Pansy - Skin Graft

Seattle quartet Pansy have offered up a cracking 5 song EP that offers variety and splits into Indie Guitar Pop and Acoustic melancholia wonderfully well. The songs written by Vivian McCall certainly show an emotional depth that is incredibly listenable. 

The opener is great 80s Indie sounding Jangle Pop. Mercy, Kill Me has an intro that is very La's There She Goes. Also a little Power Pop, It is a cracking listen. Walk Dangerous (Chaser) is much bolder sounding, more C86, inventive Indie Rock, a great joint vocal with an ace Guitar sound and a more aggressive Jangle.

 I'm Coming is my favourite here. Noisier with some almost Psych Guitar that wails wonderfully. A scuzzier fuzzy feel that works so well. All three of these songs sound more UK than US. They are an Electric delight.

By My Side is such an aching, almost heartbreaking Acoustic listen, you almost weaping. Dark Star offers up the best of both. Beginning with an almost Americana touch, again very heartfelt. But then the song morphs into something much more heavy and electric, something 90s Alt Rock.

Skin Graft is a wondrous listen. There seems a lot going on in McCall's head, all of it laid out impressively. It is intriguing, interesting and thoroughly well put together. Remember Kids that great offerings often are released well after magazine deadlines force writers to go with their Best Of Year selections.

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

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Beauty - I'd Do Almost Anything For You. (Bandcamp Name Your Price)

 

New Jersey Trio, Beauty, have been releasing excellent singles since 2018, nine in all, Seven before the album release and 2 since. Of the seven before, only Polar Bear Ice Cream makes the album, so you have a lot to go at to hear their development.

I'd Do Almost Everything For You is great Power Pop reminding you of past glories of the genre, yet adding plenty of individuality and the sound of a locked in trio. As a side issue, so many of the great Power Pop bands are Trios.

Beauty offer up the classic prerequisites of the genre, classy memorable riffs, great solos and big choruses. At times, it sounds very much like the 90s revival. at others, a little 80s AOR. It is an album that works best when songs are delivered at pace.

The harmonies are also strong and effective. Highlights include Alive Tonight which kicks in superbly, Daisy mixes Power Pop with 70s UK Glam Rock wonderfully, hand claps and all, with a superb Guitar Solo, really well put together.

Acid Baby Girl is almost Slacker Rock, a little Weezer and becomes a real Guitar-athon. whilst Let It Ring has a real Bryan Adams feel, but the whole album shouts melody through a loud hailer. A fine listen and well worth the wait.

You can listen to and buy the album here at Name Your Price.

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Andrew Weiss And Friends - The Last Of The Outdoor Kids

 

The last time that we visited New York's Andrew Weiss was for 2022's excellent Sunglasses & Ash. You can read the review here. The great news is that he has lost none of his ability to switch directions at will. One minute, he is serving up Great Guitar Pop, the next sounding more West Coast and he isn't afraid to venture into Folk and Americana, particularly acoustically.

All of these things are here and he may have a chameleon like quality, but he does everything beautifully. If the first thing that you heard was the closer, Hope All Is Well, you would think that he's a Classic Rock troubadour. But listen to the opener, I Don't Wanna Live In This World and you will hear one of the best slices of Guitar Pop that you have heard all year.

There is plenty of Pop Rock here. Put That In Your Pipe (And Smoke It) is pure 80s AOR and Knots I Can't Untie Rocks things up and may be the standout song here. How Far Would You Go is more Classic Rock, but vocally. a little Don Henley. All three are lyrically adept and beautifully performed.

But the West Coast sounding songs are just as engaging. Betsy Ross Blues is great storytelling, It's Not Funny creeps up on you, hypnotic at times with some superb Steel Guitar. Cash For Gold could be The Band.

The Acoustic journey is moody and magnificent. The Hour In Between Worlds mixes Folk with Americana, it is a fine duet with Sara Barsky. Arnold Palmer sounds like a self confessional and This Is Your Captain Speaking becomes a 70s Pop Rock easy listening joy.

