Emo-Pop

Scuzz Sundays: The Pretty Reckless – ‘Make Me Wanna Die’

March 13, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Taylor Momsen (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Ben Phillips (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Jamie Perkins (Drums/Percussion) and Mark Damon (Bass Guitar/Acoustic Guitar) (2010) (Photo Credit: Music Hub – Fandom)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for me to offer up another Scuzz Sundays post that you would probably not be prepared ‘to die for’, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! One of the most commercially successful female-led bands of the Mascara-dripping 00’s going through the 2010’s was The Pretty Reckless, who are still active regularly today. Led by Taylor Momsen, who was previously known for being a teen TV star in productions like ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams’ – as well as playing the child role of Cindy Lou Who in the Jim Carrey version of ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’ in 2000, the band have topped the US Album charts with albums like ‘Going To Hell’ and ‘Who You Selling For?’ and topped the US Rock Charts with fairly well-known singles like ‘Heaven Knows’ and ‘Messed Up World’. Momsen’s misfits last released ‘Death By Rock and Roll’ last year, which found her getting the chance to collaborate with legendary Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello for a track. ‘Make Me Wanna Die’ is instantly recognizable if you have seen the edgy comic book movie ‘Kick Ass’, which helped to bring actors like Chloe Grace Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnston some of their Hollywood stardom throughout the years since 2010. It was produced by Kato Khandwala, and it was the first track to be written for their debut album, 2010’s ‘Light Me Up’. It reached #16 on the UK Singles Chart, and it was initially described as a tragic love song inspired by Romeo and Juliet by Momsen.

‘Make Me Wanna Die’ is the first track that The Pretty Reckless wrote together as an ensemble, and it was based on a fictional story they created where the rough story of ‘Make Me Wanna Die’ tells the tale of a girl with a supernatural lover – a narrative which the vampire-loving Twi-hards of the 2010’s would have also loved – and her desires to be transformed into ‘one of them’ so they can both stay in love together, according to the Genius website. Starting off with some filter-like Mellotron flutes, Momsen sets the stage for her dark tale of lust and loss with her spoken-sung refrains of “Never was a girl with a wicked mind/But everything looks better when the sun goes down” and “I had everything/Opportunities for eternity/And I could belong to the night” that develop a brief backstory for her character. It’s nothing that feels rich in motive or Oscar-worthy performance, but it gets the job done. The verses represent a mix of angsty Grunge-enhanced Pop and stop-and-start Desert Rock, where the melodramatic lead guitar riffs are separated by short gaps and the jagged Bass guitar riffs complement the ‘Broken’ feel of the single’s emotional qualities. The chorus kicks in, with hooks like “Everything you love/Will burn up in the night” and “Every time I look inside your eyes/You make me wanna die” floating seemlessly above the Pop-Punk production. There’s also a little bridge where some overtly emotional Strings come in and there’s a short assortment of backing vocals that feel a little cheesy – for lack of a better term – but they provide some more variety to the track and ensure that it’s effect doesn’t ware so thin. Overall, ‘Make Me Wanna Die’ is a robust reminder of the days where guilty pleasure monster flicks like ‘Underworld’ and ‘Resident Evil’ were gaining some decent box office takings in the 00’s, as the lyrics complement the angsty yet dark tone of the creature features nicely and the looped percussion adds some little bells and whistles to the production. It feels a little bit overly theatrical at points for me, but it feels like a lot of fun nevertheless. It’s very inoffensive and harmless, although it wasn’t going to earn awards for innovation.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Light Me Up’ (LP/Album) (Released on August 27th, 2010) (via Interscope Records)

If that collaboration between Momsen and Morello sounds good to you, it is very convenient that it was actually covered on the blog prior to release. Check it out here:

‘And So It Went’ (feat. Tom Morello) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/03/06/todays-track-the-pretty-reckless-feat-tom-morello-and-so-it-went/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Death By Rock and Roll’ (LP) (Released on February 12, 2021) (via Fearless Records)

That brings us to the end of another entry of ‘Scuzz Sundays’ on the blog. Thank you for showing your interest in the site today as your continued support is always highly appreciated – and I’ll be back tomorrow to give you a taste of the latest track from a Manchester-based Art Pop band who have covered tracks by The Prodigy and Disclosure and they have gained support from sources as varied as ITV Granada and The Guardian. They are probably best known for singles like ‘Can’t Stop’ and ‘Nobody Scared’ that have been receiving daytime airplay from the BBC Radio 6 Music playlist.

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Scuzz Sundays: Nickelback – ‘How You Remind Me’

March 6, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Silver Side Up’ (LP) (Released on September 11th, 2001) (via Roadrunner Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to don some dodgy eye mascara as we revisit the music that we used to tolerate during our younger and most questionable emo phases of life for ‘Scuzz Sundays’ as we re-evaluate their quality or value in the present day, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! When you review the history of rock music, particularly throughout the 2000’s, the Canadian rock group of Nickelback provide a fairly interesting case. They were a punching bag for music enthusiasts, garnering almost unanimously negative reviews for their recycling of ideas and their continued relevancy in the mainstream, but they were still one of the most successful rock bands of the time when you really think about it. Their list of achievements includes enormous sales figures of over 50 million albums worldwide, five SOCAN International Achievement Awards, and a whole host of hit singles across multiple territories including ‘Rockstar’, ‘Far Away’ and ‘Photograph’ among a few others. They are also pretty active today, as they are currently working on their upcoming tenth studio album to finally follow up on 2017’s ‘Feed The Machine’. They have recently celebrated the 20th Anniversary of their fame-propelling third studio LP – 2001’s ‘Silver Side Up’ – which has been certified as Platinum eight times in Canada. The record included, arguably, their biggest hit of all – ‘How You Remind Me’ – which is a Karaoke favourite of my mother’s choice. The single’s commercial success led to their first arena tour of the UK, and, in 2009, Billboard ranked it as their best selling rock single overall. You know it already, but you can hear it for the first time in ages below.

Chad Kroeger – the lead vocalist of Nickelback – wrote ‘How You Remind Me’ as a response to a conflict with his then-girlfriend at an airport in Vancouver, where she set up shop in his basement and improvised the lyrics loudly in the hopes that she would hear him and catch the drift that he was, well, pretty angry. It makes sense considering how the guitar riffs have a nice grit to them and the pacing of ‘How You Remind Me’ has a harsher energy to it than some of Nickelback’s more melodramatic ballad work explored on the likes of ‘Far Away’ during the 00’s. The single starts off with the familiar lyric of “Never made it as a wise man/I couldn’t cut it as a poor man stealing” that Kroeger delivers in a husky voice as the laidback and casual sound of the mid-range guitars, in terms of tone and reverb, wind on up to a slightly more dissonant and aggressive style, although the instrumentation never becomes truly harsh, for lack of a more suitable term. The chorus has a rougher edge too, with rhythmic lines like “This is how you remind me, of who I really am” and “It’s not like you to say sorry/I was waiting on a different story” bordering between a spoken and a chanted delivery. The guitar riffs don’t progress a great deal, but the drums and the bass is more prominent in the chorus and increases the speed of the core melodies. There are elements of Punk and Grunge here, but they are measured and the violence of their mood is kept at a radio-friendly level. It also explores love-sickness lyrically, with fun sequences like “I’ve been wrong, I’ve been down” and “This time, I’m mistaken/For handing you a heart worth breaking” that sound assertive, but not completely outside of the realm of forgiveness or reconciliation for the dwindling relationship that Kroeger is referencing. As one of the most snobbish music critics out there – which my parents would probably tell you, believe me – I don’t mind ‘How You Remind Me’ very much. I’ll admit that the guitar riffs are a little bland, but it is a fun track that is a fun time and has it’s catchy moments. It’s not a masterpiece, but it is melodic enough and it established a few selling points for Nickelback that admittedly got recycled a little too frequently over the years, but there’s a reason why the tune was successful and I can see why Kroeger’s band would go down to the well for it as a point of reference for later work. A solid standalone single that still sounds fine today.

Pictured: Chad Kroeger (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Chief Songwriter), Ryan Peake (Lead Guitar/Keyboard/Backing Vocals), Mike Kroeger (Bass Guitar) and Daniel Adair (Drums/Backing Vocals) (2021) (Photo Credit: Paul Bergen)

That brings us to the bottom of the page for another day! I’m going to be swiftly off now as I’m planning to see my family for two days running, but I’ll be back tomorrow to guide you through some gorgeous new experimental electronic music from an Enfield-based IDM producer who reached the top three of my ‘Best Albums Of 2021’ list with her Hyperdub-signed hit ‘Reflection’ that was also loved by Tom Ravenscroft.

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Today’s Track: Warpaint – ‘Champion’

March 5, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Emily Kokal (Co-Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals/Guitar/Keyboard/Synths), Jenny Lee Lindberg (Bass Guitar/Co-Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals), Theresa Wayman (Co-Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals/Guitar/Electronics) & Stella Mozgawa (Drums) (2022) (Photo via MuzPlay.net)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for me to get typing up 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! Warpaint – the Los Angeles, California native indie rock band comprised of Emily Kokal, Stella Mozgawa, Theresa Wayman and Jenny Lee Lindberg – have just announced their first new full-length album in six years, finally confirming ‘Radiate Like This’ as the long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s ‘Heads Up’, which they will be releasing through Heirlooms and Virgin Records on May 6th. It has been a long time, but in their original run, they released three critically acclaimed studio albums including 2010’s ‘The Fool’, which included their essential track ‘Undertow’, as well as their 2014 self-titled LP outing. Warpaint supported Harry Styles for some live tour dates in Asia during 2018, and they also supported Foals on tour in Australia during 2019. They have performed at a wide variety of festivals including Glastonbury Festival, Coachella and Reading & Leeds Festival, and the beloved band have also performed at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl amphitheater. You will have also heard their track ‘Lilys’ if you’ve seen the HBO-produced TV series ‘Made For Love’ too. Details for ‘Radiate Like This’ are a little scarce, but given how we are picking up where we left off with ‘Heads Up’ from over a half-decade ago, the results are exciting. Check out the lead single ‘Champion’ below.

‘Champion’ promises that Warpaint will explore the concept of intimacy and energy more passionately than ever before. The new single is about “being a champion to one-self and for others”, according to the 4-piece in a new press release, who explain, “We are all in this together, life is too short not to strive for excellence in all that we do”, together, in their collective statement. A little more Dream Rock-influenced than some of the other material from Warpaint that I’ve heard, ‘Champion’ finds Theresa crooning some poetic lyrics like “I’m a million years old/I’m a champion” and “I’m an ocean/breathing in and out” to the soulful tune of their typically harmony-driven vocal style, which they perfected on rough-edged singles like 2010’s ‘Undertow’, but they are met with a more hypnotic and gloomy style than before, while they also deliver stern lyrics like “I hope you figure out/Everything you’re on about” that feel smooth and quite intuitive. There’s less of an emphasis on a ‘live feel’ and it is more driven towards putting their in-studio techniques to use, as the band retain their moody undercurrents that characterize some of their prior work while drifting towards some richer and more detailed dream-pop production, where the synths are calling across the horizon and the guitars keep stretching beyond the tropes of guitar rock. This reminds me of The XX, but there was a hint of Post-Punk towards the home stretch where the guitar briefly revved up before we abruptly went back to the modulated vocals and the reverb-assisted percussion that had a strange affinity for grooves during the verse. The track sounds well-produced, without feeling like it was over-produced at any point to me. The lyrics tap into inner strength and the faults of high levity, while the electronic enhancements make the instrumentation feel rich and atmospheric. Overall, ‘Champion’ is a well put together and cohesive comeback single that shows some progression and evolution for Warpaint as we move forwards.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Radiate Like This’ (LP) (Available from May 6th, 2022) (via Heirlooms/Virgin Records)

That brings us to the end of the page for today! Thank you lots for your continued support, but I’ve got to be off now because I’m hopefully visiting my sister (and leaving the village in the process, which is a fairly rare occasion for me), and so I’ll be catching up with you tomorrow. Join me then for a new entry of the ‘Scuzz Sundays’ feature, where we’ll be remembering a Karaoke favourite from a Canadian rock band led by vocalist Chad Kroeger who, despite becoming something of a punching bag for the snobbish ones in the 00’s, have recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of their third full-length LP record ‘Silver Side Up’ that was certified as 8x-Platinum in Canada.

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Today’s Track: Peaness – ‘How I’m Feeling’

February 21, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Art for ‘World Full Of Worry’ (LP) (Available from May 6th, 2022) (via Totally Snick Records)

Good Afternoon to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke – and it’s time for me to return to my laptop after a storm-related power issue prevented me from using any devices this morning with 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! Peaness (No, it’s not what any dirty-minded individual would call it) are an indie pop trio who met at The University Of Chester, Cheshire during 2013 and initially named their witty band after a joke between themselves – and yet it stuck. They decided to form Peaness formally the year after in 2014 – with Balla (Guitar/Co-Vocals), Jess (Bass/Co-Vocals) and Rach (Drums/Percussion) making up their 3-piece line-up. They have earned praise from publications like Bearded, Gigwise and Louder Than War, and singles like ‘What’s The Use?’ and ‘Kaizen’ have gained airplay from the daytime playlist of BBC Radio 6 Music, with Marc Riley as a huge fan of their work so far. A range of singles and EP’s have been released on labels like Kingfisher Bluez, Odd Box Records and Alcopop Records since 2015, and the three young ladies are soon going to be finally releasing their debut full-length album – ‘A World Full Of Worry’ – on May 6th via their self-release label Totally Snick Records. Peaness are also one of the few bands that I’ve actually spoken to in-person, as I had a brief chat with them at the merchandise stand while they were supporting The Orielles at The Sugar Mill, Stoke-On-Trent in February 2020 when we had a lovely little chat about all things music, which my close friend from university bought me along with him to. Let’s check in to see ‘How I’m Feeling’ below.

Recently announced for an extensive run of live headline shows and music festival appearances through the summer in the UK, Peaness are gearing up to bring their expansive itinerary of summer-driven guitar hooks and retro-style harmonies to a wider audience when ‘A World Full Of Worry’ launches in May, with the band saying, “In an unfulfilling job? Need a shake up with something in your life or you’ll go mad? Well, that’s ‘How I’m Feeling’ and it can’t be ignored anymore! Amongst self-loathing and melancholy there are sparks of determination and a belief that you deserve more. I hope it works out”, in their press release about the punchy punk-oriented tune. Determined lyrics like “This isn’t what I wanted/I break my back for you” and “This sinking ship has sailed/Threw myself over board” shine through from the off-set, where Jangle-Pop guitar melodies and scratchy, perky bass riffs power the verse. The chorus makes me think of the often underrated ‘Pretty Odd’ days of Panic! At The Disco’s earlier line-up, with a vibrant mix of 00’s Pop-Punk and late-60’s Psychedelia giving the track a quirky flavour and a nostalgic warmth in the mood, which are paired enthusiastically to lyrics like “I’ve got the guts to take a leap/You’ve gotta trust that I can” that talk about out fantasies of leaving the daily grind for something that you are more driven towards. I like how the percussion comes in towards the end, and the track has a cheerful set of sounds that are relatable, leading to a catchy chorus that should appeal to a diverse crowd of listeners because the songwriting feels accessible and there’s a retro do-it-yourself punk feel to the production, where the chanting vocals are never sullied by any auto-tune or overly polished effects. An engaging track by a very playful and dynamic three talents, ‘How I’m Feeling’ is pure summertime driving with the roof down cheer and timeless harmony-filled, slightly Lo-Fi, yet charming Pop-influenced punk music which Peaness has done with finesse!

Pictured: Balla (Lead Guitar/Lead Vocals), Jess (Bass Guitar/Lead Vocals) & Rach (Drums) (2022) (Photo via PR)

That’s all that I have lined up for you today and I have other matters to attend to now, but I thank you ever so much for checking out the blog today because your support is always highly appreciated! I’ll be back tomorrow with a taste of Jamaica as we review the latest single from a Massachusetts-based, St. Elizabeth-born Reggae-Rock artist who is the younger brother of Andrew Holness – the current Jamaican prime minister.

