Tags
Absolutely, After Dark, All My Baby Brought Back Was the Blues, Baby Scream, Beach Bunny, Brian Jay Cline, Bubblegum Baby, Cloud 9, Dolph Chaney, Dreamboats 2, Ed Ryan, Everybody Wonders, First Hits Free, Foreign Films, Ghost, Hard to be Happy, Hey Susanne, Honeymoon, It's Ok, Just Covers, Kyle Vincent, Letterman, Ms. California, Music for Sale, Nicholas Altobelli, Ocean Moon, On My Way to Somewhere, Orbis Max, Pale Lips, Rebuidling Permits, Rozwell Kid, Secret Agent Man, Songs for a Generation of X's, Steven Wright-Mark, That Old Ghost Don't Lie, The Cry!, The Cry's, Tommy Ray, Tommy Sistak, Tuesday's Girl, Two Left Feet, Underground, Wake Up!, Warm Fuzzy Feeling, Whatever It Takes, Wonder
Thirteen original artists! Twenty featured songs! Springtime 2020 is witnessing an explosion of sounds, curated here specifically to ease your pandemic-induced isolation. It’s not K-Tel, but it’s the next best thing. And the best part? No groove-cramming or adverts for a bogus, non-working record selector. So get ready to add some hooks to your springtime playlists.
Since the early 1980s scribes have routinely dubbed Kyle Vincent’s 19 album body of work ‘soft pop’ but that changes with his new release Whatever It Takes. Well, sort of. There’s still a strong easy listening pop vibe to the album (he’s even written a song that name-checks Gilbert O’Sullivan, so that’s a strong clue) but with former members of the Raspberries for a backing band on some tracks, things rock up a bit in a 1970s soft focus, low wattage power pop way. It’s there on the breezy Shaun Cassidy-esque “Bubblegum Baby” as well as my choice for b-side, “Hard to be Happy,” with its low key ABBA notes. Another incredibly productive fellow is Brian Jay Cline, with 13 albums and 4 EPs out since 2001 by my count. His most recent EP is Songs for a Generation of X’s and it taps that vein of melodic Americana that Cline does so well. I’ve been hitting repeat on the addictive “Two Left Feet” with its great Springsteen harmonica and irresistible hooks. Heading over the Valencia, Spain Baby Scream has a new album of covers out entitled, predictably, Just Covers, and this time everybody’s fave DIY John Lennon definitely colours outside the lines. This is fun collection, with inspired reworkings of Cyndi Lauper, the Psychedelic Furs, 10cc, Culture Club and more! I’m singling out for a double A side the muted yet rollicking “Secret Agent Man” on one side with the tight pop-rocking Fastball track “Warm Fuzzy Feeling” on the other. Back in North America, if anyone doubts that Montreal is Canada’s undisputed cool city, slip Pale Lips 2020 LP After Dark on the turntable. Self-described ‘dripping mascara slopped rock and roll with sprinkles,’ the party vibe is evident from the opening chords of “Some Sort of Rock and Roll,” the album opener. Overall, the songs are variations on a 1950s-meets-1970s workout, except for “That Old Ghost Don’t Lie” which changes things up, slowing the tempo, and anchoring everything with a spooky lead guitar. B-side? Definitely the hilarious romp “All My Baby Brought Back Was the Blues” – such great lyrics!
Kyle Vincent – Bubblegum BabyKyle Vincent – Hard to be Happy
If anyone has written an anthem for our times, it’s Dolph Chaney. “It’s Ok” (from his recent Rebuilding Permit) was written before our current state of affairs but its message definitely resonates now. Well, frankly, it’s always a pretty relevant message. And Dolph loads it with a host of nice melodic twists and turns, shifting the song’s dynamics like a hooky mood swing. Also love the distinctive synth solo at the 1:50 mark! Bill Majoros describes his new Foreign Films record Ocean Moon ‘retro-futurism, musical technicolor and groovy beats’ and I’d have to agree. It’s certainly a departure from his previous 2018 set, The Record Collector, a sprawling, 3-album stylistically varied offering. Now Majoros turns to a somewhat familiar, pleasantly throwback sound circa early 1980s. I’m particularly enthused about the title track “Ocean Moon” with its breathy Elvis Costello-meets-Roy Oribison vocals and Travelling Wilburys rhythm guitar. Another new single echoing some classic EC to my ears is the latest from former Cry! Leader Tommy Ray. The new LP is First Hits Free and check out the catchy lead line and brash guitar driving “Hey Susanne.” The dance floor never looked so alluring. For a b-side to this single, I’d add “Tuesday’s Girl” with its mid-1980s British energy and familiar vocal snarl. Honourable mention: “Gone South” – love that organ opener! Chicago’s Beach Bunny are doing that contemporary dissonant pop sound with a bit of vocal grit in the mix all over their debut record, Honeymoon. Personally, I’m loving the deep cut single, “Cloud 9” with its hooky bass line and rocking-out swinging chorus. I could see “Ms. California” as the b-side with its almost FOW-style chorus and crunch rhythm guitar. On this record, feeling bad never felt so good.
Speaking of alienation, there are times when West Virginia’s Rozwell Kid sound like they’re channeling some serious Weezer love, like on “Letterman” from their new Dreamboats 2 album. But then they shift gears and up the pop quotient on the obvious single, “Absolutely.” You can’t pin these guys down, other than to find the fun in what they do. The LP is celebration of pop culture, with tunes celebrating David Letterman, Dr. Doom, a possible fourth sequel to Back to the Future, and even an Enya cover! Now if you need a driving insistent guitar/synth combo, have I got a song for you. Nicholas Altobelli picks up the pace from 2019’s more low key Vertigo LP with his new single, “Ghost.” This is the distinctive melodic rock and roll that drew me to Antobelli releases like the great EP The Day-Olds and single “Exit Polls.” B-side “Wonder” is also a winner, with its charming, light 1950s ambience. Now, for a bit of Merseybeat, look no further than Tommy Sistak. Music for Sale is the new record and “On My Way to Somewhere” manages to work in that familiar Liverpool 1964 sound without sounding derivative. Like visiting an old friend who still has a few surprises in store for you. Speaking of old friends, people waiting for a follow up to Ed Ryan’s super 2017 Furious Mind have something to tide them over given his recent collaboration with Orbis Max on “Everybody Wonders.” The song is a solid slice of poprock, featuring some cool organ solos and nice vocal interplay. The song bodes well for new album of Ed Ryan tunes!
Hey, let’s end on with a guaranteed ear worm. I know I name-drop Fountains of Wayne a lot but Steven Wright-Mark sounds like he’s channeling a lost deep cut from Welcome Interstate Managers with “Underground,” from his recent EP Wake Up! If I had a Poprock Record chart this one would definitely be zooming up it. The vocal delivery, the background instrumentation with that seductive Gotye feel, it all adds up to ‘hit single’ to me.
Whew! That was a lot of should-be hit-single ground to cover. But health crisis or no, the chords must play. Assemble your own bargain hits collection by clicking links above. Looking for vinyl? You can the physical platter for many of these artists at Kool Kat Music.
With sunshine and a hint of spring heat in the air, people are starting to think about summer. And just what is summer going to be like with face masks and gloves and social distancing? It’s going to look like a very polite zombie apocalypse, that’s what. Acerbic Toronto-based pop artist Rob Elliott colourfully captures our likely regimented future in the above graphic (check out his hilarious, biting 
Digging through my vinyl collection I came upon a 1974 Deram/London (Decca in the UK) Records release entitled Hard Up Heroes, a compilation focused mostly on lesser known tracks from British artists from the ‘beat’ era (roughly 1963 to 1967). It’s got some cool stuff on it but the real find was a track called “So Much in Love” recorded by The Mighty Avengers. What a tune! So subtle in its earwormy effects. Now imagine my surprise to discover it was a Jagger/Richards cast off from a period when they were trying to mimic the Beatles’ songwriting largesse by giving away their excess material to other artists. And what makes the story even more intriguing is just how many acts tried to make this a hit – unsuccessfully! Most of the versions came out in the mid-1960s period, with a few in the 1970s, one in the 1990s, and then one last version in 2018. And, of course, there may be other versions I’ve yet to find. I won’t feature them all here, just the ones that take the song in slightly different directions.
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!
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.
Poprock Record 