A Swedish fast furniture company had a commercial that got a generation of kids yelling ‘start the car!’ whenever the family approached the vehicle. I don’t know that it helped to sell more of their particle board book shelves but it was briefly entertaining. And now we revive the slogan to celebrate two motor-themed bands with fab new platters.
On their most recent LP Never Sing Alone Toronto’s Motorists give off a strong rock vibe on opening cut “Cristobel” and tracks like “The Damage,” the latter cut with just the right dose of new wave. I get a lot of retro new wave from songs like “Anomaniacs” too. Then there are the efforts that really merge styles. “Scattered White Horses” uses dissonant rhythm guitar shots to throw us off the scent, slyly shifting to understated vocals that sound like Buddy Holly with a touch of ennui before breaking out the harmony vocals in the chorus. I can’t help but feel that the jangle cuts are the star of the show here. “Frogman” is the standout, sparkling hit single here. “Reprise” doles out more jangle, reminiscent of 1970s April Wine. Some material fits into no convenient genre box. Does “Stander” have a country gloss? It’s slight but effective. “Man in the Circular Window” and “Diogenes” are just jaunty fun. Singing along here isn’t mandatory but probably advisable.
With 17 contributions on their latest long-player Chattanooga, Tennessee’s Mythical Motors have definitely stepped on the creative gas pedal. Tremolo On The Punchline has been compared to Guided By Voices, Sharp Pins, and just about anything from those C-86 sessions. This embarrassment of jangle riches has far too many highlights to single out. But for me the album really takes off with the atmospheric “Solid Wall of Light.” The individual guitar parts shimmer and yet still stand apart. “Luna Relay” is another strong effort, vibing an early 1960s disaster tune with just the right amount of distortion. “The Queen of Fleeting Moments” also has a very 1960s pop propulsion, accented by its punchy rhythm guitar. “Dismantled Man Tells You” is more a rush of jangle, reminding me of The Friends of Cesar Romero. Tracks like “Harper’s Echo” and “Molecular Charlatans” have a great crashing energy while and “Replacement City” offers a more contemplative counterpoint. Personally, I think “Flashes of Now” is the hidden should-be hit single, lodged near the very end Tremolo On The Punchline. That’s the beauty of a collection like this – so full, so much to explore (and enjoy!).
These bands have got their engines and instruments tuned and are definitely ready to hit the open road and open stages. Join them at the Bandcamp hyperlinks to cruise awhile with their new releases.
Sometimes I imagine a large radio tower blasting our choice singles around the planet. It’s definitely what the world needs now. A little bit of the carefree, some heart-fluttering excitement, perhaps even a hint of inspiration. Take some time out from world affairs and your personal troubles to check out this suite of specially curated should-be hits. You’ll be glad you did.
Let’s launch with something that conjures a bit of early Go Go’s but with a breathy male vocal. The Sylvia Platters give us this and more with “Tactical Lunchbox.” There’s even a B52s organ break. Jangle deficiency is a serious ailment, particularly in these dour winter months. Motoristshave just the remedy with “Frogman.” Those luscious guitar tones are gonna make anybody feel better. The same critics who can’t say enough good things about bands like The Lemon Twigs pause when a new Uni Boys single comes on. As they should. These renaissance new wave popsters have done it again with “I Don’t Want to Dream Anymore.” Somebody pinch me, it must be 1979 again. Jeff Shelton’s Deadlights take us back to the 1980s with a faithful cover of House of Love on “Destroy the Heart.” Dig the drone. You can practically smell the smoke machine. Brisbane Australia’s Gift Horse get the jump on dad day with “Fathers.” The song has a muscular folk rock sensibility, like the Byrds with a Marshall stack.
