Way Back Wednesdays: Gossip – ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’

March 16, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Beth Ditto (Vocals/Piano), Nathan Howdeshell (Bass/Keyboard) & Hannah Billie (Drums) (2019) (via PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to start spreading the word on the street (or the internet) that there is another daily track on the blog in town as we go retro for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Formerly known as ‘The Gossip’ – Gossip were a Beth Ditto-led punk rock band from Arkansas who were originally active between 1999 and 2016 who were another name in a fairly familiar string of Garage Rock Revival sub-genre bands like The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and The Hives who were also popular in the contemporary mainstream of the time. Exploring a mixture of indie rock, post-punk revival and dance-rock influences, they gained some breakthrough in radio charts popularity with their 2006 track ‘Standing In The Control’, a glitzy Pop-Punk number that reached the top ten of the UK Singles Chart and it has appeared on decade-end lists like NME’s ‘150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years’ at the #34 rank on the list in 2011 and at #429 on Pitchfork’s ‘Top 500 Greatest Tracks Of The 2000’s’ list in late 2009. It was the lead single of Gossip’s third studio album of the same name released in 2006, which reached #1 on the UK’s Indie Chart and it has reached Gold status in the territory. Produced by Ryan Hadlock and Guy Picciotto, it was Gossip’s first album to feature new drummer Hannah Billie, of Seattle’s Chromatics fame. If you used to watch the British TV drama ‘Skins’ on E4, you would also know the track as it was proclaimed to be the ‘unofficial’ theme track of the programme as it featured heavily in promotional materials and it would be played on the DVD main menu’s of the series’ home release. Let’s remember it below.

The yellow, black and red graffiti-style cover artwork for the physical single release was designed by none other than Kim Gordon, the bassist of Sonic Youth. Meanwhile, the track itself was written as a response to the Federal Marriage Amendment, a highly controversial code of law that would have outlawed gay marriage across the US. With this theme in mind, the impassioned instrumentation and the reasonably soft, yet minimal and pulsating, lead vocals by Beth Ditto hit harder as a battle cry for empowered liberation than anybody who has ever felt constrained or marginalized may have expected from Gossip. Bursting out of the gate energetically with the unforgettable refrain of “Your back’s against the wall/There’s no one home to call/You’re forgetting who to call/You can’t stop crying” that boasts the core sentiment of denying the authorities’ will to make same sex marriage illegal, a process that feels alien today, which paves the way for Billie to hit her metronomic hi-hat snares and four-on-the-floor bass kicks with her ragged Punk-infused Drum parts, while guitarist Brace Paine contributes some vigorous bass lines and high-energy guitar riffs, that chug along to the distortion-drenched production of the thin and treble-enhanced range of melodies, to the equation. Ditto’s vocals earn a distinction among the wealth of other talents in the Garage-Rock revival business of the mid-00’s as they feel rather Bluesy, yet propulsive, with a smoky delivery on mid-chorus hooks like “You’ll live your life/Survive the only way that you know” and a commanding presence above the instrumentation that recalls the vintage Motown acts of the 70’s like Diana Ross and Ann Wilson in her wailing notes and her lengthily sustained filler phrases. The track also fits squarely into the DIY ethics of an underground Punk feminist movement of the 1990’s called the ‘Riot grrrl’ era in the way that Ditto’s band combine Punk music with Politics on this, probably, best-known single from them. ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ feels like a natural blend between the two styles, and it creates a noticeable Disco edge too, as it feels impossible not to mindlessly nod your head along to the groove. It was unapologetically brash, and Ditto’s band were transformed from a clan of Dance-Punk disruptors to Pop phenomena in the process.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ (LP/Album) (Released on January 24th, 2006) (via Back Yard Recordings/Kill Rock Stars)

That brings me to the end of another nostalgic throwback post on One Track At A Time, and I hope that you have a pleasant day, and thank you for showing your support for the site today. I’ll be diverting your attention back to brand new music tomorrow, as we review the latest single by a Grime-meets-Punk duo based in East London who have toured with hardcore rapper Nascar Aloe, supported Gallows at their comeback gig at House Of Vans in 2019 and were featured in a guest appearance on a BBC Radio 1 session by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes presented by Annie Mac.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Way Back Wednesdays: The Charlatans – ‘You’re Not Very Well’

March 2, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Tim Burgess (Lead Vocals/Harmonica/Piano), Mark Collins (Pedal Steel Guitar), Martin Blunt (Bass Guitar) and Tony Rogers (Keyboard/Organ/Flute/Mellotron/Percussion) (2017) (Photo Credit: Andy Richardson)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to revisit one of the seminal sounds of the past for another weekly entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ on the blog, which fits my goal of writing up about a different piece of music every day! If I’m being wholly transparent with you, I wasn’t quite born yet when the ‘Madchester’ or ‘Baggy’ mini-movements began here in the UK, and so it’s thanks to my Dad and the records that he used to play in the car that I really have as much significant knowledge about the time that I still do. Although not quite one of the most chart-bothering bands of the time, like The Stone Roses and Ocean Colour Scene perhaps were, The Charlatans are still an active rock group who boasts the mid-pandemic Twitter hero Tim Burgess as their ringmaster, who have released thirteen albums to date. A set-closer that was the opening track of their debut album, ‘Some Friendly’, released in 1990 – ‘You’re Not Very Well’ is just one of the recordings that helped their debut album to enter the UK Albums Chart at #1. Introduced to the industry by the visual programming wonders of ITV’s ‘The Chart Show’, a still-lamented show, The Charlatans have scored hits like ‘The Only One I Know’ and ‘Then’ that reached the Top 15 in the UK. Let’s see them perform it at Manchester’s The Ritz from 1990 below.

The story behind 1990’s ‘Some Friendly’ is a well-documented one, since the record suffered from all sorts of production issues during the time of development. The recording sessions near Wrexham, Wales were awkward because ‘Burgess and buds’ fell out with the owners of the studio. The label executives were very keen on pushing them, and they wanted the band to record the album’s tracks despite them not having wrote many of them, and Burgess didn’t have the opportunity to stockpile songs beforehand. In spite of this, it still received great reviews from journalists and the record has been certified as ‘Gold’ in UK sales, and so that’s an achievement, whether it’s down to coincidence or raw fate is another dilemma. Opening track ‘You’re Not Very Well’ got the 90’s LP off to a start with prominent Organ stabs and repeating Bass hooks, with willful lyrics like “I don’t like all these sharks in the city/They don’t do much for me anyway” and “There’s that car that I used to swerve/This town traffic is knocking me over” that talk about how you can outgrow your surroundings while reflecting on the nostalgic moments that you’ve enjoyed within a certain area, as Burgess goes back and forth on his feelings regarding the people that he has met and the time that he has spent while growing up, with lyrics like “One step forward into mine/Faking pictures and opening doorways” and “Intervene and you privatise/Health is health and I don’t know about it” that each express anything but warm, sunshine-filled sentiments. There’s splashings of the slide guitar here and there to follow the Brit-Pop trends of the time while following an undercurrent of Funk as an influence. It is not necessarily steady on it’s feet as an overall piece, but ‘You’re Not Very Well’ is very pointed and it has a 1960’s Beat Groove with plenty of ‘Baggy’-ness and ‘Madchester’ elements to it that ensures that Burgess and his band-mates are delivering their instrumentation and vocals with a decent amount of cadence. An eclectic 90’s track that feels decent, if not particularly classic, which laid out a diverse, rhythmic framework for The Charlatans for decades to come.

Pictured: Tim Burgess performing with The Charlatans at Picnic In The Park (2019) (Photo by Rune Hellestad-Corbis)

If you are looking for some more catchy melodies by The Charlatans, then you need to look no further than my blog. Here is my take on The Charlatans’ 90’s classic ‘The Only One I Know’: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/04/28/way-back-wednesdays-the-charlatans-the-only-one-i-know/. You can also check out some of Tim Burgess’ solo work by giving ‘Empathy For The Devil’ a spin here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/29/todays-track-tim-burgess-empathy-for-the-devil/.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Some Friendly’ (LP) (Released on September 8th, 1990) (via Beggars Banquet Records)

That’s all of the time that I have got for now! Thank you for revisiting some ‘Baggy Brilliance’ with me today, and I’ll be back at it again tomorrow with new music from a ‘Post-Punk Poet’ who has often been featured on the blog before and she topped my ‘Best EP’s of 2020’ list that was published two years ago. She has toured with The Brian Jonestown Massacre across the UK and Ireland, and she has recently been working with Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey as her producer. She will finally be releasing her highly-anticipated debut LP record in June through Chess Club Records.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Today’s Track: Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard – ‘A Passionate Life’

February 8, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Tom Rees (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Zac White (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Ed Rees (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Ethan Hurst (Drums/Percussion/Unclean Vocals) (2021) (Photo Credit: Lily Brown)

Good Morning to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke and you’re tuned into One Track At A Time, as usual, where we are gearing up our ear’s engines 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! A 4-piece of Welsh Glam Rockers who are in love with the classic rock greats like T-Rex and AC/DC, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard are another emerging band who have picked up support from all the usual places – like BBC Radio 6 Music, So Young Magazine, NME and more – over the past handful of years since forming out of lead vocalist Tom Rees’ bedroom in 2016. The band hope to continue finding their breakthrough when their debut studio album – ‘Backhand Deals’ – releases on February 25th via Communion Records. The band will also be performing alongside Sir Tom Jones, Stereophonics and Catfish & The Bottlemen at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in June 2022. Known for critically acclaimed singles like ‘John Lennon Is My Jesus Christ’, ‘New Age Millennial Magic’, ‘You’ and ‘Double Denim Hop’, they have been making a name for themselves on the UK’s live touring circuit and they have, in a funny story that comes courtesy of DIY Mag, named “the re-animated corpse of Bon Scott” as their dream collaborator. Rees said of their impending debut album in September, “Backhand Deals is a practice in subverting the ideology of rock music as something that needs to be ‘brought back from the dead’. Rock should be about enjoying yourself honestly, whether that’s washing the dishes, sweeping the yard, or complaining about whoever got elected. Rock is a sweeping power, and is attributed to anyone who performs art honestly, from Lizzo feeling good as hell to AC/DC riding down a highway to hell. The honesty is the same, and the honesty prevails”. Let’s check out their latest pre-release offering – ‘A Passionate Life’ – below.

