Robertson - Robertson

 

Keith Klingensmith's Futureman label has revealed many gems to these aging ears. One of the most pleasing was The Vapour Trails, an Aberdeen five piece that jingled and jangled with a brand of West Coast Rock that was totally engaging.

Kevin Robertson and his son Scott were key parts of that band and as Kevin went solo, Scott was still around. That solo career showed a different side of the man, the jangle was still there, but enhanced by treading into other genres.

His last solo album, last year's Yellow Painted Moon was magnificent, an Electric Guitar-athon that encompassed Power Pop, Indie Rock and Psych Pop and deservedly finished high up in our Best 100 Albums Of 2025. You can read my review here.

Robertson is the combination of both father and son. The same line up as Yellow Painted Moon with Nick Bertling on Drums as well as producing. As you might expect from someone who has never stood still. the direction differs slightly.

These 12 songs are more insular, folk at times, not the hey nonny no variety, more melodic. It has a laidback feel that seems extremely content in the surroundings. The vocals and harmonies are much more to the front and the Guitars at times more Acoustic

There's still nods to what has gone before. The West Coast Jangle Pop of Don't Know What It Means for instance. Illusion To Me is splendid Psych Pop that melts my heart and Noon At Night is top notch Americana.

There are also big surprises. Get In The Parlour, Jean adds haunting cello from Marco Pescosolido, a song so good that it gets a second part later in the album. Ahren Buchheister plays pedal steel on Sticking Around as well as the aforementioned Noon At Night. The string arrangement from Kateryna Mytrofanova & Alexey Zavgorodny on Is It Wrong? is jaw dropping.

But Today is real Cambridge Folk with a wonderful Brass Arrangement, that is a little Spaghetti Western. To You is yeah man UK Beat. The highlight for me is Illusion To Me, largely because of my love of the genre, but it doesn't put a note wrong. Kevin Robertson is never offers up the same album twice and here is another great album.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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I Don't Hear A Single Best 100 Albums Of 2025 : 31- 40

 

Getting closer to completion on Friday. The IDHAS  100 Best Albums Of 2025 countdown continues with Numbers 31 - 40.

 

31 Humbug - Open Season      IDHAS Review

32  Future Clouds And Radar - Big Weather      IDHAS Review

33 The Supernaturals - Show Tunes      IDHAS Review

34 Bird Streets - The Escape Artist      IDHAS Review

35 Smackbeat - Little Letters      IDHAS Review

36  Kevin Robertson - Yellow Painted Moon     IDHAS Review

37 The Electorate - By Design   IDHAS Review

38   Chris Lund - Surveillance    IDHAS Review

39 Slow Buildings - Crash Landings, Coincidences, Chaos     IDHAS Review

40 Wyldlife - Sorted     IDHAS Review

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Kevin Robertson - Yellow Painted Moon

 

Robertson's band, The Vapour Trails, master a Jangle led West Coast Guitar Pop that is totally engaging and there is that here, but his solo offerings spread their wings much further. Together with fellow VT son, Scott and drummer and producer extraordinaire Nick Bertling, a crackerjack album is ready for your ears.

As well as the myriad of styles and genre crossing, my main take is how adaptable Robertson's voice is. It suits whatever direction a song takes, but there's a far more varied tone and this excels, particularly the non Jangling affairs. His guitar work has always been noted, but until now his vocal range hasn't.

Kings Of Most Of Yesterday is maybe the best example here, just listen to that chorus vocal. A song that is all 60s Studio Glamour, one of the best things that you will this or any year. Quicksand is another wonderfully arranged and delightfully smooth.

Feeling Show is wonderful Psych Pop, a genre that Robertson has always been great at, here he tackles it from a splendid restrained angle and a hippy-esque solo just melts into proceedings beautifully. The Harbinger is a magnificent closer, all West Coast Rock adding another string to Robertson's bow and another awesome vocal.

Message Of Love mixes Americana with Psych Pop and the acoustic touch works as well as what surrounds it elsewhere. Long devotees fear not! There is plenty of Jangle Pop across the 12 tracks filtering in as and when required.

