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Today’s Track: Nas (feat. Hit-Boy) – “Ultra Black”

October 14, 2020 — 1 Comment

You better get Night Vision Goggles on – We’re going in Ultra-Black. It’s new post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “King’s Disease” (Released on August 21st, 2020) (via Mass Appeal Records)

Good Morning to you, my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to deliver the daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every single day. I’ve got a slightly more mainstream name on the cards for you today, as we are taking a look at the most recent work from Brooklyn-based lyricist, rapper-songwriter and entrepreneur Nas, who was one of the biggest pioneers of hip-hop culture during the 1990’s, with his Street Poetry that emerged in the New York scene and made him an internationally known, household name. The son of Olu Dara, a Jazz musician, Nas has subsequently enjoyed success commercially, with seven of the twelve albums in his discography becoming certified Platinum and Multi-Platinum in the US, especially 1994’s “Illmatic”, his debut record, which is still considered to be one of the all-time best. His new album, “King’s Disease” really does not seem to have bucked the trends of his crossover success, according to chart data from Rap Current, as the new record reached first-week sales of 48K, with 19K of that amount arriving from the back of pure, physical sales, as opposed to streaming figures and digital downloads, giving him a debut at #5 on the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The album was released at the end of August through Mass Appeal Records, the label that Nas co-founded. Here, in the UK, it’s reached the spot of #24 on our Albums Chart, proving that Nas is still a relevant voice in Hip-Hop culture. The record features guest appearances from hip-hop super-group The Film, as well as Anderson Paak, Don Toliver, Charlie Wilson and several others. The lead single “Ultra-Black” features Hit-Boy on the decks. Let’s take a listen to it down below.

The “Ultra-Black” music video was directed by filmmaker Spike Jonze and it also features appearances from fashion designer Dapper Dan and Kerby Jean-Raymond. One of the most noticeable thoughts to stem from the sound of “Ultra-Black” is that it feels more driven by hooks and riffs than some of Nas’ other, more contemporary output, as he recites: “We goin’ ultra black, unapologetic-ally black, The opposite of Doja cat” to repeat the title line to a brisk, melodic pace. The line has also caused a bit of controversy for some press publications, as they’ve interpreted the line as a diss to Doja Cat, a pop rapper. For me, I feel it’s also a commentary on how modern hip-hop music is often meme-driven and targeted at a very wide male audience, whereas Nas favours his old-school production techniques and his Street Poetry flair. In the space of a fairly short duration, Nas lyrically manages to squeeze in a variety of different topics, be it reminding the world that he loves Hit-Boy beats, or reminding his own son to be a better him, riffing: “We going Ultra Black, I gotta toast to that” on the punchy chorus. He also namechecks Grace Jones, a revered dancehall singer and actress, the 70’s TV series Sanford and San, and even his American Express black credit card, to name just a few. It never feels like a ramble though, with a cohesive thread of vocals related to celebrating unity and his Black ethnicity to connect the dots together. It also never feels too much like a one-sided Preach or a “forced” diss track against white culture, it simply feels like a celebration of his culture and a knowing acceptance of his artistic status, which never came easy. “Rhythm and Blues/Pop/Rock/Soul to Jazz” is my favourite hook, and I really like how Nas keeps his themes very timely, even going so far as to rap “Talk with a mask on, the freshest breath”, while he backs up his poetic rhymes with an old-school production style, with a relaxed and upbeat backing track. I think he closes off the track very nicely, with a simple “Black Is Beautiful” refrain, which wraps a very neat little ribbon on everything as we cross the finish line. It’s a very good track, and it manages to feel perfectly suited for the times when also calling back to the past of hip-hop culture for it’s production and mid-tempo sound. The chorus isn’t really the catchiest thing that you’ll ever hear and the titular refrain may get tedious for some, mind you, but it’s moderately catchy and I think it’s quite easy for a more casual listener to consume. I think that it makes for a conscious, well-rounded track overall – The vet’s still got “it”!

  • Pictured: Nas in the studio recording “King’s Disease” (in 2020) (Photo Credit: Brooklyn Vegan.com)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! I’ll be back tomorrow, just like always, with an in-depth listen to another recent track – This time, from an indie rock band founded in North London, who were formerly known as Fish, who released their debut album in late-March this year, via Domino Records, after a handful of previously-released singles and mixtapes gained traction on the scene. They have supported Sunflower Bean and Fat White Family on tour. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: Evanescence – “Going Under”

October 11, 2020 — Leave a comment

In 2020, I wonder if there’s any new life yet to be bought to this act. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Fallen” (Released on 3rd March, 2003) (via Wind-Up/Epic Records)

You know what time of the week it is! Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’ve arrived to type up about your daily track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! This week’s installment of our Scuzz Sundays, our weekly look back at a late-90’s to mid-00’s classic of the Emo-Rock or Pop-Punk ilk, comes from one of the most commercially popular bands of the era, particularly in the territories of Europe, in the Amy Lee female-fronted Gothic Metal group, Evanescence. The band were formed in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. The band’s first major studio album, “Fallen”, followed a string of independent album releases. It was released in 2003, and it has sold over 17 million copies worldwide (That’s probably thanks to their killer record, “Bring Me To Life”, which is still one of their best-known singles), along with winning Evanescence two Grammy Awards, out of five nominations overall. Although the group have dealt with a few line-up changes and the odd hiatus or two, they are still currently active, and make a killing in territories like Finland and Sweden due to their European “Nu-Metal” style. “Going Under” was a single from “Fallen”, and it reached #8 in the UK Singles Chart. It also reached the top ten of the Billboard US Alternative Chart, and also the top ten of Brazil, Italy and New Zealand as well. Let’s take a listen to it below.

In an interview with MTV News, Amy Lee explained: “The lyrics are about coming out of a bad relationship, and when you’re at the end of the rope, when you’re at the point where you realize something has to change… It’s a very strong song”, and Lee matches these lyrics about “drowning” to the bad arms of a toxic partner with an undeniably hook-driven, Pop sensibility, despite the heavy guitar chords and the soft hip-hop inspired backing beats. Lee takes on a very self-reflective, first-person stance vocally, as she chants: “Drowning in you/I’m falling forever/I’ve got to break through/I’m going under” above an amplified layer of grinding bass guitar riffs and heavy sets of reverberated drum beats, and you’ll find harsh guitar licks in the verses, instead of any twinkling piano melodies. The lyrics play quite heavy on the intensity of love, and the consumption that falling in love can bring to your mental health, as Lee pleads “Blurring and stirring the truth and the lies/So I don’t know what’s real and what’s not” in the verse, before an interlude of echoed synth rhythms signal for a quick post-bridge, before we get a guitar solo which feels very celebratory and anthemic. It mostly feels like everything has been turned up to eleven in volume instrumentally, and for me, well… It actually works really damn well. Lee manages to push quite a well-layered vocal performance throughout the track, and at a time where her male co-horts would often get main production credits when she was doing a lot of the work herself is something worth praising. The anthemic feel of the lead vocals and the guitars together are pretty cheesy, and it gained comparisons to Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit at the time, but again, it manages to feel rather anthemic and enjoyable, instead of cliche or cringeworthy. It’s just Pop, but with heavy chords, and the hooks luckily have the impact needed to flesh it out adequately. To be honest with you, I may usually pick quite a Crap song to cover for the Scuzz Sundays feature because it’s just a bit of fun, so it’s a welcome change of pace to find something that has a bit of value here and I can see why “Going Under” was such a big hit. Good stuff.

  • Pictured: Amy Lee (Lead Vocals/Keyboard), Troy McLawhorn (Lead Guitar), Jen Majura (Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals), Tim McCord (Bass Guitar) and Will Hunt (Drums) (2020) (Photo by Paul Brown)

Thank you for reading your new Scuzz Sundays post! As per usual, we’ll be back to our usual business again tomorrow, with yet another daily track. I’ll be kicking off the new week with an in-depth look at a recent-ish track that I sadly didn’t get around to covering nearer to it’s release. It comes from just a small band from Portland, Oregon in the United States who like to explore “dreamy landscapes” and “hazy memories” through the means of Shoegaze, Alternative Folk and Dream-Rock. Their latest work explores “the unease of modern band life” and “themes of nostalgia and hope” through the ethereal chimes of the band’s vocalist Sarah Nienabar in a packaged-up psychedelic production. 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: Dylan Cartlidge – “Yellow Brick Road”

October 10, 2020 — Leave a comment

Are you off to see The Wizard Of Oz, or the Wozard Of Iz? It is time for your new post…

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Yellow Brick Road” (EP) (Released on August 14th, 2020) (via Glassnote Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’ve arrived to type up your daily track of the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to get writing up about a different piece of music every day! A 23-year-old Rapper and Songwriter who grew up in a small town in North-East Yorkshire, Dylan Cartlidge has become a local celebrity after starring in the BBC documentary, “The Mighty Redcar”, and touring the local bars with his band, Bi: Lingual, before garnering radio support from BBC Radio DJ’s Annie Mac, Huw Stephens, Jack Saunders, Phil Taggart and Matt Wilkinson. Since then, Cartlidge has been garnering some attention from the United States, which includes a recent appearance on KEXP’s virtual live session series of “KEXP From Home” and a live session at The Current’s Day Party in Austin, Texas last year. Dylan Cartlidge has also performed at music festivals including SXSW, Reading and Leeds Festival, and most notably, BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Middlesborough last year. In slightly more recent times, Dylan Cartlidge has been collaborating with the critically-acclaimed producer James Dring (Gorillaz, Jamie T) on his latest EP release, “Yellow Brick Road”, which was released on August 14th, on Glassnote Records in the UK/US and AWAL Recordings in international territories. Let’s listen to the titular track below.

