A Living Commodity. Egyptian Blue

Yesterday, 'Exit Stategy', today A Living Commodity. The new band Egyptian Blue contains more energy in it than can be captures on tape. More than my stereo and speakers can handle. There is an enormous sense of urgency on this record and it rolls over me like the steamroller over Michael Palin in 'A Fish Called Wanda'. (We both lived to tell.)

Egyptian Blue is a new name to me. The foursome, Andy Buss, Leith Ambrose, Luke Phelps and Isaac Ide, are from Colchester in the U.K. They obviously have heard all bands from around 1980 until 2022, either directly or by way of those influenced by the their predecessors. They all jump out of my speakers as it were incarnated in this foursome of enthusiastic youngsters. Yes, this album could have been released anywhere in the past 43 years, were it not for the clever way in which the sound is updated to 2023.

Egyptian Blue is more on the alternative side of the alternative rock niche. The melodies are not out to please a pop audience. My impression is that only trained ears will catch on immediately. Ears that lay the connection to the past and appreciate the abundant energy flowing from the record. The band manages to capture its energy in the studio and share it with the world. It does so with a mix of songs that are influenced by everything starting with The Gang of Four and add a little of the more alternative Britpop bands, scrapping the superfluous party element of Franz Ferdinand while keeping the energy and fitting in nicely with all the newer bands having broke through since circa 2018.

Nothing new under the sun then? No, not really, I'll cede that point. Next I start pointing to the songs that are on A Living Commodity. All the ones that are up tempo convince with ease. The band makes its point, apparently with so much ease. The slower songs are a different matter to me, but you cannot always have it all.

A Living Commodity shows a band with promise for the future and I'd say the potential to grow. Just listen to 'To Be Felt' and tell me you don't like it. For a debut album this is more than enough.

Wout de Natris

Exit Strategy. The Clockworks

Three new alternative rock bands get a lot of positive attention recently and in three days we will present them all. Today it is The Clockworks. Exit Strategy is the band's debut album and it rings like a bell at Christmas time.

The Clockworks is a band from Ireland, Galway, but moved to London to pursue its career. Whether that has made a difference can never be ascertained. Fact is, that with Exit Strategy the band has provided itself with one. From a life of 9 to 5 jobs that is. The band fits in nicely with what came before and adds its own young-guys-going-for-it energy to the alternative rock cum newest wave music it presents. James McGregor, Sean Connelly, Damian Greaney and Tom Freeman moved to London in 2019 to make a career. The pandemic must have held things up in a desperate way, is my guess. Instead of playing and showcasing, nothing happened for some time at least. The foursome persevered though and is rewarded with an energetic album.

To me The Clockworks is a totally new name. You cannot come across them on this blog. There must have been singles before, I suppose, if there were I have missed them all. What you do not know, you cannot miss, not even in hindsight. Exit Strategy comes through loud and clear though and from a complete fresh and clean position without any expectations.

Photo: Jill Furmanovsky

Let me get back to the word energetic. There are many bands that qualified for that word in the past 20 odd years. Many have been long forgotten. The Clockworks add a component to the energy, cleverness. This sounds negative but not here. This band seems to be able to add an extra element to their songs. A near perfect balance between the rock, the alternative and pop. The songs nearly all have that alternative edge, while singing along is almost never an issue. The power of the songs is in the rock element. James McGregor's voice has that little edge to it and gets away with a slower song as well, not unlike Alex Turner's. I will not compare The Clockworks to Arctic Monkeys though, the new nor old version. There are hints at best. 'Hall Of Fame' turns out very nice after the four energetic songs opening Exit Strategy. Not only the song balances the album, it is a banger in its sort.

Where comparisons are concerned, I'm thinking of bands like The Automatic, The Maccabees and The Rifles. Although the band makes a different sort of pop-rock, Django Django comes to mind for another reason. Both bands do not need a gimmick to score. There's no predicting the future but The Clockworks ought to have one based on the quality of Exit Strategy, just like Django Django has.

