Brian Noyes - Seelie Court

 

Seattle's Brian Noyes was new to me as this is his second album. I can tell you that Seelie Court is a great album. On the back of playing Psychodrama on the current Listening To The Week, I was so surprised by it that I went off and listened to the album.

Those who have listened to Psychodrama will know that it is great jaunty 70s Pop Rock with a hint of Psych Pop, a little Marmalade in places. If your first visit is with the opener, you would be forgiven for thinking that you are in for some mellow Piano Pop.

My heart is particularly warmed by the splendid Psych Pop of Dollhouse Man, very 60s and it may be one of the best things that I've heard all year. Both Tapestries and The Swimmer are very Canterbury Folk with arrangements to match.

The album is really lyrically adept, songs about people and places that aren akin to the writing of Ward White, indeed at times, the songs could be Ward White songs, but with the plummy vocal being replaced by something much more pleasantly gentle. I can't pay a higher compliment.

Sally Knew The Words is a cross between McCartney Pop and Acoustic Jangle and Epistle To Faye closes the album in great Brit Pop style. Beautifully arranged and produced, Seelie Court is a real tour de force that underlines the strength of melodic Pop Rock.

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

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Listening To This Week Playlist

25 songs this week. The song order is not about song preference, but how the playlist flows. This weekly playlist is largely for submissions, not just 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. A reminder that we are taking our first ever break from the Playlist next week. 

The next one will appear on Monday 31 March.

Tristan Armstrong - Queen Of Diamonds

The Goodbye Radio - She's Got A Death Ray

Greenbak - Do You Lower Your Eyes

The Gromble - Favourite Joke

Skeleton Staff - Sugar

Real Sickies - Never Going Back

The States - View From The Top

Block 33 - A Glimmer Of Hope (For The Small Guy)

Brian Noyes - Psychodrama

Tiny Forehead - Be My Plane Crash

Vordermann - Delirium Tremors

Another Day - Merry Go Round

The Guilteens - Further Down The Channel

The Spindles - Henry And Leslie

Train Room - Station Road

Chaft - 95

Pantomime Horses - 5 O'Clock Bluebirds

Jon Anything - Take You By Storm

The Black Moods - I Want Your Love

Tom Lark - Fuselage

Harmonic Permanent Drive - Graveyard

Luke Meyn - Shifting Walls

Lonesome Territory - Guarded

Hope Slide - Manchester By The Sea (Spotify Link)

Lilywhite - Cheeks Are Cold

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Skeleton Staff - HEPTO-ALTRUISM

 

We absolutely adored the last album from Sydney's Skeleton Staff when it appeared in late 2022. You can read the review here. HEPTO-ALTRUISM is just as wonderful and varied as the aforementioned Malapropism. However the path it takes is slightly different.

This is a much gentler album, the bombast has been replaced by something that is much 60s led, all harmony and intriguing arrangements, but the band's expertise with a chorus is still admirable and as adept as ever.

This is intelligent Indie with a big heart and you know how much we love such. Take for instance Sugar, a song that reeks of San Franciscan Bubblegum, all vocal harmony and jaunty arrangement. There is a wonderful interlude that enhances the song even more. 

Forever Or We Go Down In Flames is magnificent Psych Pop with a touch of UK Beat and The Littlest Pig is all I Can't Let Maggie Go with delightful harpsichord. The Chosen even gets all ba ba ba ba Beat and is top notch Jangle Pop.

Away from the 60s, The Devil's Best Tunes is more 70s Pop Rock with a C86 intro. I Don't Belong In This Era I'm From is more than a little Brit Pop. Indeed, it sounds like Jarvis Cocker fronting Christie as a wonderful Psych Jangle to it.

1am is a real outlier as an opener. Sort of Chris Difford doing Chaz and Dave to a TV Crime Thriller soundtrack. It shouldn't work, but it does. Skeleton Staff call themselves a Cartoon band, there is way more of interest here than many other straight ahead bands. Another great album!

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

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The States - Gimme Joy

 

After all the promise of last year's single Carol. Melbourne quartet, The States breeze in with 7 song debut album and it is a corker. Guitar driven with a pace that is hard to keep up with, Gimme Joy straddles genres without ever losing its energy.

Riff laden and at times a little Garage Rock, there is a real hint of UK Glam Rock and New Wave. The album feels as though it is built for the stage. It certainly makes you stand up and listen whilst you pump your fist uncontrollably.

