Today’s Track: DEHD – ‘Bad Love’

March 29, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Blue Skies’ (LP) (Available from May 27th, 2022) (via Fat Possum Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for us to invest in another daily track of the blog as we want to experience as many of those as we can before we drop DEHD, and it’s my duty given how it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! DEHD are a Garage Rock trio comprised of vocalist/bassist Emily Kempf, guitarist/vocalist Jason Balla and drummer Eric McGrady who have taken their sound to labels like Maximum Pelt, Infinity Cat Recordings and Fire Talk Records. They have toured across the UK, the Netherlands, France and Germany in support of Twin Peaks, and their latest album was even granted the ‘Best New Music’ designation by Pitchfork. Citing the likes of Broadcast, Roy Orbinson and James Brown as some of their biggest influences, DEHD will be going on a North American Tour throughout the Spring that will find them stopping off at locations such as Boston, Denver, Austin, Toronto and more – with a concluding set at Governors Ball in New York in June. The follow-up LP to their critically acclaimed sophomore album – 2020’s ‘Flower Of Devotion’ – will also hit store shelves in the form of ‘Blue Skies’ on May 27th via Fat Possum Records. The group’s new album was recorded in the same studio as their last long-player effort, and the 13-track project allowed them to work with mastering engineer Heba Kadry and mixing engineer Craig Silvey for the first time. The lead single is ‘Bad Love’, which has been growing on me with recent airplay from BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq and KEXP’s Song Of The Day podcast as it recalls the Riot Grrrl movement with Mad Max visuals. The video was directed by Kevin Veleska and you can check it out below.

“Bad Love is about recovering from love addiction and making a decision to stop choosing and aligning with people who aren’t your energetic match”, Emily Kempf says about The Jesus & Mary Chain-inspired new single, adding, “I wrote it for myself and for everyone who needed to hear a song about choosing new forms of love. It’s about chasing a relationship with one-self rather than an unhealthy one, one that just doesn’t quite fit, or a co-dependent one”, in a press release. Starting off with a steady drum beat and a twangy lead guitar hook that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Blues or Alternative Folk record, Kempf revs up gradually to more violent pacing with “I was a bad love/Now I can get some/I got a heart full of redemption” before the more propulsive guitar riffs and the faster Drum beats take centre stage of the 00’s blog-rock aesthetic. The twangy energy remains, but lyrics like “Run baby run/Run from the bad love/New love baby, come on honey, give me some” and “Forgive me/Give it to me/Tell me what to do, tell me what to do to keep it” are given a more low-pitched howling that feels more nostalgic of its’ key influences and a propulsive setting, with a voice that howls and wails to the mid-tempo Post-Punk guitar instrumentation. The track gets more catchy and more punchy with subsequent listens, as the simplicity is also the beauty on this one. The track mainly recalls the punk-and-politics chops of the Riot grrrl times of the 90’s, while elements of Industrial music and Baroque Punk are also noticeable due to the variety of metallic, riotous and psychedelic textures throughout. Additional comparisons can also be made to Surf-Rock – as it takes a page out of The Beach Boys’ playbook in it’s mid-tempo pacing – as well as Blues, Desert Rock and Pop-Punk too. Ultimately, ‘Bad Love’ is a moving and effective new single that feels both nostalgic and diverse and it shows that DEHD are a charming trio who have legs, and their sound feels defined. There is no toxicity in this romance.

Pictured: Emily Kempf (Vocals), Jason Balla (Lead Guitar) & Eric McGrady (Drums) (2020) (Photo by Alexa Viscuis)

That brings me to the end of another refreshing post on the blog, and thank you very much for continuing to support the site each day. We’re coming up to ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ tomorrow, and we’ll be looking at an IDM record from the mid-90’s that, I feel, gets rather underrated. It comes from the British electronic music duo of Garry Cobain and Brian Douglas who have explored genres like Trip Hop, Psychedelia, Dub, Acid Techno, Dark Ambient, Industrial and House music. They are known for records like 1994’s ‘Lifeforms’ that have reached the UK Top 10 Albums Chart. They have also released music under aliases such as Polemical, Aircut and Amorphous Androgynous.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Today’s Track: Sinead O’Brien – ‘Holy Country’

March 3, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Sinead O’Brien in a publicity shoot to promote a DIYMag.com feature (2020) (Photo Credit: Louise Mason)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for you to push your worries aside for a few minutes while we get invested in yet another daily track on the blog, given how it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! I am delighted to write about Sinead O’Brien once again today, who topped my list of ‘The Best EP’s Of 2020’ with her debut extended play ‘Drowning In Blessings’. An incredibly unique talent from Limerick who I describe as the “Post-Punk Poet”, I caught wind of O’Brien when ‘Taking On Time’ was offered for free on KEXP’s ‘Song Of The Day’ podcast in early 2020, a valuable resource when it comes to seeking out and sampling new music. Since then, her star power has risen. She has supported cult artists John Cooper Clarke and The Brian Jonestown Massacre on sold-out theatre shows across the UK and Ireland, she has performed at Eurosonic Festival and SXSW, and she has collaborated with Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey (Foals, Black Midi, Squid, Fontaines DC) on singles like ‘Girlkind’ and ‘Kid Stuff’ that she dropped throughout 2021. I’m excited to report that O’Brien has announced that her debut solo full-length album – ‘Time Bend and Break The Bower’ – will release on June 10th via Chess Club Records. Once again co-produced by Carey, the LP’s release has been accompanied by a long string of tour dates across the UK and Ireland for September and October 2022. Irish fans can visit her in Cork, Dublin, Belfast and more – while UK natives can catch her playing at venues in Nottingham, Brighton, Glasgow, Ramsgate, Bristol and more. Once again produced by Carey, her highly-anticipated LP was recorded in South London, and she teases, “The story of the album is built up in layers: One song giving context to the next. I thought about becoming undressed: testing my ideas, my voice. Working myself out across themes of identity, curiosity, creative process. Experimenting with the form and shape of language, using tone and delivery to get to the immediate centre of what I am saying”, Sinead explains in a press release. Let’s give her latest promotional single – ‘Holy Country’ – a listen below.

