Today’s Track: The Weather Station – “Robber”

December 30, 2020 — Leave a comment

Rain, a bit of snow, a bit of Sun, a lot of nothing… There’s my forecast! New post time!

Pictured: Tamara Lindeman in a promotional publicity shoot for “Ignorance” (2020) (Photo via PR)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s now time for me to, once again, get typing up your daily post on the blog, because it’s routinely my day-to-day pleasure to get writing about a different piece of music each day! Fronted by Tamara Lindeman, The Weather Station are a Canadian 4-piece Alternative Folk band who have been active since 2006, and so they are now a decent five albums into their career. One of early 2021’s most anticipated albums is “Ignorance” – the latest full-length LP record effort to come from the Indie quartet – which is currently set for it’s release on February 5th, in the new year, via Fat Possum Records. It serves as another platform for Lindeman to show off her songwriting prowess – a challenging skill that gave her a nomination for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize in 2013 for her track “Mute In The Flowers”, a ballad which she has co-wrote and co-produced with Steve Lambke, of Constantines and Baby Eagle fame. The leading single for their upcoming LP is “Robber”, a track which has arrived with a new music video that provides many little surprises, visually, on the way to the ambitious narrative. Let’s take a look at it below.

“I think, in my life, I’ve been pretty naive, always tried to see the good in everyone (Still do), always tried to make do with what is and not think of what can’t be (Still do)”, is what Lindeman stated when explaining to us the themes of “Robber” via the track’s press notes, before she added, “I think it’s hard to believe in the Robber, hard to even see the Robber, It’s easier to try and make love to, or to glamourise the Robber. It hurts too much otherwise” when explaining the term of “Robber” as a metaphorical symbol of merit-based achievement in a modern society, within the track. It’s true that “Robber” feels like a grand production in itself, with a dramatic and theatrical feel of discomfort and unease. Polished off by a sombre vocal tone, a fragmented sequence of Cymbals, and a slowly unfolding series of Bass guitar chords, the track conveys an emotive quality of the calm within the chaos. Lindeman keeps reciting: “I never believed in the robber” through the dynamic sound, while lines like “No, the Robber don’t hate you, he had permission” and “I never saw nobody climb over my fence/No black bag, No glove hand” hit harder because they convey the invisisible appearance of the enemy, and it implies a more internalized battle. Vocals like: “You were two halves of the same piece, Divided in two” drift radiantly over the top of Jazz-based instrumentation, as a reverberating Saxophone riff keeps retreating and emerging into the scene. A quirky set of Organ lines, a floating Piano section and a twinkling, abstract trap-kit adds a variation of sounds, while also serving as the respiratory system of the character created by the vocals. While it’s not the most comforting or inviting thing to lure you in, it’s been structured very neatly, while it gets stuck in your head easily because of the lyrical themes of “Property Is Theft” keep bubbling underneath of the percussion. A soulful and open-minded reflection on the overarching inflictions of capitalism, which manages to open new discussions.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Ignorance” (Available from 5th February, 2021) (via Fat Possum Records)

Thank you for joining me back on the blog today! As per usual, I’ll be back tomorrow for New Year’s Eve, with an in-depth look at a very special Festive track from the late-1980’s – from a pioneering D.I.Y. Punk group who have been celebrated as the very first of their kind – becoming a huge source of inspiration for the Japanese punk rock female group, Shonen Knife. Inspired by Sir Paul McCartney of The Beatles – They would check into hotels during their heyday as “Paul Ramon”. 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: Jens Lekman – “The End Of The World Is Bigger Than Love”

December 22, 2020 — Leave a comment

Oh, You’re So Silent, Jens. Every Little Hair knows your name. It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Jens Lekman performing “A Postcard To Nina” live (in 2008) (Photo via Interface Sessions)

Good Morrow to you, I am Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get writing up about today’s track of the day on the blog, because it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write to you about a different piece of music every day. Jens Lekman, by far, is one of my favourite Songwriters of all time – and that is because the Swedish songcrafter is also one of the best pure storytellers. Bittersweet, witty and anecdotal – Lekman knows how to tug on your heartstrings with a simple strum of his Acoustic guitar, as much as he knows how to make you smile to a witty rhyme or a quirky bit of sample work. By now, Jens has truly cemented his place as one of the true “Jacob Classics” in my life, and he’s 9-times-out-of-10 the artist who I come running back to whenever I’m going through a difficult time. To be honest with you, I was desperate to see my sister and her fiance this year for Christmas, and given the news in the UK over the weekend that Covid has scrapped the country’s plans for this festive season, I was very cross with the government and I was very disappointed by the events. However – “The End Of The World Is Bigger Than Love” came to mind. I’m feeling a lot better now, by the way, and I felt this song was a particularly relevant one for the moment, because it’s a track that’s really about putting things into proportion, as you’ll soon see. “The End Of The World Is Bigger Than Love” was a single released from Jens’ second album, “I Know What Love Isn’t”, which came out to decent critical acclaim in 2012 – through the Secretly Canadian record label. Time for you to check it out below.

