Mix CD #45 - Just Some Kid On A Bike

It's a bit later than scheduled but here's the forty-fifth blog for your wonder and delight. 
As seems to be the norm at the moment, there's no theme other than songs I want people to hear. That seems to be good enough for the time being right?

Just like the last couple of blogs, it's another multinational collection of songs with bands from Israel,  Brazil, Russia, and The Netherlands amongst others. It's not an intentional thing but it's nice to be not just including the same old US/UK mix of stuff. There's cool music everywhere.

I'd promise to get the next blog, Another Fine Day, out in good time to try and make up for lost time this month but that's probably not going to happen. It's a good one though so maybe it's worth the wait, maybe not. Fuck knows.

Anyway, here's May's stuff. You can read my ramble about each song below and can download it via the link provided if you want.

Cheers,
Luke
x

Tracklisting
Corn Mo - Just Some Kid On A Bike
Rezin - Something Bad
Reason Define - Inferno
Vintersea - Mirror Lake
Barkmarket - Carjack
Spee Six Nine - People In My Rearview
Tardigrade Inferno - I'm Coming For Your Soul
White Trash - Backstage Pass
Far From Alaska - Pig
Idiot Pilot - Murderous
Jess Morgan - Whitby
Forewarned - I Don't Care
Dark Mother - Mother Mary
Straight Outta Fridge - My Time
Nikki & The Corvettes - I Gotta Move
itoldyouiwouldeatyou - Young American
A Thousand Knives Of Fire - She's Yours
Coppersky - Carry The Fire
Scardust - Arrowhead

HERE's the download link for those that want it


Corn Mo - Just Some Kid On A Bike
Taken from the 2000 album I Hope You Win!

Back in 2008 I think, my wife and I saw Ben Folds live and the support was Corn Mo, someone we'd never heard of. It turned out it was a peculiar bloke with an accordion singing quite a lot of songs about his school days. I enjoyed his set and thought both he and his daft little songs were utterly charming; I bought a couple of CDs that night and still listen to them when I need cheering up.
Just Some Kid On A Bike is just Mo singing and playing keys that kind of sound like a Wurlitzer, it's about splitting up with someone and how you keep seeing them when they aren't there.

"Sometimes I think I've seen you driving down my street, it's just some kid on a bike"

Rezin -  Something Bad
Taken from the 1999 album Summer Of The Braindead Everyone

Rezin are a Grungy Hard Rock band from Maryland and are yet another band I rediscovered after dusting off crates of CDs in the attic. I listened to both this album and 2004's Everything Happens a lot back then and loved both, it's been really good hearing them again. It turns out they've had a few more albums in the intervening years that I'll have to track down eventually. too.
Something Bad is my favourite track of theirs, it kicks off with a widdly, rolling riff that carries things along through a strong verse and the catchy refrain of "In pain, this began. In pain, this will end" About two thirds through it drops down to a slower, beefier riff and boasts a second, equally catchy chorus. Pete's vocals are especially good on this song too, laying somewhere between the raw raggedness of Kurt Cobain and the soaring howl of Chris Cornell.

Reason Define - Inferno
Taken from the 2019 album In Memory...

Reason Define are a modern Alternative Rock band from the US that I discovered thanks to Down The Front podcast. In Memory... is a solid album, full of anthemic choruses and a load of punchy riffs, both of which are perfectly exampled in Inferno. It's one of the shorter tracks on the album but one that instantly stuck out to me, I think it's been released as a single too which would make sense.
I've listened to this album (and their debut, Far From Strangers) quite a bit over the last couple of months and they're well worth you having a nosey at if you like Inferno.

