The Nite Songs Singles Bar August 2021 (part 2)
So I think this is what they call sod's law - having started this column under the impression that August was going to be the "quiet bit of the year" and therefore a good opportunity to catch up with some stuff we'd missed in previous months, muggins 'ere promptly got sideswiped by a sudden avalanche of new releases the week before the thing went live and thus it became a two-parter. So here you go...a few more singles and a couple of mini-albums thrown in just because we're dead nice like that...
Anyway, kicking off the Singles Bar part 2, here's a name I've not heard for many years as Aussie garage rockers The Chevelles return with their first new music in over a decade. Steve McQueen (I Wish I Was) (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) shows that the time hasn't changed them much but when you've got the right mix of pop-punk tunefulness and upstart snottiness that this has, that's no bad thing. Good to have you back with us gents. Bandcamp link here
Speaking of people on the comeback trail, it's good to see news of a first Grace Petrie album for three years and the winsome Storm To Weather (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is a promising first salvo. Offering the same sort of arm around the shoulder "it's gonna be okay" message that's informed a lot of Frank Turner and Beans on Toast's best recent stuff during the lockdown, it's a simple plaintive message of hope which is always welcome in these dark times. Bandcamp link here
Also casting an eye over the state of the nation but in a much more scathing and cynical way are the Dowling Poole and their new single The Saccharine Drip (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗), a cutting look at how meaningless consumer culture is, actually sounds to me like a heavier version of Sparks veering from a lurching verse to an almost electro-rock chorus. Willie Dowling and Jon Poole are two guys who have a well deserved reputation for hitting you with something you weren't expecting that's all the better for it. In other words, another very worthy single from this unique and brilliant band. Bandcamp link here
It's good to see Dream Nails back in these webpages again following last year's excellent self-titled album and Take Up Space (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗) is another excellent song, capturing the DIY punk with pop sensibilities vibe of Fuzzbox at their best with a message of standing up for yourself and not being afraid while touching on everything from MeToo style perverts groping girls at gigs to just getting out and enjoying the summer. Great stuff and pretty much a must-listen. Bandcamp link here
Finally for the singles section, Loup Garoux have put out Seance (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑), a taster from their forthcoming debut album Strangerlands which is due out in October. As the title suggests, there's a definite goth influence here - it actually reminds me a bit of the Mission's mid-'90s album Blue (a good thing in case anyone's wondering) with the yearning vocals, distorted guitars and rumbling bass. Loup Garoux have shown themselves so far to be a band unafraid of mixing their sound up to keep it interesting and this is another good example of that. Bandcamp link here
MINI ALBUM REVIEWS
ROBOCHRIST - "Robochrist"
Okay so it isn't technically a new album as such but sod it, it deserves a mention here. Many years before he was the nattily-attired singer of the excellent Eureka Machines, Chris Catalyst was the man behind one man techno metal insanity project Robochrist and, after a bit of a remix and remaster from Ginger Wildheart/Ryan Hamilton/various others production wiz Dave Draper, it's finally got a long overdue proper official release on Bandcamp. Even a decade and a half later, I'm still not sure how you'd describe this self-titled mini-album (previously only available as a CD-R from Chris at gigs back in the day). Atari Teenage Riot with a sense of humour? Ministry with a love of '80s kids' TV samples? Lord only knows. Either way though, this remains one of the most brilliantly insane/insanely brilliant records of its time with Chris' 900mph thrash guitar work blending with an A-Z of samples that'd make early Carter USM stop and go "blimey, that's a lot!" Even 15 years later, I'm still picking up on stuff here that I didn't notice back in the day and it's still making me chuckle. Add together a live set from the Radio 1 studios (!) and a "Leeds Festival 90s Banger Megamix" and you've got something which is frankly a must-buy. I mean, it's worth it just to hear Johnny Vegas suddenly shouting "Robochrist - it's fuckin' music shit off a stick!" midway through the thing...
NITE SONGS RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 (10/10)
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ED BORRIE - "West London Magic"
I was gutted upon being informed about this new EP from former S*M*A*S*H* frontman Ed Borrie that I'd actually somehow completely missed his debut solo album, 2019's What Goes On for which I do apologise. However, recent weeks have seen this four track EP consisting of songs recorded during lockdown surfacing. Opening track Maybe Next Time is actually a bit of a surprise with the female lead vocals from Evie Wilson and harmonies bringing to mind a power-pop version of the Ronettes or the Shirelles. Unexpected but rather good. The sparse When I Didn't Try is reminiscent of the magnificent moodiness of the title track from S*M*A*S*H's final album Goodbye Welwyn Garden City (with Ed's vocals definitely going a bit Bowie on the chorus) while Dynamite, a tale of a homeless drug addict, packs in some Stax style horns on the chorus to add something a bit different as do the bubbling keyboards on Nineteen Seventy Nine Sunshine.
It would have been easy for Ed to put out an EP which was aimed squarely at the nostalgia market but West London Magic shows him, in the true S*M*A*S*H spirit, pushing his musical boundaries and trying new stuff. Expect the unexpected here in other words and this EP is all the better for it.
NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)
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And there you go - I think that's us finally up to date with everything on here in terms of singles now! Hope you've enjoyed this longer-than-expected trawl through the Singles Bar this month and found some cool new music to soundtrack your month. Same time in September then aye?...
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