The fact that the band was able to land Bernard Butler, once of Suede fame, as producer, attests to the potential. It results in a clear sound, open and with ringing tones, outshining the darker parts that often come with the newest new wave influenced bands. More importantly, the songs nearly all totally convince and that's enough for a debut album. The Clockworks is a band to watch.

Wout de Natris

Doing My Time. Gracie Lane

De Amerikaanse muzikante Gracie Lane debuteert met Doing My Time, dat opvalt door tijdloze songs, een fraai klinkende instrumentatie en vooral een uitstekende stem, die gemaakt is voor oorspronkelijk klinkende countrymuziek.

Doing My Time van Gracie Lane sneeuwde wat onder door een aantal grote of zelfs hele grote releases, maar gelukkig heeft de muzikante uit Asheville, North Carolina, maar heel weinig tijd nodig om indruk te maken. Die indruk maakt Gracie Lane met haar stem, die perfect past bij de countrymuziek die ze maakt. Het is een stem waar de emotie van af spat, waardoor Doing My Time onmiddellijk impact heeft. Het is ook nog eens een album dat prachtig is ingekleurd met een hoofdrol voor gitaren en de pedal steel en een album dat vol staat met aansprekende songs, die best decennia oud hadden kunnen zijn, maar ook in het heden makkelijk overtuigen.

Het zijn momenteel hele drukke weken wanneer het gaat om nieuwe releases en niet alle albums krijgen de aandacht die het nieuwe album van The Rolling Stones al sinds de aankondiging twee maanden geleden krijgt. Zeker de albums van muzikanten of bands waarvan de naam me weinig of zelfs niets zegt scan ik in deze drukke weken heel snel en probeer dan maar eens een onuitwisbare indruk te maken. De Amerikaanse muzikante Gracie Lane deed het deze week met haar debuutalbum Doing My Time, dat me echt onmiddellijk wist te overtuigen.

Dat het album opdook in de releaselijsten die ik raadpleeg is overigens al een klein wonder, want er is echt bijna niets te vinden over Gracie Lane en haar muziek. Ik weet inmiddels dat Gracie Lane via Louisiana en Arkansas in de Blue Ridge Mountains van North Carolina is terecht gekomen en nu Asheville in North Carolina als thuisbasis heeft. Ik weet verder dat het debuutalbum van de Amerikaanse muzikante al voor een deel in 2019 werd opgenomen en werd afgerond op het moment dat de coronapandemie het openbare leven en zeker het leven van een muzikant lam legde, waardoor het album een tijd op de plank bleef liggen.

Doing My Time bevat de songs die de Amerikaanse singer-songwriter het afgelopen decennium schreef en het zijn songs waarin het gebroken hart een regelmatig terugkerend thema is. Het is een thema dat uitstekend tot zijn recht komt in de muziek die Gracie Lane maakt, want de muzikante uit North Carolina maakt op haar album authentiek klinkende countrymuziek.

Het is muziek waarin de stem van Gracie Lane uitstekend gedijt en het is deze stem die me onmiddellijk wist te raken. Gracie Lane beschikt over een stem die is gemaakt voor de countrysongs die ze met veel gevoel en hier en daar met een lichte snik vertolkt. Die snik wordt in het genre wel eens overdreven, maar op Doing My Time is de zang vooral zeer smaakvol. Gracie Lane zingt bovendien als een gelouterde zangeres en dat is knap op een debuutalbum.

Ook in muzikaal opzicht klinkt het allemaal prachtig en op basis van de productie van en de instrumentatie op Doing My Time verwachte ik een aantal grote namen in de credits. Die zie ik niet terug, maar dat doet niets af aan de kwaliteit van de muziek op het debuutalbum van Gracie Lane. De Amerikaanse muzikante speelt zelf gitaar, maar heeft ook snarenwonder en producer John James Tourville binnengehaald voor bijdragen van elektrische gitaren, banjo en natuurlijk de pedal steel. Het levert in alle tracks een authentiek klinkend geluid op, maar Doing My Time klinkt ook verrassend gevarieerd.

