Tags
Bird Mancini, Brad Peterson, Cupid's Carnival, Dave Sheinin, Evan Myall, Half Catholic, Jeff Roberts, L.A. Exes, Leadfinger, Mattiel, Middle Kids, Nah ..., Palmyra Delran and the Doppel Gang, Richard Turgeon, Silver Synthetic, Sloan, Stephen Schijns, The Brandy Alexanders, The Caternary wines, The Rockyts, Tristen
Tis the season for shovels and snowflakes … and singles! What better way to wrap up the year than a slew of new 45s. Here’s 21 songs to get you through your snow-shoveling workout.
Atlanta’s Mattiel’s have early-dropped a single from their forthcoming new LP, the aptly named Georgia Gothic. The song is titled “Jeff Goldblum” and this outing is a bit more pop, kinda like something 1978 bordering on new wave. I like where this is going. I’m sneaking in another holiday-themed tune, but only because it’s so subtlely done. Brad Peterson’s “Beautiful and Bright” is lovely low-key ode to peace and goodwill, and who really gets enough of that? Nobody, that’s who. A year ago it was political drama central but amid all the competing headlines I somehow missed Sloan’s fabulous on-point single, “Silence Trumps Lies.” No fake news here, just slick melodies and wise sentiments. I may be getting to it a bit late but it’s definitely worth a replay. With “Stranger” Evan Myall combines some classic rhythm guitar shimmer with a nice bit of Todd Rundgren-like pop songcraft. From his recent EP Snail. Sticking to America’s west coast L.A. Exes offer up a light jaunty neo-early 1960s romp on “Baby Let’s Pretend.”
Cupid’s Carnival are clearly working their way up to a new album release sometime soon, given the singles we’ve seen this year. “Thinking About You Girl” is what the boys do best, another catchy mid-period Beatlesque charmer. Boston’s Bird Mancini manage to sound both very familiar and highly original, all at the same time. From their recent album The One Delight, I’m loving the rollicking joy of “Space Between Two Worlds,” driven by Ruby Bird’s impressive vocals. Sydney Australia’s Middle Kids remind me of a certain kind of contemporary poppy rock sound, like Grouplove. The keyboard opening to “Stacking Chairs” is so magnetic, drawing you in, building to a calliope-like drive in the chorus that’s aided by some nice guitar work. The song is from their most recent long-player, the perhaps only slightly over-stated Today We’re the Greatest. Dave Sheinin takes his reliable power pop chops in a sometimes rockier, sometimes more mellow direction on his recent release The Measure of Things. “St. Paul” has got a hooky bar band rockin’ feel. Richard Turgeon turns on the mellow meter for “7 Stories,” lulling us with some nice guitar swing and vocal harmonies that vibe that distinctive Eagles shiver-inducing effect.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard an album from Wollongong, South Australia band Leadfinger but a few new singles have come out this last year. I’m currently attached to “The Fall of Rome” with its addictive lead guitar runs and ominous melodic undercurrent. I’m guessing a new album is not far off. Ottawa’s teen sixties retro band The Rockyts are clearly between albums so they released “It’s a Dirty Shame” to tide us over this year. The track plays to their melodic rock and roll strengths while adding just a bit of contemporary polish. Jeff Roberts is a mysterious guy from Charlottesville, Virginia who likes to just give his songs away. That’s right, just click on ‘free’ on Bandcamp! And you’re gonna want to with tracks like “Bones,” a shuffle-demon of a track that’s a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. Half Catholic is another band on its way to a new album, for sure, if the spate of recent singles is any indication. “What Good is Gone” has his trademark jangly lead guitar and expressive vocal delivery. It’s mournful and peppy in the same moment. For a change in direction, we head to Munster, Germany where Nah … get their twee baroque pop going on with a new single “The Useless Model.” It’s very theCatherines with some Everything but the Girl thrown in.
DIY poprocker Stephen Schijns has a load of one-off singles on his Bandcamp page and they’re all pretty good. Indeed, some are pretty great even. Like the alluring charm of “I Met Her Yesterday” with its Byrdsian overtones and Al Stewart inflections. “What Do I Know About Love” is also pretty sweet. The Brandy Alexanders’ “Conventional Lie” starts off very George Harrison “My Sweet Lord” but quickly segues down its own distinctive path, combining winning vocals with some cool guitar and keyboard lines. Palmyra Delran and the Doppel Gang give their single a super-charged lick familiar to any early 1960s pop fan but it works on “Lucky in Love,” adding rather than overwhelming the tune. They’re a group with a limited resume that I’d love to see more from. New Orleans band Silver Synthetic have got a classic Americana thang going on. You can’t go wrong dropping your needle anywhere on their self-titled debut album but if I were calculating special moments I’d put my money on “In the Beginning.” The Caternary Wines have an otherworldly aura about them. There something Moody Blues/Jethro Tull spooky here. I’m hard pressed to choose one song from that their fab record Birling Gap but I’m going with the Enya-esque “Face on the Rail Line.”
I can’t recall who put me on to Nashville songstress Tristen but whoever you were, thank you. Thank you! She has an amazing ability to reach inside you and find some feeling you barely knew was there. At some point I’ll pay tribute to her great catalogue but for now let’s attend to her latest LP Aquatic Flowers. This is a very listenable album, with so many great cuts. I was going to recommend “I Need Your Love” and it is a great song but if I can only feature one tune then it has to be “Athena” with its dissonant lurch and melodic purity. It’s pretty special, but then Tristen is no ordinary songmaker.
No snowflake is exactly the same – ditto our singles. Celebrate the icy cool of our snow-inspired single selections. And drop a few bucks over at Bandcamp for these stellar artists.
Today’s single file is bulging with digital 45s just itching for an e-spin. There’s a bit blues and rock and roll and, of course, strummy poprock in the rotation.
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.
Given our staffing levels here at Poprock Record, not all breaking news is really breaking in the sense of being absolutely brand new and ‘just released.’ But hopefully it’s breaking to someone! This edition of BN taps a bit of that punky spirit that former punkers retain when they decide to go a bit more poprock and showcases what happens to DIY performers when they radically up their game. You might want to turn these tunes up!
Fullerton California’s Odd Robot are back with another 14 songs that channel a punky energy into some pretty tight rock and roll arrangements on their new Amnesiatic. “Sell Your Soul” sets the standard, charging out the gate, guitars full on with some effective new wave hooks and a strong vocal melody. Title track “Amnesiatic” keeps up the pace, sounding a bit Nick Lowe circa 1978, definitely single-worthy material. Things change up with “Green and Yellow Wires,” a song and performance that really reminds me of Ann Arbor, Michigan band Tally Hall and their very sophisticated sound. Overall, you won’t go far wrong with any track on this album, the band is consistent – there are no phone-in moments here. But if I have to single stuff out I find myself particularly partial to “Nothing to do with Anything, But” and the pre-release song, “West Coast Girls,” the latter a killer single musically as well as a showcase for the band’s distinctive, superior vocal sound.
New Zealand is calling with The Beths, a trio whose debut is a concentrated blast of punk-infused indie poprock. “Great No One” opens The Future Hates Me and it combines a driving rhythm section with some crisp lead guitar lines and the band’s signature vocal delivery. This is it, what you came for, and the combination of elements is recombined effectively everywhere else on the album. Title track “The Future Hates Me” adds a slightly discordant element to the equation, “You Wouldn’t Like Me” is a bit more poppy with a lovely swing, “Happy Unhappy” also leans heavily on hooky melody and buoyant vocals, while “Whatever” (previously avaible on the 2016 EP Warm Blood) has all the makings of a hit single: great build, solid hooks, and something that sticks in your head long after it’s over.
From somewhere in a wooded area near Lake Michigan, north of Chicago, Brad Peterson has a garden shed studio where he takes DIY to a whole new level. His earlier records mined a broad range of indie poprock pretty effectively but with 2017’s The Ellipsis Album Peterson began incorporating more contemporary pop sounds and motifs to great effect. Now comes his new The Unknown Album, a collection that appears to take those influences and add some experimental touches to the songwriting and performances. But there’s still a few conventional hit singles in the mix, like the flawless “Whispering,” which sounds like a vocal mix of Sting and Steve Miller in terms of timbre and down to earth delivery. Another straight up poprock gem is “Secret Messages” with its Beatlesque double-tracked vocals and subtle yet hypnotic hook.
DC-based band Dot Dash comprises veterans of a host of almost and actually famous bands whose music rocked regardless of the subsequent monetary reward (or lack thereof). The surplus of talent certainly shows on their new record, Proto Retro. Shifting between an indie punk vibe (“Sun + Moon = Disguise”) and pure 1984 jangle band (“Gray Blue Green”), the many influences also gel together perfectly on tracks like the opener “Unfair Weather.” The song vibes like a sunnier Beach Boys-meets-Weezer project might sound. Like other recently reviewed material, this is another total album experience given the quality of songs: just drop the needle anywhere and you’ll come up with the goods. I love the twists and turns on “Parachute Powerline,” the blast of hooks from “Fast Parade,” and check out those 1980s shimmering guitars on “World’s Last Payphone.” Then prepare yourself for a less restrained indie rock out with “Green on Red.” Proto Retro is a great album, deeply influenced by the old but very in the now too.
Sometimes you run across a band’s new song and then discover a whole fabulous back catalogue of musical adventures. Just seems greedy to keep that hook-filled past under wraps. So today we celebrate the present and the past musical accomplishments of this crew of poprockers.
Ok, truth be told I didn’t actually run across any brand new material for Ed Ryan. It’s just that I realized he had been in the ‘should write about’ pile for too long. Ryan goes way back – to the 1970s and 1980s with various power pop bands. That must be why his two recent solo records sound so accomplished. From the blistering guitar opening of “Everything is Going to be Alright” to the achingly sweet vocal on “Heartbreak in Disguise” you know you’re in good hands on 2016’s Roadmap. This is an eminently playable record, and you don’t even have to turn it over! I’m particularly fond of the mid-1960s British beat group vibe all over “Bridges are Burning” and the way a basic rock and roll sensibility is art-rocked up on “Elvis’s World,” with its wonderfully kooky instrumental break. Then 2017’s Furious Mind is even more blistering out of the gate with “You’re My Kind of Fun,” and even more achingly sweet on “Lullaby.” If there’s a difference, I get the sense that Ryan really pushed up the Beatles’ crossfader on these recordings. “Here I Am” has some lovely late-period Beatles’ touches on the instrumentation, while “Drifting” has such an early period Beatles song structure, particularly in the verses. Other highlights for me would include “Rocket Ship,” which sounds very Ramones-fun to me, while “So Hard to Know” offers a nice acoustic country-ish turn. But my fave is the melodic rocker “Can’t Drag Me Down.” Can’t wait to see what Ryan comes up with for 2018!
Brad Peterson has described his style as ‘garden shed rock and roll.’ Well he has some pretty complex and impressive results coming out his backwoods Chicago DIY garden recording studio. I mean, I love DIY but it usually sounds a bit more rudimentary than the polished stuff Peterson is offering up. Case in point: his new record Ellipsis sounds like any number of major label indie offerings with songs like “What the Heart Will Allow” and “Unbroken.” But it’s the more poprock hooks that really get me. I’m currently addicted to the ear worm stamped “Clap Your Hands.” This one is so simple but still simply irresistible. “Far Off Places” and “Just In Time” also showcase Peterson’s melodic chops while “See You on the Other Side” exudes a Springsteen-esque weariness, complete with aching harmonica solo. It always feels good to feel this bad. And if you like this, there’s more in the back catalogue. 2009’s The Ductape Album has a song that is so Steve Miller I could have easily mistaken “More” for the master, though the Beatlesque bridge might have given the game away. And then there’s “Beat Myself Up” from 2006’s The Red Album, a pretty special single featuring some subtle Everly Brothers’ hooks and harmonies.
Joe Adragna’s work with The Junior League is an exquisite composite of 1960s to 1980s poprock motifs. His recordings are full of hidden treasures, subtle homages to all sorts of great artists and recordings. His new album Eventually is Now showcases this nicely with its opening track, “Teenage Bigstar,” which delivers just what the name implies. Or dig the very subtle Mamas and Papas background vocals on the album’s single, the infectious “I Only Want to Begin Again.” Another radio-friendly, hook-filled single would be the country-rock-ish “Someday.” But the whole record is a pleaser. Digging into the band’s catalogue there are just so many great songs to highlight. The debut, Catchy, from 2006, is loaded with should be hits: “The Beautiful Room is Empty,” “Hear My Voice,” and the hooky tour de force “I Don’t Believe in Love.” Or the melodic rootsy feel of “Keep it Home” from 2013’s You Should Be Happy, which also features the heartbreaking duet, “I Don’t Think I’m Kidding This Time.” “Also Rans” from 2015’s Also Rans has a sweet country rocking feel. And this just scratches the surface of this band’s great back catalogue.
I get mail! Jeff Litman wrote last week to let me know about his new record Crowded Hour so I gave it a listen. “Only You” grabbed me as the obvious single, with its 1980s melodic torch rocker vocals and sweet lead guitar lines. I also really liked “Disappear,” a nice spare acoustic ballad. Wasn’t long before I was digging through Litman’s past recordings – holy cow! Some great stuff on all his previous releases. “Primetime” from 2015’s Primetime has a very early Elvis Costello sheen. 2012’s Outside has a host of poprock shades, bit of John Hiatt on “Don’t Do That,” Tom Petty on “Don’t Want to Talk About It,” and more touching acoustic balladry with “What Hasn’t Happened Yet.” Litman’s 2009 debut Postscript sounds very Michael Penn to me, particularly on tracks like “Anna” and “Everything You’re Not.” But then things break out in a cool late 1970s rock mode with “Detroit Lawyer” and “Knock Me Down.”
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