Don't forget who you are. Miles Kane

You can listen to 'Don't forget who you are' here.

As a pillar of rest in a hurrying world Miles Kane presents himself on the cover of his new work of art. An image that is not necessarily in sync with the music on Don't forget who you are. "I need excitement and I need a" friend? No, a "cure", sings Kane. Excitement is a better description of the music on the album. Miles Kane again shows progression on his new album, the way an artist should at the beginning of his career.

Miles Kane started his career in The Little Flames, a band that split up before the first album was released and debuted with his band The Rascals in 2008 with 'Rascalise'. It his here that the link with Artic Monkeys starts when The Rascals support the band on a UK tour. This lead to Alex Turner and Miles Kane teaming up as the fairly successful The Last Shadow Puppets in 2008, with number 1 slots for album and single in the U.K.. After that Kane was on his own, as he disbanded The Rascals in 2009. In 2011 his first solo album was released, 'Colour of the trap'.

Although I liked 'Colour of the trap', it did not stand out enough on what was on offer. Don't forget who you are does. For the first time, in my humble opinion, Miles Kane shows his strength on his own, not needing any reference to anyone else. He's his own man. Having mastered most of pop and rock since the mid 60s, Kane comes up with several hard rocking, sprightly songs. In some of the songs he's the harder rocking pall of Robbie Williams ('Give up'), allows a song to relax, almost touching on a ballad ('Fire in your heart') or shows more poppy side of himself without letting go of loud guitars ('Darkness in our hearts'). Most songs are up tempo though and full of urgency. As if Kane has points to make, hammered home full of confidence. This word seems to sum up Don't forget who you are best: confidence. Kane knows what he's doing and where he wants to go. The album is over all to soon.

As I wrote the influences seems to come from all over the place. The Arctic Monkeys reference will be on Miles Kane for ever. Opener 'Taking over' has this typical AM turn in the song into the chorus, but just as easily lets in a little T. Rex boogie or Motown backing vocals in. 'Taking over' shoots of in different directions, but remains a great song in its own right. The result shows that the influences were used in the right way and lead to a Miles Kane song. After listening to the second song, title song 'Don't forget who you are', I knew that this album could not go wrong. Again the twist and turns of the song lead up to fantastic chorus, including a small "la-la-la". And it doesn't. 'Don't forget who you are' is a wonder of pop, (glam)rock, britpop and mostly in the heavier segment of all three.

Looking at the co-writing duties, Miles Kane got help from famous friends. Andy Partridge, Paul Weller, Ian Broudie and Guy Chambers. With a little help from his friends he gets a long way. In short Miles Kane has produced on the best pop records of 2013 so far. On Don't forget who you are he shows his full potential in great songs, melodies and comes up with several nice sounding riffs as well. Time to take a listen, dear reader, if you haven't yet.

Wo.

Ride your heart (2). Bleached

Na de uiterst positieve recensie van Wo. (klik hier), is het de beurt aan Erwin Zijleman om zijn mening te geven over deze heerlijke pop-punk plaat van dames duo Bleached.

Voor het maken van een goede plaat heb je uiteindelijk maar één ding nodig: goede songs. De Amerikaanse zusjes Jennifer en Jessica Clavin zijn geen geweldige zangeressen, hebben geen geweldige muzikanten om zich heen verzameld en konden geen beroep doen op een dure studio of producer van naam en faam, maar hebben wel een fantastische plaat gemaakt. Ride Your Heart van Bleached  moet het uiteindelijk maar van één ding hebben: geweldige songs. De zusjes Calvin speelden eerder in de donkere punkband Mika Miko, maar verruilen op Ride Your Heart van Bleached de grauwe kelders voor een plekje in de zon. Ride Your Heart bevat een serie volstrekt onweerstaanbare punky popliedjes die je doen geloven dat het leven een sprookje is (of op zijn minst dat het altijd zomer is). Het rammelt aan alle kanten en ook de zang is niet altijd even goed, maar je vergeeft het de zusjes direct wanneer het ene na het andere aanstekelijke refreintje uit de speakers komt. Bleached haalt de mosterd bij Blondie en The Ramones, bij The Go-Go’s en The Bangles en bij Best Coast en The Dum Dum Girls. Ride Your Heart klinkt daarom direct bekend in de oren, maar dat maakt de muziek van de band eigenlijk alleen maar leuker. Bleached kiest op Ride Your Heart afwisselend voor punky popmuziek, muziek uit de hoogtijdagen van Phil Spector of muziek met een vleugje Westcoast, maar het is allemaal even onweerstaanbaar. Ik ben normaal gesproken helemaal niet vies van loepzuivere vocalen, muzikale hoogstandjes en glasheldere producties, maar als het debuut van Bleached uit de speakers komt tellen maar twee dingen: zonnestralen en meezingen met refreinen die je na één keer horen nooit meer wilt vergeten. Het lijkt zo makkelijk wat Bleached doet, maar makkelijk is het zeker niet, vooral wanneer stiekem toch wat geniale gitaarloopjes en hemelse harmonieën voorbij komen en je het tweetal zo af en toe toch gaat verdenken van productionele vaardigheden. Natuurlijk zijn er in dit genre veel meer bands die bijzonder aanstekelijke popliedjes kunnen schrijven, maar zo onweerstaanbaar als op Ride Your Heart hoor ik ze toch niet heel vaak. Ride Your Heart van Bleached is geen plaat waaraan zoveel worden moeten worden vuil gemaakt als ik nu nodig heb. Ride Your Heart van Bleached is een plaat die je moet horen en leven. Gooi de ramen open, zet de volumeknop open en gooi het debuut van Bleached de wereld in. Resultaat: het is zomer. En niet zomaar een zomer, maar de mooiste zomer in jaren. Heerlijk, heerlijk, HEERLIJK!

