I'm Not There Anymore. The Clientele

The Clientele zet met I’m Not There Anymore nog maar eens kroon op haar bijzondere oeuvre en doet dit met een ruim een uur durende en dromerige luistertrip, waarin uiteenlopende invloeden zijn verwerkt.

De albums van de Britse band The Clientele trekken niet allemaal even veel aandacht, maar het recentelijk verschenen I’m Not There Anymore wordt zo uitvoerig geprezen dat er geen ontsnappen aan is. Alle loftuitingen zijn overigens volkomen terecht, want het nieuwe album van The Clientele is een mooi en bijzonder album. Het is een album waarbij het aangenaam wegdromen is, zeker wanneer de muziek van de band uit Londen psychedelisch klinkt, maar het is ook een album waarop de band constant haar horizon verbreedt met nieuwe invloeden. Ruim een uur lang betovert de band met prachtige klanken en verrassende wendingen en hoe vaker je dit album hoort, hoe mooier het wordt.

De Britse band The Clientele bestaat al ruim 25 jaar en leverde inmiddels negen albums af. Het zijn albums die stuk voor stuk konden rekenen op lovende reacties van de critici, maar The Clientele is desondanks nog altijd een vrij onbekende band. Ook het deze week verschenen I’m Not There Anymore is weer zeer enthousiast onthaald door de critici en wordt met name door de Britse muziekpers stevig bewierookt.

Na de zeer lovende woorden die vooraf gingen aan de release van het negende album van The Clientele was ik heel nieuwsgierig naar het album, dat volgt op een aantal albums die me eerlijk gezegd niet zijn opgevallen. Die albums ga ik later nog eens beluisteren, want vooralsnog ben ik nog lang niet klaar met I’m Not There Anymore, dat inmiddels al op meerdere plekken is uitgeroepen tot het beste album van The Clientele tot dusver. Of dat zo is kan ik nog niet beoordelen, maar dat I’m Not There Anymore een prachtig album is kan ik zeker bevestigen.

De muziek van The Clientele was altijd al lastig in een hokje te duwen en dat is alleen maar lastiger geworden. I’m Not There Anymore is een zeer ambitieus album geworden met negentien songs en ruim een uur muziek. De band nam tijdens de coronapandemie de tijd om te experimenteren met uiteenlopende invloeden, waarvan er een flink aantal zijn neergedaald op het nieuwe album van de Britse band.

Het album opent met zwaar aangezette strijkers, die de muziek van The Clientele de kant van de chamber pop op duwen, maar de openingstrack schuift al snel op richting (neo-)psychedelica, waarna ook nog eens invloeden uit de jangle pop opduiken. De ruim acht minuten durende openingstrack verwerkt niet alleen uiteenlopende invloeden, maar schiet ook door de tijd. Het ene moment heeft de muziek van The Clientele een geluid dat afkomstig lijkt uit de jaren 60, maar de band kan haar tijd ook ver vooruit zijn.

Met name de combinatie van psychedelica, folk en chamber pop is bijzonder mooi, zeker als de Britse band haar muziek ook nog eens verrijkt met verrassende wendingen en bijzondere ritmes. In de openingstrack hoor je ruim acht minuten lang wat The Clientele te bieden heeft en de rest van het album doet hier niet voor onder. De band uit Londen laat je lekker wegdromen bij dromerige zang en prachtig zweverige gitaarlijnen, waarna de blazers en strijkers zorgen voor een warm en gelukzalig gevoel.

Op I’m Not There Anymore worden langere tracks afgewisseld met korte intermezzo’s, waardoor het album klinkt als een lange luistertrip. Het is een luistertrip die loom en aangenaam klinkt, maar ondertussen gebeurt er van alles in de muziek van de Britse band, die naarmate het album vordert steeds meer bijzondere ingrediënten toevoegt aan haar muziek.

