Listening To This Week Playlist 24 November

 

26 songs this week  Diverse as always, whilst not forgetting what our strengths are. The rest of the month will be about Album Reviews. I can't believe December is around the corner. This week also confirms the end of our 8 month trial with Spotify.

We have never been admirers of the platform, but tried it to aid artists. However, we see constant subscription rises for users with none of this money going to the type of artists we cover. We are also very Anti how AI dedicated Spotify has become. Many of the songs on the playlist will be on Spotify, so if you are a fan and want to listen there you can head over there.

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. 

Swive - Headlights

Them Elephants - Calculated

The Salt Collective - Waiting For The End Of Time (Feat. Jason Falkner)

Reno Bo - Undefeated

Joint Pains - Everything Considered

The James Rocket - Even Our Closest Friends Are Distant

Factheory - Bird Of Time (Feat. Michael Sordinia)

Certain Things - Holiday

Certain Things · Holiday

Horse Chops - Salt In The Baltic

Little King - Catch And Release

Haysop - Give All That You Can

Linear Television - Stay Strong

Nadi - PSYKANIKO

Gee Whiz - Mr Dinosaur

Mister Zach - Me And My Shadow

Donovan's Brain - Not A Home

Melvic Centre - First To Know

Tired Of Fighting - Death Wish

Archi Deep - Violent Storms (Link Below - Embed to follow later tonight)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MumR5nGriUs

Pierce Alexander - Esmerelda

The Chemistry Set - STP

The Spitters - Don't Be Stupid

The New Tigers - Off The Wall

Smear - L.A. Chess

White Noise Lovers - Feedback Romance

Caitlin & Brent - Pleasure In The Pain 

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Sharp Pins - Balloon Balloon Balloon

 

Sharp Pins is the solo project of Lifeguard's Kai Slater. This third album is the Chicago Starlet's follow up to the wonderful Radio DDR (review here). The new album is very different to the last. Radio DDR was a kind of statement from someone who wanted to be Doug Gillard's grandson.

Balloon Balloon Balloon is like a collection of earlier demos, it isn't, but sounds like it should be. That shouldn't put you off because there are a thousand ideas here, but they are incredibly lo-fi, it appears deliberately so.

The main question should be, how can someone so young have all this musical history in his head. He is an incredible talent. I mentioned in the previous review of a likeness at times to Rick Corcoran's Orgone Box and some of these songs do sound like Orgone Box demos.

But there is also an adept take on 60s Beat Pop and Jangle Pop. Some of the songs could easily be from the 60s, but then Fall In Love Again could be The La's. In A While (You'll Be Mine) is ace Psych Pop of the highest order.

Takes So Long mixes UK Beat with UK New Wave, Maria Don't even sounds like a Lennon Demo and Crown Of Thorns gets very Cleaners From Venus. Queen Of Globes and Mirrors is more Jangly and even starts with a Hard Days Night opening chord.

(I Wanna) Be Your Girl still sounds wonderful and remains an Orgone Box doppelgänger, but although these may come across as ideas, just listen to the quality of the songs. Kai Slater belies his years and I can't wait for what comes next from his multiple projects.

You can listen to and buy the album here. UK buyers should also support  the likes of Norman Records (here) who do such a fantastic job supporting the physical releases that we love. The album is available on Vinyl, CD, Cassette and as a download.

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The Webstirs - High Up In The Trees

 

There is a point when Pop Rock and Indie Rock meet when the results are just spot on. Chicago's The Webstirs reach that place with their second. You might term the album Pop Rock, but it is much more than that and the five piece have the energy and gusto of a much younger Indie Rock band.

In a way, they are veterans. Preston Pisellni and Mark Winkler are joined  by The Redwalls' Jordan Kozer, The Slugs' Gregg Juhlin and Doug Bobenhouse from our beloved The Sun Sawed In 1/2. At times, the feel is Rocked up Power Pop, at others, a little more AOR, but they also show they can be whatever they want to be.

You'll have heard When It's Gone on a recent Listening To This Week Playlist and it still sounds as great here. There is an ability to change direction in the one song, Roulette being the best example, a song that sounds like Andrew Gold fronting a crack band.

Throw Away is Rockabilly at a furious pace. Reached An Understanding matches 80s IRS with 90s College Rock with added vocal harmony and a mouth organ solo. King Of Distortion is top notch UK New Wave built around a killer riff.

The Guy For You heads towards Rock and Roll territory. Dancing In The Sky is ace Power Pop with a vocal akin to Dave Edmunds. Here We Stood is a little Cheap Trick with another killer riff of which there are many.

High Up In The Trees is a beautifully produced album. Wonderfully loud and without the distortion that digital mixes can provide. The Webstirs have it made, the Guitar kids may get it, the Power Pop crowd certainly and the Dad Rockers can show they are hip. A splendid listen!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Jumbo Chords - Throw Away (Buy Another One)

 

We covered Jumbo Chords debut album, 2023's Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. It made our 100 Best Albums Of The Year. You can read the review here. Since then they have been regularly releasing singles and at last we have the follow up album.

I love them. I think many know that our forte is Intelligent Indie, but throw in Psych Pop, Indie Rock, a touch of 90s Indie, Brit Pop and variety and I melt. Four of the singles have appeared on Listening To This Week Playlists, not out of favouritism, but because of the ultra consistency that the band come up with.

This Leeds quartet are largely a collaboration of friends from 90s band and if I look at all the Indie that I fall for, these seem to throw in bits of all. At times they can be like West Coast Music Club and the vocal is similarly laconic, but they add a simplicity mixed with some wonderful harmonies.

The mellotron on All I Want is hypnotic, a very 60s sounding affair. Sleep is 6 minutes of magnificence, it just overwhelms you, drags you in. The vocal is part Guy Garvey, part Danny McNamara. Rollercoaster is jaunty 80s Jangle Pop.

Dennis Wilson, as you might imagine, is great West Coast Pop Rock, beautifully arranged both instrumentally and vocally. Twilight offers up my beloved Psych Pop with a riff that just sticks in your head and adds a solo that mesmerises. Very 60s in feel.

Throw Away (Buy Another One) adds a social message in the style of UK Beat. The whole album is a great listen. Deliciously Lo-Fi as is the current trend. Inventive and laidback, the songs are allowed the space to breathe whilst gently gnawing at your musical brain.

You can buy the CD here and here. You can listen to the album here and on other Streaming Sites that I avoid.

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The Medium - Sports EP

 

Quite a few mine 70s Pop Rock, but few do it as splendidly as Nashville's The Medium on this short, but incredibly sweet 4 Track EP. It does sound very Retro and is a nod to American Boyhood and the connection that Sport provides to it.

We've Got A Winner is wonderfully mellow, very 10CC, but with a slight Psych Pop feel. It demonstrates the joy that the genre brings. The Guitar solo fits those years perfectly, essentially Piano Pop and very smooth. A really easy listen.

Me And My Glove is fine Bubblegum Pop and is like a jaunt though a Monkees show, trumpets, easy listening and a slight raiding of the Instrument cupboard. A jaunty march through Smalltown America, you don't get to see the marching band and cheerleaders.

Feel The Dream is very Andrew Gold with almost Barrel Piano with a Sports commentary part way through, which is probably obligatory. Tap your feet, swing your pants, sing along and marvel at the joy. An Easy Listening joy of an EP.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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Eye Eye

Just taking a break for a couple of days after a second eye Op. It is nice not looking at screens. Both are now done and dusted, so I can stop walking into doors and see everything that you are all up to. Back tomorrow evening and cracking on through the rest of the week. There is a lot to Review.

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Listening To This Week Playlist 17 November

 

28 songs this week  Another example of how we can be eclectic and yet serve what we are known for. That is the value of independence. No one tells us what to cover and we don't march to anyone's tune. We support the new artists that we like and hope that you'll like them too. Our growth was in the time before we gave Spotify a try. We will delete the Spotify account at the end of the month.

This week is the last of our dalliance with Spotify which has lasted around 8 months. It was included solely for the artists and have come to realise that no artist that no Artist that we traditionally cover benefits from that platform.  Great music falls down a big black hole. Spotify is not about new music, nor Indie, it is solely about the dollars. It also doesn't distinguish what is AI.

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  (3 songs are not on the Spotify Version)

Link To Spotify

Buddie - Antartica, 2005

Log Flume - Get The Picture

The Wind Ups - Ants On The Table

Credits - thiscityisadeathtrap

credits · thiscityisadeathtrap

The Family Club - Mushie Season

Norman Bisley And The Trousers Of Satan - Being Beastly To Terence

Endless Talking - Waste My Time

Drew Friel - High Class Fugitives (Don't Spin The Wheel)

The Lucky Shots - Jump Start

The Whips - Together In Agony

My Life As A Moth - Time Thief

Ms. Cool - Beacon

Cynthia Sadler · Beacon

Cashell - Said And Done

Me & Munich - Drainings Of Your Tree

Me & Munich · Drainings Of Your Tree

Soft On Crime - Summer Fix (Not On Spotify)

The Successful Failures - Guts

Your New Parents - Gone For The Holidays

I Love My Friends - Ginny Starpepper And The Great White Gibbon

Unburnt Green - Skies Of The Tatacoa

Mark Tovey · Skies of the Tatacoa - Unburnt Green (Debut single – 14 Nov)

Failed Auditing - I'm Not Sure If I'm A Loser Or A Modern-Day Philosopher  (Not On Spotify)

Strange Men - Under The Compass Rose (Not On Spotify)

Thief Motif - Bones

Sam Wood - Comfortably Falling (Reimagined)

WEREME - August

Idle Ray - Airport

Phil Bonanno - No Direction (Revisited)

Clamsterdam - Solitary Song

Hollow Star - Seconds

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