Vintersea - Mirror Lake
Taken from the 2018 album The Gravity Of Fall

Formed from the ashes of Progressive Black Metal band Asterion, Vintersea's sound is more refined, polished and professional than that of Asterion and The Gravity Of Fall is a massive, accomplished slab of Progressive Rock with some Post Rock, Black and Death Metal popped in there for good measure. Frontwoman Avienne is a competent vocalist with a great clean singing voice though she throws in some death growls and Black Metal shrieks should it be warranted. The album kind of has a feel of the ocean and bodies of water to it somehow. No, I can't explain how or why.
Mirror Lake is one of the less heavy and catchier songs on offer with a fantastic chorus and mostly clean vocals. It's an atmospheric and emotive song that hits me right in a soft place. 
They've got a new album due out hopefully this year, if it's an improvement on The Gravity Of Fall it's bound to be very good indeed.

Barkmarket - Carjack
Taken from the 1993 album Gimmick

I guess most people that have heard of Dave Sardy would have done so as as a producer and mixer for a huge amount of artists, as diverse as Slayer, Oasis, Royal Blood, Fall Out Boy, Snow Patrol, Marilyn Manson, Tegan & Sara, and LCD Soundsystem among many others. Back in the late 80's/early 90's however, he was the vocalist/guitarist in Noise Rock trio Barkmarket. They released a few albums though Gimmick is my favourite. Carjack clatters along, twisting and turning, chucking ace riff after ace riff at you, 
Fans of early Therapy? (Babyteeth/Pleasure Death/Nurse type stuff) should like Barkmarket. I see a lot of similarities between the two.

Spee Six Nine - People In My Rearview
Taken from the 2018 mini-album Ineffable

Mr. Six Nine is an MC, originally from York but now based in and around Fife, up in Scotland. 
While he's a massive nerd, with arms full of DC and Marvel tattoos, he tends to rap more about working-class life, struggling to make ends meet and whatnot. He doesn't get too 'streety' I don't think. I like the fact he raps with his own, Yorkshire accent and dialect too, avoiding too many Americanisms. 
He's been steadily building a following over a couple of decades now, usually with his partner in crime, the singer/rapper/beatboxer, Bigg Taj, who I'm about 60% confident sings the la, la la's on this song. I think People In My Rearview is about learning from your mistakes, trying to be a better person and leaving toxic folk behind.

Tardigrade Inferno - I'm Coming For Your Soul
Taken from the 2019 album Mastermind

Someone recommended this band on an... off-piste music group I'm in on Facebook, they sounded like my sort of thing and it turns out they are exactly that. They're a Russian band who class themselves as Dark Cabaret Metal, which is a reasonable description though personally I just lump them under the Avant-Garde Metal tag. 
Mastermind is a delight of an album, mixing crunching riffs with kazoos and Wurlitzer style organs, all topped off with Darya's versatile vocals. She has that quirky Dark Cabaret, burlesque-esque tone but slips into something more Metallic when the need arises, whether that be operatic or death growls A lot of the band's charm lies in the fact they have such a joyous sense of humour. They could have quite easily been pompous or played too much on the weirdness and have it seem forced. As it is, they're a lot of fun and this album will be likely be featuring in my top 20 at the end of the year.

White Trash - Backstage Pass
Taken from the 1991 album White Trash

Many years ago (twenty-eight to be precise) there was a Rock magazine, I think it was RAW, that had all of its writers give every reviewed album a score out of 5. It then totted up the scores to get an Album Of The Month. When this cheery, Hard Rock/Funk Metal band got fives all across the board it piqued my interest enough to buy it (on cassette). 
I loved this album and listened to it constantly for months. I only stopped when I made the transition from tapes to CDs. About five years ago I managed to get a copy on CD and started listening to it loads again. It's maybe dated somewhat but it's still a bright, cheerful listen (despite a couple of drug addiction themed songs) with a ton of huge choruses, quotable lyrics, and a suitably parpy brass section. Dave Alvin's nasal vocal style is likely an acquired taste but it suits the band well and is instantly recognisable.
I was/am a big fan of guitarist Ethan Collins playing; his guitar lines, riffs and solos all flowed and dripped with melody. His solos in particular always fitted with the song and were more than just a collection of quickly played notes, often just as hummable as the rest of the song. Researching for this post, I sadly discovered he passed away following a heart attack in 2016. RIP Sir.

