A Few of My Favorite Things 2023 Edition – Part Two: The EPs, singles, a live release, compilations, and a reissue.

By Henry Lipput

Here is the rest of the music I've been enjoying (and listening to more than once) over the past year. I hope there's something here that you can get into as well. Next time we'll see start to see what 2024 is going to bring us.

EPs

Peter Hall, About Last Night

The initial email for About Last Night from the Subjangle label described the new Peter Hall release as a mini-album and/or an extended EP. For the purposes of this blog post I’m going with the latter although it would have been in the top five of my album list from Part One. About Last Night (Bandcamp) is another brilliant collection of songs from Hall whose Light The Stars album was at the top of the list in my 2021 year-end roundup. Each EP or album Hall presents to us is a musical step forward and we continue to be struck by how the vocals, lyrics, and soaring arrangements come together .

The 3 Clubmen, The 3 Clubmen

The musical powerhouse trio that is The 3 Clubmen is made up of Andy Partridge, Jen Olive, and Stu Rowe. Their self-titled EP (Burning Shed) is the kind of musically inventive and downright fun collection of songs that you just don’t hear much anymore. The trio made their first appearance when the first single from the EP, “Aviatrix,” was announced back in the Spring of 2023 (a few weeks later a glorious pop-art style video was released). In my review of the song I called it “mind-bending” and this also applies to the paint-splattering way all of these songs have been put together; there’s nothing in these songs that’s expected. 

Caleb Nichols, So This Is Crimble

It’s hard to deny Caleb Nichols his Beatle fan credentials. In addition to the very Beatles-influenced Ramon, he also released the single DoubleMantasy with covers of McCartney’s “Waterfalls” and Lennon’s “Watching The Wheels.” The centerpiece of the EP (Kill Rock Stars) is “Crimble Medley” in which Nichols creates a wonderful mashup of a song from a Beatles Christmas fanclub disc as well as holiday offerings from three solo Beatles along with Ringo's "Photograph" which fits very nicely in the mix (what's Christmas without photographs?). The EP also includes his two most recent Christmas songs, “(I Fell In Love On) Christmas Day” from Ramon (my favorite new Christmas song) and “Christmas, California” from his recent Let’s Look Back album.

SINGLES

The Bablers, “Thinking of You"

“Thinking Of You” (Big Stir Records), the latest single from The Bablers, is just the latest knock-out track following “Holding Me Tight Tonight,” “You Are the One for Me” (my personal favorite), and “Mr. King” which was released as the commutation (as a certain Mr. Lennon might have said) of Prince Charles was taking place. With these songs we’ve been treated to four singles from Like The First Time, an album only available in Japan and Finland (their home country) and things look good for a world-wide release of the whole thing in 2024. 

Fallon Cush, “Grain of Salt”

“Grain of Salt” (Bandcamp and all streaming services) is the first new music from Fallon Cush since 2019’s Stranger Things Have Happened album and the second single from the five-track Tricks EP which is being released in March 2024. “Grain of Salt” is mostly a solo effort with Fallon Cush’s main man Steve Smith with an assist from producer Josh Schuberth. At the beginning of 2020 Smith suffered a breakdown that left him with crippling anxiety. He stopped working and barely picked up a guitar. I wasn’t aware of any of this when I reviewed the song; it didn’t sound anything like an ask for help from its author, but it certainly sounds like that now.

Confusion Boats, “I Want To Hold Your Hand”

Brian Dear of Confusion Boats has been coming up with Beatles and Beatles-related covers for a long time and the fourth one to be released “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (Bandcamp) is the best. With the slowed down and soulful vocal of Andrew Lubman, Dear and fellow Boater Fernando Perdomo lay down the original arrangement for Abbey Road’s “Oh! Darling” on top. It’s just such a brilliant move that I’m sure no one saw it coming (I certainly didn't and have been playing it for people since it came out) and the result is amazing.

