Tag Archives: Nicholas Altobelli

Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2021

08 Saturday Jan 2022

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In our social media-saturated universe it seems that your 15 minutes of fame has been reduced to just 15 seconds. Who going to give up the time to listen to a whole album, let alone gaze longingly at the cover (like we used to do) while it plays? That means today’s albums have really got to have something special going on, like great tunes, engaging styles, and hooks that seem to improve with repeated listenings. Those are the standards we applied to the 2021 album releases we encountered this past year, resulting in a list of 25 must-have LPs we think you should get to know. But wait, that’s not all. We’ve also helpfully culled the racks for top EPs, covers albums, and long lost albums that finally saw the light of day in 2021. Forget the Columbia House Record Club, we’ve got all the long-players you need and then some. Hyperlinks take you to the original review.

So let’s get the show rolling with Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2021:

1. James Henry Pluck
2. Brent Seavers BS Stands For
3. The Boys with The Perpetual Nervousness Songs from Another Life
4. Lane Steinberg The Invisible Monster
5. Ruen Brothers Ultramodern
6. Aaron Lee Tasjan Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!
7. Greg Townson Off and Running
8. Rich Arithmetic Shiftingears
9. Richie Mayer The Inn of Temporary Happiness
10. Drew Beskin Problematic for the People
11. Rob Ellis Orrall 467 Surf and Gun Club
12. Nicholas Altobelli Technicolor Hearts
13. The Friends of Cesar Romero War Party Favors
14. Steve Robinson Swallowing the Sun
15. The Brothers Steve Dose
16. Lolas All Rise
17. Lo Talker A Comedy of Errors
18. The Armoires Incognito
19. Tommy Ray! Handful of Hits
20. Chris Church Game Dirt
21. Matthew Milia Keego Harbor
22. Henry Chadwick We All Start Again
23. Rich Mattson and the Northstars Skylights
24. Ken Sharp Miniatures
25. Fishboy Waitsgiving

Putting James Henry as my number 1 album choice for 2021 might surprise a few blog watchers but frankly I don’t know why Pluck isn’t topping all the indie charts. Maybe it’s the subdued cover art or perhaps the album just falls between the genre cracks, I don’t know. But if you love those highly listenable 1980s Squeeze or Crowded House albums, this guy is for you. Each song should be stamped ‘earworm warning’ as a positive public health measure. Take it from me, Pluck is a relentless hook machine. 5 stars for sure. Other choices – Brent Seavers, The Brothers Steve, Lolas, Chris Church – are perhaps more predictable. Hey, they’ve delivered before and here they deliver again. Genre-wise, Lane Steinberg and Fishboy undoubtedly raise boundary issues but damn they are fine albums with subtly hooky tunes. And the rest? Well they’re all defined by content that is mucho killer, nada filler.

Next up, Poprock Record’s top five EPs for 2021:

1. Daryl Bean Mr. Strangelove
2. The Blendours Go On Vacation
3. BPM Collective Catastrophe Girl
4. The Cudas Alien Vacation
5. Rumble Strip Let’s Roll

Can’t spare the time for a full album experience? These extended play releases will meet your need for more than a single but not quite a long-player. But fair warning, these concentrated blasts of melodic goodness may leave you wanting for more. They’re that good.

Then, there’s Poprock Record’s top five covers albums for 2021:

1. Richard Turgeon 10 Covers Volume Two
2. Mike Browning Class Act
3. The Speedways Borrowed and Blue
4. The Unswept Power Pop for all the People
5. Spygenius Blow Their Covers

The pandemic moved just about everyone to put out an album of covers. But they’re actually pretty hard to nail, ranging in quality from elevated karoke to the unrecognizable. The trick is to rework the unique creative spark in the song, making it both recognizable and different at the same time. Turgeon’s a master of song reinvention, taking up tunes others wouldn’t dare to try (from the likes of The Monkees, The Mamas and Papas, and the Bryds, among others) and succeeding. Browning applies his own distinctive poprock chops to material from the sixties to the eighties that lets you fall for the classics all over again. Ditto 3, 4, and 5 – they love the songs and it shows.

