Scuzz Sundays: Soil – “Halo”

September 20, 2020 — Leave a comment

Someone’s been adding more soil to my lawn… The plot thickens. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

Pictured: Ryan McCombs (Lead Vocals), Adam Zadel (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Tim King (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) and T.J. Taylor (Drums) (in Apr. 2019) (Photo provided by The Firmament)

Good Morning to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Today is Scuzz Sunday, and that means it’s finally time to dig out another late-1990’s to mid-2000’s Emo-Rock or Pop-Punk relic to see how it holds up in the present day! Often stylized as SOiL by the US group themselves, Soil are an American Hard-Rock band that are currently enjoying the pleasure of selling over two million records globally. Soil were formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1997 and were signed to J Records, a now-defunct indie imprint label of Sony Records. “Halo” was the lead single from “Scars”, their second full-length album release, which was released in September 2001, and it was their first major record label release. This gave Soil a decent amount of attention from the press, and it also gave the band a hefty degree of commercial success, still being pin-pointed as the reference point to the band’s mainstream success to this day. Let’s have a look back at their hit single “Halo” below.

“Halo” may sadly have nothing at all to do with Beyoncé’s mainstream hit track of the same name, but it is still listed as the top track by Soil on iTunes. “Halo” starts off with a poetic verse that McCombs delivers over the top of a Post-Grunge set of heavy guitar riffs, exclaiming: “I’m the man, I’m the king, I’m the one, that’s pure inside” to a violent and aggressive delivery. A catchy, rhythmic chorus follows up on this, as McCombs delivers a memorable line of “I will stone you, stone you, My little halo” at a breakneck pace above the crescendo of heavy guitar riffs, with a slight Synth bassline to provide for a quick breather afterwards. The single is frantically paced, with a musically dense interlude of hulking electric guitar riffs and the delayed pedal effect on the bass guitar line, following the highly reverberated lead vocal effects. The drum signature pattern is very fast, as expected. We get a breakdown near the end, with a Nu-Metal feel to the melodicism of the reverb effects, and a few repeats of the chorus aim to leave us in a very mosh pit-ready mood. For me personally, it all feels a bit treadmill. I feel it’s a decent effort from the band and there’s some punchy, rhythmic hooks to the lead vocals and guitar riffs, but there just isn’t enough of anything surprising or intriguing for it to leave too much of a lasting impression on me. The lyrics are a bit ambiguous, but they never feel as though they’re playing with many conventions of the Nu-Metal genre. Instead, the guitar rhythms and drum patterns feel steady and crowd-pleasing, but never capturing a unique essence to take things to the next level. To conclude, I think that “Halo” is still rather catchy and the lead vocals complement the melodic Hard Rock/Post-Grunge crossover sound reasonably well, but it is lacking in a certain extra fuel to the fire. It’s all just nicely above-average.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Scars” (Album/LP) (Released on September 11th, 2020) (via J Records)

Thank you very much for reading this week’s edition of my Scuzz Sundays series on the blog. As per usual, I will be back at it again tomorrow, with an in-depth look at the brand new single from a British Synthpop duo, mainly known for their work in the 1980’s and 1990’s, particularly popular with the LGBT community, who recently performed a half-hour live session for BBC Radio 2’s Live At Home virtual festival performance weekend. 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: Ginger Snaps – “Attention Seeker”

September 5, 2020 — Leave a comment

Delightfully zingy cocktail of Rock, or not worthy of your attention? It’s new post time!

Pictured: Jay Brook performing at The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham (2018) (Photo Credit: Emilie Barbier)

Good Morning! As always, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog, because it is routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! “Attention Seeker” is another one of those new tracks that I’ve caught wind of via X-Posure, John Kennedy’s evening Indie show on Radio X, although this singer has gained a little notice from journalistic publications, including Clash Magazine and DIY Mag, over the last few recent years. Ginger Snaps is the alias of Northamptonshire-based songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Jay Brook. From what I could gather per the internet, it began as a duo with guitarist Lee Irons, although Brook is seemingly now continuing this project as a solo artist. Brook was inspired to write music by The Beastie Boys, Beck and De La Soul, of which all three of these legendary acts are very audible influences within his sound. Brook’s crowning highlights, thus far, seems to have been the opportunity to play the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading & Leeds Festival in 2017, and his collaboration with BBC Radio 1’s Abbie McCarthy for a live show at the Good Karma Club in Islington in 2017. His latest single release, under his Ginger Snaps name, is “Attention Seeker”, which was released on July 3rd via Copper Top Records. Let’s have a listen to it down below.

