Instant replay: David Brookings, The Rallies, The Legal Matters, and Nick Piunti

22 Friday May 2026

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

There are bands that get an instant add to our ongoing playlist whenever they put something out. They’re that reliable. Today’s crew offer some prime examples.

Ten albums in and David Brookings continues to deliver the goods in his distinctly American Beatlesque way. It says something about his vision and consistent songwriting that despite a changing cast of backing characters Encore has that recognizable Brookings and his Average Lookings sound. All the elements are there on “Richmond at Night” where a Micheal Penn kind of melodic intensity combines with an alluring rhythm to really draw you in. Then “Coldwater Canyon” updates an early 1960s song structure with some contemporary indie rock sheen, something we hear again later on “My Last Little Shred of Youth.” “It’s Giving Cringe” operates with a nice guitar lick that runs throughout this very pleasant pop number. But the obvious should-be hit single is undoubtedly “Where Did I Go Right” with its solid hooks. This one definitely says lather, rinse, and repeat. The album contains a number of offhand reflections on being a musical artist at this particular moment but goes into detail about the arbitrary nature of fame and being discovered on “The Van Gogh Plan.” Brookings also throws in the pretty stand-alone single “Shelby” to sweeten the package.

The Rallies are a ‘feel good’ band who know how to wield jangly guitars and harmony vocals to good effect. Album #4 No Better Time confirms this with plenty of soaring, uplifting tunes. Opening cut “This Time” lays out the Rallies musical formula clearly with sparkling guitar lines and layers of gorgeous vocals. Then “I Believe” is the hooky radio-ready single, taking off with a great singalong swing. You can practically feel “Comes and Goes” has a buoyant skip to its step. There’s something so positive threading its way throughout the proceedings here. Along with a host of nods to rock and roll’s glorious forebears. “Be With You” has got some great Beatlesque changes in the song structure. “Notice Me” is practically propelled forward by the jangle guitar work. “You Set Me Free” even adds an element of sixties Monkees-in-garage mode to the band’s sonic mix. “Not So Much Anymore” is another strong power pop entry, with a killer organ underlay. LP closer “If Only” strips things back to very essence of The Rallies, a basic accompaniment and the band’s riveting, plaintive vocals. Trust me, No Better Time is the shot in the arm you’ve been looking for.

Lost at sea, shipwrecked on some island, whatever. As long as I’ve got this new album Lost At Sea from The Legal Matters I’ll be fine. The band is an amazing combination of individual talents – Keith Klingensmith, Andy Reed, and Chris Richards – that gel with the sonic sophistication of acts like The Spongetones or The Flashcubes. The overall aura is a tight 1970s power pop vibe, equal parts Badfinger and Big Star. The album’s stylistic ambitions are readily apparent from the opening cut “Everybody Knows.” These are big and bold pop hooks. On “The Message” I hear faint echoes of The Beach Boys lurking somewhere in the background. But the dominant elements throughout the record are the carefully chosen lead guitar tones. Check out the atmospheric guitar lines colouring “Shake This Feeling,” the noir-ish guitar shading on “Temporary Thing,” or the spacey otherworldly guitar work on “It Doesn’t Matter.” “Let Me Explain” wields the guitar like a paintbrush to fill all the spaces of the tune. By contrast “Stuck With Me” puts its gorgeous harmony vocals up front. There’s also some great psychedelic pop moments here on songs like the XTC-ish “Marching On” and “The Exit Signs.” “Slow Down” gears things down in a recognizably Big Star register. Altogether, Lost At Sea is one smooth ride.

Sans his Complicated Men backing band Nick Piunti heads out Solo…ish on his new long-player. Andy Reed from The Legal Matters produced and played on the record with help from Donny Brown from The Verve Pipe. The results are a slight departure from Piunti’s usual fare, at times more spare and gritty or offering up surprising new sonic elements. He still sounds like a cross between Bryan Adams and Tom Petty and that works well with the material he’s assembled here. Opening track “Big in Madrid” echoes the songwriting chops of artists like Mike Viola. A strong start but somewhat supplanted by the striking shift in aural sensibility with the next contribution “Break Even.” The song’s interesting vocal melds dynamically with the distinctive guitar hooks. From there the album turns in a more heartland direction on “One Dimensional” and “Darken My Days.” I also get a strong Bryan Adams feel from “Vacant Heart” and “Peripheral.” “Handshake Deal” sounds like the radio-ready single to me, though “Bruises and Bandages” offers up a more mellow should-be AM staple. For polished pop sheen, look no further than “Better Songs.” Another should-be hit single.

