Squeeze - Last Time Forever

 This mid-eighties release by Squeeze is unique. Most reviewers back in the day gave it low marks primarily due to the cluttered, heavy-handed, and high-tech production by Laurie Latham. Squeeze was primarily revered for its intelligent songwriting and traditional (and often sunny) pop sensibilities and this album was certainly new sonic territory for the band. The organic pop sound of previous Squeeze records is replaced with synths, drum machines, and psychedelic Sgt. Pepper cello/string flourishes, all processed through tons of effects. The overall result is a dark, moody sound that was atypical of Squeeze. As for the songs themselves, they are strong. Full of odd chord progressions that match the dark mood and make them less accessible than most of the band's other song sets, and tackling heavy subject matter like family strife, alcoholism, broken relationships, etc, this album will take repeated listens to appreciate but is worth it. "By Your Side," "I Learnt How to Pray," and "Last Time Forever" are all darker tunes than just about any Squeeze had done so far but they carry an emotional punch. "Big Beng," "No Place Like Home," and "Break My Heart" are quirky and disjointed but they are intentionally so and are really quite finely crafted tunes. "King George Street," "Heartbreaking World," and "Hits of the Year" are more straightforward melodically and are all quite good. While this isn't the typical Squeeze, it is still good and deserves more credit than it has received. Not the best place to start if you're just getting into the band (see "East Side Story"), but for fans willing to explore new territory with the band this album has its rewards.  From: https://www.amazon.com/Cosi-Fan-Tutti-Frutti-Squeeze/product-reviews/B000NDFK7C

Old Blood - Slothgod

 Old Blood: Interview With Vocalist Lynx

Having been without live music since March of 2020, I was beyond ready for a show. Lucky for me Old Blood stopped at Barleycorn’s in Wichita, Kansas on Halloween night. Their lead singer Cat Braithwaite aka Lynx was kind enough to have a brief chat with me before their blend of soul and psychedelic doom burned the landscape.

Thank you for performing in Wichita on Halloween.

I’m ready to get witchy in Wichita.

How did you prep for this tour? With concerts being so scarce for so long I’m sure you were equally excited and a bit apprehensive?

This tour has been on the book since spring. We started planning it in mid-August. We were so ready.

I’m sure you’ve missed the energy exchange when performing in front of a crowd?

Yes, we were excited to get back out there. We did a lot during 2020. We shot videos, I honed my makeup skills, we released the Acid Doom album. I don’t feel like we wasted that time. I learned a lot about music marketing, also we’d be ready to tour again.

As someone who has a major in cosmetology, I have to compliment the outstanding makeup. Is it to add to the music experience or is there a deeper story behind it?

The half face makeup I’ve shifted it into, I feel like it plays at the duality of Lynx. She is a seer. A knower. She sees stuff no one else can. She keeps her secrets, but she tells you about yourself. You’re not going to get away. Lynx will catch you.

Lynx will kill the guitar player for some cool album artwork?

Yes. It was out of love. And thankfully I didn’t have to sit on him [laughs].
The half face makeup I’ve shifted it into, I feel like it plays at the duality of Lynx.

Lynx, I looked up your Discogs and was floored to find out this was your only professional release as far as I could find. How long have you been singing?

I’ve been a singer all my life. I’ve sung on other albums. I’ve been in a disco band. I’ve done a lot of musical theatre stuff. But this is the first time I’ve ever been in the kind of band I’ve really wanted to be in. When I saw Old Blood was looking for a singer, I went all in and auditioned.

What’s the strangest thing that’s happened at any show?

Ohhhhh [laughs], well in Seattle my parents showed up. I mean. They’ve never been to a metal show before.

Did they like it?

They actually did! I was shocked they stuck around after the music started. I thought they’d come by, give their best wishes, meet the guys and go home. Maybe go to the yacht club or something. But no. They came. Stayed for the first band. Saw us. The third band started and they said ‘okay we’re gonna go now’.

What’s your favorite Halloween tradition?

I listen to the music of Twin Peaks.

My wife and I watch that religiously.

…and you’ve never seen me because I ended up on the cutting room floor.

Wha…what?

Yeah, I don’t remember how old I was, but I was an extra. It was a rush call, and I was there about half a day. I don’t think I made it on camera because I watch that…a lot.

We need to talk more about that later! Back to music, does it bum you guys out that outdoing an album named Acid Doom is damn near impossible?

We’ve been working on new material since September. But I’m not telling you the title for that one yet. And that it’s even more mind-blowing.

