Tag Archives: Tony Molina

Summer singles shopping

06 Saturday Jun 2026

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Summer playlists are not going to fill themselves. But who has the time to roam record shops old school, flipping through bins of shiny new vinyl? For better or worse, those days are gone. On the flip side, now you can shop from the comfort of your very own coffee perch. So let’s get this batch of 21 new-ish songs out there and see what grabs you.

The band’s presser describes “Daisy” as a perfect ‘flower pop singalong’ for your summer soundtrack and I’d have to agree.  I admit I’m a bit late to the Beauty scene as this song and their debut LP I’d Do Almost Anything For You came out last year. But I think you’ll agree it deserves another seasonal spin. Another band I’m catching up on is Walter Mitty and his Makeshift Orchestra. “My Scratched CD of a Brain” is acoustic-guitar-light and pop-frothy with a toy piano in the mix somewhere, a winning combo in my book. My final 2025 resurrected single is from The Toxhards. The band give you fair warning with “Get Creative! Or Get Radicalized!” what with the free hand with exclamation marks. The song is big and bold and definitely going somewhere in an operatic Queen sort of way. Then there’s the allure of Rural France. This is light jangle with maximum impact. “Thirty-Seven Forever” is guitar pop goodness with a summer swing. Ace 1960s genre channeler Rad Venture pays tribute to the uber cool “Patsy Kensit” with predicable style. Slick and stylish mod pop.

Now for something a bit out there from the ever reliable Ricky Rochelle. “Beetles On High” starts a bit pop-punky only to sashay into full-on Mersey-pop mode in the chorus. If Abba had had a bit more rock and roll in their pop DNA they might have sounded like Fascinations Grand Chorus on “Chroma Eyes.” The hooks here have a got a bit more bite. Tony Molina softens up his trademark guitar pop on the smooth “Somewhere There’s a Feather.” These are folk rock harmonies with just the right dollop of electric guitar. Montreal’s Private Lives up the punk quotient on “Television Faces.” It’s there in the staccato rhythm guitar shots, the loose bass lines, and in-your-face vocals. It’s really the total package. By contrast, for a full-on trip back to mid-1975 check out the debut single “Love and Heartbreak in High School” from Plastic Family. It’s got the flavour of a Big Star-meets-Wings synthesis.

When he’s not hanging with his Stranger Things buds TV’s Finn Wolfhard knocks out some pretty hooky old school rock and roll tunes. “I’ll Let You Finish” is a teaser new tune from his soon-to-be-released second album, and it oozes a new wave Stones vibe. In the guise of Chrome Agnon DW Dunphy goes new wave for real with “Ion You,” just one of 15 fabulous tracks from the fundraiser LP Back In Time – Lost Hits of the 80’s Vol. 2. The Brazilian brothers behind Banda AL9 apply their unique talents to The Ramones, oops, I mean the Rubinoos (thanks Alan!) signature tune “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” with predictably poppy results. What a reinvention! We have more Montreal with Taxi Girls and like Private Lives they take pop to the very edge, rocking things a bit raw on “Say It.” But the hooks are undeniably there. By contrast, Glasgow’s Fast Camels are in no hurry. “All I Want” features languid, whammy-barred electric-guitar lead-lines and a tune that advances with a shuffle-like march.

On Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island you can find the former municipality of Sydney and very pleasant band named Company House. You won’t get much more spacey pop-pleasant than “Far Away” from the band’s self-titled debut album. Now give this new single “The Girl I Know”  from Peter Freebairn a listen and tell me if it doesn’t have a seductively slow-building set of hooks. The guitar melody is so Neil Finn in its efficient simplicity while the vocal takes you over a hooky summit with the last line of the chorus. This should be major hit-single material if radio ever meant anything. Now off to Padua, Italy for a band with a distinctive aura surrounding both their compositions and performance. On “Ghost” snüff dial in some dynamic guitar work along with vocals that keep us on the edge of our seats. It sounds indie and old school at the same time. From the cover of Toronto’s The Get Alongs upcoming LP Second to None the vibe is pretty psychedelic. Ok, early release single “Sunday Afternoon” is pretty psych rock too but never at the expense of the melody. I love the grinding lead guitar line opening Radio Days new single “Flying High.” The rocking rhythm guitars are never far in the background here though the vocals really define what is rollicking about this tune.