“Yellow Brick Road” has managed to reach the #40 position of the Billboard Alternative Chart in the US, and Cartlidge explained via a press release that “It’s about how fear and self-sabotage can dump the weight of the world on your shoulders in your most hard-earned moments, but it’s also about how overcoming all of this can be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other and stepping into the unknown”, and a few other critics have noted in his abilities to deconstruct the genres that he grew up with up to an eclectic, pastiche style, to which Cartlidge has responded: “I don’t want to sound preachy or like I’m trying to fix all the world’s problems. If people want to listen to my music and just groove, they can, but if people relate to it that’s great.”, and I feel that “Yellow Brick Road” demonstrates a decent talent for Cartlidge in writing new music that undoubtedly has an accessibility intact, but it also feels alternative enough to work in more non-commercial situations. Now that I’m aware that he’s worked with one of the producers for Gorillaz and Jamie T on the track, I can sense the similarities between these sounds, but it’s still a lot of fun, and I think that he deserves a few extra points just for that Afro alone. On the new EP’s title track, he mixes a motivational Hip-Hop sensibility with a 70’s Neo-Psychedelic Funk sound. He also performs his lyrics with an off-kilter sensibility, over the top of an interweaving synth pattern, as he delivers sharp rhymes like “Grabbing for it like you would pitch em’ at the store/No real vision for where you were heading for” and “Stop-Motion, Everybody’s ghostin”, over the top of bizzare backing vocals and drum beats that skitter unevenly. The chorus, however, is a little more guitar-driven and the off-kilter production settles to a calmer sequence of patterns, and a rush of bass bursts through as Cartlidge recites: “Petals in your necklace got me so in the zone” and the uptempo moods of self-reward lurk in with “Better stop your no-shows and carry on with hello, ‘Cause you got me running ’round this yellow brick road”, a chorus that he recites with a brisk confidence whenever it gets repeated. Mostly, it sounds like Beck to me, with some delightfully obscure rap hooks which embrace a little absurdity and humour, and we’ve also got a bunch of lines that don’t make a great deal of sense, but they fit the theme of the track and just gel together well. I feel the chorus has a bit too much of a “record-label” feel to it, for my two cents, and I think the overall messages of the track, although relevant, are a bit generic and they could have probably been developed a little bit further to help flesh out the influences that he’s been stringing together more evenly. However, for the most part, it’s all very positive. There is clearly something in the way of talent to Cartlidge here, and his small-town background has a fresh intrigue in going around this. As I mentioned before, extra points for THE Afro!

  • Pictured: Dylan Cartlidge at The Current’s Day Party in Austin, Texas (2019) (Photo via Colleen Cowie)

Thank you for reading this post! Don’t forget that tomorrow marks the spot for a new weekly installment in our year-spanning “Scuzz Sundays” feature, where we re-evaluate the presentation of a late 90’s-mid 00’s Emo-Rock or Pop-Punk classic single, and we see whether it can hold up to quality in the modern times! We’ve got a real heavy-hitter on the way tomorrow from an iconic British Goth-Punk band, a female-led affair, who are very popular in the wider mainstream of Europe! 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: Good Charlotte – “Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous”

October 4, 2020 — Leave a comment

I can assure you that my student lifestyle is just a tad bit healthier. It’s Scuzz Sunday…

  • Pictured: Joel Madden (Lead Vocals), Benji Madden (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Paul Thomas (Bass Guitar), Billy Martin (Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar), Dean Butterworth (Drums) (2016) (Photo by Justin Colt)

Good Afternoon! I am Jacob Braybrooke and, just like usual, I’m writing up your new weekly installment in our year-long Scuzz Sundays series, the time of the week where we take an in-depth look back at an old relic from the Emo-Rock or Pop-Punk genres, which was first released during the late-1990’s and the mid-2000’s, to see if it can hold up to our modern quality standards! As a child, I can remember owning a copy of “The Chronicles Of Life and Death” on the physical CD format, of course, performed by Pop-Punk Maryland natives Good Charlotte. According to the writer Bruce Britt, Good Charlotte combined “the hard-charging fury of skate-punk, the melodiousness of pop, and the spooky, mascara-smeared sensibilities of ’80s goth”, with their music also being cited as Skate-Punk, Dark-Pop, Rap-Rock, Pop-Rock and Goth-Pop. Their most well-known work is found on the band’s second album record, “The Young and The Hopeless”, which saw the group embark on their first headlining US arena tour soon after it’s release. At the time, “The Young and Hopeless” was a mixed bag in terms of the reviews from critics, who found the overall experience (in particular, the lyricism) to fall into the cliched tropes of the genres that it tapped into. However, the album was a massive commercial success, and it has been certified as “Platinum” by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) three times. It’s success was global, as it charted in the Top 20 of the Albums Charts in Australia, Sweden, New Zealand and, of course, the UK. It contained singles like “Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous” which crossed over from the Scuzz world to the Pop world. In 2002, the track peaked at #20 of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track also gained Top 20 chart positions in Ireland, Sweden, Australia and Switzerland. Here in the UK, it reached the spot of #8 on the UK Singles Chart. Let’s take a look back at the Emo-Rock relic below.

