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Today’s Track: Bowling For Soup – “Alexa Bliss”

February 12, 2020 — 4 Comments

After hearing this, I hope ‘The Goddess’ will be proud! It’s time for your new blog post!

  • Pictured: A still image from the official music video for Bowling For Soup’s “Alexa Bliss” (2020)

Good night to you, Jacob Braybrooke here! It’s 10:00pm (in the UK) and I’ve made it back home safely from an SRA Training Day for the student media committee members at Universities in the East Midlands, so I’m a little bit exhausted and I’m ready to get my Pyjamas on, but before I do – I need to write about your daily track on the blog, as promised. Today’s track is a new emo-rock anthem from the well-established American punk group Bowling For Soup, known for 00’s mainstream chart hits such as “1985”, “Girl All The Bad Guys Want” and “High School Never Ends”, with the 4-piece still adding new and popular tunes into their extensive back catalogue this far into their career. Their latest in a long stream of hits is a bizarre, over-the-top tribute to the WWE women’s wrestler Alexa Bliss, who was the first female competitor to hold both the WWE Raw Women’s Championship and the WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship. As an avid fan of the one true sport, I jumped at the opportunity to feature it on the blog. Let’s watch the video for “Alexa Bliss” below.

A fairly unexpected ode to one of the most consistently entertaining women on the entire WWE talent roster, Bowling For Soup’s “Alexa Bliss” is a fitting, gloriously tongue-in-cheek and heavily pop-oriented tribute to Bliss – and it’s a song that I expect any fan of the Goddess to get a real kick out of it. The video is a homage to the 1985 cult classic comedy film, “Weird Science”, but in this case, it’s a digital recreation of Bliss that comes to life and hangs out with two young boys for the rest of the day… When they should be at school! The track instantly reminds me of The Mountain Goats’ 2015 alt-folk ballad “The Legend Of Chavo Guerrero”, in the case that it offers subtle pokes at the history of Bliss’ career in the WWE, referencing her heel (“villain”) run: “She says some really mean stuff to the other wrestlers/Some say they hate her but they just don’t get her” and “Sometimes she cheats but she never gets caught”, as well as referencing their own material: “Her favourite songs Girls All The Bad Guys Want” and “She’s got a pet pig Larry Steve and he’s so smart”. The main vocal hook goes: “Why can’t every girl be like Alexa Bliss?/How could a chick on TV make me feel like this/She’s got a finishing move called Twisted Bliss/And it’s like my heart is caught in a sleeper hold”, which is repeated over a formulaic refrain of commercial guitar riffs and heart-pounding drum beats, which add more accessibility to the relatively niche lyrical matter and more comedic quirks to the playfulness of the tone. Overall, the pop-punk melodies are fairly basic and the track doesn’t really say anything over than Hey, Alexa Bliss is really cool, but I think this really adds to the over-the-top nature of the record and even I have a soft spot for a bit of cheese now and then. It’s very sweet.

You can also read my thoughts on “High School Never Ends” as part of my special “Scuzz Sundays” feature of blog posts here (don’t forget to check out this week’s edition): https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/29/scuzz-sundays-bowling-for-soup-high-school-never-ends/

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at a new track from a Canadian Electronic Dance band who drop an F-bomb in their name, meaning that I’m not allowed to say it properly on my radio show – it also features the former touring bass guitarist of Tame Impala, who now fronts his own Australian psychedelic rock band! 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/https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Michael Stipe – “Drive To The Ocean”

February 11, 2020 — Leave a comment

It’s not the end of the world as we know it… but I feel fine! It’s time for your new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Drive To The Ocean” (January 4th, 2020) (Single Release) (Self-Released)

I actually met REM at a small pub, you know, and we even got our picture taken! Look, that’s me in the corner! Alas, I kid. I’m Jacob Braybrooke, as usual, writing about your daily track on the blog. Today’s track is “Drive To The Ocean” by Michael Stipe and just in case you didn’t know, he was the lead singer of the iconic rock-folk band REM. This is his second solo single, following the release of “Your Capricious Soul”, his first, in 2019. However, I haven’t heard that track personally. He’s always been known for his distinct voice, which sounds like home for many after all these years. I’ve always thought of it as a little bit of a cross between Morrissey and Kermit The Frog, with Bono from U2 describing it as “extroadinary” and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke citing Stipe as his favourite lyricist of all time. “Drive To The Ocean” was self-released on January 4th, 2020 as a charity single, with all of the proceeds going towards Pathway To Paris, a climate change advocacy group. It isn’t necessarily breaking new ground for Stipe, as he’s always been an open environmentalist, having released his debut single in aid of Extinction Rebellion, an environmental campaign group who partly inspired Stipe’s return to writing music after he stepped away from the limelight to focus on his career in photography. Let’s have a listen to “Drive To The Ocean” below!

