Tag Archives: The Newds

Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles for 2024

04 Saturday Jan 2025

Posted by in Should be a Hit Single

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Time to rev up our annual Poprock Record should-be hit singles list of songs we’ve featured at some point during 2024. Let’s be honest up front, we barely scratched the surface of all that was going on out there music-wise, even within the confines of our own narrowly defined genre (what I’ve been calling poppy rock). As I peek at the lists of other melodic rock taste-makers I see loads of great acts I somehow missed out on. Oh well. There’s only so much needle-dropping your scribe can do. From what we did manage to cover I just want to take this space to remind you of some stand-out tracks. So today we single out 50 should-be hit singles from 2024, songs that deserve another shot at chart glory. Click on the hyperlinks to hear each of the songs and read the original write ups.

Drumroll please, here are Poprock Record’s top 50 should-be hit singles from 2024:

1. Wons Phreely “The Faithful Heart”
2. Real Estate “Water Underground”
3. Used “Morning Sun”
4. Lo Fi Ho Hum “Never Been in Love”
5. Tamar Berk “Good Impression”
6. Frank Royster “Someday”
7. Wifey “Mary Ann Leaves the Band”
8. Peter Freebairn “I Got Lucky (I Got You)”
9. Mo Troper “A Piece of You Broken Through My Heart”
10. The Well Wishers “Good Side”
11. Blitzen Trapper “Hello Hallelujah”
12. Chime School “Wandering Song”
13. Strange Neighbors “Tell All Your Friends”
14. Steven Wright-Mark “Summer Sky”
15. Brent Seavers “Till It’s Over”
16. Ducks Ltd. “The Main Thing”
17. HOA “Push Man”
18. Dom Mariani “Jangleland”
19. Randy Klawon “She’s More Than I Want”
20. Kenny Michaels “Must Be This New Love of Mine”
21. Laughing “Bruised”
22. Cal Rifkin “Big Star”
23. Stephen Schijns “Carry On (The Way It Has To Be)”
24. 2nd Grade “Live From Missile Command”
25. Love Burns “What To Do About Us”
26. The Fatal Flaw “Stop Pushing Me Away”
27. Marc Jonson “November Paintbrush”
28. Sunken Planes “There’s a World”
29. Pale Lights “Twisting the Knife”
30. Paul Collins “In Another World”
31. The Rockyts “Without You”
32. Ward White “Our Town”
33. The Cynz “Crow Haired Boys”
34. Sad About Girls “She’s Not Here”
35. David Woodard “The Last of the Full Grown Men”
36. The Reflectors “Supernova”
37. Mark Alan Lofgren “Ne’er Do Wells”
38. The Dreambots “Tightrope”
39. Ethan Beck and the Charlie Browns “Does This Bus Stop at Douglas Street”
40. The Newds “God of Small Things”
41. Motorists “Phone Booth in the Desert of the Mind”
42. Neon Bone “Don’t Fall in Love With Her”
43. SidePlay “Hit the Road Mac”
44. Caddy “In a Heartbeat”
45. Glenn Erb “Dashboard Jesus”
46. Brother Dynamite “The Girl’s in Love”
47. Pony “Freezer”
48. Jupiter Motel “Playing with Ghosts”
49. Newski “Banking On Never Breaking Down Again”
50. Teenage Tom Petties “She Kissed Me in Seattle”

Music blogger extraordinaire Eclectic Music Lover put me on to Won Phreely’s captivating single and I was hooked. Both Real Estate and Used struck me as mining that elegant Shins brand of manicured poprock. Lo Fi Ho Hum grabbed my attention with his quirky, amusing video but his melody lingered long after. Tamar Berk just goes from strength to strength in her songwriting and you can hear it here. I could go on. This is a list bursting with jangle and heartbreak – and hooks, of course.