Wrapping up this summer singles shopping fest is Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Favourite Girl. It was so hard to pick just one song from the band’s cracking self-titled debut LP. The title track has all the anguish and subtle hooks we’d expect from this self-described ‘femme forward’ act. Hit single radio stuff for sure. But “Not Going Back” gives off just a hint of Americana before kicking into some fine poppy rock. Why choose? Enjoy them both.

Was shopping for singles ever this much of a breeze? I don’t think so. Now you can save the dropping for the dance floor. And remember, these 21 tunes are just one blast of what these artists have to offer for your summer song playlist. You can keep the shopping going, hyperlink style.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Around the dial: The Toms, Boy Wonders, Tony Molina, and Chasing September

20 Tuesday Jan 2026

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Something for a range of tastes, that’s what we’re looking for in this first twist of the dial for 2026. From power pop to indie rock to sixties retro to something else again. Buckle up for the tour.

You don’t have to dig very far into Tommy Marolda’s bio to know he’s no spring chicken. But you’d never know he wasn’t some fresh young thing after spinning The Toms new LP Sound Bytes. It’s got that unmistakeable note of youthful energy. Opening cut “Summer Without You” treats us to a fabulous blast of rock melody and jangling guitars. “Multiple Personalities” then moves things into a plush, sophisticated direction. “One Day” sounds kinda timeless, its sonic attack could be comfortably dropped into a variety of musical eras. As should be obvious by this point, you can’t tie Marolda down to just one genre. “I Love a Girl” almost shades into a disco kind of booty shaker. Almost. “Me and You” has got a great sixties pop swing. “She Can’t Let It Go” is pure seventies AM-ready poprock. But for contrast, check out how “Time and Time Again” insinuates a degree of sonic menace throughout the tune. Personal faves – I love how “Check Out Time” chugs along, pushing its subtle melody forward, while “houseflies hum in the key of F” is fun ditty that adds up to highly listenable song.

Get ready for a sonic departure from Boy Wonders on their recent album Character Study. Gone is the almost slacker punk ennui colouring their last outing Happy Days Are Here Again. In its place is a band driving a harder melodic bargain. Opening cut “We Could Be Yours” bristles with a kind of poprock determination, riffing into a bit of discord near the end. “Little Black Shadow” rolls out with some classic rock riffs before turning on the vocal hooks. Clearly the band summon a greater variety of styles on this outing. “Loss Adjustment” rides some wild electric guitar arpeggios worthy of early REM. “Polygraph” and “Enfant Terrible” are something else again, vibing a distinctly 1980s English-sounding mood. “Sister Suzie” is just straight up power pop while “Dreaming in B/W” gives off a sad pop feel. Accent on wonder with this new Boy Wonders LP. This is a band that has really upped their creative and performative game.

Is the most remarkable thing about Tony Molina’s 21 song epic LP On This Day that it runs only 23 minutes long? No. Obviously it’s the consistent quality and breadth that gets packed into these pop miniatures. That 18 of the tracks are 90 seconds or less doesn’t mean they pass by unnoticed. The record is divided amongst contributions in four registers: jangle, Lennonesque Beatles, folk rock, and Brian Wilson, with a number of short solo guitar pieces in a classical mode. The Brian Wilson set includes “Faded Holiday,” “Been Wronged,” and “Out of the Dark,” all leaning into the keyboard strong side of the Beach Boys, though the last really vibes the vocal dynamics. Then “Lie to Kick It,” “Broken Down,” and “Don’t Belong” offer different shades of lush jangle. The lion’s share of tracks here touch on folk or folk rock. “Despite the Sun” is a gentle McCartney-somewhere-in-India acoustic number. “Take Some Time” speeds up the folk pop pace. “Just As the Time Was Flowing” starts sounding very really sixties folk group. Then we get the cross-over folk rock that mixes in a good measure of jangle. The cover of Eric Anderson’s “Violets of Dawn” is just such a great treatment. Carrying on, “Livin’ Wrong” and “Ghosts of Punishments Past” inhabit a Byrdsian universe. The Beatles influences lurk everywhere. “FC’ 23” has classic beat group harmonies and hooky single-note lead-guitar lines whereas “Transplant Blues” and “Inside Your Mind Pt 2” evoke a late Lennon Beatles, the latter with a bit of Elliott Smith. For something out of step (but not unwelcome), check out the bashing rock style on “Have Your Way.” It borders on a TMBG sound.

