Today’s Track: Quivers – “Hold You Back”

July 15, 2021 — Leave a comment

I can sense Robin Hood quivering at the bottom of Sherwood Forest. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Golden Doubt’ (LP) (Released on June 11th, 2021) (via Ba Da Bing Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – and you’d better be ready for yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Hold You Back’ comes from Quivers, an Indie Rock band originally from Tasmania but now currently based in Melbourne. The Aussie 4-piece first arrived on the scene with their 2018 debut LP, ‘We’ll Go Riding On The Hearses’, and the quartet have just released their follow-up, ‘Golden Doubt’, on Ba Da Bing Records. In between the two albums, Quivers have filmed a live session for Seattle’s KEXP, covered R.E.M.’s ‘Out Of Time’ for Turntable Kitchen’s Vinyl series, and their 2019 single ‘You’re Not Always On My Mind’ became the most-played song on SXSW’s ‘The Morning Show’ of that year. Produced by Matthew Redlich (Holy Holy, Ainslie Wills, Husky), the band says the new album explores what happens after grief, and how we throw ourselves back to love. Check out the single ‘Hold You Back’ below.

“Golden, because musically we daydream with the guitars of Teenage Fanclub and The Cure, the singing of The Roches’ sisters, the basslines of Another Sunny Day, and the drums of Lower Dens or Car Seat Headrest”, lead vocalist Sam Nicholson notes about the new album, adding, “Doubt, because hitting your thirties after losing people knocks you off balance for a while, but no longer caring what the world thinks is always a breakthrough feeling”, to the press notes. A bright and uptempo summer track, ‘Hold You Back’ reminds me of Brighton’s The Magic Gang in its style and substance, but the instrumentation feels a little more hardened and the concept seems a bit more mature. Lyrics like “We would kiss close to the precipice, though it makes us feel nervous” talk about existing in a time of overwhelming opportunity, and being hesitant to what the future holds. Other lyrics, like “I want to call you, but I’m not sure if you’ll be out” point towards virtual dating and committing to someone among a long physical distance. The tone is cheerful overall, with a Jangle-Pop influence created by the warm guitars and the melodic backbeat, but I’m also getting a sense of 70’s Disco peeking through the propulsive String section that swells around the soulful dual backing vocals. It gives the refrain an uplifting quality, where “I want to hold you, but I don’t want to hold you back” is given a more radiant delivery, paired by the airy bass guitar riffs and the subtle Motown vibes. It’s these elements that gives the track, with lyrics that feel a little simple and melodies that feel quite Sunshine Pop otherwise, a more adult sense of material in direction and a feel of becoming something more compelling. Overall, it’s really good this, and it’s a pity that I didn’t come across Quivers before a week or two ago. It feels like true ‘Indie’ music, rather than another brand of just Pop or soft Rock. The hook is catchy, and the ways that the music video has been filmed using only a mobile phone, suits the DIY feel of the production and the lyrical themes nicely. A joyride with something a bit more to offer.

Pictured: Sam J. Nicholson (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Holly Thomas (Drums/Percussion/Backing Vocals), Bella Quinlan (Bass Guitar) and Michael Panton (Acoustic Guitar/Backing Vocals) (2021) (via PR)

That’s your lot! Please join me again for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow as we turn out attention to one of the weekend’s biggest new releases. Tomorrow’s pick doubles up as a tribute to a legendary Jamaican vocalist who we very sadly lost earlier in the year. He was the originator of ‘Toasting’ – the act of talking or chanting, usually in a Monotone melody, over the top of a rhythm or beat by a Reggae DJ.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Feargal Sharkey – “A Good Heart”

July 14, 2021 — Leave a comment

Let’s see whether this Northern Irish OBE jumped the ‘Shark’ in 1985. New post time!

Pictured: Casette Tape of ‘A Good Heart’ (Released in 1985 in UK) (1986 in US) (via Virgin Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, meaning that we’re diving back into the sounds of the past that have been influential to those of the present, not forgetting that it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Feargal Sharkey’s ‘A Good Heart’ is a straight-up Pop tune from 1985 that my mother says she used to own on casette tape, which she brought up during an episode of ‘Top Of The Pops 1991’ on BBC Four, although I’ve never listened to the song at all before until now. Sharkey is an OBE, and he is a Nothern Irish singer from Derry who was mostly known for being the lead vocalist of rock band The Undertones, who famously performed ‘Teenage Kicks’, which was late-great BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel’s favourite single of all-time. I believe that he’s much less musically active now, but, in more recent times, he has taken up differing roles in the UK’s commercial music industry, receiving several awards as an advocate and some honours for his charity work in the Arts sector. I caught a recent article which says Feargal Sharkey has been campaigning to preserve the rivers of Cambridgeshire, and that’s my area, and so it really is a small world. Released by Virgin Records as the lead single from his self-titled debut album, ‘A Good Heart’ reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart upon its release. Get a blast from the past below.

