Tag Archives: Scoopski

Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2024

09 Thursday Jan 2025

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Another year, another load of really good albums. Creativity was off the charts in 2024, in both senses unfortunately. But banish despair, here at Poprock Record we make up our own charts, shining light on a deserving collection of should-be stars. Here’s our list of 25 must-have albums from the past year and, trust me, you’ll find plenty of variety within our self-imposed parameters of poppy rock. You’ve got jangle (Ducks Ltd.), gender (Day Dreams) and heartbreak (Tamar Berk). There’s retro (Terry Anderson), metro (Super 8) and fun (Scoopski). We’ve got artists singing in Spanish (Star Trip) and wide variety of accents from the British Isles (the list would be too long). And so much more.

The envelope please, here are Poprock Record’s 25 must have LPs from 2024:

1. Day Dreems Day Dreems
2. Tamar Berk Good Times For a Change
3. Brent Seavers Exhibit B
4. Wesley Fuller All Fuller, No Filler
5. Ducks Ltd. Harm’s Way
6. Aaron Pinto Aaron Pinto
7. Chris Milam Orchid South
8. The Martial Arts In There Like Swimwear
9. The Armoires Octoberland
10. Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass-Kicking Team Got To Be Strong
11. Star Trip Velocidad
12. Bull Engines of Honey
13. Real Estate Daniel
14. Phil Thornalley Holly Would
15. The Trafalgars About Time
16. Super 8 Retro Metro
17. Be Like Pablo A World Apart
18. Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men Up and Out of It
19. Rich Arithmetic Pushbutton Romance
20. Owen Adamcik Owen Adamcik’s Power Pop Paradise
21. Steve Robinson Window Seat
22. Sergio Ceccanti Mysterious Journey
23. John Larson and the Silver Fields Constellation Prize
24. Scoopski Time is a Thief
25. David Woodard Get It Good

Day Ricardo’s Day Dreems project was groundbreaking in so many ways, lyrically touching on gender, the body, ADHD, oppressive nostalgia and more, while musically mashing up hints of Squeeze, Crowded House and the Beatles into their own distinctive voice. It’s a most worthy choice to sit at #1. But close behind Tamar Berk wowed us with yet another winning collection of introspective yet downright hooky numbers. Brent Seavers, now there’s a guy who knows how to pack an LP full of highly listenable tunes. I mean, he does it again and again. I could go on … and do in the original posts hyperlinked above.

The EP format continues to offer artists a creative outlet that falls somewhere between the noble single and a more herculean long-playing effort. True for some it may amount to little more than a glorified single with additional alternative versions, demos and live cuts (not that I’m complaining). But for others it’s a carefully curated musical statement in its own right. I think our cast of 6 must-have EPs from 2024 lean more in the latter direction:

1. Lo Fi Ho Hum Garage Pop
2. Cliff Hillis and Dennis Schocket Pop, Girls, Etc.
3. Sunken Planes Intersections
4. Shake Some Action! Trip to Yesterday / Chase the Light
5. The Genuine Fakes Extended Play Vol. 1
6. The High Elves Early Works

I deliberately leave legacy artists – i.e. those that gained conventional chart success and still benefit from that or have a major label sponsor – off my yearly lists. They don’t really need any push from me. But I do love a lot of those acts and it is great to see them still putting out solid creative works. So here’s a legacy artist shout out to some notable releases in 2024:

1. JD McPherson Nite Owls
2. The Decemberists As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again
3. Fastball Sonic Ranch
4. Cast Love is the Call
5. Crowded House Gravity Stairs
6. Nick Lowe and Los  Straitjackets Indoor Safari

I’m a non-recovering Beatlemaniac, it’s true. I’m always on the lookout for some fun and creative riffs on the Fabs. This year Nick Frater blew away the competition with the further development of his Rutles project, a riff on a riff on the Beatles. So meta! Thus our best riff on the Beatles this year is:

Nick Frater Nick Frater presents The Rebutles 1967-70

Last year I singled out The Flashcubes for their amazing Pop Masters album. It was one where they covered a host of new wave era classics with members of the original bands. This year their spin-off band The Half Cubes produced their own version of that project with equally impressive results. You see where this is going. This year’s special award of awesome poprock merit goes to:

The Half-Cubes Pop Treasures

As I wrote in the original review, “Pop Treasures is a monster of a collection” that is ‘lovingly relentless’ in its coverage of 1970s and 1980s hit-makers and indie darlings. It’s a hits package worthy of K-Tel, and that is high praise coming from someone who lived through the seventies. So many great songs here, including our #1 most inventive cover for 2024 “Make You Cry.” Treat yourself, this is a guaranteed good time.

