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Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles for 2022

05 Thursday Jan 2023

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 2 Comments

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*repeat repeat, Allan Kaplon, Andy Bell, Bats, Beachheads, Bill DeMain, Bill Lloyd, Bloody Norah, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, Chris Castino, David Woodard, Dazy, Edward O'Connell, Fjord Mustang, Flipp, Frank Royster, Freddie Steady Krc, Freedy Johnston, Goodman, Grrrl Gang, Jane's Party, John Larson and the Silver Fields, Kevin Robertson, Kurt Lanham, Lawn, Limblifter, Linda XO, Lisa Mychols & Super 8, Marc Jonson, Martin Luther Lennon, Moonlight Parade, Murray Atkinson, Novelty Island, Phil Thornalley, Pictish Trail, Push Puppets, Ramirez Exposure, Richard Turgeon, Richard X. Heyman, RIcky Rochelle, Rogers and Butler, Sky Diving Penguins, Sloan, Stephen Schijns, Steve Robinson and Ed Woltil, Suburban HiFi, Superchunk, Tamar Berk, Teenage Tom Petties, Televisionaries, The Bleeding Idahos, The Demos, The Kryng, The Minders, The Proctors, The Rallies, The Rubs, The Stroppies, The Telmos, The Toms, The Wends, U.S. Highball

It was another busy year for melody-drenched rock and roll. Releases were coming fast and furious and frankly I could barely keep up. Still, I managed to get 82 posts up on the blog in 2022 and write over 64,000 words on the loosely-defined rock and roll sub-genre I call ‘poprock.’ I couldn’t write about everything that crossed my desk or what others may have necessarily thought was review-worthy, I just covered what caught my ear or worked itself into some kooky theme I cooked up. So let me be clear, what appears here is a completely arbitrary exercise in personal taste and discretion. I’m sure others may have a somewhat different set of worthy tunes that deserve more attention. And that is totally cool. The point is to celebrate the artists and perhaps give people another shot at checking them out.

So here it is, Poprock Record’s top 50 should-be hit singles from 2022:

1. Grrrl Gang “Pop Princess”
2. The Bleeding Idahos “The Beat Said”
3. Dazy “Rollercoaster Ride”
4. Bloody Norah “Shooting Star”
5. Allan Kaplon “Restless One”
6. Televisionaries “Over and Out”
7. John Larson and the Silver Fields “Reversible Heart”
8. Push Puppets “There’s No-one Else Like Lynette”
9. Tamar Berk “Your Permission”/“Tragic Endings”
10. Freddie Steady Krc “Bohemian Dandy”
11. The Toms “Atmosphere”
12. The Proctors “You and Me and the Sea”
13. The Minders “Home”
14. Richard Turgeon “Better With You”
15. Flipp “You Can Make It Happen”
16. Bill DeMain “Lone Ranger”
17. Limblifter “Haystack Rock”
18. Stephen Schijns “I Met Her Yesterday”
19. The Rubs “When I Dream About You”
20. Edward O’ Connell “Golden Light”
21. Superchunk “Endless Summer”
22. The Kryng “Get”
23. Freedy Johnston “There Goes a Brooklyn Girl”
24. Phil Thornalley “Fast Car”
25. Lawn “Down”
26. The Stroppies “The Perfect Crime”
27. Beachheads “Jupiter”
28. Martin Luther Lennon “jfkha”
29. David Woodard “Stupid Kid”
30. Linda XO “California Girl”
31. Richard X. Heyman “When the New Dawn Comes”
32. Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard “Break Right In”
33. Sloan “Magical Thinking”
34. Teenage Tom Petties “Boxroom Blues”
35. The Demos “Streetlight Glow”
36. Suburban HiFi “In Her Reverie”
37. Moonlight Parade “Amsterdam”
38. Ricky Rochelle “In a Dream With You”
39. The Telmos “What She Knows”
40. Marc Jonson and Ramirez Exposure “Tape Recording”
41. Sky Diving Penguins “Run Boy”
42. Novelty Island “Jangleheart”
43. Goodman “Au Pair”
44. Pictish Trail “Melody Something”
45. Kevin Robertson “Tough Times (Feel Like That)
46. U.S. Highball “(You’ve Got To) Activate a Carrot”
47. The Wends “What A Heart Is For”
48. The Rallies “Must Be Love”
49. Jane’s Party “It’s Been Years”
50. Frank Royster “Open Door”

