Scuzz Sundays: Three Days Grace – “Riot”

May 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

You may want to read this before Neil Sanderson gets violent again. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

Pictured: Adam Gontier (Lead Vocals), Barry Stock (Lead Guitar/Rhythm Guitar), Brad Walst (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Neil Sanderson (Drums/Keyboards) (2013) (Photo by Michael Muller)

Happy Scuzz Sunday to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and, as always, it’s time for me to deliver your weekly Scuzz Sundays throwback, where we revisit the Pop-Punk and the Mascara-coloured Rock ‘N’ Roll of the late 90’s-mid-00’s, to see if they hold up to quality today. I now realise that I probably should have planned something to do with Eurovision for yesterday’s post. However, since I’m writing from the UK, perhaps nobody would have read it. WAYYYYY! I mean, James Newman. Poor bloke. I feel very sorry for him today. ‘Embers’ probably wasn’t the best song, but it certainly was not that bad either. Newman seemed to be having a whale of a time, bless him, and, on TV, it didn’t look like it negatively affected him too much. That was very unkind for him, and so I have a lot of respect for him in dealing with the situation in the chilled way he did. For me, I liked the Russian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian and Icelandic entries the most. I enjoyed Belgium’s entry too because it reminded me of Hole and Garbage.

As you’re quite rightly thinking, that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to take a look back at ‘Riot’, the fourth single taken from ‘One-X’, the second studio album from the Neil Sanderson-led Canadian Hard Rock band Three Days Grace. I have probably heard this one (Well, the clean edited version) about a hundred times now because it was heavily featured on the ‘WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007’ video game that I spent the large part of a year of my childhood with. Three Days Grace survived the guitar band explosion of the 00’s and their most recent release was 2018’s ‘Outsider’. When ‘Riot’ was released, the vocalist of the band was Adam Gontier, who helped to sell the band’s way to fifteen #1 songs on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the US. ‘One-X’ was a huge success for them, being certified Platinum three times in both the US and in Canada. It’s time for a blast from the past. Let’s start a ‘Riot’ below.

‘Riot’ was actually one of the few singles that Three Days Grace have ever released to contain profanities, and I can still remember how the F-bombs had been noticeably cut out of the version that played in the menu screens of my old, long lost wrestling video game for the Xbox 360 – two console generations ago. It was still a financial and critical success, however, and it landed a place at #21 on the Modern Rock charts, as a single, in the US. Beginning with it’s very familiar chugging bass guitar riff, Gontier sings: “If you feel so empty/So used up/So let down” and “If you feel so angry, So ripped off, so stepped on” as he seems to directly address the listener, as if he’s conducting a million-person marching protest on a terrorized street. The lyrics on ‘Riot’, as well as ‘One-X’ on the whole, were written about Adam Gontier’s frustrating experiences and his initial anger when he was taken to rehabiliation for an addiction to OxyContin, and so the vocals of ‘Riot’ feel similarly angry and tired, with lyrics that feel bitter and unpleasant overall. For the track’s chorus, Gontier lets loose on all the negative little things in life as he belts out his rage to a chant along-suited chorus of “Let’s start a Riot” after he comforts us a little with the refrain of “You’re not the only one, refusing to back down” as the guitar work gets a little more melodic, as our composure begins to shake, ready for the release of tension for the hooks in the chorus… and that’s basically it. The lyrics aren’t complicated at all, and the sum of it’s parts feel very easy and simple to understand. There’s nothing hugely creative about the concept, it’s just a fun bit of Rock ‘N’ Roll for your enjoyment when you feel in the right mood for it. You may fault the track’s lyrics as encouraging physical violence a little bit, but the mood of the instrumentation and the sharp delivery of the vocals cut the mustard of it. It thrives on simple teenage angst a little over-reliably, but it’s certainly one of the heaviest tracks that I can remember hearing from Three Days Grace, and I think the tone fits the subject matter like a glove. There’s a bit of a nice twist on the ‘feeling good’ and self-care of rehab-related song tropes in here, and the melodies have some well-paced energy to them overall, despite never getting overly aggressive to the point of Death Metal, which works for the better in this case, I think. Such a vivid foray into a hyper-heavy style wouldn’t make much sense. Overall, I think this mid-00’s tune holds up nicely. It’s not a masterpiece, admittedly, but I certainly enjoyed hearing it again. There’s something catchy to it, and I feel that it’s a lot of fun.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “One-X” (Album/LP) (Released on June 13, 2006) (via Jive Records)

That’s it for today! Thank you so much for the support. What were your favourite entries in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, or, how did the GM Mode go for you back then on ‘WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007’? Simply let me know in the comments section below. Tomorrow, we are going to be watching the new music video for a recent-ish single from a California-born Soul singer-songwriter who has been A-listed before on BBC Radio 6 Music. One of nine children in a big musical family – She cites herself as a student of Nina Simone, Mary J. Blige, Anita Baker, Dionna Warwick and more. 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: Wallice (feat. Marinelli) – “Hey Michael”

