Modern Prog.

New Album Release Fridays: Soccer96 (feat. Salami Rose Joe Louis) – ‘Sitting On A Satellite’

September 24, 2021 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Dopamine’ (LP) (Released on September 24th, 2021) (via Moshi Moshi Records)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for yet another daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It has been a very slow week, and so I’m looking forward to taking it all down a notch with the help of the new highly anticipated album release from the London-based Drum and Synth duo Soccer96. There’s also new albums from Public Service Broadcasting, Wigan local heroes The Lathums, Marlowe’s lyricist Solemn Brigham, Merge Records’ label boss Mac MacCaughan, intriguing World-infused UK Drum & Bass producer Zen Dub, and more hitting both digital and physical storefronts for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ this week. As aforementioned, Soccer 96’s new album is one of the few LP releases that I can childishly say that I’ve been ‘Hyped up’ for in a while, based on the quality of their prior work, the singles taken from the album so far, and the general excitement about this release in Alternative music circles. Soccer96 is the side project of keyboardist Dan Leavers (‘Danalogue’) and drummer Max Hallett (‘Betamax’) from the Prog-Jazz trio The Comet Is Coming who, for those still uninitiated, are a terrific London-based Nu-Jazz trio also involving Shabaka Hutchings (‘King Shabaka’) who were nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2016 and were signed to Impulse! Records in 2018. Leavers has produced albums for Ibibio Sound Machine and Snapped Ankles, while Hallett has played the Drums with the likes of Sons Of Kemet and Yussef Kamal, and so the two musicians are very active on the UK’s underground scene. Together, Soccer96 specialise in a really diverse blend of Prog-Jazz, Instrumental Grime, Dark Ambient and Electronica that always feels as fresh and eclectic as ever. Their new album, ‘Dopamine’ – also featuring collaborations with Salami Rose Joe Louis and Nuhu Ruby Ra – is being released digitally today, with a short stint of physical transparent blue/marble brown Vinyl copies set to follow on 15th October, which are limited to just 300 copies on Rough Trade’s website. Check out the latest single below.

‘Dopamine’ is a concept album exploring the narrative of an artificial intelligence programme taking over a human nervous system, a sci-fi vision of a codependency between humans and machines, as the robots only source of dopamine is from people, and vice versa. It began life as a sonic reaction to the graphic novels of Moebius’ Jean Giraud, and the duo displayed one of the revered French artists’ paintings in the middle of their studio when recording the album for inspiration. Hallett told XLR8R, “All musical decisions would centre around this image. It was a depiction of a cosmic traveler gazing across a desert at a sort of crystal city. If the music was resonating with the image then we knew we were on the right path” in an interview. As a single itself, ‘Sitting On A Satellite’ is very obedient to these visual ideas, with the two very talented players conjuring up an Astral set of themes with the Space-Age synths, the hazily atmospheric tones and the pulsating drum rhythms that give the duo the platform to express themselves creatively with no ties to their previous projects, giving them ample creative freedom in their approach. The vocals, meanwhile, are highly processed and they seem to depict the double alter-ego system of an AI gaining human consciousness. Together, everything makes for a very hypnotic and entrancing blend of refreshing keyboard sections, laidback Drum grooves and intoxicated vocals that give off a wonky feel to the eclectic graphical influences. There feels like less of a Grime influence that we heard on The Comet Is Coming, but the London Jazz blueprints are still intact, with a colourful set of ambient instrumentals and broad sweeps of percussion that bring the duo’s niche cyber-imagination of androids to life. All in all, this is an inventive and visually creative twist on Progressive Jazz – with some vibrant experimentation and some Gorillaz-esque vocals that just orbit around the listeners ears with a calm confidence.

Pictured: Dan Leavers (Keyboard/Synths) and Max Hallett (Drums) (2021) (Photo by William Barnes)

As mentioned above, we’re all great fans of The Comet Is Coming on the blog, and, to help them take off, we’ve covered some more of their spacey stuff on the blog. Check out ‘Lifeforce Part II’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/28/todays-track-the-comet-is-coming-lifeforce-part-2/

Pictured: Betamax & Danalogue with King Shabaka Hutchings in The Comet Is Coming (2019) (via PR)

That’s all for now! Thank you for joining me on the blog, and I’ll be back for more tomorrow. Join me then for something a little more radio-friendly (But still quite cool) single from a Liverpool-formed indie band who have been around since 2003. The band, known for the frontman’s smarky witticisms and realistic depictions of young adult issues, have released music for 14th Floor Records and Bright Antenna Records, and the veteran rockers have sold over one million copies of their albums worldwide.

