October 31st, 2018
single track
Clean Cut Kid – Emily
Fleetwood Mac may have been formed 51(!) years ago, they’re still going strong and continue to influence other artists. Contemporary acts such as Haim, Little Green Cars, Lissie, Liv, Band Of Gold and Ardyn for instance, sound like a tribute to the British-American originators. And as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing wrong with that.
Liverpool’s Clean Cut Kid (Saul Godman, Ross Higginson and husband and wife Mike and Evelyn Halls) belong in that league as well. Especially this new single, Emily, has ‘Fleetwood Mac’ written all over it. Not only the melody and the drum-driven instrumentation, but also the pairing of the female and male vocal throughout the song make it sound like a timeless song, if not an instant classic. It even has an old-fashioned fade-out. When was the last time you heard that? 😉
Brilliant stuff. Check their new EP Painkiller in full!
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single track, wildcardWildcard (week 44):
Wildcard (week 44):
The Proclaimers – Then It Comes To Me
Who cares about the music everybody likes? Just listen to the music you like! That’s why playlists are so much more fun than charts these days: you hit play, and all you get are killers, no fillers. My mission with Carte Blanche Music is to provide you with great new music (both by emerging and known bands), and hopefully inspire you to add it to your (radio or Spotify) playlist.
Recently, I recommended album track You Make Me Happy by The Proclaimers. This week, Charlie and Craig Reid make me happy with the official new single off their latest album Angry Cyclist. Then It Comes To Me opens as a ballad, but the lads up the tempo 40 seconds into the song, only to burst into a folk rock tune pur sang another 40 seconds later. It’s one of the best four to the floor tracks of the year so far, and 31 years into their career, the Scottish twins are still in excellent voice.
Although they managed to become successful, The Proclaimers have never really been fashionable. This new single probably won’t become a hit, but as said: who cares about the music everybody likes? Me, for one, I adore the duo, as well a Then It Comes To Me. Therefore, I made it this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard.
In the Wildcards 2018 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single track
Reel Big Fish – You Can’t Have All Of Me
At the end of the 80’s, Fishbone were one of the earliest ska punk bands. They were a real treat live. The 90’s gave us acts like No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, Smash Mouth and Rancid, but the last two centuries, hardly any ska punk band achieved mainstream success anymore. Wouldn’t it be great to have a ska punk revival?
Maybe Reel Big Fish can lead the way again. Probably best-known for their early singles Sell Out, She Has A Girlfriend Now and a-ha cover Take On Me, the band have never really been away. But their new single You Can’t Have All Of Me is their best in recent memory. Back to the old days, in a good way. Even better: a new album, Life Sucks… Let’s Dance, is announced for December. Party on, dudes!
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single track
Club Drive – Satisfied
After coming to the scene with their debut EP Dangerous, in 2016, and subsequent singles Spare Time, Voyager, International (all 2017) and WDYD (earlier this year), Club Drive’s new single Satisfied is only their sixth release.
Club Drive are a Hertfordshire synth-infused guitar pop trio, consisting of Aaron Trowbridge, Tommy O’ Malley and Christian Murphy, and Satisfied is easily their most satisfying (did I say that?) single, so far. Its pulsating rhythms are built around funky guitars, tantalising drums and luscious vocals. Cleverly crafted and nicely produced, it sounds like the Justin Timberlake song that JT himself forgot to deliver, recently. If you’re looking for a catchy, rocky synthpop banger, look no further!
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
album track
Arthur Adam – O
Arthur Adam is a talented and respected Dutch singer-songwriter with a great, instantly recognizable voice. He is part of a multitude of bands and projects, where he follows his own inclination, playing music from the heart and never avoiding an experiment or two. Often, his music isn’t easy listening, but it isn’t meant to be. One of his bio’s started with the line: ‘Arthur Adam makes music because he has to’. His current bio states: ‘Arthur Adam makes music out of deep personal need/urge’. What’s not to praise about that?
Still, the music he puts out under his own name often does come very close to pop music. Pretty random examples are Happy Hangover, Dividing A Spider, Older and She’s A Mystery.
As one of his first supporters, I was happy to learn Arthur recorded a new EP, entitled Dances. It was a spontaneous affair. This is what he wrote me about it: “Last summer, I suddenly felt like recording a few songs, and that’s what I did: made the plan in July, rehearsed and recorded in August, mixed and mastered in September. What came out was a guitar pop EP with up-tempo pop/rock songs, influenced by Weezer, early Joe Jackson, Ben Folds, Joni Mitchell, Darryl-Ann and the rest of my record collection.”
That’s some bunch of references!
All six of the tracks on Dances were recorded on 21 en 22 August by long-time musical partner Tim van Doorn, who also played the bass and mixed and mastered the songs. Arthur Adam sung, played guitars, drums and keys. The EP is out now on Van Doorn’s and Adam’s own label BandBus Records.
My favourite EP track is simply titled O. A rock song full of energy and drive, a bit like Voicst’s Whatever You Want From Life. But the other five tracks are very much worth checking out as well. Pop music for grown-ups.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
werner's weekly
Werner’s Weekly (week 44)
Who said rock is dead? Last week, Buffalo Tom, Johnny Marr, Nothing But Thieves, Sam Fender, The Struts and White Lies all came up with great tracks, that I gladly added to the Carte Blanche Music playlist. As you may know, it only contains the best new songs for you to discover (not only rock, by the way, but music, great music). Just follow that playlist and let me do the ‘dirty’ work. I love it!
As an example of what you’ll find there, below is my ‘best of the best’ selection: Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters. If you can spare 26 minutes, you can hear them all in full via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. Otherwise, just click the links of the tracks of your liking to find out more (including the song itself, of course).
- Isaac Gracie – Show Me Love (Wildcard this week)
- Harts – Shake Ya Pants (Wildcard last week)
- FIDLAR – Can’t You See
- Jealous Of The Birds – Marrow
- Leoniden – People
- Noémie Wolfs – Let Me Down
- Only Yours – Everlasting
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
chart, ebbchart
European Border Breakers Chart 26 October 2018
I love it when a plan comes together… Earlier this month, I raved about Sophie & The Giants’s single Bulldog and this week, it enters the European Border Breakers Chart. At #31, they’re the highest debuting artists in the Top 100 (behind Sam Fender at #19, but he had multiple EBBChart hits before). Congratulations to singer Sophie Scott (who’s soaring voice lies somewhere between Florence Welch and Alice Merton), guitarist Toby Holmes, bass player Bailey Stapledon and drummer Chris Hill!
Bulldog by Sophie & The Giants (pictured) is one out of seven tracks that enter the Top 100 this week (on a total of 23 (re)entries). These are all seven of them:
#19: Sam Fender – That Sound
#31: Sophie & The Giants – Bulldog
#42: Broadstrokes – Underwater
#44: Jimothy Lacoste – Fashion
#86: Youngr – Monsters
#96: Pom Poko – My Blood
#99: Altin Gün – Seker Oglan
For the full Top 100, click the ‘EBBChart’ tab in the top menu of this blog (loading of the PDF may take a little while). More charts, like the Tips (ranking the tracks that are on their way to the Top 100), the Airplay Chart and the Streaming Chart, are available at www.europeanborderbreakerschart.eu, where you can also listen to all of the tracks and watch their videos, as well as share them via social media.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single track
Cesare Cremonini – Possibili Scenari
Around the turn of the century, Italy was under the spell of a hugely successful band: Lùnapop released only one album, …Squérez?, but sold one and a half million copies of it. In Italy alone! I still adore their debut single 50 Special. Alas, in 2002, frontman Cesare Cremonini officially announced the dissolution of the group. He has since pursued a successful solo career.
In 2017, Cremonini released his 6th solo album Possibili Scenari, which proves his songs are still as catchy as ever. Italy never stopped loving him, rewarding his latest long player with the platinum status. Ahead of the singer’s ‘Cremonini Live 2018’ tour, he releases the title track off Possibili Scenari as his new single. A song that will grow on you!
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single track
Leoniden – People
This week, German band Leoniden will share their second album, Again. Leading up to the long-player, brothers Lennart and Felix Eicke, Jakob Amr, Djamin Izadi and JP Neumann already released the singles Kids, River and Alone. New single People makes it four in a row.
Finger snapping, hand clapping, a killer chorus over a house piano, untameable energy… it’s all here in another poppy rock song you can dance to.
After Leoniden’s self-titled debut album, the band started their own record label, won the New Music Award in their home country, played a lot of gigs and toured with Franz Ferdinand. I’m curious where their new material will bring them!
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single trackJealous Of The Birds – Marrow
Jealous Of The Birds – Marrow
Northern Ireland’s Naomi Hamilton, a.k.a. Jealous Of The Birds, appears to have been experiencing a period of inspiration and productivity in recent times, leading up to the release of her EP The Moths Of What I Want Will Eat Me In My Sleep, only last summer, now followed by the announcement of her forthcoming EP Wisdom Teeth, on 1 February 2019.
Marrow, built on a soothing guitar melody that accompanies Hamilton’s angelic vocals, is the first single off her new EP. A sweeping rock song that shows off her multi-dimensional talents.
Hamilton explains: “Marrow is my attempt to articulate what it’s like to be a human being navigating one’s inner and outer worlds. After I graduated university a year ago, I became much more resolute about chasing a life in music, art and travelling. To me, this song captures that sense of striving for authenticity in all its colours and forms, whether that’s in love, in one’s career, or in one’s spirituality. I think it also taps into this idea of the individual versus the collective, and the ways we assimilate what’s happening for us on a personal level with all the chaos and intensity of the world at large.”
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