Erwin Zijleman

Hier kun je naar Bleached luisteren.

Waterpop 2013: Holland's got talent!

For the first time I went to the Waterpop free festival in Wateringen, a village close to The Hague. Drawn by Sunday Sun, the band that featured regularly on this blog in the second half of 2012. The weather was not good and not bad, overcast and the temperature moderate and fine for a festival. The road to Wateringen was easy to drive and parking as close as a few 100 meters from the park. Things could be a lot worse.

*

I arrived, led by the music in the distance with the sunny sounds of Jon Tarifa. Funky soul played in a modern way with a lot of people on stage, two background singers and Jon singrapping to to us. To heighten the festivities, it was his 30th birthday, so the whole band wore partyhats. Not my kind of music, but played supple and well. A band to check out if you like this sort of thing.

Sunday Sun was on next. But first I have to make a compliment to the logistics and sound. Each act  followed the next swiftly on another stage. Hardly any waiting at all, while the sound was perfect for an open air festival. From the start of each gig and that is something I have never heard before. Always tweaking was necessary and here it only took taking the bassdrum of The New Shining down later in the day. Chapeau people at Waterpop!

Sunday Sun delivered as I had hoped they would. The perfect pop melodies were well played and well sung. The two, three and four piece harmonies went down perfect. Sunday Sun has made three excellent EPs in 2012 and is able to play them live just as good as on record. With hits like 'Everybody knows', 'Ordinary love', 'Now is now' and 'Don't want to lose you now', things can't go wrong. Still, and I have to mention this, the band has to work on its stage presence. It's a bit chaotic and at times not positive. Trust on the quality of the songs, they do the work for you. For the rest, tops.

Jungle by Night surprised me most, I guess. Nine super young kids making music that holds a mix of Santana, U.S. funk-soul bands of the 70s, African rhythms, jazzy improvisations and energy. Loads of it. This is music I would never play at home, as I can't even take Santana in in large quantities. At Waterpop I started out quiet sceptic and found myself starting to move to songs called 'Kiwi' or 'Cyclin''. Warm organ and Hammond organ sounds, a high end funky guitar, deep end bass and drums. Two percussionists and three horns doing most of the spectacular stuff. Some outspoken and some laidback members, but as a whole they got soul. Great fun.

The most chaotic show came from Hausmagger, but it's intended this way. A super young (well, from a distance) rhythm duo. A hippie, hard rocker lead guitarist and, yes, well, what? A streetpoet, declarator, foul-mouth, hoarse singer. It was loud, punky, rocky, with ultra short poems/jokes in between. All read from scraps of paper as the singer was not one to know lyrics by heart.  It all didn't matter, Hausmagger came and won. Lyrics are all Dutch, sorry one Deutsch, and e.g. are a perfect diabolic reverse of "You walk like an angel": "You walk like a gay". It all ends with "But I don't care, because we are friends". Girlfriends that left the singer lead to very direct translations of his feelings. "I feel #@$%". And still, some of the melodies could allow Hausmagger to be played on national radio. Hausmagger is something special. There's no other word for it.

