Way Back Wednesdays: The Free Design – “Kites Are Fun”

September 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Kites Are Fun’ (LP) (Released in 1967) (via Light In The Attic Records)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to enjoy an in-depth revisit of a pre-00’s sound of the past that has become very influential for the present for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, which is in-keeping with my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! Having caught an old episode of Cherry Red Radio on a whim two or three weeks ago, I quickly learned about The Free Design, an early 60’s to mid 70’s family pop group who were formed in Delevan, New York and went on to become huge influences for the likes of The Beach Boys, Beck, Stereolab and Belle & Sebastian, despite receiving relatively little attention during their earlier stages of their career. Comprised of three of four Dedrick siblings, this “harmony group” – of many from the time – speedily recorded a two song demo and subsequently found a home with the independent easy listening record label Project 3, a platform that allowed more creative freedom for them than most competitors. The band dabbled in Neo-Psychedelia, Jangle-Pop, Sunshine Pop and soft Funk, but failed to land a hit because their label suffered from their low resources to promote their artists very aggressively. Almost four decades later, however, Light In The Attic Records had re-issued most of the quintet’s back catalog of albums and singles, revealing a band that were unfairly slept on to a new generation of new-found fans. 1967’s ‘Kites Are Fun’ was cited as a huge influence for Japanese percussionist Cornelius, and the title track was the only real single release from it, having reached #33 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts in the US, thus becoming their only single to chart. Unveil the mysteries of ‘Kites Are Fun’ below.

Indie acts such as The High Llamas and Pizzicato Five have all cited The Free Design’s music as influences for their own for their happy-go-lucky brand of late-60’s Baroque Pop and pastoral Soft-Folk, and the critics have always seemed to be in agreement with this level of praise, and the title cut of 1967’s ‘Kites Are Fun’ earned single status on Billboard’s ‘Bubbling Under The Top 100’ and ‘Top 40 Easy Listening’ surveys in the US. The sounds on the title track are so 60’s that you might want a pair of sunglasses and a convertible Cadillac to complement your easy listening experience. It is a lovely mix of sophisticated Pop music and chilled Folk melodies, however, with the hushed croon delivering lyrics like “We’d like to be a zillion miles away from everyone/’Cause Mum and Dad and Uncle Bill don’t realize Kites Are Fun” as they celebrate child-like innocence with the gentle thump of a Tambourine and a whimsical Horn section carrying us to a peaceful chorus. The lyrical themes follow the typical embrace of peace and love that strangely didn’t resonate with the ‘Hipster’ crowd of the time due to its lack of commercial success, but the band deliver plenty of high notes when the intimate lyrics such as “See my kite, it’s green and white” that use gentle rhyming schemes to emphasize the nostalgic atmosphere of the cheerful sounds. It’s not massively upbeat however, and what strikes me most about their choice of instrumentation is how they emphasize sophisticated chords that are more often associated with Chamber Folk or Classical Jazz music to blur the lines between psychedelic pop, folk music and lounge Jazz in a way that gives them an individual edge over their peer groups of the time. This renders ‘Kites Are Fun’ as a lovely listen throughout, where a subtle sense of melancholy and a strong pushing of Sunshine Pop boundaries make for a mix of late-60’s and early 70’s music that was not quite done by another band in the same way since their time. Lyrics like “But we like each other more than anything” have a somewhat comic effect, while the orchestral instrumentation, especially the Flute sounds that all get peppered throughout the choral melodies, slot the track into a relaxed Easy Listening vibe that feels emotive enough, but expands the vocabulary of the writing. Just like Kites – this is a lot of fun!

Pictured: Chris Dedrick (Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar), Bruce Dedrick (Lead Guitar), Ellen Dedrick (Tambourine), Stefanie Dedrick (Percussion) & Sandy Dedrick (Drums) (1967) (Photo by TVTropes.org)

That brings us to the end of the page for another day! Thank you for ringing in the new month with me, and it is my birthday tomorrow, but I look forward to finding some time to talk about some new music regardless. Tomorrow’s pick comes from an American Bedroom Pop singer-songwriter who began making music at the age of 13 and he grew up in Moraga, California situated in the San Francisco Bay area. He’s become prolific in a short span of time, and IQ says that his music is “genre-bending”.

