Listening To This Week Playlist

 

Here is the new Listening To This Week playlist. It is a little longer this week at 26 songs, simply because we don't add songs before their, generally, Friday release dates. This week, there were quite a lot released on Friday. We could have left two off until the following week, but thought that unfair to the artists we would hold back.

You would expect me to say that this selection are great, but listening back to the songs and embedding them in this post allows me to say that this is probably our best ever LTTW selection as a whole. There is no song preference in order, just what we think flows. So I do hope that you can listen to all the songs across this week. 

This weekly fayre is solely for submissions, not the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. 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 the artists who appear here.

Brain Salad - Chase the Sun

LeafGreen - Just Fine

Shaven Primates - Birds Aren't Real 

SlackRebel - Ghosts

the world famous - Hollywood Pawn

Stand Up And Say No - Something Normal

COMBSY - Silver Queen

Josh DC - Rip Up The Rulebook

Gardensnakes - Oh Jenny

Hutchie - Queen of First Impressions

Crossed Wires - Looped

Drug Hunt - We Are Dying

Daniel Monte - Time

Noah Hines - Toxic Wave

MESSMAKER - Hard Act to Follow (feat. The Sublets)

Amii Dawes - What Life's Supposed To Be

Sunshine Spazz - Quick Cash

In Life - Deliverance

Gazers - The Riverside

Winterstille - If I would Only Know

Thomas Craymer - Come To Me

T. G. Shand - Cinnamon

Citizen - If You're Lonely

Foster Life - All My Friends Are Dead Inside

Shock Value - Rockstar

Night Drive - Cover Your Eyes

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Pretty - Citrus Magic EP

 

Noisy but melodic and incredibly addictive, Toronto five piece have fashioned up an extraordinary EP. Food For The Moon wowed many when it appeared on a recent IDHAS 10 Song Mix with its hypnotic riff and edging toward great Psych Pop.

It opens proceedings here, but don't expect the three songs that accompany it to sound the same, because variety and inventiveness are the watch words here. Wait For The Sun is all Pop Rock chorus, accompanied by a BBC Radio Workshop like Space Rock feel and sung in a good ole boy style of Southern Rock vintage.

Coca Cola Death Squad is all 60s Psych with both Prog overtones and Heavy Guitar and a Farfisa sound that itches to get out. Worry is all laidback mellow, melancholic and moody and very hippy trippy, haunting even and again hints of Prog. 

Four very different songs are within this splendid EP that promises so much in the future from Pretty.  Wonderfully varied and incredibly arranged. It may blow your mind a little, but there is incredible melody. Psych doesn't have to be way out, it can be as good as this, but this is not that often.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.  

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The Parlophonics - Dying Of The Light

 

I've been a long time fan of Fernando Perdomo, particularly from the Dreaming In Stereo days onwards. I love his adventures from Pop Rock to Prog and all between. But also his work with Cait Brennan and the Ex Norwegian connection.

He is an outstanding performer, producer, songwriter and side man. Most of all, he is an outstanding guitarist, the man can play anything you choose. He doesn't spend as much time in Pop Rock these days, so the two albums by The Parlophonics should be treasured.

This second album again reunites Perdomo with Robert Horvath and Hugh McDonald and this 70s Pop Rock and beyond of the highest quality. Robert Horvath's song writing captures the era perfectly as do his co-writes setting a gentle scene where melody is key.

Marcella Detroit co-writes Underneath The Blue Sky and adds her distinctive vocals to a hauntingly beautiful, weeping song. It is obvious that the stand out song is the wonderful Reading Kerouac, a jaunty Summer Song and a cowrite from Horvath and McDonald.

The song adds some outstanding 60's style Brass and again Detroit adds Backing Vocals, it is a crackerjack of a song. Heaven Can Wait features Wings, Denny Seiwell who adds a splendid shuffle to proceedings on a song that borders Americana and Country Rock whilst being very Laurel Canyon. It is a fantastic vocal from Hugh McDonald.

