Cassette 50 - Sea Alert (Name Your Price)

 

Nick Worrall has been involved in various projects for over two decades. I suspect most will not have heard of any, but you can learn about them all on his website here. The most recently released feature the quartet, Cassette 50.

Worrall is Songwriter, Vocalist and Rhythm Guitarist in Cassette 50 and Sea Alert is deliciously lo-fi, This is New Wave DIY Pop circa 77 - 79 in feel. Nick's vocal is very Ian Broudie and without all of The Lightning Seeds studio backup, the sound can seem a little basic.

However, there are real hooks here and a real lyrical adeptness. You sense with an increased budget, Cassette 50 could fashion up a monster Power Pop album. The 15 songs here are little gems played with a dedication and passion by the four. 

Off The Grid is very mid 80's jaunty pop and I Want Out has a Merseybeat jollity, but lyrically is more UK Beat a further years on. Leaving Today is great Scouse Scally Pop and Life Is A Drug has a sound akin to The Zutons.

At times there's a slight reggae feel, particularly in some of the riffs. Too Far Gone is almost Toytown and Let Me Tell You How It Hurts is classic New Wave Guitar Pop and a fine closer. But elsewhere, there are hints of Psych Pop and Glasgow Twee. 

Coming in at just under 28 minutes, this mixture of songs about love and the banal everyday is a cracking listen. I've been critical of some lockdown lo-fi, Cassette 50 sound more like their equipment makes it that way and yet they come up with something endearing, charming and joyful.

You can listen to and buy the album on Bandcamp here. The Cassette 50 output is all at Name Your Price. You can also listen to the album following the links contained here.

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Chris Catalyst - Kaleidoscopes

 

I owe a massive thanks to Roger Worton who contacted me recommending Chris Catalyst. I vaguely knew about Chris as a live guitarist with Ginger Wildheart and keyboard addition in my beloved Terrorvision. I also knew he was in Eureka Machines, a band that have never quite appealed to me, despite many recommendations.

So I was unexpectedly blown away by his second solo album. I've since seen reviews that say Kaleidoscope is testament to Catalyst's record collection and that seems more than a little unfair. Across the 12 tracks, there is a mass of variety, but this seems to be more about a show of versatility or even getting every idea down.

The wide spread of material may confuse a few who may wish for something a little more focussed. However, I am quite the opposite. I'm more than impressed by the variation and the overall impression is "Wow! What a talent!"

The album feels like a Brit Pop album and quite a few artists nod back towards the 90s, not many succeed and end up sounding like Oasis, god forbid. Not everything succeeds, but little fails and getting the full gamut of what Catalyst has to offer leaves you more than impressed. 

Kaleidoscopes is exactly what Pop Rock should be. Songs that are not too Rock to split your ears or be more about technical ability than tunes and not the I Love You, Yes I Do of Pop. On repeated listens, you realise what a splendid album this is, it has such depth without ever losing sight of the hooks and choruses. It never tries to be too clever, versatility doesn't necessarily mean showing off.

One of the things that I've learned over the years is that the first song that you should listen to on an album is the second track. It generally gives you a feel of what the album will be like more than an opener. King Of Everything is an absolute joy, part Psych Pop, part killer singalong chorus. 

The Ride is all Math Rock with its Muse like riff whilst Divide And Rule is wonderful UK late 60s Beat. A Modern Adventure is in Supergrass territory and Ordinary has a hint of Simon Le Bon. Falling Down edges towards Power Pop, yet becomes the anthemic closer.

Special mention should go to Happy which is great Pop in the mode of The Bluetones or The Supernaturals. It is an absolute crackerjack of a song. Many will point to the Neil Gaiman sampled, Make Good Art, which adds to the variance, but I'm not convinced that it should have been the opener with all this top notch Pop Rock around it. All in All Kaleidoscopes is highly recommended. You'll love it.

You can listen to and buy the album here. You can find out more about Chris Catalyst here. 