The band will be making their debut in the US at SXSW in March, and Rees says, “A Passionate Life was written about striving to be a better friend, and not spending so much time on myself”, about the new single in a press release, adding, “I think the world is always telling you to focus on you, which is the right thing to do a lot of the time, but it’s easy work. I don’t think I’ll ever change, but wanting to change feels like enough for now. We’re all surface level creatures and just the thought of wanting to be a better person makes me feel like I am”, to his notes. Exploring the ideas of principle and authenticity, Rees sings contemplative lyrics like “What am I gonna say, When all of these songs, Just melt away” and “I know that I should call sometime, Ditch this ruse, that I’m towing the line time after time” as he reaches out to some reliable friends for emotional support and good company, while the instrumentation boasts an engaging mixture of plodding Piano stabs and floundering guitar rhythms that play out steadily. The chorus, where Rees mixes a sense of sarcasm and humor to the tune of “Sex appeal, is just a product of fear” and “When am I going to reveal/This phony charm” that untangles the stereotypes behind what it means to be a ‘rock star’ in the mass media and leaves the listener behind to reflect on their own emotions or thoughts. It feels more restrained than previous servings of comforting 70’s-influenced Rock that we’ve heard from the band, but it makes great use of some Elton John-style keyboard melodies that manage to feel a little melancholic and the understated guitar riffs that underscore the integrity of the vocals with a neat sense of production. They also lean into the tropes of the genre to pull the nostalgia card, with a chorus of ‘La-La-La’s’ towards the end that feels like a clear nod to the likes of The Beatles and The Kinks from earlier, and in many ways, simpler times. Overall, it makes great sense for Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard to enlist the references of their greatest influences for a track that is solely about the meaning of togetherness, and it absolutely feels like one of those mellow tracks that will help you take things down a peg when you feel like your mind is full of traffic. Strangely sweet and pretty poignant.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Backhand Deals’ (LP) (Available from February 25th, 2022) (via Commuion Records)

Thank you for checking out yet another very unique post on the blog, and we’ll be revisiting some of the most seminal sounds of the past with another weekly entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ tomorrow. The next pick comes from a 90’s band led by a former promoter of Anthem’s TNA/Impact Wrestling promotion who we’ve covered on the blog previously, and they are still presently active. They brought ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’ to our lives in 1995, a record which topped the US Billboard 200 album chart upon release straight away. You could say that they were ‘Smashing’.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Scuzz Sundays: Boy Kill Boy – ‘Suzie’

February 6, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Civilian’ (LP) (Released on May 22nd, 2006) (via Vertigo Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to pay another visit to one of Pop-Punk’s ghosts of the past with yet another weekly entry of ‘Scuzz Sundays’ on the daily music blog, given that it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! During the heyday of Scuzz TV, many of the most regularly featured bands were American with stateside favourites like Fall Out Boy, Bowling For Soup and Green Day proving popular with the station’s executives, and so we’re spicing things up by looking at one of the British hopefuls to rival The Killers from the time, but it sadly didn’t quite work out that way for Boy Kill Boy – a Leytonshire native rock band led by Chris Peck, who released two albums before splitting up in 2008, citing a host of issues regarding their label and some disappointing sales for their second LP – 2008’s ‘Stars And The Sea’ – as factors to their downfall. It started out promisingly for them, with the band opening the Radio 1/NME stage at Reading and Leeds Festival in 2005 and headlining NME’s New Bands Tour in 2006, as well as getting lots of support slots for Feeder, Maximo Park, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cribs, The Automatic, The Charlatans, The Long Blondes and more throughout the UK, US and internationally. Their debut album – 2005’s ‘Civilian’ – also managed to do decent business despite largely ‘meh’ reviews from critics, with the band developing a cult following and it simply went wrong when their label did not see this band as marketable due to their very classically influenced guitar rock sound – according to Peck in subsequent interviews – but they struck a chord with audiences. Boy Kill Boy’s most well-known single is probably ‘Suzie’ as it is also their highest-charting. It reached #17 on the UK Singles Chart, while other singles like ‘Back Again’ and ‘Civil Sin’ also reached the Top 50. The band also performed ‘Suzie’ on an episode of BBC’s ‘Top Of The Pops’ back at the time. Let’s catch up with ‘Suzie’ below.

