Time for a triumphant return of Jangle Thursday. Who doesn’t need an ample shot of sparkly guitar and songs bulging with hooks? That’s a rhetorical question. Today’s crew draw from 1960s faves, new wave revivalists, and various janglers who defy categorization. Set your reverb on those amps to maximum!
On Fast Casual Chicago’s The Unswept break out of their post-Beatles comfort zone to try a host of different song styles and sounds. Opening cut “You Keep Me Company” makes this clear, kicking things off with some early-Cars-era stripped-down guitar, handclaps and spacey synth. But then “Got Lucky” recalibrates the vibe, combining jangle and an Americana elan, particularly on the vocals. After that the change-ups just keep on coming: sunny pop in a Herman’s Hermits register on “Please Don’t Waste My Time,” a garage version of the Ohio Express with “Cheugy Choo Choo,” some Stonesy rhythm guitar defining a classic sounding rock and roll male/female duet on “Sometimes Always,” and so on. “Try to Forget You” simply rocks like it’s 1965 again with a killer guitar lead line hook. Really though, the record’s backbone is the series of seriously good lowkey poprock songs: “Lucinda Luann,” a cover of the Smithereens’ “Something New,” and my personal fave “Suggestion.” Other songs like “Forgot That Day” and “Codependent” remind me of California melodic rock wonders The Popravinas, specifically the distinctive vocal sound. Then for something different there’s “We’re Gonna Split” with its more ominous delivery and harmonic quality. Fast Casual is an LP seeing The Unswept taking chances and coming up aces.
Berlin, Germany’s Man Behind Tree describe themselves as a power/noise pop band, layering vocal harmonies over fuzzed out guitars. That’s definitely here on the band’s new album 3 but there’s so much more. Overall the sound is caught somewhere between San Francisco 1968 and side-trips to a host of bands also influenced by that period. The record begins with “California Zephyr,” a track that seems to draw more from discordant art rock than jangle, noisy but still alluring. With “Bird Survivors” the band channels a more recognizable late 1960s sound, one clearly on its way to country rock. “Picture Your Old Friends” is different again, starting simple and stark, adding a lead guitar with an ear-wormy tone and some fattened up vocals, sounding a bit CSN&Y meets Big Star. By contrast, “Japanese Mopeds” and “Better Now You Got It” feel more Teenage Fanclub to me. The 1960s California vibe is back on “Just Like Everyone” and “Can’t Stop Drinking” with their slightly more discordant take on the Byrds. Then there’s a departure on “86 Mustang” with its more rollicking pace and 1980s British indie feel. Man Behind Tree definitely dial up the excitement on 3. Things sound familiar but this is a band turning their influences into something new.
Surely the hardest working man in Aberdeen, Scotland show-business, Vapour Trails honcho Kevin Robertson is a back with another slice of delicious solo work. Teaspoon of Time is as jangle-loaded as any of his full band efforts but here the songs are crafted with a more delicate emphasis and serene execution. “Tough Times (Feel Like That)” opens things with a lonely electric 12 string riff that sounds very middle ages folk-music before breaking out into familiar Bryds/CS&N territory. “Trippin’ Back” is definitely the single, leaning on that 1980s folk rock revival sound and adding some funky keyboard lines. There are a few interesting excursions too, like the Sgt. Pepper-meets-Moody Blues atmosphere all over “Psychedelic Wedding Song” or the jazzy lead guitar extemporizations adding to the basic folk rock formula on “Forty-Five Losing Street.” And there’s a lot here that we’ve just come to love from this performer, like the Teenage Fanclub gene buried in “Rather Hide” or the nice, easy-going jangle guitar that defines “Sleepy Island Sounds” and “Magnify the Sun” or the spot-on late 1960s song structures and sounds of “Don’t You Dwell” and “Misty Dew Soaked Mountains.” Robertson is seeimgly unstoppable, reliably turning out amazing 1960s-influenced tunes. Teaspoon of Time will have you thinking the ‘be-in’ never ended.
West Kirby’s West Coast Music Club take our jangle theme into a more industrial direction, drawing from the usual folk rock suspects but sometimes adding a dollop of Jesus and Mary Chain. It gives the mix a bit of dissonance, an edge that says ‘turn this amp up to 11.’ The formula is all over album opener “Fanclub Favourite.” You can also hear it “Ouija Doll” and the rocking “Serendipity.” These sound like they emanate from a noise-poprock subgenre, so cleverly do the band hang on to the thread of the melodic hooks through the rocking haze. Some songs like “Now or Never” ply their jangle with a punky Rank and File looseness while others like “Faded Scrapbook” sounds like Bob Mould in a mellow mood. At other times the group just offer up strong 1960s-influenced guitar pop e.g. “Here It Comes Again” and “If You Only Knew,” the latter delivered in a Billy Bragg vocal style. This is another winning long-player ferried across the Mersey.
I don’t know about you but my ears are ringing, but in a good way. Add a bit of sparkle to your playlist by adding these bands to your must-hear list this jangle Thursday.
That ringing in your ears? Yup. Jangle Thursday is back! Though this round does include a few bands not entirely dedicated to the genre, but that’s OK. We’ll focus on the jangle but rest assured their other efforts are also the highest quality poprock.
