Drool Brothers - Psychology

 

I've been waiting to tell you about this for quite a while and you will now be reading about an Album Of The Year. Well into their third decade, expanded from a trio to a quartet with the addition of a third Mancillas, Natalie.

Psychology is a wonderful statement of the joy of the Guitar and the chorus. It is also an album that is all over the place, magnificently so. The variety is endless from Angular to Brit Pop via Psych and Pop Rock. It is a splendid listen.

Compare the just over 2 minutes glorious Brit Pop of The Song That Nobody Heard to the heavy 6 minutes Psych of Green Jesus and you will appreciate that you are quite a ride. Those songs follow one another and so you will understand that there is a lot going on here.

Snack And Treats is a mix of Fuzz and Jangle Pop that blends perfectly. Dumb comes across as glorious UK 1978 New Wave with a touch of Noo Yawk sneeze and an unforgettable Telstar interlude. Fame Whore  is all 60s Beat built around another great Riff.

The title track starts with a top notch Bassline that recalls the band's earlier Funk, it is more New Wave though, a little Talking Heads instrumentally and an adventure in itself. It even gets a little dancey. Kaleidoscope is fantastically Angular with a killer chorus.

Have Fuzz Will Travel maybe sums up the band most, certainly here and adds a sort of Screamadelica woo hoo hoo and a Guitar break that adds to the raiding of the instrument cupboard. A stunning set of songs from Chuck Mancillas, stunning Guitar work and a locked in Rhythm section, what more could you want? A stunning listen!

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

......................

The Moats - Pleased To Meet You

 

You will hear The Moats on the current Listening To This Week, second song in with the splendid Find Someone Who Cares. The resulting 7 track album continues the joy. The Brighton quartet sound like a crack 80s Indie band, but certainly not an everyday one. 

There is plenty of great Jangle Pop on display, Glasgow related TFC and Dropkick at times, but there are also West Coast influences such as The Byrds when the pace lets up and a Paisley Park and IRS label feel at other times. 

The pacy I Want To shows that you can Jangle, yet Rock, something too few bands try and the slight Fuzz and energy makes the song an absolute joy to listen to. Lead Hat is very Three O'Clock like, yet Stupid Things is laid back is very San Franciscan jangle.

Internal Logic runs Find Someone who cares really close. More gentle Psych Pop than what else is on show, but this is in contrast to Diamond Ring which is very C86 and beautifully put together as the whole album is.

Pleased To Meet You is Jangle heaven, but what it does is show that there are many forms of the genre. It doesn't have to be sedate, enjoy quietly stuff. There is tons of energy here and variation that make the album a great listen.

You can listen to and buy the album here.  You can buy the cassette here.

.................

Linear Television - Sandy Beach EP. (Name Your Price)

 

Munster's Sandy Beach seem to have been thrown in Old School Punk, I get that a little. Marie Von Medipops does get very close to vintage Buzzcocks, wonderfully so. But for the most part, the Sandy Beach EP reminds me more of the UK New Wave that followed Punk.

That time sorted out the bands that could play and were a little more melodic than shouty. The other three songs fit this description perfectly. Opening with a great Guitar Intro that completely sucks you in. The riffs are awesome too.

There is high energy here with memorable choruses. There may be attitude, but it is tempered by some wonderful playing and memorable choruses. Stay Strong is probably the best example of this, but the intro to Sandy Beach just grips you completely.

Sedated By The Television gets close to Pop Punk instrumentally, but thankfully without the robotic talky vocal that tends to make that genre formulaic. There's great pace and energy and songs that you just can't help sing along to. A fine effort and I hope to hear more in the new future.

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

............................

Maw Sit Sit - Songs Into Your Head

 

There is a real revival of the French music scene of late. Most of it is Indie, Garage and Punk, Paris five piece, Maw Sit Sit are certainly not any of those. Although, Far Away From You gets very close, a fine slab of energetic Noise Rock.

That though is out of kilter with the other five songs on show which are more soundscapes, beautifully arranged, very close to Symphonic Prog, but with vocal harmonies not a million miles away from Beach Boys West Coast territory.

