Tag Archives: The Summertimes

Starry starry singles

20 Tuesday Oct 2026

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What is star power anyway? Somehow we know when we’re around it – there’s an extra dose of sparkle to the performance that makes instant replay pretty much inevitable. To aid your search, here’s 21 songs to fill your starry starry sky with something shiny and new.

Summer may be over but any season is a good time to check out the latest EP from Australia’s The Summertimes. The jangle shimmer radiating from their summertime pre-release single “Save You Now” is buoyant and fresh, giving off a Rank and File meets the Beatles vibe. EP title track “Luminous” is pretty sweet too. Minnesota’s Sunken Planes return with a dynamic new single “In Due Time” that combines jangle with a decidedly edgy emotional feel. Just a little bit dissonant and melancholy in a very good way. As Vegas With Randolph gather their wits for a full album release they’ve been drip releasing intriguing songs like “Maria Reverie.” The track is name-dropping tour-de force. I mean, it’s not easy to rhyme things with Matthew McConaughey. Exploding Flowers single “Spinning Carousel” practically screams out for a montage sequence to accompany it. The song is pleasant like a gently rippling forest stream with a marimba break that reminds me of Haircut 100. 2m8o have an endearing DIY indie style that comes out strong on “Popcorn Ceilings.” Some star bass playing here too.

The Happy Somethings “Just Being With You” is definitely ‘a healthy dose of hope’ (the latter being the title of their latest album) with an undeniable winsome charm. This is a band that made C86 a way of life without surrendering their smile. Bill DeMain’s Swan Dive project offers up something very special, a new song featuring the late great Jill Sobule. “Jenny” is cool and stately in a ‘I’m doing a Frank Sinatra sort of thing’ way. So classic. The dt’s recent track “Bummer” goes in two seemingly disparate directions within one composition. The verses keep us idling, waiting for something to break. And that break comes with a swooping chorus that really delivers. Birmingham’s Lolas never fail to nail the hooks. Their new song “Colors of the Heart, Bleeding” careens out of the starting gate with a soaring melody and punchy chorus. What an intriguing combination Pillow Fight offer up on “Secret Crush.” Musically the opening is so jangliscious, quickly developing into a great girl group groove. Then the deadpan vocals twist the effect away from pure nostalgia to something more serene.

While Doug Hammond’s Vaughn Trapp guise may not have the tensile strength of his Daisy House project it remains a great vehicle for his abundant pop culture talents, showcased nicely on his latest song “Gringo Starr.” Composition-wise, the track is a wild synthesis of styles from completely different eras. And damn, the melody threading throughout the chorus is pure ambrosia. Liverpool’s Modern Marriage have a debut LP Grim Up North jammed full of Merseybeat references but delivered in a style that is anything but. “Dear John” gives you a taste of the band’s musical independence from their obvious cultural past, combining both shiny guitar riffs and a very punky demeanor. I’ve always had a soft spot for Louisville Kentucky’s rough-hewn Terry Malts. Their music always seemed to verge on just a bit too loud for me but always recovered with an unfailing knack for dialing in some serious melodic hooks. With “By Friday” the rocking grind is there, adorning a familiar song style so well. Don’t let the palm trees fool you on the cover of All Over the Shop’s new EP Some Like It Shop. On opening cut “Every Dog …” the sounds has a grimy grinding undercurrent while the vocal pulls in a different direction, creating a productive tension. In their spare time Richard Rossi and Joe Giddings decided to form a new project, Radio Karma, and put out some new tunes. “Mom’s Garage” is one and it is an exquisite composition, a dynamite slice of melodic rock with just the right balance of tasty hooks and screaming guitar solos. If only I could toss off singles this good so easily.

