Mercury Prize 2020 Special: Michael Kiwanuka -“Hero”

September 26, 2020 — Leave a comment

Winner, Winner – Michael needs to eat his chicken dinner! It’s time for a special post…

Pictured: Michael Kiwanuka live in session for Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 (2020) (Photo via BBC Sounds)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog because, as per usual, it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Another year has quickly rolled by ever since North London MC Dave won last year’s Mercury Prize with his controversial album “Psychodrama”, and that means it’s time for the judging panel (which actually includes one of my heroes, Supergrass member, Gaz Coombes) to crown a new winner for this year’s edition of the prestigious award, of which includes previous winners such as PJ Harvey (the only two-time winner ever to date), Skepta, Pulp, Elbow, Arctic Monkeys, and rather more forgettably, Klaxons. I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I found out that the results had been announced, to find out that my predicted pick of Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia” had not won. (I thought it would, since I guessed the media would want to ram her down our throats just that little bit more). It was actually Michael Kiwanuka who walked away with the award, for his third full-length LP effort “Kiwanuka”, which was released in November 2019, which is still within the annual eligibility period. To earn the award, Kiwanuka beat out the likes of Kano, Moses Boyd, Porridge Radio, Sports Team, Lanterns On The Lake, and Stormzy. I’m not very familiar with Kiwanuka’s work if I’m being truly transparent with you, but I know that he is very critically-acclaimed and he is very popular in the US, and I know this thanks to one certain presenter on KEXP who had played him three times in a row as a competition when I was listening into their show one afternoon. Kiwanuka won BBC’s Sound Of 2012 poll, along with receiving nominations for BRIT Awards, MTV Europe Awards and BBC Music Awards, and so I have definitely heard his name quite a lot! Anyhow, let’s hear what the fuss is about with the album’s single, “Hero”, below.

Jimi Hendrix would be the obvious comparison to make here. That’s a good thing, and I feel that “Hero” is also drenched in a post-60’s psychedelia that feels layered and embedded textually within the decadent guitar riffs. He is clearly taking a lot of influence from 70’s Soul for the track as well, and this adds more sumptuous detail to complement his defiant vocals, which have a contemporary, hard-hitting impact as he compares the murder of 1960’s activist Fred Hampton with the newsworthy shootings going on in the US as he sings: “It’s on the news again, I guess they killed another” in the opening verse. The first half of the track consists of simplistic, gentle acoustic guitar strums as he discusses racial issues across the pond. The instrumentation is diversified for the second verse, which marks a dramatic key change for the track, as Kiwanuka begins to hit his stride into a 70’s Psych-Rock groove, as he repeats: “Am I a hero now? To die a hero, is all that we know now” above a scratched vocal effect and also a reasonably distorted synth line that lingers in the background. The vocals never really develop into a further rhythm that takes the lyrical context beyond it’s initial meaning, but the progression of the chords and his expression of dissent add different moods and textures that flicker between guitar-driven pacing and more neo-psychedelic sounds at a swift fluidity. For me, this keeps the rather repetitive hook from getting too stale, with rousing guitar melodies that change between a 60’s Blues feel and a soulful 70’s aesthetic with a moment’s notice. Overall, I like it. For me, I probably wouldn’t rush out to the Piccadilly Records and just buy it, but I’m still looking forward to hearing more of it through streaming the record online. Personally, I feel as though more thematic progression of the lyrics may have kicked it up to another level, but it still feels intriguing and cool. I do think he is a decent pick to win the Mercury Prize though because it feels very expressive and nicely culturally diverse, while not seeming overly P.C. in the sense of it feeling “forced” or “preachy”, and the news-related lyricism mostly make it sound as though these themes are a natural part of this music. He receives a seal of approval from me.

