“Repeater” is half documentary and half instrumental. Holy ’57 is the performance name of Alex Mankoo of London. Melodically, the track includes an array of instruments, but the horns breathe the life into the argument that “Repeater” is blogworthy. Mankoo’s family history is provided by his grandmother, as she describes experiences of moving from India to Nairobi, Kenya, and then to London. Slicing historical audio clips into a song is a technique used by the duo performing as Public Service Broadcasting, but the story told in “Repeater” is a timeline, which provides more perspective.
Free and Legal Downloads? Yes, at least temporarily. Bands often temporarily permit free downloads of their releases. The end of an offer may be based on the expiration of a set period of time or on a limited number of downloads. But at least for now, here is a song that qualifies as Free, Legal and Recommended (FL&R).
Finding songs that can be legally downloaded is easy. The difficult task is to find legally downloadable music that we recommend. Our plan is to post at least one FL&R song each Friday.
“Smile” enters with guitar having some of the interesting characteristics of Angels & Airwaves. That lasts for a short time, and then the song heads along an independent path. We like the terrain. “Smile” is a track from Lone Kodiak, a quartet from Los Angeles. The members are Dainéal Parker (vocals, guitar, keys), Daniel Alden (bass), and Andrew Smith (drums).
The charismatic Lauren Ruth Ward unleashed another slice of raw power with her latest single, “Well, Hell.” Ward describes the track as “an auto-biographical song that deals with frustrations, both with my upbringing and with society as a whole, that have long been forgiven but not forgotten.”
After a 7-second guitar/percussion intro, Ward begins with insights into the attitudes of her parents. As noted in the lyrics, you better “listen fast” or get left behind. There are a few slowdowns that allow the listener to take a breath, but Ward packs a range of thoughts into a relatively short song (2:28). She even throws in quotes from hits by David Bowie, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.
Two thoughts involving comparisons:
1. It is interesting to compare the “Well, Hell” approach to one taken in “Not Worth Hiding,” which also references parents whose child doesn’t fit into their “tradition” sexual preference. That 2017 song is a slow-paced story from Australia’s Alex the Astronaut.
2. An appreciation for the dynamic and charismatic performance personality of Lauren Ruth Ward is accelerated by comparing three videos of Ward (and her skilled bandmates) performing “Well, Hell” in different live settings. The videos are embedded below. They show performances in an intimate Sofar setting, atop a roof on a BalconyTV stage, and during an energized Echoplex visit (the audio is less than ideal).
Quoting a bio sent by Purple Bite, the Los Angeles PR firm:
"Lauren Ruth Ward's music has spread like wildfire these past two years in LA after leaving her hometown of Baltimore. Her lyrics are secrets to strangers, writing about her life’s trajectory sharing both vulnerability and strength delivered with grit and vibrato. Her band re-creates 60's rock and roll nuances, allowing Ward to release a powerhouse of emoting in their live show. Lauren is joined by Eduardo Rivera who is her songwriter partner. Lately Lauren has garnered the support of Spotify’s 'Badass Women,' LA Weekly, Galore, Wonderland Magazine, Jam In The Van, and Sofar Sounds."
Warning: We’re headed into a dark space. But song inspirations can arrive from unpredicted directions. For example, you’re in the backseat of a car driven by the parents of your significant other (now your “ex”). The mother grabs the steering wheel from her passenger position and attempts to swerve the car into oncoming traffic. She had discovered that her husband of 24 years was seeing someone else. No one was injured, but no relationship survived. On the other hand, “NDE” is an offspring of the experience.
“NDE” is a track from SHORE, a four-piece band from Swindon, England. The members are Harry Leigh (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ben Tinson (bass, synth backing vocals), Nick Tucker (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Bateman (drums).
Miyuki Furtado is scattered, but in a positive sense. Instrumentally, his contributions to a track, such as “Hemlock Blues,” are varied. Geographically, Furtado was born in Hawaii, but now resides in New York. In terms of genre, he has a Post-Punk background (with The Roger Sisters), but has joined forces with Patrick Harmon as Divining Rod, a Folk-infused Psych Rock band.
Listening to the two tracks released by Divining Rod earlier this year, a common trait is the ability to finish strong. In “Hemlock Blues,” the vocals dropout at 3:23, permitting a focus on the guitar skills of the members.
Mu puts an artistry into Dream Pop. The duo from Vancouver is Francesca Belcourt and Brittney Rand. We are particularly fond of “Easy,” which includes a one-minute energy build that is so subtle that we hesitate to call it a crescendo. It begins at 2:18 and continues until the vocals initiate a chant of “Easy.”
The non-member dancers in the video are Layla Mrozowski and Ileanna Cheladyn.
We have a new favorite bodhran player! Truth is, he didn’t displace a previous favorite, since we didn’t know of the percussion instrument until we started researching the song “Lions Share” by Hermitage Green. The research was centered upon the instruments. The tribal percussion is not generated by instruments found in a traditional drum set. And there are bursts from what might be a wind instrument similar to the didgeridoo.
The bodhran is an Irish percussion instrument. In Hermitage Green, it’s played by Dermot Sheedy. The full membership of the band from Limerick, Ireland is Darragh Graham (banjo, djembe, backing vocals), Darragh Griffin (vocals, guitar), Dan Murphy (vocals, guitar, dobro, harmonica), Barry Murphy (vocals, bass), and Dermot Sheedy (bodhran). So, "Lions Share” may also include a djembe, which originates from West Africa. Adding to the percussion, Hermitage Green doesn’t shy away from multi-purposing a guitar. Embedded within this post is a video of “Cosmic Love” (Florence and the Machine cover), which shows the percussion skills of the band. Also embedded is the video of “Quicksand,” which required the band to perform inverted to allow gravity to create chaos.
Quoting the email submission from Mystic Sons (thank you Daniel Jones):
"Talking about the song, vocalist Dan Murphy says, 'Lions Share is an expression of certain aspects of human behaviour. Indulgence, greed, selfishness, the innate need to consume, and lastly a complete sense of apathy for all of the above. When you care for nothing - that is the moment when you can reap the full rewards." “Lions Share” by Hermitage Green
The percussion accomplishes its purpose of establishing and maintaining the song's rhythm, but it does so with flair. It’s not rare for us to look at tour schedules in order to witness the guitar play within a particular song. It is rare for us to check a band’s tour schedule because we want to witness drumming. The percussion in “End Of An Error” sent us to the “Events” section of the four-member band Loved Ones. They are based in West Kirby, UK. Currently, they seem content with performing in Europe.
The drumming is not the only interesting instrument in “End Of An Error.” The piano is well conceived and executed, but doesn’t seem to have a friend. That is, the personality of the piano allows it to work well within the team, while still seeming to meander.
The members of Loved Ones are Nik Glover, Richard Hurst, Ben Shooter, and Dan Taylor.
Chamber Pop? Orchestral Rock? The name given to the genre varies, even among its followers. And perhaps more than any other genre, there is a correlation between fans of the genre and concert-going. The explanation for the correlation is that a full appreciation for the arrangement and musical skills for an Orchestral Rock song isn’t possible until you watch its performance.
However, there is no dispute over the ability of an Orchestral Rock/Chamber Pop band to provide higher levels of textural richness and melodic lushness. The traditional makeup of two guitars, a bass and drums cannot compete with bands that add strings, horns and (often) choir-like vocals. A good example is "Lost In Your Own Home" by Wooden Arms, a five-member band from Norwich, UK. The song carries a depth of emotion that could not be equaled if one of the contributions to the song were unavailable.
"Lost In Your Own Home" is a single from Wooden Arms’ sophomore album, "Trick of the Light". Quoting the email submission from Diversion Records for the single:
“Previously a solo writing process by classically trained pianist Alex Carson, for their latest release Wooden Arms has evolved into a collaborative, genre-fluid writing trio between Carson and other members Jeff Smith and Alex Mackenzie to collectively draw from their alternative, classical, and trip-hop influences. A truly impressive and deep album, "Trick of the Light" shakes off the shackles of folk and chamber-pop pigeonholing to include deeper instrumentation coupled with electronic elements to become something newer, darker... more strange.” The members of Wooden Arms are Alex
Carson (piano, vocals, guitar, organ), Jeff Smith (guitar, vocals, trumpet),
Alex Mackenzie percussion, vocals,bass), Fifi Homan (cello, vocals), and Azita
Mehdinejad (violin, vocals).
Free and Legal Downloads? Yes, at least temporarily. Bands often temporarily permit free downloads of their releases. The end of an offer may be based on the expiration of a set period of time or on a limited number of downloads. But at least for now, here are two songs from the Southern Hemisphere that qualify as Free, Legal and Recommended (FL&R) downloads.
Finding songs that can be legally downloaded is easy. The difficult task is to find legally downloadable music that we recommend. Our plan is to post at least one FL&R song each Friday.
“Brother Sister” dates back, but we missed it. The song belongs to Sahara Beck from Australia (Sunshine, Queensland). The features that make the track blogworthy – the innocence in the lead vocals, the richness of the backing vocals, and the interesting approach to the percussion.
We Are Charlie (WAC) generate Indie Rock from Pretoria, South Africa. According to their bio:
"Dylan Christie (voice and guitar) met Wesley Reinecke (drums) in high school. The two have been making music together since 2008. After a few years exploration in the music scene they found a home in the indie sound and WAC was conceived. Rudolph de Villiers (bass) joined the band in mid-2016 to further enrich the sound.
We Are Charlie are energetic and up-beat. Their style is one which constants highly distinct guitar melodies, drums and bass provide a solid, groovy yet functional backbone. These instrumental elements become a foundation over which WAC convey their honest (and a little complex) message and approach to lyrics."
“New Camera” by We Are Charlie (If your
browser doesn’t show the download arrow, go to the Soundcloud site and try the “More”
pulldown menu – CLICK HERE.)
Festival attendance requires choices. How do you handle situations in which two of your targeted performances occur simultaneously? And if there is a must-see band, do you stay at their stage for the previous two bands, so that you can move closer each time?
And what time do you arrive? Some festival-goers (most?) prefer to arrive well after the opening bands are finished. The concern is that a noon arrival may result in becoming fatigued and not appreciating the headliners. Particularly if you enjoy alcohol intake, this is a risk. Other festival-goers (us) prefer to take the risk and arrive for the early bands. Yes, burnout occurs sometimes. But there are two positives. First, it’s easier to get close to the stage. Second, there is almost always a surprise performance. We all know the headliners. They might exceed expectations, but they don’t surprise. The “wow-factor” must be either from an unknown artist/band or from one that you’ve mightily underappreciated.
At Outside Lands in August 2017, the wow-factor made its presence at 1:15 on Sunday. Jacob Banks did a Soulful set. According to the schedule, it lasted 45 minutes. It seemed far shorter. Quoting the content from the Outside Lands website:
“Born in Nigeria and based in England, 25-year-old singer/songwriter Jacob Banks creates soul music that’s uncompromisingly honest but thrillingly cinematic. A self-taught musician who began singing, playing guitar, and writing songs at the age of 20, Banks got his start at open mic nights around Birmingham in 2011 and quickly won major attention for his commanding vocal presence and daringly intimate songwriting. In early 2013 he released his powerful debut EP ‘The Monologue.’”
Jacob Banks is returning to San Francisco in November. He will visit The Independent on November 4. For ticket information, CLICK HERE. The day before, he will be at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz. For ticket information, CLICK HERE.