May 20, 2021 — Leave a comment

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling… 23? On that note – It’s new post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Hey Michael” (Single) (Released on April 6th, 2021) (via Self-Released)

Good Afternoon to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for you to read all about your daily track on the blog that I’ve designated especially for you, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A 23-year-old self-described “Jazz School Dropout” from Los Angeles, California – Wallice Hana Watanabe made her first baby steps into becoming an indie rock artist when she started playing a Trumpet at the age of 7, before switching to the Cello at the age of 9, and later starting to write her own music at the age of 12. Now a young songstress turning heads with her own witty blend of sharp-pointed soft Punk and her observational lyricism about growing older, Wallice is set to release her debut EP, ‘Off The Rails’ on June 4th independently. It follows up the singles ’23’ and ‘Punching Bag’, which Wallice co-produced with her childhood friend, Marinelli, who gets an official co-featured artist credit on her latest offering, ‘Hey Michael’. She says the track is a “revenge anthem for anyone who has encountered a gaslighting, manipulative person” in her respective press notes for the track about toxic tendencies and how characters can manifest in our lives. Check out the Phil Stillwell-directed video below.

During an interview that I read with Wallice with Kieran Rogers for Clout, she cited some of her many influences as being Radiohead, Big Thief and Phoebe Bridgers, and she says that you can probably hear a few of their blueprints when you listen to her own music. For me, personally, Wallice makes me imagine what would happen if she was the lovechild between US music icon Beck and the hillariously deadpan US comedienne and actress Aubrey Plaza. In ‘Hey Michael’, you get an equal dosage of smarky remarks and bouncy, slightly off-beat, musicianship. I think it’s fair to say we’ve all known someone just like Wallice’s ‘Michael’ in our college years, and so her comical references to Mad Men and sharp stabs at pretentious characters who may rave on about Pulp Fiction feel relatable, but most importantly, they feel justified. The opening verse of “I heard you’re pretty good at Drums/I think that’s pretty cool/But if you try to f**k my pretty friend/I’ll push you in the pool” sets the scene perfectly, with a dry vocal delivery that allows the humor to feel just a tiny bit uncomfortable for decent effect. The chorus builds to a more melodic payoff, with lines like “You’re the life of the party/But the party is already over” and “I think I wanna start a fight/Which one is your girlfriend?” that lets the comedy shine, while simultaneously giving her Michael a hard time of humiliation and embarrassment. The vocal harmonies give us a solid singing performance, and the instrumentation is put together well. The guitar riffs get a little more abrasive in the chorus, and the mid-tempo pacing of the verses build nicely to a faster chorus. The guest spot from Marinelli trades out the electric guitar sounds for some subtle 80’s New Wave synths to keep things varied, and the somewhat abrupt ending adds an element of suprise to the package. Overall, it’s hard to find any fault in this one. It reminds me of the music that Pink used to make in the mid-00’s like ‘So What’ before she went more mellow in recent times, with lyrics that feel bitingly honest and sarcastically strong. I’d be interested to see how she expands upon her current sound to keep a full-length project, such as an album, entertaining. A very promising start for her overall and she looks very Suave in her suit. Just saying.

Pictured: Wallice in a promotional photoshoot for “23” (2021) (Photography by Jerry Maestas)

That’s all for today – Thanks for checking out what I had to share today! ‘New Album Release Fridays’ is on for tomorrow, as we discuss one of the weekend’s new album releases. Tomorrow’s spotlight sees the second apperance of a Michigan-native alternative folk band drawing from cinematic inspirations. The group have earned the distinction of performing on Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show in the US and, perhaps, their best known tune, ‘The Night We Met’ has been streamed over 735 million times online. 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: The Charlatans – “The Only One I Know”

April 28, 2021 — Leave a comment

Toast would say Tim bloody Burgess, oh wait. That’s Ray Purchess. Let’s go way back!

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

Good Morning to you – My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! Perhaps somewhat overplayed at the time, The Charlatans ‘The Only One I Know’ is certainly one of the sounds of the past that has influenced those of the present. It reached #9 in the UK Singles Chart, and it made Tim Burgess and Buds some important figures of the Madchester/Baggy ‘Indie’ era. Burgess has been a hero to many with his listening parties on Twitter ever since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and now that seems to be finally reaching a visible end, The Charlatans have announced a special 30th Anniversary Tour of the UK and Ireland for this December. Like many, the group are acknowledging that a year has been lost for them due to the pandemic, and they’ve amusingly crossed out the “30th” on the publicity poster and replaced it with a “31st” label. Titled the ‘A Head Full Of Ideas’ tour, an accompanying box-set will be made available, featuring five albums and an exclusive bonus single. Released from their 1990 debut album, ‘Some Friendly’, Tim Burgess wrote in his memoir ‘Telling Stories’ that ‘The Only One I Know’ sold over 250,000 copies. Let’s revisit the old single below.

