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Monday 18 March 2024

James Clarke Five - Zoom And The Gadflies

 

I wasn't always about the new and came to the internet reviewing world quite late in 2005. I was involved in a place called Anything Should Happen (hence the IDHAS email) that celebrated the under appreciated, but in a lost or long deleted album sort of way. We celebrated James Clarke Five as much as is humanly possible without exploding with enthusiasm.

So it was delightful to see the release of Parlor Sounds in 2019 and that appeared in our Best 100 Albums of that year. You can read the album review here. I've talked enough in the past of my adoration of intelligent Indie, so suffice to say that the Ex Cherry Boy fits that bill and more.

Zoom And The Gadflies is an album of two halves, not that a JC5 ever could be that completely because every song is inventively different. But it does apply here, because in visiting the types of music that influenced him listening wise the direction changes. There are no need for cover songs when you have as wandering mind as Jimmy Hughes.



It gets Electronic as the album progresses, simply because his influences did. What is not in doubt is that everything works. The Indie is still melodic, but incredibly left field. The Electro or Synth Pop is really really catchy. 

Over those first songs you get the Adam And The Ants Burundi Beat of (Who's Been On The) Big Rock Candy, The Protectors TV Theme like Ghost and the Acoustic Pop Rock (with a nod to George Michael's Faith) of Pineapple Rock that incorporates a stomping chorus and a Psych Pop riff.



Add in the Piano Jazz of Manhattan Rock, the wonderful UK Glam Rock of Gadfly Groove and the fairground joy of D'You Not Think with another killer chorus. The remaining five songs are very different, but as enjoyable. 

It's Been So Long is great 80s Synth Pop, incredibly catchy and Buddy and Joe is cinema organ like twang. Zoomdust is short and ethereal and Hot Chicory Bop is an Electro Funk instrumental. All of this is rounded out by the splendid Pop Rock of Goodbye Patience. Absolutely Wonderful!



You can listen to and buy the album here.


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Wesley Fuller - All Fuller No Filler

 


I can't believe that we are in the 7th year since Wesley Fuller's debut album, Inner City Dream. You can read our review here. He's lost none of his accessibility. This second album is as catchy as catchy can be with great big singalong choruses.

This will be labelled as Power Pop, but it seems more Pop Rock, 70s Pop Rock is the base and it successfully treads that line between Easy Listening and great Pop that those great 70s bands did successfully, in fact it does far more than that.



The Velvet Affair does this most successfully. It is great Pop Rock, but with big hints of Psych Pop. Jacaranda follows a similar suit, swapping Psych with Jangle this time. Everything Is Strange, however, is all US 60s Sunshine Pop, brilliantly so.

Trade War rocks proceedings considerably towards 70s New Wave, but All Of My Dreams is splendid UK Top Of The Pops Glam Rock. The gentle psych riff on Inside And Out is countered by great catch all harmonic Pop, particularly on the chorus.



Counting Down The Days is great all together now Pop with a fine arrangement and a chorus that is very ELO. The album is at its best when it is at its jauntiest. Back To Square One is a great example with its 1974-ish vocal matched to a more progressive arrangement and spacey keyboard run.

And if you want a stomping ear worm that will stay in your head all year then you should hear Alamein Line. All Fuller Not Filler is superb at what it does and that is great Guitar led Pop. If I am being hypercritical,I have just one minor quibble and that is the drum sound which is way too mechanical and holds back the overall feel a little bit. But this album is an absolute winner.



You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl. The CD is available on the Kool Kat label here.


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Listening To This Week Playlist



Welcome to another week of top notch songs. A slightly smaller 23 offerings have been selected this week.

There is no song preference in track order, just what we think flows.  I do hope that you can listen to all the songs across this week. The last listed is as great as the first and you have all week to listen. This weekly playlist is solely for submissions, not the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves.

All embeds open in new windows to aid scrolling. Links to the artists will also appear on I Don't Hear A Single Social Media sites over the next 24 hours. This will help you to discover more about the artists who appear here. Thank you for supporting the new music from Indie artists.


Custard Flux - Right Now Here In Time




Steve Conte - We Like It




The Society Of Rockets - Doors Are Opening




Tragic Love Company - Bonnie And Clyde




Solitary Bee - Love Wakes Up




Dan Parker's Damage Report - I Can See the Moon




Jason Lyles - Deflated




Gabe Ziro - Now It's Over




Raging Sons - Black Room




The School Book Depository - Landmine Fall




SPIN KLASS - Fanfare for the Common Sense




Tyler Hutton - The Answer




Kyle Poppen - Anyone But You




Kama Tala - The Late Design





Holy Fool - Ache





Spinafex - A Little Bit




NEPS - Lessons For Your Life





The Dirty Vultures - 5 Shot .38




From Atoms - Material World




Alex Couch - Bye Bye




One Friend - Sharks




Flamingos - Everything's Pink




SoundDrive - Power Of Love





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Sunday 17 March 2024

Eyelids - No Jigsaw

 


We love Portland's Eyelids. As proof, you can read our review of last year's album, A Colossal Waste Of Light here. This is something different across 26 songs that fill a double LP celebrating their 10 Year career. This isn't a Best Of, but a collection of rarities and outtakes that reveal even more about the band and their influences.

Contained within are unreleased recent songs, outtakes and long lost 7 inch releases. It is a great mix of originals and covers sitting side by side. It is obviously a big listen, but a highly rewarding one. Long time associate Peter Buck even takes Lead Vocal on It Hurts Me Too, an Elmore Janes song.



Taking some of the originals first, the band have never been afraid to Jangle or even out TFC Teenage Fanclub and Masterpiece (Wanna Die) and Psych #1b do that respectively. Polar Bear is all happy clappy Jaunty Guitar Pop.

