A Few Of My Favorite Things 2025 Edition: The Albums

 By Henry Lipput

"The Lucky Thirteen."

That's what I'm calling my year-end list of my favorite albums of 2025, the ones I've most enjoyed listening to over the past twelve months. For each of them I've included a short description, my favorite song from the album, and a link to where you can find the album on Bandcamp (so that you can support these wonderful musicians and maybe bump into something else you can enjoy). 

David Mead, January, San Fernando (Bandcamp)

Since his debut album, The Luxury of Time, was released in 1999 David Mead has become one of the best American singer-songwriters we have. His new album, January, San Fernando, fits comfortably in his catalog especially next to albums like Indiana.

Favorite song: "Amelia"

Assistant, Certain Memories (Subjangle)

Certain Memories is a collection of sadly beautiful songs played by a band that makes a lovely, delicate jangly sound. The album is Assistant's first since 2022 and is a concept album of sorts dealing with the illness of a parent and how a family and friends get through it.

Favorite song: "Song for Jil"

Massage, Coaster (Bobo Integral Records)

Coaster is Massage's third album and the one where everything comes together. It's no coincidence that one of the members of this LA-based five piece was a co-founder of The Pains of Being Pure of Heart and you can hear this echoed in many of the songs on Coaster.

Favorite song: "When You Go"

The Bablers, Like the First Time (Big Stir Records)

Big Stir's release of Like the First Time was 25 years in the making as this album was only available in Japan and the band's native Finland in 2020. Full of power pop rave ups and ballads the album may have a different track listing but it's the way The Bablers want it heard now.

Favorite song: "You Are The One For Me"

Emma Swift, The Resurrection Game (Tiny Ghost Records)

If music has the power to heal, Swift has taken advantage of the opportunity to use the sounds of a swooning Nelson Riddle-like orchestra on her songs dealing with romance, desire, and a real-life nervous breakdown. And if the album is ever made into a musical the song "Catholic Girls Are Easy" would be a great Act 2 opener.

Favorite song: "Nothing and Forever"

Crossword Smiles, Consequences + Detours (Big Stir Records)

Consequences + Detours is the second album by the Michigan-based band led by Chip Saam, Tom Curless, and friends. The album is full of pop bliss and clever lyrics, a combination not usually found together but here found in spades.

Favorite song: "Millicent"

Tony Molina, On This Day (Slumberland Records)

Molina has been known for writing and recording songs that are less than two minutes long. None of these songs are throwaways or rough sketches.  Some like On This Day's "Faded Holiday" barely hit the one-minute mark but he puts everything in them which only makes you want to visit them again..

Favorite song: "Faded Holiday"

SUPER 8 featuring Lisa Mychols, UNFINISHED MONKEY BUSINESS (Bandcamp)

SUPER 8 and Lisa Mychols have been making music together from opposite sides of the world since their 2019 single "Timebomb." Their new collection consists of previous released singles and album tracks as well as songs that are new to me.

Favorite song: "Falling For You"

Sunny Intervals, Swept Away (Bandcamp)

 

The album is described on its Bandcamp page as a "late night whisper." Swept Away was written over the course of a decade and recorded by Andy Hudson mostly in his kitchen at night. The Janglepophub blog called it "pristine sunshine pop."

Favorite song: "Waiting For Sunshine" 

Shapes Like People, Ticking Haze (Jangleshop Records)

Ticking Haze is the debut album from the husband and wife team of Kat and Carl Mann. Following his work with The Shop Window it's not surprising that the songs are rich with melody as well as peopled with characters who yearn for love and a better life as well as an offering of hope and support to both lovers and friends.

Favorite song: "When The Radio Plays"

Tamar Berk, ocd, (Bandcamp)

Berk has described ocd, her fifth album in five years, as her most personal and intense.  She continues to add new musical ideas and instruments to her sound and she has found new ways to address both real and imagined conversations that can present roadblocks in relationships. 

