Demo 3. Bongley Dead

Write a review of a Vancouver, B.C. based stoner band and get a download of an Italian band for free? Something like that happened to this blog recently. After the publication of the post of the EP 'Cluster funk' by Death Goldblum a link to Demo 3 was provided by an anonymous poster. We liked what we heard, so here's the review.

To start we found that Bongley Dead is an Italian band. There was no guessing as this band sound as British as things go. For this blog Italy is not unique, but almost is. We've had a post on producer and songsmith Damiano della Torre and on the cd he produced for US/Swiss singer Beth Wimmer in 2012. In my record collection there's not a lot of things Italian. An album by Negrita from the start of this century and a few 45s from the 60s, inherited from my late aunt. That will be about it. So Demo 3 is fairly unique in my home looked at from the country of origin.

The music isn't though. Bongley Dead produces a fun storm of late Britpop in the way The Libertines raged just after 2000, Supergrass in the mid-90s. So pop with a punky sauce delicately draped around it, without a fear to rock out as well. 'Summer house' is a great example with some quieter passages as well. No 'Follow' is, no ... Sorry, I seem to like them all. So everyone wanting to hear delicately played music knows he/she can stop reading here.

Bongley Dead cooks up a storm. Certainly for a trio. The mix is tight and closed. Simone Pippi is a power drummer hitting his skins and cymbals at full strength. The same goes for bassist Federico Seghi, who takes care of the deep end, helped by some sort of a pedal adding to the sound or not. Together they make sure the foundation of Bongley Dead is extremely sound. That leaves room for singer and guitarist Marcello Rossi to make the band come alive.

And together they make Demo 3 come alive. The songs are loud, uptempo by so ultimately melodic, that Bongley Dead delivers the best sort of alternative rock imaginable. The voice of Marcello has a rougher edge without being deep. As such it makes me think of Dutch singer Maurits Westerik of Gem. The most so in 'Driving nowhere'. Bongley Dead compares very favourably to Gem. The songs are more free-flowing. If anything the Italian trio has found a way to sneak a pop element into its songs that make them sort of irresistible to me. (As a tip, contact Dutch label Excelsior Records. You never know.) Another hint is Billy Corgan, but Marcello has more deepness, so can vary some more in the use of his voice.

When in song 8, 'Shelter', the tempo finally goes down, the band convinces and shows that it does not have to be afraid of leaving a tiny air gap in it's music. A nice ending to the EP, except for the hidden track that starts after 8 minutes where pure punk is distributed to listeners' ears. Not my favourite of the EP, but everyone's allowed their fun.

In the first eight songs Bongley Dead shows themselves apt learners of the louder form of Britpop and were able to give the songs a hint of their own stamp on music. If opening song 'A better daybreak' agrees with you, you better proceed. Demo 3 is full of songs like this. Loud, busy, melodic and pure punkpop filled with drums, bass and guitars. Yes, the kind of music I truly enjoy in the right portions. Demo 3 is over before I know it and the fun thing is I can put it on again and again and again while the smile on my face just grows and grows. Who brings these guys to the lowlands for some shows?

Wo.

You can listen to Demo 3 on the band's website:

http://www.bongleydead.com/music.php?albid=4

Aldous Harding. Aldous Harding

Bijna alle nieuwe muziek is tegenwoordig snel en makkelijk te vinden op streaming media diensten als Spotify en Deezer. Persoonlijk vind ik dit een goede ontwikkeling. Via Spotify kun je goed luisteren naar een plaat voordat je besluit om hem aan te schaffen, net zoals je dat vroeger deed in de platenzaak (wat heb ik vaak met een ietwat smerige koptelefoon op mijn hoofd gestaan om te kunnen bepalen waaraan ik mijn zuur verdiende geld uit zou geven).

Het is dan bijna gek of op zijn minst heel verwarrend als een plaat niet te vinden is op de vertrouwde streaming media diensten. Het overkwam me onlangs met het debuut van de Nieuw-Zeelandse singer-songwriter Aldous Harding.

Ik moest dus overtuigd worden door de twee onderstaande songs, die wel op het Internet te vinden zijn, maar dat was meer dan genoeg. De digitale download van het debuut van Aldous Harding had ik een uur later in huis en fysiek lag hij een paar dagen later op de mat.

En wat ben ik er nog steeds blij mee, want Aldous Harding heeft een bijzonder intrigerend en ook bijzonder mooi debuut afgeleverd. Het is een debuut dat op het eerste gehoor niet van deze tijd lijkt. Aldous Harding maakt indringende folk, die herinnert aan illustere voorgangers als Linda Perhacs, Karen Dalton en Judee Sill uit de jaren 60; stuk voor stuk vergeten folkzangeressen die in iedere platenkast te vinden zouden moeten zijn, maar helaas vaak ontbreken. Ook de inmiddels wel in brede kring gewaardeerde Vashti Bunyan is overigens zinvol vergelijkingsmateriaal.

