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Today’s Track: Yirim Seck – “Crush On You”

January 25, 2020 — 1 Comment

Don’t get crushed by the grandeur of these hip hop beats! It’s time for your new post!

  • Pictured: Yirim Seck in a photoshoot for his BandCamp website biography page (2019)

Good afternoon, Jacob Braybrooke here, as per usual, with your daily music musing on the blog! Today, I’m going to introduce you to the sound of Yirim Seck, an underground hip-hop artist from the streets of Seattle, Washington. Seck has been championed by Seattle music organization KEXP, who have now introduced me to the outspoken and bare-knuckled sound of Seck. He made his debut in 2009 with “HEAR ME OUT”, which he’s since released a direct sequel to with “HEAR ME OUT TOO (SEKOND EDITION)” last November, which he describes on his Bandcamp page as “a culmination of tracks which are a reflection of events both personal and social happening in real time”, which gives you an indication of Seck’s very inspired and politically influenced style of writing. “Crush On You” is the lead single from “Synced In”, a five-track EP which was released last April. Take a look at the music video below.

In the video, Seck walks through a frozen town, mostly including a derelict, icy construction site which presumably tears down his old estate or flat as he contemplates an intimate infatuation with an old flame from his past, as he recites: “You scratched my back and I scratched yours/like I’m supposed to”, referring to his city as an abandoned land of culture being transformed into a financial playground for the upper class, before he addresses his ex-lover directly: “When we first met/I told my friends/I knocked them loco”, a line which is amusing and witty, but personal and down-to-earth. He carries on: “She hit me with the city game/looked fresher than the north-west rain/We grew up together/I found solace in your back-blocked alleyways and rap spots”, with Seck continuing to tell personal anecdotes to remember the long-lost flame. It’s sad that he no longer knows what she’s up to, as he chimes in the sing-along chorus: “You know I got a crush on you/all I think about is crushing you”, before reciting: “When do I get to touching you/Now it’s time to cut you loose”, with “Change is what we struggled through” being the key hook, as Seck refers to change in a romantic sense and an industrial sense of his town’s infrastructural changes. The bars are recited over a very lush, ethereal synth backdrop and glitched-out EDM lines, which adds a conceptual dynamic of lost connection and impending maturity, as you feel his pain. It’s a well-produced video and the lyrics are very plentiful to talk about, with the second bridge focusing on the in’s-and-out’s of his town’s destruction, balancing it with the destruction of his lust for his lover, who also seemed like a sister-like figure for his lonesome self. Overall, I feel Seck deserves more recognition because this is an absolutely fantastic hip-hop track with a poignant mix of personal storytelling, subtle wit and a gorgeous, sonically-produced bassline which conjoins, in it’s melodic nature, with the drama of Seck’s emotional wellbeing throughout the track. The sound is honest and sincere, yet it’s also drenched with melancholic beauty. I can’t wait to get the chance to hear more of his work, as I have a feeling that it’s going to connect with me on a deep level. It isn’t particularly challenging to listen to, but it’s very easy to understand and relate to. Utter brilliance!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Synced In” (5-track EP Release) (April 2019) (WestAfriCoast Media)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a new entry in the weekly series that you’ve been waiting all week for.. That’s right, it’s nearly time for a new Scuzz Sundays blog post! 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: Empire Of The Sun – “High and Low”

January 24, 2020 — Leave a comment

Happy Friday! Here’s a pop track that will branch out to you! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Luke Steele (Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar) and Nick Littlemore (Bass Guitar, Drum Kits, Programming)

Happy Friday! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, of course, writing about a track to lift your spirits before, like me, you want to collapse in exhaustion at the end of an eventful working week. Today’s track is “High and Low” by Empire Of The Sun, taken from their most up-to-date LP release, “Two Vines”, released in October 2016 after the band saw a resurgence of mainstream popularity due to “Walking On A Dream” being featured in a Toyota Car advert. I didn’t really know the latest album existed, to be honest, as there was only a three year gap between “Ice Of The Dune” in 2013 and “Two Vines” in 2016 – and I can remember my Dad owning their debut, also titled “Walking On A Dream”, back in my Pre-Teen days. However, I revisited “Ice On The Dune” and remembered how I didn’t get the chance to see how “Two Vines” measured up to it. Empire Of The Sun is an Australian pop duo made up of Pnau’s Nick Littlemore and The Sleepy Jackson’s Luke Steele. They aren’t particularly big in the UK and their success has waned on an interesting curve in the US, but the duo are moderately popular in several international territories and European markets. On “Two Vines”, Steele has described the context as a visualisation of a modern city overrun by a forest jungle, with other tracks like “Digital Life” touching on conceptual themes like the social media age. Take a look at the video for “High and Low” below.

“High and Low”, the lead single of “Two Vines”, is an upbeat and celebratory pop anthem, which sounds very familiar to the regular fanbase of Empire Of The Sun and unashamedly takes a lot of influence from 70’s pop bands like Fleetwood Mac and Deep Purple, with a vocal similarity to the Barry Manilow recordings of old. The single begins very quickly, with an urgent delivery of ambient sweeps and a fast-paced, electronic guitar riff. Steele chimes: “Down where the summer and the late nights last forever/There’s a house on the hill and we can’t travel now”, before chanting: “Alice D, you’re on your way up”. I wonder if that’s a not-so hidden reference to LSD? Steele continues singing about the wild child, Alice D, crooning: “Let’s get together, forget all the troubles and just float/I don’t want you to go now/I need to be closer to you now”, before a repeat of the pop-oriented chorus filled with chanting vocal hooks and stadium-sized, large-scale electronic pop notes. A very pop-heavy track, with a fast-paced delivery of sequencing and an obvious drive towards a Eurovision-primed disco sound. Although I think the artwork is absolutely gorgeous and the pulsating sound is engaging to a certain extent, it’s ultimately a track which feels a bit underwhelming and reminiscent of a struggling third album, in my opinion. The vocal hooks are highly repetitous and the writing is straightforward because I’m not really getting the nature-controlled city aesthetic of the album. Unfortunately, I can see why the album was released to little fanfare, as the concept is fairly interesting, but the sound doesn’t lean into it enough, which is a shame due to the flamboyant costumes and the theatrical live sets which the band has. It’s a simple case of the music not sounding quite so interesting, with a flat electronic pop chorus that doesn’t really go anywhere and a lack of experimentation. Overall, I feel the duo have some interesting ideas, so it’s ultimately a shame this vine fails to outgrow it’s unfortunate blandness.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Two Vines” (October 2016)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at a relatively new track from a Seattle-based Hip-Hop musician who has a Senegalese background and he made his debut over a decade ago with “HEAR ME OUT” in 2009! 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: Hinds – “Riding Solo”

January 21, 2020 — Leave a comment

Here’s a track from a band who had to change their name of Deers in 2014! Oh deer…

  • Pictured: Carlotta Cosials (Lead Vocals), Ana García Perrote (Lead Guitar), Ade Martin (Bass Guitar) and Amber Grimbergen (Drums) (Photo Credit: NME) (December 2019)

Seriously, they got caught up in a legal dispute with a Canadian indie band, “The Dears” in 2014! Hello, my deers (fine, I’ll stop it now – it can’t define the quality of the band anyways), Jacob “The Joker” Braybrooke is here again, it seems – with a look at Hinds’ new track “Riding Solo”, released in December 2019 as part of their world tour announcement. It’s their first new material since their second album, “I Don’t Run”, which was released in 2018. Loosely based on the theme of deers, Hinds have cited the likes of The Strokes, Mac DeMarco, The Vaccines and Ty Segall as their main influences of their lo-fi, garage-rock sound. Let’s have a listen of the new track below!

An optimistic take on the perks of feeling isolation and loneliness, “Riding Solo” is an embracing of the quirky, garage-pop sound that we love hearing from the band. It takes a twist on independence, as Carlotta Cosials, the lead vocalist of the Spanish indie outfit, sings: “I’m staring at the celing, I’m on my private jet lag/While everyone is dreaming, I’m dancing through dynamite” over a fashionably upbeat layer of fizzled electronic snares and sliding guitar licks, mixed with a youthful and ska-influenced underlayer of glistening drum beats, which create a flamboyant and celebratory tone. It’s more electronic and pop-adjusted than much of the band’s previous efforts, but their core elements of lo-fi and garage rock remain, as the vocals take a tingling turn towards the common human feelings of moving forwards and the unfriendly touring schedules of the band as musicians. Overall, I feel it’s an overall solid tune which reminds me of Grouplove’s electro-pop sound and may be a little forgettable, but the fans of the band will be pleased by the fact we’re hearing new music from the band with a slight evolution of their sound, while keeping their core sound relatively intact.

  • Pictured: Hinds in a photoshoot for their debut album “Leave Me Alone” (2016) (Photo Credit: slatethedisco.com)

Thank you for reading this post! As usual, I’ll be back tomorrow, with an in-depth look at the new single from a Kingston Upon Thames-born English DJ who received his major breakthrough for composing the score for the 2010 smash-hit film “Monsters”! 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: AFI – “Miss Murder”

January 19, 2020 — Leave a comment

I think AFI are going to need Miss Marple to solve this murder! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: AFI (Davey Havock, Jade Puget, Hunte Burgen and Adam Carson) at the MTV Awards (2006) (Zimbio.com)

Happy Scuzz Sunday to you! As usual, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it’s the day of the week where I take you on a leisurely stroll down memory lane of the late 1990’s-mid 2000’s punk/emo/rock genre, as I revisit some of the artists and tracks which I used to listen to in my childhood, as part of THAT phase. “Miss Murder” by AFI is this week’s special track, a tune which achieved good commercial success, having reached the #44 spot in the UK Singles Chart upon it’s original release in 2006. I vividly remember the dark/gothic music video and I can also remember getting a perfect score of the track on Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock on the Xbox 360. Those were the days, right? It’s taken from AFI’s seventh LP, “DecemberUnderground”, a landmark record in the development of new punk and progressive metal as a genre beyond the commercial emo status. AFI are still popular, having released the “Blood Album” in January 2017.

I still get a real kick from the vocal breakdown in the middle. It’s still deeply satisfying to jam out to! The bass guitar riff, conjoined throughout the track, also comes off as an iconic guitar riff for me, with it’s distinctive three-note structure and it’s large punk-hardcore influence, which echoes throughout the track at a steady, yet confidently upbeat, pace. The track is unashamedly over-the-top and it reminds me of the gothic and operatic style which was being popularized by My Chemical Romance at the time, although the track is produced with even darker qualities which dips into influences from the Glam-Rock bands of the 70’s, such as Black Sabbath. Davey Havock, in his vocal performance, croons: “with just a look/they shook/and heavens bowed before him/simply a look can break you heart, later followed up by “Dreams of his crash won’t pass/Oh, how they all adored him/Beauty will last when spiraled down”, two verses which have a very gloomy and anthemic context to them, although they’re delivered in a slightly tongue-in-cheek, or should I say, smeared black mascara, way. This builds up to a crescendo of chanting vocals and a melodic breakdown of frantic drum beats and precarious bass guitar lines. Havock collapses in fright and leads a choral, shouting bridge. This is finished off with some synthesized beat jitters. The track got a mixed critical reception when it was originally released, although it’s become a cult favourite since. I don’t really understand the reason for the former, as it’s a rare example of an over-the-top, 00’s goth-punk anthem that stands the test of time. Fun fact: the video is directed by Marc Webb, who went on to direct The Amazing Spider-Man films and 500 Days Of Summer. He also directed videos for Jimmy Eat World, Evanescence and Weezer around the same time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “DecemberUnderground” (June 2006) (Interscope Records)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, with a holiday plan to whisk you away to sunny Jamaica (audibly, not literally, of course!), as we warm up our hearts on a cold January day with a look at a classic Jamaican Rocksteady track from 1967 from a small vocal choir led by Winston Riley, who briefly reformed in 1982 with a re-recorded version of one of their hit singles and a brand new album! 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: Avalanche Party – “Howl”

January 15, 2020 — Leave a comment

After watching the video, you might be left ‘Howling’ in laughter! Time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Jordan Bell (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Jared Thorpe (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Kane Waterfield (Drums/Percussion), Joe Bell (Bass Guitar) and Glen Adkins (Keyboard/Synths) (Photo Credit: Upset Magazine/2019)

Good evening to you, Jacob Braybrooke is writing with your daily track! I’m giving myself an introduction to Avalanche Party, a Leeds-based band from West Yorkshire, who have been gathering steam on the UK indie rock scene as a major player of the X-Posure Playlist for John Kennedy’s iconic Radio X evening show. The band have just announced their plans to offer free entry for those working at the NHS to gigs on their upcoming tour, an institution that is very close to their hearts. The band released their debut LP, “24 Carat Diamond Trephine”, to critical acclaim back in November, along with the music video for the single “Howl”, which features the band performing in cheesy colour-striped 80’s suits, with a technicolor-drenched green-screen, fashionably trimmed 80’s hairstyles and a prominent guest host who continually attempts to steal their limelight! Why not take a look at the video for “Howl” below?