A slow-building track capping just above the four-and-a-half minute mark, it begins with a Hendrix-esque rock vocal monologue of driving through the passages of life, as he chimes: “I’ll drive through the mountains/the crumbling west/I’ll sing like the whales/Before man was a pest”, an intricate vocal refrain that has a noticeable hint of spoken-wordiness to it, reminding me of Nick Cave’s recent output. Stipe’s voice has matured, as he grumbles: “We came to explore/Just look where that got us” as he ponders the human effects of climate change and how it’s negatively affected the environment. At this point, the light rock setting takes a darker turn, with a synthesized backdrop flickering to the rhythm of Stipe’s vocal hooks. The chorus goes: “We’ve been here before, Radio transistor/my friend”, before he repeats: “Radio, love me/Radio, the sand/Radio, the ocean/Radio, the end”, over a wailing combination of mournful whines, with an overall western setting which creates an ominous atmosphere. So, is it any good? Well… To be honest, I personally feel it’s a bit weak and a bit poor. That said, I’ve never been an avid fan of REM personally and so it might be that it just isn’t made for me. Starting off with the good, I think the structure of the track is reasonably well produced as it starts off as an instrumental alternative rock track before it takes a more electronic turn. However, I just find the synth-based sound to feel rather lacklustre as it plods along without really kicking up a notch, and I also find the lyricism to be rather bland and lifeless due to it’s repetition, along with the somber and reflective tones feeling like a bit of a retread in this stage of his career. It’s worth 99p, though, as it supports a good, charitable cause.

  • Pictured: Michael Stipe attending the “Performance Space New York’s Spring Gala” in New York City (May 4th, 2019) (Photo Credit: John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Thank you for reading this post! I can’t believe we’re nearly halfway through the week already – not long to go! I’m very busy at an SRA Training Day tomorrow, but I’ll be back on the blog tomorrow, as always, with a brief look at a new track from a very well-known American Punk band who’ve just released a song which they’ve wrote about a WWE Women’s Wrestler – who was the first WWE Women’s Wrestler to hold both the WWE Raw Women’s Championship and the WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship! 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: My Chemical Romance – “Welcome To The Black Parade”

February 9, 2020 — Leave a comment

I wouldn’t apply to join the Black Parade because it doesn’t seem like the Marching band in the SpongeBob Squarepants episode with Sweet Victory! It’s Scuzz Sunday…

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “The Black Parade” (Released in October 2006 via Reprise Records)

Here’s a track that should really draw viewership to the blog! Whoops, I shouldn’t have said that! Jacob Braybrooke here, as always, with your weekly late 90’s-mid 00’s emo/punk throwback as we’ve quickly approached another Scuzz Sunday! I think it was always an inevitability when I set out with my “Scuzz Sundays” feature that I would be covering a My Chemical Romance track at some point, since the band were undeniably one of the most commercially successful, and still very popular, bands of the very era in which I’ve based the timeline on, and for all of the right reasons, I feel. It may feel like a formality, but it’s also a reminder of the boundaries which they pushed in their peak. The band have also been embarking on a big reunion tour around the world, which was announced last October and it’s currently ongoing, with the band performing in European territories in the past few weeks. A punk ballad which initially reminds me of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Welcome To The Black Parade” is a memorable track which shot right up to the #1 spot in the UK Singles Chart upon it’s release in September 2006, as well as reaching the top of the charts in many different countries around the world. It was released as the big single preceding the release of their third studio album “The Black Parade” in October 2006. It’s since been considered a classic, with the video being named as MTV’s “Music Video of The Century” in 2017 and the song itself being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame’s “Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll”, no pressure! Let’s revisit the track below!

