Synthpop

Today’s Track: La Roux – “Automatic Driver”

February 7, 2020 — Leave a comment

La Roux’s “Supervision”, after six years, is finally here!… and so is your new blog post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Supervision” (2019)
  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Automatic Driver” (2019)

Like a giddy six year old on Christmas morning, I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to say that one of my all-time favourites, La Roux, finally has a new LP record that you can buy in your local record stores, or stream I guess – in this day and age, right now as I type! “Supervision”, which was released today on Elly Jackson’s own new independent record label Supercolour Records, is the follow-up to my favourite pop album of all-time, “Trouble In Paradise”, released way back in 2014. Mainly known for the mainstream chart hits spawned by her Grammy-winning debut album, “La Roux”, which was released way back in 2009, “Supervision” is the first La Roux record to be completely written and recorded as a solo act for Elly Jackson. She’s been selling it as the culmination of the ongoing flying solo saga and the record she’s always been wanting to make. I, for one, absolutely can’t wait to hear the results later today… When all of my day-to-day jobs are done, since I know that I can relax at that point. In the meantime, you can obtain a sample with the video for “Automatic Driver” below.

It looks like Tiger Woods has a new opponent for the Golfing season! A new wave synth-pop track with a strange resemblance to old country influences, “Automatic Driver” is an electro-pop break-up anthem which lyrically explores the feeling of unrequited goods in a long-term relationship and finding the “auto-pilot” who controls the steering of a relation-ship. That’s a bad pun, but at least I tried. Nonetheless, Jackson croons in her trademark Falsetto voice: “We can fight till it’s light/Doesn’t mend it/Do you still dream we’re alright/and we’ll find it”, over a fizzing keyboard strobe. She croons: “I wanted to manage information/Find the automatic driver”, as a stream of sultry techno flares sneak their way into the track to the melody of Jackson whistling. It’s later followed up by a groove-laden vocal rhyme: “I wanted to make a contribution, baby/I wanted to start a revolution with you”, topped off by a more reflective texture: “After I waited so long to find you/Why did I let myself run and hide from you?”, as Jackson laments the possibility of definitively breaking up with her one true romantic partner. Lyrically, it’s a little bit different to the feisty attitude of lead single “International Women Of Leisure” and the moving-up spirit of “Gullible Fool”, with a slightly light opening compared to the former, matched with the sentimentality of the latter. It still retains the maturity and the old-fashioned pop sound that I’ve loved hearing from the sound of her new tracks, but it’s also very progressive in adding more country-tinged strings to her bows. It’s another terrific release from Jackson which I’ve avoided listening for too much as to control my exposure to the new album before it came out. Now, I’m off to try on my Supervision long sleeve t-shirt and hear the new album, in full, for the very first time. I hope that you give the new record a chance too, as you might end up loving it as much as I shall!

  • Pictured: “Supervision” Amazon.co.uk Bundle (2020)
  • Pictured: La Roux (Elly Jackson) in a colourful press photoshoot for “Supervision” (2020) (Via PR)

If you somehow still haven’t quite got your La Roux fix for today, you can still read my glowing reviews for her other two singles from “Supervision”, “International Woman Of Leisure”here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/11/01/todays-track-la-roux-international-woman-of-leisure/ and “Gullible Fool” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/12/06/todays-track-la-roux-gullible-fool/

  • Pictured: La Roux (Elly Jackson) in a press photoshoot for “Supervision” interviews (February 2020) (Via PR)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow and I’ll hopefully have calmed down a little bit then, as I’m going to be writing about the new track from a French pop artist whose second album was named the “Album Of The Year” in 2018 by The Guardian! Don’t forget that it’s also nearly time for another Scuzz Sunday! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Planningtorock – “Beulah Loves Dancing”

February 5, 2020 — 1 Comment

I’ve been Planningtowrite this one for an entire day! It’s time for your new blog post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Beulah Loves Dancing” (October 2018) (Available on Bandcamp.com)

Good afternoon to you, Jacob Braybrooke here with your daily track for the blog! Jam Roston, formerly named Janine Roston, is an English electronic dance producer who currently lives in Berlin, Germany. She rose to fame after launching her own label, Rostron Records, where she released “Have It All”, her debut LP in 2006. Later, she went on the “Sound Of Silver” world tour with LCD Soundsystem in 2007 and released a remix of The Knife’s “Marble House” a year prior. “Beulah Loves Dancing” is a little bit old, but it’s still a recent track in her discography. It’s the lead single from her fourth LP, “Powerhouse”, a self-released album from 2018. I caught the track floated around on the BBC Radio stations for a little while in it’s original release and I’ve remembered it for long enough to feature it on the blog. Give the track a listen below.