Chasing September are like a bunch of bands combined into one on their long-player Talking Circles. There’s a pop punk band banging out tracks like “Hurts More” and “Unhinged.” There’s a more strummy guitar pop band delivering “Literally” and “Close to Me.” You even get a lull-your-kids-to-sleep band with the aptly named “Lullaby” and “Purple Moon.” The cover of the Korgis’ soft rock hit “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime” is revelatory, casting the song into a totally new register – tougher and meaner than before. “Before You Know” is another original departure with its ominous melodic development. I also really like “Anniversary” a McCartney-esque ballad in style and form.

Our fictitious radio dial nonetheless beams out should-be hits for the here and now. Add these acts to your playlists via whatever medium works for you.

Photo courtesy Joe Haupt Flikr collection.

Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2022

10 Tuesday Jan 2023

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Once again I’ve assembled a crack team of ace reviewers to whittle our towering pile of albums from 2022 down to an essential must-have list of just 25 choices. How could these stuffed suits know what’s hip, you might say? It’s kinda like how album covers can be deceiving – the dullest dust jacket may obscure a real gem. So I’ve had these guys working overtime to bring you the very best of 2022, as featured in the annals of this here blog over the past calendar year. They’ve combed through countless long-players, extended plays and concept albums to put together multiple ‘must have’ lists. Tough work but you can tell by quality of their tailoring that they were up for it.

Cue drumroll – here we have it, Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs from 2022:

1. Tamar Berk Start at End
2. Trevor Blendour Falling in Love
3. Televisionairies Mad About You
4. Kids on a Crime Spree Fall in Love Not in Line
5. The Kryng Twelve Hymns to Syng Along
6. The Minders Psychedelic Blacktop
7. Eytan Mirsky Lord, Have Mirsky!
8. Edward O’Connell Feel Some Love
9. Phil Thornalley Now That I Have Your Attention
10. Kate Clover Bleed Your Heart Out
11. Push Puppets Allegory Grey
12. The Rubs (dust)
13. Afterpartees Family Names
14. Sloan Steady
15. 2nd Grade Easy Listening
16. Greg Pope Rise of Mythical Creatures
17. Papercuts Past Life Regression
18. Young Guv Guv III
19. Freedy Johnston Back on the Road to You
20. Pete Astor Time on Earth
21. The Boys with the Perpetual Nervousness The Third Wave of …
22. Superchunk Wild Loneliness
23. The Happy Fits Under the Shade of Green
24. Tony Molina In the Fade
25. Chris Lund Indian Summer

Tamar Berk’s outstanding album Start at End tops our list for 2022. Melodic, poppy, inventive, and with a smooth AM radio sheen that encourages repeated listening. And then it’s hard not to fall for the manic, almost gleeful energy of Trevor Blendour’s Falling in Love. The Televisionaries’ Mad About You is just a wonderful mixture of retro rock and roll and hooky modern melodic riffing. I could go on (and I have – click on the hot links to go to the original posts). The list has got old faves (Freedy Johnston, Edward O’Connell, Eytan Mirsky), power pop stalwarts (Sloan, Greg Pope, Chris Lund), and a whole lot that was entirely new to me (Kate Clover, Push Puppets, Pete Astor). And there’s jangle to spare (The Kryng, Young Guv, The Boys with the Perpetual Nervousness). The list is proof that, contra claims we are solely a sample culture, the long-playing album is alive and well in the new millennium.

And there’s more. The ongoing revival of the extended play record format has led to this list, Poprock Record’s must-have EPs from 2022:

1. The Happy Somethings Ego Test
2. Movie Movie Movie Movie
3. Sad About Girls Wild Creatures
4. Friends of Cesar Romero In the Cold Cruel Eyes of a Millions Stars
5. Ryan Allen I’m Not Mean
6. Love, Burns Fade in the Sun
7. Richard Turgeon Rough Around the Edges
8. The Genuine Fakes Extended Play Vol. 3

The Happy Somethings make me happy, about a lot of things. They say important things, they give me hope. And their tunes are swell. The rest of the list is pretty winning too. Great tunes in smaller packages. That leaves no excuses not to check them out.