“The album title ‘Time Bend and Break The Bower’, from the song, ‘Multitudes’, came into my head and made its demands, an idea that pressed on me throughout the record”, Sinead continues to explain about her solo album, concluding, “The clock symbol is enlarged, it looms like a moon over my activity watching, counting me down to zero. Dripping with self-sabotage and the feeling of being chased: it pulls and pushes against the verses which talk of ‘Multitudes’; the things that faithfully come back – the images, the words, creativity. It is creativity itself”, in her expressive press notes. Opening with a sultry acoustic-driven guitar riff akin to the ‘Country’ genre in reference to the track’s title, ‘Holy Country’ finds O’Brien being the architect of vocabulary that makes her really stand out in terms of lyrics, with O’Brien giving us a clear insight into her thought process as sequences like “I stare at the walls when I feel hollow/I stare straight down the hall and I follow the thoughts” swell above a Post-Punk crescendo of sounds that crash, thump and stutter beneath the more abstract, lyrical surface. Her vocal presence is commanding and demanding, as she exclaims the likes of “Take me to the secrets of the Saints” and she points out “The giants of time turning tunes” as she continues to flip the switch, disregarding the warm and folk-ish opening guitar riff at the start in favour of warped synths and rapid percussion that creates a more glitched-out sound. It is very unique and unimitable music from O’Brien once again, although the way that the sharp guitar riffs merge with O’Brien’s more free-form lyricism where she points out mental processes as we traverse her mind isn’t far from the well of Dry Cleaning’s Spoken-sung waxings, but the tone is clearly more serious while retaining an abstract nature. In conclusion, ‘Holy Country’ is another vivid stand-out from Sinead, who continues to convince me that she is one of the most creative human beings on the UK’s live music circuit. A very articulate and talented individual, her album has me hyped to a high amount that is often quite unusual for somebody as obsessive as me who listens to almost anything anyways. It’s shaping up to be a blockbuster and a totally refreshing record.

Pictured: Sinead O’Brien in a PR shot for her ‘Drowning In Blessings’ EP (2020) (Photo via Chess Club Records)

As I have mentioned, Sinead O’Brien has been one of our ‘regulars’ on the blog since I began the project actively in the summer of 2019. If you enjoyed ‘Holy Country’, you can check out some more of her sounds below:

‘Taking On Time’ – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/04/20/todays-track-sinead-o-brien-taking-on-time/

‘Strangers In Danger’ – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/09/03/todays-track-sinead-o-brien-strangers-in-danger/

‘Kid Stuff’ – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/04/15/todays-track-sinead-obrien-kid-stuff/

Pictured: Sinead O’Brien in a press shoot to promote ‘A Thing You Call Joy’ (2019) (Photo Credit: Zac Mahrouche)

That brings us to the end of another day of music coverage on One Track At A Time! Thank you for giving a few minutes of your day to me today, as your support is always highly appreciated, and I will be back tomorrow for another iteration of ‘New Album Release Fridays’. We’ll be previewing the third studio album from a West London-based indie rock singer-songwriter who recently stated “It’s a shame when you’re at a festival, and all you see is white guys” in a very candid interview for The Independent.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Today’s Track: The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die – ‘Queen Sophie For President’

December 29, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Illusory Walls’ (LP) (Released on October 8th, 2021) (via Epitath Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, of course, and it is time to get your ears stuck into yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! *deep breath* The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die are an emo Prog Rock band with what must be the longest band title in the business and, yet, in a digital age of streaming services and IP resurgences, they must also be applauded for ending their latest album on two epic pieces that total half of it’s near 70-minute duration. Their fourth LP record – ‘Illusory Walls’ – is the record in question, an underground release that took its inspiration from the infamously difficult ‘Dark Souls’ series of popular role playing video games. Bridging the gap between genres like Space Rock, Atmospheric Rock, Post-Hardcore and Post-Rock, the Emo collective have released a number of EP’s and Splits, including a memorable collaboration with Christopher Zizzamia, a Spoken Word artist, and they cite a diverse range of influences including Battles, Caspian, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Explosions In The Sky for their fretwork-style material. A double album released via veteran Nu-Metal label Epitath Records, the new LP is the band’s first album since the death of founding member Tom Diaz and the departures of guitarists/vocalists Dylan Balliet and Tyler Bussey. Now, the members of the 5-piece are split between the bear-filled woods of rural Connecticut and the quarantines streets of Covid-ridden Philadelphia, and it is the band’s first project that recruits outside producers in the form of Greg Thomas (Misery Signals, End), the studio partner of lead vocalist/guitarist David F. Bello, who helped the rest of the band to remotely write and finish the ambitious record within the most part of one year. According to Bello, the new album’s title of ‘Illusory Walls’ “refers to a hidden surface that seems to prevent entry, but upon inspection is nothing more than a visual illusion”. Check out the third single ‘Queen Sophie For President’ below.

Elaborating on the LP’s development stages, Bello says, “The extra time gave the band time to manage the unexpected, such as Katie Dvorak sustaining an injury that meant she was unable to sing or talk for a couple of months at the end of 2020. Had they been on a normal recording schedule, she wouldn’t have been able to get her vocals done”, concluding, “Instead, she was able to channel what happened into her songs. Though ‘Queen Sophie For President’ is ostensibly about the tenacity of oppression, whether on a personal or political level, it is heavily influenced by her injury” in his press statement. While ‘Queen Sophie For President’ scales up the bombast, it also puts a twist on the band’s sad emo-style foundations of their sound by introducing vocals that feel lighter and nostalgic, thanks in part to the keyboardist taking on the lead vocal duties. Lyrics like “Impossibly persistent, waiting for the chance to take over” have a dizzying darkness to them and they blend into Chris Teti’s intricate guitar work with a pulsating 80’s rock sound. A wide array of evocative lyrics like “Never get better and never do anything” chime the chorus along with a feeling of urgency, while rapid-fire refrains like “It won’t burn with the oven off/That damn persistent slime, just burn the whole house down” owe more to Opera Rock with their haunting harmonies that permeate angst and anxiety, riddling the zoned-out Synths of the soundscape with a deep flavour of hard-hitting songwriting that is more anthemic. Instrumentally, the barreling guitar riffs and the percussive drum beats, topped off by a punchy lead guitar solo towards the end, retain their warmth and intimate nature while delivering highly technically proficient production all-around. Most of all, however, it is the fact that Dvorak’s increased involvement threatens to steal the show at times that makes it all more worth the while, and it is the very robust chemistry between Dvorak and Bello, on vocals, which clicks together and strikes the biggest chord with me – if you see what I did there. Dvorak’s sugar-coated vocals blend together with Bello’s emotional croon, as well as the fancy handiwork from guitarist Chris Teti, very cohesively. This creates some of the most enjoyable ‘Jam Band’ moments that you could hear in 2021. An extravagant piece of ferocious Jangle-Pop meets sophisticated Post-Rock, ‘Queen Sophie For President’ is a tour-de-force of feel-good indie and profound lyrical proportions that definitely gets my vote.

Pictured: David Bello (Lead Vocals/Percussion), Katie Dvorak (Keyboard/Synths/Backing Vocals), Josh Cyr (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Chris Teti (Trumpet/Lead Guitar) & Steven Buttery (Drums) (2021) (Photo by Adam Peditto)

That’s all I’ve got lined up for you on the blog today – and I’ll be back tomorrow with the final part of my series shedding light on some of this year’s most unforgettable underground releases, before we go fully back to normal, with a post regarding a band who have made many year-end lists for 2021. Signed to Saddle Creek Records, the trio take their name from a Spanish Drama film of the same title released in 1973.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Christmas Day 2021 Special: The Killers (feat. Wild Light & Mariachi El Bronx) – ‘¡Happy Birthday Guadalupe!’

December 24, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Don’t Waste Your Wishes’ (LP) (Released on November 18, 2016) (via Island Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke – wishing you a very merry Christmas – if you have the time to put those mince pies and gin cocktails aside for a few minutes or require a short break away from those who are driving you insane in the house today, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Las Vegas natives The Killers are one of the most all-around crowd-pleasing bands in the world with their beloved Desert Rock sound that has established them as key headline acts for huge stages like Glastonbury and Madison Square Garden, as well as selling their way to over 28 million records worldwide, but they started a small festive tradition of their own with the release of 2006’s yuletide track ‘A Great Big Sled’. Since that year, the 21st century rock icons used to release a new Christmas-themed track for charity every year, often featuring collaborations with the likes of Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant, Elton John, Dawes and Ned Humphrey Hanson, among others, on December 1st to co-incide with World AIDS Day, as they released these singles annually between 2006 to 2016 in support of the Product Red Campaign, with proceeds going to the campaign led by U2’s Bono and Bobby Shriver. You can catch all of these singles on a compilation album – ‘Don’t Waste Your Wishes’ – that was released in 2016 both digitally and physically. Debuting at #41 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart at the time, it featured all eleven of their Christmas songs and, by the time of the box set’s release, music videos were also produced for every one of them. Check out 2009’s ‘Happy Birthday Guadalupe’ below.

The Mexican-themed music video for ‘Happy Birthday Guadalupe’ starred the ‘Beverley Hills 90210’ and ‘The Fifth Element’ actor Luke Perry, and, musically, Brandon Flowers and company decided to enlist the diverse help of indie four-piece Wild Light and Mariachi El Bronx – who both toured with The Killers throughout 2009 – to complete the fourth chapter of their series in aid of Product Red. Paired to the noir-esque visuals of Perry searching for his long-lost love of Guadalupe across the Mexican desert, the super-group of wild artists create a Mariachi-flavored take on heartbreak during the most wonderful time of the year, as per Andy Williams. The Killers clearly wanted people to feel that anything is possible during the much-hyped holiday season with lyrics that talk about how a Christmas day hook-up can lead to a long-lasting relationship in the form of the expedition to find Guadalupe. Like most of The Killers’ songs, it combines an Americana sound with a more radio-friendly Punk one – with earnest Killers-like lyrics that tell a brief narrative, and they contribute to the ‘Alternative’ side of Christmas music by providing sunny disposition for a season that is typically associated with ice and snow, instead depicting the excessively hot and dry environment of a Latin American desert with a Spanish guitar backdrop and some Mariachi style chords. I feel this blend is a little uneven at times, with some refrains like “Living in a difficult time” rubbing against the over-the-top Tex Mex cheer of the tone. However, it is very catchy and quite memorable – with some jaunting moods and exciting instrumentation that manages to make it feel different for a Christmas track. Overall, it is a bit rough around the edges in the way of seeming messy at points because it doesn’t quite pull of the balance of severity and frivolity quite rightly, however, it will definitely keep you entertained and the idea of mixing Mexican angels with seasonal salutations is an intriguing and daring one, so I still find it to be quite enjoyable and pretty cheerful to listen to. All that remains for me to say to you on this morning is have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Joeyux Noel!

Pictured: Brandon Flowers (Lead Vocals/Synths), Dave Keuning (Lead Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals), Mark Stoermer (Bass Guitar/Rhythm Guitar) and Ronnie Vanucci Jr. (Drums) (2018) (Photo via Press Hire Publicity)

(EMBED LINKS TO PREVIOUS THE KILLERS BLOG POSTS HERE)

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Imploding The Mirage’ (LP) (Released on August 21, 2020) (via Island Records)

That’s all for today – and I’ll leave you be to enjoy a hot meal and a day off work. Christmas for the adults, am I right? Anyways, I’ll be waiting for you here on Boxing Day with another brief one coming from an Australian artist who has been covered on the blog recently because she has just released her third solo studio album on Mom + Pop Records. One of the singles, ‘Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To’ was included on Barack Obama’s new list of his favourite singles to be released from 2021.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Santa’s Scuzz Sundays: LCD Soundsystem – ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’

December 12, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: James Murphy (Vocals/Synths), Nancy Whang (Keyboard/Synths) & Pat Mahoney (Drums) (2017) (via PR)

A Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays to you! This is Father Christmas himself, and it’s time for you to peel and chop down some carrot sticks to leave out for my brilliant Blitzen on Christmas Eve night, when you’ve finished reading my latest ‘Scuzz Sundays’ takeover from Jacob, whose day-to-day pleasure is to write up about a different piece of music every day! Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas and IT IS my job. However, we all go through that patch like ‘Christmas With The Kranks’ where we all feel like simply not doing Christmas for one year because it is the busiest and most expensive time of the year and not just the most wonderful. One of my favourite Christmas songs to ever encapsulate that feeling of seeming down around the holiday season is ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’ by the well-established Brooklyn-based Synth Rock icons LCD Soundsystem. This was a standalone digital single that was released by the multi-time Grammy nominated group in 2015 when the rumor mill was circulating around the band’s core line-up reunion before they recorded their critically acclaimed comeback album, ‘American Dream’, for release in 2017. At the time, it marked their first new material in five years. Self-described by frontman and DFA Records co-founder James Murphy as a “depressing Christmas song” at the time of 2015, it was recorded when he found a window of opportunity to reunite with Nancy Whang, Pat Mahoney and Tyler Pope (who agreed to fly in from Berlin (with the determination of my sled and my red-nosed Rudolph) for a few days in New York together during a break between guitarist Al Doyle’s tour dates with Hot Chip. Let’s give it a spin below.

Jacob tells me that ‘Sound Of Silver’ is his favourite LCD Soundsystem album to date. He’s also a huge fan of KEXP, and the listeners of that Washington-based public radio station voted for ‘Sound Of Silver’ to be #23 in their 666 Best Albums Of All Time poll taken in 2019. Murphy had been singing the tune to himself for the past eight years, and the band says that after coming together they “reserved a pressing plant, and our friend Bob Weston was available to master it quickly – so that means, less than 2 weeks after recording it, there is actually a Christmas 7″, which feels like something that could only have happened a very, very long time ago” as December itself is far too late to record a Christmas song in most cases, but I know the feeling as my Little Helper’s head honcho has to rush around at the last minute like a headless turkey every year. A slow ballad along the same lines of 2007’s ‘New York, I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down’ from ‘Sound Of Silver’, meaning that Jacob would probably like this track as well, ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’ is a reminder of the rarely heard vocal range of the Alternative Rock pioneers, in terms of their songwriting abilities and stylistic versatility in being able to record festive music, dance tunes, rock ballads, pop crooners and most things in-between. Lyrically, the song is an acceptance that the miracles of Christmas often touted in festive movies and TV perfume advertisements aren’t really things that truly exists. Instead, for Murphy and his co-horts, Christmas is a time more akin for loneliness, isolation, unrealistic expectation and expenses that are devoid of joy. Refrains like “Like that laid back rock ‘n’ roll, Your body’s getting old/It’s much too tired to be bold” talk about how Christmas feels less magical as you get older, while later lyrics like “Like the armies of the unrelenting dark/Once the peace falls apart” talk about the cycle of conflict that humans return to when the time has long gone. There’s enough variety in the lyrics to encompass a broad range of topics under the umbrella of Christmas time, and the gloomy gift of 2015 is a reminder that once you’re the parent paying for the meal and the presents that we share at Christmas and once you fail to believe in Santa Claus (Which, for me, frankly, is an absolutely preposterous idea), the tingling secrets of Christmas fade with diminishing returns across time. It is a bold and pessimistic song, but it is honest. There’s nothing quite like hearing Murphy’s lovesick croon in here, which feels like a bitter cross between David Bowie and Biffy Clyro’s vocalist Simon Neil. It is also a song that we can all relate to, and a subversive twist on the happy-go-lucky and “everything’s just the most amazing thing ever” tone of your typical Christmas single. Overall, while this probably isn’t for everyone due to it’s bleak nature, it is different and it wears its heart on its sleeve. The muted Piano is heartfelt and it meshes nicely with the resonant and steady drums that any self-respecting Christmas song has, and this structuring leads to a wonderful sequence of bass lines towards the final stretch. While it’s unlikely that it will ever be considered a staple at primary school choir recitals or on BBC Radio 2’s daytime programming, it is highly relatable, and it goes for a clear tone that succeeds well. A bittersweet bow of beauty.

Pictured: LCD Soundsystem performing two singles on ‘Saturday Night Live’ (2017) (Photo via Will Heath/NBC)

Jacob has posted about LCD Soundsystem in his early days, including ‘Get Innocuos!’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/23/todays-track-lcd-soundsystem-get-innocuous/

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Sound Of Silver’ (LP) (Released on March 12th, 2007) (via DFA/EMI/Capitol Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out One Track At A Time today, and Jacob Braybrooke will be in the co-seat again tomorrow to start off another week’s round of daily music posts. I’ve got business to attend to, but he’s told me to tell you that we’ll be catching up on some music that you may have missed earlier in 2021. It comes from an indie folk duo from Bergen, Norway who were the inspiration for Indian duo Parekh & Singh and they topped MTV’s European list of the best music videos of 2004 with ‘I’d Rather Dance With You’. In June, they released their first LP record since 2009.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

New Album Release Fridays: Dan Sartain – ‘People Throwing Stones In Glass Houses’

November 26, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Arise, Dan Sartain, Arise’ (LP) (Released on Nov 26th, 2021) (via One Little Independant)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to throw some stones in some glass houses to the beat of yet another daily track on the blog, because it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! This week’s pick for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ arrives with a dose of sadness because it also means that it’s time for us to say goodbye to a cult favourite singer-songwriter – Dan Sartain – who left us at the young age of just 39 at the end of March 2021. Dan Sartain got an early start by playing in the local hardcore punk band Plate Six in the 1990’s, and the Blues artist from Birmingham, Alabama went on to release eight subsequent solo albums. During his career, Sartain got the chance to be the opening act for The Hives and The White Stripes on tour in 2007 and he notably issued the ‘Bohemian Grove’ single on Jack White’s legendary imprint Third Man Records in 2009. After building traction as an extroverted artist on open mic nights in the US and building his cult following as an unsigned talent, he finally released his first widely commercially available LP record ‘Dan Sartain vs. The Serpientes’ in 2005.

Sartain’s music encompassed a variety of Rockabillly, Blues, Country and DIY Punk music but his sound had a characteristically combative relationship with the genres and their surrounding subculture. He would also promote social causes like the Black Lives Matter Global Network. The cause of his death has never been revealed, but tributes poured in from the likes of James Skelly, Sarah Waters, Jeff Klein, AIM UK and his fanbase when the news of his death was announced by his family and his manager earlier in the year. His final album – ‘Arise, Dan Sartain, Arise’ – was finished a few months before he passed away and it is being released today on his UK-based longtime label One Little Independent as unchanged and how it was intended to be. 100% of the proceeds and royalties will be donated to a trust fund for Sartain’s young daughter as per his family’s request. The only single to be taken from the record is ‘People Throwing Stones In Glass Houses’ – which arrives with the music video below.

Confirming the tragic news via the GoFundMe page set up to help pay for the Center Point-born Garage Rock musician’s funeral expenses earlier this year, Dan’s family wrote, “Dan Sartain left us many memories and music but unfortunately left us way too early”, elaborating, “As wonderful as his legacy is, he had no plans for the unmentionable and, thus, here we are. We aren’t trying to do much, but have a small service for family and friends, and with Dan’s wide range of friends, this should be available. From all of his family, we thank you”, in their statement that is readable on the site. Set against the backdrop of the black and white music video directed by Darryl Jakes, Sartain struts his mature voice for his early age with a hazy, mid-tempo reflection on how we see ourselves and other people through watching our attitudes and those of others. There isn’t a whole lot of production to the track, and the sound is very raw and bitter instead. The track starts off with a beautifully haunting Organ jab, before some searing Surf-Rock melodies created by the rhythm guitar establish the theme of the track. The vocals have a wink-at-the-camera playfulness to their aid, but the twangy guitar riffs and the bitter tone of his lyrics introduce a harsher edge to the beat. I get a classic 60’s Punk vibe from the guitar solo that runs throughout the final stretch, with another solo created by a Horn section introducing a more Gothic rhythm to the instrumental before the final repeat of the chorus. There’s simply no nonsense or filler material here at all and Sartain does everything with his own original purpose. He is not the best singer in the world and the lyrics are lacking a little polish here, but he isn’t necessarily trying hard to be. Instead, he’s following that ethos of a true artist by making the art that he creates as originally intended with his own expression. Crowd pleasing, sharp Alt-Rock from a musician who left us too early.

