Listening To This Week Playlist

Another cracking 25 song playlist to see you into June. As well as the traditional version, we have put the playlist on Spotify and you will see the link below. Remember this is early days on Spotify, so the following there is nowhere near our one here. Only 22 of the 25 songs are available on Spotify.

The weekly playlist is largely for submissions, not just the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. 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 the artists who appear here. 

The Spotify Version     (The Real Flowerpots, The Four Chords and The Friends are not on Spotify)

Link To Spotify

Fortitude Valley - Sunshine State

The Real Flower Pots - Birdie (Not On Spotify)

PDA - Tantrums

Jeremy & The Harlequins - Up 'n' Down

Barry J Walsh - Suddenly June

Janus 4-14 - Modern Girl

Ruiz! - Always Dreaming

Wonderfun - Picking Up Serena

Yawn Mower - Rascal

Waldo Witt - This (Koyasan 2023)

King Husky - Change Of Heart

Slumber - 1993 (Shake It)

Commander Pilot - Baby C'mon

The High Water Marks - Your Stint In Art School

The Friends - Paralyzed (Not On Spotify)

Moonstand - Training Wheels

The Waupoos Barn Incident - Horror Show: Elon And The Dictator

The Probies - 'Til The End Of Time

SANSOM - Call Me

SANSOM · Call Me

Those Looks - Passing Through

Octopus Knife Fight - Already Broken

Zoë Kilgren - Girls In Skirts

Zoë Kilgren · Girls In Skirts

The Four Chords - Make A Difference (Not On Spotify)

Dread Spectre Council - Hooves & Cloves

Dread Spectre Council · Hooves and Cloves

The Spiral Electric - In Too Deep (Single Version)

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

Janus 4-14 - Blue To Infinity. (Bandcamp Name Your Price)

 

As I trailed in the review of Ghosts From Your Past (here) at the start of the month, a new EP was on its way and here it is. We love this lot, one of our main discoveries of the year. Blue To Infinity has the band's feet firmly planted in Indie Rock, yet bar the closer, these six songs sound much more jaunty.

The Title Track sounds like it belongs in the Britpop glory days, all anthem and pace. Modern Girl gets even more upbeat, having a lot in common with the great 80s UK Guitar Pop. It fairly breezes along with a rapid catch all pace.

Tell Her About The World is a much slower smoother affair. A little funky at times, the harmonies are exceptional and the laidback feel breaks things up beautifully with a great guitar solo. It's All Over Now sounds more American.

Americana in fact. Acoustic based, almost a shuffle, almost a campfire song, again underling the variety in the band. I Never Wanna See You Again, as the single, was beloved of LTTW followers, the song is 100mph and doesn't let up.

The closer, Sad & Broken is a real change of mood, sort of Blue Collar, almost Classic Rock. Melancholic but instrumentally beautifully played despite the sadness. I predict a bright future for Janus 4-14, but a lot of that could depend on you.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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

Dennis Davison - Sirens And Hellbenders

 

I obviously move around many selected genres and enjoy them all, but the love of my life is Psych Pop. No other genre brings the past into the future like it. Essentially Guitar Pop, but with many twists and turns. It may sound very second half of the 60s to some, but that is a failure to appreciate the full scope of arrangements and sheer melody.

Possibly, my favourite band in the genre was The Jigsaw Seen. I don't get to listen to the old these days due to the amount that I deal with in the new, but I still listen to that beloved band. They had largely gone by the time I started IDHAS, but I still managed to sneak in their magnificent compilation, For The Discriminating Completist.

Mainstays of the quartet were founders Dennis Davison and Jonathan Lea. Whereas Lea went on to play with his heroes of the past, Davison, the vocalist, kept the new Psych Pop candle burning with excellent effect. 

His 2020 debut album, The Book Of Strongman,Creaturefeature was in our Best Albums Of The Year, the follow up EP, Creaturefeature, was in our Best EPs of 2023. The gaps plugged by killer singles. Now we have his second album and it is wonderful.

