Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.
𝘽𝙚 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚 – 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙀𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙝
Charles rediscovers youth…
Another week has passed. Another week of not hearing from the artist I reviewed that week. It’s astounding how common this is. I think maybe some of you might understand now why I sometimes settle back into reviewing “the same old artists” time and time again. They are most grateful. I do really like to leap into the unknown and review someone that barely anyone has ever heard of. But very often I feel like my efforts were wasted. I’m never asking for heaped praise, flowers, or gold-plated gifts, but simply some sort of acknowledgement that they read it, they liked it and they were appreciative. Sharing the thing is proof that they liked it, but isn’t it kind of NORMAL to thank the person who spent around five hours writing the damned thing…? Anyway! Rant over. I do try not to dwell on these things (certainly not in public), but considering how common this is becoming, I couldn’t help but let my feelings be known. I am NOT a robot. These are NOT written by a machine. Those of you I have reviewed who HAVE messaged me afterwards, you must understand that this is obviously not aimed at you, and that you are in fact the model of respect and manners. And I thank YOU.
I gave the Taylor Swift album another go… It’s quite amazing how mediocre it is. How lacklustre it is. How uninspiring it is. And with a title like ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, God, it could/should have been stupendous! On Sunday evening, my girlfriend and I watched Cabaret for the first time. Now THAT is ‘The Life of a Showgirl’! From this Swift album, I expected razzle, also dazzle. I expected pizzazz. But all I got was zzz. And it made me think of songs these days versus songs those days. Generally, of course. There will be tonnes of exceptions, as is the way. Songs these days really do feel like they’re writing to fit a grid. A pattern, if you will. They are making songs in “the way that people make songs”. Which is not really art. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Is it any wonder that Elvis, The Beatles, Queen and Michael Jackson were/are the biggest stars…? They were totally new, yet made music that stood the test of time. Okay, maybe less so Elvis, but at the time this was groundbreaking and borderline illegal from the waist down. The only man to have had hips that broke the law (of physics). Newness and surprise seem to be what is missing from modern music.
But the other thing vitally mislaid in modern pop music is youthful energy. Again, this was prevalent in the early days of Elvis, The Beatles, Queen and Michael Jackson. But also in MANY more artists. That adrenaline-fuelled push that feels all but gone. For me, the band that characterises this vigour, is The Who. And like the megastars I mentioned, I mean their early days. There was an itch in them, and it needed scratching. The only way they had was to let it all out in song. Take for example possibly their most famous song, ‘My Generation’. It just bowls in and knocks down every pin with a strike! Sometimes it’s not about the well-honed craft and the meticulousness of experience. Sometimes things aren’t supposed to be perfect. They’re supposed to make you FEEL! The Who were rambunctious, and in listening, so were YOU! Being young is ALL about “the now”; or at least it should be. The modern equivalent of this would probably be the best of electronic music. Something new, fresh and dynamic. Something that gets you UP in a way you’ve never been before. But in mainstream pop? What has HAPPENED?? Most of it sounds like easy-listening. Not that it’s that easy. Easy to turn it off, perhaps. Dull, I think is a better word for it. Calculated dullness. And I simply YEARN for the high-spirited “press record and let’s go” attitude. I think part of this is due to there being too many people involved in the process. Everything is thought through to the nth degree, because money, money, money (it ain’t funny in any man’s world). And yet they fail. Correction: they succeed in making money. They fail in making great pop music.
I would like to see that NATURAL talent come back. This is the rarest of all. The kind where it needs neither bells nor whistles. The kind where a song is born from mere minutes. And no, I won’t even make a joke about HAL (what I call A.I.). Okay, just one. Why didn’t HAL cross the road? To save time and effort. Oh, here’s another one: Why didn’t the artist cross the road? Because HAL did it for them. Moving on! I am talking about raw talent that shows its face without even so much as an invite. THIS is what art is supposed to be about. The rest is craft. True art should be one part feeling and one part plucked from the ether. The immediacy of this kind of art is far more visceral and genuine. It moves the soul, the heart or the feet. But more importantly, it gets you feeling the way the artist felt when writing it. And this kind of art is NOT high art, by any means. But it is important art. It’s the reason The Beatles had far more number ones than Beethoven. Also, their haircuts were on point.
