Various - We All Shine On : Celebrating The Music Of 1970

 


I think many know my feelings about compilations. I'm not sure what they add to the lives of potential listeners and there are so many of them, most mediocre at best. However this month I am reviewing three, so in a big upping of myself, you can be sure they are good. All three are great and all for very different reasons, but this is the best. I was 7 in 1970 and so most of these songs won't have been on my radar unless I saw them on Top Of The Pops or heard them on the Radio on the odd time I was allowed to have it on. Only Indiana Wants Me and Love Grows fit that bill.

But as I got older, I looked back more and I can now say that I know virtually all of them. The strength of this compilation are primarily the songs, backed up by a great roster and John Borack who knows what he is talking about and John, I too would have loved to see Band Of Gold.Two other things spring to mind. A real sadness at the recent loss of Bobby Sutliff who Jangles up Indiana Wants Me wonderfully and what a coup it is getting Mitch Easter, a man who saved the 80s musically for me. 

As with any compilation, there isn't space to mention all 22 songs, so I apologise to those not included in this verbiage. Suffice to say, every artist and every song merits inclusion. In the words of Young Mr Grace, "You've All Done Very Well"People forget how great Lannie Flowers is when he ventures towards Country and what a twang his version of Walk A Mile In My Shoes is. Share The Land was a surprise and welcome cover and Popdudes always have the knack of doing a song justice.

The Brothers Steve do a wonderful version of Cracklin' Rosie. Fine harmonies and Jeff Whalen's vocal makes it sound as though he is in the room. Thankfully Sweet Caroline was the year before as that is a great song that has become completely done to death in the UK by TV adverts and crowds.It seems ages since I've heard from The Legal Matters and they do a splendid faithful version of What Is Life. My favourite version here is Starbelly's Reflections Of My Life, a fantastic song that the band seem to impossibly add to.

Diamond Hands tackle Lola in fine style with an ace Guitar fest and turn it into Psych Pop. Bill Lloyd's choice of Mama Told Me Not To Come is inspired and he too slips into Psych Pop joy too. I also still think that The Armoires' version of Yellow River suits them perfectly.Love Grows is still one of my favourite songs ever and The Test Pressings handle it in style. It is a song that suits Robbie Rist's vocals naturally. Finally there was a massive surprise at the end. I'd heard a lot about how good The Used Electrics were Live and in particular how Loud.

Well they rip into The Stooges' Loose. It is Wallpaper Stripping and just the right song for closing this special compilation. Well done Borack! Well done Spyderpop! This is one album that you'll listen to again and again and again,

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

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The Maple Mars Album Launch

 

Last night was the launch of the new Maple Mars album, Someone's Got To Listen at SIR Studios In Hollywood.  You can read the IDHAS review of the album here. The venue was packed out, the band were at the top of their game. The Merch Stall was hammered.

A great band on a great label with a great album. Big Stir are a label built on community that promote their artists and treat them as friends. Maple Mars have kept us waiting for 12 years and last night was worth the wait. 

To show what community is about, Rick's son did the catering, Rex's kids manned the Merchandise Stall, Christina's husband was the photographer and Rex ran the live stream. Sponsors also got involved. 

Many artists return and promise much and all too often, disappointment is the result. For Maple Mars to return in such style with such a live performance promoting what may be their best album ever is just heart warming and splendid.

Build it, Promote it and be proud of it and the people will come. Who says people don't attend shows any more?

You can see the full show here. The band come on about ten minutes in.

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Nick Frater - Earworms

 

Big Stir don't get a fair crack review wise on I Don't Hear A Single and it is really unfair. I feel caught between the devil and the deep blue sea because of my involvement with the label. I get concerned that reviews will be treated with a "well he would say that wouldn't he."

It is even worse with Nick Frater because I'm a long time fan and friend, so there is double the impact. But, I realise now that I am just being silly and that over five years on, readers of IDHAS know that I only cover releases that I like and would never review something simply because of a connection. 

You should also expect a couple more Big Stir label reviews over the next week. So to Nick Frater, a stand out in the UK Guitar Pop fraternity, who has never ever made an album that isn't top notch. Over recent years, there have been quite a few UK and Irish artists who have excelled at offering up 70s Pop Rock albums. Iain Hornal and Ulysses spring to mind.

The latter veers towards Pop, whilst the latter is more in a Rock direction. Earworms though not only provides the similar references, but it sounds like it was recorded in the Mid 70s, a sort of rediscovered lost album. Every song is built around the melody and it is that melody that provides the vibe, fast or slow.

Notwithstanding the pop sensibilities, catch all choruses and Frater's sublime soothing vocal, every song is beautifully arranged. This feels more like a group album, although it isn't, than previous albums. To top everything off, there is a stellar list of guests.

Appearances from Roger Joseph Manning Jr, Darian Sahanaja, Dana Countryman, Mike Randle, Nick Bertling and John Lathrop are amongst those that gilt Earworms. Everything is so 70s, but especially the Guitar solos. Those solos aren't prevalent, but when they arrive they just light up a song.