One fun fact about ‘The Only One I Know’ is that it’s continued to be memorable, and so it was used for an advert campaign for Cadbury’s chocolate in 2010. Two years later, it was also used in the Marshall Lewy-directed indie film ‘California Solo’ starring Robert Carlyle. You may also be familiar with a Funk-styled cover version with vocals by Robbie Williams which appeared on Mark Ronson’s LP, ‘Version’, in 2007 – and so The Charlatans’ traditional set wind-downer is still never many miles away from mainstream media exposure. Built from some lyrics that were directly lifted from The Byrds’ 1967 track ‘Everybody’s Been Burned’ and a Hammand Organ Riff that is a nod to Deep Purple’s rendition of ‘Hush’ from 1968, ‘The Only One I Know’ is a surprisingly funky look at romantic interests in the music scene. The lyrics of “The only one I know/Never cries, never opens her eyes” and “The only one I know, Wide awake and then she’s away” seems to imply that a romantic interest is the only one that our narrator feels a logical intimacy with, although a direct meaning is never made abundantly clear. Lines like “Everybody’s been burned before” and “Everyone knows the pain” feel more conclusive, however, and so the vague sentiment of our vocalist expressing his feelings as a victim of unrequited love makes it relatable enough to us as listeners. The instrumentation is relatively upbeat, with a frequent set of funk-inficted guitar licks and a highly baggy groove giving it a lick of danceability. The memorable, off-kilter keys riffs gives it just enough of a Garage beat to make things appeal to DJ’s, and so the crossover appeal feels welcome. The vocals and general production sound a little unpolished, with a slight DIY aesthetic that reminds me of the 60’s counter cultural sound that The Cribs explored on their latest album. The brief interlude towards the end provides for a “Pure Pop Moment” and the more dance-oriented coat of paint to the overall package makes it stand out among the likes of Ocean Colour Scene or Ash nicely enough. The sound is admittedly a bit commercial, and it’s definitely something that my least favourite radio station, Radio X, might overplay to the death like they do with Oasis or The Killers (or Noel or Liam Gallagher after playing Oasis), but, that little pet hate of an observation aside, it’s not a knock on the credibility of The Charlatans on the whole. Overall, it’s still a pleasant, solid track that sounds fresh enough for it’s time, and it crosses over to casuals nicely.

Pictured: Cover Art for “Some Friendly” (Released on September 8, 1990) (via Beggars Banquet Records)

That’s all for another week! – Time is flying past and I hope that it stops doing so because I’ve got important deadlines for my Masters degree to complete, you know. However, join me back here in roughly 24 hours time for some more brand new music, this time coming from an emerging indie Dream Rock trio from the sleepy town of Fleet, Hampshire. Signed to Fiction Records, the group were childhood friends who met at college in nearby Farnborough, bonding due to their love of 90’s Trip-Hop. They’ve made the ‘Hype List’ of Dork for 2021. 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: Manic Street Preachers – “Crucifix Kiss”

April 14, 2021 — Leave a comment

If you tolerate this – then your children will be next. On that note – Let’s go Way Back!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Generation Terrorists” (LP) (Released on Feb 10th, 1992) (via Columbia Records)

Let’s take another trip in the Way Back machine to flash back to one of the seminal sounds of the past that, in this case, has influenced the works of the present. I am Jacob Braybrooke – and it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Cornerstones of the 1990’s Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement, Blackwood-bred Alternative Rock band Manic Street Preachers (or ‘The Manics’) have truly branched out of the roots of their hometown to wider musical culture, with three instances of reaching the top of the UK Singles or UK Albums Charts, and robust record sales of up to ten million units worldwide, as of 2016. They have also headlined festivals including Glastonbury, T In The Park and Reading & Leeds, as well as further success at the MTV Awards and BRIT Awards since their inception in 1986. ‘Crucifix Kiss’ sees The Manics at their most visceral and blistering, a track which almost made the cut for my Easter-themed spread of posts a short while back. The target of the track’s bile is religion, and Christianity, making it a shout for an ‘Alternative’ Easter section. It was never released as a single, but it was still a popular track that you’ll find on 1992’s ‘Generation Terrorists’, their debut album released via Columbia Records, also a top 60 hit in Japan. Let’s catch an early performance below.

The recording process of ‘Crucifix Kiss’ saw the band recording each instrument separately, rather than playing it as a live band, and then adding the overdubs later on. The development of 1992’s ‘Generation Terrorists’ took place over a long period of 23 weeks at Blackbarn Studios near Guildford, with the main bulk of the drum sections on the record being incorporated on a drum machine, as per producer Steve Brown’s decision, who programmed the sequences with Sean Moore, the band’s drummer. This elaborate set-up finally resulted in a record that met the hype of it’s significant media attention, on it’s way to a Gold certification of sales in the UK. The cult status of ‘Crucifix Kiss’ was a factor in this, as discordant guitar sequences and a fast-paced vocal delivery retain the old-school Rock ‘N’ Roll appeal of the record in it’s original release. An opening narration sample from Patrick Jones leads to aggressive lyrics like “Make povery your perfect home/Allow your leaders to control you/Questions are nor blasphemy” and “Now we’ll take your number for a name/Soak mind control in christening water out of jail” make social commentary on the Church Of England and the distinctions between management of businesses and the running of the religion establishment. The chorus sees angular bass guitar riffs mesh with the repeating lines of “Fall in love, Fall in love with me” and “Nail a crucifix onto your soul” beneath the substance. Although the lyrics would be controversial, it makes the pitch feel no less urgent, and the tempo no less hard-hitting. There’s an accessibility here, however, with clear DIY Post-Punk roots and fast-and-furious immediacy that makes no light matter of the track’s subject on taking a stance against a chruch’s apparent need not to oppress it’s followers in different ways. Overall, the sound is slightly dated on the whole, but it’s still making for some risky moves and for bold lyrical connotations, which meshes the accessibility of Rock ‘N’ Roll with the themes of an outcast being a by-product of avenger in interesting and affecting ways.

