Named after his childhood imaginary friend, Eleanor Collides is the solo music project of London-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Nick Ranga. The talented artist melds alternative, indie and dream rock with synth pop to create his distinctly melancholic, yet beautiful sound. I love how he’s described his influences: “I find inspiration in the cathartic vulnerability of Low, the poetic storytelling of R.E.M., the passionate anthems of Manic Street Preachers, the genre-defying artistry of Orville Peck, and the darkly captivating electronica of Depeche Mode. These influences, among many others, have shaped my artistic vision, allowing me to carve out a unique sonic identity.”
Though he’d been writing songs for many years, he finally started recording and releasing music in the summer of 2021, beginning with a four-track EP How to Make Friends. He followed up with a couple of singles, then in March 2022, he released his debut album People are Taller in Real Life. Since then, the prolific artist has dropped eight more singles, one of which, the hauntingly beautiful “Pantomime“, I featured in a Fresh New Tracks this past April. Today he’s back with his latest single “Daydreams and Algorithms“, another outstanding track. All eight singles will be included in his forthcoming second album, due for release later in the year.
For the recording of the song, Nick sang lead vocals and played guitars, bass, piano, drums and strings, and Charles Connolly, who mixed and mastered the track, played marimba and sang backing vocals. Though “Daydreams and Algorithms” starts off slowly, with just a simple, rather melancholic strummed guitar, it soon becomes clear that there’s a lot going on musically. As the song progresses, the instrumentation expands into a captivating soundscape, with added guitar, piano and warm strings, accompanied by Charles’ enchanting marimba and Nick’s steady drumbeats and moody bassline. Nick’s pleasing, low-key vocals have a comforting, almost sensuous quality, nicely complemented by his and Charles’ ethereal backing harmonies. It’s a stunning song.
As to the song’s meaning, Nick says it’s “about longing and obsession in the age of social media, about falling in love with someone through a screen who may or may not be real.”
I can hear the sound of dreams The cigarettes and faded blue jeans The photographs and played back scenes Never knowing what they mean
I can see your days collide The indecision codified The fantasies and rising tide History happens in real time
ooh ooh ooh
You could be my daydream My landslide, my slipstream My devil chasing moonbeams Intention lost to the mainstream
I could be your joyride Your agent on the outside Your lowest low and highest tide Watch as I revert to type
Describing his sound as “Happy/Sad music for Happy/Sad people”, Scottish alt-rock artist Gloom is Okay is spot on, in that his music takes listeners from euphoric highs to crushing lows and back again. Drawing from an array of elements ranging from alternative and dream rock to progressive and metal, and blending darker lyrical themes with complex melodies, gorgeous guitar riffs and grandiose synths, his unique sound is variously reminiscent of some of his favorite acts like Porcupine Tree, Thrice, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and Anathema, to name but a few. He started the project in the early days of Covid lockdown as a kind of coping mechanism, and being an advocate for positive mental health, he wanted to put a positive spin on things through his music. He loves listening to sad music and embracing the myriad emotions it brings out, both good and bad.
Based in Glasgow, Gloom is Okay is the music project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Martin Walker. Involved with music from an early age, he was previously a member of award-winning Scottish progressive rock band Akord, who released an EP Carry the Sound in 2013 and an album Ethereality in 2016. In 2020, Gloom is Okay released his debut solo EP Loopholes, featuring five exquisite instrumental tracks so dramatic and beautiful, they literally take my breath away. After a two and a half year-long hiatus, he began dropping a series of new singles this past March, culminating in the release of his second self-titled EP Gloom is Okay on July 14th.
For the recording of the EP, Martin sang lead vocals and played guitars, bass, piano and programmed synths, Iain MacLeod played additional bass, Mark Norris played drums, and Scottish musician and singer Modern Sonder sang additional vocals on “Pine”. The EP was mixed and mastered by Tomekeeper Productions.
I loved Gloom is Okay at first listen, and though it sounds different from Loopholes, due in large part to the inclusion of lyrics and vocals, it’s every bit as dramatic and gorgeous. It opens with “Butcher“, a song about being stuck in a recurring cycle of counter-productive behavior, unable to change for the better: “Repetition, to fill the gap. It makes me wonder what I’ve never had. My inhibitions, thrown from the shade. It makes me wonder If I will ever stay.” The song is a progressive rock gem, with vibrant, edgy guitars, exuberant drums and soaring atmospheric synths. Martin’s somewhat echoed vocals have a haunting but warm quality that’s both pleasing and impactful.
“Gravity” speaks to Martin’s struggles with writing music, or as he so beautifully puts it, “it’s a song about the madness of musicians…for those moments where you just want to smack your head against a brick wall, hoping the ideas will fall out of your ear.” The song has a beautiful but mysterious vibe, with a haunting melody that alternates between moments of calm with delicate piano keys, airy synths and chiming guitars, to cinematic flourishes of grungy guitars, heavy bass and tumultuous drums. Martin’s vocals have an emphatic sense of urgency as he sings “We show fire. Madness like gravity. We grow but you’d rather conserve your energy.Feeling low but inspired to scrawl through this melody. From head to toe expired, but I’ll swim through this debris.” The official video shows a woman experiencing her own little bout of madness.
The darkly beautiful “Pine” is sort of like two different songs in one. The first three-quarters of the track consists of a lush, moody soundscape, punctuated by gorgeous shimmery guitars and sharp percussion and the stunning dual vocals of Martin and Modern Sonder (aks Jazz Dey), backed by their own harmonies. At 3:21, the music abruptly explodes with a furious riff played by Martin on his 8-string Strandberg guitar, accompanied by Mark Norris’ pummeling drums, for the final minute of the track.
About the song, Martin explains: “I wrote “Pine” when the whole world shut down and I felt like I was missing an important piece of a never ending puzzle. Although there was no end in sight at the time, I could see the positive effects of conversations and searching for the good in the little things. It’s a positive spin on what was probably one of the most difficult times for a lot of people.” This is expressed in the lyrics “We pine but we’re focussed, with no more time to readjust. We saw a stable flare to guide us through, to see us through. But we are breaking through with no tools in our hands. We are mending you.”
The rather mysterious video shows a young teenage boy and two young Asian women exploring a scary-looking derelict abandoned building.
A deep and grungy synth bass introduces us to “Phantom“, an intense, ominous-sounding track that seems to speak of people who are out of touch, and no longer dealing with reality: “Have you even considered at all that you’re missing time? You only project what you thought caused this to climb.Within the grey you don’t comply. But you’ve found the way and the phantom’s live.”
Martin calls the final track “Good Morning” the one love song on the EP. Though running nearly six minutes, it’s a real tour de force so compelling and beautiful that it seems over sooner than I want it to end. It starts off as a lovely piano ballad as Martin croons “I can’t wait for the echo as it follows you, so I can keep up. And I will stay for the moment it fades off of you, cause I’ll still see it.” At the one-minute mark, a sensuous Latin dance beat takes over, accompanied by finger snaps and melodic guitar notes lasting around 40 seconds. The music then slows back down to an enchanting interlude before the wonderful Latin beat returns at 2:20. At 3:40, heavier gnarly guitars ensue, along with crashing cymbals, bold percussion until finally a scorching guitar solo brings everything to an electrifying crescendo in the bridge. The grungy vibes then continue through to the end of the track.
Gloom is Okay is a glorious little EP, with lots of beauty and drama packed into its 23 minutes. As Gloom is Okay, Martin and company have done an masterful job creating this exquisite collection of songs, and they should be proud of what they’ve achieved here. He’s an insanely talented songwriter and musician, and I look forward to hearing more from him.