Het doet vaak wat traditioneel aan, waardoor het debuutalbum van Gracie Lane ook een aantal decennia oud zou kunnen zijn, maar gedateerd klinkt het geen moment. Het is mede de verdienste van de songs, die stuk voor stuk aangenaam en tijdloos klinken. Je bent bij Gracie Lane aan het verkeerde adres voor muzikale vernieuwing, maar haar songs klinken zo puur en eerlijk dat ik blij ben dat dit een album is waarop de grenzen van de countrymuziek van weleer eens niet worden opgezocht. Ik ben dan ook blij dat ik dit uitstekende debuutalbum heb opgepikt en hoop dat Doing My Time van Gracie Lane in veel bredere kring de aandacht krijgt die dit aansprekende countryalbum verdient.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Doing My Time hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://gracielane1.bandcamp.com/album/doing-my-time

2023 Week 47, 10 singles

This week you find hardly any true big names, excluding the new name under which two big names since the mid-90s are active in the 2020s, while the world awaits a new album from their lead vehicle. All bare one you will have encountered on this blog before though. Their new singles or EPs are of a level deserving attention and more, they deserve yours. So, enjoy exploring.

Seen It All Before. Jody and the Jerms

Jody and the Jerms return to the blog and with what else then an oh so nice pop gem where sweet and bitter meet to perfection. The upbeat tempo is full of positive vibes making the song a joy to listen to. The vocal (melody) tells another story. It is here where the two meet to perfection. And yet the vocals are full of pop as well. The jangly guitar gives the song an indie touch, a little R.E.M. even, while the lead guitar and rhythm section all rock out. Jody Jeger, who before this band never sang in a band before, is the star of the show though with her vocal melody. The Jerms do everything to make her shine and the clear production of Mark Gardener (of Ride fame) does the rest. Jody and the Jerms are on a roll here. Britpop in a modern jacket. Life could be a lot worse, I tell you. Even for people who've heard it all before.

Do I Have To Call. Bird's View

With the single 'Phoning' German rockers Bird's View debuted on this blog over a year ago. The album did not make it to these pages. This new single does. Again the band has listened to what worked well in the past and comes up with a blistering new rock song. Do I Have To Call is a dirty rock track, that makes good use of dynamics. Holding back and going (more than) full out. The tight and dry rhythm comes across in the verses, the guitars sore in the instrumental interludes and chorus. Apart from the very soft break with a soft voice and picked guitar Bird's View loves to go at it and it comes across superbly. Do I Have To Call is the kind of song that makes audiences go berserk and lets them make a soft landing in between. Bird's View has not only listened to the dozens of examples, it knows how to write its own success song as well.

Popcorn. Warhaus

Soul in 2023? Maarten Devoldere certainly seems to qualify with his new single. Released to support a fall tour, it will do just that. Devoldere's solo project turns super relaxed on Popcorn. A title that was taken since the synthesizer pop hit of 1972. Warhaus is claming it though. I do not see it climbing to the number 1 position on the charts. To compensate, the ghost of the late Marvin Gaye will be nodding contently over Devoldere's shoulder. The latter's former partner Sylvie Kreusch steals a part of the show on the single. Singing like a soul angel and impersonating the popping phase of corn. "Goodbye, my baby", Devoldere opens the song. Heartbreak once again leads to a beautiful song. The question that lingers who else is suffering from heartbreak in this song. Not Kreusch, I gather from listening to Popcorn. She's leading the pack, pop, pop, pop.

Little Hansi. The Mono Kids

Little Hansi in the title is far better off in 2023 than he would have been in 1923 and any year before. Horses in the street are not an everyday sight any more. The Mono Kids tells it all on the fear of little Hansi. They do so with a loudly rocking song that we have come to like so much from the duo, Roelof, drums and Michel, guitar and vocals. A noise intro followed by a short, effective riff and devilish break played by both the instruments , launches the song into the stratosphere, from where it refuses to return. Little Hansi rocks, loud with loads of energy, The Mono Kids have in abundance on this song. Just 2.29 and that includes the sound effects at the beginning and end. It's more than enough to leave all involved out of breath. In the meantime, I simply can't hear that break enough. Yes, it may have been done many times before but I just love it here.

