The Grace Of Jeff Buckley

Two days ago was the birthday of Jeff Buckley.

I usually say that Jeff Buckley was the artist with more potential that was taken from us too soon. I also say that he is the dead artist that is more exploited by the recording industry. After he died, different labels released so many compilations, demos, live performances that is almost sick. I doubt that he would approve it, if he was here to decide.

He died when he was 30 years old, and he released only one solo album, Grace.

I want to remember him by this album. It is a mixture of 10 great anthems. You have great Indie-Rock songs like the album title song or So Real, and then you have super delicate pieces of music like Corpus Christi Carol, Lilac Wine or the eternal Hallelujah. I almost never prefer a cover version from the original one, but in this album, it happens twice. Or thrice, if you count with Corpus Christi Carol.

The reason that I usually say that he is special, that he could achieve unbelievable things its not only because of those 10 songs, but also because of Buckley's own musicality. He can sing, play guitar, and write (lyrically and melodically) like a monster. Without a doubt, he was blessed. He was a breath of fresh air on the American musical scene.

Jeff was, and still is, one of the best ever. I still keep (and will forever do) Grace as one of my top 10 favourite albums of all time, one of the ones that I would take to a desert island.

Is always a good day to remember Jeff Buckley, so let's celebrate his legacy, his music. 

Two days ago, Jeff would be 54.  

Pale Honey - Some Time, Alone Review

During this week, the album that was playing on my car was Devotion, the second album by Pale Honey. I love that album, it is still my favourite from them. It's very rock, brutal and raw. Direct. Brilliant.

Some Time, Alone, their new album, is  not exactly like the previous one. That's good of course, it's good to be different, it's good to evolve. Although, it's clear for me, and I want to be honest, I do prefer Devotion.

The new album is softer, calmer, a bit more electronic and has hard beating drums and killer guitar riffs. Of course, that we can find some exceptions. "Killer Scene" is a rock and heavy song, the one that could fit better to Pale Honey's previous works, it's a great song. "Treat You Good" and "Bad Things" also has that feeling during the chorus. 

Then, the rest of the songs switch between some pop/rock classic tunes, and some electronic dreamy moments.  "Beat Me" and "Heaven Knows How Far I've Gone" (quite forgettable song) are good examples of that melancholic moments. "Trouble Is The Only Thing I Know" is also introspective and it is the most heavier moments of the album, a great depressive rock song, cheers to that. The album-title song and "Set Me Free" show an attempt of the band to be more danceable and maybe, more, "modern", which is something that the band really doesn't need to; I do believe that the band is good in doing aggressive and direct rock music.

Funny enough, my favourite song of the album is "Friends" which is maybe the most commercial one. Its lunatic feeling is very sweet and enjoyable. I love it. I know it's stupid that I kinda criticised the softer songs, and my favourite one ends up being the most commercial one. But that's how music works, each tune hits you in a different way. 

So, as an overall, the album is great, a bit more relaxed then previous ones, less loud, but it has great great moments. As I said, the other albums are very direct, very plain, this one grows in you. As I am re-listening to it, I found it more and more enjoyable, specially now, in a cold Winter night.

Please, buy the album here and support Pale Honey.

https://palehoneyband.bandcamp.com/album/some-time-alone

Suede Are Coming Back To Portugal In 2021

Finally some good news about the music industry!
2020 is an almost cancelled year for music events, but things are getting for 2021.
Suede, my favourite band, are coming back to Portugal, this time for the legendary festival Vilar de Mouros.
The band is playing on the same night as Placebo, which will be a great dose of British music.
Vilar de Mouros is one of the oldest and more traditional festival in Portugal. After some years of a long hiatus, the festival came back and are raising the bar for 2021.
Suede, Placebo, Iggy Pop, Bauhaus and Wolfmother are among the confirmed acts.

Best Coast - Always Tomorrow Review

I discovered Best Coast 2 or 3 years ago, something like that.
Coincidentally, during this time the singer Bethany Cosentino was in a creative block while trying to get sober. The band was almost going to end but, however, they got back together to the studio and worked on what would be "Always Tomorrow" (between this they released a kids album).

Crazy For You is one of the best Californian chill albums of the last years. A perfect album to listen while going to the beach or having some beers. The band evolved, and went, in my opinion to a more pop sound.

However, in Always Tomorrow, they took a louder a rockier direction.
The songs have energy and they have speed. The first single, "For The First Time" doesn't really reflex the sound of the album and, actually is, for me, one of worst songs of the album.
"Different Light" is a cracker, a great opening. The same goes for "Everything Has Changed", which is probable my favourite song of the album. The opening riff is great, Bobb Bruno is, undoubtedly a very skilled guitarist and a riff master.

The main topic of the songs is the road to sobriety, how to deal with it, and how to get your life together after years of abuse, depressions, fears and hardcore life and how good it is the have all of that behind you.
Probably because of this, some songs have a very "charming" dark tone, like "Rollercoaster" or "Gracelles Kids".
"True" is also of the highest moments of the album. The latin, californian, lullaby sound of it is great. Bethany is, obviously a great singer, with a very beautiful voice, but, one thing I really appreciate or her vocals, and ou can listen well on this track, its her non-lyrical backing voice. It's beautiful, relaxing and chilling and I always loved them and really think it makes a difference and puts a great personality on their songs.
The rest of the songs flow in the same style. Fast pop/rock songs accompanied by a loud electric rhythm guitar. "Seeing Red" is catchy, "Master Of My Own Mind" is composed by 2 very different sections, "Make It Last" is also one of the best songs, with a strong message about relationship possessions (and a fantastic guitar) and "Used To Be" is the melancholic closing redeemer track.

Bascially, Best Coast are not anymore the "kids" from Crazy For You, they are much more mature now, and that is reflected in their music. Most of their songs are now heavier, darker and more complex.
And that's what life is about, changing, ageing, trying to feel better and be a better person.

Paul McCartney & Others to Play Online Fest

The world is facing probably the worst and most unlikely event ever.
We need to stay home, we need to do a social isolation and, when I see we, it's really the whole world, including politicians, actors, sportsmen and, of course musician.
The concerts are being cancelled all over the world, new music and albums are being postponed.
However, there is a huge supportive vibe all over the world. People are really trying to make a difference, and that's a very beautiful thing. Hopefully, when this crisis is over, this solidarity will continue to grow and we will be better human beings.
Musicians are doing their part. They are cancelling their gigs and, a lot of them are doing live Instagram or radio performances.
On the night of the 18th to the 19th of April, a lot of artists and entertainers will do live performances. This event will include some legendary names like Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eddie Vedder or Andre Bocelli. 
Check their official site for more information about the stream.
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/connect/togetherathome/

Stay safe, stay home.

Coming Up Celebration

During the last days, Suede, my favourite band of all time, were teasing something related with their third album Coming Up (which is my favourite album of all time!).
Coming Up was released in 1996, the first album after the departure of Bernard Butler and the first album featuring Richard Oakes and Neil Codling. The album was a commercial and critical success. No one was expecting it, but the creative force of Suede was proven to be Brett Anderson, and it was a huge statement that the band would be OK without their original guitarists. Coming Up contains 10 fast and catchy songs, natural hits. and even their numerous b-sides are excellent.

Without any particular calendar reason, the band decided to celebrate this LP by going on a short European tour. The band will play the album in full, and possibly will play tons of b-sides and rarities. They will play in England, Germany, France, Scotland, Denmark and Sweden.

Some time ago I said that I could not live without watching "Europe Is Our Playground" live and I think this might be my best opportunity. So, I can't wait to to buy the tickets to Alexandra Palace and fly to London in October. It is a perfect opportunity to listen to some old, rarely played b-sides like Sound Of The Streets, This Time, Sadie or Young Man.

Can't wait!

Postcards - The Good Soldier

The first thing to say, and the most important is that music really is universal, specially today.
Postcards are a Lebanese band, from their capital, Beirut. A couple of weeks ago I was listening to Portuguese radio and they passed their song "Lights Out". I enjoyed it, used Shazam to know more about them and soon I discovered that, in this edge of Europe, in a small country, a radio was playing music from Lebanon. Isn't it wonderful? Doesn't it open a lot of possibilities and a lot of fantastic cultural exchange? I think it is beautiful.

Anyway, I went home and noticed that Postcards had just released their second album, "The Good Soldier". I discovered also that they had been touring with the band Beirut, among other things.
They had released their debut album 2 years ago, which I listened to it after the new one.

Postcards are described as a indie/rock, dream/pop band. In my opinion, it's true, but they are definitely a typical dream/pop band. If we had to label their music, specially their second album, I would say it lays somewhere in a dark/dream/post/indie. For example, imagine more complex, darker and lyrical version of Beach House.
It's funny. Most of the songs really have their dark and depressing tone like "Dead End", "Lights Out" or the title track "The Good Soldier" but, in the same album you can listen to another ones that really have a joyful and lightning sound like "Fossilized" or "Spiderwebs". Actually, when I first listened to "Fossilized" I though it was super great, the best track on the album, beautiful and it should be the single (and later i discovered that it is).
Julia Sabra sings in a lyrical way, specially in the ballads, that favours to get the nostalgic feelings.
Also, there's 2 instrumental pieces, some speed up songs like "Hunting Season", some typical modern pop/rock songs like "Freediving" and a lot of introspective moments.

In a resume, although we are still in January, I think that "Fossilized" will be one of my top song of this year and "The Good Soldier" is an excellent album by an exotic and fantastic band. Their interior sound makes you feel part of them, makes you wonder about life, about the beautiful things.
That's way I always preferred the dramatic and darker music moments on the albums, they connect some much more with you, in a special way.
Hoping to see them soon in Portugal. Primavera Sound in Porto would fit them as a glove.

Afternoons With The Blinds Drawn - Review

Brett Anderson's released his volume II of his autobiography later last year.

The book is a treasure for every Suede fan, and, I guess, a very interesting reading for anyone that fancies the inner world of 90's indie music.

Like Coal Black Mornings, this is not a book about "coke and gold discs". Brett, apologies on the beginning of the book, saying that this is the work that he said that he would never write. I disagree, Brett said that he would never write a book about his success and failures, in a kind of lists of chart performances and ugly gossip about people and experiences. AWTBD is a biography of Brett's and Suede's life during their first run, during their golden and darker years, but the writer doesn't really gives a chronological story of his life. He writes a sensitive prose, that most part of his focus are the inspirations that led him write this or that song. It's an introspective biographical romance of his life at that time, that describes what he was thinking, and how did he deal with various situations.

I guess that, the big difference about a biography and an autobiography is really seen here. A biography tends to focus on the facts, numbers, success, gossips, interviews, etc. An autobiography writes a personal vision of life, a romantic and flowery explanation, always with a internal weighting. Why did I do that and how did that situation influenced my life and my writing. 

Comparing to CBM, for not English native speakers, AWTBD is more complex, more difficult to read. Most of its chapters has an introduction, that mirrors Brett's songwriting, a beautiful and detailed description of something. 

I enjoyed reading the part in which Bernard Butler leaves the band. You can almost feel Brett's pain in writing that part, always very delicate in order not to be misunderstood or to be over-judging in Butler's reaction.

Also, the part when both Ricardo and Neil join Suede is a great one. Brett explains in detail the strengths and creativity of his partners, and I'm happy to say that he didn't leave compliments to say, he treated both of them with beautiful words. 

I think it's also important that the writer didn't over-explored his extincted addiction problem. He talks openly about it, but he is direct and cold. We don't need to make a fantasist tale about taking drugs, and how we should avoid them. That happened, I reacted this way, it scared me, it has reflections on those songs and on those moments of my life, I regret them, end of story. As, not only a Suede fan, but also as music and poetry lover, I'm much more interested in knowing the true meanings and inspirations behind the songs, instead of a tale of struggling dependency. And that's what AWTBD is about.   

The rest of the book, it's like a very long Suede song. You read typical Brett's expressions that can be heard both on his songs as well in his book, using very smart metaphors.  

I doubt that there will be, soon, an autobiography part III that would cover his solo years and The Tears era. I'm not sure it it would be such a good book and it's 2 previous volumes. Maybe yes, it would be interesting to read about his feeling on reuniting with Bernard and how did his romantic life settled and how did he became a family man, while is solo career was drifting apart a little bit.

Let's wait and see! 

Morrissey - New Single Review

As I said in the beginning on this year, Morrissey is set to release a new album with 11 new original songs. The album will be called "I Am Not A Dog On A Chain".

The first single is "Bobby, Don't You Think They Know?"

Morrissey is a legendary artist. Yes, with a lot of political (terrible) opinions but I'm not here for that. I'm here to talk about music, and that's what we should talk right now.

Morrissey has stabilised his own style, I don't believe he will, ever gain, write a turning point album. He is what he is, and his music sounds like that. Exactly the same way some legendary artists like Paul McCartney, Depeche Mode, Rolling Stones, U2, etc. They will continue to write marvellous songs but will never re-invent themselves again, and that's fine and good!

So, this songs has of course a lot of typical Moz here, the lyrics are, most of it very abstracts and non-sense at first reading (like most of the poetry) but actually, I have the feeling that he might be talking about himself. He is like describing someone that, in the eyes of others did a bad thing but "ah the pleasure you bring for us, ah whenever you sing for us". Morrissey is very criticised in press, so he could be Bobby, the man who did the horrendous thing, but, whenever he sings, his forever full audience will come and enjoy the concerts. Of course I may be completely wrong. The sing could not be actually sing, could be a charm for being forgiven. But I think I did had a point.

Melodically, dispute what I said in the beginning of this article, he does gives a step forward, in a not so comfortable jazz trait. He has the help of the amazing Thelma Houston who gives a really big flow and chill to the song, but also the instrumental is amazing. The hard saxophones in the background and the twisted piano riffs give a really big soul to the song. Makes the difference. And the length of the song (almost 6 minutes) gives space and time for everyone have their moment and for the listener to internalize with the music.

In the middle of all of this jazzy world, then comes up that typical and characteristic voice, that pushes you away from the little bit 60's jazz groove, which makes it a pop and commercial song.  

It's a great song, I'm looking forward the album.

I know most people don't like Morrissey, me, also don't agree with his political views and I found terrible and wrong his comments, but I also think that he is a depressing difficult person, that can't handle life very well. And the music press seems to focus only on that.

The NME wrote a terrible non-sense review of this song. It's bad that they can be impartial and talk about the music, and only the music itself. I don't agree with that and I honestly think it is bad journalism. 

People that don't agree with Morrissey political views, be superior, be diplomatic, and don't be the person that you are trying to fight, be better, and give people a chance to release their work and for it to be appreciated it, musically is good. Fight with peace.

Here's Moz's new single:

First Playlist Of The Year

The process of revitalising the blog, consists a lot in listening and writing about new music.
For that, my dear Spotify playlist called Strange Sound, where I add the 10 (almost) new songs that I listened on the last days, is essential.
If I have a playlist, I memorise the singers, the songs, and can always come back to them later.
So, here's the new playlist, the first of this decade!


And don't forget to also see the other playlist, Indie Pendence, where I collect all songs that passed through Strange Sound.


Cheers!

New Music For 2020

We are turning the decade. And, once again, for the million time, the blog is back.
2020 is here, which means that new music is arriving.
So, what can I expect, personally from this year? My wishlist would be very long and, boringly, it would also be very predictable. In Portugal, every year, when you celebrate the new year at midnight, you eat raisins and secretly, make 3 wishes. It my wishes would be about new releases I would then say, a new album by Suede, a new album by Supergrass and a very strong Primavera Festival in Porto (unlike the 2019 edition).

Let's then focus on the new music for 2020 that is already confirmed and official. What caught my eye? We'll have new albums by Pet Shop Boys, La Roux, Morrissey, Weezer and The Strokes.
So, I would say that, for now, these artists are the ones that call my attention.
Some of them already have their singles out there.
Keep an eye on the Strange Sound Spotify Playlist to listen to some of these tunes.
I'll be posting some reviews, hopefully, more often than ever around here!

Happy New Year!