The Shop Window’s 7-inch jangle-fest

 By Henry Lipput

England’s The Shop Window is one of the jangliest bands going right now. This four piece from Maidstone is about to release their second album, A Four-Letter Word, later this summer (the first, The State of Being Human, was one of my favorites of 2021) and have already put out two singles as a teaser for the new album. Like the singles last year, the third single, the double A-side “Eyes Wide Shut/Low” (Spinout Nuggets/Bandcamp) is the one being made available on vinyl and proof, if any is necessary, that the independent label Spinout Nuggets is keeping the 7” single alive.

Made up of long-time mates, the band’s first single, “Signpost,” saw the light of day in 2019. As excellent as their first album was (and still is), at the recording sessions for A Four-Letter Word last summer it was no doubt clear to The Shop Window that they were on to something above and beyond what had been produced so far.

This is abundantly clear with the new single.  “Eyes Wide Shut” is a blast in terms of sound and structure. Carl Mann wields his guitar like a Sir Chimes-A-Lot with a double-bladed axe, the rhythm section of Martin Corder on bass and Phil Elphee on drums is front and center in the mix, and the keyboarding of Syd Oxlee adds heft to the mixture. In addition, the dual vocals of Mann and Oxlee are a trademark of the band’s sound. And – wait for it – at 2:33, after a cool, calming synth wash, the band builds to an amazing freak out. You don’t want to miss that.

Backing vocals on both “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Low” is provided by their Spinout Nuggets label mate Beth Arzy of Jetstream Pony and The Luxembourg Signal. “Low” is another gem of a tune, this time beginning with a piano riff and a bit of a jangle, leading into a moody soundscape. Like the “Lighthouse” single from earlier this year, despite “Low’’s sense of being down and struggling, the support of a partner can be a saving grace. For both songs the theme might be where there’s love, there’s hope.

The return of CoolDad

 Jim Appio was, and always will be, CoolDad. He began the CoolDad Music blog back in 2012 and in 2014, in response to his tweet about needing help in writing reviews, I joined his team as a contributing writer. Jim's blog gave me a wonderful opportunity to write about the music I love and make contacts that continue to make me aware of new music.

In 2020, as the pandemic hit and the vibrant music scene around Asbury Park, New Jersey (of which Jim was a vital part), was forced into lockdown, Jim suspended the blog. And I began this one. I had often thought about asking him to contribute to Pure Pop as a guest reviewer but that became difficult as he suffered a stroke last year. 

Jim is working on getting better with the help of  physical, occupational, and speech therapists. One of his therapists suggested he take a crack at writing a review as an exercise. Last week I received his review of last year's Chime School album (an album I enjoyed but didn't get around to reviewing). I'm very happy to post it and in his honor I've made sure to present the review in his patented CoolDad format just as he sent it to me. 

Chime School, Chime School, 2021

by Jim Appio

Chime School is the project of Andy Pastalaniec. I first heard about the project from my friend Al. I was taken by surprise. The band had many things I always like – 12-string guitar, great melody, and great songs. But I had never heard of them before. I bought the album and never looked back.

The album starts with "Wait Your Turn." It's a great start. More 12-string reminiscent of The Smiths and Johnny Marr. From there the record goes on to more ethereal pop. "Fixing Motorcycles" is the standout track – for me anyway – it has all that stuff I like. "It's True" is a short burst of energy right at the end of the album.

I haven't listened to as much music since my stroke, but Chime School has been one I go back to again and again.

Chime School is out now on Slumberland Records.

It was 80 years ago today

 By Henry Lipput

Today, June 18, 2022, is James Paul McCartney’s 80^th birthday. I have been listening to his music, both with The Beatles and as a solo artist, for nearly 60 of those years.

The first mention of activity by Paul was in 1953 when he was awarded a Liverpool Public Libraries prize for his essay about Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. But it wasn’t until four years later that things really took off. On July 6, 1957 he met John Lennon and so was born one the greatest songwriting partnerships in popular music. 

