Category Archives: Poprock Themepark

Extended play sampler tray

12 Tuesday May 2026

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With a backlog of EP releases just sitting on the pass-through we thought we’d offer up just a few tasty samples from wide variety of recent releases. So much goodness in such short bursts. What’s not to like? More filling than a single but not quite full long-playing meal.

Chicago’s The Embryos continue their musical evolution with a new EP Full Disclosure that extends their stylistic reach. All four members contributed a song each to this endeavor and I like them all. But if I had to choose I’m really digging guitar-riffing sparkle that defines “Dopamine Scroll.” Strong guitar work is all over the latest release from The Brett Tobias Set on the five song set that is Tuneless Blues. I’ve already written about how fabulous “It Begins With a Lean” is. Now you need to spin “Happiness Writes White” with special guitar contributions from The Church’s Marty Wilson-Piper. The Unswept were putting out some great covers a while back but on Bittersweet on Repeat we get their original tunes. “Downtown Bridge” open with jangle and just gets better and better. The Dreambots initially wowed us with their single “Tightrope.” Now they add four more tunes to the mix for their self-titled EP, all exhibiting their signature sonic sophistication. Here I’m taken with the lush strut of “Up Where the Sky Ends.” Gorgeous in a Moody Blues in-no-hurry sort of way.

Chris Alvy breaks out the cover tunes on his recent five song Blah EP, nailing a killer version of The Smithereens “Only a Memory.” Hard to top the original here but Alvy loosens up the attack, giving the song a bit more room to breathe and it works. The set also includes a pretty groovy version of the Barrett Strong classic “Money.” Shade55’s EP Shark! is guitar fabulous from start to the last whisper of the inner groove. This has a Fountains of Wayne vibe but without all the suburban disdain. “Face of Tomorrow” is pretty special but “Red Handed” is the sure fire radio ready single. There’s something very Pacific Northwest about the sound of Research Vessel on their Part of the Charm release. The EP presser calls it ‘luscious lilting jangle pop’ on “Wish I Knew” and “Never Tell.” Murfreesboro, Tennesee’s Piglet has DIY in his DNA, his recordings are so rough and ready and charming. On Cow Tools he covers themes as diverse as clouds, not having sex, and being nice. But the tune you have to hear is “The Great Gonzo.” The mixture of abrupt organ, plinky guitar, 1950s space sounds, and earnest vocals is majestically lofi.

Vancouver’s The Nightflower Orchestra are a cabaret throwback. The vocalist is your emcee while the band can apparently cook up a range of styles to suit a crowd’s shifting mood. Pre-Cancelled For Your Convenience is cheeky, genre-bending fun, from the over-the-top “She Looked Like Elvis” to the Madness-like intensity of “King of Bad Notes.” Dip into any track here for a bit of fun but “Punk Rock Nursing Home” hits home. Melbourne, Australia’s The Gnomes rocketed out of their homeland last year an amazingly fresh garage-rock beat-group sound. Their new EP More is aptly named. This is more of that same good groove. “Thinking of Me” opens the session with a blistering guitar rocking assault. But then “Don’t Worry” and “Magic Man” hit the Beatles and Monkees notes so perfectly, with just a extra dollop of distortion. We wrap this EP sampling with a real palate cleanser. Toronto’s Jonathan Davies offers up short excerpts of miniature grandeur on Under Such a Moon. The whole EP breeze by in just eight minutes. But what drollery ensues. Each song is a mini journey to somewhere delightful. The instrumental “Springtime in Moscow, Ontario” idles by with a peppy demeanor. I’m just going to put the whole down here and you can decide what to sample.

We’re done but the kitchen’s not really closed. You can order up what you like by hitting the artist hyperlinks above. After all, the Bandcamp deli offers you tunes a la carte.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Jangle Thursday

07 Thursday May 2026

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Ah, the glorious sounds of jangle, in all its diversity. That’s what we keep showing up for. You can make jangle Thursday all your own with these five fabulous flavours of reverb-heavy tune-age.

The Young Sinclairs may not be as young anymore but their first LP in seven years Cycles Turning still exudes the wonder of youth. Title track “Cycles Turning” conjures every 1980s Byrdsian jangle revival motif. And that wobbly echo-laden lead guitar break is outasight. Then “Evergreen Ln” offsets its sparkly lead guitar lines with ghostly ethereal vocals. By this point the mood of this LP is definitely set. From there the vibe alternates between the psychedelic pop of “Own Two Feet” and “Don’t You Know” and the more spacey atmospheric feel of “You are the Reverie” and “Emerald Green.” The band do rock out on occasion. You can hear a very Stones rhythm guitar strumming on “Deceit Again” or just a garage rock growl defining “Tunnel Walls.” Should-be hit singles for me include “Never Find a Reason” and “Patience,” the latter acing a 1980s indie rock pop sheen. Standing apart, “The Great Unknown” works against the grain of much of the album with its clean, crisp contemporary sound. Seven years away has allowed this band to solidify their unique sound and the results are pretty jangle great.

I’ve covered a lot of The Junior League releases over these past ten years and they never fail to grab me. The new album The Moon Neither Noticed Nor Ignored is no exception. The secret is main man Joe Adragna’s superior song-writing. I’m pretty confident you could strip down nearly any Adragna song and bash it out on an acoustic guitar without losing any of its melodic depth. Of course, Adragna also knows how to dress a song, and his stylistic choices reflect a command of many decades of familiar rock motifs. Opening cut “Sunset Park” showcases this nicely, combining a dirty jangle with a 1980s indie rock sensibility. Or listen to how he adds a country-ish tang to the otherwise rocking “A Matter of Time.” The jangle on this album is often subtle and carefully chosen to suit each song. “Just as Long as I Have You” is delicate, in a Peter Case solo sort of way. “The Naked Lunchbox” offers languid lead guitar lines to decorate a ballad with an aching heart. On “Never Quite the Same” the spacey jangle guitar work sits somewhere in the background, allowing the focus to shift to the vocal and a more upfront Harrisonian lead guitar. And not everything is jangle-centric. “Waiting For You” is a tight rollicking tune where the distinct rhythm guitar anchors the sound. Or listen to how “I Am Going To Fight” is practically a masterclass in how to use bass to tie different elements of a song together, with great Beatlesque jangle too. Departures abound here as well. “The Sun Will Rise” sounds like a classic of indeterminate genre while “Forget Forget Me Nots” offers up a more sombre, acoustic guitar workout. I’d nominate the poppy Well Wishers-ish “Until You Get It Right” as the single.

Seattle’s TV Star have got their own buzzy guitar, wall-of-sound thing going on their new long-player Music For Heads and it’s a trip. It’s kinda shoe-gazey and jangle and spooky, all at the same time. Opening cut “The Package” is a slow waltz into all these elements. Check out the guitar reverb drenching “Reality Cheque,” you can practically body surf the rising tide of guitars. “Two Revolutions” is defined by a pristine, almost English folk kind of vocal that rises up out of the swell of electric guitars. Then “Texas Relation” pairs a striking electric guitar lead line with a cello and viola. The guitar/vocal interplay really defines this record in a distinctive way. “Greener Pastures” floats an ethereal vocal over jangle guitar. Melodically “Lodestar” evokes a Gordon Lightfoot thematic quality, channeled through an indie rock filter.  “Koresh Me Down” is like a jangle torch ballad while “Out Of My Bag” has a sixties psych pull to it. The record closes with slow, drone-y “Strawberry Hero,” a seductive mediation on taking it easy. Now that’s the way to end things.

In their Vapour Trails guise Kevin and Scott Robertson know how to load up on jangle guitar. But on this side project, dubbed simply Robertson, they expand the stylistic focus without quite letting go the jangle thread. The record has got fifties pop, country, folk and hybrid versions of all of the above.  “Everything I Wanna See” launches the set, evoking a laid back 1950s ‘cruisin’ the streets’ feel. Then “Don’t Know What It Means” immediately pivots into a sunshine pop jangle. By track #3 we’re in familiar Robertson territory as “Get In The Parlour, Jean” falls somewhere between British folk and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Not surprisingly, folk rock figures prominently in this collection with “Birdie in Window” and “Is It Wrong,” the latter adding drama to its folk feel with strings. “Noon and Night” crosses over from folk to country just like the Byrds once did, with the aid of some striking pedal steel guitar. “Sticking Around” also leans on pedal steel but with a more country pop demeanor. Some tracks defy easy genre type-casting, like “But Today” and “Wasting The Day Away.” Others like “Illusion To Me” are straight up jangle. My personal fave here is “To You.” It’s just beat-group delicious. Remarkable how this record manages to cover so much style but still retain a distinctive Robertson family stamp. And that’s a very good thing indeed.

A lot of people throw Beatle-isms around like candy. But the problem is that any overly familiar quotes quickly sound stale and hackneyed. That makes what Oliver Flanagan does very special. With his Sorry Monks project he cranks out tracks that exude a mid-period fab four essence. The effect is to conjure something reminiscent of any number of great Beatles songs without aping the original. Now with that claim in mind, it might seem cheeky to open his recent LP Nowhere Man with a song also named “Nowhere Man.” It’s not a cover but, as the album presser describes it, a ‘postmodern deconstruction of a famous Beatles tune.’ It’s like he’s reduced the song to a collection of puzzle pieces thrown in the air and somehow fit together in a new way. Most other Beatle riffing here is more brief and subtle. “Tiny Bird” opens with the distinctive “Please Please Me” chord changes before moving on to do its own thing in a more Rubber Soul vein. “Wine and Crying” also aligns with Rubber Soul given its dalliances with folk rock. Sometimes the effect is more about the song’s atmosphere. “King of Misery” has a Lennon-esque quality while “Goodbye Everybody” is very McCartney. “Eight Arms To Hold You” uses possibly the greatest Beatles title reject for a song with a “Drive My Car” vibe. “R Stevie Moore” is something different again, as might be expected given its title (though the track would not be amiss in the White Album orbit). I also hear a strong Kinks influence on cuts like “Freak of Nature” and “Pretty Little Head,” the latter evoking shades of “Tired Of Waiting For You.” Ultimately Nowhere Man’s Beatles aura is just a pleasant bonus. The album succeeds because Oliver Flanagan knows how to write great tunes.

Jangle Thursday doesn’t slide by every week. Jump on these jangle suggested hyperlinks right away to make sure these producers keep up the supply.

Photo ‘Guitarman’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Mayday!

01 Friday May 2026

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Mayday is the international radio distress signal indicating that some kind of ship is going down. You say it three times just so there’s no mistake. Lately it’s been feeling like a succession of mayday moments the world over. The musical offerings here are all sounding some kind of alarm: social, political, individual. Take your pick.

Janne Borgh Fanclub kick things off with a song that heads right for the intersection of politics and popular culture we’re stuck into right now. “Poetry, Protest, and Pop Songs” is the title track of an album that wields some pretty mean jangle guitar riffs. If there’s any hope out there then a Rickenbacker will definitely be in the mix. Then The Blusterfields get to the point with “Here Come the Idiots.” Cutting lyrics are the order of the day here. And the tune is pretty sweet, kinda like XTC meets the Monkees. On “They’re Coming For Us” Ryan Allen makes it clear that sitting this one out is not an option. There’s a nice poppy bit of bridge work in this tune. From the EP of the same name you can also enjoy the incredibly hooky “This Ugly.” Style-wise the cover evokes all those old Billy Bragg album designs.

So what is to be done at this particular chaotic historical juncture? Responses vary. Andrew Weiss and Friends tells us “I Don’t Want to Live in This World Anymore.” It sounds like he’s turning away but the song is more about drawing a line in the sand about what you’re prepared to accept. With some great harmonica work. Sorry Monks cautions us to turn away from the bitter side of life on “Chip On Your Shoulder” with his usual Beatlesque aplomb. Just keep humming that chorus and who could be bitter? The pleasant surprise album from Juliana Hatfield and song co-writer Eric Payne Bets contains “Your Social Security.” And given clown car ride that is America’s current administration what might happen to it has got to be front of mind for a lot of people right now. Of course, if you’re looking for a dramatic exit, The Just Joans are suggesting that “Everybody’s Moving to Australia.” I’m not sure it’s really do-able for most people, particularly Australians. But it’s got a singalong swing to it that is certainly attractive. Of course, for a lot of people winging it is the most likely response to what is going on. Bory give breathy voice to such sentiments on “We’ll Burn That Bridge When We Get To It.” It makes this option sound so carefree, at least until things careen a bit more caustically in the instrumental break.

Now I’m not one for leaving things without direction. Joshua Jesty’s recent EP Orgone Box Sampler 10.23.25 riffs on a host of current governance problems, often with hilarious results. One song manages to madly repeat how someone has ‘put a tariff on you’ for just about everything. But the most pop oriented tune here is “Drop the Deadbeat.” The advice seems sound. Mark Ward has made a whole album decrying the problems of this moment. Godless Country has so many great cuts that call out who is responsible. “I Don’t Care” names names about this decades great cover-up and insinuates the rest. You know who he’s talking about here. Never has denunciation sounded so melodically sweet. Brother Dynamite also sharpen their lyrical knives on “Your Time Will Come” leaving little doubt who or what they are referring to. The message here is that what goes around will eventually come back around, delivered with a glorious chorus that feels more than a little uplifting.

Ending on a slightly different note, let’s face it, a lot of people are carrying on as if the world is not on fire. Jake Bugg really captures this reality on “Oblivious,” one of four cuts added to the expanded version of his 2024 album A Modern Day Distraction. The track sounds so guitar-ringing positive, despite its message. Sometimes you just have to smile through gritted teeth.

There’s a lot of ways to signal distress. We went the melody route. Help is just a hyperlink away with all the featured artists above.

Photo ‘The Andromeda Strain’ courtesy James Vaughn Flikr collection.

Country time: Turn Turn Turn, Joshua Hedley, and Boy Golden

17 Friday Apr 2026

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It’s not just oversweet factory-made lemonade. Country time is a state-of-mind way-of-life. You can stretch it in a bunch of different directions, mix it up with various other genres, and somehow not dislodge its essential country-ness. All the acts here come at country with their own special baggage. Let’s start unpacking.

Minnesota musical everyman Adam Levy returns with his country outfit Turn Turn Turn and a fabulous 11 track new LP All Hat No Cattle. The sonic flavours here range from the Appalachian Civil War-themed “Antietam” to the honky tonkin’ “Last Drink” to the Mexican-flavoured “Cities.” And that’s just the first three songs! Seriously, this band shifts country gears like a Kentucky sports car. Check out the shivery vocal work on “Magnolia Tree” or the Bakersfield twang and killer organ colouring “Trouble.” Most of the songs vibe country traditions in a pretty honest rendering but there are a few contemporary-sounding efforts too. Both “Serious” and “Hungry Ghosts” have great pop hooks. Or you can go back in time with “When Love Reigns” and its lovely 1962 rock and roll demeanor. I’m a sucker for the folky “Manitowoc” – such a sublime chorus. And make sure to hang in there after the closing cut “Solid State” for the hidden title track.

Slipping back in time genre-wise and with only half our previous title, Joshua Hedley gives up a full serving of western swing on All Hat. If you’ve ever hankered after a Bob Wills or Merle Travis tune then this is the record for you. Right from the opening cut “All Hat (No Cattle)” you know Hedley has nailed this. His evocation of the period is a high fidelity 1940s time trip. Every aspect of the historical mood is here. “Boogie Woogie Tennesse” is vibing Johnny Mercer something serious. There’s polkas with “Hedliner Polka” while “Fresh Hot Biscuits” is square dance central. “Clueless” is a perfectly structured 1940s song vamp with solo piano work that is exquisite. Songs with a recognizable historical style can sound stilted but Hedley has tracks like “Crawlin’ Home to You” sounding freshly pressed and ready to wear. And, as with a lot of western swing, there’s a strong jazz element to what is going on, as in evidence on “Over The Line” and “Come Take a Ride With Me.” Hedley notes on the album write up that western swing was dance music played in dance halls, not theatres. This record offers you what amounts to an amazing evening of classy dancing 1940s style.

Winnipeg’s Boy Golden mines a rich vein of rock and roll country on his latest long-playing release Best of Our Possible Lives. There’s a confident strut and swagger here reminiscent of a 1979-era Tom Petty. This is a take on country I can really get behind. The brilliance of the package on offer here is all there on opening cut “Suffer.” The ambience is cinematic, delivered with smooth talk/singing style I last heard aced on my Aaron Lee Tasjan records. ‘I want know where my money went, I want a new effin’ President,’ sings the founder and minister of The Church of Better Daze. All I can say is – preach brother! As the tracks play on you can hear the style defiance going on. Boy Golden puts a recognizable stamp on this work but nothing really sounds the same. “Cowboy Dreams” is another outstanding track, a duet with Cat Clyde. The vocals and distinctive lead guitar work weave together creating a special sonic space. “Eyes” takes haunting to new spooky levels. Then you’ve got a tune like “Meadowsweet” that straddles pop and folk with a meditative intensity. Title track “Best of Our Possible Lives” is a killer closer, so subtly catchy.

It’s a wrap on country time with the Brennan Wedl and Waxahatchee cover of the Kathleen Edwards song “Six O’Clock News.” This one is just effortless good -time tuneage by all concerned.

Live it up, country style. Who knows when country time may be coming around again.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Help me, help me, help me sail away …

29 Sunday Mar 2026

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I hear you. It’s like, spring’s almost here but winter keeps stubbornly hanging on by a thread. We need some Kinksian inspiration to recapture what it might mean to laze away in the sunshine. I’ve even found The Kik giving us a version of the Kinks’ “Sunny Afternoon” in Dutch (you’re welcome). And as an added benefit we’ve got 21 new tracks to help you cope with this stop-and-go seasonal transition.

We kick off our non-Kinks material with a new song from Orbis Max. “Don’t Lose Me Now” revives the urgency and appealing, squealing guitars of early 1980s FM radio stalwarts like Blue Oyster Cult. Like a bolt out of the blue, but with hooks. Nashville’s Bleary open instrumentally big on their single “Bug,” then shrink back to some intimate harmony vocals, only to open things back up in the chorus. Lather, rinse, repeat is the formula. One of many big tunes on their new LP Little Brain. The Morning Line return after a multi-year break with a double A-sided single including “90s Pickup” and “This Lens.” The former wears its jangle lightly while the latter dials into an acoustic guitar-rich, light Americana vein, with some nice subtle organ work coming up in the background. I love the low-key pop goodness the suffuses Career Woman’s new single “Game of Pricks.” There’s something about the way the rhythm guitar and keyboard tones and ethereal vocals come together that is really special. Newest entrant on the 1990s comeback trail are legendary power poppers The Greenberry Woods. “Whenever You Want Me To” delivers all the jangle and harmonies that had you reaching for their old CDs all these years. And this is just the first of a whole bevy of songs coming from a soon- to-be released full album.

The songs keep coming from the ever prolific Sorry Monks and “A Little Understanding” marks no break in the high quality output. After teasing us with a Beatles “Back in the USSR” flight landing opener this new song has elements of folkie charm and a McCartney White Album demeanor. Dazzling Byrdsian reincarnates The Hanging Stars have a new album in the wings but for now we get “The Glasshouse.” Wow, they’re not burying the lead here. The song radiates a psychedelic jangle aimed directly at your pleasure centres. Another teaser track comes Seattle’s smiles from their upcoming EP if the sun. “please please please” is a knock-down Elliott Smith Beatlesque acoustic triumph. The Cactus Blossoms further countrify “Lately I’ve Let Things Slide” from Nick Lowe’s Brentford Trilogy of albums, which I didn’t think was possible. Another much anticipated LP is coming from the sixties-unstoppable Lemon Twigs. But until Look For Your Mind! drops in May we’ll have to keep hitting repeat on “I Just Can’t Get Over Losing You.” The song is another brilliant reconstruction of sixties song components that comes alive with its own unique qualities.

Tim Izzard is a man happily trapped in the 1970s glamosphere, turning his Bowie-esque vocals to a host of projects. His latest Wow! appears under the moniker Tim Izzard and the Dizztractions where he casts his genre-net a bit wider than usual, back into the 1960s. “Inside Out” has a dreamy pop vibe that pulses melodic hooks. Rockpile fans will salivate at the prospect of The Donuts ambitious new LP The Pleasure of Seconds, a song-for-song answer album to that band’s Seconds of Pleasure. The whole effort is maximum fun but I’m drawn to the added bonus, the band’s stellar cover of Nick’s novelty track “Rollers Show.” The Green Hearts presser doesn’t lie, these guys reliably deliver “some loud, sweet, crunchy, hook-filled rock n’ roll music.” Their latest self-titled album has that number, particularly on the 1970s retro rave up “Bionic Man.” When you listen to Ronnie D’Addario you really hear how the lemons don’t fall far from the tree. On his most recent LP Written By D’Addario gets a little help from a variety of big and less-big names but the standout tracks see him supported by his own kids, the twin talents running The Lemon Twigs.  “5th of July” will ‘sha la la’ its way into your 1960s loving heart. Toronto’s Cootie Catcher have got more recent work out and it’s all pretty solid but I have to share “Words Mean Less” from last year’s Shy At First. I love the light musical chaos enveloping this tune that, nevertheless, never loses its hooky footing.

Sometimes a cover is a song reinvention. Sometimes it’s just a loving blast through the tune that is reminiscent of the original. Michael Simmons follows the latter course on his appealing cover of Squeeze’s “Is That Love” from their career peaking LP East Side Story but his vocals do have a different timbre than Glenn Tilbrook, adding something new. Now we travel to Munster, Germany where Linear Television gets the guitars grinding on the title track from their EP Sandy Beach. It’s two and half minutes of non-stop rocking energy.  I love how the guitars spill out at the start of Keats “Plain Jane.” This song stands out from the band’s LP Fate for its stately pacing, inventive guitar work, and subtle melody. Martin Luke Brown knows how to develop idiosyncratic sounds into a whole musical canvas. Last year’s man oh man! LP was practically a sonic French impressionists show. Now he returns with “Back Of My Mind” and while the brush strokes are a bit lighter the craft is definitely there, allowing the tune to really shine. What’s not to like about Camp Trash? Great name, great sound. On “Normal, IL” you can hear both their punk roots and their obvious melodic chops.

Wrapping up this 21 song salute strongly with Cincinnati’s Flying Underground. “Sister” really grabs you with its off-kilter pop sound. The electric rhythm guitar tone grounds the tune, allowing Kelly McCracken’s vocal to soar effortlessly over the band.

We all need a little help waiting out the unpredictable season’s cycle. These 21+ new songs should aid and abet your time in stasis.

Photo ‘Sunny Valley Lodge’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Listen to the band

22 Sunday Mar 2026

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When I was young music was like one undifferentiated sound. Vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums, bass – it all just melded together. Only later would the separate elements stand out for me in all their distinct glory. Instrumentals aid in this process, offering us a chance to really dissect a great song without the distractions of some attention-seeking lead vocalist. So here’s a bevy of instrumentals, ready for some heavy listening.

For many, rock instrumentals means surf guitar. That seems as good a place to start as any. Poland’s I. Jeziak and The Surfers kickstart the party with their energetic guitar-heavy workout “Surfer’s Stomp.” Such great organ backing! Surely these boys must be from Long Beach, California? Another act far from the Pacific Ocean surf swells are Toronto’s The Surfragettes. They too mine the surf guitar style catalogue, though their 2024 LP title track “Easy as Pie” easily slips such narrow genre confines. A multi-national cast of characters populate the band The Other Timelines and their works straddles the surf/spy guitar genres, well-illustrated on the peppy blast of guitar running through “The Saboteur.”

A separate line of instrumental tradition comes out the country gentleman guitar style of Chet Atkins that you can also hear in crossover 1950s rockabilly. Tasmania’s Mondo Quinn pays tribute to this sound on his terrific EP Going Places and particularly the opening cut “Travelling.” Equal parts Chet Atkins and George Harrison. Guitar virtuoso and member of Los Straightjackets Greg Townson takes us in a jazzy direction on his recent EP In Focus. Listen to how the horn section elevates “Jack Rabbit” to something really classy. And then you have what Bill Lloyd delivers on his inventive all-instrumentals album Insta-mentals. I love how “Senor Discount” synthesizes a host of rock traditions from the 1960s into one powerhouse tune.

And now for somethings completely different. Let’s start with the always striking Get Set Go. The band’s 2024 all-instrumentals LP Machine Empathy was a whirlwind of idiosyncratic keyboard and guitar riffs that were nothing less than mesmerizing. Just feel the tension infusing “Watchbot Warns Waffling Workers Against Wavering.” The machines really may not be our friends! Toronto’s Cameronoise also put out a counter-hegemonic cultural plea recently with his EP What If We Just Stopped Using Their Money? “Fahrenheit 24-7” gives you all the sense of dread and panic that you can squeeze out of a synth these days. I feel like I’ve featured Japan’s The Routes before, specifically their cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” Oh well, no one will be harmed by hearing it again. And it is definitely worth hearing. It manages to manifest all the beauty and sadness and desperation of the original with some killer twangy guitar.

Are they favourite instrumentals band? I think they must be. There is something so genre-escapingly fabulous about Los Straightjackets. As they protest, they are not merely a surf guitar outfit (though they’re not afraid to give the surf a run for its money). Instead they characterize themselves as a rock and roll instrumentals outfit. Their 2025 release Somos testifies to their broad and eclectic style. They really draw from decades of rock and roll instrumentals traditions. “Two Steps Ahead” showcases this breadth and offers a distinctive take compared to songwriter Greg Townson’s solo version (that appeared on his In Focus EP).

Are you hearing those instrumental nuances? Then as one famous American drag queen once said, let the music play.

Photo courtesy Carbon Arc Flikr collection.

Time won’t let me: Sergio Ceccanti, Mod Lang, and Joyce Manor

17 Tuesday Mar 2026

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The Outsiders knew a thing or two about time. Despite some cool organ and a great horn section, time turned out to be a jealous mistress for them. The albums covered in today’s post return to this theme of time, whether borrowed, remembered, or left behind.

In our last review of Sergio Ceccanti we applauded his 1960s genre-fluidity and deft use of multiple guitar tones. But with his new LP Leave the Past, Don’t Look Behind he’s achieved a degree of sonic consistency that really makes the album stand out. The basic formula is evident on opening cut “When You’re Away” where a candy-coated vocal melody is punctuated with distinctive keyboard shots and a decidedly retro lead guitar break. Then as follow-up track “Waiting for You (in a Lonely Town)” gets going it hits you, the musical landscape here is very Jeff Lynne/ELO. What a (pleasant) surprise. Another departure here is the number of low-key mid-tempo numbers like “Grey Cloudy Sky,” “Burning Sun,” “Will You Miss Me,” and “Secret Garden.” They’re all dreamy pop but with a bit more heft than one might expect. And if the guitar was the star on the previous outing, the organ is working hard for MVP this time around, particularly on “You Don’t Really Care” and “The Dead Leaves of my Soul.” Should-be hit singles on this release for me would include title-track “Leave the Past, Don’t Look Behind” but especially the swinging “I’ll Run Through The Rain.” Of course, if you’re not ready to leave the past, you could look back with the closing track “The Words We Used to Say” which harkens back to Ceccanti’s previous album’s sound.

The debut LP Borrowed Time from Detroit’s Mod Lang is nothing less than sizzling. Taking their name from a Big Star tune, the band effortlessly stretch across the Beatles timeline into1970s power pop all over this record. Opening cut “What I Can’t Have” weaves a very subtle Beatlesque thread throughout the tune. It’s there in the economical lead guitar work and the curt vocal turns and harmonies. “In Advance” starts us moving between Beatles influences and a more obviously Big Star set of 1970s motifs. “Cocomode” even manages to combine a seventies boogie rock feel with an Everlys vocal sensibility. Then it’s back to the Fabs circa 1964-65 on “Those Words.” The band’s facility with the various Beatles eras is impressive. “Fool In Love” offers up amazing vocal harmonies and an acoustic guitar feel in a very Rubber Soul vein while “Borrowed Time” shifts to a late Beatles sound, particularly the amped up lead guitar in the last half of song. By contrast, “TV Star” and “In the Morning” showcase Big Star-isms from both their rock and folk tendencies. Should-be hit singles here would include the dynamite opening cut and the exquisitely vocalized “Try Your Love.” Borrowed Time is a must buy, a stunning piece of work.

Joyce Manor are a real enigma. One moment they’re pop punking their brains out, the next they’re swapping in folk-pop and power pop work-outs on their latest long-player I Used To Go To This Bar. The all-too-brief, not-even-2 minutes-long kick-off tune “I Know Where Mark Chen Lives” falls somewhere between pop punk and The Killers. But that chorus is an all-out melody attack. “Falling Into It” shifts into a new sonic skin with a softer vocal attack and some nice synth touches before unleashing some tougher lead guitar work and vocals two-thirds in. But then there’s another surprise as “All My Friends Are So Depressed” dials up a sprightly folk pop feel. Love the rumbly lead guitar break contrasting some Smiths-like rhythm guitar chord changes. “After All You Put Me Through” is similarly poppy with a low-key vocal. From there the album leans mostly toward pop punk on tracks like “Well, Whatever It Was,” “The Opossum,” “Well, Doesn’t It Seem Like You’ve Been Here Before,” and “Grey Guitar.” A stand out exception to the pattern here is the more power pop title-track “I Used To Go To This Bar.”

Looks like time’s up for this packet-of-three post but you can continue counting the clock down with each of them at their web locales.

Photo courtesy Carbon Arc Flikr collection.

Philly pit stop

01 Sunday Mar 2026

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During a recent-ish interview with Remember the Lightning members of Log Flume started name-dropping bands from their local Philadelphia music scene. Given how much I love their stuff it was a no-brainer I’d scoop up their suggestions for a special Philly pit stop. I mean, other than Hall and Oates I really have no sense of what has gone down music-wise in the brotherly love city. But that is about to change.

Fair Game’s 2025 EP Pony Boy is a rush of ringing guitars and slightly snarly pop attitude. Always with an uncurrent of electric melody. Opening cut “I’ve Been Alone This Weekend” captures all the excitement, with relentless rhythm guitar strumming and subtle hooks. “New Jersey” is pretty special too with its fuzzy guitar tones and pop punkish vocal veneer. I’ve written about Canadian Invasion before it became Presidential policy and there is an amazing back catalogue of material that will take you through their DIY beginnings right up to their more current polished pop. “Catch a Falling Knife” from 2023’s Your Favorite Lies EP is a master class of curio pop songwriting. Recent singles “Picture Frames” and “Joey” are also strong. But here I want to draw attention to the band’s brilliant deconstruction of Michael Penn’s “No Myth” from 2023’s Out of Body Experiences: Covers 2003-2023. Positively pedal steel-approved country. Listening to Mopar Stars’ 2024 EP Burning Question all the sonic elements seem to meld together. It sounds like it’s been run through a filter to give everything a great buzzy pop sheen. Title track “Burning Question” bristles with kinetic energy and an eminently hummable tune. Dipping into Pontiac Flare’s 2024 LP The Blueprint you’d be forgiven for finding 10 different albums going on. For instance, “Couldn’t Be Falling Faster” is pure adrenaline-fueled power pop, a sweet blast of great hooks. But elsewhere the album runs the gamut of sophisticated pop and rock styles. Rounding out our Philly tour Benny P offers a full collection of guitar pop stunners on his 2024 LP No Place. So hard to choose just one song to feature so I’ll settle for two, “Some Days” and “Aching Hearts.” These tracks combine a driving acoustic guitar rhythm section with harmony vocals and surprising melodic turns.

Surely we have stop by our Philadelphia power pop influencer just to remind us who we’re hanging with? Log Flume have always had unerring melodic chops, as is apparent from their early single “DB Cooper.” The vocals and guitar are so perfectly calibrated here, slightly edgy but solidly pop too.

Man Philly seems to have quite the melody-rich music scene. Quality power pop definitely lives there and you don’t even have to leave your town to enjoy it.

Photo ‘Sun sets on Philadelphia’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Singles for a weary world

16 Monday Feb 2026

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Sometimes I imagine a large radio tower blasting our choice singles around the planet. It’s definitely what the world needs now. A little bit of the carefree, some heart-fluttering excitement, perhaps even a hint of inspiration. Take some time out from world affairs and your personal troubles to check out this suite of specially curated should-be hits. You’ll be glad you did.

Let’s launch with something that conjures a bit of early Go Go’s but with a breathy male vocal. The Sylvia Platters give us this and more with “Tactical Lunchbox.” There’s even a B52s organ break. Jangle deficiency is a serious ailment, particularly in these dour winter months. Motorists have just the remedy with “Frogman.” Those luscious guitar tones are gonna make anybody feel better. The same critics who can’t say enough good things about bands like The Lemon Twigs pause when a new Uni Boys single comes on. As they should. These renaissance new wave popsters have done it again with “I Don’t Want to Dream Anymore.” Somebody pinch me, it must be 1979 again. Jeff Shelton’s Deadlights take us back to the 1980s with a faithful cover of House of Love on “Destroy the Heart.” Dig the drone. You can practically smell the smoke machine. Brisbane Australia’s Gift Horse get the jump on dad day with “Fathers.” The song has a muscular folk rock sensibility, like the Byrds with a Marshall stack.

Dallas, Texas combo The Pozers step on the 10ccc pedal for their contribution to the International Pop Overthrow compilation album #26. The vocal swoops compete with a relentless poppy keyboard driving things to a cheery place. Langhorne Slim has been hanging around the roots scene for years but his new album The Dreamin’ Kind is something else. I mean, it is rootsy but it is so much more too. Listen to the tight pop articulation of the should-be single “On Fire.” It has the soulful poppy chops of an Aaron Lee Tasjan. It’s dancey, it’s heartfelt, its AM radio playable. Kurt Baker has been offering up Elvis Costello-ish pop-slathered rock for a while.  “Undertow Afterglow” amps that influence even further than usual. The B-side cover of the McCartney/Costello composition “My Brave Face” is pretty special too. Detroit’s Mod Lang are building quite the buzz about the near imminent release of their debut long-player Borrowed Time. Early release single “TV Star” blasted some good time 1970s power pop vibes for sure but I’m digging the more Beatlesque “What I Can’t Have.” This is gonna be one hot album drop. silk daisys get the dream pop label but I’m hearing Darling Buds and Primitives. Sure, there’s shimmer all over their recordings but an essential guitar pop goodness emerges with clarity on “It’s a Laugh.”

Things rarely go sideways with Dazy for me. There’s something playful and seriously inventive about how their songs get put together. “Delusions of …” has a Sugar Ray vocal, some La’s guitars, and Beck production sensibility. Dutch outfit The Maureens revive a 1960s group vocals sound with folk and pop inflections and it’s all there again on their new single “Doing Fine.” And that means an album can’t be far behind. The organ opening Marc Valentine’s new single “NY UAP” is just so 1966 it hurts. In a good way. This is retro rock and roll that still sounds fresh today. Punk veterans Together Pangea are still turning it out. “Shattered” offers you grinding guitars and a shuffle beat that dance floors were made for. At first listen you might think Tom Emlyn’s “Starsick” has seen some poet press-ganged onto stage in front of a band playing a bit too fast. But as the song develops the words and music meld together in a frenetic kind of energy that is way cool.

I don’t really know where Växjö is. Somewhere in Sweden I take it. But given the latest single from that country’s School Book Depository I imagine there’s someone belting out their favourite song there. This band ace atmospheric pop singles and the current “Karaoke” is no exception. I love the lead guitar roll-out that launches Tad Overbaugh’s “Rearview.” It’s what pushes this ‘new country’ entry into something broader genre-wise. And that great guitar work continues throughout. Capitol city’s Vegas With Randolph get right back on the new album prep train floating an early effort with “Let’s Fool Around.” It’s a smooth pop rocking number in a manner similar to indie acts like Vanilla and the Zombies of the Stratosphere. And that’s good enough for me. Another Sloan album, another spate of rave reviews. That’s what the release of last year’s Based on a Best Seller produced. I loved it, not that band needed accolades from the likes of me. So I’ll just throw some light on the fab deep cut “Here We Go Again.” Nobody quite knocks it out of the park as reliably as these guys. Chicago’s The Rubs throw up something a bit different with their new song. “Starting All Over” sounds likes it has dropped right out of the 1970s pub rock scene. Only the wobbly guitar sound gives it a modern sheen.

It’s a wrap this time around with “Came Back Kicking” from The Pretty Flowers. This one has the oomph of something big. Like stadium singalong big. It’s the pre-release single from the band’s upcoming album Never Felt Bitter. Can’t wait to hear more.

Does the air seem lighter? I can’t tell I’m so riffed up on these radio-ready singles. And you don’t have to stop now. Click the links to keep the world away for just a little bit longer.

Photo “Union Station” courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

I think I hear a single

06 Friday Feb 2026

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Whenever my power pop tank is running low I head on over to Don Valentine’s I Don’t Hear a Single blog for a reliable re-up. I can’t be going there too often or I’ll just want to cover everything Don’s got up, though our tastes do diverge sometimes on the genres adjacent to melodic rock and roll. Even when we cover the same artist we often differ on the tracks to highlight. Don is also a music reviewing machine. I can’t believe the number of new releases he gets up on his site. He’s just finished his annual ‘best of the year’ countdown and in the spirit of blog cross-pollination I’ve needle-dropped all 100 entries and pulled out just 10 that caught my ear. Let’s see if we can hear a single from amongst these I Don’t Hear A Single approved releases.

The first song to jump out a me was the mid-summer release from Keys entitled “My Temporary Game.” It’s got a McCartney undercurrent and a very strong resemblance to the Pugwash sonic imprint. Then I caught an earful of Winterpills “Lean Into the Wind” with its wonderful dreamy lustre. Almost folk pop but the electric guitars stretch such genre labels. Florida’s Evening Standards oscillate between punkish abandon and folky sweetness on different tracks. “Wild Seahorses” falls somewhere in-between, more melodic rock and roll. Clock Radio have got a crashing, swinging style all over “Blood on Chrome” where the chorus really delivers. I didn’t even know Orange, Massachusetts was a place but apparently Creative Writing hail from there. Their sound is like they absconded with a bit Athens, Georgia and moved it to New York City. “Baby Did This” has got jangly guitars and spooky vocals with just a touch of Americana. Chicago’s Half Scratches is something else again. How many people sing about getting gout again? Not many. This band slips such references into “Houses” and it doesn’t take away from the tune’s over-weaning sense of fun. Future Clouds and Radar load up a big guitar sound on “Chicken Out,” one you can dial up and float away on. Slow Buildings work up a more spare atmosphere on “Cruel Girls Are Wrong” with a kind of Rank and File singalong feel and sharp lead guitar work. I love the intimate, spooky aura established by British Birds on “Silence Daedalus.” There’s something carnivalesque about the whole proceedings. And then it’s on to a big finish with the dramatic energy oozing from Them Elephants on “Right Way.” This one’s got a buzz so strong you can feel it vibrating. Definitely solid rock.

You won’t go wrong hanging with Don over at I Don’t Hear a Single, as his “100 Best Albums Of The Year 2025: The Cut Out And Keep Guide” makes infinitely clear. This post just amounts to a Poprock Record distilled highlight reel.

Photo courtesy Alex Eylar Flikr collection.