MELOMANIA back again with some of the great music from untested artists this week
We hope you like it.
Last year, this same week in the year brought some of the best music of the year.
This week in 2021 brought forth this gem
This week’s best music went straight to the weekly e-mail (namely Lucinda Chua, Debby Friday, and Heartworms,) so Melomania dug deep for you and came up with some almost Christgau-sized reviews of the best of the rest.
TRAMPOLENE - Rules of Love and War [LP](Strap Originals UK)
Now on their third album, this Swansea, Wales band (named after the Julian Cope track) has a breezy British Pop sound that either harkens back to late Oasis or could be the next Inhaler. “Thinking Again” is a great single. The upstroke guitar and the slight menace in Jack Jones’ voice push nicely against the tom-driven drums. “Together” finds a nice peak in the middle and then pushes itself to the end like a ’90s single.
SILVER BIPLANES -Moment In The Sun [LP](Where It’s At Is UK)
Vanessa Vass (once of The Melons) and her husband Tim are quickly developing some real writing rapport. While they are still formulating their jangling Primitives-style Pop with drummer Rob Scott, “Moment” truly coalesces around a pair of tracks that are constructed with Sixties-ish simplicity in mind. “Fairground Rocket Ride” does not overcomplicate the proceedings and wisely always leaves you waiting for the chorus (“1969/Fairground Rocket Ride.”) Later in the album, they revisit this motif in globetrotting “There’s A Party.”
CONNECTIONS - Cool Change [LP/CS](Trouble In Mind)
Columbus, OH is a great breeding ground for some propulsive jangling Rock N’Roll. From the members of 84 Nash (once signed to Guided By Voices Rockathon label,) “Cool Change” showcases their ability to build Real Estate-ish Rock around almost breezy sounding guitar parts (the lovelorn “California Raisin.”) Connections’ songs are about a lot of twins and turns, but their opener “In Space” is their most exemplary. The band’s ability to tangle themselves around that simple riff in both its strummy verses (although, that bass line where the note pulls up against the chording is truly astonishing) and the brilliant “ratty”- sounding ending where they purposefully grind it out (but not rip into it) bodes well for their future.
4 HORSES CAJUN DANCEHALL BAND - Live at La Pousierre [CD](Swallow)
Now here is a new Cajun/Louisiana band that is on to something. While it is a scrappy live recording, 4 Horses incorporate steel guitar into their dance band setup. This rhythm section of bassist Brazos Duval and drummer Kevin Dugas is tight (they blaze through “Mamou Two-Step” and make it look easy.) While Dylan Aucoin is subbing for Jamie Bearb, 4 Horses rarely lose a step. Their Tex-Mex-ish take on “Lake Charles Playboy Waltz” is held aloft by a fantastic solo from Richard Comeau on steel. However, their mastery of the traditionals (“Acadian Two-Step”) is the true feather in their cap.
ALICE - L’Oiseau Magnifique [LP](Bongo Joe SWI)
Acapella close singing plus minimal synth means the French vocal trio may be more about finding new harmonies than pure songwriting. However, their melodies regularly leap across the language barrier. “Triste et sout seul” is playful and almost playground-clever, while the synth-driven “Pense a moi” makes a great case for the importance of close singing. However, it is the dramatic mood and shifting vocals in “Petit et Gris” that truly show their potential. Over a simple drone note, Alice set the mood first and then builds by switching their harmonic intervals. When they disappear in the end and it turns almost hymnlike, it becomes easy to see how this formula is set to generate magic in the future.
We sincerely hope that this was time well spent. We thank you for reading, listening, subscribing, and most of all supporting the artists listed here. Thank you.
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