Jangle-Rock

New Album Release Fridays: Jade Bird – “Now Is The Time”

August 13, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Different Kinds Of Light’ (Released on August 13th, 2021) (via Glassnote Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for me to get typing up on the site 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! I’m fairly confident that there is something for everybody hitting record shop shelves today. There’s The Killers ambitious new concept album, the well-reviewed new album from Jungle, the new release from the rapidly prolific US bedroom pop singer-songwriter Still Woozy, quirky Dub vibes from Pachyman (Refer back to Tuesday’s post for more on that), and new EP’s from A Certain Ratio and Bloxx to add to your streaming library or physical collection. However, I’m excited to find out how the Hexham-born indie folk singer-songwriter Jade Bird has grown since her self-titled debut LP release from two years ago. Bird has been given two or three go-around’s on the blog over the years, but that’s because I find her work to be interesting, and she’s the type of artist that I enjoy supporting. She attended the BRIT’s school in Croydon, where she earned a record deal at the age of 16. Since then, she has won ‘Best International Artist’ at the AIM Independent Music Awards in 2019, she has performed ‘Headstart’ on ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon’ in the US, and she was the first artist to join Microsoft’s ‘RE: Surface’ series of virtual live-streamed gigs, and she has also been very supportive for black, LGBT and female artists in the industry. Her second album, ‘Different Kinds Of Light’, arrives today on Glassnote Records, which once again sees Jade Bird spanning Americana, Country-Rock and Southern Blues influences with her unique voice. The record has a 71/100 score on aggregate site Metacritic, which indicates that critics’ reviews are trending pretty positive, although it seems to be ever so slightly more of a mixed bag this time around. ‘Now Is The Time’ to give the sampler track a spin below.

“Now Is The Time is the only song to have me smiling and laughing listening to it back at RCA. We had the Bee-Gee’s in mind and soul, triple tracking the vocals and putting a load of chorus on the guitar”, Bird enthusiastically tells us via her press release, explaining, “It’s a big motivational anthem for someone I want to put my arms around or lift them in the darkest time. Given that I wrote it mid-pandemic, the sentiment to getting to the back-end of this hell is heavily felt now”, in her notes about how the track was influenced and developed. While the title track and lead single from the LP saw Bird gently control the mood of change with a low-lit voice, ‘Now Is The Time’ feels much like her older work in the more pop-oriented and uplifting tone. Although she’s singing to a lover that seems to be a bit down on their luck, the lyrics feel rather generalized, and so they can apply to an eclectic range of people’s circumstances. Lyrics like “If I had a penny for all your potential/I’d be left drowning in my mouthful of metal” add her trademark Sass to the vocal equation, while a more Coach-like message shines through the Sunshine Pop melodies and the Jangle Pop sounds, with lyrics like “Never have I seen a better day to get up/Doesn’t matter about the weather” that inspire the listener to face their demons. The production feels polished, yet unsullied by any electronic artifice, and that’s another really good thing. I feel the addition of an auto-tune effect would really distance me away from the vibrant personality that she shows already. I hate to say that I didn’t really hear the Bee-Gees influence coming through very strongly at all. However, as usual with Bird, the simple element of her voice really makes up for any generic faults in the songwriting. I really do love hearing her voice since, as I’ve noted several times on the blog, it makes her come across as distinctive in comparison to other modern pop and rock artists. Bird’s voice is very powerful, especially for someone with her young age, and it enhances her snappy lyrics very nicely, but she’s certainly accessible enough to attract more casual, mainstream ears to her albums because her acoustic instrumentation is very melodic, and her general themes are pretty basic, but still fairly relevant. To sum it up, it’s a lovely summer tune that has something to say to everybody. Truth be told, I felt it was a little formulaic, so I’m not sure if I would like it as much if Bird wasn’t the one singing it. However, that’s also a complement to the way that she infuses her music with an effective “no nonsense” vibe. In the same sense, if Confidence Man originally wrote one of Bjork’s tracks – it wouldn’t make sense. The direction naturally feels more mature than her first album, and she even looks older and more wise in the video, so it’s a delight to see that evolution taking place. Something for the weekend.

  • Pictured: Jade Bird in a self-titled album era cover shoot (in 2018) (Photo Credit: PR/Alice Burnfield)

If you want to keep up with some of Bird’s earlier releases, you can get a ‘Headstart’ on the blog here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/11/28/todays-track-jade-bird-headstart/. Or, if you need another reason to check out the new album from Bird over the weekend, get another taste with my review for the title track here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/06/05/todays-track-jade-bird-different-kinds-of-light/

  • Pictured: Jade Bird in a “Get To Know…” Interview Feature (in 2018) (Photo Credit: PR/DIYMag.com)

That’s all for now! Thank you for your continued support for the blog, and for reaching the end of the page! I’ll be back tomorrow for more where that came from. This time, we’ll be heading over to Sydney for the debut appearance on the blog from a 5-piece Alternative Rock group who seem to be quickly on the rise, who surprisingly released their latest EP – ‘Total Serene’ – with no prior announcement in July. The group’s first album reached #5 on the ARIA Album Charts in 2015, and the band’s second album was nominated for a large number of eight ARIA Music Awards, in 2017.

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Today’s Track: Pip Blom – “Keep It Together”

August 7, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Pip Blom (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Percussion), Tender Blom (Lead Guitar/Synths), Gini Cameron (Bass Guitar/Keyboard) and Gini Cameron (Drummer/Backing Vocals) (2021) (via PR)

Good Morning to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and now is the time for me to deliver 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! I’ve got new music coming your way from Pip Blom, a 4-piece Indie Pop-Punk band from Amsterdam, The Netherlands – who were named after their frontwoman. Pip Blom seem to be incredibly popular, and over the last four years or so, have been making huge waves on the UK’s festival circuit, including three performances at Glastonbury Festival in 2019. They have been getting support across the board from radio stations like BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6Music, and music publications like Rolling Stone, NPR, Double J and Brooklyn Vegan. They will also be performing in some locations, like The Portland Arms in Cambridge, later in the year for the government’s ‘Revive Live’ scheme. Their debut album, ‘Boat’, reached the top spot of the Independent Album Breakers chart in 2019, and now, the follow-up, ‘Welcome Break’, is set to arrive shortly, on October 8th via Heavenly Recordings – the same UK indie giant which is also home to the likes of Baxter Dury, Raf Rundell and The Orielles. ‘Keep It Together’ whilst you spin the lead single below.

“A very important thing of all the tracks is the dynamic between Tender’s and my vocals”, Pip Blom described in a press statement, referring to her own brother and the band’s lead guitarist Tender Blom, adding, “In the chorus of ‘Keep It Together’ we sing two completely different bits, but it works really well. Tender did a lot of singing for this record, mainly for the choruses and bridges. I really like how, with this bridge, you’ve got this whole choir of the two of us singing in different keys. It gives it a very dreamy vibe that is nice after the powerful chorus” to her notes. The sibling dynamic and the familial synergy are enough to give the melodic hooks a boost on the track, which finds Pip singing about exhaustion, and trying to get an uplift of energy from some source, a relatable theme for us all. Lyrics like “Can’t beat these feelings and change it to being new/Do you feel it, don’t believe the hype” stand out from the pack in the verses, while the chorus is filled with more positive cues like “I don’t have to win everytime”, while the instrumentation pulls from Brit-Pop influences with the Baggy ‘Madchester’ sounds with the subtlety of the raw vocals and the fuzzy, lightly distorted guitar hooks. Although the vocal delivery carries some fatigue and draining, the Jangle-Pop hooks are light and breezy, giving the melodies a summer time feel that carries the momentum of the Power-Pop chorus along at a maintained flow. There’s a touch of Hop Along or Lisa Prank to the more Grunge-inspired chorus where the DIY Punk production leaves it’s mark, and the overall 80’s vibes fits the themes of the music video perfectly. These 80’s sounds made me think of The Sugarcubes and Supergrass, where the tightly crafted guitar hooks embrace Brit-Pop and Dance music to a noticeable level. Overall, I felt this was an enjoyably breezy slice of Indie Punk mixed with an accessible Pop touch. There’s nothing here that suggests anything that entirely re-invents the wheel for me, since I felt the vocals and guitar mix was a little generic, but I certainly felt a good chemistry between each of the band members and there’s an engaging variety of influences that they add to the cauldron in here. It feels great for the typically bizzare mid-August weather, here in the UK, where there’s a radiant warmth, but also a little rain, which keeps us all indoors. Crowd-pleasing Pop.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Welcome Break’ (LP) (Available from October 8, 2021) (via Heavenly Recordings)

That’s all for now – and thank you very much for the support, as always. ‘Scuzz Sundays’ is the plan for tomorrow, as per usual, with a new entry to the library that marks the debut appearance on the blog for one of the few Pop-Punk bands of the era that haven’t been remembered for the feature yet. The band were from Los Gatos, California, they have released eight studio albums to date, remain active in the present day, and the Nu-Metal band seem to have gone through many line-up tweaks.

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Scuzz Sundays: Lit – “My Own Worst Enemy”

July 18, 2021 — Leave a comment

Too hot for this, so I can’t think of anything else to write except from its Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: A. Jay Popoff (Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Percussion), Kevin Baldes (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Jeremy Popoff (Lead Guitar) & Taylor Caroll (Drums) (2017) (Photo via PledgeMusic.com)

It’s THAT time of the 7-day week again! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and I’d like you to allow me to be your brief respite from the extremely humid weather that we’ve been experiencing here in the UK for another new entry in our ‘Scuzz Sundays’ library, the feature on the site where we revisit the Pop-Punk of the past, usually releases that were given airplay on the closed ‘Scuzz’ TV music video channel between the late-90’s and the mid-00’s. Making their debut appearance on the blog, Orange County rock band Lit’s ‘A Place In The Sun’ LP from 1999 is a very appropriate selection for our current climate. The band are still active today, with six full-length album releases to their belt, although they’re predominantly known for two hits: ‘My Own Worst Enemy’ and ‘Miserable’. I’ve read that Lit’s modern music, however, skews towards Country and Blues, which seems interesting enough. A certified-platinum single, the former hit was actually just a modest success upon release, but it subsequently continued to increase in popularity, and eventually reached #1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart in the US, upwards of sales reporting over 1.3 million units. Check out the iconic music video, which was directed by Gavin Bowden and shot in a bowling alley, below.

A real example of their Power Pop and Alternative Rock wheelhouse, Lit’s ‘My Own Worst Enemy’, according to guitarist Jeremy Popoff, was “the result of waking up and realizing you screwed up the night before”, and vocalist A. Jay Popoff said the track was “the combination of many, many incidents”, since he had gotten into hot water for public nudity in the late-90’s following a reported incident that he sang this song nude in the studio once. Either way, it did pretty well for itself. It followed the trends of peer acts like Blink-182 and Bowling For Soup for the time, but there’s an attempt at sentimental value during the verses. Lyrics like “Please tell me why my car is in the front yard, And I’m sleeping with my clothes on” and “Can we forget about the things I said when I was drunk?/I didn’t mean to call you that” convey these ideas simply. The chorus is more involving for the self-reflection aspect, with a lower tempo compared to the verses, as Popoff sings “It’s no surprise to me/I am my own worst enemy” and “I came in through the window last night/And you’re gone” with a clear delivery. That’s largely it. The guitar riffs are pretty catchy, with some more Grunge-oriented patterns dominating the chorus. There’s some neat backing vocals, too, with the band adding some airy harmonies to the post-bridge towards the end. Overall, though, this feels perfectly pedestrian and remarkably perfunctory. It’s fine, but the instrumentation is too basic to overcome it’s repetitive nature, and the lyrics don’t offer much substance to latch onto. Robust, if generic, stuff, and so it feels really mechanical and it fails to stand out from what Weezer or Smash Mouth were making at the time. It would have sounded perfectly decent on the radio, but it’s not something that I’d want to make a point of listening to a whole album of songs for. Simply that ‘fine’ song from the time.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘A Place In The Sun’ (Released on February 23, 1999) (via RCA Records)

That’s all for now! I’ll be back tomorrow, as always, for business as usual. Please feel free to join me for new music from the current solo project of Liverpool’s Liam Brown, who has recorded his music under several monikers over the course of his musical career. He cites the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Ariel Pink and Janet Jackson as his biggest influences, and his latest album, ‘Softcore Mourn’, is out now via Heist Or Hit Records.

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Scuzz Sundays: Interpol – “Say Hello To The Angels”

July 11, 2021 — Leave a comment

In 2002, Interpol were knock, knock, knocking, on Heaven’s Door. It’s Scuzz Sunday…

  • Pictured: CD Copy of ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’ (Released in November 2001) (via Matador Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – allow me to be your only escape from anything regarding football today, as we delve into the Pop-Punk of the past for another addition to our ‘Scuzz Sundays’ library, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! You’ve probably heard of Interpol before. They are a pretty famous band, after all, and a group that deserves a little more credit than they may usually get in terms of bringing Post-Punk music back into the consciousness of mainstream audiences in the 2000’s, although it can be easy to box them in to an ‘Indie Boom’ category with Editors or White Lies. ‘Say Hello To The Angels’ was one of the first singles they released, along with the B-side of ‘NYC’ on a 7″ Double Single in 2003, and it reached #65 on the UK Singles Chart. The two tracks also appeared on Interpol’s debut album ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’, which was awarded the #1 spot on Pitchfork’s list of the Top 50 Best Albums of the year when it saw the light of day in 2002. A music video for ‘Say Hello To The Angels’ was never produced, but it’s still become one of the Manhattan musicians’ best-known singles. Across their career, Interpol have released six albums, and regularly release fresh material today. ‘Say Hello To The Angels’ with them at Glastonbury 2014 below.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the release of their debut album ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’, Interpol released an expanded version of that old record. Dubbed as the ‘Remastered Edition’, the re-release came with a disc of unreleased demo material, the bonus tracks that were previously only available on the International editions of the original release, and a DVD featuring the LP’s music videos and live performances. This breathed new energy into ‘Say Hello To The Angels’ because it reminded us of their roots: A good mish-mash of clear influences from other bands of a New-Wave or Gothic rock ilk. We’re greeted by a thick and fast intro of humming guitar lines, with a slight fuzz of distortion, that soon becomes a head-nodding riff enhanced by the dark drawling of Paul Banks’ wry vocals. Lyrics like “I want your silent parts/The parts that birds love/I know there’s such a place” and “This is a concept/This is a bracelet/This isn’t no intervention” are repeated with a catchy tenacity, as Banks discusses how a blooming relationship is allowing him to turn a new lead from a darker past, but it’s done in a way where it doesn’t feel particularly sweet or light-hearted. Paul Weller’s biting guitars and the progressive, bass forward sound point to influences like The Jam, Radiohead and Gang Of Four. The retro-casual style of the chorus is another highlight of the track, and Banks repeats lyrics such as “But each night, I bury my love around you/You’re linked to my innocence” with a woefully abtruse poise. Paired with the black, three-piece suits of their live costumes and the headstrong punch of the melodic Snare groove, we’re left with a head-nodding rock tune that pairs the ethical Post-Rock of Fugazi with the book-ending harmony of Robert Smith. It’s a perfect blend, and it would be easy to assume they were another Manchester band from their homage to the UK’s Post-Grunge and Experimental Rock scenes. Almost 20 years later, this is a cracker of a modern classic.

  • Pictured: Paul Banks (Lead Vocals/Bass Guitar/Rhythm Guitar), Daniel Kessler (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Sam Fogarino (Drums/Samples/Percussion) (2018) (Photo taken from XSNoise.com)

That’s all I have lined up for you today! Another daily upload is on it’s way to you tomorrow, meanwhile, and it comes from a London-based electronic music producer who was formerly known as Deadboy, and he notched up a solid reputation for himself on the cross-section of UK dance music history with several popular releases on underground Techno labels including Numbers and Well Rounded.

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Today’s Track: Deep Tan – “Camelot”

July 5, 2021 — Leave a comment

Just another evening at the tanning salon for the knights of Camelot. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Creeping Speedwells” (EP) (Released on June 4th, 2021) (via Practise Music)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – and I hope that you’re ready for 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! Today’s track serves as an introduction to the site for Deep Tan, an all-female Post-Punk/New Wave-like trio from Hackney. The ladies have been kicking around on our capital’s underground scene for a few years now, showcasing their skills to London’s drag, ballroom and LGBT communities, and the band’s vocalist – Wafah Dufour – was the drummer for Cate Le Bon’s backing band. Likened to Foals, Warpaint and The XX in terms of their sound, Deep Tan have shared the stage with similarly successful post-modern DIY Post-Rock artists like Squid, Yard Act, Sinead O’Brien and Jessica Winter, have earned features in music publications like NME, Loud and Quiet, and So Young, and airplay from Apple Music’s Beats1 and Amazing Radio USA. ‘Camelot’, released alongside a music video directed by Chino Moya, was the lead single for the emerging group’s debut EP, ‘Creeping Speedwells’, which was released on June 4th via Practice Music. Give it a whirl below.

“Camelot is an unashamed tribute to ‘the sesh'”, Deep Tan explained, noting, “A group of people have just been evicted with only 48hrs notice, leading them to have one last rager in order to forget about the stress of not finding a new home with such short notice, coming in at less than two minutes, the frenetic energy of the track sets the scene for total obliteration”, in their press release. ‘Camelot’ is designed to be a short-and-sweet jolt of virtual insanity, then, and the post-apocalyptic scenes are visualized through the relentless force of the heavy guitar work and the unrestrained nature of the skittering Drums. Hooks like “Forget the 48 hours, Don’t let the panic grip” and “Pour it out, and drink another one” are cycled through in a playful Jangle-Funk nature, and verses like “Stacked against the kitchen wall/Cans of gold from Piwowarska/I’m hearing how you got kicked out/Of the drovers for starting a fight” have a more cyclical delivery. The tone is brooding and ghostly throughout, as the raw vocals conjure up memories of heavy nights out at a dingy rock bar, with a fast tempo which mimics the buzzing rush of attempting, and failing, to drown out the memories that bring anxiety and fear through heavy drinking parties. It sounds like the dark style of tunes that you may find the band playing in such an environment, where the illicit live shows of a gloomy club match the skeletal song structure. It contrasts the fairly soft, more spoken delivery of the vocals, before we spring out into a chorus of “It’s the second last night in Camelot” backed up by a punchy Bassline. The drums get gradually louder too, and, by the end, we’re left with a strangely catchy Fugazi-inspired tune with a playful set of key changes and an obvious likening to Squid. There’s also a hint of 80’s Blondie or 90’s Garbage in here, with angular guitar riffs and a deliciously semi-deadpan delivery where instrumentals jolt past the lyrics in bursts. All in all, it is an engagingly wry showing from the intriguing up-and-comers.

  • Pictured: Wafah Dufour (Lead Vocalist/Rhythm Guitar), Celeste Guiness (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Lucy (Drums/Percussion) (in 2019) (Photography by Melia Beaudoin/SoYoungMagazine.com)

Thank you for your continued readership to the blog, and please feel free to join me again tomorrow for some brand new music from a returning face on the site. It comes from one of the most exciting Alternative artists of the last few years, marking the comeback of one of Warp Records most exciting signees. They also collaborated with Kelsey Lu on an atmospheric one-off single last December.

