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Today’s Track: Josef Salvat – “Modern Anxiety”

November 23, 2019 — Leave a comment

Like a WWE 00’s John Cena match, he’s made a comeback! It’s time for your new post!

  • Pictured: Josef Salvat in a 2019 photoshoot for “Modern Anxiety”

Born in Sydney and later moving to study in London, Josef Salvat is a very gifted singer-songwriter who is openly bisexual, writing his songs from a gender neutral perspective, as he feels it adds texture to his sound. I fell in love with his voice on a cover version of Rihanna’s “Diamonds”, which is a million times better than the original version, in my opinion. It was a track on his debut “In Your Prime” EP, a short dark-pop jolt with a deep voice, similar to Lana Del Rey and Morrissey. He later released “Night Swim”, his debut LP record, in the UK in February 2016. This album wasn’t quite perfect, but it established his sound as he finds his own feet as an artist. It’s been a long time since we’ve heard any new material from him, but Salvat has just announced his comeback with two new songs: “Modern Anxiety” and “Alone”, as well as a follow-up LP record due for release in 2020. “Modern Anxiety” has a clever music video, which is designed for watching vertically on a smartphone. Check it out below!

It’s a very well-directed music video with a bold theme, as it tackles issues of social media toxicity and struggling with online criticism in today’s 24/7 society. Salvat sings about too much going on in his life and the area around him: “Last night I was handsome, drunk and young/Today I don’t who I’m tryna be” and “The air is slow and fat, you can cut the heat/Smell a city’s worth of bodies, filling up the street/So I just draw the curtains and make my retreat/Put the fan on, hide my headphones and then scroll myself to sleep”, before the main chorus hook comes in: “I think they call this modern anxiety/This modern life is getting the best of me”. It handles these themes respectfully and courageously, with the relatable characteristics of the track shining through, even on a first listen! The video also makes use of apps, it also features nods to Coldplay and Bjork in the Instagram-parody clips. A lot of love has clearly gone into the production of the video, and it’s with a lot of regret that I unfortunately don’t think I can say the same about the track itself. The track has a very poppy dance-inspired beat and the rhythms of the autotuned synths are certainly directed at a young audience. However, for me, it all sounds a bit generic. The reverb auto-synths sound too robotic and processed. I initially liked Salvat’s earlier work, such as “Shoot and Run” and “This Life” for their cold, layered vocals and the overall darkness to the composition of the sound, but I seem to have missed that trademark element on ‘Modern Anxiety”, as I feel that it’s been replaced by a chart-pop sensibility that doesn’t play up to Salvat’s strengths as a vocal performer or make him stand out in a crowded market as well as his original sound does. It lacks the bite of “Open Season” or ballad-influenced “Punchline” and it sounds commercialized, potentially by the label, instead. The lyrics are fine, with the vocal hooks growing on me a little bit, but it’s flat and disappointing, with the track lacking the daring oomph of his early sound.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “In Your Prime” (September 2014) (EP Release)

Thank you for reading this post! Make sure you check back with the blog tomorrow, as I’ll be giving you a right Blast From The Past with another weekly edition of my 00’s emo punk-themed Scuzz Sundays blog posts! 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 – “On Melancholy Hill”

November 22, 2019 — 1 Comment

A rock band with an “animated” lineup! Literally… It’s time for your Friday blog post!

  • Pictured: Promotional Artwork for “Plastic Beach” (2010)

Gorillaz certainly have a very animated sense of character to them. The most famous virtual rock band in the world, with Blur’s Damon Albarn at the helm in the real world, have made quite a name for themselves in the music industry ever since the 00’s, successfully translating an experimental style of rock to the mass audiences, always gaining high popularity with each LP release due to the significant lore and fantasy-building created by James Hewlett, the designer and VFX artist of the cartoon compadres. I still remember the hype around their return from a 7-year hiatus with “Humanz” in spring 2017, with the album selling out in days and gaining record-breaking pre-order sales, of which I bought the physical CD copy to share with my friends. They’re not really my all-time favourites in the wide scheme of things, but it’s still a musical project that I admire and I get very excited for with each subsequent release. “On Melancholy Hill” is a track that I remember hearing for the first time on “The Singles Collection 2001-2011” compilation CD, but it’s the third single released from 2010’s “Plastic Beach”, which is the third official full-length LP credited to Gorillaz. This is a lesser-known track from the band, which reached #78 on the UK Singles Chart upon it’s original release. It was later ranked as #152 on Pitchfork’s top 200 songs of the decade so far and #5 on BBC’s list of the “Best British Songs Of 2010”.

