Three albums, 05-06-2022

Three more albums that were in fear of escaping this blog but deserve the attention. Hence, three shorter reviews putting the spotlight on Abbie Barrett, Cindy Lawson and Elephant.

I Will Let You Know. Abbie Barrett

Hailed as one of Boston's bigger talents, I was immediately attracted. Knowing what comes out of, the vicinity of, the city, what could a great talent possibly bring? Of course, I could only be disappointed. This says more of the general level of musicianship of Bostonian garage rockers than of Abbie Barrett. She treats the listener to a host of orginals and one cover, in diverse styles. The cover is a nice one. Steely Dan's 'Dirty Work' is peeled off into a mild rock song. Without the dozens of intricate, rock-jazzy layers the song remains a great song. It is in her own songs that Abbie Barrett has to prove herself, and does. With an early David Bowie inspired track called 'The Light', she really sets herself apart from garage rocking Bostonians. 'The Light' is a song that could have found its way to 'Hunky Dory' or 'The Man Who Sold The World', that weird kind of Bowie jazzy-ballad. On 'Here To Show' Abbie Barrett takes on Linnea's Garden and it is a tight match between the two artists. Assisted by Mike Oram on guitar, the song really explodes, showing off the deeper side of Abbie Barrett's voice as well. I Will Let You Know manoeuvres between the two, showing the ease with which she masters different genres. This is an album that rocks and holds back and works in all ways. I have only one complaint: a seven song album is at least two too short.

New Tricks. Cindy Lawson

Cindy Lawson in her youth was a member of punkrockers The Clams. Recently the whole discography of the band was re-released on Rum Bar Records, 'The Complete Clams', and not just for the fun of it. It appears to be a sort of package deal. Cindy Lawson returns to the recording front, "older and greyer", as she sings herself, with her first album in decades, with the apt title New Tricks. For most people The Clams will not have any meaning, as the band remained fairly obscure. I have to admit to be in this category, until recently. In 2022 that is no reason to remain indifferent to New Tricks. Cindy Lawson takes herself and the listeners on a nostalgic trip through music that was popular in her and my youth. Expect anything from 60s girl pop to Blondie punkrock. Sung with a voice that is older and wiser. As if Ms. Lawson does not believe everything she sings any more. The anger and indignation have been replaced by the wisdom of the past decades. Things get really interesting when Cindy Lawson explores the dirty side of punkrock. Listen to 'Nope' to learn what I mean. It's like scraping mud from your trousers but so extremely good. The sound is as dirty as it gets and shows the extremes to what Lawson has been exploring in her new songs. 'Let's Pretend' is another example of the depths the artist is willing to go. What a song! Recently I wrote on that great single, 'How It Feels' that if the album is as good as the single, the world should welcome Cindy Lawson's return warmly. This post comes with a warning, as she can better turn on her airco, to a moderate setting of course keeping the environment in mind. Better safe than sorry. New Tricks is quite the comeback.

Big Thing. Elephant

To start a band, discover the world has gone into lockdown and persevere to come up at the other side with a nice debut album and the option to tour. In a very concise version this is the story of Rotterdam band Elephant. In between an EP was released in 2021, 'Elephant'.

Compared to a lot of bands coming out of Rotterdam and Amsterdam for that matter, Elephant is the tranquillity itself. The band does find itself in the indie compartment of music though. Expect free flowing melodies, harmonies and southern rock riffs of the milder kind. At the same time Big Thing has a 70s West Coast singer-songwriter vibe translated into indie rock. Over this music a slight sheen of darkness has been laid, allowing for an alternative credibility. Big Thing was recorded with assistance of Pablo van der Poel (DeWolff) in his studio. His influence on the sound is noticeable in the southern sounds caught in the music. He has left Elephant totally in it own strengths thus creating the best of both worlds.

Elephant is more influenced by the U.S. than the U.K. in other words, where I make an exception for George Harrison. Listen to the intro of 'Saturday Night' and you'll know why. For most other songs bands like CSNY, Eagles come to mind, next to singer-songwriters like James Taylor. The sound is somewhere in between a band like Buffalo Tom and The Jayhawks. It all results in a record that is easy to listen to, without exclusively playing the obvious. Elephant plays an odd card in its songs regularly, making me prick up my ears.

Summing up, Big Thing is not a smash record. It is not intended to be. Expect a record that wants you to listen to it and given the chance will take you away on a relaxed musical trip with enough moments demanding your attention. With 'Calling' as the champion of Big Thing.

Wout de Natris

You can (listen to and) order the records here:

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-will-let-you-know

https://cindylawson.bandcamp.com/album/new-tricks

https://excelsior-recordings.com/products/elephant-big-thing

2023. Week 18, 10 singles

This week sees the return of one of my very old favourites. As a total surprise because I had written off this artist decades ago. Never underestimate an artist is the lesson I am taught once again. There's also another surprise, as I never expected to like a song by that band. There's also a rock chick of a certain age who is making a huge comeback, that deserves to get noticed. Blasts from the past in the present. For those less inclined towards the "old days", there's more than enough modern bands as well. So, enjoy!

