Synthpop

Today’s Track: Hard Feelings – ‘Sister Infinity’

December 27, 2021 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Hard Feelings’ (Self-Titled LP) (Released on November 5, 2021) (via Domino Recordings)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke and, it’s just about time to go back to normal after Bank Holiday Monday after 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! For my new year’s week coverage this year, we’re going to be looking at some of the off-the-radar music that you may have missed in a year that was otherwise full of new Adele, ABBA, Ed Sheeran, Sam Fender, The Lathums and Billie Eilish album releases that were all very successful. My year-end list counting down my top 25 favourite albums of the year (Split into a few different parts to keep it more short and sweet than last year) will also be coming up your way as soon as possible. The first of my underappreciated suspects is the new collaborative duo of Joe Goddard and New York-based crooner Amy Douglas, who record music together under the project of HARD Feelings. You may know Goddard as a veteran of Hot Chip fame and as one of the busiest guys in the business, having produced new singles for Ibibio Sound Machine and collaborated with Hayden Thorpe in recent months, and he used to be one half of The 2 Bears alongside Raf Rundell. Meanwhile, Amy Douglas is a prominent name in the New York Post-Disco scene having worked with artists like Treasure Fingers, Horse Meat Disco, Luke Solomon and Juan MacLean. Douglas also wrote the single ‘Something More’ for Roisin Murphy’s latest album – ‘Roisin Machine’ – that was released last autumn. Together, Hard Feelings supported Goddard’s bandmates for their first live show on November 9th. They also released their first full-length album – which was self-titled – on November 7th via Domino Recordings. Described by Goddard and Douglas as “an opera of sad bangers”, the pair say the LP is loosely conceptual and, song by song, it focuses on the unraveling of relationships and their nuanced mystery. On the album’s second single and closing track – ‘Sister Infinity’ – the funky dance duo bring up a Sci-Fi twist to Synth Pop. Let’s give it a spin.

The music video for ‘Sister Infinity’, which features the narrative of Joe Goddard communicating with a quirky AI programme to help him conceive the song itself in a dystopian future, was directed by Tim Wagner and inspired by ‘Weird Science’, and the duo say that it “matches the song itself, a Discotastic pulse racing, HI NRG rollercoaster and HARD FEELINGS at our most futuristic and perhaps insidious version of the mad scientist and his creation scenario” in their press release. Flavours in the mix of ‘Sister Infinity’ include the likes of Kraftwerk, Stereolab, CeCe Peniston, Candi Staton and Kylie Minogue to my ears, and their own cited influences of Chaka Khan and Loose Ends feel particularly present on the retro ballad ‘Sister Infinity’, which brings some propulsive Disco tones and a slightly dark variation of moods to the dancefloor. Douglas murkily sings lyrics like “Write my name up in the sky, Seeing that with my third eye, I know you’re always here with me” and “Break my heart either way/I will bend time, where I want it to go” as she contemplates her own ability to be loved and how that stretches her comfort zone beyond a confident point. Meanwhile, the 70’s-leaning Disco synths provide a nostalgic electro-disco beat that bobs between a heartfelt and a heartbroken emotion, while the powerhouse Pipes and the twinkling Drum Machine loops provide some rhythmic, evocative undertones and some latex-polished production for Douglas’ performance to cohere with. It is a little low budget, but it still manages to feel cinematic and broad with it’s sweeping, euphoric Synth melodies. The sound is a little dated, but it certainly has a slick niche and the early New York Synth-Punk sound that Hard Feelings tap into are relatively unexplored in the modern ages, and so it manages to feel refreshing enough while nodding towards ABBA, Diana Ross and Depeche Mode throughout. The production is also very polished, with seamless segues between the different elements at play, giving ‘Sister Infinity’ an immersive and connected feel with its fusion of many Synth-related sub-genre qualities. Overall, I enjoyed how mature that ‘Sister Infinity’ feels overall, and it’s great that Hard Feelings are gaining some popularity from stations like KEXP and BBC Radio 6 Music as we await new releases in the new year because they feel diverse enough to stand out and they have their USP, for a lack of a better term. A distinctive pair who want to create an experience – as opposed to just music.

Pictured: Amy Douglas (Lead Vocals/Guitar/Keyboard) & Joe Goddard (Synths/Producer) (2021) (Photo via PR)

That’s all for now – so I’ll leave you to simply dance the bank holiday away – or just do whatever else that you choose to do as a past time. I’ll see you tomorrow for more musical action as we highlight another very distinctive Alternative Rock trio from Manchester who have supported Razorlight on tour. Earlier this year, they released a new concept album that was accompanied by a 45 minute animation movie that was created by the punk band’s frontwoman, Jess Allanic, using Blender and After Effects.

