Blues

Today’s Track: Alice Phoebe Lou – “Dusk”

March 30, 2021 — Leave a comment

I was wondering what the opposite of “Dusk” was – It dawned on me. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Glow” (LP) (Released on March 19th, 2021) (via Self-Released)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s finally time again for me to get typing up for your track of the day on the blog, since it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! One of my latest discoveries is Alice Phoebe Lou – an originally South African singer-songwriter who is now based in Berlin, Germany. Lou was included on the shortlist of nominations for the ‘Best Original Song’ award at the Oscars in 2017, when her track ‘She’ from the biopic drama film ‘Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story’ broke out. Since 2019, she has also remained active in her side project – Strongboi. She’s new to me, but she’s been around for a little while – and so far, she has released three studio albums and three EP’s. Love has always been a topic that she’s willingly shied away from, until now. Her latest LP – ‘Glow’ – was self-released on March 19th, a collection of mellow tracks that compares and contrasts her experiences of romance and relationships. She describes the record as a “crooner” and “Mostly love songs, sprinkled with a Punk/Grunge number here and there” and that, when writing the album, she “realised that instead of making people think, I wanted to simply make people feel” that she posted on her website, and she self-directed the video for ‘Dusk’ on a retro VHS. Check it out below.

‘Dirty Mouth’ is another solid single from the album, and I contemplated writing about that track as well. However, I’ve ultimately decided to write about ‘Dusk’ since the coin would probably land on that cut if I flipped one, in being my favourite track from the new 12-track project. As you could tell from the music video – it’s very raw, unedited and not very polished, intentionally. Love is intense, but it doesn’t always work out perfectly either. Lou wrote of the track: ” I spent more time alone than I ever had”, “I shaved my head. Had an Ego death. Fell in love. Had my heart broken. I was a raw little mess. And that was what I wrote about” in her press release. An ode to a friendship that is slowly blossoming into something more, ‘Dusk’ feels laidback and easy-going. Honeyed production and sultry vocals are the key qualities of the scene, with lyrics like “She told me she gets lonely, When the sky changes from day to night” and “That’s when her Demons come say ‘Hey’/Dusk is always harder for my baby” dancing atop a shuffling drum beat and a playful, progressive Jazz melody filled with subtle Horn sections, and a less restrained Saxophone solo near the end. A steady rhythm paves the way for the main hook, where Lou croons “The world, The whole wide world/But the world don’t matter, When we’re looking at each other” as the electric keys give it a lightly catchy edge. Befitting it’s recording process, vinyl crackles make the production seem late-night and lounge-like. I think the track would really resonate with listeners who may usually go out dating, but have been trapped inside due to the pandemic, and left to their devices to reminisce about the trials and errors of their past. It feels romantic, yet in a day-dream sense of a mild, harmless fantasy. I really enjoy her voice too because it sounds distinctive and a little unusual – this gives her a sense of unique identity. Overall, this is a solid track that personifies the saying of ‘Simple, But Effective’ for me. I can certainly see the appeal of her, and I can’t really think of any flaws I had with it. Soulful and sweet, it’s coming from an intimate space.

  • Pictured: Alice Phoebe Lou performing at Rudolstadt Festival (2019) (Photo via WikiMedia Commons)

That’s all I’ve got time for today! We’ll be taking a break away from the new music finds tomorrow, however, for a new entry in our ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ feature which spotlights the seminal tracks that still hold some power today. We’ll be crossing over into Novelty territory this week – as we revisit one of the strangest tracks to ever reach the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart – back in 1996. It comes from a Northern Irish DJ who has performed under several alias over the years, including his most famous moniker of Yomanda. There’s also Celine Diablo, Subway and Working Class Hero. 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/

Today’s Track: Ohtis (feat. Stef Chura) – “Schatze”

March 25, 2021 — Leave a comment

Disassembling the self-absorption of the typical anti-social social guy. New post time!

  • Pictured: Sam Swinson, Adam Pressley and Nate Hahn (in 2019) (Photo via TheLineOfBestFit.com)

Good Afternoon to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’ve got tonight’s radio show queued up on Myriad, and so it’s time for me to jump onto the blog to concisely type up this text about your track of the day, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A little bit like Cee Lo Green’s ‘Forget You’ – I get the sense that the uncensored edit of Ohtis’ ‘Schatze’ is largely different to the proper version. Based variously in Los Angeles, Detroit and Chicago – the oddball Alternative Country-Rock trio have enlisted the help of Stef Chura for a new single, which is the latest entry in the ‘Document’ series of rarity releases from their label, Saddle Creek Records. A Vinyl release for the single is also available too, although you can stream this track for free on streaming platforms as well. I haven’t heard much about Ohtis before I heard this track, which stood out to me on a recent episode of BBC Radio 6 Music recommends with Steve Lamacq, but I’ve read that their 2019 album, ‘Curve On Earth’, was received very positively, and the title’s subject matter was based on vocalist Sam Swinson’s early experiences of being raised among a cult. On that interesting note – check out the music video for their new single below.