Then we both geeked out over David Lynch…

From:  https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/interviews/g-q/old-blood-lynx/

Animal Collective - Also Frightened

 With their constantly evolving sonic identity, in-your-face vocal mannerisms, and open-ended ideas about what their music might "mean," Animal Collective seem designed to inspire obsessive fans and vociferous detractors in equal measure. Merriweather Post Pavilion, their latest full-length, has been anticipated to an almost ridiculous degree, with blogs and message boards lighting up with each scrap of new information or word of a possible leak. No one who's been looking forward to it should be disappointed. Everything that's defined the band to this point-- all those strands winding through their hugely diverse catalog-- is refined and amplified here.
Since their inception, Animal Collective have wandered the territorial edges of music, scoping out where boundaries had been erected and looking beyond them. They've punctuated perfectly likeable indie rock songs with bleating vocalizations. They've seeded pretty instrumentals with irritating noise. They've juxtaposed West African rhythms and melodies cribbed from British folk. They've stayed on a single chord for 10 minutes. But Merriweather feels like a joyous meeting in a well-earned, middle place-- the result of all their explorations pieced together to create something accessible and complete.
Although it will be tagged as Animal Collective's "pop" album, Merriweather Post Pavilion remains drenched in their idiosyncratic sound, a record that no one else could have made. The album is named for a Maryland venue that last year played host to Santana, Sheryl Crow, and John Mayer, but its songs won't be heard on the radio, and besides, Animal Collective's M.O. requires them to exist outside of rigid formats. Nonetheless, they've found a natural way to integrate the sing-along melodies, sticky hooks, and driving percussion that have long been hallmarks of celebratory popular music.
Animal Collective's two vocalists, Dave Portner (aka Avey Tare) and Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear), have never sounded better together, and the way their styles complement each other is the story of the album. On the one hand you have Panda's straightforward melodies, his fuzzy, head-in-the-clouds dreaminess, and his instinctual trawl through pop music history. The tracks that favor his songwriting typically have an underlying sense of drone, with everything moving forward along a line in relation to some subliminal center: They begin, then build, expand, and contract. Tare, meanwhile, tends to work within a more classic pop structure, with clear bridges and snappy choruses, greater harmonic development, and a sharper lyrical focus. Here, he reins in the blurting vocalizations that he's so often used as punctuation (the hardcore faithful might miss this unhinged emoting just a little). Both songwriters are on exactly the same page and, working with sonic spelunker Brian "Geologist" Weitz and producer Ben Allen (no Josh "Deakin" Dibb this time), they've found a sumptuous musical background for their most accomplished songs.  From: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12518-merriweather-post-pavilion/

Steeleye Span - ATV's Music Room 1970/Live Ainsdale Beach 30 June 1971/Electric Folk BBC 1974

 

Steeleye Span - ATV's Music Room 1970

 

 Steeleye Span - Live Ainsdale Beach 30 June 1971

 

 Steeleye Span - Electric Folk BBC 1974

 

