When I blog for a band/artist I am unfamiliar with, I will do some backpedalling to hear where they are coming from to inform me better where they are today. The Flowers Of Hell hit that nail on the head because they are issuing the first vinyl pressing of their cult classic ‘Odes’ album from 2012 and an album of new material, Keshakhtaran.

Lou Reed began the final episode of his BBC6 / Sirius-XM New York Shuffle radio show in 2012, premiering three tracks from Odes, declaring the release to be “An amazing, amazing album” and praising it as “So beautiful and great” and “Exquisite.” 

On ‘Odes,’ The Flowers Of Hell pays tribute to some of their favourite songs and influences, creating covers of works by Bob Dylan, Klaatu, Stereolab, Laurie Anderson, The Velvet Underground, Siouxsie & the Banshees and Neutral Milk Hotel, among others.

Let’s get back to the music, shall we? Odes is a decent album. As is the case in 90% of all albums, there are some excellent songs, some OK songs and some that you question why they were ever recorded in the first place, let alone covered. Here is the tracklist. I wish I had it on vinyl so I could physically flip it over at the end of side one. Alas, I am poor, and steaming will suffice.

TRACKLIST – SIDE A

1. Avery Island / Neutral Milk Hotel cover)

2. Atmosphere (Joy Division cover)

3. Muchomůrky Bílé (Plastic People Of The Universe)

4. Walk On The Wild Side (Lou Reed cover)

5. Run Run Run (Velvet Underground cover)

6. The Last Beat Of My Heart (Siouxsie & The Banshees cover)

TRACKLIST – SIDE B

7. Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan cover)

8. Super-Electric (Stereolab cover)

9. O Superheroin (Laurie Anderson/Velvet Underground cover)

10. Over & Over (Fleetwood Mac cover)

11. Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (Klaatu cover)

Let’s take it from the top and move our listening down the list. Avery Island is OK; I am only a casual listener to Neutral Milk Hotel, so I listened to the original and the cover back to back. I like the original more. Better bass throughout, plus an emotional connection and energy without words, but you will know it when you hear it.

Atmosphere, the Joy Divison cover, didn’t do anything for me. I like Joy Division, but The Flowers Of Hell version left me wanting to listen to more Joy Division. 

Muchomůrky Bílé (Plastic People Of The Universe cover) is quite good, and it restored my faith in the music of TFOH. Muchomůrky Bílé translates as “toadstools white.”

“A man of despair, You easily lose your mind. White toadstools I will collect them in Dmléta.

Toadstools are white, Whiter than snow. I dream them to satisfy my needs in Dmléta.

I will not wake up here, Except in another world, White toadstools, I will collect in Dmléta.” – Egon Bondy.

“I’d go in and test the mixes while over-micro dosing on mushrooms for a truly immersive experience that transported me from the bleak times.” – Greg Jarvis.

The best I could find about Dmléta is a small shopping mall on the outskirts of Prague. I do not know if they have mushrooms on sale there, perhaps at the back of the stalls.

Toadstools or mushrooms? There isn’t much of a difference.

Smoking weed and using shooms do not magically infer quality to anything. I can attest to that from experience. Trust me on this one. There is also the risk of picking the wrong mushroom. I can’t help but use a favourite quote of mine. “All mushrooms are edible, but there are some that you can only eat once.”

Run Run Run (Velvet Underground, I am going to take a wild swing in the dark, but I think The Flowers Of Hell are fond of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. I’m OK with that, and their cover of Run Run Run is quite good. I am going to upvote Run Run Run, it is my favourite on this album.

The Last Beat Of My Heart (Siouxsie & The Banshees cover) IMHO is great. The Last Beat Of My Heart is one of those rare occasions when I like the cover more than the original. Why do I like it more? I don’t know. I was never big on Siouxsie & The Banshees, so the bar starts low but goes up for this cover.

Mr. Tamborine Man is a song that has been covered so many times that if each cover were a blanket, Mr. Tamborine Man could survive a winter at -40. The original was good, which is why it was covered so often. And some of those covers were good, but I’m not overly fond of this effort.

I will skip over some tracks in the E for effort category and land squarely on the second to last track, a cover of a song I feel was done right the first time and can not be improved. Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft.

I am a Klaatu fan. I have all their albums and listen to them frequently. I didn’t care for the Carpenters‘ cover and don’t know why it was a commercial success. I like this cover even less than the Carpenters‘ cover.

The album closes with an original song by Greg Jarvis that has no connection to the cover songs. It is a lonely orphan that should have been given a home elsewhere.

Well, that turned out to be a lot longer than I anticipated. The good thing is that Keshakhtaran only has two tracks and a short radio edit that I will completely ignore. Once again, if this were a perfect world, I would listen to Keshakhtaran via vinyl, and the two tracks would neatly fit with one on each side. I am streaming this album because the world is what it is and is generally indifferent to me.

Toronto-London-based experimental group, The Flowers Of Hell, announced that they would release their new album ‘Keshakhtaran’ via UK cult label Space Age Recordings (home to Spacemen 3) and Spectrum, Chapterhouse, Acid Mothers Temple and The Telescopes) on May 12th.