As for the songs, Buggin' Out is a real showstopper and opens up with a reel Pilot feel at times, guitar wise. It's All Rumours is even jauntier and probably the best song here. Not Born Again is another bouncy chipper affair with a chorus to die for. 

It isn't all about bounce though, although there is plenty of it, Lucky Strike is very Jellyfish and The Unbroken lands somewhere between McCartney and Liverpool Express. Who Says I Need A Plan even heads towards American Graffiti ballad territory.

Then there is the wonderful Piano Pop of the closer, How To Survive Somebody, a slowed down joy, almost Broadway like with a burst out Guitar Solo. Frater's development as a songwriter is magnificent, particularly considering that he is so prolific. Highly Recommended!

You can listen to and buy the album on either Nick or Big Stir's Bandcamp sites as well as the main Big Stir site. The album is available as on CD, Vinyl or as a download.

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IDHAS Ten Songs Mix 11 - Big Stir Special

Something a little bit different this week. The 10 songs are all from the splendid Big Stir Label. All songs are from albums initially released in 2021. That's this year you know! 10 Songs in just over 32 minutes. The Mixcloud link is below and at the foot of the page is the Mixcloud Player which takes you directly to the music. Here is the playlist of the ten songs this week.

01 The Brothers Steve - Griffith Observatory

02 The Lunar Laugh - I Wanna Know

03 Nick Frater - Not Born Again

04 Chris Church - Falderal

05 The Speed Of Sound - Tomorrow's World

06 The Stan Laurels - Florida Man

07 Sorrows - Street Punk Blues

08 Dolph Chaney - I Wanted You

09 Anton Barbeau - One Of Her Super Powers

10 The Armoires - The Night I Heard A Scream

IDHAS Ten Songs Mix 11 - Big Stir Special

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The Armoires - Incognito

 

Some bands have used the last 12 months to do nothing, others to moan about everything and too many have got their Acoustic Guitars out and added a few Beatles covers to the groaning weight out there. The Armoires turned what was initially a wheeze into one of the best albums that I've heard in a long time, showing that where there is a will, there is a way. Many of you know of my connection with the Big Stir label and I'm delighted to see how big it has become. I can reveal now that I had one regret is that The Armoires previous album, Zibaldone, got lost in all the Big Stir activity. It is a cracking album and hopefully people will discover it with all the attention that this current masterpiece is getting. It was in the IDHAS Top 10 albums of 2019. 

Rex and Christina were so busy with the label that their band took second place to what was happening with Big Stir. Two things happened to change all that. Firstly John Borack joined on Drums and it released a new found vigour in The Armoires. It was as though they began to take recording seriously again. Secondly, I remember the conversations with Rex as Paris 1919 was about to released. The smirks and sniggers were many as the ruse to release Digital Singles under a different pseudonym was planned. What gobsmacked me was what a fantastic job they made of the cover. It went on from there with continued single releases in different genres under different names.

From there on in those singles took on a life of their own. The Big Stir label artists got involved as did other labels. Having recorded three or four covers, the band revisited their archive, discovering songs that they had never finished due to them supposedly not fitting The Armoires' template and then new songs were added. The secret continued and the band decided to reveal that all these way out singles were them by releasing an album on April 1st collating their adventures. I was initially a bit concerned, because I had heard all these as individual singles. The thought of an album didn't necessarily fill me with glee. I thought all of this stuff has already been released. 

It was only listening to the album complete that I realised how wrong I was. The result is unbelievably great. This is a proper album, a revelation. It threads together wonderfully and reveals what a cracking band The Armoires are. This album will be deservedly played for years to come. I deliberately held back my review because I felt a bit too close to it. I wanted to see other opinions and thankfully my thoughts have been endorsed by the wonderful reviews that Incognito is getting. Not only is it a splendid album that is packed with variety, it is also a rare thing. An album that you listen to from start to finish and who would have thought that from a collection of singles. 

The cover of John Cale's Paris 1919 remains my favourite here. Not because it was the thing that started this off, but because it is an absolute joy of a song. So much is packed into its nigh on four minutes. It sets you off for the joy that is to follow. The wondrous Psych Pop of I Say We Take Off And Nuke The Site From Orbit, the doggone Country ache of Shame And Bourbon and the wonderfully inventive confusing brilliance of Ghost Of Fall Singer In Depopulated Griefscape. All very different, all equally great.

Christina goes all Seekers on Magenta Moon and Rex leads on an ace cover of one of my favourite summer songs, Yellow River and Andy Gibb's Words And Music comes over all Abba. Awkward City Limits goes all 80's with a twist of Reggae bursting to escape. The other song that I have to mention is the band's version of The Night I Heard A Scream for the Futureman Records 20/20 Tribute album. Initially released as a single for Halloween, it was an inspired and unusual choice for that album.

Incognito reveals what a special band The Armoires are. They are like few other acts on Big Stir or anywhere else. More than anything else, the album reveals what a varied roster that the label has. But more importantly, how wrong we were to sit The Armoires in a corner. 

