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.
I’m not really an album guy. Particularly now in our ‘download-any-song-you-want-era’. I grew up on compilation albums and AM radio. It was all singles, singles singles: a new sound every three minutes. A whole album is just a vinyl horizon for my needle dropping. But I have to say this year I got hooked on more than a few long players. What grabbed me? I could say it was the songwriting, a coherent sonic palette, the performative ingenuity, etc. But hey, who am I kidding? It was mostly the hooks. Fair warning: there is considerable overlap of artists here with my should-be hit singles list (duh) but not entirely. Bottom line: you won’t go wrong putting your cash down on these LPs in toto.
Edging out Daisy House’s fantastic Bon Voyage by a hair, my number one album for 2018 is Aaron Lee Tasjan’s Karma for Cheap. The more I listened to this record, the more I loved the songs and the performances. There is something extraordinary in just how Tasjan combines his elements. He’s got rumbly guitar, he’s got jangly guitar. His vocals run the gamut from Tom Petty-solid to Roy Orbison-aching tenderness. There’s not a weak cut here, but pay special attention to subtle hooky vocal interplay on “Heart Slows Down,” or the driving guitar hook behind “End of the Day,” or the touching “Dream Dreamer.” You won’t steer wrong with his back catalogue either, particularly 2016’s Silver Tears! There is so much I could say about all 20 albums but frankly the music speaks for itself. Click the links to go directly to the band’s bandcamp, Facebook or webpages.
One final word: I had to single out Super 8’s stupendous triple album accomplishment this year for special attention. After a two-decade career in rock and roll that can only be described as cinematic in its litany of seeming breakthroughs, bad luck, record company shenanigans and some bandmate’s bad faith, these albums are a vindication of his resolve to stick with music. Each record is finely crafted portrait of late 1960s summertime sunshine poprock. Your time machine back to 1968 is ready for boarding! Just hit play.
A new feature of sorts, a tribute to the almighty single! In this age of catastrophic change in music consumption the single is back as a way of teasing interest in an artist and their new releases. It is now fairly conventional for artists to release a single well ahead of the album. Take this first round of singles – all precede their designated albums by many months. And, frankly, I can’t wait around to feature these talents!
Time it was that I waited on every Elvis Costello release like the second coming of rock and roll’s savior. And then post-Spike, I got a bit more choosy. I mean, I totally support artists going beyond whatever they’ve done in the past and Elvis clearly had many more roads left to explore. They just weren’t always my thing. But like every George Jones record, there’s seldom lacking at least one truly great cut on any given EC album. It looks like Costello’s to-be-released new album will be no exception. “Unwanted Number” is a pre-release cut from Look Now and it’s a winner. Think Imperial Bedroom meets Painted From Memory. The piano and songwriting are reminiscent of the songs from that great Costello keyboard period stretching from Imperial Bedroom through Punch the Clock and Goodbye Cruel World. Meanwhile the bridge captures the feel of the work he did with Burt Bacharach on songs like “Toledo.”
Next up is the criminally under-appreciated Paul Collins, veteran of so many great acts like the Nerves, the Breakaways, and, of course, the Paul Collins Beat. What is striking about Collins is the quality of his songwriting output over a four-decade period. His new single shows he’s still got it. “In and Out of My Head” is the pre-release single from his upcoming album, Out of My Head. The rumbly guitar is wonderfully retro yet freshly deployed on a tune that sounds like it belongs on a Roy Orbison album.
Described as “Califorian pop from sunny Utrech, the Netherlands” on their website, The Maureens have a keen ear for a melodic blend of country folk and poprock sounds. 2015’s Bang the Drum was a solid release, oozing hooks and harmonies. Now they’ve released “20 Years for the Company” from the to-be-released Something in the Air and it’s a blast of harmony-drenched goodness. Speaking to the economic insecurity of times, the song nonetheless gives off a positive vibe with it’s captivating mix of male and female vocals.
