Month: June 2024

Top 30 Songs for June 30-July 6, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's12 Comments
Photo of Glass Animals by Lillie Eiger

It makes my blood boil when I hear my contemporaries – or anyone for that matter – opine that there’s no good music being made any longer, because nothing could be further from the truth! While I concede that some of the best non-classical music was created during the years 1965-1973, there are many talented artists and bands putting out great music today, several of whom are represented on my latest Weekly Top 30.

Case in point is English psychedelic art pop band Glass Animals, whose beautiful song “Creatures in Heaven” ascends to the #1 spot. Formed in 2010 when they were all attending college in Oxford, the band consists of Dave Bayley (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, songwriting), Drew MacFarlane (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Edmund Irwin-Singer (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), and Joe Seaward (drums). Since 2014, they’ve released three albums, with their fourth, I Love You So F***ing Much, slated for release on July 19. “Creatures in Heaven” was the lead single from that album.

I first learned about Glass Animals in 2016, when they released their second album How to Be a Human Being. One of the songs from that album is “Life Itself”, which I loved so much it went to #1 on my Top 30 chart and ended up ranking #60 on my decade-end 100 Best Songs of the 2010s list. I love Dave Bayley’s singing voice, which is so distinctive that it makes their songs immediately identifiable as only theirs. “Creatures in Heaven” becomes their second song to top my chart (“Heat Waves” peaked at #2, but spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their biggest hit so far).

About “Creatures in Heaven”, Bayley told Atwood Magazine: “It’s about a moment in time, be it a split second or a year or whatever, having the capacity to be enormously formative and life-changing, even if it is over. Or if it doesn’t go as planned. Or if it dies too soon. It is still fucking beautiful. The love and care and the feeling in that moment lives forever. It never really dies. If that’s how you choose to see it.”

The two biggest upward movers this week are by two more bands I love – “Starburster” by Irish alt-rock band Fontaines D.C., leaping eight spots to enter the top 10 at #10, and “High In Low Places” by American pop-rock band Beach Weather, which jumps seven spots to enter the top 10 at #5. And this week there are four new debuts, starting with “The Craving” by twenty one pilots, entering at #25. The second single from their latest album Clancy, “The Craving” replaces their previous single “Overcompensate”, which just spent 15 weeks on my chart, 13 of them in the top 10.

Entering at #28 is “Lost In Space” by Foster the People, which now consists of founding member and frontman Mark Foster and multi-instrumentalist Isom Innis, who started as a touring member of the band way back in 2010. The exuberant song is the lead single from their upcoming fourth studio album Paradise State of Mind, to be released on August 16. Both twenty one pilots and Foster the People were my top two favorite bands for several years in the mid-to-late 2010s, and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them both in concert.

Next up is the sensuous “Run Your Mouth” by L.A.-based indie pop band The Marías. Formed in 2016, the band is comprised of lead vocalist María Zardoya and drummer/producer Josh Conway, guitarist Jesse Perlman, and keyboardist Edward James. Known for performing songs in both English and Spanish, they’ve released two albums, Cinema in 2021 and Submarine, which dropped May 31st. Their 2021 single “Hush” reached #1 on the Billboard AAA chart.

The fourth new entry, coming in at #30, is the hauntingly beautiful and moving “What if i feel like this my whole life?” by talented and silky-voiced English singer-songwriter HULLAH (which I recently reviewed). This is his third song to appear on my chart, the previous two being “Chasing Trains”, which reached #1, and “Wild as the Wind”, which reached #7.

  1. CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (3)
  2. BURIAL GROUND – The Decemberists & James Mercer (1)
  3. TOO SWEET – Hozier (2)
  4. WRECKAGE – Pearl Jam (6)
  5. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (12)
  6. MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR – Royel Otis (4)
  7. FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven (9)
  8. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (10)
  9. I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (5)
  10. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (18)
  11. FORTNIGHT – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (7)
  12. END OF BEGINNING – Djo (14)
  13. SCARED TO START – Michael Marcagi (13)
  14. GOLD – Caitlin Lavagna (15)
  15. ON THE GAME – The Black Keys (16)
  16. LONELINESS – Pet Shop Boys (8)
  17. ADRIFT – Voodoo Planet feat. Mikey J (17)
  18. THE BREAK – Blame My Youth (19)
  19. TOO MUCH – girl in red (20)
  20. A FORETOLD ECSTASY – Mayflower Madame (22)
  21. DILEMMA – Green Day (11)
  22. LUNCH – Billie Eilish (25)
  23. I HAD SOME HELP – Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen (29)
  24. LIKE YOU DO – The Frontier (27)
  25. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (N)
  26. BROKEN MAN – St. Vincent (21)
  27. VICES – 5ilas & Shimmer Johnson (30)
  28. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (N)
  29. RUN YOUR MOUTH – The Marías (N)
  30. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH (N)

MR BEWLAY – Single Review: “Honey”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews11 Comments
Photo by Ewa Palka

Hailing from Cardiff, Wales is art pop artist Mr Bewlay, who on the strength of his singular creative talent, unorthodox musical approach, charismatic personality and flamboyant performances, has built a loyal following in Wales and beyond. He began his foray into the arts on the stage, honing his performance skills in such classics as West Side Story, A View From A Bridge and A Streetcar Named Desire. He later transitioned to music under the mentorship and guidance of the Forte Project, a highly respected Wales-based artist development program.