They obviously love Queen! I don’t personally think the track’s really as original as it’s made out to be, but it still resonates with large crowds and I can’t deny the influence it had. A musical opera like no other, “Welcome To The Black Parade” is an art-punk ode to the death of front-man Gerard Way’s father, who very sadly passed away in a battle with cancer. Way starts, over a subtle piano melody, “When I was a young boy/My father took me into the city/To see a marching band”, with the father asking him to be “the Savior of the broken” and leaving it with: “Because one day/I’ll leave you/a phantom to lead you in the summer/To join the Black Parade”, before the pace gradually heightens to form a crescendo of powerful drum beats and the signature guitar riff. Later in the track, Way urges himself with the will to put his armour back on following the mourning of his father’s death: “We’ll carry on, We’ll carry on/and though you’re dead and gone, believe me/your memory will carry on”, with the pacing of the track kicking into a frantic movement with super-sized pop/rock hooks and pounding bass riffs. It indulges itself in an over-the-top exercise of grandeur, but it later ends on a more hopeful note, with Way lyrically exploring the simplicity of an “It’ll work out in the end” emotion, as he punches the explosive, theatrical chorus to a slowly dissipating halt with: “Do or die/you’ll never make it/Because the world will never take my heart/Go and try, you’ll never break me/We want it all/We wanna play this part” before the track fades out with Way proclaiming: “We’ll carry on”, leaving a few percussive drum patterns which symbolizes the notion of his father’s memory continuing to drum along with the times. It’s a hard thing to look back at a track like this 14 years after it’s original release since I’m unable to go into it with an open mind as I’m aware of such a massive hit that it was. However, my overall response is that it’s basically a pop tune which has been disguised as some new-found sub-genre that was sweeping the masses over it’s feet. At the time where Mika was topping the charts with “Grace Kelly” and Gnarles Barkley made their stealthy arrival with “Crazy”, this track was ultimately viewed as a counter-cultural emo anthem which takes influence from the operatic style of Queen and the narrative grandeur of Led Zeppelin. It still sounds very loud, brash and sub-cultural, however, it’s also about as mainstream as it gets. I love the heartwarming story of Way paying tribute to his father and it makes me feel nostalgic when I revisit the track, but 14 years on, there’s something very corporate about the track which I’m really struggling to ignore. It was an edgy rock anthem, but it’s now a disposable pop record. I hope that makes sense!

  • Pictured: Gerard Way (Lead Vocals), Ray Toro (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Mikey Way (Bass Guitar), Frank Iero (Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Bob Bryar (Drums) in an official poster (2006) (Photo Credit: GBPosters.com)

Thank you for reading this post! We’re all back to the grind at work tomorrow and so I’ll be cheering you up through it with my daily blog posts, starting off with an in-depth look at an old track from an English producer who went off the beaten track with a few odd hits in the 90’s, including a trance tune which doesn’t sound Vegan-Friendly in it’s official title! 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: Christine and The Queens – “People, I’ve Been Sad”

February 8, 2020 — Leave a comment

A French artist who’s de crème de la Crème! Happy weekend, it’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Héloïse Letissier (Christine and The Queens) in a photoshoot for “People, I’ve Been Sad” (2020) (via Press)

Jacob Braybrooke, here as always, helping you discover new music with my daily musing. Fitting with today’s track on the blog, I was a bit sad yesterday since my La Roux delivery didn’t arrive in time for the release of “Supervision”, but I’m feeling a bit happier now after I received my physical copy of the record in the post today. It’s strange how, in life, the smallest things can either lift our mood or bring us down, usually in the space of a single minute. It’s a theme that Christine and The Queens is exploring on her new single, “People, I’ve Been Sad”, as an interesting take on the study of mental health. The track is a one-off for now, although a follow-up to “Chris”, her second album which was named as the “Album Of The Year” in 2018 by The Guardian, might be on the way fairly soon, but no further details have been confirmed yet. Let’s watch Héloïse Letissier, who writes and records her music under the alias of Christine and The Queens, performing her new track on COLORS (via YouTube) below.