Paul was the lead writer for early classics like “I Saw Her Standing There,” “All My Loving,” and “And I Love Her.” But for me he really came into his own on June 14, 1965 when the band recorded “I’ve Just Seen A Face,” “Yesterday,” and “I’m Down” in one day.

When The Beatles broke up in 1970, Paul was still in his late twenties and even if he retired from music and took up being a shop keeper or barman he would still be remembered today. His fingerprints are all over Revolver (in addition to the songs he wrote, he played lead guitar on “Taxman” and brought in the tape loops for “Tomorrow Never Knows”), the concept of Sgt. Pepper’s was his, and he cobbled together the glorious Abbey Road medley.

But as we know he didn’t stop there. His solo career began in 1970 with his self-titled album on which he played every instrument. And two years ago he released McCartney III, another (mostly) all-McCartney production. He just finished up an American tour and he’s about to headline Glastonbury, the biggest music festival in the world.

It would be very difficult to list all of my favorite McCartney songs but here are just a few: Side 2 of Wild Life, “I’m Down,” “Hey Jude,” “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five,” “Smile Away,” “Press,” “Here Today,” the Abbey Road medley, “I Will,” “Demons Dance,” “Arrow Through Me,” “Fabulous,” “Heaven On A Sunday,” and “Get Enough.” On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, there’s a special segment in which he asks guests a series of questions to get to know them better. One of the questions is: If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would that song be? For me it’s no contest: “Got To Get You Into My Life” (the mono mix of course).

Paul McCartney’s music has influenced how I think about music. His music is my default reference for how I describe music in my reviews.  Important moments in his life are hard wired into my mental calendar.

Happy Birthday, Paul. Have a wonderful day.

Two from Big Stir: Lannie Flowers and Anton Barbeau

 By Henry Lipput

LANNIE FLOWERS, FLAVOR OF THE MONTH

One of my favorite discoveries of 2021 was the reissue of Lannie Flower’s album Home. Originally released in 2019 by Spyderpop Records, the reissue was the result of a partnership with Big Stir Records. In 2018 Flowers was working on the songs that would become Home but also coming up with a lot of songs 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.

The new Lannie Flowers album, Flavor of the Month (SyderpopRecords/Big Stir Records), not only contains all of the March to Home tracks (which have been personally remixed by Flowers) but also the new single “Summer Blue” and is the first physical release of these songs. The album is a masterful popscape of the people and places, working folks, and women he has known or wants to know.

The straight-up rock and roll (with some power pop thrown in for good measure) on the title track and “Don’t Make Me Wait” are recommended if you like the early Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers especially Damn the Torpedoes The album also features the pop delights of “Summer Blue,” “This One,” and “Day Glow All Night.” “About You” begins with an acoustic guitar and a string section, then moves into a pop/rock middle and concludes by repeating the opening’s arrangement; it’s a suite piece of work.

Of course one of the many things I like about Flowers is his use of Beatles references. For example, he surely knows when he sings “I should have known better” on “What Did I Know” what the line and the near Mersey beat feel conjures up. And on “Lost in a Daydream” he goes all in with the Fab stuff for a magical mystery tour-de-force.

“My Street (Back Porch Version),” a song from the Home sessions, does make an appearance on Flavor Of the Month. It’s one of three versions of the song, with one on the Home album and the other (the one I like best), the “Nashville Version,” was released last year as the B-side to the “Home” single.

ANTON BARBEAU, POWER POP!!!

You never know what to expect from an Anton Barbeau album. And that’s a good thing.

His 2016 album Magic Act included the track “Heavy Psychedelic Toilet” and he has written amazing, dreamy songs for the two albums he produced for Allyson Seconds (the first of these, Bag of Kittens, was reissued by Big Stir in 2020). He has brought on former members of XTC and The Pretenders to play on his albums. And on the album Kenny vs. Thrust he enlisted two very different bands from two very different countries to provide backing for his vocals.

