Category Archives: Around the Dial

Around the dial: The Cords, Absolute Losers, The Sonny Wilsons, and The What Four

13 Monday Oct 2025

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Radio silence is over. We just can’t keep these maximum-rotation AM-spectacular acts under wraps.

As you hit play on The Cords self-titled debut album I bet I know just what you’re going to say. I was barely a minute into the record’s opening cut “Fabulist” when it struck me like thunder –  ‘wow, this is like The Primitives reincarnated.’ The reverb-drenched rhythm guitar, the hooky lead guitar lines, the lighter than air melodious vocals, it’s the total package. Follow up track “I Don’t Know (How To Be You)” also locks into a killer rhythm guitar groove that is relentlessly good. “October” then ups the ante adding some speed and a slightly more punky demeanor. “Vera” is something else again, with quirky chord changes and sixties-worthy ‘ba ba ba ba’s. “Bo’s New Haircut” was an early release single and it advertise the goods well with its slightly more slick C-86 style. Not that everything here is Coventry power-pop adjacent. “Weird Feeling” has a very different vibe going on, more poppy, less rocky, despite some strong beat group rhythm guitar work. By contrast “Rather Not Stay” conjures a very 1960s dolly-bird in minor-key style. Album closer “When You Said Goodbye” is a wistful farewell that carries a cinematic punch. You’re definitely going want to grab a copy of The Cords, it’s the guitar pop album we’ve all been waiting for.

Despite coming from Canada’s smallest province Prince Edward Island boys Absolute Losers have got a big big sound on their latest LP In the Crowd, brimming with jangle and Beatlesque melodies. Departing somewhat from the more experimental poprock sound of their 2023 debut album At the Mall, you only have to hear the opening chords of album opener “At the Same Time” to know this record is getting right to the rock and roll point. And it’s pretty much the same attack on “In the Crowd.” “Eagerness” pauses the rock bluster for some very April Wine high-melody moments. But the range of song stylings isn’t limited. There are clear Buddy Holly influences all over “Don’t Go” and some very George Harrison guitar flourishes colouring “For So Long.” “Better Things to Do” rides a pretty fine Beatles/Tom Petty line while “Kiss of Death” gives a punky feel to a solid BTO rhythm guitar groove. Shifting to a more modern mood, “You Never Say You Love Me” has a Sloan-like pop clarity to my ears. Then there’s “Letter,” a song that sounds like a more upbeat Weezer. Personally, I think “Your Colours” is also pretty special, almost folky with great jangly guitar and yearning vocals. Taken all in over one sitting the album is a delightful selection of tunes. Absolute Losers have produced a real winner with In the Crowd.

There’s no ambiguity for me, Maybe is definitely one the albums of the year. This debut release from Memphis outfit The Sonny Wilsons manages to sound comfortably familiar and strikingly different at the same time. It’s partly the tightness of the band’s performance. These guys sound like they’ve been playing together forever. But it’s also how the songs rework timeless rock motifs into something new. Take opening cut and title track “Maybe” as an example. It revs up like a lost new wave era classic but the distinctive vocal work somehow dislodges it from this period in a highly original way. Then “Deserea” gives us a taste of Led Zeppelin-style folkifying before launching a Blue Rodeo-like dark pop ballad. “Miss Kinetic” is more rock and roll hit single material, propelled by a twin blast of exciting electric lead and rhythm guitars. If there’s a divide in the material on this album, the cut lands between rockier and more acoustic guitar numbers. Songs like “Art of Letting Go” and “Who We Are” weave hooky lead guitar lines into rock songs that vibe The Beatles and even Blue Oyster Cult (in their poppier moments), respectively. Sometimes the rock drifts in more dissonant directions too, with both “Summer Rain” and “Ones and Zeros” reminding me of Chris Lund’s recent work. Contrasting this are the lush acoustic guitar tracks like “Favorite Spoon,” “Desert,” “What Happens,” and “Quicksand” where the band’s distinctive vocal work really come to the fore. I’d single out “Wheels” for future single-age. I love how its rocking verses veer a bit country in the chorus. And then there’s the big finish closer “The Way We Dance. ” What embarks as an off-kilter ballad, a slightly askew slow dance for a David Lynch soundtrack, picks up steam in the chorus in wonderfully unpredictable way.