Pictured: Dan Sartain in an official photoshoot for an in-depth interview for Autre.Love (2016) (Photo via PR)

That’s enough for today! Thank you for checking out the blog and supporting the independent creatives, like Dan Sartain, who are behind the music regularly featured. I’ll be back tomorrow to carry on our unique ‘Countdown To Christmas 2021’ with a track from a legendary 70’s British Glam-Rock band who explored many genres and were led by Marc Bolan. They were inducted in the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 2020.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Today’s Track: Cate Le Bon – ‘Running Away’

November 2, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Pompeii’ (LP) (Available on 4th February, 2022) (via Mexican Summer)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for yet another daily track on the blog to get brought to your attention, because its always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Known for her subversive spin on vintage guitar rock music, the Carmarthenshire-born Welsh alternative folk singer songwriter Cate Le Bon is a woman of many talents and she can perform her music fluently in both English and classical Welsh. She has also toured across the globe with artists like St. Vincent, John Grant and Perfume Genius, and she has production credits on albums by Deerhunter, Josiah Steinbrick and Tim Presley. Jeff Tweedy – of the popular Alternative Rock band Wilco – has even named Cate Le Bon as one of his personal favourite musicians of the moment. She has released three EP’s and multiple singles, and Le Bon is now six solo albums into her dynamic career. In fact, we previously covered her track ‘Mother’s Mother’s Magazines’ on the blog for one of my daily posts back in the late half of 2019. It was a long time ago, so you would be forgiven for struggling to remember reading it. However, it is a good time to try and delve into her material again since her sixth full-length album, ‘Pompeii’, is on the way, and the playful songstress has set it up for a release date of February 4th, 2022 via Mexican Summer. The follow-up to her 2019 Mercury Prize-nominated record, ‘Reward’, Le Bon says that “Pompeii was written and recorded in a quagmire of unease. Solo. In a time warp. In a house I had a life in 15 years ago”, adding, “I grappled with existence, resignation and faith. I felt culpable for the mess but it smacked hard of the collective guilt imposed by religion and original sin”, as she explained in a press statement. The first single to be taken off the new LP, ‘Running Away’ is your first taste of the record. Le Bon played every instrument on the new record, and she was joined by her regular collaborator Samur Khoja for recording studio sessions in Cardiff for a pair of tracks. Let’s give ‘Running Away’ a listen below.

Speaking of her new single, ‘Running Away’, the Welsh folk crooner describes, “The world is on fire but the bins must go out on a Tuesday night. Political dissonance meets beauty regimes. I put a groove behind it for something to hold on to. The grief is in the Saxophones”, in her press notes. An enforced period of lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic has, according to the Penboyr-born vocalist, also resulted in a “more extreme version” of Le Bon’s studio process, making way for a collection of more “Playful, satirical and surrealist” songs than what may have come from Cate before. These themes become clear in ‘Running Away’, which is of no resemblance to the 70’s Sly & The Family Stone Psych Funk classic of the same title. Another wayward progression of her complex instrumentation style, the track immediately feels mid-tempo, yet buoyant, with some ghostly guitar strums mixing with a softly Funk-inflicted backdrop in a strange way. Observational lyrics like “It’s the sweetest thing/That you never had” and “You can’t put your arms around it/It’s not there anymore” are wise to keep their distance because, although Cate Le Bon refuses to give us many specifics within the lyrics, as you would probably expect given her experimental nature, it feels clear that all-encompassing emotions of longing and reminiscence are placed at the center of her core. The vocals in the chorus are obscure in tone, but tinged with a feeling of lethargy, with drowsy guitar melodies that slightly evoke a 00’s ‘Slacker Rock’ feel akin to Terry Presume or Mac DeMarco, and a bubbling amount of weariness in the lovesick croons of her voice. The usual trademarks of Cate Le Bon are here, but the production feels more refined with an air of Kate Bush about it. The regal blasts of Saxophone melodies and the ambient washings of the Synths are sparse enough to reveal little, but light elements of Prog-Rock and Ambient Jazz get scattered through the verses. Together, the different elements of the song feel relatively sparse and unidentifiable on paper but they are neatly buried and they place Cate Le Bon at the center of her work, as she uses surreal songwriting with great patience and sculptures enigmatic vocals on remaining unsure about whether she should seek some things that sound lost to her. In conclusion, ‘Running Away’ is a solid evolution of Le Bon’s style because it encourages her to pale back the layers of her common material. It feels slow, but never filler, ramping up her sound by shaping something so tidy and intricate, but suitably vague and mysterious.

Pictured: Cate Le Bon in a still from the ‘Wonderful’ music video (2016) (Photo via Colorising.com)

As I’ve mentioned, we previously covered Cate Le Bon’s track ‘Mother’s Mother’s Magazines’ on the blog a long while ago. If you’d like to remind yourself of that post, feel free to check it out here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/30/todays-track-cate-le-bon-mothers-mothers-magazines/

Pictured: Cate Le Bon in promotional art work for ‘Reward’ (2019) (Photo by Huw Gwynfryn Evans)

I have completed my task for another day, and, on that note, I thank you for coming along on the ride. I’ll be back tomorrow for a new edition of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ where we’re looking back at a well-known 1972 hit that was associated with a film of the same title. It comes from a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted Ska, Reggae, Rocksteady and Prog-Soul multi-instrumentalist who is the only living Jamaican musician to be awarded the Order Of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by his government for services in Arts, as he helped to popularize Reggae music globally.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Scuzz Sundays: Velvet Revolver – “Slither”

August 15, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Contraband’ (LP) (Released on June 8, 2004) (via NRG and Pulse Recording)

Good Morning to you! You’re reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for a new weekly entry to our ‘Scuzz Sundays’ library, as we revisit some of the powerful Pop-Punk anthems of the past, while keeping in mind that it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A super-group who were active between the years of 2002 and 2008, Velvet Revolver was another one of Slash’s post-Guns ‘N’ Roses projects on paper, yet, the project also seemed to be largely more of a collaboration between Slash and Stone Temple Pilots upon closer inspection, as their line-up featured previous members of both Guns ‘N’ Roses and Stone Temple Pilots, with Wasted Youth’s Dave Kushner as the odd one out. In 2018, vocalist Scott Weiland abruptly left the band to rejoin Stone Temple Pilots, and later in the year, the rest of the band contacted RCA Records, their label, and asked to be released from their contract to allocate themselves “complete freedom to go through whatever process it would take to accomplish” replacing Weiland, but such a goal was never met. It was not entirely clear what caused the split, despite a one-off reunion show with Weiland taking place in 2012. In their time, however, the group initially earned decent praise from critics and their audience alike, notably toured with Alice In Chains, released two full-length albums, and, in 2005, they won the Grammy Award for ‘Best Hard Rock Performance’ with ‘Slither’. Give the trademark tune a spin below.