De klassiek aandoende intermezzo’s worden afgewisseld met songs waarin met enige regelmaat jazzy passages zijn verwerkt en waarin The Clientele ook, meer dan op haar vorige albums, experimenteert met elektronica. Ondanks alle toevoegingen en experimenten klinkt I’m Not There Anymore als een typisch The Clientele album en het is binnen het oeuvre van de band een hele mooie. Alles dat je leest over dit album is waar, dus probeer het absoluut eens. Hoogste tijd immers dat de muziek van The Clientele in wat bredere kring aandacht krijgt.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt https://theclientele.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-not-there-anymore hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://theclientele.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-not-there-anymore

Hackney Diamonds. The Rolling Stones

Man, whoever wrote that all artists over 40 can better retire, is proven wrong by a bunch of senior citizens that rock as hard as in their heyday. Hackney Diamonds is the best The Rolling Stones record since it released 'Tattoo You' in 1981. Slowly but surely, with every spin of the record I'm starting to be convinced that the new album will be up there with the best of them. 'A Bigger Bang' would be far more suitable as a title then band's previous album with original material.

What strikes me most, is the fact that age doesn't seem  to get a grip on Mick Jagger's voice. Where Paul and Bob are afflicted with a voice ravaged with wear and tear, Mick sounds like he always has. He may even sing better then say 50 years ago. Having turned 80 last summer, he is at an age where most men are seriously ageing or are not around any more. Mick is rocking alright and he managed to get the band in full tow.

The second thing that struck me is the urgency of Hackney Diamonds. The album contains so much energy. In the album announcement with Jimmy Fallon the three remaining members indicated they wanted to rock hard and that is exactly what they are doing, with a relatively small team but a host of guests, all as surprising as they are famous. I mean, a Beatle on a Stones record? That is a novelty, just like Lady Gaga receiving a credit for the duet she sings with Jagger, 'Sweet Sound Of Heaven'.

The question, that I cannot answer, is what was the role of producer Andrew Watt? Besides playing and singing on several songs and receiving writing credits(!!!), what did he do to make the band stretch itself into this level of energy and urgency? The Glimmer Twins and Don Was are not in sight and this may have brought the band out of its comfort zone. With glimmering result, I may add. It is the band who decided not to self-produce and turn to Watt. It's a decision that truly paid off. The album sounds extremely good as well.

My fourth comments is on the guitar work. Keith and Ronny weave their guitars as they always do but also make their point regularly. There's no playing for the sake of it. Both play great and are in the form to deliver great work. Most of the time they play the bass as well. Keith has done this often in the past and Ronny started his career as bass player in The Birds and The Jeff Beck Group in the 1960s before surfacing as lead guitarist in The Faces a few years later.

The absolute highlight of Hackney Diamonds is 'Sweet Sounds Of Heaven'. The Stones tap into soul and even gospel once again with great result. This is the best song of the band in decades. Hits are beyond the grasp of the band, but this ought to be a worldwide number one hit. They do not come better in 2023 than 'Sweet Sounds Of Heaven' does. Lady Gaga does great, certainly, but what if a real gospel singer had sang in her stead? To think that the song could even have been better. Think 'Gimme Shelter' quality where the singer is not at the outer reach of her vocal range? The fact I'm writing this, brings to mind that I had never expected to hear a new song by this band, that, when all is said and done, is one of my favourites ever, could compete with my favourites by it. 'Sweet Sounds Of Heaven' is utterly amazing.

What is also noticeable, is that the band refrained from the use of long time associated members, Chuck Leavell, Bernard Fowler and Darryl Jones. In my opinion Jones ought to have been made a member 30 years ago. I wonder why but I'm not complaining listening to the outcome. Jones was on stage at the live presentation in NYC on 20 October I noticed. The other two were not.

Time can only tell where Hackney Diamonds will truly stand in my list of favourite Stones albums, fact is it has entered pretty high. It all ends with a nod to the band's earliest past. A mono rendition of Muddy Waters' 'Rolling Stone Blues'. Muddy's heirs will certainly profit from the band's nod to their origin and name, "I'm gonna be a rolling stone".

(The Japanese version, see my post an travelling in Japan of two days ago, ends with the band's 2020 single 'Living In A Ghost Town'. A nice single but it is an example of The Rolling Stones since 1989's 'Steel Wheels'. The contrast is huge with the rest of Hackney Diamonds.)

Can a The Rolling Stones fan be a lot more happy than with Hackney Diamonds? I doubt it. If this was it, although the band hinted there were a lot more songs recorded than are found on Hackney Diamonds, The Stones will go out with a big bang. One I did not think it had it in it any more. It does and how. Hackney Diamonds is a great album. So, please don't get angry with me!

