New Album Release Fridays: Beach House – ‘Once Twice Melody’

February 18, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Once Twice Melody’ (LP) (Released on February 18th, 2022) (via Sub-Pop Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for me to give you a sneak peek at one of the weekend’s most exciting new album releases, given that it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! In most typical weeks, my choice for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ on the blog is a highly anticipated affair that we’ve only got two or three singles from at most prior to the big moment of release, however, in the case of ‘Once Twice Melody’ – you can hear three quarters of it already. The latest LP project from the Baltimore, Maryland duo of Victoria LeGrand and Alex Scally, otherwise known as Beach House, a Chamber Pop duo who have been nominated for a GAFFA Award in Sweden, ‘Once Twice Melody’ is effectively a double album that contains 18 tracks that have all been presented in four chapters of four tracks that have seen staggered releases since November 2021, a risky move that notably finds music contributing to the streaming algorithm more closely than ever before. In aid of supporting the behemoth of a record, Beach House will be touring the UK and Europe in May and June 2022, as well as performing alongside fellow Psychedelic acts like Tame Impala and Lorde at this summer’s Primavera Sound Festival. ‘Part 1’ was released on November 10th, 2021 followed by ‘Part 2’ on December 8th, 2021, followed by ‘Part 3’ on January 19th, 2022 and, finally, the final chapter releases today alongside a full release of the project on Vinyl and Streaming. The duo have also recently provided the soundtrack to ‘Marin’s Dreams’, a short film. With their drawing and expansive sound that has been focused on conveying an abstract reflection of a message that idyllic moments are never quite as fruitful as fantasy, I have a lot of faith in LeGrand and Scally to pull out all of the stops with this mammoth of a release. For a sampler, let’s revisit the title track below.

Self-produced entirely by themselves, the ambitious LP project by Beach House was mixed by Alan Moulder, Dave Fridmann, Caesar Edmunds and Trevor Spencer, and it has been recorded over the past two years in a handful of studios spanning across Los Angeles, Baltimore and Cannon Falls. The lyrics for the title track speak of a girl that is placated by her own eccentric imagination, an unnamed character with an enigmatic narrative that we experience with refrains like “Nights fly by in her mind/All along the boulevard” and “She tries to understand/A never, never land” that find LeGrand focusing on the finer details of her mindset and they play out above a gorgeous sequence of looping synths and live drums on the title track. Guitar arpeggios continue to conjure up a sweeping and decorated soundscape that evoke sinking into the grass or the sand from an hourglass slipping through your fingers while LeGrand croons about the sensual slow pace of a hot, gauzy summer’s day. Lyrics like “Days go by/In her eyes/Belle De Jour in front of me” and “The purple on the vine/The velvet deep tree line” find the prismatic mood of the vocals basking in the far-away lands that have been constructed by our shy character’s wandering mind. It feels lush and vibrant as a complete package, with LeGrand and Scally telling a mysterious yet intriguing tale of the illusion of a crystal clear universe of fiction that are polished carefully with intimate Strings and a symphony of creative backing vocals, and yet the idealizations of our leading lady are never truly filled in. The sound simply takes you back to the very core of Shoegaze and Dream Pop music, which is all about filling a simple few melodies with meticulous details and an atmosphere that is simply designed for you to get lost in – and the kicking drums/synths combo of the vivid instrumentation escalate their own levels of intensity as the sprawling sounds move up to a higher scope. Therefore, I have a lot of faith that despite the sheer length of ‘Once Twice Melody’ as a full release, LeGrand and Scally will give the project plenty of depth and variety as to not grow tiresome and justify the length in creating music that doesn’t lose it’s intimacy over a run time. I concur that Beach House are brilliant!

Pictured: Victoria LeGrand and Alex Scally (2018) (Photo Credit: Robert Johannson/InterviewMagazine.com)

I’m off to visit my sister in Kent today, and so I haven’t got any longer to chat about all things music with you for today, but thank you very much for checking out the blog and your support is highly appreciated! If you deeply love your Dream-Pop and your Shoegaze styles of music, you’re also going to enjoy tomorrow’s post, which is why I decided to cover these two tracks so tightly together. It comes from the main solo project of the French multi-instrumentalist and producer Melody Prochet who got a 9/10 score from Drowned In Sound’s Dom Gourlay for her debut studio album in 2013.

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Today’s Track: Lo Moon – ‘Dream Never Dies’

January 25, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Matt Lowell (Guitars/Vocals), Crisanta Baker (Synth/Bass/Samples), Sam Stewart (Bass Guitar) and Sterling Laws (Drums/Percussion/Occasional Backing Vocals) (2022) (Photo via Twitter.com/Strngr Recordings)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, as you will be already aware if you’ve read the blog before, and the time has come for me to write up about some wistful sounds with yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! Comprised of Matthew Lowell, Crisanta Baker, Sterling Laws and guitarist Samuel Stewart – who is the also the son of Eurythmics’ David A. Stewart and Bananarama’s Siobhan Fahey – Lo Moon are a nice California-based outfit known for their wide-eyed explorations of uplifting Dream Pop and melodic Indie Rock who have previously been signed to major label Columbia Records after forming in 2016, where they released their self-titled debut album to positive reviews in 2018. Although they seem like a fairly low-profile name, Lo Moon will be supporting The War On Drugs on tour soon. They have also opened for a wide variety of more familiar bands – including Phoenix, Glass Animals, CHVRCHES, Air and London Grammar – along the way. You may have also seen them cap off these rigorous touring schedules with their solo sets at festivals including All Points East in London, Lollapalooza in Chicago and Governor’s Ball in New York City as well. Two years after their debut LP was released, their sophomore album has recently been given a title and a release date. You can hear ‘A Modern Life’ from February 25th – this time via the Strngr Recordings label, and so any die-hard fans of Lo Moon’s little universe will be very excited in just a month’s time. The first single – ‘Dream Never Dies’ – was co-produced by Yves Rothman (Yves Tumor, Miya Folick) and the accompanying music video aims to take you, as the listener, through the broad architecture of ambitions and expectations, as directed by Michael Hili (The Killers, John Carroll Kirby, Lemon Twigs). So, lets check out ‘Dream Never Dies’ below.