Pictured: Michael Kiwanuka in a promotional photoshoot (in 2020) (Photo via Olivia Rose/BBC Music)

You can also still read my breakdown of last year’s Mercury Prize winner, Dave, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/21/mercury-prize-2019-special-edition-dave-streatham/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Kiwanuka” (Released on November 1st, 2019) (via Interscope Records)

Thank you very much for reading my Mercury Prize Special Edition post! It was a good one, right? Do not forget that I’ll be back for another special blog post tomorrow with a new weekly installment in our Scuzz Sundays series, where we have an in-depth listen back to an ancient relic of the Emo-Rock and the Pop-Punk genres, released between the late-1990’s and the mid-00’s, to see if it holds up in the present times! 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: Sinead O’ Brien – “Strangers In Danger”

September 3, 2020 — 1 Comment

Are we witnessing a solid return, or heading into Stranger Danger? It’s new post time!

Pictured: Sinead O’Brien in a publicity shoot to promote a DIYMag.com feature (2020) (Photo Credit: Louise Mason)

Good Morning! I am Jacob Braybrooke and, as per usual, I’m typing up your daily post on the blog, since it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! I covered one of Sinead O’Brien’s singles a few months ago, and I remember it left myself impressed by it. So, after wondering what she’s been up to and Googling her name last week, I found this, “Strangers In Danger”, another new single release. An emerging poet and songwriter originally based in Limerick, Sinead O’Brien is a really unique talent who fuses Spoken Word poetry and Post-Punk synth beats in a way that seems very difficult to box into one specific musical genre. Signed up with Chess Club Records, Sinead O’Brien has been gaining exposure from KEXP, Stereogum and Paste in recent months, and she has previously performed with The Brian Jonestown Massacre at sold-out theater shows across the UK. Her production methods are most comparable to Kate Bush, and Nick Cave’s “Skeleton Tree” era of output. Her music influences include Mark E. Smith of The Fall, Patti Smith and The Slits, while her literate range of influences include Frank O’ Hara, Joan Didion and Albert Camus. Let’s have a listen to O’Brien’s latest track “Strangers In Danger” below.

With O’Brien’s debut EP release, “Drowning In Blessings”, set to come out on 16th September, I’m very much looking forward to hearing what the Irish artist has in store for us all. “Strangers In Danger” is lyrically based on an obscure epiphany that O’Brien experienced “Plastic flowers in bloom and the sound of soccer” during a live gig, while the finished track explores themes of two meanings behind the duality of a mirrored, conflicting meaning. “Back and forth, between loss and worth” rolls off her tongue as a shimmering guitar riff of a bubbling intensity, providing a warmth, kicks us off in the opening. The guitar instrumentation creates a consistent pace and a gentle structure that almost forms something of a melodic groove, although O’Brien’s vocals are delivered in a far more cerebral, low-pitched quality. “I thought I drew well until I drew you/I was better off then, than what I knew” signals a key change, and a teetering line of Drum rhythms which also increase the melodicism. The two sets interweave, to create a singular groove, that sets us back into a melodically-driven crescendo, as O’Brien lyrically vents “Strange things, are strangers/Other people’s people” and “Solitary revealing moves the meaning of the streets we live on/A strange range of normal to be” as the pulsating backdrop shifts the pacing and idiosyncratically tempers the course of the simmering track, based on her flow and merit. The arrangement is slowed at the end, as O’Brien concludes “What worth do you unearth with the way of your words?” above a vaguely Post-Punk/No-Wave composed section, and it pushes O’Brien’s vocal performance in some unexpected ways. While this may not be everyone’s cup of tea because this is simply not designed for the mainstream at all, I really like it. Her sound is very strange and distinctive, but I find that it fascinates rather than confuses because her vocal backdrop adds a cohesion and fidelity that makes the blend of No-Wave, Spoken Word and Post-Punk flow quite naturally. I think it’s down to the instrumentation that is rather melodic, and it provides a layered undertone that links up the dots together. The vocals convey a ghostly and cerebral presence, however, the Post-Punk and Avant-Garde elements of the instrumental backing track feel melodic enough, just ever so slightly danceable, to make it feel driven by beats, just barely enough, to succeed. There is something weirdly attractive about it too. I’ll be marking my calendar for release day.