I think it’s easy to see why it’s a very memorable little dance anthem, as it has a very original sound and the narrative framework is creative. The lyrics of the track pays tribute to the musically energised youth of Jam’s sister. With a down-tempo mood, she croons: “Back in the 80’s me and my sister were given a personal Walkman”, before referring to her sister, who loved her house music and would make her own mixtapes and cassettes. It became an obsession for her, which is beat-matched by a trippy acid synth line which remains steady, but teases a subtle line of breakbeat melodies. The bridge is led by an eccentric dreamscape vocal: “Beulah loves dancing/Has always loved music, yeah”, the story continues, with Roston taking a trip down memory lane, saying: “And I kid you not, the whole house would be shaking” as Beulah would prance about to her club music upstairs. It seems almost akin to a pop song, with a catchy vocal rhyme that hypnotically paces around the percussive techno melodies. The delivery of the vocals is particularly down-tempo, which keeps the fizzing synth notes to a controlled pace. I think the fade-out at the end is particularly nice and I love the unique composition of the track, with the childhood story being an anecdote which the melodic rhythms are built around. However, to a certain extent, I find the arrangement of the track to get a bit tedious and it doesn’t push it’s sound forward it’s techno-oriented soundscape as much as it’s experimentation suggests. Overall, I think it’s a three-star-out-of-five track as it’s use of storytelling is very intriguing and the fluctuating acid snare line is enjoyable, but the instrumentation feels limited to a point where I feel the track tries to do a bit much for it’s own good. I feel opinions may vary on this one, so I’d love to hear yours!

  • Pictured: Jam Roston (Planningtorock) in a photoshoot for her official website (2018)

Thank you for reading this post! Beulah Loves Dancing and so do I, so I’ll be dancing my way back on to the blog tomorrow with an in-depth look at a track from The Specials which is a cover version of an old Jamaican track released back in 1967! The cover version by The Specials reached #10 in the UK Singles Chart! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Pink Lotion – “Activated”

January 31, 2020 — Leave a comment

It’s been a good 7 months since I “activated” my blog, but I’ve somehow managed to keep up with it every day since! It’s a real mystery to me… It’s time for your new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Lusters” (EP release) (December 2019)

Good afternoon to you, Jacob Braybrooke, as always, writing about your daily track on my blog, One Track At A Time! Two powerhouses of the Seattle local independent music scene, Erik Blood and Rachael Ferguson, have recently teamed up for the sensual, pop-laden collaborative project, Pink Lotion. One of Blood’s solo LP’s, “Lost In Slow Motion”, originally released in April 2016, is one of my all-time favourite alternative albums, so I was very delighted to hear about the project when I saw that Seattle music and arts organization KEXP had premiered the official music video for “Activated” on their radio station’s website. “Activated” is the closing track on the Pink Lotion EP, “Lusters”, a six-track release which was dropped on their Bandcamp artist page on December 18, 2019. Let’s take a look at the video for “Activated” below.

