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Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles of 2020

09 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Should be a Hit Single

≈ 4 Comments

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Blitzen Trapper, Brandi Ediss, Brett Newski, Brian Jay Cline, Bye Bye Blackbirds, Chris Church, Danny McDonald, Dave Kuchler, Dave Rave and the Governors, David Myles, David Woodard, Ed Woltil, El Goodo, Emperor Penguin, Esther Rose, Geoff Palmer and Lucy Ellis, Greg Pope, Gregory Pepper and his Problems, Hanemoon, Honeywagen, Honeywagon, Irene Pena, Lisa Mychols & Super 8, Lolas, Mo Troper, Mom, Mothboxer, Nicholas Altobelli, Nick Pipitone, Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men, Nite Sobs, Nuevos Hobbies, Papills, Peggy Sue, Peralta, Richard Turgeon, Searching for Sylvia, Steven Bradley, Steven Wright-Mark, Talk Show, The Amplifier Heads, The August Teens, The Click Beetles, The Feels, The Happy Fits, The Memories, The Rockyts, The Top Boost, The Vapour Trails, The Well Wishers, Tom Curless and the 46%

2020 was weird like no weirdness we’d experienced before. Thank goodness the music didn’t let us down. Paraphrasing some 1970s disk jockey, the should-be hits just kept on coming! My top 50 singles for 2020 covers the usual range of styles I jam into the poprock category, from Buddy Holly 1950s to Buck Owens country to various shades of jangle and new wave. I’m not saying these are the 50 best songs of the year, I’m saying these 50 had the hooks to keep me hitting repeat again and again. If Poprock Record were a radio station these tunes would have been in heavy rotation all this past year. 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 should-be hit singles for 2020:

1. Mo Troper “Your Boy”
2. Gregory Pepper and his Problems “Unsolved Mystery”
3. Dave Kuchler “Slave to Katy”
4. Emperor Penguin “You’ll Be the Death of Me”
5. Brian Jay Cline “Two Left Feet”
6. Hanemoon “Sunday Afternoon”
7. Danny McDonald “Cordyline”
8. Chris Church “Something’s Coming Fast”
9. Peralta “In Your Mind”
10. Steven Wright-Mark “Underground”
11. Brett Newski “Grow Your Garden”
12. Lolas “Wrecking Yard”
13. Peggy Sue “Motorcade”
14. Searching for Sylvia “SEMA (Sunday Evening Misery Attack)”
15. The Vapor Trails “Behind You”
16. The Well Wishers “We Grow Up”
17. The Top Boost “Tell Me That You’re Mine”
18. The Click Beetles “Don’t You Call My Name”
19. The Memories “Second Try”
20. The Bye Bye Blackbirds “Watch Them Chime”
21. Lisa Mycols and Super 8 “Honey Bee”
22. Nite Sobs “I Could Tell You”
23. Nick Pipitone “Hear Me Out Thienville”
24. David Myles “Loving You is Easy”
25. El Goodo “Home”
26. Steven Bradley “Pre-Emptive Strike”
27. The Happy Fits “No Instructions”
28. Greg Pope “Jump Back from the Light”
29. Mom “I Want You to Feel What I Feel”
30. The Amplifier Heads “Man on the Edge of a Ledge Contemplating a Jump”
31. Blitzen Trapper “Masonic Temple Microdose #1”
32. Dave Rave and the Governors “I Don’t Think So”
33. The Rockyts “Break My Heart Again”
34. The Feels “She’s Probably Not Thinking of Me”
35. Nuevos Hobbies “No Puedo Esperar”
36. David Woodard “Grand Scheme of Things”
37. Esther Rose “Keeps Me Running”
38. Talk Show “This Monologue”
39. Geoff Palmer and Lucy Ellis “Swim”
40. Irene Pena “Own Sweet Time”
41. Ed Woltil “When We Fall in Love”
42. Papills “What to Call It”
43. The August Teens “Crestfallen”
44. Richard Turgeon “Higher”
45. Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men “Bright Light”
46. Tom Curless and the 46% “Just Wanna Talk”
47. Brandi Ediss “Bees and Bees and Bees”
48. Mothboxer “Accelerator”
49. Honeywagen “For Love”
50. Nicholas Altobelli “Ghost”

