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Poprock Records’ 25 must-have LPs for 2020

18 Monday Jan 2021

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bad Moves, Blitzen Trapper, Chris Church, Dave Kuchler, Ed Ryan, El Goodo, Gary Ritchie, Geoff Palmer and Lucy Ellis, Gregory Pepper and his Problems, Jim Shorts, John Dunbar, Juniper, Mo Troper, Mom, Nick Pipitone, Nite Sobs, Peggy Sue, Richard Turgeon, The August Teens, The Happy Fits, The Rockyts, The Speedways, The Vapour Trails, The Yum Yums, Vanilla

I know, you’re too busy to scour the racks for great singles. If only you could find some great albums to kick back with? Something to slip on the old record player and enjoy with a cool drink. Well here at Poprock Record we feel your pain. So we’ve assembled the crack team you see above to vet the very best LPs from throughout the year that was 2020. The kids may be a tad young for martinis but do not doubt their vinyl erudition and exquisite taste. From more than a hundred possibilities they’ve whittled things down to an essential 25 albums that you must possess to say you’ve really experienced the past twelve months of melodic music. Fill your K-Tel Record Selector with these super fantastic long players!

So, let’s get to it – Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2020:

1. Gregory Pepper and His Problems I Know Why You Cry
2. The Happy Fits What Could Be Better
3. Nite Sobs Do the Sob!
4. Mo Troper Natural Beauty
5. Mom Pleasure Island
6. The Rockyts Come On and Dance
7. Peggy Sue Vices
8. Chris Church Backwards Compatible
9. Richard Turgeon Sea Change
10. Juniper Juniper
11. Dave Kuchler It’s Pronounced …
12. The Vapour Trails Golden Sunshine
13. El Goodo Zombie
14. Geoff Palmer and Lucy Ellis Your Face is Weird
15. Vanilla Limerance
16. Bad Moves Untenable
17. Blitzen Trapper Holy Smokes Future Jokes
18. The August Teens I’m Selfish and So Is My Cat
19. Jim Shorts Late to the Feast
20. John Dunbar Oh Wellness
21. Gary Ritchie Head on a Swivel
22. Ed Ryan Even Time
23. The Yum Yums For Those About to Pop!
24. Nick Pipitone Thiensville
25. The Speedways Radio Days

Gregory Pepper dominated my listening for 2020 with his outrageously good I Know Why You Cry. The album was his own specially curated re-recordings of tracks originally composed during his year long Song-of-the-Week extravaganza. There’s whimsy, there’s pathos, there’s references to Enya. It’s the kind of poprock that makes my heart burst, a never-fail mood improver. Coming up second this year was the kick-ass second album from The Happy Fits, What Could Be Better. Other than Pepper, I’m hard pressed to suggest anything. This whole album is a killer production that puts the cello at the centre of melodic rock and roll (where it belongs). Here are songs and performances that inspire descriptions like ‘thrilling’ and ‘exciting’. And then there’s the extreme hooky pleasantness of Nite Sobs throughout Do The Sob! An impressive head-bopping good time. And so on. All the records here really pay dividends via repeated listens so carve out some time to enjoy them. The great lost art of an album-long musical vision lives on with these 25 selections.

Next up, Poprock Record’s top five EPs for 2020:

1. Gregory Pepper Under a Heather Moon
2. David Woodard Grand Scheme of Things
3. Danny McDonald Modern Architecture
4. Brad Marino False Alarm
5. Aaron Lee Tasjan Found Songs Vol. 1

What?! Another Pepper selection topping the chart. Fear not dear reader, our completely unscientific selection process has not erred here. Hey, I just really like Pepper’s stuff. And he is crazy talented, as is obvious from this stylistically varied and pumped up collection of song snippets, 10 in all amounting to just 15 minutes of music. But what a ride. I mean, just check out the brilliant 17 second track, “Do Sports.” I want more! These other EPs are pretty special too and fabulous for those times when you can barely sit down and squeeze in a quick sherry.

And let’s not forget, Poprock Record’s best compilations for 2020:

1. Garden of Earthly Delights: An XTC Celebration
2. Wild Honey Records: The Benefit of Things to Come
3. John Wicks: For the Record

2020 tried our patience but, glass half full, it did provide a bit of downtime. That allowed for a lot more album listening than normal and what a treat that turned out to be. And given the impact of 2020 on live music, artists need albums sales more than ever. So let the rewards flow freely from your e-wallet to theirs.

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

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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.

Breaking news: The Vapour Trails, Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men, Bill Lloyd, Richard Turgeon and Ed Ryan

22 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Breaking News

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Bill Lloyd, Don't Kill the Messenger, Downtime, Ed Ryan, Even Time, Golden Sunshine, Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men, Richard Turgeon, Sea Change, The Vapour Trails

Screen Shot 2020-06-22 at 3.21.25 PMWith records that are all hot off the digital presses, this is definitely a timely episode of breaking news. And the anticipation is high for these five artists because they regularly hit it out of the poprock park. Have they done it again? Spoiler – get ready for some jangling good times.

