Blues

Easter Monday Special: Jona Lewie – “You’ll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties”

April 13, 2020 — 2 Comments

A joke from comedian Sanjeev Kholi to start: Where does Jona Lewie do his Christmas shopping? – Debenebenhamnams, Debenemenhams, Debenhamnams, Debenhams, Debenemanhams! Happy Bank Holiday weekend to you – It’s time for your daily post!

Have you eaten enough chocolate yet? I’m Jacob Braybrooke, it’s Easter Monday, and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! This Bank Holiday Monday, we’re going to take a look at Jona Lewie, a Southampton-born rock singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is perhaps best known for his christmas classic, “Stop The Calvary”, which was released in 1980 to a lot of commercial success and it still receives plenty of airplay on the radio around the festive season each year. However, instead, we’re going to give one of his other tracks to spice things up a bit. After all, John Peel said: “The next record you play could be your favourite” and I LIVE BY THAT! It goes without saying that “You’ll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties” also went down as a commercial hit, but it’s much more based around the Blues and New Wave genres than his Christmas Cracker. The single was taken from his “Bureaucrats” B-side, a double single release. The track reached #16 on the UK Singles Charts and it stayed on the chart for 11 weeks, but it actually found it’s greatest success in New Zealand, where it reached #3 in October 1980 and stayed on the chart for 17 weeks. The backing vocals were originally thought to be recorded by Kirsty MacColl, of “Fairytale Of New York” fame, but Lewie has since told us that they were recorded by the two wives of the co-owners of Stiff Records. But, MacColl would sing the backing vocals in live performances. Let’s have a listen below.

More or less seen as a one-hit wonder, Jona Lewie proves that he deserves a lot more recognition than that on “You’ll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties”, a cerebral and methodical, Progressive Synth-Pop anthem that feels definitely early 1980’s. Delivered in a clear cut, dry talk-speech accent, Lewie warbles: “I’m no good at chatting up and always get rebuffed/Enough to drive a man to drink, I don’t do no washing up” over a studiously layered synth rhythm which stutters and washes over Lewie’s bemoaning of his bad luck with the ladies in a tuneful sense as the three-minute duration goes on. At a mid-way point, the synth lines breathe for a slick keyboard riff interlude, a short instrumental section that emphasizes on the humor of the lyrics, despite it’s barren, almost bleak, pitch. Lewie concludes: “At last I met a pretty girl, she laughed and talked with me/We both walked out of the kitchen and danced in a new way”, as the synthesized beats convey a more upbeat tone and the vocals seem a bit more melodic, though the production is still very minimalist. It sounds very alike to Ian Dury & The Blockheads in it’s tone and structure, with a smart and comedic, yet very alternative and calculated, sonic direction. The lyrics are cold, but the narration progresses to the vibe of an almost The Specials-esque British Ska-Reggae Skank, which adds a kinetic energy that makes the track feel melodic enough to count as a synth-pop record, although it feels slow-paced and a bit grim in a few ways. Overall, I think it’s all good fun, though. This track represents a wise level of individuality and intellectualism that has really been lost in pop music as the decades have gone on. If you’re lucky enough, you may find it playing in the kitchen at parties!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “On The Other Hand… There’s A Fist” (Released on 1st June, 1978) (via Stiff Records)

Thank you very much for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it! It’s back to normal tomorrow as Easter Tuesday isn’t a thing, but as I’ve been writing about a lot of new music lately – we’ll look at a vintage delight instead! This track comes from an American 5-piece family group who began their own, monumental, sampling legacy with their fifth album, “There’s A Riot Going On”, released in 1971! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

WWE Wrestlemania 36 Weekend Special – Bruce Springsteen – “The Wrestler”

April 4, 2020 — 7 Comments

He is Dancing In The Dark at The Showcase Of The Immortals! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Bruce Springsteen performing “London Calling” at a concert in Hyde Park, London (2009) (via Rolling Stone)

