Retro New Music Sunday
Here’s your weekend round-up of what’s new, cool and now spinning in rotation at Pop That Goes Crunch radio.
phonograph — “Don’t Bring Me Down” — In days gone by, this band’s debut collection of radio-ready melodic guitar pop (titled simply, Vol 1) would have yielded an entire basketful of hit songs. So I added four of them to the station. “Don’t Bring Me Down” makes you think for a couple of minutes that its 1965 again. It brazenly breaks no new ground at all. It’s just a couple of guitars, some voices, a bass and some drums living together in perfect harmony:
Dropkick — “Halfway Round Again” — This bit of laid-back jangle pop also stops for a while in 1965, before the band applies a slightly more contemporary gloss to the track’s basic retro stylings:
The Cocktail Slippers, “You Give Me”: The Cocktail Slippers are stridently and unapologetically retro. This bit of foot-pounding, head-bopping call-and-response garage stomp fits perfectly into their oeuvre. You can hear the studio version right here, but also check out the very cool live version recorded on Valentine’s Day:
Andy Klingensmith, “Pangea”: This one appeared on Bandcamp just yesterday. “Bored, so here’s a new solo single,” said Klingensmith on his Facebook page. Well, then, let’s raise a glass to boredom! “Pangea” is beautiful acoustic psych-folk featuring just Klingensmith’s multi-layered voice and his guitars in the vein of his 2013 debut which yielded a song on my year-end Top 20 list. The short break beginning at about 1:13 is awfully pretty:
Static In Verona, “Bitter Branches”: Chicago-based musician Rob Merz plays and sings everything on a wonderfully eclectic album of dreamy, often symphonic pop with occasional electronic flourishes. Merz’ gorgeous vocals play off stunningly against the wall of sound in “Bitter Branches,” one of the more rocking tracks on Everything You Knew Before You Knew Everything:
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So there’a another five new tracks to sample on a Sunday, but this time with a decidedly retro twist. Listen, support the artists and check out Pop That Goes Crunch radio, where the playlist has grown to more than 1,100 songs, and will keep on growing.
Pop That Goes Crunch! 