It soon becomes clear that “Howl” is an indie rock tune which aims to be the swaggering 80’s rock-and-roll anthem to go along perfectly with the video. The lyrics are fist-pumping and clearly designed for closing their gigs. Lead vocalist Jordan Bell proclaims the lyrics, heavily distorted by echo-drenched drum melodies and psychedelic vocal modulations, over the top of a post punk-oriented and garage-rock swamped barrage of a slightly blues-driven guitar tone and a noticeably “laddish” vocal delivery. There’s also a little bit of synth production work and a frequently baroque-inspired vocal delivery which reminds me of Panic! At The Disco’s early band releases, before the project became more of a solo vehicle for Brendan Urie. It certainly has the purpose of drawing riotous crowds onto a stage and aggressively prowling a mosh-pit with the uptempo sonic sounds which would be coming from a live stage. I have mixed feelings on it. The track has a boastful, melodic bass guitar riff and a baritone vocal style which harkens back to retro 90’s punk releases and a slightly tongue-in-cheek aesthetic. However, for a band who are heavily pushing marketing themselves on the ideas of insanity and surrealism – for me, I feel it sounds relatively tame and the lyrics are forgettable compared to their less mainstream counterparts like Warmduscher, Idles and Fontaines D.C, who just seem to have a more immediate impact on me. Overall, I feel it’s a good track, but nothing more. I like the band’s sense of humour, but their sound doesn’t quite live up to the band’s “intense” moniker, for my taste. It will find an audience – though – and I look forward to seeing where the group take their sound in the future as there’s potential for more.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “24 Carat Diamond Trephine” (November 2019)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as per usual, with an in-depth look at a new track from The Innocence Mission, a Pensylvania-native alternative folk band who are set to release their eleventh studio LP, “See You Tomorrow” on January 17th via Bella Union Records! I played this track on my radio show yesterday! 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 – “Narcissus”

January 9, 2020 — 2 Comments

This is not one for the Narcissists! Good evening, it’s time for your Thursday blog post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Narcissus” (Single/Radio Edit) (November 2019)

Jacob Braybrooke here! Another one of my personal favourites taken from the current BBC Radio 6Music A-List, “Narcissus” by Róisín Murphy, is Murphy’s latest collaboration with DJ Parrot of Crooked Man fame. Murphy, an Irish singer-songwriter, is best-known for earning commercial success as part of the Irish electronic trip hop duo Moloko, alongside longtime producer and friend Mark Brydon. Together, the two brought out several pop hits, such as 2000’s “The Time Is Now”, 2003’s “Familiar Feeling” and a 1999 remix of “Sing It Back”, all of which entered the mainstream pop charts around the world. “Narcissus”, currently a non-album single, is her latest work.

I love the strings on that! I feel that “Narcissus” has a rather Eurovision pop twang to it, which means this one was a bit of a “grower” for my personal taste buds. However, the more I hear it, the more I’m getting to like it. Murphy repeats: “being left/being left/being left/being left/being left with me/Narcissus” over the top of swirling, orchestral cello notes and an undeniably energetic disco throwback style. Unashamedly retro, Murphy begins to pant, out of breath, as she continues to repeat the main hook over synths which distort her voice with a powerful psych-pop twist. The whispered vocals prove that Murphy, despite her established status as a performer, really lends herself well to the retro-80’s euro-pop style of genre. The verses, which are slightly less memorable than the chorus, plays on a fairytale dreamlike quality, as Murphy professes her love for happy endings and seems belated by how she thinks she’s met her rightful Prince Charming: “The saddest story ever told/Loving only what you will hold/In your own reflection/When love is here”, as disco itself becomes part of her identity. It is a flawed experience, as the lyrics will become far too tedious for some listeners to enjoy, and I feel that it’s not the sort of song that I’ll be likely to revisit as time goes on as the overall sound is a little bit dated. I admit that it’s a cheese overfest. However, the track is very fun to listen to and it proves that Murphy, as an artist, is still capable of injecting her energy and character, as a pioneer, to the dancefloor! Go on then, let’s get up and have a boogie!