Tonight is the night where no-fan WrestleMania hits the Big Time! (mid-00’s WWE fans, that one’s for you!) and since it’s an event built on spectacle and nostalgia, what better way to signal it’s arrival than covering a single from the legendary voice of Bruce Springsteen?, who had particularly touched the heart of Javed, a Pakistani teenager, in “Blinded By The Light”, a 2019 biopic film! Another film which Springsteen played a big part of is “The Wrestler”, a film starring Mickey Rourke as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, which was released back in a limited capacity in 2008 and then expanded to a nationwide release in January 2009 in the US. It’s an excellent film about a retiring wrestler struggling to make a living while he tries to recapture the glory days of his 80’s heyday and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. It was an awards contender for the Oscars, the BAFTA’s and the Golden Globes. Springsteen penned the title song for the film after he was contacted by Rourke, a lifelong friend of Springsteen, who wrote a letter of persuasion. The track appeared as a bonus track on “Working On A Dream”, a Springsteen album released in 2009. I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, which – for today – is Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler”. Let’s have a listen with the video below!

An acoustic rock piece which sounds downcast and solemn, “The Wrestler” is in no way a compromise of Springsteen’s beloved songwriting principles, yet it’s also a good fit for the dark subject matter of the film it was written for. Springsteen laments artistic themes of a final shot at stardom: “This place is the home that I cannot stay/My only faith’s in the broken bones and bruises I display”, under a quiet arrangement of sparse bass guitar licks and a light synthesizer display. Springsteen strums his acoustic guitar and croons: “If you’ve ever seen a one-trick pony in the field so happy and free?/If you’ve ever seen a one-trick pony, then you’ve seen me”, a sad refrain Springsteen repeats with variations like Scarecrow, Dog and finally… man! Springsteen is narrating from the viewpoint of “The Wrestler” himself and he’s admitting that he’s past his prime and that his body cannot take the physical cost of his bodies toll any more, but it’s his passion for the career and it’s the memories that he’s made with it that keeps him going and drives him forward as much as his steering wheel will allow him to control. It’s a track which journalist David Marchese of Spin reviewed as: “‘The Wrestler;. from the film of the same name, has an intensely affecting emotional specificity that the aforementioned nominees lack”, a riff on the Oscar Awards which I agree with. The track has the classic Springsteen lyrical motifs that his fanbase love him for and it goes beyond the limits of professional wrestling as a topic. The vocals are repetitious, but not tedious and the instrumentation is simple, but it’s emotive and well-structured. The end result is a minimalist and poetic, Blues-inspired Americana track which is cerebral and brooding, but heartfelt and affecting!

  • Pictured: Mickey Rourke starring as “Randy “The Ram” Robinson” in “The Wrestler” (dir. Darren Aronofsky) (2008)

Thank you for reading this post! I kicked off my WWE WrestleMania 36 Weekend Special yesterday with The Nick Atoms’ “El Santo: The Silver Masked Avenger”, it has a very fascinating story of Mexican heritage behind it, so check out here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/04/03/wwe-wrestlemania-36-weekend-special-the-nick-atoms-el-santo-the-silver-masked-avenger/! To get more of your wrestling fix, I’ve also written about Reverend & The Makers “The Wrestler” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/11/todays-track-reverend-and-the-makers-the-wrestler/ and Bowling For Soup’s “Alexa Bliss” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/02/12/todays-track-bowling-for-soup-alexa-bliss/! I’ll be back tomorrow, with the final entry of our trilogy of wrestling-based posts! WWE WrestleMania 36 streams tonight and tomorrow on WWE Network!

Today's Track: Hamilton Leithauser – "Here They Come"

March 27, 2020 — Leave a comment

It seems like this artist could put a Leithause in the ocean! It’s time for your new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Here They Come” (Single Release) (February 2020) (via Glassnote Records)

Here comes your new post! – as written by me, Jacob Braybrooke, it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a new song each day on the blog for you! Today’s blog post features the songwriting talents of Hamilton Leithauser, an American musician and producer who is best known as the former lead member of The Walkmen, a pioneering Indie Rock band from Washington DC, who recorded seven studio albums with Leithauser. He started to embark on his solo career after The Walkmen announced they were going on hiatus in 2014. Leithauser’s brand new single is “Here They Come”, a track taken from his upcoming fourth LP, “The Loves Of Your Life”, which is set for it’s release on April 10th via Glassnote Records. It’s the follow-up to “I Had A Dream That You Were Mine” which he recorded and produced as a joint project with Rostam Batmanglij, former member of Vampire Weekend, to widespread critical acclaim back in 2016. Without any ado, let’s have a listen to “Hear They Come” below!