With a few allusions to Johnnie Cochran, a famous attorney who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife after representing O.J. Simpson in court, and several other higher-class, wealthy celebrities who took their lives in a dark direction, the basic themes of the lyrics are based upon the very materialistic aspects of fame, and how money/status can blur the lines between the legal and privileged systems in some cases. Joel Madden chants: “All they do is p**s and moan, inside the Rolling Stone, Talkin’ about how hard life can be” over the top of a steady lead guitar riff and a reverb-drenched backing vocal. The chorus is very clear-cut, as Madden ponders: “If money is such a problem/Well, they got mansions/Think we should rob them” with a polished vocal delivery, as a pretty heavy auto-tune effect and a toned bass guitar riff conveys elements of Pop-Rock and Power-Pop, and the pacing is sharp and melodic. The half-way point slows the guitar instrumentation down slightly, and elements of Rap-Rock creep in, with Madden reciting: “Well, did you know when you were famous you could kill your wife, And there’s no such thing as 25 to life?” as a robust drum beat takes center stage. The music video elicited a few little chuckles out of me for it’s nostalgic effects, but, to be honest with you, I feel this is probably one of the weakest throwbacks that we’ve had on the Scuzz Sundays feature. Sadly, this track just hasn’t aged well at all. The problem is how, due to the mathematical auto-tune effects of the vocals to package up the track for mainstream commercial radio airplay and the label ‘boy-band’ look and feel of the band’s chemistry as a whole, the lyrics lack a sense of credibility. The guitar riffs sound totally generic, but inoffensive. It’s the cheesy feel of the nasal singing which makes the challenging of the pop conventions feel blatantly inauthentic. Basically put, the problem is when you build your entire career on a very creatively record label-driven track which is about mainstream celebrities supposedly complaining about how “hard” their lives are, while being incredibly rich and famous yourself, you kind-of lose the ability to criticize your fellow celebrities for complaining about their own lives. It makes the lyrics come across as “whining”, and it makes me feel like there is a sense of cynicism and hypocrisy here. Cheesy, and topically invalid.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “The Young and Hopeless” (Released on 1st October, 2002) (via Epic Records)

Thank you for reading your weekly installment in our Scuzz Sundays series. It’s always a pleasure when it comes to writing up this feature for you, and I will be back to kick off the first full week of the new month with a smile on my face tomorrow! We’ll be taking an in-depth look at a recent single from an emerging New-Wave Indie Rock 4-piece group based in Yorkshire who I previously covered another single from, a short while ago on the blog. Over the weekend, they released their self-titled debut album record on the Heavenly 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: Róisín Murphy – “Something More”

October 2, 2020 — Leave a comment

Engineering of clear precision – or a mechanical malfunction? It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Róisín Murphy” (Available from October 2nd, 2020) (via Skint Records)

Good Morning to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke and it’s my usual duty to get typing up about a different track on the blog each day, because it’s still routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Just when we all probaby thought she had reached the top of her game when she decreed “Murphy’s Law” back in early March (“pre-Covid”, just about), Murphy threw us another bombshell a few weeks later: she had been working on her first solo album release since 2016, “Róisín Machine”, which released today, October 2nd, via Skint Records (a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management). The female alternative musician known for chart hits including “Sing It Back” and “The Time Is Now” as one half of the Irish Trip-Hop duo Moloko with her partner Mark Brydon, has been collecting up her previously unreleased singles, dating back to 2012, to make up the track-list of her new album, alongside new material. I think Róisín Murphy is great, and so I’ve been really looking forward to hearing the new release, which was delayed from an intended release date of September 25th, due to Covid-19 manufacturing issues. Alas, it was only another week, and here we are now. The record has received a very healthy 86/100 on review aggregate site Metacritic, with Alexis Petridis, of The Guardian, writing in his four-star review that “Róisín Machine” is “a sharper, more focused album than 2016’s ‘Take Her Up to Monto’; one which reins in some, but not all, of its author’s eccentricities […] Certainly, it allows Róisín Murphy’s talents to shine far more clearly than its sprawling predecessor”. Let’s have a listen to the single, “Something More”, for ourselves below.

The Irish Disco-House pioneer turned to her longtime collaborator Richard Barratt to help her produce the album, while five of the new tracks from the track-listing were penned with the NYC-based songwriter, Amy Douglass. A more emotionally-driven follow-up to the uptempo, groovy “Murphy’s Law” single, Murphy opens with a soulful croon of “I want Something More”, and a two-step drum beat begins to creep in to form the core basis of the groove, before a hazy set of Synth riffs and a swirling, percussive drum beat creates a mid-tempo and seductive effect. The post-bridge seems to mark the cue to a key change, as the synthesized instrumentation briefly tones down and it allows for a more downtempo side of Murphy to shine through, as she adds: “Gotta give me something more/I want something more”, to a washing, soft ambience that gives the body-twirling drum grooves a leeway to breathe, butstill retaining those elements of Nu-Funk and Italo Disco, with the dance-led melodicism. The rest of the lyrics play on searching for renewal in your life, and the representation of an overall wider search for identity within your spiritual or mental well-being, as Murphy recites polished little hooks such as “I want it all, yes all the cake” and “A crown upon my head, two lovers in my bed, but I want something more” on top of the mature direction of the deeper, more mysterious vocals than we’ve heard from Murphy’s tracks in recent months. Overall, I think the new single establishes a clear element of Deep House into her formula, with the layered and percussive drum beats. I feel that Disco throwbacks has been a staple of the mainstream trends this year, with Dua Lipa and Jessie Ware taking clear influence in recent months, but Murphy does it with more sophistication and credibility, yet without losing very much of the accessibility elements. On “Something More”, she sounds strong and confident in wandering down whatever path of Euro-Pop or Nu-Disco which interests her, without much specific thought of the commercial ramifications that may come with this, and I think this should be respected. Although I don’t feel that “Something More” has quite as much of an impact as “Narcissus” or “Murphy’s Law”, it is still an excellent showing from one of the best comeback stories of the last few years. A lack of disappointment.

