Monolith Cocktail Blog

The cult leader of the mighty Bordellos rages, swoons and…over a haul of new and recent singles and albums for the Monolith Cocktail

___SINGLES___

Angharad ‘Postpartum’
(Libertino Records)

Oh my lord I love this. I love listening to angry and pissed off Welsh women: maybe that’s why I have been married to one for 30 years. Typing that line has now made me wonder, ‘is my wife pissed off because she has been married to me for thirty years’…surely not, for I am a catch. But I digress. ‘Postpartum’ is a wonderful surge of aggression, an outpouring of pure primal scream emotion but with tinges of dark humour and real life. Art core PJ Harvey with a touch of John Cale at his finest. A beast of a track.

Nora Kelly Band ‘Roswell’
(Mint Records)

The Nora Kelly Band single ‘Roswell’ sweeps us up and gently wraps us in a candyfloss haze of country magic, with a song that aims for the stars and goes far beyond, gently rocking us to a place of seduction and dreams; a gentle place that erupts in a fountain of space cadet wonder and magic. A love song full of quirks and deep yearning. A love song that can make the heart flutter and your eyes water. A special talent indeed. From a forthcoming album Rodeo Clown; an album I will be adding to my collection no doubt.

Lauren Bousfield feat. Ada Rook ‘Hazer’
(Orange Milk Records)

The sound of smart phone pop eating itself, ever wondered what it sounds like? Well give this a listen.

M. Ward Feat. Scott McMicken ‘New Kerrang’

I saw the title and was overcome with a wave of nostalgia with memories of my then 14-year-old daughter texting me asking me every Tuesday if could I pick up the new copy of Kerrang Magazine. But “New Kerrang” is not actually about my then 14-year-old daughter texting me at work (which let’s be honest is not surprising), but it is a rather nifty little pop song that does take me back, but back to the days of late 60s Kinks when they offered flower like gems of pop perfection plastered in irony and heart pulling tugs of pure melancholy and nostalgia, and “New Kerrang” is blessed with the same magic.

Katie Von Schleicher (Ft. Lady Lamb) ‘Elixir’
(Sipsman)

I really like this single, it has a lovely slinkiness about it; a well-written guitar pop song filled with humour and intelligence and a laidback bewitching melody. And I also love the electric guitar, which has a touch of the Marc Bolan’s about it, which believe me is always a feather in the cap, or in this case a feathered boa around the neck. A lovely gem of a song.

Sedona ‘Domino’

I do love pop pop pop music (oh dear an attack of the M’s) and Sedona is indeed all “pop pop pop music”, in the good old fashioned 80s Madonna, Jane Wiedlin (of Rush Hour fame) was a great single way. Yes, Sedona has all it takes to succeed in this cutthroat business. She has all the qualities: the looks, the voice, the song, and has a carefree soulful pop sound that a lot of modern smart phone pop fails at. Sedona is one to watch trust me: have I been wrong before…well, yes many times. But this one is a banker.

Ex Norwegian ‘Real Bad Bunny’

A new single from Ex Norwegian is a wonderful thing in the way great pop music is a wonderful thing, because the new single by Ex Norwegian is great new pop music; the kind of song the radio should be playing on sunny days, and “Real Bad Bunny” really burrows into your head (see what I did there). Great melody, great lyrics, great attitude, just great wonderful pop music, and it’s not even the highlight of the three tracks on this EP. That is track three, “Talk Dirty”, which is all Pete Townsend 60s power chords and late seventies power pop/new wave arrogance and attitude. A wonderful release.

____EPS/ALBUMS___

John Dowler’s Vanity Project  ‘Jukebox Amnesia’
(Half A Cow Records)

This is a fun listen, an EP of four covers by the John Dowlers Vanity Project; all four being very fine and wonderful songs, so you would have to be pretty untalented indeed not to make a EP of pure pop frenzy and fun out of them. It kicks off with a masterful version of The Masters Apprentice “War Or Hands Of Time” – I do like a bit of freakbeat it must be said – followed up with a version of the much covered but always fun to listen to “Psychotic Reaction”, which is a bit of a good idea, and then to the garage soul of Them‘s “Could You Would You”, and to finish with a bit of Jethro Tull; adding a bit of prog to the proceedings: well why not. A Vanity project that is indeed fun to listen to (for a change).

The Chives ‘S-T’
(Metal Postcard Records)

If shambolic rock ‘n’ roll is your thing, here is the album for you. A sublime car crash of The Rolling Stones, The Strokes and the great-lost American band 20TH Century Princess all wrapped in a not so neat parcel, but with melodies galore and not giving a damn attitude. It even has probably the third finest version of ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ you are ever likely to hear: For those who care the two better versions are the Carol King Demo version, followed by the Monkees classic, and not that far behind it this gem of a version. Rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to be fun slightly dangerous and sexy and The Chives debut ticks all the boxes; the box being filled full of post-punk speed fuelled frogs.