‘Schatze’ finds the mischievous musical trio of Otis linking up with Detroit DIY-based songwriter Stef Chura, with the latter saying “I’ve always loved Ohtis and Curve of Earth is one of my favorite recent releases to come out. Sam is a rare songwriter. He speaks from an honest and dark place with a sincerity that I think is refreshing and deeply relatable. Adam is an old friend who was living down the street from me in Detroit at the time this collaboration came to be tossed around. I think someone on my Instagram kept asking me about doing a song with them… So I made a poll as a joke which led to the inevitable. When they showed me the song and the call and response format I was instantly in love with it.” about the collaboration in a press release. Built on a witty call-and-response format of the male vocals and the female vocals, the artists tackle modern themes of anti-social males to amusing results. The track probably has more F-bombs than the ‘Deadpool’ movies, with rhymes like “You had to get clean, you were getting drunk and being mean, Going to the bar and causing a scene” and “You were f***ing around, Anybody that you found” among the fiery exchange between the two characters. Bold, bright and amusing – the guitar work leans into bouncy Lo-Fi garage and the synths make for a lush 80’s-inspired Post Rock backing. The sense of humor injects a wide sense of personality into the track, with lines like “F**k you very much sir, it’s my pleasure” and “Then you got cancelled on Instagram” making for some laugh-out loud moments. At it’s core, however, is an amusing assessment of social media culture and attitudes towards masculinity in the diversity-driven year of 2021. The comedy is smart, with the effing-and-jeffing and the buoyant sound textures making the track instantly stand out – even if your mileage may vary on all of the swearing. I like it however, and I find it to be charming. A very appealing and edgy piece overall, and after 27 nights and 28 days of listening on-repeat when playing video games, it becomes a Schatze. It’s my treasure – Absolutely.

  • Pictured: Vinyl copy of “Curve Of Earth” (Released on Mar 29, 2019) (Photo via RoughTrade.com)

We’ve all got busy lives – and that’s all I’ve got time for today! ‘New Album Release Friday’ is on for tomorrow as usual, however, as we take an in-depth look at one of the weekend’s new album releases. This week’s pick is one that I have quickly been getting excited about – and it comes from a Brooklyn-based Experimental Soul musician signed up to the Secretly Canadian who has been co-producing his latest material with Sampha and Lil Silva. 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/

Today’s Track: Deap Vally (feat. Peaches & KT Tunstall) – “High Horse”

March 20, 2021 — Leave a comment

You might want to hold your horses for a second whilst you read this. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Digital Dream” (EP) (Released on Feb 26th, 2021) (via Cooking Vinyl Records)

Good Morning to you – I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Your weekend post sees the mainstream-friendly names of KT Tunstall and Peaches linking up with the Los Angeles-based alt-rock duo of Deap Vally for ‘High Horse’, a new single taken from the ‘Digital Dream’ EP which was released last month – on Feb 26th – to be exact. You know, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard any new music from KT Tunstall, and she makes up for some of the talented cast of extra collaborators on the four-track collection, which has gained positive – if not overwhelmingly strong – reviews from critics. You’ll also find tracks with The Kils’ Jamie Hince and Warpaint’s Jennylee on the record, which comes courtesy of the Cooking Vinyl label, for some rhythmic Rock ‘N’ Roll action. The pair have noted: “The Digital Dream EP was an amazing opportunity for us to remove all the style barriers from our music and collaborate with some of our favorite people and artists. The songs on this EP were composed in a purely democratic way, allowing all artists in the room to contribute, shape, and participate in their creation”, as per a press note for this EP. Let’s sample ‘High Horse’, with KT Tunstall and Peaches, below.

