Those with a keen ear for underground pop music will already be aware of The 1957 Tail-Fin Fiasco. The Essex based musical duo featuring vocalists/multi instrumentalists Malcolm Moore and David Myers first appeared on the power pop scene with their ‘Private Jet Flashback’ album in 2013, and armed with a quirky sense of humour and a boundless love of Steely Dan, they quickly marked themselves out as champions of a retro style. Although further releases occasionally included a few rockier moments alongside weird nods to tangos and lounge music, the band’s love of all things brilliantly kitschy held firm.
Tag Archives: pop
Watch ‘Say A Lot With Light’, the minimalist new video from The Workday Release
“I’ve been holding back the words until I mean it”, sings David Ottestadt, aka The Workday Release, during his current single ‘Say A Lot With Light’. The beautifully arranged and piano based pop track reminds us all that sometimes less can be more, and that unexpectedly heartfelt moments can mean the world to the recipient.
Justin Kline returns with Dungeon of Skeletons
Those of you with long memories will remember Justin Kline. The Nashville based singer songwriter built upon his cult following with an excellent power pop EP, ‘Triangle’, back in 2010. By 2012, he’d reinvented himself in a rockier guise as frontman of the short-lived Weezer-esque Origami Hologram.
Justin seemed to be one of those people that showed a natural flair, regardless of whatever musical subgenre he approached, but following a release of home demos and a self-depreciating EP ‘Doormat’ in 2013, he seemed to disappear.
RYAN ALLEN – What A Rip
Following a handful of ragged but enjoyable albums with his band Extra Arms, Ryan Allen released his most personal work to date in 2019 when ‘Up From Here’ documented his emotional regrouping following a divorce. Essentially punk pop’s answer to Dylan’s ‘Blood On The Tracks’, the record had introspective qualities, but had enough musical clout to entertain the kind of listener that doesn’t listen to lyrics. In short, almost everything about it suggested that Allen had reached full potential as both a songwriter and musician. Then, in quick succession, Allen threw out three more releases containing a barrage of cover tunes and scrappy songs which, in his own words, were “written in a flurry during life in lockdown”. Aside from being keen to move on, it almost seemed as if he wanted to cast aside ‘Up From Here’s musical maturity.
THE LICKERISH QUARTET – Threesome Vol. 2 EP
When The Lickerish Quartet made their first appearance in the spring of 2020, power pop fans around the world rejoiced. Not only because this new band had tapped into some brilliant and shiny pop sounds worthy of 10cc and their ilk, but rather more specifically because The Lickerish Quartet reunited the much-celebrated trio of Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Tim Smith and Eric Dover – all of whom had previous connections with 90s scene makers Jellyfish.
Their debut EP, ‘Threesome, Vol. 1’ brought out the best in their combined talents. There were the obvious nods to their Jellyfish and Imperial Drag pasts throughout, but with a little less bombast, the release offered a selection of timeless pop. Its best track, ‘Bluebird’s Blues’, sounded rather like Crowded House with its semi-acoustic backbone and rich harmonies, suggesting that Tim Smith and Lickerish Quartet drummer Jeremy Stacey had absorbed a little of their influence while working with The Finn Brothers in 2005. It wasn’t Jellyfish, but very little is – nor was it ever intended to be – but as a selection of retro pop tunes in its own right, it really worked.