Lyrically, “Attention Seeker” was influenced by the themes of role and value of that celebrities are associated within the hierarchy of modern society, as Brook explained to Readdork.com: “In the height of all the momentum ’round my last single, I took a year out. I had nothing to say and didn’t want to cheat any audience I’d built by faking it.”, later continuing,: “In ‘Attention Seeker’, I give my thoughts on this modern unquenchable thirst for social media attention and the impact of that on being an artist in 2020.”, and this expression feels very prominent within the hooks and chords of the single, and, as I mentioned beforehand, the pastiche style of Beck, Rap-Rock sound of Beastie Boys and soft late-1970’s Hip-Hop sensibilities reminiscent of De La Soul, are very audible and noticeable influences within his sound. This opens up with a harsh, distorted rhythm guitar line that distorts a sampled intro. Brook continues to lampoon the theme of being a performer on-stage, rapping: “If the record ain’t selling, you can’t make a boast” in the opening verse, and “I wish I was a little bit taller, was the first song I bought” in the second verse, intersecting these two rap verses with a cut-up Turntable clip, consisting of fast-paced cuts of samples that roll along at a speedy pace. The lyrics further continue to feel dripped and drowned in lyricism, with Brook parodying the ideas of label executives dropping you, “You’ll be smiling wide as they stab you in the back” and calling himself “A Dirty-mouthed, drunk, white trash MC” in Midnite Vultures-era fashion, with a joyous Funk backdrop and splashes of an old-school New-Wave rock sound, with quick clips and brief, cut samples layered along the way. The Rap-Rock elements feel very Beck-esque characteristically, with a collaged production of lyricism which flows through numerous quick hooks with absurdity and obscurity. Brook’s chorus feels a little more guitar-driven, as he chants: “Well I’ll be the same forever, and ever” over the top of a whistled backing vocal and a lustrous, polished lead guitar line. It certainly sounds well-inspired and conceptually well-developed, although I’m not personally as keen on the chorus because I feel he uses the Auto-Tune machinery just a little too heavily reliantly. While I think it’s not anything truly special, I feel it still makes for a fun listen.

Pictured: Ginger Snaps (a.k.a. Jay Brook) in a general publicity shoot (in 2020) (via Primary Talent International)

Thank you for reading this post! I hope that it satisfied your musical taste buds! If you join me tomorrow, you’ve got another weekly edition of Scuzz Sundays coming along to your way! This is our weekly listen back to a relic of the Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk genres from between the late-1990’s to the mid-2000’s, as we re-evaluate whether these classics hold up in the present day! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

22nd Birthday Special Edition: Beck – “Hollywood Freaks”

September 2, 2020 — Leave a comment

It’s hard to think someone ever actually designed that…thing. It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Midnite Vultures” (Released on November 23rd, 1999) (via DGC Records/Bang Bang)

But, that’s why… I LOVE it! Good Morning to you, I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to get typing up about a different piece of music every day! I’m 22 today, not that it really changes anybody’s lives or anything, so I thought it’d be cool to spotlight one of my all-time favourites, since this is similar to what I did last year, where I introduced you to the first track that I ever played on the radio. A consistent repeat of my streaming library is Beck’s “Midnite Vultures”, the seventh LP record that was released by the multi-BRIT and multi-Grammy winning producer, back in 1999. This is probably the biggest outlier in Beck’s shape-shifting discography, as it was the last album he produced before going into his more acoustic-driven, Folk sound that has since become popular with his fans. I present to you… An Experimental Funk album! The critical response was divisive, as it parodied and satirized the pastiche of late-70’s US R&B/Soul and 80’s Neo-Psychedelic Vegas aesthetics with Beck’s typically obscure hook-driven songwriting, the abrupt changes in instrumentation, and the sleek G-Funk influences it pays homage to. I can understand the common criticism that the novelty factor puffs out of steam and energy a little bit towards the end, but it’s still one of the most fun and engaging albums that you could ever possibly listen to and it was wholly different to 96’s “Odelay” and more tonally original than 98’s “Mutations”. Simply put, it stands out as a breath of fresh air in his discography, and the unique sound has never fully been revisited by Beck since. I prefer “Hollywood Freaks” to any of the other tracks you would find here – so give it a fair chance to grow on you below.

Had a few listens? Good. For me, “Hollywood Freaks” works perfectly as the White teen aged male’s pastiche to postmodern R&B, with a satirical jab to any R&B-based “booty call” track ever written, as Beck valiantly hangs out with: “The Hollywood freaks on the hollywood scene”, with distractedly low rate workings of sexual activity (“Hot milk, mmm tweak my nipple”) and a care-free mimicry of political correction, and elitism. Beck isn’t making fun of rap or even of people who shop at Old Navy, inherently doing so. Beck’s vocals sound upbeat and dynamic, twisting-and-turning between different textures and breaking stylistic conventions at each turn, before layering out a wailing rap background vocal of: “Jockin’ my mercedes/Probably have my baby/Shop at Old Navy/You wish you was an old lady”, following interludes of funk-laden breaks, as a Brass melody wraps itself around the hook: “Touch it real good if you want a peace/How do people know I’m that type of freak?”, before we go back to those fragmented, deep Synth rhythms and infectiously melodic rap verses. Explicit lyricism (“I wanna know what makes you scream/Be your twenty million dollar fantasy)” and mocking the upper-class (“My sales go triple/We drop lobotomy beats) makes for the icing on the cake, with nonsensical songwriting that shines with an affectionate grin. The entire vibe of the record is Prince goes doo-lally, and “Hollywood Freaks” asserts this, with it’s clever spoken-word delivery and a rebellious tinge of Punk melodicism that drives the humor forward. It ends with a child’s backing vocal, and a gentle stream of Synths that marks a key change, as we lean more heavily into dance-led territory. The erotic nature of the lyrics makes for a knowing nod to white postmodernists, with vocals and instrumentation that toys around with the R&B genre’s conventions of money, fame and power. Overall, I feel these themes still work brilliantly 20 years on, and it’s still difficult to find anything else that sounds entirely like this. Well – they do say that truly good music never ages!

Pictured: Beck Hansen in a promotional photoshoot for “Mellow Gold” (1994) (Photo via DGC/Bang Bang)

I have previously covered a brief selection of Beck’s other work on the blog. Last year, he released a new album, “Hyperspace”, and you can read up on my thoughts on the lead single “Uneventful Days” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/29/todays-track-beck-uneventful-days/ and the album track “See Through” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/11/28/todays-track-beck-see-through/. I have also previously looked at another classic track from his older discography, “Tropicalia”, which you can explore here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/20/todays-track-beck-tropicalia/

Pictured: Art Collage showing the many faces of Beck over the decades (2018) (Photo Credit: Sarita Schaffer)

Thank you for reading my new post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at an Irish Alternative Punk poet who is an emerging artist on the Chess Club Records indie label. She has often been likened to Mark E. Smith, Nick Cave and The Slits, and she has performed with John Cooper-Clarke and The Brian Jonestown Massacre at sold-out theater shows across the UK, as well as gaining traction from outlets like The Guardian, The Quietus and Stereogum. 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: Martha Hill – “Grilled Cheese”

September 1, 2020 — Leave a comment

I hope you have the appetite for this hearty slice of Emmental. It’s time for a new post.

Pictured: Martha Hill in an official publicity shoot to promote “Grilled Cheese” (Single) (2020) (via Martha Hill Music)

Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I am typing up about your daily track on the blog, as always, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Currently residing in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Martha Hill is an observational Alternative/Indie Rock singer-songwriter who left her rural home, in Scotland, at the age of 17 to busk the streets of Europe to make her own living. In the time since, Hill has released a string of EP’s independently, including 2019’s critically-acclaimed release, “Be Still”, which gained significant exposure from BBC Introducing. In the meantime, Hill has also supported the likes of Maximo Park and Mahalia on tour. Her current project is “Summer Up North”, an EP release, of which she is currently pledging for public backers to fund it’s production through a Kickstarter online campaign. The first single of which she’s shared from her new EP is “Grilled Cheese”, a track which, coincidentally, is named after what I had for lunch yesterday! The track’s been doing the rounds on BBC Radio 6Music’s A-list curated playlist, and it has also gained airplay from X-Posure, John Kennedy’s evening show, on Radio X. So, it really seems to be causing quite the fuss! Let’s jump on the bandwagon for it below.

The only difference is – my grilled cheese last night… was on a stick! Back to the task at hand now, as Hill delivers a melodically-driven, lo-fi Indie Punk track that feels witty and anecdotal, often playing on the observational nit-picks that Courtney Barnett is very popular for. Hill tells a story of a couple struggling to agree on the simple things, in this case being meal prep, as she croons: “My baby messed me around/Yeah, she don’t love me anymore/and I know that for sure” with a fiery, if not aggressive, vocal delivery and a soft, 3-note guitar chord sequence. The second verse contemplates whether raw onions should go in a grilled cheese toasted sandwich, before Hill leads into a chorus that raises the intensity of the guitar work, and teases a tense bass guitar solo, before settling down into the repeating acoustic guitar strums. It builds to a key change in the chorus, as she dramatically sings: “I drink your kerosene, But I don’t like it when your mean” over the top of a multi-strand, layered guitar chorus that carries her vocal hooks with a deep, rhythmic beat. We soon get to another key change, where Hill adds: “I wish that we could feel better” to the familiar pop hooks of “She put her hands in the air, Then the air turned sour” as a harsh, cluttering Drum pattern is introduced to the mix, and it gradually intensifies in pressure over the top of the witty, rampant lyrical devices and the contending, fragmented guitar intervals. It results in a sound that frequently gets more diverse as the track’s duration nears it’s end, and, as a result, it makes the production feel clean and polished. I think that a casual listener would find it quite easy to access and not too demanding to grasp the point of it, but it never feels massively too commercial. I also like how the title of the track refers to a comfort food, as it connotates a sense of nourishment in which things will get better for the couple in the narrative. Overall, I don’t think I’d go as far to say it’s the best track of the year or anything, since I don’t find the song does that much in the way of innovation for me personally, but this is certainly an impressive landmark in the young musician’s career and it sounds very engaging. If you ask me, I think onions would definitely ‘go’ in a grilled cheese toastie!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Summer Up North” (EP) (Set for release at TBA, 2020) (via Self-Released/Kickstarter.com)

