Breaking news: The Trafalgars, Aaron Pinto, Bloody Norah, and Phil Thornalley

06 Saturday Apr 2024

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Today’s headlines are attention grabbing indeed. These four stories are so packed with juicy details you won’t dare give up the remote lest someone try to click over to the shopping channel.

It’s been nearly two decades since Adelaide, Australia’s The Trafalgars put out two snappy guitar popping EPs and at least one supremely sublime single, “Second Hand Shop Girl.” But their new album, the aptly named About Time, is something else again, a record that manages to transcend their prior work with a new level of sophistication. Opening cut “Come On” makes the link to the older version of band with its crisp clean guitar rocking sound. But “Company Time” signals a whole new sonic vista opening up, with tight overlapping guitar lines and strong melodic twists. Then “Girl” turns on a mysterious hooky magnetism that draws you in with a deft use of minor keys. I love the jangle launch of “Start Again,” a song that really vibes the band’s Canadian heroes Sloan. Good songs so are in abundance here, like “Davey Parker” and “I’ve Gotta Know.” And I could totally hear Matthew Sweet covering “Get You Back Again,” which is not to say the original here isn’t delightful.  About Time is a keenly listenable album, the kind you used to play through without a second thought.

Aaron Pinto’s self-titled debut disc is a sprawling 30 song statement of artistic intent, a musical manifesto of sorts that vibes punk, sixties throwbacks, and DIY power pop. The record oscillates between a rough and ready Merseybeat groove and a more polished indie pop sound, though sometimes Pinto isn’t afraid to let the needle bleed into the red. Case in point, opening cut “1st” launches with a blistering, messy rendition of the tune that gives away the album’s secret from the start. This is an LP largely driven by heart, fumes and all. From there Pinto just keeps revving the engine, peeling out into multiple musical directions. There’s the distinct new millennium take on the early Beatles energy on tracks like “Yo Girls” and “Leave Your Man,” though “Over U” moves things into the Fabs psychedelic period. Other sixties triggers register on “The Grass and I were Greener” (somewhat Kinks-ian to my ears), “Corrine (I’m Sorry I Let You Go),” and “Oh, Come On,” while “The Obstacle Course” takes us into early seventies Bowie territory. If there’s a spectre haunting this enterprise it’s Elvis Costello. Sometimes it’s very My Aim is True (“Little Luck”) or Hi Fidelity (“Left On Read”) or Blood and Chocolate (“Hey Little Blonde Girl”). But variation is the default state of play here. Listen to the paired duo of tunes comprising “You’re My New Routine” and “You’re My Old Routine” for proof. The first is polished Costello while the latter vibes Lou Reed. Pinto can also just rock things up with a bar band confidence, as evident on “Now I’m in a Dream” and “I Hate Your Boyfriend.” Still, for me, it’s Pinto’s pop hook instincts I marvel at. He tosses off great hooks with a Mo Troper sense of carefree abandon all over the record, particularly on “The Pilots,” “Tired of Chasing You ‘Round,” “Few and Far Between,” and the exquisite “Your Party.” You’re gonna want to run –not walk – to your local music retailer to get a copy of Aaron Pinto, it’s that exciting.

Brighton, UK’s Bloody Norah have taken their time getting an LP out after first popping up our radar more  than two years ago with the addictive, earwormy single “Shooting Star.” But the results are more than worth the wait. Fun While It Lasted collects the band’s two singles and b-sides, adding six more winning tunes in the bargain. The sound here varies from a poppy sixties beat-group revival to shades of folk pop. Things kick off with “When It’s Gone,” a song that harbours what sounds like a dark Hollies feel. “Susan” lightens the mood, combining Beach Boys harmonies with Beatles Abbey Road guitar tones. “Take It Easy” then takes a surprising turn into 1970 pop soul. So clearly variety is the name of the game here. I love the mannered pop style of “The Clown” compared to the looser rock meandering of “Microwave.” “Tell Me” feels very much in the Beatles ’66 register while “Something New” is all breathy low-key neo-folk rock. Overall this record is all over the musical map, in the very best way. Fun While It Lasted is definitely fun while it lasts, and then some.

With Holly Would Phil Thornalley proves once again how much he’s a worthy inheritor to Jeff Lynne’s brand of symphonic pop. His opening song “Holly Would Love (Suite)” could be plucked anywhere from the ELO canon with its sweeping strings and colourfully tweaked vocal lines. Those same recognizable strings and vocals dominate “How to Marry a Millionaire” and “Shipwrecked Love” too. And the album’s single can’t get any more Lynnesque. “Mr. Moonlight” is practically a sequel to “Mr. Blue Sky.” But hold up, song #2 on the track listing “When the Riots Start” sounds so like a Travelling Wilbury’s deep cut it’s hard not to do a double take. Strong Tom Petty vibes here, both vocally and rhythm guitar-wise. I hear Petty on “Falling Upwards” and “Heaven Help Me” likewise. By contrast “We Could Be Starting Something” sounds more like the song-writing work Thornalley’s been doing for Bryan Adams of late. Then for pure pop whimsy there’s “The Golden Age,” a shuffling pop ditty touting the end of the rock and roll age with a light touch on piano and some attractive whistling. Thornalley’s been in the music-making game for a long time (stretching back to 1978) but Holly Would signals there’s been no ebbing of his creative genius.

Headlines don’t get any more ‘breaking’ than with these headliners. Get more on these stories by following the conveniently emplaced hyperlinks above.

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.

Marc my words: Marc Jonson and Marc Valentine

26 Tuesday Mar 2024

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I grew up with a lot of Marks. Generally speaking, if your name was Mark you were second string on the basketball team and a get-along-with-everybody kind of guy. But if your name was spelled ‘Marc’ a whole new level of cool was involved. Today’s two Marcs show you why that is so.

We’ve reviewed two great albums Marc Jonson recorded recently with Ramirez Exposure but left his solo work untouched. Partly that results from the challenge of coming to grips with his unwieldy career. Things kicked off in 1972 with a baroque folk album for Vanguard (Years) but from there it’s hit and miss with rare album outings in 1992 (12 in a Room), 2000 (Last Night on the Rollercoaster), and 2017 (Marc Jonson and the Wild Alligators). But now we have an album that attempts to fill in the blanks – Groova Tismo. The record pulls together a dynamic collection of demos recorded in his NYC Cordelia Street apartment between 1979 and 2012. No surprise the tunes effortlessly evoke a Phil Spector early 1960s pop atmosphere. Things kick off so Roy Orbison-fine on the endearing “Honey Boy.” The Beach Boys also haunt these proceedings on tracks like “The Man Who Walks On Air” and “I’d Cry.” Other 1960s artists reflected here might include The Four Seasons (“Turn It On), Buck Owens (“I Don’t Have You”), and The Searchers (“The Moon”). But the 1970s get a look in too with shades of Eric Carmen (“Never Gonna Fall in Love Again”) and Gordon Lightfoot (“Lonesome”). Personal fave: love the lurching hooks colouring “November Paintbrush.” More than a collection of leftovers, Groova Tismo sounds like the coherent artistic statement of a should-be star.

On his new album Basement Sparks Marc Valentine continues a delightful reinvention of 1990s power pop that falls somewhere between Fountains of Wayne and Bowling for Soup. There’s a slight punk snarl on tracks like “Tyrannical Wrecks” and a groove that says the dance floor will see some body contact. But for the most part the songs here mine a sweet poppy guitar grind familiar to fans of Farrah and FOW. Exhibit A could be “Eve of Distraction” or “I Wanna Be Alone.” Album opener “Complicated Sometimes” sets the tone with a sophisticated rocky pop tune that says should-be hit, though early release single “Skeleton Key” is another strong ‘hit’ contender. “Strange Weather” is more a pop stomper, relentlessly driving home its hooks. Then “You Are One of Us Now” shifts things into more 1980 Cars territory. I’m also partial to “Repeat Offender” with guitars-to-the-front melodic presence. This is a record with a strong sense of fun, as apparent on “Opening Chase Theme,” though tender moments slip in too, as can be heard on the Farrah-ish “Ballad of Watt.”

