Dutch Tulips - Double Visions

 

There's no doubt that the Boston Quartet Dutch Tulips are American, but at times they come across so UK. For example, Pez Mansion has a verse that is all Lou Reed in London Transformer period, but then it explodes into the catchiest chorus imaginable.

It is really hard to label what the band do, there is a slight hint of The Killers without the pomposity. They certainly hit on a riff that completely hooks you and the choruses are massive, so all the essentials are present for the Pop Rockers. But there is something more.

EMTR has an almost 60's Garage Rock feel crossed with the Indie College Rock of the 90's. Mike Holland's Vocals help to spread the variety. The odd time he can sound like a grown up Feargal Sharkey, there is a gentleness and warmth to his voice. Take for instance, Frozen Orange which has a 60's Beat fighting to get out.

Sick Middle just explodes with melodic noise, it doesn't come up for air. Disconnected is a Brit Pop riff accompanying a generally 80's Synth Rock affair. Too Late is very spacey with a Bass line that just takes over your body and the guitar solo is a real plank spanker.

The one common factor here is that there is a real storytelling chatty feel to the verses, mainly with a lot of words, that builds up to an unexpected killer chorus. The album is very Indie Guitar, but brilliantly produced which updates the sound. Lockdown has meant way too much Lo Fi, so it is refreshing to hear something sound so clear.

My personal preference are the songs that take chances, but most will be grabbed by the little anthems like Tell Me Your Codes and Stages And Phases. Double Visions is a cracking album, songs that get your foot tapping, played splendidly. A proper band album. Highly Recommended!

You can listen to and buy the album here. 

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Johnathan Pushkar - Compositions

 

Jem Records is a label with a great roster, maybe second only to Big Stir in depth and quality. It also has one of my favourite PRs in Maureen Pietoso whose sheer enthusiasm motivates you personally. But having said all that, I have no idea what Johnathan Pushkar brings to the label.

Lockdown excluded, this is something that I could hear every night in Liverpool. It is Karaoke Merseybeat. A defence could be made about self written songs, but these are all "I Love You, Yes I Do, I know It's True" The whole thing is a musical cliche. 

Get yourself a Beatles Suit, a mop top, a Rickenbacker that you hold on your chest. Master that cheeky grin and you have yourself a Lego Power Pop figure. I'm not as close to Power Pop as I was, but this is the worst type, it pigeonholes it in that twee throwaway corner that those who don't know it, think it is.

If this is the future of Power Pop then the genre is done for. Thankfully it isn't. I've heard three Power Pop albums in the past month that are fantastic. If any of those three were awarded the support that Jem gives an album, they could be stars. Instead it can be trebles all round as it gets to Number 1 in invented Internet Radio Charts devised by those with an interest in the release.

I thought Junior's Farm was a song that no one could ruin, I was wrong, but even that is miles better than what else is on show. Jingle Jangle "Janet And John" level lyrics that are supposed to have us believe that this is the future of Power Pop. 

Does What She Does holds out hope that there is something there, but everything else is just a completely out of date Power Pop By Numbers affair. There is no malice here, just honesty. I know  many of my fellow reviewers feel the same but maybe don't want to say it out loud. One reviewer friend described it as below.

"Beatles influenced Beatles Pop with the spirit of the Fab Four. McCartneyesque melodies recall the heyday of The Beatles with moptop flavoured tunes that put one in mind of The Beatles."

The album is out on 4 June. You can find out more about Jem Records, which I reiterate is largely a splendid label here.

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Caper Clowns - Abdicate The Throne

 

The only question about Denmark's Best Export is can their third album live up to the quality of the first two, The Buca Bus was an absolute gem of a debut album and the follow up, A Salty Taste To The Lake, was third in the IDHAS Best 100 Albums of 2018. You can read the reviews here and here.

Abdicate The Throne not only hits the heights of previous offerings, but it reveals a lot of hidden depths. Known for their Live Performances, the lockdown could have really slowed the band up, but that time has been used to play around with that they do.

