Way Back Wednesdays: Inspiral Carpets – “This Is How It Feels”

July 7, 2021 — Leave a comment

In Coventry Market – you could fall in love with a lady who sells rugs. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Life” (LP) (Released on April 23, 1990) (via Cow Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Every Wednesday, we love to revisit a seminal sound of the past that still influences the present, or an oddball rarity that you may have missed. Either way, Inspiral Carpets’ 1990 hit ‘This Is How It Feels’ trends towards the former option because it was the baggy band’s signature hit. A pre-cursor to the Manchester Brit-Pop movement of the later 90’s years, which then saw groups like The Stone Roses and Ocean Colour Scene rise to prominence, the Oldham-formed 5-piece were famous for using Organs and distorted guitars to implement Psych-Rock elements into their craft, and were famously signed to Mute Records – the home of 80’s Synth-Pop megastars like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and Erasure. Very sadly, we lost Craig Gill (the band’s drummer) in 2016 due to suicide, which was caused by a severe case of Tinnitus that left him with insomnia and anxiety for over 20 years. Memorial services were held to pay tribute, attended by many of his friends and rivals in the pop music industry like Liam Gallagher and The Happy Mondays’ Rowetta over the decades. Let’s revisit their classic favourite below.

Following Gill’s death in 2016, his friends began a social media campaign to make Inspiral Carpets’ 1994 hit ‘Saturn 5’ the UK Christmas No. 1 song in the UK Singles Chart at the end of the year, and ‘This Is How It Feels’ saw similar chart success, becoming beloved by the masses and eventually peaking at the #14 spot. Did you know that it was also a hit in Australia? It reached the very specific spot of #149 in the Australian ARIA Singles Chart there. While the commercial success of a hit track is not always a good indication of it’s quality artistically, it’s also important to remind ourselves that, sometimes, crossover success and popularity happens for a reason. With the melancholic lyrics being likened to The Smiths and the Post-Punk Synth-led melodies being compared to The Doors, ‘This Is How It Feels’ still hits a soft spot between those two bands. Despite a buzzing electronic instrumental and a hopeful ambience, the track is actually about isolation and depression, with the two verses playing out as two different sides of the coin. The chorus of “This is how it feels to be lonely/This is how it feels to be small” talks about the bleak feeling that nobody understands you, how you can get trapped in a box of negative emotions. Lyrics like “Daddy don’t know what he’s done/Kids don’t know what’s wrong with mum” hint towards an affair caused by a husband to his wife, and how this affects the whole family, while the second verse references suicide when Stephen Holt sings “There’s a funeral in town/Seems they found him under the train” in the non-radio version, which is changed from the lyrics that you just heard in the music video. It’s an ace moody track and one that’s destined for “Songs that sound happy but are actually dark” lists on YouTube and the wider internet. It sounds typical of it’s time, with a Jangle-Pop rhythm section and a lighter chorus that really sticks out as an earworm in your head. However, the songwriting still feels relevant today as we continue talking about mental health issues in the media. All things considered, it’s a perfectly engaging reminder of the more vulnerable sides of life, and seeking purpose within it.

Pictured: Graham Lambert (Guitars), Stephen Holt (Vocals) & Clint Boon (Organ/Piano) making a statement in tribute to their drummer at the Phoenix Centre, Heywood (2017) (Photo by Dave Higgens)

There’s your daily dose! Please feel free to rejoin me tomorrow, where we’ll be delving into some brand new music from a Hard Rock duo who I would probably pitch as “Canada’s answer to Royal Blood” in an elevator. The duo have been best friends since the age of 4, and started to explore musical interests since falling in love with AC/DC at the age of 8. Here they are now – releasing their own material on self-release label Nowhere Special Recordings.

If you have really liked what you have just read, you can find us on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/. We’re also now on Twitter, so you can check it out and give us a follow here: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Scuzz Sundays: P.O.D. – “Youth Of The Nation”

July 4, 2021 — Leave a comment

This one was featured as DLC in ‘Guitar Hero 5’ and ‘Rock Band 3’. It’s Scuzz Sunday…

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Satellite” (Released on September 11th, 2001) (via Atlantic Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – and you know that it’s the time of the week where we delve back into one of the Pop-Punk hits of the past, all in the name of Scuzz TV, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! An interesting story surrounds ‘Youth Of A Nation’ by the Christian Nu-Metal band P.O.D. – as the track’s inspiration comes from a trip where the spiritual Rap-Rockers were on a trip to a recording studio to record it’s associated album, ‘Satellite’, and the quartet were caught in a traffic jam. The reason for it was a school shooting at Santana high-school where a 15-year-old boy, Charles Andrew Williams, killed two and wounded thirteen. The tragic events and the press coverage of the situation inspired vocalist Sonny Sandoval and the producers to write ‘Youth Of The Nation’ when the album was consequently delayed. Released in 2001, as a single, the tune reached the top spot of the Modern Rock Chart and #6 on the Mainstream Rock Chart in the US. To date, P.O.D. have sold over five million albums worldwide, and they composed the theme tune for WWE’s Rey Mysterio. Spin it below.

P.O.D.’s guitarist Marcos Curiel recalled in a 2008 interview, “We were rehearsing and writing ‘Satellite’ a couple of blocks away from the school. On the way to the studio, there were all these helicopters and cars speeding by. We really didn’t know what was going on. When we got to the studio, this guy had the news on, and he was like, “This kid just went and started blasting fools”, so we started jamming, and that rhythm just naturally came out, then Wuv put that drum beat on, and the song was born”, as he told the Juiced Sports blog. Sometimes, with a song, it becomes an alive and breathing entity once it has unleashed on the world, with continued relevance as new cultural events develop. The tune is also divided into three sections: The first tells the story of a teenager who was shot when skating to school, the next depicts a girl called “Little Suzie” who is “finding love in all the wrong places” after being abandoned by her father, and the third depicts a boy called “Johnny Boy” who fails to fit in with his peers and ultimately commit suicide after a string of mental health disorders, as the band explore an overarching narrative of misplaced youth and unloved teens. It’s heartbreaking and heavy, but it’s also bold as the band pose a question that demonized youth in the press can be instead seen as damaged souls who require help. Instrumentally, we’re looking at a Linkin Park-like mix of theatrical synths, a lightly distorted guitar rhythm, and drums that pay no attention to subtlety. There’s also a hip-hop flow to the lyrics, which reminds me of Hamilton for the most part. It’s also playing out quite similarly to Cypress Hill in the ways it addresses serious issues through a dramatic narrative. The lyrics would probably come across as controversial to many as it humanizes school shooters, particularly through it’s backing vocals comprised of children’s singing. On the other hand, I admire the bravery and their fresh approach to the topic. The band never hesitate to roll out the stadium sound of the electric drum kit for the chorus either, and the guitars/drums combo sound really nice here because they sound Blues-inspired and harsh. On the whole, it fumbles around a little towards the end with differing tones on the melodies that clash a little, but it’s pretty enjoyable stuff, all things considered. It has it’s core message, and it still brings unique ideas to the table with it’s lyrics. A hardened version of their 00’s peers.

Pictured: Sonny Sandoval (Lead Vocals), Traa Daniels (Bass Guitar/Unclean Vocals), Marcos Curiel (Lead Guitar/Programming/Backing Vocals) and Wuv Bernado (Drums/Rhythm Guitar) (2003) (via PR)

If you’re still feeling ‘Alive’ enough for some more P.O.D. on the blog, feel free to check out my previous review for the aforementioned hit here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/06/28/scuzz-sundays-p-o-d-alive/

Pictured: CD for ‘Youth Of The Nation’ (Single) (Released on November 27, 2001) (via Atlantic Records)

Well, you’ve reached the end of the page for today! Please feel free to join me again tomorrow for an in-depth look at some brand new music from a new all-female Post-Punk trio who are making their debut appearance on the blog. The three ladies will be supporting Yard Act on tour, along with Baba Ali, in the autumn of this year in the UK.

If you really liked what you just read, you can find us on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/. We’re also now on Twitter, so you can check it out and give us a follow here: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Today’s Track: Lorde – “Solar Power”

July 3, 2021 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 30, 2021 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 28, 2021 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today’s Track: José González – “Visions”

June 26, 2021 — Leave a comment

Let’s hope his vision turns into a dream and not just like a night terror. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Local Valley” (LP) (Available from September 17, 2021) (via Mute Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, as per usual, typing up with your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Lifting up our spirits this Saturday is the first brand new material in six years from the Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter José González, who was previously known as one half of the Tunip duo, along with Tobias Winterkorn. If you are more of the casual type of listener, you’d perhaps best know González for 2006’s ‘Heartbeats’, a huge hit that reached #9 on the UK Singles Chart, and so it’s an impressive feat for González to still feel superbly relevant in the years since then. The follow-up to 2015’s ‘Vestiges & Claws’, 2021’s ‘Every Valley’ is shaping up to be one of the year’s most highly anticipated album releases when it launches on September 11th via Mute Records. For him, ‘Every Valley’ is a reflection on the role that nature has played to humanity in the years since we last heard from him. One track is also sung in Spanish, and the new record is a depiction of his thoughts and beliefs. Fitting with his love for the natural world, González performed ‘Visions’ for National Geographic’s ‘Earth Day Eve’ live music event on April 21st. Let’s check it out.

“I set out to write songs in the same vein as my old ones: short, melodic, and rhythmical, a mixture of classic Folk singer-songwriting and songs with influences from Latin America and Africa”, says José González in a press statement when writing about how ‘Local Valley’ builds upon his previous solo work, adding, “Many of these songs have a crystal-clear, secular humanist agenda: anti-dogma, pro-reason”, to his notes. ‘Visions’, influenced by the Effective Altruism and The Long Now community movements, is directed by the warmth of the guitar tones and the comforting qualities of the acoustic instrumentation, reminding me of the seasonal feel that Fleet Foxes nailed on ‘Shore’, their latest album, last year. He sings lyrics like “Imagining the worlds that could be/Shaping a mosaic of fates/For all sentient beings” and “Cycles of growth and decay/Cascading chains of events/With no one to praise and blame” with a soft and chilled tone, gliding his voice above an earthly acoustic guitar strum and natural String sections. Lyrically, he muses on society and making sense of the past and the future. He touches on unity, ignorance, contentment and more, in a multi-track voice setting, all of which are given little electronic effect. Aided by long vocal harmonies and the use of Birdsong samples in the background, we hurtle towards a relaxed finish where he poetically implies that human relationships are the focal point of his light philosophies as a personal artist, without revealing too much, as this could take away the effect of the vague references to his opinions behind the lines. “No, we can’t know for sure what’s next/But that we’re in this together” leads to this ending. The structure sounds typical of a vintage Folk hymn, and he emphasizes on strengthening his sonic identity with his underlying ideas of togetherness. On the whole, it’s a big comeback tune that lacks bombast, but that makes it no less urgent. Instead of striving for a punchy hook, we’re given a much more relaxed mood. It feels very blissful, and the general emotions are kept quite positive, as to keep the listener feeling hopeful, and the natural sounds are, should I say, the clean leaves on the tree.

Pictured: José González performing live in The Current’s studio (2015) (Photo by Leah Garaas/MPR)

That’s all for now – I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your serene morning. Please come back to me tomorrow, though, for something completely different. It’s ‘Scuzz Sundays’ and we’ll be revisiting a surprisingly memorable hit from a US Rap-Rock 4-piece from Florida who scored an unusual UK #1 hit with the track. It’s great timing, too, since the band have just announced a UK tour for next year. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

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

June 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

That’s all destiny wrote for today. Stay tuned in for more ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ in seven days’ time. In the meantime, I’ll be back tomorrow for a ‘deep dive’ into one of the weekend’s new album releases – because there’s loads arriving on Friday! Tomorrow, it’s the turn of a fast-rising Folk megastar who grew up in Arlington, Massachetus – who worked on her previous album, her debut, with the producer Gabe Wax. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Easy Life – “Daydreams”

June 22, 2021 — Leave a comment

I think we’re all in agreement that nothing in life really is ever so easy. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Life’s A Beach” (LP) (Released on May 28th, 2021) (via Island Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – I know that it’s bright and early, and so it’s time for today’s daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! I am taking the trek back home from university today, thus basically moving house in the process, and so I need to keep things quite brief for today since I’ve got a hundred other tasks to sort out, but we’ll sneak a quick one in. An Easy one, you could say, to throw a pun in. ‘Daydreams’ comes from the Leicester-formed indie pop band Easy Life, who have become known for blending R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop influences into their style. They have risen to prominence through BBC’s Sound Of 2020 poll, and they are currently a big favourite of the BBC Radio 1 playlist. Despite being around for quite a number of years now, having released a few mixtapes and a few EP’s, their formal debut studio album has only been a recent development. Entitled ‘Life’s A Beach’, it was released on May 28th, 2021 through Island Records, promoted by the singles ‘Nightmares’ (A previous post on the blog was written for this one), ‘A Message To Myself’, ‘Ocean View’, ‘Skeletons’, ‘Have A Great Day’ and ‘Daydreams’ – which you can stream below.

Easy Life’s ‘Daydreams’ is a re-imagining of Aretha Franklin’s 1972 fine wine of a soul single ‘Day Dreaming’, as the band have stated, “into a soundtrack of modern-day escapism”, as noted in the press release. A whimsical reflection on personal, young adult issue of battling with the overthinking that comes along with having too much time on your hands after a break-up or a hopeful relationship that never materialized, lead vocalist Murray Matravers contemplates looking back at every minute of the situation in the most excessive of details. ‘Daydreaming’ incorporates sampling to the mix, with a child-like backing sample that adds a dream-like trance to the hypnotic instrumentation that perfectly fits the theme and aesthetic of the tune. A chilled-out, blissful, almost Hip-Hop delivery is used to give the vocals a rhythmic flow. It sounds almost like a rap, reminding me of The Streets and Kate Nash in the process. The softly plucked rhythm guitar, a floating Piano riff and muffled synthesizer production works a treat on the relatable concept and the subtle blurring of reality and mind fiction that Matravers is striving for. The suburban formula of the vocal melodies contribute well to the wistful, slightly dark theme of the subject matter, giving an airy and sweetly radiant feel to the stoned-out, R&B-inflicted chill of the instrumentation. Constructively, I think the songwriting can do with a little more nuance. At one point, he’s found rhyming ‘Berocca’ with ‘Proper’, and the vocals feel a bit bland at points. Otherwise, I think it’s their strongest track and one that grows on you more and more with repeated listening. The lower tempo works rather nicely for the lo-fi production, leaving us with a constant gaze as we delve into the mind of the UK’s young creatives through Matravers as a case study. Not a perfect home run for me, but a band I like, with decent potential, and it seems the stars have been continually aligning for them.

Pictured: Murray Matravers (Lead Vocals/Synths/Trumpet), Lewis Alexander-Berry (Lead Guitar), Sam Hewitt (Keyboard/Saxophone/Occasional Backing Vocals), Jordan Birtles (Keyboard/Percussion) and Oliver Cassidy (Drums/Percussion/Unclean Vocals) (in 2017) (Photo Courtesy of PR/Island Records)

Easy Life have also been known to trade out ‘Daydreaming’ for ‘Nightmares’, as heard on another one of their popular singles. You can check it out on the blog right here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/10/16/todays-track-easy-life-nightmares/

Pictured: Cover Art for “Who Gives A F**k?” (EP) (Released on July 10th, 2020) (via Universal Music)

That’s all for now! As mentioned, it’s been a busy few days for me to plan out my posts, but there will be a new entry in our ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ post as we enlighten the mood with a humbler, simpler and more well-known tune than, perhaps, usual. It was a bit of a one-hit wonder from 1991 that reached the #18 spot on the UK Singles Chart, and it was remixed by Fat Boy Slim and Simon Thornton, and still receives solid radio airplay to this day. 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: Lucy Dacus – “Hot & Heavy”

June 21, 2021 — Leave a comment

I was very hot and my head was very heavy in Wednesday’s heatwave. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Home Video” (LP) (Available from June 25th, 2021) (via Matador Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – and it’s finally time, yet again, for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, like usual, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A former member of the Boygenius trio (with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker), Virginia’s Lucy Dacus is the kind of singer-songstress that we should all be paying a little attention to. Bridgers’ scored one of the most raved about LP’s of the last year with ‘Punisher’ in 2020, and Baker’s ‘Little Oblivions’ – released in February of this year – is on track to make an appearance on critics’ year-end lists. Dacus’ new album, ‘Home Video’, her third solo long-player overall, gets its time to shine in the spotlight when it releases on Friday. The LP was also promoted by the singles ‘Thumbs’ (Which made a previous appearance on the blog) and ‘VBS’. In between the two offerings, we got ‘Hot & Heavy’, which has enjoyed huge support from BBC Radio 6 DJ’s Steve Lamacq and Mary Anne Hobbs in recent weeks. Home Video is an integral aesthetic for the new album, and she uses it in her new music videos. As she explains in a press release, she “wanted to visualize the moment when you first reflect on your childhood, which I think can also be the moment that childhood is over”. Let’s hear ‘Hot & Heavy’ below.

“I thought I was writing ‘Hot & Heavy’ about an old friend, but I realized along the way that it was just about me outgrowing past versions of myself”, Dacus told NME, adding, “So much of life is submitting to change and saying goodbye even if you don’t want to. Now whenever I go to places that used to be significant to me, it feels like trespassing the past. I know that the teen version of me wouldn’t approve of me now, and that’s embarrassing, and a little bit heartbreaking, even if I know intellectually that I like my life and who I am”, to her evaluation for her new tune. Boasting a similar tone to Jordana’s ‘I Guess This Is Life’ or Claud’s ‘Cuff Your Jeans’, Dacus’ ‘Hot & Heavy’ skews as an intimate and nostalgic anthem about oneself and finding purpose. Barreling along with a faint Piano section and soft, charming acoustic guitar riffs that feel introspective, Dacus’ reminisces on sweet memories that have turned sour. Her lyrics, such as “Get me to the floor even though I’m not a dancer/Ask me all the questions that you wouldn’t answer”, swap the subdued beginning for excitable Drums and child-like electric guitar melodies that chug along at a brisk pace as Dacus delivers a testimony of-sorts, with a vocal pitch that gradually becomes swifter as the track’s duration happily skips along to the warmth of the mood. Lyrics like “You used to be so sweet/Now you’re a firecracker on a crowded street” acknowledge the changes of a specific friend that has been important to Dacus’ life, and we build to a louder, but no less vulnerable, bridge where Dacus declares “Now you’re the biggest brightest flame, You are a fire that can’t be tamed” and “You’re better than ever, but I knew you when/It’s bittersweet to see you again” as the shimmering bass guitar and the upbeat Piano arrangements, balanced by a muted String section, commands the space. It reminds me of the music that my mother used to listen to, from Sara Groves and Natalie Imbruglia, with it’s clear vocal delivery and lack of distortion, with an overall soft and brief Pop or Folk sound. I think that’s a good testament to Dacus because it shows that she is very mature for her age, at just 26 years old, with the words that she writes. She comes across as very self-aware on this track, and, as a student who is graduating from university, her reflections on change and upbringing are easy to connect with. This isn’t typically my type of music, to be honest, because it’s simply not usually something that I would be in the mood to consume when I’m hankering down after a long day of hard work. Therefore, I feel it’s a good indication that Dacus is in top form here with her astute musicianship. A gorgeous, poetic piece where there is so much to unpack, and that’s because she has got so much to tell you.

Pictured: Lucy Dacus performing ‘Next Of Kin’ (2018) (Photography by Timothy Hiatt/WireImage)

Dacus’ kicked the marketing machine for ‘Home Video’ into gear when she sent randomly selected VHS tapes of the single ‘Thumbs’ to her fans, which has been a set-closer in her live sets since 2018. Luckily, you don’t need a cassette player to hear it, since you can get caught up with it here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/04/12/todays-track-lucy-dacus-thumbs/

Pictured: Cover Art for “Thumbs” (Single) (Released on March 9th, 2021) (via Matador Records)

