Monday's Long Song

 

Sonic Youth announced the release of In/Out/In in March this year. It a collection of five songs recorded in the first ten years of this century. As an appetizer they released In & Out a song they recorded during a soundcheck in 2010 and in their home in Hoboken. The song subtly resembles Can playing in a cave, with dripping stalactites from Kim's wordless buzzing tone. This song shows the potential they had before they have dissolved one year later. A little masterpiece and already at the beginning of the year a highlight.

No More War

 

To name a nee album Never No More War is in times in which in Eastern Europe warlike clashes threaten foreseeing or even just a platitude depending on the point of view. Not, however for Tocotronic a band from Hamburg which is active since almost 30 years and they have been always a political band. I always liked their music that was torn between guitar based indie-rock and lyrical ballads. And with their new album they returned to their roots again. On Nachtflug old school guitars wafting through the song, a good bassline prepares the ground for Dirk von Lowtzow cryptic lyrics. Good to have them back

Revolt! This Is An Ecological Crisis

 

With Hurry Up, Brothers a new band released their first album All Is Beautiful, I'm Okay To Be Alive. I'm Okay To Die a few weeks ago. They established in Des Moines, Iowa and you can file them as another post-rock band. Of course it is nothing really new but the way they play their often long and instrumental songs makes a unique atmosphere and sometimes I felt like I am on an endless trip on a boat sailing the ocean. A kind of music you can get rid of everything that your occupied with or bothers you. 

Where Indie-Pop Started

 

Part three of this little series about early 80's indie-pop. I have to admit that before I discovered this compilation I didn't listen to artists/songs from this era for a very long time. It might be sentimental to come back to this kind of music but it was a kind of music that accompanied me through various summers long time ago. When I listen to this songs again I was surprised about the abilities of the bands about songwriting. Of course the instrumentation is often the same: some guitar chords, a soft and emotional voice over a well arranged sound. But these songs, often one of the first recordings of the bands, were high class and I ask myself how they could sound like if some new bands will cover them. Certainly they can't destroy them.

From Glasgow Del Amitiri, a Glaswegian rock band appeared at the beginning of the 80's on the scene and had big success with their debut album. Their songs had a free and unfolded sound over a basic of jangly guitars. Best shown on the flip-side of their 12-inch Sticks and Stone Girl.

Del Amitiri - The Difference Is

Kitchenware records was one of the homes of pure indie-pop in the beginning of the early 80's. One of the first bands they signed were The Daintees which became later big recommendations when they appeared as Martin Stephenson and The Daintees. Their first album Boat To Bolivia was an album that I played often at these days because they had a very unique mixture of various influences of rockabilly, slow tunes and straight rock.

The Daintees - Involved With Love

The Gift were a British indie band and you can find less in the internet about them. They didn't had great success or a hit single but they also had the jangle guitar sound like many others in this era. Listening to them again it sounds like The Smiths were playing some early demos or The Cure replaced Robert Smith with Morrissey.

The Gift - Crashing Down

Dust In Time

Hawkwind were the link between space rock and hard rock in the early 70's by all time member singer and guitarist Dave Brock. Formed in Notting Hill, London a lot of musicians played in this band during they existed. They were probably the first that combined repetitive rock-riffs with synths and futuristic sound patterns. Many of their songs were too long for a single format, except their veritable hit single Silver Machine. During the last years many compilations of their songs were released at least Dust In Time a few weeks ago. I grew up with their sound, not understanding what it was in my very young days but later in my musical education I learned to estimate the beauty of their sound. 

Hawkwind - Brainstorm

I'm Your Fan

 

I am not a huge fan of tribute albums because many of them are well-intentioned but seldom better that the originals. One of those which are worth to be listened was the 1991 compilation I Am Your Fan where various artists covered the songs of Leonard Cohen. He was a Canadian singer-songwriter and he was famous in the late 60's/early 70's. In his musical work, existential questions about love, friendship, sense of life, human suffering, death and spirituality are addressed. Most of the songs were meagerly instrumented with acoustic guitars and lead by his somber voice. On this tribute a lot of artists showed their tributes in the way they used to write their songs. And this showed how great this songs were because they work even in the style the artists wrote songs in their very own style.

James - So Long Marianne

Lloyd Cole - Chelsea Hotel

The House of Love - Who By Fire

REM - First We Take Manhattan

Monday's Long Song

 

One of those albums I missed when it was released last year was Boro by Sheffield's Yarni. It is an album that nearly blasts from ideas that were hardly to combine. The music stretches from electronic house to balearic influenced sounds and this makes it worth to be listen to it in a row. 

Found this little new indie-pop gem a few days ago while I was searching for something else in the internet. I have to admit that King Princess was a new name to me and not heard about her before. King Princess is the stage name of Mikaela Straus a New York based musician and singer-songwriter and she was the great-grandchild of Isidor and Ida Straus, two German based businessmen who died in 1912 on the Titanic. This part of her history is just an anecdote of her personal history but what is important is that she could write great songs like Little Brother maybe one of best songs written about a lost love. A nice way to start into Sunday morning. 

I guess
I'm screwed from a past life
And that's why I lost you
But if I think of the timeline
You were exhausting
But we couldn't have said goodbye
Yeah it wasn't an option
While you're watching the paint dry
Remember you lost me

Do you feel like you should
Could have tried a little harder
Didn't make me feel good

 

Thrill Me

 

A few days ago I found this song by Jezebell. I don't know were they are because my investigations in the internet weren't successful. It was released last autumn and mastered by Rich Lane at Cotton Bud. And Jesse Fahnestock is also involved in this production. Nothing more or less than a very fine acid house and balearic inspired chugging piece of music to start into the last working day of the week.

Where Indie-Pop Started

 

Part two of this series starts with The Jazzateers, one of the best bands from the early 80's from Glasgow. I always had a huge fondness to them because they made a superb mixture of country, The Velvet Underground and jangly guitars and they had the ability to write great pop songs. They might be one of the reasons why bands from Glasgow were stamped as the 'Sound of Young Scotland' and another example what fantastic song were written 40 years ago. 

Don't Let Your Son Grow Up To Be A Cowboy

Another band that should be named here are The Wild Swans a post-punk from Liverpool. Formed by Paul Simpson after he left Teardrop Explodes. As far as I know they didn't had much success but were well known in those days in Germany. Their trademark were sparkling guitars and well arranged timeless songs. This is the flip-side of their maybe best known song Revolutionary Spirit

God Forbid

I am sure that I don't have to introduce the next band because Everything But The Girl were know since decades for their beautiful songs. In the early 80's Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt are the leading duo when a jazz influenced sound was the sound of the summer and acts like Style Council, Sade or Carmel had their best times.  On My Mind was the flip-side of their first single.

On My Mind

Live Music On German Television

 

During the weekend I found another footage of a live concert. The Police appeared with a couple of songs from their debut album in 1979 in Bremen for a short show in the popular TV-show Beat Club. In these days the station had a great feeling for new bands and invited them alongside to other new bands like The Ramones. Outlandos d'Amour were one of the last albums I bought before I was drafted into the army in January 1979 because I was fascinated about the mixture of ska and reggae and their punk inspired sound. Their debut was fresh, new and mass compatible (a thing I really didn't expected) and still worth to listen to. Sadly they never reached the level again with their further albums.

7.2

 

Papir, a three piece Copenhagen based released their seventh album a few days ago. Still the album has no name except the number of the release and the songs are numbered from 7.1 to 7.4. And also nothing new but still high class instrumental songs with a sparkling guitar over a relaxed rhythm section. They celebrate a 60's minimalist, psychedelic guitar sound with influences of a bit of jazz. Always a sound to relax after a hard day working.

Monday's Long Song

During the last years Sebastian Lee Philipp's project Die Wilde Jagd was featured on this little place of the internet. I have to admit that I still have a big fondness to him and his music. Now he released his latest output a 45 minute long journey through a a musical cosmos where strictly rhythms collide with krautrock tunes, spacy guitars and strange organ sounds. I know it takes a lot of time but it is worth to join the trip.

Bad Religion

 

Year after year Chan Marshall releases an album with cover versions. Not that she's unable to write own songs she has the ability to make songs by other artists like she wrote them. It is seldom that she covers them in the way they were released. I think she listen to these songs and feel like they have something that is common to her. So she reduces the speed or she works on the lyrics to get these songs more personal to her. This might be shown in Frank Ocean's Bad Religion where she changed 'Alluhu-akbar' into 'Hallelujah, praise the lord' and substituted strings and organ with a guitar motive. Always a pleasure to listen to her.

Lore Of The Land

 

We don't have to talk about the abilities of Richard Norris and his fantastic output in electronic music during the last years. Now he is back with a new project showing us his versatile side. His new project is called Lore Of The Land and their album The Order Of The 12 will be released early next month. The difference is that this is a band project. Together with Rachel Thomas on vocals, Stuart Carter on guitars and Norris on keyboards and drums they created a folk inspired album with a massive serving of psych folk. Probably the first highlight of this new year.