He self-released his debut single “Project Blue Team” in June 2019, and in the years since has dropped many more singles, as well as two EPs, Electric Reason in 2022 and Black Reason in 2023, the first two installments of his Reason Trilogy. Late last year, Mr Bewlay signed with the Welsh indie music label Dirty Carrot and began writing and recording songs for his forthcoming third EP of the trilogy, Against All Reason. The first single from the EP, the Depeche Mode-esque “Worst of All Women”, was released in March, and on June 21st, he dropped the second single “Honey“. When his label reached out to me about the song, I liked it instantly, and am eager to share it with my readers.

Recorded with Cardiff-based producer Lee House and guitars by musician Shish, “Honey” is a sweet pop song of love and adoration. Starting with a irresistibly sensuous and funky bass groove, Mr Bewlay and company layer breezy synths, lush piano keys and richly textured guitars, all of which create an intoxicating backdrop for his colorful emotive vocals. Sprinkled throughout the track are wonderful little touches like whistling and what sounds like a triangle instrument. I love the exuberant anthemic choruses in which Mr Bewlay’s vocals are backed by lilting female voices.

The cheeky lyrics are directed toward a romantic partner, describing the singer’s feelings of passion and desire with equal amounts of naughty and nice:

I’ll be your cardiac arrest
Steal the focus of your breath
Last night we danced in silver rooms
Spinning you round the open lights
Drowning in my eyes
I’ll be your prophet divine
Scream your feelings to the sky
Cos’ honey I like you
Honey the taste of you

Now call my bluff
And fall into my arms

Start to lose your breath
Feel the world in our embrace
I kiss that part you said you like
Shockwave through your spine
Made you come into the room
The focus you instilled
Could push through ennui

All that it took
Was this icy moment's look
You cast a penetrating thought
Vibrations through the void
And every woman, every man
Had a spell cast on their minds
Throughout the globe

Now call my bluff
Fall into my arms
And all of my love
Falls to dust

Let me lay
Lie, in your honey
Let me lay
And lie, in your honey
All that it took was a momentary look

And here’s the song on Soundcloud:

Mr Bewlay’s Socials: Facebook / X / Instagram / TikTok

Find his music on Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / Bandcamp / YouTube 

HEALER – Single Review: “War”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews18 Comments

Hailing from Grimsby, England is HEALER, an alternative indie rock band comprised of Steve (lead vocals), Kirk (guitar), Dave (guitar), Tony (bass), and Jazz (drums). Since forming in 2022, the talented five-piece have already built a strong following in the British music scene on the strength of their outstanding songs and riveting live performances, as well as garnering recognition and airplay on BBC Music Introducing and Amazing Radio UK/USA. Since the release of their debut single “Hurricane” in December 2022, the busy guys have followed with seven more singles, two of which – “Bones“ and “Wake Me Up” – I’ve previously featured on this blog. “Bones” spent three months on my weekly top 30 and ranks #67 on my 100 Best Songs of 2023 list.

Photo by  Misha Warren

Their songs explore themes of love, loss, and hope, wrapped in infectious melodies and beautiful arrangements, and delivered with ace instrumentation and Steve’s wonderful distinctive vocals that make HEALER’s songs immediately identifiable as theirs and no one else’s. This is nicely showcased by their latest single “War”, released on June 21st. Though my initial impression was that the song describes a person’s devotion to their partner or loved one, and that they’d go to war to defend and protect them, I reached out to the band to see if I was even close in my interpretation. Lead singer and songwriter Steve responded with an eloquent explanation that I’ll just quote in full:

“The meaning of war can be different for every person. Being a hero for instance could be as large as a soldier in the grand scheme of things, but individual people just enduring the repetition of everyday life and work can make them a hero in their own story. To the characters that walk, their own story arcs with them. I do what I do for my sons and my partner and you will do what you do for somebody or something; it doesn’t make any one of our struggles or efforts bigger or smaller than the other because they exist by themselves within our own little worlds. I would do anything for my family and that is what war is about, and my family started with the girl I reference in the song. The line from the song that sums it all up is ‘I’ve given all I have to give you but I could always find some more’. Even when we have nothing left we will always get up and go out and do whatever we have to do for our kids or the people we need to support.“

“War” starts off slowly, with Steve’s warm, vulnerable vocals accompanied by a gently-strummed guitar. Twenty seconds in, the song expands into a beautiful rock song with colorful guitars, Tony’s thumping bass and Jazz’s spirited drumbeats, Steve’s vocals growing more impassioned along with the music. Kirk and Dave’s dual guitars are a gorgeous mix of jangly and twangy chords, nicely complemented by Jazz’s wildly crashing cymbals. The guitar riff in the anthemic chorus is fantastic, and one of the finest, most memorable hooks I’ve heard in a while, boring itself into our brains, but in a good way. With “War”, the guys have another hit on their hands.

HEALER always makes interesting and compelling videos for their songs, and the one for “War” is no exception. The heartwarming video, shot by the photography and cinematography team of Lola and Joel, was filmed on location at several local sites, including The Number 1 Pub in Cleethorpes, Transpennine Express in Grimsby and Cleethorpes Stations, and Andy’s Seafoods in Grimsby, and stars Lisa February, Thomas Humphreys, David Snook and Andrew Crane.