Thank you very much for reading this post! As always, I’ll be back to do the same all over again tomorrow. I actually turn 22 tomorrow, not that it really means anything. Therefore, I’m going to be a bit selfish and subject you to me having a rave about one of my all-time favourites, from an iconic American singer-songwriter who is known for partaking many different “phases” of his long-served career! This famous musician has won Best International Male Solo Artist at the BRIT Awards three times between the years of 1997-2000, along with seven Grammy Awards, most recently taking a prize in 2017. 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: Disclosure – “ENERGY”

August 28, 2020 — Leave a comment

If you thought The Chemical Brothers were the space and time of British electronic dance music – these two are actually brothers. It’s all relative! It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Guy Lawrence (Programming/Engineer) and Howard Lawrence (Turntables/Effects) being interviewed backstage at the Roskilde Festival, Denmark (in June 2015) (Photo Credit: Marv Watson/Redbull.com)

Good Morning! I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog, as per usual, since it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Fittingly releasing on a Friday, which is today, in time for the underground raves you can’t go to, is “ENERGY”, the third studio album from the Surrey-raised real-life Brother DJ duo of Howard and Guy Lawrence, as Disclosure. It marks the end of a very long and grueling wait for their fans (Including my friend Grace, in particular), since this is their first proper album release in half a decade. They have kept their fans busy in the gap with a recent string of live mixes, new EP’s and the odd collaboration or two, along with mixtapes and regular live-streamed sessions, of which many of the obscure tracks appear on the deluxe version of their new album. It has a promising guest line-up, with the likes of Kelis, Slowthai, Fatoumata Diawara, Mick Jenkins, and several more involved. Disclosure have some mainstream hits under their belt with the likes of Sam Smith and Khalid, along with two Grammy Award nominations for Best Dance/Electronica Album for 2013’s debut “Settle” and for 2015’s follow-up LP “Caracal” too. Let’s stream the titular track below.

If I’m completely truthful with you, I’m not quite as familiar with Disclosure as more alternative British EDM acts like The Prodigy or Aphex Twin, because I’ve usually dismissed them a little bit as “Just Pop DJ’s”, seeing as they have worked with my current least-favourite Sam Smith for goodness sake. But, I’m now going to give up the cynicism and openly admit it. I LOVE ENERGY! I think this is a really, really, REALLY good track, and I’ve been streaming it on repeat a few times. Let’s start off with the opening, as a nice element of Deep House gets immediately established through the heavy West African drum melodies which the brothers borrowed from some samples they took from an album of Brazillian library music. These get layered out to the beat of a strong vocal performance that preaches mottos like “Right now, you should feel invincible, powerful, strong” and “If you are alive, I know you ain’t reached your best yet” with Acid synth sections and grooving Conga drum patterns. These vocals were recorded by Eric Thomas, who provided vocals for Disclosure’s early track “When The Fire Starts To Burn”. Thomas signals that “Now, we gon’ take it to another level” as the brothers unleash a cooled sequence of flickering Synth rhythms and light stabs of Acid Techno beats. They feel upbeat and moving, but they also have a calming effect. It leads up nicely to a startling finale of diverse, world-based instrumentation and Preacher-esque lead vocal sections from Eric Thomas, whilst the drum beats keep repeating and the Synth sections keep pushing-and-pulling the pacing up, with a polished sheen that stitches everything together with excellent flow and a faultless cohesion. The results make “ENERGY” feel vibrant and fresh, with a very exciting sound and a diverse sonic pallete that takes influence from a surprising range of Earthly sources. Based on what I have heard from Disclosure before, this is absolutely one of their best, and I cannot recommend it highly enough, and I’m glad it sounds as though Island Records, the major label of which they’re signed up to, hasn’t seemed to get their hands on the creative direction very much, at all. It just rocks my socks off.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “ENERGY” (Released on 28th August, 2020) (Album/LP) (via Island Records)

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a recent rework of a cult classic single recorded by an Australian Experimental Electronic Dance duo who have seen countless lineup changes throughout the years, and have performed many comeback gigs in recent years, including a gig at The State Library Of Victoria as part of Melbourne Music Week in 2016, and a one-off double gig with Snog at the Corner Hotel in Richmond, Victoria during 2017. 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: Future Islands – “For Sure”

August 25, 2020 — Leave a comment

Future Islands are back with a ‘Season’ of new music? ‘Surely’ not! It’s new post time!

Pictured: Samuel T. Herring (Lead Vocals/Writer/Producer), Gerrit Welmers (Keyboard/Synths), William Cashion (Bass Guitar/Rhythm Guitar) and Michael Lowry (Drums/Backing Vocals) (in 2020) (Photo Credit: Justin Flythe)

Good Morning! I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it is my day-to-day pleasure to review a different piece of music every day! Samuel T. Herring is known for his deep, operatic croon as the frontman of Future Islands, a native band of Baltimore, Maryland, who have specialized in Prog-Synthpop for the adults for the best part of a decade. The band went viral with their performance of “Seasons (Waitin’ On You)” on an episode of US talk show The Late Show With David Letterman in 2014, and they’ve remained to have a strong and loyal fanbase since. Similarly to Sigur Rós, this is a crossover band who are popular, but not. “As Long As You Are” is their sixth album, set for its release on October 4th, and is their first to feature drummer Michael Lowry as a fourth member of the band’s official lineup. The band will also be playing a ticketed live-stream gig from Baltimore on the night of its release. The 4-piece have also taken a production credit for the first time in their 14-year career, collaborating with Steve Wright as an engineer in his Wrightway Studios in Balitmore. Let’s take a listen to “For Sure” below.