A fun fact about Feargal is that he is the chairman of the Amwell Magna Fishery. As a lifelong fly fisherman, Feargal has actively campaigned against the pollution of Chalk Streams, and the regulations of the Water industry which impact the UK’s water resources. He gave the Keynote address at The Rivers Trust Autumn Confererence in 2018, and, in 2010, he appeared on Wired’s list of ‘The Wired 100’ for his contributions to nature at #56. So, you could say that he’s got ‘A Good Heart’ in those respects. The tune itself is probably what you’d expect to see on ‘That’s 80’s’ or an old repeat of ‘Top Of The Pops’ on BBC Four, because it sounds pretty normal for it’s time. Lyrics like “Highest risk of striking out/The risk of getting heart/Still, I have so much to learn” and “My expectations may be high/I blamed it on my youth/Soon enough, I’ve learned the painful truth” get the ideas of trial/error in dating across simply and easily, with a melody that skews towards rougher Country a little bit, with the twangy guitars and the shimmering drums, and upbeat Keyboard melodies that get a Funk influence across a little. Looking back, I would say that the vocals are a bit woeful on this. It’s not that Sharkey is a particularly bad singer, but his strong Derry accent and his roots in classic Punk feel a little jarring or lost on this one. The chorus is mostly done by the backing singers, however, and the arrangement pulls him a few favours. Overall, I reckon he, or his label, was trying a bit too hard to just simply ‘have a hit’ with this one, which doesn’t typically sit very well with me. I think the track is also a little confused in what it wants to be, with the guitar solo in the middle suggesting a Glam-Rock direction, and the happy-go-lucky guitar rhythms indicating some retro Funk. I quite enjoyed my time with it, however. It’s catchy enough, and the different elements of the instrumentation give it decent enough heft to not seem tiresome. The punchy energy carries through to the end, and the chorus is a sweet slice of teenage pop with a Soulful feel. A slight jumble of ideas, but a charming earworm of 80’s Pop.

Pictured: Feargal Sharkey reporting to Cambridge City Council (2019) (CambridgeIndependant.co.uk)

There’s your blast from the past! Please feel free to join me again tomorrow as we revert our attention back to some brand new music. Tomorrow’s pick comes to you from a lesser-known Indie Rock band, who have a new album out on Ba Da Bing! The female-fronted group, from Melbourne, once had SXSW’s most-played song of their ‘Morning Show’ in 2019, and they have also recorded a live session for Seattle’s KEXP.

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New Album Release Fridays: Drug Store Romeos – “Secret Plan”

July 9, 2021 — Leave a comment

If you weren’t a fan before, this may change your Frame Of Reference. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘The World Within Our Bedrooms’ (Released on July 9, 2021) (Fiction Records)

Good Morning to you – It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Well, a short delay may have hindered it’s original release date due to vinyl production issues, but July 9th has arrived and ‘The World Within Our Bedrooms’, which is the debut full-length album from Hampshire’s Dream-Pop/Shoegaze/Indie Rock trio Drug Store Romeos has arrived. I also got the chance to interview them exclusively for the blog, and you can read all about that shortly. New releases for today also include efforts from Yorkshire’s Alt Hip-Hop Afro man Dylan Cartlidge, Toronto’s Charlotte Day Wilson, Dublin’s Inhaler (An indie rock band led by U2’s Bono’s son, Elijah) and the Kenny Beats-produced self-titled fourth studio album from the excellent Compton rapper Vince Staples. It sounds like there’s plenty for us to get excited about today, but I’ve been really looking forward to hearing the Drug Store Romeos record. ‘Secret Plan’ was their last single to be released from the 15-track project, which arrives on Fiction Records. If you enjoy this one as much as I do, the young creatives from the self-described ‘Sleeepy Town’ of Fleet will be supporting Black Country, New Road on tour in some locations this November, or you can catch them playing at the End Of The Road festival in Wiltshire this September if you’ve got tickets to see that. If not, start by conjuring your own ‘Secret Plan’ to find them below.

