Earwig - Pause For The Jets

Lizard McGee's Earwig have been around for well over two decades and I've followed them intently, often bemused and confused, but always happily. They aren't always the easiest listen, but they are always interesting. There's lots of explanations behind the songs, which interests me less, to be honest I find it twaddle at times. Those songs, however, are spot on.

Explained away at times as Sci-Fi Rock, I'd disagree, I always file them with angular pop and it's the sort of thing that the ASH group love. Be that XTC, They Might Be Giants, The Sugarplastic or even Cotton Mather. All those apply as comparisons, but Earwig are a far noisier version.





There's lots of guitar and it's gripping, at times it can get psych (High Wasps), but it can also be straight ahead catchy rock (Holy Ghost Letter), the album is never less than interesting. Wasted On You is pure Power Pop. All My Sins Are Blotted Out is a grunge anthem, a great song spoilt a little by the extended first minute intro.




The riff on Shine is a cracker and the closing track is wonderfully melancholic, you could imagine it on an 80's IRS compilation. All in all, Earwig have provided their most accessible music to date.

It's a play loud album and something I've listened to a lot over the past week. It's certainly destined for the Top 10 albums of my year and the standard is really high after the past couple of month's releases. It may take you a bit of time to get it, but when you do, it will stick hard.




You can listen to and buy the album on Earwig's Bandcamp site here. Pause For The Jets can also be bought on CD and Limited Edition Vinyl here. 

Skinny Lister - The Devil The Heart And The Fight

Skinny Lister are virtually inventing a genre themselves, Folk Punk or certainly New Wave Folk. If this is the future of Folk, then sign me up. The Six Piece are coming to the end of a sell out UK Tour and then it's onwards to the States and you Yanks are in for a treat.

The opener is like The Clash with Fiddles. A great rollicking singalong.

Geordie Lad doesn't let up, it's got a killer guitar riff, almost Power Pop. Tragedy In A Minor is reminiscent of The Fratellis. There will be comparisons with The Pogues, particularly on Injuries, but Skinny Lister are for more melodic pop led.

The folk isn't forgotten though, especially when Lorna Thomas gets involved in the vocals, note the charm of the ballad, Reunion and Devil In Me.

Beat It From The Chest could revitalise the Pub singalong and the days when people actually talked to one another. A few pints and a good old terrace sing song. Hamburg Drunk reminds me of Kirsty MacColl, Charlie could be Elvis Costello, Fair Winds And Following Seas could be Dexys.

The anthemic closer, Carry is almost Runrig. You can gather by the comparisons here that there's great variety on The Devil The Heart And The Fight. It's a grand old stomper of an album and you can imagine them live and what a joy that would be. I'm a bit pissed off that I've missed my chance on this tour.

You can buy the album all over the place, full details are on the band's website here. You can also find details of the US Tour and I'd urge you Stateside people to get out and see them.

What a corking album this is!

The Jangle Band - Edge Of A Dream

Event though I'm a Brit, I often get defensive of Australia's part in the history of Power and Indie Pop. In the battle between the UK and the States over who influences it most, Oz Pop is usually forgotten. People forget how influential Friday On My Mind was, what a burgeoning Indie scene came out of Australia from the late 70's onward and how now it seems to be on a one country battle to save the guitar.

The Jangle Band are proof of this. Jeff Baker was in The Rainyard. the late 80's Perth band that deserved far more recognition. Ian Freeman was in Header, the 90's band that had a brand of Oz Brit Pop that should have been far more successful. Joe Algeri is well familiar to us as a Power Popper of great influence, most notably in The JAC..





The opener, Edge Of A Dream, is a great Summer Pop song, all singalong swagger with a brass solo. But Fear not, The Jangle Band jangle big time. Edge Of A Dream is very much Rickenbacker 12 String heaven in The Byrds and Teenage Fanclub territory. Love You Too is a great example of this, so 1968 Byrds.

Kill The Lovers ramps up that feel even more, for every jingle, there's a jangle, Perth is much moodier, the lyrics emphasising this feel, acoustic and keyboard led.  It Won't Break is so TFC, it could be them.




Let Me Breathe is a 60's double vocal, could be Simon And Garfunkel with added accordion and a Psych Pop guitar. Harmonica and Pedal Steel enhance the album closer, Exile On Murray Street, the atmosphere aided by some great vocal melody.

As a whole, the album works wonderfully. There's more than enough to please the Rickenbacker lovers, but there's plenty of variety. Teenage Fanclub fans in particular will love this album, but there's plenty here to make Edge Of A Dream a worthwhile addition to everyone's collection. I hear a lot compared to TFC, so much that is not in the same league, this is.





You can listen to the album here and then buy it. The CD release adds 5 Bonus Tracks and I know many of us prefer physical product.