Far From Alaska - Pig
Taken from the 2017 album Unlikely

Far From Alaska are an Alternative Rock band based in São Paulo, Brazil, not somewhere I'd particularly associate with that genre but shows what I know. 

Pig is a highlight of their excellent second album, Unlikely, and bounces along on a slide guitar-led riff and has a sprightly melody, and equally catchy pre- and proper choruses. I took it to be about waiting for someone off on a journey of self-discovery and how that's ultimately a fruitless task as we're all constantly evolving and changing.

Oh, and São Paulo and Anchorage are about 8000 miles apart, so reasonably far I'd say.

Idiot Pilot  - Murderous
Taken from the 2019 album Blue Blood

I first came across Idiot Pilot back in 2007/2008, a record store was having a clearout and I bought a ton of album promo's for a quid each and Wolves by Idiot Pilot was one of them. I thought it was a pretty good Proggy, Post Hardcore/Alternative Rock album though maybe a little too derivative of Muse in places. 
Over 10 years later and a lengthy hiatus, the duo have returned with their third album. As good as Wolves was, Blue Blood shows a marked progression and it seems like they've found their own individuality and sound; there are still similarities between Michael (Harris) and Matt (Bellamy)'s vocal styles but he's very much settled into his own groove now. 
Murderous barrels along at an urgent pace atop a fiery, chaotic riff, occasionally pausing for some trippy, psychedelic passages, enhanced with a few electronic beeps and squirls for good measure.

Jess Morgan - Whitby
Taken from the 2019 album Everything I Did Last Year

A decade or more ago, Jess a name for herself on the local Folk scene here in York while she was at University. Once she graduated and moved away she seems to have gone from strength to strength and established her name nationally. Everything I Did Last Year is her fifth album and is a solid collection of contemporary Folk songs, Jess has a beautiful voice and tempers the gentle serenity of her songs with a wry sense of humour and an occasional nice turn of phrase. Whitby is just about being down in the dumps, taking it out on friends and family and then feeling even worse about.
I guess these days Whitby is best known for the annual Goth Weekend but when I were a lad it was where we went on school trips. If you like, giant whalebones, lots of steps and a busted up abbey then Whitby is the place for you! See also: Whitby Jet and Captain Cook.

Forewarned  - I Don't Care
Taken from the 2019 album The Resurrection Of Rock And Roll

Forewarned are an eclectic Progressive Rock band from Buffalo, NY and The Resurrection Of Rock And Roll is a sprawling, two and half hour long album with a variety of genres covered, although it's still very much a Prog album. Guitarist and bandleader, Steve Supparits shares lead vocals with keyboardist Lynn Shriver which is another added dimension to their sound.
I Don't Care is one of the standout tracks for me, It's a jubilant, positive song about how we're free to like whatever music we like and how we're perfectly capable of forming relationships with people of differing musical tastes. I love the retro keyboard that's prominent through the whole song. It reminds of Van Halen - Jump. I think?

Dark Mother - Mother Mary

Taken from the 2015 demo Demo

I first heard of this Doom Metal trio from Nottingham, UK via an article about them on Facebook. There was a link to their Bandcamp on it, I gave the songs a listen and liked them very much. Other than a split single with another band there's just this demo on there so far. All of the tracks show a lot of promise though and I'd like to hear the finished things. 
Mother Mary has, as you'd expect, a slow, gut-wobbling riff that pounds on relentlessly. The vocals are quite low in the mix and often remind of L7's sludgier moments, in fact, there's also a bit where the riff changes up about two thirds through that kind of sounds a bit like a slowed down, bassed up Pretend We're Dead. Sort of. 