Pictured: James Dean Bradfield (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Piano), Nicky Wire (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Miles Woodward (Bass Guitar) & Sean Moore (Drums (1994) (Photo via Ringer Illustration)

That’s all, folks – I think Daffy Duck used to say that. That would also take you back. Tomorrow, however, I’ll be catapulting you to the future with an in-depth look at one of my favourite emerging artists, who has already realized some of her great potential. We’ve pushed the Irish poet quite heavily on the blog before – and she took the top prize for my Top 5 ‘Best EP’s Of The Year’ list in January… If you want to peruse that older feature. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: The Offspring – “Let The Bad Times Roll”

April 8, 2021 — Leave a comment

This sweet little child of mine – Dexter Holland wants to let it shine. It’s new post time!

Pictured: Dexter Holland (Lead Vocals), Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Todd Morse (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Pete Parada (Drums/Percussion) (in 2012) (Photo via PR)

Good Morning to you! I’ve got this week’s radio show recorded and ready (That’s 7pm on OMG Radio – if you want to listen in) and so 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 about a different piece of music every day! I’ve covered a few of The Offspring’s tracks on the blog before for our weekly Scuzz Sundays feature, and while I’ve not given either of tracks a particularly glowing review, they are still one of the best-selling Pop-Punk groups of all time, reviving mainstream interest for Grunge and Hard Rock during the 1990’s and 2000’s, on their way to a hugely successful figure of over 40 million records worldwide. So, although I was more into Panic! At The Disco and System Of A Down back in the day, I was interested to find out how their sound has matured when I read, just after Christmas, that The Offspring are making a comeback, with their first LP in nearly a decade on the cards. ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’ is their first album on Concord Records and it releases next week – April 16th. Let’s check out the titular single below.

Following some time in developmental hell, it will be intriguing to see how The Offspring’s new material shake up to the popular songs of their older incarnation when their longevity is tested on the live touring circuit. Addressing the LP, lead vocalist Dexter Holland said: “I feel like we’re in a unique period in history where, instead of our world leaders saying ‘we’re doing our best’, it’s more like they’re saying f**k it, and it’s really scary”, which teases a darker and more politically-driven record than we may have seen from them before. It reminds me of the formula that The Strokes made pretty favorably on ‘The New Abnormal’ last year, where a balance between the band’s younger sobriety is struck with a social conscience of a more adult-oriented direction. Marking the first time that the Californian 4-piece have worked with legendary Pop/Rock producer Bob Rock – ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’ feels fitting for it’s frightening music video that sees imagery of animated Coronavirus particles. Starting off with heavy-laden guitar chords and weighty handclaps, the words of “Hey Lincoln, how does your grave roll?” and “Mexicans and Blacks and Jews, Got it all figured out for you, Gonna build a wall, let you decide” hit like a sharp knife. The chorus introduces some acoustic-backed instrumentation to the mix, while some mid-tempo drum beats and some chirpy, melodic vocal delivery contrasts these darkly-themed lyrics with an upbeat rhythm. A wailing guitar solo and some creeping bass guitar riffs enter the picture, while a basic fade-out closes things off. While I’m no great fan of this – there’s a few too many F-bombs that give the undertones a slightly too lazy polish and the upbeat delivery feels a little chaotic, pin-balling around in tone and feeling a bit at-odds with the more observational lyrics – I think it’s decent. It manages to call back to their classic material quite nicely, but to a better effect, it manages to acknowledge how the world has changed since the last time we heard from them. While it’s lacking a little in maturity – it sounds quite catchy and it got me lightly tapping my feet in the chorus. There is no auto-tune effects being used here either, and so that allows Holland’s voice to come through naturally with a decent mix of apathy and aggression. So, overall, while it’s nothing particularly thrilling – I think it’s fine and better than expected with it’s catchy rhythm. On the whole, not bad at all.