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Today’s Track: Jordana – ‘Catch My Drift’

February 14, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Face The Wall’ (LP) (Available from May 5th, 2022) (via Grand Jury Music)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and I hope that your eardrums are ready 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! A 20-year-old singer songwriter originally from Wichita, Kansas who I believe is based in Los Angeles, California – Jordana Nye is another in a long line of Bedroom Pop artists that has something unique to offer, and I gave her unanimous praise for her mid-pandemic singles ‘I Guess This Is Life’ and ‘Reason’ on the blog in 2020 when I discovered her. Her musical career began when her father, who was an organist at her local church, encouraged her to learn how to play instruments, and so she started on the Violin before picking up the Guitar, and she also went on to busk on the boardwalk of North Beach, Maryland when she was 13. Later, she released her debut album – ‘Classical Notions Of Self-Happiness’ – in 2019 that she entirely self-released and self-produced in her bedroom, and, in December 2020, she released a combination of two EP’s – ‘Something To Say To You’ – to essentially form up her second album. She has also collaborated with Magdalena Bay, TV Girl, Jordan Woods and producer MELVV and she will be supporting Wallows on tour in May 2020. Currently signed to Grand Jury Music, Jordana is back and she will release her next full-length LP, ‘Face The Wall’, on May 20th. She played every instrument on it by herself and it was co-produced by Cameron Hale (Claud, Khalid, Neon Trees). So far, her music has toed a line between a brevity of genres including Grunge, Lo-Fi Pop, Pop-Punk and Alternative Folk – but it has always been her notably playful personality and her gently philosophical style of songwriting that has stood out for me. On her Bandcamp page, her album’s listing has hinted at veganism, religion, upbringing and sexuality as themes to be explored on the record. “The album title has a few meanings to me”, Nye says in a press release, adding, “Mostly, it’s about not giving up. The wall can be anything in your way. The album is sort of a reminder to myself that I have to face those things, and I can’t take the easy route and turn around”. Check out the latest single – ‘Catch My Drift’ – below.

‘Face The Wall’ is Jordana’s first album to be recorded in a studio instead of her home, and she has solo headline shows planned to take place across the US in June 2022. Along with the music video for ‘Catch My Drift’, she says, “This song is about going back and forth with your feelings for someone when they make you question whether they are even reciprocated. The song is about realizing you shouldn’t be totally dependent on anybody, and that it’s a waste of energy”, in her press release. A natural choice for a single, ‘Catch My Drift’ is a catchy Pop-driven Punk number that, with its music video, transports you back to the mid-00’s where Pop-Punk reigned supreme with female artists like Avril Lavigne and Paramore’s Hayley Williams filling the air with care-free and commercial anthems about reasoned dismissals of ex-lovers, but Jordana doesn’t just pull the nostalgia card and she decorates the throwback with her personal commentary. I also love how she fills the video with a caricature of characters, like the bassist and the drummer, that are played by herself dressed in questionable outfits. It feels almost like Aphex Twin and the ‘Come To Daddy’ video by concept, and it definitely conveys her sense of humor in a fun way. It helps that the frenetic guitar riffs, with a water-tight bridge that reminds me of the 80’s and echoes the likes of Simple Minds or The Cure, are very catchy and fit the fairly light-hearted tone of the melodies. The Synths are fast and furious too, aiding the lyrics where Jordana croons hooks like “I hate to say I told you so/It’s no mistake to be alone” and “Do you catch my drift?/Are you picking up what I’m putting down” with the sense that she’s not holding her breath for wish fulfillment. There’s an excellent mixture of strength and vulnerability in her vocals and the propulsive bass and drums combo of the chorus wraps up her lovesick pain with a feeling of progression and moving forwards in personal matters. I certainly think that, if an act with a more known name or a higher profile released this exact same single tomorrow – like Taylor Swift or Olivia Rodrigo – it would get played all over the likes of BBC Radio 1 or BBC Radio 2. Therefore, it is a pity that she’s not one of them and she doesn’t quite have the same following yet. However, this is still a punchy and effortlessly likeable preview of the upcoming album that we can take pride in keeping to ourselves a little bit, although I really want for people to hear Jordana’s music and get the experience of hearing her voice. Every one of her tracks have been an absolute joy for me to listen to so far and I can’t wait to see how the new album shakes up because I strongly feel that Jordana is a real talent. Retro, accessible and intimate – ‘Catch My Drift’ is incredibly irresistible.

Pictured: Jordana Nye in a photoshoot for the ‘Something To Say To You’ EP (2020) (Photo Credit: Jacob Clark)

If this post has inspired you to check out some of Jordana’s other great material, you can get started on her discography with my post about ‘I Guess This Is Life’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/11/10/todays-track-jordana-i-guess-this-is-life/. Alternatively, there’s another ‘Reason’ for you to check out her earlier work here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/12/07/todays-track-jordana-reason/.

Pictured: Jordana in an official photoshoot for ‘Something To Say To You’ EP (2020) (Photo by Grand Jury Music)

That brings us to the end of the page for another roughly 24-hour period, and I have little else to say than to thank you for taking some time out of your day to check out this music today. Feel welcome to come back tomorrow, where we will be listening to some fresh music from a South Carolina-born producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and graphic designer who is usually recognized as one of the pioneers of the Chillwave movement from the 2010’s. He collaborated with Flume during 2020.