“Red Lights” is something a bit different from The Deathray Davies. Over the top and a bit constrained in different places. Definitely fun. The Fencesitters hail from St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and their “flight song” is delightful ball of confusion, simultaneously light and frothy while drilling down into solid guitar soloing (including some serious verbal flight boarding drama). The new single from Santa Monica’s The Popravinas has their usual candy-coated pop rocky coating. “You Got Ornery” is driven by a slick vocal and lead guitar riff that won’t quit. The Krayolas are a tex-mex institution, still going decade after decade putting out new stuff. This time it’s a cover of Atwood Allen’s tear-jerker track from  Doug Sahm’s 1973 solo album Doug Sahm and Band. And they acquit themselves country-beautiful on it. I love the light touch on Drew Beskin’s new single “Like Some Guilt Admission.” The acoustic guitar floats in, the vocal hovers somewhere above it all, while the tune really gets into your head.

Wrapping things up on this star power showcase is a real show stopper from The Speedways. Backing their new single “All Bets Are Off” is a b-side co-write with none other than power pop legend Paul Collins. “Angela Sincerely” is dynamite from the word go. Cool lead guitar line, hooks galore, and with some vocal support from the legend himself. A winner, for sure.

You can wish upon these stars but cool hard cash would probably not go amiss either. Click on the links above to extend your night sky view of these great new songs and acts.

Photo ‘Ritz Starlight Room’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2023

05 Friday Jan 2024

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The traditional rock and roll album ain’t dead, not by a long shot. Usurped for sure by new commercial formats and changing consumer listening patterns but the album – as a distinct collection of songs (sometimes forming a coherent whole) – remains the default mode of delivery for a wide swathe of guitar-based popular music. Proof? There was simply no shortage of fabulous, super-charged, pop-rocking long-players and extended plays to spend time with throughout 2023. From this embarrassment of musical riches we’ve whittled down a few different lists of LPs and EPs we feel rank as having ‘must have’ status. There’s something for every taste that falls somewhere across the broad, rather idiosyncratic category of ‘poprock’ we employ here. So dive in, see what you think, and do let us know about whatever egregious oversight you think we’ve undoubtedly committed. The hotlinks take you to the original reviews.

Cue drumroll – here we have it, Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs from 2023:

1. The Decibels When the Red Lights Flash
2. The McCharmlys The McCharmlys
3. The Parlophonics Dying of the Light
4. Miss Chain and the Broken Heels Storms
5. Buddie Agitator
6. Taking Meds Dial M for Meds
7. Good Shade Think Spring
8. Talking Kind It Did Bring Me Down
9. Caleb Nichols Let’s Look Back
10. Thomas Walsh The Rest is History
11. Steve Marino Too Late to Start Again
12. The Summertimes The Summertimes
13. Nite Sobs Fade Out
14. Bory Who’s a Good Boy
15. Richard Turgeon Life of the Party
16. The Small Square Ours and Others
17. Dave Kuchler Love and Glory
18. Classic Traffic You Want It? We Got It!
19. The Blusterfields The Blusterfields II
20. The Tubs Meat Factory
21. The Roves Needle Factory
22. Best Bets On an Unhistoric Night
23. The Blips Again
24. Erik Voeks and The Ghosters It Means Nothing Now
25. Rachel Angel Midnite Heart Attack

This year’s list tipped more toward some classic genre distinctions. The Decibels are beat group heaven for me and When the Red Lights Flash just proves their mastery of this form and seemingly bottomless creativity with it. By contrast, The McCharmlys conjure the ghost of 1950s west Texas rock and roll (even though they’re from California), effectively reinventing it for today. For a different slice, we’ve got the highly sophistico-pop of The Parlophonics. Such great songs, delivered so smoothly. And so on. Our list has got jangle (Buddie, Bory), new wave revival (The Blips, The Blusterfields), country tinges (The Tubs, Rachel Angel), and straight up melodic rock (Richard Turgeon, Dave Kuchler). Long may the LP reign in what’s left of the rock and roll universe.

But there’s more. The ongoing revival of the extended play record format has led to this list, Poprock Record’s must-have EPs from 2023:

1. Strange Neighbors Party of None
2. Joe Dillilo Superhero Star
3. Super 8 The Plus 4 EP #1
4. Dolour Sun on my Brain
5. Hearts Apart Bang! Wrong Again
6. Jose’s Bad Day Hi! Let’s Eat
7. Cal Rifkin Better Luck Next Year

The Strange Neighbors EP was hands down my favourite thing about 2023. It brought back a familiar teenage rush of excitement that used to accompany the discovery of something so cool and earworm addictive it just had to be played over and over. Also cool was Joe Dillilo’s oh-so smooth collection of songs, which saw him transitioning from behind the mixing board to the spotlight with ease. And what about Super 8’s alter ego project The Plus 4? An absolute jangle blast. EPs can be such a concentrated blast of melodic goodness, leaving you wanting more.

Before you go there’s one more album we’ve got to highlight. It’s a record so good we had to give it the special award of awesome poprock merit for 2023:

The Flashcubes Pop Masters

As I wrote in the original review, Pop Masters gives you “12 new wave era should-have-been hits, stylishly re-energized” and “celebrates what might-have-been with selections from bands that should have broken big but didn’t.” But the band don’t just celebrate the great songs of bands like The Pezband, The Spongetones, The Paley Brothers and The Shoes, they share the spotlight with them in what amounts to a series of power pop band duets. Let’s face it, this project could have gone very wrong. But again, from the original review, the “results are a pumped up, adrenaline-fueled romp through a host of power pop classics … where every cut is a highlight …” Believe the hype. The Flashcubes are, indeed, pop[rock] masters.

Spend some time with these LPs and EPs and I think you’ll agree, melodic rock and roll is in good health if not wealth. But you can help change that for the price of triple shot latte from your favourite beverage store. Go on, skip the coffee queue and click the links to these artists.

Photo courtesy Chris Friese Flikr collection.

Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles for 2023

01 Monday Jan 2024

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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.

Around the dial: The Summertimes, Odds, Ratboys, and Cut Worms

01 Friday Sep 2023

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With autumn just around the corner it’s time to twist that radio dial for new music. Luckily there’s plenty of fab new releases to tune into.

In many ways The Summertimes self-titled debut LP has been the album of the summer. Reviewed positively everywhere, this is a record spilling over with good-time rock and roll tunes taking us back to that heyday of Ozzie indie chart magic you might associate with acts like the Hoodoo Gurus. It’s there in the loose party vibe of the opening cut and early release single “Inside” or the vocal snarl and rollicking hooks on “Password.” Then “White Pointer” is something a bit different, with a Lou Reed vocal directness amid carefully placed but somehow insistent guitar riffs. Things go jangle good on “Love (It’s the Word)” with its relentless lead guitar lines while “Athens, GA” is more REM, not surprisingly. But the album’s rocking flavour is tempered by lighter moments too: a Paul Kelly feel to “When the Lights Hit the Square,” some Crowded House style in  “Sky and the Sea,” and a hint of Teenage Fanclub lingering on “Wakes Up Shadows.” My favourite cut? Undoubtedly “My Beautiful Girl Harbour” with its faint echoes of Modern English’s “I Melt With You” in places. And don’t miss album closer, “The Perfect Wave.” Rarely can a band combine elements of the Yardbirds, the Monkees, and classic surf motifs and still come up with something new. The Summertimes is not just for summer, it’s one of this year’s must-have albums.

The return of legendary Vancouver band Odds is definitely an event worth marking with cake and fireworks. Central to the celebration – Crash the Time Machine, the third full album release from the band since they reunited with a new line-up in the early aughts. What we have here is more of that west coast cool sound Odds is known for. Opening cut and title track “Crash the Time Machine” assembles all the right poppy rock components. This song says ‘I’m the hit’ for sure. Runner-up should-be single would be “My Mind’s On Other Things” with its alluring guitar lead lines and captivating harmony vocals. Then there’s “Walk Among the Stars,” a track embodying a pop ennui that is unmistakeably Odds. The FM radio deep cuts would be “Staring at a Blank Page,” “Fairytale of Heaven,” or “Fall Guy,” the latter replete with secret agent guitar and more psychedelic chorus. For sonic departures, check out the more dire sound sketches featured in “The Traveling Light” or “Winning Is Everything,” the last a light ditty about how getting what you want may not be what you need. Personally, I’m loving the ELO-tinged “Revolution Singing” as well as the soulful album closer “Somehow in a Dream.” Listening to Crash the Time Machine a few times it’s clear, this is a band that knows its own playbook. But they still know how to throw a curve. Welcome back Odds, you’ve been missed.

