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Monday, 22 September 2025

Listening To This Week 22 September

 


The maximum 30 songs this week and this has probably been the hardest to tracklist for a long time. I ask that you listen to everything if you can as the quality doesn't let up. 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 for us, 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   (Both the I Was A King and Icecream Hands songs are not on Spotify)





I Was A King - Sleepless Nights (Not On Spotify)




Elvis Eno - My Thing Isn't My Thing Anymore




Washing Machina - Debbie Lost Her Mind




Buddie - Stressed In Paradise




PHWOAR - So Much Better




Bird Streets - Run For Our Lives




This Little Badge - 7 x Lucky




Dom Mariani - World On Its Head




Nepal Death - Divine Destroyer (The Mahakala Mantra)




The Radio Field - A Mess




Mo Troper - When She Says My Name




Daniel Feinberg - Goodnight Rain




The Sun Harmonic - Glory Days




Juppe - Seasick




Greg Hill - Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind




Dave Cope And The Sass - Don't Let My Dreams Come True




The Rumours - Let's Run Away




Sparky Bosque - I'm So Cold




Wedding - Worlds




Muo Duo - Exciting Times




The Needmores - Side X Side




Boxing Club - Barbra




Deen's List - Lake





Maybe Margate - Wild And Free




Icecream Hands - Back On The Road (Not On Spotify)




Making Friends As Adults - The Thing That I Call Love




SNAKEHEADS - Top Of The Pops




Black Seagull - Lines




Coast Arcade - Kids




Hand Gestures - Once It Starts To Kick In




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Sunday, 21 September 2025

The Wellingtons - Baby Moon.

 


The return of Scotty at Popboomerang is just as welcome as the return of Melbourne's The Wellingtons. It has been 8 years since 2017's End Of The Summer and their return couldn't be more fitting than on Popboomerang. 

Baby Moon is Power Pop at its very very best. If you ever want to know why I love the genre, then listen to this from start to finish. Newcomers may just want to head off to I Won't Turn Away and you will immediately want to play the whole album.



The band offer up big choruses, memorable riffs and most of all harmony and melody. They also have a weapon in Kate Goldby who takes vocals on two songs and takes them in a more earthy Indie Pop Rock direction on The Things I Did Before and even gets a little Bangles on Not Ready To Give Up.

The band themselves are not frightened to take chances themselves. I defy anyone to write a better Indie Rock song than End Of The World.  They also show that they can Jangle on the excellent Better Me, a song that takes you back to those CD buying days of Not Lame.



Sound Asleep shows that things can get slower, the vocal reminds me a lot of Jeff Whalen of Tsar and The Brothers Steve. The Long Goodbye may be the best Weezer song that they didn't write. The sheer Power Pop joy of the two opening songs are worth the admission alone.

Both She Still Loves Me and Always Gonna Be That Girl are reminders to an old man like me of all the previous waves of the genre are adored. Power Pop may be a little noisier now, but this album is a reminder of how music can cheer you up and look at the bright side. I had real trouble deciding which 3 songs to embed. I could have chosen any of the 12. Wonderful!



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


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The Radio Field - Air And Sunlight




I love The Radio Field. Based in Dusseldorf, they specialise in Jangle, but also mix the moody and magnificent expertly. At times, they sound like a great 80s Guitar Pop outfit, but it is their ability to surprise that marks them out even further from most around. 

The quartet are here again for their second album on the excellent Subjangle label and it is a cracking listen. Fans of their Jangle Pop will be delighted with their Jangle Pop will be delighted to hear the opener, It's Alright and the pacier Sellout which gets a little Dropkick.


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But the album is more like an adventure. A Mess is wonderful Indie Pop with added engaging Brass. Short at under 2 minutes, but delightful. Ride With Me gets all Americana and Alt Country, whilst Sun Dial is West Coast laidback Pop Rock.

Same takes a different direction, moody Indie, built on a hypnotic riff and an unexpected broody vocal drawl. There is even room for an instrumental that just meanders into your heart on Of Dragons And Souls. 



But the band are at their best when they let go. What It Takes is a fine example as the melody, harmony and pace just grab you and Apogee is one of the best songs that I've heard all year. It just builds and builds and mesmerises you. Air And Sunlight is absolutely splendid.



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


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Wednesday, 17 September 2025

Upgrading Our System

 


I am upgrading our system after a Network Drive started to reach the end of its life. It's a real chuff moving the music off it and leaving us tight for space elsewhere. So I realised that we were storing 20 years of music from both Anything Should Happen and here. 

In many cases, we had the physical releases which meant downloads were unnecessary and there are albums that we are unlikely to revisit, being as we are a place that concentrates largely on the new. Equipment was so interlocked that the risk of so much storage failing has become a bigger and bigger problem.

I have moved most of the music to other storage areas, but the sorting out of what's what will take a couple of days. So I'll be taking a break from posting until later in the week. However, I will still be listening to Music and choosing what to Review and what to Playlist. This is just an explanation for people who want to know why it is quieter here.

You may want to visit previous reviews and the Listening To This Week Playlists have been really strong. There are lots of Reviews to come and Friday 19th sees the release of five or six exceptional albums. 


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Monday, 15 September 2025

Listening To This Week Playlist 15 September

 


After showing our other sides last week, this week fits more into our usual Guitar Pop and Indie vibe with one or two surprises. 29 songs for your listening pleasure. 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 for us, so the following there is nowhere near our one here. However, Spotify have noticed its growth and asked us to be involved in other things. We have politely declined as we are too busy with all that we do and also value our independence. We have always refused similar requests from other places. 

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 Prize - From The Night




The Sonny Wilsons - Miss Kinetic




Ahhmanda - More Or Less




Teen Creeps - Anywhere




Michael Robert Murphy - Cyclone




The Goods - April Fools (Not On Spotify)




Shaw's Trailer Park - Phone Wars (Not On Spotify)




Next Week's Washing - Empty Pages




Witkin - I Hate My Brain




Mike Dropped - Control These Feelings




Billy Peake With Extra Special - Annie, You're A Lightning Bolt




Sharp Pins - (I Wanna) Be Your Girl




Rex On Demand - White Rose Bleeds




Palm Ghosts - Last of The Hold Outs




Bonus Room - Riot Gear




The Mars McClane's - GO!




Gabriel Delicious - Who's The Starman Now?




The Unknowns - Ain't What You Want




REDRAW - Real Anymore




The Double Happiness - Omnibus




The Violet Twilight - Better Than You




House Of Jed - Never Gonna Be Enough




The Way After - Love Seeks No Easy Way Out




In The Pines - Hide The Sky




Rad9 - Zombie




Larlin - Limbo




Nihil Admirari  - Make Amends




Dan Sindel - Freedom




Jakob Boon - K.O!!!




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Tuesday, 9 September 2025

Tigers And Flies - Smashing Scene EP

 


There is nothing I like more than intelligent angular Indie, it equals my love of Psych Pop, as Andy Partridge would say, it makes my bamboo curl. Manchester's Tigers And Flies offer it in spades aided by the power and energy of youth.

The EP reminds me of the likes of XTC, The Sugarplastic, The Futureheads and earlier Blur. The five piece also have a secret weapon of Brass which catches you unawares. The Angular Guitar even treads into the likes of King Crimson Discipline era.



The sheer inventiveness just floors me. They even get close to a Pop song with Enoch's Hammer, but their left field intent won't let it stay that way. Going To Bed unleashes their chaotic bent, but also sounds a little New Wave, wonderfully so.

Hulme High Street Ablaze is built around a driving rhythm section, but the real joy is Silver Lashings, if the kids get this, it will make an old man happy. It reminds me of my youth, wonderfully melodic and that Guitar Riff! This is an incredible five piece that can appeal across the generations. Self effacing with serious messages, Tigers And Flies have come up with possibly the best thing that I will hear all year.



You can listen to and buy the EP here. It is something that aches for a physical release and will have a limited Vinyl Release in October.


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Spencer Pope - Dang EP

 


Another Listening To This Week discovery leads to a Review of the EP. Atlanta's Spencer Pope offers up a splendid 5 Track affair. Landing somewhere between Indie Rock and Power Pop with a top notch surprise to close.