The initial idea by soon-to-be ex-Fairport leader Ashley Hutchings, was a band that would explore the electrification of traditional music from the British Isles. It started after discussions at the '69 Keele folk festival in June between Ashley, Maddy Prior & Tim Hart and Dave & Toni Arthur. They discussed their dissatisfaction of the isolationist nature of the British Folk scene, and the unwillingness to consider an 'electric' approach to traditional music from within the folk scene, rather than it coming from the Rock side, which it had so far. In the car on the way home after the festival Tim, Maddy and Ashley also got the seal of approval of Bert Lloyd for what they were planning. Ashley had already explored the use of traditional music in Rock setting with Fairport Convention, culminating in 'Liege and Lief' in Dec 1969. Ashley left Fairport to continue this 'Folk Rock' after the remaining members of Fairport had seen it as a one-off experiment.
Ashley initially tried to form a band with Sweeney's Men (Irvine, Moynihan and Woods) and had good initial discussions with Terry, with whom he had become very good friends with. Johnny Moynihan however was not interested after a falling out with Terry, whilst Andy Irvine wasn't keen without Johnny. This left Ashley with only Terry Woods (now with his wife Gay, who had come over from Ireland). They then considered the Pegg's, but they wanted to explore a more experimental direction. Finally, after an unsuccessful approach to the Dransfield brothers, Ashley then called upon Maddy and Tim, recalling their discussions at Keele. Tim and Maddy were at a point where they were to keen to expand their own sound having been successful as a duo on the folk club scene.
The name of the band, Steeleye Span, comes from a song about 100 – 150 years old. There’s this place called Horkstow Grange (the name of the folk song) up in Lincolnshire; the foreman there was a man called John Bolin, and there was a waggoner called John ‘Steeleye’ Span who worked there too… and both men obviously hated each other’s guts. They eventually had an enormous punch-up and the whole thing is commemorated in the ballad. Well the song has got changed somewhere along the line so that Steeleye Span is now a miser, and John Bolin is his foreman. In the song, Span takes every opportunity to shit on Bolin, who eventually loses his cool and hangs one on him. Then Span, instead of belting him back, takes revenge through the courts.
Alternative names were 'Lyubidan Waits' (Terry and Gay, named after an Irish God) and 'Middlemarch Wait' (Hutchings) Maddy and Tim wanted Carthy's suggestion but apparently Tim voted twice!
With Ashley's success from Fairport Convention they managed to get the successful producer Sandy Roberton as their manager, who had recently joined B&C records after working for RCA, and who were keen on getting into 'underground music'. This gave them the funds and the equipment they needed to go and live together in Winterbourne Stoke, a small village in Wiltshire, where they practised for 3 months 'getting it together’. Later described by Ashley as 'Two couples and a referee'. Although they all found the music inspiring, living so close created strains amongst the two chalk and cheese couples and 3 months of living this way proved too much.
The recording of the first album was fractious with the living arrangements spilling over into the recording sessions, and with one song still to finish Gay and Terry left after a bust up in the studio. The reasons highlighted since have mainly centered around Tim and Terry's relationship. They were both strong personalities with their own ideas about the direction of the music and didn't particularly get on, in part apparently because Tim & Maddy continued to gig together during the initial rehearsals, which straight away got the relationship off to a rocky start.
As far as Terry and Gay were concerned there was an agreement that if anyone left, the band split up and the remaining members would not use the name Steeleye Span. This 'betrayal' almost certainly accounted for Terry Woods never appearing with the band again, including the 1995 big Reunion concert where he was the only member to not appear. Terry said: "We ended up signing stuff that we should never have signed. It was such a nasty way for such a great thing to end". Terry and Gay went onto record albums together as a duo and as 'The Woods Band'.  
Released after the band split up and after Martin had joined, Hark! The Village Wait, the debut album was mostly traditional material apart from the opener - 'A Calling-On Song' which was written by Ashley based on an old tune (Earsdon Sword Dance'). 'Fisherman's Wife' Lyrics were written by Ewan MacColl. As became the accepted way for a Steeleye album, all the members brought different songs to the recording sessions. 
Guest drummers were Gerry Conway and Dave Mattacks, both of whom performed later with the band in the 90's.  A 'Wait' is a Tudor village/town band or musician. No outtakes have appeared from the sessions but it's believed one song was recorded but not included.  
The band had effectively split up when the Wood's initially left. Ashley went off to pursue a project with Bob and Carole Pegg. However, Tim Hart was keen to continue the project and called up his friend Martin Carthy to see if he would be interested. Martin had seen his playing partner of 3 years - Dave Swarbrick - join Fairport (Carthy had turned down Fairport) and was in his words 'living out of a suitcase', having just split up from his first wife. All these factors made Martin think why not, he "just fancied it...it was this huge thing - why not?" This then encouraged Ashley to leave the Pegg's, with whom he was working with again to come back and try again with Steeleye. As Maddy said, Martin joining gave Steeleye 'A stamp of approval' amongst the Folk audience.  The significance of Martin joining cannot be underestimated. As well as providing a folk 'legitimacy' Martin also drove the group to being a fully electric band. Martin described the first album as 'mainly acoustic'. Martin's reputation also gave the band a boost in being able to start touring and get gigs straight away as there was considerable interest in seeing how he would play in an electric band - having only played acoustic guitar so far.
After practicing for 2 months at the Vicarage, St. Albans, the four members soon realised they needed another multi-instrumentalist to join them as they felt they were too guitar heavy. Peter Knight had been seen playing in the folk clubs, particularly the Irish Folk scene in London, so was known to Ashley, Tim and Maddy, having performed with Maddy on TV recently (now lost). He had also done some gigs with Bob Johnson. Peter was classically trained which appealed to Martin and Tim as they had a good musical knowledge themselves but wanted to explore more complex arrangements. This then completed the first Steeleye line up that went out and played live and produced two classic Electric Folk Albums.  From: https://steeleyespanfan.co.uk/the-history/1969-1971

 

Electric Looking Glass - Purple, Red, Green, Blue & Yellow

 

 

Electric Looking Glass are a Los Angeles based baroque pop band with an aesthetic and sound that is so authentically 60s, you feel like you’re reliving it. Recently, they released the music video for their new single, “Someday Soon”. The video is absolutely beautiful and reminds me so much of Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale”. Very summery.
Electric Looking Glass are: Arash Mafi (organ, mellotron, vocals), Brent Randall (bass, vocals), Danny Winebarger (guitar, vocals), and

Angie Moon: How did you get started in music?

