Nick Piunti - Under The Wire (Bandcamp Name Your Price)

 

I do like surprises and when the surprise is an unexpected release from long time I Don't Hear A Single stalwart, Nick Piunti. I think I've covered every album here and he was with me before the 2016 start here. It started with a Sugarbush release of 13 In My Head on Vinyl in 2014.

He's even recorded a Live Session for here. So this 6 Track release is really welcome as I get the October Tsunami wave of Reviews in October going. Under The Wire does sound more laidback, not that Piunti has ever been afraid of such.

The story telling is as great as ever, you can imagine the story in your head of many songs. I simply mention laidback, because the man is a fine Guitarist in his own right and you marvel at the riffs and solos, but this release underlines the quality of his songwriting.

As ever with Piunti's albums, there is wall to wall quality, not one throwaway song in attendance, but as always a killer song and this time it is splendid Every Sorrow is the one here. Oozing with melody and a killer chorus, you'll be singing along in no time.

I Couldn't Reach You is stripped down and Acoustic and almost heartbreaking, You're Poison feels more Americana and Slow Learning simply aches. Along For The Ride has a great twang and slight slow Jangle to it. Hope You Got High is beautifully sung and again incredibly moving with a great solo.

Under The Wire feels very pensive, creating a mood that allows you to concentrate on the lyrical strength and underlining what a Singer Songwriter the man is. I'm constantly proud to be able to listen to his songs in admiration. Absolutely Wonderful!

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available to download at Name Your Price.

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

Plastic Nancy - Perpetual Now

 

Los Angeles Trio Plastic Nancy do sound a little 60s Psych at times, wonderfully so, songs hit a groove that is hypnotic. Named after a line in Love's The Daily Planet, there is a 1967 feel at times. They don't really sound like anyone else, yet the variety reminds you of what's gone before. No criticism as 70 years on, all music feels the same.

The variety is exemplary and welcome, but the overall sound is something heard less these days. For instance, Runaway sounds like a mix of Surf and Rhythm And Blues, yet the short closer, Ego Vampire, is wonderful shouty heavy Noise Rock.

Elsewhere, the organ on Love Over Dose reminds you of The Doors, although the song itself is more Psych. Jukebox Heart has some wonderful Steel Guitar on it and does feel very Country Rock. Echoes Of Laughter comes across as slightly The Coral, it has a sort of Scouse twinge.

You may have heard Beware Of The Dog on the LTTW Playlist and it is a great song, pacy, bouncy even and as near a hit single that they might get. There's even room for a groovy 60s Film Soundtrack like instrumental in Chocolate Box.

Hanging In The Balance is a moody brooding joy and In The Breeze has a wonderful Peter Green feel Guitar wise and yet bursts into a killer chorus. Perpetual Now is definitely Psych, but very accessible Psych, a mood is created that sucks you in, making you not want to leave.

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

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

The Toms - Make My Day

I have been a fan of The Toms since I was 16 when the UK New Wave led me to explore what was happening in the States and finding albums in those days was far from easy. People may bemoan the internet, rightly so for what it has done to the value of music, but you can find anything these days as the output of IDHAS shows.

That 1979 self titled debut album was Power Pop at its very very best and it is amazing to find Tom Marolda still making relevant music 47 years on. Those that are still around rely on touring on the previous songs and reputation, not Marolda

Rather than sticking to recording the same old thing, The Toms have moved on through many directions that are very different to the start. I urge you to look at previous reviews here to see that movement. At times, songs have been more akin to Modern Pop, taking advantage of modern recording techniques.

There has been the addition of synth and treading into Indie Pop and Pop Rock. There are examples of this here, but Make My Day sounds more like a return nearer to that Power Pop that started it all. The whole album is basked in catchy melodic joy.

All I Need Is You mixes Bubblegum with Pastoral Psych Pop, Magic Carpet Ride sounds very 60s Pop, wonderfully so. Apple Tree sounds like 1968 Beatles, Psychy, very hippy trippy. It Just Doesn't Matter At All closes the album with some great 70s Pop Rock.

It is hard to pick out stand outs in an album as strong as this, but I'll risk two. The title track is a superb opener that is extra-ordinarily fine Pop Rock, close to Power Pop. 15,000,000,000 Years Of Evolution is wonderful Psych Pop as heard on a recent LTTW Playlist.

For an artist to be so effective, almost 50 years on, is a massive achievement and still be able to release an album a year, ditto. Tom Marolda has constantly moved on without ever losing what he's great at. This album feels as close to 1979 as he's ever been, yet sounds incredibly modern.

You can listen to and buy the album here. 

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

my life as a bird - Willow

 

It is easy think that San Jose's Mike Keller is a new revelation with my life as a bird's third album following 6 months after the second. You can read the review of The Cabana here. But although the three albums have come in just over a year, the recording career stretches back 15 years.

At its heart this 90s Slacker Rock, sort of what followed Weezer's breakthrough. But there is far more than that here with an ability to stretch into Power Pop and Indie Rock. The songs are able to start as one thing and step into another part way through.

For example, Faded Memories Of Loved Ones starts like Classic Pop Rock before launching into something much noisier. The Guitar solo is extraordinarily great and that Guitar work is something that marks Keller out, he can certainly play.

There is even a short Acoustic, almost Americana example of variation in Imaginary Forest and that low key heartfelt style continues on the closer, Little One, the intro being so delicate, but you know that that song is gonna breakout into something massive and it does with a 70s style big melodic solo.

There are always gonna be Weezer reminders, the best example here is It Would Be Easy. There is also top notch Power Pop with Giving Misery and there is also the bombast of Wheel's Don't Roll. There is a touch of you know what you are gonna get, but in truth, that is exactly what you want.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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

31 Reviews In 31 Days In October

 

But it is much more than that as many more are planned. There is a big backlog of Reviews to write, plus October has some incredible albums to come, starting today, It has been quieter here for Album Reviews due to Don being involved in an alternative project which ends tomorrow. 

So the fun starts on Sunday and with him having a completely free week next week, you can watch the posts Ramp Up. A reminder that today is Bandcamp Friday so artists get all the money from your purchase, so it may be worth having a gander at artists that you might have missed.

Writing has not ceased here until Sunday as Reviews are being completed in the background. Thanks as always for the support that you give to the artists here and we will be back with a bang in just a couple of days.

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

Listening To This Week Playlist 28 September

The Maximum 30 songs again this week. Perhaps a little more Guitar Pop orientated, but with the usual surprises and as always, a superb closer. The scene has really revved up since the return from the August holidays and we expect a massive October as always.

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. 

Softjaw - Love Can't Kill You

Teutonosaur - Saccharine Stone

Izzy Crawler - Born In A Shell

Late Cambrian - Calypso

The Marra - Last Of The Poets

Hospital Job - Gilded

Bunchy's Big Score - Magnet

Bagful Of Beez - Wonkavision

Jonny Swift - Piggyback Girl

Cashell - Game Show

Eventually Flowers - Chasing Time

Slow Teeth - Window

Total Joy - Shining Light

Total Joy · Shining Light

The Friends - Flower Moon

The Serfers - Mellow

Orange Doors - A Crack And A Peep

Autumn Luz - Cobalt

Pushbike - Pure Hate

K7s - Too Much Weight To Carry

Full Flower Moon Band - Endless Summer

st. davis - I See The Issue

Animated Mayfly Festival - Crystal Skull Persuasion

Purse Thief - Panther Panther

TOY PARLOUR - Galactic Girl

Broadcaster - Lucky Number

The Schisms - All The Good Things

Forre Sterra - Mr Fantastic

Loco Tranquilo - SUENO

King's Evil - Kings Evil

starcrusher - Space Police

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

Fuzzysurf - Black Licorice

 

Milwaukee's Fuzzysurf are a quartet that have appeared regularly across the LTTW Playlist's life and I have no idea why I didn't review the excellent Chameleons, I can only imagine it being caught in the January 2025 compiling of the previous years Best Of.

Black Licorice has a story to tell. Originally planned as the follow up to 2020's Sweet Tooth, the album was abandoned in 2023. The replacement of the rhythm section led to a change in direction and the path to Chameleons.

It was decided to revisit Black Licorice with the new line up. Some songs were re-recorded, others removed and replaced with new songs and the result is something really cohesive. The result is something distinctly Rockier, without losing the Guitar Pop that is a strength.

The album sounds a little more Slacker, a little 90s Rock at times, but it also borders Power Pop, both classic and the noisier new fashionable version. Superfaded is an instant classic, built on a killer riff and yet sounding both a bit Weezer and a lot Brit Pop.

Everybody Knows is a darker version of the band, yet adds some great harmonies and the closer mesmerising American Blood broods wonderfully. But there is also great Pop. Self Attraction is nearer Indie Pop and I Really Miss You is built around a wonderfully engaging arrangement.

Sheep Shed is superb Power Pop. I've obviously never heard the original sessions, but it would be interesting to hear them and compare them to the now because Fuzzysurf have delivered a crackerjack listen. Great riffs, great choruses and a joyous listen.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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