Brain Ape is a wildly imaginative and creative London-based rock band who skillfully fuse punk, stoner rock, grunge, noise rock and shoegaze to create their unique sound they call “Scratch Rock.” Originally formed at the beginning of 2012, like many a band, Brain Ape cycled through a series of drummers, and is now a duo consisting of Minky Très-vain on guitar & vocals and Sol Alex Albret on bass. They’ve released music rather intermittently since 2012, but their discography includes three albums (Dara O’ in 2014, Auslander and Ausländer, an all-acoustic album featuring five tracks from the original plus three new tracks, both in 2017) and several singles. I reviewed the full-length Auslander, which you can read here.
After a hiatus lasting a couple of years, Brain Ape returned in January 2021 with “clxxvi. veni vidi vici”, the first in a series of strangely-titled singles. They followed in 2022 with “cclxxv. theatrum serpentis”, then “mcmi. fenchurch king”, the second of which marked a new shift in the band’s sound. Whereas their earlier sound was strongly influenced by grunge acts like Nirvana, their newer music is now strongly influenced by contemporary pop and hip-hop acts like Billie Eilish, Childish Gambino, and Denzel Curry.
Their latest single “mcmx. drawing room”, to be released on July 19th via London independent label Scratch Rock Records, is Brain Ape’s second single to reflect their change up in style and genre. According to the band’s press release, the song “references a drawing-room within the historic 10 Downing Street (the official London residence of the British prime minister), and continues where their previous single “mcmi. fenchurch king” left off, diving deeper into the story of Eric Tunglsson, son of the Auslander. Exploring rising nationalism in the West and the glorification of false icons, the song marks the second time the duo have made any kind of political statement.”
Musically, the song is unlike anything I’ve heard before, and is hard to categorize or describe. It’s also a brief track, lasting only 1:40 minutes. Starting with a simple, stuttering trip hop beat, Brain Ape layers mysterious psychedelic synths, sharp percussion, grungy scratching and otherworldly vocal sounds to create a decidedly unsettling soundscape that turns quite melodic in the final chorus. I’ve always liked Minky’s vocals, and though it’s sometimes difficult to understand the lyrics, they range from delicate falsetto to ethereal whisper to plaintive wail, all exuding a seductive, yet menacing vibe. A rather interesting feature of the song are the sudden skips occurring from 1:07-1:13, which I assume are intentional. An unusual song indeed, but also strangely beautiful and captivating. I like it!
The video, which was written, shot, produced, directed and edited by the band, features Minky as Eric Tunglsson, Sol as Wyn Pfaird, former bandmate Jacob Powell as Trin O’ Gealach, as well as Siubhan McGealach and The Shrewd.
After a long, steady climb up my chart, I’m happy to announce that “Essence”, the stunning electro-pop collaboration between young Danish DJ and electronic house music producer Refeci (aka Victor Cornelius Tommerup) and Canadian-American singer-songwriter and musician Shimmer Johnson, has reached #1. They’ve each released an impressive amount of music both as solo artists and in collaboration with numerous musicians and vocalists. Refeci composed the mesmerizing and sensuous music, while Shimmer wrote the lyrics that speak to the importance of having faith in ourselves to forge our own path: “Don’t ever ever doubt your life.Make a wish and just believe. Find the path that’s right. It’s the essence of life.” It’s Shimmer’s second song to top my chart, her first being “Starts With You” early last year.
In other notable changes this week, “The Narcissist” by Brit pop band Blur enters the top 10 at #8, and “Psychos” by American singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis leaps 10 spots to #10. Three songs enter the chart, the first of which, “Vampire”, by 20-year-old Southern California-based singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo, debuts at #11. Released on June 30, the heartrending song debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, her third single to do so (the others were her 2021 monster hit “Drivers License” and “Good 4 U”). “Call Me What You Like” by British indie rock band Lovejoy, enters at #29, and “Good Vibrations” by Texas duo MISSIO (which I recently reviewed) enters at #30.
ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (2)
RESCUED – Foo Fighters (1)
RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (4)
LEAVING – Au Gres (5)
NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (3)
WHY – Future Theory (7)
PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (9)
THE NARCISSIST – Blur (12)
IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (10)
PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (20)
VAMPIRE – Olivia Rodrigo (N)
HELLO – GROUPLOVE (15)
KID – The Revivalists (8)
EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (11)
WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (17)
I seem to be focused on Canadian artists lately, as there are many who are making some great music that I also happen to be fond of. My latest is JEEN (Jeen O’Brien), a creative, talented and hard-working singer-songwriter and musician from Toronto, Canada. She creates a melodic brand of alternative pop-rock that’s alternately pleasing and edgy, delivered with her distinctive vocal style that reminds me at different times of singers Meg Myers. K. Flay and Lana Del Rey.
The prolific artist has quite an impressive resume; over the past nine years, she’s released an astonishing six albums and scores of singles, one of which, “On and On”, I reviewed last year. Her songs have been used in commercials for such companies as Google, Panasonic, Estée Lauder, Kraft, BlackBerry, KIA, Rogers, MasterCard and Molson, as well as various movies and television programs, including Cook Off, Republic of Doyle, Instant Star, Ruby Gloom, Degrassi, Killjoys, Hockey Wives, Workin’ Moms, MTV Catfish, and MTV Are You the One.
On July 7th, she dropped her latest single “Just Shadows“, which she says she wrote after “thinking how the darker parts of everything can snuff out some of the best people’s light. It’s about trying to get out from under it so we don’t just become casualties of our shittiest days.” The song is the first single from her forthcoming seventh album Gold Control, which she’d began working on last year after the release of her previous album Tracer, in October 2022. Unfortunately, due to what she calls a ‘massive computer failure’, she lost all the demos for Gold Control, sending her back to the proverbial drawing board. “My long time co-producerIan Blurtonsuggested we just go in and jam the songs a bunch top to bottom and re-demo them before we started tracking for real. We had never done it that way for the previous albums; always just worked off my home demos as opposed to rehashing the songs prior with the full band. Anyway, it was super fun to go a little deeper on these songs at that early stage, and I think the whole LP is better for it.”
For the recording of “Just Shadows”, JEEN sang vocals and played rhythm guitar, Ian Blurton played lead guitar, Ben O’Brien played bass, and Stephan Szczesniak played drums. The song gets right down to business with an opening burst of grungy guitars, humming bass and powerful thumping drumbeats, ultimately exploding into a full-blown rocker in the choruses with raging riffs and thunderous drums. It’s one of the hardest-rocking songs JEEN’s put out yet, and I love it. She has a somewhat mumbled drawl-like singing style that’s quite appealing to my ears, backed by her own soaring harmonies as she passionately urges someone in deep emotional pain to not allow their sadness to take over: “He looks so sad he looks so sad, yeah he looks so sad to me. You look so sad you look so sad, you look so sad to me. It’s just shadows just shadows just shadows.”
Now I turn my attention back to England to shine a spotlight on Native Tongue, an alt-rock band from Bournemouth. Fronted by the prolific singer-songwriter and producer Nathan Evans on lead vocals and guitar, Native Tongue also includes Arron Bennett on drums and Jake Waters on bass. Nathan also writes and records music as a solo artist under the moniker NAVE, and this past February he released his monumental 31-track album God’s Waiting Room (which I reviewed.)
Native Tongue’s sound is darkly beautiful, edgy and melodic, with thought-provoking lyrics delivered by Nathan’s captivating tenor vocals. They began dropping singles in early 2022, which culminated in the release of their debut five-track EP Hiding In White Light. That September, they released a beautiful short film with the same title which they wrote and directed. Hiding In White Light features four of the tracks from the EP, and tells a dark story of mental illness, hallucinations, loneliness and depression. The film is available for viewing on YouTube.