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Today’s Track: Meadow Meadow – “Silhouettes”

September 6, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Silhouettes’ (EP) (Available from September 17th, 2021) (via Practice Music)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke and, as per usual, the time has finally come for me to get the new week off to a flying start with another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Meadow Meadow previously made an appearance on the blog in January with ‘Fireworks’ when I was writing about some of my holdovers from the year before, and I’ve been keeping a close eye on their work since then. This Manchester-based Avant-Garde duo is comprised of James Green and Peter Darlington, who were previously two members of Spring King, a Garage Rock quartet from Macclesfield who were once the cover stars of Dork Magazine. Since the breakup of Spring King, Green and Darlington have both enjoyed continuing to write new material together as Meadow Meadow, a process of creativity they find to be as “a constant source of peace and catharsis”. Green and Darlington cite the likes of Beck, 808 State and Neil Young as their influences behind Meadow Meadow, and the pair of producers also share a love for The Microphones and Animal Collective. The work they create now is self-described as “Music for walking, cycling and camping” because the two musicians have bonded together over their shared experience in growing up near reservoirs, forests and canals. The follow-up to their self-titled debut EP released last year, ‘Silhouettes’ is their new EP, which arrives on September 17th via Practice Music. Check out the Phone-optimized video for the EP’s title track below.

Their new EP also includes the previously released single ‘DNO’, which was mixed by Mike Lindasy of Lump and Tunng. Green explained about the new EP release, “We wrote ‘Silhouettes’ just after completing our first EP, and we both felt it set the tone of what we wanted to do for our next collection of songs. It was inspired by a drawing that was uncovered behind the wallpaper in my childhood bedroom” via his press release. Set to the fan footage visuals of fan footage from different nature spots, ‘Silhouettes’ feels like home for fans of Darkside, where Folk-oriented nylon guitar chords and playfully synthetic sounds mix with a more organic theme to create a strangely endearing equation. The vocals feel much less polished than some of the duo’s previous tunes, and this feels more akin to their roots in DIY Post-Punk as a part of Spring King. Lyrics like “I’m hoping to find peace in sorrow/A black sparrow sitting on the wall” and “I jump into bliss/I fell through the wall/Thick paint on my hands” create a visual picture of the lyrical themes of painting a picture of yourself to reflect quietly upon. We’re led to a more hushed finale, where the refrain of “Truth is beauty/And I see that now/At 3am, I’m always spinning out” is squeakily crooned to the tune of a slower musical palette. Some elements of field recordings and psychedelic textures give the experimental sounds a strange mix of a cosy campfire feeling and a more disturbing undertone where the loose Piano keys and the rolling Drums create a more percussive style. There’s a warmth to these sounds, but the more meditative anchoring process also reminds me of the more collage-based style of Art-Rock bands like Django Django, while the life-affirming brightness of the more sonic sounds harkens back to Moon Duo for me. Overall, this is a weighted mixture of Avant-Rock and Dream-Folk that feels like a well developed mish-mash of other alternative groups, and so it feels original enough by weaving these wide influences together with a warm personality that suits the visual feel of the psychedelic themes.

  • Pictured: Meadow Meadow (Peter Darlington & James Green) (2020) (Photo via Facebook.com)

As I mentioned, I also checked out a greener Meadow Meadow (See what I did there?) for the blog early in the year, and so if you liked the sound of ‘Silhouettes’, why not check out ‘Fireworks’ here?: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/01/26/todays-track-meadow-meadow-fireworks/

  • Pictured: James Green performing a synth part for “Bonzo” last year (2019) (Photo via Facebook.com)

Thank you for reaching the end of the page with me today, and I can’t wait to add another entry to the blog tomorrow as we take an in-depth look at another emerging British independent music act that comes from Wrexham, North Wales this time and she will be releasing her debut album on Fiction Records later in the week. Having drawn comparisons to Ex:Re and The XX, she is now based in Margate and previously led the Transgressive-signed Shoegaze band Deaf Club before starting her solo career.

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Today’s Track: Mochipet – “Godzilla League Of Legends”

August 19, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Godzilla Resurgence’ (EP) (Released on May 11, 2021) (via Daly City Records)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the text of Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come around again for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! You’ve probably read the title of today’s track, and it looks pretty absurd, but this is a little EP release that I genuinely felt was pretty cool. My mother reads the blog every single day, and so this one’s also a not-so discreet nod and a wink at her, since we’ve been having a few little jokes about the ‘Godzilla’ franchise lately. She was very thrilled to see the latest one was added to Prime video. This one comes to you from the Taiwanese-American electronic house/EDM producer David Wang, who uses his own musical alias of Mochipet, which was based upon his long-term obsession with dinosaurs. As Mochipet, he has released music for several different labels – including Peace Off, Violent Turd and Death $ucker, and he is also the founder of the Daly City Records indie label. Wang’s latest EP, ‘Godzilla Resurgence’, was released in May as a tribute to his late father, who passed away as the project was nearing its completion. It is, of course, named after the mythical Kaiju who has starred in many films since the 1950’s. Proceeds are going towards his dad’s burial costs. Give it a Kaiju breath below.

“I saw my first ‘Godzilla’ movie when I was around 10 years old in Taiwan”, Wang told MixMag Asia late last year, later adding, “I actually didn’t like it at first. I didn’t understand why Godzilla was destroying Japan and I didn’t like that it was in black and white. It was not till later in my life, I began to appreciate Godzilla for its representation of human need for control and the Atomic Bomb that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki and destroyed many lives during World War II”, Wang spoke of how Godzilla’s symbol of death and destruction due to mankind’s quest for power has become an influence for his heavy blend of psychedelic EDM and no-nonsense ‘Brostep’ style of electronic production. On ‘Godzilla League Of Legends’, Wang really doesn’t pull back any of his skills for another day, and he instead mimics the fire-breathing giants of the EP’s namesake through the variety of weighty Bass sounds. The slower fade out at the beginning sets the tone for a cinematic affair, before the instrumentation comes in and displays a much more fiery side by putting the harsh distortion and the thick basslines into full throttle. The gears are changed slightly, in intervals, by a whimsical female backing vocal that goes for a little ethereality, and I felt this part of the equation was a nice touch since it was textured more gently than the core drum and bass melodies. The tune, in its entirety, is a solid evocation of Japanese manga animation series or action-heavy video game soundtracks, with a sonic palette that feels packed with rather aggressive melodies and it creates a very Animated feel to the heightened atmosphere overall. There’s plenty of tension found in the segmented decrease of the overall tempo, while the synths feel pretty playful at times. The drums feel smooth, and the long fade-out brings a cooling energy to the tune when it nears its conclusion. It may drag on just a little bit, but I rather enjoyed the unique style that it goes for and the subject matter feels pretty original, as this is not a single about typical topics like a break-up or a night out, and so it demands some attention to get the most out of. If you enjoy the heavier stuff, this one’s for you.

  • Pictured: Mochipet (aka David Wang) at a monster’s tea party (2019) (Photo via aaronswartzday.org)

That brings us to the end of the page for another day, and many thanks again for sticking with me until this point. If you’re looking for some exciting new releases to get a hold of tomorrow, please look no further than the blog as we delve into ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow. This week’s pick comes from a Dublin-formed indie folk band who will be performing at The Junction in Cambridge in October. They have been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize twice, and won the Choice Music prize in 2010.

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Today’s Track: Myd – “Born A Loser”

August 2, 2021 — Leave a comment

You are either born like a Teenage Dirtbag – or a privileged politician. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Born A Loser’ (CD) (Released on April 30th, 2021) (via Ed Banger Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for you to bring your trunks and a towel to the beach while you read all about my daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Myd is an electronic dance music producer and sound engineer from Paris, France who was certainly aiming for ‘Summer Anthem’ status when he released ‘Born A Loser’, his debut solo studio album, on Because Music and Ed Banger Records back in April. The 14-track project features guest spots from Mac DeMarco, Bakar and Juan Wauters, and is billed as his coming-of-age story and a soundtrack to the eccentric side of life, although the title track flips that style of mood on its head for a neat twist. Myd got his foot in the door of the music industry as a prior member of the 4-piece experimental House group Club Cheval, and he has worked as a producer for French Hip-Hop acts like Alonzo, SCH, Lacrim and Georgio. Give ‘Born A Loser’ a whirl below.

Built from a sample of Bobby Lee’s quirky 1966 track, ‘Born A Loser’ is an intriguing Alt-House track which Myd bills as “The song is an anthem dedicated to all the people who think they are losers. This feeling should give them the strength they need to go and achieve great things”, in his own words, according to a press release. A terrific house re-work, created from hitting the switch to twist a memorable male vocal sample, that we didn’t know we ever needed – the tune deviates from the happy-go-lucky, sunshine beach melodies of the Funk-leaning efforts from the new record by taking some notable influence from the Hauntology sub-genre. Starting off with an ecstatic kick drum beat, Myd soon subverts the more cheerful and Jazz-oriented tone with a quickly warping Synth sequence that leads smoothly into a male vocal that represents a form of wailing sadness, as the pitch becomes maddened and frenzied by the unrelenting, yet comical and bouncy, bassline that carries the atmospheric qualities of the sound forwards to some driving beats and rumbling Bass sequences. While feeling minimalist and a little simple in execution on paper, the track quickly encompasses fine elements of Chicago House, with the fist-pumping Bass and the chanting backing vocals that lie with subtlety behind the main picture, and elements of Neo-Psychedelia with the modulated sounds and the vibrant keyboard riffs. It plays out almost like a drunken round of Jazzercise, as opposed to a lazy paddle in the pool, with a darker variation of tones and a gyrating pace of noise that gives the sound a nicely wonky and curvy feel. Although the track’s natural habitat would be a summer festival or a club performance, which is a shame, there’s definitely enough substance to accommodate at-home listening to a very good extent. This is Tres Bien.