‘High Horse’ marks the soft spot for a track where, as a press release says of the team-up, “Deap Vally met KT Tunstall when they both performed on Later… with Jools Holland in 2013. They’d stayed in touch via social media over the years and KT was jazzed when they asked her to get in the studio together.”, before the collaborative chops with Peaches were created when “The only thing missing was a rap by Peaches. Lindsey’s friendship with Peaches began as a mutual fan-encounter at a restaurant in Silverlake: Lindsey approached Peaches to profess her admiration and it turned out Peaches was a Deap Vally fan, too. Deap Vally went on to open for Peaches in 2015.” in the last few years. Those backstories have all led to this moment, where ‘High Horse’ finds Peaches take the mix over a hip-hop strut, and Tunstall translating some of her commercial Folk roots to a darker, more abrasive format. It becomes a link up where the classic Rhythm & Blues inspirations are clear. Lyrics like “Cause I’m high on my horse, and I’m not coming down soon” and “All the claws and the heat of a cat, I choose to use it and abuse it” are dripping in a fiery temper, with a wealth of F-bombs and additional swears adding to the attitude. The chorus is aggressive and visceral, with Peaches chanting “I’m never gonna give, no I’m never ever gonna give it up” above the harsh guitar patterns and the unapologetically bouncy drum beats, which gives the track a rough, but mildly catchy, edge. It probably reminds me most of The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, because it feels very raw and punchy. There’s a slight dance-ability to the sultry vocals of Tunstall however, and the verses almost evoke a light hip-hop delivery in it’s melodic uplift, and it’s ingrained melodicism. The only drawback is the Spoken Word section towards the end, where a few questionable rhymes like “Make it Kava, Devil wears Prada/Boys on Truvada, you step on my Cauda” which feel a little silly, derailing the momentum a little bit in the process. However, I quite enjoy the smartly unpolished feel of the track as a package, and it’s a collaboration which plays well to the strengths of the performers involved. A blip in an otherwise strong system.

  • Pictured: Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards at Amoeba in Hollywood (2014) (Photo via WikiCommons)

Well, that is all I’ve got time for today – and so I’ll hand the mantle over to a new entry in our long-running Scuzz Sundays feature tomorrow, which is the time of the week where we revisit a classic from the Emo era of the late 90’s, up to the mid-00’s, to see how the oldies hold up. To coincide with the announcement of a new album from The Offspring – their first in nearly a decade – we’ll be taking a look back at their 2000 hit, ‘Want You Bad’. 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/

Today’s Track: Cassandra Violet – “Swim Test”

March 18, 2021 — Leave a comment

It’s swim, not sink, for the potential of this Alt-Folk singer-songwriter. New Post time!

  • Pictured: Cassandra Violet in the music video for “Invisible Man” (2017) (Photo via Buzzbands.la)

Good Evening to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, you know the drill by now, it’s finally time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, once again, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! Today’s track seems to be one of my latest deep dives, because, for some reason, the music video for ‘Swim Test’ only has about 470 views on YouTube – at the time of writing this – and, honestly, I reckon this is a single that really deserves more exposure than it seems to be getting. I discovered this track originally from KCRW’s Today’s Top Tune podcast of free online downloads for their listeners to grab a taste for these lesser-known acts. Cassandra Violet is a Los Angeles-born singer songwriter currently based in Boyle Heights where, by day, she works as an English teacher. By night, though, she says that she pens hopeful tracks like ‘Swim Test’, which is about her father who doesn’t know how to swim, despite making a living besides the beach for a few decades. Violet is gearing up to release her debut album, ‘Maybe It’s Not Too Late’ which arrives on April 2nd, I think via self-release. Let’s take a ‘Swim Test’ below.

Violet’s music draws from the cinematic, where previous singles have been featured in US TV productions like Netflix’s ‘Ozark’ and a Showtime network original film. The new album, set for release in just a handful of weeks time, features some contributions from Joe Berry, who plays the Synths in French Electro-Pop pioneers M83. For Violet, although most of the album was written in the time before Covid-19 hit, the global pandemic has also given the track another meaning to interpret, as she writes “Although this song is deeply personal, it actually really relates to the past year we have all experienced and how we are all trying to keep our head above water these days, especially in L.A.” in a social media post. For me, the sound of the track veers into some Folk/Blues territory and it draws some comparisons to Sharon Van Etten and Alexandra Savior. Those comparisons are strong, however, since I really enjoy listening to both of those artists very much. “Swim Test” feels just as personal as the painful, raw songwriting talents of Van Etten and Savior, with a low-pitched vocal delivery and a basic set of instrumentation that evokes a mood in it’s ambience. Lyrics like “You got out your little town, and your Dad wasn’t around” and “and when he was, he never got you as a man” have a tinge of bitterness and resentment. The songwriting in the verses feel sharp, yet this tone is balanced nicely with the sense of uplift in the chorus, where Violet sings: “Just keep your head above the water, No worries and no bothers” calmly. The harmonies are a little unearthly, but not unsettling. Instead of going for a more frightening tone, Violet sings about the themes of persistence, and that if you can succeed in prevailing for a cause in difficult circumstances. The tone is kept quite realistic and grounded however, with a subtle blend of Lo-Fi folk and minimal percussion, as the guitar melodies just stray along to the loop that sounds a bit like a sweet Xylophone instrumental. I love what Violet does here in the cohesive changes of tone and the slightly playful beats. She manages to narrate a story that feels very uplifting, however, it’s not particularly upbeat, and so the storytelling develops naturally as a result. A track that is deserving of much more attention, there is plenty here to keep these shores of proceedings afloat and beyond.