Pictured: Cover Art for “Conspiracy Of One” (Released on November 14, 2000) (via Columbia Records)

As I mentioned beforehand, we’ve previously taken a look at some classic The Offspring tracks for our Scuzz Sundays feature, where we revisit a weekly throwback to the Pop-Punk and Emo phase relics of old. If you missed those posts, please feel free to catch up on ‘Want You Bad’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/03/21/scuzz-sundays-the-offspring-want-you-bad/, and, additionally, see what I felt about ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/01/12/scuzz-sundays-the-offspring-the-kids-arent-alright/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Americana” (LP) (November 1998) (Via Columbia Records)

That’s all for today – Quite shockingly, there’s only two regular blog posts on the site this week, thanks to the special posts that I put out for the Easter holidays, and the special posts that are coming up this week… for a particular event. All will be revealed tomorrow! Join me then for our weekly ‘New Album Fridays’ where we take a sampler of the new solo album from one of the former 2 Bears, who previously led the act with Joe Goddard of Hot Chip 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/

New Album Release Friday: Dry Cleaning – “Strong Feelings”

April 2, 2021 — Leave a comment

The UK Art-Rockers who are terrific ‘Post-Punk poets’ of the everyday. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “New Long Leg” (LP) (Released on April 2nd, 2021) (via 4AD)

Good Morning to you – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s already time for me to get typing up on the blog, yet again, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Good Friday album releases include the long-awaited debut album from West Loathian indie group The Snuts (Peruse my post from Monday for my thoughts on the latest single from that) and the eclectic new collection from the cult Canadian collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor, who I can remember my current lecturer saying is their favourite band. However, it’s the debut LP – ‘New Long Leg’ – from the unique South London band Dry Cleaning that has my attention this week. Led by Florence Shaw, the 4-piece of creatives has been steadily growing an excitable following over the past few months, with standout tracks like ‘Scratchcard Lanyard’ and ‘Viking Hair’ leading to appearances on ‘Later… With Jools Holland’ and the BBC Radio 6Music Festival in the build-up to the arrival of their debut full-length release, which arrives on 4AD today. This budding journalist is also a fan of their work, as the band fuse amusing Spoken Word verses with some effective Post-Rock shredding. One of the singles includes ‘Strong Feelings’, which Shaw tells the press is “about secretly being in love with someone who doesn’t know it, and Brexit’s disruptive role in romantic relationships.” Check out the music video below.

Dry Cleaning have been working on their first long-player for a while now, but, as with most artists, current events have impacted the development stages, with Shaw telling the press that “I found the lockdown played into some of the themes I was interested in anyway, living in a small world, a feeling of alienation, paranoia and worry, but also a joyful reveling in household things,” frontwoman Florence Shaw says. “It’s not just sheer pent-up energy all the time in the way that the first two EPs were. I feel more confident with leaving gaps.” in the midst of writing each track in a crisis. It also has an intentionally ambiguous choice of it’s title, with Shaw also penning ” a new long leg could be an expensive present or a growth or a table repair.” as per the group’s press statements. The vocal delivery on ‘Strong Feelings’ feels equally as deadpan, with slowly building guitar riffs and mid-tempo drum beats that permeate the off-beat, quirky and the somewhat random, if poetic lyrics. Lines like “I spent £17 on Mushrooms for you, Cause I’m silly” and “I’ve been thinking about eating that Hot Dog for hours” particularly standing out amongst the deliberately plain pack. The Geophys from ‘Time Team’ is mentioned too, and a self-described ‘Emo dead stuff collector’ also flood the scene. Meanwhile, the angular guitar work forms a groove of-sorts, which leads to a slightly more 80’s-driven and synth-inspired conclusion. “Long and lean, and young and lovely, You just want to be liked” and “My only ambition in life is to grip the roots of your hair” sell a slight sense of desperation for the off-kilter character, where a sense of lust disillusion their thinking and the reasons they live for. Ultimately, I think that I prefer ‘Scratchcard Lanyard’ because it feels slightly more catchy and it’s more quick to deliver it’s puns, but, this is yet another solid effort from a fresh-sounding band who seem to really know what they’re doing, and better than that, they’re doing it well. Dry Cleaning are a distinct, exciting addition to their genre.

Pictured: Florence Shaw (Lead Vocals/Writer), Lewis Maynard (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Tom Dowse (Bass Guitar) and Nick Buxton (Drums/Percussion) (in 2020) (Photo Credit: Ed Miles/DIY.com)

I’ve come here to make a Ceramic Shoe, and I’ve come to smash what you made! If you’re here to read more posts on Dry Cleaning, browse some feelings on ‘Scratchcard Lanyard’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/02/02/todays-track-dry-cleaning-scratchcard-lanyard/

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

Thank you for checking out my latest post – and I’ll leave you to run along and have a Good Friday! If that off-the-cuff joke didn’t put you off, the Easter weekend continues tomorrow with a post that is something a bit different to the kind of music that we usually cover on the blog. We’re looking back to the early-00’s for a collaborative project once led by Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn. 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/

Scuzz Sundays: The Offspring – “Want You Bad”

March 21, 2021 — Leave a comment

What do you call the successor of a royal’s bed? An heir mattress! It’s Scuzz Sunday…

