Immerse Me in Your Splendour

Music When the Lights Go Out

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Out now: Mary & Mona

This week two of my favourite women released new music. The songs look oddly similar: both have a four-letter female name beginning with M as their title.

In my early twenties, I was deeply impressed by Emmy the Great whose lyrics were smoothly flowing, like poetry, accessible verse that you understood at once but, at the same time, could but wonder the aptness of the expression. Just as important as her adroit way with words were the appealing melodies – the perfect complement to the stories on her debut album which seemed to speak to me in a special way at the time.

The new single Mary compares wonderfully with those early songs, showing a grown-up artist staying true to her unique style, albeit enriched with experience. Mary is, according to the artist herself, about a fortune teller she met in Hong Kong. Mary predicts grim things for the narrator, making her doubt her life. But eventually, none of the ominous predictions will materialise. The deeper meaning of the song relates to Emmy the Great's personal bond with Hong Kong.

Key line: “The present is a gift so don't look it in the mouth”

Litku Klemetin uusin kappale Mona on nähtävästi tribuutti hänen omalle idolilleen diskokuningatar Mona Caritalle. Litku suihkii mielellään genrestä toiseen, nytkin mukana on vaihteeksi elektronisia elementtejä, mutta samalla säilyy taattu iskelmäote, jossa on aina leevimäistä pilkettä silmäkulmassa. Litkulla on rehellisen outolinnun maine. Se näkyy biisistä toiseen sanoituksissa, joissa toistuvat ulkopuolisuuden teema ja sovinnaisuuksista luopuminen. Ei siis olekaan ihme, että rempseän provokatiivinen Mona herättää laulajassa vahvaa ihailua: Äiti valittaa, kun sä oot niin kissamainen / Kai sillä on vaikeaa olla sovinnainen. Vaikka Litku on oma ehdoton suosikkini viime vuosilta, aivan viime aikojen julkaisut ovat ehkä olleet hieman liian hämyileviä jopa minun makuuni. Tämä unenomainen ylistyslaulu naiselta naiselle on kuitenkin varsin kiinnostava kasaripläjäys.

15/08/2020

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DMA’s: MadSidney/OzPop?

Rarely does it happen when discovering a new band that I listen to a song on an EP at least five times before moving on to the next track, whereupon I repeat the process. This replay action occurs with every single track on the EP, as a matter of fact. Very soon it transpires that DMA’s know how to write hooks. What’s more, they know how to write a classic pop rock song where vocals are as effortlessly delivered as breathing, yet always sounding sharp and bright, and where nothing extra, unusual or novel can be heard instrumentally, not even any trendy bleeping noises because nothing extra is needed; by making the most of the basics – guitar, bass, drums, voice – it will be special when you have it in you. Guitars, in particular, are essential here, and those electric sounds that one might also refer to as definitely-maybe-there-she-goes-this-is-the-one make the band’s influences rather transparent. This is by no means a bad thing – as long as the influences are as great as they are.  

Laced: includes acoustic guitars that bring to mind the sound of The La’s. The chorus is straight out of Madchester. The lead singer Tommy O’Dell is not Liam, but he can carry a tune way better than Ian Brown.

Delete: this is the debut single and what a pretty one it is! Again, The La’s are the most obvious reference point. Somehow the vocals even conjure up the likes of The Streets?! Indeed, you may have to Dry Your Eyes after this one.

Feels Like 37: This ghost train flies like Oasis in its heyday. The short guitar solo part just after the chorus is one of the reasons why you absolutely ought to listen to the DMA’s. After hearing “Shiine rightt” and “gone awaaay” I’m also starting to think that our kid might have passed his vocal cords on to Tommy O’Dell.

So We Know: In addition to the first verse, which is very much like the beginning of a Noel Gallagher song, there’s a Jesus and Mary Chain vibe. For example, if you listen to the line “‘till I change and you go, and it rains so we know...”, it’s not hard to compare it to some of JAMC’s softer numbers.

Lay Down: this fresh single has the drum beat of Definitely Maybe, the howling steel of Heroes, or perhaps, Elephant Stone. The chiming sound pleases the ear of anyone who loves guitars. This band has proven that Sidney really is Mad. It is unlikely that Tommy O’Dell will be remembered in the same way as the men who came before him, which is a pity. His vocals are spot on.

A random youtuber wondered “Why are they dressed as chavs?” That’s an interesting notion. Their appearance certainly harks back to the early nineties, which is not surprising when you listen to the tunes. But was anyone even called a chav back then? Oxford Dictionaries Online suggests that the word was coined in the 1990s. Hmmm... but Adidas was not so bad, was it?

In reality, if there is something to be criticised in DMA’s, it might be the name. It does not really stick in your mind.  Does it evoke any particular feelings either? Well, maybe it once would have. The thing is that the past is sometimes hard to resurrect as the masses tend to move on. In the nineties, DMA’s would have been huge. No doubt, there are many people for whom they are huge today, too.

12/10/2015

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Hidden Gems: Kaleidoscope

Would you like to take a trip to some captivating melodies, luscious harmonies, sharp jingling guitar sounds, fairy tales and stories drawing from Anglo-Saxon and Norse mythology? Perhaps you feel like diving into yesterday – more specifically into the good old 60s psychedelia? Well, look no further, and never mind that Magical Mystery Tour or Syd Barrett, here is Kaleidoscope! The name is already rather indicative of the acid sound (we all know that one girl with kaleidoscope eyes, right). In fact, it is such a good name that it was adopted by two bands, the other one being an American group whose music could also, incidentally, be described as “psych folk”. However, the one I am talking about here is an English band who later changed their name to Fairfield Parlour, perhaps to avoid confusion with the Americans. 

So let’s have a look at this bunch. Kaleidoscope were Eddy Pumer (guitar), Peter Daltrey (vocals), Steve Clark (bass) and Danny Bridgman (drums). The lead singer and the band’s lyricist Peter Daltrey (no relation to Roger) started out as a mod and, like the majority of musically-inclined people in the mid-sixties, was mesmerised by The Beatles’ endeavours into new musical styles and their experimental song-writing. Dylan was an inspiration to him as well. And it was all a-changin’. The songs were changing and the world was changing. Indeed, there were so many things you could write about other than love, even if that theme also remained in the repertoire. Kaleidoscope were a band that could probably be praised as much for the lyrical output as the music.

So what about the songs then? 

Kaleidoscope – This one’s exhilarating. The opening track on the band’s debut album Tangerine Dream is a fine demonstration of what’s to come. The sound is just right, the melody is instantly catchy and the singer Daltrey seems to be on a mission to fix the name Kaleidoscope on the listener’s mind for good by repeating it over and over in the chorus. The lyrical simplicity of the chorus is balanced by the colourful chaos of the verses:

Flowers move or fluoresce Disappearing iridescent Rolling clouds, shades of night Faces black, faces white

Coloured shadows, always haunting, Drifting wild and undaunting Distant daze, broken glass Coloured days

Listen to the song “Kaleidoscope” below: 

Please Excuse My Face – Ok, you can actually include a range of feelings into this type of music as well, even overt self-pity. And this was way before we had Morrissey. 

If my shiny eyes look sad Please excuse my face Blushing, smiling through the tears Please excuse my face I feel dead, I'll hide myself away I’ll think of you through crystal eyesight rain If you see me on the street Please excuse my face

It’s not all marmalade skies and marshmallow pies, you see. But maybe that’s a good thing.

The Sky Children – This might be what the word ‘mesmerising’ sounds like. Having been the first song by Kaleidoscope that I heard, it grabbed my attention at once and held me in its spell for the whole of eight minutes. It has no chorus, but seven stanzas of ten lines. The magic of childhood imagination is encapsulated in this fairy-tale dream.

A million white flowers in a field in the sky Seemed to spell out a greeting as the children flew by A guard in a chariot of silver and gold Gave the children all tickets, then the story he told Of a time in the future that was sunshine and flowers And the children grew sleepy in the sky's white towers They dreamed of the story that the guard had displayed They saw all the wonders, tiny minds were amazed They saw candy forests and dragons that breathed fire On all that was evil in the misty mire

Black Fjord – I guess this is what Melody Maker was on about when they proposed that Kaleidoscope were “Heavily influenced by Tolkien” for there is no shortage of medieval mythology. You can rather vividly picture the Viking-looking warriors in combat and travelling to their final place of residence.

From a thousand years, I can see the coming light The fjords echo with the sounds of death The Nordic peoples have come so far to say goodbye But I'm afraid my farewell is without breath

The warriors are sailing away to Valhalla And I must also leave upon the rain The orchestra of broken hearts is silent in the dark The feelings in me are all close to pain

Dear Nellie Goodrich – The group does not abandon the universal subject of infatuation either, but there is a sensation of something a bit more advanced than darling I'll be true etc. that one could still appreciate a few years prior. Here we have an apologetic confession. Possibly unrequited fantasies require a careful approach. She shouldn’t be offended by these words, though, should she? It’s quite a charming letter, actually, and not at all outdated.

Dear Nellie Goodrich I am writing to you To tell you of my love Please don't be offended I mean you no harm Sure as the sun shines above

Dear Nellie Goodrich I have watched from afar You pass my house each day The dreams that I dream Are always about you But, oh dear, what can I say?

In these few words that I'm writing Is my life open for you to see And one wish that I wish constantly I wish that you could see me

It was surely not for lack of trying or due to bad quality that Kaleidoscope did not reach the spotlight in the same way as some of their contemporaries. The charts can be an enemy. There had to be a hit, and unfortunately that did not quite happen despite the amount of radio play some of their tracks received. As Fairfield Parlour, they seemed to be having more success at first, but apparently there were some distribution problems with their records. Nevertheless, Kaleidoscope began to draw interest again later in the 80s–90s and they seem to remain treasured favourites in certain circles. Worth checking out I say!

Discography:

Tangerine Dream (1967) Faintly Blowing (1969)

Read More About Kaleidoscope

27/09/2015

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Bob Dylan Meets Donovan

– Donovan? Who is this Donovan?  Many might remember Bob Dylan uttering this question with a hint of annoyance in his voice in the 1967 documentary film Don’t Look Back by D.A. Pennebaker. Alan Price of The Animals was kind enough to enlighten Bob on the background of the young troubadour. – He's a good guy. ... He's singing a bit of folk music and he's a very good guitar player. He’s better than you.  – Right away I hate him!  – (reading a newspaper headline) “Is Donovan deserting his fans?” He's only been around for three months. – That’s what I call a loser.

Perhaps this is the scene that epitomises the ostensible rivalry of Dylan and Donovan. There is of course a tendency in the music press to come up with these so called battles in an attempt to entertain readers even if the conflict did not truly exist. At least, in this case, it is likely that only in the dreams of an all-too-eager music journalist of the 60s one could hear the cannons go off in the battle. Any schism that there once might have been between Dylan and Donovan was always to be taken with a sense of humour. The Dylan of 1965 (the year in which the events in the documentary actually took place) was surely not the kind of guy to eschew jokes or hyperboles; indeed interviewers and friends alike were targeted with a number of opinionated comments, some of which were witty and to the point, others more desperate, equivocal or even downright rude. The grudge that Dylan jokingly claimed to bear against the Scottish artist was about to turn into an approving camaraderie characterised more by curiosity and respect than any kind of resentment.

– A nice guy. He came to see me in my hotel. I have heard him sing. Sure he sings like me. Just coincidence. (Bob Dylan, 06/05/1965)

In the aforementioned hotel room gathering, Dylan appeared confident and willing to bask in the admiration of his fellow musicians and all the other spectators, ready to make the most of his status as the new folk/rock star with whom everybody wanted to hang around. Therefore it is no wonder that for Donovan, who is five years Dylan’s junior, Dylan was likely to be something of a role model at the time, a sort of older brother who encouraged him (“Hey, that’s a good song!”), but also kept his distance and was very aware of their different levels of experience. Donovan certainly had heard Dylan’s music before they met and already seemed to have great respect for the artist.

While there has sometimes been an attempt to tar Dylan and Donovan with the same folk rock brush, their differences should not be too hard to spot. To date, millions of analyses must have been written about Dylan, his extraordinariness and his grandeur, but many people would probably admit that he still remains something of a mystery, a proposition that Dylan himself might both despise and secretly like. Donovan is no doubt endowed with some mysterious qualities as well, but whereas the mystery of Dylan is often related to his reluctance to really even be understood and his complete indifference to what people think of him, the mystery of Donovan has more to do with his warm-hearted beatnik presence and the outlook that he seems to have on life. As documented in Don’t Look Back, when Dylan’s party is in full swing and the cockiness of the host starts to rear its head, Donovan shows no signs of losing his sympathetic mood. Quite endearingly, he volunteers to help cleaning up a broken glass while frustrated Dylan rages at some of his guests. This is in fact the picture that I usually associate Donovan with; someone kind and considerate, high-spirited and happy to make you smile.

When the night has left you cold and feeling sad I will show you that it cannot be so bad Forget the one who went and made you cry I'll sing a song for you

Thus he sings in To Sing for You that he also performed in Dylan’s hotel room. These are words of an angelic boy of 19 which may appear naive, but which all the same radiate optimism and feel-good. In all its simplicity, the song itself is a sweet and compassionate little narrative of someone wanting to make another person feel better. Throughout his career, Donovan’s life-affirming attitude is present in his texts and he never reaches Dylan’s level of cynicism. This is not to say there is no melancholia (which is evident for instance in Belated Forgiveness Plea that is linked below), but even at their darkest the words always retain a sense of humanity.

Documenting the meeting of teenage Donovan and the king of the folk scene on camera for all the world to see may actually have contributed to a picture of Donovan that is heavily lacking in many respects. While Dylan is as ingrained in the popular music mythology worldwide as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the like, Donovan’s name seems to be rather more obscure for the masses. Trevor Hodgett writes in the liner notes for Sunshine Superman: The Journey of Donovan: “Donovan remains one of rock’s most underrated and misunderstood figures”. His resemblance to Woody Guthrie automatically made him similar to Dylan as well. For some the original influence went unnoticed, and the cap that he wore was interpreted solely as a Dylan cap. In the circumstances, it may have been all too easy for many to dismiss him as a wet behind the ears hippy who’s nothing more than an imitator, an image which could not be farther from the truth. In fact, it could be argued that Donovan grew into an artist more diverse than most of his contemporaries, mixing elements of Celtic folklore, Romantic poetry, blues, psychedelic rock, jazz and Indian music in his work.

Inspired by Jack Kerouac, the barely 18-year-old Donovan took to the road and began to live like a gypsy, sleeping on the beaches of Cornwall, writing and playing with his friends. In keeping with the times, he became a part of the protest movement through his version of Universal Soldier and flower power psychedelia exemplified by albums such as Sunshine Superman. He also befriended The Beatles and travelled with them in India where he taught John Lennon his guitar finger-picking technique. (George Harrison, in turn, contributed a lost verse to Donovan’s song Hurdy Gurdy Man). In many ways, Donovan is the modern Romantic poet whose contributions to popular music are unique, and therefore he would be deserving of more recognition than he seems to have received. Luckily, the world will be left with a beautiful legacy which I would encourage anyone to freely explore.

08/09/2015