Tag Archives: The Routes

I get mail! Jim Allen, Scott Roberts, Middlebees, and more

05 Sunday Jul 2026

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The mail does pile up and people often write again, now to find out what has happened to their melodic missive. All I can promise is that I get to everything … eventually. But exactly when ‘eventually’ may arrive is always a bit unclear. Turns out eventually is today.

When Jim Allen declares that his new album Maybe Things Will Be Alright contains ‘two shakes of power pop, a jigger of roots rock, a splash of folk, and a sprig of alt country’ you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s going to careen all over the stylistic map. But the record has a consistent sheen, despite its genre-hopping. That must be due to the crack team of players he’s assembled, which aside from his regular bandmates includes former members of the Mekons, the dBs, the Bongos, and Suzanne Vega’s backing band, among others. Not everything here fits our stylistic brief but most comes close. Opening cut and title track “Maybe Things Will be Alright” has a great pub rock vibe. “Panic Button” then switches gears with a jaunty piano pop number. “Let My People Sleep” appeals to me in both sentiment and jolly delivery. And make sure to tune into Allen’s Leonard Cohen-esque “For Byron.”

If you take a stroll through Scott Roberts’ back catalogue, particularly his Lost Weekend and GrandDad band recordings, there is a strong REM/Byrdsian ring to most things. As things take a solo turn the mood tends to be more spare, stripped down, and DIY, revealing more layers to Roberts’ musical persona. On this latest LP Fake Fakebook he does a kind of remake of Yo La Tengo’s Fakebook, which was itself mostly an album of covers. So meta. The results are intimate and often tender, particularly on his coverage of the Yo La Tengo material like “Can’t Forget,” “What Comes Next,” and “Did I Tell You.” Cat Stevens’ “Here Comes My Baby” is a sprightly acoustic romp. The Flamin’ Groovies “You Tore Me Down” is recast as the Byrds circa 1968. Then we have a spellbinding take on Daniel Johnston’s “Speeding Motorcycle.” But my favourite track here is his moody rumination over the Kinks’ “Oklahoma, USA.”

Seconds is the second album from Atlanta-based Middlebees. I note the location because when you start spinning this record you are going to swear its coming somewhere from 1960s England. The sheer range of sixties-derived styles here is staggering. And highly listenable. “Ticking” kicks things off with an early 1960s halting demeanor, only to break out a more 1980s pop feel in the chorus. Then “Make It Back” introduces a real strength of this outing, strong guitar riffage, aided in this case by a soaring melody. Similarly, both “Watch Out!” and “I Gotta Go” immediately grab your attention with their strong lead guitar hooks. By contrast, sometimes the melody leads the way, as on the 1960s poppy “When Will the Light Shine” or the Herman’s Hermits-ish “Ashby.” The record does occasionally veer into more soft rock, singer songwriter material (though more of the sixties than seventies variant), particularly on tracks like “And Then You’ll See the Sun,” “This Time (Is Mine),” and “I Know You Know I Do” (the latter even successfully resurrecting the sax solo). A few songs cut in a more rootsy feel. “Rip Her Apart” conjures the mid-1980s cowpunk vibe of bands like Rank and File while “Save Me” reminds me of the Ruen Brothers, kinda new wave and western at the same time. Seconds really is a striking sophomore helping of what Middlebees excels at.

Acts and their promoters aren’t the only ones dropping me a line about new music. Sometime fans or just a friendly stranger sends me a prompt about some new release. That was the case with Guelph, Ontario’s Geordie Gordon. He’s put out three LPs over the past six years and each continues to develop his thoughtful folk demeanor, both lyrically and sonically. The essential elements are all there on his 2021 debut The Tower. “4-Track” really stands out for me from this collection, the creative guitar work and distinct drum-machine depth a perfect backdrop for the love song lyrics. Two years later Tambourine is a revelation, going deeper emotionally and in musical complexity. Title track “Tambourine” kicks off very Joni Mitchell before shifting to a more contemporary pop folk feel. I also really like “Life Line” here with its jaunty pop vibe. Now most recently 2026’s River Round completes the trilogy and again the artistic leaps are impressive. The guitar playing is exquisite, whether going for touching acoustic folk on “Endless Line” or more innovative textures in “River House.” The songs range from the intimate folky “All the Fires” to AM ready poppy tunes like “On My Way.” Altogether, a very promising collection.

