Gothic Punk

New Album Release Friday: Garbage – “No Gods, No Masters”

June 11, 2021 — Leave a comment

‘Taking Out The Trash’ now has a completely different meaning. Time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “No Gods, No Masters” (LP) (Released on June 11, 2021) (via Infectious Music)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, just like usual, with the lingo for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It’s Friday – and this week’s notable new releases include the debut album from Cleopatrick (Canada’s answer to Royal Blood), the 18th LP release in nine years from the endearingly proactive cult Aussie Prog-Rock ensemble King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, a ‘joint’ collaborative album from US rapper KennyHoopla and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, the latest long-player from the Post-Hardcore legends AFI and the new Minnesota musician Rachel Lime is taking things to an intergalactic level on ‘A.U.’, her debut LP offering. June 11th also marks the release date for ‘No Gods, No Masters’, the extensive seventh LP from 90’s Post-Punk pioneers Garbage. Formed out of the ashes of the bands Spooner and Fire Town, Shirley Manson’s band comfortably filled the void which a declining Grunge genre and a murky phase for Metal left for them, becoming highly significant for a female-fronted punk rock outfit of the time, and they have since sold over 17 million albums globally. The follow-up to 2016’s ‘Strange Little Birds’, Garbage’s new album has been pitched by Manson as “a critique of the rise of capitalist short-sightedness, racism, sexism and misogyny across the world”. Let’s sample the titular single below.

Paired with a music video directed by Scott Stuckey, Manson penned ‘No Gods, No Masters’ as her reaction to the Chilean protests against inequality and corruption when she took a trip to Santiago recently, and she was shocked at the sights of graffiti that had been painted over museums and monuments, until one of her guides checked her, asking her why she was more suprised by the damage being made to statues and the environment more than actual people, saying “That was like a slap in the face” in her press release. Built on Synth-infused guitar riffs and electric-soaked drum sequences, Manson chants refrains like “The future is mine, Just the same/No master or gods to obey” and “Nothing lasts and no one stays/The same forever, so accept the change” above the warmly melodic and Pop-oriented backdrop. Lyrics like “Save your prayers for yourself/’Cause they don’t work and they don’t help” touch on religious conflict, and further lyrics like “You want what’s mine/I want what’s yours” call out to those affected by gun violence. The finale, a final repeat of the chorus, comes after a slower bridge that takes us back to the 1990’s Alternative Rock scene, as Manson croons ” You want what’s mine/I want what’s yours” as the instrumentation crawls to a halt, with acidic Synth riffs and a heavy reverb effect. It feels very catchy and hook-led overall, despite touching on a wide variety of topical issues that carry weight, with a moody vocal performance that feels sub-cultural and an energetic guitar delivery which feels buoyant. It’s also very polished, with the rhythms and the candid vocals being mixed smoothly. Impressively, an underlying sense of warmth permeates throughout the track because it feels familiar and nostalgic to hear the group making a similar kind of music to their peak popularity, but the messages that lie underneath this ‘gentle hug from an old friend’ are moving and spoken carefully. I did think it was a little forgettable. However, I could certainly see it gaining airplay somewhere like BBC Radio 2 since it’s fairly light-hearted and recognizably Garbage overall. A visceral and cutting, but accessible and immediate, piece of nostalgic Punk.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Version 2.0” (Released on May 11th, 1998) (via Mushroom Records/Almo)

If you think that someone’s watching you, then you might not want to check out my earlier blog post about Garbage’s ‘I Think I’m Paranoid’ from last year. If you’re a fan of Manson’s misadventures, however, simply be my guest. Catch up on that here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/09/18/todays-track-garbage-i-think-im-paranoid-1998/

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “I Think I’m Paranoid” (Single) (Released on July 6, 1998) (via Almo Sounds)

That’s all for now – today’s ‘Garbage’ has been collected, after all. ‘Scuzz Sundays’ returns in two days time, as always, but, before we get to that point, I’ve got some more brand new music to share amongst you tomorrow. It marks the big return of a cult London band known for compiling archived clips from old public information films along with their guitars, synths, banjo’s and drums – and even including a vibraslap – to create their wildly inventive music. The band also took part in a special performance for BBC Proms to mark the celebration of Neil Armstrong’s moon landings last year. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: Disturbed – “Land Of Confusion”

May 16, 2021 — Leave a comment

Can you feel that? Get ready. Say it with me now. OHWAHAHAHOH! It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: CD/Vinyl Bundle set for “The Sickness” (2X LP) (2000) (Photo by MetalKingdom.Net(

Good Afternoon to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for the return of our weekly throwback to the Pop-Punk of yore, that being from the late-90’s to the mid-00’s, to see what quality or value has been left behind, as we pop out of a brief hiatus. What better way to pick up where we left off than with a little Disturbed? Since getting ‘Down With The Sickness’ from 1994, the Chicago Heavy Metal veterans have released two live albums and sold their way to over 17 million copies of their albums worldwide, comfortably placing them among Slipknot or Metallica in Metal crossover success stories. In the UK, Disturbed are perhaps best known for conceiving their own unlikely Top 20 hit in the form of a 2015 cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound Of Silence’ that was originally written between 1963 and 1964. Another notable cover from Disturbed was their 2006 rendition of ‘Land Of Confusion’, which was originally performed by Genesis for their album, ‘Invisible Touch’, in 1986. Disturbed’s version was a single taken from their 2005 album, ‘Ten Thousand Fists’, which became their second #1 debut atop the Billboard 200 in the US. Let’s revisit the music video below.

