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
2019 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:
- The Golden Seals “Something Isn’t Happening”
- Juliana Hatfield “Sugar”
- The Well Wishers “Feeling Fine”
- Bombadil “The Man Who Loves You”
- Matthew Milia “Abruptly Old and Caffeinated”
- The Brothers Steve “She”
- The Maple State “Germany”
- Aaron Lee Tasjan “Songbird”
- Johnny Stanec “Secret World”
- The Maureens “Can’t Stop”
- Telekinesis “Like Nothing”
- Omicrom J Trauma “Leave You Alone”
- Matthew Logan Vasquez “Ghostwriters”
- Hollerado “Straight to Hell”
- *repeat repeat “Pressure”
- Space Dingus “Parchment Squire, Paper Knight”
- Taylor Knox “City at Night”
- Fruit Bats “Ocean”
- Berwanger “Bad Vibrations”
- The Cerny Brothers “American Whore”
- Pernice Brothers “Skinny Jeanne”
- Wyatt Blair “I’ll Keep Searching for You”
- Mike Adams at his Honest Weight “Do You One Better”
- U.S. Highball “Summer Boy”
- The Rallies “All Over Town”
- Richard Turgeon “Loneliness”
- Perspective, A Lovely Hand to Hold “One Wrong Turn”
- Deadbeat Beat “Baphomet”
- Bryan Estepa “Another Kind of Madness”
- Ezra Furman “In America”
- Nick Lowe “Blue on Blue”
- Lucille Furs “Paint Euphrosyne Blue”
- Brett “Wisdom Tooth”
- Martha “Heart is Healing”
- The Dave Anderson Project “Welcome”
- Drew Neely and the Heroes “Chasing Danielle”
- Dave Molter “Tell Me That You Love Me”
- The Boolevards “Take Me to the Top”
- Army Navy “Seismic”
- Trolley “I’ll Never Tell”
- Ducks Unlimited “Anhedonia”
- The Needs “I Regret It”
- The Cudas “The Kids Want Hits”
- Propeller “There Goes a Day”
- Dead Rituals “Run”
- David Woodard “Nine Hundred Ninety Nine”
- Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts “Feels Like Falling in Love”
- Big Nothing “Waste My Time”
- The Mommyheads “Wake Up a Scientist”
- 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.
So many albums to listen to! Welcome to the listening room session II where we carry on distracting you from any holiday malaise that might be afoot with melody, hooks, harmonies and some jangle guitar.
Oslo, Norway’s The Needs is just another example of Nordic superiority. They manage to combine driving guitars with sweet melodies that make you want to jump and sing at the same time. The album is entitled You Need the Needs and truer words were never spoken. The record kicks off with “Summerbore,” a song that blasts out of the gate with the band’s signature driving guitar, coated with a slick vocal that holds back just a bit, creating tension between the vocal and instrumental elements. Next up is the obvious single, “I Regret It,” with its early Rooney-esque demeanor. And so on. There are a cartful of great tunes here: the hooky “I’m Doing Fine,” the more mid-tempo “First to Go,” and the fabulous “Stay at Home Friend” with its crashing guitars and endearing melody. Guitar lovers rejoice! Your needs are answered with this latest Norwegian export.
I agree with Richard Rossi over at 
Bulletproof is album number two for Birmingham, Alabama’s The Lolas for 2019 and there is no evident dilution in the quality of offering the second time around. And that’s pretty impressive because The Lolas is only one of the many musical projects that Tim Boykin is regularly writing for and performing in. Opening cut “Deestroy” sets the tone for the fun to come, sounding like a power pop Ramones with lyrics about wanting to ‘destroy capitalism’ and ‘take away your desolate vision.’ Finally, a ‘peace on earth’ vision I can get behind! Then Boykin goes all Rubber Soul Beatles on us with the delightful “Fall Away” while “Oceans on the Moon” sounds like a great lost Hollies cut to me. But the real news with this record is how political it is compared with earlier releases. Titles like “Stand Up and Fight,” “Stop the War,” and “Gunshot Holes” advertise their sentiments pretty clearly. But others, like “Storm of Silence,” carry a message of worker solidarity and hope that requires more active listening. Going political is a risk for any performer and can go agitprop in a bad way pretty quickly in the wrong hands. But this effort is entirely in good hands with Boykin, who strikes the right balance between message and art. And I love the final cut, a Merseybeat rendition of “L’Internationale” that totally works!
In our one last EP file, here’s a release from 2018 that somehow missed my radar last year from Brooklyn’s Answering Machine – Color TV. Vocalist Samantha Campanile often comes off sounding like a edgier Neko Case meets Jenny Lewis on the epic tunes showcased here like title track “Color TV,” “Tri-State Kids,” and “Save the Date.” Though vocalist J.D. Fetcho also sounds great on backup or lead on tracks like “East of Eden.” The band did release a single in 2019 and “Bad Luck” bodes well for the group’s upcoming debut release due sometime in 2020, almost sounding an indie, slightly punk version of mid-period Fleetwood Mac.
Poprock Record 