“I Know What Love Isn’t” was released five years after his debut LP record, “Night Falls Over Kortdela”, and to give a little bit of background explanation to the development of the follow-up, Lekman posted on his blog: “I believe in Love”, before adding, “I just get so wrapped up in it sometimes that I need to put it into proportion, it’s something that you have to do a lot, when you’re Jens Lekman”, to his description of this track. Yes, Jens is singing about a failed relationship here, but the focus isn’t about how everything ends, it’s on how, as Jens put it in another track from the record – “The World Moves On” – the world just shrugs it’s shoulders and keeps on going. Opening with a sombre Piano line and a swirling electronic sample beat – he settles into a folk-led bass guitar melody and a gradually evolving, sampled Horn melody. In the chorus, Jens croons: “A broken heart, is not the end of the world/’Cause the end of the world/Is bigger than love” over the top of a fluttering rhythm of softly sweeping String melodies and a jovial, upbeat acoustic guitar beat, with some pleasant vocal harmonies being thrown in for some emotive effect. The bridge is a highlight, where Jens lists how much bigger that life is than a relationship with trivialities such as: “And it’s bigger than the Stock market/and the loose change in your pocket” and “And it’s bigger than the Spider floating in your Cider” just to add a little more context to the message behind the vocals of the track, and detail how the latest heartbreak is quite meaningless compared to a literal collapse of the world. The songwriting feels quite emotionally rich and thematically mature, and it’s great to see how Jens has been able to see life past a broken love, and evolved as a person in the mechanics of the wider world. Although there’s nothing about this track that would strike you as particularly experimental, or culturally groundbreaking – It was, and still is, a very worthy addition to Jekman’s canon of weary-eyed and anecdotally driven musings of life and mindset, with melodies that are simply sumptuous and the lyrics are just flat-out nice. I think anybody can benefit from hearing a little bit more of Jens in their life.

Pictured: Cover Art for “I Know What Love Isn’t” (Released on Sept. 4th, 2012) (via Secretly Canadian)

We previously looked at ““Kanske är Jag kär I Dig” from “Night Falls Over Kortedala”, right at the beginning of the time where I started out by writing this daily blog online. For more of Jens, you can still check it out here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/03/todays-track-jens-lekman-kanske-ar-jag-kar-i-dig/

Pictured: Cover Art for “Night Falls Over Kortedala” (Released on Sept 5th, 2007) (via Secretly Canadian)

Thank you for checking out my new blog post! I’ve got more Christmas-themed music to show you tomorrow. This will be a track that’s brand new out for this year, and it’s all about spending Christmas in the hard time of the Covid-19 pandemic. It comes from an Indie Rock duo who once wrote a song about the Darts player Richie Burnett. 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: Ray Stevens – “Santa Claus Is Watching You”

December 12, 2020 — Leave a comment

He knows when you’re sleeping and he knows when you’re awake. It’s new post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Christmas Through A Different Window” (Released: 1997) (via MCA Nashville)

Festive tidings to you – I am Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s now time for me to get typing up all about today’s track on the daily music blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! “Santa Claus Is Watching You” is a quirky little Christmas track, which I found out all about when I was researching some alternative or obscure Christmas tracks to spotlight on the blog this year over the world wide web. Sadly, the name of Ray Stevens did not initially ring any Jingle Bells with me (See what I did there?), but it turns out that he’s really a very prolific Country and R&B singer-songwriter originally from the state of Georgia, over in the states. He’s also worked as a television presenter, music arranger and music producer too, and Stevens has also been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame, the Christian Music Hall Of Fame and he’s even received Gold certification sales for some of his albums, so he may be just a little bit before my time, is all. After all, what do I know, eh? “Santa Claus Is Watching You” was a track which he originally wrote and performed as a one-off single released back in 1962, before he later re-released the track as a part of his “Christmas Through A Different Window” seasonal LP collection in 1977. You can still buy the record, but the single in it’s original form is a rarity now, and it’s worth a decent amount of money. I do not have that kind of money. Anyways, let’s laugh along to the music video below.

Ray Stevens has also been inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum, which happened just last year in 2019, and so he is still trucking along with his work. The track, specifically, has actually been doing the rounds for a long time now, and you can also get hold of it from his “The Best Of Ray Stevens” compilation album which he put out in 1967, where the track was even re-recorded, electronically, to simulate stereo. As a result of this, I sadly have no real idea of when the official music video, that you just saw above, was released. However, it’s still quite charming and memorable despite it’s dated production. The track, however, peaked at the #45 spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. I think that it’s still quite funny, too. The start plays out with a showering of Sleigh Bell melodies, as Stevens calls out: “Now baby-doll, sweetie-pie, sugar-plum, honey-bunch, angel-face” above a stop-and-start combination of Piano and Guitar work, before delivering the killer hook of “Be careful what you say and do/’Cause Santa Claus is watching you” on top of the jovial, care-free rhythms. It gets more romantic and unveiling later on, as Stevens attributes “You’d better kiss and hold me tight/And give me a good lovin’ night” and “When Christmas comes, you’ll be crying too” to the repeated vocal hook. A quirky bridge of doo-wop filler lines and a list of reindeer’s names who are not a part of Santa’s elite group of Sleigh pullers follow up on the verses, to add a quirky sense of fun to the lyricism. He later claims that Santa Claus is the head of the CIA, and the track ends with some form of Spoken Word freestyle about his paranoia of being watched by the White-bearded international celebrity. It makes for a fun and entertaining listen, although the cohesion and flow of the track gets a little uneven at times, as Stevens keeps dashing through different modes of his wordplay vocal delivery and his instrumental breaks during the track. I’m not sure how appealing this track would be to children either, but I think that’s a good thing, in this case, because it makes it feel different to your bog-standard festive Pop track primarily aimed at Children that Pop singers like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber are known to have performed in recent years. Stevens also manages to deliver some good comedy throughout the single too, even if the flow loses it’s way a little bit during the middle. The Rockwell of yuletide tracks – which came an odd 20 years before, perhaps. Overall, it’s still pretty hilarious.

Pictured: Vinyl Copy of “Santa Claus Is Watching You” (1962) (Photo via Discogs.com/Mercury Records)

Thank you for checking out my latest blog post! Tomorrow marks a short-lived, but celebratory, new era for our weekly Scuzz Sundays series, because we’re going to be looking at some festive-themed emo-rock and pop-punk gems taken from the late-1990’s, up until the mid-2000’s, from tomorrow onwards. Tomorrow’s Emo throwback comes from a classic American Heavy Metal band who are often regarded as “Glam-Rock” for their prominent use of makeup and female costumes. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Robin Kester – “Sweat and Fright”

December 9, 2020 — Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you very much for reading my new post – I’m sure you might agree that this was a great winter track to listen to. We’ll be getting back in the Christmas spirit tomorrow, for an in-depth look at a slightly more widely appealing indie pop/rock track that references the old 80’s Nostalgia of the season, coming from a British band who were formed in Sunderland. Their band name derives from the title of The Flaming Lips’ “Hit To Death In The Future Head” album, that was released back in 1992. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Glasvegas – “A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss)”

December 8, 2020 — Leave a comment

It’s nice how we all live in a world where no Snowflakes are the same. New post time!

Pictured: James Allan (Lead Vocals/Piano/Rhythm Guutar), Rab Allan (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Paul Donaghue (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Jonna Löfgren (Drums) (2019) (Photo via Wegow.com)

Good Morning – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’ve got some more Alternative festive music to share with you over the holidays, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock group who seem to be what folk music is to Scotland, in musical form, in what Irn Brn is to national drinks in the country. Although I have heard little of them, the band have still managed to release a Platinum-selling debut album, which reached #2 in the UK Singles Charts, and was also nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2009, and it also went Gold in Sweden and North America. Following on from that, the band have signed up to BMG Rights Management, and have released two more LP records. Next year, the band are gearing up to release “Godspeed” in April, which is their fourth studio album and their first not to feature the drummer, Jonna Löfgren. Tracing back to 2008, they released “A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss)”, which is a Christmas-themed EP that consists of six tracks, which they recorded in a Citadel, over in Transylvania. Let’s watch them perform the EP’s title single below.