It is those riffs and the pace that grab you most and Scarlett Maloney's vocal is effective, but deliberately in the distance to allow the accompanying instrumentals to completely connect with you. Whereas Carol has a hint of Rock and Roll, the accompanying songs generally have a much harder edge.

View From The Top is probably the standout, but Queen Of Mean, which sounds like something on the RAK label in 1973, runs it close. There's also a surprise slowdown on the closer as Back To Loving is almost a ballad with the vocal more upfront and totally charming.

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 On 24 March

 

The Listening To This Week Playlist will appear as normal tomorrow. However, for the first time in over two years, we will not be posting one on the 24 March. Artists submitting songs should just note that the earliest that their song would appear will be 31 March.

After an altercation with an artist, we felt that we could do with a rest from it for a week. This will allow us to focus on reviews for the rest of the month. The LTTW Playlist will continue as usual here, it does what we want to do, provide an avenue for artists without Albums or EPs and provide opportunities for Album Reviews from artists that we wouldn't always naturally discover ourselves.

Moving forward, we are also looking at opportunities to provide a further audience for it via alternative places. This might be a stand alone or linked playlist or the likes of appearing on You Tube or such. It is too late in our almost 9 year life to make it a Spotify playlist, not that we ever would want to anyway.

We are not sensitive souls, we were just surprised to wake to this this morning from an artist with just over a hundred followers. They were actually tagged on Social Media. 

"ARTISTS: Please note this is a "blog playlist". They don't do any blog write-ups, and no playlisting. It seems they just post a link to your song in the middle of a large disconnected post. Readers/listeners must manually go through the entire thing clicking on each song individually to hear it. As far as I can tell, we didn't get any measurable results from this. They didn't even post our socials or any other assets we provided. Just an FYI--probably best to go to a blogger or a playlister, but "blog playlist" is neither of those things."

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Cmon Cmon - Headwind EP. (14 March)

We loved Cmon Cmon's 2023 album, The Crack And The Light. You can read the review here. So it is great to have the Belgian Trio back. This EP continues the strength shown on the album and maybe edges more into melodic Power Pop.

The emphasis is very much on melody, at times Cmon Cmon approach the space that Caper Clowns inhabit, but in a slightly more pacy manner. There is the gentleness of the Danes and the gentle Pop Rock elements are there. There is also a real Jangle Pop feel.

All The Other Kids is a great single, very Brit Pop with a couple of great riffs that hold you, one is a little Psych Pop. Headwind is a much smoother affair, almost Soft Rock, which works well Neon Light is more 80s, a cross between C86 and Glasgow Indie, a little Supernaturals maybe.

Turn Out The Light is a great Pop Rock affair that adds a blistering solo whilst again approaching Brit Pop. Instrumentally, the whole EP moves away from the standard Guitar Pop due to the really interesting Guitar Runs that enter surprising avenues. Really Enjoyable!

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

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Heavy Sweater - SO SAD!

 

We are back in Canada for Toronto's Heavy Sweater. We've become big fans of the quartet largely due to the three singles that have been real Listening To This Week faves and we've been waiting to tell you about the album. Today being release date allows us to do just that.

This is a band that can cross many genres without ever seeming to deliberately do it. There's a lot in common with the new noisier breed of Power Pop, but there's also a real Slacker 90s feel. They can rock out with some paint stripping solos, yet are still Pop Punk enough to be able to ear your cap backwards.

This is a really accomplished debut albums, just as at ease with 90s Rock and EMO as it is with big riffs and slowed down grooves. If you've listened to those singles, you will get the drift, but that doesn't hold back the joy and energy that is present here.

Amongst all the noise, there is even room for an Acoustic Ballad, Held Together, that adds a wonderful electric solo. Eyelids is still probably their best song, the shouty vocal and slacker vibe is all attitude and venom, yet is still transformed with a sing along chorus and a corking solo.

Elsewhere you have the bouncy Power Pop of Stain Removal, the Indie Rock of Yawn, the Emo of Toolbox and the momentous Guitar laden Real Good Guy. This may be a little noisier than you normally hear, but the chance to shake your fist is a welcome change. My other half Tez summed it up.. On another listen, she said "This is your sort of album isn't it?" and she is absolutely right. Great Stuff! 

You can listen to and buy the album here.  

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Shapes Like People - Ticking Haze

 

We loved The Shop Window's Daysdream album, so much so that it was in our Best Albums Of 2024. It was great Pop Rock and many followers felt the same. You can read the review here. Shapes Like People are nothing like The Shop Window, so why the hell are they being mentioned here.

Well, Carl Mann is the lead vocalist and guitarist of The Shop Window. Another little known fact is that he co-wrote Kylie Minogue's Ocean Blue. His intention was to record demos to pitch to Kylie, but as the project developed, he loved the sound of his wife Kat's guide vocal on the demos. So much so that they decided to turn the project into their own album.

There are parts that you can hear The Shop Window a little, particularly the Jangle Pop of both Head Spun and When The Radio Plays. But essentially this is Indie Pop like the late 80s and early 90s. It is a magnificent listen, beautifully written, performed and arranged.

It is fair to say that we don't normally reside in this area, although we are massive Mazzy Star fans and like a lot of the influences without really engaging as much as we once did.But there are hints of other faves such as The Sundays, non quirky Alisha's Attic songs and Saint Etienne.

There is surprising variety on display, The Ship Is Soon To Sail is countrified Carpenters. The wonderful Fireworks is instrumentally like Noughties Sparks and vocally, a little Neil Tennant. Server Of The Mind could be Kirsty Maccoll and Lie, Annie Lennox. But New Cut Asunder is splendid Dream Pop and A New Crown is almost Shoegaze and the vocal on Don't Hear Your Footsteps just melts you.

Fans of that late 80s Indie sound will love the album's front half. The back half is more all encompassing. I only discovered this by casually coming across Ambition Is Your Friend. I had no idea that Carl was involved. The album reveals what a masterful multi instrumentalist, arranger and songwriter Carl Mann is, but the real tour de force is Kat Mann's wondrous vocals across the whole piece. 

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl, CD or as a download. It is an essential purchase.

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Tristan Armstrong - The Lonely Avenue

 

Oh Look! Canada again! The co-founder of The Actual Goners, Toronto's Tristan Armstrong offers up his solo album and it is terrific. If you listened to the opening title track on the LTTW, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this is an album of great Power Pop, but it is much more than that.

That song sounds like Chris Isaak fronting a crack Guitar Pop band produced by Jeff Lynne. The Power Pop doesn't stop there with the maybe even better, Queen Of Diamonds built on chunky guitar and On The Run is superb Jangled Pop.

Yet elsewhere, there is a real similarity to Bird Streets, a particular favourite amongst out followers. This is particularly relevant on both Periscope and Sing In Your Sleep. Yet The Lender sounds more West Coast, jaunty Americana even, it fair jaunts along.

There is also a Country feel to the likes of Would You Take An IOU and Gimme A Sign courtesy of some wonderful Pedal Steel. The former closes the album with a meandering melancholic splendidness.The latter even flirts a little with 80s AOR, a little Don Henley maybe?

Armstrong's vocal helps the variety, there's a really engaging twang to his vocal at times. The album is beautifully produced and arranged allowing the songs to breathe, allowing space as much as melody. I can see this album being a real winner amongst followers here. The Riff count is also high, just as we like.

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

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No Frills - Sad Clown

 

I think many of you know how impressed I am with what Canada has produced musically over the past couple of years. It is almost as though the country is the furure of Indie. Toronto quartet, No Frills, return for their second album and that is a reason to celebrate. 

The band though are not like much of what you hear from the country. They specialise in a fine brand of Indie Pop. If you took them at face value, you might think that they are like many of the bands that my great friend Darrin at Subjangle delights in.

But No Thrills are very different to most around that genre. The album title might give it away, but these are melancholic and insular songs lyrically, yet arranged instrumentally in a magnificent manner. This makes the album become a chirpy sounding joy, the complete reverse to the lyrics.

The results are gentle, but there is real intelligent gravitas to the Indie that they produce. At times, you can envisage They Might Be Giants and at others, they get very early Sugarplastic and there is a real Andy Partridge-esque feel to proceedings.

Just as you feel that you have nailed the vibe, a corking unexpected riff or a keyboard run makes you sit up. Even when a song gets particularly dark, it is just as hypnotic, take for instance Nothing.  Yet the cracking Riff on Under The Gun and the pure Jangle Pop of Stephanie offer up really engaging pop.

The-Day-To-Day is one of the great Pop songs of this or any year. Quirky and melodic with a wonderful arrangement. Incredibly inventive, yet so damn catch. Sad Clown will be one of the albums of the year, it offers up everything that we adore here.  Daniel Busheikin is a lyrical genius. Totally Splendid!

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

Another 31 songs to enlighten your listening week. As always a mix of returning heroes and new to us and maybe you too. A reminder that the song order is not about song preference, but how the playlist flows. This weekly playlist 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. 

The Kowloons - James Dean

The Kowloons · James Dean

Strange Neighbors - Hate Me Less

Jumbo Chords - Dennis Wilson

The Vapors - Nonstop Radio

Lunchbox - Evolver

Caper Clowns - Anywhere Is Home

Autogramm - Randy

Naïve Men Leading The Blind - Two Stars With The Circus In Town

Naive Men Leading the Blind · Two Stars With the Circus in Town

Couchboy - Change

The telephones - Lindsey

The Telephones · Lindsey!

Field Music And The NASUWT Riverside Band - The Death Of Blind Davy

Tristan Armstrong - The Lonely Avenue

The High Water Marks - Postcard

Surprise Asteroid - Honesty

Louis Philippe & The Night Mail - Pictures Of Anna

Playhouse - Promises

The Purple Helmets - Moon Base Alpha (Space 1999)

Moonspin - I Can't Wait

Heavy Sweater - Real Good Guy

Slow Buildings - Drained

The Mars McClanes - The Dead

Carter CorZatt - Perpetual

The Ragamuffins - Colour Of My Soul

Empty Pinata - I Have A Huge Crush On Doja Cat

Empty Pinata · I Have A Huge Crush On Doja Cat

Dreamwave - Clad Kings

Sarah Shafey - Messin Around

Darker Lighter - Nice To Meet You

Michael Sanders - Impression

Out In Front - Forget July

Out in Front · Forget July

Fara del Hourya - YummyHumy

Trip Sitter - I Love You All

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Trouble At T' Mill

 

We have been experiencing major system problems this week. Those of you who are wondering what has happened to the 31 Reviews in 31 Days can rest easy. Reviews are being written and put in draft. They will be released in an orderly fashion as soon as we are back up. There are also quite a few reviews that can't be released until we hit the release dates as the month progresses.

The 31 in 31 will be active. We anticipate that we should be up and running by tomorrow evening. That will mean that tomorrow's Listening To This Week Playlist will appear tomorrow night and Reviews will begin in earnest from Tuesday.

Update

System Upgrade progressing nicely. We expect the Listening To This Week Playlist to be up around 8pm.

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Pink Chameleons - Harmony

 

It's been a while since we covered a Finnish band and so we remedy that with the Helsinki Trio's second album, Harmony. Although there were hints of Garage Rock and Psych on that fine debut album, this sounds much more in the Psych department. They've made regular appearances on the Listening To This Week Playlist, so let's shout about the splendid album.

It's not weird Psych, more gentle riff driven mesmerising in type. Built around wonderfully hypnotic riffs with more than a touch of mid 80s UK (particularly East Kilbride) Fuzz and distortion. Vocally, it is a little Shoegaze and flirts with Psych Pop at times.

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Those riffs just surround you making you think that you are in the last 60s or Indie 80s at will. There are diversions from the template, particularly the Farfisa driven Black Sky and the big early 70s Pop of the killer single, Sunshine Honey.

But the trio are not afraid of showing their darker Psych side on the likes of Neon Cave and Sleep Through is very very Shoegaze. Ride Into The Mood gets a little Primal Scream and Some Sunny Feeling gets all hippy trippy.

Harmony is an album that hits a groove and just doesn't let go. The real stand out is the wonderful Rhythm Section, it just consumes you, complementing the laidback Psych Riffs and vocal. Harmony is an awesome captivating listen. You don't have to be left field to create Great Psych.

You can listen to and buy the album here. 

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Listening To This Week Playlist

An absolutely belting 30 songs on the first of 5 LTTWs this month. Never more so has the last listed been as great as the first  applied and you have plenty of time to listen to across the week. A reminder that the song order is not about song preference, but how the playlist flows. This weekly playlist 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. 

Nick Frater - My Heart's In Stereo

The Setting Son - Cul-De-Sac

The Swan Chorus - Blame On You

Ryan Allen - Anxious All The Time

Hooveriii - Westside Pavillion Of Dreams

Transistors - Seagull

Joe Stilwell with Van Nes - Angel Bill

Graydons - High On The Richter Scale.

Soot Sprite - All My Friends Are Depressed

Cupid's Carnival - Life

The Hi-Sides - The Boy

Stella Matteoni - Imposter Syndrome

The Bret Tobias Set - It Begins With A Lean

Real Sickies - Should Have Seen It Coming

Maximillian Thanksalot - Enough

Star Aurora - 21st Century Love

The Real Flowerpots - Storm Shelter

The Real Flower Pots · Storm Shelter

The Open Flames - Drop A Coin

Pan Arcadia - Into The Glass

Forgotten Garden - Five Minutes

Fallenium - Don't Be A Man About It

The Two Seasons - Gallery

The Campbell Apartment - Grudge

Floral Image - Burning 305

Cloud House - Golden Hour

Nik Brinkman - Where Are You Now?

Last Good Thing - Wish You Were

Icarus Phoenix - Poor Sad Indie Everything

Dream Of A Man In A Top Hat - I'm Your Man

Keys - What Flavour?

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Transistors - Everything Will Never Happen Again

 

Transistors are from Canterbury. No not the Prog and Psych one here in England, but New Zealand's South Island. Just as as everything in Canterbury here is not just those two genres, all in New Zealand is not whimpering melancholic Indie and Dream Pop.

This is a trio that will wake up your neighbours. The trio deliver up and at 'em pacy sing along or maybe shout along UK New Wave, not million miles away from the UK New Wave that quite a few from the dying embers of Punk emerged from.

There's a lot in common with the current Power Pop scene. Much noisier than what went before, but just as riff driven, chorus led and catchy, this is not a new album, but the long lost third album from the band. It may sound a little current now, but imagine how it compared to what was around a decade ago.

Unreleased and largely not known about. it is masterly collection of 14 songs defined by attitude and energy. An outlier for what was around when recorded. I've selected my 3 favourite songs, but this is an album to be listened to from start to finish. Don't expect any ballads though.

The band are currently touring in New Zealand which makes us incredibly envious and frustrated at being so far away. These songs will sound even more glorious live. We are not nostalgic in any way, but this is an album that shouldn't have taken so long to release. It finally appeared on Friday.

You can listen to and buy the album here.  Pre-Sales sold the Vinyl out, hopefully Melted Ice Cream will do another batch. It is currently available as a download.

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Nick Frater - OH CONTRAIRE!

 

The Lord Of Pop is back and he's brought many many IDHAS faves to join his regular collaborators. Nick Frater is definitely an extraordinary solo artist, but after well over a decade, he continues to hoover up like minded peers.

There has never been a duff album along the way and as we reach 2025, Croydon's finest seems to have made the BIG sounding album that he has always threatened to unleash. There's always been memorable choruses, a massive melody and harmony count and hook after hook, but the sound here is panoramic.

Frater has never hidden away, but here he proves himself the showman. The vocal is bold and far more upfront, the arrangements are varied and include big string affairs, mellotron and some real rocked up Guitar solos. It does sound a little (wonderfully) 70s at times. There are also songs that you might expect from him if you are familiar with his past such as Seraphim Called and Steal Away.

He's also been great at Lounge Pop and Dreaming Of A Wonderland fits that bill. Goodnight, Goodbye has a string arrangement to die for, a big McCartney Pop closer. but what bursts out most is the joyous bouncing pacy pop and there is plenty of that.

You will have heard the single One Minute and that still sounds as great as it always has, but here it is joined by My Heart's In Stereo, a Jeff Lynne in the 80s sort of races out of the blocks. You'd be tempted to say it is the best Pop song that you will hear this year, but then you hear I Know You Know I Know.

There is certainly a lot of ringing Guitar riffs around, some very Glam Rock, others definitely 70s Pop Rock sounding. The guest list is awesome and I obviously can't list everyone with space restrictions, but you can note them all on the Bandcamp page.

What is most to applaud are that many don't appear on other people's albums so much. Texas's Spyderpop duo Lannie Flowers and Danny Wilkerson, Probyn Gregory, Michael Simmons and Lady Prog herself, Cary Grace. The results are amazing and remind all of the beauty of Melodic Pop. OH CONTRAIRE! is simply splendid.

You can listen to and buy the album here. The album is available on Vinyl, CD and as a download. The album is on the Think Like A Key label and so can be bought here as well as at all good record stores.

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