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Best tunes of 2020: #12 Elliott Brood “Stay out”

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It was an old high school friend that tipped me off to Elliott Brood close to two decades ago. I haven’t seen Jeff in the flesh for many, many years but we’ve long been friends on the Facebook and at some point in the 2000s, he posted on his page about his cousin Casey’s band. I was mildly curious so I checked out their website. Their self-description as ‘death country’ made me laugh enough to give their debut long player, “Ambassador”, a listen and the rest, as they say, was history.

The trio of Mark Sasso, Stephen Pitkin, and Casey Laforet formed in Toronto in 2002, a few years before that fateful Facebook post. I’ve since found much to like in their alternative folk/country/rock over the years, have seen them live a couple of times, and would jump at the chance to do so again. By my count, they’ve released six studio long players and a bunch of EPs, including 2023’s “Town” and 2024’s “Country”, which were collected together to form one super album last year.

Today’s song, though, comes care of their last full-length album, “Keeper”. Of track two, Casey Laforet fully admitted that it was inspired by an old mandolin that he bought in St John’s, Newfoundland, that he calls ‘Old Smokey’. He hadn’t picked the instrument up in a while but when he finally did, “Stay out” simply burst forth into existence. He says that he doesn’t think the song could have or would have been written on a guitar. It was ‘Old Smokey’s tale to tell. Indeed, the mandolin strum is prominent and alive in the song. But so too are the foot stomps and hand claps* and for that we can only be eternally grateful.

“I got healthy kids and a beautiful wife
But I don’t wanna go home
I’m proud and thankful and terrified
But I don’t wanna go home”

“Stay out” is a joyful sounding number despite its not-so-joyful lyrics. Sometimes everything appears to be going well on the outside but things are not quite right on the inside. Thankfully, we have songs like this that make it all feel alright and we can get up to stomp it all out.

Thanks, Old Smokey. And you too, Elliott Brood.

*Both are sounds that the band went to great lengths to include on “Keeper”.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2020 list, click here.

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Best tunes of 2020: #13 Moaning “Ego”

<< #14    |    #12 >>

Moaning is an American indie rock trio that was formed in Los Angeles, California back in 2014. This wasn’t the first rodeo, though, for Sean Solomon (vocals, guitars), Pascal Stevenson (bass, synthesizers), and Andrew MacKelvie (drums, percussion). All three members were veterans of the hometown music scene and in fact were in a previous band together, having met and formed a friendship back in high school. This band seemed fated for more success, though, after some chance encounters led to Alex Newport producing their self-titled debut album and to their signing with iconic indie label Sub Pop for its release.

Moaning quickly drew comparisons Joy Division with their bass-heavy, dark, and angular post punk sound and Sean Solomon’s dour vocal delivery. They could’ve done worse in many people’s eyes and ears, especially since the mention in the same breath was not imbued with any derogatory irony. From album one to album two, the progression left room for the haunting synths to appear, giving the whole party a retro and nostalgic feel. And not forgetting of course, that at their base, all of their songs are dance floor, freak-out ready.

“The highest high, the lowest low
I wanna lose my ego
It’s easier to complain
But there is beauty in the mundane”

Track one opens Moaning’s sophomore album like a scraping footstep in an empty and very likely haunted house just after midnight. “Ego” is a driving and rumbling bass line that Peter Hook might be proud of and the drums just trounce along, adding a thudding heartbeat to this psychological thriller. Wailing synths grace the chorus, only slightly foretold by alien sounding creaks, just below the surface, seething and biding their time to strike. And as dark and sinister as this all sounds, the inspiration for the lyrics are quite the opposite, exploring the idea of thinking of others outside of one self, putting aside your own bs to see that the world is still happening around you.

“I wanna be anybody but myself
I wanna love anybody but myself”

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2020 list, click here.

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Best tunes of 2020: #14 The Beths “I’m not getting excited”

<< #15    |    #13 >>

Just a few days ago I posted about a set I caught at last year’s Ottawa Bluesfest, a set that serves as just one example of what makes the festival so special: the strong possibility for musical discovery in the joy of live music. This next band on my Best tunes of 2020 list was another example of one whom I really fell hard for when I saw them at this very same festival.

The Beths were formed in Auckland, New Zealand in 2014 by four musicians who met at university while studying jazz. They released their debut long player “Future me hates me” in 2018 but I didn’t come across it until the following year, else I might have included it on my list of favourite albums that year. Luckily it didn’t escape other’s notices because all the critical acclaim meant multiple tours and one of these landed them on the 2019 Bluesfest lineup. I don’t remember now if I picked up on them before I saw their name on the website or afterwards, but I definitely earmarked them as a set I really wanted to catch after repeat listens of their power pop harmonies. And of course, I’ve mentioned a few times on these pages how the New Zealand quartet “blew the doors off” the stage and I afterwards stumbled over to the merch tent to pick up a copy of their record.

So for me, “Jump rope gazers” was a highly anticipated release in early 2020, after having played the hell out of the debut record for the rest of 2019. Unfortunately, the sophomore record wasn’t quite as immediately attention grabbing as I was expecting and instead was one that had to grow on me, working hard to earn its place on my end of the year list. Track one on the album was an exception to this, a real standout for this writer, right from the first spin.

“I’m not getting excited
‘Cause my fight and my flight are divided
And so I don’t enthuse
Keep my grip on joy loose
And I wait for the news
With my feet in my shoes”

At first glance, the music doesn’t match the song title. The revving guitars, insistent drum beat, and Elizabeth Stokes’ breathless delivery is all very exciting and feverish and energetic. However, when you consider its almost like an updated and more self aware take on Green Day’s “Basket case”, albeit with a different set of neuroses, the anxious tone reveals itself, as does the pervading take on The Jonah Complex. “I’m not getting excited” is so good and so relatable.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2020 list, click here.