Dallas, Texas combo The Pozers step on the 10ccc pedal for their contribution to the International Pop Overthrow compilation album #26. The vocal swoops compete with a relentless poppy keyboard driving things to a cheery place. Langhorne Slim has been hanging around the roots scene for years but his new album The Dreamin’ Kind is something else. I mean, it is rootsy but it is so much more too. Listen to the tight pop articulation of the should-be single “On Fire.” It has the soulful poppy chops of an Aaron Lee Tasjan. It’s dancey, it’s heartfelt, its AM radio playable. Kurt Baker has been offering up Elvis Costello-ish pop-slathered rock for a while. “Undertow Afterglow” amps that influence even further than usual. The B-side cover of the McCartney/Costello composition “My Brave Face” is pretty special too. Detroit’s Mod Lang are building quite the buzz about the near imminent release of their debut long-player Borrowed Time. Early release single “TV Star” blasted some good time 1970s power pop vibes for sure but I’m digging the more Beatlesque “What I Can’t Have.” This is gonna be one hot album drop. silk daisys get the dream pop label but I’m hearing Darling Buds and Primitives. Sure, there’s shimmer all over their recordings but an essential guitar pop goodness emerges with clarity on “It’s a Laugh.”
Things rarely go sideways with Dazy for me. There’s something playful and seriously inventive about how their songs get put together. “Delusions of …” has a Sugar Ray vocal, some La’s guitars, and Beck production sensibility. Dutch outfit The Maureens revive a 1960s group vocals sound with folk and pop inflections and it’s all there again on their new single “Doing Fine.” And that means an album can’t be far behind. The organ opening Marc Valentine’s new single “NY UAP” is just so 1966 it hurts. In a good way. This is retro rock and roll that still sounds fresh today. Punk veterans Together Pangea are still turning it out. “Shattered” offers you grinding guitars and a shuffle beat that dance floors were made for. At first listen you might think Tom Emlyn’s “Starsick” has seen some poet press-ganged onto stage in front of a band playing a bit too fast. But as the song develops the words and music meld together in a frenetic kind of energy that is way cool.
I don’t really know where Växjö is. Somewhere in Sweden I take it. But given the latest single from that country’s School Book Depository I imagine there’s someone belting out their favourite song there. This band ace atmospheric pop singles and the current “Karaoke” is no exception. I love the lead guitar roll-out that launches Tad Overbaugh’s “Rearview.” It’s what pushes this ‘new country’ entry into something broader genre-wise. And that great guitar work continues throughout. Capitol city’s Vegas With Randolph get right back on the new album prep train floating an early effort with “Let’s Fool Around.” It’s a smooth pop rocking number in a manner similar to indie acts like Vanilla and the Zombies of the Stratosphere. And that’s good enough for me. Another Sloan album, another spate of rave reviews. That’s what the release of last year’s Based on a Best Seller produced. I loved it, not that band needed accolades from the likes of me. So I’ll just throw some light on the fab deep cut “Here We Go Again.” Nobody quite knocks it out of the park as reliably as these guys. Chicago’s The Rubs throw up something a bit different with their new song. “Starting All Over” sounds likes it has dropped right out of the 1970s pub rock scene. Only the wobbly guitar sound gives it a modern sheen.
It’s a wrap this time around with “Came Back Kicking” from The Pretty Flowers. This one has the oomph of something big. Like stadium singalong big. It’s the pre-release single from the band’s upcoming album Never Felt Bitter. Can’t wait to hear more.
Does the air seem lighter? I can’t tell I’m so riffed up on these radio-ready singles. And you don’t have to stop now. Click the links to keep the world away for just a little bit longer.
Photo “Union Station” courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.
Time to rev up our annual Poprock Record should-be hit singles list of songs we’ve featured at some point during 2024. Let’s be honest up front, we barely scratched the surface of all that was going on out there music-wise, even within the confines of our own narrowly defined genre (what I’ve been calling poppy rock). As I peek at the lists of other melodic rock taste-makers I see loads of great acts I somehow missed out on. Oh well. There’s only so much needle-dropping your scribe can do. From what we did manage to cover I just want to take this space to remind you of some stand-out tracks. So today we single out 50 should-be hit singles from 2024, songs that deserve another shot at chart glory. Click on the hyperlinks to hear each of the songs and read the original write ups.
Drumroll please, here are Poprock Record’s top 50 should-be hit singles from 2024:
Music blogger extraordinaire Eclectic Music Lover put me on to Won Phreely’s captivating single and I was hooked. Both Real Estate and Used struck me as mining that elegant Shins brand of manicured poprock. Lo Fi Ho Hum grabbed my attention with his quirky, amusing video but his melody lingered long after. Tamar Berk just goes from strength to strength in her songwriting and you can hear it here. I could go on. This is a list bursting with jangle and heartbreak – and hooks, of course.