Rather Be Alone EP. CIEL

This is the fourth time CIEL can be found on this blog, all in this year. The Brighton band falls really nice into the shoes left behind by Blood Red Shoes when the band left Brighton to conquer the world. Listening to CIEL's second EP of the year, it is ready to follow in the former band's footsteps. Rather Be Alone is exciting, fast paced, full of energy and great. This is exactly what a modern rock band should sound like. There's a hint of 80s and again I mention Kim Wilde this week. The sound her brother Ricky created for her in the early 80s is fused with rock guitars and even more pace. The combination works like a miracle in 2023. Singer Michelle Hindriks sings like a combination of Kim Wilde and Laura-May Carter. It's not surprising that the band was allowed to tour as a support act warming up audiences for the, at this point in time, real thing. If anything CIEL is the contender. The four songs on this EP all convince, with single 'Talk' as final powerhouse should anyone doubt the band's intentions. In fact, I'm sure opening song 'Circles' will have taken care of any doubts long before that. CIEL is one of the new bands to watch.

Like An Orchid EP. Merci, Mercy

More music from Down Under, Australia this time, Merci, Mercy is the name singer-songwriter Merceedes Thorne works under. The name is a reference to her nickname, Mercy, and the mispronunciation of her name Merceedes. She fits in with many popular singers of this day and age. When I like the music best, is when an alternative rock element is infused into the music. Opening song 'Shovel' is a great example of this. The pop music receives a great edge that makes the song very attractive to listen to. The acoustic guitar is tightly strummed and the bass gives the song a sprightly step. It results in a tremendously poppy chorus, where Merci, Mercy sings with an undercooled voice to pass her the shovel, creating the little distance she's asking for. Message understood. A nice, pleasantly shredding guitar solo does the rest. Points long scored  I have to admit that the rest of the EP is not for me. Don't let that stop you, as 1) there's one great song on the EP and 2) taste, remember?

Wall Of Eyes. The Smile

A new single by The Smile and the announcement of a new album and tour. Is the death knell rung for Radiohead, now the two leading musicians, Tom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood put more effort into their new band, with drummer Tom Skinner? (Nice name for a drummer, isn't it?) Wall Of Eyes is a strange song. It starts out like a very average kind of guitar song. A hint of Brazilian music in the guitar's rhythm. Bossa nova or some such. Yorke of course starts singing as if he is perennially remembering the next word at the moment before last. It's in the slurring way he sings, what it is. In the beginning he actually manages to keep up. Slowly but surely weirder elements creep into Wall Of Eyes. Finally leading to total estrangement. The result is a very intriguing song, where I keep wondering what possibly could happen next, without ever losing contact with the song. When all is said and done, Wall Of Sound is more a Radiohead song than anything else. It keeps me wondering why, to quote Steve Miller Band, The Smile exists? In the meantime, I've decided to enjoy it.

Love In Constant Spectacle. Jane Weaver

Jean Weaver returns to WoNoBlog with a mysterious song. The chord progression may sound familiar, the way they are painted over makes Love In Constant Spectacle a song to remain on alert. Over the music Jane Weaver sings a very nice song. I simply love the melody. It has a laidback feel, a little hippy like even. The music is totally psychedelic. The drums is the instrument grounding the song. The (synth?) bass drops huge holes in the rhythm, creating loads of spaces, as does the (I'm almost sure) guitar with its wobbly sound. There's a synth playing a few notes here and there. The whole leaves all the space in the world for Jane Weaver to sing her different parts in. Love In Constant Spectacle is one of the slowest dance songs imaginable. The rhythm is too slow to dance to, yet the song is totally funky in it's psych kind of way. The weird guitar solo ends the song adding to the mystery that is there from the start. Simply very well done.

