Psychedelic Folk

Today’s Track: Lord Huron – “Not Dead Yet”

February 22, 2021 — Leave a comment

The Michigan Folk outfit are back ‘Alive and Kicking’ after three years. New post time!

  • Pictured: Ben Schneider (Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Harmonica), Tom Renaud (Lead Guitar), Miguel Briseño (Bass Guitar/Keyboard/Theremin) & Mark Barry (Drums) (2018) (Photo via The Bona Venture)

Good Afternoon to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to begin the new week’s round of daily entries on the blog, and that’s because it is routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The Los-Angeles based, but Michigan native, US Alternative Folk 4-piece band Lord Huron have been working on some brand new music, and “Not Dead Yet” has just been released as their first piece of new material in the three years following 2018’s “Vide Noir”, which was their first LP on a major studio label, Republic Records. The band gained some traction when “The Night We Met”, taken from their 2015 album, “Strange Trails”, surpassed over 680 million streams after being prominently used for the controversial Netflix Drama series, “13 Reasons Why”, in 2017. “Vide Noir” turned out to be their most critically acclaimed and commercially successful record yet, and it reached the top 10 of the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart after it’s warm acoustic tones were partly brought to life by mixer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT). Recently, the band have been teasing a new project with their series of “Alive From Whispering Pines” ticketed livestream performances, where the long-lost musicians who have previously occupied the Whispering Pines studio merge with the present day. There’s been no official word on a new full-length album yet, but since Lord Huron have made a habit of releasing a new album every three years, and they’re set to perform the new single on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the US tomorrow night, it seems inevitable when you put the pieces together. On that note, let’s check out “Not Dead Yet” below.

At this point, I should probably mention that, I too, was on the little bandwagon for the hype of “Vide Noir” when it came out. It was a toss-up with Gaz Coombes for my own Album Of The Year in 2018, because the sound was a lot sharper than their previous releases, and the instrumentation was diverse and varied, leading to a gut-punch of powerful and exciting Folk compositions with a cool atmosphere. Lord Huron hasn’t quite seemed to stick on repeat on my digital libraries as much as Jacob Classics like La Roux, Jens Lekman and Foster The People though, and I can’t quite point my finger on why. Whether it’s the little less familiarity or the lack of more nostalgia with this act, though, I think that “Not Dead Yet” points to a compelling future for the band, especially now that mainstream eyes seem to have been drawn to their output in recent years. The instrumentals are a little more Acoustic, with the slight Power-Pop ferocity of “Never Ever” and “The Balancer’s Eye” from “Vide Noir” feeling slightly replaced with fuzzy, synth-less guitar tones and a warm influence of 70’s Rock ‘N’ Roll, even down to the Elvis references in the track. Hooks like “You got holes in your clothes/Booze on your breath/You look like hell, and you smell like death” feel a little comical, and there’s a soft flicker of Glam-Rock added to the mix too. The refrain of “There’s a stranger in my eyes again, I swear to God I Don’t know him” make it clear that Schneider is singing from the first-person perspective of a drifter reflecting on his personal issues, with lines like “If she asks about me, Tell her I’m not dead yet” paving the way for a silky instrumental of ascending little chords. The chorus of “But I ain’t dead yet, and I’ve got something to say” is a little more involved, but the gentle drums and the acoustic backing riff still keeps things at a nice, mid-tempo subtlety. One major critique that I have with this track is that, as my friend pointed out to me, it does sound A LOT like The Mountain Goats – with the referential songwriting and the simple Folk roots, and so I’m not certain about whether I think the sound is very unique. That said, the concept of unearthing forgotten musical relics in this Folk-led style of storytelling is not inherently uninteresting, and the fact that Lord Huron have always been a band who focus on their visuals and aesthetics as much as their music gives me more confidence. All in all, I feel that this new one plays out more like a “film trailer” for the sure-to-be new album instead of a conventional single. Overall, the results are slightly mixed on this one for me – but that’s not to say this might be the year for Lord Huron to properly shine for me. There’s a lot of potential, and so I’m watching them with my beady eyes.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Not Dead Yet” (Single) (Released on Feb 19, 2021) (via Whispering Pines Studios)

