Indie Pop Heaven

New blog for anyone interested

2009-02-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

I'm not gonna post on this blog anymore, but I've got a fresh new blog:

http://janglepopboutique.blogspot.com/

The best obscure jangle pop songs you'll ever hear in your life

Tages - Contrast (1967)

2009-01-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

Tages were a Swedish rock and roll/psychedelic/folk band formed in the early sixties near Gothenburg.
The band released a number of singles and LPs in their native Sweden to considerable success, making the Swedish Top Ten more than a dozen times. Though remembered as one of the finest non-English speaking bands of the 1960s, they failed to ever really break into the US or UK markets. The Tages also produced one of the worlds first psychedelic albums, named "Extra Extra" in 1966. Then they wanted to create a pop-music that was totally Swedish by learning old Swedish folk-music. Finally, psychedelia had reached Sweden. Nonsensical lyrics were combined with a strange musical arrangement, and hey presto, a new change in direction had been made. Together with their producer, Anders Henriksson, Tages now began producing incredibly clever and interesting music, as can be heard on the two 1967 LPs, "Contrast" and "Studio". Contrast only has four covers (plus one especially written for them by producer Henriksson and Thorstein Bergman). Criticism of society, love songs, psychedelia, everything can be found on this LP. After this, they produced their fifth and last album named "Studio" in Abbey Road Studio 1967. The album is very influenced by Swedish folk music and psychedelia. The album is also remembered as the finest album from the sixties, which was from an non-English speaking country. It is also remembered as "The Sgt Pepper Of Sweden", not because it sounds like The Beatles but because it is totally original. In 1968 the band released the very remembered single "Fantasy Island", this was followed up by their last single; "Halcyon Days". Several band members went on to form Blond, a short-lived pop band that released one LP in US before disbanding in 1970.

Genre : Psychedelic Pop
Country : Sweden
Label : Parlophone

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Brilliantine - My Life and the Beautiful Game (1999)

2008-12-26T12:09:00.000-08:00

Brilliantine is the brainchild of Dave Derby, who fronts the Dambuilders, and who has also played bass with Lloyd Cole. Recorded in Derby's home studio during the 1998 World Cup Soccer Tournament, My Life is English pop, with catchy riffs and polished production.

The friends who helped record My Life and The Beautiful Game include Phoebe Summersquash on vocals and percussion, Kevin March and Robbie Adams on drums and percussion, and Dominique Durand and Rainy Orteca on vocals. The producers were Robbie Adams and Lloyd Cole.

From tracks like "Better Life" to "U-Bahn Girl" to "Experimental Lifestyle," My Life and The Beautiful Game has an English pop feel, with plenty of loops and smart backing vocals. Enjoy this easy slice of ear candy.

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : England
Label : Deep Reverb

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The Relict - Tomorrow Is Again (2003)

2008-12-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

Well I’ll be damned if this isn’t the sweetest thing you’ll hear all year as I can’t think of anything that barely comes close other than maybe the recent Gravenhurst release in terms of the Nick Drake reference points, but as they say more of that later. The debut album by the Relict who feature former Clientele member Innes Phillips aided Pam Berry of the Pines and Lupe Nunas of the Pipas.
‘Tomorrow is Again’ features 12 songs of such melodic depth and texture as to have your head dizzy with delight, collecting together several new choice cuts that sit neatly aside a few lost gems from long sold out singles releases including the captivating debut ‘Southern Way’ which even to this day still sends shivers down the spine, however they disappointingly omit the gorgeous ‘Out of Time’ which appeared on the split release with Below the Sea which was this listeners introduction to the band all those years ago.
Like the Clientele, the Relict furrow the path of sensitivity, the sounds invoke vague 60’s memories yet are etched with a curious contradictory quotient of uplifting melancholia, summery harmonies and languid autumnal melodies and pierced with such a faintly fragile nature that you fear that their delicate stature will crumble at the slightest movement. If your looking for reference points then familiarising yourself with the likes of Damon and Naomi with Ghost, latter period Velvet Underground, Clock Strikes 13, several early releases from the Go Betweens canon won’t go amiss, oh yeah and a firm appreciation of Nick Drake should go some way to revealing the kind of exalted spheres this lot occupy.
For the most part ‘Tomorrow’ is a docile feast of captivating spectral harmonies playing hide and seek in the evening shade with love lorn melodies, it’s those memories of love’s past that evoke a caring fondness, from the breathlessly breezy lulling of ‘Time spent with you’ that opens the collection to the closing apologetic softness of ‘Darling I know’, The Relict tenderly caress the senses holding the emotions prisoner like in their gently teasing grip, replete with tumbling pastoral chords, the naked arrangements some how come to joyous life sparkling and exuding their aura of spellbinding passions, the irresistible incandescent ‘Held in glass’ featuring the drifting vocals of Abigail Marvell aligned to some deliciously gentle spun acoustics which hints at a classic fragile beauty at its core, while the trembling ‘Childlike’ is just oozes with sublime intent. Then there’s the spine tingling out of time elegance of the ghostly ‘Along the Avenue’ subtly recalls the ghostly tremors of the Stranglers ‘Feline’.
‘Tomorrow is Again’ is a truly enchanting experience, dare you miss it? Best listened to wrapped up with a loved one. (LosingToday review)

Genre : Indie Pop
Country : England
Label : Vegas Morn Records
MySpace

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Roadside Poppies - One Day You Won't Feel a Thing (2007)

2008-12-20T07:20:00.000-08:00

Roadside Poppies are an English indie pop band, formed in Cambridge, in 2006, by Matloob Qureshi. They played the Kaninkanon V Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 15 September 2007.

Core band members Qureshi and White first met in the context of the Cambridge music scene. Qureshi invited White to join the fledgling outfit after White's previous band, Colonel Bastard, folded in 2006. Roadside Poppies released their first EP on Scottish indie label WeePOP! before recording their first album, 'One day you won't feel a thing', as part of the 2007 RPM Challenge. After a series of gigs played in Cambridge, Oxford and London, UK, the band undertook their first European tour in the summer of 2007, playing two dates in Denmark and Sweden. They played the IndieTracks Festival in Butterley, Derbyshire on 27-28 July 2008. The White-penned single 'Cute Susan' was included on the official festival compilation CD, issued by Make Do and Mend Records.
Roadside Poppies has been subject to a changing lineup. The 'One day you won't feel a thing' album was written and recorded while key member Martin White was temporarily based in Geneva, Switzerland. The 2007 Scandinavian tour was conducted without singer/violinist Naomi Irvine, who had quit the band earlier that summer. In July 2007, Roadside Poppies announced they were looking for a new female vocalist, and Cambridge-based vocalist Abby Baker was subsequently recruited. In autumn 2007 guitarist Nick left the band and relocated to Manchester, to be replaced by Adam. In January 2008, the band saw the departure of singer/songwriter Qureshi, who relocated to Copenhagen. Qureshi and White continued to collaborate at a distance, writing and recording a second album for the 2008 RPM Challenge, titled 'Mended hearts and broken bones.' The "broken bones" of the album's title refer to a road accident suffered by Qureshi, which occurred at the time of recording the album. By summer 2008, the band had acquired new Copenhagen-based Danish members, including vocalist Lena and guitarist Morten.

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : England
MySpace

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The Margarets - Love Will Haunt You Down (2005)

2008-12-20T03:09:00.000-08:00

The Margarets was started in 1991 by Rune Berg, Alex Rinde, Ante Rune, Ronnie Michael André Giskeødegård Larsen, Lars Berg and Kai Valderhaug.
The band was working for about four years before the band members were split because of their education in different states of Norway,
After their education they were all gathered together again with an exception of Kai Valderhaug In Oslo, under the name Jupiter Starfish. They changed the name back to The Margarets eventually. The band was a great fan of the Beatles and copied their music style, which is evident in their song Rubber Rubbish that has some sort of tune that is reminding me for an instance of The Beatles.
After they had swapped from Jupiter Starfish to The Margarets they started working on a debut album What Kept You.
The Margaret’s got a big hit on the album with their song Rubber Rubbish. When the debut album was released in Mars 2002, it was sold more than 30.000 records. There are certain theories that the title what kept you was their choice for the album because it took more than ten years to make the debut album itself.

Love Will Haunt You Down is the 2nd album of the band.

Building on the strength of their common upbringing, The Margarets have easily absorbed the influence of The Beatles, The Smiths and The Byrds to create their own unique brand of pop. The quality of the writing is both heart-warming and razor-sharp, the songs patiently honed - during the calm before the storm - by brothers and cousins clinging to the smallest of islands amid a tiny archipelago off western Norway; a tight crew if ever their was one.

Genre : Psychedelic Pop, Baroque Pop, Pop/Rock
Country : Norway
Label : Universal
MySpace

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The Margarets - Surf Alone

Radical Face - The Junkyard Chandelier (2003)

2008-12-19T10:22:00.000-08:00

Jacksonville Beach, FL-based Radical Face is primarily Ben Cooper, who is also one half of similar quiet-is-the-new-loud duo Electric President. Both have inked deals with German label Morr Music. Highlighted with light orchestral flourishes and acoustic guitar, Radical Face's early recordings included an EP and album titled The Junkyard Chandelier. In March 2007 Morr issued Ghost, a concept album about houses retaining memories. — Kenyon Hopkin , All Music Guide

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Rock, Acoustic
Country : U.S.A.
MySpace

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Tramway - A Brand of Lovin' (1991)

2008-12-18T09:28:00.000-08:00

Tramway were an organ and jangly guitar male vocaled pop band from Bristol (England) with a Felt-gone-pop sound that is less 'easy' than most Siesta releases, but is of a very high quality. They have a song ('That Old, Old Feelin') that is almost a carbon copy of the Spring (the 1972 band fronted by Brian Wilson's then wife, who were THE MODEL for Adventures In Stereo) song 'Thinkin' Bout You Baby', which was written by Brain wilson and Mike Love. Tramway also do an instrumental cover of the Mary Poppins song "Life's a Country Holiday With Mary" that Dick Van Dyke sings in the scene where they ride calliope horses through a cartoon landscape. It's number 10 on the CD, though it's uncredited on the CD's graphics, which only show 12 of the 13 songs here. (Gullbuy.com)

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop

Country : England

Label : Siesta Records (Spain)

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The Lonelyhearts - Dispatch (2005)

2008-12-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

The Lonelyhearts' Dispatch is a phenomenal album. If you read no futher - do grasp that.
Given the name of the band, the album cover - a bare floored but sunlit room complete with a bed all a mess - and track titles that include "sell the house, the car, the kids... I'm not coming back" - you likely shouldn't expect the next wave of electronic new wave to fill the air around you when putting the needle to this record. Then you get to the music and lyrics - the broken heart of the matter and you begin to realize this is an album of despair, setbacks and minor / major downfalls.. . just as the images and titles hinted at.
Two guys - John Lindenbaum and Andre Perry - from the SF,CA area are responsible for the emotion and effort on Dispatch, their second release (note: find debut album immediately). Hints of Black Strawberries-era Unbunny, the Kingsbury Manx (with a shot of sadness) and Neil Young (the acoustic style and the vocals at select times are spot on; see: "Patriot Axe") are all here for human absorption - all here fleshed out and realized in eleven songs that are bound by a common structure of loss. Example? See "Seasons Past": "I waited for you at Macy's / I sat with Santa Claus / I asked him for presents / He said I was old and lost" - Christ, that's some seriously sad shit, right? Imagine those lines being about a grown man and it gets infinitely poetic. Hand-stitched with minimal percussion, a couple of blue guitars, sparse synth and brief moments of studio ambiance/texture - The Lonelyhearts have forged an album that may have emerged from nowhere but will be kept company with repeated listens and an evangelical mission to get it heard. "Sherrif have you seen my boy?", a line from "Halo", the tale of (I gather) a father attempting to find his lost son reminds me of why I first fell for Al James of Dolorean and his lyrical imagery - The Lonelyhearts share this gift of chilling storytelling.
What I mean to say is Dispatch is a phenomenal album (see the start) that should be thoroughly enjoyed with the albums gifted lyrics in one hand and a deep, 90+ proof bottle in the other. The only time this album should be allowed to gather dust is when I die and fail to will it out to my lover.. . sad songs are (still) my new friends.
Seek this and share. Perfect. ( Somewhat Confusing to a Stranger review)

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Rock, Acoustic
Country : U.S.A.
Label : DIY or Else Records
MySpace

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Tales of Jenny - The Ferg Sessions (2004)

2008-12-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

Tales Of Jenny are (or were?) a York based band who got together in 2004 and recorded a seven song demo, all of which is available on their site. Chris Jones, the band's singer, explains more:
The band doesn't really exist in the strictest sense at the moment because we all left university and live all over the country - all with jobs, some with careers. I work part time and spend my days off trying to get enough interest in a non-performing band for someone to offer us a record deal and give everyone a reason to get back together. The last time we ever played together was to record the demo and it was recorded in 2004.
Let's hope they do get together again soon as the songs are amongst some of the finest I have heard from an unsigned band for some time and reminds me of a Subway-era Razorcuts (with apologies to guitarist Stuart!) so if you like C86 inspired jangling tunes then this band are for you. (indie-mp3.co.uk)

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop, Twee Pop
Country : England
MySpace

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Tales of Jenny - Trotsky of our Time

The Mabels - Scenes from a Midday Movie (1998)

2008-12-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

One of the more useful characteristics of very small labels is that many of them put out records in an extremely limited range of styles. If you like two records from Apricot, or Marsh Marigold, or Shelflife, there's a pretty decent chance that you'll like some of the other ones, which could never be said about Warner or Sony. The Lucksmiths are on Candle, and so are the Mabels, who seem to me like an incredibly clever exercise in duplicating a band in every particular except one. If there were a knob labeled "Energy" mounted on the back of the Lucksmiths, and you gave it a quick little twist, just enough so their snare brushes turn into sticks, the tempos edge into the rock range, and the harmonies start to sound more like two people encouraging each other, rather than merely exhaling in synchrony, the Mabels are exactly what I'm convinced you'd get. Singer Anthony Atkinson might have as thick an accent as Tali White, but he sings a couple decibels louder, and some of the accent is lost in the volume. The female backing vocals, from bassist Kim Parker, push these songs a few feet towards country, and Atkinson and Warwick Lobb sometimes let the guitars be dragged along. David Kneale drums with a light touch, but doesn't shirk his structural responsibilities. "44 Reasons for Living" sounds a bit like Too Much Joy re-arranged by Nanci Griffith. The impish "Tennis Players Girlfriends" sounds like barcelona trying to do a Son Volt song, and the pealing, urgent "Sitting in a Cyclone" sound like barcelona covering "Caught in My Shadow"-era Wonderstuff. The slow ballad "Ecstatic" is much closer to the Lucksmiths, but "By the River" sounds like a sketch for a Buffalo Tom epic, and if guitars were pianos and the singers' genders were swapped I suspect "Everything Is Different" would sound very much like Suddenly Tammy. The stubborn dirge "Filipino Bride" reminds me of at least five Billy Bragg songs ("St. Swithin's Day", "There Is Power in a Union", "Rotting on Remand", "God's Footballer" and "Tank Park Salute", to be specific). The raspy, reeling "Redeemed" could be the extroverted drunk to match the Lucksmiths' blurry reticence. Parker takes the lead on the slide-guitar-fueled "Small Town Charity Queen", which ends up something like Marine Research channeling Patsy Cline. And "Our Last Photo", the lingering epilogue, could easily be a Willard Grant Conspiracy song, or a Low cover they don't quite get through before the drummer gets back from lunch with an accordionist and a horn section. The Lucksmiths' tranquil self-assurance is one of the sources of my fondness for them, but apparently I'd still like them if they were less patient. Every once in a while it's nice to get to do one of these thought experiments outside of my own head. (Furia.com review)

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Australia
Label : Candle

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Colin Clary and the Magogs - Her Life of Crime (2004)

2008-12-14T03:20:00.000-08:00

Like fashion, music tends to move through cycles of recurring style. One moment faded jeans and lo-fi folk songs are en vogue, and the next thing you know, it's legwarmers, banana clips and garage rock. The point is, everything that's old becomes new again, a trend that suggests that you should no more throw out your expired albums than your lycra bodysuit. Rest assured: both bodysuit -- and the music you danced to in it -- will return.
Pure and simple, Her Life of Crime is a loving ode to the summery folk/pop of the late sixties. Beginning with the first bars of album opener "The Shape of This Town", an easy-going, retro aesthetic is established. From there, everything is tinged with flashback. The clear guitar tones, the vocal harmonies, the tinny tambourine, the slightly hokey keyboard/synth sections -- all of these elements recapture the sixties in clear and perfect nostalgia. The album's only really noticeable modern feature is the production, which creates a slightly experimental/indie sound as filtered through a retro lens. It's what you might get if one of your favorite bands from the sixties showed up at your local medium-to-lo-fi recording studio; the songs would be the same...only slightly better realized in all their old-fashioned glory.
It's clear that Colin Clary and the Magogs worked long and hard at establishing an overall tone for the album, because you can't miss it. Beneath the love affair with sixties sounds is a corresponding affection for the awkward innocence that prevailed in that era. You can hear it in simple songs about love and loss. The only unfortunate part is that the wistful tone occasionally gets lost amidst too-short songs and too-low vocals. The best tracks on Her Life of Crime -- "Pet Sound" (a nod to the band's inspiration, no doubt) and "Simple Things (get pushed under the door)" -- are more fully developed, both musically and lyrically.
A few minor faults aside, Her Life of Crime is an impressive achievement. Perhaps it's true that everything new in music has already been done. Maybe from here on out, we are destined for endless recycling. If that's the case, let's just hope the vast majority of bands can do it with as much style as Colin Clary and the Magogs. And may they never wear lycra bodysuits.

Melissa Amos, Splendid Magazine

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Pop, Twee Pop

Country : U.S.A.
Label : North of January
MySpace

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Colin Clary and the Magogs - Shape of This Town

Cocoanut Groove - Madeleine Street (2008)

2008-12-14T00:18:00.000-08:00

In a world of sometimes unbearable ugliness, beauty becomes terribly important. Albums don't come much more beautiful than Cocoanut Groove's debut album called "Madeleine Street". Whereas most recent Swedish indiepop bands all seem to have graduated from the Sarah Records' school of perfect pop, maybe adding a touch of early Factory records' cool or a sprinkle of Saint Etienne-esque pop fairydust, fellow Swede Olov Antonsson (for he is Cocoanut Groove, augmented by some very talented musical friends) delves a little deeper for his influences. His musical universe is that of Love's "forever changes", the Zombies "Odessey and Oracle", Duncan Browne's "give me take you" and the Left Banke.
However, if you'd think this would lead to Cocoanut Groove songs being a mere pastiche, you'd be oh so wrong. Sure, when you hear these songs for the first time, their gorgeous melodies weave such an instant spell you might think you've heard them somewhere before, but this is only proof of Olov's huge songwriting skill. In effect, he is furthering a school of songwriting which has all but disappeared. He is creating a baroque pop for the naughties.
Cocoanut Groove songs are full of longing for that feeling of first love (which you have probably never experienced since), full of reminiscences of seemingly endless summerdays spent outdoors, walking through meadows full of wildflowers, picking wild strawberries, lying underneath swaying cherrytrees, staring at the sun listening to the crickets sing ... They are also tinged with a little sadness, a little nostalgia, the realization that those happier times perhaps won't come back so easily, if ever ...
Highlights include the lovelorn title track with it's regrets over love lost, the almost Clientele like "Lately" with it's nocturnal mood, the harpsicord laden upbeat "the castle" which sees summer turn into autumn, the almost Donovan-esque "shadow", ... ooh, I could go on and on. These songs posses such truth, beauty and purity (Olov's featherlight vocals are a joy to behold) that hearing them makes you realise there really is something good out there worth going through the bad stuff for.
Cherish this beauty.

(Pop 'n Cherries review)

Genre : Baroque Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Folk Pop, Dream Pop
Country : Sweden
Label : Fridlyst
MySpace

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The Out Crowd - Then I Saw the Holy City (2004)

2008-12-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

Ex-Brian Jonestown Massacre guitarist Matt Hollywood formed the Out Crowd in Portland, OR, with drummer Stuart Valentine (ex-Richmond Fontaine), guitarist Elliott Barnes, bassist Zed, and tambourine player Sarah Jane.

