Synth-Punk

Today’s Track: Automatic – ‘New Beginning’

April 28, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Izzy Glaudini (Vocals/Synths), Lola Dompé (Drums) and Halle Saxon (Bass Guitar) (2019) (Photo via PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time is now to fill up your electric car as we take a trip of futuristic Motorik proportions to outer space as we get invested in yet another daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! I don’t think that a fortnight ever goes by where we don’t cover an artist signed by Stones Throw Records – known for artists like MNDSGN, Maylee Todd, Kiefer, Sudan Archives and John Carroll Kirby – but the truth is that the California-based soul specialist label has been churning out loads of great material lately, and I am about to add Automatic to the aforementioned list of their all-star acts. A Synth-Punk trio comprised of Izzy Glaudini (Vocals/Synths), Halle Saxon (Bass/Vocals) & Lola Dompe (Drums/Vocals), Automatic became a mainstay on the L.A. dance club circuit after forming in 2017. Their biggest influence is The Go-Go’s – an 80’s New Wave band who are the only all-female band to have written and played every instrument on a #1 album in the US as of 2017 – who have also provided the three-piece’s namesake. Glaudini and Saxon have played in other Los Angeles-based bands like Mega Bog and The Black Windmill, while Dompe is the daughter of Bauhaus’ Kevin Haskins who – as a teenager – played in Blackblack alongside her sister, Diva Dompe. Automatic will be releasing their second studio album ‘Excess’ on June 24th and they will be touring alongside Tame Impala, Parquet Courts and Osees throughout 2022. Check out the lead single ‘New Beginning’ below.

The music video for ‘New Beginning’ was pitched by director Ambar Navarro as an homage to the Swedish sci-f film ‘Aniara’ – and the band have continued to tease the album’s explorations of the edge of the 70’s club underground and the industrial side of the 80’s by writing that it aims to capture “That fleeting moment when what was once cool quickly turned and became mainstream, all for the sake of consumerism“, adding, “The record is about what happens to our psyches when we’re conditioned to certain values, the consequences of those values and a desire to resist them“, in a press statement. Starting off with more of a Dream Pop-like sound set to the tune of fairly deadpan vocals that recalls many retro female vocal groups like The Ronettes, as Glaudini contemplates the idea of leaving behind a dilapidated Earth in solace of false hope created by the ultra-wealthy who are eyeing manned space travel with piercing lyrics like “In the service of desire/We will travel far away” and “Heard the final echo/It’s almost time to go” as the beats behind her gain traction with a stomping bassline and thudding drums. Once these melodies up the ante a little bit, later lyrics like “Falling through the distance/The stars will light the way” and “Endless service of desire/Every night and every day” are recited more energetically, as Glaudini weighs up some pro’s and con’s of attempting to escape the planet when it gets scorched – with a fair quality of inevitability in her rather unphased voice – as unchecked consumerism continues to reach its logical outcome. While a bit bleak, the lyrics are given more flair by the instrumentation which is undoubtedly more optimistic and colourful. The early insistent Bass groove and her intentionally ‘flat’ vocals slowly morph into heavy Synth stabs and lockstep Motorik drums that give ‘New Beginning’ its distinctly Industrial character, topped off by handclaps in tandem with the percussive combo of an atmospheric Keyboard section and fuzzed-out Snare effects. ‘New Beginning’ ultimately adds a splash of colour and imagination to an otherwise bleak topic, plus it replicates the Disco vibe and the 80’s influences with a modern twist due to the more current social commentary of their lyricism. Overall, this is another eclectic, exciting song being supported by a label who are killing it right now.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Excess’ (LP/Album) (Available from June 24th, 2022) (via Stones Throw Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest post on the blog, and I will be back tomorrow for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ as we preview the new album by an established urban Indie Rock band from London who were formed through an NME advert in the early 00’s. They won NME’s Album Of The Year award in 2007 for ‘Silent Alarm’ and, in addition, they have roughly sold over three million records worldwide.

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New Album Release Fridays: Warmduscher – ‘Twitchin’ In The Kitchen’

April 1, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘At The Hotspot’ (Digital LP) (Released on April 1st, 2022) (via Bella Union Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and you are tuned into a fairly off-kilter edition of ‘New Album Release Fridays’ as we prepare for yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! Although you may mistake them for a quirky German pop band at first glance, Warmduscher are actually a London-based Post-Punk band currently signed to Bella Union who are famed for their inside jokes and eccentric live performances, and they have been supported by BBC Radio 6 Music very regularly over the years since their formation in 2014. Warmduscher have collaborated with the likes of Iggy Pop and Kool Keith, and their previous studio album – 2019’s ‘Tainted Lunch’ – received a stunning 9/10 score from The Line Of Best Fit’s review as well as a place on BBC Radio 6 Music’s Albums Of The Year list at #6 in 2019. They have also released a remix EP – 2020’s ‘European Cowboy’ – to coincide with Record Store Day in 2020 featuring contributions from Soulwax, Savage Gary and Decius, and it was strictly limited to just 1000 vinyl copies. Thankfully, their new album is more widely available and it takes the form of their fourth full-length LP, ‘At The Hotspot’, which arrives digitally today before being released on Vinyl on July 1st. Warmduscher have gained so much praise for their originality and humor that they were previously given a shout-out on the blog when I wrote about ‘Disco Peanuts’ in late 2019. The new LP incorporates more influences of Funk and Disco than before, and it was originally going to be produced by Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey, who has also produced countless records for artists like La Roux, Sinead O’Brien, Squid and Black Country, New Road in recent years. However, he fell ill with Covid-19 and the Clash-praised group turned to Hot Chip’s Alex Doyle and Joe Goddard instead. It includes the new single ‘Twitchin’ In The Kitchen’ that comes accompanied by a Brixton-shot and Niall Trask-directed music video, whose previous credits include well-received videos for Fat White Family and Working Men’s Club. Let’s give this pre-release cut a spin below.