A Special Mention for Virginia Slim which adds Sax and Honky Tonk Piano to a Let's Do The Song Right Here vibe. The Sax solo is ace. The Last Of The Outdoor Kids is another tour de force from Weiss (and friends). As accomplished as ever.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Pretty Inside - Ever Gonna Heal

 

I've mentioned before that France is on fire at the moment, Indie wise and this album may be the best of the lot. I adore Intelligent Indie and Ever Gonna Heal is that and much more. There's an inventive variety to all that is in show.

The Bordeaux band can be anything you want them to be. Noisy, Restrained, Laidback or In Your Face, this really is an album to admire. At times it is Noise Rock but also C86, Indie Rock or 90s Rock, it takes in all sorts of directions. All of them interesting and surprising.

Useless Thrill is Garage Rock with a Brit Pop chorus. The Person That I Hate is late 80s UK Indie with big hints of Madchester. Skin is incredible Noise Rock. Jealousy is very close to Brit Pop. Are You Away is a great Pop song, but prone to burst out Guitar noise.

Fiction Addiction mixes C86 with Synth Pop. Really Diggin' You is the band at their most accessible, almost Guitar Pop, unusually restrained, a crackerjack of a song. Bojack Sparklehorseman is even more of a departure, superb Psych Pop.

Then in the midst of all the three minutes-ish songs is an absolute 7 minute plus joy in Clairvoyance. The song incorporates all the styles that they venture into. Noisy Alt Rock that incorporates Noise Rock and Psych. It is an incredible listen.

Ever Gonna Heal is one of the most inventive albums that you will hear this year.I haven't even mentioned the gorgeous glorious (Please Don't Hide From) The Sunbeams. An Indie masterpiece in every possible way awaits you.

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

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The Let Down - Awake EP

 

Straight ahead Power Pop from Austin Texas quartet, The Let Down. I have to admit that with all the noisier variations of late, it is nice to hear something that is more classic. All pre-requisites are present, Riffs, great middle 8 and a chorus to sing along to.

The EP does sound very UK New Wave. On A String has a riff that reminds you of Another Girl, Another Planet. Awake has a great stomp that edges towards Glam Rock, splendidly slow and the laidback vocals on both is a reminder of 70s Pop Rock.

Part Of Me is again close to UK Glam Rock, with a Power Pop drum track and made me think of The Rollers, the post Bay City sound. Don't Make Me The One gets closer to the Power Pop Revival of the 90s and is built around a killer riff/

The EP is a reminder of the joy of Power Pop, Guitar Pop that reminds you of the summer with a feel good factor. You don't hear so much of this these days and I denigrated it a little when everyone was doing the same thing. But it is lovely to hear it back and this is a cracking little offering.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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Atom Lux - Voidgaze Dopamine Salad

 

Atom Lux is Italian multi instrumentalist Lucio Filzola and Atom Lux seem to have been lobbed into the Psych brigade. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of that here, but there is a lot that isn't. Voidgaze Dopamine Salad is  beautifully arranged and performed with journeys into all sorts of direct.

For instance, Spaghettification Apocalypse is essentially wonderful Psych Pop, but morphs into both Classic Rock and UK Glam Rock. Stoned Monkey Heritage could easily be passed off as Brit Pop and as you may guess, the variety here is spectacular.

I know that you know that I am a Psych Pop and Prog fan, but there is miles more here. It is incredibly that this is the work of one man.  Pointless Madness is Pop Rock gold, catchy as catchy can be. There is heavier Psych here on the likes of Bad Snake Good Snake, but that again is wonderfully done.

There is also great riff action present throughout, special mention to Black Mirror. Dance Plague Delirium is another song that takes you along beautifully. Psych driven, nut completely engaging catchy, even bordering Classic Rock. Pointless Madness is a great Pop Rock song.