You can cash in on these reliable acts with the hyperlinks above. They are ready for immediate playlist addition.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

A Man Called E returns

15 Friday May 2026

Posted by in Artist Spotlight

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

, , ,

LA-based Eels are an edgy indie rock outfit led by the mercurial Mark Oliver Everett. Over the course of 15 albums of original material he’s constantly pushed his creativity, boldly venturing into different genres and trying out new sonic textures. And that’s what great creative artists should do. But selfishly I can’t help longing for his early days when he was just a man called E. Before Eels became a thing Everett debuted as a solo artist in 1992 under the moniker E, releasing a confident, fully realized long-layer simply entitled A Man Called E. The record was a delightful mash of whimsical wordplay and hooky tunes, cast in a distinctive style. Lyrically, songs like “Hello Cruel World,” “Fitting in With the Misfits” and “Nowheresville” captured the early nineties youthful sense of disoriented ennui. Musically, the songs got into your head and tended to stay there. The 1993 follow up Broken Toy Shop furthered developed the formula, delivering another load of superbly melodic tunes like “The Only Thing I Care About,” “L.A. River” and “Tomorrow I’ll Be Nine.” When that didn’t take off it seemed that E closed shop in favour of Everett’s new, rockier vehicle Eels.

But what if E never really went away? Maybe a little bit of that early E vibe remained a part of the Eels project. It’s worth a look. To that end we’ve examined every Eels LP in search of suitably E-worthy material and the good news is that all 15 Eels albums have their E-moments. Some more than one. Below is a list of Eels’ releases and our E selection for each – enough for a double album – with hyperlinks to sources where they are available and some indication of our faves.

Beautiful Freak (1996) “Your Lucky Day in Hell“
Electro-Shock Blues (1998) “P.S. You Rock My World”
Daisies of the Galaxy (2000) “Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues”
Souljacker (2001) “Friendly Ghost”
Shootenanny! (2003) “Wrong About Bobby”
Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (2005) “Going Fetal”
Hombre Lobo (2009) “In My Dreams”
End Times (2010) “Mansions of Los Feliz”
Tomorrow Morning (2010) “Swimming Lesson”
Wonderful, Glorious (2013) “I’m Your Brave Little Soldier”
The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett (2014) “Where I’m From”
The Deconstruction (2018) “The Deconstruction”
Earth to Dora (2020) “The Gentle Souls”
Extreme Witchcraft (2022) “Learning While I Lose”
Eels Time! (2024) “And You Run”

I think these 15 cuts have that distinctive early E aura about them. They’re poppy, sometimes a bit twee, and tend to be concise and carefully assembled, at least when we compare them to other Eels material that can be more abrupt and earthy. Hands down “Wrong About Bobby” from Shootenanny! is the most E track not appearing on an E LP. “Going Fetal” from Blinking Lights and Other Revelations would come next for me. It’s got those alluring pop hooks that draw you in. Then a strong third would be “Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues” from Daisies of the Galaxy. The vocal is so solo E. Of course, you might make different choices. Frankly, the most recent “And You Run” from 2024’s Eels Time! is another strong contender.

Artists will go where the muse takes them. Sometimes that takes them in a direction away from what any individual fan may cherish most. For me, A Man Called E will remain one of my fave albums of the 1990s. Luckily a bit of that E keeps showing up on everything Mark Everett puts out.

You can keep up with Eels at their website and Facebook pages.

Extended play sampler tray

12 Tuesday May 2026

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

With a backlog of EP releases just sitting on the pass-through we thought we’d offer up just a few tasty samples from wide variety of recent releases. So much goodness in such short bursts. What’s not to like? More filling than a single but not quite a full long-playing meal.

Chicago’s The Embryos continue their musical evolution with Full Disclosure, a new EP that extends their stylistic reach. All four members contributed a song to this endeavor and I like them all. But if I had to choose I’m really digging the guitar-riffing sparkle that defines “Dopamine Scroll.” Strong guitar work is all over the latest release from The Brett Tobias Set on the five song set that is Tuneless Blues. I’ve already written about how fabulous “It Begins With a Lean” is. Now you need to spin “Happiness Writes White” with its special guitar contributions from The Church’s Marty Wilson-Piper. The Unswept were putting out some great covers a while back but on Bittersweet on Repeat we get their original tunes. “Downtown Bridge” open with jangle and just gets better and better. The Dreambots initially wowed us with their single “Tightrope.” Now they add four more tunes to the mix for their self-titled EP, all exhibiting their signature sonic sophistication. Here I’m taken with the lush strut of “Up Where the Sky Ends.” Gorgeous in a Moody Blues in-no-hurry sort of way.

Chris Alvy breaks out the cover tunes on his recent five song Blah EP, nailing a killer version of The Smithereens “Only a Memory.” Hard to top the original here but Alvy loosens up the attack, giving the song a bit more room to breathe and it works. The set also includes a pretty groovy version of the Barrett Strong classic “Money.” Shade55’s EP Spark! is guitar fabulous from the start to the last whisper of the inner groove. This has a Fountains of Wayne vibe but without all the suburban disdain. “Face of Tomorrow” is pretty special but “Red Handed” is the sure-fire radio-ready single. There’s something very Pacific Northwest about the sound of Research Vessel on their Part of the Charm release. The EP presser calls it ‘luscious lilting jangle pop’ and it certainly is on “Wish I Knew” and “Never Tell.” Murfreesboro, Tennesee’s Piglet has DIY in his DNA, his recordings are so rough and ready and charming. On Cow Tools he covers themes as diverse as clouds, not having sex, and being nice. But the tune you have to hear is “The Great Gonzo.” The mixture of abrupt organ, plinky guitar, 1950s space sounds, and earnest vocals is majestically lofi.

Vancouver’s The Nightflower Orchestra are a cabaret throwback. The vocalist is your emcee while the band can apparently cook up a range of styles to suit any crowd’s shifting mood. Pre-Cancelled For Your Convenience is cheeky, genre-bending fun, from the over-the-top “She Looked Like Elvis” to the Madness-like intensity of “King of Bad Notes.” Dip into any track here for a bit of fun but “Punk Rock Nursing Home” hits home. Melbourne, Australia’s The Gnomes rocketed out of their homeland last year with an amazingly fresh garage-rock meets beat-group sound. Their new EP More is aptly named. This is more of that same good groove. “Thinking of Me” opens the session with a blistering guitar rocking assault. But then “Don’t Worry” and “Magic Man” hit the Beatles and Monkees notes so perfectly, with just a extra dollop of distortion. We wrap this EP sampling with a real palate cleanser. Toronto’s Jonathan Davies offers up short excerpts of miniature grandeur on Under Such a Moon. The whole EP breeze by in just eight minutes but what drollery ensues. Each song is a mini journey to somewhere delightful. For instance, the instrumental “Springtime in Moscow, Ontario” idles by with a peppy, cheery demeanor. I’m just going to put the whole thing down here and you can decide what to sample.

We’re done but the kitchen’s not really closed. You can order up what you like by hitting the artist hyperlinks above. After all, the Bandcamp deli offers you tunes a la carte 24 hours a day.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Jangle Thursday

07 Thursday May 2026

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

Ah, the glorious sounds of jangle, in all its diversity. That’s what we keep showing up for. You can make jangle Thursday all your own with these five fabulous flavours of reverb-heavy tune-age.

The Young Sinclairs may not be as young anymore but their first LP in seven years Cycles Turning still exudes the wonder of youth. Title track “Cycles Turning” conjures every 1980s Byrdsian jangle revival motif. And that wobbly echo-laden lead guitar break is outasight. Then “Evergreen Ln” offsets its sparkly lead guitar lines with ghostly ethereal vocals. By this point the mood of this LP is definitely set. From there the vibe alternates between the psychedelic pop of “Own Two Feet” and “Don’t You Know” and the more spacey atmospheric feel of “You are the Reverie” and “Emerald Green.” The band do rock out on occasion. You can hear a very Stones rhythm guitar strumming on “Deceit Again” or just a garage rock growl defining “Tunnel Walls.” Should-be hit singles for me include “Never Find a Reason” and “Patience,” the latter acing a 1980s indie rock pop sheen. Standing apart, “The Great Unknown” works against the grain of much of the album with its clean, crisp contemporary sound. Seven years away has allowed this band to solidify their unique sound and the results are pretty jangle great.

I’ve covered a lot of The Junior League releases over these past ten years and they never fail to grab me. The new album The Moon Neither Noticed Nor Ignored is no exception. The secret is main man Joe Adragna’s superior song-writing. I’m pretty confident you could strip down nearly any Adragna song and bash it out on an acoustic guitar without losing any of its melodic depth. Of course, Adragna also knows how to dress a song, and his stylistic choices reflect a command of many decades of familiar rock motifs. Opening cut “Sunset Park” showcases this nicely, combining a dirty jangle with a 1980s indie rock sensibility. Or listen to how he adds a country-ish tang to the otherwise rocking “A Matter of Time.” The jangle on this album is often subtle and carefully chosen to suit each song. “Just as Long as I Have You” is delicate, in a Peter Case solo sort of way. “The Naked Lunchbox” offers languid lead guitar lines to decorate a ballad with an aching heart. On “Never Quite the Same” the spacey jangle guitar work sits somewhere in the background, allowing the focus to shift to the vocal and a more upfront Harrisonian lead guitar. And not everything is jangle-centric. “Waiting For You” is a tight rollicking tune where the distinct rhythm guitar anchors the sound. Or listen to how “I Am Going To Fight” is practically a masterclass in how to use bass to tie different elements of a song together, with great Beatlesque jangle too. Departures abound here as well. “The Sun Will Rise” sounds like a classic of indeterminate genre while “Forget Forget Me Nots” offers up a more sombre, acoustic guitar workout. I’d nominate the poppy Well Wishers-ish “Until You Get It Right” as the single.

Seattle’s TV Star have got their own buzzy guitar, wall-of-sound thing going on their new long-player Music For Heads and it’s a trip. It’s kinda shoe-gazey and jangle and spooky, all at the same time. Opening cut “The Package” is a slow waltz into all these elements. Check out the guitar reverb drenching “Reality Cheque,” you can practically body surf the rising tide of guitars. “Two Revolutions” is defined by a pristine, almost English folk kind of vocal that rises up out of the swell of electric guitars. Then “Texas Relation” pairs a striking electric guitar lead line with a cello and viola. The guitar/vocal interplay really defines this record in a distinctive way. “Greener Pastures” floats an ethereal vocal over jangle guitar. Melodically “Lodestar” evokes a Gordon Lightfoot thematic quality, channeled through an indie rock filter.  “Koresh Me Down” is like a jangle torch ballad while “Out Of My Bag” has a sixties psych pull to it. The record closes with slow, drone-y “Strawberry Hero,” a seductive mediation on taking it easy. Now that’s the way to end things.

In their Vapour Trails guise Kevin and Scott Robertson know how to load up on jangle guitar. But on this side project, dubbed simply Robertson, they expand the stylistic focus without quite letting go the jangle thread. The record has got fifties pop, country, folk and hybrid versions of all of the above.  “Everything I Wanna See” launches the set, evoking a laid back 1950s ‘cruisin’ the streets’ feel. Then “Don’t Know What It Means” immediately pivots into a sunshine pop jangle. By track #3 we’re in familiar Robertson territory as “Get In The Parlour, Jean” falls somewhere between British folk and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Not surprisingly, folk rock figures prominently in this collection with “Birdie in Window” and “Is It Wrong,” the latter adding drama to its folk feel with strings. “Noon and Night” crosses over from folk to country just like the Byrds once did, with the aid of some striking pedal steel guitar. “Sticking Around” also leans on pedal steel but with a more country pop demeanor. Some tracks defy easy genre type-casting, like “But Today” and “Wasting The Day Away.” Others like “Illusion To Me” are straight up jangle. My personal fave here is “To You.” It’s just beat-group delicious. Remarkable how this record manages to cover so much style but still retain a distinctive Robertson family stamp. And that’s a very good thing indeed.

A lot of people throw Beatle-isms around like candy. But the problem is that any overly familiar quotes quickly sound stale and hackneyed. That makes what Oliver Flanagan does very special. With his Sorry Monks project he cranks out tracks that exude a mid-period fab four essence. The effect is to conjure something reminiscent of any number of great Beatles songs without aping the original. Now with that claim in mind, it might seem cheeky to open his recent LP Nowhere Man with a song also named “Nowhere Man.” It’s not a cover but, as the album presser describes it, a ‘postmodern deconstruction of a famous Beatles tune.’ It’s like he’s reduced the song to a collection of puzzle pieces thrown in the air and somehow fit together in a new way. Most other Beatle riffing here is more brief and subtle. “Tiny Bird” opens with the distinctive “Please Please Me” chord changes before moving on to do its own thing in a more Rubber Soul vein. “Wine and Crying” also aligns with Rubber Soul given its dalliances with folk rock. Sometimes the effect is more about the song’s atmosphere. “King of Misery” has a Lennon-esque quality while “Goodbye Everybody” is very McCartney. “Eight Arms To Hold You” uses possibly the greatest Beatles title reject for a song with a “Drive My Car” vibe. “R Stevie Moore” is something different again, as might be expected given its title (though the track would not be amiss in the White Album orbit). I also hear a strong Kinks influence on cuts like “Freak of Nature” and “Pretty Little Head,” the latter evoking shades of “Tired Of Waiting For You.” Ultimately Nowhere Man’s Beatles aura is just a pleasant bonus. The album succeeds because Oliver Flanagan knows how to write great tunes.

Jangle Thursday doesn’t slide by every week. Jump on these jangle suggested hyperlinks right away to make sure these producers keep up the supply.

Photo ‘Guitarman’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Mayday!

01 Friday May 2026

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mayday is the international radio distress signal indicating that some kind of ship is going down. You say it three times just so there’s no mistake. Lately it’s been feeling like a succession of mayday moments the world over. The musical offerings here are all sounding some kind of alarm: social, political, individual. Take your pick.

Janne Borgh Fanclub kick things off with a song that heads right for the intersection of politics and popular culture we’re stuck into right now. “Poetry, Protest, and Pop Songs” is the title track of an album that wields some pretty mean jangle guitar riffs. If there’s any hope out there then a Rickenbacker will definitely be in the mix. Then The Blusterfields get to the point with “Here Come the Idiots.” Cutting lyrics are the order of the day here. And the tune is pretty sweet, kinda like XTC meets the Monkees. On “They’re Coming For Us” Ryan Allen makes it clear that sitting this one out is not an option. There’s a nice poppy bit of bridge work in this tune. From the EP of the same name you can also enjoy the incredibly hooky “This Ugly.” Style-wise the cover evokes all those old Billy Bragg album designs.

