It is great to have Winston-Salem's Michael Slawter back and the explanation why is quickly explained on the opener here, I Got Lost. It has everything that you might want in a song. Opening with a sort of 70s UK Beat Pop, it changes constantly with its New Wave vibe. There is even an ace Psych Pop solo, as if to fully please me.
Little Mind goes the whole Psych Pop hog, certainly instrumentally, yet it also heads into the melodic Indie Rock of the early 80s. Emily Cries also mixes directions with ease, at times early Syd Barrett, yet also a hint of Gilbert O'Sullivan. Instrumentally though, it is based around a wonderful dream like riff, restrained yet hypnotic.
It takes a special kind of talent to mix the genres so effectively, without ever losing the Guitar Pop feel. When the pace slows, the album is just as good. Down To Witness is wonderful gentle Jangle Pop, beautifully sung, a little Dream Pop.
Tie A Ring is great Pop Rock, beautifully constructed, mellow but interesting, again built on a cracking arrangement. It even has a little hint of Prog. Never Win runs Little Mind as the stand out, but is very different, a little more acoustic, a bit more jaunty and incredibly catchy with a killer solo.
My one complaint would be that we don't hear enough of Slawter. His Guitar Shop, Heyday Guitars, obviously takes up a lot of his time. It is a shame, because the world needs more of this intelligent melodic Pop Rock, The Plastic Years simply underlines this.
Welcome to the first Here Is The News, a new addition to the IDHAS jollity. It is intended to be a weekly affair that informs followers about upcoming releases, gigs, labels and much more. As with everything on I Don't Hear A Single, it contains no influence whatsoever from anyone but us. We get lots of releases, PR, label contact, but we have always decided what we like and want to tell you about.
We are only ever limited by time. We only review what we like. People mention from time to time that we don't seem to do negative reviews. It is actually much easier to do a negative review than a positive one, but why waste that energy? From the beginning, we were only ever going to write about what we like and there is more of that than we could ever cover.
As IDHAS approaches 8, the Blogging world is very different than when we started. The influence that Blogs have has decreased at a rapid rate. It is hard to keep interest and even grow as streaming playlists seem to be the in thing.
There is no doubt that we have evolved and compare to different Blogs than when we first started. But we are still here and hope that we help artists on the way. We are never going to make mega stars, not that we would really ever want to. Adding things like this keeps interest and hopefully informs.
This is a cut down version of what this section is intended to be. A sort of test the water to gauge reaction.
King Black Acid - There's A Spirit Moving In Your House
I think you know how much we like King Black Acid. Portland Oregon must be so proud of this lot. Our review of the new album, Victory For Mad Love, has been really popular. You can read that here. There is now a video for you to enjoy of the new single, There's A Spirit Moving In Your House. You can buy and listen to the album here.
The Supernaturals
It is frightening to think that I have been listening to The Supernaturals for half my life. Initially, through their jaunty wit filled Pop Rock, but I've sort of matured with them as they have experimented and shown completely different sides to the band. Many will know of the big singles and albums, but the early cassette releases were like Rocking Horse shit.
So the archive releases from the pre It Doesn't Matter Anymore days are a godsend to both established and the new fans that the band has been gaining at a rapid rate. Both Big 7 and Sitting In The Sun join Let It Bleat as CD and Download releases. Both will be reviewed on here in the coming week.
It is less than a fortnight away from Local Drags' fourth album. We've covered them well on here and the last album, Mess Of Everything, appeared in our Best 100 Albums Of Last Year. You can read that review here. The new one sounds less noisy than what has gone before, more reflective, but is every bit as good as you might expect.
The CD and Vinyl are available from Stardumb Records. There are alternate covers depending on the format you choose. The album will also be on the Bandcamp site. A review will be on here, just after the release date. City In A Room should certainly gain many appreciative ears.
It has been too long since we covered Winston-Salem's Michael Slawter. Ashamedly, he hasn't appeared here since 2017's An Assassination Of Someone You New. There's an ethical theme to his new mini album and it is a cracker. Great Pop Rock that edges towards Power Pop.
There will be obvious connections to The dBs and Mitch Easter, but Slawter is very much his own man. You can pre-order the CD or Digital album now. It is a great listen. A review will appear on here shortly after the release date.
Canadian Guitar Pop has had an exceptional couple of years and Motorists are another example. Their second album is on Madrid's excellent Bobo Integral label. Touched By The Stuff revels in its 90s Power Pop vibe with heaps of Jangle Pop.
The band are not afraid to spread further afield though and this is an album that underlines the slow but sure return of Classic Power Pop. It knows its influences, but also adds its own take bringing the genre to a new generation.The album is available on Vinyl and digitally and will be reviewed here shortly after release.
2018 has been a fantastic year for the type of music that we like. It's been difficult to get these choices down to 100. I'm also not a believer in saying one album is better than another. Most of the time you are comparing Apples To Oranges. I'm not a Top 10 person, I just think what's the point.
However, for the first time last year, I did a Top 50, normally I just say what my favourite album of the year is. I've simply done it again, because those five posts of last year were so popular and the aim of this Blog is to get exposure (and Sales) for the artists.
As I said the standard this year is incredibly high, so much so that I've extended the choice to 100 albums. There is no meaning or judgement on an album that is Number 1, Number 100 or not on the list. Anything that I review on here, mention on Social Media or play on the Radio Show is as highly recommended.
For each album, I've posted a song from it and a link to the IDHAS Review if applicable.
No 81 : Cursed Arrows - Rebirth IDHAS Review here.
No 82 : Crayola Lectern - Happy Endings
No 83 : Emperor Penguin - Walnut Fascia
No 84 : Henry Chadwick - Marlin Fisher IDHAS Review here.
I have a confession to make. Michael Slawter passed me by and now I feel a bit silly. My good friend Rob at dB's Repercussion recommended him a few years ago and I'd knew and liked The Saving Graces, but I'd never followed him on from there.
Well now I have and this is a great album. Futureman Records have got a hold of it and that's always a sign of quality. So the 2007 album is now extended to 15 songs and it's a cracking listen from start to finish.
There's lots of Jangle and the comparisons to the dB's are obvious. Maybe with Slawter hailing from Winston-Salem, a Mitch Easter influence is to be expected and there is. The Spongetones' Jamie Hoover, co-produces and plays on the album and that shows too.
The songs hit a riff and ram it home. This is great melodic pop, reminiscent at times of Glenn Tilbrook or Michael Carpenter. There's hints of REM at times and it doesn't rock out often, but when it does the songs are just as good. Particularly the likes of Ticker Tape Plan.
The Queen Of All She Sees is very Mike Viola and The Crashing Down is one of those story songs that Ron Sexsmith does so well until it bursts into a great jingly chorus. The Rest Of The Day even sounds like Summer Scotish Pop from the late Eighties.
The album probably feels more at home in the mellow pop of Too Dumb For You and Leave Her Alone. But there's plenty of variance here for all and I particularly love Count To 10 which sounds like it could be on an Ian McNabb album. This is a beautifully produced album that deserves a place in anyone's home.
You can listen to and buy the album here. It's a snip at seven dollars.
