Desoto Reds - Resistor

 

Oakland quartet Desoto Reds have released a fascinating album. It takes an old fashioned listen that seems to happen less and less in these days of playlist preference. The Album format still rules. I listened to this and on first listen you note a couple of songs that make you want to listen to the album again.

Repeated listens reveal more and more excellence until you realise you have one hell of an album in your hands. On first listen, I had the band as one of those excellent instrumentally intelligent bands that would have appeared on the IRS label.

But digging further shows that this is just a small part of what they do, the diversity and variety here is exceptional. No two songs are the same. Cookieness is followed by Psych Pop. Guitar Pop is followed by Indie Rock. The roads taken are incredibly different. Resistor is an amazing listen.

Aftermath was the song that drew me in, a joyous listen that has Psych Pop overtones, but is built on a killer chorus and wonderful 60s organ runs. By the end, I was engrossed in songs that were completely different especially the inventive Watch Me Now (I've Got The Algorithm).

Yeah, so is very mid period R.E.M., yet Spider could be The Mommyheads. There are bizarre subjects such as Free People which lists Free items wrapped around a killer riff and an angular affair that is a paean to Costa Rica.

My love of Psych Pop is enhanced by the wonderful Siberia, but the band can also slow things down with the mellower Maybe. All in all, this is an album of admirable death and variety. I've picked my three current favourite songs, but I urge you to listen and then listen again to the whole thing.

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

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Mythical Motors - Tremolo On The Punchline.

Compared relentlessly to Guided By Voices, Mythical Motors are back. That is obviously quite a compliment, but can also have a downside. It makes potential listeners miss the sheer melody and joy that Matt Addison provides.

Deliciously lo-fi, but much more Guitar Pop than most labelled such. The killer choruses shouldn't be ignored having more in common with Power Pop. Who else could write and perform a song as catchy as The Queen Of Fleeting Moments?

There have been masses of column inches about Mythical Motors here. The albums constantly bother our Best Albums Of The Year culminating in our 2023 Album Of The Year for the magnificent The Sunrise Registry and the Listening To This Week Playlists adorn Addison's songs.

This isn't favouritism, there has never been anything but great on the albums he releases and this one is the first on Vinyl. Credit isn't high enough for his vocal, the mellowness lights up the songs rising high above the reputation of most lo-fi recordings. Addison can also Jangle with the best of them.

You sense that with a big studio budget that Mythical Motors would dominate the scene, but the opportunity to mess and constantly add to songs might take away the effect of the songs, the recording moment and you also sense that Addison is happiest as he is.

Critically lauded and rightly so, the DIY approach is perfect for Addison. I could go into detail about each song, but I'd rather you listen, Tremolo On The Punchline is just as great as the last album and will be just as great as the next which will be along soon. Absolutely Recommended!

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

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Listening To This Week Playlist 13 July

Earlier than usual. One of the best LTTW Playlists ever, even though I say it myself. 28 songs this week. An opener that brings back those XTC memories. The return of Sharp Pins and Haircut 100 and as ever a more than interesting closer. Big sprinklings of Pastoral Pop everywhere.

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. 

The Blusterfields - Juniper Tree

Sharp Pins - Saturday Sun

Trash Kickers - Fly Or Die

Twin Bloom - Summer's Gone

Bagful Of Beez - Odd Couple

TIFFY - Drive Thru Déjà Vu

Haircut 100 - Come Back To Me

Haircut 100 · Come Back To Me

Harker - Dislocation

Little King - Opus Perficit

Scott Gagner - Queen Of California

Atmos Bloom - It's Enough

Ian The Idiot - Dream Patterns

The Supernaturals - Dog House

Steve Robinson And Ed Woltil - I Won't Let Go

Vox Femme - Flowers For Algernon

Into Twelve - Burgeon Blue

Into Twelve · So much noise

The Fox - Lovely Day

Aaron Skiles - Maybe It's Alright

Fair Green - Lay Down

Craig Alan Frank - Bogged Down (In America)

The Young Sinclairs - Evergreen Ln

The Valery Trails - Fragment Happening

The Spitting Pips - Green Eyes

The Spitting Pips · Green Eyes

Amateur Hockey Club - Ted

Beauty Mountain Rd - I Am Fine

Kai Voltage - Broken

Mr Speed - Sweet Sweet Rot

Deer Tick - Exit Door

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Raiding The Archive

 

I hoped that the couple of weeks that were taken to slow things down a bit wouldn't affect things too much. Putting the brake on has worked well and the catch up has already begun, Reviews wise. I was also concerned that the recent Google changes might affect people seeing the archive here. I hadn't seen a massive change in the Most Popular Posts in the last 30 days, which again concerned me a little.

However, looking at the views over the past week, I've been delighted to see older Reviews being really popular over the past week. It is great when someone discovers a post and tells their mates or posts on groups about it. Because these don't generate as much interest as current posts, I thought I'd let you know what they are.

Bryan's Magic Tears - Vacuum Sealed    here

The Skullers - Freight Trains And Party Games   here

William Lyall - Solo Casting   here

Sergeant Buzz - Fox Pop   here

Lone Wolf - Dark Thoughts   here

Sparks - Lil' Beethoven 2022 Remaster   here

The Chesterfields - New Modern Homes   here

Plus 2 of Mick's old Interviews :

Mick Dillingham Interviews : Brad Jones   here

Mick Dillingham Interviews :Ben Eshbach About The Sugarplastic And Much More   here

Image By Rhododendrites - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85646229

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The Lemon Clocks - Live At The Cellar 2nd August 2025

 

I rarely review Live Albums for a few reasons. Mainly that there is enough to get on with without turning to Live stuff and because Live Albums can tend to be something that you listen to once and then forget about. Coincidentally, this is the third time that I have and the venue has been The Cellar in Cardigan, also noted for The Dream Of Dr Sardonicus Festivals.

Part of the reason is Steve Kelly's wonderful commitment to the venue which as well as a Music Venue, is a Record Shop and a cafe. The other is that all three bands underline my love of melodic Psych and Prog in its melodic form. Glorious genres when bands approach them with the emphasis on songs rather than how well they can play their instrument.

The previous two performances were by Spygenius and Custard Flux. Now we have Jeremy Morris's Lemon Clocks. A fine Psych Pop band. Morris is just as noted for The Jeremy Band which concentrates more on his gentle vocal and is Rickenbacker led Power Pop.

The Lemon Clocks Psych resonates with me most, although a lot of my writing concentrates more on Guitar Pop. This is an outstanding set. I've chosen my two favourites, both lengthy, which start and end the show, but the whole thing is an essential listen.

Rainbow Bridge has always been one of my favourites since its release on 2012's Now Is The Time, The Lemon Clocks debut album. It also has a reprise on the closing Spirit In The Sky. I know the song can get people tiresome from the original, through Doctor And The Medics and onto Gareth Gates. But this is different, a 17 minute Psych laden Guitar extravaganza.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Trash Kickers - Way Out, Somehow

 

I do get cynical with comparisons, particularly repeated ones. The two that I see most are XTC and The Replacements. Most are nothing like them or maybe for just one song. However, I've been fortunate this week. Having written about a band that are so latter day XTC, I now have the Trash Kickers who revitalise the spirit of The Mats.

Chicago quartet Trash Kickers have fashioned up an awesome debut album. It is wonderfully loose, but never leaves the melody. A little noisy but built on killer singalong choruses. Songs are not just built on riffs, they are built on competing memorable riffs.

I've seen then called Power Pop, but they are only so if bands like Cheap Trick are. In that they have the prerequisites of the genre, but are much more Rock orientated. They can also change direction. Angel for instant is nearer Classic Rock, The Black Crowes spring to mind and the shared vocal with Elizabeth Moen works beautifully.

No Danger is the nearest they get to Power Pop, but Nothing Left has a wonderful Jangle to it. Wild Stab is pure Americana, reminds me a lot of Deer Tick. They also know how to close an album, Graduation Girl perfectly sums up what the band are about, really really Mats.

The Album Release show has built a big reputation about how good a Live band they are. You can imagine how well the album went down. They are at their best when the riffs are ringing out. Fly Or Die, Come Undone and What A Waste are great examples of this, the riffs drill into your head.

The band are a sum of their parts, locking in wonderfully and front man Tyler Franklin leads proceedings with a vocal that urges you to Rock, but also handles and underlines the melodic choruses. It is becoming a great year for debut albums. This is one of the best.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Orchidelia - Sundial EP

 

It is always surprising that as we've grown considerably the UK hasn't necessarily followed us. We are far bigger in the States, Canada, Europe and Australia, Maybe its due to the high quota of Power Pop, Guitar Pop and Pop Rock that we cover and the lack of strength they have in the UK. We are still very Anglophile despite all that's going on here and revel uncovering Brit acts.

The new Orchidelia EP is a great listen. The five piece from Sheffield are known for Power Pop. but there is more to that here. Miles Ridge's Piano edges them towards Pop Rock or even Brit Pop. They certainly have that wit and lyrical depth that Brit bands are noted for.

Songs are often delivered at pace, a little Housemartins perhaps, but the melody and singalong joy they bring cannot be ignored. The opener, Cradle To The Grave, underlines this and sounds slightly New Wave,  with Marcus Swift's vocal slightly similar to Spygenius's Peter Watts.

The Closer, Serious Word With The Ceiling shows off the Brit Pop comparison, anthemic and even a little Squeeze. It is a cracking listen. Talking of Spygenius, Quarter To Three is right in their territory, a little Psych Pop, a little 60s UK Beat and touches of 70s Glam Rock.

It's Alright is jaunty, again sounding a little Tilbrook, but with an instrumental that isn't a million miles away from Madness.  Forget Me Not has an ace Harrison like Guitar Intro, slower than what else is around, sounding a little more American. All 5 songs here are winners, a corking listen.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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