Arash: music has been surrounding me from a young age, my entire family has harvested generations of musicians, mostly flamenco and classical guitarist.

Brent: I watched too may Elvis movies growing up and it was pretty much a lost cause after that. That and plonking around on the family piano.

Johnny: Remember when you were a kid and you watched those cartoons and they drove around in a cool ass van and had a band? Yeah.

Danny: My uncle used to play acoustic guitar and he was always smoking as well. I used to remember thinking he looked really cool when I was a wee lad. When I turned 12 he gave me his guitar then I’ve been playing ever since.

AM: How did Electric Looking Glass get together?

Arash: Johnny and I met two years ago at a pop up I was having at Nico & Bullitt for Mercury Magicians and talked about music and our visions and starting a band together and the possibility of the current line up, fast forward to now and you have ELG!

Brent: I met Johnny in a pie shop and we discovered we both loved The Rutles. He introduced me to these other cats and now we’re stuck with each other.

Johnny: Lemon Meringue

Danny: Me and Johnny had another band prior to this called the turns.

AM: How did you get started in tailoring and fashion design?

Arash: I bought a sewing machine and pushed myself to make clothing that I wanted and couldn’t find, mostly because of long arms haha!

AM: Who would you say are your biggest music and fashion inspirations?

Arash: Granny Takes A Trip, Apple Boutique, Hung On You, Fashion from the 1960s, and the baroque period, which essentially to me 1960s did with a modern touch of the time.

Brent: Fashion: Willy Wonka. Music: Mary Poppins.

Johnny: Music: The Banana Splits. Fashion: The Banana Splits.

Danny: Same as Arash; the 60s is also my main music and style inspiration. I also listen to other stuff as well from other periods and genres as well.

AM: Who are your favourite organ players?

Arash: Richard Wright, Mick Fowler, Matthew Fisher, Glenn Quackenbush, John Lord, Jimmy Smith. Too many geniuses to name!

Brent: I don’t know any of these guys but Arash is my favourite organ player.

Johnny: Arash is king organ. But Quackenbush sure is a cool last name.

Danny: Arash for sure

AM: What is the psych scene like in LA?

Arash: There are some great bands out here, I don’t really like to label it as psychedelic scene. Everyone is doing their own thing here and something weird and interesting, but there is a “good music scene” here for everyone and everything in between to thrive in!

Brent: Groovy people are abound all doing splendid things and we are thankful for it.

AM: What have you been listening to recently?

Arash: I’ve been grooving to Tea & Symphony: The English Baroque Sound 1967-1974 comp. literally love every song on this comp.

Brent: Ian Whitcomb’s Mod, Mod Music Hall. Jaunty lil’ piano numbers for you and yours.

Johnny: Myself humming along with a made up mash up of Happy Holidays by Andy Williams and Henry the 8th by Herman’s Hermits.

Danny: I’m actually listening to Piccadilly Sunshine right now which is an amazing sixties pop compilation. Also the usual, and plenty of northern soul as well.

AM: What was recording “Death of a Season/Someday Soon” like?

Arash: The process was very straightforward and simple. We tracked everything straight off of the preamp into our 16 track 1” tape machine. One track at a time. Using about 12-13 tracks max with all the layers together, and mixing down to ¼” tape at the bounce down.

Brent: Yes!  Arash has an abundance of wonderful analog recording equipment so we stuffed it Johnny’s basement and had fun making our dreams reality. 5/5 Would recommend.

Johnny: Yes as stated above… the Yelp review was solid.

AM: What inspired those songs and the music video?

Brent: “Someday Soon” is the grumpy old men in us complaining about modernity. About wanting nothing more than to stroll along a cobblestone street and throw pennies in a fountain. The video however was just a fun jaunt in the park slightly inspired by those classic low budget romps all the beat groups did back “in the day.” We shot it on Super8 so that was fun!

AM: If you could go to any concert in the 60s, who would you see?

Arash: It’s really hard to say, I’d buy a time machine and go catch all the happenings!

Brent: Herman & The Hermits at a state fair.

Johnny: Okay well Brent claimed it. I’ll have to go with Andy Williams. Dang it.

Danny: Hmmm - Monterey Pop Festival? Would’ve been great to see Otis and Hendrix in one place. So many artists that my generation never got a chance to see so it’s hard to answer that question.

AM: What future plans do Electric Looking Glass have?

Arash: More promo films, Another 45 single coming out this Fall, followed by our long player that’s already in the works and tour dates. We’d love to play for you!

