Welcome back to the Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. For lovers of synth based pop, this selection offers a couple of genuine treats. You’ll also find a superb acoustic reworking from a critically acclaimed singer songwriter, an industrial tinged rocker, some wholesome pop punk from Australia, and more besides. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy…
*
Singer songwriter Leif Vollebekk received a wave of online praise for his 2024 album ‘Revelation’, from which the upbeat pop number ‘Peace of Mind’ was very much a highlight. Singling out the song for extra attention, Leif has offered a reworked version, now entitled ‘Peace of Mind (Morning)’. This newly recorded tune doesn’t ever lose sight of its predecessor’s melodic charm, but by stripping everything back to basics, it really casts a light upon the performer’s fine voice as he adds a folk-pop melody against a heavily strummed acoustic guitar to provide the heart of a great recording. As before, though, an uplifting piano is on hand to add to the pop charm, and a superb harmony vocal drifts in to flesh out a great sound. In this more minimalist guise, the track sounds more like a throwback to singer songwriter fare from the 90s, but that’s certainly not a bad thing.
The pulsing bass and strident rhythm that kicks off Choses Sauvages ‘En joue’ immediately takes the listener back to the post punk sounds of ’79, and more specifically, the artier deep cuts that can be found on XTC’s ‘Drums & Wires’ LP. As the melody grows, you’ll also find a nod or two to Wire circa ‘354’, and even a pinch of disco to keep everything buoyant. Although the bass and relentlessly choppy guitar work often command the most attention here, the track’s mid section – with busy synths lifting everything with a different kind of retro coolness – is just as vital. Hearing everything together is like discovering a long lost alternative track from decades back, and yet the result sounds absolutely thrilling and surprisingly fresh. A genuinely superb single.
As far as debut tracks go, Neurostrike’s ‘Neon Uprising’ doesn’t mess about. Taking hefty cues from the 90s darkwave scene, the American band deliver riffs that sound like the natural successors to those old Orgy records, but add a much bigger punch in the keyboard department. This number’s strength doesn’t come from its fuzzy guitar sound or heaviness, however, but rather more from a brilliantly retro pulse. The keys constantly beaver away behind the main riffs, but really come into their own during the bridge sections when they share a mood that has a bigger kinship with old dance records and the club scenes from the early 90s. Factor in a gruff vocal, and this will always play more towards the alt-metal crowd, of course, but anyone hoping to find the missing link between the more melodic end of Fear Factory and Powerman 5000 are likely to have a blast.
Those paying attention to underground punk releases will know that Australia’s Ellen May have shared some great tracks over the past year. Here’s another! ‘Bombs Away’ is a prime slice of melodic pop punk. The dense sounding opening chords revisit a late 90s sound, with a heavy influence from bands like The Ataris, which be enough to reel in fans of the style. As things start to branch out, the band show off more of a melodic charm with a light pre-chorus adding an emo melody, before a big hook featuring a mix of shouty gang vocals and an impressive counter melody from a ringing lead guitar seals the deal. If that’s not enough, the band make time for a middle eight featuring a slightly harder breakdown and a complex coda where dual vocals layer up a bigger sound. In terms of melodic pop punk, these four minutes have a little of everything needed for Ellen May to hold their own against the scene’s bigger names.
There’s no denying that Kat Robichaud’s ‘Vampire Love’ is a superb slice of pop. The recording’s rhythm track leans towards a nostalgic approach that’s reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac circa ‘Tango In The Night’ and Kate Bush’s classic ‘Running Up That Hill’; its synths borrow heavily from a landscape of late 80s pop, and occasional guitars add bright tones that give a great melody extra depth. Robichaud remains the true star here, though, and armed with a superb tune, she adds a huge, soaring vocal that blends classic pop with a tinge of mid 80s AOR for extra oomph. Immediately loveable, this is a single that’s guaranteed to endure.
With its very busy arrangement,‘3’s’ by US band The Yets mixes a heavily mechanised rhythm with light gothic undertones and a world of keys to create something that sounds as if it should grace a film soundtrack from 1993. It doesn’t seem very concerned with a flowing melody at first, but the arrival of a strong vocal from Robin Wilson brings an important balance when she taps into something that fuses the melodic end of the Cocteau Twins sound with something that plays like a distant cousin of All About Eve during their ‘Ultraviolet’ phase. This single is far less Cocteau-centric than The Yets’ previous ‘Define The Man’, but it’s still very much a record that’s much bigger on atmospheres than immediate hooks. It’ll take a few plays to really embed itself, but there’s little doubt that this band have forged a great sound here, with Wilson’s voice having a particular appeal.
By taking a pinch of garage rock fuzz and a very cool electric piano and fusing them together, Joshua David Thayer’s ‘Burn Your History Down’ takes an unexpected route to create a retro sound. The track’s unwavering mid tempo and natural vocal reinforces a moody quality, but beneath the semi-lax melody you’ll find the heart of something cool. Like the bastard child of classic Pavement and a noisy Wilco, this brings a great alternative mood into the present, and by the time the electric piano is joined by a world of bells, Thayer’s concession to a densely layered alt-pop really comes into its own. It mightn’t be the kind of single that hits the listener immediately, but it’s a track brimming with solid ideas and enough familiarity to make it work.
‘Behind My Semblance’ isn’t an especially catchy title, but on their current single, Belgian metallers Splendidula aren’t looking for that instant hit. The seven minute epic takes in several dark moods, each one just as intense as the first. Opening with heavy guitars throwing out a carny-like melody, the track immediately advertises an unsettling atmosphere, and once a neo-operatic vocal arrives, everything becomes even more unworldly. Then, by adding massive swathes of black metal coldness, the band unleashes a genuine fury which becomes an effective blanket for throat-caning guttural roars, tempered by a clean female vocal. Moving between the two would create something intense, but Splendidula take things a step further by returning to their musical roots and adding moments of pure doom for extra heaviness. Everything here works, but the track really comes into its own during an instrumental passage blends melodic black metal with folk metal melodies, creating something steeped in darkness. Obviously, this won’t be for everyone, but those who like extreme metal with dark, melodic undercurrents will certainly find something of great interest.
November 2024