Keshakhtaran? Chill? Atmospheric? Easy Listening? Background? Ambient? Drone Music? Electronica? Electro Jazz? Meditative? None Of The Above? All Of The Above? It Doesn’t matter?

Keshakhtaran is a word used to describe the situation where you reach Nirvana through primordial sound meditation. Nirvana is an ideal or idyllic state or place in Buddhism akin to Heaven in most Christian faith groups. I did not experience Keshakhtaran while listening to this album, even though I experimented by listening to it numerous times and at different times of the day. That does not make it a bad album for not taking me to Nirvana; it did take me to la-la land. It was a pleasant listening experience that helped me drift to sleep. It also functioned as excellent background music while I did other tasks.

Keshakhtaran is a like watching sand on a windy day. It shifts and swirls, lifts and falls. Ebbs and flows. That is Keshakhtaran. The music moves. It is a compilation of sounds that never stay in one place. There are sax, flugelhorn, chimes, harp, sitar and opera soprano vocals, augmented with tremolos, flutters, horns, woodwinds, strings and percussion. Keshakhtaran involves 20 artists, including Rishi Dhir (Elephant Stone, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels, Beck) and Avant-Garde Accordion legend Angel Corpus Christi (Suicide, Spiritualized, Dean Wareham).

On May 12th, the group also releases their sixth and first studio album in six years. ‘Keshakhtaran’ is a 42-minute meditation piece in two parts. The advance taster single ‘Foray Through Keshakhtaran’ is available now across digital platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp.

Despite relative obscurity, they have been championed by music legends such as Lou Reed, Sonic Boom, Kevin Shields and members of The Legendary Pink Dots, Death In Vegas, The Wedding Present, The Fugs and The Plastic People Of The Universe, not to mention support from NASA’s mission control team and the Tate Gallery with an album installation and concert just a fortnight before London locked down.

“Keshakhtaran began as a 40 minute ‘space guitar’ piece I’d done out of bits and bobs I’d been playing in my home studio for a girlfriend to meditate to in the months before Covid. During the pandemic, I found I couldn’t write anything new (nothing in, nothing out), but I pulled out the guitar track and started sending it to caged up band members and friends to add layers to, and soon I was mixing and editing away, creating a sonic world to escape off into,” – Greg Jarvis.

“With massages being some of the only human contact allowed in Toronto at the time and with one of my bandmates being a masseuse, I’d go in and test the mixes while over-micro dosing on mushrooms for a truly immersive experience that transported me from the bleak times. I’d then play the work-in-progress for bandmates in my ‘semi outdoor contact’ garage that I’d converted into a psychedelic shack with a lightshow and a fog machine, tweaking things until it reached its final form that you’ll hear”.- Greg Jarvis.

Keep up with The Flowers Of Hell

Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Soundcloud | Apple Music | Spotify | Press contact

Keep up with Space Age Recordings

Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | Contact

‘Foray Through Keshakhtaran’ https://youtu.be/XnCDPsgydic

Soundcloud  https://soundcloud.com/foh-advance/foray-through-kesh

Bandcamp https://flowersofhell.bandcamp.com 

Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Ep01Wd5Hb6G77ciGyRZRW

‘Odes’ LP  https://flowersofhell.bandcamp.com/album/odes

Hailing from Chicago. The Bellwether Syndicate has released the single ‘Golden Age, as a teaser for their anticipated album, ‘Vigil & Vestige (album out April 28).

The Bellwether Syndicate is William Faith (vox, guitars), Sarah Rose Faith (vox, guitars), Philly Peroxide (keyboards, percussion), Stevyn Grey (drums), and Corey Gorey (guitars).

Six years in the making, the ‘Vestige & Vigil‘ LP comes nine years after their debut EP, “The Night Watch.”

“Golden Age‘ is a rare gift in that I received nearly the entire song in a dream… the beat, the guitar and bass melody, and the chorus lyric were all just there in my head when I woke up and, without saying a word to Sarah, I ran down to the studio to capture it before I lost it,” explains William Faith.

“It has a haunting quality which felt very nostalgic to me, so the lyric is really about the danger of getting lost in nostalgia and losing the present as a result. This is a conversation we have a lot, as so many people seem to stop looking ahead, content to rummage through the past. I’ve always said that tomorrow is way more interesting to me than yesterday, so this song warns about getting stuck there. As for the chorus, it’s anyone’s guess what it means, as it’s all a dream!” 

Golden Age is indeed a rare gift, and we, the listeners, are the beneficiaries of that rare gift. The lyrics tell us about the golden age of information where the internet spreads “the truth” far and wide, and I am prone to “follow every echo I hear.”

I love this line from Golden Age; “The truth of what is remembered is yours and yours alone.” We take in the information from all around us, but in the end, we each have our take on history; it is yours and yours alone. “Steal every second and all it brings my friend.” There is no “alternative history” but I see the history as uniquely mine.