  • Pictured: Myd in the official music video for ‘Together We Stand’ (2021) (Photo via PR/YouTube.com)

Thank you for celebrating your inner ‘weirdy’ on the blog with me today, and please feel free to join me for more fresh music tomorrow, with my pick being from one of my favourite albums in the last three months, and a single that I’m obsessed with to boot. It comes from a Nu-Funk, Soul and soft Jazz singer-songwriter, producer and graphic designer from Los Angeles, California who has recently performed a KEXP ‘Live From Home’ session. Last year, he released a collaborative album with Lionmilk.

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Today’s Track: The Lovely Eggs (feat. Iggy Pop) – “I, Moron”

July 24, 2021 — Leave a comment

Let’s spend Saturday with something on the certified side of Moronic. New post time!

  • Pictured: Holly Ross (Vocals/Guitar) & David Blackwell (Drums) (2018) (Photo by Alex West/URY Music)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, as always, and I’m coming at you with another daily track on the blog, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every single day! Ever since I heard about the release of their new single ‘I, Moron’, I have been chomping at the bit for the chance to see The Lovely Eggs play live. If you haven’t heard of them before, The Lovely Eggs are a very popular two-piece lo-fi Psychedelic Punk act made up of husband-and-wife duo David Blackwell and Holly Ross, the latter of which used to be the lead vocalist and guitarist of all-female Indie act Angelica. Ever since they emerged on the UK DIY scene with 2009’s ‘If You Were Fruit’ debut, the two have garnered a dedicated cult following for their endearing, anarchic blend of unique political ideas, rough-edged electronic instrumentation and their distinctive sprinkle of humor. Sadly, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the band never got to play any of their tracks from last year’s critically-acclaimed album ‘I Am Moron’, but, rest assured, the arrival of the brand new single accompanies a set of rescheduled tour dates, with the two true Eggheads playing venues in locations such as Cambridge, Leeds, York, Stroud, Reading and Birmingham next Spring. ‘I, Moron’ features guest vocals from the godfather of British Post-Punk himself, Iggy Pop. This collaboration came about when Iggy Pop continually played new tracks from their latest album on his BBC Radio 6 Music programme, and the real cult favourites sent him a ‘Thank You’ note. Check out the moronic results of it below.

“Being in The Lovely Eggs we’re kind of used to surreal experiences, but collaborating with Iggy Pop really takes the biscuit” exclaims one half of the duo, Holly Ross, in the team’s press notes, adding, “It’s actually unbelievable. For him to just say nothing but “moron” over and over again fitted in with the sentiment of the song perfectly. He just GOT it. We are all morons. In a world of moronic things. In a world of moronic ideas. You are moron. I am Moron. We are Moron”, to her pick-me-up speech. It’s not something that I’d expect to hear in a dated Hollywood action flick, but it’s definitely something that I’d expect to hear from The Lovely Eggs because nobody does it better. ‘I, Moron’ picks up at the junction that we got off from last year’s ‘I Am Moron’ LP, with Ross and Blackwell guiding the rhythm with filtered vocal sequences, driving buzz-saw guitar riffs, expansive Synth melodies and layers of overlapping backing vocals. An old-school Punk attitude is created through the vague lyrics, which say very little, but go a fairly decent way in adding a substantial substance to the frenzied fusion of instruments. As for the featured spot from Iggy Pop, you could argue that he earns his paycheck pretty easily here, but his hilariously monotone repeat of the one word adds nicely to the Zany heart of the songwriting and the tone. Meanwhile, there are bubbling sequences of keyboard riffs, robotic Synth breaks akin to Air’s sound and explosively paced lead guitar hooks which keep the sonic palette varied enough. The music video is also a great companion piece to the Psych-Punk madness, with a quirky Clay Animation style that compliments both the home-crafted spirit of the music and the slightly deranged calibration of off-kilter humor and clear charisma that Ross and Blackwell have developed their key strengths from over the years. A charming blend of golden age Punk and electronic-infused Psychedelia, ‘I, Moron’ sees them slip between stripped-back Indie and playful electronica with a safe pair of hands on the wheel. For the lack of a less eye-rolling term, it’s an ‘Eggselent’ showing.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘I, Moron’ (Single) (Released on July 9th, 2021) (via Egg Records)

If you want more of this, why not see what I thought of ‘Long Stem Carnations’ here?: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/07/13/todays-track-the-lovely-eggs-long-stem-carnations/

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “I Am Moron” (Album/LP) (Released on July 10th, 2020) (via Egg Records)

That’s all I have to share with you today, but I hope that you are as ‘Eggsited’ as I am to see The Lovely Eggs playing in a town near you in 2022. Until then, I’ve got loads of new posts coming to your inbox, starting with another entry in the ‘Scuzz Sundays’ library tomorrow. It comes from a Welsh rock band formed in Newport during the 90’s who haven’t made an appearance on the site until now, and the band have won two Kerrang! Awards in 2001 and 2003. They were inducted to their ‘Hall Of Fame’ in 2019.

