Modern Marriage - Grim Up North

 

Closer to home for today's closing review with a wonderful album released on the splendid Skeleton Records, home of the fine Record Shop and label. Follow them on Facebook to enter the home of twisted wit to which I concur.

Thinking of the Wirral, there are gonna be obvious comparisons to Half Man Half Biscuit and the humour and lyrical dexterity are here, but the arrangements and directions are miles bigger. This is Indie, but takes many unexpected turns.

These songs are stories about characters, filled with observation and biting wit and attitude. Who else would write a song called Gerry And His Pacemaker, wonderfully written and a groove led anthem. Grim Up North is very C86, a little Housemartins, sardonic, yet also houses a killer chorus and Trumpets and everything.

Lobster Pot is more Punky and a reference that most scousers would know. Instrumentally, it is awesome, messy, noisy, yet addictive. Modern Marriage even enters the realm of a Pop song. Dear John gets all Rickenbacker Jingle, maybe the most straight ahead here and it works beautifully.

IKEA Flatpack is glorious Brit Pop with a wonderful string arrangement. Blue,Red And Yellow...Maybe is awesome, great Pop Rock, a song you don't want to end. Speke Now (or Forever Hold Your Peace) starts all Psych Pop and hurtles into great UK New Wave.

Ben Savage is a gifted songwriter with an ability to come up with engaging Pop songs, whilst also having a knack for observation and a sharp tongue. Modern Marriage are also a locked in trio as well as being proof of the inventiveness on The Wirral. Grim Up North is essential.

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

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Slippers - Slippers 08

I still ache from this place being called a boys club around the middle of our 10 years. My argument was that it wasn't, but the female vocal led material at that stage was either wistful and breathy or shouty, neither of which suited what we cover and still don't.

Five years on, look at us now. Without ever changing direction, the ladies are offering up the best of what's around. With three albums in our Top 10 of the Best Albums of 2025 and currently compiling Monday's Listening To This Week which is female dominated. Proof, that we are not sexist, the music is everything, nothing else.

Phew, glad to get that off my chest. On to Slippers and Madeline Bubaka Black's second album is stunning Pop. It may not sound original, reminding you of many different things from the past, but it is so beautifully put together. Stunning Indie Pop.

The vocal is sugar sweet, she could sing the phone book and make it alluring. But the arrangements all take their share of the weight. Every song is different to the last. Beautifully produced and arranged in a way that makes the very best of that top notch vocal.

Castaways is all 60's Studio Pop, whilst Wasted Tonight, a co write with Mo Troper, is perfect 80s Jangling UK Indie Pop. Til You Know is pure Saint Etienne and Fool In Your Room is superb Jangle Pop with crossover Guitars.

Sunday Morning could be Tamar Berk as does Wants For Everything and you know how much we adore Tamar Berk. Slippers 08 demonstrates the joy of melody and even, more the beauty of Pop. Let your cares wash away as you sing along. 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 Regulars - Lights Get Low (Bandcamp Name Your Price)

 

All the way from Boxborough, Massachusetts, The Regulars offer up something a little more Rocky than we normally don't always go for. But the album is a really joyful listen. Indie Rock at heart, with an emphasis on the Rock.

The Riffs are killer, really gripping and the joint combined vocal of Jeff Clarke and Julia Fernandez - Turk works really really well. Clarke's songwriting is the strength, but his Guitar playing is extraordinarily great. The songs are tight and don't veer off into other directions and this straight aheadness is really appealing.

They can get looser and do so on the excellent slightly meandering Gotta Wait. The heavier Evening Phase has a slight feel of The Successful Failures and that similarity is around more than once. There is an earthy grit to what the band do and that is special, because not many are attempting such.

Petrified closes the album and is the one time that The Regulars come up for air and they still can't resist a regular breed crunch. They are nothing like Deacon Blue, but the dual vocal does have Ross - Mcintosh in feel, much more in your face though.

There is also a slight less Pop similarity to latter day Ash in parts. The standout song is Impossible which kicks in with an explosive Riff. It's the most Pop Rock that the band gets and is real belter of a song. At 21 minutes, the album is more of a mini one, but it is one that says what it wants to say and then gets off. A truly great listen!

The album is available at Name Your Price, so you have little to lose. You can listen and buy here.

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Deadbeat Beat - From Here To Ohio

 

I think many of you know how engaged that I am with intelligent Guitar Pop, especially when it adds a little Gravitas. Detroit's Deadbeat Beat have come up with exactly that, the 7 years gap has been way too long. This is an incredible listen.

