New Song On Sunday

 

Florence Welsh returns with a new single from her upcoming album Everybody Scream. It is a mystical song, and Welsh plays with hints and references to witchcraft. Her distinctive voice guides us through the song, which is staged accordingly mystically and witchy, with screaming choirs and driving rhythms. It's clever that the album is set to be released on Halloween. Halloween and the Celtic holiday Samhain focus on the dead and the supernatural, with the latter marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of a “darker” season. The last words here belong to her:

The witchcraft, the medicine, the spells and the injections

The harvest, the needle protect me from evil

The magic and the misery, madness and the mystery

Oh, what has it done to me?

Everybody scream 

Men Of Stone

 

This week saw the release of a new album by Bristol's post-punk band Glaxo Babies via Bristol Archive Records. It is the the bands first release after decades and  Men Of Stone shows that they haven't forgotten anything and have gained something new. Their sound has become denser, the guitars are in the foreground and, at least on this song, they have dispensed with the punk saxophone and funk that characterized their style at the time. On I Don't Wanna Be Loved, which was also released, they impressively prove that they still have what it takes.

In their early days, the Glaxo Babies were another angry band that punk brought to the fore. Unfortunately, they did not achieve the success they deserved and have broken up several times since the 1980s. I only found a few of their early tracks on my hard drive, but I don't want to keep them from you.

Glaxo Babies - It's Irrational (Peel Session)

Glaxo Babies - Christine Keeler

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

This week are less songs to remember but those who appear today are still worth a listen.

1975: Bruce Springsteen

1979: The Jam

1986: Bruce Hornsby T The Range

1968: Mary Hopkin

1967: The Who

1969: Elvis Presley

1996: Sublime

1959: Buddy Holly

1975: Aerosmith (I prefer the version by Run DMC)

1964: The Supremes

1990: Cocteau Twins

1964: Roy Orbison

Monday's Long Song

 

There are song I love but I can't listen to them everyday. One of those is Frankie Teardrop the centerpiece of Suicide's debut album from 1977. At this time Alan Vega and Martin Rev worked in New York on a new electronic proto-punk sound. Minimal synths, a Farfisa organ, a simple drum-kit and the crazy voice of Alan Vega were enough to inspire a lot of bands from the new wave era. 

Their debut combines strange noises, eerie howls, erratic moans and Frankie Teardrops a song that brought together madness in absolute perfection. At the height of a seemingly endless terror of hammering rhythms and sawing monotony, the singer let out blood-curdling screams: a gunshot, a child's death, then the limbo where suicides dwell. I was impressed that a song whose lyrics I hardly understood at the time and whose musical elements I couldn't decipher could cause me so much discomfort. 

Suicide - Frankie Teardrop

New Song On Sunday

 

This week saw the release of two new albums by Jim Bob, the voice of Carter USM via Cherry Red. Automatic is a record with his current band, with whom he has been touring for the last few years. With Stick, on the other hand, he takes on a more punk style and celebrates once again how great Carter USM were and still could be today. 

Song By Me is a song many today's band would die for. A rolling bass and a clattering drum opens the song, Jim Bob speaks his words and later a punky guitar completes the song. Nothing more than a modern classic and more than the single of the week.

And as a bonus another guitar dominated song that could be which could also be by Half Man Half Biscuit.

I Remember You A Dancer

 

Regular visitors to these pages will probably know that I am a big fan of Kerala Dust's music. Yesterday, the British band, which is mainly based in the German capital, released a new album. Like their previous albums, these songs have a hypnotic pull on me. They consistently mix Americana with desert blues, electronica, and dance floor-ready elements in the broadest sense. Always accompanied by the sonorous voice of Edmund Kenny. Once again, they have succeeded in producing an album that is sure to feature in my annual charts. More here.

Wildflower

 

Now that summer is coming to an end, Gulp are releasing Wildflower, a song that is perfect for warm summer evenings. To be honest, I had never heard of this band before today, even though they released their first album seven years ago. Gulp are a Scottish/Welsh band consisting mainly of Lindsey Leven and Super Furry Animals' Guto Pryce, who deliver wonderful psych-pop here. The track combines airy basslines with sparkling synthesizers, restrained guitars, and melodies that you want to hear again and again. Musically, the band moves between Saint Etienne's sweet charm and Gemma Ray's pop-noir and turning it into weightless pop.

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another week another journey through decades of music. Today some well known and some tracks we might have forgotten.

1966: The Four Tops

1968: The Rascals

1997: Foo Fighters

1983: The Motels

1965: The McCoys

1965: The Barbarians

1965: Barry McGuire

1971: The Doors

1979: Bob Dylan

1982: Africa Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force

1984: Depeche Mode

´1961: The Dovells

1967: Sam and Dave

1971: Janis Joplin

1976: The Stills-Young Band

1984: Sade

1978: The Jam

Red Hot And Blue VIII

 

Everything comes to an end, and this little series is no exception. Before I find even more obscure songs that have the colors mentioned in their titles, I will stop here. Finally, here are a few bands that have red, blue or hot in their names. 