Scottish jangle stalwarts The Vapour Trails wrap their new album Golden Sunshine in sixties pop psychedelia and the results are out of this world. The opening title track rides that fine line between melodic tripping and more free-form musical extemporization. The sound is a new sonic frontier for the band, melding sixties influences with 1980s reinventions of those themes from bands like The Stone Roses and even mid-period Grapes of Wrath. This carries on with “Dr. Barnes” which offers up a hooky sitar-like rumination on the traditional psychedelic sound. But the band doesn’t push the theme too far, returning to more familiar jangle pop on “Lonely Man” and “Why Wonder Why?” Then there’s the magnificent “Behind You” with its stunning “Day Tripper” like lead line. Nobody throws down 1965 lead guitar work quite like this band – I mean, just wait for the sprightly lead guitar instrumental break – heaven! This song alone is worth the price of admission. Other ear candy moments include acoustic guitar-driven “This May Be the Time,” with its distinctive drum feel and lovely harmonies, and beautiful, understated “Seabird.” With The Vapour Trails you might come for the jangle but you’ll stay because they offer so much more. This is a band that has yet to reach its musical summit and I’m loving the ride.

You only need to hear about ten seconds of the guitar hook kicking off album opener “Upper Hand” to know you are in for something special with Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men’s new record. Piunti’s been at this a long time and he knows where he fits into the power pop pantheon so Downtime delivers the taut melodic rockers we’ve come to expect. Needle-dropping this record, I sometimes hear the Beatles or early period Bryan Adams, Mike Viola, or the under-appreciated Odds. But really this record has a timeless, classic poprock sound all its own. All the songs on this release are pretty strong but click on “Bright Light” for a masterclass in melody-drenched rock and roll, featuring some heavenly background vocals. As for the rest, well how do you pick out highlights when everything is so good? You won’t go wrong with the Bryan Adam-ish “Every High” and “Never Belong to Me” while “Contract” has a great blast of guitar driving it along and a very Odds-like chorus. My personal fave is the Squeeze-meets-Tom Petty “Gonna Be Good” with its hypnotic occasional keyboard backdrop. And just to show he can slow things down, “Good Intentions” offers up a lovely acoustic guitar and piano number. All the hip indie bloggers are talking up Downtime. Don’t be left out.

With a career like Bill Lloyd’s you might expect him to kick back and take it easy. He’s played with so many cool artists, put out a great body of work as one-half of Foster and Lloyd, and has countless killer solo albums to his name. But Lloyd’s got more music to share and the message from his new Don’t Kill the Messenger is definitely positive. Why? It’s the songwriting. Lloyd keeps churning out listenable tunes, delivered in his comfortable poprock style. Put your ear next to “I’ll Take It From Here,” particularly when Lloyd leans on ‘Amanda’ in the chorus, and tell you me you haven’t caught something you can’t get out of your head. Similar hooks can be found in songs like “Not This Time ‘Round” and “Sorry, But I’ve Got to Take This.” I did do a double-take on a few tracks, mistaking them for cuts from some new Marshall Crenshaw album (like “Don’t Kill the Messenger,” “Undone,” and “The Girls of Sylvan Park”). At other times, the songs reminded me a little of Ben Vaughn (“I’ve Had Enough of Your Love”) or some good old pub rock (e.g. “Kake’ n’ 8 it” and “You Got Me”). And Lloyd cooked up a few surprises, like the Talking Heads-ish “Etch-A-Sketch” and the breezy, instant standard “Kiss of the Summer Wind.” So you don’t need to hesitate over this album. Paraphrasing Merle Travis, a record from Bill Lloyd is like money in the bank – guaranteed!

Richard Turgeon kicks off his new album Sea Change with some ominous chords ringing out over “Never Leaving California,” perfectly capturing the enduring sense of dread that defines out times. The song’s chilling POV is the rumination of a mythical Charles Manson follower, drawn into the myth and mayhem of a particular moment of time for the Golden State. From there Turgeon grinds out his distinctive Matthew Sweet-meets-grunge sound on winning, timely tracks like “Still Not Ready to Die” and  “Running for Your Life.” Sea Change confirms Turgeon as a veritable hook machine as the songs here are all just brimming with catchy melodies. I mean, check out the ear worm choruses of “Car Crash” and “Cull the Herd” for a quick confirmation. And then there’s the real treat, the bliss-inducing, obvious should-be hit single “Higher” – power pop perfection! This record also features a few nice departures from the usual, like the Weezer-vibing “Jolene,” the low-key dreamy “Sunset,” and the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young-like vocalizing on the “The Journey,” with its cool sparse finger-picking opener. This record just confirms why Turgeon keeps showing up on so many ‘best of’ lists each year.