Toxic Easter Bunny closes the album with a big Classic Rock sound. The whole album is a fine listen. The song titles may be a little pompous, but what is inside is not. Some splendid melodic guitar parts as do plenty of the grooves. 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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Hexham Heads - Hexham Heads EP

 

We don't discover everything ourselves, our peers also help. Dennis from the excellent Add To Want List made me aware of this. It sounds so Stiff Records that I was amazed that the quartet come from Melbourne. This debut EP is the absolute dog's bollocks.

Van Walker's vocal is very very early Costello, but the whole sound reminds me of the glory days of UK New Wave. It feels like 1978 again. I mention Stiff, but the arrangements and production are much bigger. The arrangements in particular are magnificent.

/p>

The hooks are plentiful. Big riffs, ace solos and killer choruses, the 4 tracks just left me wanting more and more. Even the slowed down, Music is completely engaging. There is a fine jangle to Say It Again with its catch all chorus. 

My personal favourite is Can't Live Without You, it has everything that you could want in a Guitar Pop song. But, Let Me Go is a close second. It reminds me of great times when music mattered much more to people than something in the background. If this EP were longer, it would be a contender for Album of the Year. It really is that great!

You can listen to and buy the EP here. It is available on 7 Inch Vinyl and as a download.

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Mr Magpie - The Fever Dreams Of Mr Magpie (Name Your Price)

 

For just one week until Sunday 21 December, Mr Magpie have made their second album available to listen to on Bandcamp, where you can also download at Name Your Price. It will then be unavailable until its physical release and only be available to the streamers then.

Call it an early Christmas present if you like, because it is an extraordinarily great album. The Peak District up a heady mix of restrained Jangle with a hint of Gentle Psych Pop and journeys across both Folk Rock and Classic Rock.

The album is wonderfully restrained allowed the atmospherics and vocal to breathe. It is almost chilled at times. Nervous Breakdown is the song that probably best expresses what they are about incorporating all the genres that I've previously mentioned.

The Boy You Never Knew is splendid Folk, still a hint of Jangle, but acoustically led as a lot of the album is. The song is hypnotic. Dead Orchard Voodoo is a haunting listen until a surprise chaotic Slide Guitar outburst at the close.

Meet Me By The Lighthouse is lyrically adept and almost a Porch or Campfire song. Lloyd Loom is almost Americana and Amanita allows you to envisage endless beautiful landscapes. The album is very laidback yet a cracking listen. Too few bands grip you with such restraint.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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The Elbow Patches - Achingly Familiar

 

I'm a big John Dunbar fan and although The Elbow Patches may appear to be just another pseudonym for his adventures, there is more to the story. The name was originally suggested for the rockier The John Sally Ride.

However, the sad passing of Sal Maida rightly meant that the group couldn't continue. So here are those planned songs recorded by Dunbar. This really is Pop Rock excellence with Dunbar's gentle melodic vocal lighting up the arrangements.

The title track is really strong. riffs all over the place with a slight Psych Pop Guitar feel. When There's Nothing Left is a jaunty shuffle with a great Country Twang. A song that reveals Dunbar's ability to deliver up sad, slightly snarky at times, lyrics and match them to catchy arrangements.

A Dull Celebrity closes the album wonderfully, again with big hints of Psych Pop, matched to a hypnotic drum beat and almost reaches 60s Garage Beat. You Can't Kid Yourself Any More is possibly the best song on show, but the whole album oozes Pop Rock charm.

Much is made of Dunbar's vocal strength and his self depreciating lyrics, but the album underlines what a great guitarist he is. The self depreciation can hide the talent and I still get frustrated at how little he pushes himself forward. This is a great listen and highly recommended.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Listening To This Week 15 December

 

24 songs this week. A little more diverse than usual and a little noisier in parts without losing sight of what we are about. Plus, the return of Andy Partridge to begin proceedings. 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. 