Now they’re back with a powerful new single “Dark Green Eyes“, accompanied by an unusual video that would make David Lynch proud. The song is the first single from their forthcoming second EP Sodium. When Nathan first sent me the song and video, I was immediately blown away by the song’s complex and jarring music that starts off with a melancholy acoustic guitar, then evolves into an explosive maelstrom of grungy and screaming riffs, smashing drums and crushing bass. There’s beauty to be found too, particularly in the melodic gnarly guitar solo in the bridge. Nathan’s vocals also start off with his signature plaintive tenor croon, but turn emotionally-wrenching and raw with the music, until he’s literally frightening us with his impassioned wails, leaving us drained by song’s end.
Nathan told me he originally intended for “Dark Green Eyes” to be a Nave song, but decided to turn it into a full band song with live drums and bass to creating a more powerful dynamic. About the song’s meaning, he explains: “I wanted to create a character that seems so desperate to be in the spotlight and wants to know what it feels like to be adored. I love the line ‘I wanna know what it feels like to be yours’ because it twists it as you expect it to say ‘I wanna know what its like to be you’. To me, this implies the character doesn’t even feel worthy enough to imagine himself as this successful person and instead he wants to know what it would be like in their shadow. It is tragic to see someone wishing they were anything but themselves and needing validation from others to make them feel good. He is a victim of society who is encouraged to compete and compare himself with others constantly.”
Both song and video are simple yet profound, beautiful yet disturbing. In the video, Nathan portrays a man performing the song on stage, baring both himself and his soul in front of everyone in a raw, unflinching manner.
Still focused on Canada (having just written about two artists from the Vancouver area), today I turn my attention to Toronto, the home of singer-songwriter and guitarist Alex Southey. The talented musician has released a lot of music over the past four and a half years, including three albums, three EPs and numerous singles. His sound can generally be described as alternative indie folk, sprinkled with elements of rock, pop and shoegaze. But like all creative artists, he’s not afraid to experiment with his music by exploring different genres and styles outside his comfort zone, and as a result, each of his albums and EPs sound quite different from one another. His thoughtful and intelligent lyrics about life, love and socio-cultural issues of the day are delivered with his beautiful distinctive vocals.
Photo of Alex by Steven Medeiros
I’ve been following Alex since the beginning of 2021, and have previously written about him three times on this blog, most recently this past January when I reviewed his superb EP CommonFantasies. One of the tracks from the EP, “Soften”, spent three months on my Weekly Top 30, peaking at #5. Now he’s back with another terrific single “Never Listen“, his first release of 2023.
For its recording, Alex played acoustic and electric guitars and sang vocals, assisted by fellow musicians Christina Dare on bass & backing vocals, Gab Lavoie on Korg synths, and Craig McCann on drums & percussion. All three also played on four of the tracks on Common Fantasies, and support Alex for live shows. The track was produced, mixed and mastered by Alex Gamble.
Alex’s wonderful strummed acoustic guitars have a rather mysterious quality as they guide the song forward, accompanied by Christina’s subtle bass line, Craig’s measured drumbeats and Gab’s delicate spacey synths. Alex’s beautiful chiming electric guitar that appears later in the song adds an enchanting layer of color and texture to the proceedings, creating a vibrant, arresting backdrop for his bewitching vocals that alternate from smooth heartfelt croon to ethereal falsetto. His and Christina’s harmonies in the choruses are simply stunning, nicely complemented by the aforementioned chiming guitar notes.
The lyrics speak to those who refuse to acknowledge or accept the warning signs all around us, using as examples our over-consumption of natural resources, the consequences of our continued burning of fossil fuels on our environment and climate, and repeated injuries resulting from violent sports like football:
Heating everything I'm about to eat
Plants and animals - and motor oil
Learn to love the A
Learn to love the B
The part that slips between
Is gasolineYou just never listen
You just never listen
We can spend our time
Outside evening-walking
With smiles to hide behind
The never talkingSome come on so strong
It's the only way they know how to do it
It's all they really want
Nothin' much to it
You just never listen
You just never listen
After the CTE scan said
"You're never listening
You're never listening at all."During the drive home
Close your eyes
Somebody's mother said it's fine
Somebody's brother died that summerYou just never listen
You just never listen
You just never listen
You just never listen
Alex will be performing “Never Listen”, along with several of his songs, tomorrow night (Friday, July 14) at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto. Details below:
In late May, I featured the poignant song “Better Daze” by Canadian alt-rock act Western Jaguar, the music project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Trainor, on one of my Fresh New Tracks posts. Though I generally prefer to not write about an artist or band again so soon, I like his new album Oblivion so much that I just have to share it with my readers. Besides, I know the album means a lot to him, marking a return to making music after a two-year hiatus during which he’d all but given up on it, so it means a lot to me too.