  • Pictured: Róisín Murphy in a “Take Her Up To Monto” publicity shoot (2016) (Photo via Nicole Nodland)

If you want to hear something more from Róisín Murphy (Pun intended, of course), you can also per-use my write-up of her track “Narcissus” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/01/09/todays-track-roisin-murphy-narcissus/ and also my glowing review for “Murphy’s Law” below: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/10/todays-track-roisin-murphy-murphys-law/.

Thank you for taking a look at the blog today! Sunday marks the time of the week where we take an in-depth look at an Emo-Rock/Pop-Punk relic from the childhood decades past, with a new weekly installment of the year-long Scuzz Sundays series! In the meantime, I will be back tomorrow, for an in-depth look at a recent track from an English Art-Rock/Math-Rock band from Greater Manchester who released seven UK Top 10 Independent chart hits as a pioneer of Factory Records between the late-1970’s and the early 1990’s. Recently, they have reformed to release their first new album since 2008. 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: Nick Mulvey – “Begin Again”

September 30, 2020 — Leave a comment

With study in Ethnomusicology, you’d expect him to know all his stuff. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Begin Again” (EP) (Released on July 10th, 2020) (via Fiction Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, like typically, I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to get typing up about a different piece of music every day! I’ve always seen Nick Mulvey, an indie folk singer-songwriter and producer born in Cambridge, as somewhat of a little anomaly for Britain’s alternative music scene. After re-locating to Havana in Cuba to study music and art, he first made his mark upon his return to England as a founding member of a London-based Instrumental Percussion band, Portico Quartet, of which he used to play the Hang, which for those who don’t know, is a Pendulum-like Metal Plate instrument which is often considered to be a Steel-Pan ‘Drum’ part. His debut studio album, “First Mind”, which was released in 2014, received a nomination for the Mecury Prize award of that same year. Mulvey also studied Ethnomusicology at the University Of London’s School Of Oriental and African Studies, and so it becomes very clear that he has a fascination with the psychological and philosophical effects of World-based music, which is a rare occasion for an artist of a British, Northern Soul-driven background. The “Begin Again” EP is his latest music release, and this new 4-track project was released on July 10th via Fiction Records. Although his solo output has taken him in more of a Folk-led direction, he’s stated: “I’m always drawn to the same principles in music. Beneath each genre, at a certain level, they hold the same principles”. Let’s have a listen to the titular single of the new EP, “Begin Again”, below.

“Begin Again” is his first new release since 2019’s “In The Anthropocene”, a record that made history as the first track to be pressed on vinyl made from entirely recycled Plastic materials that were washed up on the UK’s shores. Mulvey says of the tracks, via a press release, “I see chaos, but I also see the opportunity for a new world, and a more beautiful one. We are living through an incredible shift. The old ways are dying, right before our very eyes. In a way, my songs are songs of the new ways coming through”, and a theme of nature and Earth is rather evident on the simplicity of the acoustic instrumentation and the emphasis on vocals which he portrays in the title track of his new EP, “Begin Again”. In the world we’re living in, where such a large amount of the music that we access is produced electronically, it can make for an engaging deviation from the tried-and-true formula of the now. Mulvey starts off: “Mary was my mother’s mother and my sister too/There’s a rain in the river, there’s a river running through” as he begins the story of Mulvey wanting to learn about his grandmother, who sadly died before he was born. The instrumentation here has a light groove, with shaking guitar strums and simmering percussion beats, with a gentle Hang melody thrown in for good measure, and to call back to his past. The lyrics also play on the topics of acceptance: “Can we begin again? It’s me again, I know you are so different to me/But, I love you, just the same” over the top of a plucky guitar melody that feels upbeat and easy on the ear. The rest of the vocals play on the Coastal and Nature themes of Mulvey’s previous releases, as he recites: “Sister by the side of the sea/Take the War out of me”, with a poetic twang to it. The vocals skew towards a bit of a Spoken Word delivery at points, with a quality that sounds emotive and well-educated at certain points. This makes the track feel rather sweet and down-to-earth. It reminds me of Ed Sheeran, but without most of the over-commercialism that has really downplayed his newer releases. Personally, I can’t really hear the World elements of his past work too clearly, but there are some blueprints of that education here, with the rhythmic guitar patterns and the lyrical devices that play on nature and environment feeling subtle, but well-paced. I would quite like to hear Mulvey get that big ol’ Hang instrument for a few more experimental tinkerings in the future, but there’s strength in the acoustic instrumentation and the emotive, confident lyrics in the track. This is a good way to bring the month to a close.

  • Pictured: Nick Mulvey performing at The Shepherd’s Bush Empire (2017) (Photo Credit: George Brown)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! Duty shall call for me again tomorrow, and we’re going to hit our stride in the new month by kicking off with the excellent new single from a much more established act, who create a wide variety of Electronic Dance and Ambient Chill-Out music, producing “At The River” which appears on vol. 1 of The Classic Chillout Album series. The group have released eight full-length studio albums, four of which have charted within the Top 50 of the UK Albums Chart. The duo achieved chart success, mostly in the 90’s, for the tracks “I See You Baby” and “Superstylin”, which still receive a decent level of radio airplay today! 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: Katy J Pearson – “Take Back The Radio”

September 29, 2020 — Leave a comment

Well, they used to reckon that Video would kill the Radio star. It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Return” (Available from November 13th, 2020) (via Heavenly Recordings)

Good Morning to you, my name is Jacob Braybrooke and I am typing up about 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! Katy J. Pearson is an emerging musician and producer who was born in the West Country of the USA. Pearson is now based in Gloucestershire and Bristol, and she is one of the most notable new signings for Heavenly Recordings, of which she is set to debut her ironically titled debut LP record, “Return”, on November 13th. Pearson has been on tour alongside Cass McCombs and she was set to perform on a live tour alongside BC Camplight before the global Lockdowns, due to Covid-19, hit earlier on in the year. “Return”, her newest ten-track project, was recorded in Bristol with acclaimed producer Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genuis, Gruff Rhys) and Pearson describes the project, via her press release, as “These are the most honest and proper songs I’ve written: Songs that have come from my own being, rather than a room with a guy prodding me to tell a traumatic story of my life and then write about it”. She is ever the artist to have a quirky sense of humor, and a real grip on how her big industry can sometimes be ran with male-dominated production credits. Let’s listen to “Take Back The Radio” below.

After reading reports of radio listening figures surging up during Lockdown, Katy J. Pearson felt the timing of this release was certainly very appropriate. She told the media: “I enjoyed writing and recording this track so much, it really was a wonderful process,” says Katy. “When we were in the studio, Davey Newington (Boy Azooga) came in to lay down drums and add other textural elements, followed by my flatmate Laurie Nankivell (Squid) who added some cornet.” The lyricism is ripe with catchy pop hooks, as she recites: “Take back the radio, And move along, Take back the things you said, And carry on” over the top of a jovial and buoyant set of electronic synth lines, whilst her distinctly Americana-influenced vocals push her voice, which is reminiscent of vintage Country singers in the years past, as the catalyst for upbeat songwriting that celebrates togetherness and individual advancement. The opening is introduced by glistening keyboard sequences, and a subtle series of Horn-based percussion that softly sits in the centre of the ongoing track. In contrast to this, the outroduction to this track feels less subtle, and a woozy set of Brass instrumentation lurks around the corner to create a more in-your-face convergence of joyous neo-psychedelia and the soothed, emotive backing vocals. Refrains such as “Switch off the TV/Just sing a song” are highly reflective of the cheerful Synth melodies and the colourful Drum beats that permeate as riffs throughout the duration of the track. Overall, it sounds more pop-driven and daytime-friendly than the type of music that I would usually choose to listen to, but I think it feels more textural than your typical mainstream chart pop single, and I feel there is some talent on good display in here. It feels Psychedelic, but only slightly so. It would be great to hear Pearson experiment more with these elements of Neo-Psychedelia in the future, but it’s still catchy as it is.

  • Pictured: Katy J Pearson in a press shoot to promote “Return” (2020) (Photo via Heavenly Recordings)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! As always, I’ll be blathering on about some piece of music tomorrow. Speaking on that, we’ll be marking the end of the month off with a fairly recent track that I wish I’d got around to writing about a little sooner, perhaps. It comes from a hidden gem of an English indie folk musician who started out by playing the Hang instrument as a founding member of the percussive UK band, Portico Quartet. In 2014, he received a Mercury Prize nomination for his debut studio album release, 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/

Scuzz Sundays: 3 Colours Red – “Beautiful Day”

September 27, 2020 — Leave a comment

It may look Beautiful, but I think that it’s a pretty chilly day outside. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Beautiful Day” (Single/EP) (Released in 1999) (via Creation Records)

Good Afternoon to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog, just like usual, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It’s now time for another Scuzz Sunday, where we remember an ancient relic from the Pop-Punk and Emo-Rock genres, with a single released between the decades of the late-1990’s and the mid-2000’s, to see if it can hold up to modern quality standards. 3 Colours Red were an English Pop-Punk 4-piece band who were formed in London in 1994. Often grouped together with the substantially similar pre-“Indie”-brand projects of the time, like Feeder and Ash, the band went on to release three studio albums between the years of 1997 and 1999, and received moderate commercial success by recording six UK Top 40 Chart singles, alongside two UK Top 20 albums. 3 Colours Red got their name from just sticking a sharp drawing pin in the middle of a copy of Time Out, a London-based listings magazine, and it randomly landed on an advertisement for the concluding part of the Three Colours trilogy of films, created by Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski. “Beautiful Day” was a single from “Revolt”, the band’s second album, which was released on Creation Records in 1999. The group recorded the album at Rockfield Studios with Dave Eringa (a producer for Manic Street Preachers), and it saw the 4-piece heading towards a far more commercially-oriented and radio-friendly sound to their prior work, which sadly caused a rift between the members of the band, who originally split up after the release of two singles from the album. “Beautiful Day” reached the #11 position on the UK Top 40 Chart. Let’s listen to “Beautiful Day” below.