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

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Happy Birthday Christina!

 

Happy New Year and in particular, Happy Birthday to Christina Bulbenko. In what has been a dire year for plans, Big Stir Records has admirably gone from strength to strength. Whilst most of my Big Stir dealings are with Rex. have no doubt that the brains (and beauty) of the operation is Christina. 

Behind all the charm and likeability, there is a steely determination to make Big Stir, the best record label and music community in the world. What does also get forgotten is that despite the fabulous label catalogue that Big Stir continue to build, as demonstrated in the link below, Rex and Christina have a fantastic band, The Armoires. 

For those who haven't ventured into their music, listen to their show stopping track on the recent 20/20 Tribute album that's reviewed here. Then discover their previous work. I'm proud to be a small part of Big Stir. Rex and Christina showed that there is a way forward for artists and that physical releases are not dead.

They also demonstrated that CD is still viable despite the Emperor's New Clothes world of vinyl. 2021 will take some time to get going with what is going on around us. But one thing is certain and that is that Big Stir will continue to grow.

https://www.bigstirrecords.com

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mylittlebrother - Howl

 

It has been six long years since If We Never Came Down and I've been waiting anxiously for the delayed follow up and now here it is. mylittlebrother also become the latest addition to the Big Stir stable. Well the band are West Coast after all. 

The Cumbrian quartet don't disappoint, although this is a darker album and that makes the band even harder to pigeonhole. Will Harris's songs appear far more personal, almost like the song writing has been a release, an unburdening of the soul.

Although this makes the album reflective in tone, it doesn't mean that the songs are dour, far from it. Harris's vocal is plain, but incredibly effective. How do you describe a band that sounds like Lindisfarne one minute and The Beautiful South the next? 

There are hints of Country, Folk, Americana and West Coast Rock, but essentially it is Pop that holds it all together. Songs have unexpected twists. Chicago is three songs in one and The Start begins as a singer songwriter piano ballad and ends as an anthem.

Responsibility is pure pop, whilst Janey is haunting West Coast Psych Pop with a country tinge. Howl is an awesome song, great 70's Pop Rock. Goldmine even has a disco riff, it's a bit like The Eagles doing Saturday Night Fever until the chorus just throws words at you in a melody fest.

Howl isn't the normal thing you expect to hear from a UK band. The album is a triumph, but may take a little more time than usual to fully hook you. Beautifully played and arranged with unexpected twists. There are only two songs available to stream until Friday's release date, so I'll add Chicago over the weekend as that is a song that you must hear.

You can buy the album from Big Stir's site here and on Bandcamp from here or here.

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Kool Kat Musik Is Now Distributed By I Don't Hear A Single In The UK and Europe

You may have had an email today or read Ray's Facebook post. If not, then I'm delighted to say that Kool Kat will now be distributed in the UK and Europe by I Don't Hear A Single. It has been a continued IDHAS mission to bring down the costs of US Imports to the UK and Europe. This is just a quick post to tell you that Kool Kat Musik joins Big Stir in being distributed in these areas by us.

There will be a more official announcement later in the week which will be more all singing and dancing with links for you. In the meantime. here Ray's email is pasted below to explain ordering from Kool Kat. Big Stir is ordered from their own site and we just automatically deliver UK and European orders.

We hope to add more US labels as time progresses to keep Physical Sales from these great artists alive.

GREAT NEWS FOR ALL CUSTOMERS IN THE UK + EUROPE!!

We are all well aware of the ridiculously high postage rates to send CDs to the UK and Europe.  These are uncontrollable costs set by the US Postal system – UNTIL NOW!!  I am happy (and thrilled) to report that Kool Kat Musik has officially entered into an agreement with I Don’t Hear A Single to help fulfill orders to customers in the UK and Europe which  will result in significant postage savings for you.  ALL CDs ON THE KOOL KAT SITE ARE ELIGIBLE TO ORDER!


In order to accomplish this and to ensure accurate product fill/postage costs based on destination,  a different ordering procedure will  be necessary. Do not place order through the Kool Kat site.  Orders are to be placed via email, preferably  to me  (ray@koolkatmusik.com) or to IDHAS (anythingshouldhappen@gmail.com).  No payment in advance is required.

At the time the order is received, product availability, total product cost and postage costs based on destination will be calculated.  A PayPal Money request will then be sent representing the total amount due for your order.   Please follow the same ordering procedure if you choose to have CDs sent to you without Jewel Cases.  They will ship directly to you from Kool Kat Musik in the US at a reduced postage cost (vs. sending them with cases).

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Though this process will result in additional delivery time to you with regard to allowing the products being sent from the US to get to IDHAS for shipment to you, it WILL ultimately result in significant postage savings. You can link to the new releases here.

You will see that titles are broken down into several categories (Top Sellers, New Releases, New CDs, Compilations, and Used CDs) with icons for each category to click to view all titles.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

For instance you can find the Best Sellers here.


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Nick Frater - Fast & Loose

Croydon's finest, Nick Frater returns with his wonderful brand of Pop and seeing as the UK used to be the world's finest at this sort of material, it is particularly sad to note that Frater is one of the few exponents here in Brexit Land.

His signing to Big Stir would appear to be a marriage made in heaven as his brand of Pop Rock seems ideally suited to the West Coast label. However, bar a couple of Vocal Harmony driven songs, this album feels very British.

There also seems to be less Guitar and so the songs have the vocals at the forefront in true Singer Songwriter style. It does sound very 70's, but beautifully so. Fast & Loose can rock, but its gently and here his superb voice is showcased.








IDHAS has been a big supporter of Nick, simply due to his talent and you can read our reviews of his previous albums here. He featured in the I Don't Hear A Single Top 10 Of The Year in both 2018 and 2019 and Fast & Loose is sure to ensure that he will again.

It strikes me that he would never want to make the same album twice and having mastered the likes of Power Pop and Rundgren Territory etc, it feels like the right time to nail the Pop Territory of the 70s, particularly the tail end of Glam Rock.

I definitely wouldn't suggest that there is no variety here. Let's Hear It For Love is terrific Glam Rock and Cocaine Girls is a great cross between both UK and US New Wave. California Waits brings memories of Christie and Edison Lighthouse and may be the best song on the album.








Would You Like To Go is California harmony heaven, but it is the Singer Songwriter joy that rings home most. Moonstruck is so Gilbert O'Sullivan, That Ship Has Sailed is so Art Garfunkel, Luna is so Andrew Gold.

The album opens up with a wonderful Telstar like instrumental. That title track conjures up Cinematic mid 60's Psych. That may be Nick's next direction, it'd certainly delight me, In the meantime, I'll just admire his mission to keep Playdoh in business.

What you do have here is one of the great Pop Records of recent years on one of the best of the new crop of labels. Fast & Loose is another splendid album from a musician who can release an album a year without ever covering the same ground. Highly Recommended.







You can listen to the album here or here. You can find Nick Frater's website here and Big Stir's here.


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Spygenius - Man On The Sea

Ian Rushbury reviews the new magnum opus from Spy Genius.

Diehard Beatle-Geeks agree on most, Beatle-related things. Stuff like: Phil Spector overcooked “Let it Be” a bit, Ringo was ace and “Revolver” is better than “Sgt Pepper’s…”, you know, that sort of thing. However, when it comes to “The White Album”, if you ask ten Beatles fans about it, you’ll get twenty opinions. Broadly, they tend to agree that it should have been a single record, but they can’t agree on what material they would jettison.

“Revolution 9” is a popular choice for the posthumous out-takes album, but after that, all bets are off. It’s surprising how heated (and violent) a debate about “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” can become. I’d love to think that in twenty years’ time, pubs full of aging Spygenius nerds will get all uppity about “Man On The Sea” and what should or shouldn’t be on it. Double albums can bring out the worst in people, especially the people who recorded them.

“Pacephale” was always going to be a hard act to follow, being a pretty much flawless masterclass in how to make a modern pop-rock record. For “Man on the Sea”, the band took the decision to ransack their cupboards, plunder stuff which had fallen down the backs of radiators and generally record every unreleased song of theirs that they could lay their hands on.

This means that for the next record, they’ll have to come up with 100% new material – no more relying on gems from principal songwriter Peter Watts’s expansive back catalogue. A brave, if slightly terrifying approach, I’m sure you’ll agree. This exhaustive trawl means that “Man on the Sea” has swollen to a double album, but the good news is, that it survives the inflation, but there is a little collateral damage.








Spygenius are all about the details. Whether it’s punning word play, baffling in-jokes or a plethora of pop-culture references. When you listen to a Spygenius record, you’ll need your wits about you and Wikipedia within easy reach. The album opens with a snatch of “La Marseillaise” (presumably, a tip of the hat to “All You Need is Love”), combined with the theme tune from “Steptoe and Son” – and that’s before the first tune starts. Fortunately, “Another True Story” will turn your bemusement into smiles, as it’s nearly five minutes of joyful, 12 string Jangle Pop. As opening statements go, it’s a bold one.

Don’t get too comfy dear listener, as track two; “Albion”, reeks of “Liege and Lief” era Fairport Convention, but with a more forceful rhythm section and a bit of cool jazz thrown in. It works really well, by the way… That folk influence pops up all over “Man on the Sea”, sometimes in Watts’ vocal delivery and sometimes in the Byrdsy ringing of the ubiquitous 12 string guitar. You’d expect a tune called “If You Go A-Roving” to be pretty folky though, wouldn’t you? Well it isn’t.

A handful of tracks sound a lot like they’re from the album REM would have made between “Reckoning” and “Fables…”, if they’d been from Canterbury and one of them was a woman. “Salaud Days”, “Watch Your Back” and “New Street” are grade-A, paisley-pop gems, which whiz past your ears in a delightful fashion, begging to be replayed. It’s these lean, all-killer-no-filler tunes which show up the band’s tendency to over-reach on some parts of “Man on the Sea.”

