Tags
2m8o, All Over the Shop, Drew Beskin, Exploding Flowers, Jill Sobule, Lolas, Modern Marriage, Paul Collins, Pillow Fight, Radio Karma, Sunken Planes, Swan Dive, Terry Malts, The Deathray Davies, the dts, The Fencesitters, The Happy Somethings, The Krayolas, The Popravinas, The Speedways, The Summertimes, Vaughn Trapp, Vegas with Randolph
What is star power anyway? Somehow we know when we’re around it – there’s an extra dose of sparkle to the performance that makes instant replay pretty much inevitable. To aid your search, here’s 21 songs to fill your starry starry sky with something shiny and new.
Summer may be over but any season is a good time to check out the latest EP from Australia’s The Summertimes. The jangle shimmer radiating from their summertime pre-release single “Save You Now” is buoyant and fresh, giving off a Rank and File meets the Beatles vibe. EP title track “Luminous” is pretty sweet too. Minnesota’s Sunken Planes return with a dynamic new single “In Due Time” that combines jangle with a decidedly edgy emotional feel. Just a little bit dissonant and melancholy in a very good way. As Vegas With Randolph gather their wits for a full album release they’ve been drip releasing intriguing songs like “Maria Reverie.” The track is name-dropping tour-de force. I mean, it’s not easy to rhyme things with Matthew McConaughey. Exploding Flowers single “Spinning Carousel” practically screams out for a montage sequence to accompany it. The song is pleasant like a gently rippling forest stream with a marimba break that reminds me of Haircut 100. 2m8o have an endearing DIY indie style that comes out strong on “Popcorn Ceilings.” Some star bass playing here too.
The Happy Somethings “Just Being With You” is definitely ‘a healthy dose of hope’ (the latter being the title of their latest album) with an undeniable winsome charm. This is a band that made C86 a way of life without surrendering their smile. Bill DeMain’s Swan Dive project offers up something very special, a new song featuring the late great Jill Sobule. “Jenny” is cool and stately in a ‘I’m doing a Frank Sinatra sort of thing’ way. So classic. The dt’s recent track “Bummer” goes in two seemingly disparate directions within one composition. The verses keep us idling, waiting for something to break. And that break comes with a swooping chorus that really delivers. Birmingham’s Lolas never fail to nail the hooks. Their new song “Colors of the Heart, Bleeding” careens out of the starting gate with a soaring melody and punchy chorus. What an intriguing combination Pillow Fight offer up on “Secret Crush.” Musically the opening is so jangliscious, quickly developing into a great girl group groove. Then the deadpan vocals twist the effect away from pure nostalgia to something more serene.
While Doug Hammond’s Vaughn Trapp guise may not have the tensile strength of his Daisy House project it remains a great vehicle for his abundant pop culture talents, showcased nicely on his latest song “Gringo Starr.” Composition-wise, the track is a wild synthesis of styles from completely different eras. And damn, the melody threading throughout the chorus is pure ambrosia. Liverpool’s Modern Marriage have a debut LP Grim Up North jammed full of Merseybeat references but delivered in a style that is anything but. “Dear John” gives you a taste of the band’s musical independence from their obvious cultural past, combining both shiny guitar riffs and a very punky demeanor. I’ve always had a soft spot for Louisville Kentucky’s rough-hewn Terry Malts. Their music always seemed to verge on just a bit too loud for me but always recovered with an unfailing knack for dialing in some serious melodic hooks. With “By Friday” the rocking grind is there, adorning a familiar song style so well. Don’t let the palm trees fool you on the cover of All Over the Shop’s new EP Some Like It Shop. On opening cut “Every Dog …” the sounds has a grimy grinding undercurrent while the vocal pulls in a different direction, creating a productive tension. In their spare time Richard Rossi and Joe Giddings decided to form a new project, Radio Karma, and put out some new tunes. “Mom’s Garage” is one and it is an exquisite composition, a dynamite slice of melodic rock with just the right balance of tasty hooks and screaming guitar solos. If only I could toss off singles this good so easily.
“Red Lights” is something a bit different from The Deathray Davies. Over the top and a bit constrained in different places. Definitely fun. The Fencesitters hail from St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and their “flight song” is delightful ball of confusion, simultaneously light and frothy while drilling down into solid guitar soloing (including some serious verbal flight boarding drama). The new single from Santa Monica’s The Popravinas has their usual candy-coated pop rocky coating. “You Got Ornery” is driven by a slick vocal and lead guitar riff that won’t quit. The Krayolas are a tex-mex institution, still going decade after decade putting out new stuff. This time it’s a cover of Atwood Allen’s tear-jerker track from Doug Sahm’s 1973 solo album Doug Sahm and Band. And they acquit themselves country-beautiful on it. I love the light touch on Drew Beskin’s new single “Like Some Guilt Admission.” The acoustic guitar floats in, the vocal hovers somewhere above it all, while the tune really gets into your head.
Wrapping things up on this star power showcase is a real show stopper from The Speedways. Backing their new single “All Bets Are Off” is a b-side co-write with none other than power pop legend Paul Collins. “Angela Sincerely” is dynamite from the word go. Cool lead guitar line, hooks galore, and with some vocal support from the legend himself. A winner, for sure.
