I get mail: Elvis Eno, Star Collector, Rumble Strip, and many more!

07 Tuesday Oct 2025

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It seems so old school but mail still regularly arrives, bills and grocery fliers mostly. Not so many envelopes with cheques as there used to be unfortunately. Luckily the electronic mail sack shows no sign of losing its girth. People write to tell me about their music and that gets me scribbling this note to you.

John Dunbar keeps exploring his alter ego Elvis Eno, mirroring the career of a slightly more famous not-from-Memphis Elvis on his recent LP I’ll See Myself Out. As other Elvis recorded an album with a classically minded quartet so too does this one with The Fragment Quartet. The effect is striking but underneath it all everything comes down to the songs. Here the stand out track for me is “A Lady of an Uncertain Age.” So XTC with a dash of Moody Blues. Ed Woltil has a new duo pairing, this time working with Kirk Adams to deliver a new LP Eat the Sunshine, Drink the Starshine. The record has got a well-crafted 1970s pop sound to my ears with so many interesting adornments tucked in here and there. “Last Call 4 Lost Dogs” is an exquisite mediation on pop tune-age with a bit swing. On album #7 Vancouver’s Star Collector have lost none of their star quality. The band kick out the jams on a number of rockers here but I’m loving the more low-key tunes. “Overblown” has a gentle pacing and lilting melody while “The Best Thing” is sunny poprock tossing off hooks like sparks.

Rumble Strip return with their affecting mix of folk and roots music on Sayonara, Baby. The songs are varied and maximum fun. “It Could Always Be Worse” sounds so Huey Lewis and News while “Uber Driver” has a vaudeville quality. “Adam West” is a great character-driven pop song. But the top track here gives the LP its name. Get a load of the deep psychedelic vibes coming your way from Seattle’s Acapulco Lips. Like The Primitives but with a more distortion pedal. “You Won’t” is from the band’s recent long-player Now and it just brims with pop excitement, driven by some fabulous reverb-drenched lead guitar work. It’s been awhile since we heard from Jonathan Rundman singing about librarians and such. Now he’s making Waves as his new release denotes and it’s an approachable mix of rootsy tunes with surprising hooks. “Veronika Ann” has a very Freedy Johnson feel while “Let’s Put on a Opera” is curio pop sophistication.

I’m a sucker for piano only albums. There is something stripped-down and reduced to essentials about a guy tickling the keys with just his voice for contrast. On Rich Restaino’s new record 88s and Heartaches: A Solo Piano Retrospective he goes out on solo piano limb and makes it work. “Drunk on the Company Dime” draws out the rich shades that only a piano can provide with lyrics that perfectly drape the tune.

Just popping this into the internet post for you. And you can carry on the chain mail with nary a stamp required. Just hit those hyperlinks for an express post to the music of your choice.

Photo ‘I wrote you a letter but forgot to mail it’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Shopping for singles

02 Thursday Oct 2025

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Back in the day the big decision was whether to pick up a 45 or go for the whole album. If you knew you were going to like it, the album was definitely the better deal financially. But in the era of physical product it was often hard to needle-drop across the full LP before ponying up the cash. Thankfully those days are over! Now you can sample these 21 new tunes with no commitment at all.

Brooklyn’s Cut Worms dial up the country vibe on their recent 45 “Evil Twin” in a very Wilco way, accent on acoustic guitars and tasty electric lead guitar licks. Game Theory are one of those legendary great lost bands whose fan base mostly consists of other musicians. Chris Richards and the Subtractions cover the band’s “Make Any Vows” with the loving care of real fans. The tune really suits their clashy guitar sound. Australian Gavin Bowles is not shy about sharing the details of his lady problems. This time his band Gavin Bowles and the Distractions lays it out on “She Hates My Guts.” Ouch. Plenty of ringing lead guitar lines and sad sack lyrics of the most enjoyable kind. The career of Daisy House is proof positive the charts are not just. Their ability to conjure up the best elements of the 1960s was unparalleled. Still, band leader Doug Hammond manages to find a few lost tracks here and there, like the striking ballad “The Seducer.” The aura is so Netflix Elizabethan-period drama love-scene. Check out the appetizing lead guitar work luring you in to Invisible Rays’ recent stand-alone single “I Don’t Dream of You.” The Boston combo are just so reliably good.

It was really hard to pick just one song to feature from Toronto’s The Young Novelists new album These Dark Canyons. At first I thought I’d go with the Americana-ish “All My Friends Are Leaving.” Then I was struck by the strong new wave hooks defining “Gimme Your Love.” But then I heard “Run Away” and that was it. The song kicks off very Golden Seals before settling into a sing-along chorus. You can always rely on Peter Yorn for something a bit different but still hooky. On “Ana Capri” you’ve got an AM radio chorus wrapped in verses that take up an inventive, intriguing soundscape. Have we got time for an oldie? If it’s Robert Ellis Oral the answer has to be yes. “Love’s On the Way” is from his 1986 album The War Between Us and it time-trips me back to a very special kind of poprock, one that could combine commercial chops with ear wormy hooks. Time to get back to the garage for some down and dirty rock that never loses grip on its magnetic melodic undercurrent. The Low Spirits “Can’t Love You Back” is a distilled drink of 1966. Another pull from the past is a song from Dave Paulson’s 2018 Tommy Boy themed album Sandusky, Ohio. “Don’t Let It Get You Down” sounds like a 1970s singer-songwriter romp, oscillating between different instruments and pacing while falling somewhere between Gilbert O’Sullivan and ELO.

Toronto’s Nicky Koro gets his jangle on with his recent summer 45 “Dreamin’.” Wow, this track has got ‘classic’ stamped all over its 2 minutes and 22 seconds. The shimmery guitars and seductive vocals meld together so pop perfectly. Not everyone in The Jerrys is named Jerry. The gal in their recent song “Kentucky Girl” may not even be from Kentucky. What we do know is the band combines an infectious hit of Merseybeat with the folk pop sensibility of bands like The Lilac Time. Nothing seems to be able arrest the creative energy of Power Pop Hall of Famers The Spongetones and that is a very good thing. Their most recent album is a 40th anniversary concert that also includes three newly recorded songs. They’re all so good it seems almost churlish to highlight one over another. Nevertheless, I’m leaning toward “Lulu’s In Love” as my current fave (but that could change by next week). More Toronto? Yes please. Ontario’s capital city gives us Octoberman and his indie folk rumination implicating “Harry Nilsson.” Things get a bit rocky in the middle but I’ve always like that kind of folkie flexibility from acts like Hayden and this one. Man has this band Pouts got the mid-sixties British Invasion sound down, with just a bit Britpop coating. “Stay Awhile” swings along, largely carried by its rhythm guitar with break out lead guitar lines adorning all the non-vocal spaces. Delightful!

Mark Ward’s new stand-alone track “I Don’t Care” launches hard with loud guitars before melting into a melody-drenched chorus. The overall feel is very early 1980s melodic rock while the sentiment is good old fashioned social critique. Grrrl Gang are an Indonesian force of nature. Their music is super-charged and danceable while their melodies are positively delectable. “O, My Love” is brimming with energy and insight – another winner, for sure. If we want to genre-shift to something a bit more homey and old time country-meets-rock and roll then The International Treasures fit the bill. “Last Regret” would have made a good number for the Everlys but this version is pretty sweet too. I’m getting my Canadian content in today, particularly from my own Toronto neighbourhood. Ron Sexsmith has a new album out and it is everything you’d expect: wistful, aching, and packed full of memorable melodies. I’m hitting replay on “It’s Been Awhile,” which captures my own longing for more Sexsmith material over the years. Another band with a new album are The Mommyheads. No Quietus is another installment of intelligent pop music, played with the pop sophistication of an XTC or Tally Hall. Check out “It’s Only Life” to get a taste of this superior pop product.

Ron Sexsmith “It’s Been Awhile”

One more time to the Toronto well for a wrap on our 21 single salute with Pony’s seismic song “Superglue.” This one has got the gloss, the shimmer, and the cheeky alluring hooks that just keep coming and coming. Surrender to the total sonic wash going on here.

