Let’s break with the usual news cycle for something a bit more uplifting. Whether it’s folk rock or punk pop or just melodious rock and roll, trust me, these are the top stories we need right now.

Like Paul Simon or Al Stewart Steve Robinson drifts back and forth between folk and poprock motifs, effortlessly amplifying or stripping down his melodies. Over the 11 tracks on his new album Window Seat you’ll hear echoes of the Beatles, solo McCartney, Neil Finn and, of course, XTC. “Unnecessary War” opens the record as the obvious single. The message and swagger is very John Lennon but the melody combines elements reminiscent of XTC and Crowded House song structures. Robinson is often tagged with XTC comparisons but it can hardly be avoided when Dave Gregory is playing lead guitar on “The King of Scatterbrain.” I also get a very Andy Partridge in dour folk mode from “Hollow Man.” By contrast, “Are We There Yet?” evokes Neil Finn’s distinctive melodic turns with guitar work that reminds me of Band on the Run era Wings. A number of tracks also have a strong Beatles ’66 feel, like “Hesitation Blues” (though the keyboards are more ’69 Preston good). On the folk front there’s real variety too. “Room With a View” strikes me as very much in the Suzanne Vega’s brand of sophistico-pop. There’s a more discordant English folk ambience to “Word to the Wise” while “Who Knew” is sunny folk pop all the way through. Robinson then wraps with a pastoral, Mummer-worthy folk mediation with “Treasure.”

From the small Scottish town of Forres four-piece ensemble Be Like Pablo spring like a blast of pure energy on their first new album in a decade, A World Apart. Their sound is a curious amalgam of nineties dissonant poprock and new millenium indie rock, sprinkled with a variety of 1960s and 1970s adornments. People compare them to Weezer and Fountains of Wayne – and perhaps it’s just the Scottish angle – but I hear Spook School. Sure “There Goes the Sunshine” vibes FOW pretty hard but there’s so much more going on here. I mean, check out those super-charged, chorused guitars fueling “Find a Way to You.” They are just so 1974. Or get your sixties fix on “Amy” or “I’ll Never Be Your Man” where old song forms come up against a wall of rhythm guitar distortion. This is an LP that maintains an impressive intensity throughout its 12 songs and 33 minutes. “There She Is” will grab you with its seductive background vocals, alluring keyboard lines and a main vocal so electrically insistent and present. “Crazy Without You” is just a great pop song, nicely punched up with stylized organ shots, tasty lead guitar, and what sounds like a violin instrumental solo. “My Kind of Girl” sounds like the unstoppable single to me, so relentless in its mixed aural assault, while “Do You Want to Go Surfin’?” delivers punky pop with some killer retro guitar solos. The band can gear down effectively too, as evident on the lovely acoustic guitar-led “I Don’t Know What I Do Without Your Love.” They even tease us on “Do It All Over Again,” leading with spot-on Beach Boys keyboard licks only to duck into a Cars new wave guitar crunchiness moments later.

The new Scoopski album Time Is a Thief is a real family affair, with hubby, wife and even baby Scoopski taking vocal turns. You’ll need to get yourself ready for a highly melodic outing, accent on fun. Album opener “Everyone’s Guessing” will definitely let everyone get their ya ya’s out. I love the guitar sound kicking off this tune, like an engine about to roar to life. Parenting and growing up define a lot of material here. “Little Ball of Energy” and “Babble” capture the joy of having a small new being in your life while “Dad Bod” makes light of every male’s inevitable physical decline in a boppy rocking time. But the secret star of this record is undoubtedly the keyboard work. I tend to think of Scoopski as a guitar band but check out the artful keyboard contributions to “I Agree, Marie,” “Seasonal,” and “Nocturnally Yours,” the latter an ace bit 1970s rock and roll melodrama. Serious radio-ready singles include “Pinata” and “Double,” both offering hooks for days. Modern comparisons abound but I’m really getting an early Squeeze feel from this record, like a Cool for Cats kind of madcap fun, particularly on “Double” and “The Inattentive Twist.”

On solo album #6 Along for the Ride veteran indie rock and roller Ed Ryan ruminates on a life lived amid great American musical inspirations. The lyrical themes here are literally experience-talking on “Fine Art to Letting It Go,” “Along for the Ride,” and “Imperfect Life.” Musically Ryan’s long career means he continues to churn out well-crafted hooky tunes from a Tom Petty meets Greg Kihn playbook, with a few intriguing departures. First off “Fine Art to Letting It Go” lays down a low-key Bo Diddley beat but before you know it you’ll be joining in on the ‘oh oh’s’ in the chorus. “Along for the Ride” pushes off with an early Wings lead guitar tone but check the subtle vocal harmony work here that really elevates the tune. Petty-isms litter the record, tucked into tunes like “Better Than That,” “Looking for Something” and “Make It Happen.” Other tracks amp up a harder 1980s poprock edge, like “It’s Alright With You” and “Find Me a Girl.” I love how “Solitary Man” changes up the tempo and leans on the piano to add some great melodic shading to the chorus. And then there’s outlier tracks like “Unspoken” and “Follow You Down” that are more in the style of song storytellers like John Hiatt or the bluegrassy “Poppees Garden.”

Finally some breaking news where the byline is in musical notation. You can follow up on these stories with hyperlinked ease – just click and go.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.