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Today’s Track: Kadhja Bonet – ‘For You’

December 2, 2021 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Kadhja Bonet in a professional PR shoot to promote ‘For You’ (2021) (Photo via Fat Possum Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for you to give a warm welcome to another daily post on the blog, because it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A 33-year-old singer songwriter born in Richmond, California – Kadhja Bonet is an LA-based artist who has recently announced her solo return to the business following three years on a hiatus. Resembling Psychedelic Pop and 70’s Funk & Soul sounds in her typical output, Bonet learned how to play the violin and she studied classical music in her childhood while growing up in a musical family. Following collaborations in recent times with the likes of Khruangbin, Nicolas Godin (from Air), Khruangbin and Free Nationals, Bonet has received critical acclaim from sites like Pitchfork and The Line Of Best Fit for her two last solo albums. An 80’s-leaning track that encompasses modern Synth Rock and retro Electro-Pop, ‘For You’ is an ode to “showing up for yourself in any form that may take” for the Red Bull Music Academy Tokyo 2014 graduate, who states, “I wanted to create something new for myself, not to overthink or be held onto a certain genre”, in her own words about the single in her attached press notes. Let’s give it a spin below.

Talking about her comeback to writing and recording her new solo music after the three year break, Bonet has written, “My forced hiatus from music has created an urgency in brand redirection. I began making music to get to know myself and fortify connections, and in many ways, I have derailed away from that intention”, explaining to us, “I reflect on my last few years as a recording artist and see someone trying desperately to fit the mold, despite music that does not. To be pretty, to be liked, to be relevant, good or accepted” in recent interview material. To meet these goals, she conjures up a Chiptune-enhanced Synth backdrop and a swelling series of long vocal harmonies to make ‘For You’ feel, in equal parts, like a plea for love in the vastness of a Tron-like virtual world as it does a warm cruise through the bright British sea side in the summer time. Establishing a tone of clarity without confusion, Bonet uses lyrics like “Teach me a lesson I thought I knew/I still need learning/But I’m a fast learner when it comes to you” and “I’m looking for you/Now that I’ve found you/I’m seeing this through” to provide reassurance to the listener and yearn her tales of warmth, although it’s unclear whether she’s making promises to accept herself as a personal ode or addressing a new romantic partner, and this denotation of her lyrics are left wonderfully open to your own interpretation. A hypnotic mixture of unapologetically 80’s Synth-Pop influences and sparse Drum Machine riffs that are dressed in a dream-like quality in terms of mood, create the rich electronic backdrop of Synth-forward keyboard arrangements and a euphoric electronic crescendo that reverberates and breaks neon 80’s barriers. Using the experience that Bonet has developed during her time away, ‘For You’ is a nice evolution for the artist and a warm welcome back to recording for her, with a new single that sounds accessible yet decorated by her own conscience, instead of commercial goals. A self-sensuous, dramatic return to the fold.

Pictured: Kadhja Bonet in promotional photoshoot artwork to promote ‘Childqueen’ (2018) (Photo via Last.fm)

That leaves me with very little left to say for now! Thank you for checking out the blog for the first or latest time, and please feel free to join me tomorrow for our final regular entry of ‘New Album Release Fridays’ until the new year. This week’s record comes from a Venezuelan transgender artist who is one of the busiest figures in the industry right now, as they will be completing a quintet of interconnected LP’s this week. She’s collaborated with Bjork – as well as produced for Kanye West and Rosalia.

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Today’s Track: Ibibio Sound Machine – ‘Electricity’

November 25, 2021 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Eno Williams (Lead Vocals/Chief Songwriter/Producer), Scott Baylis (Synths/Trumpet), Max Grunhard (Saxophone/Synths), Alfred Kari Bannerman (Lead Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals), Tony Hayden (Trombone/Synths), Phillip PK Ambrose (Bass Guitar), Anselmo Netto (Percussion) and Joseph Amoako (Drums) performing at the Pool Recording Studio, London for NPR’s ‘World Cafe’ (2019) (Photo via Kimberly Junod/WXPN)

Good Morning to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for me to take you through yet another eclectic variety of sounds with 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! Led by Eno Williams, Ibibio Sound Machine are a ten-piece Afro Jazz collective that she formed with producers Benji Bouton, Leon Brichard and Max Grunhard in 2013 with their idea of combining the unique vocals of the Ibibio language that she used to speak whilst growing up in Nigeria with both traditional West African and more modern electronic music elements. Although currently based in London, Williams sings her lyrics in both English and the Nigerian tongue of Ibibio, and the group are known for taking their musical inspirations from the golden ages of West African Funk and Dance music, modern Post-Rock and Electro-Pop music. Since forming, the band have been interested in creating music which fuses elements of 1990’s Drum & Bass and 1980’s Afrobeat. The band also notably performed at KEXP’s ‘International Clash Day’ event in January 2019, and they have since linked up with Merge Records to issue 2017’s ‘Uyai’ and 2019’s ‘Doko Mien’ for release, with their self-titled debut album being released on Soundway Records in 2014. Their latest single, ‘Electricity’, was premiered by Lauren Laverne during her breakfast show on BBC Radio 6 Music a pair of weeks ago, and it was recorded in Hot Chip’s studio. The group will also be embarking on a UK tour next March and April, including dates in Bath, Birmingham, Worthing, Newcastle, Manchester, London and Leeds. Let’s give it a spin.

Giving her insight into the direction of the new single ‘Electricity’, frontwoman Eno Williams says, “This one started out as an idea to mix Afrobeat with Giorgio Moroder-style synth vibes”, explaining, “The end section with Alfred’s korogo (Ghanian 2-stringed Folk guitar) solo was already there when we got into the studio, but then we added the big kick drum that happens underneath and Owen from Hot Chip’s crazy drum machine percussion at the end, which gave it a futuristic Afro feel when mixed with the more talking drum parts”, in her press statement. More or less doing my job for me with the press release, ‘Electricity’ is lyrically exploring the connection between different people and the power resource. The instrumentation leans towards an 80’s Synth Pop style, with a buoyant bassline and some tight drum melodies undercut by some more grounded, progressive Synth loops courtesy of the drum machine sequences. The pace builds gradually, starting off with mid-tempo beats and purely Synth-based rhythms before introducing a decent amount of variety with sparse Saxophone melodies and short Horn sections towards the middle. A big crescendo of danceable Synth riffs and more cerebral Jazz production creates a burst of energy in the third fourth of the track, before a longer instrumental section of ritualistic chants and quick, extravagant Horn scatterings rounds off the track before we get a final repeat of the chorus. It brings a somewhat new element to the chorus, where Williams talks about love and speaking from the heart as the simple answer to life’s complexities. An uplifting track with a slightly rougher edge that reminds me of Soccer 96’s ethereal Prog-Jazz production during brief intervals, ‘Electricity’ is a single that is lyrically radiant and evidently listenable. A focused and charming return.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Electricity’ (Single) (Released on October 26, 2021) (via Merge Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for reading my latest post, and it is ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow, meaning that I’ll be guiding you through one of the weekend’s most notable new album releases. This week’s pick gives you a taste of the new posthumous album by a cult favourite Alabama-born singer-songwriter who sadly left us in March. Encompassing a variety of styles including Blues, Rockabilly and Country – you may know him for opening on-tour for The Hives and The White Stripes in 2007.

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Today’s Track: Confidence Man – ‘Holiday’

November 18, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Janet Planet, Sugar Bones, Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie (2019) (Photo via PR)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to ensure that yet another daily track on the blog bursts your eardrums in spirit, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A quirky Alternative Dance group, led by the wacky characters of Sugar Bones and Janet Planet, the Brisbane native indie pop band Confidence Man have continued to find success throughout their musical journey since their debut album, ‘Confident Music For Confident People’ brought their dorky concoction of costumed rhythms and lightly acidic beats to the international club circuit in 2018. The band have found themselves performing at many festivals like Splendour In The Grass Festival and Falls Festival, while also remixing the likes of DMA’s, Working Men’s Club and Erasure over the years. They have also received wins and nominations at the AIR Awards, J Awards, National Live Music Awards and Queensland Music Awards over the years since they became active in 2016. Although singles like ‘Does It Make You Feel Good?’ and ‘First Class B**ch’ have filled the gap a little, Confidence Man have just announced their first album in four years. Their second studio album, ‘Tilt’, will be released on April 1st, 2022 via the I OH YOU label. According to a press release, the new album is “fierce, flirty and full of anthems” and listeners “might need to sit down before you hit play”. Back in September, Confidence Man also unveiled an extensive run of rescheduled and new tour dates across the UK and Ireland that will hopefully start in May of next year. The list includes dates in Brighton, Cambridge, Norwich, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Sheffield and more. Before then, let’s book a ‘Holiday’ below.

Talking about the inspiration behind ‘Holiday’ – the Aussie dance outfit’s latest euphoric anthem – Janet Planet stated, “No one tells Confidence Man what to do. Who said a holiday can’t last forever?”, explaining, “Spend big and live free, that’s our motto. And it can be yours too. A vacation is just sunburn at premium prices but a holiday is a state of mind”, in her joint press notes with Sugar Bones. Elaborating on the ideas of holiday and relaxation as a mindset instead of a physical destination, Planet and Bones join their fellow bandmates in conjuring slightly acidic Synth beats and some high tempo Drum rhythms to the tune of lyrics like “Best weed back on the block, I’ll take it” and “When I was a child, I was so naked” that creates the distinctly nerdy and comedic attitude that Confidence Man are known for evoking. The instrumentation continues to add some variety to the proceedings, with a lengthy sequence of backing harmonies in the opening sequence and some 80’s film soundtrack-esque Synth stabs to create silky ambient washings in the closing sequence, continuing to give off a light-hearted and care-free Summer formula. The vocal hooks are super sized, with the likes of “I live it up on the go/I’m getting high, I’m never low” and “Kicking off and I lose control/I’m born to fly/I want it all” being recited quickly, as to match the frivolous energy of the Acid Disco rhythms and neatly aligned basslines. While there’s no subtlety to the vocals, the brief String sections and the stinging Synth stabs are complemented by the floor-filling feel of the sound. A decent reminder that Confidence Man are all about having fun, ‘Holiday’ is a familiar summer anthem to see their own country of Australia throughout the summer months. Due to this ‘summer release’ feel, however, it feels a little odd when you are listening from the rest of the world as the rain gets frequent and the bitterness of the cold keeps sharpening. This also feels a bit more straight-faced than usual from the group than usual, although they’re still donning some Synths that wouldn’t sound out of place on the ‘Top Gun’ soundtrack. Despite not being in season for me, this is still a solid return from Confidence Man. Camp, unique and irreverant, ‘Holiday’ is everything you might want (and expect) from the forward-thinking Australian project.

  • Pictured: Janet Planet and Sugar Bones in a promotional photoshoot (in 2019) (Photo Credit: Zac Bayly)

If you liked the sound of ‘Holiday’, you may like the various other tracks by Confidence Man that have appeared on the blog over the years at various points. If you want something still recent, you can check out my review of ‘First Class B**ch’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/10/20/todays-track-confidence-man-first-class-bh/. If that doesn’t mate you feel right, you can see if this ‘Does It Make You Feel Good’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/02/26/todays-track-confidence-man-does-it-make-you-feel-good/. Or, for something more in tune with the festive season, you can view their seasonal single ‘Santa’s Comin’ Down The Chimney’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/12/04/todays-track-confidence-man-santas-comin-down-the-chimney/

  • Pictured: Confidence Man performing at ‘The Great Escape’ (2017) (Photo via Brighton & Hove News)

That’s all for now! I hope that you enjoyed the trip, and thank you for continuing to support my content like this. I’ll be back tomorrow for ‘New Album Release Fridays’, as we divert our attention to an indie rock band from Croydon in South London who have been signed to the Boston-based label Counter Intuitive Records. They have toured in the UK with NOAHFINNCE and they went on a debut headline tour this year.

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Today’s Track: Caroline Loveglow – ‘Happy Happy’

November 15, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Caroline Loveglow in a PR photoshoot for Flood Magazine (2021) (Photo via 100% Electronica)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to get groovy (It’s possibly best that I don’t use that one again) for your 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! Known for exploring psychological and romantic anxieties in her melodic Dream Pop music, the LA-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Caroline Loveglow is a brand new artist who impressed George Clanton and his fellow PR executives at the 100% Electronica label so much with ‘Patience Etc’, her debut single, that they dissuaded her from uploading it to the internet so they could release it properly on their platform. They will be issuing her debut album, ‘Strawberry’, on February 22nd, 2022. Growing up in San Diego, Loveglow developed a love for music and poetry from the age of 12 that was inspired by the textured, emotional rock music that her mother would play to her from Neil Young and Radiohead, and she’s also been influenced by her own passion for her favourite 80’s band, The Cure. Her earliest material was short poems that she’d set to a few chords in her bedroom as a teenager, and this was just her own individual way of exploring the complexities of the world. ‘Happy Happy’ has accompanied the details of her upcoming album and it is just her second single to ever get released. On the single, she grapples with the weight of self-doubt and her indecision. Let’s check out the chatroulette-styled official video below.

“Happy Happy is an ode to escapism”, Caroline Loveglow states in her press release, explaining, “I started building the track with the main guitar line, stayed awake all night until I had the demo completed and a version of what I was hearing in my head. I just wanted the song to feel like this momentous release that I never got to experience in my real life at the time”, in her notes. Kicking off with some Synth-enhanced guitar riffs and layering a Shoegaze-inspired sound atop a tight drum groove, Loveglow tells us to “Take your time, would you sleep inside my mind tonight?” with the aid of some swelling Synth pad work and some hypnotic Pop melodies to keep the upbeat mood of the tone flourishing, and she adds a hearty dose of reverb effects to her own vocals to reflect the story of laborious love that she discusses in the lyrics, and the slow attempts that she makes to grow a relationship with a new partner. The track feels calm and whimsical, with some songwriting that feels precise and punctilious. There’s enough of a punch to the hooks to make proceedings feel catchy and infectious, but she decorates the Indie Pop soundscape with some elements of Vaporwave and Chillwave that introduce some Lo-Fi instrumentals to the mix. It also feels a little Grunge-inflicted in the verses, with a little bit of distortion and some unearthly Drone vocals that are sometimes difficult to truly identify, but they contribute to the nocturnal and swirling sounds of the overall production quite smoothly. This one also reminds me a little bit of Cocteau Twins in how the instrumentation feels drowned in a haze, with some psychedelic guitar riffs and some wistful Synth sequences that feel comforting. Overall, ‘Happy Happy’ was an enjoyable single that sounded like a decent mis-mash of other bands and genres, with some 80’s New Wave influences and subtle nods towards Shoegaze that keeps things feeling eclectic enough to be memorable, despite a conventional structure that keeps everything in the Pop wheelhouse. A crowd pleasing Synth-Pop taster for more.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Strawberry’ (LP) (Available from February 25th, 2022) (via 100% Electronica)

That’s all for today! Thank you for reaching the bottom of the page as usual today, and I’ll be back tomorrow with another brief review of a new single from another act who will be releasing a new album next February, albeit a name that may seem a little bit more familiar to casual viewers of the blog. This Ealing-based Post-Punk revival band were originally formed as Fear Of Flying in 2007 and their debut album, 2009’s ‘To Lose My Life’, was a number one hit on the UK Albums Chart. They were also seen in BBC’s ‘Sound Of 2009’ poll and were nominated for the BRIT’s Critics Choice Award.

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Today’s Track: Metronomy (feat. Biig Piig) – “405”

October 9, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Joseph Mount (Lead Vocals/Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar), Oscar Cash (Saxophone/Backing Vocals), Anna Prior (Drums/Occasional Backing Vocals), Olugbenja Adelekan (Bass Guitar/Occasional Vocals) and Michael Lovett (Keyboards/Guitars/Percussion) (in 2019) (Photo by Gregoire Alexandre)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m wishing you a very enjoyable weekend along with the uploading of yet another daily track of the day, because it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘405’ comes to your ears from the established Electronic Pop 5-piece band Metronomy, who have been quite prolific on the UK’s indie circuit since they were founded in 1999 by frontman Joseph Mount, merging Indie Rock influences with 80’s Pop sounds and modern Electronic soundscapes which have been grounded and progressive in their adaptations of both vocal and ambient material. The band have remixed a staggering line-up of other artists including Lady GaGa, Klaxons, Franz Ferdinand and Goldfrapp, and their most recent LP release was ‘Metronomy Forever’ in 2019, which was well-received by critics. The lead single, ‘Salted Caramel Ice Cream’ earned a rave review on this very blog too, and I’ve embedded the music video of that track to the end of this post because it’s an exceptionally amusing one. After reminding fans a few weeks ago that “there’s normally a new Metronomy album every two to three years” on social media, the quintet quietly released the ‘Posse: Volume 1’ EP that finds Mount’s misfits tinkering around with guest collaborations from Spill Tab, Sorry, Brian Nasty, Folly Group and Pinty. ‘405’ has made the daytime A-list over on BBC Radio 6 Music, and it features the seductive vocal talents of Irish producer/singer-songwriter Biig Piig (aka West London’s Jess Smith), who has been regularly featured on BBC Radio 1 and used to always pop up on focus group playlists that used to be sent to me from the SRA for student radio purposes, and so it’s always felt like she’s just small steps away from breaking into more mainstream territory for a very small sum of years now. Take their collaboration, ‘405’, for a spin with me below.

On Twitter, Jospeh Mount posted, “I made the EP after finishing the new Metronomy album, please consume it in the same spirit it was made; discover some new artists and share the music with your friends”, on Metronomy’s account. Meanwhile, Jess Smith has also spoken about ‘405’, penning, “Joe sent over the Piano instrumental and it was so beautiful and brought back so many memories. I feel like when you hear a piece of music that does that, you know it’s special. My melodies and lyrics over it came out really easily and it just felt really nostalgic”, in a press statement of her own. On ‘405’, Smith sings about frantically searching for love in different relationships with lyrics like “Cuz’ I ran off in the wrong direction/Looking for love when you were stood right there/Under my nose” and soon realizes that a true partner was spending time with her all along, singing lyrics like “You smiled in the mirror with those bright eyes/And you froze time, you’re an old soul” with a sweet and soulful tone during the verses. The delivery feels calm and assured, but the self-realization comes through with a sense of eerie contentment in her voice, and lyrics like “You taste like Vanilla, and your hand is soft” that feel romantic and quite dream-like, with an 80’s-leaning Synth Pop instrumental that reminds me of Eurythmics and La Roux’s androgynous style, and these vocals evoke her confused emotions nicely because they add a soft sense of Jazz and R&B to the gently pulsating Synth beats. The vocal harmonies from Smith add a loose, ambient mood to the silky Synth lines, with a few hints of a more shy and seductive tone that adds a little more emotional depth to the otherwise straightforward, if solid, songwriting. On the whole, ‘405’ is a great collaboration as it marries the enchanting vocal tones of Biig Piig and the 00’s Electronica roots of Metronomy together with a strong sense of cohesion and, while the Synth pads feel a little repetitive by the end, there’s a nice balance of melancholy and comfort in the mixture to give the lightly melodic sounds more atmosphere. One for the drive home.

  • Pictured: Biig Piig (Jess Smith) in a Wonderland Magazine photoshoot (2018) (Photo by Elliot Wilcox)

When you write up about a different piece of music every day, you end up covering a few releases from most of the UK’s most prolific emerging artists, including Biig Piig and Metronomy. You can still check out my thoughts on Metronomy’s ‘Salted Caramel Ice Cream’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/26/todays-track-metronomy-salted-caramel-ice-cream/ and their instrumental masterpiece ‘Miracle Rooftop’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/11/todays-track-metronomy-miracle-rooftop/. As for Biig Piig, you can hear more of her soothing voice in ‘Roses & Gold’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/12/14/todays-track-biig-piig-roses-and-gold/

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Metronomy Forever’ (LP) (Released on September 13, 2019) (via Because Music)

That’s all for now! Thank you for your continued support for the blog and for streaming the first episode of my new podcast – ‘The Subculture Sessions’ – if you got the memo. I’ll be back tomorrow for another new entry in our ‘Scuzz Sundays’ feature, as we take aim at a Canadian Hard Rock band who have yet to been featured in our library before. They were formed from the ashes of the 00’s band The Dropouts.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Kim Wilde – “Dancing In The Dark”

September 29, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Catch As Catch Can’ (LP) (Released on October 24th, 1983) (via RAK Records)

Good Morning to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m reporting for my daily duties of typing up 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! ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ has ticked around once again, and so we’re looking back at one of the seminal sounds of the past that has been influential for the present. When you think of Middlesex’s 80’s pop star Kim Wilde, your mind will probably call back to tunes like ‘Kids In America’, ‘Chequered Love’ and ‘Never Trust A Stranger’, and the other multitude of hits that she’s sold over 10 million albums and 20 million singles worth of. However, her third studio album, 1983’s ‘Catch As Catch Can’, marks more of an intriguing outlier in her discography. A key point of transition in her career, Wilde’s ‘Catch As Catch Can’ was regarded as probably her most experimental record to date, mixing up the dark-hued Synth Pop style of previous LP ‘Select’ with the more commercially-oriented Rock feel that has largely characterized her career. Unfortunately, the record was met with a reception of indifference at the time, having suffered from mixed reviews from critics, and it failed to set the cash registers alight very much, only reaching #90 in the UK Albums Charts and the singles had floundered in their chart appeal. However, in more recent decades, the record has garnered more of a ‘best kept secret’ air about it. Kim Wilde supported the record on a second European tour that helped the decline in sales a little bit, and it was finally re-released as a ‘Remastered’ edition by Cherry Red Records as a collectors item in 2009. Another very interesting fact about the record is that it was released just as the CD format was being introduced, and the LP was issued as a CD in Japan, with this release becoming a very sought-after and rare item among Wilde’s fans. These people have been known to fork over more than $100 to nab one of the imported CD copies. ‘Dancing In The Dark’ was the second single to be released from the record and preceded the concept-driven ‘House Of Salome’ ballad. It remains to be her final single to be published by RAK Records, and it reached #67 on the UK Singles Chart, so the single just about scraped the top 75. Give it a spin below.

‘Dancing In The Dark’ was written by Nicky Chinn and Paul Gurvitz, making it only the second track that she did not pen with her typical father and brother combo, and Chic’s Nile Rodgers created a remix of the track for an extended 12″ release. Although it made the top 30 in some European territories, Wilde was disappointed with the reviews and sales for the single and found herself to be unhappy with it, recounting in an interview, “No-one expected that ‘Dancing In The Dark’ would do so badly. Every Monday, I woke up in fear and asked my record company if the record had made the charts yet. They reacted coldly”, entitled ‘Wildelife’ in 2008. To my ears, the limited mainstream appeal is somewhat surprising because it sounds like a contemporary Synth-Pop chart hit of the slightly later 80’s. This has a strong tune, with a driving beat and some intense lyrics about a flirtatious encounter with a stranger on the dancefloor of a club, with lyrics like “I could hear his heartbeat/Pounding in the night” and “His soothing kiss/Was all I desired” to convey the themes with a George Michael-like hint of breathy and romantic tension in her voice. Wilde also goes for a swooping and punchy chorus, with the simple lines of “Sweet romancing/Something’s gonna start” and “We were dancing/Dancing in the dark” being complemented by a harmonic male backing vocal, with some flickering Synth tones and a rhythmic lead vocal from Wilde creating a catchy flow. The instrumentation is met with a cheerful Horn riff, some loud drums and danceable keyboard riffs that don’t sound out of place for the time. On the whole, I wouldn’t say this is a masterpiece. The lyrics are admittedly not very poetic and a little bland at points, and the synth instrumentals are not much more memorable. However, I think the reception of the time was a bit harsh. The more experimental direction of the album – as a body of work in its entirety – gave Wilde a chance to show what she could do beyond her pre-conceived notions. I enjoyed the Wham-esque vocals from Wilde on the track, and the beats are generally catchy. Its not Shakespeare, but it strikes me as something a bit underrated.

  • Pictured: Kim Wilde with Marty Wilde (Her Father) (in August 2020) (Photo via ExpressandStar.com)

Thank you for checking out the blog today, and I’ll be back tomorrow for an in-depth look at a brand new London-based R&B and Neo-Soul songwriter who specializes in “effortlessly blending the sounds of Congolese Rumba, Electronic, R&B and Alt-Pop with her perceptible lyricism” in approach. Her debut EP was self-released last Friday.

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Today’s Track: Caroline Polachek – “Bunny Is A Rider”

September 18, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Caroline Polachek in a PR shoot for a ‘Fader’ interview (2019) (Photo Credit: Nedda Asfari)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for us both to take a few minutes out of our frantically busy Saturdays to invest in yet another daily track on the blog, seeing that it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! If you asked me to give you a list of solo artists that I feel could be right on the cusp of breaking out into mainstream territory, the New York-based electronic Art Pop singer-songwriter Caroline Polachek would be near the top of such a list. She began to explore her interests in music production when she studied at The University Of Colorado, where she attended gigs by the Post-Hardcore, Dark Pop and Post-Punk bands of the Brooklyn scene of the late 90’s and early 00’s. Since that time, she co-founded the indie pop band Chairlift, who were active until 2017, and she worked on her solo side projects of Ramona Lisa and CEP. In more recent years, she has started releasing music under her own name and she began working frequently with the producer Danny L. Harle since the release of her debut solo album, ‘PANG’, in 2019. Polachek has now worked extensively with other artists, including Charli XCX and Blood Orange, and she wrote Beyonce’s single ‘No Angel’, which was released in 2013. She has also penned music for Travis Scott and SBTRKT. ‘Bunny Is A Rider’, her new single, was released last month, and it yet again finds her working with Danny L Harle as her producer. She will also be supporting none other than Dua Lipa on her ‘Future Nostalgia’ tour that starts in February. Let’s give it a spin.