On “People, I’ve Been Sad”, I’ve started to notice that Letissier’s been gearing herself towards a more idiosyncratic alternative pop spirit, carving out a left-out-of-centre niche for herself outside of her more packaged-up, three minute bar radio hits and I feel that she reaches a more different texture than ever before on the new track. Letissier starts off with a staggering autotune line, before she croons: “It’s true that people I’ve been sad/It’s true that people I’ve been gone”, an ambiguous line which for me, refers to her return to the roots of her early sound. The track gradually loses it’s softness and Letissier’s high-pitched vocals lean to a subtle melancholy with a vulnerable sonic tempo as she sings: “If you disappear/then I’m disappearing too” and “If you fall apart/Then I’m falling behind you”, a chorus that she wraps around the isolated line: “You know the feeling”. The layers of moisturized synth beds and rich acoustic instrumentation meet a progressive wave of thrilling drum hits and deep, reverb-glazed cracks of bass. A French-sung bridge is the highlight for me, where Letissier sings about her childhood memories of passing a forest of dead thistles and walking around on glass barefoot, as she adds a heartwarming touch to her anthemic ballad of self-examination and how the self-sufficiency of her past affects the in’s and out’s of her emotions on an everyday basis, addressing an audience with the title of “People, I’ve Been Sad”. Overall, it’s a track that took me by suprise because the subject matter is thought-provoking and I feel the programming of the drum machine and the synthesizers lends it’s stride well to the ghostly, ice-woven presence that Letissier creates through her vocals on the track. I really commend her for stepping outside of her comfort zone with this track and it reminds me just how talented she is and how her artistic creativity, in her songwriting and pacing, have managed to cross her over into the mainstream, but not far enough as to “dumb her down”, essentially.

  • Pictured: Héloïse Letissier (Christine and The Queens) in a press photoshoot (2018) (Photo by Michelle Helena Janssen)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, in time for another Scuzz Sunday on the blog! You won’t want to miss out, as I’ll be looking at a massively popular hit track from a cornerstone of the 00’s punk era who announced their plans to embark on a world reunion tour, which takes place throughout the year, at the end of last October. 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 Specials – “A Message To You, Rudy”

February 6, 2020 — Leave a comment

Give it a listen and you might find something Special about it! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Lynval Golding (Lead Guitar), Horace Panter (Bass Guitar), Terry Hall (Vocals), Jerry Dammers (Keyboard), Silverton Hutchinson (Drums), Roddy Radiation (Lead Guitar) and Neville Staple (Vocals, Percussion) in the cover artwork for “The Specials” (1979) (Original Line-Up)

It’s Thursday and I’m sitting at my desk, accompanied by a bright array of sunshine outside of my window in Stoke-On-Trent, as the nights are getting longer and the cold frost is momentarily disappearing. It seems like a great day to listen to a little bit of 2-tone or ska, so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for me, Jacob Braybrooke, to write about the 1979 track, “A Message To You, Rudy” by underrated British band The Specials, although it was originally performed as a slow Jamaican Rocksteady ballad by Dandy Livingstone back in 1967. Interestingly, the trombone parts of the original track were recorded by Cuban Jazz icon Rico Rodriquez, who also recorded the trombone parts for The Specials’ cover version of the track, which reached the #10 spot of the UK Singles Chart in 1967. Let’s bob our heads along to the track below.

A band who have become iconic for challenging the political and social barriers surrounding their native country of the UK, The Specials manage to recreate a classic Rocksteady track by conveying upbeat Ska tones and a 2-step Dub rhythm, infused by punk’s attitude and energy, to create a fairly safe but love-able new take on a vintage Jamaican classic. The lyrics remain unchanged, as then-vocalist Terry Hall croons: “Stop your messing around/Better think of your future”, which is layered above Rodriquez’s euphoric trombone and a light drum pattern which bounces along to the beat of the vocal harmonies. There is also the use of a Harmonica at the beginning, as the instrumentation gets established to have a highly organic heart. Hall continues on: “Rudy, a message to you Rudy”, as a Trumpet solo unfurls with the pure Ska sound and the old-school Rocksteady center. The original version was an ode to the youth of Kingston in the late 60’s, and it seems like The Specials’ cover version has been morphed to address a wider British audience, but it doesn’t seem to miss it’s roots with it’s bass-led impact. Overall, it’s still a very uplifting ska number which, although not wholly original, feels distanced enough from the original track to say something new. There’s no wonder it’s still used in films and TV shows fairly regularly.

