Category Archives: Poprock Themepark

Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles for 2025

04 Sunday Jan 2026

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Another year, another slew of great singles made their appearance throughout our 73 posts of music coverage. If you’re an old school melodic rock and roll fan like me, the jangly, hooky, guitar-centric creativity was off the charts. Sadly, such the jangly, hooky, guitar-centric creativity was off the conventional music charts as well. That’s why we don’t rely on trade mags or corporate radio to tell us what’s top of the pops, we make up our own charts. Now, let me be clear, if I wrote about a song this past year I thought it was great, full stop. We’re an ‘all-positive, all-the-time’ kinda shop around here. So what you have in this post is recap of 50 songs that burned just little more deeply into my psyche this past year. Click on the hyperlinks to hear each of the songs and read the original write ups.

Enough stalling, here are Poprock Record’s top 50 should-be hit singles from 2025:

1. Keyside “Rock My Love”
2. Strange Neighbors “Beer at the Bar”
3. The What Four “Quarter to Midnight”
4. The Lemon Twigs “I’ve Got a Broken Heart”
5. The Sonny Wilsons “Maybe”
6. Pony “Superglue”
7. The Cords “Just Don’t Know (How to Find You)”
8. HOA “Don’t Be A Loser”
9. Tamar Berk “you ruined this city for me”
10. Banda AL9 “California”
11. Martin Luke Brown “To Be a Man”
12. Eytan Mirsky “Lost You in the Jetstream”
13. Grant Lindberg “In My Own Way”
14. Jaime Orr “Somebody Like You”
15. Force Model “How Can One Girl Be So Sad”
16. Log Flume “December’s Ending”
17. Rich Chance “Azelea Close”
18. The Bret Tobias Set “It Begins With Lean”
19. The Memories “Too Weak to be Strong”
20. Death By Unga Bunga “I’m Really Old”
21. Softjaw “I Need You”
22. The Spindles “Getaway”
23. Brett Newski and the Bad Inventions “Narrow Escapes”
24. Chris Church “She Looks Good in Black”
25. Japanese Breakfast “Magic Circuit”
26. Tristan Armstrong “The Lonely Avenue”
27. The Super True “Right Here”
28. The Needmores “Lookin’”
29. Oehl “I Love You”
30. Sally Spitz “Tag Your Sign”
31. Sorry Monks “I Know What’s On Your Mind”
32. The Mayflies USA “Calling the Bad Ones Home”
33. The Geezers “Modern Days”
34. Lolas “Work is the Blackmail of Survival”
35. Tom Henry “Close Your Eyes”
36. The Jeanines “What’s Done is Done” / “On and On”
37. The Tummies “Send Me A Picture”
38. Movie Movie “After Hours”
39. Tony Marsico and the Ugly Things “Goodbye to Lonely Town”
40. Chris Stamey “Anything is Possible”
41. Jim Trainor “Nothing”
42. Hidden Pictures “Wedding Singer (Going Through a Divorce)”
43. Liquid Mike “Selling Swords”
44. Zombies of the Stratosphere “If You’re Into It”
45. Daisy House “The Seducer”
46. The Invisible Rays “I Don’t Dream of You”
47. Nicky Koro “Dreamin’”
48. Pouts “Stay Awhile”
49. The Mommyheads “It’s Only Life”
50. The Berries “Lie in the Fire Again”

My top five this year were real head-turners. Liverpool’s Keyside show the city has still got the fab vibes. Strange Neighbors turned out killer tunes for the second year in a row. The first I heard of The What Four’s “Quarter to Midnight” I was hooked by its adrenaline-soaked beat. The Lemon Twigs have pretty reliably produced should-be hits over the past few years but there was something about “I’ve Got a Broken Heart” that just hit all poprock marks. And from way back early in 2025 I was struck by The Sonny Wilson’s unique sound. No maybe about it. I could go on about the other 45 songs here but you can get the dirt from the original posts by clicking the hyperlinks.

Next up, Poprock Record’s most inventive covers from 2025:

1. The Half Cubes “Whenever You’re On My Mind”
2. Sofa City Sweetheart “Waltz #2 (XO)”
3. Marshall Crenshaw “Never To Be Forgotten”
4. Mike Browning “Lost In Conversation”
5. Chaparelle “I Want to Dance with Somebody”

The Half Cubes put out another amazing album of covers and really outdid themselves but nowhere more strongly than on their cover of an early Marshall Crenshaw classic. Sofa City Sweetheart teased us this past year with an impressive rendering of Elliott Smith’s “Waltz #2.” Not an easy tune to take up. Marshall Crenshaw pulled together a host of songs for a new album, including a cover of a Bobby Fuller Four gem. And then we have Mike Browning covering an obscure Canadian track and Chaparelle countryfying a song everybody knows.

Well, there you have it, some great songs that deserve another shot across your attention span. Click the links for the original posts and revisit just how good 2025 was to us on the single file.

Photo courtesy Carbon Arc Flikr collection.

Last orders: Atticus Roness, The Gnomes, Jody and the Germs, and Billy Joel Jr.

30 Tuesday Dec 2025

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It’s near closing time for 2025 and I’ve still got a huge backlog of material remaining on the review pile. Glass half full, it’s a problem that suggests the melodic rock and roll scene is surviving, maybe even thriving. Glass half empty, the bartender’s call for last orders on the year means there’s really only time for a scant few LPs to get some attention. Here’s the last in the door.

I don’t know how an album entitled Power Pop World Domination somehow slipped by me. But I’m not the only one. Despite an April release date the record appears to have gotten little coverage. How is that possible? Atticus Roness has not misnamed his debut LP. This record should be well on its way to at least a Lemon Twigs kind of indie stardom. From the get-go you know thrills are here as opening cut “I” lashes out with just a hint of “Helter Skelter” weaved into the tune. Then “Teens” offer up a recognizable slab of 1970s era melodic rock and roll. Next up is arguably the LPs marquis track, “Ludwig Van.” It was the early pre-release single, a song that sounds classic in so many senses of the word. What is over-arching style going on here? “Last Year’s Words” reminds me of a particular slice of new wave, circa 1979 AM radio. Jangle figures strongly in April Wine-like ballads like “I’m in Love” or The Lemon Twigs-ish “Closer.” “Sad Girls” is very Big Star. Underwriting all this is a strong appreciation of Messrs. Lennon and McCartney of course. Closing track “Not the One (I’m Looking For)” sounds so Beatles in a Cheap Trick guise. This album is a slick piece of superbly crafted power pop, a must-hear, must-add selection from this past year.

Melbourne’s The Gnomes appear to have blown up a fully formed gift from the raunchy side of the 1960s, seemingly out of nowhere. Their self-titled debut runs the gamut of rough and ready garage styles to a more pristine Beatlesque melodiousness. The germ of this LP can be found in a variety of bedroom recordings from band leader Jay Millar but recalibrated for a full band effect. The results are one hell of a good time. “Better With You” kicks open the proceedings with that sixties pre-punk swagger. This is a band you know would blow you away live. “You Won’t Fool Me” and “Play With You” are stripped down 1965 strut rockers while “Open Your Eyes” rides a tension between sweet melodic vocals and a rougher musical demeanor. “I Like It” is just a straight-up punk take on the Kinks. “Won’t Quit You” adds a psychedelic guitar fuzz to the band’s sonic palate. But melody figures strongly in here too. “I’ll Be There,” “Time Will Tell” and  “I’ll Wait” all pull to the Beatles side of the sixties rock street. It will be interesting to hear where the band may go next, with songs like “I’m Not the One” perhaps gesturing toward a more 1980s-style sixties throwback. Right now, just enjoy this top rank party platter.

Sometimes an album amounts to more than just a collection of songs. The new Jody and the Germs LP Love Descends is just such an experience, offering variety in song styles but giving each a coherent group stamp. Opening cut “Hooch and Happiness” sounds like the Go Go’s, grown a bit older and mellower. The spectre of Kirsty MacColl hangs over this release, evident in songs as different as “Some Day,” “Seen It All Before,” and “Unravelling.” The latter is a real standout track with its striking blast of horns and a hooky chorus. For stylistic range, you have songs like “Divine,” a culture jam of 1980s sonic motifs, or the moody, melancholic vibe suffusing “Lights.” In terms of hook-laden singles, “Liberation” fits the bill, though “Unravelling” is another strong choice. Rounding out the record are a number of songs that underline the band’s chameleon-like identity, with “Given Up Trying,” “Severance” and “Winter Heart” all incorporating folkie-ish elements without going full-on folk. I’ve been hitting repeat on this LP for weeks now. Love Descends is full-listen immersion into heart-felt melodic delight.


Let’s be honest, sometimes is it the name the grabs you. When I saw coverage of a band called Billy Joel Jr. my first thought was ‘how did they get away with that?’ Turns out, the band’s been waiting for a legal cease-and-desist letter from Joel Sr. ever since they got started. They even circulated a fake version of their own, just to get attention (it worked!). But hey, what about the music, you may ask? In a word, they rock. Track #1 “Bad Heart” is a rocking bruiser. Not Joel-esque in the least. “New to Love” has a got discordant melody that works its way into your head. Then “She’s Always On the Mind” ups the shoegaze quotient, at least until the vocal comes in clear as bell. Title track “Ur a Star” is something else again, a nicely arranged shift of sonic moods ready for radio playlisting. It’s the a-few-drinks-in singalong number for sure. Taking in the album as whole, it’s hard for me to put my finger on just what this style is. Sludge rock on “Girlfriend/Twin Bed”? The remaining tracks divide between the rocking dissonance of “Isn’t It Funny” or “About Dying (Hannah)” and the more breezy guitar pop of “About Me”? Perhaps a lack of certainty is actually a good thing as it leaves the listener attentive, trying to work it out. There’s little doubt about “Blue.” It’s the big closing number, the touching ballad that’ll see you to the exits.

If any old acquaintance from this blog be forgot just hit the search function above to track down whatever tune you’ve misplaced. That’s it for this year!

Photo “Barkeep” courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Snow drift singles

22 Monday Dec 2025

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We’re deep into December and snow is coming and going in my part of the world. All the more reason to find shovelling inspiration wherever we can. Here’s another 21 songs to put some heft into your snow relocation efforts.

I’m a bit late picking up on this song from Dave Rave and the Governors from their 2023 LP Seven. “Distractions” has got a Blue Oyster Cult classic rock pop feel. Cool, mysterious, with a host of great inventive changes. Yorick van Norden highlights “Better Days” ahead on his recent single, full of sunny sentiment and a quality dose of jangle. Just one of many similar contributions on his new album Do It Now. The ever surprising Kurt Hagardorn goes a bit more Americana than usual on his recent single “Float Away with Me.” Very much sounding like an early 1970s-era Band deep cut. South Korea’s HOA are fab in so many ways. Open your ears to “Don’t Be A Loser” and tell me you don’t hear the Fabs at every melodic turn. It vibes Meet the Beatles with a dash of “Drive My Car.” Back in the early 1990s poprock master Bill Lloyd got the chance to work with rockabilly legend Carl Perkins on a set of session that ultimately never got released … until now. Here’s the title track to the fantastic 10 song album, Some Things Never Change. Perkins sounds like a million dollar player for sure and the song has the elan of timeless classic.

John Sally Ride main man John Dunbar works up a new alias for his most recent project. The Elbow Patches exude a psychadelic pop feeling on “The Day Got Away From Me.” Just one of ten great pop numbers on their full length record Achingly Familiar. Tommy Sistak pushes the Everlys faders up full on the “Long Goodbye.” Really, the Everly tone here is eerie but oh so pleasant. Wow, Log Flume offer up a Joni Mitchell “Clouds” bit of jangle-age on “Get The Picture.” Just great guitar work, period. Egersund, Norway’s I Was A King have a sound that’s warm and just a bit spooky on their new LP Until the End. Title track “Until the End” even has a splash of folkish charm pop up in the instrumental break. Jeff Shelton gets political on the most recent Well Wishers single. “littleorangemagaman” has some rough edges, solids hooks and a point of view, just what we’d expect of him.

On 2022’s Backgammonesque Los Andes gave us a killer South America-flavoured Teenage Fanclub vibe. Their new single “Facil” (or “Easy” in English) is just as delightful, swimming with lush guitars and beautiful vocal harmonies, in both full band and acoustic versions. Doug Hammond’s Daisy House was an early fave on this blog. His recent releases as Vaughn Trapp revive that magic, drawing from his remarkable, 1960s-infused songwriting skills. “What’s On Your Mind” has a particular pop sheen, so classy and smooth in its execution. Remember Sports are a band that sound live and lively. “Across the Line” rolls out with a steady emphasis, alternating between a laconic and deliberate kind of impact. The contrast between the spacey guitar tones and the folk-friendly vocals gives Guppy’s new song “Back to the Thing” a really unique charm. My head just starts doing the Peanuts head-bop dancing thing without much prompting here. Andrea Calvo is Grand Drifter, a sophisticated folkster of Italian persuasion who is long overdue for a new long-player. In the interim we can enjoy is hot-off-the-45-stamper “Any Second Now.” It’s a song about ‘finding traces of love hidden in the small, ordinary moments of everyday life,’ cocooned in a soft, Lennon-as-homemaker style.

Brian Dunne knows how to strum a guitar up into a catchy song. But he’s also got something to say. His most recent LP Clam Casino runneth over with plenty of hooks and homilies, none more so than the should-be hit-single “Fake Version of the Real Thing.” A poppier Bruce Springsteen, for sure. On Mondo Cool Brooklyn’s No Jersey lay it all out, how the system works and for whom, in a winning Americana-tinged pop-punk style. It was a toss-up between “You and Me and the Means of the Production” and “How To Make It In America” but I think the latter just has more hooks. Right next door New Jersey’s the dt’s revive a particularly groovy 1980s popping rock sound on “Sorry Not Sorry.” While crashing a party might be a real dilemma, it’s fodder for a great song here. Secret Postal Society have a new single and its dreamy, strummy good. “Heather” has a lilting soft intensity that builds as it goes on. Great synth runs too! Ricky Rochelle rides the line between punky rock abandon and sweet sweet melodic hooks. His recent long-player Second Layer runs the same play over and over again (and I love it), starting out every song with a starkly plain or rough-edged attack only to seduce us in the melody-drenched chorus. “Highlight Reel” makes this obvious but, frankly, any track from the record could demonstrate this magic.

Original Merseybeater Billy J. Kramer has a new album out and it’s got some killer tracks. Title-track “Are You With Me” works some autobiography into a very hummable effort. “My Sweet Rose” is another notable cut. But the radio ready song here is the early 1960s crooner “Go On Girl.” Sounds so of the era!

Living driving distance from the bottom of the Canadian shield I know a thing or two about snow. And it definitely goes better with music. Here you’ve got 21 snow drift sanctioned songs to get you through it.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Do you hear what I hear?

17 Wednesday Dec 2025

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If you’re strolling the mall or tuning into an AM radio playlist I’m just going to say it. No. You’re not hearing what I’m hearing. Of course, that’s why you’re here. To get the lowdown on the catchiest, poppiest, hookiest festive music fare available. Here are nearly two dozen holiday-infused melodic wonders to liven up your celebrations, whatever they may be.

Simon Love nails it. It seems like we’ve barely said ‘happy new year’ before the Santa ritual begins anew. “It’s Christmas All Over Again” gives us the bells and a ‘look on the bright side’ sentiment, all wrapped up in a Costello-ish taut melody. Next up it’s practically our holiday house band, Make Like Monkeys. As expected they’ve got yet another seasonal LP Make Like Christmas and just a sample of opening cut “Fa La La It’s Time for Christmas” will let you know it’s gonna be another special collection. Chris Lund strikes a more bittersweet chord on “Christmas Time” with its Lennonesque holiday atmosphere. It’s seasonally sombre with just a bit of uplift where it’s needed most. Then there’s Movie Movie’s distinctive, echoing lead guitar line strung like colourful Christmas lights throughout their call to enjoy the season on “Another Holiday.” Party like it’s 2099 indeed. For a bit of pop punk holiday spirit there’s Glenn Robinson’s “Jesus Christ (Can You Believe That It’s Christmas).” It’s rough and not quite ready for polite company but that’s what makes it so special. One of my new fave bands from 2025 give their Greenock, Scotland best to the season on “Favourite Time.” I know I’ve compared The Cords to The Primitives a lot but, come on, it’s pretty Coventry adjacent in the very best of ways.

And then there’s the people in our Christmas neighbourhood, the boys, the girls, and that dude having his birthday amidst it all. The Easy Button give us a story about a “Christmas Girl” who has got the holiday event down, with plenty of reverby guitar and a Difford/Tilbrook song style. By contrast the Spongetones give their “Christmas Boy” a touch of the old fashioned carol. Sort of folky with a twisty tune to suit. Of course, it can’t be Christmas without an appearance from a certain historical baby and we’ve got that covered with The Bret Tobias Set and their seasonal 45 “For Christ’s Sake.” The track’s got a swaying, singalong quality with some nice vocal help from Krista Umile.

On the presents front, we’ve got plenty of holiday-driven needs getting musical expression. I love the demented stoner consumerism of The Memories “Santa Bring Me Some Toys.” It’s just so hilariously dead serious and over the top. The Decibels hit more traditional ‘I want my baby on Xmas’ themes with their “Christmas Wish,” awash in plenty of jangly guitars. Parallax Project take up a related classic theme, the better man talking up the gal with the cheating boyfriend, on their equally jangling “All I Want for Christmas (is a Chance).” And to wrap up this presents focus, U.S. Highball take on the Fab Four novelty number “I Want a Beatle for Xmas” and manage to add sonic depth to what was a pretty throwaway exploitation number. Well done boys!

There’s also room here for some traditional holiday music fare, zhuzhed up poprock style naturally. Fur Trader gives “Silver Bells” a shoegazey glaze, with a children’s chorus to add some sparkle. theCatherines add some Cars-worthy guitar and a lovely duo vocal to “Let It Snow.” Then “Sleigh Ride” gets a full-on guitar workout from an aptly-named band that keeps the electric lead lines popping all over the tune. It’s just what one would expect from a group with a moniker like The Guitars. The Jeanines take Yoko Ono’s “Listen, The Snow is Falling” and turn out a masterful folky, poppy performance. Sounds pretty traditional to me.

A lot of holiday songs focus on matters of time. Dublin’s Music City give us a Spector-worthy mediation on that rush to get home in time on their “Only Home for Christmas” with plenty of cool vocal oohs and ahhs. The Successful Failures conjure that child-only panic that comes with trying to fall asleep on Christmas Eve so you can enjoy “Christmas Morning (Yellow Canary).” With plenty of crashing guitar chords to soothe you to sleep. Not done with this one and Mark Crozier is already on about “Next Christmas,” though it’s the snow he’s forecasting a year hence. Love the squealy keyboard solo mid-song.

If there’s something this ole world needs it’s a bit more love, joy and jollity. And maybe a bit more faith in the kind of society good people can create together if we really try. John Hopkins offers up lovely old fashioned sentiments on  “Jolly Old Nicholas” very much in a timeless but traditional form. Top pop songstress Lisa Mychols dials up the holiday good feeling on her irrepressibly hooky “Joy Is In the Giving.” Christchurch’s Imperial April ring out a big bell sound on their Christmas ode “I Love This Time of Year.” I could hear Blondie covering this. Wrapping up our holiday tour of duty through all the merry music I could scrape together this season we have Kirby Krackle and “I Believe in Christmas.” It’s poppy and moving and very much about the magic that can be this season.

Merry ho ho dear Poprock Record readers. I hope you get to enjoy peace, togetherness and some great music in whatever way you celebrate this time of year.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

What’s in the showcase?

12 Friday Dec 2025

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Seventies television offered no end of consumer dreams to the people. Appliances, summer patio sets and, of course, brand  – new  – cars! But our showcase is full of musical prizes that you’d don’t even have to play for. You just hit play.

Our showcase focus starts with the letter G. Which could stand for guitar or The Goods, who are quite the guitar pop band. Don’t Spoil the Fun runs the gamut of jangle flavours, from the lush rippling guitar riffs of “April Fools” to the lyrical lead guitar defining “Raining” to the more acoustic guitar vibe of “Sarah Says.” But for pure hit single-age you can turn to “Sunday Morning Out of the Blue” with its Monkees in Clarksville mode quality. Boston’s Glowbox are bit grittier but with strong melody baked into every tune. On Bland Ambition the band fuzz out the sound without diminishing the hooks, elevating songs like “No Place Like Nowhere” and “Go Like Hell.” “Philosophy 21A” is an outlier here with its interesting theme and execution. But the standout track for me is “What You’re Doing To Me” with it’s Beatlesque strut. Then there’s The Glad Machine. Their presser for All the Pretty Things claims the album is “packed with crunchy riffs, candy-coated hooks, and just the right amount of lyrical mischief” and they’re not blowing smoke. “Back to You” is so melodically sweet I’ve got the beginnings of a tooth-ache coming on. Then you have tracks like “Collide” and “Gravity Sunshine” that offer a more muscular brand of poprock. But the clear game-changer here is “All the Pretty Things.” The song is barely contained blast of Beatles ’66 meets Cheap Trick tune-age.

Bands in our H file right now include The Half Cubes. I don’t think these guys ever sleep. They’re 2/4th of The Flashcubes, busy with gigs and recordings with that outfit, and they’re putting out regular double LPs of covers with this side hustle. And these are no tossed-off cover versions. As a follow up to last year’s rightly celebrated Pop Treasures they now offer us a sequel with Found Pearls: Pop Treasures #2 and it is literally packed with hits from the seventies and eighties. There are big name artists covered here, like The Romantics “When I Look In Your Eyes” and XTC’s “The Disappointed.” But there are also less well known cuts, like Julian Lennon’s “I Don’t Wanna Know” and Mark Hudson’s “Be Mine Tonight,” that sounds like hits when they’re covered by these guys. But, no surprise, I’m most excited about the cover of Marshall Crenshaw’s “Whenever You’re On My Mind,” a should-have-been monster hit that sounds no less like hit material in this version. Another H band in this showcase is LA’s Humbug. I love how this band layers their songs, building from an acoustic guitar base and then adding everything else. “Open Season” has great pop swing. “Barbara Says” vibes FOW pretty hard (and I’m totally down with that). The songwriting here is strong. You can hear that tunes like “Can’t Read Velvet” and “Backlot” could easily translate on just acoustic guitar without losing any their sophistication. So hard to choose just one track to feature from Open Season but check out the Costello-ish “Quit With Suzy (75k).”

In our M grab-bag we see the welcome return Movie Movie. The new EP Coming Attractions leans into The Cars atmosphere on opening cut “After Hours.” If you’re looking for a dose of guitar-driven melodies circa 1980s, this is the band. It’s been great to see a new record from Manchester’s The Maple State. 2018’s The Things I Heard at the Party was a tour de force of punk-tinged indie poprock. Now seven years later they’re back with Don’t Take Forever. “Zero Days Since Last Incident” and “No Time to Waste” take us right back to the band’s original pop punky style. Meanwhile “Dead Beneath the Stars” get a Celtic vibe going. But in terms of development, “Winner Part II” shows a band going in new and interesting directions. On this year’s EP Transported Chicago’s Moderncults give off a rough and ready vibe when you click on “Chip” but that gives way when the ever-so-sweet title-track kicks in. “Grid” and “Inner Monologue” also have some shining break-out melodic moments.

Time to spill the T before things spill over. Leeds is home to Tulpa, a band that manages to wash every tune in a similar dissonant guitar sound without losing what makes them distinct. In other words, their LP Monster of the Week has got a coherent sound. The style is captured on “Transfixed Gaze” and “Pyro” particularly. By contrast, “Whose Side Are You On” sounds pretty Velvet Underground. But the record’s stand-out track is undoubtedly “Let’s Make a Tulpa!” This one takes off and never loses its energy. Jim Trainor falls into my guitar-pop sweet-spot all over his recent album Listening to Understand. Right out of the gate “Nothing” had its melodic hooks in me. There’s a reverby drone coating the whole song that I can’t get enough of. The LP offers up a host of airy light poppy songs like “Always Been You” and “Above” but I’m more partial to the harder edged numbers like “I Don’t Want to Be.” Self-described ‘slacker jangle band’ Teenage Tom Petties Rally the Tropes on their most recent disc. Hidden amidst their calculatedly shambolic performance are eight great new tunes. “Hotmail” and “Faculty” sound ragged but they hit their melodic marks. And then you have songs like “American Breakfast” and “Kudzu Pop” which give you just a little bit more in terms of depth.

Our last batch in this showcase gets us to the letter W. Montreal’s The Wesleys launch their EP Explosive Device true to form with the driving guitar pop tune “Magic Wand.” “Permanent Vacation” is another winner in a Together Pangea style. “Find a Way” has a more power pop sheen. The similarly named The Webstirs are more a straight-up rock and roll band, with a touch of Jeff Lynne sliding in here and there. You can hear it on “Roulette,” the opening cut from the just released LP High Up in the Trees. There’s so much ear candy on this record, from the poppy groove animating “Dancing in the Sky” to the mysterious ambience cloaking “K Morley.” “Reached an Understanding” sounds like the radio ready single to these ears.

You don’t have worry about going over bidding on this showcase. Sometimes the prices are set, sometimes they are pay-what-you-want. Click on the links and put together your own special package of quality musical products.

China calling: Carsick Cars, The Sino Hearts, and Elliott & The Wild Child

07 Sunday Dec 2025

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Over the past month or so I’ve seen an appreciable and dramatic increase in internet traffic to this site from the People’s Republic of China. Great! I’m up for readers from the Middle Kingdom, for sure. Of course, this bump could just be a legion of bots that do not appreciate the subtleties of poprock (or any kind of rock for that matter). But hey, why focus on the possible negatives? Instead I’m going to welcome this new continent of visitors with some homegrown powerpop. Now before this past week I didn’t know anything about melodic rock and roll from China and I still know almost nothing. But since then I have managed to round up three pretty stellar acts to showcase.

Indie rock is hardly a new thing in China. Bands like Carsick Cars have been going for two decades, recording in both Chinese and English. Their most recent album is 口or Aha in English. Their song 一场大雨 translates as “A Heavy Rain” and radiates a cool understated vocal delivery over some slashing guitar chords while 舞台 or “Stage Riot” has a more party ambience. And that’s just the tip of this melodic iceberg of an album. The Sino Hearts are another veteran Chinese rock and roll outfit with an emphasis on the retro rock palette. Over the course of six albums they’ve mined a pretty impressive Beatles-meets-New Wave set of sonic motifs. Their latest LP is Mondo Paradiso and it delivers their usual very fine goods. “Hong Kong Baby Doll” definitely has a Meet the Beatles energy, “Viva La Heartbreak” gives off a 1980s new wave vibe, while “Sweet Wild Honey” is so Ramones good it gets a treatment in both Chinese and English. Breaking with the traditions covered so far, Elliott & The Wild Child are a duo based in Shanghai and their 2023 EP Simple Simple oscillates between punkish ‘tude and a more slick indie feel. Title track “Simple Simple” exemplifies this tension, starting all snarly and loose before tightening up the sound into a kind of grinding dance drone. The other stand out track here for me is “I Won’t I’m Not!” The track alternates between bristling dance energy and moments of dissonant pop introspection.

China, we’re taking your call. So readers from the far east please do keep stopping by. And don’t be afraid to school me on where the poprock scene really is in your neck of the woods.

China flag stamp courtesy PromesaStudio.

Spin the big wheel

16 Sunday Nov 2025

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There are so many great acts and accompanying singles, EPs, and albums coming at me I really can’t keep up. So today we play catch up and throw in a word or two about a host of great releases I’ve been sitting on. You can just spin the big wheel and drop in anywhere.

Indianapolis fuzz pop outfit Wishy are pushing the faders into the red all over their Planet Popstar EP. Opening cuts “Fly” and “Planet Popstar” offer up a bevy of distorted guitar hooks and vocals. “Over and Over” then cleans up the sound in a Sugar Ray sort of way. The EP shifts back and forth between a fuzzy and more pristine dreamy demeanor. LA band Momma also do dreamy but with a more conventional rock and roll backing on Welcome to My Blue Sky. Surefire single “Rodeo” launches with a killer lead guitar hook only to soften things up with a smooth, seductive vocal. “New Friend” is more soft, lilting acoustic guitar pop. Turning on Amazing Space’s recent album Parallel Dreams you’d be hard pressed to guess they’re from Bergen, Norway. They’ve really got the Americana sound down. The title track “Parallel Dreams” could be the Eagles. But other tracks diverge a bit from this formula. “Surrounded by the Absence” has great new wave-ish keyboards while “Go Easy On Me” vibes a dream-wash sibilance reminding me of fellow Swede The School Book Depository. Regina, Saskatchewan’s Christopher Sleightholm celebrates all things sunny and laid back on Still Summer. The style is 1960s reinvention with layers of jangle, pedal steel and Beatlesque melodic turns. “Summer Eyes” is so jangliciously Byrds. “Peppermint Fields” tips things toward the Bryds’ country turn. There’s also some serious instrumental guitar work here on tracks like “Hoppin’ Thru The Bog in Fog” and “Coyote at the Trailhead.”

It’s tough when a member of band becomes hugely popular and for something that has nothing to do with music. But that is the story of Post Animal when Stranger Things actor Joe Keery left the group in 2017. After a few albums apart Keery is now back with the band for a new album entitled Iron. The sound is very contemporary indie rock: sleek, intimate and subtley hooky. Obvious LP single is the singalong-ish “The Last Goodbye.” On Scarecrow II The Telephone Numbers dial up some serious jangle pretty consistently over the course of the LP. Standout jangling can be found on “Pulling Punchlines” with its propulsive wall-of-guitars sound and Grapes of Wrath vocals. “Goodbye Rock and Roll” is another standout. Taking things up to 11 for a moment Melvic Centre let a strong guitar grind wallpaper their album Trawler. But offsetting that are some great vocal harmonies. “First to Know” showcases how brilliantly these seemingly dissonant qualities can come together. While much of the album shades toward punk “Late Riser” and “Muddy Mae Suggins” unleash some serious melodic hooks. For me, Lawn’s new record God Made the Highway really takes off at track 3 with “Davie” and its ringing lead guitar work. “Barroom Wonder” is another lead guitar workout, deliciously drawing you in.

New Massage LP Coaster is a wildly inventive time-trip through an 1980s ambience that doesn’t sound in any way derivative. “No North Star” is Madchester jangly while “Daffy Duck” has a distinct New Order-ish vibe. “Without Your Love” has the period’s guitar tone down pat. Basically, the whole record envelopes you like a favourite fuzzy sweater. Durham UK’s Fortitude Valley have dropped some serious stylistic intensity into their recent Part of the Problem, Baby release. The guitar attack and pacing is relentless while the vocals ride over the musical drone with a distinctive air. Sometimes things are poppy, as on “Video (Right There With You).” Sometimes they are dissonant, like on “Totally.” Solid should-be hit single is “Sunshine State.” Nashville’s The Medium go all in for the team on their EP Sports! The atmosphere here is very Todd Rundgren meets 10cc, a 1970s compressed pop sound, particularly on “Feel the Dream” and “We’ve Got a Winner.” “Gimme Some Gas” is more a seventies rock and roll romp. Then “Me and My Glove” could be Harry Nilsson. Ottawa’s fanclubwallet shift the mood again to something more intimate and conversational on Living While Dying. This vibe is more contemporary, with compressed keyboard and hushed vocals. I love the hypnotic keyboard drone driving “Head On” forward. Then there’s the lush pop sound of “Do Over” with its otherworldly theremin solo. “New Distraction” sounds like the radio-ready song.

Get ready for some ripping reverb when you spin The Berries self-titled long-player The Berries. This is a guitar album, with fabulous nuanced amplifier tones all over its 10 tracks. Just check out the gorgeous spaciousness of the languid lead guitar guiding “Angelus.” Or there’s the striking back and forth between the guitar and vocals defining “Salt of the Earth.” I love the rippling Blue Oyster Cult-like lead guitar lines on “Lie in the Fire Again.” Toronto’s Vanity Mirror infuse a late 1960s psychedelic pop spirit over a lot of the tracks populating their Super Fluff Forever LP. It’s there strongly on “White Butterfly” while “Jack of All Trades” hits the Velvet Underground groove hard. But others lean into whimsy and piano. Or there’s “I Don’t Want to Hold Your Hand,” a brilliant inversion of Merseybeat sentiments. Sweet Nobody strike a more cinematic pose on Driving Off to Nowhere. The mood here is decisively moody, the vibe all indirect lighting and overflowing ennui. It’s there from the stark opening of “I Don’t Know When I’ll See You Again.” Mixing things up, a rippling guitar lead line gives “Revenge” a pulse-racing feel. “Home Sweet Hell” leans into a dark country vein. “Could You Be the One” sounds hit single-ish to me. Maura Weaver’s second solo album Strange Devotion is a collection of constant surprises. Each song is a carefully crafted sonic illustration, balancing both harmony and dissonance. “Cool Imagination” is the kind of song you instantly want to sing along with. “Do Nothing” is a brilliant example of alluring melodic minimalism. Meanwhile you also have tracks like “Breakfast” that go in a country direction.

I’ve spun the wheel on these fabulous albums, showcasing a few great tunes. But why take my word for it? Dig into the deep cuts on these LPs for yourself by hitting the hotlinks to the full album experience on bandcamp.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore

30 Thursday Oct 2025

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America: it is the best of countries, it is the worst of countries. Its bully face is on full display right now and has been in full force ever since 2025 became a thing. But the country’s silver lining can always be found wherever good people push back against the bullies. Like today’s featured artists. Each one draws a musical line in the sand with wit, compassion, and more than a few good hooks.

On their self-titled solo album debut Dish Pit Violet take aim at capitalism, bigotry, organized religion, the American Dream, and whole lot more. And seldom are such topics taken up with such delicious stylistic variety. “Hi I’m Violet” kicks things off with a Magnetic Fields kind of lyrical directness mapped against an incrementally expanding musical backdrop. It effectively sets the tone for what’s coming: straight-up social commentary set to alluring music. Violet then offers a truly liberatory take on success with “You Are My American Dream,” asking ‘can I get my kicks outside of this capitalist framework?’ and answering ‘I get my kicks when I talking to you.’ But the analysis goes deeper, noting that ‘working for someone else’s dollar, it will become your collar.’ Insight worthy of old German philosophers everywhere! By song #3 we’re primed for “Nobody’s Better,” the big production, crowd-singalong number and the album’s obvious single. It oozes the elan of those early 1980s dance numbers that defied categorization but still filled the dance floor. The bass line here really ties things together. For a second helping of singalong time check out “Rough String” and it’s catchy chorus. From there the album shakes things up, vibing a host of possible influences. “I Hate It When I Do That” exudes an airy Talking Heads kind of simple sophistication to my ears. “Back Up” launches right into some synth dance beats reminiscent of 1980s Soft Cell. “Tip-Top-Drop-Dead-Knock-Out” is the closest thing to a conventional pop song here and it’s still wonderfully eccentric. In terms of single-age, “I Hope I’m Ready For You” gets my vote with its hypnotic looping synth hooks. The LP draws to a close with two nouvelle vaudeville numbers, “You Picked Jesus Over Me” and “Sweetheart,” the latter offering some light McCartney-esque shading. Don’t let the garden-scene cover fool you, Dish Pit Violet is a record that mixes sharp hooks, biting commentary, and a whole lot of heart.

I’ve been a fan of David Woodard for a number of albums and EPs and with each release he tweaks what he’s doing in some interesting way. Everything Belongs maintains his unerring power pop chops but adds a layer of political insight that flashes a high degree of lyrical artistry. Take “Freedom Fries,” a rollicking rock number where Woodard sings ‘we grew up deep fried American, even the food was partisan’ where [we] ‘believed in truth and fries, served with a side of lies.’ Clearly Woodard is not holding back. The album opens with “Everything That’s Wrong with Everything,” a song whose ambitious scope reminds me of Alabama’s Lolas in both melody and message. “Scapegoat” is more of a chord cruncher that runs against the bully grain of American’s current dominant political strain. Then “Everything Belongs” guitar blasts through the hypocrisy of organized exclusion that is much of what passes for faith in today’s America. “Myth of a Nation” is even more hard hitting, calling out America’s bait and switch approach when it comes to immigrants and opportunity. “Metastupid World” leans into its critique of America’s current world leader pretend. However, the record is not all three-chord Chomsky lectures (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Woodard does pause to enthuse about “Coffee Houses” and “Baseball Cards.” Most importantly, the songs are brimming with his signature poppy hooks. And that’s gotta mean more satisfying fist-waving at those demos.

Minneapolis, Minnesota strummer Samuel Wilbur describes his latest album Ivory Tower as an ‘anti-capitalist end-of-the-world Rock Soap Opera,’ a description that really captures the critique suffusing nearly every song here. Sometimes it’s obvious, as on “Everything’s Falling Apart” or “Social Security Number.” But other tracks like “Hornet’s Nest” work up a metaphor to convey its message about inequality and the groupthink of those who struggle to maintain it.  Stylistically, the record is harder to define, the material toggling back and forth between Americana and a cosmopolitan pop vibe. Opening cut “Everything’s Falling Apart” exemplifies this genre-crossing practice, nodding to 1980s English guitar bands while throwing in some American indie rusticity. “Social Security Number” gives voice to the information exhaustion we all feel with the endless requests for all manner of identification, with guest vocalist Dani Michaele casting quite a different spell over the band sound. Another guest vocalist Meghan Kreidler gives a modern Kate Bush wash to “Ivory Tower” while “The Remainder” begins all Beatles before heading into the 1990s. By contrast, “Tired” moves entirely into a modern pop indie sound, sometimes grinding along, sometimes offering sweetness itself. The record ends with a rumination on consumption in “Everything Repeats,” wondering if we can stop ourselves before it’s too late.

Art is another way to do politics. It can be hard-hitting, insightful and definitely more fun than door-knocking. Help spread the word!

Photo ‘House of Women’ film still courtesy James Vaughn Flikr collection.

A little fright music

25 Saturday Oct 2025

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Throughout the year I try to set aside seasonal songs for a range of holidays and I have to say the quality and quantity of Halloween fare has been steadily improving. Here’s a spate of fright night singles and a top rank compilation album dedicated to chilling, thrilling and haunting your playlist. Candy not included.

Justin Kerecz says he’s living in “Devil Town.” The song kicks off with a mournful tone, almost Springsteen-esque. But things pick up halfway through, adding drama and depth. Toronto’s The Suffragettes rewrite a classic classical-music instrumental as “Satan’s Holiday,” leaning heavily on surf guitar. And they don’t spare the tremelo. It’s corpse cool for sure. Bloodshot Bill takes us back to a 1950s rockabilly monster rock with “Meet the Count.” Goofy but offset with deadly hip lead guitar work. Victoria’s The Origin strike some lighter pop notes on their winsome track “So You Think You Can Necromance.” I love the wordplay! A dip into Crater Creek’s Horror Anthology could expose you to some chilling screamcore. But the two songs featured here are anything but. “Caveman” is 25 seconds of blistering narrative development while “See Through” adds a Beach Boys beach-party campfire feel to a lovelorn ghost’s failure to connect with his human target. And it can’t be Halloween without an appearance from those reliable holiday pop punksters Vista Blue. “I Didn’t Get Invited to the Halloween Party” works on so many levels. It draws from neo-1950s disaster song motifs, elevating and intensifying the elements with a 1990s punky panache. These guys never get old (hm? Are they zombies?).

The major event this Halloween music season comes from Big Stir Records in the form of a compilation album entitled Chilling, Thrilling Hooks and Haunted Harmonies. The record contain 41 tracks, divided between 21 songs by different acts associated with the Big Stir stable of artists and 20 short spoken word/sound affects ‘link’ tracks that give the package a semblance of a thematic show. The album is an obvious homage to the 1964 Disneyland Records release Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House, right down the spoken word/sound effects components and a cover clearly inspired by Paul Wenzel’s distinctive artwork from the original. But it is the music that makes this release so special. Let’s face it, thematic holiday albums can often feel like forced, slapdash affairs. Not this one. The 21 original tunes here are quality power pop, holiday or not. Opening musical cut “Ghoul You Want” from Librarians With Hickeys sets the bar high with its subtle, smooth Zombies elan. This is the hit single, surely. Not that the other 19 songs aren’t worthy of maximum Halloween-radio rotation. Really, this is such a solid collection of songs, though more than I can cover in detail here. Instead I’ll just single out three more tracks that really caught my ear. First up I’d draw attention to Splitsville’s “I Was a Teenage Frankenstein.” Plenty of power in the pop here, melding melody-rich vocals with striking rhythm guitars. Then The Gold Needles crank up some hypnotic lead guitar lines on  “Ghost in the Airwaves.” I love hearing the reverby guitars ring. Last on, The Incurables give us a throwback to that 1950s meets seventies garage rock on “Halloween Bride.” The album’s short spoken-word segments performed by The Pepper’s Ghost Players could have descended into cringey cheese but instead evoke the fun over-the-top melodrama of 1960s monster movies. Chilling, Thrilling Hooks and Haunted Harmonies is a fabulous collection, lovingly crafted, expertly executed, and nicely priced. It’s a must-have double-album addition to your vinyl, CD, or digital music crypt.

I do the love the cheese of early 1960s fright night music/entertainment and, as you can see here, that tradition remains alive and well. Click on the links above to stock up on Halloween tunes while letting I. Jeziak and the Surfers guide you musically to the exits with their All Hallows’ Eve instrumental “Mummy Walk.”

Photo courtesy Kristina Alexanderson Flikr collection.

Carnival Treats: Uncle Funkle, The Lemons, Eerie Wanda, and Bloodshot Bill

19 Sunday Oct 2025

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Fall fairs abound in the small towns of many nations, with booths oscillating between the obvious and the obscene. In popular culture the ‘carnival’ particularly is often off the beaten track. In that spirit we offer up some musical acts that ride a fine line between family entertainment and not-ready-for-prime-time playing.

Let’s start with the most unready for prime time candidate, Uncle Funkle. The album is called Portrait of My Penis – need I say more? The album appears to have 46 tracks but nearly half amount to 30 seconds or so of AM radio send ups. And I’m not going to even try to capture what is going on here artistically. Every kind of style gets a look in, if only briefly, while the lyrical themes are typically wacky, decidedly unserious, and often obscene. But there are some good tunes and hilarious lyrics here. “Wilderness Survival” mocks end-of-times survivalists with a sing-along gusto. The electric guitars propelling “There’s Still Guitars in Country Music” seem to defy the ostensible genre-nod happening here but I’ll take them. “Last Night’s Dinner” is a 1950s derivative pop novelty number. And then late in the game comes a song that really rocks things up. “It’s All a Game” is the kind of a song that gets music nerds arguing about just where to draw the line between hard rock and power pop. Uncle Funkle may not be for everyone but the band is a great goofy blast in small doses.

Going in a totally different direction, The Lemons are suitable for everybody from kindergarten to the old folks home. The sound is seventies DIY, a bit folk rocky meets bubblegum pop. These guys could sub for the house band over at Schoolhouse Rocks, for sure. Another Yellow World is the group’s first record of originals in a decade and essentially takes up where they left off. These are mostly pretty pop tunes meant to be squeezed out of a small AM transistor radio speaker playing somewhere outside. Opening cut “Lemonade” is sweetness itself distilled into a minute and 16 seconds of melody. “I Love Lee” is so late 1960s radio ready while “Laura” begs to be a campfire crowd singalong. Despite the consistent aural texture of these recordings, there is variety. “Over and Over” reminds me of The Archies whereas “Honey” marries a brittle Byrds riffing to a stark vocal. Just when you think you’ve the measure of what is going here “My Submarine” throws in a garage rock feel. Closing track “Tallulah Falls” is real departure with its strong country vibe.

Dutch/Croatian artist Marina Tadic really is an original. Her Eerie Wanda records combine a performance art temperament with a folk pop aesthetic akin to Laurie Anderson, Suzanne Vega and Canadian Jane Siberry. Her best known work appears to be 2019’s Pet Town, a low key collection of sly tunes that gesture toward so many styles without really committing to any. It’s like the songs just take the shading but Tadic’s own inimitable songwriting and performance really define everything. Take “Rockabiller” as an example. It keeps us edging toward a more rocking blowout but Tadic never lets go the reins. The magic here is often in the subtle deployment of sounds. “Hands of the Devil” features a hypnotic use of handclaps. Opening cut and title track “Pet Town” gives you the whole treatment with a light, almost pixie-like playful array of strumming, keyboard notes and overlapping vocals. If there could a single from this collection, it would be the seductive “Magnetic Woman.” The project’s debut album Hum also has some great tunes, like the 1950s throwback “I am Over Here” and the Tristan-esque “The Reason.” By contrast, 2022’s Internal Radio moves in a decidedly more experimental direction.

Slip the needle onto Montreal native Bloodshot Bill’s latest album So Fed Up and you could be forgiven for locating him somewhere well south of the Mason-Dixon line. But as the presser for his 19th album spells it out, the sound is “equal parts wild-eyed ‘50s punk, greasy garage rock, and untamed hillbilly howl.” So in that sense it sorta belongs to everyone. And you’re gonna want a piece of this party platter. Things launch with the rockabilly dancer “Talk to You” before steadying the groove expertly on “Kissin Underwater.” “Rule Book” will get those heels kicking up pronto. “Say What You Want to Say” is just a classic 1950s country warbler. The slickest should-be radio single here would probably be “It Happens.” Personally I just love the guitar tones on this disc. “Please Don’t Break My Heart” kicks off with a Johnny Horton rockabilly guitar lead line before settling into a Nervous Norvus-style vocal. “The Very Thought of You” evokes the classic country sound Nashville seems to have forgotten with just a drop of John Fogerty-style swamp. Stumbling across Bloodshot Bill all I can say is ‘what a find!’

You’ve strolled down the midway at our online carnival and the treats are on display. Go ahead. Indulge yourself.

Photo ‘Almost Blues’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.