On Even Time Ed Ryan returns to his roots, re-recording some tunes from previous bands The Rudies and Jupiter Jets, as well some new material. Having noted that, opening and title track “Even Time” marks a bit of a departure for the normally guitar-oriented Ryan with a reliance on keyboards to anchor the tune that adds just a bit of dramatic tension. There’s also some refreshing naked acoustic guitar here on “I’ve Got the Smile” and the rollicking “I Want to Go.” But worry not, power pop Ed is here full force on should-be singles like “Say What You Will” and “Let It Out,” with some catchy neo-1950s background vocals elevating “Never Lied to You.” “Here and Now” kicks off with a blast of Springsteen-like energy before settling into a solid rocker. I really like the nice change of pace with the piano-based “Everywhere,” a delightful tune with shades of Styx in places (and that’s not a bad thing, in this case). Ryan then wraps things up with  a return to tradition on “Make It Through the Night,” a track that really captures the classic power pop sound of late 1970s sound, complete with punchy chorus. All in all, Even Time marks a welcome return to the studio for this music veteran.

For digital access, click on the artist names above. For compact disc or vinyl, visit Futureman/Big Stir records for The Vapour Trails and Kool Kat Musik for Nick Piunti, Bill Lloyd, and Richard Turgeon. With so much news breaking, it’s hard to keep up with all the new releases. That’s what we’re here for. These releases are all Poprock Record Grade A-approved long-players. Imbibe with confidence.

Pandemic poprock

20 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Alien Human Emotions, Asylums, Chris Church, Graveyard Tourism, It Only Hurts When I Breathe, It's Good to be Alive, Michael Carpenter, Michael Oliver, Pandemic Diary, Richard Turgeon, Rob Elliott, Still Not Ready to Die, They Might Be Giants, Whateverly Brothers, wr fkd

Pandemic-Diary---ball-and-chain-and-scientistWe tend to be inspired by the world we live in so it’s not surprising that some artists are ruminating musically about our present pandemic. While the artists featured below are all over the map in terms of their responses to the situation, the results are all music to my ears!

Kicking things off, prolific poprocker Michael Carpenter teams up Michael Oliver for the slightly country, melodious, and oh so apropos “It Only Hurts When I Breathe.” Thankfully Michael-squared only seem to be suffering from heartbreak rather than lung dysfunction. Whew! Tilting the mood somewhat, the one-off single “wr fkd” is from the Whateverly Brothers, aka Chris Church, and its churning grind of delicious jangle definitely captures how a lot of people are feeling right now. Again, it might be love problems motivating these musical sentiments but, hey, if it fits the bigger picture why not use it? Another deliberately displaced tune comes from Asylums’ last album, Alien Human Emotions, but here too I think the song speaks to our present moment. As some lobby for a quick return to economic normalcy, one has to wonder if the results won’t be a kind of “Graveyard Tourism.” Dead rich, that’s what they’re really aiming to be. Planning to defy that end game is LA’s powerpop grunge-meister Richard Turgeon on “Still Not Ready to Die.” It’s a brand new song that is definitely about what is happening now and it rocks, in his reliably hooky way. Let’s end on an up note with America’s most cheery musical iconoclasts, They Might Be Giants, and their eminently pleasant, uplifting and predictably quirky “It’s Good to be Alive.” Maybe play this one a few times, just to up your dose of good feelingness. And don’t forget to click on all the artist names to give them some money-coloured love.

Today’s feature graphic is courtesy Toronto pop artist Rob Elliott. If pointed laughter is your thing, head over to his Pandemic Diary pages and laugh until you cry.

Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2019

15 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

*repeat repeat, Berwanger, Bombadil, Dan Israel, David Brookings and the Average Lookings, Johnny Stanec, kiwi jr, Lolas, Martha, Matthew Milia, Mondello, Nick Eng, Pernice Brothers, Richard Turgeon, Scandinavia, Sofa City Sweetheart, Telekinesis, The Boys with Perpetual Nervousness, The Brothers Steve, The Cactus Blossoms, The Golden Seals, The John Sally Ride, The Maureens, The Vapour Trails, Trip Wire

Screen Shot 2020-01-13 at 11.39.35 AMPoor Myrtle. She’s only got Muzak® to keep her company through the long shift at work. If only she had access to this great new list of must-have LPs from 2019, helpfully assembled by Poprock Record, she might actually close that Henderson account and get off early. The lesson? You can take an oldies fixation too far. You don’t have to live in the past to love that retro sound. This year’s best-of round up of LPs from 2019 is definitive proof that everything old can be new again!

Just a word of caution – there’s no science to the list and rankings below. Here are just 25 albums and 10 EPs that caught my ear this past year and kept me coming back for more. There was something about each, their combination of elements (songwriting, instrumentation, performance), that I thought really worked as a coherent whole. And that’s saying something in our world of social media distractions and a renewed music biz focus primarily on singles.