/p>

At times, these songs sound like cinematic dream sequences, but they are fascinating and capture your imagination wonderfully. Bass, Drums and Guitar are present and the rhythm section knits together really well, but there is also a heavy keyboard lead. Guitars and Keyboards resonate perfectly.

The four part vocal harmonies are what engage you most. Unusual for material of this sort. It works well, but completely surprises you. Far Away From You does sound like a totally different band, but reveals that the five have a lot in their armoury.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

....................

Quick Update

 

There's a lot to get through before the end of the month, Review Wise with albums not featuring in our Best 100 Albums Of The Year if not reviewed. Unusual working hours in my real life job explain days without posts. It will however get quieter there after this week aided by Album releases being fewer and not bothering with Christmas songs and albums.

I am also off on leave from next Wednesday for 5 days which will allow Reviews to be completed. Reviews go up until the end of December. I don't really see the point of releasing lists until every opportunity has been taken to listen to as much as you can.

A reminder that the 8 month Spotify trial is now over. Today, I completely deleted the account as I have a real problem with what Spotify does (or doesn't do) for artists. It is about people with no interest in music gathering all the cash.

Four Reviews are about to be released shortly and I will fit as much as I can in before Wednesday.

......................

Listening To This Week Playlist 8 December

 

29 more songs this week, none of them Christmas ditties. Another whisk around our musical tastes. Something for everyone you might say. The weekly playlist is largely for submissions, not just the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. 

The song order is not about song preference, but how the playlist flows.  All embeds open in new windows to aid scrolling. Links to the artists will also appear on I Don't Hear A Single Social Media sites over the next 24 hours. This will help you to discover more about the artists who appear here. 

He's Dead Jim - Avenues and Alleyways

The Moats - Find Someone Who Cares

The Plastic Pals - Get To The Point

Shaw's Trailer Park - Pretty Hat Club

1910 Chainsaw Company - Baby Blue

NONTHEWISER - We'll All Be Dead

COMEDY - L.A. Perfume

Marc Valentine - You Are The Jet  

Bad Flamingo - Shame

Beauty - Daisy

No Point Intended - Over The Moon

The Arcade Lights - Remember The Days

Tennis Courts - Keep The Car Running

Joe Giddings - Stay In Nowhere

Douglas & The World - The Pink Burger Bar (Part 1)

Moon Construction Kit - Chemicals

Moon Construction Kit · Chemicals

Little King - Sweet Jessie James

Static In Verona - Big Giant

The Elbow Patches - The Day Got Away With Me

Inland Years - Same Old Town

Peter Cat - Starchamber

Space Jaguar - Go Home

Robin Taylor Zander - She Can't Turn Back Now

Draped Apes - Making It (Up)

The Casbahs - Different Way Home

Svenssen - The Making Of Art

Barry & The Visitors - And Yours Too

Barry & The Visitors · And Yours Too

Rusty Reid - Let's Just Talk

Candytuft - Sour Flower

.............................

The 1910 Chainsaw Company - Everything's Better

 

This is an album released in October 2024, but I've only just discovered it via a recommendation and it is a corking listen, With the catch up starting on Album Reviews today, it makes sense to close with something more akin with our general reputation.

The Philadelphia Quartet offer up a 60s leaning Pop Masterpiece. All vocal harmony, Summer West Coast Bubblegum, catchy as catchy can be. There are also hints of Psych Pop with the emphasis on Pop and Merseybeat.

The latter is underlined by the jaunty Hitchin' A Ride, Brass is added to an Everly Brothers feel on Goodbye Daydream and Beach Boys style vocals and sound adorn Jennington Obelisk. The title track is wonderful gentle Psych Pop done in a Partridge Family let's do the show right here style.

Baby Blue is a stunning atmospheric closer, initially, vocal and organ only, but bursts into a spectacular 70s Pop Rock arrangement, but it doesn't end there. This four songs in one then gets all together now Marmalade like before closing at pace with a Wizzard like effect.. It is a superb song. It just has to be the opening embed.

Band Aid adds even more variety, part 60s Rock and Roll, part Eddy And The Falcons. Better Than All The Rest is a little Daydream Believer and Spider Paws is all UK 70s Glam Rock. The whole album is so well put together, it is a joyful listen. Kick of 2005's Blues and get your singing voice prepared.

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

......................