Red Rockers were a former punk band from New Orleans but turned into pure twangy power pop guitar sound.

I couldn't resist to feature Hot Chocolate at this place.

 

The Screaming Blue Messiahs were built by Bill Carter on the ruins of Motor Boys Motor in the early eighties. They transported classic guitars into the new wave scene and made fun at these days.

Monday's Long Song

 

In recent weeks, the number of noteworthy new releases on the record market has decreased significantly, which is probably due to the fact that artists have agreed to release their new material in the autumn. So it stands to reason that I have focused more on “old” releases that have been on my hard drive for a long time and haven't been listened to in ages.

I recently came across an album that has been overlooked for a long time and has not been given enough recognition on these pages. Grin by the English band TRAAMS from 2013 is one such album. I came across this band on the recommendation of a friend who has since passed away. TRAAMS are a three-piece band who consistently play a mixture of punk rock and Krautrock, but were also heavily influenced by Television.

A House On Fire was released 2016 as a single and shows the greatness of the band. A high-strung beat and a pounding bass-line are the basis until fury vocals and a crashing guitar joins them. A nearly nine minute tour-de-force of a great song. 

TRAAMS - A House On Fire

New Song On Sunday

 

Warmduscher are a London based post-punk and formed by members of Fat White Family and electronic collective Paranoid London. Noise rock collides with garage post-punk, distorted blues and lo-fi funk with broken synth sprinklings. The motto seems to be deconstruction instead of composition – but with groove, please.

Last week, they released a new single featuring a remix by David Holmes. Holmes transforms the short original, which lasts just under two minutes, into a club-ready electronic anthem whose pull never lets up.

Back To Friends

 

It seems inevitable that TikTok will increasingly become the distribution platform for new music for young people. I don't use this platform myself, but I have read that a young American musician is currently racking up huge numbers of clicks.

Shane Boose, alias Sombr, belongs to a generation of young acts who operate in the borderland between DIY sensibility and the global pop machine. Musically, he moves between bedroom pop, a little indie rock and TikTok-compatible melancholy, somewhere between MGMT and Bon Iver.

Not really great, but by no means bad either. Perhaps this is the future of pop music.

Full Time Dub

 

A few days ago, Swiss sound artists Dub Spencer & Trance Hill released a new single. Here, too, they combine instrumental psychedelic dub reggae with rock and trance influences. The basic sound is carried by guitar, bass and drums and embellished with synth sounds.

I first became aware of this band when they released The Clashification Of Dub in 2011, adding a new dimension to the songs of The Clash.

Just how extraordinary their ideas are became clear in 2016 when they took the spoken word performances of William S. Burroughs, one of the last great poets of the Beat Generation, as their basis and gave them a reggae twist. His deep, nasal voice would have been a great fit for many Jamaican reggae productions (and not just because he knew a lot about drugs).

CBGB 12.13.88

 

I was really surprised when I read about a new release from Galaxie 500 one of my favorite bands from this era. After the release of their debut they played a concert in New York's famous club together with Sonic Youth and others. This gig was recorded an was long time only available as a bootleg.

Now it was remastered and released on vinyl. It shows how great this band were. Their drawn-out, sometimes somewhat amateurish post-Velvet Underground guitar sound, accompanied by the delicate whispering of singer/guitarist Dean Wareham, is certainly not to everyone's taste but hit me from the first time I listened to their songs. It's a musical document of a time long gone by. For me just superb.

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another journey through various decades of music.

1985: David Bowie and Mick Jagger

1971: Joni Mitchell

1976: Steve Miller Band

1962: The Crystals

1976: Nick Lowe

1977: Steely Dan 

1978: The Police

1981: The Go-Go's

1965: Donovan

1975: Bad Company

1966: The Monkees

1963: The Ronettes

1981: Devo

1998: The Rolling Stones (the remix version)

Red Hot And Blue VII

 

This weeks journey through the colors starts with Reverend Horten Heat, a psychobilly band form Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1986 by guitarist James C. Heath he became the godfather of modern rockabilly/psychobilly. He has been stoically playing his sound for decades, always loud and aggressive, and is a force to be reckoned with live.

Reverend Horten Heat - Big Red Rocket Of Love

I think I don't have to say much about The Who, except that this ballad is untypical for their sound.

The Who - Behind Blue Eyes

I don't know if someone remembers Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen but this series gives me the chance to do it. I liked their interpretation of country music, knowing were they came from and willing to break the circle. This cover version by an old song from Charlie Ryan is probably their well know song and this is good this way.

