Novelty Island “Jigsaw Causeway”
Novelty Island is primarily Liverpool-based songwriter and producer, Tom McConnell. Solid songwriting and great melodies are evident early on with the title track. A meticulously put-together mix of sounds with a lo-fi, dreamy vibe; very Anglo-centric and a little psychedelic. An early highlight is “Northern Nowhere” with echos of the Beatles in the song chorus, with its chugging baseline and layered guitars.
The trippy “Someone Disappearing” slows the tempo even more, with some great horns that chime in midway through. Climate anxiety is the subject of the catchy weariness of “Foam Animals,” where we are “waiting for the sky to fall down” and similarly gloomy “I’m Glad It’s Not Sunny.” But the album isn’t necessarily a downer, “Apollo” has a a playful strum, and mellow double-tracked vocals. Another standout gem is “The Only Train Driver in England,” with its brilliant ear worm of a chorus. Overall an excellent moody headphones album, and it’s definitely highly recommended.
The Rockerati “Waterloo Sunrise”
The Rockerati is a one-man band led by David McCarthy from Brighton, UK. His writing, guitar playing, and vocals are very similar to his personal inspiration Dave Edmunds (and in turn Chuck Berry.) In fact, from the opener “Shake The Tree,” it’s a rolling, rocking good time throughout, with McCarthy burning through those deep rhythmic bass riffs.
The fast paced tempos and fuzzed out vocals certainly set a mood. While his solo breaks and composition don’t reach the heights of his idol, it remains an impressive display of boogie-woogie styled rock and roll. However, I noticed that McCarthy’s vocals are never clearly the main emphasis of the songs, and many have the same tempo and vocal treatment without much stylistic variation. Thus, songs tend to blend into each other. Still, for Edmunds and Rockpile fans this will be a treat, so give it a listen.