Glasvegas spent one week recording the Festive EP release with Rich Costey, who was also the co-producer of the band’s enormously successful debut album. It also features contributions from The Concentus Choir, who performed backing vocals on “Silent Night/Noapte De Vis”. In the video, you can see them performing the title track with a full string section choir on “Christmas At The Quay”, and so it becomes very clear that Glasvegas wanted to explore a very classical and orchestral sound on their festive EP collection. In a strongly accented vocal performance, James Allan sings: “The breeze, from the Graveyard keeps murmuring death” and “Now, I’m compelled to care/About my future going nowhere” to evoke a downbeat and isolated mood. The chorus is more hopeful and peaceful, since Allan croons: “Now, I don’t feel so all alone in the cold wondering where I’m going today/Then a snowflake fell and it felt like a kiss, now I’m okay” over the top of a gently ascending jingle bell melody and a swooping Violin section. This comes after a darker variation of the chorus, where the style is more downtempo and less choral. The spacious Bell melodies are implying that we have a character being cocooned from the harsh cold weather, and the vocals are finding a niche blend between the familiar warmth of the festive season, and the bleakness of Snow that comes with the Northern winters of a Glasgow setting. The instrumentation is composed of a simple Piano line, as opposed to any noisy Guitar parts, and so it feels like a good way for the band to step outside of the comfort zone a little bit. I think that the Christmas textures are quite mild and subtle, and I’m not really getting much of a mood that really makes me feel anything. It may be that I’ve not part of the Glasgow world that the track is addressing, but, for me, it’s only really washing over me and not being majorly affecting. It is nice, however, and I feel that the little String sections are pretty. Although it’s just not really a track that I can see myself coming back to, I feel it is still an interesting take on the traditional Carol spirit.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss)” (EP) (Released on 1st December 2008) (via Columbia Records)

Thank you for reading my latest post – and happy holidays to you! Regular output resumes again for the day tomorrow, where I’m going to finally get around to nattering about a track that came out earlier in the year. It comes from a female solo singer-songwriter and producer who is from Utrecht, in the Netherlands, and loves to experiment with retro Guitar sounds and vintage Synth sounds that draw from the inspirations of 70’s pop. Her latest EP was released in September by AT EASE. 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: Blossoms – “Christmas Eve (Soul Purpose)”

November 18, 2020 — Leave a comment

Yes, it’s the C word – the one related to the 25th of December. It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Art for "Christmas Eve (Soul Purpose)" (Released on 5 November, 2020) (via Virgin/EMI) — Pictured: Cover Art for “Christmas Eve (Soul Purpose)” (Released on 5 November, 2020) (via Virgin/EMI)

Good Morning, Afternoon or Evening – I have finally made it to my laptop to discuss today’s track of the day on the blog with you, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to get writing up about a different piece of music every day! Yes… I know what’s you’re thinking. Look, the Aldi shelves are stacked with Stollen bites and Chocolate Reindeers, and the TV is mostly filled with typically commercial Festive advertisements, so it’s time for me to sprinkle in a few seasonal tracks into the daily routine as the next few weeks ramp up to the first ever “Covid-Christmas”. Blossoms – or “The Blossoms” as my Mum likes to call them (I like it when she says that because it really makes me smile on the inside) are a Stockport-based Pop/Soft-Rock band. Classed as “Indie” but they’re signed to Virgin’s EMI Records, so they’re not really. They are known for a few UK chart hits including “Charlemagne”, “Your Girlfriend” and “If You Think This Is Real Life”, each of which I’m quite familiar with – and we even took a look at the latter track right here on the blog over the Summer, which I gave a positive review. It seems they got their Santa hats out earlier than me this year, with the release of a new christmas single, “Christmas Eve (Soul Purpose)” back at the very beginning of the month, which comes bundled with the B-side “It’s Going To Be A Cold Winter” on the physical 7″ vinyl, which is available from December 11th on the band’s official website. Most recently, they released the “Foolish Loving Spaces” album back in the end of January on Virgin/EMI, which had reached the top of the UK Albums Chart in it’s debut week on sale. Let’s fill our stockings with their single below.