However, we all must “rise up from the ashes” of “the great and unwashed masses.” Have the courage to “swim against the tide,” to reject the narrative,” and “to break convention.”

Being retired and spending the vast majority of my time listening to music, the song “Dystopian Mirror” resonated with me. “Hiding out in this space,” “when every day is the same.”

In the end, “All Is Forgiven.”

As I listened to Vestige & Vigil again while writing, I felt an echo of Black Sabbath running through this album. Perhaps it is from “poisoning their brainwashed minds” or “Generals gathered in the masses.” Not plagiarism, just an influence, maybe, in my opinion. I could be wrong.

Whether Black Sabbath influenced The Bellwether Syndicate or not is of little import. The important thing is this, The Bellweather Syndicate rock, and they rock it hard. If you want hardcore metal music, I recommend the album Vestige & Vigil.

The full ‘Vestige & Vigil‘ album will be released on April 28.

Keep up with The Bellwether Syndicate

Website | Tour | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify | Press contact 

http://www.thebellwethersyndicate.com https://www.facebook.com/thebellwethersyndicate https://www.instagram.com/thebellwethersyndicate https://www.youtube.com/user/BellwetherSyndicate https://twitter.com/BellwetherSyn 

https://thebellwethersyndicate.bandcamp.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/3B9I7zOlLeuj02Pft3B2nN https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-bellwether-syndicate/598396813 

You can order the ‘Vestige & Vigil’ LP @ https://orcd.co/thebellwethersyndicate

Golden Age https://youtu.be/x-3FAOhTHPU

Order the single @ https://withkoji.com/@thebellwethersyndicate

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/0eKLrQ3YhvDf6h9CT9arv3 

Bandcamp: https://thebellwethersyndicate.bandcamp.com

 ‘We All Rise’ https://youtu.be/30soKS_iTt8

 ‘Beacons’ https://youtu.be/CRNdc-XJIMI

 ‘Dystopian Mirror’ https://youtu.be/c2MPiPgEHs4

Sett Records / Nexilis Records / Schubert Music Europe. ‘Vigil & Vestige’ LP out April 28

Keep up with William Faith 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | LinkTree | Press contact

Keep up with Sett Records

Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Email

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | LinkedIn | Email

CREDITS

Written and performed by The Bellwether Syndicate

Produced by William Faith & Chad Blinman

Recorded by William Faith at 13 Studio in Chicago

Mixed by Chad Blinman at The Eye Socket

Additional programming and treatments by Chad Blinman

Mastered by Josh Sebek

William Faith – Vox and guitars

Sarah Rose Faith – Vox and guitars

Corey Gorey – Guitars (live)

Philly Peroxide – Keyboards and percussion (live)

Stevyn Grey – Drums (live)

‘Dystopian Mirror’ video filmed by William Faith & David Staudacher

‘Beacons’ video filmed by William Faith & Sarah Rose Faith

‘We All Rise’ video filmed by Sidney Strong

All videos directed by William Faith

For the last ten days I have been listening to a new album from the Finnish band Captain Cougar, the album name is Bonnie. I like the album, it is a great easy listening album. They don’t crank up the volume much, they just add some extra juice in all the right place, but that can be a good thing when it is done well. And Captain Cougar do it well.. This is an album that I can put on, sit back and let the music wash over me. All good, right?

No, it isn’t all right. Captain Cougar have given me an album that is so good, I am left wordless. I literally do not know what to say.

This band is good?

This album is good?

The recording is sonically good?

The lyrics are good?

Yes, to all of the above! But what is left to say?

Give them a listen and see if you like them as much as I do. Bonnie is a well composed album that walks between folk music with more than one stringed instrument. I think I can hear mandolin on the song Liquid Helping Hand. There are some more progressive sounds here and there and some gentle pop sensibilities. Fortunately for us, Captain Cougar bring it all together seamlessly on the album Bonnie. Their music is hard to categorise, I suggest giving them a listen you can decide what to call them.

In the place of pages of rhetoric and platitudes about how this should be on everyone’s best of the year charts and so forth, instead of me posting empty content about how much I like this album, I thought I would have a bit of fun with it. I made a crossword puzzle using song titles, some of them are broken down into two parts.

Enjoy the music, that’s it. Enjoy Captain Cougar, they are good.

Across			Down
3	Large north American cat	1	Forlorn and broken hearted
6	Rhymic movers	2	Skipper of a ship
9	Rise and shine	4	Make one’s exit
10	I’ve been to many	5	Assistant
11	Her and Clyde	7	Between words
13	Fluid that pours	8	Lighter than air
14	Cold-hearted and pale	12	A nun is one of these

Lyrics written by Jussi Petäjä

Captain Cougar are:

Juha Kujanpää: keyboards

Laura Lehtola: vocals

Jussi Petäjä: guitars, stringed instruments

Juha-Matti Rautiainen: bass, synths

Janne Torvikoski: drums, percussion

Julia Vuorinen: vocals

http://www.captaincougar.net

http://www.instagram.com/captaincougar

contact:

