My go-to source for breaking poprock should-be hits Sweet Sweet Music Blog featured Montana native Jacob Godbey’s pretty much one-man band Lo Fi Ho Hum back in July and since then “Never Been in Love” has been occupying a special set-aside corner of my new music mind space. I’ll admit, my initial engagement was with the hilarious video Godbey put together. His improv skills clearly come to fore as he visually portrays his song’s hapless protagonist on this quest for love. But make no mistake, this single is a killer song, combining Steve Miller-esque everyman sleek vocals with a slow burn melodic hook that just keep looping you back in. And the recurring bicycle bell shots are just a smile-inducing bonus.
The song is part of a short sharp shock of an extended play release Garage Pop, which really is apt description of the 19 minutes of music contained here. “Boundaries” is another strong cut, slightly dissonant and hooky, cut with the occasional buzzy guitar breakout and yelly punk vocals. “Open Mic Night” brings observation comedy to everyone’s mixed bag entertainment choice. But really the whole package is an enjoyable blast.
Lo Fi Ho Hum are high octane fun. Get over to their Mp3 distribution centre on bandcamp for more and then visit Godbey Creative to discover you’ve only just scratched the surface of Jacob Godbey’s considerable, multiple talents.
The EP is back baby and ready to extend its play. Perhaps not quite as far as the more ubiquitous LP but farther than a maxi-single for sure. To that end we’ve rounded up a bevy of new EPs to stack up on the record changer and let them have their way.
Henry Chadwick keeps on pushing the frontiers of his melodic journey. His latest EP Leaving sounds like it’s been put through a Beatles pop-psychedelia filter and come out the other side all dreamy and a bit shoe-gazey. Opening cut “I’ve Hate the Sound” is a sonic seductress, lulling your cares away. Then “Reruns Alone” has an off-kilter midnight movie ambience. “Leaving” sounds more Ben Kweller meets Apples in Stereo. The whole package of songs has a tentative, explorative, gentling vibe I’m digging. Derbyshire UK trio The Happy Somethings also sound contemplative but in both a lyrical and melodic way. Their new six song release Caught in the Web delivers more of their hooky social commentary, this time ruminating on all things social media. You can feel the tension animating “Is This Broken” and the unceasing uneasiness of “Prey.” This gives way to sunnier jangle sound on “Kiss of Life” but the message remains dire – basically, web life is a pretty shallow endeavor. Should be hit single “Smitten” has the band acting as reverse sirens, warning listeners away from the seductive allure of a life lived online. Pale Lights Phil Sutton revives his Love Burns project to give us another dose of his folky pop. Blue offers up seven songs that oscillate between earnest lamentations and more upbeat sentiments. The title track is a lowkey poppy number with a strong Lloyd Cole vibe. “To Say Goodbye” balances a recurring cool lead guitar with a piano rhythm section. Then “Hard to Fall’ harkens back to REM’s take on country rock. But perhaps saving the best for last “What To Do About Us” has got a riveting lead guitar and a tight overall band sound. This one is the radio-ready repeat-player.
Moving over to more rock side of street Justin Kerecz blends an Americana esthetic with a more stripped back rock and roll feel on Nobody Man. For instance, “Barking Dogs” has an almost stark simplicity but the pre-chorus builds tension that the chorus opens up nicely. By contrast, opening cut “Been Crying” reaches back to a neo-1960s melodrama sound. Toronto’s Vicky von Vicky lean into a more guitar pop rocking style on Broken Chairs. “Jealousy” kicks things off with a rough and ready feel only to have “Freak Me Out” smooth out the vocals in a most alluring way. Both “Goodbye My Love” and “Be Still My Heart” have a classic 1980s melodic FM rock sound while “Not The Man” drop a bit of pop anguish into the mix. Five strong cuts here. I wrote about The Feeders fantastic “Congratulations By The Way” a while back but now it is included on an equally good self-titled EP. Here you have more of group leader’s Sam Vicari’s dissonant melodic musings. “Sara You’re My Saviour” and “Mrs. Duluth News Anchor” are definitely highlights here. Somehow I missed The Pozers guitar poppy outing last year Something Pop. This album is not really an EP but as only three songs are up on bandcamp I’m treating it like one. “Alison With an Edge” ambles along with buzzy guitars and a vocal melody that turns out the hooks. “Save a Kiss For Me” works the 1970s layered vocals effect into the tune so well. Meanwhile “Missing You (Missing Me)” has a buoyant power pop that will have you beaming.
