Playing the Odds

27 Thursday Oct 2022

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A long time ago in the 1990s a flash of Canadian cultural pride briefly burned bright. The Toronto-based Kids in the Hall were wowing the comedy field with their boundary-crashing, cross-dressing humour while out on the country’s west coast a new band was turning heads and turntables. The Odds or just Odds brought together two stars of the local Vancouver scene, Stephen Drake and Craig Northey. For a while it seemed that everyone in town had a friend of a friend in a band with them. Together they self-produced the cheeky Neopolitan (deliberately misspelled) in 1991, followed by the more major label-ish Bedbugs in 1993. Both made a splash primarily in Canada. The breakthrough moment was 1995’s Good Weird Feeling, an album that launched the band from the indie scene to the almost mainstream with killer cuts like “Truth Untold,” “Radios of Heaven,” and the seductive “I Would Be Your Man.” I was sold. When 1996’s Nest came out I was convinced they were on the verge of major stardom with “Someone Who’s Cool” as the obvious should-be hit single. Man was I wrong. And then that moment of Canadian cultural coolness passed. The Kids in the Hall movie Brain Candy bombed at the box office (even an Odds soundtrack song couldn’t save it) while Odds themselves broke up in 1999. What could have been wasn’t. It seemed like the new century would have to get along without them.

Fast forward to the new millennium and the band minus Stephen Drake (and plus newcomer Murray Atkinson) decide to reunite as the New Odds and then, later, just back to Odds. Since then they’ve released 2 albums, 3 EPs and a stand-alone single. 2008’s Cheerleader came on strong, reviving the band’s signature guitar-heavy melodic rock and roll sound. Tracks like “Getting My Attention,” “Out of Mind” and “Good Times Rolled Away” harken back to their earlier work, particularly from the Good Weird Feeling period. By contrast “Cloud Full of Rocks” and “Write It In Lightning” really remind me of Sloan. Things shift into Kim Mitchell or Tom Cochrane good-time rocking territory on the Corner Gas theme “My Happy Place.” For singles I’d take “I Feel Like This All the Time” with its laid back hooky jangle, though “River is Cried” is another seductive slow burn.

Write It In Lightning
I Feel Like This All the Time

Five years later the band was ready with another new album but marketing concerns saw it carved up into three separate EPs released over a two-year period circa 2013-14. The original LP only finally got an official release this Fall. No matter, Universal Remote is a timeless rock and roll package, equally at home whether it be 1999, 2013 or right now. If Cheerleader’s sound was lean and focused then Universal Remote fattens things up, multiplying and overlapping guitar parts all over the place. Opening track “He Thinks He Owns You” builds its sonic palate bit by bit, conjuring up a distinct atmosphere. “Anything You Want” is just a gorgeous slice of guitar poprock, a radio ready single if ever there was one. “High” even hits some country notes a la Jayhawks and Blue Rodeo. And then there’s the obvious hit, “Party Party Party,” a song that busts out the chord-slashing rock fun like an indie rock BTO. By contrast “Ghost Bike” leans into a hypnotic keyboard arrangement, adding another dimension to the album.

It’s great when a favourite band makes a comeback but there’s always a moment or two of trepidation about whether the new material will measure up. With Odds, you can relax. Cheerleader and Universal Remote compare more than favourably with the band’s original catalogue. These records are like cherished friends who’ve returned to the neighbourhood just to hang out.

Around the dial: The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness, Push Puppets, Uni Boys, and The Mommyheads

23 Sunday Oct 2022

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What if we could revive that great era of radio circa 1978 to 1981 when the likes of Squeeze, XTC, Rockpile, Split Enz and a host of other new wave bands made it into regular rotation? Commercial radio was rarely so open to offbeat trends. Those days might be gone but we can try to revive that kind of energy with a turn around our virtual radio dial.

I loved albums one and two from The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness. Indeed, “I Don’t Mind” from last year’s Songs from Another Life topped my should-be hit singles for 2021. So I’m obviously primed to like anything new. Happily I can confirm that their new album The Third Wave of … is another jangle tour-de-force, one that extends beyond what they’ve done before. Oh sure there’s the usual Bryds-meets-Teenage Fanclub sparkle to the guitars and shiver in the vocal harmonies. Added to this is material with a harder, new wave guitar edge, as if the Cars rhythm section had dropped in on a few recording sessions. Listen for it on tracks like “Look Back,” “In the Right” and “Out of Time” where it melds with TBWTPN’s distinctive song-writing style. I think the most interesting move in this direction is “Old Pictures of Ourselves” which combines creative guitar and keyboard parts in a striking synthesis. Yet by and large this record is full of familiar TBWTPN grin-inducing, feel-good tunes: songs like “As the Day Begins” and “Turning Red” that tweak the jangle and vocal harmonies to go straight for the heart. Some efforts strike a more sombre jangly note, like “The Stars Go Round” and “Open the Box.” My fave track this outing is probably “Isolation,” an exquisite country pop duet with Mary Lou Lord. And don’t miss the lovely, spare acoustic version of the song (on the digital version of the album only) where Lord’s vocal is primary.