‘Ten Thousand Fists’ marked a catalyst for change on Disturbed’s part. It was their first album not to feature the former bassist, John Moyer, who was replaced by Steve Kmak, among their lineup. It was also their first album to feature their ‘The Guy’ mascot on it’s cover artwork, who popped up appearances in their music videos and accompanying art work in the years since, and, along with that, it was their first album release not to include a ‘Parental Advisory’ sticker on the front sleeve. Remember those? A metal cover of Genesis’s famous 80’s Rock tune that saw them parody Spitting Image in the music video, Disturbed’s version of ‘Land Of Confusion’ trades in the electronic enhancements for the loud Punk direction. The echo of Peter Gabriel’s vocals can still be somewhat heard, however, in the upbeat mood that Disturbed vocalist David Draiman uses. It’s not inherently too different to the Genesis version, but it just uses heavier chords and a more angry emotional tone. Draiman puts the memorable original’s hooks of “This is the world we live in/And these are the hands we’re given” and “Oh, Superman, where are you now?/When everything’s gone wrong somehow” into a more ferocious pitch. It wouldn’t be a Disturbed anthem without the croaking vocal delivery of choking sounds during the post-bridge section, and the guitar work feels more visceral than Genesis’s version. The chord progression feels less telegraphed, with sudden changes in tempo and Draiman sounds like a sort-of comic book Super-Villian instructing us all to make the world a better place as he matches the upbeat Drum beats. The guitar solo in the middle has a nice Classical Rock feel to it, reminding me of short-lived acts of the era like Angel Witch in the process. Although this one is a bit on the ‘corny’ side overall, it still feels much like the tune we all originally know that was composed by Genesis back in their heyday. Disturbed do a solid job of remaining faithful to the original version, and it makes for a fun time overall because the melodic remnants of the original version remain intact. A fun take that does it’s job and its short & sweet enough to not overstay it’s welcome.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Immortalized” (LP) (Released on August 21st, 2015) (via Warner Bros. Records)

That’s all I have time to offer you today – but I’ve still got plenty of new music to get chatting about this week. It all starts off as we enter a new week tomorrow, as we follow-up on our recent Charlotte Adigery post with another one of the exclusive tracks to the DEEWEE label’s new ‘Foundations’ compilation album release. It comes from an equally gifted English singer-songwriter who was once the Keyboardist of the mid-00’s wonders Klaxons, and is married to, of all people, Keira Knightley! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: The Union Underground – “Turn Me On Mr. Deadman”

May 2, 2021 — Leave a comment

From Death Valley, weighing in at 309 pounds, it’s The Undertaker! It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “…An Education In Rebellion) (Released on July 18, 2000) (via Columbia Records)

Good Evening to you! It’s been a deadline-filled weekend for me, but I have only just found the time for your weekly weekend throwback to the Scuzz TV days of old, as we take an in-depth look back at one of the old Pop-Punk staples from the late-1990’s through to the mid-00’s. The combination between Pop-Punk and Pro Wrestling has occasionally been a rather bizzare one, and nowhere has this been more exemplified than by the short-lived San Antonio Nu-Metal project The Union Underground, whose band members left an indelible mark on the promotional ties between the Pro Wrestling world and the mainstream music world, despite only actually releasing one album on a major label. A second LP has been teased by the Texas outfit since 2018, but we’re still waiting. If you’re familiar with the WWE product in the mid-2000’s, ‘Turn Me On Mr Deadman” will be instantly recognizable to you, since it was used as the theme tune for Raw between early 2002 and late 2006. It also did decent business commercially, landing a #11 spot on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the US. The associated album, ‘An Education In Rebellion’ explored personal teenhood topics for the band’s members, and followed an entirely self-produced debut EP that sold them more than 5,000 copies. Prepare for nostalgia with “Turn Me On Mr. Deadman” below.