Next up, Poprock Record’s most inventive covers from 2023:
The covers just keep on coming and I’m fine with that. Poprock veterans The Half Cubes gave us a double album of carefully curated pop hits from the past but it was their cover of The Sighs’ signature song that really floored me. Georgia’s Mattiel could sing the phone book and keep most people happy but her cover of Terri Gibbs’ 1981 hit is nothing short of transformative. Then there’s Super Ratones doing Fountains of Wayne. Lovely and timely.
It’s been a tough year. It’s been a year full of great songs. We’ll certainly need more of the latter in the days ahead and Poprock Record with be there to bring you more should-be hits. So click on the links above to remind yourself how good 2024 was and make sure to visit the artists and wave a little cash in their direction.
In what is increasingly becoming a yearly ritual, I present instalment I of my end-of-year record round-up. Appearing here is no reflection on the quality of the artists. As any given year progresses I collect and file new songs and albums as they come in, juggling themes and ongoing features with some semblance of a regular posting schedule, and invariably a host of great releases fall off my priority pile. So just before the year elapses, here they are, getting their due attention.
Seattle’s power pop kings Shake Some Action returned in 2024 with not one but two fine EPs. Both Trip Into Yesterday and Chase the Light hit their mod marks effortlessly. From the first collection “Doesn’t Matter” stands out as the obvious single with its gorgeous mix of chiming guitars and reverby vocals. Sounding like they’ve time tripped right out of London circa 1966, there’s a touch of Oasis here and there too. From the second EP I could definitely hear Liam belting out “I Don’t Know Where She Goes” and “Chasing Time.” The former track is a pretty majestic romper with killer Rickenbacker lead guitar and winning organ shots. Toronto has a lively guitar rock scene, strongly in evidence on the Motorists LP Touched By the Stuff. You can hear elements of the nineties dissonant poppy rock on album opener “Decider” and “L.O.W.” But at other points you hear the glossy guitar sheen of early 1980s era Cars on tracks like “Barking at the Gates” and “Call Control.” There’s also a touch psych rock here and there, particularly “Forced Perspective” and “Back to the Q.” Single material is definitely “Phone Booth in the Desert of the Mind.” Bit of Jagger in the vocal delivery while the lead guitar just keeps on ringing (in a good way).
So low-key has been the release of the self-titled album from Caddy this year that any hopes it might become a ‘sleeper’ hit have been swapped for a ‘coma’ status. And that is a shame because this is one solid slab of buzzy guitar melodic rock. Obviously Weezer comes to mind just a few seconds into the opening cut “In a Heartbeat” but I’d expand that to include any of those bands that ride the divide between rawk and power pop, like say Redd Kross. By the way, this song is a masterclass in guitar poprock arrangement. The layering of the guitar parts alone expertly shows how to build sonic depth and dynamic tension. All the songs here are pretty consistent, though “Someone Like You” and “25 Ways” change things up in different ways that say should-be strong radio play. Nottingham’s Sharp Class hit you right between the eyes with their message of righteous class anger on Welcome to the Matinee Show (at the End of the World). The title track opens the show and definitely sets the scene for what is to come – a blistering attack on the complacency of our times. Some songs (like “Ivory Tower”) call out the usual superior subjects while others (“He Who Dares …”) underline the unequal starting line in today’s rat race. “Ordinary People” is the obvious single, ringing out with jangly guitars and a testimony of lived working class experience. There are times when the band threatens to become Jam 2.0, as on “Where I’d Rather Be” and “Fly By Night. Not that I’m complaining. On the other hand, “Lights Out” and “Catch My Breath” change things up stylistically in terms of song structure in solid poprock way.