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New Album Release Fridays: Villagers – “So Simpatico”

August 20, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for “Fever Dreams” (LP) (Released on August 20th, 2021) (via Domino Recordings)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke and, as per usual, it’s time for me to get typing up on the blog 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! This is, of course, Friday – so that means a new crop of LP’s are available today via physical and streaming. New offerings from the likes of Lorde, Orla Gartland, Holy Holy, Jake Bugg, Angel Olsen and Deafheaven are making up a reasonably busy week for fresh music. The record that I’m looking forward to hearing, however, is ‘Fever Dreams’, the 5th studio album from Dublin’s indie folk favourites Villagers. I’m not very familiar with this quintet, at all, but I’m rather optimistic for it because of possibly the most old-fashioned reason of all – I really liked the singles, including the 7-minute epic ‘So Simpatico’, which BBC Radio 6 Music seems to have been hammering the life out of during the daytimes. The group will be playing in my nearest city, at The Junction in Cambridge, in October – and they have been known for winning the Choice Music prize in 2010, and scoring a pair of Mercury Prize nominations. ‘Fever Dreams’ was written and recorded over the space of two years, and it was mixed in the studio by David Wrench (The XX, FKA Twigs). The band’s leader, Conor O’Brien, says “I had an urge to write something that was as generous to the listener as it was to myself. Sometimes, the most delirious states can produce the most ecstatic, euphoric and escapist dreams” about the new record, which is performing well with critics. There’s currently an 84/100 score on Metacritic for this release. Check out the sampler below.

‘So Simpatico’ is “a song of devotion, whether to a person, the self, or the art of being” with a “struggle for authenticity is at its core”, according to O’Brien in his newest press release, and the sprawling Folk ballad comes accompanied by a visual narrative video which was directed by Rosie Barrett, which is matches the lush lyrics with a tale about a sad clown that learns to love himself again. A slow-burner with a story about rekindling a zest for life that has become mundane, ‘So Simpatico’ is a sumptuous combination of a Pop song about the essence of love, and a more cinematic affair which takes some Jazz-oriented cues from Kamasi Washington and Curtis Harding. The lyrics start softly, with a romantic set of sequences like “In the garden you’d lie/In the depths of my mind” that repeat throughout the tune with a dream-like nature. There’s some light percussion and organic strings added to the mix when the beat takes flight, with the use of a Glockenspiel and some floating Piano melodies giving the rich textures a deeper intimacy. The second half of the track uses an extended Saxophone solo and a more subdued mood to swell into an honest refrain from O’Brien, who sings, “The more I know” and “The more I care” as the airy sounds and the emotive instrumentation slows the pace down to a relaxing grind. The majority of the lyrics feel very blissful and light-hearted, designed to uplift the audience, but, to me, a few of the lyrical sequences feel a touch more sinister. There’s an eerie sense of discontent to O’Brien’s voice in the slower sections, but it helps to take his little character on more of a journey by the time that his track’s duration is up. A lovely track that never feels like it has dragged on, despite a long running time, ‘So Simpatico’ has some catchy lyrics and a fantastically emotive core that gives its, at times, “mushy”, songwriting some deeper substance. A blissful listen.

Pictured: Conor O’Brien (Lead Vocals), Tommy McLaughlin (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Danny Snow (Bass Guitar), Cormac Curran (Keyboard) and James Byrne (Drums) (2013) (Photo by Mark Nixon)

If you enjoyed the calm style of ‘So Simpatico’, there’s a good chance that you might like the other lead single from the band’s new album, which you can revisit on the blog here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/06/03/todays-track-villagers-the-first-day/

Pictured: Villagers in promotional artwork for ‘Becoming A Jackal’ (2010) (Photo by Rich Gilligan)

That brings us to the very end of the page for another 24 hour period! Thank you for getting this far with me, and I’ll be back tomorrow to add a little bit of spice to your Saturday with an in-depth review of some sparkling new music from a rather high-profile name and a critically-acclaimed one at that. This Sydney-born female indie rock singer-songwriter burst onto the scene in 2015, earned a nomination for ‘Best International Female Artist’ at the BRIT Awards in 2016 and released a collaborative album with Kurt Vile in 2017. A new solo album follows this November via Mom + Pop.

