Mike Browning has dug up a real gem of a minor hit from the 1960s to offer up as a cover. “Lost in Conversation” was originally recorded by Halifax, Nova Scotia band The Great Scots in 1965. Their story is a hilarious mix of lucky breaks and near misses, featuring tartan costumes and an apparent willingness to do anything to get attention. The band was originally known as The Beavers and all four members sported mohawk haircuts. This was 1962! Then as The Great Scots they donned kilts and working the Scottish Canadian angle mercilessly. Epic Records signed them to a record deal in 1965 but only put out a few singles, so quickly did fashions change in that era. Eventually, as sixties nostalgia created an audience for lost bands, two albums of material recorded by the band back in the day did get released. And it’s pretty good. You can check them out at their various internet real estate.
But back to Mike Browning’s new single. The original of “Lost In Conversation” comes off like a cross between Merseybeat and Paul Revere and the Raiders, jangly but with a muscular vocal. Browning’s version tweaks the jangle guitar, adding extra colour to the tone, while his vocal is more folk-rock innocent and slightly plaintive. It’s a winning formula, worthy of repeat plays. Now the question is, shall we expect more from Browning in this vein? Here’s hoping.
Mike’s more than just one cover song. You can dig into his back catalogue at his Bandcamp page.
I was minding my own business scouting out new Jonathan Coulton material on iTunes when out of the corner of my eye I spotted some crazy song titles in the ‘listeners also bought’ section. There seemed to be a heavy focus on superheroes and celebrating nerdiness. Well before I knew it I had needle-dropped my way through a hitherto unknown genre to me – geek rock. You can find plenty of essays online to tell you all about it but, suffice to say, it tends to be defined by quirky songwriting, a passion for outsider culture, and plenty of hooks. Here’s just a smattering of what this scene has to offer.
In many ways Chicago’s I Fight Dragons are the poster child for this genre with song titles like “Geeks Will Inherit the Earth,” “Save World Get Girl” and “No One Likes Superman Anymore.” Their on-the-cheap videos are pretty fun too. Personally I’m keen on “cRaZie$” from their 2011 album Kaboom! where they lampoon the cabin-in-the-woods horror genre. Now if you want an act that commits to the bit, check out Harry and the Potters. They have released something like four albums, six EPs and host of one-off singles and every song inhabits the Potter universe. As I don’t really know just where to start here, I’m featuring a cool track from the band’s last long-player Lumos entitled “The Banality of Evil (Song for Albert Runcorn)” that features a great guitar solo. Kirby Krackle dives deep into the geek rock bag of tricks with songs about superpowers and evil villains and the need for proper insurance for henchmen. But another side of the genre is all about riffing on recent pop culture. KK excels here with a load of stand-alone tunes, like this paean to Stranger Things heroine “Eleven, I’ll Wait For You.”
Given its goofball tendencies the geek rock genre can attract more than few one-off ‘we’re just passing through’ efforts. Grandpa Griffithhave a whole album of songs about talking monkeys and unstoppable robots but nary a write up anywhere. Oh well. “Aquaman” from their LP Electric Scooter Holiday Blowout is worth grabbing your attention. Mark Aaron James also has songs about superheroes (“Aquaman’s Lament” “Batman’s Reply”) and science fiction TV obsession (“Shatner at the Convention”). But he also embodies the genre’s tendency for self-reflective protagonists. Both “This Song’s About” and “This Song Would Be Better” have the singer tied in knots about what his songs mean and the meaning of success, in a style that marries Glass Houses era Billy Joel with early Elvis Costello. Unfortunately, neither is posted on bandcamp so you’re getting more Aquaman. Buffalo’s Ookla the Mok are spilling over with talent. It’s all here: superhero riffing, geek convention in-jokes, popular culture call outs, and monkey concept albums. But behind the jokey-ness is serious musical talent, akin to They Might Be Giants. You won’t go wrong dialing in to any of their albums but I’m starting you on “Medieval Evel Knievel” from their Nerdvana EP. Funny and oh so well played.
Grandpa Griffith – Aquaman
Jonathan Coulton definitely has plenty of geek rock material but I’m wrapping this feature with a song from his 2017 Solid State record that is simply a straightforward should-be hit single, “Sunshine.” There’s still plenty of Coulton’s lyrical cleverisms with lines like ‘The roaches took the kitchenette We just let it go.’ But the hooks in this chorus are blindingly good.
Get your geek on with any of these fine artists wherever geek rock is sold (hint – hit the hyperlinks for the e-store).
Photo: fragment of mast image from Ookla the Mok bandcamp page.
Serious news flash here this time out with a new release from a legendary band 23 years gone, a magisterial collection from a celebrated sideman to legends, a new album from some Germanic geezers, and a collection of EP tracks from a band of contemporary modsters. It’s a full program for sure.
I was super excited to hear about The Mayflies USA reunion. The band’s three turn-of-the-century albums are right up there with the best of that era’s hooky poprock (along with bands like Fountains of Wayne and Matthew Sweet). I could hit repeat on “Walking in a Straight Line” over and over again. The new album Kickless Kids leans more toward a poppy indie rock vibe rather than outright power pop, as evidenced by the opening cut, “Thought the Rain Was Gone.” But that is more than ok. “Calling the Bad Ones Home” even hits a few classic rock marks with a Keith Richards rhythm guitar swing before rolling out the hooks. “Kickless Kids” shifts things back into a more guitar pop register. Ringing guitars are definitely up front on tracks like “Railway Spines” and “Cabbagetown.” By contrast, a song like “Jewel of Russia” springs some particularly engaging melodic hooks in the chorus. There’s also a splash of country in places, like the Freedy Johnston-ish “Come On Down.” Or you can dial into a classic rock and rock jam feel on “Twilight Alright.” Welcome back Mayflies USA, it’s like you never left.
Veteran LA session player and longtime Brian Wilson sideman Nelson Bragg has still found time to put out his own music from time to time. Now he’s gathered together what he considers his poppiest material for Mélodie de Nelson: A Pop Anthology. It’s hard to argue with his choices. Songs like “Lived This Life Too Long” and “You Could Believe” are awash in harmony vocals and subtle hooks. Jangle is also here in spades on tracks like “Forever Days” and “I’m In No Mood.” And “Death of Caroline” is so obviously a Beach Boys love letter. Given his locale it’s perhaps not surprising that Bragg draws on a host of uniquely California influences from his catalogue. “Every Minute of the Day” has a 1970s California rock sound, with up front acoustic guitars and sonorous harmony vocals. “Glorious Days” sounds like a should-be hit single in an updated sunshine pop mode akin to recent bands like Daisy House. There are departures too. “The Last Girl I Ever Loved” has more of a rock edge, reminding me of Nada Surf with its breathy vocals. “We’re Gonna Laugh About It” is the new song recorded specifically for this collection and it sounds a bit like Pugwash’s Thomas Walsh to me. Then there are the baroque moments on both “Whitechapel Girl” and “Seriously Girl,” the former with a strong McCartney vibe. Mélodie de Nelson: A Pop Anthology is a seriously good collection from a top rank act too long in the shadows.
Austria’s The Geezers have that Jeff Lynne magic in combining classic sounding rock and roll tunes with just a touch of synth (ok, sometimes a lot of synth), giving everything a modern but still somehow timeless sheen. This dynamic is nicely captured on “Harmony” where a spacey opening synth riff resolves into a robust and hooky poprock tune. The band’s new LP Music is full of just these sorts of surprises. The LP kicks off with “Home,” a song with a sonic wash that wouldn’t be out of place on a record from The Outfield. I love how “Echoes” marries choir-like background vocals with thrumming electric guitars before kicking into gear with a singalong worthy chorus. I want to say that the keyboard is the star here and you definitely feel its original imprint all over the record. “A Lifetime” uses jaunty keyboard work as a hook that won’t let go, leading into a killer chorus. “The Happy Life” takes its synth work into an almost Bronski Beat direction. And then there’s “Future Love” which has a sonorous edge comparable to Tears for Fears’ “Mad World.” But the guitar work on this release is no slouch either. “Modern Days” is a brilliant synthesis of 1960s power pop and more modern song styles. The opening lead guitar line is positively mesmerizing. “Bit By Bit” is a swirling jangly winner while “Candy Cane” launches with a driving guitar lead line that is eventually matched by surging rhythm guitars.
Seattle’s Shake Some Action! have a new album entitled Top Gear and it’s a reliable installment of their love of everything mod, mod, mod London circa 1966, with a dose of Britpop thrown in too. But wait, attentive readers might recognize that this package is not an entirely new collection of tunes. The album brings together the band’s two dynamite EPs from last year (reviewed here), adding three new cuts to the mix. Hearing “I Don’t Know Where She Goes” again alone is worth the price of admission. Those organ shots are exquisite! Click the hotlink to catch up on the material from those EPs. Surveying the new songs included here, they’re definitely not afterthoughts or cast-offs. “Fake It Till You Make It” has a dance floor energy that could be 1965 or 1995. “Never Let Me Go” is a more gritty 1960s beat group number. “What Did You Leave Behind” dives even deeper into the 1960s sounding more like 1964 era Merseybeat.
You’ve heard the news, there’s definitely good rocking at midnight (or any time you might choose to play these songs). Hit the hyperlinks to get more in-depth coverage of these breaking stories.
I love interesting, off-the-beaten-path band names. And in today’s get-your-attention economy you’ve pretty much got to do all you can get eyes and ears on what you’re doing. So here are few recent finds with fun, out-there monikers.
As soon as I saw Megan From Work as the band name I knew I was going to check it out. It just conjures up a perfect image filled in by whatever work experience you’ve suffered from work. Anyone referred to as being that person ‘from work’ really says a lot about the connection or lack thereof. The band just put out a long-player last October and Girl Suits is great but now they’ve got a brand new single that to my ears moves into a slightly new sonic space. “Life Into a Movie” has an 1980s pop sheen not unlike The Motels or ‘Til Tuesday. Aukland New Zealand’s Dead Famous People have got an interesting story, getting started in the 1980s being briefly signed to Billy Bragg’s Utility Label. But nothing much happened then. More recently they’ve gotten back together to record new and old material and re-release a few lost gems. “Looking At Girls” from 2020’s Harry just springs out of the speakers with a bright energy. “Traitor to the Cause” from 2022’s Lost Person’s Area is biting and condemnatory in an unexpectedly pleasant poppy way. Their new record Wild Young Ways promises to resurrect a host of lost material and from the pre-release material I’m the loving singalong-worthy “Little Flashes of Yesterday.” Like Everything but the Girl or Allison Moyet with an acoustic guitar.
Northville, New York’s Frown Town’s vocal sound reminds me Canned Heat’s Alan Wilson at times and at others Elliott Smith. That’s range. It’s all there on the band’s new album Dark Green Curtains. The presser claims the record is a folk rock effort drawing on both Elliott and Paul McCartney and I can hear that. “Stranger to Everyone” and “Rich and Famous” definitely sounds like Smith/McCartney musical love children. “The Note” has the folk covered. There’s also a great rendition of Jo Stafford’s 1952 hit “You Belong to Me.” Miami Florida has produced Mustard Service, a band with an unusual name and an arsenal of weirdly cool tunes. Previous album Zest Pop had tracks like “I’m Sorry I Hit You With My Flip Flop” and “Get F*cked.” The new record Vice City Magic has a tighter rock sound on “Big Time” and “Going Nowhere.” Except when the songs blow out into a big spacious 1970s vibe going a la ELO.
Stuttgart Germany’s Travelin’ Man is not a far out name but when you combine it with the band’s kooky material, it’s really something else. Most of what you’ll hear on their twenty song LP Let Others Do the Thinking is pretty gritty dark nightclub rock and rolling. It’s a solid garage feel, with just a touch of the Velvets showing up regularly. But the standout track is the goofy, propulsive “My Buns Are Burning.” It could mean anything, the more far out the better.
Nothing like an out-there name to stick in your mind. Along with some hooky tunes, of course.
I’m not a die-hard OK Go fan. For years I’d read that power pop lovers should love their work, particularly their early albums. But I didn’t hear it. Creative indie rock, yes. Complex and innovative for sure but less focused on melody that my tastes usually desire. Basically, I’d put them in that modern music experimental camp I associate with Television and things that weren’t singles from the Talking Heads. Of course, they do know how to make a you-can’t-stop-watching-it music video. All this is to say that album #6 from Ok Go threw me for a loop. And the Adjacent Possible had me humming the tunes long after the last song hit the run out groove. Like me, you may have just tuned in for another fab OK Go video and there no denying “Love” is up to their usual videographic standards. But trust me, you’re gonna want to stick around for the non-video tracks this time.
Opening cut “Impulse Purchase” kicks off with a Portugal The Man kind of impact but quickly shifts to a carefully calibrated Tally Hall vibe. The precision on the performance and production here is pretty stellar. Then “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill” offers up a lilting lush feel where a melodica solo pops in with a bracing vibrancy. A slight hint of Wings circa 1976 appears here. Next up is “Love,” the aforementioned elaborate video single but don’t let the visuals obscure how this song really can stand on its auditory merits. From here the record delves into a variety of musical styles, all stamped with Ok Go’s distinctive sound. “Fantasy vs. Fantasy” initially seems like a vintage throwback but for the crisp modern production. There’s slow soul ballads (“This is How It Ends”) and solid dance struts (“Take Me With You”). “Better Than This” contrasts wonderfully melodic arcs with stop and start dance grooves. I hear a touch of Abbey Road “Going Home” and bit of that intimate Kate Bush/Peter Gabriel “Don’t Give Up” demeanor marking the aching “Don’t Give Up Now.” Listen to the orchestrated cacophony that is “Golden Devils” with its Queen-like mischievous mix of mannered pop. Singalong should-be AM pop single? Definitely “Once More With Feeling.”
It’s nice to be surprised by artists you’ve respected but not necessarily charted their every career move. With And the Adjacent Possible Ok Go move up my ‘pay attention to these guys’ list, delivering a summer 2025 constant rotation long-player.
Poprock Record 