“On Melancholy Hill”, according to creator Damon Albarn, exists as the one “genuine pop moment” on the 2010 record. It starts off immediately, with no fading, with a glowing electro-synth line that fuzzes above a set of twinkling keyboard patterns, before Albarn sings his woes beneath a Falsetto: “Up on Melancholy Hill, there’s a plastic tree/Are you here with me/Just looking out on the day of another dream/Where you can get what you want, but you can’t get me/So let’s set out to sea (love)/’Cause you are my medicine when you’re close to me” as it becomes somewhat of Gorillaz’ one true love ballad. There is a dream-like quality to the romantic themes of the lyrics, which is established through downtempo electronic instrumentation that sounds miles apart from the hip-hop influences found on 2005’s “Demon Days” or the experimental art-rock sound on the 2001 self-titled debut LP. However, it’s also dominated by a somber, more mindful, texture which conveys the comfort of a physical touch, but also the distance of a crush that’s destined not to work out. It ties into the concepts and themes of the album, as it feels reminiscent of travelling to an idyllic location outside of a harsh pre-Brexit (yes, I just said it!) political climate, which works in this audible concept as a beach with dream-like qualities. The sound is boosted by a four-step pitch and a chordal string-based arrangement that twinkles and glistens at every turn. Overall, I think it’s obviously not necessarily Gorillaz’ most uptempo tune, but I really enjoy listening to how the tone flips between light and dark in different sections of the track. The track is maddening, but it’s also saddening.

  • Pictured: 2-D (Vocals, Keyboard), Murdoc (Bass, Drums), Noodle (Guitar) and Russell Hobbs (Percussion)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at the brand new track from a Bisexual Australian singer-songwriter often likened to Lana Del Rey and Morrissey, who relocated to London from Sydney and released his debut LP record, with each song being written from an ambiguous, gender-neutral viewpoint, in early 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/

Scuzz Sundays: Good Charlotte – “I Just Wanna Live”

November 17, 2019 — Leave a comment

That sounds like my motto as a student with limited funds. It’s another Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “The Chronicles of Life and Death” (2004)

“The Chronicles Of Life and Death” is one of the earliest albums that I can recall owning. This was back in the day of 2004, where my uncles would lend me their CD’s and I would receive a blank copy of the same album. It’s what we all did before the power of sharing a file or a link on Facebook, eh? It was actually the one and only album that I owned from Good Charlotte at the time, with my interest being piqued at the idea of being cool by listening to the band, although I can vividly remember a few singles from the album: “Predictable”, “I Just Wanna Live” and their respective music videos. I also remember the choir piece at the start of the opening track, “Once Upon a Time: The Battle of Life and Death”, which made me skip the track and made me think it was a completely different track that was ripped onto the CD by mistake, as I had no sense of art or structure at such a young age. The copy of the album still sits, gathering dust, on the shelf, to this day! Having researched the album since, I’ve discovered that it had received a somewhat muted reception from critics, but it was still a big commercial hit for the group, as it sold 117,000 copies in the US in it’s first week of release. I wonder how many copies were ripped from those? One of the most notable singles, “I Just Wanna Live”, reached #9 on the UK Singles Chart in 2004. It was also one of the songs Sony paid radio stations to play in the 2005 Payola Scandal!