Way Back Wednesdays: Neil Innes – “How Sweet To Be An Idiot”

August 18, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘How Sweet To Be An Idiot’ (LP) (Released in 1973) (via United Artists Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come around again for us to revisit the sounds of the past that have become influential for the sounds of the present for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, not forgetting that it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Neil Innes was a Danbury-born musician, comedian and author who was born in 1974 and sadly passed away from a heart attack in 2019. During his time, however, he was famous for collaborating with Monty Python frequently, playing in the cult Beatles tribute act The Rutles, and he was a member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, a collective of art school students, in the 1960’s. In his absence, many screen and stage stars like Mark Gatiss, Diane Morgan and John Cleese have all paid tribute to him gracefully and named him as a great influence on their careers. A famous work was ‘How Sweet To Be An Idiot’, a solo album that was released in 1973, and clearly became an incredibly significant influence for Oasis. It saw limited success back in the day, but a loyal cult audience developed over time for it, and it enjoyed a moment in the sun when Cherry Red Records re-issued the album on Vinyl shortly after he had passed away. Stewart Mason, when reviewing the record for AllMusic, described it as “split between tongue-in-cheek parody and straight pop songs”. It is also very important to note that the ‘Expanded DigiPack’ reissue includes two different versions of the seminal title track, with one featuring Innes playing with just his voice and a Piano, and the other having an orchestral arrangement to it. Check out the first – and best known – version below.

‘How Sweet To Be An Idiot’ was successful enough for a release in the US, which was handled by United Artists in 1980, and the LP was re-titled as ‘Neil Innes A-Go-Go’ for that overseas re-issue. Innes spoke of this time, “United Artists had been very kind to me. In my own way, I wanted to repay them – by making a bunch of silly singles at a time when the music industry still seemed to have a sense of humour. Wrong again”, in his own particularly satirical manner. ‘How Sweet To Be An Idiot’ takes the common true statement of ‘Ignorance Is Bliss’ to a literal extent, with surrealist lyrics like “Children laughing at my back, With no fear of attack, As much retaliation as a toy” that paint him as a ‘weirdo’ sort of figure, and he takes jabs at British human nature and London life with quirky shots like “I tiptoe down the street, I smile at everyone I meet” that also increases the tempo of the tuneful Piano melodies. The repeating hook of “How sweet to be an idiot/As harmless as a cloud” is as sharp as a knife, while rhyming ‘Pedant’ with ‘Dead Ant’, at one point, works better than it initially sounds on paper. The tone is mostly light-hearted and cheerful, but a slightly more serious side emerges when Innes recites the final line with a more melancholic, dream-like feel of reminiscence in his voice. He simply doesn’t need much instrumentation for the witty comedy to shine through, but the chord progression of the overall arrangement feels structured very nicely, as the minimalist guitar notes give the opening stages a more dull, plaintive feel and the more melodic drums, in the later stages, increases the intensity of the middle-eight section to a cohesive enough, yet more heightened, level. Overall, it’s a fantastic little piece that mixes The Beatles with Monty Python to a mastered level, and the lushly melodic instrumentation also makes sure that the arrangement is diverse enough to create a more emotive underlayer to play off the emphasis on Innes’ comedy. It feels comically meaningful indeed. A great little piece.

Pictured: Rutles’ musician Neil Innes (2015) (Photo via Jarrod Valliere/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

That’s all for now! Thank you very much for reaching the bottom of the page with me, and I’ll be back again tomorrow to do it all over again as we turn our heads to some of the off-the-radar recent music from recent months. My next pick is going to be a stand out for my mother because it is based on one of her favourite movie franchises. It comes to you from a Taiwanese-US electronic producer whose recordings have been released on several labels such as Peace Off, and he is the owner of Daly City Records.