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Today’s Track: Wet Leg – ‘Too Late Now’

February 12, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Rhian Teasdale (Lead Vocals/Guitar) & Heather Chambers (Lead Guitar/Vocals) (Photo by Frances Beach)

Good Morning to you! This is your resident 24-year-old independent music journalist Jacob Braybrooke reporting for duty with 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! If I quoted ‘Chaise Lounge’ to you in the street, the chances are that it would mean something to you if you already love your music and your radio. It is the name of the track that bought the Isle Of Wight indie rock duo of Wet Leg – Comprised of co-vocalists and co-guitarists Rhian Teasdale and Heather Chambers – to fame, having become a viral hit that earned millions of music video views and staggering streaming figures when it found an audience on the internet last year. The duo became as such when they studied at Isle Of Wight college together and became close friends, with the pair later signing up to Domino Recordings – the same eclectic label that has released material from high profile names like Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Hot Chip, Ela Minus, Georgia, Blood Orange and more. Nowadays, Wet Leg are being played all over the BBC with playlist rotation on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music, and they have also performed on ‘Later With Jools Hollland’ on BBC Two, in addition to being shortlisted for BBC’s ‘Sound Of 2022’ award. They also began touring the US in late 2021 and the two currently have their debut studio album – a self-titled LP – slated for a full release on April 8th. Let’s check out their single ‘Too Late Now’ below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB3PJwPMHzQ

“It’s about sleepwalking into adulthood”, Teasdale writes about the guitar-oriented track, ‘Too Late Now’, in her press release, explaining, “I never imagined that my adult life would look the way it does and I guess this song reflects on some of the pressures and pulls of life. Sometimes I get really inside my head and everything can feel very overwhelming. I think this song is about accepting that life can feel a bit s**t from time to time. Maybe don’t indulge that thought too much though”, in her own words. I can totally relate to some of the themes discussed in ‘Too Late Now’, with on-point lyricism about social media like “I don’t need no dating app to tell me if I look like crap/To tell me if I’m thin or fat, to tell me should I shave my rat” that are softly sardonic, but they retain honesty and order despite their gentle humor, with the pre-chorus spoken word refrains making some important points about heightening your own expectations when you leave adolescence and life simply goes on instead of truly flourishing. Other refrains like “I don’t need no radio/No MTV, no BBC/I just need a bubble bath/To set me on a higher path” have a broader commentary on influencer or celebrity status, and how simple acts of kindness to yourself can have an impact on your enjoyment of life through the smaller and more profound actions that you make. The chorus is more hook-based, with the rambling sequence of “I’m gonna drive my car into the sea/I’m gonna drive downtown while looking pretty ordinary” going for a somber but uptempo vibe that neatly contrasts the melancholic vocals with some more optimistic melodies. Instrumentally, comparisons to The Maccabees or Porridge Radio are likely to surface as the on-nature lyricism is paired up to the tune of rich, yet raw guitar melodies and muted bass that retains a steady pace throughout the track as the drums gradually kick into a more aggressive gear and there’s a light reverb on the guitar effects that hint towards a more Emo-driven sound without ever entirely traversing into ‘Scuzz Sundays’ gear with the genres that we recall on the blog with each Sunday post, and I liked the new track overall for it’s mix of hazy disorientation and quotable lyricism with commentary that Wet Leg’s peers are clearly connecting with. It remains to be seen whether Wet Leg are truly the ‘next big thing’ or another in a tough line of near-success stories like The Ting Ting’s or The Noisettes during the 00’s. However, there’s certainly potential for their careers to keep taking off because there’s talent in here. Personally, I would say that ‘Too Late Now’ is their strongest yet.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Wet Leg’ (Self-Titled LP) (Available from 8th April, 2022) (via Domino Recordings)

That’s everything that I had lined up for you today. Your support for the site is hugely appreciated, as usual, and ‘Scuzz Sundays’ will be making its natural way to the blog tomorrow as we recall the ghosts of Pop-Punk’s past for another week. This time, we’re listening back to a mid-00’s hit from an English indie rock group who are best known for their UK top ten singles ‘Golden Touch’ and ‘America’, (a #1 hit), from 2006.

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Scuzz Sundays: Boy Kill Boy – ‘Suzie’

February 6, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Civilian’ (LP) (Released on May 22nd, 2006) (via Vertigo Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to pay another visit to one of Pop-Punk’s ghosts of the past with yet another weekly entry of ‘Scuzz Sundays’ on the daily music blog, given that it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! During the heyday of Scuzz TV, many of the most regularly featured bands were American with stateside favourites like Fall Out Boy, Bowling For Soup and Green Day proving popular with the station’s executives, and so we’re spicing things up by looking at one of the British hopefuls to rival The Killers from the time, but it sadly didn’t quite work out that way for Boy Kill Boy – a Leytonshire native rock band led by Chris Peck, who released two albums before splitting up in 2008, citing a host of issues regarding their label and some disappointing sales for their second LP – 2008’s ‘Stars And The Sea’ – as factors to their downfall. It started out promisingly for them, with the band opening the Radio 1/NME stage at Reading and Leeds Festival in 2005 and headlining NME’s New Bands Tour in 2006, as well as getting lots of support slots for Feeder, Maximo Park, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cribs, The Automatic, The Charlatans, The Long Blondes and more throughout the UK, US and internationally. Their debut album – 2005’s ‘Civilian’ – also managed to do decent business despite largely ‘meh’ reviews from critics, with the band developing a cult following and it simply went wrong when their label did not see this band as marketable due to their very classically influenced guitar rock sound – according to Peck in subsequent interviews – but they struck a chord with audiences. Boy Kill Boy’s most well-known single is probably ‘Suzie’ as it is also their highest-charting. It reached #17 on the UK Singles Chart, while other singles like ‘Back Again’ and ‘Civil Sin’ also reached the Top 50. The band also performed ‘Suzie’ on an episode of BBC’s ‘Top Of The Pops’ back at the time. Let’s catch up with ‘Suzie’ below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW5MkbexZsM

Lead vocalist Chris Peck started his own solo project when he teased ‘Riversong’ on YouTube in 2011 and keyboardist Peter Carr went on to play the keyboards in the backing band for Marina and The Diamonds in case you were wondering what happened to some of Boy Kill Boy’s line-up. They also reformed for two gigs at Oslo, Hackney, London in November 2016 to sold out sales and critical acclaim, but it’s unclear what has happened to them all outside of those few details. However, ‘Suzie’ represents the band at their peak period, with dimly dressed vocalist Peck squelching “This is not a movie, Things just ain’t the same as your favourite video” after the Synth-led intro that feels like The Killers. The Synths roll along suggestively, while the hyper guitars and drums boast a fast-paced workout with a feel that isn’t entirely commercial because the buoyancy feels quite ramshackle in delivery, and the vocals boast an unpolished sense of agitation, yet there’s some questionable accents put forth by Peck throughout the song when you listen attentively to his half Scottish and half Irish, somewhat laddish, type of croon at close attention. The structure feels catchy, with quick sections like “They said, don’t let me down again” being repeated a few times, as to wind up a live crowd and get them involved with the sing-along nature of the chorus, where Peck screams “Countdown to the disappointment” with a bitterness in his voice that is counteracted by the more blithe instrumentation where the keyboards are engaging and the Synths have a brightness to them. I enjoyed owning the full album for ‘Civlian’ when I was eight or nine years old – possibly younger – and when you listen back, it doesn’t feel outdated by a terrible amount as such. The issue is more that, at some points, you can hear them trying to recycle the laddish tropes of Kaiser Chiefs or The Ordinary Boys, and at some other times, you can hear Peck having a bash at being Maximo Park with his give-and-take live crowd-oriented delivery, and so you end up with something that feels like a re-hash of the tried-and-true tropes of peer groups from (around about) their contemporary time. That said, there’s a charm to the unpolished production with relatable lyrics about dealing with your own pessimistic spirit and how that shapes a relationship within that environment, as we all go through times like Peck’s issues with ‘Suzie’ where we think that things are going to be better than they really turn out to be. Moreover, there’s an anthemic quality to ‘Suzie’ that I feel, if we were living in a different world, could have put them more firmly on the map. As it stands, while some things aren’t quite as good as you remember them, ‘Suzie’ was certainly not a failure. It was just oddly sweet in knowingly fulfilling the London fashionista trends of 00’s ‘Indie landfill’ as the critics call it, rather than setting the world of guitar-driven rock alight for an extended period of time outside of initial success. It was only a slight disappointment.

Pictured: Chris Peck (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar/Rhythm Guitar), Kevin Chase (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Peter Carr (Keyboards/Synths/Backing Vocals) and Shaz Mahmood (Drums/Percussion) (2006) (Photo Credit: NME.com)

That’s all for now! Thank you for giving me a moment of your attention today, and I’ll be back tomorrow to kick off a new week’s worth of hyper-active blog posts, in daily succession, with a recent single by a non-binary rapper/producer from Philadelphia, Pensylvania who has been a member of Liberal Art, Third Eye Optiks and Indigold. They released their third studio LP, ‘CANDID’, on Les Fleurs Records last Wednesday.

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Scuzz Sundays: Amber Pacific – ‘Always You (Good Times)’

January 30, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Matt Young (Lead Vocals/Chief Songwriter), Will Nutter (Lead Guitar/Keyboard/Backing Vocals), Dango (Drums), Justin Westcott (Rhythm Guitar) and Greg Strong (Bass Guitar) (2010) (Photo Credit: Nicole Jordan)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for us to pay a visit to one of the ghosts of Pop-Punk’s past for another weekly entry of ‘Scuzz Sundays’ on the blog, which fits in with my challenge of writing up about a different piece of music every day! A Seattle-based Alternative Rock band, Amber Pacific were first formed in 2002 as Follow Through while the founding members were still juniors in their high school and, although not really seen as a major name in the industry, they have sold over 150,000 records worldwide. The band have gone through a fair share of line-up changes, such as when rhythm guitarist Justin Westcott was replaced in 2006 by ex-Yellowcard member Ben Harper, who subsequently left by 2007, and Westcott went on to rejoin his colleagues again in 2011, however, Amber Pacific are still active on the live touring circuit and they have recorded new music as recently as 2014 for their fourth LP release – ‘The Turn’. They also had a memorable stint as part of the Victory Records label, having released two albums there. Amber Pacific were more-or-less the definition of Scuzz’s TV music video output, with a decidedly ‘Emo’ style that you could liken to The All American Rejects, Story Of The Year and The Audition. One of their best-known singles is 2005’s ‘Always You (Good Times)’, which was taken from their debut LP release – ‘The Possibility and The Promise’ – which arrived via the California-based independent label Hopeless Records that same year. It was originally included on their debut EP, but it was later heard by a mass audience when it was featured on the soundtrack for ‘Burnout 3: Takedown’, a popular mid-2000’s arcade-style racing video game created by Criterion Games in 2004. Let’s remember it below.

Amber Pacific’s music can also be heard on the soundtrack of the 2007 animated movie ‘TMNT’, a reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise that used ‘Fall Back Into My Life’ during a few scenes. Their other single to be taken from 2005’s ‘The Possibility And The Promise’ – ‘Gone So Young’ – was also used for a TV spot to promote ‘Flicka’, a family adventure-drama film that spawned a little franchise in 2006. Musically, Amber Pacific continued to find success with the follow-up album – 2007’s ‘Truth In Sincerity’ – which reached #64 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. As for ‘Always You (Good Times)’, lead vocalist Matt Young delivers one of his most bittersweet and striking vocal performances in Amber Pacific’s library of releases with heartfelt lyrics like “Good times last forever/I’ll keep my heart with yours” and “For every minute I am gone/Swear you’ll never leave me” that sound romantic but declarative, while the chorus seems pleasant on the ears with the catchy refrain of “I’ll be there every time/In your heart and in your eyes” that is upbeat and immediately accessible to a wide pool of listeners who like their Pop and Rock to be kept straightforward and simple enough. The vocals or the lyrics never ascend to create any very memorable moments, but they are still solid enough in conveying the track’s theme of remembering positive memories in the past while you head towards a future that looks uncertain. It all feels very non-convoluted as a whole, with driving bass guitar riffs and scorching Drum melodies that keep the flow going at an uptempo pace, and Amber Pacific manage to pull off most of the goods despite there being a feeling of the band never really branching out of their genre’s comfort zone. The problem is that ‘Always You (Good Times)’ is quite generic, for the lack of a better term. There’s certainly nothing offensive or directly harmful here, but the songwriting is generally pretty bland and the chorus aren’t different enough, in comparison to their peer acts, for them to feel transcendant in any real way or stand out very much. That said, while it is not very original, everything is technically competent here. The musicianship is perfectly composed enough and the lyrics are logical enough, but the record is just perfectly adequate as opposed to truly great. Overall, I felt like Amber Pacific did a great job in creating some simple and straightforward Pop-Rock here. There’s little else to say, but it never really overstayed its welcome. Decent but cliche.

Pictured: Amber Pacific performing on their ‘Warped Tour’ (2007) (Photo Credit: John Kloepper/WikiCommons.org)

That is all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest post, and I will be back tomorrow to diversify things ahead of the new week as we review a single taken from a recent Hip-Hop album release that has found a wide audience through a steady set of acclaim from critics and popularity through its Bandcamp sales. It comes from a Chicago-born rapper, producer and songwriter who was a part of the alternative Hip-Hop collective Odd Future in the late-00’s – led by Tyler, The Creator – and he used to perform his music under the name of Sly Tendencies. He recently performed his new track, ‘2010’, on the latest episode of ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon’ in the US.

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Today’s Track: Placebo – ‘Surrounded By Spies’

January 22, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Never Let Me Go’ (LP) (Available from March 25th, 2022) (via Rise Records/Elevator Lady)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for me to bring you some company for this barren January wasteland with yet another daily track on the blog, given that it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A high-profile act formed in 90’s London who became widely praised for their androgynous appearances in their music and the media with lyrics that openly discussed taboo topics of the time like drug abuse, mental health and sexuality, it feels fitting that there is once again a gap in the market for Placebo, a London-based alternative rock/grunge band who have sold over 11 million records worldwide, to shed their skin. In their earlier years, Placebo collaborated with prolific names like David Bowie and Michael Stipe and, to date, each of the seven studio albums they have released have all reached the Top 20 of the UK Album Charts. Anybody who grew up in the late-90’s may recall the divisive single ‘Nancy Boy’ that was famous for it’s genre-blurring content. It has been 9 years since 2013’s ‘Loud Like Love’ was released, but the now-duo of vocalist-guitarist Brian Molko and bassist-guitarist Stefan Olsdal are about to follow that LP up with another – ‘Never Let Me Go’ – which arrives on March 25th via Rise Records and Elevator Lady. Following the first comeback single – ‘Beautiful James’ – the more recent track of ‘Surrounded By Spies’ was created using William S. Burroughs’ cut-up technique. Molko says that he used shredded pieces of written words to rearrange into a new text to piece together the track that lyrically envisions a society where every camera is fixated on the fictional narrator, forming a wise commentary on CCTV surveillance. Let’s give it a spin below.

“I began writing the lyrics when I discovered my neighbours were spying on me on behalf of parties with a nefarious agenda”, Molko explains about the source of the inspiration for his production techniques and the music video in a press release, later writing, “It’s a true story told through a lens of paranoia, complete disgust for modern society’s values and the deification of surveillance capitalism. The narrator is at the end of their tether, hopeless and afraid, completely at odds with our newfound progress and the god of money”, to his text description. The most die-hard of Placebo’s fans have noted how the music video has a few similarities with that of 2013’s ‘The Bitter End’, and the audio experience of ‘Surrounded By Spies’ similarly does not pull any punches as Molko charismatically repeats hooks like “The search for meaning is killing me” and “Dead fly on the national anthem” with a dark-natured heart over the top of some harsh instrumentation. While ‘Beautiful James’ – the preceding single – buzzed with some light-hearted Synths, ‘Surrounded By Spies’ feels starker and more brutal in contrast. The building guitar riffs are a subtle slow-burn, as Molko buckles under the weight of a lack of public privacy with blunt lyrics like “I saw you jump from a burning building” and “I’ve seen you move like Elvis set on fire” that conjure up some gothic rock-based imagery. The vocal delivery has a gentle air of Spoken word about it, as Molko recites a collage of dark-pop lyrics that touch upon paranoia and consent as key themes, with the half-way refrain of “I gave my heart, now I want it back” forming a key moment of soul for the song. It starts off with a backdrop of ethereal Organ chimes aided by fragmented percussion as the tension builds within the soundscape and the titular hook of “I am surrounded by spies” grows the intensity of the sound before an eventual payoff. The deft lyrical delivery portrays a claustrophobic mood in effective ways where the quiet-and-loud pace of the fluctuating sounds connects with the wry refrains throughout the track as the walls fittingly close in on the central character. It doesn’t really fit the feel-good direction of most late-90’s Pop Punk acts and so it subverts my expectations in a moving way, and the darkened Synth riffs relate to the sharp qualities of the songwriting nicely. All-around, it is a neat and cohesive package that continues to make Placebo feel like a band with a definite edgy sensibility to them. The vocals sound a little disorienting in the mix, but to be honest, I enjoyed how ‘Surrounded By Spies’ feels candid and casual instead of over-produced in any way. A poetic piece that feels dark while moving towards realism, this is a still strong offering by Placebo.