“I Just Wanna Live” is a commercialized emo punk track that fuses together the elements of pop, punk and hip-hop, with a funny music video, to slightly unbalanced results, but it’s not without merit for a record of it’s time. It felt like a way for the band to re-brand their identity and move away from what made them popular in the first place, although the pop sensibilities and the occasional violin arrangements create an oddly cinematic effect. It’s easy to see why it was such a pop hit for the group as it responded to the sounds of the UK’s Franz Ferdinand and a pre-date to Bring Me The Horizon at the time. However, I find the quality of this record, 15 years since it’s release, to be questionable at best. The inclusion of a melodic hip-hop influence feels out of place and basic: “I rock a law suit when I’m goin’ to court/A white suit when I’m getting divorced/A black suit at the funeral home/And my birthday suit when I’m home alone” sound cringe worthy and high-pitched to an unpleasant extent. Also, the different elements of dance-rock and pop-punk, along with a very slight taste of the dark-emo style the band used to be known for, feel very messy and the track lacks overall focus in key areas. It’s almost like the band didn’t know what they wanted the track to be or the label were telling them what they wanted it to be, which clashed with their fanbase and created a disjointed feel to the overall sound. It’s not a track that most people seem to remember very well, which says a lot considering it was actually a big hit for the group back in the day. Unfortunately, time has forgotten about it, but it does elicit some big reactions from crowds on their reunion shows. Overall, this is a track which clearly used to appeal to my 9 year old self, but who else?

  • Pictured: Joel Madden (Vocals), Benji Madden (Lead Guitar/Co-Lead Vocals), Paul Thomas (Bass Guitar), Billy Martin (Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Dean Butterworth (Drums/Percussion)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at a new track from a female US hip-hop artist who started in a band called The Fugees, before winning five Grammy Awards for her debut, and only, LP record after it’s release in 1997! 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: New Found Glory – “My Friends Over You”

November 10, 2019 — Leave a comment

A day of work experience is my new sound glory! It’s time for a Scuzz Sundays post!

  • Pictured: Jordan Pundik (Lead Vocals), Chad Gilbert (Guitar), Ian Grushka (Bass), Cyrus Bolooki (Drums, Percussion) and Steve Klein (Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals)

“My Friends Over You” is a personification of a Scuzz TV throwback – it’s the song which the iconic American emo punk band, who were very influential and pioneering in the second wave of the late 90’s punk movement, used to end their live shows on. According to Jordan Pundik, the lead vocalist of the group: “It’s the anthem. We have to play it last, just because it ends with a bang. It’s a fun, party song.”. As for the lyrical content of the track, it’s just a classic story of bro’s before ho’s, bromance before romance, friendship over relationship. It was taken from the band’s second LP, “Sticks and Stones”, which was released in June 2002. It reached #30 on the UK Singles Chart.

The early 00’s was a rare time for rock bands, except a few names like Evanescence or My Chemical Romance, to make much of an impact in the charts at the time, but this track from New Found Glory managed to do it, I think it’s thanks in the part to the music video, which sees the band playing a live gig in front of a live audience, with deliberate technical glitches and some CGI-oversized heads. The track itself has a cheesy sitcom-theme-style vibe, with Pundik brewing up a storm with: “You were everything I wanted, but I just can’t finish what I started” and “”I’m drunk off your kiss, for another night in a row” and “Please tell me everything, that you think that I should know”, as Pundik describes his deteriorating love for the personality of this partner as he’s lost an interest beyond the looks, instead picking the bond with his friends instead of her. It’s a unique concept for a track, but it doesn’t sound all too inspired or exciting in this day and age, with the drum melodies feeling a little bit simplistic and the guitar riffs being serviceable, but not particularly memorable in any form. However, the vocals are very engaging and each of the band members have a good chemistry, with an overall energy that is commendable and satisfying for mainstream pop fans, although I’m personally really not a music nerd of that genre. It’s not an awful track, but I just don’t feel the material has stood that big test of time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Sticks and Stones” (2002)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look a track from The Chemical Brothers 2000′ classic LP, “Surrender”, as the record is being re-issued for it’s 20-year anniversary! 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: Sunset Gun – “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got”

November 7, 2019 — Leave a comment

That is a great motto for us all to live by! Good evening, it’s time for your new musing!