Tessa Rose Jackson played sweet girl music. The contrast with the 50 something, I think, leading Hausmagger and the pretty and very young Tessa Rose was so huge. It was nearly impossible to make the switch. I managed to do so from the second half of the show. Again a huge band on stage, 7 people. With one guy playing everything a song needed extra and singing as well. Impressive! Tessa Rose's band played well and allowed her to present herself in a very positive way. The multi-layered vocals certainly added to the whole. With a song like '(All the) Kings horses' she comes quite close to the songs and quality of Mister and Mississippi. Some other songs were too far away from my taste, but as a whole the show was good and worthwhile watching. Tessa Rose Jackson certainly is a talent to watch.

And again the switch could not be a lot bigger than what we got next. Groningen-noord's pride and joy Traumahelikopter took off and left a trail of swirling air and dust. The first audience participation of the day could be noted in the form of a moshpit. The leader of the whole even was thrown a can of beer from the stage as thanks for his troubles. Traumahelikopter has two sorts of songs: one lasting under and one lasting over two minutes. For the rest it's one-two-three-four and let's go. Two guitars, one minimal drum that takes care of the bass without a bassdrum is enough. With the singer in the moshpit for one song and the lead guitarist trying to crowdsurf things really got wild. Also a veni-vidi-gone.

The New Shining played a very decent set. Melodic and well built up. The songs got better with each turn, ending with a new song that is bound to receive airplay. The band seems in transition somewhat. The acoustic side seems here to stay as Xander Stok plays an acoustic guitar for the whole show. Leaving the lead duties to Evert Zeevalking. Together with bass player Arjan Nijman the three harmonise in a great way, again showing that melodic music is on the way up. And the Mumford & Sons sort of folk music. The blend The New Shining is looking for, melodic rock and pop songs in a rock setting is one to watch.

With ominous dark guitar soundscapes from an Islandic heavy metal band I left the festival to go home. When I reached my car they were still waiting to finish the first song, producing more noise than all others together. After a long afternoon at Waterpop I can only conclude that the quality of Dutch popmusic is definitely on the rise. All acts, no matter how diverse, are good, have the right sort of songs and know how to play them live as well. The records that have been reviewed on this blog in the past months don't lie. Check them out as most bands deserved to be better known. Sunday Sun even with an interview as well.

Wo.

* All photos by Wo.

1. Jon Tarifa
2. Sunday Sun
3. Jungle by Night
4. Hausmagger
5. Tessa Rose Jackson
6. Traumahelikopter
7. The New Shining

Country Joe McDonald at Woodstock: History being made

Yesterday I viewed or listened to a lot of circa 1960 hits that presented itself on You Tube after I had clicked on the Dutch 1965 superhit 'Sophietje' by Johnny Lion. I had sat on a terrace overlooking the river IJ in Amsterdam and came home with 'Sophietje' in my head as the song goes "On an Amsterdam terrace". The song is with me for as long as I know, maybe for longer than I can remember, that it has always been sort of there since 1965. Clicking and clicking, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka, Brian Hyland, The Four Seasons, Dion & the Belmonts, Del Shannon (My girlfriend: "I know all of these songs"!), etc. Until Woodstock came up and I listened to 'White rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane and then clicked on Country Joe McDonald. Despite the fact that I've seen the footage before on film somewhere in the late 70s and later several times on DVD, the song never before had so much impact. The performance stood out for me. But let me take you back first.

My teenage friend Frits' dad and mine were both merchant marine officers. Frits' dad brought home Taiwanese pressings of LPs (as mine would not much later). One of these albums was Woodstock. So in 1972 and onwards, we were listening to the official soundtrack album for whole days in a row. From Ritchie Havens all the way to Jimi Hendrix. With the exception of Paul Butterfield's Bluesband and to a lesser extent Santana and Joan Baez, I dug it. I dug it enough for a lifetime worth. The fantastic versions of Ten Years After's 'I'm going home' or Joe Cocker's 'With a little help from my friends'. Arlo Guthrie's beautiful 'Coming into Los Angeles'. the nutty madness of Sha Na Na, 'Volunteers' that spat of the vinyl: "This is morning maniac music, believe me ... It's a new dawn!". And the only available version, as far as I'm aware, of Neil Young's great song 'Sea of madness'.