Apologies for that terrible pun – but I REALLY could not think of anything else to put there! It’s hard, you know? I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s my self-imposed duty to publish your new weekly entry to the Scuzz Sundays feature – where we rediscover a Pop-Punk or Nu-Metal classic from between the Emo scene of the late-90’s until the mid-00’s to see if they can hold up to quality. After all, it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Cornerstones of my childhood phase – California-bred Pop/Rock band The Offspring are back – with their first new album in nine years, ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’, set for release on 16th April via Concord Records. To coincide with the announcement of their surprise tenth studio album, which is being co-produced with Bob Rock (The Tragically Hip, David Lee Roth, Ron Sexsmith), which actually pricks my ears up a little bit, we are going to revisit ‘Want You Bad’ this week – which was released back in 2000 on their sixth and arguably most popular studio album titled ‘Conspiracy Of One’. This track was released back in the band’s heyday, after their sophomore LP – ‘Smash’ – had sold over eleven million copies worldwide, which was staggering for an independent label release. This led to the band’s signing with major label, Columbia Records, and they continued to receive strong sales in the form of Gold certifications and acclaim from the critics since. ‘Want You Bad’ is actually a play on words, where the narrator of the lyrics is saying to his girlfriend that he wants her ‘to be bad’ in a Dominatrix way. You probably couldn’t get away with it now – but this is Scuzz TV music, and the times would have been very different back then. This reached #15 in the UK Singles Chart. Let’s take a listen below.

One rather interesting fact about ‘Conspiracy Of One’ is that it’s release was fueled by The Offspring’s support for peer-to-peer file sharing. For instance, Bryan Holland – the band’s lead – endorsed the practice because he claimed that it would not hurt album sales. As you may guess, Columbia Records was irate about this, threatening to sue their own band for their intentions to release this album directly on their website before it was available in the shops, and so the group reverted back to the traditional physical release strategy. It still reportedly sold around 125k copies in it’s first week, though, reaching the #9 spot on the US Billboard 200, and so the debate could still be made, with streams playing a vital role in consumption today. As for ‘Want You Bad’ itself though, I reckon this single is a little more driven for casual radio airplay than the band’s rebellious personality may let on. Built on a thread of Power-Pop guitar chords and memorable hooks, easy-to-sing-along lyrics like “Your one vice, is you’re too nice, Come around now, can’t you see?” and “I know your arms are open wide, But you’re a little on the straight side, I can’t lie” evoking a jovial Skate Punk vibe. The chorus is built on similar rhymes, with the sharp vocals of “Complete me, Mistreat me, Want you to be Bad” and “Complicated, X-rated, I want you really bad” permeating through the fast instrumentation and the upbeat melodies. The melodic style feels a little at odds with the darker connotations behind the songwriting, where a darker tone could have benefited the track a little more for me. It sounds a lot like the music that Busted and Blink-182 were making around the time, and there’s not much to say about it lyrically, and so I ultimately think the band did “Sell Out” a bit here. That said, I think there are still things to like about the track. The quick pacing works in it’s favours, the lyrics don’t divulge into some teen Porn-like comedy (akin to the awful Bloodhound Gang) that it could have easily self-indulged itself into, and I think the hooks are relatively fun too. Overall, I think that I can still see why the track appealed to the masses, although I just wanted it to be slightly better than it was. I look forward to seeing how band have matured in the gap to their new album though.

There’s no denying that The Offspring were one of the most commercially successful projects from the Scuzz TV video era, and this isn’t the first time that the Californian mainstream mega-stars have appeared on our Scuzz Sundays list of throwbacks – and you can still check out my retrospective thoughts on ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/01/12/scuzz-sundays-the-offspring-the-kids-arent-alright/

Thank you for checking out my latest blog post – but that’s all that I’ve got time for right now! Please join me again tomorrow, however, for an in-depth look at some brand new music from an emerging Dream-Rock band who are based in South London who self-released their debut EP collection over the past weekend. Originally hailing from Buckinghamshire, the 4-piece group have gained solid support from publications such as Gigwise, Under The Radar and Notion, and BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Shaun Keaveny is a big fan too. 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: CHAI (feat. Ric Wilson) – “Maybe Chocolate Chips”

March 16, 2021 — Leave a comment

Seven days without any chocolate consumption makes one weak. It’s new post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “WINK” (LP) (Available from May 21st, 2021) (via Sub-Pop Records)

A good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s now time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it’s routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! An all-female Alternative Pop 4-piece group from Nayoga, Japan – CHAI have never shied away from a playful pun or edgy reference or two, in their lyrics and track titles, to different types of food. ‘Donuts Mind If I Do’ is a particular favourite of mine. That trend continues with ‘Maybe Chocolate Chips’, which is the latest single taken from their upcoming third studio album, ‘Wink’, which is currently set for release on May 21st. That feels like ages away, but the Alt-Rock creatives have been building a steady stream of anticipation for the new full-length release with their fun, wonky blend of shape-shifting R&B influences and sugar-sweet (if you mind the pun) DIY Post-Rock aesthetics. Signed to the Sub-Pop Records label, the girls have drawn their influences from CHVRCHES and Justice. A recent collaboration with Gorillaz and a support tour run for Superorganism has also developed their cult following. The new track features Ric Wilson, who met CHAI at the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2019. Check it out below.