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New Album Release Friday: Darkside – “The Limit”

July 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

The experimental duo who don’t always look on the bright side of life. New post time!

  • Pictured: Vinyl Copy of “SPIRAL” (LP) (Released on July 23rd, 2021) (via Matador Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time to take a moment out with your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Latitude Festival may be the biggest talking point of this mid-July weekend, but, for those of us who couldn’t get ourselves a ticket and need to rely on getting our music fix elsewhere, there is a handful of new records available to fresh ears. Anne-Marie, Joel Culpepper, The Jungle Giants, Emma Jean-Thackray, Leon Bridges and Mercury Prize winner Dave all have new full-length albums hitting store shelves today. My pick for this week has been eight years in the making. ‘Spiral’ arrives this morning through Matador Records from Darkside, the collaborative side-project of the insanely prolific Chilean-American composer Nicolás Jaar and the Brooklyn-based rock multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington, a previous member of indie bands ARMS and Translations. The follow-up to 2013’s ‘Psychic’, the new record was written and recorded in 2018 and six of the tracks were largely made through an extended week-long session during that summer in New Jersey. It has a 79 on Metacritic to show solid reviews, with Charlotte Krol of NME calling it “A gorgeous, filmic record that rewards with each spin”. Check out promo single ‘The Limit’ below.

“From the beginning, Darkside has been our Jam band, something we did on days off”, Jaar spoke of Darkside’s return from hiatus, adding, “When we reconvened, it was because we really couldn’t wait to jam together again”, to the press release. Dave Harrington added, “It felt like it was time again. We do things in this band that we would never do on our own. Darkside is the third being in the room that just kind of occurs when we make music together”, to the press notes for the hype machine. Down to a tee, ‘The Limit’ is a psychedelic adventure through experimental corridors of patterns and exciting, wildly free-spirited tones that make the steadfast jolt feel like a diverse, atmospheric journey. Beginning with some intriguing Woodwinds-like sounds, Jaar laments a loss of grip on reality of life with contemplative vocals like “Don’t sow what you reap/Submit to the pace” and “The waters erase/Nothing left to see” as we build up to a lengthy instrumental that combines Folk-led guitar riffs with stiff Keyboard frames, with a driving Drum melody that adds a lot of heft to the strength. We reach a breaking point when Jaar refrains “Current with no direction”, as the steely frames take an intrusive turn to something that feels much more harsh and abrasive in setting, as the transcendant Funk beats grind to a squelching, grounded halt with grating guitar sections and propulsive Synth cuts. The finale is also dynamic enough to stay interesting on your repeated listens, as Harrington’s production cascades through jangled rhythms with an Acid rain-like quality, while Jaar’s vocals feel unphased throughout the obscure experiment of the five minutes. It’s a strange but controlled mixture of ambient tapestry overall, with an opening that reminds me of Django Django in it’s 00’s dance flair and Folk-inflicted guitars, but the following sequences of ethereal audio really keeps you on your toes and feels incomparable to much else in terms of it’s dissonant explorations of creaking acoustics. On the whole, it expertly walks the line of bizzare and frantic like a tightrope circus act, yet it never loses it’s footing to fall off the said tightrope in the analogy. It never feels like pure chaos, since the eclectic instrumentals have a coherent narrative of-sorts and the key changes never stray from the path of consistency too aggressively. It’s certainly not mainstream, but it’s good to remember that Darkside’s records are being aimed more towards an avid fanbase, as opposed to those who will just take whatever formulaic dance track the pop charts throw at them. The tune is a very cool record, with an ever-changing dymamic in sound that mixes Jaar’s virtuosic skill as an experienced classical composer with Harrington’s ear for psychedelic influences that he honed on the US DIY indie electronica scene. You can revel in it’s Jaaring nature. See what I did?

  • Pictured: Nicolas Jaar & Dave Harrington (2013) (Photo Credit: Jim Carroll/The Irish Times)

We’ve reached your destination – which is the end of the page for today! I’ll be back to do it all over again tomorrow, however, with an in-depth look into some brand new music from a popular cult UK lo-fi independent Prog-Rock duo – a married couple – who are making their second appearance on the blog with a new single that features the British godfather of Punk himself, Iggy Pop, to confirm their new set of tour dates.