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Today’s Track: Allison Ponthier – “Harshest Critic”

June 10, 2021 — Leave a comment

Whoever said we are our own critics never auditioned for Big Brother. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Cowboy” (Single) (Released on March 8th, 2021) (via Interscope Records)

Good Evening to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog (Now that my million other tasks for the day have finally been completed), because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! I’m going to introduce you to a brand new artist today – and that indie folk/country singer-songwriter goes by the name of Allison Ponthier – who describes herself as “a wide-eyed misfit” from the outskirts of Dallas, Texas. She’s recently caught the ears of the major Sony-owned label Columbia Records, following a stint of meeting Lord Huron and collaborating with them, with the two acts going on a tour in the US later this year. She appeared on ‘I Lied’ from Lord Huron’s new album ‘Long Lost’, which is what exposed me to her, and she’s also performed on the major US late-night TV talk show ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ with them. The self-confessed ‘Jazz School Dropout’ has also been undergoing strange activities to pass the time when in quarantine last year, telling The Guardian in a brand new interview, “I’ve started making sculptures of little alien people”. Whatever floats your boat. ‘Harshest Critic’ is just her second single – and the follow-up to March’s Claymation-inspired ‘Cowboy’. Check out the music video below.

Allison Ponthier has been adding more friends to the feathers in her industry cap by collaborating with Jordan Bahat on the music video for ‘Harshest Critic’ and co-writing her material with frequent collaborator Adam Melchor, but the lyrics of ‘Harshest Critic’ are about the pressures that Ponthier feels to meet audience’s expectations – and her own – in being a music artist, as she explains in her press release, “I wrote ‘Harshest Critic around the time when labels were knocking on my door”, adding, “It ended up being a song about how, when you’re an artist, everything feels like life and death. But, in reality, it’s your happiness and who you are, as a person, that really matter. You might as well enjoy the ride, because no-one’s ever going to be as hard on you as you are”, when describing her songwriting approach and practices. Comparisons to Julia Jacklin or Alice Phoebe Lou could be made on ‘Harshest Critic’, with a crooner style that feels decorated by little sprinklings of Grunge and sparsely placed Americana elements. Lyrics like “What if all my fears were on display/Right in front of all of the world/Under a spotlight/Would they be on my side” and “I’m terrified/Of the way I look when it’s through strangers eyes/Wish I had a way to peak inside their minds” are very reflective and always place Ponthier’s own insecurities at the centre of the concept. The chorus finds her crooning, “If I’m being honest, don’t know if I can tell you/Who’s the harshest critic in the room?” and “It could be the studio audience/But they’re just payin for admission/And I’m the one with everything to lose” as Ponthier opens up about her stress and pressures in a highly confessional manner. The instrumentation takes a backseat to the vocals, with a tender guitar ballad and a soft, steady percussive trail of drum beats that mirror the beating of her heart as the vocals unfold. Overall, it’s difficult to be overly critical of Ponthier’s performance here, despite her own harsh judgments, in this track. I don’t think the sound was that terribly exciting, and I’m a little concerned that the label might fast-track her to become the next Lana Del Rey instead of the first Allison Ponthier, but, overall, she’s a very likeable presence because she feels very human. The words feel very poetic and expressive, with a simple theme that doesn’t run it’s course, because the sophisticated guitar chord changes and the heartfelt moods keep proceedings fresh enough, and her voice may conjure no critical panning of any form.

Pictured: Cover Art for “Harshest Critic” (Single) (Released on May 13th, 2021) (via Interscope Records)

Thank you for reaching the end of today’s blog post – your support means a lot. We’ve already reached Friday by the time that 24 hours rolls past again, and so we’ll be sifting through this week’s notable new releases. We’ll be focusing our minds on the return of a pack of Post-Punk veterans, well-known for several crossover chart hits in the 1980’s and 1990’s from Madison, Wisconsin. Their name was reportedly inspired by a conversation with a friend, who frequently told them that their early material sounded “like Garbage”. 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 Lightning Seeds – “Pure”

May 5, 2021 — Leave a comment

I’m going to keep this pure – It’s one of my Dad’s favourite bands! Let’s go Way Back…

