Category Archives: Artist Spotlight

Cheese and Onions (and The Onions)

28 Tuesday Jun 2022

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This is not a post about The Rutles song “Cheese and Onions,” a satiric take on the Beatles psychedelic period. I like the Rutles project but that track is not one of Neil Innis’s more listenable send-ups IMHO. No, this post has its origins in my accidental discovery of the Danish band Cheese. I love finding out-of-the-way acts, oddities, and overlooked gems. Cheese definitely fits that bill. But I was stumped trying to figure out how to feature them. Then it hit me – what goes with cheese? Onions. And after a little look-see over at Bandcamp, wouldn’t you know it, I found two poppy rock bands named for onions! Do you see the lengths I go to bring quality to this site? Ladies and germs, I present Cheese and Onions (and The Onions).

Cheese actually go way back, to a host of post-high school performances and recordings as another band (The Hue) dating back to the early 1990s. They became Cheese (sometimes The Cheese) in 1996 and proceeded to put out a number of rough recordings over the next two decades. The story of these efforts is recounted on their website, with serious doses of self-deprecation sprinkled throughout. But things change with the three most recent albums released from 2017 on. These sound more tight, more professional. 2017’s Sofa, So Good has an acoustic vibe on a lot of the tunes, sometimes in a White Album vein, sometimes more 1970s FM rock-radio mellow (particularly with their distinctive harmony vocals). “Well Well Well” is the stand out track for me, though “Broken Home” is a pretty good too. 2018’s The Best Irish Band continues with the harmony vocals and acoustic guitars but ups the tempo a bit, even heading in a Moodies 1970s poprock direction with “Day of the War.” “Julian” is a tight McCartney-esque acoustic guitar closer on that album. Then the band decided to be even more Danish for 2019’s Metaforisk Mercedes (translation: Metaphorical Mercedes) by actually singing in Danish. Interestingly, the album is their most polished effort to date and their strongest collection of tunes. Here I really like the soft hooky “Det’ Mit,” though the more acoustic guitar heavy “Godmorgenmanden” comes in a close second.

Boys who come from west Yorkshire to study music in Salford (near Manchester) inevitably form bands, like Onions. Early releases in 2007 and 2008 definitely showed promise but it was with the release of 2012’s Pleasure Blast that things really took off. Songs range from an Everything Everything meets Futureheads vibe on “Or an IE Or AY” and “Belle Vue Fair” to the simple, classic jazzy American songbook demeanor of “Those Wide Eyes.” But the star of this album for me is “Quip of the Tongue.” What a blast! It combines a punky looseness, surfy background vocals, and a relentless hook in the verses, all delivered amid a Sparks/B52s kind of party cacophony. 2015’s Shame of the Nation leans on the early 1960s girl group influences with a Roddy Frame feel to the vocals. Highlights for me include “Here Comes the Rage” and “Boring” but my fave is the bouncy Elephant 6-ish “Deary Me.” Sadly that was the last Onions record as they broke up shortly after its release. Totally different onions band, Columbia, Missouri’s The Onions have got one long-player I can find, 2015’s He Kissed Me and I Knew. The record is a wonderful update on that early to mid 1960s melodic rock-and-roll sound associated with acts ranging from the Everly Brothers to the Bee Gees and the songs are mostly covers from the same era. The band do a nice job of freshening up the sound on Jan and Dean’s “Easy as 1,2,3,” the Bee Gees’ “Kitty Can” and even Roger Miller’s “Swiss Maid.” But check out the energy on their cover of the Magnetic Field’s “Saddest Story Ever Told” – wow. Lovingly rendered, with sparkling guitars and a strong vocal arrangement.

You probably didn’t know there were bands named Cheese or Onions (or The Onions). Now you do.

Belfast calling: Pretty Cartel and Jet Black Tulips

26 Thursday May 2022

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I suspect I’m going to get some stick from Pretty Cartel because they’re not actually from Belfast but nearby Lisburn, 8 miles away. Still, I imagine when the good people of Lisburn want to go out on the town they spend some time in the much bigger metropolis of Belfast. Then there’s the fact that Jet Black Tulips, who are from Belfast, have received support from Pretty Cartel getting started so the music scenes clearly overlap. And let’s face it, ‘Lisburn and Belfast calling’ as a post title would be just too much of mouthful. But enough excuses: this is about the music and these two bands could be from anywhere that loves Britpop, the Who, and jangly guitars.

The first record I could find by Pretty Cartel was 2013’s Tales from the Working Class. So far, so good just on the title alone. The EP features a range of styles from folky ballads to more Oasis-in-a-mellow-mood numbers. But the star track is undoubtedly the rambunctious and rollicking “She’s The One.” This song and another single released separately the same year, “Night on the Town,” take things in a more Cast or Real People direction. Then there’s an apparent break until 2019 when it seems two albums come out, Top Hat Ballroom and Subbuteo Balls and Rock Stars. Overall the former is a bit more rocking but “El Diablo” has a some nice minor chords hooks and subtle change ups over the course of the song. The latter recycles two tunes from their debut EP but the album sound is still coherent, though more jangly and atmospheric than prior efforts “Streets” sound like early U2, before they went all rawk star. “Days Gone Bye” plays like a Britpop anthem. “Willow Tree” is wonderfully low-key Oasis. “Night Out on the Town” turns up the jangle guitar and increases the pace to good effect. Then in 2020 the band blew the doors off their sound with “Sunkist Sun,” a song so perfectly put together it can’t help but be an instant-replay single experience. A whole album of tunes exuding this level of confidence and skill can’t come out fast enough.

Night on the Town
El Diablo
Days Gone By
Sunkist Sun

Newcomers Jet Black Tulips have only released two songs. But what tunes! 2020’s “Oh Yea!” is a driving guitar number that reminds me a bit of the Hoodoo Gurus with its straight-up vocal style and relentless rhythm guitar backing. Brand new single “Never Gonna Be” fattens up the rhythm guitar sound and adds jangly lead guitar lines for some pure Britpop bliss. This is another repeat-play number. These boys are on the right track, as far as I’m concerned. We can only hope there’s a pandemic-induced backlog of new material just waiting to come out.

Oh Yea!
Never Gonna Be

Northern Ireland is changing and Pretty Cartel and Jet Black Tulips are definitely a part of the new excitement. With bands like these Belfast, I’ll be right there!

Get off at Dunbar! John Sally Ride and Elvis Eno

16 Monday May 2022

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He doesn’t do it all alone but he is the creative force behind his many projects, handling song-writing, lead vocals, rhythm guitar and sometimes much more. So when you go looking for John Sally Ride or Elvis Eno or his solo records you’re basically getting off at the John Dunbar stop. Fall 2021 saw the release of two different Dunbar projects practically simultaneously and they both deserve a closer look.

The third John Sally Ride LP title Now Is Not a Great Time surely must quality for the ‘understatement much’ award. The album’s opening number “The Nicest Things” captures the uncertainly of our times, where a rush of poppy rock can’t quite obscure the singer’s mixed feelings. This theme continues with “Putting It Off” but in a more dance-able XTC mode. Then “I Never Knew (Where I Stood With You)” builds off a solid Motown groove. So far the record the record departs from prior efforts, branching out stylistically. For instance, “Far From Eaten Out” sounds very Jam-like to me, with less snarl in the vocals. But there’s a lot here that sounds familiar too. I’ve commented previously on the Squeeze vibe in so much of the JSR material, both in songwriting and a strong Glenn Tilbrook feel to the vocal work. Tell me you don’t hear some Glenn or that Difford and Tilbrook songwriting magic on “Now Is Not a Great Time,” “My Persistence Vs Your Resistance,” “You Let Her Break Your Heart Again,” and “Is It Over Already?” Frankly I’d be delighted to hear material like this on some new Squeeze project. But the obvious winner for should-be hit single here is “She Doesn’t Do Nostalgia” with its hooky lead guitar lines, dynamic vocal phrasing and judicious dollop of jangle. Despite the socially timely title Now Is Not a Great Time brims with promise and good feeling. The John Sally Ride take us on another reliably melodious trip through 11 winning cuts.

On A Startling Realization of the Obvious Dunbar takes up a musical alter ego in Elvis Eno to rage against our current political era of lies and calculated disinformation. The political engagement is subtle and often muted, though apparent on tracks like “Your Startling Realization of the Obvious,” “The One Who Won” and “Believe the Liars.” Stylistically, the album bears the marks of late 1960s British pop psychedelia funneled through a 1980s poprock sensibility we might associate with XTC, particularly on tracks like “Getting to Know the Back of My Hand” and “Your End of the Bargain.” Working a different seam, there’s a definite Todd Rundgren elan to “Believe the Liars.”  But hovering over everything is the spectre of Elvis Costello. “The Last Time I Saw You/See You” and “We’re Shaped by What Did Not Work” sounds very EC in experimental mode e.g. Brodsky Quartet. Meanwhile “More Than a Little While” has an Andy Partridge quirkiness in his Dukes of Stratosphere guise. Then “The Ballad of Russ Ballard” takes us back into Squeeze story-song territory. The album is a coherent, enjoyable exploration of another – yet still familiar – side to Dunbar’s musical personality.

Seems you can’t limit this guy to just one project. And given what appears here why would we? Don’t wait to ‘ring the bell’ – this is your stop, for John Dunbar.

Should-be stars: Superchunk, The Minders, Beachhead, and Cheap Star

27 Wednesday Apr 2022

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Today’s acts are indie for sure but their output is so consistently solid they seem like should-be stars to me. Particularly with these new releases. Think REM before Green or U2 before Joshua Tree. Hit play on these new albums and see if you don’t agree.

Superchunk is one of those bands that always seemed to be on the periphery of my musical consciousness. Liked by all the right people, running with all the right musical crowds. But a bit too punky or indie rawk for my tastes. But their new album Wild Loneliness is something else. From the opening track’s Verve-esque string section “City of the Dead” the record had my full attention. Album number 12 sees the band let the songs breathe a bit more than usual, loading them up with acoustic guitars and a pacing that’s not in any hurry. It’s apparent on “Endless Summer,” a single-ish number that is both highly listenable and a kind of environmental anthem. Or there’s the perky “On the Floor” with its piano-heavy arrangement and some background vocals help from REM’s Mike Mills. We can draw out comparisons, hearing a bit of U2 Joshua Tree on “Set It Aside,” or echoes of that Bacharach-like string section that Springsteen coated his 2019 Western Stars album with on “This Night,” or even a bit of Josh Rouse on “Wild Loneliness,” but really it’s all Superchunk. My personal fave and vote for should-be hit single is “Connection.” It starts off pretty Tom Petty-pensive before breaking out into a lush but lightly-jangled Byrdsian chorus. Man, those ‘ooh ooh ooh’s’ are chill-inducing! 33 years in and Superchunk have released their most accessible album. An adult-party, play-it-all-night sort of thing.

With their Elephant Six and Apples in Stereo connections it’s a wonder I’m only just a recent convert to the indie pop glory that is The Minders. I had run across their fabulous 1998 album Hooray for Tuesday and was digging that when I noticed they had a new record out, Psychedelic Blacktop. Shifting focus to the new record was a bit jarring as the sound is different. Sure, those crazy keyboard lines are still there but the vocal and guitar attack lean more toward folk rock than their previous more baroque and jaunty guitar pop, at least early on. “Home” opens things up and sets the scene with a Donovan-esque poppy folk number, loaded with great organ. Then “Let’s Go Driving” starts off sounding a bit like the Lovin’ Spoonful meets Jonathan Richman, but those ‘sha la la la la’s shift things into a more Turtles direction. Again, great organ solo. “It’s All the Same” sees the band slipping back towards their more baroque pop roots, definitely jaunty. “You Call to Me” offers up a very folk country vibe, like Ian and Sylvia circa 1966. I’m also really liking the outlier track, “Listen! The Bugle Calls,” which has an ominous Magnetic Fields 1960s revival sound. And so on. If I were you, I’d get comfy: with 13 tracks, there’s plenty of audio tarmac to tear up on Psychedelic Blacktop. Even the album closer “These Days” leaves me wanting more. It’s defined by great rhythm guitar hooks and madcap feel, particularly in seemingly unrelated coda.

Entitling their second album simply Beachheads II suggests this is not where these Norwegian poppy rockers decided to invest their creative energies. No, Beachheads put their effort into the songs. This outing still has the guitars-up-front style that caught everyone’s attention last time out but added in is a greater focus on the vocals, namely some sweet sweet harmonies. You can hear it all over the strong pre-release single “Jupiter.”  Much of the album does carry on from their earlier work, like opening cut “Break It Off,” “1000 Hurts,” and “Oh Joy.” But you can also hear a concerted effort to change things up songwriting and performance-wise.  “Change” is pitched a bit slower than their usual manic pace, with an anthemic chorus and some arresting, melodic guitar lead lines. “Down South” and “Shine” are also both departures, sometimes jaunty, sometimes smooth melodic pop. There are darker numbers here too, like the ominous “Nothing.” Or check out the striking turn the band pulls off in “Death of Nation,” breaking out from a drone-y verse into a seductive melodic chorus. This is band that knows what we like but is keen to surprise us too.

Cheap Star’s recent album Wish I Could See is not just a product of should-be stars. The performers read like a roll call of indie power pop royalty with members of The Posies, Fountains of Wayne, The Raconteurs, Jellyfish, Nada Surf and others pitching in. Bona fide indie superstar artist/producer Mitch Easter even drops by with a guitar solo. The results are spectacular, an enticing, guitar-laden slice of power pop. Tracks like “Flower Girl” and “Wish I Could See” remind me of Nada Surf while “Lifetime” and “Move Away” strike a more Michael Penn chord. There’s a lighter touch on “You Don’t Want to Change” and “Slow Down” where the acoustic guitar sets the pace, the latter with an additional country Byrds flavour. Or listen to how the band combine Rubber Soul era guitars with an Echo and Bunnymen vibe on “What’s It Like.” For should-be hit singles, there are so many choices. “Flower Girl” obviously but I’d also cast a vote for “Holding On” with its great lead guitar roll-out kicking off and then anchoring the tune. It’s got a very Matthew Sweet melody and feel. Altogether Wish I Could See has got the sound of a classic vinyl era power pop record (the physical product can be found at Kool Kat Musik), one you’ll want to add to your collection.

The should-be stars are out tonight. Don’t miss their sparkle and shine.

Top photo: Trevor Dobson “Star trails over an abandoned farmhouse – Boddington, Western Australia”

I’m just gonna Glenn Case the joint

13 Wednesday Apr 2022

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Who is Glenn Case and how does he manage to put out so much music? His bandcamp page features 30 albums, the oldest going back to 2004 but 25 have come out just since 2015! Wow. I mean, even with my completist tendencies I tend to shrink from tackling such a challenge. Even he admits it might be problem. “I probably release too many albums,” he quips in his bandcamp bio. This whole ‘checking out the Glenn Case catalogue’ thing started for me when I searched ‘Andy Partridge’ looking for songs that paid tribute to everyone’s fave grumpy melody-meister – and Case’s song popped up. Not only did Case nail Partridge’s singing and song-writing style but the accompanying album had a load of other cool tunes.

I could tell you that I listened intently to all 30 albums and the few EPs and then carefully curated the tunes that appear below but let’s face it, I just cased the joint. I needle dropped my way through the bandcamp material looking for the most immediate ear-grabbing hooky stuff and this is what you get. Now, I do think these selected cuts are pretty special. Case is a musical chameleon, throwing a bit of everything at the listener depending on his mood: poprock, jazz pop, country, fake metal, even some hip hop. His vocal and song-writing styles makes his material distinctive, even as it vibes a bit of Chris Collingwood (Fountains of Wayne, Look Park), Jaret Reddick (Bowling for Soup) or Kasim Sulton (Utopia) sometimes. There’s even a hint of Macca here and there. I’ll start you with “Prime Time” from 2008’s So, Be Yourself EP. It’s a tight acoustic guitar-based poppy number that showcases Case’s clever lyrics and smart delivery. Then we can head to “The End of It” from another EP from that year, Waterfall of Consciousness. This one fills out the sound a bit more, vibing XTC, particularly in the hooky chorus. But it’s 2013’s Throw Money album where Case’s talent really raises its wattage with brilliant songs like “Glutton,” “Georgia’s Hand” and the masterful collaboration with The Odds’ Craig Northey, “Pencil Me In.” The latter’s got should-be hit single written all over it.

The flurry of material from 2015 on sees Case drawing inspiration from his many loves and obsessions: his wife, gaming, popular culture and the corporate control of music. He can be alternatively endearing and hilarious. I love “The Woman I Love” from his lovingly crafted 2015 tribute Songs for my Wonderful Wife. 2016’s The One That Ended His Career has so many great tunes, like songs from the ‘more listenable than you might think it would be given its title’ category e.g. “D&D at the Public Library,” or the addictively hooky “Don’t Go To …” and the ‘it’s so funny it hurts’ tune “I’m the President of the Sony Entertainment Corp. Ltd.” As we move forward time-wise songwriting craft and ingenuity come to the fore on tracks like “Rare” (from 2019’s Fighter #6), “High and Higher” (from 2020’s A Year of Mondays), and “Our Plans Are On Hold” (from 2021’s Kiss Me Again). Then 2022 happens and what does Glen Case do? He releases a whole album of songs about soup. It sounds like a gag but hey Case makes it work. The first single “Everybody Loves Chowder” is a winner with a delivery that really reminds me of Timmy Sean.

Whoa, I’ve given you a whole lotta Case to take in. And it’s only a start. Check out his bandcamp and Facebook pages for yourself. He seems like an approachable guy.

The world of Say Hi

12 Saturday Mar 2022

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In my resurrected Decca/London records ‘World of …’ series I dip into the entire oeuvre of an artist to bring you a sampling from each of their many recordings. Today’s focus in on Seattle mellow-core artist Say Hi. What we’ve got here is basically a one man band effort, created and performed by Eric Elbogen. The records are deceptively stark, stripped-down affairs, with striking keyboard and guitar tones while literally littered with witty lyrical cleverisms. Warning: these are not often straightforward tunes. Elbogen makes you work to get the meaning and the hooks. But patience is rewarded with some subtle turns of phrase and melody.

2002’s debut Discosadness comprises the basic formula you’re pretty much going to find on the subsequent 11 Say Hi releases: carefully curated sounds and social observations, packaged in attractively minimalist arty design. From this first record, I was taken with “Laundry,” given its lovely whispery Velvet Underground vocal and guitar shuffle. It seemed a perfect way to kick off side one of our World of Say Hi faux release. From 2004’s Number and Mumbles I’ve gone with “A Hit in Sweden” for its electric guitar shots and breathy Momus-like vocals. 2005’s Ferocious Mopes has a vocal vibe that is a bit more Bernard Sumner to my ears, particularly “Recurring Motifs in Historical Flirtings.” On 2006’s Impeccable Blahs I just love the keyboard lead line snaking through “Not As Goth As They Say We Are,” the song is so Casio-licious! There’s more of the intriguing keyboard work, but in overdrive, on “Back Before We Were Brittle” from 2008’s The Wishes and the Glitch. It has got a Bleachers kind of sonic intensity. 2009’s Oohs and Aahs even offers up a hit single of sorts with “Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh,” which was also featured in the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love. Though, I have to say, “One, Two … One” and “The Stars Just Blink For Us” from the same album sounds pretty radio friendly too.

Kicking off side 2 of our World of Say Hi imagined album, the pretty precision of “All the Pretty Ones” from 2011’s Um Uh Oh. I love the ever-so-careful arrangement of instruments, how they sound organized just to better let each one enter and exit the song without being bumped or overshadowed. However if you prefer an acoustic country strummer, “Trees Are A Swayin’” is a departure for this artist and delightfully so. 2013’s Free Samples is largely a collection of instrumentals, animating all the classic flavours of ice cream. Yes, of course, that is what a banana split would sound like, wouldn’t it? Personally, I love the 1970s electric keyboard vibe on “Chocolate.” Keyboards figure prominently on “Love Love Love,” my selection from 2014’s Endless Wonder. Love is back in the spotlight on “Lover’s Lane (Smitten With Doom)” from 2015’s Bleeders Digest with its ELO drum intro and Robert Smith-like intimacy on the vocals. Elbogen digs into his pop bag of tricks on 2018’s Caterpillar Centipede, particularly on the album ending “Dreaming the Day Away,” an alt radio should-be hit single to me. Then it’s back to his syth roots on 2020’s Diamonds and Dohnuts. There were times this record took me back to my Yaz and Erasure days. But again I hear a bit Bleachers in the overlapping mix of keyboards and earnest vocals on tracks like “Grey as a Ghost.” And the hooks, of course.

The World of Say Hi is a fictitious album but the music and the talent are real. Check out the catalogue and put together your own mix from all this inventive, musical-ennui master.

Return engagement: Eytan Mirsky and Love, Burns

01 Tuesday Mar 2022

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There’s nothing better than a return engagement with a favourite artist. This double bill features performers who routinely win the ‘never let me down’ award from me and today is no exception. If they’re your thing, get ready for maximum enjoyment.

He’s the lord of deadpan cool. He’s Ben Vaughn meets Chuck Prophet. He’s Eytan Mirsky and he’s back with a fabulous new LP, Lord, Have Mirsky. The ten new tunes here resurrect familiar Mirsky personas: loveable loser, overconfident pleaser, half-serious life sage. “I Don’t Wanna Brag” opens the show with a kind of MexTex slow dance, Mirsky’s lyrics perfectly floating over the spartan guitar and organ accompaniment. No one does this sort of overconfident desperation quite like Eytan. Female trouble, as usual, defines the album, informing the pleading (“Halfhearted”), the complaints (“What Took You So Long”), and the emotional conflict (“You’re Getting It On Me”) that populate the songs. Clever wordplay? It’s back on “Smart to be Stupid,” a track that is kin to the pithy song stylings of John Hiatt and Richard Thompson. But Mirsky can also be serious, as in evidence on the somber soul vamp “It’s All Right to Be Alone.” The song is so obviously, eminently cover-able, it should be heading for a status Nick Lowe once described as an ‘earner.’ Overall, I’d say the album is perhaps a bit more laid back that previous efforts, pushing back the stylistic frontiers from prior new wave and 1980s indie vibes to a more post-pub rock 1970s feel. That’s illustrated nicely on the gently swinging “The Waiting is the Easiest Part.” Then “Don’t Be Afraid” breaks out the pedal steel guitar to good effect while “Watching from the Balcony” takes things in a more Rockpile direction. The verdict? Lord, Have Mirsky delivers what we need right now: some wry wit, a bit of earnest self-reflection, and melodies that will make you smile.

With the release of It Should Have Been Tomorrow Pale Lights leading man Phil Sutton is finally ready to prime time his new project Love, Burns. Some tracks here were rusticly previewed on 2020’s Fiftieth and Marlborough but now it’s like somebody turned on the lights, they’ve been given a fine new shape and sonic sparkle. “Dear Claire” opens the record with a giddy intensity, the combo of organ and electric guitar seemingly relentless in their aural assault. From the instrumental break the vibe is so Lord Huron while vocally I can’t help but hear a bit of Lloyd Cole or Roddy Frame. “Gate and the Ghost” and “Stormy Waters” are jangle heavy numbers cut with some seductive organ work. “It’s a Shame” takes a turn into an early, jazzy Everything but the Girl direction while both “In a Long Time” and “Oh, My Beloved” have a pastoral 1960s folk rock vibe. “Wired Eyes” is the unrivaled choice for hit single in this collection, combining the sixties pop psychedelia of The Strawberry Alarm Clock with the indie cool of The Velvet Underground. Country gets a look in on “Come in the Spring” and “Drive Down to D.C.” And then everything wraps up with the glorious Bond-esque “Something Good,” a rumbly guitar workout that should inspire a whole new generation of go go dancers.

You better snap up the tickets if Eytan Mirsky and Love, Burns do a return engagement in your town. These new albums are a preview of what you might see. Things are looking very good indeed.

sElf conscious

25 Friday Feb 2022

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On my journey of poprock discovery I’m constantly running across amazing talents that have been working away for decades that somehow I’ve never heard of. Lately I’ve become sElf conscious. The band is largely the project of its creative force, Matt Mahaffey, a talent so large it keeps spilling out over a wide range of solo work, one-off projects and insta-bands. sElf emerged in the 1990s, one of slew of poppy rock bands that defied categorization. Sometimes sounding like Rooney or Weezer, only to segue without warning into Queen or Fountains of Wayne territory. Record labels were not investing in artists in that decade and I can imagine sElf had more than one label rep throwing up their hands in frustration trying to pitch the band to radio and promoters. But that’s what makes them so great.

sElf’s 1995 debut album Subliminal Plastic Motives aces that dire sounding pop vibe we associate with the likes of Weezer and Rooney, though as you can hear on “Stewardess” Mahaffey adds some distinct melodic motifs of his own to the formula. 1997’s The Half-Baked Serenade carries on in a similar vein, though here I’m drawn to the languidly-paced acoustic outlier “Microchip Girl.” Here is the fun playful side of Mahaffey – think ELO or Bleu – that will only intensify as time goes on. 1999’s Breakfast With Girls was the band’s major label debut and here the Queen influence can really be heard on tracks like “Better Than Aliens.” Though here I find myself drawn to deep cuts like “Uno Song.” In 2000 sElf released Gizmodgery, an album of tunes performed entirely on children’s toy instruments. “Dead Man” is as good as anything coming out from grungy poprock acts in the late 1990s. “Ordinaire” has a manic SciFi feel, again, very Rooney. The cover of The Doobies ‘“What a Fool Believes” is an absolutely brilliant deconstruction of the synth work on the song, stripping back the original’s overwrought production and leaving just the bones of its seductive hooks.

Microchip Girl
Uno Song
Dead Man
What a Fool Believes

From here navigating sElf and Matt Mahaffey’s career gets a bit hazy. Self-released sElf internet-only albums come and go while Mahaffey’s solo work nowhere appears in one tidy review-able location. Thus I was not prepared for the knock-out, should-be hit single goodness of the one-off 2010 single “Could You Love Me Now?” The craftmanship behind this tune is striking, the way it cradles its delicate melody, adorning it with all manner of subtle instrumentation. The band did return in 2014 with the EP Super Fake Nice sounding like no time had passed. Still doing a slightly discordant poppy rock thing, you can really hear a bit of Brendon Benson on tracks like “Splitting Atoms.”

Could You Love Me Now?
Splitting Atoms

Apart from sElf  Matt Mahaffey has shifted focus to producing music for movies and television like Shrek and Henry Hugglemonster. However, Mahaffey did find time to launch a new duo, The Gherms, who appear to exist only to laud to Brooklyn’s fave funsters They Might Be Giants. Songs About They Might Be Giants is a double-sided single that showcases everything Mahaffey does well: a great concept, larger than life production and big hooks. Meanwhile, his cartoon theme song work for Nicklelodeon is some of the best 30 second poprock you’re gonna hear while spending quality time with toddlers.

The Gherms – Acquired Taste
Matt Mahaffey – Henry Hugglemonster Main Theme

You know what I wish? That somebody with access to Mahaffey’s complete body of work would curate a release that bring us all up to speed on this great talent. Between the unreleased and unofficially released sElf work to his many and varied contributions to TV and movies it’s just too hard to bring his genius into focus. And that’s a shame because, in my view, everyone could stand a bit of sElf improvement.

Falling in Love with Trevor Blendour

14 Monday Feb 2022

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I’m not much of a Valentine’s Day guy. It’s all too gushy and sweet and more than a bit forced. But I’m not ashamed to admit I’m totally smitten with Trevor Blendour’s new long player, the holiday appropriately-titled Falling in Love. Take Buddy Holly, tweak it with those early 1960s American pop vocal motifs, add a bit of millennial indie sheen, and you’ve got a completely addictive collection of earwormy tunes, each clocking in at just 2-3minutes max. Appearing as The Blendours on previous albums the sound was bit more punky but in this new guise as a solo artist Trevor Treiber (now aka Blendour) simply embraces his love all things 1950s/early 1960s. And the results are a magical mix of retro lead guitar runs, swooping overlapping vocal lines, and melodic hooks galore.

For the most part the formula here is alternative-universe American Graffiti. In the movie the leftover 1950s themes bleed into the early 1960s, as cultural referents are wont to do, and that’s the broad landscape hovering in the background of this record. Sometimes it’s a straight up fifties time trip, as on “A Paradise,” a track that hybridizes classic Elvis and Buddy Holly vocal phrasing and song styles. It’s there again on album opener “Don’t Mean Maybe” with a combo of rockabilly and doo wop elements. With “Falling in Love” the frame of reference shifts a bit to all those early 1960s teen idols. There there’s the post-Holly Crickets reeling and rocking sound all over “Carly Please.” Another classic early sixties style can be found on “Win Back That Girl,” this time the tragic feel reminiscent of ‘disaster’ rock. Things move a bit more into the mid-1960s on “Tough Guy” with its Beach Boys falsetto vocals and “Rena” which has a Beatles “Things We Said Today” rhythm guitar swing. Not that everything here is retro. Treiber’s pop punk instincts come more to the fore on tracks like “Lost The Girl,” “Gloria” and “Another Guy,” though with the rough edges smoothed out a bit. “Cold Heart” sounds very 1979 rock and roll revival in a Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds sort of way. But for me, Blendour saves the best for last with the should-be hit single “Him Instead of Me.” This track reminds me of the way the Beatles put a bit of rock and roll muscle into all the fifties rock and girl group covers they sprinkled throughout their first few albums.

Unlike romantic love a great record will never let you down. This year, make a date with Trevor Blendour’s Falling in Love for Valentine’s Day. It’s cheaper than a dinner out, has a timeless quality that will never age, and is guaranteed to greet you with buoyant enthusiasm every time you turn it on.

Reinventing Marshall Crenshaw

12 Saturday Feb 2022

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With the re-release of Marshall Crenshaw’s fantastic 1999 album #447 fans can dig into an LP full of undervalued gems like “Television Light,” “T.M.D.” and “Right There in Front of Me.” The new re-issue also includes Crenshaw’s most recent new recording, a double A-sided single of “Santa Fe” and “Will of the Wind.” Just listen to the smooth hookyness and ace guitar playing on the latter tune. Damn, Marshall has still got it!

Marshall Crenshaw – Will of the Wind

Revisiting Crenshaw’s work from the 1990s got me wondering just why others have not mined his catalogue for covers in the way we’ve seen people do with other comparable acts from his era. I mean, Nick Lowe has got FOUR separate tribute albums and an LP of Los Straightjackets’ instrumental versions. Where’s the Crenshaw love? So far, it seems mostly focused on his early work and by early I mean his pre-major label singles and the self-titled debut album. So in honour of the deluxe re-release of #447 I decided to work up my own tribute album by gathering together what covers I could find, avoiding the really obvious ones (sorry Bette!) in favour of less well known versions. It’s basically a ‘taking liberties’ version of that first album I’ve dubbed Reinventing Marshall Crenshaw.

We kick things off with sometime Beach Boy pinch-hitter Jeffrey Foskett. He’s just the guy with the vocal chops to cover “You’re My Favorite Waste of Time.” The results are a slightly tighter updating of Marshall’s own great take on the tune. Ronnie Spector sings the hell out Marshall’s perfect paean to the early 1960s girl group groove “Something’s Gonna Happen.” And she would, wouldn’t she? Sweden’s Mom takes the opening cut from Marshall’s debut in a new direction, amping up the guitar slashes and bass guitar lines on “There She Goes Again.” Musically it’s very Cars at times. Next up we head to Argentina for Gatos Pandilleros‘ spirited version of “Someday Someway.” It’s got a charming stripped-down feel that lets the song’s joy shine through. Red Hot take “The Usual Thing” into a more rockabilly and country direction vocally while retaining Marshall’s distinctive guitar aura. The Unswept step on the jangle pedal for their reworking of “Cynical Girl” and it works, adding something special to a song already pretty dear to the hearts of Crenshaw fans. Though ultimately featured on Field Day, demos of “Whenever You’re on my Mind” also come from the same period as the debut album. Thus I think we can sneak it into this tribute. As it is my fave MC tune I’ve got two covers. One is a wonderfully shambolic DIY take from Michael Fiore that comes off like a deep cut from a Replacements live album. The other is a more spartan guitar pop treatment from The Kavanaghs. Both manage to coax the magic out of this irrepressible classic.

Jeffrey Foskett – You’re My Favorite Waste of Time
Ronnie Spector – Something’s Gonna Happen
Red Hot – The Usual Thing

There are other covers of Marshall’s songs. Sometimes they come from co-writers like Don Dixon and Bill DeMain, or from big name acts like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, or country artists like Lou Ann Barton and Kelly Willis. But come on people, this hardly scratches the surface of Crenshaw’s amazing catalogue! We are long overdue for an MC tribute album, one that draws from the full breadth of his impressive recorded output. Let’s see someone take the lead on this project … now.

You can order your new, refurbished and expanded copy of #447 online and keep up with the latest Marshall news here.