Way Back Wednesdays: Betty Davis – ‘Come Take Me’

April 6, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Betty Davis in an unknown official photoshoot (date n/a) (Photo via The Vinyl Factory/Baron Wolfman)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to go retro for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ on the blog, which helps me to fulfill my goal of writing up about a different piece of music every day! We’re going to be remembering Betty Davis today, a North Carolina-born singer-songwriter who made an erotic string of Afro-Funk, R&B, Soul and rock-tinged Blues albums during the 1970’s. Davis was also known for her sexually provocative lyricism and her flamboyant live performances and, although she never became a household name, she developed a cult following and she has been cited as an influence by contemporary artists like Janelle Monae, Outkast and Jamila Woods, as well as fellow icons like Prince and Grace Jones, for her experimental blend of genres. Davis wrote, arranged and produced all of her own music in her time, a rarity for any female artist, yet alone a Black woman, during her era. She started out as a model, appearing in magazines like Glamour and Seventeen and working with designers, before she became the second wife of the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis. Although their marriage ended after a year due to implied abuse, she personally introduced him to Jimi Hendrix and Cream. She also penned material that got The Commodores signed to Motown Records. Davis sadly left us, aged 77, in February in Homestead, Pensylvania – where she had lived since her childhood – after being diagnosed with cancer a week prior. At one point, Marc Bolan of T-Rex fame encouraged her to write music for herself and she took that advice to heart when her self-titled debut studio album was released in 1973. Originally released by Just Sunshine Records (an upstart label), the record preceded three more solo albums and it got a CD and Vinyl re-issue in 2007 via Light In The Attic Records. She enlisted the help of The Pointer Sisters, Neil Schon, Sylvester and more guest contributors to bring the distinctive record to life and my focus track – ‘Come Take Me’ – was previously an unreleased track until 15 years ago, when it was included on special editions of her self-titled LP. Get a better idea of her sound with the cut below.

Her AllMusic profile describes Betty Davis as “a wildly flamboyant Funk diva with few equals… [who] combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie and the trend-setting flair of Miles Davis”, according to the website, and so the music world continues to feel the effects of her tragic loss earlier in the year. ‘Come Take Me’ feels like textbook Betty Davis at her finest and most distinct, although the Vinyl re-issue of her entire back catalogue felt as though it was long overdue before the mid-00’s and it had not happened properly yet. That said, if you like the Jazz-tinged Psychedelia of Sly & The Family Stone, the loose Funk influences of Beck’s ‘Midnite Vultures’ era and his unconventional song structures, and the aggressive delivery of 70’s Rock ‘N’ Roll stalwarts, this one is for you. The intro feels a little unorthodox, before the guitar stabs and the wonky bassline comes in, with Davis croaking lyrics about not disrupting the rhythm and treating a lover right albeit with a frenzied and rather crazy attitude. The drums progress nicely throughout the track, starting off with a slow and steady vibe, before controlling the rhythm with a more frantic pace. Davis recites her lyrics with an instructive growl in her voice that complements the unapologetically Funk production of the track, where the warbling vocals carry the wobbling guitars and the trickling fusion of the Motown-esque Bass and Drums to create a rather irresistible groove. It doesn’t sound too out of date and although the songwriting may sound dated, Davis’ imagination of combining then-contemporary Blues-Rock sensibilities with creative, provocative explorations of lust, desire and sexuality in her howling vocals and erotic Jazz/Funk melodies is still there. Davis was a class act who was ahead of her time. The wide world wasn’t ready for her.

Pictured: Betty Davis in an official erotic photoshoot (date n/a) (Photo by NewYorker.com/Native Voice Films)

That’s all for now! Just to let you know that if you enjoyed today’s tribute to Betty Davis, a re-issue for her final album is also planned to be happening through her label sometimes in 2022. Thank you for checking out my latest post because your support is always highly appreciated, and I’ll be shifting our attention back to new music releases tomorrow with a review of a recent single by a South London-based indie rock band who will be releasing their self-titled debut album via Dan Carey’s Speedy Wunderground label on April 29th. They have performed at festivals including Green Man Festival, SWN Festival in Cardiff, and Fred Perry’s All Our Tomorrow’s live Festival.

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Way Back Wednesdays: The Specials – ‘Gangsters’

March 9, 2022 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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New Album Release Fridays: Hembree (feat. Bodye) – ‘Operators’

February 4, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘It’s A Dream!’ (LP) (Released on February 4th, 2022) (via Oread Records)

Good Afternoon to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to take a quick peek at one of the weekend’s most compelling album releases for yet another weekly entry of ‘New Album Release Fridays’ on the blog, given that it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! With new LP’s coming out from the likes of Black Country, New Road (Whose frontman Isaac Wood has just decided to leave the band), Mitski, The Animal Collective, Bastille, Cate Le Bon, Rolo Tomassi and Hippo Campus coming from left, right, front and center of the release spectrum today, it looks to be the first truly stacked week of the year from where I’m standing. However, there is also the sophomore album release from Hembree, a Kansas-based indie rock band whose music has been featured in a variety of ad sync placements for Bose, NFL and Apple ever since they gained national attention in the US with ‘Holy Water’ in 2018. Since then, Hembree have supported higher profile names like Phoenix, Cold War Kids, Joywave and Vance Joy on the live touring circuit. You may have also heard their material on the soundtracks of ’13 Reasons Why’ and ‘Outer Banks’ on streaming television. ‘It’s A Dream’ arrives today from Hembree, who were named one of NPR’s Slingshot Artists To Watch in 2018, and the band describe the LP as a record about getting freaky even while you’re freaking out, a quotable sentiment that is relatable to everyone who was left down in the doldrums while the album was written during the pandemic in 2020. A Funk-led single, ‘Operators’ owes a featured credit to Bodye. The band were also joined on a Saxophone section by Henry Solomon, who has previously linked up with Haim. Let’s hear their final results below.

Lead vocalist Isaac Flynn explains, “I wrote it right when all of the protests started in the summer, and the chorus in particular is about when the officers, national guard and even some of the city officials would act like they were with the protesters in solidarity, and then turn around and gas and attack them”, when he spoke about ‘Operators’ in a press release, adding, “They were acting like they were there to help, but it was all for show. It all felt almost cartoonishly villainous to me. I wanted to reflect that in the lyrics and in the dark, dance heavy groove of the song”, to his press statement. Starting off with the headstrong lyric of “Maybe, this time we’ll open our eyes”, ‘Operators’ quickly establishes itself as a track that is directly about 2020, which is fitting given how it was written in Hembree’s hometown in Missouri and recorded remotely from home studios during lockdown. It rolls along with a chirping Saxophone-led groove that is decorated by light percussion that ticks along at a brisk pace, while overtly political lyrics like “What do they want and who are they trying to please” emerge in the chorus. The drums kick along in the uptempo verses, although lyrics like “Overcalculated villains/They’re tying up, What everyone wants” and “Sundown to sunrise, we see the antithesis” find Flynn crooning with a subtle brutality that carries the point across. The rhythms come to life with the Baritone-style saxophone riffs by Solomon, while a more Hip-Hop led verse by Bodye continues to add some variety to the recording in terms of mixing the Funk influences with some Post-Disco vibes and making the lyrics feel as violent or aggressive as they should, given the subject matter of the songwriting. Overall, it’s pretty fantastic as a complete package. The chorus feels punchy and upbeat, but the verses have a tone of brutality to them which make them stand out among more light-hearted Pop offerings. The instrumentation sounds fresh and diverse, yet the Saxophone riffs are constant but not tedious. It feels like a mature pop song overall that offers something fresh to the market, with the lyrical messages about duplicitous law enforcement agents never feeling at odds with the brisk, snappy rhythms of the saxophone and the percussion since the instrumentation has a heavy edge to it as well. Full of violence and vibrancy.

Pictured: Isaac Flynn (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Garrett Childers (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Alex Ward (Lead Guitar), Eric Davis (Keyboard/Synths) and Austin Ward (Drums/Percussion) (2021) (Photo by Jonny Marlow)

That brings us to the bottom of the page for another day, and I’ve got to go to work now. Thank you, as always, for taking a moment out of your day to visit the site, however. I’ll be back tomorrow, just like I always am, with something nice and easy since it is Saturday. We’ll be listening to the brand new single from a rock band from Oxford in the UK who have toured internationally for a decade. They told us ‘What Went Down’ in 2015 and had a UK #1 album with ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2’ in late 2019. They also performed a surprise set at Glastonbury Festival in 2019.