In case I’ve left you feeling a bit confused, “Beautiful Day” has nothing to do with the more well-known track of the very exact same title recorded by U2. This iteration of “Beautiful Day” has a more laidback and slowed-down approach with it’s subtle Piano instrumentation and the symphonic guitar chord progression. I’m also getting a Summer sound from the melodically drifting string sections and the rather downtempo vocal range from vocalist/bassist Pete Vuckovic, who co-wrote and recorded the track at Westside Studios in London. I get a feeling that it might have been a little divisive for their fans, as the band previously used a heavier Pop-Grunge approach, and this has a more soft-centered and stripped-back feel to their earlier sound. The verses have a romantic texture which comes across as a bit cheesy, with Vuckovic singing: “The dream is fallacy come true/I Just wanna spend some time with you/On a beautiful day” over the top of an ascending string section and the minimalist production style to add an introspective feel to the lightly paced chorus. The brief interlude of “Nothing you can do, Will change me” adds a gentle breeze of Violin strings to the mostly acoustic strumming rhythms. It often feels rather tongue-in-cheek and a little bit too squarely in the “Lovey-Dovey” department to grasp my imagination, but I feel there’s a nice, warm poetic songwriting style that makes this ballad feel rather sweet and genuine. It’s not particularly Scuzz TV-like, but it would have been getting airplay on the channel due to it’s more commercial sound and the fact that there’s just about enough of a Pop-Punk element retained in here, to fit the brief. This is down to the harsh bass guitar riffs that creep in the bridge of the chorus. It’s bittersweet. It’s not the best Scuzz Sunday track ever, but it is not the worst either.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Revolt” (LP) (Released on February 8th, 2020) (via Creation Records)

Thank you very much for reading my post! As always, I’ll be back at it again tomorrow, as we kick off another week’s round of daily blog posts with an in-depth look at a recent single by one of the Secretly Canadian label’s most recent signings. It comes from a young, emerging artist who was born and raised in upstate New York, who later graduated from The University Of Southern California with a degree in Graphic Design in 2017. Her alias isn’t very alike to what you would expect her Dream-Folk music to sound like. 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/

Mercury Prize 2020 Special: Michael Kiwanuka -“Hero”

September 26, 2020 — Leave a comment

Winner, Winner – Michael needs to eat his chicken dinner! It’s time for a special post…

  • Pictured: Michael Kiwanuka live in session for Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 (2020) (Photo via BBC Sounds)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog because, as per usual, it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Another year has quickly rolled by ever since North London MC Dave won last year’s Mercury Prize with his controversial album “Psychodrama”, and that means it’s time for the judging panel (which actually includes one of my heroes, Supergrass member, Gaz Coombes) to crown a new winner for this year’s edition of the prestigious award, of which includes previous winners such as PJ Harvey (the only two-time winner ever to date), Skepta, Pulp, Elbow, Arctic Monkeys, and rather more forgettably, Klaxons. I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I found out that the results had been announced, to find out that my predicted pick of Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia” had not won. (I thought it would, since I guessed the media would want to ram her down our throats just that little bit more). It was actually Michael Kiwanuka who walked away with the award, for his third full-length LP effort “Kiwanuka”, which was released in November 2019, which is still within the annual eligibility period. To earn the award, Kiwanuka beat out the likes of Kano, Moses Boyd, Porridge Radio, Sports Team, Lanterns On The Lake, and Stormzy. I’m not very familiar with Kiwanuka’s work if I’m being truly transparent with you, but I know that he is very critically-acclaimed and he is very popular in the US, and I know this thanks to one certain presenter on KEXP who had played him three times in a row as a competition when I was listening into their show one afternoon. Kiwanuka won BBC’s Sound Of 2012 poll, along with receiving nominations for BRIT Awards, MTV Europe Awards and BBC Music Awards, and so I have definitely heard his name quite a lot! Anyhow, let’s hear what the fuss is about with the album’s single, “Hero”, below.