Jussi Petäjä

jussi.petaja@gmail.com

Pinetree Records

Captain A skipper of a ship *

Cougar Large north American cat *

Bonnie Her and Clyde *

Dancers Rhythmic movers *

Liquid Fluid that pours *

Helping Hand Assistant *

Places I’ve been to many*

Sister A nun is one of these *

Spaces Between words *

Wakeup Rise and shine *

Walk away Make one’s exit *

Weightless. Lighter than air *

Loveless Forlorn, and broken-hearted *

Bloodless. Cold-hearted and pale *

The press release:

NYC funk-art collective Loud Apartment presents ‘Technology,’ the lead track from their ‘New Future’ album. Produced by the legendary Bill Laswell, this album also features three dub remixes he created. Their third long-player also features a vocal contribution by Garrison Hawk, a long-term collaborator of Tricky and Sly & Robbie, among other notable artists. 

Loud Apartment is the sound of New York Fusion – a blend of sounds with Funk as a core ingredient. As the lyrics read, “technological revolution can bring solutions/innovation creation no degradation no pollution / too much exploitation from the governments and corporations/privacy invasion intrusion and manipulation.” Technology is a brilliant song – a clever protest song.

Norman’s notes:

I can’t separate the song Technology from the album New Future. There is a flow to the music that creates something more extensive, more expansive, than the song. The song is good, but I think it is better when listened to within the album’s context.

New Future gives us the optimism that a new future is possible. A better future, perhaps. Loud Apartment is not blind to the condition of the world. Loud Apartment is hopeful that a better future is possible.

“The album looks to the future with hope but not in a naive way. There’s a lot of trouble in the world right now, especially regarding the environment and human rights. It’s an urgent plea for radical change and a different world. A new future,” says Nevaris A.C.

Rhythm and Rhyme is the lead track, and it hooked me with its opening samples from DJ Logic on turntables. The lyrics extol the virtues of the miracle of music.

“The miracle of time is in the rhythm of the Rhyme

 The rhythm of the Rhyme one two the rhythm of the Rhyme.”

New Future jump into a groove on Rhythm and Rhyme and carry that energy through the rest of this album. I usually shy away from posting long lists of who appeared on albums. For most bands, there might only be two or three names. This album has a long list, but I think it is essential because of the quality that each person brought to this recording.

ALBUM CREDITS

Nevaris A.C.: voice, electric piano, Hammond organ, congas, percussion

Bill Laswell: bass

DJ Logic: turntables

Lockatron: drums

Will Bernard: guitar

Peter Apfelbaum: tenor saxophone, flute, melodica

Garrison Hawk: vocals on ‘Rebellion’ and ‘Dub Rebellion.’

Produced by Bill Laswell

Created at Orange Music, West Orange, NJ

Engineered by James Dellatacoma

Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at Turtletone Studio, NYC

Cover Illustration by José Ortiz

All songs were written by Nevaris and Bill Laswell except ‘Rebellion’ and ‘Dub Rebellion.’

by Nevaris, Bill Laswell, and Garrison Hawk

Horn arrangements by Peter Apfelbaum.

This album is impressive; the groove Loud Apartments talented folks brought to the table is a cornucopia of sound. I listen to this repeatedly and find new tidbits of exquisite sounds I didn’t hear before. New Future more effortlessly from funk to techno to reggae to jazz, creating a fusion of fresh sounds and refreshing music.

Outdoor photos by Tyler McGackin. Indoor photos by Michael Black

Bandcamp https://loudapartment.bandcamp.com/album/new-future

Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/loudapartment

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/35agCFwnA3mZzpwhy0f90j

‘System Breakdown’ LP (2020) https://loudapartment.bandcamp.com/album/system-breakdown

Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | Spotify | LinkedIn | Email

Aiming the energy of punk and the lyrical substance of the new wave scene Quiz Show hit all the correct answers. Opening with the hot single “Sound Of Kissing,” Quiz Show comes charging at us with power and passion.

This trio knows their chops. American indie rock trio Quiz Show has members of alternative rock bands Shudder To Think, Guided By Voices and The Dambuilders on their eponymous debut album, released via Montclair, NJ-based Magic Door Record Label. This electrifying collection of 12 tracks involves Chris Matthews (Shudder To Think), Jesse Krakow, and drummer Kevin March (Guided By Voices, The Dambuilders). Earlier, bassist Jesse Krakow had taken over from the original bassist Frank Gibbons and, more recently, Joe Billy has replaced Kevin March, whose drumming features throughout this album.

Photo Credit: Paul Haley

Recorded with award-winning producer Ray Ketchem (Guided By Voices, Luna, Versus, Elk City, Gramercy Arms) at his Magic Door Recording Studio in Montclair, The ‘Quiz Show‘ LP is full of protest, friendship and frustration. Diving into the energy of punk rock mosh pits and the grunge sound of their guitars and driving rhythms. All the while, the vocals strive to capture the emotional fervour of punky garage rock. I think they nailed it!