So what is to be done at this particular chaotic historical juncture? Responses vary. Andrew Weiss and Friends tells us “I Don’t Want to Live in This World Anymore.” It sounds like he’s turning away but the song is more about drawing a line in the sand about what you’re prepared to accept. With some great harmonica work. Sorry Monks cautions us to turn away from the bitter side of life on “Chip On Your Shoulder” with his usual Beatlesque aplomb. Just keep humming that chorus and who could be bitter? The pleasant surprise album from Juliana Hatfield and song co-writer Eric Payne Bets contains “Your Social Security.” And given clown car ride that is America’s current administration what might happen to it has got to be front of mind for a lot of people right now. Of course, if you’re looking for a dramatic exit, The Just Joans are suggesting that “Everybody’s Moving to Australia.” I’m not sure it’s really do-able for most people, particularly Australians. But it’s got a singalong swing to it that is certainly attractive. Of course, for a lot of people winging it is the most likely response to what is going on. Bory give breathy voice to such sentiments on “We’ll Burn That Bridge When We Get To It.” It makes this option sound so carefree, at least until things careen a bit more caustically in the instrumental break.

Now I’m not one for leaving things without direction. Joshua Jesty’s recent EP Orgone Box Sampler 10.23.25 riffs on a host of current governance problems, often with hilarious results. One song manages to madly repeat how someone has ‘put a tariff on you’ for just about everything. But the most pop oriented tune here is “Drop the Deadbeat.” The advice seems sound. Mark Ward has made a whole album decrying the problems of this moment. Godless Country has so many great cuts that call out who is responsible. “I Don’t Care” names names about this decades great cover-up and insinuates the rest. You know who he’s talking about here. Never has denunciation sounded so melodically sweet. Brother Dynamite also sharpen their lyrical knives on “Your Time Will Come” leaving little doubt who or what they are referring to. The message here is that what goes around will eventually come back around, delivered with a glorious chorus that feels more than a little uplifting.

Ending on a slightly different note, let’s face it, a lot of people are carrying on as if the world is not on fire. Jake Bugg really captures this reality on “Oblivious,” one of four cuts added to the expanded version of his 2024 album A Modern Day Distraction. The track sounds so guitar-ringing positive, despite its message. Sometimes you just have to smile through gritted teeth.

There’s a lot of ways to signal distress. We went the melody route. Help is just a hyperlink away with all the featured artists above.

Photo ‘The Andromeda Strain’ courtesy James Vaughn Flikr collection.

Breaking news: Softjaw, The Pretty Flowers, Quinn Hawkins, and Music City

29 Wednesday Apr 2026

Posted by in Breaking News

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

The news rolls in like the tide. Nothing can stop it, thank goodness. Here are the details on a few new breaking stories to come across our desk recently. To be filed under ‘melody central.’

Man it has been a long wait for the Softjaw long-player but the self-titled debut is finally out on Dandy Boy Records. The LP basically gathers together all the recently released singles and the material from the 2024 S/T EP, sequencing them in the order the songs were released. To have them all in one place only reinforces the retro new-wave pop genius of this combo. Things kick off strong with the 1979 perfect “Pleased With Me.” “Don’t Go Walking Out” just adds to the retro allure with its killer pop hooks. “Waiting at the End” is right in the mid-1970s pop groove. “Dragging My Feet” has obvious Beatlesque charms. However “I Need You” is the obvious should-be hit single with its strong Big Star flash. The newer tracks lean in a Todd Rundgren direction, particularly on “Working Too Hard.” “Playing Bogart” is something else again, with a slight Americana feel. This is a debut album that is a guitar-hook rush from start to finish. There’ll be no pausing when Softjaw hits the turntable.

The Pretty Flowers know their way around a hook but still somehow sound like a distant cousin of something more punk. There’s some residual edginess embedded in these otherwise melody-strong tunes that populate their new record Never Felt Bitter. “Thief of Time” is an amazing song to launch the record with. It’s got an easygoing charm, from the folksy vocals to the streamlined lead guitar lines. It grabs you and won’t let go. “Convent Walls” hit some of these notes too. Then “To Be So Cool” puts its edge up front, like the progeny of some punky forefather. Big choruses feature on number of tracks here, like “Oceans Swimming” and “Tough Love.” “Come Back Kicking” sounds like the single. It opens dynamically and keeps the surprises coming, like the killer harmony vocals in the chorus. “Big Dummy” is another radio ready track with its rough singalong quality. Some material has a darker feel, like title track “Never Felt Bitter (We Burn)” and “Ring True.” “Feel a Little Vague” is another departure, filling a broad sonic landscape with a big and sonorous sound. Things end with another twist as “Not Dissolve” delivers something more tender.