Looking to get cool? You can purchase it from these guys in popular song form from various poprock music purveyors. Just tell them ‘Marc’ sent you.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

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.

Spotlight single: Frank Royster “Someday”

17 Sunday Mar 2024

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The reliably good Frank Royster returns with a retro-drenched mellow melody that locates Liverpool somewhere in 1960s southern California. The opening rhythm guitar gives off a strong Texas Bobby Fuller Four vibe, only to shift sonic templates with the addition of some bright 12 string electric guitar. When the track finally settles into its own groove the distinct Beach Boys and Beatles elements meld together effortlessly, producing something eminently listenable over and over again. Not surprisingly, the video features sun, sand and wistful Royster playing his acoustic guitar on a boardwalk as pictures of a couple I assume are his parents flash on the screen as well as footage of a couple more Royster’s age walk a beach hand in hand. The lyrics pitch the singer as hopeful (‘someday, I’m gonna make you happy’) while the images show successful couples growing old together. “Someday” is Royster’s third stand-alone single to be released in the last two years, preceded by “Miss Information” and “Open Door.” What is interesting is how all three land in slightly different musical registers, which bodes well for his upcoming album still in preparation. In the meantime, if you haven’t followed Royster’s past work you are in for a treat. Both 2007’s Through the Years and 2010’s Innocence is Bliss are solid efforts that fans of Don Dixon or Bill Lloyd will love.

You can preview Royster’s material on Soundcloud and YouTube (including a creative re-interpretation of Elvis Costello’s “Only Flame in Town”) or just hang with him at his website and Facebook locales.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr page.

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.

An invite to The Parties

05 Tuesday Mar 2024

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I know San Francisco’s The Parties from two LPs and two EPs released between 2007 and 2010. There might be more releases out there but the band’s Bandcamp page is limited to this quartet. But what a formidable foursome they represent. There is a jocular rock and roll confidence to their performative stance, ably sustained by a generous load of jangle and a delightfully youthful demeanor. For this post I invite you to enjoy The Parties, featuring one signature tune from each release. Just enough to whet your appetite and get you primed for more.

It seems fitting to kick things off with the title track “The Parties” from 2007’s The Parties EP. There’s a strong late-1980s jangle-drone here I associate with The Primitives or The Church. While the rest of the album has a rough, almost punky elan, this single is a smooth sensorium of this kind of sound. On 2008’s Can’t Come Down “Cold Life” has a sunshine jangle feel that reminds me of the Cyrkle in their Neon period. Then the title track “Cryin’ Shame” from 2009’s Cryin’ Shame EP expands the sonic palate again, this time adding a Rank and File/Grapes of Wrath rocking folky feel, with jangle of course. By the time we get to 2010’s Coast Garde things have gotten much grander. “Suite: Feet Back On the Ground / I’m Sorry / Going Away Girl” is a seven-minute epic that breezes by, enveloping you in its magisterial Byrdsian charms only to segue to something more jangle pop in the end.

You wanna party? Check out all the other cuts populating their EPs and LPs at their Bandcamp site here. It won’t be an early night if you do.

Photo courtesy James Vaughn Flikr page.

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.

Around the dial: Cast, Rich Arithmetic, Paul Collins and Declan McKenna

23 Friday Feb 2024

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Today’s radio waves feature four stupendous releases from reliably melodic rockers that take up the mission from different strengths. Get ready to do some involuntary humming along.

I was definitely late to the Cast party, only showing up in 2016. But I quickly became a die-hard fan of their canon. There was something shivery good about John Power’s haunting vocals while the band’s musical vibe seemed to deliver on what The La’s had only promised. The band did pop up with a new album in 2017 but Kicking Up Dust sounded more like a Power solo album but for the very Cast-alicious “Baby Blue Eyes.” This time round though I’m in on the ground floor with their brand new LP Love Is the Call and I can report it is a concentrated blast of everything that once made Cast so exciting. The songs here are strong, really sing-along good. John Power has clearly got his song-writing mojo back and then some. As Cast fans might expect, the acoustic guitar features strongly in a few songs here, like “Bluebird” and “Tomorrow Call My Name.” Seductive vocal arrangements also get a look in on the cathedral haunting “First Smile Ever.” But that won’t prepare you for the stunning hooks of should-be hits like “The Rain That Falls” and “Faraway.” “Love You Like I Do” and “Love Is the Call” up the rock quotient but without moving the melody needle any distance from superb. Trust me on this one, Love is the Call is the one you’ll really want to take.

Rich Arithmetic is like a painter who colours his songs with shades of musical yesteryear. And his new album Pushbutton Romance offers a wide variety of sonic hues: new wave, jangle, baroque, and a whole load of sixties vibes. “When You Want Somebody (To Make Love To)” starts things off strong, vibing early 1980s retro with just a touch psychedelia in the vocals. The distinctive guitar riffing throughout really buffets the tune. Then “Carry You (Redux)” steps on the jangle pedal and harmony vocals to good effect. Really, the guitar tones and vocal arrangements on this record are something else. Listen to how “Battered and Broke” uses some jazzy guitar to set a different pace from the rest of the album, more American songbook as a contribution. Or there’s the fab rumble guitar giving the instrumental “Saving Sunset” a cool Shadowy Men on Shadowy Planet strut. For vocals “Moral Blight” lays on some pretty sweet harmonies that really launch the tune in the chorus while in “You Are Always Right” it is the vocal arrangement that really shines, beautifully supported by some distinctive jangle and rumbly guitar work. The tune sounds Mersey but like the non-mop top bands. Other highlights for me include the folk rock “Bend the Arc” and Beach Boys-ish “A Teenage Hymn, Pt. 1: Tan All Over.”

If there was a godfather of power pop it might be Paul Collins. Member of the legendary Nerves with Jack Lee and Peter Case in the late 1970s, later making waves with his own Paul Collins Beat throughout the 1980s, Collins always seemed to be just this side of making it. But like the Velvet Underground, everyone who caught his act started their own power pop band. On his brand new record Stand Back and Take a Good Look Collins has decided to revisit a range of songs from his many bands and solo records, with help from the likes of Dwight Twilley, Prairie Prince, Richard X Heyman, and many others. The results are a rollicking good time. Opening cut and title track “Stand Back and Take a Good Look” puts the Nerves song into a swinging, easygoing register. “In Another World” strips the Americana coating off a track initially covered by the more country-ish Paul Collins Band – and I like it. Some songs hit the jangle just so, like “Liverpool.” Others slip into a more country feel, as on “You Can’t Go Back.” All in all, 67 year old Collins sounds in fine form here. Tracks like “I’m the Only One For You” sound as fresh and full of energy as anything from his deep catalogue.

On What Happened to the Beach? kid wunderkind Declan McKenna stretches his musical range, offering up dance, power pop, English folk, and efforts the defy easy categorization. There is a Bowie-esque sense of daring and curiosity to what is going on here. Yet amidst all this adventure and experimentation the results are always recognizably Declan. “Wobble” showcases this playfulness, with a McCartney-worthy falsetto and a carefully staged, sometimes overlapping introduction of different sonic tones. “Elevator Hum” is another interesting collage of sounds, sparse and airy, then building to a dance floor groove. “I Write the News” nails the 1970s English folkie vibe of John Martyn and Roy Harper before it scales up into something else completely. But the heart of the album for me is the set of radio-ready singles, “Sympathy” and “Nothing Works.” Both are just fabulous instances of melodic single-age, masterfully put together. Given all this variety, it’s clear Declan’s not done exploring yet.

What a quartet for your listening pleasure. Don’t be afraid to dig deep and often into these releases. Repeated listenings are the charm.