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

June 28, 2021 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

It’s time to blow the final whistle for today! Thank you for joining me – and I’ll be back tomorrow to share some more brand new music with you. This time, it’s coming to you from a brand new, interesting indie Soul duo from Hackney releasing mellow singles on the Moshi Moshi Music label, and they’re the perfect duo to celebrate LGBT Pride month with. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: Limp Bizkit – “Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)”

June 27, 2021 — Leave a comment

Get your bandannas, masks, the crew and motorbikes at the ready. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Fred Durst (Lead Vocals), John Otto (Drums), Sam Rivers (Bass Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals), Wes Borland (Guitars/Vocals) and DJ Lethal (Turntables/Sampling/Programming) in a Covid-era promo (2020) (Photo by Kerrang.com)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – and we all know what time it is – as we revisit a heavy rock staple of the Emo period between the late-1990’s up to the mid-2000’s, all in the name of a little Scuzz TV, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! An unusual UK #1 Singles Chart hit for the controversial Florida-native Rap-Rock 5-piece group Limp Bizkit, ‘Rollin (Air Raid Vehicle)’ was a pop culture talking point when it appealed to the masses in 2000, taken from their third studio album ‘Chocolate Starfish and The Hot Dog Flavoured Water’, reaching the top 10 of several European countries and becoming their highest-charting single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was everywhere – being used for The Undertaker’s entrance as the “American Badass” character in WWE for a few years. It was also made famous by ‘The Fast and The Furious’, ‘American Dad’, and by MLB player Scott Rolen. As of now, Limp Bizkit have just announced a UK Tour for next year and continue to work on their unreleased sixth album, ‘Stampede Of The Disco Elephants’. Despite troubles within the press and contentious live festival performances, Limp Bizkit have been nominated for three Grammy Awards, and they have sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Roll up below.

The chart success of ‘Rollin (Air Raid Vehicle)’ for Limp Bizkit in 2000 was bolstered by the memorable remix entitled ‘Rollin (Urban Assault Vehicle)’ which was put together by the quite popular hip-hop artists of the time DMX, Method Man and Redman. It was produced by Swizz Beats, and it was included as a bonus track for their ‘Chocolate Starfish and The Hot Dog Flavoured Water’ album. Of course, the leading actor of Ben Stiller appearing in the music video was a hot topic, too. As for the music without it’s branching tools, we’re given a fairly standard Nu-Metal rock tune built on bright melodicism and turntable scratching from DJ Lethal. Being the #1 hit they are predominantly known for, it’s exactly what you would come to expect from them. The verses come thick and fast, with a wall of huge-sounding guitar riffs that drive the aggression forwards at a brisk pace. I won’t even try to break the lyrics down because it’s so quick and nonsensical, but it’s mostly a rap-oriented delivery that constantly reminds you to put your hands up and just turn up the volume dial on your stereo to the max. There’s absolutely no substance to anything at all, with a vocal delivery that feels very squeaky and amateur. It’s still catchy though, with Fred Durst shouting a barrage of nonsense at a breakneck speed, chanting meaningless words like “Get it on, Every day and every night”, but with a flailing flow that just about lets him pull it off. I was never finding myself bored either, since there’s always enough going on within the jangled instrumentation to keep the speed gliding along. It’s an incoherent mess, with a cluttered soundscape, but there’s also plenty to smile at here. It’s not taking itself too seriously, and I think that’s both it’s greatest strength and it’s most unfortunate flipside. There’s unintentional comedy, but there’s also a delightful sense of silly to indulge into. On the whole, it’s pretty toxic, but also a strange sort of genius.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Limp Bizkit Presents: Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water” (LP) (Released on October 17th, 2000) (via Interscope Records/Flip Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for reaching the end of your daily blog post – and make sure to join me tomorrow for a brand new Punk full-blaster that I would pitch as an alternative anthem to a certain European football competition that is happening at the moment. 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: 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/

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