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Scuzz Sundays: OPM – “El Capitan”

February 28, 2021 — Leave a comment

Captain Hook never made it to Admiral – it didn’t Pan out for him. It’s Scuzz Sunday…

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Menace To Sobriety” (Released on August 15th, 2000) (via Atlantic Records)

Good Morning to you – I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for another entry in our “Scuzz Sunday” series where we revisit one of the landmark releases of the Pop-Punk genre and Emo-Rock movement of my childhood, between the late-90’s and the mid-00’s, to see whether the final nail has been put in the coffin of credibility for these relics, a light modification of my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! This week’s pick is one that I didn’t even remember initially, meanwhile, it comes from a group with quite a few hits to their name. Although it sounds like the drug ‘Opium’, the Los-Angeles based Rap-Metal band OPM’s name actually stands for “Open People’s Minds”, and they were formed in 1996 by John E. Necro and Geoff Turney in a ‘chance’ meeting on a short bus ride through two mutual friends they were each dating. Although they had never played live together at this point, Atlantic Records still took a gamble and signed them up. They broke out with “Heaven Is A Halfpipe”, which saw chart success internationally and won the Kerrang! Award for ‘Best Single’ in 2000, along with getting to play the single live on an episode of Top Of The Pops. Their debut album, “Menace To Sobriety”, was released in 2000, and it also spawned popular singles in “El Capitan” and “Stash Up” – the former of which was written about the band’s favourite type of rum, although it sounds a lot like ‘Captain’. Later re-recorded in 2012 for the “Heaven Can Wait” EP, the track was originally a #20 hit on the UK Singles Chart. Let’s refresh our memories with it below.

OPM are still making music, and “Menace To Sobriety” was given a 15-year anniversary reissue in 2015. One interesting little fact about this record is that there is also a ‘Clean’ version of the album that exists – where most of the profanities and bad language, and the references to drugs as well, have been essentially edited out of the original recording from the explicit lyrics. Famously re-mixed by IDM producers SoulChild (the duo of Stuart Bradbury and Damien Mendis) in 2001, OPM have sadly fallen down into a fair amount of obscurity since their well-known three singles peaked for them, and their albums since haven’t left much of a mark on relevancy. “El Capitan” is one of their most beloved tracks for their fanbase though, with light sampling effects mixing with the gentle hip-hop production and the heavy reggae-ska influences to express their affections for a rum brand. It was high on product placements for certain, but they were falling within the same wheelhouse as Rap-Rock groups like Less Than Jake and Sum 41 around the time. Starting with an “La La La La La La La”, the track springs to life with a piano sample and a surprisingly light guitar melody. Lines like “I like it on Ice with a Coca Cola, I sip it from LA to Capitola” and “I’ve been rockin since the 1900’s, microphone and two 1200’s” are rapped by each member of the band, in turn, above a relaxed bass guitar riff and a summery vibe. The material becomes much darker in the second half of the track, where the narrative becomes about getting a girl pregnant while being under the influence of alcohol, a theme that you would probably never be allowed to do these days. The final verse goes for a slight “breath of fresh air” attitude, saying that the real Captain Morgan wasn’t much fun, but according to the band, “He sure made a good ass bottle of rum”, in their own lyrics. I think where the track stutters is that it doesn’t have anything creative to say to me, and I’m failing to see where much of the art lies here. It’s just pretty short on ideas overall. However, I still thought that parts of the track were good, particularly the first verse where the instrumentation feels quite funky and bright. Reggae was a very clear inspiration for the band, and I like how the music isn’t heavy. It’s far from a retread of what other bands were doing at the time, but I found the subject matter of teen pregnancy later in the track to be distasteful and unsettling, thus letting it down in the process. The rhyming is a little basic, but the sampling feels fresh. I just wish the band had gone a slightly different route with the lyrics, and simply not “gone there”. It is not a total failure, though, for what it’s worth. I liked it until the second verse, and if it was re-written, it would be a bit more likeable.

  • Pictured: John E. Necro (Lead Vocals), Geoff Turney (Lead Guitar), Jonathan Williams (Keyboard), Etienne Franc (Bass Guitar) & Gary P. Dean (Drums) (Date n/a) (Photo via The Moshville Times)

That’s it for another week, and we’ve also reached the end of another month too. Please feel free to join me again tomorrow, where I’ll be trying to kick off the new month of March in style with a recent floor filler from a Reading-born electronic music producer who has collaborated with many artists including Nile Rogers, JP Cooper, Clairo, Ray BLK, Frances and LANY – with the featured vocalist of tomorrow’s track being Canadian R&B project RHYE, who we covered just a short week ago on the blog as a solo artist. 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: Maximo Park – “All Of Me”

February 27, 2021 — Leave a comment

It ain’t gonna be no Walk In The Park for this established Geordie trio. New post time!