Warmduscher played a gig at Cambridge’s The Junction venue on March 26th, which was moved to a larger room due to high demand. They will also be hitting the road for dates in Brighton, Bristol, London, Manchester and Sheffield later in the year, some of which have been sold out already, and a few later dates in European locations like Amsterdam are coming up shortly too. Their frontman, known as Clams Jr, notes, “We’re just really psyched to play this whole thing live now, and it’s a whole revamp – new label, new producers, new logo – new everything”, rather matter-of-factly, in Bella Union’s press release about their new record. ‘Twitchin In The Kitchen’ gives you a good idea of what to expect, establishing a raucous mixture of aggressive Funk and harsh, dissonant Synth melodies that builds up to a screamer of a chorus. The instrumentation sounds unapologetically Post-Punk, while the lyrics complement the spacey, disco vibe of the verses because they sound pretty daft and they find the band putting on a show with their wit and sense of distinctively quirky character, as Clams recites lines like “I can’t take it, here I’m sweating/I’m clucking like a chicken” and “Grab a bowl, scrape it clean/Two-four out the door, sniff it off the kitchen floor” that are pretty silly, but they are sung with a low-pitched croon typical of Clams’ cowboy character. The vocals feel energized and heightened for certain, while the looping arrangement feels industrial and psychedelic through it’s combination of Post-Punk and Progressive Funk beats, before building to a child-like sing-along that makes the final refrains sound like a schoolyard chant-a-long of the chorus. A perfect pick-me-up for kitchen disco lovers all around the UK, Warmduscher have created an infectious Alternative Funk anthem for those who love to do a bit of ‘Twitching In The Kitchen’ with no apologies given in their typical quirky fashion. It may drive you Disco Peanuts.

Pictured: Clams Baker Jr, Jack Everett, Quicksand, Mr. Salt Fingers Lovecraft and Little Whiskers (2019) (via PR)

If you’d like to hear more of what’s in store, you can also check out my previous Warmduscher post that was published in the build-up to ‘Tainted Lunch’ back in 2019.

‘Disco Peanuts’ (2019) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/11/30/todays-track-warmduscher-disco-peanuts/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Tainted Lunch’ (LP) (Released on November 1st, 2019) (via The Leaf Label)

That’s all for now! Thank you for ‘Twitching In The Kitchen’ to this tune with me today, and I’ll be back to guide you through another track on the blog tomorrow, where we’ve got new music coming from an Irish Post-Punk band who, although being mentioned a few times due to their frequent collaborations with Dan Carey as their producer, haven’t been covered for a fully-fledged article on the blog until now. Their second album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, and their debut LP, ‘Dogrel’, was named the ‘Album Of The Year’ by BBC Radio 6 Music.

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Today’s Track: Warpaint – ‘Champion’

March 5, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Emily Kokal (Co-Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals/Guitar/Keyboard/Synths), Jenny Lee Lindberg (Bass Guitar/Co-Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals), Theresa Wayman (Co-Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals/Guitar/Electronics) & Stella Mozgawa (Drums) (2022) (Photo via MuzPlay.net)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for me to get typing up for yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Warpaint – the Los Angeles, California native indie rock band comprised of Emily Kokal, Stella Mozgawa, Theresa Wayman and Jenny Lee Lindberg – have just announced their first new full-length album in six years, finally confirming ‘Radiate Like This’ as the long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s ‘Heads Up’, which they will be releasing through Heirlooms and Virgin Records on May 6th. It has been a long time, but in their original run, they released three critically acclaimed studio albums including 2010’s ‘The Fool’, which included their essential track ‘Undertow’, as well as their 2014 self-titled LP outing. Warpaint supported Harry Styles for some live tour dates in Asia during 2018, and they also supported Foals on tour in Australia during 2019. They have performed at a wide variety of festivals including Glastonbury Festival, Coachella and Reading & Leeds Festival, and the beloved band have also performed at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl amphitheater. You will have also heard their track ‘Lilys’ if you’ve seen the HBO-produced TV series ‘Made For Love’ too. Details for ‘Radiate Like This’ are a little scarce, but given how we are picking up where we left off with ‘Heads Up’ from over a half-decade ago, the results are exciting. Check out the lead single ‘Champion’ below.

‘Champion’ promises that Warpaint will explore the concept of intimacy and energy more passionately than ever before. The new single is about “being a champion to one-self and for others”, according to the 4-piece in a new press release, who explain, “We are all in this together, life is too short not to strive for excellence in all that we do”, together, in their collective statement. A little more Dream Rock-influenced than some of the other material from Warpaint that I’ve heard, ‘Champion’ finds Theresa crooning some poetic lyrics like “I’m a million years old/I’m a champion” and “I’m an ocean/breathing in and out” to the soulful tune of their typically harmony-driven vocal style, which they perfected on rough-edged singles like 2010’s ‘Undertow’, but they are met with a more hypnotic and gloomy style than before, while they also deliver stern lyrics like “I hope you figure out/Everything you’re on about” that feel smooth and quite intuitive. There’s less of an emphasis on a ‘live feel’ and it is more driven towards putting their in-studio techniques to use, as the band retain their moody undercurrents that characterize some of their prior work while drifting towards some richer and more detailed dream-pop production, where the synths are calling across the horizon and the guitars keep stretching beyond the tropes of guitar rock. This reminds me of The XX, but there was a hint of Post-Punk towards the home stretch where the guitar briefly revved up before we abruptly went back to the modulated vocals and the reverb-assisted percussion that had a strange affinity for grooves during the verse. The track sounds well-produced, without feeling like it was over-produced at any point to me. The lyrics tap into inner strength and the faults of high levity, while the electronic enhancements make the instrumentation feel rich and atmospheric. Overall, ‘Champion’ is a well put together and cohesive comeback single that shows some progression and evolution for Warpaint as we move forwards.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Radiate Like This’ (LP) (Available from May 6th, 2022) (via Heirlooms/Virgin Records)