A track about a friend who tends to run away from his problems, fitting in with the theme of every song within the new album being written about a specific person in Leithauser’s life, Leithauser encapsulates a gentle comedy and a mature, folk-based country sensibility. Leithauser strums his acoustic guitar and sings: “The lights are coming on/and all your candy’s gone” over a gritty, progressive guitar rhythm. He bellows, in a low-pitched delivery, “You say the lovers in your life/Should listen to you more/But you can tell that to the usher”, as he brings the introductory verse full circle: “All the lights are on/and all my candy’s gone”, before the narrator reflects on the errors of his ways with an intense tempo, blaming himself and almost having a breakdown, but the outburst is paired with a gorgeous alt-folk vibe and a wild western, mature country aesthetic. He continues: “Take the hand that’s reaching towards you/When the shadow stands before you”, before a jaunty earworm of a chorus paints the picture of a character turning over a new leaf, as Leithauser croons: “I was a fool/I was blind/I kept my eyes shut half the time/All the lights/One by one/Here they come”, a catchy and fairly melodic indie rock refrain. “The Purge” actor Ethan Hawke delivers a knock-out performance in the video (That’s pun-intended, by the way) and Leithauser delivers an equally powerful blow on his vocal part. I feel it’s an appealing track to many different age groups and, lyrically, it hits the mark very well. There’s a clear Bruce Springsteen influence here, but that’s been done nicely, as Leithauser pairs the songwriting style of Springsteen with an inspirational, uplifting folk root which makes the guitar work danceable. It’s a brilliant track and I love the focus on acoustic instrumentation, as it makes a change to the usual proceedings of electronically-produced music in the digitally controlled society of today. Vibe to this!

  • Pictured: A smartly dressed Hamilton Leithauser performing a set for The Current (2017) (Photo Credit: Mark Wheat)

Thank you for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it – Please keep washing those hands! I’ll be back tomorrow with my in-depth review on a belter of a new Pop track from a Miami-based Experimental Electronic Jazz producer who is currently signed to Warp Records and produced an audiovisual tour in support of his third studio album, released in 2018! 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: Elín Ey – "Gone"

March 23, 2020 — Leave a comment

She may not be our mate Björk, but she’s also from Reykjavik! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Elín Ey in Chinatown, NYC after her performance at Rockwood Music Hall (2015) (Photo Credit: Nicky Digital)

Good morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke – I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! This week’s first post is an introduction to Elín Ey, who is an Icelandic singer-songwriter who comes from the Icelandic capital city of Reykjavik. My uni housemate had “Gone” to Iceland last week and she discovered Elín Ey on her travels, so she’s requested for me to check her out and write about her on the blog. So, this post is dedicated to you, Chelsie! It’s actually been 11 years since she released “See You In Dreamland”, her last full-length album, in 2009, which she released via MySpace (Remember That?). Elín Ey was raised by parents who are established musicians in Iceland and she first picked up a guitar at a young age, before starting musical projects with her sisters and working with her brother as the producer of her latest solo EP, “Gone”, which she independently released earlier in the year. Let’s have a listen to the titlular track of her new EP below.

