It’s nearly time for the annual march of little monsters through your neighbourhood, lusting for candy and mischief in roughly equal measure. It’s an event that begs for an appropriately festive soundtrack. To fill that void, we’ve prepared a little-monsters-night music playlist. We’ve got monsters and ghosts and aliens. And hooks, of course.
Tokyo’s Hazy Sour Cherry get things started with a wonderfully off-kilter, 1950-resonant lurch that animates “Hazy Halloween,” a selection from their freak holiday-themed EP Hazy Horror Party. The verses are a kind of stable chaos but the chorus turns on the melodic hooks. It’s a scene-setter that says ‘hang on, this could be a melodically bumpy thrill ride!’
Halloween has to be the most cinematic holiday, with fright baked in to the slasher, horror, haunted and alien film genres. Fascinations Grand Chorus pay tribute to the slasher-horror flick with their themed album Terror in the Night. “Pandemonium” perfectly captures the 1970s Quinn Martin production values for maximum cheese effect. The reliably holiday perfect punk pop outfit Vista Blue never fail to provide us with relevant releases. They Came Back combines their punk rhythm section with host of killer synth lines (accent on ‘killer’). “Everyday is Halloween” is fueled by some serious keyboard genius while “Haunted House on my Street” is a sweet should-be single. On They Came to RockThe Amplifier Heads work up a fabulous 1950s-meets-aliens movie script but the individual songs have so many wonderful nuances. “They Heard My Radio” has aliens moved by the work of those all-night DJs. And with tunes like these, who can blame them?
Halloween is also a time for instrumentalists to fill the gap in our imaginations with some spooky instrumentalizing. Listening to the Black Flamingos Asbury Park NJ is clearly a spooky place. The band’s recent double-A sided single “Tales from the Crypt” and “Are You Afraid of the Dark” work up the seasonal organ and lead guitar motifs, with holiday-rific effects. By contrast Greg Townson delivers a more Chet Atkins country gentleman vibe on his exquisite single “Hired to Haunt.” That guy is just class personified. For a different twist Poland’s I. Jeziak and The Surfers turn up the b-movie organ on “Mummy Walk” while the festively appropriate Satan’s Pilgrim’s make space on the dance floor with “Monster Surfing Time.”
All things fright night eventually head for the cemetery. Oakland’s The Bye Bye Blackbirds offer up some “Graveyard Tunes” as part of the special, time-limited Timber Trout Spirit release (get your free copy now!). Surprisingly light for a cemetery song but featuring triple B’s reliably hooky vocals. We wrap up this little monsters playlist with a selection from Elefant Records Halloween release Viernes 13 from Nosoträsh entitled “Mi Pequeño Frankenstein.” Dr. Frank’s monster seldom gets such a melody-drenched treatment.
Restock those candy bowls now and, while you’re at it, have this Halloween monster kiddie playlist ready to go. Music doth soothe savage beasts you know.
Top image “Little Monsters” designed by Rob Elliott, Swizzle Studios.
2023 was another banner year for melodic rock and roll. Here at Poprock Record we could spotlight only a small portion of what was go on. Still, we kept busy, writing 58,000 words over 77 posts about literally hundreds of artists. And we liked them all – that’s why we wrote about them. But some tunes had real staying power for our team of singles inspectors. So today we single out 50 should-be hit singles from 2023, songs that deserve another listen and a shot at chart glory. Click on the hyperlinks to hear each song and read the original write ups.
Getting to the main event, here are Poprock Record’s top 50 should-be hit singles from 2023:
New York’s Strange Neighbors grabbed me early in 2023 with their killer 45 “Hotline Psychic” and never really let go. The lyrics are so spot on, the chorus is mesmerizing, while the instrumental break threatens to break out into Blondie’s “Rapture.” The band is so good they placed another tune in my top 10, the delightful jangler “Whoa! Is Me.” Then Taking Meds and Good Shade seemed like two sides of a very good coin with songs that featured surging insistent hooks that simply demanded replay. The Goa Express tipped toward punk but without sacrificing melodic depth. And The Decibels returned with the modern beat group sound they own. There’s variety in this list, proving genre is no barrier to delivering poprock hooks.