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Today’s Track: Pizzagirl – “Car Freshener Aftershave”

July 19, 2021 — Leave a comment

Love a bit of 80’s soft-Rock or 00’s Psych-Pop? You’ll want a Pizza this! New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Softcore Mourn’ (LP) (Released on July 16th, 2021) (via Heist Or Hit Records)

A good afternoon to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for a brief respite away from the scorching heat for your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Monday’s music comes from Liverpool’s Liam Brown, who has recorded his material under different names over the years, but his current and most notable solo project is Pizzagirl. He goes all-in on that theme as well, recording his brand of Indie Pop and R&B-infused Psych-Rock from his bedroom, which he calls his “Beatzzeria”. His influences include The Orielles, Grimes, David Byrne, Ariel Pink, and he loves a bit of Kelly Clarkson too. The follow-up to 2019’s ‘First Timer’, his second album ‘Softcore Mourn’ was released over the past weekend via Manchester’s Heist Or Hit independent label. It finds him venting out his own lovelorn frustrations of 21st century dating and pulling in some elements of Vaporwave. Check out the lead single, ‘Car Freshener Aftershave’, below.

After being away from Liverpool’s scene for a short break, Liam Brown had this to say about the new album: “Over the last year or so I’ve been screaming, sighing, crying and lying at my computer, which has manifested itself into my aptly titled second album Softcore Mourn”, adding, “The first single ‘Car Freshener Aftershave’ is a cold reminder to the internet that I still exist and I still haven’t figured that out yet. I’d say this is a break-up song” to his press release notes. Likened to LCD Soundsystem and The Postal Service by Gaby Mawson of Clunkmag.com, the new tune goes for a hint of nostalgia with 90’s dial-up tones and Prog-Synth sounds that appear directly lifted from the 80’s by complementing the retro, teen-hood aesthetic of the self-referential lyrics. The Chiptune-leaning vocals contort themselves around different layers of instrumentation that are continuously adjoined to the soundscape, as the percussive finger clicks and fizzy Lo-Fi synths emerge in the cutting edge of the fray at elusive key changes. Quirky lyrics, like “Where are the cameras? I must be punk’d” call back to outdated popular culture, and lines like “Well, if you’re gonna cry, then at least make it snappy/Cause once in a while, well, I kind of feel happy” add subtle sentimentality to the mix with a vocalist who feels socially pessimistic leading us on the charge. The chorus, led by “The California motel vomit/It’s like a Jackson Pollock” and “The California motel vomit/It wasn’t me, I promise”, emphasizes the quirky sense of his own self’s inertia. The ambient electronica bulk of the track feels like it’s been lifted from a falsely futuristic 80’s infomercial. Constructively, I think the production space gets a little too busy at some points, and I would have liked for his voice to come out more naturally at times. There’s more here to enjoy than not, though, with a fun edge of Prog-Synth and hyperactive visuals that make his breaking point seem believable, and there is clearly a welcome personality to this track. A stuffed, but delicious, Crust.

  • Pictured: Liam Brown (aka Pizzagirl) in a ‘Softcore Mourn’ PR shoot (2021) (Photo by HeistOrHit.com)

That’s all for today, but please feel free to join me again tomorrow for another slice of action. BBC Radio 6 Music are a huge fan of my next artist, who makes his debut appearance on the site tomorrow. The London-via-NYC songwriter and producer previously found his footing in the Future-Soul duo Voices Of Black, and he’s set to support Yard Act later this year ahead of the release of his new album – due in August.

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Today’s Track: Loraine James (feat. Eden Samara) – “Running Like That”

July 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

For the log line – I would usually insert some form of a ‘Running’ gag. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Reflection” (LP) (Released on June 4th, 2021) (via HYPERDUB)

Good Afternoon to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – and it’s time for you to read all about today’s track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! We’re beginning a new month with an artist that you really should be plugging your ears into – Enfield’s Loraine James, who previously received high praise on the blog with ‘Don’t You See It Now’ from 2020’s ‘Nothing’ EP. A year later, we’ve been treated to her third studio album, ‘Reflection’, which is available now with a special Purple Vinyl edition through Kode9’s Hyperdub label. It’s a BRILLIANT new album that finds James reflecting on 2020 and the modern experience of being a queer black woman. BBC Radio 6 Music host John Ravenscroft is also a huge fan, and he says he’s bought the T-shirt. What a fanboy. It’s been a busy few years for her, however, with support slots for Holly Herndon and Jessy Lanza on tour. ‘Running Like That’ allows James to collaborate with the Canadian singer Eden Samara. A few days ago, a music video was released for it, which takes it’s inspiration from the photographer Richard Misrach and the painter Andrew Wyeth. Spin it below.