On “Gone”, Elín Ey layers her soothing voice over a minimalist piano section and a soulful blend of R&B and Electronic Neo-Soul. Lyrically, it seems to be a reflective conversation with a family member or a returning ex-lover, as Ey croons: “And if you have to leave/I hope it is a place where you believe” and “If you have to leave/I hope it is a place where you find peace”, without an aid from auto-tune or mathematical production – although a light, distant male backing vocal adds a heartfelt touch of warmth and inflections of pop-ballad to the otherwise minimalist style of production. Ey mixes a folk influence with a sensual, electronic synth line to create a Blues element which matches the fragile vulnerability of her voice with a delicate spoken word sensibility. Although the clean electronic production makes Ey sound very polished, it doesn’t sound overly commercial at any point and I think there’s a decent amount of artistic merit to make Ey sound credible enough to surpass my musical pretension without compromising her level of accessibility over her artistic expression. I’d like to hear Ey continue to experiment with different elements of music to develop her overall sound as an eclectic one and I think that “Gone” sounds a little bit more like a demo than a finished product, but the potential of the raw, Ballard-ish elements are ripe for exploration over the more electric influences and there’s certainly a nice amount of artistic expression here. To conclude, I think it’s good and I’m excited to hear how she expands the soulful elements of her sound in her future releases. I find the lack of auto-tuned nonsense or indie bollocks to be promising too!

  • Pictured: Elín Ey in an interview with Josie Gaitens for The Reykjavik Grapevine (2020) (Photo Credit: Art Bicnick)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth review of the latest single from an Australian Psychedelic Rock group who are currently signed to Sub-Pop Records – with a lead singer who once told an interviewer that he lives in a family of 56 cousins! 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: JARV IS… – “House Music All Night Long”

March 9, 2020 — 1 Comment

Just like my Mum once said – to think he used to be cool! It’s time for your daily post!

  • Pictured: Jarvis Cocker performing at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona (2019) (Photo Credit: Adela Loconte)

JARV IS… kicking off this week’s round of new posts! Good evening to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure. JARV Is… (is?) the new band led by former Pulp frontman, former Harry Potter cast member and 90’s Brit-Rock music legend Jarvis Cocker, who is also the man famously known for stage jumping Michael Jackson’s performance of “Earth Song” at the BRIT Awards in 1996. I recently saw him on a Celebrity edition of ITV’s Catchphrase televison game show, which was broadcast over Christmas, and I’m also aware of his work on “Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service”, a music radio show which he used to present on BBC Radio 6Music. JARV Is… back, and he’s going on tour, stopping off at the likes of Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester, along with a few others, in May. JARV IS… also set to release his new album, “Beyond The Pale”, which is due for release on May 1st by the Rough Trade Records independent label. JARV has… premiered the new single “House Music All Night Long”! Let’s have a listen to it below!

JARV IS… a middle-class James Bond in the music video for “House Music All Night Long”, a track which makes me imagine that Nick Cave has unintentionally stepped onto a dancefloor and winged it on a microphone. A blues sensibility is created by the slow rhythms, particularly in the track’s opening verse: “Lost in the light of the living room/Adrift in a world of interiors/It’s serious”, as a gentle synth melody takes us to the vocal refrain: “I was listening to House music all night long/And all day too/I was waiting for you”, before a hazy bleeping sound enters the fray after the command of “To come true”, leading Cocker to fasten the pace a little bit with a brighter array of synthesized drum loops: “Saturday night, cabin fever in House Nation”, “This is one nation under a roof/Ain’t that the truth”, before a more orchestral crescendo of keyboard sequences and funk-laden grooves pause the ensuing synth melodies, before Cocker chants: “Everybody in the house”, leading to a choral addition of backing vocals from Emma Smith, as an unashamedly 80’s guitar riff draws the track to a close. The joke is that it isn’t house music – a playfulness depicted by the Household objects in the video and by Cocker’s intently muttered vocals. It’s a slow-building, blues-inflicted pop ballad. If you don’t know your music, you may feel out-of-touch with the ironic qualities of the track and it’s long duration doesn’t help with the casual accessibility factor. However, I really like it! I think it’s excellent, in fact – it’s quite cerebral and deeply ironic, but it’s melodic enough to work. The humor is very witty, as Cocker mocks the stereotypes of the House music genre with lyrical terms: “House Nation” and “Everybody In The Place” and the electronic instrumentation is colourful – driving the lo-fi, percussive melodies of the mature pop style forward. Come to think of it, I’m also quite fond of Jarvis Cocker too because he’s a character. Overall, it’s great, but I don’t have the time to listen to it all night long and all day too!