“I’d bet my bottom dollar this band will be around 10 years from now” were the famous last words about The Union Underground that then-Columbia A&R executive John Weakland used to describe Columbia’s acquisition of the group, hot on the tails of a first album which stayed on the American album charts somehow for four months. What happened? Well, the sister label that technically owned them, Portrait, an imprint of Columbia folded, and so each of the band’s members decided to go their seperate ways and pursue different projects, each to varying degrees of success. This leaves ‘Turn Me On Mr. Deadman’ to be the most glaring example of what they had to offer, at this point, with aggressive lyrics vaguely about rebellion living in a spirit of youthful angst and Power-Pop driven bass riffs to boot. Vocals like “Penetrate all the simple minds, They adore what a bore, how they stand in line” and “What;s my drug of choice/It’s okay, when they pay, they say I got the voice” float over the top of a push-and-pull lead guitar hook and the chorus explodes with viscerality and tension, with plenty of F-bombs for good measure. There’s shades of classic Metal bands like Megadeth and Judas Priest thrown in there, as a clear Pop influence drives the violent melodies and the most definitely loud vocals forwards with little regard for holding back. It remains unclear what exactly the lyrics are expressing, however, and the rhythms seem to be lacking in much variation. There’s some fun to be had here, but if you’re looking for innovative forays into unexplored territory here, it certainly isn’t the record you’re after. I thought the band had a surprisingly nice chemistry together though, and the producers certainly know how to create some effective build-up’s for the big riffs. It was quite catchy, overall. However, the “middle finger” sentiments of the lyrics feel half-baked, the rhythms feel too recycled and too often, and there’s just almost zero substance for me to latch onto. Pay up, Mr. Weakland – You made a bet…

  • Pictured: Bryan Scott (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Patrick Kennison (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), John Moyer (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Josh Memelo (Drums) (2002) (Photo via Discogs.com)

That’s all I’ve got time for, and, besides, the four episodes of my two documentaries that I’ve got left to do are sadly not going to produce themselves. I’ll be sure to dedicate an hour or so from my hectic schedule to provide you some introductions to a new artist tomorrow, however, who mixes Drum ‘N’ Bass with Neo-Soul, and comes by way of Leeds and Manchester. Her latest EP has just been released on HIJINXX – which is also the name of the DIY youth street art side project that she operates. 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: Viagra Boys – “Girls and Boys”

April 19, 2021 — Leave a comment

A billboard said Niagra Falls is the tallest waterfall – Falls advertising. New post time!

  • Pictured: Sebastian Murphy, Benjamin Valle, Oskar Carls, Henrik Hockert, Tor Sjoden and Elias Jungqvist (aka Viagra Boys) at The Great Escape in Brighton, Sussex (2019) (Photo via DIYMag.com)

Good Morning to you! Jacob Braybrooke here, and I’m kicking off the new week with another daily entry on the blog, as always, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Girls & Boys’ is a Swedish cocktail of riotous Post-Punk and harsh Prog-Jazz from the ludicrously witty band Viagra Boys, who formed in Stockholm in 2015, as a collective of members originally from other local bands including Neu-Ronz, Les Big Byrd, Pig Eyes, Nine and Nitad from the local-ish music scene. They released their debut album, ‘Street Worms’ to decent reviews and cult success in 2018, with praise being directed towards the use of black comedy and satire within their lyrics. This long-player earned them IMPALA’s “Album Of The Year Award” in 2019. Fast forward to 2021, and the second full-length effort, ‘Welfare Jazz’, has arrived via their own label, YEAR0001. Lately, the band have also confirmed that a third album is on the way, telling us that it was largely self-produced and that it has already been recorded, according to the bassist Henrik ‘Benke’ Höckert. You can watch a live ‘Shrimp Session’ Viagra Boys recorded for the track, ‘Girls & Boys’, for free on their YouTube channel, but, for now, let’s take a listen to the studio version below.

‘Girls & Boys’ was co-produced by Matt Sweeney (Run The Jewels, Cat Power) and Justin & Jeremiah Raisen (Kim Gordon, Sky Ferreira), with additional work from past collaborators Pelle Gunnerfeldt & Daniel “Fagge” Fagerström (The Knife, The Hives), and you can also catch another track which sees Viagra Boys enlist the aid of Amy Taylor from Amyl & The Sniffers on their new record, entitled ‘In Spite Of Ourselves’, a cover version of the track of the same title by late-great John Prine released in 1999. ‘Girls & Boys’, however, is not a cover version of Blur’s classic, but a surreal and silly, Saxophone-smattered tour of outdated gender roles. It’s also ludicrously silly too, with a call-and-response format that sees a distorted voice sing “Drugs” and “Girls” as vocalist Sebastien Murphy pairs them up with one-liners like “The only way I can boogie down” and “They always wanna tie me down”. “Shrimps” is my favourite, and I believe this is an in-joke the band have with their fans, although I’m not familiar enough with the band to really say. I think the lack of context gives it a lick of abstract art themes, and makes these crazy hooks sound all the more random. The Brass instrumentation is abrasive and incendiary, as the clashing Post-Rock guitar riffs create a strange Disco beat of-sorts. The lyrics are all about partying at their most basic, with Murphy wailing about inability to socially connect, while the strength of the distorted guitar melodies and the overly aggressive qualities of the Jazz elements hint towards something that feels more psychotic and briefly unsettling. Whether this absurdist Noise-Punk disco roller is satirical or silliness is left quite ambiguous, but it certainly isn’t a particularly feel-good single by traditional means, despite the oddly danceable melodicism of the pace. Pure unadulterated mayhem. Chaotically sublime.