Andy Partridge & Chris Braide - I Like 'Be' With You

Drool Brothers - The Song That Nobody Heard

Anamanaguchi - Sparkler

you, always - Xanax

Felix Tandem - Hey Now (Back To The 90s)

Fatecrimes - Chemical Default

Teenage Tom Petties - Kudzu Pop

Shapes Like People - Under The Rainbow

The Finest Hour - Needle & Thread

The Planes - Cliff Diver

Fish Night - Splicetime!

furiousball - Separate The Laundry

furiousball · Separate the Laundry

The Unknowns - All Grown Up

Alexa Kate - Forever

Alexa Kate · Forever

Vanilla - Hollow Man

Greg Hill - Glass Blown House

Chris Roach - The World's A Match And He's Dynamite

CrowsVSRavens - Beyond Repair (Monday Mirror)

Oli Swan - Sit And Wait

Oli Swan · Sit and Wait

Hollow Star - Capital

Lemon Ants - The Hill

Stone Tribe - Syncing

Deep Sea Camels - Same Rules Apply

Arn-Identified Flying Objects And Alien Friends - The Crow

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The Magic Castles - The Lore Of Mysticore

 

We don't cover many re-releases, simply because there is so much to deal with that is new. We do make the odd exception and this is one. I've loved this album since its initial release in 2008. I picked it up around 2015.  However, it now gets a Cream Vinyl Release courtesy of the new label, Dust And Memory.

Dust And Memory is a reissue label set up by Alvaro Lisson, owner of one our favourite labels, Meritorio Records which is a massive supporter of the new. The Magic Castles are a five piece band from Minneapolis and the album's base camp is gentle melodic Pastoral Psych Pop.

The album is very much a soundscape, filtering in Shoegaze, Chill Out, Folk Rock and Shoegaze whilst remaining incredibly melodic and engaging. The Psych Pop excels on 10,100. Largely, these are shorter songs than the usual length of this sort of genre.

But, the band do lengthy well too. All Of My Prayers morphs into heavier Psychedelic Guitar and gets very hippy trippy.  Ballad Of The Golden Bird is more wordy, a little shoegaze, but equally Prog, an hypnotic listen.

Hey Kids is surprisingly noisier, true Psych with the Organ sound drilling into your head and revealing how well the vocals work with the sounds. It even gets a little Madchester. The download is available separately but free with the Vinyl and adds the mind-blowing 13 minutes that is Cave Troll Blues. The whole thing is an hypnotic listen.

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You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Greg Hill - twenty-seven

 

I first came across Bighampton New York's Greg Hill via a Listening To This Week submission and Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind still sounds as wonderful. Pop Rock with a hint of the 80s and a tint of Prog, it is a top notch slice of Pop.

A look at Hill's Bandcamp page lists a whole mass of Genres, ambitious hyperbole you might think, but to be honest there are others that he has missed. twenty-seven is quite astonishing for a self performed, arranged and produced album. There is some talent here.

A song like Head First, Upside Down is ace 70s Pop Rock, a little Alan Parsons Project at times, beautifully and performed. Hill does Pop Rock so well, melodic, catchy with big choruses, Glass Blown House sounds more modern, but hits similar targets.

There are changes in direction too. 40 Miles is 80s Synth Pop, Honestly is Acoustic, stripped, a sort of Porch song, a little folk.Dissipate is built around piano and a mesmerising Guitar sound, very West Coast laidback in feel and adds a splendid Guitar solo.

I Know I'm Running Late is something that would bother the current Top 40, hypnotising in places and I haven't yet mentioned the stand out Great Escape. twenty-seven is an awe inspiring piece of art mixing the old and the new. What a great listen.

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

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The Planes - Motel For Lightning Bug

 

If we could turn back time and then name bands that should be on the IRS label,  Brooklyn's The Planes would be high on the list. They have an ability to be straight ahead and yet wonderfully obtuse. Sounding Post Punk one minute, yet 90s Rock the next. An ability to be noisy, but then follow it with something so Indie Rock.

If I was to choose my favourite of the six songs, it would be the magnificent Cliff Diver, noisy as hell, but built on a groove, a little Psych, yet stunning avant garde heaviness. But that would be an arrangement that perfectly fits what I listen to away from me.

Tear The World Apart fits more tastes, a hypnotic riff matched by a driving bass. Great Post Punk that breaks into a 90s Rock chorus. This is the band at their most accessible. Radio Summer runs it close though with its UK Indie C86 vibe.

Sleep / Gash is beautifully arranged, a little Radiohead like perhaps. The beauty of this quartet is that they can be incredibly inventive on the like of The Box, but change direction into something less chaotic and frantic. This isn't something for the Pop Kids, more something to blow your mind.

You can listen to and buy the album here. 

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Drool Brothers - Psychology

 

I've been waiting to tell you about this for quite a while and you will now be reading about an Album Of The Year. Well into their third decade, expanded from a trio to a quartet with the addition of a third Mancillas, Natalie.

Psychology is a wonderful statement of the joy of the Guitar and the chorus. It is also an album that is all over the place, magnificently so. The variety is endless from Angular to Brit Pop via Psych and Pop Rock. It is a splendid listen.

Compare the just over 2 minutes glorious Brit Pop of The Song That Nobody Heard to the heavy 6 minutes Psych of Green Jesus and you will appreciate that you are quite a ride. Those songs follow one another and so you will understand that there is a lot going on here.

Snack And Treats is a mix of Fuzz and Jangle Pop that blends perfectly. Dumb comes across as glorious UK 1978 New Wave with a touch of Noo Yawk sneeze and an unforgettable Telstar interlude. Fame Whore  is all 60s Beat built around another great Riff.

The title track starts with a top notch Bassline that recalls the band's earlier Funk, it is more New Wave though, a little Talking Heads instrumentally and an adventure in itself. It even gets a little dancey. Kaleidoscope is fantastically Angular with a killer chorus.

Have Fuzz Will Travel maybe sums up the band most, certainly here and adds a sort of Screamadelica woo hoo hoo and a Guitar break that adds to the raiding of the instrument cupboard. A stunning set of songs from Chuck Mancillas, stunning Guitar work and a locked in Rhythm section, what more could you want? A stunning listen!

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

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The Moats - Pleased To Meet You

 

You will hear The Moats on the current Listening To This Week, second song in with the splendid Find Someone Who Cares. The resulting 7 track album continues the joy. The Brighton quartet sound like a crack 80s Indie band, but certainly not an everyday one. 

There is plenty of great Jangle Pop on display, Glasgow related TFC and Dropkick at times, but there are also West Coast influences such as The Byrds when the pace lets up and a Paisley Park and IRS label feel at other times. 

The pacy I Want To shows that you can Jangle, yet Rock, something too few bands try and the slight Fuzz and energy makes the song an absolute joy to listen to. Lead Hat is very Three O'Clock like, yet Stupid Things is laid back is very San Franciscan jangle.

Internal Logic runs Find Someone who cares really close. More gentle Psych Pop than what else is on show, but this is in contrast to Diamond Ring which is very C86 and beautifully put together as the whole album is.

Pleased To Meet You is Jangle heaven, but what it does is show that there are many forms of the genre. It doesn't have to be sedate, enjoy quietly stuff. There is tons of energy here and variation that make the album a great listen.

You can listen to and buy the album here.  You can buy the cassette here.

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Linear Television - Sandy Beach EP. (Name Your Price)

 

Munster's Sandy Beach seem to have been thrown in Old School Punk, I get that a little. Marie Von Medipops does get very close to vintage Buzzcocks, wonderfully so. But for the most part, the Sandy Beach EP reminds me more of the UK New Wave that followed Punk.

That time sorted out the bands that could play and were a little more melodic than shouty. The other three songs fit this description perfectly. Opening with a great Guitar Intro that completely sucks you in. The riffs are awesome too.

