Tag Archives: The Pozers

Singles for a weary world

16 Monday Feb 2026

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Sometimes I imagine a large radio tower blasting our choice singles around the planet. It’s definitely what the world needs now. A little bit of the carefree, some heart-fluttering excitement, perhaps even a hint of inspiration. Take some time out from world affairs and your personal troubles to check out this suite of specially curated should-be hits. You’ll be glad you did.

Let’s launch with something that conjures a bit of early Go Go’s but with a breathy male vocal. The Sylvia Platters give us this and more with “Tactical Lunchbox.” There’s even a B52s organ break. Jangle deficiency is a serious ailment, particularly in these dour winter months. Motorists have just the remedy with “Frogman.” Those luscious guitar tones are gonna make anybody feel better. The same critics who can’t say enough good things about bands like The Lemon Twigs pause when a new Uni Boys single comes on. As they should. These renaissance new wave popsters have done it again with “I Don’t Want to Dream Anymore.” Somebody pinch me, it must be 1979 again. Jeff Shelton’s Deadlights take us back to the 1980s with a faithful cover of House of Love on “Destroy the Heart.” Dig the drone. You can practically smell the smoke machine. Brisbane Australia’s Gift Horse get the jump on dad day with “Fathers.” The song has a muscular folk rock sensibility, like the Byrds with a Marshall stack.

Dallas, Texas combo The Pozers step on the 10ccc pedal for their contribution to the International Pop Overthrow compilation album #26. The vocal swoops compete with a relentless poppy keyboard driving things to a cheery place. Langhorne Slim has been hanging around the roots scene for years but his new album The Dreamin’ Kind is something else. I mean, it is rootsy but it is so much more too. Listen to the tight pop articulation of the should-be single “On Fire.” It has the soulful poppy chops of an Aaron Lee Tasjan. It’s dancey, it’s heartfelt, its AM radio playable. Kurt Baker has been offering up Elvis Costello-ish pop-slathered rock for a while.  “Undertow Afterglow” amps that influence even further than usual. The B-side cover of the McCartney/Costello composition “My Brave Face” is pretty special too. Detroit’s Mod Lang are building quite the buzz about the near imminent release of their debut long-player Borrowed Time. Early release single “TV Star” blasted some good time 1970s power pop vibes for sure but I’m digging the more Beatlesque “What I Can’t Have.” This is gonna be one hot album drop. silk daisys get the dream pop label but I’m hearing Darling Buds and Primitives. Sure, there’s shimmer all over their recordings but an essential guitar pop goodness emerges with clarity on “It’s a Laugh.”

Things rarely go sideways with Dazy for me. There’s something playful and seriously inventive about how their songs get put together. “Delusions of …” has a Sugar Ray vocal, some La’s guitars, and Beck production sensibility. Dutch outfit The Maureens revive a 1960s group vocals sound with folk and pop inflections and it’s all there again on their new single “Doing Fine.” And that means an album can’t be far behind. The organ opening Marc Valentine’s new single “NY UAP” is just so 1966 it hurts. In a good way. This is retro rock and roll that still sounds fresh today. Punk veterans Together Pangea are still turning it out. “Shattered” offers you grinding guitars and a shuffle beat that dance floors were made for. At first listen you might think Tom Emlyn’s “Starsick” has seen some poet press-ganged onto stage in front of a band playing a bit too fast. But as the song develops the words and music meld together in a frenetic kind of energy that is way cool.

I don’t really know where Växjö is. Somewhere in Sweden I take it. But given the latest single from that country’s School Book Depository I imagine there’s someone belting out their favourite song there. This band ace atmospheric pop singles and the current “Karaoke” is no exception. I love the lead guitar roll-out that launches Tad Overbaugh’s “Rearview.” It’s what pushes this ‘new country’ entry into something broader genre-wise. And that great guitar work continues throughout. Capitol city’s Vegas With Randolph get right back on the new album prep train floating an early effort with “Let’s Fool Around.” It’s a smooth pop rocking number in a manner similar to indie acts like Vanilla and the Zombies of the Stratosphere. And that’s good enough for me. Another Sloan album, another spate of rave reviews. That’s what the release of last year’s Based on a Best Seller produced. I loved it, not that band needed accolades from the likes of me. So I’ll just throw some light on the fab deep cut “Here We Go Again.” Nobody quite knocks it out of the park as reliably as these guys. Chicago’s The Rubs throw up something a bit different with their new song. “Starting All Over” sounds likes it has dropped right out of the 1970s pub rock scene. Only the wobbly guitar sound gives it a modern sheen.