  • Pictured: Cassandra Violet playing at the Durango Songwriters Expo (2020) (Photo via YouTube.com)

That’s all I’ve got to share with you today – It’s been a busy one! Feel free to join me again tomorrow, however, as we take a deep dive into one of the weekend’s new album releases. This week’s selection is the highly anticipated new album to come from a very prolific Bournemouth-born musician who was previously the lead singer of Alternative Rock outfit Doyle and The Fourfathers. It’s the follow-up LP to 2019’s ‘Your Wilderness Revisited’, which was named as the Best Album Of The 2010’s by Deep Cuts on YouTube. 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/

Today’s Track: Chubby and The Gang – “All Along The Uxbridge Road”

March 13, 2021 — Leave a comment

13 Tracks – crammed into a measly 28 minutes at a pummeling pace. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Speed KIlls” (Released on October 8th, 2020) (via Partisan Records)

Good Morning to you – My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time again for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The above tagline wouldn’t be the worst option for a campaign advertising ‘Speed Kills’ – the latest album from the UK Post-Hardcore rock band Chubby and The Gang, which did it’s rounds last autumn. Something of a super-group of the more successful early-2010’s British ‘Pub Rock’ bands, with a 5-piece collective made up of musicians from groups like Arms Race, Vile Spirit and Gutter Knife, ‘Speed Kills’ was the debut album offering from the group, which was originally released in 2019 by Static Shock Records. However, the group signed with Partisan Records (Known for acts like Laura Marling, Fontaines DC and Pottery) last year, who decided to digitally remaster and formally reissue the debut LP for a vinyl re-issue back in late November. Produced by Jonah Falco, the concept of the much talked-about record plays out like a pummeling pub crawl traversing through London’s capital thoroughfares, with influences dating back to the 50’s. Join me after the speed bump “All Along The Uxbridge Road” below.

The music from Chubby and The Gang is known to often make use of samples from dated children’s animated TV programmes like The Jimmy Rogers Show, which helps the collaborative project to mix up a fun concoction of Melodic Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Blues and Doo-Wop that give the high tempo frequencies and their use of hooks an upbeat coat of polish, which gives their back catalog it’s heightened, animated style of qualities. ‘All Along The Uxbridge Road’ was the lead single from an album which subtly deals with the themes of trade unionism, police brutality and pride of the lower working class. That much is true in the case of ‘All Along The Uxbridge Road’, which doesn’t exactly boast a deep substance and a social conscience. However, it does show a precise sense of time and place in it’s broad strokes. Led by rhythmically charged guitar hooks and unrelentingly quick drum time signatures, the track channels a sense of fun, and dare I say, ‘brattiness’ in it’s power-pop influences and the channeling of it’s late-70’s aesthetics. The lyrics are basically inaudible with the chugging guitar lines making it tricky to keep up with, but there are splashes of blues Harp instrumentation and some swift vocals that, for me, take the mementos of the essence of early Motorhead or mid-00’s System Of A Down in their stride. It is a flawed experience, for me, however – my main concern being that this project may be a little bit of a ‘one-trick pony’ in the sense that the lyrics lack a more expansive character. Similarly to this, the several key changes and lack of moments in reflection render things lacking in variation a little for me. Although perhaps paced too quickly for it’s own good, the track manages to get some of it’s deeper themes across pretty nicely, as the fluidity sells the chaos of the current moment nicely. Overall, although it feels a bit lacking in substance, it’s hard to fault the uniqueness of the sound, and the playful character that the band brings. Anti-Pop and yet ‘anti-Cop’.

  • Pictured: Charlie “Chubby Charles” Manning-Walker (Lead Vocals/Harmonica), Ethan Stahl (Rhythm Guitar), Tom “Razor” Hardwick (Bass Guitar), Maegan Brooks (Bass Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals) and Joe McMahon (Drums/Percussion) in a promotional shoot for “Speed Kills” (2020) (Photo via PR)

That’s all I’ve got for you today! I’ve got a train to catch – so, See Ya! Scuzz Sundays is back tomorrow, however, with an in-depth look back at a classic from the ‘Emo’ era of the late-90’s breaking into the mid-00’s. It has been quite a while since we really had a ‘big name’ on the feature, and I’ve been saving this one for quite some time. It comes from a guy who used to genuinely freak me out as a kid. Although controversial, he was still a staple of the era, winning four Grammy Awards and heading an Art exhibition at at Kunsthalle gallery in Vienna with film director David Lynch, in the process. 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/

New Album Release Fridays: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – “Call Your Mom”

January 29, 2021 — Leave a comment

What do you get if you drop an Organ onto an army base? A flat major. New post time.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “I Told You So” (LP) (Released on January 29. 2021) (via Colemine Records)

