{"id":31312,"date":"2026-08-18T05:30:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T09:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=31312"},"modified":"2026-08-18T07:55:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:55:15","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-august-2026-1-new-releases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/18\/hundred-word-reviews-august-2026-1-new-releases\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews, August 2026 #1: New Releases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Time once again for some hundred-word reviews. As a reminder, if it gets covered here, it has my seal of approval; implicit in that is that it deserves a longer, more in-depth review. And it deserves a listen, so\u2026 listen! Note: each of the artists (save He\u2019s Dead Jim) has been reviewed\/covered on this site in the past. Welcome back.<\/p>\n

\"\"Bill Pritchard \u2013 Haunted<\/i><\/b>
\nPritchard isn\u2019t well-known in the U.S., but that shouldn\u2019t discourage lovers of finely-wrought song craft to seek out his work. Haunted<\/i>, his latest, is more rock-oriented than some of his recent releases. What it shares with those is his gift for durable melodies, his unusual but just-right-for-the-material vocals, and his sharp lyrics that much more often than not strike an emotional bullseye. Listeners who appreciate Difford, Tilbrook, Newell, Davies, Lowe, Holsapple, Parker and\/or McCartney will dig Pritchard. His musical vignettes are never less than intriguing, and his instrumentalist choices are deftly designed to suit each song. Haunted<\/i> is quite haunting.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Legal Matters \u2013 Lost at Sea<\/i><\/b>
\nThe Legal Matters are a favorite here at Musoscribe. They can be reliably counted upon to deliver catchy tunes. And while I make a point of not reading other reviews before penning my own, the buzz on the street is that Lost at Sea<\/i> may be their best. From the opening strains of \u201cEverybody Knows,\u201d it\u2019s clear that the listener\u2019s in for something special. The group\u2019s melodies remind me of Andrew Gold. Creamy vocal harmonies adorn memorable songs. Rockier than yacht rock, more tuneful than hard rock, Lost at Sea<\/i> hits the sweet spot again and again across ten tracks.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Corner Laughers \u2013 Concerns of Wasp and Willow<\/i><\/b>
\nAnother favorite of this reviewer, Bay Area sunshine pop masters The Corner Laughers hadn\u2019t released a new disc in some time, so Concerns of Wasp and Willow<\/i> is most welcome. The band\u2019s tuneful and carefully-curated approach always yields supremely literate tunes that reveal their charm over repeated listens. But these songs are immediate and hooky as well, showcasing Karla Kane\u2019s lovely voice and sublime ukulele. She\u2019s well supported by Khoi Huynh\u2019s always melodic bass work, Charlie Crabtree\u2019s subtle yet spot-on drumming and KC Bowman\u2019s instrumental allsorts. The production is top-notch, the songs memorable, and the vibe sweet, reflective and upbeat.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Monochrome Set \u2013 Lotus Bridge<\/b>
\nThere are some acts that make one wonder, \u201cWhy hasn\u2019t this caught on in a big way?\u201d In that category, The Monochrome Set most certainly belongs. To be sure, Bid is an idiosyncratic songwriter, but his songs are a delight, sophisticated and with just the right balance of pop values and interesting twists and turns. Look up info on The Monochrome Set and one learns that they\u2019re post-punk. Listen to Lotus Bridge<\/i> and discover something quite different. Hard to categorize, this album is conventionally tuneful in the best possible way. Hints of British music hall are delivered with pop sensibility.<\/p>\n

\"\"He\u2019s Dead Jim \u2013 These Men, These Monsters<\/i><\/b>
\nYou\u2019ll certainly catch the pop culture reference from which the band takes its name. The music itself is some wonderfully bratty power pop. Hints of Lemon Twigs melodic sense and ambition are leavened with an edge that recalls Redd Kross. Lead guitar licks careen right on the edge of mayhem while cheery chorus vocals give a pop sheen to razor-sharp hook-laden tunes. The group often crams more appealing musical ideas into a single song that one would expect from an outfit in this genre, but they do it so skillfully that the songs never feel overstuffed. Certainly a best-of-\u201926 contender.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time once again for some hundred-word reviews. As a reminder, if it gets covered here, it has my seal of approval; implicit in that is that it deserves a longer, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,51,55,62,65],"tags":[2660,582,5928,1508,4415,2165],"class_list":["post-31312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-release","category-pop","category-powerpop","category-rawk","category-review","tag-bill-pritchard","tag-corner-laughers","tag-hes-dead-jim","tag-monochrome-set","tag-the-corner-laughers","tag-the-legal-matters","cat-49-id","cat-51-id","cat-55-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31312","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=31312"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32227,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31312\/revisions\/32227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}