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Tag Archives: U.S. Highball

Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles of 2019

09 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 2 Comments

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*repeat repeat, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Army Navy, Berwanger, Big Nothing, Bombadil, Brett, Bryan Estepa, Dave Molter, David Woodard, Dead Rituals, Deadbeat Beat, Drew Neely and the Essentials, Ducks Unlimited, Ezra Furman, Fruit Bats, Hollerado, Johnny Stanec, Juliana Hatfield, Lucille Furs, Martha, Matthew Logan Vasquez, Matthew Milia, Mike Adams at his Natural Weight, Nick Lowe, Omicrom J Trauma, Pernice Brothers, Perspective A Lovely Hand to Hold, Propeller, Richard Turgeon, Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts, Space Dingus, Taylor Knox, Telekinesis, The Boolevards, The Brothers Steve, The Cerny Brothers, The Cudas, The Dave Anderson Project, The Golden Seals, The Maple State, The Maureens, The Mommyheads, The Needs, The Rallies, The SmartHearts, The Well Wishers, Trolley, U.S. Highball, Wyatt Blair

Screen Shot 2020-01-09 at 11.14.44 AM2019 had plenty of jangle, hooks, harmonies and melody to spare. From an initial list of over 200 songs I’ve managed to whittle my should-be hit single list to just 50 chart toppers for this year. Man, it was hard. Because I only post music I like this whole exercise is a bit like choosing your favourite child. Well, IMHO, the 50 songs featured here all have a strong earwormy quality to them. But let me know if you agree or disagree! Hit the links below to find each artist as featured in my original blog post this past year.

So, without further ado (drum roll please!), here is Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles for 2019:

  1. The Golden Seals “Something Isn’t Happening”
  2. Juliana Hatfield “Sugar”
  3. The Well Wishers “Feeling Fine”
  4. Bombadil “The Man Who Loves You”
  5. Matthew Milia “Abruptly Old and Caffeinated”
  6. The Brothers Steve “She”
  7. The Maple State “Germany”
  8. Aaron Lee Tasjan “Songbird”
  9. Johnny Stanec “Secret World”
  10. The Maureens “Can’t Stop”
  11. Telekinesis “Like Nothing”
  12. Omicrom J Trauma “Leave You Alone”
  13. Matthew Logan Vasquez “Ghostwriters”
  14. Hollerado “Straight to Hell”
  15. *repeat repeat “Pressure”
  16. Space Dingus “Parchment Squire, Paper Knight”
  17. Taylor Knox “City at Night”
  18. Fruit Bats “Ocean”
  19. Berwanger “Bad Vibrations”
  20. The Cerny Brothers “American Whore”
  21. Pernice Brothers “Skinny Jeanne”
  22. Wyatt Blair “I’ll Keep Searching for You”
  23. Mike Adams at his Honest Weight “Do You One Better”
  24. U.S. Highball “Summer Boy”
  25. The Rallies “All Over Town”
  26. Richard Turgeon “Loneliness”
  27. Perspective, A Lovely Hand to Hold “One Wrong Turn”
  28. Deadbeat Beat “Baphomet”
  29. Bryan Estepa “Another Kind of Madness”
  30. Ezra Furman “In America”
  31. Nick Lowe “Blue on Blue”
  32. Lucille Furs “Paint Euphrosyne Blue”
  33. Brett “Wisdom Tooth”
  34. Martha “Heart is Healing”
  35. The Dave Anderson Project “Welcome”
  36. Drew Neely and the Heroes “Chasing Danielle”
  37. Dave Molter “Tell Me That You Love Me”
  38. The Boolevards “Take Me to the Top”
  39. Army Navy “Seismic”
  40. Trolley “I’ll Never Tell”
  41. Ducks Unlimited “Anhedonia”
  42. The Needs “I Regret It”
  43. The Cudas “The Kids Want Hits”
  44. Propeller “There Goes a Day”
  45. Dead Rituals “Run”
  46. David Woodard “Nine Hundred Ninety Nine”
  47. Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts “Feels Like Falling in Love”
  48. Big Nothing “Waste My Time”
  49. The Mommyheads “Wake Up a Scientist”
  50. The Smarthearts “The Man from the Company”

As you can see, the list is a bit all over the map. There’s hints of country and folk and a lot of rock and roll. Because I’m working a broad poprock vein (as opposed to a more narrow power pop) my list crosses lines that other melodic rock blogs might not. That means the pop folky Bombadil and Fruitbats can sidle up to the more edgy melodic punk of Ezra Furman or country rock of The Cerny Brothers. But most of the entries fall neatly into my definition of ‘poprock’ – as in, melodic rock and roll characterized by plenty of hooks and harmony vocals. It’s all there in my number one song from The Golden Seals “Something Isn’t Happening” with its swinging acoustic guitar base, various hooky lead guitar lines, and catchy vocal melody. Or you can hear it in the addictive guitar drone driving Juliana Hatfield’s great single, “Sugar.” Same goes for The Well Wishers’ fantastic poprock reinvention of Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 sound on “Feeling Fine.” And I could just go on dropping superlatives on every entry on this list. Instead, click on the links and check out my original posts about all these artist.

All these artists have instruments to keep in tune and studio time to pay for, not to mention all the time they take away from paying work to write the songs and practice performing them – all in aid of getting this exciting music out there for us to enjoy. Help them thrive by getting out to see them live and buying their music.

A Great Record from U.S Highball

13 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Artist Spotlight

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Great Record, Scotland, Think Again, U.S. Highball

Screen Shot 2019-08-13 at 11.51.15 AMRight out of the gate U.S. Highball join the renaissance of great Scottish jangle poprock with their debut, the aptly named Great Record. The 14 songs included here immediately draw comparisons with the best of Teenage Fanclub, Dropkick, and The Boys with the Perpetual Nervousness. Perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising as Calvin Halliday and James Hindle have long played together in the delightfully whimsical group, The Pooches. Yet U.S. Highball is not merely a rebranding of their previous efforts, but a logical development of those influences. Great Record leans more heavily on a Brydsian jangle and a complex use of the duo’s voices on songs that alternate effortlessly between hooky popcraft and hints of highland folk. Case in point – these twin influences meld beautifully on “Summer Boy” with its distinctive jangle lead line opener. Or another candidate for lead single might be “My Frankenstein” with its swinging chorus. Then again, I love the mid-period Simon and Garfunkel vibe of “Old Place.” But then hear how the duo change things up with the rock-pop groove on “Where’d the Century Go?” Overall, you can get a clear sense of what U.S. Highball is doing by checking out how the band bookend the album. They open and close the record with their distinctive folk poprock sound on “Kelvinhall” and “Old Dumbarton Road,” leaning a bit more on the folk side of the equation.

Great Record is 28 minutes of jangle-folkish poprock good times. And don’t miss their 2018 EP Think Again, which contains three more highly listenable tunes. Just click on the Bandcamp link above to complete your collection.

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Recent Posts

  • Another stroll with Walter Egan
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  • Saturday Club: The Poppermost, The Unswept, Cupid’s Carnival, and The Meatles!
  • Should be a hit single: James Holt “Mystery Girl”

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