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Time to rev up our annual Poprock Record should-be hit singles list of songs we’ve featured at some point during 2024. Let’s be honest up front, we barely scratched the surface of all that was going on out there music-wise, even within the confines of our own narrowly defined genre (what I’ve been calling poppy rock). As I peek at the lists of other melodic rock taste-makers I see loads of great acts I somehow missed out on. Oh well. There’s only so much needle-dropping your scribe can do. From what we did manage to cover I just want to take this space to remind you of some stand-out tracks. So today we single out 50 should-be hit singles from 2024, songs that deserve another shot at chart glory. Click on the hyperlinks to hear each of the songs and read the original write ups.
Drumroll please, here are Poprock Record’s top 50 should-be hit singles from 2024:
1. Wons Phreely “The Faithful Heart”
2. Real Estate “Water Underground”
3. Used “Morning Sun”
4. Lo Fi Ho Hum “Never Been in Love”
5. Tamar Berk “Good Impression”
6. Frank Royster “Someday”
7. Wifey “Mary Ann Leaves the Band”
8. Peter Freebairn “I Got Lucky (I Got You)”
9. Mo Troper “A Piece of You Broken Through My Heart”
10. The Well Wishers “Good Side”
11. Blitzen Trapper “Hello Hallelujah”
12. Chime School “Wandering Song”
13. Strange Neighbors “Tell All Your Friends”
14. Steven Wright-Mark “Summer Sky”
15. Brent Seavers “Till It’s Over”
16. Ducks Ltd. “The Main Thing”
17. HOA “Push Man”
18. Dom Mariani “Jangleland”
19. Randy Klawon “She’s More Than I Want”
20. Kenny Michaels “Must Be This New Love of Mine”
21. Laughing “Bruised”
22. Cal Rifkin “Big Star”
23. Stephen Schijns “Carry On (The Way It Has To Be)”
24. 2nd Grade “Live From Missile Command”
25. Love Burns “What To Do About Us”
26. The Fatal Flaw “Stop Pushing Me Away”
27. Marc Jonson “November Paintbrush”
28. Sunken Planes “There’s a World”
29. Pale Lights “Twisting the Knife”
30. Paul Collins “In Another World”
31. The Rockyts “Without You”
32. Ward White “Our Town”
33. The Cynz “Crow Haired Boys”
34. Sad About Girls “She’s Not Here”
35. David Woodard “The Last of the Full Grown Men”
36. The Reflectors “Supernova”
37. Mark Alan Lofgren “Ne’er Do Wells”
38. The Dreambots “Tightrope”
39. Ethan Beck and the Charlie Browns “Does This Bus Stop at Douglas Street”
40. The Newds “God of Small Things”
41. Motorists “Phone Booth in the Desert of the Mind”
42. Neon Bone “Don’t Fall in Love With Her”
43. SidePlay “Hit the Road Mac”
44. Caddy “In a Heartbeat”
45. Glenn Erb “Dashboard Jesus”
46. Brother Dynamite “The Girl’s in Love”
47. Pony “Freezer”
48. Jupiter Motel “Playing with Ghosts”
49. Newski “Banking On Never Breaking Down Again”
50. Teenage Tom Petties “She Kissed Me in Seattle”
Music blogger extraordinaire Eclectic Music Lover put me on to Won Phreely’s captivating single and I was hooked. Both Real Estate and Used struck me as mining that elegant Shins brand of manicured poprock. Lo Fi Ho Hum grabbed my attention with his quirky, amusing video but his melody lingered long after. Tamar Berk just goes from strength to strength in her songwriting and you can hear it here. I could go on. This is a list bursting with jangle and heartbreak – and hooks, of course.
Next up, Poprock Record’s most inventive covers from 2023:
1. The Half-Cubes “Make You Cry”
2. Mattiel & Troy Stains “Somebody’s Knocking”
3. Super Ratones “Troubled Times”
The covers just keep on coming and I’m fine with that. Poprock veterans The Half Cubes gave us a double album of carefully curated pop hits from the past but it was their cover of The Sighs’ signature song that really floored me. Georgia’s Mattiel could sing the phone book and keep most people happy but her cover of Terri Gibbs’ 1981 hit is nothing short of transformative. Then there’s Super Ratones doing Fountains of Wayne. Lovely and timely.
It’s been a tough year. It’s been a year full of great songs. We’ll certainly need more of the latter in the days ahead and Poprock Record with be there to bring you more should-be hits. So click on the links above to remind yourself how good 2024 was and make sure to visit the artists and wave a little cash in their direction.
Photo courtesy of Sunsju Flikr collection.
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