And on to modern music. You might notice that I’m not reviewing Bernice’s latest wonder. Neither am I reviewing Patrik’s. The cool thing about these artists is that within the New Artist Spotlight I don’t have to use a surname. You know exactly who I’m talking about. There’s only one Bernice. There’s only one Patrik (of that spelling). Anyway. I didn’t review either of these fab new songs because I seem to always review them, and I thought I’d spend a little time on someone else (whether they deserve it or not). And as to Bernice, it’s my production, so it’s always a bit tricky to review – either I spend time praising myself (yuk), or I only mention her vocals. Those vocals (especially the harmonies) are fabulous, though. Besides… She rocketed straight to number one in the NAS charts, so she simply didn’t need me for a boost. Someone who perhaps DOES need a boost, though, is Sean Eliazah. You know him? Yes? Well, I think you’re one of the few familiar with his output. Most of you will be thinking “Who…?” – No, not The Who. We’ve done that.
Once again, I assumed Sean Eliazah was American. Not just because of his singing accent, but because he just looks cool. Let’s face it, America is home to the cool. In fact, I would go so far as to say America invented “cool”. Sean is not American. He is British, from a city called Leicester. Oh, Americans, you may be cool, but you sure as hell know how to butcher English names. It’s pronounced Lester, not Lie-sester. And yes, I know it doesn’t make any sense that it’s pronounced Lester, but there we go; an English quirk. Leicester is these days known for its multiculturalism, and Sean sure is multicultural. Half Irish, and half… No no, you guess this time. Egyptian? Spanish? Timbuktuian? Nah, I’ll tell ya. He’s half Zambian. Which simply MUST be where he gets his cool. But he doesn’t make Zambian music at all. Neither does he make Irish “diddly-diddly” music. I’m not sure what traditional Leicesterian music might sound like, but Sean Eliazah makes cool music. And every track entirely different too! This time he has gone for a kind of pop-rock vibe. He very much looks like a young Phil Lynott (aka Thin Lizzy). Similar big afro-hair, leather jacket, defined jaw, and of course, that cool little David Niven moustache. As to his sound…? We all know the Michael Jackson of the 80s and 90s. Most of us know the mini Michael Jackson of the 70s. But what would we have heard should he have been a young man in the 60s…? I suspect it would have been a little bit like ‘Be Right Here’, the latest single by Sean Eliazah!
Remember when I mentioned the youthful immediacy of The Who’s early days? Sean has exactly that. He gets an instant hook, and riffs on it. Guitar upon guitar for a few chunks, and we’re IN! Bass digging in like an impatient, petulant donkey kicking ASS! Voices stacked for added Sean. You can never have enough Sean. A drum beat that forces your head to jolt forward, beat by beat. There’s that fabulous 60s rock vibe of The Who, The Kinks, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Small Faces and The Spencer Davis Group. A nod to the future of what might come after the 60s, and a further nod to the NOW! The OWgan plays for vital backing and accompaniment, but the voice/s is/are the star/s of the show. Not only is the lead vocal double-tracked (minimum), but he has the coolest (there’s that word again) harmonies. Having listened to most of his back catalogue, I can now see that regardless of the style he chooses for any particular song, he loves singing a 3-part harmony. And you people know I love harmonies. Pure gorgeousness of the coolest heights. Speaking of The Spencer Davis Group, Sean uses percussion to such wild effect! Okay, maybe “wild” isn’t quite the word, but it is utterly vital in giving the song momentum. Cowbell and guiro give the song such push, in the same way as the drums and percussion in Unobliterated’s ‘Nothing To See Here’. Mega energy! But while Gary (Unobliterated) uses his experience and wisdom, Sean uses his unstoppable youth as the engine, fuelled by vocals and percussion. Fact: percussion is underrated.
What’s with that abrupt stop at the end, though…? Well, I did hear a similar thing on a track from the new Jacob Collier LP. It seems to be something that some people like to do. It does NOT work on the Collier LP. At all. However, with Sean, I did notice something that could be the answer, which therefore could actually lend some reasoning. It’s not perfect in terms of bars, but it’s perfect in terms of beats and timing. Let me explain. Put the track on “Repeat 1″ so it is set to play just that track on repeat. The end smoothly transitions into the beginning. I have no idea if this was the plan, but it genuinely works. Try it for yourself; it’s kinda satisfying! Just please remember to turn off “repeat” mode once you’re done, or you’ll end up with the overnight version of ‘Hey Jude’, and wonder why you woke up singing Na-na-na-na…
I’m hoping to one day see this man in the NAS charts, but of course he himself will have to vote (not for himself, obviously) or he won’t be eligible. Dem’s da roolz.
‘Be Right Here’ has been out for a month, and it’s only hit around 1,500 streams. Which to me is criminal, and just simply sad. A crying shame! Let’s rectify that, people! And I don’t mean mindless streaming for the sake of numbers – please don’t. I mean that I’m showing you something to enjoy. Enjoy it!! If you go for the song, let him know! Every artist loves/needs a bit of honest praise.
Why did the listener cross the road? To get away from calculated dullness.
What is hip? We used to have hips that break the law. Now we just have hips that break.
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