Power Pop is best served by the first two songs. The title track is all riff and big chorus that underlines the appeal and joy of the genre. Pope's vocal is a little Petty-esque on this. Can't Touch A Mirage is particularly joyous with its 80s New Wave keyboard sound. The video is on LTTW and is ace.



Let Me Get Back To You is more 90s Indie Rock and that works just as well. Part way through, a Psychy Alt Rock instrumental adds to the excellence of the song. Darling I is more straight ahead Pop Rock, almost Piano Pop, but Pope can't help adding inventive diversions.

Today provides a marked difference and warms the cockles of my heart. It is organised chaos, very Garage Rock with hints of Psych and Noise Rock. It is a big surprise and most welcome, revealing just how inventive the man is.



The whole EP would be fine as a straight ahead thing. But the parts that come from nowhere are inspired. The ability to add synth parts that are far from ordinary makes what is essentially Guitar Pop excellence is to be applauded. A great listen. I can't wait for a future album.



You can listen to and buy the EP here.


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Sunday, 7 September 2025

Listening To This Week Playlist 8 September

 


An absolute cracker awaits you this week. 27 songs. We thought we'd try something a little different. The Guitar Pop is usually well up front, but I thought the last couple of LTTWs have seen an emphasis on that. There is still plenty of that genre here, but I wanted to put our love of the left field, Intelligent Indie if you like at the forefront for this one. But we open with Pop Joy!

Also look out for the closer, it blew our mind. I really do think that this playlist is up with the best that we have ever recommended to you.As well as the traditional version, we have put the playlist on Spotify and you will see the link below.  25 of the 27 songs are available on Spotify.

Remember this is early days on Spotify for us, 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 James Rocket and Bottlecap Mountain songs are not on Spotify)




Fragile Creatures - Don't Know What To Do




Tigers & Flies - Silver Lashings




Elena Rogers - When We Were Young




Spencer Pope - You Can't Touch A Mirage




Silk Cut - Good Morning




Peel - Modern Age Family Business




Caleb Nichols - Awooo!




Tom Minor - Next Stop Brixton




Matthew Smith Group - Others





The Spitfires - I'll Never




Smash Palace - Bitter Blue




Odd Robot - Buddy




Mannequin Flowers - Six Words




Commander Pilot - Stereo Woah Woah




Willie Dowling - Long Drop Down




Bottlecap Mountain - Everest (Not On Spotify)




Hufflepuff Heroes - Spoiler Alert (Oh Well)




Jersey Calling - Working Class Punk




Dolo Tonight - Hotel On Your Heart




Cheerry Red - Leaving On The Next Train To Boston




Teenage Tom Petties - Hotmail




Dreamcoaster - Dancing To Your Favourite Song




Lunavela - Middle Management Asshole




The James Rocket - Pharaohs (Not On Spotify)




The Fishermen Three - Your World Is Nothing Without You




Slow Code - Company Man




Lozenges - Eat The Smoke




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Friday, 5 September 2025

Tamar Berk - ocd

 


Tamar Berk is probably my favourite discovery on here. I don't meant that her discovery was down to me, I leave that for others to claim, although I suspect it is all totally down to her and since the debut album, it certainly is. I've covered all four albums to this point and I'm here with the 5th. I've been so bursting to tell you about it that I put the album in the current revived Here Is The News feature. I can't think of many artists whose complete solo career I have covered. I've also gone slightly early on Friday's upcoming Release Date.



She arrived at a strange time here in 2021. I got a fair bit of stick for an interview where I admitted that IDHAS was a male dominated affair artist wise. It wasn't in anyway misogynyst, we had covered a lot of female artists, both solo and in groups. I was just reflecting that although we go down many avenues, we will always reflect our audience. We want artists to have doors opened. I've made efforts to prove people wrong since, but I will always cover what I like, be it male, female, alien, but never AI. Tamar's album arrived and I thought, here you go, put that pipe and smoke it. If an album by a male had the arrived with the same quality, I'd have also covered that. 



In she came with a sassy rock attitude, all Indie, but self effacing and reflective and I was hooked. She was able to look at herself and tell you why she was like she is and how her anxiety affected her songs. She hasn't really changed that in anyway. It is just that album by album there have been marked changes in direction.These have not been intentional changes, Berk has just followed her muse, making albums that please her and seeing a growing following that have just got what she does. Here at album five, she has earned the right to do this more and more, both subtle and larger changed have taken place and all of them have worked. 