Speaking about the lyrics, singer Eden Samara writes “I was imagining a car chase between someone and their shadow self”, breaking it down that the elusive themes of ‘Running Like That’ are really about being chased by the voices in your head, adding, “First, you think it looks like hell, then you realise they based hell on places like that”, to the press release about the video’s two influencers. ‘Running Like That’ is a track that, much like the new album as a whole, tests the boundaries of electronic music for an expression of self-knowledge and a vehicle to examine vulnerability, not just for the sake of being experimental in an irreverent way. Throughout, we get an Urban feel littered with skittering Hip-Hop breakbeats, intelligent Jazz influences, a subversive Warp Records feel and a dark Grime vibe. Samara’s vocals add a new dimension to the sounds through the harmonies, adding a soulful garnish to the crackling beats with a subtle air of Pop about it. The lyrics remain vague, with lines like “I’m running from them all endlessly/They know I’m hiding” and “Shut up and just drive for me” peeking out of the background, layered merticulously over the top of the 80’s, trickling Synth riffs. I personally think there’s an air of Kate Bush about it all, and each of the instrumentals are all right at the cutting edge of progressive Dubstep. Despite the cold and calculated production, there’s a hopeful ambience found in the warmth of the background of tranquil noises. It works brilliantly when paired to the clashing intensity of Samara’s Spoken Word sequences, and it genuinely feels like James is primarily making this music for herself, and not necessarily to push any scene or to emphasize political commentary in particular, and for good reason. An absolute treat.

  • Pictured: Loraine James in a photoshoot for Bandcamp Daily (2021) (Photography by Jase Cooper)

As mentioned, Loraine James previously scored an appearance on the blog with ‘Don’t You See It’, which was taken from the ‘Nothing’ EP released last year. Check it out here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/10/07/todays-track-loraine-james-feat-jonnine-dont-you-see-it/

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Nothing” (EP) (Released on October 2nd, 2020) (via Hyperdub Music)

That’s all for now! It’s ‘New Album Release Friday’ tomorrow, and I’ve got a cracking tune to share with you that comes from the exciting collaboration between a 23-year-old East London rapper who first popped up in 2012 with his ‘BAEP’ EP and the frontman of 00’s UK indie veterans Bombay Bicycle Club.

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New Album Release Friday: Squid – “Paddling”

May 7, 2021 — Leave a comment

The latest to have Inked a deal with Britain’s most experimental label. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Bright Green Field” (LP) (Released on May 7th, 2021) (via Warp Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for you to read your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! The never-ending cycle of ‘New Release Friday’ has arrived once again, with this week’s calendar being filled with the first posthumous release from the late MF Doom, who has collaborated with Czarface once more before his tragic passing early in the year. Student Radio indie darling Alfie Templeman and YouTuber Dodie also vie for attention, along with Copenhagen Punk progressors Iceage, and a new 1980’s Hard Rock-inspired fifteenth go-around from the notably inconsistent Weezer also hitting store shelves. Squid marks the first entry of the new summer Blockbuster season, however, a Brighton-bred Prog-Rock band with more undefinable genre qualities than you can shake a Vinyl at. Since releasing their debut EP on Dan Carey’s Speedy Wunderground and later signing to Warp Records, the home of groundbreaking UK experimenters like Aphex Twin and Boards Of Canada of top-tier status, Squid have generated a ton of buzz on the internet and with the music press. I personally haven’t been on that particular bandwagon because I often find it harder to connect with artists who have generated this level of acclaim, but I’ve heard the odd single here and there to decent impressions. I saw them in ‘On The Road’, a 2020 documentary about Independent Venue Week, where the lads proudly talked about beating a dustbin lid with an Asparagus. Their debut full-length album, ‘Bright Green Field’ arrives today, and it sees the band turn to Dan Carey for production work once again. Let’s watch them perform their latest sampler, ‘Paddling’, at SXSW below.

Producer Dan Carey has helped affiliated acts like Black Country New Road, Fontaines DC and Sinead O’Brien to succeed in recent times, and Squid’s ringleader, Ollie Judge, told Exclaim! in an interview that Bright Green Field’s tracks “Illustrate the places, events and architecture that exist within the album”. While earlier singles were quirky and driven by characters, tracks like ‘Paddling’ aim for a darker variation of moods, deepening the emotional depth of Squid’s pre-established sound. ‘Paddling’ is more concerned about the theme of Place, with the lyrics being about the reactions of feeling thrust into the adult world, as adolescent friends suddenly turn their focus to employability. A low-key opening gradually builds to a more instructive mood, as Judge recites lines like “Patient and in control/Dig holes like a mole” and “There are people inside, And they’re changing in shape and size” as he laments his companions never wanting to ‘just have fun’ anymore, built on a drum machine instrumental and accompanied by the call-and-response vocals and the well-executed key changes. Propulsive bass guitar beats and evolving bitterness in the vocals add new layers to the gradually evolving soundscape of confused moods. A suitable helping of “Don’t push me in” unfolds a less playful and more settled 00’s Post-Punk or Indie Guitar band sound, but the song’s structure remains wildly unconventional, as a 6-minute duration of building instrumentals and abstract tempo increases adds a more melodic thrust to the finale. It certainly isn’t a project with commercial accessibility near the top of the listed priorities, and the new album is said to have featured very experimental recording techniques like using a swinging microphone in a room of guitar amps. This all contributes well to the underlying mood of confusion, where it clearly feels like a ‘Lost Boy’ is behind the steering wheel. It refrains from feeling self-indulgent or too exhausting though, because the production clearly calls back to DIY roots in it’s very inception instead of seeming pretentious, and so Warp Records is a great fit for them because of it’s creative freedom and well-regarded academic status. Overall, releases like ‘Paddling’ are re-inforcing Squid as a memorable and distinctive act to follow. A breed of invention that can be rare to come across in this day and age.

