Monthly Archives: January 2024

Heavy melody: Masked Intruder, Marvelous 3, and The Young Rochelles

27 Saturday Jan 2024

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Time to get heavy and coat some sweet melodies in relentlessly crunchy chords and searing lead guitar licks. And it comes with a full serving of hooks.

Can I just say it? Wisconsin’s Masked Intruder are efff-ing hilarious. Talk about deep commitment to the bit, these guys have got the ski masks and song titles that continue to dive deep into the joke concept. But beneath the pop punk veneer is some solid songwriting and a command of multiple musical styles. Albums I and II are chock full of poppy rock and a snarl that easily transforms into a grin. Here we focus on the band’s most recent release Masked Intruder III, the 2020 Turbo edition (which contains three extra songs). Start with “Mine All Mine.” The opening guitar grind sounds like something pretty heavy but things quickly shift into a 1950s song style given a guitar-strong ELO treatment. “I’m Free (at Last)” is another track that starts in-your-face guitar strong only to relent under the force of the melodic hooks. “Please Come Back To Me” also perfectly balances the tension between slashing chords and seductive ‘wha-oo’ background vocals. You can test the melody resilience here by asking yourself how any of the songs might sound stripped down to acoustic guitar. Songs like “Not Fair” and “I’ll Be Back Again Someday” would easily pass. Turbo edition also includes a nice cover of the Joan Jett classic “Bad Reputation.”

23 years between albums didn’t seem to put any apparent dent in Marvelous 3’s appeal. Their recent LP, simply entitled IV, carries on where ReadySexGo left off, offering up a 1980s-certified melodic slice of AOR (album-oriented rock). “My Old School Metal Heart” kicks things off with an adrenaline-fueled rush only to slow the pace and press on again. I hear bits of Ike and John Faye’s solo work here and on “Kill the Motherfucker That Breaks Your Heart” and “If We’re On Fire (Let It Burn).” The melody winner on this record for me is “PTSD (Post Touring Singer’s Depression” with its languid feel and subtle hooks. “Jackie and Tina” is just a good old fashioned rock and roll stomper. When we come to “The Devil Made the World While God Was Sleeping” things turn a bit more British nineties indie with guitars that strike an otherworldly tone. I love the ‘oh oh’s that introduce “Time To Let It Go” which quickly pivots to a more Dave Kuchler easygoing Jersey poprock vibe. The album closer “Curtains” sounds like an instant FM radio classic, a real acoustic heartbreaker.

I was totally captivated by the distinct sonic aura that Ricky Rochelle created on his one-off solo single “In a Dream With You.” But this boy is no one-style wonder. On his recent record Kicked to the Curb with The Young Rochelles he dials back the Ramones speed pop punk that defined the band’s first LP to better accent the melodic twists and turns of his songs. This is so evident on the album opener “Chameleon,” a carefully calibrated poprock still life. “The End of Us” sounds like a return to a more punky form but again the melodic undercurrent is strong. There’s an almost Fountains of Wayne vibe to some of the tunes here, like “Breezy” and “Fractured Fairy Tales,” slightly speeded up. Cuts like “I Don’t Want to Grow Apart,” “Used to Sleep” and “Capture the Feeling” have a punky resonance but a closer listen reveals so much going on melodically. Could be hit single? “Vacation” has got the lead guitar hooks to lure you in. “I Just Saw a Little Love in Your Eyes” end things on a different note, a bit of straight up poprock radio fare.

Things are not always what they seem. Our three featured acts all put guitars to front and cranked their amps but eventually their heavy melodies leaked through. Now that’s the kind of mess I like.

Covers story: Juliana Hatfield and Mo Troper

23 Tuesday Jan 2024

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Looking for some unabashed carefree fun? These two albums are your tickets to a guaranteed good time. Bursting with great tunes, lovingly covered, the songs on these records are sometimes reimagined or just juiced up in new places. And the quality is what you’d expect from two accomplished masters of the poprock form. Yet these two LPs are also a study in contrasts, one drawing from a canon of recognizable radio hits, the other pulling from a trove of unreleased demos. But I hear hit songs on both.