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Cloudcuckooland” (LP) (Released on January 29, 1990) (via Ghetto)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to take a moment out of my deadline work-filled day for an in-depth look at one of the seminal sounds of the past that has influenced those of the present, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! For those of you who perhaps don’t listen to much music or radio, you would probably know The Lightning Seeds best from their work with comedian David Baddiel and presenter Frank Skinner on classic UK footie anthem ‘Three Lions’, which has reached the top of the UK Singles Chart on three different occasions since it’s release due to the World Cup. Up to that point, however, the then-emerging Liverpool indie trio experienced commercial success ahead of the Baggy Brit-Pop era of the 1990’s. Case in point is their debut single, ‘Pure’, which was the first track which vocalist Ian Broudie had “completely written and sung, ever” and it reached #16 on the UK Singles Chart. Not too shabby for a first effort, right? At the time, it was mostly a solo project for Broudie, who followed up on his first crossover chart hit with the release of his debut album, ‘Cloudcuckooland’, to US chart success in 1990. Let’s revisit the video for ‘Pure’ below.

It was only when 1994’s ‘Jollification’ was released when Broudie decided to expand his project of The Lightning Seeds to a full-fledged touring band, with the band’s most famous line-up joining him. Before signing to Epic Records, Broudie had his roots set in small Noise-Punk 70’s bands and became better known a producer rather than a musician, contributing to work for acts like Echo & The Bunnymen and The Fall, prior to embarking on the trip of The Lightning Seeds in 1989. ‘Pure’ saw Broudie spring to mainstream radio consciousness for the first time after the initial run of 200 copies of ‘Pure’ on physical formats proved too little for the demand. Mixing catchy pop hooks with a youthful, simple innocence, Broudie made a hit out of a happy pop tune with the appealing instrumentation. The chorus, and the refrain of “Don’t sell the dreams you should be keeping, Pure and simple every time” is very memorable and easy to relate to, with verses that are written from the viewpoint of a burgeoning relationship with the purest of sweet love sentiments, despite our narrator seeming to be in a little state of doubt where nothing seems impossible. His vocals are shaky and veering towards the nervous side, but they add solid effect to the overall performance, where the expressions of the vocals are, you’re going to hate me for this, pure and simple every time. Musically, we’re being treated to slightly psychedelic Horns, the gentle strumming of the bass guitar, and the three-note synth sequences that all do their job and don’t ever overstay their welcome. There’s not a great deal to it instrumentally, but the sum of it’s parts each play out nicely with a pretty, birdsong-like structure. It’s a very radio-friendly tune, but everything is tied together neatly, and there’s a nice twist to the upbeat mood where the lyrics become more of an ode to the beauty that never lasts. Sure, it’s one of my Dad’s rock tunes, but I’d take it over Coldplay any day.

Pictured: The Lightning Seeds with comedian David Baddiel (1996) (Photo by Alamy/The Irish Sun)

That’s all for now – but I’ll be back tomorrow for more musical musings. Join me then for an in-depth look at some new music from one of Brit-Pop’s most promising modern inventors. The now-duo were formed in Sunderland in 2004, and have a brand new album out now on Memphis Industries. The band have been nominated for the Mercury Prize and, at times, have been joined by members of Maximo Park and The Futureheads in their line-up. 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: Skullcrusher – “Song For Nick Drake”

April 17, 2021 — Leave a comment

The harbinger of death by warm vocals, pastoral synths and subtlety. New post time!

Pictured: LA artist Skullcrusher (aka Helen Ballentine) in a PR shoot (2020) (Photo by Silken Weinberg)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and, just like usual, it’s finally time again for me to get typing up for your track of the day on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! I would usually publish a review for a slightly more established music artist or something a bit different to my day-to-day output in the week on a Saturday, but, this time, I felt this one deserved the platform and exposure. It comes from Skullcrusher, who is an American singer-songwriter from Terrytown, New York whose real name is Helen Ballentine. At first glance, Skullcrusher sounds like an alias that you’d expect some death metal band from Norway, or something very stereotypical like that, to have, but her music is actually very relaxed. The textures are airy and delicate, paired with a lot of acoustic-driven sounds and old-fashioned instrumentation. Signed to the Secretly Canadian label, ‘Song For Nick Drake’ is her latest single, recently released as the follow-up to her self-titled debut EP from last July. It functions as her ode to Nick Drake, who, in a similar vein to the cult Liverpool figurehead Jimmy Campbell, is one of the ‘lost musicians’ who never found a wide audience in his activity, but remains critically beloved and has a dedicated following. There is no known video footage of Drake’s performances or interviews, since he was very reclusive from the media, so he was only captured through photographs. Check out Ballentine’s tribute to him below.