I'm Going To Get Free. Dexys

In 1980 when Frits Spits played 'Geno' in a radio show called 'De Avondspits' it sort of blew my mind. I had never heard something like it. 'Searching For The Young Soul Rebels' is still one of my favourite albums of all time. 'Come On, Eileen' was the ultimate global hit and then things went silent, for me. Come 2023, 40 years after "Eileen" and there's this single that resembles the music on 'Too-Rye-Ay' and nearly as good. I'm Going To Get Free is a welcome song in other words. A few months before Kevin Rowland's 70th birthday Dexys, which always was Rowlands vision, I think, is back. I'm Going To Get Free has the horns and the violins where the soul and folk elements of the first two Dexys Midnight Runners' incarnations come together successfully. There's an album underway called 'The Feminine Divine', slated for 28 July. This new song will not have the impact on the world as 'Come On. Eileen' had, let alone 'Geno' and 'There There My Dear had on me, all fans of old should be happy with this new song. "I hope you can make it", as the background singers sing. This song should make it into your ears alright.

Don't Come Crying To Me. Cindy Lawson

In the promo email accompanying Don't Come Crying To Me, this blog is actually quoted on Cindy Lawson's previous single, 'How It Feels': "How it Feels is all about loud, huge riffs and a mean rhythm section. If How if Feels signifies Cindy Lawson's return to rock and roll, the world can only welcome her warmly". What more can I add then this? Her new single is fantastic. Tick, tick on the drumsticks and off goes the band. Cindy Lawson is back and in a hurry. After releasing 'New Tricks' in 2022 a new album is underway already. If Don't Come Crying To Me is any indication, it will be a total knock-out. This single has so much drive and there certainly is some anger in it as well. This title spells out how she feels and there can be no doubt about whether she means it or not. This person cannot make up with a bouquet of flowers, no matter how big or colourful. I'm afraid, they will be shredded to pieces in the huge rock sound of Don't Come Crying To Me. Cindy Lawson is back from rock and roll retirement and she obviously means it as well. What A Single!

Do You Wanna Know / Slip Away. Steve Adamyk Band

Some songs were never meant to be heard. Like the two on this new Drunken Dial Records 7" single by Steve Adamyk Band. Adamyk and bandmate David Forcier were just having fun after sharing some Corona's in Corona's hey day. Forcier recorded the cover songs they were playing for fun. And here the songs are anyway and the world is the better for it. The two punkrocking songs are both great renditions. Do You Wanna Know was released by The Kids from Belgium, a long, long time ago. Slip Away by Sedatives is much younger, from 2009. Steve Adamyk Band knows what to do with the two songs. If this is a spontaneous action then how does the band sound for real? On the single the band really goes for it, full of energy and obvious love for the songs. All this really comes across. Great fun to be able to hear this.

Penge. Public Image Limited

After The Sexpistols' demise Johnny Rotten became John Lydon and his band Public Image Ltd or PiL. We are talking well over 40 years here. In 2023 I encounter a single by PiL. With no idea what to expect. Nothing really. The more I was surprised by Penge. Lydon still cannot sing, as we conceive it in a traditional way. His rough voice does something between singing and making a declamation. What surprises me, is that Penge is a stately song. Very formal in sound and somehow official, as if this is the mayor welcoming the king to the south-London suburb. There is a hint of madness as well in some of the overdubbed vocals. Is there a lunatic asylum in Penge, something like the Maassluis verse we sung as children? I have no idea but that is what the singing reminds me of. All in all I'm surprised by the song. The album is called 'The End Of The World', for which we have to be patient a bit longer.

Night And Day. Darlyn

With Night And Day Darlyn returns to this blog with a strong pop-rock single. The band around singer Diwa Meijman dips its pen into Anouk territory and comes out with a song that is clearly its own. With a guitar in the intro that sounds like a rhythm piece by Keith Richards, the song presents itself as a tightly played piece of music. Things grow more loose thanks to the background vocals and a synthesizer that injects dark sounds into the whole. The apple-cart is not so much upset as slightly rocked. Listen closer and Night And Day gives away more and more details that show how much work Darlyn put into the arrangement. There are little melodies to be found in abundance. It is Diwa Meijman who moves close to Anouk's way of singing in the verses. The band stays clear of the rockchick rock there. In the choruses things do get tighter. All in all, the re-established contact with the band is pleasurable.

Hot Ghee. Night Beats

Speaking of psychedelic, I know, I wasn't, yet it is the right start for this short review. Night Beats literally pulls every trick in the book here. Hot Ghee starts and I think I'm India but only because of a mind-expanding experience and not from travelling for 10 hours or something. Everything comes together in this single. The whole 1960s psychedelic scene and everything that happened since and especially in the last circa ten years. Night Beats is the brainchild of L.A. based artist Danny Lee Blackwell. On the way towards the release of its sixth album, 'Rajan', 14 July, there is this single. It is the musical equivalent of the fluid pictures at the back of 1960s psychedelic shows. The sound is constantly changing it seems, like the trippy sequence in 'Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas', the Terry Gilliam movie. Does such a description help you to understand? If it doesn't, there's only one thing left to do: listen for yourself?

Evelyn. Bear's Den

Platonically, madly in love? Yes, that is what the singer of Bear's Den is with Evelyn and it comes across, albeit in a Counting Crows kind of way. To my ears that means that something is withheld, at least in most songs. Bear's Den also holds back. A lot is shared but not all. And let that be the charm of this single. Evelyn leaves enough left to guess. If things were shouted from the rooftops or in wild abundance or anger, the effect would not be the same. Bear's Den cannot be found on these pages until now. I was never pulled into one of their records and after two gave up trying. With a single release this is different, as there's only one song to judge and fast. I found I kept listening and sympathising with the singer. Mission accomplished.

Rat. Nothingheads

Post-punk with Nothingheads singer Rob Fairey in the role of Johnny Rotten. Fairey has the same sneer in his voice as the The Sexpistols' singer had at the time. (As John Lydon you can find him a few spots above this post, coincidentally.) In less than two minutes Nothingheads lay it all on the table today. Its postpunk but also clear that this band can play a thousand times better and is theoretically far more advanced than the punk bands from 1976. Just listen to the rhythmic prowess, the huge sound and hiccups in the rhythm of Rat. Yes, the song is a sonic storm but not one that goes about totally random, like storms tend to do. Nothingheads have thought about this song a lot. Matt Holt (bass), Ed Simpson (guitar) and however is the drummer have it all completely down. However, when all is said and done, Rat is about energy. There's so much of it coming out of my speakers, I had to nail them down to my desk. EP 'Sunlit Uplands' is out on 9 June.

Sub. Deeper

More music from Chicago this week as well. Deeper recently signed with Sub Pop and to celebrate this feat, releases a revamped version of Sub as a single. If you had told me it was a discovered XTC song from 1978 or so, I would have believed you straight away. Shiraz Bhatti, Nic Gohl, Drew McBride and Kevin Fairbairn must have heard music by the English band of old for sure. The way the music goes a bit against the grain, the not very easy to digest melodies and notes show that there are many ways to write a pop song. Franz Ferdinand shows its head as well, except that Deeper does not throw in the big fun factor like the Scottish band is so good at. It makes Sub the more impressive, as it impresses on its own account. Deeper builds the song slowly but surely, to cut things off just before the expected explosion. "I found a reason", full stop. The singer has said enough and does not need an exclamation mark in musical form. The point of Sub has been made in abundance.

Docking The Pay. Church Village Collective

Almost a year ago there was a band called CVC on these pages with single 'Winston'. I'm assuming this to be the same band. Reading the review of the single, my guess is yes. Docking The Pay has that 70s vibe over it as well. A tight version of The Doobie Brothers caught somewhere between the Tom Johnston rock and Michael McDonald disco/funk era's. Although there are a lot of rhythmic elements in this single, Docking The Pay has vocal parts that run so smooth. In the lead as well as the harmony parts. The music is rock, no doubt there, the sum of all parts makes this song a great pop single. "Ooh, I can't believe you're docking my pay", is so easy and inviting to sing along to that the word invitation is an understatement of huge proportions. Church Village Collective knows exactly what elements to lend from the past and turn them into a great song of its own.

Wout de Natris

Singles, week 16

WoNoBlog has ten more singles in wait for you. As always a very varied bunch, including by bands that are usually not found on the blog, but recently have released very interesting singles. Always keep a fresh ear in order to be able to discover what is worth of your attention and perhaps even more. Enjoy!

Malnutrition. Cheap Cassettes

"Now what can a poor boy do, except to play in a rock and roll band? Mick Jagger asked himself this question on 1968 and is still doing it in 2022, without ever having had to have a 9 to 5 job. The members of Cheap Cassettes may have asked themselves the same question two decades ago and answered that question totally differently by necessity. At the same time the dream of playing in a rock and roll band never died. This two sided choice results in a perfect pop song called Malnutrition. Decades of rock music come together in the song, containing one killer riff and a great melody. Malnutrition is a single of the album 'Ever Since Ever Since' released in January of this year. An album I've missed at the time. It seems like that may have been a tragic omission. Fans of a band like Nada Surf and other bands from the U.S. in search of perfect pop songs, let's say a lighter form of Weezer, should check this band out. Malnutrition is a perfect introduction to the album.

Am I Really Going To Die? White Lies

This morning the radio show my girlfriend listens to in the morning announced its new music, they play one a day, it seems. I only pay half attention usually. After a while it dawned on me that I must be listening to the new Franz Ferdinand single. Without anyone warning me?! Next came the notion that this is not Alex Kapranos singing, although it was a good impersonation. So, what is it?, I wondered. White Lies?, isn't that band the band always trying and never really succeeding? As far as I'm concerned that is. With Am I Really Going To Die? (spoiler alert, yes, you are, so you better have fun in between), it took me only one half listen to be convinced. This single is great fun. The darkness and gloom, usually part of White Lies' music, has been transformed into a mix of disco, 80s new wave and Franz Ferdinand style pop. The combination totally works. This single is highly danceable, easy to sing along to and great fun. The synths sound shows that it is oh so easy to have fun and listen to 80s sounds. Played this way, it is simply so good. White Lies surprised me no little today. This is a top song and should be a huge hit.

All The Good Times. Angel Olsen

With Angel Olsen a lot is possible. Over the years I've heard things I liked and music that I did not really care for. So what comes our way in 2022? A country single with a huge twist later on. With All The Good Times Angel Olsen announces her upcoming album 'Big Time', to be released early in June. To be honest, I had lost Ms. Olsen over the past years. I had seen her play in Paradiso somewhere in the first half of the previous decade, a good show, but she did not fully convince me. The albums that came afterwards did not do so either. Resulting in Big Time not being high on my list of expected albums. All The Good Times is a single that convinces me though. The country mood settles on the right tone, her voice just right for that mood. The pedal steel wines in an alternative way. When the twist comes and the band fully kicks in, with a warm Hammond organ on top of it all, the 1960s come alive in a Nancy-Lee kind of way, without forgetting to tip to the hat at the likes of Lynn Anderson and Tammy Wynette. Angel Olsen balances exactly right between tradition and alternative, with a beautiful song as an end result. If there's more like this on Big Time, expect more in a few weeks' time.

Little Sieve. T.G. Shand

Talking of dreampop. Annemarie Duff or T.G. Shand from New Zealand is laying on the reverb effect no little on Little Sieve. The song is from a limited edition 7" single, impossible to get over here, but that is what we have the Internet for, to discover it anyway. Thank you, once again Flying Nun for tipping me here. Little Sieve is the kind of song that somehow seems not always to know how to continue. It has these extremely charming halting moments before the rest of the band comes back in to continue the song despite the hiccups. The drums are the solid backbone of the single. It plays a soft version of a Madchester (dance)track from the early 90s. The kind that involved many pills and thrills. Over it a heavily reverbed guitar plays its melody, supported by a soft, unobtrusive bass. A whispering voice sings the lyrics, that are not overly present on Little Sieve. Several harmony vocals come in from all sides. Just don't expect a huge story. The lyrics are almost a part of the atmospherics and sounds that make up the rest of the song. Little Sieve is such a modest song, yet worth every second of your time.

Titanic. Night Court

Talking about a song that's over before you know it. Titanic is over in a sigh and a whisper, except the song is not that soft. Night Court is a band that started during and in lockdown. Two friends emailing song ideas to each other and recording them on an old Tascam recorder. The result is a punkrocking song of the softer kind. A workingman's, daily life version of Fountains of Wayne, something like that. The title is a bit of a joke, as the band members wanted to write a song about the Titanic, without mentioning it once. To wind up naming the song after the 1912 shipwreck disaster. There's simply not much more to write, the song was over four times before I reached this point. You best go listen yourself, but pay attention. As I wrote, it's all over before you know it.

How It Feels. Cindy Lawson

"Now I'm old and grey and I remember each day how it feels" Cindy Lawson sings in her new single. Now that is not a lyric I've heard a rock chick sing ever before. Cindy Lawson debuted on this blog with a re-release of a single of her 1980s band The Clams. Today with the single of her upcoming solo album 'New Tricks'. How It Feels is a tough rocking song, with the right mix between tough rock and melody. The guitar solo will make the paint on your ceiling pulverise immediately, showing the toughness of the song. At the end some sweetness comes through showing the other side of Cindy Lawson: "We pretended to be the bad girls, we just wanted to know how it feels", she sings, while the music gets another shade. At the beginning of the song, the same lyric spells the bad girls for 100%. How It Feels is all about loud, huge riffs and a mean rhythm section. Adding it all up it spells excitement. If How It Feels signifies Cindy Lawson's return to rock and roll, the world can only welcome her warmly.

Ur Mom. Wet Leg

Yes, O.K, I know, I wrote last Friday that I would write no more about Wet Leg singles from the 'Wet leg' album, but Ur Mom is so good, I can't resist. Ur Mom has a clever melody, this ear-pleasing riff and the tongue-in-cheek messages announcing what is going to happen next: "I've been practising my loudest scream", followed by am extra long one. Ur Mom proves how good Wet Leg is and why they are the new indie darlings. The charm of the song, like most of Wet Leg's is that it all seems so extremely simple, as if anyone could do this, and let's face it, not much can. There somehow is an irresistible urge to listen to the band's songs, something I have not had this intense since Franz Ferdinand and Artic Monkeys. Ur Mum combines all that makes Wet Leg so good. They're good and fun. This element certainly is a huge part of the attraction. Teasdale and Chambers have a knack to introduce all these little elements into their songs that make them draw your attention to them, while simultaneously offering instant aural satisfaction. A little extra sound here, a little doo-doo there, some humour and seriousness combined. There's nothing to feel sorry for where your Ur Mom is concerned. This song is quintessentially Wet Leg.