The music video for “For Sure” was directed by Sam Mason, and it finds a Knight Rider-style car drive through an idyllic sequence of post-apocalyptic landscapes, paired to the beat of rhythmic synth riffs and propulsive drum basslines, as T. Herring’s signature vocal delivery allows for raw emotions to create a feeling that tip-toes on the line between reminiscence and regret. He croons: “Perish the pain/I was impoverished/Those ties that wind”, as a retro, nostalgic 80’s keyboard aesthetic interlocks with an ascending backing vocal from Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner. T. Herring croons away, at his retrospective pace, remembering: “Hot as the day/When we sat on stones”, and “Dove from the rocks/Scraping my knees and toes”, layered over a thick guitar groove and reverb-drenched Synth lines. The chorus is very melodic, as T. Herring declares: “I will never keep you from an open door, I know” and “That’s how much I feel in everything you are” after a post-bridge that grinds the pace to a slower fluidity, before the instrumentation leans into a more Psych-oriented visual, as the repeating Synth grooves mesh with the clashing drum pattern to create a cinematic, theatrical quality, as T. Herring signals the end with a gut punch, exclaiming: “I will never keep you from just who you are” as the Synths gradually fade out. It’s certainly a track that does what Future Islands have done solidly well for the best part of over a decade now. It’s true to say that it doesn’t sound much different to their last material, since they just continue to meddle around with the same formula and nurture their unique qualities, and it is a formula which seems to work, so it doesn’t make me feel particularly shortchanged as a result, although I’d like to see them experiment with some new ideas in the near-future. That said, it is the lead single, so it’s designed to be accessible to a wide audience, who are perhaps a little bit more casual. Overall, I really dig this. It sees the band continue to carve out a niche for themselves, with an enjoyable sound that encapsulates the fairly rare direction of Synthpop for the adults.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “As Long As You Are” (Available to buy or stream from October 4th, 2020) (via 4AD)

Thank you very much for reading my daily blog post! Just like always, I will be back tomorrow for an in-depth review for another brand new single, this time coming from an English electronic duo who are currently signed up to Warp Records, who have steadily nurtured a unique style drawing from UK Grime, Dubstep, Electro-Rock and Ambient. One of their tracks was ranked on Pitchfork’s list of “Top 100 Tracks Of 2009” and it was used in a television advertising campaign for Colette, a fashion accessory retailer. 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: Tame Impala – “Is It True?”

August 24, 2020 — Leave a comment

Can’t you see my eyes are open wide? Would I lie to you, baby? – It’s new post time…

Pictured: Tame Impala performing a live set on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival 2019 (Photo via BBC Music)

Good Morning! I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m typing up about your daily track on the blog, because it is still always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Even if you’re just a casual listener of music, I’m sure that you’re probably at least familiar with the name of Tame Impala by this point – an Australian Psychedelic Rock outfit predominantly steered by Kevin Parker as a solo producer, with touring band members to fill out the band’s line-up. He’s been making huge waves with 2012’s “Lonerism” and 2015’s “Currents”, and he’s been gaining mainstream attention with his latest release, “The Slow Rush”, which was released back in February, by Fiction Records in the UK, and other labels internationally. A new single, “Is It True?”, was released from the new album two weeks ago, alongside a technicolor-inflicted new music video which engulfs Parker in a retro visual format of a Synesthesia-like aesthetic, as he grooves to the track around tripped colour art, created to look like it was made from clippings of VHS Recordings and Amiga 2000 graphic engines. Parker has also kept busy during the self-quarantine period with a remixed version of the new album, “The Slow Rush In An Imaginary Place”. On his latest album release, Parker wanted to craft a variety of Pop soundscapes, and Parker opted to write and record the album himself in his studios in Melbourne and Los Angeles. Also exploring wide themes of growing maturity and coming-of-age, he told the media: “A “lot of the songs carry this idea of time passing, of seeing your life flash before your eyes, being able to see clearly your life from this point onwards.” “I’m being swept by this notion of time passing.”, later adding, “There’s something really intoxicating about it.” Let’s have a listen to the brand new single – “Is It True” – below.

