Tags
Afterpartees, Amoeba Teen, Automatic Showes, Bloody Norah, Brett Newksi, Dave Molter, Faster Than Light, Freedom Fry, Green Pajamas, Matt Speedway, Ryan Allen, Short Fictions, Split Single, Split Squad, Stephen Schijns, Steve Noonan, The Boolevards, The Proctors, The Undecideds, Tim Izzard, Unquiet Nights
Winter has hit us hard here in the Great White North. Correction: it’s hit us harder in the parts that usually don’t get sub-zero temps and dumps of snow that won’t leave e.g. Toronto. Nothing to do but hunker down and check out the singles scene. This mix has got a wide variety of poppy rocky sounds, most pretty new, some left behind from 2021, and a few surprises too.
West Midlands’ jangle purveyors The Proctors offer up a killer B-side with “You Me and the Sea.” The guitar just drips with reverby jangle goodness and the vocals are breathy and ethereal in that 1990s English guitar band sort of way. And that’s a pretty groovy synth keyboard riff tucked in there too. Did I mention it’s on pink vinyl? Snuck in at the very end of 2021 was the release of The Boolevards’ new album PoPtastic. It’s a garage take on British Invasion guitar pop, wonderfully exemplified on “Master of Lies.” And many more of the 14 tunes on this LP. With a musical resume like Jason Narducy (Superchunk, Bob Mould Band) the polish and hooks on his recent Split Single album Amplificado should come as no surprise. The single “(Nothing You Can Do) To End This Love” is poprock perfection, charging in from the start only to take off melodically in the chorus. The melding of guitars and vocals reminds me of the always reliable mix from bands like the Well Wishers. Faster Than Light wield a wicked, straightforward brand of melody infused rock and roll. Their one-off single “Blacker” is a fist-pumping, highway-driving song loaded with tasty lead guitar licks. To mark what would have been David Bowie’s 75th birthday, Automatic Shoes decided to put out nice little tribute EP called Rising. I love what this guy does production-wise, the acoustic guitars are so crisp, the vocals are so 1970s-intimate in the best Bowie/Marc Bolan style. The cover of “Andy Warhol” from Bowie’s 1971 Hunky Dory gets a more stripped down treatment here, which really allows the delicacy of the tune to surface.
Brighton UK’s Bloody Norah are bloody marvelous. From their Instagram page they self-describe as “your dad’s favourite rock band” with “[m]elodies tastier than your mom’s spaghetti and harmonies sweeter than your uncle’s crème brûlée.” This is not just presser bluster. “Shooting Star” is a delightful sixties-themed poprock confection, complete with addictive lead guitar lines and splendid harmony vocals. B-side “Joy” is a winner too, with its Abbey Road Beatles wavery guitar and minor key poignancy. More please! Brett Newski has just released the original version of “Dirt” recorded makeshift-style while living in Vietnam a decade or so ago. The song appeared on his 2014 album American Folksong Armageddon but this older version has a very different feel, rougher obviously, less slick, but also channeling a serious level of late 1960s Donovan. Retro but somehow also very contemporary at the same time. Stourbridge anyone? Yes, I had to look it up, a town in the West Midlands, UK – Birmingham is the most recognizable town to outsiders. Well that’s where you’ll find jangle masters Amoeba Teen. They’re putting together a new album and this month’s teaser single was, appropriately enough, entitled “January.” The song has the band shifting a bit into a country lane filled with the likes of The Byrds and Teenage Fanclub, on occasion. Airy, pedal steel-filled melodic goodness here. Seattle’s Green Pajamas have to be the best kept secret in indie rock and roll. Since 1984 the band has released something like 35 albums or so of original material! You can catch up on the first 15 years of singles on the compilation Indian Winter. But why just love the oldies? The band have got a brand new single that is so 1980s indie retro fabulous. “I Love the Way You Smile at Me” is a lovely midtempo pleaser, with catchy guitar licks and bits of pop psychedelia thrown in here and there. Heading over to the Dutch province of Limberg, we catch up with easygoing funsters Afterpartees whose mega-single The Bunn pays tribute to the band’s fave beer hangout. However, I’m more partial to the sub B-side offering “I Don’t Want the World to Stop.” The track has got a great loping rhythm and a steely lead guitar line that won’t give up while the hint of desperation in the vocals is strangely endearing.
