Skeleton Staff - HEPTO-ALTRUISM

 

We absolutely adored the last album from Sydney's Skeleton Staff when it appeared in late 2022. You can read the review here. HEPTO-ALTRUISM is just as wonderful and varied as the aforementioned Malapropism. However the path it takes is slightly different.

This is a much gentler album, the bombast has been replaced by something that is much 60s led, all harmony and intriguing arrangements, but the band's expertise with a chorus is still admirable and as adept as ever.

This is intelligent Indie with a big heart and you know how much we love such. Take for instance Sugar, a song that reeks of San Franciscan Bubblegum, all vocal harmony and jaunty arrangement. There is a wonderful interlude that enhances the song even more. 

Forever Or We Go Down In Flames is magnificent Psych Pop with a touch of UK Beat and The Littlest Pig is all I Can't Let Maggie Go with delightful harpsichord. The Chosen even gets all ba ba ba ba Beat and is top notch Jangle Pop.

Away from the 60s, The Devil's Best Tunes is more 70s Pop Rock with a C86 intro. I Don't Belong In This Era I'm From is more than a little Brit Pop. Indeed, it sounds like Jarvis Cocker fronting Christie as a wonderful Psych Jangle to it.

1am is a real outlier as an opener. Sort of Chris Difford doing Chaz and Dave to a TV Crime Thriller soundtrack. It shouldn't work, but it does. Skeleton Staff call themselves a Cartoon band, there is way more of interest here than many other straight ahead bands. Another great album!

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

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The States - Gimme Joy

 

After all the promise of last year's single Carol. Melbourne quartet, The States breeze in with 7 song debut album and it is a corker. Guitar driven with a pace that is hard to keep up with, Gimme Joy straddles genres without ever losing its energy.

Riff laden and at times a little Garage Rock, there is a real hint of UK Glam Rock and New Wave. The album feels as though it is built for the stage. It certainly makes you stand up and listen whilst you pump your fist uncontrollably.

It is those riffs and the pace that grab you most and Scarlett Maloney's vocal is effective, but deliberately in the distance to allow the accompanying instrumentals to completely connect with you. Whereas Carol has a hint of Rock and Roll, the accompanying songs generally have a much harder edge.

View From The Top is probably the standout, but Queen Of Mean, which sounds like something on the RAK label in 1973, runs it close. There's also a surprise slowdown on the closer as Back To Loving is almost a ballad with the vocal more upfront and totally charming.

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

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Listening To This Week On 24 March

 

The Listening To This Week Playlist will appear as normal tomorrow. However, for the first time in over two years, we will not be posting one on the 24 March. Artists submitting songs should just note that the earliest that their song would appear will be 31 March.

After an altercation with an artist, we felt that we could do with a rest from it for a week. This will allow us to focus on reviews for the rest of the month. The LTTW Playlist will continue as usual here, it does what we want to do, provide an avenue for artists without Albums or EPs and provide opportunities for Album Reviews from artists that we wouldn't always naturally discover ourselves.

Moving forward, we are also looking at opportunities to provide a further audience for it via alternative places. This might be a stand alone or linked playlist or the likes of appearing on You Tube or such. It is too late in our almost 9 year life to make it a Spotify playlist, not that we ever would want to anyway.

We are not sensitive souls, we were just surprised to wake to this this morning from an artist with just over a hundred followers. They were actually tagged on Social Media. 

"ARTISTS: Please note this is a "blog playlist". They don't do any blog write-ups, and no playlisting. It seems they just post a link to your song in the middle of a large disconnected post. Readers/listeners must manually go through the entire thing clicking on each song individually to hear it. As far as I can tell, we didn't get any measurable results from this. They didn't even post our socials or any other assets we provided. Just an FYI--probably best to go to a blogger or a playlister, but "blog playlist" is neither of those things."

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Cmon Cmon - Headwind EP.

We loved Cmon Cmon's 2023 album, The Crack And The Light. You can read the review here. So it is great to have the Belgian Trio back. This EP continues the strength shown on the album and maybe edges more into melodic Power Pop.

The emphasis is very much on melody, at times Cmon Cmon approach the space that Caper Clowns inhabit, but in a slightly more pacy manner. There is the gentleness of the Danes and the gentle Pop Rock elements are there. There is also a real Jangle Pop feel.

All The Other Kids is a great single, very Brit Pop with a couple of great riffs that hold you, one is a little Psych Pop. Headwind is a much smoother affair, almost Soft Rock, which works well Neon Light is more 80s, a cross between C86 and Glasgow Indie, a little Supernaturals maybe.

