This just in from the teletype, my breaking news is not always so ‘breaking’ timewise. Oh well. I’m sure what appears here will be news to someone. Today’s post brings us old reliables and new discoveries, in equal measure.
I’ve run out of superlatives to describe all the great things that Aaron Lee Tasjan is. He topped our 2018 must-have LPs list with Karma for Cheap and I’ve gushed all over everything he’s put out since then. Stylistically, Tasjan has that Nashville rock and roll vibe going: shades of sixties country, more than a little Orbison tenderness in the vocals, and an unerring ear for rock and roll melody. But Tasjan’s new album Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! marks out new territory, pushing his songwriting and performance into new lyrical and sonic geography. Keyboards gain more prominence here. “Up All Night” has Tasjan’s vocal floating over a synth hook whose relentless texture propels the song forward. Lyrically Tasjan’s connects the 1970s gender bending rock and roll of Bowie and others to the present on “Feminine Walk” while celebrating the women of his past on “Sunday Women.” Perky poprock numbers are in abundance here, like “Computer of Love” and “Cartoon Music.” And there’s still plenty of this artist’s warm Wilbury’s song stylings on tracks like “Another Lonely Day” and “Don’t Overthink It.” Elsewhere Tasjan’s not afraid to give a song space to breathe. “Now You Know” ambles along pleasantly, building ever so slowly to the most subtle of killer hooks. “Not That Bad” is another of Tasjan’s beautiful acoustic ballads, melding a bit of McCartney with Elliott Smith. Meanwhile “Got What I Wanted” is so wistful McCartney circa McCartney II. Altogether, this record is a delightful surprise from an artist who regularly delivers the poprock goods.
I first cogged on to Benny Hayes with his The Good Good Things project, particularly the title track of the EP Soundtrack 2000. I loved the marriage of the slightly discordant vocals with his self-described guitar pop style. Hayes is back with a new EP Night Drives that retains the guitar pop but with an overall package that sparkles a bit more. There something very early Everything But the Girl or Housemartins going on here, like Hayes is the punky younger brother turned loose in the studio. It’s there on the opening tune “Authentic Me” with its up front acoustic guitars and in-your-face vocals. “Don’t Make Me Go” has a smoother feel, a bit of acoustic pop soul, with a tasty melodic guitar solo. “Night Drive” harkens back to Hayes more discordant guitar pop past, with another very engaging solo guitar near the end. “Sunshine” sounds like the single to me. Night Drives is mostly a guy, his guitar and voice, but somehow Hayes makes great big beautiful noise that just right for your car radio.
If you’re looking to get caught up with Boston shoe-gazey jangle band 3 A.M. Again then Come Back from the Sun is the album for you. Combining tracks from a number of previous EPs and long-players, the collection is a mammoth 20 track set that is very attractively priced. The record opens with a solid should-be hit single in “I Can Always Tell the Difference,” a song that builds nicely with a lilting swing and breezy melody. Folkie acoustic guitar work defines this album, definitely shading the distinctive feel of songs like “Painted from the Moving Train” and beautiful instrumentals like “Thatcher Road.” But sometimes the tempo picks up a more rocky demeanor on songs like “Bring Me Out” and “No Help When You Were Young.” There’s a sixties psychedelic pop feel to “You Should Let Me Love You” while “Not Willing” exudes California sunshine pop. I love the late 1960s acoustic guitar folk feel and CS&N vocal style on “Does It Help.” This record is the perfect accompaniment to a sunny day out walking somewhere.
I thought I knew Chris Church. I’ve reviewed more than a few of his singles and albums. His guitar work is typically highly finessed with just a bit of grit thrown in, coating but never obscuring the basic melodic strengths of his songs. But Game Dirt is a game changer. Here Church conjures up the ghosts of the mid-1970s California country-tinged rock and roll scene of Warren Zevon or Walter Egan, mingling them with some of the most genre-stretching material of his career. “Learn” opens things up with strong dose of David Lindley/John Fogarty bluesy rock but then “Faderal” shifts gears, an urgent, original dose of poprock that seems to owe more to arty bands like Split Enz or mid-period Squeeze. “Fall,” “Lost,” and “Trying” then sets the tone for much of what follows, a easygoing 1970s westcoast feel, a bit Fleetwood Mac, a hint of the Eagles, even a little Marshall Crenshaw on the last entry. Some signature Church guitar returns on the should-be single “Know” where the guitar hook winds itself around the central vocal melody with propulsive force. Country comes to the fore in a down-home rollicking sort of way on “Smile” while “Sunrise” has a very Jayhawks ambience. Looking for some nice pop hooks and a bit of jangly guitar? “Removed” will fit the bill. Basic takeaway: Game Dirt is a remarkable piece of work from an artist that clearly still has a few surprises for us.
I’m always thrilled to find new artists or old artists scaling new heights. Visit Aaron Lee Tasjan, Benny Hayes, 3 A.M. Again, and Chris Church to get the lowdown on both these new records and their glorious past releases.
