Searching for Jake Bugg

05 Saturday Feb 2022

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Call me cynical, but original
Tryin’ to fit into a world that’s so digital
Came to let you know
I left the pigeon hole
Now I gotta find an edge, won’t let it go
Jake Bugg, “All I Need”

Poor Jake Bugg. It seems whatever choice he makes upsets somebody. His most recent long-player Saturday Night, Sunday Morning got some rave reviews as well as its share of detractors. But more than any other Bugg album, barring his self-titled debut, the record exudes a coherent style, a commitment to pursue a more contemporary sound come what may, combining classic Bugg vocals and guitar with dance beats and a radio-friendly sheen. I can certainly imagine a dance-mix of “Rabbit Hole” or “Lost” thumping out of some poorly lit night club. But as with most things Bugg, the songs have a substance that lend themselves to varying treatments. Compare the album version of “All I Need” to the ‘Mahogany Sessions’ version to really appreciate the jazzy elements in the guitar and piano riffs.

All I Need (album version)
All I Need (Mahogany Sessions)

I really enjoy both versions of the song and the fact that Bugg is trying to have his genre cake and eat it too, operating as he is under the pull of different factions of his audience. Basically he’s got a younger contemporary group with broad tastes (like Bugg himself) and an older group that would prefer he just re-issue a remake of his debut album again and again. And I get it (as a member of the older group, at least age-wise), his first record was not just another album, it was an experience. It spoke to a generation of young people who felt left behind economically and broader group of working class people regardless of age who had seldom heard their working class experience reflected in popular culture. To see an ocean of fans at various festivals in the 2012-14 period belt out his lyrics was both shiver-inducing and very moving. The temptation to simply redo his debut must have been strong. But as Bugg said shortly after making it big, he was no longer living the life that had inspired the songs on the first album. It’s hard to sing about the travails of the working class when you’re jetting around the world and modelling for Burberry. Now, in fairness, when you’re brought up in the working class it stays with you, even if you change class positions. But it often means you’re not this or that. And that’s what we see on Bugg’s post debut albums, the struggle to please his fans and find his own voice amidst the trappings of fame. Albums 2, 3 and 4 try to juggle these competing demands with varying levels of success.

This is where Saturday Night, Sunday Morning marks a significant departure. Stylistically it commits to what it’s doing. Set aside your bias for roots/folkie Jake Bugg and listen to this record on its own terms and it’s a winner. Put your headphones on to appreciate the guitar magic Bugg is working on “Kiss Like a Sun” and the chorus that has a wonderful dreamy quality. The album has a number of indie rock tracks like “Screaming” and “Lonely Hours” that feature Bugg’s signature electric guitar and a great setting for his more rock and roll vocals. “About Last Night” sounds like the should-be radio hit. “Lost” rides that fine line between club and pop hit, with a hypnotic combination of hooky bass lines and piano riffs. “Scene” was the song that initially caught my attention on this album. I like Bugg’s phrasing on the song and the production effects. A slow burn bit of ear candy. “Maybe It’s Today” has an early 1960s stroll-on-the-boardwalk feel, a bit of Spector, a bit of Springsteen, while “Downtown” is the lovely kind of piano ballad Bugg excels at. Hey there’s even a roots/folkie contribution with the acoustic guitar throwback “Hold Tight.”

Maybe It’s Today

The lyrics to “All I Need” album are the first words you hear on this album and they lay out Jake Bugg’s dilemma pretty clearly. With Saturday Night, Sunday Morning he tries to leave behind the pigeon hole both fans and critics would put him in. And he does – sort of. You see Bugg is sneaky bloke and in addition to this album he’s also released rootsy/folky versions of a number of the album songs. Best of both worlds? You bet. Check out the wicked stripped-down versions of “Kiss Like the Sun” and “Lost.” Or there’s the hypnotic acoustic-dance mix of the non-album single with CamelPhat, “Be Someone.”

Lost (acoustic version)
CamelPhat and Jake Bugg – Be Someone

I feel like the search is over. The Jake Bugg that appears on this album sounds like he knows who he is and what he’s doing. Hopefully everyone else will catch on.

Cold snap singles

01 Tuesday Feb 2022

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Winter has hit us hard here in the Great White North. Correction: it’s hit us harder in the parts that usually don’t get sub-zero temps and dumps of snow that won’t leave e.g. Toronto. Nothing to do but hunker down and check out the singles scene. This mix has got a wide variety of poppy rocky sounds, most pretty new, some left behind from 2021, and a few surprises too.

