As we prepare to stuff our faces for the holidays, let us not forget our ears. These EPs are all perfect for that lull before dinner is prepared. The Vice Rags are back, with Paul Rosevear (Readymade Breakup) mixing bluesy rock and roll with attitude. Check out “Midnight Ride” and “Voodoo Hoodoo,” and ask why RumBar Records hasn’t signed them! San Francisco band The Morning Line also returns with a collection of crafted rock, check out the excellent “Lookin’ Right At You.” Criminally underrated Christopher Peifer has a solid sound and tells musical tales akin to Paul Westerberg and Alex Chilton. Check out “Wide Receiver,” Twisted” and “Left The Map.” Orbis Max has collected quite a few singles over the past few months, it’s compiled on This Just In. This post ends with an odd, but a beautiful single by Peter Hall. “In Plain Sight” speaks to me personally this season. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Tag: The Morning Line
Super Singles, EPs and Freebies: The Morning Line, Mo Troper, Voltz, Eddie Mooney & The Grave, BPMCollective, Andy Bopp, Michael Carpenter, Sofa City Sweetheart, Vista Blue, Reno Bo
Glad to bring you some new songs, as we close out July. First is a neat freebie, The Morning Line‘s collection of outtakes. The opener “Straight Lines” is a solid single, and the rest aren’t shabby either. Mo Troper‘s freebie is the grinding grungey single “Ballad of Big Nothing” in the best Posies tradition, with a bit too much texture. Voltz from Sheffield, UK gives us a bit o’ glam mixed with pop on “Glitterbomb.” German band Eddie Mooney & The Grave has an 80s-styled pop gem with the catchy “Telephones.” I was also impressed with this debut EP from Seattle’s BPM Collective; “Adelaide” hooked me right away, and “Mr. Congeniality” has fantastic chord changes. I so much missed the music of Andy Bopp, and his single “Camera” is worth the wait. The first song I ever heard from Michael Carpenter gets a remix treatment, and Sofa City Sweetheart does a sweet Brian Wilson cover. Vista Blue‘s Ramones-styled pop returns with an Olympic-themed freebie and Reno Bo rocks both “Count Your Karma,” and a Todd Rundgren cover. Quiet a nice mixtape we have here.
New Year, New Singles: The Morning Line, Ken Sharp, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, The Click Beetles, Baby Scream
While I plan to write several reviews about albums I missed in 2020, that doesn’t mean we don’t recognize that new music is already here. Enjoy these brand new singles from some of my favorites!
Nick Lowe, The Morning Line and Sofa City Sweetheart
Nick Lowe “Love Starvation” EP
Nick Lowe is like a fine wine — and his ability to craft catchy melodies with meaningful lyrics get better with age. Supported by masked guitar greats Los Straitjackets, Lowe has penned three original tracks: “Love Starvation,” “Trombone,” and “Blue on Blue.” The A/B sides have a Spanish flavor similar to Richie Valens. However, the real classic here is the tender ballad “Blue On Blue.” Highly Recommended.
The Morning Line “North”
San Francisco, CA-based The Morning Line delivers a follow up to 2017’s Smoke. They start with the slow building “Antennas,” a droning guitar melody with reverbed basslines. “Given Up” has a good guitar riff, with a 90’s style very much like Collective Soul.
The band picks up the speed a bit on “1982” and lead vocalist Stephen Smith is like a mellowed Elvis Costello at times. Wistful midtempo songs like “Complicated” and “Sickness” are good, but the folk-rock “Tripwire” slows the momentum. Thankfully the energy level is just right on “Nostradamus” and “No Love Lost.” The catchy “South Carolina” is another highlight. Check it out!
Kool Kat Musik
Sofa City Sweetheart “Super(b) Exitos”
LA musician Juan Antonio Lopez (and assorted bandmates) have made a deeply personal statement and a hell of an album. “The Same Old Song (You Were Always On My Mind” is a great low-key opener comparable to Elliot Smith with its “la di da” chorus and “Stanely Waited” is a richly textured character study with a western rhythm that soars during the bridge. Acoustic guitar and strings echo along with the verses of “Annie Stays Home” and the gentle falsetto and harmonies all by itself carry “Floating” along. Every song here is a pocket symphony with really high peaks like “Stop The Thinking” that are simply catchy power pop with the addition of Spanish horn accents that takes it over the top.
“In This Lifetime” is another brilliant single that’s a hopeful pep talk, and following that are the melancholy “I am On My Own” and “Song For Alex.” The album slowly unwinds with more balladry, but it remains compelling musically, especially the ender “So Long / Lucky Nuff.” Lopez pours his heart out in the lyrics and even on the few instrumentals. He designed this album to be listened to as a complete concept, a little adventure that begins when you drop the needle down before the first song and isn’t over until you hear the record crackle at the end. It serves that purpose and earns praise as one of the best LPs of 2019. Highly Recommended.
More Christmas Presents: Thrift Store Halo, The Morning Line, Michael Simmons, Kai Danzberg, Geoff Palmer, Richard Turegon
Tis the season for even more lovely holiday singles. But there’s more — a great compilation album by Geoff Palmer (The Connection) and a full covers album by the prolific Richard Turgeon. And both are FREE downloads for a limited time!