  • Pictured: Physical CD copy of ‘Welfare Jazz’ (LP) (Released on January 29th, 2021) (via YEAR001)

That’s all for now – I think we’re all going to need a little breather after that one. Join me again tomorrow, however, as we diversify things up with an in-depth look at a, perhaps less frantic, tune from a Trinidad-born composer and Steel Pan player who has been a founding member of Twentieth Century Steel Band, and has collaborated on projects with Blur and Morcheeba. His latest album has recently been released by Moshi Moshi Records. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

New Album Release Friday: Dry Cleaning – “Strong Feelings”

April 2, 2021 — Leave a comment

The UK Art-Rockers who are terrific ‘Post-Punk poets’ of the everyday. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “New Long Leg” (LP) (Released on April 2nd, 2021) (via 4AD)

Good Morning to you – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s already time for me to get typing up on the blog, yet again, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Good Friday album releases include the long-awaited debut album from West Loathian indie group The Snuts (Peruse my post from Monday for my thoughts on the latest single from that) and the eclectic new collection from the cult Canadian collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor, who I can remember my current lecturer saying is their favourite band. However, it’s the debut LP – ‘New Long Leg’ – from the unique South London band Dry Cleaning that has my attention this week. Led by Florence Shaw, the 4-piece of creatives has been steadily growing an excitable following over the past few months, with standout tracks like ‘Scratchcard Lanyard’ and ‘Viking Hair’ leading to appearances on ‘Later… With Jools Holland’ and the BBC Radio 6Music Festival in the build-up to the arrival of their debut full-length release, which arrives on 4AD today. This budding journalist is also a fan of their work, as the band fuse amusing Spoken Word verses with some effective Post-Rock shredding. One of the singles includes ‘Strong Feelings’, which Shaw tells the press is “about secretly being in love with someone who doesn’t know it, and Brexit’s disruptive role in romantic relationships.” Check out the music video below.

Dry Cleaning have been working on their first long-player for a while now, but, as with most artists, current events have impacted the development stages, with Shaw telling the press that “I found the lockdown played into some of the themes I was interested in anyway, living in a small world, a feeling of alienation, paranoia and worry, but also a joyful reveling in household things,” frontwoman Florence Shaw says. “It’s not just sheer pent-up energy all the time in the way that the first two EPs were. I feel more confident with leaving gaps.” in the midst of writing each track in a crisis. It also has an intentionally ambiguous choice of it’s title, with Shaw also penning ” a new long leg could be an expensive present or a growth or a table repair.” as per the group’s press statements. The vocal delivery on ‘Strong Feelings’ feels equally as deadpan, with slowly building guitar riffs and mid-tempo drum beats that permeate the off-beat, quirky and the somewhat random, if poetic lyrics. Lines like “I spent £17 on Mushrooms for you, Cause I’m silly” and “I’ve been thinking about eating that Hot Dog for hours” particularly standing out amongst the deliberately plain pack. The Geophys from ‘Time Team’ is mentioned too, and a self-described ‘Emo dead stuff collector’ also flood the scene. Meanwhile, the angular guitar work forms a groove of-sorts, which leads to a slightly more 80’s-driven and synth-inspired conclusion. “Long and lean, and young and lovely, You just want to be liked” and “My only ambition in life is to grip the roots of your hair” sell a slight sense of desperation for the off-kilter character, where a sense of lust disillusion their thinking and the reasons they live for. Ultimately, I think that I prefer ‘Scratchcard Lanyard’ because it feels slightly more catchy and it’s more quick to deliver it’s puns, but, this is yet another solid effort from a fresh-sounding band who seem to really know what they’re doing, and better than that, they’re doing it well. Dry Cleaning are a distinct, exciting addition to their genre.

  • Pictured: Florence Shaw (Lead Vocals/Writer), Lewis Maynard (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Tom Dowse (Bass Guitar) and Nick Buxton (Drums/Percussion) (in 2020) (Photo Credit: Ed Miles/DIY.com)

I’ve come here to make a Ceramic Shoe, and I’ve come to smash what you made! If you’re here to read more posts on Dry Cleaning, browse some feelings on ‘Scratchcard Lanyard’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/02/02/todays-track-dry-cleaning-scratchcard-lanyard/

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Scratchcard Lanyard” (Single) (Released on November 19th, 2020) (via 4AD)

Thank you for checking out my latest post – and I’ll leave you to run along and have a Good Friday! If that off-the-cuff joke didn’t put you off, the Easter weekend continues tomorrow with a post that is something a bit different to the kind of music that we usually cover on the blog. We’re looking back to the early-00’s for a collaborative project once led by Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: Marilyn Manson – “The Fight Song”

March 14, 2021 — Leave a comment

Let us take a walk on the wild – or, possibly, more like weird? – side. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Marilyn Manson (2017) (Photo Credit: Mauricio Santana/Getty Images/EW.com)

Good Morning to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, writing from Stoke-On-Trent once again, and it’s time for our weekly blast from the past, as we re-evaluate one of the Pop-Punk classics from the Emo era around the late-1990’s through to the mid-2000’s, to see whether they can hold up to value among modern quality standards. Juxtaposing the names of golden age film star Marilyn Monroe and cult leader Charles Manson (two very different American cultural icons) for his stage alias and band, Ohio-based rock star Marilyn Manson always came across as more ‘Goth’ than ‘Emo’ to me, with politically charged music that points fingers at the American political systems and gun violence issues. In fact, he used to really freak me out as a child. However, he’s still one of the biggest artists from the era, with a large wave of multi-platinum and gold selling albums coming along with his wave of controversy. I know that Marilyn has been in the news recently, for the wrong reasons, and so I originally delayed this post after planning to do it for the Royal Rumble Sunday, solely because the title of ‘The Fight Song’ really fits the theme for the big multi-man match. So, I’m just going to judge the track purely for it’s quality to avoid sensitive material. ‘The Fight Song’ was released back in 2000 on his fourth studio LP, ‘Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)’, which was a Rock-Opera concept album with an Industrial metal style and Glam Rock-influenced production akin to some of Manson’s earlier work. It had it’s share of controversy, no suprise there, but it’s still seen by publications like Kerrang! as some of his best work, who commented in 2010: “[It is] still scathingly relevant [and] a credit to a man who refused to sit and take it, but instead come out swinging.” for a retrospective. Let’s take the brass knuckles of ‘The Fight Song’ below.

Urgh… There’s something about that dude. Unsettling. Most recently, he’s been dabbling his paintbrush in a little bit of Art work, completing an art exhibition in 2017 of 20 paintings which he called ‘Genealogies of Pain’ with the famously off-his-rockers film director, David Lynch, which took place at the Kuntshalle gallery in Vienna. For ‘The Fight Song’ specifically, Manson voices his usual complaints by titling the track as a pun of the ‘fight songs’ that US football teams use as their theme tunes. Therefore, it becomes a post-Columbine statement disparaging the college traditions of the US, and America’s fandom for football being a metaphor for the country’s glorification of violence among the youth, in the case of Manson’s opinions. The track was a decent sized hit in the UK, reaching #24 in the Singles Charts over here. Performed as a direct address to the listener as his audience, Manson voices his grindings with bold lyrics like “Nothing suffocates you more/Than the passing of everyday human events” and “Isolation is the oxygen mask, You make your children breathe in to survive”, with heavy guitar riffs and quick drum signatures selling his feelings of anger and rage. It feels commercially suitable enough, however, with polished production and hooks like “So when we are bad, We’ll scar your minds” and “The death of one is a tragedy, The death of a million is just sadistic” that pop out a little. It’s very outspoken and direct, with a snarling vocal performance that complements the bitter qualities of the songwriting. The electric guitar riffs aren’t likely to change the world, but they keep the pace rolling at a fiery speed. The underlying themes are the use of tragic death as an exploitation for entertainment among the masses, with a couple of high-pitched wails and screams of which your mileage may vary on. Overall, although Manson is likely to always cause a share of controversy and has a very direct way of expressing his opinions that I can’t say I always agree with, I think one of the most important elements of making ‘good music’ has to be a message or expression formed within the fabric of the sound. ‘The Fight Song’ is a success in these regards, but he is just not a dude I’d want to hang out with.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Holy Wood (In The Shape Of The Valley Of Death” (2000) (via Nothing Records)

That’s all I have for you right now… Run along and have a nice day! I’ll be back at it again tomorrow, however, for an in-depth look at some brand new music from a relatively familiar face from the blog – the second entry from a Disco throwback project from a Los-Angeles based project (I’m still not 100% sure if it’s just a dude or a band, but anyways) who hosts his own podcast with new episodes releasing every Thursday. The track is a cover of a famous 60’s pop hit originally performed by Wayne Fontana. 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: The Pretty Reckless (feat. Tom Morello) – “And So It Went”

March 6, 2021 — Leave a comment

…But we should never forget that God gave Rock and Roll to you! It’s new post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Death By Rock and Roll” (Released on Feb 12th, 2021) (via Fearless Records)

Good Morning to you, my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s finally time yet again for me to spruce up your mid-weekend with a new daily blog post, since it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It makes me feel quite old to think that Taylor Momsen’s Pop-Punk outfit, The Pretty Reckless, has been going for the better part of just over an entire decade now. Since the masses nodded their head to the tune of “Make Me Wanna Die” from the popular 2010 comic book action-comedy film, “Kick-Ass”, which had starred the likes of Aaron Taylor-Johnston, Chloe Grace Moretz, Nicolas Cage and Christopher Mintz-Plasse – among a few other famous faces – Momsen’s band have managed to achieve streaming figures of over 10 millon now, and so naturally, I’d expect their latest material to head in a more commercial direction. “Death By Rock and Roll” is the title of their fourth studio album and this is also their first LP to be released through their new label, Fearless Records, when it saw the light of day last month. The new album features guest appearances from Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron, as well as the very prolific Violinist Lindsey Stirling, but I’d argue the most notable of which comes from the mega-famous Rage Against The Machine guitarist, Tom Morello, who delivers a charging guitar solo on the last single, “And So It Went”. Let’s check it out right below.

Centred around the key themes of political protests and censorship rights, Momsen describes the songwriting process and the backing band-oriented production of the latest record as a new body of work designed “To celebrate the power of speaking out in order to promote a more just world” in her press notes for this release, and more guests, such as Within Temptation’s Sharon Den Adel, have jumped on-board to establish more of a collaborative enterprise for the track listing to pull from, in order to convey this sense of making difference through togetherness, and challenging social norms with a combined display of unity. Of course, “And So It Went” is a melodically driven Pop-Rock track at most, with Momsen delivering lines like “And so it went, the children lost their minds” and “Begging for forgiveness was such a waste of time” above the typically rousing and quickly building pace of the guitar-oriented instrumentation that builds from the back of an atmospheric, dark synth riff in the opening. The bridge is sharp and sounds bitter, with Momsen crooning: “They said the world does not belong to you, You are not the king, I am not the fool” as the bass guitars chug along and the lyrics build to a stadium sing-along anthem with heavy chords and loud vocals. The track reaches a slow breakdown towards the end of the track, with lines like “With all these eyes upon us, but no one seems to see/That you and me are just the same as God meant it to be” permeating over a lighter keyboard melody. It’s just a temporary interlude, however, as we reach the ever-impressive guitar solo from Tom Morello, before Momsen brings things to a close with the chant-led chorus. It’s a track that goes for a very anthemic feel, and for the most part, I feel that it succeeds. There are enough callbacks to their sound in the past to show a progression of their artistry, and I think both the vocals and the instrumentals work quite well to suit their purpose of giving the track it’s urgency. I have a few nitpicks with it, such as the structure feeling very conventional towards the modern Pop song format and the track remains in the safe establishment of the Pop-Punk wheelhouse for the most part, but there is a nice message behind the track and it gives the fans what they probably came for, if not much else. It does sound rather commercial, but it is still decently inspired. It’s nothing that special, but overall, I think it’s perfectly fine.

  • Pictured: Taylor Momsen (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Ben Phillips (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Mark Damon (Bass Guitar) and Jamie Perkins (Drums/Percussion) (2016) (Photo by Andrew Lipovsky)

Well, that one was a bit of a “Scuzz Sundays” tune – wasn’t it? Of course, you can join me for the real thing tomorrow, as we take a stroll down the memory lane of Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk releases from the late-90’s to the mid-00’s. Our next entry in the series is a track that peaked at #25 on the Alternative Airplay chart and #15 on the Mainstream Rock Charts in the US – coming from a Memphis-based Grunge band whose debut album was released on the Rockingchair Records label, which was newly set up at the time by Mark Yoshida and Ruth Thompson-Bernabe. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: SPAN – “Found”

February 21, 2021 — Leave a comment

Two albums – but they sold 55 million units during their life SPAN. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Jarle Bernhoft (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Fridtjof Nilsen (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Kim Nordbaek (Bass Guitar/Vocals) and Fredrik Wallumrød (Drums) (2004) (Photo by Metal Express Radio)

Good Morning to you – I’m Jacob Braybrooke and this is “Scuzz Sunday”, our special weekly feature on the blog where we take a leisurely stroll down the memory lane of the ancient Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk releases, taken from between the time of the late-1990’s and the mid-2000’s, to see if these old dogs can still do any tricks – and that’s because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Formed out of the ashes of prior bands, Squid and Explicit Lyrics, Span was a short-lived 4-piece band fronted by Norweigan singer Jarle Bernhoft. You’d be forgiven for not remembering their second album, “Vs. Time”, but their debut LP, “Mass Distraction”, was a sizable commercial hit. At the end of the day, Span still managed to sell over 55 million units of their records worldwide, and they spent a brief period touring in the US after selling out a headline tour in the UK and Norway. They also got to work with big-time producer, Gil Norton (The Pixies, Echo & The Bunnymen, Terrorvision) on “Mass Distraction”, which reached the Top 5 of the Norwegian charts in it’s heyday. So, what went wrong? Well, issues with their label (Island Records) led to US record deals with Geffen Records and Interscope Records falling through, and their debut LP saw an underwhelming delayed release in that market when much of their hype died down. It led to the follow-up only releasing in Norway, and although it did pretty well there, the band decided to call it quits after failing to recoup their costs and momentum in 2005, and the band posted a note on their website to announce this. Let’s relive those days with the single “Found” below.