Sometimes you start playing a record and you just know it’s going to be terrific. That was my reaction to “There’s No One Like Lynette,” the opening cut on Push Puppets new LP Allegory Grey. The song delivered an electric jolt of New Pornographers-influenced tune-age. When track two “Sometimes the Buds Never Flower” took off in a very different (but pleasing) Finn brothers direction that was it, I was hooked. And things just got better from there. Songwriter Erich Specht cites an array of power pop influences but the Crowded House imprint is strong on this album. Sometimes they slip in subtly, like the deft Neil Finn melodic turn in the chorus of “Obvious” or the Tim Finn vocal sound on “Perfect Picture.” Elsewhere they’re in your face, like “Lightening in a Dress” where things kick off like something right out of Neil Finn melodic central casting. It’s not just the songs, the band has got the Crowded House feel down. It’s the organ on “Center of the Storm” or the sad melodic guitar lines defining “October Surprise.” And yet the band make these influences their own, a testament to the superior song-writing and performance here. Case in point: obvious should-be hit single “The Bane of My Existence.” All the elements come together on this breezy hook-filled delight. As power pop interview site Sweet Sweet Music said recently, this fantastic record is one to treasure.

On Do It All Next Week the Uni Boys tap the source code of 1970s new wave power pop, bands like the Plimsouls, the Records and Bram Tchaikovsky. Throughout the record they nail the guitar sound, the stark rhythm guitar style, accented by streamlined melodic lead guitar lines. The formula is set from the start with the surging “You Worry About Me” which almost comes off like an American version of The Jam. “Downtown” is more Plimsouls with its filled out sound. “On Your Loving Mind” starts off Cars-like with a dose of poppy Ramones coming in later. There’s even a touch of Stones on the otherwise Ramones kinda of tune that is “One More Night.” “Up To You” moves in a more melodically pop direction with some fab trebly guitar elevating the impact of the song. Another guitar special number is “You Are in My Heart” with its up-front guitar pyrotechnics and ominous background aura. But the stand out track here for me is “Caroline Kills.” It’s got a Jonathan Sings! elan but like he’d joined The Replacements. Do It All Next Week demonstrates that musical obsession doesn’t have to lead to recycled nostalgia. Sometimes something old is just new again.

A lot of bands got chewed up in the major label meltdown of the 1990s when it seemed like, overnight, the standard commercial career path for modern artists just ended. Thankfully a few bounced back, like The Mommyheads. After a disastrous dalliance with Geffen in the 1990s they relaunched their career in the new millennium with a series of brilliant albums, forcing reviewers to stock up on superlatives. And the brand new Genius Killer LP is more of the good same. Reviewers often compare the band to XTC and there’s some of that lurking here, perhaps in a pop soul guise on “She’s a Fighter.” But get ready for some surprises. Like the decidedly ELO flavour popping up all over “Impulse Items.” Or the Odds vibe on “Bittersweet.” Another band often invoked with the group on particular selections is Queen, this time most evident on title-track “Genius Killer.” But digging a bit deeper I’d make comparisons of what is going here with more experimental outfits like Tally Hall, Overlord and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, particularly on cuts like “Distill Your Love Into That Dying Light” and “Privilege.” There’s even a bit of 1970s pop prog going on tracks like “First Five Seconds.” Should-be hit single “Idealist” is an understated bit of poprock genius, both in songwriting and execution. But I’m also partial to the subtle and alluring, almost Hall and Oates-like charms of “One and the Same.” My recommendation? Get smart with today’s premiere smart person’s band, The Mommyheads. And pick up a copy of Genius Killer today.

Yesterday lives on in the here and now, renewed and reanimated on your radio dial. Visit these artists to get the full record revival experience.

Photo courtesy Tom Magliery.

Make mine a single!

16 Sunday Oct 2022

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‘Disk jockey, make mine a single!’ or words to that effect might be heard somewhere sometime on request night. But what kind of song makes the cut? Today’s post offers you 21 selections to choose from. So get ready – it’s playlist stocking time!

The delicious tension driving “Square One” from New Jersey’s Sad Girls involves casting melancholic vocals against a backdrop of bright churning rhythm guitar work. A captivating melodic alchemy is the result. The song is featured on the band’s recent EP Wild Creatures, just one of many winning contributions. I mean, it’s no accident this mini-album contains a cover of the Split Enz hit single “I Got You.” Haunting, atmospheric, sometimes mournful – that’s Sad Girls’ basic MO. Jangle is alive and well in Paisley, Scotland, thanks to The Muldoons. Their 2020 debut album Made for Each Other has that sprightly yet dispirited feel of so many late 1980s Manchester bands (and that’s a good thing). But check out the rippling jangle propelling “Lovely Things,” aided by a great horn section (I have it on good authority they’re real). What a standout track! Melbourne’s Cool Sounds take a different approach. “Sleepers” is so loping-rhythm cool, ornamented with fab electric piano motifs, crystalline clear guitar riffs, and breathy vocals. The overall effect is hypnotic, lulling, but still hooky. Halifax Nova Scotia tunesmith David Myles is a little bit soft rock crooner, a little bit jazz sophisticate. His new album It’s Only a Little Loneliness has shades of gospel, country, and urban-tinged pop. Kinda like what Leonard Cohen was doing with this last few records. Just listen to how he arranges the various hooky adornments on “Mystery,” the eerie lead guitar lines hovering in the background, the stately female back-up singers, the ear wormy keyboard lick shadowing the ‘mystery’ lyric. Classy, cloaked in a bit mystery, yet totally 1980s AM radio friendly. The follow up to Bird Streets much-lauded 2018 self-titled debut album is just about out. Lagoon promises more of the same winning, jangle-infused Americana-styled poprock. Here’s a taste of what is to come with “Go Free.” The guitar work and mesh of harmony vocals suggests those other Bryds with a hint of easygoing Tom Petty.

Bird Streets – Go Free

Beatle cover bands are no rare thing. Some are great but many require a few pints to hit their Mersey stride. Then there are the masters, acts like Apple Jam and The Analogues who receive praise from the likes of former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick and Beatles archivist Mark Lewisohn. But that happens when those players set aside the Fabs canon to do their own thing? The Analogues, now dubbed The Analogues Sideshow, demonstrate it doesn’t have to be phony Beatlemania. “Don’t Fade Away” is clearly sixties influenced but in a timeless post-1980s poprock way. Are relationships like labour saving devices? That’s the angle Newcastle Australia duo The Tryouts are laying on us with “Washer.” The spare sounding verses meet dialed up chorus reminds me of Mo Kenney or Darwin Deez. Can’t wait for more from these two. Really, anything. Yotam Ben Horin’s new longplayer Young Forever has so many highlights for but some reason “Leopard” leapt out at me. Maybe it was the splash of shimmery guitar, perhaps it was lines like ‘I wanna be your Johnny Marr.’ But something really works on this particular tune, I found myself returning to it again and again. New Orleans band Lawn have got an art rock feel going on with their recent album Bigger Sprout. The songs are just a bit discordant and unpredictable and definitely memorable. But their opening cut is so should-be hit single. “Down” has an addictive guitar hook anchoring everything, rolling out like a Blue Oyster Cult mega-riff. But then it’s the pulsing rhythm guitar that takes everything forward in the chorus. You gotta hand it to Geoff Palmer. Doing a complete cover of Dee Dee Ramone’s near-universally hated solo record Standing the Spotlight takes guts and some pretty serious inspiration. But Palmer delivers. Check out how he takes a melodic promise that is just hinted at in Dee Dee’s original version of “Baby Doll” and breaks it wide open, elevating the track from a noble failure to a retro classic.

The Analogues Sideshow – Don’t Fade Away
The Tryouts – Washer

On his new solo record The Misfits Old 97s frontman Rhett Miller is not just spinning his indie rock Americana wheels. The whole enterprise has a 1970s polished crossover country-meets-pop feel. Reviewers have suggested there’s a 1970s Fleetwood Mac twist on “Go Through You” but I hear a pub rock meets Andy Kim kind of pop smoothness. Brooklyn’s Piano Movers have a low profile on the ole interweb – I could find only 3 songs. But what a trio they are. Lofi, indie, with a Jonathan Richman kind of earnest yet still laid back intensity. “Your Girlfriend’s Lover” is an acoustic guitar-strummy proto-feminist delight, with some basic but alluring lead guitar interludes. The vocals have a meditative sonic delivery, so soothing. Another Fruits and Flowers record label band is Oakland’s Odd Hope. I’ll admit, it was Jesss Scott’s striking, colourful album artwork that caught my attention here. As with its cover, the album reflects a colourful range of musical styles like a kaleidoscope. But my stand out fave is the mildly discordant, garage-y “Your Ending.” In style it stands somewhere between The Clash and Petty’s Heartbreaks and could be pulled in either direction. Former Disney animator, Pussywillows member, and arch Francophile, April March does everything with style. Her new album is Cinerama and like the lost projection process its named after it is all retro. And yet it sounds so now too. I’m singling out “Born” as your taste-tester song. Everything starts very pleasant, acoustic guitar and some double-tracked vocals but check out that sweet trebly guitar intervention that arrives 39 seconds in. Now it’s a dreamy confection of mid-1960s British pop single themes. The trick that the very Beatlesque Cupid’s Carnival manage to pull off repeatedly is throwing in just enough familiar Merseybeat-meets-early pop psychedelic elements to make your head turn but then deliver a great original song. Their latest stand-alone single offering is “You Know” and all the necessary moving parts are there: Lennon-esque vocal, Sgt. Pepper-era background vocals, and slow-burn hooky melody.

April March – Born
Cupid’s Carnival – You Know

It’s hard to put a label on just what It’s Karma It’s Cool is doing stylistically. There seems to be bits of early 1980s prog pop, a dash of new wave, and a whole lot of straight up poppy rock and roll. On their recent stand-alone single “A Gentle Reminder” I hear a synthesis that reminds me of early Split Enz with perhaps a Hoodoo Gurus vibe on the vocals. The organ is the star here, stitching together an impressive array of hooks and musical asides. Last spring Minneapolis Minnesota native Anthony Newes put out a quiet record of songs with long titles. His Dark of the Sea EP will bathe you in melodic sweetness, the songs rolling over you with effortless effect. With a vocal landing somewhere between Rufus Wainwright and Elliott Smith, “Take It From You Now You Take It From Me” steals into your consciousness like a cool wind on a warm day. For de-stressing there something very Enya here but with guitars. Chicago’s The Walkdown want you to hold for the hooks on their recent single “Jane Doe.” The verses have that deadpan, almost talky punk feel. But when they break out the chorus they step on the melody pedal and things take off from there. The rest of their catalogue is pretty solid too. Rich and Marvin are Rich McCulley and Marvin Etzioni and “Apricot” is their first joint effort. Like the fruit, the song is refreshingly sweet, delivered in a light country folk style. We’ve heard bands like the BoDeans and Los Lobos give us these kinds of acoustic forays as album deep cuts. Interested to see where this duo take things next. On their recent EP Unsolicited Advice for Your DIY Disaster Sydney Australia punky poprockers The Buoys give the boys both barrels. The songs coat a whole load of post-teenage angst in slightly harsh melodic goodness. The whole record is a mosh pit dance party but “Lie To Me Again” slows the pace, temporarily, before going hook nuclear in the chorus. The song may end but you’ll be humming it all day.

Song number 21 is special departure from a brand new band that specializes in a rock and roll aural assault. Dust Star open their debut album Open Up That Heart with a full on rocking tidal wave on “Nothing in my Head.” You can practically see the sweaty crowd levitating on the dance floor to this one. But I want to draw your attention to the more restrained title track with its Weezer meets Sugar Ray melodic roll out. There’s even an early Beatles or Cheap Trick vibe going in the late instrumental break. So much to like here.

Albums are great but sometimes you just need a stack of singles to turn a good night great. Click on the links to hear even more from these should-be up and comers.

Fall folk explosion: The Manana People, Merrym’n, Bats, Herr Wade, and Maestro Collage

09 Sunday Oct 2022

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Autumn sends us running for those cozy coffee houses, full of crazed beatniks and their guitars. Folk music is the price we pay for civilization after all (and caffeine served at reasonable prices). Fair warning: today’s post takes a rather broad swipe at the folk idiom. Some here may not even know their membership is paid up.

What do former capital cities do? One day you’re where the political action is and then it’s all about Berlin (again). That’s Bonn Germany’s crisis. Perhaps that explains The Manana People.  Their two albums tend to veer all over with no fixed address genre-wise. Of course, that makes for a special variety of tunes. 2019’s Princess Diana is a marvelous collection of freak folk oddities: a bit of Bombadil, some sixties country-folk, and a whole lot ironic detachment. The record is a celebration of horror, cinematic or otherwise. “Anthropophagus” riffs on a 1980 Italian horror film (featuring some German tourist victims, of course) while “A Silly Horror Song,” “People Don’t Know They’re Dead,” and “The Manana People Fight the Undead” develop the theme further. The songs are great, both fun and hummable, combining folk rock with the occasional 1950s space movie sounds. Opening cuts “Remember I Was Movies” and “We’re Seagulls” are representative of the twin foci, full of nice folky vocal harmonies and banjos on the former and country-folk plus spacey effects defining the latter. “Matchstick” offers something a bit different, vibing a cross fertilization between Jethro Tull and You Won’t. This year’s long player Song Cycle, Or Music For The End Of Our Times makes the horror more everyday but the songs remain the same, reliably good. “Amputated Memory” is a brilliant folk-plus journey, so warm and familiar, except when it isn’t. Outlier alert: “It’s All Really Messed Up.” This one sounds very 10cc.

For balladeer Bob Moston performing under the name the Merrym’n is all about Stoke-on-Trent, working class life, and endearing small town sentiment. Over the course of four albums and few EPs and singles he’s sung about “Cow Tipping,” “Brown Sauce,” “The Blue Rinse Brigade,” “Forgotten Railway Stations,” and more. The brief was evident on his 2015 debut album Black Over Bill’s Mother featuring “I Was Born in Stoke-On-Trent.” His home town loyalty reappeared on 2017’s Life, On VHS with “Ay Up, Ow At, Orate?” (local slang for ‘hello, how are you, are you OK?’). His musical approach ranges from ‘traditional’ to ‘going-electric’ kinds of folk – think Donovan or a less angry Jake Bugg. There’s plenty of the trad feel on the early and most recent albums, with a few in between. 2018’s Post-Industrial Apocalypse embellishes the classic folk ballad style of “The Night the Canal Collapsed” with some gritty organ and rumbly guitar, while the vocal style reminiscent of Australian balladeer Darren Hanlon. By contrast, “Working Class Area” sounds a bit more Billy Bragg. For the more electric ‘new folk’ sound “Anna of the Five Towns” and “North Wales Expressway” turn up the electric guitar amplifiers. But for something different again, 2021’s More from Merrym’n moves into pop folk territory with the lilting, hooky “Statue of Josiah.” With his focus on class and home and writing memorable tunes Merrym’n is working all sides of the Stoke-on-Trent folk street.

Growing up is hard to do. That’s the message on Blue Cabinet, the new album from Nashville band Bats. Teen alienation appeals mostly to those going through it but sometimes a writer can draw the not-so-innocent bystanders in. Bats’ creative force Jess Awh is that kind of writer. The images here are oh-so relatable, regardless of age. Sonically the record has an assured Mary Lou Lord pop folk style with some country shading here and there. “New Job” sets the tonal scene, effectively capturing the heartbreak of teen friend separation. “We All Miss the Football Season” is a bit poppier while maintaining a dark lyrical demeanor. Keyboards are the star on this track, adding a droll undercurrent. Some tracks here are straight up folk country ballads, e.g. “Violets” and “Spinnerbait.” Others like “Cooking with Sarah” and “Quonset Hut” glow with a more buoyant poppy folk feel. Then “Signal Ridge” breaks all the rules with a melody that is equal parts country and jazz tinges. Radio ready single vote goes to “Golden Spoon.” Such smooth vocals offset by some sweet fiddle work.

Herr Wade is a duo comprised of Germany‘s Sebastian Voss (Nah…, The Fisherman and his Soul, Cinema Engines) and Norway’s Jørn O. Åleskjær (The Loch Ness Mouse, Monobird, Sapphire & Steel) and together they’ve created Dreht am Kabel, a record that defies easy sorting by genre. Folk seemed as good as any other possible description. What I love here is the anarchic mix of styles and instruments. Opening cut and title track “Dreht am Kabel” sounds so 1970s folk underlaid with ominous keyboards and what sounds like a helicopter flying near the studio. “Lass sie an” clips along, more 1960s upbeat yet mellow pop. “Bitte sag nicht” has a more mannered 1960s cinematic pop vibe. Then “Askim” gives off the rippling air of an A-ha single. Bossa nova makes an appearance on “Nur Ketchup” cut with some jazzy horns. The record is mostly sung in German, which sounds cool in English and just clear and straightforward to Germans. For a spot of Norwegian, check out “Altenberge.” Overall I’d say Dreht am Kabel is a mad happy collection of sonic treats, one the whole extended family will enjoy.

Imagine They Might Be Giants on a turn down day and you might have a Maestro Collage record. The band sometimes sound bubbly and winsome but their lyrical content is more akin to Fountain of Wayne’s troubled suburbia. Magnetic Fields are probably a better comparitor on their 2020 debut album Otter. Just check out the twin surge of acoustic guitars and homoerotic imagery. 2021 EP Studio 54 dials up the not-so-subtle social critique of ‘socialite excess’ in a jaunty Elephant 6 style, particularly on the almost title track “Wine at Studio 54.” Then late in 2021 the band released their magnus opus LP New York, a sprawling love letter (or restraining order?) aimed at their home state. Like Stephen Merritt’s 69 Love Songs this release is crammed with diverging musical styles and pointed social commentary. The original release had 20 songs, the re-release 25. “B-B-Barricade” is one part folk dirge, one part of church hymn. “Montagues and Capulets” is an alluring spoken word folk drone. “Float Over D’arcy” brings a bit of guitar distortion to an Apples in Stereo feel. The extended LP version even caps its NYC cred with mean covers of the Velvet Underground. But my fave track amid all this goodness is “State of Sugar Maple,” a rather out-of-character straight-up poprock single.

Dig out that wool overcoat and scarf now or all the best seats will be gone. Folk, creatively defined, is breaking out all over this fall. Get your curated collection started here.

Photo courtesy Alex Streif.

Martin Luther Lennon lives!

05 Wednesday Oct 2022

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Guy puts out two killer power pop albums in the late 1990s. Then nothing. Until now. Friends I’m here to tell you that Martin Luther Lennon lives! And it’s like no time has passed at all. His new single “jfkha” is a pretty special little jem of a song. It starts lowkey but verse by verse you can feel the pressure building until a great groovy melodic hell breaks loose in the chorus. This guy sounds like all those super poppy, slightly discordant bands from the nineties, acts like the Eels, Adam Daniel, and, er, Martin Luther Lennon.

It appears that this new musical sighting of MLL 23 years after this last album release may just be the beginning. There’s a GoFundMe page up to help offset the recording costs of this single – let’s hope an oversubscription might lead to more new MML releases. In the meantime, why not reacquaint yourself with those now classic Martin Luther Lennon albums from 1996 and 1999, Music for a World Without Limitations and Escape to Paradox Island respectively. From the former I’m partial to the crashing guitars that kick off “Happy Girl” with its new wave other Lennon-y vibe while “No Waiting” sounds so early Joe Jackson minus the snarl. From the latter I love the piano-driven Ben Folds-ish “Only Love” and the tight power pop delight “I’m a Little Time Bomb.”

Happy Girl
No Waiting
Only Love
I’m a Little Time Bomb

The return of Martin Luther Lennon is a wonderful, welcome surprise. Buy this single now. Let’s keep MML coming around.

Photo courtesy Larry Gordon.

Seismically sixties: Monogroove, The Lings, The Ramalamas, and Tony Molina

01 Saturday Oct 2022

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Get ready to shake your groove thing because today’s acts can’t be contained. Something’s gotta twitch in time to these beat crazy tunes from bands that wear their love of all things 1960s on every appendage.

Monogroove might come from America’s west coast but stylistically they’re all over the map. Their most recent LP Into the Sun has a distinctive 1960s California pop feel, except when its giving off a very English pop vocal vibe. Then at different points you’d swear record’s genre is psych pop, only to have things switch to early 1960s sweetheart rock and roll motifs. No matter, “What I See In You” is a great album opener, with a guitar reminiscent of the chime on Gene Clark’s “So You Say You Lost Your Baby.” Then “Walk in the Park” takes us in a more English 1960s pop vocal direction. By the time “Down On” cranks up like an slow homage to “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” we’re well into serious 1960s psych pop territory. And it’s just at that moment that things turn even a bit more retro, going all early 1960s girl group and neo-1950s on “Hold Onto Me” and “Darlin.” The 1970s get a look in on “Me In You” with its Kinks-like dirty rhythm guitar and sweet suite of vocal turns while “Here I Stand” sounds more seventies soft rock. I love the psychedelic lead guitar line that sets up “Time Out” and “SPCA” is a bit of glam bubblegum fun. And is it just me or does “I Only Know” kick off with an ace CCR acoustic guitar/bass groove before settling into a 1970s pop country ballad? Don’t judge this band just by their stylish sixties psych rock album cover. They’re that, but a whole lot more.

I can’t decide if Italian band The Lings are more retro 1960s or that particular 1980s brand of sixties-nouveau. On their new self-titled debut album there’s a crisp buoyant sound I associate more with the latter, like that cool breeze accompanying some early morning sunshine.  First up “The Worst of You” has an endearing 1960s spy movie feel, its spare guitar lead lines and echo-y vocals lending mystery to the proceedings. And that’s basically the formula here: a variety of carefully chosen, moody guitars working in tension with ever-so-pleasing harmony vocals. Listen to how “Little Josie” combines chugging rhythm guitar with vocals that remind me of bands like Stornoway while “Blue” arranges it guitar parts as a kind of reverby canvas for the singers. I’d swear that’s Jake Bugg guesting on vocals for “Holocene” while the tune draws out an early Beatles atmosphere. From there the record is like a variety show sampling of styles, from rocking rave-up on “Freaky Cheesy” to the 1980s folk rock of “Grace” to the heartland FM rock radio feel fueling “Never Ending Lonely Rush M.A.” Singling out a single I’d go with “Let Me Out” given its Shadowy Men tremelo guitar and sophisticated melodic turns in the chorus. But I’m also partial to the rocking lurch defining “Hometown Kids” and its Proclaimers-like sing-along vocals. After playing this album loud I think these guys might just be worth a trip to southern Europe for a live show.

Needle dropping through The Ramalamas 2019 greatest hits collection Carnivorous Plants for Sale the band seemed to be headed in a swampy Jayhawks or Blue Rodeo direction. But their new release Le Cape Noir suggests a different road altogether. The presser describes the album as the soundtrack to an ‘imaginary long lost 1968 cult psycho-thrilller/horror/drama classic’. That’s quite a detailed order. “Funtastique” is the show opener but it’s less an opening credits reel than a B52s-inspired dance grind. “Moondog” much more sets the mood for this mock soundtrack with its Russ Meyers Beyond the Valley of the Dolls vibe. Then “Le Cape Noir” is totally the period, coming on like a rogue Ventures with the main guitar giving off plenty of drama and menace. Another highlight is “Espiritismo” with its spooky otherworldly vocals and guitar work. “The Night Tide” is another tune fully in character, a psych rock Jayhawks launching the revenge of the rumbly guitar. “Love Theme from Le Cape” also sounds so like an early Bond album deep-cut instrumental. The rest of the album tends to revert to the band’s signature swampy, psych rock style, like they’ve transformed into the act hired for the closing-of-set party.  But that doesn’t detract from the record’s playful sense of fun. Indeed, “Death in the Pot” is a real a Saturday night dance stomper.

What Tony Molina proves is that acing the sounds of yesteryear doesn’t have to leave you stuck in the past. His new long-player Into the Fade is a veritable candy store of sixties and seventies sonic sweetness that nevertheless sounds timeless. The variety here is breathtaking. “The Last Time” combines Thin Lizzy guitarmonies with a Weezer poprock sensibility while “Not Worth Knowing” is more like a sixties-influenced Teenage Fanclub. I know I hear FOW everywhere but “Leave This Town” sounds like a fuzz-enhanced version of the band. Beatles motifs are popped into a host of songs throughout the album: the instrumental break in “Don’t Be Far” that is reminiscent of A Hard Day’s Night movie soundtrack deep cut, the “Strawberry Fields Forever” mellotron opener to “Songs For Friends (Slight Return),” some “Michelle” worthy acoustic guitar work on the instrumental “Ovens Theme pt.4,” and the “Julia”-esque vibe all over “Years Ago pt.2.” And just when you think you see where things are going Molina throws a curve. Like the creative piano solo that pops out in the instrumental break of “I Don’t Like That He.” There’s even a pop punk energy to “Fuck Off Now” and “All I’ve Known.”  They nicely contrast with the low-key, acoustic Elliott Smith aura of “Four Sided Cell.” But I think my fave from this collection is the languid, Teenage Fanclubby “Burn Everyone.” Into the Fade is a set of bright shiny things, all so different yet still amounting to an enjoyably coherent listen.

Everything old is new again in music, if you know how to reinvent your influences. Today’s bands do that, harnessing the past to make the here and now just a little more groovy.

Click on the links to find the mp3s of these artists. For CDs and vinyl of The Lings and Tony Molina ease on over to Kool Kat Musik.

Should be a hit single: Dazy “Rollercoaster Ride”

28 Wednesday Sep 2022

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In commenting on the as-yet-to-be released new long-player from Dazy, a fan described the band as “the best noise pop I’ve come across.” The description is an apt summation of the Richmond, Virginia group’s early vibe, nicely captured on the 2021 compilation Maximumblastsuperloud: The First 24 Songs. There’s a punkish ferocity to these early tunes, like Jesus and Mary Chain on speed. But the new album Out of Body is something else. I’m hearing more straight up power pop and even a turn to a more crafted, subdued melodic pop, particularly on the fabulous single “Rollercoaster Ride.” The song kicks off slow-ish, luring you in with a swing like Sugar Ray or Weezer in pop melody mode, before kicking the hooks into high gear. And what a ride it is. The chorus delivers the good time rush we might associate with arriving at the midway, primed for a great time. The single’s b-side “Peel” is pretty special too, working a Beatles/Oasis melodic grind of guitars plus sweet vocal work.

Get in on the ground floor with this band. Their exhilarating, shifting synthesis of poprock is only just starting to gel.

Photo: fragment from Hazy single graphic for “Rollercoaster Ride/Peel.”

Pretty pretty poprock: Nick Frater and Ken Sharp

22 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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Some artists are meticulous. Their albums often sound free and easy but that belies the hard work that has gone into them. Today’s featured acts are those kind of inspired craftmen, carving pretty pretty tunes out of the basic raw material of the popular song.

Nick Frater is serious about old stuff. His music is replete with references to musical styles from the 1970s, lovingly taped on vintage recording equipment from the era. But his recent long-player Aerodrome Motel doesn’t so much harken back to yesteryear as remodel those familiar sounds for a new age. I mean, sure, I could say that “The Pleasure is Mine” flows like a Squeeze Cool for Cats era character sketch. But it doesn’t just conjure the glory of Deptford’s favourite sons. These songs stand on their own. Take “Love Heist,” a killer bit of buoyant pop songwriting that I would suggest is merely elevated by some Supertramp-worthy keyboards fills. Or I could say I hear a bit of Jellyfish in “Stuck in My Ways” or 10cc in “Aerodrome Motel” or Fountains of Wayne in “American Expressways.” But that’s just a rough way of saying ‘if you like those acts, you’ll love this’.  Lining up the should-be hit singles, I’d vote for “Rough and Tumble” with its great horns and programmed keyboard runs. Or there’s the Beatlesy (with just a touch of ELO) “Dear Modern Times.” What a gorgeous tune! The spacious piano opener and striking vocal arc that kick off the song are utterly captivating. I also like the darling “Dancing with Gertrude” and the stand out yet simple guitar lead line defining “No Hard Feelings.” By the time we get to “White Courtesy Phone” we’re ready for this last-dance, shuffle-the-patrons-out-the-door song. Frater’s put together a game changer here. While some prior albums have sounded like lovingly crafted period pieces, Aerodrome Motel is more a timeless distillation of the past with songs that sound good whether it’s yesterday, today or tomorrow.

With I’ll Remember the Laughter singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music scribe to the stars Ken Sharp offers us a record of delicious indulgence, a collection of 50 songs! The package is like a chocolate box with no bottom. As a clever curator of 1970s-era styles Sharp basically brings your favourite acts from that decade back to life to record one more should-be classic. The range of pop genres here is incredible: beach tunes, Philly soul, glam rock, baroque pop, and more. Album opener “Maybe Next Summer” sets the scene, crossing the transom from the sixties to early seventies with a strong Beach Boys vibe. From there it is a very rapid ride over a wide variety of stylistic riffs. You may note elements of late-period Lennon-esque Beatles on “Nobody Told Me the World Was Round,” some Philly pop soul on “Philly Get Back,” a Paul Simon session with Big Star on “She Will Be” and a McCartney “Let Me Roll It” grind to the guitar on “Shut Out the Lights.” The record also has a few inspired covers, like the two recovered Rick Springfield gems “Comic Book Heroes” and “I’m Your Superman.” There’s too much here for me to cover every song – let me single out some of my faves. As much as I too recall fondly all the 70s song motifs on this album I’m more drawn to the jangly, almost new wave cuts. Like the sharp glam feel of “It Pays to be a Rock and Roll Star” or the hooky guitar lead line heavy “Somewhere South of San Diego.” I love how the rhythm guitar rings out on “Maybe You’re Right.” “No More Silver Lining” has an almost Blue Oyster Cult or Moody Blues hint of menace in the melody as well as some tasty guitar work. “Between the Lines” is just perfect poprock circa 1979 with winning guitar runs plus soaring, melodic vocals. This is the hit for me. Then there’s the lighter, more acoustic “Down in Monterey.” Lovely, hypnotic, pop folk. What we have here is really a ‘make your own album’ affair, one where listeners could selectively assemble their own seventies mini-album. Or they could just hit play and party for days.

Hit play on these albums and it’s easy to believe to world is a more pretty place than it may appear. Sometimes hearing is believing.

Photo courtesy of The Vinyl Factory.

Breaking news: The Happy Fits, Mo Troper, Crossword Smiles and Phil Thornalley

16 Friday Sep 2022

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As fall settles in the headline news is full regal passings and rightwing populist posturing. Definitely time to check in with the poprock desk.

New Jersey’s The Happy Fits are back with their third album Under the Shade of Green and it is pretty amazing. If you could bottle up the intensity and explosive joy of youth it might sound like this. The band still seem like the late night love child of the Violent Femmes and the Killers to me but perhaps with a more consistent sonic palate this time around. The album kicks off dance-party style with a trio of stompers: “Around and Around,” “Dance Alone” and “Changes.” If you’ve seen any pictures of their concerts then you know ‘party’ is operative word. The band and the audience are serious about having fun and these songs deliver. There’s more of the same on the rest of the album but as we sojourn into the deep cuts you really start to appreciate the instrumental tension that binds these players into a singular musical force, how the cello and guitar and drums (with an occasional dose of keyboards) hold together and stretch apart as if by elastic. Check out the fantastic keyboard and cello interplay on “Little One” and “Another Try,” how they drive up the intensity of melody. Or there’s just the breathtaking 10cc-like melody that breaks out of the chorus of “Cold Turkey.” Hints of other influences are peppered throughout – the subtle dab of ABBA lurking in “Sweet Things” or the Cure-like kick off to “Place in the World.”  Album closer “Do Your Worst” really showcases the band’s incredible musical tightrope act, contrasting opposing sounds like dramatic shades of colour, green or otherwise. Seriously, you could recapture a bit of your youth just by purchasing this LP.

Since the release of his pristine pop album Natural Beauty in 2020 Mo Troper appears to have been pedalling back to the rougher parts of his musical youth. 2021’s Dilettante wasn’t afraid to let its sound get a bit blare-y at times, an effective counterpoint to the reliably hooky melodies. Now his new MTV takes things even further, messing with tape speeds and offering up an indie-garage-like mix. The effect is like a cheesecloth-covered dream-return to one’s old apartment: it’s gonna be one part nostalgia and mega parts pure invention. As always, the tunes here are brilliant, testimony to Troper’s mastery of the pop song form. “Waste Away,” “Play Dumb” and “Under My Skin” are all Brill Building/Lennon-McCartney good. But their performance is curiously and sometimes challengingly brittle and cutting. Here Troper appears to be pushing against the grain of ‘authentic’ neo-1960s music that characterizes much melodic rock and roll of late. I love that sort of thing but Troper eschews laurel-resting and good on him for not sitting still. Ironically he goes forward by reaching back to a sound reminiscent of his own earlier band Your Rival, sort of. This time around there’s a greater diversity in sound and style, from the shoe-gazey Beatlesque aura of “Across the USA” to the transistor radio at full blast “I’m the King of Rock and Roll” to sunshine pop on “No More Happy Songs.” Though personally I’d buy the whole record just to get the exquisite should-be hit single “I Fall Into Her Arms.” That lead guitar line – so simple but so wow.

With Pressed and Ironed indie music veterans Tom Curless and Chip Saam establish their new act Crossword Smiles as the best lost 1980s band the new millennium has to offer. But we’re not talking simple retro here. The duo have cooked up a sound full of alluring cognitive dissonance. Steely Dan and Crowded House? On the same record? Yes. Things sound familiar but the genius is in the synthesis. Take the title track “Parallel Lines.” It’s got some jazzy Steely Dan, a dash of John Lennon psychedelic keyboard, a distinctly early Joe Jackson lurch, and vocal harmonies that are late sixties country rock. I wouldn’t believe it would work if I didn’t find myself hitting repeat repeatedly. On the rest of the album the influences abound like a cavalcade of poprock stars. There’s shades of Difford and Tilbrook on “This Little Town,” particularly in the chorus. Man, the violin and viola really work here. You can discern a bit of post-Rockpile Nick Lowe on “Where’s the Sense in That,” some Crowded House vibe on “October Leaves,” and a Grapes of Wrath Treehouse feel to “Walk Softly.” Not everything reminds me of yesterday’s heroes. “Feet on the Ground” could be Jeff Shelton’s Well Wishers, just mellowing out. Saving the best for the last the album rounds things out with three should-be hits: “Girl with a Penchant for Yellow” has a wonderful Tim Finn weirdness, “Second Guesser” is a lush jangle-infused delight, while “Take It On the Chin” combines snappy rhythm guitar work with an addictive wash of overlapping vocals lines. To really get the total effect you’ll want to set your player on repeat for this album. I think you’ll find that Pressed and Ironed allows you to love the past in the present tense.

You might not know it but Phil Thornalley probably got your attention a long time ago. Over the decades he’s played with and written hits for a host of stars, all the while keeping to the shadows himself. Recently he braved the spotlight under the guise of his fabulous retro 1970s-styled vehicle Astral Drive. Now he’s back, this time just as himself with his first solo album Now That I Have Your Attention. The record is a sonic love letter to a slightly different register of 1970s styles than before, emoting a whole lot of ELO, the Travelling Willburys and Tom Petty. “Heaven in a Hash Pipe” leans into the early 1970s ELO strings-plus-1950s vamp formula. By contrast, “One Night in America” seems to draw more from the Time/Balance of Power period. Then there’s “Fast Car,” the early release single. What a homage to ELO’s New World Record era! And while these tunes sound oh so familiar they’re not merely sound-alikes. Thornalley clearly knows how to write winning hooks all on his own. “Hellbent on Compromise” and “High on Your Supply” evoke the Travelling Willburys, the latter even sounding a bit Dylan early on. Those missing Tom Petty (and who isn’t?) will be floored by “Big Plans” and “Stand By Love.” Both sound like lost classics from the Wildflowers sessions. Is your fun meter running low? Give your attention to this long overdue solo outing from Phil Thornalley and let the good times roll.

That’s your poprock news headlines for now. Film at 11.

Breaking waves photo courtesy Larry Gordon.

Back on the road to Freedy Johnston

10 Saturday Sep 2022

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I count down the days to a new Freedy Johnston record like I used to anticipate releases from the likes of Marshall Crenshaw, XTC, and even Macca back in the 1970s. You kinda know what’s coming – solidly melodic and carefully crafted songs – but the delight is in where he takes it this time. After 24 hours of constantly playing the new album I can reveal that with Back On The Road To You Johnston has done it again. Now at this point scribes usually say things like ‘this is Johnston’s strongest effort in years’ but, hey, the quality of this artist’s work has never really flagged, even if public interest sometimes has. Johnston is like a half buried national treasure, feted by the music mainstream whenever they happen to stumble across a new recording. Stylistically the new LP falls somewhere between Nick Lowe and John Hiatt, with the former’s ear for hooky tunes and the latter’s eye for idiosyncratic narrative detail. But, then again, Johnston’s not really like anyone else. His songs develop in wonderfully unusual ways, his vocals pause in delightfully awkward places. I mean, just listen to how he tucks the ‘living the dream’ line into the pause before launching into the chorus of “There Goes a Brooklyn Girl.” The guy’s got a painter’s precision in detailing his songs.

There Goes a Brooklyn Girl

The record opens on familiar ground with title track “Back on the Road to You.” Is this poppy Americana or just something offered up from Freedy Johnston central casting? Love the electric piano break. One could easily imagine the Everly Brothers ripping through this one. Then there’s “There Goes a Brooklyn Girl,” a song that conjures up terms like ‘instant classic’. The track surely joins the pantheon of Johnston’s most celebrated singles, its construction and execution simply confirmation of his mastery of the popular song form. Another immediate ‘instant replay’ tune is “Madeline’s Eye” with its subtle hooks and alluring steel guitar work. On three songs Johnston brings in some featured vocal accompaniment but the results hardly amount to any kind of star turn. Instead Aimee Mann, Susan Cowsill and Susanna Hoffs apply their impressive vocal talents to deftly serve the tunes, adding subtle harmonies on the countryfied “Darlin’,” the more poprocking “The Power of Love,” and the lilting midtempo ballad “That’s Life” respectively. Things rock up on “Tryin’ to Move On” with its more Dave Edmunds boogie feel. Meanwhile “Somewhere Love” creates a 1970s soft rock ambience, like a stroll along the beach accompanied by a Neal Sedaka song. But the strings that come in at the one and half minute mark elevate the proceedings, adding an exquisite splash of classy sophistication. And the spacey keyboards that define the instrumental break don’t hurt either. “Trick of the Light” has this sunny 1970s summer ballad feel as well. The album closes with the suitably ‘end of a night of drinking’ song “The I Really Miss Ya Blues.” It’s a lovely tune made even more impressive by its inspired organ swells.

Back on the Road to You
Madeline’s Eye
The I Really Miss Ya Blues

The stars have aligned on Back On The Road To You. The album looks good with its smartly designed cover and what’s inside is a typical demonstration of Freedy Johnston’s considerable skills as a songwriter and performer. Buy this album and see this performer live. He may just be one of the last greats of this genre.