Today you will find a bunch of octogenarians in the singles section and all with songs that are vibrant and full of life totally belying their age. At that age one can know what will be the last you'll do. If this over time will be proven to be the last, all can be tremendously pleased with these efforts. To compensate there a few very new names as well, some even debut records. In other words, more than enough to explore and enjoy!Rome. Brook Fox
And yet another debut on the blog.
He is an indie-pop/rock artist from South-West Wales who knows exactly
how the light and the shade works in his music. My take is that his main
influences come from the post-grunge era with bands like Creed and that
band with the hit 'Outside' that I keep forgetting the name of, Staind?
Brook Fox' own contribution is the pop element he throws into the mix,
making Rome far less darker than the bands I mentioned. That said, he knows
how to make his band rock and handles the light and the shade to
perfection, giving an audience a moment to rest before everyone can
explode into the song once again. Rome is aimed for festival fields in
the way it is set up and it is working as far as I'm concerned.
Still In The Race EP. RubinCarterRubinCarter
is Queen's Pleasure drummer Sal Rubinstein turned singer-songwriter.
After the release of singles announcing his debut EP, we can listen to
the whole work. The songs started in his bedroom playing an acoustic
guitar just for his own pleasure. Slowly but surely he realised these
songs should be heard by more people. With help from his friends the
songs and RubinCarter took shape. Ruben Carter became a famous name
because of the Bob Dylan - Jacques Levy composition 'Hurricane', more
than because of his boxing career and trial. Do not expect Bob Dylan style music
here. The EP kicks off with the alternative rock track 'Unentertained'. A
song that goes for the big sound, with a huge lead guitar and
background vocals. The exact right song to put on pole position, because
it is the kind of song that can define a career. In theory
'Unentertained' is a song to play in a stadium and to have that as your
first song on your first EP is an asset. With 'Frame' the mood goes
down, but again RubinCarter shows to know what it takes to arrange a
song in such a way that it catches the ear. Going deeper into the EP, it
becomes clear Sal Rubinstein is showing us what he is capable of. His
goal was not to create a musically consistent EP. 'April' is a ballad
with a fingerpicked acoustic guitar. It is not my favourite song on the
EP but it certainly shows courage to present such a different song.
'Still In The Race' is also a ballad but of a different sort. The slide guitar gives
the song a distinct rock feel as does the main riff. So is the final
song, 'Money Machine'. Setting the easy scoring opening rock track apart,
'Money Machine' is the song that impresses me most. It has this easy going
vibe, while at the same time being able to make a great impression on me. Without making a grand effort during the first impression, 'Money Machine' is the kind of
song that slowly but surely turns into a anthem. A modest one but an anthem nonetheless."Lalala" sometimes is
enough to do the trick. RubinCarter is a name to watch alright.
The
Bernadette Maries from Brussels return with its second single. ESO is a
song with two faces. It all starts out as an alternative rock song. In
fact I can call it grunge without any qualms. Nirvana is all over the
intro. The light and the shade between verse and chorus? Check. The two
guitar line up is used to create a lighter mood and a darker one. Before
the two minutes mark things change. Let's call it psychedelic, that
interlude. Not that the world becomes all wobbly and out of focus, it
still qualifies. The drums come in with a high and fast rhythm after
which singer/bassist Daria takes over the lead vocals. By then the song has been totally
set on its head. I have to admit, I like the first part better, yet
surprising it is. Two singles down, upcoming album 'Soft' is an album to
look out for. We have a, hopefully, glorious summer in front of us
first, as the release date is set for 18 September.
Ride. The Chelsea CurveClick
The Chelsea Curve in this blog's search engine and one single after the
other pops up. Promoted by the late Justine Covault, the band came into
my life thanks to her and I liked the band better by the single. Come
2026 and here's the band once again with single Ride from the already
released album 'The Rideout'. Like a song with a title like it should, it is
about riding, a motorcycle in this case. Linda Pardee (bass, vocals,
keys) and Tim Gillis (guitars, vocals, keys) are joined by their new
drummer Bruce Caporal. The trio rocks in a very familiar way, more U.K.
than the U.S. A band like The Who comes to mind from the time when they
were able to blend pop and rock in a perfect way. Mixed a little into
the background is the warm sound of a Hammond organ, but mostly the
guitars, bass and drums are rocking no little. The Chelsea Curve adds
some delicious pop elements in the background vocals and packs Ride with
some great rock riffs as well. Do things come much better than this? I
doubt it. Brilliant single.
It's
2026 and 50% of The Beatles release a single together. In the year Paul
turns 84 and Ringo 86, the two present a song that is simply great fun.