Jimi Hendrix would be the obvious comparison to make here. That’s a good thing, and I feel that “Hero” is also drenched in a post-60’s psychedelia that feels layered and embedded textually within the decadent guitar riffs. He is clearly taking a lot of influence from 70’s Soul for the track as well, and this adds more sumptuous detail to complement his defiant vocals, which have a contemporary, hard-hitting impact as he compares the murder of 1960’s activist Fred Hampton with the newsworthy shootings going on in the US as he sings: “It’s on the news again, I guess they killed another” in the opening verse. The first half of the track consists of simplistic, gentle acoustic guitar strums as he discusses racial issues across the pond. The instrumentation is diversified for the second verse, which marks a dramatic key change for the track, as Kiwanuka begins to hit his stride into a 70’s Psych-Rock groove, as he repeats: “Am I a hero now? To die a hero, is all that we know now” above a scratched vocal effect and also a reasonably distorted synth line that lingers in the background. The vocals never really develop into a further rhythm that takes the lyrical context beyond it’s initial meaning, but the progression of the chords and his expression of dissent add different moods and textures that flicker between guitar-driven pacing and more neo-psychedelic sounds at a swift fluidity. For me, this keeps the rather repetitive hook from getting too stale, with rousing guitar melodies that change between a 60’s Blues feel and a soulful 70’s aesthetic with a moment’s notice. Overall, I like it. For me, I probably wouldn’t rush out to the Piccadilly Records and just buy it, but I’m still looking forward to hearing more of it through streaming the record online. Personally, I feel as though more thematic progression of the lyrics may have kicked it up to another level, but it still feels intriguing and cool. I do think he is a decent pick to win the Mercury Prize though because it feels very expressive and nicely culturally diverse, while not seeming overly P.C. in the sense of it feeling “forced” or “preachy”, and the news-related lyricism mostly make it sound as though these themes are a natural part of this music. He receives a seal of approval from me.

  • Pictured: Michael Kiwanuka in a promotional photoshoot (in 2020) (Photo via Olivia Rose/BBC Music)

You can also still read my breakdown of last year’s Mercury Prize winner, Dave, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/21/mercury-prize-2019-special-edition-dave-streatham/

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Kiwanuka” (Released on November 1st, 2019) (via Interscope Records)

Thank you very much for reading my Mercury Prize Special Edition post! It was a good one, right? Do not forget that I’ll be back for another special blog post tomorrow with a new weekly installment in our Scuzz Sundays series, where we have an in-depth listen back to an ancient relic of the Emo-Rock and the Pop-Punk genres, released between the late-1990’s and the mid-00’s, to see if it holds up in the present times! 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: Erasure – “Nerves Of Steel”

September 21, 2020 — Leave a comment

The 80’s duo who seemingly never want to Erase their sound. It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “The Neon” (Released on August 21st, 2020) (via Mute Artists Ltd.)

Good Morning to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m typing up your first post of the new week because, as per usual, it’s still my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Of all of the groups from the New Wave of British Synth-Pop to emerge during the 80’s, Erasure are one of the few still active. The duo have written over 200 songs in their library, and they have sold an estimation of over 28 million albums globally, according to Official Charts Company’s data. Some of their biggest chart hits include “A Little Respect”, “Chains Of Love” and “Always”, and the duo have remained to be a fixture of the LGBT Community, particularly in European territories, with lead vocalist Andy Bell having an androgynous look as part of his openly gay sexuality. Recently, I saw Erasure perform a half-hour set for BBC Radio 2’s Live At Home virtual festival. This comes accompanied by their eighteenth studio album “The Neon”, which was released on August 21 by Mute Records. The new album is Erasure’s most commercially successful album in a while, as it debuted at #4 on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 8,394 copies in the country, making “The Neon” the duo’s highest-charting album since 1994’s “I Say I Say I Say”. Bell described the sound of the new album as “going back to the beginning” with older synth use and it was self-produced. Let’s hear the new single “Nerves Of Steel” below.

Fitting of the current Covid-dominated times, the duo aim for “The Neon” to be “a place that lives in the imagination”, according to their press release. It becomes clear that Erasure wanted to bring back their feel-good New Wave sounds of the 80’s to fit our problematic current affairs on “Nerves Of Steel”, the lead single of their most recent project. Bell opens, layered above a very buoyant Synth riff, “Are you gonna make your way back here?, Who rattled your cage?”, with the analogue synth work reading between the lines of a Glam Rock-infliction that lurks in the corner from the LGBT themes and the echoing syncopated keyboard riffs that provide a flamboyant, 1980’s visual. The second verse is more based around rhythm, with a slightly rougher 80’s synth riff intertwining with the familiar keyboard instrumental backing. It opens the window of opportunity up for an energetic and more Power-Pop based chorus, as Bell repeats: “You’re the object who owns my affection/Nerves Of Steel, turn in my direction” over a bustling synth riff and a glossy Drum Machine riff sequence that blips along to the continuous keyboard backing track. The vocals feel lustful and romantic, if without an explicit intimacy, as Bell recites: “Come and find me in the Motor hotel”, as a subtle keyboard riff twinkles in the background. Overall, I think that it’s perfectly fine. It’s probably not going to be the best track that you’re going to hear all week, or even all day truly, from a technical standpoint at least, but it does have a growing effect on you with repeated listens and it has it’s loyal audience. So, as long as they continue to develop a semblance of culture within music, I’m happy with it. It simply sees this duo stick to what they know – with a Catwalk-like strut of confidence.

  • Pictured: Andy Bell (Vocals/Writer) & Vince Clarke (Keyboard/Synths) (2020) (via SynthpopFanatic.com)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! As per usual, I will be back at it again tomorrow. We’re going to take an in-depth look at a recent single from a Swedish singer-songwriter and producer of French origin. She was nominated for “Best Newcomer” at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012 following the release of her debut EP, “The Flower’s Bed”, in that year. She has since collaborated with artists including The Bear Quartet, Camera Obscura, David Lindh and Jonathan Johansson. 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/