Stuck In Your Head

 By Henry Lipput

On his new album, Earworms (Big Stir Records) Nick Frater has come up with tunes that stick in your head and stay with you for the rest of the day -- and sometimes, if you're lucky, even longer. Frater is a UK-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who specializes in evoking the sounds of ‘60s and ‘70s pop. 

Back here in the U.S. we had AM radio in the ‘70s that played music by bands like Rasperries, Wings, early Daryl Hall/John Oates (I‘m thinking of 1973’s Abandoned Luncheonette), and piano men Elton John and Billy Joel. And although Big Star and Emitt Rhodes weren’t being played on the radio at the time they have become over the years a very big part of our musical DNA -- and Frater is certainly aware of this.

Recordng at his home in Croydon, and prevented by lockdowns from calling on his regular band and studios, Frater instead pulled together an impressive group of home recordists spread across the UK and U.S. including Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Jellyfish/Beck), Darian Sahanaja (Wondermints/Brian Wilson), Mike Randle (Love/Baby Lemonade), Dana Countryman, drummer-in-a-closet Nick Bertling, and many others. 

The first track on the album, “It’s All Rumours,” is a rave-up that recalls the guitars and lead vocal of Eric Carmen and company. “Buggin’ Out” is a pop treat as well as a mashup of decades with it’s references to ‘50s doo wop backing vocals and  Abbey Road-era George Harrison guitar. 

“What’s With Your Heavy Heart” is both a musical and lyrical tribute to Emitt Rhodes. The line “What’s with your heavy heart?/Love is just another to fall apart/On a second chance/Falling with my face on the floor” makes it hard not to think of the Rhodes track “Face On The Floor” from his 1970 self-titled album.

“Lucky Strike” begins with a Supertramp vamp and although Frater’s fellow pop traveler, the late, great Owsley, wasn't around in the 70s, his influence can be heard on the melody lines of this song as well as Earworm’s “Not Born Again.”

The lovely “Star-Crossed” is the song McCartney never wrote for his albums Red Rose Speedway or Venus And Mars. And the short, sweet “How To Survive Somebody” is another Raspberries callback that starts quietly with its choral-like backing vocals and builds to a musical crescendo.

Frater has said he wanted to “make an album that sounds and feels like a lost treasure from the mid '70s melodic rock scene,” and he delivers the goods. In addition, the amazing album cover by Adam Mallett, an homage to the great Klaus Voormann cover for Revolver, is just icing on the cake.

Light Up Your Ears

 By Henry Lipput

With his talent for tunes and a voice like a choirboy, Peter Hall’s Light The Stars (Bandcamp) is the most gorgeous pop album you’ll hear this year. If Hall wanted to make a “full-on, full-length, melodic electric blanket” (his words) of a collection of songs he has certainly done it in spades with this release.

The new album is a follow-up to last year’s wonderful There’s Something Wrong With Everyone EP (CD: The Beautiful Music/Digital: Bandcamp) and the new album is, in both songwriting and production, a continuation and a step ahead in his musical progression. And except for drums on two songs, Hall plays instruments on every song.

The first indication of how marvelous Light The Stars would be was the release of the first single “Two Twenty Two” in July.  The Beatles aren’t name-checked in the song but it’s clear from the lyrics the song is about falling in love with a song and sharing that feeling with a loved one: “Just turn it over when it fades/Like we used to do/P.S. I love you.”

The next single was the equally lovely “The Best Idea” about a bump in a relationship” On Bandcamp, the single also includes “How Could You?” a non-album track which is reason enough to have two copies of  the song. A father and son conversation concludes with the father, after letting the son know everything he’s done to raise him right, telling him “you’re just like me;” that's not how it was supposed to turn out.

Every song on Light The Stars is a treasure. Some that have stuck with me are the jingle-jangle of the opener “Save Yourself,"  the title song has a bass-driven vibe and guitar solo not unlike mid-period Squeeze as well as a big, bold ending, and the dazzling, acoustic closer “The Last Day” is a twin to “She Fell From The Sky” on last year’s EP. 

But nothing quite prepares you for the glorious sound of “Firefly.” With it’s soaring backing and vocals, it’s the best song on what is clearly one of the best albums of the year.

It's Always Good To Hear Maia Sharp

 By Henry Lipput

Mercy Rising (Crooked Crown Records) is the wonderful new album from Maia Shop, her first solo effort in six years.  It's full of the smart, literate lyrics we’ve come to expect from her and the spare, tuneful arrangements match their tone. 

Sharp, a native of California, recently moved to Nashville, not, it seems, for the country music scene as much as for the community of like-minded songwriters and musicians. And except for some pedal steel guitar Mercy Rising is in no way a country album.  The basic tracks were recorded at Joshua Grange’s Resistor Studio in Nashville with Ross McReynolds on drums, Will Honaker on bass. and Grange on electric guitars. Sharp then brought those tracks back to her home studio where she performed and engineered acoustic guitars, piano, Wurlitzer, and her vocals as well as the vocals of her friends and co-writers. 

Most of the songs on Mercy Rising are co-writes but if I was to guess I’d say the lyrical tone is from Sharp.  My favorite song on the album, "Always Good To See You," is a bonus track (it’s on the CD but I’m not sure if it’s on the vinyl) that Sharp wrote for the SongWriter podcast and inspired by “The Ordinary Miraculous” essay from Cheryl Strayed‘s book Tiny Beautiful Things. 

This title of this post is a reference to the title of that song, a beautiful and yet sad gem. As you get older, more and more partners, friends, and family members are no longer with us. So it seems even more important that through luck or the fact these people have never really left us we see or hear something that reminds us of them:  “I am still amazed at your ways of checking in/A cardinal on a wire, a yard sale dress/It’s always good to see you.” 

The lyrics in Sharp’s songs are straightforward and she doesn’t seem to have much time for metaphors. However, she uses one on “Back Burner” but it’s clear what she’s singing about: “It’s a hell of a way to pay for my desire/It’s a hell of a way to say turn the flame up higher/I try to put you on the backburner/When I put you on the backburner/You set the place on fire.”

There’s no question of what the sexy “You’ll Know Who Knows You Tonight” is about; it’s about a hoped-for seduction and there‘s more than a little funk in the arrangement: “Slow dance slow in the kaleidoscope glow of a lava lamp light/Thermostat down, sip of Crown and if I get this right/You’ll know who knows you tonight.”

“Things To Fix” is a classic Sharp song. It makes the connection between what has to be repaired around the house with what needs to be fixed in a relationship: “I can work on something ‘til it shines like new/But I just couldn’t bring myself to shine for you/What I should’ve said and should’ve done/Yeah, I keep skipping over number one/On my list of things to fix.”

And “Not Your Friend” relates the pent-up feelings you have for someone who doesn’t see you as more than a friend when you want so much more: “I’m not your friend/Friends don’t pray their friends undo another button/I’m not your friend/Friends don’t lose their breath all of the sudden/You might say that you never want to see me again.”

"Lay Of The Land:" New single from The Shop Window

By Henry Lipput

“Lay Of The Land,“ (Bandcamp) the new single from The Shop Window, is the band’s first new music since their excellent debut album The State Of Being Human was released earlier this year.  The band has said the new song is a taster of what can be expected on their next album which was recorded in August after rehearsals in June and July.

The swirling psychedelic vibe of "Lay Of The Land" is darker in both music and lyrics than earlier compositions; in some ways it’s the band’s “Tomorrow Never Knows.” As songwriter Carl Mann put it: “It’s about experiencing dark times along the way, getting lost down a few rabbit holes, meeting the wrong people, and getting oneself back into a better place. Eventually figuring out what this is all about: Love!” 

Like an afternoon that alternates between clouds and sunshine, the verses lay out life's dark corners while an uplifting chorus provides answers. In addition, the superb interplay of the band members also casts a bright light on the song’s sometimes menacing tone. 

The rhythm section of  Martin Corder on bass and Phil Elphee on drums bring a solid foundation to the proceedings. The vocals of Mann and Syd Oxlee are like the singing of Lennon and McCartney on early Beatles recordings in which their voices meshed into one sound. And, as always, Mann’s stellar contributions on guitar, from the treated opening to the jangle pop sounds he brings throughout, are the band’s secret weapon.

Vince Meloney's rock and roll super group has an official name and a new single

 By Henry Lipput

The rock and roll super group that accompanied Vince Melouney on his “Women” single last year (in my review I called it “a crash course in garage rock”) was made up of members of Blondie, the Jigsaw Seen, and Strangers In A Strange Land. It now has an official name and has released a single.

"Come Some Christmas Eve (Or Halloween)," the single from Tall Poppy Syndrome (Bandcamp), was written by Vince’s former bandmate Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees in 1968 for that band’s Idea album (it wasn’t included in the original album but is part of the 2006 reissue). Vince, as you know, is an Australian guitar legend and was a member of the classic Bee Gees lineup from 1967 to 1969.

 

"Come Some Christmas Eve (Or Halloween)" isn’t a seasonal song despite the mention of those two almost holidays. The song concerns a long-lost love and perhaps those two days had a special significance for the lovers (dragons also seem to figure in the relationship).  

The new version is a completely different animal than the original. Tall Poppy Syndrome’s version grabs mid-60s influences and puts them into a melting pot to serve up a steaming plate of prime rock and roll. Vince brings his signature crisp, clean guitar sound to the song, drummer Clem Burke of Blondie channels his inner Moon man, Jonathan Lea of the Jigsaw Seen adds more guitars and an Indian-sounding mellotron wash, and Strangers In A Strange Land’s Alec Palao’s bass playing is very much in the McCartney Revolver-era vein while his bandmate Paul Kopf lays down a terrific vocal on top of it all.

A Most Excellent Mixtape And An Excellent Cause

 By Henry Lipput

Lovingly compiled by Wales journalist Kevin McGrath, V4Velindre: Charity Mixtape for the NHS (Bandcamp), is the amazing digital-only mixtape that will raise funds for the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff.

When I began working on this post there were 42 tracks. As of today, when the mixtape is released on Bandcamp, there are 50. And what an a great collection of tunes. There's pop, folk, rock, rap, and soul. There are the last three winners of the Welsh Music Prize and indie acts from across the UK as well as Italy, Finland, and the United States. There are demos, remixes, unreleased tracks, and radio edits. And rhere are songs from some of my current favorites and songs from musicians who it appears will become my new favorites. There's a lot to discover and a lot to enjoy.

 

If you're someone (like me) who buys digital singles on Bandcamp you know that they cost about £1 or $1 each. V4Velindre: Charity Mixtape for the NHS, with it's 50 tracks, has an asking price of  £7 or about $10 (you can always give more). There's about three hours of music and half a dozen exclusive tracks donated to the project which can't be heard anywhere else in the world.

I've included a link to one of the many songs on the mixtape that I enjoy And because it was so difficult to choose a song I'm going to try to change the tune every day or so. And if you'd like this to be more interactive after you download your own copy of the mixtape you can make a request in Comments and I'll try to include it on the next go-round..

The Pure Pop 4 Now People Singles Club Volume 3

 By Henry Lipput

Here are three more recent singles along with some short and (hopefully) sharp appreciations although it looks like there are a few more words for each of the entries this time around. A good step forward I say!

MARVELINE

Marveline is the solo project of Australia’s Pete Marley.  Marley, along with John Encarnacao, was half of the songwriting team behind The Nature Strip (currently on hiatus).  Marveline’s dreamy new song, “Fly By Instruments” (Bandcamp), is the second single since 2020’s Savoury-Toothed Tiger album (which I described as a “pure pop delight“). In some ways the new song is a return to the sound of Marley’s contributions to  The Nature Strip, especially the amazing “Store Of Tomorrows” on the 2018 Past Pacific EP which he co-wrote with Encarnacao. 

WILLIE NILE

Willie Nile’s new album (out last week!!) The Day The Earth Stood Still (River House Records) is a pandemic-themed collection and a stark contrast to his joyous, love-stuck 2020 release New York At Night. On the title track Nile looks out in disbelief at the empty streets of the city he’s lived in for over 40 years. And on “Blood On Your Hands” (available from digital vendors), featuring Steve Earle, Nile and his top-tier band still rock like nobody’s business but now there’s rage in their playing and righteous anger in the voices he and Earle bring to the song. 

KARMA SURROUND

Karma Surround is comprised on two brothers, Michael and Darren Roy, from, according to their Bandcamp page, the “old mining country in Fife.” The band has been releasing songs since the beginning of the year (with plans to release an album at the end of 2021) and one of the first I heard, “Stars Of The Last Magnitude,” really caught my attention. A recent release is “Do You Wonder” (Bandcamp) with it’s jangle-pop groove, a bit of snyth strings, and a tight, clear guitar solo, the song is a more than promising indication of what’s in store.  All of the band’s songs are being offered as free downloads or “name your price” but, if you're able, the band certainly deserves your support.

The Pure Pop 4 Now People Singles Club Volume 2: The Big Stir Edition

By Henry Lipput

Unfortuately, the brain fog continues (or the blog fog as I've started to refer to it because it just seems to affect my ability to wrtie a full album review [see Volume One of the Singles Club for more info]).

So today we dedicate Volume Two to the California-based label Big Stir Records. They've been releasing terrific singles on nearly a weekly basis (and excellent albums almost as often), some in connection with albums and some that they compile on their Wave collections which is currently out as number twelve in the series.

Here are three recent singles from Big Stir tbat were released in anticipation of forthcoming albums. All of them are available on Bandcamp for a mimimal cost for a download so you don't have to empty your digital wallet to support indie music.

LANNIE FLOWERS

Big Stir started releasing music by Texas-based singer-songwriter Lannie Flowers when the label began a collaboration with Syderpop Records earlier this year. Flowers is a real find and his Home album is wonderful. The "Home" single's B-side is the "Nashville version" of the album track "My Street." (Big Stir Single No. 141) 

 

ANTON BARBEAU

After releasing albums on a number of labels, Anton Barbeau seems to have finally found a permanent home with Big Stir. He has a unique, "Lucy-in-the-sky" view of the world and his music has a quicky yet very melodic sound. His single "One Of Her Super Powers" (Big Stir Single No. 138) is a song from his  Oh The Joys We Live For album. Describing the song Barbeau has said: "You know, 12-string guitars and Hofner bass -- the stuff of life." (Beatles '65!) And, like Barbeau, we all love a nice jangle. 

 

SORROWS

Love Too Late...the real album (released today!), is the album the power pop band Sorrows wanted to make in 1981 but couldn't because of label interference (by, among other things, replacing the lead singer), Now after four decades and a prolonged legal battle the band, three of the four original members, went into the studio to make the album they always wanted. "Christabelle" is the lead-off single from Love Too Late...the real album.

The Pure Pop 4 Now People Singles Club

 By Henry Lipput

It seems that this format for my blog will be in effect for the time being. I know that I''ve been out of action here for more than a month but I've had brain fog/writer's block/fully-vacinatted-but-still-scared-of-COVID funk. I've seen my primary care doctor and in the coming weeks I will be seeing my therapist and an allergy specialist/immunologist so maybe someone can help me figure this out. 

I'm still really enjoying music but have only been able to come up with Tweet-like descriptions and I understand that a review would need another 300 words or so. So it's short bursts of words for new singles. Here's volune one of the singles club.

Just one more thing: Singles are a great way to get introduced to new music and an inexpensive way to support indie music. Which is pretty much what this blog is all about so I've included links to where you can buy a download.

PETER HALL

"Two Twenty Two" (Bandcamp) is an absolutely gorgeous song about falling in love to a new band and their new song and just falling in love in general.

SUBTERFUGE

"Stephanie Says," (Bandcamp) the band's first recording for more than a few years, is a wonderful Country-tinged tune.

THE BOO RADLEYS

The Boo Radley's last album, 1998's Kingsize, was one of my favorites of their albums and also one of my favorite albums of all time (wish I had it on vinyl!). So it was surprising that a few weeks ago, out of the blue, they released a new song, "A Full Syringe And Memories Of You," (digital vendors) with most of the original lineup. Great to hear Sice again!

Tamar Berk: A review and an interview

 By Henry Lipput

Tamar Berk was in bands in the 90s at the same time a number of guitar-driven women were changing the face of indie music. With her marvelous solo debut the restless dreams of youth (Bandcamp) Berk announces “I was there. I heard you. And this is what I have to say now.” 

the restless dreams of youth is an ultra-melodic soundtrack with honest and adult lyrics about the many phases of relationships. Berk plays guitar and keyboards and has assembled extremely talented musicians who get exactly what her songs need.

The album kicks off with the pure pop treasure of “skipping the cracks” with lyrics that refuse to look back when a relationship ends: “And I don’t really miss you/And I don’t even feel bad/When you said you would see just how you felt I wasn’t even mad/And it’s only when someone asks me…/That I’m reminded of your silly face/And the stack of vinyl records you left at my place.”

“in the wild” is another nugget in the same musical vein but despite its upbeat tone and handclaps (I’m a sucker for handclaps) there’s an undertow of just holding it together: “And I’m not one to cry or hold your hand/During the sad parts of the movie I’ll just smile and pretend/That I’m doing fine, but inside I’m a mess/‘Cause even the previews make me weepy, I confess.”

Tip toeing around each other in a relationship is the theme of “heavy & abusive,” an absolutely rocker:  “I don’t know why we keep having these kinds of mornings/When every little look feels like a warning/And walking away feels exactly the same as saying goodbye.” 

“shadow clues” has a very spooky vibe (and video) because it can haunt you when you don’t know what that other person is thinking or what they might do.  And “cleveland” is a lovely tune but its lyrics question where someone is in their life with the Midwest being a metaphor for finding you’re back where you began.

In a recent email exchange Pure Pop had the opportunity to talk to Berk about her previous musical outings, her influences, and how the album was put together.

Pure Pop: the restless dreams of youth is your first solo album. What groups or musical projects were you involved in before this?

Berk: When I lived in Chicago, I put my first band together and it was called Starball. It was a proper power pop band that had some revolving members. We did very well and gained a nice little following mostly in the Midwest. You can still find an album called Superfans on Spotify! 

While in Chicago, I also started an electro punk band duo with my husband called The Countdown which signed to Invisible Records an electronic/industrial label in Chicago. This band was so much fun! It had been described as ’Sonny and Cher’ on meth! The songs were electronic punk dance songs that focused on paranoia, big brother, and the deepest, darkest secrets that people carry with them throughout their lives. My favorite album was our self-released  Your Friends and Neighbors which you can find on Spotify. We actually had one ‘hit’ called “Human Resources” and you can find that video on YouTube! 

After moving to Portland, my husband and I started a 60s/70s garage band called Paradise and released three albums. I played Hammond organ, Farfisa, piano, synth, Wurlitzer…any kind of keyboard you can name, I played it in Paradise. We played some amazing shows! Our last release was a double album rock opera, if you can believe it! It’s called Dawn of Paradise. I was also in a very popular 60’s garage band called The Pynnacles. In this band, I played Farfisa and sang back-up. This band opened for many amazing bands including The Sonics! We had a big following and released many singles and two full length albums. 

On top of these main bands, I was in several other smaller bands as well as guested on many friends' albums. 

Pure Pop: What are your influences in terms of songwriting and arrangements?

Berk: This album includes a combination of old and new songs so I suppose my influences have to include a range of musicians and bands. About four of the songs were plucked from old four-track demos I wrote many moons ago and reworked with new lyrics and new parts. The truth is, I love the simplicity of a good power pop song with a traditional arrangement, but I also like to experiment and create some unconventional songs. I am a sucker for simplicity and in fact, one of my goals with this album was to keep the songs as lean as possible. I would say that some of my influences for this particular album  include early Liz Phair, Juliana Hatfield, Aimee Mann, Elliot Smith, The Who, ELO, The Cars, Guided by Voices…and probably more that were in my subconscious!

Pure Pop: Your album came out this year and was recorded during Covid. How did you put the songs together? How did the musicians provide their parts?

Berk: Actually, about three years ago I started collecting songs and recording demos and promised myself that I was going to put out a solo album at some point. 

In 2019, I actually contacted some musicians and we began rehearsing and working on those songs in hopes to go into the studio, but when Covid hit, the studio plans died. I had to rethink everything so I decided to use my own producing and engineering skills and put together the basic tracks. 

Then I had my friend Matt Thomson who is a producer and engineer help add more  tracks to prepare them for a drummer. My friend Matt Walker who plays drums with Morissey, Garbage, and Smashing Pumpkins lives in Chicago and he has a home studio and was willing to take on my project. I’m so lucky to have had him play on this album! His drumming is OUT OF THIS WORLD! 

Then, I called Chris Davis, the guitarist who had been working with me pre-Covid. He’s an incredible guitar player and was already familiar with the songs. He also had a home studio so he sent me his incredible guitar solos and we just plugged those into the songs. 

As we worked, we would send tracks back and forth until eventually all the songs were completed. I played all the rhythm guitar, piano, strings, Wurlitzer, harpsichord, organ, and soon enough, all the tracks were ready to be mixed. 

Then I called Sean O’Keefe to mix the songs. He’s worked with Plain White T’s, Fall Out Boy, and most recently Beach Bunny. All of this was done over the wire!!! 

Then Justin Perkins of Mystery Room Mastering mastered the album, and it was finally done. It was a tedious process and, at times, very frustrating and I had many nights of tears feeling anxious about how it was all going to turn out. I couldn’t be happier with the way the album sounds! 

Pure Pop: Are you writing songs for a follow up solo album?

Berk: Yes, I've already started and though I have some songs in mind, many will need to be re-recorded as they are in demo form. I'm not going to rush though!

Pure Pop: Once Covid restrictions are lifted do you plan to tour to support the restless dreams of youth? 

Berk: Yes, I would love to get some musicians together but everyone I know is in about ten bands so I may have to start playing out myself and do a little solo thing until I can find some musicians that have some time! I would love to tour for sure!

Destiny is now a four-way Street

 By Henry Lipput

Punk pioneer Richard Hell has been working for 40 years on a version of his Destiny Street album that he could be satisfied with.

The fascinating and comprehensive 2 -CD set Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Destiny Street Complete (Omnivore Recordings) chronicles his journey. The collection includes four versions of the album: the 1981 demos, a remastered version of the original 1982 release, the 2009 Destiny Street Repaired, and the 2021 Destiny Street Remixed. (Remixed is also available as a vinyl-only release.)

In his liner notes for Destiny Street Complete, Hell is blunt about what happened with the 1982 Destiny Street: “I didn’t even come into the studio for half of the guitar overdubbing. I tried to compensate for the aimlessness by phoning in for more guitar parts. The final mix was a morass of trebly multi-guitar blare.” And although the remastered album on Destiny Street Complete has a better sound you can still hear what he’s talking about.

A few years later, after “clearing the drugs,” Hell was “sorry about the album“. He believed the other musicians were good (guitarists Robert Quine and Naux and drummer Fred Maher) and a decent album could be made. But there was no chance of a remix because the record company had lost the 24-track masters.

However, in the early 2000s, Hell found a cassette tape from the 1981 album sessions containing just the rhythm tracks for the two guitars, bass, and drums. He realized he could add new vocals and guitar solos to make a clean version of the record. Unfortunately both Destiny Street guitarists Robert Quine and Naux died before they could add their parts. Undeterred, and using the tracks on the cassette tape, Hell organized the recording of a 2009 repaired version by bringing on guitar legends Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, and original Voidoid guitarist Ivan Julian. The album, Destiny Street Repaired, was released that year and, as Hell writes in the Destiny Street Complete liner notes, “it made me happy.”

And then the story gets even better. In 2019 the 24-track tapes were found in an upstate New York storage facility. All but three of the ten songs from the 1982 album were on these tapes but there was also a song, “Don’t Die,” that wasn‘t used on the original album. Hell used the Repaired versions for those three songs and added “Don’t Die” as the closing track. 

Destiny Street Remixed is the album that Hell always wanted to make. I've come to realize from recent re-releases of albums by The Beatles and The Replacements there's a big difference between a remaster and a remix; Destiny Street Remixed only reinforces that view. It has a clean, crisp sound and, driven by the excellent up-front drumming of Maher, it shows what a spirited rock band the Voidoids were. And as part of the remix Hell was able to split the work of Quine and Naux from the “multi-guitar blare” of 1982’s Destiny Street, On "Ignore That Door" their solos can be heard in separate speakers and Quine’s solos are especially gorgeous particularly on "Going Going Gone" and “Time.” 

Next time: Tamar Berk: A review and an interview

Jeremy Porter’s Sweet Tooth

 By Henry Lipput

Jeremy Porter and the Tucos is one of the best rock and roll trios I’ve heard since Ben Folds Five released their debut album more than 20 years ago. In addition to Porter on guitars and lead vocals, The Tucos (a reference to the character played by Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) are Gabriel Doman on drums and Bob Moulton on bass and vocals.

Their latest album, Candy Coated Cannonball (Bandcamp), is full of songs that rock as well as pop.  For example, the opening track, “Put You On Hold,” adds a Farfisa organ and Porter’s treated vocals to create a mix that will remind you of those garage-rock legends The 13th Floor Elevators and would certainly be in the running for a slot on the High Fidelity follow-up movie. 

“Dead Ringer,” on the other hand, is one of the best pop tunes you’ll hear this year. It’s got a melody and lyrics to get your toes tapping and you’re smile working like a song from ‘70s AM radio (when tunes ruled). Just imagine the new girl at school or a new woman at work who looks like Debbie Harry, Patty Smyth, or Carlene Carter and your heart beats faster and your tongue gets tied every time you get near her. 

“Upward Trend” has an excellent mix of both rock and pop and is about what happens when you get that girlfriend and the things that guys do to mess it up. “Zipper Merge” is a wonderful acoustic-based song that would have fit nicely on Fountains of Wayne’s Welcome Interstate Managers album. And Porter moves the timing of a Big Star song by a month on “October Girls” where the only warmth to be had is not from the sun but from a late-night pickup; the solo guitar also brings to mind “Thirteen.”

If you’re in Chicago or Iowa later this month, Porter will be playing some solo acoustic dates. Here’s where and when so you can check it out:

Next time: Destiny is now a four-way street

Where we going fellas?

 By Henry Lipput

A long time ago, when (if you can believe it) The Beatles were struggling young musicians, tired of their lack of luck and playing low-paying gigs around Liverpool, John Lennon would try to buck up his fellow bandmates by asking, in a faux American DJ voice, “Where we going fellas?!” The answer was always “To the toppermost of the poppermost!”

Well, Joe Kane of Glasgow, opportunity knocks! 

Kane, the “one-man beat group,“ is a multi-talented musician, singer, songwriter, and performer (he’s played with Neil Innes, Joey Molland, and The Bootleg Beatles). He’s adopted the Poppermost name for his own musical project and the first Poppermost release, last year’s“ Can’t Take That Away” single, was a fab-tastic Mersey beat romp. 

The A Piece of the Poppermost EP (Bandcamp) shows Kane lovingly mining the musical vein of other mid-Sixties groups. 

“Well I Will” could have been recorded by The Easybeats and “Laziest Fella in the Realm” is a jaunty, Kinks-flavored tune like “Dedicated Follower of Fashion.” “Get it Down,” with its McCartney vibe, is a cross between “I’ll Follow the Sun” and the songs he wrote for Peter and Gordon. And “In & Out” is the kind of feel-good song favored by Herman’s Hermits and might still become a pub sing-along

In addition to the “Can’t Take That Away” single and the A Piece Of The Poppermost EP, Kane has recorded eight more songs that a scheduled to be released on his Hits To Spare album in June. It’s available on vinyl and because the CD of A Piece Of The Poppermost has already sold out it might be a good idea to pre-order it.

Next Time: Jeremy Porter’s Sweet Tooth