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.
𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 – 𝘾𝙚𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙤𝙣, 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙇𝙚𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙨𝙤𝙣
Charles is mad for it…
What’s been the biggest news in Britain in the last week? Ukraine trucking on like troopers? Hamas doing what terrorists do best? Perhaps it’s the ever-growing bullet-pointed list of national destruction updated daily by Keir Starmer? Maybe the Paralympics…? No no; unlike the Olympics, the Paralympics rarely gets any news coverage. Well, it must be that Germany is – as the news outlets are less than subtly attempting to lead us to believe – about to “go all Nazi on yo ass”…! How about Trump, Harris, Harris, Trump, Trump, Harris? Mm. Meh. Nope. It wasn’t any of these. I’ll give you a clue. It was music related. “Oh no, has some mega rock legend died, and I didn’t know about it??” – nope, no one major has died. “Oh phew. Oh, you don’t mean…” – I do. While this has been world news (amazingly), Britain has seemingly had a delirious little fling with the relatively recent past. If you had read the English Press this past week, you might be forgiven for thinking that each and every one of the 68 million people in Britain was foaming at the mouth with the news of Oasis reuniting for a few gigs. This comes after many quotes from Noel Gallagher in recent years, stating he would never EVER get back with his brother and the band. The news also comes the very year after his £20 million divorce… Hmmm… Not suspicious at all. How is he possibly expected to survive on the remnants of his meagre fortune (apparently a mere £30 million left)…? Well, to Liam’s delight, Noel caved and reluctantly chose to accept the idea of Oasis making a purported total of around £50 million from these 2025 shows. We can’t have poor little Noel barefoot in the street, busking in Leicester Square. I’m not sure anyone would notice him: there’s always someone there playing Wonderwall.
The thing is, we’re not foaming at the mouth. We’re not foaming at the elbow either. I can’t imagine how the world sees Britain, but most of us are not tingling with excitement over the Oasis reunion. Neither are we at war with each other. Those kerfuffle scuffles a few weeks back were relatively small and isolated. We are not a racist nation, but we also don’t want our culture destroyed. In other words, most of us are somewhere in the middle. Most of us are not far-left or far-right. Sure, you’ll get left leaning and right leaning, but this is simply human. And it all depends on one’s background and position in life. There is no “one answer”. Any nation will have thugs. Their political stance is irrelevant at this point. They are thugs. The thing is, we can be caught up in this thuggery. Caught like a fish in a net, where we can’t get out. When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary ain’t gonh’ do nuh’in’. Should you inadvertently find yourself in one of these sticky situations, you must try not to involve yourself, if only for the sake of your own safety. You must however be ready. Ready to defend yourself or make a quick getaway, should you need to.
“Okay… But what does this have to do with Oasis?”… Good question! And I’ll get to it. I am actually very pleased with the news of this reunion and the attention it has been getting. It’s bringing back something this world desperately needs. Cocky humour and human edge. Nothing is allowed to have edge anymore, save the blade of a violent criminal. Apparently that’s fine. Sigh. The sad thing about this apparent new wave of Oasis hysteria, is my doubts on whether it is genuine. I suspect that most will be sheep and drones going with the crowd. The modern thing of “anything to gain views”. The modern thing of not having one’s own opinion and even one’s own personal tastes! For those who DO understand or feel it though, the band’s PROPER rock and roll attitude was thrilling. Sure, they were thugs, but they were cool about it. And the most harm they ever caused was a few photographers with black eyes. Imagine this behaviour these days… That’s actually what concerns me about their reunion. The thing is, the Gallagher boys were known for their thuggery, and many of their mega fans were thugs. The Gallaghers were role models for young rebels without a point. This current era is undoubtedly volatile, and my concern lies with the band’s timing of this reunion. This could spark the ENG-GER-LAAND mob culture once more, but this time with far more harm. It could also “cancel” the band itself. A couple of cheeky words could these days be construed as inciting hate, or causing mental trauma to a 15-year-old by verbally offending their “sensitive minds”…
The 90s was a brash decade. It was loud, cheap and fat. But it was honest, and it was fun. I miss those days. That natural sanity and joy of insanity. Whenever I listen to Oasis or Liam and Noel’s solo stuff with earphones, I find myself walking with a cocky lilt. MY land. MY world. For those of you who know The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony music video, THIS is what I mean. And for those of you who’d like a chuckle in comparison, have a look at Fat Les’ pastiche music video for his song Vindaloo. THIS was the crazy 90s. I think young people these days think that they invented absurdity. The difference being, nowadays they’re deadly serious about their absurdity. In the 90s we were just “avin’ a laugh”. As we so often did back then. We smoked, we drank, we got fat. Well, not me, as I was only 15 in the 90s’ final year. But you get the idea. It was a REAL decade. It was genuine. As to me only being in my early teens back then, I shall relay the words of Peter Bailey (yes, I know September is far too early to be quoting Christmas films but I’ll do it anyway): “You were born older”. Despite the 90s being a boisterous decade, it was largely extremely peaceful. Isn’t it ironic… Don’t ya think? I did not attempt to get Oasis tickets. Aside from it probably being a letdown, I thought I might be crushed by 50-year-old men (the 20-year-old football hooligans of the 90s). Should you be both fortunate and unfortunate in having secured tickets for one of these 2025 gigs (commiserations, June Holland – I know you tried), make sure you’re ready. I shouldn’t imagine it to be too civilised…
