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Tag Archives: Nuevos Hobbies

Around the dial: Nuevos Hobbies, The Lodger, The Stan Laurels, and Mason Summit

06 Saturday Mar 2021

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Around the Dial

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Cul-De-Sac of Love, Mason Summit, Monstruso, Negative Space, Nuevos Hobbies, The Lodger, The Stan Laurels, There is No Light Without Dark

March brings the promise of a bit more musical sun on our blog horizon. Today’s post gathers new tunes from Madrid, west Yorkshire, Austin and L.A., all featuring big and bold hooks. Get set for some audio sunshine!

Last December I was all over Nuevos Hobbies’ single “No puedo esperar” and the song ultimately made my should-be hit singles list for 2020. Now the accompanying album is out and it is just as exciting. Monstruso, or Monsters, is a dynamite collection of jangle-infused melodic should-be hits. The title track ambles along with the breezy, carefree abandon of sixties acts like The Cykle or eighties pop groups like The Housemartins. I don’t want to generalize but there’s something distinctive about Spanish poprock acts, a particularly smooth vocal style that you hear on “Sentado en la esquina de tu cama.” Of course, at other times the album vibes Teenage Fanclub pretty strongly, as on “El viento.” On the whole, the record has a strong consistency, with a few departures like “De mayor” with its more jaunty feel and stand out guitar work. And then there’s my vote for the follow up single, the stunning “Cara limpia.” The lead guitar hook just sings! As an album, Monstruso is a monstrously delightful experience, maxing out on pleasant melodies and enough trebly guitars for everyone.

After taking a decade off West Yorkshire’s The Lodger are back with Cul-De-Sac of Love. Time has not dulled the melodic songwriting skill and performance driving this band. The record is a jam packed with intriguing tunes that combine both dissonant and complementary elements. Take the first single, “Dual Lives.” This song and “I’m Over This (Get Over It)” rehabilitate the disco rhythm guitar feel, subordinating it to a different kind of dance song. And yet these two songs are bit of an outlier for me, a departure from the more joyous poppy feel of much else that appears here. Personally I would have led the single releases with “Wasting My Time With You,” a track with a killer hypnotic lead line that reels you in and keeps you there. It might just be me, but there is something so English about the pop sheen all over this record, like the piano-led melody carrying the Paul Weller-ish “Perfect Fit” or the more New Order/Pet Shop Boys-ish “Stop That Girl.” And then there’s the interesting rhythm guitar and inventive chorus hooks on the title track, capped with an addictive droning guitar break and a glorious wall-of-sound finish. I could go on calling out each song’s unique merits but you get the picture. For me, faves include “I Don’t Want to Be It,” the country-ish “My Poor Mind,” and the timeless, manicured English pop sound on “Former Life,” a style that Robyn Gibson has perfected on his Bob of the Pops releases. Suffice to say, Cul-De-Sac of Love is a winning return for The Lodger, well deserving of 37 minutes of your time.

From the cover art to the general tone of the recording, The Stan Laurels’ There is No Light Without Dark is definitely a step into the shadows, a departure for John Lathrop given his usual sunny disposition. There was a bit of advance notice with last summer’s advance single “Lost and Found,” with its combination of somber melody and crunchy lead guitar flourishes. The song’s strong Pugwash vibe is even more apparent cast amongst all these new tunes. Opening cut “Florida Man” sounds like the b-side to the prior single, a bit achingly sad and strikingly tuneful. Other songs have amazing structural architecture, almost Alan Parsonian in their twist and turns, like the bewitching “Of Love, Wine, and Song.” My personal fave is the strummy beautiful “Red Handed Puppet,” a track that matches the mellow tenderness of the lighter side of Fountains of Wayne. Or check out the strong echoes of The Smiths in “On Paper” or The Beatles/ELO influences on “Mo Collins.” The play with light and dark all over this record is a testament to Lathrop’s cinematic approach to creativity, you feel and see the sound as much as hear it. And what I’m seeing is good. Very good.

This was an artist and album I somehow overlooked in 2020. I don’t know how because one listen to Mason Summit’s Negative Space and you know you’re on to something special. The record opens so inauspiciously with some acoustic guitar kicking off “Doomed from the Start” but by the time you’ve hit that brilliant but oh-so-subtle hook in the chorus, a shift worthy of Mark Everett or even an early Elvis Costello, it’s apparent the track is a minor masterpiece. From there Summit juxtaposes a few rockers with some beautiful, acoustic guitar driven tunes. On the rock side, I could have sworn I was listening to Eugene Edwards as “Confidant’ was playing. Both the songwriting style and performance seemed so in sync with Edward’s brilliant LP My Favorite Revolution. And then, just as suddenly, “Asterisk” thrust me into a full blown Elliot Smith experience, with perhaps some backing from Aimee Mann. The acoustic guitar numbers have a spooky, roomy feel, like the ambient “How Does It End?” and beautiful “More to Fear.” Variety? Sure. How about a killer take on a 1960s Bond-esque instrumental? “Point Doom” delivers that. Or perhaps a more Squeeze take on songwriting with the title track, “Negative Space.” Don’t let the title fool you: Negative Space is definitely something positive.