Bassist and lyricist Yuuki spoke of the meaning of the track, penning: “Things that we want to hold on to, things that we wished went away. A lot of things happen as we age and with that for me, is new moles! But I love them! My moles are like the chocolate chips on a cookie, the more you have, the happier you become! and before you know it, you’re an original.” in their latest press release. Of course, the subject matter may sounds interesting and rather bizzare upon your initial instinct, but the lyrics of the track soon actually take the form of a unique ode to self-love, and a little social commentary on the quirks that make us all individuals, and how we can perceive our own physical appearance. Led by a synth-inflected backing that feels ambient and polished, with mellow synth grooves that softly wash over the layered vocals, which are more high-pitched and slightly downtempo. The vocals are quirky, but they feel lightly catchy, with a whirring beat that evokes a laidback, gentle tone. The rap section from Ric Wilson beautifally flows above the crooning backing vocals of the main artists, with lines like “Come and stroll in the park with me” and “They can’t define you with beauty myths” giving off a more introspective and understated mood. The chorus is a little more involved, but still kept relatively restrained and with a sugar-coated Soul style, as hooks comparing skin moles to the delicacies of a cookie with gooey chocolate chips gradually move more towards the forefront, while the instrumentation is kept pretty minimalist. All in all, this channels a sleek and synth-led R&B sound, but the hip-hop sections and the quirky lyricism give it a subversive, fun character. The result, for me, is a track which grows on you very effectively with repeated listens. The track showcases the band’s USP for the lyrically creative, with a sound that I find quite ‘undefinable’ overall, but it’s gorgeous. I love this one. Brilliant.

Pictured: KANA (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Yuuki (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), MANA (Keyboard and Yuna (Acoustic Drum Kit) in a promo shoot for “WINK” (2021) (via Conversationsabouther.net)

Thank you for checking out my latest blog post! We’re taking a break from the new music reviews tomorrow for our weekly ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ as we revisit one of the most enjoyable rarities that became available before the 2000’s. Tomorrow’s artists have been featured on the blog before, and they are a well-liked (especially on the internet, and not so known in terms of the mainstream) Scottish electronic duo who were known for pulling off possibly the best ‘Easter Egg Hunt’ in music marketing history prior to the release of their fourth main album in 2013, which was their first new album in seven years, and still stands as their most recent release to this day. 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 Year’s Eve Special: The Ramones – “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)”

December 31, 2020 — Leave a comment

Medicine to get us all through the end of this dumpster fire of a year. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Brain Drain” (LP) (Released on March 23rd, 1989) (via Sire Records)

Top ‘O’ The Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get writing up about today’s track of the day on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to spotlight a different piece of music every day! As we wave goodbye to 2020, and we look to the future that 2021 holds, we’re going to take a listen back to 1989 for our latest festive track on the blog. Legendary rockers The Ramones are the band in question for today, a group who have been credited for being the first, if not one of the first, true Punk music bands. An amusing story about The Ramones is how they were inspired to record music by their love of The Beatles, and they used to check into hotels under the name of “Paul Ramon” – as a tie-in reference to Sir Paul McCartney. A seasonal offering that was included as a Bonus Track for their eleventh studio album, “Brain Drain”, released in 1989, “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight)” was later used on the soundtrack of “Christmas With The Kranks” in 2004. “Brain Drain” was a tough album for every member of the band to partake in, with financial issues and personal issues a-plenty. However, it still contained some of their trademark material, like the huge radio hit “Pet Sematary”, which was used in the film adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same title. It was also their first album to feature the return of Marky Ramone, their last one to feature Dee Dee Ramone as the bassist and their last to be distributed through Sire Records. Sadly, “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)” failed to chart in the UK. Let’s take a listen to it below.

Despite having relatively limited commercial success at times – The Ramones still remain to be one of the most influential groups in music of all-time, and they are still well-known in the public eye. Their achievements get merited as such by countless journalists and publications, including being named the second-greatest band of all-time by Spin in 2013, along with being awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, and getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame back in 2002. The festive track was originally released as the B-side to “I Wanna Live” in 1987, and a bunch of slightly different versions have been recorded ever since. A slow intro is quickly proceeded by a sharp-edged lead guitar riff, and Joey chants: “Merry Christmas, I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight with you” in a primitive and yearning tone. This cues for the sleigh bells to get jingling, and Joey laments lines like: “Where is Santa and his sleigh? Tell me why, is it always this way?” and “I love you and you love me, And that’s the way it’s got to be” over the top of delayed pedal effects and suspended chords. An electric Drum melody is briefly noticeable, while the chorus feels more ballard-driven and hook-led, with Joey singing: “Merry Christmas, I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight with you” while the bass guitar lines continue to amble in and out of the seasonal sounds. The lyrics are written with a witty middle-aged marriage theme, and lines like “All the children are tucked in their beds/Sugarplum fairies dancing in their heads” emphasize these reflections on youth, and the vocals remain Christmassy enough to qualify as an Alternative Christmas single. In fact, it even sounds like an ode to the Phil Spector-produced Christmas tracks for the most part, but with an off-kilter hard rock/soft metal style that includes guitars being played a small fraction out of tune, giving off a Post-Punk facelift to proceedings. The moment may have passed a little, but it is still a robust and solid effort from one of the classics.