Regrettably, I think the story of SPAN is a simple one and one that history repeats – it’s simply one of those bands who you cling to in your adolescence, but nobody really knew of them (Hands up those of you who remember “She Might” by Noise Next Door) or had really heard of their break-up (BoyKillBoy, anyone?) and that just closed the lid of can of worms. It’s an amicable situation for the quartet, though, with the band stating they “no longer share a common dream and ambition” and they had “decided to end this while we are still the best of friends” in 2005, and the members have all embarked on decent solo careers in the years since, with Joff Nilsen developing a TV career and Jarle Bernhoft has released numerous solo albums, so none of them were scarred much by the folding of the project. Span obviously had a vibrant Pop sensibility, as you probably noticed when you heard “Found” just a minute ago. The opening of the track reminded me of Foo Fighters, while the deadpan and more psych-driven harmonics of the distorted guitars made me think of Queens Of The Stone Age, and the rapid time signatures made me think of Maximo Park. It was a very contemporary sound at the time, and, for me, it feels like a mis-mash of a few of the era’s most popular groups. The lyrics are steadfast and the words are very hook-led, with an explosive refrain of “Vital information that can not be found” breaking into a Rage Against The Machine-ish guitar riffs that chugs along like a steam engine train on a collision course to Snowdon. The verses are more slower, and veer into basic Hard Rock territory. The verses of “My legs are sleeping, My body is weeping” and “A human disorder/A life on the border, a lack of a plan” are pretty unremarkable, but the themes of mental health are present, and this shows a decent attempt at handling wider issues with a focus on the internal male. The rest of the instrumentation is not minimal, with a duelling vocal from Bernhoft and Nilsen being attacked by a distorted drum part and the similarly trucking bass guitar riff. It feels like something I’d expect to hear on Radio X in the UK, with a very produced sound that just about qualifies as “Indie”. While the overall results are a bit forgettable, it’s an entertaining slice of Emo-centric Rock, with melodic hooks and instrumentation that sounds focused, never quite meandering to the wayside or getting too repetitive. You’d be forgiven for not remembering it, but I think there was talent that was never quite given the right opportunity to flourish here, and I think that a longer run, or a more supported one, for the band, could have encouraged more boldness to succeed.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Mass Distraction” (Released in 2004) (via Island Records)

Thank you for reading my post on the blog today! I’ve got more in store for you tomorrow, and if you’re a fan of your adventurous Alternative Folk, then I’ve hopefully got what should be a treat for you – with brand new music from a Michigan-originated group who have recently been teasing a new follow-up since their last album, released three years ago, with a collection of live-streamed shows entitled “Alive From Whispering Pines”. Best known for their 2015 hit, “The Night We Met”, which has been streamed over 680 million times after being heavily featured in the controversial Netflix drama series, “13 Reasons Why”. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: HIM – “Buried Alive By Love”

February 14, 2021 — Leave a comment

It’s the day of St. Valentine, and for raising awareness of singledom. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Love Metal” (LP) (Released on May 5th, 2003) (via BMG Music Group)

Happy Valentine’s Day – even if I don’t celebrate it. The truth hurts – but my truth is that it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It’s time for a new entry in our Scuzz Sundays series – where we revisit a classic from the Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk era’s of the late-90’s through to the mid-00’s, to see if there’s still quality to be found within them in the new age. This week’s pick is loosely based around today’s minor holiday, even though I would moan and complain that I’m a firm believer that, if you love someone, you should do things to show that EVERYDAY, and not just a one-off Sunday in February. Load of nonsense. Anyway, now I digress. HIM were a very successful Nu-Metal band in the 90’s who originated from Finland. “Love Metal” was probably their best-known record, but “Razorblade Romance” achieved platinum album sales, and “Deep Shadows and Brilliant Heights” reached the top ten of the album charts in several countries too, with each of the recordings getting strong sales and decent reviews particularly in European territories. They had a few ups-and-down’s in the way of reunions and lineup changes, but they officially remained active until 2017 in some capacity, where they finished off their farewell tour with a final set on New Year’s Day at the Helldone festival. Even now, the group remains to be one of the most commercially successful Finnish metal bands of all time, and they have also won eight Emma Awards. “Buried Alive By Love” was the second single from their fourth LP, “Love Metal”, and it reached #30 in the UK Singles Chart in 2003. Let’s fully cremate our fears with the track below.

Interestingly enough – the character who you see in the old-fashioned music video was played by actress and singer Juliette Lewis, who was one of Hollywood’s “It” girls in the 90’s, and Lewis played the role of Mrs. Audrey Griswald in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in 1989. If that wasn’t enough, the video was also directed by Bam Margera of Jacksass fame, who also produced the official videos for another single, “The Sacrament”, from the same album. The pacing is fast and the guitar melodies are sharp from the very offset, with a hazy line of synth beats drowning out the distorted guitars when the opening verse comes in. Vocalist Ville Vallo sings about love being a source of rescue for a dark path that our narrator is treading down, as he recites the likes of “To cry is to know that you’re alive, But my river of tears has run dry” and “The kiss of vanity blessed me with a spiritual murder, And fed the gods of war insatiable” over the top of crisp drum beats and the strongly hook-based bridges of the track. The chorus has a sweeping and choral quality, with Vallo singing lines like “A cold heart is a dead heart, and it feels like I’ve been buried alive by love” and “If I wake before I die, rescue me with your smile” above the seemingly endless riffing of the bass guitar chords and the reliance on the drums to complement Vallo’s cinematic, wide-eyed vocals. The samples and the synths are a second thought, and the sudden changes in mood sell a very anthemic style. There’s a lot of production value here, and it’s clear that quite a sum of cash was raked in to make this project. That said, the songwriting is fine – if not defying many tropes or conventions of the genre – since there’s still smooth transitions between each section, and the large pop hooks of the chorus are left to have a nice impact. Though it does sound pretty commercial, the vocal performance is decent and I can picture the track being used in a geeky action video game-like flick such as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Overall, it’s not unentertaining or unenjoyable, although it’s not the most organic sounding track that you’d probably hear all week. It is decent, however, with good effort put into the production of the track and a solid vocal performance from Vallo to complement the fast instrumentation. Quite generic, but there’s enough talent to make it worthwhile.

