Honestly, I believed by the time I had a son of my own the concept of war would be over. The idea of fighting, of bombing, of causing unspeakable horror would be a frightful but disappearing memory. My father who fought and was wounded twice in the Second World War insisted that we should all be ashamed of ourselves if after the Vietnam War we allowed any form of war to continue. Since that time there have been numerous wars, my father was outraged at each and every one. “No one wins”, he would repeat, “except the warmongers, who care only about their power and greed”. We begin LEM Vol 275 with The Staple Singers version of Masters Of War. In part, a tribute to my dad who applauded Dylan’s iconic song, and on hearing The Staple Singers rendition, I remember a tear or two slowly meandered down his striking, rugged face. | Out of Russia comes Stop The War! A 32 track compilation from Gost Zvuk, (translation, Guest Sound). “War is a crime against humanity.” They state, “We stand with the people of Ukraine and demand an immediate end to war. We condemn the actions of the Russian government. 100% of all proceeds will be sent to humanitarian funds helping those in need”. We selected two cuts, Piper Spray & Lena Tsibzova with Medianoise, followed by Kedr Livansky with Golubka. Powerful and courageous! | Friendmaker follow with their debut single, You, Me And Everything Else. This is a five-piece from Ireland, fronted by singer, songwriter & producer David Marron. I enjoyed how this song builds and the drums are splendid. Looking forward to hearing more from Friendmaker. | Captive Frame hail from Sarasota, Florida, they are Mindy on vocals and Guy on bass and guitars. Curiously they use Italian for the title of their album, Io Non Solo and their single, Ferita. (Translation, I’m Not, and Wound, respectively). You are advised to check out, Captive Frame’s earlier work, especially, their Paradox LP from last December. | By now it should go without mentioning that a new release from Shoredive Records comes with a stamp of excellence. We. The Pigs are another example. Anyway from their self-titled LP show the band from Stockholm in fine form with Fredrik Andersson on drums, Kjell Eriksson on bass, Martin Jansson Gillberg on guitars, vocals by Veronika Nilsson, and Christian Williamsson plays more guitars. Perfectly played. | John Andrew Paris goes by the moniker, Paris Music Corp who says this about his self-titled LP, “My inspiration for these pieces is that you never really know when you will pass on so you best be doing your greatest now,” Despite the seriousness of John’s words, this is essentially a collection of excellent instrumentals as heard on Miles. You should know that John Andrew Paris has a long history in the music business, so you need to check out his bio. | 44 Ardent is next with Pieces. This one comes via the enterprising folks at Mammal Sounds out of Sydney, Australia. Here is another release where the producer has an opinion of his own work, “Pieces is supposed to sound sort of happy and sad at the same time. The piano and vocal samples combined are a little bit bleak, but then the drums and bassline are quite upbeat.There are also some cool things going on in the stereo imaging of the track. The bass is super wide and sort of engulfs the whole song as it comes in. My favorite part of the song is the subtle snare which does its own thing on the right-hand side of the song and works with the hi-hats to drive everything along.” Fair enough. A long extended dub version would be cool. | Earth Libraries is a label you should keep an eye on, ‘cause Chicago-based, Holly Madden has taken up the moniker of Uma Bloo and has her new album, Don’t Drive Into The Smoke on the Birmingham, Alabama imprint. On Never Know Me, I can imagine standing up close to the band, while Holly/Uma is way down at the other end of a large high-vaulted hall for the recording. The result is an unusually powerful and haunting production. Top marks. | How many times do I have to rave on about a superb 5 piece from Dundalk, Ireland before alternative and indie radio and show everywhere join in a put Just Mustard into heavy rotation? Their latest album is, Heart Under, I’ve already played I Am You, here is another cut, Still. And yes it is wonderful! | Julia-Sophia is based in Oxford, UK and she says Not Beautiful from her EP, Feels Like Thunder. Julia-Sophia says, “I felt like I was pigeonholed to be this rock chick, and I didn’t really know how to do music, so I went along with it.” I’m glad she did, this one took me by surprise. Plus, forgive for a little train-spotting, I cannot help being reminded of another English female talent, Rosie Peppin. Quality song, production and graphics. | The next one I’ll be interested to get your feedback on, it’s a duo from London, Still Corners with Far Rider. Vocalist Tess Murray says, “This song is about leaving, lost love and finding yourself somewhere on the journey, really it’s about redemption. I recently drove 6000 miles across the southwest to feel the sun on my face and think. We used the dreamlike nature of the song to capture the landscape and a hypnotic feel to conjure up the long and lonely travel days.” Having driven across the South West, I know what you mean, Tessa. | Regular listeners to LEM, you will know how much I love Pela. The charming and hugely talented Olly Shelton & Hannah Coombes out of Brighton are back with a new single, Tell Me. Listen carefully, once again, Hannah’s exquisite voice and Olly’s superior production achieve what so many wish they were able to do. Pela also has a lovely video of a live recording of the song. Do make sure you check out my conversation with Pela. | To take us to the closing credits, it’s Emily Mann on violin and Wilhelmina Frankzerda on guitar, who are Paper Wings with Masters Of War. | Thank you for listening.
Playlist
- The Staple Singers – Masters Of War
- Piper Spray & Lena Tsibzova – Medianoise
- Kedr Livansky – Golubka
- Friendmaker – You, Me And Everything Else
- Captive Frame – Ferita
- We. The Pigs – Anyway
- Paris Music Corp – Miles
- 44 Ardent – Pieces
- Uma Bloo – Never Know Me
- Just Mustard – Still
- Julia-Sophia – Not Beautiful
- Still Corners – Far Rider
- Pela – Tell Me
- Paper Wings – Masters Of War
Artwork by Sasha Desaint “Peace Hymn #3” 1994 4.2 x 5.6 Acrylic, gold flake paint & mixed media on raw canvas. Courtesy of Norman B’s collection
Life Elsewhere 