"A rock & roll band from Portland, OR" doesn't sound like the most enticing of come-ons when looking for a healthy swig of shaggy rock moonshine. But the understatement by this "not Seattle" based five-piece is one of the most intoxicating slabs of retro rock to hit the shelves in 2004, not the least because bandleader Matt Hollywood was the bass player for indie darlings and poster boys for self-destruction, the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Sure, they might wear their influences like a grease stain on their vintage jeans, but any group that can cull up aural references to the Rolling Stones, the Byrds, Gram Parsons and the Stooges up through to Blur and Wilco without ever pulling their stringy hair out of their face deserves endless respect. "Little Elf" pictures Hunky Dory era Bowie taking a trip to Lee "Scratch" Perry's studio, with George Martin's orchestra in tow, while "Drugsick" finds Hollywood pairing vocals with tambourine/guitar (in that order) player Sarah Jane for the sort of junkie ballad we once looked to Royal Trux to deliver. And for those who can't stay off the narcotics, "If You're Cool," "Instant Dharma" and "Sports" all turn the psychedelic stomp-pedal to ten, the later reconfiguring the classic "Gloria" guitar riff with Spaceman 3 dry mouth and a timpani (!!!) Who ever said dope, acid and rock & roll was a bad idea? (AMG review)

Genre : Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Neo Psychedelia
Country : U.S.A.
Label : The Kora Records
MySpace

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Tim Oxley - It's All About Love (2002)

2008-12-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

'It has been a long time between Oxleys (siblings Jeremy and Peter shot to Sunnyboys fame in the 1980s: Melanie is a jazz scene stalwart) but 2002 may prove to be Tim's turn on centre stage. Oxley has produced a solo debut that is sweet and intimate, from the cute cover graphics to the tales of love and innocent pleasures inside. It's disconcerting to open with a track about cooking dinner (House Husband) followed by a gorgeuosly melancholic song about wanting a hug from a bear (Love Desperado.) 'Song Of Sorrow', with its dramatic cello, is a more arresting diversion from the overall mellow, organic feel (the latter half of the album could have used another such moment). Oxley's warm, melodic tones and songwriting style are reminiscent of Elliot Smith and Simon & Garfunkel - thoughtful, gentle and easy on the ear.'

Sandra Bridekirk - The Australian

'This touching album of simply hearftfelt tunes is no surprise to those familiar with Oxley's Dearhunters and Grandview pursuits. This solo set is sweetly affecting; the acoustic/keys atmospheres unfold intimately around Oxley's versatile voice. From the John Lennon-esque piano ballad 'Love Desperado' to the Elliott Smith-like 'Song Of Sorrow', and at times accompanied by gentle strings, this is...lovely.'

Bronwyn Thompson - Juice Magazine

"It's All About Love" is summer music at its most pure - built for picnics in the park or driving through the countryside with the windows down. Even the title suggest a sunny pastoral - "Fishing Song", "Gypsy Boy" and "Weeping in Love" amongst others - and the gentle, lazy backing is the perfect match to Oxley's hushed vocals. He shifts easily from sublime slices of pop such as "Are You My Friend?" and "Hey Watcha Doin' Today?" to more serious folk numbers like "Jive Dooli", but all the time holding the listener in the palm of his hand, whispering in their ear.

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Pop, Country Pop
Country : Australia
Label : Candle
MySpace

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The Richies - Forever and Today (2003)

2008-12-11T22:57:00.000-08:00

Melbourne label Popboomerang Records is beginning to make waves in the pop underground with a slew of impressive releases in the last couple of months. The Richies Forever & Today is no exception.
Formed around the nucleus of Charley Davis (ex Stereos) and rounded off by the proven talent of Michael Carpenter (who also produced, engineered & mixed the whole shebang!) Eddie Owen & Bob Sunsjara. The Richies is a pop lover's dream come true!
Davis's songwriting never strays far from the power pop prescription with jangling guitars, contagious tunes, pleasing harmonies dominant and cool Beatlesesque vibe throughout. I mean, songs like the inspired "My Love Is True," the vibrant "I Wanna Make It With You," the dynamic "Little Pretty Things" and the puncy "Oh, No Okay" will have fans of the Fab Four (pre-psychadelic era) leaping for joy!
And for those in the know, the echos of such power pop luminaries as Teenage Fanclub, the Beatifics, Velvet Crush, and yes Big Star and Badfinger, found unashamedly in Forever & Today indicates the wealth and weight of classic pop history contained in the 40 off minutes of sheer listening pleasure.
Kevin Mathews Bucketful Of Brains Issue 66

They grow em’ on trees in Australia, these jangly power pop acts with the gleaming harmonies and the three minute tunes. But with two many of the Aussie pop boys have the sound down, while forgetting to bring the memorable melodies to the party. Thankfully, the Richies have it all: the 13 numbers on Forever & Today boast polished songwriting, the requisite jangle and gentle bite of the six string, and some amazingly intricate and sweet harmonies. The ubiquitous and ridiculously talented Michael Carpenter produced, and also serves as the bands drummer (as well as adding keyboards, backing vocals and various and sundry other instrumentation to the mix) Funny thing is that lead vocalist Charley Davis sounds a lot like Carpenter, especially on such minor pop masterpieces as “Fallen Stars” and “I Wanna Make It With You”. Nothing groundbreaking here, but definitely a sunny, consistently successful CD worthy of multiple listens.

Genre : Power Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Australia
Label : PopBoomerang Records
MySpace

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Skooshny - Zoloto (2004)

2008-12-09T10:01:00.000-08:00

Imagine - a Los Angeles band that has been a semi-ongoing concern since the mid-1970s obtains cult status in Europe, remains all but unsniffed Stateside and then releases a gigantic 20-track retrospective, replete with old, new and previously unreleased tracks. Well, my friends, meet Skooshny.
Plying a sparkling brew of folk-tinged, twangy pop rock that conjures up the pristine conceits of The Kinks and The Byrds (albeit occasionally brushed with washes that include wild violins) while dancing on the edges of Pink Floyd, R.E.M., and even, dare it be said, Lords Of The New Church, this trio may have released three albums on a budget that make a shoestring look grand, but Skooshny certainly don't sound like it.
While the band's earlier songs (late-1970s), "Crossing Double Lines," "It Hides More Than It Tells" and "Ceiling To The Lies," certainly sound more of their era than later efforts, their break between old and newer doesn't stand out. Newer songs such as "Even My Eyes" evoke a delightful alt-guitar fuzz, while others ("Clickin' My Fingers") fall somewhere between the two. Add the Michael Penn-produced "Dessert For Two" and "Masking The Moon," and the resulting Zoloto is a startling sonic array.
Although Skooshny may well have been lost in the leviathan grind of contemporary music, they remain pure and untouched - an earnest sidestep into pop rock.
- Amy Hanson, Goldmine

Skooshny, whose name is Russian for "boring", started out in Los Angeles in the early '70s and played together for six years without performing live. There's no flash or pretension in anything they do. Their website and press releases are simple and down to earth.
So here's what you know about Skooshny so far: they are boring and simple. However, "boring" and "simple" have nothing to do with their music. Zoloto, a nominal "best of" compilation of the group's wistful psych-pop, offers ample opportunities to dig into their rich, multilayered work. Opener "Even My Eyes" begins with swirls of layered instrumentation, formulating a vivid, surreal texture. Mark Breyer's vocals hint at despair, longing and unhappiness -- his natural tone shifts easily from smooth to gruff. "Even My Eyes" is the strongest track; Bruce Wagner's impressive guitar work rolls alongside David Winogrond's larger-than-life drumming and Breyer's silky vocals. "Beautiful Bruise", one of the album's four new tracks, is a stepladder of melody; it scatters up and down scales, complete with organ and guitar solos. The overlapping layers create an ethereal texture reminiscent of The Byrds' spacy psychedelia -- stirring stuff.

- Ryan Humm, Splendid

Genre : Jangle Pop, Psychedelic Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Vibro-Phonic
MySpace

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The Sadies - Favourite Colours (2004)

2008-12-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

At first glance, it may seem that Toronto's Sadies have merely stood pat with their trademark blend of psychedelic country and twangy surf rock. But theirs has been a sly evolution, and Favourite Colours, their fifth full-length (not including various collaborations), finds them masterfully honing and building on their core sound. There's an emerging depth and pensiveness to their songwriting, a growing sense of spirituality and drama. The imagery is grand and vivid, seemingly drifting from utopian to apocalyptic. The heart of the album is a three-part suite (broken up by a dense, cinematic instrumental) that perfectly exemplifies the Sadies' deft balance of the ominous and the uplifting. The gentle steel and delicate acoustic strumming of "1000 Cities Falling (Part 1)" gives way to the trippy, atmospheric "Song of the Chief Musician (Part 2)" before culminating with the bright, sunny, 12-string-driven "Why Be So Curious? (Part 3)" with its refrain: "why be so curious when nobody knows the truth?" In this balance between tension and consolation one can hear echoes of '60s "cosmic cowboys" the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and Flying Burrito Brothers. Exclusive company indeed, but with their sharp, fluid playing and broadening lyrical and musical scope, the Sadies are fast earning these comparisons. --Marc Greilsamer (Amazon.com)

Genre : Psychedelic Rock, Jangle Pop, Country, Folk Rock
Country : Canada
Label : Yep Roc Records
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The Yellow Balloon - The Yellow Balloon (1967)

2008-12-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

1967's "The Yellow Balloon" is another mid-1960s album some dealers have labeled as psych. It isn't. That isn't to imply this set doesn't have it's virtues.
The Yellow Balloon started as a studio entity - the brain child of producer/songwriter Gary Zekley. Zekley had made his name working with and writing material for Jan and Dean. In the wake of Jan's near fatal 1966 car accident, Zekley continued working with Dean Torrence on a planned solo album (to be credited as a Jan and Dean product). Zekley provided Torrence with several tunes, but was disappointed with the studio recordings, eventually deciding to shop the songs around himself.
Finding an interested party in the form of Ken Handler's LA-based Canterbury Records (Handler's parent owned Mattel Toys), Zekley convinced Canterbury to rush release one of the songs as a single. Credited to 'The Yellow Balloon', 1967's 'Yellow Balloon' b/w 'Noollab Wolley' (Canterbury catalog number 508) provided Zekley with an unexpected top-40 hit. The resulting publicity and demand for touring support forced Zekley to start looking for a touring band. At the same time Canterbury had signed child star Don Agrati aka Don Grady (aka Robbie of My Three Sons) to a solo recording contract. In addition to his television work, Agrati/Grady had been a member of the folk-rock outfit The Palace Guard and while touring with the band and as a solo act he'd accumulated a list of musicians he'd seen and worked with whom had impressed him. Put in touch with Zekley the two agreed on a collaboration with Grady subsequently calling up some of those musicians. The final Yellow Balloon line up consisted of ex-The Five of Us lead guitarist Paul Canella and singer Alex Valdez, former Rising Sons keyboardist Forrest Green and ex-The Breakaways bassist Don Braucht.
Produced by Zekley (credited as Yodar Critch), the album's surprisingly good considering it reflected a mixture of Jan and Dean castoffs, Zekley demos and new material recorded with a mix of studio musicians and the recently hired band. Offering up a mix of Beach Boys-styled rock and more conventional pop, the set benefited from strong melodies and the fact that Zekley and three others (Valdez, Grady (under the pseudonym Luke R. You) and Green) handled lead vocals. While every one of the eleven tracks had commercial potential, highlights included 'Stained Glass Window', 'Good Feelin' Time' and 'Springtime Girl'.

Genre : Sunshine Pop, Psychedelic Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Canterbury Records

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Yellow Balloon - Stained Glass Window

Let's Go Naked - Insides (compilation - 2007)

2008-12-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

Lets Go Naked formed in Brisbane, Australia. Let's Go Naked had an initial burst of activity in the eighties with the release of the album "Everything" on Sydney's Waterfront Records. This album found Let's Go Naked as exponents of the Brisbane sound, with an angular, driven guitar style, incorporating keyboard sounds for certain tracks. Think the Go Betweens early records. The "Three Limbs" single on Trust Records then found Let's Go Naked emerging with their own refreshing sound. A BBC Peel favourite.
The late eighties and nineties found Let’s Go Naked exploring this sound, recording intermittently, including the single “Sometimes”; finding perfect moments and moving on to the next one.
The new century seen renewed interest in Let’s Go Naked, initially prompting the re-mixing of a few lost gems and ultimately writing and recording again. Two recent new tracks appear on this retrospective and find the band in rude form. Recording is well under way on a new album for 2008 release.
October 2007 seen a return to the stage at The Zoo in Brisbane for a well received re-union show. Launch gigs are scheduled for December in Brisbane and Sydney.
Lets Go Naked are Murray Power (vocals, guitar), Andrew Lofthouse (bass guitar, backing vocals and keyboards), Nick Patterson (drums and backing vocals) and ex Go Between John Wilsteed (guitars). Andrew well known around Brisbane as a TV celebrity, he is news anchor man!
Rosalinda McGovern, Martin Thompson, Steve McKensie and Anthony Perrott have also been members and contribute to the retrospective CD.

Genre : Jangle Pop
Country : Australia
Label : Egg Records

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Starflower - Moment in the Sun (2006)

2008-12-07T03:15:00.000-08:00

“Swedish import and very classic Swede-styled jangle pop that adds a bit of early 90`s Kiwi `n Australlian jangle, a bit of Swede-pop histrionics to laid-back British mid/late 80`s, C-86 styled jangle pop. to the mix of Swede-Pop histrionics. Think a gorgeous, cleansing mix of The Bats, The Verlaines, The Triffids with the meticulously layered jingle-jangle The Lilac Time, The Railway Children, The Go Betweens, The Devlins and The Lucksmiths. Starflower`s music really delivers its own fresh view on the long traditions of guitar pop. This is smart, dreamy, finely crafted acoustic pop where the bands` voices fasten together beautifully, practically strumming the guitars for them. Each song has an expansive, carefully crafted arrangements which elevate many of these songs to the level of high emotional drama; haunting keyboards, gorgeous vocals, gentle melodies and with full lyrical narrative with magical landscapes. Very Highly Recommended and for fans of the aforementioned bands, take that a step higher!!”/www.notlame.com

Moment in the Sun is truly enjoyable pop record as a whole. Ten beautiful and warm pop songs. Sometimes sunny, sometimes mellow, always moving. Songs such as the shining opener Star of My Eye, dancable should be hit Dance till Morning Light and dreamy How Come the Days Seem So Long? are all magnificent. Just great gentle and tender indie pop. I’m not really able to think good bands to compare them to, but If you want the obligatory namedropping part maybe such indiebands as Holiday and Pale Sunday could be playing at least around the same neighbourhood. And a few songs bring to mind Breakfast-era Supperheads. Maybe it’s just that same melancholic atmosphere. Starflower’s pop music shouldn’t be too indie or too obscure for bigger audiences either. It’s beautiful, gentle and timeless pop music. A great debut._ Rate: 4/5/OneChord.net

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Finland
Label : Music Is My Girlfriend
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Holy Sons - I Want to Live a Peaceful Life (2003)

2008-12-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

"Peaceful Life" is the 4th album from Emil Amos' HOLY SONS. Some where near Neil Young's 'On the Beach' and Richard Thompson's 'Pour Down Like Silver'...It is this laid-bare honesty that characterizes 'I Want To Live A Peaceful Life' .... and for all it's sadness and fragility, it somehow nourishes one's need for geniune music in ways other albums simply can't." A hopeful, spare and open-warehouse recording, "I Want To Live" is a beautifully discreet and breathing album. (Insound.com)

For a man with over a thousand songs recorded on 4-track, Emil Amos isn't too ambitious to get anywhere. From out of the nether-regions of his basement (or boudoir, whatever's more comfy), the project known as Holy Sons is now closer than ever to seeing the dimmed Schlitz sign of our current watering hole. Not that he's trying too hard. While leaders of the knit-hat set like Will Oldham and Songs: Ohia have been able to consistently market and package their melancholy and paralysis, Emil seems to have let it get to him. With the release of his fourth album, however, Holy Sons may have a slightly less austere future ahead.
I Want To Live A Peaceful Life contains both re-recorded songs from Emil's deep vaults and some newer home recordings which do not suffer from the needle-pushing efforts of Holy Sons' previous work. The album also foregoes some of the experimentation found on his previous effort, Lost Decade (Pamlico Sound). Still, enough ear-tweaking tape noises blot the album to push it away from a standard folk-rock outing. Traces of Fred Neil and Neil Young are rather obvious throughout, but the usual homogeneity of newer folk-rock albums is alleviated by the fresh crop of instrumentation and arrangements surrounding these abridged meanderings. (Dusted Reviews)

Genre : Lo-Fi, Folk Rock
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Film Guerrero

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The Cheeksters - Movers and Shakers (2007)

2008-12-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

...sounding like reanimated Zombies on their new Movers and Shakers, former Nashville songwriter-frontman Mark Casson and bassist-vocalist Shannon Hines Casson collapse their voluminous record collection into 10 unabashedly groovy songs whose sonic DNA tangles strands of R&B, glam, Britpop and bubblegum... growling Stevie Wonder clavinet duels with Burt Bacharach flugelhorn (“The Top of the Tree”), burbling “Pale Blue Eyes” guitar does the shimmy with girl-group bounce and hand claps (“Love Hearts in My Eyes”) and Mark Casson’s Ziggy-esque vocals reverberate over Peter Hyrka’s sweeping Moody Blues strings (“Waiting in the Wings”). The effect is ultimately more celebratory than derivative... how could you not love a whistled chorus, whatever its pop provenance? --Nashville Scene (Nashville, Tenn.)

… a slick, jangly, near-seamless confection....ripe with jazz touches, a modern mixing of atmospheric Wurlitzer and gorgeous cello on “Waiting in the Wings,” and the danceable, throwback feel of “Love Hearts in My Eyes.” Mark’s vocals are often sized up as Bowie-reminiscent, but his range allows for soaring falsetto and almost menacing tenor (both within a few measures on “One Time"). Whatever Movers lacks in angsty complexity, it more than makes up for in consistency and a sense of sheer joy. –-Mountain Xpress (Asheville, N.C.)

...a bouncing ball of Britpop-influenced energy, colored with shades of the Beatles, the Strawberry Alarm Clock, Lovin’ Spoonful and Herman’s Hermits. --The Daily Times (Knoxville, Tenn.)

Genre : Britpop, Jangle Pop, Sunshine Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Self-released
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The Cheeksters - "Movers and Shakers"

The Sugarplastic - Resin (2000)

2008-11-28T10:08:00.000-08:00

Reappearing four years after their ill-fated major-label release, Bang! The Earth Is Round, the Sugarplastic released their third album, 2000's Resin, on their own Escape Artist label. The album title and song titles like "Funny Cigarettes" suggest that the L.A. trio is taking at least some of their inspiration from the THC-soaked psych-pop of the late '60s, and a cursory listen confirms it. Far trippier than their new wave-inspired early work, Resin is (to continue the XTC comparisons that will probably forever dog this band) more in the spirit of the Dukes of Stratosphear records than Black Sea. The 17 brief songs (some barely a minute long) range from the blaring "Big World" to the just plain odd "Ben Takes a Walk to Lose Company and on the Way He Sees Some Ice Skaters," and a new set of influences, from Syd Barrett to Brian Eno, are apparent. In a further break with the past, bassist Kiara Geller contributes several tracks (guitarist Ben Eshbach had previously been the sole songwriter), with his Kinks-like "Novelty Man" a particular highlight. Producer Andy Metcalfe, formerly of the Soft Boys and Squeeze, gives the album a suitably lysergic feel without sacrificing the duo's essential pop appeal. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

Genre : Psychedelic Pop, Jangle Pop, Power Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Escape Artists
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Peter Quentin - Long Lonely Journey (2005)

2008-11-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

Produced by Mark Howard of Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits, Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan's "Time out of Mind" fame, LONG LONELY JOURNEY shines.
The opening song TAKE MY BREATH AWAY draws you in on an ocean of swaying pedal steel guitar into a gentle love ballad with a beautiful chorus. Take a listen and you will soon be singing along with this melodically and lyrically engaging tune.
It is clear from the beginning of BLOWIN' IN AND OUT OF THE DUST that you are about to be swept along on a voyage of discovery. Like many of Peter's songs, it is not only a song of the sea, but also a trip on that inner wave. The lyrics that start the story, "I was captain of the ship, and I had a pleasant voyage..." later lead to the poetic lines..... "I was open, I was broken, I was underneath the clouds,There was nothing I did want for, nothing I could cry out loud."...This song is pushed along by a rolling rhythm section and richly textured pedal steel guitar. Peter's unique hammer-on finger picking style and passionate vocal make this a folk/rock tour-de-force.
In a change of pace and feel, WHISPERING YOUR NAME manages to combine lost love, redemption, and Elvis in a song about running into an old flame. Each is wondering what the other one is thinking and the outcome is uncertain until the last line.
INTO THE DAWN is a dark and mysterious tale of an encounter between a man and a woman who find a kind of intense comfort in each other. The song rests on a captivating bed of warm finger picking and a spacy organ sound that holds you close all the way...lyrically amazing.
THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR LOVIN' YOU is an up tempo, playful rocker with a Latin rhythm. With lines like "You put a spell on me and I lost control, You possess me body and soul"...And.."You make me feel like your long lost child,You make me feel like running wild." This is a fun dance tune, one of the albums many highlights.
The journey continues on THE ROAD TO IDAHO, beautifully produced by Steve Goodie. Full of slide guitars and the hint of train wheels, this song paints the picture of a man in motion and his remembrance of a love affair, real or imagined. Evocative instrumental interludes and picturesque lyrics carry you along. A great song.
The next song weaves 23 Buddy Holly song titles into the lyrics to explain IT'S JUST THAT YOU'RE IN LOVE. With an effective and engaging melody, the arrangement is reminiscent of Buddy's great songs. This is Peter's homage to one of rock and roll's greatest pioneers.... "Buddy Holly is why I play guitar."
In GOD SAID, driving guitars and Hammond organ push this song from start to finish. This is a Rock and Roller with a catchy chorus. No hellfire and brimstone, but a witty journey through the maze of one man's life from the Garden of Eden to Saint Peter's Gate and back. Is that God rapping at the end? Nah! Not really.
Sparse and desolate NUCLEAR WINTER describes one survivor's effort to comprehend the aftermath of the unthinkable. Was it a dream? What'll you do in a Nuclear winter?
The end of CD begins with soaring pedal steel and rippling acoustic guitars. LONG LONELY JOURNEY is full of imagery.
This is a lushly produced, allegorical song with a beautiful melody and an awesome vocal. It imagines the journey and asks the question, "Are you ready to go?" Again Peter touches on the 'real' world and the spiritual world with a bullseye.
This is a great album. (CD Baby review).

