Hardcore Punk

Today’s Track: Calva Louise – ‘Euphoric’

December 28, 2021 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Art for ‘EUPHORIC’ (LP) (Released on August 20, 2021) (via FRKST Records/300 Entertainment)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, of course, and thanks for joining me today as we fill up the awkward post-Christmas and pre New Year’s slot with some music that got a little underrated during 2021 with yet another daily track on the blog, since it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Formed in 2016, Calva Louise are a Manchester-based indie punk and post-grunge band who take their influence from many variations of Noise-Rock and Synth-Punk between both UK and US outfits, while also getting in touch with their Latin Rock heritage throughout the two albums to their name so far. Fronted by the bold creative vision of vocalist/guitarist Jess Allanic – the trio have supported the likes of Razorlight, Highly Suspect and Albert Hammond Jr in their time together. Earlier in the year, they released the ambitious multi-media project of ‘EUPHORIC’, which was fronted by a concept album about the duality of being human and the different perceptions of reality. The band have stated that the lyrics detail episodes of the dreamer’s experiences in the form of an inner conversation with his other self – the counterpart of the human being – that seeks to experience freedom and have an encounter with the unknown. The sophomore album was produced and mixed by Bobby Bentham of Strange Bones fame. Moreover, the album was accompanied by a 45-minute Animation short film that was entirely created by Jess Allanic, who used software like After Effects and Blender to bring the Graphic Novel-inspired visuals of her band’s creative record to life. For now, let’s have a sample of the title track below.

Released digitally in late August and finally manufactured on physical vinyl copies in December by Blood Records, Calva Louise collectively say, “Our passion for audiovisual production is constantly intertwined with the concept of the album and that is why each new step to take becomes a new challenge, it is as if each completed experience gradually reveals the signs that guide us on our way”, noting, “The perception we have of this adventure shows us horizons that seem to be beyond our rational understanding as artists, and in order to see clearly we try to express these experiences through visual effects, as a complement to the music and the lyrics of the songs”, to their LP’s product description. ‘EUPHORIC’ feels like an expository title for the project, bolstered by a title track that is filled with meaty hooks and soaring melodies that hints about how you may feel after completely listening to the album in a single bingeable session. With eruptive drumming and partially processed vocal peaks, lyrics like “I wait in line, Your head is on fire, Ahead we cry in a simple way” and “When you and me are nothing, Only one of us will be euphoric” that set a fiery temper for the underground feel of the track, Allanic powerfully backs her vocals to some thrashing electronic melodies – including some gradually bubbling Synth riffs in the opening that become more acidic throughout the first verse – and some old-school Punk personality that complements the moody tone of the lyrics. The vocals are partially screamed at different intersections, but the pacing is fairly even, as Allanic uses some slower guitar notes towards the end to give the vocals just a little space to breathe. Meanwhile, the electronic production of the single goes heavy and hard by trading some twinkling keyboard riffs for a hefty amount of grit instead, with plenty of glitchy bass riffs that sweep in for a futuristic tone and Allanic concentrates hard on making her ferocious vocals feel as knife-edge as she can, and she even recites some non-English language lyrics towards the latter half to remind us of her Venezuelan upbringing, and the heavy dancehall influence of this particular touch reminds me of Arca in a few ways, especially with the audio-visual medium of the project hanging in the balance. Overall, while the more Noise-Rock based riffs get a little repetitive at times there is no doubt that Calva Louise explore decent ideas on this project altogether. It is very interesting to see the band expressing their ideas with intriguing ways by leaning into the sci-fi themes that audio-visual side projects can enhance for them. As well as giving them a unique selling point, it gives them more space to create their art, and I certainly like how there is more than just music to this. The sound, meanwhile, is an energetic one that becomes very unrelenting and combines qualities from Nu Metal and Prog Rock with dramatic results. Overall, this is an exciting band and a fresh project that, while not perfect, are certainly worth a look.

Pictured: Jess Eastwood (Vocals/Guitar), Alizon Taho (Bass Guitar) and Ben Parker (Drums) (2021) (Photo via PR)

That’s all for now – and thank you for reading about the euphoric melodies highlighted in today’s post. I’ll be back tomorrow with more content that concerns an operatic Conneticut-based indie rock band with one of the longest names in the business. Their discography includes a key collaboration with the Spoken Word artist Christopher Zizzamia – and their influences include Battles and Explosions In The Sky.

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Scuzz Sundays: Papa Roach – ‘…To Be Loved’

November 21, 2021 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Art for ‘The Paramour Sessions’ (LP) (Released on Sept 12th, 2006) (via Geffen Records)

Good Afternoon to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to remember another of the ghosts of Pop-Punk’s past that dwindled after the late-90’s to the mid-00’s into a pile of ash 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! In a similar vein to last week’s entry on Hoobastank, Papa Roach have also been covered for the ‘Scuzz Sundays’ feature once before, but it was published over a year ago. ‘Last Resort’ earned a fairly ‘meh’ reception from me, and so it’s time to see if some of their later work can redeem things. Formed in Vacacille, California in 1993 when lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix and drummer Dave Buckner came across each other on the Vacaville High School college football pitch and they bonded over their shared love for music. Known for hits like ‘Last Resort’ and ‘Between Angels and Insects’, as well as Gold-certified albums such as 2002’s ‘Lovehatetragedy’ and the triple platinum-certified LP release ‘Infest’ from two years prior, the Pop-Grunge group are also well-known for composing ‘To Be Loved’, which was originally featured as the theme tune for WWE’s ‘Monday Night Raw’ programme that was used between 2006 and 2009. It was the opening single of 2006’s ‘The Paramour Sessions’, which was titled as a reference to The Paramour Mansion, where the album was recorded. Dedicated to the memory of Shaddix’s step grandfather, who committed suicide that year, following a diagnosis of an unspecified form of terminal cancer, the record is a departure in sound for the band, as it trends into more of a Hard Rock sound instead of Nu-Metal like the group’s previous releases. Let’s revisit the album’s most popular single below.

In it’s late-00’s heyday, ‘To Be Loved’ slowly ascended to the #8 position of the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #14 in the Modern Rock Tracks charts that have been compiled by Billboard in the US, and it has been memorably used during the theatrical trailer for the 2008 film ‘Never Back Down’, which was directed by Jeff Wadlow (‘Kick-Ass 2’, ‘Bloodshot’) and boasted a star studded cast that included the likes of Amber Heard, Sean Faris and Djimon Honsou. Throughout the track, Shaddix promises he’s “Taking it back to the hardcore level” with some big vocal hooks and some jangly lead guitar riffs, marking a slight tease into the band’s older Rap Metal sound with a light Hip-Hop introduction that goes into something more distorted and alike to an uncontrollable frenzy, with a post-bridge that shouts ‘Screamo’ movement in a not-so subtle nature. Lyrics like “I want domination/I want your submission” and “I’ve gotta roll the dice/Never look back and never think twice” are what you would expect considering it was used for a long-running WWE TV product at one point, and the instrumentation fits the chaotic nature of the vocals with tight Drum riffs and upbeat guitar riffs. There’s some light use of snares, but they are paper thin. This feels water-tight on the whole in terms of sequencing, however, with a fast pace that never really lets up and an enthusiastic vocal performance that blends into the aggressive melodies decently enough. Overall, if you were looking for the pinnacle example of what a ‘Scuzz TV’ song was, this is the one. It is cheesy, an obvious crossover track with Pop elements, and a riotously paced single with some cheap lyrics. While I can’t comment on whether I believe it is Papa Roach’s best work, as I haven’t listened to enough of their own discography to get a full picture of that award, I thought this was fine overall. It is what it is. Disposable, but fun and it got the job done reasonably well.

Pictured: Papa Roach performing at the Reading & Leeds Music Festival (2014) (Photo via BBC Music)

If you really want to check out some of Papa Roach’s other more well-known past material, allow my prior post pertaining to Papa Roach to be your ‘Last Resort’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/07/26/scuzz-sundays-papa-roach-last-resort/

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Infest’ (LP) (Released on April 25th, 2021) (via DreamWorks/NPG Studios)

That’s all for today! Thank you for joining me for ‘Scuzz Sundays’, and I’ll be back tomorrow with another regular blog post in the long lead up to the ‘Countdown To Christmas’ rush! This time, it will come from a New York-based songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who has released three studio albums and a 7″ single. Digital Trends included 2018’s ‘You, Forever’ in their list of their best albums that year.

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Scuzz Sundays: One Eyed Doll – “Committed”

October 24, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Hole’ (LP) (Released on 1st January, 2007) (via Self-Released)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to revisit some ghosts of Pop-Punk’s past for another weekly edition of ‘Scuzz Sundays’ on the blog – not forgetting that it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! When you think back to the music that channels like MTV, Kerrang and Scuzz supported back in the 00’s, it was a sadly very male-dominated picture. However, one of the few female artists who “kicked ass and took names”, as wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin would have said on old WWF re-runs, was Kimberley Freeman – the brains behind the operation of One-Eyed Doll, a Gothic Rock duo that she leads with Jason Rufus Sewell from Austin, Texas who were voted as the ‘Best Punk Band’ at the Austin Music Awards at SXSW three years in a row – 2009, 2010 and 2011. Known for her acrobatic and high-energy live performances, her trademark high kicks, her unique baby voice that resembles both Serj Tankien and Jack Off Jill on some different occasions, and her pony-tailed Harlequin aesthetic, Freeman was featured as one of Revolver Magazine’s ‘Hottest Chicks’ in 2011, 2012 and 2015, and so representation of talented women in the industry sadly didn’t make many moves for the better just yet. Still, she has also been featured in Guitar Player Magazine’s list of the ‘Top 20 Most Extraordinary Guitarists’, and One Eyed Doll have racked up over one million views on YouTube despite being a pretty niche band, and so the modern times are treating them rather well. The band are still recording music and touring today, with 2017’s ‘Something Wicked’ EP being their last release of original, new music and 2018’s ‘Holier’ serving as a remixed edition of their well-received debut LP, 2007’s ‘Hole’, as well. They even shot a new video for ‘Committed’, which you can see below.

The cool Texan duo have a combined discography of 11 full-length album releases to their name, and their music has been used in several different pieces of media like television shows, online streaming series, video games and movies, including a very notable feature on MTV’s ‘Road Rules’ series, and the band have also developed a niche from performing strongly at major Anime comic conventions like DragonCon, and including the headline slot at the 4&20 Blackbird Festival in California. Taken from their 2007 debut album, ‘Hole’, originally, ‘Committed’ follows Freeman’s typically eccentric vocal style by essentially being written about an imagined life in a mental asylum, with straightforward lyrics like “How I wish this room was vacant/Can’t seem to break through these padded walls” and “Kicking, screaming, drooling, biting/They say there’s no use in fighting” that set up the scene visually, and feel a little funny in the process. The verses have a rough, Garage sound behind them with chugging guitar riffs and uptempo Drum melodies, with a fade out in time for the bridge where Freeman sings “One more mark against society/Can’t you see I’m not a threat” atop some muted melodies, and she begins to make a quirky social commentary of some form. The perspective of singing as a mental patient feels a little ambiguous, and so the track could probably be interpreted in different ways, such as to be about the treatment of the mentally ill in society or the perception of ‘crazy’ as a construct of stereotype, but the erratic guitar riffs and the jagged bass melodies keep the track feeling catchy and easy to remember for a short while, with a chorus that gets wild and a final guitar solo that unleashes pure Punk mayhem onto your brain cells with the short bursts of frantic guitar riffs and the variety of the noise collage. Though it may get a little bloated or baggy for some, I enjoyed how elaborate the sound truly is and Freeman strikes me as a creative person who may be a little shy or awkward, but doesn’t compromise on her true artistic vision for her music. This was a lot of fun overall, and certainly above average for the Pop-Punk scene of the time that relied on the likes of Sum 41 and The All American Rejects to sell tickets. It just feels more quirky than those bands, who were definitely serviceable, but ‘Committed’ was a burst of colour. Variety is the splice of life – and Freeman has plenty of it in the tank.

  • Pictured: Kimberly Freeman (Lead Vocals/Theremin/Kazoo/Rhythm Guitar/Percussion) and Jason “Junior” Rufus Sewell (Drums/Bass Guitar/Synths/Keyboard) at Rockfest (2019) (Photo by Mark Scott)

Thank you for checking out today’s post, and I’ll be back tomorrow for an in-depth look at a well-emerged UK indie rock band who, in a similar vein to Foals and The Vaccines, are another part of the recent resurgence in British guitar rock music. They were nominated for one of BBC’s ‘Sound Of…’ awards, and their newest single was premiered on BBC Radio 1 as Arlo Parks’ “Hottest Record In The World” in September.

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Way Back Wednesdays: The Runaways – “Black Leather”

October 13, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘And Now… The Runaways’ (LP) (Released in 1978) (via Cherry Red Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and its time for me to drop a written ‘Cherry Bomb’ into your line of sight for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It is a pity that an all-female Punk rock band are still a bit of a novelty in 2021. There are a couple – such as Dream Wife, Shonen Knife and Sleater-Kinney – but The Runaways were widely considered to be the first group of gals to really do it when they formed in 1976, and, despite only being around as a band for a few years together, became an international sensation in territories like Japan, where ‘Cherry Bomb’ was a particular smash hit. Their time came to an end with the release of ‘And Now… The Runaways’ in 1978, which was their first and only album without Vicki Blue as their bassist, who left the project. The record seemed to get a rather contentious response from their fans, as the LP went through a period of ‘developmental hell’ where they brought a producer, John Alcock, on board for the first time, who reportedly tried to phase Joan Jett out of proceedings a little and he recruited Laurie McAllister as a new bassist shortly after the record was released to the public. The record also has a few cover songs instead of original tracks, such as ‘Black Leather’, a track originally written and performed by The Sex Pistols in 1980. However, as time wore on, the record earned a cult following because it served as a great introduction to The Runaways for a new generation of fans and it also exhibited a harder, more diverse variety of sounds than we heard The Runaways explore before. Let’s spin the highlight ‘Black Leather’ below.

‘And Now.. The Runaways’ received a remastered release by fan favourite revivalists Cherry Red Records a few years ago, and most of the album’s bass parts were actually played by Lita Ford. For your information, a coming-of-age biopic movie about The Runaways – titled after the band – was released in 2010, which starred Kristen Stewart as Cherie Currie, who actually played the role to perfection. It was directed by Italian-Canadian filmmaker Floria Sigismondi in her feature-length debut, and it also starred the likes of Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon, and it earned a worldwide gross of over $4.6 million. The 5-piece loved their black leather fashion, and their take on The Sex Pistols lesser-known 1980 original was a feisty ode to their rebellious philosophy. The guitar melodies come thick and fast, while lyrics like “Well, he’s all geared up, walking down the street/I can see the smile, dripping down his sleeve” and “It’s late at night, and I’m all alone/I can hear the boots getting hear her home” flirt with Slasher horror movie tropes and reveals some more maturity for The Runaways, who previously sang about leaving their parents behind or misbehaving at school quite regularly in earlier releases. It definitely sounds like they were running away from something or someone, however, and you can see what I’ve done there. The overall instrumentation is a fairly good combination of pre-established Grunge and of-the-time underground Punk sounds, with some more catchy Pop-oriented hooks and rhythmic sequences in the chorus, where lines like “He’s clawing at the door/I can’t take it anymore” stick out a little from the pack on paper. The vocals feel raw and nicely unpolished, while the rapid fire drums and guitar combo has a rough edge to it. The vocals also sound a little jagged and disjointed in the mix however, and I think it’s because they simply feel a little disorienting in how it flows with the rest of the mixture, as opposed to it being a bad vocal performance on its own. I don’t think ‘Black Leather’ is their strongest, however, but it makes a good pick for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ because it feels underrated and less obvious or over-played than other options from their discography. The music had not changed as much as some older fans seemed to think at the time, but it simply sounds heavier and less polished. All in all – it was a decent and more adult-oriented evolution for the group despite its flaws.

  • Pictured: Joan Jett (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals), Sandy West (Drums/Percussion), Micki Steele (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Lita Ford (Lead Guitar/Acoustic Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Cherrie Curie (Tambourine/Snare Drum) in LA (1976) (Photo by Bob Gruen)

Thank you for checking out my latest post and thank you for your continued support for my work. I’ll be back with a new episode of my ‘The Subculture Sessions’ podcast that you can stream on Spotify, and I’ll have another new daily post on the blog as usual. I’ll be introducing you to one of my favourite recent discoveries, who I heard on a recent episode of ‘The New Music Fix’ hosted by John Ravenscroft. They are a new London-based electronic duo of multi-instrumentalists who have been in the studio with Skrillex and Park Hye Jin – and they’ve worked in A&R for Silver Bear Recordings.

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Scuzz Sundays: Slipknot – “Duality”

October 3, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Corey Taylor (Lead Vocals), Mick Thomson (Lead Guitar), Shawn Crahan (Percussion/Art Director/Photographer), Craig Jones (Keyboard), Jim Root (Bass Guitar), Chris Fehn (Backing Vocals), Paul Gray (Backing Vocals), Joey Jordison (Drums/Mixing) & Sid Wilson (Turntables) (2019) (via PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for us to listen to some quite un-church like music before we head to church for ‘Scuzz Sundays’, the part of the week where we revisit some of the ghosts of Pop-Punk and Nu-Metal’s past. This is Spooky Season – after all. One band from the late-90’s to mid-00’s who fits that bill is Slipknot, the Iowa-based Alternative Metal band fronted by Corey Taylor, who once appeared on an episode of BBC Two’s ‘QI’ on UK television and seemed like a likeable guy all-around, to be fair. Slipknot still seem to be immensely popular, scoring a UK number one album with ‘We Are Not Your Kind’ as recently as 2019. One of the most interesting albums to come from the crossover stars is ‘Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses’, a record that deals with “the healing process” of the band’s themes of decay and decapitation from the previous record. To meet these ends, Slipknot changed their style very discreetly by incorporating more traditional, melodic song structures as well as brooding guitar solo’s and a splattering of acoustic instrumentals. The album was a large success, despite the band’s initial unproductive struggles over the record, where Taylor was found drinking heavily to comfort some very personal issues. The record was praised by AllMusic for its “dedication to making it a Slipknot album” and Kerrang’s readers rated it as 31st in a poll of ‘The 50 Best Albums Of The 21st Century” taken in 2009. One of the best-received singles was ‘Duality’, which peaked at #5 on the US Rock Chart and Slipknot’s record label, Roadrunner Records, listed the music video for the single as the best one in their history in 2010. Refresh your mind below.

Slipknot have now found pretty staggering crossover success with combined sales of reportedly up to 30 million records globally, but these metrics didn’t always seem to be within their mask-wearing grasp. Until ‘Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses’ was issued in 2004, Slipknot’s future seemed bleak. Taylor’s battles with alcoholism worsened over the years, and the other members of Slipknot decided to work on a few side projects – like Stone Sour, Murderdolls and To My Surprise – but the band eventually decided to enlist Rick Rubin as the producer of their album and cracked down to work in the studio together, before releasing ‘Duality’ as the comeback single. ‘Duality’ felt like a volatile soft-reboot for Slipknot at the time, giving them a harsher edge and a more catchy sound, while appreciating the raw style of their prior work. The guitar riffs are sharp and disjointed enough without feeling clunky, and the Spoken Word style of the verses is quite intriguing since it gives refrains like “I have screamed until my veins collapsed/I’ve waited as my time’s elapsed” and “Tell me the reality is better than the dream/But I found out the hard way, nothing is what it seems” a vibe of toxicity and a feel of cinematic dark poetry that does stick out a little more compared to their contemporary peers of the era. Taylor uses a grumbling, dark croaking vocal delivery to complement the down-tuned, screeching guitar riffs and emphasize the horror atmosphere of the percussion. I think that it is easy to find their costumes and masks to take things a little too far for some audiences, but I don’t mind that aspect of their live performances and general visuals too much since it shows me they can simply be bothered to create a compelling visual companion piece to the art they create, and that is enough for me. On the whole, while I can’t say that I’ve ever really cared for Slipknot by a great amount, I really enjoyed my time with ‘Duality’, and not really in a ‘guilty pleasure’ way that plagues some releases. I felt there was plenty of genuinely well-crafted material here. The chorus was sharp and filled with some very punchy hooks that feel melodic enough, but fits the terrifying and gory imagery of Slipknot overall. There’s a couple of well-written lyrics here that match poetry with pain, and the extra layers of tension are paced decently, with the more subdued vocal style of the verses being counteracted with a more patented style later on with some solid guitar work that creates a surge of tense rhythms for the chorus. A spiked thumbs up!

  • Pictured: Slipknot in an official photoshoot for ‘We Are Not Your Kind’ (2019) (Photo via PR/NME.com)

As one of the more popular US heavy metal bands of our time, Slipknot have been worthy of a mention on ‘Scuzz Sundays’ before, albeit over a year and a half ago. Still, if you want more content, you can find out what I thought of ‘Before I Forget’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/02/23/scuzz-sundays-slipknot-before-i-forget/

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Vol. 3 The Subliminal Verses’ (LP) (May 2004) (via Roadrunner Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for your continued support regarding the blog, and I’ll be back tomorrow to kick off another week’s worth of daily music picks. Join me for an in-depth look at a British Columbia-born singer-songwriter who, after working as a restaurant line chef in his teens, turned to a life of music where he played with Jason Corbett in Speed To Kill. He is now known for his bob wig and androgynous make-up.

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Today’s Track: Loose Articles – “Kick Like A Girl”

June 28, 2021 — Leave a comment

Some football-related one-liners are just too off-sided to score a goal. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Kick Like A Girl” (Single) (Released on June 10, 2021) (via Dipped In Gold)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, just like always, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! I’ve got music to share with you which is being pitched very much as an alternative anthem to a large football tournament that is taking over our television guides at the moment – Euro 2020. It comes from the Manchester melodic Post-Punk 4-piece Loose Articles, who I hadn’t heard of before. ‘Kick Like A Girl’ was released as a single on June 10th to coincide with the beginning of the football competition. The all-female group have drawn comparisons to Wire and The Slits, and they have made NME’s 100 list for 2021. Describing themselves as “feminime and threatening, working and class”, Loose Articles have previously recorded tracks tackling club culture and public transport, releasing the ‘Orchid Lounge’ EP in 2019 and the double single ‘Up The Disco/Buses’ earlier in the year. Their latest offering confronts social issues surrounding their beloved sport, as fans of non-league club FC United Of Manchester and players of the interest themselves, and misogyny on-and-off the pitch. Let’s give it a free kick below.

“It’s a misogynistic slur which is said in football to a male’s player who’s not performing as well”, Loose Articles’ vocalist Natalie Wardie spoke of the single’s title of ‘Kick Like A Girl’, adding, “It suggests that women can’t play football, but we’re reclaiming that slur and throwing it back in people’s faces. We want to take these stereotypes within football and turn them on their head”, to the press release for the track, which has been selected for decent airplay by Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 6 Music and released by the local indie label Dipped In Gold. A strident alternative to New Order’s ‘World In Motion’ or The Lightning Seeds ‘Three Lions’, Loose Articles’ anthemic ‘Kick Like A Girl’ uses discord and repetition to strong effect, mimicking the middle finger to gender-dominated sports attitudes. The lyrics mix edgy comedy with bellowing Post-Punk liberation after a punchy Spoken Word intro, with Wardie urging listeners to “Down ya Stella, and cop off with a fella, it’s football” and making jabs at Gary Linneker advertising Walkers Crisps with a raw, bellowing force. The chorus, in particular, is a ‘slide tackle’ of the narrow-mindedness of some men towards women in the culture created by football, with sharp lyrics like “You kick like a girl/Down pints like a girl” that exploit laddishness, and urge female supporters to engage in more gender-inclusive conversations around the sport. Musically, we’ve got sarcastic vocal remarks blending with aggressive guitar work to ‘kick off’ the intended aims of welcoming all people to the tribal joys of what football has to offer. This is simply delivered in a spiked, easily consumable package of forceful riffs and a frantic time signature, with references ranging from Beckham’s Mohican to Duncan Ferguson. The ending scorecard is a fun, enjoyable jolt of mood. More songs should have this mood.

  • Pictured: Loose Articles (Natalie Wardie, Tree Nah, Erin Caine & Louise Rivett) (2021) (via Twitter.com)

It’s time to blow the final whistle for today! Thank you for joining me – and I’ll be back tomorrow to share some more brand new music with you. This time, it’s coming to you from a brand new, interesting indie Soul duo from Hackney releasing mellow singles on the Moshi Moshi Music label, and they’re the perfect duo to celebrate LGBT Pride month with. 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/

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

March 13, 2021 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

That’s all I’ve got for you today! I’ve got a train to catch – so, See Ya! Scuzz Sundays is back tomorrow, however, with an in-depth look back at a classic from the ‘Emo’ era of the late-90’s breaking into the mid-00’s. It has been quite a while since we really had a ‘big name’ on the feature, and I’ve been saving this one for quite some time. It comes from a guy who used to genuinely freak me out as a kid. Although controversial, he was still a staple of the era, winning four Grammy Awards and heading an Art exhibition at at Kunsthalle gallery in Vienna with film director David Lynch, in the process. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

New Year’s Eve Special: The Ramones – “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)”

December 31, 2020 — Leave a comment

Medicine to get us all through the end of this dumpster fire of a year. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Brain Drain” (LP) (Released on March 23rd, 1989) (via Sire Records)

Top ‘O’ The Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get writing up about today’s track of the day on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to spotlight a different piece of music every day! As we wave goodbye to 2020, and we look to the future that 2021 holds, we’re going to take a listen back to 1989 for our latest festive track on the blog. Legendary rockers The Ramones are the band in question for today, a group who have been credited for being the first, if not one of the first, true Punk music bands. An amusing story about The Ramones is how they were inspired to record music by their love of The Beatles, and they used to check into hotels under the name of “Paul Ramon” – as a tie-in reference to Sir Paul McCartney. A seasonal offering that was included as a Bonus Track for their eleventh studio album, “Brain Drain”, released in 1989, “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight)” was later used on the soundtrack of “Christmas With The Kranks” in 2004. “Brain Drain” was a tough album for every member of the band to partake in, with financial issues and personal issues a-plenty. However, it still contained some of their trademark material, like the huge radio hit “Pet Sematary”, which was used in the film adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same title. It was also their first album to feature the return of Marky Ramone, their last one to feature Dee Dee Ramone as the bassist and their last to be distributed through Sire Records. Sadly, “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)” failed to chart in the UK. Let’s take a listen to it below.

Despite having relatively limited commercial success at times – The Ramones still remain to be one of the most influential groups in music of all-time, and they are still well-known in the public eye. Their achievements get merited as such by countless journalists and publications, including being named the second-greatest band of all-time by Spin in 2013, along with being awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, and getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame back in 2002. The festive track was originally released as the B-side to “I Wanna Live” in 1987, and a bunch of slightly different versions have been recorded ever since. A slow intro is quickly proceeded by a sharp-edged lead guitar riff, and Joey chants: “Merry Christmas, I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight with you” in a primitive and yearning tone. This cues for the sleigh bells to get jingling, and Joey laments lines like: “Where is Santa and his sleigh? Tell me why, is it always this way?” and “I love you and you love me, And that’s the way it’s got to be” over the top of delayed pedal effects and suspended chords. An electric Drum melody is briefly noticeable, while the chorus feels more ballard-driven and hook-led, with Joey singing: “Merry Christmas, I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight with you” while the bass guitar lines continue to amble in and out of the seasonal sounds. The lyrics are written with a witty middle-aged marriage theme, and lines like “All the children are tucked in their beds/Sugarplum fairies dancing in their heads” emphasize these reflections on youth, and the vocals remain Christmassy enough to qualify as an Alternative Christmas single. In fact, it even sounds like an ode to the Phil Spector-produced Christmas tracks for the most part, but with an off-kilter hard rock/soft metal style that includes guitars being played a small fraction out of tune, giving off a Post-Punk facelift to proceedings. The moment may have passed a little, but it is still a robust and solid effort from one of the classics.

  • Pictured; Joey Ramone (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Johnny Ramone (Lead Guitar/Percussion), Dee Dee Ramone (Bass Guitar) & Tommy Ramone (Drums) (1976) (Photo by Roberta Bayley/NYTimes.com)

Thank you for spending some of your New Years Eve right here! Why not ring in the New Year with me again tomorrow? – Where we are going to be taking an in-depth look at a slight hidden gem of a festive track which promises some crowd-pleasing results. It comes from an American Soul singer and businessman who has won five Grammy Awards, and he was once a half of the Southwestern Alternative Hip-Hop duo Gnarls Barkley. It also features a cameo appearance from an ensemble cast of Muppets – the most famous Jim Hension creation of all-time.  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: Drowning Pool – “Bodies”

August 9, 2020 — Leave a comment

Let the bodies hit the floor. Let the bodies hit the FL-OOOOOOOOR! It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Sinner” (Released on June 5th, 2001) (via Wind-Up Entertainment Ltd.)

You know what time it is! Good Morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! It is Scuzz Sunday, which means it’s time for us to dig out an Emo-Rock or Pop-Punk relic from between the late-1990’s to the mid-2000’s to see if it can live up to modern standards, named in tribute to the defunct Scuzz TV channel. “Bodies” was an absolute staple of the “Scuzz” rock era. The track was credited to Drowning Pool, an American Heavy Metal band from Texas, and the track was the lead single from their debut album, “Sinner”, released in 2001. “Bodies” is the track that Drowning Pool are primarily known for, and bizarrely, it has been featured in plenty of TV shows, commercials and films. An interesting, fun fact about “Bodies” is that despite it’s growing popularity in the mainstream at the time of it’s release, the track was banned from radio airplay, being taken off radio stations, in light of the 9/11 attacks because it was considered to be “Inappropriate” in the wake of the terrorist events – Let the bodies hit the floor below.

If you hit play, then you can expect a significant amount of screaming. This track was considered to be “Drowning Pool’s finest moment” on “Sinner” by Rolling Stone, and the lyrics are often misinterpreted as being linked to the 2011 Arizona shooting of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, but it’s really just about the brotherhood of a ‘Mosh-Pit’, as the band issued in a statement. “Let the bodies hit the floor” is obviously the main hook, and it’s vocal delivery gradually increases in aggression with key changes which get telegraphed by vocalist Dave Williams as he counts up from one to four, as it reaches a dramatic conclusion. The guitar riffs feel rickety in the verses, at a high energy with an exciting tension. The vocals in the verses are fairly more clean, as Williams recites filler lines like: “Beaten why for?, Can’t take much more” and “Push me again/This is the end” over a whispered delivery above a screeching bass guitar riff and a static drum pattern, as we build up to the chorus. Speaking of the chorus, it’s loud and brash in equal measure. Williams feels broken in his lyricism, shouting “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor” to mark a contrast to the softer vocals in the verses. There’s a delayed use of a “Wah Pedal” and a harsh, rumbling drum signature, to make up the melodic structure of the heavy, unadulterated sound of the chorus. If we’re being honest, it’s incessantly cheesy and it’s inherently stupid, but, I think it’s a relatively fun song. The problem is there’s a time and a place for this kind of music, and 9:53am (at time of writing) on a Sunday Morning is not really the intended time and setting for the listening of a track like this. At least, the guitar work is energetic and Williams puts in a fun vocal performance for what it is, but the sound wares rather thin as we reach the ending stages of the piece. Sadly, it’s been relegated to silly memes in the decades since. Now, I’m off to Church – odd as that likely seems!

  • Pictured: Dave Williams (Lead Vocals), C.J. Pierce (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Stevie Benton (Bass Guitar/Rhythm Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals) and Mike Luce (Drums/Percussion) (in 2001) (via The PRP/MetalSucks.net)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at the brand new single from an English Indie Rock 3-piece who are making their highly-anticipated return from an 11-year hiatus! The trio began their reunion period with a charity concert in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust at The Royal Albert Hall in London on 29th March, 2019. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime