Our columnist Dom Kiris presents his playlist for December 2023. Find The Beatles, Green Day and many others.
Rediscover Dom Kiris’ previous favorites here.
The Beatles – Now And Then
John couldn’t have imagined that his piano-voice demo tape would spark the most anticipated reunion in rock history 54 years later. Technology is not everything, basically “Now and Then” is a sublime song worthy of the Beatles. Four minutes of pure emotion to connect yesterday and today.
Green Day – The American Dream Is Killing Me
Green Day returns to its best form, when the trio denounces this good old American dream with lead in its wings. Produced by Rob Cavallo, like in the heyday of Dookie in 1994, we even get a big nod to the melody of “Basket Case” in the solo during the zombie attack.
Idles feat LCD Soundsystem – Dancer
The intro taken from James Brown introduces the explosive “Dancer”. Then it’s still a question of dynamite when the gang from Bristol attacks the dancefloor, hammering out the bass of an apocalyptic disco. With Idles, we fidget more than we dance, but we let off steam while screaming the chorus with LCD soundsystem as a guest.
Brittany Howard – What Now
Solo, the singer of the southern group Alabama Shake reveals a more contemporary approach. Exploring new technologies in search of her future retro Afroism on “What Now”, Brittany Howard produced a true dance hit while keeping the soulful gospel spirit of her incomparable deep voice.
MGMT – Mother Nature
Painless birth of “Mother Nature” according to Andrew and Ben, the creative duo from Brooklyn. This ode to the animal kingdom begins as a soaring psychedelic folk song, then soars under beautiful guitar flights for a result of sunny pop with the feel of a 90’s Britpop revival.
The Libertines – Run Run Run
With adolescent enthusiasm, “Run Run Run” comes crashing down to announce a fourth album from The Libertines in 2024. Carl, Pete, John and Gary are all credited with proving that their criminal association still has something sinister,…. even when they take the road to sobriety.
Blackberry Smoke – Little Bit Crazy
Charlie Starr, the singer with the competitive sideburns, is an outstanding composer. Over the course of Blackberry Smoke’s albums, he explores the path of Southern rock while enriching it with new influences. This time, thanks to an African-American choir, the Stone song “Little Bit Crazy” is transformed into a crazy gospel song.
Bjorn Berge – Black Night
It takes courage to cover “Black Night”, by Deep Purple alone on acoustic guitar. And believe me, there’s nothing missing when Norwegian finger picking virtuoso Bjorn Berge tackles one of the most emblematic hard rock riffs, while bringing his Viking bluesman touch.
Astonvilla – Splendor Evolution
Despite the turbulence of life, Fred the lead singer always knows how to surround himself well to reinvent the continuation of Astonvilla. “Splendor Evolution, a new single for almost ten years, fulfills its mission of alerting fans to the return in all its splendor of a group that knows how to keep its good punchy reflexes.
Colorbox – Mad At You
Colorbox is the project of two figures from Le Havre, bastion of rock in France. We find there as a duo, the tireless songwriter Marc Minelli and Olivier Durand, Elliott Murphy’s faithful guitarist. Their album Made in Normandie has the simplicity of an exchange between two good musicians at an eclectic discotheque.
The Dom Kiris Playlist is available in WECB n°158, available on newsstands and via our online store.