𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 - this week: Too Early At The Party - Amaury Laurent Bernier

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.

𝙏𝙤𝙤 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝘼𝙩 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙮 - 𝘼𝙢𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙇𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘽𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙧

Charles is pickin’ up good vibrations…

I found myself quietly affected this week. It will not be a secret as to why, and will probably not come as a surprise to many of you. No, it is not anything war related. Neither is it anything political. And it is nothing personal (not really). There has been much in the press and all over the internet about it. Can you guess? Well, how’s about this for a clue. A post I saw yesterday on the International Singer Songwriters Association Facebook group sums it up pretty well: “I have two busts on my Steinway. One is Beethoven. The other is Brian Wilson”… Says it all. I personally might choose to have a bust of someone else on my Steinway. But one, I don’t have a Steinway, and two, I’m not sure Marilyn Monroe would be too happy with my placement of her bust. She’s giving me the excitations, but let’s get back to business. The chap who made this post evidently rates Brian Wilson as one of the true greats of all time. And he’s not alone in thinking this. In the past week, Brian Wilson passed on. I was hit with a silence when I found out. It wasn’t an incomprehensible loss of senses and inability to string thoughts together, like when the Queen died, but I felt strange. I felt like the past was slipping away from me. As if I was pulling on a rope gripped tightly with both hands, but someone had oiled the yarn. “The nearer your destination, the more you’re slip slidin’ away”, as Paul Simon once sang. Wilson is another great gone. Such a kind man, known for his honesty, childlike manner, and playful charm. What we really mourn though, is the loss of a sensationally talented man.

Another music man who passed away recently was Sly Stone, of Sly and the Family Stone. Why do I mention this? Well, because something strange happened on the internet this week. Brian Wilson died, and instead of the world coming together in mourning and celebrating the great man, there was the most peculiar division. It wasn’t the “Beach Boys versus Beatles” saga all over again. It was just so bizarre! Here’s what happened. Sly Stone passed away, and the world’s Press (rightly so) made huge coverage of it. Two days later, Brian Wilson passed away. Even huger coverage (rightly so). The internet decided to rewrite history and tell us that the death of Sly Stone was barely even reported and that all the attention was on Brian Wilson. The internet turned our mourning of the hugely celebrated and highly revered Brian Wilson, into us apparently being “racist”. Because most of us “decided” to be more affected by the death of a white man over the death of a black man. Yes, this actually happened. I was even watching little Brian Wilson videos celebrating his life and talents, and many of the comments completely ignored Brian Wilson, saying things like “RIP Sly Stone - legend”… Are we really now at the point of competing over whose death is more important??! This whole thing completely sullied the waters for both tragic losses. Brian Wilson is more famous. Brian Wilson had far more hit records. Brian Wilson has been in the public eye for 60 years. Is it any wonder that the coverage was greater? I gather that many people thought the sad news of Sly was about Sly Stallone - they didn’t know who Sly Stone was… He ain’t no Stevie Wonder. He ain’t no Michael Jackson. This is not about race. It is about the sad loss of great people.

It’s a personal thing. While the passing of Sinéad O’Connor stole the headlines in 2023 (understandably so), I was more affected by the passing of Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett and even Denny Laine. This obviously doesn’t mean I have anything against Sinéad O’Connor, but rather that I simply have more connection with Bacharach and Bennett. Sinéad O’Connor has far more fans than Denny Laine. It is completely understandable and right that her passing got more coverage, but Denny Laine is in my ears and in my eyes. Fred White was the drummer of Earth, Wind & Fire. Surely you were aware he died in 2023...? Or were you too busy mourning the loss of Sinéad O’Connor? Surely you knew of his existence in the first place…? Chances are, you didn’t. Ain’t no thang, brother. Most normal people (non-artists) would struggle to name more drummers than Ringo. We’re all different and all have different tastes and preferences; and that needs to be gracefully accepted.

With all that being said, I will move back on to the great Brian Wilson. One of the biggest influencers in pop music (long before “influencer” meant Tik-Tok whore - more busts for sale). One fellow musician was deeply affected by Brian’s passing. That musician is Amaury Laurent Bernier. He was deeply moved by the sad news, because Brian Wilson has always been such an influence on Amaury. Let’s have a look at his own Facebook post: “Pet Sounds is my favourite album of all time, and God Only Knows, my favourite song. It participated in opening a door I didn’t know existed - I never looked back”. How could this NOT be an influence on Amaury?? Brian’s influence is possibly his biggest claim. But even Brian had his influences in The Beatles. He heard Rubber Soul and was blown away. It made him create Pet Sounds. Paul McCartney was then blown away by Pet Sounds, and so came Revolver. Then Sgt. Pepper. It was one of the few times when jealousy was a good thing. But speaking of good things, let’s get back to Amaury. The Frenchman living in Hamburg swapped his Zut for his Achtung, and he was ready to make proper music. I say “proper”, because he ain’t just a pop fiend. He is mainly known for his film scores, winning awards left, right and centre (Deutscher Filmmusikpreis German Film Music Award last year, and Independent Days Filmfest Best Composer Award this year). Amaury is a very special composer who sees and feels sound and music. He just GETS it. He’ll compose in pretty much any genre under the sun; whatever the film or show itself requires. But sometimes he yearns for a bit of time to just do his own thing (he’s a busy man in demand). Something that isn’t for someone else. Something a little bit different to what he usually releases. He is an alternative pop man at heart. So finally, after a long, LONG wait, let me introduce his first pop release (outside his film career) in 5 years. Here’s Amaury Laurent Bernier’s Too Early At The Party.

His last pop project was - correct me if I’m wrong, Amaury - ’34 Days in Lockdown’, released in 2020. Either an extended EP or a short album. A demi-album, if you will. Of its 7 tracks, it was Track 1 that really solidified his talent and worth in the independent music world: Groundhog May. An ELO-tinged extravaganza, evidently inspired (consciously or not) by the band Grizzly Bear. I reviewed it in January 2021. It was my 17th review for the New Artist Spotlight, when I was young and fresher faced. These were the days long before HAL (A.I.) reared its ugly head. I was immediately a fan of Amaury’s music. I was jealous, if I’m honest. Quietly, he was the standard I was aiming for. So I released my ‘Hands Up!’ LP. It’s twice the amount of tracks as his demi-album, so it must be twice as good, right? Nah - quantity ain’t got nuttin’ t’ doo widdit. I just wanted to be “proper” like Amaury. He has the air of bohemian class about him. It’s all natural. He isn’t pretending. So that’s why I was really looking forward to this next chapter. The album is apparently due for release much later in the year, but for now we have Too Early At The Party, a 2 track single, or a demi-EP. Or, a double A-side! There is most certainly no obvious A and B side. ’Too Early At The Party’ and ’The Blue Box in the Sky’ are both A-grade A-sides.

’Too Early At The Party’ feels very much like part two of Groundhog May. It’s like a beautiful welcome back as he sees you at the door of the launch party. His eyes light up as he sees you. His elated smile turns him into a crazed, excited wolf. He ushers you in with flapping arms that scoop into his lungs (a beckoning of sorts), as the Champagne from his brimming glass slops all over his velvet sleeve. He smells delightfully expensive and wears his floppy silvered mane well. He’s probably eager to see me because it seems I was only the second person to arrive. Himself, being the first. The initial 15-or-so seconds of the song seem as though he has more bite than usual. There’s distortion on everything. But then we ditch the distortion and bathe in warm saturation. Guitars, bass and drums accompany his jaunty voice with style. It seems to suit his kooky persona. But then the wonderfully rich horn section truly brings the whole mix to life. Virginia Luehrsen’s trumpets blend perfectly with Björn Dahlberg on saxophones and clarinets. I can clearly hear the influence of Brian Wilson and ELO. It’s splendid! At exactly 1 minute in, I hear something reminiscent of The End and A Day in the Life by The Beatles, when (both times) Paul McCartney saves us from an almighty crash. There is a fat horn crescendo into very little. I do so love it when things DON’T explode when you think they will. But then Amaury builds everything again and gets back to where he once belonged. A fabulous reintroduction to Amaury Laurent Bernier. He’s back!

But what of the other side? ‘The Blue Box In The Sky’, is NEW Amaury. An ode to Dr. Who…? Tardis at the ready, as he picks just a few possessions from the old days, and brings them into a whole new future. This is so totally cool. We have never heard this side of Amaury before. It’s deep. We start small, with a slow thought-out progression and development. And yes, you did hear those lyrics correctly: fish fingers and custard! Then he pours ice cold water on us and passionately sings “Wake up!! Time is running out!”, with great urgency. A Dalek then warns us: “This is only the beginning”…! Perhaps in reference to the rest of the album? But 1:55 brings screams and guitars of Helter Skelter/I Want You proportion! He’s rockin’ out, hard. I don’t think Brian Wilson EVER got as heavy as this. Amaury yells “All we want is a good time!” - it’s just so exciting. The bass sounds like a raw Fender VI, but I have been assured it is simply great amps and pedals. It’s quite incredible how Amaury manages to take us on such a journey within just 4 minutes. But then again, he’s had so much practice and experience with journeys in his film composition. He’s a master of dynamics. He’s also a perfectionist, which is probably hell for him, but absolute heaven for us. If you were wondering who plays all the other instruments on the demi-EP, it’s all Amaury. Finally, the whole mix was finished off and polished by Andres Guazzelli. And to think these two songs are just instalment one! More to come later this year.

What’s your fave of the two songs, and why? It ain’t an easy choice. Let me know in the comments! Both songs will be on the Connolly’s Corner playlist for one week. You decide which song remains thereafter…

Here’s a message to my few idols: “God only knows what I’d be without you”.

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