Terms like ‘emo’ get thrown around in discussions of Pittsburg’s Short Fictions but I’m not even sure what it really means anymore. Sure, their 2019 album Fates Worth Than Death had a pretty serious undercurrent but also some pretty funny song titles like “I Don’t Want to Wait Out the Apocalypse With Anyone But You” and “Nothingness Lies Coiled at the Heart of Being (It’s Such a Good Feeling).” Besides “Really Like You” sounds pretty chipper. Ok, lyrically, very emo. Well they’re back with a new single, the very Front Bottoms vibing “Don’t Start a Band.” Can a new album be far off? Dubbed ‘America’s least known supergroup’ The Split Squad combine the talents of former members of The Fleshtones, The Plimsouls, Blondie and Cherry Twister. That experience is all over their new LP Another Cinderella, particularly the title track, which is an onslaught of hooky guitar pop. Dave Molter is another kind of music veteran, the poster boy late bloomer who only released his acclaimed debut EP Foolish Heart in 2019, despite a music career stretching back to sixties. Now his first full LP is about the released and the teaser title track is out now, “Approaching the End of Usable Life.” I’m liking where it suggests the album will be going, some good old fashioned meat and potatoes rock and roll in a Huey Lewis vein. Self-described ‘modern vintage rock band’ The Undecideds are a couple of teens stranded in the here and now, far from the 1980s where they obviously belong. Their understated but still rocking take on Tom Petty and Heartbreakers’ “Even the Losers” has got an authentic feel to it, a thrill all its own. I’m no fence-sitter here – these guys are great. Speedways main man Matt Speedway slipped an EP out at the end of 2021. On Only Trouble Is Gee Whiz he turns the amp down from 11 and dials the Speedways frenetic pace back a bit to showcase his pop side a bit more. Opening cut “She’s Got a Melted Heart and a Frozen Mind” is a mini-masterpiece from the Elliott Smith or Replacements low-key hooks department. The riff snaking throughout the song is pure magic.
I’m liking everything about Ryan Allen’s new EP I’m Not Mean. I like the cover. I like the guitar sounds. I like the range of styles he crams into a release with just four tunes. These tunes are bit more poppy in execution in a 1960s British Invasion mold. Give all four a listen but if pressed for time go right to “Cut Your Teeth” which has a bit of 1990s Britpop going for it too. Another band that seldom lets me down is Freedom Fry. They have a Paul Simon knack of putting a little melodic twist into the simplest of songs to lodge in your head. “You Know the Way” is the first of a new ‘sing along’ series they’ve cooked up. The electric piano line is a sublime delight. Tim Izzard’s campaign to bring glam back into the poprock mainstream continues with a new EP, 21st Century Expose. Once again a decided 1970s Bowie/Bolan inspiration is in evidence but turned to totally contemporary concerns on opening cut “Empty My Head.” The track is a timely rumination on the often oppressive impact of social media, linking back to concerns and lyrics from Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” And it’s a catchy little number too. Indie music blogger Eclectic Music Lover put me on to Belfast band Unquiet Nights, specifically “In Spite of It All.” The track has a hypnotic quality, a bit Pink Floyd, a bit U2. Very nice fluid guitar work throughout. The song is the one new contribution to a greatest hits collection they’ve just released, First Ten 2012-2022. You can pick up one album and you’re all caught up! Kelowna BC indie rocker Stephen Schijns (pronounced ‘Skines’) so captures our collective desire to escape cold snaps and Covid with a surf-licious homage to sunny climes and rumbly guitar work on “Trans-Pacific Beach Bum.” And he works in some Dad-joke worthy turns of phrase. This would definitely go with rum, some coconut-flavoured mixer and a sun lamp.
We wrap things up with a folkie turn, though screened through a late 1970s commercial folk filter. Recall those smooth, folkie singer-songwriter singles from the likes of Al Stewart, Gerry Rafferty, and Dan Fogleberg and you get a sense of where we’re going. “Either Way” is the opening track of Steve Noonan’s new album Dreamland and it kicks things off with striking effect. In this song it’s the rhythm guitar that really establishes the hook, offset by an almost staccato delivery on the vocals. This stuff was a staple of early 1980s AM radio and for good reason, it has a very broad possible appeal.
This cold snap’s not going anywhere just yet so grab your sweater and pull up to your Mp3 player to review these super cool singles. The hyperlinked names take you to the artists, their music, or some kind of internet real estate you can hang out on.
The header art above is a fragment from Rob Elliott’s Pandemic Diary page 38.
Fans of Everly Brothers-style singing talk about blood harmony or, put more scientifically, the impact of genetics on musical compatibility. But husband and wife duos also often connect musically with a chemistry that is characteristically different than more platonic pairings. Today’s blog post promotes the benefits of musical matrimony with three stellar case studies.