To say that this is Robertson's finest hour would be an understatement. Not only is this a vocal delight, but it is also a Guitar album. All three play Electric Guitar and it shows with the quality of the solos and riffs. This is album of the year material and it will be up there on our end of year celebrations.

You can listen to and buy the album here and here.  CDs are still available on the latter link for US purchasers. The CD is sold out in the UK, hopefully there will be further reprints here.

https://kevinrobertson.bandcamp.com/album/yellow-painted-moon

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I Don't Hear A Single Top 20 EPs Of 2023

 


2023 is brought to a close with The Top 20 EPs Of The Year. There may be more 2023 releases covered in the early part of 2024, but as for the ramped up Social Media and Countdowns, they all end here. For each EP a song is embedded from the release and a link is provided to the IDHAS Review where you can find further details and how to listen or buy the EP.

1 Svenssen - Falling Out Of Fashion     IDHAS REVIEW

2 Half Catholic - Art In Heaven     IDHAS REVIEW

3 The Chase - Bonzo Bonanza     IDHAS REVIEW

4 Pretty - Citrus Magic    IDHAS REVIEW

5 Jonesy - Doppelgangbangers    IDHAS REVIEW

6 Leon In The Wild - Leon In The Wild     IDHAS REVIEW

7 Movie Jail - Movie Jail   IDHAS REVIEW

8 Råttanson - Trebled Region     IDHAS REVIEW

9 The Popguns - Popism     IDHAS REVIEW

10 Bitter Defeat - Terrific Effort    IDHAS REVIEW

11 Fuzziliers - Would You Believe     IDHAS REVIEW

12 Mansfield - Come Rain Or Shine     IDHAS REVIEW

13 The Vapour Trails - On A Beautiful Day     IDHAS REVIEW

14 Gizmo - Buddy System    IDHAS REVIEW

15 Finn's Motel - Last Year's Leaves      IDHAS REVIEW

16 Rick Kingo - The Truths, The Lies, The Lot    IDHAS REVIEW

17 Dennis Davison - Creaturefeature       IDHAS REVIEW

18 Carl Green In Particular - Off Balance       IDHAS REVIEW

19 Shangri-Lass - Over & Over      IDHAS REVIEW

20 Modern Rituals - Razed      IDHAS REVIEW

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The Vapour Trails - On A Beautiful Day EP

 

It has been three years or so since we heard from The Vapour Trails, largely due to Kevin Robertson's solo adventures. So it is great to see them back. Both the Golden Sunshine and See You In The Next World albums appeared in the IDHAS Best Of Year Selections. You can read the reviews here  and here.

The band also provided a session for the celebration of the 100th Edition of The IDHAS Audio Extravaganza, the Radio show that was the forerunner of the IDHAS 10 Song Mix and featured 7 days of Live Sessions. That session can also be bought and listened to on the band's Bandcamp site.

Having started out being fairly compared to the likes of Teenage Fanclub and Dropkick, Golden Sunshine showed real examples of the band extending into a much wider pallet of signs and On A Beautiful Day confirms this full on.

There isn't a hint of The Glasgow sound here. Beautifully arranged songs that head more into Rock territory in a gentle riff. Any of these four songs will catch your attention. Reminisce is a late 60s mix of gentle Psych Pop with a killer riff.

Next Life is extraordinarily great, a little bit of jangle, beautifully sung and arranged with a riff not a million miles from a Rush 80s Riff, although played a little gentler. The title track has wonderful stomp on the chorus and I Looked Into Your Eyes is pure 1967, wonderfully so.

The big hint of 60s Psych Pop is splendid, particularly to such a lover of the genre as myself. Despite the excellent arrangements and performances, the big stand out is Kevin Robertson's vocals they have matured, maybe mellowed and revealed a mastery of the understated song.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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Kevin Robertson - Magic Spells Abound

 

Apparently, it was around 2019, although my memory is sketchy. It seems a lifetime ago and the scene seemed much smaller, although it probably wasn't, it was my scene that was much smaller. I Don't Hear A Single was very Power Pop active then and it was via that scene that my good friend Keith Klingensmith introduced me to The Vapour Trails as he was about to release their debut album on his label, Futureman Records. The band caused a buzz, although from Aberdeen, they sounded more Glasgow and certainly more West Coast of America. The splendid Beth Dobson also picked up on them, a lady much missed in these parts who has gone off to be Vincent Van Gogh whilst keeping her ears intact. 

