Blues

New Album Release Fridays: Courtney Barnett – ‘Before You Gotta Go’

November 12, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’ (LP) (Released on November 12, 2021) (via Mom + Pop Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for us to delve deep into one of the weekend’s most exciting new LP releases for your daily track on the blog, since it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! If you’re looking for some gift ideas for the hardcore music lover in your household at the moment, this week’s helping of new albums may give you some inspiration. There is the first entirely self-produced new album from the critically acclaimed Worship singer Sara Groves, which certainly seems worth picking up. The likes of Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn, popular Hardcore Punk stars IDLES and the cult classic American Alt-Rock outfit They Might Be Giants join the ranks. I, meanwhile, have been looking forward to hearing the first solo album release from the multi-time ARIA Award winning and the Brit Award nominated Sydney-Born Alternative Rock singer-songwriter and producer Courtney Barnett in three years. I really enjoy listening to her dry, witty mannerisms and her gut-punch guitar riffs that she has become known and well-reviewed within the industry for, and I think she’s perfectly on-brand for this blog too. You may recall her recording the ‘Lotta Sea Lice’ collaborative album with Kurt Vile from The War On Drugs fame, and I love how that album has since introduced more Blues and Country influences into her music. She returns today with ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’ via Mon + Pop Records or Marathan Artists depending on where you live, which she recorded between late 2020 to early 2021 with producer/drummer Stella Mozgawa between Melbourne and Sydney as an attempt to delve into her own psyche to explore themes of love and renewal, as well as healing and discovery. It includes the previous singles ‘Write A List of Things To Look Forward To’ and ‘Rae Street’. So, let’s check her out ‘Before You Gotta Go’ below.

A recent press release hyped up Barnett’s new album like this, “Things Take Time, Take Time is yet another assured leap forward for Barnett; a breakthrough really, but not in the ways you might expect”, expanding, “This is Barnett at her most creative and adventurous – an exquisite look at Courtney’s private world, and consequently her most beautiful and intimate record to date”, and the third single to be taken from the record, ‘Before You Gotta Go’, is another refreshing take on her pre-established Indie sound as the vocal delivery and acoustic instrumentation veer more towards in the direction of Americana and Country records. Paired to a few surrealist images from director Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore in which Barnett tries to capture field recordings in nature, there’s nothing massively bombastic in terms of style here and Barnett angles for something more minimalist than normal. Lyrics like “If something were to happen my dear/I wouldn’t want the last words you hear/To be unkind” get some plaintive emotions across, and she pulls herself into a reflective state as she recalls a fight with her partner and she resets her actual emotions towards them. The instrumentation is smooth, starting off with a tranlucent lead guitar riff that cycles around some beat-matched Drums and an airy feeling of longing. By the end of the track, we’re left with clarity as Barnett regains a perspective and appreciation for the other person, giving the pay off for the soft rock instrumentation and slowly building melodicism that has been built up throughout the song, giving you the chance to breathe in and absorb everything that she’s just unloaded on you in terms of her emotional baggage. It sounds a little 90’s at points, while trading in the harsh Grunge sounds of memorable singles like ‘Dead Fox’ and ‘Pedestrian At Best’ for something that strikes a similar emotional chord in feeling headstrong and personal, yet the delivery is more polished and the rhythms feel more introspective. Like the prior single of ‘Rae Street’, the softly crooned lyrics and the twangy bass guitar beats bear some resemblance to Kurt Vile, her former collaborative partner, and so you can hear the more gentle formula of their album, ‘Lotta Sea Lice’, coming through to her own solo work. ‘Before You Gotta Go’ uses that period of her career and gives her a few fresh ideas for her own solo material. Overall, ‘Before You Gotta Go’ is a lovely single that feels laidback and mellow. The sound is a little more Country-oriented and Folk-driven than her earlier work, and usually the likes of cheesy, twangy and irritating Country music isn’t my thing at all to be honest, but it also feels less sardonic, in a way, to her prior output. It’s nice to see one of our stronger songwriters of the present day switching things up by looking inward, thinking deeply, and blissfully unpacking.

  • Pictured: Courtney Barnett at Rock The Garden Festival (2019) (Photo via Martin Philbey/Redferns)

You can also check out my thoughts on the previous single – ‘Rae Street’ – here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/08/21/todays-track-courtney-barnett-rae-street/

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Lotta Sea Lice’ (LP) (with Kurt Vile) (Released in 2017) (via Matador Records)

That brings us to the bottom of the page for today. Whether you think it’s too early or not is up for debate, but, tomorrow, we’ll be kicking off our ‘Countdown To Christmas’ assortment of posts for the first time of this year’s holiday season. The first entry is a new single release from an American multi-instrumentalist perhaps best known for scoring a UK Top 20 hit, ‘Ex’s & Oh’s’, in 2017. The song was originally written by Blues legend and pianist Charles Brown in 1960, and it has been covered by the likes of Michael Buble, Willie Nelson, Bon Jovi, Eagles, Kelly Clarkson, Josh Gracin and others.

