31 In 31

 

So Reigning Sound bring the 31 Reviews In 31 Days to a close. I have held back quite a few new and recent releases for November, so IDHAS will be busy next month. There just won't be the commitment for me to post something every day.

I've changed how I promote reviews on Social Media over the past couple of months. 31 Reviews in a month can just become Facebook noise and piss people off, so I've tagged artists weekly. With using Google Tools, I Don't Hear A Single has grown rapidly with far less reliance on Social Media. It also gets confusing to people on Facebook with having my own account, the IDHAS group account and the stand alone IDHAS page. 

But I may miss potential listeners and / or buyers with not doing as much posting. So if you like an album or review, please post it on your own account. The more people that discover new music, the better. I will be tagging all 31 reviewed artists on Instagram later. I have no idea how Insta works, it just appears like a load of photos to me, but that month end post is always really popular.

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Reigning Sound - A Little More Time with Reigning Sound

 

Reigning Sound return after a 16 year absence and Greg Cartwright has gone even further back, reuniting with the original Memphis line up of Jeremy Scott, Greg Roberson, and Alex Greene and the results are spectacular.

Those expecting the shouty Oblivians Cartwright are in for a disappointment because this album is a beautifully produced reflection of past times and sounds. It is a cross between Rock (at times Garage) and Americana with a bit of Soul thrown in.

The title track, A Little More Time, is Springsteen-ish, particularly reminiscent of his work with Gary US Bonds. But I Don't Need That Kind Of Love is Rock And Roll and I'll Be Your Man is tip top Americana, very Texan. Oh Christine is a sort of Country Soul.

Make It Up is very much in Soul Revue territory, yet You Don't Know What You're Missing is great Guitar Pop, all it needs is a bit more Jangle. You Ain't Me is a really loose joy, at times like a Countrified version of The Faces or even The Black Crowes.

The closer, On And On is Stax with a Country Twang. The album is a real mix between the fast Rock (and Roll) and the slow Americana. It is a big sounding reflective album. I got tired of the mediocrity of Americana, when done this properly, I am ready to dip my toe back in the water. Highly Recommended!

You can listen to and buy the album here or in some splendid bundles here.

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The Summer Holiday - B-Sides Volume 1

 

A strange review this for a wonderful Pop album. I have little information on it, other than it is a follow up to last year's Come Out, Come Out. Apparently Michael Collins is behind it, but it isn't the Michael Collins that I know of.

I reached out on Social Media without success and friend requested a likely candidate without reply. So all I can do until I can find out more, I can only tell you how Poptastic it is. Power Poppers will love it, particularly What Happens When You Lose which is so damn catchy.

Your Secret Is Safe is a much more straight ahead ballad, almost Top 40, Fake Mozart is pure Bubblegum and The Day The Sun Shines On Me is very much in Nick Frater territory. Circles could even be a prime time Guy Chambers song. 

Annie In The Shadows is from the same template that Power Pop forums have been raving about for years. Indeed all 9 songs are tip top. A real melodic chorus joy of an album and if these songs are actually B Sides, imagine how good the A Sides are. It is certainly in my "More Info Needed" file.

You can listen to the album on You Tube here. It is all available to listen to on Streaming Sites here. Also available to buy on the odd one of those.

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Bordello & Clark - Atlantic Crossing

 

I wrote about Lo-Fi yesterday, so I'm not gonna blather on more about it. I mentioned there was a second example yet to appear in the 31 in 31 and here it is. A very different album to the Mythical Motors one, but no less valid.

Brian Shea (Bordello) hails from the same hometown as myself. A town decimated by Thatcher's 80s and so you wouldn't expect him to write something chipper and on first listen, he confirms that. But Bordello's wry, at times confronting, lyrics have long been his trademark. 

The man is able to write songs with a wry weariness, taking shots at the ridiculous hype of so much that the masses flock to. He is a lyrical wizard, something that gets lost when listening to his four track recording. He is the ideal example of the cult hero.

Ted Clark was the Singer and Guitarist in another cult American Indie Band, 20th Century Tokyo Princess. The Cincinnati band were a much noisier affair than The Bordellos, specialising in an in your face blistering attack on Garage Rock. 

Clark provided all the instrumentation here, with Bordello on Rhythm Guitar. The combination of the two was never gonna provide something immediately accessible, but repeated listens was always going to reveal the album's charm. Just like an album from The Bordellos.

There is an aching fragility to Shea's Vocal. It always seems to that he is about to burst into tears. Jingle Jangle is a fine example of this, very Ian Broudie like delivery that shows that catchy isn't out the question. Sunshine Rain Girl is even more catchy, very Housemartins.

Lonely Henry even ventures into a Rock And Roll, almost Skiffle. Wrong Country Song is akin to a 80's Glasgow Pop demo and Clark adds some wonderful sounds to Sixteen. The Girl With The Cadbury Purple Hair is great Psych and Watching The Garden Grow is magnificently moody in its melancholy.

Appearing on Roger Houdaille's excellent Think Like A Key label is quite a coup for the pair. It is fair to say that Roger and I share very similar likes and dislikes music wise and we both adore this. There is more depth than you imagine and Shea has lost none of his wit and venom. This may be his most accessible album yet and Ted Clark should be congratulated for that.

You can listen to and buy the album here or on Think Like A Key's site here.

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Mythical Motors - A Rare Look Ahead

 

There's been a shift of attention over the past couple of years from big sounding Vocal Harmony Pop Rock to Lo-Fi Guitar Pop. Both are more than acceptable, but recently, the volume of the latter has led to quality control becoming a distant second to the need to be compared to masters of the genre. 

If I read another comparison to Guided By Voices, I'll scream. Got a Guitar that is plugged in? Do you have a basic sound? Right, I'll compare it to GBV, no matter how unlike dear old Robert it sounds. It is just lazy writing. So I wanted to make a stand. 

Two of the remaining posts in the 31 in 31 will look at the great side of Lo-Fi. The second will appear tomorrow, today the focus is on the splendid Mythical Motors. Hailing from Chattanooga, (can you say it without adding choo choo?), the band don't have to join the wave of new pretenders to the genre, they've always been Lo-Fi.

However, in Matt Addison they have one of the great songwriters. Innovative, perhaps sometimes too much, there is a Pop sensibility much missing elsewhere. After last year's two albums, one Psych, one Pop, newcomers could be forgiven for being a little confused.

On A Rare Look Ahead, the Psych Pop appears less occasionally, this is Indie Pop Rock and it is fair to bracket them there now, the days of being labelled as Garage are gone. Listen to beauty of The Placement Of Things and you'll hear what I mean.

That's Why I Conjured You has a wonderful jangle about it. The No Name Followers is one of the ventures into Psych Pop and it is simply magnificent. Crashing Waves Of Fascination comes a close second, but it is the Guitar Pop that is most prevalent elsewhere.

Years Of June is just poptastic, Vanishing In Grey, the same. Rain Painting ditto. There are just too many examples to pick out. The songs are written and performed in a say what you wanna say and move on. If you don't like one, you'll like the next.

In 41 minutes you will be converted. If Lo-fi isn't your thing then lets club together to give them a bigger budget, although I suspect big sound would lose the charm. When people tell you something sounds like GBV, it probably doesn't. If someone tells you something sounds like Mythical Motors, you'll know it is great. Highly Recommended!

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

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IDHAS Ten Songs Mix 12

An absolute cracker this week. 10 songs in just short of 41 minutes. More in tune with what's happening in the 31 in 31 this week, but a belting varied listen. The Mixcloud link is below and at the foot of the page is the Mixcloud Player which takes you directly to the music. Here is the playlist of the ten songs this week.

01 Sandra's Wedding - Love Everyone

02 Court Street Company - Modern Age

03 A.M. Slingers - Bad Penny

04 St. Jimi Sebastian Cricket Club - Until We Meet Again

05 Muun Bato - Smoke Vision

06 Greg Antista And The Lonely Streets - Tijuana Jail

07 Mothboxer - Hidden It From Me

08 Kitner - Suddenly

09 Queen's Pleasure - Empty Occasion

10 The Orange Peels - Pastels

IDHAS Ten Songs Mix 12

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There's No Great New Music Around!

 

The above number of views to IDHAS would seem to be proof that the headline is wrong. A big slap with a wet fish to those who say all new music is crap. Thank you to all who visit and more importantly, listen to the artists and albums featured.

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The Orange Peels - Celebrate The Moments Of Your Life

 

I don't use the term musical genius, because everyone seems to use it for the slightest thing, but if there is such a thing, then Allen Clapp is incredibly close to it. His band, The Orange Peels, suffer from both being ignored and being constantly labelled Power Pop, something they've never really been and are certainly not now. 

In a tortuous year for the band with family deaths and the near loss of their home and studio to the California Wildfires, the band have conjured up their most diverse and impressive album yet, a double no less. With a recent move to the Virgin Islands, this has become a sort of farewell to California and what a goodbye it is. 

The trio of Clapp, Jill Pries and Gabriel Coan make interesting intelligent music that is essentially Pop, but just labelling it that would make it seem far simpler and inconsequential than it is. There is such variety. Compare Whenever, which is a jaunty Sparks with Bates Motel sort of affair with the wonderful brooding 2 x 2.

Larkitekture is very mechanical, Bowie-esque yet at the same time a bit Marc Almond. Little White Bird is a crooner, yet Human has an all encompassing chorus. Then there is Mindego Hill is top notch Psych Pop, Toytown excellence. Magical Thinking is jaunty Synth Pop.

Those listening to just the first two thirds of the album would be forgiven for thinking that the album was a wonderful example of mid 80's UK Pop, but then you get to the real meat. Bookmarking the magnificent three part soundscape that is From The Sunflower To The Nightshade are two absolutely stunning songs.

From The Rosemary To The Rose is hypnotic, but Pastels may be the best thing that The Orange Peels have ever done. It is an incredibly captivating seven and a half minutes. Melody springs from everyone, it is a real feel good affair that despite its length, finishes way too soon.

Anyone expecting 65 minutes of jangling Something Strange Happens Guitar Pop are in for a surprise. A listen to the 2020 Autumn Fills The Skies Mix of that song would confirm the direction now. The Song is just as great in that mix, but very different.

Those who follow the band closely could have seen this album coming and will realise how outstanding it is. Newbies or Returners should listen to Celebrate The Moments Of Your Life as a debut album. This should be the soundtrack to your life. Open The Doors and let The Orange Peels in.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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