Kip Macklejar – The Coal Miner’s Daughter
“I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!” was the slogan used by a greasy margarine company to sell their products as a substitute for the equally greasy, less harmful original. (Don’t confuse that with John Lydon’s butter-commercial antics). And, dread of endless fat aside, that’s how I feel about Kip Macklejar rockin’ new single “The Coal Miner’s Daughter“.
Yes, it’s got a helluva punch to it. (In fact, Mr Macklejar, advertises himself as someone who has spent time in the company of brawlers. His bio suggests his group was booted from from a big tour because of one group member’s tendency to start fistfights. Macklejar clarifies that he does not condone such behavior). And, it damn well should. It sounds tremendously like Jack White’s solo raid, and to a lesser extent like Cage The Elephant and REM. All of those, live especially, are/were artists that enjoyed making a boisterous noise.
“The Coal Miner’s Daughter” is a futuristic-blues centred around the fantasy of helping the titular lady to dig into the very depths of hell. Kip Macklejar provides convincing Danish-delta slide guitar and vocals that can be heard over the loudest car tire rumblings.
Lykantropi – Axis of Margaret
The wonderful thing that keeps rock music in the state of existence, and will most likely continue to do so, is that like a mysterious brew, every new ingredient, added in even the smallest amount, under the proper conditions, changes the end result drastically from the batch before it. This occurs even when, roughly, all the materials used on previous versions were nearly the same.
I found the opening segment of “Axis of Margaret“, absolutely charming as if I’d just come across a lost Fleetwood Mac gem from the “Rumours” era. I know little of the band Lykantropi, and so I base my review entirely on the sounds I was fortunate to hear for the very first time.
While other bands let their ponies drink up from the same classic rock stream, the sound of this Swedish group has the mysterious texture that most others miss. The sound of the guitars is pristine. The vocals are confident and understated. The overall mood is witchy and enigmatic.
Lykantropi pulls off a special trick. They are not a band easy to pigeonhole. It’s much better to experience them, rather than have them explained to you.
