Jangle Pop

New album: Roselawns || Songs For Christina Argentina

By / / Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop / 1 Comment

Remember that Strum and Thrum compilation by Captured Tracks full of American underground guitar pop? If you liked that one, here is a new band to dive into. Roselawns is a duo (Sam Setzer and Antonio Gualco) from California who play the kind of jangly powerpop that is all about the music and less about the rock-‘n’-roll attitude. On Songs For Christina Argentina, Roselawns almost effortlessly churn out understated pop gems. I know they wrote this album for Miss Argentina, but they make it so easy to fall for this record with instant classics like Mexico Breath, Pretty Bad, and This Way. And those are just the first three songs on the record. It’s not just American underground pop, I hear a lot of British ’80s and ’90s influences, like the standout nods to Teenage Fanclub in You Miss Me and The Same, and the very britpopesque Next Week In Capitola. Roselawns also reminds me of the Waltones, a late ’80s Manchester band I really like. Clearly, Setzer and Gualco have great taste in music. Oh, and they expertly managed to channel those influences on their debut LP. More of where this came from, please!




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Leopardo || Malcantone

By / / Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Jangle Pop, Psych, Punk / Leave a Comment

If you have some time to spare for a record that upon multiple listens will ultimately grow on you and get under your skin, would you be interested in such delayed rewards? I am talking about Malcantone from Leopardo, which is a delightfully weird yet strangely accessible record. It’s the kind of record I did not expect to write about, but somehow I keep returning to. It’s also the kind of record I lack the vocabulary for to explain in full. Leopardo are from Schwitzerland, but they may just as well reside in the Chelsea Hotel (NYC) in the seventies. Comparing Leopardo to Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground is kinda lazy, but it also kinda makes sense. Malcantone is an eclectic mix of styles, including folk (Malcantone, Bitter Man), psych (Country Side Love, Hardship), punk (Tell Me, I Belong To You), garage (Put Me In Jail), and rock-‘n’- roll (Throwback in The Snow). I was quick to dismiss this record and I was wrong.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Feel It Records || SDZ Records || Le Pop Club 

New single: Floodlights || The More I Am / Overflowing Cup

By / / Indie Rock, Jangle Pop / 2 Comments

With their debut full length From a View, Melbourne band Floodlights made it to the top of my Music Year-End List of 2020. Now Louis Parsons, Ashlee Kehoe, Joe Draffen and Archie Shannon are back with a new 7″ that I might like even more. A-side The More I Am is a jangly rock song that bursts with despair, B-side Overflowing Cup slows down a bit and surprises with an intense harmonica solo, both are great again in terms of interplay, vocals and structure. It may be clear that more attention has been paid to the sound than to the cover art, but who cares when the music is so good?

“Perspectives and opinions // Have obscured my view // As I look through my window // I can only see half of what I used to”

Out now digitally and on 7″ vinyl through Tiny Town Records. Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Stephen’s Ruin || Runaround

By / / Garage Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop / Leave a Comment

International poprock hunters Big Stir Records have uncovered another gem for their single series. Stephen’s Ruin are five lads in their early twenties from Düsseldorf (Germany) who clearly are inspired by all the good stuff from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. With a mix of beatmusic, classic powerpop and rock-n-roll, and some sweet vocal harmonies for good measure, Stephen’s Ruin approach pop perfection on this single. Runaround  is the kind of song I could play all day. It’s energetic, full of hooks and melody, and the final 30 seconds give me butterflies. Tonight is a bit more mellow in comparison, but a worthy flipside nonetheless. If you like The Reflectors single I wrote about yesterday, I guarantee you will like this as well.

Oh and you know what’s crazy? This is the second coming of Stephen’s Ruin. For a short period in the ’80s Stephen’s Ruin created a fun blend of beat, psych and mod/punk. 30 years later two sons of original band member Stephen Leech decided to breathe new life in the band, together with three friends.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Planes || Eternity On Its Edge

By / / Indie Rock, Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

Certain styles of music occupy a constant spot in the music world: never going out of style, but always at a safe distance from becoming the latest fad. That spot is exactly where The Planes operates on their new record Eternity On Its Edge. The trio from New York play catchy straightforward indie rock that is neither complex nor simplistic. The vocals are hushed and understated, the guitar work drive these songs to their destination unafraid to take some jangly sidetours, and the drums are tight and upbeat.  On Eternity On Its Edge, The Planes leave it up to you how much attention you’d like to spend on their music. Regardless of whether you’re playing it as a backdrop to your workday, play it loud in your car or or carefully take it all in with the lyric sheet, it all seems to work. RIYL: Knapsack, The Jealous Sound, The Magnolias and Eric Richter post-Christie Front Drive (The 101, Golden City).