  • Pictured: Paul Smith (Lead Vocals/Keyboard/Producer/Rhythm Guitar), Duncan Lloyd (Lead Guitar/Bass Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals) & Tom English (Drums/Percussion) (2020) (Photo via readdork.com)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time, like always, for me to get writing up for your daily track on the blog, since it’s routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Now consisting of lead vocalist Paul Smith, guitar wizard Duncan Lloyd and drummer Tom English, Maximo Park are an established Alternative Rock trio from Newcastle who a few may dismiss as part of the “indie landfill” of the 00’s along with bands like The Kooks and The Futureheads. It’s impressive that, unlike some bands of the 00’s heyday, they are still going, however, and it’s important to remind ourselves that Paul & Pals have had a few hits, they have two certified Gold-selling albums to their name and their debut LP was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2005. This weekend, they’re back with their seventh album, “Nature Always Wins”, which was co-produced by Ben Allen (Deerhunter, Gnarls Barkley), and it was distributed by Prolifica Inc. I took a listen to it last night in bed as I liked the singles, and I was really suprised by how much I enjoyed it. While the musical blueprint of the group remains the same, the songwriting is very socially conscious, and the package has more synths, with some great experiments with 80’s stylings, although it is predominantly still a Pop record. I think my favourite tracks on there were the sprawling Future Islands-like “Meeting Up”, the Pulp-inspired “Feelings I’m Supposed To Feel” and the child-like “Versions Of You”. The new single is “All Of Me”, and we’ll give a shot below. Check out the Bruce Lee-esque video below.

Filmed in a Hall-Of-Mirrors setting inspired by the filmography of Arthur Russell and Bruce Lee, frontman Paul Smith conceives the band’s latest track as “a love song about the power of song itself, buoyed by the uplifting music in the chorus”, elaborating further on the themes saying, “It’s also about domesticality and family life being valid subject matter for a pop song”, in a recent interview with the press. The track starts off with a slick 80’s synth rhythm from the offset, and a quickly paced drum beat gives a hyper-melodic feel, before we’re left with a simple guitar line throughout the verses with a more acoustic sound, with Smith giving haste to catchy lyrics like “Change happens incrementally, Though the embers of ambition burn” and “I’ve been collecting perspectives, there’s so much that I want to share” before the swirling guitars dramatically build to the return of the driving 80’s-ish Synth riff. The chorus is immediate, with Smith making the themes clear on lines like “If I can’t include you, If art is apart, Well then I disagree” that have a personal quality to them, while the Killers-like synth line really drives the instrumentation forwards. I also noticed quick observations on society, with lines like “I turn the radio on, To find someone who tells me what I need to hear” and “Construct a personality, Though your instinct has a role to learn” feeling reflective of the world we’re living in today, and the music we’re usually being exposed to by the media. The chorus of “This song is where you belong/This is all of me” glistens over the top of the memorable synth hook nicely, with a glistening use of electronic instrumentation. This is a more radio-oriented track than some of the other cuts found on the new record, but I think there’s plenty to enjoy here. For starters, I really feel that Paul Smith is an excellent frontman for the band. His words feel clever and poignant, and I love how he writes about his child on the album with an honest heart, never feeling too inspired by a particular commercial aspiration. This track also reflects another great thing about the new work, where none of the two songs sound quite the same, but the synths on “All Of Me” are vibrant and feel inspired, reminding me a little of Visage and Erasure from the 80’s. I’m not quite sure who’s listening to them in 2021, and I think that’s a shame. I’d argue that Maximo Park are a super underrated band now. I think this is a successful evolution for the band, a very pleasant surprise and I think it’s exceptional, reminding me of my good affection for Gaz Coombes. Who knew they were so good?

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Nature Always Wins” (LP) (Released on February 26th, 2021) (via Prolifica Inc.)

If you thought that one was right up your street, I was also quite impressed by what I heard from Maximo Park when they released an earlier single, “Baby, Sleep”, back in November. Check out what I said back then:  https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/11/30/todays-track-maximo-park-baby-sleep/

  • Pictured: Maximo Park at The Roundhouse, London (2015) (Photo via DIYMag.com/Carolina Faruolo)

That’s all for today – I know it’s your Saturday as well, so I’ll let you go and keep enjoying it now. Join me once again for “Scuzz Sundays” tomorrow, where we cast our minds back to the Pop-Punk and Emo crowd releases from the late-90’s up to the mid-00’s.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: CLAUD – “Guard Down”

February 25, 2021 — Leave a comment

A new ‘Changing Of The Guard” for this young lofi pop superstar. Time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Super Monster” (Released on February 12, 2021) (via Saddest Factory Records)

Good Afternoon to you – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time again for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog since, as always, it’s routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Previously writing and performing their own music under the pen name of ‘Toast’ with the release of their debut EP in 2018, Claud Mintz is a trendy, new bedroom pop indie musician who comes from the suburbs of Chicago, Illonois. The 21-year-old singer-songwriter, who identifies as Non-Binary, has become better known for their vibrant blue-and-green neon dyed haircut (Colours permitting) along with the recent success of their singles ‘Gold’, ‘Soft Spot’ and ‘Cuff Your Jeans’, which were lifted from their debut LP, “Super Monster”, which was released earlier this month on the Phoebe Bridgers-owned record label, Saddest Factory Records. I love the attention that Mintz puts into their cover artworks, with a hand-painted animation style that looks wistful and eye-catching in their coloring palettes, and I’ve been playing a few of their tracks on the radio between the past few weeks. Their latest single is ‘Guard Down”, and it was co-written by Cameron Hale and Mary Weitz. Check out the animated music video below.