The music video features Blood, on the right, in a black wide-brimmed top hat and a pink scarf while Ferguson, on the left, wears a similarly bright-coloured pink dress with an elaborate headdress topped with several small coloured balls. It also features cameos from many other musicians from the Seattle indie music scene – such as Emily Nokes from Tacocat, Lelah Maupin and Ishmael Butler, who works as Blood’s collaborator on the Knife Knight project, among a few others. They aren’t necessarily taking it very seriously and neither are Blood or Ferguson, which is a very good thing. “Activated” starts off with the memorable vocal hook: “I would like to know/how to say your name/I would like to see/how you play the game”, a sensual nod to late-night sex calls and adult chat rooms. A call-and-response format begins to follow, as Ferguson calls the likes of: “I won’t let you win/Nobody can lose/Do I have consent?”, while Blood responds with the likes of: “I won’t let you win but I have to say/Nobody can lose, not the way I play/Do I have consent/and if you’re all set”. The lyrics are very suggestive and the playful vibes of the electronic production work, triggered by a bouncing synth pad and a bassline which feels dipped in the purple glitter of an 80’s bass guitar melody, with added reverb for extra measure. This leads into a gorgeous, atmospheric bridge: “Tell me when my sun is shining/Baby I can see your star is rising”, another instance of the very comedically sexual writing on the track. It mostly reminds me of Blood Orange, as it infuses elements of classic R&B and Soul, along with an overall Prince influence. On the surface, it appears completely different to the gloomy atmosphere and the spiritual tone, created through a darker texture, on Blood’s “Lost In Slow Motion”. It deals with similar themes of disconnection with a lover as well as intense, personal feelings of isolation and intimacy, though. I think the dark synth-pop underlayer also forms part of the Bread and Butter Pudding of this Pop project as well, due to the light sprinklings of guitar riffs and the euphoric sense of romance which provides a synth-based backdrop to the sound, although the tone and mood is much more light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek compared to the sound of “Lost In Slow Motion”. Overall, I’m really glad that I’ve discovered the project, with other tracks including the funny titles of “Sex On Mars” and “Moisturbate”, although there is a professionalism which holds the overall sound together very well. Overall, this is a deeply satisfying and curiously appealing exploration of progressive synthpop within a context which endlessly has a lot more to give, unfolding and rewarding in repeated listens. Make sure you check out the EP!

  • Pictured: Erik Blood (Producer) and Rachael Ferguson (Lyrics/Vocals) in a photoshoot for “Lusters” (December 2019)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at the brand new track from Enfield’s finest, an indie rock songwriter who gained his big breakthrough from winning the Emerging Talent competition at Glastonbury Festival in 2015! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Marielle Kraft – “Better Without You”

January 30, 2020 — Leave a comment

As with every day on the blog, I’ve Kraft-ed the discovery of a brand new track for you!

  • Pictured: Marielle Kraft performing “See You In The Morning” in her own live Gibraltar Session (August 2016)

Good afternoon to you, Jacob Braybrooke is writing about your daily track on the blog, as promised! Marielle Kraft, in no way related to the owner of the mayonnaise and cheese spread company from the US, is an up-and-coming indie pop singer-songwriter from Rhode Island. She is a self-taught guitarist and she was influenced by the likes of Taylor Swift, Alec Benjamin and Maisie Peters. Over the course of the last two years, she has released two EP’s independently, which also includes four single releases and three officially produced music videos. I was recently introduced to Kraft by my friend Eddie Bammeke, who went on a trip with his friends to New York and he told me he was blown away by her acoustic performance and her big voice. Don’t forget to tune into his show, Slow Motion Riot, from 9:00pm – 11:00pm every Tuesday on OMG Radio, which airs right after my show! Let’s hear “Better Without You” below.

On “Better Without You”, Kraft starts: “Empathy/Working on having a bit more empathy/The story’s so much deeper than what I can see”, beginning to display lyrical themes of difficult break-up’s and female empowerment, a concept she explores more fully in the first verse: “January stripped away the best of me/Had to find the beauty in the rest of me”, before she begins to recite the chorus: “I don’t mean to think about you lately/but I do, but I do”, halfway building to: “When you call me up to ask you back/I let it ring with tears held back”, as a building layer of synth drums gradually increases it’s sonic focus on the track, before Kraft releases the tension with: “I am better without you”, with the track building to a faster pace with more instrumentation, such as a few guitar licks and a thunderous symphonic rock component which builds it’s tension around the reflective lyricism of the “I’m Moving On” anthem. It’s a little more interesting than your typical indie pop, as the subtle intensity of the new-wave pop bassline – paired with the swelling layer of sultry electro-pop, connotes Kraft overcoming a dark texture of relationship difficulties, as the tension is released when she says she’s “Better Without You”. She continues to take low-key sass jabs: “I’ve had time to grow my friendships without you/I’ve been playing New York City without you”, paired with a trance-based context of honest reflection. This is a decent and easily listenable pop track from an artist who’s very capable of achieving mainstream popularity. It’s because she is a master of her Kraft!

  • Pictured: Marielle Kraft performing at the City Winery of Boston (July 2019) (Photo Credit: Michael McCarthy)

Thank you for reading this post! Tomorrow, I’ll be celebrating underground greatness from Seattle with a new track taken from a collaborative EP from two of Seattle’s greatest local talents, including a producer who won the 2016 Stranger Genuis award! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Empire Of The Sun – “High and Low”

January 24, 2020 — Leave a comment

Happy Friday! Here’s a pop track that will branch out to you! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Luke Steele (Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar) and Nick Littlemore (Bass Guitar, Drum Kits, Programming)

Happy Friday! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, of course, writing about a track to lift your spirits before, like me, you want to collapse in exhaustion at the end of an eventful working week. Today’s track is “High and Low” by Empire Of The Sun, taken from their most up-to-date LP release, “Two Vines”, released in October 2016 after the band saw a resurgence of mainstream popularity due to “Walking On A Dream” being featured in a Toyota Car advert. I didn’t really know the latest album existed, to be honest, as there was only a three year gap between “Ice Of The Dune” in 2013 and “Two Vines” in 2016 – and I can remember my Dad owning their debut, also titled “Walking On A Dream”, back in my Pre-Teen days. However, I revisited “Ice On The Dune” and remembered how I didn’t get the chance to see how “Two Vines” measured up to it. Empire Of The Sun is an Australian pop duo made up of Pnau’s Nick Littlemore and The Sleepy Jackson’s Luke Steele. They aren’t particularly big in the UK and their success has waned on an interesting curve in the US, but the duo are moderately popular in several international territories and European markets. On “Two Vines”, Steele has described the context as a visualisation of a modern city overrun by a forest jungle, with other tracks like “Digital Life” touching on conceptual themes like the social media age. Take a look at the video for “High and Low” below.

“High and Low”, the lead single of “Two Vines”, is an upbeat and celebratory pop anthem, which sounds very familiar to the regular fanbase of Empire Of The Sun and unashamedly takes a lot of influence from 70’s pop bands like Fleetwood Mac and Deep Purple, with a vocal similarity to the Barry Manilow recordings of old. The single begins very quickly, with an urgent delivery of ambient sweeps and a fast-paced, electronic guitar riff. Steele chimes: “Down where the summer and the late nights last forever/There’s a house on the hill and we can’t travel now”, before chanting: “Alice D, you’re on your way up”. I wonder if that’s a not-so hidden reference to LSD? Steele continues singing about the wild child, Alice D, crooning: “Let’s get together, forget all the troubles and just float/I don’t want you to go now/I need to be closer to you now”, before a repeat of the pop-oriented chorus filled with chanting vocal hooks and stadium-sized, large-scale electronic pop notes. A very pop-heavy track, with a fast-paced delivery of sequencing and an obvious drive towards a Eurovision-primed disco sound. Although I think the artwork is absolutely gorgeous and the pulsating sound is engaging to a certain extent, it’s ultimately a track which feels a bit underwhelming and reminiscent of a struggling third album, in my opinion. The vocal hooks are highly repetitous and the writing is straightforward because I’m not really getting the nature-controlled city aesthetic of the album. Unfortunately, I can see why the album was released to little fanfare, as the concept is fairly interesting, but the sound doesn’t lean into it enough, which is a shame due to the flamboyant costumes and the theatrical live sets which the band has. It’s a simple case of the music not sounding quite so interesting, with a flat electronic pop chorus that doesn’t really go anywhere and a lack of experimentation. Overall, I feel the duo have some interesting ideas, so it’s ultimately a shame this vine fails to outgrow it’s unfortunate blandness.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Two Vines” (October 2016)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at a relatively new track from a Seattle-based Hip-Hop musician who has a Senegalese background and he made his debut over a decade ago with “HEAR ME OUT” in 2009! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Hinds – “Riding Solo”

January 21, 2020 — Leave a comment

Here’s a track from a band who had to change their name of Deers in 2014! Oh deer…

  • Pictured: Carlotta Cosials (Lead Vocals), Ana García Perrote (Lead Guitar), Ade Martin (Bass Guitar) and Amber Grimbergen (Drums) (Photo Credit: NME) (December 2019)

Seriously, they got caught up in a legal dispute with a Canadian indie band, “The Dears” in 2014! Hello, my deers (fine, I’ll stop it now – it can’t define the quality of the band anyways), Jacob “The Joker” Braybrooke is here again, it seems – with a look at Hinds’ new track “Riding Solo”, released in December 2019 as part of their world tour announcement. It’s their first new material since their second album, “I Don’t Run”, which was released in 2018. Loosely based on the theme of deers, Hinds have cited the likes of The Strokes, Mac DeMarco, The Vaccines and Ty Segall as their main influences of their lo-fi, garage-rock sound. Let’s have a listen of the new track below!

An optimistic take on the perks of feeling isolation and loneliness, “Riding Solo” is an embracing of the quirky, garage-pop sound that we love hearing from the band. It takes a twist on independence, as Carlotta Cosials, the lead vocalist of the Spanish indie outfit, sings: “I’m staring at the celing, I’m on my private jet lag/While everyone is dreaming, I’m dancing through dynamite” over a fashionably upbeat layer of fizzled electronic snares and sliding guitar licks, mixed with a youthful and ska-influenced underlayer of glistening drum beats, which create a flamboyant and celebratory tone. It’s more electronic and pop-adjusted than much of the band’s previous efforts, but their core elements of lo-fi and garage rock remain, as the vocals take a tingling turn towards the common human feelings of moving forwards and the unfriendly touring schedules of the band as musicians. Overall, I feel it’s an overall solid tune which reminds me of Grouplove’s electro-pop sound and may be a little forgettable, but the fans of the band will be pleased by the fact we’re hearing new music from the band with a slight evolution of their sound, while keeping their core sound relatively intact.

  • Pictured: Hinds in a photoshoot for their debut album “Leave Me Alone” (2016) (Photo Credit: slatethedisco.com)

Thank you for reading this post! As usual, I’ll be back tomorrow, with an in-depth look at the new single from a Kingston Upon Thames-born English DJ who received his major breakthrough for composing the score for the 2010 smash-hit film “Monsters”! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Róisín Murphy – “Narcissus”

January 9, 2020 — 2 Comments

This is not one for the Narcissists! Good evening, it’s time for your Thursday blog post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Narcissus” (Single/Radio Edit) (November 2019)

Jacob Braybrooke here! Another one of my personal favourites taken from the current BBC Radio 6Music A-List, “Narcissus” by Róisín Murphy, is Murphy’s latest collaboration with DJ Parrot of Crooked Man fame. Murphy, an Irish singer-songwriter, is best-known for earning commercial success as part of the Irish electronic trip hop duo Moloko, alongside longtime producer and friend Mark Brydon. Together, the two brought out several pop hits, such as 2000’s “The Time Is Now”, 2003’s “Familiar Feeling” and a 1999 remix of “Sing It Back”, all of which entered the mainstream pop charts around the world. “Narcissus”, currently a non-album single, is her latest work.

I love the strings on that! I feel that “Narcissus” has a rather Eurovision pop twang to it, which means this one was a bit of a “grower” for my personal taste buds. However, the more I hear it, the more I’m getting to like it. Murphy repeats: “being left/being left/being left/being left/being left with me/Narcissus” over the top of swirling, orchestral cello notes and an undeniably energetic disco throwback style. Unashamedly retro, Murphy begins to pant, out of breath, as she continues to repeat the main hook over synths which distort her voice with a powerful psych-pop twist. The whispered vocals prove that Murphy, despite her established status as a performer, really lends herself well to the retro-80’s euro-pop style of genre. The verses, which are slightly less memorable than the chorus, plays on a fairytale dreamlike quality, as Murphy professes her love for happy endings and seems belated by how she thinks she’s met her rightful Prince Charming: “The saddest story ever told/Loving only what you will hold/In your own reflection/When love is here”, as disco itself becomes part of her identity. It is a flawed experience, as the lyrics will become far too tedious for some listeners to enjoy, and I feel that it’s not the sort of song that I’ll be likely to revisit as time goes on as the overall sound is a little bit dated. I admit that it’s a cheese overfest. However, the track is very fun to listen to and it proves that Murphy, as an artist, is still capable of injecting her energy and character, as a pioneer, to the dancefloor! Go on then, let’s get up and have a boogie!

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a new track from an Indie soft-rock band from Brighton, of which I’ve covered a track on the blog before, who will be performing a gig at The University Of Manchester on the 30th, followed by a gig at Saint James Wine Vaults in Bath on the 31st! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Hot Chip – “Positive”

January 4, 2020 — Leave a comment

You could say that I may just have a “Hot Chip” on my shoulder! Saturday rave vibes!

  • Pictured: Alexis Taylor (Lead Vocals), Joe Goddard (Synths/Keyboard), Owen Clarke (Lead Guitar), Al Doyle (Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals, Percussion), and Felix Martin (Drum Machine/Programming)

A highly established Alternative Synthpop group on the UK indie circuit for just-about two decades now, as they formed in 2000, Hot Chip have been enthralling audiences on UK indie club dancefloors and club-oriented music festival environments with classic hits like 2007’s “Ready For The Floor” and 2008’s “Over and Over” since their breakthrough second LP record, “The Warning” was released in 2006. In June 2019, the group returned from a 4-year hiatus with “A Bath Full Of Ecstasy”, a commercially successful and well-received LP which housed indie resurgences such as “Hungry Child” and “Melody Of Love”, singles primed to liven up club environments with a technicolor paint of coat on the UK and international dance-rock circuits. A new single, “Positive”, has just been released and it’s been receiving significant airplay on both BBC Radio 6Music and Radio X, as well as being on the FIFA 20 soundtrack. I’m Jacob Braybrooke and today’s track on One Track At A Time is “Positive” by Hot Chip!

“Positive” has an immediate opening of Nu-disco channeling, with large measures of drum machine jolts and razor synth-rock snares. It’s never afraid to show the group’s trademark image of quirky energy and infectious new-wave disco, as Alexis Taylor proceeds to deliver a political and ecological message on the effects of Homelessness, as the track incorporates light hip-hop elements into it’s pop-heavy production. Taylor sings: “You’re washed up and you’re hated / You’ve lied, you’re berated”, before delivering a chorus that plays on the themes of euphoria and childhood: “We get together sometimes/Talk about how we used to get together sometimes/Of love/How we used to laugh together sometimes/Of something positive”, with a Pet Shop Boys-inspired talk-sing style of dialogue. What tune-age! Taylor goes for a vibe where the track is heartbreaking and quiet, with the soulful riffs on loneliness and isolation being disguised by 90’s electronic pop beats and care-free use of drum machine programming. The result is a track that goes for Dancefloor Bliss and more or less succeeds, if it wasn’t for the ideas of homelessness running on a little bit of an empty gas tank near the end of the track. It’s not specifically stepping the band out of their comfort zone, but it’s a solid and engrossing reminder of how the band play to their strengths and wrap up a sound that is compulsively listenable and weirdly poignant, more so than it might appear at first! My opinion is “Positive”…

  • Pictured: Hot Chip performing a live headline set at Mayfield Derby in Mannheim, Germany (2019)

Thank you for reading this post! Make sure that you check back with the blog tomorrow, as it will be time for my first Scuzz Sunday blog post of the New Year! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Saint Etienne – “My Christmas Prayer”

December 20, 2019 — Leave a comment

As I’ve grown up, I’ve found that My Christmas Prayer is for well… nothing. It’s time for you to take a trip back down to 1994 and kick off your evening with your new post!

  • Pictured: Sarah Cracknell (Lead Vocals), Bob Stanley (Keyboard, Percussion) and Pete Wiggs (Keyboard, Percussion)

A beloved British dream-pop trio named after the AS Saint-Etienne Football Club, Saint Etienne have become a very well-established name on the international indie music scene since they released their debut LP, “Foxbase Alpha”, in 1991. The band have been described as significant in uniting 90’s club counter-culture together with early, pioneering 60’s influences. Within their discography, the band released a christmas track on their 1994 album, their third overall LP release, “Tiger Bay”. It wasn’t included on the standard listing, however, as the track was released as a b-side on the bonus disc of the UK release of the album. The track is called “My Christmas Prayer” and it acts as a breather between the techno-pop sound explored on the album released in June 1994. I recently heard the track on late-night radio and since I’ve been covering a wide range of lesser-known festive tracks on the blog leading up to Christmas and New Year’s, I thought it’d be a perfect little track to cover for you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year over the festive season, and today’s track is – “My Christmas Prayer” by Saint Etienne!

I think it’s fair to say it’s one of the least conventional Christmas songs ever written, as it has a very down-tempo and laidback style that will either come across as traditional and heartwarming for some, or bleak and melancholic for others. This will depend on who you ask! I wonder what Saint Nick would make of it! Vocally, Cracknell displays a careful prowess as she poetically recites: “Oh Lord, will you please help me//For my baby’s gone astray?/Bring him back, / ’cause I’m so lonesome, and tomorrow’s Christmas Day” over a soothing, somewhat exhausting, underlayer of 90’s electropop synthesizers and ringing bells, which culminates with a solo riff of keyboard lines that dance towards the natural conclusion of the track. It’s the festive equivalent of Marmite on toast, as I think you’re either going to love it or hate it! For me, personally, it’s bubbly and there’s a cheesiness to an extent, but I find the pacing of this cover version to be very slow and the layout to be dull compared the original classic recorded by Billy Fury. I feel there is fun to be had, however, as the vocal performance from Cracknell is angelic and the material from Stanley and Wiggs on the keyboards is decent enough. Overall, it’s a bit of a throwaway seasonal offering which sounds a bit flat in places, but I feel it ends up being a decent little tune overall!

  • Pictured: Saint Etienne performing “Nothing Can Stop Us” live at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn (2017)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be offering more great tidings on the blog tomorrow as part of my weekly Scuzz Sundays (90’s-00’s emo/punk/rock-themed) posts! However, this week, it’s a track from a modern classic UK indie-rock band with a seasonal twist! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Bad Sounds – “Sympathetic Vibrations”

December 19, 2019 — Leave a comment

To what extent is it bad though? You’re going to have to read my new post to find out!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Get Better” (2018) (LP Record)

While likely not the worst band of all time, Bad Sounds are an independent 5-piece dance-rock band from Bath who, for better or worse, have made a name for themselves over the last couple of years. “Sympathetic Vibrations” is their new tune, a 70’s inspired jolt through the history of Brit-pop, which was released on 6th November 2019 as a one-off single following the release of their debut LP record, “Get Better”, released in August 2018. Inspired by the jazz legends of past era’s, with the band citing Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield as their artistic influences, to create new music, Bad Sounds have been cooking up a storm at live festival sets and their local indie scene for a sound that, for many people, isn’t quite as bad as the name implies. I’m Jacob Braybrooke and today’s track is – “Sympathetic Vibrations” by Bad Sounds!

Providing an instant reminder of Hot Chip and Dropkick Murphy’s for me, “Sympathetic Vibrations” is a 4-minute woozy indie-pop number that has an energy designed for vibing out to the track at teenage house parties. Callum devises the vocals in a similar pitch to Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend, as he exclaims: “I bet you pull me over/I bet you pull me past the line/When you need me to feel you/And have your heart keep time for mine” over a line of distant whistles and substance-treated electronic snares which keep proceedings at a relatively mellow standpoint. Later, the chorus kicks in: “Sympathy Vibrations/I can be here for a feeling as it’s coming on/Sympathy Vibrations/Keeping you here while the ceilings keeping out the sun” as the band whisks you away to an escapist beach-like vacation setting. The track has a free-spirited energy and a laidback tone which is appealing for their fanbase. However, if I’m being completely honest with you, there are things about this track that I don’t like very much. The issue is that the sound isn’t bad (ha-ha-ha), but it sounds too laidback for me to a point where it sounds very generic, as there’s nothing exciting about the melodies or the lyrics that make me want to revisit the track. It’s not particularly memorable or catchy, it’s just quite flat and it’s not very compelling. The whistled vocals and the 80’s pop elements are okay, but that’s all. They fail to maintain my interest throughout the entirety of the duration because they start to feel repetitive. Overall, “Sympathetic Vibrations” isn’t a Bad sound (Ok, I’ll stop it now), but it’s a flat and tedious experience that, for me, doesn’t kick into a higher gear of any real form, which is a shame. It’s alright, but I’ve forgotten it already.

  • Pictured: Ewan Merrett (Keyboard), Callum Merrett (Vocals), Charlie Pitt (Bass Guitar), Olivia Dimery (Drums, Percussion) and Sam Hunt (Rhythm Guitar)

Thank you for reading this post! As per usual, I’ll be back tomorrow, with a look at a new track from a Halifax indie-rock 3-piece band who are signed to Heavenly Recordings and have been highly critically acclaimed by The Guardian and BBC Radio 6Music, among others! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/