Dear Boy - Celebrator

 

Los Angeles quartet Dear Boy may have just signalled the return of Brit Pop, Not the show off magpie headliners, but the great Pop Rock that lay underneath in spades. We have always identified with that wave and it is probably why the new Supernaturals album has spent so long in our Top 10 most viewed reviews in the past few months.

The genre marked a return to Guitar bands selling out venues and the live scene was revived, particularly here in the North West. It was all about melody, memorable choruses and killer choruses and there is loads of that here on Dear Boy's second album.

There are wall to wall anthems that are beautifully produced and arranged. Songs that you can't help singing along to. But the band aren't afraid to branch out. For instance, Kelly Green sounds wonderfully Madchester, a little Weatherall dancey.  The title track follows a similar direction.

The Address goes even further back to the post C86 years and again shows the versatility of the four, the song is all beats. There is even a nod to the big album closer noted in Brit Pop songs with the mesmerising Daylight Savings.

But for all these inventive departures, it is the Pop Rock that grabs you the most. Now More Than Ever rips in with a big Guitar solo, a cracking song that you will hear on next week's Listening To This Week, a submission that led me to the album.

Wanderlow eases in with a slight Lightning Seeds vibe After All reminds me of the unsung Brit Pop bands such as Straw and Octopus. Inevitable is another genre joy. Dear Pop do sound very UK at times and this is a splendid example of how life affirming Pop Rock can be in the right hands.

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

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Dear Boy - Forever Sometimes

 

I first covered Dear Boy as part of an Extended Play post in 2019. That was singing the praise of The Strawberry EP. It has been a while before the debut album arrived, but thankfully the Los Angeles quartet have not lost any of their pop sensibilities.

I mentioned in that review that the band sounded far more British than American and the same applies. Although the direction seems like it has gone a little more mainstream pop, gentler maybe, but just as melodic with earworms aplenty. 

The 80s comparison still stands and they are not a million miles away from IDHAS favourites, The Summer Holiday/ Somewhere in between The Lightning Seeds and Savage Garden is not a bad place to be and may deservedly give them a wider modern pop audience.

The Indie Pop glistens like Gold from every direction. The hooks and melodies grab you and lead into memorable choruses. An album like this can risk straying into Boy Band Territory, but the arrangements and instrumentation prevent this and sound something more A-ha.

The album is at its best when songs are at their chirpiest and the pace quickens. (On My) Mind is one such example with a lovely Twang included. Say When is very China Crisis in the verse and sound with a big chorus, Forever Sometimes is based on a great riff.

Swan Dives even gets a little Pet Shop Boys. Even with a preference for the faster songs, Evensong is a splendid opener, magnificently moody. The key word to describe Forever Sometimes is gentle. The world still needs great Pop and this album is indeed that.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Extended Play

Hi-Ranger - Tire Town EP

Vancouver's Hi-Ranger offer up a fine EP that feels very C86. The Trio sound anything but Canadian across these four songs. Out Of Dreams has hints of Teenage Fanclub and the general vibe is the second half of the Glasgow Eighties

Having said that the wonderful I'll Never Know could easily be The Stone Roses and Sunny Sunday Afternoon is very Ride. Sam Tam Manitoba Jangles shoegazingly. Four very different songs, all equally excellent, I expect to hear far more from these fellers.







You can listen to and buy the EP here.

The Martial Arts - I Used To Be The Martial Arts EP

Glasgow's Paul Kelly is often associated with Pop Nuggets and the long awaited EP from The Martial Arts delivers just that. His aching vocals are cocooned in mini Walls Of Sound. I Used To Be is Spector-ish and How Will I Progress has a real New Wave DIY Feel.

You've Ruined Everything is like Wah doing Glam Rock, but the real stand out is New Performance which reminds me a little of The Bay City Rollers in the chorus, in a good way. This is wonderful Twee Pop.

You can buy the EP here.

Dear Boy - The Strawberry EP

Dear Boy's latest EP is again brimming with Sunshine Pop, Whilst you might expect this from a Los Angeles band, the sound here is very much UK. There's something wonderfully 80's Jaunty about these five songs.

Although sounding no one band in particularly, you are reminded of Haircut 100, The Bluebells and Deacon Blue. The melancholic lyrics are hidden in the chipper arrangements. In Limelight, they have one of the year's great songs, it has everything in place for the upcoming Summer Days.






You can listen to and buy the EP here.

The Glimmer Stars - Hello Love EP

The Glimmer Stars' EP is shorter and noisier than what's preceded it here, but is every bit as relevant, There's a real swagger in what the Californian Trio do, a mix of 80's Sleeze Rock and 70's Glam, let's settle on Garage Glam.

Feel It is a killer of a song, wonderfully loud, it makes you clench your fists. I Want You is "in your face" Garage Rock. Contrast this with the all too brief closer, Here Comes Tomorrow Today, which is a New Seekers Acoustic strum, proving that these three are not a one trick pony.

You can buy the EP at the likes of CD Baby and Amazon.


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