Can you smell that?!? Mmmm, smells good. Hot Cross Buns. QUICK!! Get them out from under the grill. When you can smell them, they’re just about to catch. You don’t want to have to scrape off the charcoaled topping off into the bin. That’s a metaphor for this week’s Tracks of the Week. Probably. Don’t over do it. Eleven is enough. Don’t burn out. Save some for next week. Yes, we’ll still be working on Easter Bank Holiday Monday. Our tireless hunt for the best tunes for you never ceases. So you better enjoy this crop or Jesus won’t rise again. Again. He’s watching you.
Jonathan Wilson – Marzipan
Why we love it: When not producing albums for the likes of Father John Misty, Margo Price, Billy Strings, Conor Oberst, Roy Harper, Dawes, and Angel Olsen or playing with Roger Waters as a guitarist and vocalist in the former Pink Floyd man’s touring band, the American songwriter and musician Jonathan Wilson has been known to record his own music. And it is pretty special too. Four brilliant studio albums and a clutch of similarly great EPs will attest to this fact. And his brand new single, ‘Marzipan’ continues in that wonderful vein.
“With my new single Marzipan I wanted to break out of any and all comfort zones I may have lapsed into as a writer, narrator, producer, or player,” says Wilson. “I discovered a little-known song called ‘Warm Rumours’ from the early 70’s that was playful, risky, experimental, and took no prisoners. I wrote the string and horn arrangements for Marzipan myself, and it was a pleasure to have these wonderful players put my melodies on this recording, and into the gentle listener’s ears. I wanted a Walker Brothers’ ‘The Electrician’ string moment at some point in my life, that degree of beauty, and I think this gets me close.”
Wilson adds: “The song chronicles some of my life autobiographically when I lived in NYC in the early 2000’s in my 20s. The feeling of Greenpoint, Brooklyn at that moment. Countering that with a deep dive into Hank Williams, Roy Acuff, and my early fascination with the Harry Smith Anthology during those years. I was obsessed. And of course, jazz, which changed my life forever.”
Just give ‘Marzipan’ a spin and you will see exactly what he means. (Simon Godley)
Viji – Down
Why we love it: because it is a brilliantly scuzzy, fuzzy, wuzzy alt-pop song. Part west coast U.S.A slacker rock, part grunge, part pop princess. Released through the eminently cool Speedy Wunderground and produced by Dan Carey, obviously, this is a new beginning for Viji. ‘Down’ hits all the right spots, there’s an element of melancholy underneath, the video suggests more bravado than the song does.
Real name Vanilla Jenner, Viji comes from Austria but now lives in London, she released an EP last year, Cali, on Dirty Hit.
Viji says “‘Down’ is a song about tapping into your creative potential. I have this thing where the happier I am the less I create. I think a lot of artists can relate to that. There is also a short story by Murakami that follows this female protagonist who is happily living her family life, until one day she stops sleeping. She then spends all of these extra hours in the day to read, and do whatever SHE wants. Realizing that you only really claim your individualism in these moments is a big theme in my songwriting… Do you have to suffer to create?”. (Jim Auton)
Lunch – Hired Gurn
Why we love it: East London based post-punk four-piece Lunch have released new single ‘Hired Gurn’. Lunch formed at 6am at a New Years Eve party, perhaps giving an indication of what to expect from their music. ‘Hired Gurn’ is frantic, fun and ferocious. A party central track about people who consider their Soho House membership a part of their personality.
Live these guys must be wild if ‘Hired Gurn’ is anything to go by. Lunch spent the lockdowns writing and sharing home-recorded ideas before unleashing two years of bottled energy in gigs all over London. This pent-up energy exudes through the guitars and drums, and what a quality vocal. Let’s not forget the subject matter which sadly continues to be so relevant. Lunch played a recent support with Pulled Apart By Horses at O2 Academy Islington. I have no doubt we will be hearing more from them around London and beyond. If your spirits need lifted, this may just be the band for you. (Julia Mason)
Jo Bartlett – I Waited A Year
Why we love it: Some of you may recall Jo Bartlett as having jointly founded the Green Man Festival with Danny Hagan in 2003 and then programming the event until their departure eight years later. Others from when she joined forces with Hagan in the electronic/folk duo, It’s Jo and Danny. To this already most impressive of CVs you could then just as easily add promoter, producer, plugger, and much more besides. Now, a trio of brand new recordings for 2023 mark the first time that Jo Bartlett has written both the music and lyrics since first starting out. Of writing the new material, she says:
“These are the first real songs I have written the lyrics to since I was 17 and my debut single by my band Go! Service, ‘It Makes Me Realise’ was released on Dan Treacy’s (The Television Personalities) Dreamworld Records in 1985. I honestly think I have at last found my voice! I’m so loving writing and recording everything myself. I played all the instruments and recorded and mixed the songs. I haven’t yet played them to Danny as it feels too personal. He has heard me blasting them through the house in my studio / living room plenty of times though!”
‘I Waited A Year’ is the second of those recordings – following hot on the heels of ‘I Don’t Want To Hear Any More Music’ – and was recently released via Indie Through The Looking Glass. A song about a song, ‘I Waited A Year’ is as woozy as it is whimsical, and as at home on the dancefloor as it is in front of your mirror in the bedroom. (Simon Godley)
Cable Ties – Time For You
Why we love it: Australian garage rock trio Cable Ties have announced their new album All Her Plans, set for release on 23 June via Merge Records. In addition the band have shared new song ‘Time For You‘. It opens as a rock track but soon propels into something more raw. Fuelled by scuzzy guitars and an increasingly passionate vocal this is absolute earworm material, but one you’ll have no complaints replaying over and over again. As ‘Time For You’ continues it grows in intensity and the thrilling vocal of Jenny McKechnie simply becomes more and more animated.
Jenny (guitar, vocals) expands on the tracks origins: “‘Time For You’ is about feeling safe and happy with someone. I’m a pretty chaotic and anxious person. I often feel like I’m barely holding everything together and never have enough time for everything I’ve planned. When I come home to my partner James, I feel safe, happy and like everything is going to be ok . It’s like our time together sits outside of the timeline of the rest of my life.”
Cable Ties were formed in 2015, and quickly became mainstays of Melbourne’s feminist punk scene. They will be supporting Amyl and the Sniffers on three of their UK/EU dates this summer. (Julia Mason)
SLEAZE – Daffodils
Why we love it: Dave Ashby, writer and lead vocalist with the SE London noiseniks SLEAZE had previously performed ‘Daffodils’ on a little Casio keyboard at the regular Easycome Wednesday night club at the Old Dispensary in Camberwell. Then in February, Ashby presented Simon Bromide of local indie label, Scratchy Records with a full band version of the song.
Bromide describes the song as “like The Clash mugging Jarvis (Cocker) down some Sheffield back alley or The Libertines covering Je t’aime.”
And I think that Bromide has probably just about got it right. ‘Daffodils’ has certainly distilled an early punk attitude with much of the urgency and raucousness of the 00s UK indie explosion. Despite the subject matter being that of failing relationship, the end result is a cracking little sing-along, perfect for a right royal knees-up down your local boozer. (Simon Godley)
Teke::Teke – Gotoku Lemon
Why we love it: Montreal-based Japanese psych-rock band TEKE::TEKE share ‘Gotoku Lemon’ the second single from their upcoming second album Hagata set for release on 9 June via Kill Rock Stars.
I can genuinely say this band explore themes not touched on by other songwriters. Translating to “Lemon Enlightenment” in English, the track sees lead vocalist Maya Kuroki spinning a short story about a world in which glow-in-the-dark lemons are found to be the cure for all ills. However the song serves as a warning to those who seek salvation in snake oil.
‘Gotoku Lemon’ mixes the musical aesthetic of Chindon’ya’ (Japanese marching bands) with Bollywood style grooves and baroque 70s film score orchestration. It’s an intoxicating mixture which begins with that mystical Eastern vibe. Maya Kuroki’s vocals are emotive perfectly balancing the music which is darting here and there. But it’s the instrumentation which dominates on ‘Gotoku Lemon’, and in particular flautist Yuki Isami and trombonist Etienne Lebel. What a joyful track this is, and I suspect the only one to feature glow-in-the-dark lemons. (Julia Mason)
Niques – Grime
Why we love it: “We need some more girls in here/too many men on the stage unfair/I thought you were all feminist out there” spits Niques, her inventive, witty and prescient bars bounding across this playful cut. As she calls out the lack of female artists on the stage. Part of the righteous Ladies of Rage group in Cardiff who have been championing the women in the burgeoning hip hop scene. Clocking in at under two minutes, it’s a tantalizing example of Niques fearsome talent.
Niques is inspired by the 90s era and implements that into her music to make it nostalgic but current. Her lyrical content ranges from personal experiences to social commentary as she takes inspiration from her current and previous environment. (Bill Cummings)
Lips – Never Have I
Why we love it: Idiosyncratic New Zealanders Lips are back with ‘Never Have I‘, the lead single off an upcoming new EP. Delivered in a heartfelt, poetic pop song that collects ‘never have I evers’ from fans, with vocalist Steph Brown reading off a list of witty lines juxtaposed with revealing with introspective truths (“I’m afraid I’m afraid of my heart pounding when I’m near you and I can’t breathe“). The accompanying lyric video highlights the confessional qualities of the song, in which handwritten notes give the impression of watching an exposed journal entry in real time. It’s a superb bedroom pop anthem that you will want to singalong to and another installment of this off beat pop collective lead by a mysterious singer wearing big lips on her head. (Bill Cummings)
S. T. Manville – Act Normal
Why we love it: S. T. Manville returns with ”Act Normal’ a spindling bedroom pop anthem about guilt and conflict, recorded using a laptop mic on Manville’s canal boat home in the midlands.
“And there’s glimpses of feelings I can’t quite reach, it’s like bobbing for apples without any teeth” Sings S. T Manville as he struggles with andonehia, guilt and isolation, over a cyclical strum orbiting somewhere between the ragged glory of early Willy Mason and the introspective bittersweet qualities of Sparklehorse. It’s another quality piece of songwriting from S.T Manville, it’s the aural equivalent of a crumpled letter written to your struggles. The single is the first of three to be released over the next few months, with an EP scheduled for later in the year.
About the single, Manville says:
“Recently, I ended up recording almost everything on the built in mic on my laptop ‘cause it sounded like the crappy 4 track cassette machine I first started recording on when I was 12. I made a load of records over a short period of time that felt like a coherent body of work, and although they didn’t really fit with what I’d been releasing up to that point, the songs were all coming from the same place, it was just the presentation that was different. After touring on my own for the last few years a band felt like the right progression. So, I put a few of my old mates from punk and hardcore bands together and told them to play quietly… we ended up meeting somewhere in the middle. I called it ‘the Agony’ ‘cause it felt like all these songs were tapping into pain in one way or another.
“Act Normal is a song about guilt, sometimes we all have to make decisions that are tough, they might be right for you but not so good for other people. That doesn’t mean it’s the wrong thing to do. That kind of guilt is complex, it isn’t black and white, there’s a lot of conflict involved. It’s not always about forgiving yourself but learning to live with the decisions you make and accepting that there might be negative consequences as well as positive ones.” (Bill Cummings)
Rona Mac – Body
Why we love it: West Walian songwriter Rona Mac is such an astounding talent, a voice that can pull out deep emotions and cut you to the quick, songwriting that uses its sparsity as a weapon to peel back the layers on feelings and confusion. On her new single ‘Body‘ almost jazzy pianos and smoky vocals, envelop as a clicking beat as Mac hypnotically observes the moments as the body wakes in intimate detail, what it craves comfort, grounding and touch. Tender and exquisitely drawn.
Mac says “It’s a track called ‘Body’. written whilst hiding away at a mate’s empty mansion (well, very large house) in Scotland in an attempt to work on my upcoming album with the flu. After a 14hr drive up there from Wales, I soon realised I had forgotten my laptop and lyrics at home. Had an existential crisis for about 4 hours, as per. I managed to borrow my girlfriend’s computer and, with garageband, I used the time to write some new stuff and focus on presence and improvisation. This track is the first I’ve ever written with keys, and the vocal/lyric take is entirely improvised. What I ended up with was an extension of my snoozy morning, celebrating those beautiful stolen moments first thing in the morning, when you exist purely in your body. The sun’s not quite risen, eyes blurred, and feeling is all that matters.” (Bill Cummings)