  • Pictured: Vinyl Artwork for “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got” (1984)

Sunset Gun were an indie pop/jazz group comprised of two sisters: Louise and Deirdre Rutowski, as well as Ross Campbell, who worked as a producer and a percussionist with the two sisters. It was later expanded to include a backing group, which was comprised of Jim Williams (lead guitar), Graham Brierton (bass guitar) and Gordon Wilson (drums). They released a couple of singles and an album for CBS Records in 1984, before becoming one of the first acts to sign with 4AD, an indie record label which is still strong to this day, with acts such as The National, Beirut and Future Islands signed up. “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got” is a track from 1984.

“Be Thankful For What You’ve Got” is a consistent staple of the lost 80’s time capsule list on my student radio station. In itself, it’s a poppier cover version of the track of the same name, originally written and composed by William DeVaughn from 1974, which is exactly a decade before the “Sunset Gun” cover version was released. This version of the track has a more electronic style, which is different to the grounded jazz and funk roots of the original. Louise and Deirdre open the track with: “Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac/Gangsta whitewalls/TV antennas in the back” over a bed of 80’s synth-guitar lines and an undeniable loyalty of funk, with the chorus hook of: “Diamond in the back, sunroof top/Diggin’ the scene/with a gangsta lean” adding a more choral arrangement, with the core message being delivered over a layer of soul-like keyboard chords: “But remember brothers and sisters/You can still stand tall/Just be thankful for what you got”, which has a fun and infectious groove to it. The lyrical themes of the track are a social comment on the materialism of greed and how having everything you may want isn’t what you actually need. I think the instrumentation is basic and simple to a point, but the vocals are gorgeous and it’s the unique take on the original’s soul influences that gives this a step in it’s own right!

  • Pictured: Louise Rutowski (Vocals), Ross Campbell (Percussion) and Deirdre Rutowski (Vocals)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with a track from a very niche experimental rock group who currently have a YouTube channel with only 72 subscribers! Yes, that’s right! 7-2! 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/

Todays Track: The Pet Shop Boys – “The Pop Kids”

November 4, 2019 — 1 Comment

I’m going west with a recent-ish track from iconic veterans for your Monday blog post!

Having received the BRIT Award in 2009 for Outstanding Contribution To Music and being named the most successful British dance duo of all-time, according to the Guinness Book Of World Records (I reckon The Chemical Brothers would have something to say about that!), Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, otherwise known as the ‘Pet Shop Boys”, have been on a tear since the early 1980’s by releasing hits – both mainstream and niche – left, right, front and center. They recently made a surprise guest appearance during The Killers’ headline set at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, as Brandon Flowers’ wanted to pay tribute to the British acts who have inspired him to make music. They’ve been particularly notable in the LGBT Community, with rumors of the two dating having been surfacing throughout their entire career. To be perfectly honest with you, I SHIP IT!!! I’ve never been a massive fan personally, but I admire and respect everything they have done, having brought joy and happiness to masses of people over the years. My Dad’s a massive fan, but I love a bit of “West End Girls” as a wind down on a night out. “Heart” and “What Have I Done To Deserve This?”, featuring Dusty Springfield, are also dance-floor classics. “The Pop Kids” is the leading single from 2016’s “Super”, their thirteenth LP release, released in April 2016.

“The Pop Kids” is a glittering 90’s disco-style floor-filler that feels like a stroll down memory lane for the two legends, making lyrical references to a strong relationship and an unhealthy lifestyle for two partners bouncing in different clubs and attending different club nights, which is always referred to in the past tense, with a simple verbal line of “I Loved You” proving to be one of the most emotional vocal performances provided by Tennant in the discography of the duo. The track also has musical elements of trance and dance-rock, as the vocals take momentary breaks for the Hacienda bassline and the new-wave synth beats, which break apart the overall themes of pop passion and nightlife in a past decade, when the narrators were younger. It proves to be a very effective track and one of my favourite songs to ever be recorded by Tennant & Lowe, although it only managed to reach #128 in the UK Singles Chart (I had no idea it went past 100 either!). “The Pop Kids” is a very 80s-esque track which is irresistibly funky and seems to have a good amount of heft behind it’s writing. It’s a thumping trip down memory lane that maybe should have been given more recognition, although the niche skew is a big part of the charm here.

