Today’s Track: Mandy, Indiana – ‘Bottle Episode’

January 4, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Valentine Caulfield (Lead Vocals/Chief Songwriter), Scott Fair (Rhythm Guitar/Producer) and Liam Stewart (Drums/Percussion) (2020)(Photo by Will Shields)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m thrilled that you’re getting invested in yet 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! Formerly known as ‘Gary, Indiana’ – which is a true story according to Pitch Perfect PR – a bizzare twist of events saw this Manchester-based Alternative Punk project settle on Mandy, Indiana as their current name. Originally a duo comprised up of Valentine Caulfield (Vocals, Lyrics), Scott Fair (Guitar/Producer) and Liam Stewart (Drums/Percussion), the band mesh Noise-Punk with experimental recording methods that have found SFX of cluttering footsteps and muffled piano appearing on their debut EP release – ‘…’ – which was released digitally on November 19th, 2021 and later physically issued on December 10th, 2021 via Fire Talk Records. Their tracks for the EP were recorded in a variety of different places, from the band’s rehearsal spaces and traditional studio set-up to outside locations like a cavernous industrial mill. The band are also known for directing their own music videos that combine found footage clips with a style of macabre film-making craft which the batch of musicians state were influenced by film directors like Leos Carax and Gasper Coe in style and structure. ‘Bottle, Episode’ was recently featured on KEXP’s ‘Song Of The Day’ podcast, and you could also know Stewart from commonly touring with Lonelady. Let’s check out the new single below.

Seeking to capture a tale of conflict between armed forces for ‘Bottle, Episode’ – Caulfield says, “I wanted to build up on the military style of the track, but in a very slow crescendo, and not in a very obvious way”, as she explained in a press statement. Fair added, “The inspiration for the guitar line was based upon a recording of a flood siren in Todmorden. I was going to use the recording as a sample but then I decided to try and recreate it with the guitar”, to the conversation. Seeking to capture a somber and hawkish tone with their intriguing single, the band get off to a riotous start with a ramshackle drum beat that patters along to a brisk pace as Caulfield delivers some foerign language vocals, before a taut guitar melody is introduced to the fray in mimicry of a siren, as Caulfield snaps with her vocal pitch as the sinister pulse of the single violently screeches along with its layered soundscape of carefully programmed snare beats and destructive guitar riffs that, ironically, feels very combative in nature. Lyrically, war is never explicitly being mentioned, but there are clearly bleak themes afloot as Caulfiend’s growling vocals imply that men are all waiting for a massacre of-sorts. Instrumentally, however, it relies a little on a Club-oriented sound as the melodicism rises gradually as to introduce the new elements of the track in coherent ways and the battle between harsh abrasian and lyrical edge owes some debt to the No Wave music of decades past. While not for the faint-hearted, ‘Bottle Episode’ conjures up some disturbing imagery of bullets tearing apart the lives of soldiers in effective ways as it feels similar to a dance-oriented track in it’s layering, but they’ve made sure the chords are dark and dissonant enough and the arrangements are brutal enough to convey the very dark textures of the lyrics to strong effect. Overall, a strangely fun but all the more sinister recording that certainly includes some fascinating production tactics that has a unique selling point for the band and a stark visual reminder of the brutality of military conflict that earns notice.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘…’ (EP) (Released on December 10th, 2021) (via Fire Records)

That’s all for now! After an understandably bleak note on the site today, we’ll be turning up the good times tomorrow as ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ makes its return to the blog as a weekly fixture. We’ll be remembering the third and final single to be taken off a UK top five album from the original Trip-Hop act of 90’s Bristol. The band won a BRIT Award for Best British Dance Act and have sold over 13 million copies worldwide. The trio have won two Q Awards and a pair of MTV Europe Music Awards.

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New Album Release Fridays: Dan Sartain – ‘People Throwing Stones In Glass Houses’

November 26, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Arise, Dan Sartain, Arise’ (LP) (Released on Nov 26th, 2021) (via One Little Independant)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to throw some stones in some glass houses to the beat of yet another daily track on the blog, because it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! This week’s pick for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ arrives with a dose of sadness because it also means that it’s time for us to say goodbye to a cult favourite singer-songwriter – Dan Sartain – who left us at the young age of just 39 at the end of March 2021. Dan Sartain got an early start by playing in the local hardcore punk band Plate Six in the 1990’s, and the Blues artist from Birmingham, Alabama went on to release eight subsequent solo albums. During his career, Sartain got the chance to be the opening act for The Hives and The White Stripes on tour in 2007 and he notably issued the ‘Bohemian Grove’ single on Jack White’s legendary imprint Third Man Records in 2009. After building traction as an extroverted artist on open mic nights in the US and building his cult following as an unsigned talent, he finally released his first widely commercially available LP record ‘Dan Sartain vs. The Serpientes’ in 2005.

Sartain’s music encompassed a variety of Rockabillly, Blues, Country and DIY Punk music but his sound had a characteristically combative relationship with the genres and their surrounding subculture. He would also promote social causes like the Black Lives Matter Global Network. The cause of his death has never been revealed, but tributes poured in from the likes of James Skelly, Sarah Waters, Jeff Klein, AIM UK and his fanbase when the news of his death was announced by his family and his manager earlier in the year. His final album – ‘Arise, Dan Sartain, Arise’ – was finished a few months before he passed away and it is being released today on his UK-based longtime label One Little Independent as unchanged and how it was intended to be. 100% of the proceeds and royalties will be donated to a trust fund for Sartain’s young daughter as per his family’s request. The only single to be taken from the record is ‘People Throwing Stones In Glass Houses’ – which arrives with the music video below.

Confirming the tragic news via the GoFundMe page set up to help pay for the Center Point-born Garage Rock musician’s funeral expenses earlier this year, Dan’s family wrote, “Dan Sartain left us many memories and music but unfortunately left us way too early”, elaborating, “As wonderful as his legacy is, he had no plans for the unmentionable and, thus, here we are. We aren’t trying to do much, but have a small service for family and friends, and with Dan’s wide range of friends, this should be available. From all of his family, we thank you”, in their statement that is readable on the site. Set against the backdrop of the black and white music video directed by Darryl Jakes, Sartain struts his mature voice for his early age with a hazy, mid-tempo reflection on how we see ourselves and other people through watching our attitudes and those of others. There isn’t a whole lot of production to the track, and the sound is very raw and bitter instead. The track starts off with a beautifully haunting Organ jab, before some searing Surf-Rock melodies created by the rhythm guitar establish the theme of the track. The vocals have a wink-at-the-camera playfulness to their aid, but the twangy guitar riffs and the bitter tone of his lyrics introduce a harsher edge to the beat. I get a classic 60’s Punk vibe from the guitar solo that runs throughout the final stretch, with another solo created by a Horn section introducing a more Gothic rhythm to the instrumental before the final repeat of the chorus. There’s simply no nonsense or filler material here at all and Sartain does everything with his own original purpose. He is not the best singer in the world and the lyrics are lacking a little polish here, but he isn’t necessarily trying hard to be. Instead, he’s following that ethos of a true artist by making the art that he creates as originally intended with his own expression. Crowd pleasing, sharp Alt-Rock from a musician who left us too early.

Pictured: Dan Sartain in an official photoshoot for an in-depth interview for Autre.Love (2016) (Photo via PR)

That’s enough for today! Thank you for checking out the blog and supporting the independent creatives, like Dan Sartain, who are behind the music regularly featured. I’ll be back tomorrow to carry on our unique ‘Countdown To Christmas 2021’ with a track from a legendary 70’s British Glam-Rock band who explored many genres and were led by Marc Bolan. They were inducted in the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 2020.

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Today’s Track: Crumb – “Trophy”

July 22, 2021 — Leave a comment

I won’t be winning any trophies for the puns that I have for my slogan. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Ice Melt’ (LP) (Released on April 30th, 2021) (via Crumb Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and we’re picking up the pace 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! Thursday’s tune comes to you from the Brooklyn-based musicians Crumb, a female-led indie Psych-Rock quartet led by Lila Ramani. The group have garnered huge support from critics since forming in 2016, with Paste Magazine describing their sound as a meld of “60s Psych, loose Jazz, and freeform Indie Rock into a soothing Pop amalgamation”. The 4-piece band met while studying at Tufts University on the Northern borders of Medford and Somerville in Massachusetts in the US, before they started to divide their time between Boston and New York, distributing their first two EP’s with limited vinyl runs and cassette stock released by DIY label Citrus City Records. The band have now gone fully independent, self-releasing their latest LP, ‘Ice Melt’, this past April via Crumb Records. The follow-up to 2019’s ‘Jinx’, their second full-length record was allegedly named after the blend of coarsely ground salts used to dissipate ice on your front steps, by absorbing water and giving off heat, that you can get in US hardware shops. Check out ‘Trophy’ below.

The mysterious Dark-Pop band have enlisted the help of Haoyan Of America to direct the music video for ‘Trophy’, a surrealist visual affair that seems to tap into something supernatural aesthetically for the surrealist quality of the music itself, as the skewed rock elements of the track are paired with opening visuals of an award ceremony, a jolt through a racers’ podium, and a monstrous bunch of animated, living trophies singing away. It’s a suitable accompaniment to the enigmatic sound of ‘Trophy’ itself, which reminds me of the 00’s ‘Chillout’ compilations of slowed down dance remixes and some reworked popular culture songs that my grandmother rarely used to buy. Ramani’s lead vocals have a slow, gliding effect where the use of echo and reverb tell a wistful tale about, as she sings, a “deadbeat tour loner”, in her own words. The soft Keyboard riffs, the electric Jazz/Rap-leaning instrumental bassline, and the persistent Cymbal melodies give the sound an uplifted, yet whimsical and slightly Dark element. Like the most strange dream that you could occasionally have, there is only a sort-of logical sense to things, with a slick 90’s Avant-Rock sound which combines relaxed electronics and deep guitars in a way that feels soothing on the surface, but begins to show a more haunting side as you settle deeper. The lyrics, with a cryptic series of quotes like “The test it came back said you’re prone to, Chew yourself right to the bone, I guess you don’t like to be alone” and “Take your time ’cause it’s all over/You’re a deadbeat doll loner” add an airy harmony to the gradually evolving field, but there’s also a gently irreverent sense of humor to them, as they pay homage to Math-Rock and Prog-Rock with their tongue set firmly in their cheek at brief times. Finally, the distorting vocals of the post-bridge go for a rougher and Grunge-influenced edge. On the whole, it’s an intriguing mix of 90’s Alt-Rock songwriting and a loosely springing effect of instrumentation that tickles the cells of your brain as the studio-tinkered chords craft up a dread-filled space around you, and it’s working very well, which is mostly down to Ramani’s reserved, nocturnal vocals and a decent sense of chemistry between the band in connecting their ideas. An auditory feast for your pillow at night.

Pictured: Lila Ramani (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Jesse Brotter (Bass Guitar/Unclean Vocals), Bri Aronow (Keyboard/Saxophone) and Jonathan Gilad (Drums/Percussion) (2019) (Photo by Shan Khan)

That’s it for another day! Just like always, it’s ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow, and so we will be tasting one of this weekend’s biggest new album releases, and so please get caught up with me on the site then for more recommended listening. Eight years in the making, this week’s top album pick marks another collaboration in the unlikely side project of the very prolific Chilean-American composer Nicolas Jaar and the Brooklyn-born multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington from the Psych band ARMS.

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New Album Release Fridays: Drug Store Romeos – “Secret Plan”

July 9, 2021 — Leave a comment

If you weren’t a fan before, this may change your Frame Of Reference. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘The World Within Our Bedrooms’ (Released on July 9, 2021) (Fiction Records)

Good Morning to you – It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Well, a short delay may have hindered it’s original release date due to vinyl production issues, but July 9th has arrived and ‘The World Within Our Bedrooms’, which is the debut full-length album from Hampshire’s Dream-Pop/Shoegaze/Indie Rock trio Drug Store Romeos has arrived. I also got the chance to interview them exclusively for the blog, and you can read all about that shortly. New releases for today also include efforts from Yorkshire’s Alt Hip-Hop Afro man Dylan Cartlidge, Toronto’s Charlotte Day Wilson, Dublin’s Inhaler (An indie rock band led by U2’s Bono’s son, Elijah) and the Kenny Beats-produced self-titled fourth studio album from the excellent Compton rapper Vince Staples. It sounds like there’s plenty for us to get excited about today, but I’ve been really looking forward to hearing the Drug Store Romeos record. ‘Secret Plan’ was their last single to be released from the 15-track project, which arrives on Fiction Records. If you enjoy this one as much as I do, the young creatives from the self-described ‘Sleeepy Town’ of Fleet will be supporting Black Country, New Road on tour in some locations this November, or you can catch them playing at the End Of The Road festival in Wiltshire this September if you’ve got tickets to see that. If not, start by conjuring your own ‘Secret Plan’ to find them below.

The visuals are just as important as the sound when it comes to Drug Store Romeos, and, the band explained about the Max Rollason directed music video for ‘Secret Plan’ above, “The World Within Our Bedrooms is centered around the visualisation that we’re playing these songs in a small, suburban room in Fleet, but as we now live in London, our second album won’t have this pull”, adding, “We thought it would be a nice final goodbye to actually shoot some of the footage in Fleet, and to immortalize the three of us in that space in some way”, to sum up their press release for the single’s release. The lyrics may be cryptic, but the purple-coloured haze and the schizophrenic environmental shots provide the perfect thematic context for the Casio-adjacent toy keyboard melodies and the hum of the bubbling bass guitars to jump off. Lyrics like “Don’t go too fast/Sequence light, Open air/Grass grows, skies change” don’t reveal too much, but we’re painted a lush, ethereal vision of drifting adolescent memories and secrets made between old friends as we reach the end of an era. The instrumentation is really unpredictable, too, with the beginning calling over to modern bedroom pop, before the chorus introduces a more kaleidoscopic rhythm to the mix. Sarah Downie’s vocals are solid, as always, as her gliding voice really controls the tempo and complements the changes in keys. She seems laid-back, as enchanting low-pitched crooning vocals give off a rather enigmatic vibe that really absorbs you into the various moods that the track’s atypical structure swings into. The chorus is also a neat stand-out, with surprisingly groovy lo-fi patterns and twinkling guitar chords that paint a vivid picture of concealed ambitions or dreams. The soundscapes keeps changing, but it never feels confusing. The dream-like vocals and the subdued bridge sections ensures a good flow between the moving parts, even as the chorus goes into a psychedelic, disco-flavored drawl of easy-listening Pop melodies and the nostalgic qualities, and it takes skill to pull off these inconsistencies with a decent flow. A master class in mood from one of the UK’s brightest new names.

Pictured: Sarah Downie (Lead Vocals/Keyboard/Synths), Charlie Henderson (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) & Jonny Gilbert (Drums/Percussion/Occasional Backing Vocals) (2020) (Photo via Twitter.com)

If you liked this, don’t miss out on ‘What’s On Your Mind’ from the new album too. Get the details here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/04/29/todays-track-drug-store-romeos-whats-on-your-mind/

Pictured: Drug Store Romeos promoting ‘Now You’re Moving’ (2020) (Photo via TheLineOfBestFit.com)

Don’t forget to check out my interview with Drug Store Romeos – which will be going up on the site right after this! To get your daily dose tomorow, check back with me on the site in roughly 24 hours time to discover a Scottish-Sudanese film composer based in the UK who will be releasing her debut album, ‘The Woman You Want’, next week via Rosemundy Records. To support that new record, she will be playing a live gig at The Portland Arms, Cambridge on November 10th.

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Today’s Track: Dry Cleaning – “Scratchcard Lanyard”

February 2, 2021 — Leave a comment

Following a year that was virtually a big wash-out for big celebrations. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Scratchcard Lanyard” (Single) (Released on November 19th, 2020) (via 4AD)

Good Morning to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s, once again, time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, since it’s routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music. Dry Cleaning”s latest track has been absolutely blowing up with the 6Music crowd of listeners, and if you haven’t ever heard of this new act before, they are a 4-piece Post-Rock group from London, who formed after each of the members’ prior bands crossed paths in the UK’s capital. Led by female singer-songwriter Florence Shaw, the band are also comprised of lead guitarist Lewis Maynard, bassist Tom Dowse and drummer Nick Buxton. Their influences include The B-52’s (of “Love Shack” fame), Pylon, The Feelies and The Necessaries – and the band’s releases so far include 2019’s debut EP, “Sweet Princess” and last March’s critically-lauded EP, “Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks”. The band have recently signed up to the well-reviewed 4AD indie label, and to mark this career milestone, the band released “Scratchcard Lanyard”, joined with it’s brilliant music video directed by Luke Brooks and James Theseus Black. Let’s check them out below.

The video for “Scratchcard Lanyard” has to be one of my favourites for a single in quite a while, and it’s hard to believe that it’s only the directorial debut for it’s pair. If you’ve ever heard any of Dry Cleaning’s previous material before, you’ll be prepared to expect the unexpected – with accentuated post-punk guitar riffs and the jumbled wordplay of subtle humor that’s lacking in much context. The band say that Dry Cleaning is based on “In the search of your true calling in life, It’s easy to try so many things that you end up confused”, deciding on “Ephemeral things and small-size escapist experiences can provide some relief” for the theme of the track. The ideas of seeking identity and following socialist norms are explored with dry humor in the track, where Shaw spits lines like “I’ve come to learn how to mingle, I’ve come to learn how to dance, I’ve come to join the knitting circle” and “I think of myself as a hardy banana, with that waxy surface and the small delicate flowers” over the top of the same, detached guitar and drum melodies. Although these experiences discussed in the lyrics are mildly relatable, the sentiments are delivered with an often deadpan delivery, where random refrains like “Pat Dad on the head, Alright you big load mouth, Thanks very much for the Twix” and “I’ve come to make a ceramic shoe, and I’ve come to smash what you made” keeping the gag count high throughout these Spoken Word-like sections. One thing I’ve noticed is the first half of the track is more based around fairly petty hobbies, while Shaw’s image becomes a more violent one in the later sections of the track. The deadpan hiss at the end, for instance, and the lines of “That’s just child chat, Why don’t you want oven chips now?” ring through the stylish Post-Punk tuneage. Overall, it’s almost like you’ve just walked into a band practice where the line-up are able to telepathically read the minds of the passersby on the streets outside, with very specific and dis-affectionately designed refrains creating an unsettling, although amusing, quality. Overall, this is a brilliantly witty and stylishly composed Post-Industrial track where anything along the lines of Rio De Janeiro bouncing balls and women in aviators firing a Bazooka goes. Some may want the lyrics to have a little more context, but the humor would be lost in the process, matched to a punchy beat. That’s just child chat – and thanks very much for the Twix!

Pictured: Florence Shaw (Lead Vocals/Writer), Lewis Maynard (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Tom Dowse (Bass Guitar) and Nick Buxton (Drums/Percussion) (2020) (Photo Credit: Hanna-Katrina Jedrosz)

That completes the line-up for today! Please feel free to join me again tomorrow, as we take to our recently added new feature, “Way Back Wednesdays”, for inspiration. This week’s dive into the archives serves as an introduction for you (and my mother… who is an avid reader of the blog each single day) to the Icelandic Post-Punk group from the capital city of Reykjavik who housed the cultural icon, Bjork, as it’s singer. 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: Sufjan Stevens – “Christmas Unicorn”

December 5, 2020 — Leave a comment

In our latest episode of random christmas songs that really exist! Time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Silver & Gold” (Released on November 13th, 2012) (via Asthmatic Kitty Records)

Season’s Greetings! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get writing up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to type up right here a different piece of music every day! Sufjan Stevens is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer from Detroit, Michigan – and a very prolific one. There’s plenty of albums, mixtapes, EP’s and more for you to stick your teeth into, and he’s never the type of artist who really sticks to one genre. There’s the downtempo, symphonic instrumentation of 2005’s “Illinois”, the lo-fi and minimalist Acoustic Folk style of 2004’s “Seven Swans”, and the swooping electronic textures of 2001’s Zodiac-inspired “Enjoy Your Rabbit”. It also seems to be, however, that he loves Christmas. “Songs For Christmas” was a box set of five seperate EP’s worth of Festive-themed music recorded between 2001 and 2006 that he released in 2006, and if that wasn’t enough, six years later, he released “Silver & Gold”, another box set of five EP’s worth of Christmas-related songs and carols, all of which were recorded between 2006 and 2012, and it was the spiritual successor to the previous Seasonal themed release. “Christmas Unicorn” seems to be one of the most beloved tracks from the release, and it’s 12 minutes long. Make a cuppa and take a listen to it, with me, below.

Stevens’ latest regular release was “The Ascension”, which he released in September this year, a high-concept Electronica album which looked at the human nature of finding active purpose and escaping emotional crisis in a technologically dominated world. A fun fact about Stevens is that his name “Sufjan” is a Persian one, and it most famously belonged to Abu Sufyan, a figure who predates early Islamic history, and the name was given to him by an inter-faith spiritual community which his parents belonged to when he was born – So he happens to really know about these things. “Christmas Unicorn” is admittedly not one of his most accessible tracks, due to the sheer length of the product, but it is widely loved by the critics and his fans alike. I would argue that it has a three-act structure though. Sufjan immediately cries out: “I’m a Christmas unicorn/In a uniform of gold” and compares the majestic, enigmatic character of a Unicorn to a metaphor of religious holiday and festive consumerism, over the top of a harmonious backing vocal and an Acoustic guitar rhythm that evokes the 70’s Art-Pop Psychedelia of David Bowie. A long vocal note leads into an off-kilter, electronic transition into Sleigh Bell percussion as the second third of the track morphs into a leftfield call-and-response ballad of Dream-Pop melodies and experimental synth textures, as Sufjan chants: “You are the Christmas Unicorn, too/It’s alright/I love you” to a more immediate and quirky Synth pattern. The closing act of the segmented track is an inviting cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, where the 80’s New-Wave Synthpop classic is given a lease of new life through the intersection of Sufjan’s consistenly repeated hook, mixed in with jingle bells and a slowly depleting suite of electronic beats as we finally move through the gradual fade out at the end. There is a lot of depth, and it’s very long indeed. However, it’s the Electronic synth instrumentation and the track’s ability of gradually adding new elements that keeps it from lacking in cohesion and getting too tiresome. All-around, it does strike me as a track that probably should not really “work”, but it does. While I can’t see it being added to every single Christmas-related playlist on every music streaming service due to it’s alternative style and it’s sheer length, it manages to balance a comical quality with a more emotional feeling pretty nicely, and the “Christmas Unicorn” title of the track and it’s lyrical hook is an implication of multiple aspects of Christmas – like the consumerism, the religion and the celebration which goes with it – being rolled into one manifestation or being. Santa is on his way, but it could also be the ‘Christmas Unicorn’ that’s destined to pay your ears a visit this year!

Pictured: Sufjan Stevens playing “Christmas Unicorn” at Granada Theater, TX (in 2012) (via MTC MAG)

Thank you for checking out my latest blog post! Normal service resumes tomorrow, and it’s our final regular entry in the Scuzz Sundays series before we take a look at some more Seasonal-themed tracks that also fit the brief of the year-running feature. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: The Smashing Pumpkins – “Wyttch”

November 27, 2020 — Leave a comment

Does this new record make Pumpkin Spice and everything seem nice? New post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Cyr” (LP) (Released on 27th November, 2020) (via Sumerian Records)

Good Morning to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s now time for me to get typing up all about today’s track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! Friday always means it’s time for a handful of new album releases to drop – with this week’s crop also including FLOHIO (go and check out yesterday’s post) – but we’re going to take a look at “Cyr” by The Smashing Pumpkins. It is the 90’s pioneers’ eleventh album release, and it is the second part of the band’s “Shiny and Oh So Bright” series of projects. I wasn’t really aware of this new release until last week, where my mother shared me a photo of a review page in The Guardian’s weekend magazine and the title track pulled me in – because it reminded me of how I’m quite fond of Corgan’s endeavors over the years. There seems to be a mixed reception to his latest, with some criticisms being drawn on the album’s length – it makes for a hefty listening session at 20 tracks and 72 minutes long – and the production of this record failing to reignite the engaging spirit of the band’s earlier output, however, it seems to be universally agreed that Corgan’s explorations of dark fantasy themes are interesting, and it’s commendable in itself that his band are still consistently making new music after 30 years of their peak age – and it is. It is rare for a 90’s indie band to have this sense of longevity that Corgan’s project has. Let’s make our own minds up with the video for “Wyttch” below.

“Cyr” was self-produced by Corgan, and the band have said in the album’s press notes that “Cyr” goes towards the more “heavier and darker leanings” of their sound’s past. Unfortunately, the planned tour dates for the record have been completely cancelled due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the band are instead planning a new tour for 2021 to commemorate the 15-year anniversary of their classic “Melon Collie and The Infinite Sadness” LP that was released back in 1995. The music video we see for “Wyttch” was directed by Charlotte Kemp Muhl, and although it can look more like your grandfather is hosting a questionable Halloween costume party, some of these visuals are pretty haunting – and in a good way. The sound of the track takes on a reasonably Gothic punk sound, showing light elements of Metal through the distorted guitar riffs and symphonic drum beats. Corgan bursts into the fray with his familiar voice, crooning: “Samhain, Samhain/Gifting apples that I’d spoilt” and “Black turns forever, turns to sleep/Black turns confessor, turns to reap” over the top of the heavy bass guitar layout. “Love, lie with thee” is the repeated hook which connects the Horror-centric writing and the Post-Grunge instrumentation together. Unfortunately, I can agree that I don’t feel as though “Wyttch” represents Corgan’s most fine work. I think a lot of the issue stems from the actual sound quality of the track – as I don’t think the mixing of the vocals gel well with the more heavy instrumentation, and it makes the vocals feel quite hollow and dull. I think the synth lines also feel at odds with the Grunge-driven sound, adding a feel of symphony which makes it difficult for me to find melodic moments that really stand out. I don’t think it’s a complete misfire – a pinch of love clearly went into the costumes and the performances, and the ideas of creating a character-centric, Gothic narrative aren’t inherently uninteresting. The imagination is admirable, but it doesn’t feel like the platform is quite right for these to feel fleshed out. It’s a pity because I did really want to like this, and, again, it’s not without merit – but the tone just isn’t quite cohesive enough and the production feels like it’s missing a spark of energy to bring Corgan’s creative expression forward to a more memorable level. It just doesn’t quite manage to leave me wanting some more.

Pictured: Billy Corgan (Lead Vocals/Writer/Producer), James Iha (Bass Guitar), Jeff Schroeder (Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar) and Jimmy Chamberlain (Drums/Percussion) (in 2020) (Photo via PR)

One of The Smashing Pumpkins’ hallmarks that you really should check out is “Melon Collie and The Infinite Sadness” from 95′, and you can read my thoughts on the famous single, which reached #7 in the UK Singles Charts, “Tonight, Tonight” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/27/scuzz-sundays-the-smashing-pumpkins-tonight-tonight/

Pictured: Cover Art for “Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness” (Released in 1985) (via Virgin Records)

Thank you for reading my new post! It might have been a bit of a debbie downer today – but we’ll be back on-track tomorrow in the lead-up to a new Scuzz Sundays entry with an in-depth look at the latest single from a down-to-earth and engaging Acoustic Indie Rock singer-songwriter from my home soil of England who used to perform live gigs several times a week during her time studying at The BRIT School in Croydon. 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: Foster The People – “Under The Moon”

November 25, 2020 — Leave a comment

All the other kids with the Pumped Up Kicks… You better run! It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Foster The People with at the Teen Choice Awards (in 2018) (Photo Credit: Ace Showbiz) — Pictured: Foster The People at the Teen Choice Awards (in 2018) (Photo Credit: Ace Showbiz)

Good Afternoon to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! “Under The Moon” is the latest to come from the band who are currently #6 on my Tentative all-time favourites ranking – I say ‘tentative’ because it flips around based on my mood. Anyways, the point is that I really like Foster The People – and I find them to be very underrated because they simply make great Pop music and they always evolve as artists, never just sticking to one idea, often within a single project. December 11th is shaping up to be a nice weekend because, along with The Avalanches releasing their third LP “We Will Always Love You”, Mark Foster and his people are unleashing a new EP – “In The Darkest Of Nights, Let The Birds Sing” – to the world on the same day. It is rumored to be an extended tease for a Love-centric album that the band have been working on, and, in the past three years since the release of their last full-length album – “Sacred Hearts Club” – the 4-piece have departed from their major label, Columbia Records, to operate as a fully independent act, from now on. “Under The Moon” marks another bold change in sound for the band, and it genuinely suprised me upon my first listen to it. Let’s watch the music video for “Under The Moon” below.

New output from Foster The People feels like an early Christmas present for me – but we’ve had many interim singles from the group in recent months. Mark Foster reflected on the new EP, saying: “As a songwriter, I have always looked outward toward culture and the state of the world for inspiration. But, as I searched for what this next era of Foster The People was going to sound like, I felt it was important to look inward this time and try to articulate what my love feels like”, and in an era when loved ones are being separated, I personally think the lyrics of “Under The Moon” hit harder than even Foster may have anticipated. Whereas “Sacred Hearts Club” was filled with psychedelic interludes and groovy guitar beats, “Under The Moon” has a large emphasis on the vocals. As a matter of fact, Foster’s vocals are quite unpredictable because their emotive qualities change on a whim. He goes from a deep, swooned lead vocal in the opening: “Under the moon, I cry/I’m waiting in the whisper of your name/My lullaby” to a long, wailing Falsetto as he sings: “Can you see the moon tonight? We’re looking at the same sky” at the conclusion, after a fizzing sequence of electronic sounds. The rest of the instrumentation has a Dream-Pop/Shoegaze twang to it, with 80’s guitar riffs that feel mildly psychedelic, played along to a spacious Drum beat that makes me think of The Flaming Lips and The Cocteau Twins. A slight Emo-Rock infliction is also created by the Blues-oriented feel of the overall style, built up from the long vocal harmonies and the Folk-reminiscent bass riffs. Your mileage may vary on the long harmonies at the end, and I think some may find the track to be a little long-winded, but it feels inspired and fresh to me – seeming as though Foster The People are getting quite comfortable as independent artists. Vintage 80’s influences and twangy guitar riffs create a craftily produced track.

Pictured: Mark Foster (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar/Multi-Instrumentalist), Sean Cimino (Bass Guitar, Mark Pontius (Keyboard/Synths) and Isom Innis (Drums/Percussion) (in 2017) (Photo by JustJared.com)

I’m a loyal follower of Foster The People on the blog – so please make sure that you check out my thoughts on “Lamb’s Wool” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/23/todays-track-foster-the-people-lambs-wool/ and “Pick U Up” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/09/todays-track-foster-the-people-pick-u-up/ if you really liked this one:

Pictured: Cover Artwork for "In The Darkest Of Nights, Let The Birds Sing" (EP) (Available to buy and stream from 11th December 2020) (via Self-Released/Stem Distributions LLC) — Pictured: Cover Artwork for “In The Darkest Of Nights, Let The Birds Sing” (EP) (Available to buy and stream from 11th December 2020) (via Self-Released/Stem Distributions LLC)

Thank you very much for reading my latest blog post! Don’t forget to check back in with me tomorrow – where we’ll instead be going down the UK Hip-Hop and Grime route with an emerging female rapper-songwriter who has been circling around my musical journey for a little while now. She was the featured vocalist for God Colony’s single, “The Real”, which was released in the summer. She was also featured on KEXP’s Song Of The Day podcast at the start of the year, and she has recently climbed to the A-list of BBC Radio 6Music’s daytime rotation. 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: Fugazi – “Burning Too” (1989)

November 13, 2020 — Leave a comment

Affordable live gigs for all ages – Now, those were the days… It is time for a new post!

Pictured: Ian McKaye (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar), Joe Lally (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Guy Picciotto (Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Brendan Canty (Drums/Percussion) (Photo via PunkTastic.com)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, just like usual, I’m here to type up 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 music every day! I’ve got a “Golden Track” in store for you today to get your weekend started, as we’re taking a look at “Burning Too” from the early discography of the Cult favourite Post-Punk group, Fugazi. The track was released way back in 1989 as part of the “13 Songs” mixtape, a compilation of previously released work from their EP’s and Demo tapes prior to the band’s six albums later on. The band were formed in Washington, DC in 1986 by lead guitarist and vocalist Ian MacKaye – also including multi-instrumentalist Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. The band were a huge influence on the likes of Lorde, Bloc Party and Paramore, and despite taking an indefinite hiatus in 2003, Fugazi still managed to tour around the world and achieve a wealth of both critical and commercial success. As well as being noticed for their DIY-transcending style of Post-Hardcore music, Fugazi have also been held up over the decades for their ethical management practices. They were firmly rooted in Anti-Commercialism, and they would always offer the likes of low record and low ticket prices for their fans, and they allowed all ages of people to attend their concerts with affordable access, and were also significant for the live videos they used to release, allowing their own artistry documentation to be open to their fans. Dischord Records was the label that they used to release their self-produced material on. Take a listen to “Burning Too” below.

Fugazi were never ones to be reclusive from their fans, and they were well-known for their progressive political perspectives too, with MacKaye telling Loud & Quiet in an interview: “I was like ‘Where’s the counter-culture?, it seemed so real to me as a child, but as a teenager it was gone” in a response to the Anti-War practices and lack of LGBT support in his upbringing. Albeit a compilation, “13 Songs” has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. It’s the forward-thinking songwriting strategies that MacKaye used and the ethical practices of the band that have made them a very influential name, and the small nuances of their work, within and outside of, recorded material that come together on “Burning Too”, a track with a balanced drive and flavour. The lyricism ultimately feels quite cryptic and provocative, with hooks like: “Anytime but now/Anywhere but here/Anyone but me” that reflect a seeking of identity, all the while that MacKaye and Piccioto are engaged in a vocally interlocked duel. These were recorded over the top of “Indie” guitar sounds and dissonant drum beats that feel rooted in DIY production, giving off the raw and unpolished feel of the textures. While the first half of the track are suggesting personal lyrical themes, the next half are much more driven by politics and very unified action, as MacKaye and Piccioto deliver: “We have a responsibility/To use our abilities to keep this place alive” and “Right here, right now/Do it”, calling for physicality to the sound of “Do it. NOW. Do it” as a cascading bass guitar riff lurks in, and the simple tonal textures join the fray. It obviously doesn’t sound massively produced, but I feel that adds a charm to their ethical messages, and we owe appreciation to their influence on the industry.

Pictured: Cover Art for "13 Songs" (Album/LP) (Released in September 1989) (via Dischord Records) — Pictured: Cover Art for “13 Songs” (Album/LP) (Released in September 1989) (via Dischord Records)

Thank you for reading my new post! Scuzz Sunday is back in two days time, but, in the meantime – please check back in with me again tomorrow for an in-depth look at the collaborative new single from a very established British Synthpop group who have Grammy Award and Mercury Prize nominations, as well as critical acclaim and commercial success, to their belt – Who have teamed up with the former frontman of the 90’s group, Pulp! 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: Sneaks – “Do You Want To Go Out Tonight?”

October 13, 2020 — Leave a comment

I’m glad that I have finally found the time to Sneak this one in. It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Sneaks (Eva Moolchan) in a promotional photoshoot (in 2020) (via Sneaks’ official website)

Good Afternoon to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, as per usual, I’m here to get typing up about your 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! “Happy Birthday” is a recent album release that has been gaining popularity on the underground Electronic music scene. The record comes from Sneaks, the alias of Eva Moolchan, who is an emerging Post-Punk and Spoken-Word musician based in Washington, DC. The album was dropped on August 21st, and it marks Moolchan’s third full-length album release for Merge Records. It also follows “Highway Hypnosis”, which only came out a year ago, and so this does mark a quick turn-around period coming from the back of her previous LP effort, although she has previously released her early output via Danger Records, including her 2015 debut LP, “Gymnastics”. To spice proceedings up for her latest album release, she has confidently turned to Carlos Hernandez as her mixing engineer. She’s also been in the studio with the Grammy-winning producer Jacknife Lee (Taylor Swift, REM, U2, Editors). Let’s sample “Do You Want To Go Tonight” below.

Jordan Bassett, a journalist for NME, praised Woolchan: “She favours short, sharp, effortlessly cool compositions that worm their way into your conciousness without breaking a sweat”, and there’s an incredible sense of bold ambition that comes with Woolchan’s work on the syncopated staccato beats and her ambiguous songwriting style on “Do You Want To Go Out Tonight?”, the opening track of the new album. Sneaks’ lyrics are noticeably minimal, apart from the use of the track’s oft-repeated title line of “Do You Want To Go Out Tonight/”, which she delivers with a smoky and direct mode of delivery. After a few repeats of the line, the jittering electronic bassline is juxtaposed by a rolling set of percussive Drum Machine sequences, which begin to favour rolling Bell melodies and No-Wave elements of light riffs. It forms a textual outlier for an incredibly 80’s-influenced sound, with a few comparisons to Liquid Liquid and Shirley Manson coming to my mind. The track poses the risk of the continuous chorus line getting stale by the end of the track with it’s repeated nature… but, for me, it really doesn’t. This seems to be because the variation of the electronic sounds are diversified enough to incorporate light elements of Post-Punk and Math-Rock to the palette at a consistent pace, and the track unexpectedly closes off to the swelling sound of an Orchestral pattern of laidback Violin sounds and intense Cello strings, which also manage to give off a rather cinematic and soundtrack feel to the light grooves of the glitched Synthpop sounds and the clear 80’s influences, all delivered within the setting of an IDM-like production method. Overall, the large emphasis on the towering Synthesizer instrumentation, building to an escalating set of String parts, manages to keep the only line of lyrics interesting enough to suffice the, rather short, however, length of the track, and I think that’s a feat certainly above the average level of musicians who create their music under this 80’s-reminiscent Synthpunk banner. After all of that – I think I would fancy a night out.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Happy Birthday” (Released on August 21st, 2020) (via Merge Records)

Thank you very much for reading my new blog post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as per usual, with an in-depth look at another recent album release, and we are deviating in style as we look towards the Hip-Hop genre. The single will come from a pioneering American rapper and singer-songwriter who was certainly a part of “The Golden Age” of Hip-Hop between the 1970’s and 90’s and he’s released twelve full-length albums, seven of which were certified Platinum and Multi-Platinum in the US. He is the co-founder of Mass Appeal Records, just to give you another clue. 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/