On their debut EP (Four) The Record L.A. fourpiece The What Four offer us a gift from the past, both near and far. From the first bars of “Nowhere Blues” the atmosphere is set, it’s a neo-1950s J.D. McPherson vibe. This is only further reinforced by the languid bluesy groove established on “Long Long Way to Go.” But little will prepare you for the dramatic aural assault that is “Quarter to Midnight.” This track sizzles with a barely constrained rockabilly energy, enhanced by a modern set of pop melodic hooks. The effect is like a rockabilly version of the B52s. The EP’s hit single, definitely. Or is it? “Sunday Morning Ain’t So Easy” wraps up the show with a snappy danceable earworm that says play me over and over. This one would be in maximum radio rotation if I could buy the network. The only really disappointing thing about this release is its brevity, with just 4 songs running a scant 12 minutes. A long-player SOS has gone out for this act over all the usual channels.

Today’s line-up populating our radio dial are astonishingly good. Give then a crack at radio stardom or the sale of a tune or two by clicking the hyper-links above.

Photo courtesy Joe Haupt Flikr collection.

Around the dial: Splitsville, Richard Turgeon, and Lolas

29 Tuesday Jul 2025

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, ,

Today’s turn of the dial brings back a number of legends and old faves. It definitely pays to be tuned in.

After a 22 year hiatus Power Pop Hall of Famers Splitsville have reunited to produce a dynamic blast of what they do best – i.e. give us guitar-surging melodic rock without fault – on a new LP entitled Mobtown. The record is a concept album and not since HBO’s The Wire has Baltimore been given such an artistically critical appraisal. Attention to the American working class is paramount throughout, though with particular emphasis on “Beth Steel” and “Penn Station.” Musically, the record covers a range of indie styles from the past two decades. Opening cut “Cold Open” combines synthesizer riffs and a wall of guitars in a style not unlike The Dandy Warhols. “A Glorious Life” keeps the amps humming on high with a crunchy Fountains of Wayne-like set of hooks. Both “Southern Hospitality” and “Gray” address Baltimore’s longstanding issues of race. “I Hate Going To Hutzler’s” is the radio-ready single, so boppy and unpredictable. “Fallsway” takes things in different direction with some decidedly piano-centric poprock. But my personal fave is “Perry Hall” with its subtle Costello ring to it.

Consummate indie rocker Richard Turgeon has got an immediately recognizable style. But with each album he puts out his songwriting continues to evolve. Album #6 Shungite is no exception. Right out the gate Turgeon casts his spell with title track “Shungite,” an aural assault of strident guitars held aloft by some solid melodic hooks. Meanwhile “Song of Discontent” alternates between a soft and hard seductive dissonance. “Signs” throws its hook out early with a catchy lead guitar line before settling into a Sugar Ray kind of groove. “This is the Last Song (I Write for You)” is another great blast full-on guitar hookery. “Small Fry” and “Deep Cuts” offer something different, the former rocking out, the latter working a more alluring drone. I also love the transcendent shimmer defining the vocals on “All Good Things Must Come to an End.” Another exceptional cut is “I Won’t Cry” with its otherworldly oscillation between restrained verses and an high impact chorus. Then Turgeon wraps things up with another surprise, the low-key “Hit My Ceiling” animated by some very Byrdsian guitar work. Shungite is more reliably great work from Richard Turgeon.

On Big Hits and Freak Disasters Alabama’s Lolas give a melodic boost to the class struggle and then some. “Work is the Blackmail of Survival” gives you the essence of Marx’s theory of exploitation but it has never been so hummably rendered. “Shut Me Down” repudiates America’s rising totalitarianism with a 1960s poprock punch. Then “Call Your Name” turns the amps up to 11, sounding a bit like the Kinks when they really let go. Not that life is all struggle and strife here. There’s good dose of lovelorn longing too. Both “Underneath the Waves” and “From the Start” are great shimmery guitar pop songs about love. Band leader Tim Boykin’s mastery of 1960s-derived song styles is on full display on this record on tracks like “Jacqui” and the more folkie “I Wish You a Happy Journey.” But he’s also not afraid to push things in more a more punky direction on “All Sewn Up” and “I Couldn’t Stop It,” at least early on, before those super sweet pop hooks kick in. Other highlights for me include the clashy guitar pop of “Trick Myself” and the Nick Lowe-in-Rockpile mode-ish “Down We Go.” This record is full of should-be hits, no musical disasters. It’s a winner from start to finish.

Tuning in to your penchant for power pop, today’s acts are all on your wavelength. Get a repeat broadcast via the hyperlinks above.

Photo courtesy Joe Haupt Flikr collection.

Around the dial: Keyside, Peter Baldrachi, and The Jellybricks

13 Tuesday May 2025

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

New tunes show up in the damnedest places. This week’s discoveries come via social media, indie music platforms, and even my email in-box. Our ‘dial’ may be somewhat expanded from radio’s postwar heyday but the important thing is that the should-be hits keep on coming.

I stumbled across Liverpool’s Keyside when I caught their snippet of Squeeze’s “Up the Junction” as a TikTok reel. I immediately wanted more. Turns out the band have a few singles and two EPs, 2024’s Nikita and this year’s Michael (What’s Your Call?). The early stand-alone early singles “Paris to Marseille” and “Light Out” are delivered in such a strong Scouse brogue the lyrics are mostly indecipherable to outsiders, though no less delightful. The band are regularly compared to The La’s, Cast, Oasis etc. but songs like “Angeline” and “Down My Way” from the first EP channel a broader palate of influences: moodier, with jazzy inflections. “Nikita” is definitely a striking single. The formula is successfully reproduced on EP #2 with “Runaway” a strong opening single while “High to High” vibes strong Britpop. This is a quartet worth watching for what they might whip up for a long player.

It’s been five long years since Peter Baldrachi released his magisterial comeback LP Slow Recovery. There’s been a few singles since then, that’s true. But nothing stands in for a Baldrachi full album effect. So pull up and check out his new album Nothing Promised to get that feeling again. “Hard to Believe” kicks things off with a Peter Case vocal edge that successfully revives that driving Plimsouls sound. From there things get pretty country though not like you might expect. “Busted, Sad, Lonely and Blue” says country from the title alone but tune in for the Bakersfield sound. “You Brought the Love” balances tasty lead guitar riffs with sweet country pedal steel. Then “Go It Alone” sees the guitar work pulling the country feel in a jazz direction. “Wearing My Heart Around” dials up the honky tonk country vibe. But the coup de grace is undoubtedly the “In the Shadow” duet with Sonya Rae Taylor where a rumbly rockabilly lead guitar competes some spare country pedal steel to create real tension. Baldrachi does take a rocking turn or two as well. “Sometimes I Just Gotta Get Away” has a rollicking Replacements energy while “The Pieces of You” rides a great organ bed as you might hear on any number of Nick Lowe albums. Bookending the album is another hot should-be hit single, “Tomorrow,” a Matthew Sweet-worthy hooky guitar tune, with a hint of the Jayhawks in the vocal delivery. With Nothing Promised Baldrachi is back and as promising as ever.

The Jellybricks’ eighth release Dreaming in Stereo turns it out from the start. Opening cut “Age of Stupid” practically launches out of the speakers, the sonic assault evenly matching its pointed lyrical lash. Then the title track dials down the attack but cranks the melody meter with sweet guitar hooks and harmony vocals. “Sound of a Broken Heart” is almost a ballad, one that skips along over well-placed subtle hooks. “All About You” has a manic energy reminiscent of 1990s pop strut singles. There are times on this record you’d swear the band is doing some kind of new wave bait and switch. Both “Monday’s Never” and “Enchanted I Am” sound like different (equally good) bands, the former 1980s British, the latter 1990s AM poprock polished. There are so many great songs here I’ll just single out two more. After a rather jazzy experimental introduction “Follow That Girl” takes a jangle romp in new directions while “Shine On” closes things out with rocking bravado.

The search for great new tunes keep turning up trumps at this makeshift station. Click on the artist hyperlinks above to get a replay.

Photo courtesy Joe Haupt Flikr collection.

Around the dial: Lone Striker, Ryan Allen, and Randy Klawon

21 Friday Mar 2025

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Today’s radio spin reveals surprises from some of our usual suspects. Gotta stay tuned in to get the full picture.

I like Tom Brown. I’ve reviewed his Teenage Tom Petties and Rural France records and they’re reliably good. But his new Lone Striker project is a revelation, a carefully calibrated artistic montage of ‘found sounds,’ loops and samples. And hooks galore, of course. Album opener “Blip One” is a Beck-like pop crawl of a number, shrouded with lone prairie ghostly background vocals. Then comes the early release single “Dunno,” which had me at the mournful horn section opener. There’s a beautiful melancholy hovering all over this tune. It’s a song that seems so simple at the start but builds an emotional intensity. By contrast “The Cavalry” has a New Pornographers feel where the rhythm guitar almost looms in the background, offset by what sounds like a toy keyboard lead line. It’s curious, despite an overall sonic consistency to the record the different cuts here conjure up different moods. “Funny Way of Showing It” is breezy acoustic pop fun, “Never Blown a Kiss” has a Mavericks vocal intensity, while “Cursed Like Roy” lopes along like a Magnetic Fields-meet-Buddy Holly tune. Sometimes the vibe is baked into the choice of instrumentation, like the mournful harmonica and whistling on “Pinnochio” or the pedal steel guitar on “Hurry Up, You’re Taking Forever,” making any song a perfectly sketched miniature of mood.

Ryan Allen returns to his roots on his latest record, channeling the influences that shaped his tastes growing up. To that end Livin’ On A Prayer On The Edge dials down his usual levels of crunch and distortion to favour melody. You can hear the difference on album opener “I Should (But I Don’t Really Wanna)” with guitars that sound like a more dissonant version of Teenage Fanclub. Then “Lost in a Daze” and “Anxious All the Time” have a more Fountains of Wayne intensity. Basically this record is like a tour of duty with poppy guitar bands (and I’m all for signing up). You can definitely hear a Big Star kickstart to “After I’m Dead,” or a hazy Oasis guitar shimmer on “Conspiracy Theory” or even the pull of Squeeze in “When I’m Gone.” Radio-ready should-be hit singles? I’m voting “Company Eyes” and “So What Who Cares.” These are catchy poppy gems. Then it’s a wrap with the lovely, Kevin Devine-ish “In The Next Life.”

On Love and Sacrifice Randy Klawon steps out from his sideman role with The Flashcubes and The Half-Cubes to take the spotlight, gathering together a host of singles he’s been releasing over the past few years. And it’s about time. The guy has the soul of a classic poppy rock and roller that can effortlessly traverse decades of influences. Opening cut “Love and Sacrifice” lands somewhere in the 1970s. “Marlo Maybe” is more early 1980s AM soft rock. By the time we get to “Little Miss Sunshine” Klawon is working the same timeless indie poprock seam as people like Ed Ryan. In other words, the song could have come out anytime in the last few decades. But there’s also a strong Beatles DNA stamped across the album too, prominent on tracks like “Ordinary Day” and “Tonight.” On the singles front “She’s More Than I Want” is pretty brilliant single-age, with its touch of the Searchers plus The La’s. “Even When She’s Wrong, She’s Right” and “Don’t Want To Play” are both effortless singalong pop, perfect for wafting from somebody’s transistor radio somewhere.

Keep me guessing, that what I say. And keep hitting those hotlinks to keep these guys in guitar picks.

Photo courtesy Aaron Brown Flikr collection.

Around the dial: Burgess Meredith, Log Flume, and The Rockyts

23 Thursday Jan 2025

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

What’s playing across our spectrum? More hooks, more jangle, more mellifluous melodies – the usual, in other words. Today’s should-be radio sample has got sly riffs, coy lyrics and even a certain cinematic allure.

The early, more rough-house pop sound of Burgess Meredith sounds like it has been put through a Beatles filter and what has come out on their latest LP Person Hat is very Abbey Road with a dash of seventies solo Paul McCartney. I mean, LP opener “Nowhere” is so Macca it hurts. In a good way. Actually, the whole sonic vibe of this record oozes various Beatle-isms. It’s there in the ominous orchestration backing “Somewhere to Start,” the distinctive Mellotron keyboard underpinning “Becca Song,” or the oh-so-Beatles background vocals balancing the sparse acoustic guitar on “Heart Strings.” I’m not saying it’s all Paul here. “Life Love” strikes a more White Album Lennon note. You may also hear a lot of Beatles interpreters like ELO on cuts like “Blue Reign.” Then again “Hit the Road” seems very Apples in Stereo to these ears. I think the sleeper hit on this record is “Love Knows.” It is one of those subtle ear worms that gets stuck in your head the more you hear it. I also really like the ambition driving “The Children Can Tell” with its pop, folksy and sing-along elements blending seamlessly.

Philadelphia’s Log Flume sound like a power pop band that aged out of the punk scene but couldn’t quite quit that baby. The effect is sometimes like a pop singer playing in front a sound system turned up way loud. It’s wonderfully dissonant and fun on tracks like “Elevator Up,” “OMIT” and the poppy “DB Cooper.” Other tracks like “Rom Pom Pom” have that SMWRS slick, alluring indie poprock sound. By contrast “On the Spaceship” has a rough and ready sheen, a touch of slacker vibe that says ‘we can nail this’ but sometimes we like things a bit looser. But where I think this band is going can be found on songs like “Angel’s Flight,” “December’s Ending” and “Simple Friend.” The latter transitions out of the dissonant sound to more of an accent on melody. Then “Angel’s Flight” bends your ear with solid melodic hooks throughout. But the standout should-be hit single is undoubtedly “December’s Friend.” This one is just so poppy good. Another delight is “Twist” which builds the tune out of a complex lead guitar hook that just keeps looping in the background until a chorus breaks out of nowhere. The album title is Splash Hit and that captures a lot about this group: fun, unpretentious and willing to throw out hooks like kids cannon-balling from the diving board.

When The Rockyts launched in 2020 they were barely post adolescent but that didn’t limit them acing a driving beat group revival sound worthy of a dark sweaty night at The Cavern. On their debut album Come On And Dance they showed they had 1965 down. The question was, where would they go next? 1966? Or somewhere more unpredictable? Last year’s release of Parkwood Manor has provided some answers. The record now sees the band reduced to a solo act built around the group’s creative force Jeremy Abboud who writes, plays and produces everything here. I must say the results are surprising though not startling. Abboud shifts to that slick pop new wave feel that took signature elements of the Beatles sound in exciting new directions. Tracks like “I Get High” and “Without You” utilize Cars-like muted guitar and vocals to good effect. There is a sonic consistency to the performances of tracks like “Another One Like You,” “You and I” and “Falling.” Abboud adds some grit to his vocals here while maintaining solid melodic hooks. There are contributions that offer a softer pop take, echoing a lighter 1960s feel, and here I’m thinking of tracks like “I Don’t Know Why It’s Killing Me,” “Everywhere” and “You Were My Love.” Altogether Parkwood Manor is an impressive second effort from a young talent who is really just getting started.

Given what you see here it’s clear that poprock productivity remains strong. Really there’s no reason you can’t get the hooks you need going forward. Just tune in here to re-up your supply.

Photo courtesy Joe Haupt Flikr collection.

Around the dial: The Rills, Wishy, 2nd Grade, and The High Elves

05 Thursday Dec 2024

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

As 2024 inches towards a close there are still so many great releases that warrant the spotlight. Today we’ll be spinning the dial for these four radio-worthy acts.

The Rills debut LP Don’t Be A Stranger rips out from the starting gate and never lets up. “Seaside” starts the show, falling somewhere between a brash American SWMRS vibe and a more restrained English Fronteers sound. But next up the early release single “I Don’t Wanna Be” is more getting-up-and-going-somewhere rocking out. Get ready to get some airtime. The album cover sets up a car theme that gets expression on two tracks that couldn’t be more different, tempo-wise. “Drive” has got its lead foot on the gas while “Dad’s Car” is using cruise control. A lot of this album has got the youthful exuberance of acts like of Cage the Elephant or Catfish and the Bottlemen on tracks like “Mistake” and “Bones.” But others throttle things back. Both “Sirens” and “Dream of You” contain more structured evocative melodies, the latter very much should-be hit single material. Then there’s songs like “Stranger” with its spooky slow groove ambience and sliver of The Zombies’ Colin Blunstone in the vocals, or “Angel in the Snow” echoing a New Order guitar/bass line combo.

Some bands really know what they are about. Like when Wishy self-describe their sound as bringing “traces of shoegaze, grunge and power-pop swirling together” they nailed it. On their recent album Triple Seven it’s like all three elements are always there in mix but with each song one genre steps up to take the spotlight. Opening cut “Sick Sweet” marries a grungy drive with a bit of shoegazey dissonance. The same formula is working for “Spit” while “Game” and “Honey” lean into the grunge side. Then “Triple Seven” has a Sugar Ray skip-along rhythm going married to ever so dreamy vocals. “Persuasion” is bit more like Ivy, if they’d tipped in a more FOW direction. Powerpop definitely takes over on cuts like “Love On the Outside” and “Busted.” “Just Like Sunday” is a departure, slowing things down under a wash of layered vocals and a most subtle hook almost buried in the chorus.

Only 2nd Grade could deliver 23 songs in just 39 minutes and still leave the listener feeling like some kind of triple-album epic just went down. That’s what you can expect on their new long-ish player Scheduled Explosions. Now this is not the band’s first short-song rodeo so when they claim they’ll be “Uncontrollably Cool” in just a minute a half you better believe they’ll deliver. And do they ever – across at least four broad genre strokes. First there’s the garage punky stance holding up bashers like “Out of Hive,” and “68 Comeback.” At others times songs vibe a more indie slacker lurch, apparent on cuts like “Bureau of Autumn Sorrows” and “King of Marvin Gardens.”  All these efforts leak melody but the hooks sharpen on material that evokes a Mo Troper DIY sensibility e.g. “Airlift” and “Crybaby Semiconductor.” But it is the power pop tracks here that really deliver for me. “Live From Mission Command” and “Fashion Disease” tweak the guitars for maximum hook-age. Should-be radio hits? Definitely “Instant Nostalgia,” and “American Rhythm.” You may balk at sitting through a 23 song album at first but trust me, if you really like a few you’re going to want the whole crew.

I said ‘more please’ when Kurt Hagardorn’s The High Elves flipped us a pair of singles from his new combo last July. Now he returns with two more tunes to fill out an EP with those singles entitled Early Works. Of the new tunes, “Your Hat” has the austere tone of Hayden, Canada’s dour man of melody, while “Talk” couldn’t be more different, all peppy and musical theatrey.

Today’s tuneage definitely deserves radio play in an old school sort of way. Our dial may be imaginary but the talent is not.

Banner art courtesy kasiQ Jungwoo Flikr collection.

Around the dial: The Half-Cubes, Tamar Berk, The Martial Arts, and Teenage Tom Petties

20 Tuesday Aug 2024

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

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.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr Collection.

Around the dial: The Embryos, David Woodard, Aerial and Harvey Gerard

25 Saturday May 2024

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Why waste time searching the radio dial for hooks when we’ve got you covered right here? Today’s post promises both something new and a return of familiar faves, all packaged up to be stylishly long-playing.

Just one spin of The Embryos new album Selling What You Want To Buy confirms they know their market research. There’s so much to love on these 11 finely crafted songs, performed in multiple styles. I continue to be impressed by the band’s easygoing facility with just about any rock subgenre, though if I were forced to slot this new album in somewhere I’d say it has a decidedly Americana accent in places. This was on display strongly on the pre-release single “Desiree,” a breezy mid-1970s Eagles country-ish romp. And it’s there again on the Band-like “Sweater in the Heather.” Then you have tracks like “He’s a Hypocrite” which exude a Marshall Crenshaw vibe that easily shades into Americana. But the band’s penchant for Brit influences remains too, mostly audibly on “Somehow She Knew” and the record’s hidden title track “The Embryos Live” which lyrically features the album title and some alluring psychedelic lead guitar. “Frozen City” sounds like the should-be single to me, with the light and bouncy “Fortunes” a close second.

For another aptly named release, you can turn to David Woodard’s latest LP Get It Good. Now given that his 2022 album Stupid Kid was not merely good but great can we expect Get It Good to be even better? The opening track “The Last of the Full Grown Men” is certainly promising, kicking off with a strong Beatles ’66 vibe before morphing into a kind of Fountains of Wayne suburban anxiety song. It also hints at a lyrical depth that defines this album as Woodard grapples with issues of aging (“I Used To Be Cool”), nostalgia (“Flower Power in the 80s”) and social alienation (“I Can’t Make The World A Better Place”) on various songs. Musically the record steers between sixties and eighties influences. For instance, like “The Last of the Full Grown Men” “Coming To Life” also launches with recognizable Beatles motifs before moving in a more Odds direction. There’s even some recognizably U2-ish lead guitar setting the atmosphere on “Crazy One.” But I think where he excels is with the more low-key, midtempo FOW numbers like “Grace Under Pressure,” “Get It Good” and “Awkward Conversations” because there’s no place to hide – the melody has got to be good (and they are).  “Riptide” is striking outlier here with its wistful electric piano layered over an ominous set of synth strings.

Apparently you can’t hurry a band like Aerial. It’s been ten years since this Scottish duo put out Why Don’t They Teach Heartbreak In School and that record had come 13 years after their debut LP Back Within Reach. But now they’ve returned with Activities of Daily Living and it’s like no time has passed at all. The title track opener signals strongly that the band’s power pop chops remain undiminished. Then “Pixelated Youth” adds a pinch of dissonance to the mix, offset by some sweetly melodic vocal work in the chorus. The band’s signature, self-described ‘smash and grab’ style of power pop can be found on both “An Encore and Cover Song” and “Bad Tattoo.” But there are departures too. “Hollywood Ghosts” has an AM radio hit-single sheen all over it while “Run These Lights” is more of a mellow, ambient mood-setter. The album also features a number of gorgeous, moving piano ballads like “Debutante” and “Silversand Beach.” But my personal faves lean into the Teenage Fanclub/FOW kind of melodic guitar pop, specifically “I Bet You Know Karate” and “Cadence.”

Harvey Gerard looks the part of a loveable loser and lyrically his work is etched full of trouble, chaos and social ennui. But musically he consistently manages to turn that frown upside-down on his latest album Cul De Sac. That’s kinda impressive. He may be singing about drunken nights on the bar stool (“Bar Stool”) or seasonal mental health episodes (“Quarterly Paranoid Cycle”) but somehow it comes out sounding like there’s an upside. The trick is to bring in some sweet harmony vocals and an extra hook somewhere, usually in the chorus. I mean, look at the structure of opening cut “Last Days of the Hated Family” where the deft application of back-up vocals in the chorus totally elevates the tune. The sound here is miles away from the trainwreck country vibe (not that there’s anything wrong with that) of his 2017 release Pickled Wisdom. Echoes of previous work can be found on the country-ish “Thin Lipped and Nordic” and “Left To My Own Devices” but overall that album leans poppy rock, particularly on tracks like “Phase Pedal” and “Nervous Energy.” Should-be hit-single is undoubtedly title-track “Cul De Sac.” Compositionally it’s got a McCartney-esque complexity, developing different sonic layers and delightful melodic twists throughout.

These LPs are not going to race up the charts all on their own. Click on the hotlinks to register your approval.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Around the dial: Cast, Rich Arithmetic, Paul Collins and Declan McKenna

23 Friday Feb 2024

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Today’s radio waves feature four stupendous releases from reliably melodic rockers that take up the mission from different strengths. Get ready to do some involuntary humming along.

I was definitely late to the Cast party, only showing up in 2016. But I quickly became a die-hard fan of their canon. There was something shivery good about John Power’s haunting vocals while the band’s musical vibe seemed to deliver on what The La’s had only promised. The band did pop up with a new album in 2017 but Kicking Up Dust sounded more like a Power solo album but for the very Cast-alicious “Baby Blue Eyes.” This time round though I’m in on the ground floor with their brand new LP Love Is the Call and I can report it is a concentrated blast of everything that once made Cast so exciting. The songs here are strong, really sing-along good. John Power has clearly got his song-writing mojo back and then some. As Cast fans might expect, the acoustic guitar features strongly in a few songs here, like “Bluebird” and “Tomorrow Call My Name.” Seductive vocal arrangements also get a look in on the cathedral haunting “First Smile Ever.” But that won’t prepare you for the stunning hooks of should-be hits like “The Rain That Falls” and “Faraway.” “Love You Like I Do” and “Love Is the Call” up the rock quotient but without moving the melody needle any distance from superb. Trust me on this one, Love is the Call is the one you’ll really want to take.

Rich Arithmetic is like a painter who colours his songs with shades of musical yesteryear. And his new album Pushbutton Romance offers a wide variety of sonic hues: new wave, jangle, baroque, and a whole load of sixties vibes. “When You Want Somebody (To Make Love To)” starts things off strong, vibing early 1980s retro with just a touch psychedelia in the vocals. The distinctive guitar riffing throughout really buffets the tune. Then “Carry You (Redux)” steps on the jangle pedal and harmony vocals to good effect. Really, the guitar tones and vocal arrangements on this record are something else. Listen to how “Battered and Broke” uses some jazzy guitar to set a different pace from the rest of the album, more American songbook as a contribution. Or there’s the fab rumble guitar giving the instrumental “Saving Sunset” a cool Shadowy Men on Shadowy Planet strut. For vocals “Moral Blight” lays on some pretty sweet harmonies that really launch the tune in the chorus while in “You Are Always Right” it is the vocal arrangement that really shines, beautifully supported by some distinctive jangle and rumbly guitar work. The tune sounds Mersey but like the non-mop top bands. Other highlights for me include the folk rock “Bend the Arc” and Beach Boys-ish “A Teenage Hymn, Pt. 1: Tan All Over.”

If there was a godfather of power pop it might be Paul Collins. Member of the legendary Nerves with Jack Lee and Peter Case in the late 1970s, later making waves with his own Paul Collins Beat throughout the 1980s, Collins always seemed to be just this side of making it. But like the Velvet Underground, everyone who caught his act started their own power pop band. On his brand new record Stand Back and Take a Good Look Collins has decided to revisit a range of songs from his many bands and solo records, with help from the likes of Dwight Twilley, Prairie Prince, Richard X Heyman, and many others. The results are a rollicking good time. Opening cut and title track “Stand Back and Take a Good Look” puts the Nerves song into a swinging, easygoing register. “In Another World” strips the Americana coating off a track initially covered by the more country-ish Paul Collins Band – and I like it. Some songs hit the jangle just so, like “Liverpool.” Others slip into a more country feel, as on “You Can’t Go Back.” All in all, 67 year old Collins sounds in fine form here. Tracks like “I’m the Only One For You” sound as fresh and full of energy as anything from his deep catalogue.

On What Happened to the Beach? kid wunderkind Declan McKenna stretches his musical range, offering up dance, power pop, English folk, and efforts the defy easy categorization. There is a Bowie-esque sense of daring and curiosity to what is going on here. Yet amidst all this adventure and experimentation the results are always recognizably Declan. “Wobble” showcases this playfulness, with a McCartney-worthy falsetto and a carefully staged, sometimes overlapping introduction of different sonic tones. “Elevator Hum” is another interesting collage of sounds, sparse and airy, then building to a dance floor groove. “I Write the News” nails the 1970s English folkie vibe of John Martyn and Roy Harper before it scales up into something else completely. But the heart of the album for me is the set of radio-ready singles, “Sympathy” and “Nothing Works.” Both are just fabulous instances of melodic single-age, masterfully put together. Given all this variety, it’s clear Declan’s not done exploring yet.

What a quartet for your listening pleasure. Don’t be afraid to dig deep and often into these releases. Repeated listenings are the charm.

Around the dial: Thomas Walsh, The Small Square, The Exbats, and Miss Chain and the Broken Heels

15 Friday Dec 2023

Posted by in Around the Dial

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Time again to twist the dial in our never-ending search for exciting and hooky new tuneage.  Today’s finds qualify as some quality discoveries.

Pugwash regularly conjured review comparisons to the Beatles and XTC but their sound eventually became its own point of reference. The band’s creative force Thomas Walsh now returns with a solo album The Rest is History that bears the mark of his distinctive artistic imprimatur and then some. The record launches with “A Good Day for Me,” a very ELO-inflected bit of pop genius. The arrangement of the song is so perfect, shifting from delicate moments and lush interludes to straight up earwormy hooks. Singles don’t get much better than this. “Another Lesson in Life” is a close second vote for should-be single with its psych Beatles feel and Lennonesque vocals. From there the album oscillates between spare and sunny pop sketches like “Love in a Circumstance” or “Born of Kamchatka” and the more jangle-pop contributions like “Take Your Time” and “Man Lies Down Again.” “All This Hurt” does crank things in a more power pop direction. And of course there must be some XTC vibes somewhere on any given Walsh product, this time featured heavily on “Everyone Back in the Water.” Pugwash fans are going to be very happy with Walsh in solo guise. The Rest is History is pure enjoyment.

Velvet Crush main man Paul Chastain has a new outfit and the vibe is something else. The band is The Small Square and they have a new LP entitled Ours and Others. I love the distinct mood on this album. Opening cut “Twenty-Third” sets a sombre tone before breaking out into a more Mike Viola pop ode. By contrast “The Hourglass” builds on its acoustic guitar base in a very Michael Penn kind of way. Then “Open Up (Closer)” commits to a more rocking demeanor with a Matthew Sweet balance of ripping lead guitar and strong melodic hooks. And check out the gorgeous jangle defining the enigmatic lurch of “Tilt.” It’s got Byrds, some Tom Petty, and just a hint of Mike Viola again. Come to think of it “Insta” has got some Brydsian turns too. The album has got a load of beautiful mellow pieces too like “Days In,” “Found Object,” and “Baby Face.” Should be single is definitely “Can’t Let Go (Oh, Tommy).” This one saunters in, understated, only to break out a great hook in the chorus. I’m also partial “N. Main Blues” with its otherworldly synth textures and chugging chorus.

With their new album Song Machine Bisbee Arizona father/daughter combo The Exbats move the dial up from their usual early 1960s Brill Building/Phil Spector sound to a more early 1970s Partridge Family vibe. “Riding With Paul” has got the ‘ba ba ba ba’s of the TV band down, with just a dash of Monkees guitar work near the end. Not that the sixties motifs have been entirely put away. “To All the Mothers I’d Like to Forgive” harkens back to an early 1960s girl group sound. Other sixties riffs can be found on the 1960s girl singer standards “Easy to be Sorry” and “Himbo.” Or there’s the more late 1960s Sonny and Cher feel to “Better At Love.” Sometimes the retro sound gets refracted through later periods. “Cry About Me” takes a new wave remake approach to the sixties girls group sound while the current single “Like It Like I Do” could be either The Bangles or The Go Go’s doing their hip-shaking, good time take on the past. Then there’s “You Got My Heart” and “Food Fight,” both rollicking blasts of goof pop, the latter getting garagey in a Velvets way. Last up, a real surprise – is that some Abba I hear lurking deep in “The Happy Castaway”? Get yourself a copy of Song Machine. You’ll have it running for a long time.

All this past week I just can’t stop listening to Miss Chain and the Broken Heels new album Storms. On the bus, during my run, on my way shopping for the husband, I just keep choosing this record and then hitting repeat. There’s something brash and raw and real going on here while still being oh-so polished and hooky. Sometimes the sound has a strong retro 1950s sheen. Songs like “Wild Wind,” “Caring Wolves” and “Uh Uh Uh” lean into that more rough-hewn, fifties-style melodic rock that reminds of another great find this year, The McCharmleys. But at other points lead singer Astrid Dante exudes the vocal charisma of a Neko Case, Jenny Lewis or Chrissie Hynde. Opening cut “I Don’t Know” is like a declaration of purpose, wielding its original and distinctive rhythm guitar work to anchor the song. “Storms” trundles along with a carefree abandon. “Hunters of Hope” has a more anglo-poprock gloss. Really, there are just so many great tunes here: “Since You’re Gone,” “Perfect Day” and the hypnotic “Green and Black.” Storms works on the stereo and you know it would rock live.

There’s nothing like twisting the dial and stumbling across a new find. Today’s acts will give you plenty to return to.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.