There were so many great songs put out this past year, I was spoiled for choice. And choosing wasn’t easy. Sometimes I cheated a little. Grrrl Gang’s “Pop Princess” technically came out before 2022 but I only got around to writing about it this last year. What a tune! It’s a perfect example of the kind of excitement a great single can generate and, really, why I write this blog. People need to hear it! Or there’s the fresh indie hooks driving The Bleeding Idahos’ “The Beat Said” and Bloody Norah’s “Shooting Star.” Dazy had a knock out AM radio earworm with “Rollercoaster Ride.” And then there was veteran songster Allan Kaplon coming on like The Highwaymen at first only to let loose the Rockpile hooks in the chorus of “Restless Ones.” There were new faces and old favourites and surprises aplenty. Click on the links to go to the original posts featuring each song.

I had to create a few new categories this year, just to capture all that was good and groovy about 2022. The post-Covid covers album phenomenon continued and most were great fun. But some were particularly inspired. And then there were a lot of acoustic guitar-dominant tunes out this past year that I felt really needed to be singled out in a category I’ve dubbed folk pop.

So, without further ado, here are Poprock Record’s most inventive covers from 2022:

1. Kurt Lanham “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (The Beatles)
2. Lisa Mychols and Super 8 “I Can’t Explain” (The Who)
3. Bill Lloyd “The World Turns Around Her” (The Byrds)
4. Andy Bell “Light Flight” (Pentangle)
5. Murray Atkinson “Bus Stop” (The Hollies)

And here are Poprock Record’s top folk pop singles from 2022:

1. Fjord Mustang “Health Class Field Trip”
2. Rogers and Butler “Oh Romeo”
3. Bats “Golden Spoon”
4. *repeat repeat “Hm Feels Like”
5. Steve Robinson and Ed Woltil “Make Amends”
6. Chris Castino “Chinese Whispers”

I do love making lists but the choices do not amount to any big heavy pronouncement on anything – just my bit of fun and chance to celebrate these artists a little bit more. Check them out and see if you don’t agree, they’re seriously good!

Photo courtesy Fred Rockwood.

Around the dial: The Forresters, Allan Kaplon, The Exbats, and The High Heaven

20 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Around the Dial

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Allan Kaplon, Americana, Ennio Morricone, The Exbats, The Forresters, The HIgh Heaven

Today’s dial turning is finding guitars aplenty with a decidedly country, sometimes western flavour. But there’s a celebration of sixties garage and girl group sounds too. Get your ear close to the speaker for these made-for-transistor-radio selections.

The back catalogue of Sydney, Australia’s The Forresters has inspired comparisons to The Jayhawks, Teenage Fanclub and Big Star. But frankly, in my view, they’ve got a distinct sound all their own – apparent all over their recent long-player Something To Give. The intro guitar work defining opening cut “On My Way” puts the challenge up front, a bit sombre but uplifting at the same time, later enhanced by some great organ, ‘ooh’ing background vocals and a Harrisonian bit of lead guitar work. Familiar ground but a different synthesis than its source material. Meanwhile “Are You Ready” is a delightful rush of country Byrds meets Big Star. “Tightrope” moves in a different direction again, this time channeling some serious Matthew Sweet-like hooks. Pedal steel plus jangle? Yes please! That’s what you get with “Back In My Arms.” I love how the band throw ‘woo hoo’ background vocals over a whole load of material, framing the chord slashing “Pretty Little Thing” or the more languid rocking “Falling Star” or amid the horns and searing guitar solos of “Get To You.”  No surprise, the band ace their cover of Big Star’s lovely “Thirteen.” But the slow burn fave for me here is “Fall Back In” with its harder edge guitar sound and touch of melodic ennui. Having said that, you won’t go wrong giving Something To Give a full-album spin. It’s a no-regrets kind of commitment.