The title track is top notch gentle Psych Pop, Cannon And Dee is beautifully Acoustic and Maybe More is so Dropkick. The covers are a selection of the great and the should be, some are faithful, others inspired. The version of Seven Seas is lightened up and jangled splendidly. 



There has to be a special mention for the cover of one of my favourite songs ever, The Clean's Anything Can Happen. Holiday Innn is wonderful, part Synth Pop, part UK Indie New Wave. The band's take on Enjoy The Silence is faithful yet surprising as is the choice of The Cars' Let The Good Times Roll.

No Jigsaw gives you a big look into the slightly off kilter world of Eyelids. They do the straight ahead so well, but there is a mischievousness that allows them to experiment. They have always ploughed their own field and long may that continue.



You can listen to and buy the album here.


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Clay Cambeck - Psychoboy Transition

 

Cambeck was Claudio Cambedda of The White Paper, who had been an Italian Beatles Tribute Band who turned to writing their own songs. After 2 EPs and 2 albums, the band split and Cambeck went solo. The White Paper's two albums have been recently remastered on the excellent Gare Du Nord label.

But we concentrate on the third of Gare Du Nord's releases which is a compilation of Dambeck's solo work in which he explores his influences beyond the Liverpool lads. This of course enters into prime territory and fascination with all things Psych Pop.



And Psychoboy Transition races from the stalls with the opener, The Other Side Of Mars which is all 1967 UFO Club Toytown wonderment. I Got A Sunshine again feels of the period, but also gives big hints of the second half of the 80s Indie Scene that discovered the genre.It is even a little Bowie-esque at times.

All The Roads To Himalaya is more traditional 60s Beat Psych Pop, a little White Album maybe. Shocked Clone edges a little towards Pop Rock, but at times it is delivered Torch song like vocally. Yet I Can't Play Anymore starts all Liverpool Express and then ventures into splendid Prog.



Algorithm is more like a soundscape. All chilled out and melancholic moodiness. But it is the Psych that stands out most. Where's The Trombone / 40 Tailcoats is a magnificent example of Psych that adds Prog Brass and Space Rock at will. It is truly superb.

But the stand out is Claps And Stamps. Whereas the latter is intentionally chaotic, this is one of the finest examples of Toytown that you are likely to hear and underlines how addictive and Pop led that genre can be. This collection is awe inspiring in its inventiveness.



You can listen to and buy the album here.


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Dan Parker's Damage Report - I Can See the Moon

 

One of the joys of doing this thing is coming across something unexpected. Amongst the connections that bring a lot to here are surprise submissions and amongst the good, the bad and the ugly, a gem can emerge and here is one.

Dan Parker is a New York Therapist who teamed up with Alan Weatherhead of Sparklehorse and more fame and has fashioned a great Pop Rock debut album. I initially came across him via a submission for the Listening To This Week submission as a growing amount of potential album releases are. 

The result of that is that the title track appears on tomorrow's weekly episode. The album is very American fayre, Petty-esque at times. It is a little gentle, but splendidly arranged and performed, extremely melodic with highly memorable choruses.



There is a linking theme about the human condition, but that is more in the background as the songs take centerstage. At times, there is a feel of Jeff Lynne's Armchair Theatre album, but there are also some wonderful Country instrumental interruptions. 

Unhinged, for instance is particularly Petty with a wonderful twang, but also adds a surprise violin / fiddle run. LFF is much more melancholic and particularly moody, but it breaks into a magnificent mellotron run and again adds a cracking twang.



My Friend has another big production, this time more 80s with a rockier guitar arrangement that makes you suspect that Parker could rock out if he needed, he just doesn't wish to. He makes you wait until the very end for the rockier Sorry I'll Try and that excels. It gets very Jeff Lynne at this point.

Lidocaine is the big number and that brings together everything that Parker is great at. I Can See The Moon is a wonderful debut, beautifully written and arranged songs. This is the sort of album that used to be released at well, not so much these days, so you notice when something is top notch and this is.



You can listen to and buy the album here. The album is also available on Vinyl.


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Wednesday 13 March 2024

Brent Seavers - Exhibit B

 

The Decibels' Brent Seavers ventures out on his second solo album just three years after his debut, BS Stands For and it is a cracker. The multi instrumentalist masters Guitar Pop from the late 50s up until the present day.

Although he is more than comfortable moving around the dial, it is New Wave Power Pop that he excels, although the diversions are maybe even more interesting. Surrounded by a melody overload and great riffs, his gentle-ish vocal suits the material perfectly and what a selection of material it is. 



From the straight ahead Power Pop of Roller Coaster Ride to the 60s Beat led Psych Pop of Fuzz Off, there is not a duff song in sight. The UK New Wave stand out is the magnificent The Noble Cause, all 1978 with a Steve Nieve like Organ rounding things off.

It could be Nieve again on The Universe And I and the pair of songs sitting together form a great central point to the album and probably mark the album's high point. Both are built around top notch riffs, big choruses and add a fine solo.



Push Me Down is great 60s UK Beat, yet Evolves is great Mod Pop. Of Poetry is more the 90s second wave of 90s Power Pop, but Her could come from one of the great Pop Rock albums of the 70s. Till It's Over is a really jaunty all together now affair with a killer solo.

Lullaby is prime time Merseybeat and even late 50s at times and Stumbling could be Squeeze. I can't help thinking of Latter day The Jam listening to the closer, Raining In My Head. Great Pop Rock isn't that easy to find nowadays, this is that and more. Wonderful!



You can listen to and buy the album here. The CD is on the Kool Kat label and can be bought here


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