Here in the great white north the first August long weekend offers a national statutory holiday but cast in bespoke local themes. Each province does its own thing: British Columbia has ‘BC Day,’ Nova Scotia has ‘Natal Day’ and so on. So to aid this year’s party planning, we’re doing our celebration a little early with this Sunday singles jamboree! And I can clear some of the backlog of great songs in the queue …
2019 had plenty of jangle, hooks, harmonies and melody to spare. From an initial list of over 200 songs I’ve managed to whittle my should-be hit single list to just 50 chart toppers for this year. Man, it was hard. Because I only post music I like this whole exercise is a bit like choosing your favourite child. Well, IMHO, the 50 songs featured here all have a strong earwormy quality to them. But let me know if you agree or disagree! Hit the links below to find each artist as featured in my original blog post this past year.
Some definite hot properties in this newscast with new releases from Poprock Record faves Richard Turgeon, The Rallies, Dan Israel and Aaron Lee Tasjan!
Richard Turgeon just keeps on getting better and better. His debut (In Between Spaces) and sophomore (Lost Angeles) albums were solid slabs of 1990s-inflected poprock, layered with hooks and slathered with a grungy alienated demeanor. Now he’s back with Go Deep and this time he’s upped the melodic quotient. This is the record Matthew Sweet should be putting out! There’s plenty of solid hooks, a bit of crunch, and those slightly dark melodic twists that sink deep in your sonic consciousness and stay there. It’s all there in the great opening track, “The One Who Got Away,” with its driving guitar and lovely background vocals. Or “Next to Me” with its strong guitar lead line hook. Then Turgeon shakes things up with an early Police ska rhythm guitar anchoring “Beware of God” accompanied by some REM-worthy background/foreground vocal interplay. The REM comparisons continue with “Loneliness,” a spot-on could-be outtake from Document. Two different versions of “Lost and Found” both capture the aching beauty at heart of the song. And then Turgeon shows his songwriting depth and range with the country/folk tune, the winsome “Cowboy Life.” Ultimately Go Deep is a great album experience, worthy of repeated listenings.
Seattle Washington’s The Rallies are back with their sophomore LP Upside Down and it’s a reverb-charged dose of sunny hooks and bittersweet sentiment. If you enjoyed their harmony-drenched debut Serve you’re going to love this new record. The solid acoustic guitar rhythm backing is still there. The distinctive mix of harmony background vocals combined with lead singer Steve Davis’ heart-tugging delivery remains front and centre. But the songs have a bit more muscle this time out. Somebody stepped on the jangle pedal because its ringing tone threads its way throughout the album, from the single-worthy opener “All Over Town” to the soaring closer “You’re the One.” The album opens on an extremely strong note. Really, in a properly poprock world “All Over the Town” would be zooming up the charts with its Beatles-esque background vocals, hypnotic guitar hooks, and earwormy melody. Overall, the influences alternate on this album, from the Tom Petty-ish “Brand New” and “Up To You” to the more Crowded House vibe of “It’s OK” and “Alive.” The hooky lead line opener to “If You Do” comes off like a lost cut from the That Thing You Do soundtrack. And I also love the lilting, more slow-paced melodic charm of “In Everything.” But make no mistake, the band have their own distinctive sound and style, as in evidence on the moving “All of Us,” a song that highlights this group’s overall uplifting positivity. 2017’s Serve landed on a host of ‘best of ‘ album lists and I predict Upside Down will heading to the same places for 2019.
Minnesota’s Dan Israel is like the money in the bank, turning out reliably great poprock records year in and out. This time he’s back with the timely-titled Social Media Anxiety Disorder and it is another winning collection of poprock ruminations on life and surviving the modern world. The album opens with “Be My Girl,” the obvious single with its endearing horn section, hooky bass guitar work, and hit single aura. But the whole record is quality stuff, alternating between Dylanesque observations and a Cat Stevens kind of confident delivery. Check out the hooky wordy attack of “Another Day” or the Tom Petty-ish country demeanor of “Tired.” Or how about the “Strawberry Fields Forever” organ quality adding something to the already winning “125” – killer! Personally, I’m smitten with the intimate acoustic revelations of “Still I’m Lost” and the almost church-like gospel hints embedded in “Out of My Hands” and “Out of My Hands Reprised.” Dan Israel is leading the singer/songwriter poprock revival, one you should be signing on to.
Aaron Lee Tasjan’s Karma for Cheap was my number 1 album for 2018. I just couldn’t get enough of it. The songwriting was exquisite, the musical performances – amazing. Now Tasjan has returned with a stripped down version of the album, Karma for Cheap: Reincarnated, and it’s a revelation. It’s like Karma unplugged, and stripped bare the songs really stand up. In this re-ordered version of the album, former album closer “Songbird” is now the opener and in its more naked form it exudes all the acoustic majesty of McCartney’s “Blackbird” or “Mother Nature’s Son.” And so it is true for all the other songs. These more spare recordings reveal new depths in songs like “Strange Shadows” and “End of the Day.” Reincarnated does make one major change in the set list of Karma for Cheap, swapping out the Orbison-esque “Dream Dreamer” for the delighful “My Whole Life is Over (All Over Again).” Tasjan’s a major talent, as revealed by his ability here to bring even more new life to some pretty great material.