Prior to the second new single ‘Raincoats’, ‘Dream Never Dies’ marked an important statement for Lo Moon as it was their first new material in three years. Vocalist Matt Lowell says about this track, “As I get older, I’ve become more and more nostalgic about my youth. I had way less anxiety, I didn’t fear losing the people closest to me, or have to face the bigger questions of life”, adding, “Hope and optimism were just a little bit easier back then. I work hard not to let the complexities of life suck the hope out of me. This song, if nothing else, is a reminder to try my best and not let that happen”, to his press release. Kicking off with a floating array of rich Piano accents, the beat settles into a groove with deep percussion as Lowell recites motivational lyrics like “Locking eyes, late at night butterflies, hold me the rest of my life” and “Let this go, what’s the use?/The more you know, the more we lose” as he mimics swift poetry with a soaring style of vocals that punctuate the verses, and later, the chorus. Later on, the soundscape develops further with cinematic Synths backing up his warm vocals and a sprawling guitar solo that continues to widen the scope of their sound. The chorus, meanwhile, feels nostalgic and radiant as open lyrics like “What happened to all the east days of summer/Back when we were younger” and “Radio still blasting, heaven’s everlasting” ascend momentarily above some reverb-drenched instrumentals and some amplified Strings, before Matt Lowell uses some nascent refrains like “If I could bring you back/All I have to do is close my eyes” to complement the beautifully moving, and often cinematic, Chamber-esque melodies. There’s certainly a Talk Talk-like motif to Lowell’s towering vocals here, where the 00’s Brit-Rock elements and the ache of summer nostalgia collide to create an exciting, if a little basic, lyrical theme that we can all relate to. A wholly personal affair that sounds stunning, ‘Dream Never Dies’ is a powerful and poetic piece that will keep you awake.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘A Modern Life’ (LP) (Available from February 25th, 2022) (via Strngr Recordings)

That brings us to the end of another daily post on the blog! Thank you for helping my dream not to die by checking it out, and I’ll be back tomorrow for a new iteration of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ as we revisit a beloved Scottish Experimental Rock band who achieved a cult following with their pioneering brand of ‘Folktronica’ in the late-90’s until disbanding in 1994. The band’s music, and a name-drop of them, was used in a famous scene starring John Cusack as a record shop manager in 2000’s ‘High Fidelity’.

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Today’s Track: Strawberry Guy – ‘Sun Outside My Window’

January 11, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Sun Outside My Window’ (LP) (Released on October 29, 2021) (via Melodic Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, obviously, and it’s time for us to take a breath of fresh air and explore some fruitful textures (since I am infamous for these pun-filled intro’s) with 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! It is easy for us all to feel a little down in the dragging January season, but one artist is likely to make you appreciate the bright rays of sunshine that make the outside world feel warmer than it probably is during this cold time, and one of these recordings for me is ‘Sun Outside My Window’, a recent single from the Liverpool-based solo singer-songwriter Alex Stephens who releases his music as Strawberry Guy. He is new to me, but I’ve read that Stephens started to gain popularity on SoundCloud for tracks like 2018’s ‘Without You’ before he attracted the Gen Z crowd to his work by gaining steam on TikTok. In fact, 2019’s ‘Mrs. Magic’ has been used on over 70k videos on the video-based social media platform, meaning that he’s garnered millions of views for the Lo-Fi track. Since then, Stephens has played the keyboard on tour with Halifax dance-punk sensations The Orielles and fellow Liverpool outfit Trudy & The Romance. Citing icons like David Byrne, Erykah Badu, Claude Debussy and Henry Mancini as his favourite artists, Stephens’ goal, it seems, is to upturn people’s perceptions of what ‘Bedroom Pop’ really needs to be. His debut LP – ‘Sun Outside My Window’ – was released on October 29th, 2021 via Melodic Records. Best known for signing Working Men’s Club who have been a fixture of the Synth-Punk scene for a few years, the label is an emerging organisation that boasts lesser-known talent such as W.H. Lung and Michael A. Grammar in their ranks. Let’s check out the title track of the record below.

Alex Stephens (aka Strawberry Guy) wrote and recorded the imminent album over the span of two years by himself, and he says, “It’s about seeing the simple things in life and them making you happy. I remember this day when I was really down… looking out the window, the sun beaming in it was beautiful, it made me want to go outside – it was simple but made me so happy in that instance”, about his new work in a press release. Hitting the ground running with the simple refrain of “I can feel a change coming again/You tell me I’m wrong, is it all pretend?” in the first verse, Stephens unleashes a quiet crescendo of succinct Strings and delicate Percussion to create an intimate soundscape that blends 70’s romanticism with breezy keys that effectively mimic a short burst of birds perching on a tree or a wave of butterflies fluttering past an old country Garden on a radiant morning. It feels relatively straightforward, but there’s plenty of depth when the uncommonly rich groove of the lush vocal intonations and the whimsical horns lead the chorus. The smooth harmonies, the soft melodies and the vulnerable lyrics create a mellow and humble instrumental that feels gently agreeable throughout, while the vocal performance of Stephens is dominated by a laidback Nasal voice that complements the light symphony of the wistful melodies. At the same time, the wide-eyed lyrics of Stephens that contain refrains like “But I see you there, You’re looking at me/And I feel so free” and “I can sense a shift coming from you/I guess you now know, was it ever true?” are very contemplative in tone and hint towards a light conflict with a love interest, although he keeps it ambiguous as to whether there really is something going deeply wrong or not. It adds a slightly darker texture to the vocals than the positive mood that his more advanced Piano playing implies, but the dream-like qualities are never lost by the contrast and that feels like a clever choice. The complete package is housed within that ‘Slacker Psychedelia’ framework that Mac DeMarco or Trunky Juno are well-known for toying with, but it feels more steady and his vocals seem a little more distant. There’s an air of The Flaming Lips to the light musical-type influences too, but the golden hour Brass outroduction and the gentle swell of Strings around Stephens’ Mellotron clicks owes more to impressionism in style. It’s not the clear-cut shape of the scene that makes the track feel realistic, but the details of the production and the easily relatable connection to the lyrical material that colour the scene of this track. Overall, I’d say that it makes me think of Fleet Foxes but, instead of feeling like a comforting folk orchestration fit for the autumn time, it feels more pastoral and spring-time in style and texture. A great track overall that, while unlikely to feel entirely new, is refreshing, and has the strength of some gorgeous arrangements to it.

Pictured: Alex Stephens (Strawberry Guy) with his ‘Taking My Time To Be EP’ on Vinyl (2019) (Photo via Twitter.com)

Thank you for reading my latest post, and please feel free to join me for something different tomorrow as we welcome a new ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ post to the site, where we’ll be remembering a golden Funk, Soul and Jazz band from far before my 23-year-old stint on this planet, although it will tie into a recent release thanks to a ‘Greatest Hits’ compilation release from November. A funk band like no other, their 1973 LP record ‘The World Is A Ghetto’ was Billboard’s best-selling album of that year.

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Countdown To Christmas 2021: Max Headroom – ‘Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You’re A Lovely Guy)’

December 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You’re A Lovely Guy)’ (1986) (via Chrysalis Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to leave a place in your front drive for Santa Claus (I know him!) to park his sleigh in the early hours of tomorrow morning after reading about your daily track on the blog, given that it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! It is pretty tricky for me to describe what Max Headroom truly is, since I was not born at the time and it sounds like an awkward concept to wrap your reindeer’s ears around in the first place, but ‘Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You’re A Lovely Guy)’ is certainly a candidate for being the most bizzare track that has ever been covered on the blog. To the greatest of my understanding, Max is not an artist at all and is, in fact, a character of artificial intelligence portrayed by comedian Matt Frewer in prosthetic make-up and aided by some simplistic editing trickery, that had a cult TV show in the 1980’s. Created by the trio of George Stone, Annabel Jankel and Ricky Morton, Max was known for his wit, harsh lighting and pitch-shifting voice – and he was called “the first computer generated TV personality”. He had his own television series in 1984 that aired on Channel 4 in the UK, but the idea came from a British short sci-fi film – ‘Max Headroom: 20 Minutes In The Future’ – that found popularity after being shown on Channel 4, which is set in a futuristic dystopia that is ruled by a network of television channels. The idea was originally to create a series of five-minute episodes to tell his origin story, but the producers realized that this was impractical from a viewership standpoint, and commissioned an 80-minute TV movie instead. Although a US version of the show was made, it was never repeated and only fourteen episodes of the pretty faithful remake aired on NBC were ever made – and all of this great info comes from clivebanks.co.uk online. There was a little-known Christmas special, however. I have read another story that the special was terrible, however, and even cameos from big then-contemporary stars like Tina Turner or Robin Williams failed to save it’s quality. The finale was a Christmas song that was released as a single, which failed to chart, with a Country-influenced B-side of ‘Gimme Shades’, and a crop of YouTube channels have restored the video from MTV 2 to decent audio/video quality. Let’s boot him up.

Forever Young gives us context with, “1986 was a big year for Max (and Matt Frewer) – they already scored an international hit with “Paranoimia” (with The Art Of Noise), there was a British cult TV show called ‘The Max Headroom Show’ in its third and final season, and they were on the verge of an American drama series, Max Headroom, which started in the spring of 1987 – and Coca-Cola commercials somewhere in-between. Not long after the success of “Paranoimia”, Max Headroom did a holiday special in the UK, ‘Max Headroom’s Giant Christmas Turkey’, and from that special, a limited edition 7″ holiday single was commissioned and then released on Chrysalis Records” on their website. Forever Young states that the producers thought it was a good idea to have Max perform several jolly ballads throughout the episode, and it gradually built into this climactic finale for the special and, safe to say, it unfortunately did not take the world by storm. Lyrically, Headroom jolts through different contexts of Christmas, such as recalling the night that baby Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem, with some passionate Jingle Bells that build momentum as we transition to a snowy winter exterior, where the Southwark Gospel Choir join him for a final sing-along of the chorus. The main bulk of the track revolves around Father Christmas being a selfless and underappreciated soul, and Headroom continues to make light of all the usual holiday TV special tropes with his pitch-shifting voice and the structure of the video performance. While the vocals range from horrible to slightly creepy to wholly deranged, it is a fun four minutes to spend a bit of time from your day with, and I think that I enjoyed it purely because of how niche and obscure it is, as well as how strange and peculiar the music was. A less remembered alternative Christmas anthem that was crafted in the same ilk as Bo Selecta’s ‘Proper Chrimbo’ or South Park’s ‘Mr. Hanky The Christmas Poo’, this fluttering rendition of ‘Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You’re A Lovely Guy)’ takes things to weird proceedings and it makes you feel quite cheerful despite its inherent dreadfulness. So yeah. This exists…

Pictured: Terry Wogan interviews Max Headroom on a television show (August 1985) (Photo via BBC Archive)

That’s all for now and thank you a lot for sparing a moment with me on the blog for Christmas Eve. It’ll probably be a short and sweet one tomorrow as it is Christmas Day, but I must fulfill my mission of writing up about a different piece of music every day! I have crowd-pleasing Desert Rock lined up for you tomorrow as we shift our focus towards a brilliant Alternative Rock anthem from popular Las Vegas natives who headlined Glastonbury, in 2019, on the main stage on Saturday on that weekend.

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Countdown To Christmas 2021: Jamie Cullum – ‘Christmas Never Gets Old’

December 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Pianoman At Christmas: Complete Edition’ (Released on 19th Nov, 2021) (via Island Records)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s almost time for you to pop down the shops to buy some Parsnips, Stuffing or whatever you need for the big day’s dinner, straight after reading the penultimate installment of my ‘Countdown To Christmas’ series on the blog, given that it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! We’re delving fully into the spirit of Christmas today with a track from the Rochford-born Jazz singer Jamie Cullum who utilises a big backing band at his full tilt for ‘Christmas Never Gets Old’, An established artist, Cullum holds the title of having the best selling studio Jazz album with ‘Twentysomething’ in the UK, which he released in 2003. He’s also known for singles like a cover of Radiohead’s ‘High and Dry’, as well as original singles like ‘Everlasting Love’, ‘Get Your Way’ and ‘These Are The Days’ that have reached the Top 75 of the UK Singles Chart. Since 2010, Cullum has also presented a weekly Tuesday evening Jazz programme on BBC Radio 2. Last year, he got into the festive spirit of the Christmas season with his own Christmas-themed Jazz album, ‘The Pianoman At Christmas’, which featured the UK Top 65 single ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’ as well as other covers, alongside a decent array of original Christmas tracks. Recorded in Abbey Road with his producer Greg Wells, the record peaked at #11 in the UK Albums Chart and saw 57 guest appearances from the likes of Sigrid, Dodie and Robbie Williams. A year later, he has just released ‘The Pianoman At Christmas: Complete Edition’ – a deluxe edition of the album with some new tracks and a very limited run of 180G heavyweight coloured vinyl in red and gold. According to Cullum, ‘Christmas Never Gets Old’, who expresses so in one of his original offerings, which you can find below.

Influenced by the likes of Billie Holiday and Chaka Khan, ‘The Pianoman At Christmas: Complete Edition’ features guest appearances from artists like the LA-based multi-instrumentalist Lady Blackbird and the experimental Londoner The Vernon Spring, while the Ivor Novello award-winning talent in the form of Cullum says, “I had a huge amount of fun creating part two of TPAC. Recorded live, all in the room together – it’s the party after the big show, with friends, drinks and some of the finest musicians on planet Earth”, in his promotional email. Starting off in cinematic flair with dramatic Trombone melodies, Cullum captures a Frank Sinatra-esque classical sound as he croons lyrics like “All the presents are wrapped and the stockings are hung/All the children relieved all the waiting is done” over the top of a big backing band sound, which is comprised of dramatic Jazz melodies created by a Saxophone in old-school Swing style, and he definitely captures the finger-clicking essence of artists like Perry Como and Booker T & The M.G.’s with the bright mixture of big Brass backdrops and dramatic percussion that compile a rich composition. Vocally, there’s an air of Joe Williams and Michael Bublé to his crooner voice and his mature delivery, with joyous lyrics like “The houses aglow/Now look up, mistletoe/Let’s get on, with the snow” that sail cheerfully over the top of the upbeat sound of the Brass section, and his voice seems youthful enough to reflect the very gleeful tone of the songwriting while pointing to some noticeably old-fashioned influences of the more classical music variety too. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but they don’t tend to overstay their welcome, as Jamie Cullum does not allow the song to drag on for too long, and they should appeal to mainstream audiences fairly well. Overall, I felt this is a warm-hearted and enjoyable Christmas track that feels a little too basic for me at some points, but it is a nice homage to the full tilt backing band sounds of Nina Simone, Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald in the way that Cullum has co-produced it and given it a rich assortment of instrumentation to play to the strengths of this style, and so he manages to make the track feel modern enough for these times without the sound feeling too outdated at all, and it is great to see him making some original Christmas songs while delivering his great tidings of comfort and joy. While he may be seeking the royalties of the heights of Mariah Carey or Slade with it, it worked for me and I like how he looks to the past in order to fit the musicianship. It may have been as cheesy as a lump of melted Gorgonzola on top of your Jacob’s Cream Cracker this Christmas evening, it was also as warm and comfy as an old cardigan rounded off by a Santa hat.

Pictured: Jamie Cullum in a PR shot for an ‘The Inventory’ feature for Financial Times (2016) (Photo by Hester Lacey)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest post on the blog, and I hope that you have a merry christmas and a happy new year if you’re too busy to spare a moment with me over the next few days. If you can stay, however, you’re in for a treat along the same lines of the Charlie Brown Christmas special or South Park’s Mr. Hanky The Christmas Poo for one of the strangest novelty songs of Christmas past coming from an A.I. character created by Gorge Stone and portrayed by Matt Frewer in the 1980’s who used to be declared “the first computer generated television personality”.

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Santa’s Scuzz Sundays: The Smashing Pumpkins – ‘Christmas Time’

December 19, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Pictured: Billy Corgan (Lead Vocals/Writer/Producer), James Iha (Bass Guitar), Jeff Schroeder (Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar) & Jimmy Chamberlain (Drums/Percussion) in a press shot for ‘Cyr’ (2020) (Photo via PR)

Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays to you from me, Father Christmas, and – for a final time this year – I’ve got a new entry in my ‘Scuzz Sundays’ December takeover to give our regular writer Jacob Braybrooke (Who is almost the busiest man in the world, bar me) a little break, because it is his day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! My takeover has come and gone incredibly quickly, almost as quickly as the time it takes for one of my Elf’s to create a toy for the little children of the world, but it draws to a natural conclusion with a rare track from one of the most established alternative rock bands of the 1990’s, The Smashing Pumpkins. Best known for albums like ‘Melon Collie and The Infinite Sadness’ and ‘Siamese Dream’, the name of the group probably has more to do with Halloween than Christmas. However, their blend of soft metal, dream rock, shoegaze, electronica and gothic rock has persisted throughout the ages, and their ambitious frontman Billy Corgan, who was also once a promoter for Total Nonstop Action wrestling, has ensured the project has sold its way to over 30 million records worldwide. It is also a solid achievement that the band are still going, having released a new album as recently as their eleventh LP outing – ‘Cyr’ – in 2020. Our good friend Jacob tells me that he is quite fond of The Smashing Pumpkins himself and that although their discography can be a little hit-or-miss, particularly in their dwindling late-00’s period and with some of their most recent material garnering mixed-negative receptions from him, they make music that is never inherently uninteresting and he appreciates all of the visual work that Corgan puts into their art, and so he still likes to make it clear that even his least favourite releases of The Pumpkins are not without merit. Believed to have been released in 1997 originally, their creative rendition of ‘Christmas Time’ was an original Christmas song that was a rare recording to come across since it was never formally released on one of Corgan’s albums. Instead, it was found on the compilation ‘A Very Special Christmas 3’ that was produced by the usual trio of Bobby Shriver, Al Cafaro & Linda Feder to benefit the Special Olympics via A&M Records. Let’s check it out below.

‘Christmas Time’ can also be found on The Smashing Pumpkins’ 2005 compilation, ‘Rarities and B-Sides’, that just does what it says on the tin. The original source, as mentioned, was ‘A Very Special Christmas 3’, the third in the titular of Christmas box sets released for charity. This iteration of the series also featured some appearances from Mary J. Blige, Dave Matthews, No Doubt, Natalie Merchant, Sting, Enya, Hootie & The Blowfish and Steve Winwood, and the big release runs for over 66 minutes in its entirety. It reached #2 on the US Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart and it was certified as ‘Gold’ for shifting over 500,000 units by the RIAA. Keeping things short and sweet at a less daunting 3:17 however, was Corgan’s original track ‘Christmas Time’ which was second in the track listing, and it feels like a natural choice to warm you up for the more mellow or hard-hitting cuts later on. Reflecting on the fuzzy and kind-hearted memories of times gone by, Corgan uses nostalgic lyrics like “We watch the children playing, beside the Christmas tree/The presents are wrapped up, it’s beautiful and secretly” and “I remember dreaming, Wishing, hoping and praying for this day/Now I sit and watch them/The little ones I love” introduced a more mature theme of enjoying Christmas time as an adult, which feels like unique and relatively untapped subject matter in other yuletide anthems. There’s a delicate String section that dominates the backbeat, as well as some whimsical Horns that help to set the tone of a simple Christmas done right in the opening. The key hook of “Christmas time has come, toys for everyone” gets the simple message of ‘Christmas is finally here’ across in a sweet and pleasant way. Musically, this probably has the most in common with the band’s ‘infinite sadness’ era as it doesn’t really reflect harder rock archetypes, but it feels almost child-like in the way that it depicts Christmas in such an earnest way that is complemented by Corgan’s vulnerable vocals well. There’s a few Synth textures buried in here, but the track certainly has an eclectic air of rhyme and reason to it. As a complete package, this makes for a really gorgeous and subtle Dream-Pop release that wears its heart on its sleeve and conveys a basic message in a pleasant way. It plays to the softer side of The Smashing Pumpkins that is rarely seen, but is very appreciated when it does pull in an appearance, and it feels somewhat strange that it hasn’t really been given any cover versions or re-workings for John Lewis ads at Christmas in later years. At the time, it was a refreshing change of pace for a band who are known to release intimidating double albums and inter-connected albums to opt for something simpler and indulge in straightforward holiday cheer, and Corgan strikes a good balance between child-like joy and more adult-oriented nostalgia in his lyrics. I’m sure that Jacob would love for me to point out that Corgan could have easily just recorded a simple cover version of an already more established song for the record all of those years ago as it would have cost him nothing. However, he instead decided to write his own lyrics and chord sheets from scratch. This is testament to what makes Corgan’s project so appealing over the decades and why The Smashing Pumpkins have survived throughout the saturation of ‘Indie’ for so long. He never repeats himself and, as an artist, he always gives his all into everything what he does. That’s something that we can all deeply admire about Corgan. To conclude, this is an essential addition to your playlist as it has everything that you could want from a Christmas song since it feels traditionally festive as well as original.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Mellan Collie and The Infinite Sadness’ (LP) (Released in 1985) (via Virgin/EMI Records)

Jacob has also informed me that Corgan and his co-horts have made two previous appearances on the site. You can catch up on their recent material with ‘Wyttch’ from 2020’s ‘Cyr’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/11/27/todays-track-the-smashing-pumpkins-wyttch/. Or, you can relive their ‘Melon Collie and The Infinite Sadness’ days with his take on ‘Tonight, Tonight’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/27/scuzz-sundays-the-smashing-pumpkins-tonight-tonight/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Cyr’ (LP/Album) (Released on November 27th, 2020) (via Sumerian Records)

I’ve got to give Rudolph’s nose a wipe – and so I’ll leave it there for today! Thank you very much for having me throughout December, and I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Jacob Braybrooke again tomorrow, who will be having a brief reset before Christmas to help you catch up on some music that you may have missed in 2021. The next pick comes from a Black Metal-influenced Art Folk and Country singer songwriter who issued her tenth studio LP via Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union in October.

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Today’s Track: Lauren Jauregui – ‘Colors’

November 8, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘PRELUDE’ (EP) (Released on November 5th, 2021) (via Attunement Records)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for me to put a fresh start to the new week for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A Cuban-American woman who was raised in Miami, Florida – the long black hair of Lauren Jauregui may seem familiar to mainstream audiences because she was previously a member of Fifth Harmony, a pop girl group who finished third on a series of the US version of ‘The X Factor’ in 2012, and went on to become something like the American equivalent of Little Mix, having scored global hits like ‘Work From Home’, ‘Boss’, and ‘Worth It’ before they split up to pursue solo projects in 2018. With plenty of attention gained from the US Billboard 200 chart and their accolades including ten Teen Choice Awards and four MTV Music Video Awards, the group of girls which shot bandmates Camila Cabello and Normani to solo success were, quite simply, music for the masses. Although Fifth Harmony’s work was never appealing to me as an individual, to be brutally honest with you, I was very suprised when I read about what Lauren Jauregui was up to. She’s been writing her own solo material since 2018, and, despite releasing a few singles and collaborating with the likes of Halsey and Steve Aoki in the three year gap, she has chosen to go fully independent by parting ways with conglomerate Sony Records and beginning to release music via Attunement Records, her own label, and she says, “My music is about getting to the bottom of how I’m feeling… Now, I have the freedom to explore all of the different ways I can express myself. My art is a witness to my growth”, in her press release. She will also serve as executive producer on her upcoming debut album, but, for now, she has just released her debut introduction EP, ‘PRELUDE’, which was co-produced by Johnny Rain, and it came accompanied by a ticketed virtual performance that took place at Moment House on 14th and 15th October. Lauren is also an advocate for many social causes, like gun violence and human rights, and as an openly bisexual woman, has spoken about LGBTQ+ issues and she has wrote open letters to Donald Trump about these. Let’s see her true ‘Colors’ below.

Lauren says of her unique live set roll out, “I want the story to tell itself through the music. It’s very introspective. I go through a lot of different emotions and revealings throughout it”, as she hints towards mental health issues and anxiety that she has dealt with before as key themes for the project. As for ‘Colors’ (the second single to be taken from ‘PRELUDE’, released over the past Friday in association with the indie supporters AWAL Recordings), Jauregui explains, “The song is a literal conversation. When everyone is gone, it’s just you and I. You can paint on the wall, but you can’t erase them all. I’m letting myself know that no matter what is going on, I need to be okay with myself”, in her own press notes. Beginning with some sparse String arrangements and a floating Piano riff, Jauregui gets in touch with her reflective side by crooning lyrics like “My heart has a way of rejecting what’s good for it” and later argues with her own actions by questioning “Who taught me that, I wasn’t good enough?” and “Why haven’t I caught your bluff” to the tune of a fairly tense Violin melody and some minimalist Drum beats. The second half of the track kicks in next, with a driving Lo-Fi beat that feels punchy, following a spoken word section where Jauregui recites intimate lyrics like “I’m actually not addicted to the drugs/I’m addicted to feeling f***ing numb” and she ends on a note of hope as she inspires herself with “Ignoring spirit really never helped me amount to nothing so, Grow”, in her literal conversation with herself as the instrumental of R&B-tinged backing harmonies and airy Strings, along with the more aggressive Hip-Hop breakbeat dressing, which rolls along. I actually really enjoyed this one, and that came as a little bit of a suprise to me. Seeing a former member of a very mainstream girl group striking out on her own in the Pop world is a tale that feels as old as time, and, for that reason, I have a lot of admiration for Jauregui in doing what feels right for her and simply making the music that she wants. It’s not like this is incredibly alternative and it should be accessible enough to her fans that have stuck around with her since her group went on an indefinite hiatus, but I feel the simple fact that she’s staying true to herself and self-producing, as well as self-releasing, her work from now on, is a very brave move, and I think the creative freedom that it gives Lauren will really do fantastic things for her as an artist. It indicates to me that she wants to re-assure herself as a proper music artist and she isn’t just looking for a quick number one hit in the charts. Her contemporaries, namely the likes of Ariana Grande, often have a very high-pitched voice and that tends to come off as a bit over-powering for me to the point where it feels unnatural when put to some auto-tune effects, but Lauren’s vocals were generally good throughout this one. They were perhaps just a very tad bit shaky at times in the live video, but she paces her voice with the music well. I liked how there was tension in the instrumentation and the lyrics themselves are kept quite to the point, and this got some genuine emotion and a tease of her actual personality across to me as an onlooking listener. It felt contemplative and raw, and I liked how Lauren revealed her own identity check by underscoring her painfully honest delivery with the slightly ethereal backing harmonies and the ascending String melodies. Overall, seeing a headline of a former member of a very popular girl group making solo music is something that I’ve been known to ignore in the past. Therefore, I’m glad that I’ve come across Lauren as this was really a lovely surprise. She seems like an excellent person in general and I love how she has the courage to do things differently instead of conforming to any pre-set notion of what a prior member of a Pop girl band should be doing when the chapter of that book closes. I loved the intimate style of the song, and I also can’t wait to hear how her Cuban background plays into her future recordings, as this ‘PRELUDE’ EP seems more like a mission statement than a full-blown thing. Still, this was better than most of the other female mainstream-known singers that I’ve heard in these times, and I look forward to hearing what comes next from her. I’d say she is the best harmonizer of the bunch.

Pictured: Lauren Jauregui performing at an undisclosed gig (2019) (Photo by Reprodução/Instagram)

That brings us to the end of another musical musing! Thank you for supporting the blog and the independent creators that I like to support, in turn, and I’ll be back tomorrow for something a little more Classical, but still very contemporary. It comes from a Japanese composer who is now based in London and releasing projects like the ‘Uncertainty’ EP following a stint as the drummer of indie Alt-Pop group Teleman.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Moby – “Porcelain”

May 26, 2021 — Leave a comment

I’d be horrified to hear what took place in his 2020 Quaran-Dreams. Let’s go Way Back!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Play” (LP) (Released on May 17, 1999) (via Mute Records/V2 Records/Virgin)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for today’s track on the blog, just like always, because it’s still my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Moby’s ‘Reprise’ comes out on Friday, the 19th studio album release from the 90’s EDM cornerstone Richard Melville Hall, which features new reworkings of orchestral and acoustic variations of some of his favourite tracks with numerous guest artists joining him. The guest list includes Gregory Porter, Kris Kristofferson, Skylar Grey, Jim James and others. So, to coincide with the release of that project later this week, I thought it would be a great time to revisit the original version of Moby’s highest-charting single for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, as it was certainly one of the sounds of the past that influenced the present. ‘Porcelain’ reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart following it’s release as a single in June 2000. One of the few tracks on his 1999 breakthrough ‘Play’ to feature his own vocals, Hall wrote ‘Porcelain’ as a rather melancholic electronic/classical blend of production with lyrics reflecting on the recent break-up of a relationship. The album would have been exposed absolutely everywhere back in the day, and I read an interesting statistic online that each track from the album has been used in a film, TV series or advert of some kind. Check out the Jonas Åkerlund-directed video below.

In addition to his career writing and producing music, Hall is also a notable Vegan who heavily supports humanitarian aid and animal rights programmes. He’s drawn a fair share of criticism over the decades for his political views and thee different stories in the press concerning him, but he was, before July 2020, the owner of Little Pine, a Vegan restaurant in Los Angeles, and the Circle V non-meat food festival. You can read more about his life and career in the two memoir books that he’s authored: 2016’s ‘Porcelain: A Memoir’ and 2019’s ‘Then It Fell Apart’. The title track of his first memoir was a very important release in bringing electronic music to the mainstream eye. From this, you can hear a chilling and emotional atmosphere of experiencing the vigorous emotions of an ideal romantic scenario never quite materializing, as lines like “I never meant to hurt you/I never meant to lie/So, this is goodbye?/This is goodbye” start by questioning the flaws of the situation, before a light call-and-response form of vocal affirms the decision and mutually agrees with it. Dreams is also a common theme of the lyrics, with the two verses starting with lyrics like “In my dreams I’m jealous all the time/When I wake, I’m going out of my mind” and “In my dreams, I’m dying all the time/Then I wake, it’s kaleidoscopic mind” as the fragile mood of the fluttering String sections, evoking a cinematic affair, gradually turn into a more soothing affair, with twinkling Piano melodies that are more melodic. There’s also a Trip-Hop influence that flows very nicely throughout the moods, with the distorted vocals of “To tell the truth, you’ve never wanted me” being dressed up in a very soft Hip-Hop breakbeat production that reminds me of Boards Of Canada or Joey Pecoraro, and a soulful backing vocal created through a sample that I believe goes “Hey, Woman, It’s alright, go on” that gets looped over the top of the techno evolutionary sounds, and this part just emphasizes the themes of the vocals and the simple points of the personal reflection being made. The track may have got a little over-exposed over the day, including it’s notable use in a scene of 2000’s ‘The Beach’, and so I can definitely see why you may have grown tired of it, and some of the more radio-friendly cuts on ‘Play’ may have perhaps been a little too close to comfort to his contemporaries of the time. However, I do certainly think that ‘Porcelain’ is a more interesting track than it possibly appears on the surface. A fragility can be felt in both the shaky vocal delivery and the wavering moods of the instrumentals within the piece, and it’s surprisingly varied in it’s sampling that evokes diverse genres. It’s also important to remind ourselves sometimes, as well, that it was a big hit and that it did cross over to the charts of the mainstream. I’m not particularly a huge fan of Moby emotionally, but I’ve always found him to be an interesting chap who has made some fascinating music, although the consistency of it’s quality hasn’t always landed with me every time. As for ‘Porcelain’, it was definitely an influential example of how to framework some fragility with sympathetic musicality, and it’s partially made by the rather understated, sublime vocal performance from Hall himself. It’s pretty beautiful.

Pictured: Moby (aka Richard Melville Hall) in a promotional shoot (2019) (Photo Credit: Mo Kaufer)

Eons ago on the blog, we also looked at ‘Power Is Taken’ from Moby, a much more rave-oriented single that would eventually appear on last year’s album, ‘All Visible Objects’. If that sounds cool to you, why not give me a few views here?: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/07/todays-track-moby-power-is-taken/

Pictured: Cover Art for “Power Is Taken” (Single) (Released on January 14, 2020) (via Mute Records)

That’s it for another throwback! As always, on Friday, we’re going to be sampling one of the weekend’s notable album releases. As for tomorrow, I’ve got some brand new music to share with you. It comes from an emerging Manchester-based indie rock singer-songwriter signed to Memphis Industries, where he will be releasing his forthcoming second LP, ‘Mircale’, next month. His 2019 debut album, ‘A Dream Is U’, garnered critical acclaim from global publications such as Uncut, Paste Magazine and The Line Of Best Fit. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: Joey Pecoraro – “You Never Told Me That”

May 18, 2021 — Leave a comment

A humble fella making Music For Happiness and your Imagination. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Old Time Radio” (LP) (Available from May 21, 2021) (via Alpha Pup)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, as you may have probably imagined by now, it’s time for me to get typing up for your track of the day on the blog, as per usual, since it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Aged 26, the Detroit-based independent electronica producer Joey Pecoraro studied Film at The University Of Michigan. That’s where he fell in love with the films and, evidently, the Radio plays of the 1930’s and the 1940’s, and he began to make his own music in his bedroom ever since 2014. His music takes on a Chillwave sound that also incorporates elements of Lo-Fi and Instrumental Hip-Hop music. He also loves to keep his own details very brief, simply describing himself as “Joey is a guy from Michigan who makes music for your emotions” for his biography on Spotify. His new album, ‘Old Time Radio’, follows up 2019’s ‘Deep In A Dream Of You’ EP and 2020’s ‘Sea Monster’ LP, and it releases this Friday via the Los Angeles-based indie label Alpha Pup Records. Check out his new single – ‘You Never Told Me That’ – below.

I first caught wind of Joey Pecoraro’s bedroom productions by hearing ‘Train, Cold, Snow’ on KCRW’s Today’s Top Tune podcast filled of daily samplers that you can download for free, and I’ve been keeping up with the new singles from his new album with keen ears since then. An interview from last year that I found suggests that he’s been listening to a lot of Buerno Pernadas and Westerman since the Lockdown era began last Spring, which have no doubt inspired the sonic direction for his latest body of work, which seemingly sees Pecoraro experimenting with samples from radio dramas he has either filtered or looped to make them sound vintage, or has used clips from authentic radio plays of a bygone era. Either way, it feels unusual and creative, and he certainly seems to be very unique for his age, especially. For ‘You Never Told Me That’, we freefall easily into what sounds like dialogue from a dated radio play scene of the 50’s or a deleted out-take from an old-time Christmas film like ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’. It’s not exactly clear what is being said, but it just establishes the tone softly and sweetly. From there, the creative direction goes into a more Instrumental style because the intellectual delivery of the script gets swiftly replaced by the sounds of insects chirping happily, twinkling Keyboard melodies and Classical String sections that seem happy to lurk out of the centre. Wordless vocals are layered above the top with a harmonic progression, as the Synths of the track continue to pave their own way for an arrangement that feels lush, relaxed and soothing. It all feels virtuosic, with seemingly obscure samples that have been tinkered away at and merticulously layered to create an absorbing atmosphere that induces calm and invites for you to have a moment to think as it’s listener. Sure, it never really goes anywhere. However, it doesn’t need to. This one disregards typical traits of Pop and Rock music like catchy hooks or poly-rhythms for the most part, and instead, it dedicates a space to convey a mood and a feeling. It also reminds me of The Avalanches, and he said that he loves them while responding to a YouTube comment from a fan asking him about them in one of his recent single uploads. This music is totally right up my street. Love this one.

Pictured: Joey Pecoraro in a Magnetic Magazine press shoot (2020) (Photography by Diana Georgie)

That’s all, folks! Join me again for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ tomorrow, where we will be revisiting an unlikely UK Top 20 chart success upon it’s re-release in 1984 produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley who have produced records for Madness and Elvis Costello back in the day. The artist was an English stand-up comedian, whose surrealist humor is in the vein of Monty Python or Billy Connolly, who was voted the 18th ‘Greatest Stand-Up Comic Of All-Time’ by the viewers of Channel 4’s ‘100 Greatest Stand Ups’ television one-off programme in 2007. 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/

International Women’s Day 2021 Special: St. Vincent – “Digital Witness” (2014)

March 8, 2021 — 1 Comment

An alternative ode to just sitting in front of the TV! Happy International Women’s Day!

Pictured: St. Vincent performing “Digital Witness” on Later… With Jools Holland (2014) (via BBC.com)

Good Afternoon to you – and wishing very a happy International Women’s Day to all readers on the blog, thanks for continuing to stick with me in these harsh times! Or, if you’ve never been here before, Welcome – I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and this is the place where I get writing up about a different piece of music every single day! As noted, it has been declared as the annual International Women’s Day today, and so I thought it would be nice to feature a female artist who inspires me today. I would usually always pivot towards Bjork and I think she’s my favourite female music artist of all time for her socio-economic currency, but I know I’ve talked to death about her on the blog and on the radio, so let’s give someone else a well-deserved celebration instead. St. Vincent is the alias that Oklahoma-born Art-Pop singer songwriter Annie Clark uses to release music under, and she’s become an icon of the Alternative music genre ever since she began her career as a member of The Polyphonic Spree. She is of a similar ilk to Prince or Bowie in the ways that she’s going to release her raw, unedited material whether the industry cares or not, and she always pushes the boundaries and reinvents herself successfully between her releases. She’s currently gearing up to release her next album, “Daddy’s Home” on May 14th, and the internet music community seems to be super excited for that one. However, when I look to the archives, arguably none of her tracks stick out at me quite like “Digital Witness” does, which was released as a single in 2014 from her self-titled fourth album. The album received unanimously strong praise from critics, with publications like The Guardian, Slant and NME naming it their Album Of The Year at the time, along with winning the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album in 2015 – also making Clark the first female artist to win the nod twice. One fun bit of pop culture trivia for you is that she dated supermodel and actress Cara Delevingne between 2014 and 2016. I think Clark was actually quite a bit older than Cara, not that it’s all that relevant, but it’s a solid Showbiz fact still. Nevertheless, St. Vincent is a much beloved female artist who is definitely paving the way for the industry and the ways in which high-caliber female creatives perform on the stage and on screen. Let’s delve into “Digital Witness” below.

St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) has also been very significant for the representation of gender politics in her work, with St. Vincent telling Rolling Stone in a 2014 interview that “I don’t have anything to hide, but I’d rather the emphasis be on the music” when she was asked whether she identified as straight or homosexual, and she’s also worked with high-profile names like David Byrne and Swans, a collaboration of which Byrne commented: “Despite having toured with her for almost a year, I don’t think I know her much better, at least not on a personal level… mystery is not a bad thing for a beautiful, talented young woman (or man) to embrace. And she does it without seeming to be standoffish or distant.” in a profile for Village Voice. Clark just carries an aura of bold, vibrant focus on just her creativity itself, a natural sense of passion and determination that I hold dearest in “Digital Witness”. She immediately instructs us to “Get back to your seats” in the opening line of the track, before she builds her commentary on the social media addiction themes with a funky, squelching trumpet beat. It feels tense and sophisticated, while having a defiantly odd and lovingly strange sound. The Jazz elements feel idiosyncratic, with light Pop hooks like “People turn the TV on, it looks just like a window” and “Digital witnesses, what’s the point of even sleeping?” permeating through the angular grooves. Her vocals are balancing a slightly bitter tone with a more celebratory one, with the chorus lyrics of “If I can’t show it, If you can’t see me/What’s the point of even sleeping?” permeating over the top of a delayed pedal effect where the Synth-adjusted Brass instrumental feels a bit more raw and painful. There’s a sense of flirtation with the dissonance of the guitar work that characterizes the overall sound, as bright and pastoral textures are added to juxtapose the more angry, unsettling sections. The instrumental feels busy, but each of the different elements plays a detailed part, where the themes of viral media consumption and the wider implications of this – a wonky perception of personal image and the risks we pay to attain surveillance, are all hidden between the chords too. It’s really a brilliant tune – with smart wordplay and a layer of surrealist themes that feels as relentlessly likeable as it also feels cautionary. I also love the moments where she adds a “YAH” to the end of the chorus – as well as being purely adorable, it feels cryptic and manages to put you in a train of thought, almost hypnotically as the off-kilter Trumpet section continues raging on. It all feels a bit Prince, but it also feels culturally relevant and distinctively original. A very accomplished piece of truly great music that can never age and may yet evolve with the times. *Readjusts Neck* YAAAH!

Pictured: Cover Art for “St. Vincent” (LP) (Released on Feb 24th, 2014) (via Loma Vista Recordings)

Time to catch my breath – After I remind you that I’ll be back tomorrow, like always, with an in-depth look at some more music. It’s a brand new tune that I’ve been loving on my radio show tomorrow, as we keep up the positive energy. Indeed, tomorrow’s new track is a great find that comes from the solo project of one half of the sibling Chicago Psych-Rock duo Wild Belle, and the track was also featured on a recent episode of BBC Radio 6Music Recommends with Tom Ravenscroft. 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/