Upcoming Healer Shows:

July 6 –DocksFest, Cleethorpes (withLottery Winners, Feeder, Frank Turner & Razorlight)

July 25 –BelladrumTartan Heart Festival, Inverness (with Ocean Colour Scene & Jake Bugg)

July 27 –Scartho Fest, Grimsby

September 20 –Heal Fest, Shrewsbury (with Embrace, The Farm, Tom Meighan)

Healer Socials: Facebook / X (Twitter) / Instagram / TikTok

Find their music on Spotify / Apple Music / Amazon Music / YouTube / Pandora

OLI BARTON – Single Review: “You Just Played My Mind”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews6 Comments

Anyone having even a cursory knowledge of the music industry knows that the UK is blessed with a plethora of talented music artists and bands, ranging from legendary acts to independent ones known  only to a local following, and everything in between. One of my personal favorites is London-based singer-songwriter Oli Barton, an exceptionally talented and creative guy who’s been making music for nearly eight years, both as front man of his backing band the Movement, and more recently as a solo artist. Oli’s music, released via his independent label Coke & Dagger Records, has been featured many times on BBC Radio, and he’s supported such acts as Starsailor, Kid Kapichi, and Baxter Dury. I’ve been following him since early 2017, and over the past seven years have featured him eight times on this blog, most recently in February when I reviewed his single “It’s Over Now”, which has become his most popular track in terms of streaming numbers. 

Photo by Alice Denny

His eccentric yet sophisticated style of alternative rock is a colorful mix of post-punk and psychedelia, fortified with touches of funk, pop and grunge, and I can honestly state that I’ve loved every single one of his songs. Five of them have appeared on my Weekly Top 30 charts – the provocative 2017 single “Kinky”, which went all the way to #1, as well as “44”, “Martyr”, “Just Like Always” and “Paid Off”, all of which reached the top 5. Now the dangerously charismatic charmer is back with “You Just Played My Mind“, which is also being released as a B-side to “It’s Over Now” in a limited edition 7-inch vinyl pressing of 100 copies. The vinyl copies, which will become available on September 24th, can be pre-ordered from his Website.

For recording of the song, Barton was joined by former bandmates Jamal Aggoun on guitar, Marco “Fuzz” Paone on bass and Josh Needham on drums, all of whom he complimented “I really wanted to make a more aggressive, gnarly track and I think the lads smashed it out here.” The track was produced by Alex O’ Donovan, who also played additional percussion, arranged and tracked by Jules Gulon, engineered by Luke Ferrero, mixed by Cenzo Townshend and Robert Sellens, and mastered by Barry Grint.

Drawing inspiration from doomed romances plagued by extreme incompatibility, Oli’s lyrics explore the conflicting emotions of two people who just don’t work together. “Well it’s been a while since I’ve seen a style that’s quite like yours./ Well the way you spoke, well it broke my heart. And you know that someday I’ll be calling you, and know that you just played my mind.”

Musically, the song is an exhilarating rock banger that’s every bit as good as “It’s Over Now”. I really like the opening dark and ominous reverb-drenched gnarly guitar riff, and how the song quickly explodes into a raging beast, courtesy of Jamal’s distorted guitars, Marco’s powerful driving bass and Josh’s explosive drums, before settling down to sultry verses, beautifully sung by Oli’s distinctive accented vocals that I adore. I’ve long admired the ace musicianship of the above-named musicians, but they really take things to the next level here. Jamal’s multi-textured guitar work is fantastic, and the strength and dexterity of Josh’s drumming are a thing of wonder. As always, Oli’s colorful vocals are incredibly satisfying, running the gamut from sensuous croons to spine-tingling impassioned wails. Also, I must compliment the engineers and producers who contributed their respective talents on this track for the outstanding clarity of the instrumentation and overall sound quality.

“You Just Played My Mind” is much more than your typical B-Side, and those who purchase the 7-inch vinyl copy will be getting two equally great songs in one package.

Oli Barton’s Socials:  Facebook / X (Twitter) / Instagram / TikTok

Find his music on Spotify / Apple Music / Amazon Music / YouTube / Soundcloud

Top 30 Songs for June 23-29, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's5 Comments

The delightful “Burial Ground” by Portland, Oregon five-piece The Decemberists, featuring James Mercer, remains at #1 for a second week, and in fact, the top six songs on last week’s chart, including Hozier‘s “Too Sweet”, Glass Animals‘ “Creatures in Heaven”, Royel Otis‘ “Murder on the Dancefloor”, Bottlecap Mountain‘s “I’ve Got Loving For You” and Pearl Jam‘s “Wreckage” – all remain in place again this week. The beautiful “Panoramic View” by AWOLNATION moves up a spot to enter the top 10. The biggest upward mover this week is “High In Low Places” by Beach Weather, leaping nine spots to #12.

