Sharp Class - Welcome To The Matinee Show (Of The End Of The World)

 

Another Power Trio, but this time from the UK and in very different territory to The Deflators. Nottingham's Sharp Class are much more UK New Wave 1978, magnificently so. This album reminds me why I loved that New Wave scene.

They are not stuck in that era, there are big footsteps into the likes of Brit Pop, Indie Rock and the modern breed of Indie Guitar Pop bands, but the melody content is high and there is a real lyrical adeptness in these songs that few who cover similar ground manage.

There is a real Paul Weller Jam period to the words and at times the vocal, although less aggressive singing wise. Musically, they remind me a lot of The Len Price 3, but without their inclination for Mod Pop. We loved 2022's Teenage Of A Mind (review here) and this moves things on wonderfully.

The title track is probably the best thing here, New Wave of the highest order. Ordinary People is built on a killer riff, Where I'd Rather Be has a hint of Wreckless Eric, but the chorus is killer. Ivory Tower is very early The Jam with an added Jangling Riff.

Lights Out wipes the floor with most of the current new big wave of Guitar bands with another killer chorus. The whole offering rarely comes up for air, but does it without the need of a hammer. Sharp Class update the great past, bringing it into the now. Top Notch!

You can listen to and buy the album here. It certainly deserves a physical release.

...............................

The Deflators - Inside Out EP

 

We reviewed The Deflators' last EP, Check Your Pressure, just before Christmas last year. You can read that here. A lot of what is written there, still applies here and you wouldn't want it any other way. The EP is very Noo Joisey, wonderfully so. 

It is the sort of release that you wish was on Rumbar Records, same attitude, much more melodic though and maybe that's what that label misses. This is beefed up Power Pop, much rockier than the genre usually allows, but everything else is present.

The riffs are enormous, the call and response and the sheer catchiness of it all is spot on and these are songs that you can singalong to, yet shake your fist too. Plenty try this, but few succeed and so what was once everyday is now more of a rarity.

There is a real Power Trio feel to proceedings, nevermore so on the harder, even noisier, 2nd Child. A song that gets nearer to Hard Rock, more in your face, splendidly aggressive. Inside Out is a cracking listen and certainly shakes out the cobweb.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

............

Teenage Frames - Everything Has Led To This

You've heard Brain Fever on the new Listening To This Week, so now for the long player. Everything Has Led To This brings back so many memories to where music started for me. Glam Rock was when I started to buy music under my own steam.

It was a very Singles led genre, albums largely, in the first instance, singles and a load of covers or tosh. Few ever made an album as consistently great as this. Also, there seems something bizarre about the best UK Glam Rock nowadays coming from the West Coast Of America.

Los Angeles have fashioned something that sounds so 1974, wonderfully so. It has grabbed the best of the genre and produced an album as fun as the singles were from that era. This could be 14 great singles from the time, beautifully done.

The detail is wonderful, hand claps, fade outs, big riffs, memorable singalong choruses and songs as catchy as catchy can be. I half expected them to appear on this week's Top Of The Pops or Lift Off With Ayshea. 

.

It isn't all Glam, but thankfully most of it is. However, the back end of Punk / beginning of New Wave is celebrated splendidly on Fighting Words. I'm also reminded of the heavier Sweet B Sides on Disappointment and Power Pop is well represented by the likes of Only Lonely Tonight.

There's even Blockbuster sirens on the fast and loud Agree To Disagree. Fats Domino's I'm Alive is obviously a well covered song, but I have never heard it as Power Popped and Glammed Up as here. Albums like this should be treasured, it is an absolute crackerjack of a release.

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

..............................

Zul!tas - The Trilogy (Name Your Price)

 

It is rare for us to write about an individual song, but this is great and it is three songs in one. Coming in at over 11 minutes long and it isn't Prog, whatever next? Zulitas is a band of independent underground artists from North Carolina.

The smorgasbord of interlinked bands provided a quartet and what a foursome! Originally a concept album written by Harry Harrison, wrote years ago, about his life to that point and was recorded to tape. Far more psychedelic, it was passed to Drummer, Marty, who promptly lost the only copy.

Harry had kept all the details of the songs in a binder and Marty and he co-wrote The Trilogy from three of those songs and re-recorded what you hear now with Taylor Casey on Bass and Matt Wentz on Guitar. You've heard an edited version of it on a recent Listening To This Week, here is the full monster.

As mentioned, we rarely cover individual songs away from the playlist, I can only remember one of similar length by Nick Frater years ago that we scribbled something for and that was very Todd Rundgren, again not Prog..

The song has everything from Pop Rock (although more Rock) to something Muse-ish, big heavy riffs to something more Blue Collar show song style. It is an astounding listen, truly awesome and more than worth your time. I can't wait to hear more from these four.

You can listen to and buy the song here.

.......................

Listening To This Week Playlist

We get so tired of people saying that there is no great new music around. Here are 32 examples to prove that is nonsense with a corking Listening To This Week.

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. 

Steve Robinson - The King Of Scatterbrain

Teenage Frames - Brain Fever

Keeley - Forever Froze (Edit)

Swive - Mirrors

The Amnesia - Vampire

Bottlecap Mountain - Fire In The Hole

The Nature Strip - Wavelength

The Old Ceremony - Valerie Solanas

Dear Misses - Mosquito Dance

Some Gifts - Sympathy For The Free Market

Hijack Hayley - Oh My God

Mt. Misery - Sunday Song

Dress Kit - Front Lawn

Ruby Blushing - This Must Not Be The Place

Your Friend And Mine - Acceptance

Ty Walker And The Humanoids - All Hat, No Cattle

Rick Kingo feat. Cherry Fez - In Our Solitude

Daydream Keys - Neo-Trauma

Splikak! - Low-Hanging Fruit

David WILTs - Mibi I'll

THE STRAZE - Losing My Mind

Liteweight Champion - Everyone Is Wrong Most Of The Time

The paper monsters - River On Omega

Noah Sties - Indiana

the Snorts - pocket cowboys

No Flowers - Original

ECHO FRAME - Call Me Luci

Pentire - Love On TV

Have Fun! - Gaslighter

Loser Demon - Business Days

Third Ward - Alleluia

Oh Doom! - We Lost Our Friends

..................................................

Sunbuzz - Hello Again EP

 

I've been loving this 5 Track EP. Although it is available to stream here and elsewhere, I just wish it was available on the likes of Bandcamp where people could buy the thing. Sunbuzz are a trio from Northport New York and this is great Pop Rock.

Very 70s in feel, at times almost Piano Pop, Andrew Gold like sort of, but the EP also gets Jaunty and even Rocks.Desiree Today for instance opens up with a Riff that could be on The Clash's London Calling. Sunny Days could be Ben Folds.

Let It Ride gets close to Brit Pop and sounds a little Lennon 70s instrumentally. Rock & Roll Saved My Life is the jaunty addition. Lyrically reflective and racing along. Find Your Way Back Home is the Lighters Out closer, a little 80s in vibe.

Splendidly arranged, performed and produced, I just wish there were more of it. Discovered via our Listening To This Week, we've already chosen two of the five songs on weekly episodes. This is the sort of melodic joy that we know and love on IDHAS.

You can listen to the album here and at the links above.

............................

The Duke Of Surl - Borneo

 

Will Brown describes The Duke Of Surl songs as being recorded in New York low end Basements. I know from the amount of new music that I hear that when you read the words "Home Recording", you are not quite sure what to expect. It really can be the good, the bad and the ugly.

But Borneo is more on the wonderful side. Very inventive, varied and extremely interesting. At times, the album is quite insular, dark even, but at other times, songs can break out into wonderful Psych. It is the Psych that stands out most, it is all groove rather than in your face weird.

That Psych can venture into Psych pop, but it is never anything other than hypnotic. The groove just washes over you. The Bells features awesome Guitar work, but also adds Jangle and a cracking Bassline, whilst Whispers is almost Folk, Psych Folk of Course.

The riffs are awesome, particularly on the mind-blowing Reflections and Luther's Rock lands somewhere between Garage Rock and The Coral. There's even a hint of Glam Rock in the song. The Lie is wonderfully chaotic, starting almost Medieval and then breaking into something like Mark Knopfler riffing on something very outer 1967.

There are two bigger pieces when not a minute is wasted. Brown's Lullaby is as mellow as the album gets, more mainstream, nearly a ballad, but the six minutes plus builds and builds into something noisy and cerebral, almost ceremonial.

The Walk / The Storm is a minute longer and is half 70s Classic Rock until the song absolutely explodes into paint stripping Psych. This doesn't sound like a home recording. Psych and Prog have recently been waylaid by bands who want to show their ethereal side. This is proper Psych. absolutely splendid! Special mention to Bubbles, an hypnotic instrumental joy.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

.................