Tags
Brisbane Radio, Daniel Wilcox, jangle, Joe Emery, Modern Day Idols, Songs From Another Life, Stephen's Shore, The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness, The Vapour Trails, Underneath Tomorrow, Will Courtney
It’s been a while since we’ve jangled Thursday so to make up for it today’s post features two heavy hitter album releases and a spate of other good things. Secure the good china because the heavy reverb here is definitely gonna make things shake.
In one of the most anticipated albums of the year, The Boys With the Perpetual Nervousness defy the sophomore slump with a drop-dead gorgeous collection of new tunes. If anything, Songs From Another Life is even better than the band’s outstanding debut Dead Calm. The sound is a bit edgier, the feel a bit more urgent. It’s all there on the album opener, “I Don’t Mind” with its muscular jangle hooks and earworm melody. When the sweet sweet instrumental break kicks in at 1:11 it’s like a shot of adrenaline. And then it’s over all too soon! The obvious musical reference points here fall somewhere between the Byrds and Teenage Fanclub, particularly on “Play (On My Mind)” and “How I Really Feel.” But there’s a bit of the duo’s previous incarnations – Dropkick and El Palacio de Linares – lurking here too on tracks like “Rose Tinted Glasses” and “In Between.” And then the band go in totally new directions on songs like “Lethargy” with its hypnotic synth adornments. Personally, I can’t stop hitting replay on “Waking Up in the Sunshine,” the should-be hit single to my ears. If you need something to lift your spirits, something to make your heart soar, then proceed directly to this long player. I may be calling it early but my gut says Songs From Another Life is the feel good album of the year.
Another jangle band that never fails to impress and delight are The Vapour Trails. Their brand new EP Underneath Tomorrow is no exception. These guys hit all the 1960s marks but always throw in a host of original twists. Sure “Tommy’s Tune” sounds so Byrds but there’s a bit of CSN&Y there too. Title track “Underneath Tomorrow” has lovely jangle and great background vocals, with some inventive instrumental interludes. And there’s “That’ll Do It” with its killer Monkees-reminiscent, lead-line opener and addictive pumping organ drawing you in. Man, what hooks! But it’s not just the great retro feel of the album, the songwriting is up to the band’s reliably strong standards. Check out their turn in a more Beatles direction with “Autumn and Spring” or a British 1960s blues vibe on while “Strange.” The only real limit to the EP is that everything ends far too soon.
There’s something so beach dreamy about Stephen’s Shore, you can practically feel the sea breeze coming off the title track from their new EP Brisbane Radio. At just 12 minutes long the release is perhaps more like a maxi-single but, hey, I’d argue it’s a short time well spent. The lovely lilting lead jangle guitar carries us through “Up To No Good” and the mostly instrumental “Midvert.” Meanwhile “Skogen” sounds more like what we might expect from a new album. It’s a song with a bit more complexity and a melody that captures the darker vibe of late 1960s folk rock. Compared to the band’s earlier work, 2016’s crisp and hooky Ocean Blue, this new material sounds more organic and less in a hurry, though no less melodic and endearing.
Last up on our jangle-heavy feature, two singles that showcase the breadth of the genre. First, Will Courtney teams up with two members of the Ugly Beats, Joe Emery and Daniel Wilcox, to take on the Byrds’ classic “Here Without You.” The original is pretty hard to improve on so the boys wisely decide to take it in a slightly new direction, distorting its traditional jangle and countrying up the vocal delivery. The result is a refreshing, exciting reset to an old fave. By contrast, like Tom Petty and Greg Kihn before them, Boston’s Modern Day Idols demonstrate how jangle can be woven into the very core of modern poprock. MDI have a great song with “Not the Only One” from their recent self-titled album but the jangle lead guitar just adds that extra dimension of bliss. I’m liking their whole LP – it’s all eminently listenable – but this particular song just won’t vacate my short term memory.
In these dark times jangle is the musical light glinting from the far reaches of our ‘isolate in place’ tunnel. Click on the hyperlinks to hear more.
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 