{"id":19881,"date":"2020-11-14T05:30:42","date_gmt":"2020-11-14T10:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=19881"},"modified":"2020-11-16T16:44:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T21:44:32","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-for-november-2020-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/14\/hundred-word-reviews-for-november-2020-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews for November 2020, Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today marks the triumphant return of my hundred-word reviews. My last roundup of new releases in the form of brief critical summaries came way back in February, before the world changed. For awhile there, the steady stream of new releases seemed to slow to a trickle; many planned releases were \u2013 quite understandably \u2013 put on hold. But now a combination of ok-let\u2019s-release-this-thing thinking and actual new recordings means that once again there\u2019s a surfeit of good music to tell you about. Off we go.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19886\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/davison_strongman.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/davison_strongman.jpg 350w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/davison_strongman-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/davison_strongman-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><b>Dennis Davison \u2013 <i>The Book of Strongman<\/i><\/b><br \/>\n<i>The Book of Strongman<\/i> is a surprisingly ambitious set of songs from an artist whose previous work is noted more for its catchy, melodic character. The (former?) Jigsaw Seen frontman, Davison has created an instantly likable collection of songs. Following on from that band\u2019s psych-leaning character, the haunting \u201cShadow on a Tall Tree\u201d sounds like it could fit nicely on <i>Children of Nuggets.<\/i> Not to scare anyone off, but this is quite a literate album. The sonics are nicely textured, the songs are varied, and the whole thing hangs together magnificently. Not quite a concept album, it feels like one.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19885\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/williamson_tek.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/williamson_tek.jpg 350w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/williamson_tek-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/williamson_tek-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><br \/>\n<b>James Williamson &amp; Deniz Tek \u2013 <i>Two to One<\/i><\/b><br \/>\nHere\u2019s a raw rock\u2019n\u2019roll summit if there ever was one: James Williamson from <i>Kill City<\/i>-era Stooges, and Deniz Tek from Radio Birdman. The two guitarists prove that \u2013 regardless of what you might think \u2013 the universe of catchy guitar riffs still has territory left to explore. This stuff rocks and rock hard, but it\u2019s catchy as well; it has the energy of punk but the finesse and appeal of mainstream rock. Tek handles the lion\u2019s share of songwriting, but Williamson turn in quality cuts as well. And they skillfully write together on several cuts. Opener \u201cJet Pack Nightmare\u201d sets the tone.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19883\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/lisa_mychols_super8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/lisa_mychols_super8.jpg 350w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/lisa_mychols_super8-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/lisa_mychols_super8-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><br \/>\n<b>Lisa Mychols &amp; Super 8 \u2013 s\/t<\/b><br \/>\nLisa Mychols is a well-established figure in what we\u2019ll call the powerpop world. Her lovely voice is the perfect vehicle for a kind of sunshine pop that draws inspiration from the late \u201860s and early \u201870s. Super 8 is a UK-based group that traffics in a sort of <i>Children of Nuggets<\/i> retropsych style. This, their first collaboration, combines the best of bubblegum and UK popsike; the result sounds a bit like a light, jangly rethink of Dukes of Stratosphear crossed with Cowsills. It\u2019s a heckuvalotta fun. What\u2019s not to love? \u201cTrip &amp; Ellie\u2019s Music Factory\u201d is a catchy, representative cut.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19884\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/bookends.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/bookends.jpg 350w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/bookends-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/bookends-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><br \/>\n<b>The Bookends \u2013 <i>Calliope<\/i><\/b><br \/>\nThe Bookends are a pair of lovely ladies: Sharon Lee on bass, keyboard and vocals plus guitarist\/vocalist Karen Lynn (the latter of many fashion photos on Facebook). With help on drums, they\u2019ve crafted this catchy pop record, one filled with <i>Revolver<\/i> and <i>Rubber Soul<\/i> era textures. If you dug The Pandoras (featuring Kim Shattuck) back in the \u201880s, you\u2019ll enjoy The Bookends as well; poppier than Bangles, harder-edged than The Go-Gos, they\u2019re a \u201cgirl\u201d group for the 21<sup>st<\/sup> century. The vocals (and\/or their mix) are a bit thin, but the guitar more than make up for that minor shortcoming.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19882\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/molland_true.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/molland_true.jpg 350w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/molland_true-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/molland_true-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><br \/>\n<b>Joey Molland \u2013 <i>Be True to Yourself<\/i><\/b><br \/>\nMolland is best known as the sole surviving member of Badfinger\u2019s classic lineup. Here he\u2019s wisely taken a different approach, working with Mark Hudson, a man with a proven track record of delivering quality from thin, unfinished or problematic elements (see: Ringo Starr, Aerosmith, Harry Nilsson). Hudson is producer and cowriter of every track here \u2013 his fingerprints are all over this record \u2013 and so if you\u2019re a fan of Ringo\u2019s <i>Time Takes Time<\/i> LP (and why wouldn\u2019t you be?) you\u2019ll like this. The songs are highly melodic, featuring lots of stacked vocals that smooth out Molland\u2019s shortcomings as a singer.<\/p>\n<p>More to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today marks the triumphant return of my hundred-word reviews. My last roundup of new releases in the form of brief critical summaries came way back in February, before the world [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,51,55,59,62,65],"tags":[256,4349,4351,4350,1142,3959,3428,1775,2071,3386],"class_list":["post-19881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-release","category-pop","category-powerpop","category-punk","category-rawk","category-review","tag-badfinger","tag-dennis-davison","tag-dennis-tek","tag-james-williamson","tag-jigsaw-seen","tag-joey-molland","tag-lisa-mychols","tag-radio-birdman","tag-stooges","tag-super-8","cat-49-id","cat-51-id","cat-55-id","cat-59-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19881"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20149,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19881\/revisions\/20149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}