Tags
Aaron Lee Tasjan, Arthur Alexander, Astral Drive, Ben Talmi, Bill Lloyd, Billy & Dolly, Bird Streets, Brad Peterson, Caddy, Cape Cartel, Car City, Cupid's Carnival, Daisy House, Daniel Romano, Danny Wilkerson, David James Situation, Dot Dash, Even, Extra Arms, Freedom Fry, Gentle Hen, Glen Robinson, Greg Pope, Henry Chadwick, Hurry, J. Eastman and the Drunk Uncles, Jeremy Messersmith, Jim Shorts, Michael Simmons, Michael Slawter, Modern Space, Nick Piunti, Oberon Rose, Richard Turgeon, Rob Bonfiglio, Ruler, Sofa City Sweetheart, Starbelly, Summer Magic, Super 8, The Connection, The Essex Green, The Maureens, The Spindles, The Tearaways, The Wellgreen, Vegas with Randolph, William Duke, Wiretree, Wyatt Blair
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.
So, without further ado, here is Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles for 2018:
- Daisy House “Open Your Eyes”
- Oberon Rose “No Stranger”
- Ruler “Unhindered Pace”
- William Duke “Carole and the Silver Screen”
- Aaron Lee Tasjan “End of the Day”
- Car City “(Don’t) Give Up On Love”
- Greg Pope “Forget About You”
- Modern Space “Flip for It”
- Summer Magic “Attraction Corridors”
- Bill Lloyd “Satellite”
- Arthur Alexander “I’ll Get Your Love Someday”
- The Spindles “I Want My Baby Back”
- Starbelly “Lay Low”
- The Essex Green “Sloane Ranger”
- Michael Simmons “No More Girls”
- Astral Drive “Summer of ‘76”
- Caddy “Miracle Turn”
- Danny Wilkerson “How She Lost Heart”
- Bird Streets “Betting on the Sun”
- David James Situation “I Should Know”
- Ben Talmi “Chances”
- Nick Piunti “No Return”
- Michael Slawter “Summer’s Kind”
- Henry Chadwick “I Can Stick Around”
- Cupid’s Carnival “She Don’t Care”
- Super 8 “Your Love is my Blanket”
- Jeremy Messersmith “Monday, You’re Not So Bad”
- Freedom Fry “Past Lives”
- Cape Cartel “More”
- Gentle Hen “She’s Got It”
- Daniel Romano “Anyone’s Arms”
- Hurry “Waiting for You”
- J. Eastman and the Drunk Uncles “No Political Agenda”
- The Connection “The Girl is Trouble”
- Even “Out of the Woods”
- The Tearaways “I Could Love You Forever”
- Richard Turgeon “Look Away”
- Dot Dash “Unfair Weather”
- Brad Peterson “Whispering”
- Rob Bonfiglio “Passenger Seat”
- The Maureens “20 years for the Company”
- Extra Arms “Why I Run”
- Wiretree “Rainy Corner”
- Jim Shorts “James Tailored”
- Vegas with Randolph “Women in Airports”
- Billy & Dolly “Everything is Off”
- The Wellgreen “Take What You Get”
- Glen Robinson “Get You Down”
- Sofa City Sweetheart “Stop the Thinking”
- Wyatt Blair “Gotta Get Away”
For the second year running Daisy House tops my list of should-be hit singles. I have simply run out of superlatives to describe the musical genius of this band. Great songwriting, a killer 1960s vibe, flawless production and performance – it just doesn’t get any better than this. Do yourself a favour and head over to Bandcamp to download their whole catalogue. Oberon Rose came a close second with what must be one of the coolest singles rolled out this year. Ruler ruled my playlist for a good part of 2018, with “Unhindered Place” just one of the great songs on his album. I love the way William Duke’s guitar sounds like a jangle waterfall on his hooky masterpiece “Carole and Silver Screen.” And Aaron Lee Tasjan is a real find – so many possible selections – but more on that with my upcoming ‘20 must-have LPs for 2018’ post. I could go on … (but click on the links to get the full story).
I hope you enjoy these fifty songs enough to click on over to some of the artists’ web real estate and help them along career-wise. 2019 promises to be another hungry year for many of these mostly struggling artists – so do your part: buy their music and go see them live when they come to your town.
It’s melody central today on Around the Dial. The station appears to be just stuck on hooks. But that’s OK.
Just getting around to raving about last spring’s hottest poprock release, Starbelly’s Four. I’ve raved about Starbelly member Cliff Hillis’ catalogue before but I have to say, there is nothing like putting a whole bunch of really talented guys together to get even more amazing results. As an album, Four is a strong hook-filled jaunt clearly influenced by the Beatles, solo McCartney, Squeeze and all those others great melodic groups, with a few surprises. I’m digging the low key melodic swing of “Lay Low” and the staccato groove of “Yes, I Love Her Again” with it’s great lead lines and background vocals. “Emily Says” sounds very mid-period Squeeze to me. “Jesus Freak” starts very pop psychedelic Beatles but then throws in a Billy Joel melodic twist in the verses while “Antidote” I swear is a great lost Aimee Mann deep cut.
Seems everybody is loving Bill Lloyd’s new record Working the Long Game and I am no exception. I’ve really liked the few songs I stumbled on from his past work and only just figured out he was one half of the amazing country pop duo Foster and Lloyd! But this new album is something else, solid all the way through. “Satellite” is the killer hit single material, at least on my poprock radio station. It’s got the chorus that hooks you in and keeps you waiting for it to come around again. “What Time Won’t Heal” has a very cool late 1960s folk pop vibe. The album also clearly channels some Elvis Costello-isms on “Til the Day that I Break Down” and “Interrupted” while “Miracle Mile” and “Shinning” had me feeling very Marshall Crenshaw. And then “Yesterday” is just brilliant rocked up pop in a Matthew Sweet sort of way. All this name-dropping is just my way of saying, this guy’s got the poprock goods.
Last up a band I discovered commuting between Toronto and Peterborough, Ontario in 2005, Van Go. “Dear You” (from that year’s Pop Your Heart Out LP) just grabbed me like a good ear worm should. But after that I lost track of the band. That is, until their record company alerted me to the release of their latest full length release, Everybody Loves You When You’re Gone. I’m happy to report they’ve still got it! Things kicked off well with “I Wish I Could Be Grateful,” the obvious single with a great melodic hook in the chorus. It’s also great news that the band’s distinctive and addictive vocal attack is still in evidence here, particularly on tracks like “Miles Away” and “Tell Us How You Really Feel.” Title track “Everybody Loves You When You’re Gone” is also a winner melodically, while still delivered with some rocking muscle.
Poprock Record 