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I Don't Hear A Single Update

 

I have written a small addition to the "About Us" section of I Don't Hear A Single. I can assure you that this isn't us being up ourselves. 

IDHAS gets up to 200 submissions a day. I don't use Spotify etc because of a poor internet and 4G connection that makes streaming nigh impossible through the day. I am also very averse to the rates that these streaming sites pay musicians. 

Downloads are easy because these can be downloaded overnight when the internet connection is more stable. There is nothing worse than trying to listen to a new artist when the songs keep buffering.

I have also explained our thoughts on Physical Media. We love CDs and Vinyl and are long time collectors. But we do not wish for artists to be going to additional expense to get music to us, particularly with the Postal Rates rising constantly in the States and Customs Charges being applied in the UK and Europe.

We would love to listen to an album on CD, but not at the expense to struggling musicians. We also have no wish to build our personal music collections on the back of these musicians. We cannot abide people who sell physical promos to record shops. If we don't review an album, we try to pass the CD on to someone who might.

If you wish to send physical media because you think your album will sound much better in that format, that's fine. But we are as likely to review a download as CD or LP.

Groovy Uncle - Searching For The Grown-Ups

 

Groovy Uncle have mastered a brand of 60's Pop Rock with melodic slices of UK Beat and Psych Pop. Usually Glenn Pragnell gathers everyone together in the same room. The pandemic dictated that this wasn't possible for Album Number 9. 

Searching For The Grown-Ups was recorded at home, although you really wouldn't know that sound wise. With just Brass and a few Guitar tracks recorded remotely, it could be described as a Pragnell solo affair, but again it doesn't sound or feel like that.

The trademark Groovy Uncle sound is still present, particularly on Cool It Down and Jimmy Joined A Gym, but this seems a more varied Pop led album and reveals the full scope of Pragnell's talents. The man can certainly write a catchy tune and although it is essentially 60's led, the hooks are aplenty.

That Sinking Feeling is Merseybeat with a Duane Eddy twang and Not Inclined To Do is a ringer for early Hollies. He Misses You is a crackerjack of a song, lyrical sadness draped in a chirpy chipper tune. Not Inclined To Do is a classic Ready Steady Go male solo singer that made the ladies swirl.

It is the endearment of the album that strikes home most though. The piano led quaintness of Saturday Afternoon and the joyful Brass on Grown-Ups reveal a wit draping the ordinariness of everyday life in happy go lucky instrumentation.

Having said that the album is no one trick pony. There is a real rasp to Too Tired To Do Stuff and Gravesend is very different with its wonderful diary like talking vocal. Special mention too for the instrumental opener, Saturday morning, a surprise Brass led joy that sets the mood for a great pop album.

You can listen to and buy the album here. You can find out more about Groovy Uncle here.

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Ian McNabb - Utopian (2CD)

 

Ian McNabb unleashes a double CD that continues a splendid solo career and I'd underline solo. I was there from the early days of The Icicle Works, not long out of school and they were great days, both studio and live. 

However I do get irritated by every interview being focussed on that time. It was five albums and ended in 1990. So for thirty years, McNabb has built an incredible solo career as a sort of Singer Songwriter Troubadour and kept a large loyal following via constant recording and touring. This following covers all ages and in a rare rock example, an audience of both male and female.

Utopian feels a little different though. It seems a lot gentler, a lot more laid back and it really works because of this. 95 minutes is a lot of McNabb and if it was going at constant full belt, you'd soon get worn out. Normally, you expect his albums open with a blast that is a call to arms.

None of that here. The excellent opener, Boy, seems a little autobiographical and the epic Harry Dean Stanton are not the usual opening salvos that you expect, but both work beautifully in setting the scene for later outbursts. 

It is only at Song 4 that that trademark bite emerges and you sense that the angry young man is still in situ. Jonesin' soon follows and the full on Guitar hero emerges. It is a gripping noisy joy at full tilt. Yolo is easy listening schmooze and You Bring Good Things is fine power pop, almost Bruce Hornsby instrumentally, but heartfelt lyrically.