West Midlands’ jangle purveyors The Proctors offer up a killer B-side with “You Me and the Sea.” The guitar just drips with reverby jangle goodness and the vocals are breathy and ethereal in that 1990s English guitar band sort of way. And that’s a pretty groovy synth keyboard riff tucked in there too. Did I mention it’s on pink vinyl? Snuck in at the very end of 2021 was the release of The Boolevards’ new album PoPtastic. It’s a garage take on British Invasion guitar pop, wonderfully exemplified on “Master of Lies.” And many more of the 14 tunes on this LP. With a musical resume like Jason Narducy (Superchunk, Bob Mould Band) the polish and hooks on his recent Split Single album Amplificado should come as no surprise. The single “(Nothing You Can Do) To End This Love” is poprock perfection, charging in from the start only to take off melodically in the chorus. The melding of guitars and vocals reminds me of the always reliable mix from bands like the Well Wishers. Faster Than Light wield a wicked, straightforward brand of melody infused rock and roll. Their one-off single “Blacker” is a fist-pumping, highway-driving song loaded with tasty lead guitar licks. To mark what would have been David Bowie’s 75th birthday, Automatic Shoes decided to put out nice little tribute EP called Rising. I love what this guy does production-wise, the acoustic guitars are so crisp, the vocals are so 1970s-intimate in the best Bowie/Marc Bolan style. The cover of  “Andy Warhol” from Bowie’s 1971 Hunky Dory gets a more stripped down treatment here, which really allows the delicacy of the tune to surface.

Brighton UK’s Bloody Norah are bloody marvelous. From their Instagram page they self-describe as “your dad’s favourite rock band” with “[m]elodies tastier than your mom’s spaghetti and harmonies sweeter than your uncle’s crème brûlée.” This is not just presser bluster. “Shooting Star” is a delightful sixties-themed poprock confection, complete with addictive lead guitar lines and splendid harmony vocals. B-side “Joy” is a winner too, with its Abbey Road Beatles wavery guitar and minor key poignancy. More please! Brett Newski has just released the original version of “Dirt” recorded makeshift-style while living in Vietnam a decade or so ago. The song appeared on his 2014 album American Folksong Armageddon but this older version has a very different feel, rougher obviously, less slick, but also channeling a serious level of late 1960s Donovan. Retro but somehow also very contemporary at the same time. Stourbridge anyone? Yes, I had to look it up, a town in the West Midlands, UK – Birmingham is the most recognizable town to outsiders. Well that’s where you’ll find jangle masters Amoeba Teen. They’re putting together a new album and this month’s teaser single was, appropriately enough, entitled “January.” The song has the band shifting a bit into a country lane filled with the likes of The Byrds and Teenage Fanclub, on occasion. Airy, pedal steel-filled melodic goodness here. Seattle’s Green Pajamas have to be the best kept secret in indie rock and roll. Since 1984 the band has released something like 35 albums or so of original material! You can catch up on the first 15 years of singles on the compilation Indian Winter. But why just love the oldies? The band have got a brand new single that is so 1980s indie retro fabulous. “I Love the Way You Smile at Me” is a lovely midtempo pleaser, with catchy guitar licks and bits of pop psychedelia thrown in here and there. Heading over to the Dutch province of Limberg, we catch up with easygoing funsters Afterpartees whose mega-single The Bunn pays tribute to the band’s fave beer hangout. However, I’m more partial to the sub B-side offering “I Don’t Want the World to Stop.” The track has got a great loping rhythm and a steely lead guitar line that won’t give up while the hint of desperation in the vocals is strangely endearing.

Afterpartees – I Don’t Want the World to Stop

Terms like ‘emo’ get thrown around in discussions of Pittsburg’s Short Fictions but I’m not even sure what it really means anymore. Sure, their 2019 album Fates Worth Than Death had a pretty serious undercurrent but also some pretty funny song titles like “I Don’t Want to Wait Out the Apocalypse With Anyone But You” and “Nothingness Lies Coiled at the Heart of Being (It’s Such a Good Feeling).” Besides “Really Like You” sounds pretty chipper. Ok, lyrically, very emo. Well they’re back with a new single, the very Front Bottoms vibing “Don’t Start a Band.” Can a new album be far off? Dubbed ‘America’s least known supergroup’ The Split Squad combine the talents of former members of The Fleshtones, The Plimsouls, Blondie and Cherry Twister. That experience is all over their new LP Another Cinderella, particularly the title track, which is an onslaught of hooky guitar pop. Dave Molter is another kind of music veteran, the poster boy late bloomer who only released his acclaimed debut EP Foolish Heart in 2019, despite a music career stretching back to sixties. Now his first full LP is about the released and the teaser title track is out now, “Approaching the End of Usable Life.” I’m liking where it suggests the album will be going, some good old fashioned meat and potatoes rock and roll in a Huey Lewis vein. Self-described ‘modern vintage rock band’ The Undecideds are a couple of teens stranded in the here and now, far from the 1980s where they obviously belong. Their understated but still rocking take on Tom Petty and Heartbreakers’ “Even the Losers” has got an authentic feel to it, a thrill all its own. I’m no fence-sitter here – these guys are great. Speedways main man Matt Speedway slipped an EP out at the end of 2021. On Only Trouble Is Gee Whiz he turns the amp down from 11 and dials the Speedways frenetic pace back a bit to showcase his pop side a bit more. Opening cut “She’s Got a Melted Heart and a Frozen Mind” is a mini-masterpiece from the Elliott Smith or Replacements low-key hooks department. The riff snaking throughout the song is pure magic.

