A truly great poprock single usually has a catchy opener, some hook that makes you pause and want to know what comes next. Portland’s Throwback Suburbia nail this with their 2007 debut single “Circles.” The lone synth riff comes out of nowhere, a head turner that grabs the listener long enough for the band to come crashing in. What follows is a great synthesis of eighties and nineties melodic rock influences. With a vocal that is pure Glenn Tilbrook phrasing, a guitar and keyboard attack vibing ELO, and a melodic sheen reminiscent of Rooney, the result should have been super radio hit. But the AM/FM music directors apparently didn’t get the memo. The band would release a few EPs and two critically acclaimed albums but wild success wasn’t in the cards. A shame really. Everything they released was pretty solid on the rockin’ melodic song front. They even put out killer covers of tracks from their most obvious influences, Squeeze’s “Up the Junction” and Elvis Costello’s “Accidents Will Happen.”
You can keep up with band members’ post Throwback Suburbia efforts on the group’s Facebook page as well as buy up their existing catalogue of tunes.
It all started with Tom Petty and some ironing last weekend. As I got reacquainted with Hard Promises it eventually drew me away from the shirts to exploring on the internet how Petty put the album together and, as one thing led to another, I was soon listening to Petty’s efforts in the producer’s chair of Del Shannon’s 1981 comeback album, Drop Down and Get Me. The record turned out a minor hit with his cover of “Sea of Love” as well as inspired renditions of the Rolling Stones (“Out of Time”) and the Everly Brothers (“Maybe Tomorrow”). But perhaps more surprising was that the bulk of the album consisted of winning Shannon originals like the title track, “Life Without You” and “Cheap Love” (later covered by Juice Newton). Hard to believe that talent like this had been missing from the Top 40 since 1965 but depression and alcoholism had helped stall Shannon’s career more than once. Despite assembling a dream team to work on a new album as the 1980s drew to close, he succumbed to depression and suicide in February 1990. The album-in-progress did finally emerge in late 1991 and Rock On! showcased Shannon’s extra-ordinary talents to good effect in terms of singing, songwriting and performance. The should-be hit single was the album opener, “Walk Away,” with its strong Travelling Wilburys vibe and signature Shannon soaring falsetto. It’s a chill-inducing gem of a single!
Clicking on this late 1990s track from northern California’s The Orange Peels you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re hearing a great New Pornographers single or maybe a late 1970s new wave reunion of the Mamas and Papas, if they’d become a rock band (and somehow brought a key member back from the dead). The guitar on this track is so striking, fresh and in-your-face resonant without being jarring, while the vocals are candy smooth but never syrup. Clocking at just a minute and 49 seconds it’s all over way too soon but that’s OK, it’s just the opening track of a pretty cool album of similarly fab songs. And now would be the time to add The Orange Peels 1997 debut album, Square3, to your collection as it has just been remastered and plumped up with 27 bonus tracks. Come back 1997! All is forgiven.
Hit play on Wyatt Blair’s latest release “(I’ll Keep) Searching for You” and you’ll notice the winning quality right away. First there’s the sibilant guitar reminiscent of all those early Pretenders singles. Then there’s an organ right off a mid-period Springsteen record. Finally, the record eases into a hooky groove that just doesn’t let go. It’s like it’s 1979 all over again. Blair’s previous releases mined the 1960s garage poprock sound to perfection on tracks like “Gotta Get Away” and “Won’t Back Down” (from 2018’s Inspirational Strawberries). “(I’ll Keep) Searching for You” is the third single in three months from an as-yet-unnamed future album project but, suffice to say, the material released so far advances his sound by a decade into the late 1970s/early 1980s. I can’t wait to see where he’s going next.
We loved Brett Newski’s 2018 album Life Upside Down here at Poprock Record, particularly punchy, addictive tracks like “Ride” and “The Afternoons.” But there’s more to Newski, like his fantastic 2016 LP Land Air Sea Garage. Love the jaunty melody of “Stranger” or the great mix of vocals on “Bending Spoons & Skipping Prayers.” But the killer cut here is undoubtedly the should-be hit single “Garage.” From its opening guitar ring to those hooky ‘da da da da’s the song motors along in a solid poprock groove, repeatedly building the tension back to a great chorus release, with what sounds like some nice French horn near the end (but who knows, it could be keyboards!). The quality on this and his other recordings suggests this is guy just getting started creativity-wise. Can’t wait for a new record!
Fans of Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp and Tom Petty at their hookiest are gonna love the Cerny Brothers’ “American Whore” from their late 2018 release, Looking for the Good Land. Like their inspirational sources, the brothers head a crack band and there’s some pretty amazing playing all over the album, particularly on the boogie piano-heavy “Laugh at the Devil” and the beautiful, moving “Million Miles,” with its light harmonica and banjo touches. But “American Whore” is clearly the centre-piece of the album, with AOR hit single written all over it. Curiously, though the band has nailed the sound and songwriting style of Springsteen and Mellencamp, the song’s message is decidedly different. Internet entertainment magazine 
2018 was a freakin’ fantastic year for poprock! How do I know? Every year-end I put together a playlist of tunes released that year. In 2016 it consisted of 58 songs clocking in at just over 3 hours. By 2017 that list expanded to 98 songs running over 5 hours. This year the list exploded to 175 songs going on for over 9 hours! My list of should-be hit singles had to expand to a top 50 just to accommodate all this talent. Hit the links below to find each artist as featured in my original blog post this past year or to go to their bandcamp or Facebook page if I didn’t write them up.