Listening To This Week Playlist 20 April

A little earlier than usual, here are the 27 songs on the new LTTW Playlist. Much more of our wider tastes are included, but also plenty of the Guitar Pop for which we are noted. 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 those who appear here. 

Phenomenal Cat - The Little Islanders

Ambulance - Bad News

High On Stress - Over / Thru

The Violet Twilight - Fade Away

The Second Summer - I Should

Livingmore - Ready To Escape

The Get Alongs - Come On

Eroica - I Remind You Of Your Mother

The Yummy Fur - New T-Shirt

Third Time Luckie - Heart Break Summer

White Marble Statues - Stars In Paradise

General Chaos - The Idiots Have Taken Over

Noah Colton - Stuck Here On The Ceiling

Brown House - Total Dive

Suneaters - Home

Little Billy Lost - Tonight

Linn Cervell - Zelda (Sweet And Sour)

Christina's Trip - F.B.A.T.

Heart Sauce - How Many Tears Does The Human Race Cry In A Year?

Maureens - Oceans Apart

The Paisley Daze - Tell 'Em Where To Go

Kerosene Cocktail - Polaroids

Dead Reynolds - Hideaway

Dead Reynolds · 08 - HIDE AWAY

The Fast Camels - Lost To This World

Amped Up Alley - Thinking About Thinking About You

Krooked Tongue - I Know A Place

OK Goodnight - 22

The Rockerati - Little Black Book

Odd By Midnight - The Digit (Tempus Meum Fugit)

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Phenomenal Cat - Dreamland (Supermarket Is A Warhol Painting)

Samuel Carney is a wonderful lyricist. He builds characters in the way Ray Davies, Andy Partridge and Daman Albarn did. Very British, very reflective in a way that suits multi genres. His takedown of the typical Brit on 21st Century Englishman is truly exceptional. 

He fronts the six piece Phenomenal Cat, who haven't released anything since 2017's Pop Wasteland. The band are described Psychedelic Power Pop, but with two of the members being on Brass you get much more than that.

The lyrical intent is matched beautifully, by the instrumentals. Brass helps of course, but there is Angular Guitar and a Power Pop vibe at times, as much as there is Toytown and UK New Wave and even a cracking synth run.

Seatown® is the most Power Pop, but there is a Brass burst akin to XTC's Smalltown on the chorus. The Little Islanders is part UK New Wave and part Toytown. a celebratory dissing. Everything + Nothing is pure Brit Pop with a stunning arrangement.

Don't Wanna Be Alan No More shows the benefit of the Brass matched to some Killer Guitar work, something that could have easily been On Blur's The Great Esape, but for the splendid Psych towards the end. You've heard the wonderful title track on the IDHAS LTTW Playlist and sounds even better surrounded by the other 7 songs. Very UK 70s Glam Rock instrumentally.

The band are named after a song on The Village Green Preservation Society which fits beautifully with what they do. This is a wonderfully inventive album, a joy to listen to and it will feature heavily in our end of year best albums.

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

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Brass Camel - Brass Camel

Get ready to Rock! We covered Brass Camel's second album last year (here) and hot on its heels comes the third and it is every bit as good, if not better, than its predecessor. The Prog scene has sort of left behind the whimsical of recent years and rediscovered the Rockier element with much more melody.

11 minute plus opener and closers bookended Camel, there's none of that here, just 8 songs that only touch 5 minutes on a couple of occasions. The Prog is present, but not as often upfront as this feels more Classic Rock at times, but they are not afraid of adding a Prog interruption into those.

The funk is still around, wonderfully so, particularly on Ice Cold. But the Pop Rock is around too on the splendid Why Bother which is very early Queen, particularly the harmonies and Careful What You Wish For gets close to the genre.

Everybody Loves A Scandal starts like something from The Mommyheads, before turning into a Classic Rock monster. Last Call breaches AOR. Overall, there is a Led Zeppelin feel, but the harmonies and Guitar work do resemble Queen I and Queen II.

There is still plenty of room for Prog, especially on the opener, You've Got Time. which mixes prime time Yes and early Rush. A bit like Geddy Lee fronting Yes. What Are You Doing is Prog Funk, the whole album is a scorcher.

The band sound more commercial without losing their street cred. Songs change genres unexpectedly and are packed with unexpected diversions. The biggest take is the strength of the harmonies and proof that Canad isn't only about Guitar Pop.

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

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The On And Ons - Luminary

 

I love Sydney's The On And Ons. In fact, I got pissed off at missing there 2015 debut album, Calling, when I reviewed the follow up Welcome Aboard as I had followed the guys elsewhere. They've constantly bothered our Best Albums Of The Year.

 You can read previous reviews here, here and here. America will love them and so I'm really pleased that Marty Scott's Jem label. They are very 60s in sound, but across the decade. not stuck in one place and they are also not afraid of taking different avenues.

So you get songs that sound Merseybeat, UK Beat, Psych Pop, West Coast Jangle and more. They certainly master the sound in original fashion, the 60s comparison is the sound. This lot are no copy band on another beautifully produced album.

There are others who follow this path, but none are so consistent. Just one listen to Coming On Strong underlines this. Yet there are also variations aplenty. Something New, mixes Psych Pop with Jangle Pop and adds some great vocal harmonies.

Ramblin' Ruth is a doppelgänger for early The Who. Ride Away is wonderful gentle Psych Pop. Yet Speck Of Smiling Faces is classic Power Pop. My Old Ways even gets close to Motown, very soulful. The opener, White Ships, is more 70s, not a million miles away from Glam Rock.

Luminary never drops below high quality across the 14 songs. Wonderfully arranged and performed, this is an album of great choruses that you will soon be singing along to. Guitar Pop at its finest as it has always been throughout the band's career.

You can listen to and buy the album here. The CD is available everywhere.

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Marc Valentine - Uncommon Side Effects.

 

Despite the majority of opinion that Power Pop was started in the UK, the majority these days seems to come from the States. There are exceptions like The Speedways, but it has been fairly absent since late 70s New Wave and a little bit of Brit Pop, despite the best efforts of David Bash's IPO.

Power Pop just doesn't seem to break through into the mainstream, the last time was probably Busted and McFly. However, there is a chance with the ongoing strength of Norwich's Marc Valentine's back catalogue.

I'm a big fan of the man, having covered 2023's Future Obscure here and 2024's Basement Kiss here. Both are great albums, largely Classic Power Pop, but both have twists as does Uncommon Side Effects. The Power Pop is superb.

It has all you might expect, great intros, killer riffs, big choruses and top notch guitar solos. The joy on the 80s sounding NY UAP is evident to all and the call and response is wonderful, as are the keys and the Guitar solo. But the Power Pop on both Tiger On Glass and You Are The Jet are just as good.

High In The Underground is rockier with a Jangle that seems desperate to get out, but never quite manages  it. The chunkier sound suits Valentine well. Hanging On A Dream edges towards UK Glam Rock whilst not losing that Power Pop feel and has an unexpected diversion in the middle.

Half-Moon Pendant slows things down beautifully with a splendid arrangement. Temporary Buzz is much edgier, 100 mph and more raw that what else is on show, Marc Valentine masters the genre and lights up Little Steven's Wicked Cool label.

You can listen to the whole album here. You can buy the Vinyl and CD here.

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They Might Be Giants - The World Is To Dig

 

They Might Be Giants are neither new or under appreciated, but I've been with them since Lincoln, which is a key to my age. Many many will know Birdhouse In Your Soul, one video show included it in a One Hit Wonders show, what fools!

Formed in 1982 with releases since 1985, it is 36 years since Birdhouse, yet the duo have a Sparks like quality to still be original over such a long period. When they extended into a band in 1992, they got even better. There is not one duffer in their back catalogue.

They are currently on tour with an 8 piece band that includes a 3 person horn section. The pair remain incredibly inventive, a key force in Intelligent Indie. The World Is To Dig is all over the place, which is TMBG's strength. Who else could come up with a song like Character Flaw.

It is a song that shows how left field TMBG are and how lyrically adept. But expect to be taken on a journey that takes in Power Pop, Lounge, 70s Pop Rock (there's even a Raspberries cover), Psych Pop overtones, 80s New Wave and 90s Slacker. 

They can also be incredibly melodic on the likes of the Ben Folds like Piano Pop on What You Get. Slow is great Psych Pop and the closer,  In The Dead Mall is totally Andrew Gold, you just sit back and marvel at the lyrics.

Sleep's Older Sister is wonderful Slacker Pop mixed with Rock and Roll, Outside Wave is ace UK New Wave. I'm also not sure that you will hear a better Power song this year than Wu Tang. There's even a song sung in perfect French. As wonderful as ever and oh those lyrics.

You can listen to the full album here.  You can buy the digital album and listen to 4 songs here. You can buy the Vinyl, CD, Cassette and download from the TMBG shop here.

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Listening To This Week Playlist 13 April

An absolute cracker this week. A mix of returning faves, particularly at the front end and the new, even to us. It feels more like our base template at times, but there are some splendid surprises. 25 songs! 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 those who appear here. 

Swive - Del Rio

Mean Sea - Look Around

The Voltz - We'll Take This City

Deer Tick - Everything Born

Deer Tick · Everything Born

Brightmoon - First Light

The Yum Yum Tree - Turn Down The Noise

Adult Friends - S Is For Stress

Tigers Jaw - Head Is Like A Sinking Stone

The House Is Creaking - There's A Stench In The Air

Josey Wails - Sweet Darlin'

Labrador - The Rosy Red World

Marc Valentine - Tiger On Glass

Ricky - What's The Point

Ricky · What's the Point

Plastic Tones - Dirty Work

Cult Canyon - Real Sublime

Beaming - Stuck Here

Meeting People - Afterglow

Stephen Becker - Careless

Lucifers Beard - Beep Bop Report

Charlie Vaughan - Don't Wanna Drive

Deadbeat Beat - Peach Sprite

The Falling Spikes - Kicking On The Can

Yea-Ming And The Rumours - Paper Doll

Dinky Diamonds - Forever Days

The Kettle Zone - Anomie (Get Out Of My Head)

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