Moving on, here are Poprock Record’s most inventive covers from 2023:
1. Juliana Hatfield “Don’t Bring Me Down” (Electric Light Orchestra) 2. Mo Troper “Citgo Sign” (Jon Brion) 3. Arthur Alexander “It’s Not Love Anymore #2” (The Sorrows) 4. The Jangles “Here Without You” (The Byrds) 5. The Flashcubes “Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?” (The Spongetones)
Covers remained fertile ground for music veterans and indie new-comers alike this past year. Juliana Hatfield delivered a whole album of ELO songs, mixing things up with a nicely curated collection of chart hits and deep cuts. Mo Troper introduced a new generation to the genius of Jon Brion with his album tribute, Troper sings Brion. Arthur Alexander covers himself, sort of, with his ace reinvention of the Sorrows’ “It’s Not Love Anymore #2.” And both The Jangles and The Flashcubes covers really revive some great songs for the here and now.
Rounding out our lists, here are Poprock Record’s top 5 folk pop singles from 2023:
While most of our coverage is pretty poppy we do shift into the folk lane from time to time where the melodies are strong or I just have a particular interest.
Another year, another slew of great songs. Click on the links to remind yourself how good a year it really was and make sure to let the artists know what you think in cash and/or commentary.
The sun is finally here and it needs a playlist. What you want is something strummy with a bit of jangle and hooks that linger over those long walks on the beach. To that end, here are 21 singles for your beach playlist consideration. It’s summer music fun made easy.
Our first track so fits the bill of summertime songs – very strummy with a touch of pop psychedelia. 65MPH soften their usual monster mod attack on “Another Time” to a more dreamy vibe. The Paul Weller Jam inflections are still there but now they’re cast in a slightly different register. Sweden’s Råttanson take us back into a very 1970s mode with their new single “Fighting the Good Fight.” The compressed poppy AM sound reminds of seventies releases from Nick Lowe in his Jesus of Cool guise. Then again there’s something 1980s indie about the band sound here too. The most recent EP from The Happy Somethings is Kickin’ The Balls and it works a soccer/football theme into its first cut “Ruddy Vile.” The rhythm guitar drives this song along while the vocal melody is all sweetness and light. The song’s message is more oblique. As Ruddy is a player both on the field and in love his life game appears to be denial. On “Where We Go Home Again” The Amplifier Heads manage that ever so tricky balance, blending nostalgia for one’s past with a reckoning of loss. Of course, you can’t ever really go home again to what existed before in your past. But you can want to. This song is sweet and wistful with a Jonathan Richman sense of wonder and longing. Another new EP just out comes from Chicago’s Gosh Diggity under the plain title of EP 3. All four songs are the usual electro-pop fun that are the band’s trademark sound but “Blast Off” is the obvious stand-out track. The hooky lead guitar work is seductive and hypnotic while the group vocals are sing-along good.
Fort Wayne, Indiana is where you can find Shawn Browning. Veteran of the local music scene and multiple bands over the past three decades, he’s now throwing us the occasional single when the mood strikes him. Like “Let Go, Hold On,” a tasty bit of tuneage in the late seventies melodic rock and roll mode. Very new wave with a touch of Americana. By contrast Quinton Flynn draws from the Mersey side of things on his one-off single “Hey Girl.” The song has a rollicking tempo, up front jumping guitar work and smooth harmonies reminiscent of that 1965 British beat group sound, though perhaps with a cleaner mix, particularly on the vocal. More singles like this would definitely not go amiss. One scribe described Germany’s Moon Mates as channeling Fleetwood Mac and I can sort of see/hear the point listening to their new song “Not Today” but you’d have to imagine the Macs absorbing a lot of other seventies influences to make it stick. Certainly this track represents a dynamic shift from the material on their debut EP Random Dad Barbeque Music with this version of the band vibing a strong Grouplove or Portugal the Man party style. The Well Wishers are back with a single that reminds us how much we miss that grinding guitar Matthew Sweet-defined version of power pop. Main man Jeff Shelton eases us into “So Important” with a pretty low key intro verse before really letting loose the hooks in the chorus. The song just builds from there, adding more and more mad guitar goodness. The B-side is a pretty fine too, a cover of Husker Du’s “Flip Your Wig.” Chicago’s Crickle rounded out 2022 with the release of their long-player Have You Heard the Word? The record has a distinctive 1970s power pop feel. My song choice for maximum rotation radio play is “Nothing in Your Eyes.” This one really reminds me of a load of great Canadian melodic rock bands from seventies like April Wine and Chilliwack. The guitar hooks and tender vocals are so the period.