Single shopping was never so easy as this. No salesman will call. Just hit on the hyperlinks and pile up your purchases from the comfort of your own couch.

Photo ‘Bruntsfield at night’ courtesy Bryonv2 Flikr collection.

Not only in it for the money: Kathleen Edwards and Mike Trebilcock

28 Sunday Sep 2025

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Here are two albums working a money motif but not in any direction you might expect. Whether it’s millions or billions they’re referring to the musical results are solid gold.

I can’t stop listening to Canadian Kathleen Edwards’ new album Billionaire. It’s a lush acoustic Americana affair offering plenty of variety within that genre. From the killer should-be hit single opener “Save Your Soul” to the spare vocal testimony of album closer “Pine” this is an LP that is just so easy to keep putting on. There’s not a weak song in the batch and the performances really showcase Edwards’ vocal flexibility. Songs like “Save Your Soul” and “Little Red Ranger” have the folk pop sheen of Suzanne Vega, the latter even featuring a Toronto Maple Leafs shout out. “Say Goodbye, Tell No One” feels more Natalie Merchant to me. Then there’s “FLA” and “Other People’s Bands” where I think Brandi Carlyle would be a more appropriate comparison. The band is also pretty fantastic, utilizing a Tom Petty slow swagger to showcase Edwards’ lyrical social commentary on “When The Truth Comes Out” and “Need a Ride.” Title track “Billionaire” is the album outlier, featuring a very different vocal and instrumental attack. Lighter, more airy, like being pulled in close when someone has something important to say just to you. When Edwards sings ‘if this feeling were a currency I would be a billionaire’ the emotional imagery is striking. Get a copy of Billionaire, it’s worth every dollar.

Canadian band The Killjoys enjoyed some time in the sun with recordings spanning the mid to late 1990s. But solo the band’s main singer and songwriter Mike Trebilcock is mostly known for cranking out quality b-movie horror film soundtracks. But we do have his criminally overlooked 2001 longplayer Shield Millions for some sense of where stardom might have taken him. The record is an amazing repository of reverb, jangle and outrageously good hooks, delivered in both power pop and country hues. This kicks off with the obvious radio-ready single, “Stark Raving Glad.” This takes me back to the 1990s poprock feel of the Northern Pikes or Eugene Edwards. “Sale of the Century” turns things toward an Americana vein that features strongly on the album. Sometimes it’s light and jaunty (“Snow Angel Blues”) or acoustic singer/songwriter (“Box of Failures”) or even drawing on a New Orleans elan (“Dog Hill”). “Stacked Back to the Wishing Well” adds a few more Nashville notes to the country vibe. I hear a dark Elvis Costello echo across both “Today’s Crossword” and “This Side of Human.” Shaking us out of the Americana ambience, “Shut Us Up (and Make Us Smile)” has a grungier pop sound. “Pretty Girl Bruise” wraps things up by gearing down into an introspective Bruce Cockburn-like tune. Love the horns on this song! We really could use more Mike Trebilcock like this.

Money is super helpful is living is your aim. While every artist does a bit of starving to get to their creative destination, these recordings suggest these two have arrived and are ready to meet your cash contribution. Just visit the hyperlinks above.

Photo ‘A boy and his tunnel’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Should be a hit single: Wanderlust “I’m Not You”

20 Saturday Sep 2025

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The Beatlesque vibe on this song hits you right from the start and never lets up. “I’m Not You” should have been a monster chart hit from what should have Wanderlust’s second album for RCA. But the major label passed, leaving the song and its album to come out largely unnoticed on indie label Not Lame. Now it can found on the colossal 57 song collection Wanderlust A-Z at a very nice price. But back to “I’m Not You.” The song is not just a Beatles easter egg hunt, though there is plenty of that. There’s also some sweet 1970s Big Star and Cheap Trick asides too. The hooks here are so seductive and come chock-a-block one after another. The guitar licks get into your head, overlaid by vocals that cry out for a sing-along. While Wanderlust officially split in 1997 and songwriting partnership of Scot Sax and Rob Bonfiglio went on to other projects they have come back together at irregular intervals to reignite their obvious musical chemistry, most recently on 2021’s All of a View. If you’re just discovering Wanderlust, as I have, you’re in for something pretty special. One listen to “I’m Not You” should be enough to convince you. Just try not to hit repeat.