And finally, I get to some NEW music. That is, now that I have recovered from the realisation that Definitely Maybe was released 30 years ago. THIRTY!!! Are you ready? I know I am. This week’s pick is a duo I have praised before. They were in fact my very first review of this year. The song was Magic, and still remains one of my fave songs of 2024 featured on the New Artist Spotlight playlists. It was the first song from the dynamic duo. Eight months on, is it too soon to call this a reunion…? I speak not of Gallagher and Gallagher, but of Cerulean Chameleon and Summer Lee Carlson. Whether, it’s a reunion or simply the next chapter, they were both evidently ready for Ready, their brand new single. I must say, I do feel sympathy for Scott the Scot (the other CC) and Summer, the American Cambodian. While they will no doubt receive a great deal of praise for their brand new song, I can’t help but assume they will also receive a deluge of bad puns on its title. Of course, I’M not going to be doing that, but as to the public, I hope they’re ready for that. The 90s is a decade that looms large in the sonic signature of this here song, but very much NOT in a Britpop way. You see, the 90s was a diverse time. Not in the way we use the word these days. I am focussing more on music now. As with every decade, there were tonnes of different genres lurking about. But in the 90s there was one major difference. All these different styles and genres were ultimately brand new. And more importantly, they were all popular. The charts of the 90s were such a complete mess, in a good way. Think of how the charts are these days: generic pop after generic pop, with the odd injection of unlistenable. Even more unlistenable, I mean. But in the 90s, the British charts were crammed full of Britpop, girl power, acoustic depressing, reggae-tinged, Eurotrash, oddball quirk, drum and also bass, jungle, garage, rock, pebble and sand. Oh, and football songs. We started the decade with the Happy Mondays, and ended with Moby. And it is more the Moby side I wanted to revisit.
Trip-hop and “chill-out” music was MASSIVE in the 90s. This covered a lot of ground with Massive Attack, Portishead, Everything But the Girl, and Morcheeba. But things also got a bit more “charty” with Moby and Fatboy Slim. Yes, Fatboy Slim could actually manage the chill among the beats. I suppose much like how he managed to be not only fat, but also slim. This, to me, is where Ready was born. This place of coolth. Scott – the man behind the music – has ditched his signature “four-to-the-floor” beat in favour of an altogether smoother oeuvre. He uses both real and unreal drums – a technique often used in the 90s. The real beating of the skins moves your soul, while the unreal beats move your feet. The result is both lazy and compelling. Liam would approve of this swagger. Noel would be too busy counting his money – I mean guitars. Actually, the irony is that it is Noel who has used this kind of beat more than Liam in their solo work. But enough about the brothers. The thing is, Scott manages FAR more than a beat. His attention to detail is outstanding. It always is. His synths, his sounds, his reverbs, his delays, his effects, his automated magic, they all just gel into one coherent pudding of deliciousness. The bass is mesmeric. Listen to that “sprinkle of bullets” – what a touch! Scott is a master of layers without bloat. He understands sound, as a producer should. But more importantly, he understands music. This is something I am noticing these days in music (the more popular end of music): the emphasis on sound rather than on music. Scott is evidently a composer and a musician as well as a producer. In my eyes, a producer cannot be a producer without these musical foundations. Oh, those LUSH strings!!
And then there’s Summer. Well, you all know her by now, surely… Her voice is sensational! Two words spring to mind when I think about her voice: Full, and Pro. She is not one for thin little “impressive” (annoying) trills. She holds a melody with force and scaffolding. While I do hear Tracey Thorn from Everything But the Girl, I also hear something more confident. More soul, more strength. She has maturity in her voice. This is a WOMAN singing, not a girl. She has experience. Imagine a black Annie Lennox, but French. Lenneux, perhaps. Maybe with a bit of Madonna circa ’97. Oh, and a chunk of Sharleen Spiteri from the band Texas. Oh, and the other Summer: Donna. Summer is another who clearly understands music. She knows when to let the music breathe, and she knows when it’s her turn to shine. She is able to navigate the land with confidence, refusing the offer of a map. Her inner bearings tell her where to go.
And yet, despite all this musicality and invincible technique, here lies something much simpler. Something we can all understand and appreciate. Groove. Hella cool toe-twitch inducing groove. At the very least, your head will be bopping like a right person. In other words, it hits on all levels. From surface simplicity to intricate layers of depth, whatever your needs, this will suit. Listen with headphones. I would say “thank me later”, but I’ve done nothing. Thank THEM!
In a musical dune most lacking in inspiration, Ready is a much needed oasis.
If you’re young and therefore never experienced the 90s, don’t look back in anger. It was all a Blur.
Listen to 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Spotify playlist HERE!
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