Speaking of smiles, my first listen to Cliff Hillis and Dennis Schocket’s “For Everly” had me grinning unstoppably, so successfully did it conjure key musical ages for me. I can now report that their subsequently released EP Pop, Girls, Etc. is equally magical, hitting the marks of a host great poprock eras. I mean, dial into “Violet Blue” and transport yourself back to AM radio 1979 with the sleek guitar and exquisitely shaped vocal work so of that period. The duo rock things up a bit on “The Girls Are Back in Town” and offer a variety of jangle with “Carrie, the One” and “Here Comes Joanna,” the latter a masterclass in Byrdsian songcraft. Toronto’s Drywall Heels have also super enriched their sound with a bit 1960s swagger and jangle on their new outing Today’s Top Hits Playlist. This is a sunny collection of winsome tunes, aided by interesting guitar tone shadings on “Screens” and “Little Critters.” “Any Hollow” adds some luscious vocal layering to the mix. And check the maximum jangle dressing “Caterina.” This EP is a breezy good time. Tampa’s The Easy Button add a good dose of distortion to the tunes on EP2 but that can’t obscure the hooks driving the songs. Their Weezer-meets-FOW melodic instincts are in full force on tunes like “Liberty Bell” and “Private Beach.” “Honor Roll” punks things up a bit but in a hummable way. “The Best Paths Are Never Clear” is an epic should-be hit single. And Halloween even gets a look in “Friday the 13th 2.”
Wifey’s debut EP Just A Tease was certainly highly anticipated by me. When I first heard their early release single “Mary Ann Leaves the Band” I was blown away by its lyrical cleverness and drop dead melodic hookiness. The four additional songs here do not disappoint, branching off in different power pop directions from their initial release. Opening cut “DiMaggio” kicks off in a totally different acoustic guitar register, only to scale up to a solid power pop assault when it gets going. “Playing Dead” is another winning tune though a more straightforward slice of guitar pop this time out. Greedy me might say I want a whole album of Wifey but this EP is a already a pretty full tilt blast of poppy goodness. Heading for the ‘best of’ lists for sure.
The lowly EP. Once upon a time it wasn’t even considered important enough to get listed in an artist’s official discography. Now it’s a regular thing, release-wise. And that’s a good thing.
Photo “The Party Makers” courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.
What kind of album is Nick Lowe’s new Indoor Safari? His recent LPs have ranged from rock and roll allsorts mixtures (At My Age) to more sonically consistent kinds of musical statements (That Old Magic) but his new release harkens back to his 1980s rockabilly-tinged variety shows like Nick Lowe and his Cowboy Outfit and Pinker and Prouder Than Previous. Contra the post title, not much on the new album is genuinely new, with most tracks seeing release sometime over the past decade on a variety of extended singles and EPs, though the versions here are freshly re-recorded for this release. The new takes are not that strikingly different – the changes are subtle, perhaps a slight shift in the vocal fit or the band’s swagger. But put together in one place like this the songs do cohere into an album rather than just a collection of tunes.
Lowe opens with a blast of rockabillied sixties garage rock on “Went to a Party,” from which he derives his album’s title when he suggests a party is akin to an indoor safari. This track and “Jet Pack Boomerang” are the only wholly new tunes here and, along with “Tokyo Bay,” set the pace for the album’s more rocking moments. Lowe’s backing band for the record are Los Straitjackets and their playing adds a welcome degree of surly abandon to the proceedings. Other songs like “Love Starvation” and “Lay It On Me Baby” draw on a post-1950s but pre-Beatles rock and roll vibe. Then there’s “Crying Inside,” the kind sixties rewrite Nick has has tossed off throughout his career with reliably good results. Nick does also draw on his Brentford Trilogy sound for “A Quiet Place” and “Different Kind of Blue,” the latter conjuring a distinctly jazzy crooner feel. “Blue On Blue” remains my fave song from Nick over this last decade. A band like Los Straitjackets could have stomped all over this tune with their wall-of-guitar sound but instead deftly pick their way through, delicately shaping its impact. And while album 14 for Nick might see a bit more gravel in his vocal there’s no discounting his talent for phrasing, as evident when he makes a cover of Ricky Nelson’s “Raincoat in the River” sound more like a great lost Sam Cooke 45. “Don’t Be Nice To Me” wraps things up in a classic Lowe style, going low key only to reveal surprising hooks.
