Something More From Last Year

 

Over the past weekend, I listened more closely to some bands that inspired me last year. One of them was Deeply Armed, a new band from Dublin. They recorded a song called The Healing, which is now available in several remixes. The original is a mixture of relaxed music that could have been released 40 years ago. Psychedelic and Krautrock that could have been produced by Conny Plank.

The other band that really impressed me was Thought Leadership, a band from the greater Manchester area that has released several albums. What they all had in common was a reduction to echoing guitar sounds in the tradition of Durutti Column and David Gilmour. With III of Pentacles, they have created an album that enchants with its blend of ambient, Cocteau Twins, and Johnny Marr.

Monday's Long Song

 

In 2003 The Decline Of British Sea Power was released as the band's debut album. This album was rightly celebrated by critics. Their glam-punk-pop was something completely new at the time. Bowie-esque songwriting meets wailing guitars and dark lyrics to create an unmistakable sound. With Lately, they have created their own monument on this album. A song that starts slowly ends in an angry, distorted guitar orgy that couldn't be better. A masterpiece that should definitely be listened to again.

British Sea Power - Lately

New Song On Sunday

 

Lindsey Jordan aka Snail Mail an American guitarist and singer/songwriter released her first song of her upcoming album Dead End. A couple of years ago she released a remarkable album that featured 90's indie-rock, some heavy guitars and her unique voice. Now it seems she reduced the speed and present another song about the end of a relationship where it is unclear whether it is a friendship or actually a relationship. Ultimately, it doesn't matter, because she draws a positive conclusion. Ultimately, it's a song that captures moods and impresses with a long-forgotten retro sound.

Fear Of Darkness

 

Records released by Bristol Archive Records is always worth to give them a listen. Mostly they dive deep into Bristol's music scene from former times and they bring forgotten musical treasures to light. This was also the case this time, when they released a record by Fear Of Darkness that provides an overview of the band's work from 1986 to 1988.

FOD were a band whose appearance alone showed their affiliation with gothic and dark wave. Sometimes they sound like a mixture of The Alarm and The Clash with their distorted guitar sound, other times like the little brother of the Sisters Of Mercy. Which is basically not a bad thing. An album by an unjustly forgotten band that could have been big with the right promotion.

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

This series has been running for a year now, and future posts will be repetitive. Since nothing is worse than repetition, this series will be discontinued shortly. In the coming weeks, I will once again present songs that were not included a year ago, as I kept the selection small. Thank you for your interest and feedback on the respective editions.

1984: Cindy Lauper

1978: ABBA

1997: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

1977: Steve Miller Band

1977: Joan Armatrading

1984: The Smiths

1964: Unit 4 + 2

1985: Commodores

1967: Arthur Conley

1980: The Romantics

The Drums Have Gone Silent

 

This morning, I received the sad news that Sly Dunbar has also passed away. This marks the end of the legendary rhythm section that played with almost every musician who needed a reggae rhythm in the 1980s. Both had enhanced numerous songs with their own drumming and bass playing. Here are a few examples of their work.

RIP Sly

Another Forgotten Musician

 

Today, Kevin Coyne, an English singer/songwriter, would have turned 82. Reason enough to remember his music once again. Born in Derby in the heart of England in 1944, he developed a passion for painting as well as music in his youth. In the mid-1960's, he first worked as an art therapist in a psychiatric clinic, then as a social worker with drug addicts. They also had a lasting influence on his lyrics, which often deal with outsiders.

Musically, he was rooted in the blues, but in principle it was blunt, technically immature boogie, standardized British blues. What is fascinating about his songs is his falsetto voice, the singing, that howling familiar from Shakespeare's witch scenes, from the wind over the ravaged landscapes of northern England, those cries at night in the madhouse, that bad-tempered creaking that sticks in your head.

As in his music, Coyne also lived excessively in his personal life and paid the price early at the age of sixty.

Kevin Coyne - Marlene

Kevin Coyne - House On The Hill

Kevin Coyne - Eastbourne Ladies

Kevin Coyne - Lunatic