When releasing the salute to Nick Drake, Ballentine wrote to the press: “Song For Nick Drake is about my relationship to the music of Nick Drake. It recalls moments in my life that are viscerally intertwined with his music, specifically times spent walking and taking the train”, concluding, “The song really is my homage to music and the times I felt most immersed in it” as she connected the dots of her own artistry to her connections with Nick Drake as a music artist. We have perhaps come to expect the folk-led style and the crooner vocals of ‘Song For Nick Drake’ from Ballentine at this point, as she sets the table with lyrics like “All day at the bookstore, Curled up in the same chair” and “I was lost in what we shared” that are recited over the top of some summery guitar chords and a focus on the Banjo melodies. The lyrics also comment on how it sometimes takes a piece of music more than one listen through to have a profound effect on your philosophies and emotions, with the finale of “I walked home alone, With your song in my head” and “Finally understanding something, In what you said” making a passionate call back to a personal experience that was just too internal to describe in words. It feels like Ballentine at her most expressive yet, as she sings about the journeys that have been sound-tracked by her favourite artist above a somewhat romantic, dream-like gaze of soft guitar tones and the odd smattering of a String section here and there. Her voice is unsullied by auto-tune, and this gives her a distinct sense of identity. One of the reasons why I just actively despise auto-tune so much (and I’m never afraid to remind you on the blog about that, let’s be honest) is because it just makes everybody sound the same. This makes me feel taken away and distanced away from the artist, rather than drawing me in. I probably come across a bit snobbish, but I’ve just never really understood why you would want to just sound like somebody else, especially in modern pop music, but this is a gorgeous track that serves as both a reminder of an artist who has touched the life of another, but also a track about developing a connection with music as a form of art. It’s absolutely lovely.

Pictured: Cover Art for “Song For Nick Drake” (Single) (Released on Feb 1, 2021) (via Secretly Canadian)

(If you felt as touched and gently stroked by ‘Song For Nick Drake’ as I did, I reckon you might enjoy hearing what else Skullcrusher has to say to you. I was a little greener and less familiar with her back then, but you can still start with my review for ‘Day Of Show’ from her self-titled EP here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/09/28/todays-track-skullcrusher-day-of-show/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Skullcrusher” (EP) (Released on July 24th, 2020) (via Secretly Canadian)

That’s all for now! A bit of a jarring contrast is set for tomorrow, as we celebrate the return of Scuzz Sundays for the first time in a two-week gap, due to Easter and WrestleMania. I love to embrace the normality sometimes, and so we’re going to be looking at a perhaps lesser-known track from one of the most famous Metal bands of all time, which was written and recorded for the soundtrack of the movie ‘Mission Impossible 2’ in 2000. 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: Black Country, New Road – “Track X”

April 6, 2021 — Leave a comment

X-Men, X-Rated, Xtr-emely good, or reminiscent of the X-Factor? Time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Art for “For The First Time” (LP) (Released on February 5, 2021) (via Ninja Tune)

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, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Have you eaten all of your Easter Eggs yet? If not, here’s a few minutes to indulge along to. ‘Track X’ comes from the fresh Math-Rock and Prog-Rock (It’s tricky to label their sound under a specific category), London band Black Country, New Road, who seem to be one of the most hotly-tipped new alternative music projects in quite a long time. Their early singles generated a ton of rave reviews, and the release of their debut long-player – ‘For The First Time’ – was absolutely hyped up to the hills prior to it’s release in February on Ninja Tune. The Quietus even thought they were “the best band in the world” leading to it’s release. It is less of a group per-say, and more of a 7-piece collective of young creatives mixing Post-Punk guitar riffs with classical, orchestral instrument sections. Usually when a release gets this eagerly anticipated over, I wait for a few months before I take any focused listens. That’s just because I often feel that rave reviews, or even universally negative ones, usually sway your pre-conceptions. It can be a tricky thing to navigate, where there’s no right or no wrong, but I’m ready now to unpeel the skin of these layers. Made from stock footage, check out the video for ‘Track X’ below.