The visuals are just as important as the sound when it comes to Drug Store Romeos, and, the band explained about the Max Rollason directed music video for ‘Secret Plan’ above, “The World Within Our Bedrooms is centered around the visualisation that we’re playing these songs in a small, suburban room in Fleet, but as we now live in London, our second album won’t have this pull”, adding, “We thought it would be a nice final goodbye to actually shoot some of the footage in Fleet, and to immortalize the three of us in that space in some way”, to sum up their press release for the single’s release. The lyrics may be cryptic, but the purple-coloured haze and the schizophrenic environmental shots provide the perfect thematic context for the Casio-adjacent toy keyboard melodies and the hum of the bubbling bass guitars to jump off. Lyrics like “Don’t go too fast/Sequence light, Open air/Grass grows, skies change” don’t reveal too much, but we’re painted a lush, ethereal vision of drifting adolescent memories and secrets made between old friends as we reach the end of an era. The instrumentation is really unpredictable, too, with the beginning calling over to modern bedroom pop, before the chorus introduces a more kaleidoscopic rhythm to the mix. Sarah Downie’s vocals are solid, as always, as her gliding voice really controls the tempo and complements the changes in keys. She seems laid-back, as enchanting low-pitched crooning vocals give off a rather enigmatic vibe that really absorbs you into the various moods that the track’s atypical structure swings into. The chorus is also a neat stand-out, with surprisingly groovy lo-fi patterns and twinkling guitar chords that paint a vivid picture of concealed ambitions or dreams. The soundscapes keeps changing, but it never feels confusing. The dream-like vocals and the subdued bridge sections ensures a good flow between the moving parts, even as the chorus goes into a psychedelic, disco-flavored drawl of easy-listening Pop melodies and the nostalgic qualities, and it takes skill to pull off these inconsistencies with a decent flow. A master class in mood from one of the UK’s brightest new names.

Pictured: Sarah Downie (Lead Vocals/Keyboard/Synths), Charlie Henderson (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) & Jonny Gilbert (Drums/Percussion/Occasional Backing Vocals) (2020) (Photo via Twitter.com)

If you liked this, don’t miss out on ‘What’s On Your Mind’ from the new album too. Get the details here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/04/29/todays-track-drug-store-romeos-whats-on-your-mind/

Pictured: Drug Store Romeos promoting ‘Now You’re Moving’ (2020) (Photo via TheLineOfBestFit.com)

Don’t forget to check out my interview with Drug Store Romeos – which will be going up on the site right after this! To get your daily dose tomorow, check back with me on the site in roughly 24 hours time to discover a Scottish-Sudanese film composer based in the UK who will be releasing her debut album, ‘The Woman You Want’, next week via Rosemundy Records. To support that new record, she will be playing a live gig at The Portland Arms, Cambridge on November 10th.

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Today’s Track: Lorde – “Solar Power”

July 3, 2021 — Leave a comment

Good Lorde – she’s back, and with the help of producer Jack Antonoff. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Solar Power” (Available from August 20th, 2021) (via Universal Music)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – with another daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Lorde is back – the critically beloved singer from New Zealand perhaps best known for #1 hit single ‘Royals’ and 2017’s ‘Melodrama’. I’ve got to be honest, I wasn’t really there when she hit the ground running with ‘Pure Heroine’ in 2013, and so Lorde repesents a gap in the history of pop music knowledge for me. However, I know that her work is often hyped up to the hills by critics and audiences alike, so there’s a lot of anticipation building for her new album ‘Solar Power’, which is set for release on August 20th via major label Universal. It’s actually winter in New Zealand for her, and the pre-order sales should add some decent statistics to her reported figure of over five million albums sold worldwide. She’s been working with Jack Antonoff on the new record, who is a mega-producer who has collaborated with the likes of Taylor Swift, St. Vincent, Lana Del Rey and Carly Rae Jepsen, as well as leading his own indie band named Bleachers. Lorde has also shared the title single from the record, which Lorde says is all “about that infectious, flirtatious summer energy that takes hold of us all”. Grab a seat on your deck chair and give it a try below.

In an email sent to her fans with the release of the track and the album’s announcement, the Golden Globe-nominated singer-songwriter revealed that ‘Solar Power’ will be “a celebration of the natural world, an attempt at immortalizing the deep, transcendent feelings I have when I’m outdoors”, upon entering her new era. I can definitely hear shades of the Covid-19 pandemic being reflected in her songwriting on the tune, which is given a cult-ish and Midsommar-like aeshetic in the video, but it’s actually just about appreciating the warm weather, and the power that summer music adds to our hot season. This is all emphasized through the smoky Jazz sounds, like the soft splashings of Trumpet and Saxophone melodies, and the long vocal harmonies that drive the Sunshine Pop beats forward. There’s a nod to A Tribe Called Quest when she calls out “Can I kick it? Yeah, I can” and a modern twist on summer culture when she sings “My boy behind me, he’s taking pictures” for Instagram, no doubt. Antonoff plays the bass guitar with simplicity, and the backing vocals have a Gospel quality that shows her newfound euphoria. The chorus is a simple refrain of “Solar Power” that is held long and nimbly, with warm percussion and an intimate, acoustic instrumental underneath. Lyrics like “I’m kind-of like a prettier Jesus” and “The girls are dancing in the sand/And I throw my cellular device in the water/Can you reach me, no, you can’t” have an 80’s, sexual Pop quality to them. Everything is destined for some chart success in the mainstream over the summer, with a nice message that is conveyed simply and rhythmic Pop sounds that are easy to find catchy, but it never goes overboard with cluttered hip-hop production or auto-tune effects, and so I like how it’s rather basic, and the lack of urgency feels refreshing. Overall, I wasn’t crazy about it. I felt the ending was a bit too close to comfort to George Michael’s ‘Faith’ for me, with the same timing structure of the beats bordering a bit on plagiarism for me. However, I still found it to be an enjoyable listen. It’s fine and perfectly competent summer Pop, but I felt that it could have done more for me, as I also felt the lyrics lacked much to say. Otherwise, it’s a comforting slice of intelligent Jangle-Pop with solid radio play on the cards. I liked it. I just didn’t love it.

Pictured: Lorde & Jack Antonoff at a GRAMMY’s party in NYC (2018) (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Etty Images)

That’s all for now! Thank you for your continued support for the blog, and please feel free to join me again tomorrow for another weekly entry in our ‘Scuzz Sundays’ feature. The track marks the second appearance on my humble site by a unique Christian metal band who have sold over 12 million records worldwide. Their abbreviated name stands for Payable On Death.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Randy Travis – “Forever and Ever, Amen”

June 30, 2021 — Leave a comment

His son said “Mommy, I’m gonna love you forever and ever, Amen’. Let’s go Way Back!

Pictured: Randy Travis with his wife Mary Travis (2020) (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Good Morning to you! You’re reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! We’re looking at the sounds of the past that have influenced the present today, and that translates to a scarce Country music appearance from Marshville’s Randy Travis. Travis was a huge star in the 80’s, a pivotal figure in the development of Country music, who had sixteen #1 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart. Very tragically, he suffered a Stroke in 2013 that has left him unable to continue singing, but, in his peak time, Travis branched out into other media as a crossover star, appearing in films like the ‘National Treasure’ series and seven episodes of ‘Touched By An Angel’ on TV. He now owns a star on the Hollywood Hall Of Fame, and, in 2016, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame. Known as one of the pioneers of the Neo-Traditionalist movement, Travis is highly revered for helping to bring traditional Country music back to mainstream attention. One of his signature tracks is ‘Forever and Ever, Amen’, which sold 5 million copies following it’s release in 1987. Check it out on Vimeo below.

Although Travis’s stroke has severely limited his abilities, since 2017, he’s occasionally been known to add the final ‘Amen’ to live performances or cover versions from other artists, and ‘Forever And Ever, Amen’, remains popular to this day. As recently as February of this year, Ronan Keating and Shania Twain released their own duet version of the classic track for Keating’s eleventh studio album, ‘Twenty Twenty’. It”s impact continues to be felt, then, by it’s romantic and sweet melodies. The vocals find Travis harkening back to his distinctive Baritone vocals that he was known for, where he croons sequences like “As long as old men sit and talk about the weather/As long as old women sit and talk about old men” with his low-pitched harmony. The guitars are the twangiest of twangs, as you would expect, with a melodic rhythm and an upbeat mood that absorbs you deep into the Country genre. Deep to it’s core, the songwriting is about joy in constancy, with platonic verses about loving a woman regardless of changes to their appearance, citing her hair as the main reference, and smooth flirtations where he uses the song itself as back up evidence for reassuring his faithfulness to his wife. The family Wedding scenario of the music video is a picture-esque complement to this. Country music is really not my bread-and-butter pudding by usual standards, and so I think it’s a testament to Travis’s career that he manages to get me quite on-board with this. It’s cheesy and it’s of it’s time, but it’s catchy and uplifting, with lyrics that feel smart and deliver enough substance to click. Overall, it is one of the VERY few tracks that make me interested to explore 80’s Country further.

Pictured: Cover Art for “Forever & Always” (LP) (Released on May 4, 1987) (via Warner Bros Records)

That’s all I have for today – but I’ll be thanking you for reading my text forever and ever, amen! Tomorrow, we’re going Electronic, with an in-depth look at one of the strongest IDM album releases of the year so far. The artist has made an appearance on the blog before, and is one of the most important new signings to the highly influential Hyperdub club music label that was founded by Kode9 in 2000, originally as a webzine, before it became a label in 2004.

Way Back Wednesdays: The Mock Turtles – “Can You Dig It?”

June 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

WCW’s Booker T would have been saying… Can you dig it, Sucka? Let’s go Way Back!