That brings us to the end of the page for today! Thank you lots for your continued support, but I’ve got to be off now because I’m hopefully visiting my sister (and leaving the village in the process, which is a fairly rare occasion for me), and so I’ll be catching up with you tomorrow. Join me then for a new entry of the ‘Scuzz Sundays’ feature, where we’ll be remembering a Karaoke favourite from a Canadian rock band led by vocalist Chad Kroeger who, despite becoming something of a punching bag for the snobbish ones in the 00’s, have recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of their third full-length LP record ‘Silver Side Up’ that was certified as 8x-Platinum in Canada.

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Today’s Track: The Spirit Of The Beehive – ‘I Suck The Devil’s C***k’

December 30, 2021 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH’ (LP) (Released on April 9th, 2021) (via Saddle Creek Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and you’re tuned into the final part of my underrated underground series leading up to New Year’s Day as I deliver yet another daily track on the blog, because it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘I Suck The Devil’s ****’ is a title as irreverent as they come, and one that I write about hesitantly due to the demonic implications of the name, however, this is the most suitable representation of ‘ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH’ – the latest album from the Pensylvania-based Prog Rock band The Spirit Of The Beehive – that we’re going to get. An insanely beautiful yet intensely difficult project to wrap your head around, the record reflects late-night paranoia music that is enigmatic and cryptic. It is also intimate without giving any significant details away, and that’s made it a favourite among the year-end lists of high-brow critics this year. Taking their name from a Spanish cinematic masterpiece released in 1973 with the same title, the band are signed up to Saddle Creek Records and boast Zack Schwartz among their lineup who honed his Vaporwave craft as a former member of Glocca Morra. A reclusive release that has gained universal acclaim this year – and one of my back-and-forth favourite listens of 2021 – ‘ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH’ is the band’s first album without the former drummer Pat Conaboy and rhythm guitarist Kyle Laganella who left the band in 2020. The second single – ‘I Suck The Devil’s ****’ – is a four-part song that essentially feels like four different singles sewn together through post-production trickery. The workout-in-hell themed music video was also helmed by a trio of different directors (Part 1 is by Ada Babar, Part 3 is by Documavision and Parts 2 and 4 by Noah Burke) that each unfold in four chapters along with the music recording. You will just have to see how it all fits together below.

In what initially feels like a labyrinth of a near 7-minute recording, the band notes, “It’s our take on ‘A day in the life’. A man, overworked and undervalued discovers a portal to another time and a place where he hears a familiar song on the radio. In the context of the record, this track specifically encapsulates the dread of required performance, ultimately leading to a freeing death”, in a joint press statement. As the band channel a multitude of influences including Post-Hardcore and Vaporwave among many others, the band deliver a lengthy ego death sentence that blurs the lines between homespun Lo-Fi Rock to mangled Dream-Pop to aggressive Post-Rock to dis-associative Ambient Pop – all while wrapped in a noise collage Shoegaze thread – to create a very psychedelic journey that takes listeners from upside-down textures to inside-out downbeat sounds. Through these ever-winding spirals of self-reflection, the group pull us from one realm of bizzare fantasy to another, while creating enough compelling rhythms and bold, if fairly obscured, textures that make up the highly experimental piece of twisted Psych-Rock and melodic bursts of Post-Rock that echo glimmering fragments of Tame Impala and Black Country, New Road among other diverse comparison points. There aren’t any particularly memorable lyrics, but there are multiple planes of eclectic instrumentation that underscore the more emotive qualities of lyrics like “Scared of needles, but not of everything” and “Another middle class dumb American, falling asleep” to a notably playful effect, and so the complete package is more enticing, lyrically, than the wonky title of the track may lead you to believe. The music, however, sounds just as mischievous – mixing up some ethereal guitar rock with peculiar tangents that keep you guessing what may come next as the trio continue to create unpredictable shifts in tone. At each point in this release, I would forgive you for thinking you were listening to a different track with each few beats skipped, but it is a testament to the band’s abilities to create something so captivating through playing with cohesion, as the track cycles through its chaotic vignettes to build to an acknowledgment of an insignificant fate of the lead character, if you will. If you have been on the fence about Spirit Of The Beehive at any point, this kind of rare recording will certainly help any listeners to decide to be on the right one.

Pictured: Zack Schwartz (Co-Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar/Samples), Rivka Ravede (Co-Lead Vocals/Bass Guitar/Percussion), Corey Wichlin (Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals), Kyle Laganella (Bass Guitar) and Pat Conaboy (Drums/Electronic Drum Kit/Backing Vocals) (in 2018) (Photo Credit: Natalie Piserchi and Isabel Liang)

That brings us to the end of a very interesting post. It was nice to deviate from my typical formula a little with this segmented single, and I thank you for joining me by reading the results. Tomorrow, we’ll be looking back at a mid-00’s winter Folk classic in the spirit of the New Year’s Eve and Christmas season. The single comes from a well-known and critically acclaimed Seattle-formed Alternative Folk band who took a hiatus between 2013 and 2016 when the frontman pursued an undergraduate degree.

