Jangle-Rock

Way Back Wednesdays: Gilberto Gil – “Aquele Abraço”

May 12, 2021 — Leave a comment

“Gil is Tropicalia’s rude essence” – Sasha Frere-Jones, 2020. Finally, let’s go Way Back!

  • Pictured: Gilberto Gil in Valencia, Spain (2021) (Photo by Gérard Giaume/Berklee College Of Music)

Good Morning to you! It’s a beautifal day outside, and so I’m here to sweeten it up with your daily track on the blog, as it’s still my day-to-day pleasure. First of all, my apologies for disappearing from the face of the Earth for the last couple of days. I ended up getting a small extension for my Masters work because my project wasn’t quite ready yet, and it’s been a busy road of traffic up in the head lately. I’m perfectly fine now, so don’t you worry. I’ve always set up this blog as a place of pleasure and enjoyment, and so I never wanted for it to feel like an obligation or a chore, so I just needed a minute to focus on the stress personally and the tasks at hand. It’s all good!

With those modules submitted, let me introduce you to our pick for today. For my project, I was researching ‘World Music’ and whether this term holds discriminatory context. One of the genres that I explored was Tropicalia, a movement that saw it’s artists – the likes of Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso and Bahian graphic designer Rogerio Duarte, express political protest through eclectic music styles and promote messages of defiance against the ruling military coup which took over Brazil in 1964. It was a moment, rather than a movement, with the protests winding down from around 1968 onwards. It was a very busy time for the likes of Gilberto Gil, however, who was also very much a key creative figure in the revolution. Gil and Veloso were threats to the military. They were imprisoned for two months, then deported, moving to London for a little bit. He returned to Bahia in 1972, and he’s continued to work as a musician, politician and environmental advocate. He also served as Brazil’s Minister Of Culture between 2003 to 2008. “Aquele Abraço” was issued in 1969 by Universal, but Gil would perform the track during marching protests during the time of Tropicalia. The title roughly translates to “The Hug” in English. Let’s reflect on the busy time for Gil below.

‘Aquele Abraço’ was written during a time of house arrest, where Gil developed the melodies and lyrics, before putting together the instrumentation for it’s recording. It became a major hit in the charts of Brazil during 1969, and it was performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games by Marisa Monte and Seu Jorge of the Bossa Nova corporation, MPB. Reaching iconic status in his home turf, Gil’s lyrics invoke themes of neighborhoods, Samba schools, national landmarks, and the popular musicians of Rio De Janeiro. I’m not entirely familiar with how the music was made, since it was well before my time, and I cannot understand the actual lyrics. However, it’s clear enough that it’s Latin-flavored Samba with a gentle guitar rhythm. The rest of the instrumentation is very percussive, with shuffling Maraca beats and a shimmering Cuica rhythm that creates a sultry, sentimental and celebratory tone. Gil whoops and hollers his way through soft, lounge Jazz influences and psychedelically driven drum parts that get some effects going within the backdrop. It mostly feels like a love letter to his nationality and his peers, and expresses a sound that overall feels ‘exotic’ or very ‘distant’ in it’s experimentation – where sentiments of Rock ‘N’ Roll and the use of electric guitars make the rhythms feel progressive for the time. On the whole, it’s an impressive combination of relaxed and joyful, and it was too edgy to be seen as lawful by the government. That’s a pretty big thing. I have probably got a different stance on it as a Western listener with a white British ethnicity compared to the purpose of the track for the society it was aimed at, and it’s worth considering that I’m only reviewing it in hindsight. However, it’s still evident that Gil is music at it’s core – expressing to the public of Brazil that arts and culture had a role in developing Brazil as a nation during his commercial peak and soaring to the heights of Tropicalia.

  • Pictured: Gilberto Gil in a PR image for NN North Sea Jazz Festival on July 12, 2019 (Photo via NSJ)

That’s all for now! Join me again tomorrow as we pick up right where we left off with some brand new music. Tomorrow’s talent is a gender fluid rapper, producer and visual street artist who is also the founder of the NiNE8 Collective in London, and they share an eerily similar stage name to a certain under-rated star who scored a huge UK and US hit with ‘Bulletproof’ in 2007. 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 Charlatans – “The Only One I Know”

April 28, 2021 — Leave a comment

Toast would say Tim bloody Burgess, oh wait. That’s Ray Purchess. Let’s go way back!

