Welcome to Issue #21 of Singles Selection. With Singles Selection, we take a look at some of the brand new singles that have pricked our ears. Some of them might be the precursor to a forthcoming album, others might be standalone. Whatever the intent, these singles are worthy of your time.
SUCCULENTS – WORK IT OUT
Manchester’s girl-and-boy-next-door lo-fi indie duo, Succulents, announced their arrival in grand style back in February with their debut single, Underdog. Since then, the duo – Lawrie Hulme (also a member of Manchester 4-piece, Big Other) and Lucy Ridges have been building a solid reputation; their music has drawn comparisons with, amongst others, Belle & Sebastian and Moldy Peaches.
New single, Work it Out is, at its heart, a song about trying to find a way through disagreement, with the deceptively simple warning: “Be careful what you wish for” providing food for thought. The song is lively and joyful. Resolutely-strummed guitars and a driving drumbeat set the pace and the shared vocals are light and airy. The result is a true indie sound. There’s nothing complicated here but, hey – it’s summer; refreshing vibrancy is what we want, and that’s exactly what Work It Out serves up.
Speaking of the new single, Laurie says: “Work It out is about conflict resolution, but also about that strange apathy you feel when you’re surrounded by constant arguments – whether that’s protests, politics or toxic online spats. The protagonist is almost taking the attitude of ‘I can’t be bothered with this,’ while knowing that sometimes, avoiding conflict doesn’t necessarily make it disappear. ‘Be careful what you wish for’ is probably the most important line in the song.”
STEVE EARLE & LOS LOBOS – VOLVER A CELAYA
It is hard to believe that Earle and the East L.A. band have not worked together before, given what a surefire it both sounds on paper and, then, in your ear.
Los Lobos apply the full Mex to the mix, and it is reminiscent of their acoustic coda to La Bamba, a sound that is so absorbtive and warming. Earle is at his croaky, drawly best, and I could take a full length set of this sort of stuff, with ease.
But stay away from the melody and you will discover a starker reality; the song is a new song that Earle wrote from the perspective of a Mexican-born construction worker who’s spent most of his life in the US and who now plans to return to his homeland.
Produced by Steve Berlin, it also contains an older Earle song, City Of Immigrants, on the flip, exploring similar territory.
JOHNNY & LILLIE FLYNN – THE GHOST OF O’DONAHUE
Those who thought Johnny Flynn content to be writing music for TV and acting can breathe a sigh of relief, as he has announced the release, with his sister, Lillie, an album, Beam Cottage.
Frontloading the album comes this, a new version of an older song, one Johnny Flynn first released in 2008. With, now, additional vocals from The Joy, a South African vocal ensemble, it is given a new spin and direction, which reflects, says Johnny, the heritage acquired via their mother, also from that country.
If you can imagine a huskier and more ragged Paul Simon, you’d be close to the atmospheric sought and delivered, it sounding little of it’s origin, as a song inspired by a painting in Dublin’s National Gallery of Ireland. As his sister weighs in with a harmony, and the rich African yelps, it is quite the transformation.
ARBORIST – THE TAMING OF HORSES
The heatwave, or this one, may be over, but this new release, from Mark McCambridge, aka Arborist, carries with it all the pleasanter side of hazy summer sun and scorched fields.
Organ and driving drums introduce the sonorous keen of McCambridge, almost whispering some of the words, ahead of becoming more of a croon. Harmonies embellish the chorus, which, otherwise, sticks much to the same lull of repeating memory.
A skip hop of drums beckons in a middle eight of guitar, as piano rise in the mix, becoming more prominent. The build is inexorable, as it inveigles into your subconscious with an intent that is quite masterful.
The album, Looking For Love, due mid-October is anticipated with relish.
LACROSS CLUB – EVERYONE KNEW
The first new release in over a year from Welsh art-punk trio Lacross Club. The band wer formed in Tenby and are now based in Bristol, and their debut release, Welsh Weather Heather, appeared in 2023. Lacross Club made their name by taking such influences as Mclusky, Devo, Uranium Club, Minutemen and Richard Hell and molding them into a form that channeled their own expressions of frustration through colour and communality.
Speaking of Everyone Knew, guitarist/vocalist Cal says: “It’s basically just me being terrified and confused by the concept of office jobs and money-hungry CEOs profiting. The confusion at the heart of the song is: ‘I thought Everyone Knew that this isn’t the way to live?”
“Musically,” he continues, “it was heavily influenced by the arty-punk genius of people like Richard Hell. The Minutemen influence is definately more prominent in the drum part. It’s also the start of a change in sound, as we wish to delve into a more ‘put together’ and obscure sound whilst keeping what makes us us, which is our energy.”
The song’s opening guitar figure is almost Beefheartian, but the guitars soon start to thrash in earnest. The riff is primitive and Cal’s vocals are urgent. Indeed this is punk at its basic, unreconstituted best. Alongside those guitars, the bass pumps and pulses and the drums are everywhere whilst being, at the same time, precisely where they should be. Three minutes/fewer chords – nothing wrong with that!
JAMIE WEBSTER – ODE TO ME AND YOU
Liverpool-based singer-songwriter Jamie Webster releases his 4th album, Running Around the Sun on 4th September – and to complete a round of 4ths, here comes the fourth foretaste of that long-awaited album.
Ode To Me And You is a celebration of, not only Webster and his audience’s communal joy and pain and the song acknowledges that it’s the same, loyal, audience that enables his work to be heard.
“The song is a celebration of the journey my fans and I have been on together,” says Jamie. “They’ve given me a life in music and, hopefully, I’ve given them songs that have become part of their lives. When I’me feeling beaten black and blue, I remember the road we’ve traveled together, and that always helps.”
Strident, strummed guitars are very much in evidence. There’s a Laurel Canyon mood at play, but Jamie’s vocal tones are strictly of North Western England. The song is joyful and fast-paced and it’s guaranteed to get his audiences frothing – just like they do on the single’s accompanying video. I can see this one becoming a live show favourite…
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