Two songs make their debut this week. The first is “I Had Some Help” by Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen. At first I dismissed this song, as I’m not a big fan of Country nor Morgan Wallen, but the song is just too damned catchy to resist. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has remained there five weeks and counting. This makes two songs by Post Malone on this chart, the other being “Fortnight”, his collaboration with Taylor Swift. The second new entry is “Vices”, a beautiful and uplifting track by California musician/producer 5ilas (aka Shane Roberts) and Canadian singer-songwriter Shimmer Johnson, who’ve collaborated together on several songs. I reviewed the song when it came out last month. It’s Johnson’s third song to appear on my chart; her previous two – “Starts With You” and “Essence”, a collaboration with Danish producer/composer Refeci, both reached #1.

  1. BURIAL GROUND – The Decemberists & James Mercer (1)
  2. TOO SWEET – Hozier (2)
  3. CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (3)
  4. MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR – Royel Otis (4)
  5. I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (5)
  6. WRECKAGE – Pearl Jam (6)
  7. FORTNIGHT – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (8)
  8. LONELINESS – Pet Shop Boys (9)
  9. FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven (10)
  10. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (11)
  11. DILEMMA – Green Day (7) 
  12. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (21)
  13. SCARED TO START – Michael Marcagi (15)
  14. END OF BEGINNING – Djo (20)
  15. GOLD – Caitlin Lavagna (17)
  16. ON THE GAME – The Black Keys (18)
  17. ADRIFT – Voodoo Planet feat. Mikey J (19)
  18. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (24)
  19. THE BREAK – Blame My Youth (22)
  20. TOO MUCH – girl in red (23)
  21. BROKEN MAN – St. Vincent (16)
  22. A FORETOLD ECSTASY – Mayflower Madame (25)
  23. OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (12)
  24. DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (13)
  25. LUNCH – Billie Eilish (28)
  26. MUSTANG – Kings of Leon (14)
  27. LIKE YOU DO – The Frontier (29)
  28. HIGHWAY QUEEN – Mt. Joy (27)
  29. I HAD SOME HELP – Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen (N)
  30. VICES – 5ilas & Shimmer Johnson (N)

Nicholas a. Milillo – Single Review: “Waking Life” feat. Dee Wolf, Bobby Jasso, Gabrielle Marella, and the voice of Tony Milillo

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews11 Comments

Nicholas a. Milillo (born Nicholas Pavoni) is a songwriter, electronic music composer and producer currently based in Nashville. He began writing and recording music as N Pa Productions when he was only 17 years old, and in 2007 he self-released his first albums Reality | a dream and Reality | a dream: The B-Side (neither of which are now available). Over the next couple of years, he collaborated with numerous vocalists and producers from different genres of music for the recording of his debut album Sight & Sound, as well as producing tracks for several artists. He was later signed to a couple of different London-based independent labels from 2010 to 2014, but in the years since has worked as a solo independent artist. In September 2013, he independently released his second studio album The Ghost Within: The Tale of Turmoil, an ambitious concept work involving at least 20 other songwriters and built around the main character and protagonist Turmoil (which I reviewed in 2021) as well as a separate EP Unorthodox. 

In late 2020, Nicholas began work on an autobiographical concept album to be titled Euphoric Absence, but due to some personal life struggles as well as recording and technical issues, its release has been pushed back to 2025. He released the first single from the album, “Nothing In Your Eyes” in December 2021, followed by the instrumental second single “Ambience of Sound and Motion” in August 2023. Now he returns with “Waking Life“, the third and final single he plans to release in advance of the album.

The song’s title and theme were inspired by the 2001 film Waking Life by Richard Linklater, along with the soundtrack itself (notably, “Ballad Part 3 and Ballad 4 – Parts 1 & 2”), as well as Nicholas’ own personal struggles. The track features lead and harmony vocals by Italian singer-songwriter Dee Wolf and Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and percussionist Bobby Jasso, electric guitar by Nicholas’ cousin Gabrielle Marella, and drum programming by Pennsylvania-based musician John Browne. Also featured are some carefully selected archival audio recordings of Nicholas and Gabrielle’s late grandfather Anthony “Tony” Milillo, Jr. from the late 1990s, with the audio being spliced up to form new phrases and cohesion within the narrative of the song.

Dee Wolf

Bobby Jasso

This is the third collaboration between Nicholas and Bobby Jasso, with the pair having previously worked together on “Life, At The Speed Love” (2009) from Nicholas’ debut album Sight & Sound, and Bobby providing additional vocals, and sampled vocals for “Sea of Darkness” (2013) from Nicholas’ second studio album The Ghost Within: The Tale of Turmoil.

Tony Milillo with infant Nicholas

Nicholas has fond memories of his grandfather, and wanted to pay homage to him in the song. He elaborates: “My grandfather and I have shared a similar path, sadly, with both of us ending up homeless during our lifetimes and ended up turning it out for ourselves. He went from being a compulsive gambler to president of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania. It’s a feat in and of itself; if I could only live up even to a tenth of the degree he has. He helped thousands of people, taking personal phone calls, doing seminars, you name it.” 