She can be whatever you want, genre wise, but her music is about what she wants with a hope that you will follow the path. Rocking out or delivering something breathy is just as easy. Indie, Pop, Americana, whatever you name, she can do, but she does it her way. ocd is a stellar album, it is darker, even more reflective than previous, but it is never miserable or angsty. Berk bares her soul, but only because she wants you to listen to what she thinks, nobody is gonna stick her in any corner. The album is more laidback, mellower even, fragile at times. It still has those breakout moments, but they are not as often as before. This is singer songwriter excellence, melodically wonderful, but much more restrained. 



Even the Pop Rock, slightly Disco feel of the title track is about her old condition, But just listen to the magnificent Guitar Pop of I Had A Dream I was Lost In An Auditorium. It is graced by an extraordinary arrangement. Indiesleaze 2005 has a killer chorus, chirpy, but the subject is about the danger of having time on your hands. You Ruined This City For Me is more similar to what has gone before on previous albums, corking Indie Rock with attitude. But it is the slower songs that grip you most. The Piano Pop and mood of My Turn Will Come and the Acoustic led breathiness of  Ghost Stories that bursts into a Guitar crescendo are wonderful.



I've gone on for a bit too long, but would like to leave you with my thoughts on two more songs.  I'm In The Day After is classic Tamar Berk, Indie Rock that grabs a hold of you. There Are Benefits To Mixed Emotions is much more brooding and reflective. Moody and magnificent with a breakout chorus that makes you realise that everything will be alright. ocd is the sound of an artist at the top of their game. Come and join the follower, although these days you may find it a little crowded. This album is totally spellbinding.


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


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Loose Lips - Last Laugh

 


Plenty of you know how we love the Power Pop revival, a slightly more aggressive version of what has gone before, but with the same hooks, riffs and big choruses. Here we have another ace example, all the way from Melbourne.

The (Power) Trio are wonderfully scuzzy. Plenty in common with the scene from the UK and US in 1978. Indeed two thirds of the band are from The Prize, a group whose 2022 EP was adored by us. You can read that review here. All three sing which adds to the variety.



Nothing That I Want even gets all vintage UK Glam Rock, handclaps and all, but it is the Power that grips you most. The trio just don't come up for air and Josh Hardy is not afraid of letting rip with a killer Guitar solo. This is wall to wall shake your fist all the way through.

At times, I am reminded me of The Speedways, but the strength of the album is in how locked in together the three are. This is music to let loose to and is a joy to listen to. Foot Tapping, made for air guitar solos, Last Laugh is a great listen.



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


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Fragile Creatures - Play Both Sides

 


One of the problems of growing as much as we have is that it is more difficult to keep track of albums that you want to cover, particularly with advance release dates and what comes flooding in. This review got lost in draft and should have appeared before now as the album was released at the end of March.

We have previously added a couple of songs to LTTTW Playlists, but you all must listen to the whole shebang. This is Fragile Creatures third album and it is a corker. They specialise in great Pop Rock and unusually they are from here in the UK, a country not noted for this sort of thing.



The Brighton Five may concentrate on the melodic, easy on the ear, beautifully arranged and performed. But there is also a real lyrical adeptness to the songs that Adam Kidd writes. That intelligence shines through the expertly crafted offerings.

They also refused to be boxed in and well they let loose, the creativity shines through even more. Garden Of Eden, for instance, is a monster of a song, chopping and changing direction at will without ever losing its grip, it is a fine listen.



They can also rock out. Bad Smell is great 80s Pop is built around a great riff. Chasing Hearts even gets funky, ultra smooth, built around a hypnotic bassline, indeed the whole album is lit up by the rhythm section. 

It is the laidback Pop Rock that grabs you most, especially Grandaddy, a song that reminds you of the 70s when this style was king. The keyboard sound particularly makes me reminisce and this song has a wonderfully effective solo. Play Both Sides is a belter of an album.



