Category Archives: Poprock Themepark

Not workers playtime

01 Wednesday May 2024

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Workers Playtime was a BBC radio show that ran for two decades after WWII, broadcasting live music and comedy from shop floors across the UK. As culture should do, it held a mirror up to what the great mass of people do day in, day out, as if that mattered. On today’s May Day we revive that spirit with a collection of songs that also focus on work, working, and workers.

I’ve never heard anyone capture the essential problem of work in a song quite like Birmingham, Alabama’s Lolas. Running just shy of two minutes, “Work is the Blackmail of Survival” beats its jangle fueled fist against the tyranny of modern employment. Not that Lolas leader Tim Boykin could be accused of sloth, given how he regularly churns out great tunes. His real concern is about how work for pay tends to stunt out lives, alienating us from ourselves and others. Boston’s Air Traffic Controller are not clear on what kind of employment they’re writing about on “The Work” but it doesn’t sound like a walk in the park. But like Lolas they still sound chipper about it, musically at least. Cotton Mather main man Harold Whit Williams has another project that is right up our themed alley. Writing and performing under the moniker Daily Worker he has a whole album entitled May Day. On “Write If You Get Work” he offers a folk pop rumination on the struggle to get work in seemingly never-ending tough times. In a related vein Canadian power pop juggernaut Sloan weigh up the pros and cons of any given work opportunity on “Nice Work If You Can Get It” with a few Beatlesque guitar hooks just to sweeten the deal.

Our next group of songs are about working. On his website Paul McCartney writes about “On My Way to Work” from his 2013 album New. Ever the wistful one, Macca does capture the mood of his pre-Beatles working class self going to work, mind on other things. On their last album in 2011’s Sky Full of Holes Fountains of Wayne tucked in one of their usual stellar daily-life song sketches with “Workingman’s Hands.” With a quiet respect, the song’s lyrics honour the impact of work on those who do it. Jack Green’s 1980 album Humanesque has a unique blend of guitar and vocals that is so of the era. It also includes the rhythm guitar chord fabulous tribute to working class gals on “Factory Girls.” The light synth touches are just a bonus. Reaching back to 1973, the struggles of working class couples with conflicting shifts gets an airing on the Liverpool Echo’s “Sally Works Nights.” Though I doubt the protagonist’s solution here really met with Sally’s approval.

Paul McCartney – On My Way to Work
Jack Green – Factory Girl
Liverpool Echo – Sally Works Nights

Shifting gears, work is the focus of a lot anguish in terms of how it limits what people can do with their lives. Philadelphia’s 2nd Grade neatly sum the essential problem on “Work Till I Die” where the singer works and works to gain ‘free time.’ Similarly Richard Turgeon bemoans the days lost to “Workin’ for the Man.” As he notes lyrically “There’s a moral to this story but it might not have a happy ending.” The Primitives left space on their fabulous 2014 comeback album Spin-O-Rama for a soliloquy about how hard labour sucks on the delightful “Working Isn’t Working.” And they throw in some pretty special glam buzz guitar too. Then there’s Cupid’s Carnival giving their best Beatles treatment of their own “Working All Day.” It almost makes suffering the work day worthwhile.

Cupid’s Carnival – Working All Day

This May Day as much as any we have to ask why the great mass of working people put up with their situation, given that they represent the overwhelming majority of humanity. Chris Corney suggests it might have to do with a particular mindset. On “Do Not Adjust Your Mind” he addresses how people let things go rather than interrupt the flow. Robert Ellis Orrall puts the blame on a broader set of ‘doing stupid man things’ that dominate so much behaviour. What people need, according to angry troubadour Ike Reilly, is to abandon a fake past and embrace of real future and “Fuck the Good Old Days.” Amen.

Chris Corney – Do Not Adjust Your Mind
Ike Reilly – Fuck the Good Old Days

This moment in history is no workers’ playtime. While AI fiddles our future as workers burns, unless we collectively decide otherwise.

Parked with the radio on

28 Sunday Apr 2024

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Nowhere to go, nothing to do – parking with the radio on was pretty much a regular teenage thing to do back in my day. You might even punch the pre-set radio station buttons and catch the same song playing on different stations! But there are no repeats here. Just 21 singles itching to make your car-time playlist.

We kick things off with David Brookings touching love letter to his wife on “Shelby.” A nice midtempo pop tune giving voice to those age-old sentiments of couple love and companionship. The track is featured on an EP of the same name amidst a few song sketches about cancel culture, football names and a lullaby. Next we crank the pop meter with The Cynz on “Crow Haired Boys.” The song comes on strong with blasting opening chords and drums only to lull us with solid melodic interludes. Erin Din is something else, sounding more like those 1970s English folk rockers Roy Harper or contemporaries like Ed Ryan. “On Top of the World” ambles along with a rhythmic hypnotic quality. From Hanover, Germany comes a stripped down affair under the moniker A Boy Named Song. “You Got the Beat” carefully measures out its sonic interventions – guitar part here, vocal line there – until it all comes together in the chorus. A bit Stonesy, Tom Petty, or even The Replacements. The Midnight Callers are signalling they are coming back power pop strong with their new single “The Eraser.” Fans are comparing it to the Raspberries or The Flashcubes and I’d concur. Worthy b-side award for the band’s energetic cover of The Who’s “Substitute.”

Minneapolis music scene veterans Electric Beauty fill the time between albums with a choice cover of Peter and Gordon’s 1964 hit “I Go To Pieces.” It’s hard to miss the mark with such a great song and the boys do not disappoint. Another band filling time between major releases is Taking Meds. Their new 3-song EP Ext Meds includes an amazing re-interpretation of My Bloody Valentine’s “Drive It All Over Me.” Talk about re-inventing someone else’s tune – TM add more melodic depth to the song while featuring some really special tone on the guitars. You might think that half a band would lose something but The Half Cubes, literally half the membership of power pop stalwarts The Flashcubes, manage to tap into a whole different well of melodic rock goodness. Their new single is a cover of The Rubinoos “The Girls” and features help from original Rubinoos members John Rubin and Tommy Dunbar. The results are dynamically ear-worm good. The Jellybricks are also working on a new album and drip-releasing singles to keep fans on the hook. “All About You” bodes well for what is coming, with a magnetic melodic pull to the tune. Toronto band Mad Ones work a classic descending chord progression with mesmerizing intensity on “Stranger Stranger.” More of the good same can be found on their new album What It Takes.

Electric Beauty – I Go To Pieces

Henry Chadwick works up his most pop psychedelic Beatles vibe on “I Hate the Sound,” a single from his new EP Leaving. It has a spare, spacey other-worldly quality like a kind of melodic meditation. For something a bit more driving and droney Quadruple A offer “Easy Rolling,” though get ready for a melody break-out in the chorus. This is Pennsylvania poppy rock at its finest. Now that southern California quintet The Armoires have finally produced a theme song you can just tuck this in front of the rest of their back catalogue. “We Absolutely Mean It” is a manifesto of musical intent, where making music is about having fun and bringing people together. The sunshine meets psychedelic pop backing is the perfect staging for this sentiment. Steve Conte has got a musical resume that goes on and on, working with artists as disparate as Prince, Peter Wolf and the New York Dolls. On this new LP Concrete Jangle his puts his own unique stamp on things, conjuring 1980s-style popping rock tunes like “Girl With No Name.” By contrast Dave Cope and the Sass reach further back, to a more fertile jangle scene we associate with the mid-1960s. “Precious Heart” lashes out from the start and grips you in its inescapable jangly melodic embrace. And there’s more of the same all through his fabulous new long-player Hidden From the World.

There’s something special about the distinctive sonic atmosphere Sad About Girls manage to create on all their releases. “She’s Not Here” from their new EP of the same name is no exception. Their vibe is slightly dissonant but always with a solid melodic punch in the chorus. And the EP contains a fabulous cover of Split Enz’s “History Never Repeats.” What’s a mere 18 years between records? Glasgow band Martial Arts just pick up where they left off, offering up more of their carefully crafted chamber poprock. New single “No Victory” has the pop drama chops of all those early 1960s and 1970s disaster songs. It’s enjoyable stress free crisis in a 4 minute song. Don’t know much about Brooklyn trio Wifey except that their debut single “Mary Ann Leaves the Band” is an unstoppable hook-filled aural assault, in the very best kind of way. Word is that an EP is coming entitled Just a Tease. Everything about LA band The Reflectors says its 1979 again. It’s the album covers, the outfits, and – of course – the songs themselves. Their new record Going Out of Fashion is one long love letter the late 1970s guitar band revival. But the standout track for me is “Supernova,” with its sly hooky twist in an otherwise understated chorus. Before you know it, it’s got you in its earwormy grip. I’d add “Time Is All I Have” as a worthy b-side. Words like ‘haunting’ accompany the work of Alabama’s Secret Sisters. Riding a fine line between Americana and country, their new release is Mind, Man, Medicine. There’s a lot to like here but right now I’m hooked on “Paperweight” with its Patsy Cline meets Neko Case rockabilly flair.

The work of Michael Goodman as Goodman is an enigma, unclassifiable in terms of genre. But whatever it is, I find myself drawn to whatever he puts out. His new single “Only Testimony” is grand and sweeping, except when its subtle and alluring. The guitars, piano and synth are crisply arranged to overlap and meld while the mix of vocals and harmonies are captivating. From a promised new album in the works.

There’s no danger of being hit with a parking violation for stopping here. You can idle away the time with these radio-friendly songs in park or drive.

Photo ‘Found Kodachrome Slide’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Jangle Thursday: West Coast Music Club, Your Academy, The Boolevards, and Ducks Ltd.

25 Thursday Apr 2024

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Good thing jangle isn’t a limited resource. In fact, you could say it can be renewed every time someone picks up a guitar and chooses the appropriate effects-pedal/amp. To that end, today’s bands dial up the reverb to re-up our supply.

On Out of Reach northwest English band West Coast Music Club continue to develop their sonic palette. Things start out strongly jangle with “Sick and Tired,” a cutting political statement that musically conjures echoes of The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright” and The Byrds doing “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Then “Out of Reach” combines transcendent harmony vocals with arpeggiated guitar work in a style that is so REM. Songs like “The Only One” change things up, striking a more Jake Bugg kind of sombre intensity. The album also collects together various singles from the past year, like the ethereal “There She Goes Again” and the jaunty Lou Reed-ish “Nobody Likes You.”  The album turns more folk near the end with both “Home” and “Turning in Circles” opting for a more acoustic guitar staging.

Calling their new album #2 Record is one way Memphis power pop outfit Your Academy can signal they’re reviving a key local indie brand. And in so many ways this record does mark a strong resurrection of Big Star’s distinctive jangle vibe. “My Near Catastrophe” is a case in point it so resembles the original act in sound, tempo and hooks. But Your Academy are more than just Alex Chilton’s children. “Marilu” sounds like so many great contemporary bands working the harmony vocals/melodic rock and roll scene these days, like say The Maureens. At other points the Big Star style gets subtly modified, as when “Just a Little Out of Tune” appears to add a dose of Wings, or just harkens further back in time, as on the more Byrdsian “Wasting Time.” Personally, I hear more than little Moody Blues on this record, whether we’re talking the spot-on Justin Hayward vocal of “Miss Amphetamine,” the more power pop version of the Moodies on “(Not) Forever After All,” or that band’s over-the-top pastorally poetic inclinations on “B 612,” a tribute to the book The Little Prince. Other departures include the ambling Americana of “Greta” that features some snappy electric piano and distinctive harmony vocals. Then again, tracks like “When We Dream” just deliver the goods – relentless jangle.

Chicago’s The Boolevards have a sound that shifts between 1965 and 1978 on their new LP Real Pop Radio. Tracks like “On the Run” have that jaunty mid-sixties energy, still innocent of the heavier themes that would come later. “Last Night” even cheekily nicks the signature harmonica riff from “Love Me Do.” Then “If I Gave My Heart To You” and “Bittersweet” offer serious jangle from the Merseybeat playbook. But the other audio landscape marked out here is that poppy light rock that resurfaced in the mid-1970s as a precursor to various waves of indie to come. Here “It’s OK,” “Dance All Night,” and “Just Another Lousy Day” all have a compressed 1970s pre-New Wave sound. I really like how both “One More Chance” and “Out of Breath” use distinctive guitar tones to elevate the proceedings. “Get Out Tonight” even rocks things up a bit. With 16 tracks Real Pop Radio tirelessly barrels along song after song exuding positive poppy sentiments.

From the opening strums of “Hollowed Out,” the kick off track to the new Ducks Ltd. album Harm’s Way, you know you’ve dialed into something special. By the chorus you’ll be ready to get your fist-waving, pogo-dancing party shoes on. This is jangle pop with extra degree of intensity. Both “Cathedral City” and “The Main Thing” spit out lightening lead-guitar hooks with relentless precision. “Train Full of Gasoline” is a more even ride, though no less steely on impact. People compare this band to REM but I hear more of The Silencers or Grapes of Wrath, particular on cuts like “Deleted Scenes” and “Harm’s Way.” You’ll want to get out to see these boys live if they come to your town just so you can dance to the unstoppable beat of “On Our Way to the Rave.” The record does hit the brakes with its closing track “Heavy Bag,” giving acoustic guitar and mournful strings a look in. Harm’s Way is 28 minutes of quality jangle like no other, a 2024 must buy LP.

Jangle is both a tone and vibration and these bands have locked in on to both. Fill out your collection with the hyperlinked LPs above.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

The pre-Fabs faux: Pickle Darling, The Rebutles, Escape Artists, and The Robinsons

01 Monday Apr 2024

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Knowing you have a problem is the first step to really enjoying it. Like Beatlemania. I’ve got it bad and that means I can’t help serving up any Fabs-adjacent musical act I run across. Today’s acts are afflicted too. Such sweet suffering …

Let’s kick things off with a straight-up cover album. Or is it? From Christchurch New Zealand Pickle Darling amble through five mid-period Beatles tunes on Oh Golly Gosh, It’s the Beatles, accent on ambling. These are very acoustic-guitar pleasant renderings of famous selections, slowed down and coloured in with original instrumentation. I mean, I never really realized how much “Hello Goodbye” needed a melodica accompaniment until now. Or check out the transformation of “We Can Work It Out” which now comes off like some Donovan hippy-era folk tune.

The year’s going-meta award has to go to Nick Frater for imagining a convincing album/song arc for everybody’s fave imaginary band, The Rutles. His first foray into this territory was spent imagining what a solo career might have sounded like from each of The Rutles’ four members. Now he goes backward to provide a ‘blue’ album of could-have-been hits on The Rebutles 1967​-​1970. The songs are all original works but they don’t hide their inspiration. I’m not going to spoil the fun of ‘spot the Beatles original’ but take “One Lump or Two” as an illustrative example. The pumping piano is clearly vibing “Lady Madonna” while the melody goes elsewhere.

Rounding things out on our faux pre-Fabs contributions are two tunes that name drop Beatle-isms shamelessly. And oh-so effectively I might add. Escape Artists hardly dent the internet. Who are they?  Maybe we’ll never know. At least we’ve got a great song with “Beatles For Sale.” The tune has an Alan Parson Project soft rock melodic charm while endlessly dropping Beatles song references. The concept should amount to an unlistenable hot mess but it works somehow. Meanwhile on “She Likes the Beatles (Party)” Radiant Radish Records house band The Robinsons bemoan how a punk rock girlfriend just keeps stealing song ideas from the singer’s Beatles, Beach Boys and Weezer tapes. Performed in a spot-on Beach Boys’ Party fake live style.

Escape Artists – Beatles For Sale

Image of the American Beetles courtesy Bill Ande. You can read more about this actual pre-fabbed fake Beatles that toured Latin America in 1964 here.

Marching into melody: Brent Seavers, Hanemoon, Wesley Fuller, and Svenssen

22 Friday Mar 2024

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Melodies don’t just happen, they require a setting, an introduction, a prelude before they are unleashed on the unsuspecting listener. Today we march into solid melody territory with four acts that know how to throw out a hook.

Brent Seavers enters Exhibit B into evidence of his poprock genius. And with songs like these, selecting a jury for this case won’t be a problem. Things kick off with two tracks that marry Beatlesque specs with a youthful performance worthy of The Strypes. Check the break-out lead guitar work on “Rollercoaster Ride” that vibes an “I Saw Her Standing There” intensity. Or note the nice jangle interlude and very Beatles bridge centring “Of Poetry.” Early Elvis Costello fans are going to love the cool organ work all over this record.  “Push Me Down” works the organ hard for a serious dance party tune. “The Noble Cause” reminds me of Mark Everitt the way the words seems to chase the tune all over the song, buffeted by a subtle bed of cool organ. “Stumbling” has a jamming strut, again supported by more great organ work. A keen ear can hear a load of other disparate poprock influences on this album, like Squeeze (“The Universe and I”), Plimsouls (“No Perfect Way”), Oasis (“Fuzz Off”), and yes The Decibels (“Raining In My Head”). Stand-out tracks for me include the lush 1960s ballad “Lullaby” and the should-be single “Till It’s Over.” The latter rides a lurching set of seductive hooks that will pull you in like a planetary gravity well. Exhibit B is all the evidence you really need that Seavers is guilty of turning out criminally hooky tunes. And he’ll probably do it again.

On Rain or Shine Berlin’s Hanemoon strike a balance between elements of jangle, rough edge folk, and indie rock. It’s a record all about sonic shading, where sounds become like different hues of colour. From the outset “My Circle Line” links the album’s lineage to bands like Teenage Fanclub, Dropkick, and more distantly the Byrds. “Why Don’t You Walk Away” has sibilant guitars up front, though the overall effect is more sombre than your typical guitar band. “When I Look Around” verges on poppy rock with a breathy Elliot Smith vocal. And are those jazz guitar chords I hear shading “Deeper Than Down”? Honestly the mood on Rain or Shine is more wet than dry. One imagines songs like “Old From New” soundtracking endlessly dreary rainy days, helping make things more bearable. But there are lighter moments too. “Let’s Do the Magic Thing Again” has a brighter tone, accented by gently rippling lead guitar, while “Got a Date Tomorrow” has a driving hypnotic quality. I love the subtle keyboard adds to the REM-ish, seasonal love-letter “Is It Summer.” Then record closer “Comets” comes on like a late-breaking should-be single. Sometimes a record captures or creates a mood, like David Sylvian’s Brilliant Trees. This is one of those LPs.

The opening cut of Wesley Fuller’s bold new long-player All Fuller, No Filler knows how to build tension. “Back to Square One” doles out keyboard lines like an outtake from Who’s Next, only to suddenly segue to a slow glam march into its main melody. It’s Fuller’s mastery of many different genres and eras of popular music that is so striking on this LP. There’s 1970s folk pop on “Jacaranda,” a definite Wings vibe to “Everything is Strange” and “All of My Dreams,” and even bit of disco kick on “The Velvet Affair.” But there’s never just one influence. The latter track synthesizes so many 1970s sonic elements: slick AM pop, dance, and a killer hook lodged deep in the chorus. Or listen to how Fuller expertly steers a straight-up AM pop feel into the emerging 1979 new wave challenge on cuts like “Alamein Line” and “Inside and Out.” On the broader song line-up, the record see Fuller alternate between perfectly crafted pop gems like “Pacific Coast Highway” and his penchant for hooky, dance-able stompers like “Trade War” and “House of Love.” I love how he borrows that Beach Boys echo-chambered organ to set the mood for a 10cc/Beatles pop workout on “Look No Further.” You get the picture – All Fuller, No Filler is a very special album, a testament to an emerging pop master.

Norwegian band Svenssen hail from the small seaside town of Bryne, about an 8 hour drive from the nation’s capital Oslo. But there’s nothing provincial about their brand of melodic rock and roll. On Svenssen Sings Falling Out of Fashion the band deliver four finely crafted pop tunes that harken back to Kinksian themes of societal disruption but the sonic vibe is more early 1980s to my ears. The opening cut and title track “Falling Out of Fashion” has a Madness/Split Enz pop intensity that exudes maximum fun. “Dutch Courage” slows the tempo, brightening the jangle somewhat. “We Are Animals” has a shuffle groove that is a bit more seventies. Then on the wrap-up song “Hair of the Dog” the atmosphere is more Man Called E to me. And then we’re done, all too soon. Come back Svenssen, bring more songs!

You can take these melodies to go. Just click on the links to package them up.

Photo of ‘Found Kodachrome Slide – Plant City’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Songs for weary travellers

14 Thursday Mar 2024

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Nothing fixes the mind on travel quite like winter. Particularly those last lingering months where you can feel the season ebb but not quite subside. But getting somewhere ‘not winter’ is an effort for those of us north of 40 degrees latitude. That’s why we’ve assembled some musical accompaniment for soon-to-be weary travellers.

Ottawa’s The Rockyts have evolved from an amazing 60s sound-alike beat group on their 2020 debut album to a sleek 1980s new wave machine with singles that have come out over the past year. “Without You” creeps into view with a Cars-like muted electric guitar and vocals, only to break out in the chorus with full band impact. Crowded House may not climb the singles charts like they did in their 1980s heyday but that doesn’t mean they can’t still craft a killer tune. Their new single “Oh Hi” has all the classic Neil Finn song markers. There’s lilting slow-build hooks around every corner and Finn’s ear for unusual instrumentation remains undiminished. Hard to find out much about Escape Artists except a Go Fund Me page from a Tennessee duo suggesting an album is on the way. So far I’ve found three singles – basically, a maxi-single. From those choices I think “Around the Block” is a delightful bit of Tom Petty name-checking poprock. ‘What would Tom Petty do?’ they ask with a driving sense of Petty-ish aplomb and his special mix of guitars and organ. The mysterious band 65MPH hail from Chatteris UK, a small market town near Cambridge. I can’t imagine that’s the speed limit there. Sonically, the band sound like they’ve been stamped from a Paul Weller-meets-Billy Bragg mould, and that’s no bad thing. Their recent single “Small Miracles” casts a plaintive vocal against a mostly solo guitar backdrop to good effect. I love the striking effect Spencer Segelov and Great Paintings get on “The Contender.” The lead guitar line carries the tune but the overlapping vocals gives the tune lift, with a choir-like transcendence. Very 1980s American college radio.

Crowded House – Oh Hi
Escape Artists – Around the Block

Ottawa’s (as in Canada folks) Robby Miller rides a fine line between good old boy rock and roller and smooth poppy rock. His recent single “Everything Is Nothing” combines a bit of both, with up front jangly guitars and a low key vocal carrying the melody. Reminds me a bit of some of the mellow hits from The Fixx. Last year mellow popsters The Kind Hills made my top 25 singles list with their uplifting song “Let Youth Take Over.” Now they’re back in a new guise as Seasonal Falls. Still mellow, but drawing from a different sonic palate this time out. The hush vocals and standout guitar tone on “Used To Be Fun” are both exquisite while the tune is amble-along-in-the-sunshine good. The Shop Window manage to combine 1980s indie guitar pop with a folkie vibe on “I Run.” The vocals hit me as a little bit Outfield while the guitar has a shimmer and ring reminiscent of The Silencers. Legendary Canadian band The Kings are primarily known for an FM radio staple (“Switching to Glide/This Beat Goes On”) that has been in near constant rotation since its release in 1980. And then, not much. They did have other great material but just couldn’t match that early success. Now if you’ve missing that signature Kings sound there’s good news – the band have a brand new album out called Longest Story Ever Told. It is uncanny how much it sounds like no time has passed at all. Check out “Always Off the Deep End” and see for yourself. Faraways are a completion story. Active in the 1990s they split early in the new millennium. But as Covid swept the planet all that down-time had former band members drifting back to their unfinished songs. The result is the aptly named EP Decades of Dormancy. The standout track for me is the psychedelic “Ruby Ring of Love” with its Sgt. Pepper droney vocals, sitars, and killer organ fills.

Faraways – Ruby Ring of Love

Since his standout solo debut album Class Act Mike Browning has been drip releasing engaging new singles. “Just One Day” has a western Texas Buddy Holly groove. This song sounds so freshly pressed out of a 1961 rockabilly scene or Everly’s Cadence records release. More Texas can be found on Get Set Go’s fabulous LP Outworlder, particularly on the intoxicating single “Your Boy.” The song seems so early 1960s simple and endearing but an increasing sophistication emerges and intensifies as it plays on. Drunk Dial Records promise to get their artists loaded and then have them record an original tune and a cover. Gentleman Jesse’s original “Where Time Stands Still” has a wildness about it, maybe one drink over the line, but still maintaining its energetic focus. Another act drip releasing a load of interesting songs is Scoopski. “Nocturnally Yours” brings together heavy dollops of nerd rock a la Weezer and straight up FM radio rock bombast. And the results are a freakin’ fun, hummable good time. Slaughter Beach, Dog put out a fab new record last September entitled Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling but didn’t have room for one last song. “I’m In Love” is a country-ish soft rock Valentines tune of a different order. Catchy and disturbing at the same time.

Feel the insurgent drive of Softjaw’s recent single “Pleased With Me.” It’s got 1970s group singalong vocals, Keith Richard guitar licks, and strong party vibe. There’s a looseness that is so tightly performed here. By contrast, Kevin Nichols keeps striking a discordant tone throughout “Looking at the Ocean” butting up against melodic hooks that just won’t quit. One part grunge, another part Swervedriver. Sixties holdovers Tall Poppy Syndrome get 2024 started with a song that draws from multiple decades on “This Time Tomorrow.” There’s a touch of psychedelia of course but also mannered Moody Blues vocals, pumping organ shots, and insistently strong hooks throughout. Of a particular time but also seemingly timeless. The Stanford Family Band are a wonderful throwback to that early 1970s dreamy pop on “Love Me a Bit.” It was an era where piano moved up into the spotlight on AM radio singles and Beach Boys stopped having hits but influenced everybody and everything on the charts. This group have got a heavenly arsenal of background vocals riding a solid bed of piano chords. Luke of Ulysses carry on our Cars revival tour on their single “Car Trouble.” Though I also hear Nick Gilder coming through their clipped vocal style. And then there’s guitar god moment in the middle. This is a great synthesis of styles.

Tall Poppy Syndrome – This Time Tomorrow

Wrapping up our 21 song support playlist for weary travellers is something I can’t quite put my finger on. Described as a mysterious Norwegian duo, Ivar and Tommy Go To Hollywood certainly get top marks for an inventive name. But what they represent musically on “Bore Me to the Moon” is less clear. Things start off very English guitar band or Front Bottoms but listen to what comes up in the background. The band put together a veritable tapestry of vocal interplay that buffets the indie rock guitar drone and deadpan vocal that is fronting the tune. I don’t know what it is but I like it.

You can get on the bus Gus and needle-drop your way through this audio travelogue. I don’t know where you’re going but I think you’ll enjoy getting there more with miles of melody to choose from.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr page.

Smarty-pants poprock: Day Dreems, Lord Esme, and Pale Lights

09 Saturday Mar 2024

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Rock and roll was more loins than literary at the start. Beat over beatnik. Then Bob Dylan came along and made smart cool. The Beatles took notice and let loose a barrage of working class smarts, particularly from Rubber Soul on. Since then popular music has thrown up a whole raft of smarty-pants popsters then and again. Today’s post features a trio of brainy melodians, ready to wow you with music and words.

Day Dreems is here to denaturalize your world. Musically and lyrically that is. San Francisco and Portland music veteran Day Ricardo pulls together a brilliant rumination on gender, bodies, oppressive nostalgia, intolerance, ADHD, and more on this self-titled debut album. Musically the LP falls somewhere in between the exquisite melodies of Squeeze and Crowded House. “F Natural” creeps into being like a cut from that Difford and Tilbrook solo record, wending its way toward a big reveal that ‘natural’ isn’t always right or good. As Ricardo sings, “Silly humans sometimes get things right, like music and electric light.” The vocals on this album are so eerily Glenn Tilbrook at times, as on “Easy” and “Fountain of Truth.” Then “The Bad Old Days” takes an uber cool organ line to shift into the compressed pop territory of acts like Linus of Hollywood. Things can be wistful, like “Let’s Be Lonely” which evokes those early 1960s angst ballads. The record also has some real rocking turns, like the ADHD-exploring “Brain Drain.” At other points Lennon’s Walrus haunts “Lady Beetle” in quite an inventive way. By the end “There’s a Light” teases us with a lilting, beautiful tune whose vocal sounds like a cross between Neil Finn and Glenn Tilbrook. Day Dreems is a lush sonic treat, heavy with hooks, and something inspiring to say.

I’m not saying Lord Esme offer a treatise on analytical philosophy or anything but there’s something sophisticated lurking behind their smart LP design and endearing, mellow guitar pop. Take a good look at the cover of A Nice Sit Down. It’s eye-catching, radiating bright colours and a sense of fun. Introducing the record, both “Shane Warne” and “Cold Canberra Nights” have a folky dissonance lurking in their electric guitar combo style. But then “Succulent City” drew me in with seductive saxophone. So cool-jazz in an Everything but the Girl or Sade way. “Number in my Pocket” shifts things into a more shimmery guitar pop mode, though some great organ pops up pleasantly here too. “Alison Rhodes” rides an organ swell like a merry go round ride while “Booking a Flight” sets a mystery tone with a minor key. The sax returns strongly in the cool album closer “Lots of Money.” Maybe you never hung out at those hip coffee houses but put this on the spinner and people might think you did. In a good way.

I fell hard for Phil Sutton’s early 2020s band Love, Burns. I had an inkling he had earlier vehicles but never really followed up … until now. Waverly Place allows me to catch up on the 2000 and teens timeline of releases from Sutton’s previous project Pale Lights. Get ready for tunes oozing breezy pop goodness, peppered with striking lead guitar-led melodies. “Fourteen Stories Tall” captures this perfectly, seeming like a cross between sixties pop-folk and confessional eighties indie rock. Title track “Waverly Place” gives this formula a 1980s English vibe, kinda like Lloyd Cole or Roddy Frame. The guitar tones on so many songs here are remarkable. “Twisting the Knife” has a lead guitar chirp like a siren luring all jangle guitar fans to keep hitting repeat while the vocal comes off like a well-adjusted Lou Reed. The organ work here is pretty special too. “Dearest Virginia” sounds like a single to me with its insurgent quality, adding just a hint of Morricone to the background vocals. With 13 tracks on this career-covering compilation there’s a lot to enjoy – jump in anywhere. Personally “You and I” is my hands down fave. The chord changes so remind me of The Crickets’ “Don’t Every Change” (particularly as covered by The Beatles).

You don’t need a PhD in poprock to spot some smart tunes when you hear them – like these. It’s not homework or anything but a click on the links above will be its own reward.

Photo courtesy Marcu Ioachim Flikr collection.

Let’s get political

28 Wednesday Feb 2024

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Is it 2024 or 2020? Seems like déjà vu all over again this politics season. And given what’s coming we might as well gear up with the equivalent of all the musical super-PACs we can muster. I mean, I’m not saying music can save us from the coming political intrigue but it can soundtrack that dumpster fire in a most enjoyable way.

Speaking of ‘been there before’ The Eisenhowers capture our present groundhog day politics with their ditty “President Again is President, Again” from their 2023 LP Nudge Unit Blues. The song works A Man Called E or 1981 Elvis Costello vibe with whipsmart lyrics. The message here is very much wake up now or sleepwalk into disaster later. Meanwhile The Mockers wonder what it might be like to just give in and embrace where things are going culturally and politically on the cutting, hilarious and oh-so on the mark “Republican Girl.” The song itself is a winner musically, sounding so 1980s poprock, while the lyrics are razor sharp and incisive.

A key ingredient of politics in the twenty-twenties is paranoia and conspiracy theories. Pierre Englebert sings about the latter on “Conspiracy” from his recent almost optimistically titled album Things Could Be Worse. I love the ELO wash on the tune, as it delicately parses the creeping impact of ideas run wild. Defoe and Pronai give voice to probably the greatest hit of slogans from the past decade with “Alternative Facts.” The song strikes a slow groove and talk/sing vocals that wouldn’t be out of place on a 1980s version of the Velvet Underground. No surprise the lyrics mock the unfalsifiable confidence of those for whom belief precedes evidence. Midwest Handshake try to provide some insights into our contemporary political animal on “Home Team” from their recent LP skittish. They blame a side-taking culture and performance of opposition that seems rooted in little more than belonging to one group over another. Musically the track uses strings to create an ominous tension that propels the song along and is so in keeping with its sentiment. Tom Wilson cranks up a Robbie Robertson-like jam about what is presently going down on “I’m In Love With the System” from his 2006 album Dog Years. He seems to ask how much can we chock up today’s political ennui to a sense of disorientation that keeps people drawing within the lines.

If we’re going to get political we gotta talk about now and just what is to be done. The Lovely Basements provide a whole lotta of insight, talking up the past to inform our present moment on “What I Like.” And the tune is pretty catchy too.

If only Olivia Newton John had called for flexing our political muscles way back when, who knows? But, more positively, politics a is project always waiting to get started. You can join in now. It’s really not too late.

Photo ‘It Came From Outer Space’ courtesy James Vaughn Flikr collection.

Over at Don’s place

16 Friday Feb 2024

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The ever amiable Don Valentine runs the shop over at I Don’t Hear a Single. I’m often over there, trying to keep up with Don’s prodigious productivity given his penchant for almost daily album reviews and a regular offering of singles on his ‘Listening To This Week’ playlist. But, inevitably, I end up having to pay close attention to his annual Top 100 Albums listing because I miss so much. Now Don and I don’t have exactly the same tastes but there is a lot of overlap.  If I had to reduce things to Beatles albums I’d say we both love melodic rock but I’m a bit more Rubber Soul to Don’s Revolver. Not surprisingly then I found a whole lot to love on his list that I think warrants some attention here.

San Diego’s Swive tout their alt rock cred, layered with male/female harmony vocals. The vibe is eerie, like a clean stab at nineties grunge. “Something” starts things off with a dissonant edge while “Race Car” rides its psychedelic guitar right into 1969. But as an album Stereophonic Stylings Volume One is really a variety store of musical choice. I love how “Bad Tendencies” pivots into a very different world of sound, adding some sweet twee to the vocal mix. By contrast, “Wire” has the anguished vocal pull of any random Guster song. My take on “Dead But Free” is that it wouldn’t be out of place as a B52s deep cut while “Second Floor” radiates a bit of Neko Case in full Furnace Room Lullaby form. Swive are really doing some stylish rock and roll here. The Kynd are the kind of band you’re sure you’ve heard before. And maybe you did. Shining briefly in the 1990s the band were MIA for decades until they resurfaced with some new material a few years back. Last year they released a new long-player Timelines but the title really should have been Timeless, the sound is so simultaneously 1966, 1984, and 2010. Listen to how “Workshy” exudes such a glorious Oasis reverby drive or the way “Saturn Eyes” evokes a mid-period REM feel. I feel the organ is the subtle star of this album on tracks like “Whispers and Tones” and “Spitfire Summer.” And then there’s the Badfinger pop buoyancy on “Song For Baby.” Timelines confirms The Kynd as the great lost Britpop band, back to reclaim their place in the pantheon.

Cherry Fez may come from Abington Township, Pennsylvania but the atmosphere shrouding Honeycomb Tearoom seems more London circa 1979, with a dash of folk rock and light jangle sprinkled in places. The former is captured best in opening cut “Her Metro Card” where a new wave arrangement melds to some nice jangle with a vocal reminiscent of Ed Ryan. From there things go very 1965 on “It’s Not Me, It’s You” while “Something Died” ambles along with a Rubber Soul-like metre. Another nifty jaunt of melody and clever lyrics gets captured on “Books That No One Read.” By contrast “It Wasn’t Meant To Be” has that pastoral 1970s English folk scene feel. Another band on a return ticket from the 1980s is London’s Cult Figures. Their album of new material Between US and Heaven is a strong collection. “Mr. Producer” sounds so indie poprock smooth – the single definitely. But title track “Between and Us and Heaven” comes a close second for hookyness. Then “Devotion” spools out with a Cure-like melodic intrigue. I also really like “Sitting Target,” which reminds me a bit of Fastball.

I think I was initially drawn to The Housing Crisis for the name if only because it was refreshing to see pop culture admit it’s a thing. Lyrically the band go easy on social commentary but it’s there. “Enough to Take Me Home” has got some particularly tart asides for a hazy, easygoing pop melody:

I don’t want to be a rockstar
I’m standing still when I’m singing and playing guitar
And I don’t want a thrilling memoir
I’m not courageous and my parents aren’t famous so I’m not making it very far

Mostly the mood on Astral Apartments is poppy indie singer-songwriter with folk-ish touches. Imagine Ben Folds pouring his mournful energy into playing acoustic guitar. Opening track “Better Weather” alternates between a more rock demeanor and reducing everything to just guitar and voice. I love how “Changes in the Shape of the Earth” balances the light with more dire tones. “Wonders of the Station Wagon” adds some tasty Super Mario sound effects to good musical effect. But for a change “Every Day (There’s a New Day Coming)” has a slowly seductive, meditative quality. LA’s The World Famous are a rock band that know their way around a clever melodic hook and their album Totally Famous offers them up aplenty. “Everyday Fear” steps on the lead guitar hook pedal and launches the record in a great rocking register. “Nobody in LA” adds a sweet, hush-like quality to the vocals that changes the vibe. Changing things up, “Delinquents” combines banging rhythm guitar chords and tasty licks in a must-dance number, with a nice acoustic guitar drop out in the middle. “Heartburst” adds an almost country-ish wash over its basic power pop structure. “Candy Clouds” sounds like a single to me with its soaring FOW melody amid chugging rhythm guitar chords, though “Hollywood Pawn” is the song that really leapt out at me from this album as maximum rotation radio friendly.

Is it wrong to pick up a book because of its cover? Only if you never open it up. Turnstyle’s graphic design on their 2023 album Citizens’ Handbook made me pause. These guys know how to package their wares in an eye-catching way. And why not, given how stylish these 10 quirky tunes are? At base, this record is edgy guitar poprock. But each song offering adds some extra sly element that expands its impact. Opening song and current single “Robots Working” rumbles its rhythm guitar low in the gut before developing its tune in a way that rides the line between art rock and a catchy chart contribution. “Plain and Simple” is anything but, layering in hooks and dissonant asides in a very pleasant tension. Then you have a track like “East 21st Street” kicking off in experimental mode only to settle into a hypnotic groove. The rest of the record is replete with delightful pop song workouts. Personal fave: I love the dirty guitar pop simplicity of “Band Shirt.”

Don works hard so the rest of us don’t have to. Thanks Don for immeasurably broadening my circle of possible poprock gems. Get on over to I Don’t Hear a Single to see for yourself.

Photo courtesy Kevin Dooley Flikr collection.

The lighter side of poprock

02 Friday Feb 2024

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Sometimes we turn down the stereo, crank up the indirect lighting, and get mellow. As a genre, poprock has got that kind of flexibility. So today we shine our light on the lighter side of melody-rich tune-age. You can light up a Gauloises now.

Last year Bart Davenport re-released his 2003 LP Game Preserve. The whole enterprise was a deep dive into the sonic textures of the 1970s: singer-songwriter, light rock, a bit of yacht, veering into early Eagles territory here and there. But the track that really grabbed me was the flamenco-styled opening cut, “Sweetest Game.” Talk about light touch! The acoustic guitar backing is so elegant and spare, the vocal intimate and understated. On his 14th album Burlington Vermont’s Ben Patton demonstrates his mastery of decades of songwriting styles. Hyde’s Hill Henhouse covers so many bases, from straight up soft rock to mannered 1940s word play. For the former, there’s “Making The Most of Space” or “Does It Have to Hurt So Much,” both exhibiting that effortless easy-listening flow anchored with subtle hooks. By contrast “Don’t Mention Jane to Jim” has the clever pacing and arch commentary of a Noel Coward lyric. Musically the record puts its songs in various settings: samba (“Romantic to a Fault”), novelty (“My Own Monster”), jazz (“Put on a Tie”) and country (“Hyde’s Hill Henhouse”). Songs like “I Hear Good Things About Naples” strip things back to their most essential elements as Patton drapes his vocal over the tune with an exacting delivery. Or you can just bask in the simple sweetness of the tender “Cancel All My Plans.”

When I reviewed Grand Drifter’s “As the Days Change” last year I was struck by the dynamic tension established between the lush acoustic guitars and single note piano work. Andrea Calvo makes this sound central to his Grand Drifter project on the rest of his most recent EP Paradise Window. Opening cut “Drawing Happiness” is most similar to the previously featured tune, with a slightly more Latin flavour. “Beautiful Praise” adds drums and jangly guitars in a way that strikes a more 1980s indie British guitar band sound. On “Unrecorded Feelings” a more Bacharach feel surfaces while “Peaceful Season” turns back to the Latin themes. Then piano comes to fore on the title track “Paradise Window” floating over an atmospheric cloud-like backing. Final track “Memory and Dust” trades guitar and piano lead lines under an ethereal vocal. Another artist that can effectively paint a sonic picture is Jacob Slater. On Pinky, I Love You the sound is striking, echoing like a big, empty, dimly-lit room late at night. There’s not much more here than acoustic guitar and vocals but Slater shapes these two into a distinct ambience. “One For the Pigeons” falls into a solo John Lennon meets Elliott Smith register while “I Do” feels very Ben Watt in that early spartan EBTG period. But the album highlight for me is “Kissin’ Booth,” so reminiscent of the first Suzanne Vega album, with perhaps just a dash of Big Star. This is a mood album, whether making or reflecting it.

Generally Athens Georgia native Erin Lovett hangs with just a ukulele and her voice in the guise of her musical personality Four Eyes. She has a particular penchant for holiday tunes, accent on Halloween. Occasionally she breaks out a more full band performance, as on “Walk Me To My Door” from 2014’s Our Insides. Sometimes she offers up an inventive ‘live radio play and music event’ that runs to 20 minutes – Dead Girl. But her most recent EP The Freaky probably best captures her oeuvre. The songs sound like they emerge from a melody museum, fitted with bits of past musical glory, driven by plucky strings here, driving organ chords there. Opening cut “Vampires” reminds me of Vashti Bunyan. “The Dead Can’t Rest” lurches along fueled by bleating organ shots. “Never Change” is just straight up acoustic guitar folk. But through it all Lovett’s songwriting is lyrically evocative with tunes that get in your head. Well as we amble toward the exits on this post we can excerpt something from Sam Wilbur’s new record The Age. Here the stand out track for me is “South Carolina,” a bittersweet example of Americana that leverages piano, fiddle and competing vocals lines to fill out its aural landscape.

Light and easy can be good, as long as the hooks are strong. So make sure to set these suggestions aside somewhere for when the mood strikes.

Photo courtesy James Vaughn Flikr collection.