Listening To This Week Playlist 10 November

 

27 songs this week  All are corkers and reveal the scope of our tastes. As well as the traditional version, we have put the playlist on Spotify and you will see the link below.  26 of the 27 songs are available on Spotify. 

This is the penultimate Spotify version. The notes in the post below this one explain why. We also note another upcoming increase in Spotify subscription prices. None of this increase will go to the type of artists that we cover. We feel that we cannot support a place that allows great music to fall down a big black hole. We are continuing for the next two weeks because we have submissions in that may expect to be on Spotify. 

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 Penultimate Spotify Version   (The Suncharms - Endless Departures is not on Spotify)

Link To Spotify

The Boojums - Wings Of Fire

Clock Radio - Blood On Chrome

Winterpills - Lean In The Wind

The Yancys - Where Do You Sleep

Strange Passage - Daylight Savings

The Suncharms - Endless Departures (Not On Spotify)

Space Kitchen - It's My Passion

Guv - Let Your Hands Go

Clamsterdam - Radiator

The Response - Where Do You Run To?

The Blackburns - Chances On Love

Blake - Asking For A Friend

Coast Red - Afters

Coast Red · Afters

Joy Buzzer - If You Can Forgive Me

Joy Buzzer · If You Can Forgive Me

The Cindys - Dry TV

Holdover Holiday - Allie Lie

Elise Truow - The Perfect Girl

Gregory McLaughlin - Businessman

Positive Chaos - Bowl Me Over

Positivechaos · Bowl Me Over

SCHMOOZE - Too Late To Plead Insanity

Nepal Death - Ashen Pilgrim (Hippie Trail Edition)

Atom Lux - Bad Snake Good Snake

S.Karma - No Home Without It

Lorne Mower - Biding Time

Maw Sit Sit - Walking Journey

Mt. Air - Ghost Away

Anthony Ruptak - Phantasmagoria

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Thoughts On Spotify And The Playlist.

 

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the lack of Reviews this week, It is simply down to Bonfire Night being this week in the UK. Fireworks have been going off all week and we have a five year old Lurcher who is petrified of the noise. It has meant that our evenings have been dedicated to making him feel safe and he rightly needs constant attention. So typing up Reviews has been a no no. Tonight has been the worse night so far and it is 3 days since Bonfire Night passed.

There are loads of Reviews to come. On Friday alone, there were eight great releases and these and others will all be posted next week. I may go early with Monday's Listening To This Week tomorrow night, it the noise continues and hope that will be an end to all the unnecessary bangs.

The main reason for this post is about Spotify and Listening To This Week. We've trialled it as a secondary playlist for most of this year. I am Anti Spotify, great music goes down a big hole and the artists earn nothing from it. It was simply introduced because of a demand from artists despite our negative thoughts and we are about artists and the music.So, it has been decided to end the Spotify version. 

However, its use by us and our thoughts on its general uselessness have made the decision for it to go. There is no doubt that there is a certain popularity with the Spotify version. But that does not make up for our thoughts on how it treats musicians for their art. I don't use Spotify for any other reason than porting LTTW to that format. I don't listen to music via it and don't like the ways that members have to join to listen to the music on it, hence the reason for not embedding Spotify on IDHAS.

So the decision to end the Spotify Playlist has been made. It will end as soon as possible. It will be given a couple of weeks because there are submissions in that the artists will expect to be on Spotify. However, all future submissions will not be put on Spotify and this will be made clear to artists. This is particularly relevant for artists that who only send us Spotify links.

In future, ant PR, label or artist will be gently reminded that we don't do Spotify if only a Spotify link is sent. We will not listen to any Spotify link. If submitters continually send Spotify links after we have mentioned this a couple of times, submissions will be deleted without reply.

It is felt that the main success of I Don't Hear A Single is from our reputation and by word of mouth of followers and peers. This is what opens doors. We will never make artists massive, but we do get their music to other listeners which aids their growth. IDHAS is about New Music and Spotify isn't interested in the slightest about that.

I hope you understand our reasoning.

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Baker Island - Love Eggtually

 

I think many of you know how much I like Intelligent Indie, I scour for it. It isn't the type of Indie that you see pushed up front in the never-ending list of playlisters who bang on about how cool they are, the artists being secondary and lobbed in amidst the mediocre and the ordinary, usually of Bucks.

This type of invention usually comes from these shores and the Newcastle five piece are from Newcastle. Listen to the whole thing and you will be transported into a land of surprises. It is heady mix of constant surprises.

At its heart, this is Indie Pop, Alt Pop even. But it is so much more. You are reminded of the obvious peers like XTC and The Sugarplastic, but also the slightly geeky 80s New Wave and the adventurous Psych Pop of the 60s. There is even a hint of Russell Mael vocally at times.

Guitar and key riffs cross over, songs change direction at will. There are six songs here, but hundreds of ideas. Take the title track, which opened the current Listening To This Week. It is all 60s Toytown in feel with that splendid Psych riff and the wonderful vocal harmonies. 

There is obvious so much thought that goes into the songs. This is a group that know their influences, but make them almost unique in their output. The Angular Riff and cheap Casio soundalike of the keyboard is endeared by great vocal harmony on Let Them Eat Cake And Have It.

Dogged By Ill Luck is much darker, extraordinary good Psych Pop to a vintage Kids TV Theme sort of thing. Fortune-Teller Friend is beautifully twee with a driving Bassline, very very Sugarplastic, basic but with so much within.

Champion's Visit is the big one. 7 minutes that fly by, at times the band's most accessible song, more than a Little Brit Pop, but again lyrically adept, unlike most from that genre. There is also a mind-blowing vocal harmony segment that is just amazing, Active minds provide active songs and these five are therefore hyperactive. What an absolute corker of an album!

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

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Humbug - Open Season (Name Your Price)

 

Los Angeles quartet, Humbug have fashioned a great debut album. In essence, Power Pop, but Aidan Cole's laconic vocal allows the band to stray into other areas such as Indie Rock, although the melody is never ever lost.

There is also a feel of the better part of 90s Guitar Pop bands. Weezer-ish maybe without ever sounding like that band. There is though a Slacker like quality at times and lyrically these are great story songs adding a really creditable depth.

The songs are splendidly arranged and performed, the whole band are locked in, but another special mention should be for Alex Cubillos's Guitar work. There are some stunning riffs and solos. Open Season is quite a debut.

There is also fine variety. Backlot jangles like a good 'un and I Know The Story starts wonderfully melancholic and then launches into great 80s Indie Pop with added harmonica. Enjoy The Movies gets all "Let's do the song right here", all streamy and foot tapping.

Yet, Nina is great urgent crunchy Power Pop and Galaga could be a 90s Sit Com theme, killer Guitar included. The band excel on the title track, a song that chops and changes at will, one of the best opening songs that you will hear all year, a song that sets the tone of what is to come.

You will have heard Barbara Says on the Listening To This Week Playlist and it remains a wonderful listen, lyrically adept and beautifully played as the whole album is. Open Season is one of the strongest debuts that I have hears in a long time. Go Buy!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Dom Mariani - Apple Of Life

 

October's 31 Reviews in 31 Days unintentionally referenced returning heroes and here is another. Dom Mariani has an extensive back catalogue that fits what we've always done. Through The Stems, The Someloves and particularly DM3, he has lit up our world.

After spending the past decade or so with the Blues Rock of Datura4, Mariani is back on more familiar territory. Apple Of Live is more Pop Rock than previous Power Pop related joy, but a song like World On Its Head revives the urgency and pace of those DM3 days.

The Pop Rock is ace, very 70s at times and reveals the sheer melody and harmony of Mariani's songs whilst venturing into different areas. Where Do Lovers Go, for instance, is built around some wonderful Steel Guitar.

Breaking Point sounds more 80s, AOR even, and Take It All Back adds more Steel Guitar, but sounds more Badfinger or Raspberries. Just Can't Wait again points to those DM3 joys, a great Power Pop affair that adds a memorable chorus. You will also find yourself singing theApple Of Life chorus for weeks and weeks.

There is more Steel Guitar than the Jangling of yore, but the arrangements are spot on and the production brings out the best of Mariani's easy vocal. There is also the stand out opener, Breakaway, that adds organ and an unforgettable chorus. You do forget that he is such a fine Guitarists, this is a big reminder, It is splendid to have Mariani back on home territory. 

You can listen to the album here. It is available on CD and Vinyl here and all good record shops.

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Listening To This Week Playlist 3 November

 

27 songs this week  Feels a bit of a sway to our base camp of Guitar Pop. However, there are some wonderful deviations. 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. 

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 Sylvia Platters and Earwig songs are not on Spotify)

Link To Spotify

Baker Island - Love Eggtually

The High Frequencies - Nothing Really Stays The Same

Humbug - Barbara Says

Parent Teacher - Fire Door

The Len Price 3 - If I Could Cheer You Up

The Len Price 3 · If I Could Cheer You Up

Andrew Weiss And Friends - I Don't Wanna Live In This World

Julian Cubillos - Haunted Paradise

Trolley - Shiny Cars

Color Palette - Zombie

Livingmore - Resident Psycho

Shapes Like People - Supergirl

The Goods - Sunday Morning Out Of The Blue

Tirra Lirra - Snake Chalmer

Moberod - Cut It Out

moberod · Cut It Out!

Belle Blue - Needed You More

Strayers - Only Human

Gift Horse - Fathers

The Sylvia Platters - Alone     (Not On Spotify)

Train Conductor - Elephant Graveyard

Subsolar - Here And Now

Earwig - The World Is Coming 2 An End (Not On Spotify)

Quixote - Bioluminescent Eyes

Father Of Peace - Heaven

Holy Coves - Falling Down

Holy Coves · Falling Down

Alpacca-in-Chief - You Lead The Way

mylittlebrother - you know better

Karaboudjan - 3615 Papagai

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Parent Teacher - Doombloomer

 

New York's Richard Spitzer is Parent Teacher and Doombloomer is right up our street. Essentially great Intelligent Indie with a real melodic Pop feel. although the wonderful vocal is hidden under the incredible arrangements which are truly mind blowing. 

It is these arrangements that mark Spitzer away from the masses. He has incredible voice that would suit many of the Weezer and Power Pop or Pop Rock wannabes, but these arrangements are so original and interesting that you lose sight of the vocal excellence at times.

The album is splendidly Lo-Fi, but don't let that put you off in anyway. The variety is special. Demonise flirts with Psych Pop, yet Stepping Stone is fine 80s Pop that you can dance to. Hysterica mixes a 90s Rock backbeat with a corking killer harmonic chorus. 

There are two real standouts. The sheer Indie Rock moodiness of Homesick, which is almost Post Punk. Then there is the exquisite Guitar Pop of Fire Pop, with a cracking synth addition and A1 Vocal, which is one of the best things that you will hear this or any year. Doombloomer is extraordinarily great.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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