This is a very different Caper Clowns album. True, there are still the Crowded House like elements that enhanced their popularity. Songs such as I'd Be Me, Space & Time and Four Letter Season fit that bill and match what has gone before.

But having five vocalists in the band was never fully utilised until now and the varied song writing of all has taken Caper Clowns to another level. Different genres are successfully tackled and the results are fascinating. 

Being a band that previously rocked you gently, a song with the pace of April Fool makes you sit up, real 70's glammed up Power Pop. Be There (The Ever- Changing Tone) is pure Andrew Gold Piano Pop. The Club Of Humanity goes all 80's synth.

It doesn't end there. What She Became borders on Country Rock and the band really let go on On Your Kaleidoscope, edging towards Psych Pop, which could be the best song on the album. Under Your Command is a song that dallies with Psych Pop even more. It is almost Toy Town. 

Alec In A Line is Bluegrass and the closer, Valley Of The Queens is largely instrumental with just 7 lines song. It is a gentle meandering finish, something you could imagine on a Nick Frater album. A perfect end to a perfect album.

There is more than enough here for existing fans, but more importantly, there is lots more for newcomers. I can't wait to hear these songs live. A different side to Caper Clowns is revealed here and I like it. I like it a lot!

You can listen to and buy the album by following the links here.

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The Mono LPs - Shuffle / Play

 

It was during the first few months of I Don't Hear A Single that I reviewed The Mono LPs State Of Decay. You can read that review here. I knew that the follow up would be something special, I just didn't expect it to be five years later.

Since then I've discovered another rock and roll band with a cello, although The Happy Fits inhabit very different territory to The Mono LPs. On listening to Shuffle / Play, they've also moved from being the best band In Liverpool to the best in the UK and now seem ready to take on the world.

The album seems much deeper and varied than State Of Decay. Ste Reid sounds less like Dave McCabe, although you can still find some comparison and the whole album is less in your face and more fully formed. For those who think the album is dead, this offering shows you can provide something complete that also allows the Spotify brigade to go to any track and find something different.

There could be a tendency to build everything around the cello at the expense of any other instrument. There's not a bit of that here. It obviously takes centre stage on the slower numbers, being particularly wonderful on Chancy Gardener, that being a wonderful orchestral piece of McCartney Pop. But the album consists of perkiness at pace and here the instrument just slots in as part of the piece. It also rocks incredibly well.

Think About It is the nearest you get to what listeners of State Of Decay would expect. Hell Save My Soul is a slab of 70's Classic Rock, wonderfully celebratory, yet Make Your Mind Up is so atmospheric and moody. Getting Away With It is jauntiness personified.

Love Me edges towards the dance floor, but the real gem is the closer, You Say which is approaching 7 minutes of moody magnificence. It is a meandering atmospheric joy.  Shuffle / Play is so much better than even I expected. Please please don't take so long with the next one. Highly Recommended!

You can listen to and buy the album here,

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Finn's Motel - Fireworks Or Lightning

 

One of the main benefits of covering the new and under appreciated is that you often get a Wow Moment! It may be a new band that just grips you or someone you know who produces a completely unexpectedly great album. Finn's Motel fall into the former category. These moments don't come as often as you might think. So when they do, you just have to tell everyone.

Finn's Motel are a quartet from St Louis, Missouri led by Joe Thebeau and if on first listen you would describe this album as Modern Prog or Classic Rock you would be wrong as there is far more going on. Just as Rush fans berate anyone who call them Prog because of the early part of their career, well Fireworks Or Lightning has big choruses and riffs that hook you that has far more in common with Pop Rock.

Talking Of Rush, as I am wont to do, there is some similarity in some off the riffs and the odd solo, but Finn's Motel don't want to blind you with complexity, it is all about the song, If ever an album would explain what I Don't Hear A Single is about, it is far nearer this than September Gurls.

The catchiness of it all hits you fairly early. Repeated listens reveal far more. The variation is commendable. For instance, the outstanding More Heat Than Light has 1974 UK Glam Rock desperate to get out. Even something slower like Sparkler Bombs is never mawkish and just has to burst out part way through before reverting to the sedate.

The title track is something you could easily imagine being on a Barclay James Harvest, or indeed any other 70's Melodic Rock, album. One Gone rattles along, it really is a cracker of a song and to be honest my preference is probably when the band gather pace and let go. But I could say that about most that I listen to. 

If you want Prog you've got it with the 10 minutes of Police Lights Suite. Constantly changing tempo and style, it is wonderful. My problem with Prog is that there is too much sub mediocre stuff around. Listen to this you bands, this is how it can be done tastefully without all the demonstrating your instrument adeptness. Open your ears and forget your prejudices and you'll be surprised at how much you enjoy this album. Highly Recommended.

You can listen to and buy Fireworks Or Lightning here. You can find out more about the band here.

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John Howard - Collected : The Best Of John Howard (2CD) (Pre-Order Details)

 

Long overdue, specially-priced 2CD career retrospective on the Kool Kat Musik Label (including a cache of previously unreleased tracks) by one of the UK’s best artists you probably never heard! 

This collection will be released on 14 May 2021. The Kool Kat pre-order link is here. 

UK Orders will be supplied by I Don't Hear A Single, but paid for through the Kool Kat link above. Special Arrangements have been made to reduce the postage and packing charge to 8 dollars for UK Customers. You will pay the Kool Kat rate of 16 dollars will have 8 dollars immediately refunded. Therefore the price will you will be paying is 26 dollars ($18 + $8), This is effectively £19 at current exchange rates and you also do not risk any potential UK Customs charges.

European Customers can pre-order directly from John here.  This will avoid any slight Brexit related delay, but John only has limited stock after which further European CDs will be supplied by I Don't Hear A Single. Further details will then be supplied.

This 2CD set was curated by Edward Rogers (host of The Atlantic Tunnel and quite an artist himself) who also wrote the copious liner notes.  

“What happens when you meet THE SPECIAL artist who can put a thrill in your heart from a twinkle in their eye? Well in 1974, that artist was John Howard. He was discovered playing in the Troubadour Folk Club. The music world was at his feet -wined and dined at the most fabulous London restaurants, photos by THE photographer (Dezo Hoffman), clothed by the finest haberdashery in town. 

He was groomed to the be the next Elton John meets David Bowie! He had the songs, looks, charisma and style, Pop music had a new contender.  As we all know, not every artist who is a star achieves commercial success and London streets are not paved in gold. That doesn’t stop a true artist from creating the precious art they were born to make.  

For most artists that would break their spirit but John found a respectable way to pursue his musical career by playing London’s fashionable restaurants and piano bars. He continued to release singles, like 1978’s ‘I Can Breathe Again’ produced by Trevor Horn of ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ fame! By the mid-80’s he had a successful career in A&R working at MCA, EMI and Universal, while still pursuing his song writing career. 

Listen to these songs and feel the emotions revealed in his lyrics as the writer opens himself up and invites you into his private world. He reveals little segments of his life through each lyric. Feelings we can all relate to!  Maybe by wearing his heart on his sleeve and revealing his true feelings he has alienated some, but I believe this should be the mission of every true artist.  

Unlike Scott Walker before him, John never stopped performing and entertaining in all the London cabaret and night clubs. He may not be a household name, but it doesn’t stop him from writing an amazing collection of songs.  The songs contained here are the ultimate collection of this artist’s finest work to date. 

Taken from over fifty years’ work, it’s the first time John’s finest songs are available on CD in the United States!  I am honoured to have worked with John, selecting some of my faves so you can discover the magic music of his music John Howard. I hope you enjoy the musical journey.” 

Edward Rogers (taken from the liner notes) 

Further details on John and his career can be found on his website here.

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Kool Kat Musik Weekly New Release Update

Welcome to the Kool Kat Weekly New Release Update. Kool Kat are distributed in the UK and Europe by I Don't Hear A Single as part of our aim to keep CDs available and affordable. The Kool Kat Links with each album take you to further details on each release..

