𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 - this week: Nothing To See Here - Unobliterated

Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly - an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙏𝙤 𝙎𝙚𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚 - 𝙐𝙣𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙

Charles winces and wonders…

It’s a funny ole’ world, innit. So much is going on, all the time, everywhere. Some good; mostly not. Yet we’re rarely aware of any of it. Sometimes it’s due to our own ignorance, but usually it’s because we’re kept in the dark. Why is it when someone says “nothing to see here”, there is always something to see there…? Most people take what they’re given. Most people don’t question. With eyes wide open, most people only see. They do not observe and they do not perceive. They do not think. If they argue, it’s because others are arguing. A sheep will stand not comfortably but not uncomfortably. It will simply stand there. It will only bolt if other sheep are moving at speed… So, why? Why do we react so automatically? Is it ease? Is it laziness? Is it trust? Or is it none of these…? Are we actually all thinking the same “that can’t be right”, but are too afraid to open our mouths? Are we perhaps simply scared of querying? Nervous of the potentially worse response? Maybe we just don’t WANT to know. Maybe the whole “ignorance is bliss” thing is safer in our minds. Calmer. We’re all in this together anyway, so maybe if there’s something bad, it’s bad for everyone so I won’t be alone…? That seems a rather strange frame of mind to me. Surely it should be more like the words of The Animals: “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”, rather than to all go down together…

When something smells fishy to you, do you sit back and eat the fish? Or do you go into detective mode? Do you try to get to the bottom of the matter? Or perhaps you're the absolute ultra end of the spectrum, in that as soon as you are suspicious, you shout "LIES!!", without any proof or even reason, and then quickly bugger off to count guitar strings...? I think this way is just as blind as eating the fish. You've decided the scent before opening your nostrils. Whichever way you might be, I think the most important thing is to not follow the crowd. In the words of The Beatles, “Think For Yourself”. I am not quite saying that you should trust no one and question everything, but that you should perhaps reason with yourself should something strike you as - to quote Dom Piper - “A Little Odd”. It can even be bad for your mental state of mind to just nod and take it. But PLEASE don’t become a blind protester, protesting for the sake of protest. That’s just annoying and pointless. If you become a full-on spy and trust no one, paranoia can ensue, and you might start to lose your mind, not to mention your friends. But I would suggest to be on your guard.

How many of you have been told something that seems strange to you? And yet you watch in wonder and subtle astonishment as everyone around you seems to be acting as though they have been told something completely normal…? Have they all lost their mind? Have YOU?? It’s an uncomfortable feeling. An isolating feeling. A feeling that puts you outside the comfy box, in the cold reality. Are they all blind? Are you seeing something that isn’t there? The itchy discomfort begins. You ask some close friends their thoughts on the matter. Rather more calm, they feel the same as you. Which in turn makes you feel rather more calm. The knowledge that you are not losing your mind, or that if you ARE losing your mind, that you’re not doing it alone. That in itself can be some weird kinda freaky comfort. The most important thing is to remain calm. BUT HOW CAN YOU REMAIN CALM WHEN SOMEONE SAYS THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE HERE WHEN THERE SO CLEARLY IS SOMETHING TO SEE HERE???!!!! God damn it. Simmer down. Hush those boots of yours. Take heed from your calm friend. Don’t exacerbate the matter, but DO get to the bottom of things. It’s all about the bottom. The calm bottom. Less Dirty Harry; more Columbo. You might feel cooler and it might be more fun to pretend to be Dirty Harry, but it just ain’t right. However wonky your eye, be Columbo. Wear the raincoat.

No, I haven’t entirely lost my mind. I just felt like going somewhere different today. And today, we are discovering the unobliterated truth that is Unobliterated. An Englishman in Portugal who has just released his latest single, ‘Nothing To See Here’. Of course, he wasn’t born by the name Unobliterated, for that would be silly. He was in fact labelled Gary Taylor. And still is. For some reason, now that I’m familiar with the name “Unobliterated”, I forget that it isn’t actually a real word. And for some reason, I always say Gary Taylor in a Scottish accent with a slow drawl. But that’s probably just me. Gary and I have worked together in the past. The recent past. His previous single (‘Light Years Apart’), in fact. And it was one of the most straightforward, pleasing projects I have ever worked on. A true professional gentleman who had almost gone overboard with the planning in terms of getting me what I needed in order to mix said piece. I had an excellently performed, played, sung, programmed and produced piece, complete with perfectly labelled stems, notes, and even colour-coded spreadsheets. I had not yet told him that I am allergic to spreadsheets, but I only had a mild reaction in the end. There was such order, thought and effort in place. It brought me back to the days when people used to bother and be helpful. Let me just quickly add though, that this is absolutely NOT a dig at any of my clients for their own personal process. I don’t really mind how I receive things, as long as the clients are kind and respectful (which on the whole they are). I was simply unused to this level of methodicality. Not a word. For this new song, Gary wanted to do what he usually does: do it alone. He went back to his usual ways of involving no one. Well, except for Flynn...

Although all of Gary’s songs sound different, they all have something that tells me they are Unobliterated. There’s something 90s about them. Something that suggests that Noel Gallagher was involved. He wasn’t. But also something a little more up to date than this. There is usually a perfect blend of analogue instruments and electronica, with a little bit of psychedelic Eastern charm thrown in for good measure. A fusion that is barely apparent at first because of how well each song is put together. ‘Nothing To See Here’, however, has more of the analogue and less of the electronic. There’s quite a bit of The Cure, at least that I hear in the verse. This definitely feels and sounds like a tight band playing as they have been for years. Yet it’s all just Gary Taylor (with a slow drawl). Right from the very tom intro, there is urgency and energy. He's a big fan of making drums and percussion do what they were born to do. Drums don't have to just slam. These drums infiltrate the song with pulsing electricity. The bass slinks its way with nods, shoulder shrugs, dancing fingers and open mouth. The eerie guitar lines prowl with insistence, caring not about leaving footprints, while the organ creates an atmosphere so chilling. We pause at the door to the beginning. The door opens and Gary starts to sing. Ooh, it's good. Centre-stage, with bright, airy tambourine, he opens up. The band supports his sentiment from all sides. What a verse! But the pre-chorus goes heavier, deeper and darker. There's that Eastern charm. And then, a perfectly catchy chorus to please those who wish for it. As is quite often the case with me, I prefer the pre-chorus to the actual chorus. But wordily speaking, they are of identical class. Let's talk about those woyds.

Despite being somewhat wordy in my weekly ways, the words of a song are not something into which I often delve too deeply. But in this case, I feel they are the shining glory of the piece. This doesn’t feel like a piece of music on to which lyrics have been simply superimposed. Whether it is the case or not, this feels like the lyrics came first. Unusually for me, I zoned in to the words on first listen. Normally this doesn’t happen until somewhere between the 3rd and 8th listen. Basically, music is normally everything to me. Sure, I’ll probably usually be singing along to the chorus before the end of the first listen, but I won’t have really listened to the whole saga. More just the catchy chorus. And even then, I might not have taken in the meaning of the words. They’re more just verbal utterances in rhythmic form. ‘Nothing To See Here’ has to be one of my favourite lyrical gifts within the New Artist Spotlight community. I always hailed Dom Piper as the greatest lyricist on the NAS, but I do feel that Gary takes on the mantle while Dom continues to be “in between songs”. While Gary doesn’t quite present a full narrated story (often with characters), he does however manage to grab one’s attention and make one see sense. There is a looser style in Gary’s lyrics, but that somehow makes it more casual, as if he’s having a heart-to-heart chat, man to man, or man to woman. Despite being looser, there is urgency and there is desperation. There is honesty and there is frankness. This is reality, like a cold, hard marble. We hear his incredulous disbelief, and it’s begging! Begging you to listen. Begging you to nod along. Not just to the beat, but in affirmative response.

I think this could be my favourite from Gary so far. And I didn’t even get on to the sumptuous bridge… Or the fact that the harmonies were sung by Flynn Taylor... Or who that is… Oh, just listen, will you? While there might be nothing to see here, there’s most definitely something to HEAR here. Hear, Hear!

I must now bugger off and count guitar strings. I’d make a spreadsheet, but my allergy’s back. Sorry, I’ve got nothing to say here.

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