Monthly Archives: October 2026

Monster mash-up

23 Friday Oct 2026

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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We pretend monsters only come out one night a year. But they walk amongst us. They’re inside the house for sure. After all, monstrous things are going on all the time. Halloween is just our human a way of coping. And there is candy. Now you can add great music to the festivities. Here you’ll find a treat bag of tunes to accompany the wolf’s howl and tricks from your own neighbourhood’s tiny monsters.

Let’s have the American Bees set the scene with “It was a Dark and Stormy Night” from their just released Halloween-themed album Be Afraid. The track kicks off like some old scratchy Alfred Hitchcock record before jump-starting things with an accordion and plenty of maniacal laughter. The over-the-top vocal delivery and creepy musical adornments help this song ace the seasonal elan. Electric Johnson work up a 1950s-meets-the-Ramones vibe for “Frankenstein Island.” The combination of fifties monster motifs somehow lock into certain kinds of rock and roll riffs that are just so perfectly executed there. Black Nuns are really into Halloween. Like, in a big way. How big? They’ve produced three volumes of Halloween songs and have a compilation album that incorporates the 30 odd songs from them and about 70 more. That’s committing to the bit. You can get the feel for what they do with “My Creepy House.” But don’t stop there – there’s plenty more treats buried in this catalogue.

LA folk hipsters Freedom Fry have produced a stunning seasonal EP that really delivers some Halloween depth. Haunts strips things back with its mostly acoustic delivery, lulling you up before springing the chills. Opening cut “Come Little Children” adds mystery and a sliver of fear to a track from the 1993 movie Hocus Pocus. “Red Right Hand” is a Nick Cave tune the duo mange to give a slow-burning propulsive edge to. Then we get to the EPs most intriguing remake, a hypnotic rendering of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” driven by a lonely acoustic rhythm strum. The instrumental title-theme from John Carpenter’s Halloween is ominous but engaging while the band’s own composition “Zombie Love” is a pleasing exploration of how to really never let love go. This is the Halloween soundtrack to die for this year.

Ok, I know I’m cheating a bit with my next few selections. Ryan Allen’s “Used Copy of Monster” is obviously more about REM’s Monster album that Halloween monsters. But why not take the opportunity to promote a cool song? Allen has a such a sweet crunchy sense of melody and it really shines through on this ode REM’s most misunderstood album. So too David Woodard’s “Skeletons” is not really about fully assembled fleshless bones terrorizing somebody somewhere. But here too the tasty guitar licks really deserve a wide audience. It’s the title track of his most recent fabulous album – come for the song, stay for the whole package. Now there’s no bait and switch when it comes to holidays and Vista Blue. They know how to celebrate the seasons in their own inimitable style, which is noisy pop punk. “Here Comes the Rougarou” is paean to a half man, half wolf killer of lapsed Catholics. It’s a New Orleans thing.

To wrap things up, Los Straightjackets get their surf twang revved up on “It’s Monster Surfing Time,” complete with grunting monster sounds. Surf is another unlikely monster setting that something clicked in the early 1960s, effectively bringing these two great tastes together.

Plenty of musical monsters here to aid your seasonal monster therapy. And nothing soothes savage beasts quite like a great tune. And candy.

Photo ‘Smile’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Starry starry singles

20 Tuesday Oct 2026

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What is star power anyway? Somehow we know when we’re around it – there’s an extra dose of sparkle to the performance that makes instant replay pretty much inevitable. To aid your search, here’s 21 songs to fill your starry starry sky with something shiny and new.

Summer may be over but any season is a good time to check out the latest EP from Australia’s The Summertimes. The jangle shimmer radiating from their summertime pre-release single “Save You Now” is buoyant and fresh, giving off a Rank and File meets the Beatles vibe. EP title track “Luminous” is pretty sweet too. Minnesota’s Sunken Planes return with a dynamic new single “In Due Time” that combines jangle with a decidedly edgy emotional feel. Just a little bit dissonant and melancholy in a very good way. As Vegas With Randolph gather their wits for a full album release they’ve been drip releasing intriguing songs like “Maria Reverie.” The track is name-dropping tour-de force. I mean, it’s not easy to rhyme things with Matthew McConaughey. Exploding Flowers single “Spinning Carousel” practically screams out for a montage sequence to accompany it. The song is pleasant like a gently rippling forest stream with a marimba break that reminds me of Haircut 100. 2m8o have an endearing DIY indie style that comes out strong on “Popcorn Ceilings.” Some star bass playing here too.

The Happy Somethings “Just Being With You” is definitely ‘a healthy dose of hope’ (the latter being the title of their latest album) with an undeniable winsome charm. This is a band that made C86 a way of life without surrendering their smile. Bill DeMain’s Swan Dive project offers up something very special, a new song featuring the late great Jill Sobule. “Jenny” is cool and stately in a ‘I’m doing a Frank Sinatra sort of thing’ way. So classic. The dt’s recent track “Bummer” goes in two seemingly disparate directions within one composition. The verses keep us idling, waiting for something to break. And that break comes with a swooping chorus that really delivers. Birmingham’s Lolas never fail to nail the hooks. Their new song “Colors of the Heart, Bleeding” careens out of the starting gate with a soaring melody and punchy chorus. What an intriguing combination Pillow Fight offer up on “Secret Crush.” Musically the opening is so jangliscious, quickly developing into a great girl group groove. Then the deadpan vocals twist the effect away from pure nostalgia to something more serene.

While Doug Hammond’s Vaughn Trapp guise may not have the tensile strength of his Daisy House project it remains a great vehicle for his abundant pop culture talents, showcased nicely on his latest song “Gringo Starr.” Composition-wise, the track is a wild synthesis of styles from completely different eras. And damn, the melody threading throughout the chorus is pure ambrosia. Liverpool’s Modern Marriage have a debut LP Grim Up North jammed full of Merseybeat references but delivered in a style that is anything but. “Dear John” gives you a taste of the band’s musical independence from their obvious cultural past, combining both shiny guitar riffs and a very punky demeanor. I’ve always had a soft spot for Louisville Kentucky’s rough-hewn Terry Malts. Their music always seemed to verge on just a bit too loud for me but always recovered with an unfailing knack for dialing in some serious melodic hooks. With “By Friday” the rocking grind is there, adorning a familiar song style so well. Don’t let the palm trees fool you on the cover of All Over the Shop’s new EP Some Like It Shop. On opening cut “Every Dog …” the sounds has a grimy grinding undercurrent while the vocal pulls in a different direction, creating a productive tension. In their spare time Richard Rossi and Joe Giddings decided to form a new project, Radio Karma, and put out some new tunes. “Mom’s Garage” is one and it is an exquisite composition, a dynamite slice of melodic rock with just the right balance of tasty hooks and screaming guitar solos. If only I could toss off singles this good so easily.

“Red Lights” is something a bit different from The Deathray Davies. Over the top and a bit constrained in different places. Definitely fun. The Fencesitters hail from St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and their “flight song” is delightful ball of confusion, simultaneously light and frothy while drilling down into solid guitar soloing (including some serious verbal flight boarding drama). The new single from Santa Monica’s The Popravinas has their usual candy-coated pop rocky coating. “You Got Ornery” is driven by a slick vocal and lead guitar riff that won’t quit. The Krayolas are a tex-mex institution, still going decade after decade putting out new stuff. This time it’s a cover of Atwood Allen’s tear-jerker track from  Doug Sahm’s 1973 solo album Doug Sahm and Band. And they acquit themselves country-beautiful on it. I love the light touch on Drew Beskin’s new single “Like Some Guilt Admission.” The acoustic guitar floats in, the vocal hovers somewhere above it all, while the tune really gets into your head.

Wrapping things up on this star power showcase is a real show stopper from The Speedways. Backing their new single “All Bets Are Off” is a b-side co-write with none other than power pop legend Paul Collins. “Angela Sincerely” is dynamite from the word go. Cool lead guitar line, hooks galore, and with some vocal support from the legend himself. A winner, for sure.

You can wish upon these stars but cool hard cash would probably not go amiss either. Click on the links above to extend your night sky view of these great new songs and acts.

Photo ‘Ritz Starlight Room’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Can love kill you? Let’s ask Softjaw

16 Friday Oct 2026

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Some albums are so good you just have to drop everything to write about them. Today’s release of Softjaw’s new LP Love Can’t Kill You fits that bill. Reviewers have hailed the band’s reinvention of a classic 1970s power pop sound associated with Big Star, The Nerves and Cheap Trick and I’d have to echo such sentiments while adding a few more. I hear a lot of 1960s DNA embedded throughout the album and a synthesis that is also truly unique.

Things start out with a clever bit of misdirection as opening cut “You May Be Right” works up a noisy boogie-rock assault that largely exists at the far reaches of glam. Then “You Won’t See Me Cry” pulls back the guitar crunch a bit, doling it out in more pleasing shots while laying in some serious Beatlesque vocal harmonies. However, it’s when we get to “Poor Disguise” that the band’s tremendous originality come to the fore. The song is a masterclass in melodic sophistication and songwriting arrangement. The super-enriched harmony vocals cut through a backing brimming with breakout hooks. Hit single? It should be. There’s a Phil Seymour “You’re Precious to Me” kind of intensity going on here. “Love Can’t Kill You” is the other standout hit single material track here. The distinctive elements of this song – the guitar tones, the harmony vocals, the melodic hooks – come together so effortlessly, a testament to great playing and superior songwriting. As noted above, while a lot of coverage of this band notes the 1970s flavour I’d push things back to the 1960s too. There are early Beatles guitar vibes undergirding “Halfwit,” more than a tint of The Hollies colouring “That’s Alright With Me,” and lilting Merseybeat feel to “My Broken Heart.” Of course, “Million Different People” practically screams acoustic Big Star, right down to the big empty room atmosphere while “Pandemonium” has just a touch of Wings woven into it (Wings in a rocking mood, that is). I also love the genius arrangement of musical and vocal elements defining “Go Mad” and the low key jangle heaven that is “Flying High.”

Albums this good are dangerous. They raise our expectations of what can be produced in our post-genre era where everyone claims everything has already been done. Love Can’t Kill You demonstrates there’s still a lot of gas in the power pop tank. Get your copy without delay.

Luxury Fruit want to be monetized

10 Saturday Oct 2026

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Come on people, here’s a humble band with more witheringly smart commentary than your local late-night talk-show comic and they’re just looking for a way to turn that jangle-infused verbiage into a buck. That’s right, alternative universe superstars Luxury Fruit have another 4-tune EP that is so good they didn’t even bother to give it a title. [untitled] is a deliberately opaque album name because this is a band that believes in you, in your ability to listen and really hear what is going on. Opening cut “Entitled” is a brilliant dissection of privilege delivered with an island sway. Get Mike from White Lotus on the phone because this is his next theme tune. By contrast, “Untitled” is a stark rock rumination on the great levellers, time and death and indifference. Dig this meditative wall of sound. “Lying in Bed” is a talk-sing bit of whimsy delivered with a laconic precision. Rounding things out, “I’m All I Need” is the logical end game for America’s self-help obsession. Advice or warning? You decide. And then this EP is over. You won’t get a more refreshing 16 minutes unless you pop in a cold shower.

You probably didn’t think you could afford Luxury Fruit. But you can. And in multiple ways. Everything will become clearer over at the Luxury Fruit Bandcamp stand. Go there now.

Around the dial: True Green, Brian Jones and His Elevator Music, Smug Brothers, and Pope

04 Sunday Oct 2026

Posted by in Around the Dial

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Sometimes you’re spinning the radio dial (or whatever is your modern equivalent) and something new pops out that you just can’t turn away from. Today’s crowd of artists offer up just those sorts of oh-so-pleasant surprises. Get ready to get stuck in.

True Green’s Hail Disaster is a journey through many moods. Opening cut “Italian Lightening” is all shades of autumn light, so many flickering guitar and keyboard lines dapple your senses. Sunny and bright got right, that’s this song. It also stands out as the most hit singley track on the album. From there things veer down many intriguing paths. “How To Draw Hands” talk-sings against echoey guitar chords and mellifluous keyboard runs. “Beatlemania” is a stark indie rock intervention, nothing like Beatlemania sonically (though it does ask all the right questions about that social hoopla). Then “Consider the Priesthood” brings banjo into a track that pushes the echo fader to the max. Folk figures strongly across many contributions here. “Hamlet and Juliet” has a unique folk ennui, a bit like Hayden. “Bindi Sue” and “Falconry” both give off acoustic folk vibes, the latter adding some Bruce Cockburn guitar artistry. Meanwhile “Jonathan” combines a folk feel with some comforting 1970s electric keyboard. But cuts like “Hail Disaster” and “Terry’s Parrot” lean closer to performance art. The guitar textures defining “Bodysurfing”  are mesmerizing in a low key way. Moody poprock makes an appearance with “Texas Instrument” while “Sparrows + Lillies” is all jazzy rumination. Hail Disaster may be a shifting mood buffet but it works on many levels.

On Outlandish Stances Brian Jones and His Elevator Music offer up that highly literate melodic rock and roll that made careers for bands like Squeeze and Fountains of Wayne and I can’t get enough. Record opener “Flowers” has a new wave freshness from its opening guitar chords, building to a triumphant, memorable chorus. Then “New Adventures” shifts gears into a rollicking poprock romp. “Some Men” opens with some distinctive jangle guitar, layering it up to good effect on this story song. It’s so easy to toss off possible comparisons to the styles that appear here. “The Last to Know” is so Squeeze, “Mexico” exudes an FOW ballad feel, while “Blessed and Highly Favored” reminds me of Freedy Johnston. “Sunday Best” is a personal fave – I love the liberal deployment of seventh chords. “When The Music’s Over” is something different again, closing things out with tender piano ballad.

Smug Brothers album #11 Pinhole to Vortex is a supremely great guitar record. What I mean is that the guitars are central to everything that is going on here, carrying the songs forward, adding depth where needed, and jumping out of the mix with various melodic and textural surprises. “Bolt Through the Blackout” is a great example of what I’m talking about with alternating guitar parts that keep grabbing our attention. “I’ve Seen Them Patch the Same Hole Trying to Get It Right” is another striking example where the hypnotic rhythm guitar attack lulls you just ahead of dynamic lead guitar breakouts. “Blitz Meridian” is something a bit different with its clockwork-meets-new wave rhythm guitar pacing. And I’m particularly keen on “Picasso Waltzes.” The song is a wonderful arrangements of pieces, from the lead guitar lines to the chorused vocals to the striking trumpet shots. Or listen to how “Extra All the Time” uses great lead guitar runs to lead us through the song. There is a some solid Beatles DNA threaded through countless songs here, from “Eureka Minor” to “From Crack to Shatter” to “Back at Earth.” There is stylistic variety here too, with “Speeding By the Way Things Used to Look” and “Wake Up (Be Your Own Planet)” holding a softer pop pose while “Chisel Would Say” showcases a harsher guitar attack. Personal faves include “The Other Wedge was Better” with its up-front guitar hooks and the full-on power pop of “Drive Open in the Delicate Streams.” Fair warning: with Pinhole Vortex you better get ready to notch your amp up to 11.

It’s been a month of regularly imbibing Pope’s new LP BFM and I’m still not done with it. I find myself fascinated with how the band manages to inhabit so many styles but never lose a sense of their own musical personality. Reviewers don’t skimp on comparisons, linking the overall aura to the 1990s alternative scene. My own take is that the potential influences go even further back (and forward). For instance, both “Song Two” and “Point of View” conjure the Dandy Warhols for me. Some suggest “Newboi” is vibing Teenage Fanclub but all I hear is REM. Obviously there are many ways to dissect Pope’s musical DNA, the point is indicate possible stylistic affinities. Case in point, “Town” has a SWMRS feel for me while “Good Enough” embodies a spot-on Kevin Devine demeanor. Another striking aspect of this LP is the seamless fluidity of the song order, despite the deployment of different lead vocalists. Ratboys singer Julia Steiner guests on “Sick Minute” and “Nothing for Nothing” and her appearances are both highly distinctive and very much in tune with the album’s overall tone. Overall BFM is a hard-to-pin-down album. Tracks like “Back to Centre” and “Underdawg” exude a folksy charm without going full-on folk. “Make You Feel” has a harsher guitar attack that is set off somewhat by vocals that seem to float over the backing. Then you have a song like “John Thomas” where a lowkey delivery in no way subdues the impact. After nine years without a release, BFM definitely marks Pope’s triumphant return.

Tuning in to these four acts will definitely enrich your listening pleasure. You can find more dedicated programming about them on their branded internet real estate.

Photo courtesy Joe Haupt Flikr collection.