The new track, “Christmas Eve (Soul Purpose), also features their local vocal group – Stockport Junior Voices Choir – and it was produced by James Skelly, of The Coral fame, along with Rich Turvey, and the band recorded it back in June between Parr Street Studios in Liverpool and Hitsville in Stockport. It plays out mostly how you’d expect a modern Yuletide offering to sound, as Tom Ogden sings: “I had a dream last night/I think I fell in love” over the top of festive sleigh bells and warm guitar-based rhythms. The chorus is hook-driven and involved, as Ogden sings: “It was Christmas Eve/I found my soul purpose, Peace on Earth is three words, The road is so long” to an entwined backing vocal from the children’s choir, who come to Ogden’s aid by adding a light, pop-oriented element of Soul to the proceedings. The lyrics touch on togetherness and open love, as Ogden chimes in with “The season of good cheer/Pictures old and new/Collected through the years/That I’ve spent with you” above the cheerful, Acoustic-backed percussion. The choir harmonizes with the band’s backing vocals, and the track draws to a close with a sample of a crowd cheering, and joyous clapping from some type of audience – who I can only assume were all socially distanced in the recording process. It is all very lighthearted and mainstream-sounding, with nothing that feels really out of the ordinary or like the band are dramatically shaking anything much up. This comes across as sweet and cutesy, but I don’t think there’s really anything in bad execution about this. The children’s voices are quite a nice touch, and it’s not really overstaying it’s welcome in any major way. While there’s absolutely nothing that sticks out as surprising or particularly imaginative, this sounds quite nice to listen to, and it wouldn’t anger me if I heard it around my family’s house at a Christmas-themed dinner, because the children’s vocal choir are at least adding something quite soft and Soulful enough to the ears musically. I’ve heard much worse from Shaggy – but more on that next week!

Pictured: Tom Ogden (Lead Vocals/Songwriter), Josh Dewhurst (Lead Guitar), Charlie Salt (Bass Guitar), Myles Kellock (Keyboard/Synths) and Joe Donovan (Drums) at the 2017 BRIT Awards (Photo via PR)

As mentioned above, we also covered the standard single “If You Think This Is Real Life” previously on the blog – and it was rather decent. Please take a look here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/04/todays-track-blossoms-if-you-think-this-is-real-life/

Pictured: Cover Art for "Foolish Loving Spaces" (Released on January 31, 2020) (via Virgin/EMI Records) — Pictured: Cover Art for “Foolish Loving Spaces” (Released on January 31, 2020) (via Virgin/EMI Records)

Thank you for sticking with my first Seasonal post of the erm… Season. I’ll be back tomorrow as we try to squeeze in another talented band before the festive tidings ramp up further. I’ve been really loving this new band from Minnesota, who are now currently based in Chicago, who have just released their debut album on the Winspear Records label, so please tune in to hear more on that tomorrow. Please like the Facebook page for the blog to receive all my updates here: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: The Mountain Goats – “Get Famous”

October 23, 2020 — Leave a comment

I’m just here to win your heart and soul – That is my goal! It’s time for your daily post!

Pictured: John Darnielle (Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Piano), Peter Hughes (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Matt Douglas (Flute/Saxophone/Clarinet) and Jon Wurster (Drums) (2017) (via Bandcamp)

Good Afternoon to you, I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m here to write about your daily track on the blog, as always, because it is routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! The dawn of Friday means that it’s time for a handful of new album record releases to drop, and one of the weekend’s selections that I am personally most looking forward to hearing is “Getting Into Knives”, the nineteenth (!) studio album by cult favourite American Indie Folk band The Mountain Goats. Back in the day, John Darnielle and Co. used to produce their own music on low-fidelity Cassette Tape recordings to be released on both Cassette or 7″ Vinyl formats, and they’ve since become one of the most influential pioneers of production and songwriting of their genre. “Getting Into Knives” follows last year’s “In League With Dragons”, 2017’s metal-themed “Goths” and 2015’s wrestling-themed “Beat The Champ”, and it was recorded at the Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Nashville with frequent collaborator, Matt Ross-Spang, in the very same room that The Cramps recorded their debut album in. The latest single, “Get Famous” features work from organist Charles Hodges, and it comes with a bobble-head themed music video marking their first official music video in five years. Darnielle had this to say about the track in a press release: “If I told you all how much fun we had making this one you wouldn’t even believe me, but we hope it comes through”. Let’s see the results below.