  • Pictured: Jarvis Cocker in a promotional photoshoot to promote a UK tour (2018) (Photo Credit: Roberto Ricciuti/Getty)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as per usual, with an in-depth look at the brand new track from an Irish singer-songwriter who was one of the headline acts of last weekend’s BBC Radio 6Music Festival in Camden, where she dedicated her set to the late-great Andy Weatherhall! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: Nadine Shah – “Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love)”

February 27, 2020 — 2 Comments

She won’t be winning Masterchef with gross dishes like those! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Kitchen Sink” (Available from 5th June, 2020) (via Infectious Music)

I hope you’re thirsty for new music this Thursday – I’m Jacob Braybrooke, writing about your daily track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! With touring season in it’s midst and summer festival line-up’s being confirmed left, right, front and centre – we’re seeing a lot of very established artists sharing their latest work in promotion of their new albums. Nadine Shah is back and she’s just dropped the single “Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love)” to sample her upcoming return album, which is her fourth LP record, “Kitchen Sink”. She’s set a date for it’s release of June 5th. Although I haven’t personally heard an LP from Shah myself, I’m definitely aware of her status as an Alternative Punk champion in the UK. Shah was born in Whitburn to a mother of Norwegian ancestry and a father of Pakistani descent, and she’s been an activist campaigner over the years for Mental Health, as well as an open endorser of the Labour party, with Shah calling for an end to austerity. I recently saw her as part of the contributors for the British documentary film “Long and Winding Road”, which saw Phillip Selway from Radiohead travelling to several different music venues across the UK during last year’s Independent Venue Week. She’s certainly had a very interesting life so far, which she reflects in her art-punk, folk-rock sound. Let’s see how “Ladies For Babies (Goats For Life)” reflects it – starting off with the video below!

It’s an unusual name for a track, but Shah named it after her brother, who painted a picture of a man embracing a goat with the track’s titular phrase. She’s used it to address a domestic narrative of a husband who patronizes his wife, seeing her only duty as to be a housewife to look after his child. It’s a sense of light sexism and old-fashioned tradition which Shah has decided to creatively explore on her upcoming album. “Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love)” has a disturbingly angry quality to it, Shah vents: “He wants his lady/To be a lady/To care less, be hairless/All he wants in fairness”, over a glitched bass guitar riff and a consistent drum layer, she continues: “Ladies for babies and goats for love/She never could give you enough”, as a short burst of energetic guitar riffs and chanting vocal lines are thrusted into the center of the Blues-inspired, heavy punk sound. Interludes of guitar strums follow, aided by a cold synth line which paves the way for the experimental synth-led instrumentation. This is a deeply-produced art-punk jam with a psychological twist and a message on how far women have come since they were treated unfairly to their husbands in the 1930’s and 1940’s, for instance – and while it hasn’t blown me away like the Arlo Parks or Tawiah tracks did earlier this week, it’s a solid and energetic track with loads to unfold and analyse in depth, with a sonic intrigue that leaves room for interpretation.

  • Pictured: Nadine Shah in a press photoshoot to promote the “Holiday Destination” album (2017) (via PR)

Thank you for reading this post! As usual, I hope you enjoyed it! Tomorrow, I will be celebrating the release of Dan Snaith’s new album, “Suddenly”, his seventh LP overall under his main alias of Caribou, with an in-depth look at the most recent single from the new album – titled “Never Look Back”! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: Alexandra Savior – “Crying All The Time”

February 19, 2020 — Leave a comment

Welcome to the blog which I’m Writing All The Time – I’ve written the new post below!