There is high energy here with memorable choruses. There may be attitude, but it is tempered by some wonderful playing and memorable choruses. Stay Strong is probably the best example of this, but the intro to Sandy Beach just grips you completely.

Sedated By The Television gets close to Pop Punk instrumentally, but thankfully without the robotic talky vocal that tends to make that genre formulaic. There's great pace and energy and songs that you just can't help sing along to. A fine effort and I hope to hear more in the new future.

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

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Maw Sit Sit - Songs Into Your Head

 

There is a real revival of the French music scene of late. Most of it is Indie, Garage and Punk, Paris five piece, Maw Sit Sit are certainly not any of those. Although, Far Away From You gets very close, a fine slab of energetic Noise Rock.

That though is out of kilter with the other five songs on show which are more soundscapes, beautifully arranged, very close to Symphonic Prog, but with vocal harmonies not a million miles away from Beach Boys West Coast territory.

/p>

At times, these songs sound like cinematic dream sequences, but they are fascinating and capture your imagination wonderfully. Bass, Drums and Guitar are present and the rhythm section knits together really well, but there is also a heavy keyboard lead. Guitars and Keyboards resonate perfectly.

The four part vocal harmonies are what engage you most. Unusual for material of this sort. It works well, but completely surprises you. Far Away From You does sound like a totally different band, but reveals that the five have a lot in their armoury.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Quick Update

 

There's a lot to get through before the end of the month, Review Wise with albums not featuring in our Best 100 Albums Of The Year if not reviewed. Unusual working hours in my real life job explain days without posts. It will however get quieter there after this week aided by Album releases being fewer and not bothering with Christmas songs and albums.

I am also off on leave from next Wednesday for 5 days which will allow Reviews to be completed. Reviews go up until the end of December. I don't really see the point of releasing lists until every opportunity has been taken to listen to as much as you can.

A reminder that the 8 month Spotify trial is now over. Today, I completely deleted the account as I have a real problem with what Spotify does (or doesn't do) for artists. It is about people with no interest in music gathering all the cash.

Four Reviews are about to be released shortly and I will fit as much as I can in before Wednesday.

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Listening To This Week Playlist 8 December

 

29 more songs this week, none of them Christmas ditties. Another whisk around our musical tastes. Something for everyone you might say. 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. 

He's Dead Jim - Avenues and Alleyways

The Moats - Find Someone Who Cares

The Plastic Pals - Get To The Point

Shaw's Trailer Park - Pretty Hat Club

1910 Chainsaw Company - Baby Blue

NONTHEWISER - We'll All Be Dead

COMEDY - L.A. Perfume

Marc Valentine - You Are The Jet  

Bad Flamingo - Shame

Beauty - Daisy

No Point Intended - Over The Moon

The Arcade Lights - Remember The Days

Tennis Courts - Keep The Car Running

Joe Giddings - Stay In Nowhere

Douglas & The World - The Pink Burger Bar (Part 1)

Moon Construction Kit - Chemicals

Moon Construction Kit · Chemicals

Little King - Sweet Jessie James

Static In Verona - Big Giant

The Elbow Patches - The Day Got Away With Me

Inland Years - Same Old Town

Peter Cat - Starchamber

Space Jaguar - Go Home

Robin Taylor Zander - She Can't Turn Back Now

Draped Apes - Making It (Up)

The Casbahs - Different Way Home

Svenssen - The Making Of Art

Barry & The Visitors - And Yours Too

Barry & The Visitors · And Yours Too

Rusty Reid - Let's Just Talk

Candytuft - Sour Flower

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The 1910 Chainsaw Company - Everything's Better

 

This is an album released in October 2024, but I've only just discovered it via a recommendation and it is a corking listen, With the catch up starting on Album Reviews today, it makes sense to close with something more akin with our general reputation.

