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Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles of 2021

03 Monday Jan 2022

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 3 Comments

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Aaron Lee Tasjan, Automatics, Benny Hayes, BPM Collective, Brent Seavers, Caddy, Chris Church, Daisy House, Daryl Bean, David Brookings, Deadlights, Ed Wotil, Friends of Cesar Romero, Geoff Palmer, Hyness, James Henry, James Holt, John Myrtle, Juliana Hatfield, Kurt Hagardorn, Lane Steinberg, Liz Phair, Lolas, Love Burns, Mike Browning, Pseudonym, Richard Turgeon, Richard X. Heyman, Robert Ellis Orrall, Robert Sherwood, Ruen Brothers, should be hit singles, Steve Robinson, Stoeckel and Pena, The Amplifier Heads, The Blendours, The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness, The Coral, The Eisenhowers, The Jack Cades, The Kickstand Band, The Martial Arts, The Poppermost, The Red Locusts, The Vapour Trails, Tim Izzard, Tim Jackson, Timmy Sean, Tommy Scifres, Vanilla, White Fang

Welcome to our sixth annual collection of should-be hit singles gathered from the artists, albums and tunes featured on Poprock Record in the previous year. You’d think after five tries I would have come up with some kind of rock solid science to make these choices. But, no. Still winging it, going with whatever takes my fancy. I mean, I think you’ll see a pattern: catchy guitar hooks, soaring melodies, earwormy compositions, all accomplished in three minutes or less usually. Putting this list together was particularly challenging this year – positively spoilt for choices! My initial list of possible songs had over 200 selections. The hyperlinks below will take you to the original post about each artist as they first appeared on the blog.

So let’s get to it, Poprock Record’s top 50 should-be hit singles for 2021:

1. The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness “I Don’t Mind”
2. White Fang “Never Give Up”
3. The Vapour Trails “That’ll Do It”
4. James Holt “Mystery Girl”
5. Brent Seavers “More Than A Friend”
6. Timmy Sean “The College Year”
7. Aaron Lee Tasjan “Another Lonely Day”
8. Ruen Brothers “Cookies and Cream”
9. The Martial Arts “Bethany”
10. Daisy House “Last Wave Home”
11. The Coral “Vacancy”
12. Robert Ellis Orrall “Sunshine”
13. Deadlights “Breaking Down”
14. Love, Burns “Wired Eyes”
15. The Blendours “Tell Me The Truth”
16. Daryl Bean “Keeping Me Alive”
17. Stoeckel & Pena “Why”
18. Richard X. Heyman “Ransom”
19. Automatics “Black Velvet Elvis”
20. John Myrtle “How Can You Tell If You Love Her”
21. The Red Locusts “Another Bad Day For Cupid”
22. James Henry “So Many Times Before”
23. Lane Steinberg “The Invisible Monster”
24. Geoff Palmer “The Apartment Song”
25. Mike Browning “The Little Black Egg”
26. The Eisenhowers “Suffer”
27. The Jack Cades “What Am I Going To Do?”
28. Friends of Cesar Romero “Thinkin’ About Leavin’”
29. The Kickstand Band “Hey Julianne”
30. Pseudonym “Before the Monsters Came”
31. David Brookings “Mania At The Talent Show”
32. Lolas “Pain In My Heart”
33. Tommy Scifres “Thought You Knew”
34. Vanilla “I Shall Be Re-Released”
35. Hyness “Cruelty”
36. Tim Jackson “How Do You Mend A Broken Heart”
37. Caddy “Cost of Love”
38. Chris Church “Know”
39. Tim Izzard “Breaking Me Down”
40. BPM Collective “Catastrophe Girl”
41. Benny Hayes “Don’t Make Me Go”
42. Steve Robinson “Mr Empty Head”
43. The Poppermost “Laziest Fella In The Realm”
44. Liz Phair “Hey Lou”
45. Juliana Hatfield “Gorgon”
46. Robert Sherwood “Blue All Over”
47. Kurt Hagardorn “You Are My Girl”
48. Richard Turgeon “Goodbye to Summer”
49. Ed Woltil “Paper Boat”
50. The Amplifier Heads “The House of Young Dolls”

