How Times Fly

 

How fast our time is I recognized when a few days ago I heard about the release of a special edition of Django Django's self titled debut from 2012. I liked their album because of it's manifold quotations of pop history. Without problems, Django Django switches between influences from surf pop, art rock and even more exotic forms of pop music. This album was one of those a lot of people around me could agree with. 

Django Django - Default

Django Django - Hail Bop

Now they whole album was remixed by Mad Professor, adding his distinctive ambient electronic stylings and a melee of rhythmic drum beats to their sound. 

Adding his distinctive ambient electronic stylings, Mad Professor weaves a melee of rhythmic drum beats and mellow and magnetic instrumentals into the record’s fabric. 

Monday's Long Song

 

A few days ago Teneil Throssel aka Haai released their debut album Baby, We're Ascending via Mute records. I have to admit that I didn't knew anything by the Australian born and London living producer and DJ but what I heard was more than interesting. She surprised with dark floral vocals, stomping nineties rave rhythms and playful samples of welded club anthems. In addition to elements from drum 'n bass and vocal house. The title track is co-produced by Jon Hopkins and he added a lot of rave-drums to this song. An optimistic song in better times.

Another Almost Forgotten Post-Punk Band

 

Girls At Our Best! were a band from Leeds and active from 1979 until 1982 and they surfed very well on the same new wave that made others famous. I don't know why they split but for me they were a band from this genre that were able to write great songs that hit the nerve of the times. I have to admit that I seldom listened to them during the last years but the re-release of their fantastic debut album Pleasure brought them back to my memory. Their sound was a mixture of The Banshees and Buzzcocks guitar with a massive touch of melodies with chart potential. In 1981 they played a session for John Peel where China Blue and Sister Rosetta Stone's This Train are from.

Girls At Our Best! - Pleasure

Girls At Our Best! - Getting Nowhere Fast

Girls At Our Best! - This Train

Girls At Our Best! - China Blue

Love Died In Our Arms

 

Some artists can release whatever they want and I can't resist to think it is great again. One of those is Dot Allison, the Scottish singer with a voice I really enjoy. A few years ago she released Heart-Shaped Scars another album I enjoyed and she is going to release an EP with a few remixes from this album. And for me it nothing more or less a superb rework. 

I Survived, It's Over

Nashville artist Rich Ruth released two years ago Calming Signals one of those albums that I explored months later. I really enjoyed his combination of ambient and guitar sound mixed to a unique kind of relaxed music. Now he announced a new album and released the first track Taken Back. It seems like he is drifting more into psychedelic regions with a fuzzy feadback guitar over an ambient floor. Not the kind of song you say great when you listen to it the first time but a highlight that grows the more you listen to it. 

Sixty Three

 

Today it 63 years ago when I was born and saw the light on earth. As every year it is just a day I got a year older and the age really doesn't bother if you have more fun in live than anger. For me it is also a day to the last year in comparison to the years before and I have to say it was another good year with all the troubles surround us. And I am happy to be alive in best health with good friend around me. This will be not the day to make a big party but I will meet with a couple of friends for an early lunch with Bavarian veal sausage, pretzel and a pint. Sadly there are no songs with 63 in my collection and I couldn't find any one in the internet so I will offer you a few tracks released in 1959 by Eddie Cochran. He was the one for me that made the real rock 'n' roll anthems playing his peerless twang guitar.

Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues

Eddie Cochran -  Something Else

Radiate Like This

 

Warpaint is one of these bands I came back often to during the last years not only because they made timeless and great music for me. So I looked forward to their new album that was released last week. To be honest I didn't have more expectations than another good record by them and I have to say they disappointed me. All the songs were made during the lockdown and any musician recorded their parts in isolation and the songs were built together later, slowly and layer by layer. And this worked very well because they had the time to create their sound perfectly. The songs seems to have a bit of westcoast feeling and sometimes they remind me a bit of Fleetwood Mac at their best times and by comparison, feels more complete… more accomplished even. Anyway, they are far away from them and they didn't lost their roots. They made songs that grow the more you listen to them. It is an album that will stand the test of time.