Short Fictions – Don’t Start a Band

I’m liking everything about Ryan Allen’s new EP I’m Not Mean. I like the cover. I like the guitar sounds. I like the range of styles he crams into a release with just four tunes. These tunes are bit more poppy in execution in a 1960s British Invasion mold. Give all four a listen but if pressed for time go right to “Cut Your Teeth” which has a bit of 1990s Britpop going for it too. Another band that seldom lets me down is Freedom Fry. They have a Paul Simon knack of putting a little melodic twist into the simplest of songs to lodge in your head. “You Know the Way” is the first of a new ‘sing along’ series they’ve cooked up. The electric piano line is a sublime delight. Tim Izzard’s campaign to bring glam back into the poprock mainstream continues with a new EP, 21st Century Expose. Once again a decided 1970s Bowie/Bolan inspiration is in evidence but turned to totally contemporary concerns on opening cut “Empty My Head.” The track is a timely rumination on the often oppressive impact of social media, linking back to concerns and lyrics from Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” And it’s a catchy little number too. Indie music blogger Eclectic Music Lover put me on to Belfast band Unquiet Nights, specifically “In Spite of It All.” The track has a hypnotic quality, a bit Pink Floyd, a bit U2. Very nice fluid guitar work throughout. The song is the one new contribution to a greatest hits collection they’ve just released, First Ten 2012-2022. You can pick up one album and you’re all caught up! Kelowna BC indie rocker Stephen Schijns (pronounced ‘Skines’) so captures our collective desire to escape cold snaps and Covid with a surf-licious homage to sunny climes and rumbly guitar work on “Trans-Pacific Beach Bum.” And he works in some Dad-joke worthy turns of phrase. This would definitely go with rum, some coconut-flavoured mixer and a sun lamp.

We wrap things up with a folkie turn, though screened through a late 1970s commercial folk filter. Recall those smooth, folkie singer-songwriter singles from the likes of Al Stewart, Gerry Rafferty, and Dan Fogleberg and you get a sense of where we’re going. “Either Way” is the opening track of Steve Noonan’s new album Dreamland and it kicks things off with striking effect. In this song it’s the rhythm guitar that really establishes the hook, offset by an almost staccato delivery on the vocals. This stuff was a staple of early 1980s AM radio and for good reason, it has a very broad possible appeal.

This cold snap’s not going anywhere just yet so grab your sweater and pull up to your Mp3 player to review these super cool singles. The hyperlinked names take you to the artists, their music, or some kind of internet real estate you can hang out on.

The header art above is a fragment from Rob Elliott’s Pandemic Diary page 38.

Spotlight single: The Bleeding Idahos “The Beat Says”

28 Friday Jan 2022

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The Bleeding Idahos are from the Hammer, actually. That’s Hamilton, Ontario. In Canada. Emerging from the ashes of indie rock and roll outfit The Zilis, this new project has bit more melodic heft, a tad more shimmer in the guitars. Their first single “The Beat Said” is built around an earworm of a lead guitar hook that slides into the song out of a razor sharp slash of a rhythm guitar chord. It pops up repeatedly in the song, accenting what is otherwise a buoyant, head-bopping good time. B-side “Tony Danza Goodbye” is also pretty special, working up an American Graffitti-style, neo-1950s vocal aura that is all Saturday night at the drive-in with your baby. Of course with these two disparate contributions it’s hard to know just where this band is going but hey, that just makes me even more curious. We’ll find out more soon as this two-song single is the first of three two-for-one single releases promised by the band on their Facebook page, all contributions to a forthcoming album to be entitled Resilience, Vol. 1. I, for one, can’t wait to hear more.

The Beat Says
Tony Danza Goodbye

You can find The Bleeding Idahos on Facebook or in many of the usual places digitally downloadable music is sold.

Hidden gems: Kasim Sulton, Sky Diving Penguins, Kacy and Clayton and Marlon Williams, and Moonlight Parade

25 Tuesday Jan 2022

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Hidden in plain sight, these gems almost escaped my notice from this year past. How I missed some I don’t know. I mean, Kasim Sulton’s not some unknown artist and he’s so in my 1980s poprock wheelhouse. Well let’s buff these up and see how they shine.

If you’re not already a fan you probably still know Kasim Sulton as the lead singer of Utopia’s sole top 40 single “Set Me Free.” Besides handling bass playing and lead singing for Utopia on nine albums he’s released a number of solo records and acted as sideman to the stars countless times in the studio and on stage. So what’s another album from this accomplished guy? Something special, that’s what. Kasim Sulton 2021 may just be the best record of his career. The songs are so good and they’re delivered in that candy smooth 1980s poprock style I love, think Hall and Oates, Greg Kihn, Huey Lewis, and Utopia (of course). Things kick off in style with “More Love,” a very Utopia-slick bit of poppy single-ing, with just a touch of that smart Steely Dan yacht rock feel. “Unsung” is a buoyant, tongue-in-cheek take-down on Sulton’s own perennial sideman career. “Blame Somebody Else” sounds like another should-be hit to me, with plenty of that 1980s big chorus bombast. Sulton reaches back to offer up some Beatles-inspired material on “To Her” and “Her Love is Sunshine” while “Sweetest Fascination” reminds me of Hall and Oates’s “Your Imagination” from Private Eyes. Then he slows things down on the touching, hooky ballad “What It Means to be Alone.” Man, this guy can still sing! I’m also very partial to “Fastcar.” This is AM rock and roll radio from its guitars aplenty, melodic heyday. What a delight when an old pro shows he still has a few surprises left, really delivering here on both the songs and performance.