First making its grand debut as Annie Mac’s ‘Hottest Record In The World’ on BBC Radio 1 on July 14th, according to Polachek, “Bunny Is A Rider is a summer jam about being unavailable”, which she states in her press notes. She tells us, “Bunny is slippery, impossible to get ahold of. Maybe it’s a fantasy, maybe it’s a bad attitude. But anyone can be blurry, at least for three minutes and seventeen seconds”, and she finally concludes that the single “features a scorching Bass performance from Danny L. Harle, plus his baby daughter’s first vocal cameo” in the statement. I would start by writing that I think classifying this one as a total Afrobeat tune is a bit of a push, but I can definitely sense an influence of the Nigerian genre in the spicy and absurd palette of sonic sounds. The lyrics are vague, with Polachek simply using lyrics like “Bunny is a rider/Satellite can’t find her” and “No sympathy/Ain’t nothing for free” that skew towards Art Pop and create a sense of intrigue for the song’s real meaning. It is unclear what ‘Bunny’ represents, with some allegories for ‘Alice In Wonderland’ and ideas on the illusion of womanhood being scattered around the electronic Pop direction of the freshly conceived melodies. For the verses, Polachek even switches to a first-person perspective, reciting lyrics such as “But I’m so non-physical/I do, I do, feel like a lady” with a twitchy and gliding delivery that feels widely processed to a point. There’s also some parallels to Of Montreal’s tune ‘Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider’ from 2007 in the track title and subject matter, but it’s no more clear whether this is an intentional decision or a pure coincidence. The production feels more detailed, however, with Danny L. Harle mixing up some catchy R&B backdrops and a punchy bassline to make the single feel accessible enough to casual listeners, despite some obscure lyricism that feels literacy-based, and I think the songwriting would have been more effective when given the context of a full album to connect the themes more tightly together. Overall, what we’ve already gotten here is pretty decent. The creativity feels unique enough to not draw an immediate comparison with her contemporary peers and so the track feels quite original on the whole. The enigmatic lyrics are given plenty of energy to bounce from too, with the chopped child vocal samples and the snappy, Pop-driven Synth arrangements giving the single a light-hearted danceability. Although not dream-like, it’s a cryptic puzzle of mostly pleasure.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Bunny Is a Rider’ (Single) (Released on July 14th, 2021) (via Perpetual Novice)

That note brings us to the end of the page for another day, and, thank you for your support, because it is always very much appreciated. It’s ‘Scuzz Sundays’ tomorrow, and we’ll be revisiting one of the few surviving Pop-Punk groups of the very cheesy era of Emo anthems. The Wichita Falls-based rockers have made two appearances on the blog, although it has been a while since we’ve heard from them, and so I’m letting myself off a bit for the potential overexposure. Today’s youth might know them for releasing a rather nerdy rock anthem titled after the female WWE wrestler Alexa Bliss.

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Today’s Track: Still Woozy – “Get Down”

September 2, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is’ (LP) (Self-Released on August 13th, 2021)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of an, as of about teatime, 23-year-old Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s now time for me to spend a little time of the day by delivering your daily track on the blog to your eye line, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! One of the latest albums that I’ve been nodding my head along to is ‘If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What It Is’, the debut studio album from the US indie bedroom Pop artist Still Woozy – his real name is Sven Eric Gamsky – who released the record on August 13th via his own Still Woozy Productions sub-division of the Interscope Records label. Gamsky began producing his own Pop music at home at just 13 years of age, and he grew up in the Moraga part of the San Francisco Bay area near Oakland, California. You may previously know him as a member of the Experimental Math-Rock band Feed Me Jack, who split up on amicable terms in 2016. Gamsky has now become very prolific in a short span of time and he aims to release a new single every 7 or 8 weeks, which IQ happily finds to be “genre-bending” music. Check out the single ‘Get Down’ below.

A self-reliant producer with a Major in Music from The University Of California in Santa Cruz as of 2015, Gamsky will be taking his sounds on the road for the upcoming festivals including Life Is Beautiful and Firefly, and many of the tickets for his solo shows in the US – for locations like Washington DC and Philadelphia – have been sold out already. UK fans can catch him in Brighton, Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol and more next Spring. ‘Get Down’ definitely feels influenced by his majoring in a classical guitar emphasis and his minor in electronic music during his time of studies, where merticulously planned guitar patterns control the briefly fluctuating signatures of the funky guitar lick patterns. He largely goes for a mix of modern Indie and commercial Funk, delivering the vocals with a hushed croon and giving the tempo a mid-speed treatment. The backbeat feels easy-going and accessible, while the struftul Drums feel like a clean accompaniment to the playful lyrics about young romance and sexual tension. He weirdly sounds similar to Mac Millar here, as he pairs a bubbling and upbeat backing beat with a blissful, Synth-driven instrumental that moves along fast enough, but emphasizes the feelings of regret and striving for something greater that you can identify in his voice. The rest of his lyrics play out as a confident reminder to follow your instincts and go with the flow of things when it comes to pursuing a friend as a love interest, as he lets out brief sighs when reciting lines like “She gave me a look that made me sweat/I think about it and I won’t forget” and “I had you on the dance floor/I swear, it was in the air” while he steps outside of his bounds briefly. The main hook of “She wanna get down” has an air of Soul to it, while the chorus draws from Folk and Psych-Rock a little bit with the tight basslines and the swift guitar work. If I were to offer my constructive feedback, I would have liked the chords to progress a little bit more and introduce more instruments to the mix to give the sounds a little more variety. Other than that, this is a really nice and catchy Pop-oriented tune that feels eclectic enough, and it should appeal to a sizable crowd of listeners due to the accessibility and his relatable songwriting concepts. A tightly arranged Pop package.