Nick Piunti - Beyond The Static (Sugarbush Vinyl)

Nick Piunti is currently on the crest of a wave with his new album, Trust Your Instincts. It's the crossover album that should break him everywhere. Many do not see the journey to this point. Trust Your Instincts is the third in a trio of albums leading to this success.

13 In My Head kicked it all off with a straight ahead Power Pop album, all chiming chords and chorus hooks, one of the great Power Pop records of 2013. 2015's Beyond The Static moved that on a pace. The riffs were still there, but there was a more laid back feel at times. Reminiscent of Mike Viola and Cheap Trick at times. Things like the Pedal Steel on Six Bands ensured this wasn't a sophomore album.





There's a great melodic feel to the album, aided by having the excellent Chris Richards on Backing Vocals on Head In The Clouds and Seven Days A week. The former being a 70's Pop Rock stomp, the latter a 60's Jangle singalong. Certainly some Legal Matters vocal fairy dust on both. Something's Wrong is certainly more edgy, helped by the fast emerging Ryan Allen on additional guitar.





The added fairy dust by the guests shouldn't take away the fact that this is very much a Nick Piunti album. It keeps everyone who admired 13 In My Head on board, but moves the variance on. It steps out of Power Pop and into a far more encompassing Melodic Pop. The album was highly placed in most critics Top 10 Power Pop albums of the year and rightly so.

Not only did it pave the way for what the Trust Your Instincts to explode into uncharted territory, but it also stands up on it's own as a splendid album. Heart Stops Beating is more familiar Piunti territory and that's a great place to live,




Talking of album trilogies, Sugarbush goes from strength to strength and their recent threesome of their own with this release, Pugwash's Almanac and Dom Mariani's Homespun Blues And Greens has enhanced their reputation as the pest vinyl label out there.

You can buy the vinyl edition of Beyond The Static here.

The Garden Of Earthly Delights

Busman's Holiday - Popular Cycles

Busman's Holiday are brothers, Lewis and Addison Rodgers from Bloomington Indiana. Backed by a 21 piece orchestra, they've come up with a charming album, very different to what I've been listening to lately.

It's very acoustic 12 string, but the orchestral arrangements expand the songs beautifully. The vocals are like a cross between Brandon Flowers and Rufus Wainwright, more reminiscent of the latter. The stand out song is Make Believe, which as an addictive charm.

Lyrically excellent, the album reminded me at times of They Might Be Giant, I couldn't explain why, but have a listen to it and you'll see what I mean. Popular Cycles is an enhancing way to spend 40 minutes and a great listen. You can listen to and buy the album here.

Tinnarose - My Pleasure Has Returned

I've been listening to Tinnarose's second album a lot and it's great. Devon McDermott's voice is a fine thing indeed and My Pleasure Has Returned shows how adaptable that fine voice is. Strong arrangements including strings and brass provide depth and variety across all 10 songs,

Continual Praise should be given to the band for the variance, it would be easy to just rest in the Folk Pop world, but there's far more ambition. You should get beyond McDermott's voice but it's really hard. She can be Sandy Denny, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Linda Thompson or Annie Haslam, but she can rock like a good 'un on the likes of Cherry Blossom Time.

I really don't want to make this just about the vocals, because it's not. As the album progresses, it becomes more Steely Dan or Fleetwood Mac like, but it's not derivative and it's also lyrically excellent. 

This is a fine album. You should listen to and then buy it here. 

Namesake - Borders And Fences

Atlanta's Namesake had their debut album re-released earlier this year as a Deluxe Edition and I'm still gobsmacked that it isn't better. This is territory that I'm more at home in these days, but I do get irritated by the Pop Punk label in general. The Punk half of that label just puts people off.

This is just great Power Pop. Riffs galore, the album just doesn't let go. and you don't want it to. They remind me a lot at times of a rockier version of Everything Else and The Downtown Fiction.

I don't see many around in the field producing better albums than this. Here's hoping for new material soon.  You can find out more about the band here. The Deluxe Edition of Borders And Fences is available from the likes of Amazon and Apple Music.

Gurr - In My Head

Gurr are sisters Andreya and Laura Lee from Berlin and they've managed to come up with a more than interesting debut album. Riot Girl in it's feel, it compares well to the likes of The Slits, but also the J Pop of Shonen Knife.

Lo-Fi garage rock that's a really refreshing listen, not many are attempting this sort of thing at the moment and In My Head is a refreshing listen because of that. Amongst all the girl with guitar stuff, there are some great pop moments, demonstrated well by Moby Dick.







This is great girl pop with a touch of attitude. You can listen to and buy the album here.

The Clang Group - Practice

Most people may know Clive Langer as one half of Langer And Winstanley, producers of note and not just Madness. People forget Morrissey's Bona Drag, Costello's Goodbye Cruel World, Dexy's Too-Rye-Ay. They Might Be Giants and my own favourites, Dogs Die In Hot Cars.

