Jangle and powerpop are a priority gateway to our musical hearts, so a listen to "Fell In Love" and "Alison" by Dutch band The Maureens will tell you why we are putting them on the "nice" Christmas list. That is especially true as they will deliver a late, but welcome, present in the form of new LP Everyone Smiles on January 19 via Meritorio Records. As for references, think Teenage Fanclub and, maybe, the Beach Boys. That should make everyone smile!
In the corner of my mind there's a little town Like a ghost it follows me around I go away, I lay awake I go so far away I see the face. Stop thinkin' it was all so easy Stop drinkin', well that's not so easy Layin' in bed you talk about behavioural theory I go to sleep underneath you janglin' jailer's keys
Jangling, folky guitar pop can be just what our psychologist prescribe for the weekend. The Brights walk the more folky side of the jangle pop channel, but don't mistake the gentle vibe for a lack of punch. On the newly released Oyster Rock! the melodies are packed with joyous earworms and the arrangements bounce like a happy new puppy. The listener even finds power pop strands and country breaking through with great effect. The effect is blissful and laid back and there are plenty of good musical moments that will have you hitting the replay button. This is a bit of a sleeper album in that if you miss it now, it will surface in the future and you will wish it had been in your life all along.
The Brights are Sunny Blayney (vocals/guitar), Samuel Morris (vocals/bass), Cooper Anderson (drums/backing vocals), Dylan Ferguson (guitar), and Will Maddock (keys/percussion/backing vocals). Oyster Rock! is out now in vinyl and digital formats via Meritorio Records and Stable Label Records.
Loose Wing is Claire Tucker (guitar/vocals/keys), Jack Peters (bass), Aimee Zoe (drums), and Bill Patton (guitar/pedal steel). Miracle Baby is out now in digital, vinyl and CD formats via Drums & Wires Recording.
The band is Jacob Lovatt (vocals/lyrics), Josh Longton (bass/guitars/keys), Michael Bleazard (drums/percussion), Jamie Bolland (keysboards/piano), and Christopher Haddow (guitars). Murder 24/7 is out now in digital and vinyl formats via Errol's Hot Wax.
All members are singers-songwriters, most or all are multi-instrumentalists, and all have been members of respected bands, so there is no fear of contradiction in writing that Pop Filter is an Australian super-group. But the special nature of the band's recordings goes beyond those facts. This is a collection brought together by affection for each other and love of making music, not ego and a chase for fame (and since it is an indie pop band, we are confident it is for reasons other than acquiring great wealth). Their cohesion as a playing unit is a testament to their talent, but also is earned over the years playing with each other in various combinations in other bands (The Ocean Party, Cool Sounds, Snowy Band, Partner Look).
The songs on Pop Filter's new album CONO evince comfort and sincerity, but also the ambition to make each member's creation as perfect as possible -- understanding that perfection in this realm doesn't necessarily mean a glossy finish. The guitars, keys and rhythms always sound terrific while the vocals are delivered in that now familiar laconic Aussie style. All of the foregoing combined with the top class and delightfully distinctive songwriting result in an album that sounds special, feels special, and is special. Which songs are our favorites? All of them, but we have a few for you below. By the way, "Racin' Like Hell" is an album closer that shames most other album closers. So we haven't embedded it below because we hope you go to the Bandcamp link and are tempted to buy the album. Sure, the band deserves it. We think you deserve it too.
One of our clear favorites of the year, CONO is out now via Spunk Records, Osborne Again, and Bobo Integral
Are you in the mood for some garage rock? Oh good, because so are we. Some friends in Australia sent us this delightful two-track single "Coping"/"Paris" by Sydney trio Layman. Consisting of three former members of the band BLAND, the band is Cambell Smith (guitar/vocals), Samuel John McEwen (bass/vocals) and Brock Perry (drums). There is nothing complicated here, and there is no need for complication. This is just the sort of music that draw many of is to the indie sphere. And if you have the inclination to look beyond the groove, we think the songwriting is quite good, and "Paris" is very amusing.
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We are confirmed fans of Glasgow legends The Jesus and Mary Chain, even several times having spent days listening to every song on a B-sides and rarities compilations titled The Power of Negative Thinking. Accordingly, we are quite excited by this week's news that Jim and William Reid will grace 2024 with a new album Glasgow Eyes at the 40th anniversary of their first single.The announcement of the album and the release of its first single, "jamcord", came on November 29 -- the anniversary of the release. We are told to expect classic J&MC chaos, intensity, and clever pop touches, while supplementing to foregoing with additional influences. But rather than engaging in predicting the future, we will just commend "jamcord" to your ears. The track looks back at the band's 1999 breakup while clear eyes and scorching intensity.
Glasgow Eyes will be out February of March of 2024 via Fuzz Club. There also will be a UK and European tour in 2024.