Nashville’s *repeat repeat was a recent accidental iTunes front page discovery. With a Weezer-esque sense of style and design, I just had to click on the stylish organge-drenched album cover to hear what was inside – and what a treat I found! On Glazed, *repeat repeat come on like a more dance-able, clubby Fountains of Wayne, with a guitar-oriented poprock anchored by the band’s distinctive use of synthesizer. The vocals on this album also function like a finely tuned instrument, adding an extra depth to the subtle melodies. “Hi, I’m Waiting” eases you in with its slow roll out and earwormy synth shots before punching things up in the chorus. “Pressure” has a club dance groove drive given a rock and roll combo treatment and some hooky vocal ‘oh’s’ for good measure. “Fortunate One” is the hit single for me: understated but builds its melodic architecture piece by piece until you can’t resist hitting replay. “I’ll be the One You’re Going Old With” has a sweet sentiment and clips along with a chirpy feel good sound. “City of Stars” vibes “Stacey’s Mom” but geared down to a more dreamy tempo. “TTB” has flashes of early Paul Simon vocally but punks up as it goes along. And so on. This is a great album buy. Don’t miss their catalogue highlights either: both “Everybody’s Falling in Love” and “Girlfriend” from 2017’s Floral Canyon are both winners!
Fortunate One
We’ve featured a lot of songs from American-Franco duo Freedom Fry. There is something so distinctive about their blend of almost whispered harmony and folksy charm. But it’s the tunes that ultimately carry them through, whether their own original material or a load of inspired covers. 2018’s Classic really was. So many great songs on an expertly executed album. Since them the duo have peppered us with series of expanded singles that take up new textures and unpredictable cover material. Like “Renegade – only Freedom Fry could strip out all the bombast of the Styx original, leaving the song’s uneasy essence remaining. “Black Mountain” gives the duo a chance to show off their formidable vocal layering techniques. “Hey Moon” has a lovely, lilting lullaby-like texture. “Yeah You” picks up the tempo and charges up the hooks. Then “The Sun is Going to Shine on You” shows how the band can work up a tougher yet still melodic sound. Freedom Fry brim with creativity and surprises!
The Weepies ooze gentle sweetness with their carefully crafted harmonies and delicate arrangements. There is always something wistful about their performances: often quiet and filled with longing. “All That I Want” from their 2004 debut Happiness really captures the basic formula, which is further solidified with tracks like “Gotta Have You” 2005’s Say I Am You. From the same record check out the Simon and Garfunkel-worthy, shiver-inducing harmony on “World Spins Madly On” or the winsome “Nobody Knows Me All.” Then 2008’s Hideaway was a masterpiece, upping the poprock polish without relinquishing the folksy intimacy. The whole album is songwriting gold, from the engaging title track, to the entrancing “Little Bird,” to the single-worthy “Antarctica,” and so on. 2010’s Be My Thrill changed things up a bit, shifting things uptempo on tracks like “Hope Tomorrow” while 2015’s Sirens even introduced inspired covers like Tom Petty’s “Learning to Fly.” Health problems and parenting appear to have slowed The Weepies early productivity but their website reports a new tour for Autumn 2019. Perhaps a new record won’t be far behind.
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.
Musical gods of summer, you have heard our pleas! We have need of sunshine melodies and cool hooks to accompany our unrealistic seasonal aspirations and you have answered our prayers with new albums from some reliable sources. Get the bottle opener and air pump ready!
American-French duo Freedom Fry are no one thing. Their range runs the gamut of neo-cabaret to low-key dance numbers, with a whole lot in between. They’ve mostly put out original singles and EPs along with some inspired covers since 2011. But now comes their first long player, Classic, and it’s aptly named. Gone are the syncopated beats of last year’s Strange Attraction in favour of a more stripped down, acoustic sound e.g. banjos, dreadnought 6 strings, with just a touch of spaghetti western a la Ennio Morricone. You can really hear the western lilt on tracks like “For You,” “Cold Blooded Heart” and especially on the sunny “Past Lives” with it’s haunting whistling. Freedom Fry channel a kind of happy-go-lucky, feel good disposition on a lot of their tunes, even when the subject matter is dark. Kinda like riding a bike by the ocean on a sunny day. Feel that breeze on tracks like “Awake” and “Ticking.” This is a predictably solid debut album from a band that’s been single-teasing us for years!
Just six months after the release of his stunning debut, T-T-T-Technicolour Melodies, Paul Ryan aka Super 8 is back with another solid 1960s-infused musical rumination on life, love and politics with his new record, Turn Around Or …There is a late 1960s Kinks and Stones-like quality to the recordings here, both in terms of social commentary and the easygoing acoustic-but-still-rocky vibe to the whole album. “Hey Mr. Policeman” and “Be Careful What You Say” update 1960s social criticism for the new millennium while “Smile” and “Turn Around Or” exude that 1960s endless summer. I love the harmonica blasts on “You Say You’re Leaving” and the rockier “Calling Out.” Ryan changes up the pacing with “Never Had a Love,” which reminds me of McCartney’s forays into older musical forms. But the highlights here for me are the subtle, building hooks on the Jayhawks-reminiscent “Mary Jane” and the obvious single, “Your Love is my Blanket.” Nice cover of fellow Scots BMX Bandits great tune, “Serious Drugs.” Turn Around Or …is a sixties-vibing, easygoing summer party album, and it has arrived just in time.
What were the biggest hits that weren’t in 2017? Who were the biggest should-be stars? In our alternate universe here at Poprock Record, these guys were all over the charts, the chat shows, the scandal sheets, as well as memed all over Facebook, Snapchatted by the kids, and Instragrammed into oblivion. Jesus, they were so popular you are well and truly sick of them by now. But sadly for our poprock heroes, the universe is not just ours to define. In the world beyond our little blog, they could all use another plug.
Daisy House dominated my playlist this year, both their current record and their back catalogue. They channel the 1960s but never let it wholly define them. They have two amazing singers and one fabulously talented songwriter. They deserve all the accolades the internet can hand out. If this were 1970 they’d probably be headlining The Flip Wilson Show tonight. The Rallies were an accidental discovery that turned into an obsession. Their whole album is great but “Don’t Give Up” makes my heart twinge every time. Aimee Mann and Fastball ably demonstrated this year that veterans can still turn out fantastic, career-defining albums. And I got to see both of them live! Los Straightjackets did Nick Lowe proud, producing a phenomenal tribute to his body of work. “Rollers Show” was my go-to summertime happy tune.
I won’t review every selection from the two-four, but I will say that I think the mix of poprock I feature on the blog is evident here. There’s fast and slow, country and rock, guitars and keyboards, etc. And then there’s always the hooks. Case in point: check out the 42 second mark on Greg Kihn’s “The Life I Got.” If you don’t feel the excitement he creates with some classic poprock guitar arpeggiation and the subtle vocal hook you’re kinda missing what we’re doing here. Here’s hoping 2018 is as hit single worthy as this past year has been!
I am going to sneak in an honourable mention for what I consider the compilation of year: 
I grew up in a totally secular home where Christmas was largely understood as a kind of socialist event. A little something for everyone, and something thoughtful (rather than expensive) was the gift-giving philosophy. Holiday tunes rather than Christmas hymns were de rigueur. My mother had a stack of 45s that would come out every year– Bobby Helms, Brenda Lee, Rolf Harris – you get the picture. So, for me, it can’t be Christmas without some merry melodies!
This year’s mix runs the gamut from power pop to new wave to mash ups to folky acoustic. Coventry’s own The Primitives kick things off with their trademark mix of hooky power pop on “You Trashed My Christmas” from the Elefant Records special holiday album. Love the use of the bells! Then to Sunderland, UK where The Futureheads keep the energy up on their “Christmas was Better in the 80s.” There is something about the vocal delivery of this band I love. This song sometimes exudes the sonic feel of their first album but also develops in different directions with kooky abandon, pushing the boundaries of traditional holiday fare. Then we tamp things down a bit with the pleasant melodies of Cleveland’s own Bears on their “I’m a Snowman.” While technically just a winter themed number, who can resist the fun organ sounds and sweet harmonies? Not I. Rounding out this first batch of tunes is the eclectic West Coast poprocker Spirit Kid with his new wavishy “Santa Claus is His Name.” This song is an interesting mix of old and new influences – in many ways, a very late 1970s take on 1950s motifs worthy of David Edmunds.
Ok, let’s shift gears here in round two. Ohio-based Over the Rhine seem to be channeling Jennifer Warnes in full Leonard Cohen mode on their winter themed “Snow Angels.” Lovely piano and an understated vocal give this a haunting and lasting quality. In the ‘something completely different’ file, check out Mojochronic’s unusual and very effective mash-up of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” with the Police’s “Roxanne,” interspersed with dialogue from the original stop-motion animated movie. Mike Viola’s Candy Butchers bring us back to familiar territory with their poprock ode to seasonal forgiveness on “Give Me a Second Chance for Christmas.” Just listen to these holiday-coated hooks! Viola is a master of the poprock form. The Franco-American duo Freedom Fry return to the holiday music scene with their great Holiday Soundtrack EP. Their reinvention of the traditional classic “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” as a hooky keyboard-based instrumental is pure ear worm brilliance, while their time shifting “Next Christmas” vibes a very Simon and Garfunkel melodic warmth, particularly in the chorus. Wrapping up this season’s musical presents is a brand new acoustic Christmas contribution from Pop Etc. “All I Want for Xmas (Just My Baby)” is a swinging pop gem, sure to become a regular addition to your seasonal playlist.
Poprock Record 