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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.

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Today’s Track: Good Morning – “Country”

October 26, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Stefan Blair (Vocals/Guitar/Keyboard) & Liam Parsons (Guitar/Synths/Vocals) (2021) (via PR)

Good Afternoon to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m ironically greeting you with affection during the opposite time of the day that today’s group are named after for your daily track on the blog, but it is nonetheless always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Country’ comes to you from the Victoria-based indie rock duo of Stefan Blair and Liam Parsons, who share the production and writing duties between them for their Good Morning musical project. The two started out in 2013 when they decided to split the costs for a Foxtep tape machine with one another, and they gained some exposure when Hip-Hop mega star Tyler, The Creator praised one of their singles – ‘Warned You’ – with his social media followers, giving them a solid amount of exposure and fresh ears they previously had not experienced. We are now four albums in, and the pair have been touring together with James Macleod (Bass Guitar) and Joe Alexander (Drums/Percussion) as their backing band. The combo’s latest LP – ‘Barnyard’ – was given its release over the past weekend, and it was mixed by engineer Tom Schick (Bob Dylan, Mavis Staples) in Wilco’s older Chicago-based recording studio – The Loft. ‘Barnyard’ is also their first release since signing to the US label Polyvinyl Records in April, and the band are very excited for the new opportunities provided. This was echoed by Gareth Smith – Sub-Pop Publishing’s Vice President and General Manager, who said, “We love Good Morning and we couldn’t be more to stoked to be working with them”, in his own press statement. The cult Lo-Fi duo have also been promoting their latest release with their official music video for ‘Country’, the lead single of the release, which reflects on vocalist Liam Parsons’ younger desires and ambitions in his youth and how they panned out in his adulthood. The melancholic rock offering is set against the backdrop of 1st Ethan Scouts Hall, an important place for his childhood because he used to spend his leisure time as a Scout there. It also features some members of Skydeck and Cool Sounds, some of Good Morning’s fellow indie Melbourne scene bands, who help Parsons to reconnect with his younger wants. Give it a watch below.

‘Barnyard’ follows up Blair & Parsons’ 2019 LP ‘Basketball Breakup’, and the duet have said that the record was made “in slightly simpler times” over a five day period. On the single ‘Country’, songwriter Parsons explains that its an attempt to reconnect with his younger self and some key ghosts from his past, adding, “I’m still not sure if I’m singing to old friends, an old lover or my old self. I think probably all three”, to the new album’s press release. A mellow and contemplative offering, ‘Country’ is a steady Country-inspired rock jam with some breezy Southern Rock and Blues Rock influences, and it features cutting lyrics like “The only thing about missing you/Is that I don’t miss you at all” that balances an introspective tapestry of both acoustic and electronic tones with something that feels more pensive. The Horn sections are whimsical and the vocal performance reminds me of Brit-Pop acts like Pulp and Manic Street Preachers from the 1980’s and 1990’s, with a mature sound that directly points backwards to lost youth and a return to personal roots for inspiration. Lyrics like “Some people just get stuck in their ways/Never thought it would be me like this” observe the attitudes of others as peers, while lyrics like “I think it’s a little bit different now/I got a boyfriend and I got a Psych” and “I know that one of them cares about me/And at least the other one tries” feel sharper and more straightforward, yet fairly laidback and easy-going in nature, while the key refrain runs throughout the track as a joyous ode to a personal reset through your own original surroundings and upbringing as an individual person. Overall, ‘Country’ was a nice single that focuses on the theme of nostalgic goals and influences in a direct and idiosyncratic way. While it’s not particularly catchy, the instrumentation is hazy and sharpens the knife when the lyrics hit and so it feels thoughtful and self-aware instead of massively accessible.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Barnyard’ (LP) (Available from October 22nd, 2021) (via Polyvinyl Records)

That brings us to the wrap up section of yet another daily track post! Thank you for your continued support, and I’m proud to write that I’ll be back tomorrow for another weekly installment of our ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ series already. This time, our tune comes from a Pensylvania-born singer, actress and entrepreneur who was referred to as “The Godmother Of Soul” during the late-1970’s. She has also crossed over into US popular culture by appearing in film and TV productions like ‘American Horror Story’ and ‘Dancing With The Stars’ and she’s earned a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

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Scuzz Sundays: Puddle Of Mudd – “She Hates Me”

September 12, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Come Clean’ (LP) (Released on August 28th, 2021) (via Flawless/Geffen Records)

Good Morning to you! It is Jacob Braybrooke here, and it sure looks like we have quickly reached the end of the week and so that means, for the blog, it is time for another entry in our ‘Scuzz Sundays’ library, where we relive or cringe along to the Pop-Punk hits of the angsty adolescent times of our lives, not forgetting that it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Puddle Of Mudd were a Post-Grunge-meets-Hard Rock band who were formed in Kansas City, Missouri during the early 90’s and, to date, they since went on to have a string of #1 singles in Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the US. They are still active today, having released another studio album, ‘Welcome To Galvania’, in 2019. They also have one EP, an independent album and five studio albums to their name, and so it seems quite surprising that Puddle Of Mudd have never made an appearance on my throwback feature until now. The band have also faced a share of downs amongst their ups, including their lead vocalist – Wes Scantlin – being hit with allegations of lip syncing during live performances since 2012 and some controversy surrounding a feud with their former connection, Fred Durst, which turned sour in the early 00’s, although the band still appreciate how he has initially aided them on their way to gaining attention in the industry. ‘She Hates Me’ was taken from their debut album, ‘Come Clean’, which has sold its way to over five milllion copies and it has been certified Platinum three times following its release in 2001, and you should probably recognize the famous LP cover artwork that was created by photographer Kate Schermerhorn. Released as a single in 2002, ‘She Hates Me’ reached the Top 20 of the singles charts in Austria, the UK, US, Ireland and Australia. Give it a spin below.

Originally titled as ‘She F***ing Hates Me’ for its initial release as a track on their debut album, this profanity-filled Nu-Metal tune continued the group’s rising popularity in the US, having peaked at #13 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, and it also reached the very top spot of Billboard’s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for one week in late 1992, becoming Puddle Of Mudd’s second single to sell over 500,000 copies alone in their native country. It was also the group’s third top 20 hit in the UK, and it also won an ASCAP Pop Music Award in 2004. Kicking off with a bright acoustic guitar strum that sounds just like ‘Summer Nights’ from the musical ‘Grease’ to my ears, Scantlin swings for a Southern Blues sound with his husky voice, starting with lyrics like “Met a girl, thought she was grand/Fell in love, Found out first hand” which feel optimistic, before changing his tone to recite lyrics of a more grizzled nature as his romantic experience takes the turn for the worse, with lyrics like “In a trap, trip I can’t grip/Never thought I’d be the one who’d slip” in the later verse, before he shouts his way to angry hooks like “She tore my feelings like I had none/and ripped them away” atop a serve of lightly distorted bass guitar riffage during the chorus. What you see is basically what you get, with a straightforward sense of navigation through a sour summer romance of an angsty adolescent age during the large bulk of the track, as super slap-dash lyrics like “Went well for a week or two/Then it all came unglued” and “She was queen for about an hour/After that, s**t got sour” take centre stage, with the track’s original sweary title being very badly blurred out in the chorus of the edited single version that we just heard today. It all sounds clunky and cumbersome, on the whole, as there’s simply no detail to the lyrics at all and very little character development as a whole. We know that his former interest hates him – but why? Probably because he makes songs like this that makes barely any logical sense and poorly borrows ideas from the likes of Kurt Cobain, and ‘Grease’ of all things, to a blatant degree. I hate to say it, but I thought it was awful, overall. There’s sadly not much of a unique selling point here, and the lyrics are quite horrendous. The more Country-inspired vocals were certainly alright, but the instrumentation felt very bland otherwise, and the tune as an overall package just fell flat for me in the process, and there’s sadly little fun to be had here. A memory from the era that I’d rather not relive.

  • Pictured: Wes Scantlin (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Acoustic Guitar), Matt Fuller (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Michael John Adams (Bass Guitar) and Dave Moreno (Drums) (2019) (Photo by WeGow.com)

That’s all for now, and thank you very much for joining me, as always. I’ll be back tomorrow for business as usual, and a far more positive revelation of new music, as we divert our attention to the new album from the solo project of a Montreal-born Alternative R&B singer-songwriter who used to be a part of Mac DeMarco’s touring band – and he released his debut solo album as a cassette via Fixture Records in 2013.

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Today’s Track: Billie Marten – “Human Replacement”

August 30, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Billie Marten before a ‘Quench’ interview (2016) (Photo by CardiffStudentMedia.co.uk)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m here to bring a bit of Billie Marten into your Bank Holiday weekend, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! This artist in question is a British singer-songwriter from Ripon, North Yorkshire who described her own music as “a mix between acoustic and quite folky and a little indie” back in 2014. Despite only being a youngster at 22 years of age, Marten has already released two EP’s and three full-length LP’s. Her latest album, ‘Flora Fauna’, was released earlier in the summer – May 28th, to be precise – on Fiction Records, the same standalone label that festival headliners like The Cure, Kaiser Chiefs and The Maccabees have all been a part of. Marten got her big break through her viral popularity on sites like YouTube, despite only just finishing her GCSE’s, and she has since become more widely known for her BBC ‘Sound Of 2016’ nomination. Another fun fact about her is that she has a self-described “weird obsession” for Alpacas, and she has expressed a wish to keep one during some interviews. Her new album, ‘Flora Fauna’, is the follow-up to 2019’s ‘Fedding Seahorses By Hand’ and it was co-produced with Rich Cooper (Mystery Jets, Lucy Rose). Check out Joe Wheatley’s official video for ‘Human Replacement’ below.

Marten’s new LP also includes the BBC Radio 1-playlisted singles ‘Garden Of Eden’ and ‘Creature Of Mine’ and she says of the recent release, “I wasn’t really treating myself very well. It was a bit of a disruptive time. All these songs are about getting myself out of that hole – they’re quite strong affirmations.”, adding, “The name ‘Flora Fauna’ is like a green bath for my eyes. If the album was a painting, it would look like Flora and Fauna – it encompasses every organism, every corner of the Earth, and a feeling of total abundance” to her press notes. ‘Human Replacement’ takes these ideas a step further with a soul-shattering assessment of a women’s right to be left alone when outside of the home late at night. She delivers wise-cracking lyrics like “Blood on the moon/Too young, too soon” and “You’re watching my back/I live for the nightmare” across the course of a less traditional Pop song structure. A decent amount of tension builds in the more subdued verses, as Marten muses on themes of female safety and religious faith amid some rather unnerving String flourishing and thumping Percussion sounds. Her vocal tones go for darker melodies when lyrics like “Kids in dark places/A sound for the ages” creep into the picture with a more whispered delivery that reminds me of Ela Minus’ moody flair. This Blues-inflicted assortment of intense moods and murky textures are matched by some more curious sets of instrumentation, where some sharpened guitar chords drive the melodic bassline forwards. Billie Marten’s tale of woeful street harassment is topped off by some jangling Piano chords and some screeching Violin melodies that continue to abandon a more typical Folk song template for a more alternative, hushed formula of richly augmented soundscapes. Overall, this is a powerful little anthem that properly showcases Marten as one to do things differently and benefits from that unique edge.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Flora Fauna’ (LP) (Released on May 28th, 2021) (via Fiction Records)

That brings us to the end of the page for another day! Thank you for reaching this point with me, and I’ll be back for more tomorrow, where we’ll be taking a trip to the small village of Frillesås on the western coast of Sweden for new music from a Jazz-influenced electronic music producer who is signed to City Slang Records. He has collaborated with Little Dragon and he is set to perform at the ESNS festival in Gronigen next January. A few weeks go, he was selected by Lauren Laverne as her ‘Spotlgiht Artist’ on an episode of ‘The New Music Fix’ on BBC Radio 6Music.

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New Album Release Fridays: Jade Bird – “Now Is The Time”

August 13, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Different Kinds Of Light’ (Released on August 13th, 2021) (via Glassnote Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for me to get typing up on the site for yet 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! I’m fairly confident that there is something for everybody hitting record shop shelves today. There’s The Killers ambitious new concept album, the well-reviewed new album from Jungle, the new release from the rapidly prolific US bedroom pop singer-songwriter Still Woozy, quirky Dub vibes from Pachyman (Refer back to Tuesday’s post for more on that), and new EP’s from A Certain Ratio and Bloxx to add to your streaming library or physical collection. However, I’m excited to find out how the Hexham-born indie folk singer-songwriter Jade Bird has grown since her self-titled debut LP release from two years ago. Bird has been given two or three go-around’s on the blog over the years, but that’s because I find her work to be interesting, and she’s the type of artist that I enjoy supporting. She attended the BRIT’s school in Croydon, where she earned a record deal at the age of 16. Since then, she has won ‘Best International Artist’ at the AIM Independent Music Awards in 2019, she has performed ‘Headstart’ on ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon’ in the US, and she was the first artist to join Microsoft’s ‘RE: Surface’ series of virtual live-streamed gigs, and she has also been very supportive for black, LGBT and female artists in the industry. Her second album, ‘Different Kinds Of Light’, arrives today on Glassnote Records, which once again sees Jade Bird spanning Americana, Country-Rock and Southern Blues influences with her unique voice. The record has a 71/100 score on aggregate site Metacritic, which indicates that critics’ reviews are trending pretty positive, although it seems to be ever so slightly more of a mixed bag this time around. ‘Now Is The Time’ to give the sampler track a spin below.