I’ve been meaning to write about Rob and Ellen’s fabulous EP In On It ever since R.E. Seraphin put me on to it. You get the vibe right away with the intro track “So Many Californias.” There’s jangle but it’s allowed to land in a spacey, garage rock kind of way. Then “Penny Fountain” shakes things up with strings and a syncopated guitar strumming that is utterly captivating. “Cupcake Store” whips up a more languid strummy atmosphere while “Edge of Spring” lets the acoustic guitar sparkle behind an engaging tune. There are a few break-out rock moments on this release. You can hear it on “Second Hand” and “Scene Report,” both of which add some rock heft to the jangle. It’s also there on the album closer “Cosmic Error” where the distortion pedal adds the gravity necessary for a cosmic level of mistake, and in doing so shifts the EP’s mood into something more dissonant and shoe-gazey. Clocking in at just 20 minutes, this is a ‘play and hit replay’ kind of release for sure.

It’s a wrap for this mailbag with just a teaser from Anglo-Japanese instrumentals band The Routes. Their new EP Play contains 6 covers of the Velvet Underground and they are all super sweet, particularly “Femme Fatale” and “There She Goes Again.” But all the preview available now is their version of “I’m Waiting For The Man.” It’s great and will have you itching for more.

I might say ‘mailman bring me no more tunes’ but I love getting mail. Responses are often quick, delivery of promised coverage must less so. But I’m more reliable than your Congress-person that’s for sure.

Photo ‘Post Office Lunch Break’ courtesy Thomas Hawk’s Flikr account.

Listen to the band

22 Sunday Mar 2026

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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When I was young music was like one undifferentiated sound. Vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums, bass – it all just melded together. Only later would the separate elements stand out for me in all their distinct glory. Instrumentals aid in this process, offering us a chance to really dissect a great song without the distractions of some attention-seeking lead vocalist. So here’s a bevy of instrumentals, ready for some heavy listening.

For many, rock instrumentals means surf guitar. That seems as good a place to start as any. Poland’s I. Jeziak and The Surfers kickstart the party with their energetic guitar-heavy workout “Surfer’s Stomp.” Such great organ backing! Surely these boys must be from Long Beach, California? Another act far from the Pacific Ocean surf swells are Toronto’s The Surfragettes. They too mine the surf guitar style catalogue, though their 2024 LP title track “Easy as Pie” easily slips such narrow genre confines. A multi-national cast of characters populate the band The Other Timelines and their works straddles the surf/spy guitar genres, well-illustrated on the peppy blast of guitar running through “The Saboteur.”

A separate line of instrumental tradition comes out the country gentleman guitar style of Chet Atkins that you can also hear in crossover 1950s rockabilly. Tasmania’s Mondo Quinn pays tribute to this sound on his terrific EP Going Places and particularly the opening cut “Travelling.” Equal parts Chet Atkins and George Harrison. Guitar virtuoso and member of Los Straightjackets Greg Townson takes us in a jazzy direction on his recent EP In Focus. Listen to how the horn section elevates “Jack Rabbit” to something really classy. And then you have what Bill Lloyd delivers on his inventive all-instrumentals album Insta-mentals. I love how “Senor Discount” synthesizes a host of rock traditions from the 1960s into one powerhouse tune.

And now for somethings completely different. Let’s start with the always striking Get Set Go. The band’s 2024 all-instrumentals LP Machine Empathy was a whirlwind of idiosyncratic keyboard and guitar riffs that were nothing less than mesmerizing. Just feel the tension infusing “Watchbot Warns Waffling Workers Against Wavering.” The machines really may not be our friends! Toronto’s Cameronoise also put out a counter-hegemonic cultural plea recently with his EP What If We Just Stopped Using Their Money? “Fahrenheit 24-7” gives you all the sense of dread and panic that you can squeeze out of a synth these days. I feel like I’ve featured Japan’s The Routes before, specifically their cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” Oh well, no one will be harmed by hearing it again. And it is definitely worth hearing. It manages to manifest all the beauty and sadness and desperation of the original with some killer twangy guitar.

Are they favourite instrumentals band? I think they must be. There is something so genre-escapingly fabulous about Los Straightjackets. As they protest, they are not merely a surf guitar outfit (though they’re not afraid to give the surf a run for its money). Instead they characterize themselves as a rock and roll instrumentals outfit. Their 2025 release Somos testifies to their broad and eclectic style. They really draw from decades of rock and roll instrumentals traditions. “Two Steps Ahead” showcases this breadth and offers a distinctive take compared to songwriter Greg Townson’s solo version (that appeared on his In Focus EP).

