Today’s Track: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – ‘The Way It Shatters’

April 30, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Endless Rooms’ (LP/Album) (Available from May 6th, 2022) (via Sub Pop Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to return to my writer’s table as we get invested in yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The Melbourne-based 6-piece Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever emerged nine years ago with their subtle blend of 00’s Jangle-Pop and cheerful 60’s Surf-Rock – with not one, not two, but three guitarists amongst their line-up. They have now earned an established profile with popular LP releases like 2018’s ‘Hope Downs’ and 2020’s ‘Sideways To New Italy’ since those years, along with a top 5 entry on the UK’s Physical Singles Chart. They have earned acclaim from sites like Triple J, Pitchfork, Noisey, AllMusic, Pop Matters, Uncut, Far Out Magazine and others. They have also gained awards attention from the AIR Awards, Australian Music Prize, Music Victoria Awards, J Awards and National Live Music Awards as well. The typical two-year cycle between album releases is up for them, so we’re naturally getting their third album – ‘Endless Rooms’ – next month. It arrives on May 6th via Sub Pop Records/Ivy League Records, and it has been described by the group as “almost an anti-concept album“, with the title reflecting, “our love of creating worlds in our songs. We treat each of them as a bare room to be built up with infinite possibilities“, according to the band. It’s automatically clear that free time was spent by the band to craft their new record during lockdown, as the lead single finds the band experimenting with Synths for the first time to add a fresh dynamic to their folk-inspired sound. Check out ‘The Way It Shatters’ – with the music video, which taps into the new LP’s darker themes – below.

“It’s about how ending up in your particular situation in life is the result of absolute randomness. If you happen to be born into wealthy Australia or happen to be born into a war zone in Syria. That’s just the way it shatters“, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever say about their album announcement and recent single, adding, “So it’s when this good luck is mistaken for a sense of pride in one’s self or their country they become confused and deluded about what’s important. It’s when those on the other side of the luck scale are completely othered and considered not worthy“, in their insightful description of it. Reflecting more of a night-time vibe than most of their previous efforts, ‘The Way It Shatters’ gets up to some speed with nimble and angular guitar melodies that fill the opening, as the soaring Synth stabs and the sharp, layered Drum melodies fill the rest of the space when they follow. Evident 00’s Jangle-Rock and 60’s Surf-Rock qualities are still there, due to how the band structure the track and how the vocals have an acoustic dynamic, but it feels more lively and energetic than before due to how the Synths play off the tension and mark a more expounded first step into electronic territory. There’s a slightly dissonant Keyboard line and an ascending bassline thrown in, and when all of these elements come together, they sound not very dissimilar to The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets or Deerhunter overall. While the hooks are quite mainstream-friendly and the progressions of the chords are pleasant, the lyrics reflect a slightly darker and a slightly more sinister spin to these proceedings. Lyrics like “It’s desolation by rote?/All around your home/If you were in the boat/Would you turn the other way?” deals with humanity and how we all find our own place within it. Later hooks like “Lost in a magazine town/It’s all falling up again and in my head, I tell myself/It’s all just a necessary evil” dig their fans into isolation habits and the fortune that favours some of us above others. It never feels over-produced, although clear signs that bigger producers have been set up with the band for tracks like these. There’s nothing here that I haven’t really heard before, however, it has a more gritty sound than 2020’s ‘Sideways To New Italy’ which I enjoyed and skews towards a decidedly 90’s Indie sound that gets a nostalgic quality across. Pleasing to fans of the band’s existing material, I also think ‘The Way It Shatters’ appeals nicely to fans of bands like Mumford & Son’s who operate in a similar genre, but have a slightly more known profile to them. A clean, solid track with catchy lyricism and progressive ideas.

Pictured: Fran Keaney (Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar), Joe White (Lead Guitar), Tom Russo (Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals), Joe Russo (Bass Guitar/Percussion) and Marcel Tussie (Drums) (2020) (Photo via Nick MC/DIYmag.com)

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever seemed really popular in 2020 and, as someone who likes to comment on the fuss, its only natural that we met before in the entries below:

‘She’s There’ (2020) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/06/08/todays-track-rolling-blackouts-coastal-fever-shes-there/

‘Cars In Space’ (2020) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/24/todays-track-rolling-blackouts-coastal-fever-cars-in-space/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Sideways To New Italy’ (LP) (Released on June 5th, 2020) (via Sub-Pop Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest post on the blog because I appreciate that on a Saturday, much like the band, you must feel shattered. ‘Scuzz Sundays’ is back tomorrow, and we will be tying it into current affairs once again because the central band have just released their eleventh studio album. They are known for singles like ‘Last resort’ and ‘..To Be Loved’, and the following was used as the main theme song for WWE’s ‘Monday Night Raw’ TV show between 2006 and 2009.

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New Album Release Fridays: The Lazy Eyes – ‘Fuzz Jam’

April 22, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Songbook’ (LP/Album) (Released on April 22nd, 2022) (via Self-Released)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has finally arrived for us to take a walk on the psychedelic Gen-Z side of music as I take you through yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! While the new albums from Fontaines DC, The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and Poppy Ajudha have each been coming out today and they are all shaping up to be good, nothing has quite sparked the same interest for me as the long-awaited and slightly delayed (as it was originally set to be released in March) debut album by The Lazy Eyes. ‘Songbook’ has been self-released through the Australian Psychedelic Rock band’s channels on this day – a record that, according to the Vinyl’s product description, “is evidence of an edifice slowly being formed, a trepidatious first footstep by the band into the wider world” as they match a 60’s Neo-Psychedelia influence with a kaleidoscopic aesthetic that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. The Lazy Eyes have developed a cult following and earned acclaim for their live sets since forming as a unit in 2015 when they met at Sydney’s Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. Not only have they sold out shows across the Australian east coast, but they are also responsible for the creation of their own live music festival LazyFest. They have also earned praise from numerous sources including KCRW, FBI Radio, BBC Radio 6 Music, Triple J Unearthed and NME. ‘Songbook’ follows the releases of 2020’s ‘EP 1’ and 2021’s ‘EP 2’, and the group’s profile will continue to grow when they support The Strokes on tour next year along with The Chats. Prepare yourself for the unadulterated liveliness of ‘Fuzz Jam’ below.

Matching the dynamic structure of ‘Fuzz Jam’ with a psychedelic monochrome outset for the music video, the band’s vocalist-guitarist Harvey Geraghty has discussed the foundations of the track’s vibrant soundscape, saying, “I wrote ‘Fuzz Jam’ to use this instrument that [guitarist Itay Sasha] bought live. It’s this Hohner Planet T, and we wanted a more hard track to play on it, instead of just singing songy songs”, in a press statement. Ever the humorous bunch, The Lazy Eyes take some influence from the sprawling, cinematic post Neo-Psychedelia of The Flaming Lips and a 60’s Beatles-esque Jangle Pop vibe to conjure up a heightened Noise-Rock collage of effects-filled Synth sounds and delay pedal-dominated guitar riffs that feels almost self-referential to its core influences. This one starts off with a threatening bassline accelerated by the animalistic Drums and seductively sultry lead guitar riffage that creates a very improvisational feel to the instrumentation where the tempo chops and changes throughout the track, endlessly segueing in and out of sparkly Psychedelic Pop and ‘turn up that dial’ good time rock. These grooves mutate and twists, so you never quite know what’s around the corner. Simple lyrics like “I want it all to be ok, I want to stay the same” and “Run for the door, You’ll be okay/Don’t be afraid to say my name” often get repeated, which leans loosely on the heavy and inciting soundscape while occasionally dipping into a sweeter harmony. It can often seem like you are listening to three or four different songs thrown in a blender together here as the overall instrumentation is fairly unpredictable and the rhythms are complex, not to mention the full-blast feel of the saturation effects which turn their Psych-Rock world upside down, but their vocals are played out with some subtle sense of comfort while the incendiary electronic elements penetrate the rhythmic bass grooves to a satisfying cohesion, despite the track having its lofty ambitions. These elements are all major thorough-lines in the track, and so the pacing never feels massively out-of-place as to make the track feel incomprehensible. Overall, this is all playful fun and it seems like the kind of track that really could not have been made 20 years ago, which is a quietly incredible feat. It never shakes off the meditative qualities which have set them apart.

Pictured: Harvey Geraghty (Lead Vocals/Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar), Itay Shachar (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Leon Karagic (Bass Guitar) and Noah Martin (Drums/Percussion/Occasional Backing Vocals) (2022) (Photo Credit: PR)

Thank you for checking out my latest post, and please make sure to follow the blog on Twitter (the links are below) to get notified whenever my daily posts are uploaded and help me to dominate the social media algorithm, eventually allowing me to take over the world. In the meantime, I’ll be back tomorrow to review a recent single by an established Manchester-based Art-Rock band who have a Mercury Prize nomination and five Ivor Novello Awards nominations to their name. They follow in the same tradition of Django Django, Talk Talk and Years & Years in having a double title for their name. Thinking about it – this is actually great material for a Pub Quiz question.

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Today’s Track: Dana Gavanski – ‘Indigo Highway’

April 19, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Dana Gavinski in the official music video for ‘Yesterday Is Gone’ (2020) (Photo Credit: Tess Roby)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for me to settle my own nerves like a calming pill for a playful addition to my catalogue with yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Inspired by the live performance aspects of David Bowie, Art-Rock singer-songwriter Dana Gavanski – a Canadian-Serbian musician based in London – almost followed in her father’s footsteps for a career in the film industry, but she developed her skills in music for a year and decided to release her first record back in 2017. Following that time, she has received acclaim for her work from sources like Exclaim, Monkeybiz and BBC Radio 6 Music, with the latter naming 2020’s ‘Yesterday Is Gone’ as their album of the week. She has recorded two live sessions for Marc Riley’s show, she has supported Damien Jurado on a tour across Europe and she has worked with Tuung’s Mike Lindsay as her producer. More recently, she recorded a cover version of King Crimson’s ‘I Talk To The Wind’ as a charity single. In the near future, she will be releasing her second full-length studio album – ‘When It Comes’ – as she gears up to add another release to her impressive resume for an artist who’s only been active since 2017. Set to release through Full Time Hobby on April 29th, she describes the release with “In many ways, this record feels like it is my first. When I could use my voice, I had to focus so there is an urgency and greater emotional trajectory than before. It’s very connected to vocal presence, which extended into an existential questioning of my connection to music. It felt like a battle at times, which I frequently lost”, in her own words. The new LP was recorded between Montreal and Belgrade, finally being mixed at London’s Total Refreshment centre by Mike Lindsay. Check out Dana’s single ‘Indigo Highway’ below.