That clip was giving me a few shades of Peter, Bjorn & John’s “Young Folks” from 2006, a track that I cherish – by the way. In a recent press release, Claud Mintz spoke further on the emotions behind the track, noting: “When I wrote this song, I had just found out somebody I had feelings for started seeing someone else, and my immediate response was to convince myself I didn’t care, even though I did”, elaborating on it’s production, “The verses and chorus sort-of make fun of how I keep myself closed off, but my rap towards the end of the song is a super honest stream of consciousness”, in their set of notes. Mintz wastes no time to get to the vocals in the track, almost immediately springing: “I haven’t seen you since the summer, We’re getting further from each other” off a psychedelic drum loop and a few guitar licks, before the melodies take a pop-driven shape where Mintz recites lines like “I’ve been staying Chicago, but I’m coming back tomorrow” and “You’re seeing someone, I’m not though/And that feels really awful” as the eclectic backing beat allows some whimsy and fun to burst through the heartbreak, but hopeful, nature of the lyrics. The hook of “Don’t let your guard down” keeps the mood simple, but upbeat. The rap section, where Claud poetically recites similarly lyrics over the top of a distorted vocal effect and a slight tempo decrease, catches me off-guard a little, but it keeps the pace flowing and diversifies the tone a little. The end is more effective, where Mintz is left to croon “Nothing like a New York summer” to their own device – that being a simple acoustic guitar strum. Very much aimed towards a Young Adult audience, I think that Taylor Swift is a fair comparison to make, but I also think you’ll like this if you’re fond of Clairo or Arlo Parks too. It’s not really the most experimental sound, but I think it works nicely. I think that’s because Mintz really writes the track with a ‘human touch’ – it feels warm, sumptuous and comforting, and that makes it tug your heart strings and relate to the subject matter. It’s not the most original sound, but it’s pleasant to listen to, and, for me, that makes it a top-tier 3:26 minutes of heartfelt Pop. It’s lovely.

  • Pictured: Claud Mintz in a recent press shot to promote “Super Monster” (2020) (Photo by ID Magazine)

That’s all folks! Another week is quickly flying past me – but there’s still time to select another pick for the “New Album Release Friday” feature tomorrow. This week’s spotlight is shined on the fairly obvious choice, as we take a deep dive behind the story of a young artist who’s been absolutely hyped to the hills with their new album, which releases tomorrow. Seeing support from KEXP’s Live At Home series and endorsement from Paramore’s Hayley Williams, this 25-year-old Alternative Folk self-producer is known for being a former member of Boygenius in addition to her solo work. 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: Jason Donovan – “Too Many Broken Hearts”

February 24, 2021 — Leave a comment

Wouldn’t you have liked to been Neighbours with Scott Robinson? Let’s go Way Back!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Ten Good Reasons” (Released on May 2nd, 1989) (via PWL/Mushroom Records)

Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it’s time for this week’s Blast From The Past as part of our “Way Back Wednesdays” series, where we celebrate the sounds from before 2000 – not forgetting that it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! My mother is a massive fan of James Donovan, the Australian star who has graced our screens and the stage since the 80’s. Whether it’s playing the titular role in ‘Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ throughout the 1990’s, or singing with his fellow Neigbours soap star alumni Kylie Minogue on ‘Top Of The Pops’, Donovan is never the kind of guy to give up the fight for anything – except ITV’s latest series of entertainment show ‘Dancing On Ice’ – where back injuries led to his very unfortunate exit from the competition. Not gonna lie, that threw a wrench in my plans a tiny bit when I heard the news yesterday because I planned to write this post over a week ago as a pick-me-up for Donovan’s luck in the contest. Nevertheless, he’s pulled out to Fight another day – I guess. Donovan’s had a very successful Pop career too, although arguably little may remember “Ten Good Reasons”, his debut album, it was still the best-selling album in the UK of 1989, and Jason’s had four UK #1 Singles along with a figure of 3 million records sold in the UK. On that note, I’m going to revisit ‘Too Many Broken Hearts’, Especially For You, below.

Released in May, 1989 by PWL and Mushroom Records, ‘Ten Good Reasons’ would go on to spawn three UK #1 singles for Jason Donovan, including this track, the Kylie Minogue duet track that I slipped in as a pun above and “Sealed With A Kiss”, with their commercial success making history for Donovan, who became the first Australian-born male solo artist to hold the pole position spots for both the UK Single and UK Album Charts simultaneously, at one point, back in the heyday. This is a simple, high energy and uplifting pop love song from the 80’s, and so it arguably plays out exactly how you would expect. Led by a recognizable guitar riff and a grooving drum opening with a few splashings of Brass instrumentation thrown in to give it a punchy feeling, Donovan starts to sing: “Last night you talked about leaving/I said I can’t let you go” to set the scene. The bridge puts the steering wheels in motion, with lines like “You give me one good reason to leave me/I’ll give you ten good reasons to stay” and “You’re the only one I believe in” being sung over the top of a mildly odd Xylophone dynamic and the trundling, light string section. The vocal delivery is a little strained, but the backing track is catchy and the rhythm is very upbeat. The chorus of “Too many broken hearts in the world, there’s too many dreams can be broken in two” and the final line of “I won’t give up the fight for you” makes things even more upbeat and melodic. I suppose it’s fair to say the crooning here is a little flat, in the original recording, but he has obviously sharpened up his skills in the decades since, and it would make for a fun live performance by today’s standards. I find the dated feel quite charming, however, and I think Donovan is a likeable vocal prescence here. The chorus is a bit karaoke – but it’s a catchy ear-worm and I find the lyrics to be mildly amusing, although I’m not sure why. Although auto-tune wasn’t really a thing back then, it’s still nice to hear his real voice being used. Overall, the label were clearly looking for a hit here, but I feel it’s perfectly fine and pleasant to listen to because it’s catchy and it doesn’t feel like it’s been over-played in the modern times. It’s not the most deep and meaningful songwriting I’ve ever heard, but it’s a pop career vehicle from the 1980’s, so I know what grain of salt to take it with and it’s not meant to be taken too seriously. Pretty good overall, I think the song deserves more credit than it may get nowadays and that Jason’s still got plenty of Fight in him left. *Picks up Kylie*