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a British female solo artist who produced the score for the recent series of BBC’s hit political crime series, “Peaky Blinders” and was nominated for this year’s Mercury Prize award for her latest 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/

Scuzz Sundays: A – “Nothing”

November 3, 2019 — Leave a comment

Now, here’s a track that I remember from the pre-teenage days. It’s a shame this punk band’s career ultimately amounted to Nothing! It’s time for a Scuzz Sunday blog post!

I also vaguely remember seeing the music video for this emo-punk anthem on Kix! Mix, a male-focused Pop Party-like programme that used to air on the Kix! children’s TV channel on Freesat. Anybody else remember that channel? Moving swiftly on, “Nothing” is a single by A, a British alternative punk band hailing from Suffolk, who clearly felt that one letter was enough to say it all! The track was taken from their third LP release, “Hi-Fi Serious”, named as a tongue-in-cheek reference to an electronic shop seen in the “I’m Alan Partridge” TV series when Partridge buys a new Bang & Olsen stereo in one episode. In fact, it doesn’t A-HA!-end there, as the tour following the album was named “Inner City Sumo” in reference to another Partidge line. Knowing me, Knowing A, their single would be a huge commercial success, reaching #9 on the UK Singles Chart upon it’s release in February 2002. A-HAA to that!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Hi-Fi Serious” (2002)

Musically, “Nothing” is a arguably one of the heaviest singles recorded by A, with a unique mix of nu-metal guitar riffs and a growling delivery of vocals from Jason Perry, with an odd combination of electronic synth chords and a sparkling keyboard groove. Lyrically, it’s about shredding someone to tears and cutting ties with the past, as Perry exclaims: “Gimme some love/Gimme some skin/If we ain’t got that then we ain’t got much/And we ain’t got nothing, nothing” over a loud chorus of heavy bass riffs and a drumming beat that rolls along with the aggression of Perry on vocals. The layers craft a distorted tone and a sheer volume, which gives the track a rougher edge than some of it’s other 00’s emo-punk counterpart offerings and lyrics that were clearly written with a deep level of angst and hatred involved. It still sounds fairly good, with the bass-booming sound feeling like a big highlight, but I feel the synth chords feel a bit out of place with the industrial, drilling style of the guitars and drums. This could be the biggest reason why this, otherwise, tends to get overlooked.

  • Pictured: A (Current lineup) Jason Perry (Vocals), Mark Chapman (Lead Guitar), Adam Perry (Drums), Giles Perry (Keyboard) and Dougie Poynter (Since 2017) (Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at a track, released in 2016, by a legendary British electronic duo who recently appeared live on-stage for a guest appearance in The Killers’ headline slot at Glastonbury Festival 2019! 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: Beck – “Uneventful Days”

October 29, 2019 — 1 Comment

It’s been one of those uneventful days for me – Uni, work and deadlines has pretty much just been my entire life since September, but yet, I’ve been too busy doing that to write today’s post until the late evening. What’s going on with that? VOO-DOOOOO?

