Hundred-(plus)-word Reviews for June 2025: Rock/Pop

I launched my hundred-word review format years ago as both a way to provide coverage to deserving music and as an exercise in concise writing. This go-round I stick to the former while (in some cases) abandoning the latter. Simply too much good to say about these albums. Any one of them could end up on my best-of-2025 list. Maybe yours, too.

Louis Philippe & the Night Mail – The Road to the Sea
If one were somehow to cross Martin Newell, Bill Pritchard and Burt Bacharach, the result might sound something like Louis Philippe. With a baroque pop sensibility that calls to mind some of the greats – Van Dyke Parks, Emitt Rhodes, Van Duren, Andy Partridge, Thomas Walsh (all of whom I’ve interviewed, by the way), Philippe makes music that’s catchy and intelligent. And he doesn’t write the same song over and over six different ways: the delectable “Pictures of Anna” is nothing at all like “Where Did We Go Wrong.” What both – and the rest of the tracks here – share is status as sophisticated and alluring pop of the very highest order.

Chris Church – Obsolete Path
I’ve written about Chris Church before. He’s that rare talent who can (and does) make music in a wide variety of styles, all with passion, commitment and authenticity. He’s the sort of artist who makes lesser talents consider throwing in the towel: “If he hasn’t hit the big time, well…” Church’s latest is a collection of shimmering pop-rock songs that highlight his skills as a songwriter and vocalist. But it’s more than that: Church’s finely-tuned arrangement gifts serve up baroque, semi-acoustic gems like the title track, the complex and razor-sharp hooks of “Sit Down” (shades of Jason Falkner), soaring tunes like “I Don’t Wanna Be There” and so, so much more. Without checking, I’m pretty sure I’ve characterized at least one of his previous albums as his best yet. Obsolete Path is so damn good that it renders such praise… um, obsolete.

Secret Monkey Weekend – Lemon Drop Hammer
There’s a running gag among my close affinity group of music fiends: we’ll voice three random words in a row and claim the resulting phrase as the latest Guided By Voices tune. (Try it; it works). I don’t know if this North Carolina trio of Jefferson Hart and his stepdaughters Ella and Lila had something similar in mind when they named their group and their second album, but that playful yet literate approach to rock shines through in any event. An irresistible mix of na-na-na / ba-ba-ba vocalisms, chiming guitars and sturdy, memorable songwriting makes this a fine listen. No frills, no filler, Strong riffage, deep grooves, emphatic and catchy vocal work provide – to borrow the title of the album’s opening track – “So Much Joy.” If all that doesn’t move you to put Lemon Drop Hammer on your must-get list, there’s the fact that it’s produced by Don Dixon. Your honor, the defense rests.

The Bongos – The Shroud of Touring: Live in 1985
The Bongos were among the most tuneful and pop-oriented (in the best possible way) of the so-called college rock era. Their two best-known releases – the Numbers With Wings EP from 1983 and 1985’s full-length Beat Hotel – are exemplars of the group’s style. Though it wasn’t their goal, The Bongos handily beat other acts like The Three O’Clock at their game. I never saw them live in their prime, and even in my bootleg collecting days I don’t recall stumbling upon any board tapes of their live shows. So the appearance of this vintage recording is a true gift. The band is absolutely on fire, rocking much, much harder than they did on record as they tear through songs from both of those records plus tunes from their pre-major-label debut Drums Along the Hudson. “Numbers With Wings” seethes in a way its airy studio counterpart barely hints at. Listeners who only know them from their studio releases will find their breath taken away at this spirited, fiery set. Essential.

Comet Gain – Letters to Ordinary Outsiders
Fans of ‘80s alternapop’s lesser-known corners – in other words, those who appreciate Television Personalities, Aztec Camera and the like – will definitely want to know about Comet Gain. Perhaps they already do. The group makes emotionally resonant pop. Typically, I find spoken-word interludes a bit mawkish, but in the hands of David Christian and his associates, those bits and the music around them bring a tear to the eye. With songwriting smarts that suggest Difford and Tilbrook with their hearts even more prominently on their sleeves — or Belle and Sebastian on a particularly good day — Comet Gain turns out tune after tune of beauty. The group understands the importance of the proverbial spaces between the notes, and they’re always ready with a catchy lick – be it from a horn section or something else. If Morrissey wasn’t so weepy, undependable and so much of an arsehole, he might make music like Comet Gain. Letters to Ordinary Outsiders is an album that demands – and richly rewards – quality time spent absorbing its virtues.