Next up, Poprock Record’s most inventive covers from 2023:

1. The Half-Cubes “Make You Cry”
2. Mattiel & Troy Stains “Somebody’s Knocking”
3. Super Ratones “Troubled Times”

The covers just keep on coming and I’m fine with that. Poprock veterans The Half Cubes gave us a double album of carefully curated pop hits from the past but it was their cover of The Sighs’ signature song that really floored me. Georgia’s Mattiel could sing the phone book and keep most people happy but her cover of Terri Gibbs’ 1981 hit is nothing short of transformative. Then there’s Super Ratones doing Fountains of Wayne. Lovely and timely.

It’s been a tough year. It’s been a year full of great songs. We’ll certainly need more of the latter in the days ahead and Poprock Record with be there to bring you more should-be hits. So click on the links above to remind yourself how good 2024 was and make sure to visit the artists and wave a little cash in their direction.

Photo courtesy of Sunsju Flikr collection.

A song at the five and dime

07 Saturday Sep 2024

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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Time for another collection of 21 tunes populated from various sources over the past month. I think there’s something from every dark corner of the poprock-o-sphere here. And given the value for money, they’re all available for five and dime prices when you think about it.

Earlier this year Portland’s Blitzen Trapper brought out a monster of a new album 100’s of 1000’s, Millions of Billions. It’s pretty impressive how quickly they rivet out attention on their opening single “Hello Hallelujah” with just a few strums of the guitar. From there they just build the hooky tension till there’s no turning away. You are gonna hit replay on this one. Shifting north to Toronto The Celestophones nail a very particular seam of the Beatles sound, namely their love of the Everly Brothers and Buck Owens. They conjure both elements expertly on their light and frothy single “You and I Know.” Every time I notice Milwaukee’s Newski he seems to be on the road somewhere so I don’t where he gets time to lay down all these tracks. “Banking on Never Breaking Down Again” definitely has that ‘live on the road’ vibe. He manages to make his acoustic guitar sound like the quintessential rock instrument, one part Springsteen, another part Tom Petty. Askim Norway duo Herr Wade produce a lot of material, much of which skates outside of the zones set for this blog. But their “Theme From Chief Inspector Wade” is a wacky, inventive piece of work, reminding me of the Penguin Café Orchestra in its creative juxtaposition of instruments. Poprock legend Graham Gouldman has a new album out entitled I Have Notes and it rises to his usual standard of intense listenability. The most immediate hit single-ish tune to my ears is “It’s Time For Me To Go” but I’m also drawn to the finely structured ditty “Play Me (The Ukulele Song)” if only because the song’s sentiment is just so apropos of the fate of former school instruments.

On “Dashboard Jesus” Glenn Erb navigates a dead man’s curve with an alt country vibe but doesn’t quite make the turn. The effect creates a scene of eerie, low key desperation, despite the apparent wreckage. You’re going to want to add this to your disaster song playlist. A very different atmosphere is conjured up on Loose Buttons’ new single “I Saw Jon Hamm at the Beach.” Terms like languid, breezy, sun-stoked, and shameless name-dropping all come to mind. I am feeling more relaxed already. Rich Chance works up a sophisticated pop extravaganza on  “Azalea Close.” The song has so many interesting melodic and lyrical twists and turns, where suburbia is pleasantly hooky but not all it seems. Rangiora, New Zealand’s Best Bets return in fine form on their new single “Spooky Signals.” Fuzzy hooky goodness is what this song provides in abundance, an advance release from their new album The Hollow Husk of Feeling. When he’s not donning a mask with his instrumental guitar super group Los Straitjackets Greg Townson flashes a Chet Atkins guitar gentleman pose for a host of great solo singles and albums. Just this week he’s got a a new double-sided single out and personally I’m loving the stylish classy-ness of the “Spinning Top” selection. You can’t fake this kind of cool ambience.