“This is our first album! Quiz Show has been making music since 2017 and put out most of the songs on this release as singles between 2017 and 2020. We are releasing them now after remixing and remastering all of the songs to freshen them up, and so they can document the origin story of Quiz Show in a single package. This release also brings these songs under the amazing umbrella of the Magic Door record label,” says Chris Matthews.

“Quiz Show songs come together when ideas voiced through the guitars are set to rhythms constructed on the bass and drums. Lyrics emerge after the melodies, which often emerge while Chris (Matthew) drives around. These songs were created in the in-between spaces of complicated lives. We cherish this work and the feelings it describes. Sound of Kissing was built this way and, like most of our songs, it uses lyrics to reflect a dissatisfaction with the limits on love, money, and time.”

Quiz Show’ LP / Bandcamp  https://quizshow.bandcamp.com/album/quiz-show
‘Almost Famous’  https://quizshow.bandcamp.com/track/almost-famous
‘Sound of Kissing’  https://quizshow.bandcamp.com/track/sound-of-kissing
Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/track/2o5bspNEAO6Mfr7esIQCMT
YouTube  https://youtu.be/N7F3Xie69Fs
Soundcloud  https://on.soundcloud.com/wzoUF
‘Quiz Show’ LP / Bandcamp  https://quizshow.bandcamp.com/album/quiz-show

CREDITS
Written by Chris Matthews, Kevin March and Frank Gibbons
Chris Matthews – guitar, vocals
Kevin March – drums, vocals
Frank Gibbons – bass
Recorded, mixed  & mastered by Ray Ketchem at Magic Door Recording (Montclair, NJ)
‘Quiz Show’ album cover art – ‘Moving Day’ by Renee LoBue
‘Sound of Kissing’ cover art – ‘Hey Moon’ by Renee LoBue
Cover design by Ray Ketchem

If you have any questions, contact Shauna McLarnon from Shameless Promotion PR at contact@shamelesspromotionpr.com.

Librarians With Hickeys called their album, Handclaps & Tambourines, “the perfect album for your next rock-and-roll book club meeting with the band’s melodic muscular indie pop (coffee and snacks not included).” The Librarians With Hickeys have just released a video to highlight a song from their Handclaps & Tambourines album which I blogged way back in September of 2022. This is an update and re-review. I like checking out albums and seeing how they age. Handclaps & Tambourines has aged very well.

I have a love/hate relationship with music books. I’ve read my fair share of them, and when I was much younger than now, I had a sound mind for remembering much of what I read. The song “When We Were Young” captures some of that. A broad appreciation of all kinds of music gave me a solid foundation to build my music kingdom. I loved the knowledge the music books gave me, but I have found that the books tend to become dust collectors after the first read, with only a few exceptions. Now I find myself “Stumbling Down Memory Lane.” an excellent tune for a melancholic glance over our shoulder looking back to where we have been.

I think a music book club would be an exciting gathering of music lovers. Of course, we would have to play music while discussing what we were reading. My music book of the month is Vinyl Cafe Turns The Page; I have read Stuart McLean‘s Vinyl Cafe books voraciously.

Putting the book aside, let’s talk about what is on the virtual turntable. Let’s get to the elephant in the room right from the start. Librarians With Hickeys. What’s up with the name? I couldn’t find an answer to that question, but it caught my attention, which is what a band wants. Well, they caught my attention, and I listened to them, got past the name and fell in love with the music that Librarians With Hickeys were making on their second album, Handclaps & Tambourines.

The lads in Librarians With Hickeys have done their fair share of listening to music over the years. Singer/guitarist Ray Carmen, lead guitarist/vocalist Mike Crooker, bassist Andrew Wilco and drummer Rob Crossley — write, play, sing and record like they have shelf upon shelf of music books and records. Their music sparkles with the best of 60’s sugar-coated pop, as heard on “Me And My Big Mouth,” inspired by singer/guitarist Ray Carmen’s obsession with the Monkees. “Fairground” is a fun summer listen. At the same time, we wait for “The Last Days Of Summer,” which features the haunting viola of Larysa Bulbenko (The Armoires). The opening barnstormer “I Better Get Home” rocks a 60’s Hammond organ, which never gets old.

Glam rock from the ’70s can be heard rising to the occasion on the song “Lady Overdrive.” Lead guitarist Mike Crooker dials in his wah pedal on that track and then makes his lead singing debut of the equally glitter-filled tune “Over You.”

’80s college rock? Check got that on the track “Can’t Wait ‘Till Summer” with its ringing harmonics and 2021’s hit “I Can’t Stop Thinking About You.” 

’90s indie rock gets checked out on tracks like the instantly memorable lead single “Ghost Singer” (with Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome of The Armoires joining Crooker as the ethereal Greek chorus) and “I See You.” 

Back to the present day, Librarians With Hickeys have crafted a very listenable album that would be perfect for a summer drive with the windows down and the volume up. It Handclaps & Tambourines was released on October 14th through Big Stir Records. It aged very well.