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a new track from an Indie soft-rock band from Brighton, of which I’ve covered a track on the blog before, who will be performing a gig at The University Of Manchester on the 30th, followed by a gig at Saint James Wine Vaults in Bath on the 31st! 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 Cave & The Bad Seeds (feat. Kylie Minogue) – “Where The Wild Roses Grow”

January 7, 2020 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Murder Ballads” (February 1996)

Jacob Braybrooke here, a Nick Cave super fan! Well, I’m getting there. I haven’t worked my way through his entire discography yet, with 2-3 albums yet to go, but he is certainly one of the most fascinating artists in the world! January is infamous for crappy Horror films being released in cinemas that usually make year-end worst lists from movie publications. So, I thought I’d see if I could do a better job of terrifying you! Possibly the album to do so, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released “Murder Ballads” in February 1996. It’s a record that pretty much does what it says on the tin, with the introduction of female vocal collaborations with PJ Harvey and, on this bizarre track, Kylie Minogue, who brought Cave on-stage to perform the track during her legends slot set at Glastonbury Music Festival in 2019. It was a delightful moment!

They called her “The Wild Rose”, but her name was Elisa Day, so the vocal hook goes! A cheerful narrative, as Cave narrates the story of a serial killer whose passionate lust for Ms/Mrs. Day causes him to ultimately kill the one that he loves. Cave expresses his lust and desire for the girl upon their first date: “From the first day I saw her I knew she was the one/As she stared in my eyes and smiled/For her lips were the colour of the roses/They grew down the river, all bloody and wild”. This track has a male/female call-and-response style of storytelling, as the lyrics of the track shift between the alternating viewpoints of the killer and Elisa Day. During the second verse, naratted as the “second day”, Minogue begins to realise that the vitality of the “first day” will never be surpassed and Cave quickly loses his innocence. Cave sings: “On the second day I brought her a flower/She was more beautiful than any woman I’d seen//I said, ‘Do you know where the wild roses grow/So sweet and scarlet and free?”, while Minogue sings: ” On the second day he came with a single rose/he said: ‘Will you give me your loss and your sorrow?/I nodded my head, as I laid on the bed/He said, ‘If I show you the roses will you follow?” Day 3 comes and he… kills her!

Minogue describes the ordeal: “On the third day he took me to the river/He showed me the roses and we kissed/And the last thing I heard was a muttered word/As he stood smiling above me with a rock in his fist”, While Cave attempts to justify the slaughter as a way of preserving their integrity and their memories together: “On the last day I took her where the wild roses grow/And she lay on the bank, the wind light as a thief/As I kissed her goodbye, I said, ‘All beauty must die’/And lent down and planted a rose between her teeth”, before a repeat of the joint chorus hook closes the track. The vocal performances are great and the simplicity of the music behind the lyrics add something of a bizzare beauty to the dark fable of the track. It cleverly plays on the naivety of the damsel in distress and her killer in black cloth, although the sound is notably not ingrained in the 70’s garage rock’ n’ roll roots of Cave. The chemistry is another standout of the track, and it’s heartwarming to see that Cave and Minogue have remained close friends ever since and they’ve always been well aware of each other, even if their solo music output is very different. Overall, it’s a fantastic, if a little bizarre, collaboration between two of the biggest Australian icons to brace popular culture. If you’re reading this before bed… don’t have nightmares!