“Never made it out into one of our live performances – We decided to resurrect it during the recording of ‘For The First Time’ and assemble it into the studio. The story is old, but a good one and worth telling” is what the pen man Isaac Wood had to say about the story of ‘Track X’. One fun fact about BCNR is that violinist Georgia Ellery, from the Warp Records signed duo Jockstrap, is a part of their line-up. Now, I am a huge fan of Georgia and that water-tight little project, and so that’s how I first found my way to them. BCNR have also been known to play around with Jewish Klezmer music for their atmosphere-oriented output, although ‘Track X’ feels like a more subdued and relaxed affair. A set of confessional lyrics, matched to Reichian percussion and a dreamscape of equal Strings and Saxophones, ‘Track X’ is a slowly unveiling ballad about finding romance in the UK’s DIY gig scene. Lyrics like “You’ve got great hips, I’ve been shaking ever since” and “In your name, in the same room where we f****ed as kids” have an earnest and unsettling feel, but the folk-inspired female backing vocals counteract this dry crooner delivery with a soothing, relaxed tone. The wry vocals are also referential to the band and their stories themselves, with lines like “I told you I loved you in front of Black Midi” and “I tried my best to stay afloat, after I sacrificed the goat” that each feel like inside jokes, giving the vocals an intimate touch (Black Midi being the name of another hugely popular DIY band in the UK). When I read that a release has been this mulled over as “the next big thing” by critics and people in general, I often find them difficult to connect with because it doesn’t always feel personal to me. In the case of BCNR, this is partially true. I find the rhythms don’t really go anywhere and the themes being explored in the songwriting feel a bit jumbled, and pinballed around the place at points. However, I’ve read many times that a truly great album should always be a snapshot or document of the artist at that place in time, and BCNR manage to do this quite comfortably. Albeit disfigured and left to the listener to fill in the blanks due to the vagueness of lines like “I guess, in some way”, there’s a straight essence of who they are that I can latch onto, although I can’t claim to fully understand everything that was going on. It feels very articulate, with a solid emphasis on how it makes you feel. So, overall, you know what – not bad.

Pictured: Isaac Wood (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Georgia Ellery (Violin), Tyler Hide (Bass Guitar), Charlie Wayne (Drums/Percussion), Lewis Evans (Saxophone), May Kershaw (Keyboard/Synths/Backing Vocals) and Luke Mark (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals) (2020) (Photo via Max Grainger/TheGuardian.com)

I guess, in some way – That line wraps up everything I’ve come here to do today. I’ve got another special weekend of unusual posts on the way from Saturday onwards, but, until then, we’ve got another ‘Way Back Wednesday’ to burst through. It’s another Easter-themed track, which didn’t previously make the cut. It’s related to the festival pretty closely, however, and it comes from a wildly successful Irish rock band who have strung their fans along past “The Edge” of a whopping 150-170 million sales globally, and have won a total of 22 Grammy Awards, known for their elaborate live tours in the 80’s and 90’s. 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: Cassandra Violet – “Swim Test”

March 18, 2021 — Leave a comment

It’s swim, not sink, for the potential of this Alt-Folk singer-songwriter. New Post time!

Pictured: Cassandra Violet in the music video for “Invisible Man” (2017) (Photo via Buzzbands.la)

Good Evening to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, you know the drill by now, it’s finally time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, once again, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! Today’s track seems to be one of my latest deep dives, because, for some reason, the music video for ‘Swim Test’ only has about 470 views on YouTube – at the time of writing this – and, honestly, I reckon this is a single that really deserves more exposure than it seems to be getting. I discovered this track originally from KCRW’s Today’s Top Tune podcast of free online downloads for their listeners to grab a taste for these lesser-known acts. Cassandra Violet is a Los Angeles-born singer songwriter currently based in Boyle Heights where, by day, she works as an English teacher. By night, though, she says that she pens hopeful tracks like ‘Swim Test’, which is about her father who doesn’t know how to swim, despite making a living besides the beach for a few decades. Violet is gearing up to release her debut album, ‘Maybe It’s Not Too Late’ which arrives on April 2nd, I think via self-release. Let’s take a ‘Swim Test’ below.

