New Wave

Today’s Track: Battles (feat. Sal Principato) – “Titanium 2 Step”

October 4, 2019 — Leave a comment

Here are 2 steps for you: Like the blog and follow the blog! Happy Friday!

  • Pictured: Cover Art For “Titanium 2 Step” (2019)

Battles, an electronic experimental art rock 2-piece band from New York City, have just announced the release date of October 18, 2019 for “Juice B Crypts”, their fourth LP on Warp Records. As soon as they dropped the new single from the LP, “Titanium 2 Step”, the LP has become very highly anticipated and the single has quickly become one of the hottest tracks on the BBC Radio 6Music playlist of the year. The track features Sal Principato, of post-punk rock legends Liquid Liquid fame, on vocals. It’s also been accompanied with a vivid and frentic music video, with colours that look like a substance reminiscent of an old-fashioned Rubik’s cube of the 1980’s.

It’s very difficult to describe the overall sound of the record, but it’s one that’s more than good enough to stimulate my listening habits. As with the waves and lines in the music video, the track is wild and chaotic, with a vocal style from Principato that can only be described as glaring and shrieking. However, the track manages to excel as it delivers consistently unexpected melodies and funky synthesized lines which contort with a real sense of urgency at a tidy pace. It feels meticulously engineered to no fault and it sounds well-realized in the concept department, as the track adds a lot of layers in it’s breakbeat sections and the traditional drumming harmonies. It might be a little bit abrasive for the masses and it’s a bit nauseous in it’s first listen, but the single never feels as though it lacks focus, calling back to the “Drill n’ Bass” tones of AFX’s 1995 “Hangable Auto Bulb” record, but it’s not heavy-handed in it’s acid house tempo. The quality of the record is pretty admirable considering the strobe-flickering 3D-like composition of the record, which is evoked by the glitched-out guitar riffs and the melodic breakdowns which dip in and out of niche genres such as Afrobeat and Shoegaze. It’s a massive re-invention for the band as the follow-up to 2015’s “La Di Di” LP, but it retains the fundamental elements and the wacky ambient textures which help the track to execute it’s dynamically shifting harmonies, without losing cohesion.

  • Pictured: Ian Williams (Keyboard, Guitar, Synths) and John Stanier (Drummer, Producer)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at a track from 2001 from a French electronic DJ and composer who has released material under several different monikers in the past, such as Superdiscount, EDC and Main Basse! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: Bowling For Soup – “High School Never Ends”

September 29, 2019 — 2 Comments

Oh, here we go again… It’s now time for your brand new weekly Scuzz Sundays post!

Bowling For Soup’s energetic and sarcastic teen punk ballad “High School Never Ends” is another melodic track which I remember very vividly from my childhood. It’s the lead single from their sixth LP, “The Great Burrito Extortion Case”, which was released back in November of 2006. That makes me feel really old, as it still feels like a relatively new record to me. I’m very familiar with the band’s output since that LP and they’ve had a few line-up changes over the years, but the materialistic values and the very pessimistic viewpoints of the group are still very much in tact, but even more so on “High School Never Ends”, a track from the band which makes a very decent point.

“High School Never Ends”, as the title implies, is a socio-critical commentary on the materialistic values and narcissistic attitudes that people carry with them beyond the point of their adolescence. The track also makes numerous pop culture references, such as “Katie had a baby, so I guess Tom [Cruise] is straight” and crowns the likes of Jack Black, Brad Pitt and Bill Gates as the clown, quaterback and the captain of the school chess team, respectively. It is painfully honest and kind-of beautifal in an oddly fashionable way, as the lead vocalist of the band, Jaret Reddick, delivers these blows at the current climate of society, at the time of the track’s recording, with a huge amount of wit and passion. The concept is the belief that people don’t really change, which is relatable to the teen-punk target audience of the record. The actual composition and percussion of the track, in retrospect, isn’t very much to write home about. The drum melodies are simple and the guitar riffs are obviously reflective of the short guitar solo riffs that were all the rage of the time’s style, but they serve the purpose of the track and fit with the overall thematic sound, even if they don’t add a whole lot of dynamic layers to the track when looking back at it within this day and age, but the lyrical themes are still very relevant and it’s truthful in a sense that people can still be very superficial and seek popularity rather than expressing their true selves. It’s a track that obviously sounds like a relic of it’s time and it’s not progessively timeless in the sense of a record like The Avalanches 2000 masterpiece “Since I Left You”, but it’s still a decent enough jam to listen to and it raises questions about the authenticity of personalities that can still formulate a strong contextual argument. It’s worthy of adding to your music library if you’re an angsty teen at heart.