In between this all is this anti-Vietnam protest done by one man with one guitar: 'I-feel-like-I'm-fixin'-to-die-rag' or 'The fish cheer'. One guy taking on the whole of the US establishment, government and military complex. First on this spot, then on record, on film and now on the internet forever and ever. If you look at the footage, you'll notice a few things. First the audacity to start "the fish cheer", "Give me an F, a U, a C, a K: "What's that spell?" and the audience answering, summing up. So much for the "fish" cheer. We see a man with long hair, bound in by a bandanna, a moustache, earring in his right ear and wearing army sergeant fatigues with a blue coloured scarf on his left sleeve, armed with an acoustic guitar. "A hippie". The footage shows the audience and Country Joe alternating. What amazed me is the impact of the song on those present. From amazement on the faces of people in the audience. 'Am I hearing what I'm hearing'? The singing along. Many people knew the song beforehand. Remember that almost all guys present at Woodstock, bands as well as audience, were at the draft age and could be sent to Vietnam any time soon. And then the most beautiful thing happens of all.

The camera angle changes. First it shows Country Joe's back and then goes up and zooms out ever so slowly to the audience, showing ever more people getting up to stand and sing, where everyone was sitting and listening before. An audience so large that it goes up the hill in Max Yasgur's cow field and perhaps disappears behind it. And all get up to sing and cheer with one man and one guitar. Yes, music can have a profound impact on people, but does it ever have it at this magnitude these days? After finishing the song, Country Joe McDonald stands up from his stool, waves with his guitar to the audience and walks backstage where someone approaches him, embraces and kisses him on the cheek. This guy realised that history had been made that evening.

For the first time it dawned on me what impact this performance had on the people present. Probably because it was isolated from the rest of the Woodstock movie. This way it touched me directly.

Listening to 'I-feel-like-I'm-fixin'-to-die-rag' yesterday made me realise that I only know two Country Joe (and the Fish) songs, both on Woodstock and never ever have heard another one. ('Rock and soul music' obviously being the other one.) One of it's albums was re-released recently. I intend to review it on this blog soon. What will it sound like?

Wo.

You can watch Country Joe McDonald at Woodstock here.

Mozes and the Firstborn

You can listen to 'I got skills' here.

So far several fine records have been released by Dutch bands in 2013. For months on end the rumour about a new top band has been going around and now the album is here. Mozes and the Firstborn is a band from Eindhoven in Noord-Brabant. Listening to the album for the first time last week, it became clear once more that retro-psychedelia is the new hip in 2013. Mozes and the Firstborn has found its way to the well and dipped the instruments in deep.

One song sticks out far above all else. 'I got skills' is the summer of 2013 radio hit for the band, coming by in mid rotation. It has all it takes to be a novelty hit like Nada Surf's 'Popular' or Armand's 'Ben ik te min'. The single reminds me of both so much. A slacker hit if I ever heard one. But not the song the band will want to be remembered for for the rest of its career, I guess. There's a lot more going on on this first album.

Mozes and the Firstborn consists of Melle Dielesen (lead singing and guitar), Ernst-Jan van Doorn (guitar), Corto Blommaert (bass) and Raven Aartsen (drums). They are all young, early twenties and sound more enthusiastic than super proficient. The sound of the album is semi-primitive, as if recorded in the garage, actually the basement I understand of one of the parents, while at the same time there is a clear and keen ear for details in the production. This way the music has a rough and a sweet edge, which works well most of the time. The sound is straight out of the 60s, not unlike The Outsiders or Q65, but with a lot better English (pronounciation).

The music period that Mozes and the Firstborn is inspired by is about the same as Jacco Gardner, this band sounds more alive and less studied. Something is happening that makes me prick up my ears, even if a song is not so special all by itself, but something is happening in it that make it worth while listening to. 'Time's a headache' e.g. does not have a special melody, but the dynamics and the guitar eruptions make it a fun song to listen to. And a little detail like the pre chorus acoustic guitar strokes announcing to the rest of the band to catch up, is a fine detail.

What I also like about the album, that it is all but one dimensional. It rocks out and has a poppy song like 'Skinny girl' based on the acoustic guitar, with fun details and o so 60s. It is not pretentious. The songs are all pretty straight forward. There may be a guitar overdub here or there, sometimes a few organ notes, but all to serve the song and not a concept. There may be no virtuosity on Mozes and the Firstborn, it all leads to songs that are worthwhile hearing and hearing again. Towards the end of the album is 'Heaven'. Low tempo, not much going on until the lead guitar lets it all rip. Totally over the top, showing again that Mozes and the Firstborn is able to have a great impact with minimal effects. One to be exact in this example, on the guitar.

To be honest, I can't wait to see the band live. This is going to be one big party, I'm sure. Until then I'm happy with Mozes and the Firstborn at home and underway.

Wo.