Hailing from the picturesque Fraser River Valley of British Columbia east of Vancouver, Western Jaguar was born in 2012 when Trainor turned to music to get him out of a low point in his life. With the help of an evolving lineup of musicians, he released three stellar EPs and several singles between 2013 and 2019, including the excellent “Disappear”, which went to #1 on my Weekly Top 30 in 2019. Despite his prior accomplishments, when the pandemic hit in early 2020, bringing things to a halt for just about every musician and band, the social isolation allowed him to reflect on how unhappy he’d become as a musician. He says he’d become fixated on “likes, a following, positive feedback…and making music other people liked.” By the end of 2020, he decided he didn’t want to make music anymore, essentially walking away from Western Jaguar, which he conveniently blamed on the pandemic.
Thankfully, after a long break he came to realize that, just like in 2012, music could once again lift him out of his slump. He decided to restart Western Jaguar as essentially a solo act and went to work resurrecting a few previously-written songs and writing and recording new ones for what would become his latest album Oblivion, which he released on July 7th. For the recording of the album, Trainor sang vocals and played most instruments, though his former Western Jaguar bandmates Davis MacKenzie Zand played bass and AJ Buckley played electric guitar and drums, and sang backing vocals on two tracks, and musician KC Roces played electric guitar on “Daydreaming”. Trainor produced and mixed two of the tracks, with the rest produced and mixed by Zand, and mastering was done by Jordan Koop.
The album opens appropriately with “Start Again“, a lovely 57-second-long instrumental piece with guitar and gentle synths that serves as an intro to the bittersweet song “Milwaukee“. The instrumentals gradually build with the addition of beautiful jangly guitars, organ, swirling synths and spirited drums, turning the song into an arresting anthem by the final chorus. Most of the songs on Oblivion deal with aspects of love and loss, and “Milwaukee” touches on both, as expressed in the lyrics “Now my patience is strained, and my love has gone away. There’s nothing left of me, and I’m out on the streets of Milwaukee.“
Continuing on a similar theme, “Matador” speaks to regrets over allowing a love to slip through his fingers, and willing to do anything to get her back: “I loved her with all of me, you better believe that I had hoped to one day get down on my knee. But I was dumb and she left me, you better believe that I would do anything.I’d bury my heart in the depths of hell. Drive my car at the speed of sound. Get bucked off a bronco’s back just to have a chance at bringing you back.”
Like “Matador”, “Doomsday” was actually recorded pre-pandemic by the previous Western Jaguar lineup that included Davis MacKenzie Zand on bass and AJ Buckley on guitar and drums. Originally slated for release in June 2020, the song features fantastic watery guitar work by Buckley, while he and Zand keep the rhythm on solid footing with their masterful drumming and thumping bassline. The lyrics are directed to a lover who’s abandoned the relationship, despite the singer’s attempts at redemption, which Trainor sings with heartfelt conviction: “You packed it up and left while I was trying to make amends. This is something I won’t forget, though I still don’t comprehend.“
“Better Daze“ is a melancholy but pleasing song about going through hard times after a tragedy and trying to get back to better days. Musically, the song has an upbeat dream pop feel, with a breezy melody, beautiful chiming guitars and snappy drums that contrast with the darker subject matter. Trainor’s clear, pleasing vocals have a hint of sadness as he sings the lyrics telling a story about a woman named Suzie, whose fiance Harold died suddenly after a fall in the shower just before they were due to be married. Suzie falls into a deep depression, and with the best of intentions, her father insists she take medication to help improve her mood. Unfortunately, the drugs only make her feel worse: “Suzie’s felt worse since the medicine. Her lungs are burning and she can’t breath in. Her father insists on the vice, it’s the only way for a normal life. But a normal life was lost last June when Harold fell in the bathroom. She hasn’t taken them for 6 weeks. If only it was that easy. Her father asks if she’s feeling well. She gives him a smile though she feels like hell. She wants him to think that she’s okay, even though she’s thinking of better daze.”