Please place all UK and European orders by following the details here. Links to Kool Kat's Entire Stock can be found here. Without further ado, here are seven new additions to Kool Kat Musik this Week.

The August Teens - I’m Selfish And So Is My Cat (Kool Kat Musik 2021) $14

NEW RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT MUSIK LABEL AVAILABLE MAY 7 – ACCEPTING ORDERS NOW!!  The band's long-awaited (more than 10 years) third album (and Kool Kat label debut), “I’m Selfish and So is My Cat” emerged as a download-only release on Bandcamp in May of 2020.  Catchy music, concise song construction and clever lyrics make their music pretty unforgettable, so it’s a very happy day to finally have these songs available in recorded form.  

Kool Kat Link

Bandcamp Link

Rick Coraccio - Anthology (Arcadian Sun Recorders  2021)      $15

Rick Coraccio was an essential influence in the 70’s/80’s Boston garage rock scene. Rick played in DMZ, Lyres and an early version of The Real Kids when they were simply The Kids. He formed several of his own bands - The Shambles and The Last Ones - which produced some amazing songs, some of which are present on his 24 song career-spanning collection.  

Kool Kat Link

AWAITING LINK

The Direct Hits - The Broadway Recording Sessions (Optic Nerve Records 2021)      $16

Way back in 1982, Battersea based mod heroes Direct Hits had released one single “Modesty Blaise” on Dan Treacy’s Whamm! record label.  Whamm! were struggling to provide the funds to record an album, so Direct Hits pooled their limited resources and self financed a very cheap one day recording session in a tiny studio in Tooting, South London called Broadway Sound.  Almost two years later they re-recorded some of these songs, and along with a handful of new songs from the pen of Buckmaster and Swan, recorded their “Blow Up” debut album at Rendezvous Studios in Sydenham, South East London, and released on Whaam! Records in August 1984.  So what you have here are the roots of some of these great songs. A few didn’t make it to the first album those that did, as you will hear, remained reasonably faithful to the original arrangements.  

 Kool Kat Link

Apple Music Link

 

John Larson and The Silver Fields - The Great Pause (Shiny Fly Records 2021)      $11   

When the pandemic hit last March, John Larson (formerly of The Marlowes) and The Silver Fields took advantage of the extra time they were afforded. They’d already planned to record a follow-up to 2019’s “Glimpses” but the forced shutdown provided an opportunity for John to concentrate on writing new songs. Low-maintenance, yet strong and energetic, John Larson and the Silver Fields don’t waste time or space.” – SomethingElseReviews.com 

Kool Kat Link

Bandcamp Link

The SPiRES - Era Was (Artifical Light Records 2021)      $14

The SPiRES are from Ventura, CA and have been around for about 15 years, but thanks to Jeff Shelton’s “Power Pop Show”, they’re new to us.  They play timeless, jangly, indie guitar pop.  According to the band, “Era Was” “started off as a full band live record then ended up a bedroom headphone jammer.”  The record is highly recommended if you like your indie rock understated, subtle, and well executed.  

 

Kool Kat Link

Bandcamp Link

Stepford Knives - Blue In The Face b/w I Don’t Want Her (Anymore) (Loaded Goat Records 2021)    7 Inch Vinyl      $8.50

Jamie Hoover recently teamed up with Otis Hughes, who played bass for the now-defunct alternative-metal band Animal Bag. Calling themselves Stepford Knives, the fellows just released “Blue In the Face”/”I Don’t Want Her (Anymore),” their debut single.  “The disc announces the arrival of an adventurous collaboration. Jamie and Otis may come from different musical backgrounds, but the blending of their influences in Stepford Knives produces agreeable results.  

Kool Kat Link

Apple Music Link

Teenage Fanclub - Endless Arcade (Merge Records 2021)      $15

“Endless Arcade” is Teenage Fanclub’s first record since 2016’s “Here”.  The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heart warming and heart aching, guitars chime and distort, keyboard lines mesh and spiral, harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day.  The band may not be as loose as they once were, but that is more than compensated for in the harmonies and fine arrangements.

Kool Kat Link

Apple Music Link

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