  • Pictured: Ollie Judge (Lead Vocals/Drums), Louis Borlase (Lead Guitar/Bass Guitar), Arthur Leadbetter (Keyboard), Laurie Nankviel (Brass) & Anton Pearson (Backing Vocals) (2020) (Photo by Xenia Owens)

That’s all for now – Thank you for reading and reaching the end of my daily rambles. I’ve already got plans for tomorrow, as we take an in-depth look at the return of one of my low-key favourite young artists, who previously made the best single I’ve ever heard that is primarily about wearing wigs. This French-born Belgian-Carribean musician has toured with Neneh Cherry, and contributed vocals to the soundtrack of the 2016 film ‘Belgica’ that was scored by her close friend, Soulwax.  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: Field Music – “Orion From The Street”

May 6, 2021 — Leave a comment

A spherical far cry from the time where we thought the Earth was flat. New post time!

  • Pictured: Peter & David Brewis (Vocals/Synths/Keys/Guitars) (2021) (Photo by Memphis Industries)

Good Afternoon to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and, as you’ve likely realized already by now, it’s time for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A now-pair of London Art Rocker veterans, Field Music have released nine albums in the last 16 years, scoring a Mercury Prize nomination and three UK Albums Chart top 40 entries in that time. Members of Maximo Park and The Futureheads have been featured as a part of their line-up over the last few decades, but the core members are Sunderland brothers David & Peter Brewis. Their latest release is ‘Flat White Moon’, which has gained critical acclaim since getting released last weekend on Memphis Industries. There’s usually a two-year gap to their cycle, on the exact day of their prior album, but ‘Flat White Moon’ is an outlier of that Easter Egg because we only heard from them last year on ‘Making A New World’, a concept album about World War 1 with eerie parallels to the time. Named after a constellation of stars, ‘Orion From The Sun’ was the lead single of the release, which was seemingly inspired by the 70’s Glam Pop of David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Talking Heads. It’s fair to say that professor Brian Cox would be having a ‘Field Day’ with this. Check out the brilliant music video below.

Writing new material quicker than usual with the release of ‘Orion From The Street’, Peter Brewis writes: “It’s full of accidental quotes and allusions – the first couple of lines I overheard in a Cary Grant documentary, but they sum up the whole song – how intense impressions of love, hate, grief and guilt can be an almost hallucinatory experience” in Field Music’s recent press statements after penning that he wrote the promotional tune in a daze. Kicking off with a pack of twinkling keyboard melodies that gets a low-key groove of dramatic synths and colourful guitar riffs shimmering from that point onwards, permeating with a high radiance during the chorus, we get a propulsive and buoyant musing on stargazing and astronomy with uptight bass rhythms and wholly positive electronic tones in the familiar, yet nostalgic, Field Music mould. The vocals complement the brief pokings at Prog-Funk nicely, with Brewis imagining a world where “Death is but a dream” and “Memories that fall like rain are spirited away” over a wistful, psych-hinting background. It’s refreshing to hear a track which isn’t really addressing heavy and modern topics like race, femininity or LGBT circles, as the lyrics ponder gentle philosophy and cosmic themes instead with a vivid synth palette. I feel that it makes for a very nice change from the typical “indie” sound of the 2020’s, as the vocals signal for a means of escape from reality. A vivid set of instrumentation and cascading music production make proceedings feel fresh and the hooks are quite memorable. The odd guitar licks and the cymbal crashes give it an off-kilter flair, and a nice Horn section provides a fluttering highlight towards the middle. Overall, I like it because it’s just a pretty song that does something different to it’s peer contemporaries. While the meaning isn’t particularly definable, it provides an intricate moment for you to stop and nod your head along to. The hard effort clearly shows, with a solid update on the Alternative Rock sound of the mid-2010’s, as a retro nuance adds more depth to the package than it may first appear on the Lunar surface.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Flat White Moon” (LP) (Released on April 23, 2021) (via Memphis Industries)

That’s all for today, but we’re going back to the basics on the blog tomorrow, as we delve into one of the weekend’s biggest new album releases. This week’s pick marks the much-anticipated release of the debut album from Brighton’s promising Post-Punk prodigies who are one of Warp Records latest signings and appeared on the Independent Venue Week documentary ‘On The Road’ where they were seen playing a dustbin lid with an asparagus! 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/