Lead vocalist Chris Peck started his own solo project when he teased ‘Riversong’ on YouTube in 2011 and keyboardist Peter Carr went on to play the keyboards in the backing band for Marina and The Diamonds in case you were wondering what happened to some of Boy Kill Boy’s line-up. They also reformed for two gigs at Oslo, Hackney, London in November 2016 to sold out sales and critical acclaim, but it’s unclear what has happened to them all outside of those few details. However, ‘Suzie’ represents the band at their peak period, with dimly dressed vocalist Peck squelching “This is not a movie, Things just ain’t the same as your favourite video” after the Synth-led intro that feels like The Killers. The Synths roll along suggestively, while the hyper guitars and drums boast a fast-paced workout with a feel that isn’t entirely commercial because the buoyancy feels quite ramshackle in delivery, and the vocals boast an unpolished sense of agitation, yet there’s some questionable accents put forth by Peck throughout the song when you listen attentively to his half Scottish and half Irish, somewhat laddish, type of croon at close attention. The structure feels catchy, with quick sections like “They said, don’t let me down again” being repeated a few times, as to wind up a live crowd and get them involved with the sing-along nature of the chorus, where Peck screams “Countdown to the disappointment” with a bitterness in his voice that is counteracted by the more blithe instrumentation where the keyboards are engaging and the Synths have a brightness to them. I enjoyed owning the full album for ‘Civlian’ when I was eight or nine years old – possibly younger – and when you listen back, it doesn’t feel outdated by a terrible amount as such. The issue is more that, at some points, you can hear them trying to recycle the laddish tropes of Kaiser Chiefs or The Ordinary Boys, and at some other times, you can hear Peck having a bash at being Maximo Park with his give-and-take live crowd-oriented delivery, and so you end up with something that feels like a re-hash of the tried-and-true tropes of peer groups from (around about) their contemporary time. That said, there’s a charm to the unpolished production with relatable lyrics about dealing with your own pessimistic spirit and how that shapes a relationship within that environment, as we all go through times like Peck’s issues with ‘Suzie’ where we think that things are going to be better than they really turn out to be. Moreover, there’s an anthemic quality to ‘Suzie’ that I feel, if we were living in a different world, could have put them more firmly on the map. As it stands, while some things aren’t quite as good as you remember them, ‘Suzie’ was certainly not a failure. It was just oddly sweet in knowingly fulfilling the London fashionista trends of 00’s ‘Indie landfill’ as the critics call it, rather than setting the world of guitar-driven rock alight for an extended period of time outside of initial success. It was only a slight disappointment.

Pictured: Chris Peck (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar/Rhythm Guitar), Kevin Chase (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Peter Carr (Keyboards/Synths/Backing Vocals) and Shaz Mahmood (Drums/Percussion) (2006) (Photo Credit: NME.com)

That’s all for now! Thank you for giving me a moment of your attention today, and I’ll be back tomorrow to kick off a new week’s worth of hyper-active blog posts, in daily succession, with a recent single by a non-binary rapper/producer from Philadelphia, Pensylvania who has been a member of Liberal Art, Third Eye Optiks and Indigold. They released their third studio LP, ‘CANDID’, on Les Fleurs Records last Wednesday.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

New Album Release Fridays: Yard Act – ‘Payday’

January 21, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘The Overload’ (LP) (Released on January 21st, 2021) (via Zen FC/Island Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to take an in-depth look at a recent single taken from one of the weekend’s most highly anticipated album releases for yet another daily track on the blog, given that it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Having had the chance to see and review Yard Act live for the blog and praise their breakout single ‘Fixer Upper’ when it was originally released, the native Leeds Post-Rock band seem like an obvious choice for the album of the week with their debut full-length release ‘The Overload’ – which releases today via their own label Zen FC in association with Island Records, however, given how much the band have grown their fanbase and attention from critics and audiences alike over the past year with a furious flurry of good-time singles, it definitely feels like the correct choice as the band are a superb live act and have definitely improved their musicianship since forming and having their live tours halted by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Yard Act should appeal nicely to fans of John Cooper Clarke and Gang Of Four, and the likes of BBC Radio 1 host Annie Mac and BBC Radio 6 presenter Steve Lamacq have given them loads of healthy support, with Yard Act also being shortlisted for BBC’s ‘Sound Of 2020’ award. Produced with Ali Chant (Perfume Genius, Aldous Hading) in Bristol, ‘The Overload’ features 12 tracks with a clear layout of four parts that follow an unnamed character – portrayed by Yard Act’s beguiling frontman James Smith, who is an amalgamation of many vibrant characters Smith has met, imagined or himself felt like – who ricochets between desk jobs and resorts from illicit activity to ‘bent copper’ investigations during a financial crisis, before culminating in a half-cut personal epiphany that even the most law-abiding readers can relate to. So, what we’re really getting is a sardonic exploration of how we value resources like money as Smith finds the interest in really mundane things that we all have to go through. Check out the single ‘Payday’ below.