Quinton Flynn – Hey Girl
I really know next to nothing about Turkish band Palmiyelerexcept that they’ve got a number of albums available on the various streaming and download services. But I know what I like in a single. “Yaz Bittiğinde” (translated “When Summer’s Over”) has got the enigmatic allure that any great single has, from the slightly ominous surf guitar hooks the open the tune and snake through the whole thing to the ghostly group vocals that seem to hover just out of the spotlight. I loved Corvair’s moody, atmospheric self-titled debut album. It managed to ride the line between urgent poppiness and more uneasy, quiet introspection. So I was intrigued to see where their new, soon-to-be released follow up Bound To Be would go. If “Right Hook” is any indication, it’ll be more of the good same. This song’s got it all: spooky keyboards, an enduring melody, and a vocal arrangement that reminds me of Django and Django and Everything Everything. A while back we touted James Holt’s single “Mystery Girl” as a ‘a masterful bit of production disguised as a breezy pop confection’ worthy of comparison to Crowded House and Gilbert O’Sullivan. His new single proves our enthusiasm was not misplaced. “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?” has a deceptively easygoing, almost breezy demeanor that masks quite a sophisticated piece of song-writing. Just check out the subtle melodic hook that wraps around the chorus. Meanwhile everything else in the song artfully builds the tension to get back there. An album of songs in this vein would surely find itself stuck on repeat play. Prolific Glaswegian janglers U.S. Highball return with a new record very soon. No Thievery, Just Cool promises lots of special guests and a few covers but right now I’m digging early-release single “Irresponsible Holiday.” The keyboard work is delightful and adds so much character to the song. Ok, I’m also loving “Paris 2019” with its spot-on 1980 English Beat sax solos! There’s a Boston in the UK and it’s where jangle poppers Fine. hail from. On their most recent LP love, death, dreams, and the sleep between there is song – “Forgive Me” – that runs a mellifluous cacophony of voices together in the most artful way. It makes my brain buzz with pleasant after effects. Very Elephant 6.
Late 2022 Drain County released a very short EP entitled Sucked Out full of dissonant poppy tunes like “Hard to Hide” and “Buoys.” But I found myself drawn to the slow march chord belting “Stay Where You Are.” At just 51 seconds it starts and stops pretty quickly but what happens in between is some grungy pop bliss. Another album full of brief bits of pop brilliance can be found on LMNOP’s third album LMNO3. So many great choices here but “Wanna Write You a Letter” will give you a super snapshot of what to expect from this bargain 22 song package. Indie eighties stripped down poppy rock with fab organ fills. The Radio Field is a side project of Lars Schmidt from German band Subterfuge. The sound is bit more jangly and boldly pop on “The Version” with a killer horn section. On the other hand, you could definitely hear where this project originated by listening to Subterfuge’s 29 second song “The Teenage Fanclub Appreciation Society” from 2021. Belfast’s Jet Black Tulips have got a brand new song out and it’s a rocker. “Car in a Box” kicks like an arena rock Who number but quickly segues into something more Oasisy. While there’s plenty of blistering guitar work the song’s melodic hook keeps everything in check. Michael Maloney is artist who defies categorization. One minute it’s piano-based pop, another it’s an Irish-ish sort of shanty. His 2021 album January Hopeful features 21 songs covering this gamut and more. But he returns now with a one-off single to celebrate Paul McCartney’s birthday that is something altogether different. “Rock and Roll” is big and bold in a stadium chant sort of way. It sounds classic in a 1970s rocking register.