My personal favourite here is The Dying Of The Light, the title track. It sort of sums up what the trio are all about. A song that lands somewhere between Big Star and Badfinger with a wonderful vocal on the chorus. Many try this type of song, few pull it off as spectacularly as this.

Fill My Sky is a Perdomo song which captures brilliantly what the man is about. Great Pop Rock, but with a big Modern Prog, It is an incredibly well arranged affair and as you would expect there is an ace Perdomo solo. Finishing things off is a faithful, tasteful cover of Badfinger's Song For A Lost Friend.

There are three bonus tracks on the CD. A Drum Version of Paper Smile and the Single version of These Days, both are songs from the first album. There is also the first single from The Parlophonics Staring At The Sun which features Rae Jarvis.

You can buy the CD in the States here and in the UK and Europe here. You can also listen to the first 7 tracks here. The Parlophonics website is here.

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Good Shade - Think Spring

 

Good Shade is Columbus Ohio's Shane Natalie and far from being a newcomer, this is the fifth album. Although being very much a solo artist, the album is so well produced and performed, that I was surprised that this isn't a band album. I also know that Good Shade Live are a trio and you can imagine how great these songs are Live.

This is great Pop Rock, very melodic and Natalie's voice suits the genre so well. The album sounds UK 70s Pop Rock at times, but also 90s Not Lame-ish and his voice also lends itself to West Coast Guitar Pop of the 60s.

The songs are delivered at pace and this again suits the material. There is a knack of venturing into different genres initially song wise, but then changing to the default excellence. We Tried has a Canvey Island feel first up and Mountain starts all 80s Electro. The latter is beautifully done and personally, I'm not sure it needed the breakout.

Picking Up is all Classic Rock and Think Spring is a wonderful late 60s Twang. Rinse, Repeat is great UK Beat bordering on Surf with a hint of Psych Pop. No Returning completely changes the mood with its gentleness initially until it goes a bit Pete Wylie doing Psych Pop.

There is a hell of a lot to like, particularly on the straight ahead songs such as I Can't Imagine and When Will You See when things can get a bit Slacker Rock. Personally, I wish some songs would stick to the opening vibe, but that is a minor criticism of such a fine album.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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The Summertimes - The Summertimes

 

Here's a great Power Pop album that underlines how enjoyable the genre can be, when done well  Australia's The Summertimes have released their debut album and it also edges towards great Pop Rock, the type that IDHAS followers love, it also provides quite a Jangle.

Formed by songwriters David Beniuk and David Challenger, the duo are joined by Ashley Naylor (Paul Kelly and The Church), Stephen O'Brien (Tumbleweed) and Steve Bull (Icehouse). The result is a beautifully performed, arranged and produced affair ready for your summer holidays.

At times, there is a Crowded House feel, but when songs quicken up, there is more of a Hoodoo Guru's vibe and when they slow things down, they are not a million miles away from The Go-Betweens. Having said all this, the opener Inside sounds more late 60s UK Beat, but could also be a US 90s TV Sitcom feel.

Password is wonderful 90s Not Lame Power Pop, yet My Beautiful Girl Harbour is top notch modern Jangle Pop. Love (It's The Word) jangles too, but far more in a Merseybeat way. White Pointer even comes across as a popped up Americana.

Sky And The Sea is slower and fits UK New Wave well, but also the great Pop Rock of the 70s.  and Athens, GA is more great Jangle, so you'd expect it to be a bit R.E.M, but there is also plenty of early Teenage Fanclub on show. There's also a lovely brass accompaniment towards the end.

The Perfect Wave closes proceedings and rocks things up, Australian Style. With the pace up, the song races along and is much looser than previous songs with a couple of splendid Guitar solos. If you like your Pop Rock, you'll love this. If you are also a Jangle Pop fan, you've hit the jackpot.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Sandra's Wedding - The Hopeful Boy Replacement Service

I love Sandra's Wedding. I've never been sure if the band name does them any favours, but it is about the music and the music is fantastic. The Goole trio's last album, Pleasure Grounds more than deservedly appeared in I Don't Hear A Single's Best Of 2021 End Of Year.  You can read that Review here.

I have a lot in common with the band, coming from a Northern Town that has been devastated since the Thatcher years, built on Rugby League and Brass Bands. Working Glass workers that wouldn't take shit, but now have little work around. We are on opposite coasts, but the song remains the same.

This is great Pop Rock and Joe Hodgson's vocal remains somewhere between Paul Heaton and Glenn Tilbrook, although on this album, the Heaton comparison seems even more pronounced. The songwriting certainly follows that Housemartins beautiful songs about misery direction.

There is a self effacing brilliance that surrounds the band in all that they do. An ironic sense of humour that tells tales of the humdrum life that is the norm, but sung in a chipper sugar sweet manner. You are surrounded by melody and big choruses in crackerjack songs that set your feet tapping.

If anything, The Hopeful Boy Replacement Service is even more laid back than Pleasure Grounds. The songs are just as well performed and arranged, but there are plenty of different roads taken. This Be The Verse is very mid 80s Jangly Dream Pop. Laughing My Head Off stays in that period, but edges more towards Synth Pop.

The Berlin Wall And Other Stories reveals a whole different side to the band. It is meandering and melancholic, epic in scope, moody and magnificent, It is brilliant as it is, but you can also imagine different versions that it would suit. Rocked up or even orchestral Elbow style. It is a thing of great beauty. 

There is still plenty of the altogether now song choruses that Sandra's Wedding are noted for, French Girls and Rum Life being the best examples. From The Book To Stage is outstanding with an apt Brass arrangement that rounds the song off splendidly.

But overall, the feel is more pensive, deeper, perhaps a little more grown up and it works. The mix of the jaunty and the heartfelt works beautifully, this is a masterclass of how fabulous Pop can be. It is easy to write woe is me songs, much harder to offer upbeat sounding feel good material. This may be the best Pop Rock album that you will hear this year.

You can listen to and buy the album here, where you can also buy vinyl editions/ The CD is available on the mighty Subjangle label here.

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Listening To This Week Playlist

Here is the new Listening To This Week playlist. 23 splendid songs to delight your lugholes.. You can listen to all in one go or take your time, but I'm sure that you won't be disappointed with the selection.

This weekly fayre is solely for submissions, not the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. 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.

Rain Parade - Angel Sister

Baby Jesus - Don't Pass Me By

Liam Dutch - Introspection In The Abattoir

Daniel Monte - Play Your Cards Right

Roman Candles - Radium Girl

The Jack Knives - San Juan Radio Blues

Redfir - Black Swan

Borderlines - Hold Me Down

Games We Play - All My Untalented Friends (Ooo La La)

Lemon Lemon - Hammock

Livid - Raise my Bet

Sour Fuzz - Wide Eyed

The Subjunctives - Goodbye I Will Not Miss You, You Dicks

Symbol Soup - Dark Horse

Maestro Mike and the Goldmine - Smokin' Rider

Couchboy- Treason

Around The Sun - Affection

DD WALKER - White Lies

Waham - Circus

The Over Unders - One More

The Snorts - Complainer

Hello Amnesia - Molly's Game

Thirsty Curses - Down & Out

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The Pretty Flowers - A Company Sleeve

 

A conversation with a friend who I greatly respect, involved him mentioning that he felt that I Don't Hear A Single had gone off track lately, not in a bad way, just that it seemed to have ventured into noisier territory. I don't really see this. IDHAS as always been about what I am listening to at any time and so it isn't just about Guitar Pop Rock.

However, this review of the new album from Los Angeles's The Pretty Flowers is I suppose more in the territory that IDHAS is known for. I loved the debut album (reviewed here) and after an album of covers, this is the quartet's second album of original songs and it is great.

The band specialise in a brand of rocked up Power Pop with big hints of Indie Rock and even Psych Pop and do it really well. Choruses are big, riffs hook you and all is beautifully arranged and performed. A little loose at times, which adds to the enjoyment, they know what they are about and the results are ace.

Hit Nothing is great Brit Pop, early Brit Pop when the Manc influence on the Guitar scene was still buzzing, until Oasis starting raiding every band's back catalogue and it houses an awesome guitar solo. Another Way To Lose is nearer to Slacker Rock, but with a big hint of Psych Pop as the song progresses.

Agendaless is moodier but built around some amazing Guitar Riffs that underline how much the band Rock up what they do. Doughboy is very early Weezer with added fuzz and a killer rhythm track. Sit Right With You is great Power Pop again with a killer riff.

Honeylight mixes 90s College Rock with The Replacements and Bucket Beach is looser Indie that retains a Power Pop Drum beat. Baby Food is a 100 mph with Superchunk overtones. At times A Company Sleeve sounds more than a little Guided By Voices with a big budget, but there are far more hooks.

This is essentially a Guitar album, a melodic Guitar album though. The riffs are everywhere, the solos get you playing Air Guitar and the complete joy of the listen just enthralls you. If this is what people think IDHAS is about, I will more than settle for that.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Resounding Maybes - Murder Mittens

 

The Indianapolis Trio of Patrick  O'Connor, Savannah O'Connor and Ed Cho offer up their second album and it is a corker. Whereas the debut album was a little Ride does Dream Pop, the follow up is less a hint of Shoegaze and more a large step into Indie Guitar Pop.

It does feel very 80s and also very Brit, but this is very much the better end of UK mid 1980 onwards. The riffs and the Jangle are much more upfront and the choruses are addictive. It is splendid example of how uplifting Guitar Pop can be in the right hands.

The best example of this is Scream And Shout which is a crackerjack of a song with a big jangled riff. Dead Language sounds like the best of The Lightning Seeds and The Summer Holiday and this is the Indie Pop that the trio absolutely excel at.

But the album is not all about the jaunty. Fading Into Nothing is all moody melancholia and Breathe has a riff that borders on Goth, The Cult maybe, but all done with Patrick O'Connor's sugar sweet vocal. Final Hours is a 5 and a half minute closer that you just marvel at.

Final Hours is a much slower sprawling affair that isn't a million miles away from Modern Prog. The riff is haunting and changes the mood as you realise how versatile the trio are and how much they have grown. It is one of the best songs that I have heard so far this year.

The essence of Murder Mittens is one of great Pop, for instance Me And The Multiverse edges towards The Housemartins. The sheer chipperness across the whole album is punctuated by moments of excellence that underline how different Resounding Maybes can be. Highly Recommended!

You can listen to and buy the album here and find ot more about the band here.

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Silver Car Crash - Shattered Shine

 

Firstly, another big round of applause to the Crafted Sounds label who are gathering one hell of a roster. They are home to Buddie, who in my considered opinion are the best band in the world right now. They have come up with another winner in Silver Car Crash.

The Pittsburgh quartet are and Indie Guitar outfit, but this is Indie in the true sense of the word, not the current version which includes one man and his dog. This is angular, built on riffs that can hook you, but with breakouts that result in chaotic inventiveness.

If Buddie are XTC post The Big Express, then Silver Car Crash are the XTC of the first three albums. A lot of the references that I have seen are to the American Underground, a place that I don't really frequent as I obviously look at them more from a UK angle.

They are very much of the Post Punk Indie Guitar brigade, that eventually became the C Series of compilations, yet at their most straight ahead, they could be Franz Ferdinand and the scene that blew up around that band. You also have to mention Talking Heads as well.

Pleasure Zone is an absolutely wonderful listen, incredibly addictive, yet Tee Vee is Garage Psych. Never Really Had It is all New York Glam, yet instrumentally Accept is ace Prog. Nature is inspired cacophony as the best Noise Rock is, but Crime as a rocked up Jonathan Richman vibe. 

Shattered Shine can get a little noisy at times, but the riffs drill through you, quickly capturing your full attention. This is how Indie used to sound and should still do. Incredibly inventive, yet rough around the edges. The download is available for anything above a dollar, so what have you got to lose?

You can buy the album in all formats here as well as listen to the whole thing.

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I Don't Hear A Single Is 7

 

Happy Birthday To Us

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Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam - Mortuary Pantomime

 

Birmingham six piece Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam offer up their splendid new album and it is a fine mix of 70s Classic Rock and 90s College Rock with a twist of everything in between landing close to Pop Rock. It is a little noisy at times, yet never loses sight of the melody.

Thieving is like three songs in one. Part Glam Rock, part Punkish chant along, part Rock Out with constant twists and turns. It is both hypnotic and captivating. Yet Zone is driven by a killer riff, but edges into Shoegaze.

We Like Danger is frantic and driven again mixing great Pop Rock with something approaching Noise Rock. I'll Be The Devil goes further into Noise Rock, imagine The Motors with dark driven accompaniment. At times the song even puts a foot in Psych.

ESP is so damn catchy through the murky misty instrumental accompaniment. Gory Ending is a heady mix of the NWOBHM and Neo Prog with a Goth like riff thrown in. The title track closes the album is six minutes of intensity, mind blowing at times, very Masters Of Reality with a real Guitar wig out.

I often say that my own musical tastes away from here are harder than the Guitar Pop Rock that we specialise in. Mortuary Pantomime probably sums up these home departures most. This is an album that engrosses you, incredibly inventive.

The production seems to be delivery murky with the music more up front than the vocal. It is a mesmerizing ride built on noise and sheer catchiness. This is an album that will open your mind to the pleasure that can be heard when you stray from your own tastes.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Sir Prize & The Twomorrow Knightz - Glitter Gum And Bubble Pop (Name Your Price)

 

Singer Songwriter is a great supporter of I Don't Hear A Single and he has teamed up with Gregory Dobbins, owner of US Online Radio Station, Dandy's Stardust Drive. Dobbins came up with the concept and writes the lyrics. Izzard performs the songs.

The album is a great pastiche of second half of the 60s US Bubblegum Pop, and 70s UK Glam Rock and Pop Rock. and is a fun filled 12 songs with an added intro and outro providing a thoroughly enjoyable 40 minutes. 

Before I listened, I thought this seems a bit Hanna Barbera and so was delighted to find out that was the intention. The songs themselves are probably not meant to be masterpieces, but they certainly aren't throwaway. There is lyrical depth in what is supposed to be a find words that rhyme genre.

Glam Gone Wild is a mixture of Bolan and The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and Supersonic Sounds is enjoyable Piano Pop. Space Rock even gets a little Kids TV Sci Fi in sound with a Bowie vocal. Bubble Gum Kisses is jaunty cartoon soundtrack fayre.

I Hit The Breaks even goes for the big ballad and adds a Rubettes showaddywaddy to the Backing Vocals. You Hurt My Bad Feelings opens up with a big riff and Eccentric Asylum aims more at the Pop Rock that followed Glam, a little Alex Harvey in places with a cockernee vocal instead of a Scotch drawl and a great riff to match.

There's a lot to like here. It is a great reminder of the sheer joy that Bubblegum and Glam provided. Lovingly done and not meant to change the musical world. It is a really refreshing change from the more modern Guitar Pop that can be a little to woe is me too often.

You can listen to and buy the album here. What have you got to lose? The album is at Name Your Price.

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Listening To This Week Playlist

 

Here is the new Listening To This Week playlist. 23 excellent songs to make your day. You can listen to all in one go or take your time, but I'm sure that you won't be disappointed with the selection.

This weekly fayre is solely for submissions, not the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. 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.

Hoagie - Friends' Bands

Smug Brothers - Let Me Know When It's Yes

Audio Drones = Nothing In This World Like You

The Onesies - Meditation: "Blue Vervain" (Single Version)

Planetary Hum - String Of Stars

Half Stack - I Might Try

George Solonos - Walking Away

Tablefox - Only a Matter of Time

Matthew Lowry - All My Friends Are Selling Out

This Day in History - Cpt. Cooper

Entrez Vous - Sham Trial

Martyn Cuthbert - Hollywood

Cliché Cult - Sweet Therapy

Jack Arthur - I Don't Need Anything But You

Sharper Side - Four Thousand Club

McDead - Sun Sun

Tiblinski - Skull

S.J. Armstrong - Designing a Spacecraft

The Pilot Waves - Patterns

Bad Magnets - Now I Know

Marry Cherry - Divebomb

CR and The Nones - The Long Game

Dippers - Recurrent Sight

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Various - IDHAS Ten Songs Mix 58 (x1.5 Edition)

It's been a while due to IDHAS being so busy at present. So we are back with an extended 15 Track Mix and called it the x1.5 edition, geddit! 15 new songs that show that Indie is alive and well. There are people that say all new music is rubbish, but they are not the sharpest knives in the box. 

The songs are not placed in the order of preference, just in a way that flows. It is an absolute cracker this week. 53 minutes that will absolutely fly by. The mix will hopefully be bothering the Mixcloud Global Charts as usual.

Here is the playlist of the 15 songs this week :

01 The High Strung - Telescope

02 Alex Lahey - Congratulations

03 Dave Cope And The Sass - Knave Of Hearts

04 The Wind Ups - Jonathan Says

05 Rinehearts - Powerlines

06 King Lemon - Nothing To Look Forward To

07 The Conscience Pilate - Army Of Devils (Red House Mix)

08 Tamar Berk - Drop In The Bucket

09 The Young Hearts - A Charmed Society

10 Freezer - Everybody Wants To Be Happy

11 Spencer Segelov & Great Paintings - And We Get Burned

12 The Sylvia Platters - Youth Without Virtue

13 The Projectors - Valentine

14 Hurry - Beggin’ For You

15 The Mighty Bard -  Magician

IDHAS Ten Songs Mix 58

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The Goods - The Goods EP

 

Having maybe frightened the horses with the last review. The three EPs covered tonight conclude with something nearer to home. Oakland Trio The Goods offer up vintage Power Pop that brings big reminders of the revival of the genre in the late 70s early 80s.

It is wonderfully performed, written and arranged. The Jangle and the Twang of Hear Me is an absolute joy to listen to, a big chorus, a magnificent hook and everything that Power Pop should be. But none of the four songs are better than the other. All are ace.

Dear Angeline again has touches of the 80s, but also hints at Merseybeat. David Jones Is Dead is shorter, but also a little loser and again mixes decades with a 70s Glam and Pop Rock vibe, but also pointing at the 90s Not Lame days.

I'm Not The Only One is much more 60s with an absolute gem of a riff. The trio lock into the beat and special mention has to go to Rob Good who should be charged with being in possession of a voice that is ideal for Power Pop. As catchy as catchy can be, the self titled EP is an absolute winner and promises much for the future,

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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The Dodo Appreciation Society - None Of These Songs Are About A Dodo

 

The Dodo Appreciation Society are a duo from Peterborough and they are very very noisy. Don't expect crashing riffs and big choruses here. But this is wonderful and proof that I do have a life away from I Don't Hear A Single, although that time has been seriously eaten into by the addition of Listening To This Week.

How to describe this? Noise Rock with a twist of Post Punk. Psych with a dash of Angular Indie maybe. It is wonderfully chaotic, yet retains a sense of humour and is built around dark riffs that venture into Intelligent Punk.

The Multifaceted Cucumber is probably the most accessible song, built on a riff that isn't miles away from UK Beat, although it may not seem it. I Always Need The Loo has glimpses of very early XTC and The Sex Life Of A Slug is great noisy Post Punk.

They remind me at times of what The Bordellos could be with a bit more money spent on them. The Psych element is splendid. This may be a little too much for delicate ears, but it is at Name Your Price and you may be surprised at how hypnotic the EP is. I absolutely adore it. 

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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Perfectly Lethal - LP Session 1 and LP Session 2 EPs

 

Boston Quartet have released two fine Eps, LP Session 2 in June and LP Session 1 last October. Both deserve to be heard because they a cracking blend of Indie College Rock, Power Pop and Garage Rock. This is the sort of thing that would have lit up eyes in the 90s when College Rock was so influential to da kidz rather than the Spotify playlists of the now.

Session 2 is the closest to Power Pop, although it is a looser, slightly chaotic version of the genre, it is incredibly melodic and riff driven. Pissing In The Wind even reminds me of early Wah!, perhaps not as anthemic, but certainly just as hook driven, vocally and instrumentally.

Session 1 also contains Decay, which has more than a hint of the first Tsar album, but obviously nowhere near as big a production. It is a crackerjack of a song. But both White Noise and Little Things have a big melodic Punk vibe. The former is very UK 1977, but from a band who can play their instruments. The latter is really up and at 'em, very Ramones.

There is plenty here to enjoy. I do sense that the direction is leaning more to Power Pop than Garage Rock and that might be wise. This is something that may bring greater rewards via the Indie Guitar Pop mob that seem to have fallen in love with the Guitar and Live music again.

You can listen to and buy both EPs here.

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The Midnight Callers - Rattled Humming Heart

My family was very musical, so as a very young boy, I was influenced by what they were playing and that was a mixture of Country, Rock and Roll, Buddy Holly and of course, The Beatles. I'd be about 8 when I started properly listening to songs under my own steam and what a time it was.

It was of course Singles led for three years and led by Bolan and Bowie and then Glam Rock arrived and what a time it was. It wasn't just about the choruses and the outfits, music was fun and opened your eyes to such amazing sounds from bands that you put on a pedestal. 

If only people remembered now that the essential benefit of music should be enjoyment and a song to be listened to more than once. Radio was big and influential as were shows like Top Of The Pops and Lift Off With Ayshea. So why am I on such a nostalgia trip? Well, The Midnight Callers remind me so much of that time. The majority of this album could be from that period.

This album is way better than the releases of that time. This is wall to wall quality, whereas UK Glam Rock albums, with the odd exception, were largely the singles with the odd great song, but mostly a load of "will this do" tosh. We weren't bothered, we were buying the singles. 

Another surprise is that the band are from New York as well as them not wearing Platform Boots and Glitter. The opener, New York Tramp reveals what you are in store for and it is melodic, chorus led and riff driven, beautifully sung and performed.

Step! and Closer reinforce the Chinn and Chapman similarity. Yet we are not just about Glam, Girl On The Run is all 60s Jangle Pop, again wonderfully done. What Goes Around is splendid UK Beat and Without Ya is great weeping 70s Pop Rock that adds a big Glam Riff part way through.

Maggie is fine Acoustic West Coast gentleness, a little early Eagles maybe. The Plan is great end of the 70s New Wave with a chorus that jangles, yet it also feels a bit post Merseybeat. What Goes Around even gets close to The Who, more pop perhaps, but the rhythm section get very close to Entwistle and Moon.

Colors is a great closer, very early Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers with added harmonies. That is the beauty of some of these songs. They start as one thing and morph seamlessly into another. Colors even gets a little Psych Pop at times.

There is plenty here to show that The Midnight Callers are no one trick pony and even if they were the Glam Rock is so excellently done that I could listen to hours of it. After The Anderson Council. this release shows what a fine year Marty Scott's Jem Records are having. Rattled Humming Heart is Highly Recommended. I'm odd to listen to it again.

You can listen to the album here. You can buy the album everywhere. You can find out more about Jem Records here.

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Skids - Destination Dusseldorf

 


I was a massive Skids fan. I was 15 and had never really fell for Punk, I mean I'd been listening largely to Prog for the previous 12 months. So Punk passed me by through my own disinterest, but New Wave got me on track as did Skids. The band made me feel a little Punk, even though they were never really that.

It was really anthemic stuff and Richard Jobson made you feel that you were being educated, whilst Stuart Adamson's Guitar riffs just completely hooked me completely. I followed Adamson into Big Country and it sort of the compensated for Skids being no more. 

I still listen to Days In Europa regularly, my love of the band and Be Bop Deluxe insists on that album being my favourite, but The Absolute Game is just as great. What amazes me with Destination Dusseldorf is how much like those two albums it sounds. 

Indeed, the riff of Circus Games even briefly appears on Tidal Wave. With there being, sadly, no Stuart Adamson, the best best thing is his Big Country Guitar partner, Bruce Watson and you have to say that Watson takes on the Adamson Skids role wonderfully, at times it could be Stuart playing.

Yet, on hearing the opener, Open Your Eyes, you would get a completely different feel. It is a great song, but very commercial Pop Rock, anthemic yes, but not really Skids sounding. That's not a criticism in any way, it is a great song, but it certainly surprised me.

Fear not though, the album then gets into Classic Skids mode. Jobson's chops are in fine form and all the riffs sound like it is 1979 again. There's even Yankee Dollar Whoa - Ohs at one stage. Songs are splendidly up and at 'em riffaholic affairs. 

When the Skids script is deviated from on Wings Of Desire, it sounds so like The Academy Show, fantastically so. Then there's the sort of Story of Skids on Things We've Seen with Jobson relating it as only he can in the style of Peaceful Times.

Sadly, the 9th track is only on the CD version. Probably not on the vinyl editions due to time constraints. It is a real shame, because Great Prize is a crackerjack of a song with a top notch vocal arrangement. An understated brooding joy with a similarly understated guitar solo. 

Destination Dusseldorf will delight long time Skids fans, it is both original and nostalgia. However the hope is that new fans will come along for the ride and love this and discover the back catalogue. Special mention too to Last Night From Glasgow, a label that is doing great things for both old and new Scottish artists.

You can listen to the album here. You can buy the album from everywhere. Last Night From Glasgow's own site is best as they have all the formats and different coloured vinyl versions. You can find that site here.

Listening To This Week Playlist

 

Here is the new Listening To This Week playlist. 24 splendid songs are on show, something for everyone. Play them all at once or dig in and out  WE notice that virtually all are Bandcamp or Soundcloud links this week. We have no affiliation whatsoever with either, but do find they help artists more as listeners can follow and listen to more music from the artist.

This weekly fayre is solely for submissions, not the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. 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.

Civic Green - Better The Devil You Know

Fantastic Shams - Crooked Line

Late Bloomers - Bitter Pill

Lomma - Death, Pt. 1

The Eyes - Not Just Another Day

The Dodo Appreciation Society - The Multifaceted Cucumber

Vogue Villains - Floatin' Stone

Reality Addiction - Stargaze

SUCKERPUNCH! - Party Crashers

eigenminds - mind the gap

The Dumbanimals - Scribble

Blueburst - Senseless

Suburban Surf Club - Skate Fast, Walk Faster

Stonehouse -Donna

The Sleeveens - Give My Regards To The Dancing Girls

SILASFUNK - Love Strikes Again

The Spider Accomplice - Rebels and Riders

Joan of Arkansas - Peck

Curves - Laundry

The Mosquitos - You Don't Give A Hang (About Me)

Miles Recommends -Betty

Snake Lips -Smooth Brain No Wrinkles

Nick Vibes - Drunk and Tipsy On The Seaside

Katie MF - Japanese Whiskey

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