Listening To This Week Playlist 15 June

25 songs this week. As usual, a mix of what you might expect genre wise, but there are surprises.

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 those who appear here. 

Modern Marriage - Blue, Red And Yellow…Maybe

Labrador - Too Much Wanting

The Loft - Campervan

Deadbeat Dead - Butchertown

Parent Teacher - Magazines Say

Slippers - Castaways

Mya Angelique - Teenage Popstar

Ben Auld - Talking Dog

The Roland Highlife - Old Atlantic

Linn Cervell - Lonelier

The Wrong Man - Starship

Abandoned Buildings - Intravenous

The Constellations - Stay Strange

Flight Of Mavis - Down In The Basement

Katie Pojidaeva - Inherited Scars

KATIA.POJIDAEVA · Inherited scars

George Adequate - Where Will We Dance

The Valery Trails - Waiting 2026

Legacy Of Lovers - When Will The Eyes Ignite

Gin Wigmore - Rodeo

The Essence Of The Universe - Bring All Your Lovers

The Cosmic Cowboys - But You Lied

Today We Are - Home

Smear - Close To You

smear · Close To You

Mesh Kimono - Supermoon

Landroid - Hank The Dragon

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Parent Teacher - Tricks For Meds

 

I adore Richard Spitzer's Parent Teacher. He offers up deliciously lo-fi songs, but they are extraordinarily inventive. They are songs within songs, unusual in construction, an ability to take all sorts of left field directions, but underpinned by melody and catchy.

The arrangements are particularly clever, but contain killer choruses. He flirts between Indie, Guitar Pop and Psych Pop, but is never too clever to lose the plot. At times, I think of Mythical Motors or even Guided By Voices, but the songs take on more complicated directions, nothing is ever as it seems.

Threat Of A Gun is the nearest that he will get to a straight ahead Pop song, underlined by a driving bassline and a closing Psych solo.Oblivion is more Indie Rock with pace, but also seemingly mixes 80s UK Indie with a little 90s Rock creeping in.

Zombie is another song that demonstrates get melody attached to a great chorus. Magazines Say opens proceedings and sort of explains how inventive Spitzer's songs can be. Multi direction, slightly Psych, but more 90s Indie. An incredibly hypnotic listen.

People bemoan the lack of labels, but that has opened the way to home recording. Some of the results of this are dire, but it has opened up a world that allows people to put out material as beguiling as this. A chance to discover something that you might have never heard and Tricks For Meds is definitely worth hearing.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Labrador - The Rosy Red World.

 

Philadelphia quartet, Labrador, had their roots in Alt Country from the 2018 debut. Initially, essentially a solo vehicle for Pat King's songs, since 2023's Hold Through The Strangers, they became a band and the development was rapid.

Now more adjacent to Indie Rock, King's vocals are outstanding and adapt to whatever chosen genre. The Alt Country is still around, particularly on the stripped back Americana of Waiting To Be Useful. Wagers is wonderfully moving storytelling too. Heartfelt to the extreme.

But the Rock dominates throughout The Rosy Red World. The Power Pop interludes resonate just as much. Too Much Wanting and You're Home Is An Eyesore particularly hit the spot, all Riff and Rhythm. There is lyrical excellence throughout, very socially responsible. A slight anger at the world.

The closer, No Man Is An Island is a great closer, epic, anthemic, jangling, a little like The Successful Failures. Slow Down, King is another winner, a jaunty strummer, a little Doolin' Dalton, very West Coast. We Drew Straws is much more in your face, performed at a rapid pace.

The Title Track is a splendid opener, a particularly effective vocal, but also underling the strength of the band, totally locked I'm. Labrador show that they have not forgotten their roots, but they have adapted into  a cracking rocking quartet. The Rosy Red World is a mighty fine listen.

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

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Modern Marriage - Grim Up North

 

Closer to home for today's closing review with a wonderful album released on the splendid Skeleton Records, home of the fine Record Shop and label. Follow them on Facebook to enter the home of twisted wit to which I concur.

Thinking of the Wirral, there are gonna be obvious comparisons to Half Man Half Biscuit and the humour and lyrical dexterity are here, but the arrangements and directions are miles bigger. This is Indie, but takes many unexpected turns.

These songs are stories about characters, filled with observation and biting wit and attitude. Who else would write a song called Gerry And His Pacemaker, wonderfully written and a groove led anthem. Grim Up North is very C86, a little Housemartins, sardonic, yet also houses a killer chorus and Trumpets and everything.

Lobster Pot is more Punky and a reference that most scousers would know. Instrumentally, it is awesome, messy, noisy, yet addictive. Modern Marriage even enters the realm of a Pop song. Dear John gets all Rickenbacker Jingle, maybe the most straight ahead here and it works beautifully.

IKEA Flatpack is glorious Brit Pop with a wonderful string arrangement. Blue,Red And Yellow...Maybe is awesome, great Pop Rock, a song you don't want to end. Speke Now (or Forever Hold Your Peace) starts all Psych Pop and hurtles into great UK New Wave.

Ben Savage is a gifted songwriter with an ability to come up with engaging Pop songs, whilst also having a knack for observation and a sharp tongue. Modern Marriage are also a locked in trio as well as being proof of the inventiveness on The Wirral. Grim Up North is essential.

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

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Slippers - Slippers 08

I still ache from this place being called a boys club around the middle of our 10 years. My argument was that it wasn't, but the female vocal led material at that stage was either wistful and breathy or shouty, neither of which suited what we cover and still don't.

Five years on, look at us now. Without ever changing direction, the ladies are offering up the best of what's around. With three albums in our Top 10 of the Best Albums of 2025 and currently compiling Monday's Listening To This Week which is female dominated. Proof, that we are not sexist, the music is everything, nothing else.

Phew, glad to get that off my chest. On to Slippers and Madeline Bubaka Black's second album is stunning Pop. It may not sound original, reminding you of many different things from the past, but it is so beautifully put together. Stunning Indie Pop.

The vocal is sugar sweet, she could sing the phone book and make it alluring. But the arrangements all take their share of the weight. Every song is different to the last. Beautifully produced and arranged in a way that makes the very best of that top notch vocal.

Castaways is all 60's Studio Pop, whilst Wasted Tonight, a co write with Mo Troper, is perfect 80s Jangling UK Indie Pop. Til You Know is pure Saint Etienne and Fool In Your Room is superb Jangle Pop with crossover Guitars.

Sunday Morning could be Tamar Berk as does Wants For Everything and you know how much we adore Tamar Berk. Slippers 08 demonstrates the joy of melody and even, more the beauty of Pop. Let your cares wash away as you sing along. Wonderful!

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

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The Regulars - Lights Get Low (Bandcamp Name Your Price)

 

All the way from Boxborough, Massachusetts, The Regulars offer up something a little more Rocky than we normally don't always go for. But the album is a really joyful listen. Indie Rock at heart, with an emphasis on the Rock.

The Riffs are killer, really gripping and the joint combined vocal of Jeff Clarke and Julia Fernandez - Turk works really really well. Clarke's songwriting is the strength, but his Guitar playing is extraordinarily great. The songs are tight and don't veer off into other directions and this straight aheadness is really appealing.

They can get looser and do so on the excellent slightly meandering Gotta Wait. The heavier Evening Phase has a slight feel of The Successful Failures and that similarity is around more than once. There is an earthy grit to what the band do and that is special, because not many are attempting such.

Petrified closes the album and is the one time that The Regulars come up for air and they still can't resist a regular breed crunch. They are nothing like Deacon Blue, but the dual vocal does have Ross - Mcintosh in feel, much more in your face though.

There is also a slight less Pop similarity to latter day Ash in parts. The standout song is Impossible which kicks in with an explosive Riff. It's the most Pop Rock that the band gets and is real belter of a song. At 21 minutes, the album is more of a mini one, but it is one that says what it wants to say and then gets off. A truly great listen!

The album is available at Name Your Price, so you have little to lose. You can listen and buy here.

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Deadbeat Beat - From Here To Ohio

 

I think many of you know how engaged that I am with intelligent Guitar Pop, especially when it adds a little Gravitas. Detroit's Deadbeat Beat have come up with exactly that, the 7 years gap has been way too long. This is an incredible listen.

I have a theory that the most compelling albums are when my great friend, Darrin Lee and I move from our own spheres to meet in the middle. From Here To Ohio is sure to hit us similarly. It retains its originality without ever losing the melody.

At times the album appears to be a cross between 60s US Summer Pop and the best of 80s Indie Pop. But there is also plenty of gentle Psych Pop that nears Toytown without ever getting there. Yet, the quartet can fashion up something as sprawling and magnificent as Straight Friends.

Although, this is essentially Guitar Pop, Pete Steffy's keyboards add something extra instrumentally, taking the songs into even more Poppy directions which are unusual for music of the genre. The songs are outstanding from the jaunty Jangle of Butchertown to the wonderful Psych Pop of Dying On That Hill.

I adore Toytown and Mellow fits into that village perfectly. Atmospheric is joyful New Wave Power Pop and the opener, Peach Sprite, is ace West Coast Jangle. At times, the spirit of The Sugarplastic hovers around and that makes From Here To Ohio an essential listen.

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

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