Pictured: Martin Coogan (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Martin Glyn Murray (Lead Guitar), Andrew Stewardson (Bass Guitar/Viola), Joanne Gent (Keyboards/Cello/Acoustic Guitar) and Steve Barnard (Drums/Percussion) pictured for a BBC Radio 6Music Live Hour shot (1991) (Photo via BBC.com)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – I’m writing from Cambridgeshire instead of Stafford once again – and it’s time for you to read your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! It’s also Wednesday – which means that we’re going ‘Way Back’ to remember the sounds of the past that have been important to the present. A fondly remembered radio-friendly hit from 1991, ‘Can You Dig It?’ was the masterwork of The Mock Turtles, who saw their peak in popularity during the baggy ‘Madchester’ Brit-Pop movement of the 1990’s. It’s still never too far away from radio airplay on the likes of BBC Radio 2 and Radio X in the present day, making it a reliable choice for our little mid-week feature. It was taken from their well-performed LP, ‘Turtle Soup’, released in 1990, and it was released as a physical single along with the B-side, ‘Lose Yourself’, as it was known back in the day. One interesting fact is how the single was also dedicated to Alan Duffy, and this was made clear when Siren Records decided to print an Alan Duffy quote, “Shine on you crazy diamond”, on the CD single sleeve. It was also featured very prominently in Vodafone adverts in 1992. Let’s dig it out below.

‘Can You Dig It?’ saw commercial success when it reached #18 on the UK Singles Charts and #12 in Ireland. Fatboy Slim (or Norman Cook, at the time, before he was Fatboy Slim) was also a huge fan of the indie classic, and he decided to remix the track with Simon Thornton for a re-release, and this version peaked at #19 on the UK’s Top 40, alongside charting within the Top 100 in Ireland, Greece and The Netherlands. As for the original that we all know and enjoy, ‘Can You Dig It’ became a memorable one-hit wonder for The Mock Turtles with it’s smear of light Disco elements, a catchy guitar melody that feels instantly familiar now, and the head-nodding Drum beats that create a recognizable and fairly groovy melody. The lyrics come across naturally, with no distortion or auto-tune effects, with vocalist Martin Coogan delivering motivational lyrics like “See how big and strong I’ve grown/I’m standing on my own” and “One little kiss isn’t anything/You keep insisting on everything” that have a clear theme and a quick rhythm. The verses are very short and compact in their length, allowing space for the twangy guitar riffs and the uplifting basslines to sink their teeth deeply into your ears. The beats can be described as very “baggy”, and the years of tiresome gigging finally paid off for the truly ‘Indie’ group at the time. It’s important to remember how ‘Indie’ basically just categorizes modern Pop now, and not entirely self-produced independent music anymore. Overall, a slightly over-played tune now, but one that is still well-suited for a hot summers day in the beer garden of the pub, and, in retrospect, it’s exciting to think how The Mock Turtles probably had more to offer than this if they were given the right chance by the higher-up’s. For what it is, it’s a tuneful and melodic mesh of true Indie and soft Disco music, and one that is still warmly received years later for how charming and unforgettable it feels. We all dig it.

Pictured: Vinyl Copy of ‘Can You Dig It?’ (Single) (Released in 1991) (Photo by BetterOnVinyl.co.uk)

That’s all destiny wrote for today. Stay tuned in for more ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ in seven days’ time. In the meantime, I’ll be back tomorrow for a ‘deep dive’ into one of the weekend’s new album releases – because there’s loads arriving on Friday! Tomorrow, it’s the turn of a fast-rising Folk megastar who grew up in Arlington, Massachetus – who worked on her previous album, her debut, with the producer Gabe Wax. 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: Allison Ponthier – “Harshest Critic”

June 10, 2021 — Leave a comment

Whoever said we are our own critics never auditioned for Big Brother. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Cowboy” (Single) (Released on March 8th, 2021) (via Interscope Records)

Good Evening to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog (Now that my million other tasks for the day have finally been completed), because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! I’m going to introduce you to a brand new artist today – and that indie folk/country singer-songwriter goes by the name of Allison Ponthier – who describes herself as “a wide-eyed misfit” from the outskirts of Dallas, Texas. She’s recently caught the ears of the major Sony-owned label Columbia Records, following a stint of meeting Lord Huron and collaborating with them, with the two acts going on a tour in the US later this year. She appeared on ‘I Lied’ from Lord Huron’s new album ‘Long Lost’, which is what exposed me to her, and she’s also performed on the major US late-night TV talk show ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ with them. The self-confessed ‘Jazz School Dropout’ has also been undergoing strange activities to pass the time when in quarantine last year, telling The Guardian in a brand new interview, “I’ve started making sculptures of little alien people”. Whatever floats your boat. ‘Harshest Critic’ is just her second single – and the follow-up to March’s Claymation-inspired ‘Cowboy’. Check out the music video below.

Allison Ponthier has been adding more friends to the feathers in her industry cap by collaborating with Jordan Bahat on the music video for ‘Harshest Critic’ and co-writing her material with frequent collaborator Adam Melchor, but the lyrics of ‘Harshest Critic’ are about the pressures that Ponthier feels to meet audience’s expectations – and her own – in being a music artist, as she explains in her press release, “I wrote ‘Harshest Critic around the time when labels were knocking on my door”, adding, “It ended up being a song about how, when you’re an artist, everything feels like life and death. But, in reality, it’s your happiness and who you are, as a person, that really matter. You might as well enjoy the ride, because no-one’s ever going to be as hard on you as you are”, when describing her songwriting approach and practices. Comparisons to Julia Jacklin or Alice Phoebe Lou could be made on ‘Harshest Critic’, with a crooner style that feels decorated by little sprinklings of Grunge and sparsely placed Americana elements. Lyrics like “What if all my fears were on display/Right in front of all of the world/Under a spotlight/Would they be on my side” and “I’m terrified/Of the way I look when it’s through strangers eyes/Wish I had a way to peak inside their minds” are very reflective and always place Ponthier’s own insecurities at the centre of the concept. The chorus finds her crooning, “If I’m being honest, don’t know if I can tell you/Who’s the harshest critic in the room?” and “It could be the studio audience/But they’re just payin for admission/And I’m the one with everything to lose” as Ponthier opens up about her stress and pressures in a highly confessional manner. The instrumentation takes a backseat to the vocals, with a tender guitar ballad and a soft, steady percussive trail of drum beats that mirror the beating of her heart as the vocals unfold. Overall, it’s difficult to be overly critical of Ponthier’s performance here, despite her own harsh judgments, in this track. I don’t think the sound was that terribly exciting, and I’m a little concerned that the label might fast-track her to become the next Lana Del Rey instead of the first Allison Ponthier, but, overall, she’s a very likeable presence because she feels very human. The words feel very poetic and expressive, with a simple theme that doesn’t run it’s course, because the sophisticated guitar chord changes and the heartfelt moods keep proceedings fresh enough, and her voice may conjure no critical panning of any form.

Pictured: Cover Art for “Harshest Critic” (Single) (Released on May 13th, 2021) (via Interscope Records)

Thank you for reaching the end of today’s blog post – your support means a lot. We’ve already reached Friday by the time that 24 hours rolls past again, and so we’ll be sifting through this week’s notable new releases. We’ll be focusing our minds on the return of a pack of Post-Punk veterans, well-known for several crossover chart hits in the 1980’s and 1990’s from Madison, Wisconsin. Their name was reportedly inspired by a conversation with a friend, who frequently told them that their early material sounded “like Garbage”. 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/

Way Back Wednesdays: Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five – ‘Friendship’

June 9, 2021 — Leave a comment

Keep your friends close and keep your close friends closer to you. Let’s go Way Back!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Disc D: 1947-1949) (Released on July 18, 2006) (via JSP Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for you to read your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! When writing about the sounds of the past that have influenced those of the present for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, Louis Jordan and his 6-piece accompaniment Tympany Five certainly qualify for such an equation. An inductee of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame, Louis Jordan was an Arkansas-based Saxophonist who was a seminal figure in the development of R&B and Rock ‘N’ Roll in the 1940’s and 50’s. His witty lyrics, his interactive stage presence and the jolting, engaging rhythms of his music aided him to become one of the first African-American artists to enjoy a crossover popularity with the predominantly White audience of his time. It’s tricky to pinpoint exactly when and where today’s recording, ‘Friendship’, was issued for release in it’s first form. You can hear it on the 1984 Vinyl re-issue of ‘Louis Jordan & Friends’, a double single release in 1952 as the b-side to ‘You’re Much Too Fat’, a 2006 reissue of ‘Disc D; 1947-1949’ on streaming platforms and CD, or, like me, as a part of the ‘Mafia 2’ video game soundtrack of 2010. Either way, give it a spin.

Louis Jordan took on the honorific nickname of ‘The King Of The Jukebox’ due to his exposure in the media, and he went on to continually refine his qualities in duetting with most of the other stalwarts of the time, such as Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, and, although comprehensive sales figures are not available, trajectories suggest that he shifted up to four million-selling units of his singles during the Swing era of his heyday. ‘Friendship’ was one of his many leading recordings during his career, before we sadly lost him due to a heart attack in Los Angeles in 1975. It was most famous for it’s refrain of ‘You ain’t friend of mine’ that he delivers at the end of the track. The talkative, near-duetting backing vocals from his Tympany Five feel very conversational, with the vocals being delivered in a Spoken Word section where Louis arguably never sings. He talks about the trials and tribulations of friendships, and how people used to treat each other during his time, using a character called Zeke as a muse for this. Anecdotes like “And what about that night I came home and caught lipstick on your face” and “But when she feeds you chicken and steak, and gives me Irish stew/You’s a little lizard in the bushes, that’s what you are” as his band members react to the little stories that have fractured Jordan’s connection with Zeke. It soon becomes clear that Zeke was just using Jordan as a way to get to his wife, an implication of cheating and abusing of trust. Sequences like “And even when we went on our Honeymoon/The bellboy told me you rented the very next room/I know you’re my friend, but I didn’t want to see you that soon” make this narrative clear, before the famous closing section of “Do you call that friendship?/You ain’t no friend of mine” closes things off. However, the bitter resentment in Jordan’s voice and the confrontational style of songwriting also makes him look like a ‘lost boy’ in some aspects, an angry character that has a certain viewpoint that takes us along the narrative. It’s possible to consider that his wife wasn’t happy with him, or Zeke was getting payback for a past activity, and so Jordan’s feelings may consume him. Therefore, there’s a lot of complexity underneath the hood, which Jordan carries along in his stride as his Tympany Five quibble in the background. The instrumentation is obviously dated, with a light Alto Saxophone melody and a classical Piano riff being the only real elements in play to really speak of. Limited technology aside, it’s tremendous to remember what Jordan has achieved in his time and through the tools that he had in his disposal. The gentle embrace of an old friend.

Pictured: Louis Jordan (Lead Vocals/Saxophone), Courtney Williams (Trumpet), Lem Johnson (Tenor Sax), Clarence Johnson (Piano), Charlie Drayton (Bass Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals) and Walter Martin (Drums/Percussion) in New York City between 1946 and 1948 (Photo by William P. Gottilieb)

That’s all for now! Please feel free to join me again tomorrow, as we go down the route of Country and Folk with an in-depth look at an emerging female solo artist who was born in Texas and is now based in Brooklyn, and has inked a new deal with Columbia Records. She recently collaborated with Lord Huron on ‘I Lied’ from their new album ‘Long Lost’, and she tells The Guardian that she has started making her own sculptures of little alien people in her bathroom… If that’s what floats your boat. 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: Francis Lung – “Bad Hair Day”

May 27, 2021 — Leave a comment

Writing today’s text at 11:57pm would clearly be a ‘Close Shave’. Time for a new post!

Pictured: Vinyl Copy of “Miracle” (LP) (Available from June 18th, 2021) (via Memphis Industries)

Good Evening to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – I’ve been extremely busy today, and so I have got more of a teatime post lined up for you. Rest assured, however, I’m finally here to deliver the post for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Bad Hair Day’ is a recent single from Francis Lung, a Manchester-based indie rock songwriter who I wasn’t familiar with prior to this track, but I heard it on a recent episode of 6 Music Recommends and it certainly gave me some joy. My research says that Lung is gearing up to release his second solo album, ‘Miracle’, next month, as the follow-up to his debut album, ‘A Dream Is U’, which got some positive reviews from publications like Paste, The Line Of Best Fit and Uncut when it was issued two years ago. He says, “For me, Miracle is about the struggle between my self-destructive side and my problem-solving, constructive side” about the new record, which releases on June 18th via Memphis Industries – the same record label that is home to Field Music, The Go! Team, Baba Ali and more. Let’s go to the barbers to relieve a ‘Bad Hair Day’ below.

“I don’t want to be defined by my anxiety, my depression or any history of substance abuse”, Lung notes in his press statements to plug the concept of the new release, adding, “But I do want to reach out to other people who have had similar experiences, especially if it’s in a way that helps them feel a little better. To me, this music is about healing as much as it focuses on the darker sides of the human psyche”, is what Lung feels is the important takeaway of this new body of work. My research also tells me that Lung was previously a member of the Manchester Punk band WU LYF, who created a mystery around themselves by largely declining requests for interviews and generally not giving much information to the journalists about their own brand of “Heavy Pop” music, and so it’s a brave thing for Lung to begin opening up about his personal life and viewing his own experiences from an alternate angle. The main bulk of ‘Bad Hair Day’ echoes the 60’s Surf-Rock of the Beach Boys and the happy-go-lucky 90’s Britpop of Supergrass for me, with angular guitar riffs that feel light-hearted and classic Tempo changes that keep the earworm sensibilities from getting too predictable. Vocally, he discusses the reactions to having a hangover on the morning after a night out that went a little too far, and more sorrowful sequences of lyrics that paint a wider picture of strained connections and damaged self-esteem for oneself. The opening lines of “I woke up with static in my hair today, A frequency of ringing in my ears was all I could hear” feel humorous and slightly comedic, and these are interspersed nicely with more serious problems being hinted towards, like “You slam the door, love me again or love me no more” that suggest a darker issue behind the scenes. The quickfire percussion and the frazzled String sections mix up the soft Rock tones with a more subversive quality, and the track ends on a hazy solo that reminds me of Queen and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever in it’s blend of 70’s influences and it’s light Country or Blues feel. On the whole, it’s a track that manages to put a unique spin on today’s talk of Mental Health regularly in the media by looking backwards a little, with some decent commentary on personal outlook. An exciting new ‘Indie Disco’ release for fans of Willie J. Healey or JW Francis.

Pictured: Francis Lung before playing Stay Fresh Fest at The Deaf Institute (2018) (Photo by Twitter.com)

That’s all for today – thank you for sticking to the end of the post with me today, and I hope that it’s not been a ‘Bad Hair Day’ for you in any way. Tomorrow, we’re going to be kicking off the extended Bank Holiday weekend with our all-important sift through Friday’s album releases. We’ll be sampling the debut solo album to come from a Canadian poet who was previously a member of the underground rap collective Halal, and one of his poems was once worn, on a dress, to a Vogue fashion event by the popular actress Emilia Clarke. 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

Way Back Wednesday: Alexei Sayle – “Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?”

May 19, 2021 — Leave a comment

The British stand-up comedian taking no wind out of their Sayles. Let’s go Way Back!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?” (Single) (1984) (Springtime/Island Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, as per usual, and it’s time for you to read all about your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Today, we are revisiting the unlikely UK Top 20 chart success that was ‘Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?’ from Alexei Sayle. Sayle is a stand-up comic and novelist from Anfield, Liverpool – and a popular one at that. In 2007, he was voted by Channel 4 viewers as the 18th greatest gagster of all-time on their ‘100 Greatest Stand-Ups’ programme in 2007. He’s famous for his work in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ on the West End, his ‘Imaginary Sandwich Bar’ radio comedy on BBC Radio 4, and his often surrealist comedy routines in TV comedy programmes like ‘The Young Ones’ and his appearances in the ‘Carry On’ series of films. ‘Ullo John, Gotta New Motor?’ was originally released in 1982, before receiving mainstream attention when it was re-released in 1984. Sayle produced the track with Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who have produced for Madness and Elvis Costello. The 12-inch Vinyl single package also saw many different versions arrive at shop shelves thanks to it’s profanities. He released two other albums prior to this single, and so it wasn’t a completely random venture into music. Sayle released two follow-up singles that were included on ‘Panic’, his third and final album, which is a parody of Michael Jackson’s ‘Off The Wall’ of 1979. See if John’s Gotta New Motor yet below!

By the time that ‘Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?’ was re-issued in 1984, Sayle had starred in the popular BBC sitcom ‘The Young Ones’ and the ITV sitcom ‘Whoops Apocalypse’, which explains the better commercial luck the second time around. There has also been loads of different re-workings of the track, and a re-working from Ian Dury was ordered by Toshiba for an advertisement in 1985 because promoters started to spot the success of the single. Set to a Synthpop or soft Funk backdrop with some New-Wave synths and a few guitar licks, Sayle proceeds to perform a Spoken Word or light Rap set of sentences playing the character of a loudmouthed Liverpuddlian. The lyrics are generally a mix of banal absurdity and seemingly unconnected jokes, with off-kilter references to Barry Manilow, Bongo Drums, Avon representatives and Billy Joel taking up the picture. “Is there life on Mars?/Is there life in Peckham” is my favourite line, but “I keep tropical fish/In my underpants” and “Ere you wanna brown ale/Mine’s a light and bitter” are good moments too. There isn’t much that you can sensibly compare this record too, but there’s a playful sensibility of Ian Dury here, an abstract jumble of puns that remind me of Dry Cleaning, and it’s all dressed up in a Monty Python or Horrible Histories sense of British wit and humor in obscurity. There’s no chorus, no story, and seemingly no point, but Sayle is mocking a stretched Cockney banter that people used to talk in a certain manner around the city nearer back to the time. It’s a bit obsolete now, but Sayle pulls it off with an enthusiastic performance and a musical backdrop that uses distorted vocal effects and delay pedals to warp things a little and add to the bizzare humor. There’s not much musically here and it’s not an artistic masterpiece of complex multi-layered art, but it was never trying to be. I couldn’t really understand most of the lyrics without looking them up, but this adds a little depth to the vocals. Overall, it’s still a fun throwback to the times when comedians recorded Novelty singles around BBC Comic Relief time to assert themselves as a comedic force and that’s rather quaint these days. That said, I probably wouldn’t be asking for Michael McIntyre to record a Metal-themed parody about his Wheel, although a Novelty single from Rev Richard Coles would make sense due to his past experience as a member of Communards. It’s still a track that had me laughing though, and I’m probably going to be sorry when I find myself repeating it around the kitchen all day tomorrow. I’m sure you will be too.

Pictured: Alexei Sayle pictured in an article for The Irish Mirror (2016) (Photo Credit: The Daily Mirror)

That’s all for now! Tomorrow, I’ve got some new music to share with you from an emerging female solo act from Los Angeles who describes herself as a “Jazz School drop-out” who is now making her very own Rock music independently. The 22 year old singer-songwriter may have just a handful of releases out there in the world, but she’s also known for working with her childhood friend, Marinelli, on lyrics that have pointed observation and self-deprecating pop culture references about the surreality of growing up. 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/