When he’s not hanging out with those cool dudes from The Half Cubes veteran poprocker Randy Klawon offers up the occasional jangly single. This time “She’s More Than I Want” comes on like the second coming of the second iteration of The Searchers. His somewhat plaintive vocal pairs nicely with the bright La’s-like lead guitar lick that defines the tune. Our next cut is a bit of a cheat because Jeff Gordon’s “Hard Promises” is a re-release from his 2021 album Local Boy. But man this song is just so good! The vocal hooks are utterly seductive, framed by striking lead and rhythm guitar work. Haunting is the word I’m looking for. This is a tune that stays with you long after the record ends. On “Kinda Lost” The Junior League have managed to mash together sonic hues from two different decades, combining a mid-1960s George Harrison guitar jangle with a lush 1970s soft rock vocal. The end product amounts to an exquisite synthesis. It’s one of three new tunes on their recent EP Nattering Nabobs. Sydney, Australia’s The Stormy Sea remind me of a host of 1980s folk rock revival acts, with a touch of Dionne Warwick style thrown in. “You Scare Me” would fit in nicely on a Lilac Time album given its light bouncy air. I’ve liked a number of Boston band The Fatal Flaw’s past releases but their new single is a co-write with Wyatt Funderburk and that gives it a bit more of a head-turning quality to my ears. The band expertly squeeze every melodic hook out of the song with chugging guitars and a sweet vocal treatment.

Jeff Gordon “Hard Promises”

The Newds drop singles now and then, focusing our attention on one song at a time, each one a carefully concentrated blast of melody. “God of Small Things” is no exception, a recent offering that has so many subtle sonic elements going on. The song builds and builds without ever really blowing up. It’s almost meditative. If ever there was a band whose name jarred with their musical output it would Young Scum. The moniker surely denotes screaming punk or hardcore will result from hitting play? But this Richmond Virginia combo have a 1980s Manchester jangle sound that is relentlessly smiley on their new single “Peach Ice Cream.” Part of a whole album experience dubbed Lighter Blue due out soon. Chicago native Kenny Michaels is on to something with his new single “Must Be This Love of Mine.” Buoyant and sunny in both melodic and lyrical content, the song has a unmistakable early 1970s pop vibe, with some Turtles shading on the ‘ba ba ba’s. Another time trip single comes from Dragon Inn 3 with the recently released “Clock Machine.”  The intro guitar work is so jazzy 1970s, a period when it seemed every song had to feature some serious lead guitar motif. But then these sometime members of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin do their indie creative thing and add vocals that push everything in a different direction, with a wonderful effect. I love the organized cacophony on Shiverlane’s new song “Little English Pleasures.” The competing vocals particularly have a shambolic quality until they come together with a dynamic precision.

Kenny Michaels “Must Be This Love of Mine”

Last up on our five and dime specials, a pop-enriched summer stinger from The Glad Machine, “So High.” There’s Beatles name-dropping, laconic acoustic guitar swing, and a concentrated blast of sing-along melodic energy in the chorus. This will have you whistling as you leave the store.

The five and dime had it all and then some. Those bargains may be gone but great value on songs is even more true today. Click the hyperlinks to fill your basket before the checkout.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles for 2023

01 Monday Jan 2024

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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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:

1. Strange Neighbors “Hotline Psychic”
2. Taking Meds “Memory Lane
3. The Decibels “Why Bother With Us”
4. Good Shade “When Will You See”
5. The Goa Express “Portrait”
6. Billy Tibbals “Onwards and Upwards”
7. Strange Neighbors “Whoa! Is Me”
8. Ransom and the Subset “Perfect Crime”
9. The Tubs “I Don’t Know How It Works”
10. Buddie “Class Warfare”
11. Dignan Porch “Electric Threads”
12. The Tearaways “Easier Done Than Said”
13. Chris Church “One More Change to Get Over You”
14. The McCharmlys “Love Me Too”
15. Eyelids “That I Can See You Better”
16. The No Ones “Phil Ochs is Dead”
17. Canadian Invasion “Catch a Falling Knife”
18. Thomas Charlie Pederson “Yesterdays and Silly Ways”
19. Kevin Bowe “Put Me Out of Your Misery”
20. The Summertimes “Inside”
21. Gosh Diggity “Blast Off”
22. The Midnight Callers “Girl On the Run”
23. Parallax Project “Mary Houdini”
24. Dan Kibler “Don’t Go for the Money”
25. The Kind Hills “Let Youth Take Over”
26. Cal Rifkin “Break My Heart”
27. Ratboys “Morning Zoo”
28. Hurry “Like I Loved You”
29. Thomas Walsh “A Good Day For Me”
30. The Newds “The Street Leads to the River”
31. Dave Kuchler “She’s Rather Be With Me”
32. Hardwicke Circus “Everyday I Find Luck”
33. Worriers “Trust My Gut”
34. Tony Marsico “Rocket Girl”
35. Jean Caffeine “I Don’t Want to Kill You Anymore”
36. The Exbats “Like It Like I Do”
37. Dazy “Forced Perspective”
38. Miss Chain and the Broken Heels “Storms”
39. Bill Lloyd “Keep the Place Clean”
40. Kurt Hagardorn “Tractor Beam”
41. Nite Sobs “Julie Ann”
42. Turn Turn Turn “Power”
43. The Rockyts “I Get High”
44. The Blusterfields “Fear of Depths”
45. Dropkick “Telephone”
46. The Scarlet Goodbye “Angel Dust”
47. The Amplifier Heads “When We Go Home Again”
48. Steve Marino “Satisfy You”
49. Justin Levinson “I Need Somebody Now”
50. Moon Mates “Not Today”

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:

1. Rachel Angel “I Can’t Win”
2. Talking Kind “Trouble”
3. Hovdy “Jean”
4. Benji Tranter “Speed Camera”
5. J. Matthews “Wanderlust”

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.

Photo courtesy of Raymond Clarke Images on Flikr.

Autumn midway mixtape I

01 Wednesday Nov 2023

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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Autumn on the midway can conjure images of bright lights and romance or screaming kids and stale food. The same is true of midway music. To move your midway mixtape in the right direction we’ve selected 21 tunes that will survive an encounter with wildest rollercoaster ride. This is the first of two installments.

We kick things off with a reconstituted version of Gen 11’s “Month of Sundays,” a deep cut from their 2020 EP California Grown. This new version sounds fresher and more present than before, the rhythm guitar is louder and more to front of the mix. Definitely more ‘let’s party’ this time around. Next up Oklahoma City’s The Lunar Laugh and the advance single from their new album entitled “Born Weird.” The song combines so many traditions, a bit of pop punk with touches of more baroque pop influences, twin-fueled by chugging guitar work and a swirling mix of vocal styles. A new Rinehearts album is something to get excited about and Full Bloom does not disappoint. The record is full of that Perth-stamped poppy rock the town is so well known for. But for the moment, just sample “Falling Down” so you don’t get too over-excited. There are some classic FOW turns of melody and vocal phrasing here but so much more too. Now for something different, check out “Everyday I Find the Luck” from Carlisle UK’s Hardwicke Circus. It’s like Billy Bragg joined Haircut 100 and the results are fun, fun, fun. The vocal interplay is exquisite while the tune just charges along. Somerdale sounds like the name of some kind of American teen telenovella. But this band are a distilled dose of 1970s poppy guitar rock. “Come Enjoy” is from their first album in seven years, Let’s Get Started, and it vibes 1976 without even trying. It’s the guitar, it’s the tone on the lead vocal, it’s the wall of background vocals buffeting the tune. It’s the whole package.

It was a tough call between featuring SLD’s “A Perfect Day” or “Hiding.” The former has got a backbone of non-stop chilling background vocals anchoring the tune while the latter works a Lennon-esque combo of acoustic guitar and lonely vocal adding a surprising McCartney-ish twist one minute in. You can consult both for yourself from the band’s new LP Like Sunshine. I might be accused of choosing the off-brand tune from Dolph Chaney’s new record Mug with “Love Around You.” But the interplay between the tender vocal and heart-rending steel guitar lines is like a big hug and who doesn’t need that about now? Count me in. Chicago’s Bur have got an interesting mix of sounds going on their most recent LP We Are Bur, a combo of indie, punk, and Beatlesque elements all pulling in different directions. But it works. Like on the ear wormy “Kush Burns.” Smooth with wonderfully rough edges. With “All Your Heart Can Hold” Brooklyn’s Gerry Devine serves up poprock perfection. This is 80s hit radio good, so eminently listenable. And Devine is offering the whole LP In My Own Good Time for free. A slightly better known group from Liverpool are releasing their version of our next song “Now and Then” but give the indefatigable Super 8 his due, his version is pretty special. He fills out the tune and adds a few surprises along the way. Just one of 12 fab familiar reinventions from his free covers album Raindrops on Roses.

San Francisco’s The From have got a loose and friendly vibe. There’s a slacker indie rock and roll sheen to everything on their debut LP Tomorrow Was Better. With influences ranging from Cheap Trick to Any Trouble it’s all guitars and gas guzzling cars and rocking tunes. “Friend Collector” falls somewhere between 12 bar bluesing and a poppy boogie rock that Steve Miller Band invented. Late Bloomers mine a more early REM shoegaze jangle seam on “Bitter Pill.” The rest of their recent LP S/T is more of the good same. Another kind of rock throwback can be found the Mighty Dan Gerous record Everybody Needs a Hero. “Don’t Go” has got an early Cars new wave finesse combined with a more straightforward American heartland AOR FM radio sound. “Bitch I Love You” is pretty special too. Looking for a Merseybeat fix? The Newds have definitely got what you need on their one-off single “The Street Leads to the River.” It’s got jangly guitar and a lovely Billy J. Kramer breeziness. The mysterious Josh DC (from ‘England’ UK) puts a slight drone on the vocal of “Rip of the Rulebook” just like Beck might do. The song has got some interesting change ups and ear wormy quality.

I often refer to The Front Bottoms in talking about other bands, their sound is that distinctive to me. It’s a curious meld of dissonant indie rock with occasional folk flourishes. New album You Are Who You Hang Out With is no different.  “Outlook” kicks off all earnest vocals and acoustic guitar only to break out in the second third with a heavy guitar attack and a swell of harmony vocals. Vancouver band Autogramm entitle their soon-to-be-released new album Music That Humans Can Play and that fits the ambience of the first single “WannaBe.” It’s got a Thomas Dolby meets The Fixx feel, with slightly more ominous rhythm guitar work. The Half-Cubes continue to dazzle listeners with their ongoing reinvention of nearly forgotten power pop classics of yesteryear. This time the boys take on the Ducks Deluxe/Searchers seventies tune “Love’s Melody” and lay bare the track’s melodic genius. Swedish electro-pop merchant The School Book Depository continues to drop interesting singles, this time vibing Owl City on “I’m Done.” As with previous releases, the song is a glorious wash of keyboards and an arresting vocal interplay. Charleston, South Carolina group Band of Jays offer up a smooth pop sound, punctuated by clean organ/lead guitar lines and a vocal mix that is stunning. “He Never Does the Right Thing” could be mistaken for soft rock but there’s some grit mixed in too.

The School Book Depository – I’m Done

We call a wrap on this installment of midway mixtape suggestions with Detroit’s The High Strung from their recent long-player Address Unknown. “In The Lines” will leave you wondering, is it folk? Or Merseybeat? Mannered baroque pop? Does it even matter? No. You can enjoy this tune and 11 others on the album without playing name that genre.

The High Strung – In The Lines

With all these tunes you can hit the midway with an extra spring in your step this fall. And there’s even more to come shortly.

Photo ‘Learning How To Smile’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr Collection.