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.
Tag Archives: power pop
RADIO DAYS – I Got A Love EP
Right from their earliest days, Italian power pop band Radio Days seemed to be a band that gained constantly good press. When their 2013 album ‘Get Some Action’ first appeared, there were various online review sites that literally fell over themselves to promote the Italian act as the best band you’ve never heard. In the main, such praise has often been entirely justified: by taking the choruses of The Rubinoos and the all-round pop cool of Paul Collins, Radio Days often seemed to be the perfect band to carry the flame of the genre’s early 80s prime.
Grab a free 23 track sampler from Rum Bar Records
The Rum Bar label has a lot of good stuff readied for release over the next couple of months. They’re bringing you the debut EP from The Shang Hi-Los, new material from Hayley & The Crushers and The Cheap Cassettes. That’s on top of an ongoing reissue programme for old Melted Records acts and the truckload of stuff they put out during the last quarter of 2020. The guys at the label have never been busier.
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.
Real Gone’s End of Year Round-Up 2020
By the end of 2019, few people would have suggested we’d live through a year any more devastating than 2016. That year, famous musicians seemed to be dying on a weekly basis. 2020 had even more of a drastic effect on the music industry with a global pandemic putting a halt on gigs and forcing various small, grass roots venues to close their doors forever.
On the plus side – and you always have to look for a positive, even in the most dire of circumstances – a dramatic change in circumstances has forced musicians to change their way of working. For those with home studios, it’s meant we’ve seen an increase in output. We’ve even been given unexpected albums – right at the end of the year, there were surprise releases from Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift and various other interesting albums were put together remotely. …And as we take stock on a terrible year, it seems that the gift of recorded music has been one of our only constants: 2020 may have been an absolute bastard in so many ways, but we’ve all found new music to love.