Album fans, the form is in safe hands if the releases from this past year are anything to go by. Sure the kids may not be into them the way their 1960s through 1990s peers were but they’ll have something to dip into when they get older.

Photo of John Baldessari’s art piece ‘Record Collector’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Breaking news: Steve Robinson, Be Like Pablo, Scoopski, and Ed Ryan

10 Sunday Nov 2024

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Let’s break with the usual news cycle for something a bit more uplifting. Whether it’s folk rock or punk pop or just melodious rock and roll, trust me, these are the top stories we need right now.

Like Paul Simon or Al Stewart Steve Robinson drifts back and forth between folk and poprock motifs, effortlessly amplifying or stripping down his melodies. Over the 11 tracks on his new album Window Seat you’ll hear echoes of the Beatles, solo McCartney, Neil Finn and, of course, XTC. “Unnecessary War” opens the record as the obvious single. The message and swagger is very John Lennon but the melody combines elements reminiscent of XTC and Crowded House song structures. Robinson is often tagged with XTC comparisons but it can hardly be avoided when Dave Gregory is playing lead guitar on “The King of Scatterbrain.” I also get a very Andy Partridge in dour folk mode from “Hollow Man.” By contrast, “Are We There Yet?” evokes Neil Finn’s distinctive melodic turns with guitar work that reminds me of Band on the Run era Wings. A number of tracks also have a strong Beatles ’66 feel, like “Hesitation Blues” (though the keyboards are more ’69 Preston good). On the folk front there’s real variety too. “Room With a View” strikes me as very much in the Suzanne Vega’s brand of sophistico-pop. There’s a more discordant English folk ambience to “Word to the Wise” while “Who Knew” is sunny folk pop all the way through. Robinson then wraps with a pastoral, Mummer-worthy folk mediation with “Treasure.”

From the small Scottish town of Forres four-piece ensemble Be Like Pablo spring like a blast of pure energy on their first new album in a decade, A World Apart. Their sound is a curious amalgam of nineties dissonant poprock and new millenium indie rock, sprinkled with a variety of 1960s and 1970s adornments. People compare them to Weezer and Fountains of Wayne – and perhaps it’s just the Scottish angle – but I hear Spook School. Sure “There Goes the Sunshine” vibes FOW pretty hard but there’s so much more going on here. I mean, check out those super-charged, chorused guitars fueling “Find a Way to You.” They are just so 1974. Or get your sixties fix on “Amy” or “I’ll Never Be Your Man” where old song forms come up against a wall of rhythm guitar distortion. This is an LP that maintains an impressive intensity throughout its 12 songs and 33 minutes. “There She Is” will grab you with its seductive background vocals, alluring keyboard lines and a main vocal so electrically insistent and present. “Crazy Without You” is just a great pop song, nicely punched up with stylized organ shots, tasty lead guitar, and what sounds like a violin instrumental solo. “My Kind of Girl” sounds like the unstoppable single to me, so relentless in its mixed aural assault, while “Do You Want to Go Surfin’?” delivers punky pop with some killer retro guitar solos. The band can gear down effectively too, as evident on the lovely acoustic guitar-led “I Don’t Know What I Do Without Your Love.” They even tease us on “Do It All Over Again,” leading with spot-on Beach Boys keyboard licks only to duck into a Cars new wave guitar crunchiness moments later.

The new Scoopski album Time Is a Thief is a real family affair, with hubby, wife and even baby Scoopski taking vocal turns. You’ll need to get yourself ready for a highly melodic outing, accent on fun. Album opener “Everyone’s Guessing” will definitely let everyone get their ya ya’s out. I love the guitar sound kicking off this tune, like an engine about to roar to life. Parenting and growing up define a lot of material here. “Little Ball of Energy” and “Babble” capture the joy of having a small new being in your life while “Dad Bod” makes light of every male’s inevitable physical decline in a boppy rocking time. But the secret star of this record is undoubtedly the keyboard work. I tend to think of Scoopski as a guitar band but check out the artful keyboard contributions to “I Agree, Marie,” “Seasonal,” and “Nocturnally Yours,” the latter an ace bit 1970s rock and roll melodrama. Serious radio-ready singles include “Pinata” and “Double,” both offering hooks for days. Modern comparisons abound but I’m really getting an early Squeeze feel from this record, like a Cool for Cats kind of madcap fun, particularly on “Double” and “The Inattentive Twist.”