“Now Is The Time is the only song to have me smiling and laughing listening to it back at RCA. We had the Bee-Gee’s in mind and soul, triple tracking the vocals and putting a load of chorus on the guitar”, Bird enthusiastically tells us via her press release, explaining, “It’s a big motivational anthem for someone I want to put my arms around or lift them in the darkest time. Given that I wrote it mid-pandemic, the sentiment to getting to the back-end of this hell is heavily felt now”, in her notes about how the track was influenced and developed. While the title track and lead single from the LP saw Bird gently control the mood of change with a low-lit voice, ‘Now Is The Time’ feels much like her older work in the more pop-oriented and uplifting tone. Although she’s singing to a lover that seems to be a bit down on their luck, the lyrics feel rather generalized, and so they can apply to an eclectic range of people’s circumstances. Lyrics like “If I had a penny for all your potential/I’d be left drowning in my mouthful of metal” add her trademark Sass to the vocal equation, while a more Coach-like message shines through the Sunshine Pop melodies and the Jangle Pop sounds, with lyrics like “Never have I seen a better day to get up/Doesn’t matter about the weather” that inspire the listener to face their demons. The production feels polished, yet unsullied by any electronic artifice, and that’s another really good thing. I feel the addition of an auto-tune effect would really distance me away from the vibrant personality that she shows already. I hate to say that I didn’t really hear the Bee-Gees influence coming through very strongly at all. However, as usual with Bird, the simple element of her voice really makes up for any generic faults in the songwriting. I really do love hearing her voice since, as I’ve noted several times on the blog, it makes her come across as distinctive in comparison to other modern pop and rock artists. Bird’s voice is very powerful, especially for someone with her young age, and it enhances her snappy lyrics very nicely, but she’s certainly accessible enough to attract more casual, mainstream ears to her albums because her acoustic instrumentation is very melodic, and her general themes are pretty basic, but still fairly relevant. To sum it up, it’s a lovely summer tune that has something to say to everybody. Truth be told, I felt it was a little formulaic, so I’m not sure if I would like it as much if Bird wasn’t the one singing it. However, that’s also a complement to the way that she infuses her music with an effective “no nonsense” vibe. In the same sense, if Confidence Man originally wrote one of Bjork’s tracks – it wouldn’t make sense. The direction naturally feels more mature than her first album, and she even looks older and more wise in the video, so it’s a delight to see that evolution taking place. Something for the weekend.

  • Pictured: Jade Bird in a self-titled album era cover shoot (in 2018) (Photo Credit: PR/Alice Burnfield)

If you want to keep up with some of Bird’s earlier releases, you can get a ‘Headstart’ on the blog here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/11/28/todays-track-jade-bird-headstart/. Or, if you need another reason to check out the new album from Bird over the weekend, get another taste with my review for the title track here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/06/05/todays-track-jade-bird-different-kinds-of-light/

  • Pictured: Jade Bird in a “Get To Know…” Interview Feature (in 2018) (Photo Credit: PR/DIYMag.com)

That’s all for now! Thank you for your continued support for the blog, and for reaching the end of the page! I’ll be back tomorrow for more where that came from. This time, we’ll be heading over to Sydney for the debut appearance on the blog from a 5-piece Alternative Rock group who seem to be quickly on the rise, who surprisingly released their latest EP – ‘Total Serene’ – with no prior announcement in July. The group’s first album reached #5 on the ARIA Album Charts in 2015, and the band’s second album was nominated for a large number of eight ARIA Music Awards, in 2017.

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Today’s Track: Curtis Harding – “Hopeful”

July 26, 2021 — Leave a comment

“Hope is seeing light, in spite of being surrounded by darkness”. Time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Hopeful’ (Single) (Released on May 18th, 2021) (via Anti- Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for another optimistic 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! ‘Hopeful’ is the latest single from the Atlanta-based Soul singer-songwriter Curtis Harding, who records his own music with his self-described ‘Slop ‘n’ Soul’ style where he carries across the influences of R&B, Blues, Gospel, Psychedelic Rock and Country into his process of songwriting and musicality. In the past, Harding has been known for backing mainstream star CeeLo Green. Also, he is a founding member of Night Sun, an R&B-infused Garage-Rock band with former members from Black Lips, which has been active in Atlanta since 1999. Harding has now inked a solo record contract with Anti- Records, the same label which is also home to the likes of Booker T. Jones, Deafheaven, Mavis Staples and The Black Keys. There’s no news on a new album release associated with ‘Hopeful’ yet, but it has been four years since his last album material. ‘Hopeful’ arrives with a music video directed by Lynsey Weatherspoon, which directly references the events of 2020, like the Black Lives Matter protests, of which the lyrics were influenced by. Let’s give it a spin below.