Sometimes an album is bigger than its constituent parts. Sometimes it’s just big. So I had to carve out a special category for Ken Sharp’s latest homage to the 1970s, Poprock Record’s must-have concept album from 2022:

Ken Sharp I’ll Remember the Laughter

Our last category recognizes an artist of prodigious talent and shocking productivity. By my reckoning over the past year alone he has turned out 2 albums of completely new material, 8 EPs of new material, 3 double-sided singles, 3 greatest hits albums, a b-sides album, an EP of remakes, and a holiday EP. Sleep is apparently not for this guy. Thus we bestow the Poprock Record special award of awesome poprock merit to:

The Photocopies

Another year, another avalanche of great tunes. Melodic rock and roll lives and here is the proof. Click on the links and find your new faves. The guys in suits are done here (for now).

1954 ‘Speaking of Pictures’ ad courtesy James Vaughn.

Seismically sixties: Monogroove, The Lings, The Ramalamas, and Tony Molina

01 Saturday Oct 2022

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Get ready to shake your groove thing because today’s acts can’t be contained. Something’s gotta twitch in time to these beat crazy tunes from bands that wear their love of all things 1960s on every appendage.

Monogroove might come from America’s west coast but stylistically they’re all over the map. Their most recent LP Into the Sun has a distinctive 1960s California pop feel, except when its giving off a very English pop vocal vibe. Then at different points you’d swear record’s genre is psych pop, only to have things switch to early 1960s sweetheart rock and roll motifs. No matter, “What I See In You” is a great album opener, with a guitar reminiscent of the chime on Gene Clark’s “So You Say You Lost Your Baby.” Then “Walk in the Park” takes us in a more English 1960s pop vocal direction. By the time “Down On” cranks up like an slow homage to “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” we’re well into serious 1960s psych pop territory. And it’s just at that moment that things turn even a bit more retro, going all early 1960s girl group and neo-1950s on “Hold Onto Me” and “Darlin.” The 1970s get a look in on “Me In You” with its Kinks-like dirty rhythm guitar and sweet suite of vocal turns while “Here I Stand” sounds more seventies soft rock. I love the psychedelic lead guitar line that sets up “Time Out” and “SPCA” is a bit of glam bubblegum fun. And is it just me or does “I Only Know” kick off with an ace CCR acoustic guitar/bass groove before settling into a 1970s pop country ballad? Don’t judge this band just by their stylish sixties psych rock album cover. They’re that, but a whole lot more.

I can’t decide if Italian band The Lings are more retro 1960s or that particular 1980s brand of sixties-nouveau. On their new self-titled debut album there’s a crisp buoyant sound I associate more with the latter, like that cool breeze accompanying some early morning sunshine.  First up “The Worst of You” has an endearing 1960s spy movie feel, its spare guitar lead lines and echo-y vocals lending mystery to the proceedings. And that’s basically the formula here: a variety of carefully chosen, moody guitars working in tension with ever-so-pleasing harmony vocals. Listen to how “Little Josie” combines chugging rhythm guitar with vocals that remind me of bands like Stornoway while “Blue” arranges it guitar parts as a kind of reverby canvas for the singers. I’d swear that’s Jake Bugg guesting on vocals for “Holocene” while the tune draws out an early Beatles atmosphere. From there the record is like a variety show sampling of styles, from rocking rave-up on “Freaky Cheesy” to the 1980s folk rock of “Grace” to the heartland FM rock radio feel fueling “Never Ending Lonely Rush M.A.” Singling out a single I’d go with “Let Me Out” given its Shadowy Men tremelo guitar and sophisticated melodic turns in the chorus. But I’m also partial to the rocking lurch defining “Hometown Kids” and its Proclaimers-like sing-along vocals. After playing this album loud I think these guys might just be worth a trip to southern Europe for a live show.

Needle dropping through The Ramalamas 2019 greatest hits collection Carnivorous Plants for Sale the band seemed to be headed in a swampy Jayhawks or Blue Rodeo direction. But their new release Le Cape Noir suggests a different road altogether. The presser describes the album as the soundtrack to an ‘imaginary long lost 1968 cult psycho-thrilller/horror/drama classic’. That’s quite a detailed order. “Funtastique” is the show opener but it’s less an opening credits reel than a B52s-inspired dance grind. “Moondog” much more sets the mood for this mock soundtrack with its Russ Meyers Beyond the Valley of the Dolls vibe. Then “Le Cape Noir” is totally the period, coming on like a rogue Ventures with the main guitar giving off plenty of drama and menace. Another highlight is “Espiritismo” with its spooky otherworldly vocals and guitar work. “The Night Tide” is another tune fully in character, a psych rock Jayhawks launching the revenge of the rumbly guitar. “Love Theme from Le Cape” also sounds so like an early Bond album deep-cut instrumental. The rest of the album tends to revert to the band’s signature swampy, psych rock style, like they’ve transformed into the act hired for the closing-of-set party.  But that doesn’t detract from the record’s playful sense of fun. Indeed, “Death in the Pot” is a real a Saturday night dance stomper.

What Tony Molina proves is that acing the sounds of yesteryear doesn’t have to leave you stuck in the past. His new long-player Into the Fade is a veritable candy store of sixties and seventies sonic sweetness that nevertheless sounds timeless. The variety here is breathtaking. “The Last Time” combines Thin Lizzy guitarmonies with a Weezer poprock sensibility while “Not Worth Knowing” is more like a sixties-influenced Teenage Fanclub. I know I hear FOW everywhere but “Leave This Town” sounds like a fuzz-enhanced version of the band. Beatles motifs are popped into a host of songs throughout the album: the instrumental break in “Don’t Be Far” that is reminiscent of A Hard Day’s Night movie soundtrack deep cut, the “Strawberry Fields Forever” mellotron opener to “Songs For Friends (Slight Return),” some “Michelle” worthy acoustic guitar work on the instrumental “Ovens Theme pt.4,” and the “Julia”-esque vibe all over “Years Ago pt.2.” And just when you think you see where things are going Molina throws a curve. Like the creative piano solo that pops out in the instrumental break of “I Don’t Like That He.” There’s even a pop punk energy to “Fuck Off Now” and “All I’ve Known.”  They nicely contrast with the low-key, acoustic Elliott Smith aura of “Four Sided Cell.” But I think my fave from this collection is the languid, Teenage Fanclubby “Burn Everyone.” Into the Fade is a set of bright shiny things, all so different yet still amounting to an enjoyably coherent listen.

Everything old is new again in music, if you know how to reinvent your influences. Today’s bands do that, harnessing the past to make the here and now just a little more groovy.

Click on the links to find the mp3s of these artists. For CDs and vinyl of The Lings and Tony Molina ease on over to Kool Kat Musik.

Jangle Thursday: Tony Molina, William Duke and Roller Disco Combo

23 Thursday Aug 2018

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janghle 2Is it a turn down day? No, it’s jangle Thursday. A day ripe with the ringing chime of trebly, echo-y guitars that somehow say sunshine and good times. I say confidently that today’s trio of tunes will elevate your mood and contribute to overall feelings of good fellowship. Let the jangle rip!

“Nothing I Can Say” is a lovely mid-tempo number from Tony Molina’s fab new LP, Kill the Lights. Equal parts Bryds and Teenage Fanclub, my only complaint is that everything’s over all too soon, clocking in at a very brief one minute, eleven seconds. But what a wonderful 71 seconds! Another great jangle number on the album is “Give He Takes You.” Former Bye Bye Blackbirds member William Duke has another solo album out and it’s a wonderful, sixties-infused journey, tapping multiple poprock styles. But Quatro breaks out the jangle on two tunes specifically, the spectacular A-list single “Caroline and the Silver Screen” and the more subdued “Cue up the Memories.” The latter channels a bit of low key Monkees, while the former has some great Tom Petty-ish and Beatles guitar sounds. Roller Disco Combo’s jangle is a bit more contemporary, sounding very Scottish, circa the 1990s on 2017’s Things Under Control. “This Is It” would fit nicely on any Teenage Fanclub or Dropkick album, while “Love Me Do” dials things down to quiet mode, a bit more acoustic, with hefty splashes of jangly electric guitar.

You know what makes bands smile? Fans. And money. Preferably both. So check out Tony Molina, William Duke, and Roller Disco Combo online and do your fan thing.