Maureens - Don't Give Up

 

Whenever I hear this lot, my mind is transported to the second half of the 80's when the Indie joy broke out to rid us of Bombastic Rock and bands who thought more about dressing up than the music. This was the greatest time for Indie Guitar Pop and the Scots scene.

Maureens aren't from Scotland, but they should be. The quartet are from Utrecht and in their second decade and never fail to provide a sort of Summer feel to proceedings and with the weather here in the UK bring as it is, this is as good as anything around.

Hendrik-Jan de Wolff is a fine songwriter with an ability to adapt to whatever takes his muse. Essentially Indie Guitar Pop, the band can be whatever you want. From Indie Pop to Jangle Pop, Jaunty to heartfelt depth, slightly Psych Pop to Folk.

Motorway also shows that Indie Rock is not out of the question and is possibly the best song of the 13 and contrast that to Great Smile which gets nearer to Brit Pop. Yet the stripped down gentle Psych of Wish You Well works just as well.

Talking In My Sleep is classic 70s Pop Rock and Crying For The Moon just aches beautifully. There is such variety on display here. Don't Give Up is so well put together that it demands your attention just as everything the band offer up does.

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

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

Wills Van Doorn - Enduro

 

Wills Van Doorn offers up a beautifully arranged Pop Rock album, wonderfully melodic, but that is half the story. His vocal lights up the darkest of nights and to its credit, Enduro puts his voice to the forefront. Anyone who had a vocal like Van Doorn's would want that.

It is extraordinary as a lead and in backing vocals. The fact that the arrangements are so well out together is a bonus, because you would listen to anything that he chose to sing. The album just washes your cares away, it is so smooth.

Johnny Payne's production brings out that golden voice, as you might expect, but the harder part is making the easy listening varied and Payne succeeds beautifully. Surprise Guitar solos and some splendid Wurlitzer enhance all around.

The big arrangements work really well, but when Van Doorn steps into Power Pop, he does that equally well. Both Sometimes / Rarely and Ever Wonder Why are genre classics, the latter lit up our Listening To This Week Playlist.

That Guitar Pop breaks up the gentleness elsewhere and allows you to appreciate the arrangements and performance even more. I'm reminded a lot of West Coast Summer sounds, but the whole album is an essential listen underlining why computer programs cannot match the real thing.

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

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

I Don't Hear A Single Is 10

 

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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