Brent: ELG Breakfast Cereal!

Johnny: ELG night lights. Will show that we are always there for you.

Danny: Ha! More music and more gigs. Hopefully a breakfast cereal too.

From: https://crazyonclassicrock.com/2019/07/03/interview-electric-looking-glass/

 

 

Fern Maddie - Hares on the Mountain

 

 

Vermont-based singer and multi-instrumentalist Fern Maddie fell for British and Irish traditional music in her teens, then inhaled folk songs and began songwriting, encouraged by her composer father. After his early death, she decided to live her life making music in tribute to him in her own curious way. She now makes a podcast about traditional music, Of Song and Bone, writes music in her woodland cabin, tends goats, and documents her life, without embellishment, on Instagram.
Ghost Story is Maddie’s powerful, immediate 10-track debut (you can imagine her singing its songs on festival stages, as if early-career Sharon Van Etten had been diverted on to an ancient, rougher road). The mood throughout evokes the dimly lit intimacy of early 2000s albums by Diane Cluck, Emilíana Torrini and Nina Nastasia, with added warmth. Tunes are often carried by banjo or guitar, supported by low strings, the percussive shudder of bones, or on Scottish ballad Ca’ the Yowes, a synthesiser providing a strangely fitting, scratchy counterpoint.
Maddie’s young, welcoming voice also makes her an accessible storyteller. This often gives a surprisingly unnerving quality to songs that already hang heavy with horror, something she plays with. As she twists the gender roles in the well-known ballad Hares on the Mountain, turning the maids into hares, and men into the hunters, contemporary US politics barrels into view.
Her fantastic, original lyrics unsettle you, too. “Don’t worry, don’t wait around / Just leave me in the ground,” begins the protagonist of Unmarked, before we’re told delicately, terrifyingly, to “take off that winded skin”. Even better is Dorothy May, the tale of a woman who sleeps “on a pillow of salt brine”, then asks if we can hear the trumpets ring out. This album is constantly arresting, emotional and thrilling.  From: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/01/fern-maddie-ghost-story-review-folk-album

 

Euzen - Phobia

After a long back and forth, the third album “Metamorph” by the Danish-Norwegian quintet Euzen has finally found its way into my system. And how happy I am about that, because “Metamorph” turned out to be a really nice thing. First of all, something about nomenclature: According to the booklet, the album title does not refer to the epic of the same name by the Roman poet Ovid, but rather to the band's music. The band wants to express that they want to lose themselves between creative and actual realities. Modern possibilities make it possible to capture the moment and create a bridge between the band's intentions and the listener's interpretation. The band name Euzen probably comes from an ancient Greek philosophical concept that deals with a happy life. It also fits that the band's debut is called "Eudaimonia", which means bliss. Someone should say again that you don't learn anything with us anymore! But now to the music. The foundation of this is electronic sounds and synthesizers, which are complemented by organic instrumentation, with the latter always operating in the background. In addition to the drums, you can also hear guitar and bass. Maria Franz sings with a lovely voice and a folky touch. Well, does that sound familiar? Right, that screams – at least on paper – for a comparison with the avant-garde icon Bjork. However, this turns out to be difficult because Euzen play less introverted and reserved, instead the music is more “In Your Face”. This also applies to the lyrics, which are written much more directly and less personally than you would expect from the Icelandic art pop elf. But singer Maria Franz sounds a lot like BJÖRK, so at least in this respect there is a certain comparability. And the Norwegian can withstand that, even if Franz sings much more open-heartedly. The metamorphosis takes place on a musical level when the powerful synthesizers come together with fragile piano and an idiosyncratic rhythm like in “The Order”. Maria Franz sings with her fascinating and hypnotic voice and immediately captivates the listener. You could almost say that “Metamorph” sounds like the love child of Trent Reznor and Bjork. This creates a uniform interplay between nature and technology, folk and electro. Maria Franz effortlessly switches between moods, be it powerful hymns like “Mind” or sensitive passages like “Words”. The music ranges from dreamy ballads like “Me And My” to danceable numbers like “Wasted”. Despite all this, the music of the Scandinavians is surprisingly minimalistic, which gives the individual pieces an original touch and contributes to their independence. Actually, the only thing missing from the songs is the overall contextual framework. Overall, Euzen develop a wide spectrum of different influences that you have to discover for yourself little by little. These individual parts transform into a larger whole that has enormous recognition value. In addition, the production is rich and the music is very audible without appearing flat. Anyone who enjoys experimental music with female folk singing simply cannot ignore “Metamorph”. Not fans of Bjork at all.  Translated from: https://www.metal.de/reviews/euzen-metamorph-60504/