Pictured: Brian Molko (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar/Keyboard/Percussion), Stefan Olsdal (Bass Guitar/Piano/Backing Vocals) and Steve Forrest (Drums/Percussion/Backing Vocals) (2003) (Photo Credit: Jamie Crossnan/NME.com)

As Placebo were a fairly prominent part of the 00’s Pop-Punk scene, they have also been subjected to my distinctive feature of ‘Scuzz Sundays’ before. You can revisit the sound of ‘Pure Morning’ from 1998 here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/15/scuzz-sundays-placebo-pure-morning/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ (LP) (Released on 12th October, 1998) (via The Hut/Virgin)

That’s enough privacy invasion for one morning! Thank you for joining me today, and I’ll be back tomorrow for another weekly installment of ‘Scuzz Sundays’ which, this week, features a unique Pop-Punk cover of Nena’s German 90’s hit ’99 Red Balloons’ by a California-based ska punk band who got their own version used in pop culture media productions like ‘Not Another Teen Movie’, ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ and ‘Eurotrip’.

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Scuzz Sundays: Green Day – ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)’

January 2, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Nimrod’ (LP) (Released on October 14th, 1997) (via Reprise Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has arrived again for me to see find out if a series of Pop-Punk style hits from between the 90’s and 00’s can match up to quality in the modern times for ‘Scuzz Sundays’ – not forgetting that it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! When thinking about the bands who popularized heavier variations of Rock in the mainstream of the US during the specified period of the Scuzz TV days – bands like Panic! At The Disco, Feeder, Bowling For Soup, Weezer, All American Rejects and The Bloodhound Gang call to my mind for various reasons. However, it feels shocking that we haven’t covered Green Day to any extent for my feature, a very famous 90’s/00’s East Bay native punk rock band who have sold over 75 million records worldwide and released a new album as recently as 2020, before. That’s mostly because I can’t stand ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’ at all because I had to perform it SO MANY TIMES for a music class in secondary school. However, one of their other most famous recordings – ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)’ – should subside in kicking off the new year with some solid familiarity. A single that showed a softer side to Billie Joe Armstrong, who was previously known for playing his edgy teen-angled music loud and proud, the band’s famous ballad of 1997 reached the top 20 of the charts in several countries including Australia, Iceland, the UK, Canada and the US. It has also been downloaded over 2.6 million times – and I should think it went some way in securing a Broadway stage musical spot related to the band’s other massive hit ‘American Idiot’ in sturdy fashion before the theatrical piece premiered in 2010. On that note – I hope you have the time of your life with ‘Good Riddance’ below.

You’ve probably heard ‘Good Riddance’ played in sentimental spaces like your wedding or a high-school prom night, but the original source of inspiration behind Armstrong’s anthem came from a heart of anger. He told Loudersound in 2016, “It’s about an ex-girlfriend who had moved to Ecuador. In the song, I tried to be level-headed about her leaving, even though I was completely p***ed off. So, I named it ‘Good Riddance’ just to express my anger”, before a late-night house party influenced him to write the material under an Acoustic music guise, a move that he told NME was stylistically different for the band and a risky choice at the time. On this record, Armstrong manages to be relatable and effective in this simplicity and, while seeing a band previously known for darker Punk material turn to a more reflective tone for a gentle ballad isn’t an unprecedented move and a fairly predictable deviation in the modern times, it’s still good to see that Green Day weren’t afraid to change their style up for the benefit of varied material to shape up their discography. Setting this scene with the opening of “Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road” and “Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go” that trade raucous riffs for intimacy, the band are confident in backing up Armstrong’s restrained vocals with a fragile String section and a shifting series of warm vintage acoustic guitar strums. The memorable hook of “It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right/I hope you had the time of your life” has an air of vengeance buried underneath the warmer delivery, but it comes across as heartfelt enough through the reflective vocals that refrain from auto-tune manipulation. While the song does sound very commercial, it was not over-produced. The vocals are a bit formulaic, but they are honest and packed with a small sense of genuine emotion and, really, Green Day are a decent band for being able to achieve these effects with such a radio-friendly recording. I think it’s the ubiquity of the sentimental value that transcends the immediate context of the songwriting that feels timeless and makes the song continually find new popularity with more passing generations and, really, that is still a solid achievement. Overall, this was an often misinterpreted little track that – while not revolutionary – has found a reason to be popular. Peaceful – if commercial – music with enough heart to stand the test of time.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘American Idiot’ (LP) (Released on September 21st, 2004) (via Reprise Records)

‘Good Riddance’ may remain to be a frequent staple for the end of Green Day’s live performances, but the show must always go on here at One Track At A Time. Join me for the rest of a seemingly never-ending encore tomorrow with our first entirely regular track post in a short time. It comes from a now-solo English musician who was formerly a member of Spaceman 3 and, among line-up changes, his associated band won awards like NME’s Album Of The Year 1997 – beating Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’.

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