Lord Lord. Seb Zukini

Seb Zukini has released its second single, after 'Reaping What You Sow' in the winter. It's spring single, again is a glorious modern rocking song. Lord Lord is a tight song, with a loose feel. This paradox can be clearly heard. The rhythm section keeps it all together. This allows the lead instruments the freedom to play playful notes, going out of the the four bar rhythm. In the chorus it all comes together, when the band goes full out in a glorious chorus. In 2022 it is easy to state that I've heard this all before. There's no denying there. What Seb Zukini achieves is to take something like the heritage of a band like Go Back To The Zoo and Moss of 10 years ago and mix it into a song that sounds fresh and new. Not unlike the Belgium band Ramkot does. Lord Lord rocks, has melody and sounds like I want to hear more, much more. A final comment has to go to the artwork. this can go straight into a modern art museum. Wow!, is the word here.

Through The Looking Glass. Di-Rect

When a band like Di-Rect has crossed the 20 years line, I know I'm getting old. I remember an old van parked in Leiden, while I was cycling to the train station on my way to work. Di-Rect never was my band, although I took one of my stepsons to a show twice as his birthday present. The shows as such were fine. Every once in a while a single comes by that I like better and Through The Looking Glass is one of them. Di-Rect does a The War on Drugs is probably the easiest way out to describe it. Without taking six minutes or more to make a statement. Di-Rect manages to add a little pop vibe to the song and Spike van Zoest plays a glorious riff on his guitar. The lyrics show two sides of modern life: in the modern world there is nothing left to believe in, while on the other side everyone needs dreams to pursue and fulfil in order to get to the other side of life successfully. Marcel van Veenendaal's voice suits this song perfectly. He finds the right balance between tenderness and force, underscoring the subtle verses and the strong chorus. I do not have a clue anymore what makes a song a hit and what doesn't. To my ears Through The Looking Glass is one.

Fire Escape. Beach Bunny

We end this week with another great pop rock song. Beach Bunny is rocking out alright and lays down a great pop melody over the rock song. Singer Lili Trifilio masters her rocking band fully. Her voice, girllike, innocent, is mixed fully up in front, There's no doubt who is leading who here. To answer the lead guitar plays a glorious melody in spots where Trifilio leaves a little spot open. Behind the two, the band plays loud punkrock in a way The Offspring would not be ashamed of. The drummer is extremely prominently present. Playing double hits and long lasting fills, he is present alright. The bass plays playfully around him. The rhythm guitar fills in the rest. Distorted, strong, tight. Fire Escape shows the best of a few worlds and is a good introduction to Beach Bunny's upcoming album 'Emotional Creature'.

Wout de Natris

2023, week 46.2, 10 singles

Foreign trips lead to backlogs and catching up is so hard to do with new albums and singles arriving every day as well. Here I'm trying to make amends to several of the singles released recently. You will find some very familiar names for those following the blog and subscribers to the once magazine, as two bands precede that as well. You will also find new names, some with even their very first single. A nice mix, if I say so. Hopefully you will check them all out. Enjoy!

Cincinnati. Johan

Yes, it did not take more than a decade before a new Johan album is announced. In the fall of 2018 'Pull Up' was released and here is the first single from an album slated for January 2024. Johan fans of old are in for a surprise though. Cincinnatti is not a song I've expected to hear from the band. It is dark and somewhat flat where the emotions and Johan's melancholy pop feel are concerned. Listening to the intro and first verse, I get a U2 feel, without the stadium antics of The Edge's guitar effects. The classic Johan vibe comes in later on, but again the pure pop feel many of the band's choruses have, is missing. Let me call it the joy of playing is missing. What remains is beauty. Just listen to that mellotron sound coming in, followed by a beautiful guitar solo. This may be a new Johan but the essence still remains. After five albums, in 21 years, it is time from something new. No matter how incredible it sounds, it is 27 years since that debut album and first show, I saw. We have all become so much older, it is hard to grasp where all that time has gone. Yet, here is Cincinnatti for us all, perhaps to digest and, to enjoy, with more coming soon. Do give it a try or three. It's worth it.

Telephone. Cape Sleep

Kim Janssen decided to stop working under his own name, at least for now, and releases a single under the name Cape Sleep. He worked with Moss frontman Marien Dorleijn and that is clear from several angles. That typical Moss plopping bass is all over Telephone, as is the dreamy atmosphere that comes with many Moss songs. Cape Sleep has already scored on two levels. I like the drive the song has. It goes ever forward because of that rhythm that simply doesn't let go. Just like the young woman on her skates in the video goes on and on until the songs comes to an end. Telephone finds a great balance between dream and deed. The singing and atmosphere suggest a dreamy environment, sometimes underscored by interludes where the rhythm drops away for a short while. The rhythm and especially that bass guitar makes the song very real. Has Kim Janssen reinvented himself? It's too early to tell but Telephone certainly points into that direction.

Hiding. Haze

Hiding is the first single from an upcoming album by Belgian band/project Haze with principal member Mirabelle van der Put. The music is a convincing mix of analogue and digital music. My first impression is Portishead. This song has that dreamy, triphop way in which the song is presented. The style of singing is not unlike Beth Gibbons'. The bass however is very real, as are the guitars and especially that rawkish lead guitar that plays only a few notes but enough to come across like a beast. Mirabelle van de Put sings over it all with some effect on her voice, making her sound a little like a female robot impersonating a French sigh girl. The outcome is an alive version of Air's 'Moon Safari'. In other words, the best of quite a few worlds come together in Hiding. Haze's second album, 'Out Of Sight' is slated for 24 Januari. I'm game!

I Can't Get Over You. The Dogmatics

Something like 40 years ago The Dogmatics tried to conquer the world and when that failed went on to do what other people do, settle down and get a job. Since a few years the band is back at what it's good at, write, record and play good old rock and roll songs. I Can't Get You Over You is one such. Two minutes and it's all over, everything said and done. Nothing more but certainly nothing less. Jerry Lehane and band mates do what they are good at. With a chorus that begs singing along to, an effective guitar solo and some nice harmony singing, I Can't Get Over You holds it all. No more words needed.

See You Through. Ella Raphael

More dreamy sounds and a bass that reminds me a little of Air's on 'Moon Safari', which has it from many a Serge Gainsbourg production. It does go to show how influential the sound is. Ella Raphael (or Ellarae, that is not fully clear to me) is a new signee to Fire Records and this is the first single or so I understand. Her voice has a dreamy quality. Far from having a fantastic voice, she delivers See You Through just right, harmonies and all. Again today, I am reminded of French sigh girls from a long time ago. The production is almost bare. Acoustic guitar, bass, drums is all there is, except for a piano (or is it, later in the song, voices treated in a strange way?) and some kind of synth sound joining for a sparse note her and there. Less is certainly more on See You Through. Ella Raphael plays with mystery on her single. Drums start it, the bass ends it. In between this new artist shows an intriguing side of herself, not unique but certainly with her own voice and sound.

Roadrunner Vs. Your Mother. The Magic City

A new band from Boston? What's new?! I can almost hear you sigh, but wait, this single is very much worth your while. The Magic City is a new band from the city, with a sound that goes way back. More aiming for pop than rock, the band touches on early 70s Bowie and pop from the U.K. from the 60s as well as the 90s. With a clean sound The Magic City sets itself apart from almost all other bands I have gotten to know in the past years from Boston. Roadrunner Vs. Your Mother even starts a little dull at first encounter but I dare you to be patient. The Magic City does deliver. The band slowly but surely builds the song up, without a million decibels or instruments added. The song simply gets a body, while sticking to that sweet angle it has as well. Just a little emphases in the singing and a good guitar solo do it all. "Come get it" the band sings and that is exactly my advice to you: go and get it!

Drive. Other Brother Darryl

And now it's time for some nice good old fashioned country rock. Boston's Other Brother Darryl releases its second single, following 'Until I Do' from 2022. Fans of the genre will recognise everything from the Eagles to CSN(&Y) in Drive. The laidback rhythm almost conceals a great song that has that slow rock in it. Another description is a tougher version of the beautiful ballad by The Connells, '74/75'. Acoustic guitars playing around each other, strumming, some lead notes sprinkled in between. A warm Hammond adds to the fun already enjoyed. Next, the vocals set in with some great harmonising in a style that moves between the two already mentioned examples. The singers in Brother Darryl know the power and joy of singing together. I had never heard of this band but this is a tip for everyone who likes this kind of music.

I Don't Want You Anymore. Cindy Lawson

No, no Boston, Cindy Lawson is from Minneapolis but releases her records these days on Boston's Run Bar Records. Cindy Lawson was a member of The Clams in the 1980s and returned on the scene last year, also re-releasing The Clams' songs in the process. I Don't Want You Anymore, her new single, is a dirty rocker underscoring the message of the song in a perfect way. Lawson and her bandmates Jerry Lefkowitz, guitar, background vocals, Dave Randall, bass, background vocals and Mark Devaraj, drums, background vocals, helped by Steve Price here and there, play a very effective game in bringing music from a long time ago back to life. The staccato rhythm of punk rock is there in the intro, the pop and powerrock of the late 70s and early 80s is mixed into the whole and out comes the fun in abundance. Don't expect absolute brilliance nor excellent originality but do expect everything that makes the mix of punk and poprock so much fun.

Look Ma, No Brains! Green Day

Time flies, as I've already concluded somewhere above in this post. 'Basket Case' was my introduction to Green Day and that is more moons ago than I care to remember. Ever since it has been up and down with Green Day. Good records were alternated with average ones. Never write off a good band though, as The Rolling Stones proved last month. Look Ma, No Brains! is a return to form that was announced almost on Green Day's previous album, 'Father Of All Motherfuckers', released in 2020. The new single has all the energy and fun the best Green Day singles and songs have in them. Tight, the smart chord changes and a great bass part, as Mike Dirnt is the real unsung hero of Green Day. What is a good sign also, is that the band tells it all in 2.10 minutes, like a classic rock and roll and pop hit. Moving towards their fifties and the bandmember's faces show it, the band is as good as ever. Like Rancid earlier this year Green Day is in great form. "Don't panic", as Mike Dirnt sings in the background, as Look Ma, No Brains! is the real Green Day thing.