You can listen to and buy the album here.  It is available on CD as a download. You can find out more about Fragile Creatures here


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Tuesday, 2 September 2025

Star Collector - Everything Must Go

 


The return of Vancouver's Star Collector was one of the joys of doing what we do on I Don't Hear A Single. We love the band so much that they even got the Mick Dillingham Interview treatment in 2021. You can read that here and it describes the band's career to that point really well.

A new album is always to be celebrated, the quartet always deliver and here is a wonderful marked change that adds many strings to their bow. They have always managed variety, but their strength has always majored on Rock, a little flavour of The Who, a dash of Mod, a hint of Punk, but with a large willingness and need to Rock.



Everything Must Go reveals a much bigger ambition. It shows in the arrangements, but especially in Vic Wayne's vocal. He can belt songs out in his sleep, but here he stretches his vocal to extremes offering an unexpected tenderness at times across whatever genre they enter,

Take, for instance, The Best Thing. This is essentially Jangle Pop that can't resist a breakout solo, but Waynes's vocal is beautifully restrained in a way that enhances the song. There are examples of this everywhere.



The Rock is well catered for, but it is the diversions that grab a long term fan like myself most. It adds a whole new world to a Star Collector album. You know it will be absolute quality before you listen to any of it. But here the four enter a new dimension.

There are some heavyweight collaborations, you can read the Bandcamp page to discover them all. I've also held back on most song descriptions, hoping newbies will go and discover the band themselves. I've picked the three songs that are my favourites today. This is an essential listen, off you go to hear the delights!



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


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Glowbox - Bland Ambition


 

Boston's Glowbox are back and get a large hoo and indeed rah, It has been a while since late 2021's Your Call Is Very Important To Us. You can read my review of that album here. After three singles in the interfering years, that fine album now has accompaniment.

Bland Ambition was released last Friday in a low key release. But now you know about it, you can listen and shout about it all over the stratosphere. You can expect big riffs, killer choruses and exhilarating solos. The band do Power Pop so well, but there are other areas that the quartet excel at.



The blast in with No Place Like Nowhere is pure Power Pop and the whole listen does feel more Power Pop adjacent than its predecessor, but there are still big footmarks in 90s Indie Rock and College Rock, particularly on Should Have Known.

There is also a venture into 70s UK Glam Rock with the all together now of Doesn't Mean That Much and that works beautifully. Wait And See also demonstrates again, how comfortable the band are in laid back melodic Pop Rock.



The Closer, Horizon, underlines the ease in that genre, a little West Coast in places, with great vocal harmonies, but with 70s Pop Rock at its heart. Joke's On You gets more Classic Rock. In Your Orbit is again classic Pop Rock.

The stand out though for me, something that may come as no surprise to you, is the wonderful Philosophy 21A. Psych Pop of the highest order that even adds a blistering solo and also adds a hint of Prog. Glowbox dish up a crackerjack of an album that will delight you with its variety.



You can listen to and buy the album here.


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Monday, 1 September 2025

Listening To This Week Playlist 1 September

 


A little later than usual, here is the first LTTW Playlist of five that will appear in September. 23 fine songs for your listening pleasure. As well as the traditional version, we have put the playlist on Spotify and you will see the link below.  22 of the 23 songs are available on Spotify.

Remember this is early days on Spotify for us, 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 Joe Giddings Song is not on Spotify)




Superchunk - Is It Making You Feel Something




Yawn Mower - Speed Boat!




Infidels - When The Clock Strikes 12




Pearl Charles - Gone So Long (feat. Tim Burgess)




the dt's - Sun Shines Down




Lot Long - Drive




The Flashcubes - If These Hands




The Second Summer - Try




Richard Turgeon - Song Of Discontent




Joe Giddings - Stay In Nowhere (Not On Spotify)




da nang - Kids




Late Night Lies - Tiny Hand




Edison Gomez - Krauss - Stupid Little People




Chris Lund - You've Got A Lot Of Nerve




Healer - We Follow




Dylan Fellows - Dream Of Other Things




meltcitizen - What Do You Do If You Are A Satanist, Anyway?




sulk - like I do




RedWood - Whatever You Want




Cliff Root - Holy Visions




The Telephone Numbers - Ebb Tide




Problematic Jam - It's So Confusing




Airplane Mode - Late Stage Capitalism




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