And finally, Poprock Record’s 5 best long lost albums of 2021:

1. Sorrows Love Too Late … the real album
2. Steve Rosenbaum Have a Cool Summer
3. Bruce Moody Forever Fresh!
4. Doublepluspop Too Loud, Too Fast, Too Much
5. Underwater Sunshine Suckertree

The idea that a band could put all the work into writing, playing and recording an album and then not have it released almost seems like a crime in my book. Numbers 4 and 5 had their work ‘misplaced,’ only to accidently resurface recently and get released. Numbers 2 and 3 were indie artists whose various DIY and professional recordings never got gathered together for a proper release, until the rise of recent niche music markets made it viable. And number 1 is a remarkable story of a band that wouldn’t let their record company/producer’s mangled version of their album stand. So instead they rerecorded it, this time getting it right. That the Sorrows could make their rerecording of Love Too Late sound so 1981 is a testament to their talent and sheer doggedness.

Ok, one last category, Poprock Record’s best ‘best of’ album of 2021:

Dropkick The Best of Dropkick

Sometimes greatest hits collections really hit the mark. The Best of Dropkick is one of them. It’s a comprehensive overview of this great band’s career, packaged with attractive artwork, and at a very nice price.

Well we stretched the 25 album limit but it really was the only way to be fair to all these super LPs and EPs. I think this post demonstrates that while classic era of the album may be over, there’s still lots of tremendous long-playing records out there. If you love them, support them, whether its live or Memorex.

Lego records graphic courtesy art/design student _Regn.

Bah humbug, yeah yeah yeah

10 Friday Dec 2021

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Every year I laud the holiday spirit in tunes. But what about all those people who can’t stand the holidays, or, more specifically, holiday music? Don’t they deserve a special post celebrating their anti-celebration sentiments? If you’re still reading you’ve probably worked out that this year the answer is ‘yes’. Here’s what I’ve discovered so far. Turns out this whole anti-holidays thing has its own genre of music. Yup, they’re a pretty creative bunch of misanthropes too. And just cuz they’re cranky about Christmas doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a downer. So get ready to rock the ‘down with yuletide’ vibe!

I’ve got to start this themed post with Nicholas Altobelli, whose brand new “I Hate Christmas Without U” got me started down this track. He’s giving maximum mellow on this low key Christmas complaint tune. It starts punchy with a great weird organ sound before turning more intimate, ornamented with some nice guitar runs and heavenly background vocals. It’s not in-your-face fist-pumping stuff but there’s a subtle hypnotic allure that keeps me hitting replay.

Altobelli’s contribution is actually emblematic of a distinct sub-genre of holiday complaint music, the ‘I hate holidays because I’m lonely’ song. With these tunes it’s pretty clear that the real issue is not so much the holidays as it is facing them alone. Charly Bliss get to this point rather directly on their thoroughly power pop “It’s Christmas and I Fucking Miss You.” Kris Rogers and the Dirty Gems take a more Americana poprock approach to a similar sentiment on “Can’t Spend Another Christmas (Without You).” Now nobody does holiday ennui better than country artists and drag artist Trixie Mattel captures those mixed feelings on the wonderfully understated, occasionally comic “Christmas Without You.” Braden Blake and the Oh Wells so nail the Grinch musical backdrop in kicking off their “Bittersweet Noel” before shifting to a more Fountains of Wayne hooky ode to loneliness. It’s from a consistently sad sack brand new seasonal EP called Satin Bows (and Arrows) where feeling bad never sounded so good. And then there’s The Mixtapes who don’t seem anti-holidays at all as much as looking for anything to blot out the heartache that is only obliquely referenced on “Broken Hearted Christmas.” So, sure, they sound like they’re really into the season but it’s pretty clear that’s just a dodge.

Trixie Mattel – Christmas Without You

Now we turn to the serious Grinches on the anti-holiday front. These guys have a ‘tude’ and hooks to spare. Starting with Richard Turgeon,“Skippin’ Christmas” gives voice to those exhausted by all the forced festive bonhomie. The track is both hilarious and jangly-melodic in a addictive Brydsian sort of way. I ran across Slow Club when I noticed the multitude of covers of their song “Christmas TV.” But that’s not even the highlight for me from their anti-holidays EP of tunes, appropriately entitled Christmas, Thanks for Nothing. The collection covers off Christmas lonliness, a spirited cover of Darlene Love’s “Christmas, Baby Please Come Home,” a raucous, decidedly unsilent “Silent Night,” and my personal fave “It’s Christmas and You’re Boring Me.” Probably the most unique deferred break-up song in a Christmas setting – and that’s an award category if ever there was one. John Sally Ride member John Dunbar has put together a holiday song from a point of view that seldom gets attention, that of the empty nester with no one left around to buy for. “He Has No One To Buy Gifts For Anymore” has a rather sad theme but is delivered in peppy style, with some cool organ and a very Michael Penn vocal delivery. Brent Seavers has got the holiday blues and just can’t get any Christmas inspiration going. Sure, he’s missing some special someone but it’s more than that. On “It’s Christmas” Seaver works a Lennon-esque tune and sentiment that leaves us wondering where he’s ended up by the end of the song. Maybe he’s found his “blessings all around” but I’m leaving him in the holiday-agnostic camp for now. Joseph Bradshaw draws on a classic American Songbook style for “Santa Claus Can Keep His Bag.” It’s another ‘you ain’t here so I’m pouting about Christmas’ song but Bradshaw does it with such class, it’s worthy of your seasonal appreciation. From his brief but punchy EP Xmas.

Wrapping things up (not literally, we’re against gifts in this post), the record that definitely inspired me to get keep this anti-holidays theme going, Michael M’s brilliant and hilarious EP A Digital Christmas Gift For You. With songs titles like “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Which Directly Contravenes All Social Distancing Guidelines)” and “Baby I’ll Zoom You This Christmas” it would be easy to see the whole affair as just a timely send up. But this record is no joke. The songwriting is strong and hooky, with sudden punky interludes interspersed here and there. Opening cut “Humans Are Not Worth Saving (Merry Christmas)” is a delightful slice of Futureheads discordant pop with a sly dose of stinging social commentary mixed in (click back from track 2 below using the reverse arrow). And the genius bonus cut is the note perfect cover of McCartney’s holiday song, reduced to a single line of its lyrics. Hilarious and oh so cutting.

Well there you have it. Proof you can whistle a merry tune about hating the holidays. It’s your time to shine bah-humbuggers! Support the artists not supporting mandatory holiday cheer by visiting them online (no gifts required, just $).

The ‘Bah Humbug’ banner-post graphic above was designed by Aled Lewis. It can be purchased as Christmas card here.

Around the dial: Tommy Ray, Kiwi jr., Nicholas Altobelli, and The Jack Cades

27 Friday Aug 2021

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Today’s turn around the dial brings some glam rhythm guitar, Dylanesque vocalizing, folky poprock and a 1965 cellar full of noise.

With an opening guitar reminiscent of Greg Kihn or Tommy Tutone and a vocal vibing Phil Seymour, “In Love Again” gets Tommy Ray’s new album Handful of Hits off to an exhilarating start. Follow up “No No No No” seals the deal with a 1980s English guitar band remake of Marc Bolan, kinda like Modern English does glam. Again and the again this record captures that sense of seventies’ fresh punky excitement but with tunes that pack a melodic punch. It’s busting out all over “Loser’s Anthem” with its hooky organ and guitar lines. “If You Need Anything” is a rollicking romp of a dance stomper. Meanwhile “Feel the Pain’ channels that 1970s reinvention of fifties rock and roll to a ‘T’. But my fave tune here is addictive “Runnin’” with its catchy mix of chunky guitar chords and piano shots. This album hits all the classic melodic indie rock marks and then some. Soundtrack your party with this release and let the fun begin.

Cooler Returns is a confident album number 2 from Canadians Kiwi jr. “Tyler” kicks things off, reintroducing the band with a confessional vocal style not unlike Ben Folds. “Undecided Voters” continues to be jangle relevant and just in time for a Canadian federal election. “Maid Marian’s Toast” has a pastoral Dylanesque sound, if he were an eighties indie artist. And that’s just the first three tracks! Stylistically, this is sometimes an album of big choruses – just hear them burst open melodically on  “Highlights of 100” and “Omaha.” Or sometimes it’s more about distinctive rhythm guitar work, as on title track “Cooler Returns” and “Dodger.” And then there’s the occasional departure from the script songwriting-wise, like “Nashville Wedding.” I can hear the girl group double claps in my head in the verses as this one rolls out. It’s the kinda thing my 1980s FM radio stations would put in maximum rotation. I’m also really keen on “Waiting in Line.” Again, such a great roll out beginning to the song with its jangle guitar and plinky piano. You can even get a comic book of the record’s illustrated lyrics designed by Toronto illustrator Dmitry Bondarenko. Those Canucks!

I love the artwork on Nicholas Altobelli’s new album Technicolor Hearts. The purples and blues of the fairground at night give it a captivating allure. Sound-wise Altobelli veers out of his usual, carefully crafted, folkish pop lane, more solidly aiming at a contemporary, almost Hall and Oates poprock sound (which I’m loving). On the other hand, there is a very Darryl Hanlon vibe to what is going on here, with that guy’s ever so melodic mediations on sincerity and experience. The former is present in the title track, with those hypnotic keyboards and Springsteen “I’m On Fire” percussion. The latter is there on “Bless Yer Heart” despite the hard rock chorus and “Midnight Radio.” The record also offers up yet another reworking of last year’s stand-alone single “Ghost,” this time with some funky Kraftwork-worthy keyboards. 2016’s “Exit Polls” also gets a new treatment that tones down the guitar in favour of leaning into the vocal melody a bit more, with good effect. In our ‘what about surprises’ category, check out “Time Will Tell” with its Aimee Mann-ish keyboards. On the whole, I declare Technicolor Hearts a delight, an enjoyable accompaniment to your night out at the fair. And, hey, buy it over on Bandcamp and get five demos of songs from the record and a country version of “Time Will Tell” for no extra charge. That’s like getting a free, extra go-round on the roller coaster at the end of the night.

They might be named for an English insurrectionary leader from the 15th century but you won’t need a history class to appreciate The Jack Cades. I mean, not If you like a jangly, mid-1960s San Francisco-meets-swinging London sound, with just a touch of garage band immediacy and excitement. After two killer albums of strong original material the band return with an EP of covers to wile away the pandemic, cheekily entitled Infectious Covers. All four songs are fabulous, though I wish the band had provided a bit more background on some of the more obscure tracks. The Byrds’ “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” is the easy one, while The Dovers breezy, lead guitar line-led 1965 single “What Am I Going To Do” wasn’t too hard to dig up. But “Once Before” and “Go Ahead” left me stumped. Both are super songs, performed with a psychedelic rock feel on the former and a lonely, singer-avec-some gentle jangle on the latter. One thing striking about this band is how they so effectively echo a past era without sounding stuck in it.

Each of today’s artists would love to meet you. Electronically, that is. Check out their websites, Facebook and/or Bandcamp to get the full deets.

Top photo credit: cropped from Nicholas Altobelli’s new album cover for Technicolor Hearts.

Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles of 2020

09 Saturday Jan 2021

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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.

Springtime sound explosion!

14 Thursday May 2020

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Screen Shot 2020-05-14 at 12.04.41 PMThirteen original artists! Twenty featured songs! Springtime 2020 is witnessing an explosion of sounds, curated here specifically to ease your pandemic-induced isolation. It’s not K-Tel, but it’s the next best thing. And the best part? No groove-cramming or adverts for a bogus, non-working record selector. So get ready to add some hooks to your springtime playlists.