The Philadelphia Quartet offer up a 60s leaning Pop Masterpiece. All vocal harmony, Summer West Coast Bubblegum, catchy as catchy can be. There are also hints of Psych Pop with the emphasis on Pop and Merseybeat.

The latter is underlined by the jaunty Hitchin' A Ride, Brass is added to an Everly Brothers feel on Goodbye Daydream and Beach Boys style vocals and sound adorn Jennington Obelisk. The title track is wonderful gentle Psych Pop done in a Partridge Family let's do the show right here style.

Baby Blue is a stunning atmospheric closer, initially, vocal and organ only, but bursts into a spectacular 70s Pop Rock arrangement, but it doesn't end there. This four songs in one then gets all together now Marmalade like before closing at pace with a Wizzard like effect.. It is a superb song. It just has to be the opening embed.

Band Aid adds even more variety, part 60s Rock and Roll, part Eddy And The Falcons. Better Than All The Rest is a little Daydream Believer and Spider Paws is all UK 70s Glam Rock. The whole album is so well put together, it is a joyful listen. Kick of 2005's Blues and get your singing voice prepared.

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

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Little King - Lente Viviente

 

Just as Bowie said that he'd found his Jeff Beck with Mick Ronson, I've finally found my Rush replacement with Tucson, Arizona's Little King. Little King are no newcomers, this is their 8th album in a career approaching three decades, but they are new to me.

The trio (another essential) are doppelgängers for 90s and beyond Rush, definitely instrumentally, arrangement wise and many times vocally. The song structure  are very similar as are the changes in direction. They also seem to suffer the same genre calls as non followers of the Canadians beseeched on them.

You will find them reviewed on Metal and Prog  sites, when in reality they are neither of those. They certainly Rock and the arrangements are complex, but at times there are Pop Rock sentiments. Ryan Rosoff is the leader as vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, but the trio are locked in.

David Hamilton plays Bass (and cello on the magnificent Sweet Jessie James) and Tony Bojorquez, Drums. This isn't a long album at 25 minutes for the 7 songs, so there is no excess weight, but the songs do contain such a lot within them.

The biggest I Can't Believe It's Not Rush is the opener Catch And Release, but the signs are everywhere. But these are no copycats. There is the trio's indelible stamp across the album. Who's Illegal is more slowed down, a little AOR maybe with a driving rhythm track and lyrical sentiments that most sensible listeners can agree with.

The Living Lens is a great closer, a sort of round up of everything they do, but the stand out is Sweet Jessie James, a splendid arrangement, the cello is magnificent, more restrained vocally and instrumentally. But overall, Lente Vivienne is an awesome listen.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Shaw's Trailer Park - French Litter

 

Shaw's Trailer Park is one of the finest albums of this year (reviewed here) and we now have another offering from the Brighton quartet. French Litter feels a little looser and raw than its predecessor, but it is every bit as interesting and engaging.

The feel is a heavier, the Psych quotient more noticeable and the UK Beat twists are magnificent. As you might expect, it is the Psych that interests me most and this is wonderfully presented mixing pure Psych, Psych Pop and Paisley Underground.

So let's begin unusually at the end. The closer, Pretty Hat Club is 5 minutes plus of magnificent Psych, it is a fist shaking monster of a song with a groove that hooks you completely. It is a brilliant way to send you off to your everyday duties with your head still focussed on the song. 

It will feature heavily on tomorrow's Listening To This Week Playlist. Compare that to the Garage Rock of Anyone There and the mid 60s UK Beat of the groovy Jaywalker and you realise that this lot are no one trick pony.

The lead single, Phone Wars, is again very 60s, all bass and riff driven. But is the noisier stuff that grips me most. Trailer Park Blues is in your face, part groove, part Guitar extravaganza, it just hooks you in. Patience is all locked in groove, mesmerising at times, wonderful Psych pop.

I'd love to see the band live. These songs are built to be played Live in a sweaty club, removing you of all energy until your legs can't take any more. This type of music doesn't come along as much as it used to which is unfortunate for you all.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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