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - Hot Red Lincoln

Monday's Long Song

 

More and more Brighton's Higher Love Records get's the home of (new) Balearic music. Last week they released a new song by Kent's duo Puerto Montt City Orchestra and it is the perfect soundtrack for maybe the last hot summer days this year.

Tim Salter and Angus Murray still walk on the Balearic street but now they use real instruments. On this mid-tempo song a catchy bassline leads us through the song, a warm guitar takes over the melody and congas and bongos join in. Salter's daughter adds some spoken words about a family trip to the seaside. PMCO are getting better by any release. Looking forward what the future will bring.

New Song On Sunday

 

Wolf Alice are an English indie-rock band formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo by singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie. After a few years with less success they decided to perform as a real band. Since that time they got a lot of critical acclaim for their sound somewhere between indie-rock, folk, pop and shoegaze. 

This week they released the third single form their upcoming album The Clearing. And it seems that they developed their sound into another dimension. Drummer Joel Amey took over the lead vocals and Rowsell soprano is the backing voice. The song is built on an krautrock beat, 70's rock guitars and a little psychedelic touch. Sounds unbelievable but it works as a great single.

More Love From Outer Space

 

Sean Johnson is a phenomenon and a workhorse. When he's not busy DJing, he always finds time to work on new material in the studio. A few weeks ago, he released an EP under his moniker Hardway Bros.

Three new tracks and a remix fit seamlessly into ALFOS' musical concept. He creates an organic rave synth sound with pumping rhythms and basslines that sound like whip cracks. A short but intense and magnificent pleasure.

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another eclectic journey through music history with chart breakers and simply great songs.

1964: The Kinks

1967: The Small Faces

1986: The Pretenders

1971: James Taylor

1983: Stray Cats

1970: Bobby Bloom

1981: Greg Kihn

1968: The Band

1969: Creedence Clearwater Revival

1980: David Bowie

1980: The Clash

1994: Everything But The Girl

1983: The Fixx

1987: Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield

Red Hot And Blue VI

 

We start this week with a band I didn't expected to appear on this pages. The War On Drugs is an American rock band formed in Philadelphia 20 years ago. I know that they got lots of critical acclaim but every time I listen to them I have the feeling that they have no own sound. Most of the songs show different influences and sound like their role models. Best example is Red Eyes that sounds like another song by Bruce Springsteen.

The War On Drugs - Red Eyes

There are few artists who survived the disco era and can still be listened to today without feeling embarrassed. Donna Summer is definitely one of them. Hot Stuff from 1979 is the crowning collaboration with Georgio Moroder and a highlight of this genre.

Donna Summer - Hot Stuff

I first became aware of Julian Casablancas when The Strokes released their album, which many people agreed on at the time. In 2009, he released his solo debut, and this album also exudes the same enthusiasm and energy that his main band had.

Julian Casablancas Out Of The Blue

Monday's Long Song

 

Almost exactly 36 years ago, Joe Strummer released his debut single with the Mescaleros. This song, written together with David Holmes after Strummer left The Clash, clearly shows where he wanted to see his musical home in the future.

Joe's debut album Rock Art and the Y-Ray Style reflects the spectrum of his musical influences, including African rhythms, folk, electronic club music, reggae and a little rock. To be honest, I didn't understand the lyrics to this song, but I assume it's about his favorite topic – freedom. In that respect, Yalla Yalla is a terrific song. Let's go.

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Yalla Yalla

New Song On Sunday

 

Today's song comes from Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson aka CMAT, an Irish singer, songwriter and musician. As far as I know she is successful in making music since a couple of years. I got aware of her when she released EURO-COUNTRY the lead single from her upcoming new album. 

It is a kind of country-pop, with percussive beat and remarkable melodies. What makes the song extraordinary is that she denounces the injustices in Ireland in the early 2000s with her sweet voice. The boom in Ireland burst, houses stood empty, the economy collapsed and the number of suicides rose significantly. 

Packaging complex topics and socio-political discourse in such a way that they still sound extremely catchy and easy to digest. That's pop at its best.

Sixes And Sevens

 

Earlier this week the news arrived that a new album by John McKay was released, McKay was the leading figure behind Siouxsie and the Banshees and co-author of most of their songs. He was responsible for the band's dark and dangerous guitar sound.

He left the band in 1979 after their second album in order to focus on his own music. During the following years he recorded various songs but he never released an album. The tapes were stored at his home until they were retrieved and remixed last year.

The result is a journey through time that catapults you back to the late 1970's. The music is a logical progression from The Scream, the masterpiece by Siouxsie and the Banshees. He has a talent of playing the guitar like no one else. Not a guitar slinger like many others because he brought chords and rhythm to a unique sound that influenced many other band in the following years.