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Around the dial: Steven Bradley, Jim Shorts, Daniel Romano, Gary Ritchie and John Dunbar

04 Monday Jan 2021

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Daniel Romano, Gary Ritchie, Jim Shorts, John Dunbar, Steven Bradley

As we twist the dial for today’s post it’s pretty clear we’re not quite finished with 2020 yet. Well, musically at least. Still quite a few great releases to draw your attention to.

Producer, record label founder Steven Bradley decided to put his own musical creativity under the microscope on his debut solo record Summer Bliss and Autumn Tears and the results are definitely positive. Hints of Costello’s Punch the Clock with its inventive keyboard touches and clever wordplay show up here and there but cast in a 1990s discordant poprock vein, tempered with an ace feel for a hooky dose of background vocals. It’s all there on the obvious should-be hit single “Pre-Emptive Strike” with its addictive, driving lead guitar lines, subtle organ shots and vocal ear candy. Bradley leans on some jangle for “Hiding Place” but not in an obvious manner, burying the payoff in a surprising and delightful way. “You Walk By” kicks off with a nice smattering of paisley before riffing on some Beatles lyrics. And so goes the rest of this highly listenable album. So many great tunes here, from the opening track “Love Tumbles into Obsession” to the very Squeeze-like “Calendar Girl.” The record also has a number of great acoustic turns, like “The Bargain.”

DIY workaholics Jim Shorts have called it quits. After releasing 47 records over the past decade, a combination of both long players and EPs, the band’s musical force David Haynes has said that their 2020 release will be their last. Well, that’s the bad news. The good news is that Late to the Feast is undeniably their best, most polished and fully realized creative work. The songwriting is strong and playing is shorn of the DIY abandon that characterized most of the band’s back catalogue. Right from the kick ass opening bars of “Out on the Patio” you know this is band taking itself a bit more seriously. The hooks are prominently on display, sounding like Fountains of Wayne got together for a songwriting session with Pavement or Weezer. The crunchy lurch of “Max’s Front Porch” is head-bobbingly good. Or there’s the slow burn hookiness of the title track. “Angel Songs” says alternative radio hit single. Album closer “Balto” confidently rocks out over the credits. This is the Jim Shorts album you gotta have.

Musical chameleon Daniel Romano flooded 2020 with new material. I find myself particularly partial to the late release, White Flag, with its Beatlesque and late 1960s folk rock touches. Album opener “Bleu Heron” is a masterpiece of musical synthesis, from the horn arrangement to the poetic feel of the lyrics. Very Crosby, Stills and Nash in places. From there the album vibes a greatest hits of sixties song stylings, like the Rubber Soul folk rock feel to “Garden of the Heart” or the early McCartney solo sound on “Appolpourre.” The songwriting here is as strong as ever, with every tune sounding both familiar and unusual. And then there’s a few exceptions, like the more new wave pop flavour to “New Milk.” There really is nothing that Romano can’t do musically.

I can’t believe I somehow missed the release of Gary Ritchie’s Head on a Swivel early in 2020. This record is maximum fun in a meat and potatoes poprock sort of way. Ritchie has all the chops, from Merseybeat to 1980s American indie rock and roll, delivering an album that is as listenable as any Greg Kihn or Tom Petty release. And yet there is something distinctively English about the overall sound to me. So many of the songs have that 1965 beat group feel, passed through an ELO sonic retro filter. Just hit play on the title track or “Lean On You” or “Four Letter Word” to get what I’m banging on about here. Or for a more American 1980s poprock elan check out “Maybe It’ll Be Tonight” or “Arms Around a Memory.” Personally I love the roll out to “Tunnel of Love” with its ringing guitar and handclaps – and the rest of the song is pretty great too. Rounding this out, “Record Store” is a hilarious closer. So, all in all, for retro melodic rock fans, Head on a Swivel is a can’t-go-wrong purchase.

John Sally Ride member John Dunbar has dropped a fabulous solo record that channels a perfect mix of mid-1960s pop songwriting and a 1980s indie rock feel. Despite the COVID-enforced DIY one-man-band effort here Oh Wellness sounds like much more. The launch track “Born To Bore” has a cool Lou Reed hooky lurch going on. “The Problem with Being on Time” radiates a sunny swing and some cool 1967 moog organ. “The Girl Whose Heard It All Before” reminds me of Squeeze’s great country songs. I could go on about each track here. Pushed I’d single out “A Sentimental Heart and a Skeptical Mind” and “She Doesn’t Now” as pretty single worthy. Having said that I love the Rubber Soul-veneer and clever word play on “Maybe May Be My Favorite Word.” With Oh Wellness, Dunbar has created a collection of light, fresh sounding tunes, leavened with interesting instrumental choices and timely sentiments. Paraphrasing Seth Myers, this is just the sort of record we need right now!

Your radio dial is just anachronistic technology but as a metaphor for access to possibly great music it lives on! Click on these artists to go directly the source.

Around the dial II: Blank Pages, mylittlebrother, Geoff Palmer and Lucy Ellis, El Goodo, and Freddie Dilevi

09 Monday Nov 2020

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Acoustic Heartbreaks, Blank Pages, El Goodo, Freddie Dilevi, Geoff Palmer, Howl, Is This Real, Lucy Ellis, mylittlebrother, Teenager's Heartbreak, Your Face is Weird, Zombie

The musical deluge continues on this second installment of Around the Dial as we continue to pick up melodic-hooky signals from around the globe.

I’m glad robots are back in style, like the guy staring back from the cover from the Blank Pages new record Is This Real. Fun and menace in one attractive metal face! Now while I was looking the cover over I was thinking ‘who put this XTC album on?’ I mean, wow, the Andy Partridge vocal echo all over this platter is remarkable. But not exclusive. The build-up in “Before and After” has a nice late-period Police vibe, juxtaposing an interesting vocal interplay over a spare musical backdrop. “Your Generation,” the seemingly muted answer song to Townshend and company, has a more Joe Jackson vocal style. Meanwhile “Robots Will Not Win” reminds me of the manic fun approach of The Tubes. But “Fall Away” and “Waiting in Line” are sonically like XTC love letters. Of course, they work because the songwriting is strong. And then there’s lovely outliers like the sunny poprock gem “Hang Up.” Is This Real is a crisp, fresh, musically adventurous outing worth indulging in.

How does a band take a host of ordinary sounding musical elements and combine them to make something so striking and original? Cumbria’s Mylittlebrother work this trick on their just released Howl. Check out “Goldmine” – it’s just guitars, drums et al, no fancy special effects or wild solos. But it has some crazy alluring quality, drawing you in with its hypnotic ‘oh oh oh oh’s. Actually, that’s it, the distinct value-added here are the various vocal adornments to some solid tunes. Take “Play Hard.” It kicks off with an Ennio Morricone spaghetti western vocal before settling in to a sturdy yet subtle poprock gem. I can’t help but hear a bit of Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson or even a mellow Futureheads vibe at work here. By contrast, “Howl” strongly reminded me of Hayden’s endearing alienation or the perky upbeat feel to “Responsibility” obviously bears comparison with the Beautiful South. The band even manages to wrestle the group singing sound away from the bombast of Styx and Boston to use for subtle melodic purposes, like on chorus of “Chicago.” Overall Howl works because it takes up a host of influences from the 1970s but manages to synthesize them into something new.

Geoff Palmer and Lucy Ellis are literally ‘having a party’ of sorts all over their new collaboration, Your Face is Weird, a wonderful mix of sprightly originals and inspired covers. Just click on “SWIM” and feel that swinging, grin-inducing, melodic charm wash all over you. Not surprisingly, given Geoff’s work with The Connection, the whole record has a winning Rockpile-esque sheen, but there’s something more here. Working with Lucy Ellis has brought to light another side of Geoff’s already sophisticated musical personality, as apparent on their tremendous cover of John Prine’s “In Spite of Ourselves.” Sometimes the songs are just hooky delights, like “In a Town This Size” and “Together.” At other times, the cover choices seem impossibly hard to improve upon (Kirsty MacColl/Tracey Ullman’s “They Don’t Know”; Sam Cooke’s “Having a Party”; Dionne Warwick’s “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”) but the duo still manage to make them highly enjoyable. Surely “Crash of the Music,” with its punky poprock feel, suggests there a lot more mileage in this project. Sign me up for more!

With Zombie, El Goodo nail the sunny pop sound of the late 1960s even more so than normal. Basically, there less psych, more California pop sheen this time around. The album begins with “Things Turn Around,” a Beatles-inflected homage to their namesakes, Big Star. From there it’s straight back to 1966 with “Home,” a very Monkees excursion with Brydsian touches.  I’ve always thought that The Zombies and The Turtles were musical cousins of sorts with their delicate, carefully-crafted tunes and El Goodo seem to re-create that with “I Can’t Leave” and “The Grey Tower.” Late 1960s country-rock gets a look in with “Forever Casting Shadows” and the International Submarine Band-ish “You Let Me Down.”  For a bit of fun the band even throw in a spot of bubblegum with the Ohio Express-meets-Abba track “Fi’n Flin” and a hip take on a Benny Hill sort of theme, “Sound Good To Me, Man.”  The record ends strongly with the Beatlesque “If the Coast is Clear,” nicking lines from “And Your Bird Can Sing” and a vibe right off Let It Be. El Goodo’s Welsh village must have had an amazing record shop because Zombie is a fantastic sixties-infused album.

Freddie Dilevi is the band, Pablo Velázquez is the stentorian voice and co-songwriter of the band’s tunes, and Teenager’s Heartbreak is their knockout 2018 full album debut that is now getting a worldwide release via eclectic punk label Rum Bar Records. Imagine if Elvis headed to the garage instead of Las Vegas in the early seventies. From the title track you can hear this band’s effortless melding of 1950s song styles with a strong punk/new wave sensibility, carried off with Velázquez’s mesmerizing vocals. The new wave element is to the front on “Die Tonight” and “Dangerous Game” while “Half a Chance” and “We’re Alive” so punks up the fifties. And check out the Sergio Leone feel all over “Johnny Remember Me.” Now to give this project a bit of a refresh for 2020, the band re-recorded 5 selections from the album in a stripped-down form as an EP, Acoustic Heartbreaks. And it works too – lovely, lilting, acoustic guitar versions of the originals, with a different but still pleasing vocal intimacy.

2020 may suck for a lot reasons but recorded music is an undeniable winner of all this pandemic spare time. Get to know Blank Pages, mylittlebrother, Geoff Palmer and Lucy Ellis, El Goodo, and Freddie Dilevi via these conveniently supplied hyperlinks.

Around the dial I: Supercrush, Blitzen Trapper, Foxycontin, Bad Moves, and The Adam Brown

05 Thursday Nov 2020

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Bad Moves, Blitzen Trapper, Foxycontin, Holy Smokes Future Jokes, SODO Pop, Supercrush, The Adam Brown, This Time You're On Your Own, Untenable, What We'll Never Know

So much music, so many stations to tune into! In this first of two back-to-back installments of Around the Dial there’s hooky guitars and keyboards to spare.

If Matthew Sweet had joined a grunge band it might have sounded like Supercrush. It’s there in the sometimes unwieldy but always hooky guitar lines and breathy vocals on tracks like “Be Kind to Me,” “Get It Right” and “Have You Called Him By My Name.” Then there’s the should-be hit single “On the Telephone,” a song that pushes its hooks relentlessly. This is an earworm no doctor’s gonna cure. For contrast, there’s the shoe-gazey, Swervedriver-ish sheen of “I Didn’t Know We Were Saying Goodbye,” the hypnotic guitar riff-propelled “Parallel Lines,” or the hint of pedal steel on the almost country “Fair Weather Fool.” What stands out on this album is that no matter what kind of grinding guitars show up on any given track, a strong sense of melody carries the day. “I Can’t Stop (Loving You)” is a perfect illustration, sounding like a hopped-up Teenage Fanclub writing a Beatles tune. The album wraps up with what sounds like a great lost Big Star single, the wistful, acoustic guitar-driven “When I’m Gone.” SODO Pop is Supercrush’s first proper full album release (as opposed to just a collection of singles) and it’s a stunning, highly listenable introduction to the band’s considerable talents.

Sticking to America’s Pacific Northwest we head down the I-5 highway from Seattle to Portland to check out Blitzen Trapper’s fabulous latest album, Holy Smokes Future Jokes. Ten albums in and the eclectic band continue to fox expectations and easy labeling. Sure there’s the folky, country-ish vibe they’re known for on tracks like “Dead Billie Jean” and “Sons and Unwed Mothers” (the latter sounding like a wrong-side-of-the-tracks Paul Simon). But then things turn in directions that defy easy categorization. Both “Masonic Temple Microdose #1” and “Bardo’s Light (Ouija Oujia) have solid poprock feel, with a subtle depth reminiscent of the best work from Mark Oliver Everett’s Eels. Then the title track has that easy going laidback confidence that reminds me Aaron Lee Tasjan’s recent country-tinged rock and roll while “Magical Thinking” sounds like an indie reinvention of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Then there’s songs that sound like 1970s AM radio should-be hits like “Hazy Morning” and the swinging “Don’t Let Me Run.” This record will undoubtedly be an end-of-year indie chart topper.

Philadelphia’s Foxycontin sound like they were inadvertently dropped from the Stiff records roster circa 1978. You can hear it on the title track “This Time You’re On Your Own” where it’s clear the band has somehow nicked Steve Nieve’s organ from Elvis Costello’s early records. What a killer single! While described in most reviews as pop punk I just hear a straight-up no-frills rock and roll sound like the kind desperately trying to escape the commercial bombast of the 1970s. Sometimes the band comes on like an edgier Romantics on tracks like  “Alive in Interesting Time” or an American Graham Parker on “It’s Starting to Show.” At other moments they are the ultimate kick-ass party band, tossing off a host of great covers ranging from Nick Lowe’s fun stomper “Heart of the City” to the more obscure Brian Seymour song “Junk Passion.” And there’s stuff like “The Whole World Knows I’ll Never Get Over It Now” which exhibits the steely passion of an Ike Reilly cut. You ready to party? If you’re looking dance-ready fun, you won’t go wrong with This Time You’re On Your Own.

When I read that Bad Moves had opened for Scotland’s Spook School it all made sense: the in-your-face-politics, the dynamic mix of styles, the achingly open emotional themes. This is band with something to say. “Local Radio” kicks things off, gearing up like a cross between Grouplove and the New Pornographers. “Night Terrors” is all over the place in a wonderful way, sometimes vibing Spook School with a bit of B52s or sounding like New Pornographer’s Neko Case. Then there’s the almost-anthemic single and video “Party With the Kids Who Wanna Party With You,” a perfect pop song distillation of political anger and social coping. The record is called Untenable, as in the state of things generally is not acceptable.  The band’s particular talent is wrapping this unstinting stand in accessible, inventive hooky 2-3 minute increments. Like “Toward Crescent Park.” The song’s got an opening guitar hook that reaches out and won’t let go. “Muster” has a Weezer-like pop intimacy with a punky Merseybeat break in the middle. I love the slow groove on tracks like “Settle Into It” and the more chipper clip defining “Same Bad Friends.” Then the record ends with another great should-be hit single, the swinging ‘ooh-oohing’ “End of Time.” As one reviewer put it, Bad Moves offers nothing but good moves here. I agree!

Montreal’s The Adam Brown absolutely nail the 1982 guitar/synth hybrid thing that was going on with “Indie Rock Has-Beens,” the opening track of their new long-player What We’ll Never Know. At the same time, I hear just a hint of Queen and The Vaccines. And that pretty much captures the dynamic animating The Adam Brown, a band that can effortlessly flash some influence without ever surrendering their own distinctive sound. I mean “Disco Mossman” had me thinking there’s something so White Album John Lennon going on here, perhaps with a generous dollop of Kraftwerk. But still, it is its own thing too. On the other hand, “Get Up” sounds like a new wave Bruce Springsteen to me, or “The Law Was Love” feels like all an out 1960s jam. Aside from the influence markers, what elevates this album is the songwriting craft. These are just some seriously hummable tunes. “Hummin’ Around,” “I Will Let You Run” and “Its Emotion” could all be heat-seeking hit singles, to my ears. What We’ll Never Know is the kind of record you’ll have on repeat a few times before realizing it’s run its course … and you’ll listen to it again.

Lockdown has meant little live music but a lot of great record releases! Click on Supercrush, Blitzen Trapper, Foxycontin, Bad Moves, and The Adam Brown to hear more.

Around the dial: The Memories, Honeywagon, Sunshine Boys, Open Sound, and Tom Curless and the 46%

01 Tuesday Sep 2020

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Almost Ready for the Future, Halfdog, Honeywagon, Open Sound, Pickles and Pies, Sunshine Boys, The Memories, Tom Curless and the 46%, Work and Love

I get to everything … eventually. Like this crew of great acts. They’ve been in the queue for a while and now here they are, ready for our poprock primetime.

The Memories hang out in L.A. now but they’re originally from Portland and that makes a lot of sense. There is something very Portland about their new record Pickles and Pies given its variety and indie unpredictability. The vibe reminds me a bit of Grouplove with its loose, almost hippie interplay amongst vocalists and players, particularly on tracks like “Waves From the Shore” and “Last Chance to Dance.” The band also have an old school 1960s dreamy pop thing going on with songs like “In My Heart I’m Sailing,” “Kissing Candy,” and “Under the Sea.” Rock it up? Sure. The album kicks off with a smoking cool cover of R. Stevie Moore’s “Too Old To Fall in Love” complete with both crunchy and eerie guitar sounds. But the hit single money shot here is undoubtedly the slightly swinging “Second Try” with its subtle hooks and captivating harmonies. And that’s just six of the 13 tracks here. Pickles and Pies has a lot more surprises from a band that clearly won’t stylistically sit still.

Halfdog is the fifth album from Honeywagon and it is one smooth, melodious piece of work. The poprock craft on this record is phenomenal, from the rollicking Brydsian jangle of “Anywhere the Wind Blows” to the straight up Paul Collins Beat-like hooks driving “On the Beach.”  These guys make the guitars sing on tracks like “All That Matters” and “All the Little Things” but effectively slow things down with some very Beatles guitar on “Maybe Maybe Not.” Then there’s a more Tom Petty feel to the single-worthy “For Love” and “Halfdog About a Dog.” You won’t be half listening to Halfdog, songs this good are going to grab your full attention.

I first came across Chicago’s Sunshine Boys with their earwormy seasonal offering “I Love Christmastime” so I was primed to like the band’s latest record, Work and Love. And there’s a lot to like here. Like the obvious single, the R.E.M. vibing “Infinity Girl” with its hypnotic guitar work and spot on Stipe delivery. But the inspiration runs in a number of directions. I hear a lot of Marshall Crenshaw on tracks like “The World Turning Around” and “Summertime Kids.” Or a hint of XTC around “I Was Already Gone.” I love the darker melody line carrying “The Serpent in Spring” along or the hook that anchors “Don’t Keep It Inside” on a seemingly constant loop. And then there’s the light, airy “A Ghost, At Best” with its surprising twists and turns.

Fernando Perdomo must be the hardest working man in indie music production. He seems to have a hand in a host of other people’s projects – writing, producing, performing – and he still manages to find time for his own creative work. Open Sound is just the latest, a two man effort with Justin Paul Sanders. What jumps out at you immediately from their self-titled debut is the striking sonic impact of their harmony vocals. From the opening measure of “You’re So Fine” you know you’re in for something special. There’s a bit of ELO here, fed through a southern California pop filter. “I Wanna Look in Your Eyes” has everything that was great about mid-to-late 1970s poppy rock: melodic hooks, tasty guitar solos, and lighter than air harmony vocals. This could be April Wine circa 1975 if I didn’t know better. I love how “Reason to Write” kicks off with hooky lead guitar line and barrels along with a 1970s McCartney-esque drive. There’s a touch of yacht rock on Open Sound, evident on tracks like “She’s On Her Way” and “Thinking of You.” There’s also some lovely acoustic guitar-based tunes like “Gotta Run,” “California Moon” and “Broadway.” But I’m a bit more partial to the duo’s uptempo numbers, like their great remake of Perdomo’s “I Want a Girl with a Record Collection” and “It’s Only You.” Is there nothing this Perdomo guy can’t do?

The robot gracing the cover of the new Tom Curless and the 46% record made me smile. He definitely does not look like he’s ready for the future. Not at all, never mind almost. But Almost Ready for the Future is certainly ready to start amassing serious fandom. “Always in Between” blasts out of the box, setting the tone for the new-wavey rock and roll record to come. “House on Fire” is a particular highlight on this album, with its alluring roll out guitar work and a distinctive keyboard fill I haven’t heard since Adam Daniel’s “Breaking Up.” But the price of admission is paid in full with “Just Wanna Talk,” a should-be hit single if ever there was one. The build-up to the chorus creates just the right amount of anticipatory tension, the pre-chorus holds things back, and then, wham, AM radio chorus gold! You could stop here, but I wouldn’t. Almost Ready for the Future has highlights all over the disk. Personally, I like the midtempo rock and roll feel of “Middle Ground” and “Unexpected Knock” as well as slower cuts like the mellow “Miles to Go” and touching “Burn and Shine.” As no-one knows what the future may bring you might as well hum your way into oblivion, if that’s just around the corner. Rest assured, Tom Curless and 46% can help you with that.

Just twisting your radio dial will probably not bring these artist to you, sadly. But click on The Memories, Honeywagon, Sunshine Boys, Open Sound, and Tom Curless and the 46% for a direct link to their great tunes.

Another fabulous banner photo courtesy Larry Gordon.

Around the dial: Mo Troper, Danny McDonald, Pure Moods and Strange Passage

25 Wednesday Mar 2020

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Around the Dial

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Danny McDonald, Mo Troper, Modern Architecture, Natural Beauty, Pure Moods, Shouldn't Be Too Long, Strange Passage, Upward Spirals

Screen Shot 2020-03-25 at 6.29.07 PMNo pandemic is gonna stop us twisting that radio dial to find out just what is out there music wise! Today’s featured acts take ‘moody’ and ‘strange’ in all sorts of melodic and unexpected directions.

Screen Shot 2020-03-25 at 6.30.14 PMAll my favourite poprock artists are growing up. Here with another 30-something pre-midlife crisis album is Mo Troper and his wrenching pain and discomfort adds up to 34 minutes of sweet sweet listening pleasure for us on his latest, Natural Beauty. Similar to Gregory Pepper (whose recent I Know Why You Cry is another winning sonic rendering of 30-something issues), Troper is toting up his 20s shortcomings with a bevy of frank, focused, but still melodious tunes. And like Pepper, Troper’s latest may be his most mature, fully realized work to date. “I Eat” kicks things off and sets the tone for the album, with its serious theme and carefully manicured production. Natural Beauty is just full of wonderfully layered sounds, strikingly varied keyboard flourishes, and an often naked honesty on the vocals front. Then again, “Your Boy” is the other side of this record, a textbook poprock masterpiece, anchored by a brilliant La’s-like jangle guitar hook at the start which just keeps mutating across piano, electric guitar and a slew of melodic vocals. This song is the soundtrack to a 1960s montage sequence where the boy meets a girl and joins a band and then a host of happy stuff happens. More serious themes emerge on “Potential,” “Lucky Devils” and “Better Than Nothing” but still they remain perky, poppy numbers. Possible influences abound here, with perhaps a bit indie 10cc or McCartney-meets-Morrissey on “In Love With Everyone” or a McCartney/Shins combo on “Your New Friend,” while “Everything” really reminds me of Apples in Stereo’s “Seems So” period. Personal fave: the new wave-ish “Almost Full Control” with its hypnotic bass work. For me, Natural Beauty is heading straight to the ‘best of 2020’ list, a must-have-the-whole-album release.

Screen Shot 2020-03-25 at 6.31.17 PMMelbourne’s Danny McDonald is a veteran of the Aussie indie music scene, playing on over 70 different projects since the early oughts. But one listen to his latest EP Modern Architecture and you’re going to be wondering where has he been? How has a guy this talented kept such a low international profile? Right out the gate, McDonald grabs the listener full force on the supercharged power pop should-be hit single, “Cordyline,” with its Big Star hooks and Brydsian background vocals. Then things rumble-guitar along nicely on the touching, rootsy duet with Anna Burley, “The Suburb I Grew Up In.” The 58 seconds of “Judge Me for my Art, Not Where I Live” sounds a lot like a punked up treatment of a great lost Plimsouls track. “Commuters Lament” vibes just a little Jayhawks while “Keeping the Dogs at Bay” is in the same vein as Richard Turgeon’s stolid stripped-down rocked-up pop. My only complaint about Modern Architecture is that is all ends too soon!

Screen Shot 2020-03-25 at 6.32.06 PMAnother winning act from Melbourne is Adam Madric’s latest project, Pure Moods. On their debut album, Upward Spirals, there’s a fleeting Teenage Fanclub vibe at times, but on the whole this record is marked by a distinct sound – the rhythm guitar. More than is typical, it’s up front in the mix, anchoring the sonic portrait of the band. I love what sounds like an envelope of sound, the jangle drone, that opens the record on “Tide” and remains on “Backwards World.” Things shift gears with the title track which grooves along with a very 1970s soft rock rhythm guitar – that is until the Kraftwerk keyboards kick in and the whole thing slides in a different direction. There’s a tempo uptick on “Sideways Glance” and the jaunty “Sparkle” and both tunes shine melodically. Pure Moods’ Upward Spirals makes for intriguing, ultimately enjoyable listening with catchy songs that ride the tension between their lively musical performance and Madric’s somewhat low key, alienated vocals.

Screen Shot 2020-03-25 at 6.33.05 PMTaking a spin through Strange Passage’s Shouldn’t Be Too Long makes you realize just how good all those Morrissey solo albums could have been if they’d just sounded like this. And these guys are not even from some dreary northern British former industrial town but they’ve nailed the jangle alienation of the Mopster and his guitar pals. Seriously though, the songs here bubble with Smithian fun, like the energetic “Cloying Melody” with its rush of guitars and R.E.M.-meets-The The vocals. From the opening cut, “Idle Time,” it’s clear this is a really strong outing song-wise. Frankly, I can’t find a single track I wouldn’t hit replay on. Ok, maybe “Shouldn’t Be Too Long” seems special for cranking the sparkle on the guitars or “Ode” for being so Paul Simon doing Morrissey. Despite the comparisons, Strange Passage are not some wannabe something else band. They work this sound into something quite their own and it’s a pleasure to hear.

Now more than ever bands need our support to keep body and soul together! From the comfort of your self-distancing music room, check out Mo Troper, Danny McDonald, Pure Moods and Strange Passage on the internet to get their latest product.

Around the dial: Emperor Penguin, The Jellybricks and The Hangabouts

25 Saturday Jan 2020

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Around the Dial

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Emperor Penguin, Soak Up the Gravy, Some Kind of Lucky, The Hangabouts, The Jellybricks

Screen Shot 2019-11-28 at 10.09.51 AMTime for our first 2020 spin around the dial now that our vision has cleared and there’s nothing but blue skies from now on …

Screen Shot 2020-01-25 at 12.58.38 PMFirst up, a brand new 2020 album from London’s Emperor Penguin. Just one look at the cover says we’re in for fun! Soak Up the Gravy hits all the indie poprock marks from decades past. From the wily XTC-like veneer of “Go Guitargonauts!”to the poppy Dylan elements in “You’ll Be the Death of Me” to the mid-period Squeeze waft of “Memoria Magdalena” to the Sgt. Pepper vibe animating “Burning Man.” Other songs like “What’s Come Over Me” and “Public Information” simply burst with delightful melodies. “Speedwell Blue,” the duet with the fabulous Lisa Mychols, is well, just, gravy! Definitely a full album experience.

Screen Shot 2020-01-25 at 1.00.51 PMEvery year I overlook some masterpiece or two, like The Jellybricks’ 2019 release, Some Kind of Lucky. The band has that classic rock and roll combo sound, two guitars, bass, and drums, working over material with solid hooks. Sometimes the guitar drone and vocal harmonies remind me of Rooney or The Odds, particularly on tracks like “Faith” and “D.O.A.” Presently I’m hitting repeat pretty hard on the obvious should-be hit singles, “Brooklyn” and “Can’t Get Over You.” I love the call and response between the main and background vocals on the latter track! Also, don’t miss out on the band’s winning mellow moments with the title track that rounds out the album.

Detroit’s The Hangabouts have a new single out: “Who Wants Cilla.” It’s great but personally I’m more tuned into the B-side, “Mrs. Green” which exudes a Beatles for Sale or early Monkees vibe. From past releases, particularly 2017’s Kits and Cats and Saxon Wives, we know that band is reliably poprocky so this single bodes well for a whole new album hopefully sometime soon.

Readers, you know that drill. Check out Emperor Penguin, The Jellybricks and The Hangabouts at these hot-linked internet locations!

Around the dial: Pugwash, the Pernice Brothers, Berwanger, Slaughter Beach-Dog, and Extra Arms

25 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Around the Dial

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Berwanger, Extra Arms, Pugwash, Safe and Also No Fear, Slaughter Beach - Dog, Spread the Feeling, The Olympus, The Pernice Brothers, Up From Here, Watching a Garden Die

Screen Shot 2019-10-25 at 3.31.14 PMThe autumn has brought a seasonal gust of new releases and they arrive just in time to compensate for the fading sunlight and sinking temperatures. There’s nothing like a good melodic hook to amp up the joy quotient of a grey day. Today’s turn around the dial brings back some old faves and new discoveries!

Ireland’s Thomas Walsh is solid. Every release from his group Pugwash contains great songs and oh-so-interesting performances. His love of XTC regularly shows through but always in his own distinctive and original way. And the guy can write should-be hit singles! I couldn’t stop playing “Easier Done Than Said” from 2017’s Silverlake. Now he’s back with The Olympus E.P. and it’s just more of the good we’ve come to expect. “You Can Build a House on Love” opens with that familiar somewhat dark string section that haunts so many super Pugwash tracks, “August Born” is a bit more upbeat, while “Happy Again” adds a more rock and roll feel to the EP. This is another winning addition to the Pugwash canon.

Another no disappointment artist is Joe Pernice, with or without the rotating cast of characters that populate his Pernice Brothers outfit. Seemingly out of nowhere he’s got a new record and it’s a killer. Spread the Feeling goes from strength to strength songwise, kicking off with the lovely, superbly crafted pop gem “Mint Condition.” From there it’s a veritable rollercoaster of hooky tunes: the ear wormy poprock genius of “Devil and the Jinn,” the nice acoustic-based “Wither on the Vine,” “Throw Me to the Lions” with its catchy New Order-style guitar lines, and that poppy melodic treat “Skinny Jeanne.” There’s also more than few endearing slower tempo numbers like “Evidently So.” Another easy candidate for the ‘best of’ year-end lists!

Speaking of consistency, Lawrence, Kansas indie-cum-classic pop rockers Berwanger have another satisfying disc with Watching a Garden Die. Tracks like the opening cut “Long Way Down” and the neo-1950s early solo John Lennon sound of “Bad Vibrations” have those familiar Berwanger hooks and swing. But the lion’s share of the album is more introspective and low key, as on tracks like the acoustic “Even the Darkness Doesn’t Know” or the bass-dominant “Friday Night” or the mellow “I Keep Telling Myself.” Ultimately, this is a record satisfying in its familiarity while still pushing against its own self-imposed boundaries.

Looking for some ‘pared-down folk rock’? You get a mix of rockier material and a more swinging acoustic vibe on Slaughter Beach, Dog’s new LP Safe and Also No Fear. Paired example: “Good One” and “Heart Attack.” The former has a nice build up, laying some grungy rhythm guitar overtop an initial acoustic base, with some attractive vocal harmonies near the chorus. Meanwhile the latter has a sunshiney swing that will work its way into your head, helped along by its sparkly acoustic guitar anchor and spare embellishments. Ryan Allen’s Extra Arms are back with their sophomore effort Up From Here and it sounds like Fountains of Wayne doing a rawk tribute. Edgy power chords with some solid melodic hooks, particularly on tracks like “F.L.Y.,” “Coming in Waves,” “Hold Me (All the Time),” and “Up From Here.” Overall, this baby’s a bit harsher than our usual fare but hey sometimes you really need to jump up and down and punch the air. This is your gateway air-punching release for 2019.

So many talented bands and solid releases so far this year. Check out Pugwash, The Pernice Brothers, Berwanger, Slaughter Beach, Dog, and Extra Arms in more detail by clicking on the links.

Curvy light road photo courtesy Larry Gordon.

Around the dial: Cape Cartel, The Junior League, Fuzzysurf, and Ex Hex

01 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Around the Dial

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Cape Cartel, Ex Hex, Fuzzysurf, The Junior League

Screen Shot 2019-09-01 at 1.33.40 PMWith autumn just around the corner, time to twist the dial on some hooky new tunes from this crew!

Screen Shot 2019-09-01 at 1.34.47 PMI loved the acoustic swing + harmony vocal-stylings of Cape Cartel’s breakout single, “More.” The rest of 2018’s Close Talker was a bit harder to nail down but still great, mixing styles with the effortlessness of a latter day NRBQ. So a new single from the Montreal band had me on the edge of my seat – and I can report I am not disappointed. “The Matador” is the first of five singles that will comprise the band’s new EP Vitamins and it’s a flowing rush of melodic hooks and charming vocal harmonies. I love the bowl-you-over tempo of the song, bolting right out of the gate, and the carefully crafted arrangement. This certainly bodes well for the rest of the EP, which arrives late September.

Screen Shot 2019-09-01 at 1.35.28 PMThe multi-talented Joe Adragna pretty much is The Junior League. He writes the songs, he plays nearly all the instruments, he produces the records. I imagine he answers the phones too. Well, clearly he’s an effective multi-tasker because Adventureland, the band’s latest long player, is a thrilling theme park of re-invented garage rock. Opening cut “Heavy” sets the tone for this outing with a 1980s indie grind that successfully reinvents the more rough and ready 1960s rock and roll sound. It says, effectively, this record is going to be a more muscular rocking affair (with a few notable exceptions) than past Junior League outings. Check out the REM-ish cover of Scott McCaughey’s “Have Faith in Yourself” – the song is anchored by a hypnotic synth that sounds like it’s on loan from the MGMT equipment room. “Everybody Wants to Play” and “Town in a Box” would not go amiss on a renewed Nuggets compilation brand. “No More” and “Adventureland at Night” are like love letters to that great crunchy 1960s rock sound. But the album does hold a few contrasts, like “Falling in Love” which sounds like it’s going kick into The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar” before going its own distinctive melodic way, or “Delete and Repeat” which adds a bit of Beach Boys to the broader garage motif. I don’t often have call to recommend this but Adventureland begs to be PLAYED LOUD.

Screen Shot 2019-09-01 at 1.37.15 PMMilwaukee’s Fuzzysurf have an interesting mix of influences covering their musical sleeves: Beach tremelo’d surf guitar, Beatles hooks and harmonies, and large dollop of self-effacing humour. The new album is Fuzzy & the Surfs and it both conjures past glory while moving in a new direction. In terms of past glory, “Problems” has a swinging early 1960s pop sound, “Please Please Me Do” lovingly riffs the Fabs, while “Denny” and “When I Fell I Love With You” work the melodrama side of that decade. And the band’s early surf focus appears on tracks like “Vomit” and “Sign of the Times.” All this is great but when the new direction kicks in, the effect is breathtaking. The ear-wormy “Don’t Worry Baby” has hit single written all over it, vibing Guster at their poppy best. “Enemies” reels off seemingly effortless jangly guitar lines in support of a wonderful neo-1950s tune. Or check out “Alone” with its beguiling background vocals and spare guitar work. I love where these guys are going – hookville.

Screen Shot 2019-09-01 at 1.38.02 PMThere’s an early 1980s rock sound that balances melody with a certain no nonsense rock and roll sensibility. Ex Hex have dialed that up for their latest LP It’s Real. The album’s opener “Tough Enough” would not sound out of place on an early Pat Benatar album,  “Rainbow Shiner” evokes Billy Squier’s guitar flashes, while “Good Times” has a punky Go Go’s vibe. The whole album is like a time trip back to an era (really, the transition from the 1970s into the 1980s) when some spare rhythm guitar work could set the tone and pace of the tunes, showcased nicely on the slower tempo “Want it to be True.” The songwriting here is strong and cast in a very consistent style, with a few departures like the more poppy “Cosmic Cave” and the Beatlesque/Go Go’s “Talk to Me.” Want to bolster your next 1980s theme party with some fresh material? Ex Hex have got your record here.

Click on these hyperlinks to Cape Cartel, The Junior League, Fuzzysurf, and Ex Hex’s internet real estate to get the skinny on musical product, tours and basic band shenanigans.

Around the dial – Orville Peck, Scandinavia, and Summer Colds

18 Tuesday Jun 2019

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Here Comes Nothing, Orville Peck, Pony, Premium Economy, Scandinavia, Summer Colds

Screen Shot 2019-06-18 at 12.30.43 PMBold new visions are all that make the cut on today’s dial twisting installment.  Each of our featured acts puts a unique spin on the poprock genre.

Screen Shot 2019-06-18 at 12.32.05 PMOrville Peck comes on like the bastard love child of Elvis Presley and Morrisey. His voice has the spine chilling warmth of the King on tracks like “Nothing Fades Like the Light.” But his phrasing on cuts like “Winds of Change” and “Dead of Night” are so the Mopester. It would be easy to shrug off Peck’s killer debut album, Pony, as just another bit of kitsch or retro country a la early K.D. Lang or K.C. Musgraves (prior to her most recent release). Obviously songs like “Roses Are Falling” and “Take You Back (The Iron Hoof Cattle Call)” encourage such a response. But Pony is so much more. Despite the obvious fun Peck is having there is deep sincerity to the performances too. Peck isn’t just kidding. When he hits the ‘alright’ part of the vocal in “Turn To Hate” something happens that’s hard to explain. You hear the mastery, the control, the hurt. The song could easily have had a pumping Pet Shop Boys synth backdrop but Peck has crafted a distinctive bit of musical synthesis, drawing from retro rock and roll, country and a gay club esthetic. This guy is something big waiting to explode.

Screen Shot 2019-06-18 at 12.33.32 PMLondon’s Scandinavia wrap an acerbic critique of empty consumerism and widespread inequality in a delicious melodic coating throughout their latest long player, Premium Economy. At first I thought the title was a jokey, ridiculous play on how the corporate world increasingly sells status inequality to different gradations of the striving middle class. Actually, it’s a real thing, offered up by SAS airlines! Satire is getting harder and harder but Scandinavia still give it a go. Empty-headed contrarians take a beating on “I Don’t Believe in Anything,” corporate interests disguised as a ‘love of science’ are exposed on “Choose Science,” and American imperialism is rightly condemned on “Pax Americana.” But hey, at the end of day the record stands or falls on the quality of the tunes. And here I can attest that they are pretty amazing. “Melody Glade” is a stroll through a lush grove of jangle. “Ghetto Blaster” exudes a blast of sunshine, particularly with its harmony-drenched chorus. And “I Own An Island” manages to skewer the depths of wealthy over-consumption while wooing us with killer hooks in the chorus. And don’t miss the back catalogue for more of the high quality same.

Screen Shot 2019-06-18 at 12.34.34 PMIt’s a fairly predictable hipster transition to see former punkers mellowing into the roots music scene in old age. But Nic McNamara has gone the other way. After two respectable neo-folkie albums with his band Black Bears Fire he’s back with a more muscular, punky rock and roll sound with new band Summer Colds on their debut album, Here Comes Nothing. The result is a fascinating synthesis of country harmonies with a poppy American punk sound. This is particularly apparent on opening tracks “Low” and “Found,” both featuring vocals that remind of such alt-folk luminaries as You Won’t and Good Old War. When we get to the single “Whiteout” the comparisons to Weezer start to make sense with its grind of buzzing guitars and smooth hooky vocals. Special mention: check out the great western country harmony lurking under the rock veneer on “Killing Flies.”

Today’s bands all amount to more than their most immediate appearances and bear repeated listening to really appreciate them. There’s no better way to make that happen than to invest in their musical products. Click on Orville Peck, Scandinavia, and Summer Colds to get that started.

Cow photo: Larry Gordon.

Around the dial: Escondido, Telekinesis, Secret Friend and Mondello

04 Thursday Apr 2019

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Effluxion, Escondido, Hello All You Happy People, Mondello, Secret Friend, Telekinesis, Warning Bells

Screen Shot 2019-04-04 at 2.28.24 PMIt’s a mix of styles on this turn around the dial as we travel from Thailand to California up to Seattle and over to Little Rock, Arkansas. But it is worth the trip!

Screen Shot 2019-04-04 at 2.33.08 PMWhile the band may hail from Nashville, Escondido clearly embody the southwest vibe of the California town that is their namesake. From the rumbly Morricone guitars to the occasional splash of Tijuana Brass horns, the songs all have that indie-country crossover charm of First Aid Kit, Neko Case and even Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis. The songwriting is particularly strong on the band’s most recent longplayer, Warning Bells. “Bullet” has a great electric guitar opener and nicely shifts between languid country to a swinging chorus. “Crush On Her” takes up the tempo, adding a mid-1970s Fleetwood Mac ambience to the mix. “Roam” cranks up the horns but with the pedal steel and paired vocals it ends up sounding like a great lost Nancy Sinatra single. But the album’s highlight is undoubtedly the low key but moving “You’re Not Like Anyone Else.” This one is destined for countless cover versions and it deserves the attention. If you like Warning Bells, check out Escondido’s back catalogue – it’s pretty special too.

Screen Shot 2019-04-04 at 2.34.04 PMEffluxion, the new album from Seattle’s Telekinesis, builds on a distinctive indie poprock sound honed on four previous releases, with an extra shot of 1960s swagger on tracks like “Like Nothing” with its killer ‘whoa-oh’s and the hooky “Running Like a River.” “Suburban Streetlight Drunk” hits the keyboards heavy with a vocal that is oh so Shins, in a very good way. At other times, like on the track “A Place in the Sun,” the similarities in vibe with Ruler, another great Seattle poprock outfit, seem pronounced. Overall, this is a super album, one that develops while continuing to deliver on the great songwriting promise showcased on 2009’s self titled Telekinesis!, particularly the flawless pop craft of a song like “All of a Sudden.” Effluxion is a solid repeat-play release.

Screen Shot 2019-04-04 at 2.34.42 PMSecret Friend is the musical project of Thailand-based producer Steven Fox, one where he brings together a host of musical friends to help him perform his songs. His latest effort has Roger Manning Jr. (formerly of Jellyfish) and Linus of Hollywood playing with vocals by Christopher Given Harris. The resulting single – “Power” – is a fabulous slab of ELO-inspired pop goodness. From the crunching guitar and keyboard stab opening to the candy-coated, silky smoothness of vocals, you know this is going to be something good. And it is, recalling a distinctly 1980s poprock radio golden age of hooky singles.

Screen Shot 2019-04-04 at 2.31.45 PMFrom Little Rock, Arkansas comes Mondello with Hello, All You Happy People, an album that is the product of a twenty-year odyssey of songwriting and procrastination. The record has a melodic, sometimes discordant, DIY poprock charm. Though some tracks do have a polished sheen, like the obvious single, “Not For Lack of Trying” and the hooky “Heather Martin.” Vocally Mondello sounds like a rockier Tim Finn at times, as on “You Do You” and “Not About to Let You Know.” Other highlights for me include the indie poppy flavour of “Around in Circles,” the slightly harsher hooks on “Stack of Bibles,” and the breezy throwback groove defining “Don’t Say Anything About My Baby” (not the Cookies song!). Better late than never on this release, an LP of solid material and fun graphics/artwork.

Radio isn’t what it used to be. Check out Escondido, Telekinesis, Secret Friend and Mondello and do your part to keep them charting sales-wise.

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