  • Pictured: Sven Eric Gamsky (Still Woozy) (2019) (Photo via Tim Mosenfelder/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

That brings us to the end of the page for another morning! I’ll be back tomorrow for ‘New Album Release Fridays’, and it’s going to be a good one because we’re learning more about one of the most highly anticipated Hip-Hop releases of the year and it comes from a female rapper who I admire very dearly. It is the follow-up to 2019’s ‘Grey Area’, which won the Album Of The Year at the NME and the Ivor Novello Awards.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Book Of Love – “Book Of Love”

August 25, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Susan Ottaviano (Lead Vocals/Chief Songwriter), Ted Ottaviano (Keyboards/Sampling/Programming/Piano/Melodica/Tubular Bells/Occasional Lead Vocals), Lauren Johnson (Synths) and Jade Lee (Percussion) (1985) (Photo via PostPunkMonk.com)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and this is ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ – the part of the week where we take a good, hard look at the sounds of the past that have become influential to the present, and that fits in with my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Book Of Love were a Synthpop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who were releasing their own innocent brand of New Wave and sultry Dream-Pop during the height of those genres’ popularity in the 1980’s, and they were later based in New York. Comprised of lead vocalist Susan Ottaviano, keyboardist Ted Ottaviano (bizarrely – of no biological relation to Susan), Synths programmer and other keyboardist Lauren Johnson, and percussionist Jade Lee. The quartet gained exposure in the 80’s as the support act for Depeche Mode on tour in 1985 and 1986, and the band have been praised by the Houston Press as “forward thinking” for lyrics dealing with gender politics and sexual orientation. Book Of Love released four reasonable successful albums before the band decided to move on with their solo projects in 1994, but they scored a massive club hit with ‘Boy Pop’ in 1993, a track that reached the top five of the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart. Their self-titled debut album, released in 1986, was a huge hit with the critics. Four singles were released from the LP, including the title track named after the band, and each of them gained a place on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and the Hot Dance Singles Sales charts in the US. Let’s give their signature title track a spin below.

The band seemingly didn’t want to become a parody of themselves, and I can understand their decision of gradually getting out of the game when the fangs of the 1990’s bit deep into the neck of sweetness through synthesizers. There was simply limited demand for dreamers in a musical landscape that was dominated by Hip-Hop, Grunge and Dance music, and their final album – 1993’s ‘Lovebubble’ – sold poorly and had little promotion to reflect this. However, most of the band’s members found new success with side projects like The Myrmidons. Book Of Love’s images were notably murky and low-lit, and this could potentially be down to cost-cutting production or simply a reality of printing graphics on their type of cardboard, but it still nicely reflects the slightly Gothic aesthetics that can be seen with an act like Book Of Love, a band who aimed to harness the energy of all the summers expired and the past of children playing freely in the playground for the nostalgic sound of singles like their self-titled signature cut. Built on some simple and strong melodies, ‘Book Of Love’ is a Hypnagogic Pop anthem that becomes more catchy with subsequent listens. Twinkling Keyboard melodies get the child-like atmosohere across, while lyrics like “Pages from my book of love” and “If you should ever happen to leave/I’ll add your book to my lovelorn library” feel poetic and gentle, delivered with a cheerful vocal pitch over the top of forlorn Drum jolts and soulful Synth sequences. The sprawling Horn section and the dreamy use of a Glockenspiel bring an aura of Shoegaze to the table in the later stages, adding some beautiful sounds to the track as it naturally draws to a close. The track’s verses remind me of The National, where strangely ebullient vocals match the slowed quality of the joyous instrumentation. Overall, ‘Book Of Love’ is rather of-its-time, but that time seems to have been an irrepressible one for the band. The band play with simplicity to perfection, and the honesty of their throwback feel to their songs is what puts them over effectively, not affectedly. A bookmark for an essence that could no longer quite be recaptured fully.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Book Of Love’ (Self-Titled LP) (Released on April 1st, 1986) (via Sire Records)

That’s all I’ve got lined up for you today, and thank you for reaching the end of the page with me! As I have already mentioned before, I will be taking a few days away from the blog to celebrate my sister’s wedding. Also, when it really is your day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day, it can sometimes feel like a lot of work, so I’m looking forward to resting and refueling. I will see you on Sunday!

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