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.
𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙥 – 𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚
Charles is knitting with wool…
“If the shoe fits, wear it” – so the saying goes. If the shoe doesn’t fit, wear something else. Makes sense. But most tend to opt for an uncomfortable in-between… If the shoe doesn’t fit, wear it anyway. These are my thoughts of the day. Confused? I know EYE am. In fact, I’ve always been a little confused. Mainly because things tend to make sense to me in a different way. Or they don’t make sense to me in the slightest. Still confused? Yeah, I can see your furrowed brow from here. I am talking about the way EYE am versus the way most others are. And this applies to you too. Do you find that you look at the world a little differently to others? Of course you do. You’re an artist. We tend to be a little different in many ways. But it ain’t just art and artists; it all stems back to school…
Were you the one with long hair when everyone else had short hair? Or vice versa? Were you the one who’d rather stay at home and play guitar than go out and play sports? Were you always listening to different music to your peers’? Ringing a bell yet…? How about at home? Family usually has that family connection, no? Where each member tends to have similar views, thoughts, feelings…? But not you. You always had your own way of seeing the world. And because of all this, you were treated differently at home, in school and in later life? The odd one out? The weirdo? The wretched outcast? The black sheep…?
“Fitting in” is something we naturally do (or attempt to do) as a teenager. You weren’t the only one. Everyone you knew was trying desperately to “go with the crowd”. Of course, there were the leaders and the followers. The leaders were often just as inauthentic as the followers; those leaders were usually just attention-seekers. Those followers were just trying to be part of something. The thing is, there are many of us who tried fitting in, failed to fit in, and instead just did our own thing. That’s where most of us come in. My question is, whether it is weird to be different? Surely it’s NATURAL to be different, no? We’re not clones… Just because most of your friends left school and got office jobs, doesn’t mean that YOU should have to do that. Rather than “them” being the “normal” ones and “us” being the “weirdos”, I like to think of it differently. How’s about this (to make you feel a bit better about yourself)… YOU were honest with yourself. YOU’RE one of the few who DIDN’T bow to peer pressure and “the system”. Those who chose to continue wearing the ill-fitting shoe, will potentially regret their decision as they hobble through life. But you? You’re a lone wolf in sheep’s clothing! EMBRACE the black sheep in you! Welsh need not apply.
THIS black sheep seems to have wandered aimlessly into a field of music. Mehh (says the sheep). Okay, it seems this sheep is not impressed. But one artist seems to stand out… A chap who although born Dutch, is based in Manchester, England. Please welcome your new favourite black sheep, Julience. And yes, his latest release is called ‘Black Sheep’, but I think you’d gathered that by now. This man has appeared 3 times in my “maybe list”, but has never quite managed to arrive on this page of mine. So, as I stick a gold star on Julience’s lapel, I smile.
I’m going to morph into Billy Shears and reveal what’s underneath this ‘Black Sheep’. My previous two reviews have covered unusual songs with complicated structures. THIS, is the complete polar opposite. It is proof that great songs don’t always have to be complex. In fact, most of the songs you find yourself humming day-in, day-out, will probably be pretty simple songs. ‘Black Sheep’ shows off such a forté. If you’re gonna use just two chords, THIS is the way to do it. It is time to rock in a classic way. That’s right, we’re stepping back to somewhere between 1970 and 1976. We start immediately with a riff that conjures the spirit of Messrs. Jagger and Richards. Specifically ‘Start Me Up’. That’s in the left ear. But just one round in, we’re introduced to the rest of the band with a second guitar on the right – one that sounds as though Mark Knopfler has borrowed Richards’ other guitar. Bass right down the middle, and drums that sound straight outta ‘All Right Now’ by Free. Yes, complete with unmistakable COWBELL!!! But PLEASE don’t make the mandatory (they’re not mandatory) cowbell jokes in the comments. The cowbell is feeling a little put upon. But now we come to the voice. Imagine the attitude of Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott and Bruce Springsteen with the vocal tone of… ah damn, I can’t quite get it. Can you? Maybe in the comments? Is it Roger Daltrey with a large sprinkling of Peter Gabriel? You tell me. My final comparison is probably not one that anyone else would come up with… Daft Punk, anyone? No, I’m not joking. There’s a song called ‘Fragments of Time’ by Daft Punk & Todd Edwards that for some reason feels somewhat similar to me. The sound is entirely different. So is the genre. So is the entire song. And yet there is something there. Almost certainly complete coincidence, but I like to make these little comparisons – it’s just the way my brain works. I hear you already: “Coincidence?? You’re completely insane! They’re nothing LIKE each other, you twat!”
But… Two chords… How does this work? How can just two chords make a song great? I’ll tell ya. When we sing songs, we don’t sing chords. We CAN’T sing chords. Instead, we sing melodies. Melodies with words. Which is two thirds of what makes up “the song”. Other than the chords, the rest is performance and production. Rock is in Julience’s veins. Which isn’t about virtuosic ability, but a feel. Jagger did not have an incredible voice, he made a thrilling sound. Richards was never one of the greatest guitarists of all time; he made a thrilling sound. It’s more about attitude and rock ethic than anything else. You have to feel it to believe it. I felt it in Julience’s recordings, so I definitely believe it. The playing and the singing is everything, here. The performance. When it comes to rock, the performance is everything. Anyone can play Beatles songs, and “the song” always shines (admittedly never as brightly as the original). But with rock, when a mediocre rock combo starts to play a Stones tune, the actual song usually falls flat on its face. Because it’s simply not the Stones. The performance is why I adore Queens of the Stone Age. No one could take the place of Josh Homme, just like no one could take the place of Julience. His passionate singing voice, his edgy guitar tone, his masterful basslines, his sneaky OWgan parts, his fabulous drum fills, and yes, his cowbell; these are all of the things that make up ‘Black Sheep’. The fact that it’s just two chords becomes largely irrelevant. It’s a rocking little record (how many of you sang the next line?)… And speaking of lines, those lyrics are so integral to this being such a corker of a song – most of us relate. We’re all alone, together. Not as the song suggests, but as colossal woolly mammoths!
I did it!! I actually wrote a short(er) article!!!
If ever you’re feeling like you don’t belong, remember: Black Sheep Matter.
Listen to 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙥 on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Spotify playlist HERE!
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