Tag: 2010s

Astral Drive | Parallel Universe

“Astral Drive, aka (the UK’s) Phil Thornalley, is a lot of things. Producer (The Cure, Prefab Sprout, Pixie Lott), one-time member of aforementioned Cure, and co-writer of Natalie Imbruglia’s mega hit ‘Torn,’ with loads of other credits under his belt,” (PickingUpRocks). “He is also completely infatuated and crushing hard on Todd Rundgren. On his self-titled album (2018), the Todd influence is so overt, so brazen, so unabashed in its love and reverence that it’s nearly impossible to cast a critical eye … delivered so earnestly, so heart-on-the-sleeve, that complaining about them seems nonsensical.

… The entire LP is just melodic to the core, full of pretty glorious, un-cynical piano pop-soul, and hooks, hooks, hooks (of course). Want to mention that things get even more meta on tracks like ‘No One Escapes’ and the fab lead single ‘Summer of ’76,’ where the respective choruses brush shoulders with those of another wondrous artist who himself was openly influenced by Todd, namely New Radicals’ Gregg Alexander…and so if you dig that stuff at all, you will very likely be susceptible to the charms on display here.”

“Parallel Universe” is set in a fast but gentle 6/8, accompanied by a soft yet insistent clock-like ticking on the weak beats. Replete with a poignant hook and dense textures, the track seems like it might have fallen from the sky millennia ago, fully formed. Built in F# minor overall, the tune moves through two verses and two choruses before an unprepared shift up to A minor (2:08) for an extended hook-driven instrumental outro.

Aldous Harding | The Barrel

“In October (2019), Aldous Harding’s song ‘The Barrel’ claimed the 2019 APRA Silver Scroll Award. It’s a groovy little folk number, containing whimsical imagery through its lyrics and video, each of which are ambiguous enough to support multiple interpretations.

In a recent NPR interview, Bob Boilen quizzes Harding on the meaning of both the video and music. Boilen reminds us that Harding is not known for talking about the meaning of her songs, but states that in this case, the video (described by Boilen as having Amish/futuristic/sci-fi tendencies), is not intended to be any visual representation of the content of the song – it is intended to keep it loose. Furthermore, Harding then rejected the notion of expectation and purpose with regards to songwriting in general. (Boilen, 2019).”

“The Barrel” starts with a verse in B major, while the chorus (1:10 – 1:26) is in C# mixolydian. Adding to the feeling of running-on-fumes life force from this New Zealand-based artist are Harding’s clipped syllables, her relaxed enunciation, and the nicely performed but barely-there bassline played with EQ levels better suited to a soprano guitar. Finally showing a faint proof of life at at the 5:00 mark, the band executes a tiny but precise ritardando as the tune ends.

If you thought the live video was interesting, check out the “studio” version, also posted below. But please do not operate any heavy machinery for at least two hours after viewing.

Little Steven + The Disciples of Soul | Gravity

“The vintage Born To Run wall of sound towers like the Empire State Building over Steve Van Zandt’s first album of original material since 1999,” (2019’s Summer of Sorcery), with New York City’s beleaguered multi-racial spirit crackling under its foundations,” (LouderSound).

“Of course, Van Zandt’s been busy these past 20 years – as Bruce’s E Street Band lieutenant, Tony Soprano’s consigliere, and star of Lilyhammer, in between activities as DJ, producer and larger-than-life rock’n’roll activist. Back in the saddle as bandleader, his tangible labour of love defiantly captures old-school New York’s cross-pollinating melting pot … “

The sixth track of the album’s collection of twelve, “Gravity” begins in C major. The tune is full of short sidesteps into other keys (first heard at 1:03 and 1:12), but C major’s gravitational pull always seems to win out (first heard at 1:21).

Thomas Dolby | To the Lifeboats

“As recently conjectured by Mark Fisher’s audio-essay On Vanishing Land, the Suffolk (UK) coastline is a haunted landscape, littered with the relics of past conflicts, awash with ghosts and subject to the ever-intensifying erosion of the tides,” (The Quietus). “Electronic music pioneer Thomas Dolby is intimately acquainted with the strange magic of the place, having spent a sizeable portion of his childhood under its spell.”

Thomas Dolby’s extensive 2013 UK tour featured “a live soundtrack to his new film, The Invisible Lighthouse. This highly personal work was inspired by the closing of Orford Ness lighthouse, whose beam has illuminated the shingles since 1792. ‘It’s a love letter to this part of England,’ explains Dolby, who moved from California back to Suffolk in the latter part of the last decade. “It’s not the picture postcard England that we usually export to the rest of the world. It’s a fairly bleak place, and it has this eerie atmosphere. East Anglia is always the frontline when there’s an invasion threatening, so there are lumps of concrete dissolving into sand, bits of barbed wire and tank tracks that act as a constant reminder.’

On his return to East Anglia, Dolby set up studio in a solar and wind-powered 1930s lifeboat christened The Nutmeg Of Consolation. Here, docked on the very edge of England, he recorded his first album of original material for almost 20 years, A Map of the Floating City (2011). ‘The album really absorbed the atmosphere,’ he says. ‘I was immersed in it, surrounded by it, 360 degrees.’

The album’s East Anglian influence is felt most strongly on ‘To the Lifeboats’ … an elegy … for a future England finally engulfed by the waves.” Beginning in a quiet-textured A minor, the tune shifts to the parallel A major at 1:33, announcing a much denser chorus. 2:18 brings an instrumental verse, this time in F# minor, leading back to a vocal verse in the original A minor that seems nonetheless new.

Trijntje Ooterhuis | Joy To The World

Thanks to Steck for submitting this mod. His write-up is below:

Vocalist Trijntje Oosterhuis is a Dutch pop star. Her first fame came with the pop group Total Touch, which included her brother Tjeerd. She was a founding member of the Dutch supergroup Ladies of Soul, originally formed for a memorial concert for Whitney Houston, and which continues to put on an annual concert. In her solo career, she’s recorded several albums of Burt Bacharach compositions, with Bacharach playing on some tracks.

In case you were wondering how to pronounce her name, you can find that here.

“Joy to the World” is an English Christmas carol dating from 1719. (Editor’s note: Jeremiah the bullfrog is not part of this tune.) This recording is taken from her 2010 release of holiday songs “This Is The Season”.

Starting in B♭, there’s a modulation to B at 1:14. After a finger-picking guitar section by guitarist Leonardo Amuedo, there’s another half-step modulation at 1:58, and the choir takes us out.

The Piano Guys | Carol of the Bells

Thanks to JB for finding this stunning 12-cello arrangement of Carol of the Bells. His words below:

“I love the way the arrangement uses a key change in the “inner” quotation of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (key change at 2:10; quotation starts at 1:44) to then change the key in the “outer” tune of Carol of the Bells.

It’s also uncanny how this specific combination — (a) pizzicato cellos (b) making a whole-tone upwards mod — so strongly evokes a particular cinematic trope: viz., Jason Bourne, or some other Cold-War-era spy, being chased across a plaza in some European city as the net closes in.”

Pentatonix (feat. Kelly Clarkson) | Grown-Up Christmas List

Written by MotD favorite David Foster with Linda Thompson-Jenner, “Grown-Up Christmas List” is the fourth track on the 2016 holiday album Christmas Is Here! by Pentatonix. The arrangement, which also features Kelly Clarkson on vocals, is based on Amy Grant’s cover.

Starting in Eb, there is a shift to C at 0:51 for the first chorus. It returns to Bb for the second verse and C for the second chorus. There is a modulation up a third to E for a brief interlude at 3:05, and a final key change down to Db at 3:20.