My Life As A Bird - The Cabana

Here we celebrate the new and under appreciated and San Jose's Mike Keller fits both camps. His solo project, My Life As A Bird, reaches its second album, hot on the heels of last year's debut album, Sunflower. It is right up our street, in fact it probably lives next door.

Get ready for Guitar Pop of the highest order. It is a Guitar fest of the highest order covering Power Pop, Slacker Pop, Pop Punk and much more. There are big hints of Weezer, but also big crunches. The solos take on epic proportions, at times sounding noisier Not Lame.

The riffs are completely hypnotic and veer into Classic Rock, UK Glam and encompass the likes of Teenage Fanclub and the noisier brand of Power Pop that we all currently adore. There is such a shake yer fist feel to proceedings, but an admiration of the sheer hypnotism of the guitar.

It doesn't fit one area, but encompasses all. The Pop Punk is incredibly melodic, none of that robotic vocal nonsense. It also treads into Emo with not a pair of half pants in sight. I keep coming back to the earlier days of Weezer as a pointer.

I suppose Slacker Rock is really the easiest description, but there is so much more here than that. Towards the end the album surprisingly gets slower. Sadie is built around a mesmerising riff and Who? closes things with a stripped down acoustic delicate feel until it explodes. 

I've deliberately not described other songs to encourage you to delve in to the whole thing. The Cabana is 31 minutes that will underline the glory of Guitar Pop. If you wanted to know where our heart is, it is probably here. What a great album!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Mr Magpie - The Fever Dreams Of Mr Magpie (Official Release)

 

Last year for a week until Sunday 21 December, Mr Magpie made their second album available to listen and download on Bandcamp, at Name Your Price. It didn't feature in our Best Of 2025 because the album was being released this year.

It is an extraordinarily great album. Now it has been released on Vinyl and as a download. The guys from the Peak District offer 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. It is available on Vinyl and as a download.

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Bory - Never Turns To Night

 

Welcome to Portland's Bory and his second album. It is a corking melodic listen. The wonderfully laid back vocals just weave and warp over you around some really all encompassing unusual arrangements. It is an album which gives you real affection to it.

It is also a whistle stop tour around the genres without ever losing its touch and feel. The harmonies are blissful, a little west coast maybe, but it is as at home with Slacker Rock and the Psych Pop ventures are absolutely notable and Psych Pop is always gonna grab me.

So you get the smooth easy listening of The Test contrasting with the 60s Psych Pop of Runner's High, a splendid pastoral pop sort of affair. The dreamy What I Needed acoustically mixing Folk and Indie Pop contests with the top notch Power Pop of Living Proof.

By The Lake is life affirming Jangle Pop, all Glasgow 80s, yet That's Jazz mixes 60s California with Brit Pop and even threatens a little Noise Pop, far more urgent than what else is on display. These are real examples of how great the variety is here.

We'll Burn That Bridge When We Get To It is a masterpiece of an opener, very Andy Partridge in places with a cracking other worldly instrumental arrangement. The arrangements throughout are what seals off a great album. A fascinating listen.

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

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The Pretty Flowers - Never Felt Bitter

 

I absolutely adore The Pretty Flowers. They are everything you could want in a Guitar band. Never Felt Bitter is the band's third album and we've covered the previous two, Why Trains Crash here, A Company Sleeve here. As well as perpetually bothering the Listening To This Week Playlist.

The Los Angeles quartet are anything that you want them to be. A cross between The Replacements and The Killers and everything in-between. They are in touch with what is around that is modern, yet knowledgeable about the past. 

Every album progresses and here is no exception. Album No 3 is a real Guitar album, epic in sound, a big production that doesn't lose touch with their roots. You want something that is in touch with the new noisier breed of Power Pop?, here's Convent Walls.

You want something heavier, down and dirty Garage Rock like?, here's Never Felt Bitter (We Burn).  Something slower, almost ballad like?, here's Not Dissolve. Ring True mixes, Post Punk with Noise Rock, yet remains incredibly melodic. It is possibly my favourite diversion, what a Guitar sound!

There are also anthems. To Be So Cool and Came Back Kicking are great examples. The opener, Thief Of Time sets out the agenda with its surprise Twanging solo that lets you know that this is no ordinary album that you are about to witness.

There is a real lyrical adeptness to discover, courtesy of front man, Noah Green, if you can tear yourself away from the stellar arrangements. Everything you could want from a Guitar band is here. Album Of The Year contender? You betcha!

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

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Ceylon Sailor - the tiny wave EP.

I've been loving this EP and wanting to tell you all about it. It is finally here. Unusually, for a Brooklyn band, this is wonderfully gentle Power Pop The five piece master melody with ease and venture towards Indie Pop vocally.

There's even some wonderful Brass accompaniment on the songs. All are as catchy as catchy can be. Well produced, arranged and performed. The title track has been constantly played here, a pacier affair amongst the four songs.

Candy is more straight ahead Power Pop with hints of 70s Pop. It is the surprises that hit you most on the song, the drum rolls, the 80s synth reminders and most of all that splendid Brass that enhances each and every song.

The Brass Intro on Sold Me Down is killer, as is the chorus. Never And Ever is an Epic collection, a real fanfare. The arrangements are stellar and really mark the material distant from the ordinary. These sort of songs used to be everyday, but not any more, meaning that The Tiny Wave is a real bolt from the blue. Great stuff!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Autos - Autos (Back In Print)

 

Great news from Bobby. Dandyboy are reissuing the Autos Mini Album. One of the best things on here last year. The debut is being reissued in time for Record Store Day on the 18th April. You can read my original review below and listen to the album as well as ordering this really hot ticket.

Dandyboy Records is a label that continually comes up with the goods and here is even more proof. Autos are a quartet that have a Power Pop starting point, but the quartet step further afield, partly due to the strength of Brandon Tomavic's laidback rasping vocals.

Adding in a driving rhythm section and a twin guitar attack, the world is their oyster. This allows them to cross boundaries with ease. Into The Grey heads into UK New Wave territory with its driving riffs and singalong chorus.

Yet on Spark In The Dark fairly races along across boundaries. It feels a little 80s New Wave, but also has a Feargal Sharkey tone to the vocal with some great Guitar Play. Drive gets even more Mainstream. Instrumentally, it is a little Blondie, yet also has hints of UL Glam Rock with a corking chiming riff.

Yet Breakin' The Ice comes across all IRS, even heads towards The Replacements. Whilst Arturo is a massive display of how inventive they can be over a longer time period. A killer jangling riff is accompanied by something much harder, whilst never letting the song break its restraints.

Power Poppers will love these six songs, but there is plenty here for the Indie Kids and Guitar Pop fans. I'm completely convinced, my only regret is that there isn't more to enjoy. I could listen to this forever. A wonderful example of how Guitar Pop can delight without every song having to sound the same.

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

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Sparrowhawk - Sunflowers In The Moonlight

Recommended to me by our great friends at Add To Want List via their review. We are very similar places and meet in the middle. They are a little punkier than us, we perhaps a little more Guitar Pop, but I consider both essential oasis's in a musical world of desert.

Niek mentions that we are in a period of Rock n Roll renaissance and he's absolutely right. I'm fortunate to hear stuff ahead and some of the albums that are to come are amazing. They seem to be centred around the same release dates, but Friday and 17 April are real hot spots.

Have no doubt that Minneapolis's Sparrowhawk are a Rock band. A have a good time all the time sort of band. Very Thin Lizzy in their twin Guitar attack. 70s Classic Rock as a base template, but with an ability to link in Power Pop and UK Glam Rock.

They don't come up for air, those guitars gripping you, shaking you into submission. All riffs and killer solos. Noisy neighbours, but incredibly melodic. The solo on Lonesome Operator is jawdroppingly great in a glad to be alive way.

Down The Line is all Boogie with a California Man riff diversion. Fool's Mercy is Glam Heaven and the riffathon that is Power And The Glory is simply overwhelmingly ace. Again there are Glam overtones, but heavier than you might expect.

Dog Track gets close to Punk and Still Talk About It rattles the dentures. Underneath The Moonlight is so Robertson - Gorman, as is Roll On To Better Things. How about closing things with a 11 minute rock out? The Ranch Trilogy does just that. Awesome!

There's even one small slowdown, just the one, with the Acoustic title track, that reveals an intriguing side to the band. Overall though, this is a little rocky compared to our usual choices. But it is 100% fun and takes you into another universe were all is more than well. Superb!

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

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