Those Looks - Passing Through

 

I, and maybe many more, associate New Jersey with noisy Indie Rock, so to listen to the exact opposite from there was a surprise and a delight. Passing Through is far more relaxed, without ever being boring. I suppose you might call this Indie Pop, but that isn'r half the story.

Those Looks are a quartet that came to our attention via a LTTW Playlist submission, but digging further unearthed the new 5 song offering. Kelly Bolding has the voice of an angel, it completely captivates you. A vocal that you might normally hear on something wistful.

But the quality of both the playing and arrangements take the mini album much farther afield. Palace Of Depression is a magnificent song, more upbeat instrumentally, verging on Jangle Pop with a catch all chorus, revealing a different side of the band.

All This Room is more laidback, but built around another fine arrangement and a weeping Guitar solo that captivates. In Tongues gets even moodier, Bossa Nova at times with a far away feel to another great Guitar sound and adding a wonderful harmonic chorus.

Bolding's vocal has a more fragile tone on Anti-Muse, a song that feels more Pop Rock, a little Fleetwood Mac. Passing Through has another ace arrangement, very hypnotic and a little melancholic. It is the song that introduced me to the band.

It is a brave choice as an opener, particular with the jauntiness on show elsewhere, but it really showcases the strength of the harmonies and the inspiring Guitar sound. The whole thing is a great fulfilling listen. This is the reason that I love what I do, there is always an element of surprise to delight.

You can listen to and buy Passing Through here. It is available on CD or as a download.

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Proper - Meant To Say Something

 

There seems to be a real revival of later 70s UK New Wave and The Sound Of Woking, including Mod Pop, all well and good, as long as the quality is there, something that could be lacking in its original days as the wave allowed a good deal of mediocrity away from the top notch.

Fortunately, Proper are the real thing and being on the excellent Spinout Nuggets label will help them enormously. The quartet have been around a decade and developed an excellent live reputation that has not translated to the volume of recordings that the band undoubtedly deserve.

They are also able to translate the sound away from New Wave into 60s UK Beat and the mid 80s Indie pre C86. Proper know what they are about with a superb rhythm section and a twin guitar formation that has no problem leading with riffs or branching out into something more noisier instrumentally.

This allows them to be comfortable in Post Punk and these boys can play. Extended outros reveal both that  and how tight the four of them are. No song outlasts its welcome, three minute gems that grip you and hypnotise at will.

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

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Listening To This Week Playlist

Another cracking 25 song playlist to see you into June. As well as the traditional version, we have put the playlist on Spotify and you will see the link below. Remember this is early days on Spotify, so the following there is nowhere near our one here. Only 22 of the 25 songs are available on Spotify.

The weekly playlist is largely for submissions, not just the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. The song order is not about song preference, but how the playlist flows.  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 Spotify Version     (The Real Flowerpots, The Four Chords and The Friends are not on Spotify)

Link To Spotify

Fortitude Valley - Sunshine State

The Real Flower Pots - Birdie (Not On Spotify)

PDA - Tantrums

Jeremy & The Harlequins - Up 'n' Down

Barry J Walsh - Suddenly June

Janus 4-14 - Modern Girl

Ruiz! - Always Dreaming

Wonderfun - Picking Up Serena

Yawn Mower - Rascal

Waldo Witt - This (Koyasan 2023)

King Husky - Change Of Heart

Slumber - 1993 (Shake It)

Commander Pilot - Baby C'mon

The High Water Marks - Your Stint In Art School

The Friends - Paralyzed (Not On Spotify)

Moonstand - Training Wheels

The Waupoos Barn Incident - Horror Show: Elon And The Dictator

The Probies - 'Til The End Of Time

SANSOM - Call Me

SANSOM · Call Me

Those Looks - Passing Through

Octopus Knife Fight - Already Broken

Zoë Kilgren - Girls In Skirts

Zoë Kilgren · Girls In Skirts

The Four Chords - Make A Difference (Not On Spotify)

Dread Spectre Council - Hooves & Cloves

Dread Spectre Council · Hooves and Cloves

The Spiral Electric - In Too Deep (Single Version)

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Janus 4-14 - Blue To Infinity. (Bandcamp Name Your Price)

 

As I trailed in the review of Ghosts From Your Past (here) at the start of the month, a new EP was on its way and here it is. We love this lot, one of our main discoveries of the year. Blue To Infinity has the band's feet firmly planted in Indie Rock, yet bar the closer, these six songs sound much more jaunty.

The Title Track sounds like it belongs in the Britpop glory days, all anthem and pace. Modern Girl gets even more upbeat, having a lot in common with the great 80s UK Guitar Pop. It fairly breezes along with a rapid catch all pace.

Tell Her About The World is a much slower smoother affair. A little funky at times, the harmonies are exceptional and the laidback feel breaks things up beautifully with a great guitar solo. It's All Over Now sounds more American.

Americana in fact. Acoustic based, almost a shuffle, almost a campfire song, again underling the variety in the band. I Never Wanna See You Again, as the single, was beloved of LTTW followers, the song is 100mph and doesn't let up.

The closer, Sad & Broken is a real change of mood, sort of Blue Collar, almost Classic Rock. Melancholic but instrumentally beautifully played despite the sadness. I predict a bright future for Janus 4-14, but a lot of that could depend on you.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Dennis Davison - Sirens And Hellbenders

 

I obviously move around many selected genres and enjoy them all, but the love of my life is Psych Pop. No other genre brings the past into the future like it. Essentially Guitar Pop, but with many twists and turns. It may sound very second half of the 60s to some, but that is a failure to appreciate the full scope of arrangements and sheer melody.

Possibly, my favourite band in the genre was The Jigsaw Seen. I don't get to listen to the old these days due to the amount that I deal with in the new, but I still listen to that beloved band. They had largely gone by the time I started IDHAS, but I still managed to sneak in their magnificent compilation, For The Discriminating Completist.

Mainstays of the quartet were founders Dennis Davison and Jonathan Lea. Whereas Lea went on to play with his heroes of the past, Davison, the vocalist, kept the new Psych Pop candle burning with excellent effect. 

His 2020 debut album, The Book Of Strongman,Creaturefeature was in our Best Albums Of The Year, the follow up EP, Creaturefeature, was in our Best EPs of 2023. The gaps plugged by killer singles. Now we have his second album and it is wonderful.

There are interesting diversions, the splendid Invisiblia may be the most pop that Davison ever gets, sounding more late 80s / early 90s, all riff and joyous melody. 536 AD skirts Prog and Winterland's Gone gets all big studio UK Beat ballad.

But it is the Psych Pop that grabs you most. Sensual Summer, Is It The Medicine? and the killer single, Putting Up With People, being great examples, all very different. Sirens And Hellbenders is a corking listen and will be there in the end of year celebrations.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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The High Water Marks - Consult The Oracle

 

This is a celebration of a great band and a great label. The High Water Marks have been around for two decades, but it is through the 2020s that they have become almost prolific. This coincided with the move from a two piece to a quartet,

Any band with Hilarie Sydney is going to be interesting with the Elephant 6 and Apples In Stereo credentials and that duo with Per Ole Bratset provided wonderful if sporadic results. Both are splendid vocalist and whether separate, duetting or joint, they have a way of bewitching you.

The addition of Logan Miller and Oystein Megard has allowed the band to become a formidable unit. Megard may be the drummer, but he is also a multi instrumentalist and his raiding of the instrument cupboard just adds to joy.

The band also a myriad of styles from Indie Pop to Glasgow Guitar Pop, 80s Indie to Psych Pop and all perfectly arranged and performed. The fact that there are two great vocalists just enhances the quality of the songs rather than being the be all and end all.

There is a mellow feel to the songs vocally, Sydney in particular has the voice of an angel, but the arrangements can lead to anything whether it be pace, drive or wistful. There is at times, some wonderful Jangle Pop and everything sounds so chipper.

This is a band at the top of their game, few can match what they come up. This is also an album to listen to from start to finish, hence me unusually not describing any of the songs. A special mention for Álvaro Lissón too. His Meritorio Records Label never ever fails to delight.

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

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The Four Chords - First Idea / Best Idea. (Bandcamp Name Your Price)

 

It is kinda nice to be back in Power Pop land and this offering is great. There is some mystery surrounding the album. Seems to be Royce Williams from Winnipeg although the social media impression given is one of bring a trio.

We've had similar instances in the past and bit by bit uncovered the details, but for now, let's just enjoy a great album. The base sound is one that sounds very UK New Wave Power Pop and it is beautifully done. There are also ventures into the likes of Glam Rock and the likes of Cheap Trick and the 90s Not Lame days.

There are also burst out Melodic Pop Rock solos, but the songs are built on great riffs. Let It Rock has a real Glam Drum stomp, but also sounds so Zander and Nielsen, yet Free Again sounds more Mod Pop. The Vocal on Lies We Tell is almost Costello, but it is accompanied by a Jangling riff and a great solo.

Another Second Lease On Life even gets into the territory of The Knack.Trojan Horse even gets on the Pop side of Psych Pop. There's even room for a closing Acoustic led slowdown, sort of Enuff Znuff or Mr Big for Everything's Online with a well moody Guitar solo that delights.

This is a really feel good album. Beautifully arranged and performed and a reminder of how damn chirpy Power Pop can be. First Idea / Best Idea is a real joy to listen to. With this and the back catalogue all at Name Your Price, what have you got to lose?

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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