On solo album #6 Along for the Ride veteran indie rock and roller Ed Ryan ruminates on a life lived amid great American musical inspirations. The lyrical themes here are literally experience-talking on “Fine Art to Letting It Go,” “Along for the Ride,” and “Imperfect Life.” Musically Ryan’s long career means he continues to churn out well-crafted hooky tunes from a Tom Petty meets Greg Kihn playbook, with a few intriguing departures. First off “Fine Art to Letting It Go” lays down a low-key Bo Diddley beat but before you know it you’ll be joining in on the ‘oh oh’s’ in the chorus. “Along for the Ride” pushes off with an early Wings lead guitar tone but check the subtle vocal harmony work here that really elevates the tune. Petty-isms litter the record, tucked into tunes like “Better Than That,” “Looking for Something” and “Make It Happen.” Other tracks amp up a harder 1980s poprock edge, like “It’s Alright With You” and “Find Me a Girl.” I love how “Solitary Man” changes up the tempo and leans on the piano to add some great melodic shading to the chorus. And then there’s outlier tracks like “Unspoken” and “Follow You Down” that are more in the style of song storytellers like John Hiatt or the bluegrassy “Poppees Garden.”

Finally some breaking news where the byline is in musical notation. You can follow up on these stories with hyperlinked ease – just click and go.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Songs for weary travellers

14 Thursday Mar 2024

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Nothing fixes the mind on travel quite like winter. Particularly those last lingering months where you can feel the season ebb but not quite subside. But getting somewhere ‘not winter’ is an effort for those of us north of 40 degrees latitude. That’s why we’ve assembled some musical accompaniment for soon-to-be weary travellers.

Ottawa’s The Rockyts have evolved from an amazing 60s sound-alike beat group on their 2020 debut album to a sleek 1980s new wave machine with singles that have come out over the past year. “Without You” creeps into view with a Cars-like muted electric guitar and vocals, only to break out in the chorus with full band impact. Crowded House may not climb the singles charts like they did in their 1980s heyday but that doesn’t mean they can’t still craft a killer tune. Their new single “Oh Hi” has all the classic Neil Finn song markers. There’s lilting slow-build hooks around every corner and Finn’s ear for unusual instrumentation remains undiminished. Hard to find out much about Escape Artists except a Go Fund Me page from a Tennessee duo suggesting an album is on the way. So far I’ve found three singles – basically, a maxi-single. From those choices I think “Around the Block” is a delightful bit of Tom Petty name-checking poprock. ‘What would Tom Petty do?’ they ask with a driving sense of Petty-ish aplomb and his special mix of guitars and organ. The mysterious band 65MPH hail from Chatteris UK, a small market town near Cambridge. I can’t imagine that’s the speed limit there. Sonically, the band sound like they’ve been stamped from a Paul Weller-meets-Billy Bragg mould, and that’s no bad thing. Their recent single “Small Miracles” casts a plaintive vocal against a mostly solo guitar backdrop to good effect. I love the striking effect Spencer Segelov and Great Paintings get on “The Contender.” The lead guitar line carries the tune but the overlapping vocals gives the tune lift, with a choir-like transcendence. Very 1980s American college radio.

Crowded House – Oh Hi
Escape Artists – Around the Block

Ottawa’s (as in Canada folks) Robby Miller rides a fine line between good old boy rock and roller and smooth poppy rock. His recent single “Everything Is Nothing” combines a bit of both, with up front jangly guitars and a low key vocal carrying the melody. Reminds me a bit of some of the mellow hits from The Fixx. Last year mellow popsters The Kind Hills made my top 25 singles list with their uplifting song “Let Youth Take Over.” Now they’re back in a new guise as Seasonal Falls. Still mellow, but drawing from a different sonic palate this time out. The hush vocals and standout guitar tone on “Used To Be Fun” are both exquisite while the tune is amble-along-in-the-sunshine good. The Shop Window manage to combine 1980s indie guitar pop with a folkie vibe on “I Run.” The vocals hit me as a little bit Outfield while the guitar has a shimmer and ring reminiscent of The Silencers. Legendary Canadian band The Kings are primarily known for an FM radio staple (“Switching to Glide/This Beat Goes On”) that has been in near constant rotation since its release in 1980. And then, not much. They did have other great material but just couldn’t match that early success. Now if you’ve missing that signature Kings sound there’s good news – the band have a brand new album out called Longest Story Ever Told. It is uncanny how much it sounds like no time has passed at all. Check out “Always Off the Deep End” and see for yourself. Faraways are a completion story. Active in the 1990s they split early in the new millennium. But as Covid swept the planet all that down-time had former band members drifting back to their unfinished songs. The result is the aptly named EP Decades of Dormancy. The standout track for me is the psychedelic “Ruby Ring of Love” with its Sgt. Pepper droney vocals, sitars, and killer organ fills.

Faraways – Ruby Ring of Love

Since his standout solo debut album Class Act Mike Browning has been drip releasing engaging new singles. “Just One Day” has a western Texas Buddy Holly groove. This song sounds so freshly pressed out of a 1961 rockabilly scene or Everly’s Cadence records release. More Texas can be found on Get Set Go’s fabulous LP Outworlder, particularly on the intoxicating single “Your Boy.” The song seems so early 1960s simple and endearing but an increasing sophistication emerges and intensifies as it plays on. Drunk Dial Records promise to get their artists loaded and then have them record an original tune and a cover. Gentleman Jesse’s original “Where Time Stands Still” has a wildness about it, maybe one drink over the line, but still maintaining its energetic focus. Another act drip releasing a load of interesting songs is Scoopski. “Nocturnally Yours” brings together heavy dollops of nerd rock a la Weezer and straight up FM radio rock bombast. And the results are a freakin’ fun, hummable good time. Slaughter Beach, Dog put out a fab new record last September entitled Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling but didn’t have room for one last song. “I’m In Love” is a country-ish soft rock Valentines tune of a different order. Catchy and disturbing at the same time.

Feel the insurgent drive of Softjaw’s recent single “Pleased With Me.” It’s got 1970s group singalong vocals, Keith Richard guitar licks, and strong party vibe. There’s a looseness that is so tightly performed here. By contrast, Kevin Nichols keeps striking a discordant tone throughout “Looking at the Ocean” butting up against melodic hooks that just won’t quit. One part grunge, another part Swervedriver. Sixties holdovers Tall Poppy Syndrome get 2024 started with a song that draws from multiple decades on “This Time Tomorrow.” There’s a touch of psychedelia of course but also mannered Moody Blues vocals, pumping organ shots, and insistently strong hooks throughout. Of a particular time but also seemingly timeless. The Stanford Family Band are a wonderful throwback to that early 1970s dreamy pop on “Love Me a Bit.” It was an era where piano moved up into the spotlight on AM radio singles and Beach Boys stopped having hits but influenced everybody and everything on the charts. This group have got a heavenly arsenal of background vocals riding a solid bed of piano chords. Luke of Ulysses carry on our Cars revival tour on their single “Car Trouble.” Though I also hear Nick Gilder coming through their clipped vocal style. And then there’s guitar god moment in the middle. This is a great synthesis of styles.

Tall Poppy Syndrome – This Time Tomorrow

Wrapping up our 21 song support playlist for weary travellers is something I can’t quite put my finger on. Described as a mysterious Norwegian duo, Ivar and Tommy Go To Hollywood certainly get top marks for an inventive name. But what they represent musically on “Bore Me to the Moon” is less clear. Things start off very English guitar band or Front Bottoms but listen to what comes up in the background. The band put together a veritable tapestry of vocal interplay that buffets the indie rock guitar drone and deadpan vocal that is fronting the tune. I don’t know what it is but I like it.

You can get on the bus Gus and needle-drop your way through this audio travelogue. I don’t know where you’re going but I think you’ll enjoy getting there more with miles of melody to choose from.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr page.

Scary monsters and super treats

26 Thursday Oct 2023

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The annual march of mini monsters is nearly upon us. It’s a wonderfully spooky time where their voracious appetite for candy and mischief are on full display. Here at Poprock Record we dispense ear candy, of course. No tricks, just sweet sweet melodic treats.

Let’s get things started with that classic declaration from imaginative kid games: “You’re Dead.” The tune from Filipino-Panamanian-American folk singer Norma Tanega was initially recorded in the mid-1960s but recently experienced a resurrection as the theme song for Taika Waititi’s hilarious vampire movie and TV comedy What We Do In The Shadows. While originally written as an indictment of NYC’s competitive music scene the track seems perfectly suited for the show. I find its unusual folky tuning and metre absolutely captivating. Well, now that you’re dead, where do you hang? Sonny Falls’ exquisitely drone-y “Cemeteries” gives us clue. Falls provides a nice acoustic guitar-plus-synth kind of musical crypt to climb within. And who knows, you might meet some interesting people there. After all, Jersey City native Jonny Couch turns on a Simon Le Bon-worthy croon to announce he “Found Out You’re a Zombie.” That’s a bit of a date shocker.

