Tags
Aimee Mann, Chris Lund, Daisy House, Daniel Romano, David Myles, Fastball, Freedom Fry, Greg Kihn Band, Los Straightjackets, Max Bouratoglou, Propeller, Richard Turgeon, Robyn Gibson, Soccer Mommy, Terry Malts, The Front Bottoms, The Molochs, The Mylars, The Primitives, The Rallies, The Strypes, Together Pangea, Tommy and the Rockets, Wiretree
What were the biggest hits that weren’t in 2017? Who were the biggest should-be stars? In our alternate universe here at Poprock Record, these guys were all over the charts, the chat shows, the scandal sheets, as well as memed all over Facebook, Snapchatted by the kids, and Instragrammed into oblivion. Jesus, they were so popular you are well and truly sick of them by now. But sadly for our poprock heroes, the universe is not just ours to define. In the world beyond our little blog, they could all use another plug.
First, a few ground rules. The choices are drawn from the pool of songs I featured or found in 2017 and were released in that year. This is not a ‘best of’ list. This blog does not have the kind of coverage that would allow for such ‘omniscient view’ judgments. I cover things as they crawl past my attention, which means as often as not I’m featuring tunes I missed from 1994 as terribly exciting and ‘new’ to me. Nor is inclusion here a knock on the acts I’ve covered but not included. If I put them up on the site, I like’em. But there is something about this collection of tunes that lingers, sticks in my mind, and has the staying power I associate with classic 1970s AM radio hit singles. And we’re offering a ‘two-four’ of hits because, well, we are Canadian. The hyperlinks on the artist name take you to the original post and the featured songs.
So here we go – our annual list of Poprock Record’s Should-Be Hit Singles of 2017:
- Daisy House “Languages” / “Leaving the Star Girl”
- The Rallies “Don’t Give Up”
- Aimee Mann “Patient Zero”
- Fastball “Just Another Dream”
- Los Straightjackets “Rollers Show”
- Terry Malts “It’s Not Me”
- Wiretree “J.F. Sebastian”
- The Front Bottoms “Peace Sign”
- The Molochs “No More Cryin’”
- The Primitives “I’ll Trust the Wind”
- Tommy and the Rockets “Hey Daisy”
- Soccer Mommy “Out Worn”
- Robyn Gibson “He Doesn’t Love You Like I Do”
- Greg Kihn Band “The Life I Got”
- Max Bouratoglou “Drum”
- Richard Turgeon “Bad Seed”
- Freedom Fry “Strange Attraction”
- Daniel Romano “When I Learned Your Name”
- David Myles “I Wouldn’t Dance”
- Chris Lund “Tell Me”
- The Strypes “Grin and Bear It”
- Together Pangea “Money On It” / “Better Find Out”
- Propeller “Summer Arrives”
- The Mylars “Forever Done”
Daisy House dominated my playlist this year, both their current record and their back catalogue. They channel the 1960s but never let it wholly define them. They have two amazing singers and one fabulously talented songwriter. They deserve all the accolades the internet can hand out. If this were 1970 they’d probably be headlining The Flip Wilson Show tonight. The Rallies were an accidental discovery that turned into an obsession. Their whole album is great but “Don’t Give Up” makes my heart twinge every time. Aimee Mann and Fastball ably demonstrated this year that veterans can still turn out fantastic, career-defining albums. And I got to see both of them live! Los Straightjackets did Nick Lowe proud, producing a phenomenal tribute to his body of work. “Rollers Show” was my go-to summertime happy tune.
I won’t review every selection from the two-four, but I will say that I think the mix of poprock I feature on the blog is evident here. There’s fast and slow, country and rock, guitars and keyboards, etc. And then there’s always the hooks. Case in point: check out the 42 second mark on Greg Kihn’s “The Life I Got.” If you don’t feel the excitement he creates with some classic poprock guitar arpeggiation and the subtle vocal hook you’re kinda missing what we’re doing here. Here’s hoping 2018 is as hit single worthy as this past year has been!
I am going to sneak in an honourable mention for what I consider the compilation of year: Songs. Bond Songs: The Music of 007. This Curry Cuts collection has so many gems, working with material that is frankly hard to redefine. Standout tracks for me include Lannie Flower’s amazing reworking of “The James Bond Theme,” Freedy Johnston’s beautifully spare rendition of “For Your Eyes Only,” Jay Gonzalez’s nicely understated take on “A View to Kill,” and Big Box Store’s wonderfully retooled version of “Die Another Day.”
