Tech-House

Way Back Wednesdays: New Order – “Fine Time/Don’t Do It”

March 24, 2021 — Leave a comment

Just over 20 years later – Is there still ‘Truth Faith’ in this track to soar? New post time!

  • Pictured: Bernard Summer (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Synths), Phil Cunningham (Lead Guitar/Electronic Percussion), Gillian Gilbert (Keyboard/Programming), Tom Chapman (Bass Guitar) and Stephen Morris (Drums/Splicing/Percussion) (2021) (Photo taken from PR/Factmag.com)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time again for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! It’s Way Back Wednesday – where we revisit one of the important sounds of the past that has influenced the exciting, fresh sounds of the present. New Order are cool – and it’s about ‘Fine Time’ that we featured some of their material on the blog. Although this track probably isn’t given the same mainstream airplay as ‘True Faith’, ‘Blue Monday’ or ‘World In Motion’, it still reached #11 in the UK Singles Chart. Although I probably wouldn’t consider New Order to be one of my top favourite artists upon my initial instincts – I have consistently enjoyed the music that Bernard Summer and his co-horts have put out over the years, and since a bulkload of that music was from before my time, I think that has something to say about their funky musicianship and crossover appeal. ‘Fine Time’ was officially released in 1988 as the A-side of a 12″ Vinyl release, which included the B-side of ‘Don’t Do It’. Written and recorded partially while the band were on tour in Ibiza, the lyrics were modeled after a witty incident where drummer Stephen Morris’s car was towed, and he had nearly forgotten to pay the fine for the penalty. It was another modest hit for the band in the UK, but it also found success within the Top 10 chart in Finland, Ireland and New Zealand, along with finding commercial success in the US, where it landed a spot on three of Billboard’s genre charts. The track was later included as a single from the band’s fifth studio album, ‘Technique’, a year later. Let’s cast our minds back with the official music video below.

“My car had been towed away and I had to remind myself to go and pay the fine”, Summer said to his press team on the track back in the day, “I just wrote ‘Fine Time’ on this piece of paper, to remind myself to go get it and, I thought that’s a good title” was the statement that he used to explain how, at times, the human eye is the most responsible component for creativity. The critics were also big fans of the single, with Aaron Febre of Niner Times writing that it’s off-kilter sound had “refurbished the band and gave them a fresh start, and Ned Raggett of AllMusic writing that it “not only had paid attention to the acid-house/Ibiza explosion but used it for its own ends, capturing the frenetic energy that the musical eruption on British shores had unleashed with strength and style” in his review. It certainly has a vibrancy and a sense of experimentation which gives it a distinctive edge, especially for a group who were off the back of their commercial peak at the time, with the low-pitched voice samples and the hyper-energetic synthesizer sequences going for an outgoing vibe. The keyboard sections also feel wonky and not conventionally structured, with an overall Disco influence that feels subverted by the explorations of Neo-Psychedelia. The vocals contemplate the moral universe of the dancefloor, and by extension, party life. Lyrics like “You’re much too young, to be a part of me” and “You’ve got class, but most of all, You’ve got love technique” feel enigmatic, but witty due to their drunk-sounding effects. We get to a bridge were “The past doesn’t matter” is repeated by a robotic sound effect that evokes the Industrial Motorik of Kraftwerk or Visage, but the instrumentation feels less flat and the lyrics feel more daft. Overall, it is a likeable anthem because it sounds like something I would feature on my “That Was A Hit” segment of my radio show, in the sense that it feels like a hit that was unusual for being that. This clearly breaks away from the typical Pop format with the seemingly unrelated vocal hooks and the musical non-sequiturs making for a strange mixture. It felt like a bold creative direction for the group to take, however, because they were determined to re-invent with the use of a crazy, silly ode to the Ibiza Club and Acid House dance music explosion and, for all of these risks, it succeeds in paying them off.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Technique” (LP) (Released on January 30, 1989) (via Factory Records)

Well, it really has been a pleasure to stop and muse as always… but it’s about “fine time” that I got on with a few other jobs on today’s list now. I’ll be ready to go back at it again tomorrow, however, with an in-depth look at a collaborative single that seems to have gone down as a hit for the BBC Radio 6Music listener’s group on Facebook, coming from a lesser-known US indie Post-Rock band from Illinois who based their debut album on the frontman’s early experience of living among a Cult. 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/