  • Pictured: Jason Donovon at the stage door of The London Palladium (2018) (Photo by Irene Cecilia)

That’s all for today – Thanks for your support in checking out what I had to share today! Please join me again tomorrow for more of the same, where I’ve got brand new music to review from a Lo-Fi/Indie Pop non-binary singer-songwriter based in the suburbs of Chicago who just released their debut album on Saddest Factory – the new record label owned by the woman of the moment, Phoebe Bridgers. 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: Lord Huron – “Not Dead Yet”

February 22, 2021 — Leave a comment

The Michigan Folk outfit are back ‘Alive and Kicking’ after three years. New post time!

  • Pictured: Ben Schneider (Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Harmonica), Tom Renaud (Lead Guitar), Miguel Briseño (Bass Guitar/Keyboard/Theremin) & Mark Barry (Drums) (2018) (Photo via The Bona Venture)

Good Afternoon to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to begin the new week’s round of daily entries on the blog, and that’s because it is routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The Los-Angeles based, but Michigan native, US Alternative Folk 4-piece band Lord Huron have been working on some brand new music, and “Not Dead Yet” has just been released as their first piece of new material in the three years following 2018’s “Vide Noir”, which was their first LP on a major studio label, Republic Records. The band gained some traction when “The Night We Met”, taken from their 2015 album, “Strange Trails”, surpassed over 680 million streams after being prominently used for the controversial Netflix Drama series, “13 Reasons Why”, in 2017. “Vide Noir” turned out to be their most critically acclaimed and commercially successful record yet, and it reached the top 10 of the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart after it’s warm acoustic tones were partly brought to life by mixer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT). Recently, the band have been teasing a new project with their series of “Alive From Whispering Pines” ticketed livestream performances, where the long-lost musicians who have previously occupied the Whispering Pines studio merge with the present day. There’s been no official word on a new full-length album yet, but since Lord Huron have made a habit of releasing a new album every three years, and they’re set to perform the new single on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the US tomorrow night, it seems inevitable when you put the pieces together. On that note, let’s check out “Not Dead Yet” below.

At this point, I should probably mention that, I too, was on the little bandwagon for the hype of “Vide Noir” when it came out. It was a toss-up with Gaz Coombes for my own Album Of The Year in 2018, because the sound was a lot sharper than their previous releases, and the instrumentation was diverse and varied, leading to a gut-punch of powerful and exciting Folk compositions with a cool atmosphere. Lord Huron hasn’t quite seemed to stick on repeat on my digital libraries as much as Jacob Classics like La Roux, Jens Lekman and Foster The People though, and I can’t quite point my finger on why. Whether it’s the little less familiarity or the lack of more nostalgia with this act, though, I think that “Not Dead Yet” points to a compelling future for the band, especially now that mainstream eyes seem to have been drawn to their output in recent years. The instrumentals are a little more Acoustic, with the slight Power-Pop ferocity of “Never Ever” and “The Balancer’s Eye” from “Vide Noir” feeling slightly replaced with fuzzy, synth-less guitar tones and a warm influence of 70’s Rock ‘N’ Roll, even down to the Elvis references in the track. Hooks like “You got holes in your clothes/Booze on your breath/You look like hell, and you smell like death” feel a little comical, and there’s a soft flicker of Glam-Rock added to the mix too. The refrain of “There’s a stranger in my eyes again, I swear to God I Don’t know him” make it clear that Schneider is singing from the first-person perspective of a drifter reflecting on his personal issues, with lines like “If she asks about me, Tell her I’m not dead yet” paving the way for a silky instrumental of ascending little chords. The chorus of “But I ain’t dead yet, and I’ve got something to say” is a little more involved, but the gentle drums and the acoustic backing riff still keeps things at a nice, mid-tempo subtlety. One major critique that I have with this track is that, as my friend pointed out to me, it does sound A LOT like The Mountain Goats – with the referential songwriting and the simple Folk roots, and so I’m not certain about whether I think the sound is very unique. That said, the concept of unearthing forgotten musical relics in this Folk-led style of storytelling is not inherently uninteresting, and the fact that Lord Huron have always been a band who focus on their visuals and aesthetics as much as their music gives me more confidence. All in all, I feel that this new one plays out more like a “film trailer” for the sure-to-be new album instead of a conventional single. Overall, the results are slightly mixed on this one for me – but that’s not to say this might be the year for Lord Huron to properly shine for me. There’s a lot of potential, and so I’m watching them with my beady eyes.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Not Dead Yet” (Single) (Released on Feb 19, 2021) (via Whispering Pines Studios)

That’s all for today – Thanks for checking out the blog today, and I’m very grateful for your time. Please join me again tomorrow for a detour. I’ve been feeling a little bored of just “indie” lately, so I’m going to switch up the styles with a new Jazz release from a retro Funk and Soul collective who formed in 2007, and have six members as part of their ensemble. Signed to Daptone Records, you may not know the group by name, but their original tracks have been sampled quite frequently – including from the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Kid Cudi. 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: SPAN – “Found”

February 21, 2021 — Leave a comment

Two albums – but they sold 55 million units during their life SPAN. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Jarle Bernhoft (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Fridtjof Nilsen (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Kim Nordbaek (Bass Guitar/Vocals) and Fredrik Wallumrød (Drums) (2004) (Photo by Metal Express Radio)

Good Morning to you – I’m Jacob Braybrooke and this is “Scuzz Sunday”, our special weekly feature on the blog where we take a leisurely stroll down the memory lane of the ancient Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk releases, taken from between the time of the late-1990’s and the mid-2000’s, to see if these old dogs can still do any tricks – and that’s because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Formed out of the ashes of prior bands, Squid and Explicit Lyrics, Span was a short-lived 4-piece band fronted by Norweigan singer Jarle Bernhoft. You’d be forgiven for not remembering their second album, “Vs. Time”, but their debut LP, “Mass Distraction”, was a sizable commercial hit. At the end of the day, Span still managed to sell over 55 million units of their records worldwide, and they spent a brief period touring in the US after selling out a headline tour in the UK and Norway. They also got to work with big-time producer, Gil Norton (The Pixies, Echo & The Bunnymen, Terrorvision) on “Mass Distraction”, which reached the Top 5 of the Norwegian charts in it’s heyday. So, what went wrong? Well, issues with their label (Island Records) led to US record deals with Geffen Records and Interscope Records falling through, and their debut LP saw an underwhelming delayed release in that market when much of their hype died down. It led to the follow-up only releasing in Norway, and although it did pretty well there, the band decided to call it quits after failing to recoup their costs and momentum in 2005, and the band posted a note on their website to announce this. Let’s relive those days with the single “Found” below.

Regrettably, I think the story of SPAN is a simple one and one that history repeats – it’s simply one of those bands who you cling to in your adolescence, but nobody really knew of them (Hands up those of you who remember “She Might” by Noise Next Door) or had really heard of their break-up (BoyKillBoy, anyone?) and that just closed the lid of can of worms. It’s an amicable situation for the quartet, though, with the band stating they “no longer share a common dream and ambition” and they had “decided to end this while we are still the best of friends” in 2005, and the members have all embarked on decent solo careers in the years since, with Joff Nilsen developing a TV career and Jarle Bernhoft has released numerous solo albums, so none of them were scarred much by the folding of the project. Span obviously had a vibrant Pop sensibility, as you probably noticed when you heard “Found” just a minute ago. The opening of the track reminded me of Foo Fighters, while the deadpan and more psych-driven harmonics of the distorted guitars made me think of Queens Of The Stone Age, and the rapid time signatures made me think of Maximo Park. It was a very contemporary sound at the time, and, for me, it feels like a mis-mash of a few of the era’s most popular groups. The lyrics are steadfast and the words are very hook-led, with an explosive refrain of “Vital information that can not be found” breaking into a Rage Against The Machine-ish guitar riffs that chugs along like a steam engine train on a collision course to Snowdon. The verses are more slower, and veer into basic Hard Rock territory. The verses of “My legs are sleeping, My body is weeping” and “A human disorder/A life on the border, a lack of a plan” are pretty unremarkable, but the themes of mental health are present, and this shows a decent attempt at handling wider issues with a focus on the internal male. The rest of the instrumentation is not minimal, with a duelling vocal from Bernhoft and Nilsen being attacked by a distorted drum part and the similarly trucking bass guitar riff. It feels like something I’d expect to hear on Radio X in the UK, with a very produced sound that just about qualifies as “Indie”. While the overall results are a bit forgettable, it’s an entertaining slice of Emo-centric Rock, with melodic hooks and instrumentation that sounds focused, never quite meandering to the wayside or getting too repetitive. You’d be forgiven for not remembering it, but I think there was talent that was never quite given the right opportunity to flourish here, and I think that a longer run, or a more supported one, for the band, could have encouraged more boldness to succeed.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Mass Distraction” (Released in 2004) (via Island Records)

Thank you for reading my post on the blog today! I’ve got more in store for you tomorrow, and if you’re a fan of your adventurous Alternative Folk, then I’ve hopefully got what should be a treat for you – with brand new music from a Michigan-originated group who have recently been teasing a new follow-up since their last album, released three years ago, with a collection of live-streamed shows entitled “Alive From Whispering Pines”. Best known for their 2015 hit, “The Night We Met”, which has been streamed over 680 million times after being heavily featured in the controversial Netflix drama series, “13 Reasons Why”. 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: HIM – “Buried Alive By Love”

February 14, 2021 — Leave a comment

It’s the day of St. Valentine, and for raising awareness of singledom. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Love Metal” (LP) (Released on May 5th, 2003) (via BMG Music Group)