This year’s list privileges strong, strong hooks. I’m talking the jangleliscious guitar work from the ever reliable Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness on “I Don’t Mind,” the relentless driving guitar riffs animating White Fang’s “Never Give Up,” or the delicious 1960s roll out kicking off The Vapour Trails’ “That’ll Do It.” Or the pumping, plinky piano and organ cocktail that undergirds James Holt’s killer single “Mystery Girl.” Then there’s the more traditional poprock Brent Seavers, springing the earworm in the chorus of “More Than a Friend.” Still, there’s room for variety on this list, from the tender acoustic Aaron Lee Tasjan ballad “Another Lonely Day,” to the Beach Boys homage in Daisy House’s “Last Wave Home,” to a folk rock duet from Steve Stoeckel and Irene Pena on “Why,” to the striking sonic heartbreak embodied in Richard X. Heyman’s touching “Ransom.”

Truly, this list is just a bit a fun, one more chance for me to shine a light on the artists whose work had me hitting replay in 2021. But I’m sure you might make different choices. Feel free to tell me all about them! Either way, don’t forget to find some way – buying music, attending live shows (when it’s safe!), or taking up those opportunities to interact with them online – to support their bottom line. They may not only be in it for the money, but money does allow them to stay in it.

Chartbusters: Henry Chadwick, Hyness, The Zolas and NRBQ

16 Thursday Dec 2021

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 2 Comments

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Henry Chadwick, Hyness, NRBQ, The Zolas

Cue the applause and the AM radio announcer, the chartbusters are here! Today’s featured artists have got that something extra, a certain kind of chart charisma if you will. Well, they sound like hits to me. Give them a spin and see if you don’t agree.

No, not the English theologian, not the baseball Hall of Famer either, but the rock and roller from Santa Cuz, California. Henry Chadwick wowed the indie rock world with his stellar 2018 debut album Marlin Fisher. Now he’s back with album number 2, We All Start Again, and it’s another winner. Things are a bit more languid this time around, with album opener “Bloodshot” setting the pace with a strong Ben Kweller acoustic guitar feel. The acoustic guitar is the guide instrument on a host of other tracks here like ”Long Way Back,” “What I Mean to Say” and “Brief Relief” though those Abbey Road background vocals really add something to the proceedings. Not that Chadwick is averse to rocking out on occasion, as on “I’ll Tell You What” and “10 Minutes Reign.” He pulls these many influences together on proto-singles like “Tik and Talk” with a guitar reminiscent of The White Album and Mark Everett Eels’ vibe. But the radio tarted single is obviously the uptempo “Mind’s Eye” with its distinctive Tom Petty guitar ring.

Believe it not, Settle Down in the Dirt is the first full album from Kitchener, Ontario’s Hyness. Their previous two EPs were great but this record is frickin’ fantastic. The band breaks out here full of confident song bluster and bonhomie. Opening cut “Afterlife” is sonic thing of beauty, with its resonant vocals and jangle guitar. It’s actually a bit of a departure from the rest of the album, which is generally darker and heavier though still pretty melodious. Sometimes the band appear to be channeling their 1960s influences openly, as on Merseybeat-ish “Cruelty” and the mod, mod “Foam.” “Bedroom” has got its Weezer vibe going pretty strong. But elsewhere the record is reminiscent of those fab near millennium Swervedriver records, combining a wall of buzzy guitars with sneaky, earwormy tunes. I hear that influence all over “Spill” and “Wring.” Or check out the marriage of a grungy esthetic with a George Harrison kind of vocal on “Beyond.” These guys have clearly got a talent for marrying the discordant with the melodic. Things almost get metal-FOW on “Trash” and “Mabelline” but both really soar in the chorus, tipping things back into hook country. Don’t touch that dial, this thing is already set to 11.

It’s not a moment too soon for Vancouver’s The Zolas to Come Back to Life. It’s been five long years since their last long-player, Swooner, and audiences have to wonder where we will they be at now. On past records I marveled at their ability to combine a 1980s pop keyboards sensibility with rocking dance beat. Early on “Yung Dicaprio” puts to rest any concerns I might have, with its charging, relentless rocking verse/choruses a finely taut counterpoint to the more melodic drop out sections. Classic hooky danceable Zolas are here in abundance on the catchy “Energy Czar” and early single “Bombs Away.” But there’s a Britpop twist in the mix too, with “Miles Away” and “I Feel the Transition” dosed with a smatter of Oasis and even some Stonsey The Verve on the latter track. The spacey “Let It Scare You” hosts an uncanny Smiths’ sounding guitar about a third of the way through, a delightful surprise. But the break out should-be hit here for me is the immaculate “Ultramarine” with its addictive lurch and a chorus that is all hooky bliss. The band even give us an oh-so-timely low-key anthem for these times, “Come Back to Life.” And, scene.

Ultramarine

Just once I’d like to see every indie opinion-leader’s fave band bust a chart. NRBQ go right back to the stone age of modern rock and roll, forming in 1967 and getting their first album released in 1969. 22 albums later, Dragnet is their latest pitch for chart domination. While it’s unlikely to topple this week’s whine-monger from the Lukewarm 100, it’s gonna be a hit with people who like this sort of thing. The signature old time-rock and roll-plus-country and a tinge of jazz sound is back along with another slew of eminently hummable tunes. “Where’s My Pebble?” kicks things off with a Beatles in “I Saw Her Standing There” mode rocking feel. A Beach Boys California sunshine pop sounds puts in an appearance on the clearly Trump era-influenced “You Can’t Change People.” That distinctive Bakersfield guitar sound is all over “I Like Her So Much.” And so on – it’s just the usual NRBQ mastery of so many styles on display here. “Memo Song” goofs on technology but the accordion accompaniment adds a gravity and impact to the effort. “Miss Goody Two Shoes” is a standard Terry Adams jazz vocal vamp, one that appears on nearly every NRBQ release. The band’s cover of “Dragnet” is a reverent, boogie-tinged 1960s vamp, as fans would expect. Then “The Moon and Other Things” is a happy, stroll along in the sunshine pop tune (reminding me of early Chicago) while “That Makes Me a Fool” is cast in a jazzy American songbook style that Mel Torme would ace. Overall I’d say the verdict on Dragnet is guilty – of delivering just what the fans expect.

I Like Her So Much

My chart-busting artists may not dominate the scene but that’s not for lack of trying. Let them climb yours with just a click on the hyper-linked names above.

Around the Dial: Brad Marino, Tommy Sistak, Nick Eng, Hurry and Hyness

05 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Around the Dial

≈ 2 Comments

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Brad Marino, Hurry, Hyness, Nick Eng, Tommy Sistak

towerThis turn around the dial is all about singles in their glorious yet circumscribed catchiness, ideally maxing out at just a few minutes of focused bliss. Today’s contributors vibe some solid poprock credentials, drawing from the post-1950s pop tradition, all things Beatles, stripped down new wave and various 1980s indie hooks.

Let’s begin with Brad Marino. His work with The Connection is stellar, melodic yet hitting all the rock and roll marks. Not surprisingly, his solo single is piece of poprock magic, oozing a late 1970s compressed new wave sound akin to The Ramones, Rockpile and, more recently, Tommy and the Rockets. Tommy Sistak reaches a bit further back with “You Can’t Change Me,” a track that sounds so British beat group circa 1964. What I love about this song are the clear 1950s influences on the sound and songwriting. Reno native Nick Eng goes straight for a Beatles 65 sound with his single “Reminiscing.” The song is catchy, with great Beatlesque background vocals and Harrison-worthy guitar licks.

Shifting gears into indie mode, it’s been fascinating to see Hurry shed its links with the punky garage sound of some of its earlier material (and Matt Scottoline’s earlier band, Everyone Everywhere) for a more unabashed melodic aura. It was strongly apparent with the hooky “When I’m With You” 2016’s Guided Meditation and is reinforced with “Waiting for You” from their latest Every Little Thought. This is ear worm central. Rounding out this batch is some good old fashioned 1990s-reminscent alienated indie with pop undertones. Hyness hail from Ontario’s Kitchener-Waterloo and “Choke” might give you some idea of what it’s like to live there. Extra points for succeeding with a Smith’s cover! “Hand in Glove” works here because the guitar work is sufficiently trebly and the vocals are yearning without aping Morrissey. There is something very Tracy Thorn in the delivery.

Hit singles can lead to quality albums which can lead to stadium tours, purchased islands, and conspicuous consumption documented by unreliable tabloids. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Why don’t we just settle for a hit single? Check out Brad Marino, Tommy Sistak, Nick Eng, Hurry and Hyness online to help make that happen.

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