Over the past month or so I’ve seen an appreciable and dramatic increase in internet traffic to this site from the People’s Republic of China. Great! I’m up for readers from the Middle Kingdom, for sure. Of course, this bump could just be a legion of bots that do not appreciate the subtleties of poprock (or any kind of rock for that matter). But hey, why focus on the possible negatives? Instead I’m going to welcome this new continent of visitors with some homegrown powerpop. Now before this past week I didn’t know anything about melodic rock and roll from China and I still know almost nothing. But since then I have managed to round up three pretty stellar acts to showcase.
Indie rock is hardly a new thing in China. Bands like Carsick Cars have been going for two decades, recording in both Chinese and English. Their most recent album is 口or Aha in English. Their song 一场大雨 translates as “A Heavy Rain” and radiates a cool understated vocal delivery over some slashing guitar chords while 舞台 or “Stage Riot” has a more party ambience. And that’s just the tip of this melodic iceberg of an album. The Sino Hearts are another veteran Chinese rock and roll outfit with an emphasis on the retro rock palette. Over the course of six albums they’ve mined a pretty impressive Beatles-meets-New Wave set of sonic motifs. Their latest LP is Mondo Paradiso and it delivers their usual very fine goods. “Hong Kong Baby Doll” definitely has a Meet the Beatles energy, “Viva La Heartbreak” gives off a 1980s new wave vibe, while “Sweet Wild Honey” is so Ramones good it gets a treatment in both Chinese and English. Breaking with the traditions covered so far, Elliott & The Wild Child are a duo based in Shanghai and their 2023 EP Simple Simple oscillates between punkish ‘tude and a more slick indie feel. Title track “Simple Simple” exemplifies this tension, starting all snarly and loose before tightening up the sound into a kind of grinding dance drone. The other stand out track here for me is “I Won’t I’m Not!” The track alternates between bristling dance energy and moments of dissonant pop introspection.
China, we’re taking your call. So readers from the far east please do keep stopping by. And don’t be afraid to school me on where the poprock scene really is in your neck of the woods.
China flag stamp courtesy PromesaStudio.
Poprock Record 
My photography site has also seen a dramatic increase in hits from China in the last few weeks. I think your “legion of bots” explanation is a good one. Probably trying to harvest data for AI and probe for weaknesses. It won’t be long before 90% of the internet is just a bunch of bots talking to each other.
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Thanks for sharing your experience Dave. Disappointing – I love the idea of bringing east and west together through ringing hooks!
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I’ve been experiencing the same dramatic increase in traffic from China, which I’ve also come to assume is related to AI harvesting. The music you shared isn’t bad.
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Sadly, I think you’re right. On the bands, I was surprised how many interesting acts there were.
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