“Tomorrowland”, “Man Overboard” and “Dolphinarium 1986” would benefit from either a bit of judicious editing or being sequenced further apart on the record to avoid the dreaded “double album dip” which tends to occur on sides two and three of a two album set. I can’t decide if “Green Eyed Monster” is a brilliant mixture of prog rock and pop or just a repository for a handful of orphaned bits of tunes. This means it’ll probably end up being my favourite track.









There aren’t any bad things on “Man on the Sea”, there are just a few things which aren’t as good as some of the other things on the record. From the amiable, banjo-led plod of “Midnight Bandola” to the early eighties, agit-pop of “Spite” (sung beautifully by Ruth Rogers, whose basswork is also exemplary throughout the record), there’s a trailerful of goodness here. Watt’s lyrics are worth the purchase price on their own and if you hear a song this year with a better opening line than, “Don’t blame it on your mother / She can’t help being stupider than you”, I will be very surprised.

When you’ve had your fill of the Neil Innes inspired wordplay, you can have fun playing “spot the reference” – for example, check out the New Seekers-style harmonies on “Tomorrowland” and the tip of the hat to Morecambe and Wise on “Remember Me When I was Good.” There are others, but I can’t access Wikipedia at the moment.

“Man on the Sea” is an ambitious record that hits the vast majority of what it aims for. When it’s good, its damn-near brilliant. When it’s less than good, it’s only very slightly less than good. Maybe, if they had a cigar chewing manager with his eye on the clock and both hands on his wallet, some of the excesses may have been nipped in the bud. But as with all these multi-album sets, the point is most definitely moot. One thing is for sure…people should leave “The White Album” alone – it’s perfect as it is.








You can listen to and buy the album here or here. Ian's IDHAS interview with the band can be read here.

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Henry Priestman And Les Glover, The Brothers Steve and Berling Noise Laboratories - I Don't Hear A Single Audio Extravaganza Volume 100 Live Specials

I’m more on home territory for the first of tonight’s three sessions. Henry Priestman and Les Glover are a fantastic double act, great songs and a wonderful hilarious chemistry bond them. Les lives in the same village as me, although he lives at the posh end.

Henry is known to many from his time in Yachts, It’s Immaterial and The Christians as well as for his writing and production credits. Les has worked with Graham Gouldman, Ian McNabb and Nick Harper among others. He’s also responsible for one of the best solo records of recent years, Loved Up Les.

For the last six years, the pair have toured as a duo, delighting sold out audiences with their mix of splendid songs and laugh out loud interaction.  They play an Acoustic Session here featuring four songs from their acclaimed Six Of One Half A Dozen Of The Other album and a Yachts classic, Love You Love You.

As a special treat, the session closes with a wonderful cover of Yachts Suffice To Say from Henry, accompanied by five others, including Les, recorded on iphones. The video went up on Henry’s Facebook Page today, here you can hear the audio exclusive.

The Brothers Steve hail from Los Angeles and a reboot of a legendary band that prefigured the much-missed TSAR. Tsar’s debut album, in my opinion, the best ever Power Pop album. In exclusive news, the band have signed to the Big Stir Records label and will start with a single and the first ever digital release of their superb #1 album.

The band encompasses much of the celebrated Tsar's lineup (including Jeff Whalen, whose acclaimed 2018 release, 10 More Rock Super Hits, showed him still on top of his game and their album featured on many of last year’s Top 10 lists.

This five song acoustic session features Jeff Whalen, Os Tyler and Dylan Champion from the band playing three songs from their album and two wonderful surprises.

Nick Bertling is probably the finest artist that you’ve never heard of. Known extensively for his engineering and production work as well as his drumming, his own music under the name Bertling Noise Laboratories is simply stunning.

Multi styled, he offers up hard edged Pop Rock that compares with anyone around. As well as a fine back catalogue, he has a new album released on the 5th of June called Green Meadows Sketchbook. You can pre-order the album now following the link on the I Don’t Hear A Single site.

As an exclusive here, we add an exclusive listen to one of the songs from the new album, Bought And Sold.

Thanks as always to Jim Moody for his technical excellence. The details of our fourth special are below:

01 Henry Priestman And Les Glover Intro
02 Old Man Of The Sea
03 Not In My Name
04 Ghosts Of A Thousand Fishermen
05 Love You Love You
06 Suffice To Say (With Jo Bushell, Dr. Nick, Jimmy Rae and Sarah-Lou Fletcher)
07 The Brothers Steve Intro
08 She
09 Good Deal Of Love
10 C’mon Pappy
11 Love Of Kings
12 Mr. Blue
13 Bertling Noise Laboratories Intro
14 Miss Fortune
15 My Love
16 Bought And Sold

IDHAS Audio Extravaganza Volume 100 Live Special 6




Or Click Below







You can still listen to Monday's Caper Clowns Session here.

You can still listen to Tuesday's Sessions by Spygenius and Chris Church here.

You can listen to Wednesday's Sessions by Nick Piunti, The Vapour Trails and Dolph Chaney here.

You can listen to Thursday's Sessions featuring Ex Norwegian and John Howard here.

You can listen to Friday's Sessions featuring Curvey of Custard Flux, Blaine Campbell and Blake Jones And The Trike Shop with exclusives from Nick Frater and Ulysses here.


You can buy Six Of One, Half A Dozen Of The Other and Henry's solo albums here. You can also buy it and Les's albums here .I will post the Big Stir link to purchase CD and download here when it is available.

You can buy The Brothers Steve album here.  You can buy Jeff Whalen merch here. You can listen and buy Luck Of Eden Hall albums here.

You can listen to, buy Bertling Noise Laboratories albums and pre-order Green Meadows Sketchbook here. You can discover more about them on the website here.



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Spygenius and Chris Church - I Don't Hear A Single Audio Extravaganza Volume 100 Live Specials

Welcome to the second episode of the week long celebrations of the IDHAS Audio Extravaganza. Tonight features two sessions from artists that are very dear to the heart of I Don’t Hear A Single, Spygenius and Chris Church.

Of all the music that I listen to, Psych Pop resonates most. Few master it, Spygenius do. The ability to mix the classic Psych influenced sounds of the 60s with a more modern Indie Pop makes the band a joy to listen to. Influences abound, including Lounge and Folk.

The Croydon and South London Quartet release their fifth album on Big Stir Records in July. Man On The Sea is a magnum opus and builds on their stellar reputation on the live circuit. This affinity makes them The Band Most Likely To, due to the sheer diversity of their fans.

This session was recorded pre lockdown and the band were all struggling with the flu at the time, although you wouldn’t notice that when listening to these six songs.

The UK has become very fragmented musically lately. National has been replaced by Regional and it is to the band’s credit that they have adopted and grown a community through their Live Showcases. Hopefully this will expand in all genres, it is about the music not all the outside influences.

Lenoir, North Carolina’s Chris Church is one of the few artists that can move between genres successfully.  He has combined a multi album Pop Rock solo career with varying projects and bands, playing Prog, Folk, Hard Rock and left field music.

2017’s Limitations Of Source Tape marked a debut on the Spyderpop Records label and was one of the great albums of that year. Critically lauded, it took Power Pop to new heights. His second album for Spyderpop is this year’s Backwards Compatible. The new album is a much rockier affair, at times seemingly influenced by the better Rock albums of the 80’s. It is as though all this is the album that Chris always wanted to make.

This ten song Acoustic Session is a revelation. Backwards Compatible is such an electric album that these songs appear to take on a new life, the quality of the songwriting shines through and as Chris and I are big Rush fans, there is a nice surprise for the closer.

Thanks as always to Jim Moody for his technical excellence. You can still listen to the Caper Clowns Session on Mixcloud here. The details of our second special are below:

01 Spygenius Intro

02 Watch Your Back
03 Shall I Show You In My Mirror
04 Gilgamesh
05 The Friendly Stars That Glow
06 In A Garden
07 This Heart Was Truer Than You Cared To Believe

08 Spygenius Outro

09 Chris Church Intro

10 Someday's Coming Fast
11 Coulda Fooled Me
12 Take A Knee
13 Ostinato
14 You Better Move On Now, Baby
15 Oh So Gone
16 This Ain't No Way
17 Swallow
18 Hey Tomorrow
19 Time Stand Still

20 Chris Church Outro



Spygenius and Chris Church - IDHAS Audio Extravaganza Volume 100 Live Special



Or Click Below







You can buy the Spygenius back catalogue at Big Stir and see the label's fine roster here or listen to and buy via their Bandcamp site here.

You can buy and listen to Chris Church's extensive Back Catalogue on his Bandcamp site here or via the Spyderpop Bandcamp site here, where you can also catch up with the label's superb roster.


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Various Artists - Big Stir Singles The Sixth Wave

Wow! This is the sixth volume of Big Stir's Singles Collection, where does the time go? In these past few years, I've delighted in seeing the growth of what I believe is the most important label in the Pop Rock world. From humble beginnings as a monthly live event on the West Coast of America, something small and hopeful has become worldwide.

At first, to me, this was something great that was happening thousands of miles away. Really cool, but distant and my tasted and network was largely around people who had been around for years. It is a testament to both Christina and Rex that they are the most influential people, bar none, of the scene that I mainly inhabit.

As they've got bigger, they haven't changed. They don't label bands, there is no ego or wanting to be the voice of a generation. They just release great music and promote a fantastic community spirit. If they can help, they will and they are uninterested in any nonsense that should rear its head. Big Stir is about people and spirit, not about any one individual.

Indeed as I look at the track list of this latest batch of singles, I know all of the artists and I consider them friends not musicians. When I talk to them it is more about family and recent experiences, not necessarily about music. It is a real community.

I look forward to these Weekly Digital Singles every Friday, everyone is different, artists are not just from the Big Stir roster, there are many guest appearances because Big Stir wants everyone to feel a part of it and for all to prosper.

I could easily do one of my standard reviews telling you all about this, but I won't because I'd rather you listen to these As and Bs. Make Up Your Own Mind. If you do want an inkling, I've posted the Cover Notes above, written by my good friend, Ian Canty. Ian is a splendid music journalist and one of the few beacons of light in what fields like a barren UK at the moment. Musical Tumbleweed blows past all regions.

You must have heard the magnificent album by The Corner Laughers already and both Librarians With Hickeys and Spygenius have upcoming albums on Big Stir, which I look forward to with great anticipation. The sheer mix of artists and genres on show here is heartwarming.

There is so much to delight here. I can generally take or leave compilations, but these volumes feel like proper albums. An All The Music That's Fit To Play sort of thing. But I would really rather shout loudest for all that this magnificent label does for the music we love. You can start your applause for Christina and Rex......................now.


You can listen to and but the album here. The album is also available to buy on the Big Stir site here where you can learn all about the magnificence of all that Big Stir do.



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The Corner Laughers - Temescal Telegraph

The Corner Laughers are a special band. Karla Kane rightly gets a lot of the main attention, but they are very much the sum of their parts. Khoi Huynh throws up McCartney-esque Basslines and provides a fine rhythm section with drummer, Charlie Crabtree. Meanwhile Guitarist and longtime IDHAS hero, KC Bowman's playing allows the band to genre hop as they do, effortlessly.

Both Huynh and Bowman are both multi instrumentalists which allows a lot of freedom and inventiveness, the latter also recorded and mastered the album. However, it is not just the case of the singer getting the attention, Kane is the songwriter and her Ukelele playing is prevalent. Her sugar sweet voice is all encompassing, coming in somewhere between Rachel Sweet and Kirsty MacColl.

The band are generally hard to pin down sound wise and on their fifth album, their first for Big Stir, this is even more so. You can feel the West Coast air on the songs, but they are also draped in UK Indie, a bit of Americana and some wonderful Psych Pop. There are at times hints of Xtc in Skylarking mode or Robyn Hitchcock, so it makes complete sense that the only cover on the album is written by a Cleaner From Venus.









This versatility is probably best demonstrated by Lomo Alta, which is borders on freeform Jazz. Where as The Calculating Boy is top notch Psych Pop with some fine guitar leads, Sister Of The Pollen could be sung on Ready Steady Go and Wren In The Rain is pure St Etienne. Changeling is Kirsty MacColl borrowing Madness's piano and what a guitar break! It is an absolute gem of a tune.

The Lilac Line has a bass line to die for, enhancing a sort of Americana Pop, this band are so good that they've invented a genre. The Accepted Time is a song for an imaginary film and Skylarks of Britain is an outstanding slice of Canterbury Folk, the band turn into minstrels. Lord Richard comes across like a Robyn Hitchcock song written for The Seekers.

The album is like an IDHAS wish list with appearances from Rex Broome of The Armoires and Bradley Skaught of The Bye Bye Blackbirds. Topped off by a cover of Martin Newell's Goodguy Son, I am a longtime fanboy of the great man. The thing is though that this cover fits the album perfectly.







Getting The Corner Laughers on the label is a massive coup for Big Stir. A label that is the brightest spot of the last decade and is set up to dominate the next decade. Big Stir, despite all the press, were never a Power Pop label and now they have hooked one of the most innovative bands of this century. Temescal Telegraph is an absolute joy. Album Of The Year Material for sure and well worth raiding your purse for.

You can pre-order the album on Bandcamp here or on the Big Stir site here. You can buy the band's back catalogue here.


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I Don't Hear A Single - Top 20 Compilations And Reissues 2019

I Don't Hear A Single almost exclusively deals with New Album Reviews. I do sneak the odd Re-Issue or Compilation in and I also review them away from IDHAS. Therefore not as much fuss is made here about them here, but people do like to see recommendations.

So here are my favourites from 2019. That is it for last year now. 2020 Begins here.


01 Ex Norwegian - Something Unreal : The Best Of Ex Norwegian (2 CD)

02 The Dukes of Stratosphear - Psurroundabout Ride (CD + Blu Ray)

03 Sparks - Gratuitous Sax And Senseless Violins 25th Anniversary Edition (3CD)

04 Mick Ronson - Only After Dark (Complete Mainman Recordings) (4CD)

05 Various - Big Stir Singles : The Third Wave

06 Various - Shake Yer Popboomerang Volume 3 (2CD)

07 Stephen Duffy - I Love My Friends (2CD)

08 The Go-Betweens - G Stands for Go-Betweens Volume 2 (5CD + 4LP)

09 Be Bop Deluxe - Modern Music (4CD + 1 DVD)

10 New England - The New England Archives Box Vol 1 (5CD)

11 The Springfields - Singles 1986-1991

12 Roger C. Reale & Rue Morgue - The Collection

13 Alan Price - Between Today And Yesterday

14 Various Artists - Men Of The Moment (1960s Pop Gems Written by Roger Greenaway & Roger Cook)

15 Various - Big Gold Dreams - A Story of Scottish Independent Music 1977-1989 (5CD)

16 The Babys - Silver Dreams (Complete Albums 1975-1980) (6CD)

17 Loser - 1993 - 97 - Remasters and Rarities (Lund Bros)

18 Mighty Baby - At A Point Between Fate And Destiny – The Complete Recordings (6CD)

19 VA - Dreams To Fill The Vacuum - The Sound Of Sheffield 1977-1988 (4CD)

20 Various - Losing Touch With My Mind - Psychedelia In Britain 1986-1990 (3CD)

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Rex Broome On Reviews And End Of Year Lists

2020 is a big year for all things IDHAS. Before all of that, there has been a lot of talk around various scenes, particularly the ones that encompass Pop Rock, about both Reviews and End Of Year Lists. Rex Broome wrote an excellent article about this on Facebook today. It is certainly relevant and I can attest that a lot of what Rex says is happening.

Rex comes at this from various angles. With Christina Bulbenko, he runs the Big Stir Records Label, in my book, the label of 2019. Big Stir is a community based label that releases albums from a wonderful mix of artists. Last year saw the weekly Digital Single releases which enhanced their reputation. Big Stir also run a successful monthly series of Live Shows and both Christina and Rex are part of The Armoires who released their excellent second album late in the second half of the year.

People are doing a lot of debating about qualifications for year-end "Best Of" lists. Lists are cool, valuable, often revelatory, and of course shouldn't be taken personally. But naturally, there's going to be controversy. Ideally that should spark debate about the music itself, but too often it gets off track and nosedives into other issues. Obviously our label (and our band) are delighted with the many nods we are receiving and we would never take it as any kind of slight to not be featured on anyone's personal Best Of.

Reviewers are of course free to follow whatever policy suits them in terms of what qualifies a release for consideration. Readers are of course free to put any kind of conditions on how they read the lists with those policies in mind. They may give more or less weight to the opinions knowing that, for instance, digital releases are excluded. There shouldn't be much need for a public fracas about it. The lists are made public and so are the policies behind them and any given reader can add it up as they see fit.

As someone who's on several sides of this whole thing, As an artist, label, live booker and a whole lot more, I have a whole bunch of perspectives at my disposal. From the individual artist's perspective, pressing physical products of any kind is just plain expensive and at times prohibitively so. Sending out endless copies to people who are not likely to review stuff based on prior experience kinda sucks, so you can see why folks might baulk at it. It ain't easy to go it alone, which is one big reason for why we started a business concern that takes the community-based "we're stronger together" ethos as its core value.

As a label, though, Big Stir Records releases everything physically. It's just our thing, for our own reasons and we don't expect anyone else to do the same. We have many great friends who don't, for reasons we totally understand. This year we put out 12 CDs with several of them also on vinyl as well. That's a lot of money, some from the artists and some from the label. Shipping costs are absurd. Now, in our opinion, all 12 of those releases are superb, of course. But we also know that with the diversity of our output, not everyone is going to love every one of them. However. we still feel obliged to get all of them out to as many potential reviewers as we can.

With the volume of stuff we put out, if we've gone to the trouble and expense of getting all of our releases to a reviewer, we hope tat they will review them. When we notice that they're essentially ignoring them while favouring very similar and sometimes frankly lesser records, we wonder why. Even taking personal taste into account and being in a position to observe personal politics, positive and negative, on the wider scene, things start to look a little odd to us.

We might sense something else is in play other than the music. We might be wrong, but we have to make a decision on the situation. Decide whether or not it's worth our time, effort and money to keep feeding the music we're so proud of to someone who's displaying pronounced indifference to our efforts. That's just basic business sense, coupled with our belief in our artists and their music and our need to do what's best for them.

It's imperative to take the reviews and lists at face value out of respect for the writers and DJs and I respect the hell out of them. But let's also be honest that people play favourites and there are potential conflicts of interest out there. The tip of the iceberg is that a number of eminent critics and DJs are IN some of these bands. In other rare, but notable cases, there are public displays of favouritism and/or personal grudges that might get in the way of professional impartiality. Then there's also endless debate about separating the artists' politics from their work.

That's all okay. Again the results tend to speak for themselves. I've seen people give glowing reviews to records by people they can't stand personally. I've also seen others pan efforts by dear friends and most of the time everyone displays the proper grown-up attitudes about that. Most of the time. When ego gets in the way, it's usually self-evident. Since we at Big Stir Records really ARE "all about the music", we see no need to call it out on a case-by-case basis.

We have much better things to do and the joy of sharing the music is much more important than any petty squabbles along the way. It would be nice if the focus stayed where it should across the boards, but that's unrealistic. We can only express our gratitude for the people who keep their hearts where they should be. Your diversity of opinion makes this community sing and we love you for it!


You can find out more about all things Big Stir here.


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