“Waking Life” was composed, written and produced by Nicholas, with additional lyrics by Bobby Jasso. The track was mixed and mastered by TomeKeeper Productions. Samples used in the track include archival audio of Tony Milillo were provided by The Legislative Report with Paul Clymer (1998), and selected lyrics from the 2008 Baumer song “Were It Not For You”, written by Nate Boykin (Baumer was an American indie rock band from South Carolina that was active from 2003-08). The cover art for the single, designed by Haiqa Ghazi, features a vintage childhood photo of Nicholas and Gabrielle:

About the song’s production and recording, Nicholas gives the following tribute: “I’m so proud and filled with anxiety about this official release. It’s taken me personally so long to get to this point and I just want to say thank you to Gabrielle Marella, my cousin for being here with me throughout all of this. Bobby Jasso for being the best collaborator and friend I could possibly ask for. Diletta (D Wolf) for being an incredible, kind, and awesome individual. You’ve elevated this in a way I could only dream. To Ian and Mark of TomeKeeper Productions, this would not be possible without you. I can’t thank you enough for seeing my vision and working it through to the end. I’m blown away by what you’ve done! Thank you!!!“

Well, I can firmly state that Nicholas and company have achieved their goal, and then some. Together, they’ve created a gorgeous and emotionally impactful song about the pain and disappointments that life can throw our way, as well as a plea for hope that things will get better. The song opens with a beautifully-strummed electric guitar riff by Gabrielle, which are soon joined by Bobby Jasso’s captivating plaintive vocals singing “What is this? This waking life.”

As Nicholas’ pulsating bassline and Baumer’s swirling synths enter the proceedings, we hear the spoken words of his late grandfather, adding a compelling solemnity to the track: “Struggle through the day. Is that our purpose? The denial that they sell you a fantasy. They sell you a dream, that dream sounds so appealing.” Bobby and Dee Wolf begin singing the first verse in perfect harmony, while the music builds with the addition of Gabrielle’s edgier guitar work, accompanied by assertive drums. Everything erupts into a thunderous anthemic crescendo in the chorus, with Bobby and Dee’s vocals rising to impassioned wails to match the explosive instrumentation, all of which creates a glorious and electrifying wall of sound that leaves me breathless.

Verse 1:
Lost in all this anger
Silence in this space
Reaching deep down
I’ve seen no hope throughout the day
Is that our purpose
Does time just pass us by
Does time just pass us by
(So tell me)

Chorus:
What is this waking life
And how are we to overcome (Can we find the answer)
Is there some notion
Within all this commotion

Verse 2:
What is this waking life?
What is this?
What is this waking life?

Things were better then
Things are always better when
Baby, you can say, “Those were the days”

A promotional video titled Waking Life: the Visual Experience, is planned for later release, possibly in August. A collaboration with the Psyn Agency and Haiqa Ghazi rotoscoping, the Visual Experience will feature animations of the archival video of Tony Millio, along with home video recordings, filmed by Nicholas, of his younger cousins J & B, as well as his cousin Gabrielle playing the guitar. The promotional video is a homage to Waking Life and Undone, a 2019 TV series.

Nicholas’ Socials:  X / Instagram

Find his music on Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

HALFLOVES – Single Review: “Just Wanna Sleep”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews15 Comments
Photo and cover art by Alisabeth Von Presley

Last September, I introduced my esteemed readers to the marvelous Iowa indie rock band Halfloves when I reviewed their single “Bass Drum”, a pleasing but bittersweet song touching on the painful remembrance of good times spent together in love and regret over past mistakes and what could have been. Now the talented Iowa City-based five-piece returns with “Just Wanna Sleep“, a delightfully infectious song about a decidedly darker subject, namely wanting to escape feelings of anxiety and depression. 

From what I can tell from a search through their Facebook account, Halfloves was formed around 2015 from what had formerly been the band The Olympics, of whom some of the current lineup were members, and consists of Jeff (lead vocals & guitar), Nate (guitar & bass), Trevor (keys), Lucas (bass & guitar), and Zach (drums). In addition to being talented musicians, the guys are incredibly funny and personable, with an endearing sense of playfulness, as evidenced by these wonderful photos by Alisabeth Von Presley. They appear to genuinely like each other and enjoy being in a band together, and I’ve grown quite fond of them as well.

“Just Wanna Sleep” was written by band keyboardist Trevor Polk as a sort of therapy to address what he described as “yet another bout of serious depression and exhausting burnout“. Recalling the sunshine-drenched joy he experienced while biking through the Iowa hills, listening to 60s rock & roll on his earbuds and singing along to Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard, he felt “inspired by the raucously joyful performances and raw simplicity in the production of that pioneering decade.”

When I asked the band about the unusual single artwork, consisting of Trevor in partial makeup and a sleeveless black dress, lying on a floor with a person’s high-heeled shoe (emblazoned with the band’s name) pressing on his face, Trevor graciously provided an honest soul-baring explanation for it all. His response is so eloquent I’ll just quote the entire thing:

“To be honest, the origin of image just sorta came to me, like a vision, without much intellectualization. That said, after the fact, I have connected the ideas of my unconscious represented in the symbols of this photo. The makeup & cross dressing refers to the lyric in the bridge: ‘why does life feel like a drag?’ It’s a double entendre. The obvious meaning being the literal interpretation — why does life feel difficult & unhappy right now? The second plays on the idea of ‘drag’ as the performance of exaggerated femininity. This idea is packed with connections to me. Firstly, it’s the idea of feeling the pressure to, in the midst of hopeless depression, put on a glammy, happy performance. ‘The show must go on.’ It’s the mask we wear in public to hide our sadness, for fear of bringing others down.

Secondly, it relates to the inner conflict that comes from being an artist with the dream of making a career out of my musical/creative expression, but having a full-time day job that seems to suck me into itself deeper & deeper the further I go in life. Being immersed in what I viewed as shallow, transactional corporate culture (I work in tech), despite longing for more depth in relationships & meaning that aligns with my deepest values, I felt thrusted into dressing up as something I’m not. Adjacent to that, but almost opposite in how the symbol of drag applies, it represents the insecurity I felt of carrying, as Jung calls it, my anima, my femininity, my Yin, in addition to my animus, my masculinity, my Yang. Tech corporate culture has a lot of confident bravado, and to be a man who cries & has big feelings felt scary & weak (though it’s not).

As for the heel, this also plays on two paradoxical ideas presented in the lyric ‘woke up with a boot on my face.’ The first is straightforward: being under the heel of the boot of ‘The Man.’ Simultaneously, the pressure I put on myself to realize my dream, plunging me into the mire of want, not accepting the reality I face with gratitude, knowing the obstacle is the path, is like the heel of the wild creative draggy performer on my head. Both opposite pressures manifesting in chronic migraines from a severe cognitive dissonance. Lastly, the cried-out makeup is emphasizing the depressive sadness.”

Like all their music, “Just Wanna Sleep” was produced by Brandon Darner, engineered by Micah Natera, and mastered by Doug Van Sloun at Focus Mastering. The song has a more garage rock vibe than many of their songs, and opens with a gentle little guitar riff that’s soon joined by Zach’s assertive tapping drumbeats. The music continues to build with the addition of a thumping bassline, grungy guitars and heavier drums, all of which quickly explode into a spine-tingling barrage of shredded guitars and crashing cymbals in the choruses. I don’t know whether Lucas or Nate is playing bass on this track, but it’s really outstanding. The song is terrific, and I love it more with each listen.

Jeff normally handles lead vocals on all Halfloves songs, but in this case, he felt Trevor should be the one to sing it. He does a fine job with his quirky and charming vocals that go from raspy to falsetto with ease. He almost sounds a bit like Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler in the choruses.

Woke up this morning with a boot on my face,
Can’t get myself up off of this comfy place,
Cause I’m going through a difficult time,
Don’t wanna talk to people or tell them I’m fine,
I’d rather pull the covers up over my face,
Sink into bed till the middle of the day,
I’m not feeling well, I’m feeling quite weak
How many times I gotta tell you (that) I just wanna..

Sleep, I just wanna sleep
Oh-oh-oh, just wanna sleep

Dreamin’ of a future where I don’t have to work,
Where I have all the time, and my face has a smirk,
Cause I stayed in my room till a quarter past noon,
And I did nothing, and that was cool

I just wanna sleep
Oh-oh-oh just wanna sleep
I-I-I just wanna sleep

Why does life feel like a drag?
Why can’t I get past the thoughts in my head?
I think I might lay down again and fall asleep

Woke up this morning with a boot on my face,
Can’t get myself up

I just wanna sleep
Oh-oh-oh just wanna sleep
I-I-I just wanna sleep
Ooh, I just wanna sleep

Why does life feel like a drag?
Why can’t I get past the thoughts in my head?
I think I might lay down again and fall asleep

The hilarious and touching video was shot and edited by Nate Cooper, and shows Trevor singing the song wearing a sleeveless black dress and runny makeup, interspersed with scenes of a high heel, worn by friend of the band Max Holtz, pressing on his face.

Halfloves Socials:  Facebook / Twitter (X) / Instagram / TikTok

Find their music on Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

EML’s Favorite Songs – “San Franciscan Nights” by Eric Burdon and the Animals

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Favorite Songs13 Comments

Even as a nerdy kid growing up in the 1960s, I was a pretty big fan of English blues rock band The Animals, as well as their later psychedelic/progressive rock incarnation Eric Burdon and the Animals, which in addition to Burdon consisted of Vic Briggs, John Weider, Barry Jenkins, and Danny McCulloch. One of my favorite songs from their latter period is “San Franciscan Nights“. In those days, I lived in Santa Clara, a mid-sized city located approximately 45 miles south of San Francisco. And though I was only 13 when the song came out during the so-called “Summer of Love” in 1967, and still too young to really relate with the hippies who’d become a major cultural force in the city by then, the song still strongly resonated with me.

Furthermore, in addition to already being a huge music lover, by the age of 13 I’d also become a serious weather geek. I religiously watched the evening weather reports on TV and read every weather report in the newspaper, and learned about the complex and variable Bay Area microclimates, where during summer it was not uncommon for some inland locations to be as much as 30-35 degrees warmer than the coast, including San Francisco, which is known for its cool, frequently foggy weather. As Mark Twain once purportedly quipped (though he never actually said it), “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” My point is, it was rather intriguing and even romantic that Eric Burdon would sing the praises of a warm night in San Francisco, which almost never happen. But when they do, they’re really quite magical.

The band wrote “San Franciscan Nights” as a protest song against the Vietnam War, although the lyrics also speak to several elements of the Summer of Love, which was broadly defined as a major social phenomenon that took place in San Francisco during the summer of 1967, in which as many as 100,000 mostly young people, hippies (sometimes referred to as flower children), beatniks, and 60s counterculture figures converged in the city’s Haight-Ashbury district and Golden Gate Park. Essentially, the Summer of Love encompassed hippie culture, spiritual awakening, hallucinogenic drugs, anti-war sentiment, and free love, including a strong interest in Indian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.

