Today’s Track: Ciel – ‘Fine Everything’

May 3, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Michelle Hindriks (Lead Vocals/Bass Guitar), Jorge Bella Jimenez (Lead Guitar/Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Tim Spencer (Drums/Percussion/Occasional Backing Vocals) (2022) (Photo Credit: ReadDork.com/PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for you to perk up your ears in preparation for 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! If I told you on the radio that I was going to play you a new track by an artist with a name (Ciel – Pronounced: Ceal) just like that, you’d be forgiven for expecting to hear some kind of 00’s-leaning Pop, R&B and Soul record. However, you’d be confusing them for Seal. On the other hand, Ciel are an emerging indie rock trio led by vocalist-guitarist Michelle Hindriks drawing from diverse influences such as Sheogaze, Dream-Pop, Prog-Rock, 90’s Grunge, Symphonic Rock and Psychedelic Rock. With members hailing from The Netherlands and Spain in addition to the UK, Ciel have recently captured my imagination when ‘Fine Everything’ gained positive reviews from the panel on last week’s episode of Steve Lamacq’s Roundtable on BBC Radio 6 Music. Ciel have also been praised by sites like KEXP, WFW, BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio, Clash Magazine, Earmilk and Under The Radar too. In recent times, Ciel have been preparing for their upcoming EP by working with Steven Ansell (of Blood Red Shoes fame) as their producer and mixer. The trio have also been supporting She Drew The Gun, Sasami and Penelope Isles across sold out live shows in London and Brighton (Where they are currently based) too. I also read that Ciel have been long-listed for this year’s Emerging Talent Competition at Glastonbury Festival as well, which should continue to shine a spotlight on the band as a valuable commodity within the music industry. On that note, let’s check out their fresh new single, ‘Fine Everything’, below.

Talking passionately about the melodic new offering of Shoegaze-inflicted Indie Rock, frontwoman Michelle Hindriks notes, “It’s about coming of age, and not really knowing how to navigate life. The doubts and difficulties that involve life-changing decisions, yet maybe not being ready growing up, when all your friends are. I was thinking of how so many people lost touch with their inner gut feeling and instincts, and how all the possibilities in life can feel so overwhelming sometimes. It’s almost kind of easier to stay oblivious to it instead of digging deep into your mind“, in her own words. The single oozes charisma with an insistent groove created by the fuzzy walls of anthemic guitar sound and driving drums from the get-go, while lyrics like “Ignorant to the shame, It evoked/Threatened by the drought, caught up in doubt” and “Don’t you know, I am longing for/To be told how to live my life” break down the decision making processes that we all face, punctuated by the Shoegaze guitars and the angsty, classic Punk attitude that gives the tempo a more brooding personality. They unleash a fun and chaotic guitar solo towards the end, while the chorus introduces a more accessible Pop sensibility into the mix due to its rhythmic pulse, while the verses feel more gritty and determined in texture. There’s some hook-filled melodies in here, but it retains a sharp Post-Punk feel overall because the Brighton-based band aren’t afraid to hit you with a distorted wall of sound, but they tie it in with a melodic style and some familiar Pop-driven songwriting. It doesn’t feel shrouded in borderline territory between Dream-Pop and Post-Rock, but it instead feels like it has a more direct punch to its sound that makes it feel memorable when it digs into your brain. It works nicely as a companion for the lyrics, which are all about tacking the uncertainty of thoughts that linger in your brain about your future as a young adult and how these unsettling noises in our minds invade our lifestyle, backed by an edgy Garage feel that resonates with the modern indie production clearly. While it is nothing too innovative and I’ve probably heard most of their ideas before, it is still a solid track that is very catchy and noisy, in the best way possible, that still leaves me thirsting for more content from Ciel soon. It is not re-inventing the wheel, but the wheel keeps spinning without fault.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Fine Everything’ (Single) (Released on March 24th, 2022) (via Self-Released)

That’s all for me today, but I hope that your day turns out to go just fine. I’ll be back for a new edition of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ tomorrow where will be remembering the work of a Lancashire-born R&B and Pop singer who was a member of groups like Shotgun Express, The She Trinity, Sinbad and Gambler in the 1970’s, and she has been described as “undeservedly neglected” by Bruce Eder, a respected writer for AllMusic.