  • Pictured: Alexandra Savior in a press photoshoot for “The Archer” (2020) (Photo Credit: Eliot Lee Hazel)

It’s the middle of the week, but here’s a track which is by no means middle of the road! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, trying to get rid of those mid-week blues by writing about your daily track on the blog. In this case, it comes courtesy of a remarkably talented independent singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon – who goes by her birth name of Alexandra Savior. Savior is a new, emerging artist who doesn’t seem to have gotten much recognition for her second LP record, “The Archer”, which Savior released on January 10th via 30th Century Records. I’ve done my research and I’ve found that she used to collaboratively write and produce her earliest output with Arctic Monkeys’ frontman Alex Turner, under the stage name of Alexandra Semitone. A few of these tracks ended up being licensed for use on the “True Detective” crime drama television series. This led Alexandra Savior to the release of her debut album, “Belladonna Of Sadness” on a commercial music label, Columbia Records, in April of 2017. Let’s watch the official video for her recent single, “Crying All The Time”, below!

A stunning and beautiful little track from the 24-year-old artist, “Crying All The Time” feels very established and mature in it’s Vegas-esque, Blues-ish, moody Americana sound, which also leans into influences of the Desert Rock genre and the Spoken Word influences of Nick Cave and Kate Tempest. I can also hear a slice of Lana Del Rey and Fiona Apple in there, although it doesn’t feel dominated by one particular genre or influence, instead feeling nicely structured, with the light synth-wave elements creeping in at a brisk pace. Savior croons over the minimalist production of a Western guitar line: “My death, It haunts him like a ship, Without a sail/I know I’ll be gone soon/But just for him, I’ll prevail”, over the top of an emotive guitar twang, with a brief solo ramping up in the background, although she wisely holds it back again to focus on the Brass-focused instrumentation instead. Savior sings about the difficulties of moving on from a, possibly abusive, romantic partner: “He doesn’t like it when I cry”, adding: “And now he’s gone/So I’m crying all the time”, before a mid-tempo, electronic synth riff interrupts the minimalist production style with a bold quality of luscious melancholia and cinematic traits. Her voice is uniquely low-pitched and has a dry distinction to it, which she uses to draw credibility to the lyrical themes of empty pain and psychological warfare, making her sound very strong, yet there’s also a slight vulnerability to it, which is given weight by the simplistic formula of her songwriting. As a result, her voice acts as a magnet – which attracts these different elements and ultimately pulls them together with a forceful nature. I feel it’s a remarkably impressive and startlingly promising piece of art in the young career of an artist who seems to have been criminally overlooked at the moment. In short, it’s one of the best James Bond themes, which isn’t actually a Bond theme, ever written.

  • Pictured: Alexandra Savior in a photoshoot for a “Discovery” interview with interviewmagazine.com (2020) (Photo Credit: Anthony Blasko)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at the new track from a Brooklyn-founded post-punk revival band who dive into the Noise Rock sub-genre with the use of analogue machines, loops and other assorted lo-fi software. They’ve just released their fourth LP record to critical acclaim. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Avalanche Party – “Howl”

January 15, 2020 — Leave a comment

After watching the video, you might be left ‘Howling’ in laughter! Time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Jordan Bell (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Jared Thorpe (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Kane Waterfield (Drums/Percussion), Joe Bell (Bass Guitar) and Glen Adkins (Keyboard/Synths) (Photo Credit: Upset Magazine/2019)

Good evening to you, Jacob Braybrooke is writing with your daily track! I’m giving myself an introduction to Avalanche Party, a Leeds-based band from West Yorkshire, who have been gathering steam on the UK indie rock scene as a major player of the X-Posure Playlist for John Kennedy’s iconic Radio X evening show. The band have just announced their plans to offer free entry for those working at the NHS to gigs on their upcoming tour, an institution that is very close to their hearts. The band released their debut LP, “24 Carat Diamond Trephine”, to critical acclaim back in November, along with the music video for the single “Howl”, which features the band performing in cheesy colour-striped 80’s suits, with a technicolor-drenched green-screen, fashionably trimmed 80’s hairstyles and a prominent guest host who continually attempts to steal their limelight! Why not take a look at the video for “Howl” below?