Norma Tanega – You’re Dead

Well the monsters have been let loose so we might as well meet a few. Hi Tide Recordings specialise in the very coolest retro sounds, like Asbury Park’s Black Flamingos. Check out the wild instrumental guitar action all over the seasonally appropriate “Tales from the Crypt.” These surf guitar masters definitely stay true to their ghoul here. The Jack Rubies are a 1980s east London outfit back from the grave with their recent single “Poltergeist,” their latest in a series of recent releases after a break of three decades. The results are spooky and atmospheric and monstrously good.  Cheeky poprock outfit Scoopski opted for a whole EP of scary tunes on Halloween with Scoopski. I was torn between featuring  the poppy “Pumpkin Smile” or the more goof-rock “Monster in the Mirror.” What the hell, I’ll let you decide. NYC’s Dr. Ex and the Break-Ups have got the central-casting organ sound for Halloween tracks locked up on “Bye Bye Bizarro.” So groovy. I thought it was going an instrumental until the vocals burst in at the one minute mark. Ok, the song is not really festively ‘all hallows eve’ or anything being about Superman and all but the Bizarro villain focus seemed ‘Halloween-adjacent’ to me.

This year’s ‘ghoul-of-the-month’ are ghosts. Meddling ghosts, loitering ghosts, ghosts in the crosshairs. Big Stir Records have a great big Halloween holiday LP that has just arrived entitled Stir The Cauldron featuring 20 seasonally approved songs. I’m singling out Plasticsoul’s guitar pop delight “The Ghost In Between Us” for your special attention. There’s something so fresh sounding about this track. The guitars sparkle while the song structure falls somewhere between Squeeze and the Cure. Victoria, BC’s The Origin sound like they practically tip toe into the theatre before breaking out the electric guitars and letting loose on “The Ghosts,” featuring some great organ back up. Last year Atlanta-based Four Eyes came out with the freak folk festive The Freaky EP. So seasonally in tune with songs about vampires and the unresting dead. But we’re not going to talk about that now. Instead let’s feature the lofi fab “I’d Rather Be Ghost Hunting” from her 2019 album of the same name. Plucky, seemingly self-propulsive, with a ghostly vocal sheen.

It’s a holiday and oh, what’s that? A new Vista Blue release? Well that wasn’t unexpected. Everybody’s favourite pop culture-riffing pop punk band are back with another seasonal set of songs, this time dubbed Even Dracula Will Be There. Our featured tune is “I Gotta Rock,” a double entendre of culture quips, quoting Charlie Brown and the ever present punk need to just rock. Vista Blue, they’re holiday reliable.

You might be tempted to empty that candy bowl but you know better. Dip into all this ear candy instead – it’ll fill you up without rotting your teeth.

Photo from 1960 movie Village of the Damned courtesy James Vaughn Flikr collection.

Life at 45rpm I

17 Thursday Aug 2023

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Living life at 45rpm makes for a fast-paced and ever-changing existence. Brace yourself for the first of two installments, 21 tracks at a time.

We’re going to ease you in to this installment of our singles variety pack with the low-key lush acoustic rush of 22 Oceans. They normally lean in a more electronic direction but “Country Home” is a Fleetwood Mac kind of Americana, riding a wave of up-front acoustic guitars and an oh-so-good blend of harmony vocals. Scoopski are a Philly couple that have been cranking out the singles this year. I was going to write about “Seasonal,” a solid bit of melodic melodrama, but then they came out with a super contribution to an innovative project entitled Short Music for Even Shorter Attention Spans. “30 Seconds (I Love You)” is indeed half a minute long, reminding me a bit of George Harrison’s “Piggies” with some ELO tagged at the end. Heck, you might as well check out the whole album. It’s free and you can run through its 17 contributions in just eight minutes. Melbourne Australia’s Cold Irons Bound nail the scruffy Americana sound of the US midwest on their recent album No Place I Can’t Find You. I’m particularly fond of “Book Some Weekend Time” which sounds like a Cerny Brothers deep cut. Check out the lively lead guitar line that opens Sunken Planes new single “There’s a World.” They describe themselves as a ‘jangle-gaze power trio’ and the power part definitely kicks in on the chorus. The Mike Jacoby Electric Trio managed to make a lot of noise on “The Calm Before the Storm” from their new album The Long Haul. There’s a Dwight Yoakam/Steve Earle countryfied rock and roll sound all over the record but this particular song has something extra, a propulsive drive, subtle hooks, and some Eagles-worthy harmony vocals in the chorus.