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

June 9, 2021 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

That’s all for now! Please feel free to join me again tomorrow, as we go down the route of Country and Folk with an in-depth look at an emerging female solo artist who was born in Texas and is now based in Brooklyn, and has inked a new deal with Columbia Records. She recently collaborated with Lord Huron on ‘I Lied’ from their new album ‘Long Lost’, and she tells The Guardian that she has started making her own sculptures of little alien people in her bathroom… If that’s what floats your boat. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Viagra Boys – “Girls and Boys”

April 19, 2021 — Leave a comment

A billboard said Niagra Falls is the tallest waterfall – Falls advertising. New post time!

Pictured: Sebastian Murphy, Benjamin Valle, Oskar Carls, Henrik Hockert, Tor Sjoden and Elias Jungqvist (aka Viagra Boys) at The Great Escape in Brighton, Sussex (2019) (Photo via DIYMag.com)

Good Morning to you! Jacob Braybrooke here, and I’m kicking off the new week with another daily entry on the blog, as always, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Girls & Boys’ is a Swedish cocktail of riotous Post-Punk and harsh Prog-Jazz from the ludicrously witty band Viagra Boys, who formed in Stockholm in 2015, as a collective of members originally from other local bands including Neu-Ronz, Les Big Byrd, Pig Eyes, Nine and Nitad from the local-ish music scene. They released their debut album, ‘Street Worms’ to decent reviews and cult success in 2018, with praise being directed towards the use of black comedy and satire within their lyrics. This long-player earned them IMPALA’s “Album Of The Year Award” in 2019. Fast forward to 2021, and the second full-length effort, ‘Welfare Jazz’, has arrived via their own label, YEAR0001. Lately, the band have also confirmed that a third album is on the way, telling us that it was largely self-produced and that it has already been recorded, according to the bassist Henrik ‘Benke’ Höckert. You can watch a live ‘Shrimp Session’ Viagra Boys recorded for the track, ‘Girls & Boys’, for free on their YouTube channel, but, for now, let’s take a listen to the studio version below.

‘Girls & Boys’ was co-produced by Matt Sweeney (Run The Jewels, Cat Power) and Justin & Jeremiah Raisen (Kim Gordon, Sky Ferreira), with additional work from past collaborators Pelle Gunnerfeldt & Daniel “Fagge” Fagerström (The Knife, The Hives), and you can also catch another track which sees Viagra Boys enlist the aid of Amy Taylor from Amyl & The Sniffers on their new record, entitled ‘In Spite Of Ourselves’, a cover version of the track of the same title by late-great John Prine released in 1999. ‘Girls & Boys’, however, is not a cover version of Blur’s classic, but a surreal and silly, Saxophone-smattered tour of outdated gender roles. It’s also ludicrously silly too, with a call-and-response format that sees a distorted voice sing “Drugs” and “Girls” as vocalist Sebastien Murphy pairs them up with one-liners like “The only way I can boogie down” and “They always wanna tie me down”. “Shrimps” is my favourite, and I believe this is an in-joke the band have with their fans, although I’m not familiar enough with the band to really say. I think the lack of context gives it a lick of abstract art themes, and makes these crazy hooks sound all the more random. The Brass instrumentation is abrasive and incendiary, as the clashing Post-Rock guitar riffs create a strange Disco beat of-sorts. The lyrics are all about partying at their most basic, with Murphy wailing about inability to socially connect, while the strength of the distorted guitar melodies and the overly aggressive qualities of the Jazz elements hint towards something that feels more psychotic and briefly unsettling. Whether this absurdist Noise-Punk disco roller is satirical or silliness is left quite ambiguous, but it certainly isn’t a particularly feel-good single by traditional means, despite the oddly danceable melodicism of the pace. Pure unadulterated mayhem. Chaotically sublime.

Pictured: Physical CD copy of ‘Welfare Jazz’ (LP) (Released on January 29th, 2021) (via YEAR001)

That’s all for now – I think we’re all going to need a little breather after that one. Join me again tomorrow, however, as we diversify things up with an in-depth look at a, perhaps less frantic, tune from a Trinidad-born composer and Steel Pan player who has been a founding member of Twentieth Century Steel Band, and has collaborated on projects with Blur and Morcheeba. His latest album has recently been released by Moshi Moshi Records. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

International Women’s Day 2021 Special: St. Vincent – “Digital Witness” (2014)

March 8, 2021 — 1 Comment

An alternative ode to just sitting in front of the TV! Happy International Women’s Day!

Pictured: St. Vincent performing “Digital Witness” on Later… With Jools Holland (2014) (via BBC.com)

Good Afternoon to you – and wishing very a happy International Women’s Day to all readers on the blog, thanks for continuing to stick with me in these harsh times! Or, if you’ve never been here before, Welcome – I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and this is the place where I get writing up about a different piece of music every single day! As noted, it has been declared as the annual International Women’s Day today, and so I thought it would be nice to feature a female artist who inspires me today. I would usually always pivot towards Bjork and I think she’s my favourite female music artist of all time for her socio-economic currency, but I know I’ve talked to death about her on the blog and on the radio, so let’s give someone else a well-deserved celebration instead. St. Vincent is the alias that Oklahoma-born Art-Pop singer songwriter Annie Clark uses to release music under, and she’s become an icon of the Alternative music genre ever since she began her career as a member of The Polyphonic Spree. She is of a similar ilk to Prince or Bowie in the ways that she’s going to release her raw, unedited material whether the industry cares or not, and she always pushes the boundaries and reinvents herself successfully between her releases. She’s currently gearing up to release her next album, “Daddy’s Home” on May 14th, and the internet music community seems to be super excited for that one. However, when I look to the archives, arguably none of her tracks stick out at me quite like “Digital Witness” does, which was released as a single in 2014 from her self-titled fourth album. The album received unanimously strong praise from critics, with publications like The Guardian, Slant and NME naming it their Album Of The Year at the time, along with winning the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album in 2015 – also making Clark the first female artist to win the nod twice. One fun bit of pop culture trivia for you is that she dated supermodel and actress Cara Delevingne between 2014 and 2016. I think Clark was actually quite a bit older than Cara, not that it’s all that relevant, but it’s a solid Showbiz fact still. Nevertheless, St. Vincent is a much beloved female artist who is definitely paving the way for the industry and the ways in which high-caliber female creatives perform on the stage and on screen. Let’s delve into “Digital Witness” below.

St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) has also been very significant for the representation of gender politics in her work, with St. Vincent telling Rolling Stone in a 2014 interview that “I don’t have anything to hide, but I’d rather the emphasis be on the music” when she was asked whether she identified as straight or homosexual, and she’s also worked with high-profile names like David Byrne and Swans, a collaboration of which Byrne commented: “Despite having toured with her for almost a year, I don’t think I know her much better, at least not on a personal level… mystery is not a bad thing for a beautiful, talented young woman (or man) to embrace. And she does it without seeming to be standoffish or distant.” in a profile for Village Voice. Clark just carries an aura of bold, vibrant focus on just her creativity itself, a natural sense of passion and determination that I hold dearest in “Digital Witness”. She immediately instructs us to “Get back to your seats” in the opening line of the track, before she builds her commentary on the social media addiction themes with a funky, squelching trumpet beat. It feels tense and sophisticated, while having a defiantly odd and lovingly strange sound. The Jazz elements feel idiosyncratic, with light Pop hooks like “People turn the TV on, it looks just like a window” and “Digital witnesses, what’s the point of even sleeping?” permeating through the angular grooves. Her vocals are balancing a slightly bitter tone with a more celebratory one, with the chorus lyrics of “If I can’t show it, If you can’t see me/What’s the point of even sleeping?” permeating over the top of a delayed pedal effect where the Synth-adjusted Brass instrumental feels a bit more raw and painful. There’s a sense of flirtation with the dissonance of the guitar work that characterizes the overall sound, as bright and pastoral textures are added to juxtapose the more angry, unsettling sections. The instrumental feels busy, but each of the different elements plays a detailed part, where the themes of viral media consumption and the wider implications of this – a wonky perception of personal image and the risks we pay to attain surveillance, are all hidden between the chords too. It’s really a brilliant tune – with smart wordplay and a layer of surrealist themes that feels as relentlessly likeable as it also feels cautionary. I also love the moments where she adds a “YAH” to the end of the chorus – as well as being purely adorable, it feels cryptic and manages to put you in a train of thought, almost hypnotically as the off-kilter Trumpet section continues raging on. It all feels a bit Prince, but it also feels culturally relevant and distinctively original. A very accomplished piece of truly great music that can never age and may yet evolve with the times. *Readjusts Neck* YAAAH!

Pictured: Cover Art for “St. Vincent” (LP) (Released on Feb 24th, 2014) (via Loma Vista Recordings)

Time to catch my breath – After I remind you that I’ll be back tomorrow, like always, with an in-depth look at some more music. It’s a brand new tune that I’ve been loving on my radio show tomorrow, as we keep up the positive energy. Indeed, tomorrow’s new track is a great find that comes from the solo project of one half of the sibling Chicago Psych-Rock duo Wild Belle, and the track was also featured on a recent episode of BBC Radio 6Music Recommends with Tom Ravenscroft. 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: Menahan Street Band – “The Duke”

February 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

Nearly a decade – but they’re gonna give us something to Taco about. New post time!

Pictured: Physical Vinyl copy of “The Exciting Sounds Of Menahan Street Band” (LP) (Released on February 26th, 2021) (via Daptone Records) (Available to buy from shopdaptonerecords.com)

My word… I do miss my street food. On that tangent, I’m Jacob Braybrooke – and it’s time for me to get typing up on the blog for your daily track on the blog, because it’s routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A now six-piece retro Funk and Soul collective encompassing a strong variety of musicians from The Budos Band, El Michels Affair, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Antibalas, Menahan Street Band are an Instrumental Jazz group who were founded in Brooklyn, New York in 2007 by Thomas Brenneck, who gave this project their moniker while living in an apartment on Menahan Street in the NY neighborhood of Bushwick. Even if you think you’ve never heard their music before, the chances are more likely that you probably have, and that’s because their original tracks have been sampled widely in Hip-Hop by contemporary artists like Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi and 50 Cent. Citing Ella Fitzgerald, Curtis Mayfield and Ennio Morricone as main influences, the collective are currently signed to Daptone Records. Now, after a ten-yer hiatus, “The Exciting Sounds Of Menahan Street Band”, the act’s third full-length album, is set to release this Friday on that label. Check out one of the new singles, “The Duke”, below.

Yes, you read that correctly. It’s been nearly a full decade, but Menahan Street Band are following up on 2012’s “The Crossing” this week. Entitled “The Duke”, their recent single was recorded at the old Dunham Studio in Brooklyn during the Charles Bradley “Victim Of Love” sessions. Shared in a statement from the artists on Instagram, the band said “Some turned into songs that made Charles’ album. We tried putting vocals on this track, but Charles could never get into it. Years later, while putting together ‘The Exciting Sounds Of…’ album, we thought this was the perfect place for The Duke”, when commenting on the track’s previous origins, with this cut being originally intended for Charles Bradley, before the Instrumental collective put their own fresh spin on the template. A classical-sounding and traditioanlly built Jazz instrumental, “The Duke” feels playful and joyous in it’s approach, with a vintage and nostalgic 80’s Soul Fusion sound that highly reminds me of Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, and a little of Khruangbin too with it’s light-hearted World Music elements. Starting off with a tinny Organ riff, “The Duke” evolves into a more hypnotic affair with the sweeping Trumpet sounds and the funk-laden guitar licks that are added into the chorus. It unveils more tone and timbre, with a two-step drum beat coming into the second verse, after we settle back into the groove created by the continous Organ melody. The final section of the piece feels more restrained, with an angular rhythm guitar solo briefly replacing the warmth of the toy-like and playful Keyboard instrumentation, but all three elements of the Jazz, Soul and R&B sound remain intact because of the push-and-pull nature of the Brass-based instrumentation. The chorus is reminiscent of a crescendo, while the verse acts as a small build-up for the groove to be unleashed into a more melodic explosion of sounds in the chorus. The mood and design is quite fascinating, but the focal Jazz sound is one full of comfort and warmth. Although the instrumental sound never really “goes anywhere” in the typical sense, we’re left with a delightfully old-school and vintage-feeling assortment of moods. Top marks for this.

Pictured: Thomas Brenneck (Lead Guitar), Nick Movshon (Bass Guitar), Mike Deller (Organ), Dave Guy (Trumpet), Leon Michaels (Saxophone) & Homer Steinwess (Drums) (2020) (via Frontview Magazine)

Thank you for reading this post – I’m very grateful for your support. That’s all for now, but please check back with me tomorrow for another episode in our “Way Back Wednesdays” weekly feature where we remember the pre-2000’s music sounds that should be remembered from time to time. In a rare look at a mainstream-oriented tune tomorrow, we’re going to treat my mother to one of her favourites. It comes from an Australian star of stage and screen who, despite suffering injuries to his back in the new series of ITV’s ‘Dancing On Ice’, he’s still not going to give up the fight for you! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

New Album Release Fridays: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – “Call Your Mom”

January 29, 2021 — Leave a comment

What do you get if you drop an Organ onto an army base? A flat major. New post time.

Pictured: Cover Art for “I Told You So” (LP) (Released on January 29. 2021) (via Colemine Records)

Just one more day to grind through. Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m here to write up your daily post on the blog, because, as I say to you every day, it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Another weekend means that it’s time for a crop of new releases to drop, and the calendar is heating up as we leave the drought of January that we typically have at this time of year. In fact, this week is rather stacked. Many people have been looking forward to Arlo Parks’ debut album which arrives today. There’s also the 20th album release from Ani DiFranco, the formal debut album from the BBC’s Sound Of 2020 winner, Celeste – along with additions to the canons of Madlib and Four Tet, Weezer and more. However, I’m going to jive to a bit of Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio this week. Sometimes abbreviated to DLO3, this is a fantastic Jazz, Soul, Funk and Blues band who are native to Seattle, Washington and have found wider success after heavy airplay on the state’s KEXP community radio station. 2016’s “Close But No Cigar” was their debut LP, and it charted at #1 on the US Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. “I Told You So” is their long-awaited follow-up record, and it’s arrived today – via Colemine Records. Describing their own sound as “improvisation over organ grooves” and “soul music with a strong jazz influence”, the self-taught trio have been devising tightly flavored compositions since 2015. Let’s take a listen to “Call Your Mom” below.

I think it’s an understatement to say that Delvon Lamarr, Jimmy James and Dan Weiss play their instruments beautifally, and what also striked out to me when listening to “Call Your Mom” for the first time was the way they really connect their dots together as a group, a chemistry that Delvon Lamar points out: “While we were recording in the studio, the studio engineer, Jason Gray, asked me what was the name of the song? I said ‘I have no idea'”, and “Call Your Mom” was decided when Gray suggested it to them, but they didn’t know until months later that it’s a reference to a sticker in the back of a Jazz club they played in Alabama, and it’s a story that you simply couldn’t make up. A few others have also pointed out that “Call Your Mom” shares similarities with the sound of Booker T & The MG’s, as a confident and upbeat slice of instrumental funk just struts along a tight groove. A Horn section and an ascending bass guitar riff immediately enter the fray, while the drums are densely packed into the later stages of the track. The organ melodies quickly emerge and retreat from the picture, almost teasing a breaking of the continous groove, before we settle back into that polished mid-tempo production once again. It’s almost like the Organs and the Guitar are trading lines, but working with tandem in one another, instead of fighting for control – despite each tool having a respective solo in the mid-way point. Despite being very repetitous, I never found it tedious. The 60’s Motown feel is created by the energetic and soulful drumming signatures, and the turn-taking in the different instrumentation keeps things interesting. It leads to a neatly structured finish, where a feel of a “suited-and-booted” vibe puts across a vintage aesthetic. It also feels more improved than some of their earlier work, with the brief diversions from the groove and the confident atmosphere showing a more meticulous layout for the single – in comparison to some of their work prior for me. To conclude, this probably won’t fall under the wheelhouse of everybody because it’s sorted as a niche, but I think those who like their groovy and funky instrumental jazz will love it, and I think it deserves a chance from everybody. It’s played wonderfully, and evokes class from start to finish.

Pictured: Delvon Lamarr (Keyboard/Piano/Organ/Bass Guitar), Jimmy James (Rhythm Guitar) and Dan Weiss (Drums/Percussion) (2018) (Photo Credit: Bebe Labree Bresch/KEXP.org)

Back in the worldwide lockdown in Spring – the group also found themselves busy. Check out the review for “Inner City Blues” from the Brighter Days Ahead series here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/08/14/todays-track-delvon-lamarr-organ-trio-inner-city-blues/

Pictured: Cover Art for “Inner City Blues” (Single) (Released on May 22nd, 2020) (via Colemine Records)

That concludes my musical message for today! Scuzz Sundays is inside the oven for release in two days time, as per usual. Before then, take a look at the blog tomorrow – Where we’ll be taking a look at the highly popular new album to come from a Midlands Electronic Post-Punk duo who have released several albums to critical acclaim. The vocalist was influenced by his sub-cultural love of Wu Tang Clan, and he started out by recording music with Bent and Spiritualized as a session musician for local artists. 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: Raf Rundell – “Monsterpiece”

January 19, 2021 — 1 Comment

I hope that you are not afraid of the Monsters living under your bed… New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “O.M. Days” (LP) (Available from April 9th, 2021) (via Heavenly Recordings)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s now time for me to get writing up on the blog about today’s daily track, because it’s always in routine of my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Rest assured, the 2021 album release calendar is filling up, and it’s not too shabby in the process. A recent addition to the crop is “O.M. Days”, the second solo LP to come from the South London-based singer-songwriter Raf Rundell, and this is his first LP recording with the famous Heavenly Recordings label. The album unleashes the beast to the world on Friday 9th April, and it’s his second solo LP, following the release of 2018’s effort “Stop Lying”. Rundell first made his mark on the world as one half of the experimental pop duo ‘The 2 Bears’, along with Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard. It later became ‘The 3 Bears’, due to the inclusion of Metronomy’s Joe Mount. “O.M. Days” explores Disco, Soul, Funk, Latin, New-Wave and Post-Punk influences, and it features guest appearances from Chas Jankel, Lias Saoudi, Teri Walker and Man & The Echo. If you want to see him live, you can hopefully see him play gig dates in Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow, London, Brighton and Manchester in support of the new album this May, so fingers crossed those could go ahead in some capacity. Check out his “Monsterpiece” below.

“I tried hard to be Ian Dury, But realised I couldn’t. So, I tried my best in a different way, and here we are”, Raf Rundell jokingly explained as he teased the creative direction of the lead single. He even went so far as to pull in Chad Jankel, the former Ian Dury & The Blockheads musician, to add a neat guitar line into the track, for a dream collaboration. Yet, Rundell still manages to capture the essence of Baxter Dury, Ian’s son, and I’d argue that the “Sports Team-meets-Baxter Dury-meets-Gorillaz” style of the New-Wave crossed Disco-Soul influences paints him in his own light. Lyrics like “Fast vibrations, grooving, when you’re moving, when you’re doing what you love” drift over the top of Balearic synth lines and sun-dipped instrumentation, bolstered by funk-inspired guitar riffs and a lithe, idiosyncratic bassline. The Post-Rock vibes creep in when Rundell cheerfully croons “How fly can you fly/In this world so unforgiving” and “How free can you be/To make a life what you make a living” with a spot of sophistication, above the scatterings of synthetic pop sounds. The instrumentation is suitably varied, with a lengthy Flute chorus entering the fray at about the two-thirds mark, and a drop of strobing synths that add a psychedelic house sound. The harmonic Flute break and the nodding to Electro-Soul is commendable, with a strange sense of ‘Party Anthem’ sound adding a new touch to the rather academic, intellectual pop sound of his influences. Although I think this one is a bit of a “One and done” deal rather than something that stores new elements for you to discover on repeated listens, it also has a distinct and unique sound that feels original. By meshing the New-Wave 70’s together with more contemporary synth sounds, you get the fresh marriage of Soul and Punk. It’s not “Monstrously” bad at all.

Pictured: Raf Rundell in an online interview with The AU Review (2015) (Photo via YouTube.com)

Thank you for reading my latest blog post! We’re going “Way Back” tomorrow for the latest post in our weekly Wednesday feature, where we take an in-depth listen back to music pre-dating the 2000’s – influencing each of the different types of sound that we love today. Tomorrow’s track goes down the Ambient Pop and the Space-Rock route, as we rediscover a late-90’s favourite from a French Prog-Rock duo who produced the soundtrack of the same name for “The Virgin Suicides”, a Sofia Coppola-directed drama film that was released in 1999. 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t039p6xqutU

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/