On the beautiful and bittersweet “Daydreaming“, Trainor laments of a love that wasn’t meant to be, due to his partner’s emotional struggles and inability to commit to the relationship: “There was a time for us to move into oblivion. But you were daydreaming, just lost in your mind, leaving me behind.” The gorgeous shimmery guitars are played by KC Roces.
Though most of the songs on Oblivion deal with loss, Trainor is in fact a happily-married man, which he celebrates on the sweet love song “Darling“. Calling it the poppiest song he’s ever written, it’s definitely the most upbeat track on the album, with a bouncy melody, sunny guitar lines, plucky bass, cheerful xylophone and exuberant hand claps. The charming lyrics express the love he feels for his wife: “I’ve been waiting all my life for you, my lovely darling. I’ve been waiting all my life I’d say, it’s worth it darling. And I know you don’t prescribe to lovesick lullabies.”
Trainor turns philosophical on “Just Racing“, contemplating the rapid passage of time and the attendant challenges of making sense of the never-ending barrage of information and changes thrown at us: “It’s all moving way too fast. It’s not too much to ask, just slow it down so I can breathe. Help me take apart my enemies. /So won’t you pick me up and take me home. I’m only 25 but I feel so old. Caught up again in the cracks of my brain, racing to the end like a bullet train.” Musically, the song has a languid, introspective feel, featuring just his strummed acoustic guitar, backed by a lovely organ synth.
Similar to the opening track “Starting Again”, Oblivion closes with a simple but stunning atmospheric instrumental composition “Phases“. Consisting of a delicate piano movement accompanied by airy synths, the track nicely brings this outstanding album full circle. Trainor’s a talented, earnest and thoughtful guy, and I’m happy he resurrected Western Jaguar and gifted us with these deeply moving songs. It’s a triumphant return, and I hope we’ll continue to hear more from him in the future.
The Supremes were one of my favorite music acts of the 1960s, and I remember that, even as a kid, I really loved their songs. Even my mother loved them. Still the most successful American group of all time, the Supremes (well, Motown Records, really) released an astonishing 29 studio albums, four live albums, two soundtrack albums, 32 compilation albums, four box sets, 66 singles and three promotional singles. They’re ranked the 26th greatest artist of all time on the U.S. Billboard charts, with 12 #1 songs on the Hot 100 (still the fifth-best total in the chart’s history), and three #1 albums. One of my very favorite of their many great songs is “Where Did Our Love Go“. It was their first single to reach #1 on the Hot 100, where it spent two weeks on top in August 1964, and the first of five consecutive #1’s.
Before we get to the song, I’ll provide a bit of background. Initially formed as the Primettes in 1959 – a sister act to the Primes (made up of Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, who went on to form the Temptations) – the group consisted of Florence Ballard, Betty McGlown, Mary Wilson and Diana Ross, all of whom had grown up in the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit. In 1960, they released a single “Tears of Sorrow”, with “Pretty Baby” as the B-side, which failed to chart, and later that year, Barbara Martin replaced McGlown.
