Live session. The Future's Dust

A still from Eurosonic 2014

After a long silence The Future's Dust is back. As a teaser the band released a live session on You Tube recently.

The leaving of singer Rosan Rozema was painful on all sides and led to all sorts of negative publicity. The four that remained decided to continue the name and is under way to releasing the first album. So is Rozema. In other words, we will try to be on it all.

Early 2014 this blog reviewed the EP 'Marrakech' more than favorably. So yes, we were curious what the new music would bring. In this live session The Future's Dust moves between near silence to a storm, all filmed in moody shades, blues and purples. An impressive piece of music that makes more than curious to what lies in store for 2016.

Time to start listening. I have and it is exciting.

Wo.

Click for the live session here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ihf9G6T5lY

Ham. Lucas Hamming

This spring Lucas Hamming played the support-after show of Sunday Sun touring behind his debut EP The Perv In Perfection. Both reviews can be found on this blog. Now we have a full album and I don't mind admitting up front that Hamming delivers on his promise.

In the past month and something his latest single is on the radio. Now that I'm listening to the album it is that I start to notice how good and subtle the single really is. 'Never Let You Down' on the radio is this prickly pear kind of song. Now, with a better sound and all present on my headphones, it is that I start noticing how subtle the song also is. That total and utter pop feeling is unleashed fully from the multi layers of the song. The prickly chords are what gets noticed first. By maneuvering between them, I get to the sticky sweetness in the middle. In other words an extremely good song. And 'Never Let You Down' is only the beginning of the fun.

Ham is an impressive album for a debut. Hamming manages to impress with songs that are in different realms as well. He battles with Sunday Sun in a direct way in the rock ballad 'Make Me Care'. His approach is more direct and louder in some parts of the song, but the melody and the harmonies are just as sweet. The mix between pop and indie rock is impeccable. On record the two acts are much closer than I'd expected on the basis of the show. Lucas Hamming is much louder and pure rock. On record things The Beatles come forward in the melody, some of the guitar sounds, a typical Beatles chord here and there and not to mention the oohs and aahs and the harmonies in general. That Lucas Hamming is not afraid to lend something that proved to work in the past, is shown in 'Fool' where the build-up of Bowie's 'Let's Dance' comes by twice in further totally different song.

The more I listen to Ham the more the album surprises me. I had expected a nice debut album, with some fair tunes, but not outstanding. Slowly the realization creeps on me that Ham is a pretty perfect first album by the 22 year old from Blaricum. The album does not score high on the originality list, but then who does in 2015? The album scores high on other points, as there are, working with the music of the past decades in extremely pleasant ways and a lot of enthusiasm. Lucas Hamming and his crew know just what to do and do that extremely well.

To find a downside, 'Fast And Loose' is not my favorite. The song has a soul kind of singing. High up and fleeting. The rocking 'Mr. Irresponsible' with its pleasant guitar riff and strong rhythmic playing makes up for this small laps instantly. In all the songs that follow there are these instantly recognizable elements, that tickle something hiding in my memory. Because of this the only thing I doubt at this point in time is whether I will build a lasting relationship with Ham. It pleases simply too easy it seems. As this is a first album the coming years will tell us who Lucas Hamming really is, when he has the time to truly find his own voice.

For now Ham is a nice debut album that knows a few true highlights. Not unlike Douwe Bob's first album. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy every note of it.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Never Let You Down' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbYF6lmdkos

or buy on Bol.Com

Crush (EP). Jesse Mac Cormack

Jesse Mac Cormack made an impression of some kind as support act to Sophie Hunger early December at Tivoli in Utrecht. Not that I was totally convinced. His presentation and the intensity with which he played his songs, did make me curious for more. At the show he sold two EPs and this is one of them.

Jesse Mac Cormack is from the Canadian city of Montreal and used to be the front man of the band Mak, before he decided to go at it alone. Listening to Crush I all of a sudden get it why they let this man play support for Sophie Hunger. They are sort of soulmates. Mac Cormack is able to lay the same musical undergrowth in his music, giving it something mysterious with a hint at the magical.

On this four song EP he does everything except presenting himself and his music as ugly as possible. (See my review of his show.) Far from even. The intensity is there though, although the distance between me and the artist on record is huge and can well account for that.

I remember he played 'Ask For It', the opening song of Crush. The dark song comes close to his live performance. The distorted guitar sounds gritty and dirty. Supporting all the things the singer did not ask for but happened any way. Later a second guitar enters. The mood changes again when a section comes by in which the voice is only supported by percussion. The mood becomes more tense, the things happening to the singer intensify also and turn into an ugly dream. The music underscores that in an almost terrifying way. The song fleshes out more and more, grows and grows in several ways, one of which certainly is greatness.

At this point into the EP I am already hearing what I had hoped to hear on the basis of his show. Although it may all sound lo-fi and elementary, Jesse Mac Cormack comes across as an authentic voice. On record just this little less confronting and more (a) whole.

'No Other' is another song that only has the bare necessities, yet is so rich in sound. All these little things go on in the corners of the song. Percussion, notes on the guitar crawl around like bugs in the dead leaves underneath the hedges or become more prominent like a hedgehog would among the same leaves. And then that undercurrent on a keyboard comes in suggesting the same mood that Sophie Hunger has on her record 'Supermoon'. Dead serious 'No Other' is if not from the nether world itself. In a way the song is scary.

The same goes for 'Too Far Into'. A song that goes down to the marrow. Again intense, sung with a high voice and only those notes are played that are truly necessary. Drums, sonic storms hover in the background. Perhaps played at earsplitting level in the studio, but mixed way in the background like a thunder storm on the horizon that may or may not come your way. In 'Too Far Into' it does reach me. Everything and more pours over me. A song to submerge into and surrender oneself to.

It all ends with 'He Knows' and by then I do know that Jesse Mac Cormack is a talent who makes the sort of music that will never make him famous, but stands out in many ways. 'He Knows' is a ballad and a much kinder song than the other three. The fingerpicking is more traditional. It is the keyboard that lays the by now familiar threatening atmosphere over the song. Again making a song special.

Crush is not your run of the mill singer-songwriter album, but a singer-songwriter album it is. Jesse Mac Cormack comes closest to Bonny 'Prince' Billie, should I be forced to provide a comparison. And that is a compliment as far as authenticity goes.

Wo.

You can listen to 'He Knows' here

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

Bluenote cafe. Neil Young and the Blue Notes

It was in the town of Mudgee in New South Wales that I bought my first Neil Young LP. 'Like A Hurricane' was played on the only pop music broadcast on the local radio between 10 and 12 at night. 2MG even repeated whole shows every once in a while, so I got to know which songs were played before they came on. 'American Stars 'n' Bars' was and is a strange hybrid of an album, but contained Young's best electric song to date. A year later back home in NL I found that Neil Young does what he wants to. 'Comes A Time' was so much different and what to think of 'Rust Never Sleeps' another year later?

In the 1980s things even became more weird. Neil Young was sued by his record company, DGC, for not being Neil Young. He really tried out everything he wanted to try out. One of those albums was released in 1988 as Neil Young and the Blue Notes called 'This Note's For You'. A big band album, which I liked at the time, but haven't played for years. Now there is a live registration from the time, with Neil Young with all this brass copper around him. It is a total winner. Glorious and every note is for me (and you of course).

The sound is huge, suave rock and roll and bluesy. Neil Young emulates a rock and roll orchestra in the grandest of words and ways. 'Welcome To The Big Room' starts in this huge, blown up vain. A rock and roll guitar, the drums pounding on the backbeat, creating this feeling of laziness, over which the horns blow in a full and luscious force. Somewhere in all that violence a warm Hammond is hiding and as an icing on the rock and roll cake Young plays his solos. Fiery, rough and loud. It all reminds me of the blues of T-Bone Walker. That too neat version of the blues to my taste, trying to tie in with the Frank Sinatra sound. With that enormous distinction: the grit and dirt that The Blue Notes put into their playing and the solos of Mr. Young himself of course.

Armand may sing in a derogatory way about the blues, when played in this way, I can live with it all day and all night long. The intro of 'Don't Take Away Your Love From Me' is one of those that could continue kind of for ever. The horns truly weep once Young starts singing. The blues is deep and heartfelt. People are most afraid of what they fear and that is going on in this song. Unless she is already standing in the door with a suitcase in her hand of course.

Bluenote Cafe captures shows this band played in 1987 and 1988, so is not truly a live show captured, but an amalgam. If they put the arguably best rendition of each song on the double album then they made the right decision. If anything this album is so totally alive and some of the songs are just smoking. I saw Neil Young play with Crazy Horse late in May 1987 in Rotterdam following up on the half succeeded 'Life' album. There was nothing there that prepared me for what I'm hearing now. Neil Young lives in all his incarnations, but he seems to be just this little extra alive here. His heart is really, really into what is happening here and the band does all these little extras as well. Crazy Horse is present here, snowed under all the horns. 'Ten Men Working' indeed.

When the tempo and rock level goes up as in 'Life In The City', the horns keep up. Neil plays this dirty lick and the trumpets and saxes just go of. The bass pumps on relentlessly. Together the song comes alive and is a dangerous as snake.

The fun ends with an almost 20 minutes rendition of 'Tonight's The Night'. The roof simply came off in New York.

Two albums long I'm glued to my speakers, so much fun is coming out of them. From out of nowhere a second Neil Young album presented itself for my shortlist of 2015. Bluenote cafe is, as far as I'm concerned, the best Young released in his performance series so far. A surprise, as I wasn't even aware that he had toured with a band like this. If you're a Neil Young fan, Bluenote Cafe is an album you are not to miss. One of the highlights of his career.

Although I had promised myself never to go to a Neil Young show again, somewhere around 1999 or 2001, I just bought some tickets for the show in Ziggo Dome coming July. More on Neil then, but for those who can't wait: 1 January 2016........ Tune in again then.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Crime and the City' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuuuW3M93K4

or buy at Bol.Com

Music Complete. New Order

Een nieuw album van New Order leek me op voorhand vooral overbodig. De band maakte na het trieste einde van Joy Division in de jaren 80 een aantal verrassend goede albums en wist ook in de jaren 90 en de jaren 00 nog één keer te verrassen met een prima album. Voor het laatste goede album van New Order moesten we inmiddels echter zo’n 14 jaar terug in de tijd en bovendien moet New Order het tegenwoordig doen zonder de zo kenmerkende baslijnen van Peter Hook.
 
Geen hoge verwachtingen kortom, maar Music Complete valt me zeker niet tegen. Tegenover het vertrek van Peter Hook staat de terugkeer van toetsenist Gillian Gilbert en deze drukt nadrukkelijk zijn stempel op de eerste New Order plaat in 10 jaar tijd, want het is lang geleden dat New Order zo elektronisch klonk.
 
New Order heeft dit keer niets aan het toeval overgelaten. Het koos voor drie producers (Tom Rowlands, Richard X en Stuart Price) die weten hoe een moderne dance plaat moet klinken en trok bovendien een blik gasten van naam en faam (La Roux, Brandon Flowers, Iggy Pop) open.
 
Music Complete laat dankzij de impulsen uit de hedendaagse dance een wat moderner New Order geluid horen, maar de band grijpt ook nadrukkelijk terug op de elektronische muziek uit de jaren 70 (variërend van Kraftwerk tot synths die onmiddellijk herinneren aan de muziek van Giorgio Moroder).
 
Hiernaast klinkt Music Complete ook verrassend vaak als 'vintage New Order'. De nieuwe bassist klinkt af en toe als Peter Hook en ook de toetsen, gitaarlijnen en wat onvaste zang van Bernard Summer herinneren aan de vroege platen van de band.
 
De mix van oude en nieuwe invloeden klinkt uiteindelijk zeker niet overbodig, maar is opvallend fris en meer dan eens vrijwel onweerstaanbaar. Verrassend sterke plaat dus van een band die door menigeen (en ook door mij) al lang was afgeschreven.


Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier luisteren naar 'Restless':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPAfi6fbvTk&list=PLYPsRgFn5c4vwr5C9KxvKuXxVdnJXFkkH

Of hier kopen op Bol.Com