The music video for ‘Payday’ marks their third collaboration with director James Slater, and Smith writes about the single, “Payday was one of the few tracks on the record we had to rebuild completely in the studio because the first demo was recorded on my computer and the hard drive corrupted. We spent about two hours trying to figure out that stupid Keyboard part I’d put on it and couldn’t remember how to play. It was boring but worth it”, as he explained in a press release, adding, “It’s about gentrification, class fetish and how the human brain is so powerful that with enough time and processing power combined it will be able to justify, defend and/or continue to commit the actions of any human being it controls”, as he puts it. Asking “What constitutes real change? Are we even vaguely aware of when we’ll terminate the muse” in the opening hook of the second verse, Smith establishes ‘Payday’ as a scornful anti-capitalist anthem that playfully mocks the brainwashing habits of monetary success with darkly witty lyrics like “The local council will be getting an earful, believe me” and “There are starving children in Africa, so go send your toy guns to Bosnia” that feel incredibly dark-humored, but really imaginative as a result throughout, before encouraging us to “Take the money, and treat your mother right” with a cynical post-chorus hook that begs to be sung along by passionate crowds in homely live venues. Mixing a feisty DIY-punk aesthetic of the 80’s by recalling bands like The Smiths and The Fall with songwriting that feels as cheeky as it comes off eclectic, some of the music is easy to laugh-out-loud along to, but there’s an air of anger that bubbles underneath the surface vocally. In terms of the instrumentation, the glitched Flute section and the Post Punk-style minimalist guitar riffs that lay beneath the Spoken Word style of the lyrics complement Smith’s portrait of urban renewal nicely. While the sound may border a little on the ‘moody’ tropes that modern Post-Rock acts like IDLES and Bambara have made popular, I definitely feel that Yard Act have a sense of charisma to them which stands out among their peer acts and makes them feel more appealing to a broader pool of listeners because they manage to be very amusing while making honest points about the attitudes of today’s elite class of the UK’s society. While the likes of Adele or Ed Sheeran are technically competent musicians, they feel a little safe and too pop-oriented for my personal taste and it’s been a long time since the days where parents would bang on teenagers’ bedroom doors and shout “What the hell are you listening to?” when blasted out at an excessive volume, and I feel that Yard Act can be that band. They are just as appealing to more mature adults, whoever, who recall 80’s spiky punk acts who likely influenced Yard Act’s material. The colourful characters who dance along to Smith’s mocking choreography in the music video are daft, and his own Harry Enfield-style of wafting bills around in your face are difficult not to find humorous, and so the visual aspects that go alongside their musical creative ideas are a great touch too. Fiercely smart and bolstered by catchy rhythms, ‘Payday’ is one of their best as it is a suitable reflection of what Yard Act tap into nicely as a project. I bloody love this track.

Pictured: James Smith (Lead Vocals/Songwriter), Ryan Needham (Bass Guitar), Sammy Robinson (Rhythm Guitar) and George Townend (Drums/Percussion) in a promotional photoshoot (2020) (Photo Credit: James Brown)

If you’re looking for a good gig to attend, then you can read more about my time seeing Yard Act performing a live set at The Portland Arms in Cambridge here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/09/29/the-green-gig-goers-guide-to-live-music-events-yard-act-the-portland-arms-cambridge-september-27-2021/. For comparison purposes, you can also remind yourself of their breakout single ‘Fixer Upper’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/09/15/todays-track-yard-act-fixer-upper/

Pictured: Yard Act in a promotional image to promote their 2020 single releases (2020) (Photo via James Brown)

That’s all for now! Thank you for accompanying me today, and I’ll be back tomorrow as we divert our focus from spotlighting one of the UK’s most exciting new Punk-related acts to underline the very long-awaited return from a 90’s Alternative Rock band who were widely known for their androgynous imagery. They have released seven albums so far, each one of which has reached the Top 20 of the charts in the UK.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Santa’s Scuzz Sundays: Relient K – “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”

December 5, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for “Let It Snow Baby… Let It Reindeer” (Released in 2007) (via Gotee Records)

Happy Holidays to you and a Ho-Ho-Hello – this is Santa Claus, the big white-bearded red coat-wearing man who you once met at a place like Huntingdon Garden & Leisure Centre, and I’m taking over Jacob’s ‘Scuzz Sundays’ feature on One Track At A Time, who I am not connected to in any way at all whatsoever, because he deserves a little break from writing up about a different piece of music every day! Believe me, I would know as somebody who makes toys in the workshop with a team of bumbling elves in the Arctic all year round. However, while I’m performing my small chores like writing Christmas cards on my typewriter in the office or checking to see who has been naughty or nice – I love to get down to some Pop-Punk from the late-90’s and mid-00’s. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine, but the trashier – the better. One of my modern favourites is the fast, frenetic soft metal cover version of the ancient carol ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman’ by the Christian Contemporary punk band Relient K, who you may know from winning two Dove Awards and releasing two gold-certified albums in their careers. Jacob also tells me that Matt Thiessen, the lead vocalist, has also produced material for Owl City and Switchfoot. ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ is taken from the band’s second christmas album, the pun-tastic ‘Let It Snow Baby… Let It Reindeer’ that includes a mix of cover versions and original tracks. It has been hailed by Jesus Freak Hideout as “one of the better modern christmas projects you can find today”, and it earned good reviews from IGN and Pop Sugar. Let’s rock out to Relient K below.