Darrin Lee was also in our sphere via Beth and since then we have also become good friends. His Subjangle and JanglePopHub adventures run parallel to what IDHAS does and we share the same weird and warped sense of humour. Somewhat unfairly, The Vapour Trails gained a reputation for West Coast Jangle and though that was obviously true, it somehow overshadowed all the other musical directions that they were equally adept at. Kevin Robertson's first solo album away from the band, Sundown's End, underlined that point. A great album that revealed many of his hidden talents whilst being incredibly cohesive. 

Now we have his third solo album, produced expertly by Nick Bertling, a name you should be more than familiar with now seeing as he seems to have been on some of the most relevant albums of the past 12 months. Magic Spells Abound is again released on Subjangle and Futureman and it is an awesome listen. It is as though, all the stars were aligned to enhance Robertson's growing experience to result in one of the best albums that you will hear this year. This is a Singer Songwriter album of the highest order, equal to those classic 70s albums of the genre. Yes there is some Jangle Pop here, why wouldn't there be? It is what he is noted for after all, but this does feel like an even further departure than that solo debut.

If anything, at times this sounds more Folk at times. That Jangle that is here has been adapted to other genres, magnificently so. Only Autumn Brings compares to those Vapour Trails albums and this even concentrates far more on vocal harmony. Candlestick Morning contrasts a Gentle Psych feel with something more Al Stewart. The Crest Of A Dream is beautifully arranged resulting in a Folk like dream, very Aquarius like 60s. It even gets a little jazzy. Wander On is top notch Power Pop and I suppose that you could call Sunset, Neo Psych or even Prog, it is an outstanding arrangement and has a lovely weeping melancholy about it. 

As The Crow Flies takes me back to being young and sitting on a riverbank watching the boats going by, a feeling of being out in the open with the only thing to think about was nothing. The arrangement and vocal just surrounds you/ But the real joy here is Equilibrium Blues, an absolute gem of a song, an absolute monster. Prog in feel with heavy hints of Psych and it is something that will absolute captivate you. I expected Magic Spells Abound to be great, but never a s great as this, I certainly didn't expect the magnificent vocal arrangements, particularly the complexity of them. This is an album that is a testament to the beauty and warmth that music can bring to your heart. I am absolutely gobsmacked by the quality. Album Of The Year material? You bet!

You can listen to and buy the album here or here. The physical releases will not be around for long, so don't delay!

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Kevin Robertson - Sundown's End

 

A combination of two of my favourite labels, Futureman and Subjangle bring Kevin Robertson's debut solo album to the table. The leader of The Vapour Trails gets the opportunity to poke his nose into other genres, which he does incredibly well.

However, I'd also make the point that The Vapour Trails' reputation for Glasgow West Coast Jangle is a bit of misdirection. True, the band do that incredibly well, but listening to their output, particularly Golden Sunshine, the variation is already there. 

It can be said though that this is taken further by Robertson in solo mode. Big Old Town is all Hollywood Easy Listening Pop Rock, Settle Down is somewhere between Americana and Country and Could It Be is very very Gerry Rafferty.

See How We Love is all Celtic moodiness and Telepathic Minds is wonderful late 60's UK Psych Pop. This is taken a step further with the jaunt into White Album Harrison space with the hippy trippy closer, Yesterday's Reign. A venture that made these old eyes light up.

Into The Black jangles, but in a harmonic laid back way. Indeed, the only song that sounds like The Vapour Trails' supposed template is Love's Blue Yonder. Special mention has to be made for the splendid Silicone Sun when Robertson chirps up a Pavement vibe and develops a rocking croak.

I'm not sure if Kevin has just got all the song ideas that didn't fit The Vapour Trails or that this is where the future lies. If the latter, I'd happily go with that because if I had to choose, which I don't, I would go more in this direction. This is an album that reveals great talent. Highly Recommended!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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I Don't Hear A Single Albums Of The Year 2020 : 71-80

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 List person, I just think what's the point.