Marie De Hautefort Wants To Wear Bikinis Like The Girls In Italy (In A Major). Smudged

And here I was thinking Lana del Ray would the win the-longest-single-title-of-2023 competition. I haven't counted the letters but here's a serious competitor and from Rotterdam no less. Smudged can go out as support act to Tramhaus' first major headlining tour. There certainly is a kindred spirit here. Alternative rock, steeped in new wave and other alternative stuff from long ago, mixed with what is extremely popular these days among young musicians. Smudged catches a few moods on Marie De Hautefort Wants To Wear Bikinis Like The Girls In Italy (In A Major). Besides moving through the dark new wave period of the early 1980s, the band works with pop vocals as well and is not afraid to experiment a little with its sound along the way. Slowly but surely the single works in a little Personal Trainer influence as well, while the song starts soaring. Marie De Hautefort Wants To Wear Bikinis Like The Girls In Italy (In A Major) is not the easiest song to digest but certainly does a lot of things right. The energy level keeps rising and rising until the song can't go wrong anymore and doesn't. A nice introduction this is.

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Singles. Week 10

Week 10, 10 singles. Here you go!
 

Crazy Boys / Train Song. The Clams

Boston's Rum Bar Records releases a 7" single as predecessor to an album commemorating the work of Minneapolis - St. Paul 1980s punkrock band The Clams. It seems like, from reading a little on the internet, the band never went anywhere, really. Most likely, in 1985 or something the band would not have gone anywhere with me at the time as well. What did I know at the time? Now I'm of a certain age, to call it euphemistically, I'm far better at recognising a good punkrock song when I hear one. Chuck Berry, better Keith Richard, as he was known then, is all over Crazy Boys, the a-side. The all girl band, Cindy Lawson, Patty Jansen, Karen Cusack, Roxie Terry, really rock out, combining The Ramones with the Stones in a great way. No doubt Crazy Boys is The Clams' signature song, as Train Song, the b-side, is far more one dimensional. Definitely bad ass but not super special. Crazy Boys with all the fine licks is. It's never too late for a nice introduction. Watch out for that album, folks.

Impact Of Aviation. Blues Weiser

Boy, am I glad that I was not the one having to pack everything in Blues Weiser's video in aluminium foil! The effect is great though, as you can see for yourself on You Tube. Pure psychedelic, as the colours get to play on foil and band alike. Spain's Blues Weiser, Jozz, Bobysan and Michael, is on track to release it's third album, 'Obey The Booze'. The single Impact Of Aviation has been released to announce it. An instrumental song soaring in loud fuzz sounds, but not without inner dynamics making it quite good to listen to. Parts, rock, psychedelia and Smashing Pumpkins kind of grunge. The guitar moving between dark, endlessly revolving and deep sounds and lighter, fuzzed solo notes. Behind it the drums go full out when necessary, filling up the whole space behind the guitar and fuzzed bass. There's a musical storm cooking when Blues Weiser wants it to. Just like it can withhold the storm and let it lie down. Don't be fooled by silence at one point. At that moment you're only in the eye of the hurricane. Impact Of Aviation is played home in style.

Die Trick. Der Wände

More punkrock from Germany and more specifically Hamburg's Glitterhouse Records, that slowly but surely is becoming a strength in modern punkrock from Germany. Of course it's called postpunk nowadays, but don't get fooled here. Der Wände is a band from Berlin, a trio, drums, bass and guitar and on its way to release it's second album, called 'Die Wände'. With Die Trick the band releases a short statement showing what it is about. Clocking under two minutes, it is all over should you not pay attention. Due to the energy shared with the cosmos, it's almost impossible not to pay attention. With tough, yet playful drums, a bass with a distorted sound that plays its rounds around the chords of Die Trick, it leaves the room for the guitar to play its 1980s (post)punk chords and riffs. The effect on the guitar gives Die Trick its signature sound. Nothing is overdone. All that happens here is in service of the song. (Post)punk with a lot of taste Die Trick is.

You Are A Star. Jenn Vix feat. Ali Score

Jenn Vix returns to this blog with her new single. It features A Flock of Seagulls' drummer Ali Score, including in the video. The collaboration in no that strange, considering the music on You Are A Star. It is a deep dive into the mid 1980s when bands like A Flock Of Seagulls, Tears for Fears and China Crisis scored their big hits. Like with those bands the synthesizer plays a huge role in You Are A Star. Thick carpets of synth sounds are rolled out as if it never went out of fashion after 1985. The other side of the song is the heavy guitar sound weaving in between the solid drumming that keeps it all together and the cloudlike synths. They come and go, like a sped-up film of clouds in the sky. Over it all Jenn Vix sings with her deeper register, giving You Are A Star an element of mystery and solidness. Just like with many songs from the mid-80s, I have a liking and loathing attitude. It seems like the former is winning here.