Released in 2007, ‘Let It Snow Baby… Let It Reindeer’ sold over 4,500 copies in its first week of release, and although most of the band’s licensed cover versions of numbers like ‘Silver Bells’, ‘Sleigh Ride’ and ‘O Holy Night’ were eventually pulled from iTunes, they have later appeared on Gotee’s Christmas compilation album CD ‘Tis The Season To Be Goatee’ that has been available in shops since 2010. Short and sweet as a Christmas cookie at just about two minutes long in duration, Relient K’s version of ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ approaches Christmas from just about every angle of Christmas as a proof of a well-rounded concept, with familiar lyrics that touch upon the birth of Christ and the capturing the spirit of the season as Thiessen promises us with “O tidings of comfort and joy” and “To free all those who trust in him/From Satan’s power and might” over the top of some lightly distorted guitar riffs that keeps the tempo of the tune rolling at a quick pace. It feels surprisingly heavier than you may expect from Relient K, in terms of the tone and the textures, and it contains some unique guitar melodies that give the track an excitable feel as the beats shift back and forth between the speakers of my grotto at certain times. My little helpers also love this one because they say it manages to be a fun and diverse festive venture. Overall, I think there’s a lot to like here, and this is a fresh and original spin on the classic carol.

Pictured: Matt Thiessen (Vocals/Piano) & Matt Hoopes (Lead Guitar/Percussion) (2016) (via Chorus.fm)

That brings us to the last paragraph of the post! Jacob will be back tomorrow, and thank you for checking out his blog every day. I would, if I had more time to. Alas, I have got presents to pack for the children of Alaska. He’ll be here tomorrow to share some music with you from a New-York based soulful rock trio who share the sane name as a Mexico-set animation film that Disney Pixar released in 2017 featuring members of Dirty Projectors, Pavo Pavo, Chimney and Dustrider amongst their lineup.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Today’s Track: Coach Party – “FLAG (Feel Like A Girl)”

October 28, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Jess Eastwood (Lead Vocals/Bass Guitar), Joe Perry (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Stephanie Norris (Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Guy Page (Drums) (2021) (Photo via Chess Club Records)

Good Afternoon to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m writing to you to present yet another daily track post to your eye line, because its always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘FLAG (Feel Like A Girl)’ is the latest single from the Isle Of Wight quartet Coach Party, which features the line-up of frontwoman Jess Eastwood, Joe Penny, Stephanie Norris and Guy Page, who mostly dip between Post-Rock and Punk Rock. The 4-piece – who have recently supported Sea Girls on a tour – released their latest EP, ‘After Party’, in April that included the engaging singles ‘Everybody Hates Me’ and ‘Can’t Talk, Won’t’, which gained traction with support from myself – as well as BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq and Radio X’s John Kennedy, on UK national radio. Coach Party have also been covered by The I and The Observer newspapers, and they have been signed to Chess Club Records – the home of artists like Sinead O’Brien, Phoebe Green and Alfie Templeman, and past label successes include Jungle and Wolf Alice. Currently, the band have been keeping busy with a long-awaited UK tour including 24 dates, which includes a performance locally to me at The Portland Arms in Cambridge in January 2022. They will also be stopping off for sets in Norwich, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, Reading, Kent and more in the new year. The announcement has been met with the release of a new single, ‘FLAG (Feel Like A Girl’), a furious anthem about a lecherous guy. The music video is a solid one too, and it sees the band donning 18th century outfits to reflect the political themes of gender inequality of the lyrics, and it was directed by Dan Broadley. Let’s give it a spin below.

The quartet says, “FLAG is our ode to out of date scum buckets who hold on to a dangerously distorted set of morals (Or lack thereof), and who should be dealt with firmly”, in their official press release, explaining, “The song speaks for itself, but, for us, Dan’s concept and vision for the storyline further strengthens the important, relevant and aggressive message of the song, and it was sick to dress up like Jane Austen stuff. We always have a lot of fun making videos, and with this one we’re stoked to have been able to get out of our comfort zone and push some boundaries”, when discussing the attached music video. A companion piece to the single, it features angry scenes and dynamic cinematography that complements the catchy Pub Rock sound of the track, in its boiling bass guitar melodies and volatile, yet brave, vocals that feels like a defiant mixture of earworm-laden indie punk overall. Lyrics like “When did you become/An obsessive freak” and “I don’t wanna do this all my life/Looking for a place where I’m treated right” don’t beat around the bush and there’s a fairness to the firm delivery of the louder, heavier rhythms. There’s a slight electronic padding to the live drums, which gives the production a more polished delivery, and the slight distortion of the guitars adds a fuzzy, blurred effect to the punchy and furious melodies. Eastwood’s vocal performance finds her embodying a character that is tired of feeling unsafe and objectified by other people, who appear to be mostly men who doubt her abilities, and she feels rather ear piercing in her methods of depicting some manipulative and abusive behavior being experienced within her life. The vocals are more about self-worth and protection, however, and so the indelibly driving vocals have a well-balanced level of righteous and excruciating anger to them. Overall, the ideas of keeping yourself safe and proving doubters wrong never feels lost in the meaning of the tune despite some ambiguity in the lyrics. The instrumentation is catchy and heavy in equal spades, and each member of the band are given the chance to shine in their different sections. Coach Party are a great little band, and they have hacked their target angrily once again on ‘FLAG (Feel Like A Girl)’.

