JANGLE ON! – February 2023

by Eric Sorensen

As I mentioned last month, 2022 was a banner year for jangly pop music … and 2023 appears to be following suit.   Fellow jangly music enthusiasts should find the following chiming and melodic CDs, CD EPs and single tracks quite appealing:

            Potpourri of Harmony (Retrospective) – Gary Ritchie.  I have been a fan of Gary Ritchie for over a decade.  This two-CD compilation includes 40 songs from Ritchie’s back-catalog.  Chiming guitar riffs abound throughout, but a standout track is the final song in the bunch – “This Time Around” – which has the great earworm chord progression from Tom Petty’s “Listen To Her Heart” and the Records’ “Hearts In Her Eyes” (brilliantly covered by the Searchers).  If you were unfamiliar with Gary Ritchie before now, this retrospective collection is a great introduction to his first tier power pop talent.  Long may you run, Sir Gary!

            Somehow Or Another (2017-2022 EPs and Singles Compilation) – John McCabe.  Darrin Lee and the SubJangle label have treated jangly music fans to another artist worthy of a broader audience – John McCabe.  I mentioned John in an earlier column; his vocals and song crafting remind me of Michael Stipe and REM.   Listen to “These Years” and you will agree that this track could have been an outtake from a REM album.  While the jangly guitar play may be subdued on most of the tracks, it still resonates … and the sum of the parts is impressive.  Long may you run, Sir John!

            E.P. Tracks 2012-2013 – the White Paper.  One more compilation that deserves jangleholic attention.  The White Paper are far more Beatlesque than Byrdsian in their approach to their songs, but jangly guitars are layered nicely into songs like “No, No, No” and “As And So.”   Kudos to the power pop archivists who have shared these blasts from the past with the rest of us.

            Joy Of The 4th – Bhopal’s Flowers.  This band continues to impress me with their contemporary take on pseudo-60s psych-pop.  A twelve-string electric guitar is front and center on the track “Pick Up A Walnut.”  The band may be too young to remember it, but their well-crafted songs fit well in the “Summer Of Love” genre of pop/rock music.

            Capturing The Wry – the Irony Board.  This album flirts with both jangle pop and shoe gazer pop; in fact, one of the catchy songs featured among the fifteen tracks is “Shoegazing.”  Other notable tunes are “Joke’s A Choke,” “Twelve Bar Blues” and “In With The Outcrowd.”  I hope to hear more from this talented band.

            The Best Power Pop of 2021 – This superb compilation, which includes three CDs with 61 tracks, showcases the best music in its genre for a year that now seems so distant.  This is a must for all power pop music fans … and jangly music fans will hear a few chiming guitar riffs (e.g., “Lights” by the Tambourine People) among the many tunes.  Thank you, Bruce!

             Favorite new singles from the past month include: the chiming “Autumn Brings” (from a forthcoming album) by Kevin Robertson; “Flashing Before Your Eyes” by the Triptides; “Faith In You” by Stephen Lawrenson; “Judgement Day” by the New Earth Farmers; “She Knows My Name” by the Kryng; “Go Free” by Bird Streets; “Porridge” by the Woggles; and the just-released “A Wild Force” by the Laissez Fairs.  So much music, so little time!

                       Until next time, jangle on!