That's How It Sounded In Their Beginnings

 

The new century was barely two years old when a band emerged from the United States that took garage rock to a whole new level. With Karen O., they had a wild front woman whose vocals, in the broadest sense, were reminiscent of PJ Harvey, but who could also strike a softer note. Nick Zinner contributes impressive guitar passages to the songs, which, taken as a whole, no longer have much in common with the punk attitude of the debut EP. The fact that YYYs manages without a bass is thanks to Brian Chase’s accentuated drums. 

In addition to the upbeat tracks like “Rich” and “Man,” it’s the longer songs that really stand out—thanks to Karen’s voice and the breaks and tempo changes that would suit Sonic Youth just fine. The fact that they pay homage to their roots at the end makes them all the more endearing. “Modern Romance” could easily be an outtake from Velvet’s debut album.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Y Control

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Pin

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Modern Romance

Monday's Long Song

 

In 1973 Roxy Music released their second album For Your Pleasure after causing a sensation in the glam rock scene with their debut. A few songs on this album Editions Of You and Do The Strand lived up to expectations for further chart success. Much more interesting, however, were the songs in which they took an experimental approach. The Bogus Man is about a mentally deranged sex offender. Ferry delivers the vocals with a similarly deranged intensity. For ten minutes, Roxy Music turns it into a playground of madness. The saxophone oscillates between delirium and free jazz, shifting from the left to the right channel. Eno uses the then-novel idea of looping to create his effects. Manzanera’s guitar weaves in psychedelic sounds, and the drums, symbolizing the stalker’s restlessness, echo the motoric beats of Can and Neu! A masterpiece far ahead of their time.

Roxy Music - The Bogus Man

New Song On Sunday

 

I'm back from a few days in Budapest and would like to introduce a band from Brighton that's new to me and I first heard them in a wonderful pub that used to be a factory building. Lime Garden is a four piece all female band and they play some kind of indie pop. With a driving beat and rockin' guitars paired with a catchy melody, they've written a song that isn't anything out of the ordinary, but one that will always remind me of my days in Hungary.

Harmonica Day

In 1970 Black Sabbath released their self titled debut album. It was a monument in heavy metal and screaming guitars combined with a bluesy harmonica.

David Bowie released this song in 1973 on his album Aladine Sane when glam rock was at its peak. A timeless classic even though people keep claiming that the song sounds too much like Blockbuster by The Sweet

Ten years later Elton John released another highlight of his later work, in which he dared to incorporate a harmonica that sounded as if it were being played by Stevie Wonder.

By the time you read this, I’ll have already been in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, for a few days. It’s a city I’ve wanted to visit for a long time, but Orban’s regime has kept me from going until now.

Birthday

 

During the last weekend I found a song in the back of my hard drive. Shortly before The Sugarcubes broke up, they released It's It, an album of remixes from their debut album Life's Too Good. The standout performance came from Justin Robertson, who demonstrated just how much potential Birthday has. The standout mix came from Justin Robertson, who showcased Birthday’s potential. He transformed the new wave track into a dub gem.

The Sugarcubes - Birthday (Justin Robertson 12 Mix)

Years later the brothers Reid did also an excellent Rework of Birthday.

And finally some songs with more post-punk power from their early days. Remember when I saw them live in summer 1989 on an open-air festival playing these songs.

The Sugarcubes - Motorcrash

Monday's Long Song

Nothing has been posted here by Andy Bell for several years, and it's time to change that. 2019 saw the debut Andy Bell under his moniker GLOK, Dissident. It was an album I played often at this time because I was impressed by it's sound. Inspired by krautrock and house Bell layered guitars and synths on top of each other, letting them flow from the speakers in seemingly endless waves. It’s all so understated, and every note is perfectly placed. The songs have a hypnotic quality that draws you right into them. Yeah, it sounds corny, but I still love this album.

GLOK - Pulsing

New Song On Sunday

 

In the east of Ireland, there’s a small town called Bray in a county called Wicklow. Seven years ago, a group of childhood friends started making music there, and they recently released a new EP. They first appeared on this blog just under a year ago, when they released an EP. At the time, I wrote the result is nothing more and nothing less than a fantastic indie pop song about the end of a relationship. And that’s exactly where they pick up the thread: with clear song structures, powerful indie guitars that, in the broadest sense, bring to mind The Cranberries, catchy hooks, and Lily Aron’s clear voice. Nothing more and nothing less than what a good indie pop song should be.