“Is It True?” likely marks the final nail in the coffin as to how far the project of Tame Impala goes as a guitar-based psychedelia rock outfit, embracing a vivid Synthpop flair of production and unabashedly catchy, rhythmic hooks, but it never feels derivative or tired as far as a modern Prog-Pop record can go, as the synth compositions instead feel rich and thoughtful, as “Is It True” marks one of the strongest highlights of his latest album’s material. Parker contemplates taking a promising relationship further, reciting: “We started talkin’ bout devotion/The kind that goes on eternally/And I tell her I’m in love with her/But, how can I know that I’ll always be” in the opening verse, layering his vocals over a smooth instrumental of shimmering West African drum samples and lines of drifting keyboard riffs that flutter across the cut, with an easygoing strip of Horn sections to keep the groove rolling. During the bridge, Parker asks: “That’s a promise I can’t make and I won’t validate, Was I being immature, I don’t know, I don’t care” to an upbeat rhyme over a wistful, bubbling Synth bed instrumental. That’s before the heavy electronic snares hit you hard, and the track sounds very polished in glittering Disco rock. The same kind of Psych-Pop, with a slight R&B infliction, vibe carries on, until a major key change marks the beginning of a mellow and delicate little interlude. The Vegas-inspired bassline is still faintly audible, with the same Strobing effects, which feel gradually slower and more contemplative. Parker sidetracks with: “In my head, I said, we’ll see how it goes, until we know, what the future holds” as the high production values increasingly get detailed with a laidback Conga drum groove and a slow-paced, fizzing bed of Keyboard instrumentals and gentle Synth work. It could disappoint fans fond of Parker’s more guitar-driven material, but I think that it works as a great pop track, sounding danceable and dancefloor-friendly, while using a reflective style of lyricism that complements the awkward narrative. Exciting and sonically stimulating.

Pictured: Tame Impala (Kevin Parker) in the video for “Call My Phone Thinking I’m Doing Nothing Better” (2020)

As previously mentioned, Parker always finds ways to keep himself busy, so he has been collaborating with The Streets on “Call My Phone Thinking I’m Doing Nothing Better”, of which you can read my review of the track here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/08/todays-track-the-streets-feat-tame-impala-call-my-phone-thinking-im-doing-nothing-better/, and if you can’t get enough of the sounds and themes that Parker explores on The Slow Rush, you can check out my thoughts on “It Might Be Time” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/11/16/todays-track-tame-impala-it-might-be-time/ and “Lost In Yesterday” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/02/14/todays-track-tame-impala-lost-in-yesterday/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “The Slow Rush” (Released on February 14th, 2020) (via Fiction Records in the UK)

Thank you very much for reading my daily blog post! As always promised, I will be back tomorrow for an in-depth look at a recent single, and a new LP announcement, from a popular Alternative Synthpop band from Baltimore, Maryland who went viral with a live performance of their 2014 crossover hit “Seasons (Waitin’ On You)” on the US talk show, The Late Show with David Letterman. 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 1st Anniversary Special: The Bloodhound Gang – “The Bad Touch”

August 23, 2020 — Leave a comment

Honestly, I can’t actually believe that I’m doing this, but it’s a special Scuzz Sunday…

Pictured: Jimmy Pop (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Jared Hasslehoff (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), DJ Q-Ball (Keyboards/Synths/Turntables/Producer), Daniel P. Carter (Lead Guitar) and The Yin (Drums (2015) (via WeGow.com)

Oh, boy! Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and we’ve reached the time of the week where we have a look back at an Emo-Rock or a Pop-Punk relic, one that would have been played on the defunct Scuzz TV channel, from the late 1990’s to the mid-2000’s, to see if it can live up to it’s stature! We’ve actually reached the point of an entire year since I began running the feature on the blog, so, therefore, to mark the milestone, we’re actually going there, with… THAT track. Of course, I’m talking about The Bloodhoung Gang’s “The Bad Touch”, a track that was on a VERY significantly heavy rotation on Scuzz TV, for all of the wrong reasons… I feel. It’s known for it’s very silly, memorable music video that made the track become a sizable hit commercially, peaking at #4 in the UK Singles Chart and #52 on the US Billboard Hot 100, alongside a #1 chart position in European countries including Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden, and a few others. This track came from the group’s third studio album, “Hooray For Boobies”… Yep, which was also released in October 1999 in the UK and the rest of Europe, with a US release early in the year thereafter. In case you were wondering, The Bloodhound Gang were a band who have done quite well for themselves, as they have sold more than 6 million copies of their albums worldwide. I guess, after “The Bad Touch”, they at least had a core fanbase to follow them. The 5-piece went on a hiatus in 2015. Let’s get this over with… with “The Bad Touch” below.

Referenced by Eminem in his hit – “The Real Slim Shady”, The Bloodhound Gang’s “The Bad Touch” is the exemplary track that bought Rap-Rock to the masses in a way that, for at least some merit, is still remembered to this day. The lyrics are sexual and vulgar, as Jimmy Pop (yeah, an apt name, for sure) recites: “Sweat baby, Sweat baby, Sex is a Texas drought” and “So, put your hands down my pants and I’ll be you’ll feel nuts” after a synth-led intro that introduces retro 80’s synth beats and a noticeable element of Space-Pop into the mix. The chorus trades nothing for no subtlety, as Pop unforgettably raps: “You and me/Baby me, Nothing but mammals/So, let’s do it like they do on the Discovery channel”, as he pairs up a very basic rhyme with a melodic Synth instrumental, with very little guitar-based instrumentation to be seen or heard. The rest of the track plods along with it’s established style, as Pop matches simplistic Hop-based hooks with repeating Synth instrumentals, with the odd “Gettin’ horny now” to remind us of the intentionally crass and deliberately oversexualised lyricism, with sexual references with every single turn, and a calming Synth bed undertone to complement the Innuendo-heavy vocals. To be fair, the music video is still rather funny and it elicits a decent chuckle out of me, and the refrains are slightly catchy, so I’m not going to take a No.2 all over this. The trouble is, however, you may notice how the sound never really progresses in any major ways. It never really gets to a point where it gets outright explicit, and, melodically, it’s just the same couple of hooks getting repeated over strikingly familiar Synth instrumental sections and the same old rap chorus. It gets tedious for the wrong reasons, and it simply just doesn’t quite go anywhere. But, where would we all be without this? Blissfully unaware… Perhaps?

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Hooray For Boobies” (Album) (Released on October 4th, 1999) (via Geffen Records)

Thank you very much for reading this post! Scuzz Sundays will return for the foreseeable future, and although I’ve just about covered all of the main tracks taken from the era, I’ve still got plenty of sources to gather memories from and some lesser-known tracks that could have something interesting to them. I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at the new single from an established Australian Psychedelic Rock act who recently collaborated with Mike Skinner on his latest mixtape as The Streets. He also won the “Best Song Of The Year 2016” trophy at the APRA Awards in 2016. 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: The Magic Gang – “(The World) Outside My Door”

August 21, 2020 — Leave a comment

Alaka-Kazoo and Shaza-Khazam – it’s my favourite 7/10 band! It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Death Of The Party” (Available from August 28th, 2020) (via Warner Bros. Records)

Good Morning! I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as usual, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Friday means it’s time for a couple of new album releases, if August is a little bit lacking on higher-profile selections. Next week, The Magic Gang are back with “Death Of The Party”, their second studio LP record release, which is the follow-up to their self-titled debut album which came out, many moons ago, in March 2018. It’s been a longer road than the fans were anticipating, as it was delayed due to COVID-19 from a May 15th spot. In case you’re not familiar, The Magic Gang are a 4-piece Pop group from Brighton and they are signed up to the major label, Warner Bros Records, meaning they’re part of my self-titled “Indie Bollocks” category that includes bands like The 1975 and Pale Waves, who are not really independent artists but they are called “Indie” in terms of their sound. Don’t get me wrong, I have a positive relationship with The Magic Gang as a listener, and I thought the first LP captured a strong sense of adolescence and nostalgia which made them stand out amongst the crowded market – if a little commercial and basic for my liking. They’re very likeable gents though, and they’re full of good personality on their social media accounts, which is one of the reasons why I think they’re a top-notch 7/10 band, as it’s also very easy to listen to them if you can’t think what really tickles your fancy. Their latest single, “(The World) Outside My Door” takes on a more Acoustic approach, with Jack Kaye taking the reigns on the lead vocals from Kristian Smith, who performed lead vocals for “Think” and “Take Back The Track”. Let’s stream their new track below.

“(The World) Outside My Door” sees the Brighton-based Pop Quartet moving towards a more mature direction, with the inspiration behind the new track coming from a personal experience where Jack Kaye was writing music in his bedroom at the time where the Extinction Rebellion protests raided the streets outside. The lyrics are obviously very self-reflective, as the lyricism explores Kaye’s guilt at the time as he sat idly while “everybody else around me was taking part in history”, as he explained to NME in his own words. It gets padded out, as a concept, by light instrumentation and very minimalist production which makes these lyrics feel actually quite personal and rewarding. Kaye recites: “First thing in the morning/I’m gonna make a change”, over a very slight auto-tune effect and a set of softly rumbling bass guitar riffs that add a slight tinge of aggression. He puts it bluntly: “The world is gathered outside of my door/And they’re telling me I oughta do more”, while the rest of the band back him up with slightly distorting guitar riffs and a fluttering Piano part. We build to a more dramatic conclusion, where a female choir backs Kaye’s vocals up, and Paeris Giles smashes the drums to a razor-sharp signature. I bet it’s the closing track of the album, as it gives you a reflective thought to hold on to. It does sound a little bit like the kind of music that a 12 year old would listen to, and they seem to be catering nicely towards a 14-aged Teen market who would share his similar beliefs, and are still developing their ear for great music. As always, you can do a lot worse than The Magic Gang, and I think this is the strongest single from their new LP so far. The guitar hooks may be a little twee and the lyrics themselves a touch shallow, but the minimalist production style and the acoustic instrumentation works very nicely. Above all, the songwriting is genuinely quite affecting, it has a simplistic nature that manages to hit me where it wants to. To conclude, I don’t love it, but I like it. It has an honesty and an expression that hints of better material to come from the group as they continue to hone their sound as a new, emerging talent. I would like to hear a bit more of an experimental sound in the future, and I may even suggest cutting ties with the label to achieve this, which is risky, but I truly feel the major label’s executives are holding them back from true greatness. They’re one of, if not, the UK’s best 7/10 band though.

Pictured: Jack Kaye (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Kristian Smith (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Angus Taylor (Bass Guitar/Percussion) and Paeris Giles (Drums) in a Surf’s Up! Photoshoot for DIYMag.com (2018) (Photo Credit: Jenn Five)

I’ve actually been tracking some of The Magic Gang’s other singles during the build to their sophomore LP effort. You can check out “Think”, although this has now grown on me a bit, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/04/todays-track-the-magic-gang-think/, and their decent second single, “Take Back The Track”, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/06/20/todays-track-the-magic-gang-take-back-the-track/

Pictured: The Magic Gang in their self-titled debut LP era in official shoot (2018) (via WB Records)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! I will be back tomorrow, as always, with an in-depth look at the new track from a Dublin-based Alt-Rock band who have been making waves internationally. However, don’t forget to check out the blog in two days time, where it will be time for your weekly edition of Scuzz Sundays, where we revisit an Emo-Rock or Pop-Punk relic from the past. We’re celebrating the 1-year anniversary of the feature with a silly little track that was absolutely predominant on the Scuzz TV channel. 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: [Spunge] – “Jump On Demand”

August 16, 2020 — Leave a comment

It’s time for me to Scourer this cleaned [Spunge). It’s time for another Scuzz Sunday…

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “The Story So Far…” (Released on 26th August, 2002) (via B-Unique Records)

Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m typing up your weekly edition of Scuzz Sundays, the time of the week where we look back at a Pop-Punk or Emo-Rock classic track from between the late-1990’s to the mid-2000’s, to see if it lives up to it’s stature, since it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! [Spunge] were never as well-known as bands like Weezer or Slipknot, but they had a few memorable hits during the era, including “Jump On Demand”, which has rubbed shoulders with the mainstream – landing at the VERY specific spot of #39 on the UK Singles Chart, in 2002. [Spunge] are actually a British group from Tewkesbury, with Alex Copeland (Vocals), Damon Robbins (Lead Guitar), Chris Murphy (Bass Guitar) and Jeremy King (Drums) making up the current lineup. They are currently still active, but it tends to just be the odd few singles here and there, as opposed to something more substantial, like a full album release. “Jump On Demand” is the best-known single from their third studio LP release, “The Story So Far”, which was also released in 2002. The record saw the band expanding on their Ska-Punk and Rap-Metal roots to a more commercial Pop-Grunge direction, with producer John Cornfield (Muse, Supergrass) and Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, Therapy?) on-board to help them out with the new project, and the B-Unique Records label took over the distribution reigns from Sucka-Punch Records. It is time to check out the music video for “Jump On Demand” below.

Having previously toured with Green Day and Dropkick Murphy’s, [Spunge] were ready to bring their Ska-Punk sound to mainstream soil at the time of “Jump On Demand” being released, but it sadly didn’t seem to make much of a cultural impact. The track starts off with the quirky, rebellious, lyrics that you would expect, as Copeland sings: “So, you’re sat there in first class, Well I’m not gonna kiss your a**, Cuz’ I don’t care”, as a Jovial electric Organ melody replaces the Post-Punk edge of the opening burst of bass guitar riffs. The first verse starts off in a more subdued, quiet manner, before it builds to a decent sense of pace, with Copeland stacking: “I’m not the kind of guy who likes to go to work, It’s just I need the money” on top of an upbeat Bass Guitar riff and a mid-tempo Lead Guitar riff that fuses aggressively with the quick Drum signatures. The chorus goes: “Jump! Jump! Jump!” to point to an enthusiastic Mosh Pit, before Copeland continues: “Why is it you seem to be looking down your nose at me?, Maybe we should take some time to prove your blood’s red like mine”, as the instrumentation mixes a Ska-Punk sound with a Nu-Metal blueprint in generous amounts. It sounds animated and it feels like a TV theme tune for a US sitcom, so it’s a good fit for the aesthetics of the album’s visuals. The Organ samples are catchy and the songwriting has a quirk to it, but it sadly feels quite forgettable. This is simply because the fusion between Ska and Punk had been done a few years before, and it had been done better, by 90’s groups like Less Than Jake and Operation Ivy, even The Specials to a lesser extent in the 70’s, but it sadly doesn’t do much to stand out as a unique or a considerably original idea. The production behind “Jump On Demand” is fine, but the use of Brass sections may have freshened it up a little better. As it stands, this is unfortunately just another one of those “Scuzz Sundays” tracks that we will have largely forgotten by the time next week rocks about, but the results of this track are still harmless, and it’s not likely at all to cause any real offense.

Pictured: Alex Copeland (Lead Vocals), Damon Robins (Lead Guitar), Chris Murphy (Bass Guitar) and Jeremy King (Drums) in a publicity shoot to promote their 2015 UK reunion tour with Phinius Gage (2015) (via Ents24.com)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as per usual, with an in-depth look at a solid new track from a relatively unknown artist, a local young musician and songwriter to Seattle, who is just 22 years of age and has been described by ‘SassyBlack’ of TomTomMag.com as “a young multi-instrumentalist and producer shaping the future of dance music”, to kick off the new week in style. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

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