Since the early 1980s scribes have routinely dubbed Kyle Vincent’s 19 album body of work ‘soft pop’ but that changes with his new release Whatever It Takes. Well, sort of. There’s still a strong easy listening pop vibe to the album (he’s even written a song that name-checks Gilbert O’Sullivan, so that’s a strong clue) but with former members of the Raspberries for a backing band on some tracks, things rock up a bit in a 1970s soft focus, low wattage power pop way. It’s there on the breezy Shaun Cassidy-esque “Bubblegum Baby” as well as my choice for b-side, “Hard to be Happy,” with its low key ABBA notes. Another incredibly productive fellow is Brian Jay Cline, with 13 albums and 4 EPs out since 2001 by my count. His most recent EP is Songs for a Generation of X’s and it taps that vein of melodic Americana that Cline does so well. I’ve been hitting repeat on the addictive “Two Left Feet” with its great Springsteen harmonica and irresistible hooks. Heading over the Valencia, Spain Baby Scream has a new album of covers out entitled, predictably, Just Covers, and this time everybody’s fave DIY John Lennon definitely colours outside the lines. This is fun collection, with inspired reworkings of Cyndi Lauper, the Psychedelic Furs, 10cc, Culture Club and more! I’m singling out for a double A side the muted yet rollicking “Secret Agent Man” on one side with the tight pop-rocking Fastball track “Warm Fuzzy Feeling” on the other. Back in North America, if anyone doubts that Montreal is Canada’s undisputed cool city, slip Pale Lips 2020 LP After Dark on the turntable. Self-described ‘dripping mascara slopped rock and roll with sprinkles,’ the party vibe is evident from the opening chords of “Some Sort of Rock and Roll,” the album opener. Overall, the songs are variations on a 1950s-meets-1970s workout, except for “That Old Ghost Don’t Lie” which changes things up, slowing the tempo, and anchoring everything with a spooky lead guitar. B-side? Definitely the hilarious romp “All My Baby Brought Back Was the Blues” – such great lyrics!

Kyle Vincent – Bubblegum BabyKyle Vincent – Hard to be Happy

If anyone has written an anthem for our times, it’s Dolph Chaney. “It’s Ok” (from his recent Rebuilding Permit) was written before our current state of affairs but its message definitely resonates now. Well, frankly, it’s always a pretty relevant message. And Dolph loads it with a host of nice melodic twists and turns, shifting the song’s dynamics like a hooky mood swing. Also love the distinctive synth solo at the 1:50 mark! Bill Majoros describes his new Foreign Films record Ocean Moon ‘retro-futurism, musical technicolor and groovy beats’ and I’d have to agree. It’s certainly a departure from his previous 2018 set, The Record Collector, a sprawling, 3-album stylistically varied offering. Now Majoros turns to a somewhat familiar, pleasantly throwback sound circa early 1980s. I’m particularly enthused about the title track “Ocean Moon” with its breathy Elvis Costello-meets-Roy Oribison vocals and Travelling Wilburys rhythm guitar. Another new single echoing some classic EC to my ears is the latest from former Cry! Leader Tommy Ray. The new LP is First Hits Free and check out the catchy lead line and brash guitar driving “Hey Susanne.” The dance floor never looked so alluring. For a b-side to this single, I’d add “Tuesday’s Girl” with its mid-1980s British energy and familiar vocal snarl. Honourable mention: “Gone South” – love that organ opener! Chicago’s Beach Bunny are doing that contemporary dissonant pop sound with a bit of vocal grit in the mix all over their debut record, Honeymoon. Personally, I’m loving the deep cut single, “Cloud 9” with its hooky bass line and rocking-out swinging chorus. I could see “Ms. California” as the b-side with its almost FOW-style chorus and crunch rhythm guitar. On this record, feeling bad never felt so good.