Rollin On (The Things We Left Behind) is one of those that songs that McNabb excels that. He often doesn't get the credit he deserves lyrically and it always most prevalent when the song reflects on the past. It is a song that could easily (sound wise) on Queen's Innuendo album.

The second disc maintains the quality of the first. Runnin' Outta Stuff has a real Truth And Beauty feel whilst The Old Grey Lady is a moody atmospheric ballad from a different west coast. Great Spirit is another slower affair, but seems desperate to break out without ever quite managing to.

Jivin' Miss Daisy is great call and response and the closer, Melody is  a dedication to the power of music with a gentle Brass accompaniment. The stand out though is We're Never Gonna Grow Up a real sing along affair.

The song is all Doobie Brothers complete with Sax Solo and a driving boogie rhythm. It is a little difficult telling you all about a 20 song album, so you can head over to Bandcamp to listen to it all, but let me finish first.

I have sensed a small wave of singer songwriters as the pandemic reaches a conclusion. It's not going to be like that Nineties explosion as too many will want to plug in and let the frustration out. There may also be a tendency to tell people how lonely they were. 

To his credit, McNabb doesn't bang on about the last 12 months or so. Plus looking back to the 90s. most of those singer songwriters are not around, poor third albums or lack of sales and interest called the public's bluff.

So if there is a new wave, then who better to father it than Ian McNabb. He is an exception to the rule, the love and quality of the music never deserted him He just battles away releasing great albums that should get a much wider audience. Maybe that time is now!

You can listen to and buy the download here. You can buy the CD or LP and find out more about Ian McNabb here. You can read the I Don't Here A Single reviews of Our Future In Space and Star Smile Strong here and here.

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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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Space Cadet - Lion On A Leash

 

May has been a month of real surprises and this continues into the ultimate day. You would expect an album from Dave Walsh and Matt Hock from The Explosion to be a little errrrr Punkish. Well this debut album from the pair is anything but.

Lion On A Leash is riff driven Pop Rock that has far more in common with Brit Pop and a more melodic version of The Cult. The guitar runs are certainly reminiscent of Billy Duffy. There's a hypnotic vibe to the riffs.

Scream For You is very second half of the 80s, almost Goth, yet Forever For A While is a far more chipper affair, almost anthemic. Bad Luck is comparable to Ian McCulloch fronting a Glam Rock band and Start Running Away has a hook and vocal that just grabs you.

The album concludes with an instrumental that could be a film theme. You can imagine the chase and the tension building. The album is built on killer riffs and guitar runs. The Pop is superb when let loose, but largely it is subdued and that allows those riffs to flourish. Great Stuff!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Radio Days - Rave On!

 

This is proper Power Pop. Italian Trio (it should always be a trio), Radio Days return with their fourth album and it doesn't disappoint. Radio Days specialise in the type of Power Pop that fans of the genre love and there doesn't seem to to have been much around like this lately.

There used to be a mass of this type of stuff to choose from and the lack of it now makes the album seem even more special. The trio can be whatever you want Power Pop wise, 60s, the second wave in the late 70s and the 90s revival. They master it all.

I Got A Love and Lose Control great UK New Wave, Walk Alone is splendid Jangle Pop and Till The End Of The Night is great Merseybeat. All eras are covered with ease and expertise. What Is Live is spot on UK Beat. 

Rave On is probably the band's most diverse album yet. No One To Blame is wonderfully anthemic and When I'm With You is top notch Glam Rock with a bit of US turn of the 70s swagger. The stand out though is the magnificent Between The Lines.

Between The Lines is all melody. An almost easy listening verse with organ accompaniment which breaks in to a big catch all chorus. It is a laidback affair that shows a whole new side to Radio Days. Power Pop fans will love Rave On!, but any fan of Indie melodic guitar pop should come along for the ride. You won't be disappointed.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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