So let’s begin with Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2019:

  1. Bombadil Beautiful Country
  2. Matthew Milia Alone at St. Hugo
  3. The Brothers Steve #1
  4. The Maureens Something in the Air
  5. Richard Turgeon Go Deep
  6. The Golden Seals Something Isn’t Happening
  7. Pernice Brothers Spread the Feeling
  8. *repeat repeat Glazed
  9. Martha Love Keeps Kicking
  10. Scandinavia Premium Economy
  11. The Vapour Trails See You in the Next World
  12. The Cactus Blossoms Easy Way
  13. Johnny Stanec Things Were Better, When
  14. The John Sally Ride Nothing Doing
  15. The Boys With Perpetual Nervousness Dead Calm
  16. Telekinesis Effluxion
  17. David Brookings and the Average Lookings Scorpio Monologue
  18. Mondello Hello, All You Happy People
  19. Nick Eng Long Shot
  20. Sofa City Sweetheart Super (b) Exitos
  21. Dan Israel Social Media Anxiety Disorder
  22. Berwanger Watching a Garden Die
  23. Lolas Bulletproof
  24. kiwi jr Football Money
  25. Trip Wire Once and Always

Screen Shot 2020-01-15 at 2.26.05 PMI really like the variety covered in this list. There’s everything from jangle (4, 11, 15, 25) and country (12) and Dylanesque stylings (21), to keyboard contemporary (8) and acerbic social commentary (10, 23) and straight-up Beatlesque poprock (17, 19). And there’s a lot of sweetness, like Mondello’s impressive 20 year labour of love (18). My number one album, Bombadil’s Beautiful Country, embodies this commitment to diversity. It’s got an overall indie-folk vibe but the songwriting and playing are so sophisticated that somehow the label fails to capture all of what’s going on. Believe me, it’s a 37 minute journey through a myriad of lyrical and musical delights. Close behind at #2 Matthew Milia’s Alone at St. Hugo represents an amazing synthesis of melodic rock influences, from the Beatles (obviously) to the more mellow Fountains of Wayne moments. It’s an tone setter – put it on and drift away! At #3 was #1. Confused? #1 was the name of the debut album from the power pop veterans behind The Brothers Steve and it did not disappoint. The record is like a veritable hit machine. I can only imagine that this was what it was like to get your hands on a new Beatles record in the 1960s: immediately engaging, inventive yet relatable, and with nary a bum track. And I could go on about every entry on this list … but instead just click on the links to go my original posts about the bands and you can judge them for yourself.

Next up, Poprock Record’s 10 must-have EPs from 2019:

  1. David Molter Foolish Heart
  2. Omicrom J Trauma You Should Have Thought About That
  3. David Woodard Everything in Between
  4. Brett Perfect Patterns
  5. Project: Ghost Outfit Project: Ghost Outfit
  6. Super 8 Head Sounds
  7. scienceisfiction Don’t Everyone Thank Me at Once
  8. Ducks Unlimited Get Bleak
  9. Jean Caffeine Love. What is It?
  10. Lost Ships All of the Pieces

The revival of the EP is very much in the spirit of the times as performers try to woo listeners to fork over for music in an era of YouTube shuffles and streaming. Personally, I’m usually left feeling that most are just bloated maxi-singles or Readers Digest condensed albums. But these ten show just how punchy an EP can be! Content-wise, I’ll just say this about my number 1 choice: wow. Dave Molter got his musical start in the 1960s (as evident on the record!) but waited until his 70s to put out Foolish Heart. What you get are five gems polished to poprock perfection: hooks, harmonies, the whole deal.

One last thing: a special mention for Aaron Lee Tasjan’s Karma for Cheap: Reincarnated. The original record was my number 1 album for 2018 and this reinvention beautifully reimagines all those great tunes in often stark and stripped down ways. If you liked the original, you’re gonna love the remake.

Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles of 2019

09 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

*repeat repeat, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Army Navy, Berwanger, Big Nothing, Bombadil, Brett, Bryan Estepa, Dave Molter, David Woodard, Dead Rituals, Deadbeat Beat, Drew Neely and the Essentials, Ducks Unlimited, Ezra Furman, Fruit Bats, Hollerado, Johnny Stanec, Juliana Hatfield, Lucille Furs, Martha, Matthew Logan Vasquez, Matthew Milia, Mike Adams at his Natural Weight, Nick Lowe, Omicrom J Trauma, Pernice Brothers, Perspective A Lovely Hand to Hold, Propeller, Richard Turgeon, Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts, Space Dingus, Taylor Knox, Telekinesis, The Boolevards, The Brothers Steve, The Cerny Brothers, The Cudas, The Dave Anderson Project, The Golden Seals, The Maple State, The Maureens, The Mommyheads, The Needs, The Rallies, The SmartHearts, The Well Wishers, Trolley, U.S. Highball, Wyatt Blair

Screen Shot 2020-01-09 at 11.14.44 AM2019 had plenty of jangle, hooks, harmonies and melody to spare. From an initial list of over 200 songs I’ve managed to whittle my should-be hit single list to just 50 chart toppers for this year. Man, it was hard. Because I only post music I like this whole exercise is a bit like choosing your favourite child. Well, IMHO, the 50 songs featured here all have a strong earwormy quality to them. But let me know if you agree or disagree! Hit the links below to find each artist as featured in my original blog post this past year.

So, without further ado (drum roll please!), here is Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles for 2019:

  1. The Golden Seals “Something Isn’t Happening”
  2. Juliana Hatfield “Sugar”
  3. The Well Wishers “Feeling Fine”
  4. Bombadil “The Man Who Loves You”
  5. Matthew Milia “Abruptly Old and Caffeinated”
  6. The Brothers Steve “She”
  7. The Maple State “Germany”
  8. Aaron Lee Tasjan “Songbird”
  9. Johnny Stanec “Secret World”
  10. The Maureens “Can’t Stop”
  11. Telekinesis “Like Nothing”
  12. Omicrom J Trauma “Leave You Alone”
  13. Matthew Logan Vasquez “Ghostwriters”
  14. Hollerado “Straight to Hell”
  15. *repeat repeat “Pressure”
  16. Space Dingus “Parchment Squire, Paper Knight”
  17. Taylor Knox “City at Night”
  18. Fruit Bats “Ocean”
  19. Berwanger “Bad Vibrations”
  20. The Cerny Brothers “American Whore”
  21. Pernice Brothers “Skinny Jeanne”
  22. Wyatt Blair “I’ll Keep Searching for You”
  23. Mike Adams at his Honest Weight “Do You One Better”
  24. U.S. Highball “Summer Boy”
  25. The Rallies “All Over Town”
  26. Richard Turgeon “Loneliness”
  27. Perspective, A Lovely Hand to Hold “One Wrong Turn”
  28. Deadbeat Beat “Baphomet”
  29. Bryan Estepa “Another Kind of Madness”
  30. Ezra Furman “In America”
  31. Nick Lowe “Blue on Blue”
  32. Lucille Furs “Paint Euphrosyne Blue”
  33. Brett “Wisdom Tooth”
  34. Martha “Heart is Healing”
  35. The Dave Anderson Project “Welcome”
  36. Drew Neely and the Heroes “Chasing Danielle”
  37. Dave Molter “Tell Me That You Love Me”
  38. The Boolevards “Take Me to the Top”
  39. Army Navy “Seismic”
  40. Trolley “I’ll Never Tell”
  41. Ducks Unlimited “Anhedonia”
  42. The Needs “I Regret It”
  43. The Cudas “The Kids Want Hits”
  44. Propeller “There Goes a Day”
  45. Dead Rituals “Run”
  46. David Woodard “Nine Hundred Ninety Nine”
  47. Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts “Feels Like Falling in Love”
  48. Big Nothing “Waste My Time”
  49. The Mommyheads “Wake Up a Scientist”
  50. The Smarthearts “The Man from the Company”

As you can see, the list is a bit all over the map. There’s hints of country and folk and a lot of rock and roll. Because I’m working a broad poprock vein (as opposed to a more narrow power pop) my list crosses lines that other melodic rock blogs might not. That means the pop folky Bombadil and Fruitbats can sidle up to the more edgy melodic punk of Ezra Furman or country rock of The Cerny Brothers. But most of the entries fall neatly into my definition of ‘poprock’ – as in, melodic rock and roll characterized by plenty of hooks and harmony vocals. It’s all there in my number one song from The Golden Seals “Something Isn’t Happening” with its swinging acoustic guitar base, various hooky lead guitar lines, and catchy vocal melody. Or you can hear it in the addictive guitar drone driving Juliana Hatfield’s great single, “Sugar.” Same goes for The Well Wishers’ fantastic poprock reinvention of Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 sound on “Feeling Fine.” And I could just go on dropping superlatives on every entry on this list. Instead, click on the links and check out my original posts about all these artist.

All these artists have instruments to keep in tune and studio time to pay for, not to mention all the time they take away from paying work to write the songs and practice performing them – all in aid of getting this exciting music out there for us to enjoy. Help them thrive by getting out to see them live and buying their music.

Breaking news: Richard Turgeon, The Rallies, Dan Israel, and Aaron Lee Tasjan

04 Wednesday Sep 2019

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Breaking News

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Aaron Lee Tasjan, Dan Israel, Go Deep, Karma for Cheap: Reincarnated, Richard Turgeon, Social Media Anxiety Disorder, The Rallies, Upside Down

Screen Shot 2019-09-04 at 5.44.01 PMSome definite hot properties in this newscast with new releases from Poprock Record faves Richard Turgeon, The Rallies, Dan Israel and Aaron Lee Tasjan!