So many great songs! So hard to make distinctions amongst them … But this year’s chart topper Mo Troper has got something really special going on with “Your Boy.” The track is a case study in should-be hit single construction and execution, from the opening guitar hooks to the silky smooth pop vocal to the exquisite synthesis of musical elements, like the plinky piano, the dash of distorted guitar here and there. The song is the earworm equivalent of a Dutch masters miniature painting. A very close second this year came from the boundlessly talented Canuck Gregory Pepper and his Problems with “Unsolved Mystery.” I can’t get enough of Pepper’s creative songwriting and unique approach to instrumentation. The song is a hook cocktail, a nonstop aural assault of vocal and instrumental melody. Former Soul Engines member Dave Kuchler slots into number 3 with an amazing comeback single, “Slave to Katy,” a song that ripples with Springsteen organ and hooky guitar leads. This is melodic heartland rock and roll at its best. Releasing an album and three EPs in 2020, Emperor Penguin definitely win the productivity award. But I’d have been happy if they’d just released one song, the Byrdsian “You’ll Be the Death of Me.” Rounding out the top 5 Brian Jay Cline “Two Left Feet” gives the harmonica a work out on a great driving poprock number. And I could go on about the remaining 45 should-be hits but for more on the rest of the list hit the hyperlinks for my original write-ups on each.

This year’s special mention award goes to Mondello for his wonderfully quirky one-off single “My Girl Goes By.” After taking 20 years putting together his debut album one year later there’s no sign of a sophomore slump with this follow up single. From the Tijuana horns to the unique guitar work to the way the hooky swinging chorus emerges out the discordant and offbeat body of the song, it’s magic. More? Yes please!

2020 has been devastating for artists that rely on live performances to make ends meet. Now more than ever it’s crucial that we all pull together to support music and the music-makers financially. Give what you can, buy directly from artists whenever you can, and share links for the music you discover with your friends and acquaintances.

Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2019

15 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

*repeat repeat, Berwanger, Bombadil, Dan Israel, David Brookings and the Average Lookings, Johnny Stanec, kiwi jr, Lolas, Martha, Matthew Milia, Mondello, Nick Eng, Pernice Brothers, Richard Turgeon, Scandinavia, Sofa City Sweetheart, Telekinesis, The Boys with Perpetual Nervousness, The Brothers Steve, The Cactus Blossoms, The Golden Seals, The John Sally Ride, The Maureens, The Vapour Trails, Trip Wire

Screen Shot 2020-01-13 at 11.39.35 AMPoor Myrtle. She’s only got Muzak® to keep her company through the long shift at work. If only she had access to this great new list of must-have LPs from 2019, helpfully assembled by Poprock Record, she might actually close that Henderson account and get off early. The lesson? You can take an oldies fixation too far. You don’t have to live in the past to love that retro sound. This year’s best-of round up of LPs from 2019 is definitive proof that everything old can be new again!

Just a word of caution – there’s no science to the list and rankings below. Here are just 25 albums and 10 EPs that caught my ear this past year and kept me coming back for more. There was something about each, their combination of elements (songwriting, instrumentation, performance), that I thought really worked as a coherent whole. And that’s saying something in our world of social media distractions and a renewed music biz focus primarily on singles.

