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Coventry’s fave jangle band is back. Sort of. Spanish power pop label Elefant has spread the news that they are readying a new collection of The Primitives’ singles and rarities entitled Let’s Go Round Again: Second Wave Singles & Rarities 2011-2025. The package promises to be a double album, available on vinyl and other formats. A preview of what will be included is available for pre-ordering online but precisely what is new or culled from one-off specialty albums or b-sides will require a Primitives-ologist to decipher. Suffice to say it will be full to brimming with jangle goodness. On the unreleased material front so far all we know is that it will include two versions of a mysterious track entitled “Sweet Sister Sorrow.”
As soon as this 45 got going I knew it was there, that Primitives magic. The instrumentation is retro sparkling, Thorn’s vocal is dolly bird pristine, and tune is jangle catchy. The alternate take “Sweet Sister Sorrow (Symphonic Dream Pop Version)” is lighter, more acoustic, with a vocal that is simultaneously more expansive and airy. It so reminds me of Sandie Shaw in her late 1960s Pye Records heyday. But I’m still left with questions. Is this a new song from the band? Or something shelved from way back in the day? Looks like we’ll have to wait for the full package to arrive March 7 and perhaps comb the liner notes for details. Another whole month you say? No matter. When I’ve got a new Primitives song to play (again and again) the world is just a little bit brighter.
You can find this new song (both versions), preview the soon-to-be released collection, and revisit a whole lot of the band’s great new millennium revival stuff at the their bandcamp lair and website.
What were the biggest hits that weren’t in 2017? Who were the biggest should-be stars? In our alternate universe here at Poprock Record, these guys were all over the charts, the chat shows, the scandal sheets, as well as memed all over Facebook, Snapchatted by the kids, and Instragrammed into oblivion. Jesus, they were so popular you are well and truly sick of them by now. But sadly for our poprock heroes, the universe is not just ours to define. In the world beyond our little blog, they could all use another plug.
Daisy House dominated my playlist this year, both their current record and their back catalogue. They channel the 1960s but never let it wholly define them. They have two amazing singers and one fabulously talented songwriter. They deserve all the accolades the internet can hand out. If this were 1970 they’d probably be headlining The Flip Wilson Show tonight. The Rallies were an accidental discovery that turned into an obsession. Their whole album is great but “Don’t Give Up” makes my heart twinge every time. Aimee Mann and Fastball ably demonstrated this year that veterans can still turn out fantastic, career-defining albums. And I got to see both of them live! Los Straightjackets did Nick Lowe proud, producing a phenomenal tribute to his body of work. “Rollers Show” was my go-to summertime happy tune.
I won’t review every selection from the two-four, but I will say that I think the mix of poprock I feature on the blog is evident here. There’s fast and slow, country and rock, guitars and keyboards, etc. And then there’s always the hooks. Case in point: check out the 42 second mark on Greg Kihn’s “The Life I Got.” If you don’t feel the excitement he creates with some classic poprock guitar arpeggiation and the subtle vocal hook you’re kinda missing what we’re doing here. Here’s hoping 2018 is as hit single worthy as this past year has been!
I am going to sneak in an honourable mention for what I consider the compilation of year: 
I grew up in a totally secular home where Christmas was largely understood as a kind of socialist event. A little something for everyone, and something thoughtful (rather than expensive) was the gift-giving philosophy. Holiday tunes rather than Christmas hymns were de rigueur. My mother had a stack of 45s that would come out every year– Bobby Helms, Brenda Lee, Rolf Harris – you get the picture. So, for me, it can’t be Christmas without some merry melodies!
This year’s mix runs the gamut from power pop to new wave to mash ups to folky acoustic. Coventry’s own The Primitives kick things off with their trademark mix of hooky power pop on “You Trashed My Christmas” from the Elefant Records special holiday album. Love the use of the bells! Then to Sunderland, UK where The Futureheads keep the energy up on their “Christmas was Better in the 80s.” There is something about the vocal delivery of this band I love. This song sometimes exudes the sonic feel of their first album but also develops in different directions with kooky abandon, pushing the boundaries of traditional holiday fare. Then we tamp things down a bit with the pleasant melodies of Cleveland’s own Bears on their “I’m a Snowman.” While technically just a winter themed number, who can resist the fun organ sounds and sweet harmonies? Not I. Rounding out this first batch of tunes is the eclectic West Coast poprocker Spirit Kid with his new wavishy “Santa Claus is His Name.” This song is an interesting mix of old and new influences – in many ways, a very late 1970s take on 1950s motifs worthy of David Edmunds.
