New year, same thing? On we go some more, there is always music isn’t there? Five more musical things then, five (or so) things that have caught ears over the past few days, five musical things plucked from the overflowing in box or the feeds or the clouds or wherever these things come from. Five slices of music that have come our way and it is all very simple, five things, in no particular order, five sets of links for you to do whatever you want with. Five things we think worth your time, there is always music, there are always typos, there is always art, art excites. The first image is the art from Rutger Hoedemaekers new album, must find out who did it.

Five musical things then, in no particular order…

1: Mt. Mountain – This just in on this cold wet January Wednesday morning – “Australian five-piece Mt. Mountain are today releasing ‘Peregrination’, the second single from their forthcoming ‘Centre’ album which is due for release February 26th via East london’s Fuzz Club Records. Hailing from Perth, Australia, Mt. Mountain deal in a sprawling, motorik sound that journeys between tranquil, drone-like meditations and raucous, full-throttle wig-outs. Clocking in at seven minutes, you can now stream the soaring and hypnotic ‘Peregrination’”

2: Longstocking should make you feel good, this revisted slice of poppy goodness is from the album “Once Upon A Time Called Now” out once more on February 5, 2021 on Jealous Butcher Records

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“Secret treasure of the queercore/riot grrrl era, Longstocking’s Once Upon a Time Called Now was, ironically, the recording with perhaps the broadest commercial appeal. It leaps from the speakers, thanks to the immediacy of guitarist/lead vocalist Tamala Poljak’s pop songcraft and the sharp angularity and surging energy of the four-piece’s rock musicianship. Remastered for turntables, Longstocking’s debut is a record of 1997 with 2020 vision. In fact, the title couldn’t be more accurate: Once Upon a Time… is ready for right now”. Te reissue is out on February 5th, 2021.

Once Upon a Time Called Now was recorded, mixed and mastered by Bill Sanke, Downtown Los Angeles, June 1997. We recorded and mixed it in 5 days on a budget of $2000. Donna Dresch released the first edition of this recording on CD on her label Chainsaw Records in 1997″ We did cover it at the time, must admit I had kind of forgotten about it though. Do like the Illustrations by Nathan Paul Rice in the video. The Bandcamp is here

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3: Sturle Dagsland – There’s more emerging from Sturle Dagsland’s long awaited debut album that we mentionled late last year. The album will be released on February 5, 2021. Updates via the Bandcamp page. I imagine we’ll say more in the next few weeks…

4:  Tim Morse is a self-proclaimed progressive rock musician/composer who knows how to write a good pop song or two. He has also plays in Parallels (a Yes tribute band).

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5: La Morte Viene Dallo Spazio and a track off the new album, Trivial Visions on Svart Records. The new album is out in March, the name apparently means Death Comes From Space, the name is taken from a late 50s Italian sci-fi b-movie, pretty certain we’ve mentioned this before. More on the album closer to the release date

6: Rutger Hoedemaekers – okay, so there’s six, what ya gonna do? You got more than you bargained for, quit complaining. Do like the positive beauty of this, do like the quiet warmth. A track from Dutch composer Rutger Hoedemaekers debut album The Age Of Oddities, out on March 5th on FatCat’s 130701 imprint.

Here’s the official blurb from the label…

Dutch composer Rutger Hoedemaekers makes his debut solo release with a stunning album that marks the culmination of a decade spent in the hyper-creative studio environment he co-founded in Berlin, including four years working closely alongside Jóhann Jóhannsson. Sonically rich, emotionally deep, and immaculately handled, ‘The Age Of Oddities’ showcases a brilliant new talent, its cinematic eloquence bearing witness to Rutger’s experiences composing for film alongside Oscar-winner Hildur Guðnadóttir and Jóhannsson, for whom the album is partly a eulogy.

Whilst paying homage to Jóhannsson, ‘The Age Of Oddities’ sees Hoedemaekers forging his own sound and vision. It’s a bold and forward-thinking record, with a rich, hybrid sound seeing vocals processed and blurred alongside brass parts and a wall of strings shadowed by Rutger’s understated, textural electronics. Beautifully scored, immaculately performed and recorded, the album utilises the power of Budapest Art Orchestra’s 23-piece string ensemble conducted and co-orchestrated by Viktor Orri Árnason, alongside vocals (Kira Kira, Theatre of Voices’ Else Torp and Laura Jansen), horn (Morris Kliphuis), trombone (Hilary Jeffery) and violin (Una Sveinbjarnardóttir and Viktor Orri Árnason), with Hoedemaekers contributing trumpet, piano, keyboard and electronics.

Born out of a shared creative environment during a time of personal as well as social change, ‘The Age Of Oddities’ is a powerful and emotive work that closes a deeply productive yet also dark and heavy period for its creator. It sees Hoedemaekers finally stepping out into the spotlight after many years working behind the scenes, revealing a hugely talented new composer who is surely one to watch in coming years

And let’s just leave a piece of our friend Mark Keds here. I saw Kerrang’s Phil Alexander write of his “his impish qualities, his musical exuberance, and his sheer lust for life”, that made me smile, “impish qualities” is jsut about right. We had some good times putting on Jolt gigs and working with Deadcuts, we spent long hours talking in art galleries, “impish qualities” is so right. I shall miss bumping into the imp around the venues and galleries of East London. This was a good day, Mark pulling together bands, ballet dancers and paintets in a gallery – ORGAN: Starsha Lee, Deadcuts and a whole load of art, performance, smoke and red light at the Ritter-Zamet gallery, East London