Way Back Wednesdays: Orbital – “The Naked and The Dead”

February 17, 2021 — Leave a comment

On gut reaction, I’d rather be in the former situation than the latter. Let’s go Way Back!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Radiccio” (EP) (UK Release) (Released in 1992) (via FFRR Records)

Good Morning to you – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time again for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it is routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! I’m pretty suprised that I’ve not covered any of Orbital’s work on the blog before, since the Kentish DJ brother duo of Phil & Paul Hartnoll are very much within my alley of 90’s electronic dance music releases. Yet, here we are – and it’s taken our weekly archive dig to get me there. A lost cut from the “Halycon” EP, which was released in the UK as the “Radiccio” EP here for us in the UK, and in Japan too, “The Naked And The Dead” is one of those deep dives Orbital tunes that time forgot, as is naturally the case with these projects. This EP barely managed to crack the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, but “Halycon” is still one of the better known tunes from the Hartnoll brothers, especially in the mainstream, and Orbital remains to be one of the most critically acclaimed groups from the 90’s peak of IDM and Acid Techno music. Known for their improvisational style in live DJ set performances, and the photographs of atomised Orbitals on their cover sleeves, Orbital took their name from the M25 orbital motorway of Greater London, which was central to the early rave scene in the South East during the early days of Acid House music. Let’s check out their deep dive below.

Orbital were mainly active between the very late-80’s and 2004, but they have reunited twice in the 2010’s since, with new albums each time to boot. According to the Hartnoll brothers, this old tune represents: “Consumer goods are tending to lose all use-value. Their nature is to be consumable at all costs”, elaborating on this,”Which is to say: Non-values or empty, fictitious, abstract values, you are no longer as old as you feel, or as new as you look, but as old as what you buy” in the original archives of the EP’s press notes. Touching on consumerist values and adapting lifestyles to fit social stereotypes as contextual themes, “The Naked and The Dead” gives me a somewhat dystopian vibe, because it’s simply one of the heavier releases that I’ve ever heard to come from the creative minds of the two Hartnoll brothers. Struck by an unrelenting Jungle influence, the drum beats sound tribal and the bassline hits a fast tempo. The vocals are a sample taken from Scott Walker’s version of the track “Next”, which, in turn, is a cover version of an old pop tune originally sung by Jacques Brel. The inspiration behind the “Halcyon” EP also revolved around Hartnoll’s mother’s addiction to the drug Triazolam for many years, which is obviously known as Halcion otherwise. This darker variation of tones, especially compared to past Orbital hits like “Chime” and “The Mobius”, feels reflective of that matter. The repeating hook is sporadically layered under a polished Drum sequence, while the Synths give off a viably more strobe lighting-like effect that was a good fit for late-night festival sets. While retaining it’s dance-oriented roots, the layering of the synths and the drums is quite merticulous, with the ethnological drum beats and the trickling Synth sequences replacing old Drill ‘N’ Bass production with the West African-influenced percussion. After the sweat dries, the track likes to keep itself afloat by repeating the opening sequences and incorporating the Scott Walker sample to add a slightly soulful quality. It would ware a bit thin by the end of the long 12 minute remix also found on the EP, but it works for the short version. It wouldn’t be classed as one of their greatest hits, but it’s worth a tad more recognition than it gets.

  • Pictured: Phil Hartnoll (DJ/Producer) and Paul Hartnoll (Synths/Drums) (2017) (via Channel 4 News)

And… we’re back in the present! Join me tomorrow, where I’ll be contrasting these ancient throwbacks with some brand new music that I’ve recently discovered through the Bandcamp app. Join me again then – for an in-depth look at a single from the sophomore album to come from a Danish indie Post-Punk Revival band, who have just released the new LP on Fat Possum Records. Boasting a decade of experience, the 21-year-old frontman has previously been a part of his local indie rock band Cola Freaks, and has ran two indie music labels under his wing – Shordwood and 100 Records. 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: Ela Minus – “They Told Us It Was Hard, But They Were Wrong”

February 9, 2021 — Leave a comment

A fresh discovery – ready for you to give either a Plus or a ‘Minus’. Time for a new post.

