Carol Hodge – ‘Effortless Insecurity’ (Self Release)

Carol Hodge – ‘Effortless Insecurity’ (Self Release)

‘Manoeuvres’ is a signal of intent with an explosion of styles from the strong melodies you expect from Hodge mixed with a heavy pounding groove. That’s an opener with intent.

Seconds out round two is a jarring piano riff mixed with a clashing guitar as Carol has a lush melody mixed with something you’d hear from someone like Sparks. With a fantastic production, this sounds huge. this album weaves and bobs like a peak fitness boxer but with a cheeky wink there’s a horseshoe in the glove adding a bit of oomph! to proceedings sure the keys and wailing guitar breaks lean into um, the dreaded p-word territory (prog) arch I’ve said it. However, it’s not standing on a shroom with one leg cocked tooting on a clarinet prog but progressive all the same. However ‘I’ll Do The Begging’ is a reprieve with a lush melody and a swooning multi-layered vocal that draws you in in a good way.

‘Small Crumbs’ is a throbbing bass line and heavy guitar lick. With a big chorus. We’re four songs deep and four very different offerings but there is a really nice flow to these songs. Carol loves a strong melody but is as comfortable taking it down n dirty or swooning with the angels.

Queen of fitting in is Hodge at her best in storytelling and balladeering mode. There is no stone unturned here Carol’s strength lies in her personal confessions and relatable worldly lyrics that touch many of us, covering topics such as Neurodiversity, Insecure Attachment, Self-doubt/Self-worth, and the Autistic Spectrum. This is her heaviest and strongest album to date no doubt about that and the strength is in the lyrics and being comfortable in her skin and head and that’s like a superpower here.

‘Temporary Interlude’ is a heaving beast as it is the sound of someone on a charger leading the fight and flying the flag for being different and embracing that difference such a captivating array of sounds a real headfuck but it works so well.

The bravery of this album is immense and Carol should draw strength from the fact that she’s pretty bloody good at this songwriting and delivering lark making it look like a piece of piss. The album then grinds to a juddering halt with the beautiful ‘Ever Reliable Pain’ to put a softer full stop on proceedings creating a superb atmosphere on a rollercoaster of a record. Be proud of this Ms Hodge its chuffin excellent, you are one talented songwriter. Buy It!

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Autor: Dom Daley

Carol Hodge – ‘Vertiginous Drops’ (Midnight Stamp Records)

Carol Hodge – ‘Vertiginous Drops’ (Midnight Stamp Records)

Carol Hodge is a seven-fingered, piano-pounding, Yorkshire-dwelling Singer-Songwriter. Think Regina Spektor meets Billy Bragg, but with fewer digits and a continuous existential crisis. Crass’ Steve Ignorant just about summed up this Northern Lass quite well.

This is her fourth album it’s a dreamy lovingly cool album. Whilst she might have her roots and ethics and moral fibre bourne out of underground punk rock it doesn’t sound much like ‘Feeding OF The Five Thousand’ to be fair. What it is is wholesome piano driven pop (generally) with earthy lyrics that sit comfortably on the sincere and the tongue in cheek. It opens with something of a My Chemical Romance big ballad in its melody with a relaxed vocal that builds for the chorus and a sparce construction as the lyrics unfold.

It’s not a style I generally tend to listen to but it’s not hard to appreciate how well these songs are constructed and how passionately they are delivered. I saw Carol support Ginger sometime last year and her passion and craft shon through as did her wonderfully possitive disposition. It was refreshing and different. Funnily enough her song ‘The Price’ features Ginger and is a really good pop song. At times Carol Hodge reminds me of Eddi Reader and songs like ‘Grayson’ are attention grabbing in its simplicity and delivery. The vocals and piano are intertwined and the lush strings are sufficiently low in the mix to let the story breath.

‘Never Run Out Of Things To Worry About’ has a bit of Depeche Mode meets New Order about its pulsing synths. Clean the Slate’ also features fellow Yorkshire dweller Chris Catalyst as the song “Whigs out” to it’s conclusion. This album is pretty much as far as you can get from, say Crass but thats cool that as an artist she can turn her hand to very different styles and that versatility is a possitive. She should head out on tour with Marc Almond they both do this Torch song style really well and I find it intriguing and alluring and find myseld focussing on the lyrics and the song rather than the style its delivered in often touching and always delivered with quality.

Take a left turn and let some melancholy into your life and give this seven-fingered, piano-pounding talent a go, you might just discover something you never thought you’d like. Punk as fuck see.

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Author: Dom Daley

Rainy Days & Mondays

Rainy Days & Mondays

Filmed in The Netherlands during the summer of 2021 by Director Jacoba Cornelisse, the video beams the positive sensations everyone is yearning for. A family event of sorts, Conte, as well as his wife and kids, all appear in the video as a complimentary visual to lyrics which remind us to appreciate the simple things in life, embrace them, and never let go.

You can pre-order the new Steve Conte album, Bronx Cheer  here:
(Vinyl, CD or Digital Download, Unsigned)

 

Seconds out we have got the new video from the very talented Carol Hodge.  ‘So Much For Summertime’ is an ode to the lost summer of 2020, and the Covid hangover continuing today. Instead of being a lamentation, Hodge digs deep to find the irony and positivity in the precariousness of our current existence. Wall of sound vocal harmonies, synths and swooping guitars ensure an uplifting listen, a counterpoint to the wry lyrics about imbalance and feeling trapped.

The music video was created by video artist Daniel Mudford Of Balham. Daniel has an impressive back catalogue that includes shooting BTS documentaries for classic movies Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Pirate Radio and Hot Fuzz. Dan also composed the soundtrack for one of Carol’s favourite films, Shaun Of The Dead, and has toured with Bill Bailey, so she is very excited to work with him.

 

Finally how about some rock from Toronto?  Toronto’s premiere buzz band, Wine Lips, have just announced their latest full-length release Mushroom Death Sex Bummer Party due out this Fall on Montreal’s Stomp Records.

Carol Hodge new video and album news

Carol Hodge new video and album news

CAROL HODGE RELEASES NEW SINGLE ‘THIS’ 

 

NEW ALBUM ‘THE CRIPPLING SPACE BETWEEN’ is OUT SEPTEMBER 24th VIA MIDNIGHT STAMP RECORDS

 

 

“One of the best songwriters in existence at the moment” – Louder Than War

 

Yorkshire-dwelling singer-songwriter Carol Hodge is a wonderful musical dichotomy. With her roots and ethics firmly set in punk as keyboard player and long-term collaborator with Crass frontman Steve Ignorant and his current band Slice Of Life, Carol is also a uniquely gifted song-writer and as able to conjure up beautiful pop-infused, heart-wrenching melodies as she is screaming into the face of authority and injustice

 

She describes herself as a ‘seven-fingered pianist’. Carol was born with a rare condition called cleft type symbrachydactyly, which means Carol has just two fingers on her left hand. This hasn’t held her back as her impressive CV is testament to. Carol also performs as a keyboardist/backing vocalist with various touring bands including Ryan Hamilton (signed to Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records), Crass/Steve Ignorant, and has also guested with Ginger Wildheart, Headsticks and The Membranes.

 

Today sees the release of ‘THIS’, the first release from the forthcoming ‘The Crippling Space Between’ album, due September 24th via Midnight Stamp Records.

‘THIS’ is an uplifting rock anthem that packs a positive punch. Lyrically, the song references W.H. Auden’s Funeral Blues, and charts the deterioration of the spirit throughout 2020. Dramatic low-key verses give way to huge and heavy guitars in the choruses, reflecting the rollercoaster of uncertainty life has become of late. Carol explains:

 

“I’ve never felt such rage, such grief, such uncertainty. We all like to think we are in control of our own lives, and have a hand in our own destinies, but 2020 pulled the rug out from under us. It has absolutely taught me to accept that there are forces in the world beyond my control. I have dug deep and found the positives. When it seems like there is nothing left, there is hope. Always.”

 

The official music video stars Nashville-based dancer Erik Cavanaugh. Erik’s unconventional style and crusade against the stereotype of the ‘dancer’s body’ (his philosophy: “Do you dance? Do you have a body? Then you have a dancer’s body”) has won him over 13 million likes on TikTok. He also features in music videos by The Avalanches (feat. Rivers Cuomo) and Tim Chadwick. He dances up a storm throughout the video, ending the finale in 5 inch heeled red latex boots.

 

 

Produced by Dave Draper (Jazmin Bean, The Wildhearts, The Professionals), ‘The Crippling Space Between’ is an unashamed exploration of the emotional rollercoaster that was 2020. Carol flits between musical styles, bridging the gaps with her astute lyricism. A fierce believer in remaining independent, the album will be released on Carol’s own label Midnight Stamp. Previous albums Savage Purge (2020) and Hold On To That Flame (2018) featured on several Top Album end-of-year lists, and 2020 single Stopped Believing In You received significant indie and online radio play, including from BBC Manchester and BBC Bristol.

 

Find Carol Hodge online Here

Carol Hodge – ‘Savage Purge’

Carol Hodge – ‘Savage Purge’

This album represents one of those brilliant moments in life when you receive an album that just immediately clicks on almost every level. If this album didn’t come from Hodge, it might not be what you expect from RPMOnline. With a history of performing with Crass, Ryan Hamilton, and Ginger Wildheart among others though, I was going to be very interested in hearing this album on that basis. From the moment I hit play, I found myself stuck on the computer the first time it played. I immediately burned a copy for the car and then made sure it was on the iPod so I could play it throughout the house. Hodge has created a great pop album that takes darkness and immerses it in hope and her charisma.

‘Stop Worrying Baby’ features some very nice piano that reminds me more of the likes of Carole King then what people consider pop music today. Hodge’s voice hits me in all the perfect ways, and she uses it to craft a magical chorus that has made me hit the repeat button numerous times. Piano alone introduces ‘Waving Not Drowning’ with the song feeling like it should be the centerpiece in a movie. Musically, this song has a very haunting feel to it, but, as I mentioned in the introduction, the song has much more of a positive message to tell with this song addressing suicidal ideation and the importance of reaching out to others whether it be friends, family, or strangers. ‘I Still Love Me’ provides an increase in the tempo and celebrates all of the special things that make each of us without it sounding cheesy. Dave Draper’s production is spot on throughout the album (as expected) with this song being a shiny example. The drums and bass jump out of the speaker with the guitar riff being perfectly placed. The chorus is designed for maximum effect without it being over the top in the mix.

‘In Case of Emergency’ showcases how powerful a ballad can truly be. The delicate piano works in perfect union with Hodge’s vocals. The subtle twist in key going into the chorus is tremendous. I also don’t think I have made it all the way through this song one time without the hair on my arms standing up from Hodge’s magical vocal. The subtle use of the guitar here provides some additional texture. Following that song was never going to be easy, ‘Magical Bullet’ rises to the task by providing us with a great rock song that makes it impossible to sit through without moving. You will want to be up on your feet moving, dancing, and singing.

Kicking off the back half of the album, ‘Send Me Someone’ reminds me more of the likes of Fiona Apple perhaps. There is something magical about Hodge’s voice when it is just paired with a piano. While this song does not connect quite the same as ‘In Case of Emergency,’ it remains a powerful song full of powerful, direct lyrics. The sequencing here is extremely important too with ‘Send Me Someone’ containing vocals until almost its last note. The transition to the layered vocals at the start of ‘Semi Colon’ is perfection. I am left hanging on every vocal and piano note on this one. Even after many plays, it becomes a challenge to write a review while listening to the album because I just keep getting lost in the music and words all over again. ‘Virtue Signals’ turns up the rock again and is also the longest song on the album at 5 minutes. This song has proven to be more of a grower which I attribute to the previous song being so amazing. Hodge sings with confidence and power here which gets highlighted with the way the pre-chorus sets up the chorus by taking her vocals and musical down a deep ravine before having the full music and vocals come back for the chorus.

Hitting near the end of the album, ‘Stopped Believing in You’ has all the makings of a huge crossover hit if it could catch some airplay. Draper had made a comment to me about the potential of this song to make this album huge, and he was right on the money. It highlights the strength of the album when this song gets placed near the end. The song builds and builds over a musical beat that again gets the listener moving. Subtle musical touches rise to the surface with each listen, and, at just over 3 minutes, this song ends way too soon so I have noticed this is another one where that repeat button keeps getting abused.  ‘Let Gravity Win’ serves as a perfect closer as Hodge tells the narrative that happens to us as we get older in this society. The song provides a sense of catharsis and provides empathy that we all go through this rite of passage. We can do it our own way though.

‘Savage Purge’ hit me at the perfect time when I first heard it so I resisted reviewing it immediately. I wanted to give it a little more time so I could dig in deeper. Additional listens have only strengthened my first impression. These 10 songs deserve to be heard by an audience far and wide. This album also goes to another level in the dead of night when there are no other sounds in the background. Do yourself a favor and give this album some listens and a purchase. We need to keep hearing more songs by Hodge.

‘Savage Purge’ is officially available March 30th and available for purchase now

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Author: Gerald Stansbury