The song opens with a brief musical parody of the Dragnet theme, accompanied by a spoken word dedication by Burdon “to the city and people of San Francisco, who may not know it but they are beautiful and so is their city“. He then urges European residents to “save up all your bread and fly Trans Love Airways to San Francisco, U.S.A.,” so that they’ll maybe “understand the song“, assuring them “It will be worth it, if not for the sake of this song, but for the sake of your own peace of mind“.

“San Franciscan Nights” then transitions into a lovely melodic song, featuring a mellow bass line, a gentle repetitive drum beat and intricate guitar chords, punctuated with what I’m guessing is a sweet mandolin in the choruses. I’ve always loved Burdon’s deep baritone vocals, which are often powerful and sometimes even menacing on many of their songs, but here they sound warm and comforting as he sings of happenings on a warm San Franciscan night, including hallucinogenic images of a strobe light’s beam creating dreams, walls and minds moving and angels singing, cultural icons like blue jeans and Harley Davidsons, and references to a cop’s face filled with hate on a street called “Love”, with an appeal to both young and old cops to just feel all right.

Strobe light’s beam, creates dreams
Walls move, minds do too
On a warm San Franciscan night

Old child, young child
Feel all right
On a warm San Franciscan night

Angels sing, leather wings
Jeans of blue, Harley Davidson’s too
On a warm San Franciscan night

Old angel, young angel
Feel all right
On a warm San Franciscan night

I wasn’t born there
Perhaps I’ll die there
There’s no place left to go
San Francisco

Cops face is filled with hate
Heavens above
He’s on a street called “Love”
When will they ever learn?
Old cop, young cop
Feel all right
On a warm San Franciscan night

The children are cool
They don’t raise fools
It’s an American dream
Includes Indians too

The song was included on their 1967 album Winds of Change, and was a sizable hit, reaching #1 in Canada, #7 in the UK and New Zealand, and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

And here’s a live performance of the song on an unidentified TV show, with Burdon’s live singing backed by what sounds like a pre-recorded instrumental track:

Top 30 Songs for June 16-22, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's29 Comments

The Decemberists are an American indie folk-rock band based in Portland, Oregon. Formed in 2000, they consist of founding members Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals) and Nate Query (bass), along with drummer John Moen, who joined the lineup in 2005. Their sound is a pleasing mix of alternative rock, folk, baroque pop, and orchestral pop, characterized by lush instrumentation and lovely arrangements and highlighted by Meloy’s beautiful warm vocals. Their interesting name was inspired by the Decembrist revolt, an 1825 insurrection in Imperial Russia, and band frontman Meloy has said that their name is also meant to invoke the “drama and melancholy” of the month of December.

They’ve released a substantial amount of music over the years, especially during their most active period from 2002-2011, including nine studio albums, two live albums, ten EPs and 26 singles. Their songs often touch on historical incidents and folklore, with the band sometimes staging whimsical reenactments of sea battles and other centuries-old events, typically of regional interest, or acting out songs with members of the crowd.(Wikipedia) After their very successful R.E.M.-influenced 6th album The King Is Dead, which reached #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and generated a Grammy-nominated song “Down by the Water”, The Decemberists went on a brief hiatus in 2012.

Since regrouping in 2014, they’ve released three albums, one of which, their 2018 album I’ll Be Your Girl, featured the fantastic song “Severed”, a bold electronic track highlighted by spacey synths and twangy Western-style guitars. The single went to #1 on the Billboard AAA chart, and also landed on my chart, ending up at #55 on my 100 Best Songs of 2018 list. Thanks to Covid, the band was essentially forced into another brief hiatus, as their tour had to be postponed, then cancelled. Thankfully, in 2023 they began recording what would become their ninth and latest album, the wonderful As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again, which dropped this past Friday, June 14th. The lead single from the album, “Burial Ground”, an upbeat, optimistic track about leaving your troubles behind, featuring added vocals by James Mercer, who’s also a member of the bands The Shins and Broken Bells, ascends to the top spot on my latest Top 30 chart. I love those twangy guitars and cool horns, not to mention the gorgeous harmonies.

After five consecutive weeks with three or more debuts, there are no new entries this week. I think 16 new songs in five weeks gives my chart a lot of youth and vigor! Three songs finally enter the top 10 after a long upward climb: “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone, “Loneliness” by the Pet Shop Boys, and “For Us All” by English singer-songwriter Asgard Raven. Green Day‘s “Dilemma” spends its 15th week in my top 10; the song has been at #1 for seven weeks on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart.