  • Pictured: A LEGO recreation of the “A Message To You Rudy” music video (Photo Credit: Musical Brick) (2018)

Thank you for reading this post! As always, I’ll be back tomorrow and I will be celebrating the release of La Roux’s “Supervision” album with an in-depth overview of the latest single to be released from the album, “Automatic Driver”! If you’ve read the blog before, you’ll know that I’m very, very excited for the release of this one, as it’s been six years since the release of her previous LP record, 2014’s “Trouble In Paradise”! 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: Gorillaz (feat. Slowthai & Slaves) – “Momentary Bliss”

February 3, 2020 — Leave a comment

Five minutes of peace and quiet, that’s a Momentary Bliss! It’s time for your new post!

  • Pictured: 2D, Murdoc, Noodle, Russell and Slowthai in a press shoot for “Momentary Bliss” (January 2020)

Another new day means another new post from me, Jacob Braybrooke, on my daily One Track At A Time music blog. Damon Albarn’s biggest post-Blur project is back, as 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russell, along with an eclectic array of other friends, have returned for another dose of animated carnage, told in the form of alternative rock and electronic Brit-pop music, as Gorillaz unveiled a new “Song Machine” video series on YouTube. While the full details of a brand new album are likely a few years off, Gorillaz are instead uploading a bunch of musical antics “as and when they happen” on their YouTube channel, with a new episode being uploaded every Friday. The first of which features the new single “Momentary Bliss”, which allows us to see what happened when acclaimed artists Slowthai and Slaves joined Gorillaz’ central characters in their recording home of Kong Studios. Let’s check out the video below.

Fueled by deliberately off-kilter synths and jittery drum kit sounds, Gorillaz manage to provide another healthy dose of chaotic, unadulterated adult fun with “Momentary Bliss”. After a few shots of Albarn in the studio, Slowthai starts off: “Your potential/you lack credentials”, before dropping an F-bomb and further building the tension with: “It makes me sick to think you ain’t happy in your skin/It’s a weird thing to think light bulbs don’t blink” and the concluding line: “You’re a turkey twizzler/you deserve school dinners”. Slaves completes the chorus hook: “We could do so much better than this/Emotionally in fences and momentary bliss”, with 2D adding: “Poster boy/Poster girl/Truth begins/The bills must be paid”, with a three-act lyrical structure that feels ram-shackled and makeshift to pure experimentation. It shifts from bodacious synth-punk, to super-melodic grime, to a dexterous rap-rock in the space of five minutes, which zips by at a chaotic pace with an indecipherable flavor of ska and a unique “British Comedy” feel which sends Gorillaz’ sound back to it’s roots after the modern feel of 2017’s controversial return LP “Humanz” and the minimalist sound of 2018’s “The Now Now”, as skate-punk Guitar riffs and glitched-out drum pads clatter to each other’s backs, almost feuding to dominate the sound of the track. It’s good to see a commercially popular project get creative as Albarn breaks out of the constrained album-and-tour cycle, with small doses of new music being released throughout the year instead. British rapper Slowthai and UK punk duo Slaves are smart choices for collaborators on the track as well, as they’re known for their noise-rock sounds. I’m not usually a fan of Slowthai at all, but I think he’s probably at his most bearable here due to his DIY style fitting the uncompromising sound of the track. The lyrics are nonsensical and the track doesn’t compromise any sentimentality for it’s riotous effect at all, but it’s a good slice of parodical punk fun, which is the main point being made here instead. Little Simz on the next one, please?

  • Pictured: Murdoc and Damon Albarn in “Kong Studios” recording “Momentary Bliss” (January 2020)

You can also read my thoughts on another track from Gorillaz, taken from 2011’s “Plastic Beach” LP here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/11/22/todays-track-gorillaz-on-melancholy-hill/

  • Pictured: 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russell in a photoshoot for their theatrical “False Icons” mockumentary (2019)

Thank you very much for reading this post! I hope you had as much fun reading it as 2D and his friends had recording this little collaboration in their studio! (Yes, I know it’s actually just the brainchild of Damon Albarn)… I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at another track from the brilliant Seattle rapper Yirim Seck! 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: Declan McKenna – “Beautifal Faces”