Speaking of alienation, there are times when West Virginia’s Rozwell Kid sound like they’re channeling some serious Weezer love, like on “Letterman” from their new Dreamboats 2 album. But then they shift gears and up the pop quotient on the obvious single, “Absolutely.” You can’t pin these guys down, other than to find the fun in what they do. The LP is celebration of pop culture, with tunes celebrating David Letterman, Dr. Doom, a possible fourth sequel to Back to the Future, and even an Enya cover! Now if you need a driving insistent guitar/synth combo, have I got a song for you. Nicholas Altobelli picks up the pace from 2019’s more low key Vertigo LP with his new single, “Ghost.” This is the distinctive melodic rock and roll that drew me to Antobelli releases like the great EP The Day-Olds and single “Exit Polls.” B-side “Wonder” is also a winner, with its charming, light 1950s ambience. Now, for a bit of Merseybeat, look no further than Tommy Sistak. Music for Sale is the new record and “On My Way to Somewhere” manages to work in that familiar Liverpool 1964 sound without sounding derivative. Like visiting an old friend who still has a few surprises in store for you. Speaking of old friends, people waiting for a follow up to Ed Ryan’s super 2017 Furious Mind have something to tide them over given his recent collaboration with Orbis Max on “Everybody Wonders.” The song is a solid slice of poprock, featuring some cool organ solos and nice vocal interplay. The song bodes well for new album of Ed Ryan tunes!

Hey, let’s end on with a guaranteed ear worm. I know I name-drop Fountains of Wayne a lot but Steven Wright-Mark sounds like he’s channeling a lost deep cut from Welcome Interstate Managers with “Underground,” from his recent EP Wake Up! If I had a Poprock Record chart this one would definitely be zooming up it. The vocal delivery, the background instrumentation with that seductive Gotye feel, it all adds up to ‘hit single’ to me.

Whew! That was a lot of should-be hit-single ground to cover. But health crisis or no, the chords must play. Assemble your own bargain hits collection by clicking links above. Looking for vinyl? You can the physical platter for many of these artists at Kool Kat Music.

Shopping the blogroll: Absolute Poprock

18 Monday Feb 2019

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Screen Shot 2019-02-18 at 6.35.59 PMBack in the eighties my day off usually involved doing a circuit of downtown Vancouver record stores, new and used. Ah, the excitement of new finds! Fast forward to the new millennium and the blogs on my blogroll have largely replaced physical record stores as the places to discover great new tunes. Their year-end, best-of lists are particularly helpful in filling in any great artists I’ve missed (and I miss a lot!). This year I got a lot of great tips from one of the leading powerpop blogs: Absolute Powerpop. He’s not the most prolific blogger – posts tend to come in quarterly installments these days – but what goes up is pretty pure on the quality side of things. Thus today’s tribute, my Absolute Poprock distillation of his site’s influence.

Dutch band Afterpartees have an easygoing, almost slacker rock and roll sound evident on songs like “Call Out Your Name” with it’s addictive background lead line but they can also turn on a more urgent and uptempo rock vibe as showcased on “Ultimate Warriers.” But I think like “Easy Money” from the Life is Easy album best with its swinging sense of fun. Shifting to the UK Amoeba Teen have been at it a long, long time, and it shows in the quality songcraft featured on the compilation album, Selection Box Vol. 1. So much to love here but I’m grooving pretty hard on “Under Your Skin” with its dreamy Teenage Fanclub aura. Over now to the American west coast where Van William melds that warm California sound with some Alaskan cool (being a native of both locales) nicely captured on his wonderful duet with Sweden’s First Aid Kit, “Revolution.” But it’s also there on the more folky “Cosmic Sign,” a song I initially mistook for a new Family of the Year single, it’s so reminiscent of that band’s signature crisp acoustic guitar and lush vocal harmonies. Back to the UK with Alfa 9, a band that won’t be rushed. They seem to put out a new album every 6 years. But if last year’s My Sweet Movida is anything to go by, they are more than worth the wait. I love the almost title track “Movida” with it’s strong Ennio Morricone-isms, i.e. a strong western electric guitar twang and that moody whistling. But the standout single has to be the Byrdsian “Different Corner” with it’s killer jangle and harmony vocal-stoked hooks.

