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Berwanger, Extra Arms, Pugwash, Safe and Also No Fear, Slaughter Beach - Dog, Spread the Feeling, The Olympus, The Pernice Brothers, Up From Here, Watching a Garden Die
The autumn has brought a seasonal gust of new releases and they arrive just in time to compensate for the fading sunlight and sinking temperatures. There’s nothing like a good melodic hook to amp up the joy quotient of a grey day. Today’s turn around the dial brings back some old faves and new discoveries!
Ireland’s Thomas Walsh is solid. Every release from his group Pugwash contains great songs and oh-so-interesting performances. His love of XTC regularly shows through but always in his own distinctive and original way. And the guy can write should-be hit singles! I couldn’t stop playing “Easier Done Than Said” from 2017’s Silverlake. Now he’s back with The Olympus E.P. and it’s just more of the good we’ve come to expect. “You Can Build a House on Love” opens with that familiar somewhat dark string section that haunts so many super Pugwash tracks, “August Born” is a bit more upbeat, while “Happy Again” adds a more rock and roll feel to the EP. This is another winning addition to the Pugwash canon.
Another no disappointment artist is Joe Pernice, with or without the rotating cast of characters that populate his Pernice Brothers outfit. Seemingly out of nowhere he’s got a new record and it’s a killer. Spread the Feeling goes from strength to strength songwise, kicking off with the lovely, superbly crafted pop gem “Mint Condition.” From there it’s a veritable rollercoaster of hooky tunes: the ear wormy poprock genius of “Devil and the Jinn,” the nice acoustic-based “Wither on the Vine,” “Throw Me to the Lions” with its catchy New Order-style guitar lines, and that poppy melodic treat “Skinny Jeanne.” There’s also more than few endearing slower tempo numbers like “Evidently So.” Another easy candidate for the ‘best of’ year-end lists!
Speaking of consistency, Lawrence, Kansas indie-cum-classic pop rockers Berwanger have another satisfying disc with Watching a Garden Die. Tracks like the opening cut “Long Way Down” and the neo-1950s early solo John Lennon sound of “Bad Vibrations” have those familiar Berwanger hooks and swing. But the lion’s share of the album is more introspective and low key, as on tracks like the acoustic “Even the Darkness Doesn’t Know” or the bass-dominant “Friday Night” or the mellow “I Keep Telling Myself.” Ultimately, this is a record satisfying in its familiarity while still pushing against its own self-imposed boundaries.
Looking for some ‘pared-down folk rock’? You get a mix of rockier material and a more swinging acoustic vibe on Slaughter Beach, Dog’s new LP Safe and Also No Fear. Paired example: “Good One” and “Heart Attack.” The former has a nice build up, laying some grungy rhythm guitar overtop an initial acoustic base, with some attractive vocal harmonies near the chorus. Meanwhile the latter has a sunshiney swing that will work its way into your head, helped along by its sparkly acoustic guitar anchor and spare embellishments. Ryan Allen’s Extra Arms are back with their sophomore effort Up From Here and it sounds like Fountains of Wayne doing a rawk tribute. Edgy power chords with some solid melodic hooks, particularly on tracks like “F.L.Y.,” “Coming in Waves,” “Hold Me (All the Time),” and “Up From Here.” Overall, this baby’s a bit harsher than our usual fare but hey sometimes you really need to jump up and down and punch the air. This is your gateway air-punching release for 2019.
So many talented bands and solid releases so far this year. Check out Pugwash, The Pernice Brothers, Berwanger, Slaughter Beach, Dog, and Extra Arms in more detail by clicking on the links.
Curvy light road photo courtesy Larry Gordon.
I’m not really an album guy. Particularly now in our ‘download-any-song-you-want-era’. I grew up on compilation albums and AM radio. It was all singles, singles singles: a new sound every three minutes. A whole album is just a vinyl horizon for my needle dropping. But I have to say this year I got hooked on more than a few long players. What grabbed me? I could say it was the songwriting, a coherent sonic palette, the performative ingenuity, etc. But hey, who am I kidding? It was mostly the hooks. Fair warning: there is considerable overlap of artists here with my should-be hit singles list (duh) but not entirely. Bottom line: you won’t go wrong putting your cash down on these LPs in toto.
Edging out Daisy House’s fantastic Bon Voyage by a hair, my number one album for 2018 is Aaron Lee Tasjan’s Karma for Cheap. The more I listened to this record, the more I loved the songs and the performances. There is something extraordinary in just how Tasjan combines his elements. He’s got rumbly guitar, he’s got jangly guitar. His vocals run the gamut from Tom Petty-solid to Roy Orbison-aching tenderness. There’s not a weak cut here, but pay special attention to subtle hooky vocal interplay on “Heart Slows Down,” or the driving guitar hook behind “End of the Day,” or the touching “Dream Dreamer.” You won’t steer wrong with his back catalogue either, particularly 2016’s Silver Tears! There is so much I could say about all 20 albums but frankly the music speaks for itself. Click the links to go directly to the band’s bandcamp, Facebook or webpages.
One final word: I had to single out Super 8’s stupendous triple album accomplishment this year for special attention. After a two-decade career in rock and roll that can only be described as cinematic in its litany of seeming breakthroughs, bad luck, record company shenanigans and some bandmate’s bad faith, these albums are a vindication of his resolve to stick with music. Each record is finely crafted portrait of late 1960s summertime sunshine poprock. Your time machine back to 1968 is ready for boarding! Just hit play.
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.
When the Extra Arms promo people sent me a heads up bout their new album, Headacher, I thought, ya, I like that Ryan Allen dude. But when they sent me a follow up not long after I thought whoa, pushy much? But they were right to push me. Headacher is a fabulous record from beginning to end. Joining the ranks other great muscular pop rock albums released this year from the likes of Ruler, Tiny Little Houses and Odd Robot, the band behind the music is both more and less than its previous incarnation. Formerly Ryan Allen and his Extra Arms, obviously the front man’s name has been lopped off. But more than previously, Extra Arms is more than just Allen’s backing band, with each of the four members now contributing more creatively. The result is kinda like a more rowdy version of Fountains of Wayne, or perhaps Squeeze after a few too many rounds ‘down the pub’. Here the guitars may be a bit more cranked but that unerring melodic sensibility permeates everything.
It’s all there with the opening title track, “Headacher”: surging crunchy guitars, great hooks, and killer FOW vocal technique. This winning formula infuses most of the rest of the material, with particular force on stand out tracks like “Done to Death,” “Why I Run,” “Old Heads” and “You Make the Life You Want.” There is some variety here with less crunchy, more mellow tracks like “Under Surveillance” and “Honey Brown.” And then the album’s closing number, “The Last One,” offers a real departure, a winsome acoustic number.
Poprock Record 