LIVE

The Sylvia Platters, Summer Dreamin'

The Sylvia Platters from Vancouver, British Columbia, is a four-piece consisting of Alex Kerc-Murchison, Stephen Carl O’Shea, Nick Ubels, and Tim Ubels. In December 2022 the band entered Malibu Sound Studio in Burnaby BC and performed a five-song set. Recorded and mixed by Kyle Schick, the collection was released in the summer of 2023 as Summer Dreamin' (Bandcamp). The title song is new to the band’s catalog but the other four tunes are from the albums, singles, and EPs The Sylvia Platters have released over the past ten years. Their sound is undoubtedly influenced by Teenage Fanclub and “Norman 4” (a bonus track originally on 2022’s Youth Without Virtue EP and dedicated to Norman Blake) is a standout on Summer Dreamin’.

COMPILATIONS

Dot Dash, 16 Again

The wonderful Dot Dash collection, 16 Again (Country Mile Records [sold out]/Last Night From Glasgow: vinyl/ Bandcamp: digital), is the first time these songs have been on vinyl and it’s a great way to hear them. It’s also a terrific way to introduce new fans to the band and a way to remind current fans why they liked Dot Dash so much in the first place. The title 16 Again refers to the fact that these songs (all but one) have been previously available on all ten of their albums released by Wally Salem’s The Beautiful Music label between 2011 and 2022. You can think of these songs, hand-picked by the band, as "a greatest hits album by a band with no hits" as the Bandcamp page says. But there's a difference between songs not being hits and songs loved by fans that should have been hits ("Unfair Weather" immediately comes to mind). 

Various Artists, Let The Band Times Roll (a tribute to The Replacements)

Philly’s Creep Records, with their Replacements tribute album Let The Bad Times Roll (digital available on Bandcamp and the vinyl from Creep Records) have put together a tremendous collection of 13 songs that span the ‘Mats recording career played by a group of bands and singers that I’ve never heard of playing songs I’ve been listening to for 30 or so years. Her Heads On Fire’s “Alex Chilton” and Celebration Summer’s “Left of the Dial” have arrangements close to the original but they just reinforce how great these songs are. The real gems are the ones that feature a different take on these beloved songs. Crazy Tom Martin’s “Sadly Beautiful” is electronically infused and Sammy Kay has an acoustic take and a Tom Waits vocal on “Favorite Things.” 

REISSUE

Pernice Brothers, Overcome By Happiness

I know I sound like a broken CD at times (because for a decade or so it was very difficult to buy a vinyl copy of an album in the US) but like 2001's Meaningless by Jon Brion (the vinyl release was in 2022) the Pernice Brothers great 1998 album Overcome By Happiness (New West Records) has finally been made available on a wonderful sounding remastered vinyl. Thanks to an arrangement with New West you can not only get yourself a single vinyl version of the 25th anniversary edition of Overcome but there's also a gorgeous deluxe edition with a second disc of pre-Overcome singles (the single version of "Monkey Suit" featuring both Joe and Bob Pernice is nearly worth the price of the whole thing), album demos, and a hardback book with comments by Joe and as well as lyrics. Another bonus of the coming together of New West and Pernice is the upcoming new solo album Who Will You Believe from Joe Pernice (now available for preorder here).

Caleb Nichols: a new album and a fab Christmas mashup

By Henry Lipput

Let’s Look Back

Let’s Look Back (Kill Rock Stars), the new album from poet, singer, and songwriter Caleb Nichols, continues the backwards looking journey he began with last year’s Ramon (one of my favorite albums of 2022).

Ramon is a queer love story (he used #queerthebeatles on the tweeter to promote the album) about a young gay boy growing up in a small town in the 1990s and finding the music of The Beatles as an escape. There’s also a rocky love story about Mean Mr. Mustard and Captain Custard although the names may have been changed to protect the innocent. The album also contained “(I Fell In Love On) Christmas Day” my new favorite Christmas song.

Following Ramon, Nichols released Chan Says & Other Songs which consisted of both an EP and a book of poems. He described the songs and story being at “the intersection of land/sea, sexuality/gender, and fairy tale/reality” as they tell the story of a young boy born to parents who wanted a girl.

So Let’s Look Back is more like Let’s Look Back Some More. In stark contrast to the warmth of “(I Fell In Love On) Christmas Day,” the new album starts off with “Christmas, California” and it’s clear the trip back home is not one that's looked forward to. The opening guitar riff recalls the music from a Sergio Leone western (or an overture to a shoot-out at the holiday dinner table).

“Demon Twink” and “Absolute Boy” are the album's pop highlights. The latter is a jangle-pop treasure with a sad message at its core: "The time you clipped my wings." “Albatross” rocks out and offers advice to those who have been hurt in love and not ready to move on yet: “Everything you lost/Wear it like an albatross.”

“The Wires,” the penultimate song on Let’s Look Back, is my favorite and the best song on the album. The song starts slow with a strummed electric guitar and an entreaty to a potential lover: “Hold me tonight/Show me.” The song slowly builds, an acoustic guitar dominates the bridge, and it ends with a majestic orchestral conclusion.

So This Is Crimble

It’s hard to deny Nichols’ Beatles credentials. In addition to the very Beatles-influenced Ramon, he also released the single Double Mantasy with covers of McCartney’s “Waterfalls” and Lennon’s “Watching The Wheels”(and he's made them his own).

The main attraction and centerpiece of the So This Is Crimble  EP (Kill Rock Stars) is “Crimble Medley” in which Nichols creates a wonderful mashup of a song from a Beatles Christmas fanclub disc as well as holiday offerings from three solo Beatles along with Ringo's "Photograph" which fits very nicely in the mix (what's Christmas without photographs?). The EP also includes his two most recent Christmas songs, “(I Fell In Love On) Christmas Day” from Ramon and “Christmas, California” from Let’s Look Back.

Here’s the video for “Crimble Medley:”

A Few Of My Favorite Things, 2022 Edition – Part One: The Albums

By Henry Lipput

My favorite albums in 2022 were a great mix of old favorites, recent favorites, and brand-new favorites. In the following paragraphs I’ve spotlighted the releases that tickled my ears the most, added links to where you can find them, and chose my favorite tracks from each of them (where available I’ve included links to where you can hear the songs). As in the past this list of albums is only Part One of my 2022 year-end review; Part Two, with singles, EPs, live releases, compilations, and reissues, will hopefully be posted by the middle of February (since for some reason my blog doesn’t let folks subscribe if you follow me on Twitter or Mastodon you’ll see Part Two as soon as it’s posted).

Freedy Johnston, Back on the Road to You (Forty Below Records)

Although it’s been seven years since Freedy Johnston’s Neon Repairman, from the opening notes of his great new album Back on the Road to You it’s clear he hasn’t missed a beat. My favorite songs on Back on the Road to You recall the things I’ve liked in his past work like the glorious pop of “There Goes a Brooklyn Girl” made me think of Never Home’s “I’m Not Hypnotized” and the five-minute long instant classic “Somewhere Love” has the same melancholy vibe of his masterpiece Blue Days, Black Nights. The first song, “Back on the Road to You,” and the last, “The I Really Miss Ya Blues,” bookend the album and express the feelings of long-time Johnston fans who, for nearly a decade, have had the really miss him blues. Favorite track: “There Goes a BrooklynGirl”

Karen, Karen (Old Bad Habits Label)

Karen is a British supergroup made up of musicians who have worked with other bands: Davey Woodward on vocals and guitar (The Brilliant Corners, The Experimental Pop Band, Davey Woodward and the Winter Orphans), Hugo Morgan on bass (The Heads, Loop), and Tom Adams on drums (Beatnick Filmstars, Secret Shine, The Total Rejection). Karen released an EP, Filwood Broadway in 2018 and the self-titled release Karen is advertised as their first and only album. Woodward’s songs chronicle working class Brits (“Carrier Bag”) and rocky romances (“Too Late”). I’m a sucker for Woodward’s broken-hearted, yearning vocals as well as his lyrics whether it’s for a love song or a story song. Favorite track: “Estuary”

Lannie Flowers, Flavor of the Month (Spyderpop Records/BigStir Records)

One of my favorite discoveries of 2021 was the reissue of Lannie Flower’s album Home. In 2018 Flowers was working on the songs that would become Home but also coming up with some that didn’t fit his vision of the album. Rather than putting those tunes aside he decided to issue them as free monthly downloads as a March to Home series. Flavor of the Month contains theses songs (remixed by Flowers) but also the new single “Summer Blue” and is the first physical release of these songs (and if you buy the vinyl for Flavor you’ll get a CD containing the original March To Home tracks). The album is a masterful collection featuring straight-up rock and roll with some power pop thrown in for good measure. Favorite track: “What Did I Know”

The Shop Window, A 4 Letter Word (Bandcamp/Spinout Nuggets)

Love is all over the new album, A 4 Letter Word from The Shop Window: there’s love in the lyrics and love in the playing of the songs. Band is also a four-letter word, and this love is best shown in the way the four members of the band (at the time of the album’s recording) love playing together. This is clear as soon as the needle hits the vinyl on the album’s first song, “Eyes Wide Shut,” it’s clear from Mann’s opening licks and jangles, the solid background provided by Martin Corder’s bass and Phil Esphee’s drums, Syd Oxlee’s keyboard washes, and then the intertwined vocals of Mann and Oxlee. Favorite track: “Lay of the Land”

Josh Rouse, Going Places (Yep Roc Records)

I’ve been a fan of Josh Rouse’s music since 2005’s splendid Nashville album. His latest, Going Places, is almost as good. Rouse spent the last few years his family in Spain, writing songs to be played in a small club; I had a ticket to see him in a small club here in Pittsburgh but wasn’t ready yet to be out in a group of people (my loss). With its tune-heavy songs (“Henry Miller’s Flat” and “Hollow Moon”), his gentle vocals (“Indian Summer”), and arrangements that feature the use of horns and some cool old-school organ fills (“Apple of my Eye”), Going Places is made to be heard live (but equally excellent on your stereo or headphones). Favorite track: “Apple of my Eye”

Tamar Berk, start at the end (Bandcamp)

Singer-songwriters can be a serious bunch and Tamar Berk is no exception. On her second solo album (a strong follow-up to 2021's the restless dreams of youth -- no sophomore slump for Berk), she once again writes honestly about adult relationships. Perhaps not intended as a concept album, the album opener, “Your Permission,” opens the door for her to put on various moods and attitudes in her songs: “Can I ask your permission/To be someone else today/To say what I want to say/In a different sort of way.” The songs range from rockers (“real bad day”) to piano-based confessionals (“you already knew”) and dancing-around-the-living-room pop (“alone tonight”). Favorite track: “tragic endings”

SUPER 8, Universal Journey (Bandcamp)

Universal Journey from SUPER 8 aka Trip aka Paul Ryan is an out-of-this-world delight. The album is the first since 2020’s collaboration on the Lisa Mychols and SUPER 8 album (Mychols provides guest vocals on many of Universal Journey’s songs).  The opening and closing tracks on Universal Journey (“Universe,” “Feel,” and “The World Is Happening”) make up a soundtrack to a viewing of the incredible Webb telescope photos. And “Galactic 9,” with vocals from Mychols, is the sexy sound of space travel with visions of a ship full of mile-high-and -a-half members. Favorite track: “Cracks in the Pavement”

The Jazz Butcher, Highest in the Land (Tapete Records)

I knew little to nothing about the band The Jazz Butcher when its leader Pat Fish died in 2021. But the people whose musical opinions I respect on Twitter had a lot to say about the importance of his music to their lives. As a result, I've been listening to, and enjoying, their final album and the first in nine years, The Highest in the Land. The album is full of wonderful tunes and there’s a block of gorgeous ones in the middle of the album: “Sea Madness,” “Don’t Give Up,” “Amalfi Coast May 1963.” It has certainly given me a good reason to take a deep dive into the band’s back catalog (founded in 1982 they had an 11- album run in the first 13 years of their career). Favorite track: “Never Give Up”

The Vague Ideas, New York Letters (Trouserphonic)

New York Letters is set during the period John Lennon lived in New York between 1971 and 1980 and this unique idea is the result of a collaboration between US-based musician and writer Mare Rozzelle and UK-based songwriter and musician Glenn Prangnell. The songs take the form of letters and messages both to and from Lennon. “Bread and Jam (Letter to Julian)” fittingly recalls Double Fantasy’s “I’m Losing You” as John writing to his young son and the amazing “Revolution 9”- inspired “Prelude to the Lost Weekend” is Prangnell’s look at Lennon’s state-of-mind as he leaves Yoko. The last two songs on the album are the saddest as well as the most beautiful. “When You Turn Five (Lullaby for Sean)” is the future that neither of them will see together. And “No More Crying (Message to Paul)” is a love song to McCartney; it’s his version of “Here Today” and even begins with the same chord.  Favorite track: “No MoreCrying (Message to Paul)”

Armstrong, Happy Graffiti (The Beautiful Music/Country Mile Records)

With the release of his radiant third album Happy Graffiti Armstrong (Julian Pitt) has made it clear, with his trademark DIY use of vocals, acoustic guitars, and synths, he doesn’t sound like anyone else because he has a sound all his own. One of the themes in Armstrong’s work is the idea of walking with a friend or partner and having a conversation to work out problems. In terms of musical themes “Keep on Walking,” for example, is one of Happy Graffiti’s songs in which upbeat arrangements bump up against melancholy lyrics. “Eyes Open Wide” and “In a Memory,” however, are straight-up gorgeous sad songs. Favorite track: “Songbird”

Caleb Nicols, Ramon (Kill Rock Stars)

Ramon is not only the album’s title but also the last name Paul McCartney took when The Beatles had their first real gig in 1960 as the backing band for Johnny Gentle on a tour of Scotland. On “Ramon,” Nichols borrows the line “Ram on, give your heart to somebody soon” from McCartney’s RAM. Nichol’s take is just as lovely and melancholy. The centerpiece of the album is the relationship between Mr. Mustard and Captain Custard. “Mustard’s Blues” recalls McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It” and the neatly six-minute “From a Hole in the Road” (or is it a hole in the heart?) with its repeated line “I’ve been dreaming you” and then “I still dream of you” becomes a mantra. The final song on Ramon (and my new favorite Christmas song) is “I Fell in Love on Xmas Day.” Favorite track: “Ramon”

Crossword Smiles, Pressed & Ironed (Big Stir Records)

Ringing guitars, short sharp bass lines, wonderful close harmonies, and tunes a-plenty, that’s what you get on Pressed & Ironed, the debut album from Crossword Smiles. The band is a brand-new collaboration between Detroit, Michigan, pop stalwarts Tom Curless (guitar, drums, and vocals) of Your Gracious Host and solo efforts and Chip Saam (bass and vocals) of The Hangabouts as well Curless’s backing band The 46% (and Neighborhood Weekly Radio’s Indie Pop Takeout).  Inspired by the sound of 80’s and 90’s college radio, Curless and Saam dip into their musical grab bags to create songs that both reflect and build on what they’ve grown up listening to. Favorite track: “Feet on the Ground”

The enduring influence of the Nerk Twins

 By Henry Lipput

Wonderful albums by Caleb Nichols and The Vague Ideas reflect the enduring influence of Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

Ramon, Caleb Nichols

On Ramon (Kill Rock Stars) the names have been changed to protect the broken-hearted as well as those who break hearts. We have Ramon, Jerome, Mr. Mustard, and Captain Custard in a gay love story.

Drawing on both McCartney and Lennon’s lyrical ideas as well as McCartney’s (and his own) history, Nichols creates a gay love story that he has called #QueeringtheBeatles. Nichols is both gay and a Beatles fan; in the Elliot Smith-influenced opener “Listen to the Beatles” he tells of coming home from Middle School, putting on headphones, and listening to the Beatles as a means of escape.

(A side note: At first listen Ramon was something I could identify with, not because I’m a gay Beatles fan, but because my best friend was. He was the first person I knew who not only had bootlegs, but vinyl bootlegs.)

Ramon is not only the album’s title but also the last name Paul McCartney took when The Beatles had their first real gig in 1960 as the backing band for Johnny Gentle on a tour of Scotland. And when you separate the word into Ram and on, it’s a song on Paul and Linda McCartney’s 1971 RAM album. On “Ramon,” Nichols borrows the line “Ramon, give your heart to somebody soon” from RAM’s “Ram On.” Nichol’s take is just as lovely and melancholy as McCartney’s.

The album’s centerpiece is the love story between a Mr. Mustard and Captain Custard. It doesn’t go well and on “Captain Custard” he moves out because his lover is not called Mean Mr. Mustard for nothing. The instrumental “Mustard’s Blues” recalls McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It” and the neatly six-minute “From a Hole in the Road” (or is it a hole in the heart?) with its repeated line “I’ve been dreaming you” and then “I still dream of you” becomes a mantra and a hope that dreams can come true.

Whether the story ends on a positive note is up to the listener but based on the final song on Ramon (and my new favorite Christmas song), “I Fell in Love On Xmas Day,” it appears to be resolved.

By the way, Nichols has just released a two-song EP, Double Mantasy (Kill Rock Stars), with covers of McCartney’s “Waterfalls (featuring Rogue Wave)” and Lennon’s “Watching the Wheels” (listen to this one all the way through for its chilling ending). Here’s the video for “Waterfalls” with John kissing a crying Paul.

New York Letters, The Vague Ideas

New York Letters (Trouserphonic) is a unique idea by US-based musician and writer Mare Rozzelle and set during the period John Lennon lived in New York between 1971 and 1980. Originally conceived as a stage play, Rozzelle asked UK-based songwriter and musician Glenn Prangnell to write the music for songs that took the form of letters and messages both to and from Lennon. Rozelle used the Hunter Davies “The John Lennon Letters,” Cynthia Lennon’s book, and books by John and Yoko’s assistants, as well as the many television shows he was on to gain insight into John’s conversational style.

The songs on New York Letters lift licks and sounds from Lennon’s work during this period. It’s like the songs that Neil Innes wrote for The Rutles but without the jokes (although “Always Good to Hear from You [Letter from Mimi]” is funny with its swipe at Paul and a tune like the “granny music” John detested.)

The album begins with the rocking “NYC (Letter to Julia)” following his primal scream therapy and sounding like an outtake from Walls and Bridges or Milk and Honey. The snarky “Nixon’s Listening (Letter to Tricky Dicky)” is a response to that president’s attempt to throw Lennon out of the country and tap his phone because of John's political activities.

With a sound that fittingly recalls Double Fantasy’s  “I’m Losing You,” “Bread and Jam (Letter to Julian)” has John writing to his young son who lives with his mother across the ocean: “I know you can’t be happy that I’m so far away/But someday soon I’m gonna send for you/And I promise you can come and stay.”

The amazing “Revolution 9”- inspired “Prelude to the Lost Weekend” is Prangnell’s look at Lennon’s state-of-mind as he leaves Yoko and goes to California to drink and hang out with folks like Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon, and Ringo Starr. The Macca-like, bouncy and piano-based “Something’ll Happen (Letter from Paul)” is his hope for a reunion, not of the greatest band in the world, but a friendship (I love the line “Talk about us/We thought it was heaven/Riding the bus in search of B7”).

The last two songs on the album are the saddest as well as the most beautiful. “When You Turn Five (Lullaby for Sean)” is the future that neither of them will see together. And “No More Crying (Message to Paul)” is a love song to McCartney; it’s his version of “Here Today” and even begins with the same chord. “It’s only me, Paul” the lyric goes, a remark that McCartney has said would happen when he and John argued during the Fab times.