Who needs black Friday and interminably long line-ups when you can just hit ‘buy track’ from the comfort of your own electronic device? Doing some e-music shopping today instead would be my advice. And, luckily for you, Day 5 of our solid-week-of-singles event ends today with a strong set of poprock suggestions to go musically shopping for. Swiss producer David Langhard is the force behind Howlong Wolf and our featured song “You Made It (Into This Song)” from their latest album Norwegians Can’t Refuse. I love the muscular slickness of the production here. Back when AM radio used to both reflect and influence popular tastes, this is just the sort of polished poprock that ruled (and rightly so). New Jersey’s Joe Normal and the Anytown’rs are slick too, but in a different way. Their killer single “Don’t Hurt Me” exudes classic rock and roll radio, with a nice melodic undercurrent. In that brief time when the FM dial was the new rock trendsetter in the 1980s, this baby is just the sort of thing that blasted out of cars all over town. Jordan Jones’ album is titled Self-Titled and it’s being written up across the powerpop blogosphere but what is interesting to me is how everybody seems to choose different tunes to focus on. Personally, I’m loving “Waiting” with its 1960s-meets-1980s hooky sound and distinctive guitar ring. We here at Poprock Record loved Propeller’s 2017 LP Don’t Ever Let This Let You Down. Now they’re back with a neat EP entitled Three Steps to Better Listening and it’s not false advertising. “There Goes a Day” has a big shimmery guitar sound and layered vocals reminiscent of The Mighty Lemon Drops or Matthew Sweet or The Primitives. Is this a prelude to a new album? Yes please! Another highly anticipated release for this blog is anything by Portland’s wonderful music eccentric Mo Troper. We gushed over his stunning 2017 LP Exposure and Response and gasped when the Bond franchise didn’t snap up his should-be Bond theme “Never Dream of Dying.” Now he’s back with a pre-release single from his forthcoming 2020 album Natural Beauty and it’s another winner. “Jas from Australia” is a sneaky piece of pop goodness, slightly jarring but ultimately ear-wormy in its effects upon repeated listenings.
What if Howlong Wolf, Joe Normal, Jordan Jones, Propeller and Mo Troper were like Scrooge McDuck, diving in the e-dividends of their black Friday receipts? What an image. Click the links – make it so!
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.
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: 
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 