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Quivers || Golden Doubt

By / / Indie Pop, Jangle Pop / 1 Comment

It’s perfect timing when a pre-ordered album arrives on the day of its release. It’s even better when you discover that the full album exceeds the high expectations raised by the previously released singles. Truly, Golden Doubt by Melbourne jangle masters Quivers is quite the achievement. Musically, this is beautiful indie pop, with great harmonies and group vocals. All of the best qualities of Quivers are on full display in Gutters Of Love, and that is only the first song on the record. It’s the kind of song that starts slowly and keeps building up tension ultimately ending in cathartic release. It’s the ultimate show closer that will leave  audiences elated and with goosebumps.

To fully appreciate Golden Doubt, note that the band describes it as “life-damaged but hopeful jangle pop”. It is a record born out of grief – two band members lost their brothers. But the record is also an appreciation of how friends, music and the occasional laugh can help us get through even the darkest times.  Quivers will break your heart with their songs but also mend it, putting the pieces back together one at a time. For example, listen to songs like Nostalgia Will Kill You (“It’s a poisonous dart / It will slow you down / If it reaches your heart”) and You’re Not Always On My Mind (“Just mostly all the time / And I miss you”). Golden Doubt is a gorgeous record that is given me the feels. Get it now at Ba Da Bing (US), Bobo Integral (Europe) & Spunk Records (Australia).



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New EP: Supreme Joy || Joy

By / / Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Jangle Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

Supreme Joy is a new project of Ryan Wong which allows him to be a bit more experimental than in his work with his main band Cool Ghouls. On Supreme Joy’s 8-song debut Joy, Wong expertly blends psych pop, surf and garage influences to create a record that oozes nostalgia and melancholy. Body Contact by Supreme Joy is a smash hit and given its topic an instant quarantine classic. It’s a perfect guitar driven garage pop track that I can keep on playing. RIYL Woolen Men, Sonny And The Sunsets.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Horseloverfat || Greetings From Nowhere

By / / Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Psych, Punk / Leave a Comment

Horseloverfat is an unusual name. That also applies to their music, which is all over the place and kinda awesome. The band from Italy self-desribes as “a psichedelic (sic) krautrock group, a transnational and stateless parody that encompasses all without regards to purism and coherence.” On their new record Greetings From Nowhere, Horseloverfat goes from postpunk to psychedelic to protopunk to country to kraut to glam in their songs. Somehow, the band manages to pull it off without creating a unlistenable mess. They recorded Greetings From Nowhere in March in an old school fashion: as a live band, and with limited digital intereference. The result is a time portal to the music of the ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s. Step in, if you’d like!



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: The Haunted Youth || Coming Home

By / / Jangle Pop, Psych / 1 Comment

Belgian psych / dream pop band The Haunted Youth plays jangly shoegaze music that gets under your skin. Their debut single Teen Rebel from early this year was good, but follow-up track Coming Home is even better (the accompanying video fits the sound perfectly – watch below). What a mesmerizing and addictive song! If Joachim Liebens (vocals / guitars), Hanne Smets (keys), Tom Stokx (guitars), Nick Caers (drums), and Stef Castro (bass) could maintain this level, how good would a full-length album be? RIYL The War On Drugs, DIIV, Craft Spells.

Out now digitally via Mayway Records. Add to wantlist: Bandcamp 

New album: Modern Haze || An LA EP

By / / Indie Pop, Jangle Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

Let’s start this monday off right with a vintage psych pop banger from LA based Modern Haze. Grab some coffee or tea, and press play. Open your work mail, and let An LA EP be the soundtrack to your morning. With jangly guitars, soothing voice, pleasant harmonies, Modern Haze answer the age old question: What would The Zombies sound like if Mac DeMarco and Kevin Morby were in that band? Yes, this could be a pretty good week after all.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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