Happy Valentine’s Day – even if I don’t celebrate it. The truth hurts – but my truth is that it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It’s time for a new entry in our Scuzz Sundays series – where we revisit a classic from the Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk era’s of the late-90’s through to the mid-00’s, to see if there’s still quality to be found within them in the new age. This week’s pick is loosely based around today’s minor holiday, even though I would moan and complain that I’m a firm believer that, if you love someone, you should do things to show that EVERYDAY, and not just a one-off Sunday in February. Load of nonsense. Anyway, now I digress. HIM were a very successful Nu-Metal band in the 90’s who originated from Finland. “Love Metal” was probably their best-known record, but “Razorblade Romance” achieved platinum album sales, and “Deep Shadows and Brilliant Heights” reached the top ten of the album charts in several countries too, with each of the recordings getting strong sales and decent reviews particularly in European territories. They had a few ups-and-down’s in the way of reunions and lineup changes, but they officially remained active until 2017 in some capacity, where they finished off their farewell tour with a final set on New Year’s Day at the Helldone festival. Even now, the group remains to be one of the most commercially successful Finnish metal bands of all time, and they have also won eight Emma Awards. “Buried Alive By Love” was the second single from their fourth LP, “Love Metal”, and it reached #30 in the UK Singles Chart in 2003. Let’s fully cremate our fears with the track below.

Interestingly enough – the character who you see in the old-fashioned music video was played by actress and singer Juliette Lewis, who was one of Hollywood’s “It” girls in the 90’s, and Lewis played the role of Mrs. Audrey Griswald in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in 1989. If that wasn’t enough, the video was also directed by Bam Margera of Jacksass fame, who also produced the official videos for another single, “The Sacrament”, from the same album. The pacing is fast and the guitar melodies are sharp from the very offset, with a hazy line of synth beats drowning out the distorted guitars when the opening verse comes in. Vocalist Ville Vallo sings about love being a source of rescue for a dark path that our narrator is treading down, as he recites the likes of “To cry is to know that you’re alive, But my river of tears has run dry” and “The kiss of vanity blessed me with a spiritual murder, And fed the gods of war insatiable” over the top of crisp drum beats and the strongly hook-based bridges of the track. The chorus has a sweeping and choral quality, with Vallo singing lines like “A cold heart is a dead heart, and it feels like I’ve been buried alive by love” and “If I wake before I die, rescue me with your smile” above the seemingly endless riffing of the bass guitar chords and the reliance on the drums to complement Vallo’s cinematic, wide-eyed vocals. The samples and the synths are a second thought, and the sudden changes in mood sell a very anthemic style. There’s a lot of production value here, and it’s clear that quite a sum of cash was raked in to make this project. That said, the songwriting is fine – if not defying many tropes or conventions of the genre – since there’s still smooth transitions between each section, and the large pop hooks of the chorus are left to have a nice impact. Though it does sound pretty commercial, the vocal performance is decent and I can picture the track being used in a geeky action video game-like flick such as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Overall, it’s not unentertaining or unenjoyable, although it’s not the most organic sounding track that you’d probably hear all week. It is decent, however, with good effort put into the production of the track and a solid vocal performance from Vallo to complement the fast instrumentation. Quite generic, but there’s enough talent to make it worthwhile.

  • Pictured: Ville Vallo (Lead Vocals), Mikko Paananen (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Miiko Lindstrom (Rhythm Guitar), Janne Puurtinen (Keyboard) & Jukka Kroger (Drums) (2017) (Photo via LOUDER)

That’s all for now – I hope you have an enjoyable Sunday in whichever way that you choose to spend it. We’ll be kicking off a new week’s worth of posts on the blog tomorrow – starting off with an in-depth look at a Canadian R&B project who shares his name with a type of environmentally friendly bread – albeit a different spelling – and was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in 2013 for their debut album released via Innovative Leisure. 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: Frances Forever – “Space Girl”

February 11, 2021 — 2 Comments

Bjork. Natalia Dyer. Anya Taylor-Joy. All of those are out of this world. New post time!

  • Pictured: Frances Garrett in a live performance for WERS 88.9FM (2018) (Photo by Ayo Oladeji)

Good Afternoon to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s back to the drill again as usual for me, because it’s time for another daily music diary post on the blog, and that’s because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A fresh 21-year-old singer-songwriter, Frances Forever isn’t really a group per-say, but is instead the project of Frances Garrett, who is currently based in the Boston area of Massachusetts and identifies as Pansexual, meaning they go by the pronouns of Them and They. They studied at the Clark University in Worcester, and they self-released their debut EP, “Pockets”, in 2018. This has made them a red hot commodity for Mom + Pop Records (Courtney Barnett, Beach Bunny, Orion Sun), who have now signed them up. From what I can understand, “Space Girl” has become something of a viral sensation on the TikTok platform (Sorry, I’m a bit of a noob when it comes to that app), and this has led the track to garner over ten million streams on apps like Spotify and Apple Music, as well as landing a neat place on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative music chart in the US. Take a gander at the tune for yourself below.