Favorite song: "ocd"

Robert Forster, Strawberries (Tapete Records)

Since his time in The Go-Betweens and throughout his solo career Forster has mastered the writing of story songs. On Strawberries there are two: "Tell It Back To Me" and "Breakfast On The Train." "Train" is the one that has stuck with me because of its use of a novel storytelling device 

Favorite song: "Breakfast On The Train"

Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires, Sounds Made By Humans (Skep Wax)

Brian Bilston is a poet and The Catenary Wires are a pop group and their unique collaboration  produced an album of "song-poems." Using Bilston's words, the band's Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey wrote the music for songs that are sung and performed by The Catenary Wires and others have Bilston fronting the band.

Favorite song: "Every Song On The Radio Reminds Me Of You"

The Unpredictable Mr. Ryan

By Henry Lipput

With his new album, Retro Metro (Think Like A Key Music), Scotland’s SUPER 8 -- aka Trip aka Paul Ryan -- continues to delight and surprise us, as he’s been doing for the last six years, and he keeps us guessing about what he has up his musical sleeve.

In 2018 he released his first album T-T-T-Technicolor Melodies and as someone at the time wrote for CoolDad Music the album: “has the charm of a home-made, one-man-in-a-studio production like Paul McCartney and Emitt Rhodes.” And that was that because we were used to waiting at least another year or two for a musician’s next album.

But SUPER 8 began his unpredictable ways as he released that same year not one but two albums of completely new material with each one (Turn Around Or… and HI/LO) being better than the one before. (I just want to point out that as far as I know – and you can let me know if I’m wrong – no one since The Beatles in 1964 and 1965 produced three albums in a year.)

Soon after this musical hat trick SUPER 8 began a collaboration with California-based power popper Lisa Mychols with the groovy single “Timebomb.” They never sat in the same room working on music and lyrics but instead traded files across multiple time zones, a practice which is something done by a lot of folks now but seemed to be very new at the time. Trip and Mychols also put out a self-titled album in 2020 and continue to work together as LMS8 – their latest single is the recent “Love Connection.”

SUPER 8’s Raindrops On Roses album contained a lot of covers which had already been on his albums but also included, as he surprised all of us, his version of a 1970’s Lennon demo that – at the time – The Twotles had yet to release. Legends – A Tribute to Astrud was another unpredictable album as SUPER 8’s tribute to his band of the 1990’s that toured the UK with these songs but never got into a studio to record them.

On the brand new album Retro Metro he does it again. He opens it with an instrumental theme song – when was the last time anyone did that? And at the end of 2023 a retro-60’s band The Plus 4 released a few tracks. But it wasn’t long before the cat was out of the hat and the word was that The Plus 4 was really SUPER 8. He’s own up to it and it’s not only now part of his canon but now the songs are on Retro Metro and everyone can hear how cool they are!

Back around the time T-T-T-Technicolor Melodies came out there were some early SUPER 8 videos on YouTube. One of them was for a lovely song about a female friend but it didn’t appear of this first album. It did, however, show up on Turn Around Or … and was one of my favorite tracks. So it was a big surprise to find “Mary Jane,” dusted off and performed anew, on Retro Metro – sort of like a full circle for the song.

Girl-group inspired new single from LMS8

Henry Lipput

LMS8 has just released “Love Connection,” a groovy new single on Bandcamp. Who, you may be wondering, exactly is this LMS8 you speak of?

You may know the folks behind LMS8 as the very much missed power pop duo Lisa Mychols and SUPER 8. The pair’s first trans-Atlantic collaboration was the fabulous single “Time Bomb” and culminated in 2020’s Trip & Ellie’s self-titled summer blast (Mychols also contributed to SUPER 8’s out-of-this-world Universal Journey in 2022).

Back together again for the first time since then, the duo has just given us “Love Connection.” It’s a girl-group inspired romp with Mychols, after taking some time for herself, is ready to “move on to a Love Connection” but without the games she’s had to deal with in the past. And SUPER 8? It’s all his hands on deck as he once again is playing all the instruments and providing some cool deep-voiced background vocals as well.  

And there’s a video too.

A Few of My Favorite Things, 2023 Edition -- Part One, The Albums

By Henry Lipput

Another year, another year-end list. Twelve albums are featured in my round-up of favorites from 2023. Once again there are the bands and artists I've enjoyed for a while as well as new faces and voices and two collaborations. I've reviewed many of these albums last year so I've edited them for this post and wrote new text for the entries I either didn't get to in 2023 or missed until recently.  Part Two of the Pure Pop blog will include my favorite EPs, singles, a live one, compilations, and a reissue.

For each album I've included a link to where you can buy the music (as well as a song from each album) and, as aways, I encourage you to support indie music by purchasing a download, a CD, or a record. 

The Boo Radleys – Eight (BooSTR Records) 

In 2022, following a gap of 24 years, The Boo Radleys released Keep On With Falling, an album I liked a lot. Their new album, Eight, is not only a giant step in the band’s regeneration, it continues their brilliant sonic journey. It’s also where the new album fits in Boo Radleys discography and makes it clear there’s a throughline in the history of a band that before last year had not released an album since 1998 and where the band is now. Favorite song: “Seeker”

Maia Sharp – Reckless Thoughts (maiasharp.com) 

On Reckless Thoughts Maia Sharp builds on the relationships she’s made with the many musicians and songwriters she’s known over the years since her debut in 1995. Sharp’s production on Reckless Thoughts is a low-key affair highlighting each song’s melody with subtle arrangements that wash over you like a warm bath and then come back to revisit you. The literate lyrics for each song are polished to a gem-like finish. Favorite song: “Fallen Angel”

Bill Pritchard – Pritchard Sings Poems by Patrick Woodcock (Tapete Records) 

You may think after having written both words and music for wonderful songs on 2016’s Mother Town Hall and 2019’s Midland Lullabies that Bill Pritchard would have little incentive to collaborate with the Canadian poet Patrick Woodcock. But it turns out this is a genius move. Pritchard has lost none of his ability to create brilliant melodies and his vocals and simple arrangements make you stop what you’re doing and listen to Woodcock’s words. Favorite song: “The Lowering"

The Cleaners From Venus – K7 (Bandcamp) 

Since the 1970s, Martin Newell, has released music under many monikers including The Stray Trolleys, The Brotherhood of Lizards, The Cleaners From Venus, and his own name in the 90s when he gave us the wonderful The Greatest Living Englishman and The Off-White Album. For the last few years Newell has released an album’s worth of material each year as the one-man band that is The Cleaners From Venus. His latest, K7, is once again filled with tunes that jangle (he’s known as the Jangling Man) and lyrics that recall the working-class vignettes of Ray Davies. There’s also the gorgeous “Postcard to Heaven” about the loss of a friend and “The Beautiful Stoned” where he cranks up the jangle. Favorite song: “Postcard to Heaven”

The Lost Days – In The Store (Speakeasy Studios SF) 

I’ve been a fan of Tony Molina’s work since his great Kill The Lights album in 2018. A master of short, extremely melodic songs recorded in a very lo-fi DIY way, all of his labels (In The Store is the fourth since Kill The Lights) release his full-size records (about 15 minutes of playing time) that are to be played at 45 RPM for “maximum sound quality.” On In The Store Molina is joined by Sarah Rose Janko of Dawn Riding who provides a wonderful take on his lyrics. The duo is joined by Nick Bassett on drums and keyboards (he also supplied the basement in which the album was recorded) and Jasper Leach on piano and Hammond organ. Favorite song: “For Today”

Lydia Loveless – Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again (digital: Bloodshot Records/CD and vinyl: lydialoveless.com) 

Loveless has an awesome voice that makes it clear it’s not going to take crap from anyone; she’s also very good on the album’s more emotional turns. Along with her crackerjack band the results are not unlike Carlene Carter on her 1980 Musical Shapes album where she matched her twangly vocals with the lads from Rockpile (just check out “I’m So Cool”). On Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again, Loveless has songs that alternate between hitting the big time (“Sex and Money”) and leaving behind a bad relationship (“Toothache”). Favorite song: “Toothache”

Robert Forster – The Candle and the Flame (Tapete Records) 

Robert Forster had three years’ worth of songs he had written for a new album before his wife and musical partner Karin Baumler was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. While Baumler underwent chemotherapy, Forster set out to quickly record songs at a local studio in Brisbane. The sessions turned into an extended family affair with their son Louis taking part along with Adele Pickvance, a long-time friend and bass player on the last three Go-Betweens albums (and the Adele of Adele and the Chandeliers). The result is a literate and heartfelt album. Favorite song: “Tender Years

Steve Stoeckel – The Power Of And (Big Stir Records) 

What do you get when you put a musical mix of styles in a blender and hit the puree button? If you’re lucky (and it turns out we definitely are this time) you’ll end up with The Power Of And the debut solo album from Steve Stoeckel. The Power Of And alternates between the Rockpile rockabilly of “Laura Lynn” to the wonderful acoustic treats of “Heather Gray,” “Birds” (a lovely melody as good as anything on a McCartney album), and “Strange Cameo” with its “I’ll Follow The Sun” vibe. Favorite song: “Birds”

Gramercy Arms – Deleted Scenes (Magic Door Record Label) 

The music and lyrics of Deleted Scenes recall the 1970s, a time when young people -- artists, writers, actors, filmmakers – flocked to New York City. Gramercy Arms fits into the zeitgeist of the time as it’s a collective led by Dave Derby who was also a member of another collective of sorts: The Negatives, a band led by Lloyd Cole resulting in 2001’s The Negatives.  Cole, it turns out, is also part of Gramercy Arms and co-wrote and plays on “Yesterday’s Girl,” the first single from the album. Having worked with Cole for more than 20 years, Derby has, especially on this song, picked up some of the former’s vocal mannerisms. Favorite song: “Fucked Up and Beautiful”

Tamar Berk – little injuries (Bandcamp) 

On tiny injuries Berk hits the ground rocking and then opens up to include heart-felt and heartbreaking ballads and, with the addition of horns, she’s building on her musical palette. Berk plays the quiet, acoustic card when she needs to and she and her band know how to bring the loud guitars. Berk has a songwriter’s gift for collecting the important parts of overheard conversations between lovers and friends especially the ones that signal the end of relationships. Favorite song: “sunday driving”

SUPER 8 – HOOPLA (The Beautiful Music) 

HOOPLA is a cornucopia of musical delights. Written and performed by the super-talented one-man band Paul Ryan, also known as Trip, he’s been releasing high-quality tuneage since 2018 (including the amazing hat trick of three albums of all new material that year). The new album not only continues his streak of presenting technicolor melodies (the title of his first 2018 album) but the time he’s spent since then, tinkering in his shed, has given his songs more textures, sounds, and arrangements. Favorite song: “Out of my Head”

The New Fools – seashells (Bandcamp)

On seashells, The New Fools adds trumpet and saxophone to the mix and the result is a rousing blast of sound. It’s their first “full-length” album (being more than the eight songs of previous ones) and their best yet. The band shares duties on creating lyrics and tunes for seashells. For example, bassist Dave Seabright was asked to write a theme song for the band which could be used to open shows. The resulting instrumental “Mr. Grimsdale” opens the album with a burst of sound. It’s both an overture and a statement of intent.  Favorite song: “Nice One Pete”

SUPER 8 has it covered

 By Henry Lipput

Since his second album, Turn Around Or …, in 2018 (one of three released that year as part of a musical hat trick), SUPER 8 has included songs written by others on nearly every album and even a few singles. He has now collected these covers and added more to create the groovy personal jukebox that is Raindrops On Roses (available as a free download on Bandcamp).

These songs run the gamut from music released decades ago to those recently reimagined. There are hits from the ‘60s like Lulu’s “It’s My Party,” Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman,” and Neil Diamond’s “Cherry Cherry” (which was paired on SUPER 8’s HiLo album with his brilliant “Angels & Neil Diamond”) and deep cuts like The Kinks’ “Autumn Almanac” (one of my favorite Kinks songs).

There are songs that the man known as Trip (real name Paul Ryan) no doubt grew up listening to: The Beatles’ “Across the Universe,” The Smith’s “Back to the Old House” (a lovely acoustic guitar and mandolin arrangement), Psychic TV’s “Goldstar,” and “Ride A White Swan” by T. Rex. More recent picks are BMX Bandit’s “Serious Drugs” (the one on Turn Around Or … that started it all) and The Replacements’ “I Will Dare.”

Then there are some amazing things SUPER 8 has done to reimagine and/or finish up two songs.  “Susan Revolving” is based on a fragment by XTC’s Andy Partridge and has a cool Dukes of Stratosphere vibe. The other is “Now & Then (reimagined)” from a demo recorded by John Lennon in the 1970s; it’s a haunting listen not only because of the arrangement but also knowing Lennon wasn’t around to give it a proper recording.

Speaking of arrangements, some songs like “I Will Dare” start off as if SUPER 8 is doing a faithful recreation of the tune but then he makes a left turn and gives us a clever and surprising twist. And that happens a lot on Raindrops On Roses which is one of the album’s delights.

I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining but one of my favorite SUPER 8 covers didn’t make the cut: it’s “X Hits the Spot” by Michael Head & The Strands which appeared on 2019’s Backers & Maracas album and is worth checking out. Also worth checking out is the rest of SUPER 8 releases on Bandcamp and while you’re there you could, since Raindrops On Roses is a free download, buy yourself an album, a single, or a download to support this extremely talented musician and songwriter.

This is what all of the hoopla is about

 By Henry Lipput

HOOPLA, the new album by SUPER 8 (The Beautiful Music/Bandcamp), is a cornucopia of musical delights. Written and performed by the super-talented one-man band Paul Ryan, also known as Trip, he’s been releasing high-quality tuneage since 2018 (including the amazing hat trick of three albums of all new material that year).

The new album not only continues his streak of presenting technicolor melodies (the title of his first 2018 album) but the time he’s spent since then, tinkering in his shed, has given his songs more textures, sounds, and arrangements. You can hear this all over the new album. The song “Our Town” starts in skiffle mode but when it begins to rock about halfway through you’d be mistaken if you thought there was full band hitting its stride in his backyard hideaway.

You can also hear it on “Jennifer Anne,” one of my favorite songs on the album. I’m not sure if I’m correct in calling this recording a suite but in a little over three minutes it has at least three different melodies, arrangements, and lyrics looking at the woman in the song in three different ways (and that’s not including a bridge).

The Fabs influence makes a few appearances on HOOPLA. Trip channels his inner George Martin on the opening track “For My Friends,” a salute to the folks who have supported his work over the years. “All My Worries” has a very solo Lennon vibe and there’s a lovely “Dear Prudence”-like acoustic guitar lick in there as well. Trip then plays a bouncy Macca sounding piano for “Out of My Head.”

I realize I’m not the first one to bring up the way The Beatles have made their mark on the music of SUPER 8 but I also want to point out they’re not the only band or solo artist that have become part of his musical grab bag. Over the last five years he’s recorded covers by, among others, BMX Bandits, Neil Diamond, The Replacements, The Beach Boys, Shack, and My Bloody Valentine.

And although he hasn’t covered a song from the XTC catalog, on HOOPLA he has built on a fragment of a song by Andy Partridge. In completing the track he’s created a Dukes of Stratosphere-worthy slice of psychedelic pop.

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”