The Genuine Fakes - Extended Play Vol. 3

 

Stockholm's The Genuine Fakes are now in their 13th Year and do what they do incredibly well. Their last full album was 2018's excellent Issues which was deservedly in the IDHAS Best Of Year. Since then its been more than welcome EPs

They frequent a land of 90's Pop Rock, think Not Lame and when MTV played Guitar Pop. The 90s were the last great decade of Physical Sales and maybe even Radio and The Genuine Fakes have it down to a tee. 

These are songs of great melody and harmony, beautifully performed and its no surprise that they get very Jellyfish on the slower We're All We Need. Elsewhere, the pace is faster and the songs chirpier, especially on the "all together now" of Two Fine Lovers with some splendid harmonies.

The Receiver is a little more Power Pop, even a little bit Sloan with a killer chorus. The band even get more fuzzy and jangly on Gigatonne when they sound particularly American. All four songs more than make the grade as ever. Here's hoping that 2023 brings a new album because this is the sort of joyous music that we all need more of.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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Richard Öhrn - Sounds In English

 

Imagine that Shindig wasn't a magazine. but an album. This album wouldn't be a million miles away from it. Sounds In English is very 60s in sound and feel. Sounds In English doesn't want to rock your socks off, it wants you sit in your easy chair and admire its beauty.

Richard Ohrn is noted as the Guitarist in Sweden's excellent Power Poppers, In Deed. but don't expect chiming guitars here. This beautifully plated and arranged Pop, be that Baroque, Psych, Beat or Folk, it is absolute joy and may very well be Big Stir's best release yet.

For all the different routes taken, it is the most straight ahead song that has the most appeal. Take This Bottle is great Pop with a big Jangle and a massive chorus. There's a little 80s Elvis Costello in the vocal and the piano run is reminiscent of the Costello and Nieve shows.

But there is everything here that you could possibly want. The jazzy Every Shade, the drama and melancholic The Coolest Manners, the Psych Pop of Seal Your Move. Could Have Loved You More edges towards Country early on with a fine drum shuffle and breaks out into Bacharach Brass.

Someone To Forgive You is a great Example of laidback European Pop whilst sounding Carl Wayne at times and containing a hypnotic acoustic riff. 5th Month Announcement is top of the bill Folk whilst I Chose You comes over all Long John Baldry dramatic.

Spanish Moon has a big Baroque Pop intro with a Jeff Lynne like restrained vocal. I obviously know my Big Stir, but I can tell you that Sounds In English was my biggest surprise yet. The album is magnificent, beautifully arranged, sung and performed. All I can say is Wow!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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The Amplifier Heads - Rectifier

 

Sal Baglio certainly keeps himself busy, he's everywhere, but it is in The Amplifier Heads that he seems happiest. He knows his audience and offers up both the expected and unexpected. This is the fourth album in four years and seems a little shorter than usual, but is as excellent as ever.

He has a Rock And Roll Radio reputation for loud riff driven songs that translate so well live, but that is only part of the story as every album steps into unexpected directions and Rectifier is no different, it is very diverse.

You want gutsy Guitar Rock, you get it. The likes of Underground and in particular, Rock Rules get those bones shaking, but the other directions are even more interesting. Tape Deck is great Blues Rock with Glam overtones.

Maniaxe is a heavier take on UK Glam Rock with an absolutely killer chorus, a little Sweet without the high vocal accompaniment. Space Cadette is very UK Beat and Zombie Beat is a real rarity, a Baglio Ballad that has a wonderful melodic Guitar solo.

Then there is Monsters, something really different. A slow brooding verse leading to a doo wop chorus an a short snatch of Brian May like Guitar. Headhunter is a jaunty "all together now" affair, stripped back and very effective.

Sal Baglio is a Boston stalwart that at times gets stuck with a really unfair up and at 'em reputation. The variation here should finally dismiss that reputation. Of course he can Rock, but there is also a gentler side and his songwriting stands up as well as anyone.

You can listen to and buy the album here. 

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Babe Rainbow - The Organic Band

 

Byron Bay's Babe Rainbow have a much bigger following than those we normally cover on I Don't Hear A Single, but The Organic Band is such a great album and allows us to show other interests and confirm that we are not, as believed by many, to be all about the Guitar.

I, personally, have been listening to so many antipodean delights over the past couple of months that it just underlines how the streets here in the UK are filled with tumbleweed. Over here, we really do need to have a big talk with ourselves. 

There is Guitar here and some stunning Bass lines. There is also some incredible drumming, at times almost Jazz Rock, but the vibe is very Psych Pop. Pop Psych would be more apt. The quartet though mix things up without ever breaking out. 

The laidback, even lazy, vocal is wonderfully gentle, but surrounded by incredible genre defying instrumentations and arrangements. The Guitar and Organ on Mediterranean is completely addictive, but it is the ability to know who they are and yet move the music in different directions that is most impressive.

Mediterranean is wonderful Pop, Naxos fantastic Jazz Pop with the incredible rhythm section in full flow. All The Power is Screamadelica Dance and Wild About Harry is a cross between West Coast Psych and the Easy Listening 60s.

Easy to listen to, yet complicated. Chilled out, but melodies that hook your pop sensibilities. The Organic Band is a Tour De Force. Babe Rainbow are a band that are still at the top of their game, five albums in. A band that are not stuck on computers, but can actually play their instruments. What a superb album!

You can listen to and buy the album everywhere. You really should do one or even better, both.

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Orange Skyline - Orange Skyline

 

Orange Skyline are from Groningen and the Dutch quartet inhabit a world that starts at Brit Pop and takes Indie Pop Rock Noughties. They do wear their influences on their sleeves, but they are not bad influences to have. The can certainly play.

They cite Oasis as the band that first got them interested, but we won't hold that against them. Any band that can fashion up a song as damn catchy as Meet You In The Middle is more than worth a listen, it may be a tad corny, but the build up is big and the chorus is simple, but highly effective.

It is when Orange Skyline move away from the Brit Pop that they get really interesting. Sunny Days is a great slice of Psych Pop and This Is The End has the beat of The Strokes. Reflection has a fine vocal that grabs hold of something far more Indie Pop.

Modern Times is very Baggy Manchester, encouraging you to dance, very Andrew Weatherall. You could imagine listening to the anthemic Don't Listen on Channel 4's White Room. Love Bite, however gets a bit too Robbie Williams.Shine On contains a great 60s keyboard run.

Keep It Together is a really bouncy closer, a little sneery, when I expected an epic ballad. It's a little bit recent The Killers. Lyrically, the album is a bit weak, but you don't expect an Indie Poet to take hold of such a commercial album. The drum sound gets a bit irritating too, but there is loads to like.

If this album encourages one or two generations below us to listen to music instead of messing about on Tik Tok, it will do its job. The sound is very Brit, very commercial and Orange Skyline deserve massive credit for trying different things. Not everything works, but lots does and the album is well worth your attention.

You can buy the album everywhere and some places to listen to it are here. 

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Collage - Over And Out

 

I think many of you know that I am a Prog fan, I do understand why people are not, I mean much turns me off. The old Prog can be a bit much, interminable solos, technicality lording it over melody. The more Modern Prog consists of kitchen sink productions and songs that are as dull as dishwater, songs being the wrong word, there are none.

I settle on Neo-Prog, you can admire the actual songs, revel in the chopping and changing. You can sing along and marvel at the solos, you even get the odd Power Pop or New Wave Riff. That is why I'm delighted by the return of Poland's Collage after 25 years or so. It is like they've never been away.

The sound and vibe continues from where it left off. Five Songs in 58 minutes. The title track comes in at just under 22 minutes. That may seem over the top and suitably Prog, but it is like five songs in one, a magnificent thing indeed, combining some jaw dropping arrangements with great melody.

There is such a gripping way that the material grabs you, the sheer bombast cushioned by some fantastic songwriting. Marillion's Steve Rotheray even guests on the superb closer, Man In The Middle and adds further to the instrumental joy across the album.

I have been a bit disappointed by Prog lately, largely as I search out the new (Cue loads of tips being sent to me). As a fan of Big Big Train from the beginning, I don't like the new album and if I'm honest, it hasn't been the same since Dave Gregory left. They just seem to take themselves too seriously now and the tragic loss of David Longdon leaves a big hole.

However, Prog is a much maligned genre and I'd urge people to forget their preconceptions and gove Over And Out a listen. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised. It isn't all about long hair, beards and 10 minute Drum Solos. This album is a top notch listen.

You can listen to and buy the album everywhere.

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The Sylvia Platters - Youth Without Future

 


We are on the final run of 2022 Reviews as we aim to start compiling the IDHAS Best Of 2022 by no later than the middle of January. Vancouver's The Sylvia Platters are a name I've come across in the past, but for some reason, I haven't followed them up. I am ashamed.

They currently have a new single out, Norman 4, which is a TFC tribute, but because we concentrate on EPs and Albums. Individual Song space is really limited. I'm going with the EP from earlier in the year and it is an ace listen. After listening to the five songs, the only regret you have is that you wish there was another five.

The quartet's basic template is somewhere between the Glasgow 80s and the Stone Roses, but there are plenty of diversions. There is a real gentle jangle that sucks you in and you can imagine someone like Darrin at Janglepophub loving them.

No Quarter is wonderfully laid back and hooks you with its almost melancholic riff. But part way through it rips into a mesmerising solo that catches you by surprise and serenades you through to the end of approaching six minutes.

The title track kicks in with a rocking riff before the usual low key delivery, it reminds me a little of Northern Uproar, but there's also overtones of Aztec Camera. Doldrums is more Baggy, but is built around another splendid Jangle. There is tons to like here.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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