Pictured: Sinead O’Brien in a press shoot to promote “A Thing You Call Joy” (in 2019) (Photo Credit: Zac Mahrouche)

As mentioned beforehand, I caught wind of Sinead O’ Brien on the blog just a few months ago. You can check out what I thought of “Taking On Time” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/04/20/todays-track-sinead-o-brien-taking-on-time/

Sinead O’Brien: “I don’t think anyone should be afraid to use their words” (2019) (Photo Credit: Zac Mahrouche)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at the most recent single from a US indie artist who described himself as “a bedroom recording artist who writes musical diaries about living with his best friend in New York City.”, with his new track getting daytime exposure from BBC Radio 6Music, KEXP and Dudlab. 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: Willie J. Healey – “Fashun”

August 13, 2020 — Leave a comment

Let’s get to it, Strike a pose, there’s nothing to it – Vogue! It’s time for your new post…

Pictured: Willie J. Healey in a shot to promote the release of “Twin Heavy” (2020) (Photo Credit: Hollie Fernando)

Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up your daily post on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to get typing up about a different piece of music every day! A singer-songwriter from Oxfordshire, Willie J. Healey has established a new-found freedom and imagination as the result of his departure with major label, Sony. He told Ali Shutler of NME: “When I was dropped I remember thinking, ‘You idiots – I’m the next Paul McCartney”, as he follows up his meandering debut album from 2017, “People and Their Dogs”, with his second album “Twin Heavy”, a record that he’s crafted in 1970’s psychedelia decadence, which he released last Friday, now as an independent artist. He’s been working on the 12-track follow-up LP with Loren Humphries, a producer who has previously worked with the likes of Florence & The Machine, Tame Impala and The Last Shadow Puppets. “Fashun” is the lead single of the new album, a track that has been getting very popular as it’s been making the rounds on BBC Radio 1’s Indie Show With Jack Saunders, X-Posure with John Kennedy on Radio X, and an A-list spot on the daytime playlist selection on BBC Radio 6Music, along with a memorable appearance on an Instagram live-stream where Healey visited Piccadilly Records in Manchester, the UK’s largest independent record store. Listen to “Fashun” below. Warning: Keep your Volume down at the start.

I hope your headphones were not on full blast – That’s all I can say, before a delicate acoustic guitar strum diffuses the tension. Willie J. Healey’s “Fashun” feels lustful and flamboyant, as he dials up the theatrical aesthetics of promised fame and overhyped superstardom with a mocking, knowing wink, as he recites: “You’re gonna be a big star, honey/A real household name” with a satirical, knowing wink at his former label, and the negative experiences that he lived during his time as a puppet for executive big-wigs at a media institution. He pulls on 1990’s Brit-Pop influences for the verses, which feel quieter than the chorus, with gentle guitar work and a catchy drum beat, as the tongue-in-cheek lyricism shines through: “How’s your father been? Is his heart still pumping” in a Soft-Pop croon which calls back to Elvis Costello and Lonnie Donnegan. The bridges harken back to 70’s Glam-Rock, as Willie sings: “Oh, it’s not your fault/That you’re wild, you know” above a sparking keyboard riff that leads to a neat, reflective guitar solo. He later introduces 60’s Doo-Wop female backing vocals to the mix, swooning us away with: “The cream rises to the top, they tell me/I’m going to be best friends, with fame” above an authentic 80’s guitar rock sound, and a dreamy backing guitar riff that makes it feel almost like a parody of The Beatles. Overall, I think it’s brilliant, and even the bantering track name of “Fashun” shines through on a track that displays very likeable, expressive lyrical prowess alongside the satire and evocative aesthetics of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s Pop, with a quirky songwriting style that feels reminiscent of Pulp, and “Pure-Pop” moments of sharp, luminescent melodicism that makes me think of Supergrass. It heavily reminds me of Prefab Sprout’s “The King Of Rock N’ Roll” in a neat way, since that’s one of my favourite 1980’s tracks. If he plays his cards right – this may just make him a household name…

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Twin Heavy” (Released on August 7th, 2020) (via Yala! Records) (via Bandcamp.com)

Thank you very much for reading my daily blog post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as per usual, as we switch gears with an in-depth look at a recent track from an American 3-piece Jazz group who also dabble in Soul and Classical, best known for playing an organic instrument that you would find in a church. Their debut album went straight to #1 of the US Contemporary Jazz Albums Chart in 2018. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: The Flaming Lips – “My Religion Is You”

July 4, 2020 — 1 Comment

The Flaming Lips are back! Will they leave you burning with desire? It’s new post time!

