Harborcoat - Joy Is Elusive

 

Michigan's Matt Carlson is a talented chap. Ex of the excellent Pantones, now of The Stick Arounds and then there is the side project that is Harborcoat. The band are essentially Indie Pop, but far nearer the UK version than the US. Yet there is also a US Twang side.

There's a real Pete Wylie vibe to Transit Town and that feel appears more than once across Joy Is Elusive. There's a real DIY Pop Rock sensibility to the album, almost Glasgow, certainly the better end of the 80s, Guitar rather than synth led. 

Go To Sleep has a weeping riff to accompany an almost Country Rock type of affair. Help Me Out is Power Pop yet Tightrope Wire sound more IRS. Never Made It Home is strumming Americana but just as effective as the Pure Pop on show elsewhere.

Hear Me I'm Courageous also mixes the US / UK sound. Instrumentally very British, vocally more American. The title track is a brooding melancholic gem providing a splendid storytelling vibe. Again Country-ish without ever being good ole boy hat wearing nonsense. 

New Dawn Chorus has a real 60s big Studio feel. Edwardsburg follows this route too, anthemic and cheerleading. For the involvement of six musicians, the sound is very laid back, never lo-fi, but certainly restrained at times. The emphasis is on letting the instruments breathe and this just enhances the overall sound of the album.

Joy is Elusive is a top notch listen. Sit an Armchair and you'll soon find yourself tapping your foot and singing along. But this is also an album to listen to and admire. It is a balance between Country, even Americana and Guitar Pop, but that just makes the album welcomingly less predictable.

You can buy and listen to the album here. 

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Ghosts Of Jupiter - Keepers Of The Newborn Green

 

Being labelled Neo-Psychedelic can be a curse. In a similar way that Punk Pop us not Punk, Neo-Psych is not really psychedelic. Yes there are hints of it, but the genre is so diverse that it takes everything else and Keepers Of The Newborn Green is a perfect example of that.

Yes, there's flute and instrumental passages that could be termed Prog, yet there's also a heavier rock bent that isn't Metal and there's a Folk, even Americana, bent at times but this isn't "Hey Nonny No" Confusing? Maybe, but this just underlines how pointless labels are. They are supposed to be a guide for the uninitiated, but end up being a badge that bands are stuck with. How many people tell you Rush are Prog, when they were once, but that ended well before the bulk of their album releases. 

Listen to the first four tracks here and you essentially have the Country Psych of The Undertaking, the Acoustic Folk of Villains, the Rock of On Bending Tide and the instrumental Prog of The Wandarian. So just why try to denote what Boston's Ghosts Of Jupiter are. Just enjoy the music.

I say enjoy, because this is a wonderfully constructed album. Laidback at times, very English, but Nate Wilson's vocals offer a gentle, almost pastoral clarity that have far more in common with everyday Pop Rock than some mind bending hard to listen to Psych Prog.

Elsewhere, Northern Road has a real lounge Jazz feel whilst Gustav is a real wig out instrumental, Soft Machine-ish if you like. Imperium Waves rocks more in a Deep Purple Vein and No Direction veers towards West Coast easy listening. 

Despite all the comparisons, Keepers Of The Newborn Green is a really coherent listen. There can be a tendency to make songs three minutes longer than they should be with this sort of material. There's none of that here. 10 songs and 43 minutes for your ears a surprise to. You should throw away your misconceptions and surprise yourself. This is a top notch album.

You can listen to and buy the album here.  You can find out more about Ghosts Of Jupiter here. 

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Anne Soldaat - Facts & Fears

 


I'm a massive fan of Daryll-Ann. The Excelsior "Again" Box Set gets hammered here and I have to admit to a real sadness when I realised that they'd called it a day. But the solo work of both Jelle Paulusma and Anne Soldaat has kept that fire burning.

It's been six years since Soldaat's excellent Talks Little, Kills Many although he has been busy He's continued his work with Tim Knol, recorded two albums with Yorick van Norden and done theatrical performances with his Chet Baker tribute.

Facts & Fears is a work of great beauty. It is very laidback album as you'd expect and after the first listen, you realise that, thanks to Pablo van de Poel (of DeWolff), the album is sonically in another league. There is a real clarity in the instrumentation.

This allows Basslines to the fore, Brushes on Drums to stand out and brings real clarity to Soldaat's vocal. The song writing is as splendid as ever, but the instrumentation is more Acoustic at times as well as taking in different genres such as Folk and Blues.

Meet The Other Side highlights what a great storyteller the man is, I Was Lost is mesmerising and Suffer Silently borders on yee-haw Country. Hibernation Generation is the most Pop Rock it gets and is one of the album highlights. One Book, One Life is very Rock and Roll.

Overall though, this feels like a very personal album. It is to be listened to when you have nothing else distracting, it demands that attention. Wonderfully written, deep in content, it certainly isn't the most commercial album of Anne Soldaat's career, but it is very much one of his best. 

You can listen to and buy the album at one of the places here. You can find out more about Anne Soldaat here.

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Electric Looking Glass - Somewhere Flowers Grow

 

Following on from the Muun Bato review, a band that are at the Psych end of Psych Pop, we have Los Angeles's Electric Looking Glass who are very much at the Pop end of the genre. In fact, they are probably nearer Baroque Pop.

Somewhere Flowers Grow is wonderfully 60's, at times a little reminiscent of The Move's early days, although there's much more here than just that. This is an album that mines the best of the the 60s Pop, you can spot the influences, yet it stands so well in its own right.

The charm and melody ooze quality. Whether it is the magnificent Dream A Dream and Daffodil Tea Shoppe which are wonderful Toytown or Holiday which heads into Lovin' Spoonful territory. Motor Car is great Piano Pop.

If I Cross Your Mind even heads into 70s Pop Rock with a great little guitar solo complementing the piano. Death Of A Season is another slowed down example of how Somewhere Flowers Grow isn't all catchy choruses. It is slightly melancholic and reveals the band to be no one trick pony.

It is the catchiness that will hit you first though. Toes will tap on Dream A Dream and Rosie In The Rain. These are songs that hook you but further examination reveals there is far more depth to the songs than at first appears.

Special mention has to be given to the Piano and Organ. Both add far more to the album than is typical in Psych Pop albums. The keyboards in particular add unexpected twists and turns to what are already a fine collection. A Superb offering. Highly Recommended!

You can listen to and buy the album here. Another addition to the splendid Canadian label, We Are Busy Bodies.

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Muun Bato - Paraphonic Vapors

 

Many people use the term Psych Pop for albums that are essentially Power Pop or Pop Rock with a bit of backwards guitar and a distant vocal thrown in. To master the genre, the Psych has to be more than a sprinkle and Muun Bato are one of the better examples of what I mean.

The Minneapolis outfit offer up an outstanding second album. Its heart is Psych, but there's a melody in their playing and a vocal that is more in tune with Modern Prog. Songs are built on guitar and synth riffs and the band are not afraid to stretch out.

You hear all sorts here. UFO Club 1967, Space Rock, even Shoegaze. The riffs are hypnotic without ever seeming repetitive or dull. Paraphonic Vapours would make a wonderful instrumental album, but the effect is obviously doubled with understated vocals. 

Smoke Vision could be early Pink Floyd, yet Thrall is almost slowed down Goth. Corn Woman could be prime time Hawkwind and Society Of Spectacle edges towards lounge or even Jazz Rock with its gripping Bassline. 

Much will be made of the 14 minute closer, which is a sort of meandering Psych Prog with the synths let loose. It shows another side of the band when let loose. It's a splendid affair, but not that reflective of the melody elsewhere.

Joe Werner is one talented songwriter and guitarist with a vocal style more suited to lighter material. The fact that that vocal appears here answers any preconceptions people may have with Psych Pop. Psych doesn't have to be all weirded out nonsense, just as Pop doesn't have to have "I Love You, Yes I Do" choruses.

You can listen to and buy the album here or the Vinyl can be bought here. You can find out more about Muun Bato here.

Underwater Sunshine - Suckertree

 


I should've also reviewed this a while ago, but the review a day thing in October is always a chance to catch up on the year as well as what is coming. I spoke to John Nikolic when he was thinking about taking these to a label and mentioned Futureman Records, but I take no credit as I know John was taking advice from a few people. 

Futureman is the ideal label for the band. Keith treats his roster with the respect that they deserve, getting them out into the world. Sometimes he's happy being a starter label, other times much more, but in a sea of nonsense he is the ship of honesty. Underwater Sunshine are a great fit musically and it really is pleasing to see Suckertree able to get appreciation around the world.

The album was recorded in 1996 and the band broke up before a release could ever be thought of. During lockdown, John got back in touch with the band who were all absent friends and searched out the original tapes. Evan Morgan Productions remixed the songs and here is the result.

The album does remind you of the mid 90s, a time when this sort of Guitar led Pop Rock was more prevalent. However it isn't now and that should be the comparison. It is also strikingly Posies like and nowadays that is less so, yes the odd song, but not the whole vibe.

The likes of Smoke & Mirrors would adorn any Power Pop album with all the hooks and that terrific Bass line. Honey Glazed is probably the stand out song and you can imagine Jon Auer singing it, the best song that The Posies didn't write. 

Elsewhere, Shine is pure Sunshine Pop, Backward Glance is great West Coast Jangle and Rusty Crown sounds ready to go Psych Pop at any time. Who You Are even goes all Torch song AOR, surprisingly successfully. Shelf could be Grunge in the hands of a singer with a grittier vocal.

Nikolic's laid back melodic voice is perfect for these songs. Suckertree is a fine album and deserves your attention. It is the sort of album that would be released by Not Lame. Melodic and Riff led, I am so glad that it has finally seen a release and I also hope these guys get together to record a follow up.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Edward Rogers - Catch A Cloud

 

Variety is apparently the spice of life and you are always gonna get that with an Edward Rogers album. This is his eighth and each that proceed it are thought provoking and feature songs that catch you by surprise. This one though seems like his most personal yet and it drops your jaw as the palette of styles hit the canvas.

This man is one talented fellow. His Atlantic Tunnel Radio Show is also inspiring. I was also especially interested in Catch A Cloud with two of my favourite guitarists, James Mastro and Marty Willson-Piper  guesting as well as Sal Maida being on Bass. Talking of Mastro, What Happened To Us is so Ian Hunter that it could have easily been a track on his last three albums. The resemblance is uncanny.

Last Of The Summer Wine doesn't feature Compo, but it does sound like a cross between Martin Newell and Al Stewart. It is wonderfully haunting. Too Far From The Candle has a splendid Psych Pop feel courtesy of MWP. Button Box is incredibly atmospheric making you feel that you are in the Button Box itself.

Imaginary Man sounds like a Peaky Blinders Soundtrack addition. A vocal delivery akin to Nick Cave without frightening you into the cupboard under the stairs. Hayley is spellbinding in its reach, essentially Folk at heart, but the instrumentation is so left field and magnificently moody.

Oh to be inside Edward Rogers head! Catch A Cloud is such an inventive album. It isn't for the faint hearted and don't expect singalong choruses. It is a work of staggering talent and worth any or all of the effort taken to appreciate it.

Any of these eleven songs could have been chosen to embed in this review. There is beauty in the album's journey and you can marvel at the construction of the songs. You won't hear an album like this all year and that in itself is acknowledgement of how good it is.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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