Storm The Palace are Jon Bews (violin/vocals), Will Bews (bagpipes/bass/flute/vocals), Alberto Bravo (drums/vocals), Sophie Dodds (autoharp/field recordings/guitar/harmonium/vocals), and Reuben Taylor (accordian/harpsichord/organs/piano/Rhodes/synths/vocals/Wurlitzer piano). The album is out now in digital and CD formats.
We love power pop, and one of our favorite purveyors of that pop/rock standard is St. Paul, Minnesota's The Persian Leaps. This is the ninth time Drew Forsberg's project has featured here, and so long as he continues and we continue, this won't be the last. Whether crafting snappy EPs (which seems to be his preferred mode of musical packaging) or stretching out into full albums, Drew always brings the crunchy, ringing guitars and indelible melodies. You may detect more than a bit of GVB vibe here, and that certainly is a selling point. But there is a wash of Twin Cities guitar pop that puts an even more personal stamp on the music. Our favorite tracks at the moment are 1, 2, and 5, but that is subject to change with repeated plays. And there will be repeated plays.
The EP is available in digital and CD formats.
At times like this we wish that we had purchased the deluxe box of superlatives because the subject of this feature certainly is worthy. Charles Bert, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Math & Physics Club, refused to let the isolation of the pandemic prevent him from creating music. He began his solo project Field School and released a couple of EPs on a small label started by a friend. But quality has a way of finding a broader audience, and Charles' debut LP When Summer Comes is now available via Spanish label Bobo Integral. For fans of the sweet and bittersweet tunes of Math & Physics Club, and more generally for fans of jangling indie pop, the album is everything we could wish for and more.
The DIY ethos of hometown legends K Records seems to come naturally to Charles. But his musical feet remain firmly planted in the jangle and twee channel of Sarah Records, as well as numerous labelmates at Bobo Integral. What elevates the songs on When Summer Comes above others in that category, however, are the incisive writing and sincere performances. The listener can feel the joy and the melancholy, and enjoy the self-effacing humor. And even the more melancholy tunes benefit from Charles' relatively light touch, leaving the listener with a warm feeling and an understandable desire to hit "replay". This certainly is one of the jangle pop albums of the year.
When Summer Comes is out now in digital and vinyl formats.
Every year a number of bands surface with a jangling sound that earns our ears, as well as a place in the lineup with those jangle poppers who preceded them. But occasionally a new band will carve their way to the center of the genre, sounding like they have always been there and now are being imitated by others. Southeast Ohio's The Laughing Chimes may be such a band. The project begun by teenage siblings Evan and Quinn Seurkamp has released their debut EP Zoo Avenue which is one of the stronger opening statements we have heard from any band lately. It is no wonder that the brain trust at Slumberland Records signed them. Sunny, chiming optimism for a gloomy fall -- you really shouldn't miss these guys.
Zoo Avenue is out now in digital and cassette formats.
Richmond, Virginia's The Silent Boys are indie/jangle pop lifers, with a quarter of a century, eight albums and a core of devoted fans paying tribute to their talent and dedication. That doesn't mean that they are famous -- after all, their tag line is "willfully obscure since 1986". But it does mean that if you are an indie pop fan you owe your ears a taste of the spanking new Sand to Pearls, Coal to Diamonds. This is music made by humans, not machines with an eye to beats per minute, but even so it seems more homespun than many guitar pop bands. To our ears the emphasis is on the story more than the sound, although the sound is sweet as well. And all that makes the resulting songs memorable as well as pleasing and well worth your time.
The players on Sand to Pearls, Coal to Diamonds are Wallace Dietz, John Suchocki, Grant Oliver, Michael Click, John Morand, Dan-O Deckelman, and Maitreya Suchocki. See the Bandcamp link below for the digital release. CDs are available via French label Too Good To Be True Records.
We won't pretend we are very familiar with Sean Turner's project The Photocopies. But having stumbled over Wrong Century, the new collection of songs, we suggest that it is a good place for you and us to start. Sean is a Londoner decamped to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and he obviously shares our fondness for '80s and '90s guitar pop. This record includes songs previously released on singles and EPs, plus some covers of worthy songs by other artists. A great listen!
You may be too late to get the CD from Discos de Kirlian, although it is worth trying. But digital copies certainly are available. See the links below.
Seattle trio Model Shop opens our nostalgia floodgates. Before we discovered girls, we frequented model shops to buy and build plastic playthings. Then we developed love interests and model shops became a thing of the past. But Model Shop promises to call to mind both of those segments of our lives with their upcoming LP Love Interest, and to do so with the jangling, sparkling indie pop that we have loved for our adult lives. Take a taste with irrepressible new single "Lucky" and look back in our archives for our posts about previous singles "Compilation Tape" and "Letters to Melissa" (or take the efficient approach and just hit the album Bandcamp link below).
The album will be released November 25 via Spanish label Meritorio Records. Note that US orders will shop from Portland, thus avoiding expensive shipping charges.
Model Shop are Kevin Emerson (vocals/drums), Jen Fox (Bass), and Ethan Jones (vocals/guitar). Kevin and Ethan were members of Math & Physics Club.
Meritorio Records link for Love Interest
We are just a week away from the drop of an album that all indie pop fans should have on their wish list: When Summer Comes by Field School. We have shared a couple of singles from the album previously, but just in case you still have doubts or missed the earlier post, one listen to the final single, the yearning "Jennifer Valentine", should seal the deal. The song has made our "song obsession" list.
Field School is Olympia, Washington's Charles Bert. When Summer Comes LP, which will be out November 18 via Bobo Integral.
From time to time we engage in a bit of housecleaning, and we invariably are proud of the results. However, Glenn Donaldson of The Reds, Pinks & Purples puts us to shame. You see, he has been going through his vaults of unreleased recordings (or limited and rare releases) over the past few years and packaging them for our eager ears. The latest is the six-song Everything You Ever Loved. If you are a regular reader you already know our high opinion of the music from this project. And you know that the music really sells itself with melancholy plucks on your heartstrings and melodies that seem like they have been in a happy place in your brain forever. So dive in, kiddos -- may Glenn's vault's never run empty!
The album was supposed to be released on November 5, but you can't keep a good album hidden and it has burst out of the gates already.
Dot Dash are Terry Banks (guitar/vocals), Hunter Bennett (bass), and Danny Ingram (drums). Their former bands include St. Christopher, Saturday People, Glo-Worm, Weatherhead, Swervedriver, Julie Ocean and Youth Brigade. Madman In The Rain is out via Ottawa, Canada's The Beautiful Music.