Aging artists risk turning into a broken record, releasing faded versions of their former glory again and again. But with Indoor Safari Nick Lowe – with help from his able backing band Los Straitjackets – proves an old dog can even make old tricks sound fresh and exciting. Long may he growl.
Get Indoor Safari from Nick’s Bandcamp locale and visit his website for his seemingly never-ending tour news.
Today’s spotlight single is actually a b-side. Hailing from Salt Lake City, The Mellons combine psychedelic and baroque pop influences in a most delightful way, as showcased on their debut album Introducing … The Mellons. They return now with a new single but are holding off on revealing both sides of the 45. That’s ok because the b-side “Please Baby Please” is a dynamite tune in its own right. It kicks off with a mesmerizing drone attack of insistent guitar hooks and 1970s Chicago style vocals, before they went all soft rock. Overall the sound sounds very Sloan in the way it gels together into a cohesive aural attack. Then in the instrumental break the atmosphere suddenly becomes British beat group circa 1965, all rough and ready guitar and band party vibe. I can’t wait to see where this goes on a whole-album treatment of such themes. Alas we have to wait until November just to glimpse the a-side here, let alone a whole batch of new tunes. But I’ve got a feeling it will be worth the wait.
Get your latest Mellons b-side at the Earth Libraries bandcamp shop and catch up on all things Mellon at their own unique internet locale.
Time for another collection of 21 tunes populated from various sources over the past month. I think there’s something from every dark corner of the poprock-o-sphere here. And given the value for money, they’re all available for five and dime prices when you think about it.
Earlier this year Portland’s Blitzen Trapper brought out a monster of a new album 100’s of 1000’s, Millions of Billions. It’s pretty impressive how quickly they rivet out attention on their opening single “Hello Hallelujah” with just a few strums of the guitar. From there they just build the hooky tension till there’s no turning away. You are gonna hit replay on this one. Shifting north to Toronto The Celestophones nail a very particular seam of the Beatles sound, namely their love of the Everly Brothers and Buck Owens. They conjure both elements expertly on their light and frothy single “You and I Know.” Every time I notice Milwaukee’s Newski he seems to be on the road somewhere so I don’t where he gets time to lay down all these tracks. “Banking on Never Breaking Down Again” definitely has that ‘live on the road’ vibe. He manages to make his acoustic guitar sound like the quintessential rock instrument, one part Springsteen, another part Tom Petty. Askim Norway duo Herr Wade produce a lot of material, much of which skates outside of the zones set for this blog. But their “Theme From Chief Inspector Wade” is a wacky, inventive piece of work, reminding me of the Penguin Café Orchestra in its creative juxtaposition of instruments. Poprock legend Graham Gouldman has a new album out entitled I Have Notes and it rises to his usual standard of intense listenability. The most immediate hit single-ish tune to my ears is “It’s Time For Me To Go” but I’m also drawn to the finely structured ditty “Play Me (The Ukulele Song)” if only because the song’s sentiment is just so apropos of the fate of former school instruments.
On “Dashboard Jesus” Glenn Erb navigates a dead man’s curve with an alt country vibe but doesn’t quite make the turn. The effect creates a scene of eerie, low key desperation, despite the apparent wreckage. You’re going to want to add this to your disaster song playlist. A very different atmosphere is conjured up on Loose Buttons’ new single “I Saw Jon Hamm at the Beach.” Terms like languid, breezy, sun-stoked, and shameless name-dropping all come to mind. I am feeling more relaxed already. Rich Chance works up a sophisticated pop extravaganza on “Azalea Close.” The song has so many interesting melodic and lyrical twists and turns, where suburbia is pleasantly hooky but not all it seems. Rangiora, New Zealand’s Best Bets return in fine form on their new single “Spooky Signals.” Fuzzy hooky goodness is what this song provides in abundance, an advance release from their new album The Hollow Husk of Feeling. When he’s not donning a mask with his instrumental guitar super group Los Straitjackets Greg Townson flashes a Chet Atkins guitar gentleman pose for a host of great solo singles and albums. Just this week he’s got a a new double-sided single out and personally I’m loving the stylish classy-ness of the “Spinning Top” selection. You can’t fake this kind of cool ambience.
When he’s not hanging out with those cool dudes from The Half Cubes veteran poprocker Randy Klawon offers up the occasional jangly single. This time “She’s More Than I Want” comes on like the second coming of the second iteration of The Searchers. His somewhat plaintive vocal pairs nicely with the bright La’s-like lead guitar lick that defines the tune. Our next cut is a bit of a cheat because Jeff Gordon’s “Hard Promises” is a re-release from his 2021 album Local Boy. But man this song is just so good! The vocal hooks are utterly seductive, framed by striking lead and rhythm guitar work. Haunting is the word I’m looking for. This is a tune that stays with you long after the record ends. On “Kinda Lost” The Junior League have managed to mash together sonic hues from two different decades, combining a mid-1960s George Harrison guitar jangle with a lush 1970s soft rock vocal. The end product amounts to an exquisite synthesis. It’s one of three new tunes on their recent EP Nattering Nabobs. Sydney, Australia’s The Stormy Sea remind me of a host of 1980s folk rock revival acts, with a touch of Dionne Warwick style thrown in. “You Scare Me” would fit in nicely on a Lilac Time album given its light bouncy air. I’ve liked a number of Boston band The Fatal Flaw’s past releases but their new single is a co-write with Wyatt Funderburk and that gives it a bit more of a head-turning quality to my ears. The band expertly squeeze every melodic hook out of the song with chugging guitars and a sweet vocal treatment.
Jeff Gordon “Hard Promises”
The Newds drop singles now and then, focusing our attention on one song at a time, each one a carefully concentrated blast of melody. “God of Small Things” is no exception, a recent offering that has so many subtle sonic elements going on. The song builds and builds without ever really blowing up. It’s almost meditative. If ever there was a band whose name jarred with their musical output it would Young Scum. The moniker surely denotes screaming punk or hardcore will result from hitting play? But this Richmond Virginia combo have a 1980s Manchester jangle sound that is relentlessly smiley on their new single “Peach Ice Cream.” Part of a whole album experience dubbed Lighter Blue due out soon. Chicago native Kenny Michaels is on to something with his new single “Must Be This Love of Mine.” Buoyant and sunny in both melodic and lyrical content, the song has a unmistakable early 1970s pop vibe, with some Turtles shading on the ‘ba ba ba’s. Another time trip single comes from Dragon Inn 3 with the recently released “Clock Machine.” The intro guitar work is so jazzy 1970s, a period when it seemed every song had to feature some serious lead guitar motif. But then these sometime members of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin do their indie creative thing and add vocals that push everything in a different direction, with a wonderful effect. I love the organized cacophony on Shiverlane’s new song “Little English Pleasures.” The competing vocals particularly have a shambolic quality until they come together with a dynamic precision.
Kenny Michaels “Must Be This Love of Mine”
Last up on our five and dime specials, a pop-enriched summer stinger from The Glad Machine, “So High.” There’s Beatles name-dropping, laconic acoustic guitar swing, and a concentrated blast of sing-along melodic energy in the chorus. This will have you whistling as you leave the store.
The five and dime had it all and then some. Those bargains may be gone but great value on songs is even more true today. Click the hyperlinks to fill your basket before the checkout.
Bummed at the thought of your mundane back-to-school choices? It’s not too late to enroll at the San Francisco area Chime Schooland takes classes on some A-levels jangle. Schoolmaster Andy Pastalaniec has put together an 11 song lesson plan entitled The Boy Who Ran The Paisley Hotel that will introduce students to the fine points of superior song-craft and Rickenbacker 12-string guitar technique. The Chime School music library gets a full workout here, drawing on myriad elements of 1960s and 1980s jangle texts in new and inventive ways. The lessons begin and end with some strong Cure vibes to my ears, with both “The End” and “Points of Lights” dropping some serious Robert Smith-like guitar lines. “Give Your Heart Away” has a Smithsian melancholy while I could hear REM doing “(I Hate) the Summer Sun.” Then “Words You Say” harkens further back to the 1960s folk rock scene. You won’t be drifting off to sleep in these classes because the pacing of so many of the songs here is just relentless. “Why Don’t You Come Out Tonight” adds impressive percussive elements amidst rapid fire jangle guitar licks. “Another Way Home,” “Desperate Days” and “Say Hello” all ride a river of jangle. The current video release “Wandering Song” is the obvious candidate for album valedictorian, leaping out from the start with an insurgent lead guitar lick that keeps looping back in throughout the song. Though “Negative Monday” is a pretty impressive jangle case study too, combining delicious guitar hooks with a decidedly melancholic melody.
Chime School is back in session and ready to take on pupils. Click the hyperlinks to register and download your course materials. Homework never sounded so good.
We interrupt your internet scrolling with these breaking stories from all over. But mostly New York City. With a look in at Washington state and Massachusetts.
On album number two NYC’s Movie Movie continue to explore the far reaches of America’s rootsy rock and roll past, gathering sonic relics like a Raiders of the Lost Ark spin-off. Opening cut “You Never Learn” stokes the fires of heartland rock while “You Closed The Door” sounds like a Bo Diddly-infused Everly Brothers. Then “We Gotta Go!” takes an easygoing California sunshine pop vibe and kicks it up a notch at regular intervals. The song line-up on In 4D! will keep you guessing with its constantly shifting focus. There’s the Bond-theme-ish “You’re a Ticking Clock” with its tasty extended lead guitar solo. Or the more keyboard heavy “Anywhere But Here.” “I Want You Back (Again)” opens with a bit of mystery and rumbly guitar only to resolve into what will undoubtedly become a drunken bar sing-along chorus. Or you can dial into “Shopping Spree” with its Springsteen-esque melancholy and expansiveness. “You Can’t Hide From the Lies” sounds like the single to me, reminding me of the 1980s Americana vibe of the BoDeans and Rank and File. “Damaged Goods” is definitely not – what an organ sound! And then the band call it a wrap with the gorgeous “Living Without You,” a soaring epic of a song.
Mark Ward’s new LP Let ‘Er Rip is a perfect slice of 1980s poprock. There’s hooks aplenty spread over 15 tracks covering straight up poppy rock and roll and a host of adjacent genres. Opening cut “I’ve Been Around” plays like the AM radio-friendly single with its solid hooks and drone-heavy electric guitars. Or is “Pixie Girl” the must-release 45 here, with its insistent chorus and seductive harmony vocals? Then again, “Girl Like You” has got the big and bold lead guitar hook opener that says ‘don’t touch that dial!’ I also like the melancholic turn the melody takes in the chorus. Evident throughout the record is how well Ward knows his sources. From the opening Beatles riff he drops into “Kiss Me Kiss Me Kate” or the 1981 Athens Georgia-era sparkly folk guitar on “Zip It Up” the songs effortlessly conjure up distinct sonic atmospheres. Jangle is clearly the star here, defining tunes like “Little Frames,” “Wasted On My Own Again,” and “Blood on the Plate.” Add in some Beatlesque melodic turns and harmony vocals and tracks like “Love Me Once Again” stand out even more. But the album also showcases Ward’s range, from acoustic guitar-playing singer-songwriter (“I’m Ready”) to talking blues (“Villain”) to country (“The River”) to folk (“Hope”). He even gets downright experimental on “Paint My House.” Let ‘Er Rip is a quality poprock product but check out last year’s Key of E as well to double your pleasure.
Summer Fun is a batch of Rick Murnane’s occasional singles, released annually in summer months while heading for the beach and taken down before Labor Day. But gathered here on one long-player they cohere into an album exuding its own pop personality. Guitar pop definitely, mixing in elements of folk rock and power pop, tied together with Murnane vulnerable vocal style. Opening cut “Monkey in the Zoo” deploys synth in an otherwise solidly guitar pop song in a most fun way. Melodically it sounds like a classic Fountains of Wayne deep cut, particularly in the chorus. By contrast “Only a Game” has a Marshall Crenshaw easygoing pop demeanor. Sometimes Murnane puts his lead guitar up front, as on “A Strong Kind of Love” where some great lead guitar work drives the song along. Alternatively “We Like Animals” really shows how to use bass to anchor the feel of a tune. Or for a more contemplative moment, check out how he channels an Al Steward kind of melodic arc on “We Still See You Now.” I can’t help reaching for my folk rock source book when “The Days” comes on. The distinctive 12 string guitar pushes the vibe toward some kind Jim McGuinn folk rock side project. Country gets a look in too on “Rodeo Bill” and “Jesus and the Bud Girls,” splashing hints of a western style and the Bakersfield sound here and there. If Summer Fun is a just a set of Murnane toss-off tunes I can’t wait to get back to his main catalogue. You should too.
NYC’s Yours & Mine open their album The Shadow You Cast with some pleasantly grinding guitars so there’s no doubt what you’re in for. Or is there? As the vocals kick in on “I’m Not Ready To Go” the hue is slightly urban country, which makes for a tantalizing and unexpected combo. Overall the guitar intensity of this new record marks a mellower departure from the band’s 2017 self-titled Yours & Mine EP – but only just. Certainly the follow up song “Pushing Up Daisies” clocks in with a strong wall-of-guitar sound and a vocal attack more reminiscent of power poppers like The Well Wishers. Other guitar interventions are more tempered, framing breezy pop melodies like “Wedding Vow” and “Our Own.” “Shadow” is the clear single with its magnetic opening guitar hook, though “Who Knows” is a close second. This time the guitar lick is a more hypnotic loop supporting vocals that fall somewhere between Taylor Swift and Michael Stipe. “September” builds tension between the strong guitar attack and melancholy melody while “The Kid” moves into more Oasis territory. The country vocal tone returns on “Head On” amid a wonderful tangle of electric guitar lines. Closer “Gimme Rock and Roll” is just a fun guitar-slashing romp. The Shadow You Cast is a striking package, hard to nail down but easy to enjoy.
That’s all the news that fits our print. Sports and weather, not so much. Click on the links to further your own citizen journalism of the musical kind.
We tune our radio dial today to throwback seventies pop, tuneful tableaus, melodic melodrama and hooky guitar noise. And with no need to change the station.
The Half-Cubes new album Pop Treasures is a monster of a collection, featuring 24 tunes that draw from 1970s and 1980s hit-makers and indie darlings in a lovingly relentless manner. At the risk of going all K-Tel on you, the hits just keep on coming here. Opening cut “Love’s Melody” sets the stage, barreling into the spotlight with an unstoppable 1970s pop punch. I can definitely hear The Searchers lurking in the arrangement of this Motors tune but the performance is classic Half-Cubes in its hooky intensity. But when the band switch to less well-known material like “Weakest Shade of Blue” from The Pernice Brothers they make that sound like a great lost hit single too. They’re just that good. Clearly I can’t touch on every tune here so let me point out some surprises and personal faves. Like their version of 10cc’s “The Dean and I.” This was the song that turned me on to that band and it’s not an easy cover, with its complex melodic turns and vocal arrangement. But the ever reliable Half-Cubes pull it off. Doing Phil Seymour’s “Precious To Me” was an obvious but no less delicious choice. Offering up a guitar-centric take on OMD’s “Souvenir” was a more bold move. You can hear a lot of thought went into the choice cuts included here, from Del Amitri’s still striking “Not Where It’s At” to the crashing guitar goodness of Cheap Trick’s “Heaven’s Falling” to 20/20’s understated guitar pop masterpiece “Jet Lag.” As an added bonus, The Half Cubes regularly share their spotlight with a number of the original artists. For instance, The Sighs entire band show up to join them on the re-make of their nineties hit “Make You Cry.” Pop Treasures really is an aptly-named assemblage of should-be hits in the best spirit of K-Tel party albums.
The title of Tamar Berk’s latest LP Good Times for a Change appears to drop a Smiths’ lyric on us with similar ironic intention. Good times don’t make for inspired art. So on solo album #4 Berk continues her journey into emotional and melodic complexity and where we end up is predictably impressive. Berk opens the record with a solid, should-be hit single. “Good Impression” flashes some Cars rhythm guitar shots so effectively I’d swear I was tuned to a 1981 car radio. This is some fabulous neo-new wave poprock. “That’s Not a Lie” is another single contender with its great vocal work. The rest of the record switches up tempo and moods, shifting through dance-able numbers like “You Trigger Me” to more contemplative efforts like “Chicago” which expertly builds its intensity throughout the performance, laying on more and more pop sheen. I’ve often compared Berk’s work to other smart and inventive female artists like Suzanne Vega and Aimee Mann and hear more that here, with the former echoing throughout “Book of Change” and “Millenium Park” or the latter on “I’ll Come to the Rescue.” There’s a playful feel so many tunes here, like the catchy ‘oh oh oh oh’s’ of “Be My Friend” or the languid shuffle on “I Don’t Mind” or the horns adorning “Artful Dodger.” Good times might be over-rated but Good Times for a Change can’t be rated high enough.
In the 1970s there was a fifties music revival that combined cartoonish hooks with a zany compressed sound that felt like it might go off the rails at any moment. You can hear it in the glam and Abba from the period and a host of deep cuts from 10cc. Add a strong dose of James Mercer’s clever pop sheen and things might add up to Glasgow’s The Martial Arts. The band’s new album In There Like Swimwear could be a time capsule from that era, except that it is much too smart and self-aware for those simple times. Opening song “Hold On Full Of Hope” gives you the flavour, riding its in-your-face melody with a bit of Elton John boogie in the background. “Empty Out There” keeps up the energy, sustained by some killer organ work. “The Attractions” strikes an Elvis Costello Armed Forces note, perhaps not surprisingly. “No Victory” was an early release single and it still sounds to me like an ice skating rink soundtrack number (and that is a very good thing). There’s so much to discover on this album, the songs are so complex and continue to reveal themselves on repeated listening. Songs like “Something in the Water” and “Exploding Crushing Inevitable” are so creatively put together, in totally different ways. Should be hit single? Definitely “Friends For Fools.” Those rhythm guitar shots are so alluring, only to break out into a beautiful melodic arc that just keeps stretching along new paths. It’s a perfect slice of melodic melodrama. There’s surprises here too. Like “Not Coming Down” which opens with a The The single synth note, only to move into a more Erasure-ish march. Then “Closing Number” offers a delightful sonic salad of varied sounds, ending with a banjo no less. Forget your bathing cap, In There Like Swimwear is actually gala entertainment.
On album number three (and second self-titled release) Teenage Tom Petties fade back from full band form to mostly just main man Tom Brown in his bedroom. But the results are still pretty rocking. The goal this time, says Brown, was to make an ‘alt-rock 90’s powerpop record’ combining influences from Fountains Of Wayne, Superdrag and Weezer with some ‘attempted Beach Boys harmonies.’ Tall order much? Yet Brown delivers and then some. “I Got Previous” has got a rough and ready DIY nineties vibe going. “Hawaiian Air” floats oh-so smooth vocals over bed of distorted guitars. Then “Kissed Me In Seattle” really is a pretty spectacular love child of all those aforementioned bands. Some songs lean more in one direction than another, with “Dumb Enough” very Weezer while “This Autumn Body” is so FOW. “Night Nurse” has got the urgency, crashing guitars, and pop hooks to be the single here. I could go on about every single song here (“Handstands for your Love” is sooo good!) but you’re getting the point. Give in to your longing for grungy 90s power pop and buy Teenage Tom Petties right now.
We’re your all-in radio station, serving up seventies retro, neo-new wave, tuneful melodrama and nineties power pop in one post. Convenient hyperlinks take you directly to the source.
This is not America, that’s the message from this great deep cut on Fastball’s latest LP Sonic Ranch. The ‘this’ talked about on “America” would be Hollywood, TV, or the seemingly endless loop of posturing politicians and pundits on social media. As the band sings, ‘maybe America is just a dream’ or perhaps it can found in the ‘middle of nowhere’ amid the folks who live out there. The song’s basic message is this: If common ground can be found in this oversaturated meme land it will require people talking to people in real, dusty, ordinary American places, not via polarized, overblown media representations of the country. Stylistically the song combines cool western guitar riffs and some great rough-hewn harmony vocals. The overall effect is gritty, like you can practically feel the desert heat and still taste the tequila in the back of your mouth. Check out this impressive live rendering of the song.
“America” is just one of ten great tunes on the album, if you’ll let me slip in a mini-review of the rest of what’s here. Sonic Ranch is the band’s ninth effort and it delivers on songwriting and performance. There’s a Beatlesque flavour to the flow of a lot of this record, from the White Album folk-fingerpicking style defining “Grey Sky Blue” to the more Rubber Soul light pop of “Hummingbird.” But there’s also classic Fastball super-charged singles like “Rather Be Me Than You” and “Let Love Back In Your Heart.” Basically, it’s another great package of tunes from a band that are just so reliably good.
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When Elvis Costello spit out This Year’s Model in 1978 he managed to combine a range of things that hadn’t been put together that way before. With his Buddy Holly-on-Benzedrine looks and an ability to toss off memorable tunes like a crossroads-enhanced demon, Costello and his crack new band The Attractions played the album with the in-your-face ferocity of seventies punk but with much better musical technique. Boiled right down though, it was the intelligence that stood out. Costello made being smart cool. Going forward, rock and roll’s angry young men (or women) could no longer just strike the pose, they had to have something to say. Today’s artists pay tribute to that legacy and add to it.
Toby Tantrum is the musical vehicle of Ben Simon. He’s got a load of singles and EPs up on Bandcamp though it’s hard map his career as most appear to be released in 2018 or 2021 and the artwork looks remarkably consistent throughout. In fact, he appears to be wearing the same 1965 jacket and tie in every pic. Musically Simon oscillates between an early Beatles Merseybeat and a ramshackle Velvet Underground strut. Lyrically, he splits his focus between mocking the pretentions/self-absorption of the musically famous and more obvious political themes. Songs like “One Take Wonder” and “One Chord” employ an unreliable narrator technique to tell us more than the protagonist realizes while “I Found Someone And It’s Me” speaks to the irresponsibility and shallowness of those in the spotlight. Politically “A City Is Not a Dormitory” from the EP Community for Those That Can Afford It is a scathing indictment of developers and local housing policy. And they all work as songs, which makes this whole affair more than a conceptual art project. Picking and choosing from his varied catalogue I’d draw your attention to at least three really hooky tunes. “People Are People” bursts with great guitar lines that ripple on repeat like a trickling stream while stylistically the song sounds like a rockier 1970s Roxy Music. “Hold Me Down” clocked me with its spot-on early 1960s vocal harmonies, very much in the early 1960s folk rock/country register. And listen to what Simon does on “So Many Times.” The vibe reminds me of those early Zombies records where they cover a load of American R&B 45s. Simon’s vocal even matches the delightful whine of Colin Blunstone in places. Alas, it appears Simon may have forsaken music for a more direct approach to politics, running for Cambridge City Council in 2019 as a Marxist socialist. My kind of guy.
Owen Adamcik loves The Nerves and The Plimsouls and you only have to tune in briefly to his recent long player Owen Adamcik’s Power Pop Paradise to get that message. But there’s more going on too. On his Bandcamp page you can find a raft of releases that chart his progress – from DIY teen-with-guitar to proto-punk to his more recent polished performances – and the pace of change has been meteoric. The new LP has oh so Plimsouls numbers like “Don’t Call Me on the Phone” and “When She Finds Out.” Then things branch out, drawing from a variety of sixties and late seventies new wave motifs. “She Kissed Me First” is built around some really nice lead guitar work that leads the vocal melody. Both “Her Eyes Made A Million Boys Cry” and “Maybe You Like Me” explore different song structures and put some interesting twists into their melodies. Really the Costello comparison here is more about intensity. Adamcik manages to squeeze maximum vocal anguish into every song, without over-reaching. On the other hand “Mixed Signals” definitely has a Costello punch to the chorus, run through a CCR filter. There are lighter moments too, caught in the more sixties boppy numbers like “You’ll Tell Your Friends” and “She’s My Girlfriend.”
Role models are important. Today’s acts show how to balance being ‘intense’ while still having a good time. Elvis would be proud.
Photo ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.
Poprock Record 