I have a theory that the most compelling albums are when my great friend, Darrin Lee and I move from our own spheres to meet in the middle. From Here To Ohio is sure to hit us similarly. It retains its originality without ever losing the melody.

At times the album appears to be a cross between 60s US Summer Pop and the best of 80s Indie Pop. But there is also plenty of gentle Psych Pop that nears Toytown without ever getting there. Yet, the quartet can fashion up something as sprawling and magnificent as Straight Friends.

Although, this is essentially Guitar Pop, Pete Steffy's keyboards add something extra instrumentally, taking the songs into even more Poppy directions which are unusual for music of the genre. The songs are outstanding from the jaunty Jangle of Butchertown to the wonderful Psych Pop of Dying On That Hill.

I adore Toytown and Mellow fits into that village perfectly. Atmospheric is joyful New Wave Power Pop and the opener, Peach Sprite, is ace West Coast Jangle. At times, the spirit of The Sugarplastic hovers around and that makes From Here To Ohio an essential listen.

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 8 June

Usually, the playlist is being compiled right up to the deadline. The most pleasing ones always seem to be sorted well ahead of time and this is one such one. 29 songs that were ready gradually and easily. It left a virtually free weekend and preparation for a glut of reviews that will be coming towards the weekend.

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 those who appear here. 

Local Drags - Feeling Down Is On The Way Out

Onesie - Tryptophantastic

Log Flume - Get The Picture

Gentle Brontosaurus - Tumbleweed

The Race - The Best Is Yet To Come

Velour on Tap -Hourglass Lake Ahead

Bramwell - Standing On Stones

Aaron Skiles - Ain't No Marks

GALORE - Life Comes Quick

Kilo Bravo - World On Fire

The Greenberry Woods - Lame Love Letter

Bunchy's Big Score - I Don't Wanna Dance

MARKETPLACE - Jennifer Said

Marketplace · Jennifer Said

Vinyl Floor - Tell The World It Happened

Keaton Schiller - Spill

Conor Miley - Peepshow

The Mosfets - Keith Is A Blues Artist

The Mooches - Skinhead

Holy Coves - Hole

Palm Ghosts - Sear Zoning

Willie Dowling - Carry On Refusing

No Museums - Time Trials

Cocktail Slippers - This Town

Twin Bloom - Magazine Dreams

The Ragamuffins - Wobble Wobble

Soft No - Done

Clay Pigeons - The Flow

The Youth Play - Sunday

Deer Fang - Howl

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Wooden Overcoat - Hello Sunbeam EP

The Portland Oregon quartet offer up a dynamic debut EP. Not taking the obvious route, Hello Sunbeam offers up a mix of Dream Pop, Psych Pop and Shoegaze, generally in the same song and this works wonderfully well.

As well as a vocal smoothness, the soundtrack is soothing, almost soundscape and certainly Pop, but with tremendous riffs dominating proceedings. The best example is Finally Arrived which is wonderfully hypnotic and engaging.

Heaven Right Now is still instrumentally effective, but adds a twang and stupendous organ mixing something like 60s Psych with C86. I Knew We Would adds a folk feel to a strumming vibe, again sounding Psych Pop, yet this time more led by a Dream Pop vocal.

Home is the moodiest song of all four, skirting Surf and Spaghetti Western like feel, but also totally catchy. The band are instrumental led, offering up themes that connect completely and are a delight when the Joe Meek like Organ comes in. They are also not afraid to Twang.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.
 

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Local Drags - Cool If We Split?

 

What once appeared to be a solo shoot off from the excellent Starter Jackets is now the real main thing. Lannie Durbin is back on the excellent Stardumb Records label with his classic Power Pop that adds a slightly modern touch.

You got the warning with Sticky Menu on the latest Listening To This Week Playlist and here is the full palette. People note The Speedways as heading the revival of the genre, but Local Drags have carried the load just as much.

Everything that you need in a Power Pop album is here. Great melodic vocals, thrilling Riffs and big Choruses. It takes talent to nail the format and Durbin has it in spades. Cool If We Split? is more American than many which underlines what the country brought to the genre.

The Riffs are everything here, never more so than on the superb Bitter Fruit, a song than you will be singing in the shower for weeks to come. High Beams is a little more UK 1979 with its brain drilling Riff which underlines what a way the man has with catchiness.

Can't Get Through is wonderfully anthemic and Little Grief harks more to the 60s Guitar Pop. The best may be saved till the last. Feeling Down Is On The Way Out is slower and has more in common with the 90s Slacker Pop.