Screen Shot 2019-09-04 at 5.46.09 PMRichard Turgeon just keeps on getting better and better. His debut (In Between Spaces) and sophomore (Lost Angeles) albums were solid slabs of 1990s-inflected poprock, layered with hooks and slathered with a grungy alienated demeanor. Now he’s back with Go Deep and this time he’s upped the melodic quotient. This is the record Matthew Sweet should be putting out! There’s plenty of solid hooks, a bit of crunch, and those slightly dark melodic twists that sink deep in your sonic consciousness and stay there. It’s all there in the great opening track, “The One Who Got Away,” with its driving guitar and lovely background vocals. Or “Next to Me” with its strong guitar lead line hook. Then Turgeon shakes things up with an early Police ska rhythm guitar anchoring “Beware of God” accompanied by some REM-worthy background/foreground vocal interplay. The REM comparisons continue with “Loneliness,” a spot-on could-be outtake from Document. Two different versions of “Lost and Found” both capture the aching beauty at heart of the song. And then Turgeon shows his songwriting depth and range with the country/folk tune, the winsome “Cowboy Life.” Ultimately Go Deep is a great album experience, worthy of repeated listenings.

Screen Shot 2019-09-04 at 5.46.57 PMSeattle Washington’s The Rallies are back with their sophomore LP Upside Down and it’s a reverb-charged dose of sunny hooks and bittersweet sentiment. If you enjoyed their harmony-drenched debut Serve you’re going to love this new record. The solid acoustic guitar rhythm backing is still there. The distinctive mix of harmony background vocals combined with lead singer Steve Davis’ heart-tugging delivery remains front and centre. But the songs have a bit more muscle this time out. Somebody stepped on the jangle pedal because its ringing tone threads its way throughout the album, from the single-worthy opener “All Over Town” to the soaring closer “You’re the One.” The album opens on an extremely strong note. Really, in a properly poprock world “All Over the Town” would be zooming up the charts with its Beatles-esque background vocals, hypnotic guitar hooks, and earwormy melody. Overall, the influences alternate on this album, from the Tom Petty-ish “Brand New” and “Up To You” to the more Crowded House vibe of “It’s OK” and “Alive.” The hooky lead line opener to “If You Do” comes off like a lost cut from the That Thing You Do soundtrack. And I also love the lilting, more slow-paced melodic charm of “In Everything.” But make no mistake, the band have their own distinctive sound and style, as in evidence on the moving “All of Us,” a song that highlights this group’s overall uplifting positivity. 2017’s Serve landed on a host of ‘best of ‘ album lists and I predict Upside Down will heading to the same places for 2019.

Screen Shot 2019-09-04 at 5.47.40 PMMinnesota’s Dan Israel is like the money in the bank, turning out reliably great poprock records year in and out. This time he’s back with the timely-titled Social Media Anxiety Disorder and it is another winning collection of poprock ruminations on life and surviving the modern world. The album opens with “Be My Girl,” the obvious single with its endearing horn section, hooky bass guitar work, and hit single aura. But the whole record is quality stuff, alternating between Dylanesque observations and a Cat Stevens kind of confident delivery. Check out the hooky wordy attack of “Another Day” or the Tom Petty-ish country demeanor of “Tired.” Or how about the “Strawberry Fields Forever” organ quality adding something to the already winning “125” – killer! Personally, I’m smitten with the intimate acoustic revelations of “Still I’m Lost” and the almost church-like gospel hints embedded in “Out of My Hands” and “Out of My Hands Reprised.” Dan Israel is leading the singer/songwriter poprock revival, one you should be signing on to.

Screen Shot 2019-09-04 at 5.48.41 PMAaron Lee Tasjan’s Karma for Cheap was my number 1 album for 2018. I just couldn’t get enough of it. The songwriting was exquisite, the musical performances – amazing. Now Tasjan has returned with a stripped down version of the album, Karma for Cheap: Reincarnated, and it’s a revelation. It’s like Karma unplugged, and stripped bare the songs really stand up. In this re-ordered version of the album, former album closer “Songbird” is now the opener and in its more naked form it exudes all the acoustic majesty of McCartney’s “Blackbird” or “Mother Nature’s Son.” And so it is true for all the other songs. These more spare recordings reveal new depths in songs like “Strange Shadows” and “End of the Day.” Reincarnated does make one major change in the set list of Karma for Cheap, swapping out the Orbison-esque “Dream Dreamer” for the delighful “My Whole Life is Over (All Over Again).” Tasjan’s a major talent, as revealed by his ability here to bring even more new life to some pretty great material.

Today’s headlines quickly pass into history but along the way people need to make a buck, particularly songwriters and musicians. Visit Richard Turgeon, The Rallies, Dan Israel, and Aaron Lee Tasjan online to help keep them in the papers.

Wilson underpass in Toronto photo courtesy Larry Gordon.

Poprock Record’s 20 must-have LPs for 2018

08 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

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Aaron Lee Tasjan, Bill Lloyd, Car City, Daisy House, Extra Arms, Freedom Fry, Henry Chadwick, Jeremy Messersmith, Nick Piunti, Oberon Rose, Paul Collins, Richard Turgeon, Ruler, Starbelly, Summer Magic, The Smittens, The Spindles, The Spook School, The Tearaways, Vegas with Randolph

screen shot 2019-01-08 at 9.43.06 pmI’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.

So, here are Poprock Record’s 20 must-have LPs for 2018:

  1. Aaron Lee Tasjan Karma for Cheap
  2. Daisy House Bon Voyage
  3. Ruler Winning Star Champion
  4. The Spindles Past and Present
  5. Starbelly Four
  6. Nick Piunti Temporary High
  7. Jeremy Messersmith Late Stage Capitalism
  8. Henry Chadwick Marlin Fisher
  9. Car City Car City
  10. Bill Lloyd Working the Long Game
  11. Freedom Fry Classic
  12. The Spook School Could It Be Different?
  13. Oberon Rose Tell Me About It
  14. Richard Turgeon Lost Angeles
  15. Extra Arms Headacher
  16. Vegas with Randolph Legs and Luggage
  17. The Tearaways Anthems and Lullabies
  18. Paul Collins Out of My Head
  19. The Smittens City Rock Dove
  20. Summer Magic Sharks and Other Dangers

Best ‘best of’ compilation: KC Bowman Important with a Capital I; Best covers album: Tommy and Rockets I Wanna Be Covered; Special merit award: Super 8 T-T-Technicolour Melodies, Turn Around Or …, HI LO

screen shot 2019-01-08 at 10.24.27 pmEdging 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.

screen shot 2019-01-08 at 10.25.36 pmOne 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.

Let’s make 2019 another great year for poprock – buy these albums, get out to some concerts, and tell your friends about these great finds.

Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles of 2018

03 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Should be a Hit Single

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Aaron Lee Tasjan, Arthur Alexander, Astral Drive, Ben Talmi, Bill Lloyd, Billy & Dolly, Bird Streets, Brad Peterson, Caddy, Cape Cartel, Car City, Cupid's Carnival, Daisy House, Daniel Romano, Danny Wilkerson, David James Situation, Dot Dash, Even, Extra Arms, Freedom Fry, Gentle Hen, Glen Robinson, Greg Pope, Henry Chadwick, Hurry, J. Eastman and the Drunk Uncles, Jeremy Messersmith, Jim Shorts, Michael Simmons, Michael Slawter, Modern Space, Nick Piunti, Oberon Rose, Richard Turgeon, Rob Bonfiglio, Ruler, Sofa City Sweetheart, Starbelly, Summer Magic, Super 8, The Connection, The Essex Green, The Maureens, The Spindles, The Tearaways, The Wellgreen, Vegas with Randolph, William Duke, Wiretree, Wyatt Blair

screen shot 2019-01-03 at 12.43.02 pm2018 was a freakin’ fantastic year for poprock! How do I know? Every year-end I put together a playlist of tunes released that year. In 2016 it consisted of 58 songs clocking in at just over 3 hours. By 2017 that list expanded to 98 songs running over 5 hours. This year the list exploded to 175 songs going on for over 9 hours! My list of should-be hit singles had to expand to a top 50 just to accommodate all this talent. Hit the links below to find each artist as featured in my original blog post this past year or to go to their bandcamp or Facebook page if I didn’t write them up.

So, without further ado, here is Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles for 2018:

  1. Daisy House “Open Your Eyes”
  2. Oberon Rose “No Stranger”
  3. Ruler “Unhindered Pace”
  4. William Duke “Carole and the Silver Screen”
  5. Aaron Lee Tasjan “End of the Day”
  6. Car City “(Don’t) Give Up On Love”
  7. Greg Pope “Forget About You”
  8. Modern Space “Flip for It”
  9. Summer Magic “Attraction Corridors”
  10. Bill Lloyd “Satellite”
  11. Arthur Alexander “I’ll Get Your Love Someday”
  12. The Spindles “I Want My Baby Back”
  13. Starbelly “Lay Low”
  14. The Essex Green “Sloane Ranger”
  15. Michael Simmons “No More Girls”
  16. Astral Drive “Summer of ‘76”
  17. Caddy “Miracle Turn”
  18. Danny Wilkerson “How She Lost Heart”
  19. Bird Streets “Betting on the Sun”
  20. David James Situation “I Should Know”
  21. Ben Talmi “Chances”
  22. Nick Piunti “No Return”
  23. Michael Slawter “Summer’s Kind”
  24. Henry Chadwick “I Can Stick Around”
  25. Cupid’s Carnival “She Don’t Care”
  26. Super 8 “Your Love is my Blanket”
  27. Jeremy Messersmith “Monday, You’re Not So Bad”
  28. Freedom Fry “Past Lives”
  29. Cape Cartel “More”
  30. Gentle Hen “She’s Got It”
  31. Daniel Romano “Anyone’s Arms”
  32. Hurry “Waiting for You”
  33. J. Eastman and the Drunk Uncles “No Political Agenda”
  34. The Connection “The Girl is Trouble”
  35. Even “Out of the Woods”
  36. The Tearaways “I Could Love You Forever”
  37. Richard Turgeon “Look Away”
  38. Dot Dash “Unfair Weather”
  39. Brad Peterson “Whispering”
  40. Rob Bonfiglio “Passenger Seat”
  41. The Maureens “20 years for the Company”
  42. Extra Arms “Why I Run”
  43. Wiretree “Rainy Corner”
  44. Jim Shorts “James Tailored”
  45. Vegas with Randolph “Women in Airports”
  46. Billy & Dolly “Everything is Off”
  47. The Wellgreen “Take What You Get”
  48. Glen Robinson “Get You Down”
  49. Sofa City Sweetheart “Stop the Thinking”
  50. Wyatt Blair “Gotta Get Away”