Ok, let’s shift gears here in round two. Ohio-based Over the Rhine seem to be channeling Jennifer Warnes in full Leonard Cohen mode on their winter themed “Snow Angels.” Lovely piano and an understated vocal give this a haunting and lasting quality. In the ‘something completely different’ file, check out Mojochronic’s unusual and very effective mash-up of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” with the Police’s “Roxanne,” interspersed with dialogue from the original stop-motion animated movie. Mike Viola’s Candy Butchers bring us back to familiar territory with their poprock ode to seasonal forgiveness on “Give Me a Second Chance for Christmas.” Just listen to these holiday-coated hooks! Viola is a master of the poprock form. The Franco-American duo Freedom Fry return to the holiday music scene with their great Holiday Soundtrack EP. Their reinvention of the traditional classic “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” as a hooky keyboard-based instrumental is pure ear worm brilliance, while their time shifting “Next Christmas” vibes a very Simon and Garfunkel melodic warmth, particularly in the chorus. Wrapping up this season’s musical presents is a brand new acoustic Christmas contribution from Pop Etc. “All I Want for Xmas (Just My Baby)” is a swinging pop gem, sure to become a regular addition to your seasonal playlist.
Dan Rico is back with Nobody Knows, proving with this dynamic 11 minute EP that he is much more than a one album wonder. The familiar elements are all there – the neo-1970s pastiche of glam and 1950s rock and roll – with a few new twists. Opening track “Love in Vain” gets the party started with its insistent boogie beat but Rico blows the doors off with a killer hook at the 40 second mark that will have you hitting rewind almost immediately. “Nobody Knows” captures that border line 1970s punk-cum-garage rock sound with a nice guitar line. Rounding out the EP is “Rock-a-bye” with its hints of pop psychedelia and the mild melodrama of “Roxy Goddamn.”
Coventry’s The Primitives also have a new EP out, New Thrills, and from the opening riff of “I’ll Trust the Wind” you know you’re about to get just what you came for: catchy melodies, ringing guitars, and Tracy Tracy’s cool but understated pop vocals. All four tracks are the high quality 1960s-inspired poprock fare you’ve come to expect from this combo but check out the distinctive echo-y guitar sound and hooks on “Same Stuff” and lead guitarist Paul Court’s nice vocal turn on the chirpy “Oh Honey Sweet.” I could write and write about how great this band is but, really, it’s all there in the recordings. Just hit play.
On the new discovery front, Richard Turgeon is a modern everyman: successful purveyor of image and communication skills, music business ‘how to’ book writer, novelist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, as well as suburban husband and father. He put together his latest record, Between the Spaces, literally between the spaces of his busy work and home life, ‘mostly on nights and weekends’ as he says on his website. The album kicks off with the very fun “Bigfoot’s an Alien” but really gets into gear for me with pristine poprock of “Bad Seed,” a driving number that reminds me of Matthew Sweet. “I Don’t Need You” opens with a great guitar hook and has a super sing-a-long chorus. The whole album is pretty solid, full of well-crafted tunes but, if pressed, I find myself most partial to the above-mentioned selections as well as “Watch Me Now” and “Frostbites.”
Our last breaking new discovery is Cait Brennan. New to me, it appears, because there is a hell of lot written about her first record and unusual career path on the ole internet (thanks to 
My new favourite music blog, 
But Spin-O-Rama, released in 2014, marked the return of the Primitives in all their glory. Roughly 30 minutes of all-new, original material in their signature chimey-guitar and reverby vocal style – it was like they never left. The opening track is the album’s title track: “Spin-O-Rama” is a classic Primitives’ arrangement featuring trebly solo guitar and a feel that is reminiscent of the 1960s without being reduced to it. A great single! Other strong, single-like songs include “Lose the Reason” (with vocals from both Tracy and Paul), “Petals” (which sounds like it fell off the running order of either of the first two albums), and “Dandelion Seed.” Other highlights include “Follow the Sun Down,” with its great chunky 60s vibe, and “Working Isn’t Working,” a droll response to the drudgery of conventional work, sung by Paul. Primitives’ albums always featured a song or two sung by Paul but Spin-O-Rama increases the ratio: of the 11 songs here, Paul sings solo on three and with Tracy on two. Additionally, Paul also sings on the extra track paired with the single “Spin-O-Rama,” “Up So High,” which is driven by a fantastic buzzy guitar sound. The album wraps up with an altered reprise of the title track in “Let’s Go Round Again.” It is refreshing to have such a great band return to active duty in top form. The Primitives’ Spin-O-Rama does not disappoint. Keep up with the Primitives on their 
Poprock Record 