Each year a number of artists release Christmas singles. We already featured one set last week. I will continue to showcase new holiday tunes this week in between my final reviews for 2016. A best of the year list will ready shortly into the new year.
Seth Timbs enjoys a “Bellyful”
Steve Eggers (The Nines) has been so busy (and we love it) but still found time to drop off this Christmas song released on the Japanese label This Time Recordings.
Chicago band The Unswept’s latest EP starts with “Fake It,” sounding more like The Rutles, than the original fabs but you have to love the Merseybeat riff that opens this song up. “The Boy Who Wakes You Up” is more a low key indie pop tune, and “She Just Knows it’s Over” has a distinct Yorkshire accent. ”SALLY” is like a Velvet Underground tune, sung at double tempo, and also quite enjoyable. These tunes have less polish and 60s influence than previous albums but the songs have charm, and they’ve included mono mixes as well. Check it out.
After several EPs Minneapolis, MN band Real Numbers brings its jangle pop and shimmering rhythm to its full length debut. They multi-tracked the guitars delivering a sound that’s like The La’s jamming with The Smiths. Both “Frank Infatuation” and the title track both involve heartache and awkward inner monologue. “Only Two Can Play” and “Sisters Serving Tray” intermingles a bouncy tempo and the low-key vocal delivery. “New Boy” delivers a catchy fuzz-bassy rhythm and “This Happy Sadness” appeals to both your warm nostalgic side and your moody side.
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While Ronnie D’Addario’s kids are teens, they picked up their dad’s best music instincts on the Lemon Twigs big label debut. “I Wanna Prove To You” is a retro doo-wop mid-tempo ballad thats twisted around a slick production style similar to 10cc. It takes a few listens to appreciate all the melodic goodies contained within, like the next track “Those Days is Comin’ Soon,” filled with a complex blending of styles. If anything, this allows The Lemon Twigs to stand out against a homogenous indie rock field.
The precious vocals on “Haroomata” and “Baby, Baby” recall Nilsson but don’t stay boxed in any conventional structure, with frantic synth pop la-las bursting out from the slow tempo. “These Words” could be a lost Todd Rundgren tune, full of studio craft and bursting with harmony. “How Lucky Am I” is the most like a conventional love song, but its the unexpected twists in these songs that makes this album special, “Hi + Lo” being a perfect example. Very hard to categorize (on purpose) but it also reminded me of Frank Zappa and The Mothers “We’re In It For The Money,” amongst other timeless pop gems. Highly Recommended.
Joyce Manor is speaking to generation of young males (much the way Weezer did 20 years ago) with 2 minute slices of emotional angst. Opening with “Fake I.D.” which describes the thrill of meeting that smoking hot but superficial girl who asks “what do you think about Kanye West?” All done with a swagger and fuzz, very much like Superdrag as “Eighteen” rocks out a catchy credo “Find something to do, then do it,” but then ending with “I feel so old today.”
An acoustic duet about addiction “Do You Really Want to Not Get Better?” between lead vocalist and guitarist Barry Johnson and Phoebe Bridges provide a good break from the earlier anthems. “Make Me Dumb” leads with a loud minor-key riff and melodic chorus similar to early Rooney. But “Over Before It Began” and “Stairs” are the heart of this album, the latter a mid-tempo ballad about young adulthood “Yeah, I’m 26 and I still live with my parents.” Each song has a good hook and the band solidly connects with its audience. Highly Recommended.
With the passing of Keith Emerson (71) last March and Greg Lake (69) last week, it punctuates the end of legendary prog band Emerson Lake and Palmer. Emerson was one of the greatest keyboardists of his generation, and Carl Palmer wrote in a recent statement; “Greg’s soaring voice and skill as a musician will be remembered by all who knew his music and recordings he made with ELP and King Crimson. I have fond memories of those great years we had in the 1970s and many memorable shows we performed together. Having lost Keith this year as well has made this particularly hard for all of us. As Greg sang at the end of Pictures at an Exhibition, ‘death is life.’ His music can now live forever in the hearts of all who loved him.”
Fresh off of the band’s spring LP One Hyde Park, the duo of Willie Dowling and Jon Poole deliver a pair of singles, buttressed by 4 live tracks from recent Manchester concerts. Combined its a fine addition to your Dowling Poole collection, and while the singles “Miles Checks Out” and “Bright Spark” are fine B-sides, its the live tracks that are the biggest surprise.
“Miles Checks Out” is a jaunty melody, with bossa nova beat and soaring vocals. But the live tracks (all from the debut album Bleak Strategies) are enthralling. “Saving It All For Saturday” and “The Sun is Mine” removes all the heavy production work and lets the melody stand alone with keyboards and vocal harmonies. It proves just how damn good Dowling and Poole’s songcraft is. “Bright Spark” is a very XTC like bit of psychedelic pop, with at least 5 different melody lines jammed into its 3 minutes and 25 seconds. Overall, this should’ve been combined into a single EP but its highly recommended you get both.
Review by Mike Olinger: Chicago-based Vaudevileins specialize in the kind of straight ahead rock n roll that has all but disappeared from the Top 40 landscape. Their vibrant, crashing guitars help the energetic songs blast along, only breaking to give room to distorted solos and throbbing drums.
The first half of Magician hammers along at break-neck speed, spiced with Midwest punk harmonies that are surprisingly tight. The second act kicks off with the highly melodic “Hell Jazz” and progresses with more dynamic riffs and measured musical offering like tape echoed ballad “Devils” which is the album’s definitive standout track. Overall Magician is a strong offering that holds its greatest gifts for those who make the journey to the end.
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