  • Pictured: Ville Vallo (Lead Vocals), Mikko Paananen (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Miiko Lindstrom (Rhythm Guitar), Janne Puurtinen (Keyboard) & Jukka Kroger (Drums) (2017) (Photo via LOUDER)

That’s all for now – I hope you have an enjoyable Sunday in whichever way that you choose to spend it. We’ll be kicking off a new week’s worth of posts on the blog tomorrow – starting off with an in-depth look at a Canadian R&B project who shares his name with a type of environmentally friendly bread – albeit a different spelling – and was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in 2013 for their debut album released via Innovative Leisure. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: Coal Chamber – “Loco”

February 7, 2021 — Leave a comment

A bizarre delight, or nothing but a lump of Coal in St. Nick’s sack? It’s Scuzz Sunday…

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Coal Chamber” (Self-Titled LP) (Released in 1997) (via Roadrunner Records)

Well, here’s another addition to the Lunacy series. It’s Scuzz Sunday – and that means it’s the time of the week where I – Jacob Braybrooke – dig out an ancient relic from the Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk genres between the late 1990’s to the mid 2000’s, to see if they can hold up to quality and value in the current climate – because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! We’ve been riding up a stream of surprisingly decent old Nu-Metal singles over the past few weeks – and Coal Chamber were another group of that same ilk. Formed by Dez Fafara in Los Angeles, California during 1993, the band have had a very on-and-off creative relationship, with the band active from 1993 – 2003, and reuniting from 2011 to 2016, and disbanding again in 2018. Although I wouldn’t say they became a household name like Korn, Evanescence or Nightwish did – their first album still performed very well. Despite some brutal reviews, their self-titled debut LP – released in 1997 via Roadrunner Records – has been certified as Gold in US sales by the RIAA with figures above 500,000 units sold. It was also numbered at #15 on Kerrang’s list of “The 21 Greatest Nu-Metal Albums Of All-Time”, and each of the singles were compiled onto a Greatest Hits album that was issued in 2004. The co-founders, Fafara and Meegs Rascón, would also find moderate success in side projects. Strangely, Ozzy Osbourne used the music video for “Loco” as a starring vehicle. Take a gander below.

Just to clear a few things up, I can inform you that I’m writing this post just before I got to Church like I do on a Sunday morning and, when you come to think of it, I can’t say this is a very appropriate type of art form to be consuming just before that scenario, but, you know, when there’s a job – it needs doing. The band’s primary influences included The Cure, Metallica and Jane’s Addiction. “Loco” shows a few spades of these ideas – both visually and lyrically – but it’s mostly known for it’s two-note guitar riff. A sweeping and dramatic opening riff leads to the mosh-pit drawing refrain of “Pull” as the bass guitars start to chug along. Lines like “Steamroller rollin’ through my haid said/Attached to Loco, Power up Coal” are delivered in a low-pitch grumble, that sells qualities of rage and darkness. The chorus is relatively basic, with “Mi Loco” being repeated over the top of a brooding and whammy-assisted lead guitar melody. A slight breakdown comes near the two-thirds mark, as a hazing line of washing riffs and a slowed vocal delivery, before the dark riffs settle back into their mid-tempo focus again. The chorus can get a little annoying and it lacks substance, but there’s a doofy and not-so serious feeling to the tune that are charmingly endearing. All of the usual tropes of the Nu-Metal genre are here, with slight rap inflictions being created by the slightly melodic nature of the growling, and some guitar riffs that just chug along at a rhythmic pace, as you would expect. The guitar riffs, while not inherently bad, come across as rather dull and uninteresting to me, however. While Nu-Metal music often thrived on the very slight melodicism to the dark toned instrumentation, they weren’t exactly energetic – and “Loco” sadly didn’t manage to pull any of those moves while doing anything interesting. Although I’ve heard worse, ” Loco” fails because of it’s lack of substance, and much of the track just felt “off” to me – with attempts of humor that don’t spark an effortless feeling. In other words, it’s just trying a little too hard, and it felt too abstract. It’s more of an awareness from a band whose music they knew were only filling a gap in the market.

  • Pictured: Dez Fafara (Lead Vocals), Miguel Rascon (Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals), Nadja Peulen (Bass Guitar) and Mike Cox (Drums/Percussion) (2015) (Photo via Dom Lawson/Metal Hammer)

They can’t all be good! Scuzz Sundays is scheduled to be back at roughly the same time, but on the same day, next week. Until then, we’re going to be kicking off another week of new posts tomorrow. The week stars off with relatively fresh Hip-Hop from a British-Gambian producer who gained exposure from BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and 6Music for his debut album, “Take Me To Coventry”, which got to the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart. He is known for his use of Afrobeat and Drill elements in his Grime music, and his debut single “Frontline” was the most-played track on 1Xtra in 2020. 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/