Guitar Pop For Now People—Part 12

10 Recent Tracks + Music Reviewers/Publications

It’s only January, but 2024 is already shaping up to be another great year for new guitar pop.

As I put this list together I was reminded of the poem “January” by William Carlos Williams. Here’s the opening:

Again I reply to the triple winds
running chromatic fifths of derision
outside my window:
                                  Play louder.

Not all of these tracks rely on bombast—in fact, many seem to jangle more than they rawk—but there’s nothing wrong with ‘playing louder’ when it comes to hooky rock and roll. In that spirit, we start and end with uptempo tracks by pop punk lifers Green Day and UK pop purveyors Emperor Penguin.

In between we’ve got songs spanning the guitar pop spectrum from the classic Nerves-influenced power pop of The Owens to the synth-and-crunchy-guitar-driven side project of Thick drummer Shari Page (aka Roon), the geeky glory of The Real Numbers to an exciting ELO cover project from Juliana Hatfield—and beyond.

As always, we’ve included a quote about each artist/track from a trusted reviewer along with a link to the site so you can check out more of their excellent writing.

Stay tuned for an interview with The Owens this Friday…and don’t be afraid to turn up the volume this year.

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What’s your favorite track below? Join the conversation in comments!

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10 Recent Tracks and Music Reviewers/Publications

“‘Dilemma,’ Green Day’s best track in years, falls into this category of songs about hopeless losers. Musically, their Ramones influence shines through. The structure is impeccable with each section leading perfectly into the next—a result, no doubt, of years of experience crafting pop songs.” —The Alternative

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“When they want to make a fuzzy, downhill-sledding punk-pop song, they set their mind to it with ‘Toe the Line,’ a surprisingly noisy rocker, and while The Umbrellas don’t put all that together in the exact same way again on the record, there are pieces of that side of them throughout Fairweather Friend—the distortion in ‘Say What You Mean,’ the bursting energy of ‘When You Find Out,’ and the giddy bass line and guitar soloing in ‘Gone’ and ‘Games'.” —Rosy Overdrive

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“On Hatfield Sings ELO we get a great mix of hits and deep cuts, old and new material. Lacking an orchestra, Hatfield had to transpose the strings onto other instruments, which also allowed some breathing room for everything else. …“Don’t Bring Me Down” takes out some of the bombast, leaving its essential ear-worm still irresistibly ready to strike.” —Dennis Pilon, Poprock Record

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“Roon is the indie-punk solo project of Shari Page, drummer for the pop-punk band Thick. …‘Next Best Thing’ is a synth-heavy pop punk tune that shows off a great talent for pop hooks. And, while the synths are heavy, the fuzzy guitars and electronic drumbeats are a lot of fun as well.” —New Noise Magazine

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“Owen Adamcik has been self-releasing home-recorded power pop and poppy punk stuff at a prolific rate for a couple years now. He has titled his latest EP The Owens, and he's definitely going for a classic power pop sound on these five tracks. The cover art makes The Nerves influence obvious, and the songs confirm it.” —Lord Rutledge, Fast and Louder

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“Dave Ambrose and Lawrence Grodeska joined forces to create The Real Numbers, a musical fusion blending power pop and geek rock. Drawing inspiration from bands like Weezer, Fountains of Wayne, and possibly even the Barenaked Ladies of Steve Page, their new album, titled THANK YOU!, has been in the works for approximately 8 years.” —Sweet Sweet Music Blog

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“Carmen Toth is a singer-songwriter from Toronto, and her musical influences are Stevie Nicks, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush, and I hear a little Susanna Hoffs, too. …Some good power pop tracks here include ‘Time Bomb Heart’ and ‘My Ears Are Still Ringing.’ The last song, ‘Looking Forward,’ has a hopeful, optimistic chorus that’s sure to put a smile on your face.” —Aaron Kupferberg, Powerpopaholic

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“A-side ‘Ain’t No High (That’s High Enough)’ is an organ-driven floor filler with infectious harmony vocals, flipside ‘Like No Other’ is a piece of delicious jangle pop. More proof that the five-piece has mastered various styles rooted in the heady 60s.” —Add To Wantlist

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“While the sound of the ‘90s jangle courses through the veins of this single, somehow Schneider still manages to retain his omnipotent sense of indie-pop cool. Whether it be through his lyrical persuasions or a scouse-pop smooth vocal delivery that is so reminiscent of The Wild Swans/Paul Simpson, Heiko Schneider just finds all manner of subtle ways to remain our indie darling.” —JanglePopHub

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“I’m drawn to the simple things—catchy melodies, guitars that jangle and hooky choruses. And we have plenty of that here. ‘What’s the Worst That Could Happen’ sports an early Beatles, basic rock ’n’ roll groove with a catchy, repetitive guitar motif and hooky chorus. The pace accelerates significantly with ‘Ladybird,’ a bitch list of sorts.” —Richard Rossi, Power Pop News

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Guitar Pop For Now People—Part 11

Guitar Pop For Now People—Part 10

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Remember The Lightning—A Guitar Pop Journal, Vol. 2

The second volume of our semi-annual music journal featuring some of today's best music writers and talented modern artists on the music/genres that inspire them.

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