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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