As always, let me make a plea to support the artists so we can continue to enjoy all this great music. In a way, we are living through a melodic guitar-based music renaissance, in part due to the breakdown of the old commercial music industrial complex. But what is replacing that old system is not clear, particularly the ‘making a living from music’ side of things. Visit the artist sites, go to the shows, buy the records – and repeat.
Propeller blasted into 2016 with their terrific Ramones-inflected romp, “Turn On the Radio.” Now they ‘re back with another slab of hooky 1960s and New Wave inspired tunes on their just released Don’t Ever Let This Let You Down. The record kicks off with album’s clear hit single, “Summer Arrives.” A great atmospheric opening (that reminds me of Porter Block) gives way to a yearning and sweet melodic ode to the beach season that wouldn’t be out of place on any mid-period Teenage Fanclub album. Another really catchy number is “We’re Better Than Nothing” with its alluring lead guitar work. “Little Unsteady” has the ‘ahhs’ and jangly lead guitar lines of a great Primitives or Sugar deep album cut. “Girl I Know” has a wonderful confessional Replacements quality. Meanwhile “Days Collide” is like someone took an Everly Brothers’ track and ran it through a garage rock filter, the basic magic is there but tweaked with some raw guitar amplifier voltage. The basic point I’m making here should be clear – this whole record is a solid poprock workout, one that bears repeated listening.
Virginia native and L.A. transplant David Brookings cut his teeth on the classics of the poprock. His sound melds the Beatles with the 1970s Beatles-influenced bands like ELO and Badfinger. His previous six albums channel these influences in a catchy DIY sort of way, with great album covers evoking the spirit of the 1960s, and some standout tracks like “Obsessed,” “Dead Battery,” and “If I Don’t Make it Back.” But his latest longplayer, David Brookings and the Average Lookings, represents a career peak, with his finest songs and most impressive performances. “Hearts” is a solid single, featuring an impressive layering of sonic effects in terms of instruments and vocals. I thought it was far and away the obvious track to feature from the album, but the more I listened to “Time to Go” I wasn’t so sure. So they both appear here. Honourable mention to the very catchy “Place We Can Go.”
The arrangements on this Gordy Garris Group album are so subtle, meant to complement and enrich what could essentially be a record of acoustic singer/songwriter tunes. For instance, “Nightfall” starts with a nice acoustic guitar finger roll, which is quickly augmented by a low impact organ undercurrent, and eventually joined by the full band and some nice ‘oohs’ background vocals. 
This unabashed love single to the Ramones by Propeller works at so many levels. It manages to be so Ramones without being just a derivative knock off of that band while also being a solid tune on its own merits. “Turn on the Radio” is featured on Propeller’s latest album, Fall Off the World, which features a cover that is a spot-on reincarnation of the many K-Tel compilation albums (that certainly did not feature the Ramones!) from the 1970s. Other strong tracks include “Wish I Had her Picture,” “She’s So Alive,” and “Can’t Feel These Things.”
Montreal’s Maybelleen have got a unique sound, a blend of 1960s musical motifs (great signature vintage guitars, harmony vocals) with various 1980s synth keyboards, a mix that defies easy categorization. “Bring to Light” is from their debut EP, Gold in Your Hands, a collection of very professional sounding demos. Their first official EP Stereotypes has refined the vocal sound with songs that continue to riff on and develop their hybrid 1960s/1980s sound with the catchy title track,“Models on TV,” and particularly on “To Know Me Better Now.” Their most recent EP In My World has brought the guitars up front and tweaked the vocals to create a more conventional (but still great) poprock sound, as is showcased in “When I’m Right.”
Sometimes a band says, “ya, we’re from Australia” with every line they sing. Perth’s Verge Collection ooze Australia, from their charmingly accented singing to the various Australianisms littered throughout their songs. “Our Place” is a swinging bit of fun that makes you want to hit replay as soon as it ends, with some languid sounding lead guitar and a subtle bed of organ anchoring the song. The single’s B-side “Feel Bad Songs” is also great.
Austin, Texas has so much great music going on, including The Blurries, who kick off their 2011 record Paper Cuts with a track that bolts out of the gate and doesn’t stop. “Little Marie” is driven by a combination of acoustic and electric guitar, with the acoustic anchoring the song and the electric providing its propulsive tension. You can watch the band perform a version of the song for the podcast 