Pictured; Joey Ramone (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Johnny Ramone (Lead Guitar/Percussion), Dee Dee Ramone (Bass Guitar) & Tommy Ramone (Drums) (1976) (Photo by Roberta Bayley/NYTimes.com)

Thank you for spending some of your New Years Eve right here! Why not ring in the New Year with me again tomorrow? – Where we are going to be taking an in-depth look at a slight hidden gem of a festive track which promises some crowd-pleasing results. It comes from an American Soul singer and businessman who has won five Grammy Awards, and he was once a half of the Southwestern Alternative Hip-Hop duo Gnarls Barkley. It also features a cameo appearance from an ensemble cast of Muppets – the most famous Jim Hension creation of all-time. 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/

Scuzz Sundays: Blink-182 – “I Won’t Be Home For Christmas”

December 20, 2020 — 1 Comment

They are just interested in All The Small Things – nothing too big. It’s Scuzz Sunday…

Pictured: Mark Hoppus (Vocals/Bass Guitar), Travis Barker (Drums) and Matt Skiba (Lead Guitar) (2019) (Photo Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images)

You know what Day it is – but then I just told you, didn’t I? I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it’s time for a Christmas edition of our weekly Scuzz Sundays feature, where we take a look back at one of the ghosts of Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk past, first released between the late-1990’s and the mid-2000’s, to see how it holds up today! Well, if there was ever a time where the whole British public – and our friends across the globe – needed cheering up, it’s now. I’m going to try my best to do exactly that with this – “I Won’t Be Home For Christmas” from Blink-182. Following yesterday’s news in the UK, the title of the track feels like it’s weirdly taken on another context now, which is bizarrely fitting of our living situation since I’d chosen it about a week ago now. Nevertheless, originally, it was titled as a parody of “I Will Be Home For Christmas”, the vintage Walter Kent and Kim Gannon classic. It was released in 2001 by the US Pop-Punk megastars Blink-182, but you can also find it on their “Greatest Hits” compilation LP. I’ve yet to do a Scuzz Sundays post on Blink-182, which is a little strange considering how they were cornerstones of the era, but then, I wasn’t ever really that keen on them, to be honest. This single was a huge commercial success for them, however, and it became the band’s biggest hit in Canada, reaching the #1 spot on the charts there. Fill up your stocking with ‘I Won’t Be Home For Christmas’ below.

This was originally recorded in 1997 as a Radio Promo/Jingle – and Alex Robert Ross, of Vice.com, described it as “It is the Family guy of Christmas songs, the New Jersey boardwalk T-shirt of Holiday jams, the gurning, half-stoned brat of Yuletide anti-merriment”, and, even though it usually takes me some convincing to agree with the critics at most times, I think he’s got it pretty spot-on there. A cacophony of toilet humor, penis jokes, American loathing, and Power-Pop guitar chords, make for a prodigal mixture of Tinsel Torment. The vocalist, Mark Hoppus, exclaims: “Outside the Carolers start to sing/I can’t describe the joy they bring/’Cause Joy is something they don’t bring me” in the opening verse, to show a spot of Sass, and later sings: “Well, I guess it’s not cool to freak on Christmas Eve/’Cause the Cops came and arrested me/They had an unfair advantage” in a heavier second chorus. The song structure is a fairly conventional pop one, but the very “Indie”-sounding bass guitar riffs are adorned with ringing Church bells and percussive little Sleigh bell melodies to sell the rather brash frustration of our lead narrator. The chorus plays out with: “It’s Christmas time again/It’s time to be nice to the people you can’t stand all year/I’m growing tired of all this Christmas cheer” above the frantically paced blend of Pop-driven lyricism and the Skate-Punk driven guitar instrumentation. The vocals are admittedly just a bit rough around the edges, but the chorus is perfectly fine, because the overall sound is a fairly catchy and enjoyable one. The lyrics stumble down that fine path between teen rebel and sociopath a little, but the vocal delivery is quite sharp, and I found the Grinch-esque little rhymes to be mildly amusing. This is not a masterpiece, but I enjoyed it. It doesn’t sound too outdated on most accounts – and it fits our times. Before we raise our spirits again, let’s wallow in the sadness a little first.

Pictured: Cover Art for “I Won’t Be Home For Christmas” (Released on Oct 16, 2001) (via MCA Records)

Thank you for reading my latest blog post – and hang in there! Join me again tomorrow as we take our minds off the season for a bit of California love from a Swedish Experimental Electronic music composer who really dares to be different, with the title track from an album which he released back in September. He’s set to play Club shows, in Sydney and Adelaide, over in Australia, in March next year. 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/