Just one more day to grind through. Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m here to write up your daily post on the blog, because, as I say to you every day, it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Another weekend means that it’s time for a crop of new releases to drop, and the calendar is heating up as we leave the drought of January that we typically have at this time of year. In fact, this week is rather stacked. Many people have been looking forward to Arlo Parks’ debut album which arrives today. There’s also the 20th album release from Ani DiFranco, the formal debut album from the BBC’s Sound Of 2020 winner, Celeste – along with additions to the canons of Madlib and Four Tet, Weezer and more. However, I’m going to jive to a bit of Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio this week. Sometimes abbreviated to DLO3, this is a fantastic Jazz, Soul, Funk and Blues band who are native to Seattle, Washington and have found wider success after heavy airplay on the state’s KEXP community radio station. 2016’s “Close But No Cigar” was their debut LP, and it charted at #1 on the US Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. “I Told You So” is their long-awaited follow-up record, and it’s arrived today – via Colemine Records. Describing their own sound as “improvisation over organ grooves” and “soul music with a strong jazz influence”, the self-taught trio have been devising tightly flavored compositions since 2015. Let’s take a listen to “Call Your Mom” below.

I think it’s an understatement to say that Delvon Lamarr, Jimmy James and Dan Weiss play their instruments beautifally, and what also striked out to me when listening to “Call Your Mom” for the first time was the way they really connect their dots together as a group, a chemistry that Delvon Lamar points out: “While we were recording in the studio, the studio engineer, Jason Gray, asked me what was the name of the song? I said ‘I have no idea'”, and “Call Your Mom” was decided when Gray suggested it to them, but they didn’t know until months later that it’s a reference to a sticker in the back of a Jazz club they played in Alabama, and it’s a story that you simply couldn’t make up. A few others have also pointed out that “Call Your Mom” shares similarities with the sound of Booker T & The MG’s, as a confident and upbeat slice of instrumental funk just struts along a tight groove. A Horn section and an ascending bass guitar riff immediately enter the fray, while the drums are densely packed into the later stages of the track. The organ melodies quickly emerge and retreat from the picture, almost teasing a breaking of the continous groove, before we settle back into that polished mid-tempo production once again. It’s almost like the Organs and the Guitar are trading lines, but working with tandem in one another, instead of fighting for control – despite each tool having a respective solo in the mid-way point. Despite being very repetitous, I never found it tedious. The 60’s Motown feel is created by the energetic and soulful drumming signatures, and the turn-taking in the different instrumentation keeps things interesting. It leads to a neatly structured finish, where a feel of a “suited-and-booted” vibe puts across a vintage aesthetic. It also feels more improved than some of their earlier work, with the brief diversions from the groove and the confident atmosphere showing a more meticulous layout for the single – in comparison to some of their work prior for me. To conclude, this probably won’t fall under the wheelhouse of everybody because it’s sorted as a niche, but I think those who like their groovy and funky instrumental jazz will love it, and I think it deserves a chance from everybody. It’s played wonderfully, and evokes class from start to finish.

  • Pictured: Delvon Lamarr (Keyboard/Piano/Organ/Bass Guitar), Jimmy James (Rhythm Guitar) and Dan Weiss (Drums/Percussion) (2018) (Photo Credit: Bebe Labree Bresch/KEXP.org)

Back in the worldwide lockdown in Spring – the group also found themselves busy. Check out the review for “Inner City Blues” from the Brighter Days Ahead series here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/08/14/todays-track-delvon-lamarr-organ-trio-inner-city-blues/

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Inner City Blues” (Single) (Released on May 22nd, 2020) (via Colemine Records)

That concludes my musical message for today! Scuzz Sundays is inside the oven for release in two days time, as per usual. Before then, take a look at the blog tomorrow – Where we’ll be taking a look at the highly popular new album to come from a Midlands Electronic Post-Punk duo who have released several albums to critical acclaim. The vocalist was influenced by his sub-cultural love of Wu Tang Clan, and he started out by recording music with Bent and Spiritualized as a session musician for local artists. 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/

Way Back Wednesdays: Jimmy Campbell – “Half Baked”

January 27, 2021 — 2 Comments

I shouldn’t think this 70’s classic suffers from a case of Soggy Bottom. New post time!

  • Pictured: Jimmy Campbell with his trusty guitar (Date unknown) (Photo via DakoSuede/Last.fm)

Good Morning to you – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to type up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to get writing up about a different piece of music every day! Off the back of my bumper list of my own Top 25 Best Albums Of 2020 (Which you should totally check out on the homepage) – it is time for us to go Way Back, and far before my time, for this week’s Way Back Wednesdays track. On Instagram, I recently saw a video of popular US Art-Pop singer-songwriter Angel Olsen describing the musicality of Jimmy Campbell’s “Half Baked” as one of the most influential tracks to her in the viral interview with Pitchfork, and I thought it would be an excellent choice for our weekly feature. Jimmy Campbell was a singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist from Liverpool who was around mainly during the 1970’s and the early 1980’s. He was a member of the Merseybeat groups The Kirkby’s, The 23rd Turnoff and Rockin’ Horse, before going on to produce three solo album releases. Originally, Campbell started off with more acoustic-based, indie folk music, before going on to find his feet in the Psych-Rock and Prog-Rock genres, and he loved his Funk-Rock too. Sadly, Campbell is no longer with us because he sadly passed away in 2007. Fortunately, The Guardian included his compilation album, “The Dream Of Michelangelo”, in it’s list of “1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die”, so justice was served. Let’s take a listen to “Half-Baked” below.

