An Alternative History of "Pop" Music: Part 3, 2004 -

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Die Katapult - Backerei Digital

Die Katapult are a floor-filling Spanish/Swedish synth-pop duo based in Barcelona. They're krautrock obsessives, hence why they sing in German - despite neither of them actually knowing how to speak the language. They write their lyrics via Google Translate, which is rather funny and charming I think.

This track is taken from their second album, DKXD.

[jamiefairlie]

Brix & The Extricated - Wintertyde

https://youtu.be/eUgexR42NjU



formed in 2014 in Manchester by Brix Smith-Start, Stephen Hanley, Paul Hanley, Steven Trafford and Jason Brown, four of the five members were one-time members of The Fall


From "Super Blood Wolf Moon"

"This is Brix at a mature artist that dares to tear the fabric of pop, that dares to embrace the melodic touch. This is a guitar pop that is adventurous and yet addictively claustrophobic, intense and beautiful. The songs tumble by, dripping a femininity, and each one is captivating"

[jamiefairlie]

Cate Le Bon - Here It Comes Again

https://youtu.be/PEIIKX_K_3o





From "Reward "

"Reward is Cate Le Bon's most emotionally astute record to date, and her melodic prowess is the strongest it's ever been. With that, Reward sounds like a modern classic, because it has a longevity that very few records possess"

[jamiefairlie]

Chastity Belt - Drown

https://youtu.be/pvfGX6AC-vc



From "Chastity Belt"

"This is music that takes its time but is never less than absorbing and rewards repeated listening. Chastity Belt's musical evolution has been a fascinating and rewarding thing to witness, and this may be their smartest and most compelling music to date"

[Clatty McCutcheon]

Damien Jurado - South

A spare and haunting track from the album In The Shape of a Storm, with just acoustic guitar and vocals (and some slightly eerie whistling).

[Brundle-Fly]

Turn Me On, Deadman - Robyn Hitchcock & Andy Partridge.  Released on Planet England EP for Ape House in 2019.





This slice of nu-nu-psyche sounds like The Monkees with a tiny nod to The Beatles Taxman.

We know fully well who these two chaps are. Here's the skinny on the EP.
The recordings were first made in 2006 in Andy Partridge's backyard home studio in Swindon, England, which Robyn Hitchcock jokingly described in one interview as "two old psychedelic pensioners rocking away in a shed in a back garden," but also noted that Partridge's well-known production and technical skills made his back-garden shed "the equivalent of the entire firepower of Abbey Road's Studio One." The songs were written together around Partridge's kitchen table, in what Partridge described as a "genuine 50/50 collaboration." Both men sang and played guitar; Partridge played bass and drum programming, and did most of the post-production. The recordings were not completed until 2018, when Hitchcock and Partridge got back together to mix them. Both Hitchcock and Partridge remarked in the press that their collaborative songwriting came unexpectedly easily, perhaps because of their similar life experience as vanguards of the 1970s/1980s alternative rock movement and similar set of influences, including Syd Barrett, The Beatles, The Kinks, and Captain Beefheart. (The title of "Turn Me On, Deadman" references the backwards-masked phrase that can supposedly be heard in the Beatles' "Revolution No. 9.") Another collaborative album is planned.

[Clatty McCutcheon]

Yak - Layin' It On The Line

Yak are a garage/psych rock trio from Wolverhampton, currently on 'indefinite hiatus'. This is the penultimate track from their second, most recent album Pursuit of Momentary Happiness.

[Clatty McCutcheon]

Ohtis - Runnin'

Ohtis are a trio from the splendidly named town of Normal, Illinois, operating somewhere between alt country and indie rock. The band has been active on an on/off basis since around 2004 but more off than on due to addiction/personal problems, some of which are documented by vocalist and songwriter Sam Swinson on the album Curve of Earth.

[jamiefairlie]

Duster - The Breakup Suite

https://youtu.be/gqsqIGLrLtg



American slowcore rock band from San-Jose California,

From "Capsule Losing Contact"

"The collection finally restores the music of Duster to people who can now afford to own it and every fan of slowcore, lo-fi space rock and unassumingly brilliant indie rock should plunk down their money and get this set."

[jamiefairlie]

Dylan Moon - Mind Troubles

https://youtu.be/yDzJLHmHbzA



American singer-songwriter currently based in Los Angeles

From "Dylan Moon"

"Texturally at least, it's pleasant stuff. But Moon's songwriting is stranger than those influences suggest. His music moves with the fragmented imagery and broken logic of dreams and memory; melodies and sections bleed and blur into one another until it's hard to remember where one part starts and another ends."

[jamiefairlie]

Golden Fable - Finery

https://youtu.be/nJYxGqoNvRY




From "Alchemy "

"Stirring up feelings of exhilaration and sadness while immersing you in a bath of sonic stimulation. It's the sort of soundtrack you'd want to call upon while gazing upon an open horizon"

[jamiefairlie]

.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Ibibio Sound Machine - Wanna Come Down

Ibibio Sound Machine are an electronic afro-funk band from London. The band claims their sound is inspired in equal measure by the golden era of West African funk and disco, modern post-punk, and electro.

The name of the band itself finds influence from vocalist Eno Williams' mother, whose native tongue was Ibibio. While Williams was born in London, she spent most of her childhood in Nigeria with the rest of her family. Her mother often recounted numerous folk and children's stories from her own heritage and passed them on to her daughter. Williams took this inspiration and crafted lyrics from these sources and married them to modern themes.

This track is taken for their third album, Doko Mien.

[Clatty McCutcheon]

Weyes Blood - Wild Time

I reckon most people here will already know Weyes Blood and the Titanic Rising album, but it'd seem remiss not to include something from it here.

Video contains nudity so possibly NSFW, if your boss is a prude.

[jamiefairlie]

Black Marble - Bigger Than Life

https://youtu.be/DIT6dgQh4Mk





From "Bigger Than Life "

"Amidst the swathes of memorable hooks, pulsation of electro-beats and persistent homage to acts like New Order and Iron Curtain, Bigger Than Life proves to be much more than an amalgamation of pretty and fun sounds. There's real emotional weight, rooted in nostalgia and that in-between feeling of well, being in between."

[jamiefairlie]

Frankie Cosmos - 41st

https://youtu.be/nOXsQGlmB2o




From "Close It Quietly"

"In its length, quality, and economy, Close It Quietly can evoke tour de force sprees like Elvis Costello's Get Happy! or Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville. Kline sings about some serious coming-of-age stuff here, but in the casual way of someone organizing their room, not getting lost in the pathways of their ennui."

[jamiefairlie]

Itasca - Only a Traveler

https://youtu.be/UsZPCxLPpVk




From "Spring "

"Throughout Spring, Cohen's singing evokes a dream-like state, where earthen and phantom worlds meet in musical settings that range from acoustic guitar and voice to fuller, more textural surrounds"

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Kutiman & Melike Sahin - Sakla Beni

Ophir Kutiel, known professionally as Kutiman, is an Israeli musician, composer, producer and animator. He is best known for creating the online music video project, ThruYOU, several critically acclaimed albums, and the viral ongoing series Thru the City, including his Mix Tel Aviv piece, which went viral on YouTube.

This track is a collaboration with Turkish singer-songwriter Melike Sahin, who describes her musical style as 'Mediterranean arabesque'.

[Clatty McCutcheon]

Pavo Pavo - Statue is a Man Inside

Hazy, vaguely sci-fi sounding track from Mystery Hour, the second album from Brooklyn outfit Pavo Pavo. Not sure whether they are still a going concern as their core duo of Oliver Hill and vocalist Eliza Bagg were apparently in a relationship that broke up just before recording this album. Awkward.

[Clatty McCutcheon]

Tiny Ruins - One Million Flowers

Tiny Ruins is the musical project of New Zealander Hollie Fullbrook, which had expanded from folky origins into a lusher and fuller sound by the time of third album Olympic Girls, released in 2019.

[jamiefairlie]

Jeffrey Lewis - Take it For Granted

https://youtu.be/KW2sFlWCpSI





From "Bad Wiring"

"It's anti-capitalism writ small. Bad Wiring, the title of his new album, possibly referring to Lewis's own battles, often documented in three minute songs, with depression and anxiety – though never in a self-piteous way, but with self-deprecating humour permeating the agony of a no-confidence anxiety"

[jamiefairlie]

Jessica Pratt - This Time Around

https://youtu.be/FDi6C8AeTVI





From "Quiet Signs"

"The Los Angeles folk musician's third album is her best yet—a collection of hushed reveries that unspool like daydreams. Jessica Pratt spins fantasy worlds bound to bewitch, dreamscapes that spiral towards the surreal, psychedelic spirituals that nourish"

[jamiefairlie]

Julia Jacklin - Pressure To Party

https://youtu.be/CZFyqzTCt-I




Australian singer-songwriter born 30 August 1990

From "Crushing "

"That sense of surprise, the risk-taking of an artist daring to dig for truth, no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable it might be, isn't something to be taken for granted. That it informs every song suggests that "Crushing" is likely to become one of the year's enduring albums."

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Stealing Sheep - Show Love

Stealing Sheep are a fab three pop group from Liverpool. This is taken from Big Wows, their third album for Heavenly Recordings.

[Brundle-Fly]

Kitty Kitty - De Staat.  Released on (the album) on Caroline International in 2019.





One of Holland's best kept secrets.

De Staat is a Dutch alternative rock band, formed in Nijmegen in 2006. Their name translates to "The State". The act was started as a one-man project by lead singer, Torre Florim, who later brought the band together. Their first demo was recorded in Florim's apartment in 2007. While still unsigned, the one-man project grew to a full grown outfit (Vedran Mircetic - lead guitar, Jop van Summeren - bass guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals, Rocco Hueting - keys, synthesizer, percussion, rhythm guitar, vocals, Tim van Delft - drums), due to well-received live performances in the Netherlands.

[Brundle-Fly]

Stealing Sheep are a fab three pop group from Liverpool. This is taken from Big Wows, their third album for Heavenly Recordings.

They're always producing lovely stuff. This is worth a look if you're a fan of the bizarre 1973 French cult classic animated feature, The Fantastic Planet.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Lovely stuff indeed, ta! Right up my alley and a half.

[jamiefairlie]

Le SuperHomard - Karaoking

https://youtu.be/3Y2peaf-k_U



a french quintent led by Christophe Vaillant

From "Meadow Lane Park "

"The overall effect of Meadow Lane Park evokes the look of Jean-Luc Godard's 1960s Technicolor and Eastmancolor films – think Pierrot le Fou or Le Mépris – if not the questioning, pessimistic feel. This is upbeat French pop music made to be played under the too bright sun, just don't expect there to be any long shadows."

[jamiefairlie]

Lily & Madeleine - Pachinko Song

https://youtu.be/loLZi2rwmmw





From "Canterbury Girls"

"This album is Lily & Madeleine's best yet. Hauntingly, beautiful, ethereal voices cast a spell on you with synth pop sounds and rhythms"

[jamiefairlie]

Madder Rose - City Lights

https://youtu.be/hJybFMur8V0




From their first album in 20 years "To Be Beautiful"

"Tonally connecting back to the earlier years of Madder Rose, including but not limited to Coté's deliberately disorderly Rauschenberg-influenced artwork echoing the sleeves of the group's first two albums (1993's Bring It Down and 1994's Panic On), this nine-track suite also adds in lived experiences and sonic abilities accumulated during the interregnum period"