It soon becomes clear that “Howl” is an indie rock tune which aims to be the swaggering 80’s rock-and-roll anthem to go along perfectly with the video. The lyrics are fist-pumping and clearly designed for closing their gigs. Lead vocalist Jordan Bell proclaims the lyrics, heavily distorted by echo-drenched drum melodies and psychedelic vocal modulations, over the top of a post punk-oriented and garage-rock swamped barrage of a slightly blues-driven guitar tone and a noticeably “laddish” vocal delivery. There’s also a little bit of synth production work and a frequently baroque-inspired vocal delivery which reminds me of Panic! At The Disco’s early band releases, before the project became more of a solo vehicle for Brendan Urie. It certainly has the purpose of drawing riotous crowds onto a stage and aggressively prowling a mosh-pit with the uptempo sonic sounds which would be coming from a live stage. I have mixed feelings on it. The track has a boastful, melodic bass guitar riff and a baritone vocal style which harkens back to retro 90’s punk releases and a slightly tongue-in-cheek aesthetic. However, for a band who are heavily pushing marketing themselves on the ideas of insanity and surrealism – for me, I feel it sounds relatively tame and the lyrics are forgettable compared to their less mainstream counterparts like Warmduscher, Idles and Fontaines D.C, who just seem to have a more immediate impact on me. Overall, I feel it’s a good track, but nothing more. I like the band’s sense of humour, but their sound doesn’t quite live up to the band’s “intense” moniker, for my taste. It will find an audience – though – and I look forward to seeing where the group take their sound in the future as there’s potential for more.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “24 Carat Diamond Trephine” (November 2019)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as per usual, with an in-depth look at a new track from The Innocence Mission, a Pensylvania-native alternative folk band who are set to release their eleventh studio LP, “See You Tomorrow” on January 17th via Bella Union Records! I played this track on my radio show yesterday! 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: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (feat. Kylie Minogue) – “Where The Wild Roses Grow”

January 7, 2020 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Murder Ballads” (February 1996)

Jacob Braybrooke here, a Nick Cave super fan! Well, I’m getting there. I haven’t worked my way through his entire discography yet, with 2-3 albums yet to go, but he is certainly one of the most fascinating artists in the world! January is infamous for crappy Horror films being released in cinemas that usually make year-end worst lists from movie publications. So, I thought I’d see if I could do a better job of terrifying you! Possibly the album to do so, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released “Murder Ballads” in February 1996. It’s a record that pretty much does what it says on the tin, with the introduction of female vocal collaborations with PJ Harvey and, on this bizarre track, Kylie Minogue, who brought Cave on-stage to perform the track during her legends slot set at Glastonbury Music Festival in 2019. It was a delightful moment!

They called her “The Wild Rose”, but her name was Elisa Day, so the vocal hook goes! A cheerful narrative, as Cave narrates the story of a serial killer whose passionate lust for Ms/Mrs. Day causes him to ultimately kill the one that he loves. Cave expresses his lust and desire for the girl upon their first date: “From the first day I saw her I knew she was the one/As she stared in my eyes and smiled/For her lips were the colour of the roses/They grew down the river, all bloody and wild”. This track has a male/female call-and-response style of storytelling, as the lyrics of the track shift between the alternating viewpoints of the killer and Elisa Day. During the second verse, naratted as the “second day”, Minogue begins to realise that the vitality of the “first day” will never be surpassed and Cave quickly loses his innocence. Cave sings: “On the second day I brought her a flower/She was more beautiful than any woman I’d seen//I said, ‘Do you know where the wild roses grow/So sweet and scarlet and free?”, while Minogue sings: ” On the second day he came with a single rose/he said: ‘Will you give me your loss and your sorrow?/I nodded my head, as I laid on the bed/He said, ‘If I show you the roses will you follow?” Day 3 comes and he… kills her!

Minogue describes the ordeal: “On the third day he took me to the river/He showed me the roses and we kissed/And the last thing I heard was a muttered word/As he stood smiling above me with a rock in his fist”, While Cave attempts to justify the slaughter as a way of preserving their integrity and their memories together: “On the last day I took her where the wild roses grow/And she lay on the bank, the wind light as a thief/As I kissed her goodbye, I said, ‘All beauty must die’/And lent down and planted a rose between her teeth”, before a repeat of the joint chorus hook closes the track. The vocal performances are great and the simplicity of the music behind the lyrics add something of a bizzare beauty to the dark fable of the track. It cleverly plays on the naivety of the damsel in distress and her killer in black cloth, although the sound is notably not ingrained in the 70’s garage rock’ n’ roll roots of Cave. The chemistry is another standout of the track, and it’s heartwarming to see that Cave and Minogue have remained close friends ever since and they’ve always been well aware of each other, even if their solo music output is very different. Overall, it’s a fantastic, if a little bizarre, collaboration between two of the biggest Australian icons to brace popular culture. If you’re reading this before bed… don’t have nightmares!