Wout de Natris

Nature. Beth Wimmer

This blog and Beth Wimmer go back for 11 years in 2023. Starting with a live show in Leiden's Q-Bus and the album 'Ghost And Men'. Come 2023, Beth Wimmer releases a mini album that meets the standard I've come to expect. Nature is an album that clearly shows the up phase Beth Wimmer's life is at right now. A new love and man is in her life and she's sharing this joy with the world in a few of the songs.

U.S. born Beth Wimmer is living for years in Switzerland and releasing her music from there. This time around she recorded the music in her adopted country together with her new partner Mike Bischof. The musicians accompanying her manage to catch an upbeat sound even in the more serious songs like e.g. 'Let's Be Loving'. The song starts with the line "She died before she said I'm sorry". What happened and why, remains unclear. It is quite a statement to start with. Despite this serious topic, death and disappearance of friends, the message "time is valuable, let's be loving right now", is positive and that is what gets across, despite the song being in a minor key. I have another Beth Wimmer favourite.

The single released this spring, 'Sweeter', was already one. As far as I know, it is the most upbeat song by Beth Wimmer so far. This song is all about being in love, being happy together, of sparks flying and she doesn't mind sharing it with the whole world. It results in a fun song, stirring emotions, bringing a big smile to my face and pleases my ears at the same time.

Musically, Nature is somewhere in between singer-songwriter, folk and country with some pop overtones in the great melodic strength most songs show. The lead guitar played by Mike Bischof has that twang as a signifying sound and is instantly recognisable. However, just as easily the lead electric guitar is replaced by an acoustic one, a saxophone and even a violin. Expect a John Hiatt inspired song as well, making it harder to pinpoint the style into one easily identifiable spot. It all results in a varied album with a very much live sound. Wimmer and Bischof have done a nice job in producing the album, where the spacious mix of Sacha Love deserves attention as well.

In two songs 'Ghost & Men' producer Damiano della Torre makes an appearance on keyboards. His presence gives 'Nature', the title song a very warm sound. Without stepping into the foreground, the Hammond B3 is there filling up the holes in the music with a sound comparable to a thick, warm carpet filling a room. In 'When It Rains', a mildly up tempo song, his style of playing is somewhere between percussive playing and long-held notes.

Summing it all up, Nature is an album containing a few songs that are classic Beth Wimmer, like opener 'Brown-eyed Man', to songs that are definitely exploring new avenues like 'Sweeter' and 'When It Rains'. Add two really great and serious songs, 'Let's Be Loving' and 'Nature' and it's clear that Nature landed well here.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Nature here:

https://bethwimmer.com/ep-nature-out-now

Travellin' in Japan

An international conference brought me to Japan recently and I decided to pay a longer visit to the land of the rising sun. Of course, I worked, quite hard actually, and then enjoyed the cities, culture, nature, and ages old shrines and temples.

This is not a vacation blog, so I will make some observation on music in Japan.

First off, at the official opening reception hosted by the Japanese government a traditional band played, with a surprisingly modern almost punk-like attitude. The fantastic drumming and percussion made a great impression on me and the audience. A lady played a guitar-like instrument strummed with a huge plectrum, for lack of a better word. It was undoubtedly a very traditional form of music, but I noticed that especially to two younger percussionists came to the music with a zest that is more connected with drumming in Rancid or The Offspring than in this band. The mix surprised me but also the fanaticism the band members had as a driving force. Their hairdo did the rest to give the impression that in their free time they play quite different music.

Photo: Talant Sultanov

The next evening I found myself on stage as member of GEMS, the festival band. This year I was on stage with several familiar faces but also with several people I had not met ever before going on stage and in one case, I found myself wondering what I heard through my monitor. The sound wasn't supposed to be there. Taking two steps back, I noticed a harmonica player had joined on stage spontaneously and could really play. I didn't even know his name, but found out after the show he is actually a semi-professional player. It is an interesting challenge to play songs you know and then play them with people who also practised them at home or not, as it sometimes turns out. Most people in the audience know what to expect and have come out to party. Some songs come out quite well, others less so. It doesn't matter. Fun was had by all. Thank you all for playing together and create the fun for the very receptive and thankful audience. As an amateur guitarist and singer I can now say I've played on three continents and in multiple countries. This does sound of cool.