That’s all I’ve got lined up for now! I’m basically moving house tomorrow, and so I won’t be around for long. However, I’m going to sneak in a quick one that I’m going to script up beforehand. It comes from a popular indie pop band from Leicester who fuse indie rock with alternative R&B, Neo-Soul and melodic Hip-Hop, and they are often played on BBC Radio 1. It marks their second appearance on the blog. 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: Wheatus – “Teenage Dirtbag”

June 20, 2021 — Leave a comment

A celebrity is next door. He lives on my block and he drives an I-Roc. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Teenage Dirtbag” (Single) (Released on June 20, 2000) (via Columbia Records)

Good Afternoon to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – prepping you up for another ‘Scuzz Sunday’ as we enjoy a throw back to the rock music video channels of old, with tracks that were originally unleashed to the masses between the late-90’s and the mid-00’s, to find out whether they hold up to quality and value in our modern society. If you haven’t heard Wheatus ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ before, you’ve either been living under a rock for 20 years or you might need to get your local GP to examine your hearing. This tune was everywhere when it was released back in 2000, and it became the personal anthem of many adolescent teenagers going through a particular phase of their lives, questionable haircuts and all. Sadly, it was also Wheatus’ one and only hit, although the band are technically still active and the lead vocalist, Brendan B. Brown, was featured on the title track of Math The Band’s new album, ‘Flange Factory Five’, which came out last October. ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ never excited the professional music press much, but it was still a gigantic commercial success by selling five million units worldwide, as of 2014, and it stays continually relevant with licensing for film & TV productions like Netflix’s ‘The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina’, ‘Girlboss’ and HBO’s ‘Generation Kill’. Come with me Friday and don’t say maybe with the old video below.

It’s quite surprising that we haven’t covered ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ on the ‘Scuzz Sundays’ feature before considering that it was such a memorable hit single from the peak era of MTV, and it’s success expanded beyond their domestic territory of the US. In Australia, it was certified three times platinum and it stayed at the #1 spot in the charts for four weeks. In the UK, it was certified as platinum twice in 2018. It also reached the top of the charts in Austria, and it also peaked at #2 in both Ireland and Germany, it’s burgeoning popularity inspired by a childhood experience of Brendan B. Brown’s. I think it’s fair to point out that it’s very much a Power-Pop record, and it doesn’t really qualify as Pop-Punk because it bears little resemblance to the core elements of that category. The instrumentation is almost dream-like, with a rickety acoustic guitar riff, hilariously dated record scratches and an angsty Drum part. Brown paints the picture of the scene with lines like “But she doesn’t know who I am/And she doesn’t give a damn about me” and “Her boyfriend’s a d**k, and he brings a gun to school” that are a funny, hook-led breakdown of an awkward adolescent teenage crush at high school. The production is a light Hip-Hop pastiche, there’s no distortion, and the chorus is the defining aspect of the tune. It finds the soft, coffee shop guitar riff unleashing the heavy weight of an overdrive pedal. The mightily quantized Drums, the melodic angst of the guitar melody, and the collision of sounds makes a coherent sort-of sense, and it’s easy to sing along to. The bridge is also very memorable, as Brown tries to emulate a female voice with a mild Falsetto effect, which isn’t very convincing, although I’m not sure that it’s supposed to be potent. The lyrics are pretty horrendous. Why is he a Teenage Dirtbag? Because he listens to Iron Maiden. This mixture is endearing, however, and you easily find yourself having a lot of fun with it, however dumb it is. I find it strange how the video has been censored too, since the teenage market was the target audience for buying it, but, on the whole, it’s still a lot of fun and it doesn’t feel like it’s been overplayed too heavily. It’s not brilliant, or even ‘good’ from an intellectual standpoint, but it was only ever trying to be a popcorn Pop song that you can blast to the full volume in your car and sing along to. Without guilt.

Pictured: Brendan B. Brown (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Matthew Milligan (Electric Upright Bass), Brandon Ticer (Keyboard) and Leo Freire (Drums) (2020) (Photo by Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images)

Thank you for taking today’s trip down memory lane with me – and please make sure to join me again tomorrow for an in-depth look at some brand new music from an American indie folk singer-songwriter who is releasing her latest solo album next week. It marks her second appearance on the site, and you may know her as a previous member of the trio Boygenius with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, who have also found similar solo success in recent months. 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/