‘Slither’ was released as the second single from 2004’s ‘Contraband’, Velvet Revolver’s debut album, and it reached the top of both the US Billboard Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock Charts, and it also reached #35 on the UK Singles Chart. The album found similar success, becoming a commercial success for Velvet Revolver by reaching the top spot of the US Billboard 200 chart and eventually being certified as Double Platinum by the RIAA in sales, alongside a score of 65/100 on Metacritic to indicate a mostly “generally favorable” reception from critics. ‘Slither’ became almost certainly their most well remembered single – a Hard Rock anthem which takes it’s strutting flair from 90’s Post-Grunge and 70’s DIY Garage-Punk. With a tight four-minute duration, the band encompass through a decent range of upbeat guitar hooks while throwing in some persistently crunching cymbal melodies and some harsher, more bitter bass riffs. Weiland gives the vocals a sinister, yet Soulful delivery that reminds me of Nick Cave and Iggy Pop, as he recites slow-burning lyrics like “Here comes the water/It comes to wash the sins of you and I” in the pre-chorus, and exciting lyrics like “Rape my mind and smell the poppies/Born and bloodied every single time” in the verse, where he surely does not mince any of his words with a lighter tone. I would say that I felt the singer was just a little at odds with the more melodic direction of the instrumentation and so he isn’t terribly well-suited for the harsh Grunge sounds that Slash seems to be going for, but I felt he added a nimble range of variety to the proceedings. On the whole, the track sounded a little bit generic, but I felt that it was perfectly listenable. The more Punk-influenced riffs have a real 70’s vibe to them, which I felt worked rather well, and the drummer does a nice job of counteracting Weiland’s slick, polished vocals with a more aggressive pallete of sounds. After a below-average month of quality for these Scuzz Sundays flashbacks, I felt Velvet Revolver got us back on track with their robust guitar work and their very ‘Scuzz’ sound. An enjoyable entry in their small, but compelling enough, discography.

Pictured: Slash (Lead Guitar/Talkbox), Scott Weiland (Lead Vocals/Keyboard), Duff McKagan (Bass Guitar), Dave Kushner (Rhythm Guitar) and Matt Sorum (Drums/Percussion) (2020) (via Gnrcentral.com)

That’s all for now! Thank you for reaching the very end of the page, and, if you enjoyed what Velvet Revolver had in store for us, then I think that you’re also going to enjoy hearing tomorrow’s selection, which was recently featured on KEXP’s ‘Song Of The Day’ podcast. It comes from a pair of very little rockers from Liverpool, England who really are young (I’m talking 12 and 14 years old) with a love for Johnny Ramone.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Today’s Track: Deep Tan – “Camelot”

July 5, 2021 — Leave a comment

Just another evening at the tanning salon for the knights of Camelot. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Creeping Speedwells” (EP) (Released on June 4th, 2021) (via Practise Music)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – and I hope that you’re ready for another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Today’s track serves as an introduction to the site for Deep Tan, an all-female Post-Punk/New Wave-like trio from Hackney. The ladies have been kicking around on our capital’s underground scene for a few years now, showcasing their skills to London’s drag, ballroom and LGBT communities, and the band’s vocalist – Wafah Dufour – was the drummer for Cate Le Bon’s backing band. Likened to Foals, Warpaint and The XX in terms of their sound, Deep Tan have shared the stage with similarly successful post-modern DIY Post-Rock artists like Squid, Yard Act, Sinead O’Brien and Jessica Winter, have earned features in music publications like NME, Loud and Quiet, and So Young, and airplay from Apple Music’s Beats1 and Amazing Radio USA. ‘Camelot’, released alongside a music video directed by Chino Moya, was the lead single for the emerging group’s debut EP, ‘Creeping Speedwells’, which was released on June 4th via Practice Music. Give it a whirl below.

“Camelot is an unashamed tribute to ‘the sesh'”, Deep Tan explained, noting, “A group of people have just been evicted with only 48hrs notice, leading them to have one last rager in order to forget about the stress of not finding a new home with such short notice, coming in at less than two minutes, the frenetic energy of the track sets the scene for total obliteration”, in their press release. ‘Camelot’ is designed to be a short-and-sweet jolt of virtual insanity, then, and the post-apocalyptic scenes are visualized through the relentless force of the heavy guitar work and the unrestrained nature of the skittering Drums. Hooks like “Forget the 48 hours, Don’t let the panic grip” and “Pour it out, and drink another one” are cycled through in a playful Jangle-Funk nature, and verses like “Stacked against the kitchen wall/Cans of gold from Piwowarska/I’m hearing how you got kicked out/Of the drovers for starting a fight” have a more cyclical delivery. The tone is brooding and ghostly throughout, as the raw vocals conjure up memories of heavy nights out at a dingy rock bar, with a fast tempo which mimics the buzzing rush of attempting, and failing, to drown out the memories that bring anxiety and fear through heavy drinking parties. It sounds like the dark style of tunes that you may find the band playing in such an environment, where the illicit live shows of a gloomy club match the skeletal song structure. It contrasts the fairly soft, more spoken delivery of the vocals, before we spring out into a chorus of “It’s the second last night in Camelot” backed up by a punchy Bassline. The drums get gradually louder too, and, by the end, we’re left with a strangely catchy Fugazi-inspired tune with a playful set of key changes and an obvious likening to Squid. There’s also a hint of 80’s Blondie or 90’s Garbage in here, with angular guitar riffs and a deliciously semi-deadpan delivery where instrumentals jolt past the lyrics in bursts. All in all, it is an engagingly wry showing from the intriguing up-and-comers.

