Richard Hamilton is a busy bee out of Cleveland. He writes songs, frontlines bands, spins records, and runs the excellent Quality Time Records—this seems like a good moment to plug that Krystian Quint and the Quitters album the label dropped earlier this year.

Given his prolific streak, it feels fitting that his latest solo LP is called Pop Factory. There’s a clock-in, do-the-work mentality to it: don’t overthink, just let the hooks flow. Hamilton’s sweet spot lies right in the Venn diagram of glam, rock-’n’-roll, and pop—and that’s exactly where Pop Factory plants its flag.

Imagine a slightly warped lo-fi tape filled with sun-soaked California vibes. Now imagine it recorded at night, in the heat of summer, under a redwood tree in a backyard studio overflowing with orange and kumquat trees, aloe plants, and divine fauna. That was Bubblegum City Studios—Pop Factory is the last record to come out of it before it was sold and demolished.

The studio may be gone, but the hazy, timeless outsider pop Hamilton captured there lives on.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp