All I can say is “Woof” and “Phew, what a scorcher”. Now that can be applied to the weather or the tracks of the week below in this weeks Tracks of the Week.
Don’t worry it’ll go back to average after this week. That’s just the weather. The TOTW will still be arse slappingly brilliant as always.
Hazlett – Shiver
Why we love it: because self-doubt and self-determination are really not so far apart. On ‘Shiver’ Hazlett proves as much. It is the new single taken from the Australian folk musician’s upcoming six-song EP Goodbye To The Valley Low which will be released on 4th October via Nettwerk. The EP completes Hazlett’s Goodbye To The Valley Low project the first part of which arrived last year. Taken together both EPs will form one cohesive record which will also arrive on 4th October on vinyl in its final form as a 12-track album.
Speaking about ‘Shiver’, Hazlett says “I’ve always had this tug-o-war in my head of how much control do I really have of my life? Do I have to be petrified of every decision I make? Or do I just say whatever will be will be and sit back? I think to some extent whatever path we take life has a funny way of taking us to our destination anyway. But that only happens when we’re led by our gut, we have good intentions and we’re not scared to make the wrong choice. Sometimes it is just about choosing a door to open and being irrationally confident that the universe will guide you to where you need to go either way.”
This internal conflict manifests itself musically with a beautifully sparse arrangement that captures the contrasting emotions of seclusion and optimism. (Simon Godley)
Desperate Journalist – Afraid
Why we love it: because by jiminy they’ve done it again. Did I say that last time? Or have they actually done it again or is it better than Unsympathetic Parts 1&2?!? It’s a bit different. That much I will say. I can’t choose between them. It’s like asking me which of the four is my favourite of my cats. Impossible decision to make. They’re all a bit different. Tilly is a big tabby….I’m digressing. Somebody stop me.
‘Afraid’ is the second single to come from their fifth LP, No Hero, due in September on Fierce Panda. This time they’ve started in a similar way, understated, calm, bass and drum driven but here it explodes into life at the chorus, Jo soars like bloody eagle and there are synth bleeps and bloops (I know all the technical terms) as the guitars swoop in and pinch your heart from your chest. Then there’s the solo that takes your head off. The whole thing is stadium sized anthemic bliss. If there was any justice in the world. They’ve supported the Suedes, maybe it’s time to hitch the wagon to a Wembley bound band and blast this mother out over tens of thousands of heads. I’d pay just to see that. (Jim Auton)
DVTR – Les Olympiques
Why we love it: French Canadian duo DVTR have released their new single ‘Les Olympiques’. Fresh off a recent first tour in Europe, DVTR draws inspiration from millions of French people who are absolutely bored in the name of the Olympics, in a country in total disarray. The result is a banger bursting with energy and a punk leaning but to be honest this is a bundle of fun. It does not matter in the slightest if you don’t understand French, you’ll get the gist. The opening lyrics immediately give the intent of the track:
“Je me fiche fiche fiche des Olympiques” (“I don’t care about the Olympics”)
Fronted by fierce femme Demi Lune, alongside partner-in-crime Jean Divorce DVTR released their debut EP Bonjour in Nov 2023. Somewhere between the B-52s and fast DIY punk, Demi and Jean’s troublemaking duo look like they having the best time, and that could only be good for us if this two and a half minute bouncer of a track is anything to go by. (Julia Mason)
Chuck Prophet – Wake The Dead
Why we love it: because Chuck Prophet is back with news of his first album in four years and his first release since being cleared of cancer (stage four lymphoma). And this time the Californian man goes Cumbia, a form of traditional folk music from Latin America. He has joined forces with the Cumbia group ¿Qiensave?, a band of brothers from the Central Coast farming community of Salinas in the Sunshine State. Together they will release the album Wake The Dead on October 25th this year through Yep Roc Records. And this announcement is heralded by the arrival of the album’s brilliant title track.
Cumbrian music had been a source of great comfort and light during the darker days of Chuck Prophet’s immunotherapy and chemotherapy and the song ‘Wake The Dead’ reflects those feelings of powerlessness and his spirit of recovery. The sheer joy of still being alive is captured in the song’s accompanying video, recorded at carnival time in the Mission District of San Francisco.
Chuck Prophet will play a run of fifteen UK shows in February and March next year, marking his biggest tour in several years, where he will be joined by both members of ¿Qiensave? and James DePrato and Vicente Rodriguez from his regular band the Mission Express. (Simon Godley)
Man/Woman/Chainsaw – Ode to Clio
Why we love it: because it’s brilliantly angular, throwing time signatures out the window, and yet forever chained to a melody and catchy tune underneath it all. There is a gentle violin with kind and understanding vocals but it then implodes on itself and distorted guitar also gives way to heavy power chords with the strings keeping the melody high.
There’s a touch of the Black Country New Road about them, the anticipation of the unexpected and the intro piano and drum that sounds like skipping up a flight of stairs or up a hill on a spring morning. However if you’ve reached the summit in the verse and bridge then the structure is weak and you’re coming tumbling down the other side as the handrail snaps and you begin falling, falling, falling. But in a nice way. Until you’re dashed on the rocks below with guitar licks like molten rock from a volcano. But then you wake up.
This single comes from their debut EP Eazy Peazy, due out in November on Fat Possum. (Jim Auton)
Gemma Rogers – Death Knocked Up
Why we love it: Gemma Rogers has released the second track from her forthcoming No Future EP. ‘Death Knocked Up‘ follows ‘Coming For the Top’ and with its central refrain of “life’s too short for being boring,” the track is a burst of instantly infectious guitar pop energy. The track was inspired by the novel ‘Mrs Death Misses Death’, written by Gemmas’ friend, the poet and performer Salena Godden. As she further explains:
“I thought it was interesting to get under the skin of death as a being with a conscience, but who had to get on with the job like so many of us. We wanted to explore the idea that people are more than their jobs and that we need to consider there’s more to people than meets the eye. We liked the idea of death giving birth as well, so Death became a woman and why not?”
‘Death Knocked Up’ is a sharp and snappy reflection on the meaning of life. Thought-provoking and yet not melancholy its a shake-up call to pay attention to life as it flashes by. Its intriguing to learn that for the No Future EP, Gemma has teamed up with Ode to Records, a new sister label of punk stable Holy Dotage Records responsible for recent vinyl releases by punk legends SPIZZENERGI and fast rising duo Voodoo Radio. (Julia Mason)
