Diamonds & Liquid Gold. Jaguar Jonze

Diamonds & Liquid Gold starts as if it is a De Kift track from circa 20 years ago. An electronic sound that is hard to determine the source of. In 'Rising Sun' the sound keeps going but the song itself takes a completely different direction than the fanfare punkers of De Kift ever would have chosen.

'Rising Sun' is a modern song with mysterious under and over currents giving it a very distinct atmosphere that is easy to fall for. Singer Deena Lynch is singing right in front of my face. Although slightly treated she sounds like Blood Red Shoes singer Laura-Mary Carter would, only if she was more pop inclined than alternatively rocking out (loud).

Guitars play a huge role in 'Rising Sun', giving the song its colours. Over the drums and bass and the mysterious sound in the background, the guitar sounds and sparse notes support Deena Lynch in making the song what it is.

When the second song kicks in I notice why I am attracted to Jaguar Jonze. Although there are distinct pop influences in her music, 'Rabbit Hole' is sound and solid. The music blends pop with rock. Giving it a body without losing its pop feel. It makes me realise why I do not like most female pop artists of the last 15 years and do like Blood Red Shoes so much. Jaguar Jonze fills that hole in between in a perfect way.

Promo photo: Ribal Hosn

Deena Lynch is from Brisbane in Australia. Here she got the nick name Jaguar Jonze that became her artist name. She has a reputation to give it her whole and that shines through on Diamonds & Liquid Gold, but not without losing her head. The production shows she has a keen view of where she wants her music to go and how to make her strong voice come through in the best possible way. This mini album is very much her album. The voice is totally up front. The ruckus around her is only there to serve her. This is not a band effort but a solo singer's.

The quality of the first two songs is met easily moving into the album. Diamonds & Liquid Gold holds power combined with good songs that are well sung and played. The title song could have been on the first album of Dutch artist Kovacs. The surprising song is at the end where a more acoustic side of Jaguar Jonze is shown, although the ballad grows bigger fast.

All in all, this is a very promising debut with a promise of much more to come.

Wo.


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

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

Walking Like We Do. The Big Moon

De Britse band The Big Moon kiest dit keer voor de pop, maar verleidt meedogenloos met even aanstekelijke als eigenzinnige popliedjes die alleen maar leuker en onweerstaanbaarder worden.

Het Britse viertal The Big Moon krijgt hier en daar nog het label punkpop opgeplakt, maar dat is echt verleden tijd. Op Walking Like We Do kiest de band uit Londen immers vol voor de pop, maar wat zijn de popliedjes van The Big Moon leuk en verslavend. In muzikaal opzicht gebeurt er steeds weer wat anders, in vocaal opzicht maken de vier vrouwen van de Britse band indruk en het niveau van de songs is verrassend hoog. Op hetzelfde moment is het nieuwe album van The Big Moon een album vol popliedjes die je na één keer horen voorgoed wilt koesteren. Van perfecte pop naar indiepop met een vleugje new wave en weer terug. Ik kan het echt met geen mogelijkheid weerstaan. 

Het muziekjaar 2020 is begonnen met een mooi stapeltje interessante releases. Van dit stapeltje word ik het vrolijkst van Walking Like We Do van The Big Moon.
 
The Big Moon is een uit vier vrouwen bestaande band uit Londen, die in het verleden samenwerkte met Marika Hackman en die bij de release van haar debuut in 2017 nog het label punkpop kreeg opgeplakt.
 
Op Walking Like We Do, het tweede album van de Britse band, heeft The Big Moon haar wilde haren verloren en kiest het vol voor de pop. Dat is altijd even slikken, maar The Big Moon maakt op haar nieuwe album zeker geen 13 in een dozijn pop.
 
Walking Like We Do staat vol met popliedjes die je na één keer horen alleen maar wilt koesteren. De band rond frontvrouw Juliette Jackson verrast met aanstekelijke maar interessante popsongs en het zijn popsongs die vooralsnog alleen maar beter worden.
 
De instrumentatie op Walking Like We Do steekt knapper in elkaar dan op de gemiddelde pure popplaat. Veel songs hebben pianoakkoorden als basis, maar zijn vervolgens rijkelijk versierd met elektronica, waar met enige regelmaat een gitaarakkoord doorheen snijdt. Het klinkt keer op keer bijzonder lekker, maar The Big Moon begeeft zich zeker niet uitsluitend op de platgetreden paden.
 
De instrumentatie op het album zit vol goede vondsten en zit bovendien vol invloeden. Het zijn voornamelijk invloeden uit de jaren 70 en 80, maar The Big Moon verwerkt ze op subtiele wijze in een geluid dat vooral eigentijds klinkt. Associaties met punk heb ik niet bij beluistering van het album, maar invloeden uit de 70s new wave hebben zeker hun weg gevonden naar het geluid van de band. Het is een geluid dat wat mij betreft het etiket indiepop verdient, maar iedereen die de muziek van The Big Moon pure pop wil noemen heeft ook mijn zegen.
 
In muzikaal opzicht is het dankzij de aanstekelijke klanken en de stiekem verstopte invloeden smullen, maar ook in vocaal opzicht heeft het viertal uit Londen veel te bieden. Juliette Jackson zingt uitstekend, maar wanneer de vier vrouwen van The Big Moon los gaan in harmonieën is het smullen in de overtreffende trap. Het voorziet de muziek van de Britse band van een bijzondere sfeer, maar ook van veel kracht.
 
The Big Moon blijkt op Walking Like We Do zeker geen one-trick-pony. Het ene moment word je meegesleurd door een hopeloos aanstekelijk popliedjes met flarden new wave en postpunk, het volgende moment tekent de band voor een klassieke popsong, die niet had misstaan in het oeuvre van een willekeurige grootheid uit de jaren 70 of met een eigentijdse popsong. Na één keer horen was ik verslaafd aan de heerlijke popliedjes van het Londense kwartet, maar sindsdien zijn de heerlijke maar ook eigenwijze popliedjes van The Big Moon alleen maar leuker en onweerstaanbaarder geworden.
 
Producties van popplaten klinken nogal eendimensionaal op het moment, maar het in het Amerikaanse Atlanta opgenomen en door Ben H. Allen III (Bombay Bicycle Club, Belle & Sebastian, Deerhunter) geproduceerde Walk Like We Do klinkt gelukkig anders en weet song na song te verrassen met een geluid dat het hart verovert en de fantasie prikkelt.
 
The Big Moon heeft het album gemaakt dat HAIM dit jaar nog maar moet zien te maken. Laat dit prima album met flink volume uit de speakers komen. Heerlijk.

Erwin Zijleman


Luister naar onze Spotify Playlist en ontdek waar we over schrijven:

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Hermitage. Ron Sexsmith

The sweetest of songwriters returns with a new album and it is welcome. Ron Sexsmith has an extended oeuvre, for me it is the third album, with 'Carousel One' being my introduction in 2015.

Of course Mr. Sexsmith was born under the wrong name. It should have been Songsmith, because if anything defines him to his listeners, it is his ability to write perfect pop songs that simply please the ear. Don't get me wrong. They are not to be mistaken for simple songs that enter the ear and ought to be forgotten immediately but hardly ever are. No, the songs on Hermitage are well crafted songs, like Ray Davies has been writing since the mid 60s, from right after he left his pre-punk garage rock side aside. The name of the ex-Kink is unavoidable when writing about Ron Sexsmith I notice. The similarities in the way of singing and tone of voice are too obvious to ignore. For me that's a pre as I am a lifelong fan of The Kinks and Davies' solo work, as shown on this blog by my recent reviews on the 'Americana' albums.

It also means that the large audiences pass Ron Sexsmith by like they, at least in Europe since 1970, have passed The Kinks and Ray Davies by, excepting the live version of 'Lola'. Are the free-flowing pop songs both men write just too difficult for the members of the average member of the larger audience? I can't help but wonder why, as the songs are so extremely pleasant to listen to.

As a side step I wonder what a Hermitage is. The name of the famous museum in St. Petersburg of course. It holds the word hermit in it. So I looked it up. It is the home of a hermit, so something secluded from the rest of the world. It is hard to associate a hermit's home with the court of Russia's Catherine the Great, but perhaps all royals liked to play shepherdesses in Arcadia close to a hermitage. Who can tell?

Sexsmith does the garden in his hermitage, mowing the grass with a pink boa on. The weather obviously is nice. If anything the cover art underscores the mood of the album. It presents the music of a man who, at least in my ears, is totally at ease with himself, his world and his music. This comes with a downside. It makes me wonder whether there is a Ron Sexsmith saturation point for me. The songs are extremely pleasant but do miss any form of edge. An album does become better from variation and that is not abundantly present on Hermitage. For now it remains a question answered positively. Hermitage in general is simply too beautiful to ignore.

Wo.


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

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Tears Go Upwards. Playground Theory

Tears Go Upwards is intriguing album title, as I am inclined to answer only when I'm standing on my head or having an extremely fierce wind in my eyes. All those thoughts aside, this is about the music Playground Theory makes and this is more than nice enough to listen to and give some extra attention on this blog.

Speaking of dreamy, almost lucent music. The music on this album, if only physical, could be seen right through. The electronic synth sounds hover in front of my eyes. The voice is so fine it will break at my touch. At first, superficial listen, it may even appear there's not enough happening on Tears Go Upwards. To remain stuck there would be a serious mistake. Allow yourself to be taken away, "surrender" is the invitation in opening song 'Circle'. I took that invitation and dived in.

Despite the synths basis of Tears Go Upwards, there are real drums and bass to be found on the album, giving it an organic backdrop and warmth. This isn't the whole story. My perception of it is that the album is warm from itself. All sounds are made to suck the listener into the mysterious musical world Playground Theory creates for itself and its listeners. Although I haven't listened to the album for ages, it does remind me of the Celtic folk made by Enya in the late 80s. And, the synths of many heroes of around 1980, with the difference that the songs on Tears Go Upwards are not clinical proponents of the ice cold Cold War age.

No, the music on this album allows to dream away. In that way it is a sort of drug bringing the listener into a different mind frame. One where the world becomes a little better than it actually is. The reverb guitar is missing but Donna Blue is on the same line as this band.

Playground Theory is from Athens, Greece's capital and main city. I would never have guessed as this is international music. Singer Maria Israelidis is obviously not a native singer, but guesses stop there. Together with Dimitris Negkas and Vagelis Katsoulakis she forms the band that was given a hand by Diamantis Kazouris on guitar and Tolis Metzidakis on bass for this release. This is the band's third release after, forming in 2009, releasing “Speaking of Secrets” (2013) and “Connect the Dots” (2016).

Where Tears Go Upwards succeeds is in combining the electronical side of the band with the human. Israelidis may sing in an undercooled fashion, she is very much alive. Through the synth sounds that often form the basis of a song, little melodies are woven that make the songs sparkle. When the guitar joins, Kazouris plays nice motives adding to the song. The added melodies can also be just a few notes on a piano or another kind of electronic sound, they find their way straight into my ears, spreading joy.

If I have a complaint, it is that the album is too long for me to listen to in one go. For that diversity is lacking in the dreamy beauty that is on display abundantly. So, eight songs may be enough for one day, they are eight songs that I truly enjoy.

Wo.

You can listen to and buy Tears Go Upwards here:

https://playgroundtheory.bandcamp.com/album/tears-go-upwards


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

Kairos 115, March 2020 on Concertzender

Easter 2020, instead of watching the, all adult, grandchildren reaping chocolate Easter eggs in the back garden of their last remaining grandparent, we are all stuck to our own homes/rooms, meeting on one of the platforms. Easter 2020 is one to never forget although many people would not have minded to go back to 31 December 2019 to reset the year 2020 and see if the world can fare better and forget this one fast and forever. So why not listen to Kairos and share some thoughts with you?, Wo. thought. It looks like that now well familiar intro is sounding in his ears right now.

Sole piano notes take over the, shorter than ever before intro. Although I know who is playing, as I wrote in my review of three albums recently, I find it impossible to really distinguish between them, let alone remember a melody. Ella van der Woude is playing a song from her new album again. 'Sol Mineur' is a song in a minor key, so a bit glum, serious. Mostly played in the darker register of the piano. In the third quarter the variation sets in, lifting the song up a little. Soon it plays out and is taken over by Pieter Nooten.

'Variation in F# Minor' is a piece for a minor orchestra. Again with a darker mood, although a part of the strings give it a lighter touch. Like the first rays of the sun colour the horizon, without showing itself yet. The hint of day, at the end of the darkest hour, just before dawn as the Mamas & the Papas once sang. I've been told that the Spanish call that hour Madrugada. Talking about good music, with a deep dark mood: Madrugada.

Thus I am following my mind's wanderings. It leads me to field recordings interspersed with one of the beautiful new songs by Dutch band Donna Blue. 'In Between' is one of the most melancholy songs on the same titled EP. A triumph in a minor key the song is. Donna Blue is able to keep a song extremely small, using atmospherics and reverb to the maximum and not do more to reach a maximum effect, affecting the listener endlessly.

Harrold Roeland's field recordings can be heard all through 'In Between'. It is almost as if an unknown song, to me, by Donna Blue continues over the birds but it is Edgar Wappenhalter. 'I Travelled among Unknown Men' is a poem by William Wordsworth set to music. I can't help myself. The lauded English poet's name brings to mind Tom Tom Club immediately and this line from the band's hit 'Wordy Rappinghood: "What are words worth?". This music has nothing to do with the slow, meandering song of Wappenhalter. There is no beat, just a repeated guitar chord, somewhat less reverb than in Donna Blue's previous song, but certainly not a lot less. Wappenhalter song is fuller, more present, but also more one dimensional. A few guitars stacked above each other playing different styles and approaches. The whole is a repetition of moves. The birds from the Alps return at the end, some close, to the microphone, others more in the background. There are many birds in the Alps.

The next "band" has come by on this blog before. Pictish Trail's new album 'Thumb World' received a favourable post and for a good reason. 'Slow Memories' is a dreamy song, fitting well with what went before on this Kairos. The basis is a soft guitar motif over which all sorts of sounds are woven behind the soft, high voice of Johnny Lynch, who is Pictish Trail.

'Slow Memories' moves into a piano part that reminds me of 'You're A Lady' by Peter Skellern. It turns out to be another Pieter, Nooten, who gets a second slot in this Kairos. Again a mystical piece with dreamy strings. Nooten touches upon a territory where pop meets classic. It is not hard to imagine a singer joining in at some point and/or a rock guitar, where the composition changes into what could have been a huge hit in the 70s and now a forever classic in the Top 2000. It doesn't, but that does not make 'Theme Minimaliste II' less beautiful.

A slow piano returns to Kairos, with some atmospherics behind it. 'They Could Have Saved The Universe' is the instrumental track from Klangstof's latest album, with the extremely beautiful cover. Over and during it all sorts of things happen.

A large section that is up next is a Depeche Mood song, 'Goodnight Lovers'. Why it is mentioned several times in the playlist, I do not know. It is a song that I wouldn't have associated with the electro rockers in a million years. It is a soft ballad, with some electronic sounds here and there interspersing with the soft harmonies. .No at work?

A piano takes over. It is a second song today by Ella van der Wouden. Less sweet than the song that opened Kairos. She plays less harmonious notes, though they still can belong together but are not the obvious choices. Like I wrote on Microplaza's new single a few days back.

Something electronic moves in. As if the municipality is cleaning the streets. On the other hand, it could be a neighbour in my street working with a sanding device or something. Who can tell with Kairos? Anything can happen, right? Sometimes my own environment because a logical part of the experience, where with any other music it usually is an intrusion. Kairos magic I call it.

Melancholy electronics move into and over the slow piano. It is not Depeche Mode, although it was hidden somewhere in Van der Wouden's music, this is Pieter Nooten once again. His album 'Stem' is filled with magical sounds and compositions. For some reason I have the image of Yorkshire moors in my head, with sheaths of fog moving in and out over the heather. Kate Bush is singing about Heathcliff and dancing in the fog between the heather that covers her ankles.

'Fieldz' becomes darker and darker, but it turns out the reason for this is that Ethernet (Tim Gray) is mixed into 'Fieldz'. Dark electronic sounds vibrate in my ears. Slowly meandering in volume. Higher notes played in the background with some cymbal playing in a corner. Real or synthetic, there's no telling. This is not the whole story as 'Dodecahedron' is mixed with sounds from a rain forest to. I can't call 'Dodecahedron' beautiful, yet the mysterious repetition does get to me in unsuspecting ways. The only thing is that I can't make out what it does. It isn't beauty, it isn't loathing, but it does involve some distancing from my daily musical attraction. Back to Corona days it seems.

Next, Eleni Era returns to Kairos with a song from her album 'Rise Love'. 'How' sounds more mysterious than I remember it. .No at work or a flawed memory? It doesn't matter as slowly but surely the beauty of Elena Era's music reaches me once again. Why do I not play this album more regularly? It's time for a physical copy, I think.

Luka is a singer from South Africa who lives and works in Rotterdam. Her debut singer 'Lost Today/Found Tomorrow' features in Kairos. The electronic song has that mystery woven into itself that makes it fit with the theme I've discerned from what I have heard in the past 50 minutes. A lot of the music brought me in a mood removed from reality. Music for fairytales and fantasy stories.

Slowly Luka's voice goes under in the electronic sounds of House of Cosy Cushions, one of .No's favourite Dutch artists. 'Halo' brings me to the beach. I'm under water. Serene and secure. Above me the sea is raging. Wave upon wave crashes on the water on top of me. While I'm below just looking up at the spectacle. Something that cannot be for a human but is in my mind right now.

Kairos ends with a more eastern oriented composition. 'Salve Me' by Thomas Barquee on the one hand sounds like the orchestra is warming up, all independent from each other. And in a way this is the case. Percussion sets in, bringing everyone together, kicking some instruments out even. "Omm" is sung, the musical meditation, that despite the different instruments seeming to tune up, had already announced itself. This music definitely sets a person in a specific mood. It is also almost tangible after all the mystery that went before in the previous 53 minutes. What a way to end this Kairos. Beautiful is the right word here.

Wo.

P.S. It even set me in a mood that while next listening to a new record to test it for a potential review, I thought it beautiful. This morning for the life of me I could not understand the attraction. Sorry, no review of Zsa Zsa. 

You can listen to this Kairos here:

https://www.concertzender.nl/programma/kairos_546763/


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

This is this month's playlist:
00:00 – 03:23  Ella van der Woude. Sol Mineur. Album ‘Solo Piano’. Snowstar Records.
02:57 – 06:21  Pieter Nooten. Variation in F# Minor (fragment). Album ‘Stem’. Rocket Girl RGIRL115.
05:29 – 07:31  Harrold Roeland. Field Recording Set 4 – New South Wales (fragment). Album ‘The Long Way Round’. Self-released.
06:21 – 10:43  Donna Blue. In Between. Album ‘In Between’. Snowstar Records.
09:09 – 15:10  Harrold Roeland. Good Morning Southern Alps! (fragment). Album ‘The Long Way Round’. Self-released.
10:43 – 17:04  Edgar Wappenhalter. I travelled among unknown men (W. Wordsworth). Album ‘Morc #58’.
16:17 – 18:04  Harrold Roeland. Good Morning Southern Alps! (fragment). Album ‘The Long Way Round’. Self-released.
17:04 – 20:51  Pictish trail. Slow memories. Album ‘Thumb World’. Fire Records.
20:35 – 24:34  Pieter Nooten. Theme minimaliste II. Album ‘Stem’. Rocket Girl RGIRL115.
24:17 – 26:26  Klangstof. They Could Have Saved The Universe. Mind of a Genius.
24:37 – 24:45  Depeche Mode. Goodnight Lovers (fragment). Album ‘Exciter’. Mute RecordsLtd./Venusnote Ltd. 7243 8102432 4.
25:02 – 25:11  Depeche Mode. Goodnight Lovers (fragment). Album ‘Exciter’. Mute RecordsLtd./Venusnote Ltd. 7243 8102432 4.
26:01 – 26:10  Depeche Mode. Goodnight Lovers (fragment). Album ‘Exciter’. Mute RecordsLtd./Venusnote Ltd. 7243 8102432 4.
26:15 – 26:31  Depeche Mode. Goodnight Lovers (adapted fragment). Album ‘Exciter’. Mute RecordsLtd./Venusnote Ltd. 7243 8102432 4.
26:20 – 30:09  Depeche Mode. Goodnight Lovers. Album ‘Exciter’. Mute RecordsLtd./Venusnote Ltd. 7243 8102432 4.
29:49 – 32:22  Ella van der Woude. Fear of sleep. Album ‘Solo Piano’. Snowstar Records.
30:25 – 30:33  Depeche Mode. Goodnight Lovers (adapted fragment). Album ‘Exciter’. Mute RecordsLtd./Venusnote Ltd. 7243 8102432 4.
31:22 – 31:32  Depeche Mode. Goodnight Lovers (adapted fragment). Album ‘Exciter’. Mute RecordsLtd./Venusnote Ltd. 7243 8102432 4.
31:45 – 38:10  Pieter Nooten. Fieldz. Album ‘Stem’. Rocket Girl RGIRL115.
37:28 – 44:52  Ethernet (Tim Gray). Dodecahedron. Album ‘Opus 2’. Krank 173
40:51 – 41:40  Polyphony of deep rain forest (fragment). CD Ethnic series 4. Victor VDP-1100.
44:23 – 47:44  Eleni Era. How. Album ‘Rise Love’. Louvana Records.
44:57 – 45:35  Eleni Era. How (fragment). Album ‘Rise Love’. Louvana Records.
47:22 – 50:02  LUKA. Lost today, found tomorrow. Single. Snowstar Records.
49:30 – 53:56  House of Cosy Cushions. Halo. Album ‘Underground Bliss’. Outcast Cats.
53:02 – 59:57  Thomas Barquee. Salve Me. Album ‘Sacred Movement White Swan Yoga Masters Vol. 1’. White Swan.