“Get Famous” is a Horn-Inflicted acoustic track which makes fun of modern celebrity culture, and Darnielle said this about the recording of the new LP in the album’s notes: “We would work until midnight and then return to the house where all four of us were staying, directly across the street from the studio, and hang out for hours on the patio”, showing the band’s dedication to their love for writing music and producing their material independently. “Get Famous” also feels like a satire towards mainstream industry practices, and the mentality that major record labels have of trying hard to make each of their artists get very popular, at a rapid pace, before possibly allowing them to lose a stream of relevance later on. Such ironic lyrical motifs are an old-school tactic used by the Indie Folk band, and it’s really nice to see them returning to a classic trademark of their sound once again. Darnielle’s lyrics feel bitter, if slightly relaxed, as he sings: “You were born for these flashing lights/You were born for these endless nights” with an upbeat, poetic pace as the Organ sounds and the Horn sections layer a hazy sense of Americana. There is noticeably a classical Jazz element to the overall sound, with a bold and sweeping Brass instrumental whistles through the chorus, a part where Darnielle slightly growls as he declares: “Go on and get famous/I want you to be famous” in the chorus, before a more rhythmic chorus where he sings: “Shine like a cursed star/Show everybody exactly who you are” over a fairly soulful Saxophone section that adds upon the poisoned chalice that is fame and the powerful Pop machine. Although these themes are widely typical of The Mountain Goats, there’s enough variety with a reference to late-Chicago musician Wesley Willis, and the sampled effect of a crowd applauding over a referential line from Darnielle, to keep things from feeling too formulaic or predictable, and the Jazz sensibilities are delivered at a pace which feels brisk and crisp enough to feel upbeat and witty. Overall, the sound is quite a familiar one, but it’s also one that feels delightfully old-school and classic of the band’s trademark sound in it’s approach. It’s not likely to really change the world or anything, but it feels warm and I couldn’t ask for much more as a loyal fan of their music. As the old saying goes, it’s simply as solid as a rock.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Getting Into Knives” (Released on October 23rd, 2020) (via Merge Records)

The Mountain Goats also released a surprisingly wrestling-themed album, “Beat The Champ”, back in 2015. It’s well worth a listen and you can find my thoughts on the monumental single “The Legend Of Chavo Guerrero” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/04/05/wwe-wrestlemania-36-weekend-special-the-mountain-goats-the-legend-of-chavo-guerrero/

Pictured: John Darnielle with Chavo Guerrero Sr. in “The Legend Of Chavo Guerrero” video (in 2015)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! As always, I’ll be back at it again tomorrow, with an in-depth look at the latest single to be released by another American indie rock band who I’ve also been a loyal follower of, for a number of years. The new track is made in collaboration with the new film from the film director Sofia Coppola, of which the band’s front-man is actually married to! 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 Flaming Lips – “Will You Return/Will You Come Down?”

October 17, 2020 — Leave a comment

Reigniting that influential fire, or sadly dwindling into flames? It’s time for a new post!

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

Good Morning to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke and, just like always, I’m here to write up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Music today comes from an Alternative Rock group who performed a gig earlier in Oklahoma City this week, which was fully socially-distanced, by the way of the band encasing themselves in literally… a “Bubble”. Wayne Coyne and Co. have been around for a handful of decades now, but I’ve actually never got around to listening to any of their albums in full, personally. Criminal for a Music Journalism student? Perhaps. However, it turns out that The Flaming Lips have been very busy over the last few weeks, with the release of their sixteenth (!) studio album record “American Head”, which was released via Bella Union in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the US. It has left a mark with it’s great score of 81/100 on review aggregate site Metacritic, and it has been generally being praised by critics as their strongest album release in a while. In their lifetime so far, the seven-piece music/art collective have been placed on Q Magazine’s list of the “50 Bands To See Before You Die” in 2002, along with winning three Grammy Awards, they also won NME’s award for Best Album Of The Year for “The Soft Bulletin” in 1999, and they also received a BRIT Award nomination for “Best International Act” in 2007. Let’s have a listen to the group’s latest single, down below!

