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For the Record: A Tribute to John Wicks, Futureman Records, Garden of Earthly Delights: An XTC Celebration, John Wicks, Kool Kat Records, Lame-O Records, The Records, Wild Honey Records, XTC
What’s not to like about compilation albums? They’re like a load of presents crammed onto one or two pieces of vinyl, or they’re akin to a kind of melody buffet tempting to you to gorge on each one. This post runs the gamut of definitive compendiums on a theme (XTC) to compilations based on style (sunshine psychpop) to diverse collections serving other purposes altogether (the Wild Honey and Lame-O collections). Let’s dig in!
Kicking things off is a rather titanic offering, a truly ambitious labour of love that I’m happy to report is a stunning success: Futureman Records’ Garden of Earthly Delights: An XTC Celebration. XTC were a strikingly intelligent, musically adventurous, should-be hit machine. In some universe music creators as talented as the duo mostly responsible for XTC’s multi-decade output would be lauded with accolades and bags of cash. In this universe, by contrast, the eccentric, highly listenable genius of Partridge and Moulding produced 14 brilliant albums but mostly indifference from the record buying public, other than a small army of dedicated fans. Luckily, if this fabulous tribute album is anything to go by, just about every fan must have gone on to form a band! The collection draws from every period of the band’s catalogue with an amazing 49 cuts. And the quality is very high indeed.
Some of the covers here seem like spot-on recreations of the originals (e.g. Jim Laspesa and Rob Bonfiglio’s “Dear Madam Barnum”). Others take the songs in new directions, cast them in a different register, speed them up or slow them down, etc. (e.g. King Radio’s “Mayor of Simpleton”). Really, there something here for every kind of fan, from the band’s art rock/punk origins to their psychedelic Dukes’ records to the perfect poprock of their later period offerings and even some album deep cuts. I can’t possibly comment on them all so I’ll just single a few tracks that caught my ear. I love how the Kickstand Band kicks off “Life Begins at the Hop” in such a familiar way, but then bends and reinvents the melody a bit with their distinctive harmony vocals. Coke Belda and El Inquieta Roque elevate “Standing in for Joe” into classic-sounding poprock tune. You can hear the XTC-isms in Danny Wilkerson’s version of “Where Did the Ordinary People Go” but he also manages to highlight the song’s hookiness. The acoustic guitars in Gentle Hen’s take on “No Thugs in our House” lighten the mood and nicely accent the song’s melody without removing the dread that suffuses the tune. Glowbox add a nice bit of urgency to a great selection from XTC’s magisterial 1986 album, Skylarking. For XTC fans, or for those just discovering the band, Garden of Earthly Delights offers a unbeatable treasure trove of yet to-be-discovered treats.
The back story to the fabulous Kool Kat Records release of For the Record: A Tribute to John Wicks is nothing short of tragic. The legendary frontman for new wave indie darlings The Records had amassed an album full of superior tunes and got them half finished before sadly dying of cancer in 2018. But the happy ending is how co-songwriter and music blogger Richard Rossi, producer Jamie Hoover, and a cast of power pop luminaries finished the record. The album sounds amazing! The songwriting is so strong and the performances are stellar. Of course, with help from people like Peter Case, Paul Collins, Don Dixon, Bill Berry, Al Stewart and so many others, it’s hardly surprising that For the Record is such an enjoyable listen. Personally, I’m stumped picking out just a few faves. Love the “1-800-Colonoscopy” (lead vocal from REM’s Bill Berry), “Repo Man” (featuring Jamie Hoover), and Wick’s own turn at lead vocal on “She’s All I Need.” However, if I had to single out one tune it would be Paul Collin’s amazing take on “Glittering Gold,” apparently recorded live yet still hit-single-worthy. Buy this record, it’s worth it!
Our present state of corona virus upheaval has brought out the latent benefit record proclivities of both artists and record labels. We’re featuring two interesting contributions from Wild Honey and Lame-O Records, respectively. The Wild Honey release, The Benefit of Things to Come, has a great cover, mimicking the classic look of the California pop scene of the late 1960s. The Lame-O collection has a great name, Don’t Stand So Close To Me: A Lame-O Compilation For Self-Isolation – so apropos! The latter is mostly a lofi indie and rock and roll set but with a few sterling melodic contributions from U.S. Highball and Mike Bell and the Movies. The former is a bit more in our pop rock wheelhouse, with killer cuts from The Rubinoos, The Peawees, Doug Tuttle, MojoMatt, Peretta, and others. Our last featured collection is more about vibing on a style, this time perhaps drawing from some early Style Council plus light 1960s pop psychedelia on the fadeawayradiate records release, F.A.R. Out: A Sunshine Psychpop Compilation. It’s an eminently listenable collection, but make sure to check out the tracks from Night Heron, Young Scum, the Catherines and the Suncharms.
Compilations often give us a bit of what we know and a lot of what we might otherwise not check out. As such, there’s a real sense of adventure about the whole enterprise. And sometimes, as with the cases above, they’re also for a good cause. So click on the links and book your adventure to start now.
Today’s single file is bulging with digital 45s just itching for an e-spin. There’s a bit blues and rock and roll and, of course, strummy poprock in the rotation.
So far, the end of world sounds more like “The Sounds of Silence” than the rumble and destruction of a Simpsons-esque apocalyptic crowd waving torches. But if this is the end of the world, what should our soundtrack sound like? Not the obvious choices, obviously (yes R.E.M., I mean you). At the very least the end of times should give struggling indie artists the spotlight for once.
Shamelessly exploit an emerging health crisis for some weak blog tie-in? Not our style friends. Think of this as a public service, designed to distract you from the impending end of the world as we know it. As someone once said, if we’re going to have to go, we might as well go out singing!
Melody central stands at the junction of pop and rock, with hooky guitar lines and heavenly background vocals to spare. It’s one stop shopping for your melody-coated rock and roll needs. Today’s melody-ers hit the beat with just the right balance between old time inspiration and a contemporary indie elan.
Bandcamp has this ‘if you liked’ feature that runs across the bottom of the page of any artist you might be checking out. I find so many great acts there! Like Chicago’s Batteries Not Included. Just looking at their website live show pics, these guys seem like the ultimate party band to me. Rockin’ together since 1980, sporadically releasing an LP and EP, BNI boast opening for a wide range of classic sixties bands (e.g. Spencer Davis, Lovin’ Spoonful) and more recent indie poprock outfits (e.g. The Smithereens) over the years. Still, while remaining active, they’ve never really broken out big. A quick spin through their latest long player, Hey Hey Hey, is proof their stick-to-it-ness is not misplaced. What fun, happy tunes! “Winning Ticket” shimmers with early Romantics hookyness. “Count on Me” is so early 1960s Buddy Holly meets Bobby Fuller. And then there’s tracks like “Fall for You,” “Bit by Bit,” and “I Knew” which vibe the fresh, crisp melodic rock and roll sound of the Paul Collins’ Beat. This is a no-risk purchase if you’re looking for a hooky no-nonsense poprock record.
Toronto-cum-Brooklyn’s Young Guv has a double album that practically lunges out of the speakers with its raucus, jangly opening cut, “Patterns Prevail,” vibing Teenage Fanclub on speed. Perhaps that’s not surprising as Young Guv’s main man is Ben Cook, sometime leader of punk bands Fucked Up and No Warning. Well, he has taken a turn down the melody mile on this latest release as things start out hooky and just don’t let up from there. “Roll with Me” sounds very uptempo Elliott Smith. Then “Every Flower You Meet” gets a solid Matthew Sweet groove on. “Luv Always” steps on the jangle pedal hard. And so on. Personally, I love the hooky lead guitar line anchoring “Exceptionally Ordinary” – very Primitives – and the Jayhawks aura lingering over “She’s a Fantasy.” The second half of the album turns down the amps and goes a bit pop-soul but remains divine. Guv I & II is available bundled together or sold separately. Is there anything Young Guv’s Ben Cook can’t do?
I can hear all sorts of classic influences on Travel Lanes’ new record ON: Tom Petty, the Replacements, a bit of Elvis Costello and, of course, the Beatles. Indeed, you can hear all those elements permeate the kick off track, “True and Tried.” Then things turn in a slightly different direction with the country, pub rock feel of “Answer My Prayers” and the dynamite pedal steel on “It’s Time.” It’s funny, while Frank Brown writes and sings the songs, there is a strong ‘band’ sound to this record. Songs like “Routine,” “Big Heart,” and “Lover’s Lane” are played with the ease and comfort of a Rockpile-esque sense of boozy togetherness. This is group that really knows how to play and they play together so well. ON is an album listener’s treasure: you’re gonna listen to it again and again.
The Overtures bill themselves as the ‘UK’s finest 60’s tribute act’ and the fact they’ve been hired by the likes Paul McCartney and Elton John kinda backs up their bona fides. But with their new album Once in a World they cast aside the ‘merely a cover band’ label to offer up a raft of original tunes – and the result is brilliant, and not just in the jangle sense of that term (though, yes, it is that too). Frankly, with this band’s back story and image, I was worried that taking a crack at more original material might just produce something that was too derivative. And, hey, the British invasion and Beatles influences are all over this record, for sure. But this album is a winner, chock full of simply great tunes performed by a band with killer chops. Exhibit A: album opener “Till Your Luck Runs Out” has guitar sounds that are very Searchers but in their comeback 1980 new wave guise. Then the obvious should-be hit single arrives with “Once in a World” and it’s a timeless slice of poprock. Seriously, it could 1980s Squeeze (if they’d picked up an electric 12 string!) or it could be any number of great melodic rock tracks released just this last year. Other songs harken back to the 1960s and 1970s: “The Hollow Bells” sounds very Hollies-Bryds-Turtles, “She Belongs to Yesterday” has a lovely, hooky British invasion lead guitar line, “Red Dolls House” could be a great lost Elvis Costello tune, “Find Out What You Mean to Me” is a Cavern-era Beatles workout – I could go on. Really, there are so many highlights on this album, you’re going to want the whole thing. My personal fave is “She Shines a Light” with its seductive lilting hooks. You can pick up a physical copy of the album from the good people at 
Today’s mailbag is brought to you by the letter S. I swear this happened totally by accident! Somehow everyone waiting in the queue had an S name.
Starting in the global south, Argentina’s Super Ratones (translation: Super Mice) are veterans of that country’s rock and roll scene, forming in 1985 and releasing eight albums over their decades-long career, even surviving the loss of founding member and lead singer José Luis Properzi to cancer in 2015. Yet their 2019 release, Carreras de Aviones (translation: Airplane Racing) sees the band back in top form with strong collection poppy rock and roll numbers. Title track “Carreras de Aviones” has all the key elements: a rollicking rhythm salted with strong melodic hooks. That vocal harmonies would be strongly in evidence is not that surprising for a band initially compared to the Beach Boys on their first few recordings and you hear it here on tracks like “Me Gusta La Lluvia” and “Si No Tuvieras Miedo.” On the whole, the album is a great addition to their catalogue. And, by the way, you wouldn’t go wrong dipping into any of the previous seven releases either.
Ok, back to our regular programming … A former member of pop punk pioneers 
Poor Myrtle. She’s only got Muzak® to keep her company through the long shift at work. If only she had access to this great new list of must-have LPs from 2019, helpfully assembled by Poprock Record, she might actually close that Henderson account and get off early. The lesson? You can take an oldies fixation too far. You don’t have to live in the past to love that retro sound. This year’s best-of round up of LPs from 2019 is definitive proof that everything old can be new again!
I really like the variety covered in this list. There’s everything from jangle (4, 11, 15, 25) and country (12) and Dylanesque stylings (21), to keyboard contemporary (8) and acerbic social commentary (10, 23) and straight-up Beatlesque poprock (17, 19). And there’s a lot of sweetness, like Mondello’s impressive 20 year labour of love (18). My number one album, Bombadil’s Beautiful Country, embodies this commitment to diversity. It’s got an overall indie-folk vibe but the songwriting and playing are so sophisticated that somehow the label fails to capture all of what’s going on. Believe me, it’s a 37 minute journey through a myriad of lyrical and musical delights. Close behind at #2 Matthew Milia’s Alone at St. Hugo represents an amazing synthesis of melodic rock influences, from the Beatles (obviously) to the more mellow Fountains of Wayne moments. It’s an tone setter – put it on and drift away! At #3 was #1. Confused? #1 was the name of the debut album from the power pop veterans behind The Brothers Steve and it did not disappoint. The record is like a veritable hit machine. I can only imagine that this was what it was like to get your hands on a new Beatles record in the 1960s: immediately engaging, inventive yet relatable, and with nary a bum track. And I could go on about every entry on this list … but instead just click on the links to go my original posts about the bands and you can judge them for yourself.
2019 had plenty of jangle, hooks, harmonies and melody to spare. From an initial list of over 200 songs I’ve managed to whittle my should-be hit single list to just 50 chart toppers for this year. Man, it was hard. Because I only post music I like this whole exercise is a bit like choosing your favourite child. Well, IMHO, the 50 songs featured here all have a strong earwormy quality to them. But let me know if you agree or disagree! Hit the links below to find each artist as featured in my original blog post this past year.
My vision for 2020 would be for a bit more truth, beauty and justice to come to light. It’s getting harder and harder for working class people to make ends meet, all the while a circus of obscene over-consumption by the 1% of the 1% is shoved down our throats culturally. So why don’t ‘the people’ revolt? Well, there are lots of reasons …
2019 has been a generous year for poprock. So many great songs! And yet here are a few more that I somehow didn’t manage to squeeze in before now.
Poprock Record 