A lot of Slippers sounds pretty twee lofi. Even when the guitars strike a menacing pose as on album opener “XTC 1000” there’s still a spartan quality to the goings on. “Pretend World” has a whole band treatment but the tune is really just vocals and guitar driving its spare yet charming hooks. So begins the band’s debut LP, So You Like the Slippers? Unassuming yet endearing. Though things are just about to break loose. “On the Line” steps up to an Apples in Stereo intensity, both in performance and stylish melodic hooks. Then “Nice Weather” has a groovy pop swing while “Lock You Out” lets the electric guitar climb higher in the mix with a nice shot of melodica. From there it’s lather, rinse and repeat on that winning formula. The Genuine Fakes have moved in reverse order with their series of EPs. Their new The Genuine Fakes Extended Play Vol. 1 is actually the third one to see daylight but it may just be the best one yet. Just four songs long but what a quartet! “Unhand Me” opens with a residual Beatlesque flourish before breaking out its own distinctive brand of powerpop. “Pay It No Mind” has a 1970s poppy AM hit vibe while “Alarming” slows things down to an Odds kind of hooky pitch. “Follow Me Now” starts off with a rougher edge before coming together with an enriched power pop melody in the chorus. Really, I think I’m ready for a whole album of these guys.
Oversight central this fall? Failing to attend to Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men when their most recent album Up and Out of It first came out last October. What was I thinking? It wasn’t like I didn’t have fair warning with great pre-release singles like “Bottle It” and “Mind Reader.” Digging into the whole package now I can attest that this is one solid listening experience. The tone this time out is a bit more restrained, less Bryan Adams, more Chris Collingswood. “Sea Sick” kicks things off with a solid blast of melodic rock and roll lead guitar, all in the service a good hooky tune. But the album also has a host of toned-down melodic wonders like “Long Way Down.” For worthy departures there’s the entrancing “Eyelids”(nice lead guitar opener) and Jersey rock flavoured “On the Ropes.” I was just sorting my 45s a few months back when I ran across my copy of Seattle band The Heats’1980 single “I Don’t Like Your Face.” I kept it all these years because it’s something special. Further proof can be found in the band’s reunion LP this year, simply self-titled The Heats. Definitely party vibe to opening cuts “I Hope You’re Wrong” and “You Know.” Dancing shoes material, for sure. A lot of this record has that eighties guitar crunch I associate with the early Romantics or Tommy Tutone, e.g. “For You” and “Where’s Your Love.” Then again, I would agree with Richard over at Power Pop News that there’s a strong Beatlesque quality to so many tunes here, like “She Belongs With Me” and “As If,” the latter some Costello flavour to the mix. So many great tunes here but I’d single out the Marshall Crenshaw-ish “Heartbroken Past” and AM radio ready should be hit “Never Be the Same.”
I didn’t need to look to know that Jim Nothing comes from Australasia, New Zealand to be exact. There really is something to the musical vibe coming from down-under. The band’s presser names a lot of current acts as influences on the new album Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn but what I hear is Paul Kelly. It’s all over the should-be single “Wildflowers,” a song with an opening so big and bold you just have to know where it goes. This is how you reel them in. Album opener “Hourglass” is pretty striking too with its dissonant guitar work. Then “First Bite” lightens the mood with its rollicking pace. “Easter at RSC” has a more SMWRS aura, a bit spacey and languid. Alternatively the album has a few acoustic numbers like “Can’t Find It Now” that bring Darren Hanlon to mind. And there is jangle from “The Present.” In the ‘how did overlook this?’ file the ever debonair Ward White hit us with his latest Here Come the Dowsers last May. The cover art takes me back to those early 1980s Thomas Dolby records, something so English and Hollywood about them. Musically I hear a melange of David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and Dolby, one where White’s voice is the most distinctive instrument on display. But he has something to say with that instrument too. Rarely do pop artists wield historical and literary references as deftly as White, as in evidence on tracks like “Blimp Street.” Some songs are just great melodic compositions like “Slow Sickness.” Title track “Here Come the Dowsers” aces that sophisticated pop sound I associate with ABC. But my fave here is undoubtedly “Our Town.” It slipped into my running playlist over the summer and has remained there ever since. The song has an air of the Beatlesque channeled through Billy Joel’s piano sensibility.
The opening cut to Polite Company’s LP Please Go Wild almost sounds like a remake of a Schoolhouse Rocks number. Almost. “Circulation” captures a 1970s pop sound that extended from infectious commercials to top 10 singles. I mean, no sooner do we get started than we’re hit with a solid single on “No Time Like Tomorrow.” You’ll be humming this one involuntarily before long. From there the record runs through a host of baroque pop confections that could easily fit on the 1970s Cher variety show or the Midnight Special. Personal fave: “Empty Beach.” It’s got a very Difford and Tilbrook sense of lyrical play.
Poprock Record 