Super Doppler - Super Doppler

I loved the Major And The Monbacks debut album in 2015. After that came Moonlight Anthems. That album still contained the Soul influence, the Brass still had a big presence, but it was marked by a slight shift more akin to Country Rock. The cross between both landed somewhere near Joe Cocker.

The band name change to Super Doppler moves the Rock influences on a pace. The feel has far more of the 70's Classic American Rock about it, although there are Psych edges and a definite FM feel. The Brass has gone completely and this seems to suit the Norfolk Virginia outfit's strengths.







There's a splendid Guitar Solo on Someone Is Watching You that verges on Psych Blues and this encapsulated the direction of the band. I Don't Wanna Die is a great opener with a sneering vocal leading a Doobie Brothers groove.

Contrast this with Last Man Standing which sound very UK 1967, the time when Beat was getting influenced by Haight Ashbury. You Don't Love Me again has those 60's Influences, very Toybox, Psych Pop. That then changes into a late 50's Teen Pop chorus.








All of this is delightfully done, with clever hints of Jangle, providing a really laid back vibe that makes the whole album such an easy listen. The arrangements are spot on, the Rocking is gentle and you can just imagine being sat in the sun.

The closing track, Clear, is the real find amongst these 10 songs. It's a wonderfully haunting ballad, the type that The Hollies used to master. It also adds a great haunting guitar solo and Age Of Aquarius type harmonies.







Super Doppler is a fine listen, highly recommended. You can listen to and buy it here. You can find out more about the band here.


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Skids - Peaceful Times

I'm a massive Skids fan and their revival keeps proving me wrong. I've always liked Richard Jobson, although he does use a hundred words where ten will do, but to me Skids will always be Stuart Adamson.

The thought of a Skids album without Adamson made me expect the worst, but last year's Burning Cities album is really good and Live, the band remain as relevant as always. So when I heard, earlier this year, that an Acoustic album was on the way, I thought why?

Skids have always been such an Electric band. Stuart Adamson was the closest guitarist to Bill Nelson that I ever witnessed. So the thought of strum along versions of Into The Valley just didn't appeal. How wrong (again) was I?

There is new life brought into the songs, in fact they are almost new compositions. A song such as Hurry On Boys, previously such a loud anthem, is treated so gently with a wonderful arrangement.
Animation is a revelation and even the newer stuff, such as Kings Of The New World Order, take on a new life.

Animation is a Folky campfire joy, The Saints Are Coming is piano led and soundtrack like. Into The Valley starts has a straight ahead acoustic verse which bursts into a great choral and orchestrated affair. Desert Dust is Spaghetti Western, A World On Fire is pure Runrig and Kruezberg 79 is a new song that keeps up the Burning Cities standard.

Some fans may be disappointed that there are only four songs from the triumphant first three albums and it is a bit of a shame that we can't hear more of these interesting reworks from that era, maybe a second album can do those songs justice in the future.

Peaceful Times is absolutely wonderful. It is like a new Skids album, completely adding to the band's reputation. I'm off to listen to it again. Meanwhile, you can buy it everywhere. You can listen to all ten songs here.

Ian McGlynn - Ends & Odds

Ian McGlynn has been recording songs for over two decades. His 2012 third album, Now We're Golden is one of the great lost masterpieces. Produced by Ken Stringfellow, it is one of the great Pop Rock albums. Ends & Odds was released late in 2018 and was planned for a review in January of this year, but I got sidetracked by an enforced Tidy Up over Christmas.

The album does what it says on the tin. It rounds up a series of Outtakes and Rarities recorded between 2015 and 2013. McGlynn specialises in fine Piano Pop and his gentle, almost weeping, voice is ideally suited to the fragility of the songs.






There is a myriad of styles here, largely due to the nature of an Outtakes album. McGlynn seems to play any instrument that he can get his hands on, harp tick, recorder tick, but everything is based on his real strengths.

Harmonies are Beach Boys tight and there is some splendid jaunty piano across the whole album. Pioneers is Western like, The Exception is in Scritti Politti territory, Dark Dark Water is like one of those ELO instrumental led album tracks.






The remix of Peninsula is turned into an ambient masterclass and Break The Moon borders on Prog. Two interesting covers are included. The Lounge Lizard cover of Madonna's Borderline and the  take on Death Cab For Cutie's I Will Follow You Into The Dark with piano rather than acoustic guitar is ace.

Any album of outtakes from such a long period is always going to be variable. Most of these are top notch. What's more, any one who can offer up a song as wonderful as Abandon The Morning is worth rewarding with your ears. I have no idea why the song was left off the This Is The Sound album.






You can listen to and buy the album here. Whilst there, you can read track by track notes from Ian about all 14 songs.


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Doug Tuttle - Dream Road

Oh how I love Boston's Doug Tuttle. His brand of Jangle Psych Pop is really affecting, at times almost Canterbury light. Burger Records release his fourth album and although pleasing to report that there is no major change in direction, it does feel as though the Pop is Poppier.

You can read the IDHAS review of his last album, Peace Potato here. That album was a tad fragmented, some songs not fully formed, none of that applies to Dream Road. The focus is spot on, probably aided by the tighter ten song playlist.






Tuttle is a one man soundscape, the gentleness and laid back Vocals, adding to the laid back feel. There is that tendency to Jangle which allows comparisons with The Byrds and Teenage Fanclub's quieter mode. But the influences are really further spread.

There are Country Tinges, the odd Tyrannosaurus Rex feel, even a Stealers Wheel vibe, but largely this sounds more like a traditional West Coast American album. Albeit, there's a real gentleness and tone to the proceedings.






Is This World Alone is a perfect example of what Tuttle does so well, it reminds you of so many, but is essentially him. The arrangement on Can You Feel It is achingly melancholic and All Alone is fantastically sleepy more modern Psych Pop.


Opener, I'll Throw It All Away is Nashville Pop from a bygone age, it has a splendid hook. It is Long Day To Your Home that grabbed me most with its sonic overtones to The Outlaws without the bombast. Dream Road is a superb "relax and listen" offering. An ideal way to spend 30 minutes away from the madness.






You can listen to and buy the album here.


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Seahorse - Heaven Is Underground

Seahorse are a quartet from Thessaloniki in Greece, although you'd never guess that by listening to Heaven Is Underground. This is an album steeped somewhere between Classic and Stoner Rock. It hits a riff and hammers it for all it's worth, wonderfully so!

At times I'm not sure if I'm listening to Led Zep or Stone Sour, but there are also  many changes of direction. Snake Friends is Natural Born Boogie during the verses. In other times you can hear a Robert Plant wail or a Pearl Jam vibe.






Human's chorus is almost Power Pop, Sing Your Own Song has a hypnotic riff, just heavy enough to allow the vocal to breathe. Supernatural is Allman Brothers like and Road Trip is a meandering closer that has a tinge of a heavy North West Coast ditty.

There's nothing especially original here, but it is beautifully done and this kind of album just isn't made these days, it seems resigned to the first half of the 90's bin. There's an awful lot to like here, Heaven Is Underground is great listen.






You can listen to and buy the album here.



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I Do Hear An Album

I Don't Hear A Single has been going for three years at the end of next month. I still find it amazing that what started as a little thing for me to tell you about music that I liked continues to prosper and gather such a following. This was never the plan.

During most of this year, I've tried to change how people notice IDHAS. It wasn't a move for growth, I'd be happy to just have a dozen like minded people to follow the musings on new artists. This place has always been about the artists and my concern was that the artists weren't getting the full benefit.

The major focus here has always been on new and underrated artists. The established are covered well elsewhere. The promotion had always been via Social Media, largely Facebook led and my concern was that the Facebook algorithm changes meant that Reviews had only one early chance at being read and soon disappeared largely from view. In many cases they had much less chance to be heard at all.

I decided to try and do something about that. I added Instagram. even though I haven't a clue of it's aim or how it works and started to learn about the best way to promote individual IDHAS posts. I wanted to promote less on Facebook as I know people also get tired of seeing the stuff you mention.

In particular, I wanted Reviews (and in turn the artists) to be noticed for far longer than a day or a week and to try and reach people who weren't naturally their fans. With this in mind, I decided to discover all I could about Search Engine promotions. If I could get people to follow IDHAS primarily by Google Searches etc, it would older reviews would get more attention and bands might not be just kings for one day.

So with discreet interventions, I learned about keywords and how to subtlety use If You Like this type things. I also worked on making the attention equal between searching on the artist or the Blog. I hoped what I was learning would help those artists.

Towards the end of May, I looked at the previous five months to see if what I was trying was working and it seemed to be. Facebook likes were well down, but individual I Don't Hear A Single posts had gone up or not been affected numbers wise. This was pleasing as I promoted on Facebook and Twitter much less.

So the result was the Review A Day trial that you've been seeing in June. This allowed me to catch up on a backlog and see if what I was trying was really working. 30 odd posts in a month would should surely prove this.

I'm delighted to say that it seems to be working. At the start of the year Facebook accounted for over 70% of visits to IDHAS, that's now just over 30%. People always say that the US is the only country interested in Power Pop and Pop Rock. In the same period the US has gone from 60% of all views to under 40%.

I believe that all this continued work will give Artists a much better chance of being seen for longer. The only proof ever will be if it helps these artists to sell albums. My hope is that a review written in January still gets read in July. That's not easy with the format of Blogger which is essentially a large list.

OK I've bored you enough.

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Kimberley Rew and Lee Cave-Berry - Enjoy The Rest Of Your Day

I'm a massive Kimberley Rew fan. It's not because I should wear the badge because of The Soft Boys and Katrina And The Waves. It's because his solo career is one of the most under rated of all time. Rarely have I been disappointed by his solo output. He's not just one of the great Guitar Pop writers of all time, he also has the ability to cast his hand to whatever genre needed or fancied at the time.

His debut album with wife, Lee Cave-Berry is no coasting affair. If Enjoy The Rest Of Your Day was released by Nick Lowe, people would be wetting themselves and fans of the Jesus Of Cool should bear this in mind. It would fit beautifully in their collection. Where as Lowe as recently said his career has been rekindled, Rew's never lost it's flame.

I think people know my feelings on Americana and what it has become, a catch all for mediocrity, but any time the pair stray into that area, it's beautifully done and usually acoustic. There's a real wit to the lyrics at time, none more so on the Glam Rock of Sister Cow.

Cave Berry's vocal on Backing Sweet Blues is pure Nashville and Flat Cat is well into Stray Cats territory. All across the album, there's a hint of Rockpile, particularly Rock n Summertime with some great twanging guitar.

Some Days You Eat The Bear has a funky disco backdrop and The Lady Is Dynamite is party time. This is no Walking On Sunshine, although the choruses are as catchy. Why would you want it to, far fewer are making albums like this? You'd pay the admission just to hear Rew's Guitar playing.

The Rock and Roll count is high, as are the lyrical surprises. It's a pleasure to listen to 14 songs that cheer you up, particularly with what's going on politically. Husband and Wife give the impression that they enjoyed making this as much as I did listening to it.

You can buy the album from CD Baby and everywhere else. You can find out all about Kimberley Rew here.


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James Clarke Five - Parlor Sounds

James Clarke Five's Parlour Sounds finally gets a physical release. What's more it's on Wally Salem's wonderful The Beautiful Music label. Wally will always be a hero to me for having Armstrong on the label, but there's far more to TBM than these two as you will see here.

James Clarke Five has been James Hughes's solo vehicle for nigh on two decades. Those in the know will recognise as one of The Cherry Boys, the Liverpool outfit that has become a real name dropper over here. The band offered up wonderfully sad songs with a real charm and had Chris Sharrock in the band in the early days.







Parlor Sounds is the sort of pop that we love. It is splendid laid back Pop Rock. I can explain it best by telling you that Pilot's Just A Smile is covered here, a song that should have been covered far and wide and shouldn't be lost in the Magic / January mayhem.

There's a real charm to the whole album. It opens with the album's best song, a sort of Ben Folds does Sunshine Pop, What Do You Know About Ray, a song that was played a while ago on the IDHAS Audio Spectacular. There's a real mid 70's Pop Rock Feel to the whole album.






Think John Miles, Pilot, Jigsaw, The Alan Parsons Project, even Gilbert O'Sullivan. Talking of John Miles, Mairead is so Miles does Peter Skellern with the accompanying Brass. Under My Skin is like a sped up on Christopher Cross and Jade is all 60's UK Beat Pop.

The variety doesn't always work. I could live without the twee Miami Vice 80's Synth Pop of Somewhere Out There Somewhere, but I'm sure it will appeal to may others. There's A Rainbow is a Jangling Al Stewart and The Redemption Of Casper Green is fantastic Toybox Pop, an absolute joy, McCartney-esque.







Parlor Sounds is a real feel good album, a pleasure to listen to. James Clarke Five deserve far more attention, perhaps now is the time. You can buy the album at TBM here. The album can be listened to and bought as a download here. You can find out more about James Clarke Five here.



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