This week another ten singles in the roundup. You will find metal/post-grunge but also great powerpop, experimental music and a soft-toned ballad. As diverse as pop music and even a little beyond can be. It was another pleasurable trip into music. Click on the link below, brace your ears in time and read along while you can form your own opinion.
Standing In The Storm. August Burns Red
No, this
isn't music that I listen to, anytime of the day. Yet, I'm writing. The
bandpicture announcing the video on You Tube totally matched my musical
expectations after watching the picture. Although the intro of Standing
In The Storm did put me on the wrong foot there for a moment. Soon all
hell broke loose and something between grunting and singing is unleashed
onto my ears, accompanied by extremely tight, of course loud, playing.
And yet there is enough to enjoy as August Burns Red is not afraid to
put in some melody into its playing. No matter how tight (power)chords
are strummed or better attacked, there's always a little inventive notes
in between. The guitar solo is even an oasis of melody and kindness.
The contrast is stark and because of that fascinating. No, this isn't
music for me but good to hear, while the video is strange
combination of human and natural violence into one, all painstakingly
made by hand before put to film. A Sisyphus task if you ask me and in stark contrast with the musical onslaught.
Church
Of Flag is another loud song, but the contrast could not be greater.
Hayley and the Crushers present a perfect powerpop song that has a
little punky elements but is so extremely melodic that I'm melting on the
first tones already. And Hayley Crusher Cain has such a fantastic voice. She's simply a joy to listen to. Church Of Flag is the kind of song to fall
instantly in love with. The reason for that is so easy to explain. The
combination of tough rock and female innocence is of the kind Medieval
princes would have come to the rescue of the princess, without pause.
Full of courtly love for the unattainable lady in distress. Had there
been a male singer in front of the Crushers the effect would never have
been the same. Now the song is perfect, like the best punky rock songs
of Blondie but with a far better singer. I can't help but love this
song. My only complaint could be that the song is so short, but then
that is how ultimate punkrockpop singles should be. Breath in, hold your
breath, over.
Music
from Greece but far from music that I have come to expect in the last
couple of years. O Rif* is as experimental as the asterisk sign in the
title suggest. What kind of music is this? Free jazz comes closest I
suppose, were it not that the guitar part somewhere in the song is like I
could hear in any kind of pop song. It is what happens around it that baffles me. The
intro could be a set up to a fairly conventional song, with a guitar and
bass waiting for the band to catch up. When around 20 seconds into the
song a totally derailing sound comes in and the guitar drops away, being
replaced by a totally estranging drum part and other sounds, I have
lost my bearings completely. Experiment has taken over, with only
marginal remaining bouys to hold on to. Being a Kairos buff after many
years of listening closely to the Concertzender radio show, I can tell
that this is intriguing music. There are some extremely interesting
parts, suggesting a message from far away, completely distorted so its
hard to make up whether it is a distress call from deep into outer space
or not. The music suggest more than enough I'd say should you wish to
find an answer to the dilemma. As I wrote, fascinating.
It's
years since Patrick Joseph featured on this blog. Together with fellow
singer-songwriter Shane Alexander Joseph is my favourite soft-voiced
L.A.-based singer. Soft spoken, dreamy, silken, are qualities I do not
mind mentioning when describing their voices and music. With The First
Time Patrick Joseph present a slightly more direct song as it has a
rocking undercurrent hidden away underneath the lush arrangement. Listen to how
that piano takes over the song in the second half of the song. It makes
the song change face totally. The opening is cloaked. The
electric piano(?) sounds as if recorded through the wall while played at
the neighbours. Only when the clear drums come in the song changes for
the first time. The First Time keeps playing with the sound until the
second half arrives and it is allowed to show itself in full bloom. The
single is not so much a change in style as playing with the context of that style. The result is a new song that is beautiful, as always
with Patrick Joseph, yet enough different from what came before to prick
up the ears while listening to get acquainted to the song. In short The First Time is so nice.
In
January last year Field Music released a new album, 'Making A New World', that I have played
regularly but it posed a challenge greater than I could solve. I could not
find the words that did it right, in my opinion. I couldn't match my
personal standard, nor the standard the music of Field Music presents.
January 2021, Field Music releases a single. There are scores of bands that
can be called Beatlelesque, because of the way they harmonise or the use
of a chord progression. There are however not that many bands that, had
the Beatles still existed, I could imagine that they could have made
music like this. At some point in the 1970s Electric Light Orchestra
perhaps, and today Field Music. This band (or duo) is able to present
complex songs, in rarer time signatures and rhythms, in combination with sweet
flowing vocal melodies. The kind of experiment John. Paul, George and
Ringo still could have pushed themselves towards, challenging
themselves, daring to be new and current. Orion From The Street holds
the kind of elements that surprise, little musical findings that sound
surprising yet familiar. Just listen and you'll know what I mean. This
song is playful and serious, a rare combination. (Listening to 'Making A New World' again because of this review I came up with the following: Field Music is a combination of Frank Zappa and The Beatles. I can live with this newly found insight.)
After
The Raconteurs' hit single with the same title it have become quite some shoes
to fill when using the same title. Tim Hart presents his own Steady As She
Goes with confidence though. In the tradition of Teenage Fanclub and Big
Star he sings over a full and fresh flowing pop song. With a soft voice
he sings his infectuous melody. The kind that is able to crawl into an
ear without being afraid of overstaying any welcome. The mellotron sound
makes sure there will be no leaving. Tim Hart became known as a part of
Boy & Bear, but in February his third solo album will see the
light, 'Winning Hand'. If Steady As She Goes is anything to go by, it is
going to be an extremely pleasant listening experience. This single is a
joyful song about his home, being Sydney in Australia. The sun, the
beach, it all gets its place here. The former Steady As She Goes may
have an iconic position in the rock pantheon for multitudes, the song
with the same title by Tim Hart may easily win the bigger audience. The pop element is
simply gorgeous.
I
notice a gimmick were I see one. Starting the title with a point
followed by all words spelled as one, no capitals, with another point at the end. It's
not just the single, all titles on the album are spelled like this.
Dead Poet Society is a band from L.A. that formed while in college in
Boston. The band presents a hardrocking first single from the
upcoming album '-!-', announced for March, that not just by the high voice of singer
Jack Unterkofler begs comparison to Muse. Dead Poet Society comes from
the U.S. and that explains why the band colours within existing formats,
while Muse went and still goes wide beyond any accepted lines. I only
conclude this as a fact, because within the rock moving towards metal
format Dead Poet Society feels at home like a fish in water. Nothing but
great fun is to be got here for fans of the genre. The guitars are in
the deep end with enough higher sounds in the lead guitar and singing to
make sure that there's all the variations in sound that I like in this
genre. Dynamics do the rest. Dead Poet Society may not be a Muse (yet),
this music certainly is a must hear.
Don't Talk About My Boyfriend. Heatwaves
Back
to Spain we go with Heatwaves, the band around singer Ana Beltrán that
manages to sound like it is the 1960s and late 1970s in one. Don't Talk
About My Boyfriend is like Blondie covering 'Denis' and playing its own
'In The Flesh' in one as well. The "stop" in the song is followed by "in
the name of love" in my head each time I hear it come by in the song.
This song is pure pop with a strong band behind it, like Blondie. This
single is the song that band never recorded. There's no other conclusion
listening to Don't Talk About My Boyfriend. It's pure nostalgia wrapped
up in a modern band from Spain. Punkrock with a sugar coating in the
form of Ms. Beltrán's voice. Just like Blondie, no matter how good the
rest of the band is, this is all about her voice.
What Do You Know? Brad MarinoBrad
Marino is a man with some haste, where his music is concerned. A new
single sees the life of day already. Expect another fast rocking song,
like The Beach Boys on steroids. What Do You Know? is the kind of song
that is over within a curse and a sigh as we say over here, 2"21 and it
has all been said and done. It's also the kind of song that after one
listening session allows you to sing along to the chorus with ease. Within
that fast pace powerpoprock little details are added that make me jump
for joy. Listen to the walking bass, near the end, the one hit hi-hat
effect, the top of the cymbal played in the second guitar solo, the
organ and piano, the slideguitar overdub, there's so much added to the drums,
bass, guitar set up that is the basis of What Do You Know? It shows
once again how inventive Brad Marino is when it comes to his songs. Yes,
it may sound as if it was done a thousand times before when listening
superficially, until you open your ears that is. This is great, great
fun.
This week's single
roundup ends like it began, with a lot of metalish noise. Love and Death
sounds like it is about to unleash the second coming of post-grunge
bands like Staind, Stone Temple Pilots and whotstheirname, Creed. Down
sounds like it has all been done before but not necessarily better. Love
and Death rocks out successfully and loud! Like the bands I mentioned
the band is quite capable in combining deep end guitars with melody in a
way that, for a non metal fan like I am, to listen to Down without the
noise hindering me in any way. There's one thing wrong with the picture
painted just now. Down announces Love and Death's upcoming album
'Perfectly Preserved'. It's first is from 2013 and Brian 'Head' Welch of
Korn is one of its members. So much for reviving post-grunge, although I
do not exclude the band managing to do so anyway based on this single.
Someone born after 2000 who likes this song, will undoubtedly find a lot
to his liking on those albums from around the turn of the millennium.
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
Posts