That’s all for today – Thanks for checking out the blog today, and I’m very grateful for your time. Please join me again tomorrow for a detour. I’ve been feeling a little bored of just “indie” lately, so I’m going to switch up the styles with a new Jazz release from a retro Funk and Soul collective who formed in 2007, and have six members as part of their ensemble. Signed to Daptone Records, you may not know the group by name, but their original tracks have been sampled quite frequently – including from the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Kid Cudi. 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/

New Album Release Friday: Mogwai – “Richie Sacramento”

February 19, 2021 — Leave a comment

Gizmo also stars in the Russian version of “Gremlins” – Kremlins! Time for a new post.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “As The Love Continues” (Released on Feb 19, 2021) (via Rock Action Records)

Good Morning to you – I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it is my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Another handful of brand new albums have been unveiled on to the record players or streaming platforms of your choice today, as is typically the case every Friday. I’m excited to hear the uplifting, dance pop vibes of SG Lewis’s new release. However, there’s also new Art-Pop from Issac Dunbar, the long-awaited return of The Hold Steady and the Psych-Rock of the ‘one-person band’ Tash Sultana that may take your fancy too. One of the most anticipated albums for the year, however, has been “The Love Continues” by the very influential Scottish Post-Rock band Mogwai, who have been going for 25 years now. John Peel championed them with Peel Sessions back in the day of the late-90’s, and the new record is being released strategically to coincide with their 25th anniversary of their debut single, “Tuner/Lower”, with it’s distribution being handled by their own label, Rock Action Records. Let’s find out what they’ve got to offer us with “Ritchie Sacramento” below.

Featuring contributions from Atticus Ross and Colin Stetson, the new album marks another chapter in the sweeping and the cinematic grandeur of the band’s sound, typically composed of lengthy guitar sequences and improvised sections. “Ritchie Sacramento” plays tribute to the legendary Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, with the title of the lead single being a playful pronunciation of the name. In addition to this, lead vocalist Stuart Braithwaite also says this track is “the only conventional pop song on the record” in Mogwai’s press notes. Starting off with a highly distorted guitar hook, the lyrics of “Rise crystal spear flied through over me/Suddenly gone from here, left alone on the road” evokes a light sunset haze, with the slight melodic feel of these vocalss dipping in and out of the horizon conveyed by the fuzzy guitar beats and the variety of flickering bass tones. The bridge in the closing stages is a highlight, where the shimmering synth tones deftly undercuts the stillness of the rhythm. The chorus sweeps in for a straight-up late-90’s indie rock feel, with the lyrics of “Disappear in the sun/All gone” and “It took a while just to think/Of home” being backed by some powerful, quickly paced drumming and the irregular patterns of bass rumbles. The lyrics themselves are drawing and expansive, with little direct answers being given by the questions they ask. There’s a mid-tempo swing between a happy and sad emotion, however, with patches of reflective songwriting and emotional qualities being given off by the repeating themes of home and belonging. The textures are relatively light, however, and I feel the quiet sections of the vocal performance is selling the changing moments of tranquility and disorganization well. Overall, it’s a real grower, and I don’t think I really “got” this one initially, but I think the moments where Braithwaite looks back at companionship in the past flourishes under the Prog-Rock sound and the diversity of the emotions is good. Perfectly solid.

  • Pictured: Stuart Braithwaite (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar), Dominic Aitchison (Bass Guitar/Rhythm Guitar), Barry Burns (Keyboard/Synths/Flute) and Martin Bulloch (Drums) (in 2021) (Photo by Antony Cook)

The days and the weeks keep flowing by – but that’s all for today! Scuzz Sundays is set for a new entry in two days time as usual, but before then, I’ve got one more for you. Tomorrow, we’re going to take an in-depth look at a recent collaboration between one of Warp Records’ experimental electronic mainstays, and the high-profile star of this year’s half-time show at The Super Bowl. You can have that one for free! 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/

Way Back Wednesdays: Bibio – “Cantaloup Carousel”

February 10, 2021 — Leave a comment

Over two decades on, is there still fun to be had at this fairground? Let’s go Way Back!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Fi” (LP) (Originally released in 2005) (via Mush Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up your weekly pre-00’s throwback as we do right here on Wednesdays, because it’s routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! “Cantaloup Carousel” was released in 1999, and so it only just falls before the deadline of our Wednesday flashbacks, but I’m counting it. After all, I’m the one writing this. You’re not going to report me to the music police, are you (Or those little boycott gremlins who hang around on websites like Metacritic) I hope not. Anyways, this track is thought to be the first music recording to ever be produced by Bibio (aka English folktronica multi-instrumentalist Stephen James Wilkinson), which eventually landed a spot on the track listing of his debut album, “Fi”. At the time of the late-90’s, Bibio produced the track in his prison ce… (I mean, bedroom) of his university halls of residence in Wood Green, North London – using just a budget sampler, a casette desk and a “cheap plastic microphone” in his own words. Later re-released on his first solo album in 2005, on his self-release label Mute Records, the album was later re-issued and digitally remastered on vinyl by his current label, Warp Records, in 2015, to mark 10 years since the original release. It received mixed to positive reviews from critics at the time, and Bibio has later become known to expand his influences by tapping into sub-genres like Instrumental Hip-Hop, Alternative R&B, Neo-Soul and Indietronica in the years since. Now a very prolific artist, let’s cast our minds to his beginnings below.

“My approach back then was trying to make layered guitar compositions”, Bibio said on Fi’s reissue, “but the lack of professional recording equipment (or know-how) led to this lo-fi sound – a sound which started to feel like a signature and one I started to feel quite excited about”, before ending on, “It’s such a great feeling to see this album finally come out on Warp 10 years after it’s initial release. My younger self would have been blown away”, when talking about the album’s restoration. It’s evident that Bibio was interested in creating a sound of his own to build upon, but there’s still a playful and subversive edge to the character of this release. The style feels very well-rounded, very smooth and quite minimalist. There’s no vocals being recorded by Bibio for this offering, and the narrative arc of-sorts is instead being led by a piano piece. There’s also a light acoustic guitar strum that repeats throughout the duration of the track, along with some deceptively simple four-chord riffs and a very subtle Synth line that lurks in the background. The most striking element of the track is probably the toy-box like quality of the acoustic instrumentation. The simple and cheerful guitar melodies feel unaltered and child-like, and untouched by any artifice whatsoever. It also gives off a theme of nature and forests, with basic production practices that make me picture playing outside with my friends as a small child, and having a joyful time out of that. It doesn’t feel hugely electronic at all, but the time signatures are constantly peaking and retreating, followed by a leading guitar beat that alternates through this soundscape of speed alterations. It allows room for slight adjustments to the tedious melodies, creating a warm and absorbing atmosphere. It was produced with a very low-budget, and the technology obviously feels dated now. However, it’s an interesting entry point into the work of Bibio for newcomers. It’s true that there’s a limited bag of tricks here, and the feel of invention may be lost underneath the hypnotic effects, but the simplicity allows Bibio to experiment to the full, and it undeniably gave him a platform in which to fully firm-up his inspirations together. Overall, despite its sense of dated-ness and being possibly too tedious for some listeners, it holds up pretty well as the solid jump-off point it would prove to be.

  • Pictured: Bibio (aka Stephen James Wilkinson) in a PR shoot for “Ribbons” (2019) (via Warp Records)

You can take a breather now – that’s all I have got for you today! Regular service resumes again tomorrow, as you would probably expect, and I’ve got some brand new music to share with you then. Tomorrow’s track is an excellent new piece recorded by an emerging 21-year-old Indie-Pop and “Bedroom Pop” singer-songwriter who has recently gained traction on social media and streaming platforms since the release of her debut EP in 2018. So far, her latest track – about an intergalactic crush – has amassed over 10 million streams, and landed a spot on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Charts in the US. 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: Bullion – “Thirty Two”

February 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

A Bullion of silver – let’s see if this music is worth it’s weight in gold! New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Heaven Is Over” (Released on September 25, 2020) (via Jagjaguwar Records)

Good Afternoon – I’ve just seen the Royal Rumble, and that means it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! We’re kicking off the new month with a familiar face to the blog – and one of the releases that you might have missed in 2020. We’ve covered Bullion’s work once before – and this is the electronic music alias for NTS Radio host Nathan Jenkins, who largely self-produces his own material from his studio in West London. The follow up to the “We Had A Good Time” EP, which released at the very beginning of last year, was the “Heaven Is Over” EP, a little release that I would really recommend for it’s subversive, Warp Records-esque production tools. Under his pseudonym, Jenkins has released a multitude of work for the Young Turks, R&S, The Trilogy Tapes and Jagjaguwar Records companies. During his time-frame, Jenkins has also established himself in the European dance scene, where he’s lived in Lisbon, Portugal for a number of years. My eyes were really drawn to this beautiful fan-made video to his track, “Thirty Two”, which was uploaded onto YouTube last October by TRUTH CRAB, with the Japenese anime’ visuals being taken from Ai Monogatari’s 90’s mini-series, “9 Love Stories”. Let’s take the beauty in below.

“Thirty Two” was, indeed, taken from the “Heaven Is Over” EP from Bullion – which got it’s digital release last September, and a physical 12″ vinyl release followed that December. I’d say it would have made for a brilliant Stocking filler at yuletide time – and the five-track EP was also released as a part of the “Friends Of” project – which was launched, then, as a joint initiative between the Jagjaguwar Records, Secretly Canadian and Dead Oceans label to provide financial support for independent artists affected by the difficulties of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Jenkins also kept himself busy throughout the year by producing Westerman’s debut solo album, “Your Hero Is Not Dead”, along with collaborating with Sampha and Talking Heads’ David Byrne. Even though “Thirty Two” was never officially released as a single, I think it’s still a solid reflection of the 80’s euphemisms and the self–quoted “Pop, Not Slop” attitudes that Jenkins brings to the table. Some might find the lack of any vocals to turn them away, but we’re instead treated to a richly detailed atmosphere that evokes a nostalgic, child-like emotion that would be fairly difficult to replicate with real words. The odd hum, or two, from Jenkins is enough to create a Shoegazed, dream-like backing track to the instrumental sounds. Speaking of those, we get a more electronic style of sound than some of the more piano-based compositions you would find on the EP, with shuffling drum beats and slightly grooving guitar licks evoking a gently propelling sound, while 80’s New Wave-inspired synth lines glide slowly beneath the organic instrumentation to blend these soft instrumentals with a more child-like ambience. It reminds me slightly of Boards Of Canada – with toy Organ chords and mid-tempo Synth lines creating a lightly psychedelic haze to the overall sound. Together, these soft instrumentals gently ascend in tempo, while the odd rumble of bass brings the celestial Synths back down to Earth. I know that some listeners really don’t like the lack of vocals in their music, but I really liked this little release. “Thirty Two” feels very relaxed and quite child-like, but there’s still a light melancholy to the sound with it’s mid-tempo pacing and the push-and-pull bassline. Overall, it is a very nicely laid out little track, and the possible flaws are easy to shake.

  • Pictured: Bullion (a.k.a. Nathan Jenkins) in a photoshoot for his NTS Radio Show (2017) (via NTS)

If you liked “Thirty Two”, I get the feeling that you will also like the title track from Jenkins’ “We Had A Good Time” EP release last February. Check it out right here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/27/todays-track-bullion-we-had-a-good-time/

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “We Had A Good Time” (Released on February 28, 2020) (via DEEK Recordings)

That’s all I’ve got to share with you today – and so I’m going to move on with my shorter working day. Join me again tomorrow for an in-depth look at one of my favourite singles in quite a long time, and this next one is currently really blowing up online with the 6Music crowd of listeners. The track comes from a London-based, female-led Post-Punk group who have recently signed up to the well-known 4AD indie music label, and they were inspired to write and perform their own music by bands including The Feelies, The Necessaries, Pylon and even The B-52’s of wide “Love Shack” fame. 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/

Way Back Wednesdays: Jimmy Campbell – “Half Baked”

January 27, 2021 — 2 Comments

I shouldn’t think this 70’s classic suffers from a case of Soggy Bottom. New post time!

  • Pictured: Jimmy Campbell with his trusty guitar (Date unknown) (Photo via DakoSuede/Last.fm)

Good Morning to you – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to type up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to get writing up about a different piece of music every day! Off the back of my bumper list of my own Top 25 Best Albums Of 2020 (Which you should totally check out on the homepage) – it is time for us to go Way Back, and far before my time, for this week’s Way Back Wednesdays track. On Instagram, I recently saw a video of popular US Art-Pop singer-songwriter Angel Olsen describing the musicality of Jimmy Campbell’s “Half Baked” as one of the most influential tracks to her in the viral interview with Pitchfork, and I thought it would be an excellent choice for our weekly feature. Jimmy Campbell was a singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist from Liverpool who was around mainly during the 1970’s and the early 1980’s. He was a member of the Merseybeat groups The Kirkby’s, The 23rd Turnoff and Rockin’ Horse, before going on to produce three solo album releases. Originally, Campbell started off with more acoustic-based, indie folk music, before going on to find his feet in the Psych-Rock and Prog-Rock genres, and he loved his Funk-Rock too. Sadly, Campbell is no longer with us because he sadly passed away in 2007. Fortunately, The Guardian included his compilation album, “The Dream Of Michelangelo”, in it’s list of “1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die”, so justice was served. Let’s take a listen to “Half-Baked” below.

“Half-Baked” was the title track from Campbell’s second solo LP, which saw the light of day in 1970. Although I did not exist at the time, and neither did my parents, for that matter, my research still indicates that Campbell is a popular commodity with the die-hard modern record collectors, and he was described as “The era’s lost songwriter” by Bob Stanley, of The Times, before going on to record tracks that had later been covered by Cliff Richard, Billy Fury and The Swinging Blue Jeans. “Half-Baked” starts off as an acoustic Chamber-Folk piece, as Campbell creates a somber tone by singing “If I’d a known what would happen/I would have stayed in bed/But you know how it is, when you get something stuck in your head” as his light guitar strums begin to introduce a mid-tempo Violin melody to the fray, while the lyrics bleakly touch on depression. It isn’t long, however, until the drum beat kicks in, and we get a riotous guitar solo that evokes the Hendrix-like blues of the 1960’s. The chorus of “Half-Baked, I wasn’t ready but I couldn’t wait” remains upbeat as the guitars peak. Yet, the pace soon changes again, as we go back to the Chamber-Folk of the opening as Campbell sings about heartbreak. It soon changes again, and back again, and the track dips into Funk grooves by the end, while the same Blues-ish guitar riffs and the somber, classical instrumentation pushes and pulls the mood forward and back again. The sound is continually renewing, yet we get a fairly psychotic crescendo of Woodwinds and ear-grating strings. Campbell does a good job of keeping things cohesive enough, with the emerge-and-retreat template of the odd Chamber-Folk and Psych-Funk combination selling a narrative of mental health and emotional renewal, even though the tense String ballad at the end feels a little abrupt. Although it may have it’s inconsistencies, Jimmy clearly has a talent for songwriting, as he pairs the upbeat and somber tones of the lyrics in ways that feel drawing and expansive. Although the pacing may be a little ‘undercooked’ for me, the fresh songwriting makes up for it in the excitement, yet fragility, of the dynamics in storytelling. A genre-breaking single from an artist who deserves to be remembered.

  • Pictured: Jimmy Campbell in an “On A Monday” PR shoot in the 60’s/70’s (Photo via Pinterest.com)

I have no further discussion in store for you today – but please feel free to join me again tomorrow, when I’m going to share some brand new music for you. It’s a good old “Who Knew” affair – as we take an in-depth listen to the new album project from a US multi-instrumentalist and composer who was raised in New Jersey, and he is the co-founder of folk band The Lumineers, who scored an international chart hit with “Ho Hey” in 2012. 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: Dent May – “I’ll Be Stoned For Christmas”

December 16, 2020 — Leave a comment

Fair enough. It’s been a pretty tough year, after àll. It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Dent May recording music in his home studio (in 2017) (Photo via WeirdoMusicForever.com)

Good Afternoon! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get writing up about your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to get writing up about a different piece of music every day! Truth be told – I’m writing this on my smartphone toay because my laptop charger decided to cop out yesterday, and so I naturally fiddled around with it to try and fix it until my battery went flat, so you may have to bear with me, if the format isn’t quire right today, but that’s not going to stop me from sharing more Alternative festive music with you as Christmas time quickly approaches. “I’ll Be Stoned For Christmas” is a modern, red-eyed take on the seasonal ballad “I Will Be Home For Christmas” that comes from Dent May, a Los-Angeles based singer-songwriter signed to Carpark Records – where you’ll also find Toro Y Moi, The Beths and Skylar Spence. He loves to explore Psych-Pop, Prog-Rock, New Wave and Indie Folk tones in his music, and he started out his music career as a member of The Rockwells – a Power-Pop group from Missisipi. May’s most recent album is “Late Checkout” – which he released in August this year. The Christmas track, however, is six years old now – releasing on his Cat Purring self-release label – back in 2014. Let’s check out the festive music video for the track – which was directed by Robbie Hillyer Barnett – down below.

“I’ll Be Stoned For Christmas” was released on December 12th of that year, “Just in time to soundtrack your own disillusionment with Christmas week”, according to a press release from May, at the time of it’s release. It seems to be that May was a little ahead of the ball game of the current “Bedroom Pop” trend of indie music at the time, as he mixes the excitement of coming home to his family for Christmas with the mental isolation that could sometimes string along with that. May sings on about visiting his childhood friends over the top of an 80’s-influenced Synth bed which adds a hint of melancholy to the soft, Acoustic guitar strums. He later sings, above a slightly off-kilter Soprano production tool, “I’ve been chilling with my parents, they’re driving me mad, So I’m trying to get lifted with you now” and “We roll up my Cousin’s stash, and go wild at the party, yeah, we’re having a blast” to convey the slacker Rock sensibilities that come with the mild Psychedelic electronic loops. The chorus is a slightly less downbeat affair, as May adds a gently propulsive Guitar and Drums combo to the vocals, as he chants “I’ll Be Stoned For Christmas, this year” above the Psych-Folk mixture of sounds, before adding an “I’m sorry, Momma” for good measure. The hook feels heavily inspired by Mac DeMarco, as a mid-tempo Psychedelia adds some emotive lyricism to the noticeable Folk inflictions. It isn’t a bad thing though, as it’s still a decent sound that conveys May’s range of emotions pretty nicely, despite obvious similarities, as it’s also encalsulated under the same genre umbrella. In any case, May will be getting stoned for Christmas and, in a year of some absolute turmoil, I have a feeling that he will not be the only one this year.

  • Pictured: Dent May in a promotional shoot for “Across The Multiverse” (2017) (Photo via Tidal.com)

Thank you very much for checking out my latest blog post – and for bearing with me for today! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, for an in-depth look at another Alternative festive tune – This time from a legendary Japanese D.I.Y. Post-Punk female group who once used to perform as The Osaka Ramones – a tribute band to The Ramones. 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: Robin Kester – “Sweat and Fright”

December 9, 2020 — Leave a comment

That title is reflective of my two reactions for an exam deadline date. New post time!

  • Pictured: Robin Kester in a publicity shot to promote “Sweat and Fright” (2020) (Photo via Podcart.co)

Good Afternoon to you – I am Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for me to deliver yet another daily post on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! This single – “Sweat and Fright” – is a track that I set up for a review earlier, but I sadly never quite got around to covering it yet. I look forward to jogging my memory about it, since it sadly fell down the wayside of my mind a little bit ever since. Nevertheless, it comes from Robin Kester, who is an Experimental Electronic Folk singer, songwriter and producer, who is from Utrecht in The Netherlands. “Sweat and Fright” was the final single from her “This Is Not A Democracy” EP, which she released in September on the AT EASE indie label. Having previously recorded some work in a vacant psychiatric institution with retro guitars and vintage synthesizers to draw on 70’s pop and Shoegaze-influenced compositions, Kester decided to explore a dark variation of dream-filled tones for the EP, which she calls her “ode to Nightmares”. Let’s try not to fall asleep to “Sweat and Fright” below.

Kester’s “This Is Not A Democracy” EP was co-recorded and co-produced with Marien Dorlejn in his studio and it plays on the abstract themes of nightmares and shifting mental states – along with a glimmer of hope in it’s explorations of escapism and free voice. It’s an intriguing new direction for the up-and-coming Netherlander, who has previously toured with the likes of Villagers, Aleila Diane and Laura Gibson. Evoking a hint of Weyes Blood-like folk idioms, Kester cries out: “Woke up/Sweat and Fright/Dreams more violent with each night” as a textured synth line slowly flickers in-and-out of the centre. It becomes surprisingly Blues-inspired, with a line of steady bass guitar riffs and an up-tempo Drum signature gently pushing a melodic undercurrent to the forefront of the hypnotic, slow-building atmosphere. As if the track were a dream, these elements feel surreal, but structured enough to convey some semblance of a narrative and theme on needing self-empowerment in a waking life, as Kester calls out: “All my days, start with the same idea” and “Poisoned with an appetite/Carry on so carelessly/Singing haunted melodies” as if she is a dreamer within the lyrical framework. Her vocals are slightly distorted and never feel quite so clear, but the laidback instrumental beats and the accompanied sonic loops feel dramatic and theatrical to a point, enough to display the dream-laden thematically of the track. It feels psychedelic to a certain extent, but internalized due to the miniature synth beats that imply closed space and intimacy. Overall, it’s great to hear these moods coming across so vividly. Though it may be an over-used word in music press – it feels very ethereal. An interesting narrative and detailed production contribute to it.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “This Is Not A Democracy” (Released on September 11th, 2020) (via AT EASE)

Thank you very much for reading my new post – I’m sure you might agree that this was a great winter track to listen to. We’ll be getting back in the Christmas spirit tomorrow, for an in-depth look at a slightly more widely appealing indie pop/rock track that references the old 80’s Nostalgia of the season, coming from a British band who were formed in Sunderland. Their band name derives from the title of The Flaming Lips’ “Hit To Death In The Future Head” album, that was released back in 1992. 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: Slow Pulp – “Falling Apart”

November 19, 2020 — Leave a comment

A ‘Pulp’ is also the vesicle which contains the Juice in an Orange. Time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Emily Massey (Lead Vocals/Producer/Songwriter), Alexander Leeds (Bass Guitar), Henry Stoehr (Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar) and Theodore Matthews (Drums/Percussion) (in 2020) (via PR)
    Pictured: Emily Massey (Lead Vocals/Producer/Songwriter), Alexander Leeds (Bass Guitar), Henry Stoehr (Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar) and Theodore Matthews (Drums/Percussion) (in 2020) (via PR)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to start publishing your daily track on the music blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Now – this is a new band that I have been LOVING lately. They’re called Slow Pulp, and they’re a 4-piece Indie Dream-Pop/Shoegaze group originally from Minnesota, but they are currently based in Chicago. “Moveys” is the hugely enjoyable debut album from them, which they released last month on the Winspear Records indie label. It contains the singles “Idaho”, “Falling Apart” and “Track”, the second of which we’re going to sample, right here, today. It was inspired by the tumultuous recording process of the record, where the band’s leading lady, Emily Massey (who also seems to be a very tall woman) was diagnosed with Lyme disease and Chronic Mono, and so they scrapped an album’s worth of material to reflect this. To make matters worse, the Covid-19 pandemic struck when Massey was separated from the rest of the group, following her parents being involved in a car accident. This meant the band had to take on a cross-country recording process for what would eventually become “Moveys”, a 10-track collection with a name that refers to an inside joke between the members of the band. “Falling Apart” is the tale of Massey getting her hold on reality again. Let’s take a listen below.

“Falling Apart” deals with the outburst of emotion that comes after weeks of pretending that everything is going to work out fine, as Massey related to in the band’s press notes, explaining: “Life felt completely surreal, everything had drastically changed and at such a rapid pace”, later adding, “Luckily, I did allow myself to have a full-on breakdown induced by a stubbed toe and confusion over taxes, sometimes it’s the littlest things that finally get you”. It goes without saying that if these are the results of the band recording music while initially not being able to physically support each other, they have a very exciting future ahead of them. “Falling Apart” is incredible, in my opinion, for the wide range of subtle emotions and nuanced textures that it manages to convey. Masey begins: “Looking at the TV/Thinking that you’re dreaming”, before taking on a more uplifting stance with: “You have got to step up/Show that you can be enough” over the top of a whimsical guitar riff that evokes Cocteau Twins and Beach House in it’s slow-moving psychedelic tones. It feels more internalized than hallucinatory, however, especially in the chorus, as Massey delivers the chorus: “Why don’t you go back to falling apart? You were so good at that – One in a million” over the top of a gently swaying Horn section, and a wistful Violin part from Molly Germer that also feels cinematic and sweeping. I love that hook, because it feels hard-hitting and sincere, but it also feels quite witty. There’s a very light sense of passive aggression in the line that adds a lot of personality and freedom to the raw, drifting harmonies that emerges over the sound of the floating bass guitars and the sedate, measured drumming signatures. The track feels quite gentle and, even a bit cerebral, on the surface – but the band consistently draw on Dream Rock to add a psychedelic, if restrained, feel that makes the guitar work and the String instrumentation to add enough of a melodic undertone for the track to burst through as quite self-empowering, lyrically. It’s the simplicity of the arrangement that shines through, because it manages to feel rich, despite it’s mellow sound. If your mad about music like me – GO and check them out!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for "Moveys" (LP) (Released on October 9th, 2020) (via Winspear Records)
    Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Moveys” (LP) (Released on October 9th, 2020) (via Winspear Records)

Thank you very much for sticking with me for your latest post on the blog! I will be back at it all again tomorrow, where we’re looking at the new album from a more established Yorkshire-based indie rock trio who once had The Smiths guitarist, Johnny Marr, as a formal member of their group. Back in 2012, the band received the “Outstanding Contribution To Music” award at the annual NME Awards. Please like the Facebook page for the blog to receive all my updates here: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Candace – “Still Phase”

October 12, 2020 — Leave a comment

A “Witchgaze” trio from Portland who you’ll never see Coven. It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Ideal Corners” (Released on May 29th, 2020) (via Self-Released/Bandcamp)

Good Morning! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, as per usual, it’s time for me to type up about 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! With their self-described “Witchgaze” sound, Candace are a Shoegaze and Dream-Folk band from Portland, Oregon. The line-up is made up of Mara Appel Des Lauriers, Sarah Nienebar and Sarah Rose, who share the vocals and guitar roles on their tracks, with Des Lauriers supplying the Drum parts too. They first met in Minneapolis, where the three ladies bonded over their love for guitars in their parents houses, before forming their band (Which was then-known as Is/Is) in 2009. They currently self-produce all of their music, and they self-release it all on their Bandcamp page. They seem to have quite the prolific discography if you take a moment to look at all of the music releases on their Bandcamp page, and “Ideal Corners” is the latest full-length album release, which they uploaded onto the page on May 19th, 2020. The release saw them collaborate on production with Larry Crane, and it was recorded at the Jackpot! Recording Studio almost a whole year ago. It also finds them experimenting with electronic Synth hardware, namely drum machines, to add an “otherworldy” feel to their guitar-led Shoegaze sound. “Still Phase” is the lead single from their recent album, and the trio commented, in a press release, that it “is about coming to terms with the senslesness of inaction, about learning over and over again that there is ‘no right time’, nothing is ever definite”. Let’s relax and take a listen to “Still Phase” below.

Their recent album explores “themes of nostalgia and hope, the unease of modern band life, expectations and inertia – all encapsulated into tightly written psychedelic dream pop songs” according to their partner label Little Cloud Records. It’s certainly noticeable that “Still Phase” has a significantly light and gentle sound, and there is really not much in the way of explosive variations in sound or memorable lyrical hooks here, necessarily. However, it’s melodic enough. The vocals are fairly easy to decipher, which is quite an unusual trait for a Shoegaze release, as Ninebar chimes: “Forget my name, go on, let this soar, we’re flying/Keep on trying” and “Now, I know you then” at a soft ease, over the top of an increasingly layered series of psych-laden textures, with fluffy and laborious guitar work easily blending with a set of gently melancholic backgrounds, and soft-centred drum beats which slowly build up to a distorted layer of heavy bass as we near the track’s conclusion. There is also a sense of strength that develops between these minor changes of tempo as well, and the thorough line is a droning, but calming, lead vocal that has a proverbial effect of just massaging your ears. Overall, it presents a textural backdrop of a gorgeous pool of soft psychedelic sounds for you to submerge yourself in, even if this pool could be a little deeper with further experimentation of a slightly more varied set of sounds. It’s still a beautiful and lovely sound though, and the DIY feel, that reminds me of Beach House and Mazzy Star, weirdly adds a little more engagement to it, with it’s simplicity.

  • Pictured: Mara Appel Des Lauriers (Drums/Producer), Sarah Nienabar (Lead Vocals/Bass Guitar) and Sarah Rose (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals) (2016) (Photo by Jeni Wren Stotrup/The Portland Mercury)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! Make sure to check out the blog tomorrow, where we’ll be heading across to the Merge Records label to take an in-depth look at one of their latest releases. The single comes from an electronic Post-Punk producer from Washington, DC who has previously released her material on Danger Records, and “she favours smart, sharp, effortlessly cool compositions that worm their way into your conciousness without breaking a sweat”, according to NME’s Jordan Bassett. If you really 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/