Guitar Pop For Now People—Part 37
10 Recent Tracks + Music Reviewers/Publications (+ Playlist)
“Without music, life would be a mistake.”
Those bold words from 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche have always rung true for me. I know the guy who also penned the phrase “God is dead” wasn’t specifically talking about the guitar pop we all love, but it still connects.
Here are a few other favorites:
“I see music as fluid architecture.”—Joni Mitchell
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."—Victor Hugo
“We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams, Wandering by lone sea-breakers, And sitting by desolate streams.”—Arthur O'Shaughnessy
“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.”—Maya Angelou
“If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: The only proof he needed for the existence of God was music."—Kurt Vonnegut
If you still love music that much, you won’t be disappointed by the 10 tracks below.
Give them a spin, click the reviewer links, and check out our comprehensive Spotify and YouTube playlists. If you like what you hear or have other recent songs or music quotes to recommend, join the conversation in the comments.
“A pitch perfect record of power pop rises up out of Detroit, a gift gilded in honeyed harmonies and delivered with a wink and a sneer. The band skips the ’90s revival line and heads straight back to the source for this one.”—Andy, Raven Sings The Blues
“Dutch outfit The Maureens revive a 1960s group vocals sound with folk and pop inflections and it’s all there again on their new single ‘Doing Fine.’”—Dennis Pilon, Poprock Record
“The Black Watch is back with a new single in advance of an LP, and this is a band that ages like fine Cabernet.”—Aaron Kupferberg, Power Popaholic
“Maybes of Gold is a coda that leans a little more into jangle pop and college rock than garage rock, although the ‘windows down anthems’ are still present, particularly in closing track ‘Don’t Take Too Long’”.—Rosy Overdrive
“At a more cynical time, I probably would have dismissed a band like this for being too polished, too accessible, or too closely tied to pop gloss. That would have been my loss. This is music that takes zero effort to appreciate, but what impresses me most is that after the initial sugar rush, the shine does not wear off. Its pull only gets stronger with every listen.”—Niek, Add To Wantlist
“Blending raw and fractious, Britpop-infused guitars with raucous and thrashy punked up indie grooves, there is a real nod to the early 2000s guitar band revival.”—Dave Franklin, Big Takeover
“The album opens strong with ‘Everybody Knows,’ a bright, chiming gem that blends jangly guitars with memorable choruses.”—Richard Rossi, Power Pop News
“The bridge to the surfy ‘Daisy’ is full of handclaps and ooh babys, and every verse of that song could be a hook.”—Zac Djamoos, Merry Go Round
“‘Calling Your Bluff’ is nothing more and nothing less than hard-driving, kick-you-in-the-ass rock 'n' roll that'll get your toes tapping into next week.”—Lord Rutledge, Faster and Louder
“Built on chiming guitars, airtight harmonies, and sunlit melodies, ‘She Can Do It All’ taps directly into classic power pop DNA while feeling fresh and modern.”—Chris Ryan, Big Hassle
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Had no idea that The Maureens had a new single out. Strong group of tracks here, but that Rocket Bureau song is the standout. Definitely need to check them out.
Fantastic group of gems. Standout for me is Maybes of Gold. So great.