Gene Champagne - Too Pop For Punk...Too Punk To Care

 

Canadian, Gene Champagne is Punk Royalty. A multi instrumentalist, but largely known as a drummer for Teenage Head, The Killjoys and The Black Halos. The release coincides with upcoming shows in Quebec and Ontario celebrating the Danny Garcia documentary Vive Le Punk : 50 Years Of Punk.

For those two shows, a supergroup has been formed called The Vive Le Punk band featuring Champagne, Casino Steel and Matt Dangerfield from The Boys and Dave Rave of Teenage Head. In the meantime, Gene completed a four date Canadian Mini Tour last night.

Champagne's debut album is an up and at 'em cracker. Not so much Punk, more in line with the likes of The Ramones and the noisier brand of noisier Classic Power Pop from such as Marc Valentine. It sounds very much like what you would hear on a Rumbar Records release.

Indeed, the opener, Gimme Ammunition, has big hints of UK Glam Rock instrumentally. Beach Boy Wannabe adds to the variety, total 60s California Beach Boys Pop with a great Guitar solo. She's An Atom Bomb is great heads down melodic Power Pop with a great Twanging solo.

I'm Disconnected is nearer to Classic Rock with the emphasis on Rock with an altogether now chorus. There are two inspired covers, a rocked up Yummy Yummy Yummy and an awesome version of The Barracudas' I Can't Pretend which adds to the melodic Guitar Pop quota.

The album is quite a surprise, certainly more catchy and melodic than you might expect. An album that underlines the joy that Power Pop can bring, but also has big hints of The Ramones and UK New Wave. A cracking listen. Top Notch!

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

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Nick Frater - Nick Frater

 

From one extreme to the other for tonight's two reviews. Mopar Stars rattle the walls, Nick Frater caresses them gently. We've been with Nic Frater from the beginning of I Don't Hear A Single largely, certainly for 9 of the 10 years.

Album wise, it was from the start with 2018's Goodbye Kayfabe, but before that there was the 18 minute long The Sombrero Fallout Suite, a Todd Rungdren-esque joy, which I urge you to listen to here. Frater specialises in Pop Rock, particularly the 70s version.

There isn't a duff song amongst his back catalogue. The self titled album is up there with its best. Classic 10CC has been the biggest comparison, but here at times, parts of the album sound a little Squeeze, certainly Glenn Tilbrook, but the arrangements are bigger.

You'll have heard Mirror Mirror on the Listening To This Week Playlist and it may be the best Power Pop song that you will hear all year. Every Trick In The Book is the big arrangement number, wonderfully so, but the arrangements are massive throughout.

Supremely melodic throughout, as a keyboard player, the songs are very much focussed on those instruments, but it is never intrusive and allows the Piano Pop to stand out most, particularly, Play In The Shadows. Lazy Castles is splendid Easy Listening fayre and Another Tonight On The Town has a real swagger to it.

There is a stellar cast of guests, particularly on Have A Nice Day, including Spygenius's Peter Watts, Joe Kane, Jamie Whelligan and Steven Wilson with Ulysses's Luke Smith on Bass for large parts of the album. You know what you are gonna get with Nick Frater and the joyous Pop never stops.

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

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Mopar Stars - Official Researchers Of The NJ Devil

 

If you were to read the song titles before cueing up the album, you'd think that this is an album about Bars and Cars and in fact it is. But don't think that this a quartet that are gonna blast you with sleazy Classic Rock, this wonderful noisy Power Pop at its heart.

It is the noisier version, big chunky riffs and meaty solos, but incredibly melodic solos. They are capable of fine diversions. Only Bar In Town is Slacker Rock, noisy Slacker Rock, but built on killer Riffs, one that comes in intermittent and could be Alex Lifeson on Permanent Waves.

They are loose, purposely so, but there is a depth to the arrangements. Every Wants What I Got edges towards Classic Rock and yet, Lifetime Of Pain could be Del Amitri. American Fast Thing sounds like The Replacements doing 90s College Rock. You can sense the variety.

Tears Don't Fall (From Government Eyes) mixes Power Pop with 70s Boogie Rock. NJ Darkness isn't a million miles from Sugar. They are at their best when the Power Pop races through, particularly on Wreck The Bike and Feast Of The Smile.

The riffs connect with your brain swiftly and the album is beautifully arranged. Mopar Stars don't come up for air and you don't want them to. Official Researchers Of The NJ Devil resonates, it is an absolute ball of  melodic energy.

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

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Defecting Grey - Pivotal

It's great to hear New Jersey's Defecting Grey again, so soon after Circuits. They are a Power Trio of extreme quality. Up and at 'em for the majority of the time. The mix of 90s Indie Rock is as present as ever, maybe more so.

Although, there is also an 80s Indie feel at times, think the likes of I.R.S. The riffs are enormous and riveting as are the Guitar solos, but there is a real Power Pop feel to the rhythm section, never more so on The Difference Engine which certainly gets the juices flowing,

The Power Pop is still present, fitting with the noisier version that has reinvigorated the genre, particularly on Major Minor with its awesome Guitar solo. You can only imagine, here in the UK, what a live act the three provide with all the energy on Pivotal.

The Rhythm section of Mike Polilli and Vince Grogan are at their peak on the Rockiest song here, Pivotal and the Psych Pop interludes make me so happy. This is singalong stuff despite its pace and noisier feel. The riff on Signal Noise rips straight to your brain as does the solo and the closing outro. There are even three engaging instrumentals, all under a minute, that underline the band's power.

CJ Grogan is a superb Guitarist and vocalist. Pivotal is a little Rockier than you might expect on here, but it is a cracking listen. The sheer energy and Pace rattles your dentures at times providing a great more than worthwhile listen.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Homework - Bang Here If Stuck

Glasgow's Homework come across as an excellent Indie 90's quartet that found their home in Brit Pop. The songs fit that well at times, but there is much more to them that. There seems a restlessness that reaches for much more and repeated listens reveal that to be the case.

A song like Hedge Your Bets is rough and random, wonderfully noisy and schizophrenic in a way that makes your ears prick up. To follow that with the 80s Guitar Pop of Some Kind Of Magic which is a little Lloyd Cole at times, shows the band's scope.

Then there's the 90's College Rock of Roadhouse, all fuzz, that is completely different to the opener, Heroes Welcome, that is instrumentally like early Teenage Fanclub with a slightly Madchester vocal. You realise that Bang Here If Stuck is no ordinary listen. 

Both ASAP and Made give the Brit Pop feel, but Salt is wonderful Jangle Pop. GVB is splendid noisy Fuzz Pop showing another dimension to the band. Ending Song adds to the variety with its meandering riff, approaching 5 minutes long, it is superbly ramshackle.

I suppose many will ram the album into Pop Rock, but there is much more than tat here. It is well arranged and produced with a ton of ideas, songs taking different directions and an admirable earthiness. Credit too tp Meritorio Records for another outstanding release.

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

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The Goods - Goodbye Summertime

 

I've said it before, but Dandyboy Records is probably the best label around at present. It is a labour of love for Bobby, but the quality is constant, hard to achieve with the volume of releases. Rob Good's The Goods may be the best of all of them, but then again the Softjaw album is released a week today.

The debut album, Don't Spoil The Fun, was third in our Best Albums Of 2025 and could have easily topped it in a really strong Top 10. You can read the Review here. Less than a year later, comes the follow up and it matches if not betters that debut.

Goodbye Summertime is more of a Solo affair with some stellar guest appearances. It also feels less Power Pop, concentrating on big harmonies and bigger arrangements. It feels more Pop Rock, but it still Jangles and isn't frightened of the straight ahead.

Those harmonies are stellar, a little West Coast at times, layered to perfection, aided by top class arrangements. The title tells you that the Summer has ended, but the feel is still there despite a slightly melancholic feel to the lyrics.

The debut allowed you to admire the Jangling and the Power Pop. Here, the more laidback songs resonate most, Punchball being the standout with the amazing instrumentation. But the Power Pop is present, Driving and Wing being the best examples.

Yet Good is just as at ease with the moody such as the Acoustic, Waiting and Sleepytime is a wonderful closer and contains a wonderful Psych pop riff that lights up the anthem. Rob Good revived classic Power Pop on the debut, here he takes melody into a wonderful soundscape.

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

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Bagful Of Beez - In Parallax

Although a fan of The Meanies, I properly first got into Lindsay McLennan via Tomorrow People and the wonderful Shining album in 1997. One look at his Discogs page will show many of his adventures, but he will be forever known as Link Meanie, the front man of The Meanies, Australian national treasures.

The band are close to completing their 4th decade. Known for Punk, there is a copy element at times, short songs that never extend their welcome. Bass Player, Wally Meanie (Kempton) is noted for Cheersquad Record, a label that is exemplary in celebrating the Australian music scene.

Link McLennan as he is known here has never been afraid of genre swapping and Bagful Of Beez are a delightful listen. Now a proper band for the second album, the first being a McLennan solo affair, the concentration is largely intelligent Pop Rock, but also a testament to his adventures across his career.

Wonkavision, for example, is glorious Psych Pop. Yet, Keep Up The Joneses is great Beat Pop. Smart Enough To Know I'm Stupid is glorious Brit Pop and the title track is wonderful Dream Pop. You now must realise that In Parallax is full of variety.

Bliss And The Abyss closes the album with a glorious instrumental, cinematic, part New Wave, part Telstar and Reach For The Stars is Glorious Pop. Odd Couple is 60s Easy Listening and Meghan Maike's sugar sweet vocal turns the slightly Space Age Fever Dream into great Pop, McLennan singing a killer chorus.

There's not a duff song among the 13 here and no song is like the last. McLennan's songwriting is at a peak. The band is a complete unit and the arrangements are inspired. The whole thing is filled with joy and underlines what a career, that McLennan continues to have. Absolutely Splendid!

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

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David Myhr - Everything Is About You

And finally for tonight, a review from my long time friend and Anything Should Happen compatriot, Nick Fletcher. We see each other less since he moved to Sweden, but the bond forever remains.

Swedish band, The Merrymakers, led by David Myhr released two excellent powerpop albums in the 90s, he second of which, Bubblegun, was co-produced by Andy Sturmer of Jellyfish. Thirteen years after Bubblegun came David’s first solo album, Soundshine and this was followed seven years later by the next album Lucky Day. 

Both albums are chock full of infectious hook-laden pop songs and come highly recommended. It’s been eight years since the last album, during which time David has suffered and recovered from a stroke and become a father in his 50s. 

“Everything Is All About You” doesn’t take a backward step in his quest for writing perfect pop songs. There is a celebration of parenthood with the whimsical “Doodlebug”, but nothing negative related to his illness.

It opens with four blasts of sunshine pop wearing all influences proudly on its sleeve. You can pick out Jellyfish, Beatles, Beach Boys, ELO and others, but it is a celebration of their styles and never a pastiche. The opener, “Say Yes” is probably the most Jellyfish-like solo song he has written.

“Summer Summer Summer” is aural sunshine topped off with wonderful harmonies.

Many of the songs on the album are co-written with luminaries like Bill DeMain (Swan Dive), Linus Of Hollywood and Brad Jones (producer of Imperial Drag and Cotton Mather’s “Kontiki” among others). These influences help add variety to the proceedings and the sunshine pop openers are followed by the melancholy, but oh so impressive, Brad Jones collaboration “Crystal Is Thinking Of Something”.

The album continues with more great pop songs punctuated with the American Song Book influenced “Continental Drifter”. The harmonies are ever-present and keep you engaged throughout. The album wraps up with a beautiful ballad that you could imagine Paul McCartney could have penned on a Beatles album.

It’s an album that should bring a smile to any listener’s face with its singalong choruses and sublime harmonies – every day can be a summer’s day! It is available digitally here.  Physical copies can be bought here. 

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