For the second year running Daisy House tops my list of should-be hit singles. I have simply run out of superlatives to describe the musical genius of this band. Great songwriting, a killer 1960s vibe, flawless production and performance – it just doesn’t get any better than this. Do yourself a favour and head over to Bandcamp to download their whole catalogue. Oberon Rose came a close second with what must be one of the coolest singles rolled out this year. Ruler ruled my playlist for a good part of 2018, with “Unhindered Place” just one of the great songs on his album. I love the way William Duke’s guitar sounds like a jangle waterfall on his hooky masterpiece “Carole and Silver Screen.” And Aaron Lee Tasjan is a real find – so many possible selections – but more on that with my upcoming ‘20 must-have LPs for 2018’ post. I could go on … (but click on the links to get the full story).

I hope you enjoy these fifty songs enough to click on over to some of the artists’ web real estate and help them along career-wise. 2019 promises to be another hungry year for many of these mostly struggling artists – so do your part: buy their music and go see them live when they come to your town.

Around the dial: The Bottle Kids, Richard Turgeon and The Spindles

11 Saturday Aug 2018

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Around the Dial

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Let Me In On This Action, Lost Angeles, Past and Present, Richard Turgeon, The Bottle Kids, The Spindles

candy.jpegThis turn around the dial lays on the sugar and spice with songs that highlight how poprock can embrace both smooth production values and a discordant note here and there.

BTEric Blakely’s The Bottle Kids has a polished poprock sheen honed in the late 1970s by such melodic rock luminaries as the Raspberries and Rockpile. Tracks like “When You Come Around” and “Her Heart is Much Worse than her Bite” sound like great lost tunes from that era. But then “American Girls,” the obvious single from the latest album, Let Me In On This Action, goes in another direction, drawing more from the indie side of the early 1980s sound. “Let’s Put Some Power Back in Pop” is a master class in that style as well the theme song of record, giving voice to it’s underlying musical philosophy. Another surprise is the Lennon-esque “I Miss Her Goodbyes” with its interesting “A Day in the Life” piano shots and spot-on Beatles vocals. While you’re checking out the band, don’t miss “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” from 2013’s Such a Thrill, perhaps Blakely’s greatest composition!

RTSan Francisco’s Richard Turgeon deservedly made a lot of ‘best of’ lists for 2017 with his driving rock and roll debut album In Between Spaces. Now he’s back with a tribute to a nearby burg, Lost Angeles, and it’s another killer blast of nineties-tempered tune-age. Things kick off with what must be the artist’s theme song, “Big Break,” which contains all the elements of Turgeon’s sound: big guitars, slightly discordant vocals, and a sneaky hook that won’t let up. Then “Waiting for You” shifts gears, sounding like a grungy Matthew Sweet, complete with sparkly lead guitar lines and a very Sweet-like melody line and chorus. But the out-of-the-park single for me is the addictive “Look Away” – crank this up and keep the air guitar handy. Turgeon takes a number of chances on this outing, trying out different styles on songs like “Working for the Man” and “I Want to be a Shut-in” while also showcasing how rock can be touching on his loving tribute “Be My Wife.” Besides picking up this latest record, tune in to Turgeon’s various social media for semi-regular releases of new material and inspired covers.

SpindlesThe Spindles’ Past and Present is definitely heading for my ‘best of’ list for 2018. This release has it all: great songs, killer hooks, superb performances. The band is clearly influenced by the Beatles and other British Invasion acts like the Hollies, masterfully covered here on “Look Through Any Window” (which is not easy to do). But they manage to make those influences their own. Overall, the sound is very early 1980s poprock – think the Moody Blues Long Distance Voyager or even some NRBQ. “Prisoner of War” is a strong opener and potential single, while “I Want My Baby Back” sounds like the sure-fire hit to me. Another great number is “Whenever We’re Together” with it’s Jeff Lynne strings and background vocals. “Peace with the Past” has a nice Hard Day’s Night opening flourish before settling in to a more Rubber Soul vibe. Other strong tracks include “Young Heart,” “Annette” and the very Nick Lowe circa Cowboy Outfit sounding “Santa Fe.” On the whole, the record is very easy to listen to again and again …

https://poprockrecord.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/01-prisoner-of-war-1.m4aPrisoner of Warhttps://poprockrecord.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/06-i-want-my-baby-back-1.m4aI Want My Baby Backhttps://poprockrecord.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/03-whenever-were-together-1.m4aWhenever We’re Together

You know the drill – only record buying fans can stop the slow slide to musical oblivion. Seriously, nobody really wants to be a ‘great lost artist.’ So find The Bottle Kids, Richard Turgeon and The Spindles today on the hot-links.

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