Het debuut van Aldous Harding is een ingetogen plaat, maar het is zeker geen plaat die voortkabbelt. Akoestische gitaar vormt de basis van de meeste songs op de plaat, maar de songs van de Nieuw-Zeelandse singer-songwriter worden in een aantal gevallen verder ingekleurd met strijkers of donkere elektronica, waardoor de muziek van Aldous Harding zowel een vertrouwd als een tegendraads geluid heeft.

De songs krijgen vervolgens hun eigen geluid en karakter door de bijzondere stem van Aldous Harding. De Nieuw-Zeelandse kan net zo pastoraal zingen als de grote folkies uit het verleden, maar doet dit nooit zonder emotie. Aldous Harding is hierdoor in staat om de luisteraar vast te grijpen en vast te houden met haar indringende songs, wat in dit genre een bijzonder groot goed is.

Stop het debuut van Aldous Harding in de cd speler en de meeste liefhebbers van folk zullen negen tracks lang ademloos luisteren naar de donkere en melancholische songs van de Nieuw-Zeelandse singer-songwriter. Het is een effect dat bij herhaalde beluistering niet meer zal verdwijnen. 

Aldous Harding maakt, in tegenstelling tot de meeste van haar hedendaagse soortgenoten, geen folky popliedjes die aangenaam voortkabbelen, maar draagt verhalen voor waar je alleen maar heel aandachtig naar kunt luisteren.

Toen ik de plaat een paar keer had gehoord hoorde ik ook wel wat van Joanna Newsom terug op het debuut van Aldous Harding, maar gelukkig is Aldous Harding een veel betere zangeres en blijven haar songs beter hangen.

Het debuut van Aldous Harding dreigt door het ontbreken op de streaming media helaas een wat obscure parel te worden, maar dat is nergens voor nodig. Voor 12 Nieuw-Zeelandse dollar heb je een perfect klinkende download in handen, waarna de cd of LP gewoon in de Nederlandse platenzaak te vinden is. Ga op zijn minst luisteren, want dit is zo’n plaat die eigenlijk niemand mag missen.

Erwin Zijleman

De digitale download van het debuut van Aldous Harding is te krijgen via: http://flyingout.co.nz/products/aldous-harding-aldous-harding. Kost je ongeveer 7 euro.

.No's February Kairos.

.No produces a monthly radio show on Concertzender called Kairos. Wo. is a fan of rock, pop, beat, indie, singer-songwriter, etc., in short, the kind of music that is not on the top of .No's mind when he assembles the music for his show. Wo. lets himself be challenged by .No and writes about the way the often exotic music affects him. But, as you will see, tips of Wo. start to find their way into Kairos. The connection with Snowstar Records, absent this month, came about through the review of Broeder Dieleman's wondrous record 'Gloria', but this month it is a 100% certified tip. and perhaps not the last one. Who can tell?

Kairos' usual start, the sonorous voice over under some faint piano notes, blends with a piano composition of Howard Skempton. The proverbial slowness in playing is on display, but it is sort of hard to know what happens next. Tape hiss and a lady voice proclaiming a text. I guess this is Michael Pisaro's 'Unmoon'. What all the other people mentioned in the liner notes of this month's Kairos have been doing on this recording, I just don't know. And where does 'Unmoon' start and where does Natascha Barrett's 'Submerged' begin? All is shrouded by musical mist, tape hiss and atmospheric un-music. There's no telling for the simple rockfan like I am.

Next it becomes clear. 'Sicut lilium' by Henk Badings is a choir like they have in large churches. The voices are the angelic sounding Schwester Hochfünf. Five ladies called Tschuschke who take the melody full on and weave their parts in an intricate and delicate way. There's no forcing here, just rest and contemplation.

'...og lengra' by Ólafur Arnalds blends wonderfully well with the voices. It could be a mere continuation of 'Sicut lilium'. Arnalds' piano provides the basic notes for the violins to play their soft melodies over. The rustling of the waves on a clear, windless day. Nothing, crash of the wave on the beach, rustling, nothing and crash. That is what '...og lengra' reminds me of. The ease of a warm day at the beach, but somehow also the threat of canons far of in the distance. Strange by true.

We remain in Iceland as the next contribution is by another composer we have met in the past months. Ólafur Björn Ólafsson with two compositions: 'Knoll of Juniper' and 'Molasses'. The first is a one minute composition, over before I know it. It sounds somewhat difficult, as if the players receive the next note only the moment they have to play it or even one second behind that moment. The second composition is darker, with a rustling in the background under the instruments, as a form of extremely slow rhythm. So minimal in impact. Both are contemplative and totally at ease with the world.