However, for the last few years I have compiled annual Best Of 's  because these posts seem so popular and the aim of this Blog is to get exposure (and Sales) for the artists. 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.

I would also add that the Top 100 includes albums available as Download Only. To suggest that they are anything less than equal to a Physical release is grossly unfair, even more so in 2020 with all that has happened during the year. To qualify, an album has to be available for sale in any format.

For each album, I've posted a song from it and a link to where you can find further details on how to listen or buy the album. 

No 71 : Creem Circus - The Glitterest, Sladest,. Rockin'Est.Laidest, Overtime-Paidest, Boogiest Band In Town     IDHAS Review

No 72 : R.E. Seraphin - Tiny Shapes        IDHAS Review









No73 : Martin Månsson Sjöstrand Trio - Universum Faller        IDHAS Review








No 74 : The Sunchymes - The Sands Of Time           IDHAS Review

No 75 : Green Seagull - Cloud Cover       IDHAS Review

No 76 : The Black Watch - Brilliant Failures      IDHAS Review







No 77 : The Loft Club - Dreaming The Impossible     Review

No 78 :  The Vapour Trails - Golden Sunshine     IDHAS Review







No 79 : The Amplifier Heads - Music For Abandoned Amusement Parks     IDHAS Review

 



No 80 : Painted Doll - How To Draw Fire     IDHAS Review

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The Vapour Trails - Golden Sunshine

Aberdeen's The Vapour Trails serve up their second album after an outstanding 2019 debut album. You can read the IDHAS Review of that album here and I notice that more recent reviews of the band have labelled them as Psych Rockers.

I honestly believe that there's a fair bit of lazy reviewing occurring, something I notice far more often sadly, because this lot are far more than that. True, the two openers, Golden Sunshine and Dr Barnes are in Psych territory, but most of the rest of the album is a Gold Plated Indie Guitar affair, more Jangle than anything else. Far be it from me to suggest that an album gets reviewed after listening to the first two songs, because we all know that most are cut and pastes of PR Reviews.









There are diversions into all kinds of areas here, but essentially all of it is Guitar Pop of the highest order. Think Glasgow Sound, C86 and definitely Jangle, wonderful Jangle that drifts the odd time into Byrds and Petty Territory.
,
There's a great Power Pop offering with Why Wonder Why and a slight New York Sidewalk Sleaze on Strange which erupts into a Brit Pop chorus. Lonely Man has a real Merseybeat, almost Hollies, feel whilst This May Be The Time is great mid 70's Pop Rock.








I'm not sure if The One That Got Away reminds me of Stephen Bishop or a Teenage Fanclub slowie until a mini Harrison like solo. Different Girl is a cracking jaunty jangling joy, aided by a fine accompanying vocal from Nicki Welch,

There is so much to like here. Golden Sunshine is Top Notch and Highly Recommended. Remember it's not Psych Rock it is Indie Guitar Pop. The album is also another triumph for Detroit's magnificent Futureman Records.








You can listen to and buy the album here.


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Nick Piunti, The Vapour Trails and Dolph Chaney - I Don't Hear A Single Audio Extravaganza Volume 100 Live Specials

Welcome to the third of our Live Audio Extravaganza Specials. Tonight, there are three sessions from Nick Piunti, The Vapour Trails and Dolph Chaney respectively.

Detroit’s Nick Piunti has released his fifth solo album in just over 6 years. Downtime came out last Friday and is the first album is his first with The Complicated men.  There is a lot of nonsense written about what is and isn’t Power Pop, Piunti is Power Pop.

Melodic singalong songs with great riffs and big choruses are his speciality and Downtime excels in all three. Here is a solo set, recorded last week at Big Sky Studios and it’s an absolute cracker.

Five piece, The Vapour Trails are Aberdeen’s answer to the likes of Teenage Fanclub and The Byrds. Specialising in Jangling Guitars and Big Harmonies, the band release their second album, Golden Sunshine on June 19th on Keith Klingensmith’s superb Futureman Records Label.

