The Dowling Poole - Refuse

 

It seems like yesterday that The Dowling Poole released their debut album, Bleak Strategies. I was pretty gobsmacked to realise it was over 8 years ago. Since then, the duo have released some of the most inventive Pop of the past decade, genre crossing at will.

They have that attitude that many great intelligent Indie Artists have. They go wherever the music takes them, no two songs are the same, a blank canvas becomes an unexpected delight. The quality is no surprise, the pair have been involved in some of my favourite bands before uniting.

Willie Dowling was the driving force behind two magnificent bands, Honeycrack and Jackdaw4. Jon Poole was in Cardiacs from 1991, a wonderful period for the band. Both were also members of The Wildhearts. You see what I mean?

It can be hard knowing where to start with the band with the direction changes, song by song, This is particularly hard with Refuse's selections. This is a collection of the one off songs released as stand alones. Those nine songs are remixed and remastered. Then there is the bonus of two new songs.

Some of these songs were only available for limited periods, but this also an opportunity for the CD lover to not only get them all together in one place, but also on their beloved format. Refuse is also a fine album in its own right, showing the range and brilliance of the band.

Miles Checks Out is wonderful Psych Pop, very Toytown whilst Deep Breath edges heavily to Operatic Prog. White Light is Numan-esque, yet Bright Spark is a cross between XTC Drums And Wires period and their Dukes adventure.

Bricks From The Wall is great Modern Pop, but Fuck You Goodbye is Celtic. Push Repeat would be complete with backing by The Count Basie Orchestra and wouldn't be out of kilter on Spark's Indiscreet and still there's time for a poptastic chorus. 

The Hand Moved is ace 70s Pop Rock, a little Prog, even a bit of a Torch Song and Optimum Delirium could be something from Yes's Drama album. The only problem that I have is knowing which three songs to embed in this review. Any of the 11 would suffice. What an album, what a duo!

You can listen to and buy the album here. You can find out more about The Dowling Poole here.

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the black watch - the neverland of spoken things EP

 

John Andrew Frederick may have an aversion to Capital Letters, but musically he seems to be in a world of his own. Few write similar songs, yet every offering has a wide range of stuff to admire. He surrounds himself with great musicians that add different things to the mix.

Gretchen's Wheel's Lindsay Murray adds velvet Backing Vocals and Ben Eshbach adds Piccalo Trumpet, yes that's Piccolo Trumpet, to the title track. Two of my favourite musicians are a bonus on a recording that I always know will never be less than interesting.

That song will be on the new album, Future Strangers, to be released early next year. It kicks off with a Peter Hook type Bass run and then mesmerizes for just over three minutes. Frederick with his Steve Kilbey like vocal, a vibe that is psychedelic, but changes into Psych Pop with Eshbach's contribution. Murray's vocal should be out of kilter, but fits perfectly.

The other two songs will only be released here. Precious little could be Space Rock, but also has a real Goth feel and Frederick's vocal is close to David Sylvian. It all revolves around a killer riff and Bernard Yin's Lead Guitar dazzles throughout the EP.

Living Backwards is the most straight forward of the three songs. The Riff is more akin to West Coast Rock and the chorus is as close to Pop Rock as The Black Watch are likely to get. Plus there's an outstanding hypnotic instrumental journey accompanying the second half that rounds off an exceptional EP.

You can listen to or buy the EP here. I'd also direct you to Mick Dillingham's comprehensive interview with John Andrew Frederick from two years ago here.

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Futurebirds And Carl Broemel - Bloomin' Too

 

Athens Georgia's Futurebirds are a hard band to pin down. They are lumped in with the Jam Bands, more down to their live performances. They can be Psychedelic, but then there is the Pedal Steel and Country Twang. But that Indie Southern Rock vibe makes them too Rock for Country and Americana.

Their second collaboration with My Morning Jacket's Carl Broemel is an extension of the first, but seems even more focussed. There's a real laidback sound, almost melancholic at times, certainly moody. Songs at first listen appear to be off the cuff, but further listens reveal much more depth.

Buffet Days is a wonderful song and underlines the complexity of labelling. Starting as a piano led affair with a vocal drawl, but with added Country twang and a cosmic synth on the chorus. I make it sound complicated, but at heart it is a simple, yet beautiful, offering.

Sinz And Frenz has appeared on a recent IDHAS 10 Song Mix and the blend of Country and Southern Rock caught many's attention.  St Teresa edges towards a West Coast vibe with a big chorus. The Creeper is a bit Tom Petty goes Country and adds some great Vocal harmonies.

Bloomin' Too is not necessarily the sort of thing that riff loving IDHAS followers would go for, but it is a splendid listen. Too few do this kind of an album and probably no one as well as Futurebirds. The addition of Carl Broemel seems to have smoothed the sound. Top Notch,

The album is available to listen to and buy everywhere. Plenty of links can be found here.

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Karma Gambit - When Does Rock And Roll Start To Get Sad

 

It is always great to see and hear young bands mastering Power Pop. The quartet from Asbury Park, New Jersey have managed that with an album that enhances the recent revival of the genre, but also looks back to the 70s in particular. Hopefully they can bring the younger audience to the party.

I am sure there will be many Fountains Of Wayne references from writers and DJs. That band have become a bit of a cliche for new Power Pop, as have Teenage Fanclub for Indie Guitar Pop. To me they sound much more like Farrah at times.

I say that because there is a real Pop Rock feel to the material at times. Karma Gambit are much more than a boy meets girl, I love you, yes I do. There is real intelligent and wit in the lyrics, which Power Pop cannot always claim. 

Saying all that, Cable Knit Sweater is a very Stacy's Mom affair, lyrically great with a catch all earworm chorus. Last Night I Dreamed is a much different affair is a real 60s strum along, perfectly at home in a 60s TV Show, Monkees like. There are some splendid vocal harmonies in the chorus.

Adam Bomb is another great pop song with an unusual structure and a little Punk Pop. It is aided an ace fuzz solo and an hypnotic twee synth run throughout. I'm In Love With The Sun is built around a great riff and a Country feel.

Kiss And Tell is 60s heartbreak pop with a wonderful twang and Hello Minnesota could be Simon and Garfunkel and Folk like. Kick In The Teeth is pure Rock and Roll, the pace is much quicker and the solo is very Scotty Moore. There's even a Little Richard vibe on the verse. 

Dorothy, Let's Go Home would fit well in a Broadway show with another set of fine lyrics. Aphrodite could be become a Power Pop fan fave and Straight To Voicemail runs it close. Matching heartbreak lyrics with a Busted like chorus and melodic Guitar solo.

When Does Rock And Roll Start To Get Sad is a really impressive album, The first four songs are excellent Power Pop and then the band seem to want to show you that they are no one trick pony. Top notch arrangements and vocal harmonies glow mightily.

This is mighty fine Pop Rock that deserves a wide audience. Hopefully the correct promotion and people giving it a chance by telling friends and potential fans about it will widen the scope. I have to say that it caught me completely by surprise. Highly Recommended.

You can listen to and buy the album here. You can also listen by following these links. The album is available on the Mint 400 Records label. 

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Help Yourself To Help Yourself

 

I posted this in March and it is still relevant. As someone who largely concentrates on new music, I don't expect masses of info on the internet. But do not assume everyone is on Spotify, link places to buy and listen and promote yourself a little. A potential listener will not return when there is nowhere easy to find the album and read about it.

This isn't a moan or groan in anyway, just an observation and a top tip for musicians. In this day and age, it is hard to get anyone interested in their music, even established bands suffer from the problem. The world wide web is a mass of information, so it is difficult to get noticed. I primarily deal with new music and that is even harder to get attention.

I cannot understand why any artist would not want to get their music to be heard by more people. To do this, it needs a helping hand. Generally musicians are people with second jobs and just don't have to the money to spend to get unknown results. But any musician has to help themselves in some way. 

I mention this because over the past couple of months, I have listened to at least half a dozen albums and thought they were great. I've looked around to find more information on the band / artist and it has been tumbleweed. Nothing! I don't know who they are, where they are and how to direct people to them. I currently have four of those albums in draft ready to review and I can't even find anywhere to contact them.

I try as hard as time allows to find them, but eventually I have to give in. I know all the ways to search for the unobvious. I know a lot of people who may know something that I don't. But if all avenues lead to a dead end, eventually I have to give in. I am using time, I could have reviewed an album in. I would suggest that if I can't find you, then the average listener has no chance.