Barbeau’s new album, Power Pop!!! (Big Stir Records), is, due to COVID restriction, mostly a home-grown affair. It resembles his 2018 album Natural Causes in that it has songs and sounds from across the musical spectrum from the pysch-out of “The Sound,” with its lyrical references to The Byrds, The Beatles and XTC and a monster ending not unlike the ending of “It’s All Too Much,” to “Whisper in the Wind” a broken-hearted lament with an 80s drum machine beat and bass line.

The psychedelic also sound raises its head on songs like “The Never Crying Wolf Boy” and the country rave-up of “Hillbilly Village.” The ode to “Drugs” revels in the use of them but in terms of the sounds Barbeau produces it’s not what you might expect because there’s a Macca-esque piano as a foundation and a Dylan-inspired spoken word segment in the middle. The last song on the album before the instrumental "Prologue, Literally," is one of the album’s highlights. “Valerie’s Waiting” has a harpsicord and synth in addition to a wonderful vocal turn from Barbeau.

 

Armstrong doesn’t sound like anyone else

 By Henry Lipput

If you follow Armstrong (aka Julian Pitt) on Twitter I’m sure you’ve noticed that when he’s tweeting about one of his songs he adds a list of other musicians to attract notice to his work. I’m here to tell you (and him) that he doesn’t need to do that anymore.

With the release of his radiant third album Happy Graffiti (TheBeautiful Music/Country Mile Records) Armstrong has made it clear, with his trademark DIY use of vocals, acoustic guitars, and snyths, he doesn’t sound like anyone else because he has a sound all his own. But if some of the songs on the new album sound familiar it’s not because they sound like someone else; it’s because for the past year or so he’s been tweeting early versions of some of these songs and one of them, “Happy Someone,” was released as a single last year.

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 (“Keep on Walking” and “Eyes Wide Open”). “Keep on Walking” is also one of Happy Graffiti’s songs in which upbeat arrangements bump up against melancholy lyrics: “But I don’t feel afraid/I keep walking through a summer’s day/Keep on walking with me.” And on “Outside Looking In:” “I was always on the outside looking in/I broke the chains that bind my heart/That hold me down and never let me go.”

The lovely, gentle “Songbird” recalls McCartney’s avian flights and “In A Memory” has a piano-based “Let It Be”/”The Long and Winding Road” feel to it. “Happy Someone” gives a lift to Happy Graffiti with its positive message of lessons learned: “Time will tell if we’ve learned our lessons/Opened up the world to feel like something new/Time to be that person/Be that someone/Be that someone/Life lights up the sky full of angels.”

Instrumental tracks on an album can feel as if the songwriter can’t quite come up with the words to fit the melody. Happy Graffiti’s “Days Turn into Months,” however, is unique in that it fits just right in the running order and the album as a whole.

Jazz butcher for the world

 By Henry Lipput

I knew little to nothing about the band The Jazz Butcher when its leader Pat Fish died last year. But the people whose musical opinions I respect on Twitter had a lot to say about the importance of his music to their lives.

I haven’t done the 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) that I told myself I should do. But I have been listening to, and enjoying, their final album and the first in nine years, The Highest in the Land (Tapete), which was released earlier this year.

The album is full of wonderful tunes and there’s a block of gorgeous ones in the middle of the album. I adore the sound of “Sea Madness,” with its C&W vibe and muted horn, “Don’t Give Up” is a gem and Fish’s take on an “I Will” encounter (with a lyric that recalls Eddy Arnold’s classic “You Don’t Know Me”), and “Amalfi Coast May 1963” is a lovely, melancholy instrumental.

“The Highest in the Land” has a bluesy electric guitar lick and some Al Kooper/Blair Cowan (take your pick) organ fills and the upbeat story song “Melanie Hargreave’s Father’s Jaguar” sounds like a sibling to Squeeze’s “Messed Around.”

And although there few indications in the songs on the album that Pat Fish knew he was dying anytime soon (he was free of cancer when recording of The Highest in the Land began), it’s hard to listen to “Time” (“My time ain’t long/Fishy go to heaven”) as well the closing track “Goodbye Sweetheart” knowing what came next. But he and the band have left us with this marvelous goodbye gift to remember them by.