February 1, 2020 — Leave a comment

If you want to see more Beautiful Faces, might I suggest looking at one of FHM’s “Sexiest Celebrities In The World” lists? You’ll only find musical analysis in this post…

  • Pictured: Declan McKenna emerging from the Cupboard under the stairs in Enfield (2019) (Photo Credit: DIY Mag)

It’s Saturday and I hope that you’re having a good weekend so far! I, Jacob Braybrooke, am writing about your daily track on the blog to hopefully make it an even better little rest-up before the week ahead for you. Declan McKenna, an indie rock musician from Enfield in Greater London, has just unveiled a new music video for “Beautiful Faces”, the lead single for his second album, “Zeros”, which doesn’t release until May 15th via Columbia Records. Best known for the hit single “Brazil”, McKenna earned his major breakthrough as the winner of Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition in 2015. He can be an outspoken talent, with “Brazil” written as a protest against the FIFA World Cup of 2014, which was obviously held in Brazil, along with recent one-off single “British Bombs” reflecting political issues in British society today. I think it’s always very good, as an artist, to have an opinion on the world around them, so I remain a supporter of the fact that musicians want to express their thoughts and feelings in a central way. To a point, I think it’s why he’s always achieved popularity with music lovers and I think it’s probably why he always tends to garner attention from major labels. Let’s take a look at the video for “Beautiful Faces” below.

The follow-up to his 2017 debut album, “What Do You Think About The Car?” is off to an electro-pop tinged and festival-primed start, it seems. The video for “Beautiful Faces” kicks off with a straight-faced McKenna singing: “And as the Earth returned to calmly dress itself in white/We got a glimpse of all the people going out tonight”, a contemporary indie rock verse which has the poetic melody of a 60’s dub-plate tune. With a sonic influence built around his vocals, McKenna chimes: “Tonight I wanna be on Broadway and in cabaret/Tonight I wanna celebrate St. Patrick’s Day”, paired with a sharp guitar riff which adds an anthemic, stadium-sized rock sound to the overall proceedings. He continues to tackle a lyrical theme of doomed youth with the hook of the chorus: “The beautiful faces smiling over us/Lift your hands up and lead us back home/Beautiful people won’t remember you, honey/I bet you can’t get enough”, before a nice little solo riff that adds a dampness to the arrogant, pop saunter of the electronic rock soundscape. Overall, the track isn’t lacking in style, but I don’t personally find there to be enough substance here for the track to fire on all cylinders. I like the general indie rock sound, but it feels done before by the likes of Alfie Templeman, Foals and Catfish & The Bottlemen, with the track failing to really set itself apart from these other contemporary indie rock artists. This is because I don’t feel the lyrics are particularly interesting and they don’t cover an original topic. On the contrary, the track seems to have been written with festival fields of indie rock-hungry teens in mind, a casual audience who it will likely find a level of enjoyment here. Overall, it seems like the record label have been looking at his indie rock counterparts to spot the gap in the market for him, but he’s ultimately a decent guitarist and a young artist with interesting lyrical material to explore, but it doesn’t feel like a great platform for him to express them with, as he may be restricted by a commercial barrier placed by his label. In short, I think that he’s better than the song.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Zeros” (Available from May 15th, 2020) (Columbia Records)

Thank you for reading this post! It appears that, according to the worldwide concept of time, Sunday has almost rolled in our midst again… Which means it’s almost time for the first Scuzz Sunday of the new month on the blog! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Marielle Kraft – “Better Without You”

January 30, 2020 — Leave a comment

As with every day on the blog, I’ve Kraft-ed the discovery of a brand new track for you!

  • Pictured: Marielle Kraft performing “See You In The Morning” in her own live Gibraltar Session (August 2016)

Good afternoon to you, Jacob Braybrooke is writing about your daily track on the blog, as promised! Marielle Kraft, in no way related to the owner of the mayonnaise and cheese spread company from the US, is an up-and-coming indie pop singer-songwriter from Rhode Island. She is a self-taught guitarist and she was influenced by the likes of Taylor Swift, Alec Benjamin and Maisie Peters. Over the course of the last two years, she has released two EP’s independently, which also includes four single releases and three officially produced music videos. I was recently introduced to Kraft by my friend Eddie Bammeke, who went on a trip with his friends to New York and he told me he was blown away by her acoustic performance and her big voice. Don’t forget to tune into his show, Slow Motion Riot, from 9:00pm – 11:00pm every Tuesday on OMG Radio, which airs right after my show! Let’s hear “Better Without You” below.