The Parallax Project are practically an indie supergroup with participation from members of The Split Squad, Minus 5, and the Junior League. Autologous is their first album of original tunes in 14 years but they don’t miss a beat. Hard to choose just one featured tune. “Mary Houdini” is a delightful poppy swinging number that sounds like a mid-1980s Athens 45 while “You Were Never Here” has a more country twang. Power pop legends The Flashcubes have got a winning project going with their new Pop Masters album where they record classic song covers with the bands that made them famous. Get a load of the heavenly collab with The Spongetones on their fab-tastic “Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?” From the “Hard Days Night” opening chord to the omnipresent jangly guitars to the shiver-inducing harmony vocals, this is the stuff of poprock dreams. With “Don’t Go for the Money” Dan Kibler comes out swinging on his new album Idiomatic, exuding a Michael Hutchence or Tommy Tutone swagger with just a touch of Beatles 65 in the verses. I’m also partial to the stunning “Mystery Girl,” such a perfect two minutes of pop song-writing. The Kind Hills are truly an international band, with members located in the US, UK, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Australia. Their self-described brand of ‘slacker indie pop’ is mellow and meditative for most of their debut LP Clusterluck. Except for “Let Youth Take Over.” Here the band get almost anthemic with a slow-burning ‘sneak up on you’ ear-worm. Imagine Vashti Bunyan leading Chumbawumba and you sort of get where this is going. Caper Clowns lead vocalist Rick Kingo has gone solo with his new EP The Truth, The Lies, The Lot, unleashing various shades of soft rock. But it is the opening cut, “Confident in Time,” that really stands out for me. Accompanied by a McCartney-esque acoustic guitar, Kingo unleashes his inner Neil Finn to good effect. And anyone who can fit the word ‘paradigm’ into a song without sounding awkward deserves an award.

Dan Kibler – Mystery Girl
Rick Kingo – Confident in Time

If Springsteen did grunge it might sound a little like Vancouver’s Slip-Ons. Title track of their new EP Heavy Machinery will give you the gist of their sibilant, psych-rock sound. And what a joy it is. Now depending on when you read this post it may or may not actually be Bandcamp Friday. No matter, whether it is or isn’t I think we can all agree it deserves a theme song. Cue those perennial pop-punkers Vista Blue with “Bandcamp Friday is Here,” winning hearts 15 cents at a time. I wrote about New Jersey’s Sad About Girls once before and they were too polite to correct me when I miswrote their name as simply Sad Girls. Their fab new song is excuse enough to make amends. “Lonely One” delightfully channels a load of Merseybeat riffs and verse/chorus transition turnarounds but with a “That Thing You Do” freshness. Richard Turgeon is like money in the power pop bank. His new single “Friend Zone” is more of his reliable brand of melodic rock and roll. The lead guitar opening riff has a seventies Fleetwood Mac tone while his vocals pull between dissonance and rich harmony. Certainly suitable for summer beach playlists. Another utterly reliable power-pop singles factory can be found in Birmingham Alabama. Lolas have been releasing a single every few months now and they never fail to grab me. “Jacqui” has got a host of classic rock and roll motifs going on but somehow they come together in a unique way. The verses remind me of Abba’s “Does Your Mother Know” while the chorus hits the pop boogie marks of The Sweet.

Burlington Ontario’s big bold sound is presently coming from The Penske File. Their new long-player Half Glow is hard to peg stylistically, with a bit of four on the floor sing-along stomping and a whole lot of rock and roll heart. I’d dip in with the single-worthy “Chorus Girl.” This is a track that shimmers and lurches along with a sonic intensity that seldom lets up. In the early 1980s Milwauki’s The Shivvers were an up and coming outfit sporting vintage guitar sounds and vocals that melded Debbie Harry and Chrissie Hynde. But then they folded. Fast forward and today they’ve got a dynamite new song “My Love Calling” that sounds like a peak form Pretenders single. The musical build up in the song is inspired, from the jangle guitar to piano riffs to the tension between the main and background vocals. Another band mining the that killer early 1980s rock sound are Worriers. The title track from their upcoming LP Trust My Gut combines an eighties sonic ambience with a Bleachers pop polish in various key moments of the song. Meanwhile Lauren Denitzio’s vocals pull everything together in a tight poprock package. The Make Three bring together members of the Brixton Riot and The Anderson Council to make music they describe as ‘more power, less pop.’ The album is You, Me, and The Make Three and it has got some rock muscle behind it, but with a pop flavour you’d associate with the likes of The Smithereens or The Lemonheads. Whet your whistle with “Emily Strange” to get a sense of what they’re all about. Toronto’s Vicky von Vicky are a new outfit with, as far as I can tell, just two songs out. “Jealousy” is straight up melodic rock, full of chunky guitar chords and a simple chorus that really hooks you in. More please.

The Shivvers – My Love Calling

We wrap things up on this session of Life at 45rmp with the latest single from South Korean band Say Sue Me. “Mind is Light” is bit more shoe-gazey than some of the group’s previous releases, floating along over a pleasant guitar buzz that is regularly punctuated by other sonic interventions. Things do get a bit psychedelic at times.

21 down, 21 to go. Stay tuned for part II of Life at 45rpm, coming soon.

Photo courtesy Simon Collison Flikr collection.

Reindeer Games

17 Saturday Dec 2022

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Things got a bit out of hand for Santa this year at the Reindeer Games. It started with too much rum and eggnog at breakfast and, well, you get the picture. Still, this year’s annual musical celebration of the season is back, vibing all the key warm and fuzzies of the holiday: anticipation, desire, tradition and joy. Let’s take up each, in song.

That holiday music machine Make Like Monkeys are now my go-to source for any and every kind of seasonal single. Need a Mersey-drenched bit of poprock to bring your holiday and dating into focus? Can do. “Please Don’t Let Christmas Come Without You Girl” sounds so Beatles-derivative beat-group circa 1964. And I love it. The Essex Green offer up an Everly Brothers-worthy slice of late sixties country rock, making peace with a “Green Christmas.” The heavenly guitars and layered background vocals on this track are all I need under the tree. Seasonal songsters Christmas Aguilera sound like they’re auditioning for a ‘I hate the holidays’ telethon what with all the disaster accompanying their yuletide plans in “All Wrapped Up.” But the subtext to all the apparent chaos seems to be a grudging, recognizable family kind of love. And the tune is a real winner too, chock full of hooks and harmony vocals. Proceeds from this help the campaign to end homelessness and poor housing in the UK. Daryl Bean delivers an eerie XTC-ish paean to the anticipation of the season on “Holidaze.” You’d swear there’s a Partridge in his pear tree.

Turning to desire Toronto’s Jane’s Party capture the youthful sense of really wanting to get that specific something at Xmas with “I Want It Bad.” And they deliver it with it a bit Motown swing. The Decibels’ Brent Seavers delivers a retro sounding classic holiday tune with “I Want You for Xmas,” complete with addictive ‘fa la la la la’s’ to really reel you in. I can’t decide if Frank Royster sounds more like Fastball or The Smithereens on his fab holiday track “Christmas is Fun.” Whichever, the song sounds like a slick bit of 1980s poprock magic. Turning to tradition, rock and roll traditionalists Jeremy and the Harlequins add a heflt of solid rock backing to “White  Christmas” to shake things up. I don’t know how much Superchunk owe to Dylan Thomas but their “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” is hooky and jangly and the that’s good enough for me. It’s hard to add much to that holiday rock and roll classic “Jingle Bell Rock” but premiere guitar instrumentalist Joel Paterson manages to inject some of his special, unique playing style into the song. Old dogs, new tricks indeed!

Feeling swamped by the crass commercialism of capitalist Christmas? This year don’t puzzle till your puzzler is sore about it. As the Grinch said, “Christmas, perhaps, is a little bit more.” Like hope, and peace, and joy. Berlin’s Shybits accent the hope on “Hope This Christmas,” a chaotic swirl of Futureheads meets The Spook School indie-pop seasonal goodnesss. The pop incomparable Orion Experience wield a serious joy stick on their seasonally-appropriate, all-you-need-is-love ode “Rich Man’s Holiday.”  As they sing it, you don’t need money when ‘your love is the greatest gift in the world.’ Then there’s the peaceful easy feeling that flows from Scoopski’s new Christmas classic “Your First Christmas.” The husband and wife duo sing about their actual recent baby, a stand in for the joy that every baby anywhere can bring to a hopefully peaceful world.

And yet is wouldn’t be the holidays without mixed feelings. It’s a tough season for so many. Some with or without family, with or without faith. Anthony D’Amato captures that holiday ennui on “Merry Christmas, I Guess.” Not sad, exactly. More lonely. All wrapped up in a musical pretty paper that sounds like the pedal-steel country blues. By contrast, The Surf School Dropouts won’t suffer in silence. They utilize their Beach Boys-vocals to call out to the jolly plus-size guy himself on “Help Me Santa.” Vancouver’s Odds have got a clever plan to deal with all the garbage this season produces, both emotional and physical. While the mall marketing people say ‘more! more!’ they have Santa telling voters to share the gift of love with ‘neighbour and your honey.’ We lost the legendary girl group pioneer Ronnie Spector this past year. Right to the end she was radiating joy and goodwill to all. In terms of her long career “Best Christmas Ever” is a fairly recent release but one that captures everything great about her enduring talent and style.

It’s almost a wrap here at this annual Reindeer Games. Let’s go out looking for that star that will help lead us where we need to go in the days ahead. My new favourite one-stop-shopping seasonal music provider Make Like Monkeys can provide the accompaniment with “Star.”

Merry ho ho to all and to all a goodnight!

Top photo courtesy Kevin Dooley.

Around the dial: Lund Brothers, Grant Lindberg, The Orion Experience, and Scoopski

06 Friday May 2022

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I was tuning in to my own late night dial when I ran across this crew of creative tune-sters. No anesthetized feelings here. Just some of the melodic magic they deliver regularly.

Imagine being a band rejected by a major label for sounding ‘too Beatles.” What?! But that was Geffen’s excuse for not signing The Lund Bros. after initially financing some recordings in 1990s. Well the late Beatles influences remain despite the years, plastered all over their newest recording Across State Lines. The album puts acoustic guitar and blood harmonies at the forefront of the songs, while still delivering the band’s distinctive ‘heavy pop’ sound. This combo is most striking on the lovely and haunting “The Front Lines.” Or check out how “Living is Easy” opens with stripped down acoustic guitar and vocals only to break out a bigger sound in the chorus and instrumental break. “Love U” delivers some solo Lennonesque twists in the song structure and melody while “Killin’ Me” is more Lennon in White Album mode. The songs sometimes feel very Ten Years After with their combination of live sounding vocals and acoustic guitar intros and interludes e.g. “Harder They Fall” and “Red, Blue and Gold.” There’s a country rock vibe on “Want Your Money” and it’s also got a hit-it-out-the-park chorus. Turning to should-be hits, the two obvious singles for me are “Bender” and “Flyin’,” the latter combining some Cars-like guitar shots and a Beatles-worthy chorus. Across State Lines marks a triumphant return for The Lund Bros. Definitely worth that trip to the border.

By the looks of things over Bandcamp Grant Lindberg has released an awful lot of music over the past two decades. Where have I been all his career? I’m just joining the Lindberg train with his most recent long-player Function Over Form but man, it seems as good a place as anywhere to start. There’s quality melodic rock and roll right off the start with opening cut “Things Have Been Strange.” It’s got a touch of that droning power pop vibe I associate with Jeff Shelton’s Well Wishers. Or there’s a bit of Weezer in “Your First Mistake,” a Chris Collingwood in Look Park mode vibe on “Nothing I Can Do,” and echoes of Cheap Trick all over “Shame On You.” But then I also love how Lindberg lightens things up with the lilting acoustic-guitar heavy “Your Heart is my Light” and “The Words” (even if the latter has something of an ominous atmosphere). “She’s a Mystery” opens with a great 1970s melodic guitar blast before settling on 1990s hooky grunge vibe. “Things We Do” is bit pop gungy too. But the clear should-be hit for me is “Always Been A Lie” with its lovely swinging melodic chorus and early FOW sound. Here’s a music veteran whose sound is still post-teenage fresh and exciting. Function Over Form definitely deserves some of your precious new music time.

Seems I’d just finished raving about The Orion Experience last fall only to overlook the release of their latest album Fever Dream. Well there’s no stale dating this release because the sounds are all timeless. Warning: this record is much more pop than rock, but it’s still great. Things open with “All Dolled Up,” a dance-y number vibing bits of Bony M, Blondie, and Queen. Then “Digital Affection” reminds me of ELO’s disco interventions circa 1978. “Night Eyes” keeps the disco party going, this time with a smooth Abba feel. “Cosmicandy Girl” is all pop while “Honeysuckle Kisses” combines both rock and dance elements. But the track I can’t stop hitting replay on is “I Can Read Your Mind.” I love the song’s swing and the percussion is so toe-tapping good. Fever Dream is a feel-good party platter, with melodies and grooves to help you sing and dance the night away.

On See You Soon Philadephia PA’s Scoopski harken back to an era of fun 1990s poppy rock tunes, flavoured with a bit of a Weezer or FOW discordant edge. The band’s original take on these themes can be heard on album opener “Living in Key” which combines kicking-up-your-heels pop-country verses with more rocky choruses and instrumental interludes. Need a state song update? “Pennsylvania” brings on the state love with Weezer keyboards and some They Might Be Giants lyrical twists. The Weezer influences carry on into “Hoodie Weather” which nails a very Cuomo vocal delivery. “While We Wait” and “See You Soon” are just great AM radio poprock songs. But the really striking tunes here are “Contrarian” and “Elon Send Me to Mars.” Both are carefully crafted, finely textured sonic treats, with lyrics that really do sing. I love the lead guitar and other-worldly keyboards that launch “Elon Send Me to Mars” as well as the chunky power chords that carry the tune. The chorus hook seals it, helped by the hilarious, over-the-top lyrics. See You Soon is a solid highly listenable 44 minutes of tune-age. And there’s a back catalogue for those that want more.

Yes, radio was a sound salvation. Now we gotta do it for ourselves. Pretend this post is your radio selection for the evening. And the best part, you don’t even have to leave to house to rush to the e-record store after.