Determined to become part of the Motown family, the Primettes frequented the Hitsville U.S.A. recording studio. They eventually convinced Berry Gordy to allow them to contribute hand claps and background vocals for the songs of other artists like Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells. He signed them to his Motown label in January 1961, on the condition they change their name. From a list of names he gave them, Florence Ballard chose “the Supremes” and the rest, as they say, is history. Martin left the act in the spring of 1962, and the remaining trio of Ballard, Wilson and Ross became the Supremes who would go on to stardom. (Wikipedia)
“Where Did Our Love Go” was written by Motown’s main songwriting and production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland with the Supremes in mind. At first, the three ladies of the Supremes didn’t like the song, claiming it sounded too “kiddie-ish” (which I find preposterous!), and wanting something with a stronger hook. Also, Holland-Dozier-Holland argued over who should sing lead. Though the song had been written in the same key as Wilson’s voice, the lead vocal was ultimately assigned to Ross, with Wilson and Ballard singing backing vocals. After hearing a playback of the recorded song, an excited Ross had a change of heart, whereupon she rushed into Gordy’s office and told him to come listen to their song. After hearing it, a satisfied Gordy proclaimed that “Where Did Our Love Go” was going to be a top ten hit. He was correct, but it became an even bigger hit than any of them had imagined.
The marvelous instrumentals were played by Motown session musicians the Funk Brothers. The notable highlights for me are the simple, yet impactful, piano-driven groove played by Earl Van Dyke, the bold hand claps and foot stomps performed by Mike Valvano, and that wonderful baritone sax solo in the bridge by Andrew “Mike” Terry. Diana Ross’s sensual vocals have a heartrending vulnerability as she laments of a love affair that seems to be slipping away:
Baby, baby
Baby don't leave me
Ooh, please don't leave me
All by myself
I've got this burning, burning
Yearning feelin' inside me
Ooh, deep inside me
And it hurts so bad
You came into my heart
So tenderly
With a burning love
That stings like a beeNow that I surrender
So helplessly
You now wanna leave
Ooh, you wanna leave me
Ooh, baby, baby
Where did our love go?
Ooh, don't you want me
Don't you want me no more
Ooh, baby
Baby, baby
Where did our love go
And all your promisses
Of a love forever moreI've got this burning, burning
Yearning feelin' inside me
Ooh, deep inside me
And it hurts so bad
Before you won my heart
You were a perfect guy
But now that you got me
You wanna leave me behind
(Baby, baby) ooh baby
Baby, baby don't leave me
Ooh, please don't leave me
All by myself
Ooh, baby, baby
Where did our love go?
The song was later covered by Donnie Elbert in 1971, The J. Geils Band in 1976 and Soft Cell, in a medley with “Tainted Love”, in 1981.
The Foo Fighters remain on top for a third week with their cathartic “Rescued”, while the mesmerizing “Essence”, by Danish electronic artist Refeci and Canadian-American singer-songwriter Shimmer Johnson, slides into the #2 spot. Rounding out the top five are “Not Strong Enough” by supergroup boygenius, “Rescue Me” (lots of rescuing going on!) by L.A. ska band Dirty Heads, and “Leaving” by Michigan singer-songwriter Au Gres. Entering the top 10 are “Why” by British alt-rock band Future Theory, at #7, “Pineapple Sunrise” by Beach Weather, at #9, and “In My Head” by Mike Shinoda and Kailee Morgue, at #10.
The biggest upward mover this week is “The Narcissist” by legendary British band Blur, leaping 10 spots to #12. Two fantastic new songs make their debut: “Overrated” by the brilliant Canadian artist dwi, who’s wonderful album Zoo Life I reviewed last Friday, at #29, and the gorgeous “Last Time Every Time Forever” by also-brilliant Fontaines D.C. front man Grian Chatten. The song is one of the singles from his superb debut solo album Chaos For The Fly.
RESCUED – Foo Fighters (1)
ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (3)
NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (2)
RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (5)
LEAVING – Au Gres (6)
GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (4)
WHY – Future Theory (11)
KID – The Revivalists (8)
PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (13)
IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (14)
EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (7)
THE NARCISSIST – Blur (22)
DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (9)
THOSE EYES – New West (10)
HELLO – GROUPLOVE (15)
EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (17)
WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (18)
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 