There are interesting diversions, the splendid Invisiblia may be the most pop that Davison ever gets, sounding more late 80s / early 90s, all riff and joyous melody. 536 AD skirts Prog and Winterland's Gone gets all big studio UK Beat ballad.

But it is the Psych Pop that grabs you most. Sensual Summer, Is It The Medicine? and the killer single, Putting Up With People, being great examples, all very different. Sirens And Hellbenders is a corking listen and will be there in the end of year celebrations.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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

The High Water Marks - Consult The Oracle

 

This is a celebration of a great band and a great label. The High Water Marks have been around for two decades, but it is through the 2020s that they have become almost prolific. This coincided with the move from a two piece to a quartet,

Any band with Hilarie Sydney is going to be interesting with the Elephant 6 and Apples In Stereo credentials and that duo with Per Ole Bratset provided wonderful if sporadic results. Both are splendid vocalist and whether separate, duetting or joint, they have a way of bewitching you.

The addition of Logan Miller and Oystein Megard has allowed the band to become a formidable unit. Megard may be the drummer, but he is also a multi instrumentalist and his raiding of the instrument cupboard just adds to joy.

The band also a myriad of styles from Indie Pop to Glasgow Guitar Pop, 80s Indie to Psych Pop and all perfectly arranged and performed. The fact that there are two great vocalists just enhances the quality of the songs rather than being the be all and end all.

There is a mellow feel to the songs vocally, Sydney in particular has the voice of an angel, but the arrangements can lead to anything whether it be pace, drive or wistful. There is at times, some wonderful Jangle Pop and everything sounds so chipper.

This is a band at the top of their game, few can match what they come up. This is also an album to listen to from start to finish, hence me unusually not describing any of the songs. A special mention for Álvaro Lissón too. His Meritorio Records Label never ever fails to delight.

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

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

The Four Chords - First Idea / Best Idea. (Bandcamp Name Your Price)

 

It is kinda nice to be back in Power Pop land and this offering is great. There is some mystery surrounding the album. Seems to be Royce Williams from Winnipeg although the social media impression given is one of bring a trio.

We've had similar instances in the past and bit by bit uncovered the details, but for now, let's just enjoy a great album. The base sound is one that sounds very UK New Wave Power Pop and it is beautifully done. There are also ventures into the likes of Glam Rock and the likes of Cheap Trick and the 90s Not Lame days.

There are also burst out Melodic Pop Rock solos, but the songs are built on great riffs. Let It Rock has a real Glam Drum stomp, but also sounds so Zander and Nielsen, yet Free Again sounds more Mod Pop. The Vocal on Lies We Tell is almost Costello, but it is accompanied by a Jangling riff and a great solo.

Another Second Lease On Life even gets into the territory of The Knack.Trojan Horse even gets on the Pop side of Psych Pop. There's even room for a closing Acoustic led slowdown, sort of Enuff Znuff or Mr Big for Everything's Online with a well moody Guitar solo that delights.

This is a really feel good album. Beautifully arranged and performed and a reminder of how damn chirpy Power Pop can be. First Idea / Best Idea is a real joy to listen to. With this and the back catalogue all at Name Your Price, what have you got to lose?

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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

King Hüsky - King Hüsky

 

Every now and again, an album arrives here that catches me completely by surprise. This is great Indie Guitar Pop and largely feels like Glasgow from the Mid 80s to the Mid 90s. It is so damn catchy, all gentle riffs and big choruses.

The surprise is that this is the debut solo album from Oslo's Vidar Landa, guitarist in Scandinavia's biggest Heavy Metal Band, Kvelertak. There was no inkling that he had this in him, because this is an album that fits what we cover perfectly.

There are slight inklings when a song breaks out, particularly the splendid Noise Pop of Burn In Hell. Yet the majority of the album is melodically mellow. Hurry Kane, for example, could be Al Stewart and Waiting For A Chance could be Acoustic Canterbury Folk.