A peaceful protest for the current racial affairs of the present times, Harding reflects on ‘Hopeful’ as, “I wrote ‘Hopeful’ some time ago, but in theory it goes far beyond a time and place”, Harding explained in a press release, noting, “I’ve always tried to carry it {Hope} wherever I am. Darkness finds us all, hope allows us the fortitude to seek out the light” in his self-assessment. For us, it’s the unmatched energy that his vocals bring to the track that brings home what we were all feeling in the millions last year, and how we can progress our mindset as a society to craft a brighter future for all. A radiant Gospel backing vocal of ‘Hopeful’ spreads across the canvas, while a melodic Hip-Hop delivery and tight Drums piece the decisive emotions together. Harding’s voice conveys qualities of vulnerability, longing, tenderness and peace as the stabbing Percussion and the funky Guitars provide an upbeat, yet golden era of Jazz-leaning, backbeat. Lyrics like “Now in this present darkness/All ears listen just a mass has formed to cure the common condition” and “A catalog of parables that’s broke down in a tongue/That’s been corrupted no substance to be hidden from” are delivered with a rhythmic flow. It feels like an effort split into two acts, with a long Wah-Wah guitar solo signaling the transition into a more melodramatic vibe. Horns, Strings, Brass stabs, cinematic female backing vocals and soulful Psychedelia carry the angrier, bluesier direction through to the perceptible climax, while the first half of the instrumental arrangements are a notch more Pop-driven, aside from a few quiet Organ chords that whistle briskly in the soundscape, marking a shift in the times. On the whole, this is a solid single that tells us that Harding is back, but, it also tells us that attitudes change for the better, and, as a society, we are fundamentally good and typically have our combined hearts in the right place, although a straight road to such positive unity can have it’s fair share of twists. Although it may feel a tad too 2020 for the next year at the first glance, the instrumentation definitely has a timeless feeling, and so do the key messages and personal values that Harding is raising awareness of.

  • Pictured: Curtis Harding in a PR shoot for ‘The 405 Exchange Podcast’ (2017) (via Ken Grand-Pierre)

That leaves us on a very Hopeful note to end the day with, but please feel free to join me again tomorrow for some more intriguing new music. The pick in question comes from a Los Angeles native who proclaims herself as the “Wal-Mart Marilyn Monroe” because she has been associated with the entertainment industry since a very young age. She was a child star on screen and is professionally trained in tap dancing. She has just released her debut solo album on Johnny Jewel’s label – Italians Do It Better.

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New Album Release Friday: Lord Huron – “Long Lost”

May 21, 2021 — Leave a comment

What do you name a Cowboy with an untidy bedroom? Messy James! New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Long Lost” (LP) (Released on May 21st, 2021) (via Inertia Music)

Good Afternoon to you! I hope that you’ve just had a lovely Lunch, because now it’s time for you to get ‘Long Lost’ into today’s track on the blog. I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! There’s two other albums I’m insterested in hearing this week: One from CHAI (More on that later) and the latest from Joey Pecoraro (Refer back to my Tuesday blog post for a taste of that). However, the new album from BBC Radio 1 playlisted Country/Folk singer-songwriter Billie Marten and the new LP offering from the former Super Furry Animals lead Gruff Rhys, among new EP’s from Biig Piig and Elkkar, are worthy of your time too. We’ve also got a new album from Michigan Alt-Folk outfit Lord Huron hitting store shelves too. The band are perhaps best known for ‘The Night We Met’, a track that has been streamed over 735 million times online. It’s the follow-up to 2018’s ‘Vide Noir’, which was their first release on a major label, in the form of Republic Records. ‘Long Lost’ has been teased through the group’s ‘Alive From Whispering Pines’ series that has seen them perform their previous tracks and debut new singles through ticketed livestream performances online, hosted by the enigmatic fictional figure, Mr. Tubbs Tarbell. Lord Huron also performed the first single, ‘Not Dead Yet’, on Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show in the US. Get your ears lost into the LP’s title single below.

A letter from Mr. Tubbs Tarbell accompanied the press release for ‘Long Lost’ as a single, saying: “The new tune hinges on cinematic strings, dusty tambourine, and soft acoustic guitar before transmitting a dreamy vocal. It nods to Spaghetti Western soundtracks and 50’s pop in equal measure, as though Roy Orbinson and Ennio Morricone finally got around to collaborating”, concluding, “Meanwhile, the accompanying video further opens the window onto the expanding world of the album” in the text. That does my job for me, then. What strikes me about ‘Long Lost’ is that it manages to echo modern Folk bands that I enjoy, like The Mountain Goats or Fleet Foxes, but it also feels very old. The pacing isn’t terribly upbeat, but the hooks are somehow still catchy, with a lush soundscape of strings and tangy guitar licks that manages to give the single an absorbing atmosphere that feels cinematic and story-driven. Lyrically, the lead vocalist, Ben Schneider sings about a protagonist entering the wilderness to heal. Lyrics like “For a while I was held by the myth of the lost highway/In the spell of the night and the lights of the great white way” play on feeling a blissful disconnection to the outside world, and later lyrics like “Leave me where the moonbeams carve through the leaves like blades, Lay me in the tall-grown grass in a shallow grave” embrace nature despite a light melancholy. Eventually, the steady percussion and the trickling moods swoop in for a more triumphant chorus where Schneider sings “Send me to the mountains, Let me go free forever” and “I’ll be running in the forest/Dancing in the fields like this” to capture how it feels to live freely and enjoy the small circumstances of life. At this point, it’s easy to imagine some damaged figure reveling alongside a Stray dog for company in a Western movie dessert, perfectly content by just what he has. The concept feels imaginative and intriguing, and the backing vocals are particularly good on this. Lord Huron are a bit of a weird one where I had one friend who really got me into their previous album, however, I stopped listening after an initial week or so, and I’m not quite sure why. Apart from that, I’ve never known anyone else in the UK who has heard of them and I’ve never heard them being played once on BBC Radio 1, 2 – or even 6Music. I’m hoping the new album has a bit more replay value for me, however, for whatever reason that was. On a side note – they seem pretty popular in the US seems they got a spot on a mainstream talk show, but if you’re a fan here in the UK reading this, just give me a nudge in the comments section to let me know. Overall, though, I think this is brilliant. Atmospheric, original, inspired thoroughly in it’s style and it’s substance, and there are plenty of sumptuous melodies to get ‘Long Lost’ into. Very good indeed.