The new album “American Head”, marks a key shift in identity for the band, who had decided to revert back to their roots in Americana and Desert Rock to explore their geographical roots on the record, and it marks the first time in which the highly established group have really thought of themselves an “American” band, as opposed to one that just comes from “Earth”, according to Wayne Coyne’s press release for the new album. “Will You Return/When You Come Down” doesn’t really include any harsh experimentation or an abrasive style of production, but it’s more reminiscent of a simple idea and, sometimes, that is all you really need. The vocals are warm and comforting, although the lyrics allude to a meteorite crashing down on Earth (“Shooting Star/Crashing in your car/What went wrong/Now all your friends are gone”) and a princess waking up from a long slumber (“Flower gun/Now you’re on the run”) while the chorus feels emotionally-driven and powerfully fragile, as Coyne questions the track’s titular line repeatedly over the top of a gentle swell of Operatic, mournful Cello strings and harmonious Xylophone notes. Coyne’s vocal performance is undoubtedly bittersweet, and the elements of Country-Rock are peppered with subtle, twinkling keyboard riffs which add to the Neil Young-esque Piano instrumentation and the lightly psychedelic guitar tones, accompanied by a heavier delivery of reverb for the chorus. At it’s best, the track seems to evoke the 60’s lo-fi acoustic sound of The Beatles, accompanied by the gauzy, starry-eyed narrative inflictions of David Bowie, and the light dream visuals call back to the 80’s Shoegaze scope of My Bloody Valentine. Overall, I love the track! It sounds alternative enough to feel exciting, but it’s just nice and simple. One of the top essential tunes right now!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “American Head” (Released on September 11th, 2020) (via Bella Union)

Back in early July, we took a look at “My Religion Is You” from the band. You can peruse the link to the post here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/07/04/todays-track-the-flaming-lips-my-religion-is-you/

Pictured: The Flaming Lips on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (2017) (via NBC Television)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! Don’t forget to check back with me again tomorrow, because it will be time for our brand new weekly installment in our year-spanning Scuzz Sundays feature! The track comes from a small American band who you just might have heard of before… led by a man who was formerly the drummer of Nirvana! 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: Nick Mulvey – “Begin Again”

September 30, 2020 — Leave a comment

With study in Ethnomusicology, you’d expect him to know all his stuff. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Begin Again” (EP) (Released on July 10th, 2020) (via Fiction Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, like typically, I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to get typing up about a different piece of music every day! I’ve always seen Nick Mulvey, an indie folk singer-songwriter and producer born in Cambridge, as somewhat of a little anomaly for Britain’s alternative music scene. After re-locating to Havana in Cuba to study music and art, he first made his mark upon his return to England as a founding member of a London-based Instrumental Percussion band, Portico Quartet, of which he used to play the Hang, which for those who don’t know, is a Pendulum-like Metal Plate instrument which is often considered to be a Steel-Pan ‘Drum’ part. His debut studio album, “First Mind”, which was released in 2014, received a nomination for the Mecury Prize award of that same year. Mulvey also studied Ethnomusicology at the University Of London’s School Of Oriental and African Studies, and so it becomes very clear that he has a fascination with the psychological and philosophical effects of World-based music, which is a rare occasion for an artist of a British, Northern Soul-driven background. The “Begin Again” EP is his latest music release, and this new 4-track project was released on July 10th via Fiction Records. Although his solo output has taken him in more of a Folk-led direction, he’s stated: “I’m always drawn to the same principles in music. Beneath each genre, at a certain level, they hold the same principles”. Let’s have a listen to the titular single of the new EP, “Begin Again”, below.

“Begin Again” is his first new release since 2019’s “In The Anthropocene”, a record that made history as the first track to be pressed on vinyl made from entirely recycled Plastic materials that were washed up on the UK’s shores. Mulvey says of the tracks, via a press release, “I see chaos, but I also see the opportunity for a new world, and a more beautiful one. We are living through an incredible shift. The old ways are dying, right before our very eyes. In a way, my songs are songs of the new ways coming through”, and a theme of nature and Earth is rather evident on the simplicity of the acoustic instrumentation and the emphasis on vocals which he portrays in the title track of his new EP, “Begin Again”. In the world we’re living in, where such a large amount of the music that we access is produced electronically, it can make for an engaging deviation from the tried-and-true formula of the now. Mulvey starts off: “Mary was my mother’s mother and my sister too/There’s a rain in the river, there’s a river running through” as he begins the story of Mulvey wanting to learn about his grandmother, who sadly died before he was born. The instrumentation here has a light groove, with shaking guitar strums and simmering percussion beats, with a gentle Hang melody thrown in for good measure, and to call back to his past. The lyrics also play on the topics of acceptance: “Can we begin again? It’s me again, I know you are so different to me/But, I love you, just the same” over the top of a plucky guitar melody that feels upbeat and easy on the ear. The rest of the vocals play on the Coastal and Nature themes of Mulvey’s previous releases, as he recites: “Sister by the side of the sea/Take the War out of me”, with a poetic twang to it. The vocals skew towards a bit of a Spoken Word delivery at points, with a quality that sounds emotive and well-educated at certain points. This makes the track feel rather sweet and down-to-earth. It reminds me of Ed Sheeran, but without most of the over-commercialism that has really downplayed his newer releases. Personally, I can’t really hear the World elements of his past work too clearly, but there are some blueprints of that education here, with the rhythmic guitar patterns and the lyrical devices that play on nature and environment feeling subtle, but well-paced. I would quite like to hear Mulvey get that big ol’ Hang instrument for a few more experimental tinkerings in the future, but there’s strength in the acoustic instrumentation and the emotive, confident lyrics in the track. This is a good way to bring the month to a close.