Juliana Hatfield is no rookie on the covers scene. She’s released full album tributes to Olivia Newton John and The Police. Both defy conventions and expectations, releasing that signature Hatfield creativity to add something to songs that are so classic it’s hard to imagine them differently. But listen to her bring out a new twist in the melody on “Every Breath You Take” or rock up “Make a Move On Me” to see what she can do. And she seldom just sticks to the hits either. On Hatfield Sings ELO we get a great mix of hits and deep cuts, old and new material. Lacking an orchestra, Hatfield had to transpose the strings onto other instruments, which also allowed some breathing room for everything else. I mean, listen to the bass jump out of “Showdown.” Other tracks sound much like the originals but as if they’ve been mixed to bring out different elements. “Don’t Bring Me Down” takes out some of the bombast, leaving its essential ear-worm still irresistibly ready to strike. Hatfield really nails the later material too, bringing out the pop genius potential of tracks like “Secret Messages” and “Ordinary Dream.” Hatfield Sings ELO is a winning ride from beginning to end, absolute listening pleasure.

On Troper Sings Brion erratic pop genius meets exotic melody master. On a variety of recordings Mo Troper has offered up either beautifully crafted poprock gems or rough indie explorations full of hooks. Jon Brion is the man behind so many distinctive movie soundtracks he almost single-handedly elevated the genre. On this LP Troper mostly covers songs from an unofficially released 2-CD set of Brion demos. The results are mixture of highly polished AM radio ready singles and some with a more relaxed indie feel. Let’s get right to the obvious should-be hit single, “Citgo Sign.” I love the hooky lead guitar line that threads its way throughout the tune, a masterpiece of song arrangement. By contrast “Into the Atlantic” practically bleeds Brion’s more laconic style, run through a Troper amplifier. Then there’s the absolutely captivating rush of pop polish driving “Love of My Life (So Far).” Tapping up the tape speed gives Troper a somewhat adolescent vocal vibe but it works for this song. Yet on so many other tracks (like “I’ll Take You Anyday”) it’s hard to know where Brion ends and Troper begins, so sympatico are their melodic gut instincts. Troper Sings Brion is a creeper of a killer record, sneaking into your consciousness to demand regular replays.

Sometimes you just need the confidence of money in the bank. These recordings are like interest bearing bonds. You’re definitely getting a pay off.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Themes from a snowy place

19 Friday Jan 2024

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Snow is so pretty … until it isn’t. That’s why we need music to soundtrack our travails here in the Great White North. Whether you are shoveling or just trudging through it you can make your snowy place experiences a montage of sorts with these fab selections.

Stepping on the dreamy pedal, Real Estate tease their upcoming album #6 entitled Daniel with the release of an ever-so-carefully crafted pop single. “Water Underground” has the cadence and pacing of work from bands like The Shins or Sitcom Neighbor. It will get in your head and stay there, but you won’t mind. Super 8 is busy putting together the pieces for his special project Super 8 Presents The Plus 4 but in the meantime he’s released another single. “Keep Doing It” sounds like this tribute-to-the-beat-group-sound has moved from 1965 into 1966. There’s a bit of flower power in the mix, adding to the distinctive jangle and a heavy dose of some groovy organ work. Irish psych rockers Spearside return with another winning single, the moody, bass-heavy, yet still hooky “Passion Merchant.” There’s even a touch of Caribbean flavour to the instrumental bridges on my listening. On their latest LP The Flip Side Monogroove get into the 1960s right and proper with a few well-chosen covers and a vibe on the originals that is so in that decade’s pop sweet-spot. Right now “Let Me Know” is grabbing me with its jangly guitars and spot-on Beatles background vocals. Another teaser single comes our way from Flying Underground with the dissonantly wonderful “Mixtape.” This song rides a striking contrast between clean verses that shift down into darker yet still hooky choruses. More please.

Time to go all 1980s on you with a current artist that somehow conjures the atmosphere of that gel-drenched decade so effortlessly. Just listen to all the musical adornments on Jonny Couch’s “Sweet Charlene.” The guitar is almost southern fried rock-approved, the keyboards are so Hall and Oates, while the tune is 1980s melodic groovy. You can dip into his 2019 LP Mystery Man for more of the good same. Into these difficult times The Armoires offer us the refuge of “Musical and Animals,” sounding like a cross between the frosty folk stylings of Everything But the Girl and the sweet sentiments of The Happy Somethings. Just one of 20 fabulous cuts featured on their label Big Stir Records sampler The Cream Of 2023: Foam Your Consideration. Appearing to usher in a new era of folk rock The Sylvia Platters crank the jangle distortion on their new 45 “Kool Aid Blue” and the effect is most endearing. Somehow loud and dreamy at the same time. Another band preparing us for more are The Embryos. “Desiree” is the advance single from their new album Selling What You Want To Buy and once again they keep us guessing, striking a decidedly country Americana note on this release. Imagine the Eagles as an indie band and you’re in the ballpark. I stumbled across Desert Mambas as one of the bottom-of-the-page Bandcamp suggestions and immediately fell in love with the early 1960s camp tone on their “Notes from Chicago.” It’s a more stylized version of their usual low-key indie sound but no less fabulous for it.

Let me clear, Sad About Girls new 3 song EP Songs For My People is three songs strong, particularly the jangle-driven opener “You Are Here.” But I’m featuring their cover of the Beatles track “Baby’s In Black.” I mean, if you don’t want to pull focus from such great originals why do such a killer job on the cover? The jangly lead guitar work is Harrison-authentic but the twist is in the Tom Lucas’ superb vocal delivery, effectively adding a contemporary gloss to an otherwise classic-sounding rendition. Memphis quintet Your Academy follow up their debut LP riffing Big Star by cheekily titling their new release #2 Record. The two tracks currently playable sound like hits to me, especially the languid, somewhat loping “Just a Little Out of Tune.” Definitely a 1970s feel – a little bit Big Star, perhaps a whole lot more Wings. Shake Some dub themselves ‘Power Pop from Bordeaux, France’ but you could easily mistake them for a late 1970s CBGB’s act. “Not Even You” has a wonderfully muddy, almost live indie rock and roll sound that delivers a nice melodic hook. All the rock critics love The Lemon Twigs and what’s not to love? Their records are like lovingly syncretic syntheses of an amazing range of rock and roll motifs. The D’Addario brothers know the canons and how to selectively draw from them. Case in point, their most recent single “My Golden Years” combines the yearning vulnerability of 1970s singer-songwriters, with maybe a touch of Queen and 10cc thrown in here and there, buffeted by army of Beach Boys background vocals that seem to multiply as the song goes on. Breathtaking stuff indeed. From a more low-key direction, Sorry Monks focus our attention on guitars and compressed vocals on “Girlfriend.” It’s like they’ve taken the ambience from “I’m Only Sleeping” and channeled that into a whole new thing. And it works.

Indie super-group Orbis Max return with a new single “Here and Now” that sounds like it’s drawing from equal parts Dylan and 1970s Manfred Mann. It sounds vaguely familiar and somehow timeless at the same time with an attractive, sing-along-worthy chorus. Seems like The Deep Drags main man was hiding his rock and roll light under a bushel for most of his life but thankfully he’s recently put his recordings on display. There’s a 1960s garage fun element to his songs but also a considerable 1980s indie polish. “If You Want Me To” sounds pretty ready-for-rock-radio circa 1984 to me but I’m also partial to hooky jangle of “You Don’t Know Love.” Now grab onto something because the jangle intensity of The Jette Planes on their single “Tunnel” will have you involuntarily moving and grooving. The vibe in 1965 London nightclub, skinny ties not optional. Friends of Cesar Romero surprised us last year by releasing a full album instead of the usual litany of EPs. Queen Of All The Parliaments is solid collection of jangly garage-rock-stamped tunes but here we single out the relentlessly sibilant hooks of “Tomorrow’s Weather Girl.” This is movie-opener montage-worthy for sure. Now for something a bit different Austin Texas gives us The Infinites. There’s definitely something cinematic about their groove. “The Expats” is the advance single from their new album Archetypes and it strikes an ethereal, slightly ominous pose. You know something’s gonna happen to the protagonist here and it won’t be good. Stay tuned for the full album treatment to find out what.

We wrap things up on this first foray celebrating singles in 2024 with some heavy melody from one of my fave finds from this year past, Liquid Mike. “Mouse Trap” hits you hard with nineties grungy chords but never lets go of its melodic hook. That’s just one of 13 tunes to come on the soon-to-be-here Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot.

Who will triumph as the ‘theme from a snowy place’? As usual, you’ll decide. Hurry over to the artist websites and bandcamp pages to vote with your wallet.

Should be a hit single: Used “Morning Sun”

14 Sunday Jan 2024

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Patrick Donders over at the Sweet Sweet Music interview blog put me on to Germany’s Used and their recent sprawling double album-equivalent Sensationalize record. From the LP’s 18 tracks the band are currently promoting “Eleven Days” and “Take the Pain Away” as videos, both great songs worthy of singling out. But my own reading of the stand-out, should-be hit single from this collection is without question “Morning Sun.” The song crackles with energy from the outset, constantly shifting musical ground with clean and striking Beatlesque lead guitar work, hair-raising vocal harmonies, and an arrangement that is pop genius. While not sounding exactly like anybody else the sonic atmosphere brings to mind acts like Sunday Sun, Golden Seals, and Telekinesis for me.

Morning Sun

Now, if I may be so bold, every great 45 A side should have a complementary B side, something recognizably in the same register but with a different attack or leaning on different instrumental choices. Here I think “Seagull Island” strikes the right chord (literally), replacing the A side’s manic pacing with a more languid, Fountains of Wayne kind of melodic ennui.

Seagull Island

Used’s new LP Sensationalize is a lot to take in and enjoy. So start here and then travel on the band’s website to find out more. And for some unique acoustic, live-in-the-record store versions of these songs, check out the band’s YouTube page.

Photo: Used Sensationalize album cover fragment.

Trans-Canada Content: 54-40, Telepathic Butterflies, and The Trans-Canada Highwaymen

10 Wednesday Jan 2024

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Canada is a big, big country. So big that a highway covering the whole country wasn’t completed until 1971. That year also marked the beginning of Canadian content rules requiring 30% of the music played on Canadian radio stations be from Canadian artists. The effect was like opening up a musical highway, helping to create a viable path to success for Canadian acts. And succeed they did. Today Canadian artists are worldwide stars but without Canadian content rules it would have been much harder for them to get a hearing over the vast multitude of American and British performers swamping the Canadian airwaves. Today’s featured acts carry on that tradition, celebrating and extending it.

With album #15 Vancouver-based 54-40 still sound like they’re having fun. There’s a playful vibe all over A Westcoast Band, offering up the group’s usual high standard of melodic rock but adding some whistling, over-the-top exaggerated background vocals, even a disco groove here and there. The opening and title track “A Westcoast Band” is an insistent, driving slug of poppy rock, a fist-pumping declaration of purpose and identity. Notice served – this is a band still excited to be here. Lyrically the album tells the story of the band itself. As the liner notes state, “If 54-40 was a Broadway musical, this record would be the original score.” From that striking opener the mood shifts with the slower groove of “Meet You At The End.” But don’t settle in because “Vodka Surprise” signals party time has arrived with its disco-ish guitar work, cheezy synth shots, and cushion of stylized back-up singers. I like the feel and flow of this LP, the songs all highly listenable even while covering a range of styles. “Chicago” is a lovely bluesy vamp. Others are story songs that highlight the challenges of playing on the road, like “Same Guy Different Body” and “Living Room Allen.” Another strong contender for drive-time radio rotation is “Table For One.” If you get the chance, don’t miss these westcoast Canadian legends playing this album in your town.

Moving east on our musical Trans-Canada highway we hit Winnipeg, home of psychedelic power poppers The Telepathic Butterflies. For a band that goes back decades all I can say is wow because on Plan B this combo sounds as fresh as any twenty-something young things. A lot reviewers name check XTC in their Dukes gear but what I hear here is a refined Revolver influence. Opening track “Twenty” melds buzzy guitar and sitar-ish sounds in an oh-so familiar Beatles synthesis circa 1966. That ambience carries on in “Above It All” and “Static.” Then “Right Through It All” and “The Girl Who Would Not Be Named” come on with a more carefree poppy rush reminiscent of seventies sensibilities. Ok “Grand Malaise” is pretty Andy Partridge. But there are more contemporary comparisons one could make, like the New Pornographers shading on “What’s In It For Me” or The Uni Boys 1970s retro feel all over the driving guitar pop of “Flora.” Personally I’m partial to the jangly guitar carrying “A Ball Thrown.” “History Will Prove Us Right” is a lovely surprise ending, a midtempo, soft-rocker, all-too-relevant statement song. Plan B definitely gets my approval.

A supergroup comprised of current and former members of Sloan, The Barenaked Ladies, Odds and The Pursuit of Happiness singing all those Canadian chart hits of the 1970s that Canadian content rules helped get heard – what could go wrong? Really, a lot could have gone sideways here, a karaoke-meets-the-oldies-circuit kind of debacle, but instead Explosive Hits Vol. 1 has The Trans-Canada Highwaymen hitting it out of the musical park. Tarted up like an over-the-top 1970s K-Tel package the record covers the gamut of Canadiana from the period, including hits from The Poppy Family, Andy Kim, Trooper, April Wine, The Guess Who, The Stampeders, Joni Mitchell and so many more. But my stand-out selection from this collection would be the slightly roughed up take on April Wine’s jangly hit single “Tonight is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love.” The rougher edges really add to the charm of this winning tune. Or you can get a taste of what they’re up to in their awkward but fun ‘infomercial’ below.

Tonight is a Wonderful Night to Fall in Love
https://youtube.com/watch?v=2ArvGvmDSuo%3Fsi%3DlpZfvxa7hCJGOwtQ

With these tunes you can hit the road in musical style with the requisite amount of Canadian content. Who says you have to be in Canada to keep up your quota of Canadiana? Just another good thing about the Great White North.

Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2023

05 Friday Jan 2024

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The traditional rock and roll album ain’t dead, not by a long shot. Usurped for sure by new commercial formats and changing consumer listening patterns but the album – as a distinct collection of songs (sometimes forming a coherent whole) – remains the default mode of delivery for a wide swathe of guitar-based popular music. Proof? There was simply no shortage of fabulous, super-charged, pop-rocking long-players and extended plays to spend time with throughout 2023. From this embarrassment of musical riches we’ve whittled down a few different lists of LPs and EPs we feel rank as having ‘must have’ status. There’s something for every taste that falls somewhere across the broad, rather idiosyncratic category of ‘poprock’ we employ here. So dive in, see what you think, and do let us know about whatever egregious oversight you think we’ve undoubtedly committed. The hotlinks take you to the original reviews.

Cue drumroll – here we have it, Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs from 2023:

1. The Decibels When the Red Lights Flash
2. The McCharmlys The McCharmlys
3. The Parlophonics Dying of the Light
4. Miss Chain and the Broken Heels Storms
5. Buddie Agitator
6. Taking Meds Dial M for Meds
7. Good Shade Think Spring
8. Talking Kind It Did Bring Me Down
9. Caleb Nichols Let’s Look Back
10. Thomas Walsh The Rest is History
11. Steve Marino Too Late to Start Again
12. The Summertimes The Summertimes
13. Nite Sobs Fade Out
14. Bory Who’s a Good Boy
15. Richard Turgeon Life of the Party
16. The Small Square Ours and Others
17. Dave Kuchler Love and Glory
18. Classic Traffic You Want It? We Got It!
19. The Blusterfields The Blusterfields II
20. The Tubs Meat Factory
21. The Roves Needle Factory
22. Best Bets On an Unhistoric Night
23. The Blips Again
24. Erik Voeks and The Ghosters It Means Nothing Now
25. Rachel Angel Midnite Heart Attack

This year’s list tipped more toward some classic genre distinctions. The Decibels are beat group heaven for me and When the Red Lights Flash just proves their mastery of this form and seemingly bottomless creativity with it. By contrast, The McCharmlys conjure the ghost of 1950s west Texas rock and roll (even though they’re from California), effectively reinventing it for today. For a different slice, we’ve got the highly sophistico-pop of The Parlophonics. Such great songs, delivered so smoothly. And so on. Our list has got jangle (Buddie, Bory), new wave revival (The Blips, The Blusterfields), country tinges (The Tubs, Rachel Angel), and straight up melodic rock (Richard Turgeon, Dave Kuchler). Long may the LP reign in what’s left of the rock and roll universe.

But there’s more. The ongoing revival of the extended play record format has led to this list, Poprock Record’s must-have EPs from 2023:

1. Strange Neighbors Party of None
2. Joe Dillilo Superhero Star
3. Super 8 The Plus 4 EP #1
4. Dolour Sun on my Brain
5. Hearts Apart Bang! Wrong Again
6. Jose’s Bad Day Hi! Let’s Eat
7. Cal Rifkin Better Luck Next Year

The Strange Neighbors EP was hands down my favourite thing about 2023. It brought back a familiar teenage rush of excitement that used to accompany the discovery of something so cool and earworm addictive it just had to be played over and over. Also cool was Joe Dillilo’s oh-so smooth collection of songs, which saw him transitioning from behind the mixing board to the spotlight with ease. And what about Super 8’s alter ego project The Plus 4? An absolute jangle blast. EPs can be such a concentrated blast of melodic goodness, leaving you wanting more.

Before you go there’s one more album we’ve got to highlight. It’s a record so good we had to give it the special award of awesome poprock merit for 2023:

The Flashcubes Pop Masters

As I wrote in the original review, Pop Masters gives you “12 new wave era should-have-been hits, stylishly re-energized” and “celebrates what might-have-been with selections from bands that should have broken big but didn’t.” But the band don’t just celebrate the great songs of bands like The Pezband, The Spongetones, The Paley Brothers and The Shoes, they share the spotlight with them in what amounts to a series of power pop band duets. Let’s face it, this project could have gone very wrong. But again, from the original review, the “results are a pumped up, adrenaline-fueled romp through a host of power pop classics … where every cut is a highlight …” Believe the hype. The Flashcubes are, indeed, pop[rock] masters.

Spend some time with these LPs and EPs and I think you’ll agree, melodic rock and roll is in good health if not wealth. But you can help change that for the price of triple shot latte from your favourite beverage store. Go on, skip the coffee queue and click the links to these artists.

Photo courtesy Chris Friese Flikr collection.

Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles for 2023

01 Monday Jan 2024

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2023 was another banner year for melodic rock and roll. Here at Poprock Record we could spotlight only a small portion of what was go on. Still, we kept busy, writing 58,000 words over 77 posts about literally hundreds of artists. And we liked them all – that’s why we wrote about them. But some tunes had real staying power for our team of singles inspectors. So today we single out 50 should-be hit singles from 2023, songs that deserve another listen and a shot at chart glory. Click on the hyperlinks to hear each song and read the original write ups.

Getting to the main event, here are Poprock Record’s top 50 should-be hit singles from 2023:

1. Strange Neighbors “Hotline Psychic”
2. Taking Meds “Memory Lane
3. The Decibels “Why Bother With Us”
4. Good Shade “When Will You See”
5. The Goa Express “Portrait”
6. Billy Tibbals “Onwards and Upwards”
7. Strange Neighbors “Whoa! Is Me”
8. Ransom and the Subset “Perfect Crime”
9. The Tubs “I Don’t Know How It Works”
10. Buddie “Class Warfare”
11. Dignan Porch “Electric Threads”
12. The Tearaways “Easier Done Than Said”
13. Chris Church “One More Change to Get Over You”
14. The McCharmlys “Love Me Too”
15. Eyelids “That I Can See You Better”
16. The No Ones “Phil Ochs is Dead”
17. Canadian Invasion “Catch a Falling Knife”
18. Thomas Charlie Pederson “Yesterdays and Silly Ways”
19. Kevin Bowe “Put Me Out of Your Misery”
20. The Summertimes “Inside”
21. Gosh Diggity “Blast Off”
22. The Midnight Callers “Girl On the Run”
23. Parallax Project “Mary Houdini”
24. Dan Kibler “Don’t Go for the Money”
25. The Kind Hills “Let Youth Take Over”
26. Cal Rifkin “Break My Heart”
27. Ratboys “Morning Zoo”
28. Hurry “Like I Loved You”
29. Thomas Walsh “A Good Day For Me”
30. The Newds “The Street Leads to the River”
31. Dave Kuchler “She’s Rather Be With Me”
32. Hardwicke Circus “Everyday I Find Luck”
33. Worriers “Trust My Gut”
34. Tony Marsico “Rocket Girl”
35. Jean Caffeine “I Don’t Want to Kill You Anymore”
36. The Exbats “Like It Like I Do”
37. Dazy “Forced Perspective”
38. Miss Chain and the Broken Heels “Storms”
39. Bill Lloyd “Keep the Place Clean”
40. Kurt Hagardorn “Tractor Beam”
41. Nite Sobs “Julie Ann”
42. Turn Turn Turn “Power”
43. The Rockyts “I Get High”
44. The Blusterfields “Fear of Depths”
45. Dropkick “Telephone”
46. The Scarlet Goodbye “Angel Dust”
47. The Amplifier Heads “When We Go Home Again”
48. Steve Marino “Satisfy You”
49. Justin Levinson “I Need Somebody Now”
50. Moon Mates “Not Today”

New York’s Strange Neighbors grabbed me early in 2023 with their killer 45 “Hotline Psychic” and never really let go. The lyrics are so spot on, the chorus is mesmerizing, while the instrumental break threatens to break out into Blondie’s “Rapture.” The band is so good they placed another tune in my top 10, the delightful jangler “Whoa! Is Me.” Then Taking Meds and Good Shade seemed like two sides of a very good coin with songs that featured surging insistent hooks that simply demanded replay. The Goa Express tipped toward punk but without sacrificing melodic depth. And The Decibels returned with the modern beat group sound they own. There’s variety in this list, proving genre is no barrier to delivering poprock hooks.

Moving on, here are Poprock Record’s most inventive covers from 2023:

1. Juliana Hatfield “Don’t Bring Me Down” (Electric Light Orchestra)
2. Mo Troper “Citgo Sign” (Jon Brion)
3. Arthur Alexander “It’s Not Love Anymore #2” (The Sorrows)
4. The Jangles “Here Without You” (The Byrds)
5. The Flashcubes “Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?” (The Spongetones)

Covers remained fertile ground for music veterans and indie new-comers alike this past year. Juliana Hatfield delivered a whole album of ELO songs, mixing things up with a nicely curated collection of chart hits and deep cuts. Mo Troper introduced a new generation to the genius of Jon Brion with his album tribute, Troper sings Brion. Arthur Alexander covers himself, sort of, with his ace reinvention of the Sorrows’ “It’s Not Love Anymore #2.” And both The Jangles and The Flashcubes covers really revive some great songs for the here and now.

Rounding out our lists, here are Poprock Record’s top 5 folk pop singles from 2023:

1. Rachel Angel “I Can’t Win”
2. Talking Kind “Trouble”
3. Hovdy “Jean”
4. Benji Tranter “Speed Camera”
5. J. Matthews “Wanderlust”

While most of our coverage is pretty poppy we do shift into the folk lane from time to time where the melodies are strong or I just have a particular interest.

Another year, another slew of great songs. Click on the links to remind yourself how good a year it really was and make sure to let the artists know what you think in cash and/or commentary.

Photo courtesy of Raymond Clarke Images on Flikr.