The link to Starter Jackets is still here with Luke McNeill records, mixes and masters Cool If We Split? If you wanted to know what Power Pop means to the fans, this album shows how it can revive the spirits, no matter how bad things are personally and worldwide, there is an ability to listen and forget all the outside noise.

You can listen to and buy the album here, You can buy the Vinyl and CD from Stardumb here.

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Log Flume - Go Where The Money Goes

 

We've normally had a run of summer Power Pop by now, so I'm delighted to at last have something to get a hold of. Log Flume's 2024 debut caught me completely be surprise, it was really popular on here and reached the Top 20 of 2024's Best Albums. You can read my review here.

So what caught me by surprise, is the low key release of this follow up. I expected red carpets and fireworks, yet it has appeared without a whisper and it really takes what they do onto greater things. There are the sort of things that made Splash Hit so appealing, but there are big strides contained within.

The Chester County PA quartet still master the Power Pop. The Jangle Pop of Got This Feeling is just the ticker, as is Misery which is top notch Guitar Pop. But other songs take other directions. Far From You has a much noisier riff led that takes it into UK 80s Indie with aplomb.

Up By 9 O'Clock is pure Housemartins and the title track could be Mighty Wah with a haunting Guitar track. Misery is C86 Glasgow joy and Anything raises the spirit of 70s UK New Wave, a real let's do the show right here.

Every Single Day slows things down into a Slacker vibe, Weezer-ish and is the one song that denotes the American influence, because throughout the album sounds more Brit. It is a stunning listen with its Psych Pop Guitar feel.

The whole thing is a celebration of the beauty of Pop and the Guitar. Never more so than on the closer, Follow You which is wonderful Power Pop. If you liked the debut album, you will adore this. The four of them should be shouting from the rooftops about the sheer joy of this melodic Pop.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Sour Ops - Bikers Make Better Lovers

 

It is an extraordinarily fine time for Guitar Pop and Indie Rock presently as favourites return with new albums, it's just finding the time to tell you all about them that holds back joy. Nashville Trio, Sour Ops are first up to enhance your lugholes.

The band mix Indie Rock with Power Pop and Guitar Pop. A little rockier than those around them, songwriter Price Harrison's vocal helps make them so. His voice allows them to straddle genres meaning they are at ease in whatever direction they choose.

The riffs are heavier than you might expect, at times bordering on the rockier side of Indie Rock, yet also in touch with something more Classic. Power Pop with an edge and even an ability to mirror UK Glam Rock or sound like someone such as The Successful Failures, particularly on All That Matters Now with some ace Pedal Steel courtesy of Paul Niehaus.

The Power Of Right Now is Glam Rock played with a Power Pop beat. Opting Out opens up the album with a New Wave Synth Intro before moving at pace into something a little 80s Indie aided by an absolutely killer solo.

She's So Strange is melodic Indie Rock and adds a blistering Fuzz solo and No Winner Tonight borders Garage Rock and Punk. Fake Appeal is Noo Yawk sleaze. Sour Ops don't come up for air through all 10 songs, not that you'd ever want them to. Great Stuff!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Listening To This Week 1 June

As we approach our 10th Anniversary and pass 4 million views, it is worth noting how popular the LTTW Playlist has become. Like I Don't Hear A Single itself, it was only meant to be a small thing. Initially, a way to note great songs from artists who didn't necessarily have an Album or EP planned.

It has become a real driver for what happens here, bringing new followers and listeners. We were adamant that streamers such as the likes of Spotify did little for the artists that we like. Great music fell down a big black hole. Hence, the concentration on Bandcamp, Soundcloud and YouTube.

Those sites allowed people to listen to an artist's Back Catalogue and listeners didn't have to sign in or pay to listen. Bandcamp, in particular, allows listeners to buy. Streamers provide a song and that's it, we try to get people to become fans of the artists and this place is all about the artist.

26 songs this week 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 those who appear here. 

Local Drags - Sticky Menu

Jade Green - I Can't Wait

The Martial Arts - Seeing Double

The Regulars - Impossible

Miserable Chillers - Bikeman

Sour Ops - Problem Number Next

Herr Nilsson - Queen Melody

Dave's Manual - Electrical

Wooden Overcoat - Home

Forgotten Garden - Rain

SPRINGCLEAN - Let Go

ELIKSA - From Falmer Court

The Jonnybirds - St. Venice

Middlebees - When Will The Light Shine

Cashell - Around Town

Magic City - Airtight Alibi

Hoaxxers - Hard Luck

EG Vines - I Like 'em Brain Dead

Hexham Heads - In Time

Vemberlain - Your Memory Has Been Magnetised

Electric High - Higher Heights

Roy - Pity Party

Tiny Tiny - Friend In Philadelphia

Tradie - Swan Drive

Jonny's Day Out - Zumba

Rockvyn - Parasocial Metabolism

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4,000,000

 

Over the weekend, I Don't Hear A Single exceeded 4 Million visits, what is even more amazing is that the 4th million came up in under 4 and a half months. Over 350,000 in May, the interest in new music really does warm the heart.

I've never been self congratulatory, IDHAS has always been about the artist and remains so. I don't really talk much about myself, but this is the longest that I've ever stuck with anything and the place seems to grow and grow. My Attention Span remains.

I only really look at the numbers to see what has been hot and not to guide future Reviews. 

What has been most pleasing is how the archive here has been trawled resulting  and how the LTTW Playlist has evolved. I, personally, do not think that I have been as hectic or active this year, which is a testament to how the place keeps growing. 

Lots to come in June and then of course the 10th Anniversary celebrations that arrive mid July.

Weird Nightmare - Hoopla

 

METZ released 5 albums on Sub Pop, the last being in 2024. Alex Edkins was the vocalist and guitarist. His solo vehicle is Weird Nightmare and this is the second album, the first was recorded whilst METZ were still a thing. Edkins is still on Sub Pop.

Weird Nightmare is very different to METZ, the latter were noisy and disruptive, wonderfully so and a little Punk. Weird Nightmare are surpisingly and splendidly Guitar Pop. At times a mix of classic Power Pop and the current noisier version of the genre.

But there isn’t just that. Never In Style is pure Replacements, as is Bright City Lights and Pay No Mind is ace 60s UK Beat with a top notch noisy ending. Yet compare those two the Jangling Twanging sugar sweet Power Pop of If You Should Turn Around and you soon realise that you’ve got quite an album on your hands and in your ears.

Little Strange is even more astray from the rest. A Punk vocal matched with a gripping Riff and a driving rhythm. At times very 1978 and yet also in touch with the 90s College Rock Revival. But it is the Guitar Pop that resonates most as it might for our followers.

Might See You There is a Power Pop classic, reminiscent of The Speedways, but with a bigger arrangement. Baby Don’t leans more to the likes of Uni Boys and Forever Elsewhere picks up the pace without losing sight of the genre.

The whole album is a revelation. A great celebration of the chorus with killer riffs and tight arrangements. I’ve select three songs that show the range of the album, but I urge all to listen to the whole of Hoopla to appreciate how great the Power Pop is.

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

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The Tyde - Once (25th Anniversary Reissue)

 

In my previous life at Anything Should Happen, the concentration was on collectively finding great lost albums. The breakaway to IDHAS was because of how the new was slated by peers and now I’ve spent as long here as I did there. So the looking back doesn’t happen too often these days.

But two albums have been reissued this year that both remind me of those times and what exceptional albums that they are. The second will appear in the near future, but for now we will concentrate on the first. Los Angeles’s The Tyde and their magnificent debut album.

Released at the back end of Brit Pop, it was largely ignored at the time, how many great American bands fitted into that genre. Once slightly did, but there was much more to it did. It is an album that is essentially built on a groove encompassing multiple genres, a proper album where each song complemented the previous one.

It does sound very U.S., particularly West Coast Rock, especially the laidback feel. However there are hints of San Franciscan Psych, the likes of Primal Scream and a restrained Black Crowes. There is even a hint of The New Radicals at times vocally.

It is a beautifully performed and arranged affair. A backing track that holds everything together, allowing the riffs to reach out and grip you, whilst at the same time leaving you hypnotised. I suppose that this is essentially a Rock album that provides something for everyone.

There are great moments of Pop, surprise Steel Guitar and a wonderful organ tone throughout. I’ve deliberately not mentioned any songs, but I have embedded my three favourite songs which change regularly. Once sounds as great as it did 25 years ago.

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

Weird Bloom - Wrong Time Wrong Place

 

It is great to have Weird Bloom back. I loved Stargate, which appeared in the Best Albums Of 2025 and the Italian five piece are back for more. They call it Junk Shop Glam, I’d call it UK Glam Rock 1973 - 1974 and there can lie a problem because I am of an age that can remember that period.

So my review will delight in how the band has got that period nailed down and make them sound like a retro band. However, most people will be much younger and not know the past bar the odd single. To them, these songs will sound as new and they are original songs.

So for the new, this is great joyful good time Guitar led Pop Rock. The oldsters can marvel at how close the band are to a beloved singles led time. Simply put, this is a great feel good album that puts its own spin on a glorious age and what bookmarks there are.

Look At Me is Bolan-esque, Lend Me Your Bones is not a million miles away from the Bay City Rollers. Wrong Time Wrong Place revives memories of Mud and Tiger Feet. Love’s A Glimpse is a little Suzi Quattro and The Devil On The Hill sounds like one of the rockier Sweet B Sides.

So having mentioned the references, it should be noted that the album is total fun, great Guitar Pop, beautifully performed and arranged. You will soon be tapping your feet, ckapping your hands and singing along to the choruses. Great Stuff!

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

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Listening To This Week Playlist 25 May

A brief story about this week's LTTW Playlist. I was going to give this weeks a rest for only the second time. Simply due to how much I Don't Hear A Single has on this week. Meetings everywhere about its future advancement. 

However, I decided to have a quick listen to what was in on Saturday morning and was still listening at midnight. The result is the maximum 30 songs this week. A playlist that grows and grows as it goes. There are surprises, but this is probably the most Guitar Pop, the playlist has ever been.

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 those who appear here. 

Wynona Bleach - Be Positive

The Chovies - Lili Taylor

Next Week's Washing - All You Fear Is All You Feel

Weird Bloom - Wrong Time Wrong Place

The Speedways - I Shouldn't Have Tried To Leave Without You

Billy Reeves - Encyclopedi-ite

The Allwells - Walk All Over You

Shapes Like People - My Paradise

Tom Emlyn - Miss Understood

Radio Days - Flying High

Barry Walsh - Star Ride

Cult Canyon - Real Sublime

Bullseye - Tell Tale Signs

Tamburella - Slovenia

The Silver Bars - The Man Who Follows The Man

The Glorious Rabbits - Shine

Young Couple - As The Leaves Unfold

Michael Slawter With Julian Volpe - Give It All Up

Dead Star Boys - Killed By Dreams

Whoop - Tightrope

Sundrast - Tennis Coach

Certain Things - Sullen Freak

Certain Things · Sullen Freak

Jim Allen - Panic Button

Ben Auld - Hell Bent

Yacovelli - Doppelganger

District 8 - Don't You Believe In Miracles

The Creepy Jingles - All Because Of You

White Fence - Unread Books

Mean Sea - Pick Me Up

Crocodiles - Time Is Wasting Me

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Dead Star Boys - RATS

 

Medway, as we've tried to say over the the past year or so, isn't all about Psych Pop and 60s UK Beat. There's a great New Wave Guitar led scene and Dead Star Boys are certainly part of it. The trio's second album is wonderful New Wave.

The band is certainly in your face and a reminder of how great that late 70s / early 80s New Wave scene was. A mixture of the aftermath of Punk, Mod Pop, Canvey Island energy and for all the noise, a way with coming up with killer choruses.

Viv Tucker's vocal is somewhere between Pete Shelley and John Lydon and that backed by a killer rhythm section and an ability to resonate via big chunky riffs. The arrangements aren't ten a penny and allow you to believe that the trio offer a high energy live set.

The pure Punk energy of the splendid Killed By Dreams grips you and adds a surprise Organ accompaniment. So great a song, that it deserved to be the opener. But the equally excellent Plastic Age obviously prevents this. An inspired Buggles cover.

There is such a raucous feel to the whole album. A rawness that drags you in. A hope that the energy of 1979 could be with us again. I was around for that and it fuelled by musical tastes. The noise hides the melody at times, but this is a great set of songs.

You can listen to and buy the album here. The CD is available here.

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The Violet Twilight - Between The Colours And Me (Bandcamp Name Your Price)

 

I am a massive fan of Tim Butcher, the Australian multi instrumentalist behind The Violet Twilight. He offers up extraordinary pastoral Psych Pop albums that just appear with little fanfare. Everyone as good if not better than the last.

He deserves much greater attention. Part of me wants to shake him and tell him that you should put yourself about more, because I don't hear anyone out there offering up better music in the genre. Australia, in particular, is laden with similar sounds that are nowhere near as good as this.

At times, he sounds like a less poppy Orgone Box, other times he resonates with the late 80s / early 90s Neo Psych revival and yet he can also sound 60s hippy trippy. The songs just resonate, particularly instrumentally, in a sort of Kula Shaker way.

But these songs drag you in to an all peaceful listen that kinda washes over you. But a song like Fade Away is a much more all encompassing arrangement that veers close to Toytown. The Reaper is ultra jaunty, almost Brit Pop.

Lost To Time appears twice, the second version is a revelatory Harmonium version that is just captivating. Between The Clouds And Me is a mellow listen, deep, thoughtful, almost shoe gaze at times. An album that provides complete relaxation and that is exactly what is needed in these times.

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

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