Only four of the twelve tracks from The Bobbleheads new long-player Myths and Fables might be considered jangle but, man, everything here is still worth your attention. The hooks in these songs are ‘outasight’. Opening track “Like Oxygen” cranks up the jangle at the start but dims the sparkle a bit as the song’s swinging melody kicks in. Other jangle highlights include minor-chord heavy “Holding On,” the band’s tribute to Canadian songstress “Anne Murray,” and “Feel This Way” and “Afternoon,” both with great trebly lead lines. But check out other killer cuts here like “Listen You Know,” “Do You” and “Become One.” Between the jangle and the amazing 1980s indie feel, Myths and Fables is like a great lost early-to-mid period R.E.M. record.
Norway’s Armchair Oracles have been compared to all the big ‘B’ bands i.e. Big Star, Badfinger and the Beatles. I can hear all that but there also seems to be hint of 1980s Moody Blues and the Alan Parson Project, particularly on some of the vocals. On the whole, Caught By Light has a nice buzzy undercurrent that allows the jangle to stand out on tracks like “Porcelain Heart,” “All My Time” and “Don’t Let It Break You.” But I also really like the slower tempo acoustic vibe on “Several Stories” and “Downsized Life.” You can really hear the late-period-Beatles Harrison guitar influence on the album closer “The Last of All Suns.” Beatlemaniacs be warned – this album is full of triggers!
A quick review of The Top Boost’s 2016 release Turn Around reminds us these boys know their way around treble-heavy guitars with uber jangle-heavy tracks like “What If She Loves You.” The new EP Dreaming shows they have lost none of their jangle chops. Title track “Dreaming” has ringing guitars all over the verses that work in tension with a wall of ‘ah’-ing background vocals in the chorus. “I’ll Be There” is another great contribution that melds 1960s and 1970s pop influences, with a simple but seductive guitar lead line that would make a Beatles For Sale-era George Harrison proud. Damn, these guys know their late 1960s sunshine poprock!
Thursday needs jangle like Sunday needs a weekend extender. It’s something to brighten your just-past-midweek spirits, put a little sparkle in your step, and turn up the corners of those pursed lips.
The Maureens emerged from Utrech, Netherlands in 2015 with an amazing record, Bang the Drum, a album brimming with catchy tunes slathered in delicate harmonies. Last year the band teased fans with bimonthly single releases that promised even greater things. Now what is probably my most anticipated album of 2019 has arrived and it is nothing short of stupendous! Something In The Air kicks off with the three 2018 singles, definitely a solid start, with “4AM” and “Twenty Years for the Company” both vibing a strong Teenage Fanclub jangle. But I also hear an older set of influences on tracks like “Turn the Page” and “Something in the Air,” very Crosby Stills Nash and the Byrds respectively. Other highlights for me include the bittersweet “Valentine,” “Wake Up,” and the ear wormy “Can’t Stop.” But drop your needle anywhere on this record and you won’t go wrong. This is a band in full control of their ouvre.
From the moment I heard the fat jangle anchoring “Nervous Man” from the rather mysterious The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness I knew I was on to something special. Now that we know that TBWTPN is Andrew Taylor from Dropkick and Gonzalo Marcos of El Palacio de Linares the song’s quality really is no surprise. Dead Calm is their first full length release and it delivers on the promise of that first stellar single. Jangle permeates every inch of this record, perfectly showcasing some strong songwriting. This is evident right from the start with hooky, guitar-run heavy “TBWTPN,” which cleverly re-uses the song title from The Feelies that inspired this band’s own name. From there it’s one very pleasant tune after another: “Anything At All,” “Close the Doors,” and the more country-ish “Southern Words.” This album’s a let-it-run-through soundtrack of good times.
Jeff Shelton’s The Well Wishers have a new two-sided single out that contains a killer original song and an impressive cover. Check out the ringing guitar hooks on “Feelin Fine.” Folks, this is the Matthew Sweet single we’ve all been waiting for! Jeff’s spelling might be spotty, but his ear for candy-coated hooks is spot on. Meanwhile for the B side Jeff decided to cover Fleetwood Mac’s “Second Hand News.” Ouch! That is one tall order as Buckingham’s vocals alone are nearly impossible to match or replace in any listener’s sense of what the song should sound like. But Shelton manages to pull it off, mixing just enough ragged DIY charm with his professional chops to give his version its own identity. Is this a teaser for a fab new album? We can only hope so.
Chicago’s The Embyros lean heavily on a Teenage Fanclub/Byrds sound on their new extended singles project, Singles Club Volume 1, particularly “Wasting All Your Time.” The two other tracks here will also delight jangle ears. But why stop there? The band’s 2018 album Open the Kimono is chock full of indie pop rock treats. “Circleville” has an unpolished indie charm while “Wake Up Screaming” reminds me of that smooth California sound the Popravinas have going on their recent records. I love “Bad Old Days” with it’s country-ish Beatles crossover feel. And then the band delivers a nice melodic rock and roll ending with “Eleven Forty.” These guys are a real tuneful diamond in the rough.
Is it a turn down day? No, it’s jangle Thursday. A day ripe with the ringing chime of trebly, echo-y guitars that somehow say sunshine and good times. I say confidently that today’s trio of tunes will elevate your mood and contribute to overall feelings of good fellowship. Let the jangle rip!
Poprock Record 