  

Where Indie-Pop Started

 

Cherry Red is one of those record labels (Germany's Bear Family is another)digging deep in musical history to create a collection of relevant genres. At the end of last year they released The Sun Shines Here a three CD-compilation of songs released between 1980 and 1984 showing the whole spectrum early indie-pop had at these days. It was a period when London was centred around more angular, aggressive music and bands from Scotland, Manchester and Liverpool emerged drawing on the cooler end of 60's/70's music to create something fresh and new. Listening to those songs again made me thinking this could be a theme for a new series.

Liverpool's Pete Wylie released his first single in the late 70's as Wha! Heat and it is a classic because it has everything his later releases were famous for. A straight beat, great guitars and his incomparable voice.

Better Scream

Also from Liverpool It's Immaterial appeared on the scene in the early 80's. Formed by former members of the pub-rock band The Yachts they appeared with fantastic pop songs arranged with additional horns. A good example how great they were was their first single.

Young Man (Seeks Interesting Job)

A shortly existing band were Girls At Our Best from Leeds and their sound based on short guitar riffs, forward driving rhythms and a clear voice. Perfect girl's pop from almost 40 years ago.

Go For Gold!

Nothing's Older Than Yesterday

For several times Cari Cari, one of the best bands from Austria during the last years, were featured on this pages. Now they tried to add an orchestra to their on guitar and drums reduced sound. Together with Berlins Babelsberg Movie Orchestra they transported their songs into a new dimension. If I thought that they wrote great songs - now I know it. Never heard a deep tempered surf guitar combined with an orchestra and I have to say I really like what I heard.

If you want more of this little experiment you can listen to their session in Austria here. As far as I know it will be online for a few weeks.

 

Copperhead Road

 

During the last days I took a walk on CC's road and listened to some Americana/country I found on my external hard drive while I made an archival backup copy. I rediscovered an old copy of Steve Earle's 1988 album Copperhead Road and enjoyed to listen to it again after all these years. This song might be the best known by him but it has everything what made him famous: a mixture of three-chord rhythm with a shot of rockabilly and critical lyrics to what happened when this album was released. Earl is one of those artist in this genre who is able to write short stories like Johnny Cash in former times.

Steve Earle - Copperhead Road

Steve Earle - The Devil's Right Hand

Monday's Long Song

 

I got aware of this song while I listened to Sean Johnson's ALFOS 21 show a few days ago. My Friend Dario is a band from Catania, Sicily Italy and they released a couple of songs during the last years. Desertico is from their last year's release and it has something of a desert. A wide sound of synths and organs with a steady groove and some excursions into space. This is a great start into my working year.

Be Quiet

 

It seems like we have to expect another revival of late 70's punk/new wave ahead. If this comes true the Mexican five-piece Sei Still (Be Quiet) will be a spearhead of this movement. Last year they moved to Berlin to record their second album El Refugio that was released at the end of last year via Fuzz Club (another label that brought me some great music during the last years). Melodic basslines, flickering guitars and a monotone sprechgesang are the basics of their music and sometimes you can hear some borrowed krautrock elements. All in all one of the first albums that impressed me this year.  

No Spitting On The Bus

Yesterday I returned from my escape to Sri Lanka from the usual things and worries in Germany and spent a few weeks together with some very old friends in a place where we could leave all those Corona problems behind. We had a wonderful time together with relaxing, good conversations and inspirations for the future. It was a time with less internet and listening to much music to get my mind clear. One of my thoughts were to finish this blog because during the last months I felt I lost my inspiration to continue this little place in the internet but I decided to continue because I think it will be worth to write about old and new music and finally it was Adam that showed me that it could be helpful to continue even if personal tragedies showed up. So let's see what the future will bring.

On my travel back to Germany I recognized that the back catalog by the Steve Gibbons Band was released. Steve Gibbons is an English musician and singer-songwriter who had his best times in the mid 70's in the pub rock era before punk broke. His music was influenced by classic rock and roll, rockabilly and country. Like Ray Davis he also had the ability to write songs about the working class. After all a band that sadly was overlooked.

Steve Gibbons Band - No Spitting On The Bus

Steve Gibbons Band - Eddie Vortex

Steve Gibbons Band - Tulane (Peel Session 1977)