York UK’s Bull are back with a revitalized version of “Green,” a song featured prominently on their self-released 2014 long-player She Looks Like Kim, and it is definitely worth a second listen. The original was certainly delightful, the guitar and vocals were a bit more up front in the mix, and the whole thing had a solid indie feel. But the new version smooths some of the rougher edges, turning the Turtles-esque background vocals way up and tweaking the jangly poprock hooks. The release is part of the band’s new major label deal with EMI so I imagine an album of new material can’t be far away. What direction it will take is anyone’s guess. The 2014 album was a bit punky and loose but this “Green” remake suggests something tighter and hookier might be on the horizon.
You can keep tabs on Bull’s Facebook page for the latest album and single news.
Here in the great white north the first August long weekend offers a national statutory holiday but cast in bespoke local themes. Each province does its own thing: British Columbia has ‘BC Day,’ Nova Scotia has ‘Natal Day’ and so on. So to aid this year’s party planning, we’re doing our celebration a little early with this Sunday singles jamboree! And I can clear some of the backlog of great songs in the queue …
Imagine it’s a summer like any other. Sunshine, lotion, BBQ, and sweet sweet tunes on the portable stereo. There are songs just made for summer and today’s contributors are all vying for a place on your summer soundtrack.
Austin’s Nite Sobs alternate between a Jonathan Richman-led Weezer project (“Vowelerie”) and a reinvented Merseybeat sound (“I Need to Hear It”) on their debut longplayer Do the Sob! So if you’re looking for a bit of sock-hopping fun, minus all the drama and insecurity, then dial into this record. I mean, lyrically, there’s all the usual heartache, sometimes with a delightfully madcap delivery (“Aftermath”). But it’s hard to stay down with so much upbeat material on offer here. I love the updated beat group sound on tracks like “Saving You a Place” with its great synth shots. Or check out the sweet sweet harmonies carrying the album’s first single, “I Could Tell You.” You can clearly see the influences in the band’s spot on cover of the Lennon-McCartney cast off composition “I’ll Keep You Satisfied,” a 1960s hit for Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. It’s all there packaged perfectly in the sign off should be single, “Victoria,” with its driving beat, jaunty guitar and punchy vocal delivery. This is a record packed with good vibrations.
Every now and then a band comes along that is smart, well-informed and seemingly able to knock out a cracking tune on any theme. Today that band is Glasgow’s Brontosaurus. The sort-of title track “(Theme from) These People” sets the tone for the album of proletarian poprock to follow, casting bitter lyrics about how “we don’t have dreams, we don’t have freedoms, we don’t have hopes, we don’t have reasons” against some sparkling and hooky guitar work. “Band of the Week” turns the camera back on the self-indulgence of the indie artist with their ‘box of CDs’ and ‘band of the week’ designation from ‘May 2014’ (with just a melodic hint of “Band on the Run” laced throughout the tune). “Blogger” cuts a bit close to home, singing about people who ‘write a blog no one reads about bands no one likes’ – ouch! The song is pretty brilliant though, cleverly quoting The Smiths (‘people see no worth in you but I do’) and deftly exposing the blogger/band racket: “‘we need each other, band and blogger …” With vocals that sound sometimes Morrissey-ish (if he actually cared about something) or Marc Almond (minus all the overwrought libidinous affectation), what comes through is a strong dose of sincerity, despite the send ups. Songs like “Contact Centre Advisor” manage both incisive social commentary lyrically (the job is experienced by the worker as ‘a filter for your rage on the minimum wage’) and catchy guitar solos. Other highlights for me include the Beautiful South-meets-Spook School “A Do-It-All Dad’s Denim Dream,” “Powerpop by Numbers” with its killer chorus, and “The Supergeek,” which explains everything you need to know about how to respond to online trolls (key lyrical insights: ‘there’s more to life’ and ‘he needs this more than you’). Not since Pulp’s “Common People” has a band so effortlessly captured our present working class malaise. ‘I am a binman for the council’ indeed!
You put together two phenomenal and prolific talents like Lisa Mychols and Super 8 and you’re pretty much guaranteed something pretty special. His lock on the late 1960s sunshine sound (from the Village Green to Haight Ashbury) combined with her unerring power pop chops makes their debut collaborative album a nonstop summer delight. “What Will Be” sets the groovy tone from the outset while “Trip and Ellie’s Music Factory” assures listeners a rollicking good time will be had by all. The laid back California sound is all over this record, in multiple registers. There’s the sophisticated Dionne Warwick, Bacharach & David smooth pop of “You & Me, Me & You” and “Honey Bee.” Or the San Francisco acoustic vibe behind “The Monkey Song,” “Your Summer Theme,” and their amazing cover of Kenny Rankin’s “Peaceful” (which owes more to his original than Helen Reddy’s cover). But there are departures, like the great Rolling Stones homage “Time Bomb,” the mournful, serious “Flying Close to the Sun,” and the Sgt. Pepper-esque psych pop feel to “The Arms of Water.” Recognizing all these highlights, I think my fave track is the exquisite “Laguna Nights to Remember” with its amazing vocal from Lisa, which reminds me of work from Juliana Hatfield and Liz Phair. Believe me, you’re going to want to add this Lisa Mychols and Super 8 record to you ‘don’t forget’ beach list, right after the sun screen and disguised bottles of Bud Light.
Ok, I’ll admit what caught my eye about The August Teens was their new album cover and its title, I’m Selfish and So is My Cat. But what caught my ear was the band’s straight-ahead 1980s FM radio sound – equal parts early 1980s new wave, with echoes of the BoDeans and the Eels as well. Goofy album title notwithstanding, this is a no nonsense rock and roll outfit. Exhibit A: “You’re Not Like Me Baby” – a track that Pat Benatar would surely give her eye teeth for. The album opens with a foot on the accelerator with guitars blasting through “This Time,” a song sweetened in the chorus with some dynamite harmonies. “Oh Emily” kicks off like an early Who outtake before easing into a more easy-going jangle-laden melody. “Backup Man” then shifts things into a more country gear. And so on. So many classic-1980s sounding songs: a bit of Tom Petty (“Be Still, My Rock and Roll Heart”), a touch of Springsteen (“You’re Going to Lose Me”), and smokin’ hot dance number (“I’m in Love with Rock and Roll”). And then there’s the obvious single, “Crestfallen,” a brilliant hooky number that barrels along with some nice change ups. You know what, forget the jokey album cover for a minute. This is a seriously high quality piece of poprock goodness. It deserves your full listening attention.
If you need a nearly mid-summer pick me up, a song featuring a deliciously addictive hook that will have you hitting replay again and again, have I got the song for you! Kyoto, Japan’s The Mayflowers have nailed multiple generations of the Liverpool sound with equal parts La’s and Beatles on this should-be hit single, “Maybelline.” The opening riff clearly echoes The La’s “There She Goes” (which itself echoed earlier 1960s styles) while the song’s broader melody arc reminds one of The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright,” without sounding derivative The guitars here are exquisite, sibilant and shimmering, while the vocals layer up perfectly. The song originally appeared on the band’s 2012 album Plymouth Rock, recorded at Abbey Road studios, but is also included on the recent 2019 The Best of Mayflowers: From the Beginning, a good introduction to the breadth of their seven album catalogue.Maybelline
There are philosophers who will tell you that when it comes to living the good life, the journey is the real destination. But most professional musicians usually dream of actually arriving somewhere, like maybe the top of charts. Still, despite the fact that relatively few make the Top 40 (let alone number one), there are some acts that just keep soldiering on. Like today’s trio of journeymen poprockers – all continue to put out great music even though stratospheric fame has proven illusive. All the more reason to fly their flag right now!
Imagine stumbling across someone with an album catalogue like all those great indie rock and rollers – Elvis Costello, John Hiatt, Nick Lowe, Don Dixon, etc. – delivered with a Nick Lowe or T-Bone Burnette production-style. Well, imagine no more! Michael Shelley is here and he’s got six albums or so, just brimming with melodies and sweet melancholia. I discovered Shelley as the producer of Juniper’s recent hip record and just a bit of digging revealed his own killer catalogue. If I had to boil down his sound it would be easy to slot him into the Rockpile diaspora, with its retro rock and roll, pub rock country and new wave elements. Sure, it would be obvious to compare him to Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello and Marshall Crenshaw, but think a bit further afield in this crowd, like the country pop sound of Carlene Carter’s Musical Shapes album or the poppy soul of Paul Carrack’s Suburban Voodoo (both produced by Nick Lowe). Nor can Shelley be limited to just this sub-genre, as his amazing collaboration with former Teenage Fanclub drummer Francis Macdonald in Cheeky Monkey makes clear. Contemporary comparisons of the Shelley sound might bring to mind Edward O’Connell and Richard X. Heyman.
Shelley’s 1997 debut Half Empty nails down the formula with a moody indie vibe on “Don’t” (love the great rumbly guitar and organ – sounds so classic 1960s), strong melodic interventions with “Think With Your Heart,” “Rollercoaster” (particularly the chorus!), and “Mary,” while “Tonight Could be the Night” has a lovely Ben Vaughn simplicity. The follow-up, 1998’s Too Many Movies widens the stylistic scope, adding surfer fun (“Surfer Joan”), Beach Boy harmonies (“The Pill”), country rock (“Lisa Marie” and “She’s Not You”) and solid indie pop with “Jigsaw Girl” and “Summer, I Pissed You Away” (the latter echoing a real Marti Jones feel on the songwriting front). I love the hooks carrying “Too Many Movies” while “You Were Made to Break My Heart” sounds like the kind of obscure tunes that Nick Lowe finds to slip into his records and make sound like great lost classics. There’s even a cool song about brushing your teeth – “That’s Where the Plaque Is” – and that’s not easy to pull off! Keyboards come more to the fore on 2001’s I Blame You with the solid single “Mix Tape,” the McCartney-esque jauntiness of “Face in My Pocket,” and the Robbie Fulks playfulness of “Let’s Fall in Hate.”
I think my favourite release from Michael Shelley is undoubtedly 2005’s Goodbye Cheater. The album veers between solid retro country and hook-laden poprock without losing its own sense of purpose. “Hurry Up and Fall in Love” and “A Little Bit Blue” mine the Buck Owens/Dwight Yoakum vein of electric guitar-picking country while the cover of the Roger Miller/George Jones song “That’s The Way I Feel” and the instrumental “Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha” actually have a more western feel. On the poprock side there’s the early Elvis Costello vibe to “We Invented Love,” “Move Along,” and “Goodbye Cheater.” Or there’s the Bacharach pop swing of “Suddenly Free” and the Monkees-meets-Simon and Garfunkel elan of “Out.” There’s even a winning instrumental in “Goofball.” 2012’s Leftovers offers up a winning collection of cover tunes and unreleased and live material – check out the great covers of Bobby Fuller, NRBQ, and Teenage Fanclub as well as quality demos of “Don’t” and “Goofball.” Shelly’s most recent release is the 2015 collection of instrumentals entitled Jimmy’s Corners (check out “Ahmed’s Best” and “Back of the Country Squire”). Surely fifteen years after his last album of conventional songs, we are due for some new Shelley material? The answer is yes.
Astro Chicken is the moniker that Barney Miller (no, not that guy) has used for the past 25 years for both solo and group efforts, the latter with John Laprade and brother Mike Miller. His story is textbook late 1990s rock and roll: multiple labels, missing the curve of what’s (momentarily) hot, then solo releases, breaks, and now some new tunes. Gotta admire the stamina! 1997’s debut release was the Disposable EP and right away you can practically see the Elvis Costello fingerprints all over the should-be single, “So Can I.” 1998’s Sugarwater takes things in a new direction with “Waste” sounding very Odds, “Honeymoon” acing the Beatles background vocals with a killer, insistent “Getting Better” guitar chime, while “Nothing Around for Me” is faintly Crowded House. 2001’s Almost Anywhere takes yet another turn, this time leaning a bit country in a Blue Rodeo or Jayhawks sort of way, which you can really hear on “Blame Yourself” once it gets going.
From there, the drive to chart success stalled for a bit, with Miller releasing just two essentially solo albums between 2005 and 2018, still under the Astro Chicken label. But the solo work really provides an insight into the breadth of Miller’s songwriting. 2005’s Sweet Truth is alternatively hilarious and introspective, all the while harbouring a lightly stoked sense of outrage. Anchored by acoustic guitar and a Graham Parker vocal delivery, the record offers acerbic commentary on death (“My Funeral is Gonna Be Packed”) and popular culture (“F You American Idol”), sometimes vibing Fountains of Wayne (“Soak Up the Night”) or E from the Eels (see ‘Funeral …’) or an Imperial Bedroom era EC (“I Am Not Blue About You”). 2018’s National Detective Agency Miller describes as album of leftover Astro Chicken demos, tarted up for release, along with a few new tunes. A lot here is stripped down Americana, like the Wilco-ish “Try” and the pretty acoustic guitar number, “Change Your Mind.” “Lock It Up” also has a nice hooky, easygoing swing. Which brings us the present: with Mike and John back with the group, the band’s brand new 2020 EP is Black Balloon. Check out the title track, a nice rocking tune with a solid Tom Petty feel to it.
Tulsa native 
You can get a good sense of David Burdick from his 2016 release Under the Influence, which contains songs recorded throughout his decades-long career. As far as I can tell, “Letters” first came out in 1983 and it’s a masterpiece of a single, with fantastic lead line guitar hooks and poppy vocals. This should have been a monster hit! “I Can’t Sit Still” captures that late 1970s new wave reinvention of 1960s poprock, “Let’s Go for a Ride” has a great Lou Reed-tude, while “Independence Day” is a departure with its early 1980s The Fixx atmosphere. If you go digging, Burdick has a collection called Relapse with more great tunes, like the jangle-laden “Sister,” “Look at it Rain” with its hypnotic guitar riff, and the hilarious “Redneck Zombies.” A lot of Burdick’s various band recordings are pretty rough but the Sins Tailor songs were clearly professionally done. Personally, I love the ringing Brydsian jangle on “Morning Calling.” If you want to mainline rock and roll authenticity, hook yourself up with Burdick’s work.
A skip through the six songs that comprise Alien Sunset, one might be tempted to cast it as a mini-Hollow Ground, minus a bit of the polish. There is some overlap, with reworked versions of “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye” and “Like Going Down Sideways.” But the EP has distinct charms of its own, like its lovably ragged indie quality and a kind of insurgent pop urgency to the tunes (particularly apparent on the title track). Or the way that the stripped down “Like Going Down Sideways” sounds like a melody-pumped take on Leonard Cohen. Some of Cut Worms’ country balladeering roots show up more here on cuts like “A Curious Man.” And I particularly like the original “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye” which sounds a bit folkier or roots-era Everly Brothers.
Fast forward to 2020 and Cut Worms is extending his songwriting range, stretching out the development of the tunes into an early 1970s country rock mode. His new single, “Unnatural Disasters” takes it time delivering the hooks, first creating a solid backdrop of a laidback Bacharach-style country theme. But this subtle tune pays repeated listens. B-side “Baby Come On” is a winner too, though perhaps more direct in its melodic payoffs. There’s something so familiar about the song’s cadence, its arrangement, but the final product is still somehow fresh and timeless. Can’t wait to see how these new songs will factor into a new Cut Worms album.
Canadian content or ‘Cancon’ rules place a quota on radio programming in Canada requiring that a certain percentage of the music played must be from Canadian artists. While decried by market libertarians, there’s a reason the Canadian music scene exploded in the 1970s – the rule worked. Before its introduction, worthy Canadian acts could not get onto playlists, crowded out by high profile American and British artists. For Canadians, success in Canada would only follow making it in the United States, a path successfully taken by group like the Guess Who but few others. But from the 1970s on, thanks to Cancon, a host of homegrown acts could make a living just being stars in Canada. This Canada Day (yes, international audience, today is Canada’s national holiday), let’s focus on just two great Canadian acts made possible (at least in part) by the legacy of Cancon.
Poprock Record 