There has been no word on an upcoming full-length album release from Garrett to follow up yet, but it’s possible this track’s success may not have even been imagined by it’s creator themselves. That’s because they simply released “Space Girl” as “a cute gay song to help people forget about the real world for a bit”, according to Garrett’s social media pages. Since then, we’ve been treated to a reworking of the single that features Chloe Moriondo as a guest vocalist, and both of these artists seemed to really enjoy working with each other on this. Going back to it’s original form – however – I think that is you’re a fan of artists such as Clairo and Sidney Gish, of the same “Bedroom Pop” ilk of Lo-Fi Rock, as it were, you’ll find a lot to like here – like I did. It’s a refreshing blend of Dream-Pop and Indie Pop, slapped with a cosmic silliness that makes me think of The Orielles. It has a cool vibe, with a soulful lead guitar melody that captures a somewhat Disco aesthetic with a touch of Sci-Fi. The hooks of “Space Girl, show me the stars/You know, the galaxies are my heart” and “Girl, are you a Cancer/Cause you make me cry/When we kiss/Or dance in the sky” play on horoscopes with good observation, and they are delivered with long vocal harmonies that make them feel good-hearted and sincere emotionally. The lyrics also speak to the themes of daydreaming and loving what you cannot have because you’re consumed by fantasy, using the analogies of astronomy and love being a little tragic to an almost performative extent. Garrett invokes this cliche in a way that very gently pokes fun at romantic love songs, but their recognition of these feelings on homosexual youth culture somewhat authenticates it, where refrains like “Space Girl, I saw a lunar eclipse/Looked like how I feel about your lips” are mildly humorous, but they are delivered with a light gentleness that sells an element of truth and deep feelings. The drums are rooted in the DIY aesthetics, with a grounded tone that sits in mid-tempo and the repeated strumming of the rhythm guitar never gets exhausting because it’s matched by the lyrics quite smoothly. Overall, what I really like about this track is that it is a legit LGBT community track, but you might not really know that. Instead of deliberately catering to a market, that element just feels like a part of the narrative instead. The backing band, who are a little restrained, give this a natural feel with the sugar-coated instrumentals, and there’s a slight edge of Dance music to the proceedings too, as a way of keeping it’s repetition fresh. While not sounding totally original, it’s very pleasant. While I”m sort-of crossing my fingers that the masses don’t catch wind of Frances too much so that bigger labels may want to control and dilute the sound, I still feel Frances has a definite aura of coolness. Overall, this is just lovely.

  • Pictured: Frances Garrett in a recent PR shoot (2021) (Photo via Audrey Cannon/Facebook.com)

Thank you very much for checking out the blog today – and your eyes are very much appreciated! Join me again on the adventure of crate-digging discovery tomorrow for a quirky new entry to our “New Album Release Fridays” feature. We’e going to be taking a peak at the fourth studio album to come from a London-based Art-Rock band who met at the Edinburgh College Of Art in 2009, and their track “Waveforms” made it’s way onto the soundtrack of the colossal open-world video game, “Grand Theft Auto V” in 2013. 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: Pa Salieu (feat. Mahalia) – “Energy”

February 8, 2021 — Leave a comment

Coventry Market – Although I’m not complaining, it could be draining. New post time!

  • Pictured: Pa Salieu and Mahalia in a recent PR shoot (in 2020) (Photo Credit: Warner Bros Records UK)

Good Morning to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke, and, as per usual, it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A 23-year-old British-Gambian rapper from Coventry, Pa Salieu was born in to a life where he was surrounded by other musicians and performers, with his Auntie being a Folk singer-songwriter from Gambia. After spending his early life growing up in Slough, Salieu landed the most played track on BBC Radio 1Xtra of 2020 in his debut single, “Frontline”, which he released in January of last year. Since then, he has released his first full-length record (Which he calls a Mixtape, rather than a traditional Album release) titled “Send Them To Coventry”, which earned him tremendous acclaim. It received a Metacritic review aggregate score of 90, as critics cited his experimentation with genres like Dancehall and Afrobeat, within a diverse Grime and Afro-Swing hip-hop template, which critics felt reflected the sonic fluidity of “Black Music” genres in the past and present. After collaborating on tracks with FKA Twigs and SL, Salieu enlisted the help of artists including Ni Santora, Stizee, Kwes Darko and Felix Joseph. The most notable of which is probably “Energy”, in which the Jamaican-British singer and actress Mahalia assists Salieu, on the closing number of the 15-track project. Let’s give this one a shot below.

The music video for “Energy” was directed by Femi Ladi, and in an interview with NME before the release of his mixtape last November, Pa Salieu spoke of his aspirations for the times ahead, explaining: “I’m not coming from a good life. But my music will have very big meaning… I see a better life for me and my family now. I can see that life can change now, I don’t feel so trapped. I can see the view over the horizon”, in reaction to the new-found acclaim signifying a fresh start for his personal and creative life. This sense of peace comes across in “Energy”, where Salieu raps lines like “Crown on my head, I was born shining” and “They put us in the dirt so we keep dying, I’ve died a hundred times and I keep fighting” over the top of a looping instrumental where the 80’s soft-rock synths are mellow, and these lyrical notes of elevation and self-worth are padded out with a rumbling Bass backing and a straightforward Bedroom Pop production. Light elements of Afrobeat flesh out the soundscape with limbering drum beats and sparsely placed guitar licks that evoke a little Funk-Rock. The tones of the instrumentation fit nicely with Salieu’s reminders to “Protect your energy”, in an ode to broadly well-meaning positivity and self-belief. The hook of “They just want your fall ’cause of jealousy” cements these messages of motivation, and the guest spot with Mahalia adds a soulful touch to proceedings. Although brief, it adds a female dynamic to the track that gives it more optimism. It’s usually more difficult for me to connect truly with artists who have been hyped up to the hills by the media like Pa Salieu seems to be, but overall, I think this is a solid performance. Although I think there’s a slight over-reliance on the auto-tune effects here for me, the sound palette has a great range and the lyrics are easy to relate with. It also feels like a good direction for Pa Salieu going forward, as the non-violent and melodic nature of the instrumental beats work nicely to convey the tone. I also like that when you take a look at his guest list, it’s wonderfully inclusive. An exciting artist.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Take Them To Coventry” (Released on November 13, 2020) (via Warner Records)