Blame Somebody Else
Fastcar

What a backstory on Georgia’s Sky Diving Penguins. That’s the ‘back in the USSR ‘Georgia, not the US southern state. Formed against a backdrop of crumbling Soviet influence and an influx of western popular music, band leader Gia Iashvili stitched together bits of influence from bootleg Beatles records, Nirvana, Beck and Elliott Smith into a formidable sound on the band’s early 2001 EP Outspoken. Then nothing – until now. Louder Than War or Eclectic Music Lover can fill you in on the how and why of this unhappy state of affairs, I’m just going to skip right to the happy ending late 2021 release of the band’s self-titled Sky Diving Penguins long-player. The spectre of the late period Beatles is the most obvious influence haunting this record. But it’s often tempered with something else. Opening track “I Don’t Want, I Don’t Care” sounds like the single, its Beatles cues reminding me of Brenda Benson’s solo work. “Serotonin” takes its Beatles vibe in a more rock direction, combining sixties psych motifs with a grunge feel. The rippling acoustic guitar propelling “This is Breaking Me Apart” sounds a bit John Martyn meets the Moody Blues. “All Goes Back in the Box in the End” has a very English acoustic pop feel circa 1970 e.g. Brinsley Schwarz. For me, “Run Boy” is another contender for should-be hit single, with an appeal for fans of Eels or Beck in their more geared-down poppy moods. And this is just today’s impressions, tomorrow the list of faves could change. Altogether Sky Diving Penguins really delivers on the early promise of this band and then some.

Saskatchewan meets New Zealand on Plastic Bouquet, a collaboration between Canadians Kacy and Clayton and Kiwi Marlon Williams. Both acts have already established their cred on separate previous releases but working together it’s like there’s an electric current running through the whole proceedings. The album genre is retro folk/country, think Neko Case in country mode. Like Case, it’s got that 1960s rumble and twang but the aching emotional heft of the package is so of the now. Influences abound, some Patsy Cline torch country on “I Wonder Why” and “Last Burning Ember,” more folk country Ian and Sylvia on title track “Plastic Bouquet” and “I’m Going to Break It.” Sometimes the songs break the country mold, like the album’s opening track “Isn’t It.” It’s a track that really establishes the distinctive sound of this trio, reminiscent of the country side of The Poppy Family. Or there’s “I’m Unfamiliar” with its more rocky organ and electric guitar shots defining the song. “Light of Love” sounds like late 1960s pop country, the kind that appeared in all those sixties period movie montages. Or there’s just the straight up country and western vibe of “Arahura” and “Old Fashioned Man.” On the whole, Plastic Bouquet is a remarkable synthesis of these individual talents. If you’ve got heartache on your mind, Kacy and Clayton and Marlon Williams have set it to music on this LP.

On their third album Worthing UK’s Moonlight Parade turn up the jangle on What If? Just one listen to their magisterial opening cut “Amsterdam” and I’m primed to believe the band’s presser that this is indeed their “strongest work to date.” The guitar line echoes like it’s being performed in some old English cathedral while the song’s atmosphere is very Echo and the Bunnymen and The Verve. Should-be hit single, definitely. From there the album just goes from strength to strength, leaning in to the jangle on “The Way I Feel” and “Brother,” the latter oozing a Smithsian influence in the structure and execution. “Hanging Around” reminds me of The Coral’s crisp remake of 1960s guitar poprock. “Awkward” sounds like it came right out of the Modern English songbook. And then there’s the surprising shift to the Donovan psychedelic swing and fuzz guitar defining “No Way of Knowing.” Album closer “You Know Me Better” has a drone-y, dream-like quality, like Lloyd Cole in more introspective moments. What If? sounds like a lot of us are feeling right now, uncertain, hurting, looking for a bit of hope.

Give these hidden gems a few listens and I’m sure you’ll agree they’re certainly worth treasuring. And, as an added bonus, the gem shop hotlinks are always open for a leisurely perusal of the product and purchases. Gem photo courtesy Orbital Joe.

A boy named Elvis

21 Friday Jan 2022

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On album number 32 The Boy Named If Elvis Costello and his Imposters come rocketing out of gate with a manic ferocity. Opening cut “Farewell, OK” kinda sounds like the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There” if Lennon and McCartney had been in the Clash. The message is clear: fans impatient for Costello to return to his This Year’s Model roots, the wait is over. Elvis may be 67 years old but he’s not too old to rock and roll. And lay on all his usual clever lyrical and melodic turns too.