On “Better Without You”, Kraft starts: “Empathy/Working on having a bit more empathy/The story’s so much deeper than what I can see”, beginning to display lyrical themes of difficult break-up’s and female empowerment, a concept she explores more fully in the first verse: “January stripped away the best of me/Had to find the beauty in the rest of me”, before she begins to recite the chorus: “I don’t mean to think about you lately/but I do, but I do”, halfway building to: “When you call me up to ask you back/I let it ring with tears held back”, as a building layer of synth drums gradually increases it’s sonic focus on the track, before Kraft releases the tension with: “I am better without you”, with the track building to a faster pace with more instrumentation, such as a few guitar licks and a thunderous symphonic rock component which builds it’s tension around the reflective lyricism of the “I’m Moving On” anthem. It’s a little more interesting than your typical indie pop, as the subtle intensity of the new-wave pop bassline – paired with the swelling layer of sultry electro-pop, connotes Kraft overcoming a dark texture of relationship difficulties, as the tension is released when she says she’s “Better Without You”. She continues to take low-key sass jabs: “I’ve had time to grow my friendships without you/I’ve been playing New York City without you”, paired with a trance-based context of honest reflection. This is a decent and easily listenable pop track from an artist who’s very capable of achieving mainstream popularity. It’s because she is a master of her Kraft!

  • Pictured: Marielle Kraft performing at the City Winery of Boston (July 2019) (Photo Credit: Michael McCarthy)

Thank you for reading this post! Tomorrow, I’ll be celebrating underground greatness from Seattle with a new track taken from a collaborative EP from two of Seattle’s greatest local talents, including a producer who won the 2016 Stranger Genuis award! 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: Josef Salvat – “In The Afternoon”

January 29, 2020 — Leave a comment

Often likened to Morrissey, Lana Del Rey and Gotye, you could spend your whole afternoon streaming this track from Josef Salvat! I’ve got better things to do though…

  • Pictured: Josef Salvat in a minimalist photoshoot for his “In Your Prime” EP (2014) (Photo Credit: Culture.com)

Jacob Braybrooke here, with your daily track, as promised! Last month or so ago, Sydney-born singer-songwriter from London, Josef Salvat, returned from a 4-year hiatus with the track “Modern Anxiety”, his first piece of new music since the release of his debut LP, “Night Swim”, released in February 2016 here in the UK, although it was released in September in most other European territories before then, for some odd reason. Nonetheless, it was a far-from-perfect, but very diverse and crowd-pleasing pop record which still went down as a “Jacob Classic” in my book as he’s still pretty unknown. He’s since released another new track, accompanied by an official music video, “In The Afternoon”, in January. It’s taken me a little bit of time to get around to reviewing this track due to my busy schedules, but I’m writing to see how it lives up to “Night Swim” and to see if it’s an improvement upon his return track, “Modern Anxiety”, which I found to be underwhelming. Let’s have a listen to it below!

It looks like Josef’s been up to some naughty business this time! Good for him though, as he seems to have the perfect Afternoon lined up for himself. An intimate, care-free pop jolt, “In The Afternoon” starts off with a swiping synth that swells it’s grips around the main vocals of the track. Salvat sings: “You like your coffee black and your drinks strong” and “You like your hair pulled back and your nights long” with a quick-witted, rhythmic R&B style. He adds: “Stay for a while/I’m not busy, if you wanted, you could spend the whole afternoon”, with a dark-tinted layer of auto-tune layered above his vocals. In the video, he has a romantic, if kept simple, evening with multiple lovers as they eat takeaways, catapult around the bed and mess around with alcohol, adding a paint of imagination to the fantasy happenings. It’s a slightly interesting concept, but again, as with “Modern Anxiety”, I just don’t find the music to be very interesting at all. I’m good with unashamedly pop and I’m a big fan of that style, but it sounds like the auto-tune machine is used a little bit too much and the ultimate problem that I have is that, after a 4-year absence, Salvat has returned and doesn’t seem to have anything very interesting to say to us or explore, lyrically. It just sounds very manufactured and it’s probably not entirely his fault. Knowing the industry and the fact he’s signed to a major label, it sounds like the label have been having a lot of interference with his creative direction. If you look back to his early tracks like “Shoot and Run” and “This Life”, he’s got a very unique style of vocal performance and he lends himself very well to a dark-pop use of synthesized beats, which got me to really notice his talent in the first place. Overall, I think there’s some great harmonies here and there, but it’s weighed down by bland lyricism and a corporate feeling that seems destined to relegate it to streaming playlist fodder. It’s a big shame for me to express, but as with “Modern Anxiety”, it’s flat and disappointing.