White Wall. Miriam Moczko

Another new name to the blog. White Wall is a beautiful singer-songwriter song. It is kept small, without leaving out extra instruments. Especially Mockzo's alto-violin receives a big role, whether plucked or bowed. Her voice receives a centre spot, mixed in the middle, up front, demanding attention to her lyrics. Miriam Mockzo's lives in The Netherlands, but is of German-Polish-Silezian, now Slask in Poland, descent. Her family's history is a small part of the huge history and exodus of Germans from Eastern Europe in the final months of the Second World War. Walter Kempinski gives such a personal account in his great novel 'All Or Nothing', to tip a book for a change. White Wall is a song that bring to mind the work of Irish-Dutch singer-songwriter Jane Willow. Both sing the kind of songs that come close to their listeners, in a way like Miriam Moczko sings: "pull me closer". Musically she achieves just that. The modest setting draws a listener nearer, as this is the only way to enjoy White Wall. Once there, the beauty of her song washes over you, without an escape option.

Angelica. Wet Leg

With single number five Wet Leg manages to surprise some more. As with all the other songs the duo takes snippets from the past decades in pop and rock, almost indiscriminately. What fits, fits. You can bring your own musical insights to Angelica's music, work out what all went into the song for yourself and probably arrive at different conclusions than I would. The light-hearted, emptier verses, lead to full rocking interludes, and psychedelic bridges in the best Donna Blue style. When Wet Leg rocks, it rocks in Angelica. The song will turn festivals upside down and give the audience a pause to catch its breath, before going all out in a wild frenzied pogo once again. The dynamics of Angelica are fantastic without forgetting the stuff that make up a good song: a melody and sing-a-long lyrics. It's all in here and probably I forget a little as well. With Angelica Wet leg has presented my favourite of the five songs into its career. Four more weeks and the album is there. Based on the singles this ought to be a very special occasion.

Let's Move To The Seaside And Never Feel Lonely Again. Beth Torrence

The debut cassette (!) of Beth Torrence is out for two weeks, so I found reading up the release in New Zealand's Flying Nun Records' newsletter. Beth Torrence is 17 and presents herself in an extremely modest way. She's a singer-songwriter and that is what we get. An acoustic guitar, her voice, with some overdubs and a cello that gives the song, with the enormously long title, the calm accents it deserves, without for a second taking the attention away from Beth Torrence herself. The song is about uncertainty. How to express feelings to someone you love? "If it was easy, I would have told you by now", she sings. Things some people learn later in life, while others never do. It all has to do with trusting the other enough to open yourself. Let's move to ... lyrically, for me, is reminding me of a period long ago by now, but not unreachable, as it touches on memories. Together with the music, it makes for pleasant listening.

Jackson. Miss Georgia Peach

There are many versions of this song, including a wedding party version sung by two couples for a couple who are all divorced for years, sad to say. The famous hit single is by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood. Miss Georgia Peach releases a new version together with Ruyter Suys of Nashville Pussy. The song gets the 'pepper sprout' in the-you-know-wheres. First because of the vocal treatment of the two ladies, making it an all female song in 2022. Second because of the rolling rhythm of the guitars. Add a little Chuck Berry lead guitar licks and Jackson becomes a true rock and roll song. Jackson was a hit in 1967 and what still sticks out today is the feminist quality the song has. It's the man running off with his tail between his legs and a strong woman standing her own. With the man doubting it all the way. The rolling rock underscores the strength of the woman who lets the man make a fool of himself. "Goodbye, that's all she wrote". I've loved this song for as long as I can remember and keep doing so in this new rock and roll version.

Oozing. Lavalu

Lavalu's name in daily life is Mariëlle Woltring, born in Cleveland, living in Arnhem. Oozing is the single from her upcoming album 'Earthbound'. Like Norwegian Susanna and fellow Dutch singer-songwriter Roos Meijer, Lavalu hovers between classical music and pop. All instruments used in this song can be found in a classical orchestra. The way they are used is far removed from more traditional music. Oozing is a pop song though. Because of the melody and in part because of the beat, produced without percussion instruments. The beat is present in the blind spots of Oozing, as if mixed out but almost hearable through the bleeding into the other microphones. The effect is a song that works on a few levels. The most important one is that it so interesting to listen to and bond with it. Oozing has the same effect on me as e.g. 'Eleanore Rigby' of The Beatles has. Despite the fact that Oozing is more serious and melancholy, it also has that element of breaking out of all pop bounds, stretching what can be pop music. As I wrote, it works and is of great beauty as well.

Stuck W Me. Vera Ellen

Will the song ever explode? That was the question that kept pushing itself into my brain while I was enjoying Vera Ellen's new single. An electric guitar playing very bare chords, power chords even, without the power, while Vera Ellen sings over it with a wavering voice. Between them, guitar and voice, create a special atmosphere that makes the song stronger and stronger. Vera Ellen overdubs her voice, creating even some more tension into the mix. "I threw your flowers into the rubbish for the first time", are the first words shared with us in Stuck W Me and its sets the scene quite well, as this is a song not so much of breaking up as of getting rid of someone who has become totally unwanted. And here is where the undercooled accompaniment of the electric guitar becomes the anti-theses of the lyrics. All is in wait for the giant explosion of emotions and anger. Do they come? Go out and listen for your self. Stuck W Me is an impressive song as you will find out.

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