Genre : Folk Rock, Americana
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Peter Quentin
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The Crayon Fields - Animal Bells (2006)

2008-11-24T22:18:00.000-08:00

Geoff O'Connor, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Melbourne quartet the Crayon Fields, is a myopic boy genius whose record collection consists almost solely of op-shop vinyl LPs released before 1970. Consequently, the Crayon Fields play intricate, atmospheric pop songs that recall the minor key majesty and close-knit harmonies of 60s maestros such as the Zombies, the Byrds and the Beach Boys. Animal Bells is the Crayon Fields' debut album, after forming in the last year of high school in 2002 and releasing two previous independent EPs. Animal Bells is an unruffled, dreamy pop masterpiece. Geoff's often falsetto vocals and ringing 12 string guitar playing are ably accompanied by Brett Hudson's nimble bass playing, Chris Hung on 2nd guitar and percussion and Neil Erenstrom on drums. Nicole and Julian of fellow Trifekta artists Minimum Chips also provide guest vocals. In recent times, the Crayon Fields have supported many a touring national and international band, including the Unicorns, Dirty Three, Electrelane, Deerhoof, Calvin Johnson, Kelly Stoltz and Architecture in Helsinki to name a few. With Animal Bells, is time for the Crayon Fields to step forward and be counted among Australia's finest, most intriguing bands.

Genre : Indie Pop, Twee Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Australia
Label : Trifekta
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Mid-State Orange - Odds (2006)

2008-11-21T10:50:00.000-08:00

There's nothing better than a pop album (bright, catchy, melodic) that also has heft to it, and surprise. Odds keeps growing before your ears, seeming more complex, with each track more like unending layers of song than something to be quickly consumed and discarded. Here the Australian group Mid-State Orange is playing textured pop that may seem innocuous at first, but gains in stature as you listen. It comes from the array of instruments, from the stylistic changes, but most of all from the overall songwriting and musicianship. Odds begins with a lounge-y, Kraut-rock-ish instrumental jam before gliding into a sprightly pop/rock anthem, Lucien Richter singing firmly but softly about life's ups and downs, about trying to live with the "Best Intentions." Odds contains a bunch of smart, tightly composed songs about love and the lack of it; guitar-based pop songs with strings and synths and other balancing/competing elements; hints of bossa nova, of rhythmic Neu!-like jams, of rock explosions. These stylistic surprises and shadings add mystery and dynamic force to songs that are already potent considerations of life, stories of people and their problems. The hooks here carry a lot of feeling – listen to Richter's emotive singing on the standout string-laden ballad "Rivers" – but so does the music itself. Listen for the surprising moments where the rock backdrop explodes to the front, as on the charged "Second in a Two-Horse Race". It explodes without annihilating the song itself. Overall Mid-State Orange takes a muscular approach to sensitive-pop music. Odds showcases both wide reach and the courage to go in whatever direction seems right at the time. (Erasing clouds review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Indie Rock
Country : Australia
Label : Candle Records
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Animals That Swim - Workshy (1994)

2008-11-20T12:05:00.000-08:00

An eccentric, hyper-literate cross between Scott Walker, Tom Waits, the Teardrop Explodes, and Ride, Animals That Swim were slightly too weird for mass consumption, but their oddball, half-beatnik/half-psychedelic pop was a refreshing response to the early days of Brit-pop. Formed in London in 1989, Animals That Swim were originally a duo of brothers Hank Starrs (vocals, drums) and Hugh Barker (guitar). Trumpeter Del Crabtree joined next, followed by a third Barker brother, guitarist and keyboardist Al, and bassist Tony Coote. Crabtree's mellow but fragmented trumpet style, kind of like a free jazz version of Chet Baker, quickly became the group's most distinctive feature, seconded by Hank's dramatic vocals. After three years of woodshedding, Animals That Swim released their debut single, "King Beer," on their own Beachheads in Space label. This single, like its follow-up "Roy" (a surreal tribute to the late Roy Orbison), was chosen as Single of the Week in Melody Maker. The positive reviews and decent sales of these two self-released singles led to a one-off deal with the experimental indie Che Records, who released the 10" Fifty Dresses EP in early 1994. Elemental Music, a spin-off of the larger indie One Little Indian, then signed the band to record their first album, Workshy. Featuring tracks from all three previous releases plus some increasingly more bizarre new material, Workshy garnered more-than-appreciative reviews in the U.K. press as well as pretty good sales for an indie release, although it all but disappeared immediately upon its U.S. release. A fine second album, I Was the King, I Was Really the King, was released in 1996, but it didn't receive the same critical attention or sales as the debut. Animals That Swim broke up the following year. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

Genre : Britpop, Jangle Pop
Country : England
Label : Elemental Records

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HappyDeadMen - After the Siesta (1998)

2008-11-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

I’ve got a confession to make—one that won’t surprise anyone who has ever read my reviews before—I’m a major popaholic. And nothing feeds my addiction better than Swedish pop, except perhaps the thousandth playing of the Housemartin’s London 0 Hull 4. For the uninitiated in this little, global cult of pop worshippers, I’ve got a tip. There’s a hell of a lot more to the land of Volvos and great graphic design than just the bloody Cardigans. They’re fine, but dozens of far better bands remain virtual unknowns on this continent. I urge you to run to your local indie record store and look for anything by The Merrymakers, Eggstone, The Wannadies, and Happydeadmen.
Happydeadmen are not a goth band despite their odd name. Just as a side note, what’s with “death” names for Swedish pop bands? There’s the aforementioned Wannadies too (who did receive a stateside release last year that I highly recommend). Perhaps it’s their sense of bitter irony—a way of acknowledging that a dark edge can exist even in pop. Anyway, this quartet from a small burgh in Sweden is relentlessly jangly even though they often pen ironically maudlin lyrics. They’ve been called the Swedish Smiths, which has some truth in it. Jan Hedin’s vocals occasionally possess a smooth vulnerability and cheery acceptance of gloom that certainly bring Morrissey to mind. But there’s a lot more jangle pop in their sound and they’ve obviously been playing their Housemartins records as faithfully as me.
Nothing on this disc revels in glorious misery, while sounding so absolutely gorgeously appealing, as “Live Lies Bleeding” with its country and western, mourning, steel pedal guitar and plaintive harmonica. It doesn’t take this long (the sixth track) for After the Siesta to get you. You’re trapped from the first notes of the first song “A Lovesong.” I don’t often write about imports because they’re so ridiculously expensive and often hard-to-get unless you’re lucky enough to live near a great record store. But if you dig Britpop, the Smiths, or just flat-out great tunes, you’d be hard pressed to spend your money any better than this. (Popmatters review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Sweden
Label : Torpedo Records
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Seashells - Remains of Something Sweet (2004)

2008-11-19T08:04:00.000-08:00

Seashells started out as a rather twee musical combo, formed in Swedish town Umea way back in 1990. The original suspects, that are Erik, Mattias and Jonas, found each other through a common devotion to 60´s pop, Sarah-singles, high-brow literature and intellectual European films. With this in mind, it is not hard to understand why Seashells almost ended up taking the band name Poets of the Past and Present. Phew! Luckily they named themselves Seashells (or even The Seashells at some points in their career). As a matter of fact, it has proven to be a very appropriate name for their breezy take on that thing we call pop music.
Early on, when Jonas finally was brave enough to sing, the group presented some music on tape. The first demo tape was recorded in 1990, consisting of four originals (among music historians there is a rumour telling the story about how one of the songs contained some home made backwards guitar). Soon after that, the optimistic band decided to play live. Not entirely unproblematic, since their drum machine had its own agenda. Private diary notes and uncertified foggy memories of the first live shows by Seashells reveal them doing songs by Elvis Presley (His Latest Flame), Jonathan Richman (Ice Cream Man) and Pink Floyd (The Gnome) in their live set.
It was not long after their first live session that Seashells decided to get a real drummer. Since then many men has been placed behind the skins. Actually, to this day, Seashells are not far behind Spinal Tap in having a number of different drummers. Luckily, all of Seashells former and present drummers have as of yet not exploded but are still alive and well (some of them have even had quite a prosperous career outside the Seashells camp).
During 1994-1998 Seashells were heavily involved in the musical scene in the town of Umea. That particular scene produced a number of good bands (Honeymoons, Ray Wonder, Komeda and Puffin to name but a few) and a record company, Nons Records. During this vivid period the 'Shells released a few songs, played live both home and abroad (playing at the same time as Boyzone in Hamburg stands out as one memorable episode) and enjoyed life in general. Then, suddenly, nothing…What really happened with Seashells until Japanese label Quince Records hunted them down and pulled their collective ear still remains a mystery. However, with the 2004 release "Remains of Something Sweet" Seashells are truly back in style!

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Sweden
Label : Quince Records (Japan)
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78 Saab - Crossed Lines (2004)

2008-11-17T11:04:00.000-08:00

Following on from the release of their stunning EP Beat of Your Drum, Sydney siders 78 Saab bring us the album - Crossed Lines. The band have not only delivered on the promise of their debut (Picture A Hum, Can't Hear A Sound) but surpassed it. The result of two years of writing, re-writing, endless demos, and several different album sessions with producer Tim Whitten, Crossed Lines combines great songwriting with familiar touchstones (Neil Young, REM, The Church, Died Pretty) and comes from a band who have found their own distinctive sound and place in the world. Liberation/Ivy League. 2004.

78 Saab have been plugging in and doing the rounds of pub and clubs in Sydney's inner city since 1996. After a couple of EP’s, they scraped enough money together to produce a debut album in 2000 (Picture a Hum, Can’t Hear a Sound). Now, after two years of writing and re-writing, 78 Saab are releasing another very melodic album featuring Ben Nash’s fine singing and songwriting. (abc.net.au.).

This album begins slowly, but picks up by the time 'Come On' comes on. In just four tracks, 78 Saab have proven themselves to be a great pop group who know how to rock out. The Oasis guitar sound is undeniable and vocalist Ben Nash might not have the strongest voice in town, but their catchy hooks are plentiful.
'The City Is Humming' sees the band wig out again, but while the two examples given here suggest they're a rock band, by no means are they. They're a straight forward pop group with an eye for a catchy hook and magnificently structured songs. (Undercover.com.au.).

Genre : Indie Rock, Jangle Pop
Country : Australia
Label : Ivy League
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Dropkick - Turning Circles (2007)

2008-11-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

Turning Circles is the 5th album from Scottish four-piece Dropkick. Power-pop meets alt. Country with chiming, Byrds-esque guitars and harmonic vocals. They tell everyday tales of washing up, hairs growing from nipples, getting the bus to Aberdeen or falling asleep with the TV on.
Only For Yourself is a fabulous opener, lovely building melodies reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub. The hooky refrain is "Take a walk to clear your head, from hearing over what you said. Time would make you justify and if only for yourself you question why." Give It Back has a rockier reverberating guitar resonance. It's a "crash crash crashing sound."
For me the stand out track is Avenues, a classic ballad. It possesses a beautiful acoustic guitar intro. "In the summertime people cut their hair and I don't mind if I go to the chair," their singer Roy W. Taylor intones in part Dunedin drawl, part mid-Western lilt. It builds while retaining the delicious melody. A thoroughly memorable tale of a city that warrants repeat playing immediately it's finished.
In Rewind there is a melodic Here Comes the Sun harmony. To Get To You quite simply gets under your skin. The banjo twanging, rockier edged Lobster exhibits their comedic side. You have to love a band that manages to mention scampi and slippers in the same song!
In Wont be There and Wouldn't Hurt To Wait low-key lilting harmonies are slipped in between the solid power pop riffs. Black book is a standout track from which comes the lyric "Why do you keep the black book with the hidden horrors and the hated of love life and level thinkers. The motherfuckers and the stinkers." The closer Say Nothing features low key strumming that ascends in layers with a strong defining vocal.
The album lilts along beautifully, mellower tracks feeding their more powerful cousins. You never tire of Dropkick's arrangements, Laurel Canyon loveliness. They produce an additional twist from somewhere just when you least expect it with their banjos and lap steels. They push the alt. country genre through the mangle, together with folksy quirkiness and amusing indie pop, to produce their own brand of Caledonian Californication. (Diskant.net).

Genre : Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Alt-Country
Country : Scotland
Label : Taylored Records
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Crumb - Evenings and Weekends (2006)

2008-11-12T22:52:00.000-08:00

Summer’s gone, but nobody told Crumb. The Irish trio bring us ‘Evenings and Weekends’, a debut album dripping with melody and sunshine. Like Teenage Fanclub wearing summer hats on holiday in Florida, Crumb melt exquisite harmonies into lovely jangly guitars to create what, after just one listen, already sounds like a classic.
The obvious comparison here is the aforementioned Fanclub, but listening through you can hear sprinklings of REM, Pixies and Dodgy and Witness. Singer Derrick Dalton sounds like an Irish Californian stoner, and his chilled out indie-pop voice is offset excellently by singing drummer Dez Foley. Eamonn Davis, like Hooky, plays his bass like a lead guitar – the main difference being he doesn’t force it to the front of the band’s sound, and together with Dalton’s jangling 12-string we’re treated to a masterclass in indie guitar work.
The tunes are all hit singles. A debut album of hit singles. ‘Lights of the City’ is a small town ode to forbidden love, ‘Follow Me Home’ is a Fanclub tribute with a big radio chorus, and ‘Bad Timing’ is a quirky, ever-so-slightly downbeat poem to regret.
The second half of the album is a more chilled out affair – if the first five songs were the day trip to the beach, the second five are the spliffs and beers on the veranda watching the sunset over the hills. Album closer ‘No Great Plans’ even ditches the Rickenbacker for an acoustic guitar to back a bittersweet melody telling of taking what life throws at you. Beautiful.
Crumb have already released the perfect album, and it’s their first. Unashamedly unfashionable, unrelentlessly shiny and unequivocally indie, ‘Evenings and Weekends’ harks back to a time when indie music in this country wasn’t plastered all over the tabloids every morning, when skinny ties and art degrees didn’t fill the NME every week, when tunes and songs and singers and bands were what we cared about. It’s brilliant, and the perfect tonic to the inevitable winter shitness. Already a classic. (Pennyblackmusic review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Ireland
Label : Disques Fridge
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The Harvest Ministers - Little Dark Mansion (1993)

2008-11-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

Formed around the unique song writing talents of William Merriman the Harvest Minister's music is a blend of classic pop, flowing melodies, and tortured lyrics. The sound of the Harvest Ministers reflects Will's influences, Hank Williams, Ray Davies, Buddy Holly as much as it does traditional Irish culture in its use of instruments like violin and accordion.
The band started life in Dublin playing the local circuit as an acoustic trio with William Merriman on guitar and vocals, Maeve Roche on vocals and Padraig McCaul on saxophone. After quickly establishing a loyal following locally the band began playing outside Dublin and extended their line-up to include Pat Dillon on drums and Brian Foley on bass. After making a guest appearance at one Dublin gig Aingeala DeBurca was asked to join the band.
In 1991 the Harvest Ministers released their debut single "You do my world the world of good" on their own label, Crayon Records. Shortly afterwards the band was approached by Sarah Records, a small English label. Sarah Records released "You do my world..." in 1992 and after two further singles, "Six O'clock is Rosary" and "If it kills me and it will" the band released their debut album Little Dark Mansion to universal praise.
Despite the lack of foreign touring the band began to receive mail from all parts of the world, from Japan to Sweden, Hong Kong to Brazil as the album gradually made more and more friends for the band. In 1994 it was released in America on Widely Distributed Records and continued to attract positive reviews and make new friends.
By the end of 1994 work began on the follow up to Little Dark Mansion. With Phil Thornalley taking care of production duties the Harvest Ministers recorded their second album, A Feeling Mission, for Setanta. The band have played a few special shows in America and hope to be back to the states soon. Meanwhile the Harvest Ministers continue to gig in Ireland, France and Switzerland.

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Pop
Country : Ireland
Label : Sarah Records

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Mellow Drunk - Always Be Drunk (2001)

2008-10-29T23:58:00.000-07:00

The cover imagery and titles suggest something of the '90s' strain of British albums revolving around dark pubs, moody late nights, and emotions rubbed just raw enough to surface. Mellow Drunk's debut album, however, turns out to be more Byrds and the Church than Scott Walker and Tindersticks, though there is definitely something of whispery melancholy throughout Always Be Drunk. Gregory's background in various psych/goth-inspired groups serves him well here, and clearly there's something of Steve Kilbey's world-weary vocals in his own approach. There's a fair dollop of Ultra Vivid Scene as well, minus the nods to dance culture and overtly twisted sex, but Gregory can sigh in Kurt Ralske-style nicely. Musically, meanwhile, those who can't get enough of ringing-guitar sorrow and wistful, dreamy melodies will find Always Be Drunk a more than engaging listen; it's not strikingly original, but makes no claims to be. Indeed, "Everybody Knows You're a Star" might as well be the verses from John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" transposed into a new setting with elegantly weeping feedback, but darn if the group doesn't carry it off well. There is actually one full-on cover from an inspired source, underrated U.K. guitar popsters the Orchids, whose "Long Drawn Saturday Night" gets a beautifully winsome rendition, with Aaron Kerr's cello part the perfect touch. Gregory is actually pretty much the group on this outing; aside from a cellist, drummer, and two backing singers, everything is his, aside from a couple of guest appearances here and there. As such he does a great job on rhythm and solos both, and if Always Be Drunk rapidly finds its niche and pretty much sticks with it, there's little to complain about with the results. (AMG review).

Genre : Indie Rock, Neo Psychedelia, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Green Fuse
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Hudson Bell - Captain of the Old Girls (2002)

2008-10-27T23:19:00.000-07:00

Hudson Bell's third album Captain of the Old Girls has a good story behind it, one PR types would summarize as "California indie-rock singer-songwriter returns to the South of his youth to work with legendary blues producer." Yet that would make you expect something different, something much more gimmicky than what you get. Though Bell did indeed record the album with a blues producer, Fat Possum Records' Bruce Watson, this doesn't sound like a young rocker trying to sound like an old blues singer. Bell has an artistic voice of his own. He writes, sings and plays personal songs that also tap into the history and geography of the US, not unlike Silver Jews or Palace, yet with more spunk and spark. He has a bluesy guitar sound and a sparse rock setup (either him and a guitar or him with guitar, bass and drums), plus a voice which, though it wouldn't be polished enough for industry professionals, has a real power about it. His songs are straightforward and catchy, yet he leaves room for swatches of noise and other expressions of sonic freedom. His lyrics deal with personal feelings and subjects, but go further than that by matching our individual histories and emotional geographies to those of the country we live in. He explores the past--deeds and misdeeds, relationships, feelings and moods--in a way that focuses on our collective story as well as our individual stories. "America's guts drained by the money in her veins/and as I touch her skin she just doesn't feel the same," he sings during "Expatriate." Another standout is the gorgeous what-if ballad "The Other Side," where the singer's haunted by photographs and memories. What's missing in life is a constant theme here, and Bell subtly, poetically ties together what we're missing as people and what we're missing as a society. He does this through vibrant, stirring songs that cut past the gloss of the world. There's 9 originals and one cover, Lou Reed's thematically fitting "Vicious Circle," and all of them are remarkable. (Dave Heaton, Erasing Clouds).

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Pop, Lo-Fi
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Upper Works
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The Sealevel - Beach From Last Summer (2005)

2008-10-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

"When I think of Berlin images of beaches, surfing, and lounging in the sun have never come to mind. Yet somehow Berlin based the Sealevel have managed to create an album mostly full of jangly guitars, Beach Boys-esque harmonies, some Teenage Fanclub buzz, and thoughts of summer and the beach. This debut album by the Sealevel seems to have a bit of a split personality with the first half being the upbeat, sunny days, beach boy and the second half being the more reflective, beach at sunset, man. That said, each half is quite solid and the mood of the moment may determine which songs work best. At the risk of sounding silly, the Sealevel bring us a day at the beach, high tide and low tide. Okay, that does sound silly."-PennyBlackMusic

A wonderful new band from Berlin which includes members of the favoured Seaside Stars whose debut album "The Magic Of Stereo" was praised by the press all around the world and which was one of the best selling albums of Firestation Records ever. For fans of Teenage Fanclub, Beach Boys, Pearlfishers, East Village or The BMX Bandits.

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Germany
Label : Firestation Records
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The Sealevel - The Way With You

The Caretaker Race - I Wish I'd Said That EP (1989)

2008-10-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

Nowadays, a band's "CV" is just as important (and in some cases more important) than the quality of the music they produce. Indeed, probably the best way of ensuring any band grabs attention is for the members to have a list of well known past accolades.
The appearance of the Caretaker Race in 1987 came about when the band the Loft literally blew itself to pieces one evening in 1986. At the time the Loft were not exactly famous yet by indie music terms they were well on their to fame and were critically praised in many journalistic quarters. Indeed, for years Andy Strickland had been an occasional music writer for Record Mirror and when Pete Astor split the Loft the journalist within Andy gave way to the impressive creative talent waiting underneath.
The Caretaker's first self financed single "Somewhere On Sea" appeared on their own Roustabout label and was followed a few months later by the highly impressive 3 track EP "Anywhere But Home." Later re-recorded for the band's LP this single probably stands out as their most impressive release.
The Caretaker Race took their name from a Star Trek paperback adventure and after the success of the first 2 singles they were signed to the Foundation label, home to the bands Bradford and Spin.
The Caretaker Race took a further year to release their 3rd single "I Wish I'd Said That", again produced by John Parrish it showed the band displaying a more polished sound than before.
After the band's 4th (and this time Stephen Street produced) single "Man Overboard" the band's basist, Henry Hersom left to join fellow London indie pop band Bob. Henry was replaced in 1990 by Jackie Carrera and they recorded the "Hangover Square" LP.

Reviewing the "Hangover Square"LP in September 1990 Steve Morris quoted that "the Caretaker Race are sitting on a genuine pop goldmine" however not long after it's release the band had sadly split up.

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : England
Label : Foundation

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Friends - Songs Without Tears (1991)

2008-10-24T00:15:00.000-07:00

Friends were formed in 1986 by singer/guitarist/songwriter William Jones, in Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, UK. Drummer and percussionist Martin Parker joined in 1992 and these two form the nucleus of the London-based band today. Friends have released nine albums and six singles on the Summerhouse label, all of which are still available. Their latest album, Spangleland, was released in May 2007. Stylistically the music is classic English romantic pop, with lyrics that range from incurable optimism to the darkest miserablism. Influences include Teardrop Explodes and The Chameleons, and 70s acoustic music such as Nick Drake and Renaissance.

Friends' third album, released in 1991, continues where Roads Leading Everywhere left off. Whilst the title isn't strictly truthful, the songs are generally gloriously optimistic and summery, with standout tracks like the childhood nostalgia of Out In The Open and On A Day Like This mixing with more reflective numbers such as Fadeaway and Thinking Of You. Dominated by acoustic guitars and trumpet, Songs Without Tears is in the same musical area as Lightning Seeds or Pale Fountains, and isn't afraid to rock out when required. Songs Without Tears has been one of the most sought-after Friends albums since its release and marks the end of the 'early' Friends phase of its original line-up and own-produced recordings. Classic English romantic pop that stands the test of time while being highly characteristic of its early 90s era.

Genre : Indie Pop, Britpop, Jangle Pop
Country : England
Label : Summerhouse Records

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Hezekiah Jones - Come to Our Pool Party (2007)

2008-10-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

In many ways, this album shows that same kind of growth for Hezekiah Jones. Raph Cutrufello, the band's primary singer, lyricist and all around handyman, has drawn on a wide palette of experiences, people and recordings from the past several years to put this all together.
The first track, Robin and Beth, originally dates back to the first batch of songs I heard from Hezekiah Jones before the release of 'Hezekiah Says You're A-Ok.' It's simple mantra is characteristic of what makes him such a compelling writer - the ability to pull swaying grace straight from the ether of the most plainspoken melodies. Dark Hollow, the following track, is a new recording of an old song (dating back to at least 1933) is treated handsomely with backing from Michael Baker and Barbara Gettes from The Spinning Leaves - in fact the album features guest turns from a variety of Philadelphia musicians and artists Hezekiah Jones has toured with since their inception - Chris Grunwald assists masterfully on half of the tracks and Michigan songwriter phenom Chris Bathgate contributes vocals to Rain-Stars! - and the collaborative nature of the record keeps everyone on their collective toes. Cupcakes for the Army is something of a very rare breed: an overtly political song that's not preachy, that somehow retains its universality, that has something specific to say while still being expertly hewn poetry - in contemporary folk music that's one in a million.

Knives of Summertime was originally recorded in the first part of 2007 for the immediately-out-of-print Sparklehorse tribute album, That Horse Yonder (Slight). Every track on here really is pretty gorgeous in it's own right - Clare Callaghan's vocal turn on Put On Your Light is stunning, Liz Gallagher's poem-set-to-music, That Panel..., is structurally intriguing (and a direction I'd love see Hezekiah Jones explore further), the closing Mississippi Sea - originally written for the Folk Music for the End of the World (Yer Bird) compilation - makes the perfect closing track as it chronicles the fall of Man in turns wistful, humorous and unnerving and ultimately ties it all up tight with a bow. - Morgan King, Yer Bird

Genre : Folk Rock, Alt-Country, Lo-Fi
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Yer Bird Records
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Weird Summer - In Search Of... (1998)

2008-10-23T04:23:00.000-07:00

Weird Summer went through an eight-year layoff between their second and third albums, and in addition to providing ample time to hone his songwriting skills, the long sabbatical also enabled Bob Kimbell to redirect the signature sound of the band toward a more classically timeless template. Weird Summer's fourth album, In Search Of, provided a fine-tuning of its melodic, rootsy pop/rock, and it results in the most seasoned album of the band's career, as well as a dry run of sorts for Kimbell's collaboration the following year with longtime friend Jack Logan (who collaborates on this album's "Rained Like Hell"). Produced by power pop auteur Adam Schmitt, I.S.O. continues Kimbell's unerring sense of songcraft, as he comes up with his best set of songs yet, full of soaring melodies, heavenly harmonies, and an abundance of hooks, all further punctuated by his angelic tenor and dressed in the pop-cum-country-rock roar of the band. Kimbell's songwriting -- on first listen seeming perhaps too homogeneous -- is actually quietly diversified, but the blend of power pop and roots rock is so deft that it doesn't seem at all jarring to hear the minor-key rock of "Billy Distant" after the straight barnyard hoe-down "She's Not the One," which in turn follows the sunny, half-speed ballad "Stay Awhile." Nick Rudd's guitar work is both sweetly ringing and meaty, while rhythm section Rick Schattnik and John Richardson provide a straight-ahead country throb that is propulsive. Bits of the Byrds, Tom Petty, Big Star, and the Jayhawks surface not only in Kimbell's songs and crystalline voice (caught halfway between Neil Young and Alex Chilton on the pensive side and Paul McCartney on the pure one) but also in tingling acoustic guitar lines and piano flourishes, while a bit of the band's former new wave bent is still heard in the electric guitar textures of "Never Tell." All the ingredients have melted into the stew, and while it is not derivative, the music ultimately requires Kimbell's compositional skills to help it stand out. ~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide

Genre : Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Parasol Records

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Brian Leach - The Sunrise Nearly killed Me (1999)

2008-10-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

On Brian Leach's first solo outing, The Sunrise Nearly Killed Me, he delivers a dose of crystalline pop perfection. Brian plays infectious, hook-laden guitar pop... touches of Harrison/Lennon tinge the vocals; hints of Harrison and McGuinn mixed with Sweet and Lloyd flavor the catchy guitar work.

Brian was the frontman for Last Gentlemen - a Champaign, Illinois band that was signed to Zoo Records in the late '80s.

"Pure clear pop vocals with marvelously effervescent and inventive guitar work that's in the same league as the current wave of FM guitar gods. This is psychedelic inspired pop at it's best... Lovers of perfect pop lyrics and pop guitar attack ala Sweet's Girlfriend will find this disc very, very much to their liking. Even more so if one's tastes runs to Raspberries & Beatles" -Audities

Genre : Indie Pop, Sunshine Pop, Psychedelic Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Parasol Records
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The Mirror Lounge - Les Elegantiers (2006)

2008-10-21T03:07:00.000-07:00

The Mirror Lounge is not a new band, but for the time being it’s a highly inactive one. Instead the two band members Stefan Larsen and Michael Sorensen are busy focusing on their recent project Northern Portrait. But despite this connection, don’t expect lots of jangling guitars or any of those short sweet pop tunes that Northern Portrait writes in bunches from the hands of The Mirror Lounge. Instead this is as grandiose, majestic pop music as you’ll ever hear. But rest assure. The songs are still incredibly catchy, sounding like Scott Walker and Richard Hawley having the best of times teaming up with Chris Isaak. One album called Les Elegantiers was recorded and released digitally in 2006. (Hits In The Car).

Genre : Chamber Pop, Baroque Pop
Country : Denmark
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The Bear Quartet - Personality Crisis (1998)

2008-10-21T00:06:00.000-07:00

The Bear Quartet’s entire catalog is brilliant! One of the finest “undiscovered” bands in existence today. The follow-up to The Bear Quartet’s ‘Moby Dick’ is their brilliant seventh album, ‘Personality Crisis’ from 1998, featuring former Soundtrack Of Our Lives guitarist Bjorn Olsson. If The Soundtrack Of Our Lives are the classic rock resurrectionists of Scandinavia, then The Bear Quartet are the fey proto-pop overlords…Sweden’s answer to Badly Drawn Boy, Guided By Voices, and Radiohead. They are not a “retro” act; they simply write gorgeous, catchy pop songs full of fierce wit and melancholy, tuning in and turning on to their classic pop influences (The Smiths, The Beatles, Go-Betweens, Prefab Sprout, Teenage Fanclub, Neil Young, and The Velvets) while constantly redefining what they do and why they choose to do it, now 16 years since they started playing together. With the aforementioned ‘Moby Dick’ in 1997 the Bear Quartet had found their voice and started writing the kind of songs Travis and Badly Drawn Boy would put together years later, long after BQ were already There. ‘Personality Crisis’ is fueled by the joyous, cathartic rush of voices and strings and grand arrangements… From the cheery my-first-orgasm introspection of “Mom And Dad” to the epic 60s garage stomp of “The End of the Tunnel is Light Years Away” to the strummy heartstring-tugging “Human Enough”. For this album The Bear Quartet welcomed two new “cubs”, Blissful’s Calle Olsson and former Union Carbide Production/Soundtrack Of Our Lives guitarist Bjorn Olsson, who’s electric and 12-string guitars, lush harmonies, organ and harmonica informed ‘Personality Crisis’ with shades of the same elemental magick as his solo work. (Parasol Records).

Genre : Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop
Country : Sweden
Label : A West Side Fabrication

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Unbunny - Black Strawberries (2002)

2008-10-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

Unbunny is the name under which Jarid del Deo has recorded music since he was a student at the University of New Hampshire. Though del Deo is the primary (and usually sole) songwriter, Unbunny has always operated under the band model, featuring a rotating cast of backing players and collaborators, touring, albeit rarely, with whatever personnel are available.

Acoustic guitar led, pleasantly lo-fi musings from Unbunny, with extremely likeable vocals that hark back to 'Harvest'-era Neil Young and early Bowie as much as they do Jasons Lytle and Molina. Jarid del Deo's songs slip effortlessly by; his simple strummed chords and choice lyrics making for a most unassuming, yet enjoyable, listen. Similarly unobtrusive, the rhythm section slips in behind him, an occasional guest appearance - Rob Downen's trumpet, Chris Walla's (from Death Cab for Cutie) piano - providing tasteful embellishments rather than scene-stealing cameos. In Northern Spies, Swans are Fainting, In a Way and Let It All Burn, del Deo has penned some of the most engaging songs heard all year, awash with melody and smile-inducing imagery. ("Is this a song or is this a painting? / Swans are fainting / Even with the spotlights on them... should we call the doctor in?"). Brief and beautiful, 'Black Strawberries' oozes charm.

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Rock, Lo-Fi
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Two Ton Santa
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Jupiter Sun - Atmosphere (1994)

2008-10-19T03:44:00.000-07:00

Jupiter Sun are from San Jose, California, not Scotland. But you'd never know that form the delightfully tuneful, trippy, fuzzy pop on the trio's long-playing debut. Admirers of Creation label can't go wrong with Atmosphere, which melds together the best bits of the 80's Scottish underground without sometimes cloying adolescent quality that kept many of those bands from reaching a wider audience despite their melodicism.
'What you are is quite familiar', sings Matt Murdock during the ebullient 'Zookeeper', and indeed with high-pitched helium vocals, lighting guitars, distorted hooks and acid laced jangles, Jupiter Sun recall Biff Bang Pow!, the Jasmine Minks and the Weather Prophets. But more than recycling a favorite era, Jupiter Sun refine and explore new crannies, creating something ultimately larger than the sum of their influences and with a remarkable melodic freshness.There's a great range here as well, perhaps because Atmosphere covers different parts of the band's young career, and includes an EP released last year by Slumberland. They have a mystery of pop dynamics, and an ease with slamming ballads into third-gear and idling just for a moment in the midst of the racing 'Blow Up' and 'Violet Intertwine'. 'Coming Down' and 'Inside This Room' have an echoey, 60's psychedelic feel, 'Headlight Beam Reaction' pounds deliriously, while 'Accelerate' and 'Thoughts' filter bright tunes through a gauzy, lazy-day haze. Whether shimmering or scruffy, Atmosphere practically bursts with winsome pop that's engaging and tuneful without the molasses-drenched, wide-eyed innocence of their forbears. Which means it's destined to hold up an awful lot longer. (Alternative Press).

"What sets Jupiter Sun apart from countless equally competent chunk-and-jangle pop band's are the extraordinary melodies... these hook-laden tunes are the grandchildren of structured beauties from 60's legends like the Byrds and the Zombies... [A]n exploding universe of color." -Magnet

"Jupiter Sun has a way of capturing a contemplative mood and shaping it into songs that evoke reflection. With subtle resemblance to the Trash Can Sinatras and Toad the Wet Sprocket, Jupiter Sun is the stuff that introspection is made of. The songs are as light as afternoon sunshine" - Metro

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Parasol Records

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Melodie Group - Raincoat EP (2000)

2008-10-19T02:43:00.000-07:00

New four song EP quickly follows the band's promising debut Seven Songs. Lead track "You've Got the Whole of the World In Your Mouth" is a two-minute pop explosion with chiming guitars and superb vocals that recall the jangling best of early Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. "Raincoat" showcases excellent vocal harmonizing and guitar strumming that will have you digging for old records from the Loft. "Magic Robot" mixes mid-period Echo and the Bunnymen with a hint of modern electronica, while "Goodbye" is a tearful closer that evokes the moodiness of the Go Betweens. Four A-sides on this soon-to-be-classic single!

Four new songs from this band that not only sounds like the Windmills, it has most of the same members! Like their last ep, these songs are jangly pop, and quite catchy, as well. Musical references (besides the Windmills) would include the Orchids & the Servants. --IndiePages

This is Roy Thirlwall from The Windmills who released the fine lp "Edge of August" a year or two ago. I guess Roy is so prolific that he has to have another outlet for his songs and this four songer mines similar territory to the Go-Betweens especially on the title track, a gorgeous 3-minute jangler while "Magic Robot" was a little peppier and the other two songs were fine as well. --Dagger

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : England
Label : Matinee Recordings
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The Chamber Strings - Gospel Morning (1997)

2008-10-19T01:15:00.000-07:00

Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Junior grew up in the former "Rubber Capital of the World," Akron, OH, and spent time in Cleveland before splitting for Chicago, IL, at age 16. About a year later he formed the Mystery Girls, then moved on to front the Rosehips. When the Rosehips issued their 1994 album Soul Veronique in Parchment, it did little in the U.S., but shot up the Scandinavian independent album charts. It even went to number one in Finland. Junior eventually left the Rosehips in 1995 and ventured over to England to work with Epic Soundtracks (ex-Swell Maps). Junior spent three years recording and touring with him before Epic's tragic death in 1997. During that same time, Junior also toured with Epic's brother, Nikki Sudden. He was ultimately forced to return to Chicago, due to immigration difficulties, but had already been working on the idea to form his own band, the Chamber Strings.
The band's initial lineup featured drummer Anthony Illarde (also ex-Epic Soundtracks and Lava Sutra), bassist Ellis Clark (ex-Epicycle and Social Act), and organ/pianist Todd Fletcher (ex-Twiggy); second guitarist Tim Fowler (ex-Lava Sutra), Jason Walker (bass), and Carolyn Engelmann (piano) joined afterwards, replacing Clark and Fletcher.
The group eventually signed their first recording contract with Idiot Savant, a small label who issued the Chamber Strings' debut, Gospel Morning -- recorded in Chicago and London -- in 1997. The album stuck a resonant chord with fans of early-'70s rock, influenced as it was by T. Rex, Johnny Thunders, the Flamin' Groovies, the Faces, Humble Pie, and Goats Head Soup-era Stones. The label was short-lived, however, and went under, taking with it the album's chance to reach its intended audience. In 1999, Gospel Morning was given a second chance when it was reissued by Aurora, IL-based Bobsled Records, who were able to give the album better distribution. The group's sophomore effort, Month of Sundays, was issued in early 2001.

Genre : Indie Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Idiot Savant
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Pinkie - My Little Experiment (2001)

2008-10-18T04:46:00.000-07:00

Heartbreak, loneliness, feeling like an outcast in society... These themes have no doubt filled a near-infinite number of recorded minutes, from the first days of recorded music until now. But there's different ways of approaching them. Sad music can be the most grueling thing you'll ever hear -- pretentious as can be -- or it cause an indescribably, unbelievably physical emotional reaction, bringing your heart up into your throat and sending shivers through your bones. It's all in the words and delivery, in how heartfelt they seem. It's a tricky business, how to express longing and emptiness without making people want to slap you. Pinkie navigate it in the most gorgeous manner on their seven-song My Little Experiment EP, using gentle pop-rock songs to touch the dark secret feelings every person has.
In a way, melody is the key. Alex Sharkey, the vocalist/guitarist/songwriter who essentially is Pinkie, comes up with hooks that are so quietly awe-inspiring that they carry the song's emotions right into listeners with ease. Pinkie uses acoustic guitar, synthesizer (at times sounding like strings, other times like waves) and carefully delicate singing to put the melodies and words in an appropriately sweet context. The music is always as beautiful and as heartbreaking as the sentiment. The song "I'm Afraid You're Just Like Me" especially integrates melody right into the atmosphere, so the structure of the songs lifts in a sublime, pretty way.
Pinkie's version of sad music succeeds because it has a certain romance to it. Some groups, like the Smiths, for example, made sadness into romance -- they made dying together in a car crash sound like lovers' most perfect fate. Pinkie instead takes the sadness of life, and of human relationships, and matches it with an acknowledgement of the joy that comes through affection and connection. The hope behind every song is that someone will stick around to make life easier, to help make the loneliness disappear. The perspective is often resignation but never a reveling in sadness, never a glorification of gloom. The opening track, "Pantomime", gives a sense of feeling sorry for oneself, but also has that hope for love and attachment. A sentiment like "All I dram about is not being me" is matched with a romantic wish/promise: "If my arms could reach, I'd put them around you now / I'd dive into your eyes, what a way to drown."
If My Little Experiment sounds like it could just as well be from the late '80s or early '90s as from 2001, it's because Sharkey is continuing the sound his band Brighter played during that time period. That band, on the now widely revered British label Sarah Records, made magnificently honest and touching pop music. Now on his own, he's doing much the same with Pinkie, yet it doesn't feel like he's retreading or back-stepping. This sort of piercing, beautiful expression of feeling is timeless. It stands outside of trends or fads, and will have the same power decades from now as it does not. (Pop Matters review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Dream Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : U.K.
Label : Planting Seeds
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The Windmills - Drug Autumn EP (2000)

2008-10-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

New four-song masterpiece from Southend-On-Sea's finest export...their first release since January's well-received debut album Edge of August. From the hip-shaking, beat happening la la la la la's of "Everything Is New Each Day" to the driving guitars of "Are We Still Where We Were" to the haunting melodies of "Drug Autumn" and "Want," the Windmills deliver sublime English guitar pop perfect for fans of the Go Betweens, Weather Prophets, East Village, or Bodines.

The Windmills released one single in the 80s but weren't heard of for some time afterwards. There wasn't much of a call for the type of janglepop made by them during most of the 90s, but this type of music is becoming more popular in the pop underground these days so their music doesn't sound anachronistic. Their Drug Autumn EP has four very 80s sounding jangly indiepop songs - good stuff. --Aquamarine

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : England
Label : Matinee Recordings

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The Lesser Birds of Paradise - String of Bees (2004)

2008-10-17T03:59:00.000-07:00

Chicago's Lesser Birds of Paradise return with their third, possibly best effort to date. The lush, pastoral sounds of String of Bees is a rolling landscape of lap steels, musical saws, and ukuleles that creates a whimsical feeling; the perfect compliment to the somber vocal stylings of singer Mark Janka. The record, like the reluctant transition from winter to spring, comes off as hopeful, slow-moving, and bittersweet. Neither enitrely happy nor sad, the songs lollygag amongst a messay range of emotions. Records like this only come along a few times a year. (Rockpile).

Recorded with Barry Phipps (ex-Coctails), String of Bees is so gorgeous it's almost toxic, with layers of trilling acoustic guitar and strings shimmering around Mark Janka's breathy, drony singing. The 11 very slow tracks slide into each other like the sort of laconically passing days after which you reemerge and friends ask," Hey, what's up?" and you honestly cannot think of a goddamn thing that is up. (Chicago Reader).

On the Lesser Birds' third album, a musical saw bends eerie notes into a pretty warble, the guitars are rhythmic and bold, and accordions, dulcimers, and tape manipulations don't sound like gimmicks or dramatic attention grabbers but like naturally occurring variations in the landscape....Like the Shins or Fruit Bats, Lesser Birds are a textural compound little concerned with experimentation for its own sake, but absolute and organic in their honesty. (Seattle Weekly).

Warm and heartfelt but smart and challenging, String of Bees rewards multiple listens, as subtle layers of manipulated sound reveal themselves from behind the acoustic foreground and lyrics take unexpected turns. It'll take just one listen, however, for you to wonder why you've never heard of Lesser Birds of Paradise before. There won't be many better albums this year. (Pop Matters).

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Contraphonic Records
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Snowglobe - Doing the Distance (2004)

2008-10-17T00:26:00.000-07:00

How often does a band's sophomore release see the light of day following their third? Such is the rare case with Memphis based indie quartet Snowglobe. Lost in the shuffle of their previous record label's (Bardot) closing, the album never saw a real release. How a label could go belly up with this little slice of perfection completed is quite the cautionary tale of indie label perils. This is the kind of album that could save indie rock (not that it currently needs it), if not a record label.
Co-lead singers Tim Regan and Brad Postlewaite split the vocal duties on the album well, although neither sounds too removed from the other. Regan's easy, conversational tone is eerily similar to Counting Crows' Adam Duritz; so close, you may be running for the liner notes upon first listen. Postlewaite's mellow husky tones are no less pleasing, making the two a dynamic vocal duo. If the vocals are pleasing, the music is damn near orgasmic. Think Simon And Garfunkel being covered by The Shins, then let it blossom into a full-bodied indie pop album a la Wilco's Summerteeth. It is the kind of album that can only be described as a 'holy f*ck listening experience', full of some of the best indie pop in the last decade. It is the kind of album where you refuse to skip even the brief instrumental vignettes between songs, as even they contain magic.
The shallow galloping riffs that open "Master Of Forgotten Works" will make any Guitar Hero-playing gamer's hands hurt just listening to it. Full of bellowing horns and ragged piano, the tune roars through the speakers for two minutes, then breezes gracefully into the loose, carefree "Aimless Sailor". The song is so mellow cool that when it shifts gears into a more driven melody, it takes your breath away. Infinitely catchy, the piano and handclap bop of "Changes" is a steadily moving waltz that takes your ears for a spin. The entire album seems to seamlessly ebb and flow from one song to the next, like a flowing indie rock opera. Regan's matter-of-fact vocals on the chunky riffed "Loaded Gun" strike the perfect balance with the swelling keys and horns. Though mostly a dreamy, mellow affair, Snowglobe does rock out on feedback and electro-laden "Rock Song" and driving toe-tapper "Regime".
Anti-establishment jingle "Big Machine" serves as a fine ode to the destructive, hardening effects the working week has on people. Postlewaite's under two-minutes ditty shuffles along gleefully, as he warns, "I landed deep inside its gut / Where all the children die into adults". The band seems obsessed with aging and the circle of life on the album. Lyrics seem focused on life and death throughout, as on the horn and string jubilee "Ms. June", where the floating vocals proclaim, "I get lost in a dream / Yeah, I dream to forget I'm dying". The slightly off-key melodic vocals and jangling acoustic open "Baby" with, "I was a second of the passing time / A revolution of the cycling life / A wonder at the peak of its prime". Eventually it drifts into a shaking bells, mellow horns, ragged piano, and haunting slide guitar country-edged mid-tempo ballad about children holding the future.
The fact that the brilliant Doing The Distance has been buried in a defunct label's basement for three years should be a punishable offense. Snowglobe's sophomore album is an indie pop masterpiece that enters your head at first listen, kicks up its heels, and refuses to leave. Not that you will mind. (IGN review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Psychedelic Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Makeshift
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Michael Hill - Outlying Towns (2008)

2008-10-16T02:02:00.000-07:00

Singer, guitarist and songwriter Michael Hill came up on the Denton, Texas music scene, where he lent his talents to such groups as 12lb.Test, Slobberbone, Marmalade and The Nick Brisco Band. After relocating to Seattle in 2000, he issued three solo releases, the newest of which is titled "The Vanishing Season" (2005). In Seattle, Hill performed both solo (often in tandem with either cellist Dylan Rieck or singer-songwriter Nancy K. Dillon) and with his band The Bluegills, which featured Jake Williams (guitar), Jeremy Sever/Jay Weaver (drums) and Trevor McCorkindale (bass). He currently resides in Austin, Texas, where he performs both solo and in tandem with cellist Dylan Rieck.

Hill's most recent recording, Outlying Towns, was released digitally in August 2008 and again features Rieck, as well as drummer Owen Weaver and violinist Colleen McCollough.

One of the best folk albums of the year! Don't miss it! "When The Quiet Comes Down" and "The 20/20 Hindsight Blues" are just breathtaking.

Genre : Folk Rock, Americana, Alt-Country
Country : U.S.A.
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Aden - Aden (1997)

2008-10-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

Indie-pop combo Aden was led by singer/guitarist Jeff Gramm, the son of Texas senator Phil Gramm; originally dubbed Dingle, the group -- also including bassist Fred Kovey and drummer Josh Klein -- formed on the campus of the University of Chicago in 1995, tapping Sabalon Glitz's Chris Holmes to produce their debut single "Scooby Doo." Shortly after recording their 1997 self-titled debut LP for the local Fortune4 label, Aden expanded to a four-piece with the addition of guitarist Kevin Barker; when Gramm and Kovey relocated to Washington, D.C. soon after, both Klein and Barker remained in Chicago, the former working as a music journalist and the latter continuing his studies. Minus Klein, the group reformed in 1999 to release Black Cow, their first album for TeenBeat. Hey 19 appeared a year later.

Genre : Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Lo-Fi
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Fortune4 Records

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The Lucksmiths - Where Were We? (2002)

2008-10-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

Following in the tradition of the Australian trio's highly popular "Happy Secret" album in 1999, "Where Were We?" is an assortment of non-album tracks from singles and various artist compilations over the past three years. Fourteen tracks in total, the album features six songs previously unreleased in the US-including a brand new composition with indie legend Pam Berry on backing vocals-alongside favorites like "T-Shirt Weather", "Even Stevens" and "Friendless Summer." Recorded in Australia, England and the US, this superb collection documents the strong songwriting and memorable melodies that have helped secure the Lucksmiths' renown as one of today's most popular indie bands. After last year's tremendous eight-month world tour promoting the most recent album "Why That Doesn't Surprise Me," the Lucksmiths are set for success on the next level.

"Australia's Lucksmiths released their second rarities disc, Where Were We?, in early 2002. The disc was released on Matinee Recordings in the United States. Having released a collection of their early singles in 1999 on Happy Secret, the band compiled another batch of demos, compilation tracks, and outtakes three years later. The trio's acclaimed style of simple and broken-down indie pop continued to make waves around the globe. The disc begins with "The Cassingle Revival," an earnest, Casio-based track with Tali White's clean vocals sailing over the shimmering instrumentation. "A Downside to the Upstairs" is simpler and more subdued than most of the band's songs. The alternate version of "Southernmost" from Happy Secret includes a new jazzy organ line. The next song, "Even Stevens," is classic Lucksmiths, incorporating amiable tones and quick turns of phrase. The demo of "The Great Dividing Range" has an undeniable campy feel, while the gentle harmonies on "Friendless Summer" hide the song's melancholia. The sped-up bossa nova sounds on "Welcome Home" include White's graceful vocals and Marty Donald's colorful guitar work. The album-closer, "Mars," is easily the most startling and breathtaking track on the disc. The gentle guitar line, blended with White's distorted vocals, creates a relaxed yet intense mood throughout. The song is certainly more adventurous and blissful than the average Lucksmiths song. Darren Hanlon guests on organ and piano on various tracks. The songs on Where Were We? were recorded in Australia, England, and America from 1999 through 2001." (AMG review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Australia
Label : Matinee Recordings
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Michael Carpenter - Baby (1999)

2008-10-15T02:52:00.003-07:00

Sometimes an album comes along, seemingly out of nowhere, and hits you straight in the heart. This is one of those albums. Filled with a warmth and depth unexplored in the current music scene, Aussie musician Michael Carpenter writes from the soul and expertly translates his feelings into songs. This isn't just an album to listen to, it's an album to experience. "Thinking About You" is probably one of the greatest songs to emerge in the last two decades and sounds exactly like what you'd expect Neil Finn to come up with had he been a member of the Beach Boys during the "Surfs Up" sessions. And that is what makes Carpenter so great: he's able to take such different influences and combine them, then infuse them with a knowing innocence, creating a sound that is pure and warm. Being the expert producer and multi-instrumentalist that he is, Carpenter takes his very personal musical vision and allows the listener to step inside. Acoustic guitars bounce off of electric guitars, harmonies dance around your head, and melodies hang-glide through your mind. There's a joy that jumps out of this album, be it on the touching "She Dreams" or the joyous "Love Is Like...." There are echos of the Beatles, Beach Boys, and the Finn Brothers within the laser grooves here, but it belongs entirely to Carpenter himself. To paraphrase Carpenter, this is most certainly "the real thing." (AMG review).

Genre : Power Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Australia
Label : Not Lame
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Zombies of the Stratosphere - The Well-Mannered Look (2007)

2008-10-14T02:29:00.000-07:00

Zombies of the Stratosphere write extremely catchy, jangle-guitar pop with hooks that recall classic '60s rock bands like the Kinks.
Taking their name from an old sci-fi movie about a zombie invasion, the band's style seems more influenced by the British Invasion of the 1960s than a '50s-era B Movie. On their latest album, The Well Mannered Look, Zombies of the Stratosphere offer a mix of smartly crafted and addictive songs. The first track "Thrush" features beautifully orchestrated harmonies backed by lush instrumentation. While most of the music is upbeat, the band's lyrics explore lonely, more melancholy themes.
The band members met while studying in college. Jeff Hoffman was working as a literary agent and sound engineer, and Arthur Smith was a film archivist and curator at a broadcasting museum. Both are film noir and comic book enthusiasts. (NPR’s Second Stage)

Opener "Thrush" wouldn't have sounded out of place on Odyssey & Oracle, while "Barber Street" and the title track nail the Ray Davies day-in-the-life-of-an-everyman narrative and sound. "Boy With The Shades" is a lushly orchestrated midtempo number that recalls The Left Banke, while "Decisions" rocks with abandon and "The Story of Your Life" has a great combination of jangle and music-hall stomp. The bottom line is that if it were 1969 and we were on Carnaby Street, these guys would be gods. (Absolute Power Pop Blog).

Genre : Psychedelic Pop, Chamber Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label: Crane Shot
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Phantom Buffalo - Shishimumu (2002)

2008-10-14T00:36:00.000-07:00

Phantom Buffalo is an indie-rock band from Portland, Maine. The band was known as The Ponys until 2004, when both Portland's Ponys and Chicago-based band The Ponys were invited to perform at South by Southwest. Being the lower-profile of the two bands, the Portland group decided on a name change shortly thereafter. The current lineup consists of Jonathan Balzano-Brookes (vocals, guitar), Tim Burns (guitar, vocals), Joe Domrad (drums), Jacob Chamberlain (drums), Sean Newton (bass), and Phil Willey (guitar, accordion, keyboards). The band has released music domestically on the Time-Lag Records label and in the UK on Rough Trade Records. The band's jangly, psychedelic pop music has been compared to The Byrds and New Zealand's The Chills, as well as North American indie-pop acts like The Shins and The New Pornographers.

"On the CD cover, four innocent, lemon-faced children stand on a red wedding cake underneath the arch of a magical city. All is rendered with obsessive detail. It’s cute, futuristic, druggy and a little disturbing. Look again, something on the horizon is burning. This is the world of Phantom Buffalo, where Jonathan Balzano-Brookes sings sweet falsetto tales of bugs, ghosts, and lost children, to a crunchy, country psych production that’s part Shins and part Mike Nesmith’s First National Band. The more you listen, the more beautiful and strange it becomes, as songs reveal hitherto hidden riffs and melodies and Balzano-Brookes trills such weird-out lines as “It’s got something that you drew on it” and “There’s something in the radio.” Joyful, calming and yet… Like looking at a beautiful landscape painting, and seeing something in the corner move." (Mojo review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Psychedelic Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Time-Lag Records
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Soltero - The Tongues You Have Tied (2004)

2008-10-13T03:35:00.000-07:00

Soltero is the musical project of songwriter Tim Howard who currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Soltero has had several incarnations, including a five-piece band (with trumpet and rhodes) and a four-piece band, as well as solo and duo acoustic lineups. The first full-length Soltero album, entitled 'Science Will Figure You Out,' was self-released in August 2001, and was recorded with members of the Mobius Band. April 2003 saw the release of 'Defrocked and Kicking the Habit' on Handsome Records. 'The Tongues You Have Tied' was put out on Three Ring Records in June 2004. Soltero's 2005 album, 'Hell Train,' was the first to prominently feature his live band of three years. It was first self-released in March 2005, and then released widely by Three Ring Records in November 2005. Soltero's fifth record, 'You're No Dream,' found Howard returning to the solo recording dynamic of earlier work. It was released on May 20, 2008.

Soltero’s third album is 'The Tongues You Have Tied,' and was released in 2003 by Three Ring Records. The album was recorded in a basement in winter...and it sounds like it. It sounds made to be listened to late at night, in the dark, driving on icy roads in a snowstorm. This is, for sure one of Soltero’s best—definitely his quietest and most intimate. Listen to it to relax, to unwind, and to creep yourself out.
If you like the spare sensibilities of Elliot Smith's From a Basement on the Hill, the quiet disclosures of Nick Drake's Pink Moon, or the layered textures of The Mamas and the Papas' If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, then this record is for you.

Genre : Folk Pop, Lo-Fi
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Three Ring Records
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The Goldbergs - Hooks, Lines & Sinkers (2006)

2008-10-13T01:31:00.000-07:00

FABULOUS POWER POP from New York!!! Sounds like the Fab Four, Spongetones, Monkees, Myracle Brah, Marshall Crenshaw, Hollies, and the soundtrack to "That Thing you Do" . This cd is great fun and heavy duty 60's to the max with an upgrade on sound quality. Besides that, Andy Goldberg has a great sounding power pop voice that is just perfect for the songs that he pens! Dont miss this one, one of the very best power pop cds of the year!!! GRADE A - Jam Records

"An awe-inspiring, stunning release that's got 'classic' written all over it!" - Kool Kat Musik

"This album is proof that some of the best music out there remains unsigned talent...(Hooks, Lines & Sinkers) is on my short list for album of the year." - Powerpopaholic

"(Hooks, Lines & Sinkers) is tailor made for folks who like classic forms of rock songcraft, when AM radio was a soundtrack for summer nights."- Fufkin.com

"Hooks, Lines & Sinkers is as snappy and crisp as they come...it doesn't get much better than this."- Quick Spins

"Call it what you like...Rock, Guitar Pop, Power Pop, Brit Pop...but the new release by The Goldbergs is loaded with mind filling hooks (hence the tongue-in-cheek album title Hooks, Lines & Sinkers). Powered by a cellar full of guitars and pounding drums, this CD delivers energetic rockin’ pop at its best!!! Fans of The Beatles, Badfinger, Raspberries, Cheap Trick, ELO, Squeeze, Marshall Crenshaw, and The Fountains of Wayne should eat this stuff up. This is the kind of record you will want to blast in your car with the windows open!!!" - CD Baby

Genre : Power Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Self-released
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The Chemistry Set - Sounds Like Painting (Unreleased LP) (1989)

2008-10-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

Formed in London in 1987, The Chemistry Set comprised of Ashley Wood (Guitars and vocals), Paul Lake (guitars and vocals), Henry Taprell (bass) and David Mclean (drums and vocals).
They came together through a mutual friend and a mutual love of psychedelia. Their influences were: Syd Barrett, Robyn Hitchcock, Tomorrow, UK Psych, the 4 B’s (Beatles, Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield & The Byrds), Love, Moby Grape, The Yardbirds & The Misunderstood (particularly the use of the volume pedal, check out the quiet part of "wake up sometimes") and Hendrix.

In February 1989 The Chemistry Set entered into Raven Farm Recording Studios to record their first LP; Sound Like Painting. The LP was finished and ready for release in April 1989. Interviewed at the time by Bucketful of Brains, they had been offered a number of deals from record companies; Voxx (USA), Music Maniac (Germany), Resonance (Holland) & Romilar-d (Spain) but were holding out to see who else would come along.
Sounds Like Painting was never released, although 3 of the songs were issued on flexi/compilations.
Jim McGarry, Head of Rainbow Quartz records said "Sounds Like Painting is one of my favorite albums of all time".
In the summer of 1989 The Chemistry Set could be found playing weekly in London (including The Marquee, The Borderline, The Greyhound, Rough Trade Record Shop & regularly at Alice in Wonderland) They played with Robyn Hitchcock, Bevis Frond, The Steppes and even good old Hawkwind.

Genre : Neo Psychedelia, Psychedelic Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : England

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Greg Murray - Tymes Ten (2005)

2008-10-12T04:45:00.000-07:00

Greg Murray writes really powerful songs, many of which remind us of such bands as The Lilac Time, The Divine Comedy and The Go-Betweens. This man has the talent to write astonishing songs, plays about 13 different kinds of instruments and musically rolls the Magnitic Fields, Belle & Sebastian, Mercury Rev and Kings of Convenience into one.Greg Murray cites a diverse range of influences including Van Morrison, The Smiths, Brian Wilson, The Byrds, Teenage Fanclub, 10,000 Maniacs, Bruce Springsteen and Simon and Garfunkel. Various reviewers around the world also find echoes of Neil Young, Sparklehorse on top of what is listed earlier here. Whatever they say, he has created his own irresistible, distinct style - tight, harmonized pop/folk songs with beautiful melodies and quirky instrumentation. Teeming with introspection and melancholy, they also flow with optimism.

Hailing from Lurgan, County Armagh, Greg Murray, now based in Basford, has released a collection of solo songs causing a minor stir among those in the know. With a whimsical, vaguely psychedelic feel of the 1960's, Tymes Ten is like nothing else out there at the moment. Introspective it may be. But it has a west coast feel to be shared by all. - Sunday Sentinel.

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Pop, Jangle Pop, Dream Pop
Country : Northern Ireland
Label : Firestation Records
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Melodie Group - Seven Songs (2000)

2008-10-12T01:37:00.000-07:00

Melodie Group is an evolving project of The Windmills vocalist and guitarist Roy Thirlwall and the perfect outlet for his never-ending creative energies. The band's six-track debut is entitled Seven Songs and features a timeless mix of strummed and jangled guitars, superb vocals, and pure pop melodies on songs about wild dreams, granny dresses, skindiving, suits of armour, French trousers, and swimming pools. With comparisons to early Lloyd Cole, the Go Betweens and Felt, this mini-CD is not to be missed.

Lusciously paced and with perfectly spaced sounds kissing and dancing in the smoke screen of 1950's cinemas, these songs are the kinds of songs made by, say, Arco in a slightly better mood, or East Village covering the softest songs of Felt. 'Skin Dive' in particular is a delight of slo-motion Hockney swimming pools in the dead of night; Philip Marlowe sitting alone smoking a cigarette and watching the ocean crash on rocks. Divine. --Tangents

Terrific!! Acoustic strum lies beneath bright, jangly, reverby guitars, joined still by dreamy lead guitar and warm, low-key and wonderful male vocals. --Twee Kitten

Beautiful laid-back and timeless guitar-pop. --Mind The Gap

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : England
Label : Matinee Recordings

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The Tables - Shady Whims & Obstacles (1992)

2008-10-11T23:35:00.000-07:00

If the melancholic humour of The TV Personalities is your thing, or the rough edged beauty of the Soft Boys or the Chills is enough to brighten your afternoon, then it’s time to tune into The Tables. Norway’s first true indie/pop band have released a selection of songs which are quite rightly garnering rave reviews as modern pop/psych classics, and on a label which is up there with Shimmy Disc for spaced out beauty and weirdness.
Singing in English, The Tables’ hearts seem to be beating somewhere in South London circa 1967/68. Great guitars abound, while a Farfisa organ fuses 60’s sensibilities with 70’s new wave angular optimism and insane lyrics! "Obstacles" seems to be a Sci-Fi B-movie, there are monsters everywhere! J. Cooper Clarke’s "I Married A Monster From Outer Space" is given full treatment, and even Alistair Crowley gets a mention.
There is a clutch of brilliant 2 1/2 minute pop songs, chock full of Lewis Carollian scenarios and neat 60’s references. This is truly a romp through the fragmented mind of a genius, and Bartleby, on vocals and "objects", is a man with plenty of psychedelic vision to share with all of us!
So, a combination of Norwegian magic mushrooms and the Northern Lights ensure that this band do indeed have their own distinct identity and are not merely a composite of those I have mentioned. Listen to "Moondance" and tell me that its fragile, crystalline beauty doesn’t move you. And if you can’t sing along with "Great Adventures in Wonderland", well, the cat must surely have got your tongue! Think Small Faces, July and Nirvana (the original 60’s band) and you’re still not there.
"The Botanical Garden" should be number one in every household where music is loved for simply being wonderful, and not as a fad or because it’s "cool" to own, while "In A Perfumed Garden" is an incense-laden mystery trip that ends far too soon for me! In "Spaceman", Bartleby wants to take the visitor home for tea, telling him that there is no point in meeting our world’s leaders, they’re "out to lunch these days". Great church keyboards and way out lyrics combine to maximum fungi-fuelled effect. "Alistair Jones" is another pop/psych classic, exquisite and perfect, lavish choruses and polished percussion in all the right amounts. (From Deliverance, 1994, England).

Genre : Indie Pop, Psychedelic Pop
Country : Norway
Label : Perfect Pop Records

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J. Tillman - Minor Works (2006)

2008-10-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

J. Tillman left college and his former home of New York behind him and relocated to Seattle. Tillman started as a percussionist, playing with bands sych as Saxon Shore, before moving to releasing his own material. He toured with many Seattle-area folk luminaries, such as Damien Jurado and Rosie Thomas among others.
Three full length LP's have been produced so far, the first two of which were promoted through word of mouth and sold as CDR's before eventually being turned into limited edition CD's. These CDR albums were distributed through Keep, and then later rereleased on Fargo as a 2-disc set. Minor Works was also released by Fargo.
J. Tillman then released Cancer and Delirium on Yer Bird and shortly after he took over drumming duties for Sub Pop band Fleet Foxes. His next album, Vacilando Territory Blues, is due to be released in January 2009.

"Minor Works" is Tillman's first proper studio record and was released in Europe in October 2006 by the French label Fargo Records. "Minor Works" is at it's essence, 9 beautifully stark soul-baring tracks. With a vocal style reminiscent of Ray LaMontagne, Tillman crafted a "Harvest" era collection of touching ballads. The record maintains its minimalist feel despite a full backing band featuring pedal steel guitars and strings, which is a true testament to the power of Tillman's musical and lyrical depth.

Genre : Singer/Songwriter, Folk Rock, Alt-Country
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Fargo Records
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Slipslide - World Can Wait (2003)

2008-10-11T01:12:00.000-07:00

Listening to Slipslide's debut full-length is like taking a trip in a time machine back to the late '80s/early '90s when indie pop bands began to get signed by labels with money and headed to proper studios to make big, glossy POP! records. Think of the first Primal Scream album, or the overlooked East Village and their Heavenly recordings. Or think bigger and think about early Lloyd Cole & the Commotions or the Weather Prophets. These are bands with chiming guitars, crystal-clear vocals, and sparklingly clean melodies, bands that write songs that are emotional and immediate. Slipslide is a band like that, and The World Can Wait is an album full of sophisticated, well-played, and well-written songs. Songs like "X Supplies the Answer" and "Baked Alaska" are catchy as heck and would sound good next to "Gentle Tuesday" or "Perfect Skin." Graeme Elston's sweet and sly vocals are perfectly complemented by the full arrangements that manage to sound organic and hand-crafted, yet extremely professional. In an age of computer-aided pop, this is no small feat indeed. There will always be a need for fine pop songs delivered by bands that know how to craft stylish melodies and take the time to record them stylishly. Count Slipslide among them, buy the record, and don't try to exit the time machine until it comes to a complete stop. --All Music Guide

Highly anticipated full length from London act Slipslide, featuring the songwriting and vocal skills of Graeme Elston (The Love Parade, Pure, Eva Luna, Astronaut). Entitled "The World Can Wait" the album is the first release since the band’s celebrated "Sleeptalk" single 18 months ago. Since then, Elston and fellow Astronaut members Dave Masterman (drums) and Brychan Todd (bass) have been joined by new member Matthew Hawes on guitar and vocals. Contrasting nicely with nine heartfelt compositions from the Elston songbook are two songs by Matthew ("Back to Work" and "Halfway Over Town") that feature a wry lyrical humour and his splendid smokey croon. The album boasts numerous examples of classic songwriting within the three minute pop formula, with the signature 12-string guitars, keyboards, melodies, and addictive choruses found on Slipslide’s two previous singles for Matinée. This is refined guitar pop worthy of a place in your collection next to beloved classics from Aztec Camera, Orange Juice, The Colourfield and Go-Betweens.

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : England
Label : Matinee Recordings
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Love Dance - Result (2007)

2008-10-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

Love Dance are unfortunately hobbled by a non-descriptive and really quite lame band name. It's a shame, because the Norwegian group's debut full-length is a thoroughly pleasant burst of winsome, jangly twee pop songs, shot through with "ba-ba-ba" harmonies, lovestruck falsetto lead vocals, hypnotic rhythm guitar parts that sound heavily inspired by all but forgotten college radio faves like the Ocean Blue, Velocity Girl, and the Kitchens of Distinction, and an overall sense of nostalgia for the late-'80s to mid-'90s heyday of indie labels specializing in 7" singles kitted out in duotone fold-over sleeves housed in clear plastic bags. What keeps Result from being merely nostalgia for aging hipsters is the fact that the band's songs are genuinely good, with a melodic heft too often lacking from some of the style's more shambolic lesser lights and a knack for catchy, instantly singable choruses. Even the mostly instrumental "Unsympathetic Ways" manages to keep the listener's attention where it would normally wander. It's likely that an existing affection for the indie pop old school is necessary or close to it for Result to work its full charms, but folks in that category will immediately take to this. (AMG review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Twee Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Norway
Label : Marsh-Marigold

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Stuart Valentine - Melody's True (2005)

2008-10-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

Melody's True is a momentous shift for Stuart Valentine. While his band before this recording, the Out Crowd, was a psychedelic chip off the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Melody's True is tranquil and sensitive. The Portland, Oregon singer/songwriter (who also spent time in Richmond Fontaine) has applied great use of his prior experience, playing nearly all instruments himself on his first solo record. The result is a wonderful collection of breezy rock, spearheaded by Valentine's inviting vocals. Lyrically, his words go perfectly with the arrangements, whether he's giving advice ("don't go chasing what is gone/stop thinking that it's all gone wrong") or telling a story ("he met a girl and they fell in love/they used to walk up in the hills and stare at the clouds above"). Given the simple content, it's a timeless record, especially with the Velvet Underground-injected "Upside Down." The only complaint is that he didn't make a solo album sooner. (AMG review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Lo-Fi
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Valentine Music
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Episode Four - Strike Up Matches EP (1987)

2008-10-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

Episode Four was formed in 1983; a garage band playing mostly covers from the likes of ? and the Mysterians, The Eyes and The Action. Gigging regularly in the fleapits of London, the group were soon performing original material – finding their own sound. Setting on a fixed line up in 1985 of Paul Kelly – guitar, vocals; John Wood – guitar, vocals; Martin Kelly – bass, vocals and school-leaver Spencer Smith on drums.
A chance encounter with maverick small time music shark, Maurice Percival, led to the group's only release, the 1986 " Strike Up Matches" EP. Recorded for £78 in one day, this rare 12" remains the only recorded evidence of the band. Of the 500 copies originally pressed, nearly all were destroyed in a flood at Percival's Belsize Park HQ.
After gigs with The Bodines and McCarthy, the band were spotted by Jeff Barrett. He quickly snapped them up for the Head (later Sub Aqua) record label.
Due to legal wrangling with Percival, and a desire to move on the band changed their name to East Village in 1988. Further singles and an album would follow.

Genre : Jangle Pop
Country : England
Label : Lenin And McCarthy Records

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Harper Lee - Everything's Going to Be OK (2002)

2008-10-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

Highly anticipated second album from English duo Harper Lee featuring Keris Howard (ex-Brighter, Hal, Trembling Blue Stars) on vocals, guitar and keyboards and Laura Bridge (also in Kicker) on guitar, drums and piano. In the past year, Harper Lee have earned great respect from the music press with positive reviews of recent single "Train Not Stopping" and debut album "Go Back To Bed" piling up around the globe. This new album includes nine straightforward classics that will surely engender a new set of superlatives, balancing signature tales of longing and regret with subtle signs of hopefulness. The album marvels in its fantastic simplicity with gorgeous choruses, perfectly strummed guitars, and bittersweet lyrics. A masterpiece.

"Everything's Going to Be OK is the second record by UK indie pop duo Harper Lee and it is their best yet. Keris Howard (vocals, guitar and keyboards) and Laura Bridge (guitar, drums and piano) sound more assured and their songwriting is very strong. Tracks like "Train Not Stopping" and "City Station" sport melodies that are going to stick. The musical backing to their broken hearted laments is a textbook execution of post-Sarah indie pop, simple chord patterns, gently strummed acoustic guitars, orchestral keyboards and aching choirboy vocals. The mood, as on their other releases, is unrelentingly melancholy. Howard sings of heartbreak, death, sadness and other miserable stuff as the tempo drags along behind him. The last track on the disc is bit of a shocker, as it is an uptempo almost-rocker that features fuzzy guitars and almost hopeful lyrics. Harper Lee are a worthwhile exercise in wistful nostalgia." --All Music Guide

Genre : Indie Pop, Dream Pop
Country : England
Label : Matinee Records
MySpace

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Souther Still - Dizziness and Darkness (2006)

2008-10-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

Americana from London. Not an unusual combination these days and certainly a description that fits Souther Still, three Brits and a New-Zealander, with their different nationalities adding even more global flavor to proceedings. Dizziness And Darkness (Open Plan Records), recorded in Cornwall, mixed in London and mastered in Nashville, is - after their first EP - a worthy full-CD debut and a very beautiful one. The alt.countrysound of this quartet thrives on pop-influences, resulting in songs built around well-layered melodies. The songs are intimate, breathing atmosphere and well-crafted. In the more stripped-down songs Souther Still reminds of fellow Brits Hobotalk, while the electric songs are reminiscent of Grant Lee Buffalo and Galaxie 500. Sensitive songs such as Open Road and the brilliant White Lies - my favorite Christmas-song - are juxtaposed with beautiful folky countryrock pieces. Only on the odd occasion the volume is cranked up, like on the modest boogie Lodgings To Let and with some slide on Cuba Libre. The quartet - Bradley Putze (vocals, guitar), Kevin Stokes (guitar), Tim Hughes (drums, keyboards), Karl Schasching (bass) - are at their magnificent best on their atmospheric mid-tempo songs. All Hands To The Pump and Up Downer Street are great songs that rank effortlessly with the classics, with a special distinction for Love's Left This Town: a brilliantly constructed rocksong, with a piano-intro ending in a climax of swirling guitars. Dizziness And Darkness closes fittingly with a Grant Lee Buffalo-style ballad. (Altcountry.nl Online Music Magazine).

They're based in London and comprise two Brits and two ex-pat New Zealanders. Their music is firmly rooted across the Atlantic in backwoods America but many of their themes are inspired by matters closer to home.This mix sets them apart. Quite why they have to ply their trade on a tiny label and in small clubs is mystifying to all who hear their luminous, aching, alt-country songs.And while there are echoes of greats such as Neil Young or Gram Parsons, there's also plenty of laidback, contemporary cool.A song such as Thirty Year Bouquet, for instance, has a simple, lilting country arrangement. Others such as the hazy, expansive Up Downer Street, have equal measures of steady-building rock ballast and melodic beauty.It's time fine singer Bradley Pulze and his talented band got the recognition they deserved. (The Sun review).

Genre : Folk Rock, Alt-Country, Americana.
Country : England
Label : Open Plan Records
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The Heavy Blinkers - The Heavy Blinkers (2000)

2008-10-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

The debut album under the Heavy Blinkers moniker, Hooray for Everything was basically a Jason MacIsaac solo effort, but by the time of their follow-up full-length the Heavy Blinkers were a legitimate quintet. The eponymous nature of the album hints that the band members themselves consider this their real beginning -- or perhaps a symbolic rebirth -- and that is exactly how the album sounds. The Heavy Blinkers is a splendidly ambitious and brilliantly realized headfirst dive into ultra-sunny chamber pop waters, the same pool where you can find the Beach Boys and the Left Banke wading in the shallow end while Phil Spector sulks moodily by the side, eyeing birthday-girl Lesley Gore. The band mashes together all sorts or delectable styles into a modern day White Album of sorts, but one that uses as its source of sonic inspiration the early to mid '60s, when innocence ran neck-and-neck with musical innovation for precedence. The Heavy Blinkers are equally capable of writing mid-'60s Beach Boys melodies and pepping up melancholic Burt Bacharach sophistication as they are writing a children's song, Christmas carol, or putting a new spin on an old show tune. MacIsaac is still the creative spark in the band, but it is a duty he shares on the album with Andrew Watt, and the two show exceptional pop songwriting skills. They are equally capable of school spirit chants and girl group melodrama (featuring Ruth Minnikin's sexy shy-girl singing), the sweet melancholy of "He's Not a Bum" or the gorgeous falsetto-fueled "Dressing Down," to songs with more complex jazz chord progressions. About half of these songs reinvent the rich melodic affluence of Brian Wilson with insatiable originality, while much of the album mirrors the dumb-angel beauty of Beach Boys themes, from sun and unrequited love to the more conceptual Smile-like topics of the barnyard ("From the barnyard") and fire ("Ten little firefighters"), all the while injecting a contemporary sensibility and buffering the brightness of sentiment with the occasional undercurrent of more pragmatic concerns. The album goes beyond simple accomplishment, however, and into the realm of masterwork thanks to the production and pure genius arrangements (on brilliant songs such as "Crowned Miss Fire Prevention," "Summer Won't Ask You Twice," and "Marmalade") that handle layer upon layer of flawless instrumentation. Everything from piano and guitar to banjo, theremin, timpani crashes, and in-the-pocket Spectoresque flairs make appearances at all the perfect moments. From beginning to end, The Heavy Blinkers is guileless delight. But more than that, it is a tour-de-force of unequalled pop excellence. (AMG review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Chamber Pop
Country : Canada
Label : Brobdingnagian
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Holiday - Cafe Reggio (1997)

2008-10-05T01:39:00.000-07:00

Much-missed indie-pop combo Holiday formed on the campus of Yale University in late 1992; originally comprising singer/guitarist Josh Gennet, guitarist Matt Snow, bassist Andrew Park and an Alesis drum machine, the group -- initially dubbed Wimp Rocket -- self-released their 1993 debut cassette The Big Pickle before adding drummer Paul Moyano and travelling to Chicago to record their official debut EP, the Dave Trumfio-produced My Roommate Joe. Drummer Calvin Chin replaced Moyano for the follow-up single, "Permission Slip," and after issuing "Prostitutes in Town" in the fall of 1994, Holiday signed with March Records to issue their self-titled debut album in February. The record's airy, shimmering sound made it a major favorite of underground pop aficionados, and its fine follow-up, 1996's Ready, Steady, Go!, was also a cult hit. Drummer J. Niimi replaced Chin for 1997's Cafe Reggio; by the time of its release, however, Holiday was already a thing of the past -- the group disbanded following their appearance at the New York Popfest that January. Gennet went on to record as the Singletons.

All good things must come to an end, and the same holds true for even modest endeavors. Just when Holiday appeared on the verge of bigger and better things, singer/songwriter Josh Gennet decided to pull the plug. Café Reggio collects material from an aborted third album, recorded this time with returning producer Dave Trumfio as well as Ashtray Boy's J. Niimi, who also took over drumming duties for the departed Calvin Chin. Fans of the band will love light tracks like "Well Enough Alone," "Something About You," and "Your Very Last Party," though the disc never really exploits Holiday's rich potential. Rounding out Café Reggio is a quartet of 1993 songs, including a cover of the Magnetic Fields' "Candy," recorded for a pre-Holiday single. (AMG review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Twee Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Siesta Records

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Blue Cartoon - September Songs (2006)

2008-10-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

Four years in the making (and every second sounding like it), Blue Cartoon has returned with their crowning achievement, "September Songs". Their fourth album, "September Songs" is a mature, immediately gripping release that incorporates all kinds of carefully layered vocals, jangling guitars and, importantly, memorable melodies.
"September Songs" arrives just in time to make an impression on pop fans` Top Of The Year lists as it manages disparate textures into a complimentary collection of rich and colorful pop gems. Blue Cartoon`s music is sprinkled with subtleties that unfold with repeated listens; yet somehow never stray too far from the `pure pop` values that has served as the band`s central point since the mid 90`s. Fans of Michael Carpenter, The Merrymakers and Bill Lloyd will hear familiar, friendly territory here as will fans of C,S, N & Y, The Byrds and The Thorns. Listen to the Carpenter-esque perfections of "Just A Little More and "She`s A God", forward along to "Boony Doon" to hear a cool mix of The Rubinoos and Fools Face and check out the overtones of Blue Cartoon`s Californian upbringings are woven throughout - listen to the Laurel Canyon pop (think The General Store and Crazy Horse) of "The World Goes By" and "She Comes In Three" is a cosmic joyride to pure pop jangle pleasure and the Buffalo Springfield-meets-The Greatful Dead surf vibe of "Where I Wanna Be".

Haunting 12 string grounding are smart, smooth and jangle proudly with no concern for doing anything except giving their listeners pleasure with all their music, there is a ringing assault of open chorded and harmoniously layered pure pop. But their arrangements, on this release, also take a tectonic leap up with all sorts of Wilson inspired percussion, bells and open-aired space that makes the vocals soar in every moment. Pop Perfection of the highest sort. So stop reading, start listening. One of 2006`s very, very best!!

Genre : Folk Pop, Jangle Pop, Sunshine Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Aardvark
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Jeff Larson - Fragile Sunrise (2002)

2008-10-04T05:25:00.000-07:00

When a music journalist uses the term, “California Sound,” most of us instinctively know what that means, whether we experienced it in real time or soaked it up second-hand on classic rock and oldies radio stations. The lush vocal blend and romantic innocence of the Beach Boys’ music, or the outstanding harmonies and guitar-laden sound of America or the Eagles might come to mind when reaching for examples to define the musical sound of the Southernmost end of the Golden State.
While the face of pop music has radically changed since those groups first topped the charts, the overriding influence they had on music cannot be denied. Those influences are heard to great effect in the music on singer-songwriter Jeff Larson’s Fragile Sunrise.
Larson has done an admirable job of infusing his album with the kind of slow-burning aural glow that inhabits the best of what used to be called “mellow rock”. In fact, he’s gone directly to the sun-drenched source to make sure his songs reflect all the warmth and beauty of a Malibu sunset. Fans of the groups mentioned above will be delighted to hear vocal and musical contributions by Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell (America), Timothy B. Schmit (Eagles), and Jeffrey Foskett (Beach Boys, Brian Wilson), assisted by a coterie of studio aces breathing additional color and life into the lyrical musings of these romantic songs. Producer/multi-instrumentalist Hank Linderman (Aimee Mann, Tim McGraw, Timothy B. Schmit) deserves his own accolades for ably helping to shape the sound of Larson’s musical journey.
Larson plays his 514ce and 614ce throughout Fragile Sunrise, strumming and flatpicking against, above, around, and beneath chiming electric 12-strings, smoothly distorted Strats, and tasteful synthesizer beds. The instrumental arrangements are impeccable, and vocal blends borrowed from each of the abovementioned supergroups helps raise each song to a familiar-feeling level, even on first listen. Larson’s melodies sparkle, rise, and fall, not a note wasted or a phrase out of place. In some cases, his lyrics glimmer like reflections on the moving surface of the sea, thus suggesting poetic impressions of the subject matter, rather than making prosaic, obvious statements.

If you enjoy the mellow pop music of the ’70s, Fragile Sunrise is capable of transporting you to a place where the skies are clear, and there’s a fresh salt breeze in the air. A wall of beautiful voices, enchanting melodies, soaring harmonies, a blend of mellow acoustic and singing electric guitars -- it’s a classic combination of sound and sensibilities, and Larson gives it his own contemporary spin. (Taylorguitars.com).

Genre : Singer/Songwriter, Sunshine Pop, Folk Rock
Country : U.S.A.
Label : New Surf North
MySpace

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Seaside Stars - The Stranded Whale (2006)

2008-10-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

The Seaside Stars are an indie pop duo from Berlin, Germany who play jangle power pop songs in the veins of Teenage Fanclub with great melodic hooks that will leave you wanting for more.

They released 2 albums so far, The Magic of Stereo (2001) and The Stranded Whale (2006). Their second album is much better than their great debut, finding the band at the height of their creativity peak. Head-bobbing guitar jingles, toe-tapping light drums, and breathy sing-a-longs are the modus operandi for Seaside Stars, and they rarely stray from the formula. Friendly acoustic & electric strumming weave around each other, and light rhythms keep a pleasant atmosphere.

The Stranded Whale is out on Rosemary Records, which is a Japanese label. Pretty much the only thing in English on the label's website about the album are the words "beach from the summer", which is some fine English, if nothing else.

You can find their first album, The Magic of Stereo here , on Best Kept Secrets blogspot.

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Germany
Label : Rosemary Records (Japan)
MySpace

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Days - Rehearsal (2003)

2008-10-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

Days are a pop band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The group consists of Fabian Sahlqvist, John Ludvigsson, Philip Gates & Andréas Uppman Nilsson.

This is a 4 tracks demo taken from a rehearsal of the band from 2003. The band released their debut EP, Downhill, only in 2008. It's nice to see how they sounded 5 years ago and how their sound changed now in 2008.

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The Palisades - A Month Too Soon (1986-1989) (2004)

2008-10-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Egg Records Restoration Programme brings you a new posthumus CD album from Perth, Australia's, The Palisades. This CD compiles the tracks recorded between 1986 - 1989 including the Easter Records Mini LP, tracks from compilations and unreleased material. Formed in Perth (Australia) in 1985 around the songwriting partnership of Ian Freeman and Jeff Baker, The Palisades went onto release a Mini Lp "A Month Too Soon" on Easter Records as well as recordings for local radio station compilations. In 1988, Ian took the final line-up of the band to Sydney while Jeff joined the Summer Suns and then the original version of The Rainyard. Ian later collaborated again with Jeff as the Mars Bastards. He eventually joined the remaining members of The Rainyard to form Header. (Tonevendor.com).

" literate yearning mid-80s jangle pop that the Matinee bands' older brothers used to listen to" - Boa Melody bar

“The Palisades hit it clean and distinctive, immaculately lush and lyrical with a supplebackbone of resonant rhythm”- Local Press, Perth, WA.

“The Palisades, Their “month too soon” 5 tack 12” on Easter Records is a clever, intricate piece of work relying on versatile guitars and harmonica for an overall fretful, yearning, despondent music with suitable content “ ..Giggling in the rain is remarkable, in this age of discussion when every emotion can be televised and shown to the world, that far off passion .. In drought each drop goes OH!” – Do It For Fun

"There’s echoes of Felt in their Pop mode (think Forever Breathes The Lonely Word) and a hint of the milder psychedelics of compatriots The Church." - Tangents

Genre : Jangle Pop
Country : Australia
Label : Egg Records

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The Lovetones - Be What You Want (2002)

2008-10-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

Although these guys are from Sydney Australia, if you didn't know any better you'd swear they were from the UK, as Be What You Want is filled with the kind of textural, psychedelic-tinged sounds that the un-informed mainstream press will liken to Radiohead. Lead vocalist Matthew Tow (formerly of Drop City) possesses a powerful instrument indeed, which serves the band well on cool, Brit-pop tunes like 'The Sound And The Fury', 'Give It All I Can', and 'Something Good'. The album has its lighter moments as well; 'Drink The Night (My Love)' will recall Squeeze with its octave-separated vocal harmonies and 'The One And Only', with its soulful bent guitar notes, is as catchy as pop music gets. There's also the standout ballad 'It's Always Been This Way', which has the kind of gut-wrenching impact that Dennis Wilson provided on Pacific Ocean Blue. Good stuff, this! (Shindig review).

"Guided by brilliant production, Be What You Want, is a pop-rock classic. Distinguished by golden melodies and a subject matter that is emotionally direct and largely autobiographical, the Lovetones are reviving the true essence of psychedelic pop."[Rolling Stone]

"The best Australian band you haven't heard of yet. This punchy debut will be blasting from a radio speaker near you soon. It leaves you hungry for more."[Courier Mail].

Genre : Neo Psychedelia, Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Country : Australia
Label : Bomp! Records
MySpace

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Arms and Legs - Everything Is Gonna Be Okay (2007)

2008-09-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

One guy, a guitar, some strings, and a '60s UK flair, make up these beautiful folk-pop concoctions.

Connecticut born Scott Daly is a young man with a unique, but familiar talent. His brainchild Arms and Legs has strong roots in 60’s folk and pop, and contain modern twists that make these beautiful autumnal songs well worth the listen. Compared to the likes of Elliott Smith, The Zombies, The Beatles, and Neutral Milk Hotel, he has gained ever growing popularity, stretching well beyond his hometown following. Great things are to come for Arms and Legs.

Genre : Folk Pop, Lo-Fi.
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Modern Sky (Beijing, China)
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Arms and Legs - Let Go

Labrador - Instamatic Lovelife (2004)

2008-09-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

Labrador is a Danish band led by Flemming Borby. It was formed in 1998 after the break up of the very praised danish band GREENE. In 2000 the first demo was out, and became “demo of the month” in GAFFA (Dainsh no.1 independent music-magazine) January 2000. In 2002 the first album “Goodbye Susanne” came out and included the single “In a Blue Balloon” which became a big radio-hit on Danish national radio P3. In 2004 second album “Instamatic Lovelife” was released in Denmark and Japan. The style of Labrador is contemporary popmusic, popmusic made in the beginning of the 21th century with inspiration from the great popartists of the sixties and seventies. Soft trumpet-lines, airy female-voices, flying guitars, blended with Flemming Borbys voice, makes you think of the time when Herb Alpert and Burt Baccharach was young, Brigitte Bardot looked good, and Serge Gainsbourg was alive!

"This is a hands down no brainer for Scandinavian number one of the year.Everything we love about pop music from the past 40 years was distilled down into this album and made new again.What's more, he made that difficult feat seem effortless.A milestone." (Spinzone review).

Genre : Indie Pop
Country : Denmark
Label : Firestation Records
MySpace

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The Petals - Butterfly Mountain (2003)

2008-09-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

The Petals' first full-length release in nine years is the welcome return of a band that gave us a string of great post-paisley singles from 1989 to the mid 90s, and one of the best psych-pop albums of the 90s in "Parahelion". Interest in the band began to return after Cary Wolf's fine solo project Stuntz's Blue Leg Expedition was issued in 1997 by September Gurls resulting in Camera Obscura contacting Cary and Julia Wolf, fortuitously just as a brace of new Petals and SBLE recordings were being planned. "Butterfly Mountain" is the first fruits of this partnership.
The 12 tracks on "Butterfly Mountain" reveal the Petals to be undiminished as crafters of insidious melodies, complex lyrics, and recordings that are deceptively simple but constructed with the precision of Swiss watchmaker. As with Green Pajamas, the Dipsomaniacs (Norway) and Lazily Spun, vintage psychedelic pop and folk-rock elements are used as a vehicle for the writers' unique artistic visions and not as an end in themselves. Cary's Wolf's reconstructed hippie imagery runs the gamut from playful to profound whether constructing tales of colliding absurdities ("Brown Cow"), surreal collecting fetishes and dream mechanisms ("Seed Separator") or the simple pleasures of gathering ("Place in the Shade", "Sarsaparilla" and the title track). Offsetting Cary Wolf's essentially optimistic worldview, Laurie Kern and Steve Lines contribute the atypical but haunting "Pallid Mask" and Laurie collaborates with Wolf on "Living Room", where mental illness and Lewis Carroll get acquainted.
"Butterfly Mountain" is comprehensively successful in what it sets out to do, and should appeal to lovers of psychedelic pop in all its forms across the decades.

Genre : Neo Psychedelia, Psychedelic Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Camera Obscura

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The Tangerines - The Tangerines (2006)

2008-09-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Tangerines were formed in Stockholm, Sweden, 1996. Both Per and Håkan were founding members of Swedish recording artists Rain Refrain in the late 80s. Together they have continued to explore the art of the three-minute pop song. Their brand new, self-titled CD is sugar-sweet, pure pop - 12 songs packed with loads of hooks, rich melodies, lotsa harmonies and lotsa jangly, Byrdsy 6 + 12-string guitars! "You'd be hard-pressed to find catchier power pop than that produced by this effervescent male Swedish duo. 'Leave Him Behind' could have been a good tune for ABBA. 'One Good Reason,' with its jangly guitar riffs, sounds like it burst forth directly from the '60s British Invasion and would fit in perfectly with the Searchers' greatest hits." - Palo Alto Daily News Spot on! In fact, it would be a great song for The Searchers to cover! A brilliant debut indeed! Can't say enough about this one! (KoolKat Music).

Genre : Power Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Sweden
Label : Self-released
MySpace

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Modesty Blaise - A Beginners Guide to Modesty Blaise (1999)

2008-09-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Modesty Blaise are as unashamedly retro as Austin Powers, this CD sounds more like something from my mother's record collection than a 1999 release. This band wants to be part of the jet set, but the jet set of 1967 - partying in San Francisco, holidaying in Europe, hanging out with the Beach Boys, the Mamas and Papas and Jefferson Airplane.
The CD is a soundtrack to that wishful thinking, bearing the stamp of the afore-mentioned bands and a certain other retro star, Edwyn Collins, who helped them out with guitar and production. In fact, Modesty Blaise' lead singer is a Johnny Collins and bears a definite vocal resemblance to Edwyn, any relation? There is absolutely nothing wrong with this CD if late 60s psychedelic pop is your bag, man, Modesty Blaise have created a perfect time-capsule of 1967. It definitely makes a welcome change from the oh-so-boring guitar retro of Brit Pop. (SortedMagazine review).

Genre : Psychedelic Pop
Country : U.K.
Label : Apricot Records
MySpace

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Soul Engines - Closer Still (2003)

2008-09-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

Speaking of one of the best of 2003, let's end this missive with a shout out to the Soul Engines, who have crafted a near-perfect pop album with Closer Still. Urgent vocals, melodies that hit and stick like glue, guitars that ring, ring, ring, and harmonies that'll bring a tear to the eye of any self-respecting pop lover. 14 tracks and not a loser in the bunch---when's the last time you could say that about an album? Extremely highly recommended, as a wise man once said…. (Fufkin.com review)

WOW!! Superb jangly pop effort (think Gin Blossoms, Squeeze, middle period Beatles to name a few) from a band that’s definitely firing on all cylinders! Great execution, great songwriting, loads of hooks, nice harmonies, loads of jangly (6 + 12 string) guitars and tasty bits ‘o Hammond dominate this CD! (KoolKat Music review).

Soul Engines were one of the most popular New Jersey Shore bands in the early 90's. It's no wonder... the group can write and sing as well as ANY of the greatest pop/rock bands! As proof, the band frequently appeared in concert with acts like the Spin Doctors, The Bodeans, and Southside Johnny. Their first independent self produced release Ghost On A Landscape sold nearly 10,000 copies. Check out their latest release Closer Still- this is simply great memorable music... but we're not the only one's that think so. Go to cut # 6 "You Hardly Even Know This Guy" which recently appeared in the Oxygen Network show Good Girls Don't. Guess what? The whole album's that good! (ampersandrecordsusa.com).

Genre : Power Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Self-released

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The Twilights - Once Upon a Twilight (1968)

2008-09-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

The Twilights were an Australian 60’s rock group that had a guitar oriented pop sound pitched somewhere between the Beatles and Hollies. Down under they were a pretty popular band, releasing two albums and several charting singles. In the mid 60’s they mixed 50’s rock and British Invasion covers with garage pop/beat originals. Terry Britten, the groups guiding light, began focusing on writing group originals during the second half of the decade. With help from Norman Smith, the Twilights recorded in England, eventually releasing a string of acid pop gems.
Cathy Come Home is arguably the best of these singles and is usually cited as the group’s high-water mark. Other 45’s like Time And Motion Study Man, and Comin’ On Down were near classic efforts though, with a sound rooted in Australia’s burgeoning psychedelic culture. In 1968, the Twilights released their final album, Once Upon A Twilight. Once Upon A Twilight was a critical success though sales were very low, signaling the beginning of a downward spiral for the group. The album is consistent and full of brilliant production quirks, being one of the very few Aussie albums to have a classic British psych-pop sound.
It’s loaded with great songs, standouts being the minor key gem What A Silly Thing To Do (complete with Ringo drum fills and phased wah-wah) and the classic Stop The World For A Day. Even the softer numbers like Bessemae, Tomorrow Is Today, and Mr. Nice work really well, highlighted by very pretty string arrangements and strong melodies. Other worthy numbers are the sitar drenched Devendra, which sounds like a lost Dave Mason Traffic track from 1967, and the dramatic psychedelia of Paternosta Row. On the latter track the band feeds its vocals through Leslie cabinets. The lp’s only daft moment is the horrible cockney country-rocker, The Cocky Song.
Once Upon A Twilight is a classic pop-art album, that’s warm, friendly, and well worth a spin. A near mint original copy can cost you between $150 to $300 and was notable for its elaborate pop-up gatefold art. In 2006, Aztec Music released this great album on cd for the first time, in both mono and stereo sound.

Genre : Psychedelic Pop, British Invasion.
Country : Australia
Label : Aztec Music

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The Day Traders - The Day Traders (2004)

2008-09-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

You might wonder at times where all the lost melodies in songwriting have gone. Well, look no further than the latest from New York metro area band The Day Traders, because they seem to have swiped those very melodies from the atmosphere and laced their songs with them. It's no coincidence that veteran artist and songwriter Saul Zonana, who has a knack for churning out addictive pop music himself, produced the project. And make no mistake, this stuff is almost sinfully addictive. There are hints dropped of artists like the Beatles and maybe a more modern sounding REO Speedwagon or Poco, but that's only for those of you who need a point of reference.
'Sad' is just the start of things to come, launching immediately into guitar and harmony-driven pop that feels good enough to elicit a smile from the most bitter of persons, despite the negative tone of its title. 'Why' sounds like the perfect radio single, nicely crafted to crescendo into a huge chorus. 'Out of My Head' harkens back to the '60s with Beatlesque guitars and a hook reminiscent of the Turtles. Other standout tracks are 'The Night They Said Goodbye' and 'Goodnight, the latter of which reminds me of early Vertical Horizon. And the haunting piano ballad 'Come Home' is simply beautiful.
While a lot of these songs tend to be similar in structure and sound, the fact remains that the tracks are so good that that doesn't even matter. Plus, anything Saul Zonana puts his fingers on tends to be like musical nicotine, at least to me. The Day Traders are a breed of band that many would say is a dying variety, and for you people they offer hope that all is not lost in the landscape of today's music industry. (Bullz-Eye.com review).

Genre : Indie Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Night and Day Productions

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Chamber Strings - Month of Sundays (2001)

2008-09-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Gospel Morning was a lushly produced multilayered masterpiece -- and this record makes it sound like a demo. For Month of Sundays, the Chamber Strings not only doubled in size, but drafted an entire brass section to enlarge its sound. Muted horns, whimpering guitars, and (you guessed it) strings are pieced together into cohesiveness by producer Thom Monahan. His more-is-more philosophy creates a lush, orchestrated feel, reminiscent of '60s producer Phil Spector. This musical density is an ideal backdrop for singer/songwriter Kevin Junior's lilting harmonies. His vocal style channels Al Green, Alex Chilton, and the Mamas & the Papas, sincerely emoting melancholic sweetness over every horn flourish and minor chord. Though this album treads familiar ground, it is positively excellent in its element. Month of Sundays continues Junior's love affair with '70s pop and soul, and firmly cements his place alongside his heroes in rock's pantheon. (AMG review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Chamber Pop.
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Bobsled
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Grand Hallway - Yes Is the Answer (2007)

2008-09-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

Seattle band Grand Hallway's debut album, “Yes Is The Answer”, was recorded in the summer of 2006 by Jeramy Koepping and Moe Provencher at Jack Straw Studios. The eleven songs which comprise the album feature Tomo Nakayama’s instantly memorable melodies, supported by layers of guitars, upright bass, pedal steel, percussion, and strings (arranged by the band themselves.) Grand Hallway’s music spans a myriad of genres, often within a single song, all the while evoking a sense of familiarity in its spacious structures and plain spoken words. “Yes Is The Answer” is released exclusively in Japan on Sideout Records (home to Bright Eyes, Cursive, Nada Surf, The Velvet Teen), and self-released by the band in the US.

"The finest, most exquisite craftsmanship has the power to turn ordinary objects into works of art. In the case of Grand Hallway's Yes is the Answer, it is this sort of craft that elevates Tomo Nakayama's songs--gorgeous, orchestral pop pieces that balance intricate arrangements of piano, strings, and countless other subtleties--to a higher plane of beauty. Without such attentive composition and production these songs would still be memorable; with it, they're transcendent. The instrumentation also amply underscores and amplifies Nakayama's lilting, warbling vocals. Seemingly every song contains at least one stirring, emotion-laden refrain or lyrical turn. On "Seward Park" it's Nakayama crying "I love you, dear" over a swell of crashing drums and skyward-climbing piano and strings; on "Darling, Wife" it's the roaring-electric-guitar-backed refrain of "red, white and blue birds." There's a healthy variety of slow, delicate songs (the somber waltz "Smiles Through Stale Breadcrumbs") and upbeat, rollicking numbers ("Napoleon's Left Shoe"), as well as plenty of variation within each song. "Giant Novels" starts as a brisk march that breaks down into a bombastic, lethargic bridge before amping back up for a waltzing outro. With such intriguing complexity, Yes is te Answer doesn't fail to satisfy long after the hooks are lodged in your brain, rewarding the attentive listener with a bevy of charming, subtle touches that don't surface until many listens later." - Seattle Sound

Genre : Indie Pop, Chamber Pop
Country : U.S.A.
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The Soft Set - Only Lovers Left Alive (2004)

2008-09-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

The Soft Set consists of William Crain- Vocals, Guitar & Harmonica, Matthew Baab- Guitar, Hayden Childs- Organ & Piano, Marshal Crenshaw- Bass & Vocals and Charles Ewing- Drums, Trumpet and Vocals.

It adds a sparkly patina of guitar pop to a framework built from the Velvet Underground's slower tunes. The most obvious influences are the Go-Betweens - 'No More Games' is the best mordant pop song that Grant McLennan never wrote - and Felt, while the trumpet flourishes that adds so much to 'Christmas Lights' put you in mind of the Ladybug Transistor and 'Brief Glimmer of Hope' opens up Love's garage for inspection. The finest track is perhaps the Tyde-like 'The Spread' with its spectral guitar figures and plenty of ba-ba-bas. To add to the sense of cool, 'St Francis' has the excellent taste to sample Scorsese's "Mean Streets" before dissolving into a sea of chiming guitars.
Despite all the references, this Austin band make guitar pop sound fresh and exciting and it stays constantly on the right side of twee.

"This is the proper release of The Soft Set’s second album. It was originally only available as a self-released CDR, but thanks to Becalmed it’s now available for a bigger audience. “Only Lovers Left Alive” is a fabulous album consisting of 12 songs of jangly and imaginative guitars backed with trumpet, organ and harmonica. Although hailing from Texas The Soft Set sounds a bit like a British act. William Crain, the singer and songwriter, brings on this album songs for anyone who ever fancied Felt, The Go-Betweens, Holiday, Belle & Sebastian, The Housemartins or The Pastels. This is a highly recommended album!" (http://www.fractiondiscs.se/).

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Becalmed

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The Rosewood Thieves - Lonesome EP (2007)

2008-09-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

New York quartet The Rosewood Thieves have mightily bounced back from the collapse of the band’s former label V2 Records. The glitz and glamour of the Big Apple wasn’t as big an influence on the foursome as you would expect for two reasons.
One, the band isn’t from the city, but further north where the hustle and bustle were a lot more subdued in the small town of Deposit. Two, that distance from the biggest city in the world somewhat disconnected them from that hyperkinetic energy associated with a place that never sleeps. That’s not to say the band doesn’t have energy, it does. It’s just not New York energy.
An accurate description would be Bob Dylan energy, at the rock legend’s current age of 66. While it’s not very fair to compare the physical energy levels of a man recently hit the legal retirement age to a group of twentysomethings, the energy they do share is both musically and emotionally comparable. Listening to “Untitled #1” you can instantly hear the connections between styles: simplistic and raw, not to mention the similarities between singer/songwriter Erick Jordan’s voice to Dylan’s, sometimes even down to certain vocal inflections.
The Rosewood Thieves test their range in the bare bones “California Moon” with Erick’s almost a cappella intro before a slow crescendo into an equally slow but fading decrescendo. The song’s end is a perfect example of the band’s brilliance in simplicity. You almost get taken back, imagining yourself walking with a pretty girl (or boy) along the beach watching waves crash on the sand under the moonlight.
The other side of the band is its grit. RT isn’t afraid at showing its heart, exuding passion in “Murder Ballad In G Minor” with the song’s message of abuse and revenge: “When she was young she was left on the steps of a church, But nobody would take her, not even the priest.”
Another band that comes to mind when listening to The Rosewood Thieves is Great Lake Swimmers. Both bands are able to create a lot of depth in their music despite the absence of many instruments. Although unlike GLW’s depth which is more ambiance-filling, RT leans more toward vibe-sensing. In “Honey, Stay Awhile” the man’s ardor is clearly felt and at just the right beat, not too mopey and just the exact touch of clingy.
MacKenzie Vernacchio (organ), Paul Jenkins (guitar, bass), and Mark Bordenet (drums) are the other members of the band and they make some of the band’s best music when performing a sing-along like the EP’s closing “A Bullet Painted Red.” It almost takes you back to those campfire nights with your friends, only thinking of being around nature and not of city life. Surrounded by people you care about, covered by towering trees, sitting on dirt, and lighted only by fire doesn’t get more instinctually bare than that. (Blogcritics.org review).

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Pop.
Country : U.S.A.
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The Rosewood Thieves - Honey, Stay Awhile

The River Detectives - Saturday Night, Sunday Morning (1989)

2008-09-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

Sam Corry and Daniel O'Neil grew up in Craigneuk, Motherwell, where they spent their early years as playground rivals. This rivalry continued throughout the 1980's as their respective bands competed for gigs in the Scottish music scene. A mutual admiration for Bob Dylan and Neil Young, country music and classic guitar bands like Television and Creedence Clearwater Revival eventually brought them together as THE RIVER DETECTIVES.
In 1988 the duo moved to Glasgow, ditched their TV and played more than 100 shows from Stirling to Shetland. By the end of the year they became the first Scottish act in more than a decade to sign for American giants Warner Bros. The events leading to their breakthrough began in 1985, when the newly formed duo decided to adopt a YEAR ZERO approach in their listening habits.
Armed with their first set of songs they were now ready to recruit a band. The first line up consisted of Dan on drums and vocals, Sam on guitar and vocals, with Bernie Doris on bass and Gary Roberts on guitar. On August 18 th 1986 at Jack Daniels Bar in Motherwell The River Detectives took to the stage for the first time.
With no television to distract them, Sam and Dan spent most of their time writing the songs that would comprise their debut album, Saturday Night Sunday Morning. Throughout the year the band played both acoustic and electric shows, building a reputation as one of Scotland's top live acts. Numerous radio appearances and press reviews soon confirmed them as contenders.
By the end of the year the River Detectives had played 96 shows and had recorded the demos for their first album. After a show in Glasgow's QM University in October, the band found themselves with no shortage of offers from all the major labels and set off on the road to think things over.
SATURDAY NIGHT SUNDAY MORNING was released on Oct. 1989 and earned the band a worldwide fan base, as well as a silver disc for UK sales. The songs were mostly autobiographical, chronicling their lives in Craigneuk, Motherwell, a steel town decimated by job losses during the Thatcher years.
CHAINS proved to be the biggest hit from the album, and the duo set off on what would become almost a decade of extensive worldwide touring. Their first overseas promotional tour took them off to Canada, Sweden and Ireland in order to perform live and on various television shows.
In the UK the band made over two dozen TV appearances, most notably on the Wogan show, while their live performances included sell out shows at Glasgow's Pavilion theatre and the Marquee in London. The band stayed with WEA for three years, and although only one album was released, THE RIVER DETECTIVES recorded and released over 40 songs for the label.

Genre : Indie Pop, Folk Pop, Folk Rock
Country : Scotland
Label : Vital Records UK
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River Detectives - Saturday Night Sunday Morning

The Rhinos - Year of the Rhinos (2003)

2008-09-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

The Rhinos have delivered a record that contains perhaps the highest "jangle" quotient in Rainbow Quartz history.
Year of the Rhinos was recorded in their home country of Sweden. The record blends Byrds-like guitars with Hollies-esque vocals -- mixing a combination of ingratiating melodies and a solid rock 'n' roll attitude. Not forgetting the jangly guitars and the close vocal harmonies.
The Rhinos are Pontus Bengtsson (drums), Lasse Hindberg (guitar, vocals), Björn Persson (guitar, vocals) and Göran Frennesson (bass).

The Rhinos, Sweden's supreme masters of jangle pop, were formed in the spring of 2000 by Lasse Hindberg (guitar, vocals) and two friends, Pontus Bengtsson (drums), and Goran Frennesson (bass). A few months later, they were joined by Bjorn Persson (guitar, vocals), expanding The Rhinos' line-up to a full four-piece band. Encouraged by the response to a demo sent to a Canadian producer, Pig Productions, the year before, Lasse and his friends started to play around with some of his songs to see what could be done with them. One song, "I Still Feel the Pain", was discovered and adored by Serbian radio DJ Goran Obradovic (host of the "Popism" radio show), who contacted Lasse and persuaded him to send his songs to Rainbow Quartz, a NYC-based record label run by Jim McGarry. A batch of demos was sent (including "On Bus No.9" and "She's A Lucky Girl"), and soon a record was in the making.
As the band was invited to play at the CMJ Festival in New York City, the summer of 2002 saw the entry of Leif Svensson as lead singer and front man, now making The Rhinos a five-piece band. The trip to New York was a huge success, and the Rhinos' first album "Year Of The Rhinos" was released in October 2003. It was very well received by critics and audiences alike, including a favourable review in USA Today. The band has been compared by music critics to giants like The Byrds and The Hollies, due to two of the band's trademarks being the 12-string Rickenbacker sound and the three-part harmonies.

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Sweden
Label : Rainbow Quartz

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The Hang Ups - The Hang Ups (2003)

2008-09-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

On their first outing in four years, Minneapolis' the Hang Ups pick up where they left off on 1999's Second Story. Hang Ups is an album of irresistible melodies, smart lyrics, and near-perfect pop arrangements rooted firmly in the Beatles and the Kinks. With its jumping piano and sweet harmonies, not to mention a heartbreaking falsetto leap on the chorus, "One of These Days" wouldn't have been out of place on Revolver, and melancholy "Avalon" would have fit right in on The Village Green Preservation Society (the fact that Brian Tighe can sound a whole lot like Ray Davies doesn't hurt). It's that melancholy that ultimately gives the Hang Ups' songs their legs; even the most upbeat tunes here ("It's All True," "It's Like It Used to Be") are suffused with a bittersweet quality that make the hooks linger in your mind long after the last fade-out. Teenage Fanclub and the Posies might have achieved more notoriety doing the same thing in the '90s, but they never did it any better than the Hang Ups did then or again do now. (Fans of the Hang Ups early records take note: original drummer and frequent songwriter Stephen Ittner appears on vocals on four of the tracks here, and plays drums on "Blue Residence.") ~ Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, All Music Guide

"The Hang Ups take a huge step forward on their fourth album. This is lush sing-along music- the 'bah bah bahs' of 'One of These Days,' the dreamy pageantry of 'Deep Pool' and the delicate horn solo on 'Avalon' make Tighe's wistful pop songs even sweeter. Music this luminous will muffle winter's chill and make you walk down the street with a lilt in your step."(MEREDITH OCHS) Rollingstone.com

Genre : Indie Pop, Power Pop, Psychedelic Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Trampoline Records
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The Meadows - The Meadows (2005)

2008-09-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles-based duo The Meadows don't just have all the right influences (Pete Yorn, Teenage Fanclub Ryan Adams and The Jayhawks) in check on their self-titled debut, they've also got a stunning knack for songcraft. Boasting alternating frontmen Todd Herfindal (ex-Blue Sky Roadster and Single) and Kevin Houlihan (formerly of The Fundamentals and Moontower), the pair join forces to assert -- through this resourceful and immediately charming 12-song cycle -- that they've spent enough time in almost-famous bands. From the heaven-sent, swooning of "Been So Long" to the tender, reflective "Younger Yesterday", The Meadows' take on guitar pop --bolstered by thumbs-up harmonies and ace arrangements -- can be as dazzling "Turn It Around" as it is exhilarating "Dreamer". 4.5 Stars out of 5 -Highly recommended. (AMG review).

"This duo magically turns out one catchy song after the other. The Meadows can do one thing, and they do that bloody well. The opening song Been So Long straightaway is beautiful and in fact none of the other 11 songs on the cd is any less. The other attraction with the Meadows is that after a few concentrated listening sessions you get the feeling you've known the songs a lot longer than you actually have." -Wiebren Rijkeboer

". . .Strong deeply melodic songs, simple yet moving, not ruined in production, fresh yet atmospheric. The Meadows relate tales of love and life. . .just bloody superb emotionally charged song bombs . . pulsating drums, bass, vocals, and a movement that will never fade away, give up, or fail you. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. . . just class. . . Applause please. 5 Stars" -Marco Gandolfi

Genre : Power Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Single Recordings
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Dipsomaniacs - Stethoscopic Notion (2001)

2008-09-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

You can call this record an exercise in retro. But you'd be missing the point. The psych-pop of this Norwegian band demonstrates how modern production techniques in the hands of talented songwriters can breathe new life into a classic style of the past. Dipsomaniacs are quite familiar with how bands like The Beatles 'bounced' tracks to make four tracks sound like four times as many. They also have learned how to use ProTools to their advantage. The result, as heard on this album, is a superb sounding recording that is dense and rich with sonic elements and wiggy textures. With each play, more flowers bloom - this may be the headphone album for 2001.
The wizardry is not smoke and mirrors - it is applied to a great set of songs. Reference points? There are scads of them, most of which hint at the feel of the songs, as the band has a distinctive sound. While The Beatles, Beach Boys and Byrds can be found in the gene pool, you can also find daubs of S.F. Sorrow-era Pretty Things, Love and loads of Nuggets-era sorcery. Contemporaries would include Rockfour, The Orgone Box and the more psych-side of XTC.
The band flies eight miles high on "Fair-Weather Friend", with the rhythm section playing forebodingly in the background, while the requisite jangle wafts to the forefront. The band makes some unique melodic choices that stamp the tune as their own, at times giving the tune a Revolver-era Harrison aspect. The song leaps further into brilliance with an instrumental middle with mariachi horns and a guitar solo that is both fuzzy and twangy - fwangy or twuzzy, I guess.
"Feet of Clay" is an acoustic number with an immediate hook. Though the tune is a languid acoustic number, with Robert Skjaervik's lovely bass playing, what sounds like a pedal steel, but might be a processed sitar or even the theremin, and loads of keyboard embellishments. Oyvind Holm sings "been a while since I was nine/still I'm just like a child at times/when jealousy comes creeping in/like poison" in a manner that the defeat is palpable, but you will still find yourself singing along.
One of the most powerful tunes is "Of Reaching Out", which also sets up an ominous mood. The intro sounds like one of Jeff Lynne's compositions for The Move, the band slowly ascending up the melody line. This pattern repeats until the lead guitar manages to release that bit of tension, though the guitar line is equally tense (and sharply played), before stopping and leaping into a more melodic chorus that still has a constricted feel as horns swirl around the vocals - and after tuning you in and turning you on, the song drops out. Silence for a moment and back on to the spooky carousel. The song is a nightmare aurally constructed. Dipsomaniacs find beauty in the imploding horror.These songs are examples of how the band constructs detailed tapestries. Everything is precisely thought out, but the album never sounds fussy or lifeless. Moreover, the lyrics are acute and provide evidence that this is more than an exercise in style, but rather a use of style to help convey emotions and ideas. I think this is a splendid record, and in saying that, I may be underrating it. One of the best albums of 2001. (Fufkin.com review).

Genre : Psychedelic Pop, Psychedelic Rock, Neo Psychedelia
Country : Norway
Label : Camera Obscura

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The Nerk Twins - Either Way (1997)

2008-09-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Jeff Murphy (Shoes) and Herb Eimerman team up to produce this jangle-pop collection of tunes that takes a melodic approach, ala The Everly Brothers meets Tom Petty during The Beatles White album sessions.

It was John Lennon and Paul McCartney who first used the name, playing as a duo in 1960. The new Nerk Twins are Jeff Murphy, long a member of the Chicago pop-rock cult band Shoes, and musician Herb Eimerman. Both play guitars and many other instruments, including piano, violin, and clarinet. In fact, they sing or play virtually everything on this album except for drums and a few harmonies provided by Murphy's fellow Shoes, John Murphy and Gary Klebe. Most of the Murphy and Eimerman originals on Either Way evoke the sound of 1964-66, when bands like the Beatles and the Byrds combined rock-and-roll drive, Motown melodicism, and folk harmonies into an invigorating whole. Since the Nerk Twins were born in 1966, Eimerman explains, this style is their birthright. "We were conceived from the pop music of the British invasion, breast-fed on psychedelia, and weaned on power pop'' he says. The pseudonymous Twins' official history, which claims that "they spent years busking on the streets,'' is fiction (as is their image, which has never included a photograph of the band). But the appeal of their music is real. "Stay Away" recalls the youthful ebullience of the Hollies, "Dream for Love" evokes the aching, country-tinged melancholy of the Byrds, and "On & On & On" recaptures the hillbilly ethereality of the Everly Brothers. Either Way also features a few welcome changes of pace: "I'm Broke" growls rhythm and blues, "2 Women" and "Ugly" have an old-fashioned Appalachian twang, and "I Love Jamaica" combines doo-wop vocals with Caribbean syncopation in a way that suggests Paul Simon's The Rhythm of the Saints. Most of these songs, however, jangle their way into a ecstatic tradition that includes not only the Beatles and their contemporaries but also the Raspberries, Big Star, Tom Petty, and the Travelin’ Wilburys. While their roots and influences may not be cutting-edge, the music offered up on Either Way provides an excellent reminder of the musical vitality of an earlier era.

Genre : Jangle Pop, Folk Rock
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Broken Records
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Tripsitter - California Son (2004)

2008-09-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

Trispitter was formed in 2002 by brothers Jon and Jeff Celentano. They began writing their own music as a way to break out of the lounge lizard and cover band world of their newly adopted home of Las Vegas. Both had spent time on the cocktail/private party circuit and realized there was more to be had from a career in music than just playing for tourists and gambling addicts at 2am on a Wednesday. Thus Tripsitter was born.
The band released their self-titled debut EP in 2003 and ripsitter is without a doubt the wrong music for the tquickly garnered critical praise. Comparisons to the Beach Boys, Beatles, Queen and Ben Folds Five were common among fans and critics. The disc’s signature sound was full-on Beach Boys style harmony wedded to sparkly Brit-Pop guitars and driving piano. The Las Vegas Weekly said of “Tripsitter”, 'If Tripsitter isn't to become a Big Thing, it's only because popular music today is too damn small.' Positive reviews in the Las Vegas City Life, College Web Magazine and other publications followed. Propelled by Jeff and Jon’s powerfully emotive singing and creative vision the group was ready to take to the stage, bringing their five-part harmonies and quirky, well crafted songs to live audiences.

Tripsitter’s second release, California Son came out in 2005. The new disc presented a more diverse sounding group of songs, from the ethereal “Divine” to the boy-meets-girl, boy-can’t-seal-the-deal lament of “Banana Split” to the title track, an homage to pop genius Brian Wilson. The core of it all, though, remains the stellar vocals and playing of the Celentano brothers and top flight musicianship of Matt Bennett (drums/vocals), Rusty Petersen (guitar/vocals) and Jared Dalley (guitars). California Son continues the string of glowing reviews, this time on a larger scale; California Son made the year-end top ten lists of several publications, including The Big Takeover, Goldmine and the Decatur (Ill.)

Sonically speaking, Tripsitter is what you'd get if Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, Freddie Mercury and Ben Folds joined forces in some strange alternate musical universe. Clearly, they look to the past for inspiration all the while keeping a close eye on the present in order to help shape their future.

Genre : Indie Pop, Sunshine Pop, Psychedelic Pop.
Country : S.U.A.
Label : SideBMusic
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The Green Fields - Melodies For Afternoon (2003)

2008-09-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

The Green Fields is the alias of Asheville, NC-based songwriter Chris Mondia. The Melodies For Afternoon album, primarily recorded by Chris himself, has been compared to such artists as Brian Wilson and his work with the Beach Boys, The Byrds, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, The Millennium, Gene Clark and Gram Parsons.

"This release has been flying underneath the indie pop radarscope for too long! Kudos to Bruce Brodeen at Not Lame for discovering this gem and making it available to pop fans! Toss in some strong Canyon Rock influences (everything from Dillard & Clark, the Sweetheart-era Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers to contemporary artists like the Beachwood Sparks), some Southern California sunshine pop, some solo Gene Clark references (check out the acoustic guitar lead-in to "The Queen Of Nine Worthies") and some Simon & Garfunkel-styled harmonies on "Golden Afternoon" and you've got one exceptional disc. Jangle'n'twang enthusiasts will love the blending of pedal steel guitar with 12-string guitar riffs. Let's keep our fingers crossed that there is a sophomore effort from these young and very talented artists!---Flufkin.com"

"The dusky haze of an afternoons picnic, the place California, the time, 1960s, sideburns, women in flowery shift dresses with golden afternoon light bathing them - this is this record in essence. Nostalgia for a simpler past, beautiful warm guitar tones and a painstaking eye for detail, the Byrds at their gentlest, hints of the Searchers, pedal steel like a distant freight train, all the lushness of a California harvest, tambourines and sleigh bells, the instrumental Tree & Leaf with its brass embellishments can hold its own in any company... "---Americana UK magazine

Genre : Folk Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : U.S.A.
Label : Self-released
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Beachfield - Brighton Bothways (2007)

2008-09-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine?" - An album that starts with that question can't be so bad.
That's what pop is about, after all: imagination. "Can you imagine," asks Glenn Thompson, just a second and a half into his debut album, and forty minutes of imagination and inspiration follow. Imagination and inspiration blossom in their own way, far from the centers of pop, in the "splendid isolation" of Australia. There Glenn Thompson was the drummer in one of the most inspired and inspiring bands since the invention of the guitar: The Go-Betweens, whom NME called "a dream of what a pop group should be." A dream of a pop group with two coequal and yet so different singer-songwriters, Grant McLennan and Robert Forster. The dream ended in May 2006 with McLennan's sudden death. Now we know that the Go-Betweens had a third highly talented auteur. That Forster and McLennan could not tolerate a third songwriter, when Forster had to tolerate McLennan and McLennan Forster, is understandable somehow. And so Glenn Thompson saved his songs for his own coming out. Welcome to the enchanting and sometimes strange world of Beachfield.
Beachfield? Sounds almost like a Go-Betweens song, but in fact it is Glenn Thompson's new one-man-with-a-little-help-from-his-friends-band. But let's stop talking about his ex-band now. Better to recall what can happen when drummers step out from behind their cover and get behind a microphone with their own songs. Iggy Pop was one case, Maureen Tucker a very special one, and Robert Wyatt a tragic one with great consequences. So, never underestimate the drummer who goes independent!
Like the great band that shall no longer be mentioned here, Beachfield is also a little inconspicuous, and like that band his inconspicuousness turns out to be elegant understatement. Glenn Thompson tells stories from the everyday lives of the people next door, writes an insightful critic, but he is looking through the wrong end of the telescope. Listening to it causes a series of deja vu experiences about which one remains uncertain: Hey, isn't that the beginning of "My Sweet Lord"? Or "I don't want to talk about it"? Yeah, but the Crazy Horse original. And do people in Australia know this odd combo called Smokie?
Such deja vus flash up, only to disappear again in these nearly perfect song postcards. Postcards? The band that shall not be mentioned had one single on the Postcard label, whose slogan was "The Sound of Young Scotland." That's a place where people understand a certain euphoric melancholy that certain Beachfield songs exude as well. Aztec Camera wunderkind Roddy Frame in particular was an artist of this emotional register. You get carried away like that by "Brighton Bothways," something that doesn't happen that often, after all. You go into raptures, make comparisons and remember, and you hear Glenn Thompson sing about picking up fallen leaves in the road and putting them back on the tree: "it's winter time again" . . . songs about seasons and the weather are among the most difficult to pull off, and the band that shall not be mentioned was great at it as well. Beachfield carries on the tradition.

Genre : Indie Pop, Jangle Pop
Country : Australia
Label : Tuition
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