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at a track from a Welsh singer and multi-instrumentalist who has toured with the likes of John Grant, St. Vincent and Perfume Genius! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Bon Iver – “Naaem”

September 16, 2019 — Leave a comment

I can’t hear crying, but I feel like I might start crying due to annoying tech issues with my laptop! Oh well, let’s cheer ourselves back up with your daily post!

Bon Iver is a very recognisable name in the mainstream. It is the indie folk brainchild of Justin Vernon, who combines his talents with a rotating crew of band members. I was first accustomed to Vernon through a single called “Heavenly Father”, the soundtrack for “Wish I Was Here”, a 2014 drama film which explores the Jewish faith. Bon Iver’a most popular record is 2016’s “22, A Million”, which is the group’s third LP. It gained huge international acclaim and a wide range of award nominations. In August 2019, Bon Iver dropped the follow-up, “I, I”, an LP which explores the amalganation of a combination of genres explored in the three previous records. “Naeem” is the new single, which I recently discovered on BBC Radio 6Music as part of the A-List part of their playlist.

“Naeem” is a track that has a very calm and light atmosphere. Vernon opens the track with: “All along ’em I can hear me/I go for the caste/I fall off a bass boat” to a gentle, ambient piano melody. Vernon continues to utter soft vocals while a guitar and a horn subtly adds another layer to the track. The chorus kicks in as Vernon raises his pitch with: “I can hear, I can hear/I can hear, I can hear crying” to a bed of synths. There’s also a shout: “Crying”, which feels like a mimick of the electronic sound. The vocals depict our narrator struggling with voices in his head, with a blend of soft-rock and electronic pop that creates a collage of synthesized beats and organic percussion. The vocals build up in pace to a fast bridge as Vernon croons: “There’s someone in my head/Tell them I’ll be passing on/Tell them we’re young mastodons” to a combination of upbeat piano and horn melodies under a range of synthesized chords. The ending is a repeat of the chorus before female vocals fade out the track with: “Crying”. It’s a very dynamic track overall, which combines the sounds explored on the last three LP records to create a blend of music that sounds like the finale to these albums. It’s not particularly accessible at first, but it’s a rewarding listen once you’ve persevered and connected with your brain to work it. It’s a good single and I think the video with the interpretive dancer in an empty hall is a great representation of the lyrical context.

  • Pictured: Cover Art For “I, I” (2019)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at a new track from a male solo artist who was once the face of an old Swiftcover TV advertising campaign! If you 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/

Today’s Track: Caravan Palace (feat. Charles X) – “About You”

September 13, 2019 — Leave a comment

Get your dancing shoes on and get those (new) Jazz hands ready! It’s time for your Friday post!

  • Pictured: Cover Art For “Chronologic” (2019)

Electro Swing is actually a genre which you might not have come across. It was recently popularised in culture by a French group called Caravan Palace, who have been circulating in most of the European club scenes for a while. They have released four studio LP’s so far in their career, with “<|°_°|>” (a.k.a “Robot Face”) being their most popular, having released in 2015 to a great critical reception and the lead single, “Lone Digger”, becoming a viral hit on YouTube, amassing over 2.6 million views at time of writing. It’s not a record that I can say I have much of an emotional connection to, but it’s still a decent record that sounds interesting and it works well in exploring a new genre that felt very fresh upon it’s original release.

Naturally, the follow-up has arrived and it makes sense for the French party animals to collaborate with a few other artists on the new album, “Chronologic”. “About You” is one of the singles and features vocals from Charles X (I’ve never heard of him either). The track is a coin that certainly has two sides to it. On one side, you have a brassy, youthful new jazz melody with an old-school swing sensibility that feels a little bit typical of Caravan Palace’s usual formula, but it’s still fun. On the other hand, you have a very typical pop chorus that fits the mainstream world of Justin Bieber and Jason Derulo to a tee when the overly auto-tuned vocals from Charles X kick in: “Still, will you let me, will you let me over/Cause your high heels take me higher” as Charles X duets with Zoé Colotis, the lead singer of the band. She kicks off the track and Charles X later chips in again with: “And if the car comes equipped with a moon roof/Then the stars will surely help with the mood”. The issue is that the vocals and the breakdown sound constantly at odds with each other. It feels a bit like two different songs have simply just been squashed together and they don’t ever manage to blend cohesively as a single unit. The lyrics are very uninteresting and easily forgotten. It really sounds like the band are going down a much more commercial, mainstream route. It makes a lot of sense for their label to want that, seeing as the previous LP did very well, but it loses some of the charm and the clean breath of fresh air that was previously there. The end product is a track that’s “fine”, but it’s just such a 6/10 record and I can’t shake the feeling of being a little bit disappointed by this.

  • Pictured: Zoé Colotis (vocals), Arnaud Vial (guitar), Hugues Payen (violin), Camille Chapelière (saxophone), Victor Raimondeau (clarinet), Charles Delaport (double bass), Antoine Toustou (trombone) and Paul-Marie Barbier (vibraphone)

Thank you for reading this post! It’a going to have to be a quick one tomorrow, but I’ll be looking at another track from Friendly Fires’ first release in 8 years, “Inflorescent”! If you really liked what you just read, please follow the blog to get notified when every daily new post is up and like the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Ian Dury & The Blockheads – “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”

September 11, 2019 — Leave a comment

Hit me with your rhythm stick, then hit me up with a like and a follow on the blog! It’s time to look at a timeless classic in your Wednesday post!

A #1 hit in the UK Singles Chart for Ian Dury & The Blockheads in January 1979, “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” is a tune that has endured in many music lovers hearts for many decades since it’s original release in November 1978. Dury rose to a big height of fame and prominence in the roots of the Punk and New Wave genres in the 1970’s, which influences his vocals and experimentation on this track. There are loads of stories behind the composition of this track, as Dury reportedly jammed most of the sound in recording studios with Chaz Jankel, a frequent collaborator and his co-writer, in the town of Rolvenden, Kent. It’s also been reported that Dury wrote all of the lyrics for the song three years earlier, but he waited for the track to maximise it’s quality before he recorded and released it. A lot of work was put into the composition of this track, which is very reflective of the sublime quality of the final track.

The funky Jazz influences, the delicously comical pop basslines and the use of French words that poetically blend with the mix of quirky English lyrics ensure this is a stone-cold classic of the pop genre. The track is also very notable for the cultural significance which it held back in the day, as it injected a colourful burst of energy and aural sunshine into a time where the public were troubled by the collapse of UK trade unions, the aftermath of political events and severe weather impacts. It’s a very unique track which has a very surreal, cerebral style. The groovy nature of the saxophones and the uplifting mood created by the eclectic hooks and the fun melodies. It’s unorthodox, yet it struck a huge chord with the general public because it was so refreshing and it has a proper good sense of fun. This must have been an inescapable tune at the time, but I would not have had it any other way if I was around at the time. I’m proud that I can appreciate this classic banger without feeling any bad irony at all because it doesn’t hit ever me slowly, it always hits me quick!

  • Pictured: Vinyl Cover Art For “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” (1978, Stiff Records)

Thanks for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at a new track from a French Electro Swing group who became a viral hit with a music video for a single that has gained over 218 million views on YouTube. If you really liked what you just read, please follow the blog to get notified when every daily new post is up and like the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Halogenix – “Would You?”

September 5, 2019 — Leave a comment

If I asked you to like and follow the blog, Would You? It’s time for your Thursday post!

Halogenix, a moniker for a guy simply known as Laurence, is an EDM DJ and Producer, from North London, who is currently signed to Critical Music and he is managed by Primary Talent. There isn’t much background information available about him, as he likes to carry the 90’s traditions of an electronic music artist remaining hidden from the general public eye. “Would You?” is a single from “Gaslight”, a 4-track EP, which was released by Critical Music Records on June 7th, 2019. A few of his regular collaborators include SOLAH, Shades, and Noisia. He has also worked alongside Drum & Bass legend Goldie and Wilkinson, as well as produced remixes for Maverick Sabre, The Glitch Mob and Banks. He was nominated in the “Best Production” category at the Drum & Bass Arena Awards of 2017 and he was also a member of Ivy Lab, a UK Drum & Bass trio who were influential within the indie dance scene of 2018.

“Would You” has an altered electronic drum beat, which bounces and winds with the ever-shifting and dynamically altering synth melodies as the vocals twist and contort underneath the electronic instrumentation of the track. It’s a very calm and relaxing track to listen to, even if the low-pitched modulation of the vocals add a slightly darker mood of paranoia to the overall sound. It is a track that flips between a light and dark ambient texture, while pulling influences from more obscure genres, such as the Acid House and Vaporwave circuits. The track rolls along at a good pace and the stylistic arrangement is very reflexive. This captures the ethereal context of the track. I feel the signature beat is a little bit conventional and it gets a bit tiring at 5 minutes, so I would have refined the track slightly to make it feel a bit tighter. However, it’s still a very decent track that feels right at home at house parties or late-night festival slots.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork For “Gaslight” EP (2019)
  • Pictured: Halogenix (Laurence), performing at a live gig, taken from the Critical Music Records biography page

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at a Karaoke Classic pop track from 1972 that…, well, if you’re so vain, then you’d probably think this song is about you! If you liked what you just read, then please go ahead and follow the blog to get notified when every daily new post is up and like the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/