  • Pictured: Kylie Minogue & Nick Cave performing “Where The Wild Roses Grow” at Glastonbury 2019 (Worthy Farm)

If you’re looking to catch up with my other entries on Nick Cave, my musing on “Rings Of Saturn” is here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/30/todays-track-nick-cave-the-bad-seeds-rings-of-saturn/ and my entry on “Henry Lee” featuring PJ Harvey, also from “Murder Ballads” can be read here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/01/todays-track-nick-cave-the-bad-seeds-feat-pj-harvey-henry-lee/

  • Pictured: Nick Cave has gone to Book World! (Reading “American Murder Ballads” (Credit: Stickitonyourwall.com)

Thank you for reading this post! Tomorrow, I’ll be looking at a track from a Techno DJ, signed to the Nina Tune imprint label, who also has a degree in Neuroscience and he is also a co-founder of the Eglo Records 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/

Scuzz Sundays: Terrorvision – “Perseverance”

January 5, 2020 — Leave a comment

The student is back at University! It’s now time for the first Scuzz Sunday of the year!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for Terrorvision’s “Regular Urban Survivors” (Physical CD Format) (March 1996)

Rest assured, I have safely made the trip back to my room at University! My train was cancelled, which gave me a little bit of a shock and a panic, but I was kindly taken all the way back by my parents, who I want to give a big thanks and a shout-out, as I know they’ll be reading this! It’s of course, your first Scuzz Sunday post of the year and to try and wash away those January blues, I’ve chosen “Perseverance” by Terrorvision, a track that I remember first hearing on my “100 Hits: Alternative” compilation record. A Yorkshire alternative Punk band who would have received a lot of airplay on Scuzz TV in the 1990’s, Terrorvision released the single on their third LP record, “Regular Urban Survivors”, which played a huge role in establishing the very dedicated cult following which the band are still being given to this day, years after their original split in 2001 and their subsequent reunion in 2011. Tony Wright, the frontman, even presented an episode of Top Of The Pops! Happy Sunday, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and this week’s Scuzz Sunday track is “Perseverance” by alternative punk band Terrorvision, a single which peaked at #5 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1996.

Dubbed as “Bradford’s Finest” by Drowned In Sound, Terrorvision are seen as a breath of fresh air within their genre by many music publications. One of their signature tracks, “Perseverance”, is a full-throttle indie punk single known for it’s quick editing, fast-paced riffs and swiftly delivered lyrics. It’s filled with catchy Pop Rock melodies designed to stick in your mind, with a focus on simplicity and infectious comedy lyrics about well… Whales and Dolphins! What’s not to like? Wright quickly recites, almost raps, “I was high on a molatov of cocktails/I was low on a hundred things/I was wrong to put my money where my mouth was/I was right about the whales and the dolphins” before bridging into the next verse: “I was blue about the people in the power/I was green that’s my excuse/I was yellow when they said to fight the reds/’Cause I knew I’d be beaten black and blue”, with the track not really living up to the band’s name since it isn’t terrifying or visual, it’s just an enjoyable punk-pop track to nerd out with. It’s this sense of memorability that makes sense why the appeal of the track has lived on, as the lyrics are messy and nonsensical. The chorus has a distinctive British feel: “Cor what I like and what I hate about perseverance/Ooh what I’d give and what I’d take for perseverance”, a few lines which show you the Pulp-influenced direction which punk-rock was going at the time in the UK. The quality of the track, overall, holds up – although you shouldn’t go into the track looking for a philosophical meaning. It’s fish-friendly, so there is that – however!

  • Pictured: Tony Wright (Lead Vocals), Mark Yates (Lead Guitar), Leigh Marklew (Bass Guitar), Cameron Greenwood (Drums) and Milton Evans (Keyboard, Trumpet, Backing Vocals)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at a new track from a collaboration between a Texas band known for blending many influences across Psychedelic Soul, Jamaican Dub and World-based Funk – and a Jazz-influenced vocalist from Texas who was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in February 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: Hot Chip – “Positive”

January 4, 2020 — Leave a comment

You could say that I may just have a “Hot Chip” on my shoulder! Saturday rave vibes!

  • Pictured: Alexis Taylor (Lead Vocals), Joe Goddard (Synths/Keyboard), Owen Clarke (Lead Guitar), Al Doyle (Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals, Percussion), and Felix Martin (Drum Machine/Programming)

A highly established Alternative Synthpop group on the UK indie circuit for just-about two decades now, as they formed in 2000, Hot Chip have been enthralling audiences on UK indie club dancefloors and club-oriented music festival environments with classic hits like 2007’s “Ready For The Floor” and 2008’s “Over and Over” since their breakthrough second LP record, “The Warning” was released in 2006. In June 2019, the group returned from a 4-year hiatus with “A Bath Full Of Ecstasy”, a commercially successful and well-received LP which housed indie resurgences such as “Hungry Child” and “Melody Of Love”, singles primed to liven up club environments with a technicolor paint of coat on the UK and international dance-rock circuits. A new single, “Positive”, has just been released and it’s been receiving significant airplay on both BBC Radio 6Music and Radio X, as well as being on the FIFA 20 soundtrack. I’m Jacob Braybrooke and today’s track on One Track At A Time is “Positive” by Hot Chip!