Now when I say this record marks a return to This Year’s Model that’s only part of what’s going on. Drummer Pete Thomas is playing on the original kit from that record and you can definitely hear it at the start of tracks like “Penelope Halfpenny” and “What If I Can’t Give You Anything But Love?” But the songs simply refuse to be limited to influences from just one album. “Penelope Halfpenny” is really the lyrical and melodic cousin of “Veronica” from Costello’s 1989 Warner Brothers debut Spike, though the organ riffs would be right at home on Armed Forces. “What If I Can’t Give You Anything But Love?” also balances This Year’s Model drumming with an Armed Forces melodic vibe. At times it’s the sound and combination of instruments that harkens back to a particular time. “Magnificent Hurt” aces the early records formula of distinctive bass and organ runs. “Mistook Me For A Friend” and “The Man You Love To Hate” echo the gripping tension that the Attractions could sustain on a variety of cuts from the first few albums. Then again “My Most Beautiful Mistake” reminds me of the pop soul sound EC worked up on his mid-period release Mighty Like a Rose.

And then there’s the ballads. “Paint the Red Rose Blue” is that exquisitely mannered song style Elvis really got into from Trust onwards that pops up again and again over the rest of his career. I sometimes think he must crank a few of these out every day before breakfast, so effortlessly do they flow across his many releases. You want it darker? Both “Trick Out the Truth” and “Mr. Crescent” are those seemingly nice EC ballads that hint at a deeper menace the longer you keep listening to them. But the highlight on this album for me is “The Difference” with its keyboard dominated chorus. I’ve always had a soft spot for Goodbye Cruel World and the mix of elements here really remind of where Costello landed on that record.

Paint the Red Rose Blue
The Difference

Rock and roll Elvis is back. Though, in fairness, he never really went away. What nostalgic fans often want is a return to Elvis circa 1979, all snarl, pounding drums and relentless organ riffs. Well EC has seldom been keen to simply stand still creatively or retread old ground. He’s constantly pushed the limits of his rock and roll horizons. But on The Boy Named If Costello indulges the yearning for past glory, sprinkling hints of musical yesteryear all over the album. And the result, far from a retread, is a distinctively new Elvis synthesis.

Elvis Costello lives online here, at least some of the time.

Breaking news: Novelty Island, Sweet Nobody, Suburban HiFi, and The Shivas

19 Wednesday Jan 2022

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It may be a brand new year but we’ve still got a load of records from last year that really deserve more time in the spotlight. Damn all those other blog ‘best of’ lists! I’m playing catch up again … Alas, today’s breaking news may or may not be all that breaking to everybody but they’re definitely worth a listen.

You’ll find Novelty Island in the ‘McCartney circa 1968-73’ chapter of your Beatles encyclopedia. Band leader Tom McConnell has clearly deconstructed everything from Paul’s White Album contributions to the entirety of Band on the Run and the influences abound on How Are You Coping With This Century? The results are both highly pleasing and not derivative in the least, in part due to McConnell’s ace song-writing. “This Bird” kicks things off with a light acoustic guitar touch, only to build and soar melodically in the chorus. Then “Cowboy on a Bicycle” grabs you with its addictive banjo riffs and male girly group vocals. What’s going on here? McConnell keeps you guessing. “Michael Afternoon” is equal parts crunchy electric guitar chords and an almost baroque vocal approach. “Ladybird” is all whispery, McCartney-like whimsy wrapped in a delightful acoustic ballad. Only with “Jangleheart” does a more conventional band sound finally make an appearance, vibing Big Star in a big way. “Blank Wine” is also a bit of a departure, more of a Todd Rundgren workout. But all things come back to McCartney elsewhere (in a good way) with a particularly Wingsian finish on “Yes.” Man, he nails those vocals!

Sweet Nobody should get the award for most apropos album title of the past two years with We’re Trying Our Best. No kidding. And like the rest of us the record is all over the map in terms of mood and emotional self-regulation, ranging from free-wheeling, surf-tinged rocking abandon to low-key, melody-infused ennui. The record opens with “Not a Good Judge,” a track effusing the uneasiness of our times, delivered with an almost Suzanne Vega degree of emotional distance. “Why Don’t You Break My Heart” is the should-be hit single for me here with its great big chorus and rolling shots of jangle. “Five Star Diary” comes on a bit stronger so don’t even try resist the wall of sparkly guitar. This is like the Primitives in low gear with a chorus that also reminds of Kirsty MacColl. “Million Yard Stare” is defined by a mesmerizing electric guitar lead line opener that then threads its way throughout the song. Meanwhile “Other Humans” teems with restrained passion. Like a great country song, it sounds like it is about to break wide open at any moment. I could hear Neko Case doing this number or the fab country jangle bonus cut “Disturbance.” For a bit of dark-tinged surf rock see “Little Ghost.” On the other hand, there’s a definite Sundays or Cardigans feel to “If I Should Die Tonight.” On reflection, forget the ‘trying our best’ schtick, this is a band is not just trying, they’re doing.

I love E minor rock and roll. Often dubbed the ‘sad chord,’ all the greats used it (e.g. the Yardbirds, Big Star, REM, etc.) and it’s all over Suburban HiFi’s late 2021 release Superimposition. First cut “In Her Reverie” delicately juxtaposes its various musical elements: intoxicating acoustic lead guitar work, striking electric guitar shots, and chilling FOW-worthy vocals. Then the opening guitar lick of “The Year in Pictures” knocked me back into 1979, the song so captures the brilliant, brittle intensity of the sound at that time. “Space Between Us” also exudes a late 1970s feel but the keyboards and drums are more characteristic of the disco/pop crossover AM radio hits of the era. Yet if I had to boil it all down, the material here mostly reminds me of all those hooky mid-tempo tunes cranked out by Fountains of Wayne in the late 1990s. I mean, check out “Beamed In.” If that’s not Chris Collingwood handling the vocals it’s a pretty fair imitation. Or there’s “Fight on our Wedding Night,” a track that both sounds FOW and has the observational chops of Collingwood lyrics at their dire best. On the other hand, “Vinyl on the Radio” sometimes sounds very Elvis Costello, sometimes somewhat Walter Egan. And there’s melodic outliers, like the wonderfully weird “Potemkin Honey” with its great interplay between bass and organ and the main melody. Seems to me Superimposition is the kind of interruption we could all use more of.

I’m definitely late The Shivas party, only coming in on album number 7, the new Feels So Good // Feels So Bad. From what I’ve read they were a hot teenage mess of rocking riffs and punky ‘tude when they started out fifteen years ago. What I hear now is a mature band balancing the rock with more tender tunes, firmly in control of their unique sound. Opening cut “Feels So Good” is an intense, gripping, almost dirge-like psych rock workout. “Undone” adds a strong melodic undercurrent to the rocking riffs, aided by some cool organ. Then comes the first obvious should-be hit single, the alluring midtempo number “Tell Me That You Love Me.” The feel is a very 1966 British dolly bird belter of a tune. Dusty Springfield anyone? Or, for a more American take, I could hear The Ronettes making this their own. Riffs remain central on tracks like “If I Could Choose” and “For the Kids.” But the latter is also marked by some ghostly, almost Fleet Foxes vocals, which also pop up on “You Wanna Be My Man” and “Sometimes.”  Then there’s the tender American Graffiti-revisited sound worked into songs like “Don’t Go” and “Please Don’t Go.” Contrast them with “My Baby Don’t,” a solid rocking down the highway tune, and you get a sense of the impressive breadth of accomplishment here.

Well there’s all the news that fits, for now. You’ve got the headlines, now it’s up over to you to follow up on the stories. Thanks to Koolshooters for the cool mast photo.

Something happened here: Ronnie Spector and Marshall Crenshaw

14 Friday Jan 2022

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The death of the legendary, incomparable Ronnie Spector is a shock. Did a singer ever seem more alive? From her ground-breaking singles with the Ronettes throughout the 1960s to various efforts to jump start her solo career from the 1970s on, Spector gave it her all. And while she never managed to pull off a Tina Turner kind of comeback in her solo phase she did produce some fine singles and albums, particularly those backed by Springsteen’s E Street Band. However, hands down, my favourite post-Ronettes release from Ronnie Spector is her collaboration with Marshall Crenshaw.

Recorded in 1989, Something’s Gonna Happen was only finally released in 2003. The EP is a dynamic blast of everything that made Spector special: gutsy vocals, Ronettes-quality background singing, and a crack musical backing from Crenshaw’s amazing mid-1980s band. And the tunes really work for her too. The EP focuses on material from Crenshaw’s first two albums, two from each and a rare cut that he never released, with the whole thing produced by Crenshaw’s early producer Alan Betrock. From 1983’s Field Day, Spector adds a tenderness to the vocal on “For His Love” and puts her own stamp on “Whenever You’re On My Mind.” But it’s the material from Crenshaw’s self-titled 1982 debut that really allows Spector to shine, adding a new spark to “Favorite Waste of Time” and turning “Something’s Gonna Happen” into a should-be hit single. The unreleased Crenshaw track “Communication” is another highlight, a solid tune that Spector really makes her own. In a better world, the release of this EP would have marked Spector’s triumphant return to the spotlight.

As the lights dim on the stage, Ronnie Spector is gone. But everybody in listening range knows something happened here. Thankfully we can relive the magic again and again with these great recordings. Visit her website here or check out her recent super holiday EP on bandcamp.

Should be a hit single: Grrrl Gang “Pop Princess”

12 Wednesday Jan 2022

Posted by in Should be a Hit Single

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Yogyakarta, Indonesia’s Grrl Gang explode across your ears at the start of “Pop Princess” with a song that says – no demands – ‘dance to me!’ The driving, droney guitar is a relentless call to shake something. Surprisingly, the chorus is not the hook magnet here. If anything the chorus taps the brakes, letting you catch your breath before diving back in. The song appears on the 2020 collection Here To Stay! that brings together material from the group’s stand-alone early singles and EPs. There’s plenty more fab stuff here like the Teenage Fanclubby “Dream Grrrl” and the Smithsian “Night Terrors.” The magic here is how the band combine a Scottish indie pop elan with just a hint of post-1950s American song styles. And smart? Whoa. These peeps have got something to say and they’re going to say it now, particularly on restrictive gender roles and sexuality. But they manage to meld those political passions and insights into the music almost seamlessly. Fist pumping and arm waving, all at the same time. The band’s more recent single “Honey, Baby” is also pretty special, dramatically expanding the sonic depth of their sound. All this and they’ve yet to release an actual debut album – now that is going to be a thing.