Next up is by an anonymous. 'Quant la doulce jouvencelle by Asteria is a Medieval sort of song, brought in a very serious way. I can imagine the same composition as a sort of jig played by Fairport Convention and by default Celtic punkrockers Dropkick Murphies. No problem at all. Sylvia Rhyne and Eric Redlinger chose to approach 'Quant la doulce jouvencelle' as if they are singing in a church environment, with the bishop himself present. Solemn and serene. It certainly works this way also.

And on comes a near 20 minute sound experiment with .No in a supporting role. Besides all other things he makes music himself also. All though Klaus Wiese's 'Tibetanische Klangschalen I, tr. 1' .No sort of re-mixes the track with soundscapes and mixes two other compositions into the whole. An organlike sound provides the underground for the Tibetan scales that sound like tubular bells or your grandfather's clock resounding on the mantelpiece. Somewhere down the composition the speed is tampered with. Is that you, .No?  The Real Group's  'Om alla berg och dalar' can be heard, mixed in, multi-layered vocals of this Scandinavian song. There's also very faintly a bleeping that reminds me of Kraftwerk. All in all it takes some stamina to sit this through. Nearly 20 minutes of Kairos is taken up by Wiese's composition in which, quite frankly speaking, nothing happens. It is true to Kairos' intentions, a meditation in music. The musical personification of "ommmm". So close your eyes and let yourself be carried away by everything .No is doing here. He's the expert.

Another of .No's favourites comes by as well: Arvo Pärt. 'The deer's cry', played by Ars Nova Copenhagen with Paul Hillier conducting. The choir's singing starts over the drone of Wiese. 'Christ with me"?, at least I think) is sung in low and high voices. All extremely serious. There's no hint of humour here. Hearing a choir sing I'm always touched and surprised by the power of and variety in the human voice. How intricate the voices can come together and float apart at the same time, creating this myriad of voices that together make up a complex composition. Although I never play this sort of music at home, when running into it by chance in a church, where else, I always have to listen. Fascinating.

Karina Eps is also back on Kairos. A bit more eclectic although how strange it may sound, the comparison with Pärt is not that large. Just listen to the swelling and deflating of the electronics of Gowers. The radio frequency sound didn't even detonate under 'The deer's cry. While the two musical worlds could not be more apart. The bass Gowers plays is straight out of Pink Floyd. 'Distant light' is very modern, past music, so more sounds that could be in a soundtrack of a movie where the actors are trying to get into touch with something or someone out there, but making no connection. A story like 'On the beach'.

And there are those birds again.

And finally we get to De Kift. 'Hoofdkaas' is one of the most touching songs the band recorded to date. Based on a poem by Werner Schwab the band does its Tom Waits, Kaizers Orchestra, brass band kind of thing in combination with being De Kift all the way. See if you can guess what the rhythmic sound is towards the end. A first on Kairos, I'm sure. 'Hoofdkaas' is the album that the band managed to become more melodic, including beautiful harmonies that, in all their roughness, are so delicate; all that without losing all the finer points that make it unique. 'Hoofdkaas' is built up intricately, so totally befitting Kairos and a beautiful end to February's edition. Most likely also tis most eclectic and wildest to date, while still remaining so graceful, even if it is a grace from the gutter.

You can listen to this month's Kairos here:

http://www.concertzender.nl/programmagids/?date=2015-02-05&month=0&detail=76272

Give my love to London. Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Faithfull scoorde in 1964 als fris jong meisje een flinke hit met de Jagger/Richards compositie As Tears Go By.
 
Het zou nog 15 jaar duren voor ik voor het eerst kennis zou maken met het werk van Marianne Faithfull. In 1979 was Marianne Faithfull pas 33 jaar oud, maar haar stem klonk oud en versleten. Op de een of andere manier gaf de rauwe, onvaste en soms wat haperende stem van Marianne Faithfull haar muziek echter een bijzondere lading, waardoor Broken English (dat overigens eerder dit jaar een bijzonder fraaie reissue kreeg) uitgroeide tot een erkend meesterwerk.
 
Het zou 18 jaar duren voordat Broken English een waardige opvolger kreeg (het bijna even indrukwekkende Strange Weather), maar sindsdien levert Marianne Faithfull met enige regelmaat platen van hoog niveau af.
 
De laatste was voor mijn gevoel het in 2008 verschenen Easy Come Easy Go, maar kennelijk heb ik drie jaar geleden het met covers gevulde Horses And High Heels gemist.
 
Give My Love To London is hoe dan ook de eerste plaat met eigen werk van Marianne Faithfull in zes jaar tijd en het is wederom een hele mooie. Marianne Faithfull is inmiddels bijna 68 jaar oud, maar sinds Broken English zijn haar stembanden gelukkig niet al teveel meer versleten. In vocaal opzicht is Give My Love To London daarom niet heel ver verwijderd van de al weer 35 jaar oude klassieker en ook in muzikaal opzicht blijkt Marianne Faithfull nog jong van geest.
 
Voor Give My Love To London deed Marianne Faithfull een beroep op flink wat muzikanten van naam en faam. Zo schreven Roger Waters, Nick Cave, Anna Calvi, Steve Earle en Tom McRae mee aan de songs op de plaat en zijn onder andere Brian Eno, Portishead’s Adrian Utley, Warren Ellis (The Bad Seeds) en Ed Harcourt als muzikant te horen. Ook de keuze voor producer Rob Ellis en de mix van Flood zijn veilige keuzes, maar toch is Give My Love To London zeker geen veilige plaat.
 
Marianne Faithfull imponeert op haar nieuwe plaat met doorleefde folky songs die worden vertolkt zoals alleen Marianne Faithfull dit kan, maar Give My Love To London bevat ook een aantal stekelige of zelfs rauw klinkende songs die flink tegen de haren instrijken, bijvoorbeeld door de scherpe viool uithalen van Warren Ellis en het gruizige gitaarspel. Het zijn tracks die herinneren aan de jonge jaren van Roxy Music, maar ook associaties oproepen met de muziek van The Velvet Underground en de Britse folk van weleer.
 
Ook voor Give My Love To London geldt weer dat je moet houden van de zang van Marianne Faithfull. Haar stem klinkt ook op Give My Love To London weer rauw, doorleefd, rokerig en onvast, maar draagt op hetzelfde moment stevig bij aan de intensiteit van haar bijzondere songs, zeker wanneer de Britse diva haar emoties laat spreken en de woorden van haar mooie teksten gepassioneerd aanvalt.
 
Meer dan eens dwingt de vergelijking met de laatste plaat van Leonard Cohen zich op. In vocaal opzicht valt er absoluut wat op aan te merken, maar waarom zou je je hier druk om maken wanneer ieder woord dat uit de speakers komt keihard aankomt. Het is dan ook geen toeval dat Marianne Faithfull op deze plaat aan de haal gaat met Cohen’s Going Home en de song aanpakt zoals tot voor kort alleen de oude meester zelf dit kon.
 
Marianne Faithfull mag inmiddels een respectabele leeftijd hebben bereikt, maar gaat op Give My London tekeer als een jonge hond. Wat een mooie, eigenzinnige, doorleefde en gedurfde plaat van deze unieke zangeres. Ik schrijf hem op voor de jaarlijstjes.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier luisteren naar 'Sparrows will sing':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE9I4lVpE64

Hold back the river EP. James Bay

After reading the new Oor magazine who wrote James Bay straight into heaven, I decided to give this single/EP a chance myself. I had heard the song before on the radio I think, as it sounded faintly familiar. Hearing it on Spotify, my first impression was "Ha, another Hozier". Not so strange as 'Hold back the river' has some 'Take me to church' overtones. Who cares, as I'm liking what is presented by James Bay. There are enough differences as well. James Bay is not a copy cat piggybacking on Hozier's success, although there's no denying that the success of 'Take me to church' helps.

James Bay is a young Englishman of 23 years. 'Hold back the river' is his third single/EP and I even just found out that it has charted in this country. Singer/songwriters are becoming more and more popular in NL, also thanks to 3FM dj Giel Beelen, who tirelessly pushes singer/songwriters. The answer to anonymous dance artists? Who'll say. Fact is that these singer/songwriters mostly sing about personal things, seldom of topics that go beyond themselves it seems.

A distinctive quality is James Bay's voice. A strong, soulful voice that leads the pack on Hold back the river. This becomes clear as there are two James Bay's on this EP. One with a band behind him and one that is (more or less) solo. The first two songs are band songs with full arrangements, the second solo performances (with an electric guitar added) and a live version of the single. In both he really convinces. Voice, song and composition.

'Hold back the river' builds up from the solo James Bay to a full song powerfully thrust forward by the drums and piano. A song that holds promise and strength all in one. 'Sparks' has that same electric guitar sound of notes and chords played higher up on the neck. It is also a song in a vain that sounds faintly familiar, although I can't name the singers for sure as they are not up my alley. 'Wait in line' is more singer-songwriter and a strong song. I won't mind to hear a few more like these from James Bay.

On the brink of folk, pop and singer-songwriter James Bay presents his songs in a way that make me look forward to his debut album straight away. 'Chaos and the calm' is not released before 23 March, so still six weeks off. A long wait it may, but I can not imagine it to be not worth it.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Hold back the river' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqiH0ZSkM9I