There is a similarity to what Per Gessle does now, but that is in his native Swedish language, Landa sings in perfect English. Label Night is so damn catchy and loveable that you want to wrap it up and cuddle it to sleep. 

Change Of Heart is very modern day Teenage Fanclub, wonderfully so. It also reinforces the return of whistling as a part of songs. Wish I Had A Dog is built around a cracking lo-fi riff with another killer chorus.

There is a real gentleness to proceedings that is so effective. The songs never drift or meander and you sense that Landa's day job could allow him to blast out, but he doesn't want that and this allows the album to grow and grow on you with its sheer charm.

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

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

Soot Sprite - Wield Your Hope Like A Weapon

 

Every now and then, the tumbleweed in the UK Music scene is disturbed by a great album and this is one example. Devon isn't noted as a hotbed of Indie goodness, surrounded at times by Prog from nearby counties, but this shatters those illusions.

There is no doubt that Elise Cook will be the focal point and why not. Her voice could lend itself to any genre, at times folky, even suiting Prog, but it is Indie that benefits most. However, this is a quartet that is the sum of its parts, providing really hypnotic arrangements.

The sound is a little shoegaze at times, but not boring and meandering like too much of that genre. These are proper songs. All Of My Friends Are Depressed remains one of the songs of the year, but this album is not that and 10 other songs.

There is real Post Punk riffed up noisy joy to Surprise Guilty Party and Great Expectations enters the 90s and wipes the floor with it. The title track is more restrained, moodier, but bursts out joyously. A little like Garbage instrumentally without the too cool for school nonsense,

There's even an epic closer that strips everything down and allows Cook's vocal to show its hypnotic strength. There is a delicateness that matches the intense that is both admirable and great listening. Just listen to the gentleness on Doomed.

In a musical world dominated by likes and streams, the album format has never been more threatened by playlists and supposed influencers. Wield Your Hope Like A Weapon is a perfect example of the strength of the long form. Wonderful!

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

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

Push Puppets - Tethered Together.

 

Chicago's Push Puppets are back with their fourth album. The third made our Best Albums Of 2022, you can read the review of Allegory Grey here. It is great to have them back and as you might expect, Tethered Together is jam packed with Pop Rock goodness.

The stand out here is the arrangements. Wonderfully mellow songs with far more complex arrangements than you might expect. Vocally, there is still that Finn and Tilbrook vibe, the latter on the slower numbers, the latter on the jauntier songs.

The string quartet arrangements are superb and light up songs such as Probably, a song built on an ace Piano Pop Riff. All Together On 3 still sounds amazing, a little Caper Clowns with another sterling arrangement. 

Shake It Like You Mean It is almost Calypso in feel. With the majority of the album being superbly strings and keyboard led, it is also nice to hear the stripped down Acoustic arrangement on Hearts Are Fragile.

Similar is a great opener, pacy and more in your face and grabs your interest in the smoothness that you are about to hear. Launching A Satellite is a glorious song underling how lyrically adept the album is and adding a fine solo. Moody and magnificent.

There is a mellow feel to proceedings, but don't confuse that with boring. The strength here is in the songs and the arrangements. Beautifully sung, there is too much in these songs to just wash over you. Great Pop Rock is not easy to find. You will find it here.

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

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

West Coast Music Club - Lonely Boy EP

 

We love West Coast Music Club. They are from near our neck of the woods, but starting out they sounded like something from the West Coast of America. All Classic Guitar Rock, a cross between someone from California and Neil Young. 

As time progressed, they revealed much more with a particular Indie Guitar 80s vibe.  Ahead of the upcoming Poppelganger album, the band release their latest EP and the 3 songs reveal the full scope of what they do.

Lonely Boy is a song that crosses Post Punk, 80s Indie Lo-fi noise and IRS, wonderfully so. Brenton CA is splendidly low key with a gentle mellow Jangle, sort of Elbow or millenium Indie, beautifully constructed,

Bleed In Hope returns to what they were noted for. That laid back, almost jamming, Classic Rock. Loose enough to be interesting, wistful and hitting a riff that they hold on to. Very Crazy Horse with a weeping desert solo. I have the album and it is a cracker, can't wait to tell you more about it.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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

Listening To This Week Playlist

Another 28 splendid songs grace this week's Listening To This Week. As well as the traditional version, we have put the playlist on Spotify and you will see the link below. Remember this is early days on Spotify, so the following there is nowhere near our one here.

The weekly playlist is largely for submissions, not just the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. 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 the artists who appear here. 

The Spotify Version    (The It's Karma It's Cool song is not on Spotify)

Link To Spotify

Willie Dowling - I Killed My Imaginary Friend

Other Lies - Teens 4 Today

Treemask - Pint Of Blood

The Action Figures - Forget To Remember

Robert Melkumyan - Dice

Sharp Class - Ballad Of Nobody Really

Somehow Sentient - The Tango Incident

Them Damn Dogs - Weirdo

Frank Jung - Final Hour

Don't Worry - Unbelievable

It's Karma It's Cool - Crashability (Not On Spotify)

Repeat - Celebrate

humaneyes - Late Bloom

The Setting Son - Going South

Crosstown - Angelyne

CROSSTOWN · Angelyne

Thick Fiction - Heart In Sharpie

Soraia - Alright OK

Parlell - Falling

Jacob And The Starry Eyed Shadows - I Can See It In Your Eyes

Candytuft - Wasp

TEOSE - Part II

Erik Flaa - Storyline Mania  

Jonny Corralitos - Over Before It's Begun

Jonny Corralitos · Over Before Its Begun-FINAL-(4416)

Harvest Runes - Patterns Of Light

Renee D'Angelo - Down Bad

River Fury - Mantra

Poets Corner - She's Got You Now

Thomas And The Terrible Truth - A Terrible Couple Having An Argument Downtown.

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

What A Great Time To Be Alive

 

I have never known a time in my IDHAS life when the amount of current and upcoming music has been so positive. As I Don't Hear A Single approaches its 9th Birthday and will also hit 2 million views, the next couple of months will see some wonderful varied releases in the areas that we cover.

It is a bit daunting though and I apologise for being a bit behind with Reviews which is simply down to volume, time and trying to get some additional features online that will add and compliment what we do. Then adding to these splendid albums, the Listening To This Week Playlist has grown so much and that brings individual songs to new listeners. 

More reviews will be up this week, but I'm off now to get the latest LTTW ready for posting later. That too is an absolute cracker this week. People who continually say that there is no great new music are so wrong. Music is still about the future whilst respecting the past.

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

Press Club - To All The Ones That I Love

 

I was thinking that it would be nice to have something noisy to sort of rattle the dentures whilst still being melodic instead of a sound that spouted pure anger. Lo and Behold, Brunswick, Australia's Press Club have arrived with their fourth album after a three year gap to provide just that.

They certainly get noisy on the likes of Tightrope and No Pressure, wonderfully so, without ever losing the plot or losing the magnificence of those ace gripping Riffs. Wilt for instance is built around a jangling riff that wouldn't be out of place in the 80s.

I suppose you might call the band Indie Rock, but that wouldn't be the half of it. There's plenty here to interest Punk, Power Pop, Noise Rock and Alt Rock fans. The solos are awesome mixing Classic Rock and 90s Rock and they enhance the songs.

Don't expect Press Club to come up for air, these songs are built around a cracking rhythm section that grounds the sound and allows the guitar and vocal to go in whatever direction they choose and boy, do they. This is an absolutely gripping album.

Vacate starts like something from a 1981 Post Punk band with a vocal that is a little Feargal Sharkey, but then it launches into a magnificent twang led affair. The title track is pure pace, but based on a riff that is part Johnny Marr and part Psych Pop.

Staring At The Ceiling is almost a Pop song and certainly the most accessible, it is anthemic. Desolation is a cracking closer, almost Garbage instrumentally and again offering up an all together now vibe. You can imagine this lot being at their best Live. I can't wait to see them over here in July. To All The Ones I Love is a corking listen, absolutely Top Notch.

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

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

The Spindles - Wavelength

 

What we discover or is submitted does seem to come in waves. Lately, it seems to be 90s Rock, 80s New Wave or Pop Punk. Pop Rock has been fairly low key and when you hear an album as good as this, you wonder why.

Chicago's The Spindles have delivered an album of real quality that warrants listening to from start to finish, because the quality never wavers. Built on big choruses, bigger riffs. wonderful melodic arrangements and generally catch all songs.

It does sound a little 70s at times, but that's no problem, it was probably the glory days of the genre. More than that though, this is a real guitarathon. There's also no fear of stepping away from the norm. For instance, Two Sides To Every Story is prime time Rockville.

Ride My Bike steps into Classic Rock Territory and I Found A Girl is splendid jangling Power Pop of the highest order. Ballads are at a premium, but the closer, Best Of Everything, is built around a killer riff and very nearly steals the show.

If I had one slight criticism it is that the album is a bit cover heavy with 4 of the 14 sons not being originals. With the sheer quality of the originals, going with 10 songs may have suited me more. Bus Stop, for instance, is a classic, but being the second song in takes away the quality of the self written joy. Having said that, the cover of Rob Elvis's Rock For It is magnificent.

Wavelength is an album that knows what it is about and goes off and masters it. There is real quality in the arrangements and the production. It is a melodic masterpiece and more than demonstrates the strength of great Pop Rock.

You can listen to and buy the album here. You can buy the CD from Kool Kat here.

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

Listening To This Week Playlist

Welcome to the new Listening To This Week Playlist. 22 songs this week and it is a cracker. As well as the traditional version, we have put the playlist on Spotify and you will see the link below. Remember this is early days on Spotify, so the following there is nowhere near our one here.

The weekly playlist is largely for submissions, not just the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. 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 the artists who appear here. 

The Spotify Version    (The Shake Ups song is not on Spotify)

The Supernaturals - Killed By Submarines

Canadian Invasion - Picture Frames

The Confusions - Holding On

Sona Bliss - Just Wanna Be Free

Professor Hollman - Two Alone

The Genuine Fakes - Unhand Me

Smackbeat - You And Me

Tom Minor - The Manic Phase

Tom Minor · The Manic Phase

The Convenience - Target Offer

Frankie And The Witch Fingers - Dead Silence

Eilish Constance - Long Distance Train

RedLight - As Always

Stig & Theo - The Witness

The House Of Jed - O Caligula

The House of Jed · O Caligula

Cymbient - Gotta Get Out

Aviv Gros-Allon - I'm A Nomad Jew

The Corrupted Hearts - Broken Slinky

The Crystal Teardrop - Into The Unknown

keepsake - Battlebots

Gabe Ziro - Outer Space

The Shake Ups - In Cartoon Motion (Not On Spotify)

Smalts - B B Told You So

Smalts · B B Told You So

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

The Supernaturals - Show Tunes

Our favourite Glaswegians are back and of course we are more than interested, The Supernaturals have never been afraid to experiment, but Show Tunes finds them back in the genre of their Heyday and you are reminded of what a great Pop Rock band they are.

The trailing singles Roy Wouldn't and Burn The Witch warned us of what we were in for. The former is Power Pop Gold, dripping with James McColl's wit and the latter takes us back to the glory days of Brit Pop which I still think is yesterday, not 30 years ago.

At times the vocal gold that McColl sounds a tad more mellow, but he can still belt it out, especially on the splendid If You Can't Love Yourself which sounds a little 70s. Killed By Submarines is up there with the best things they have released to the world.

The Dread comes close to it, much slower but beautifully arranged, wonderfully haunting yet providing a real optimistic vibe. We Were On Fire is incredibly jaunty and Of Human Bondage is mellow until it bursts into 70s Piano Pop, another highlight.

The main Ballad, Clockwork Orange, is outstanding, a co write with long time Anything Should Happen friend and guitarist Joe Greatorex. Show Tunes is a fine example of how uplifting, well written Pop Rock can make you forget about all the dirge that surrounds us politically.

McColl, lyrically, is on the top of his game and the five piece link perfectly. The CD and Vinyl are on the excellent Late Night From Glasgow label which seems a marriage made in heaven. Any album from this lot is worth attention, but Show Tunes is particularly worth the effort. You even get to hear James McColl's hidden Brass expertise.

You can buy the Vinyl and CD from here. You can listen to and buy the download here. (I was struggling to pick which three tracks to embed, so I've sneaked a fourth below.

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

Slow Buildings - Crash Landings, Coincidences, Chaos.

This is a splendid album and I feel a bit guilty taking so long to get round to it. With being late to it, I thought I would have a look around at what others were saying about it and that is when my frustration with the general state of reviewing kicked in.

Most reviews were cut and paste of what Jason had already written on the Bandcamp page. It is an album about the ups and downs, largely downs, of the past couple of years and that also invited amateur psychology. I was left thinking "What About The Music?" because this is what reviewing should be about and this album is really really good.

So let me tell you. This is great Pop Rock with the emphasis on melodic Indie Guitar Rock that is equally at home in IRS land as it is when it goes Psych Pop or Jangle Pop. It is beautifully arranged and performed, built on big chorusses, memorable riffs and some great playing.

The subjects are tackled in a fine lyrically adept way, yet the seriousness of the subject doesn't make this a woe is me affair and that is partly because of the quality and sheer catchiness of the arrangement. From the chiming opener, Red Flag Surrender and all its jangly pace to the wonderful jaunty closer, Drained, which may be the catchiest thing here, all 12 songs resonate.

In choosing 3 songs to embed, I could choose any and be delighted. Cruel Girls Are Wrong is built around a killer Psych Pop Riff, Insane Fucker is very early R.E.M. built around an 80s Indie Riff, Lightning Zwelhander sounds like something out of Glasgow in 1989.

Sweet n Sour Luv instrumentally sounds like something from 90s darlings Space, but the vibe is very 60s UK Beat. Slow Buildings is New Jeresy's Jason Legacy and although this is his 7th album, it sounds as fresh as a debut. Wall to Wall excellence!

You can listen to and buy the album here. It cries out for a physical release.

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

The Convenience - Like Cartoon Vampires

 

You never really think of New Orleans as a hotbed of Intelligent Angular Indie, but duo Nick Corson and Duncan Troast have fashioned up an album that reminds you of the best of that genre at times. I'm thinking of the likes of early XTC, The Sugarplastic, Franz Ferdinand et al.

The arrangements are incredibly unexpected and inventive, so unusual that they can tread into the footsteps of Elephant Talk King Crimson or melodic post punk. Dominated by exceptional hypnotic riffs that mesmerise at times without ever losing sight of the song.

This is in an area that we were noted for in the Anything Should Happen days, less so on IDHAS, but that may because so few attempt this at the moment, so when they do, it sounds very special indeed and Like Cartoon Vampires certainly excited.

Riffs suddenly change direction or unexpected diversions join in, the whole album is inspired and a cracking listen for those who appreciate more than crashing chords. There are reminders of others too, Pray'r sounds very latter day Radiohead for instance.

Cafe Style is a short 2 minute instrumental that gets a little Psych, but is prime time Drums And Wires. Western Pepsi Cola Town even gets close to a Guitar Pop song, adding unexpected pace, sounding like a more expansive version of The Strokes. Vanity Shapes is wonderfully melodic and restrained.

The Convenience may have saved the best until last. Surrounded by a selection of shorter songs, they come up with a sprawling 10 and a half minutes on Fake The Feeling which is an absolute Prog masterpiece, astounding considering what it accompanies here and a perfect way to end a splendid album.

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

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