“Half-Baked” was the title track from Campbell’s second solo LP, which saw the light of day in 1970. Although I did not exist at the time, and neither did my parents, for that matter, my research still indicates that Campbell is a popular commodity with the die-hard modern record collectors, and he was described as “The era’s lost songwriter” by Bob Stanley, of The Times, before going on to record tracks that had later been covered by Cliff Richard, Billy Fury and The Swinging Blue Jeans. “Half-Baked” starts off as an acoustic Chamber-Folk piece, as Campbell creates a somber tone by singing “If I’d a known what would happen/I would have stayed in bed/But you know how it is, when you get something stuck in your head” as his light guitar strums begin to introduce a mid-tempo Violin melody to the fray, while the lyrics bleakly touch on depression. It isn’t long, however, until the drum beat kicks in, and we get a riotous guitar solo that evokes the Hendrix-like blues of the 1960’s. The chorus of “Half-Baked, I wasn’t ready but I couldn’t wait” remains upbeat as the guitars peak. Yet, the pace soon changes again, as we go back to the Chamber-Folk of the opening as Campbell sings about heartbreak. It soon changes again, and back again, and the track dips into Funk grooves by the end, while the same Blues-ish guitar riffs and the somber, classical instrumentation pushes and pulls the mood forward and back again. The sound is continually renewing, yet we get a fairly psychotic crescendo of Woodwinds and ear-grating strings. Campbell does a good job of keeping things cohesive enough, with the emerge-and-retreat template of the odd Chamber-Folk and Psych-Funk combination selling a narrative of mental health and emotional renewal, even though the tense String ballad at the end feels a little abrupt. Although it may have it’s inconsistencies, Jimmy clearly has a talent for songwriting, as he pairs the upbeat and somber tones of the lyrics in ways that feel drawing and expansive. Although the pacing may be a little ‘undercooked’ for me, the fresh songwriting makes up for it in the excitement, yet fragility, of the dynamics in storytelling. A genre-breaking single from an artist who deserves to be remembered.

  • Pictured: Jimmy Campbell in an “On A Monday” PR shoot in the 60’s/70’s (Photo via Pinterest.com)

I have no further discussion in store for you today – but please feel free to join me again tomorrow, when I’m going to share some brand new music for you. It’s a good old “Who Knew” affair – as we take an in-depth listen to the new album project from a US multi-instrumentalist and composer who was raised in New Jersey, and he is the co-founder of folk band The Lumineers, who scored an international chart hit with “Ho Hey” in 2012. 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/

Today’s Track: Ndidi O – “Hands High”

January 4, 2021 — Leave a comment

Raise your Hands Up High in the air – Get ready for this anthem! Time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Ndidi Onukwulu in a rare photoshoot (in 2014) (Photo via MontechristoMagazine.com)

New Year’s is all over. Nevertheless, my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get writing up about your daily track on the blog, and it’s back to the daily task for another year, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! January 4th is a tricky day to pick something for, and so we’re dipping into the archives instead with a track that I discovered, not long ago, through the KCRW “Today’s Top Tune” podcast of free daily music downloads. Here, we have “Hands High” – a 2018 single by the Canadian-born Desert Blues/Alternative Folk singer-songwriter Ndidi Onukwulu, who is currently basing the powerful voice of her’s around the British Columbia, at the moment. “Hands High” was the lead single from her sixth album, “These Days”, which she self-released in March of 2018. A two-time Juno Award nominee, Ndidi O co-produced the LP record with Mischa Chillik, a fellow Canadian multi-instrumentalist, who she also records music with as a Trip-Hop duo, under the name of BOGA. Without further ado, let’s listen to “Hands High” below.

“These Days” was an album which encompassed the genres of Neo-Soul, Blues, Americana, Desert Rock ‘N’ Roll and Electronic Jazz, and it saw Ndidi O explore the roots of her early Blues/Soul roots, a sound she harvested through open mic nights in the NYC scene, and the Blues and Folk scene of Toronto, throughout her years as a member of other side-projects before embarking on her solo career. According to Ndidi O, “Hands High is an ode to humanity”, and she elaborated on this by adding: “We live in such precarious, ugly times and this song was my response” to the press notes for the track. A style that feels reminiscent of The Kills and Gwen Stefani, Ndidi O repeats: “These Days” over the top of a thunderous, Power-Pop bass guitar riff. She extends her sense of vocal harmony for the bridge, as she croons: “So, take me up baby/Take me up, high/As high as I’m burning” to the sound of duelling backing vocals and a repeating three-chord guitar sequence. She goes for a big sweep in the main chorus, when Ndidi layers: “Hands High/Shake and Roll, and let’s all move together” above the huge, shimmering electric guitar work, adding a sense of power and heft to a set of lyrics dealing with ideologies of togetherness and unity, and connoting themes of shared experiences nurturing the soul. It never feels hugely political, but her striking vocals and her Blues influences goes a long way into the territory of a rally cry, and a call for action, with change being achievable through a shared vision. The lyrics are a little generic here, but I think that they manage to solve their purpose reasonably well. Much of this is garnered through the strength of Ndidi’s vocals, which function as a vehicle for the rhythm guitar lines and the Desert-Folk instrumentation to continue bouncing from. While there’s nothing outstandingly innovative in play, her voice provides a nice, shining beacon, to encourage fellowship.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “These Days” (Released on March 16, 2018) (via Self-Released)

That’s all for today… Please come and join me again tomorrow, where we’ll be taking an in-depth look at some new music from a sample-delia duo based a little closer to home for me. The single comes from a Nottingham-based Chillout/Electronica music duo who are known for the quirky sense of humor baked into their sampling work, and have just released a brand new full-length album, which marks their first major release in the long time of 11 years. 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/

New Year’s Day Special: Cee Lo Green & The Muppets – “All I Need Is Love”

January 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

To have any dislike for The Muppets would be a big crime to Kermit. Happy New Year!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Cee Lo’s Magic Moment” (LP) (Released on October 29, 2012) (via WB Records)

Let’s add in an extra HOOTENANNNNNY!!!!! Good Morning to you, it is the first day of January, and I’ll tell you what, this is the best that I have felt all year… I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get writing up about your special New Year’s Day post on the blog – because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! If you know me, I’m not really one to celebrate Novelty tracks or commercial tie-in’s here on the blog – but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have a soft spot for The Muppets, the most famous TV creation of Jim Henson… or, rather depressingly, Disney’s The Muppets now. Nevertheless, here’s an odd little Festive track that was released around this time of Christmas and New Year’s a whopping eight years ago now. “All I Need Is Love” is the handiwork of Cee Lo Green, a pop culture icon and coach of The Voice in the US, who is also known for being one half of the Southwestern Alternative Hip-Hop duo Gnarls Barkley, who had an enormously huge international chart hit with “Crazy” back in 2006. In 2012, it seemed that Sufjan Stevens wasn’t the only artist to be overjoyed with the thought of the festive season. “Cee Lo’s Magic Moment” was a full-length Christmas album which came from Green in October 2012, and the album managed to sell a total of 181,000 copies in the US at the time. Interestingly enough, it was also Green’s first album release not to feature one of those Parental Advisory stickers that you used to get on physical records – on a CD. Without further ado, let’s watch Green perform the track with The Muppets below.

Come to think of it… That last fact may suprise you, but it turns out that if you search for the “Explicit” version of Cee Lo Green’s international chart hit, “Forget You”, on the internet, then you will get what’s recognizably a completely different meaning to the old track. Nevertheless, The Muppets collaboration of “All I Need Is Love” is still a perfectly safe tune for the little ones to tune into today. As you can tell – and as you would have likely predicted – the style of the track borrows heavily from the “Mah Nà Mah Nà” theme tune which The Muppets have popularized over the years. Not many people probably know, however, that according to my research, it was borrowed from Piero Umiliani, an Italian composer of film scores. The Muppets get in on the action with a comedic sample of the old theme, and a selection mini-narratives in the music video. Green’s voice isn’t bad at all, and he soulfully croons the likes of “Watches, car, the agent sent me/A sixty inch in every room/But all I wanna see is you” and “Santa don’t know what to get me, I just want to see my baby” along to the beat of The Muppets giving him interruptions and an upbeat, soaring set of Brass-based arrangements. The second verse sees Green perform duelling vocals with Miss Piggy and pals, before we get to the hook-led chorus where the gang come together for a cheerful, festive sing-a-long, on top of a Motown style of Jazz instrumentation. Sleigh bell melodies and little guitar licks evoke a happy, jovial feeling. I feel the use of The Muppets adds a good bit of character to the track, although the mash-up also lends to some very uneven cohesion, and I think the tune struggles to really flow together in some areas of the track. Yet, it’s an engaging mix of mismatch pudding and the assembling of the weird, gibberish voices just adds a sense of quirk and humor that would have made it a bit flat and forgettable otherwise, and it simply wouldn’t be as much fun without the bizzare collaboration of The Muppets being involved. Overall, I can’t deny that it’s a bit of a train-wreck and it’s probably more suited to Christmas than New Year’s to my error, but I still think it’s superbly good fun and entertaining to listen to. If The Muppets are getting some work, what’s not to like? All I’ve left to do is wish you a Happy New Year – and thank you so much for supporting me throughout the year. Here’s to an excellent 2021 – and let’s try our best to give this virus the boot!

  • Pictured: Cee Lo Green at the premiere of Marriage Boot Camp (2020) (via Jemal Countess/Getty)

Thank you for ringing in the New Year with me on the blog today. As with every day, duty will continue across the new year, and that starts off tomorrow with our first regular post of the New Year. This single was a collaboration between a Japanese electronic dance producer who has a love affair with Funk, Latin and Jazz – and a Barbadian-born singer-songwriter who is now based in Los Angeles, and she was mentored by Patrice Rushen. 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/

Today’s Track: Ray Stevens – “Santa Claus Is Watching You”

December 12, 2020 — Leave a comment

He knows when you’re sleeping and he knows when you’re awake. It’s new post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Christmas Through A Different Window” (Released: 1997) (via MCA Nashville)

Festive tidings to you – I am Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s now time for me to get typing up all about today’s track on the daily music blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! “Santa Claus Is Watching You” is a quirky little Christmas track, which I found out all about when I was researching some alternative or obscure Christmas tracks to spotlight on the blog this year over the world wide web. Sadly, the name of Ray Stevens did not initially ring any Jingle Bells with me (See what I did there?), but it turns out that he’s really a very prolific Country and R&B singer-songwriter originally from the state of Georgia, over in the states. He’s also worked as a television presenter, music arranger and music producer too, and Stevens has also been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame, the Christian Music Hall Of Fame and he’s even received Gold certification sales for some of his albums, so he may be just a little bit before my time, is all. After all, what do I know, eh? “Santa Claus Is Watching You” was a track which he originally wrote and performed as a one-off single released back in 1962, before he later re-released the track as a part of his “Christmas Through A Different Window” seasonal LP collection in 1977. You can still buy the record, but the single in it’s original form is a rarity now, and it’s worth a decent amount of money. I do not have that kind of money. Anyways, let’s laugh along to the music video below.

Ray Stevens has also been inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum, which happened just last year in 2019, and so he is still trucking along with his work. The track, specifically, has actually been doing the rounds for a long time now, and you can also get hold of it from his “The Best Of Ray Stevens” compilation album which he put out in 1967, where the track was even re-recorded, electronically, to simulate stereo. As a result of this, I sadly have no real idea of when the official music video, that you just saw above, was released. However, it’s still quite charming and memorable despite it’s dated production. The track, however, peaked at the #45 spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. I think that it’s still quite funny, too. The start plays out with a showering of Sleigh Bell melodies, as Stevens calls out: “Now baby-doll, sweetie-pie, sugar-plum, honey-bunch, angel-face” above a stop-and-start combination of Piano and Guitar work, before delivering the killer hook of “Be careful what you say and do/’Cause Santa Claus is watching you” on top of the jovial, care-free rhythms. It gets more romantic and unveiling later on, as Stevens attributes “You’d better kiss and hold me tight/And give me a good lovin’ night” and “When Christmas comes, you’ll be crying too” to the repeated vocal hook. A quirky bridge of doo-wop filler lines and a list of reindeer’s names who are not a part of Santa’s elite group of Sleigh pullers follow up on the verses, to add a quirky sense of fun to the lyricism. He later claims that Santa Claus is the head of the CIA, and the track ends with some form of Spoken Word freestyle about his paranoia of being watched by the White-bearded international celebrity. It makes for a fun and entertaining listen, although the cohesion and flow of the track gets a little uneven at times, as Stevens keeps dashing through different modes of his wordplay vocal delivery and his instrumental breaks during the track. I’m not sure how appealing this track would be to children either, but I think that’s a good thing, in this case, because it makes it feel different to your bog-standard festive Pop track primarily aimed at Children that Pop singers like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber are known to have performed in recent years. Stevens also manages to deliver some good comedy throughout the single too, even if the flow loses it’s way a little bit during the middle. The Rockwell of yuletide tracks – which came an odd 20 years before, perhaps. Overall, it’s still pretty hilarious.

  • Pictured: Vinyl Copy of “Santa Claus Is Watching You” (1962) (Photo via Discogs.com/Mercury Records)

Thank you for checking out my latest blog post! Tomorrow marks a short-lived, but celebratory, new era for our weekly Scuzz Sundays series, because we’re going to be looking at some festive-themed emo-rock and pop-punk gems taken from the late-1990’s, up until the mid-2000’s, from tomorrow onwards. Tomorrow’s Emo throwback comes from a classic American Heavy Metal band who are often regarded as “Glam-Rock” for their prominent use of makeup and female costumes. 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/