Pictured: Nick Mulvey performing at The Shepherd’s Bush Empire (2017) (Photo Credit: George Brown)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! Duty shall call for me again tomorrow, and we’re going to hit our stride in the new month by kicking off with the excellent new single from a much more established act, who create a wide variety of Electronic Dance and Ambient Chill-Out music, producing “At The River” which appears on vol. 1 of The Classic Chillout Album series. The group have released eight full-length studio albums, four of which have charted within the Top 50 of the UK Albums Chart. The duo achieved chart success, mostly in the 90’s, for the tracks “I See You Baby” and “Superstylin”, which still receive a decent level of radio airplay today! 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: Julianna Barwick – “Inspirit”

July 25, 2020 — Leave a comment

Who needs a Zumba class when you can meditate to this? It’s time for your new post!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Healing Is A Miracle” (Released on July 10th, 2020) (via Ninja Tune)

Get yourself comfortable for the Zen-like trance! Good Morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m typing up your daily track on the blog, just like always, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! This is an emerging artist who I discovered through Mary Anne Hobbs’ recent episode of the BBC Radio 6Music Recommends evening show, and I was reminded of it by Lauren Laverne on her Thursday July 16, 2020 edition of the BBC Radio 6Music Breakfast show, as “Healing Is A Miracle” was the station’s album of the day. Her name is Julianna Barwick, and she is an ambient electronic composer who is based in in Brooklyn, New York. She was inspired to create her own music by her participation in a church choir at an early age while growing up in Louisiana, and she’s been active since 2006, of which she’s been using analogue synth equipment to record her own vocal sections over the electronic synth loops that she builds. “Healing Is A Miracle” is her third album, released on July 10th via Ninja Tune. The album includes contributions of work from Jónsi (the leader of Sigur Ros), along with Mary Littlemore and Nosaj Thing. Rest your weary head to the sound of leading single “Inspirit” below.

Recorded at a time where she was making the risky move to New York City from her childhood residence in Louisiana, Barwick commands a meditational presence that demands your relaxed attention on “Inspirit”, the opener of her new album. It seems suitably easy to sink your teeth into, but the multi-layered structure hides a soft, but meticulous complexity beneath. Her vocals are simply: “Open your heart, It’s in your head”, two lines that are drenched in a cascading, heavy reverberation effect. They get constantly repeated across the four-minute duration of the track, but they never get tedious or dull, to me. That’s because the vocal arrangement is kept refreshing at each turn, flowing with shaped stretches and loops that harmonize the breezy synth pads and the mellow, faint interplanetary pipe organ noises. The vocal loops are arranged in the style of a collage, and they are difficult to decipher, although easy to notice. This creates a subtle, aired ambience that evokes the Easy Listening music of Brian Eno, with a light texture of interweaving, discreet vocal loops and globally-influenced sonic direction that sounds comparable to the 90’s ambience of Enigma and Moby. The most intriguing part of the track, however, is the use of bass. A rumble of electronic bass synth effects splice harmoniously over the midway point, but the meditative and crystallized ambience never feels disturbed, as the thin waves of decaying bass add a somewhat dream-like trance that, for me, evokes science fiction and dystopia. Each of the different elements fit like a Jigsaw puzzle together, forming an ongoing crescendo that lightly adds new components to the fray. It provides a much-needed solidarity to a time where nothing feels certain, and everyday life can often feel bizzare, since it’s very effective in transporting you to a dream-like trance through the pretty, attention-to-detail production. It’s expression through a pure form of music. Simply put, I think it’s beautiful. Close those eyes – and just get stuck into it!

Pictured: Julianna Barwick recording her vocals in her recording studio (2020) (Photo Credit: Sister City/Vinyl Factory)

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with your brand new edition of my weekly Scuzz Sundays feature. It’s the time of the week where we revisit either a pop-punk or emo-rock classic from the timespan of the late-1990’s to the mid-200’s to see if it can live up to modern standards, named in memory of the cancelled Scuzz TV freeview channel. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

One Track At A Time

Soft-Folk