Where Japan is concerned, I have to state to not have heard a lot of music but what I heard was mostly Japanese music. The kind that runs in the background unobtrusively. The kind that makes little impression, if any at all. I have heard some singing/chanting in temples though. In a strange way it resembles the church songs from my youth. There's a difference but also similarities, e.g. in the seriousness and intonation.

K-pop and J-pop must be huge as nearly all music adds I saw was on this kind of music. The way these artists present themselves obviously has a huge influence on fashion in Japan. Youth and youngsters pay a lot of attention to what they wear and to their hairdo. I've never seen so many people putting subtle and huge individualism in their dress and image, looking different and far more individualistic than here in NL.

Apple Juice? Wout de Natris

In the more rural city Matsumoto or as the voice welcoming train travellers arriving at the JR station says "Matsumotoooo, Matsumotoooo", the most cheerful thing I've heard in all of Japan, we encountered the soundcheck of a Japanese jazz band in a bar-restaurant with an American owner. The formal side of how the Japanese interact with one another came through when the members gave hints to each other on how a song should be played, while the fun of being and playing together came through in all other parts of interaction, showing the informal side. We heard a French chanson, an American jazz classic, a Japanese jazz song and then a guitarist arrived; much to our surprise, as the music we heard certainly did not need one. Immediately the volume went up and a jazz rock piece was played that did not go well the first three tries and then it gelled. We did not stay for the show itself. The name of the band? Perhaps something with Apple Juice. I forgot to look when we left the bar.

During my holiday The Rolling Stones released 'Hackney Diamonds', soon on this blog, and I wanted a Japanese copy, after my U.S. 'Steel Wheels' copy from 1989 and 'Black and Blue' UK lp from 1976. This quest brought me to four Japanese record stores. The first two in Shinjuku, the gay-Korean-pose, see and be seen- clubbing neighbourhood of Tokyo. The first one was a small building with seven or eight stories filled with cds. Like in two of the others K and J-pop floors were rampant. Like at two branches of Tower Records, in Japan it did not go bankrupt, all adds were on this music, except for one band, The Rolling Stones. 'Hackney Diamonds' was totally sold out in Shinjuku. The last copy went out of the store, just when I arrived. It is quite clear that the Stones release was a big thing in Tokyo. The third store I visited in a totally different neighbourhood only had traditional Japanese artists from several decades. Finally, in Shibuya in the biggest Tower Records I found my Japanese copy.

Photo: Wout de Natris

What struck me, is the enormous assortment in the stores. Not just a row of The Rolling Stones but a whole wall, with all sorts of versions of an album. I wonder whether I could find a single Humble Pie record in any shop here in NL. At Tower Records they had at least 20 different albums, including a host of live albums never released officially. Not the album I wanted to find, the band's first. I was amazed by the variety but had come to Japan to do something else, to travel and not to buy records. Had I had more time and more room in my suitcase, I would definitely have found more interesting albums and not just a one cd release containing 'Exile On Main Streets'' outtakes, that I did buy.

Anyone travelling to Japan and has a keen interest in music should keep some space in the suitcase for cds. Japanese cds often have an extra in the form of songs elsewhere unreleased. 'Hackney Diamonds' has the 2020 single 'Living In A Ghost Town' on it for example. I already have it, of course, but it's nice to hear it at the end of the album as well.

Wout de Natris

TWENTY SOMETHING. Alana Springsteen

Liefhebbers van goed gemaakte countrypop hebben dit jaar echt al niets te klagen, maar de jonge singer-songwriter Alana Springsteen legt de lat nog een stukje hoger met het uitstekende TWENTY SOMETHING.

Ik hield de Amerikaanse muzikante Alana Springsteen al een tijdje in de gaten, want de afgelopen twee jaar leverde ze maar liefst vier uitstekende EP’s af. De laatste twee zijn nu samengevoegd op het debuutalbum van Alana Springsteen, dat ook nog zes nieuwe tracks bevat. De jonge muzikante uit Nashville, Tennessee, maakt makkelijk indruk met een mooie stem en met zeer aansprekende songs, die passen in het strakke keurslijf van de Nashville pop, maar die absoluut kwaliteit ademen. Ik heb dit jaar al veel meer hele goede countrypop albums opgepikt, maar TWENTY SOMETHING van Alana Springsteen is nog wat beter. Dit kan zomaar een hele grote gaan worden.

Ik weet niet wat het is met countrypop dit jaar, maar het genre bevalt me opeens een stuk beter dan in het verleden. Nashville countrypop was in het verleden zeker een van mijn ‘guilty pleasures’, maar ik heb dit jaar toch al een handvol countrypop albums die gewoon mee gaan doen wanneer ik aan het eind van het jaar mijn jaarlijstje op ga stellen.

Het bijzondere is dat mijn favoriete twee countrypop albums van 2023 tot dusver, Lucky van Megan Moroney en shot in the dark van Ashley Cooke, kennelijk ook zeer in de smaak vallen bij de lezers van de krenten uit de pop, want beide albums staan in de top van het lijstje met de best gelezen recensies dit jaar en duiken zelfs op in de lijst met de best gelezen recensies aller tijden.

Megan Moroney en Ashley Cooke krijgen deze week concurrentie van Alana Springsteen, die na een aantal EP’s dan eindelijk een volwaardig album uitbrengt. Alana Springsteen (geen familie van) is een jonge singer-songwriter, die werd geboren in Virginia Beach, Virginia, en al op jonge leeftijd actief werd in de muziek. Ze ontdekte haar stem in het plaatselijke kerkkoor, leerde op de basisschool gitaar spelen en schreef ook al op hele jonge leeftijd haar eerste songs. Al vanaf haar veertiende timmert ze aan de weg in Nashville, waar ze op haar negentiende haar eerste EP uitbracht.

Ik heb Alana Springsteen zelf op het netvlies sinds 2021 toen de EP History Of Breaking Up (Part One) verscheen. Deze EP, die bol stond van de belofte, werd vorig jaar gevolgd door de minstens even goede EP History Of Breaking Up (Part Two). Ik dacht even dat Alana Springsteen alleen maar EP’s bleef maken, want begin dit jaar verscheen TWENTY SOMETHING: Messing It Up, dat een paar maanden later werd gevolgd door TWENTY SOMETHING: Figuring It Out.

Ik was zo langzamerhand van plan om de vier EP’s van de Amerikaanse muzikante op een hoop te gooien, maar net op tijd verschijnt het eerste echte album van Alana Springsteen. TWENTY SOMETHING bevat de twaalf songs van de twee eerder verschenen EP’s en voegt nog eens zes songs toe. Alana Springsteen is inmiddels 22 jaar oud en staat aan de vooravond van haar grote doorbraak. Ik schat haar kansen nog wat hoger in dan die van Megan Moroney en Ashley Cooke, want Alana Springsteen heeft alles dat nodig is om een wereldster te worden.

De Amerikaanse muzikante beschikte op jonge leeftijd al over een mooie stem, maar op haar debuutalbum is deze stem gerijpt en klinkt Alana Springsteen ook voldoende doorleefd. De jonge Amerikaanse muzikante heeft zich op haar debuutalbum omringd met een aantal gelouterde songwriters, muzikanten en producers uit de Nashville scene en dat hoor je. TWENTY SOMETHING staat vol met zeer aansprekende songs en klinkt prachtig, al moet je natuurlijk wel houden van de wat gepolijste Nashville countrypop.

Zelf hou ik inmiddels wel van het genre, maar meestal wel met mate. TWENTY SOMETHING van Alana Springsteen vind ik echter ruim 50 minuten goed tot heel goed en voorlopig verslapt het album zeker niet. Iedereen die het nog altijd spijtig vind dat Taylor Swift de countrypop achter zich liet en verruilde voor de pop kan stoppen met treuren, want de leegte die Taylor Swift achter liet, wordt perfect opgevuld door Alana Springsteen, die niet alleen beschikt over een geweldige naam en een mooie stem, maar ook over al het andere talent dat nodig is om een hele grote te worden. Alana Springsteen, onthouden die naam.

Erwin Zijleman