I don’t know what I was thinking. Somewhere I picked up a copy of Ratboys 2020 album Printer’s Devil but I never wrote about it. I did review their poppy single “Down the River” but somehow that doesn’t cut it. Redemption time now that their brand new LP The Window is out. As a band that usually straddles folk pop and indie rock, opening cut “Making Noise for the Ones You Love” is a noisy, celebratory, yet fun outlier. “Morning Zoo” puts us right back into the melodic pop swing that band so aces. Very Weepies on caffeine. Should be the hit single. From there the album moves in multiple directions but without losing its thematic centre. “Crossed That Line” chugs along with a rocking inflection. This is where comparisons to Kississippi and Soccer Mommy come in. “It’s Alive” kicks off with a dramatic sonic build-out that has a particular grandeur. Vocally I hear Tristan but with a rocking backing band. Meanwhile the bending lead guitar tone is just exquisite. Another possible single is title track “The Window” with its subtle guitar hooks. For variety, “Black Earth, WI” sounds country-ish, almost Rilo Kiley in its alt-indie temperament while the folk side of the band covered with “Bad Reaction.” My deep cut fave is “Empty.” I love the perky drive and winning melody of this song. It’s got a Grouplove loose tightness.

A Cut Worms recording is often a snapshot of a particular corner of the history of popular music. Late 1960s folkie pop on Hollow Ground, more 1970s country rock on his 2020 single “Unnatural Disaster,” and so on. Now on the new self-titled Cut Worms I’m hearing that crafted pop sound I associate with the mid-1970s, with a few notable exceptions. From the first tantalizing spate of piano notes of opening cut “Don’t Fade Out” there’s a Captain and Tennille or Neil Sedaka or Gilbert O’Sullivan breezy swing in play. “Take It and Smile” has a more seventies singer/songwriter feel. “Living Inside” also has that intimate seventies pop feel. But just as you’re settling in “I’ll Never Make It” harkens back to a Patsy Cline ballad in more rockabilly days or “Is It Magic” utilizes a 1950s sparsely-arranged harmony group style. “Let’s Go Out on the Town” moves back into the sixties with its Cyrkle or The Young Veins vibe. “Too Bad” finishes the record with another strong nod to 1970s confessional pop, particularly the electric piano.

It’s a real mix of tune-age on this radio relay race. Click on the hot links to get more of the good same.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Should be a hit single – The Summertimes “Inside”

02 Friday Jun 2023

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Just in time to be seasonally appropriate Australia’s The Summertimes offer us a delicious slice of jangly power pop with “Inside.” There’s an interesting juxtaposition of vocals and instrumentation on this 45, the former coming in loose and somewhat jocular (very Hoodoo Gurus) while the band flashes a tight guitar brilliance worthy of The Wrecking Crew on those great Monkees recordings or Squeeze in Argy Bargy mode. The lead guitar has a propulsive driving quality, shifting the feel and pacing of the song, with some superb instrumental break-outs. Sometimes it’s just a great rhythm guitar crash that shakes things up. So far The Summertimes have come up with just two singles, the afore-reviewed “Inside” and the super surf anthem “The Perfect Wave.” The latter features a spot-on bit of cool Yardbirds-like background vocals. Despite the spare catalogue, this band are hardly newbies. They’re actually a bit of a Ozzie supergroup, bringing together members who’ve played with Tumbleweed, Icehouse, Even, The Church, Paul Kelly and many more. There are hints that an imminent full album release is on the way and that is very good news.

Switch your seasonal music meter to summer with these fab two singles from The Summertimes, available here. You’ll be glad you did.