Gavanski pitches ‘Indigo Highway’ as an unguarded Moog-built track that captures the loss of childhood relationships with sincerity and absurdity in her press release, as she explains, “From the beginning of my interest in songwriting, I’d tried many times to write about this relationship and never could. It felt too fragile, too fraught with experience and distant in many ways. However faraway the time feels, no matter what came next, ‘Indigo Highway’ endeavors to return to what made the relationship special. This song is like a prayer, or a way back, temporarily, to innocence and silliness and sunshine on a field”, in her words. The fun starts off with an idiosyncratic arpeggio groove and a distinctly retro kick drum beat that paves the way for Gavanski’s abstract vocals to find their mark, as lyrics like “I think I’ve found my way back home, Wandering out” and “When you come over and visit me, We’ll sit by the willow tree” offer pastoral and peaceful reflections on plunging yourself back through time to return to your innocence before the times that followed in adolescence. A Piano drops in rather whimsically, at a later point, to a jaunting set of verses where Gavanski passionately projects her voice with lyrics like “I’ll find your face, it’s changing in different ways/And I’m looking around to see” to contemplate the platonic friendships that she has been finding and declining, or naturally progressed away from, during her lifetime. Propelled by an obscure Synth hook and pierced Keyboard melodies that are locked together frenetically by a consistently no-frills drum kit, Gavanski conjures up a presence that feels highly original in the way that she mixes her playful musicality with youthful personality. Her warm crooning feels both familiar and otherworldly when paired to the otherwise percussive arrangement that feels reasonably melodic, but textured by the eccentric instrumentation and the transcendant qualities of her child-like lyricism. There’s shades of Nico and Cate Le Bon in here, as well as more Folk-costumed nods to Aldous Harding or Weyes Blood’s material, and so it should appeal nicely to a decent range of Alt-Folk and Country-Rock fans with it’s bright, yet widescreen brand of quirky atmospherics and whimsical daydreaming although it feels slightly faster in tempo than most of the music by the aforementioned influences. A joyful and cinematic piece that we could all connect to.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘When It Comes’ (LP/Album) (Available from April 29th, 2022) (via Full Time Hobby)

That brings us swiftly round to the end of the Indigo Highway for today! Thank you for coming along for the ride, and I honestly can’t believe how short this week feels because it’s almost time for a fresh new entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ that will be arriving on the site tomorrow. This time, we’re looking back at a very influential Swedish Prog-Pop duo with a cult following who have been celebrating their 20th anniversary with a number of re-issues since 2021. They are also known for wearing Venetian masks in their public appearances, and managing their Rabid Records label.

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Today’s Track: Honeyglaze – ‘Female Lead’

April 7, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Anouska Sokolow (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar/Rhythm Guitar), Tim Curtis (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Yuri Shibuichi (Drums/Percussion/Occasional Backing Vocals) (2022) (Photo Credit: Holly Whitaker/DIYMag.com)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to cut to action on the set of another daily track on the blog, with a movie theme today, that helps me to fulfill my goal of writing up about a different piece of music every day! Born out of lead songwriter Anouska Sokolow’s “un-desire to be a solo act”, according to Red Light Management, Honeyglaze are an emerging indie rock trio based in Southern London who met officially at their first rehearsal together just three days prior to what would become a near-residency at The Windmill in Brixton, where bands like Black Midi and Squid have also found their footing. They have also performed at festivals including Green Man Festival, Fred Perry’s All Our Tomorrow’s Festival, Live At Leeds and Cardiff’s SWN Festival across the last couple of years too. Their debut studio LP is self-titled, and it will be coming out on 29th April 2022 via Speedy Wunderground, a Dance-influenced Post-Punk label that is, of course, partially run by well-respected producer Dan Carey. Pierre Hall, the A&R representative of the label, says “We’re so excited to announce Honeyglaze as our next proper signing to the label. We were blown away as soon as we heard their music, and then, furthermore, when we met them in person. It’s felt like such a natural partnership and they’ve created something really special. We can’t wait for the world to hear. Be prepared to fall in love”, about Honeyglaze’s music. The latest catchy single to be taken from their upcoming 11-track project is ‘Female Lead’, which gets accompanied by a music video that was directed by James Ogram and Sokolow herself, and it stars Jojo Macari, an actor who has also starred in Netflix’s ‘Sex Education’ TV series. Check out the pre-release offering below.

Honeyglaze will be performing headline gigs at venues in London, Portsmouth, Margate, Manchester and Hull throughout May in the UK, and it follows their support slots for Katy J Pearson and Wet Leg. Talking about the video for the track, Sokolow says, “Given that the song itself is so narrative heavy, we knew we wanted to make something with it’s own seperate story”, adding, “It started off with some ideas about duality and stolen identity. I had recently watched ‘Casablanca’ and that’s where we got the idea of this movie character coming to life and we ended up writing a full scene for a made-up, 50’s romance.”, in a press release. Tackling these themes of self-understanding and personal worth in the track itself, the trio back up Sokolow’s explorations of changing your appearance and feeling overwhelmed in your ambitions through the lens of flashy hair dye. Lyrics like “I put it in my black hair, and waited for an hour/But when I washed it out, oh, god, I’ve let my mother down” and “I look nothing like Madonna/More like an 80’s horror film/I’ll have to wear a hat, Until my golden hair turns black” are geared towards the witty side, but they provoke serious thoughts about how we view ourselves and compare ourselves to famous faces. The narrative builds up with soft vocals, steady drums, melancholic guitar riffs and delicate splashings of Bass that are kept simple and concise within the song’s short 2-minute runtime. The key lyrics are delivered to a vintage-leaning tune that was influenced by The Shangri-La’s, according to the trio themselves, and the buzz of the British narrative-based Pop songs that were all of the rage in the cinematic 60’s. They replicate the vibe well, while adding a ‘timeless’ feel to the track. The vocals sound pure and intimate, with a fragile mix of a spoken and haiku-like format to present what is being written between the lines with a rather direct sense of well-versed clarity. Although it is kept short and to the point, ‘Female Lead’ has enough depth and substance overall to spread its message of romanticized ideals and self-judgment through the temporal era of retro cinema. Who knows, going by this track record, maybe Honeyglze will put in a more Oscar-worthy performance in the future?

Pictured: Vinyl copy of’Honeyglaze’ (Self-Titled LP) (Available from April 29, 2022) (via Speedy Wunderground)

Thank you for checking out my latest post, and I look forward to bringing a new entry of ‘New Album Release Fridays’ to your eye line tomorrow, as we turn our attention to a multi-time Mercury Prize nominee who came out as non-binary in 2020. A breath of fresh air on the Spoken Word genre, they share one particular thing in common with Honeyglaze. They also had a residency at The Windmill in Brixton. Aside from music, they are a Sunday Times best-selling and Costa Book Of The Year-nominated author.

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Way Back Wednesdays: The Specials – ‘Gangsters’

March 9, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for’The Best Of The Specials & Fun Boy Three’ (LP) (Released In 2006) (via Pegasus Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to go retro with another weekly blog entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ on the site, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Today, we really are going ‘Way Back’ because we are talking about the British Ska revival band The Specials, who were part of the 2 Tone and Alternative Reggae movements all of the way back in the late-70’s and they have continued to represent these styles through to the present day. I was going to see a tribute band for The Specials in Stoke-On-Trent before the pandemic hit in 2020 – which I was very much looking forward to, in a way – but, unfortunately, we know how that turned out in the end. Known for combining uplifting Dub melodies with the ferocious spirit of Punk, The Specials were formed back in 1977 when they lived in Coventry – and that is way before my time. They used to wear mod-style 60’s period ‘rude boy’ outfits complete with pork pie hats, tonic & mohair suits, and loafers on-stage, likely performing their greatest hits like ‘Ghost Town’ and ‘Too Much Too Young’ that reached #1 in the UK’s singles chart. They continued their career throughout the 80’s and 90’s under a revised line-up with an alternate name of The Specials AKA, which represented their informed political stance and their wry social commentary on British society. Most impressively, The Specials are still recording new material today, and they most recently released ‘Encore’ in 2019 – an original album that re-introduced vocalist Terry Hall to their ranks, and it was a #1 entry on the UK Albums Chart. ‘Gangsters’ was another of their classics, which was recorded in Studio One of Horizon Studios in Coventry during 1979 to be released as their first track under The Specials AKA name, and it peaked at #6 in the UK Singles Chart following release. Let’s give it a spin below.

Terry Hall created the vocals for ‘Gangsters’ by mixing an “angry” recording and a “bored” recording that were cobbled together, while Horace Panter had to re-cut the Bass parts because they were originally so extreme that they “blew the needle out of the record’s grooves” and pianist Jerry Dammers overdubbed a treble-heavy Piano instrumental on to the track to compensate for the low-end of the Bass. Lyrically, ‘Gangsters’ was allegedly written about a real-life incident where The Specials had to pay for damage caused to a hotel by another band (rumored to be The Damned) as they were held responsible, and the track is also reportedly a re-working of Prince Buster’s 1964 ska track ‘Al Capone’ because ‘Gangsters’ samples the car sound effects which played at the beginning of Buster’s track. Moreover, The Specials changed the refrain in the opening line to “Bernie Rhodes knows, don’t argue” as an insult aimed at Bernie Rhodes, who was the band’s manager for a brief stint. Taking all of these different stories into account, The Specials telling a story of dis-establihment in a bizzare way as they reference incidents like a mis-step involving a guitar above a perky variety of gently Skanting Dubplate beats and odd Middle Eastern-sounding instrumentals, while the lead vocals retain an energetic – yet eeire – delivery. The guitar melodies sound different to Al Capone’s track, and so The Specials did an excellent job of re-writing that track in their own image, with the deadpan vocals conveying a feeling of self-awareness about them. Overall, ‘Gangsters’ was a vital step in introducing The Specials’ take on British Ska to wider audiences at large by paying tribute to some nice influences in clear, yet poignant ways. The vocals have a quality of vagueness which retains an aura of mystery throughout, and the danceable Rocksteady drums are likely to encourage weird great uncle’s to partake in some questionable “jerky dancing” at some family parties. Injected with humor, darkness and youth – The Specials had a big hit on their hands when they released ‘Gangsters’.

Pictured: A LEGO r-ecreation of the ‘A Message To You, Rudy’ music video (2018) (Photo Credit: Musical Brick)

That same year, The Specials also re-created ‘A Message To You, Rudy’ with the famous British-Jamaican saxophonist Dandy Livingstone. You can find out more about that here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/02/06/todays-track-the-specials-a-message-to-you-rudy/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘A Message To You, Rudy’ (Single) (Released in 1979) (via 2 Tone/Chrysallis)

That brings me to the end of another nostalgic breakdown of a beloved classic for another week on the blog, and I thank you for spending a moment of your day with me on the site today. I’ll be back to bringing some new music to your eardrums tomorrow, as we take a light gander on a downtempo soul track by an experimental Toronto-based performance artist and producer whose music encompasses Pop, Indie Rock, Jazz, Neo-Soul and Bossa Nova. She has learned to play several exotic instruments including the Harp, a Pairometer and the Tenori-on. She has shared the stage with the likes of Janelle Monae and Aloe Blacc, and she contributed her vocals to Bob Wiseman’s ‘Giulietta Masina At The Oscars Crying’ that was first issued in 2012.

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

February 21, 2022 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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Today’s Track: NewDad – ‘Say It’

January 24, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Julie Dawson (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Áindle O’Beirn (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Sean O’Dowd (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Fiachra Parslow (Drums/Percussion) (2020) (Photo via PR/Fair Youth Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke – of course – and its time to dive headfast into another week’s worth of work and pleasure with yet another daily track on the blog to start it off, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A 4-piece indie rock band from Galway, Ireland who can always be relied upon to create a charming blend of melodic Dream-Pop and ethereal 90’s Shoegaze, NewDad have already received support from BBC Radio 6 Music – with ‘Blue’ gaining a spot on their daytime A-list last year – and BBC Radio 1 Indie Show presenter Jack Saunders to consistent results. Led by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Julie Dawson, the quartet are also comprised of bassist Áindle O’Beirn, lead guitarist Sean O’Dowd and drummer Fiachra Parslow. An 80’s-leaning group, they have cited Alt-Rock heroes like The Cure, The Pixies, The Smashing Pumpkins and Just Mustard in some interviews and, in an article with DIY Magazine, they expressed that Charli XCX would be a dream for them to work with, a fantasy link-up that I’d certainly like to see materialize. Last March, they released the marvellous ‘Waves’ EP via Fair Youth Records and they are due to follow it up on 9th February with their second EP – ‘Banshee’ – which is also due to arrive via the same label. It was co-produced with Chris W. Ryan and mixed by John Congleton (Phoebe Bridgers, Lana Del Rey) in Belfast. Later this year, they will be performing at All Points East, London and SXSW. They also have regular tour dates set for the UK, the US and Ireland in March and April. Let’s check out the opener and first single from the EP, ‘Say It’, below.

“Say It is about unrequited love, about when someone is with you but not really, it’s supposed to capture that frustration you feel when you’re giving someone your all and they’re giving you nothing in return”, Dawson says about the simple but relatable themes behind their latest single, adding about the EP, “This EP is definitely bigger, having more time in the studio definitely meant we got to experiment more and layer more into each track so there’s an overall bigger sound” in their press release. ‘Say It’ is yet another indie gem with a whimsical atmosphere that starts off with some guttural deep breaths before the guitars and the drums kick in for the opening verse, where Dawson recites lyrics like “You only want to make things right at night/But it’s not the same” and “Today you didn’t even look at me in the hallway/I know you saw me” as she taps into the rushing tensions that you feel emotionally in the midst of an unrequited affair. The chorus is also strong, with the simple hook of “So I don’t want to say it, ‘Cause you don’t want to say it back” that feels piercing in it’s clear cut nature. The pacing is quite upbeat, and it comes across like Dawson is venting her complications about her irritation and bitterness about her own handling of the situation and her romantic dreams that won’t pull their own weight either. She strikes a perfect balance between feeling whimsical and forceful, with ragged lyrics like “You just look down at your laces like your f***ing famous” amongst softer spoken refrains like “You just want to see me fall for you” that capture the mildly psychedelic warmth of the emotive guitar riffs that surround her vocals. The angular drum beats have a stark mood to them, while the more textured guitars give off a calming vibe that contrasts the restless frustrations felt about the topical one-sided relationship with a lighter ambient energy that becomes an endearing hint of what will be explored on the forthcoming EP project. Overall, ‘Say It’ is another solid single from NewDad that really showcases Dawson’s abilities of mixing strength and warmth together in her vocals and her bandmates’ abilities of blending anxious emotions with remaining feelings of hurt from their textured instrumental work. It’s also a track that appeals equally to lovesick teens or young adults as much as the parents who will hear the bands they used to love during a similar snap shot from their lives. Simply great stuff.

Pictured: NewDad performing a live gig at the Yes Basement, Manchester (2021) (Photo via EvenTheStars.co.uk)

If you liked the latest single from NewDad and you want to hear more, don’t feel ‘Blue’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/11/07/todays-track-newdad-blue/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Waves’ (EP) (Released on March 26th, 2021) (via Fair Youth Records)

That brings us to the end of the page and, just for your reassurance, NewDad have said that none of them are actually Dad’s before. Anyhow, thank you for showing your support as always for the site, and I’ll be back tomorrow to muse over some more melancholic music due to arrive on a larger project in February. This time, it comes from a Los Angeles-based Psych-Rock band whose guitarist is the son of David A. Stewart from Eurythmics and Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama. It is a very small world!

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New Year’s Day 2022 Special: Al Stewart – ‘Year Of The Cat’ (Live In Seattle, 1976)

January 1, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Year Of The Cat’ (LP) (Released in July 1976) (via RCA Records/Parlophone Records)

This is Jacob Braybrooke and I’m wishing you a good version of your own of what has been the best day of the year so far for me with yet another daily track on the blog, since it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A Scottish folk revivalist figure who found prominence in the 60’s and 70’s as a unique songwriter who would combine soft rock songs with stories of different characters or significant events from history, Al Stewart is a talent of delicate weaving who once recorded a very fitting single to ring the New Year in with his 1976 offering, ‘Year Of The Cat’. For a musician who played a live set at the inaugural Glastonbury festival in 1970, reportedly knew Yoko Ono before John Lennon caught wind of her activist work, and shared a flat in London with equally memorable artist Paul Simon when he was frequently collaborating with Bruce Woodley of The Seekers fame in his younger years – Al Stewart scored a #8 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977 with ‘Year Of The Cat’. Famously described by AllMusic as “one of those mysterious woman songs” nearer to the time, Stewart recorded the track as the title single of his seventh studio LP release during a session at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London, before recording sequences from his live tour, including one performance in Seattle, for a live album, ‘The First Year Of The Cat Tour Live In Seattle’, to spring off its success one year later, where the album had become a top five chart hit in the US. Becoming a popular record to be used to demonstrate Hi-Fi demonstration, ‘Year Of The Cat’ was certified Platinum to indicate sales of over one million copies in the US during 1977. Get the kettle on, take a moment to reflect, and hear a tale of a love affair in Casablanca as we enter 2022 as a ‘Year Of The Cat’ below.

When Al Stewart stormed the mainstream with ‘Year Of The Cat’, you may be forgiven for believing him to be an overnight sensation but, in reality, it took him six previous albums worth of material and logging a bundle of hours on the Folk festival circuit before achiveing his stardom. Described by Stewart during his live set at Seattle’s Paramount theater as “a South African love song”, it remains to be the only appearance in the UK Singles charts for Stewart, who reached #31 with ‘Year Of The Cat’, a track which he ironically wrote and recorded during the Vietnamese Year Of The Cat, as it was the Year Of The Rabbit previously in China. Kicking proccedings off with a straightforward Piano line, the guitars flutter along beautifully as Al continues to kick into a higher gear with his combination of soft Rock ‘N’ Roll melodies and Progressive Pop rhythms that eventually morph into a stirring symphony of romantic guitar arrangements and radiant Piano chords as Stewart’s moving vocals concerning a whirlwind relationship in an exotic locale hit their timeless mark. Lyrics like “On a morning from a Bogart movie, In a country where they turn back time” hit their stride as Stewart sets up a vibrant scene of a one-time fling transforming into something much more substantial. Lyrics in the verses like “She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running, Like a watercolour in a rain” ignite more poignant sparks that make the otherwise sensual lyrics feel genuinely meaningful in the story, which is nicely complemented by the elegant String sections and the somewhat downbeat vocals by Stewart that provide a grounded take on the flirtatious dialogue between the two partners. It almost feels like Stewart is singing a duet meant for two vocalists on his own for the most part and he strikes a great balance between poise and sincerity with the delivery. Moving on to the instrumentation, we find Stewart bursting through various styles and motifs throughout the song – including a long instrumental section that leans towards classical Jazz with a colourful Saxophone solo and taking turns between the explosive guitar solo and the abruptly placed Brass instrumentation, but his production feels coherent enough as all of these varied elements complement the warmth of the lyrical mood. Overall, through melding his anecdotal storytelling that seems quite influential for the likes of Jens Lekman later on, and playing with the contemporary Blues song structure of the time, Stewart created a suitable story for New Year’s season with a very stylish and sophisticated range of talents. With that – I wish you a fantastic new year, and I cannot wait to hear the music contained within it.

Pictured: Al Stewart in a publicity shot before his performance at the Libbey Bowl (2018) (Photo via Noozhawk.com)

That brings us to the end of the coverage for the best day of the year so far on One Track At A Time and, as always, I thank you a great deal for your interest and support towards the site every day. After a brief hiatus, ‘Scuzz Sundays’ returns to its normally scheduled placement from tomorrow onwards, where we will be remembering a popular track from a very famous East Bay native punk rock band who found fame in the early 1990’s as we kick off the new year with familiarity. One of their tracks is the centerpiece of a Broadway musical, ‘American Idiot’, that was first performed in 2010.

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Countdown To Christmas 2021: Max Headroom – ‘Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You’re A Lovely Guy)’

December 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You’re A Lovely Guy)’ (1986) (via Chrysalis Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to leave a place in your front drive for Santa Claus (I know him!) to park his sleigh in the early hours of tomorrow morning after reading about your daily track on the blog, given that it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! It is pretty tricky for me to describe what Max Headroom truly is, since I was not born at the time and it sounds like an awkward concept to wrap your reindeer’s ears around in the first place, but ‘Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You’re A Lovely Guy)’ is certainly a candidate for being the most bizzare track that has ever been covered on the blog. To the greatest of my understanding, Max is not an artist at all and is, in fact, a character of artificial intelligence portrayed by comedian Matt Frewer in prosthetic make-up and aided by some simplistic editing trickery, that had a cult TV show in the 1980’s. Created by the trio of George Stone, Annabel Jankel and Ricky Morton, Max was known for his wit, harsh lighting and pitch-shifting voice – and he was called “the first computer generated TV personality”. He had his own television series in 1984 that aired on Channel 4 in the UK, but the idea came from a British short sci-fi film – ‘Max Headroom: 20 Minutes In The Future’ – that found popularity after being shown on Channel 4, which is set in a futuristic dystopia that is ruled by a network of television channels. The idea was originally to create a series of five-minute episodes to tell his origin story, but the producers realized that this was impractical from a viewership standpoint, and commissioned an 80-minute TV movie instead. Although a US version of the show was made, it was never repeated and only fourteen episodes of the pretty faithful remake aired on NBC were ever made – and all of this great info comes from clivebanks.co.uk online. There was a little-known Christmas special, however. I have read another story that the special was terrible, however, and even cameos from big then-contemporary stars like Tina Turner or Robin Williams failed to save it’s quality. The finale was a Christmas song that was released as a single, which failed to chart, with a Country-influenced B-side of ‘Gimme Shades’, and a crop of YouTube channels have restored the video from MTV 2 to decent audio/video quality. Let’s boot him up.

Forever Young gives us context with, “1986 was a big year for Max (and Matt Frewer) – they already scored an international hit with “Paranoimia” (with The Art Of Noise), there was a British cult TV show called ‘The Max Headroom Show’ in its third and final season, and they were on the verge of an American drama series, Max Headroom, which started in the spring of 1987 – and Coca-Cola commercials somewhere in-between. Not long after the success of “Paranoimia”, Max Headroom did a holiday special in the UK, ‘Max Headroom’s Giant Christmas Turkey’, and from that special, a limited edition 7″ holiday single was commissioned and then released on Chrysalis Records” on their website. Forever Young states that the producers thought it was a good idea to have Max perform several jolly ballads throughout the episode, and it gradually built into this climactic finale for the special and, safe to say, it unfortunately did not take the world by storm. Lyrically, Headroom jolts through different contexts of Christmas, such as recalling the night that baby Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem, with some passionate Jingle Bells that build momentum as we transition to a snowy winter exterior, where the Southwark Gospel Choir join him for a final sing-along of the chorus. The main bulk of the track revolves around Father Christmas being a selfless and underappreciated soul, and Headroom continues to make light of all the usual holiday TV special tropes with his pitch-shifting voice and the structure of the video performance. While the vocals range from horrible to slightly creepy to wholly deranged, it is a fun four minutes to spend a bit of time from your day with, and I think that I enjoyed it purely because of how niche and obscure it is, as well as how strange and peculiar the music was. A less remembered alternative Christmas anthem that was crafted in the same ilk as Bo Selecta’s ‘Proper Chrimbo’ or South Park’s ‘Mr. Hanky The Christmas Poo’, this fluttering rendition of ‘Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You’re A Lovely Guy)’ takes things to weird proceedings and it makes you feel quite cheerful despite its inherent dreadfulness. So yeah. This exists…

Pictured: Terry Wogan interviews Max Headroom on a television show (August 1985) (Photo via BBC Archive)

That’s all for now and thank you a lot for sparing a moment with me on the blog for Christmas Eve. It’ll probably be a short and sweet one tomorrow as it is Christmas Day, but I must fulfill my mission of writing up about a different piece of music every day! I have crowd-pleasing Desert Rock lined up for you tomorrow as we shift our focus towards a brilliant Alternative Rock anthem from popular Las Vegas natives who headlined Glastonbury, in 2019, on the main stage on Saturday on that weekend.

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Countdown To Christmas 2021: Jamie Cullum – ‘Christmas Never Gets Old’

December 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Pianoman At Christmas: Complete Edition’ (Released on 19th Nov, 2021) (via Island Records)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s almost time for you to pop down the shops to buy some Parsnips, Stuffing or whatever you need for the big day’s dinner, straight after reading the penultimate installment of my ‘Countdown To Christmas’ series on the blog, given that it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! We’re delving fully into the spirit of Christmas today with a track from the Rochford-born Jazz singer Jamie Cullum who utilises a big backing band at his full tilt for ‘Christmas Never Gets Old’, An established artist, Cullum holds the title of having the best selling studio Jazz album with ‘Twentysomething’ in the UK, which he released in 2003. He’s also known for singles like a cover of Radiohead’s ‘High and Dry’, as well as original singles like ‘Everlasting Love’, ‘Get Your Way’ and ‘These Are The Days’ that have reached the Top 75 of the UK Singles Chart. Since 2010, Cullum has also presented a weekly Tuesday evening Jazz programme on BBC Radio 2. Last year, he got into the festive spirit of the Christmas season with his own Christmas-themed Jazz album, ‘The Pianoman At Christmas’, which featured the UK Top 65 single ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’ as well as other covers, alongside a decent array of original Christmas tracks. Recorded in Abbey Road with his producer Greg Wells, the record peaked at #11 in the UK Albums Chart and saw 57 guest appearances from the likes of Sigrid, Dodie and Robbie Williams. A year later, he has just released ‘The Pianoman At Christmas: Complete Edition’ – a deluxe edition of the album with some new tracks and a very limited run of 180G heavyweight coloured vinyl in red and gold. According to Cullum, ‘Christmas Never Gets Old’, who expresses so in one of his original offerings, which you can find below.

Influenced by the likes of Billie Holiday and Chaka Khan, ‘The Pianoman At Christmas: Complete Edition’ features guest appearances from artists like the LA-based multi-instrumentalist Lady Blackbird and the experimental Londoner The Vernon Spring, while the Ivor Novello award-winning talent in the form of Cullum says, “I had a huge amount of fun creating part two of TPAC. Recorded live, all in the room together – it’s the party after the big show, with friends, drinks and some of the finest musicians on planet Earth”, in his promotional email. Starting off in cinematic flair with dramatic Trombone melodies, Cullum captures a Frank Sinatra-esque classical sound as he croons lyrics like “All the presents are wrapped and the stockings are hung/All the children relieved all the waiting is done” over the top of a big backing band sound, which is comprised of dramatic Jazz melodies created by a Saxophone in old-school Swing style, and he definitely captures the finger-clicking essence of artists like Perry Como and Booker T & The M.G.’s with the bright mixture of big Brass backdrops and dramatic percussion that compile a rich composition. Vocally, there’s an air of Joe Williams and Michael Bublé to his crooner voice and his mature delivery, with joyous lyrics like “The houses aglow/Now look up, mistletoe/Let’s get on, with the snow” that sail cheerfully over the top of the upbeat sound of the Brass section, and his voice seems youthful enough to reflect the very gleeful tone of the songwriting while pointing to some noticeably old-fashioned influences of the more classical music variety too. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but they don’t tend to overstay their welcome, as Jamie Cullum does not allow the song to drag on for too long, and they should appeal to mainstream audiences fairly well. Overall, I felt this is a warm-hearted and enjoyable Christmas track that feels a little too basic for me at some points, but it is a nice homage to the full tilt backing band sounds of Nina Simone, Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald in the way that Cullum has co-produced it and given it a rich assortment of instrumentation to play to the strengths of this style, and so he manages to make the track feel modern enough for these times without the sound feeling too outdated at all, and it is great to see him making some original Christmas songs while delivering his great tidings of comfort and joy. While he may be seeking the royalties of the heights of Mariah Carey or Slade with it, it worked for me and I like how he looks to the past in order to fit the musicianship. It may have been as cheesy as a lump of melted Gorgonzola on top of your Jacob’s Cream Cracker this Christmas evening, it was also as warm and comfy as an old cardigan rounded off by a Santa hat.

Pictured: Jamie Cullum in a PR shot for an ‘The Inventory’ feature for Financial Times (2016) (Photo by Hester Lacey)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest post on the blog, and I hope that you have a merry christmas and a happy new year if you’re too busy to spare a moment with me over the next few days. If you can stay, however, you’re in for a treat along the same lines of the Charlie Brown Christmas special or South Park’s Mr. Hanky The Christmas Poo for one of the strangest novelty songs of Christmas past coming from an A.I. character created by Gorge Stone and portrayed by Matt Frewer in the 1980’s who used to be declared “the first computer generated television personality”.

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