  • Pictured: Tim Burgess (Lead Vocals/Harmonica/Piano), Mark Collins (Pedal Steel Guitar), Martin Blunt (Bass Guitar) and Tony Rogers (Keyboard/Organ/Flute/Mellotron) (2017) (Photo by Andy Richardson)

Good Morning to you – My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up 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 new music every day! Perhaps somewhat overplayed at the time, The Charlatans ‘The Only One I Know’ is certainly one of the sounds of the past that has influenced those of the present. It reached #9 in the UK Singles Chart, and it made Tim Burgess and Buds some important figures of the Madchester/Baggy ‘Indie’ era. Burgess has been a hero to many with his listening parties on Twitter ever since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and now that seems to be finally reaching a visible end, The Charlatans have announced a special 30th Anniversary Tour of the UK and Ireland for this December. Like many, the group are acknowledging that a year has been lost for them due to the pandemic, and they’ve amusingly crossed out the “30th” on the publicity poster and replaced it with a “31st” label. Titled the ‘A Head Full Of Ideas’ tour, an accompanying box-set will be made available, featuring five albums and an exclusive bonus single. Released from their 1990 debut album, ‘Some Friendly’, Tim Burgess wrote in his memoir ‘Telling Stories’ that ‘The Only One I Know’ sold over 250,000 copies. Let’s revisit the old single below.

One fun fact about ‘The Only One I Know’ is that it’s continued to be memorable, and so it was used for an advert campaign for Cadbury’s chocolate in 2010. Two years later, it was also used in the Marshall Lewy-directed indie film ‘California Solo’ starring Robert Carlyle. You may also be familiar with a Funk-styled cover version with vocals by Robbie Williams which appeared on Mark Ronson’s LP, ‘Version’, in 2007 – and so The Charlatans’ traditional set wind-downer is still never many miles away from mainstream media exposure. Built from some lyrics that were directly lifted from The Byrds’ 1967 track ‘Everybody’s Been Burned’ and a Hammand Organ Riff that is a nod to Deep Purple’s rendition of ‘Hush’ from 1968, ‘The Only One I Know’ is a surprisingly funky look at romantic interests in the music scene. The lyrics of “The only one I know/Never cries, never opens her eyes” and “The only one I know, Wide awake and then she’s away” seems to imply that a romantic interest is the only one that our narrator feels a logical intimacy with, although a direct meaning is never made abundantly clear. Lines like “Everybody’s been burned before” and “Everyone knows the pain” feel more conclusive, however, and so the vague sentiment of our vocalist expressing his feelings as a victim of unrequited love makes it relatable enough to us as listeners. The instrumentation is relatively upbeat, with a frequent set of funk-inficted guitar licks and a highly baggy groove giving it a lick of danceability. The memorable, off-kilter keys riffs gives it just enough of a Garage beat to make things appeal to DJ’s, and so the crossover appeal feels welcome. The vocals and general production sound a little unpolished, with a slight DIY aesthetic that reminds me of the 60’s counter cultural sound that The Cribs explored on their latest album. The brief interlude towards the end provides for a “Pure Pop Moment” and the more dance-oriented coat of paint to the overall package makes it stand out among the likes of Ocean Colour Scene or Ash nicely enough. The sound is admittedly a bit commercial, and it’s definitely something that my least favourite radio station, Radio X, might overplay to the death like they do with Oasis or The Killers (or Noel or Liam Gallagher after playing Oasis), but, that little pet hate of an observation aside, it’s not a knock on the credibility of The Charlatans on the whole. Overall, it’s still a pleasant, solid track that sounds fresh enough for it’s time, and it crosses over to casuals nicely.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Some Friendly” (Released on September 8, 1990) (via Beggars Banquet Records)

That’s all for another week! – Time is flying past and I hope that it stops doing so because I’ve got important deadlines for my Masters degree to complete, you know. However, join me back here in roughly 24 hours time for some more brand new music, this time coming from an emerging indie Dream Rock trio from the sleepy town of Fleet, Hampshire. Signed to Fiction Records, the group were childhood friends who met at college in nearby Farnborough, bonding due to their love of 90’s Trip-Hop. They’ve made the ‘Hype List’ of Dork for 2021. 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: Rancid – “Ruby Soho”

April 25, 2021 — Leave a comment

A butcher stocking Rancid sausages will just go from Bad to Wurst. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “And Out Come The Wolves” (Released on August 22, 1995) (via Epitath Records)