So let’s begin with Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2019:

  1. Bombadil Beautiful Country
  2. Matthew Milia Alone at St. Hugo
  3. The Brothers Steve #1
  4. The Maureens Something in the Air
  5. Richard Turgeon Go Deep
  6. The Golden Seals Something Isn’t Happening
  7. Pernice Brothers Spread the Feeling
  8. *repeat repeat Glazed
  9. Martha Love Keeps Kicking
  10. Scandinavia Premium Economy
  11. The Vapour Trails See You in the Next World
  12. The Cactus Blossoms Easy Way
  13. Johnny Stanec Things Were Better, When
  14. The John Sally Ride Nothing Doing
  15. The Boys With Perpetual Nervousness Dead Calm
  16. Telekinesis Effluxion
  17. David Brookings and the Average Lookings Scorpio Monologue
  18. Mondello Hello, All You Happy People
  19. Nick Eng Long Shot
  20. Sofa City Sweetheart Super (b) Exitos
  21. Dan Israel Social Media Anxiety Disorder
  22. Berwanger Watching a Garden Die
  23. Lolas Bulletproof
  24. kiwi jr Football Money
  25. Trip Wire Once and Always

Screen Shot 2020-01-15 at 2.26.05 PMI really like the variety covered in this list. There’s everything from jangle (4, 11, 15, 25) and country (12) and Dylanesque stylings (21), to keyboard contemporary (8) and acerbic social commentary (10, 23) and straight-up Beatlesque poprock (17, 19). And there’s a lot of sweetness, like Mondello’s impressive 20 year labour of love (18). My number one album, Bombadil’s Beautiful Country, embodies this commitment to diversity. It’s got an overall indie-folk vibe but the songwriting and playing are so sophisticated that somehow the label fails to capture all of what’s going on. Believe me, it’s a 37 minute journey through a myriad of lyrical and musical delights. Close behind at #2 Matthew Milia’s Alone at St. Hugo represents an amazing synthesis of melodic rock influences, from the Beatles (obviously) to the more mellow Fountains of Wayne moments. It’s an tone setter – put it on and drift away! At #3 was #1. Confused? #1 was the name of the debut album from the power pop veterans behind The Brothers Steve and it did not disappoint. The record is like a veritable hit machine. I can only imagine that this was what it was like to get your hands on a new Beatles record in the 1960s: immediately engaging, inventive yet relatable, and with nary a bum track. And I could go on about every entry on this list … but instead just click on the links to go my original posts about the bands and you can judge them for yourself.

Next up, Poprock Record’s 10 must-have EPs from 2019:

  1. David Molter Foolish Heart
  2. Omicrom J Trauma You Should Have Thought About That
  3. David Woodard Everything in Between
  4. Brett Perfect Patterns
  5. Project: Ghost Outfit Project: Ghost Outfit
  6. Super 8 Head Sounds
  7. scienceisfiction Don’t Everyone Thank Me at Once
  8. Ducks Unlimited Get Bleak
  9. Jean Caffeine Love. What is It?
  10. Lost Ships All of the Pieces

The revival of the EP is very much in the spirit of the times as performers try to woo listeners to fork over for music in an era of YouTube shuffles and streaming. Personally, I’m usually left feeling that most are just bloated maxi-singles or Readers Digest condensed albums. But these ten show just how punchy an EP can be! Content-wise, I’ll just say this about my number 1 choice: wow. Dave Molter got his musical start in the 1960s (as evident on the record!) but waited until his 70s to put out Foolish Heart. What you get are five gems polished to poprock perfection: hooks, harmonies, the whole deal.

One last thing: a special mention for Aaron Lee Tasjan’s Karma for Cheap: Reincarnated. The original record was my number 1 album for 2018 and this reinvention beautifully reimagines all those great tunes in often stark and stripped down ways. If you liked the original, you’re gonna love the remake.

Power poprock: Deadbeat Beat, Lolas, Big Nothing, and Perspective, A Lovely Hand to Hold

21 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

A Dozen or Seven Tapestries, Big Nothing, Chris, Deadbeat Beat, Far Away, Lolas, Lousy, Perspective A Lovely Hand to Hold

Screen Shot 2019-08-21 at 9.28.38 AMHere’s a whack of artists that power up their poprock in creative and original ways. The melody meter is registering hooks that are off the charts!