Pictured: Wayne Coyne (Lead Vocals/Writer), Michael Ivins (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Steven Drozd (Lead Guitar/Kick Drums), Derek Brown (Rhythm Guitar/Percussion), Jake Ingalls (Keyboard/Synths), Matt Duckworth-Kirksey (Drums/Percussion) and Nick Ley (Sampling/Occasional Backing Vocals) (in 2020) (via DIYMag.com)

Top O’ The Weekend to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Always a band to make a meaningful statement, The Flaming Lips have decided to go patriotic for the sixteenth album of their established, storied career. “American Head” is set for release on September 11, 2020, via Warner Bros. Records in the US and via Bella Union Records in the UK. This upcoming full-length release from the experimental art rock project, who were placed on Q Magazine’s list of the “50 Bands You Need To See Before You Die” poll in 2002, is “based on a feeling”, according to the 7-piece group’s front-man Wayne Coyne, who says: “A feeling that, I think, can only be expressed through music and songs”. He continues: “Mother’s sacrifice, Father’s intensity, Brother’s insanity, Sister’s rebellion… I can’t quite put it into words”… I’ll leave the meaning of that down to you for interpretation. Let’s have a listen to the latest single – “My Religion Is You” – below.

Paired with the chilling music video that sees Wayne Coyne clutching giant Roses next to a prairie bonfire, the band largely explore God above Country as Coyne murmurs through a series of lyrics about religions, in a psych-folk ballad sense, shrugging them off as the downbeat acoustic folk instrumental slowly increases into an Acid-shaded falsetto that slightly resembles Pop. He hums: “Yeah Budda’s cool and you’re no fool, To believe anything, You need” and “If Hari Krishna, Maybe it’s the thing for you, it’s cool”, over the top of sampled string melodies that form in the centre of a psychedelic swing that’s led by a synthesized bass drums, with warm acoustic guitar strums that shape the two verses, but they fade away in the electronic-led chorus. I can detect a sense of unity despite differing beliefs in the post-bridge, where Coyne adds: “If being a Christian is your thing/Then own it, friend”, before a sweeping chorus section where he sings: “I don’t need no religion/You’re all I need/You’re the thing I believe in/Nothing else is true”, layered above soft bass guitar strums, before he concludes: “My religion is you”, repeating the line over the three-line sequence. The track has a mournful, yet warm, tone, and the fairly off-kilter psych-pop instrumentals blend well with the lighter, acoustic guitar-driven opening sections to create a track which, lyrically, is a plea for focused universal love, which is suitable for a time where loads of political groups feel divided, and most of us are still effectively under house arrest. There’s an element of humor to it, with the quirky lyrics to balance the brutality out. Although The Flaming Lips are taking the similar creative approach to The Killers’ “Caution”, where it sounds more like a classic Flaming Lips track than an innovative creative breakthrough for the band, their messages are heartwarming on this track, and it’s a well-structured piece that artfully discusses what it means to believe in love.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “American Head” (Available to buy from September 11th, 2020) (via Bella Union)

Thank you for reading this post! In regards to #BlackLivesMatter, we endorse the peaceful protests on One Track At A Time. Please go and check your local area for good charity causes that help those directly affected by racism and injustice. I’ll be back tomorrow with your brand new weekly edition of Scuzz Sundays the day of the week where we have a look back at an emo-rock or pop-punk classic from between the late 1990’s- mid 2000’s to see if it holds up to modern standards! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime