I Don't Hear A Single Albums Of The Year 2021 : 51-60

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.

There are few rules. All albums have to have been reviewed on IDHAS. Reissues and Live Albums are not included. Previously unreleased albums are included, but Best Of's are not. For each album, I've posted a song from it and a link to the IDHAS Review where you can find further details and how to listen or buy the album. 

No 51 : The Stan Laurels - There Is No Light Without The Dark     IDHAS Review

No 52 : Underwater Sunshine - Suckertree        IDHAS Review





No 53 : Marc Ribler - The Whole World Awaits You    IDHAS Review





No 54 : Drew Beskin - Problematic for the People          IDHAS Review

No 55 : The Verve Pipe - Threads       IDHAS Review

   

No 56 : Star Collector - Game Day      IDHAS Review





No 57 : Hushdrops - The Static     IDHAS Review

No 58 :  Galore - Roller    IDHAS Review

              

No 59 : Sandra's Wedding - Pleasure Grounds    IDHAS Review

   

No 60 : Bordello & Clark - Atlantic Crossing         IDHAS Review

.................

The Verve Pipe - Threads

 

Oh how I love The Verve Pipe and they are back in a big way. This is their ninth album, but it hasn't always been plain sailing for me as a critical fan. In earlier days, they fought with The Sugarplastic to take XTC's crown, but then it seemed to take a left turn, not helped by Underneath being released in the week of 9/11. 

Then came the kids albums, pleasant enough, but hardly fulfilling, a bit like a McDonald's Meal. Add in a mixture of line up changes and good, but not great, albums in Overboard and Parachute. My loyalty never wavered. In a similar vein to Cheap Trick, there were killer songs, but you yearned for a great, consistent album. They came good and now so have The Verve Pipe. 

I never ever doubted Brian Vander Ark, but something was out of kilter. The return of brother, Brad after nearly two decades may be a partial explanation. Even more so is the addition of Lee Channing who appears to have an influence on the album and the chemistry seems to have returned. 

Threads is a wonderful album. The Andy Partridge references will certainly be mentioned by reviewers, but there is also a more mainstream side to parts of the album. Love Will Find You Again is an example of this. Vander Ark offers up a Peter Gabriel like vocal and Channing's backing vocals add weight as does her Nashville influence with the slight twang.

You Deserve Whatever Comes Around has hints of Psych Pop and 60's UK Beat whilst also sailing close to Arc Of A Diver era Stevie Winwood. The duet on The Freeze is a cracking slice of Americana and Found is in Simon And Garfunkel territory.

These songs still reveal Vander Ark's mastery of lyrics, but the instrumentation isn't as angular as past times and that really works. The strings on Set Me On Fire are haunting. There are also plenty reminders of that ability to twist a song in the way latter day XTC did.

The Witching Hour is a great example of this, as is Forever Reaching. Then there's No One's Gonna Break This Heart (Again) is an epic 5 minutes. This isn't an album that is like Villains, but it is every bit as great. just in a very different way. The Verve Pipe have matured splendidly. Highly Recommended!

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

.............................

The Verve Pipe - Parachute

The Verve Pipe are back with their second Long Player in three years and Parachute is as expected, great. The Verve Pipe are largely Brian Van Der Ark and others now, particularly since Donny Brown hasn't been around since Are We There Yet? Brown has gone on to be a session drummer of choice and seems to have appeared on most of the best Power Pop albums of the last 12 months.

Van Der Ark hasn't been loitering in the interim though. Apart from The Verve Pipe, there's house concerts, his motivational speaking appearances, solo albums, even working with Jeff Daniels. I seem to remember a time when he was a sort of internet marketing guru.




The Verve Pipe are not the only band to have been involved in recording albums for children, but their two, A Family Album and Are We There Yet? are amongst the best in that field and the merchandising opportunities for artists involved in these releases are excellent.

Known to many as one hit wonders for The Freshmen, there has always been far more to them that and rather than the lazy writing from the unconverted about the rise and fall, the album quality has rarely dropped. I can only think of one iffy one, 1999's patchy self titled affair. The band are also responsible for one of the best albums that few have ever bothered to hear, 2001's Underneath.




Parachute consists of eight songs that have been digital only releases from the past year or so with two new songs available across all platforms. It's a really coherent album. Van Der Ark sounds more like Peter Gabriel these days and songs like Nothing Like Your Love and The Favourite Son could be Big Big Train.

Songs like the epic Grieve For The Girl are very different, that is a sort of Prog Americana. Fear not though, there's plenty of classic Verve Pipe present on the likes of I Can't Get You Off My Mind and The Fine Line. All in all, a splendid effort and there is far more to come from the band.




The album can be bought from the band's website here. It's also available everywhere else.