Straight Outta Fridge - My Time
Taken from the 2015 compilation House Of Pablo: Volume One

Straight Outta Fridge are the third band I've featured on this blog (following Muscle Tribe Of Danger And Excellence and She Loves Pablo) from the excellent record label House Of Pablo that's based in Zagreb, Croatia. they won't be the last. The majority of bands there all play Stoner Rock of some description and share a lot of band members. Straight Outta Fridge are included in this though they also add in some Funk, Punk, and Rap into their mix. My Time is a short, frenetic track with rapid-fire vocals in the verses and a slow chorus that juxtaposes nicely. This has a strong late 80's/early 90's feel to it and I like it a lot. 
The compilation this is taken from is Name Your Price on Bandcamp HERE if  you'd like to hear more.

Nikki & The Corvettes - I Gotta Move

Taken from the 1980 album Nikki & The Corvettes

Nikki & The Corvettes were a pioneering Pop Punk band active from the late-70's until their split in 1981. Their self-titled debut album was their only release which is a shame as it stands the test of time very well. 
It's easy to see why the band were a big influence on bands like The Donnas as its a rocking, cheerful collection of simple catchy songs, I Gotta Move is one of the longest songs on the album and it's less than 2 1/2 minutes long, to be honest, it benefits from the extra time as it feels fuller and less rushed than a lot of the other tracks. It's still bouncy, upbeat and ridiculously catchy though.

itoldyouiwouldeatyou - Young American
Taken from the 2018 album Oh Dearism

Based around vocalist Joey Ashworth and featuring a fluid collection of other band members, itoldyouiwouldeatyou are an Emo/Indie Rock band from London. Oh Dearism was their excellent debut album but, before that, they released quite a few stand-alone singles and Ep's that are all worth tracking down if you like this song. Young American is about taking all the loss, all the anxiety and depression and all the bad things that have happened in your life and trying to work them into positive lessons for others to learn from. It's a song that ebbs and flows, building up momentum and letting it subside again. There are some subtle but effective female backing vocals running through it that I really like too.

A Thousand Knives Of Fire - She's Yours
Taken from the 2008 album The Last Train To Scornsville

A Thousand Knives Of Fire were a Stoner Metal band from New Jersey formed by Halfway To Gone guitarist, Lee Stuart. They only released this one album back in 2008 but it's an absolute stormer of one. 
She's Yours is a gloriously defiant message to the new flame of his cheating girlfriend, it bursts into life with a fantastic, Biker Rock riff and has a profanity-filled chorus that I really shouldn't be singing at work but can't help myself. Motherfucker.

Coppersky - Carry The Fire
Taken from the 2019 album Orbiter

Featuring three brothers and another chap, Coppersky are an unusual Alternative Rock band from The Netherlands. Supposedly a Classic Rock band with Grunge influences but they also have a strong 80's Post Punk vibe to them as well, mainly because the bass is really high up in the mix, it's at least as prominent as the guitar. It's played a lead instrument a lot too, which is pretty cool. 

Vocalist, Erik has a unique voice that doesn't really sound like anyone else though I suppose there are flashes of Eddie Vedder in there sometimes. Orbiter is their third album and probably not to everyone's tastes but I'm really enjoying it and should probably have a look for those first two albums.

Scardust - Arrowhead
Taken from the 2017 album Sands Of Time

Arrowhead was yet another song I found while clicking through videos on Youtube. I loved that it was so grandiose, there's an orchestra, a sizable choir, time changes, twists and turns, and some incredibly technical playing. Yet amongst all that, there's also a massive, infectious chorus that's as danceable as it is memorable. 

This proved to be true of the album, Sands Of Time, as well, the sound is vast, the musicianship excellent and complicated. Kicking off with a five-part, twenty-seven minute long title track is just about as Progressive Metal as you can get. Despite that, they never lose sight of the fact they're writing songs and Sands Of Time is as memorable as it is accomplished. It's shortly going to be rereleased but this time globally and with bonus tracks. Definitely worth looking out for if you're into this sort of stuff.