  • Pictured: Ben Schneider (Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Harmonica), Tom Renaud (Lead Guitar), Miguel Briseño (Bass Guitar/Keyboard/Theremin) & Mark Barry (Drums) (2018) (Photo via Jambase.com)

If you’re finding yourself getting ‘Long Lost’ into the sound of this – Make sure to explore what I had to share about the promotional single, ‘Not Dead Yet’, right here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/02/22/todays-track-lord-huron-not-dead-yet/

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Not Dead Yet” (Single) (Released on Feb 19, 2021) (via Whispering Pines Studios)

That’s all, folks! Make sure to reconvene with me tomorrow for an in-depth look at another of the weekend’s new album releases, as we dive into the equally superb sounds of a Japanese Alt-Pop quartet signed to Sub-Pop Records who are making their second appearance on the blog. As I said the first time – they have become known for supporting Superorganism on tour in 2018, and last year, they collaborated on a tune with Gorillaz & JPEGMafia for the ‘Song Machine: Season One’ album and viral video series. 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/

Scuzz Sundays: Metallica – “I Disappear”

April 18, 2021 — Leave a comment

The feature disappeared for two weeks – but it’s back in business! It’s Scuzz Sunday…

  • Pictured: James Hetfield (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Kirk Hammett (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Robert Trujillo (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) & Lars Ulrich (Drums) (2020) (Photo by Ross Halfin)

Enter Sandman… That’s me, Jacob Braybrooke, in this case, and it’s time for me to get typing up for the return of Scuzz Sundays from a two-week hiatus, and you can blame Easter and WrestleMania for that, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! I’m beginning to run out of material a little bit for the Scuzz Sunday feature, as we’ve been running this diary for a few months shy of two years now, and I’ve covered a lot of the big bands who were there at the time, but one of the legends of Metal that I haven’t revisited on the blog yet is Metallica, who released ‘I Disappear’ as the soundtrack for the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Mission: Impossible 2’ back in 2000. I don’t really need to write many introductions for Metallica because they’re pretty blindingly obvious, and they have sold over 125 million albums worldwide as of 2018, so everyone and your Mum should know about them by now. It makes them one of the most popular bands of all-time overall, and ‘I Disappear’ was released at a time where their fanbase was a bit polarized and divided because the band had “gone commercial” in the eyes of the fans who started following them since their more early days, where they built an underground following based on experimentation with Hard Rock and Thrash Metal in the 1980’s. While probably not quite as well-known as ‘Enter Sandman’ or ‘Fade To Black’ – ‘I Disappear’ was still a success, despite controversy surrounding the band’s suing of the ‘Napster’ service allowing fans to illegally download it. The music video was memorable as well, with shots of the band performing on top of a mountain being interspersed with Tom Cruise climbing to make it look as though he’s coming to meet Metallica up there. It yields humorous results – and you can check it out below.

‘I Disappear’ briefly touched the UK Singles Chart by landing on the #35 spot in 2000 and the band were joined by Bob Rock to produce the track, which was written by vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and, more intriguingly, the car used in the music video was auctioned on eBay in 2003. Some improvements were made, such as the new Automatic Transmission system, and went for $70,100 with proceeds from the sale being earmarked for music education programs. I don’t know much about these cars, and so I’m sorry if I didn’t get my jargon quite right, but that sale is equivalent to over $97k with current inflation. As for the task at hand, hooks like “Hey, Hey, Hey” and “Here I go into new days” are prominent hooks to drive the melodic bass grooves forward, with the use of delay pedals and ‘Wah Wah’ pedals to accentuate the aggressive melodies forward. The guitar riffs are pretty basic, basically consisting of two chords repeated for a loud effect, and the lyrics are very simple too. The chorus of “Do you bury me when I’m gone, Do you teach me while I’m here” and “Just as soon as I belong, Then it’s time I disappear” screams for a Sing-a-Long, with upbeat drum signatures that are straightforward, but they do the trick and don’t overstay their welcome. The distorted effects on the guitar solo keep things from lacking vibrancy, and the vocals have a borderline country-feel, with a few nods to a Southern Blues sound. I would say the songwriting isn’t much to write home about, and while this is nothing that’s outright bad, it just lacks quite enough variation for me, and the repetition of the guitar riffs gets ran a little thin, but, otherwise, I think that it mostly succeeds, especially for what it’s trying to do. It’s not a masterpiece, but it was just designed to play over the credits of a mainstream Action movie and that’s something that has become sadly rare to see these days. It was clearly never intended to be a 9-minute experimental prog ballad, and for a catchy hard rock/metal track designed to market a big movie, a lot worse could have been done. The solo is straightforward, but perfectly solid and the lyrics are fun, even if they plod on a little bit. Overall, it may have just been an elongated advert in a few ways, but it’s a nice single. Accessible, melodic and easy to like, it’s just some simple commercial metal stuff that’s punchy and not trying to be anything else. Nothing special, but a lot of fun.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Music From and Inspired by Mission Impossible 2” (Released on May 9th, 2000) (via Hollywood Records, Inc.)

That’s all for now! We’re globe-trotting tomorrow, however, as we take a deep dive into a recently released anthem by a Swedish Post-Punk and Experimental Jazz band who were formed by several members of different bands in the city of Stockholm in 2015. In 2019, they won IMPALA’s “Album Of The Year” award for their debut full-length album release. 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/

Easter Sunday 2021 Special: Dolly Parton – “He’s Alive” (1989)

April 4, 2021 — Leave a comment

“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said” – He has risen indeed! Easter post time…

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “White Limozeen” (LP) (Released on May 30th, 1989) (via Columbia Records)

Wishing you a Happy Easter – it’s Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for today’s track on the blog, just like always, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! No Scuzz Sundays post this week, because I’ve got something Easter themed to share with you instead today to roll with the holiday season. Dolly Parton is an artist who I don’t feel I have to give much introduction for. She’s only probably the most famous Country music star of all time, and so her discography and socio-economic impact is pretty blindingly obvious. “He’s Alive” is a track which was actually written by Worship music icon Don Francisco in 1977, released on his album ‘Forgiven’, but Parton put her own spin on the track for the closing section of her staggering twenty-ninth main album release, ‘White Limozeen’, in 1989. I’m not familiar with that record (Country music isn’t really my thing, as I’m sure that you’ve probably noticed by now), but my research indicates that she aimed to return to the Country roots of her prior work after 1987’s ‘Rainbow’ saw disappointing results. She did so to great success, with the record spending a total of 100 weeks on the US Country Albums chart, earning positive reviews, and it went certified Gold in sales. ‘He’s Alive’ looks at the resurrection of Jesus Christ from Peter’s viewpoint. Last year, Parton shared an acoustic performance of the track to her followers on Instagram, and since arguably not much has changed in the way of lockdown restrictions since then, it still feels punctual today. Let’s check it out below.

“Somebody said the other day, oh, we’ve had a rough week”, “and just think about the rough week that Jesus had, and look how well that turned out for us. I’m going to sing about that” was a lovely way for Parton to introduce her acoustic rendition of the track in the video of her performance above, and ‘He’s Alive’ had previously earned it’s original producer, Don Francisco, similarly rock solid success in the way of two notable Dove music awards following it’s release way-back-when. Parton gets her version off to a bang with her signature voice and some stirring, naturally acoustic guitar chords. Parton balances a noticeably grounded tone with some more profound odes to religious events during the track, with lines like “Looked down into the street, Expecting swords and torches, And the sound of soldiers feet” and “The stone’s been rolled away, And now his body isn’t there” narrates the story of Peter’s revelation of seeing that Jesus’ body had been risen from the tomb on Easter Sunday in a more Spoken Word form. The grand finale of the track sees Parton exclaiming “I believe it, He’s Alive” and “Sweet Jesus” above a slightly more rough guitar rhythm and nothing more, as she celebrates the revelation in unbridled joy. Parton would usually perform the track with a Choir to back her up, but she joked that “there wasn’t enough elbow room” for one last year (and there still isn’t this year…) and so, using nothing more than her acoustic guitar and her natural voice in the solo performance, she does a great job of bringing some religious context to a holiday that is commercially about overpriced chocolate and a longer weekend. It really isn’t “my thing” in the personal opinion sense, but it makes a good reminder for what the strange holiday of Easter has been built upon. Seriously, why have it on a different day every year? It’s to do with the Moon and the Equinox, but just how? Anyways – You go and have a good one.

  • Pictured: Dolly Parton at the 53rd Annual CMA Awards in Nashville (2019) (Photo via Forbes.com)

That’s all for now! I’ll be back tomorrow for another Easter-themed post that is contemporary, and so that makes for a switch-up. Bank Holiday Monday… it looks like I forgot to book it off. I’ll catch you tomorrow then. 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/