You won't hear me saying this is their best work, but it is good. In
the lyrics they look back at their youth, when where you lived was simply called home, no matter how you might look at the house or you think of the circumstances today. The song has a strong pop vibe
with some Status Quo light overtones. The two alternate on vocals, with
Ringo singing in a slightly different voice than normal, fitting Home
To Us perfectly. Just close your eyes for two seconds and imagine that
all four were still alive and working together. That would have made a
very decent single, ranking there with George's 'Handle Me With Care' by
The Travelling Wilburys for example. In fact, I haven't heard a better
song by Paul than Home To Us since I don't know when. There's a new
album in the stars, ‘The Boys O f Dungeon Lane’ and its release date is
29 May.
Yes, I'm a
fan since like forever. No not from the beginning. I'm not that old. But
let's face it, In The Stars is a tossaway kind of Stones song. Sure,
it's nice and the "ooooooo" part does give it a little extra. Yet, I
have 'Undercover Of The Night', 'She Was Hot', 'One Hit To The Body' and
'Rock And A Hard Place', to name a few of the average Stones singles
already in my collection. In The Stars does not add a lot more. On the
positive side. There is a new Stones single and yes, it sounds
energetic. Andrew Watt does get the best out of the Jagger-Richard
material of the 2020s and Jagger is a 82 year old force of nature. The man must be
so fit that not even his voice wears down. The hard life seems to be
catching up with Keith Richards. To give the song some credit, the way
the song plays out, with the piano coming in, I may take a shine to it any
way. The details are nicer than I thought at first. Only two more months and we'll
know more about 'Foreign Tongues', including, once again, Paul
McCartney.
Established in
1968, also Deep Purple is releasing a new album in 2026, 'Splat!' and
listening to Arrogant Boy, the band is in top form. The song goes off in classic hard rock, metal, symphonic rock directions as if its the most normal
thing in the world. The three from the Mach II line up and most famous
one, Gillan, Glover, Paice and keyboard player Don Airey around for the
whole of this century, are joined by new guitarist Simon McBride.
Together the rock like it is 1970 something. The guitar playing in the
verses wasn't invented then though. Think Metallica or something like it. Next,
Marillion comes in and a little Bowie in the singing in the "Billy"
interlude part. There's so much energy here that it is inconceivable
that I'm listening to older senior citizens of around 80.
Arrogant Boy is pure power and more importantly, a great song.
Only Free When Sleeping. Big SpecialWith
two records in two years and one stand alone single, the announcement
of a new EP by Big Special shows that the band is in a hurry to show
more of itself. 'O'Joy' will be out on 5 June. It is said to contain the
songs that did not fit on both albums. Those following the band will
not be surprised by Only Free When Sleeping. Vocalist Joe Hicklin does his mix of
rapping/talking singing in his Midlands accent, while drummer Callum
Moloney points the direction of the song through his relentless rhythm. Who does all else that we
hear, I don't know. Only Free When Your Sleeping is a strong song, like
the best songs of the duo are. There's always urgency that is brought
across and not only because of the vocal delivery. The whole song wants
its listeners to move and move some more. Yes, it's undeniable, I like
Big Special, even if it is a bit outside of my usual musical habitat.
Mess. Tape ToyTape
Toy debuted on this blog with a single of its EP 'Launch The Rocket' in
January 2025. Today the band is back with the up tempo, almost creating a hunted
down kind of tempo of Mess. Don't expect originality, as I've heard a
song like this so many times before. What Mess does present is a
truckload of positive energy, fun and little surprises all throughout
the song. The song announces an as yet unnamed album to be released in
September. Based on what I'm hearing here, it should be great fun. The
mix of a modern sounding lo-fi song with all the modernity electronics
and samples can add, presents a song that is simply filled with
inventions, additions, weirdness, to return to the kind of art rock bands like The Mo and The Kewi University of Swing were already making around
1980. Then add that tempo and you have Mess. Tape Toy, a band to be on
the lookout for.
Just Love. Reluctant Bob & The Lonely LoversJust
Love is the kind of pure pop that came into fashion a long time ago and
somewhere in the 1970s went out again, after bubblegum bands like The
Rubettes and Showaddywaddy, who rehashed the feel from the decade
before, went out of fashion. I never hear these two examples anymore.
The originals from the 1960s still seem to come by and may forever come
by when new generations take a look a their grandparents' records
collection (or Tik Tok or Spotify of course). That makes Just Love pure
nostalgia for a time long gone, but no less fun. Just listen to those
guitar notes, the sweet harmony vocals, the way the piano adds to the
fun. In a way the song reminds me most of The Rutles, Eric Idle's The
Beatles parody. Just Love would have fit perfectly on the album, without
parodying a The Beatles song in a superb way. Well done, Reluctant Bob
& The Lonely Lovers.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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