Tag Archives: West Coast Music Club

Poolside playlist

23 Friday May 2025

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We stand on the precipice of summer. Time to start stocking the poolside playlist. Doesn’t really matter if your particular pool is Olympic or inflatable, if you get the music right. So here are 21 tunes to get you started.

Seems the Stranger Things cast can’t stop multi-tasking. The latest to offer up some serious single-age is Finn Wolfhard, who was also the first in a way if you count his earlier releases with bands Calpurnia and The Aubreys. So far I’m loving what I’m hearing from his upcoming LP Happy Birthday, though it was hard to choose between the currently available singles. “Choose the Latter” has a great jangle while “Objections” reminds me of The Shins given its tight, tidy propulsive-ness. Adelaide, Australia’s Mode hit the intensity pedal on stand-alone single “Strange Girl,” with guitar hooks aplenty and what sounds like a horn section supporting a dynamite poppy melody. Philadelphia’s Labrador ride in on a wave of organ before Pat King’s southern fried rock vocals come in to completely change up the vibe on “Dry Out in June.” Between these two elements and the manic lead guitar work this is a band with very unique sound. I know Andy Shauf from this poppy folk numbers but I didn’t realize he had a band too. Foxwarren return after eight years with their second LP simply entitled 2. “Listen2me” has got a great aura going. The instrumentation here has a painter’s eye for sonic colour. When Larry Rosembaum isn’t busy touting The Dreambots he’s got another vehicle you should check out: The Super True. “Eyesore” has a curious melodic arc that bends and comes back, enveloped by some fabulous Beatlesque guitar work. “Right Here” is no slouch either with nice jangle lead guitar and harmony vocals.

Jeff and his Army of No One melds an arresting mix of sounds on his latest song “I’m Coming Back Tonight.” Elements of California 1970s rock mix with breathy pop folk and crunchy electric guitars for a track that builds in intensity as it goes along. Lowmoon shift the mood decisively with a New Order-ish thrumming sensibility on “Find a Reason.” The lead guitar work carries the song, tripping along with a sparkly resonance.  The Needmores sound a bit punky off the start but when their single “Lookin’” gets going there are wonderful melodic details tucked in here and there. The chorus borders on Beatle-manic with its chorused vocals. Vienna waits for you on Oehl’s new album lieben wir (we love in German). Everything is lush and stately, perfectly framing the standout vocals. The instrumental choices all over this record really are exquisite with strings and horns and synths all deftly deployed. Particularly on the obvious single, “I Love You.” Get ready to float away with this dreamy number. Upping the jangle quotient California’s Now couldn’t sound any more 1980s English. “In Pathécolor” exhibits a captivating rough and ready C86 sound.

For such a quiet song Sally Spitz’s “Tag Your Sign” exudes something big. This is mostly acoustic guitar and vocals, tarted up with a bit of record scratching. But the overall effect sounds like a bona fide classic, reminding me of Terence Trent D’arby’s impact. Martin Luke Brown sounds a bit stripped down and spare, but listen closely for the delicately arranged sonic layers on “To Be a Man.” There’s something Bill Fox or Chris Staples about the evocative sensibilities here. It’s soothing, intriguing, and mysterious all at the same time. Then for pop grandeur we can turn to Grant Lindberg on his recent single “Threes.” There’s a perfect blend of mellotron-like keyboards and crunchy, searing guitars. Meditative with a touch of dissonance as things develop. Clashing guitar chords launch Autocamper’s new song “Again” with a Lou Reed-ish vocal. It’s a winning combination, nuff said. Former Cheepskates member Tony Low has his own album to do. Well, an EP actually. From Really Real I like the opening track “Big Warm,” a sort of rocking singer-songwriter number that conjures a very 1970s feel.

Somehow I missed a new Andy Partridge release in 2024. Working with Chris Braide as a duo they released the Queen of the Planet Wow! EP. Most of the material is pretty pop loungey with Braide up front vocally for nearly all the tunes. But opening cut “I Like ‘Be’ With You” bears the clearly recognizable imprint of Mr. Partridge, his characteristic melodic turns and vocal inflections fully on display. “April in New York” also has a few strong Partridge moments, but only sporadically. Damn, I miss that era of regular XTC releases. NYC’s WYLDLIFE may also conjure memories of bands gone by. On “Fast Dreams” I hear both Springsteen and Tom Petty buzzed up on some kind of speed and the effect is pretty pleasing. West of the Mersey River, West Kirby’s West Coast Music Club have been putting out EPs every few months or so like clockwork this past year. Just to give you taste of what they’ve got going, check out “Summer Loving” from April’s Need You Beside Me EP. The looping lead guitar hook lulls you with hypnotic effect before the hooky melody grabs you in the chorus. Crossword Smiles have a new album Consequences and Detours and its full of their usual mellow poppy delights. Dip in anywhere and get a hint of the 1980s, a bit of Haircut 100 on “Girls Club” or Crowded House on “Counting by Fives.” But I’m gonna cut to the chase here and feature the should-be hit single: “Navigator Heart.” The opening guitars have a new wave crispness but what follows just won’t stop offering up delightful melodic turns and twists, particularly in the chorus. Instant replay mode here. Keelan Donovan’s “The Influence” has a spooky demeanor, a deeply personal song working the singer-songwriter seam pretty hard, with a touch a gospel emerging from time to time. Very moving.

Last up, the laconic, low-key recent track from Wallows cheekily entitled “Your New Favorite Song.” There’s so much going on in this mellow tune, the instrumentation carefully staged like a musical diorama. There’s folky acoustic guitar, a horn section, single piano notes, flute, and much more, not to mention an intimate, seductively quiet vocal. You want more? There’s an EP called … More.

Music for the pool, check. Now we just need sunshine. Gather your choice tunes from the above list by clicking through the hyperlinks.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Jangle Thursday: West Coast Music Club, Your Academy, The Boolevards, and Ducks Ltd.

25 Thursday Apr 2024

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Good thing jangle isn’t a limited resource. In fact, you could say it can be renewed every time someone picks up a guitar and chooses the appropriate effects-pedal/amp. To that end, today’s bands dial up the reverb to re-up our supply.

On Out of Reach northwest English band West Coast Music Club continue to develop their sonic palette. Things start out strongly jangle with “Sick and Tired,” a cutting political statement that musically conjures echoes of The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright” and The Byrds doing “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Then “Out of Reach” combines transcendent harmony vocals with arpeggiated guitar work in a style that is so REM. Songs like “The Only One” change things up, striking a more Jake Bugg kind of sombre intensity. The album also collects together various singles from the past year, like the ethereal “There She Goes Again” and the jaunty Lou Reed-ish “Nobody Likes You.”  The album turns more folk near the end with both “Home” and “Turning in Circles” opting for a more acoustic guitar staging.

Calling their new album #2 Record is one way Memphis power pop outfit Your Academy can signal they’re reviving a key local indie brand. And in so many ways this record does mark a strong resurrection of Big Star’s distinctive jangle vibe. “My Near Catastrophe” is a case in point it so resembles the original act in sound, tempo and hooks. But Your Academy are more than just Alex Chilton’s children. “Marilu” sounds like so many great contemporary bands working the harmony vocals/melodic rock and roll scene these days, like say The Maureens. At other points the Big Star style gets subtly modified, as when “Just a Little Out of Tune” appears to add a dose of Wings, or just harkens further back in time, as on the more Byrdsian “Wasting Time.” Personally, I hear more than little Moody Blues on this record, whether we’re talking the spot-on Justin Hayward vocal of “Miss Amphetamine,” the more power pop version of the Moodies on “(Not) Forever After All,” or that band’s over-the-top pastorally poetic inclinations on “B 612,” a tribute to the book The Little Prince. Other departures include the ambling Americana of “Greta” that features some snappy electric piano and distinctive harmony vocals. Then again, tracks like “When We Dream” just deliver the goods – relentless jangle.

Chicago’s The Boolevards have a sound that shifts between 1965 and 1978 on their new LP Real Pop Radio. Tracks like “On the Run” have that jaunty mid-sixties energy, still innocent of the heavier themes that would come later. “Last Night” even cheekily nicks the signature harmonica riff from “Love Me Do.” Then “If I Gave My Heart To You” and “Bittersweet” offer serious jangle from the Merseybeat playbook. But the other audio landscape marked out here is that poppy light rock that resurfaced in the mid-1970s as a precursor to various waves of indie to come. Here “It’s OK,” “Dance All Night,” and “Just Another Lousy Day” all have a compressed 1970s pre-New Wave sound. I really like how both “One More Chance” and “Out of Breath” use distinctive guitar tones to elevate the proceedings. “Get Out Tonight” even rocks things up a bit. With 16 tracks Real Pop Radio tirelessly barrels along song after song exuding positive poppy sentiments.

From the opening strums of “Hollowed Out,” the kick off track to the new Ducks Ltd. album Harm’s Way, you know you’ve dialed into something special. By the chorus you’ll be ready to get your fist-waving, pogo-dancing party shoes on. This is jangle pop with extra degree of intensity. Both “Cathedral City” and “The Main Thing” spit out lightening lead-guitar hooks with relentless precision. “Train Full of Gasoline” is a more even ride, though no less steely on impact. People compare this band to REM but I hear more of The Silencers or Grapes of Wrath, particular on cuts like “Deleted Scenes” and “Harm’s Way.” You’ll want to get out to see these boys live if they come to your town just so you can dance to the unstoppable beat of “On Our Way to the Rave.” The record does hit the brakes with its closing track “Heavy Bag,” giving acoustic guitar and mournful strings a look in. Harm’s Way is 28 minutes of quality jangle like no other, a 2024 must buy LP.

Jangle is both a tone and vibration and these bands have locked in on to both. Fill out your collection with the hyperlinked LPs above.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Autumn midway mixtape II

10 Friday Nov 2023

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It may be getting cooler but there’s still time to catch a ride on a dilapidated wooden chute-the-chute or duck parts flying off a few demolition derby wrecks. You may need music for that. We’ve got your midway mixtape re-up ready right here.

Young Declan McKenna broke out big in 2015 with the mesmerizing single “Brazil” when he was barely breaking 16 years old. Since then he’s exceeded the one-hit wonder expectations of the British music press to ride a reliable wave of lyrically and musically challenging songs. His new album What Happened to the Beach is being readied for a 2024 release but a double-A sided single is out now and it’s pretty impressive. “Sympathy” has shades of early 1970s Bowie’s melodic intensity with some glam dance-slam going on while “Nothing Works” could be covered by Grouplove tracking back to a more new wave time. The latter song has just an echo of Maxine Nightingale’s “Right Back Where We Started From” buried in the tune like an Easter egg. Another artist moving on from a musically precocious adolescence is New Jersey’s Juniper. Her previous two albums covered retro girl group groups from the 1960s to 1980s but her most recent single is something else again. “I Was Thinking About You” defies such easy categorization, combining inventive horn work with a Talking Heads kind of folk/pop sensibility. B-side “Ride Between the Cars” is special too, a light and frothy bit of pop songcraft worthy of Marti Jones. LA’s Tony Marsico has played punk (The Plugz), indie rock (Cruzados), and in the background for a host of stars as a bass man for hire. But on his recent single “Rocket Girl” he unleashes a poppy rock and roll sound in league with Greg Kihn, Tommy Tutone and The Romantics. A full album in this style would not go overlooked around here. Lost and Found brings together a collection of 1990s tracks from Philadelphia’s Buzz Zeemer that didn’t make the record store racks. So many great tunes here (e.g. “Sometimes” and “Shelly Don’t Mind”) but I’m singling out a bit of an outlier, the country-ish “Answer My Prayers.” It’s as if Buck Owen’s main lead guitar man Don Rich had sprung back to life to anchor this tune. Sydney Australia’s Gavin Bowles and the Distractions have got their new long-player Phoning It In out in shops and we’re spoiled for choice in terms of what to feature. Here I’m drawn to “Here Comes the Heartache” with its unexpected melodic twists and turns and strong 1979 vibe.

The new Jean Caffeine single “I Don’t Want to Kill You Anymore” is hilarious and earworm infectious. Disguised as an homage to early 1960s girl group twee pop, Caffeine roughs everything up, from the guitar to the deadpan, almost punk sensibility of the vocal. This is one perfect feminist rock and roll statement, both hard-hitting and hooky. From the on-the-spot handclaps, to lyrics like ‘you put the whore in horrible,’ to the speed-up at the end of the record, Caffeine has produced a 3 and half minute masterpiece. York’s Bull uncork the party again with “Start a New,” a single full of swing and enough friendly bonhomie to make you want to sing along. There’s a definitely a Kinks-meet-The Pixies feel here. Santa Monica’s The Popravinas bring their candy-coated poprock back with new song “3 Month Situation.” There’s a more Brydsian country feel to this outing, though still plenty in common with the likes of The Connection and Tommy and the Rockets. The Jellybricks are teasing us with a single from their as yet unnamed new album. “Monday’s Never” is a ferocious slice of poppy rock, inspired by The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love” but going its own way. It’s the kind of song that imprints on you more and more with every play as you hear more of the melodic nuance. The killer hooky chorus doesn’t hurt either. Kitchener Ontario’s Hyness go dark on “Driveway” with a song that lumbers along, drilling its hooks deep into your skull. The effect is hypnotic and meditatively pleasing but then brightens up in the chorus like clouds breaking to let through some sun. One of series of slow-drip release singles and that means a new album (yay!) cannot be far off.

The Jellybricks – Monday’s Never

Belfast’s Jet Black Tulips keep going from strength to singles strength. Their new double A-sided 45 is a blast of two distinct flavours of Britpop. “Young Love” rides a big guitar Oasis sound, sonorous and stadium fist-pumping good while “Dance to the Courteneers” is more Cast-acoustic fresh and poppy. A full album from this crew is going to be something else. Caleb Nichols is surely one of the most exciting and inventive artists to emerge over the past decade, comfortable in multiple genres and fiendishly creative. Last spring they dropped the EP She Is Not Your Shadow, a four song blast of bristling pop energy. Opening cut “Waylaid” struts along riding seductive guitar work and striking horn shots. There’s a Shins level of pop confidence happening here. Listening to Burner Herzog’s “Patient Zero” from his new record Random Person reminds me Rogue Wave. It’s the understated vocals and acoustic rhythm guitar dominating the mix. But it’s also the air of mystery shrouding everything. On “Thinking of You” Finnish power pop masters The Bablers dial into their Revolver-era time machine to nail the Beatles groove. It’s there in the guitar attack and oh-so smooth vocals. Right next door in Sweden Psychotic Youth offer us a few rougher edges on “Go.” From their new album Happy Songs, the song channels a more Ramones vein of punky poppy rock. Just one of 15 delightful party-worthy rock and roll tearaways.

We’ve written about theCatherines many times before. This new exclusive b-side “Where Do You Stand?” is a timely sentiment in our war-torn times, combining the band’s familiar fuzzy jangle with an urbane pop melody. Scranton, Pennsylvania’s The Menzingers deliver some heartfelt hooky Americana on their new album Some Of It Was True, nowhere more than on the should-be single “Come On Heartache.” There’s a touch of The Mavericks/Los Lobos sound here that I’m really liking. Geoff Palmer’s new album An Otherwise Negative Situation is an irrepressible capsule of explosively poppy rock and roll, one part Ramones, one part bubblegum. There just so many great tunes here. But I’m always one for outliers, like “Ignite” which leans heavily in a Nick Lowe/Ian Gomm direction. I’m also partial to “Backseat Driver” with its many melodic twists. The Golden Apples presser for their new album Bananasugarfire promises us fuzzed out guitars and joyful lyrics and that is what they deliver on  “Waiting for a Cloud,” a surging splash of sparkly guitar work and vocals with a smile. West Kirby’s (Merseyside) West Coast Music Club shift the mood on their recent single “There She Goes Again” offering up a melancholy melody. The atmosphere is rather sparse and cool, like a starlit sky in autumn.

Damn Dazy. You’ve delivered again. Another absolutely addictive earwormy single. “Forced Perspective” chugs along with a Sugar Ray-meets-Beck laid back swing, only to step on the hooks in the chorus. You can’t help but join in.

The carney’s are getting a last look in on the public before closing up shop for the season. Make your last visit a musically-accompanied one.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.

Life at 45rpm II

22 Tuesday Aug 2023

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In round II of our Life at 45rpm postings some old and more recent favourites make a re-appearance, along with some totally brand new acts. Let the spinning commence.

Any day there’s new material from Pugwash main man Thomas Walsh is a very good day indeed. Rumours abound that “A Good Day For Me” is the advance single from a Walsh ‘solo’ outing to be entitled The Rest Is History (thanks PowerPopSquare!) due later this year. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Hit play on this single and drink up all those Pugwash-isms you’ve been missing. This is first-rank wistful, spring-breeze-in-your-hair poprock. Walsh conjures elements of Brian Wilson and Jeff Lynne here but mostly you’re just going to hear that classic Pugwash sound. Walsh is finally back and in fine form. Another welcome returnee is Seattle’s Ruler. His 2018 LP Winning Star Champion ruled my playlist for months. His new album is Extra Blue and High and the tunes are still winning. I’d pitch a double a-sided single just to capture his many moods. “Price Tag” shifts between high and low melodic attack with plenty of buzzy guitar in the chorus and instrumental break while “I Thought You Were There” has a more low-key Aimee Mann tempo and subtle hooks. Another new album packed with strong material is the latest from Steve Marino, Too Late to Start Again. There’ll be more coverage of Marino to come but for now sink your teeth into the album’s opening cut “Satisfy You.” It all starts so innocent, just some simple psychedelic guitar. But before you know it Marino has cast a hypnotic spell as the whole band comes in and a bit of vocal call and response gets going. Simple yet so striking. A band I’m glad to see promoting new material is the energetic Indonesian pop trio Grrrl Gang. When I discovered “Pop Princess” a few years back it was serious replay time. Their new album Spunky is just about out so to tempt you, I’m focusing on “Blue Stained Lips.” I’m hearing a strong early Go Go’s sonic palette at work here. Also in the ‘missing you’ file for me is Sofa City Sweetheart – loved their 2019 long-player Super(b) Exitos. Now we have a new single “It Wasn’t You.” At first listen it seems breezy but there’s a complicated melodic undercurrent that gives the tune a unique and engaging character.

Victoria BC outfit The Origin were out and about in the first decade of the new millennium then broke up. But nothing like a pandemic to spark reunions. Since 2020 new material has been coming out and their latest single suggests there is no end in sight. “I Pour Myself Out” rocks the keyboard in a way that reminds me of Scouting for Girls, with a similar ear for good hooks. Long Island pop punkers Black Suit Youth sweeten their sound and soften their attack somewhat on “Outsiders,” their new stand-alone single. There’s an ever so slight hint of Green Day in the melodic mix and that is no bad thing. Sea Glass and Sky Adler’s song “Weekend” starts off so slacker pop but then builds into a bit of a party jam. I love the stripped down acoustic guitar opening and the contrast with the energy in the chorus makes everything take off. The vibe is very Front Bottoms meets Sugar Ray. The Feeders are a band I’ve meant to write about, usually after I’ve purchased some new release. But somehow I’ve overlooked them, which is no negative comment on their high quality tune-age. Really, you won’t go wrong with anything from their catalogue or Sam Vicari’s solo work. Now let’s end the coverage drought on this band by focusing on their new song “Congratulations, By The Way.” It’s a grinder, a rocked up re-invention of a classic mid-1960s song style not far different from the fine work of The Friends of Cesar Romero or The Blendours. Another sonic blast from the past can be found on Richard Snow and the Inlaws new single “Analogue Calls.” It’s not just the concept that conjures the technology of yester-year, the tune’s whole vibe is so late 1970s poppy rock, the kind the radio used to play. Radios? Like phones mounted to the wall, they’re just about gone too. Both the artwork and song here would make a killer physical 45.

On “Revenge Body” Athens native Drew Beskin conjures up an intimate atmosphere that sounds one part Peter Gabriel, another part Sam Weber. The keyboard and percussion mix are in a perfect tension here. Can’t wait to hear what else is lurking on his upcoming EP Garrett. Brighton UK’s The Evening Sons ride a wave of hooky distorted rhythm guitars on their power pop blast of a single “Superspreader.” Terms like driving, relentless, and onslaught come to mind in trying to describe this song, but all in a good way. This is the first single from a soon-to-be released LP entitled Tracks. The critics were all over the last Uni Boys last album Do It All Next Week and rightly so, it was an ace 1970s power pop reinvention. Well another LP is on the way (Buy This Now!) and if the promo single is any indication, get ready for a drive to accolade city. “I Want It Too” mines the same 1970s poppy rock and roll feel of previous releases, though this time I hear some 1977 Nick Lowe or those young Irish upstarts The Strypes. The Whiffs only just released their last album Scratch N’ Sniff last March but here they are with a new double a-sided single. I mean, bands usually milk an LP for a few singles before reaching for new material. Not that I’m complaining. “Satellite” b/w “As I Am” is a great 45 with the former cut reminding me of  the loose rock and roll fun of The Connection while flip lets the lead guitar really ring. Chicago native Matt Tiegler returns with a new song, anticipating his long awaited third album Hands Free Down Hill. The painted cover art really captures the album title sentiment. The album pre-release single is the jangly “Dream (Reason for Living),” a light poppy rumination on connection, sung with an Al Stewart folk rock intensity.

West Kirby’s West Coast Music Club crank up their jangle machine on a new single entitled “Sick and Tired.” But with a difference this time. The song so reminds me of the melancholy strains of Pugwash, with perhaps a strong dose of The Byrds coming in on the instrumental break. Strange Neighbors return after releasing one of the strongest EPs this year (Party of None) with a stand-alone single, a cover of the late Gin Blossoms co-founder Doug Hopkins track “Quiet Beat.” It’s a gorgeous tune, perfectly suited to the band’s unique guitar/vocals combo. Italian composer/guitar player Andrea Calvo is Grand Drifter and the songs on his new EP Paradise Window sound deceptively simple. But the magic is in the arrangements. As Subjangle records honcho Darrin Lee dubs it, this is Burt Bacharach-ian ‘sophistico-pop.’ Take “As the Days Change.” I love how the acoustic guitar anchors things, only to have a delicate single note piano riff float over everything. Captivating with a Josh Rouse kind of pop maturity. Speckled Bird offer EP #2 this year with Captain Maximus and it’s four songs are a quality quartet. But “Paint It” stands out with its saucy psych pop insouciance. It dabs in a variety of musical elements with an artist’s eye for detail. How much do I love Big Country? A lot. But not to the point where I won’t consider other versions of their songs. Like I love what Ted Leo and the Pharmacists do to BC’s “Inwards.” Early on it hews pretty close to the original but then innovates in the instrumental breaks.

West Coast Music Club – Sick and Tired

Wrapping up this second instalment of Life at 45rpm the irrepressible Exbats with their new single “Like It Like I Do.” I love the garagey feel of this band, though this song sounds a bit fuller than past releases. It’s got a hip-shaking sixties vibe that the Bangles would have owned. More to come with a whole new album called Song Machine.

Life at 45rpm is hard to maintain for long. With all these new tunes you can take a break, catch your breath, and then hit the links for more.

Photo courtesy Simon Collison Flikr collection.

Jangle Thursday: The Unswept, Man Behind Tree, Kevin Robertson, and West Coast Music Club

16 Thursday Jun 2022

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Time for a triumphant return of Jangle Thursday. Who doesn’t need an ample shot of sparkly guitar and songs bulging with hooks? That’s a rhetorical question. Today’s crew draw from 1960s faves, new wave revivalists, and various janglers who defy categorization. Set your reverb on those amps to maximum!

On Fast Casual Chicago’s The Unswept break out of their post-Beatles comfort zone to try a host of different song styles and sounds. Opening cut “You Keep Me Company” makes this clear, kicking things off with some early-Cars-era stripped-down guitar, handclaps and spacey synth. But then “Got Lucky” recalibrates the vibe, combining jangle and an Americana elan, particularly on the vocals. After that the change-ups just keep on coming: sunny pop in a Herman’s Hermits register on “Please Don’t Waste My Time,” a garage version of the Ohio Express with “Cheugy Choo Choo,” some Stonesy rhythm guitar defining a classic sounding rock and roll male/female duet on “Sometimes Always,” and so on. “Try to Forget You” simply rocks like it’s 1965 again with a killer guitar lead line hook. Really though, the record’s backbone is the series of seriously good lowkey poprock songs: “Lucinda Luann,” a cover of the Smithereens’ “Something New,” and my personal fave “Suggestion.” Other songs like “Forgot That Day” and “Codependent” remind me of California melodic rock wonders The Popravinas, specifically the distinctive vocal sound. Then for something different there’s “We’re Gonna Split” with its more ominous delivery and harmonic quality. Fast Casual is an LP seeing The Unswept taking chances and coming up aces.

Berlin, Germany’s Man Behind Tree describe themselves as a power/noise pop band, layering vocal harmonies over fuzzed out guitars. That’s definitely here on the band’s new album 3 but there’s so much more. Overall the sound is caught somewhere between San Francisco 1968 and side-trips to a host of bands also influenced by that period. The record begins with “California Zephyr,” a track that seems to draw more from discordant art rock than jangle, noisy but still alluring. With “Bird Survivors” the band channels a more recognizable late 1960s sound, one clearly on its way to country rock. “Picture Your Old Friends” is different again, starting simple and stark, adding a lead guitar with an ear-wormy tone and some fattened up vocals, sounding a bit CSN&Y meets Big Star. By contrast, “Japanese Mopeds” and “Better Now You Got It” feel more Teenage Fanclub to me. The 1960s California vibe is back on “Just Like Everyone” and “Can’t Stop Drinking” with their slightly more discordant take on the Byrds. Then there’s a departure on “86 Mustang” with its more rollicking pace and 1980s British indie feel. Man Behind Tree definitely dial up the excitement on 3. Things sound familiar but this is a band turning their influences into something new.

Surely the hardest working man in Aberdeen, Scotland show-business, Vapour Trails honcho Kevin Robertson is a back with another slice of delicious solo work. Teaspoon of Time is as jangle-loaded as any of his full band efforts but here the songs are crafted with a more delicate emphasis and serene execution. “Tough Times (Feel Like That)” opens things with a lonely electric 12 string riff that sounds very middle ages folk-music before breaking out into familiar Bryds/CS&N territory. “Trippin’ Back” is definitely the single, leaning on that 1980s folk rock revival sound and adding some funky keyboard lines. There are a few interesting excursions too, like the Sgt. Pepper-meets-Moody Blues atmosphere all over “Psychedelic Wedding Song” or the jazzy lead guitar extemporizations adding to the basic folk rock formula on “Forty-Five Losing Street.” And there’s a lot here that we’ve just come to love from this performer, like the Teenage Fanclub gene buried in “Rather Hide” or the nice, easy-going jangle guitar that defines “Sleepy Island Sounds” and “Magnify the Sun” or the spot-on late 1960s song structures and sounds of “Don’t You Dwell” and “Misty Dew Soaked Mountains.” Robertson is seeimgly unstoppable, reliably turning out amazing 1960s-influenced tunes. Teaspoon of Time will have you thinking the ‘be-in’ never ended.

West Kirby’s West Coast Music Club take our jangle theme into a more industrial direction, drawing from the usual folk rock suspects but sometimes adding a dollop of Jesus and Mary Chain. It gives the mix a bit of dissonance, an edge that says ‘turn this amp up to 11.’ The formula is all over album opener “Fanclub Favourite.” You can also hear it “Ouija Doll” and the rocking “Serendipity.” These sound like they emanate from a noise-poprock subgenre, so cleverly do the band hang on to the thread of the melodic hooks through the rocking haze. Some songs like “Now or Never” ply their jangle with a punky Rank and File looseness while others like “Faded Scrapbook” sounds like Bob Mould in a mellow mood. At other times the group just offer up strong 1960s-influenced guitar pop e.g. “Here It Comes Again” and “If You Only Knew,” the latter delivered in a Billy Bragg vocal style. This is another winning long-player ferried across the Mersey.

I don’t know about you but my ears are ringing, but in a good way. Add a bit of sparkle to your playlist by adding these bands to your must-hear list this jangle Thursday.

Colouring outside the lines: Fortitude Valley, Gosh Diggity, Golden Apples, and West Coast Music Club

30 Tuesday Nov 2021

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Some bands break the mould. They may sound like they’re obeying the rules but in subtle ways they’re careening all over the road. Today’s artists tweak the formulas, game the genres, and do their own thing. All in all, a very good thing.

Forget Fortitude Valley, inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia. Now Fortitude Valley says pop-punk goodness in the form of the Durham UK band’s dynamic self-titled debut album. Band leader Laura Kovic may be channeling a bit of her Ozzie roots (Fortitude Valley is her home town) but the record is more than that, vibing a bit of Weezer, The Beths, even Juliana Hatfield’s smooth pop vocal stylings here and there. You can hear a whole lot of those influences on the dissonant but still hooky opening cut, “Baby, I’m Afraid.” I can’t decide what I like better here, the addictive melody-rich lead guitar work that threads through tracks like “It’s the Hope That Kills You” and “All Hail the Great Destroyer” or the light endearing vocals defining cuts like “What You Wanted” and “I Won’t Survive.” Then there’s songs like “The Right Thing (Part I)” and “Forget About Me” that launch from a punky space but can’t keep their innate poppiness from coming to the surface. In the end, it’s “Wreck” that’s the obvious should-be hit single material with its stunning lead guitar and very Primitives vocal work. The edgy guitar instrumental break just perfectly offsets the song’s winning hooks. On the whole, Fortitude Valley is a highly listenable long-player whether you put it on random or just let it play through.

What is Chicago band Gosh Diggity’s sound anyway? Lofi electronic? Kitchen techno? Bedroom pop? My gut says something like ‘Casio-drenched poprock’ would be a good label – that distinctive keyboard sound is layered in everywhere on their new album Runaway Rocketboy and it is just so cool. Opening cut “Wings” is a representative sample of what this band does: deft keyboard interplay, understated but alluring vocals, and a marquis instrumental focal point, in this case the addictive MGMT keyboard lead line. But then, surprise surprise, the very next tune “Rad Summer” breaks out some manic rhythm guitar, later swamped (of course) by a swirl of hooky keyboards. “Patch 1.0” even works in some classic 1980s video game keyboard sound effects. Yet this record is not just an homage to retro keyboard motifs, there’s some pretty clever music hiding behind the spare sonic landscape. Check out the Kenny Burrell jazzy guitar forms framing “Burnett’s and Diet Coke” or the Everything But the Girl sophistico-pop vibe on “True Crime.” And this is a band that knows how to throw in a head-turning instrumental break, like the 1980s video-game keyboard-freakout on “Lettering” or just the delicate bells adorning “A.B.B.” A needle-drop skate across this record will tell you Gosh Diggity probably hang with some pretty wild musical company on their own time. But with Runaway Rocketboy they’ve got a record that is eccentric, accessible and just plain fun.

Russell Edling’s Cherry was a going concern with a few EPs and a long-player on the musical resume. But too many bands with the Cherry moniker led to a rebrand this time out and – voila! – Cherry has become Golden Apples on the new LP Shadowland. The sound pretty much remains the same, a slow-burn, almost-Americana-at-times indie rock and roll. But what appeals to me here is Edling’s ability to subtly bury sweet melodic hooks in an otherwise indie rock musical landscape. You can hear it in the sweet dirge-like opener, “Theme from Shadowland,” though in so many ways that’s a misdirection. The next track “Garbage” is more in tune with the thrust of the record, a bit more discordant rock and roll with a Kevin Devine kind of acoustic-meets-electric drive. The album features a few atmospheric sketches like “Reggie” or “Jack” but on the whole delivers a raft of tunes –  “Forever Hollow,” “Banana,” “Tamara Lee” – that start with a bit of discord but eventually turn more luminescent, adding harmony vocals and other melodic adornments. “Futureperfect” sounds like a single to me with its rippling, hypnotic lead guitar work maintaining the song’s tension, only to resolve in the hooky chorus. Other songs like “Fun II” and “Wildflowers” are a broody mix, cutting dark musical textures with lighter melodic currents. The overall effect reminds me of Toronto’s Hayden at his melodic moodiest.

Back where the Mersey river flows Kirby’s West Coast Music Club bring together their recent drip released singles and a wide variety of new material on a just-released LP, Take a Deep Breath. Talk about variety! Sometimes the band just rocks out, like on “Human Vulture” and “Girl.” The rocking out gains considerable subtlety on cuts like “Long Goodbye,” which crashes in like the Beatles’ “Rain” but quickly shifts to a more psychedelic Bryds groove. The album’s mellower material accents the poppier side of the band’s songwriting, apparent on the acoustic guitar-based “Life of Lies” or bouncy “Jenny’s Still Got (What it Takes).” Love the subtle Rolling Stones flourishes on the latter. Then “The Jokes on You” rides a driving lead guitar line that anchors the tune while “Thinkin’” has an almost Moody Blues bit of guitar ring to it. Or check out how “Whatever It Takes” puts us into solidly 1970s jangle-folk rock territory. But possibly my fave here is the should-be hit single “Me and a Friend” with its almost Billy Bragg-ish, brash-yet-melodic lead-guitar hooks and endearing vocal intimacy. From the first guitar notes it radiates ‘classic’. Take a Deep Breath is truth in advertizing, a truly breathtaking affair.

Colour choices can be so subjective. Which crayon is the right one? Well, at least the music’s sorted. Post artwork provided by Swizzle Gallery’s Rob Elliott.

Skating party singles

01 Monday Feb 2021

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I do remember skating to the AM radio tunes of the 1970s. Even though we were just going round and round in circles there was something about the Steve Miller Band or Cars accompaniment that made it seem cool rather than just cold. So as temperatures continue to dip this winter it’s time to playlist a modern version of the skating party with only the coolest of new singles.

For a moment I thought Jim Basnight’s “Rebel Kind” was a cover of Dino, Desi and Billy’s 1960s hit but turns out it’s much more cool than that. The song was originally by the criminally under-appreciated Vancouver band The Modernettes. Basnight honours the tune with a Replacement’s indie vibe that really connects. This is just one of 21 highlights from his recent covers album, Jokers, Idols and Misfits (check out the fabulous “This Is Where I Belong” for another surefire winner). Ok, sometimes new singles are just new to me, like Kamino’s “Where Do You Want Me?” iTunes unreliably informed me it was a 2020 release but the song actually came out in 1999 on the band’s debut EP Donut. Frankly, it sounds so fresh and contemporary it could be brand new. The song has an analog feel to the instrumentation and a clever melodic dissonance the reminds me of Fountain of Wayne’s best work. Would love to see this group take up where they left off.  Weezer have a brand new album out (OK Human) and as with all their releases I can find at least one absolutely fab single-worthy cut. This time out it’s “Here Comes the Rain” with its dramatic piano hooks and earworm after effects. From the ‘who doesn’t need some low key jangle?’ file The Umbrella Puzzles have a nice little EP built around the striking guitar work on the single, “Slips Through the Cracks.” It’s an amble along little ditty with a surprisingly rich tone on the solo lead guitar that is something special. I’d have bought Gavin Bowles’ This Year’s Modern for the cover alone, he so aces mimicking This Year’s Model right down to the shady brown hue on the backdrop. The title track is an interesting vamp with some Steve Nieve organ and 1940s background vocals. For a very Costello vibe in sound and songwriting check out “Boy From an Unknown Planet” from the same record.

Kamino – Where Do You Want Me?
Weezer – Here Comes the Rain

I raved about The Feels “She’s Probably Not Thinking of Me” as the prototypically perfect poprock single, from the guitar hooks to the melody-echoing background vocals to the overall sound. So it won’t surprise readers that I’m loving the band’s recent new song, “Is Everything Alright?” It’s got a bit of Bleu or Adam Daniel about it and it’s making me itch for a whole album. Jenny are a straight up pop punk outfit that blast through “Rose City” at an enjoyable clip. They know what their audience wants and they deliver with just the right amount of guitar distortion and melodic undercurrent. Lucy and the Rats offer up an updated early 1960s girl group sound, elevating the rock and roll feel on “On Fire.” The guitar sound and plinky keyboards meld so wonderfully with the group vocals. I think the best descriptor for The Outta Sites is neo-1960s. The band has got the sixties chops but aren’t afraid to mix in stuff from other eras. You can hear it on the title track of their recent album Beautiful You, a delightful bouncy mid-sixties-style song combined with a fab late seventies syth lead line. The band’s skill here really reminds me of The Smithereens, particularly on tracks like “This Time.” Now for a departure, I’ve got some neo-folk/gospel with Thee Holy Brothers. The sound is very Bombadil in escaping the bounds of conventional folk, evident on “My Name is Sparkle,” and the album cover is so Brothers Four 1962. I’m not a god guy but I like what these guys are doing all over this record.

The Feels – Is Everything Alright?
Thee Holy Brothers – My Name is Sparkle

I got message from Monogroove to check out their catalogue and I’m glad I did. “The Looking Glass” combines a Beatles Abbey Road vibe with some unerring 1970s pop hooks. A winsome bit of airy melodic goodness. You don’t have to take a ferry across the Mersey to get caught up with the Wirral’s West Coast Music Club, I’ve got their new single right here. “Thinkin’” mines the rock face these guys excel at: jangly, slightly distorted, melodically dissonant tunes, this time with a hint of Crosby, Stills, and Nash on the vocals. I love The Veras not just because they’ve taken my dear grandmother’s name but because their song is on a kind of permanent repeat right now. “Paper Cup Telephone” has a main structure so familiar to listeners who lived through the glam-drenched 1970s but the build up to it is so interesting. Those heavenly background vocals! Such out of this world guitars! And that organ. More please. Our skate ends with something a bit more subdued from Michael Penn. Anything new from this guy is to be treasured since he abandoned us for scoring movies. “A Revival” obviously speaks to the present moment in American politics, with Penn reassuring listeners that change is gonna come. It’s a stark, subtle, yet reassuring testament, with his usual knack for the aching, low-ball hook that keeps coming back to you long after the song has faded out.

The zamboni’s waiting to get on the ice, the ushers are screaming for the kids to exit the rink, and songs continue to rattle around in our heads as we twist our skates off. Funny how music can make the most mundane things seem special.

The single file II

27 Sunday Dec 2020

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Holidays come and go and but singles don’t review themselves. That’s why I’m back here hard at work to clear a backlog of delicious three-or-so minute melodic treats. This is a fun, curious collection of tunes: a bit punky, all poppy, some serious, others mocking. In other words, something for everyone!

Written at the end of the summer, “There Goes the Sun” captures the wistful joy of those sun-filled days, one we’re definitely missing around here right now. Even though Vista Blue admit ‘we don’t live in a Beach Boys song’ they’re taking what sun they can get. The song brims with the band’s usual punky poprock vitality, with just a dollop of lush beach-strip background vocals. With Boston retro new wave outfit Muck and the Mires its a cheeky rave-up on “She Blocked My Number.” In my head, I can hear a killer Knack rendition of this ditty but that’s not saying this original doesn’t cut it. These guys are party rock and roll plus, a feeling that courses through this track. Taking things in a more serious direction, we have Sean Lund (of the fab Lund Brothers) going solo with “The Harder They Fall.” This is not a Jimmy Cliff cover. Instead Lund offers up a subtle poppy groove that is very Beatles’ White Album in tone, with an equally subdued but nevertheless effective political commentary. Cleveland’s Bill March has done his time in the trenches, a stalwart of his local music scene as band member and sideman to many projects. But lately he’s stepped out the shadows with some dynamite singles and extended play releases. 2018’s Songs from the Lifetime had a killer single in “I Need a Night” and his recent Home Remedies has the AM radio-friendly “Don’t Turn Away.” If that ringing 12 string electric sounds familiar, it should – it’s Billy Sullivan’s distinctive playing. Cheap Star have a slick gleam of power pop coating all over “Flower Girl.” Maybe that’s a predictable outcome when you’ve got member of Fountains of Wayne and The Posies playing with you. But, in the end, “Flower Girl” really works because its got the hooks.

Bill March – Don’t Turn Away

Jeff Gammill is having a busy year, despite COVID. His band Nite Sobs is heading for a host of year-end ‘best of’ lists for their fantastic debut Do the Sob! and people (like me) are still discovering the plenty-pleasing back catalogue for his old band, The Capitalist Kids. Now he’s got a solo thing going as ‘Jittery’ Jeff Gammill with the sprightly, punkish single “Good News (I’m Over You)” and it’s a winner. Just another delightful side to this talented guy. Portland’s Corvair mine what sounds like a new wave Moody Blues synthesis to me on “Sunday Runner,” a teaser single from their soon-to-be released debut. The organ on this song is so 1967 but the vocals are pure 1980. This husband and wife team are veterans of many indie bands, including Eux Autres, which bodes well for the rest of the album. Located in West Kirby at the northwestern tip of Merseyside’s Wirral peninsula, West Coast Music Club take their name from their geography. But they might as well be somewhere in California in 1966 because they’ve got the jangle guitar vibe down. “The Long Goodbye” is a reverb-drenched, guitar-heavy end-of-year bonus track from a band that already put out an album and EP this year. Very Vapor Trails on this song but the band offer a broader range of 1960s-inspired material on their longer players. Toronto’s Talk Show are cruising some nice punk pop on “This Monologue” when suddenly the chorus breaks out a serious ear-worm-worthy set of hooks. Can’t wait to hear the rest of what they’ve been up to when the whole album drops next February. To end things on this rifle-through-the-singles-bin post, Space Cadet’s “Forever for a While” is mad blast of rushing guitars and somewhat spacey, compressed vocals. It’s like Britpop meets an earlier generation of guitar poprock a la Simple Minds or INXS and the synthesis is very, very good.

As a product of the last gasp of 1970s AM radio dominance, I’ll always be a singles guy. Or maybe I’m just too distract-able for albums. Whatever. Needle-drop your way through these ten tunes and find yourself a year end fave, before it’s too late.