More importantly at ASH Towers, he's also the guitarist and songwriter in the magnificent Deaf School. Their revival has been one of the joys of recent times. Langer is worth the admission alone for co-writing Shipbuilding.

The Clang Group are a five piece that includes Langer and Andy Mackay of Roxy Music fame. I'm pleased to say that in these days when Indie seems to mean Psych Pop meandering or electronic nothingness, The Clang Group have come up with a splendid Indie album, left field, almost experimental.

Great lyrics that appear at first to be stream of consciousness, but have hidden depth. Unexpected hooks, at times it feels jazzy, largely due to Andy Mackay, at other times keyboard driven, but all held together by Gregg Braden's drums.

Langer's lazy drawl adds to the enjoyment and it's great to hear him on guitar again. All 10 songs play their part but the 60's organ led Concertina and Picture Postcard Paradise stand out. Knock Me Off is my fave though, it's 70's New Wave at it's best.There's also a guest vocal from Suggs on a revival of Clive Langer And The Boxes' 1980 gem, Had A Nice Night. Practice is one of the more pleasant surprises of this year.

Highly recommended! The album can be bought on CD or Vinyl here. It can also be bought for download in all the usual online emporiums.

The Tubes - The Musikladen Concert 1981

There's a spate of Live CDs  being released at the moment. A lot of it has to do with copyright control and feature Radio Broadcasts, primarily from the 70's. German TV's Rockpalast shows have always appeared and Musikladen now appears to be following the trend after previously relying on dvd compilations. This may be a good sign as there are some great shows in the archive, Blondie and Bowie to name two.

The problem with the Radio Bremen Studio shows can be two fold. They were made to be broadcast on Analogue TV and it depended on the studio engineer at the time. The problem for me as a massive Tubes fan is that I have never liked the Completion Backward Principle album.

The Tubes were garnering quite a reputation for their live show, but had not released a killer album to match it. 1979's Remote Control was that album. Todd Rundgren got hold of them and focused the commercial strength of their music. It meant him re-working the songs they came up with and it worked.

Fee Waybill wasn't over fond of this, the single, Prime Time, was intended to be a solo vocal by Re Styles. Waybill nixed this and it became a duet and the running battle between him and Styles, meant that she became history.

The TV themed album was a corker and should've took the band on to greater things. However the follow up, Suffer For Sound was rejected by A and M and off the band went to Capitol.

Completion Backward Principle marked a change of image, Men In Suits and a mickey take of Corporate Life, but it didn't seem the same band. The album was all shine and gleam with no real depth. America finally got the band, but it largely lost the UK market.

The live show seemed to forget all about the Remote Control album, only TV Is King is present here, but the theatricals were as great as ever. In fact there's a lot to be said for buying the dvd instead, a Tubes live show is not just about sound.

I realise that I look at this from a UK perspective, sorry. that's where I'm from. States readers may have a different view. The good news is that the Outside Inside album that followed recovered the band's mojo. Some of the shows from that tour are outstanding both visually and audio wise.

There's not much around from this period of The Tubes. A better show is the Live At The Greek video from the Remote Control Tour, but that's tape only. However if you are a Tubes fan, this is well worth the £12. A better bet though may be to buy the dvd and rip the audio from that.

I Do Hear A Single

The Zags - Dada Plan

Dada Plan has already appeared on Wayne's excellent Flavour Of The Month compilation and I'm loving the song so much that the album is going to get a thorough listen and most likely a review.The Portland Oregon band provide a real slice of late 70's UK New Wave, a little Undertones, a little Summer Pop. It's a cracking listen.

You can buy the song as a Name Your Price here and the whole album is dirt cheap at 5 dollars.

The Optic Nerve - Penelope Tuesday

The excellent State Records is a label that is admired in these parts, particularly for the dedication to 60's Beat and Psych. This 7 Inch Single from New York's The Optic Nerve continues the excellence. A "groovy feeling" akin to Herman's Hermits going a bit psychy, akin to The Orgone Box. 

You can buy the single here, stocks are limited. You can find out more about State Records here.

The Bopp - Why Didn't You Say

Bordeaux's The Bopp specialise in a mixture of 60's Pop and 70's laid back Pop Rock. It's really pleasant harmonic beat driven pop and this single is available on Bandcamp as a Name Your Price. What have you got to lose?





You can listen and buy here.

Timothy Hay - Time Has A Way

Time Has A Way is released on FDR, the same label as Somerdale's magnificent Shake It Like Maggie album.  Hailing from Chesterfield New Jersey offers up a great laid back single, sounding countryish at first, it develops into a Rolling Stones like vibe. A really good listen and you can buy the single on a Name Your Price. 

You can listen to and buy the single here.