Lost Ships - Atoms Collide Forever

 

I've really enjoyed the three previous EPs from Lost Shops. They revealed that there was more to the band than just Jangle Pop. The last EP, Nostalgia, hinted at Brit Pop and for their debut album, that thread continues big time. 

Labelling something Brit Pop can be a poisoned chalice, everything that is guitar based Pop Rock is lumped in and too many want to be bad Oasis. I mean supposedly good Oasis is extremely dull, so think what the bad is like. 

However, Atoms Collide Forever is great Brit Pop, allowing you to remember the great from the mid 90s when Guitar bands were back in fashion and bands wrote choruses. At times, Lost Ships sound a little like Embrace without the anthems, a good place to be.

I'm In Love With Your Girlfriend, has more than a hint of IDHAS faves, The Supernaturals and has a killer understated riff. Derek From Domino's is somewhere between The Housemartins and The Bluetones, wonderfully so,

Saving Grace is a jaunty all together now joy, Ray Davies storytelling in Indie Pop mode. Tom Calls Joan is great Glasgow Dream Pop and the Jangling hasn't been forgotten on Take A Walk and We're A Song That Never Sleeps is very TFC.

The Ballad Of Custard O'Toole jangles towards Toytown and Toaster Song could be Dodgy in happy clappy mode. If you want to call out influences, well they are all the better bands of the genre. The big note here is the biting lyrical wit displayed. It really shines through on a stormer of an album. Another Subjangle Triumph!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Extended Play Part 1

 Lost Ships - Nostalgia

Portsmouth's Lost Ships release their third EP for the excellent Subjangle label. Nostalgia is cleverly written classic Brit Pop. This EP seems less jangly than the previous two and is very reminiscent of The Bluetones, a real compliment.

Weight Of The World is the obvious lead track, a catchy chipper Supernaturals like affair. Shirley From Shirley is a slower storytelling song that quietly builds while Inside My Head is very Glasgow with a riff that is so The Coral. 

Come To Me borders on Americana, almost Campfire like until the short closing cinematic instrumental. A cracking listen. I can't wait for a full length Lost Ships album. You can listen to and buy the EP here.

The Stick Arounds - Waiting For The Click

Waiting For The Clouds is a 4 Track RP that acts as a sampler of how varied, the Michigan five piece are. Redtail Hawks is all fuzzed up, US New Wave Power Pop that comes across as a popped up The Successful Failures. It is a very fine thing indeed.

In a completely opposite direction, Easy To Take has a real Country Rock Doolin' Dalton vibe. Close To Being Cool edges toward a Pete Wylie big sound and Ode To Kid Marine is built on a Guided By Voices sort of riff and aches beautifully and more than a little noisily.

Hearing four songs that are very different act as a great showcase, but may confuse new listeners who may want to dig into the band's back catalogue to learn what a great outfit this lot are. You can listen to and buy the EP here.

Tripper and the Wild Things - Boomerang Kids

Predictions of the next big thing usually end in tears, but Hamilton Ontario's Tripper And The Wild Things have a certain something that may just break down the barriers. They master a brand of slacker Indie Rock that appeals to their generation in a way that may just take the previous one along for the ride. 

The band can be a little noisy and shouty the odd time, but this is built around big hooks and memorable choruses. Plus a song like Juno shows that they have more than one gear and work equally well on slowed down songs. 

There's no doubt though that they are at their best when the pace ramps up and a song like Boomerang Kids encapsulates what the band are about. A built up verse, a great chorus and a killer riff. I can't wait to hear more. You can listen to and buy the EP here.

Portable Radio - Should've Bounced

Portable Radio draw attention to their magnificent self titled album, reviewed here. Should've Bounced, the lead track is from the album and underlines the band's vocal strength of harmony in a gentle catch all listen.

The two B Sides are more than worthwhile inclusions. Happy Coincidence is a  little more basic than what has gone before, more keyboard led 80's twee than previous songs, but still underpinned by a wonderful vocal arrangement. 

Never Tell A Soul is the original mix of Kick Me Out and is part Piano Bar schmooze, part Explorers Club. Portable Radio's strength is the vocal interplay and this EP is a great addition for buyers of the album, It is an album that everyone should own. You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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Lost Ships - All Of The Pieces EP

I've admired Darrin Lee's excellent Jangle Pop Hub Blog since it's inception. It was one of the reasons that I started to cover less Jangle Pop, he does it so well. He's not just about Jangle, there's some great Indie Pop present. So when I saw that he'd formed the Subjangle label, I knew it was going to be one to watch and this release of the UK's Lost Ships EP is proving that theory.

Since I started to write more about the new with IDHAS, I see sounds like comparisons in volume daily. Those who know the type of music I cover generally aim for Badfinger, Big Star, XTC, Jellyfish and Teenage Fanclub. The Nada Surf comparisons seem to have calmed down.

Over the years, I've become more adult about these comparisons and realised that I'd rather hear something that's great than worry about who it sounds like. The comparisons that I personally make are just to help the undecided to give a great song a listen.







All Of The Pieces is a cracking listen. The front half of the four songs could very well be the best songs that Teenage Fanclub haven't written. There's an attention grabbing Jangle that just hooks you. A lot of attention will be paid to the opener, All Of The Pieces, but it's the following Drugstore that is the absolute gem.

The other two songs have a Brit Pop ring to them. How Can I Face The World has a real Oasis feel in it's vibe, that's an Oasis without the unnecessary song length and withour cat sat on the mat lyrics. It rolls along at a fine pace with a splendid middle eight.


Sheila Believe Me is very different to what has gone before. It's a melancholic piano ballad that contrasts beautifully with what has gone before. It's moody and magnificent. I can't praise this EP highly enough, it's top drawer stuff. I can't wait for a subsequent album.






You can listen to and buy the EP here. It is available as a download and CD. You can read and learn more about great new music at the Jangle Pop Hub here.


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