I’m not really an album guy. Particularly now in our ‘download-any-song-you-want-era’. I grew up on compilation albums and AM radio. It was all singles, singles singles: a new sound every three minutes. A whole album is just a vinyl horizon for my needle dropping. But I have to say this year I got hooked on more than a few long players. What grabbed me? I could say it was the songwriting, a coherent sonic palette, the performative ingenuity, etc. But hey, who am I kidding? It was mostly the hooks. Fair warning: there is considerable overlap of artists here with my should-be hit singles list (duh) but not entirely. Bottom line: you won’t go wrong putting your cash down on these LPs in toto.
Edging out Daisy House’s fantastic Bon Voyage by a hair, my number one album for 2018 is Aaron Lee Tasjan’s Karma for Cheap. The more I listened to this record, the more I loved the songs and the performances. There is something extraordinary in just how Tasjan combines his elements. He’s got rumbly guitar, he’s got jangly guitar. His vocals run the gamut from Tom Petty-solid to Roy Orbison-aching tenderness. There’s not a weak cut here, but pay special attention to subtle hooky vocal interplay on “Heart Slows Down,” or the driving guitar hook behind “End of the Day,” or the touching “Dream Dreamer.” You won’t steer wrong with his back catalogue either, particularly 2016’s Silver Tears! There is so much I could say about all 20 albums but frankly the music speaks for itself. Click the links to go directly to the band’s bandcamp, Facebook or webpages.
One final word: I had to single out Super 8’s stupendous triple album accomplishment this year for special attention. After a two-decade career in rock and roll that can only be described as cinematic in its litany of seeming breakthroughs, bad luck, record company shenanigans and some bandmate’s bad faith, these albums are a vindication of his resolve to stick with music. Each record is finely crafted portrait of late 1960s summertime sunshine poprock. Your time machine back to 1968 is ready for boarding! Just hit play.
2018 was a freakin’ fantastic year for poprock! How do I know? Every year-end I put together a playlist of tunes released that year. In 2016 it consisted of 58 songs clocking in at just over 3 hours. By 2017 that list expanded to 98 songs running over 5 hours. This year the list exploded to 175 songs going on for over 9 hours! My list of should-be hit singles had to expand to a top 50 just to accommodate all this talent. Hit the links below to find each artist as featured in my original blog post this past year or to go to their bandcamp or Facebook page if I didn’t write them up.
I’m a notorious needle-dropper. I skip through albums like some people click through the ‘recently added’ section on Netflix. But every now and then an album grabs me and I find myself listening all the way through, taking more from each song with every listen, or sometimes just transfixed by the order of the tunes themselves. When I run across material like that it’s time to repair to the listening room and give the albums in question some serious attention. Today’s listening room selections are new releases from Mike Pace and Child Actors and Aaron Lee Tasjan.
Forget what you’ve heard from this performer – get ready for something new. With sound like a distilled retro 1980s poprock playlist, the energy on Mike Pace and the Child Actors’ new release Smooth Sailing is seemingly irrepressible, akin to Bleachers’ great debut Strange Desire in its ability to take sonic elements from decades past and make them into something new. This is well illustrated on the opening track, “Everyone Out of the Car” which squeezes just about every ounce of 1983-era indie into one propulsive number, or “Senior Statesman” which injects a little melodic 1980s Springsteen into the mix. This album has highlights galore. “Blaster” kicks off with hit single written all over it and never lets up. “Disconnected Heart” captures the tender acoustic Big Star sound while “Troubleshooting” swings like Joni Mitchell at full volume. Back catalogue honourable mention – don’t miss out on Mike Pace’s previous band, Oxford Collapse, particularly the infectious “In Your Volcano.” Actually, you can’t far wrong with anything stamped ‘Mike Pace’ somewhere.
Aaron Lee Tasjan makes it look so easy. His songs lope along, seemingly straightforward, and then – bang – some ever so simple change up reels you in. Karma for Cheap has a classic easygoing rock and roll combo sound, a bit of Beatles’ Abbey Road guitar here, some classic early 1980s poprock background vocals there. But it all comes down the songwriting. As I listened to the record I kept saying, ‘damn, this is best song!’ Until the next one came along. “If Not Now When” kicks things off with a great stretched guitar sound and pumping piano, “The Truth is So Hard to Believe” sounds like a great lost outtake from The White Album, while “The Rest is Yet to Come” has a super poppy blues feel. But nothing really prepares you for the subtle brilliance of “Heart Slows Down,” the obvious single. Oh, it starts ordinarily enough. But at the 35 second mark something starts happening that leads right to the killer chorus and before you know it you’ve hit replay five times. Those great back up vocals! So simple, so seductive. Then “End of the Day” (which could easily be mistaken for a Tom Petty single) does it again with an innocuous start that hits the fast lane in the chorus as the background vocals and driving lead guitar line combine into radio-friendly, hit single bliss. But Tasjan’s not done with us yet. On “Strange Shadows” he is the spot on reincarnation of Roy Orbison while “Set You Free” lets loose some fine jangle guitar and solid stadium-size poprock hooks. There are other songs I haven’t mentioned but I don’t want to seem obsessed.