Pictured: Tour Poster for Coach Party’s UK & Ireland Headline Tour (2021) (Photo via Facebook.com)

That’s everything for now! Thank you very much for joining me today, and I’ll be back tomorrow for ‘New Album Release Fridays’, as we select one of the weekend’s most buzz-worthy album releases for closer inspection. This week’s pick comes from a Brooklyn Art Punk band who have recently been signed to Partisan Records. They will be hitting the roads of Europe next month, with a live gig at the Honeyglaze, London on the 17th and 18th of November, and the Endorphin Transistor in Paris on the 23rd.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Way Back Wednesdays: The Runaways – “Black Leather”

October 13, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘And Now… The Runaways’ (LP) (Released in 1978) (via Cherry Red Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and its time for me to drop a written ‘Cherry Bomb’ into your line of sight for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It is a pity that an all-female Punk rock band are still a bit of a novelty in 2021. There are a couple – such as Dream Wife, Shonen Knife and Sleater-Kinney – but The Runaways were widely considered to be the first group of gals to really do it when they formed in 1976, and, despite only being around as a band for a few years together, became an international sensation in territories like Japan, where ‘Cherry Bomb’ was a particular smash hit. Their time came to an end with the release of ‘And Now… The Runaways’ in 1978, which was their first and only album without Vicki Blue as their bassist, who left the project. The record seemed to get a rather contentious response from their fans, as the LP went through a period of ‘developmental hell’ where they brought a producer, John Alcock, on board for the first time, who reportedly tried to phase Joan Jett out of proceedings a little and he recruited Laurie McAllister as a new bassist shortly after the record was released to the public. The record also has a few cover songs instead of original tracks, such as ‘Black Leather’, a track originally written and performed by The Sex Pistols in 1980. However, as time wore on, the record earned a cult following because it served as a great introduction to The Runaways for a new generation of fans and it also exhibited a harder, more diverse variety of sounds than we heard The Runaways explore before. Let’s spin the highlight ‘Black Leather’ below.

‘And Now.. The Runaways’ received a remastered release by fan favourite revivalists Cherry Red Records a few years ago, and most of the album’s bass parts were actually played by Lita Ford. For your information, a coming-of-age biopic movie about The Runaways – titled after the band – was released in 2010, which starred Kristen Stewart as Cherie Currie, who actually played the role to perfection. It was directed by Italian-Canadian filmmaker Floria Sigismondi in her feature-length debut, and it also starred the likes of Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon, and it earned a worldwide gross of over $4.6 million. The 5-piece loved their black leather fashion, and their take on The Sex Pistols lesser-known 1980 original was a feisty ode to their rebellious philosophy. The guitar melodies come thick and fast, while lyrics like “Well, he’s all geared up, walking down the street/I can see the smile, dripping down his sleeve” and “It’s late at night, and I’m all alone/I can hear the boots getting hear her home” flirt with Slasher horror movie tropes and reveals some more maturity for The Runaways, who previously sang about leaving their parents behind or misbehaving at school quite regularly in earlier releases. It definitely sounds like they were running away from something or someone, however, and you can see what I’ve done there. The overall instrumentation is a fairly good combination of pre-established Grunge and of-the-time underground Punk sounds, with some more catchy Pop-oriented hooks and rhythmic sequences in the chorus, where lines like “He’s clawing at the door/I can’t take it anymore” stick out a little from the pack on paper. The vocals feel raw and nicely unpolished, while the rapid fire drums and guitar combo has a rough edge to it. The vocals also sound a little jagged and disjointed in the mix however, and I think it’s because they simply feel a little disorienting in how it flows with the rest of the mixture, as opposed to it being a bad vocal performance on its own. I don’t think ‘Black Leather’ is their strongest, however, but it makes a good pick for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ because it feels underrated and less obvious or over-played than other options from their discography. The music had not changed as much as some older fans seemed to think at the time, but it simply sounds heavier and less polished. All in all – it was a decent and more adult-oriented evolution for the group despite its flaws.