Allan Kaplon’s got a deep gravelly voice you might associate with those mid-1960s trucker songs from the likes of Red Sovine. But he manages to apply it to a variety of unpredictable styles on his thoroughly enjoyable recent record, Notes on a Napkin. Case in point: album opener “One Big Parade” is a brilliant Harry Nilsson-ish kind of late 1960s message song, one where Kaplon’s baritone adds gravity to an otherwise upbeat tune. Indeed, Kaplon’s voice should be seen as a crucial and unique instrumental contribution here, adding a depth of feeling to pop folkie material like “Keep You You” and “Every Single Day,” sort of like Jim Croce or Leonard Cohen once did. The record’s got country going on too, from the Hoyt Axton/Glen Campbell 1970s cross-over country feel of “Painted in a Bad Light” to the more late 1960s country-rock mix on “Wonder Where the Angels Are” and “Slow Down Cowboy,” the latter vibing The Band and Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay” respectively. But Kaplon gets his rock on too. “Flesh and Blood” has the cheeky swing I associate with Dire Straits’ first three albums, with a similarly understated yet precise vocal approach. Title track “Notes on a Napkin” even has a bit of a Yardbirds meets Bond aura with its tuneful menace. But the star track here is undoubtedly “Restless Ones” with its killer, slow-build earwormy hooks. The verses advance with a Highwaymen’s sense of balladeering anticipation, only to blast off in the chorus. Notes on a Napkin will surprise you, it’s a wonderfully eclectic marriage of strong song-writing peppered with inspired vocal performances.

What kind of cool time travel has brought us Bisbee, Arizona’s The Exbats? As their Bandcamp presser suggests, the group are like some kind of “dystopian garage rock … Shangri-Las” or a “pre-Velvet Underground doo-wop wannabe Lou Reed.” Their most recent LP is Now Where Were We and it is one serious love letter to Phil Spector, the Wrecking Crew and the 1960s California pop sound, though shot through with a punk DIY sensibility. “Coolsville” is oh so Mamas and Papas. “Best Most Least Worst” really does sound like a garage rock take on the Shangri Las. “Practice On Me” moves things in a more dirty-country cowpunk direction. “Best Kiss” is like an R-rated Top of Pops hit single circa 1965. The band can also do mellow. Songs like “One Foot in the Light” and “Like a Song” have a slower, more manicured pop feel akin to Sonny and Cher or Nancy Sinatra. There’s also a pop psych thing going on here on tunes like “Ghost in the Record Store.” I like how they meld different styles – check out the way “Hey New Zealand” combines a bit of The Zombies with the Mamas and Papas. I could go on. Each track vibes on a different flavour of the sixties like some sonic Pot of Gold chocolate box. Very tasty indeed.
The debut album from Melbourne, Australia’s The High Heaven Fairytales of the Heartland casts a Cormac McCarthy-like western spell refracted through a Sergio Leone cinematic filter. And that would be deliberate. These guys clearly love all those Clint movies and their distinctive Ennio Morricone soundtracks – and it shows. But they don’t just throw some spaghetti over any old songs, these tunes are right out of Americana central casting. Opening cut “Wanted Man” is on point, both in musical style and lyrical content. Immediately we’re thrust into the action, our protagonist drawing us into his dilemmas against a solid western-country sonic setting. “Dead Dollar Bill” ups the rock quotient in the country rock balance, with nice Morricone embellishments. “The Evening Redness in the West” adds some rollicking, saloon-worth piano and western-appropriate whistling. But the twin price of admission here can be found in “The Desert” and “Nowhere Bound,” the former a kick-up-yer-heels should-be hit single, the latter a lovely folk/country ballad. The record’s denouement is captured in the ominous sounding title track “Fairytales of the Heartland,” providing an unsettling end to an album that has alternated between glorious send-up and utter sincerity. Despite this, both here and on the band’s subsequent EP Outlaws, Vol. 1: A Few Tales More, the main feeling is a joyous sense of fun in the proceedings. These guys are having a blast so guess what? We are too.

When it comes to melody-packed music, it’s no desert out there. Come in out of the sun and crowd up to the bar with any of these fine artists. You’ll definitely slake your thirst for some quality tune-age.

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