It Came From New Brunswick
New music from The Clydes, San Tropez, and a Hoboken teen
THE CLYDES - “Everything’s Not Dark” (Mint 400)
Brothers Brian and Brent Johnson (Brent sings, they both play guitar and keyboards) are nearing their 15th anniversary as one of the last standing vestiges of the once mighty New Brunswick scene, abetted by bassist Andrew Orlando and a shifting cast of drummers. This EP bundles the new “Soak On” with the previously released “Sleeping On The Side of Your Head” and “This Is The Night Shift,” three tracks that remind us we’re still hearing new music written and inspired by the dark days of the COVID pandemic. ““Even if it seems the opposite sometimes, not everything is dark,” said Brent. “There’s always at least a little light.”
It’s almost as if the Clydes are trying to drag the glory days of their New Brunswick home base into the present with them, as the band revisits Eighties tropes in their songwriting and uses synths to create textured “New Wave” melodies. As I wrote in a separate review, “Sleeping On The Side of Your Head” recalls the “college rock” that New Brunswick’s WRSU championed back when Matt Pinfield was a DJ there, with its swirling melody and big romantic chorus. “This Is the Night Shift” adds a Latin accent, both in its melody, rhythm, and with Brent singing the first verse in Spanish. The new track, “Soak On,” reinforces the optimistic tone of the EP, with a synth flute adding a bright lilting filigree over Brent’s warm vocal; it’s a song you’d want to wake up to, bright as sunshine and as hopeful as a new dawn.
SAN TROPEZ - “Baby Bells” (Mint 400)
The resume’ of this band reads like a Who’s Who of New Brunswick scene of the late 90’s and early 00’s: Ralph Nicastro on guitars/keyboards/vocals, Albie Connelly on guitars and vocals, Frank Bridges on bass, and Andy Fountas on drums. Ralph was in Wreaths, Aviso Hara, and Sparks Fly from a Kiss; Albie was in Angular Brothers, Stuntcocks, and Urchins; Frank was in Magic Mountain, Duochrome, and kiaro skuro; and Andy was in Magic Mountain, The Border States, and Duochrome. Throw in Bionic Rhoda and Prosolar Mechanics and you pretty much have a list of my favorite bands from that era. So here they are, a little grayer perhaps but still rocking, following up their 2023 full-length with two new singles.
With hazy tones and supple textures, San Tropez uses Shoegaze as a template, although elements of the New Romantics and even Goth weave through the tracks. That said, you can take the band out of New Brunswick but you can’t take the New Brunswick out of the band, and you can hear that Brunfuss feistiness (“cruel but fair,” remember?) buried in these tunes, waiting to break out.
“Baby Bells,” released August 2, hits on all cylinders; the mix is brilliant, allowing every instrument to announce itself: Melodic bass, layers of synthesizers creating mood and atmosphere, a searing lead electric guitar, even the drums are crisp and distinct. Let’s face it, Shoegaze can be a bit, well, boring; this is most definitely not. The evocative vocal plays tag with billowing synths and stinging guitar, three or four things happening at once and they all play together dreamily. The more I listen to this, the more I find things to enjoy.
”Swear Off The Sunlight,” released in July, burrows a little deeper into the Shoegaze rabbit hole, with a soaring, romantic vocal by Ralph and an intriguing drum beat from Andy playing against synths and a throbbing bass. The dramatic bridge will make you catch your breath as the track trickles to a halt, and then explodes again into a kaleidoscopic array of sounds.
Now if only the Court Tavern were still around
MARZADO - “Show You Off” / “WRDPLAY” (Self-released)
Here’s another talented Hudson County teen, a classmate of Bitheru’s Thom Pareles and Three Dollars’ Ben Kamel at County Prep High School, making beats, singing, and pretty much proving that the music program there must be the best in the state.
“Show You Off” uses cascading vocal samples to create a vortex of pulsating sound over which there’s indecipherable vocals and a pulsing beat. At a quick two minutes, I might have to grade it an Incomplete, although the originality and production are clearly “A” material.
“WRDPLAY,” featuring guest vocalist Grey Roze’, samples a female choir and a jazz band over which Marzado and Grey Roze’ rap about tha thug life (or as thug as it gets in a technical high school with a focus on the arts.) While Wu Tang Clan need not be looking over their shoulder just yet, the two vocalists, boyish voices notwithstanding, lay down a compelling groove and I commend them for refraining from the drug-centric, misogynistic gangsta crap that dominates the market. For what it’s worth, when this track finished streaming, the algorithm took me straight to Kendrick. That ain’t bad company.
I look forward to hearing more.