  1. BURIAL GROUND – The Decemberists (2)
  2. TOO SWEET – Hozier (1)
  3. CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (4)
  4. MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR – Royel Otis (3)
  5. I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (5)
  6. WRECKAGE – Pearl Jam (10)
  7. DILEMMA – Green Day (7) 15th week in top 10
  8. FORTNIGHT – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (11)
  9. LONELINESS – Pet Shop Boys (12)
  10. FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven (13)
  11. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (14)
  12. OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (6)
  13. DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (8)
  14. MUSTANG – Kings of Leon (9)
  15. SCARED TO START – Michael Marcagi (17)
  16. BROKEN MAN – St. Vincent (15)
  17. GOLD – Caitlin Lavagna (19)
  18. ON THE GAME – The Black Keys (20)
  19. ADRIFT – Voodoo Planet feat. Mikey J (21)
  20. END OF BEGINNING – Djo (22)
  21. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (28)
  22. THE BREAK – Blame My Youth (23)
  23. TOO MUCH – girl in red (24)
  24. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (25)
  25. A FORETOLD ECSTASY – Mayflower Madame (26)
  26. CAPRICORN – Vampire Weekend (16)
  27. HIGHWAY QUEEN – Mt. Joy (27)
  28. LUNCH – Billie Eilish (29)
  29. LIKE YOU DO – The Frontier (30)
  30. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – Dead Slow Hoot (18)

GOOSEBERRY – Single Review: “Dying To Meet You”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews10 Comments

One of the finest acts to emerge from the crowded New York City music scene in recent years is Brooklyn-based trio Gooseberry. Originally formed as a four-piece in 2019, the band now consists of the very talented Asa Daniels (guitar, vocals), Evin Rossington (drums), and Will Hammond (bass). Together they blend indie rock, R&B and light jazz to create their own distinctive and sophisticated style of alternative rock. On the strength of their outstanding music catalog and high-energy live shows, the charismatic trio have built quite a following of loyal fans throughout greater New York region and beyond.

Photo of Will, Evin and Asa by Alex SK Brown

Gooseberry has released a fair amount of music since 2020, including two EPs, Broken Dance (2022) and Validate Me (2023), as well as numerous singles. I love their music, and have previously featured them twice on this blog. Two of their songs, “Sleep” and “Orbit”, spent many weeks on my Top 30 chart, with the former ranking #29 on my 100 Best Songs of 2022 list and the latter, which has been streamed more than 300,000 times on Spotify, ranking #95 among my 100 Best Songs of 2023.

Their latest single, which dropped Friday, June 14th, is “Dying To Meet You“, which follows their provocative ripsnorter “Kikiyon”, a song “challenging the absurdity of debating trivial matters and calling for prioritizing unity over frivolous disputes, also exploring the deep personal connection to Jewish culture and the significance of owning one’s name, rejecting attempts to control their identity.” Both songs will be included on their forthcoming debut album All My Friends Are Cattle.

“Dying To Meet You” is both sonically stunning and savage, a dangerous combination that makes for a very exciting listen. Written by Asa Daniels, the track was produced and engineered by Colin Bryson, with drums engineered by Jimmy Meslin, mixed by Phil Joly and mastered by Jennica Best. The song opens rather tentatively, with Asa’s beautiful gentle vocals accompanied by his shimmery strummed guitar. The music quickly expands with an ominous drumbeat, which is soon joined by Will’s throbbing bassline, Evin’s assertive drums and Asa’s gnarly guitar notes, all of which transform the song into a glorious and grungy psychedelia-tinged tour de force. Asa’s normally soothing vocals grow more impassioned along with the music, rising to fearsome screams in the choruses, courtesy of a tiny handheld distortion mic their producer Colin brought into the studio for Asa to scream into, which he says was very cathartic. It’s cathartic for us listeners too, leaving us speechless and spent by song’s end. I love this song and I love this band!

About “Dying To Meet You”, Asa elaborates: “With the obvious disclaimers that 1) art is whatever you make of it, and 2) I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about nearly 100% of the time, here’s my take on the song: It’s about death. Or maybe life? Certainly one of the two. Maybe both. Look, none of us knows much about what happens next, but some of us certainly feel a lot more confident in their answer than others and that never made much sense to me. I’ve always been fascinated by the human need to know about what happens after all this. In prior centuries, there were whole industries built around guaranteeing salvation (and to some extent, there still are)! That this song is mysterious and eerie is the point. It should feel like something beyond explanation is peering over your shoulder waiting for you to turn your head around because it is! I wanted the song to sonically convey the sense of unease we all feel when thinking a little too deeply about closing our eyes for good.”

When the curtain starts to open
And everyone is gone
You feel so damn cold
You burn like the sun 
Keep your head above the water
Keep your eyes beneath the gun 

You’ll never be so certain
I’m pretty sure I am
But who could ever bend
The will of a man?
Keep your eyes up to the heavens
Like you’d ever understand

You’re here for a lifetime 
Then you’re not 

I, I’m dying to meet you
I, I’m dying to meet you
Again, I am

So come out of the shadows
I know that’s where you live
Because it’s easier to steal life
Than it is to give 
Keep your eyes down to the heavens
Like you know just where it is

You’re here for a lifetime
Then you’re not

I, I’m dying to meet you
Well I, I’m dying to meet you
There

I am dying to meet you
Well I am dying
I am dying to meet you
Again

You’re here for a lifetime
Then you’re not

I, I’m dying to meet you
Yes I am
I, I’m dying to meet you
Again, again, again
I, I’m dying to meet you
Well you know I am
I, I’m dying to meet you


The single cover art was created by Charlie Chalkin, Asher Reed and band bassist Will Hammond, and the colorful and trippy animated video was created by Austin Koenigstein and Melissa Morrissey.

Gooseberry’s Socials:  Facebook / Instagram / TikTok

Find their music on Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube