Tags
Beating Low, Now is Now, Ordinary Love, Sing, Sunday Sun, We Let Go, Wherever You Go, You Light Up the Sky
Sunday Sun capture the pure joy that can be the best of poprock. Their songs often have an uplifting quality that encourages repeat listening. I have had this reaction before, like the first time I heard “One Step Ahead” by Split Enz or “Another Nail in My Heart” by Squeeze or “Teacher Teacher” by Rockpile. I just couldn’t wait to hear them again.
Hailing from the Netherlands, Sunday Sun really have about two albums of material. In 2012 they released three EPs over a period of six months and then in 2014 came their first official long player We Let Go. All four releases are strong but if I had to choose my favourites, they would boil down to the following. “Ordinary Love” contains all the key elements the band uses so well: an effective combination of guitar and keyboard driving the songs, amazing multi-part harmonies appearing in swooping background vocals, and melodic hooks galore. Just try not to hum along when they hit you with this chorus. The writing in this song is great too, with fabulous lines like “living a lifestyle, instead of life.” Ordinary Love
“You Light Up the Sky” starts off slow but builds to an inspirational chorus – who doesn’t want to be told they ‘light up the sky’ for someone? “Sing” is, not surprisingly, a strong sing-a-long number. “Beating Low” is structured around a lovely Beatlesque lead guitar part that threads its way throughout the entire song.
The recent album has its share of great songs as well but instead of the chosen singles, I would go with “Wherever You Go.” Wherever You Go
Also included here is a video of the band performing “Now is Now” acoustically and live in the studio, which gives you a sense of their talent and charm.
The graphic of the band was designed by Maartje van Horn. Find out more about this designer here. Catch up on everything Sunday Sun at their website and Facebook page.
Public Access TV is a band in the process of coming into its own. Released less than a year ago, their first EP, Public Access, was great, featuring strong tracks like “Patti Peru,” “Metropolis,” and “Loose Ends” (with its great loopy piano solo). But starting with last November’s single “In Love and I’m Alone” the band really began to carve out a distinctive sound, which is reinforced with the first single from their forthcoming album: “On Location.” Public Access TV come to Toronto May 6 to play the 
Twin Peaks looks like a band of stoner dudes, ready to party anywhere. But their music is not the spaced-out stoner jams of yesteryear. This is a rock and roll outfit whose material stretches from the buzzed out vocals of “Baby Blue” to the garage rock vibe of “In the Morning (In the Evening)” to the dirty power pop of “Flavor” to the crisp poprock production of “Telephone.” But they have outdone themselves on their new single “Walk to the One You Love.” This song is sonically more sophisticated and professional than anything they have ever done. The band owns this tune, riding a catchy guitar riff, mixing in great vocals, horns and piano. All this bodes well for their soon-to-be-released new album, Down in Heaven.
There are a lot of bands named Swerve. This one is a California band that channels the great poprock sound of those mid-1980s Athens, Georgia, post-new wave acts. Even their smoldering cover boy above exudes 1980s angst, or is that just a chill in the air? It was hard to choose just one song from the Swerve’s recently released self-titled EP. “Aw Hell,” “You’re Wild,” and “Baby Blue” all have single written all over them but this time I’m going with “Remedy” which kicks off with a great wall of guitar before going a bit quiet and then coming back in strong on the chorus.
John Faye is no newcomer to the music scene. He was for many years the creative force behind IKE, which had a number of hits. But if you’re familiar with his past work, you will hardly recognize him from this new solo album, Meddling Kid. On this new effort, he has traded in the FM radio rock sound for a more poprock palette. Highlights for me include “Meddling Kids,” “Into Philadelphia,” and our featured track, “Keep On Hanging Around.” The song builds masterfully from a simple acoustic guitar opening verse to then fatten up the vocals and introduce more of the band and electric guitar in a way that hooks the listener in. A ‘how to’ of great poprock production.
I was out for a run and this song came up on the playlist and I knew I had to post it. “Reason to Love” is a masterpiece of a single, a perfectly crafted piece of poprock. From the opening harmonica, to the killer organ, to the ever so slightly harmonic vocal, everything comes together in this late 1970s new wave remelding of so many elements of previous decades’ popular music.
It should have been a huge hit single, but it wasn’t. The band had one more major label release before disappearing into obscurity. A shame but the period between 1979 and 1983 produced an amazing array of great poprock performers – people like Marshall Crenshaw, Nick Lowe and bands like Rockpile, only some of whom made it into the charts. But you can rediscover the Laughing Dogs and their music 
There is no particular theme to this post’s trio of songs, though each selection has a distinct sound that sets it apart. Starting with some Canadian content, Ontario native Matthew Barber typically runs the gamut of breathy guitar folk to straight up bar room rock and roll, but on “Blue Forever” it is the hypnotic piano hook that drives the song, later aided by some understated, echo-y electric guitar.
Simple Kid is the moniker for Irish multi-instrumentalist/producer Ciarán McFeely. After making some waves with his punk band, The Young Offenders, McFeely stripped things down to a solo project, initially recorded on a home multi-track cassette recorder. “Staring at the Sun,” from his 2004 album 1, kicks off with a distinctive guitar hook, with the rest of the song channeling a great Beck-like vibe. Sadly, after his equally interesting 2007 album 2, Simple Kid largely disappeared.
New Zealand’s Strange Babes round things out with a blissful, retro-sixties pop gem, “Come Back Around,” featuring chime-y guitars and killer organ fill that follows the chorus. They are not going to win any awards for lip-synching but the video here shows a band that is reverent without being derivative of the poprock psychedelic scene.
I discovered Ike Reilly just this last year, a week after he had appeared at the Drake Hotel in Toronto in support of his latest album Born on Fire. What an opportunity missed! But Reilly is not new on the scene, with recordings as far back as 2001, and performing career stretching back to the late 1980s. Imagine Bruce Springsteen meets hip hop, but by someone who could really pull it off. That guy is Ike Reilly. His material has all the great rock and roll vibes accompanied by an effortless alternating talk/singing style. Like Springsteen, Reilly gives voice to the sense of hopelessness and desolation facing working class communities in the face of catastrophic job losses and a general lack of political leadership. And like Bruce, he manages to capture the vignettes that make a life: the broken promises, the failed adventures, the unfulfilled potential.
From the three albums attributed to just Ike Reilly (there are three more with his backing band The Ike Reilly Assassination) I count at least nine must-listen tracks, though I feature a few less here. From his most recent Born on Fire “Am I Still the One For You” and “Underneath the Moon” are both great songs, but “Two Weeks-a-Work – One Night-a-Love” has a great groove and carries on Reilly’s strong career focus on work and the lack thereof.
2009’s Hard Luck Stories showcases the struggle for meaningful work on a host of songs but “Good Work” nicely captures the dilemma facing today’s youth who, despite partying together, will see some move effortlessly from privilege to opportunity while others struggle for whatever they can get. From the same record, “Girls in the Backroom” has a raucus sing-a-long quality masking some pretty desperate behaviour.
Winding back to 2001 and what can only be considered a minor masterpiece, Reilly’s Salesmen and Racists is a no-holds-barred critique of America’s class society but remains a remarkably tuneful indictment. “My Wasted Friends,” “Duty Free” and “Hip Hop Thighs” have hooks galore and a lot for the thoughtful listener to consider after the melodies fade.
Poprock Record 