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Today’s Track: Calva Louise – ‘Euphoric’

December 28, 2021 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Art for ‘EUPHORIC’ (LP) (Released on August 20, 2021) (via FRKST Records/300 Entertainment)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, of course, and thanks for joining me today as we fill up the awkward post-Christmas and pre New Year’s slot with some music that got a little underrated during 2021 with yet another daily track on the blog, since it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Formed in 2016, Calva Louise are a Manchester-based indie punk and post-grunge band who take their influence from many variations of Noise-Rock and Synth-Punk between both UK and US outfits, while also getting in touch with their Latin Rock heritage throughout the two albums to their name so far. Fronted by the bold creative vision of vocalist/guitarist Jess Allanic – the trio have supported the likes of Razorlight, Highly Suspect and Albert Hammond Jr in their time together. Earlier in the year, they released the ambitious multi-media project of ‘EUPHORIC’, which was fronted by a concept album about the duality of being human and the different perceptions of reality. The band have stated that the lyrics detail episodes of the dreamer’s experiences in the form of an inner conversation with his other self – the counterpart of the human being – that seeks to experience freedom and have an encounter with the unknown. The sophomore album was produced and mixed by Bobby Bentham of Strange Bones fame. Moreover, the album was accompanied by a 45-minute Animation short film that was entirely created by Jess Allanic, who used software like After Effects and Blender to bring the Graphic Novel-inspired visuals of her band’s creative record to life. For now, let’s have a sample of the title track below.

Released digitally in late August and finally manufactured on physical vinyl copies in December by Blood Records, Calva Louise collectively say, “Our passion for audiovisual production is constantly intertwined with the concept of the album and that is why each new step to take becomes a new challenge, it is as if each completed experience gradually reveals the signs that guide us on our way”, noting, “The perception we have of this adventure shows us horizons that seem to be beyond our rational understanding as artists, and in order to see clearly we try to express these experiences through visual effects, as a complement to the music and the lyrics of the songs”, to their LP’s product description. ‘EUPHORIC’ feels like an expository title for the project, bolstered by a title track that is filled with meaty hooks and soaring melodies that hints about how you may feel after completely listening to the album in a single bingeable session. With eruptive drumming and partially processed vocal peaks, lyrics like “I wait in line, Your head is on fire, Ahead we cry in a simple way” and “When you and me are nothing, Only one of us will be euphoric” that set a fiery temper for the underground feel of the track, Allanic powerfully backs her vocals to some thrashing electronic melodies – including some gradually bubbling Synth riffs in the opening that become more acidic throughout the first verse – and some old-school Punk personality that complements the moody tone of the lyrics. The vocals are partially screamed at different intersections, but the pacing is fairly even, as Allanic uses some slower guitar notes towards the end to give the vocals just a little space to breathe. Meanwhile, the electronic production of the single goes heavy and hard by trading some twinkling keyboard riffs for a hefty amount of grit instead, with plenty of glitchy bass riffs that sweep in for a futuristic tone and Allanic concentrates hard on making her ferocious vocals feel as knife-edge as she can, and she even recites some non-English language lyrics towards the latter half to remind us of her Venezuelan upbringing, and the heavy dancehall influence of this particular touch reminds me of Arca in a few ways, especially with the audio-visual medium of the project hanging in the balance. Overall, while the more Noise-Rock based riffs get a little repetitive at times there is no doubt that Calva Louise explore decent ideas on this project altogether. It is very interesting to see the band expressing their ideas with intriguing ways by leaning into the sci-fi themes that audio-visual side projects can enhance for them. As well as giving them a unique selling point, it gives them more space to create their art, and I certainly like how there is more than just music to this. The sound, meanwhile, is an energetic one that becomes very unrelenting and combines qualities from Nu Metal and Prog Rock with dramatic results. Overall, this is an exciting band and a fresh project that, while not perfect, are certainly worth a look.

Pictured: Jess Eastwood (Vocals/Guitar), Alizon Taho (Bass Guitar) and Ben Parker (Drums) (2021) (Photo via PR)

That’s all for now – and thank you for reading about the euphoric melodies highlighted in today’s post. I’ll be back tomorrow with more content that concerns an operatic Conneticut-based indie rock band with one of the longest names in the business. Their discography includes a key collaboration with the Spoken Word artist Christopher Zizzamia – and their influences include Battles and Explosions In The Sky.

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Santa’s Scuzz Sundays: LCD Soundsystem – ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’

December 12, 2021 — Leave a comment
Pictured: James Murphy (Vocals/Synths), Nancy Whang (Keyboard/Synths) & Pat Mahoney (Drums) (2017) (via PR)

A Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays to you! This is Father Christmas himself, and it’s time for you to peel and chop down some carrot sticks to leave out for my brilliant Blitzen on Christmas Eve night, when you’ve finished reading my latest ‘Scuzz Sundays’ takeover from Jacob, whose day-to-day pleasure is to write up about a different piece of music every day! Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas and IT IS my job. However, we all go through that patch like ‘Christmas With The Kranks’ where we all feel like simply not doing Christmas for one year because it is the busiest and most expensive time of the year and not just the most wonderful. One of my favourite Christmas songs to ever encapsulate that feeling of seeming down around the holiday season is ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’ by the well-established Brooklyn-based Synth Rock icons LCD Soundsystem. This was a standalone digital single that was released by the multi-time Grammy nominated group in 2015 when the rumor mill was circulating around the band’s core line-up reunion before they recorded their critically acclaimed comeback album, ‘American Dream’, for release in 2017. At the time, it marked their first new material in five years. Self-described by frontman and DFA Records co-founder James Murphy as a “depressing Christmas song” at the time of 2015, it was recorded when he found a window of opportunity to reunite with Nancy Whang, Pat Mahoney and Tyler Pope (who agreed to fly in from Berlin (with the determination of my sled and my red-nosed Rudolph) for a few days in New York together during a break between guitarist Al Doyle’s tour dates with Hot Chip. Let’s give it a spin below.