Screen Shot 2019-08-21 at 9.31.09 AMDetroit’s Deadbeat Beat are hard to pin down. At times they sound like a punky Shins or maybe the Velvet Underground covering the Beach Boys. Detroit Metro Times writer Jeff Milo boils down the Deadbeat Beat sound as “catchy as hell, with melodies like kites caught in a summer breeze …” Their new album is Far Away and is it their most polished and melodic release to date. Opening track “Baphomet” showcases many of the band’s essential elements: a jangle acoustic base, a slightly discordant yet poppy vocal, and a host of unpredictable but delightful hooks. “You Take Me Up” sounds a bit rougher by comparison but when the singer hits the line about ‘the county line’ I hear James Mercer doing a poprock cabaret punk. And the guitar work here is exquisite! Reverby and surf-like, and yet not. “From What I Can Tell” vibes a bit of the Beach Boys, the Ramones, and yet the influences add up to something new and original. Another strong track that screams radio-friendly is “Fair” with its hooky lead line and smooth vocals. Really, the strength of the album is in the songwriting. I love the band’s sound but most of the songs here could also survive pretty well just on acoustic guitar. Case in point: the jaunty “I’ll Wait” or swinging cool of “The Return.” As an album, Far Away is a great listen, again and again.

Screen Shot 2019-08-21 at 9.32.06 AMIt is so great to have Birmingham, Alabama’s Lolas back with a new record, A Dozen or Seven Tapestries, and it’s another winner. Bandleader and songwriter Tim Boykin has consistently delivered the goods when it comes to hook-laden songs dosed with chimey guitar and reverbed-up vocals and they are here in abundance. The record’s opening cut and title track “A Dozen or Seven Tapestries” gives it all away: hooky guitar lines and shimmering vocal harmonies everywhere. Boykin does change things up in terms of song styles, channeling mid 1960s American poprock on “Dj Girl” or an updated Merseybeat vibe on “Lightning Mountain (NSFW)” or even a Steve Miller Band sound on “Assailant.” You can dip in anywhere on this record and find a melodic treat. Personally, I’m loving the low key jangly “Wish You Were Loud Enough” and the more straight-up barrel-ahead poprock blast of “You’d Go Without Nothing.”

Screen Shot 2019-08-21 at 9.33.04 AMPhiladephia PA’s Big Nothing has been described as a ‘90’s influenced indie supergroup’ (Rolling Stone) but all I hear are great songs and a muscular, crunchy poprock sound. Their debut album is Chris and it’s 32 minutes of sonically pleasing songcraft. Sometimes a bit heavy (“Always Prepared”), sometimes sparkling with an easygoing jangle (“Carried Away”), the record typically delivers a taut yet melodically-rich sound, apparent on tracks like “Waste My Time” and “Real Name.” But one of my faves is “Untitled” with its almost country rock and live-to-tape feel. “Honey” is another standout track, changing things up stylistically and tempo-wise. Overall, Chris delivers a great batch of songs that amount to an impressive debut.

Screen Shot 2019-08-21 at 9.30.07 AMNashua, New Hampshire, population 86,000, is responsible for our next band, Perspective, A Lovely Hand to Hold. There must be something in the water in Nashua because this band is wonderfully weird, both strikingly original songwriters and performers. The band describe themselves on their Facebook page as an ‘indie/emo/math rock/whatever your mom calls it band.’ So, no help there. Here’s what I hear on Lousy, the group’s new (third) album: swooping fattened up vocals and unique hooks, with just a touch of jazz sensibility, particularly on tracks like “One Wrong Turn” and “Subject to Change.” But then check out the straight up poprock hooks all over “The Gang Goes On Tour” – bliss! The record does have some challenging avant garde moments but spending a bit of time with songs like “Those Few Words” and “Your Own World” ultimately pays melodic dividends. From a mainstream poprock point of view, Perspective, A Lovely Hand to Hold are more than a bit out there. But, like Nashua, ultimately worth the trip.

Personally, I think this line-up of bands are freakishly talented and worthy of a horde of manic fans. Preferably with some disposable income. Visit Deadbeat Beat, Lolas, Big Nothing, and Perspective, A Lovely Hand to Hold online to find out how out to become manic.

Top photo courtesy Larry Gordon.

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