You can get caught up on most of the Wanderlust back catalogue at the band’s bandcamp page but the 2014 reunion album Record Time is tucked away at Scot Sax’s music shop.

Hello again: Tamar Berk and Eytan Mirsky

14 Sunday Sep 2025

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Some artists just keep coming back around with intriguing new work that continues to develop their oeuvre. Today’s artists couldn’t be farther apart stylistically but man do they reliably deliver their goods.

Don’t tell my husband but I think I’m in a relationship with Tamar Berk. Maybe we’re just gal pals. Thing is, five albums in and Tamar is still sidling up to me, whispering secrets, sharing the darkest parts of her emotional universe. Always against a musical backdrop that makes everything feel like I’m caught in an 1980s John Hughes movie. Not that I’m looking to get out – I am loving it here. As Berk says in her presser, ocd is a ‘fuzzed-out, reverb-heavy swirl’ all about ‘anxiety, obsessions, fears, memories, dreams’ that falls ‘somewhere between indie pop-rock and a fever dream.’ Dream on Tamar, I say. Opening cut “stay close by” sets the scene with its buzzy drone, overlaid with Berk’s ethereal vocal. Title track “ocd” lightens the tone sonically, letting a variety of keyboards lull the mood before launching a striking chorus. Then comes the first of the many should-be hit singles from the album, “you ruined this city for me.” This is the kind of song Berk excels at, a flowing rush of melody that gathers you up in its release of energy. Another hit-maker is “there are benefits to mixed emotions” with its hypnotic spooky vibe. “i had a dream i was lost in an auditorium” also sounds like chart material to me with its reworked girl group feel. This one’s an auditorium sing-along number, for sure. Of course, “indiesleaze 2005” sounds like radio pleaser too. It can’t be a Tamar Berk album without a few gut-wrenching ballads and ocd doesn’t disappoint. “any given weeknight” and “my turn will come” fit the bill, the latter offering up an REM “Night Swimming” emotional gut punch. Personal fave?  “i’m in the day after” is so 1980s-pop gorgeous with its killer, larger-than-life synth shots. I’ve spent years comparing Berk to the likes of Debbie Harry, Aimee Mann or Suzanne Vega but on ocd Berk drills down into her own unique sound. It’s also probably the most consistent sounding record she’s made, capturing a specific vibe that resonates out of all the songs despite their differences. ocd is definitely another winner for Berk. But don’t tell my husband.

Another Eytan Mirsky album, another chance to track his every false move emotionally. He’s a guy seemingly always falling in love but somehow mostly falling flat. The confessions here are typically draped in self-deprecation but a few exhibit a strikingly tender sincerity. Stylistically All Over the Map definitely is. This record’s got soul and country, plenty of horns and cool organ runs, and oh so much heart. Things kick off with “Did What I Came to Do” with its low-key Motown vibe. I can practically see those Solid Gold dancers swaying throughout. Then come some signature Mirsky tougue-in-cheek self-critique tunes. “Apologize in Advance” puts some rockabilly guitar up front on a track that would not be out of place on a Buck Owens or Nick Lowe LP. “Inside Job” combines a Springsteen-worthy horn/organ section with a song seemingly haunted by Graham Parker. But then things get serious on “Almost Didn’t Cry,” a real straight-up country tear-jerker. The LP features a few out-of-the-ordinary efforts like “If I Could Only Draw” and “My Little Tricycle.” “Fooling Exactly Nobody” dials in a bit of New Jersey soul vamp while “If You’re So Smart” offers up a country romp critique. “Two Piece Puzzle” has the drama and cleverisms I’d associate with Elvis Costello. I was totally disarmed by the sweet accordion colouring the Nick Lowe-ish “The Satisfaction.” The album also has a should-be hit single in the stylistic outlier “Lost You in the Jet Stream,” a track that is more straight-up poprock than anything else here, definitely the AM radio ready single with some killer organ work. The album closes with “Give Me a Sign,” a moving paean to loss, where the organ and horn adornment add something special. Trust me, you’re definitely gonna want to follow Eytan All Over the Map with this release.