Well – That’s all I have for you to read today! My daily diary continues tomorrow as you would expect – where you can join me for an in-depth listen to a single from another very exciting emerging talent who I’ve heard about before, but I’ve only recently discovered for myself. She blew me away with her recent performance for KEXP’s Live At Home sessions, and this Colombian electronic music producer loves to describe her own sound as “Bright Music For Dark Times”, the direction of her debut solo LP, which she released last October from the well-known Domino Recordings label. 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: Gecko – “Climbing Frame”

February 6, 2021 — Leave a comment

Karma Chameleon – You come and go, and back again, like Gecko! It’s new post time.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Climbing Frame” (LP) (Released on October 23rd, 2020) (via Self-Released)

Good Morning to you – My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s finally time again for me to get typing up with your daily track on the blog, since it’s routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Gecko – aka Will Sanderson – is a singer-songwriter from London who uses a very anecdotal, story-telling style of songwriting about the big issues in life – such as iPhones, Tooth fairies and fruit juice – to him. Despite this niche subject matter, Sanderson has clocked up 26 Glastonbury performances and he’s taken two successful shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with his Comedy Rock music, which has seen him share the stage with Ed Sheeran, Billy Bragg and Loyle Carner over the years. We’ve previously covered his amusing Christmas track, “That Time Of Year”, on the blog – and last October, Sanderson self-released his second studio album, “Climbing Frame”, which was funded through Kickstarter, and mixed by Ben McKone at Crosstown Studios in London. The record gained support from national radio DJ’s Huw Stephens, John Kennedy and Tom Robinson. Since it is Sanderson’s birthday in Lockdown today, “Climbing Frame” has been given a new lease of life with the release of a new Acoustic version of the track, which you can also check out at his Bandcamp page. For now, Let’s celebrate with him, with the Lee Thorpe-directed video for the track below.

The title track for Sanderson’s second full-length album project, “Climbing Frame” was inspired by the story of a young Sanderson using his imagination to literally turn a falling tree into a climbing frame when he was a child, and Sanderson has transformed the anecdote into a track that he describes is a “hopeful song for testing times” on his social media pages. You’ll also find a story about a German stray dog who went into space in the 1950’s, a man pedalling a bicycle at 3:00am, and other mishaps, on this record. While those tracks tend to be a little more Synth-driven, “Climbing Frame” has a more speak-sung, Acoustic-based sound right out of the gate. Sanderson starts off with a sample of a child riffing on education, before he opens: “Listen everybody, there’s something I have seen/I was just out walking and I stumbled across the scene”, with a rather monotone vocal delivery that feels ostensibly British. After telling the narrative of city folk turning a fallen tree into a climbing frame, Sanderson repeats the fact in a chorus that is bolstered by shuffling drum beats and a choir who sing the backing vocals with a strong range of harmonies. The story turns into a riff on coming-of-age and evolving intelligence, as Sanderson spits lines like “We all just grow upwards and get further from our roots” and “The giant trees that line our streets, Started with a shoot” over the top of a repeating Piano section that flutters in the background very softly. He goes for the breakdown, and introduces a slight hip-hop delivery to the mix, as his voice remains quite mid-tempo and flat, while the instruments sustain their child-like feelings evoked by the narrative. The lyrics too, feel twee and child-like – with a sense of optimism and reflection on adolescence being put across by the dialogue of the children in the story and the simplicity of the hook, with the somewhat mundane vocal delivery wearing the beats back down to the bare-bones of British human existence. While it doesn’t land the sparkling humor of his other work, it reminds me of Just Jack’s modern output with the dry, but laidback discussions on adulthood simply peaking through. This makes for a track that is easily listenable, but not entirely disposable. The music video is charming, and it captures a unique spirit. An accessible, yet enjoyable, listen.

  • Pictured: Gecko at the BBC Academy studio of BBC Radio Bristol (2018) (Photo via Facebook.com)

As previously mentioned, “That Time Of Year” by Gecko was also featured on the blog – in the past. I know we have got a long way to go until the festive season gets underway again, but I’m sure this is an artist who can really use your support in these trying times without any touring revenue at all, so please check it out here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/12/18/todays-track-gecko-that-time-of-year/

  • Pictured: Title card advertising Gecko’s artist page on Spotify (Date unknown) (Photo via Spotify.com)

Thank you for checking out my latest post! Much like a real-life Gecko, my blog is also able to shift between multiple different genres at any given time of the week. Therefore, a complete detour is on the way tomorrow, with the arrival of a new Scuzz Sundays post! Join me then for an in-depth look back at a late-90’s to mid-00’s Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk classic. This time, the honors are done by a mixed-gender US Nu-Metal group who are known for their reunion in 2011, following the band’s dissension in 2003. The band’s first drummer, Jon Tour, was also notably replaced by Mike Cox, at one point too. 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/