Here is a splendid four song set recorded earlier this year, pre-lockdown for I Don’t Hear A Single.  Listen out for a superb cover of Something.

Homewood Illinois’s Dolph Chaney has a 33 year and counting career behind him. Six years after his previous album, Shenanigans, he has joined the Big Stir Records fold and recently released his new album, Rebuilding Permit.

His special brand of Indie Rock is still there, as are his trademark lyrics and unexpected Guitar runs. However, the album feels like a much deeper personal offering, even though he has lost none of his wit. Here is a four song session recorded this month for I Don’t Hear A Single.

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

01 Nick Piunti Intro

02 Upper Hand
03 Gonna Be Good
04 Every High
05 All Over Again
06 Bright Light
07 Going Nowhere
08 All This Time

09 The Vapour Trails Intro

10 Behind You
11 The Inner Truth
12 Something
13 The One That Got Away

14 Dolph Chaney Intro

15 The POTUS Is The Breitbart Bimbo
16 The Handling
17 If I Write It Down
18 Game Of Pricks

Nick Piunti, The Vapour Trails and Dolph Chaney - IDHAS Audio Extravaganza Volume 100 Live Special



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 and buy Downtime and Nick Piunti's Back Catalogue here. You can find more about Nick on his website here.

You can buy Rebuilding Permit and Dolph Chaney's Back Catalogue on the Big Stir site here. You can find out more about Dolph at his website here.

You can pre-order Golden Sunshine here. You can listen to  and buy The Vapour Trails first album, See You In The Next World here.  A Selection of Home Recordings And Demos are available at Name Your Price here. 


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I Don't Hear A Single Albums Of The Year 2019 : 31 - 40

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 List person, I just think what's the point.

However, for the last couple of years I have compiled Best Of 2019, normally I just said what my favourite album of the year is. I've done it again, because these posts seem so popular and the aim of this Blog is to get exposure (and Sales) for the artists.

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.

I would also add that the Top 100 includes albums available as Download Only. To suggest that they are anything less than equal to a Physical release is patently nonsense and omits many wonderful albums.

I will compile a Top 20 of Reissues and Compilations combined after all this is complete. For each album, I've posted a song from it and a link to the review, where you can find further details on how to listen or buy the album.



31 Remo Drive - Natural, Everyday Degradation      IDHAS Review







32 Pastis - Circles       IDHAS Review







33 John Howard - Cut The Wire       IDHAS Review

34 My Little Hum - Pioneer       IDHAS Review







35 Louise Connell - Squall Echo Rale     IDHAS Review  







36 The Vapour Trails - See You In The Next World    IDHAS Review   







37 David Brookings And The Average Lookings - Scorpio Monologue       IDHAS Review







38 The Late Great - Temporary Love Songs       IDHAS Review

39 The Magic E's - Dead Star       IDHAS Review







40 The Lunar Laugh - Goodnight Noises Everywhere       IDHAS Review








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The Vapour Trails - See You In The Next World

Another example of a fine UK band on an equally fine label reveals itself with the long awaited release of The Vapour Trails debut album. Futureman Records just seems an ideal fit for the Aberdeen five piece.

In just 10 days, the CD has sold out and I hung back with this review, because the album was getting so much attention. See You In The Next World is a jangling fest of an album. Tight Harmonies and the jingling riffs make this album, a joy to listen.







Particularly with the Scots connection, there will be plenty of comparisons with the mellower side of Teenage Fanclub. This isn't really fair, it's onlike you'd make a connection with TFC and The Byrds, it's there but only only partially.

This feels much more Californian, late sixties laid back Rock. There's a Tom Petty vibe at times, even early Eagles, but it's that Jangle that hooks you completely. There is of course, plenty of Jangle Pop around at the moment, but none of it as good as this.







See You In The Next World excels best when it ventures into Psych Pop on the title track and The Inner Truth. The band though are equally comfortable around the campfire on Written In The Breeze. Sonic Wave could be on the White Album.

The killer song here is the magnificent, Godspeed It, but the whole album is a joy to listen to. This is one of the best debut albums that I've heard this year. Well done The Vapour Trails and well done (yet again) Futureman!







You can listen to and buy the album here.


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