Are you hearing those instrumental nuances? Then as one famous American drag queen once said, let the music play.

Photo courtesy Carbon Arc Flikr collection.

Words just get in the way

21 Friday Jul 2023

Posted by in Poprock Themepark

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Who need lyrics anyway? Some artists just want to get right to the musical point. Like this crew of topnotch poprock instrumentalizers. Without words you just need to get your hummer tuned and ready.

Toronto’s Cameronoise is Tim Cameron, one man band. He described his 2022 self-titled debut EP as ‘Booker T & The MGs meet The Smithereens in Paul McCartney’s attic.’ You can definitely feel the dynamic tension he creates between his Stax-Volt approved organ lines and power pop guitar chords. So far he’s got two EPs out in 2023. Racing to the Next Red Light has got a killer should-be single going with “I’m Not Bitter.” These are some serious 1965 Mersey-ish keyboard and guitar hooks. His more recent Henry Shade of Winkler definitely wins the cheeky album title award. And it’s a damn fine listen. Stand out track this time is “Alternative Batgirl.” Great hooks on both guitar and organ and such a fun arrangement evoking biff-bam-pow good times.

Freehold Township isn’t right on the Jersey shore but you wouldn’t know it listening to locals The Volcanics blast through their surf-drenched long-player Concrete Carver. Man do they nail the 1965 surf rock sound and do it with a kind of sophistication usually reserved for jazzier exploits. Title track “Concrete Carver” should get anyone dancing even in the toughest beach sand. “Whiplash” hits all the Ventures notes effortlessly. When “The Ripper” came on it took all my self-control not to grab a surf board and hit the waves. You’d swear every tune here was designed to float up behind a Hawaii 5-O set deck – the album’s cinematic quality is inescapable. My favourite cut here is probably “Lollygaggin’.” It has such a joyful lead guitar bounce, reminding me of those ace instrumental melody-makers Los Straightjackets. For contrast there’s even a few lovely slow dances for you and your baby, like “Surfer’s Melody” and “Scenic Route.” Basically people, if loving this is wrong I don’t want to be right.

This next record is really something special. Oita Japan band The Routes perform ten classic tracks from Kraftwerk but in a distinctive 1960s guitar instrumental style. If ever a concept  might be in danger of going too far you might think this would be it. But The Routes 2022 album The Twang Machine is a remarkable synthesis of seemingly antithetical styles that somehow works in spite of this tension. The guitar playing is deliriously good, the keyboards sly and subtle, while the overall song arrangements are inventive and brilliant. Opening cut “Computer Love” will get into your head with its rippling lead guitar lines and careful emphasis on the song’s heretofore obscured killer hooks. From there Kraftwerk fans can just take in the glorious, madcap, otherworldly character of these reinventions of Kraut rock.

On 14 Bullets from the Spaghetti West you get a mix of gunslinger-movie instrumental classics played with an exaggerated western aplomb. There’s electric and acoustic guitars, whistling, sombre vocal choruses, and plenty of sad, sonorous trumpet. The band is Melbourne Australia’s The Counterfeit and they have got the American west via Italian film biz chops. All 14 songs here are played beautifully – you can let the needle drop and have the record play through without skipping a beat. But the stand out tracks for me were the soulful, sad “Jerry’s Theme,” the arch, ceremonial “A Fistful of Dollars” (that trumpet player is earning his fee here), and the haunting, whistle-drenched “Spaghetti Time.” Fair warning: frequent listening will undoubtedly have you digging out your old Clint Eastwood DVDs for repeat movie nights.

Toronto’s Phono-Comb were a short-lived side project for members of The Sadies and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. Their one album is nearly all instrumental, offering up dirty surf and garage rock tunes. The songs are mostly just good fun, like watching a great bar band entertain the locals. But a few tunes really stand out. “Pummelled” starts slow but builds up a hooky melody, bending it into various shapes before returning to the main theme. “Clogs from the Crypt” and “Cliffhanger” both eventually rock out in a great party way. But the album’s exceptional track is undeniably “Marvin.” It’s rollicking easygoing pace is elevated with some signature SMOASP lead guitar work.

Think of instrumentals as lyrics-reduced tune-age. And you can make up your own song meanings without all those busy words getting in the way.

Image courtesy Brian Scott.