“Positive” has an immediate opening of Nu-disco channeling, with large measures of drum machine jolts and razor synth-rock snares. It’s never afraid to show the group’s trademark image of quirky energy and infectious new-wave disco, as Alexis Taylor proceeds to deliver a political and ecological message on the effects of Homelessness, as the track incorporates light hip-hop elements into it’s pop-heavy production. Taylor sings: “You’re washed up and you’re hated / You’ve lied, you’re berated”, before delivering a chorus that plays on the themes of euphoria and childhood: “We get together sometimes/Talk about how we used to get together sometimes/Of love/How we used to laugh together sometimes/Of something positive”, with a Pet Shop Boys-inspired talk-sing style of dialogue. What tune-age! Taylor goes for a vibe where the track is heartbreaking and quiet, with the soulful riffs on loneliness and isolation being disguised by 90’s electronic pop beats and care-free use of drum machine programming. The result is a track that goes for Dancefloor Bliss and more or less succeeds, if it wasn’t for the ideas of homelessness running on a little bit of an empty gas tank near the end of the track. It’s not specifically stepping the band out of their comfort zone, but it’s a solid and engrossing reminder of how the band play to their strengths and wrap up a sound that is compulsively listenable and weirdly poignant, more so than it might appear at first! My opinion is “Positive”…

  • Pictured: Hot Chip performing a live headline set at Mayfield Derby in Mannheim, Germany (2019)

Thank you for reading this post! Make sure that you check back with the blog tomorrow, as it will be time for my first Scuzz Sunday blog post of the New Year! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

New Year’s Day Special: ABBA – “Happy New Year”

January 1, 2020 — Leave a comment

Or as Jools Holland would say on his annual BBC 2 extravaganza, HOOTENANNY! A moderately sleep-deprived Jacob Braybrooke here, wishing you a very happy new year!

  • Pictured: Benny Andersson (Keyboard/Synths/Piano/Percussion), Agnetha Fältskog (Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals), Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad (Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals) and Björn Ulvaeus (Lead Guitar/Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals)

Well, I suppose it’s fair to say that this is, hands down, the best day of the year so far! The decade, even, in fact! “Happy New Year” by the legendary 1970’s pop vocal quartet ABBA is the best track we’ve covered on One Track At A Time all year around! Ok, enough with the New Year jokes! I’m going to write to you about ABBA to ring it in!

“Happy New Year” seems to be the closest ABBA have come to a full-fledged foray into Christmas music offerings. A vocal track from the golden age of early 80’s ABBA, the track was originally written as a track for a musical that was eventually scrapped as the screenwriter backed down. Lyrically, it references the end of the 1970’s and it tells the story of a relaxed aftermath to a New Year’s Eve’s party. Agnetha Fältskog opens proceedings: “No more champagne/And the fireworks are through/Here we are, me and you/Feeling lost and feeling blue”, before Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad leads the chorus: “Happy New Year/May we all have a vision now and then/Of a world where every neighbour is a friend” and “Happy New Year/May we all have our hopes, our will to try/If we don’t we might as well lay down and die/You and I”, as the New Year’s Eve party draws to a standstill and it begins to momentarily meet it’s conclusion. When you read these lyrics written down on paper, they seem a bit melancholic and bleak. However, as you listen to the track, the track has much more light-hearted and optimistic qualities to it’s sound. The male harmonies from Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus are noticeably absent, who provide the instrumentation on the track instead, which is mostly acoustic. It has up-tempo and light piano melodies and a taste of the Accordian from Ulvaeus. The music machine hadn’t come into fashion yet! Nevertheless, this is still the best song that I’ve heard all year round!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Super Trouper” (1986)

Thank you for reading this post! It’s been a long time since we’ve covered a Jamaican classic on the blog, so I’ll be helping you through the very weird day tomorrow with a slow and diverse Rocksteady classic that appeared on the “This Is Trogan – Rocksteady” compilation album box-set! 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/