The Band: Twisted Rose

The song: Watch The Stars

Why it is important: Suicide

It has taken me over a week to put this blog together. Why? You may ask, was it because the song talked about suicide? Yes, not because it is a complex topic. It was because I had too much to listen to, read and write about and had trouble keeping the blog and list of songs brief. List of songs? I wanted to do a B-side about suicide. And that list of songs ended up long, so I had to do some pruning.

I finally have the listening together, and I am ready to do some writing so you will have some listening. Twisted Rose was a new band in my listening sphere. This song dropped out of the internet ether into my inbox. So I listened to it.

Info und Bookinganfragen: info@twisted-rose.de http://www.twisted-rose.de

From the press release that came with the song:

With their new single “Watch The Stars,” Twisted Rose is again addressing suicide. The song was composed and written by Chris Bones. In it, he describes his feelings when he lost someone very close to him through suicide and how he had to stand by and could do nothing. Here are some thoughts on the other songs on this playlist.

I used Music Grotto as a source for some of this list and will try to annotate where I used their material. YouTube didn’t cooperate with posting links for some songs so you will have to do it manually do it yourself.

Side “A”

Watch The Stars by Twisted Rose

Watch The Stars explores suicide through the perspective of a person who has lost someone close to them and the pain that they are feeling. It is important to acknowledge our pain from losing someone. That could be the loss of a family member, a friend, a coworker, or someone who touched your life, like a musician, an actor or another social media person.

Everybody Hurts by R.E M.

This song comes with several good performances on YouTube that I would encourage you to watch as you listen to this amazingly moving song.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOiW_xY-kc

Every aspect of Everybody Hurts talks about helping stop teenagers from committing suicide.

Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones.

YouTube: Rolling Stones – Paint it Black 2006 Live Video HD

Paint It Black is written from the point of view of a depressed person who wants everything to turn black because that is how they view everything in their life.

‘I look inside myself and see my heart is black / I see my red door and must have it painted black / maybe then I’ll fade away and not have to face the facts / it’s not easy facing up when your whole world is black.’

Don’t Try Suicide by Queen

Don’t Try Suicide is an anthem about why committing suicide is wrong. A grand anthem to ‘don’t do it, don’t you try it.”

A Little More by Machine Gun Kelly Ft. Victoria Monet

YouTube: Machine Gun Kelly – A Little More (Explicit) ft. Victoria Monet

Machine Gun Kelly rattles off a list of things wrong in the world that he witnesses and concludes that “all we need is a little more love.” This track turned me into a fan of MGK.

The Outsider by A Perfect Circle

YouTube: A Perfect Circle – Outsider (Director’s Cut)

The Outsider is one song off an album that deals with the theme of addiction and how suicide is never far away from that life.

I have a long list of songs and albums about addiction that I will make a separate blog to explore.

Side “B”

Heaven by Nanci Griffith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQXfj5hK9BQ

I shift gears, move away from rock and roll, and explore Country/Western and folk music for their rich history of hurtin’ songs.

Heaven, the singer, wants to escape the pain of their life and go to Heaven.

Hell No (I’m Not Alright) by Nanci Griffith

I love this track on several levels. For one, this song explores the feeling of not being alright and that our lives are not all fun and games. We need to be honest and tell people how we feel. And they need to be patient and listen to us without pushing solutions, just listen. It is OK to talk about feeling suicidal. For two, she growls, Hell No (I’m Not Alright).

Drunken Angel by Lucinda Williams

This song is about This song is a tribute to (and accusation against) fellow singer-songwriter and beautiful loser Blaze Foley. I recommend you do a little internet searching and discover the music of Blaze Foley and Lucinda Williams.

How Do You Get That Lonely by Blaine Larsen

YouTube: Blaine Larsen – How Do You Get That Lonely (Official Video)

Blaine has the perfect C/W voice to ask the question, How Do You Get That Lonely? A friend once commented that he didn’t know how anyone could get so desperate that ending their life was the best answer.

Whiskey Lullaby by Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZbN_nmxAGk

Alcohol is often hand in hand with suicide. It is often a slow death, drinking their lives away. Sometimes it comes quickly at the pull of a drunken finger on a trigger.

Fire and Rain by James Taylor

While browsing tracks dealing with suicide, I was surprised to see this one on a list from Music Grotto. I will add their take on the topic.

“The classic number was released in 1970 and is one of Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 greatest songs of all time. The song talks about the suicide death of Suzanne Schnerr – James Taylor’s childhood friend. In the song, James also opens up about his struggles with depression and drug addiction.

When dealing with depression, most people want to find a way out, so mental illness and substance addiction are closely associated. However, drugs offer temporary numbness to the situation but do more harm than good in the long run.”

Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O’Sullivan

A long-time favourite song of mine and one that I didn’t think of as being tied to suicide, but it is—an even better song now.

There we have it, 14 songs, seven a side. A full album of songs that explore the topic of suicide. All thanks to the seed from Watch The Stars by Twisted Rose and the contributions of others. If you have a favourite song about suicide that is not on this list, please leave a note in the comments and thank you.

I did the original post for this way back on the 14th of January, almost two months ago. They dropped the full album on March 6 and I took that as a good time to re listen and see if they have weathered those months well.