Visit the Grrrl Gang at their Bandcamp, Instragram or Facebook pages and catch the wave.

Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2021

08 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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In our social media-saturated universe it seems that your 15 minutes of fame has been reduced to just 15 seconds. Who going to give up the time to listen to a whole album, let alone gaze longingly at the cover (like we used to do) while it plays? That means today’s albums have really got to have something special going on, like great tunes, engaging styles, and hooks that seem to improve with repeated listenings. Those are the standards we applied to the 2021 album releases we encountered this past year, resulting in a list of 25 must-have LPs we think you should get to know. But wait, that’s not all. We’ve also helpfully culled the racks for top EPs, covers albums, and long lost albums that finally saw the light of day in 2021. Forget the Columbia House Record Club, we’ve got all the long-players you need and then some. Hyperlinks take you to the original review.

So let’s get the show rolling with Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2021:

1. James Henry Pluck
2. Brent Seavers BS Stands For
3. The Boys with The Perpetual Nervousness Songs from Another Life
4. Lane Steinberg The Invisible Monster
5. Ruen Brothers Ultramodern
6. Aaron Lee Tasjan Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!
7. Greg Townson Off and Running
8. Rich Arithmetic Shiftingears
9. Richie Mayer The Inn of Temporary Happiness
10. Drew Beskin Problematic for the People
11. Rob Ellis Orrall 467 Surf and Gun Club
12. Nicholas Altobelli Technicolor Hearts
13. The Friends of Cesar Romero War Party Favors
14. Steve Robinson Swallowing the Sun
15. The Brothers Steve Dose
16. Lolas All Rise
17. Lo Talker A Comedy of Errors
18. The Armoires Incognito
19. Tommy Ray! Handful of Hits
20. Chris Church Game Dirt
21. Matthew Milia Keego Harbor
22. Henry Chadwick We All Start Again
23. Rich Mattson and the Northstars Skylights
24. Ken Sharp Miniatures
25. Fishboy Waitsgiving

Putting James Henry as my number 1 album choice for 2021 might surprise a few blog watchers but frankly I don’t know why Pluck isn’t topping all the indie charts. Maybe it’s the subdued cover art or perhaps the album just falls between the genre cracks, I don’t know. But if you love those highly listenable 1980s Squeeze or Crowded House albums, this guy is for you. Each song should be stamped ‘earworm warning’ as a positive public health measure. Take it from me, Pluck is a relentless hook machine. 5 stars for sure. Other choices – Brent Seavers, The Brothers Steve, Lolas, Chris Church – are perhaps more predictable. Hey, they’ve delivered before and here they deliver again. Genre-wise, Lane Steinberg and Fishboy undoubtedly raise boundary issues but damn they are fine albums with subtly hooky tunes. And the rest? Well they’re all defined by content that is mucho killer, nada filler.

Next up, Poprock Record’s top five EPs for 2021:

1. Daryl Bean Mr. Strangelove
2. The Blendours Go On Vacation
3. BPM Collective Catastrophe Girl
4. The Cudas Alien Vacation
5. Rumble Strip Let’s Roll

Can’t spare the time for a full album experience? These extended play releases will meet your need for more than a single but not quite a long-player. But fair warning, these concentrated blasts of melodic goodness may leave you wanting for more. They’re that good.

Then, there’s Poprock Record’s top five covers albums for 2021:

1. Richard Turgeon 10 Covers Volume Two
2. Mike Browning Class Act
3. The Speedways Borrowed and Blue
4. The Unswept Power Pop for all the People
5. Spygenius Blow Their Covers

The pandemic moved just about everyone to put out an album of covers. But they’re actually pretty hard to nail, ranging in quality from elevated karoke to the unrecognizable. The trick is to rework the unique creative spark in the song, making it both recognizable and different at the same time. Turgeon’s a master of song reinvention, taking up tunes others wouldn’t dare to try (from the likes of The Monkees, The Mamas and Papas, and the Bryds, among others) and succeeding. Browning applies his own distinctive poprock chops to material from the sixties to the eighties that lets you fall for the classics all over again. Ditto 3, 4, and 5 – they love the songs and it shows.

And finally, Poprock Record’s 5 best long lost albums of 2021:

1. Sorrows Love Too Late … the real album
2. Steve Rosenbaum Have a Cool Summer
3. Bruce Moody Forever Fresh!
4. Doublepluspop Too Loud, Too Fast, Too Much
5. Underwater Sunshine Suckertree

The idea that a band could put all the work into writing, playing and recording an album and then not have it released almost seems like a crime in my book. Numbers 4 and 5 had their work ‘misplaced,’ only to accidently resurface recently and get released. Numbers 2 and 3 were indie artists whose various DIY and professional recordings never got gathered together for a proper release, until the rise of recent niche music markets made it viable. And number 1 is a remarkable story of a band that wouldn’t let their record company/producer’s mangled version of their album stand. So instead they rerecorded it, this time getting it right. That the Sorrows could make their rerecording of Love Too Late sound so 1981 is a testament to their talent and sheer doggedness.