Pictured: Joan Jett (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals), Sandy West (Drums/Percussion), Micki Steele (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Lita Ford (Lead Guitar/Acoustic Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Cherrie Curie (Tambourine/Snare Drum) in LA (1976) (Photo by Bob Gruen)

Thank you for checking out my latest post and thank you for your continued support for my work. I’ll be back with a new episode of my ‘The Subculture Sessions’ podcast that you can stream on Spotify, and I’ll have another new daily post on the blog as usual. I’ll be introducing you to one of my favourite recent discoveries, who I heard on a recent episode of ‘The New Music Fix’ hosted by John Ravenscroft. They are a new London-based electronic duo of multi-instrumentalists who have been in the studio with Skrillex and Park Hye Jin – and they’ve worked in A&R for Silver Bear Recordings.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE

Today’s Track: Amyl & The Sniffers – “Guided By Angels”

October 7, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Comfort To Me’ (LP) (Released on September 10th, 2021) (via Rough Trade Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and, as you’ve probably figured out by now, it is my time to deliver yet another daily track on the blog to your eye line, since it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Amyl & The Sniffers are an Australian Pub Rock group who aren’t necessarily changing the face of Rock ‘N’ Roll, but they are certainly sticking out a middle finger to the watered down imitations of that genre in the current mainstream Pop/Rock market. Led by vocalist/songwriter Amy Taylor – the band also consists of drummer Bryce Wilson, bassist Fergus Romer and rhythm guitarist Dec Martens – and they have been gaining popularity with Garage Rock and Punk Rock fans since the release of their self-titled debut studio album in 2019, which scooped up the ‘Best Rock Album’ award at the ARIA Music Awards of that year. You might have also heard Amy Taylor on a track – ‘Nudge’ – from Sleaford Mods’ latest album ‘Spare Ribs’ that was released back in January of this year. More commercial and critical success has followed with ‘Comfort To Me’, the band’s follow-up album, which was released on September 10th on ATO Records and Rough Trade Records. It was written while the band were quarantined together during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 13-song track listing was lyrically inspired by Taylor’s Hip-Hop heroes and the countless DIY Post-Punk bands that have existed throughout the decades. It feels like a love letter to old-school Hard Rock, Post Hardcore and Psych-Rock bands, as they build a reputation of becoming Australia’s leading export since AC/DC. Check out ‘Guided By Angels’ below.

Offering her personal insight on Amyl & The Sniffers’ latest album ‘Comfort To Me’, frontwoman Amy Taylor says “The nihilistic, live in the moment, positivity and panel beater rock-meets-shed show punk was still there, but it was better” when telling Stereogum about the pandemic-era production process of the group by churning out some eccentric rhythms for exhilarating new material in the middle of global turmoil, she added, “The whole thing was less spontaneous and more darkly considered”, making it seem evident that recent events forced the 4-piece to really sit and take their time with the new output and focus more on their craft due to the pandemic. It never really sounds like a ‘Quarantine’ themed record, however, and certainly not so on ‘Guided By Angels’, a very propulsive old-school Punk anthem with a ‘No Frills’ personality. Driven by some thunderous guitar riffs and cathartic Drum sections, Taylor chants lyrics like “It’s my currency/I spend, protect my energy, currency” and “I never hold on/To the misery or grief” to a delicately stilted delivery, and there’s certainly a distinct Post-Punk edge to the instrumentation. Some usage of the Wammy Bar on the bass guitar creeps into the late stretch towards the end to add a wonky feel to the rhythms, and the rhythm guitar riffs have a cathartic, amped-up style that sets all of the band’s usual blueprints of a retro Punk Rock aesthetic and an explosive Pub Rock revivalist notion into place, but they seem to be structured a little differently than before because, although Taylor still seems possessed by a familiar sense of whining or longing in her voice, it is instead making a point of self-realization and refining her songwriting more neatly in comparison to the band’s previous releases in the form of LP’s and EP’s. For example, lyrical sequences like “Good energy and bad energy/I’ve got plenty of energy/It’s my currency” implies the idea that all sorts of contrasting emotions, and sometimes undescribed feelings, can all co-exist at once in her mental space. Overall, ‘Guided By Angels’ was a lot of fun as always by Amyl & The Sniffers, and the wise lyricism feels like a natural evolution of the chaotic lyricism the retro-leaning group have previously explored. Good, old-fashioned Punk.

Pictured: Amy Taylor (Lead Vocals/Chief Songwriter/Rhythm Guitar), Dec Martens (Lead Guitar), Fergus Romer (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Bryce Wilson (Drums) (2019) (Photo by Charles Engelken)

That’s it for now! Don’t forget to check out the first episode of my new podcast, ‘The Subculture Sessions’, on Spotify and thank you for your support with both projects. It is ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow and, this time, we’re browsing the details of a new album from a slightly lesser-known artist, which is the Indie Folk project of a Chicago-based songwriter who opened for Death Cab For Cutie on their summer tour in the US of 2019, and she performed at the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2019. She also collaborated with Yoni Wolf (from the Alternative Hip-Hop group WHY?) on ‘Siren 042’.

Connect with One Track At A Time:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneTrackAtATim1?fbclid=IwAR2demHDssZESnHDMi6gzTGNZJvdS42Ot930CA9Rttw7n4CJ5nvB8VJbWxE