Who says emotional problems can’t be entertaining? Not these artists. Say hello to Tamar Berk and Eytan Mirsky at their hotlinked internet locales to keep this conversation going.

Photo ‘Found Kodachome slide’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Generating Jean Caffeine

09 Tuesday Sep 2025

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Jean Caffeine is an American indie treasure. Over her long career she’s hit all the alternative scenes: punk in seventies San Francisco, no wave in New York City, Americana in Austin, and a decidedly more poprock feel on recent albums (Love. What Is It?) and singles (“I Don’t Want To Kill You Anymore”). She’s a clear manifestation of the positive dialectic between artist and scene. Now she’s got a new LP Jean Caffeine Generation ready and it is a heady mix of social commentary, heartbreak and hooks to spare. Following recent music distribution trends, she’s drip released most of these songs already as singles but somehow they still manage to cohere together as an album. I’ve reviewed most of the material already over the past year or so, comparing her to the likes of Patti Smith, Mary Lou Lord, Amy Rigby, Robin Lane, Marti Jones, and Chrissie Hynde. And I stand by those assessments. But listening to the songs as an LP Caffeine’s own distinctive voice really comes through, one part all rock and roll heft, the other emotional pop vulnerability.

Album opener song “Love What Is It?” is a poppy saunter in the park, adorned with melodic asides that seem thrown in but land perfectly. At various points it really reminds me of Marti Jones or Aimee Mann. Then comes “Big Picture,” a track that hasn’t appeared anywhere and it’s a hooky winner. “I Always Cry on Thursday” starts so nondescript but the chorus breaks out with a melodic intensity that is irresistible. Crying also features on “Another Crying Christmas,” a track that avoids the seasonal saccharine by dialing into some emotional depth and rock and roll edginess.  “I Know You Know I Know” uses verbal repetition and a 1980s computer game keyboard tone to draw you right in. What I hear on “Circuitous Routes” is a cool strut, so Chrissie Hynde. I also appreciate Caffeine’s deft ability to weave political themes into her work without sacrificing their ear-worminess. “I Don’t Want To Kill You Anymore” is so brilliantly understated, a slow-groove girl-group homage that’s a far cry from “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss).” And it takes a rare talent to make “Mammogram” a winning tune. Caffeine’s cover of The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright” is just ramshackle fun. A bit of performance art closes things out on “You’re Fine.” You don’t spend time in NYC’s 1980s art ghettos and not catch the bug.

Jean Caffeine is a product of her era, from youthful punk to senior songstress. But generating Jean didn’t just happen. Spend some time with Jean Caffeine Generation to get a sense of her genius at work.

A decade of Poprock Record

04 Thursday Sep 2025

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since I started writing Poprock Record in 2015. When I began I was concerned about posting enough and finding enough material. With 740 posts mounted over the past decade and nearly half a million words written about pop rock it would appear that neither issue has proven to be a problem. What I couldn’t have anticipated is how much I would learn about a music genre I thought I had a pretty good handle on or how much I would enjoy shining a light on so many talented people and their fabulous music. Sure it’s been a challenge keeping the blog going amidst all the rival demands from life, work, family and crazy world events. But just when I was feeling a bit over-stretched I’d usually come across some absolutely killer hook-filled single that I knew I had to feature pronto. This place has also been a great outlet for creativity, commentary and a good deal of silliness. Whether riffing on popular culture or drawing in themes from my day job (politics!), coming up with new and novel themes for posts and making them work has made me a better writer. I discuss all these issues in my five year anniversary post here so I won’t belabour the points again. Suffice it to say, I’m still loving finding new music. I still feel that teenage excitement when a song really grabs me with a solid hook. And that makes me want to see the artist succeed and share it far and wide.

To celebrate producing a decade of Poprock Record I want to return to just one song from each of those ten years. I’m not saying these were the best song of the year or necessarily my favourite (though I’m not saying they weren’t either), they’re just a taste to remind me and you of where we’ve been or, if you’re just joining us now, what you’ve missed (but can still catch up on). Think of it as a Poprock Record sampler album. Hyperlinks will take you to the original post while the songs themselves appear below.