  • Pictured: Kylie Minogue & Nick Cave performing “Where The Wild Roses Grow” at Glastonbury 2019 (Worthy Farm)

If you’re looking to catch up with my other entries on Nick Cave, my musing on “Rings Of Saturn” is here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/30/todays-track-nick-cave-the-bad-seeds-rings-of-saturn/ and my entry on “Henry Lee” featuring PJ Harvey, also from “Murder Ballads” can be read here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/01/todays-track-nick-cave-the-bad-seeds-feat-pj-harvey-henry-lee/

  • Pictured: Nick Cave has gone to Book World! (Reading “American Murder Ballads” (Credit: Stickitonyourwall.com)

Thank you for reading this post! Tomorrow, I’ll be looking at a track from a Techno DJ, signed to the Nina Tune imprint label, who also has a degree in Neuroscience and he is also a co-founder of the Eglo Records label! 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: Gengahr – “Heavenly Maybe”

December 28, 2019 — Leave a comment

How do you get Pikachu on a bus? You poke him on! It’s time for a Saturday blog post!

  • Pictured: Felix Busche (Vocals/Lead Guitar), Hugh Schulte (Bassist), John Victor (Slide Guitar) and Danny Ward (Drums)

Similarly titled to Björk’s 1995 art-pop classic “Possibly Maybe”, “Heavenly Maybe” is a track by London experimental rock group Gengahr which has absolutely nothing to do with the Icelandic song mentioned above. It does, however, have something to do with the forthcoming LP record by Gengahr, “Sanctuary”, which gets released on January 31, 2020. It’s their third release on the Transgressive Records label. I first heard the song on John Kennedy’s evening X-Posure show on Radio X, although I’ve heard of the band before as I had a friend in my vocational college who is massively into them. They were named after one of the original Pokemon, although it was initially not meant to pan out that way. The 4-piece originally wanted to call themselves “RES”, but it was changed after they found it was already taken. Hello, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and today’s track is “Heavenly Maybe”, the new single by Gengahr!

“Heavenly Maybe” is a euphoric psychedelic rock track with a cinematic theme, which seems to be all the rage nowadays, as Gengahr follows suits in the likes of Editors, White Lies and The Orielles. The synth-led rock melody has a relatively quick pace and the vocals kick in within 30 seconds of the track’s opening verse. The lyrical context of the track centers around a night out and a release from a tumultuous period of your life, essentially leaving your troubles and finding a more joyous, clear state of mind. It has a poppy 1980’s backdrop, with grinding bass guitar riffs and a funk-laden electronic direction. Schulte laments the downsides of finding escapism in the chorus: “Angel, don’t hurt yourself/A payload to mellow you out/’Slow down, ‘ you said yourself/It’s coming back/But where are you now?”, with a guitar-driven bridge: “Tell me you hear that/Subliminal that’s what I thought/Greater now on and on and on”, with a slight increase of the pacing and intensity of the jolting synth-rock sound towards the latest stages of the track. The track has an obvious nu-disco-esque image to the two-sided coin, which is created by the electro-driven production work and the high-tempo vocal performance. Overall, I personally feel the track doesn’t innovate very much, but it does what it does rather well, with a smooth texture and a slick groove which is destined to find an audience, despite a slight lack of experimentation.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Sanctuary” (Available on 31st January 2020)

Thank you for reading this post! Make sure that you check back on the blog tomorrow, as it’s almost time for another Scuzz Sunday post! I know, it feels a little bit unbelievable since we’ve only just had Christmas! I’ll be listening to a festive-themed emo/punk song from 2009! 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/