With "Echoes", the second single from their upcoming album Fairweather Friend, The Umbrellas thrill us with melancholy shaded guitar pop reminiscent of The Sundays and The Popguns. But amid the jangle and regret, we note some new nuances in the songwriting and execution that has us eagerly awaiting the album.
Fairweather Friend is out January 26 via Slumberland Records and Tough Love Records.
CONO will be out December 1 via Bobo Integral, Osborne Again and Spunk Records.
Spoiler alert: The Giant's Lawn is one of our favorite albums of the year. So, on to other things.
Just kidding about the "other things", but we are quite serious about the rich musical tapestry that New Zealand's Wurld Series has dropped for our pleasure. Dipping into the well of New Zealand indie pop but expanding the palette with progressive folk, psychedelia and folk rock that will recall sounds from the UK in the '60s and '70s, the band offers spry compositions that balance light and dark, drone and twinkle, fuzz/jangle and pastoral calm. With 17 songs, Wurld Series has given themselves plenty of room to develop their ideas and cover multiple facets of their art, but nothing is redundant or overstays its welcome. The guitars are a joy throughout and the arrangements are fantastic and often fantastical.
We think this album deserves to be on the turntable of every indie fan, and it is already in our 10 ten of 2023 list.
Wurld Series are Luke Towart, Brian Feary, Ben Woods, and Ben Dodd. The Giant's Lawn is out now via Meritorio Records and Melted Ice Cream.
Tracy Wilson and Kenny Close are not strangers to the world of indie music. Tracy was in Dahlia Seed and Ringfinger and Tracy and Kenny were in Positive No. But what has captivated us this morning is the first single from their current project, Outer World. The song is "Forms of Knowing", a dreamy and insistent slice of psychedelic pop. It is taken from Who Does The Music Love, which will be out in March 2024 via HHBTM Records. We hope there are some additional singles before the album drops. We think it will be a winner!
Model Shop is Ethan Jones (vocals/guitar), Jen Fox (bass/vocals), and Kevin Emerson (vocals/drums). Check The Forecast EP is out now in vinyl and digital formats via Meritorio Records.
Proclaiming progress on self improvement, and expressing hope that the fruits will bring back a former lover, "Self Help" is the title track from the upcoming third album by Brisbane's Dumb Things. It is a terrific slice of mellow jangle that hits us just right.
Dumb Things are Adam Vincent (guitar/vocals), Madeleine Keinonen (guitar/vocals), James Southey (guitar/vocals), Andrew Robinson (bass), and Patrick Hill (drums). The album will be out in the new year via Brisbane label Coolin' By Sound.
The Band is Gemma Fleet (vocals), Chris Taylor (guitar/keytar), Andrew Doig (bass), and Gavin Murdoch (drums). As Well is out now in digital and cassette formats via Gold Mold Records.
Does Mope City make music to which you can mope? Well, we suppose you could do that. But we find their art intriguing and entertaining even when we are in a good mood. Their latest effort is Population: 4, ten tracks of jangling, twanging downcast rock that may call to mind Low, Polvo, or a somewhat deconstructed Jesus and Mary Chain. Perhaps it is the aftermath of Halloween, but more likely it is just us, but we find jangling guitars, thundering bass and gloomy vocals to be right up our alley these days. We began the day with the album as the soundtrack for our morning coffee, and we'll end it with one more spin before bed. Three of our favorites are below, and we think we reflect the range of the songs on the album. Enjoy!
Mope City are Amaya Lang, Matt Neville Shaun Donovan, and Nick Johnson. Population: 4 is out now via Tenth Court Records.
For this record Vanishing Twin is Cathy Lucas, Valentina Magaletti and Susumu Mukai. Afternoon X is out now via Fire Records.
Postal Blue is Brazilian artist Adriano do Couto. Adriano intends to release a series of singles in the upcoming months, the first of which is the two-track Chance Occurrence. The title track is a jangling gem that hits our sweet spot oh so very nicely. The second track is a sincere acoustic ballad that ably shows Adriano's versatility. If the following singles are up to this standard, consider our ears to be captured.
Readers interest in other releases from Postal Blue can check out his Of Love & Other Affections which we covered in 2015 (link).
There were some good albums dropping this week, and we will get to as many as we are able in the next few days. Our first pick is the thrilling Not Quite There Yet by Madison, Wisconsin band Red Pants. A duo consisting of Jason Lambeth and Elsa Nekola, the project has had a busy half decade together with two previous full length albums and a few shorter releases. Elsa provides the drums and some vocals; Jason does most of the rest. They make cute videos, sometimes with Jason's daughter in an acting role.
As revealed on Not Quite There Yet, Red Pants has a style but aren't locked into a narrow genre. Their songs are characterized by chugging or droning guitars with a sturdy rhythm high in the mix and some deft hooks. But from that foundation they deliver diverse tunes that can variously call to mind The Bats, Velvet Underground, Sebadoh, Yo La Tengo or Blonde Redhead. Yeah, it is indie rock, but it is good indie rock -- well written, sincerely performed and, moreover, it is intelligent and still sounds fresh. We like this one a lot (but we still probably won't wear red pants).
Not Quite There Yet is out now in digital and vinyl formats via Meritorio Records.
Well, well, well -- this pleasant and super jangling dose of psychedelic pop called "Ouroboros" may have just introduced us to a new favorite artist. Adelaide's Joe Ziffer is pushing all the right buttons on our musical appreciation control board. The song almost seems to be two songs, starting as a jangling pop tune and eventually transforming into a slice of psychedelia. It will be on regular rotation here while we eagerly await the album Long Shadows, which will be released in digital and cassette formats on November 24 via Tenth Court Records.
This week brought us "Fighting Spirit", the second single from the upcoming CONO LP by Australian band Pop Filter. This edition from the musical tasting menu is a fantastic pop tune. It begins gently and melodically then builds with additional texture and a soaring finish. When added to the first taste of CONO with last month's punchy "Heaven Sent" (our feature here), we know we are in for a varied, high quality set of songs when the album drops in early December.
CONO with be available via Bobo Integral, Osborne Again and Spunk Records.
What is this? New Wave/powerpop T Rex? Maybe, maybe not. But it kicks butt for a Monday night and that's good enough reason to post it. The song is "WannBe and the band is Autogramm. The song is taken from the band's upcoming album Music Humans Can Play which will be out November 14 via Stomp Records.
Autogramm are Jiffy Marx (vocals/synths/guitars), The Silo (vocals/drums/synths/guitars), CC Voltage (vocals/bass/guitars), and Lars Von Seattle (guitars/vocals). Obviously, the naming convention for band members is, well, not conventional.
We have reason to celebrate -- Dot Dash, one of our favorite bands, has released an album collecting 15 of their songs from their previous seven albums, plus a cover of Television Personalities "Jackanory Stories". The title is 16 Again, which refers to the number of songs on the record, but also is a Buzzcocks reference. While not explicitly labeled a greatest hits album, you can expect that the handpicked songs selected from the band's extensive cataloged are intended to wow you. Besides, Dot Dash couldn't give you any filler tracks because they don't do filler tracks. Trust us, we have devoured all of their albums.
For those of you experiencing Dot Dash for the first time, be advised that the band plays a beefy powerpop with some punk attitude and a good bit of jangle. They also have an appealing Mod twist to some of their songs that will call to mind The Jam (try out "The Color And The Sound"). The songs are hooky and concise and have that quality of instantly sounding like classics. The members are Terry Banks (vocals/guitar), Hunter Bennett (bass), and Danny Ingram (drums). Other bands on their various CVs include Julie Ocean, The Saturday People, Tree Fort Angst, Glo-Worm, St. Christopher, and Youth Brigade.
16 Again is out now in vinyl (the first time ever for a Dot Dash album) and digital formats via Country Mile Records. The previous albums were digital/CD releases and should all be available via Canadian label The Beautiful Music or Dot Dash's Bandcamp page.
The players on this EP are Glenn Donaldson, Kati Mishikian, Lewis Gallardo, Thomas Rubenstein, and Daniel Pearce. Murder, Oral Sex & Cigarettes is available as a digital download, but previous records from the project are available in vinyl from Slumberland Records (US) and Tough Love Records (UK).
Colored lights are Frode Stromstad (I Was A King/The No Ones) with Bard Ingebrigtsen, Frank Tonnesen, Ole Reidar Gudmestad, and Tomas Pettersen. Colored Lights is out now via Bobo Integral.
The Giant's Lawn will be released in vinyl and digital formats via Meritorio Records and Melted Ice Cream.
We were feeling a bit lethargic after our weekend, but we jumpstarted the week with the euphoric Nordic pop single "Rise" / "Define Your Dreams" by Azure Blue. We love the soaring synths and the dominant bass lines. It give us good New Order vibes with that appealing Swedish gloss. Get it now via Matinee Recordings.
Matinee Recordings page for record
Popism is out now in digital, CD and vinyl formats (see the Bandcamp link below) via Matinee Recordings.
Could this be your new favorite pop band? It makes us, um, Lightheaded to consider it (no, we are not above cheap wordplay, especially after beerthirty). Lightheaded is a New Jersey band with pop smarts at the graduate degree level, boy/girl vocals that penetrate your heart, and a Brill building vibe the never fails to rope us in when it is done this well. Yeah, it is nostalgic, but it quite simply is good pop music. You can sample two tracks from their upcoming EP Good Good Great! (a title which we expect will be reflected in our reviews) below. The five-track EP will be out next week via Slumberland Records.
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