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New Album Release Fridays: The Lazy Eyes – ‘Fuzz Jam’

April 22, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Songbook’ (LP/Album) (Released on April 22nd, 2022) (via Self-Released)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has finally arrived for us to take a walk on the psychedelic Gen-Z side of music as I take you through 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! While the new albums from Fontaines DC, The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and Poppy Ajudha have each been coming out today and they are all shaping up to be good, nothing has quite sparked the same interest for me as the long-awaited and slightly delayed (as it was originally set to be released in March) debut album by The Lazy Eyes. ‘Songbook’ has been self-released through the Australian Psychedelic Rock band’s channels on this day – a record that, according to the Vinyl’s product description, “is evidence of an edifice slowly being formed, a trepidatious first footstep by the band into the wider world” as they match a 60’s Neo-Psychedelia influence with a kaleidoscopic aesthetic that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. The Lazy Eyes have developed a cult following and earned acclaim for their live sets since forming as a unit in 2015 when they met at Sydney’s Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. Not only have they sold out shows across the Australian east coast, but they are also responsible for the creation of their own live music festival LazyFest. They have also earned praise from numerous sources including KCRW, FBI Radio, BBC Radio 6 Music, Triple J Unearthed and NME. ‘Songbook’ follows the releases of 2020’s ‘EP 1’ and 2021’s ‘EP 2’, and the group’s profile will continue to grow when they support The Strokes on tour next year along with The Chats. Prepare yourself for the unadulterated liveliness of ‘Fuzz Jam’ below.

Matching the dynamic structure of ‘Fuzz Jam’ with a psychedelic monochrome outset for the music video, the band’s vocalist-guitarist Harvey Geraghty has discussed the foundations of the track’s vibrant soundscape, saying, “I wrote ‘Fuzz Jam’ to use this instrument that [guitarist Itay Sasha] bought live. It’s this Hohner Planet T, and we wanted a more hard track to play on it, instead of just singing songy songs”, in a press statement. Ever the humorous bunch, The Lazy Eyes take some influence from the sprawling, cinematic post Neo-Psychedelia of The Flaming Lips and a 60’s Beatles-esque Jangle Pop vibe to conjure up a heightened Noise-Rock collage of effects-filled Synth sounds and delay pedal-dominated guitar riffs that feels almost self-referential to its core influences. This one starts off with a threatening bassline accelerated by the animalistic Drums and seductively sultry lead guitar riffage that creates a very improvisational feel to the instrumentation where the tempo chops and changes throughout the track, endlessly segueing in and out of sparkly Psychedelic Pop and ‘turn up that dial’ good time rock. These grooves mutate and twists, so you never quite know what’s around the corner. Simple lyrics like “I want it all to be ok, I want to stay the same” and “Run for the door, You’ll be okay/Don’t be afraid to say my name” often get repeated, which leans loosely on the heavy and inciting soundscape while occasionally dipping into a sweeter harmony. It can often seem like you are listening to three or four different songs thrown in a blender together here as the overall instrumentation is fairly unpredictable and the rhythms are complex, not to mention the full-blast feel of the saturation effects which turn their Psych-Rock world upside down, but their vocals are played out with some subtle sense of comfort while the incendiary electronic elements penetrate the rhythmic bass grooves to a satisfying cohesion, despite the track having its lofty ambitions. These elements are all major thorough-lines in the track, and so the pacing never feels massively out-of-place as to make the track feel incomprehensible. Overall, this is all playful fun and it seems like the kind of track that really could not have been made 20 years ago, which is a quietly incredible feat. It never shakes off the meditative qualities which have set them apart.

Pictured: Harvey Geraghty (Lead Vocals/Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar), Itay Shachar (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Leon Karagic (Bass Guitar) and Noah Martin (Drums/Percussion/Occasional Backing Vocals) (2022) (Photo Credit: PR)

Thank you for checking out my latest post, and please make sure to follow the blog on Twitter (the links are below) to get notified whenever my daily posts are uploaded and help me to dominate the social media algorithm, eventually allowing me to take over the world. In the meantime, I’ll be back tomorrow to review a recent single by an established Manchester-based Art-Rock band who have a Mercury Prize nomination and five Ivor Novello Awards nominations to their name. They follow in the same tradition of Django Django, Talk Talk and Years & Years in having a double title for their name. Thinking about it – this is actually great material for a Pub Quiz question.

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Today’s Track: Superorganism (feat. CHAI & Pi Ja Ma) – ‘Teenager’

April 16, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘World Wide Pop’ (LP) (Available on July 15th, 2022) (via Domino Recordings)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to bring the sunshine to your weekend with 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! It’s really nice to hear that Superorganism are back for more, because their original album was so fun, visually creative and musically compelling. If you somehow missed out on all of their rage a decent number of years ago, Superorganism are a London-based collective of musicians who are spread out across the globe, so half of them met online while the other four members previously played as The Eversons together. Currently signed to Domino Recordings, they released their self-titled debut LP in 2018 and scooped up a place in the top 25 of the UK Albums Chart, alongside nominations at the MTV Europe Music Awards and the Sweden GAFFA Awards. A year later, they also contributed a track to the soundtrack of ‘The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part’ entitled ‘Hello Me & You’ to widen their mainstream exposure. Their second album – ‘World Wide Pop’ – is set for release on July 15th and they have revealed that Ruby, Emily and Robert Strange have left the band. However, they have pulled in an international range of collaborators including Stephen Malkumus, Boa Constrictors, Dylan Cartlidge and Japanese actor Gen Hoshino to contribute to the full-length recording. Pi Ja Ma joins them for ‘Teenager’ – the lead single – which also involves CHAI, who supported Superorganism for their UK and Ireland tour in 2018. It was produced by Stuart Price too, who has previously worked with Madonna and Pet Shop Boys. As you would expect from Superorganism, the music video is a goofy and imaginative affair about refusing to grow up. It stars Will and Grace’s Brian Jordan Alvarez. Check it out below.

Teasing a bit more information about the album without giving too much away, the product description for their new album explains, “World Wide Pop is a showcase for Superorganism’s newly deepened understanding of each other’s interests and impulses, the kind of creative convergence you’d expect when online friends start spending time together IRL”, on Rough Trade’s website. Their previous album was recorded remotely, and so the new outing promises to put them in the same room together. A ‘Jam Band’ tune of a result, ‘Teenager’ continues their uniquely brash and multi-cultural aesthetic with a very bright and processed assortment of sounds that captures the widescreen and virtual vibe which they have always sought so far in their careers, forming a collage of loud samples and crunching Drums that dip their toes into Hyper-Pop, Hypnagogic Pop and Noise Pop that feels comfortable for existing fans. I certainly hear more of a Post-Punk influence that was not particularly prominent before, however, because the overall production feels quite raw and DIY in texture. Distorted guitars and inconsistent Bass sounds add up the finishing touches, completing the vibe with a youthful and unstable quality that suits the key theme of the track. The lyrics are a commentary on how we never really completely change our character beyond our younger years, but the direct hook of “I’m gonna grow up and be a teenager” communicates the message in a quirky and free-wheeling way. Lyrics like “Had enough of growing up, keep making your mistakes and misbehave” find the band clinging to the ‘lost’ feelings of their titular developmental period in life, while lyrics like “Got no time for class/today we learn about the past, and the present, and the future fading so damn fast” suggest that we never move beyond such a pivotal state. It feels almost like a late-00’s children’s theme to an extent, with cartoons like ‘The Amazing World Of Gumball’ and ‘Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil’ coming to my mind, due to the colourful soundscapes and the filtered effects in play. A solid return which manages to capture the wit and engagement of their signature material.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Superorganism’ (Self-Titled LP) (Released on March 2nd, 2018) (via Domino Recordings)

Thank you for checking out my latest post on the blog, and I’ll be back tomorrow for ‘Scuzz Sundays’ as we rekindle the chatter about a not currently active but quite well-remembered 00’s indie rock band formed in Staines-Upon-Thames known for hits like ‘Cash Machine’, ‘Satellites’ and ‘Living For The Weekend’ that have all performed well commercially. They’ve just teased a 15th anniversary show for their ‘Stars Of CCTV’ LP.

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New Album Release Fridays: Charli XCX (feat. Christine and The Queens & Caroline Polachek) – ‘New Shapes’

March 18, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Crash’ (LP) (Released on March 18th, 2022) (via Asylum/Atlantic Records/Warner UK)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to look at one of this weekend’s new album releases which is so highly anticipated that it cannot be ignored with 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! It has been an interesting career trajectory for the Cambridge-born singer and songwriter Charlotte Emma Aitchinson to say the least, who began posting her videos to MySpace in 2008 (Ask your parents!), where she was scouted by a promoter who invited Charli to perform at urban warehouse gigs. She later signed to Asylum Records in 2010, where she had some pretty traditional and fairly mainstream Pop hits like ‘Boom Clap’, ‘SuperLove’ and ‘Break The Rules’ while also writing well-known singles for Pop heavyweights like Selena Gomez, Iggy Azalea, Icona Pop, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. She later became a pioneer of the emerging ‘Hyper Pop’ and ‘Bedroom Pop’ genres while gaining a lot of new fans in the alternative music community with universally praised releases like her 2020 lockdown EP ‘How I’m Feeling Now’ which she produced collaboratively with her fans in a span of six weeks while in self-isolation, a record that played with unconventional Pop structures and experimental electronic production in previously uncharted ways, and it was shortlisted for the 2020 Mercury Prize alongside appearing on year-end lists by Paste, Uproxx, NPR, The Guardian and Consequence Of Sound. Today, she fully leaves the major label Pop music world with her fifth studio album ‘Crash’, which tackles a deal-with-the-devil idea visually. Lyrically, she says that it explores the power of the femme fatale with inspiration from dark spirits and curses which follows the spirit of David Cronenberg’s 1996 film of the same title. Musically, we’re getting a bold fusion of 80’s/90’s power-pop and 00’s synth-pop with a hint of futuristic Bedroom Pop stylings that Charli says was inspired by Janet Jackson. On the BBC Radio 2 playlisted pre-release single ‘New Shapes’, she enlists the help of French Art Pop trailblazer Christine And The Queens and continually rising American star Caroline Polachek. Let’s take it for a drive below.

Charli XCX will be taking her alternative assortment of retro-futurist Pop sounds on the road for a tour of Europe and North America throughout the summer months, and her new LP record features contributions by Rina Sawayama, Digital Farm Animals, Oneohtrix Point Never and several more creatives. ‘New Shapes’ follows a simple story of a stale relationship where both sides are being manipulative, with lyrics like “I don’t know why I got a tendency to run away/Don’t know why I’m always pushing for a sweet escape” that set the scene with bright Synths and 808 beats that will remind you of freestyle girl groups like The Cover Girls or Company B, before a more complex narrative unveils where the narrator is fighting the urge to desert the relationship while feeling exhausted by it, with a cycle of mistreatment manipulating the narrator to feel like a different person while still succumbing to the sexual desire which they share for one another. There are two sides to every coin on ‘New Shapes’ seemingly, where the upbeat keys and the energetic Synth arrangements make it quite easy to overlook the frustrations of the narrator and the complications of their relationship. A strong and consistently high tempo makes the rhythm feel punchy, but the lyrics replicate something a little more mournful in balance. Polachek and Christine are there to play the role of emulating some emotional support from a girl of group friends, who are attempting to cheer Charli XCX up with a scene that may replicate how a group of girls always seem to go to the bathroom together (I went clubbing in my university days, and so that’s a trait I’ve noticed). Their verses are met by a similar soundscape of mechanical drums and reverb-drenched Synths while adding some additional voices to the track for more variety. It doesn’t feel quite as experimental as some of Charli’s other efforts and feels like more of a traditional ‘radio record’ to promote the album, but the blueprints of her wildly successful pandemic EP are still here. I always thought there was something a little different in Charli XCX’s ‘SUCKER’ days of more mainstream Pop where she dealt with overtly sexual content in very expansive ways with a punk attitude, and tracks like ‘New Shapes’ continue to add more nuance to that format. Overall, I think that ‘New Shapes’ is one of the best singles to introduce the more bolder and updated version of Charli XCX to newcomers or previous fans due to it’s accessibility and danceability. It may not feel quite as bold as the tracks on her lockdown EP, but it begs the listener to dance along with it while conveying a sense of urgency and immediacy that clicks together nicely, and that’s coming from somebody who is a little snobbish about this style of Pop music at the best of times. Charli is an extraordinarily talented young lady, and so it’s good that she finally has a platform to show what she’s truly capable of making as a performer and a producer. ‘New Shapes’ may not be her most memorable offering, but there’s something for everyone in here and it conforms to a more accessible Pop sound while not ignoring the experimental EP, and so ‘Crash’ looks more like smooth sailing to me.

Pictured: Charlotte Aitchison at the red carpet of the BRIT Awards (2020) (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images)

That brings us to the bottom of the page for another day! Thank you for taking a moment out of today to visit the site, and I’ll be back tomorrow to review another fresh new Pop-oriented single – this time coming from an Australian DJ/Producer who is recognized as a ‘Future Bass’ pioneer of the 2010’s with several Grammy Award nominations and ARIA Awards attention to his name. He reportedly chose his name after his favourite Bon Iver track – although his name is shared by a type of ravine.

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New Album Release Fridays: Arca (feat. Planningtorock) – ‘Queer’

December 3, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Kick iiii’ (LP) (Released on 3rd December, 2021) (via XL Recordings)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke and, for the final time until 2022 rolls around, it is time for us to take a deep dive into one of this weekend’s biggest new album releases, since it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It all comes down to this. As the curtain draws the year of exceptional new music to a close, we are left with a final notable release. Or two. Or three. Or – in the case of Venezeulan experimental pop producer Arca – four. Last summer, she released ‘Kick i’ to an interesting reception and this week, she has completed the ‘Kick’ quintet with the release of ‘Kick ii’, ‘Kick iii’, ‘Kick iiii’ and ‘Kick iiiii’ all on the same day via XL Recordings, boasting a total of 43 tracks of wild Glitch Pop experimentation. I loved her track ‘Time’ on the blog last year, but a follow-up single – ‘Mequetrefe’ – received a more negative reception from me, so it will be interesting to see where ‘Queer’ from ‘Kick iiii’ (featuring the Estonia-based English DJ Planningtorock) lands with me. The critics seem to be liking the ambitious bible of projects, however, with The Guardian writing, “A wild ride to the dark, daring side of Pop” in their four-star write up. The Times added, “Pop that’s a pleasure to be confused by” in their appraisal. I mostly know Arca, also a transgender icon, for her friendship and a few collaborations with the Icelandic role model Bjork. However, Arca has also produced work for Kanye West, Rosalia and FKA Twigs (Who famously used to date Robert Pattinson for quite a while, I believe). ‘Kick iiii’ also features Garbage’s Shirley Manson, Oliver Coates & No Bra. Give ‘Queer’ a whirl below.

Pitching the fourth part of her ‘Kick’ series of augmented records as “an entry in the sensual charge in the cycle; my own faith made into song, a posthuman celestial sparkle, psychosexual pulsewidth modulation, queering the void, abyss alchemically transmuted into a deconstruction of what is beautiful” in her partial LP’s product description, Arca continues to explore the themes of alienation from the inside and a bursting apart of old skin with the glitch-driven lead single from her ‘Kick iiii’ album – ‘Queer’. Built up to be an anthem that is celebrating courage in the face of prejudice and encouraging queer romance in all of its forms, this is a dramatically exploratory single that establishes Arca in the ilk of a ‘true artist’ like Kate Bush or David Bowie where commercial accessibility is primarily not a target and expression with an almost ‘alien’ quality, where traditionally catchy genre traits are simply disregarded in favour of a creative approach. Therefore, I can definitely see why this track may not play ever so well to casual listeners and it, even for me, was a little bit overwhelming to fully grasp on a first listen. It has a vague resemblance to the Eurovision flavour of Pop, however, that gives us somewhere to start with her. Set against the backdrop of a Witch House trap beat that has an air of Latin Hip-Hop about it, calling to my mind names like 100 Gecs and Bad Bunny anyways, Arca and Planningtorock (her actual name is Jam Rostram) exchange a series of Spanish and English lyrics between each other in a trade, with anthemic lyrics like “Tears will shower in my time/Like a queer life/Queer fire” as the Synthpop textures and the science fiction soundtrack feel of the music dives along at a brisk pace that doesn’t ever quite let up entirely. Full of processed vocals and some more interchangeable genre influences that are buried underneath the broad instrumentals, ‘Queer’ finds itself preoccupied with swelling Synth arrangements and rattling percussive arrangements that each function as a mimicry of non-heterosexual forms of love in their diverse nature. The opening of the track is a highlight for me, where a screeching sequence of samples almost act as haunting strings that get the beats off to an unrelented start. Overall, while I can certainly agree that ‘Queer’ is a lot to take in at once and it takes some hard work to get the most out of, I felt rewarded by the emotive soundscape that becomes more vibrant and expansive in scope with my repeated listening. I can also appreciate the thought that goes into the visual aspects of her art too. A tsunami of seismic material.

Pictured: Arca in an official photoshoot to promote the release of “Kick i” (2020) (Photo Credit: Hart Leshkina)

As aforementioned, Arca has gained a little bit of attention from my blog before. If you found ‘Queer’ to be interesting, you can see what I made of ‘Time’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/28/todays-track-arca-time/. You can also gain your own opinion of ‘Mequetrefe’ by visiting my take on it here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/06/30/todays-track-arca-mequetrefe/

Pictured: Arca (Alejandra Ghersi) in a shot from the ‘Time’ music video (2020) (Photo Credit: Rolling Stone)

That’s all for now! Thank you for finding out what music that I had to share with you today, and we will be going back to our ‘Countdown To Christmas’ in glorious style tomorrow. Join me then for an in-depth look at a new holiday-themed album release by an American Acapella group from Arlington, Texas who won the third season of NBC’s ‘The Sing-Off’ in 2011 and they have won three Grammy awards following that time. If you are a fan of the three ‘Pitch Perfect’ movies, you may find it Aca-awesome.

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Today’s Track: Jockstrap – ’50/50′

November 29, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Georgia Ellery (Vocals/Violin) and Taylor Skye (Vocals/Producer/Flute) (2019) (Photo via BBC News)

Good Morning to you! You’re tuned into the text of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to get a little wackier than usual for today’s entry on the blog, not forgetting that it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! If you have been a regular follower of my blog for some time (Firstly, thank you for doing so), you may already know that I’m an enamored fan of Jockstrap, a wildly experimental electronic duo who have released some masterful singles like ‘Acid’ and ‘The City’, as well as the ‘Wicked City’ EP on Warp Records previously. The link-up is between violinist/vocalist Georgia Ellery (Who is also a member of another stunning band – Black Country, New Road) and the DJ/Producer Taylor Skye, who have been working together since they met while studying at the Guildhall School Of Music and Drama in 2016. They performed at the virtual Eurosonic Festival earlier this year but, other than that activity, Jockstrap have remained a little quiet in recent months outside of a few tour dates and amicably so. However, that all changed when they released ’50/50′, a new single, after some teasing around on social media, last week. It arrives with a new video that was filmed on a handheld camera at The Glove That Fits, a Hackney-based live venue in London, during an encore from one of their recent shows. It also, presumably, seems to feature some of Ellery’s bandmates from Black Country, New Road too. Let’s take a ’50/50′ chance on the new recording below.

Although Ellery and Skye’s genre-fluid material has always been a decent fit for the forward-thinking label of Warp Records, ’50/50′ marks their signing to Rough Trade Records for this time around. A brief press release accompanying ’50/50′ also states that, ironically, Skye constructed the crunching beats for the new single whilst recovering in bed from tonsillitis. It doesn’t seem like too far-fetched a story after hearing how ’50/50′ disregards conventional structure traits so delicately and how vibrant the production feels as the shape-shifting anthem rolls along to its nearly four minute duration. Jockstrap has always worked well by blending a mix of classical training with cutting-edge electronic production that warps the meaning of words around and makes the lyrics sound witty at times, with Ellery’s half-whispered and angelic vocals creating a stunning contrast to the unpredictable beats of Skye that branch out into weird yet wonderful territory that surround her minimalist presence with an often cascading soundscape. ’50/50′ builds on that dynamic, but it certainly feels more club-oriented and a little more melodic than usual. To me, it sounds as if it’s their take on the 2010’s Lo-Fi House movement that saw producers like Ross From Friends and DJ Seinfeld become prominent names in Electronica. This time, it feels even more intense. Ellery quickly calls us to holler in the outset, before the twisted and glitchy sounds unsettle the listener and flip the switch. It develops with elements of Techno and Acid as the track moves along, while Ellery’s vocals similarly come through in patchy emissions that flip between emotive and sardonic when audible, complemented by the mangled beats of Skye behind the decks that feel a little ethereal in the third quarter, becoming equally fragmented and infectious, as they thrash and thump along to their own pace. All inclusively, it has the same slap-bang impact that have made previous Jockstrap recordings a hit with critics and audiences alike. Different but not immediately accessible to mainstream pop charts, ’50/50′ is a treat for those who enjoy their music for the wonky side. A lab experiment gone right.

Pictured: Georgia Ellery & Taylor Skye in a promotional photoshoot for ‘Acid’ (2020) (Photo via DIY Mag.com)

If I have coloured you intrigued about Jockstrap, you can find out more if you revisit my take on ‘Acid’, which was originally one of their earliest singles, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/21/todays-track-jockstrap-acid/. You can also experience more of their unique methods with my take on ‘The City’ from their ‘Wicked City’ EP here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/06/17/todays-track-jockstrap-the-city/.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Wicked City’ (EP) (Released on June 19th, 2020) (via Warp Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for remembering to visit the site everyday, and I’ll be back tomorrow to do it all over again. Much like Jockstrap today, tomorrow’s post will feature a gang of youngsters who made their debut appearance on the blog with peaceful protest anthem ‘Nobody Scared’ during the summer, but I also really enjoyed their latest single and I wanted to write about them again. A Manchester-based Art Pop quartet who will likely appeal to fans of Alt-J or Everything Everything, they supported Cory Wong at Manchester’s 02 Ritz prior to UK Lockdown in 2020. Support has flooded in from Clash, DIY, BBC Radio 6 Music & Radio X’s John Kennedy.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Stereolab – ‘French Disko’

November 10, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Tim Gane (Lead Guitar/Keyboard), Lætitia Sadier (Lead Vocals/Percussion), Andy Ramsay (Drums), Joseph Watson (Synths) and Xavier Muñoz Guimera (Bass) (2021) (Photo by David Cowlard)

Good Afternoon to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to take you back to a much simpler time for another weekly entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A cult favourite and influential band who were one of the first bands to be dubbed as “Post-Rock” in the 1990’s, Stereolab have seen a few line-up modifications in their share of time since they formed between London and France, but they currently tour and record music together as a 5-piece. Known for combining some elements of Kraut-Rock, Lounge Jazz and Motorik music together, and realizing some philosophical and sociopolitical themes of Surrealist and Situationist themes within their lyrics, Stereolab were a key figure for renewing interest in older analogue equipment during the Synth-oriented times of the 90’s. Also drawing from Brazillian and Funk influences in their sound, Stereolab have been regarded as one of the world’s most important bands and have once managed their own record label, Duophonic. Despite achieving relatively little commercial impact in their 90’s heyday, the band have reunited as recently as 2019 and they have hopped between the likes of Warp Records and Elektra Records when releasing their material. 1993’s ‘French Disko’ is one of their most recognizable singles, and it had originally appeared on their EP, ‘Jenny Ondoline’, before finding a second life on their 1995 compilation, ‘Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Vol. 2’. As someone who’s been to a handful of gigs before as a young adult in Cambridge and Stoke-On-Trent, I can say that I often see a die-hard in the crowd with a Stereolab shirt. Give them a spin below.

‘French Disko’ has been covered by the likes of Editors, The Raveonettes and Cineplexx since Stereolab’s original release in 1993. Another very interesting fact about the track is that in the UK, due to ‘French Disko’ becoming a surprise commercial success due to unexpected commercial radio airplay, the ‘Jenny Ondioline’ EP had stickers that read “Includes French Disko” on the cover art, and so the EP was being sold on the strength of ‘French Disko’ as an unnofficial single at one point. Stereolab also gained attention with the live performance on TV above, which was broadcast on a programme called ‘The Word’ that was designed to replace ‘The Tube’ in Britain. The track itself, ‘French Disko’, isn’t really the soulful and funky disco tune that you may expect when reading the title, and it instead places an emphasis on driving 60’s Motorik beats and absurdist lyrics that act as a call to arms for action against a dominant socio-political force. Refrains like “Well, I say there are things worth fighting for”, often recited by Lætitia Sadier, feel conversational and catchy, bolstered by a wry delivery that plays on the absurdity of the overall themes of the songwriting. There’s some elements of the Grunge era led by Nirvana in the 90’s with the distorted bass guitar riffs, and there’s some slower sections of the recording that point towards a more Acid Rock-oriented sound. The vocals have an air of 70’s Jangle Rock about them, mainly in their upbeat and quick-witted delivery. Other lyrics, such as “Though this world’s essentially an absurd place to be living in/It doesn’t call for a total withdrawal” and “Acts of rebellious solidarity/Can bring sense in this world”, that play on how we believe the things that we read in the news as humans, and how the media is typically motivated by a secret agenda. Overall, the concise lyrics are touching upon personal freedom and how there’s a path to a better future if you’re going to spend time calling out what clearly isn’t working. These themes still feel relevant today, in a world where we’ve been following instructions on how to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic as a mass society. While Stereolab are dealing with a rich assortment of some complex themes here, the sound of the track itself felt contemporary for it’s time and the formula of Sadier intonely droning above the harsh Synth climax and the noisy, collage-like guitar and drums melodies creates enough of a late-80’s New Wave element to balance a retro and modern style for its time to a point where it feels original and not outdated. The hook of “La Resistance” is a powerful and ominous one, and the track has an overall playful style to it that weaves together the band’s different influences of Kraut-Rock, Prog-Rock, Drone, Noise-Pop and Synth-Rock in a way that feels accessible yet stacked. Therefore, it’s that reason why I would suggest ‘French Disko’ as a good entry point into the rest of Stereolab’s discography if you are not familiar with their music. In conclusion, ‘French Disko’ is a very punchy cocktail of academic influences that still sounds unique today.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Jenny Ondioline’ (EP) (Released in 1993) (via Duophonic/Elektra Records)

That’s all for now – and, as I mentioned yesterday, ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ will be going on a short break until Wednesday 5th January, 2021, because it’s time to begin our ‘Countdown To Christmas 2021’ feature that we’ll be spreading throughout the days of the coming weeks because Santa’s on his way – whether we like it or not. With the goal of adding some Alternative festive options to your playlists, we’ll be mixing some of the latest seasonal releases with older tunes from some of our favourite on-brand names on the blog. Tomorrow is ‘New Album Release Fridays’ and we will be shifting our focus to the new LP from multi-time ARIA award winner Courtney Barnett.

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Today’s Track: Pachyman – “Destroy The Empire”

August 10, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘The Return Of…’ (LP) (Available from August 16th, 2021) (via ATO Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for me to upload yet another daily post about a 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 university-trained Reggae musician, LA’s Pachy Garcia is perhaps best known as the drummer and vocalist of the LA-based Prog-Punk band Prettiest Eyes, although he was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. During his upbringing, Garcia was obsessed with vintage instrumental Dub recordings from his greatest influencers, Scientist and King Tubby, and he now aims to recreate their vibes with his own unique take on the genre. His latest album, ‘The Return Of…’ is set for release on Friday, August 13th, through ATO Records – the same label where you would also find the likes of Nilüfer Yanya, Allen Stone and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. He’s been gaining traction lately, with airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music and KCRW, and he won the ‘2021 Discovery Award’ at this year’s Latin Alternative Music Conference. Check out ‘Destroy The Empire’ below.

With ‘The Return Of..’, Pachy Garcia wants to show how the ‘Caribbean flow’ of his heroes can be transnational, and he tells the press, “With this project, I was looking to make positive music and radiate good energy; something to kinda disconnect from the negative things that were happening at the moment”, Garcia – aka Pachyman – explains. He adds, “I am trying to make this product a service for humanity in the sense that I just wanted to shine a positive light” to his notes, and his sound is built from a rich tradition of musical forms that resounds from Jamaica and San Juan, to Mexico and Southern California. With a simple, reverberated shout of “Destroy The Empire”, we’re immediately off to the races with the beginning of his latest single. Garcia radiates some good energy with the opening drum riffs that begin to just effortlessly scatter themselves around some more traditional Dub instrumentation, creating an initial soundscape that subtly develops throughout the rest of the track’s duration. Garcia delicately introduces Twangy rhythm guitar riffs and sultry Drum beats to the mixture that add a soulful, honeyed skew to the bright, summertime sound. Another highlight is the wobbly Cuíca melody, which gives proceedings a more quirky and, perhaps, falsely exotic lift. There’s also some gently rattling Maraca melodies to add some more spacious percussion to the laidback mood of the sound, and more shimmering sounds that seem to be coming from the Guiro, although I’m not entirely sure whether this is the correct instrument he uses or not. Either way, when thrown together, these sounds create a globally influenced atmosphere that feels bright and inviting, but Garcia pays homage to these Dub and Latin American sounds of old with his tongue in his cheek a bit, although he is absolutely believing in the music that he is making. He just manages to provide a light-hearted take on these heroes of his, and so his hazy and breezy melodies radiate with a quirky personality throughout. It probably falls under a niche overall, but I find that approach rather charming and likeable, and it’s clear that he’s done his research to pull it off. It’s not entirely clear who the ‘Empire’ is, and my gut tells me that it’s a nod towards Brazil’s Tropicalia movement, but I certainly am quite excited to destroy it with him on Friday.

Pictured: Pachy Garcia (Pachyman) in a ‘At 333 House’ PR shoot (2021) (Photo by Total Control/AUS)

That brings us to the end of the page for another day, and thank you very much, as always, for reaching this point. I’ll be back tomorrow for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, as we take an in-depth visit back to one of the sounds of the past that have been influential for the present! My next pick comes from a Jamaican vocalist, producer and songwriter who was known as ‘The Queen Of Dancehall’, and she was the first female DJ to become a Grammy-winning and Platinum-selling artist during her peak.

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Scuzz Sundays: The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”

August 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

Not based on the musical of the same name from Jonathan Larson. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

Pictured: Per Almqvist (Lead Vocals, Piano), Niklas Almqvist (Lead Guitar/Keyboard), Mikael Karlsson (Rhythm Guitar/Organ), Christian Grahn (Drums) and Johan Gustafsson (Bass Guitar) (2020) (via PR)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time to revisit one of the Pop-Punk anthems of the past for ‘Scuzz Sunday’, not forgetting that it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Tick Tick Boom’ marks the, very explosive, second appearance on the site from The Hives. The sharp suited Swedish Garage Rock 5-piece revivalists from the mid-2000’s have built a reputation for themselves as one of the best live Rock acts, according to music critics, and they made a claim to that fame with the release of their 2005 live DVD, ‘Trussels In Brussels’. ‘Tick Tick Boom’ was the opening track and lead single for 2007’s ‘The Black And White Album’, and the track was voted in at #99 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2007. It also reached #41 on the UK Singles Chart, and has been used as the theme track for WWE’s ‘Survivor Series’ pay-per-view event in 2007. You may have also heard it from the movies ‘Jumper’ and ‘The Nut Job 2’, along with several video games including ‘LEGO Rock Band’ and ‘Dirt 4’. As a side note, my mother is celebrating her 48th birthday today, and she reads the blog every single day as well as liking the Facebook posts, so a very special shout-out goes to her today. If you wish to leave a comment to wish her a lovely day as well, I don’t mind one bit. But, for the moment being, let’s get back to the task at hand. Set your detonator to ‘Tick Tick Boom’ below.

A fun fact for you is that two different music videos for ‘Tick Tick Boom’ used to circulate Scuzz and Kerrang, including the museum-themed, surrealist take on the track that you have just seen above my text, however, there’s an alternative video which is a staged, choreographed live performance of the track from The Hives, part of which was displayed in a Nike/Finish Line commercial. As for the track itself, the popular quintet aim for the charts for a fun Pop-Punk tune built on frenetic guitar riffs and neat Drum riffs, with recognizable lyrics like “I was alright/You come taggin’ along” and “I was right all along” that don’t seem to make much of an impression in terms of having any significant meaning, but it sounds catchy and rhythmic. The chorus is notable for the sound effects of a literal bomb explosion, which was the call of the producer – Dennis Herring – to be included on the track, and so it’s obvious that he wanted to really go to town on the general namesake of the single nearer to the time that it was being written. The chorus adds punchy hooks like “I got my eye on the score/I’m gonna cut to the core” and “It’s too late/It’s too soon” that all have a fairly loud delivery, while the tight, breakneck Bass guitar chords and the light Sonic modifications of the vocals were based on the same formula that had carried them a fair distance towards commercial success in their career’s peak time. Although fairly unimpressive, this was a fine effort. The sound effects would probably come across as cheesy to some, and these lyrics said nothing to me, but I felt the speedy Garage-Rock beats, the subtle electronic blips and the enthusiastic vocal performance added up to a decent level of engagement with the sound, for me. I could definitely picture this one being some good fun on a packed festival floor, although it’s difficult to argue the core ingredients of the sound are very typical for The Hives and didn’t reinvent the wheel at all. Still, it’s a fun track that, in some ways, went down like a bomb going off.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘The Black and White Album’ (Released on 9 October, 2007) (via Polydor Records)

If you’re still wondering whether The Hives have been a part of a feature on the blog before, then I ‘Hate To Say I Told You So’. Give that previous post a look-in here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/08/scuzz-sundays-the-hives-hate-to-say-i-told-you-so/

Pictured: The Hives performing for Rolling Stone (in 2012) (Photo Credit: Dave Wood/YouTube.com)

That brings us to the end of the road for today, and here’s to another year of happy existence for my mother. Thank you for your continued support in making it this far, and please feel free to join me again tomorrow for the start of another week of new music recommendations. Coming up tomorrow, we will be looking at a Parisian electronic dance music producer who has enlisted the help of Bakar, Mac DeMarco and Juan Wauters for his debut album, which is out now on Ed Banger Records and Because Music. He was one of four members from the Electronica group Club Cheval.

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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