They have. I greatly enjoyed hearing them again, twice again. Here is my original post. It’s not the apex of music blogs, but it is what it is.

January 14: Time to dust off my platform shoes and dig the sequinned vest out of the closet along with the bell bottom jeans with the wide cuff and the satin shirt with the ruffled sleeves; we are listening to some new music that could easily pass for vintage psychedelia.

I’m talking about the new album, Friends In Noise, from the London psychedelic music artist Black Market Karma. Friends In Noise is Black Market Karma‘s eleventh full-length album. How could I have missed this up until now? ‘Friends In Noise,’ is an international collaboration rooted in friendship and spontaneity, released via the London boutique label Flower Power Records and the PR of Shameless Promotions. Revolving around songwriter Stanley Belton, Black Market Karma features music heavy with fuzz pedals and a 12-string guitar jingle jangle. Music that takes me back to another era. I love it.

Stanley Belton tells us, “I didn’t really get the idea of an album in my head too much. It’s something that gradually came together over the years through playing and becoming friends with so many good musicians. Collaborations naturally occur when you’re spending time with people who are musically minded, especially when we would hang at my studio. The songs started to build up over time and I thought man, these should all be gathered together on one release so here we are.”

“The last pieces came via two good friends – Craig Dyer of The Underground Youth and Butchy Davy of The Confederate Dead. Craig and I had wanted to make music together in the past but it never came to be – he lives in Berlin, but we managed to make ‘Wonky’ happen. Lastly Butchy came to the BMK studio with an unfinished, instrumental demo and we worked on it together. The result was ‘Ageing Boy’”.

Earlier, Black Market Karma released the singles’ The Sky Was All Diseased’ with iconic vocalist Tess Parks and ‘Aping Flair’ with Ruari Meehan (Tess Parks, Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe and Belakiss with Ringo Starr’s granddaughter Tatia Starkey).

Featuring recordings captured over nine years, ‘Friends In Noise’ is a series of collaborations between Black Market Karma and friends. Apart from Tess Parks, this album also involves The Underground Youth, Les Big Byrd / Joakim Ahlund, The Confederate Dead and Ruari Meehan. More recently, Stan has also collaborated with Pete Kember (a.k.a. Sonic Boom) of Spacemen 3 fame on a forthcoming release. I happen to dig the grooves of Spacemen 3, so it is no surprise that I also dig the tunes of Friends In Noise.

Friends In Noise features some sharp lyrics to accompany the psychedelic music. Here are a few examples that I notice.

“I got love but I don’t deserve it

I got time but all I do is blow it.”

–Wonky

YouTube is a friend of my wasted time.

–Norman

“Went walking in the sun

Felt all the rainfall.”

‘The Sky Was All Diseased‘

“The sun was shining on the sea,

Shining with all his might:

He did his very best to make

The billows smooth and bright–

And this was odd, because it was

The middle of the night.”

-Lewis Carroll from Through The Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There

Friends In Noise is an excellent example of reimagined music. It sounds familiar, like a flashback to an old friend remembered. And it sounds fresh, like making a new friend that reminds you of an old friend. At the end of the day, I have found Friends In Noise to be a delightful visitor to my home. I hope you invite Friends In Noise into your home and make friends with Black Market Karma.

Friends In Noise on 180-gram coloured vinyl from the label, as well as their latest’ Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas’ LP. Tickets for upcoming tour dates can be ordered here: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/261797-black-market-karma

‘Heady Ideas (Joakim Åhlund Remix)  https://youtu.be/vrCm96zrSyQ
‘Friends In Noise’ trailer  https://youtu.be/m6TzBr1YOW8
Order the ‘Friends In Noise’ LP  https://bit.ly/3CtLgn0
Bandcamp  https://flowerpowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/black-market-karma-and-friends-friends-in-noise
Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/album/1rUJYqVxmsL4JRdG6JJfJ2
‘Aping Flair’  https://youtu.be/S4eFJeCaTjA
‘The Sky Was All Diseased’  https://youtu.be/4274oQhCmZw
Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/artist/1lbkSAoynPSO7OQOFSOdon
Tour tickets  https://www.songkick.com/artists/2449531-black-market-karma/calendar

I rarely blog about single songs, but there is always room to break that pattern. There are two songs that I will mention today, and although they are not back-to-back on a 7″, I will treat them as such.

“SOLE (Sole Gipp Ossler) is a Swedish artist, music producer and songwriter. In 2020 she released her debut album, ett eget rum, which was mentioned as a “filmic, melancholy and experimental debut” by the well-known Swedish magazine GAFFA. This year SOLE will be releasing her second album, våra liv. The first single from her upcoming album was released in January and mentioned by several Swedish magazines. With inspiration from artists and bands such as Nina Simone, Sigur Ròs, Leonard Cohen, Twin Peaks and Björk, SOLE creates her unique sound; atmospheric, melancholic, ambient, ambient, experimental and filmic.” P.R.