On a lighter note, it’s a gift from the universe to us all that Beck Hansen – the man, the myth and the dream mate I’d like to go for a night out with – is releasing a brand new album on November 22nd – “Hyperspace” – which is a science-fiction themed alternative pop/lo-fi album with the likes of Pharrell Williams, Greg Kurstin, Sky Ferreira and – oddly enough – Chris Martin from Coldplay (URGHHHHHH!!!!!! I HATE COLDPLAY!) on the guest list! I’m really looking forward to seeing how Beck completely reinvents himself this time with the follow-up to his 2017 re-break-out record “Colors”, which won the Best Alternative Music Album award at last year’s Grammy Awards. Beck has released “Hyperspace”, a pop-driven interlude with swirling synths and a darker texture of lyricism – as well as “Uneventful Days”, which is a single that he co-produced with Pharrell Williams. Talking about the collaboration with Pharrell to NME, Beck said: “was not expecting the songs to come out how they did. I was going in thinking of songs like ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’, y’know?” Beck said. “[Pharrell] felt very strongly that, spending a little time with me, that, ‘You need to be doing singer-songwriter type of songs’. So that was more of the direction we went in. I really tried to be less ambitious on the production on these songs, like to let them be simple and let them breathe. Pharrell is a master minimalist.”, so it sounds like Beck is confident that he’s found a match made in heaven! The music video for “Uneventful Days” is directed by Dev Hynes, a filmmaker and musician also known as Blood Orange, who’s released synthpop bangers of his own in several years, such as “You’re Not Good Enough” and “Charcoal Baby”, a synth-based tune dealing with depression.

Elaborating on the comments made by Beck to NME, “Uneventful Days” is a track that is very soft in context and it sounds very light on the ears. It kicks off with an ambient Jazz style, which sounds very cosmic indeed. Beck uses glistening guitar licks and spaced-out synth lines, with a focus on the vocals and the keyboard-driven melodies. Beck croons: “Uneventful days, uneventful nights/Living in the dark, waiting for the light”, later chiming in with “I don’t even know what’s wrong (the days without you)/Ever since you’ve been gone/Only ten minutes to go (leave me cold and alone)” over a bed of 80’s-style instrumental hooks and modern chart R&B, as the sound of the track progresses Beck forward as an artist, as he vocally reflects on the choices he’s made in his life and comments on the mundanity of everyday life, a vision of irony which becomes clearer with the Dev Hynes-directed video. The production work is electronic, but it’s also minimalist and quiet, it conveys a sense of Beck sensing a problem, but he’s struggling to make a head or a tail about the wider picture. Overall, I really like the composition on the track, as it feels mechanical and undeniably pop, as well as sounding very accessible to newcomers of Beck’s discography, although there is a slight tinge of a mainstream style in there, which I’m a little bit concerned about, but it’s reassuring to know that Beck’s behind the steering wheel of his own destiny as an artist – as usual. I can’t wait to hear the full record in a handful of weeks!

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at a new track from an English female solo artist who is also a poet, novelist and a playwright, most notably winning the Ted Hughes Award for her spoken word poem “Brand New Ancients” for her innovation in poetry in 2013! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Editors – “Black Gold”

October 15, 2019 — 1 Comment

I have spent a very long time Editing a lot of my posts on the blog, but it’s definitely been worth it for the fun and all of your positive comments! Here’s your Tuesday post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Black Gold” (2019)

Editors are a post-punk revival band who have been popularized ever since my childhood, originally being formed as Pilot, in Birmingham in 2002. They are the kind of band whose singles are often a little bit too commercial for my personal liking, but they have some real stand-outs as album tracks in their discography. I really like the dark and ethereal atmosphere on most of their LP records, which were clearly influenced by many alternative rock bands of the 1980’s and 1990’s, such as Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division and The Chameleons, not to mention the 80’s group who have withstood the test of time by themselves, New Order! However, Editors have always been good at expanding upon the influence of their musical favourites by creating a sound that is still unique and original for themselves, which has set them apart from other bands within the genre like Interpol and White Lies. Delightfully, Editors have just announced the release of “Black Gold”, a best-of compilation LP record, which is arriving on October 25th, with two discs full of their most commercially successful and their most critically-acclaimed tracks, as well as a brand new single, “Black Gold”. The band are also embarking on a new world tour, with 5 live dates in the UK, as well as stopping off in several international territories like France, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. It runs from January until June 2020!