  • Pictured: Josef Salvat in an intimate photoshoot for his “Paradise” music video (2016) (Photo Credit: DIY Mag)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, with a look at a new track from an independent American pop singer-songwriter who shares her surname with a brand of dairy products, namely Mayonnaise and cheese spread, from the US. 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: Pet Shop Boys – “Monkey Business”

January 27, 2020 — Leave a comment

We’ve officially entered the “Hotspot” era! Here’s a new post to kick off the new week!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Hotspot” (2020)

It’s the start of a new week, as well as another new era for Pet Shop Boys at the dawn of a new decade! Good day to you – I’m Jacob Braybrooke, wishing you a happy Monday with a new daily post, as always! “Hotspot” is the new LP record from Neil Tennant & Chris Lowe, also known as British national treasures Pet Shop Boys, which was released last Friday. This is their twelfth overall album and it’s the final part of their Stuart Price-produced trilogy of albums which also included “Electric” in 2013 and “Super” in 2016! They’re still going, but given that January is usually a “dump” spot of bad releases, is it a bad sign of things to come for the 60-year-old duo in their ageing career? It turns out not so, as it’s actually a very decent little album for what it is. The lead single’s called “Monkey Business”, a track which the two performed on last Friday’s episode of BBC 1’s “The One Show”, following an interview to promote the new record. An interesting tidbit was also revealed on an interview with Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 6Music, where Tennant told the story of a pimped-up gambler in Las Vegas who spoke the main hook of the track. Tennant thought: “Thank you” and he based the lyrics on the odd conversation. Let’s have a look at the video below.

Tennant, in his instantly recognizable speech-based vocal twang, starts: “I’m here on monkey business/just playing around”, over the top of 70’s disco, propulsive violin strings. There’s lyrical nods to an ageing raver or gambler: “Everybody get on board/I’m back in town/and I’m not leaving till’ the last joint has shut down” and “People tell me I’m a legend round these parts/I start the party and I end up breaking hearts”, in the first verse, seems to have a self-aware and pompous attitude about it. The video shows a bunch of mature party-goers and shiny-topped hustlers in a half-filled nightclub. Tennant chants: “Bring me margaritas/champagne and red wine/we’re gonna have a party where we all cross the line”, before a repeat of the infectiously poetic chorus, with an added layer of orchestrated synthpop beats and groove-stepped helpings of catchy refrains and old-school pop sensibilities. Overall, it’s fairly cheesy, but not overly, and it definitely has a very old-fashioned pop sound to it, so I’m not sure if students like me would really “get” it. However, I think that it works well and I really like it. It sounds more like something that you’d dance to at a wedding than at a club, with a certain family-friendly vibe. It’s a good thing though, as the result is a track which plays to it’s maturity as it’s biggest strength. There’s also a subtle, but distinct, British humor in the overall package. It’s a fun track and I was listening to it on repeat numerous times on Saturday. It likely won’t go down as one of their classics, but it’s a good piece of evidence to prove that Pet Shop Boys can still take their sound in interesting directions this late in their career. Also, watch out for Chris throwing shapes with the crowd of dancers in the video. It’s gold! Not bad at all!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for the “Monkey Business” single (January 2020)

If you’d like to have a read of my thoughts of one of their previous tracks, “The Pop Kids”, follow the link here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/11/04/todays-track-the-pet-shop-boys-the-pop-kids/

  • Pictured: Pet Shop Boys (Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe) in a photoshoot for “Hotspot” (January 2020)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at a slightly heavier electronic dance track from a Danish disc jockey who specializes in mixing techno, ambient and jungle to a tee! He’s currently signed to the Lobster Fury record label and he also shares his surname with the famous US comedian Jerry Seinfeld! 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/