You can wish upon these stars but cool hard cash would probably not go amiss either. Click on the links above to extend your night sky view of these great new songs and acts.
Photo ‘Ritz Starlight Room’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.
So far, the end of world sounds more like “The Sounds of Silence” than the rumble and destruction of a Simpsons-esque apocalyptic crowd waving torches. But if this is the end of the world, what should our soundtrack sound like? Not the obvious choices, obviously (yes R.E.M., I mean you). At the very least the end of times should give struggling indie artists the spotlight for once.
Don’t get me started on superhero movies. Sometimes it seems like Hollywood makes little else. But songs about superheroes can be great. That’s probably because songwriters can’t simply rely on a green screen or endless explosive pyrotechnics. So let’s let it rip with these superhero song stylings!
It’s a man’s, man’s, man’s, man’s world they tell us and nowhere is that more true than in rock and roll. The omniscient perspective in a rock song is usually male, with a few exceptions. But to the music scene’s credit, more women have been making inroads over the past two decades or so. The first woman I recall identifying not simply as a ‘female vocalist’ but as a universal rock voice was Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. Since then the indie scene has provided us with a number of examples of larger than life female artists (they have to be to crowd out the men) with great songs and powerful performances.
Jill Sobule has had an amazing career doing, apparently, pretty much whatever she has wanted to do. After a false start at Geffen in 1990, 1995’s self-titled Jill Sobule set the frame for what would follow: a quirky, often folky, sometimes hilarious, always introspective and keenly observational singer-songwriter that has consistently produced great albums. Kinda like a rock and roll Suzanne Vega, but with more ‘tude. Threaded throughout her work is a strong set of political and feminist commitments, ranging from the satirical “Supermodel” to the more recent “Women of Industry.” Sobule’s catalogue is an embarrassment of riches so here’s an almost random selection. “Supermodel” showcases the uptempo hit songwriter, “Bitter” from 1997’s Happy Town rides a perfect hook, “Rock Me to Sleep” from 2000’s Pink Pearl exemplifies her tender side, while the banjo-driven “Old Kentucky” from 2014’s Dottie’s Charms is just a bit of rollicking fun. Sobule is working on a new album now and you check out her Soundcloud 
There are times when Amy Rigby seems so country. It’s there in her voice, that weary 1960s sound of oppressed Nashville womenhood. But then the angle shifts and the rock and roll dynamo shows through, giving voice to a whole lot of gendered working class experience from a lifetime of surviving the independent music scene. Her 1996 solo debut Diary of a Mod Housewife was a masterpiece of melodic social commentary but it didn’t lead to explosive sales. Since then, Rigby has continued to release solid records with songs that draw on all manner of classic rock and roll motifs, while giving voice to issues of class, relationships, gender and aging. A good place to start would be her 2002 compilation 18 Again. There you can check out the perfect 1960s elan of “All I Want” or the new wave vibe to “The Good Girls” or the masterful turns of phrase on the acoustic “Magicians.” Of course, I would add a few songs from 2003’s Til the Wheels Fall Off like the age-conscious “Shopping Around” or “Last Request” as well as 2005’s Little Fugitive,which contains a host of beautiful song scenarios like “The Trouble with Jeanie” and “Dancing with Joey Ramone.” She is back this year with Old Guys, where I’m digging “Are We Still There Yet.”
So much has been written about Juliana Hatfield and her many impressive accomplishments, all the great bands she has been part of, there’s really not much I could add. So I’ll just focus my attention on her continuing strength as a songwriter and recording artist. After a break of 22 years, her reunited Juliana Hatfield Three released a killer album in 2015, Whatever, My Love, with radio-friendly single material like “Invisible” and “If I Could.” Deep cut fave – “Parking Lots” with it’s sunny subtle hooks. Then in 2017 she released the dynamite, politically-charged solo album, Pussycat, a reaction to the election of Donald Trump. Here I would single out the jaunty “You’re Breaking my Heart” and “Kellyanne.” Then, as a reaction to the previous election year’s constant negativity, Hatfield decided to release an album of Olivia Newton-John covers. Here she works a creative tension between mirroring and reinventing the originals, with particular success on the Xanadu sountrack numbers, in my view. “Magic” amps up the early 1980s keyboard sound and adds Hatfield’s own distinctive vocal approach. Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John is better than cover albums are allowed to be, a real treat.
For non-Canadian readers, July 1 is our national holiday. Does it mark a revolutionary outburst? A decisive break with past political practice? A victory for the people over the oligarchs? Nope. It was basically a bankers’ renegotiation of how best to exploit a whole lot of land and its abundant raw materials, something that had already been going on for some time. Now it would go on better. The people? They wouldn’t get a look in for some time. Nonetheless, Canadians politely take this day off, crack a beer or two, set off some fireworks, and give the day’s historic relevance not one fleeting thought. Imagine America’s July 4thbut without all the pomp, patriotism, and political chest-thumping. And with stronger beer.