No static at all, not on today’s post. Nuevos Hobbies, The Lodger, The Stan Laurels, and Mason Summit are coming through clean and ready to (pop) rock.

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

Tags

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.

The single file I

23 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Gallows Birds, Ginger Wildeheart, High Park Society, Jeff Shelton, Neon Bone, Nuevos Hobbies, Richard Snow and the Inlaws, Searching for Sylvia, The Vapors, Ward White

They pile up. The songs I set aside, singles drip-released from forthcoming albums, or just one-off surprises from artists disoriented by our pandemic-isolated world. So the single file is bulging and that can only mean one thing – I’m going to need two installments to clear the backlog! So let’s get things started.

Rotherham’s Searching for Sylvia kicks things off most jauntingly with “SEMA (Sunday Evening Misery Attack)” from their Ice Cream Man Records EP Play That Song. I love its low key jangle and rollicking pop feel. The rest of the EP is no slouch either. The Vapors are often cast as the quintessential new wave one-hit wonder for their 1980 chart-maker “Turning Japanese.” But they returned in 2020 with their first new album in 39 years! Together is a solid piece of work – so many great tracks here. Personally I’m partial to the record’s third single, the haunting “The Girl from the Factory.” Jeff Shelton must be one the hardest working men in indie music show business. The guy has a steady output from his great band The Well Wishers, a host of solo projects on the go, and somehow manages to produce a regular podcast featuring a wide variety of melodic rock and roll. Currently I’m catching up with a neat project he put together with Bradley Skaught of the Bye Bye Blackbirds, with each covering the other’s material. “All Our Days” is a song from Skaught’s recent band release, Boxer at Rest, and Shelton gives it his signature treatment, sibilant guitars and Matthew Sweet vocals that really bring out the song’s hooks. Ward White’s Leonard at the Audit has a Roxy Music sheen, cut with an Al Stewart lyricism. Not surprisingly then, the record has a strong 1970s aura, a poppy singer songwriter contribution with subtle unexpected hooks all over. White loves to riff popular culture as evidence on “Edmund Fitzgerald is a Wreck” an ear catching slew of period references. Toronto’s High Park Society are clearly vibing The Smiths with “On Your Mind” and that’s Ok by me. From the horn section to the confessional vocals, the tune trips along in a most pleasant way.

The Vapors – The Girl from the Factory

Richard Snow and the Inlaws offer up nice bit of addictive pop with “System Out of Date.” I love the hooky guitar bit that precedes most verses and the nice low-key jangle cushioning the rest of the song. Snow offers up a nice acoustic version of the song as well as a b-side. Ginger Wildheart is another seeming melodic workaholic, with so many strong releases. “I Love You So Much I’m Leaving” is from his late 2020 album The Pessimist’s Companion and it’s a lovely, breezy bit of poprock with just a hint of country pedal steel touches. So much of the Gallows Birds new record Quaranteenage Kicks comes off like a Beach Boys biker gang, the striped shirts are ripped and filthy and there’s no way your sister is hitting the beach with these guys. But on “I’m So Unhappy for You” the organ is peppy and the guitars are so Romantics-1980-clashy that I’m thinking one dance won’t hurt. Seriously, this song and the whole album are irrepressibly fun and highly danceable. Nuevos Hobbies hail from Pamplona, Spain and they are exemplars of that special Spanish brand of power pop. “No Puedo Esperar” is the title track from their soon-to-be released new album and it’s a fab cocktail of sparkly guitars and heavenly vocals. Can’t wait to hear more from these guys! Münster, Germany’s Neon Bone do a Me First and the Gimme Gimmes thing in their back catalogue, covering “Bad to Me” and “Sukiyaki” among others. But elsewhere they write their own 1960s-cum-1990 pop punk tunes that exude a rough but winning charm. From their recent long player Make It Last I’m pulling a double A sided single featuring “I Got a Friend” and “Girl You Should Know.” Both tracks could easily be Merseybeat-en up but they work in this pop punk vein too.

So many great songs – click on the artist names to follow up on the ones that tickle your fancy. As for me, I’ll keep filing. There are plenty more singles that need featuring, coming soon.

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Recent Posts

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