Tags
Cabana Wear, Earlimart, Michael Slawter, Monnone Alone, Propeller, Steven Wright-Mark, Sweden, The Speedways, Tommy and the Rockets, Velvet Crush, Vista Blue
With sunshine and a hint of spring heat in the air, people are starting to think about summer. And just what is summer going to be like with face masks and gloves and social distancing? It’s going to look like a very polite zombie apocalypse, that’s what. Acerbic Toronto-based pop artist Rob Elliott colourfully captures our likely regimented future in the above graphic (check out his hilarious, biting Pandemic Diary) so I’ll do a creative take on the music side of things.
What got me thinking on this theme was hearing “Almost Summer” from Steven Wright-Mark’s 2012 LP My Plastic World. I’d heard it poking around his three albums of material on iTunes after checking out his latest EP Wake UP!, which is also pretty special (personally, I’m loving “Underground” from the new release). It’s got ringing guitars and shimmery harmony vocals – I mean, what’s not to like? Denmark’s Tommy and the Rockets come on a bit more Beach Boys-meets-Ramones on “Here Comes Summer.” You can almost smell the mixture of stale beer and salt sea air. London’s The Speedways suggest we’re headed for “Just Another Regular Summer.” Uh, not. Of course nobody in 2018 could predict we’d be stuck in pandemic town. San Francisco’s Propeller may short out the details on their blissful Teenage Fanclubby “Summer Arrives” but the feeling of freedom is definitely real.
Steven Wright-Mark – Almost Summer
But what is summer 2020 going to be like? Norway’s Sweden might be banking on a “Barefoot Summer.” I love the rush of this track, with its hooky descending lead guitar lines and pounding piano. Summer sounds fun here. Or it could be the “Summer of the Mosquito” if Melbourne’s Monnone Alone have anything to say about it. The title track of their 2019 release has the band sounding like a slightly less manic version of Titus Andronicus and that is totally OK. LA’s Earlimart haven’t released much in the last decade but one of their more recent songs was “Internet Summer,” surely a prescient 45 given our present circumstances. Everything will be just fine sing Vista Blue on their California-summer-1963 coated “Summer Wonderland” from last December’s EP Hit the Floor! I definitely feel like revving my woody (if only I knew what that was). Not bad for four boys from New Orleans presently camping out in Nashville.
Sweden – Barefoot SummerEarlimart – Internet Summer
Frankly, I think Velvet Crush literally crush all rivals in this 2020 summer song sweepstakes with “Weird Summer.” Yes, Bryan Hyland, it’s gonna be a long, lonely summer this time around. But there’s positive vibes out there aplenty with melodic treats like Michael Slawter’s “Summer’s Kind” on the turntable. Check out that sweet, sweet hooky lead guitar line! Finally, let’s leave things with grunge-meets-powerpop super group Cabana Wear and their song “Summer.” It’s peppy and a bit ambiguous, kinda like our future.
Velvet Crush – Weird Summer
With summer tours cancelled and musicians everywhere desperately strumming their acoustic guitars online for e-change, it’s definitely time to pony up for some great recordings. Like these. Do the click thing and get the money-go-round moving.
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: 
While known largely for just two tunes – “The Breakup Song” and “Jeopardy” – Greg Kihn actually has an amazing catalogue of material. Pick out any of his albums from the 1970s or 1980s and you’ll find more than a few gems. Well twenty years after his chart heyday Kihn is back with a new album, Rekihndled, and the good news is that the magic is still there, particularly on the lead single, “The Life I Got.” Things open with that familiar Kihn crunchy guitar and a ‘whoo’ from somewhere, giving way to vocals with perhaps a bit more gravel than back in the day. But when the chorus kicks in with its catchy drone-like lead guitar line it might just be 1982 all over again. Nice to see a veteran pop rocker jump back in and show he’s still got it.The Life I Got
This new EP from Denmark’s Tommy and Rockets is a special treat with its fabulous artwork and blast of perfectly modulated 1970s poprock. Comparisons with early Ramones and Rockpile abound but the sound that really comes to mind is Dave Edmunds’ retro-1950s movie soundtrack work on Stardust and Porky’s Revenge. Edmunds had a talent for producing a very tight, almost squished sound, like the music was made to be heard through a transistor radio at the drive in, and Tommy and Rockets similarly feels very AM radio, in a good way. My featured cut from Rock ’n’ Roll Wrecking Machine is “Hey Daisy,” a wonderfully structured tune, from its early alluring guitar lines to its compressed vocals.
I discovered the Shins after wandering into a book store/coffee house in some remote college town and instantly fell in love. Oh, Inverted World, Chutes Too Narrow, and Wincing the Night Away were so chock full of inventive, quirky songs brimming with hooks that I just couldn’t get enough of them. Then came the Broken Bells experiment and the more subdued Shins release, Port of Morrow, neither of which grabbed me like the first three releases. Hey, artists have got to follow their muse – far be it from me to hold them to just what I prefer. But I will say that the new Shins album, Heartworms, is a bit of a return to form for those who really dig the early records. “Midenhall” harkens back to the Shins’ strengths in really bringing out hooky melodies from acoustic arrangements, title track “Heartworms” layers up the poprock sonic landscape, while “Dead Alive” has a nice loping Halloween aura.Heartworms
Chris Collingwood from Fountains of Wayne was reviewing the most recent Shins album with much more insight than I could ever hope to muster when he mentioned a few bands he was listening to. One was Brooklyn’s Miniature Tigers. I immediately flew to iTunes to check out their latest record, I Dreamt I was a Cowboy. I was not disappointed! They have a wonderfully textured sound that reminds me of Foster the People, particularly the keyboards and vocals on “Crying in the Sunshine.” Another great track is “Pictures of You” with its impressive range of character instruments (e.g. a Hawaiian-style guitar solo) popping in here and there. The music here is deceptively simple-sounding but in reality pretty sophisticated poprock.