Hit machines: Eyelids, New Pornographers, Marc Jonson & Ramirez Exposure, and Mike Viola

04 Friday Aug 2023

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Today’s acts sound like hit machines to me, so reliable are they in putting out solid albums year after year. In this post we’ve got psychedelia, postmodern new wave, and a return to the sixties American-style.

Portland is some kind of magical indie music city, so many great artists seem to hang out there. Like Eyelids. On their recent LP A Colossal Waste of Light their reliably hooky tunes get a more sonorous, dissonant treatment. Don’t be fooled by opening cut “Crawling Off Your Pages.” It’s all Brydsian turns with hints of early U2 and New Pornographers. But from there things get more spacey and psychedelic. “Swinging in The Circus” leads with its affecting, unadorned vocal, giving way to a Rogue Wave feel as it gets going. Love the guitar effects gently driving “That’s Not Real At All (B. Midweek Pg. 207).” Then “Only So Much” kicks off sounding like a low-key hit single. It’s smouldering, atmospheric, and magnetic – like something Simple Minds might cook up. Many of the tracks here step hard on the moody pedal but without losing their sense of melodic direction.  “Colossal Waste of Light” comes on like a slow psychedelic mediation, “Runaway Yeah” colours the mood with an early U2 sort of vibe, while “Everything That I See You Better” has that textured Rogue Wave feel. “They Said No” and “I Can’t Be Told” do pick up the pace whereas “Misuse” goes in the opposite direction, working an acoustic guitar folk seam. A Colossal Waste of Light marks an interesting turn from a phenomenally talented bunch of players.

Album #9 from The New Pornographers Continue as Guest is a blast of sonic pop goodness. From the get go “Really Really Light” kicks things off sounding like a sophisticated hit single, the mesh of vocals and thrown-in bits of what sound like computer alerts and quirky keyboard shots giving everything a Peter Gabriel/Kate Bush elevation. Then “Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies” is a classic TNP hooky pop number crowned with a literary lyrical precision. Elsewhere it’s like the songs come from New Pornographers central casting. “Last and Beautiful” offers up an off-kilter rock and roll pace with a sweet hooky melodic turn in the chorus. “Bottle Episodes” plays up an essential trick in the TNP song-writing formula, adding just a little melodic uplift in the chorus to make the song soar. Meanwhile “Marie and the Undersea” lets the acoustic and electric guitars keep the song simmering with barely contained energy. I could go on. Continue as Guest is no striking creative departure for The New Pornographers. It’s just another damn fine example of what they do best.

On their second record together Turning on the Century Vol. 2 Marc Jonson & Ramirez Exposure pick up where they left off on Vol. 1, basically reinventing The Beach Boys Pet Sounds vibe for a new age. You can practically hear Carl, Mike and Brian lean into “Good Vibes Never Lie.” From there it’s an easy pivot to a seam of American sixties rock and roll that is less well travelled in our current era of nostalgic reinvention. Artists like Dion, who seems to haunt “Night Full of Dreams” with its invocation of 1963 emotional drama at the drive-in. Or I think The Four Seasons might be lurking somewhere in the mix of “Baby Gets Close.” By contrast, “Streetlight Boys” has the muscular rock and roll heft of a Mitch Ryder or Del Shannon, with the requisite killer organ fills. There is a bit of an English sixties feel to “I Don’t Wanna Go” with its arresting mix of instruments, particularly the strings and acoustic guitar. But the vocal is all-American. “When Worlds Collide” takes the sixties accents in a more modern direction, reminding me of The The and The Shins in places. Turning on the Century Vol. 2 opens and closes with “Happy Sparrow” and “In the Rain (Happy Sparrow)” which are essentially the same song but performed in two different distinct sunshine pop registers. With songs this good, perhaps a Vol. 3 is in order.

Mike Viola could easily crank out catchy hook-filled pop numbers like “That Thing You Do” and “Strawberry Blonde” for every release but he clearly prefers to challenge our expectations of what a conventional poprock song should be. His latest album Paul McCarthy is alternatively smooth and dissonant, hooky and dirge-like. Opening cut “Bill Viola” sets the scene, its spare opening electric guitar lines and isolated vocal coming to clash with a symphony-style rhythm guitar attack, all the while the song’s melodic hook struggles to surface – but it is definitely there. Next up “Water Makes Me Sick” resets everything to a more rough-edged Matthew Sweet melody and lurching pace. Then “Love Letters from a Childhood Friend” pulls back to a more recognizable Viola bittersweet commentary. And repeat throughout. As an album, Paul McCarthy repeatedly works the tension between the familiar and the jarring. “Scientist Alexis” starts with guitar reminiscent of Abbey Road-era Beatles but jams a talking blues vocal on top and a host of jazzy guitar and drum interludes throughout. “Paul McCarthy” reinvents Paul McCartney, not surprisingly, taking familiar Macca guitar sounds and vocal ticks but turns them on their head. The record has some classic Viola hooks too on tracks like “Torp,” the Private Eyes Hall and Oatesy “I Think I Thought Forever Proof,” and the Macca stomper “You Put the Light Back in My Face.” There’s even some gentle psychedelia to wrap things up on “2323.” You really should take the Paul McCarthy challenge. But remember, it’s more like Glenlivet than Pepsi or Coke.

Bill Viola
Paul McCarthy

This quartet of should-be hit records should keep you busy for a moment or two. Hit the hyperlinks to learn more about these hit machines.

Top photo courtesy Ryan Hickox Flikr page.

Sweet sweet Matthew

28 Friday Jul 2023

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The 1990s saviour of power pop was undeniably Matthew Sweet. While others indulged in the raw muscularity of grunge or the dissonant hooks of Weezer Sweet offered up album after album of supremely confident melodic rock tunes, successfully updating previous decades of the genre. Like many people I caught on to Sweet’s work via 1991’s Girlfriend and his damn near perfect poprock single “I’ve Been Waiting.” But as I continued to follow his career I discovered that Sweet didn’t just belong to the power pop crowd. He had an alter ego that vibed a rock god persona, complete with chunky power chords and blistering guitar solos. In fact, each of his post-Girlfriend albums showcased this dualism – poprock versus rock god – to some degree. Given our biases here at Poprock Record it won’t surprise you that we’ve scoured his catalogue for the hidden and not-so-hidden poppy rock gems you can find on every Matthew Sweet LP.

Sweet actually gets his start in eighties and listening to 1986’s Inside and 1989’s Earth it shows. The debut bears the production marks of that decade with its gated drum sound and punchy keyboards. Inside was Sweet’s only record for label behemoth Columbia and with ten different producers involved it’s pretty clear they weren’t sure what to do with him. Still, it’s a remarkably consistent-sounding the album. I’d single out the Don Dixon-produced “This Above All” and David Kahne-helmed “Blue Fools” for special mention, in part for the fabulous guest background vocals from Aimee Mann on the former and two of the Bangles on the latter. Three years later Earth turned in a more textured synth performance, enhanced by the arrival of Sweet’s own signature background vocal style, clearly evident on “Vixen.”

Blue Fools
Vixen

Yet it was the 1990s that marked the artistic arrival of Matthew Sweet. That decade witnessed him produce five solid albums, all full of hooky wonders and explosive guitar solos. Girlfriend practically blew a hole in 1991, its 15 tracks were so consistently good. It’s easy to declare “I’ve Been Waiting” the album’s master cut but which track would you rank second, or third? I’m torn between “Thought I Knew You” and “I Wanted to Tell You.” Two years later Altered Beast offered up a fatter, rockier sound compared to its more spare, acoustically-guitar driven predecessor but the hooks came through on cuts like “Time Capsule,” “The Ugly Truth” and the sixties jangled “Devil with the Green Eyes.” 1995’s 100% Fun stands second to Girlfriend in terms of commercial appeal and stark hit singles potential. “Opening cut “Sick of Myself” is an obvious monster hook machine. But there are other killer should-be hits here, like the exquisite “Get Older” and more subtle “We’re the Same.” And I love the eerie, spooky feel to “Walk Out.” Another two years gone and 1997’s Blue Sky on Mars continued to deliver both light and heavy poprock numbers like “Until You Break,” “Back to You” and “Where You Get Love.” “All Over My Head” even manages to combine a bit of both. Sweet rounded out the nineties with 1999’s In Reverse, tipping the sonic balance back to pop with numbers like “If Time Permits” and “Future Shock.”

Thought I Knew You
Devil with the Green Eyes
Get Older
All Over My Head
Future Shock

Into the new millennium Sweet’s focus shifted somewhat from strictly solo releases to include the folk rock Thorns album with Pete Droge and Shaun Mullins and his series of Under the Covers albums with Susanna Hoffs. His first two solo albums of the new decade were initially only available in Japan, 2003’s Kimi Ga Suki and 2004’s Living Things. From the former “I Don’t Want to Know” sounds like a Girlfriend deep cut and “Wait” is pretty jangle special. Meanwhile “Sunlight” is the go to cut from the latter. 2008’s Sunshine Lies was heralded by some as Sweet’s comeback album but it didn’t spawn any break out hits, though “Brydgirl” and “Around You Now” sound reliably hit-worthy. By 2011 Modern Art definitely sounds more experimental, though the Sweet formula hooks are in evidence on “She Walks the Night,” “Another Chance” and “Sleeping.” The long gap until Sweet’s pair of Tomorrow albums in 2017-18 was worth the wait, producing 29 tracks. Between Tomorrow Forever and Tomorrow’s Daughter the latter really delivered for me, particularly jangle perfect “I Belong To You.” Later the same year he released Wicked System of Things and here I’d point you to “Eternity Now.” 2021’s Catspaw is Sweet doing all the things both fans and critics laud him for, i.e. layering on loads of hooks and disharmony, like on “Challenge the Gods” and “Come Home.”

Sunlight
Around You Now
She Walks the Night
Come Home

In the 1990s we fans of Matthew Sweet patiently waited for the stratospheric take-off we were sure was coming for this artist. He consistently delivered but somehow never arrived, commercially that is. Instead, we’ve got a sweet sweet canon of melodic rock and roll to rediscover again and again.

Complete your Matthew Sweet hook library by visiting him online.

Words just get in the way

21 Friday Jul 2023

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Who need lyrics anyway? Some artists just want to get right to the musical point. Like this crew of topnotch poprock instrumentalizers. Without words you just need to get your hummer tuned and ready.

Toronto’s Cameronoise is Tim Cameron, one man band. He described his 2022 self-titled debut EP as ‘Booker T & The MGs meet The Smithereens in Paul McCartney’s attic.’ You can definitely feel the dynamic tension he creates between his Stax-Volt approved organ lines and power pop guitar chords. So far he’s got two EPs out in 2023. Racing to the Next Red Light has got a killer should-be single going with “I’m Not Bitter.” These are some serious 1965 Mersey-ish keyboard and guitar hooks. His more recent Henry Shade of Winkler definitely wins the cheeky album title award. And it’s a damn fine listen. Stand out track this time is “Alternative Batgirl.” Great hooks on both guitar and organ and such a fun arrangement evoking biff-bam-pow good times.

Freehold Township isn’t right on the Jersey shore but you wouldn’t know it listening to locals The Volcanics blast through their surf-drenched long-player Concrete Carver. Man do they nail the 1965 surf rock sound and do it with a kind of sophistication usually reserved for jazzier exploits. Title track “Concrete Carver” should get anyone dancing even in the toughest beach sand. “Whiplash” hits all the Ventures notes effortlessly. When “The Ripper” came on it took all my self-control not to grab a surf board and hit the waves. You’d swear every tune here was designed to float up behind a Hawaii 5-O set deck – the album’s cinematic quality is inescapable. My favourite cut here is probably “Lollygaggin’.” It has such a joyful lead guitar bounce, reminding me of those ace instrumental melody-makers Los Straightjackets. For contrast there’s even a few lovely slow dances for you and your baby, like “Surfer’s Melody” and “Scenic Route.” Basically people, if loving this is wrong I don’t want to be right.

This next record is really something special. Oita Japan band The Routes perform ten classic tracks from Kraftwerk but in a distinctive 1960s guitar instrumental style. If ever a concept  might be in danger of going too far you might think this would be it. But The Routes 2022 album The Twang Machine is a remarkable synthesis of seemingly antithetical styles that somehow works in spite of this tension. The guitar playing is deliriously good, the keyboards sly and subtle, while the overall song arrangements are inventive and brilliant. Opening cut “Computer Love” will get into your head with its rippling lead guitar lines and careful emphasis on the song’s heretofore obscured killer hooks. From there Kraftwerk fans can just take in the glorious, madcap, otherworldly character of these reinventions of Kraut rock.

On 14 Bullets from the Spaghetti West you get a mix of gunslinger-movie instrumental classics played with an exaggerated western aplomb. There’s electric and acoustic guitars, whistling, sombre vocal choruses, and plenty of sad, sonorous trumpet. The band is Melbourne Australia’s The Counterfeit and they have got the American west via Italian film biz chops. All 14 songs here are played beautifully – you can let the needle drop and have the record play through without skipping a beat. But the stand out tracks for me were the soulful, sad “Jerry’s Theme,” the arch, ceremonial “A Fistful of Dollars” (that trumpet player is earning his fee here), and the haunting, whistle-drenched “Spaghetti Time.” Fair warning: frequent listening will undoubtedly have you digging out your old Clint Eastwood DVDs for repeat movie nights.

Toronto’s Phono-Comb were a short-lived side project for members of The Sadies and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. Their one album is nearly all instrumental, offering up dirty surf and garage rock tunes. The songs are mostly just good fun, like watching a great bar band entertain the locals. But a few tunes really stand out. “Pummelled” starts slow but builds up a hooky melody, bending it into various shapes before returning to the main theme. “Clogs from the Crypt” and “Cliffhanger” both eventually rock out in a great party way. But the album’s exceptional track is undeniably “Marvin.” It’s rollicking easygoing pace is elevated with some signature SMOASP lead guitar work.

Think of instrumentals as lyrics-reduced tune-age. And you can make up your own song meanings without all those busy words getting in the way.

Image courtesy Brian Scott.

Breaking news: The Parlophonics, Diners, The Goods, and The Foreign Films

15 Saturday Jul 2023

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My news team takes a creative approach in defining just what is ‘breaking’ or not. Some of our acts have just come out with their new release while others hit the racks a while back. Needless to say, they are all ‘breaking’ to somebody somewhere. We’re going with that.

Words like ‘lush’ and ‘exquisite’ come to mind as you play through The Parlophonics dynamic second long-player Dying of the Light. This is sophisticated poppy rock of the highest order. Opening cut “Fill My Sky” sets the stage, mixing strings and sitars to create an eastern-influenced tapestry of sounds, punctuated by a few David Gilmour-worthy lead guitar solos. The ambience reminds me of Lord Huron’s Long Lost sound. That vibe is also definitely present on “Heaven Can Wait,” this album’s obvious should-be hit single. But this record defies easy categorization. Tracks like “Reading Kerouac” change things up, exuding a Style Council peppiness. So too “These Days” is light sunny pop. Contrast that to the sombre folk pop feel on “Believe in Something,” “The Dying of the Light” and “Paper Smile.” Then again I can’t help but hear a strong 1970s pop tradition here too, falling somewhere between Fleetwood Mac and Abba on cuts like “Underneath the Blue Sky” and “Song for a Lost Friend,” the former riding a seductive, hooky lead guitar lick and glossy vocals while the latter hits the chord changes hard, accompanied by a wall of vocals sing-along style.  More rocky pop gets a look in on the album closer “Staring at the Sun,” the slight Oasis vibe unmistakeable. Despite all this variety Dying of the Light has a coherent sonic stamp to it. It’s a record-of-the-year list no brainer.

Diners new album Domino has an edgier, rockier feel to it compared to 2020’s Leisure World. I really liked Leisure World but I’m loving this new sound. You can definitely hear the influence of producer Mo Troper pushing the treble to the edge, both on guitar and vocals. Opening cut “Working on My Dreams” clearly signals this shift, slinging guitar chords with a real rock and roll swing. From there this new intensity takes different forms, like a rockier Apples in Stereo sound on “Domino,” a bit of Latin hustle in “So What,” or some straight-up Velvets strut on “Someday I’ll Go Surfing.” Half way through the record “The Power” lands with a thump. This is slicker, poppier bit of business, definitely the should-be hit single. The rocky impact here can be subtle. “I Don’t Think About You” is a more stripped-down affair but still the guitar rings out with emphasis, effectively framing the more lofi vocals. The album does include examples of Diners more classic curio, low-key pop material with songs like “Wisdom” and “Painted Pictures.” Personal fave – “From My Pillow.” This track bubbles with a rocky pop energy akin to bands like The Friends of Cesar Romero. With Domino Diners have definitely come out swinging and they don’t miss.

Oakland’s The Goods are the power pop shot in the arm you’ve been longing for. Their new self-titled EP The Goods is a 4 song blast of poppy rock goodness clearly drawing from indie stars like The Jam and Matthew Sweet and in step with more recent acts like The Rubs and Uni Boys. “David Jones is Dead” leans in with some Cheap Trick heavy guitar but quickly the song’s hooks overpower everything. By contrast, the lead guitar carrying “Dear Angeline” is light and poppy and delightful. “I’m Not the Only One” has a more Replacements rocky pop vibe. “Hear Me” sounds like it falls somewhere between Matthew Sweet and Marshall Crenshaw. Trust me, you need to get The Goods. My only complaint is, just four songs? Really? A full of album with this power pop template is a sure-fire winner.

Hamilton’s The Foreign Films celebrate the many flavours of 1970s AM pop on their recent record Magic Shadows. The whole affairs feels like a celebration, sponsored by Jeff Lynne. Seriously, kick off track “Cinema Girl” has a very ELO stamp, with a hint of early Springsteen stream-of-consciousness vocals. The ELO vibes carry though the album on a host of songs like “Rain Clouds (Sunshine in Your Heart),” “Midnight Movies,” and “Time Machine.” There are departures, of course. I agree with Sweet Sweet Music’s take on “Perfect Future” as a song that sounds like a marriage of Sparks and Roy Orbison. Or there’s the Hollies stamp on “Sparks in The Dark (Merry-Go-Round)” right down to the hooky lead guitar line and harmony vocals. Then “Cosmic Lover” cranks up the glam machine, vibing very “Spirit in the Sky” big guitar hooks. “Into the Light” could easily be a Tom Petty deep cut. “Daydream in the Sun (UFO Radio)” is an updated 1950s style vamp. Magic Shadows is an eminently playable slab of poppy rock – turn it on and let your cares drift away.

In terms of killer melodic rock, you’re sort of all caught up. Well, actually, no. There’s tons more to discover. You’ll just have to wait for film at 11.

Photo courtesy James Vaughn Flikr page.

Spotlight single: Davoli “Sunny Day”

09 Sunday Jul 2023

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Our summertime spotlight single would appear to be focused on the weather but that’s just a ruse designed to obscure an exploration of some darker themes. After a year of intermittent singles releases the most immediate vibe from Nottingham’s Davoli is a Jeff Tweedy Americana sort of feel. It’s the prominence of acoustic guitars in the mix and the slight twang embedded in proceedings. But on this most recent 45 he pushes the pop pedal a bit harder, shifting the results into a more Ben Kweller or Brendon Benson territory. “Sunny Day” has both a timely summer theme and a hooky strummy tune. It kinda sneaks up on you, kicking off with an even tempo and pacing, but throughout the lead guitar throws out striking licks and interventions that jar the listener in most pleasant ways. Vocally I hear Benson’s candy-coated, AM radio-worthy smooth delivery tying everything together. And yet the song’s sunny musical disposition seems strangely at odds with its more melancholy lyrical themes. Maybe that’s the tension that helps make this single soar. In terms of the arc of this artist’s musical development, I like where this is going. Past singles were great but this new direction has a bit more heft and impact to my ears. An album’s worth more of this good same would not go amiss in my record collection.

Deets on Davoli are sparse but you can check out his quintet of singles here.

Rollercoaster photo courtesy Swizzle Studios.

Around the dial: Kevin Bowe and the Okemah Prophets, Dolour, Vanity Mirror, and The Midnight Callers

03 Monday Jul 2023

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Turning the radio dial used to be hard work sometimes if you wanted to find that perfect song. But this station has got your hooks if melody-driven rock is what you favour.

Minneapolis native Kevin Bowe has run with some pretty impressive company over the years, working with the likes of The Replacements, Wilco, Freedy Johnston, and many others. His early solo records were often compared to them, filed loosely under a broadly defined ‘Americana’ label. But listening to his new album Half Past Never Bowe shifts into a more commercial 1980s poprock lane I’d compare to work from Rob Fetters, Michael Slawter and Bill Lloyd. Just listen to the magic hit-single worthy melange of sound that is “California Sober.” The sparkling electric guitar lines buffet a smooth vocal melodic hook that just keeps on giving. Then “Put Me Out of Your Misery” eases in slow and easy, only to turn on magnetic hooks in the chorus. The Americana roots are still there, evident with the unmistakeable Tom Petty strut defining “Only Child” and the touching country ballad “Another Word for God.” And there are few stylistic departures, like the dreamy, achingly beautiful great American songbook-ish “I Hate Falling in Love.” But on the whole this record further develops the poppier sound Bowe experimented with on 2018’s Every Part of the Buffalo. Tracks like “Half Past Never,” “If I Was You” and “Hurt Me Beautiful” are straight-up melodic rock and roll of the first order. With Half Past Never Kevin Bowe and the Okemah Prophets have got a winner, a record that turns killer choruses into a kick-up your heels good time.

Dolour‘s Shane Tutmarc is a master of many musical styles but on his new EP Everything I Need they cohere into a distinctive sound. And that’s impressive because the five songs included here range from ear-wormy AM radio singles, to light and sunny pop, to synth-driven hook-traps, to country-tinged poprock. Title track “Everything I Need” kicks things off and sets the tone for the EP. The song begins with some edgy rhythm guitar but quickly morphs into a smooth AM radio-sounding hit. Then “Have I Finally Gone Insane” offers up a delightful dollop of updated sunshine pop. It’s got the light pop cadence of an early seventies Sedaka with McCartney in the producer’s chair. “When the World Stops Ending” has an attention-grabbing opening synth that just keeps returning to reel you in to a song with a Naked Eyes mellifluous melody. Things go a bit pop soul on “Moves Like Miyagi” in a very in Hall and Oates way, though Phil Thornalley has also been working this seam more recently. Album closer “The Comeback Kid” sounds like a super-charged Cactus Blossoms. The tune is pure poprock but the vocals give it a country tinge. In an interview with Sweet Sweet Music Blog Tutmarc tells us Everything I Need is really just half of a new album coming out later this year. I guess that means I don’t quite have everything I need yet.

The Electric Looking Glass members have a new project that takes their retro vibes in a slightly different direction. Basically, if their old band was Haight Ashbury then the new Vanity Mirror is more swinging London. On their debut record Puff the musical atmosphere shifts between late sixties Kinks and Moodies to early seventies solo McCartney and Emitt Rhodes. Opening cut “(I First Saw You There on) Tinpot Lane” sounds like something released on the sixties era Pye records. The keyboards and electric guitar have a brilliant brittleness while the vocals ooze baroque ambience. By contrast, early single “Tuesday News” is more Badfinger at Abbey Road. I hear Ray Davies listening to “Girl Feeding a Swan,” a whole lot of early solo McCartney on “Somehow You Know,” and a definite 1970s Lennon feel infusing “Look at the Clouds.” Meanwhile “Talking Walkie-Talkie Rice Krispies Blues” hits all the psych pop marks. Not everything here is time tripping though. “Dandelion Wish” could easily fit onto any recent Mo Troper album. Vanity Mirror look and sound like a yesterday you can still love today.

The 1970s had more than few over-the-top rock and roll moments where rough lead guitar riffs combined with a show tunes-like vocal precision. You can hear it from Alice Cooper in his poppier moments, Queen and Meatloaf obviously, and ELO when you wanted to meld classical and rock elements. But beneath it all were just great, feel-good rock songs. The Midnight Callers ace this challenging formula on their new LP Rattled Humming Heart. There are so many strong songs here but I’m going to point you right to the should-be monster hit single. “Girl on the Run” is a majestic rush of classic rock hooks right out of the Tom Petty or Bruce Springsteen playbook. The jangly lead guitar runs bristle with pent up energy, the rhythm section shifts between strutting and breaking wide open, while the vocals alternate tenderness with desperation. Really, I’ve worn out the replay button on this one. Another track ringing the hit singles bell is “Baby Let Me Be.” What a perfect balance between deep rock guitar riffing and a heavenly vocal arrangement. “What Goes Around” does something similar, though here the blasting guitar chords and lead lines are disciplined by a wall of harmony vocals. 1970s musical shout outs are all over this record: a glam rock groove defining “New York Tramp,” some Thin Lizzy on “Step,” an echo of Queen or ELO on “Without Ya,” and even an updated early Beatles vibe on “The Plan.” And then “Maggie” changes things up with a more poppy acoustic ballad. Good thing it’s summer because Rattled Humming Heart really should be your go-to party record.

Girl on the Run

Radio may not be the heart of rock and roll anymore but here the should-be hits just keep on coming. Follow the links above to dive deeper into these recommended playlist additions.

Photo courtesy of Joe Haupt Flikr collection.

Time machine hits: The Mike Bell Cartel, The Burkharts, Pixy Jones, and more

29 Thursday Jun 2023

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There’s a fine line between imitation and inspiration, between a sixties cover band playing for beer and an act that can make the past live again. In the latter case the effect can be eerie. You know the record is new but you’d swear you heard it before. Today’s acts all reincarnate past eras of poprock like they just arrived by time machine.

From Finland The Mike Bell Cartel take us back to a psychedelic San Francisco full of fuzz box and chiming guitars on The Cartel and I. All twelve cuts are so late 1960s period perfect. “(I Can’t Live up to Your) Hallucinations” leads with psych rock lead guitar. “Wait” shifts to jangle guitars that burst in with a Searchers-like jauntiness. Or listen to how “Nothing to Give” rides its organ riff for all it’s worth. Then there’s the Bond-esque dread shrouding “No Turning Back” that is so 1966. It’s like the Electric Prunes got a come-back record. Albany New York’s Pony in the Pancake have a more dreamy sixties thing going on, where the David Byrne-ish mannered vocals offset the languid, ethereal pop melodies. This is perfectly captured on “In Dreams” and “We’ll Go Walking.” Speed up the formula on “The Rules of Love” and things sound a bit more Jonathan Richman in DIY party mode. “Mountain Dead Girl” defies its moniker, sounding sprightly in a poppy Velvets style. “There Goes Your Girl” and “There She Goes Again” have a hypnotic quality, with the latter a particularly classic-sounding bit of yearn rock. The album is In Dreams and it’s the real thing.

Who are The Burkharts you ask? A finely calibrated Beach Boys-inspired ensemble, at least on their latest EP outing. Who are The Burkharts? opens with the peppy “To Be Your Lover” and it immediately establishes the framework for what follows with breathless harmony vocals, good timey handclaps, and a lead guitar line that bounces with boundless energy. “With a Friend Like You” takes things in a more mature direction as the vocal swoops sound more poignant and tentative. From there songs shift from uptempo to ballad but never waver in their 1965 ambience. Except for the closing track “Wonderful Things,” which has a more timeless poprock quality. Really, the Wilson brothers vibe is impressive here but ultimately it’s the songs that carry this EP. Former El Goodo member Pixy Jones has released a solo album entitled Bits and Bobs that delves into late 1960s psych rock territory, minus the 20 minute guitar solos. The first three cuts on the album set the tone with their low key pop psych quality and killer hooks. The organ is a special guest star on this record, defining tracks like “Maureen Dreams No More.” But there are departures, like the decidedly Kinks-ian “The Fool,” the poppy acoustic “There’s Something Wrong,” and the country charmer “I’m Coming Home.”

Dutch band The Small Breed marry elements of sunshine pop with 1960s British pop psychedelia on Remember a Dream. Opening cut and title tack “Remember a Dream” conjures up a scene like the Turtles jamming with the Moody Blues. “Picturesque Pictures” carries this forward, leaning on flute and haunting harmony vocals. Other tracks are bit more straight up sixties poppy, like “She’s So Lovely.” “To Another Land” even sounds like a bit of Merseyside has slipped into the psychedelic mix. “Wanda Your Angel” reminds me of the kind of retro workout Andy Partridge excelled at. But the album stand-out track is undoubtedly “Mirror Man” with its knock-out chorus. This one is more in should-be hit single territory and less anchored to the broader sixties influences that define the rest of the record. Working the party side of the sixties street The Jack Cades evoke a sweaty underground club vibe on Something New. You can definitely put on your dancing shoes for the band’s electric remake of the Velvet’s “Temptation Inside Your Heart” and the rollicking “Tommy” and “Candy Cane.” There’s a garage rock feel to what’s going on here but it’s just a feeling because the band can clearly play some pretty smooth, sophisticated material too. “Chasing You” and “Angelica” are wonderfully evocative, atmospheric sixties psych pop. Title track “Something New” is something special too. The lead guitar work is captivating while the vocal is pure Lou Reed cool.

You don’t need to warm up the Tardis to get that authentic sixties feeling music-wise. You can just click on the acts featured above. They know how to put the past into your present.

Photo courtesy Mark Amsterdam Flikr collection.

Having a queer time with The Ballet

22 Thursday Jun 2023

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Any day of the week, any time of the year, somebody somewhere is discovering the world is decidedly queer place. And where do they turn to get their bearings about our unevenly queer world? Music has often done the heavy lifting here. With Connie Francis or Donna Summer or Madonna ringing in their ears countless small town boys have long stumbled through dusty downtown bus stations searching for someplace where there isn’t any trouble. If only they’d had access to The Ballet’s superb album catalogue. This NYC duo offer up five LPs that act like an auditory orientation to the contemporary gay male scene. Curious about gay bars, rough trade, bath houses, and daddy fixations? The Ballet might just be the niche queer musical act you’ve been looking for.

The obvious musical reference points for this band are primarily The Magnetic Fields, with perhaps a dash of the Hidden Cameras, the Pet Shop Boys and The Smittens here and there. Their 2006 debut album Mattachine! name-checks the legendary 1950s American homophile organization and remains their most stylistically diverse offering, placing the band’s distinctive keyboard attack in a variety of indie poprock settings. Subsequent records, particularly 2009’s The Bear Life and 2013’s I Blame Society, are cast in a more distinctive musical tenor, leaning into the keys. The subject matter, meanwhile, is gay, gay, gay. Songs cover topics like boyfriends (“Cheating on Your Boyfriend” “Your Boyfriend” “Two Boyfriends”), relationship shortcuts (“Rough Trade” “Married Man”), subcultural identities (“But I’m a Top” “Daddy’s Boy” “CumDumpMike”), and various gay locales (“First Time in a Gay Bar” “At the Bathhouse”). Really though, everything by these guys is wonderfully drenched in queer sentiment and experience. “Looking” from 2019’s Matchy Matchy effortlessly captures our Grindr-era bloodless information exchange approach to hooking up. Or from the same record there’s a clearheaded rumination on boyfriend obsession on “Your Boyfriend.” The duo’s just released 2023 album Daddy Issues has worked all these various elements – the club keyboards, the indie pop hooks, the hushed in-your-ear vocals – into a finely sculpted art form. It’s truly a remarkable long-player as you rarely get coverage of drugs, daddys, married men, bathhouses and dancing all on one record.

You can start your lessons with The Ballet just about anywhere. All the albums offer great gay content set to fine indie pop tunes. I’ve pulled out a song from each record just to get you started but the tunes left behind are just itching to be heard. Don’t flake on them.

It doesn’t need to be Pride season to enjoy The Ballet. You’ll want to enjoy this queer content all year long.

Photo courtesy Ryan Khatam Flikr collection.

Another shot of The Ruen Brothers, Bombadil, and The Rallies

18 Sunday Jun 2023

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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Today’s post features three of my absolute fave acts. I’ve gushed over their past efforts and I can’t imagine they’ll disappoint me with anything new. Bartender, line me up for another shot from these performers.

What Morricone was to the 1960s spaghetti western The Ruen Brothers are to our contemporary cinematic sense of the American west. Their music conjures up imagery of a desperate urban landscape and a foreboding sense of betrayal at every turn. The opening bars of “Slow Draw” kicks off their third long player Ten Paces in a way that immediately sets of the mood of what is to come. And that mood is dark, played very vintage rock and roll tinged with western and contemporary pop touches. “The Fear” captures this mix beautifully, sometimes conjuring up a dance beat, then shifting to an aching country lament. So too “Hi-Yo” starts all western movie vista only to get a danceable beat going. Then comes the album’s moody masterpiece, “Don’t Know What’s Come Over You.” The song is an intense aural assault, all the sonic elements perfectly balanced to ride the tune’s melodic tension. The boys favour their country side on a number cuts here, like the haunting ballad “Bullet Blues,” the more up-tempo “Free as the Birds” and “Long Road.” Sometimes the country tips toward western whimsy, like on “Silver to Gold,” a song that skips and lopes in a way that will have you wanting to kick up your heels. Another stand out track is “The Good Surely Die.” There is something uplifting going here with a vocal that strikes a divine note in the chorus that is both moving and other-worldly. Mark my words, the genius of these two song-writing and performing talents is only just getting started.

I love folk music. I love it’s seriousness, it’s depth, it’s capacity to move us with words and music. But I might love folk pop even more. There is lightness to folk pop that helps us take flight from this harsh world, just when we need to.  Bombadil excel at staging just such take-offs. Their new album is Colors and it takes that theme into 12 variations over the course of the record. The songs are really more mood sketches than conventional tunes. Having said that, opening cut “Brown Pennies” certainly sounds like the radio-friendly single. At other points, each song draws out some particular sound to develop more. “Orange Planets” leans into the bass to move song forward with some delightful harmony vocal work. “Green Feelings” hits the folk marks, both on the acoustic guitar sound and vocal mix. “Purple Architecture” has some lovely acoustic guitar trills draping a classic folk pop tune. “Indigo Seamstress” is a departure, vibing a kind of New Pornographers indie pop sound. Overall the songs here blend their visual and musical shading together to create a variety of moods – “Grey Space” really nails this. I’d recommend letting Colors fall across you like a warm blanket, comforting and intriguing you at the same time.

Tacoma Washington’s The Rallies are a band with heart. Their melodies seldom fail to catch your ear and hit you in the gut. Album number three It Must be The Rallies delivers their trademark melody-plus-heart-wrenching lyrics formula. Opening cut “Must Be Love” is sweet and relentless in rolling out the hooks. The backbone of the record is a host of singles-worthy material, solid poprock tracks like “All I Ever Knew,” “Never a Doubt” and “Give Me The Truth.” But the value-added are the wonderfully off-kilter pop numbers like “Out of the Blue” with its fab jangle notes or the wistful, jangle and harmony-vocal laden “As Long As.” There’s a darker pop feel to some of the songs, like “Are You Hearing Me?” with its ominous background vocals and earthy lead guitar lines or “No Other Road” with its more sombre demeanor. Or there’s “Turn It Up” which sounds like a lost classic 1970s AM radio single. Fittingly the record ends with “No Matter,” a touching understated ballad delivered in that stark, distinctive Rallies style. Hit play and there’s no mistaking this band for anyone else, it must be The Rallies.

Reliable is one word for today’s featured acts. They deliver on past promise and then some. But don’t take my word for it, check them out for yourselves.

Photo courtesy Anonymous Account on Flikr.

Jangle Thursday: The Jangles and The Jangle Band

15 Thursday Jun 2023

Posted by in Artist Spotlight

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It’s time to put the jangle up front on jangle Thursday. And it doesn’t get any more front and centre than with these two jingle-jangle exemplars. Whether down home or down under, these bands know what to do with a bit of dynamic range compression and 12 string guitars.

The opening cut of Lynchberg Virginia’s The Jangles only LP Pioneer radiates Monkees energy. “The Things I’m Sorry For” has got the jump-style lead guitar jangle and a Nesmithian vocal delivery. But from there the band demonstrate command of a broad range of late 1950s to mid-1960s rock and roll styles. For instance, check out how “I Won’t Shed a Tear” nails a mid-1960s British beat group sound. Follow-up EP Little Island Love is less jangly than 1950s Buddy Holly country-ish poprock, e.g. “Maybe I’m In Love.” Since then the band has opted to just release a stream of singles. “Pea Island” is a languid guitar surf instrumental. You can practically hear the surf breaking on the sand. Then “Here Without You” takes us back into solid Bryds territory with a cover the lightens the song’s dark mood. Both the jangle and vocals are arranged slightly differently and the effect is refreshing. Recent release “Helping Hands” heads back to the British beat group jangle. Then there’s “My Love Is Gone” which sounds like something the Quarryman would have been banging out at the Woolton Parish Church Festival. Needle-dropping through this bevy of recent stand-alone singles you can really hear how this duo are having a great time shifting styles like some people change their clothes. I’m sure a new album can’t be far off.

Perth Australia’s The Jangle Band started as a spontaneous side project for a group of local indie rock veterans from the 1980s who’d come together for a reunion of one of their old bands. A few one-off singles eventually led to the release of an album and an EP but the members commitment to the whole exercise seemed a bit tentative. And that’s a shame because their collection of recordings are pretty special. The debut single “Kill the Lovers” came out in 2015, kicking things off in fine Byrds fashion. Really, I thought this was a cover of something from Mr. Tambourine Man. B-side “This Soul Is Not For Sale” has got more of the good same delicious jangle guitar. A year later the album Edge of a Dream collected various singles together and added new material that expanded the band’s sound, with songs like “Perth” and “It Won’t Break” exuding a more contemporary Teenage Fanclub vibe. In 2018 the band teased us with another single, the sunshine poppy jangler “The Guy Who Used to Care.” After promising a new LP 2020 saw the release of an EP instead, The Metro Hotel. It sparkles with some truly great cuts. “So Long” has got a Big Star shine, the jangle a bit more subdued to make room for the wall of harmony vocals. Then “Metro Hotel” takes things back to a Brydsian register while “Dusk Till Dawn” is more R.E.M.

You know it’s gonna be jangle good when it’s right there in the name. Visit today’s jangle bands online for an even bigger dose of trebly guitars and harmony vocals.

Photo credit: fragment from the cover art for The Jangle Band’s debut single designed by Tess Kelly.