Alfa 9 – Different Corner

For something a bit different, check out the psych rock sound of Painted Doll. “Together Alone” kicks off like the bastard child of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and never looks back. By contrast, Nicholas Altobelli is all sweetness on his EP The Day-Olds, particularly on tracks like “Everybody Knows the Truth” and “Waiting on the Stars.” But I find myself drawn to the dorky delight that is “Why Can’t You Love Me Love Like You Used To?” where Alotobelli appears to be channeling Ben Vaughn’s deadpan delivery. Now if you want a solid album purchase dial up Brett Newski’s Life Upside Down. This baby is chock full of tasty should-be hits, showcased nicely on the album’s featured single and video, “Ride.” But I’ve chosen “The Afternoons” as your must-hear track. The opening guitar lines leap out, setting the pace for a rollicking bit of what used to be pure AM radio hit playlist material. Time for a bit of melodic yearning and I was impressed with Grace Basement’s serious yearn factor on their recent LP Missippi Nights. To back that up, I’ve cobbled my own double A-sided single with two tracks from the album, the majestic “Summertime is Coming” with the Springteen-esque “Standing on the Corner.” Last up on blog-as-store tribure is Tad Overbaugh, whose “Open Road and Blue Sky” is a Tom Petty-infused bit of wonderful, from his three song EP Demons in the Dust. Just three songs? We need a whole album of this.

The man behind Absolute Powerpop has exquisite taste. Hop over to his site and dig into his back catalogue of quality posts. And click on the artists above to go their internet locales to find out about new releases and tours coming near your town.

Campaigning for hooks: Vote poprock!

22 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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screen shot 2019-01-22 at 5.02.06 pmThere’s no immediate election on the horizon but that doesn’t mean we can’t mount the hustings in search of ever greater popular support for poprock! Over the years, our promises have remained the same and we’ve delivered: chiming guitars, heavenly harmonies, seductive melodies, and irresistible hooks. I promise you this: today’s post sees our poprockers taking up political themes but never at the expense of a great song.

The dBs Chris Stamey and Yo La Tengo get things started with their brief PSA for the 2004 US Presidential election, “V.O.T.E (Public Service Announcement).” It’s a pleasant bit of Beach Boys-inspired, voting encouragement but it’s over way too soon! Denton, Texas’s The Hope Trust get a nice melodic lurch going with “Campaign Button,” a song that raises the question of just who is working for whom in this whole political arrangement. Shifting to Dallas (what is it with all this Texas political poprock?) Nicholas Altobelli cranks up the melody and some great jaunty lead guitar on “Exit Polls.” Dennis Meehan aka Clovis Roblaine is that classic rock and roll story – guy puts out his own crazy fun Buddy Holly-esque album in 1979, then waits 35 years to put out his second! Appropriately titled Geezer, the album is a tribute to crusty old guys everywhere. “Insane Clown Party” talks up a familiar sounding party from the US, now headed by a guy with orange hair. Nuff said. Now there can’t be a political moment without at least some revolutionary declaration. Luckily Jimmy Haber has arrived with his Beatlesque, acoustic-driven poprocker, “We Should Start a Revolution.” Seattle’s Tacocat do a hilarious send up of all-too-serious trust fund anarchists on “This is Anarchy.” Finally rounding things out is everyone’s fave agit-poprockers, Chumbawamba. After getting knocked down and getting back up again more than a few times, the band declared defeat on their 2014 release, The Boy Bands Have Won. Seriously though, “Sing About Love” laments the fact that the band do not get to sing about love because there are just too many political songs that still need to be sung. In blissful harmony.

Clovis Roblaine – The Insane Clown PartyTacocat – This is AnarchyChumbawamba – Sing About Love

Campaigns needs money, even ones that just need new guitar strings. Vote your faves by clicking on the band names and buying in to what they’re selling.