Jet Black Tulips – Car In A BoxMichael Maloney – Rock and Roll
It’s a wrap this time with a selection from Jenny O’s fabulous recent LP Spectra. There are so many possible fab choices here for your playlist: the seductive “Prism,” the sweeping grandeur of “The Big Cheese,” the rocking lurch propelling “Solitary Girl,” or the lush pop hooks of “Make It A Plan.” But I’m settling on the psych pop delight that is “You Are Loved Eternally,” a song that easily fit on a Magnetic Fields or Primitives album.
These days you don’t even have to worry about getting sand in your portable record player, your devices have no moving parts! Just hit play and let your summer soundtrack work its magic.
Given the everyday horror of the past few years – war, pandemic, the political right – it’s getting hard for a humble, candy-fueled monster holiday to compete. Luckily we still have the music. This post celebrates fright night with a set list of seasonally appropriate tunes covering a good range of monster diversity.
Justin Roberts gets called a kids songster but I think his tunes are for everyone who’s not quite finished growing up. He’s fun and whimsical and not afraid to be silly. And his songs will get stuck in your head like that gum on the underside of your chair at assembly. His “Trick or Treat” captures all the action of the nighttime candy run from a kid’s point of view and thus is an appropriate opening to our proceedings. The Freddie Steady 5 also strike just the right seasonal mood with their spirited cover of P.F. Sloan’s “Halloween Mary.” They take the tune out its original folk rock register to deliver a more pub rock easy-going party feel. Let the party begin!
Justin Roberts – Trick or TreatThe Freddie Steady 5 – Halloween Mary
Alright kids, we know you’re mostly here for the candy but deep down you’re also up for a bit of fright. Time to bring in the monsters. Don’t worry, we’ll ease you in with the pleasant Byrdsian psychedelic vibes of Pseudonym on “Before the Monsters Came.” Then the elusive and mysterious Clovis Roblaine sounds like he’s cooped up in his castle on a hill at the start of his “Monster Love.” But as he gets going we’re transported to what sounds like a 1970s riff on all those old cartoony drive-in movie monster encounters. Like Rocky Horror but without all the cross-dressing. Then there’s Timmy Sean’s “She’s a Monster” from his poprock musical A Tale From the Other Side where the creature sounds very 50 foot women-ish put through a serious ELO soundtrack filter. So far the monsters are pretty low on terror but come with popcorn.
Clovis Roblaine – Monster Love
One band reliably up for a holiday musical tribute is Vista Blue. “Boy Beast” is the flip side to their Halloween single release “Victor Crowley” and I liked this b-side just a bit more for its imagery and pulsing energy. The band also appear on Radiant Radish’s timely, pumpkin-approved collection Time of the Season. The whole album is great, it’s free, and it also includes a band called The John Carpenter’s The Things doing a mad rush of a song called “Here’s The Thing.” It’s poppy and punky with some great early 1980s synth background runs holding everything together. Aimee Mann’s “Frankenstein” is obviously on point for our theme. Do I really need much of an excuse to include anything by Mann? No. But listen to the sophisticated lyrics here amid a layering in of so many interesting musical adornments. Talent bleeds out of this gal like an open wound. Indie darlings Kiwi Jr. serve up some “Wicked Witches” because it can’t be All Hallow’s Eve without some serious sorcery.
Aimee Mann – Frankenstein
Now if we really want to move into more scary territory we’ve got to get to the zombie and vampire portion of our programming. Modern horror definitely leans on these two players to up the terror quotient. Sal Baglio uses his band The Amplifier Heads to bring The Band back from the dead with his spot-on Band-like reincarnation of their sound on “Zombie Moon.” Warning, things get a bit hairy near the end (as they should). During a zombie apocalypse it’s all too easy to forget your partner’s many co-dependent observations about your shortcomings. Luckily we have B.A. Johnston to keep us focused with “You Will Miss Me When the Zombies Come.” Not that you’ll remember. Ok, on to vampires with The Orion Experience’s disco poprock vamp of a tune “Vampire.” The ‘ooh ooh’s so remind of those creepy Tommy Lee Jones photo shoot scenes from The Eyes of Laura Mars. Tired of those impersonal representations of vampires? Italy’s Bee Bee Sea give them some personality on the rollicking “Vampire George.” I love the Together Pangea vibe on this performance, combining swing with hooks and just a touch of punky swagger.
Our last stop on the fright night scare tour is ghost city, just so the mood will linger. Copenhagen’s Surf School Dropouts are such a curious outfit. Are beaches in Denmark much like California? Because they’ve got the California beach sound down. And just how hard is surf school anyway? Whatever. “Attack of the Ghost Hot Rods!” takes us back into the fun zone of this holiday with goofy lyrics, sound effects, and killer guitar licks. By contrast, Look Park’s “I’m Going to Haunt This Place” is more mellow, a bit maudlin. Haunting really.
Well kids I hope the candy was worth it. Because soon the frights won’t end when the monsters take off the mask. They’ll just be starting.
Welcome to our sixth annual collection of should-be hit singles gathered from the artists, albums and tunes featured on Poprock Record in the previous year. You’d think after five tries I would have come up with some kind of rock solid science to make these choices. But, no. Still winging it, going with whatever takes my fancy. I mean, I think you’ll see a pattern: catchy guitar hooks, soaring melodies, earwormy compositions, all accomplished in three minutes or less usually. Putting this list together was particularly challenging this year – positively spoilt for choices! My initial list of possible songs had over 200 selections. 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 top 50 should-be hit singles for 2021:
This year’s list privileges strong, strong hooks. I’m talking the jangleliscious guitar work from the ever reliable Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness on “I Don’t Mind,” the relentless driving guitar riffs animating White Fang’s “Never Give Up,” or the delicious 1960s roll out kicking off The Vapour Trails’ “That’ll Do It.” Or the pumping, plinky piano and organ cocktail that undergirds James Holt’s killer single “Mystery Girl.” Then there’s the more traditional poprock Brent Seavers, springing the earworm in the chorus of “More Than a Friend.” Still, there’s room for variety on this list, from the tender acoustic Aaron Lee Tasjan ballad “Another Lonely Day,” to the Beach Boys homage in Daisy House’s “Last Wave Home,” to a folk rock duet from Steve Stoeckel and Irene Pena on “Why,” to the striking sonic heartbreak embodied in Richard X. Heyman’s touching “Ransom.”
Truly, this list is just a bit a fun, one more chance for me to shine a light on the artists whose work had me hitting replay in 2021. But I’m sure you might make different choices. Feel free to tell me all about them! Either way, don’t forget to find some way – buying music, attending live shows (when it’s safe!), or taking up those opportunities to interact with them online – to support their bottom line. They may not only be in it for the money, but money does allow them to stay in it.
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:
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.
The rise and fall and rise of the Extended Play or ‘EP’ format is a story of technological innovation and the changing political economy of the music biz. American record companies RCA Victor and Columbia had a kind of techno arms race going on post-WWII, each vying to dominate the format of music delivery. Columbia pitched the 33rpm long-play or ‘LP’ format in 1948 while rival RCA introduced the 45rpm single in 1949 and the EP in 1952. For a while it was a ‘Betamax versus VHS’ or ‘DOS versus Apple’ sort of battle. But eventually the LP and 45 single came to serve distinct but complementary purposes. EPs, on the other hand, thrived for a while as a cheaper alternative to LPs (both Elvis and the Beatles sold millions of them) but eventually faded out by the late 1950s in the US and late 1960s in the UK. EPs got a death sentence reprieve with the rise of the DIY punk and indie scenes in the late seventies and eighties, basically as a more affordable product for non-mainstream acts. Then, more recently, the post millennium download era has heralded a new golden age of the EP as acts increasingly drip-release their music to maintain maximum public interest. So today we celebrate the EP – long may it hold our attention!
Austin’s Wiretreedeliver another reliable slice of strummy, slightly ominous poprock with their 5 song EP Careless Creatures, perfectly embodied on the opening track “All the Girls” and the EP closer “Lovers Broken.” Some trippy keyboards introduce “Back to the Start,” a rockier tune with a distinctive ‘wall of vocals’ attack. The keyboards continue to define things on the mellow “Nightlife” and “Out of Control,” both of which remind me of The Zolas and mid-period OMD in their general atmosphere. For a pretty much solo effort, the band’s creative force Kevin Peroni really turns out a dynamic performance here. I raved about David Woodard’s indie EPs I Used to be Cool and Everything in Between for their endearing jangle hookiness. But now Woodard is ready to join the big leagues with his fabulous new EP Grand Scheme of Things. The production quality and songwriting nuances on this release are Top 40 AM radio quality, in the best sense of the term. Just check out the vocal layering effects on the George Harrison-esque “You Don’t Even Know” that elevate the song to new heights. Personally, I think Woodard’s cover of the The Thorns “Among the Living” improves on the original, adding a strong Crosby, Stills and Nash vibe to the proceedings. But the highlights for me on this release are undoubtedly the two hit-single worthy tracks, “Applebees” and the title track. The former has a slow burn take up, reeling you in with its classic story of failed rock and roll ambition and just the right amount of Fountains of Wayne hooky pathos. The latter sails on a delightful low-key jangle wind until – bam – a killer chorus takes the listener into the stratosphere.
I already lauded Esther Rose and her cover of Nick Lowe’s “Blue on Blue” earlier this fall but the EP it appears on deserves more attention. My Favorite Mistakes is a Sheryl Crow song and the title of Rose’s small collection of covers, which includes the Crow tune and songs written by Hank Williams, Roy Orbison and the afore-mentioned Lowe. Rose’s vocal delivery and musical choices take this classic material in new directions. There are times she vibes the lyrical intimacy of Susanne Vega or vulnerability of Joni Mitchell. I have to add a shout out for her new single “Keeps Me Running,” a winning example of those Vega/Mitchell influences. Former Napalm Sunday frontman/songwriter Gerry McGoldrickremade his sound on his 2017 EP The Great Dispossession in a highly melodic and hooky poprock way. Now he’s returned this year with Swelter in Place and, like many artists, he offers a more stripped-down, solo acoustic effort while still maintaining his more recent poppy elan. “My Good Hand” has a great punky folk feel, very Old 97s. “Summer Friends” has that late period Nick Lowe warm swing. Or there’s my fave, “You Can Only Find Me,” a very Springsteen meets Chuck Prophet ode.
Emperor Penguin kicked off 2020 with a much-celebrated new album, Soak Up the Gravy. Other bands might have kicked back at that point, repair to the pub or perhaps get busy in the garden. But that’s not Emperor Penguin’s style apparently. Instead, they’ve kept busy releasing three EPs over this past summer and fall. June’s Taken for a Ride offers a bit of Revolver flavour on “Maserati” and “Hangar 9” or Rubber Soul on “Belgravia Affair,” while the duet with Lisa Mychols is a pych pop delight, a real should-be hit single. By August the band seemed a bit more introspective on Palaces and Slums, with hooky Fountains of Wayne story songs like “Stay Out of the Sun” and “Blink.” Then there’s the pop lushness of “Hell in a Handcart” or, for contrast, “The Way the Cookie Crumbles” with its ska groove and break-out Squeeze chorus. October delivered Barbed Wire and Brass, a more cerebral rumination on themes like authoritarian leadership (“False Prophet”) and mob justice (“12 Angry Men”). Sonically, the record reminds me of The Beatles in White Album mode while the lyrics are so Elvis Costello or Scandinavia. The Junior League’s Joe Adragna is a master of 1960s musical motifs but on his latest EP Summer of Lies, a collaboration with producer Scott the Hoople, he restricts the focus to a Monkees-meets-country rock mood. “Summer of Flies” combines a “Subterranean Homesick Blues” vocal delivery with a rollicking Monkees pace. Meanwhile “Make Up Your Mind” and “Out on the Side” offer up different sides of the country rock scene, from Brydsian pep to achingly Eagles. The EP is a surprising, refreshing departure from an artist that could hardly be accused of sitting still creatively.
I wrote about The Amplifier Headsearlier this year in themed blog post but didn’t really do justice to what the band has put out, particularly on the EP Oh Golly Gee. At that point I was raving about the delicious “Short Pop Song about a Girl,” a song that seems so familiar and foreign at the same time. Songwriter Sal Baglio combines familiar elements of popular songcraft but manages to turn them inside out: a bit of rumbly guitar, some accordion, a bouncy 1960s song structure, etc. Terms like ‘ironic detachment’ come to mind, except that Baglio seems entirely sincere. “Late to the Prom” is delivered in a style that seems both so 1950s hopeful and post-millennial indifferent. I love the catchy lead guitar bits sprinkled throughout “Short Pop Song about a Girl” and the “I Should Have Known Better” drive to “Man on the Edge of a Ledge Contemplating a Jump.” Brooklyn’s Fixtures blend a host influences on their new EP Weak Automatic. There’s definitely a strong dollop of a New Order melodic bass and synth, evident on the hooky opener “Five Ft One, Six Ft Ten.” But from there the band keeps us guessing. Things turn a bit Fleet Foxes vocally on “The Great Tequila Flood 2000-2018,” in a good way. “Jay’s Riff” has a Grouplove live party feel while “Sunshine” vibes a jazzy take on the Velvets. And I love the way the guitars seem to relentlessly rush the listener on “New Deal.” This band is stylistically going everywhere at once, and I like it.
The ‘extended play’ record began as a competitive technological gambit in a giant corporate game of musical chess, then revived and repurposed itself to serve an indie-DIY music esthetic, and has now emerged as a preferred form of packaging for music in the download/streaming era. It’s more than a sample and not quite a meal. Click on the hyperlinks above and let our artists know whether the EP is really meeting your needs.
Ah love. The autumn rustle of leaves amid crisp sunny days brings a new tableau for songwriters to paint love into the picture. Or out of it, as the case may be. Today’s post covers it all: from easy loving to yearning feelings to distinct varieties of heartbreak. Let’s get the loving started!
Canadian crooner David Myles is no slouch on guitar and he puts his smooth vocals and wiley acoustic playing together in a wonderfully Jim Croce-easygoing manner on “Loving You Is Easy.” It’s from his lovely new album Leave Tonight. Myles really excels at these laid back love songs so break out the candlelight if you’re going to spin this disc tonight. I love how Ride member Andy Bell’s new solo single starts abruptly, like you’ve tried to drop the needle in between vinyl cuts and not quite got the start. “Love Comes in Waves” is lovely rush of Bryds-influenced dream pop, accent on a spacey feel. Myles and Bell have clearly got the love and aren’t afraid to let you know about it.
Meanwhile, others are still looking for love. The Amplifier Headscomposed a nice “Short Pop Song About a Girl” that features spot-on 1960s lead guitar work and a winsome vocal style. There’s some serious wooing going on here. George McFall sets the scene a bit differently, coming on with more of an industrial tinge to start. But “The Boyfriend” delivers a great big head-exploding hook in the chorus that will have you hitting repeat to get just a little bit more of it. When he’s not leading the Lunar Laugh, Jared Lekites is apparently pining for love that’s not coming his way. His new EP Looking for Diamond X is a winning handful of loser laments, delivered in a most melodious way. “Unrequited Love Song” pretty much speaks for itself.
And then there’s heartbreak town. Sweden’s Mom have a new album called Pleasure Island but the song titles suggest that love may not appear on the street map. There’s “I Want You to Feel What I Feel,” “Hurt By You,” “Waste My Time,” and “Suzie (Use Me).” Sounds more like I’m-All-Out-Of-Love Island. But hey, I’m not saying the songs aren’t great – they are!. Check out the fab guitar and early Cars-vibe on “Don’t Leave With My Heart.” Lastly, Mike Daly and the Planets finally give falling out of love its due with a song of its own, the aptly-named “Falling Out of Love Song.” I mean, why should falling in love get all the songs? Love the Elvis Costello wordplay and sound on this track.
If love is in the air, forget the mask – it’s not going to protect you. Whether it’s coming or going or just being ignored, today’s artists demonstrate you can always set it to music. Hey, why not get a little love going on your own, a little money love for these artists? Hit the hyperlinks to do your part.
Poprock Record 