Jacob tells me that ‘Sound Of Silver’ is his favourite LCD Soundsystem album to date. He’s also a huge fan of KEXP, and the listeners of that Washington-based public radio station voted for ‘Sound Of Silver’ to be #23 in their 666 Best Albums Of All Time poll taken in 2019. Murphy had been singing the tune to himself for the past eight years, and the band says that after coming together they “reserved a pressing plant, and our friend Bob Weston was available to master it quickly – so that means, less than 2 weeks after recording it, there is actually a Christmas 7″, which feels like something that could only have happened a very, very long time ago” as December itself is far too late to record a Christmas song in most cases, but I know the feeling as my Little Helper’s head honcho has to rush around at the last minute like a headless turkey every year. A slow ballad along the same lines of 2007’s ‘New York, I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down’ from ‘Sound Of Silver’, meaning that Jacob would probably like this track as well, ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’ is a reminder of the rarely heard vocal range of the Alternative Rock pioneers, in terms of their songwriting abilities and stylistic versatility in being able to record festive music, dance tunes, rock ballads, pop crooners and most things in-between. Lyrically, the song is an acceptance that the miracles of Christmas often touted in festive movies and TV perfume advertisements aren’t really things that truly exists. Instead, for Murphy and his co-horts, Christmas is a time more akin for loneliness, isolation, unrealistic expectation and expenses that are devoid of joy. Refrains like “Like that laid back rock ‘n’ roll, Your body’s getting old/It’s much too tired to be bold” talk about how Christmas feels less magical as you get older, while later lyrics like “Like the armies of the unrelenting dark/Once the peace falls apart” talk about the cycle of conflict that humans return to when the time has long gone. There’s enough variety in the lyrics to encompass a broad range of topics under the umbrella of Christmas time, and the gloomy gift of 2015 is a reminder that once you’re the parent paying for the meal and the presents that we share at Christmas and once you fail to believe in Santa Claus (Which, for me, frankly, is an absolutely preposterous idea), the tingling secrets of Christmas fade with diminishing returns across time. It is a bold and pessimistic song, but it is honest. There’s nothing quite like hearing Murphy’s lovesick croon in here, which feels like a bitter cross between David Bowie and Biffy Clyro’s vocalist Simon Neil. It is also a song that we can all relate to, and a subversive twist on the happy-go-lucky and “everything’s just the most amazing thing ever” tone of your typical Christmas single. Overall, while this probably isn’t for everyone due to it’s bleak nature, it is different and it wears its heart on its sleeve. The muted Piano is heartfelt and it meshes nicely with the resonant and steady drums that any self-respecting Christmas song has, and this structuring leads to a wonderful sequence of bass lines towards the final stretch. While it’s unlikely that it will ever be considered a staple at primary school choir recitals or on BBC Radio 2’s daytime programming, it is highly relatable, and it goes for a clear tone that succeeds well. A bittersweet bow of beauty.

Pictured: LCD Soundsystem performing two singles on ‘Saturday Night Live’ (2017) (Photo via Will Heath/NBC)

Jacob has posted about LCD Soundsystem in his early days, including ‘Get Innocuos!’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/23/todays-track-lcd-soundsystem-get-innocuous/

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Sound Of Silver’ (LP) (Released on March 12th, 2007) (via DFA/EMI/Capitol Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out One Track At A Time today, and Jacob Braybrooke will be in the co-seat again tomorrow to start off another week’s round of daily music posts. I’ve got business to attend to, but he’s told me to tell you that we’ll be catching up on some music that you may have missed earlier in 2021. It comes from an indie folk duo from Bergen, Norway who were the inspiration for Indian duo Parekh & Singh and they topped MTV’s European list of the best music videos of 2004 with ‘I’d Rather Dance With You’. In June, they released their first LP record since 2009.

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Today’s Track: White Lies – ‘As I Try Not To Fall Apart’

November 16, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘As I Try Not To Fall Apart’ (LP) (Available from Feb 18, 2022) (via PIAS Recordings)

Good Morning to you! You’re tuned into the words of Jacob Braybrooke and it’s time for another quick daily track on the blog, because it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The calendar for a new year of album releases seems to be filling up all of a sudden, with the likes of Charli XCX and Metronomy set to issue anticipated new long-players in the early months, but the Ealing-based Post Punk Revival group White Lies, who were originally formed as Fear Of Flying in 2007, are yet another cog in the machine of 2022 releases. A band who gained popularity at a similar time to their peers of Editors, The Pigeon Detectives and The Bravery, White Lies have survived the ‘Indie Distortion’ of the 00’s as a critically acclaimed live act. Their debut album, ‘To Lose My Life’, was a number one hit on the UK Albums Chart in its first week on sale, and they were also recruited for BBC’s ‘Sound Of 2009’ poll, and nominated for the BRIT’s Critics Choice Award. They are shortly going to issue their sixth LP, ‘As I Try Not To Fall Apart’, which they recorded within two studio sessions at the Assault & Battery and Sleeper studios in their homestead of London, where they resumed their partnership with frequent collaborator Ed Buller as their engineer. It was also co-produced and mixed by Cladius Mittendorfer, who has previously spent time behind the decks with Panic! At The Disco and Weezer. The title track and lead single, ‘As I Try Not To Fall Apart’, is our first taste of the record, which the Indie Rock trio describe as their most ambitious project yet. It has been accompanied by a music video directed by James Arden, which finds vocalist Harry McVeigh embossed in an hourglass of sinking sand. They will be touring the UK and Europe in Spring of 2022, and the accomplished new single explores the anxieties of modern masculinity in a mental health position. Let’s give it a spin below.

“We wrote this song quickly, late at night, and often the songs which come quickest are written from the gut and the heart, not with the head”, the band collectively say about their latest single, noting, “We wanted the melody to feel like a hymn, to give the confessional lyrics weight despite being wrapped up as a Pop song. It’s about accepting vulnerability as a man, and knowing it’s ok to be broken. There’s never been a more pressing time to spread the message that it’s ok to not be ok”, in their press statement to announce their forthcoming full-length album. Built on an intoned, Synth-enhanced drum groove that should be familiar to fans of Joy Divison or Interpol, bands that White Lies have cited as their inspirations, McVeigh reflects on the strength that modern men are pressured to conform to, with lyrics like “It’s not the way a man like me behaves/It’s not the way the world would make me play my part” in the chorus, and the opening refrain of “Am I a faulty kind of man so tender in the heart?” says a lot about how the band view the stereotypes of men being quiet and well-composed, somewhat cold and emotionless, in British society. Meanwhile, the instrumentation decorates the scene with glistening, 80’s New Wave Synth hooks and a vocal delivery that feels silky, but the brooding evocations of the lyrics are still a little bleak and colder than your average Pop/Rock record. It feels a little gothic and dark, which is representative of the band’s earlier work, while also giving the hooks a more distinctly airy sound. They follow a conventional Pop/Rock structure, with the bright tonality of the Synths counteracting the more harsh, aggressive guitar-led beats. It walks a delicate tightrope between 80’s Pop and Post-Punk, and, thankfully, it is a tightrope that White Lies walk confidently. In fact, given how I haven’t seen the trio to be particularly relevant in recent years, I was suprised how much I enjoyed this new track and that’s because I personally really, really enjoyed it very much. This is very catchy Post-Rock music that feels influenced merticulously by the band’s own late-00’s image and the likes of Tears For Fears from the 80’s. It manages to fulfill the ‘Indie Dancefloor’ niche of their genre, while the post-modern existentialist lyrics within the songwriting give you something more to feel and think about that resonates beyond the commercial accessibility of the new track, and so it feels brooding and bleak enough to please Post-Punk fans while reeling in some audiences who may typically steer away from the Alternative Rock scene. Overall, this was an excellent single that feels catchy and easy to access yet intriguing, as with each listen, I can find something new to come to light that I may have skipped beforehand. While it is perhaps not likely to tip the planet over on its axis, this was a solid and engaging single from a band who simply know what they’re comfortable with doing and what to give their fans, and stick to it well, while gradually evolving their style with subtlety.

  • Pictured: Harry McVeigh (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Charles Cave (Bass Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals) and Jack Lawrence-Brown (Drums/Percussion) (2017) (Photography by Red Light Management)

That’s all for now! Thank you for joining me on the blog today, and I’ll be back tomorrow for the newest entry in our ‘Countdown To Christmas’ feature, as we look at some Festive music that’s new and original, coming from an American Singer-Songwriter and Pianist who has won nine Grammy awards and she was ranked 60th on Billboard magazine’s artists of the 2000’s decade chart. She also made her acting debut in the 2007 movie ‘My Blueberry Nights’ – which was directed by Wong Kar-Wai.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Stereolab – ‘French Disko’

November 10, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Tim Gane (Lead Guitar/Keyboard), Lætitia Sadier (Lead Vocals/Percussion), Andy Ramsay (Drums), Joseph Watson (Synths) and Xavier Muñoz Guimera (Bass) (2021) (Photo by David Cowlard)

Good Afternoon to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to take you back to a much simpler time for another weekly entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A cult favourite and influential band who were one of the first bands to be dubbed as “Post-Rock” in the 1990’s, Stereolab have seen a few line-up modifications in their share of time since they formed between London and France, but they currently tour and record music together as a 5-piece. Known for combining some elements of Kraut-Rock, Lounge Jazz and Motorik music together, and realizing some philosophical and sociopolitical themes of Surrealist and Situationist themes within their lyrics, Stereolab were a key figure for renewing interest in older analogue equipment during the Synth-oriented times of the 90’s. Also drawing from Brazillian and Funk influences in their sound, Stereolab have been regarded as one of the world’s most important bands and have once managed their own record label, Duophonic. Despite achieving relatively little commercial impact in their 90’s heyday, the band have reunited as recently as 2019 and they have hopped between the likes of Warp Records and Elektra Records when releasing their material. 1993’s ‘French Disko’ is one of their most recognizable singles, and it had originally appeared on their EP, ‘Jenny Ondoline’, before finding a second life on their 1995 compilation, ‘Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Vol. 2’. As someone who’s been to a handful of gigs before as a young adult in Cambridge and Stoke-On-Trent, I can say that I often see a die-hard in the crowd with a Stereolab shirt. Give them a spin below.

‘French Disko’ has been covered by the likes of Editors, The Raveonettes and Cineplexx since Stereolab’s original release in 1993. Another very interesting fact about the track is that in the UK, due to ‘French Disko’ becoming a surprise commercial success due to unexpected commercial radio airplay, the ‘Jenny Ondioline’ EP had stickers that read “Includes French Disko” on the cover art, and so the EP was being sold on the strength of ‘French Disko’ as an unnofficial single at one point. Stereolab also gained attention with the live performance on TV above, which was broadcast on a programme called ‘The Word’ that was designed to replace ‘The Tube’ in Britain. The track itself, ‘French Disko’, isn’t really the soulful and funky disco tune that you may expect when reading the title, and it instead places an emphasis on driving 60’s Motorik beats and absurdist lyrics that act as a call to arms for action against a dominant socio-political force. Refrains like “Well, I say there are things worth fighting for”, often recited by Lætitia Sadier, feel conversational and catchy, bolstered by a wry delivery that plays on the absurdity of the overall themes of the songwriting. There’s some elements of the Grunge era led by Nirvana in the 90’s with the distorted bass guitar riffs, and there’s some slower sections of the recording that point towards a more Acid Rock-oriented sound. The vocals have an air of 70’s Jangle Rock about them, mainly in their upbeat and quick-witted delivery. Other lyrics, such as “Though this world’s essentially an absurd place to be living in/It doesn’t call for a total withdrawal” and “Acts of rebellious solidarity/Can bring sense in this world”, that play on how we believe the things that we read in the news as humans, and how the media is typically motivated by a secret agenda. Overall, the concise lyrics are touching upon personal freedom and how there’s a path to a better future if you’re going to spend time calling out what clearly isn’t working. These themes still feel relevant today, in a world where we’ve been following instructions on how to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic as a mass society. While Stereolab are dealing with a rich assortment of some complex themes here, the sound of the track itself felt contemporary for it’s time and the formula of Sadier intonely droning above the harsh Synth climax and the noisy, collage-like guitar and drums melodies creates enough of a late-80’s New Wave element to balance a retro and modern style for its time to a point where it feels original and not outdated. The hook of “La Resistance” is a powerful and ominous one, and the track has an overall playful style to it that weaves together the band’s different influences of Kraut-Rock, Prog-Rock, Drone, Noise-Pop and Synth-Rock in a way that feels accessible yet stacked. Therefore, it’s that reason why I would suggest ‘French Disko’ as a good entry point into the rest of Stereolab’s discography if you are not familiar with their music. In conclusion, ‘French Disko’ is a very punchy cocktail of academic influences that still sounds unique today.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Jenny Ondioline’ (EP) (Released in 1993) (via Duophonic/Elektra Records)

That’s all for now – and, as I mentioned yesterday, ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ will be going on a short break until Wednesday 5th January, 2021, because it’s time to begin our ‘Countdown To Christmas 2021’ feature that we’ll be spreading throughout the days of the coming weeks because Santa’s on his way – whether we like it or not. With the goal of adding some Alternative festive options to your playlists, we’ll be mixing some of the latest seasonal releases with older tunes from some of our favourite on-brand names on the blog. Tomorrow is ‘New Album Release Fridays’ and we will be shifting our focus to the new LP from multi-time ARIA award winner Courtney Barnett.

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New Album Release Fridays: Nation Of Language – ‘A Word & A Wave’

November 5, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘A Way Forward’ (LP) (Released on November 5th, 2021) (via PIAS Recordings)

Good Morning to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, we’ve somehow made it to the end of the week, and so it’s time for a new entry in our weekly ‘New Album Release Fridays’ picks as we discuss one of today’s most notable album releases, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! If you are a fan of 80’s New Wave bands like Soft Cell or Depeche Mode, or even newer variations of that sound like Hot Chip and White Lies, I think that the latest album from the Brooklyn-based Synth Rock band Nation Of Language – ‘A Way Forward’ – releasing today in association with PIAS Recordings – could be right up your street. Ahead of the Christmas rush, this week’s album releases also include new offerings from Brighton indie rock band Penelope Isles, the latest team up from Greek producer Zenjungle and Canadian Jazz musician Valiska, a new solo LP from Curtis Harding, the return of Motown icon Diana Ross and the fast-emerging Lo-Fi Pop project Snail Mail, along with the debut extended play from Monday’s subject on the blog, Cathy Jain. There’s also ‘Voyage’, the companion album to the Swedish Eurovision legends virtual comeback tour. Still a relatively new band, Nation Of Language’s line-up features frontman Ian Richard Devaney, Synth producer Aidan Noell and bassist Michael Sui-Poi, who we have come to know from earlier seperate projects like Machinegum and The Static Jacks. The band came together in New York in 2016 when Devaney heard ‘Electricity’ by OMD in his dad’s car, and that one was a record which resonated with him during childhood, and this became the inspiration to form the group together, who have received airplay across the UK and US across stations like BBC Radio 6 Music, NTS Radio and KEXP. Their second album has arrived with a share of hype attached to it today, and it has already earned a five star review from NME. It was produced by Nick Milhiser (from Holy Ghost). Let’s have ‘A Word & A Wave’ below.

Songwriter/vocalist spoke about the recent single in his press release, offering, “When writing the song, I kept finding myself imagining this person living in Portland, Maine. It’s never mentioned in the lyrics, but I found myself wishing I could have conveyed the rest of the scene I pictured – a warmly lit room on a calm overcast evening in a small coastal city.”, later adding, “When it came time to make the video, I saw our chance and decided we would journey up there and follow that vision as much as we could”, in his notes. “Retro” is probably a word that could have been used to describe Nation Of Language’s nostalgic blend of traditional Post-Rock and mature Electronic Pop music a thousand times before, but it is a term that is certainly a good fit for their sound and, possibly, the most accurate depiction of what they do. Walking the same tightrope as successful bands like New Order and LCD Soundsystem in terms of their production, ‘A Word & A Wave’ is an emotionally driven piece of twinkling early-80’s Synth patterns and continous flashings of Drone-influenced vocals that resonates with a sweeping sense of memory and anxiety, as lyrics like “Aching for something you could save/A word & a wave” and “Fall asleep romanticizing/Heartache in the city centre” are given melancholic aplomb. Ambiguous in their direct meaning, later lyrics like “Softening the seconds/As they’re falling from the open window” play on some atmospheric instrumentation and a rattling kick-drum melody to mirror the feelings of taking a small step to make a giant leap of some form. The notions of a bright, yet flickering light are created by the repetitious Synth groove that wanders along to the sonic sounds and quite mellow vocals throughout, and the track interweaves some Staccato vocals with some more minimalist instrumentation throughout. Although sounding directly lifted from the 1980’s at points, the overall sound is not massively dance-oriented because the themes are touching more regularly upon reminiscence and contentment instead. It feels like the slightly socially anxious lyrics of 80’s Synth artists like Deacon Blue are given a more cinematic sense of grandeur in turn. Overall, the melodies of ‘A Word & A Wave’ are given a patient and cautious approach that makes it feel very old, yet never quite outdated, packing a sweeping sense of filmic influence into a tighly packaged four minute duration where the looping Synths and the self-believing drum machine loops are slowly fading away to reveal an emotive core. It makes for a nice change of pace where the authentically 80’s-leaning beats become more hushed and meditative, and the band find some space for the instrumentation and vocals to shine equally because the band don’t feel hidden, as such, behind they keyboards and Synth desks. It would make for a compelling fit on mainstream adult radio stations like BBC Radio 2 due to its accessibility and 80’s sound, yet it stands out decently enough on its own. A heartfelt symphony of Synths.

  • Pictured: Ian Richard Devaney (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Percussion), Aidan Noell (Synths/Keyboard) and Michael Sue-Poi (Bass Guitar/Cowbell/Backing Vocals) (in 2021) (Photo Credit: Robin Laananen)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest post, and I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth review of some new music from a legendary Leeds-born and Ibiza-based electronic Trip Hop producer known for crossover chart hits like ’70’s/80’s, ‘Finer’ and ‘Aftermath’, and he is one of the oldest serving names for the renowned Warp Records label. He’s also released material under the title of DJ E.A.SE.

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New Album Release Fridays: Geese – “Low Era”

October 29, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Projector’ (LP) (Released on October 29th, 2021) (via Partisan Records)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to take a closer look at one of the week’s most newsworthy album releases for yet another daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The likes of LGBTQ+ Techno activist Maya Jane Coles, legendary Leeds Trip Hop producer Nightmares On Wax, Qrion, Sam Evian, Eleanor Buckland and mainstream music mega star Ed Sheeran are all releasing new full-length efforts today, but one of the most intriguing offerings comes from the Brooklyn Art-Punk band Geese. ‘Projector’ was intended to be their last album before they split up and went to seperate colleges in the US, but they were signed up to Partisan Records, the home of successful bands like Fontaines DC and Chubby & The Gang, and appointed the critically beloved producer Dan Carey (Idles, Squid), who Geese cite as influences, to mix their new album. Their beginnings as a band trace back to 2016, however, where their members met during freshmen year at high school and they bonded over their love for 70’s Synth-Rock groups like Yes! and Pink Floyd to build chemistry together. Their single, ‘Disco’, has gained huge praise from the alternative music press, and Geese have since been covered by journalists from NME, SPIN, Brooklyn Vegan, Stereogum, KEXP, KCRW and more. They have also headlined Berlin, a club located beneath the Lower East Side Bar 2A, found in their borough in New York. They’re also expanding through the UK and Europe, with two performances set for The Honeyglaze in London and a concert taking place at the Endorphin Transistor in Paris next month. Get a taster with recent hit ‘Low Era’ below.

Geese – whose oldest member has just turned 19 – have plenty to say about ‘Low Era’, which comes accompanied by a gloomy and trippy music video that was directed by Fons Schiedon, and they explained, “We like the idea of confusing the listener a little, and trying to make every song a counteraction to the last, pinballing between catchy and complicated, fast and slow”, adding, “Low Era is on one end of that spectrum, and ultimately broadened the scope of songs we thought we could make”, to their press notes. ‘Low Era’ ushers in a psychedelic 3-D element that ends up appearing throughout the new album, a single that Geese began playing live in 2020 and it helped them to grow their following. Calling back to Alt-Rock bands like The Strokes and Klaxons of the 00’s, ‘Low Era’ builds appeal from its raw and cagey vocals, the persuasive blend of steel guitar frames and shoegaze influence, and the New Wave instrumentation which gives proceedings a quirky uplift, and echoes the sentiments of LCD Soundystem and A Certain Ratio in radiating something more groove-led from the misfit psychedelia with the balance of playfulness and commandment. Their guitar melodies are a little funk-oriented, but lyrics like “On the hour of my death, the page rips/All is lost, and I am left to rot” are quite morbid and the delivery is fairly authoritative, but given a Falsetto-like croon to make things feel a little bizzare or pecuiliar, even. Some of the lyrics, like “Modern magazines and holy scriptures/My play rehearsals all go unheard” are witty and sardonic, while other lyrics like “The beginning of the end approaches/You and I, we float up to the top”, sound more post-apocalyptic and a little silly in tone, and so Geese approach the track as a neat balancing act of taut Post-Punk afflictions and more wacky, dance-led undertones. It is a risky move, but it thankfully pays off pretty well on ‘Low Era’ because these two different moods are juxtaposed pretty evenly and distort one another with an overlapping effect at times, so the production feels coherent and charming, leading up to the atmospheric instrumental section that finishes ‘Low Era’ off at the end. This is an intriguing track where, despite the call for dancing or listening quietly seeming a little unclear in direction, the band are pulling off more tricks than your average, moody gang of Post-Punk outcasts, with some instrumentation that feels interesting despite a little unfocused at times. A hypnotic combination of Synth-Punk and Prog Rock, coming from a band who are still really young and developing at a strong pace.

  • Pictured: Cameron Winter (Lead Vocals/Keyboard), Max Bassin (Drums/Percussion), Dominic DiGesu (Bass Guitar), Foster Hudson (Rhythm Guitar) & Gus Green (Lead Guitar) (2021) (Photo by Daniel Topete)

That brings us to the bottom of the page – for yet another day, of course! There’s no ‘Scuzz Sundays’ feature this week because we are getting into the Halloween spirit with a two-day spread of Spooky Season posts, where we will be comparing selected songs from the soundtracks of the 1978 version of ‘Halloween’ and the 2018 rebooted release, both of which were scored by the prolific Horror film director John Carpenter.

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