“du jag tiden” opens with gentle piano notes, a quiet guitar someplace behind the piano slips into the soundscape, and an equally subtle synth joins them. And then SOLE starts singing in a delicate, rhythmic pattern that builds along with the music, rising and rising with percussion driving them all forward. SOLE‘s voice soon changes into a plaintive call, and the music continues to build higher and higher and faster and faster. It gets frantic. The distortion is all-encompassing. I am out of breath from trying to keep up with the pace of “du jag tiden.” And then it stops with her gentle voice reclaiming the focus only to lose it in the distortion that gives the impression of a steal locomotive braking hard to stop at the station. Steel grinds on steel, and then they all fade to nothing. I hit repeat. “du jag tiden” opens with…etc.

Mix: Anton Sundell

Master: Jonas Siöström

Drum recording: Ruben Engzell

Coverart: Sole Gipp Ossler

Photo: Philip Käll

Musicians: Sole Gipp Ossler (song, synthesizer), Mons Gipp Ossler (song, guitar, piano), Zackarias Lindskog (guitar), Pelle Ossler (guitar), Hux Nettermalm (drums) and Christoffer Zetterlund (bass) 

A some point in time I didn’t hit repeat. I listened to side two of my imaginary 45—låta allt bli. A cacophony of voices sounds like they are on the other side of a large room, and an accordion comes into hearing range. A guitar plays gentle notes, and SOLE sings with her plaintiff style—more accordion, never too much accordion. It builds in scope with guitar, accordion, percussion, and synths. Higher and higher it goes, and then it is reigned in, and the song goes out much the same as it came in, gentle piano, accordion and SOLE singing gently.

Text och musik: Sole Gipp Ossler 

Producent: Sole Gipp Ossler 

sång, melodika, piano, synthar : Sole Gipp Ossler 

akustisk gitarr : Zackarias Lindskog

trummor : Hux Nettermalm 

kontrabas : Michael Carlqvist

cello : Henrik meierkord 

Mix: Anton Sundell 

Master: Jonas Siöström 

Inspelning av trummor: Ruben Engzell, Skutan Studio 

Omslag: Sole Gipp Ossler 

Foto: Philip Käll på Teater Galeasen

Follow SOLE on Spotify / Instagram / Facebook 

Have a listen! I hope you’ll like it 🙂 

Låten I Need Her beskriver en känsla av att man behöver kärlek och samtidigt ger kärlek till någon som behöver det, och vill ha det. En typ av vacker men ändå skör och sårbar harmoni… Låten avslutas med ett känslomässigt klimax och en orgasm av ljud och ord. 

/ Addeyee

My Swedish is a bit rusty*, so I will add the translation:

The song I Need Her describes a feeling of needing love and, at the same time giving love to someone who needs it and wants it. A kind of beautiful yet fragile and vulnerable harmony… The song ends with an emotional climax and an orgasm of sound and words.

/ Addeyee

In recent years, Adrian Norén has naturally become a sought-after live and studio musician through his participation in bands such as Boys And Ivy, Linn Koch-Emmery and Sötnos. But on the 11th floor in the Stockholm suburbs, Adrian now writes his own music and has recently released two singles in Swedish, ‘Drömparken‘ and ‘Du är fin‘ under his alias Addeyee (which also is his Instagram name).

I rarely blog about singles, but this track deserves mention, and I look forward to the EP. I Need Her will be the last single before the debut EP Spår av Addeyee (Swedish for “Tracks by Addeyee“), released this spring. The lyrics in ‘I Need Her‘ are about the feeling of sometimes needing someone but also being needed, which can sometimes be a fragile balance. The single also reminds us not to focus too much on the future but try to live in the moment.

Adrian took me away to an unexplored musical pathway. Adrian Norén grew up in a small secured world outside of the Swedish city of Enköping in a family where no one was involved in music, and the plan was to become an engineer like his father. Full of ideas and energy, he liked to test his limits and dreamed of starting to play the drums, but as the family lived in a terraced house, he instead got a keyboard when he was ten years old. He then came to discover music with ease and was able to create songs and melodies based on his inner notes. Soon after, he acquired an electric guitar and started to learn Red Hot Chili Peppers riffs. During the riffing in his childhood room, Adrian understood that music could be used as a portal to travel away to unexplored worlds.

I Need Her is uptempo and easy listening. There are layers of synth that build momentum with well-placed bass lines. Those hours spent riffing on his guitar have paid dividends; Adrian’s guitar work is good.

Listen carefully for the affirmations sprinkled here and there throughout the track. It reminded me of the congregation of a church saying their “Amens” and “Praise The Lord’s.” Adrian does “Yeah’s” & “Yes” after a few passages here and there.

I would like to see Adrian play a live set. Low Roar, another synth band, has an exalted spot on my list of favourite concerts. I have a feeling, a good feeling, that Adrian would be reasonably high on that list. Going to Sweden is on my bucket list. Here’s hoping that I can see him perform live on stage. In the meantime, let’s enjoy this track and wait for the release of the EP.

*I can’t read, write or speak a word of Swedish.