Ok, one last category, Poprock Record’s best ‘best of’ album of 2021:

Dropkick The Best of Dropkick

Sometimes greatest hits collections really hit the mark. The Best of Dropkick is one of them. It’s a comprehensive overview of this great band’s career, packaged with attractive artwork, and at a very nice price.

Well we stretched the 25 album limit but it really was the only way to be fair to all these super LPs and EPs. I think this post demonstrates that while classic era of the album may be over, there’s still lots of tremendous long-playing records out there. If you love them, support them, whether its live or Memorex.

Lego records graphic courtesy art/design student _Regn.

Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles of 2021

03 Monday Jan 2022

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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Welcome to our sixth annual collection of should-be hit singles gathered from the artists, albums and tunes featured on Poprock Record in the previous year. You’d think after five tries I would have come up with some kind of rock solid science to make these choices. But, no. Still winging it, going with whatever takes my fancy. I mean, I think you’ll see a pattern: catchy guitar hooks, soaring melodies, earwormy compositions, all accomplished in three minutes or less usually. Putting this list together was particularly challenging this year – positively spoilt for choices! My initial list of possible songs had over 200 selections. The hyperlinks below will take you to the original post about each artist as they first appeared on the blog.

So let’s get to it, Poprock Record’s top 50 should-be hit singles for 2021:

1. The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness “I Don’t Mind”
2. White Fang “Never Give Up”
3. The Vapour Trails “That’ll Do It”
4. James Holt “Mystery Girl”
5. Brent Seavers “More Than A Friend”
6. Timmy Sean “The College Year”
7. Aaron Lee Tasjan “Another Lonely Day”
8. Ruen Brothers “Cookies and Cream”
9. The Martial Arts “Bethany”
10. Daisy House “Last Wave Home”
11. The Coral “Vacancy”
12. Robert Ellis Orrall “Sunshine”
13. Deadlights “Breaking Down”
14. Love, Burns “Wired Eyes”
15. The Blendours “Tell Me The Truth”
16. Daryl Bean “Keeping Me Alive”
17. Stoeckel & Pena “Why”
18. Richard X. Heyman “Ransom”
19. Automatics “Black Velvet Elvis”
20. John Myrtle “How Can You Tell If You Love Her”
21. The Red Locusts “Another Bad Day For Cupid”
22. James Henry “So Many Times Before”
23. Lane Steinberg “The Invisible Monster”
24. Geoff Palmer “The Apartment Song”
25. Mike Browning “The Little Black Egg”
26. The Eisenhowers “Suffer”
27. The Jack Cades “What Am I Going To Do?”
28. Friends of Cesar Romero “Thinkin’ About Leavin’”
29. The Kickstand Band “Hey Julianne”
30. Pseudonym “Before the Monsters Came”
31. David Brookings “Mania At The Talent Show”
32. Lolas “Pain In My Heart”
33. Tommy Scifres “Thought You Knew”
34. Vanilla “I Shall Be Re-Released”
35. Hyness “Cruelty”
36. Tim Jackson “How Do You Mend A Broken Heart”
37. Caddy “Cost of Love”
38. Chris Church “Know”
39. Tim Izzard “Breaking Me Down”
40. BPM Collective “Catastrophe Girl”
41. Benny Hayes “Don’t Make Me Go”
42. Steve Robinson “Mr Empty Head”
43. The Poppermost “Laziest Fella In The Realm”
44. Liz Phair “Hey Lou”
45. Juliana Hatfield “Gorgon”
46. Robert Sherwood “Blue All Over”
47. Kurt Hagardorn “You Are My Girl”
48. Richard Turgeon “Goodbye to Summer”
49. Ed Woltil “Paper Boat”
50. The Amplifier Heads “The House of Young Dolls”

This year’s list privileges strong, strong hooks. I’m talking the jangleliscious guitar work from the ever reliable Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness on “I Don’t Mind,” the relentless driving guitar riffs animating White Fang’s “Never Give Up,” or the delicious 1960s roll out kicking off The Vapour Trails’ “That’ll Do It.” Or the pumping, plinky piano and organ cocktail that undergirds James Holt’s killer single “Mystery Girl.” Then there’s the more traditional poprock Brent Seavers, springing the earworm in the chorus of “More Than a Friend.” Still, there’s room for variety on this list, from the tender acoustic Aaron Lee Tasjan ballad “Another Lonely Day,” to the Beach Boys homage in Daisy House’s “Last Wave Home,” to a folk rock duet from Steve Stoeckel and Irene Pena on “Why,” to the striking sonic heartbreak embodied in Richard X. Heyman’s touching “Ransom.”

Truly, this list is just a bit a fun, one more chance for me to shine a light on the artists whose work had me hitting replay in 2021. But I’m sure you might make different choices. Feel free to tell me all about them! Either way, don’t forget to find some way – buying music, attending live shows (when it’s safe!), or taking up those opportunities to interact with them online – to support their bottom line. They may not only be in it for the money, but money does allow them to stay in it.