Feel Me. Girl With a Hawk

The loss of Justine Covoult is unimaginable for someone living as far away from Boston's music scene like I do. Girl With a Hawk had signed to Covoult's Red on Red label late in 2022 and released only it's second single when she past away before the summer. The band found a new home with Rum Bar Records, where else?, and releases a new single in memory of Justine Covoult, before the band's EP is coming out on 8 December. Feel Me is a rocker with a lot of sadness in it. From the generalised "The world can't live without you" to the personal "Can I live without you"?, singer Linda S. Viens wonders. Although originally written with someone else in mind, Feel Me does express the loss the band's members felt. Having known each other since the 1980s and going through the same phases of life, both singers were rocking still or again, with life on the other side. Feel Me is a song that is well balanced, including a rough edge besides a 80s pop side in the keyboard. Kim Wilde on a rock guitar, something like that. It all ends with a guitar solo that simply sets the world ablaze for a short while. Feel Me deserves to be heard far and wide.

So It Goes. Johan

Looking at the video, I got the feeling to be looking at an outtake of Wim de Bie, instead of Johan's singer Jacco de Greeuw. And then the text "welcome player Jacobse" pops up. Coincidental? (Yes, I know De Bie played Tedje van Es, but still.) Johan's new single, again, is different than what came before. So It Goes has a rougher indie edge, once the near acoustic first part of the song is over. Like 'Cincinnati' it is Johan and it is not, except for the voice. I notice it takes me time to get it all in. I'm hearing a good song but my brain keeps warning me "this is different, watch out". Expectations are the enemy of every band with a legacy wanting to try something, even mildly, new. Johan obviously is going into a new direction and it takes getting used to. What I've heard so far, does make me curious for what else is coming. And for the tour that undoubtedly will follow.

Wout de Natris

 

Grin & Bear It. Brad Marino

Yesterday, I wrote in my review of 'An Otherwise Negative Situation', Geoff Palmer's new album: "I'm sure I've written it before, but just like his former band mate Brad Marino, it's like writing a good song does not take any effort. Most likely it is the opposite, that it takes a lot of effort to make it come out so nice. Whether pure talent or hard work, it shows on An Otherwise Negative Situation". Replace Palmer with Brad Marino and the album title for Grin & Bear It and you have the main message of this review.

With Grin & Bear It Brad Marino has delivered another great pop-rock album. Far more than his former colleague he plays a powerful version of pop music. Had he been born circa 1945, he would have been in the forefront of the U.S.' best pop bands of the 1960s or circa 1955 with the best of the powerpop or punkrock bands of the 1970s, competing with the best coming out of the U.K. at the time. He today is to, except that this music is no longer a top  priority for many people. This most certainly is their loss.

Grin & Bear It is an album that is filled with great songs, containing catchy melodies, clever riffs, short punchy solo's, beautiful harmonies, sweet keyboard melodies, in short, all that a great pop song needs to stick. There are many examples I could give but a song that really, really sticks out in my book is 'I'm Broke'. A modern rock and roll track, shuffle and all, just hurtles forward and forward. A warm organ hovers over the tight rhythm of guitar-bass-drums. Enter some great harmony singing and that punchy kind of guitar solo Brad Marino has a subscription to. With three and a half minute the song clocks in long for a Marino song, but I'm loving every 216 seconds of the song.

You can find the already mentioned Geoff Palmer on bass in a few songs and the Kurt Baker mentioned yesterday even delivers one song, 'Hung Up', and sings backing vocals in one more, 'I'm Broke'. You will also find a rendition of one of the more obscure songs from The Rolling Stones' 'Let It Bleed' album, 'Monkey Man' and the duet with Natalie Sweet, 'Over My Head', on the cd version. Two little extras that make Grin & Bear It even more attractive. This album is one of the finer modern rock and roll albums you will hear this year.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Grin & Beat It here:

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/grin-and-bear-it