We love to skirt the border of our defined genres. Really, Poprock Record is a throwback to the pre-Westphalian era of overlapping musical sovereignties. Melodic rock and roll is our main thing obviously but we step over into a host of adjacent territory all the time. Like with today’s quartet of misfit melodicans.

Adelaide Australia’s Swapmeet alternate between a harsh but airy nineties rock grind and songs with guitars that exude lighter, more bespoke tones, often matching the shift between female and male vocalists. Opening cut “I Know” dives into the former with relish while follow up and title track “Mount Zero” takes up the latter. Then we arrive at “Bonny,” the seductive should-be hit single. The guitars are soft but glide over a rhythm section that establishes a subtle but still driving urgency. Trust me, this one will work its melodic magic on you. “2CU” also builds to breakout set of hooks in the chorus. “Seeds” is another song with a remarkable intensity, shifting from light to crunchy and back again. There are some variations on their key themes here. “Sand” is mostly lullingly light with some elegant lead guitar lines, “Personal (Don’t Take It)” combines folk with a striking string section, while “My Heart Breaks It” ventures into almost jazzy territory. It may be a bit of trip somewhat outside of power pop but Mount Zero is definitely worth taking on the summit.

Shifting locales to Oakland California we find a band that manages to combine seemingly conflicting musical esthetics, a laid back Americana with an indie rock alternative vibe. My gut says Mildred are the kind of band you could drink beer and discuss the meaning of life with. The band’s new album is Fenceline and it is a mood, a struck pose that rarely shifts dramatically. Instead it wends its way along, sonorous, contemplative, almost hypnotic at times. The record opens with “UPS Brown” and it’s a scene-setter with its slow, evenly paced, Hayden-esque demeanor. “Fish Sticks” lifts the mood slightly, vibing acts like Blue Rodeo or The Jayhawks. “Cobwebs” kicks the tempo up further with a guitar and vocal attack that is very Neil Young-ish. A number of tracks definitely have a meditative quality – I’m thinking “Mumblecore Melody” and “Pitch Boats” particularly. The album’s departure tune is “Fleet Week,” a good-time country singalong throwback, in a James Taylor style. Another highlight is album closer “Hardcore of Beauty,” a beautifully executed mediation on its unstable subject.

After two decades slugging it out on Ohio’s indie music scene Columbus natives Smug Brothers have decided to put out a greatest hits of sorts with Gravity is Just a Way to Fall. If you’re just discovering the band it’s a great way to get the flavour of their unbridled songwriting range. Despite drawing from ten albums the collection of songs here really cohere with a tight, 1980s new wave-reminiscent sound. Intro tune “Let Me Know When It’s Yes” lets its guitars ring in bright tones. Then “Interior Magnets” offers a darker guitar attack, a bit more in the garage than light of day. The new wave feel really comes on for me on “It was Hard to be a Team Last Night” and “Take It Out On Me.” Sometimes the vibe reaches back to the sixties that inspired so much new wave, as on “Silent Velvet,” particularly its tinny lead lines and reverb drenched rhythm guitar. “Seemed Like You To Me” is also pretty 1960s with its ringing guitars a la McCartney in a Rubber Soul moment. For something a bit more out there, “Javelina Nowhere” starts the song with a killer flute solo. “Everyone Is Really Five” and “How Different We Are” are both just great rocking melodic cuts. Altogether Gravity is Just a Way to Fall is a superb collection that will hold you over until some new Smug Brothers material arrives next fall.

My new favourite recent discovery is Scotland’s Shambolics. Their early work is a bit more obviously Brit-pop adjacent, particularly the jangleful “Chasing a Disaster” and the thumping “Love Collides” with its lustrous, weaving lead guitar line. But with the band’s first full LP Dreams, Schemes & Young Teams their sound begins to gel into a distinctive poppy party sound all its own. The whole record is a strong outing – there’s no filler here. But the many video are singled out of the package for a reason. “Never Be Mine” is a relentless driving pop number. By contrast, “If You Want It” is a barn-burning number for the dance floor. It evokes the stomping melee of unified dancers that you no doubt see at every Shambolics concert when this comes on. And then there’s the album’s master class in pop song social realism, the indignant, unbending, generational rage-fueled “Universal Credit.” It’s this generation’s “Common People.”

Who doesn’t enjoy a wee trip somewhere different? Our four bands test our genre boundaries and still get us home on time. Get your bandcamp travel agent to fix you up.

Photo ‘All the Way to Canada’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.