With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

“A Stone Only Rolls Downhill” – OK GO January 29, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 11:37 pm
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OK GO had their first chart success back in 2002. How the fuck was it that long ago? Back in those days they had a knack of mixing loads of genres. Everything from dance to slacker rock via punk and classic rock. Well they never really went away and have just released a nifty new single, “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill”. It doesn’t have the harsher heavy edge of 2002’s “Get Over It”, but it is a damned fine track. It is a kind of chilled pop dance song that will be the perfect soundtrack to a hot sunny day in a few months. In places it made me think of the Flaming Lips, but it still has that indelible original stamp of classic OK GO. The song is the first single from their forthcoming album ‘And the Adjacent Possible’ which will hit the streets later in 2025.

The video is one hell of a sight to behold. The clip features 64 videos on 64 phones laid out as a moving mosaic! The band did more than a thousand takes over the course of eight days, and the final video crams over two hours and twenty minutes of single-take clips into one frame. Once again directed by frontman Damian Kulash, this time in collaboration with Chris Buongiorno (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew), the clip showcases the band’s unbridled creativity and signature DIY aesthetic, while exploring the song’s lyrical take on modern split screen life. The band have a history of great videos, do you remember the one with treadmills for “Here It Goes Again“? I bloody love this new tune and I hope that you do too!

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“A New Dream” – Gregory Darling and Julian Lennon January 26, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 9:00 pm
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A new collaborative single between long friends and musical partners Gregory Darling and Julian Lennon have just released a new single “A New Dream”. The song was written with their friend Anthony Caligagan. It first appeared on Gregory Darling’s album ‘Shell’ in 2006 in its original form. This re-imagining has a majestic magical feel as it builds from simple musical forms into a gorgeous and emotional crescendo. The voices carry emotion, sincerity and belief. At times the vocal reminded me of Roger Waters but without all the ex Pink Floyd mans pent up anger. Lyrically the song is inspirational. “I’m helplessly waiting, clocking the days of my innocent youth, oh I’m hopelessly romanticizing everything black and white, all the colors seem dark in the night, I need a new dream to get by on“. This couplet made me feel quite emotional. The video is rather beautiful too.

Lennon and Darling have known each other for many years and have collaborated before. Lennon said of the new release “Working with Greg is like working with your brother/best friend… And “A New Dream” is something we both aspire to. The message of “A New Dream” resonates with universal themes that connect all of us- our dreams, fears and insecurities- and it serves as a beacon of hope, reminding listeners that even the impossible can be achieved.” The song holds a greater significance given Lennon’s role as the founder of the White Feather Foundation and Darling’s position as the head of artist outreach for Reluvotion, founded by Professor Nicholas Dungey and founding partner JR Smith, as well as the Gift Of Love Foundation, founded by Jody Folz. Both organizations are committed to global change and supporting human potential, making this song an ideal embodiment of their shared values.

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“All Night” – Robo

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 6:49 pm
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Robo are a York band overflowing with talent and that is abundantly clear if you listen to their new single “All Night”. If Tome Verlaine produced the Arctic Monkeys it might have sounded a bit like this. Their is also a mood of 70s classic rock throughout this magnificent tune. I love the call and response element which runs a rich vein through the song. In my opinion this song has future classic written all over it!

I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch show for the “All Night” single and a review of that show will feature on these pages soon. The song is accompanied by a mind blowing video produced and directed by Natasha Pugh. The video is so good it deserves a separate review and that will appear here soon too!

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“In Retro” – The Gringos January 25, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 2:56 pm
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The Gringos are a band from Athens, Georgia and they have recently released a classy single called “In Retro”. It is full of soul and some delicious old school guitar licks. The vocals remind me of the Kings Of Leon when they first broke big. It feels modern and at the same time evokes the classic rock of the 60s and 70s. This song would not be out of place on the next ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ mix tape!

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“Elevator Operator” – Electric Callboy January 24, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 11:36 pm
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German music powerhouse band Electric Callboy have just unleashed their latest single, “Elevator Operator”. It is an unforgettable blend of hardcore rock, electro dance, disco and pure pop. It has heavy guitar riffs. Club style synth sounds accentuate it. There are huge four to the floor beats. There are growly rock vocals alongside poppy disco vocals. In fact it has every-fucking-thing and it is destined to be huge! It reminded me of Junior Senior for its catchy infectious sound. It also reminded me of Electric Six for its smart and intelligent approach to music. The music is mainstream yet slightly leftfield at the same time. I bloody love this and I think you will too!

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“Safe & Sound” – Pip Lewis

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 8:19 pm
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Pip Lewis is a 22 year old British singer-songwriter based in San Diego, California. She has just dropped a great single from her forthcoming album ‘Growing Pains’. Pip sees some of her key influences coming from Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers. The song has a heavenly indie pop sound with a beautifully crystal clear vocal. The flowing and sometimes stuttering musical accompaniment gives the track a soulful dreamy feel. Interwoven in this film-like sound is an occasional funky acoustic guitar riff. Pip said this of “Safe & Sound”: “This song is inspired by the idea that one can feel alone in a room full of people. It’s a cry for help into the crowd and a love letter to those who answer it.” The video gets across the image of being lonely in a crowd perfectly. I think that this gorgeous song will stay with me for a long while. I love it!

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“Angie’s Wedding” – Antony Szmierek January 22, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 8:57 pm
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Antony Szmierek, Manchester based poet, producer, rather ace music maker and all round good guy has a new album out at the end of next month. It is called ‘Service Station At The End Of The Universe’. His new single, “Angie’s Wedding” will be the final track on the album. It brings together many of the album’s characters in a fictional wedding of the century setting. Szmierek’s rhythmic, soft spoken rap is ideal for this track. It oozes hope. Now I am even more excited for the album. Did Angie make it? Like Antony I hope she did too.

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“Vice” – Rizzle Kicks

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 8:30 pm
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British hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks are Jordan “Rizzle” Stephens and Harley “Sylvester” Alexander-Sule. They first broke big back in 2011 with the rather excellent single “Down With The Trumpets”. They had a few more hits and split up for a while. Last year they announced their return. They released a few classy singles last year in advance of their forthcoming comeback album ‘Competition Is For Losers’. The album is due out in February. Their first single in 2025 is “Vice” and man is it a good ‘un. It is funky, bright, overloaded with great hooks and is full of happy vibes. This song makes me smile and dance with zero persuasion, it is an instant party. I love the mention of hip hop royalty in the lyric, “Now, I don’t pause when I say love, I feel it right in my De La Soul“. Even Sporty Spice gets a name check! The video filmed in a bowling alley with the Rizzle Kicks playing around and having a ton of fun. I loved “Down With The Trumpets” all those years ago, but this new one is even better!

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“Run Rabbit” – ALT BLK ERA January 20, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 8:04 pm
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Can ALT BLK ERA get any better than they already are? On the basis of their new single “Run Rabbit” they just did. The quality of their recent singles suggests that the debut album will by vying for a strong position in many album of the year lists for 2025. The track is driven by a persistent and incessant electro riff overlaid with Nyrobi and Chaya’s urgent vocals. Lyrically it feels deliciously dark. This has the makings of a huge club banger, we need an extended remix! The video is rather spiffing too and features ALT BLK ERA running around in the dark. These girls can go from pop to punk to electro to dance. They can also combine all of these as well. ALT BLK ERA remain one of my favourite bands and 2025 better watch out because they are not just knocking on the door they are ready to smash it down!

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“Manhattan” – Pennine Suite January 18, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 8:17 pm
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Photo by Tom Sunderland

The last time I saw the magnificent Pennine Suite play live was in June last year at the Fulford Arms. They played some new tracks that night and one of those was “Manhattan”. A song from a York band that was inspired by New York. What I said about it then was “The new track “Manhattan” is thunderously good and needs to be a single, RIGHT NOW! Harry’s guitar was magnificent on this track and the power and drive from the mighty rhythm section of Moses and Louis is a close to perfect as you could get!” Well whether they listened to me or not I really don’t know. But the song was released as a single towards the end of 2024. (Yes I am a bit late with it, but the song is too good to ignore!) It has a wonderfully crisp production with Nick’s voice oozing emotion and sounding very fresh. This is indeed a great live banger but it sure works as a great single too. The rhythm section is at beast levels, Harry’s guitar lines intertwine with some fine keys from Louise. The harmonies, hooks and riffs work with each other like a well serviced formula 1 engine. The result is a near perfect slab of first class pop rock from a band that have the potential to enter the music world’s equivalent of Formula 1 competitions and join the big league.

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