Good Morning – My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, as per usual, it’s time for me to get typing up for a new ‘Scuzz Sundays’ post where we enjoy a throwback to the Pop-Punk staples of the past, in the name of the defunct Scuzz TV rock music video channel. One notable name from the era was Rancid, the Berkeley-born goth Ska-Punkers who – over the course of their 30 year career, have always remained active as an Independent band, instead choosing to stick to their underground Metal roots. The band have released nine studio albums since then, and recorded sales of up to four million units worldwide. Their third – ‘…And Out Come The Wolves’ – was released in 1995, at a time when several major record labels wanted to capitalise on their potential following the success of similar groups like The Offspring and Less Than Jake, and a few labels proceeded to have a bidding war for them. Naturally, Rancid turned around and said ‘No’ – deciding to stick at home with independent label Epitath Records instead. The record featured several stylistic callbacks to vocalist Tim Armstrong and bassist Matt Freeman’s time in Operation Ivy, and every single got to the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. Let’s revisit the popular single, ‘Ruby Soho’, below.

‘Ruby Soho’ uses a sample of The Stingers 1971 track ‘Give Me Power’, and it’s been rewarded with cover versions from Vampire Weekend, The Dollyrats, Phish’s Mike Gordon and Rie Tanaka. Still active, Rancid have confirmed that they are now working on a follow-up record to 2017’s ‘Trouble Maker’ album, which is tentatively penciled in for a release in late 2021 or early 2022. Beginning with a somber viewpoint of lyrics sung from a man sitting alone while a party rages on next door, his imagery sounds like it should be conjuring up an eerie atmosphere, but the rhythms are filled with a percussive set of guitar licks and an undercurrent of Reggae or Roots-Rock that counteracts the angsty youth context to which the words have been written. The Punk Rock elements explode in on the chorus mark, where Armstrong sings “Destination unknown, Ruby Soho” with a repeating hook, while the verses seem to have a sense of isolation to them, as lines like “Her lover’s in the distance as she wipes a tear from her eye” and “Ruby’s fading out, She disappears, It’s time to say goodbye” almost skew a narrative thread. The vocals are backed up with a call-and-response format being used by the backing band, with an upbeat variation of the chorus that adds a more feel-good, sing-a-long feel into the picture. The experience being described in the songwriting is about observing the world from your apartment, and the opening lines of “Echoes of Reggae, Comin’ through my bedroom wall” and “Havin’ a party next door, but I’m sitting here all along” make the setting sound bleak and downbeat. The guitar work does not sacrifice intensity for this sense of playful diversity, though, as the melodic sounds make for a Dub instrumental that sounds relatively fun to listen to. I think it’s fair to say the abilities of the singing was rather limited here, however, and the balancing of the tones in the Pop-Punk ballad and the subversive Reggae undertones just about works. There’s some jangle and some cut-off issues here and there, but it never made me want to turn off. Overall, I think it’s quite flawed, but there are some fun hooks and intriguing rhythms that I enjoyed hearing here, and I admire how the band didn’t compromise on their creative sphere for the interests of a major record label, who probably wanted to make them the next big thing. Instead, we get a playful ballad where not everything sticks, but there’s a decent amount of freedom and experimentation in here. This is not something that I’d go out of my way to hear again, but I think that it’s pro’s barely edge the con’s and it’s decent in the end.

  • Pictured: Tim Armstrong (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Matt Freeman (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Lars Frederiksen (Guitars/Vocals) & Branden Steineckert (Drums/Percussion) (2019) (Photo via PR/NME.com)

That tolls the bell for another week – but it’s back to the regular routine tomorrow. I’ve got loads of important new recommended music to share with you over the next week or so, and we’re going to be starting off with an emerging name from the Los Angeles dance music scene. Originally from London, you might know this DJ and Graphic Designer from his production work on two of Frank Ocean’s albums, and his frequent collaborations with rappers like JPEGMafia, Retro X and Freddie Gibbs. 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: Manic Street Preachers – “Crucifix Kiss”

April 14, 2021 — Leave a comment

If you tolerate this – then your children will be next. On that note – Let’s go Way Back!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Generation Terrorists” (LP) (Released on Feb 10th, 1992) (via Columbia Records)

Let’s take another trip in the Way Back machine to flash back to one of the seminal sounds of the past that, in this case, has influenced the works of the present. I am Jacob Braybrooke – and it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Cornerstones of the 1990’s Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement, Blackwood-bred Alternative Rock band Manic Street Preachers (or ‘The Manics’) have truly branched out of the roots of their hometown to wider musical culture, with three instances of reaching the top of the UK Singles or UK Albums Charts, and robust record sales of up to ten million units worldwide, as of 2016. They have also headlined festivals including Glastonbury, T In The Park and Reading & Leeds, as well as further success at the MTV Awards and BRIT Awards since their inception in 1986. ‘Crucifix Kiss’ sees The Manics at their most visceral and blistering, a track which almost made the cut for my Easter-themed spread of posts a short while back. The target of the track’s bile is religion, and Christianity, making it a shout for an ‘Alternative’ Easter section. It was never released as a single, but it was still a popular track that you’ll find on 1992’s ‘Generation Terrorists’, their debut album released via Columbia Records, also a top 60 hit in Japan. Let’s catch an early performance below.

The recording process of ‘Crucifix Kiss’ saw the band recording each instrument separately, rather than playing it as a live band, and then adding the overdubs later on. The development of 1992’s ‘Generation Terrorists’ took place over a long period of 23 weeks at Blackbarn Studios near Guildford, with the main bulk of the drum sections on the record being incorporated on a drum machine, as per producer Steve Brown’s decision, who programmed the sequences with Sean Moore, the band’s drummer. This elaborate set-up finally resulted in a record that met the hype of it’s significant media attention, on it’s way to a Gold certification of sales in the UK. The cult status of ‘Crucifix Kiss’ was a factor in this, as discordant guitar sequences and a fast-paced vocal delivery retain the old-school Rock ‘N’ Roll appeal of the record in it’s original release. An opening narration sample from Patrick Jones leads to aggressive lyrics like “Make povery your perfect home/Allow your leaders to control you/Questions are nor blasphemy” and “Now we’ll take your number for a name/Soak mind control in christening water out of jail” make social commentary on the Church Of England and the distinctions between management of businesses and the running of the religion establishment. The chorus sees angular bass guitar riffs mesh with the repeating lines of “Fall in love, Fall in love with me” and “Nail a crucifix onto your soul” beneath the substance. Although the lyrics would be controversial, it makes the pitch feel no less urgent, and the tempo no less hard-hitting. There’s an accessibility here, however, with clear DIY Post-Punk roots and fast-and-furious immediacy that makes no light matter of the track’s subject on taking a stance against a chruch’s apparent need not to oppress it’s followers in different ways. Overall, the sound is slightly dated on the whole, but it’s still making for some risky moves and for bold lyrical connotations, which meshes the accessibility of Rock ‘N’ Roll with the themes of an outcast being a by-product of avenger in interesting and affecting ways.

  • Pictured: James Dean Bradfield (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Piano), Nicky Wire (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Miles Woodward (Bass Guitar) & Sean Moore (Drums (1994) (Photo via Ringer Illustration)

That’s all, folks – I think Daffy Duck used to say that. That would also take you back. Tomorrow, however, I’ll be catapulting you to the future with an in-depth look at one of my favourite emerging artists, who has already realized some of her great potential. We’ve pushed the Irish poet quite heavily on the blog before – and she took the top prize for my Top 5 ‘Best EP’s Of The Year’ list in January… If you want to peruse that older feature. 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: Ohtis (feat. Stef Chura) – “Schatze”

March 25, 2021 — Leave a comment

Disassembling the self-absorption of the typical anti-social social guy. New post time!

  • Pictured: Sam Swinson, Adam Pressley and Nate Hahn (in 2019) (Photo via TheLineOfBestFit.com)

Good Afternoon to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’ve got tonight’s radio show queued up on Myriad, and so it’s time for me to jump onto the blog to concisely type up this text about your track of the day, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A little bit like Cee Lo Green’s ‘Forget You’ – I get the sense that the uncensored edit of Ohtis’ ‘Schatze’ is largely different to the proper version. Based variously in Los Angeles, Detroit and Chicago – the oddball Alternative Country-Rock trio have enlisted the help of Stef Chura for a new single, which is the latest entry in the ‘Document’ series of rarity releases from their label, Saddle Creek Records. A Vinyl release for the single is also available too, although you can stream this track for free on streaming platforms as well. I haven’t heard much about Ohtis before I heard this track, which stood out to me on a recent episode of BBC Radio 6 Music recommends with Steve Lamacq, but I’ve read that their 2019 album, ‘Curve On Earth’, was received very positively, and the title’s subject matter was based on vocalist Sam Swinson’s early experiences of being raised among a cult. On that interesting note – check out the music video for their new single below.

‘Schatze’ finds the mischievous musical trio of Otis linking up with Detroit DIY-based songwriter Stef Chura, with the latter saying “I’ve always loved Ohtis and Curve of Earth is one of my favorite recent releases to come out. Sam is a rare songwriter. He speaks from an honest and dark place with a sincerity that I think is refreshing and deeply relatable. Adam is an old friend who was living down the street from me in Detroit at the time this collaboration came to be tossed around. I think someone on my Instagram kept asking me about doing a song with them… So I made a poll as a joke which led to the inevitable. When they showed me the song and the call and response format I was instantly in love with it.” about the collaboration in a press release. Built on a witty call-and-response format of the male vocals and the female vocals, the artists tackle modern themes of anti-social males to amusing results. The track probably has more F-bombs than the ‘Deadpool’ movies, with rhymes like “You had to get clean, you were getting drunk and being mean, Going to the bar and causing a scene” and “You were f***ing around, Anybody that you found” among the fiery exchange between the two characters. Bold, bright and amusing – the guitar work leans into bouncy Lo-Fi garage and the synths make for a lush 80’s-inspired Post Rock backing. The sense of humor injects a wide sense of personality into the track, with lines like “F**k you very much sir, it’s my pleasure” and “Then you got cancelled on Instagram” making for some laugh-out loud moments. At it’s core, however, is an amusing assessment of social media culture and attitudes towards masculinity in the diversity-driven year of 2021. The comedy is smart, with the effing-and-jeffing and the buoyant sound textures making the track instantly stand out – even if your mileage may vary on all of the swearing. I like it however, and I find it to be charming. A very appealing and edgy piece overall, and after 27 nights and 28 days of listening on-repeat when playing video games, it becomes a Schatze. It’s my treasure – Absolutely.

  • Pictured: Vinyl copy of “Curve Of Earth” (Released on Mar 29, 2019) (Photo via RoughTrade.com)

We’ve all got busy lives – and that’s all I’ve got time for today! ‘New Album Release Friday’ is on for tomorrow as usual, however, as we take an in-depth look at one of the weekend’s new album releases. This week’s pick is one that I have quickly been getting excited about – and it comes from a Brooklyn-based Experimental Soul musician signed up to the Secretly Canadian who has been co-producing his latest material with Sampha and Lil Silva. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

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

March 13, 2021 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

Way Back Wednesdays: The Sugarcubes – “Birthday”

February 3, 2021 — Leave a comment

I went to Iceland before. I left with a Frozen Pizza and an Indian meal. New Post time!

  • Pictured: Bjork Guðmundsdóttir (Lead Vocals), Einar Örn Benediktsson (Trumpet), Sigtryggur Baldursson (Drums), Þór Eldon (Guitar) & Margrét Örnólfsdóttir (Keyboard) (1992) (via Pinterest.com)

Wishing you a Good Afternoon – I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it’s time, yet again, for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! I recently made my own audio documentary podcast for my MA degree coursework which explored the socio-economic impacts of Bjork as a contemporary cultural icon, and when I asked my mother and my father if they could recall her early work as the lead singer of The Sugarcubes, both of their faces looked a little too blank. On this note, I thought that “Birthday” would make a great choice for our weekly vintage music appreciation feature – here on the blog. This old Icelandic Post-Punk band were arguably where it all started for Bjork, and “Birthday” is widely considered to be her first international hit. Released as the first single from their debut studio album, “Life’s Too Good”, back in 1998 – “Birthday” is a fitting embodiment of the subversive and slightly playful character of Bjork and The Sugarcubes, and after gaining support from BBC Radio 1 icon John Peel, along with the influence and support from trusted publications like NME and Melody Maker at the time, “Birthday” reached #2 on the UK’s Indie Singles chart, and the band would find success in the US after performing the track on an episode of Saturday Night Live, in October 1998. Check out the (English) video below.

“Life’s Too Good” turned out to be a surprise success for the group of 1980’s Icelandic Punk culture producers, with the band taking elements from the Post-Punk sound that characterized both the Icelandic modernity and long-standing naturalist views of their country of the time, and they blended these old capitalist ideas with a quirky twist on the conventional Pop song structure in their compositional approach. The lyrics find Bjork singing about the character of a child who has strikingly unusual habits for a five-year-old girl. The repetition of the line “Today is her birthday” makes these themes clear, although the vocals are more based around very tight wordplay, as opposed to a clear and straightforward context. Lyrics such as “She has one friend, he lives next door/They’re listening to the weather” and “Collects fly wings in a Jar, Scrubs horse flies, and pinches them on a line” are guided through the off-key melodies created by the fairly industrial New-Wave shrills. The list of weird interests and the jumbled poetry on the imagination of the character rattle along to upbeat keyboard riffs, warm syncopated percussion and the clunking Trumpet melodies, while it never becomes very clear what the small girl is doing. Instead of following the build-up with an evident response, we instead get a very experimental method of singing from Bjork, which some listeners may conceive as yelling – as a refusal to conform to any specific style or format. The cries are guttural and expressive, and while the band follow a typical Pop song structure, there’s a noticeable touch on Dance music elements that gave this single it’s depth to stand out. The drums keep things moving along at a swift pace, and the swooping guitar melodies evoke a Cocteau Twins-like feeling of Shoegaze for me to create a more ethereal and brighter atmosphere. The sound would have been a very forward-thinking one at the time, and it was also very notable for that star-making performance from Bjork, who has a career of such longevity. There’s absolutely no wonder to what she would go on to do.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Life’s Too Good” (Released on April 25th, 1998) (via One Little Indian Records)

Well – there’s some nostalgia that I never could have properly had. Way Back Wednesdays will be back at the same point next week. Before then, I’ll be continuing to champion fresh new tunes on the blog. That’s true for tomorrow – with an in-depth look at a hot-off-the-press artist who has yet to even release a full length LP. We turn to the Contemporary R&B genre for our introduction to a female artist who took the bold decision to drop out of her training at the BRIT’s School, and she’s since supported Rita Ora and Ray BLK on tour. 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: Jimmy Campbell – “Half Baked”

January 27, 2021 — 2 Comments

I shouldn’t think this 70’s classic suffers from a case of Soggy Bottom. New post time!

  • Pictured: Jimmy Campbell with his trusty guitar (Date unknown) (Photo via DakoSuede/Last.fm)

Good Morning to you – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to type up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to get writing up about a different piece of music every day! Off the back of my bumper list of my own Top 25 Best Albums Of 2020 (Which you should totally check out on the homepage) – it is time for us to go Way Back, and far before my time, for this week’s Way Back Wednesdays track. On Instagram, I recently saw a video of popular US Art-Pop singer-songwriter Angel Olsen describing the musicality of Jimmy Campbell’s “Half Baked” as one of the most influential tracks to her in the viral interview with Pitchfork, and I thought it would be an excellent choice for our weekly feature. Jimmy Campbell was a singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist from Liverpool who was around mainly during the 1970’s and the early 1980’s. He was a member of the Merseybeat groups The Kirkby’s, The 23rd Turnoff and Rockin’ Horse, before going on to produce three solo album releases. Originally, Campbell started off with more acoustic-based, indie folk music, before going on to find his feet in the Psych-Rock and Prog-Rock genres, and he loved his Funk-Rock too. Sadly, Campbell is no longer with us because he sadly passed away in 2007. Fortunately, The Guardian included his compilation album, “The Dream Of Michelangelo”, in it’s list of “1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die”, so justice was served. Let’s take a listen to “Half-Baked” below.

“Half-Baked” was the title track from Campbell’s second solo LP, which saw the light of day in 1970. Although I did not exist at the time, and neither did my parents, for that matter, my research still indicates that Campbell is a popular commodity with the die-hard modern record collectors, and he was described as “The era’s lost songwriter” by Bob Stanley, of The Times, before going on to record tracks that had later been covered by Cliff Richard, Billy Fury and The Swinging Blue Jeans. “Half-Baked” starts off as an acoustic Chamber-Folk piece, as Campbell creates a somber tone by singing “If I’d a known what would happen/I would have stayed in bed/But you know how it is, when you get something stuck in your head” as his light guitar strums begin to introduce a mid-tempo Violin melody to the fray, while the lyrics bleakly touch on depression. It isn’t long, however, until the drum beat kicks in, and we get a riotous guitar solo that evokes the Hendrix-like blues of the 1960’s. The chorus of “Half-Baked, I wasn’t ready but I couldn’t wait” remains upbeat as the guitars peak. Yet, the pace soon changes again, as we go back to the Chamber-Folk of the opening as Campbell sings about heartbreak. It soon changes again, and back again, and the track dips into Funk grooves by the end, while the same Blues-ish guitar riffs and the somber, classical instrumentation pushes and pulls the mood forward and back again. The sound is continually renewing, yet we get a fairly psychotic crescendo of Woodwinds and ear-grating strings. Campbell does a good job of keeping things cohesive enough, with the emerge-and-retreat template of the odd Chamber-Folk and Psych-Funk combination selling a narrative of mental health and emotional renewal, even though the tense String ballad at the end feels a little abrupt. Although it may have it’s inconsistencies, Jimmy clearly has a talent for songwriting, as he pairs the upbeat and somber tones of the lyrics in ways that feel drawing and expansive. Although the pacing may be a little ‘undercooked’ for me, the fresh songwriting makes up for it in the excitement, yet fragility, of the dynamics in storytelling. A genre-breaking single from an artist who deserves to be remembered.

  • Pictured: Jimmy Campbell in an “On A Monday” PR shoot in the 60’s/70’s (Photo via Pinterest.com)

I have no further discussion in store for you today – but please feel free to join me again tomorrow, when I’m going to share some brand new music for you. It’s a good old “Who Knew” affair – as we take an in-depth listen to the new album project from a US multi-instrumentalist and composer who was raised in New Jersey, and he is the co-founder of folk band The Lumineers, who scored an international chart hit with “Ho Hey” in 2012. 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: Kings Of Leon – “The Bandit”

January 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

They’re back to prove if they’re still ‘Royalty’ of the Arena-sized stage. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “When You See Yourself” (Available from March 5th, 2021) (via RCA)

At last, it’s the weekend. Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up about 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 been a near 5-year wait for us to hear from Kings Of Leon (The three Tennesse-based Followill brothers and their cousin) again – but after a few teases on social media, they’re back to business. Their latest single is “The Bandit”, which follows the live acoustic recording session of their recent track “Going Nowhere” which the 4-piece posted onto the internet way back in last March. “When You See Yourself” is the name of their new album, and it’s due for release on March 5th, 2021 via RCA Records. As with it’s predecessor, 2016’s effort “Walls”, the record was produced by the Grammy-winning director Markus Dravs (Coldplay, Florence + The Machine and Arcade Fire). Let’s find out if they can add to their belt of 12 Grammy Award nominations, and 4 wins. I’ve never been massively into Kings Of Leon, although I know their stadium rock sound is a fairly popular one. In my younger years, especially around the late-2010’s time, I felt the Southern Rock and Blues-Rock influences of “Sex On Fire” were anthemic, and 2008’s “Only By The Night” was a massive hit. Let’s see what “The Bandit” has to offer.

The gear-up to Kings Of Leon’s new marketing campaign was a cryptic one. In the lead-up to the release of the new single, the Nashville natives sent out 10 T-shirts to their biggest fans on social media, which the group said were ‘one-of-a-kind. This was because every shirt represented a different track found on the new album, and the band left an accompanying note which read: “Printed inside of it are the full lyrics to a new song you may hear in a couple of days, a couple of weeks, or maybe even a month or so”. An 11th T-shirt, featuring the lyrics of “The Bandit” will soon be made available to buy on their merchandise website online. Anchored by a mid-tempo acoustic guitar riff and the folk-led use of bass guitar hooks, Caleb sings: “Chiseled their names in stone/Heavy the load you tow” with a strong vocal harmony. The lyrics tell the basic story of a group of people trying to track down a masked Bandit. Where and Why – we’re left to ponder. The drum chords remain gritty and steady, with Caleb leading the chorus of “And they’re walking around, With their heads in the cloud screaming, Must catch the bandit, reckless abandon” with an emotionally pleading mood, while the acoustic guitar chords settle for a mid-tempo rhythm and the bass guitar riffs feel a little dark. For me, the track zips to the beat of it’s four-minute duration at a mid-tempo pace, with an admittedly decent vocal performance from Caleb Followill, but the musicality leaves some energy to be desired. For me, it simply doesn’t develop any interesting elements that really grab my attention. The lyrics feel plain and bland, with the track narrating a story about a cryptic bandit, a car called Mandy and an indistinguishable beer. The guitar instrumentation feels well-paced, but again, it feels rather boring. I was waiting for a standout solo or a power-pop chorus, but the guitar chords just keep repeating on it’s basis. To me, it makes the rhythm feel lethargic and it doesn’t take the narrative anywhere, a feat that darker instrumentation or off-kilter melodies could have achieved. All in all, it simply fails to expand on Kings Of Leon’s original sound in ways that feel new or exciting – and, for me, after a near half-decade hiatus, it left me very disappointed. That said, if you are already a bigger fan of the band than me, I think you might enjoy this more. However, for me, it needed a little more experimentation to flesh out it’s ideas. Underwhelming.

  • Pictured: Caleb Followill (Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar), Matthew Followill (Lead Guitar/Keyboard), Jared Followill (Bass Guitar) and Nathan Followill (Drums) (2020) (Photo via WENN/AceShowbiz.com)

That’s all I have for you on the docket today! Join me again tomorrow – for a new weekly entry into our Scuzz Sundays feature, where we take an in-depth look back at a hallmark of the late 90’s, until the mid 00’s era of Emo-Rock and Goth-Rock delights. Tomorrow’s addition to our canon comes from a female-fronted band who were, much like Kings Of Leon, popular within the big commercial indie boom of the 00’s. The vocalist has recently collaborated on a track with The Avalanches for their latest new album – “We Will Always Love You” – which dropped last month. 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/

Boxing Day Special: ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic – “Christmas At Ground Zero”

December 26, 2020 — Leave a comment

Believe it or not – I will be in Tiers by the time that this is all over with. It’s Boxing Day!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Greatest Hits Volume II” (Released on October 25, 1994) (via Scotti Brothers)

Stuffed yourself with all of the trimmings yet? Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it’s time for me to get writing up about your daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write to you about a different piece of music every day! That means… Boxing day, since there is no rest for the weary-eyed. “Christmas At Ground Zero” is a rather bizzare and obscure Christmas-themed track from 1986. It was written and performed by the Comedy Rock singer “Weird Al” Yankovic – who was one of the original viral favourites. A track that is essentially about Nuclear Omnicide, the title of “Ground Zero” refers to the area where the Twin Towers stood, prior to the terrifying events of 9/11, once in New York City. Before this, however, it was a reference to the spot where a Nuclear Missle was targeted to hit, and since it was recorded in 1986, that’s what Yankovic is playing around with here. He wrote it in a parody style of a Phil Spector-produced Christmas track – so just think about The Ronnetes, Darlene Love and The Crystals – and you’re there. It’s pretty mind-bending to think about just how successful that Yankovic has been for a Comedy artist writing music about niche subject areas. He’s been going since 1976 and since that time, he’s managed to sell over 12 million albums, performed more than 1,000 live shows, and he’s also won 5 Grammy Awards, along with a further 11 award nominations. In more recent years – Yankovic has written two children’s books. Let’s stream the track below.

With his trusty Accordion at hand – Yankovic has managed to perform many viral hits in Comedy parodies for the likes of Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Coolio, Madonna, The Backstreet Boys, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana and loads more, mostly within his signature Polka style. “Christmas At Ground Zero” is no different for hitting the consistent running gags and eliciting some belly laughs in the process. Juxtaposing uplifting Sleigh bells to shots of disastrous nuclear explosions from the music video, Yankovic sets up the scene with: “It’s Christmas at Ground Zero/There’s music in the air” over the top of typically melodic Saxophone samples, before he adds: “The sleigh bells are ringing/The carolers are singing/While the air-raid sirens blare” as the tone shifts. Festive Trumpet melodies contrast with Macabre scenarios as Yankovic happily sings daft lyrics like: “We can dodge debris while we trim the tree, Underneath the Mushroom cloud” and “Just seconds left to go, I’ll duck and cover with my Yuletide lover” above the saccharine, 50’s sounds of Jazz instrumentation that conveys a jolly yet psychotic beat, while a subtle pair of Air Raid sirens sound blare quietly in the background. It’s the bridge at the end that spells it out for us, as Yankovic sends us off with: “What a crazy fluke, we’re gonna get nuked” as the depressing reminder that it’s the Ground Zero settlement that we’re dealing with springs to mind once again. It feels very child-like and silly, yet it struck a chord with audiences. I think that’s because Yankovic manages to subvert the standard Christmas track in terms of the musicality and lyrics with the darker, but still comedic and quirky, undercurrents. It’s a fun alternative to your bog-standard Band Aid or your obvious Cliff Richard fare, albeit probably not one that is suitable for the whole family. How very festive indeed.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Polka Party!” (Released on October 21, 1996) (via Scotti Brothers)

That’s it for Boxing Day! On another note – join me again tomorrow for a festive edition of our Scuzz Sundays feature – where we take a look back at one of the Pop-Punk or Emo-Rock ghosts of Christmas past to see if they can still deliver the goods to us in the present times… and this next one was a collaboration for the ages! 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/