  • Pictured: Ela Minus at Moogfest in Durham, North Carolina (2019) (Photo via Novationmusic.com)

Good Morning to you – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up on the blog for your daily track because, as I’m constantly reminding you, it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Ela Minus is a name that previously eluded me for a while, as I had sifted through sparklers of her material through some support on BBC Radio 6Music and through some bits-and-pieces sent to me by my cohorts from the Student Music Network over the past few months, but it was when I saw her fantastic live performance for KEXP’s Live At Home series that my ears finally paid her the notice she deserved. Currently based in Brooklyn – but born and raised in Bogotá, Columbia – this Techno wizard fell in love with the drums when she attended the Berklee College Of Music when she was 18. Her debut album, “Acts Of Rebellion” was released in late October by Domino Recordings – the same label where you will find more familiar names like Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Hot Chip and Anna Calvi. The 10-track LP received positive reviews, and she cements herself as an effective One-Woman orchestra with a love for exploring Witch-House, Techno, Art Rock and Dream Pop. She also uses the slogan of “Bright Music For Dark Times” to describe her own style, and it is ironic because her music sounds generally pretty moody despite the twinkling keyboards. “They Told Us It Was Hard, But They Were Wrong” is my favourite track of her’s. Check it out below.

Her real name is Gabriela Jimino – and in an ideal world, she would have supported Caribou on tour and then played a euphoric live set at the gigantic Coachella festival last summer, but we all know how that plan turned out. Nonetheless, she summed up her music in an interview with WODJ Magazine, by saying that her overall message of her work is that “I want to give people an alternative. An alternative to everything, another path, another way forward” within her textures. She is as much of a hardware tinkerer as an educated composer, and each of Minus’ mantras feel precisely reflected in the above track. Set off by slowly bubbling sequences that lead into stroking Synth blips, Minus’ voice flows into the chilling grooves created by the Staccato synths and the sonar-like pulse of the airy, gently breathing chord progression. It never quite feels like club music by the direct opening, but the pacing of the sequences gradually intensify and the Drums work in tandem with a provocative Keyboard riff to create a more cooling atmosphere to the darker tones in the towering synth beat. The vocals, meanwhile, create a moodier variation of tones where refrains like “We always know in the first minute or so/If something’s worth staying for” and “If you have to go to the bottom of a hole, To find what’s wrong, just let it go” feel as though they are mildly provoking a resistance. The sequences are broken up by a slower bridge, where Minus’ half-spoken and half-sung voice adds further intrigue. It takes a little while for a big beat to drop, but when it does, it’s paired with an oddly motivational set of lyrics, and the crescendo of the built synths release the tension with a more rhythmic undertone, where looping sonics and meandering keys riff on the more hopeful ambience. What I really love about this track is that there’s a real spirit of DIY Post Punk hidden in the execution though it bears no resemblance to the shouting and guitars of that genre. It really gradually becomes about freedom and independence, and defiance against the corporate. I love to picture this being played at some artsy elaborate French fashion show of modern art, but it also sounds like it could be directly taken from a high-budget Spy flick or a John Wick-like action sequence. It draws on the cinematc, while keeping the underground roots of the ideas intact, sounding like Billie Eilish goes Kraftwerk in the provoctive textures. The underlying theme of her music is an idea that resistance grows from everyday practices, and this feels harsh yet inspired. This is phenomenal and she’s going to do remarkable things.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Acts Of Rebellion” (LP) (Released on October 23, 2020) (via Domino Records)

There’s enough rave-reviewing from me for today! Yet, we’re shifting away from the relatively new releases to the comparatively vintage offerings tomorrow as the “Way Back Wednesdays” series once again takes the floor. In tomorrow’s new entry to the growing library of the feature, we’re going to take a detour back in to 1999 for an in-depth listen back to what is presumed to be the first-ever recording put out by one of Warp Records’ highly prolific electronic dance music producers – Who used to previously self-release his own material for his very own independent label which he famously named “Mute Recordings”. 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: Daniel Avery – “Lone Swordsman”

November 12, 2020 — 1 Comment

I wish that it was but a flesh wound for the 90’s Black Knight! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Daniel Avery in an interview photoshoot for Crack Magazine (in 2020) (Photo by Tom Andrews)
    Pictured: Daniel Avery in an interview photoshoot for Crack Magazine (in 2020) (Photo by Tom Andrews)

Hands up if you got my little reference to Monty Python up there! Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it is time for me to write your daily post, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! “Lone Swordsman” is a different type of charity single – a tribute to the legendary 90’s DJ Andy Weatherhall, who we owe a lot of our music to. He sadly passed away at the age of 56 in February due to a Pulmonary Embolism. This comes from Daniel Avery, a London-based Electronic Ambient Dance musician. The track’s title is taken from one of Weatherhall’s numerous side projects – ‘Two Lone Swordsmen’ – a name which Weatherhall and Keith Tenniswood co-produced a series of albums and EP’s under. The track is the digital B-side to Avery’s “Dusting For Smoke” single, which has been taken from his latest album, “Love + Light”, that Avery put out earlier in the year via Mute Records. Proceeds from “Lone Swordsman” via Bandcamp will be donated to Amnesty International in memory of Andy Weatherhall, so please make sure that you seek it out there. Let’s sample the track with the Greg Hodgson-directed video below.

An improvisational piece, Avery posted on his social media: “I was in my studio the morning I heard about Andrew Weatherhall’s passing. The track ‘Lone Swordsman” is what formed that day”, adding, “Andrew was a hero, a friend and someone who regularly reminded us all how it should be done”, and he was close to Weatherhall personally, having performed some back-to-back live DJ sets together in the past. With no lyrics at all to speak of, the solemn and peaceful beats of “Lone Swordsman” are enough to create a fitting little tribute to Andy Weatherhall with a euphoric sense of innocence and purity that has no need for vocals to add an extra punch to the digital melodicism. It starts off with a percussive, stabbing drum pattern that almost replicates the sound of a Ping-Pong ball to me, creating a theme of childhood and soft nostalgia with the ambient soundscape. A musing sequence of gentle synths creep in, a Celestial sound that adds an element of Space-Pop and old-school 90’s rave tracks with it’s deeply electronic sound. The tempo slightly raises throughout the track as we gently build up to an ambient washing of vivid, colourful Synths and more deeply textured, percussive drum loops. There is a slick bassline that runs throughout, one which doesn’t feel too modern or contemporary, but instead feels analogue-driven and with a contemplative tone that fits the subject matter of the track nicely, and continues to evoke a nostalgic and light-hearted emotion with it’s light sonic steps. The recurring set of synths keep lurking in and out – as if to just slowly massage your ears to the beat of the more percussive layers in the repeating drum beat of the track. Rather than evoking a Dancehall-oriented club sound, it reminds me of the work that legendary DJ and personal favourite Aphex Twin explored on “Xtal” specifically and the general sound of “Selected Ambient Works 85-92” by using the simplicity of the drum sounds to Avery’s advantage. This is not really a heavy dance beat and feels more of an emotive ambient ilk, so you’re not going to find the next big dancefloor-filling club record if you’re looking to find that from this, but it feels perfectly suited for it’s purpose instead and it’s laid out very impressively, with merticulously planned synths which properly reward you with repeated listens to it. Rest in peace, old friend.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for "Dusting For Smoke" (EP) (Released on September 1, 2020) (via Phantasy Sound)
    Pictured: Cover Art for “Dusting For Smoke” (EP) (Released on September 1, 2020) (via Phantasy Sound)

Thank you for reading my new post! As always, please feel free to join me again tomorrow – where will be skewing towards Post-Punk instead. We will be taking an in-depth listen back to cult classic track from 1989, an example of work taken from the early discography of a cult favourite 90’s Post-Punk band who were formed in 1986 by Ian MacKaye in Washington, DC. The band earned critical acclaim and crossover success across the world before starting their indefinite hiatus in 2003. 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: Bonobo & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – “Heartbreak”

October 6, 2020 — Leave a comment

You’d better not break my heart – My achey, breaky heart! It is time for your new post!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Heartbreak” (Single) (Released on September 23rd, 2020) (via OUTLIER)

Good Morning! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’ve just arrived to write up about your daily track on the blog since, in case you hadn’t figured it out by now, it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to get typing up about a different piece of music every day! “Heartbreak” is a new collaborative single created by two exceptional talents within the International EDM club scene. In one corner, we have Bonobo – aka Brighton-born but Los Angeles-based dance music composer Simon Green – who has attained a cult following, with his material being performed by a full-scale touring band during his live DJ sets. In the second corner, we have Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – a London-born dance music producer best known for his UK Top 40-charting album “Trouble” from 2012, and we covered his work on the blog just recently due to the release of his incredible “I Can Hear The Birds” EP during Lockdown. Although the single is available to download or stream digitally right now, it is also set to come out on a physical 12″ vinyl format, come November 13th. The release of “Heartbreak” is also very notable because it marks Bonobo’s first material to be released on Bonobo’s new independent label, OUTLIER. These two producers have been friends since 2015, collaborating both behind-the-scenes and by regularly supporting each other on-tour. Bonobo elaborated on their work together, via press release, saying: “Orlando (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs) was playing me a fairly stripped back idea he had for something last year,” later adding, “We spent a few afternoons in his studio trying ideas out and eventually, ‘Heartbreak’ was the end result.”. Their new single comes accompanied by an official visualizer music video – and it includes a heavy STROBE warning. You have been warned! Let’s take a listen to their collaborative single below.

“Heartbreak” mainly plays out as a tribute to the heavy disco scene in New York City during the 1970’s and the 1980’s, with the main sample being used from “Weekend”, a track by Class Action. The liner notes that will come with the 12″ physical single will feature an essay by author Tim Lawrence on the lasting impact of the original track. You’re getting some more bang for your buck, then. “Heartbreak” was reportedly also the catalyst for Bonobo’s indie label, as he explained: “[It] seemed like a good starting point and was the track that became the catalyst to start the label. One for the dance floors in a time when they’re dearly missed”, via a press statement. A light New-Rave element proves to be the modern twist to bring the old sample up to a bit of a contemporary speed. It also sounds quite breakbeat-driven, with a heavy acid strobe line that wraps around Christine Wiltshire’s original vocal hook of “I can’t take the heartbreak” from the sampled 1983 dance anthem. The introspective, but rumbling, synth melodies feel noticeably Higginbottom, a comforting element that sounds a lot like his previous work, but they never feel simplistic, as Higginbottom takes inspiration from the 90’s street rave scene in the UK to create some rolling percussion beats and some fluttering synthesizers that feel vibrant and emotionally-driven, if a little bit safe. The other side of the sonic palette sees Bonobo experimenting with a decadent, spiraling bass melody that permeates through the duration of the track with a solid cohesion and weaving the drum parts throughout the interchanging textures of Higginbottom’s Nu-Disco synth work. Together, they make up for a very fluid listening experience overall. I think that just a little bit more variety in the vocal sample could have taken things up to a slightly higher level, but those are just my two cents. You’ve got to remember that, at the time of the NYC dance scene of the 70’s and 80’s that the sound is harkening back to, no-one had mobile phones and people were truly on the dancefloor, in a club, to connect, socially and without much technology, with inclusivity and fun. So, I feel that Green and Higginbottom have done a fantastic job in pulling this track together with the resources that they had. A great throwback.

Pictured: Bonobo (a.k.a. Simon Green) in a live set (2017) (Photo Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

As I’ve mentioned just now, I have also covered a track (“Los Angeles”) taken from Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs’ recent EP, “I Can Hear The Birds”, which he pulled together using collaged field recordings of birdsong sounds that was gathered, and sent, to him by some of his friends across the world. Make sure that you take a listen to the track here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/08/05/todays-track-totally-enormous-extinct-dinosaurs-los-angeles/

Pictured: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs in an official photoshoot (in 2020) (Photo by Pia Riverola)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! Tomorrow, I’ll be listening to a new track from a North London-born experimental electronic producer who was recently featured on KEXP’s Song Of The Day podcast, and played on a recent episode of 6Music Recommends by John Ravenscroft. The artist has just released a new EP on the innovative Hyperdub music label, and she has previously released her music on the New York Haunted record label. 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 – “Something More”

October 2, 2020 — Leave a comment

Engineering of clear precision – or a mechanical malfunction? It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Róisín Murphy” (Available from October 2nd, 2020) (via Skint Records)

Good Morning to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke and it’s my usual duty to get typing up about a different track on the blog each day, because it’s still routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Just when we all probaby thought she had reached the top of her game when she decreed “Murphy’s Law” back in early March (“pre-Covid”, just about), Murphy threw us another bombshell a few weeks later: she had been working on her first solo album release since 2016, “Róisín Machine”, which released today, October 2nd, via Skint Records (a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management). The female alternative musician known for chart hits including “Sing It Back” and “The Time Is Now” as one half of the Irish Trip-Hop duo Moloko with her partner Mark Brydon, has been collecting up her previously unreleased singles, dating back to 2012, to make up the track-list of her new album, alongside new material. I think Róisín Murphy is great, and so I’ve been really looking forward to hearing the new release, which was delayed from an intended release date of September 25th, due to Covid-19 manufacturing issues. Alas, it was only another week, and here we are now. The record has received a very healthy 86/100 on review aggregate site Metacritic, with Alexis Petridis, of The Guardian, writing in his four-star review that “Róisín Machine” is “a sharper, more focused album than 2016’s ‘Take Her Up to Monto’; one which reins in some, but not all, of its author’s eccentricities […] Certainly, it allows Róisín Murphy’s talents to shine far more clearly than its sprawling predecessor”. Let’s have a listen to the single, “Something More”, for ourselves below.

The Irish Disco-House pioneer turned to her longtime collaborator Richard Barratt to help her produce the album, while five of the new tracks from the track-listing were penned with the NYC-based songwriter, Amy Douglass. A more emotionally-driven follow-up to the uptempo, groovy “Murphy’s Law” single, Murphy opens with a soulful croon of “I want Something More”, and a two-step drum beat begins to creep in to form the core basis of the groove, before a hazy set of Synth riffs and a swirling, percussive drum beat creates a mid-tempo and seductive effect. The post-bridge seems to mark the cue to a key change, as the synthesized instrumentation briefly tones down and it allows for a more downtempo side of Murphy to shine through, as she adds: “Gotta give me something more/I want something more”, to a washing, soft ambience that gives the body-twirling drum grooves a leeway to breathe, butstill retaining those elements of Nu-Funk and Italo Disco, with the dance-led melodicism. The rest of the lyrics play on searching for renewal in your life, and the representation of an overall wider search for identity within your spiritual or mental well-being, as Murphy recites polished little hooks such as “I want it all, yes all the cake” and “A crown upon my head, two lovers in my bed, but I want something more” on top of the mature direction of the deeper, more mysterious vocals than we’ve heard from Murphy’s tracks in recent months. Overall, I think the new single establishes a clear element of Deep House into her formula, with the layered and percussive drum beats. I feel that Disco throwbacks has been a staple of the mainstream trends this year, with Dua Lipa and Jessie Ware taking clear influence in recent months, but Murphy does it with more sophistication and credibility, yet without losing very much of the accessibility elements. On “Something More”, she sounds strong and confident in wandering down whatever path of Euro-Pop or Nu-Disco which interests her, without much specific thought of the commercial ramifications that may come with this, and I think this should be respected. Although I don’t feel that “Something More” has quite as much of an impact as “Narcissus” or “Murphy’s Law”, it is still an excellent showing from one of the best comeback stories of the last few years. A lack of disappointment.

  • Pictured: Róisín Murphy in a “Take Her Up To Monto” publicity shoot (2016) (Photo via Nicole Nodland)

If you want to hear something more from Róisín Murphy (Pun intended, of course), you can also per-use my write-up of her track “Narcissus” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/01/09/todays-track-roisin-murphy-narcissus/ and also my glowing review for “Murphy’s Law” below: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/10/todays-track-roisin-murphy-murphys-law/.

Thank you for taking a look at the blog today! Sunday marks the time of the week where we take an in-depth look at an Emo-Rock/Pop-Punk relic from the childhood decades past, with a new weekly installment of the year-long Scuzz Sundays series! In the meantime, I will be back tomorrow, for an in-depth look at a recent track from an English Art-Rock/Math-Rock band from Greater Manchester who released seven UK Top 10 Independent chart hits as a pioneer of Factory Records between the late-1970’s and the early 1990’s. Recently, they have reformed to release their first new album since 2008. 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/