Seems everybody’s talking about Quinn Hawkins. The power pop blogs have decreed his new album Eccentric a must listen and I have to agree. You only need to needle-drop your way through his first album track “Can’t Wait To Go To Bed Every Night” to hear the Beatles and XTC bona fides. It also reminds me of Utopia in their heyday. Really, you can pick out so many distinct possible influences here. I hear a bit of Pugwash coming through on “Last Person in Town” or even some Mark Everett in his solo ‘E’ guise on “Nothing Seems To Kill Me Now.” “(Back Off) I’m On Vacation” is perfect Andy Partridge dissonant pop while “Souvenir in the Dirt” and “Cleaning Out My Mind” hit the XTC marks pretty effortlessly. McCartney is another strong contender for ka ey influence with “Don’t Want to Fight You Again” sounding very Macca pretty. Or there’s “Hawaiian Stress” which sounds like a mash-up of McCartney II-meets-Beck. Power pop records are guitar-centric as a rule but a number of tunes here are piano dominant, like “Don’t Call Me Your Future” and “Different Level of Hell.” Singled out for the hit single I’d choose “Love the Thought of You” with its strong defining electric lead guitar line that carries on throughout the song.

Music City’s Welcome to Music City is definitely located in the 1970s. From the opening chords of album opener “It’s Alright” it’s pure 1970s power pop time. Then both “When the Day Comes By” and “Do I?” lighten the mood in a California pop style. “A Matter of Time” even adds an AM radio pop single vibe in a Phil Seymour or April Wine vein. There are rockier moments here too. “Common Sense” has a looser rock and roll swing akin to the early 1970s-era Kinks.  “You Remember” has a combo of organ and guitar faintly reminiscent of 1981 Springsteen and Tom Petty but takes it to a different place. New wave gets a look in on “Pretty Feelings” and  “The Conversation.” It’s that distinctive rhythm guitar work. Lighter singer-songwriter pop touches colour “Photograph and the Big Star-ish “Little Favour.” And then things end with a bit orchestral pop on “Something’s On Your Mind.” Book your trip now to Music City – it’s just a hyperlink away.

Who needs sports and weather when you’ve got headlines like these? Finally, some good news for a change.

Photo courtesy Alex Eylar Flikr collection.

Back to Britpop

24 Friday Apr 2026

Posted by in Artist Spotlight

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Jangly guitars don’t really go out of style. Especially if they’re wrapped up in a gauzy, shoegazey atmosphere and feature strong melodic hooks. The 1990s Britpop scene brought jangle back into the mainstream of the music charts and since then it has maintained a niche popularity. Now three new bands grab the torch and look poised to set the charts ablaze all over again. All hail from the north of England, though some are more northern than others. Manchester’s The Guest List have a restrained demeanor on their recent single “Something Real,” the vocal a laid back contrast to the bright lead guitar lines. At least until they get to the chorus where the vocals flare out with a bit more melodic vitality. Keyside are an exciting outfit from Liverpool that have rallied a glut of fans over the past two years with a series of killer 45s. The latest “Lemon and Lime” is a sunny, chime-driven bit of tune-age. Bit by bit there are filling out enough of a catalogue for a superb debut LP. Derby’s Marseille are the most southern of the groups and also the most hard hitting guitar-wise. The amps occasionally inch up to eleven here. You can hear the strong psych rock notes mixing with sheer Britpop jangle on the band’s last single “Out of the Blue.” If this is the beginning of a Britpop renaissance, count me in.

Click on the hyperlinks above to learn more about these fabulous Britpoppy bands.

Photo “American Poison” courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Country time: Turn Turn Turn, Joshua Hedley, and Boy Golden

17 Friday Apr 2026

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

It’s not just oversweet factory-made lemonade. Country time is a state-of-mind way-of-life. You can stretch it in a bunch of different directions, mix it up with various other genres, and somehow not dislodge its essential country-ness. All the acts here come at country with their own special baggage. Let’s start unpacking.

Minnesota musical everyman Adam Levy returns with his country outfit Turn Turn Turn and a fabulous 11 track new LP All Hat No Cattle. The sonic flavours here range from the Appalachian Civil War-themed “Antietam” to the honky tonkin’ “Last Drink” to the Mexican-flavoured “Cities.” And that’s just the first three songs! Seriously, this band shifts country gears like a Kentucky sports car. Check out the shivery vocal work on “Magnolia Tree” or the Bakersfield twang and killer organ colouring “Trouble.” Most of the songs vibe country traditions in a pretty honest rendering but there are a few contemporary-sounding efforts too. Both “Serious” and “Hungry Ghosts” have great pop hooks. Or you can go back in time with “When Love Reigns” and its lovely 1962 rock and roll demeanor. I’m a sucker for the folky “Manitowoc” – such a sublime chorus. And make sure to hang in there after the closing cut “Solid State” for the hidden title track.

Slipping back in time genre-wise and with only half our previous title, Joshua Hedley gives up a full serving of western swing on All Hat. If you’ve ever hankered after a Bob Wills or Merle Travis tune then this is the record for you. Right from the opening cut “All Hat (No Cattle)” you know Hedley has nailed this. His evocation of the period is a high fidelity 1940s time trip. Every aspect of the historical mood is here. “Boogie Woogie Tennesse” is vibing Johnny Mercer something serious. There’s polkas with “Hedliner Polka” while “Fresh Hot Biscuits” is square dance central. “Clueless” is a perfectly structured 1940s song vamp with solo piano work that is exquisite. Songs with a recognizable historical style can sound stilted but Hedley has tracks like “Crawlin’ Home to You” sounding freshly pressed and ready to wear. And, as with a lot of western swing, there’s a strong jazz element to what is going on, as in evidence on “Over The Line” and “Come Take a Ride With Me.” Hedley notes on the album write up that western swing was dance music played in dance halls, not theatres. This record offers you what amounts to an amazing evening of classy dancing 1940s style.

Winnipeg’s Boy Golden mines a rich vein of rock and roll country on his latest long-playing release Best of Our Possible Lives. There’s a confident strut and swagger here reminiscent of a 1979-era Tom Petty. This is a take on country I can really get behind. The brilliance of the package on offer here is all there on opening cut “Suffer.” The ambience is cinematic, delivered with smooth talk/singing style I last heard aced on my Aaron Lee Tasjan records. ‘I want know where my money went, I want a new effin’ President,’ sings the founder and minister of The Church of Better Daze. All I can say is – preach brother! As the tracks play on you can hear the style defiance going on. Boy Golden puts a recognizable stamp on this work but nothing really sounds the same. “Cowboy Dreams” is another outstanding track, a duet with Cat Clyde. The vocals and distinctive lead guitar work weave together creating a special sonic space. “Eyes” takes haunting to new spooky levels. Then you’ve got a tune like “Meadowsweet” that straddles pop and folk with a meditative intensity. Title track “Best of Our Possible Lives” is a killer closer, so subtly catchy.

It’s a wrap on country time with the Brennan Wedl and Waxahatchee cover of the Kathleen Edwards song “Six O’Clock News.” This one is just effortless good -time tuneage by all concerned.

Live it up, country style. Who knows when country time may be coming around again.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Around the Dial: Jeremy Messersmith, Boys Go To Jupiter, Robert Ellis Orrall, and The Krayolas

12 Sunday Apr 2026

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

If good radio could clean up the nation we’d be making a start here. Sound salvation? It could be, it’s whatever works for you. Today’s crew help out by offering many routes to the same good place.

Jeremy Messersmith’s new LP Fox/Coyote is all about ambience. Take opening cut “Billionaires” as a case in point. Its hypnotic slow-shuffle buffets a sweet-mellow pop vibe. It’s like you’re floating above all those tawdry economic conflicts going on below. “Boomers” is cut from the same stylistic cloth and further develops Messersmith’s populist economic critique. More hummable than Marx’s Capital that’s for sure. “Huckleberry” completes this urban pop triptych. The sonic atmosphere is akin to anything you might hear on the charts but still retains some semblance of melody. “Stallions” also fits into this dreamy pop milieu. From there the album starts to take a turn, back to more familiar Messersmith curio song stylings. “I Don’t Trust That Boy” puts the guitar and a twisted lyrical sense back front and centre. “Spiral Bound” has to resonate with any progressive politically-aware American these days. The album also sees Messersmith auditioning to be somebody’s boyfriend in his trademark droll, sad sack way on tracks like “Rainy Day Boyfriend,” “Lucky Number” and “The View.” And “Nothing At All” has great advice for world-wrecking tech bros everywhere. Favourite cut? It would have to be “Can’t Get Out Of My Own Way” with its Beatles ’67 meets ELO aura. My advice is spend some time with Fox/Coyote – it’s a dose of what’s right in American independent music today.

Imagine if those kids from theatre camp started a band. Now listen to Boys Go to Jupiter. It’s like you’ve been dropped into some manic musical, but without all the dance routines. Second album Now You’re a Circle takes up where the band left off on Meet Me After Practice with more big and bold numbers. Opening cut “Sunshine (Never Trust Anyone Named Jeanette)” has a 1970s Jeff Lynne sense of spectacle, with just a touch of disco strings. Actually I can totally see this as big Broadway staged production. From there the tempo shifts into smooth pop on “Wake Up Layla” and “Do It Over.” Then “Flying Machine” comes out of nowhere with its enticing mix of acoustic instruments and harmony vocals. “Revenge Tour” is like one of those second act songs where the lead’s best friend does some truth telling. Then I imagine “Handstand” is the sweet melancholic summer’s end goodbye from that girl in the Beach Boys’ “Girl Don’t Tell Me” (she really meant to write). The album closer is an emotional powerhouse where “The Rules of You” sees vocalist Jess Kantorowitz channeling a Joni Mitchell-esque tenderness. Trust me, a spin or two of Now You’re a Circle will make you a believer that lasts into the run-out groove.

A master doesn’t have to step on the gas pedal quite so much to get where he’s going. That’s Robert Ellis Orrall – songwriter, performer, producer, hit-maker, and then some. You can hear what I’m talking about all through the title track of his new LP Wonderland. It’s an understated masterpiece, grand and sparely delivered all at the same time. Then with “Brand New Me” and “I’m Coming With You” we steer into a familiar AM radio pop groove. “Carol Ann” departs from the formula, adding an ominous undercurrent to its radio friendly hooks. Orrall’s arranging skills come to fore on this LP. He really knows how to dress a song. Listen to how he drapes both “I Disappear” and “Underground” with alluring guitar lines. It’s easy to hear how both “When Will You Love Me Again” and “Where Do We Go From Here?” could be larger-than-life hits for any number of artists but I like Orrall’s even tempered 1980s treatments. This is really apparent on “I’m Only Me (When I’m With You),” a song that practically begs to be big and dramatic but Orrall keeps it low-key and pretty, only upping the punch slightly in the chorus. The record ends with “End Title Song,” an amusing tip of the hat to all those songs that run out over the movie credits. Wonderland really reminds me how much I’ve been missing this kind of performance.

Imagine your favourite 45 year old band returned with a new album and it sounds as fresh and inspired as their early work. That’s what you’re gonna get with The Krayolas new LP Barbed Wire. Ok, only six tunes here are new but the mix of old and new just makes my point – everything here is quality tune-age. The record rocks in a number of styles: very Stonesy on title track “Barbed Wire Road,” more swamp rock blues a la George Thorogood with “Long Leaf Pine,” and turning to a 12 bar vamp on “Goose Is Cooked (Yakety Song).” But folk styles fill out a great deal of the record too, from the harmonica-laden Dylanesque “Hurtin’ Me Baby” to the more English folk feel of “Bird Don’t Fly Away” and “Does She Know.” “Deceiver” switches gears again, reminding us of the band’s strengths with mid 1960s pop motifs. “Exit Saleda” closes things out with a strong Mexicali flavour, featuring Augie Myers and Flaco Jiminez. What a band! And they’re promising a whole LP of new material sometime in 2027.

Well we’ve filled out a few more inches on the reel-to-reel. Take your pick and tune in more closely to whatever sounds like salvation to you with the hyperlinks provided.

Photo courtesy Joe Haupt Flikr collection.

One year supply of Luxury Fruit

05 Sunday Apr 2026

Posted by in Artist Spotlight

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Sometimes you really don’t know what you’re missing until you stumble across it. Like Luxury Fruit. I mean, what is such a thing? Just pieces of fruit in really nice condition? Or a cheeky musical outfit offering hours of fun for the discerning listener?  I’ve just discovered the latter and their recent EP In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Selling Out and I’m still recovering from how funny and smart the songs are. “Liked You Better” kicks things off lowkey, like some off-Broadway exposition song, before breaking into a gorgeous chorus. Then “Cowards” sounds 1970s California pop smooth with just a bit of edge. “Tekken Liberties” appears to combine Japanese fighting games and pretty raunchy sex. And to wrap things up the band offers up “Space Bees,” a mini-rock opera about bees, complete with performance instructions contained in the Bandcamp lyrics drop-down toggle. There’s something really 10cc-meets-Todd Rundgren’s Utopia going on here. My only complaint is the brevity of the whole enterprise, barely filling their allotted 15 minutes of fame.

But this is where things get good because Luxury Fruit are not some indie rock slackers serving up an EP and a lame live album in alternating years. Over the past twelve months they’ve served up three EPs. That’s right, for the low, low price of just $12 US you get a whole year’s supply of Luxury Fruit. And I can attest that level of productivity comes at no cost in creative quality. EP #2 Neo Rococco is full of slightly twisted poppy delights. “Please Mr. Deputy” is like a country add to the A Mighty Wind soundtrack. “discofugazi” pop course corrects, with this EP’s sex content. “Cynical Man” is carried by a notable George Harrison lead guitar quaver. The EP ends with “No Alibis,” a finely structured pop masterpiece.

This brings us to the band’s first installment in this year-long trilogy of EPs, Being Calm is Fun. I don’t want to appear to play favourites with the children but this one is my fave. “Jesus Christ or Spider Man” is both pop song and pop culture genius. And it sounds like it could easily slip into the 1960s cartoon soundtrack. ‘Spider Christ amen’ indeed. Then “Grifters on the Grind” kicks off with an uber cool guitar riff before scaling up in the chorus with some amazing vocals. The message is pretty on-point timely too. “My Deadly Gender Reveal” vibes some ethereal Moody Blues before launching a Blue Oyster Cult rocking interlude. “You Know Like You Do” is a big-finish pop wonder of a tune.

Luxury Fruit combine pop culture smarts with winning hooks that falls somewhere between XTC and They Might Be Giants. So don’t delay, get stocked on up your one-year supply right now. And when that runs out, you can check out their cheeky earlier outfit, Westside Daredevils! Psst, don’t forget to explore the lyrics tabs on Bandcamp for some hilarious hidden commentary.