Violet’s music draws from the cinematic, where previous singles have been featured in US TV productions like Netflix’s ‘Ozark’ and a Showtime network original film. The new album, set for release in just a handful of weeks time, features some contributions from Joe Berry, who plays the Synths in French Electro-Pop pioneers M83. For Violet, although most of the album was written in the time before Covid-19 hit, the global pandemic has also given the track another meaning to interpret, as she writes “Although this song is deeply personal, it actually really relates to the past year we have all experienced and how we are all trying to keep our head above water these days, especially in L.A.” in a social media post. For me, the sound of the track veers into some Folk/Blues territory and it draws some comparisons to Sharon Van Etten and Alexandra Savior. Those comparisons are strong, however, since I really enjoy listening to both of those artists very much. “Swim Test” feels just as personal as the painful, raw songwriting talents of Van Etten and Savior, with a low-pitched vocal delivery and a basic set of instrumentation that evokes a mood in it’s ambience. Lyrics like “You got out your little town, and your Dad wasn’t around” and “and when he was, he never got you as a man” have a tinge of bitterness and resentment. The songwriting in the verses feel sharp, yet this tone is balanced nicely with the sense of uplift in the chorus, where Violet sings: “Just keep your head above the water, No worries and no bothers” calmly. The harmonies are a little unearthly, but not unsettling. Instead of going for a more frightening tone, Violet sings about the themes of persistence, and that if you can succeed in prevailing for a cause in difficult circumstances. The tone is kept quite realistic and grounded however, with a subtle blend of Lo-Fi folk and minimal percussion, as the guitar melodies just stray along to the loop that sounds a bit like a sweet Xylophone instrumental. I love what Violet does here in the cohesive changes of tone and the slightly playful beats. She manages to narrate a story that feels very uplifting, however, it’s not particularly upbeat, and so the storytelling develops naturally as a result. A track that is deserving of much more attention, there is plenty here to keep these shores of proceedings afloat and beyond.

Pictured: Cassandra Violet playing at the Durango Songwriters Expo (2020) (Photo via YouTube.com)

That’s all I’ve got to share with you today – It’s been a busy one! Feel free to join me again tomorrow, however, as we take a deep dive into one of the weekend’s new album releases. This week’s selection is the highly anticipated new album to come from a very prolific Bournemouth-born musician who was previously the lead singer of Alternative Rock outfit Doyle and The Fourfathers. It’s the follow-up LP to 2019’s ‘Your Wilderness Revisited’, which was named as the Best Album Of The 2010’s by Deep Cuts on YouTube. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Way Back Wednesdays: Bibio – “Cantaloup Carousel”

February 10, 2021 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

You can take a breather now – that’s all I have got for you today! Regular service resumes again tomorrow, as you would probably expect, and I’ve got some brand new music to share with you then. Tomorrow’s track is an excellent new piece recorded by an emerging 21-year-old Indie-Pop and “Bedroom Pop” singer-songwriter who has recently gained traction on social media and streaming platforms since the release of her debut EP in 2018. So far, her latest track – about an intergalactic crush – has amassed over 10 million streams, and landed a spot on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Charts in the US. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Bullion – “Thirty Two”

February 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That’s all I’ve got to share with you today – and so I’m going to move on with my shorter working day. Join me again tomorrow for an in-depth look at one of my favourite singles in quite a long time, and this next one is currently really blowing up online with the 6Music crowd of listeners. The track comes from a London-based, female-led Post-Punk group who have recently signed up to the well-known 4AD indie music label, and they were inspired to write and perform their own music by bands including The Feelies, The Necessaries, Pylon and even The B-52’s of wide “Love Shack” fame. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/