is a matter of time before they find their own voice, while keeping up their level of proficiency.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Effetism' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z55cok8CYKU

or buy on Bol.Com


Tuesday, 3 November 2015

Currents. Tame Impala

Tame Impala never got to me. Not even close. I thought the band to be a bunch of posers to be honest. I do not know yet whether that has changed, but there is so much ado about this album in the past weeks -if there's one album aiming for the number one spot of 2015, it is Currents- that I thought, lets give it a serious listen.

On the radio a DJ was raving about the opening track of Currents for a few minutes and how special it was, the musical joke in the middle section, the surprising turn around it holds before lauding the whole album as well. I listened to the track being played and had my thoughts.

Now that I have heard 'Let It Happen' a few times more I at least understand what she was talking about. There are a few things happening in the song that make it stand out. Kevin Parker lets his synthesizer make sounds as if it is about to break. Or the electricity is switched off for a second. In the middle section things really go wrong, as if a record keeps repeating because of a scratch. Recently I heard a cd doing that for real, so nothing surprises me, but on MP3 that really is new. Over the repeats new things are added, including a fat drum. Things move forward. The main melody sticks out, but the song itself? Parker sings with a tame, lazy, highish voice. In certain sections he sings through a vocoder which gives the track.a distinctive 80s feel. To that a lazy disco beat is added. Air's 'Moon Safari' comes to mind and when the bass plops in 'Nangs' and that totally dreamy voice Air has, e.g. 'Kelly Watch The Stars', is there for 100%. The synth keeps breaking down here as well.

It may seem strange to comment the following having read the above, but in 'The Moment' The Black Keys is not far away. Strip away the dreamy sequences add a guitar or two and bigger drums and 'Gold On The Ceiling' is there. Just as jumpy this song is. Later on 'The Less I Know The Better' really moves into this territory, with that disco sauce over it.

Continuing into the album the dreamy parts remain, as do the electronics. There is a real ballad in the form of 'Yes, I'm Changing'. The need for the street sounds in the background go beyond me, but they are there, just as the a bit irritating finger snaps. It distracts from the beauty this track does hold.

Somehow the thought creeps up that Tame Impala is the 2015 version of 1977 Bee Gees. Something I loved to hate but for some years I have to admit that 'Staying Alive' is one of its best songs ever. That may happen with this band, with a difference that not that much went on before as it did with the brothers Gibb. I had a history with their band as a small kid. The near endless stream of hits.

The mood on Currents does not really change. There may be a darker cloud here and there, the main message remains dreamily go forward towards a better world. "I know you'll be happier too, eventually", as Parker sings. The darker cloud has a silver lining. Not in 'Past Life', bloody irritating that dark, slowed down voice.

What I can hear, is that this album was made with a strong concept in mind by a band that is developing itself. What I do not manage, is to get into this music or the other way around. A part of that mystery is the voice of Kevin Parker. I remain the outsider where Tame Impala is concerned. That is a step up from total indifference. What I do know for certain is that Currents will not be my album of 2015. Not even close.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Let It Happen' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odeHP8N4LKc

or buy on Bol.Com


Monday, 2 November 2015

Depression Cherry. Beach House

In 2012 kwam dit duo eerder voorbij in de eerste maanden van ons blog. Erwin Zijleman prees 'Bloom' uitbundig (lees hier verder: http://wonomagazine.blogspot.nl/2012/05/bloom-beach-house.html). Het zal menigeen niet verbazen dat het prijzen hier niet bij blijft....

Beach House koos op het in 2012 verschenen Bloom voor een net wat grootser en toegankelijker geluid dan we van Alex Scally en Victoria Legrand gewend waren. De critici noemden het een stijlbreuk of beschuldigden het duo zelfs van zwichten voor het grote geld, maar persoonlijk vond ik Bloom een logische opvolger van Beach House (2006), Devotion (2008) en Teen Dream (2010) en boven alles een geweldige plaat.
 
Depression Cherry, het vijfde album van Beach House, wordt momenteel warm onthaald als de plaat waarop Beach House terugkeert naar haar oude geluid, maar ook Depression Cherry is wat mij betreft weer een logisch vervolg op de fraaie serie platen die Beach House sinds 2006 heeft uitgebracht.
 
Depression Cherry is wat minder uitbundig dan zijn voorganger en flirt wat minder met pop, maar de groei die Beach House op Bloom liet horen wordt wel degelijk doorgetrokken. Dat hoor je in de instrumentatie, die uit nog net wat meer lagen bestaat dan voorheen, dat hoor je in de zang van Victoria Legrand, die zich inmiddels definitief heeft ontworsteld aan de vergelijking met Nico en dat hoor je in de songs die vol zitten met subtiele verrassingen.
 
Depression Cherry werd eerder dit jaar aangekondigd als ‘a return to simplicity’, maar zo simpel is het allemaal niet. Bij oppervlakkige beluistering hoor je inderdaad flarden van het geluid waarmee Beach Pop het afgelopen decennium zoveel indruk maakte, maar wanneer je net wat beter luistert, hoor je dat de muziek van Beach House er sindsdien een paar dimensies heeft bij gekregen.
 
Op Depression Cherry kun je heerlijk wegdromen bij de zweverige en zwoele synths en al even zwoele en zweverige vocalen van Victoria Legrand, maar achter deze bovenlaag zitten nog meerdere lagen waarin het geluid van Beach House meerdere kanten op kan schieten. Het levert verschrikkelijk veel moois op.

Beach House heeft vanaf haar debuut in 2006 een uit duizenden herkenbare geluid, maar weet dat geluid ook steeds verder te verrijken en te vernieuwen. Het levert in de vorm van Depression Cherry al weer de vijfde prachtplaat op. Wat mij betreft geen ‘return to simplicty’ of een terugkeer naar het oude geluid, maar wederom een enorme stap vooruit. Een stap die ook dit keer richting de top van de jaarlijstjes zal voeren.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier luisteren naar Depression Cherry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy5MiOqarYs

of kopen bij Bol.Com


Sunday, 1 November 2015

The Monsanto Years. Neil Young + Promise of the Real

Were it not that I can't shake off the impression that I owe enough Neil Young records to serve me a lifetime, I may have been forced to write that The Monsanto Years, again, is a fine album by "Ome Neil", as I tend to call the musician for a few decades now. Young who turned 70 this year, is churning out records at a high pace. Like they used to in the 70s. One a year or more. He has a lot to tell and this time it is about Monsanto, a company producing gentech biotechnology and apparently under fire from all sorts of organisations and private persons, now including Neil Young, who is protesting like it's 1970 all over again. Although listening to the lyrics it could be more about farmers being forced to make choices than the gentech itself.

I have no opinion on gentech. There's enough to worry about and a food (and fresh water) crisis this world is heading towards. Solutions need to be found and gentech is probably one of them. Let me stop there with personal comments and move towards the review of the music on this album.

Let me start in a very simple way. Boy, am I enjoying this album. The Monsanto Years topic wise may be very heavily laden, musically it has a lightness that is surprising. Neil Young's aging voice can hardly keep up here and there. This band rocks in a relaxed way, just making noise for the fun of it, it seems. Guitars everywhere, rhythm, several lead lines echoing each other and a drummer that is just pounding away. There is a Dutch verb "rammelen", that I do not know a good English equivalent for but that is what Neil Young and his band mates do, rammelen. Rattling comes closest I guess, but if that fits in a musical sense I doubt strongly. This album is all but tight. It's not aimed to be. Everyone knows his part but clearly perfection was not the goal. And that is exactly what makes The Monsanto Years so interesting.

Neil Young sounds inspired on this album, something I could not find in some of his previous albums. The Monsanto Years is an album that may grow into one of my favourite Young albums. In a general way I like his electric guitar incarnation best, although there are very notable exceptions to this rule. They're even on this album (e.g. the county song 'Wolf Moon'). The combination of styles? Whenever his guitar starts growling in combination with a good melody or inspired solo I'm seriously enjoying myself. This album holds some of these qualities.The fun starts right in the first song 'New Day For Love'. The solo notes sound so far out that they seem poised to escape all physical laws.

Promise of the Real is the band of Lucas Nelson that worked with Neil Young to record the album. They are joined by another of Willie Nelson's sons, Micah. Together they recreate the sound of Crazy Horse quite successfully. Promise of the Real fits Neil Young like his old band did. The sound is big, huge, larger than rock as all Young's biggest rock songs do. Although I am puzzled by the mixed reviews the album received, it can only be because perhaps it could have been a more slick record. That puzzles me even more because slickness would have destroyed all this album is as far as I'm concerned. For the rest? Neil Young delivers like only he can. His voice remains one of the first to be rejected in auditions for the local church choir, but recognisable among 100.000s of voices. Unique in rock. His guitar work is just as unique. Dark, slow, sluggish, it has its own voice and tone.

Lifting out a single song of The Monsanto Years is unnecessary. This album is like Ayers Rock/Uluru: a monolith. Huge, hard, as one. It's been a long time since Neil Young impressed me this much with a new album. All have their moments, even 'Storytone' had some in the bare version of the record. The Monsanto Years has nine highlights. All deliver 100% without a doubt.

Wo.

You can listen to 'A Rock Star Bucks A Coffee Shop' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC2DpGaykaI

or buy on Bol.com