Turn Out The Light is a great Pop Rock affair that adds a blistering solo whilst again approaching Brit Pop. Instrumentally, the whole EP moves away from the standard Guitar Pop due to the really interesting Guitar Runs that enter surprising avenues. Really Enjoyable!

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

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Heavy Sweater - SO SAD!

 

We are back in Canada for Toronto's Heavy Sweater. We've become big fans of the quartet largely due to the three singles that have been real Listening To This Week faves and we've been waiting to tell you about the album. Today being release date allows us to do just that.

This is a band that can cross many genres without ever seeming to deliberately do it. There's a lot in common with the new noisier breed of Power Pop, but there's also a real Slacker 90s feel. They can rock out with some paint stripping solos, yet are still Pop Punk enough to be able to ear your cap backwards.

This is a really accomplished debut albums, just as at ease with 90s Rock and EMO as it is with big riffs and slowed down grooves. If you've listened to those singles, you will get the drift, but that doesn't hold back the joy and energy that is present here.

Amongst all the noise, there is even room for an Acoustic Ballad, Held Together, that adds a wonderful electric solo. Eyelids is still probably their best song, the shouty vocal and slacker vibe is all attitude and venom, yet is still transformed with a sing along chorus and a corking solo.

Elsewhere you have the bouncy Power Pop of Stain Removal, the Indie Rock of Yawn, the Emo of Toolbox and the momentous Guitar laden Real Good Guy. This may be a little noisier than you normally hear, but the chance to shake your fist is a welcome change. My other half Tez summed it up.. On another listen, she said "This is your sort of album isn't it?" and she is absolutely right. Great Stuff! 

You can listen to and buy the album here.  

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Shapes Like People - Ticking Haze

 

We loved The Shop Window's Daysdream album, so much so that it was in our Best Albums Of 2024. It was great Pop Rock and many followers felt the same. You can read the review here. Shapes Like People are nothing like The Shop Window, so why the hell are they being mentioned here.

Well, Carl Mann is the lead vocalist and guitarist of The Shop Window. Another little known fact is that he co-wrote Kylie Minogue's Ocean Blue. His intention was to record demos to pitch to Kylie, but as the project developed, he loved the sound of his wife Kat's guide vocal on the demos. So much so that they decided to turn the project into their own album.

There are parts that you can hear The Shop Window a little, particularly the Jangle Pop of both Head Spun and When The Radio Plays. But essentially this is Indie Pop like the late 80s and early 90s. It is a magnificent listen, beautifully written, performed and arranged.

It is fair to say that we don't normally reside in this area, although we are massive Mazzy Star fans and like a lot of the influences without really engaging as much as we once did.But there are hints of other faves such as The Sundays, non quirky Alisha's Attic songs and Saint Etienne.

There is surprising variety on display, The Ship Is Soon To Sail is countrified Carpenters. The wonderful Fireworks is instrumentally like Noughties Sparks and vocally, a little Neil Tennant. Server Of The Mind could be Kirsty Maccoll and Lie, Annie Lennox. But New Cut Asunder is splendid Dream Pop and A New Crown is almost Shoegaze and the vocal on Don't Hear Your Footsteps just melts you.

Fans of that late 80s Indie sound will love the album's front half. The back half is more all encompassing. I only discovered this by casually coming across Ambition Is Your Friend. I had no idea that Carl was involved. The album reveals what a masterful multi instrumentalist, arranger and songwriter Carl Mann is, but the real tour de force is Kat Mann's wondrous vocals across the whole piece. 

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl, CD or as a download. It is an essential purchase.

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Tristan Armstrong - The Lonely Avenue

 

Oh Look! Canada again! The co-founder of The Actual Goners, Toronto's Tristan Armstrong offers up his solo album and it is terrific. If you listened to the opening title track on the LTTW, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this is an album of great Power Pop, but it is much more than that.

That song sounds like Chris Isaak fronting a crack Guitar Pop band produced by Jeff Lynne. The Power Pop doesn't stop there with the maybe even better, Queen Of Diamonds built on chunky guitar and On The Run is superb Jangled Pop.

Yet elsewhere, there is a real similarity to Bird Streets, a particular favourite amongst out followers. This is particularly relevant on both Periscope and Sing In Your Sleep. Yet The Lender sounds more West Coast, jaunty Americana even, it fair jaunts along.

There is also a Country feel to the likes of Would You Take An IOU and Gimme A Sign courtesy of some wonderful Pedal Steel. The former closes the album with a meandering melancholic splendidness.The latter even flirts a little with 80s AOR, a little Don Henley maybe?

Armstrong's vocal helps the variety, there's a really engaging twang to his vocal at times. The album is beautifully produced and arranged allowing the songs to breathe, allowing space as much as melody. I can see this album being a real winner amongst followers here. The Riff count is also high, just as we like.

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

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