It’s a wrap this time around with “Came Back Kicking” from The Pretty Flowers. This one has the oomph of something big. Like stadium singalong big. It’s the pre-release single from the band’s upcoming album Never Felt Bitter. Can’t wait to hear more.

Does the air seem lighter? I can’t tell I’m so riffed up on these radio-ready singles. And you don’t have to stop now. Click the links to keep the world away for just a little bit longer.

Photo “Union Station” courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Extended play party

22 Sunday Sep 2024

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The EP is back baby and ready to extend its play. Perhaps not quite as far as the more ubiquitous LP but farther than a maxi-single for sure. To that end we’ve rounded up a bevy of new EPs to stack up on the record changer and let them have their way.

Henry Chadwick keeps on pushing the frontiers of his melodic journey. His latest EP Leaving sounds like it’s been put through a Beatles pop-psychedelia filter and come out the other side all dreamy and a bit shoe-gazey. Opening cut “I’ve Hate the Sound” is a sonic seductress, lulling your cares away. Then “Reruns Alone” has an off-kilter midnight movie ambience. “Leaving” sounds more Ben Kweller meets Apples in Stereo. The whole package of songs has a tentative, explorative, gentling vibe I’m digging. Derbyshire UK trio The Happy Somethings also sound contemplative but in both a lyrical and melodic way. Their new six song release Caught in the Web delivers more of their hooky social commentary, this time ruminating on all things social media. You can feel the tension animating “Is This Broken” and the unceasing uneasiness of “Prey.” This gives way to sunnier jangle sound on “Kiss of Life” but the message remains dire – basically, web life is a pretty shallow endeavor. Should be hit single “Smitten” has the band acting as reverse sirens, warning listeners away from the seductive allure of a life lived online. Pale Lights Phil Sutton revives his Love Burns project to give us another dose of his folky pop. Blue offers up seven songs that oscillate between earnest lamentations and more upbeat sentiments. The title track is a lowkey poppy number with a strong Lloyd Cole vibe. “To Say Goodbye” balances a recurring cool lead guitar with a piano rhythm section. Then “Hard to Fall’ harkens back to REM’s take on country rock. But perhaps saving the best for last “What To Do About Us” has got a riveting lead guitar and a tight overall band sound. This one is the radio-ready repeat-player.

Moving over to more rock side of street Justin Kerecz blends an Americana esthetic with a more stripped back rock and roll feel on Nobody Man. For instance, “Barking Dogs” has an almost stark simplicity but the pre-chorus builds tension that the chorus opens up nicely. By contrast, opening cut “Been Crying” reaches back to a neo-1960s melodrama sound. Toronto’s Vicky von Vicky lean into a more guitar pop rocking style on Broken Chairs. “Jealousy” kicks things off with a rough and ready feel only to have “Freak Me Out” smooth out the vocals in a most alluring way. Both “Goodbye My Love” and “Be Still My Heart” have a classic 1980s melodic FM rock sound while “Not The Man” drop a bit of pop anguish into the mix. Five strong cuts here. I wrote about The Feeders fantastic “Congratulations By The Way” a while back but now it is included on an equally good self-titled EP. Here you have more of group leader’s Sam Vicari’s dissonant melodic musings. “Sara You’re My Saviour” and “Mrs. Duluth News Anchor” are definitely highlights here. Somehow I missed The Pozers guitar poppy outing last year Something Pop. This album is not really an EP but as only three songs are up on bandcamp I’m treating it like one. “Alison With an Edge” ambles along with buzzy guitars and a vocal melody that turns out the hooks. “Save a Kiss For Me” works the 1970s layered vocals effect into the tune so well. Meanwhile “Missing You (Missing Me)” has a buoyant power pop that will have you beaming.

Speaking of smiles, my first listen to Cliff Hillis and Dennis Schocket’s “For Everly” had me grinning unstoppably, so successfully did it conjure key musical ages for me. I can now report that their subsequently released EP Pop, Girls, Etc. is equally magical, hitting the marks of a host great poprock eras. I mean, dial into “Violet Blue” and transport yourself back to AM radio 1979 with the sleek guitar and exquisitely shaped vocal work so of that period. The duo rock things up a bit on “The Girls Are Back in Town” and offer a variety of jangle with “Carrie, the One” and “Here Comes Joanna,” the latter a masterclass in Byrdsian songcraft. Toronto’s Drywall Heels have also super enriched their sound with a bit 1960s swagger and jangle on their new outing Today’s Top Hits Playlist. This is a sunny collection of winsome tunes, aided by interesting guitar tone shadings on “Screens” and “Little Critters.” “Any Hollow” adds some luscious vocal layering to the mix. And check the maximum jangle dressing “Caterina.” This EP is a breezy good time.  Tampa’s The Easy Button add a good dose of distortion to the tunes on EP2 but that can’t obscure the hooks driving the songs. Their Weezer-meets-FOW melodic instincts are in full force on tunes like “Liberty Bell” and “Private Beach.” “Honor Roll” punks things up a bit but in a hummable way. “The Best Paths Are Never Clear” is an epic should-be hit single. And Halloween even gets a look in “Friday the 13th 2.”

Wifey’s debut EP Just A Tease was certainly highly anticipated by me. When I first heard their early release single “Mary Ann Leaves the Band” I was blown away by its lyrical cleverness and drop dead melodic hookiness. The four additional songs here do not disappoint, branching off in different power pop directions from their initial release. Opening cut “DiMaggio” kicks off in a totally different acoustic guitar register, only to scale up to a solid power pop assault when it gets going. “Playing Dead” is another winning tune though a more straightforward slice of guitar pop this time out. Greedy me might say I want a whole album of Wifey but this EP is a already a pretty full tilt blast of poppy goodness. Heading for the ‘best of’ lists for sure.

The lowly EP. Once upon a time it wasn’t even considered important enough to get listed in an artist’s official discography. Now it’s a regular thing, release-wise. And that’s a good thing.

Photo “The Party Makers” courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

I get mail: Sanglorians, You’re Among Friends, R.E. Seraphin, The Pozers and more!

28 Thursday May 2020

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Screen Shot 2020-05-28 at 4.53.01 PMWhen I say I get mail, I mean messages, email, notifications, etc. And that’s a good thing given what I’m hearing about the challenges moving music through the conventional mail services right now. Rain, sleet, snow, hail? Clearly they’re easy-peasy compared to Covid 19. Well the pandemic will not get in the way of today’s delivery of loud guitars, bedroom pop, finely crafted songscapes, and much more.

Eclectic Music Lover nailed it when he described You’re Among Friends as “funky, blues-infused folk rock” channeling “Steely Dan, The Grateful Dead and even a bit of Elvis Costello.” I might add a bit of chooglin’ CCR on a few tracks. From their new record Start Making Sense I love the jazzy swing on “Waiting for Life to Start Making Sense,” definitely a bit of early Costello-vibing here, and the groove anchoring “Once the Toothpaste is Out of the Tube.”

Robby Miller’s debut EP is a nice slice AM radio-friendly poprock songcraft. With a vocal delivery falling somewhere between Al Stewart and Fountains of Wayne’s Chris Collingwood, the songs shift between sweet and light melody and a bit guitar crunch, particularly apparent on “Freya” and “Take a Smile.”

Former Talkies frontman R.E. Seraphin is being written up all over the power pop blogosphere and deservedly so for his uber cool solo debut, Tiny Shapes. The record is a wonderful distillation of power pop rock and roll influences, slightly notched down from genre’s regular amp setting of 11 via a warm DIY performance. Opener “Today Will be Kind” is like a road map for the whole album: great song, hooky lead guitar lines, hushed alluring vocals. The formula really delivers again on “Bend” and “I’d Rather be your Enemy.” Then “Fortuna” changes it up, offering an early 1980s atmospheric poprock vibe. Everybody was doing this kind of spare, spooky guitar thing back then and it really works on this song. I also love the discordant jangle of “Streetlight” and lead guitar line hooks all over “Safe to Say.” This album is more than a collection songs, it’s an album that’s got its own distinctive and oh-so-pleasant aura going on.

Dallas power pop veterans The Pozers have been rocking out for more than 25 years, eliciting comparisons to Cheap Trick and the Beatles with their combo of airy background vocals, melodic guitar runs and impressive stylistic range. 2019’s Crybaby Bridge showcases all those elements in fine form. Check out the light Beatlesesque rompiness of “The Only Girl” while “Nonstop” has a bit more Revolver-era crunch with just a dab of understated organ in the mix. Meanwhile “Telling My Secrets” updates things with a bit of Oasis-ish panache. Believe the hype – the Pozers are the total poprock package.

Described as power pop meets prog rock, Sanglorians definitely ignore guitar town’s city limits on their first record in seven years, Odalisque. The sheer inventiveness on this record is breathtaking and, after just a few listens, quickly endearing. Some tracks come on like AM radio hit singles. “Miriam” kicks things off with a faint breeze of Weezer, “Down to Affection” is a melodic wild ride worthy of a Fun album deep cut, while “Come Back to What You Are” sounds like a great lost ELO single. But other parts of the album are a bit more experimental. Wait out the 60 second instrumental prelude to “Clearer” and you’re rewarded with a sweet, hypnotic, XTC-like melody. Throw in a few choice covers (Beatles, Magnetic Fields) and at least one more candidate for a great big hit single (“In Bruges”) and it’s pretty clear Sanglorians are back with a hooky vengeance.

What would happen if you could take the sneer out of Steely Dan? You might end up with something like Essex’s The 1957 Tail Fin Fiasco. These guys have definitely got the Steely Dan cool swing down but somehow sound less jaded and blasé than the original. Actually, I hear a lot of 10cc on the band’s new album The Harvard Tango, particularly some of the vocal textures on tracks like “Bros. Fairchild & Marylebone” and the boogie strut on “Dirk is not a Bogey.” On the whole, there is pleasant, rollicking 1970s piano-based rock and roll feel to this album, like Elton John with a bit more glam (exhibit A: title track “The Harvard Tango”). But personally, I like the outliers on the record, like the acoustic guitar, harmony vocal-driven “A Yard of Place” and the sensational, jaunty “Monogamy Pews.” For clever cheekiness, the boys remind of London’s Scandinavia.

Wilson & The Catholics is the new side project of Tennis Club frontman Wilson Hernandez. Fans of TC’s fantastic low-key psych-pop album Pink from 2019 may find the stripped-down sound of WLC a bit underwhelming but the melodic payoffs are still here. Dreamy, atmospheric, drawing from that early 1960s style of disaster rock (‘Look out! Look out! Look out!’) on tracks like “Strawberry Hill” and “Commercial Alley” or just a breezy poppiness on “MD 2020” and “Super Bowl ’97.” Bedroom pop suitable for those times when you really need to hide from your roommates.

Hitting the bottom of the mailbag, I got word from the Suncharms’ Marcus Palmer about a fabulous new collection from Indonesia-based Shiny Happy Records and it’s a winning tip. Shiny Happy Fanzine 4 – Please Rain Fall Compilation is jam-packed with 19 tracks of shimmering low-key jangle goodness. There are so many highlight here but I’ll just twig you to Tullycraft’s hilarious “We Couldn’t Dance to Billy Joel,” Well Whale’s “She’s a Punk,” and, of course, The Suncharms’ own stellar contribution “3 Billion Heartbeats.”

Things are so easy today, you don’t even need to write a cheque to send away for new music by mail. You can have it all now, without leaving your exclusive listening lounge! Click on the artist names to get closer to some new music immediately.