Pictured: Wafah Dufour (Lead Vocalist/Rhythm Guitar), Celeste Guiness (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Lucy (Drums/Percussion) (in 2019) (Photography by Melia Beaudoin/SoYoungMagazine.com)

Thank you for your continued readership to the blog, and please feel free to join me again tomorrow for some brand new music from a returning face on the site. It comes from one of the most exciting Alternative artists of the last few years, marking the comeback of one of Warp Records most exciting signees. They also collaborated with Kelsey Lu on an atmospheric one-off single last December.

If you really liked what you just read, you can find us on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/. We’re also now on Twitter, so you can check it out and give us a follow here: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Today’s Track: Black Country, New Road – “Track X”

April 6, 2021 — Leave a comment

X-Men, X-Rated, Xtr-emely good, or reminiscent of the X-Factor? Time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Art for “For The First Time” (LP) (Released on February 5, 2021) (via Ninja Tune)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Have you eaten all of your Easter Eggs yet? If not, here’s a few minutes to indulge along to. ‘Track X’ comes from the fresh Math-Rock and Prog-Rock (It’s tricky to label their sound under a specific category), London band Black Country, New Road, who seem to be one of the most hotly-tipped new alternative music projects in quite a long time. Their early singles generated a ton of rave reviews, and the release of their debut long-player – ‘For The First Time’ – was absolutely hyped up to the hills prior to it’s release in February on Ninja Tune. The Quietus even thought they were “the best band in the world” leading to it’s release. It is less of a group per-say, and more of a 7-piece collective of young creatives mixing Post-Punk guitar riffs with classical, orchestral instrument sections. Usually when a release gets this eagerly anticipated over, I wait for a few months before I take any focused listens. That’s just because I often feel that rave reviews, or even universally negative ones, usually sway your pre-conceptions. It can be a tricky thing to navigate, where there’s no right or no wrong, but I’m ready now to unpeel the skin of these layers. Made from stock footage, check out the video for ‘Track X’ below.

“Never made it out into one of our live performances – We decided to resurrect it during the recording of ‘For The First Time’ and assemble it into the studio. The story is old, but a good one and worth telling” is what the pen man Isaac Wood had to say about the story of ‘Track X’. One fun fact about BCNR is that violinist Georgia Ellery, from the Warp Records signed duo Jockstrap, is a part of their line-up. Now, I am a huge fan of Georgia and that water-tight little project, and so that’s how I first found my way to them. BCNR have also been known to play around with Jewish Klezmer music for their atmosphere-oriented output, although ‘Track X’ feels like a more subdued and relaxed affair. A set of confessional lyrics, matched to Reichian percussion and a dreamscape of equal Strings and Saxophones, ‘Track X’ is a slowly unveiling ballad about finding romance in the UK’s DIY gig scene. Lyrics like “You’ve got great hips, I’ve been shaking ever since” and “In your name, in the same room where we f****ed as kids” have an earnest and unsettling feel, but the folk-inspired female backing vocals counteract this dry crooner delivery with a soothing, relaxed tone. The wry vocals are also referential to the band and their stories themselves, with lines like “I told you I loved you in front of Black Midi” and “I tried my best to stay afloat, after I sacrificed the goat” that each feel like inside jokes, giving the vocals an intimate touch (Black Midi being the name of another hugely popular DIY band in the UK). When I read that a release has been this mulled over as “the next big thing” by critics and people in general, I often find them difficult to connect with because it doesn’t always feel personal to me. In the case of BCNR, this is partially true. I find the rhythms don’t really go anywhere and the themes being explored in the songwriting feel a bit jumbled, and pinballed around the place at points. However, I’ve read many times that a truly great album should always be a snapshot or document of the artist at that place in time, and BCNR manage to do this quite comfortably. Albeit disfigured and left to the listener to fill in the blanks due to the vagueness of lines like “I guess, in some way”, there’s a straight essence of who they are that I can latch onto, although I can’t claim to fully understand everything that was going on. It feels very articulate, with a solid emphasis on how it makes you feel. So, overall, you know what – not bad.

Pictured: Isaac Wood (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Georgia Ellery (Violin), Tyler Hide (Bass Guitar), Charlie Wayne (Drums/Percussion), Lewis Evans (Saxophone), May Kershaw (Keyboard/Synths/Backing Vocals) and Luke Mark (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals) (2020) (Photo via Max Grainger/TheGuardian.com)

I guess, in some way – That line wraps up everything I’ve come here to do today. I’ve got another special weekend of unusual posts on the way from Saturday onwards, but, until then, we’ve got another ‘Way Back Wednesday’ to burst through. It’s another Easter-themed track, which didn’t previously make the cut. It’s related to the festival pretty closely, however, and it comes from a wildly successful Irish rock band who have strung their fans along past “The Edge” of a whopping 150-170 million sales globally, and have won a total of 22 Grammy Awards, known for their elaborate live tours in the 80’s and 90’s. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/