With a little help from his friends

 By Henry Lipput

Known as the “Collaboration King,” the UK-based multi-instrumentalist Sean Buckley writes “melodic electronica.” In the past he’s worked with Laura Jane (“Games”), Chris James Willows (“Pull”), and Joe Peacock (“Corridors”).

 

Continuing his habit of “working well with others,” Buckley sent his latest instrumental to Carl Mann and Syd Oxlee of The Shop Window to add vocals and guitars. In addition to providing the band’s trademark vocals and Mann’s distinctive guitar sound, they also wrote the lyrics.  

The result of this collaboration, “Forgotten” (available on both digital vendor and streaming sites), is an ode to lost love and forgotten friends. The vocals add warmth to Buckley’s electronica-infused tune that is aided by the addition of Jen Dixon on drums and Chris James Willow on bass. And Mann’s jangle is the icing on the cake as this wonderful mash-up of styles comes together and celebrates the talents of both Sean Buckley and The Shop Window. 

Can I have some more please, sirs?

A Few Of My Favorite Things. 2021 Edition - Part Two: The EPs, SIngles, Reissues, a Compilation, and a Live Album

 By Henry Lipput

I wasted enough of your time in Part One talking about a lot of stuff that had little or nothing to do with the music so let's jump right into the tunes.

EPs

1. The Boo Radleys, A Full Syringe And Memories Of You (thebooradleys.com)

In the Summer of 2021 we were alerted to the exciting news that The Boo Radleys had just released a new single, "A Full Syringe And Memories Of You," their first new music since 1998’s great Kingsize album. Featuring most of the original line-up including the amazing Sice on vocals, Tim Brown on bass, and Rob Cieka on drums, the trio released a digital EP in September that included the single and another three songs (it was released on vinyl for the UK Record Store Day). What’s next? A new album in just days after this part of the year-end overview is posted. (Favorite track: "A Full Syringe And Memories Of You”)

2. Tucker Bingo, The Basement Sessions (Bandcamp)

On his Twitter profile, the one-man band Tucker Bingo describes himself as a “lower-class basement dweller” which makes the title of his debut EP very appropriate. Like a lot of early Kinks songs – not the singles but some of the album tracks – Tucker Bingo’s music on The Basement Sessions is more RnB than pop and there’s also some swing. His voice draws you in a way that Paul Westerberg invites you to listen to what he has to say and how he’s saying it. (Favorite track: “Trust Me”)

3. Silver Haar, Lights Out (Bandcamp)

Is there such a thing as a low-key anthem? The Pure Pop 4 Now People judges agree with me that it's something that U2 got away with back in the day. Low-key anthems are now part of the Silver Haar playbook and it’s all over their debut EP Lights Out. Silver Haar, an indie band from Scotland, is made up of songwriters and long-time friends Tom Brogan (vocals, guitar) and Duncan McCormick (guitar, backing vocals). The title track is the closest thing you’ll get to a musical embrace. (Favorite track: “Lights Out”)

SINGLES

1. SUPER 8, “For My Friends” (Bandcamp)

SUPER 8’s splendid single “For My Friends” is the second “taster” for his next solo album being released in 2022. “For My Friends” is a salute to those people who help you through the tough times (like the last two years) and are there with you to celebrate the good ones.  My alternative title for the song is “All You Need Is Friends” because SUPER 8 has channeled his inner George Martin to create the brilliant arrangements.

2. The Blue Herons, “Take Them Back” (Bandcamp)

Since vocalist and lyricist Gretchen DeVault joined up with tunesmith and the-guy-who-plays-all-the-instruments Andy Jossi back in late 2020, The Blue Herons has been releasing jangle-tastic singles every few months. Because DeVault is based in California and Jossi lives in Switzerland, even before the pandemic they were exchanging words and music across continents and oceans. It’s hard to choose which one I like best but my favorite is their latest, the upbeat “Take Them Back”

3. Karma Surround, "Stars Of The Last Magnitude" (Bandcamp)

Karma Surround is comprised on two brothers, Michael and Darren Roy, from, according to their Bandcamp page, the “old mining country in Fife” in Scotland, The band released singles throughout 2021 and released an album at the end of the year. The songs range from the Dylan-writing-Oasis-B-sides of "Shining Beat" to the glorious jangle of “Stars Of The Last Magnitude,” the first of their songs I heard and still my favorite. 

REISSUES

1. Lannie Flowers, Home (SpyderPop Records/Big Stir Records)

I admit that I’m coming late to the Lannie Flowers bandwagon. He’s been releasing music since at least 2008 and his Home album came out in 2019. This reissue is the result of the partnership of SpyderPop Records and Big Stir Records. I really like Lannie’s voice and his sound is a combination of power pop and country (he is from Texas after all) and every once in a while he’ll throw a Beatles reference into an arrangement. Flowers writes about regular men and women and the ups and downs of relationships in a way that makes it universal.  (Favorite track: “Home”)

2. Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Destiny Street Complete (Omnivore Recordings)

Punk pioneer Richard Hell has been working for 40 years on a version of his Destiny Street album that he could be satisfied with. This fascinating and comprehensive 2 -CD set 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.)  After hearing all of the iterations I prefer the remastered original; give them all a listen and pick your favorite. (Favorite track: "Time" )

3. Pernice Brothers, The World Won’t End (Ashmont/Bandcamp)

For 20 years, this album has one of my favorite CDs. Back in 2001 in the US it was impossible to go to what was once known as a record store and buy a record; only CDs as far as the eye could see. In response to a query from Joe Pernice as to whether anyone would buy such a thing, 2021 finally saw an official release of the vinyl version of the album, The album has been remastered and it sounds even more wonderful. If you like great music, and if there are any copies left, you owe it to yourself to buy this. (Favorite track: “7:30”)

COMPILATION

Various, V4Velindre: Charity Mixtape for the NHS (Bandcamp)

This incredible collection of 50 tunes was compiled by Welsh journalist Kevin McGrath as a digital-only mixtape to raise funds for the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff. The mixtape is made up of 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 are represented. There are demos, remixes, unreleased tracks, and radio edits. There's a lot to discover and a lot to enjoy and when you buy the mixtape you'll be supporting a worthy cause. (Favorite track: “Yesterday’s Over [Tomorrow’s Where I Want To Be]” by Armstrong)

LIVE

Alex Chilton and the Hi Rhythm Section, Boogie Shoes: Live On Beale Street (Omnivore Recordings)

In 1999 Alex Chilton was asked to participate in a fundraiser in Memphis. Alex said he didn’t have any musicians to bring along so it was suggested he work with the Hi Rhythm Section. The result on this unissued live set, which includes covers of songs by The Supremes, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and KC & The Sunshine Band, is a marvelous feel-good collection. One of the wonderful things about this recording is, unlike his many covers albums, Chilton plays it straight on these songs and there is a real sense of joy in his vocals -- and the band rocks. (Favorite track: "Kansas City")

A Few Of My Favorite Things, 2021 Edition -- Part One: The Albums

 By Henry Lipput

For me, 2021 was a year of debuts. From albums to EPs and singles, the year was full of new voices and new sounds. I found these releases in any number of places including my friends on Twitter as well as regular visits to Bandcamp.

I also find music through the important getting-the-word-out work and sometimes do-it-yourself marketing of the bands, musicians, labels, and music PR companies that send me downloads and CDs. I’d like a moment to apologize to them for my lack of reviews in 2021. It’s been a tough time for several reasons including a brain fog/writer’s block that lasted for a number of months. Thank you for your continued support of me and my little blog as well as your appreciation of the reviews I did manage to post.

So on to my ten favorite albums of 2021. There are not only links to how you can purchase them but also a link where you can listen to a track from the album.

 1.  Peter Hall, Light The Stars (Bandcamp)

With his talent for tunes and a voice like a choirboy, Peter Hall’s Light The Stars is the most gorgeous pop album you’ll hear any time soon. The new album is a follow-up to 2020 wonderful There’s Something Wrong With Everyone EP and, in both songwriting and production, Light The Stars is a continuation and a step ahead in his musical progression. 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. (Favorite track: “Two Twenty Two”)

2. Tamar Berk, the restless dreams of youth (Bandcamp)

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. Her marvelous solo debut 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. (Favorite track: “In The Wild”)

3. The Show Window, The State Of Being Human (Spinout Nuggets/Bandcamp)

The State Of Being Human is the excellent debut album from The Shop Window. The band is from Kent in the UK and consists of Carl Mann (vocals/guitars), Simon ‘Syd’ Oxlee (vocals/keys), Martin Corder (bass), and Phil Elphee (drums).  Following the release of a batch of singles in 2020, the album brings them all together as well as more songs that add to the band’s 90’s indie vibe showcasing Mann’s jangly guitar work and the vocals of Carl and Syd. (Favorite track: “Flags”) 

4. Maia Sharp, Mercy Rising (CrookedCrown Records) 

  

Mercy Rising 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; Most of the songs are co-writes but it’s fair to say the lyrical tone is from Sharp. Sharp, a native of California, recently moved to Nashville to join a community of like-minded songwriters and musicians many of whom play on the album. (Favorite track: “Always Good To See You”)

5. The Cleaners From Venus, Penny Novelettes (Bandcamp)

The Cleaners From Venus is one of the many band names that the amazing Martin Newell has used to release his music (others have included The Stray Trolleys and The Brotherhood of Lizards). As a solo artist Newell released two musical masterpieces in the 1990s: The Greatest Living Englishman and The Off White Album. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to say his latest one-man band effort, Penny Novelettes, is just as good. He sounds great, his lyrics tell stories that are full of interesting stories, and his arrangements are backed with lots of jangle (he is known far and wide as the Jangling Man). The album’s real treats include the pop rock of “Goodnite Andromeda” and the love-sick “Decline and Fall.” (Favorite track: “Goodnite Andromeda”)

6. Suburban HiFi, Superimposition (Bandcamp)

Superimposition is the debut album from Suburban HiFi aka Greg Addington, one third of the much-loved, much-missed Michigan-based pop group The Hangabouts. Not a lot has been heard from The Hangabouts since the Futureman Records tribute album Action Now: 20/20 Re-Envisioned released in, er, 2020. Addington brings The Hangabouts' DNA to both vocals and arrangements on Superimposition. The album is a splendid collection of three-minute pop songs and it doesn’t hurt that he had his Hangabouts bandmates John Lowry and Chip Saam contributing to the writing of a few songs. (Favorite track: "Asymmetrical Hair")

7. The Legal Matters, Chapter Three (Futureman Records)

Chapter Three is the third album by those outstanding poptune generators The Legal Matters. The new album showcases the songwriting talents of Chris Richards and Andy Reed. Unfortunately, the third member of the band, Keith Klingensmith (he who contributed “Pull My String,” a personal favorite, to their second album Conrad) plays on the album but doesn’t have a song this time around. The new album alternates songs by Reed and Richards and, as always, the three vocalists provide glorious harmonies to each one. (Need convincing? Check out “Passing Chord.”) Favorite track: “That’s All”)

8. The Planes, Eternity On Its Edge (Bandcamp)

The Planes, hailing from Brooklyn, have been releasing music for at least 10 years. The current lineup is made up of Stephen Perry on guitar and vocals, Matt Sklar on bass and backing vocals, and Carlo Minchillo on drums, percussion, and Theremin.  On their latest album, Eternity On Its Edge, they bring all of the jangle, fuzz, strong back beat, and bass runs you’ll need. “Little Dream” and “Over Now” are warm sonic washes and the closing track “Unglued” has a monster riff that recalls the ending of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” If the mix of noise and melodies reminds you of Dinosaur Jr. you’re not the only one. (Favorite track: "On A Train")

9. Sky Diving Penguins, Sky Diving Penguins (skydivingpenguins.com)

From the Lennon-esque opener “I Don’t Want, I Don’t Care” to the Boo Radley’s pure pop of “Run Boy,” Skydiving Penguins on their self-titled debut album take bits and pieces of their influences to assemble a collection of something original. Led by Gia Iashvilli of Georgia (not the one in the U.S. but the one in Eastern Europe) his band of merry music makers brings to the songs a mix of horns and cellos along with the usual rock/pop band mix of guitars, drums, and keyboards (and I could swear I hear a Mellotron). (Favorite track: "Run Boy")

10. Fernando Perdomo & Denny Seiwell, RAM ON: The 50th Anniversary Tribute To Paul & Linda McCartney's RAM (Cherry Red Records)

Multi-instrumentalist Fernando Perdomo and original RAM drummer Denny Seiwell put together a stellar group of musicians to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the release of RAM, the second solo album from Paul McCartney with a little help from his friend (and wife) Linda McCartney. These were musicians from all over the world who loved the original album including members of Wilco, The Pixies, Jellyfish, and the Elton John Band. In addition to Sewell, the album (which also contains covers of the single “Another Day/Oh Woman Oh Why”) features original guitarist David Spinozza (“Another Day”) and trumpeter Marvin Stamm (“Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”). How much do I like listening to this album? At the same time I bought this I also bought a 50^th anniversary half-speed master of RAM. I’ve been listening to RAM ON a lot more ( but don't tell Paul, okay?) (Favorite track: "Smile Away")

Suburban HiFi comes in under the wire in 2021

 By Henry Lipput

Suburban HiFi is the nom de pop groupe of Greg Addington, one third of the much-loved, Michigan-based pop group The Hangabouts. Not a lot has been heard from The Hangabouts since the Futureman Records tribute album Action Now: 20/20 Reimagined released in, er, 2020.

Suburban HiFi’s album Superimposition (Bandcamp) was released at the end of last year, a time when many year-end lists were, if not posted somewhere, already decided (but not mine; I’m usually late in posting for any number of reasons and/or excuses and this year is no different). 

So how do you find out about a late-in-the-year release?  It helps to know someone (and I’m not talking about myself). The host of Indie Pop Takeout (Saturday mornings at 8 am EST on Neighborhood Weekly Radio on your Twitter or computer dial) knew me to be a fan of The Hangabouts and having reviewed their 2017 album Kits & Cats and Saxon Wives (a “very fine new album”) and the 2019 single “Who Wants Cilla?’ b/w “Mrs. Greene” (“Cilla” was “a marvelous power pop tune).

Addington brings The Hangabouts’ DNA to Suburban HiFi in a number of ways in both vocals and arrangements. Superimposition is a splendid collection of three-minute pop songs and it doesn’t hurt that he had his Hangabouts bandmates John Lowry and Chip Saam contributing to the writing of a few songs.

“In Her Reverie” is a working woman in a office story, not unlike Paul McCartney’s “Another Day” and The Pearlfisher’s “Love & Other Hopeless Things:” She's late for the bus and "her raincoat moves like a cape as she runs." In the office: "She laughs with the crowd and blends in/The cubicle walls her fortress against the world.” “The Space Between Us” is a double-decker of a listen with the sound of The Hangabouts on top and bass line and vocal phrasing from Squeeze (“Someone Else’s Heart” perhaps?) underneath. 

Written with Sara Addington, “Beamed In” is a wonderful pop tune with backing vocals that recall prime Hangabouts and lyrics about a woman who may be the love interest in “Sparky’s Dream” come back to earth: “Way out beyond the furthest light you’ve ever seen/She appeared with her hair like the milky way/Wide-eyed and prettier than Saturn’s many rings,” “She looks like she was just beamed in/A space girl who’s tired of dreaming.”

With its charming acoustic vibe and gorgeous backing chorus, “Asymmetrical Hair” is much too short. “January Book” is another lovely song about the time spent with a someone special as the year begins; I particularly like this couplet: “You’re the sky among the stars/Lightning in a jar.”

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.”