“Black Gold” sees The Editors dabble into a more electronic sound, with a very explosive introduction of electro-pop synths and fizzy breakbeat melodies from the offset of the record, before Tom Smith kicks in with the vocals: ““I know you better than you know yourself” as the drum notes and the twanging bass guitar riff keeps things running at a very melodic pace. It provides a rush of energy, as Smith remarks: “Don’t change; I need you tonight.”, before the track drops a range of distorted vocals: ““Black gold is the color” as the electronic instrumentation serves up a chorus that crashes down onto a platform that sounds ripe for stadium shows and live concert appearances. There are quieter moments, such as the Falsetto-based vocals in the bridge and the jangling transition into the pop-centric chorus, but the pacing seems a little bit off in places as the vocal arrangements overlap as a few of the lyrics will be difficult to be audible on your first few listens. I’m also not very sure where this single lands within the band’s canonical discography, but it’s an interesting direction for the band to take, even if it may sound a little bit too commercial for some. That may have something to do with Andy Burrows co-writing the track, a producer who hasn’t worked as part of Editors before. These are only minor criticisms though, as it’s still a decent record overall and I’m impressed by the band’s willingness to take a new direction after being a very established band for, what doesn’t feel like, a decade now.

  • Pictured: Tom Smith (Lead Vocals, Piano), Russell Letch (Bass Guitar, Synths), Edward Lay (Drums), Justin Lockey (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals) and Elliott Williams (Keyboard, Backing Vocals) (2013) (via Festileaks.com)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at a new track from an Australian synthpop band whose debut record was nominated for Best Dance Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 2011, but famously lost out to Cut Copy’s “Zonoscope”! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every daily new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: The All-American Rejects – “Gives You Hell”

October 13, 2019 — Leave a comment

Tyson, Nick, Mike and Chris as The All-American Rejects may give you hell, but I give you a different track to jam along with, every day!!! It’s time for a Scuzz Sundays post!

The All-American Rejects are an American punk/rock band, who were one of the most recognized teen rock groups from back in my childhood years, which was known to myself as the era of Scuzz TV! Many of their singles were featured heavily on the station and were crowd favourites with my peers, be it the quiet goodness of 2005’s “Dirty Little Secret” or the underrated blues influences on 2006 “It Ends Tonight”, but my favourite of them all, was the 2009 monster of a record, “Gives You Hell”, which is a track that still sits proudly on each of my feel-good playlists to this very day! The track was a single from the band’s third studio LP release, “When The World Goes Down”, and it reached a peak position of #18 on the UK Singles Chart in January 2009!

  • Pictured: Cover Art For “When The World Comes Down” (2008)

The track, according to co-writers Nick Wheeler and Tyson Ritter, started as a “cheesy whirl on a drum loop”, but more guitar chords were added and acoustic bass lines were mixed into the track, it was added to the track list by Jimmy Iovine, their producer, who praised the track’s lyrics and sound. It retains the tongue-in-cheek nature that it was headstrong in pursuing from the start, but the production work has been improved to a greater effect. It’s simply about giving someone who makes life difficult for you a middle finger, with this sense of pessimism and hatred being amplified through a set of catchy, if somewhat deliberately annoying, bass guitar lines. “When you see my face/hope it gives you hell” and “When you walk my way/hope it gives you hell” are a little basic and formulaic, but they still evoke a decent amount of emotions dealing with frustration and anger to make it a catchy record. I really enjoy the lead guitar groove and the don’t-give-a-shit mood, but it’s a shame that Chris Gaylor, the drummer, doesn’t come in until near the minute mark, as his drum hooks are solid and would have added a little bit more energy to the slow opening of the track. The chorus is a very frank stand-out, with a harsh burst of guitar lines, sarcastic writing and the solid vocal performance from Ritter, as it finally puts the oomph into the track that seemed a little bit missing in it’s earlier going. The All-American Rejects stick to their emo-pop formula on this track, but that’s not ever such a bad thing, as it’s still a very decent record that is obviously memorable and catchy to listen to. Everyone needs to vent their anger at some point and I don’t think there’s many better songs to release that emotion with than this one – vent it all out!!!

  • Pictured: Tyson Ritter (Vocals, Co-Writer), Nick Wheeler (Lead Guitar, Co-Writer), Mike Kennerty (Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals) and Chris Gaylor (Drums, Percussion)

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at a track from an Icelandic female solo legend who has won five BRIT Awards in her very long and illustrious career! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every daily new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/