I'm not advising anyone to become a marketeer, it is just simple things. I know many dislike social media and I can completely understand why. But just set up an account in the band name on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or even all three. It doesn't have to be high maintenance. Only people who are intrigued by your music are gonna visit. It just allows these people to find you and gives you a bigger chance of more finding you. 

You don't have to be on the sites all the time, hardly ever in the early days, but just use it to mention an album or song release or thank someone for a comment. It isn't gonna make everyone know everything about you or your life, it is just a point of contact. They will want to know what else you've done and where to listen and buy. When you release an album, tell people about it. When you get a review, tell them. Look for Facebook Groups that cover the same sort of music you play and tell them.

If you don't fancy a lot of social media, then set up a Bandcamp site. You can put examples of your music and releases and someone may buy it or at least listen to it. Again it is a way of people finding you. People mention websites as a tool, but I'm not convinced that they benefit a new artist in anyway. They cost money and people usually visit social media or Bandcamp before they think of looking for a website. Websites are for when you are established enough to go after a much bigger audience.

Finally, don't be afraid of small numbers of followers. You are starting out. Things will snowball. If you only have 10 followers, it is 10 more than you did have and they may tell 10 more about you. Plenty of my peers love to discuss and write about new artists and their songs, but there is little point if you can't direct them anywhere.

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The Speedways - Talk Of The Town

 

There is a valid argument that The Speedways reignited Power Pop in the UK and progressed to hit the States to the point that any new band in the Genre are usually compared to them. It all seems like a masterplan, but it was nothing like that really. When I reviewed the 2018 debut album, Just Another Regular Summer, it was a complete surprise to my ears. I loved The Breakdowns, but I never expected to branch out into a solo career that stepped into my Pop Rock domain. 

The debut was only ever supposed to be one off. Indeed in that first review, I implored Julian to not let it be so. The album featured in the IDHAS Best Of 2018 and lo and behold, the following year, Rum Bar Records got hold of it for a CD Release that added five Bonus Tracks. The American doors were now opened. The follow up, Radio Sounds expanded the remit as an album that seemed more focussed, a little more relaxed and an upgrade of the sound. Just as good as the debut, if not better, there was one more important note. The Speedways were now a quartet. The album hit the IDHAS Best Of 2020.

In the meantime, the band were gaining quite a reputation as a live act. The quartet gelled into one of the best live bands that you will see and hear. It was as though lock down had never happened. So we reach the third album and wow! The first thing that you notice is the Production, it is big, I mean really big. Gigantic even. Dead From The Heart Down is a splendid opener, but you don't realise what you are in for as the album progresses. That opener is Power Pop and why not, the band made their name with their mastery of the genre.

But the more you listen to, the more you note that this isn't necessarily a Power Pop album. Radio Sounds hinted that there was more to the band, but the honing of the foursome has resulted in an absolute Guitar led masterpiece. Power Pop hasn't been left behind, but it is everything else that is most interesting. Julian hasn't lost his chorus strength, but at times Talk Of The Town sounds a little more American. There's also a Classic Rock adventure that continually breaks out.

Wrong Time Wrong Place has a twin Guitar blast that Thin Lizzy would be proud of. Strange Love is built around a strutting riff and A Drop In The Ocean has a real West Coast Jangle about it. A Song Called Jane And A Lie Called Love is angular yet a little The Knack and has a real plank spanking solo. Summer's Over has a real Blue Oyster Cult feel instrumentally and Secret Secrets edges towards Glam Rock. Kiss Me Goodbye is great UK Indie 80s Guitar Pop and Weekend 155 sounds so Dark 80s, turns into an urgent dramatic verse and then a trademark Speedways chorus.

Talk Of The Town is all Funk but still has time for another wonderful Guitar wig out. Monday Was The Start Of The Stars is even more of a Thin Lizzy Guitar assault and even has a Kevin Rowland like chatty intro. This is a band album. Guitarist, Mauro Venegas is heavily involved in the song writing on what was previously Matt Julian dominated. Bassist, Adrian Alfonso also writes a song, the excellent Taken (with an incredible Guitar solo) and forms a superb rhythm section with drummer, Kris Hood.

This is the sound of a band at the top of their game. The Guitar sound is a major surprise and what a set of choruses. If The Speedways started out as a bedroom lo fi affair, they are at the other end of the scale now. This should be the album that breaks them. Talk Of The Town is released on 21 November. Currently only the two tracks that have been previously released are available to stream. Both are embedded here, but don't really do justice to the full scope of the album, so I will add further tracks to the review when the album is released.

The album will be available here. You can listen to and buy the two tracks there and investigate the band's previous output. Matt Julian's various Demos can be listened to and bought here,

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The Bordellos - Ronco Revival Sound

 

The 31 in 31 nears completion and the last few days have featured albums that are smack bang in the usual IDHAS territory. This has largely been because there has been a rush of excellent Pop Rock albums. However, I wanted October to also reflect, some of the non centric stuff that I listen to away from the reviews.

I absolutely adore The Bordellos. I suppose you could call them a family affair, but this is not Partridge like with a lets do the show right here vibe. The band are deliciously left field, an Indie joy that you have to listen to repeatedly to embrace their talent.

I've said many times that Brian Bordello is a Songwriter par excellence. He writes about the everyday mundane life in a small town and frowns on the constant nostalgia that inhabitants only ever want to talk about. People don't seem to go abroad for holidays because it's a bit far.

The lo-fi of recent years masks the strength of the lyrics that pour from his soul I've often yearned to see the band with a bigger studio budget and imagine the delights. So I'm chuffed that Metal Postcard have reissued Ronco Revival Sound. The 2013 album was from headier times and remains a superb offering.

In all this Indie goodness and songs that come from unusual angles there is still the incredible beauty of A Man You've Never Seen, a song that should get worldwide attention. Compare that to the organised cacophony and spite of Tattoo Heart. 

The title track is maybe the closest thing that could be described Top 40, it is a splendid example of what you could describe as the intelligent 80s Indie Rock that so few mastered. Fruitcakes And Furry Collars is wonderful Electronic Psych.

Kinky Dee is ace 60s Garage Rock with an attitude vocal, Weird K vocally is well in the territory of Cast. Nurse. The Screens! is built on an hypnotic riff and there's Temperature Drop. This album closer is an absolute masterpiece. You can imagine someone like Marc Almond wringing the heart out of it. It is a melancholic, brooding delight and may be the best thing that the band have ever recorded.

The Bordellos are never gonna hit you on first listen, the material doesn't aim for or expect that. Unusual arrangements, the gold dust of the words and the sheer inventiveness betrays the lo-fi of it all. A superb album that deserves the music lover's attention. There is much more for the listener than big choruses.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Kelley Stoltz - The Stylist

 

Sometimes there are so many great new artists around that I Don't Hear A Single forgets the underappreciated part of its remit. One such example is San Francisco's Kelley Stoltz. This is 17th album since the 1999 debut, The Past Was Faster.

Yet he still seems largely unknown or ignored in his native country. The reissue of 2001's Antique Glow helped shake a few and rightly so for it is an exceptional affair. In fact everything Stoltz releases is quality and yet he remains a secret to so many.

He is seeming to get more recognition over here after a lengthy UK Tour in July, but there is a long way to go and this may very well be the album to slow burn. It is a real treasure trove of variety and seems to mark a step change.

Stoltz has always been a bit maverick and keen to invent in a very Indie New Wave kind of way as say Todd Rundgren and that may be why the quality of the songs are often overlooked. People notice the direction of the instruments rather than the fact that we have a classic Singer Songwriter in our midst.

The Stylist walks down different avenues at times. There is still plenty of evidence of the Indie 80s Pop Rock artist that loves the Pop of the 60s, but more targets are aimed at. There seems a bigger amount of keyboards, particularly synth riffs and piano led affairs.

In The Night is very The Equalizer 80s, but also seems to want to be Andrew Gold. Is There Anything Better Than This, Babe? is more than a little like Ray Davies with a new synth. You Had To Be There is Lounge and We Grew So Far Apart is splendid Psych Pop.

Wrong Number is Dream Pop, yet Plants goes all Berlin and is incredibly hypnotic and Wings gets Bowie and Belew. It's A Cold World goes all 60's West Coast harmony and then Steve & The Rats relies on just that one line. Change is a real earworm.

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You can listen to and buy the album here. The CD has four bonus tracks that are not on the Vinyl or download. You can find out more about Kelley Stoltz here.

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