Whenever my power pop tank is running low I head on over to Don Valentine’s I Don’t Hear a Single blog for a reliable re-up. I can’t be going there too often or I’ll just want to cover everything Don’s got up, though our tastes do diverge sometimes on the genres adjacent to melodic rock and roll. Even when we cover the same artist we often differ on the tracks to highlight. Don is also a music reviewing machine. I can’t believe the number of new releases he gets up on his site. He’s just finished his annual ‘best of the year’ countdown and in the spirit of blog cross-pollination I’ve needle-dropped all 100 entries and pulled out just 10 that caught my ear. Let’s see if we can hear a single from amongst these I Don’t Hear A Single approved releases.

The first song to jump out a me was the mid-summer release from Keys entitled “My Temporary Game.” It’s got a McCartney undercurrent and a very strong resemblance to the Pugwash sonic imprint. Then I caught an earful of Winterpills “Lean Into the Wind” with its wonderful dreamy lustre. Almost folk pop but the electric guitars stretch such genre labels. Florida’s Evening Standards oscillate between punkish abandon and folky sweetness on different tracks. “Wild Seahorses” falls somewhere in-between, more melodic rock and roll. Clock Radio have got a crashing, swinging style all over “Blood on Chrome” where the chorus really delivers. I didn’t even know Orange, Massachusetts was a place but apparently Creative Writing hail from there. Their sound is like they absconded with a bit Athens, Georgia and moved it to New York City. “Baby Did This” has got jangly guitars and spooky vocals with just a touch of Americana. Chicago’s Half Scratches is something else again. How many people sing about getting gout again? Not many. This band slips such references into “Houses” and it doesn’t take away from the tune’s over-weaning sense of fun. Future Clouds and Radar load up a big guitar sound on “Chicken Out,” one you can dial up and float away on. Slow Buildings work up a more spare atmosphere on “Cruel Girls Are Wrong” with a kind of Rank and File singalong feel and sharp lead guitar work. I love in the intimate, spooky aura established by British Birds on “Silence Daedalus.” There’s something carnivalesque about the whole proceedings. And then it’s on to a big finish with the dramatic energy oozing from Them Elephants on “Right Way.” This one’s got a buzz so strong you can feel it vibrating. Definitely solid rock.

You won’t go wrong hanging with Don over at I Don’t Hear a Single, as his “100 Best Albums Of The Year 2025 : The Cut Out And Keep Guide” makes infinitely clear. This post just amounts to a Poprock Record distilled highlight reel.

Photo courtesy Alex Eylar Flikr collection.