The Rare Occasions - Through Moonshot Eyes

 

I'm not one for predictions, but I will get on my soapbox and say that The Rare Occasions are going to be massive. They are already on their way as the followers show and that grows and grows with the reaction to their current Tour.

I listen a lot to the new arrivals in Indie Rock and although I am delighted about the return of the Guitar band only a few years after being told that the instrument was dead. Yet so much of it is mediocre, if that, the next band sounding the same as the last one. So many seem to want to be Oasis and although they are gonna tour again, that time is approaching 3 decades ago. 

These three are the real deal. It isn't exactly my Future Of Rock And Roll moment, anyway the trio leans far more towards Pop. The trio hail from New England, now reside in Los Angeles and sound so Brit. They have a mastery of Guitar Pop that covers everything from the Glasgow Bands to Brit Pop to now.

Everything is just so great sounding. Great variance, a big sound, a maturity beyond their years and an ability to come at songs from different angles, yet be so dynamic and melodic. The opener, Mr Bubbles, could be a great lost Brit Pop song, but Brit Pop just appears in glances thereafter.

They also have that knack of turning songs on their heads by changing tack part way through a song, the almost Space Rock of Hummingbird being a fine example. Bury The Knife could be Franz Ferdinand and Black Ballons could be a less pompous version of The Killers.

Darling, The Planets is the song that introduced us to The Rare Occasions with its ace angular feel. Through Moonlight Eyes is the best debut album that I've heard in a long time. Follow the link and see if you think I'm right. Just remember my words in 2026!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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The Nature Strip - Domesticated Beast

 

I suppose that for all our adventures around Indie and more, if we had a centre point, it would be intelligent melodic Guitar led Pop. Bands that are not of the lyrically banal, magpie, riff gathering persuasion. Here's a fine example of what I mean.

The Sydney quartet master the catchy with bigger than expected arrangements and gentle-ish vocals, but wrap surprisingly adept lyrics around instrumental excellence. If the past few years have been dominated by great Canadian albums, this year feels like the resurgence of Australia. 

Australia used to more than hold its own Power Pop wise, but it seemed to be overtaken by a mixture of Blues Rock and melodic Indie Pop. Add into that passive Psych and Prog, too many bands wanting to be King Gizzard. Vocalists seemed to want to be Jimmy Barnes or Neil Finn. Now the fightback is on.

You've already heard Wavelength on Listening To The Week and that is one of the singles of the year. The Nature Strip's fourth album adds 11 more songs and what songs they are! The variety on display is both delightful and a little jaw dropping at times.

You get Brass laden Summer Pop with Prime Time and even more Brass on the smooth 80s sounding Surgery. Sixth Sense is great 60s UK Beat Pop whilst Signature Move is more 70s Pop Rock and The Big Chorus gets close to Yacht Rock.

Baby Beast is all Psych Pop and there really should be more Mouth Organ in Indie Rock. Monday (Roll The Dice Forever) could easily be on an 80s Teen Movie Soundtrack and this lot can Rock testified by the superb opener, I Cannot Deny You which Jangles like a good 'un.

Both Wavelength and Prime Time even encroach into more recent Andy Partridge territory which is no bad thing. Domesticated Beast is an absolute belter of an album. An explanation at joyful Pop can be and how it can change the weariest of minds into something far more positive.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Listening To This Week Playlist

A nice unrounded number of 31 songs this week. Another crackerjack selection. Feels a bit Guitar Pop this week, but there are major exceptions. 

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 plenty of time 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. 

The Low Sixes - Turn On The Night

Sharp Class - Lights Out

Benny P - Some Days

The Bad Ups - Better Than You

The Successful Failures - Future Employers

The Meanies - Zamboni

Lawrence J-P - Walking But We've Got Our Bikes

Pullstring - Deadline

Creem Circus - Playgirl

Grand Belmont - Lie To Yourself

Who Saved Who - Pictures Have Sound

Hazel Terrace - Revelation

Andrew Gabbard - Magic Taxi

Grizzly Coast - Two Balloons

The Convertibles - Last October

Jonny And The Fellow Revellers - I Hope We Make It

Soft On Crime - Way Facing

Lost Henry - Fox & Goose

Current Swell - Peacekeeper

Michael Younker - Heart Control

Adulting - Sprung Leaks

7 Door Sedan - Juniper

Novelistme - Stop Think Conspiracy

The Backfires - Release It All

Ram Vela & The Easy Targets - Life Is Rigged

Jim Bell with Koach Mike - Stage Fright

Zerobridge - Refugee Citizen

Samuel Manning - All That's Forsaken Is Fading Away

Plastic Valley - Joshua Tree

Polyfillas - Own Youth Movement

Andy Martin - Exactly Where I'm Supposed To Be

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The Successful Failures - Enemy Sublime

The 11th Studio album from The Successful Failures and the Trenton, New Jersey quartet know what they are about. Mick Chorba's vocal is so distinctive and lends itself to what ever direction he wants to take. Be that Indie Rock, Power Pop, Classic Rock and Americana.

You are always going to hear some awesome Electric Guitar, be it riffs or solos. This is never more so here and on Future Employers, it may the best ever Guitar Rock song that they've ever added to an album, it is a mind bending guitar fest, yet never plank spanking, it is so damn melodic.

Yet the band's well known versatility can offer the Americana Twang of Costume Party and the Country Rock and Roll all together now with Sad x Bad x Three. Then there's the Classic Rock of Alone In Texas and the Power Pop of Tell Me Again.

Yet they can be incredibly gentle, witnessed by Face The Face and they can Jangle with the best of them as on A Song Is Always On My Mind. Adelaide is great Pop Rock, again riff heavy, but with a Country slant. 

Worried All The Time is as heavy as they've ever been, a real rock yer socks affair. I just love this lot as the past reviews here reveal, but there's never been a duff album and the versatility, performances and arrangements are just dynamite.

Chorba's vocals are something that I could listen to forever. This is a Guitar album through and through, but new listeners will find something they like due to the variation. More mainstream than we normally write about maybe and certainly more Rocky, but exceptional in every way.

You can listen to and buy the album here. You can buy it on Vinyl, CD or as a Download.

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The Low Sixes - The Oshawa Tree

 

Canada does it again as Montreal's The Low Sixes release their debut on Chicago's excellent Forge Again Records label. The quartet are no newcomers, coming together after various exploits with other bands, most notably Doughboys, but they have the energy of something much newer, yet reminiscent of previous golden days.

This is rocked up Power Pop delivered at pace with nods to Indie Rock and even Classic Rock. There feels a lot of Cheap Trick in them, but are maybe even rockier and certainly more Power Pop. To call them Pop Rock wouldn't do them justice because they are far more urgent.

Everything that would please a long time I Don't Hear A Single listener is present and superbly dispatched. Massive Riffs, Huge Choruses and Solos that come in (and end) at exactly the right time. Incredibly catchy, but leaving plenty of room to shake your fist.

Talking of Cheap Trick, The Worst Is Yet To Come is probably the best Rick Nielsen song that he hasn't written, even down to the Guitar solo and the Zander like vocal. New Action is the Rockiest song on show, nearing Classic Rock, a little Glam and massive Thin Lizzy style solos. 

The pace only slows down one one of the nine songs, Leave The Radio On and that is no ballad, just a little slower and very FM friendly. On the closer, Smoking Hash All Summer Long, The Low Sixes get very close to The Replacements and add a great Brit Pop change of direction a couple of times.

Teenage Crime Wave may be the best Power Pop song that you will hear this year. The Oshawa Tree is an album that be referenced for years to come. An album like they used to be, a refreshing change from some of the too Kool For Skool nonsense we have been hearing from many Indie bands lately. High marks for the album title pun too. Definitely a Top 10 of the year contender,

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl, CD and as a Download.

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Submissions

 

Just a few Tips For Teens about submissions to IDHAS, mainly to help the artist.

We listen to everything, but if you are sending a download via the likes of Google or Dropbox, it may include folders for WAV and MP3. We are going to listen in MP3 first, but if the folder is just marked "mp3" and when opened only the song titles are tagged, we may love it, but not be able to find who it is by. We get sent so many downloads, that we tend to download in batches and listen to the music as soon as we can. PR People are most guilty of this. 

A reminder that we do not have a Spotify account. It is too late to start one now, so any artist who submits only a Spotify link will not benefit from us linking to that as we don't have Spotify followers. Secondly, without us signing up, we personally cannot listen to the song. We believe that the type of artist we cover, gets zero benefit from Spotify anyway. We want to open doors for artists, not get someone to half listen to their song once.

Also we don't do seasonal music. I think many know my opinion on Christmas music, all that forced jollity and cat sat on the mat lyrics just don't appeal in a what rhymes with snow way. The same applies to Halloween. We used to, but to be honest, there is so much mediocre stuff. There are some great seasonal songs by great artists, but when we have included them in the past, we get snotty replies when we say we don't cover seasonal songs in a well you played them manner. Also, we got inundated with songs we would never play and so it was easier to say we don't do any.

Finally, for Listening To This Week song submissions, a reminder that we don't add Covers of Live songs. Both are welcome for Album or EP Review songs. With 300 or so Playlist submissions a week being narrowed down to 30, we prefer to concentrate on new songs, not covers of old songs. 

.......and on the subject of Tips For Teens!

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Simon Chesterfield - Simon Chesterfield

 

This is absolutely wonderful. Simon Chesterfield of The Chesterfields revisits six of his own songs to reimagine them into Orchestral Versions. Gone is the Jangle Pop and C86 notes as this is magnificent Baroque and Orchestral Pop.

An ensemble of Wessex Musicians were gathered together for the year long project. Charles Harrison's  arrangements are stunning and Chesterfield's vocal remains the focal point despite the arrangements that surround it.

When people tackle this sort of album, they generally fail with the thing sounding sparse or overblown. There isn't a hint of that here. The beauty of the album is the way the strings enhance the song and THAT voice. You recognise the songs, but these are treated in a completely different away.

The strings are a key part obviously, but additions like the Brass  are simply splendid. There is a weeping quality to the arrangements and even when traditional instruments creep in such as the Bass and Drums on Two Buttons, there is never a distraction from the song. Indeed the Brass arrangement on that closer is jaw dropping.

The standout song is Something, slightly mournful, but hypnotic and captivating. Sadness never sounded so good. I'm envious of those attending tonight's Live presentation in Bridport at The Lyric Theatre. This Solo debut is totally memorable.

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl and as a download.

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