Family of the Year (2015) blew me away with their single “Make You Mine.” It’s such a perfectly crafted poprock single. Commercial without being derivative, it’s the kind of ear worm that compels you to hit repeat. Public Access TV (2016) demonstrates the stretch of our focus to acts with grittier, alternative tracks like “On Location.” Wiretree (2017) take this even further giving a very contemporary stamp to the vibe on “J.F. Sebastian.” But who am I kidding? So much of what I cover features cleverly recycled and reinvented motifs from the 1960s. Case in point, Daisy House (2018) on “Open Your Eyes.” The elements may be transported from another decade but they come together with timeless impact. If I could bottle Jeff Shelton’s sonic wash you’d have my blog in one readily consumable form. His band The Well Wishers (2019) “Feelin Fine” is poprock adrenaline from start to end.

Family of the Year – Make You Mine
Public Access TV – On Location

Gregory Pepper (2020) taps into another strong vein taken up on this blog: outsider and baroque pop themes. His songs are literate without being pretentious. The instruments are all over the map and the songs themselves nearly always short and concise. “Unchained Mystery” is from his brilliant concept album I Know Now Why You Cry. Jangle is another strong hue that appears in post after post, Scottish jangle particularly. I started with Dropkick but when their related band The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness (2021) got going, it was heaven. “Don’t Mind” reflects well on their oeuvre. Then there are acts that hit the hooks hard, all the while sounding so pleasant. Dazy’s (2022) “Rollercoaster Ride” is an earworm central example. I also love when acts remake the genre with a bit of verve. Strange Neighbors’ (2023) “Hotline Psychic” is fun and hilarious and oh so catchy. Another poprock seam widely mined here are acoustic numbers, broadly defined.  “Morning Sun” by Used (2024) is gentle and lilting but no less engaging.

Used – Morning Sun

There you have ten years in ten songs. That makes sense if we’re counting years September to August. But if we’re counting calendar years this blog’s coverage has actually fallen across eleven (2015-2025). So I feel the need to squeeze in another choice. Keyside (2025) are a great example of how the basic rock and roll guitar combo remains appealing to some in the new generations. Their single “Nikita” is terrific blast of guitar pop goodness.

Let me end by thanking the artists. It’s been great promoting your work and interacting with so many of you over the years. Here’s to another decade of championing your music! And to my readers, thanks for coming along, your positive comments, and sending in so many great suggestions. You ultimately make this all worthwhile.

Breaking news: Grant Lindberg, Chris Lund, Superchunk, and Worn Through

01 Monday Sep 2025

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It’s guitars all over the headlines with this line up. Chunky, droney, dissonant, hooky: this big story comes at you in a variety of styles.

Grant Lindberg emotes a droney guitar goodness that’s great to come back to. It’s the bedrock lining his new LP After Life where you get 11 new tracks that manage to capture the essence of Lennon circa 1967 with just a splash of Matthew Sweet and Oasis. “In My Own Way” makes for a stunning opener, giving you all the essential elements of this album in one knock-out single. Early on the song sounds very Big Star acoustic but when the mellotron keyboards kick in the musical tide shifts more toward Britpop. Then Lindberg lets loose the slow burn guitar grind on “Lying Fakes.” Dissonant guitars versus the strong pull of melody, that’s the basic tension defining this record. Songs like “So I Can Fall,” “Threes,” and “Sun in My Eyes” ride a guitar dissonance that really gets in your head. “It Comes and Goes” breaks with this formula somewhat, opening with acoustic guitar and then progressively fattening up the sound as things go along. Title track “After Life” offers you something different again. The Verve-like sheen is buffeted by mellotron keyboards and very Beatlesque lead guitar work. A Beatles vibe is strong on “Some Days” and “Something Wrong” too, the latter hitting all the Lennon marks. Then, in a departure from the album’s highly consistent sonic wash, “Behind the Door” evokes a Fountains of Wayne style while “Days and Nights” shades into Elliott Smith territory. Don’t wait for the afterlife when you can enjoy After Life now.

There’s a sweet spot in the Beatles career when the guitars get a little edgier but retain their distinctive poppy demeanor. Revolution era definitely. Chris Lund inhabits this world and then some on his new long-player Surveillance. And like Lindberg he’s coming at it from the Lennon side of the street, most of the time. The other main comparator act for his stuff is Cheap Trick, obviously. “You’ve Got a Lot of Nerve” fills the gap between these two bands perfectly, full of droning psychedelic hooks with just a touch of rock abandon here and there. Then “Crazy Driver” is so spot-on Robin Zander with Rick Neilson-worthy guitar riffs. “Got Me Running” hits the Cheap Trick marks pretty hard too. Both “Blow Up the Night” and “God Loves All His Children” vibe solo Lennon for me but “Swallowed” leans in a more McCartney direction. Mixing things up, Lund offers up a blistering political takedown of someone we all know on “No Ethics, No Future.” “Come On Home” shifts between nice jangle, Byrdsian vocals, and straight up seventies melodic rock. Then “Touch or Go” goes in a completely different direction with its distinctive new wave bite. Altogether Surveillance is another rocking melodic tour de force from Chris Lund.

Some bands sound like they trying to earn your ear-time with every outing. That’s Superchunk in a nutshell. Album #13 Songs in the Key of Yikes has launched and its ten new tunes are out to win you over, all over again. “Is It Making You Feel Something” starts things off with a should-be hit single. It’s the kind of song that when it hits the chorus you suddenly realize you’re ready to sing along. Next up “Bruised Lung” has a relentless drive to the rhythm guitars that is utterly seductive. The secret sauce on this record is undoubtedly the pacing. “Care Less” has a lurching pop goodness, the kind of song that has you rocking back and forth in the audience. “Stuck in a Dream” surges along only to quicken the pace just a bit more in the sing-along chorus while “Train on Fire” balances an almost military rhythm with a vocal melody puling in different directions while “Everybody Dies” sounds alternatively dire and positive. And then there’s album closer “Some Green,” a song seemingly just light and frothy until it unholsters a wickedly janglicious chorus. Damn but Superchunk have done it again, delivering a highly listenable long-player.

Barely Real is different kind of guitar album. And Worn Through is a different kind of guitar band. There’s a touch of roots to the overall feel of what is going here. Not quite Americana as the songs here are sans the country notes for the most part but down-home nonetheless. “Difference Is Thin” kicks things off with a BoDeans easygoing charm. “Omaha” turns up the jangle to good effect. Then “Barely Real” takes a number unpredictable turns, defined by some great organ back up and sparkly lead guitar runs. There’s a broad church folk vibe to a lot of songs here. “Blind As a Dove” has a Bombadil feel. Both “Invisible Ink” and “KY State Flower” remind me of Darren Hanlon’s mix of indie and folk sensibilities. “Infinite Scrawl” does dip into the country scene courtesy a distinctive pedal steel guitar appearance but the tune is more mid-period REM to my ears. Personal faves: the peppy and poppy “Working on It” and the indie Everly Brothers-ish “Arms Forever.” Album closer “Variations on a Theme” builds nicely to a great meditative ‘na na na’ chorus.

You can turn down the sound but you can’t escape the impact of these guitar-centric headliners. Why not let these guitars ring at your own volume with your own personal story follow ups? Just click the hyperlinks to delve a bit deeper into all the hooky details.

Photo courtesy Rob Elliott’s Swizzle Gallery.

Celebrating Marshall Crenshaw

29 Friday Aug 2025

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Things have slowed down for power pop legend Marshall Crenshaw with time. There were six albums of original material in his first decade as a professional musician, two in each of the subsequent decades, and then none over the last decade and half. But that doesn’t mean he’s been idle. Tired of the major label rat race, he decided to release a series of six EPs offering fans a new song, a cover song, and re-recording of an older song, eventually pulling the new material and few covers together on an album entitled #392: The EP Collection on indie label Red River Records. Since then Crenshaw has focused a lot of attention on curating definitive releases of his catalogue and now it appears that project has led him back to the EP material, repackaging them in album form as From the Hellhole.

Content-wise 11 of the 14 songs here appear on both collections so if you bought the EPs or #392: The EP Collection you may not want or need to buy them again, though the versions here have been remixed. From the Hellhole is also available on vinyl, unlike #392: The EP Collection. The three different tracks included on the new release include a demo of “Walkin’ Around,” a song that appeared on 1991’s Life’s Too Short, and covers of Rare Earth’s “I Just Want to Celebrate”  and Todd Rundgren’s “Couldn’t I Just Tell You.” For collectors, completists, or those who missed the EPs as they came out From the Hellhole is the missing album covering Crenshaw’s last decade and half. And it goes without saying, the songs are great, both original and covers. “Move Now” and “Grab the Next Train” both sound like classic Crenshaw should-be hits, with his signature economical lead guitar work and Everlys vocal vibe. “Couldn’t I Just Tell You” has a folk rock kick, both the 12 string guitar and vocals hitting all the marks. And the demo of “Walkin’ Around” comes off lighter and more spontaneous. On the covers front, his take on The Carpenters “(They Long to be) Close to You” was a surprise to me when I first heard it and it surprises me still. Let’s just say, Karen Carpenter and Marshall Crenshaw come at singing in very different ways. But Crenshaw’s understated approach really does the song justice. Meanwhile, the cover of Bobby Fuller’s “Never To Be Forgotten” is now the definitive version.

There are MC fans who are going to celebrate any new release, regardless of how much new it really offers. For many, From the Hellhole will fill a real gap for a lot of fans. For those who want more new material,  I suspect there’s stuff in the vaults that could see the light day at some point in the future. There are songs he wrote for others that never got the Marshall treatment and a variety of one-off contributions to soundtracks and tribute albums that deserve to gathered together. So here’s hoping for more Crenshaw down the line.

You can spend time with Marshall at his internet bolt hole or Bandcamp page.

Gregory Pepper: Now skull free

23 Saturday Aug 2025

Posted by in Artist Spotlight

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Canadian character-sketch songwriter Gregory Pepper has given up a lot for Lent this year. His new album No More Skulls says goodbye to said craniums and his old band The Problems. But his unerring knack for highly tuneful, incredibly short songs remains in place.

What we have here is 10 songs running just shy of 16 minutes, helpfully stitched together in some places into a seemingly seamless wall of song that shifts and undulates with striking tempo changes and creative choices when it comes to instruments. Album opener “No More Skulls” slinks in, slow and broody with somebody’s hand clearly dragging the tape speed intermittently. But half way through things blow up in a variety of ways, all good. The instrumental “Gopnik Prelude” that follows shifts the mood like a Wes Anderson film soundtrack before the vaudeville-esque “God Made You Weak” pumps up the energy. Four songs in “Cardinal Song” gets us closer to Pepper’s signature sophistico-pop sound and the sheen practically glistens. But steady yourself for the should-be single “Baby Tooth.” This is a compositionally rich piece of work with a seductive keyboard line and a dark tint to the melodic tone that colours the song. The rest of the album shifts gears like a premium automatic drive. “Lean On” has a new wave Cars elan, the guitars and handclaps so conjure the period. “Get Well Soon” is pop-folkie, acoustic-guitar simplicity itself. “We Don’t Have to Talk” evokes Jon Brion’s distinctive sonic mood for me. Then there’s “Bloodmobile.” At just 18 seconds of cartoon-worthy tune-age, it does an impressive job of establishing its many melodic themes so quickly. The record wraps with “Happy Days Theme Song,” a song that is pleasantness itself, just ambling along until a notable shift at the two-thirds mark increases the sense of urgency. It’s a genius move that draws the listener back from the lulling going on earlier.

My advice? Grab the popcorn and settle in somewhere to really enjoy Gregory Pepper’s No More Skulls. It’s got the pacing and colourful characters of a late night flick at the all-nite movie house. But don’t look away, things move fast at Camp Pepper. Undoubtedly you’ll probably miss something hella clever.

Photo courtesy Gregory Pepper, Camp Pepper, Illustrations.